Social Media Marketing Soup

Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant to Unveil New Health-Conscious Vegan Desserts

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:08:00 +0000

Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant of Montclair, NJ is proud to announce two new additions to its line of premium, all-natural desserts - Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and Cherry Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies, made with a vegan batter with bittersweet chocolate chips added.

The cookies are prepared by local Montclair, NJ resident, Nicky Mesiah, creator of Miss Nicky’s Gourmet Toffee, who introduced Mesob to her health-conscious vegan and gluten-free product line. Mesiah’s products have been reviewed on The Today Show, and have received honorable mention in the New York Times.

Photographs of the new dessert cookies were taken by Mesob Internet Marketing Manager, Vickie Smith-Siculiano in her studio, surrounding the new desserts with ingredients that they contain. Cherries, chocolate and oats appear next to the new Cherry Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies, while raisins, oats and flax appear alongside the Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

“We at Mesob feel it’s very important to listen to what our social media audience has to say, and knew they would comment if they could easily see what were inside the treats. Within seconds of posting on Facebook, our customers posted positive responses, including one that said she would be there upon its debut. Because our social media audience on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr appear highly engaged with photos and video, we felt our customers would give us feedback if the cookies would visually connect with our audience.”
The new dessert cookies are made with a base of oats and flax seed. Like other Mesob dessert menu items, these new cookies are baked from scratch recipes with all-natural ingredients. Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant never uses trans fats, artificial flavors or chemical shelf extenders.

Berekti Mengistu, owner of Mesob, met Nicky Mesiah, the cookie’s creator, at a local farmer’s market. Says Mengistu, “I was excited to learn of the new cookies from Nicky, because they will fit on our menu of fresh, all-natural, no-preservatives added foods. Furthermore, because the Mesob family practices religious holidays throughout the year which eliminate meat and meat products from our diets, we are very sensitive to the Vegan dietary needs of many of our customers. These new desserts fit right in with our current all-natural desserts. We listen to our customers and want to create the best experience for them.”

Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant is located at 515 Bloomfield Avenue, in Montclair, NJ. For reservations or more information, call 973-655-9000 or visit Mesob online at http://www.mesobrestaurant.com.

ONE NIGHT ONLY Ethiopian Music at Mesob Restaurant October 1st!

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:36:00 +0000

Zena Bel Band is a three piece group, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The group is the result of the continuing collaborations of two Ethiopian azmari musicians, and one violin player from Boston's Debo Band, a ten-member collective influenced by 1970s-era Ethiopian funk. Zena Bel Band's members first came together when Debo Band collaborated with some traditional musicians while on tour in Ethiopia in May 2009.

The traditional drum "kebero" is played by Asrat Ayalew, while Kaethe Hostetter's five-string acoustic violin evokes the Ethiopian "masinqo," a one-string bowed instrument. Selamnesh Zemene, the vocalist, sings in a variety of traditional Ethiopian styles. Her mother and grandmother both having been azmari singers, she is steeped in this tradition, which often incorporates humor and improvising during its performance. The azmari are traditionally wandering musicians from the countryside, who sing, play, and dance for money. With witty lyrics rich in innuendo and double entendre, Azmari musical traditions have been documented in a few volumes of Ethiopiques, the renowned CD series out of France.

Zena Bel Band plays familiar folk songs that most Ethiopians vehemently cherish. The trio's repertoire includes the beloved "Tizita" and "Ambassel," songs by Bezunesh Bekele, Birtukan Dubale, and Maritu Legesse, and some regionally specific songs that display the rich variety of Ethiopian traditions. They also play some original songs by Selamnesh and her husband, who is also an azmari

The music is by turns dreamily mesmerizing, circular, heavy, exhilarating, compelling and whimsical. Selamnesh's sure and powerful voice reaches across political borders and musical backgrounds. Kaethe's masinqo-like 5-string violin playing presents an innovative, modern ambiance. Asrat's kebero provides the project's strong backbone, as he highlights the contour of the songs while offering propulsive verve.

Joining Zena Bel Band on some numbers are Melaku Belay, Ethiopia's top dancer, and his dance partner, Zinash Tsgegaye, both members of Fendika who, along with Zena Bel's members, are on tour with Debo Band in September of 2010. The physical home and performance venue of the Fendika group is "Fendika Azmari Bet," artist-owned and operated by Melaku. In Ethiopian culture, an "azmari bet," literally meaning the "House of the Azmari," is a place where people come to listen and enjoy traditional Ethiopian music. Under Melaku's direction, Fendika completely revolutionizes the artistic world of Addis Ababa by creating a home for music that presents a symbiosis between tradition and modernity. In special projects and collaborations, Fendika's traditional azmari music has continually shifted and reinvented, while being enriched by Ethiopian-influenced jazz and rock bands from abroad, including Imperial Tiger Orchestra (Switzerland), The Ex (the Netherlands), le Tigre des Platanes (France), Debo Band and Ukandanz (France), among others.

Zena Bel Band is exemplary of the vibrancy of the Fendika scene in Addis Ababa, where cross cultural exchange has encouraged the development of new groups and projects. This is Zena Bel's first North American tour and they are thrilled to bring their music to new friends, and introduce a new take on the tradition of which they are so proud.

"Enjoy Yourself!"

Consumers Demand Engagement - eMarketer

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:14:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

This study's findings mean alot to marketers. Especially in proving that the move to integrating social media into marketing plans cannot be ignored.

Social media adds value to the existing marketing mix for ANY brand, I don't care if it's brick and mortar or totally e-commerce, if you're conducting business you ARE a brand.

And brands cannot ignore the groundswell's desire to communicate what they want, how they want it WHENEVER they want it.

Social media will continue to be increasingly important for marketing success.

Posted via web from vickie_smith's posterous

VIDEO: Top Tips for Using Facebook for B|usiness - Social Media Examiner

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

via socialmediaexaminer.com

I was so impressed with this post on Social Media Examiner - with the relevant topic of tapping into Facebook for business, and also with the quality of the video post, included - so Web 2.0 and engaging.

Social media is all about conversation - learning and listening. Facebook is a GREAT platform to do it, with a strategy in place, and the right tools to do it - and Mari is at the forefront of this frontier, and I applaud Michael for bringing this to light in a very engaging way!

Does your business use facebook? Do you have a fan page?

What are your thoughts?

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Web-Savvy Seniors? 65+ boomers ARE online

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:53:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

Seniors are NO slouches. And baby-boomers participate in a variety of ways, and at different levels of participation, many of them spectators, while a few of them creators and/or critics.

But they certainly are a savvy group, and if you want to tap into the groundswell, see Forrester Research for more info on this fascinating area.

It appears from the research that most of the respondents of the study have e-mail, followed by shopping online and looking up health/medical information.

Savvy seniors information gatherers, and if they are looking for information, what better way than to tap in, with an understanding of how they use the medium? The research is out there, and still growing!

What are your thoughts?

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Protect your URL in a social media world

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:28:00 +0000

via imediaconnection.com

I totally agree that we need to put forth a strong protect our URL in social media - especially if it's a brand name. You probably know about the benefits of shortening your links in a 140 character world. Especially if you've found this, then you've gotten just a glimpse -

But in MY social media world, after posting this blog grab from posterous (a fantastic social media tool), I will then later report is with the link to my blog using bit.ly - http://bit.ly/vickblog.

Grab your redirect shortened URLs like it's the wild west, folks.

And use them over and over! What are your thoughts?

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Online Marketing and Building Your Brand - The Power of Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:06:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

If you want a deeper connection with your audience, whether it's B2B, B2C, or even building your personal brand for job search, the reports are in on the success of adding a blog to your marketing mix. You can't ignore the value of being able to post content in your own voice, and having thoughtful content spiced with strategic keywords placement for SEO.

I'm in the process of moving this blog over to my website, because I can't ignore the value of sharing valuable content and hearing what you have to add, or finding out what you want to hear.

It just depends on what you've got to say - but keep it consistent and use your blog for a strong branding effort. Here's proof in the pudding - and the stats to prove it!

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What Lurks Beyond the Keyboard - Social Media Automation

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:41:00 +0000

When tackling the task of social media strategy, you can't ignore automation as a solution to covering multiple channels, but do you really know what happens when it goes beyond your keyboard?

Whether it's Twitter, Facebook, digg, de.licio.us, whatever the outlet, if you're serious about creating, monitoring, and maintaining your online brand/presence, you probably have explored automating.

A recent e-mail came to me through my website that I want to share with you because it speaks exactly to the point that I want to make.

Vickie -

My question is about automatic uploading to twitter from other sites.

I see multiple tweets posted at the same time.

When I open my twitter page and see nothing but one person’s tweets I UNFOLLOW them.

You have four tweets from HootSuite all at once plus two or three others. That is fast closing in on my threshold to unfollow you.

Fact is I really love your tweets, but feel I have a live outside your tweets and don’t want to follow many links.

How do these sites work?

Can you control the number of posts from them?

What is the logic of having a lot of tweets? Is it effective? How is results measured?

I plan to try to tweet twice daily – maximum unless someone demonstrates that something else works better.

Thanks for the answers.

You can post this to the blog if you wish, or I can post an entry if you wish.

Thanks

Gordon Hughes

There's an in and there's an out, right? On this we can agree. But how it gets sent out, and how your viewer gets it are two VERY different things. Think of it like the mail truck running out of gas on the way, or maybe hitting a pothole. And that's the mail truck on MY end. What about the mail truck DELIVERING the content? Well, there's not much I can say to that end.

For my own strategy, I've found that for twitter, Hootsuite is well-suited to my needs, being able to schedule content and space it out. I certainly don't want overkill, but I do want to maintain my presence in the area of social media marketing. Therefore, I have to maintain a brand presence on a regular basis.

Now, if there is a follower who chooses to look at content at a particular time in the future, my tweets are obviously going to get backed up and it's going to look like maybe I'm publishing them all at once.

Or maybe, in fact, hootsuite had a hiccup and it didn't post them as I had scheduled.

And hmm, has twitter ever gone down? See, we just don't know what happens when it goes beyond our keyboard.

In the past, in doing e-mail marketing campaigns, I've learned to test the e-mail to myself first to make sure that the content is exactly what I want to appear when a recipient receives it. But do they ever? Or did I just end up in the junk folder?

Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share on the subject? Have you ever had an automation strategy gone haywire?

Retailers Get Ready for Social Shopping Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

Retailers, especially ecommerce retailers, can no longer ignore the power of social media and how people are choosing to communicate - WHEN they want, with WHOM they want, and HOW they want - especially with the growth of mobile platforms.

I think these numbers will only grow and technology is able to make us more connected than ever - especially how we shop. I hope that online retailers do particularly well this holiday season and weather the storm.

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How to Segment Your Twitter Strategy in Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:57:00 +0000

via socialmediatoday.com

Very interesting post by Daryl Pereira on SocialMediaToday. I do agree that your social medial strategy should have a focus and purpose. However, don't neglect to apply these strategies across the board in social media, not just one social "medium," just one channel.

We should all strive to engage our audiences, whoever they might be, B2B, B2C, and to do that, we need to create relevant content (in the right format, in the right venues), and listen - by following and monitoring your brand.

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Why Social Media and Search Must Be Integrated

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:32:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

No marketing efforts are standalone, especially in the digital world where the world is FLAT. This eMarketer report proves the point. Consumers are more connected with brands who have a social media presence - and those brands with a savvy team who optimizes their SEO and searchability (or findability!) will shine among their competitors. Does it make you think how you can change your strategy? Reports like this help keep us sharp...now off to searching for relevant content, right?

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How to get more attention with your social media messages - 4 Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Get more attention with your social media marketing messages?

La la la la I'm not listening! Just think of fighting that uphill attention battle every time you want to be heard in “free” social medium forums. There is more clutter now than ever, and people are going to get savvier at learning how to filter out the noise.

Do you Tivo/DVR? Get frustrated when opening up a video and seeing a pre-roll advertisement? People will continue to look for VALUE, and will get better at being able to search for relevant content. Here are tips to help you break through and get people to really want to listen:

1. Headlines - Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
There is a definite art to headlines, and to tweets that grab attention. Guy Kawasaki is a master, and Personal Branding Expert Dan Schawbel is another - if you don’t believe me, just check out their twitter feed, better yet, follow them, and you will see that the reason you should click through is apparent RIGHT AWAY. If it’s a REPORT, OPINION or ADVICE, I know if I should bother finding out more. They saved their audiences time, and it is definitely appreciated. Be open and honest (transparent) as to what VALUE someone will find and people will be more likely to NEED to find out more.
2. What’s your hook song, or first track?
If you’ve ever bought an album, you know that the opening track has to really grab your attention for you to feel the rest of the album is worth your time listening. Same thing with your social media content - Don’t give people a chance to shut you out too soon. If you’ve got a very relevant piece of content for your target audience, think of what part of your content is going to be catchy enough to make them want to keep listening!
3. Keywords, people!
On a social media project recently, I was assigned the task of broadcasting social media content across a wide variety of platforms. Problem was, in order for me to broadcast it, I’d have to rewrite most of the headlines, so I’d have to take time looking through a lot of content to feel if I could put my own brand on the line by broadcasting it. The professionally produced video content, I felt was valuable information, but hidden beneath rather weak descriptions. Don’t make any effort you have wasted, especially with professionally produced content like video, or even a blog post you took time writing - think of it as your front door!
4. How Tos and Tips
It has been found that tweets most likely to get retweeted contain the phrases “How To” and “Tips.” People want to know how they can learn how to do something better, or even just how to do something period. And tips, well, by breaking this blog post down into four easy to digest chunks, you could quantify right away how many tips you were in for. There are too many decisions we all have to make as technology makes life ubercomplicated. If we can save each other the trouble, it makes life so much easier, and gets people to want to listen that much easier.

Isn’t that what this is all about? Please help me by sharing your comments and suggestions with me on these tips, and thoughts on others you’d like to know more about. Thanks!

Optimize Your Social Media Content for the Long Haul - 10 Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:27:00 +0000

People are more distracted than ever before, and we can thank technology for the help. People will tune you out at the slightest opportunity. I call it “competition for eyeballs.” How can you get their attention and KEEP it for the long haul, converting them to loyal users? Here are some tips on creating not only content, but keeping an eye on how people will be able to maneuver through it:

1. Keep your content consistent
Not only should your content maintain a consistent writing style, but the content should look and feel the same throughout. Just like McDonalds isn’t going to change their arches any time soon, keeping your content visually consistent will make a big difference in getting people to know what to expect when they come to your social media community. And if you don’t have a consistent style yet, or maybe you are still developing one, see what sticks and develop your own formula.
2. Keep it relevant
Just because you have a genius moment, and created this subjectively compelling article, who says it’s great? You? That might not necessarily fly with your audience. Unless there’s a particular keyword or some idea that you try to get across on a regular basis, it’s not enough to hold people interest over a longer time. And that’s what we’re looking for, right? Think of it like buying a brand you’re pretty loyal to - a favorite restaurant perhaps. If you ordered filet mignon and got tofu spinach salad, would you stick around? But I bet there’s an audience for both of those dishes!
3. Make it exciting - where’s the WOW?

Do you like what someone else in your industry, or maybe your competition, is doing? What is it that knocks your socks off? This also means headlines for grabbing people’s attention. For me, I love when major brands come into the social media space and come and speak to us all as peers. They really want to know what it is that people want, and then they have a better chance of creating it. The groundswell will prevail! (If you haven’t read Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s book and you’re interested in growing a social media audience, you are WAY missing the boat.

4. Make your platform easy to connect

The social media platform you’re using also lends itself to being able to get the message out to your audience. Not only does the content have a lot to do with people sticking around, but do you have links for people to be able to share your content, including social bookmarking sites like Delicious and Digg? If you do and they’re not sharing it, then there’s probably a reason that goes more deep than connectability.

5. Target the right audience

Blasting people to try to generate interest will only service a temporary fix. Ask yourself who is your relevant audience? Even better, why don’t you ask trusted colleagues who they think your relevant audience might be? If you’re in social media, just because you might maintain membership to multiple groups, posting seemingly irrelevant news items doesn’t mean that your message will become “magically delicious.” Who would be most interested in your tasty morsels?

6. Promote it through ALL channels

Not just interconnecting your social media outlets with links to it all. Think of social media as just one element of your marketing mix. You might have direct mail, TV, print, radio, e-mail…It’s the repetition and consistency that will drive traffic to your social media door step. When I was in radio advertising, I wouldn’t take on a new advertising client for just one or two spots. There’s no guarantee that reaching the right customer would happen in a matter of seconds. And this is for the long haul, right?

7. Be authentic

Social media users know that if something is off kilter, word will get out about it pretty fast. Would you believe it if Bill Gates posted positive comments on Microsoft videos? Probably not. Think of your own persona - do you identify with the content? Would you believe a blog author posting positive commentary about the content on the posts? If you’re perusing the social mediaverse, you probably want to post comments with a keyword that you’ve identified with, but even more so, keep true to yourself, and people will be more likely to believe what you say.

8. Make content easy to digest and user-friendly
Take a look at the visual elements of your campaign. Are you trying to keep your content “above the fold,” in other words, keeping people from having to scroll down to see what you are trying to say?
Do you have tips that are kind of hidden in a long paragraph? Think of it like this - would you send a resume to a recruiter in essay format? Nuff said.

9. Make the content format relevant
Do you have multimedia content spanning across different social media outlets? Or is it just stretched and doesn’t have to be?
Social media outlets are very unique, with unique audiences who have very different social technology habits (technographics). Yes, there is some crossover, but for the most part, Twitter users want quick headlines with juicy enough reason to want to click through a link. If you are trying to reach Youtube users, know that they are LOOKING for a “wow” with a visual impact - professionally produced videos, or even CGC (Consumer-Generated Content), with some intelligent thought into presentation. Then you can reap the rewards of people subscribing and posting comments and maybe even their own video comments.

10. Test! Test! Test!
I am lucky enough to have a network that is on top of the content that I send, so when I have a link that doesn’t work, or a typo (because I just hit “send” a little too quickly, and yes, I’m trying to get over that…), they let me know.
You could even hire a usability consultant, maybe hire a panel of experts to do testing, or you could do a focus group if it came down to it - point is...
No one can assume that their content is going to be the winning lottery ticket. Just as you’ve invested your time in growing your social media content, take the time to test it. Through different browsers, through different eyeballs, through the mountains white with snow.

Stats on How Social Media Users Depend on Their Networks - eMarketer

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:44:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

It's so important to understand how people are using social networks - how can you reach an audience, unless you have an understanding of their media usage habits? And what are they doing when they get there?

Putting together a social media strategy for a client yesterday, it was important to understand certain characteristics of the audience, and what kind of value they want to receive first. Otherwise, it's like shouting at a wall pretty much.

So, looking at these stats, isn't it a good idea to get more involved, or do you want to sit on the sidelines and watch the social media barge pass you by?

SEO Tip: Free Google's Search-based keyword tool

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:24:00 +0000

via google.com

Did you know that there is a free tool Google provides where you can optimize the search for your website? Based on the content it searches through, it pulls up relevant keyword searches, and yes, of course the purpose is so that you hopefully open up an Adword account. But, the tool is very valuable if you are a small business, and want to optimize your ROI...with a free tool - nothing but your time. I tried mine out and see a couple of ways I can tweak the content to make sure the searches will be relevant for me. Knowledge is power, right?

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

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VIDEO: What political campaigns can teach business about Social Media w/ Charlene Li

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:27:00 +0000

via bnet.com

I think this is a brilliantly produced piece featured on BNet, with examples from political campaigns' tapping into their groundswell to build loyalty and sell their message.

Just like social media, it's not a top down approach. Businesses have to let go and trust that their core audiences will spread the message, as they are the true foundation of any social media or political campaign!

Getting ready for OMMA Global in NYC tomorrow and Tuesday, just wanted to share this quick post - enjoy!

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Media Dollars Shift to Digital in Downturn - Have You Seen the Move?

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:23:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

I saw it firsthand. Having sold radio ad time, I saw the desire for clients to shift their ad dollars to digital. And if your radio listening audience isn't listening on the web, then you're going to be dialing for dollars for quite some time.

found eMarketer's Chart above to be very revealing, which comes from Round2's 2009 survey.

Radio isn't the only one that's hurting, but other traditional media as well. Email, Search and Interactive being hit the least.

But, without a clear strategy in place, with realistic expectations, whether you do it on your own or hire a digital agency to guide you, then sinking your dollars in doesn't really matter. You've got to stick to it for the long haul, folks, and join the conversation, especially in social media.

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What's in Your Social Media Fridge? Can You Easily Find a Snack?

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:49:00 +0000

via salestores.com

Yesterday I presented a private social media/online marketing class. It is always awesome to learn what's most important to people - it's very unique for every individual.

Just like you don’t take out all the contents of your refrigerator when you want to get a quick snack, you have to know what you want to want, and what tools will work best for you. A lot is trial and error, I admit. I have found a lot of content in the area of social media, newsletters, RSS feeds, and bears OH MY.

But over time, I found what was most useful and relevant for me to share as news items on LinkedIn, in my blog, or on twitter.

So you make a list of what you want to buy right, right? What are you going to digest and eat in your social media house?

Then you go shopping. Load the fridge with your frequently grabbed snacks right to the front (my hootsuite for twitter, and netvibes and google alerts for my inputs…).

Then you open these packages on a daily basis to grab a tasty morsel.

So, my big tip for the day is to find out what content you want to share with your network, and a way to receive it on a daily basis. Do you prefer e-mail? Sign up for a newsletter. Do you prefer an RSS feed? Try Google Reader, Netvibes - whatever works for YOU. But find the content, and then start sharing and commenting.

If you want to have a voice online, you’ve got to have something to say. Now all you have to do is go find the content and make sure you keep those packages in the front of the fridge, so you don’t have to tear it up from top to bottom to find it. Now go find the people who want to hear it and be part of the conversation!

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Lessons Learned: Don’t Broadcast Your Major Social Media Updates at Week’s End

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:32:00 +0000

via mediapost.com

A new report just broke the news that the best time to broadcast your updates is at the beginning of the week. Click throughs on your Facebook status updates are highest on Tuesdays.

If you are on Twitter, like me, I have been tracking the metrics to see when the most interest is generated and I get the most click throughs at the week’s start. I have found this to definitely be true - not that the content is any different, it’s just that as people move towards the weekend, their minds are pulled in a different direction. And ever wonder why weekly meetings are set to Wednesdays for many? Because that’s the day most people are likely to be at work! (No calling in sick for a longer weekend, right?)

What surprised me was a big drop off in click throughs starting on Thursday. Content published on Thursday receives half the clicks of stories published the previous day.

So today is Thursday, right? Why am I posting this? I like to keep my blog current, and as I find social media news of interest. It’s no trouble at all for me to share the news I’ve found once you automate the process. It keeps a nice placemarker for the start of next week Enjoy!

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5 Tips on Switching Dollars to Digital as Internet Radio Revs Up

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:01:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

Yippee. Your ad budget was increased to spend more on the web.

Or boohoo. Your marketing budget was cut and now you have to do more with less.

The shift to online marketing and advertising is being seen more and more. Having been in traditional radio, with the opportunity to sell online properties, I had a rare first-hand experience into seeing how advertisers are scrambling to get audiences to listen. I saw it everyday as advertisers would call up and want to buy a banner ad on a particular page on the radio station's website that they ALWAYS visit.

But is that really a good idea? Yeah, YOU listen to a particular program, or watch a show that is convenient for YOU or to your liking, It really gets my goat when an advertiser thinks they've got it all figured out before hand, and has already sold themselves on how they want to spend their bucks. (Or buck!) So, think these five tips first, and then see how you want to play your hand before jumping onto the digital media bandwagon - and use some online marketing savvy.

TIPS ON SWITCHING AD $ TO DIGITAL

1. Who is your audience?
Knowing that you are reaching the right audience is KEY. Without that, you might as well buy a 30 second spot, broadcasting straight to a wall, or taking out an ad on a tv station that is dark 24/7. Hey, is your particular demographic online anyway? Are they 65+? Or are they children?

2. How does your audience use the medium?
You've got to how the audience is using the medium. If it's radio that you want to try out, is your traditional radio audience listening online?

If so, HOW - do they listen in another window to your internet stream, while working in another? Do they listen to podcasts? Make sure that you are expending the right amount of effort so that you can get the most return.

3. Are you in it for the long haul?
Is this marketing campaign that you want to undertake able to be sustainable? If so, how long? There are is so much competition for eyeballs - more than ever. If you want to sink your dollars in, make sure you have a clear goal in mind, but also how long you plan to get to that goal.

4. Do you have the ability to do a variety of online marketing efforts?
Multi-platform is the way to go - reach a variety of eyeballs (and ears!), however you can. Especially online, sinking all your eggs into the social media basket, or e-mail marketing is not going to be most efficient in reaching your target audience optimally. Even now through my own online marketing communications, I make sure that I spread them across a variety of mediums, and make sure I top it off with a friendly OPT-IN e-mail to my list.

5. Content is KING.
Because of the viral nature of the online space, and how people can share things with others in their own sphere, you've got to make sure that the content you provide is something more than just a message. Is it a social media site you've set up? Why are people going to congregate there? Probably because it's something real "buzz"-y that they can't get anywhere else. And because they WANT to be there. And that's going to come from some amazing content efforts and thought on your part.

If you've got the beans to spend on digital content more power to ya! But, not all of us have that capability, and we have to rely on YouTube and CGC (Consumer Generated Content), which btw has the ability to be broadcast during Super Bowls!! So, what does that say about what people want?? It's great news for us, we just need to get those creative juices flowing.

Again, just like taking out a radio ad will NOT guarantee that your audience will hear you (especially since with radio, repetition is a MUST), taking out an ad just because it's online doesn't mean it will work either. It is shown that that is where advertisers are having the most success (see the graph above from eMarketer), but just like traditional advertising/marketing relied on knowing your audience, make sure you are prepared to make the shift to digital! There's alot more to it than meets the eyeball. (somehow, that just doesn't have the same ring to it as with competition...)

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How to Build Your Brand in Social Media For Your Job Search

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:07:00 +0000

This weekend, I hosted my first face-to-face social media strategy session for job seekers. I wanted to pay it forward and help my fellow project managers with tips on using social media for your job search. That is what inspired this latest video I created.

Some focused branding strategies based on each person’s use of social media, LinkedIn profile revamp and specific online activity recommendations, and some automating tools and techniques to keep the whole engine running.
The main focus was on LinkedIn, and how you can tap into groups, your networks, and advanced search.

We talked about minimizing efforts in receiving information (especially with RSS feeds) and then sharing that valuable information with various social networks, especially LinkedIn groups. We also discussed making the content precise and targeted based on goals. That’s strategy at its finest.
From all that was discussed in this private session, I found that using the example of my own online activity showing up in Google Search, was eye-opening for the small group. Have you Googled yourself lately? If you are a business, you probably have, as well as look for your competitors, but the ANALYTICS are very important if you want to see what a recruiter will see when they look for you. Google alert - it doesn’t hurt! It would hurt more if the recruiter didn’t find you and moved on, right?

Some of you may be just Spectators, and that’s OK.

But if you are looking for a job, and social media is free, how can you not tap into it? Well, except your time, but use tools to help you automate as much as possible.

There are new tools popping up every day, and there always will be. Come to think of it, if you want to keep on top of a Certified Project Manager who’s a Social Media Strategist, you can automate and subscribe to this blog, right? Look forward to hearing from you!

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Ford's Approach to Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:32:00 +0000

It's great to hear a company that is using social media and recognizing their niche offerings when approaching twitter their social media efforts, especially twitter. You don't have to lump the conversation all under one umbrella, but you can focus your messages and have intelligent conversation with customers by segmenting your market's needs (i.e. customer service, product line, etc.). Would have liked to have heard Scott Monty more, as his dialogue was brilliantly focused on the customer and serving their needs. Kiwibox seems like a valuable offering, for a very targeted teen market. I just think they are very different offerings, and could have been best served with two separate discussions. I most wanted to hear about one of the leading U.S. company's successful use of social media - Ford Motor Company. Enjoy!

WOW - my 1st screen capture: How To Insert YouTube Video on a SlideShare/LinkedIn Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:51:00 +0000

via screenr.com

Blame it on the optimization gene - I love Web 2.0 tools, and have to thank @PhilBaumann for sharing this one with me. After having shared how to pull an RSS feed for LinkedIn/Q&A, I wanted to return the favor by doing the same for him and others - a really cool video with how to insert video in your slideshare presentations on LinkedIn- especially if your tips are about LinkedIn! That's the audience that needs your tips, now go make 'em say WOW! :)

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The Close Relationship Between Bloggers and Marketers - eMarketer

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:41:00 +0000

via emarketer.com

Great post by eMarketer.com with good survey coverage.

So out of a sample size of 233, surveyed recently, a whopping 100% of them were contacted by PR firms. What does that mean for bloggers? What does it mean for PR firms?

Well, I think that the audience is valuable for both - for bloggers, they get to receive the content that is of most value to THEM, pertaining to some subject matter of importance - and noted as EQUALLY important to maintain transparency.

And for PR firms, the audience of bloggers is of value to them because they can spread the word, hopefully of what the PR firms tells them to spread. I found it very fitting recently when mommy bloggers instituted a blackout.

But I DO think that the value of transparency for marketers is critical. Especially since it is obvious that businesses taking on social media have SOME marketing objective, and PR objectives in mind, with a return on their investment needed.

So marketers need to take note that bloggers are ON it. They get their value, and know their place - so to tap in, join the conversation and add VALUE. You can have a place in the blogger line, you just have to have some currency in your wallet when you get to the register to check out!

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Which Social Media Channels Should You Be Using?

noreply@blogger.com (Vickie Smith) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:41:00 +0000

via socialmediatoday.com

Just a quick microblog post today, for this SocialMediaToday post by Jordan Julien. He really shares the point that social media needs to be customized, for your own particular needs - and he does a really quick breakdown or the pros of each, whether you're a business or a consumer.

And I thought the visual really popped, too.

So let's see, if blogs are best used for B2B, I guess you came because you have some interest in social media, definitely for learning how to best use and optimize the medium. Maybe it's for your business, or maybe you're a job seeker, who's in the business of selling their services for employment. Either way, it's a business interest we both have. Do you agree? Please post your comments. Love to hear!

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