5 Best Practices for Digital Marketers in 2012 Jonathan Gardner is director of communications at ad company Vibrant Media. He has spent nearly two decades as an innovator at the nexus of media and technology, having worked in communications leadership roles and as a journalist around the world. The egg nog’s been drunk, the bells are done jingling, and the mistletoe has been taken down. Plus, eMarketer projects a 14.4% increase in U.S. online ad spending, and Google says that video ads improve offline campaign results. Even so, let’s resolve to keep our heads on straight and stick close to the best practices that have been winners in the past – they’ll be the ones to see us through a stellar 2012. 1. These days, we’re talking “word ownership” for online branding. But you’d better get there first — key terms such as “football” and “Valentine’s Day” are sure to be hot tickets in the weeks to come. 2. Relevance reigns in 2012. In 2011, we also saw consumers become more spending-conscious as opposed to simply price-conscious. 3. 4. 5.
Why QR Codes Won't Last Jon Barocas is the founder and CEO of bieMEDIA, a Denver-based online marketing and media solutions company that specializes in video content production and distribution, mobile visual search, technology platforms, SEO, VSEO and more. Like most technology fans, I am always ready and willing to try any technology that promises to simplify my life. QR codes seemed to present an accessible and uniform way for people with smart devices to interact with advertising, marketing and media. Those little squares of code seemed to open a world of opportunity and potential. But after using them for a length of time, I shifted my perspective. My initial honeymoon with QR codes was very short-lived. Consider a recent study by comScore, which states that only 14 million American mobile device users have have interacted with a QR code. Inadequate technology, lack of education and a perceived dearth of value from QR codes are just three of the reasons mobile barcodes are not clicking with Americans.
How To Be a Genius: This Is Apple's Secret Employee Training Manual The Power of Lists and Collected Resources for Social Media Marketing inShare38 To avoid being ignored, follow these tips on what you can do to tap into the social media power of lists and collections. If you've ever been included on a popular list of credible resources online, it feels pretty good, doesn't it? Great lists get socially shared, linked, and emailed, giving those included quite a bit of valuable exposure. By association, the list publisher also gains value in terms of exposure, links, and a connection with list participants. Imagine finding a list of resources for a topic in which you absolutely dominate and yet neither you nor your company is to be found. Lists by nature exclude, so rather than complaining about why you should have been included, either focus on continuing to dominate the category or make an even better list. Plenty of business websites and blogs are making lists this time of year, reflecting on the past 12 months as well as predicting what 2012 has in store. Resource Collections People Lists Sourcing. Creation. Repurposing.
13 Cool Examples of Google+ Brand Pages It was only a few days ago when Google+ finally gave us access to brand pages – the moment we have been anticipating since summer. Now, anyone can create their own business page on Google Plus and it seems that within a few days a lot of businesses have decided to do so. The brand pages are still very limited though – for example it’s not possible for the brand page to have more than one admin at the moment. However, I still prefer Google+ over Twitter for following brands and keeping up with content from the thought leaders in social media and marketing. Here are some Google+ brand pages that I thought looked beautiful and here is our post RT@dreamgrow How to Create a Google+ Page for Your Brand. Adidas Originals five pictures make a cool sneaker. If you still haven’t created a Google+ brand page, please read our guide about how to create a Google+ brand page for your business.
Six Social-Digital Trends for 2013 - David Armano by David Armano | 10:00 AM December 12, 2012 It’s that time of year again — time to take a stab at what’s going to matter in the year ahead as technology continues to influence how we work and live. In previous years, I’ve looked at trends under the “social media” lens because that has been the major disruptive force, creating both opportunities and threats. This year, I’m using the umbrella term “social-digital” to broaden the focus. While I didn’t specifically connect it to the election, social sharing was a trend I cited and one that many of us felt because of the election. And social TV, another trend I saw growing, has continued to gain steam, though interestingly enough it has been TV itself fueling the trend. What has gone mainstream, however, is the micro-economy fueled by once unknown entities such as Kickstarter. So what can we potentially expect to see next year? The Content Economy Content may become your company’s most valuable asset in 2013.
How Social Media is Affecting the Way We Speak and Write — Online Collaboration Do you speak “social?” There is a lot of writing out there about the effects of social media on business, marketing, branding and customer services. But what about how social media communications is impacting our written communications, or even our oral communications? Anyone remember when email was going to destroy letter writing, and even the art of writing altogether? The Impact of “Social Speak” on the Written Word I’d argue that email, SMS and social media communications tools have made irreversible impacts on the way we write, but that is not to say we should write in that “social” manner. The social web has changed the written word in a couple of key ways: 1. 2. “Social” Spoken Here I think that one of the real impacts of social media communications on our general communications is that many of us tend to be much more revealing in business and personal communications than ever before. “Social” as “Anti-Social” stock.xchng images by harrykeely and tecknare respectively
How Pinterest Can Get Your Brand Attention [INFOGRAPHIC] If your brand isn't on Pinterest, you could be missing out on a growing stream of potential customers. While shaping your brand's image on Pinterest, remember to take into account the specifics of the site's userbase. A recent study showed that home, arts and crafts, style/fashion and food are the most popular categories on Pinterest. The food category is the fastest growing segment of Pinterest. SEE ALSO: Pinterest’s First Investor Explains the Secret to the Startup’s Success Even if your brand doesn't directly specialize in these topics, there may be a way to include them in your brand's boards to gain maximum exposure. Take a look at this infographic from web optimization company Maxymiser, and then let us know in the comments if you're altering your plans to take advantage of the explosive growth of Pinterest. Infographic courtesy Maxymiser
6 trends that will shape digital in 2013 (single page view) Digital marketing has already had its share of watershed moments. 2013 is not going to be "the year of the [fill in the blank]." Instead, 2013 is going to build on the digital accomplishments of the past. Our industry is going to continue its refinement based on consumer needs -- and not a marketer's desire to make something big happen. Something big has already happened. According to comScore, there are more than 1 trillion digital interactions monthly. Digital is no longer a subset of the average person's life. How to Make Your Startup Go Viral The Pinterest Way On Thanksgiving, Pinterest’s co-founder Ben Silbermann sent an email to his entire user base saying thanks. It was fitting, as Pinterest was born two years ago on Thanksgiving day 2009. Ben had been working on a website with a few friends, and his girlfriend came up with the name while they were watching TV. Some startups go crazy with hype and users right after launch. Take a look at Pinterest’s one-year traffic on Compete from Oct 2010 to Oct 2011, which is the picture in this post, and shows Pinterest rising from 40,000 to 3.2 million monthly unique visitors. Backing out of Compete’s numbers, we see Pinterest grew about 50% month over month from a base of zero since its inception (on average, smoothing the curve). Note these numbers are approximations and also do not count the significant traffic the service sees from mobile (Pinterest’s app currently takes the #6 social spot in the iTunes store). Can Pinterest really sustain its wild 45% monthly growth?
Twitter + Random Acts of Kindness = A Successful Social Campaign Running out of cereal is usually a problem that one must face on his own. But when David Berkowitz awoke to the dilemma one morning this October, he got some support from an unexpected source. After reading a tweet about his irritation, Edge Shave Gel sent him enough cereal that it should be a very long time before he runs out again. "I’m still eating the cereal they sent me, so the positive brand association continues," says Berkowitz. Since September, 234 people have benefited from similar random acts of kindness from the @EdgeShaveZone Twitter account. In about three months, @EdgeShaveZone has gathered about 1,500 followers, the #soirritating hashtag has been used about 6,800 times, and attention from numerous media outlets has contributed to mounting buzz — all of which likely contributed to Edge's decision to continue the campaign throughout 2011. Using Twitter, Not Changing Twitter When was the last time you used Twitter to rave about a product you use every day?