The International Olympic Committee has a rule titled “Rule 40″ that is barring the promotion of any non-official Olympic sponsor from getting any promotion of any kind during the Olympic games from the athletes that they do, in fact, officially sponsor.  This rule encompasses social media.

What’s the issue here?  Well, their are over 10,500 Olympic athletes participating in this years games and the majority of them do not make money off of their sport especially athletes from the United States.  Social Media actually gives these athletes an opportunity to promote their sponsors during the Olympics.  This is an opportunity they have never had before.

Now, I agree that the Olympic Games are not about money.  But we are not talking about adding brands to the uniforms or making Olympic athletes look like Nascar Drivers.  We are simply talking about mostly very humble, young, quaint athletes using social media to thank some of the companies that helped get them there via social media.  I do not see the harm.

If you are still with me, challenge your editing skills to see just how concise you can get your messaging while maintaining impact. Microblogging is in, short messages with impact will drive your message and the time spent on the long company memo is simply better spent drinking a cup of coffee. Copy is a tricky balance and too much can bore your audience. If you have to have it, add in subheadings, visuals and lists to break up the text and keep the audience engaged.

-Kelly

photo sources:

http://visboo.com,

http://www.indiaonrent.com,

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com

I am aware of the facts about how blogging drives traffic to websites and how large companies have advanced with the utilization of social media and I know how many people are on Twitter (175 million). Despite this, I still have trouble giving advice as to the implementation of social media as a form of marketing that has direct benefit.

I have found that when I put social media in the context of public relations, I have an easier time conceptualizing results.  Companies believe in the value of having a public relations team that pushes stories, maintains relationships and is well connected within the community.  Social media platforms are the outlet for public relations and public relationships.

Two bloggers who I cross paths with regularly have very different views on this topic.  To learn more about why social media is NOT public relations click here, and to learn about why social media IS public relations, click here.  I would strongly encourage you to check out their opinions and see where it falls within your organization’s conversation.

-Kelly

photo source: designbeep.com

Several large name companies are pleasantly surprised at the positive reaction they are receiving from their customers through social media outlets. Companies are seeing an increase in brand awareness and perception, but more importantly, they are seeing an increase in sales. Does this change the way that companies will reach out to their customers? Will this have an impact on how companies have traditionally advertised? Is social media the new tv commercial?

It is an interesting way to think about how one would promote their business. Social media outlets let you get information out there, but you never really know what that means for business until you have data like this……….an increase in sales!

I believe the key to this success is customer engagement. Asking for customer’s opinions, having give-aways for customers, asking them for pictures and videos, this is the key to increasing your business. People like to feel a part of stuff, when you are asked what you think, to post pictures, to win prizes, you are a part of it.

It will be interesting to see the wave of the future. Will social media replace traditional means of advertising?

-Jackie

http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/ana-wheat-thins-southern-comfort-dominos-ragu_b24369

Did you spot the grammatical error?

Since perfect grammar is a goal, not always a reality, we must ensure that the quest for perfection does not bind our hands and prevent us from delivering a message. A grammatical error is not as significant in social media because the platform enables us to correct the error immediately. Mistakes also provide an opportunity for people to compose an email comment that would make their fifth grade English teacher proud, when they correct you publically.

As marketers and perfectionists, we want to appeal to our entire audience and position ourselves as experts within our fields. Striving to use correct grammar strengthens personal brands and public perceptions of intelligence. Simply put, there is no good reason to turn people off of your message, just because you did not take the time to proofread.

YourDictionary.com covers five common grammatical mistakes and the corrections. Check out this list, and hopefully, get a few pointers. My advice is to strive for the best, quickly correct mistakes and make sure to deliver the message.

-Kelly (geekier than ever, in a good way)

Photo source: http://vaban.tumblr.com/

Recently I noticed a trend in restaurants – younger couples having dinner, not absorbed in conversation but rather by their smart phones. You can argue that they might be texting to each other, and maybe some of them are. Is Social Media replacing the Social Life? Is Facebook replacing the old fashioned backyard barbeque parties? Is Twitter replacing casual gatherings at cocktail hour? Are LinkedIn and Webinars replacing the old fashioned meetings and interviews? You might say that this a ridiculous thought. But is it? Think of the communication methods and devices available 20 years ago versus today. In past we used to write letters and send these in mail. Last week I found a handwritten cover letter from the 1990 sales file. When was the last time you sent a hand written correspondence to your customer?

Today, company websites are taking over the functionality of a salesman. A perfect website will attract the prospects with updated blog contents, webinars and technical papers. Prospects then will be converted into the sales leads through well designed landing pages. What about 20 years from now? Advanced technology with artificial intelligence will recognize the need, prepare the sales proposal, and convert it into the order. The mainstream of business people (today’s teenagers) won’t appreciate the personal phone calls or traveling to personal meetings, these take too much of their valuable time. Can we as marketers keep up with these changes? Or will we be replaced by an intelligent machine? What do you think?
- Kristel

http://blog.growingleaders.com/generation-iy/leading-the-next-generation-well-over-connected-2/ 

In competitive environments where marketers and leaders are perpetually thinking about their competitors, it’s easy to fall into the differentiation trap of highlighted features and benefits. But do consumers buy based on well-crafted bullet points that “wow” people with your myriad of value propositions, or, do consumers buy primarily based on emotion?

Instead of digressing into the science of consumer behavior and lulling you into a deep sleep, I think it best to illustrate an example of a company that leads with the why rather than the what.

It is hard to dispute that Apple is well-respected in a broad range of electronics. Forbes listed Apple as the most valuable brand in the world in 2010.

Simon Sinek beautifully restates Apple’s messaging: “everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently….. we just happen to make computers.”

Apple has reached such a point where the public does not question their product extensions. Sinek claims this is because people have bought into Apple’s “why” which has had more marketing power than their “what.”

Does your organization have a “why” behind their existence? Does the “why” influence overall marketing and serve as a motivator for employees and stakeholders?

* Image compliments of cult-branding.com

____

JP Anderson serves as Director of Admissions at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY. He is currently completing a Master of Science in Strategic Marketing at Roberts Wesleyan College.

1. Contests or Sweepstakes
2. They are a current customer
3. Interesting or entertaining content.

Not only are current customers following or liking your brand, they are influencing their friends to also follow this brand. More than half of Facebook users are following 2-5 different brands every day. Take into consideration that there are more than 200 million active users…..and over 100 million users login at least once a day….For Twitter, 13 percent of the online US adults aged 18 and older use Twitter, up from eight percent in November 2010…..isn’t it time your brand considered social media? People want to get involved and interact with their favorite brands.

Wonder what the top brands are…

-Facebook
-YouTube
-Disney
-CocaCola
-Starbucks

Have you heard of these companies? It’s time to get on board!

-Jackie

http://blog.getsatisfaction.com/2011/06/29/what-makes-people-follow-brands/?view=socialstudies

picture, compliments of:  rinehartrealty.com

The purpose of this blog is for graduate learners to share key learnings from their programs. Maybe it’s an article that you read that you want to share. Maybe it’s a photo that you took and it reminds you of a priniciple or idea you learned in class.

The point is to share what you’re thinking about marketing, internet marketing, social media, MROI (marketing return on investment), connectivity, collaboration and on and on.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.