For the past two weeks, I have been gathering a list of posts that best provoked real thought. Hope you enjoy them, I know I did.
ad literate : Context is King
... Now, not that I want to rain on the online viewing parade but I do want
to encourage a moment of caution before we all drink the YouTube
Koolaid. Caution inspired by the idea that it’s not only content that
is king, context has a pretty good claim to the throne too... - Here's to hoping the ad networks are reading this post.
advergirl : Social Site Experience: The coolest thing.
... At their best, brands set an expectation for an experience. They
connect what a company does to what it says about itself. Capital was a
project just like that - find the cool, genuine stuff and tell a tight
little story about it... - I wonder how remarkable these social sites will be in 3 years time.
tech n' marketing : 11 Things to Avoid When Using Twitter
... Since Oprah joined Twitter, you can be sure that hundreds of thousands
of “stay-at-home moms” across America have begun tweeting. There are of
course endless debates surrounding this topic and whether this is a
good or bad development, but one thing’s for sure, there are now many
new people joining Twitter who have no idea what they are doing... - Hillel is an old friend, and he's on fire with these Twitter posts.
BL Ochman's What's Next : PR Pitch From Hell
...The subject line "Love your blog! and question" led to the dumbest PR pitch ever... - for my response, I would defer to the Conversation Agent post below.
Chaos Scenario : Social media snake oil
... At the end of the day it's about your competitive environment, your
customer and your strategy. Work on those first and then understand
which tool is the right fit. - Strategy first, tech and toys later. I can buy that.
The Viral Garden : Secrets of the top Marketing and Social Media blogs
I can't find a snippet that summarizes it, but trust me, it's THAT good.
CK Epiphany : Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask...
Wouldn't it be grand if we could tap our collective intelligence and create our own marketing survey ... a research project that was truly "for marketers, by marketers"? Now we can. - I don't have any pithy questions, but I hope you do! This looks like a great project, so ask away!
Conversation Agent : When is it a good idea to include bloggers in your media outreach? (PS - this post wins for best image)
... The best pitch is in fact a conversation... - I wonder how many impersonal social cold pitches actually work.
Greg Verdino : Are you a middle finger marketer?
... It's marketing at, rather than marketing for.
It's investing in the promise of new business rather than in the
reality of your current clients. It has more to do with your ego than
it does with your customers. And to your customers, it probably
amounts to something akin to a tacit "screw you" -- so don't be surprised when your customers reply with, "no, screw YOU." - solid post, but the real kudos goes to the anger and passion, the hard imagery followed by a real marketing lesson
. If you aren't already reading Greg's blog, do yourself a favor and start.
Hee-Haw Marketing : What makes you human?
... We can’t build influence in this space by yelling louder. We must be
good listeners, engaging in reciprocal relationships and mindful of the
needs of others. And to be talked about, we should do all these in ways
that people find worthwhile enough to share. Yes, the sorts of things
likable, interesting people might do... - this is a must read for every marketer chasing social success on twitter, blogs, facebook or "viral". For more, check out the Chaos Scenario post above.
Innovation Playground : What Is Social Branding? What Makes A Brand Social?...
Brand is not just visual images and tag lines, it is the collective emotional response to images and experiences... All broadcast businesses are in big trouble, and user-generated videos are just the beginning. There are more to come... - I don't really agree with much of this post, but it's solid food for thought. Broadcasting is not dead. The mass reach of sweeps TV is better for branding than social. There is a role for both forms of marketing. Doom sayers may be validated in 20 or 50 years from now. But in today's market, major brands should not be dropping all media for social. They should be adjusting their allocation and integrating their marketing. Because percpetion is based on a multitude of inputs, including traditional media!
The Social Marketing Blog : Susan Boyle Knows Something You Don'tGiving them a predictable,
repeatable experience each time they use your product is one way - I'd
say it's the price of entry. No amount of viral videos, marketing
gimmicks or slick mailers are going to matter if you've got a shoddy
product. But beyond what's expected, how are you exceeding expectations, creating the "wow" factor, and still being on a level that they can identify with. - I had a very similar post written a while ago, but then came across Scott's post and decided to link to it instead. My key takeaway: tell a good story, inspire people. Make them believe.
Hope you enjoy them, I know I did!