4 [Social Media] Failures and a Success
Sometimes the best way to learn is through your mistakes. This time around, IT blogger Peter Thomas share four of his own failures and the lessons he learned along the way. He caps off his SocialMediaToday.com post by sharing one of his personal successes as well.

How the U.S. Army is Using Social Media
ReadWriteWeb‘s Founder & Editor-in-Chief Richard MacManus shares this very interesting look into how the U.S. Army uses the web and various social platforms to share stories, interact with its online community and enhance recruiting efforts.

5 Reasons Google+ Is Not A Facebook Killer
Google+ has certainly been the focus this past week as millions of users rush through the flood gates to kick the tires on the new shiny social platform. However, not everyone is convinced that Google has come up with something that can be in it for the long haul. Dave Davies provides five reasons why in this post on SearchEngineWatch.com.

The Four Fundamentals of Social Media
Digital Media Consultant Dan Taylor shares a ton of great information and advice to businesses that might be trying to do everything all at once when it comes to their social media presence.

Image Credit: Leo Reynolds

Say it with Me: ‘Social Media is Part of Marketing’
Many marketers are drawn to social media with the impression that it can provide instant gratification, and most are sorely disappointed after approaching it with that attitude. This SocialMediaToday post from Wendy Bryant urges marketers to view social media as an integrated part of their overall marketing strategy, and she shares a personal experience of how human connection and social media make for marketing success.

5 fantastic examples of interactive video
Many brands have started experimenting with their online video efforts by adding interactive elements to their productions that help drive user engagement and provide a more direct call to action. This iMediaConnection post from Dave Sanderson provides five examples of brands that have incorporated interactive elements into their efforts and the reasons why each one was a success.

Which Social Media Channels Matter the Most?
Choosing which social media platform will get the most attention can be a challenging, but necessary, task. Marketer Ernan Roman provides some insight on how to go about selecting the correct channels on which to focus your interactions – via this article on HuffingtonPost.com.

Social Media Usage By SMBs Often Ad-Hoc
InformationWeek‘s Kevin Casey shares the results of a recent SMB Group study that revealed while small- and medium-sized businesses are more apt to engage in social media than in prior times, many are still doing so without any formal strategy in mind.

Down the rabbit hole into the land of social media
Mvelase Peppetta shares an entertaining comparison between the various personalities you’ll engage with in the social space and the classic characters from the Wizard of Oz, via this post on Memeburn.com.

The Reports of B2B Marketing’s Demise are Greatly Exaggerated
Dianna Huff continues to wave the flag in support of B2B marketing – providing some great links to proof points that it truly is NOT dead.

Which Social Media Sites Are Most Beneficial?
Lisa Barone share the results of a recent Adology survey (via eMarketer) that shows which social sites were seen as most beneficial to small businesses. Make the jump to see the results.

Many Brands Don’t Track Social Media Conversations
The fun with “stats” continues with this post on MarketingProfs that shares the results of a survey from Alterian that revealed nearly one-third of marketers surveyed have little or no understanding about social conversations around their brand(s).

Ten Useful Hacks to Make Things Happen
Valeria Maltoni updates her popular “Ten Useful Hacks” post from last March, with this post that will help “make your distractions disappear so you can meet your goals.” It’s a highly informative post that I definitely recommend. Click it now…before you get distracted!

Well, if you follow me on Twitter and were on this weekend, you likely heard about my recent experience with Toyota and specifically, McGee Toyota in Hanover, MA. It wasn’t pretty. So here’s my haiku for you based on my weekend – if you’d like the full story, read my blog post about the experience – and why it’s crucial for your sales team to understand that customer relationships are way more valuable than customer deals.

Toyota was wrong
Happy customers tell friends
Angry ones tell all

Now that the negative one is out of the way, here are two positive ones – because happy customers should share loudly, too.

Jet Blue I love you
Thanks for TVs and smiles
You get customers

Ideeli is cool
They sell lovely things to me
And they engage me

Follow the brand haiku to Bryan Person and his tribute to Nike, and see more haikus from those amazing marketers by watching Twitter for the hashtag #brandhaiku.

Thanks for the fun, creative and great idea – and invitation – Aaron! Readers, if you have a brand haiku, please play along in the comment section and on Twitter.

6 Ways to Lose Customers, Credibility And Friends On Social Media

B2Bs Tap Social to Boost Search
This eMarketer post highlights a recent study showing that B2B marketers are finding positive results from their online social efforts, but not all are following through with proactive monitoring – and as a result, might be leaving additional opportunities on the table.

Google’s Schmidt taking small steps into social
People’s anticipation that Google has been secretly working on a monster social platform to challenge the likes of Facebook was brought down a few notches after Google CEO, Eric Schmidt‘s,  Zeitgeist 2010 conference presentation.

Debunking 5 Myths About Content Marketing
You’ve probably heard the phrase “content is king” on more than one occasion, but regardless of how many times it’s said, companies still feel overwhelmed with the idea of creating new content (consistently) for publishing on social platforms. This post by ConversationAgent, Valeria Maltoni, clears up five misconceptions that often come with the territory in content marketing.

What people are saying about upcoming Twitter redesign
Paul McNamara from NetworkWorld‘s Buzzblog shares various perspectives from notable industry voices on this week’s interface redesign announcement from Twitter. Here’s Twitter’s official promotional video for the redesign – including a glimpse of the interface towards the end (if you missed it earlier).

Image: respres (via Flickr)

Is Facebook Headed For Trouble?
Informationweek contributing writer Michele Pepe-Warren shares the results of the 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Business report that reveals Facebook might be the most used, but its definitely not the most loved.

Study: Social Media Marketing Reduces Reputation Crisis Costs by 33%
The past year has shown numerous brands making the wrong decision when it comes to the use social media for crisis management. This post from Andy Beal shares data from a new Forrester report that shows properly structured social marketing initiatives can save money in addition to reputation.

3 Simple Strategies For Your Social Tactics
This post from Samir Soriano on B2C Marketing Insider shares three tips to help provide more value to your customers when executing your finely crafted social strategy.

Old Spice guy and his viral media coup are social media game-changers
This week’s picks couldn’t end without a nod to the ever popular Old Spice Social Media Campaign. There are numerous posts covering their efforts, but this one from Rob Dickens on Memeburn.com does a really nice job of chronicling the brand’s efforts stemming back to the 70’s.

The Value of the ReTweet
Donna Maria from the Indie Business Blog explains the value of “re-tweets” through the result of a month long Twitter experiment she conducted with her fellow colleagues.

Toyota: Way too little, way too late & what they should have done
While the whirlwind of bad press haunting Toyota is far from over, B.L. Ochman recaps the events that started it all, how Toyota reacted and what they should have done to ease the harsh reactions.

Why Social Media Is the New Agency-Client Relationship Builder
Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni focuses on the need for companies to consolidate their agency relationships down to one that can provide multiple services (like we do!).

Examples of social media policies
The topic of a Social Media Policy comes up within almost every company when they first begin to engage in the space. This post by Drew McLellan provides a list of many existing examples to help you get started on your own policy.

A need for social media etiquette
So you’ve made that first step into the world of social media and it’s beginning to get exciting. AP business writer Barbara Ortutay shares this post on The Tenessean.com that advises readers to use a little restraint and put more thought into what they share on social networks.

Social media – PR’s new BFF
Do PR and Social Media go together like chocolate and peanut butter? The results of a recent study posted on bizcommunity.com seems to point in that direction. Read on for more.

The 10 Myths of Social Media
This post by Mikal Belicove on the Entrepreneur.com blog reiterates “10 Social Media Myths” by Eric T. Bradlow, co-director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Interactive Media Initiative. Bradlow recently presented these myths to B2B marketing and advertising professionals at the Lift Summit.

Why B2B Companies Have a Distinct Advantage Online
Another great post from Valeria Maltoni that includes additional links to helpful information for B2B’s.

FACEBOOK FAIL: How to Use Facebook Privacy Settings and Avoid Disaster
Alison Driscoll explains (on Mashable)how to utilize Facebook’s privacy features to help organize what you share between personal and professional Facebook use.

What is Your Wikipedia PR Strategy?
At close to 60,000 page requests a second, Wikipedia is a highly utilized source of information. Mark Rose from PRBlogNews.com shares reasons why agencies should consider establishing a strategy for dealing with clients and Wikipedia.

Here Comes Twitter Spam And How To Fight It
Have you noticed the influx of spam on Twitter lately? We certainly have. Techcrunch reports that several Twitter client developers have some ideas on how to fight back.

How do You Build Value with Micro Updates for a Time-Starved, Information-Intensive World?
Valeria Maltoni taps into how the usefulness, credibility, and quality of content can help build community. She analyzes cause examples such as the Twitter stream by CDC – which went from a 1,000 to 46,000+ followers  in a matter of hours – and Tyson Foods‘ Hunger Relief.

Don’t be that guy
If you’re new to social media/networks and haven’t done your homework on the do’s and don’ts of online community engagement, then you might be “that guy.” Shannon Paul helps readers identify the traits of “that guy” and provides tips to get them back on the road to recovery.

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
Chris Brogan pumps out another great mega-list to help businesses wrap their heads around using Twitter

Why the Embargo Process Is Broken and Why We Still Need It
Louis Gray expands on the topic of press release embargoes, their importance to businesses and why they need to be honored by blogger and journalists alike.

Don’t Tell, Show Them!
A lot of bloggers have picked up on the Electronic Arts/Tiger Woods YouTube video response this week, but Valeria Maltoni kicks it up a notch by sharing a few techniques that center around whey execution matters. Watch the video, absorb the tips and have a great weekend!

What Traits Define a Social Media Marketer?
Tamar Weinberg gathers responses from some of the top names in social media, blogging, marketing and SEO to help define the essential skills required for todays social media consultants.

Social Media is not Community
Rachel Happe, of The Social Organization blog and new employee at Mzinga (PerkettPR client) helps clear up the confusion with the differences between “social media” and “community.”

Personal Brand Equity for Rent
Valeria Maltoni discusses how companies will need to adapt to handle employees who are continuing to grow powerful personal brands.

Nine Signs of an Effective Blog Post
Problogger.net guest writer, Dustin M. Wax offers up nine tips to to help maximize the success of every blog post you write.

Google Analytics Help: Questions, Answers, Tips, Ideas, Suggestions
Google Analytics guru, Avinash Kaushik answers analytics questions and give tons of tips and help in the monster blog post.

10 Green Social Networks You Should Know
With all sorts of people and businesses jumping on the “Go Green” bandwagon, it was only a matter of time until “Green” oriented social networks started popping up. This post lists 10 such sites that will let you connect with fellow environmentally-minded individuals.

5 Quick Tips on Pitching Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists
PerkettPR’s attendance at multiple TechCrunch, TechCockTail and PopSignal events definitely brought to light that there’s certainly no shortage of start-up companies looking for money. This post from Ben Yokosvitz’s Insigator Blog gives some good advice on successful pitching during your fund raising efforts.

Robert Scoble Joins Up with Revision3
There aren’t many details available about Robert Scoble’s newly announced show (called WorkFast.TV) on Revision3, so we’ll just have to wait and see what comes out in the upcoming weeks. However, this post includes an interesting speech from Scoble about his use of Twitter during the recent Chinese Earthquake.

Celebrity tipping point on Seesmic
Video conversation platform Seesmic created a big buzz earlier this week when several celebrities appeared in interviews on the service. Famous names included Harrison Ford, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg to name a few.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Persuasive Picks and for those in the United States – have a great Memorial Day weekend!