Persuasive Picks for the week of 09/12/11

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Christine Perkett

4 Social Media Lessons SMBs Can Learn From IBM
This SmallBizTrends.com post from Lisa Barone shares four great takeaways for SMBs that came out of a recent interview she conducted with Ed Abrams, IBM’s Vice President of Marketing for Midmarket Business.

Social Media and Content Marketing: A One-Night Stand?
Lee Odden from the TopRank Online Marketing blog guest posts on Clickz.com with this look into why B2B marketers should consider mapping out a social content plan instead of creating and publishing individual, non-cohesive content-based campaigns.

Putting Content in Context
MarketingProf‘s Ann Handley expands on the power of content after an inspiring trip to the recent (and first-ever) Content Marketing World conference in Cleveland. She also includes a great video that opened the event and really puts “content into context.“

Re-evaluate b2b social strategy to reach tech buyers
BtoBOnline.com‘s Charlotte Woolard shares an informative Q&A conducted with Forrester‘s Kim Celestre that reveals how technology marketers need to look beyond thinking that social networks are (the) strategy.

Andy’s Answers: How Mattel used social media to build excitement around Hot Wheels’ record-breaking stunt
Toy giant Mattel has been putting a loy of money into social this year and their recent “Fearless at the 500” campaign drew quite a bit of attention both online and off. Andy Sernovitz from Smartblogs.com highlights some of the big ideas behind the campaign. Mattel’s Betsy Burkett and Gretchen de Castellane can be seen recapping the case study here as well:

Persuasive Picks for the week of 03/21/11

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Christine Perkett

Pepsi Refresh: Social Media’s Pearl Harbor or Waterloo?
This post by Chris Yeh on the Agency Collaboration blog responds to Bob Hoffman’s “scorching” Ad Contrarian post with a fresh and insightful view on the highly publicized Pepsi Refresh campaign.

Why I’m Glad I Went to SXSW (Despite My Reluctance): One Virgin’s Experience
Fresh off the heals of our own @missusP’s post about her first-time SXSW experience comes this entertaining recap from MarketingProf‘s Ann Handley. And yes, this is the second week in a row that Ms. Handley has appeared in our picks…let the rumors begin! ;)

Three social media marketing techniques that brands should probably ditch
Econsultancy tech reporter Patricio Robles provides a short list of social marketing techniques that brands should consider avoiding when deploying new campaigns.

Why Social Media is Perfect for Small Businesses
TMCnet.com contributing editor Gary Kim shares the results of a recent American Express survey that revealed that word of mouth is still one of the primary ways small businesses gain new customers - which is also one of the benefits of a properly executed online social strategy.

Facebook Questions Goes Where Quora Can’t
Quora certainly rocked the “buzz meter” in the beginning of 2011. ReadWriteWeb‘s Mike Melanson shares highlights from Facebook‘s announcement of its newly enhanced Questions feature that will make it more valuable to users.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 02/28/11

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Christine Perkett

Understanding the Social Media ROI Cycle
The 60 Second Marketer‘s Jamie Turner shares some excellent insight into Social Media ROI and the various phases of a social campaign via this guest post on Mashable.

Lessons From a Corporate Insider: Dream Big, but Think Small
Leading the charge to convince corporate communications of the benefits of moving into the the social space can be a tremendous challenge. This post from Mark Ivey on MPDailyFix.com provides some good tips, along with a personal experience story direct from Mark. As an added bonus, additional advice from the community continues on in the comments section.

Proof of Life: 4 Reasons Why B2B Marketing Lives On
MPDailyFix turned up this other great pick by way of this Pro-B2B post from Carlos Hidalgo who shares “our reasons why B2B marketing is still alive and kicking.“

Expand Your Social Media Mix: Twitter Alone is Not Enough
This excellent post from Jeremiah Owyang hits the nail on the head by urging readers to add a little more “steak” (more substantial content) to their social media mix. Several social tool alternatives are shared to help get you away from focusing on Twitter as your primary content sharing vehicle.

Why the digital agency will never die
In this iMediaConnection.com post. JetSet Studios CEO, Russell Scott shares his take on why digital agencies are here to stay and how the “story” is at the center of it all.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 02/14/11

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Christine Perkett

Choosing the best social media buttons for your site
Help keep your website from reaching “button overload” with this post from Memeburn.com‘s Alistair Fairweather. He provides helpful tips on how to select the proper sharing buttons for your site, where they should be place and how to implement them.

How the Auto Industry Is Embracing Social Media
Not every brand has the budget and resources to execute on a social strategy like the major auto manufacturers do, but we can always dream right?! Check out this post from Mashable‘s Todd Wasserman that shares a great infographic series depicting many of manufacturer’s social campaigns and stats.

How to Overcome 4 Social Media Headaches
TopRankBlog‘s Lee Odden shares 4 helpful tips for getting through the potentially “painful” side of executing a social campaign from start to finish - especially when it comes to pleasing the top brass.

Mainstream Media Still Drive Majority of Twitter Trends
Nick Bilton from the NY Times Bits blog shares highlights from a recent HP Social Computing Research Group study that found mainstream media sources to be the launch point for most trending topics in the social space.

The 8 Most Greatest Tips to Write Unstoppably Killer Headlines Guide Ever
Writing a catchy and engaging headline that will draw readers in is important regardless of whether you’re writing a blog post or a press release. Brush up your skills with some great tips from Eric and Michael Cummings in this guest post on Problogger.net.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 01/31/2011

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Christine Perkett

Digg Updates Design to Draw Users Back
Remember the days when part of your social strategy was to try and get your articles voted to the front page of Digg? Those days are long gone and Digg almost is as well. Mashable‘s Ben Parr highlights Digg’s recent user interface change in order to regain some of the popularity it once had.

Why Social Media Hasn’t Killed The Super Bowl For Advertisers
Seems like big brands are still willing to pay big bucks for ad spots on the one day that viewers won’t fast forward their DVRs through the commercials. Find out why, in this post from Antony Young on Forbes.com.

Digital Divide: Segregation Is Alive and Well in Social Media
Pepper Miller provides an eye-opening and very interesting look into how ethnic Internet users congregate in the online social space via this post on AdAge.com.

What to Consider When Executing Your Social Media Strategy
Fiorella Alvarado from MoreVisibility.com shares four tips to help you take advantage of opportunities and avoid pitfalls when executing your new social strategy.

Mattel Launches Digital Campaign Aiming To Reunite Barbie & Ken
Erica Swallow shares details from Mattel‘s new massive online (and offline) social campaign to reunite Ken and Barbie. This should definitely be a fun one to keep an eye on.