Update

To be continued shortly....

DIY Marketing? Or old fashioned street level promotion...

While I appreciate the ingenuity that this article suggests, I'm far from thinking it's a brand new concept. Being in media, and knowing how a lot of local promotions are created, this isn't far from that same tactics that a lot of businesses use.  The idea is to combine yourself or your product and bring it to people, on a personal level.  Now in music, this probably is something new.  Rather than embarking on a concert series, they are breaking down the typical barriers and making an 'On Demand' model.  Pretty cool.  And it highlights and even more interesting thought, which is borrowing best practices from other industries and bringing them to yours.

Social Media Analytics

With Social Media applications and strategies being so quickly thrown into the greater marketing mix of a lot of business models, the need for a comprehensive analytics platform is incredibly important.  Even for smaller businesses, it is not good enough to simply 'be out there', hoping for a word-of-mouth snowball effect.  If you cannot make use of the information, it is a relatively meaningless endeavour.

I will let the article speak for itself, but the application is called Kontagent, and so far it's free.. One top level takeaway is that your actions as a company can have a critical, blindingly quick impact on your 'viral loop', or your social impact.  It would carry then that your actions and decisions carry that much more importance, and so should your data.

Followup: Geolocation Services

A good evaluation of what are some looming issues with geolocation based services and the impending swarm of location based messaging and marketing tactics.  Despite the real problem of aimless apps and the impending deluge of services/spam/messaging, I think consumers always keep up rather well by using equally great tools to filter their to their liking.  The one major concern I have is the below.

"Crime Cataclysm, Stalker Apps and Misrepresentation. With vase amounts of personal-location information being exposed, we're bound to see a rise in potentially damaging behavior. Ages ago (in 2009) a man tweeted about a family trip to Kansas City, only to return to a burgled home. What did he do? He blamed Twitter. On the flip side, I would be remiss if I didn't mention PleaseRobMe.com, a site that displayed Foursquare check-ins in real time, essentially listing "all those empty homes out there." The site is no longer active, but it caused quite a stir and fueled much debate when it launched in February of 2010. That sound you hear is consumer confidence gasping about the dangers of geolocation."

Some scary scenarios come to mind, don't they?  

Geo-mapping and the future of mobile advertising

There's seems little doubt about where the future of cutting edge marketing and advertising is going.  Developers and corporate marketing groups are starting to focus on what seems to be the grand prediction: that stationary computing and passive advertising will soon be trumped by mobile and geo-targeted communications.

It certainly seems quite clear that mobile technology has exploded, and that nothing really stands in its way.  It will be fascinating to see how GPS and Bluetooth technologies will be integrated into user based handhelds to identify them to their respective environments, and vice versa.  When you think about it, it's as simple as an electronic awareness or how your technology (and therefore you) will integrate with your environment. A great example in what one user references, "I'm still waiting for the life-size holograms that will address me by name when I enter a store, like in "Minority Report."

Edit: Some incredibly useful insights and conclusions introduced by one of the respondents to the article.

1. Equipped with a growing array of sophisticated sensors, mobile phones are morphing into devices that connect users to places, other individuals and location-specific content in new and compelling ways.
2. Leveraging camera phones, object recognition on mobile devices will be regarded as one of the most significant developments of the decade.
3. The ability to scan bar codes - both 1D and 2d versions, such as QR codes - with camera phones will revolutionize the way in which individuals obtain information, shop and more generally experience places.
4. Geotagging is becoming increasingly automated, increasing the amount and accessibility of posts, images and other location-specific user-generated content.
5. As more content is geotagged more precisely, the accuracy of "nearby results" is also likely to improve, further reinforcing and boosting usage.
6. Augmented Reality (AR) transforms the way in which users find and view location-specific content.
7. The leading incumbent providers are losing their grip on geodata and digital maps.
8. Once limited to imprecise, "locked-down" location information from mobile operators, developers can now choose from an array of methods and providers to locate users more quickly, with greater precision and at a lower cost.
9. 3-D geodata will enable new location-based applications in much the same way as early maps opened up new routes and navigation.
10. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are in a fierce battle to capitalize on emerging LBS opportunities.
-- Dr. Phil Hendrix, immr (www.immr.org)

Here it comes: the paid content movement.

There has been a lot of talk from larger online publishers about how to add a pay wall to their existing online content.  One notable example is NYtimes.com, who is considering adding a subscription like wall to some of its content.  Sites like Economist.com already have such a system that saves some content for its paid subscribers.  In this article, the author suggests the use of a micro-payments, or pay as you go, system.  

Of course, there are serious risks and consequences to adding a pay wall.  In the example of NYtimes.com, this would effectively eliminate a tremendous amount of inbound linking via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  With ad revenue already suffering and helping to stir up such a movement, its easy to think about the further damaging effects if you cut down on general traffic.

However, the era of free premium internet content seems limited, and there is no doubt that paid content will be pervasive in the years to come.  That doesn't mean I like it, or think it's a great idea, but at the very least a micro-payments system will help differentiate from lighter users to heavier.  And as the author suggests, a simplified, universal pay system is needed like EZ Pass or PayPal.  Otherwise, users will quickly get fed up of various pay systems and drop off.

Bing Raises Market Share

I have to say I am not typically one to take a bandwagon approach (aka Fanboy) to very much of anything online, but Bing.com has really caught my attention, as it appears others' as well .  And although pitching that Google is becoming too big, and taking Microsoft as the alternative seems nauseatingly ironic, that's some of what I am thinking.

After Vista, Microsoft saws glimpses of their mortality for the first time since probably the mid 90s.  With the emergence of Win7, Bing, and plenty of other successful endeavors, it seems they got the message.  And while Google's products are anything but shabby, it seems their arrogance is climbing at a hefty pace.  That bothers me a little bit but I suppose these large search conglomerate battles are entertaining.

Anyway, try out Bing.com, see the cool homepages, and the search itself is quite easy and accurate.  Apparently, they will be changing the home page 3 times a day to show Olympic photographs during the Vancouver Games as well, pretty cool.

Social Media Integration and Metrics

I find that these are two articles are incredibly helpful with both shaping your social media programs, and implementing metrics to measure their success.

Businesses often stumble on how to implement social programs for marketing purposes, as it differs greatly from traditional marketing practices.  Reference to this guide, can help to construct a framework in which social media programs can be applied to business processes.  From there, metrics remain ever so important to prove these programs worth.  In the past, measurements have fallen into the following groups:

Return on Engagement: The duration of time spent either in conversation or interacting with social objects, and in turn, what transpired that’s worthy of measurement.
Return on Participation: The metric tied to measuring and valuing the time spent participating in social media through conversations or the creation of social objects.
Return on Involvement: Similar to participation, marketers explored touchpoints for documenting states of interaction and tied metrics and potential return of each.
Return on Attention: In the attention economy, we assess the means to seize attention, hold it, and measure the response.
Return on Trust: A variant on measuring customer loyalty and the likelihood for referrals, a trust barometer establishes the state of trust earned in social media engagement and the prospect of generating advocacy and how it impacts future business.

However, as we progress forward and social media utilizes more advanced strategies, simply measuring actions will not sufficiently represent the effects these programs can have, or the cost...or in effect, the return.  In 2010, we should definitely see an advancement in these programs, and their evolution into fundamental marketing strategies.

Translation

There is so much swirling hype and posts (including mine) about how to utilize social media, that it can be honestly overwhelming at times.  Many small businesses are unsure, and probably at this point, not all that interested in digging into all the hype and fanfare around Twitter and Facebook. 

When I was first trying to wrap my head around how to use these tools to accomplish business objectives, it was helpful for me to breakdown social media to its core offering.  So, as an example, I will use a friendly neighborhood hardware store.  So, say you are the owner, and a customer comes in just to look around and see what you have to offer.  Your engagement with that person is likely to be friendly, engaging, conversational and informational.  You are likely to seek out what they are looking to accomplish, what their ideas are and where their pain points reside.  Over time, you may even get to know this individual on a personal level and chat about the family, politics, perhaps sports, and so on.

To take into context with social media, it is not much different.  The only major difference is that you have the option to engage your entire following at one time, or if you wish, just chat up individuals just as you would in your store.  Social media simply changes your medium of exchange.  But if you can't wrap your head around "well, what would I even say?"; just think about your normal day-to-day engagements.  Think about the types of advice and knowledge you share with your customers on a regular basis.  Social media is simply a way to engage your customers when they are not interacting with you directly.  And if you are perceived as adding value to their online experience, your customers will usually come back and bring more with them.

Social Media Cheat Sheet

This is a great hit list of 30 items to consider when formulating or analyzing a social media strategy.  Here are a few of my favorites.

4. Put your website's content to work. Want to draw more traffic to your website? Help spread the word by encouraging visitors to share content they enjoy. GotCast, a website that connects television casting directors with aspiring actors, draws new visitors by posting audition videos on Digg and allowing others to share video links on the site. One way to promote the sharing of your site's content is to install a widget, such as AddThis, that automates linking to popular sites.

Seems obvious, right? Well, amidst all the conversation, it can be sometimes lost that your website is still your fundamental online marketing tool.  And building bridges to it is still a top notch way to drive acquisitions.

13. Make amends with dissatisfied customers, quickly. Andy Carlson, owner of an Ace Hardware store in Denver, once came across an angry Twitter update from a customer who had bought a tool that broke after one use. He resolved the issue in a matter of minutes by referring the customer to an area store and notified him of Ace's lifetime guarantee. Best of all, he was able to catch the complaint after store hours—and prevent negative word of mouth.

More important than ever with the speed of information flow.

28. Boost your credibility by helping others. For service providers, establishing yourself as an expert in the field can bring in a steady stream of business. LinkedIn's Answers feature enables business owners to do just that. Heidi Cool, a Web design consultant in Cleveland, browses LinkedIn Answers for inquiries related to her industry and spends one to two hours per week answering them. In one month, she generated 29 leads for her services directly from her responses.

Customers want companies that truely are interested in their well being, and being seen as a business partner can be invaluable to lead generation.

Beware the Blog?

Here is another short but persuasive article cautioning against being too bullish with your companies social media initiatives.  With all the exuberance surrounding Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other tools, it is often forgotten just how tenuous a customer-company relationship can be.  The one thing I always ask myself when considering a company's social strategy is "can they weather the criticism"? This is both from a brand strength perspective, and the executive or proprietor's comfort level.  Often times online retail distribution models such as Newegg.com thrive on customer comments as it allows for information sharing and customer review.  But their brand is also not on the line, the electronics brands are. Coincidentally, many brands on this site and others have targeted response strategies to consumer complaints that appear in the Newegg comments. However, a single, younger brand may not be able to withstand the criticism as potential consumers look for advice before taking a plunge into the unkown.  Before opening the pipeline, make sure to ask the simple question, "are we really ready?"