August 2010 - Posts

• Supercharge your brand with online video

  Aug 11 2010

  According to Nielsen, more than 9 billion video streams were viewed in the U.S. in March, and demand is growing. Here are some tools to get those eyes on your video. Aggregators: Sites like YouTube, Vimeo and funnyordie stream your video and make it searchable. Tip: Follow all upload instructions for maximum quality and add tags for searchability.   Mobile Programming: Smartphones give your video on-the-go viewership. Tip: For the most mobile-friendly content, swap flash formats for .3GP and use compatible aggregators. Viral Seeding: Promote your video using aggregators, social bookmarks, blog/video comments and social networks. Tip: Keep it relevant. Viewers can smell an empty sales pitch a mile away. Branded Entertainment: Create original programs that focus on a softer-sell approach via sponsorship and product placement. Tip: Don't micro-manage - too strict of a message can make it feel contrived. no comments

• Four simple tips for writing online

  Aug 11 2010

  1. Don't overshare - People post too much information. Twitter and Facebook make it easy to dash off a tweet or status update and you may not think about possible ramifications. Tweeting about confidential or personal information can backfire. 2. It's business - Social media allows you to have a more personal connection with colleagues and business associates, so your posts can be friendly, but not as casual or edgy as you'd send to a friend. Tweets don't allow much room for nuance, normally expressed with a look or voice inflection.   3. Double check - Once upon a time, no business communication ever went out without being scrutinized for errors. This is still crucial today, as sloppiness can have severe consequences. Check for typos, misspellings or grammatical mistakes. Make sure you're sending to the intended target. The auto-fill isn't always your friend, and be sure you're not replying to all unintentionally. 4. Write correctly - Don't use texting language for business emails. It makes sense on Twitter, given its truncated format, but try to avoid this. In an email, use proper capitalization and spelling, and no emoticons or cute abbreviations. c what i mean? omg :)   Keep it professional, people. Write on. From "Four Fatal Online Writing Mistakes" Lifestyle, American Express no comments

• Who gives a <bleep> about the Oxford comma?

  Aug 11 2010

  Who says no one cares about punctuation anymore? When indie rock band Vampire Weekend made a recent appearance on "The Colbert Report," the host took the group to task for its song "Oxford Comma," which opens with, "Who gives a <bleep> about the Oxford comma?"  Who does? Stephen Colbert, for one. The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the final comma in a series (e.g., "I'll have a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich"). It's been subject to great debate ever since the highly influential "The Elements of Style" (pro-OC) and the Associated Press Stylebook (anti-OC) first divided on the issue. Journalist Lynne Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" went as far as to state, "A passage peppered with commas - which in the past would have indicated painstaking and authoritative editorial attention - smacks simply of... out-of-date reference books." Ouch. Take that, Colbert. Even in an era of truncated texts and tweets, punctuation remains important to communications. But that doesn't mean the rules can't (and don't) change. A moment of silence for the Oxford comma...  with 1 comment(s)

• Why are you following us?

  Aug 11 2010

  Social media is all the rage in the marketing world, but what do consumers really want out of "liking" or "following" your brand?   While it's true that most consumers expect to receive some sort of special offer, many - including the most active users - also want a high level of interaction. Two recent studies indicate that sales and specials continue to be the prime motivator for those who "follow" or "like" a brand online. But what's recently come to light is that the importance of savings is followed closely by a desire to learn about new products, features or services. On average, social media power users (those with at least 500 social connections) were less interested in getting deals. Instead, they cared about new products and company culture. Whether on Twitter, Facebook or MySpace, providing the deeper engagement expected by these types of users will help you truly connect with your brand advocates - leading the way for success. For more information, read eMarketer's What Social Followers Want. with 1 comment(s)