As a social media consultant, I feel it’s my duty to spend time interacting with other companies online in order to see what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I see it as a way to gauge how many companies not only respect the value of social media, but also to see how many actually spend the time/money to do it right. For instance, recently I had trouble with a Samsung DVD player and made a small...

There are over 350 million people on Facebook, spending 55 minutes per day, and becoming fans of at least 2 pages per month. Every day, thousands of new businesses are realizing that Facebook holds the key to an audience they’ve never been able to reach before. With Facebook advertising, you can spot target by almost any demographic known to man. And unlike regular Facebook profiles, you Fan Pages give...

Too many businesses are playing it safe right now, especially in a time when the environment caters to those that take risks. If playing it safe got you in trouble, then what makes you think that continuing to do so will help you navigate the social media waters? Right now, the new media landscape is like the Wild West…there aren’t any rules, and there are new guys taking over every single day. Speed...

I’ve talked before about how you can use social media platforms, like Twitter, to watch your back, but social media monitoring doesn’t end there. An effective social media campaign will also include the implementation of listening stations, which are essentially, a microphone placed in a crowded room that you can use to see how your brand is being talked about. Sites like Twitter make it easy because...

I wasn’t around when TV replaced radio as the primary form of entertainment in the home, but I can imagine what it must have been like. It’s a Passing Fad I’d bet that some people bought in 100%, while others kept waiting for the fad to pass. But, there were a few savvy entrepreneurs and business owners that saw the potential in TV advertising, and as a result, not only cashed in, but gained...

Some of you might know that I recently co-authored a book called Beyond Blogging, which launched on the 28th of December. The book was a success, and was plastered on blogs all over the web. All of that sounds good so far, but there’s a sidebar to this launch that a lot of people didn’t get to see. The part that felt for a time like trench warfare, even though on the surface it might have looked...

I’m a social media consultant, and I really love what I do. However, one of the things that makes my job difficult is having clients that don’t understand how to use social media or see it is a small process to manage…just so they say they did. I’m not expecting CEO’s and brand managers to completely understand social media, because hell…that’s my job. But, I would like...

As some of you might know, I’m currently going through a product launch, and as it’s my 3rd or 4th, I’ve started to pick up some of the tricks that are useful in creating buzz and hype before a launch. Of course, there are the important things, like making sure the product is good and you have a lot of affiliates ready to help you, but there’s much more to it than that. And now, thanks...

Last week, we talked a bit about building email funnel, which is an important way to manage leads and convert them into buyers. However, that’s just a small piece of the social media marketing funnel. Today, I want to share a video with you that discusses the bigger picture…as in the social media funnel. This funnel should be the the #1 driver of any social media campaign, and if you don’t...

In the past, we’ve talked about the importance of collecting customer and prospect emails in order to implement an email marketing campaign, but we really didn’t get into the tricks of the trade. The truth is, regardless of whether or not you are collecting email addresses, if you aren’t segmenting and setting up funnels, then you are setting your business up for failure. Why? Well, let’s...