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Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Tomorrow I will take part in a panel with colleagues who will have varying opinions on what constitutes “distracted driving”. My friend Kyle Perkins is already weighing in on this, so it will be interesting to see what other panelists think. The panel is assembling at the CBS4 Station in Denver and we’ll get to view a segment on the subject, then share our thoughts and opinions, involving our own social networks in what could be a lively discussion.

Before the panel, I decided I would read a bit more on the subject, just to see the other side. I found a moldy article on the subject and had to shake my head, not just at the silliness of the piece, but the softening of the phrase “distracted driver”:

“Multi-tasking behind the wheel is a matter of degree and all drivers are responsible for determining when they need additional self-training activities.”   The rest of the story...

Recently I was involved with a terrific event put on by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce: Social Media 2010 – The Business Edition. It was a well-attended conference and colleagues such as Vococreative and Misty Montano really helped humanize a topic which can often be taken as the end-all-be-all to marketing. There is so much more to social networking and the use of social media tools which is unrelated to business and strongly woven into issues of personal use. Even during my own segment on the topic of “Geolocation: Foursquare for Retail Businesses”, I was only able to graze the other side of geolocation – that of the importance of personal safety. A couple of people in my sessions raised the question, “Aren’t you worried about people knowing where you are?” For me, it’s not as much a question of fear, but of common sense. Mine is not the first, nor will it be the last, but here is a short list of things to keep in mind when using your geolocation tool of choice:   The rest of the story...

Even though Twitter has recently enabled updates that can include your location, it’s pretty clear that applications like Gowalla, Brightkite and Foursquare are burning paths to your customers cell and smartphones. No longer are your customers tethered to their laptops, they are taking their purchasing power on the road – and letting their friends know more quickly than ever before.

And why should you care?

With mobile applications comes mobile decisions, remarks, feedback and more importantly, instant pack mentality.

Consider this: I’m going into Boulder on this sunshiney day to enjoy a margarita on the deck of one of my favorite watering holes. When I arrive,  my Blackberry updates me to tell me of a couple of my buddies who are already here.  My other friends that aren’t even there yet see an update saying that me, Mark and Chris are all at said watering hole, and guess what? We’ve just encouraged a couple friends who were at another place to come join us. Influence is one thing, but what used to take a few phone calls to orchestrate now just takes one “checkin”. The checkin can come to my phone and be sent to multiple social media touchpoints instantly. A social empire is emerging whether you’re using it or not.   The rest of the story...

Spurred by the annoyance of several notable brands (and some virtual unknowns) and their poor use of Twitter, this post has finally bubbled to the top of my consciousness. It’s my shortlist of things I view as pitfalls of Twitter usage. I know, I know, “It’s too young, there are no standards.” But let’s just assume for the sake of conversation that you are a brand (big or small) and you decide to dip your toe into the Twitter pool; whether you know it or not, much like every day conversation, there are some preconceived expectations of the audience you hope to enthrall. After all, you are using it to get customers to beat a path to your door, right? At least that’s what your wunderkind social media marketing guru must have told you: “Customers are on Twitter, we have to set up an account Pronto!” “James, that’s brilliant. I’ve heard about that Twitter thing on CNN.”

So, if have one iota of marketing or customer service sense, please listen up:   The rest of the story...

Talking with a local merchant today, I asked, “Are you on Twitter?” She blushed a little, then replied, “No, me and my business partner are just too busy running this place to keep up with stuff like that. But we do other marketing, like sending out emails.” On the counter, certainly out of eye-shot of the usual customer, was an “email sign up sheet”, curled pages and all. Even the general observer would be able to tell this thing was, (1)not being shared with every potential customer, (2)was not being databased, and (3)was not being used. (You see, my entry from 4 months ago was still there and I’ve yet to receive an email from them.) At that point, I was struck with the realization that while I might be a good geeky juggler, some business owners are more than a little bugged out with the thought of adding a new marketing task to their otherwise nutso day. I get it – but then again, I don’t get it. These same entrepreneurs waste time every day on tasks that bring them no closer to their customers, and some tasks that should be abandoned altogether. Their service is strong, but their outreach is weak.  They’ll spend money on ads and junk mail, (what I consider very passive, shallow marketing) but not put a little sweat equity into new media? Plus, they’re not taking advantage of some really amazing tools on the web today.   The rest of the story...