With the news that Internet behemoth Yahoo will buy blogging and content platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash has many analysts, including this one, wondering what will happen next. Yahoo clearly wants to buy its way into the social media elite. In December 2005, Yahoo bought social bookmarking site Delicious, but it later sold it in 2011 to the founders of YouTube. In September 2006, it offered to buy Facebook for $1 billion, but Facebook walked away. And Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer … [Read more...]
Does Your Website Act as a Lead Generation Tool or Community — or Neither?
I'm happy that most companies, small businesses, and individual professionals are aware of the importance of having a website. But is your or your company's website still nothing more than brochureware -- with only pages for Home, About, Products and Services, Who We Are, and Contact Us? Though the cost of building and running a website today is low -- or even free, thanks to such services as Wix and Weebly -- the attention it deserves usually results in higher costs (time and hiring a Web … [Read more...]
One Blogger Alone Is Not Enough To Increase Eyeballs — and Sales
Some companies still think that the job of blogging should go to only one person -- whether internal or to a freelance ghostwriter. While this may make economic sense and address a task that needs to get done, companies will find that there aren't any more inquiries or sales leads. This is because content is only one part of the job; content marketing and distribution is the second and more important component. You can't have one without the other. When an employee or consultant writes … [Read more...]
The Power of Adding One Letter to the End of a Company Name
Today's news that Toronto-based press release distribution company Marketwire is rebranding itself to Marketwired -- yes, you read that correctly, all they did was add a 'd' -- had me thinking: how much longer will press release companies continue to sell the traditional press release (i.e, exist)? (Share Clip) Oh, and the company has also poached Stu Ogwa, former VP of business intelligence of Yahoo, to join Marketwire as EVP of product and technology, according to … [Read more...]
Hoping That Social Media Will Fix Crappy Banner Ads
Long live the banner ad: it has managed to survive not only the dot com bubble but also Facebook's IPO. Yet few admit to wishing to perpetuate its existence. Talk of 'social advertising' usually means buying ads on Facebook, Promoted Trends on Twitter, or even the new SlideShare ads -- complete with inline lead capture -- on LinkedIn. A few companies have been hard at work at transforming the banner ad into a richer experience. A richer experience of course transfers into engagement -- … [Read more...]
If HootSuite and Yammer Got Married
There is a category of enterprise social software which is emerging which doesn't know what to call itself yet. But if engagement platform HootSuite and enterprise social platform Yammer got married, this would be it. Basically, the software encourages any employee to engage in social media activity outside the four walls of a company, and tracks which content -- and which employee -- has been influential and responsible for the intended engagement (prospects, leads, job candidates, … [Read more...]
From Liking to Leading: IBM Lotusphere Is Now Connect
Whew, finally a break from the 2-hour morning General Session, featuring not only the VP and the General Manager of IBM's Social Business division, but also a performance from 1980s pop group They Might Be Giants and a speech by actor-director-producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt (for those of you unfamiliar, he was in Lincoln and 50/50, among others). Perhaps what's most telling about this year's event is the name change: Lotusphere is now Connect. While IBM is normally never referenced in … [Read more...]
Blogging: Why Bother?
Some say the point to blogging is SEO; others say it's to create thought leadership. The best blogs do both. I'm continually asked by clients about the point to blogging. I also continue to hear excuses as to why they aren't blogging. 'I don't know how to write effectively.' 'How frequently should I blog?' 'I'm not that creative.' 'What if I write something and no one reads it?' ...and the list of excuses goes on and on. True, blogposts are original content pages that … [Read more...]
Social Media Certifications Seek To Legitimize the Profession
As a proud member of the social media industry, I often feel that, to borrow a phrase, 'I don't get no respect.' My social media brethren often feel the same. Many of us came from corporate communications or PR roles, where we didn't necessarily need a certain degree or professional designation in order to get or keep a job. As social has proliferated across industries and companies large and small -- and with it the ability to start a Facebook Page or Twitterfeed for free -- everyone … [Read more...]
Email Is Not Social Media
No doubt, you've spent a sizeable budget on your email marketing programs. You've hired a handful of email vendors over the years. You've bought lists. You've hired email experts. You may have even attended one or more email tradeshows. The days of batch and blast -- or spray and pray -- whichever you prefer to call it -- are thankfully behind us. Your email vendor has mostly likely morphed into a 'marketing automation' or 'demand generation' provider -- showing you ways to optimize … [Read more...]