Posts made in December, 2009
99 most useful Social Media Blog posts of 2009
Last week Adam Vincenzini published a terrific list of Social Media blog posts from 2009. Looking through this list, I started thinking about how much has happened over the last year in the world of Social. As we now enter 2010, there is no doubt that we will see continued exponential growth in what has become a dominant channel of communication. In fact, eMarketer is projecting that 75% of US Marketers plan to increase their spending in Social Media next year. Well, if 2010 turns out to be half as interesting as 2009 was, then let’s buckle up..
Thanks for the trip down memory lane Adam!
Social Media (General) (20)
1. 30 top Blogs for social media updates
2. 20 social media best practice tips*
3. 33 hot social media tips
4. 5 ways to fan the viral flame*
5. 10 reasons why you should use Hootsuite
6. How to make time for social media*
7. 3 quick tips to connect your website to social media
8. Top tools for social media monitoring*
9. 10 ways to improve your social media karma
10. 3 Tips for better social media management
11. Video: Social Media Revolution*
12.Social Media tactics for non-profit organisations
13. Why foursquare is the next big social network
14. 5 ways to make your site more social
15. 10 essential social media blogs you should follow / bookmark
16. Top 10 Freebies for Social Media Marketing
17.Simon Mainwaring’s special interview with Rishad Tobaccowala On Advertising’s Digital and Social Media Future
18. What you need to know about running a social media programme – The client*
19. What you need to know about running a social media programme – The product*
What you need to know about running a social media programme – The audience*
20. 25 Social media marketing tips from Dell, HP, Ford and more
Twitter (10)
21. 10 Twitter tools to help you track and perform better*
22. The ultimate Twitter applications list
23. 5 Twitter rules for business
24. Discover who ‘favourites’ your Tweets
25. 8 photo and video sharing tools for Twitter you may not have seen
26. The three E’s of Twitter*
27. 5 must do Twitter style tips
28. A twitter mini guide: 60 useful twitter resources (basics)
29. How to be a useful Twitter user and receiver
30. 62 ways to use Twitter for Business
Blogging (10)
31. 101 ways to promote a new blog*
32. 11 ways to increase your RSS subscriptions
33. 58 ways to build a better blog*
34. 10 ways Blogging will simplify your marketing programme
35. Why guest Bloggers are great for a Blog
36. 10 great corporate blogs
37. 9 vital statistics for tracking site traffic
38. How to put your blog / website on google news
39. 101 blogging tips I learned in 2009
40. 10 ways to think up new post ideas*
PR (10)
41. 15 ways PR can help social media*
42. How to pitch to Mashable
43. A media relations tool for Twitter
44. The best social media tools for PR professionals*
45 PR: From begging to earning attention
46. 15 ways to measure return on engagement (ROE) of Social Media
47. 6 PR Facts Every Marketer Must Know
48. 6 indicators of hope in PR measurement
49. 5 new online tools for PR pros
50. The top 100 PR websites of 2009
Facebook / LinkedIn (10)
51. 20 facebook tips and tricks you might not know about
52. 10 steps make your facebook page shine
53. How to create the perfect facebook fan page
54. 5 tips for optimizing your facebook page
55. 5 tips for getting more from facebook*
56. 5 tips for getting more from LinkedIn*
57. 6 ways to use LinkedIn
58. 33 ways to use LinkedIn for business
59. 8 tips for managing LinkedIn Groups*
60. A collection of ten more great Blog posts about LinkedIn
Case Studies / In Action (10)
61. Case studies of four brands using social media
62. 9 marketing lessons of the pink ribbon Cancer campaign
63. Video: Burger King Whopper Sacrifice (Facebook Campaign)*
64. Video: The clever launch of the Seat Ibiza in Israel
65. Social Media Policies of 113 Organisations
66. Video: Cannes PR Lions Finalist: The £10m Tongue (Costa Coffee)*
66. 30 UK Social Media case Studies*
67. Dairy queen: how it uses social media
68. 6 Social Media Marketing Case Study Lessons
69. HBO’s integrated campaign for True Blood
70. Peter Kim’s comprehensive Wiki of social media marketing campaigns *
Mobile / Content / Measurement / SEO / Other (20)
71. 50 top creative Blogs*
72. How to determine your internet marketing budget
73. The 75 best business blogs of 2009
74. 5 easy ways to optimize your site for Bing
75. Companies Engaging in Social Media Have Higher Financial Performance
76. Ways to influence people online
77. 5 ways to beat the SEO competition in Google
78. 100 useful bookmarklets for better productivity (ultimate list)*
79. 40 Search / SEO Case Studies
80. 10 Tips for Writing bokkmarkable content
81. 15 best places to get free stock photos online*
82. 5 simple ways to create a content culture at your company
83. The five factors of compelling content
84. The benefits of the very under-rated DABR mobile Twitter app
85. 30 iPhone apps reviewed
86. An early look at Foursquare and Gowalla
87. A ‘B’ listers first thoughts on Google Wave
88. 3 financial dangers of social media
90. How to achieve audience participation in 2010 (customer engagement research report)
Finally, some stuff from me… (9)
91. 10 things I’ve learnt about social media
92. My top 29 communications blogs /sites of 2009
93. 10 top Twitter / Social Media Apps for Comms pros
94. Video: The World’s Most Well Crafted Brand
95. 10 most over-used words in press releases.html
96. Social media adoption curve / life stages: The report
97. 5 Italian traits that Brands / People should adopt for social media success
98. Why ‘So What?’ is the most important question in PR…and always will be
99. 10 Celebs you wont see fronting PR campaigns in 2010
Compiled by Adam Vincenzini, Paratus Communications, London. As you’ll see when you click through on the links you’ll arrive at the host site for each piece of content. That is is where you’ll find who was responsible for the great stuff you’re checking out: @AdamVincenzini
Read More99% of Online Retailers Plan to Have Facebook Fan Pages
With two-thirds of marketers using social media, and retailers shifting marketing dollars towards social initiatives, it comes as no surprise that new research from the e-tailing group and PowerReviews shows that brands are more hip to social media than ever before.
What is quite remarkable, however, is the extent at which brands and retailers are adopting and implementing social media tools, and their preferred social home — Facebook. According to eMarketer, a combined 99% of surveyed online retailers currently employ (86%) or plan to employ (13%) Facebook Fan Pages.
Similar stats hold true for Twitter too. 65% are already all a-Twitter, with 26% planning to get in on the action as well. If the survey results are to be trusted, nearly all online retailers will have Facebook Fan Pages, and 91% will be using Twitter for status updates by the year 2011.
Data from the “Community and Social Media Study” was gathered between August and September of this year, and shows that retail respondents are also favorable to creating and managing their own blogs, but they’re not as keen to adopt the longer form outlet as readily as they are Facebook or Twitter. In fact, at first glance, it might be a little surprising to find that only 55% of those surveyed have blogs now, but 65% and 86% have Twitter accounts or Fan Pages respectively.
Marry those stats against the fact that retailers still fear losing control of their branding, and you have a bit of a oxymoron. The data shows that retailers are actively adopting social media tools on third-party sites over adding social utilities like a blog, Facebook Connect (43% use today), or forums (27%) to their own sites. But, according to the report, “One of their biggest fears was that customers would abandon their site in favor of one that was more socially engaging.”
Perhaps that conundrum can be rectified by the notion that the study also found that “the primary social media goal … was to increase customer engagement.” Social sites do offer a quick and easy way to reach and engage with a broader customer base. Just look at the New England Patriots Facebook initiatives for a prime example of a big brand opting to add social utility on Facebook instead of their own website.
Interesting enough is that this study’s social media adoption rates closely mirror a recent Mzigna/Babson Executive Education study, but that particular study also found that 84% don’t measure the ROI of their social media programs. Clearly we can expect to see adoption rates continue to rise, but what happens after the Facebook Fan Page, Twitter accounts, and blogs are created still remains somewhat of a mystery.
Image from Pete Kim, on Flickr
Original Article from Jennifer Van Grove, on Mashable
Read MoreA Very Social Holiday…
A few drinks, some cheezy lyrics and one snowy backdrop later — this is what happens when a few Big Fuelers get their hands on a DV camera right before the holidays. Even though only a few brave souls made it into the video, ALL OF US at Big Fuel wish ALL OF YOU a very social Holiday, and a terrific New Year! (as long as you don’t hold this video against us in the future!)
Read MoreBig Fuel Creates ‘The American Quilt’ for Stetson
Big Fuel, a full-service marketing and communications agency with a focus on branded content and social media, has launched an innovative new website for The Stetson Hat Company. Millions of consumers know the Stetson brand for its signature western hats and dress hats along with fragrance, apparel, footwear and eyewear. Stetson is an iconic American brand, and the new site (www.stetson.com) has been designed to highlight the brand’s traditions, history, and social identity.
The site dynamically pulls content from popular social networks to showcase how the brand is woven into the fabric of American culture to create the Stetson “American Quilt.” Additionally, the application continues to bring to life the Stetson “Made of America” positioning by asking visitors to contribute their own stories, photos and videos to the Quilt. “Every Stetson has a story. Generations of people have created memories to last a lifetime while wearing our hats and other products,” said Pam Fields, CEO of Stetson. “The new website allows us to engage with consumers and provide them with a forum to share their stories and love of the brand.” In addition to joining a lively community at www.stetson.com, site visitors have the opportunity to participate in contests and members-only promotions, including the chance to win a $500 Stetson wardrobe. The new site also features photos and descriptions of the brand’s entire line of products, a retail locator and “share” functionality.
“Our strategy in designing and developing the Stetson website was to build on the fact that Stetson is, and always has been, a big part of American culture. Their products naturally exist in social media through the lives of every day Americans. They truly are ‘Made of America’ and what better way to showcase that than through consumer generated media,” said Avi Savar, CEO of Big Fuel.
“Social media is a channel built on human stories – moments that are captured in photos, videos or conversations. In this case we are pulling from those human stories to tell a compelling product story,” added Holly Pavlika, Executive Creative Director, Big Fuel.
“Big Fuel’s experience in social media was the right fit for this experience, which we believe will quickly become the envy of the apparel marketplace,” continued Ms. Fields. “Building on their creative and technical savvy, Big Fuel also had the right knowledge, experience and creativity to help us navigate a complicated licensee and retailer network.”
Read MoreKey Learnings in Online Video Viewing
Eyeblaster’s “Global Benchmark Report 2009” claimed that size mattered less than creative for online video ad success. But data from PointRoll and Accustream iMedia Research shows formats and sizes do have an effect on completion rates.
Untethered videos performed best. In addition, large horizontal formats and small rectangles performed very well. PointRoll’s “Online Video Advertising 2009” report notes that, in line with Eyeblaster’s findings, bigger is not simply better. Formats are often a proxy for types of ad placement.
For example, small rectangles are used on instant messaging sites and are nested within chat windows.
“Video size and achieving campaign goals is in large measure a function of how contextual the format is to the user experience,” according to the report.
Publishing channel forms another important part of ad context. PointRoll and Accustream found that online video ads did best across several metrics when they appeared on game, music and streaming media, and child- and family-oriented sites. Ads on auVideo Viewing, in Contexttomotive, business and finance, and employment destinations did worst.
Video ads measured by Eyeblaster, on the other hand, saw the highest interaction when placed next to e-mail, news, finance, sports and music, but fell behind in social network and gaming environments.
Read MoreAbout Me
Proud father, devoted husband, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Big Fuel, a full-service marketing and communications company based in New York that takes brands from Content To Commerce.
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