Random, thoughtful comments found here. We're an eclectic group with a diverse set of interests and skills. We all share a love of all things marketing, so you'll always find something to challenge or inspire you. Enjoy!
We've given the Angel Hair Foundation website a make-over! If you've not visited the site before, the Angel Hair Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation that reaches out to kids in Oregon who have lost their hair due to medical illness.
Setting up a Twitter campaign is an excellent way to build brand awareness and increase sales. But if no one sees your tweets, this social media tool can’t help you reach your goals. We've talked about the importance of building a solid Twitter following and some general ways to increase that base. If you're looking for some quick tips, here are five easy ways to gain Twitter followers:
Follow others. When you follow a user, that user receives a message that you've just followed them. Now that they know you're out there and interested in what they are talking about, chances are good that they will follow you back.
Place the famous Twitter "T" logo prominently on your website that links to your account. A great example can be seen on the website of one of the leading cancer centers in Oregon. As you can see, the Twitter logo is located in the header of the site, where it remains in view no matter where on the site a user may be browsing.
Place a Twitter link in your email signature (and on your business card). Think about how many emails you send a day, a week, a year...
Be active. It may seem obvious, but you have to tweet for others to see you! Remember to use hashtags so users can find your tweets through Twitter's search functionality.
Re-tweet. If you see something interesting, re-tweet it. The user you re-tweeted may follow you back, and better yet, re-tweet you at some point.
What are some ways you've gained new followers? We'd love to hear!
When we were children, we fervently believed that wishes could come true. Even if we didn’t believe in Santa, we knew that the presents under the tree on Christmas morning were real.
As we grow into adults, we find it harder to believe in possibilities. We have tasks to do, appointments to keep, and obligations to fulfill. We’re so busy that we don’t take time appreciate the goodness around us.
We hope you find time during this Holiday season to reflect on what’s good in your life and how it can be even better in 2012. Even in difficult times, there are always possibilities. If only we take the time to believe, they’ll become realities.
We shot this video last year, yet it still brings smiles to our faces. Happy Holidays from all of us to you!
Your business is on Facebook and has some fans. You're tweeting and retweeting daily. Maybe you've even produced a video that's been seen over 1,000 times on YouTube. So, like so many others using social media as part of their marketing strategy, you're probably wondering: “Is all of this paying off?”
Measuring the ROI of social media marketing is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers and PR managers today. Questions abound. What's the value of a tweet that went out to 2,000 followers? Will it earn more than a retweet? How many Facebook fans do I need to break even?
The first thing to understand is that it is impossible to answer these questions. Just like it's impossible to determine an exact ROI of a great business card, creative letterhead, or even the telephone on your desk. What these things all have in common, like a social media marketing campaign, is that they are part of an overall strategy.
The two questions you must ask, that can be answered are: 1. What is the goal of my social media marketing campaign? Goals may range from driving traffic to a website, increasing awareness of your event calendar, or improving engagement levels with loyal customers.
2. How does it fit into my strategy? For example, will the campaign be run by your marketing, PR, or customer service team? Which specific channels make sense for your business?
Once you've answered these questions, you'll begin to see how your social media efforts are moving the needles. Perhaps you want Facebook and Twitter to drive new users to your website. You might set a goal of driving 15 percent more new users in Q1 of 2012 than you had in Q1 of 2011. From there, using basic web analytics, you are able to measure this metric and determine a level of success. Maybe your strategy for 2012 is to increase your customer service performance. In this case, you might set up a Twitter account specifically to address customer questions, complaints, and feedback.
So take a step back, concentrate on how social media marketing can help your business, and don’t drive yourself crazy trying to determine its exact ROI.
I recently attended the PR News’ Twitter Conference in Las Vegas. Several excellent speakers presented their thoughts and experiences during the all-day event, including Jason Falls, co-author of No Bulls**t Social Media. Topics included how to identify influencers, how to measure your Twitter activity, the lowdown on the most innovative Twitter tools, and much more.
Three takeaways from the conference that I'd like to share:
1. Tweet often. Twitter is loud, and the more people and businesses you follow, the louder it gets. With all the tweets to scroll through and information to ingest, tweets get lost. Don't be afraid to tweet 10, 15, even 20 times a day (as long as your content is compelling, of course!). If you see that a tweet went nowhere (no one clicked your link, mentioned, re-tweeted), it's ok to send that tweet out again. Similarly, if you've had a successful tweet, by all means, send it out again at a later date. Chances are, many of your followers missed it the first time out.
2. Twitter has a ton of power...and it's growing. Twitter’s strength is in its ability to build trust and interest in a brand or product/service, and ultimately affect behavior. For example, 84 percent of Twitter users read tweets coming from brands they follow and 60 percent are more likely to recommend a brand if they follow it.
3. Measuring ROI stems from goals. The question most often asked about Twitter (and social media marketing in general) is, how do we measure ROI? This question is easiest answered by first answering the question, what is the goal of using Twitter? If it's to boost traffic to your website for example, monitor Google Analytics for referral traffic data, referred users' time on site, etc. Setting goals is step #1 when launching a campaign.
Do you use Twitter? If so, tell us what's worked for you!
We've given the 
Measuring the ROI of social media marketing is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers and PR managers today. Questions abound. What's the value of a tweet that went out to 2,000 followers? Will it earn more than a retweet? How many Facebook fans do I need to break even?
Three takeaways from the conference that I'd like to share:
