Many small businesses are unaware of the development options available for their company website. As a start up or small business you don’t have to be stuck with a static site that only a technology wizard can modify. WordPress, originally built as a blogging engine for people who have zero technical background, is a fantastic option for dynamic companies that want a great looking fully functional site that is in your control. While most companies will still need an experienced WordPress developer to create the initial design and custom functionality, the site is then super easy for non-technical staff to update.


If you are a small business and have had the uncomfortable call with your web developer that they either didn’t have the time to make a minor update to your site or worse they are holding you hostage for reasons only they and their pet parrot can understand, you might consider switching over to a WordPress driven site for your company.


WordPress, for most companies, is a fantastic option for small business and start ups that don’t have a huge budget, need or want a dynamic site that can be changed in minutes by someone on staff, and can be designed with a slick intuitive customer interface.


As a full-featured content management system capable of hosting an unlimited number of static site pages as well as up to date article entries, WordPress presents a number of key advantages for business website development:

• WordPress is so easy to use that even the most tech-averse person on your staff will be up and working on it in no time.
• By being user-friendly the cost savings of not having to pay someone each time an update is needed can be substantial.
• WordPress is free. There are no charges in acquiring the software.
• Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube integrate easily into a corporate WordPress site.
• WordPress is open-source which means that it has a massive user base and ever-expanding library of plug-ins and modifications that will allow you to upload videos, add webinars, manage complicated ecommerce and add company events and promotions in minutes.
• WordPress is mobile friendly, allowing users to view your site on the go.
• Support is easy to get and if you want additional functionality added to your system, very often you can find pre-existing plug-ins, avoiding the costs of custom development.
• WordPress is arguably the most widespread content management software in the world. This means that it will not disappear or become obsolete anytime soon.
• WordPress is built on the PHP programming language. It is non-proprietary (unlike .ASP) and as a result is free, widely used, and has excellent documentation and support. The end result is that modifications are easy and inexpensive to make.
• WordPress allows you to manage your static pages (“Services”, “About”, etc.) as well as your frequently-changing areas (“News”). This means that you will be able to post news and articles quickly but you will just as easily be able to make updates to your regular pages.
• WordPress is search engine optimized and very search-engine-friendly right out of the gate. It will automatically format page titles, page names, links, the content on the page, and so on for maximized search engine optimization. It will not be as good as an ongoing, fully-customized SEO campaign from a specialist, but it is a great low cost and effective alternative.
• WordPress is set up to automatically submit your article entries to search engines for indexing, further maximizing your online exposure.
• Because WordPress was originally built as a blog engine, you can use the same system to drive your official blog. This means a streamlined workflow and a wholly-integrated system for you.
• Site content is expandable. This means that if you add new pages to your site or remove old ones, this won’t necessitate a redesign of your site or the buttons on it (along with the associated development time and costs): such changes can be implemented easily and in real time.

If you are considering creating a new website for your company or redesigning it, we recommend considering using WordPress because of its flexibility and ease of use.


Some examples of WordPress driven company sites that we’ve done are listed below:

• Adriana Abscal - Untraditional WordPress layout that easily accommodates its international visitors with both English and Spanish language versions.
• SoTru – Robust ecommerce for an online retailer. Store is completely managed through WordPress (integrated with FoxyCart). Site design by Blind Society.
• Agilewaves – Corporate site. Ability to do featured stories, manage all areas of site, including a password protected members area.
• Trailmark Construction – Corporate site. Manage slideshow, portfolio, blog, etc. Design by Kriesi. Example of low-cost option for development (modified existing theme).

Find out more about developing a WordPress driven site for your company.


If you have any questions or additional suggestions, please feel free to leave them here, or shoot me an email at carin[at] InkFoundry [dot] com.

We know you wouldn’t hire someone without experience, a client list, references and no proven track record, and finding the best partner agency of any type can can be challenging but especially perplexing if you are new to social media.

In the midst of helping one of our Sonoma County winery clients build its internal social media marketing department, we realized there are many unanswered questions about how to identify social media expertise.

We’ve created this list to provide a baseline that you can use to find qualified help for your effort and provide a better understanding of the multitude of elements that contribute to social media marketing success.

In addition to sharing our professional experience, we reached out to other respected agencies in the category to get their input and reviewed Social Media Group’s request for proposal template that they were generous enough to share.

However, before you get started looking for either a social media agency, consultant or building an in house team, establish your goals so you can identify the specific skill set that will help you achieve your objectives. Strategic planning? Content creation and strategy? Blog development? Tweeting? Robust Facebook presence? Use your marketing strategy to guide you to the pros who have the experience your winery needs.

At a very basic level, if you want to establish expertise it makes sense that the practitioner has mastered the tools. Dave Kerpen, CEO of theKbuzz, sums it up nicely, “If an agency isn’t practicing what they preach, how will they be able to help you with your social media strategy? Check out an agency’s Facebook Page, Twitter account, company blog and YouTube channel before committing to them.”

Below is a list of questions to help you establish whether an agency has the social media experience to help your wine label move the needle in the marketplace. In addition to the questions, ask for real life case studies, social media references and have them provide evidence of success.

1. What is your primary use of social media?
   • Unless you’re hiring an entry level person, if their primary use of social media has been for personal use, thank them for their time and send them home.
2. Give me specific examples of how you’ve used social media channels to market a brand?
3. What are some of the most important elements of a successful social media marketing effort?
4. What is the most challenging element of social media marketing?
5. Do you have an agency blog? How long have you been blogging?
   • If they aren’t blogging, they don’t understand the format. Send them home.
6. How should all of the social media channels work together?
7. How would you integrate our existing website, email campaign, other external communication efforts into a social media program?
8. How would you respond to a negative post on YELP or other SM channel?
   • Our recommendations for responding to negative social media posts are here.
9. How has your process of influencer engagement changed since the FTC blogger/brand disclosures went into effect?
   • If they don’t know, consider this a massive red flag that could cost your winery its reputation as well as lots of money.
10. What would make a social media program fail?
11. What percentage of your total business is dedicated to the agency’s social media practice?
12. How many of your employees primary function is social media?
13. Which clients on your client list do you perform social media services for?
14. How long has your agency provided social media services?
15. How much experience does your staff have with digital wine influencers?
16. Ask for links to senior social media staff profiles on social sites (i.e. Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook…)
17. How to you ensure both agency and client compliance with legal requirements?
18. What is your plan for monitoring the online conversation about our winery?
19. How do you assess which mentions require immediate responses and which do not?
20. How do you measure social media program success?
21. Do you offer social media training services for clients?
22. What internal processes do you have in place to ensure that your staff are kept current on social media innovations and best practices?
23. Please describe your experience working with brands on the following platforms and tactics:
    • YouTube or other video sharing sites
    • Blogs
    • Content Management System (CMS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
    • E-mail newsletter campaigns
    • Facebook groups or pages
    • Facebook Apps
    • Other social networks and social networking tools
    • Twitter or other forms of microblogging
    • News sharing sites (i.e. Digg, Reddit, etc.)
    • Photo sharing (i.e. Flickr)
    • Other content sharing sites (i.e. Scribd, Slideshare, Delicious, etc.)
    • Social Media press releases (SMPRs)
    • Forums
    • Real world events such as wine dinners organized via social media (e.g. Tweetups)
    • Ratings/Customer service sites (i.e. Yelp, ePinions, etc.)
24. What is your process for identifying influencers within various social media channels?
25. What criteria do you use to determine and define “influence”?
26. What is your outreach process for engaging with digital influencers?
27. How have you integrated influencer outreach with traditional communications and/or marketing campaigns?

Let us know if you can suggest any additional questions.

- Carin

TOTAL READ TIME: Approx. 2 minutes

By Carin Galletta

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure guidelines to regulate the relationship between brands and bloggers have been released and will be in full effect beginning December 1, 2009.

The Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) today hosted a webinar to discuss the recently released FTC regulations on adequate disclosure that the industry association was instrumental in spearheading.

To insure compliance, make sure that you include your brand’s legal council in all disclosure policies. Anthony DiResta, WOMMA’s general counsel and partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is advising that the spirit of the FTC guidelines be followed as a regular component of all risk management and that the FTC guidelines not be isolated.

Overview:

I’ve updated the key points from the webinar, but I encourage you to check the Ethics Review on the WOMMA site and the resources listed at the end of the article for additional guidance and continuing information as it becomes available.

As I wrote earlier this Fall, the FTC guidelines should not represent a dramatic departure from current standard operating best practices for disclosure.

Top Takeaways:

• Regulated disclosure is only required for those communications that are sponsored.
• Anyone who is acting on behalf of a brand, will be required to disclosure.
• Celebrities now have a duty to disclose relationships beyond traditional advertising, e.g. on talk shows, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
• The safe harbor of “results may vary” is no longer acceptable.
• The FTC will track compliance by listening to consumer complaints, consumer advocate groups, trade associations, state attorney offices, Better Business Bureau and even competitors.
• Disclosure on both the brand and the digital influencer side is required.
• Brands need to codify their policies for disclosure and monitoring processes and provide training.
• Advertisers/brands will not be held liable for bloggers who fail to disclose IF the brand has documented disclosure policies and procedures in place.
• The “influencer” who has or will receive some form of incentive/payment/gift is required to disclose the relationship.
• There could be liability for advertisers, agencies & endorsers for misleading/unsubstantiated statements and / or claims.
• The FTC will not make a distinction between cash, products, points, free meals, tickets/passes, etc. – it all constitutes a material relationship.
• Fines for misconduct will be incurred by either the brand, agency or the blogger, with no limit on the fine.

Best Practices:

PHOTO CREDIT: Graffiti.org

If your restaurant or hotel has ever provided any material compensation to an online influencer, such as a free meal or FAM trip and the relationship was not disclosed, that transaction may be in violation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on ‘adequate disclosure’ expected to be released this Fall. And operators could be held liable for non-disclosure.

Restaurants and hotels need to be upfront about any compensation between the brand and the blogger to avoid negative repercussions from the FTC and more importantly consumers. Additionally, if the blogger fails to disclose a freebie, it could violate reader trust.

For any restaurant or hotel this means developing a core set of principles which guide relationships with bloggers and influencers. Digitial hospitality influencers will also need to create and clearly communicate when any type of compensation which has been or will be accepted.

Key Considerations:

Disclosure on both the brand and the digital influencer sides are necessary and non-negotiable.

There will be an expectation of brands to monitor activity.

Advertisers/brands could be held liable for bloggers who fail to disclose.

The “influencer” who has or will receive some form of incentive/payment/gift has an obligation to their readers to disclosure the relationship.

If money or a product is either loaned or given with out the expectation of being returned (kind of hard to return that great fine dining experience!), then it needs to be disclosed in an obvious location on both the brand website and the influencer blog.

Nine Best Practices:

• For The Brand
  • Publish a clear, detailed ‘terms of engagement’ on the website, brand microsite or campaign site.
  • Make a commitment to work with third party influencers who adhere to clear disclosure best practices by creating a one page influencer agreement.
  • Request that all third party influencers link back to the brands ‘terms of engagement’ policy.
  • A brand’s integrity and reputation are its most valuable assets, only work with agencies who commit to high ethical standards.
  • Create site badges for recurring programs.

• For the Hospitality Food, Wine, Restaurant Blogger
  • If brands don’t have a ‘terms of engagement’ for working with bloggers, then ask that they create one.
  • Commit to working with brands who adhere to standard disclosure best practices.
  • Disclose in each post. (yes, even on Twitter)
  • Create a policy that is visible and easy to read on your website, blog or Twitter account.
  • Include brand affiliation and /or your likelihood that you will receive compensation in the future in your bio.

The pending FTC guidelines should not represent a dramatic departure from current best practices for disclosure for experienced social media marketing agencies and hospitality brands.

Approximate Reading Time: 5 minutes

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times — (paraphrasing, of course) “When it comes to social media measurement, the number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us anything.”

I’ve thought about this philosophy a lot, so much in fact that I’ve become slightly OCD about it. It’s hard not to when the majority of the PR thought leaders I respect have at one time or another made a statement similar to the one above and followed it with contempt for agencies or “so-called” social media experts who only focus on these numbers.

If there was a way to un-fan fans and un-follow followers, I’d have done it by now. But they won’t go away and clients keep asking about them, so I’ve kept thinking about just what, if anything, these numbers actually tell us. And here’s what I’ve come up with:

I want to revise the statement, “The number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us anything.” Well, really, I just want to change one word — “The number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us everything.”

Fans and followers do tell us some things. They provide us an “at least” number of people that have visibility to the messages a brand shares via its Facebook and Twitter presences and the number of people who might share that message. In other words, Gatorade currently has 326,543 fans and 2,314 followers. That’s “at least” 328,857 (326,543 + 2,314) people who have visibility to a conversation on Gatorade’s wall or Twitter feed and who could share that conversation with their friends, followers, colleagues or anybody else.

Why is that 328,857 number important? Because we know a few things:

1. We know if Gatorade really needed to get a message out, say about a crisis, that message is likely to have a greater reach and be shared by more people if the company has 326,000 fans as opposed to 32,600. It’s purely a numbers issue.
2. We know people trust people and consumers more than they trust organizations. As Gatorade gains more fans, it gains more chances that a story about the company (e.g. helping a customer with as service issue on Facebook) will be told by the fans as opposed to the organization. And that’s a reputation win for the brand considering the source. How do you think Gatorade and other companies gain the majority of their fans and followers? Via word of mouth endorsement, of course.
3. We know that brand fans are an audience that serves as advocates for our clients and we want them to have stories to tell. And while we can’t guarantee that all fans or followers of an organization are actual brand fans, I think we’re safe guessing that the fans and followers of a company would be a good place to start when looking to engage fans of that brand.
4. We know the majority of people who participate in online social networks and take the step to fan or follow brands — not the first steps a person usually takes when dipping their toes in the social media waters — are more likely to engage with a company or tell a story online than those who aren’t as active in the online space.
5. Finally, we also know about perception. And I can tell you — based on recent conversations with clients, peers, colleagues, tweeps, fans — the perception is that the more fans and followers a brand has, the more successful that brand is with social media. And the more successful a brand is with social media, the more progressive that company is. And the more progressive a company is the more successful it often seems. Is that perception wrong? Well, I’d lean toward calling it incomplete.

If fans and followers are the only measures of success you’re tracking, then I agree that doesn’t tell us much. And that’s where I fall in line with the gripe against some agencies that base the entire social media strategy they’re selling on those numbers. The most significant thing about fans and followers is the audience they create for a brand to engage with. That’s where the real strategy comes in.

Think about it this way. When you go to a networking event, you may not know much about the organization or the people when you get there. Over time, you may get to know the organization and the people in it better. You’ll probably form opinions about the group and share stories about your experiences. But for any of that to happen, you had to show up at that first meeting.

Successful PR is still about building relationships — always has been. When a person fans or follows your brand, that’s just a relationship starter. They decided to come to that networking event. Or since users can fan or follow with the click of the mouse, you could argue they’re making much less of a commitment. But even if it took five seconds, the person still made a conscious effort to engage. Where the relationship goes from there is largely up to you.

I was lucky enough to see Brian Solis speak in Kansas City tonight and he offered a lot of great food for thought and insight into “the conversation” and “influence” that I’m still thinking about and continue pondering for a while, I’m sure. But one thing Brian said tonight came to mind as I sat down to finish this post — (I paraphrase again) “If we’re not in the conversation, it’s easy to fall off the radar screen, disappear.”

To me, when you look at a brand’s fans or followers, you can get a rough idea of how many “radar screens” that company is on. And you’ve got to be on some radar screens to keep from disappearing. But you can’t tell a whole lot more than that without digging much deeper.

Fans and followers are a starting point. They tell you something. But the companies and agencies that run into problems are the ones who don’t keep going. There’s a lot more to a conversation than the introduction.

What are some of the companies you know that have a lot of fans and followers? Did those numbers change your perception of the brand? How did you hear about those companies? Do those brands do a lot to engage their fans and followers?

In today’s FastCompany.com blog post, Nine Scientifically Proven Ways To Get Retweeted on Twitter by Dan Macsai, he reports on a fascinating new Hubspot report from viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella on his 9 month study of which types of messages were retweeted most frequently.

However, before we get into the juicy details of Macsai’s article, I would like to reiterate that building and engaging your Twitter following requires a healthy balance of answering @ messages, reaching out to others with questions, posting with out the expectation of driving traffic back to your URL and posting with out links as well. For some top tips on how to organically build your Twitter following, read our

11 Top Tips To Build Your Twitter Following

Dan Zarrella is also author of The Social Media Marketing Book which will be available tomorrow, September 23.

What Turns Tweeple Off From Retweeting According To Zarella:

• Lack of punctuation
• Use of of slang and abbreviations
• Limited vocabulary
• Oversharing
• Semi colons
• Negative emotions, sensations and swear words
• Self-references

Some of The Least Retweetable Words:

• Sleeping
• Watching
• Going
• Listening

Zarella’s Most Effective Ways To Get Retweeted:

• Links were three times more prevalent in RTs than normal tweets
• Shorter services, such as bit.ly, ow.ly, and is.gd, were much likelier to get retweeted than older, longer services.
• Use punctuation and proper grammer
• Use words with more syllables (it’s in the article, swear)
• Tweet breaking news (this is probably an easy one for public relations people who frequently go about their day with CNN blaring in the background.

Some of The Most Retweetable Words:

• Twitter
• You
• Please
• Retweet
• Check out
• New Blog Post

The complete article from Fast Company: Report: Nine Scientifically Proven Ways to Get Retweeted on Twitter

1. Listen
   • Listening to conversations about your brand can help you identify issues before they get out of control
   • Listening to what is being said about your company, your competitors and your category can put the complaint in context and so you can respond appropriately.
   • Identifying the key members of the social network will also allow you to understand the general tone of the community to better respond to a negative social media post.
2. Be Visible In Your Community
   • If you’ve been participating in conversations and a bad review comes in, it’s much more likely that as a valued member of the social community, your response to the negativity will carry enough weight to stop it from spreading. The goal is to have an ongoing relationship with the community members.
   • Frequently, brands will ask us to fix a problem that has been gathering steam on social media channels, yet they have zero visibility in that particular social network. Jumping in at this point, unless done with extreme dexterity, can look defensive and generate additional negativity.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
   • If there is a negative review on a social media channel that you’re not comfortable responding to or just need to run your response by someone for help, do it before hitting the send button.
4. Be Prepared
   • Consider likely scenarios for your particular business and how you would respond to them in advance.
   • Preparation can help you respond quickly and control emotive issues.
5. Gather All The Facts
   • Before responding, make sure you gather all of the necessary information first. If it turns out you don’t have the information, this can cause you to lose credibility.
6. Respond Quickly
   • Every online community has its own action-packed timeline, so make sure you respond as quickly as possible.
   • Anecdotally, one bad review seems to encourage others to do the same.
7. Move The Conversation Off The Social Network, if necessary
   • Respond publicly so the community can see your brand takes complaints seriously.
   • If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then ask the person to contact you directly via phone or email so you can privately discuss any issues in greater detail.
   • Save the other members of the community from having to sort through the details in a flurry of posts.
8. You Don’t Have To Always Respond
   • Sometimes you just don’t need to go there.
   • Example: There is a restaurant reviewer on Yelp who posts negative reviews about nearly every restaurant he claims to visit. He recently gave one of our social media marketing restaurant clients a bad review. We choose not to respond, but our advocates did. And this is the beauty of social media: your fans frequently come to your aid.
   • It’s challenging not to fire back at someone who is posting negative comments about your beloved brand.
   • You will need to quickly identify if it’s a legitimate complaint or a lone person with issues taking their bad day out on you.
   • Ask yourself, will responding be worth your time and benefit the brand? Make an enemy into a friend? Each situation is different and only you and your social media team know what’s best for your brand.
9. Review Before Sending
   • Although your time is extremely limited, it’s critically important to review what you write before sending it out.

For the complete article: Responding To Negative Social Media Posts

Many people are asking why we need Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for adequate disclosure for the relationship between brands and bloggers in the first place. The primary benefit of disclosure is trust. If a blogger doesn’t respect his/her readers, and readers don’t trust the blogger, then guess what? Readers will stop visiting the site. Brands need to be equally upfront to avoid any negative repercussions from consumers. And consumers need to be able to rely on what they read in a blog. And do you really want to have a relationship under false pretenses?

The Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) recently hosted a webinar to discuss the pending FTC regulations on adequate disclosure when any type of compensation is exchanged between brands, bloggers and other online influencers.

WOMMA, has initiated a project, The WOMMA Disclosure Project, that is defining the parameters by which brands, influencers and bloggers disclose their “material relationship”. For brands this means developing a core set of principles which guide relationships with bloggers and influencers. Bloggers and other digital influencers will also need to create and clearly communicate when they have accepted compensation.

The WOMMA webinar panel included Paul Rand, WOMMA-President Elect and President/CEO of Zocalo Group who served as moderator; John Bell, WOMMA President and Managing Director at 360° Digital Influence; Jory Des Jardin, Co-Founder and President, Strategic Alliances at BlogHer; Sean Corcoran, Interactive Marketing Analyst at Forrester Research; Tom Collinger, Chair of the Integrated Marketing Communications program at the Medill School Northwestern University; and Anthony DiResta, WOMMA’s general counsel and partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.

Another benefit to both brands and bloggers, according to Jory Des Jardin, companies that use bloggers who openly disclose the relationship between themselves and the brand will rise to top with customers. Based on her experience that she shared on the WOMMA webinar, the bloggers who have been fully transparent with readers about their relationships with brands, have witnessed increased traffic to their site.

Overview
I’ve highlighted some key points that stood out to me on the webinar, but I encourage you to check the Ethics Review on the WOMMA site and the resources listed at the end of the article.

For both brands and agencies, the pending FTC guidelines most likely will not represent a dramatic departure from current standard operating best practices. According to Jory Des Jardin, disclosure for review blogs is similar to advertorial disclosure from the traditional media world. Traditional media outlets such as daily newspapers, television and radio all employ transparent practices regarding disclosure and the FTC is expected to bring its policies up to date with current technology.

Four Top Takeaways:

• Disclosure on both the brand and the digital influencer sides should be necessary and non-negotiable.
• There will be an expectation of brands to monitor activity. Advertisers/brands could be held liable for bloggers who fail to disclose.
• The “influencer” who has or will receive some form of incentive/payment/gift has an obligation to their readers to disclosure the relationship.
• If money or a product is either loaned or given with out the expectation of being returned (kind of hard to sample and then return that bottle of wine!), then it needs to be disclosed in an obvious location on both the brand and the influencer site.

Nine Best Practices:

Any list of best practices developed now, will invariably have to continue to evolve with the technology and current thinking. We will continue to update this list of social media marketing disclosure best practices as they become available.
• For The Brand
  • Publish a clear, detailed ‘terms of engagement on the website, brand microsite or campaign site.
  • Make a commitment to work with third party influencers who adhere to clear disclosure best practices by creating a one page influencer agreement that requires bloggers to, as John Bell writes, “state their true opinion.”
  • Request that all third party influencers link back to the brands ‘terms of engagement’ policy.
  • Create site badges for recurring programs.
• For The Influencer
  • If brands don’t have a ‘terms of engagement’ for working with bloggers, then ask that they create one. It doesn’t have to be the Magna Carta, a simple one page document will do.
  • Commit to working with brands who adhere to standard disclosure best practices.
  • Disclose in each post.
  • Create a policy that is visible and easy to read on your website, blog or Twitter account.
  • Include brand affiliation and /or your likelihood that you will receive compensation in the future in your bio
    • My fantasy disclosure endorsement: “I receive a new pair of Gucci boots each Fall and wear them proudly for all to see. I received them from the company and I write about them not because they were free, but because I love them from the bottom of my soul.” Gucci, are you listening?

  Resources

  • John Bell’s blog – http://johnbell.typepad.com/weblog/2009/09/best-practice-disclosure-what-brands-should-do-and-why.html
  • Izea’s Disclosure Policy Generator- http://disclosurepolicy.org/generator/generate_policy
  • MommyDaddy Blog – a good example of both a site wide disclosure and a brand disclosure on the same page, plus a nifty coding system- http://mommydaddyblog.com/disclosure/
  • WOMMA – http://allthings.womma.org/
  • Blog With Integrity – http://blogwithintegrity.com/
  ]]> http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/09/ftc-guidelines-define-adequate-disclosure-for-online-influencers/feed/ 4 http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/09/20-social-media-marketing-leaders-on-twitter/ http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/09/20-social-media-marketing-leaders-on-twitter/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:05:57 +0000 Carin Galletta http://www.inkfoundry.com/?p=585 The practice of social media marketing is full of self proclaimed experts especially on Twitter. However, when you look under the covers it’s apparent than most of the “gurus” (the most overused word in the dictionary) have no more real life experience than Jack, our San Francisco office Labrador Retriever. And Jack’s narrow understanding of “social” is eating the unsuspecting intern’s lunch.

  So we decided to put a list of individuals together who have consistently provided us with inspiration and ideas. We think you will find them helpful too and wanted to share our “must watch” list with you. This is by no means a complete list and we welcome your recommendations.

  In alphabetically order:

  • David Armano – http://twitter.com/armano
  • John Bell – http://twitter.com/jbell99
  • Bonin Bough – http://twitter.com/boughb
  • Chris Brogan – http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan
  • Sam Decker – http://twitter.com/samdecker
  • Todd Defren – http://twitter.com/TDefren
  • Jason Falls – http://twitter.com/jasonfalls
  • MC Hammer – http://twitter.com/Mchammer
  • Kathleen Hessert – http://twitter.com/kathleenhessert
  • Shel Israel – http://twitter.com/shelisrael
  • Dave Kerpen – http://twitter.com/davekerpen
  • Peter Kim – http://twitter.com/peterkim
  • Charlene Li – http://twitter.com/charleneli
  • Scott Monty - http://twitter.com/scottmonty
  • Jeremiah Owyang – http://www.twitter.com/jowyang
  • Darren Rowse – http://twitter.com/problogger
  • Robert Scoble – http://twitter.com/Scobleizer
  • Andy Sernovitz – http://www.twitter.com/sernovitz
  • Brian Solis – http://twitter.com/briansolis
  • Greg Verdino – http://twitter.com/gregverdino

  Additional Social Media Marketing Articles

  11 Tips To Build Your Twitter Following

  PHOTO CREDIT: Pedro Simoes

  ]]> http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/09/20-social-media-marketing-leaders-on-twitter/feed/ 5 http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/08/explaining-social-media-marketing/ http://www.inkfoundry.com/2009/08/explaining-social-media-marketing/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:02:29 +0000 Carin Galletta http://www.inkfoundry.com/?p=552 Today, I received a note through Facebook from my nearly 70 year old aunt asking me to explain social media marketing. I was shocked – first off, I had no idea she knew what Facebook was or even how to create an account and secondly where did she hear the phrase, “social media marketing”? Is this what groups of Florida retirees are now discussing around canasta? Should we be concerned that they are mulling over which social media channels to participate on instead of complaining about the lack of available men in the retirement community?

  This is how I replied:

  What is social media? Social media is any online application that allows peer to peer conversations. It can take many different forms that include blogs, forums, social networks, picture sharing, email, video and more. What is the coolest change from traditional marketing channels? You and your company (or your canasta group) now get to participate in a two-way conversation. It is one to one conversation, amplified ten thousand times over.

  Social media marketing utilizes those above referenced channels to get conversations started about a brand, celebrity, politician, product or movement. It works in much the same way as old fashioned word of mouth that took place at the Farmer’s Markets each week except it’s much faster, can reach millions in seconds, is fairly inexpensive and you can participate all day long or limit it to a few minutes a day. Social media marketing allows companies to develop a deeper relationship with existing customers, introduce themselves to new audiences, open the lines of communication, and manage crisis.

  Because it is relationship driven, it is less like an advertising or traditional public relations launch campaign with a specific start and end date and more like the ongoing feud you had with your neighbor that started back in the 1940s and only ended because she moved away. And just like a relationship, it can take a while for a commitment. Finesse is the name of the game. A little flirting and courtship is a good thing.

  And lastly, my aunt has been on Facebook for more than a month and she didn’t friend me until today. Apparently, she didn’t want me nosing around her life. Oh, and the worst part, she already has more friends than I do. I think I should be concerned.

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