From the monthly archives:

November 2008

How To Win Buy In For Social Media

by Jason Falls · November 26, 2008

You know that skeptical marketing manager, brand manager or even CEO you’re kind of intimidated by? The one who rolls his or her eyes when the word, “blog,” is used in a sentence. The one that is constantly asking for the ROI of his or her social media spend in a tone that makes you certain you won’t be included in next year’s budget? I think I’ve figured out how to win him or her over.

Last week I had a meeting scheduled with that guy. It was supposed to last an hour. Two hours into it, he had to leave for another meeting but wanted to stay and talk more. He was getting it. And here’s why:

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48 comments

The Beginners Guide To Promoting Your Blog

by Jason Falls · November 24, 2008

A friend of mine is a very well-read, successful blogger. His personal narratives, short stories and semi-autobiographical fiction normally collect dozens of comments, sometimes well over 100, and spark lots of interesting exchanges between his readers. He’s built his audience steadily, over the course of a couple of years, and by all measures of blogging success, sans monetization, he probably holds the status of “legendary.”

But his blog is on MySpace.

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209 comments

The Practical Guide To Managing Social Media Overload

by Jason Falls · November 21, 2008

So John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing fame posted a pithy little list of tools you can use to automate your social media activity the other day. He was trying to offer some options for the time-swamped small business owner who can’t sit on Twitter all day or spend hours online because, well, they have better things to do. Jantsch is a smart guy. He knows the social media space. I haven’t read his book, but it seems to have sold a lot of copies and he’s a well-received speaker at conferences around the world.

But damn, if I wasn’t irritated by his post.

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117 comments

I’m Up To Something Again … And I’m Hiring

by Jason Falls · November 20, 2008

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about agency life it’s that you’re always evolving. Doe-Anderson has gone through several evolutions in its interactive department since I started here just two and a half years ago. While my efforts in social media touch the interactive department and are often seen as a peripheral function of it, I came from the PR world and was considered outside the tech curtain.

On Monday of this week, I was asked to lead the interactive department at Doe. The challenge to make the integrated interactive model work at our agency is all I needed to say, “yes.” I do love a good challenge.

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16 comments

Exploring Social Media (Without Getting Fired)

by Kat French · November 19, 2008

I have to admit, I didn’t really keep up on my feeds last week while I was out of town (and I’m still playing catch up).  So I almost missed the poignant, slightly melodramatic saga of Bob, the misunderstood social media explorer.  If you missed it, too, go ahead and catch up.  I’ll wait for you. 

Done?  Okay.  Good.  Short version?  Bob was engaging his employer’s customers in social media.  Bob was told explicitly by his boss to stop.  Bob didn’t stop.  Bob ended up being called to HR for a formal reprimand.  

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34 comments

How To Be The Social Media Champion At Your Office

by Jason Falls · November 17, 2008

Your boss thinks you “play on Facebook,” all day. Your co-worker who is jonesing for the same promotion is monitoring the time of day you post to Twitter. The guy from across the hall sips black coffee through his brown teeth and laughs, “Met the man of your dreams on Ebay, yet?”

What a nimrod.

Take it from someone who knows. It’s not easy being the social media champion in the building. If very few people in the business world understand social media, it’s only logical very few at your place of work would, too. So how do you help make them understand social media isn’t just about posting personal journals on MySpace or blowing 30 minute chunks of your day watching the skateboarding dog on YouTube? Some thoughts:

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472 comments

Thoughts, Impressions from Pubcon 2008

by Kat French · November 14, 2008

Greetings, Social Media Explorers, from sunny Las Vegas on the last day of Pubcon 2008.

For those not familiar with it, Pubcon is an internet marketing conference created by Webmaster World and sponsored this year by Microsoft.  It’s one of the oldest and most well-attended conferences for those in search marketing (SEM), which includes both SEO and paid search.  

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8 comments

On Message? You Missed The Point.

by Jason Falls · November 12, 2008

Driving to work the morning after Election Day I caught an interview with Renee Montagne and newly elected North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan. Montagne asked the senator-elect to elaborate on something which was a very simple request. The Dole-Hagan battle turned on a negative ad the Dole camp ran which many felt crossed the line into the unfair. Montagne said to Hagan, “Briefly remind us what that ad was an how big of a role you think it played.”

Image by tvvoodoo on Stock.Xchng

What the public mostly sees when spokespeople rely on talking points and messaging to avoid answering the question. Image by tvvoodoo on Stock.Xchng

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94 comments

Blog Catalog Launches Nifty New Search Widget

by Jason Falls · November 11, 2008

It’s easy to get caught up in new sites and technology in the social media space and forget about those that have been around a while. More often than not, those old, trusted friends have continued to innovate and are still developing noteworthy functionality and uses. You just get caught up in the new shiny objects and shrug them off with, “been there, done that,” reactions.

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4 comments

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