2011 August | Social Media Explorer

Referral Candy Helps You Pay Those Who Recommend You

by Jason Falls · August 8, 2011

Does your business have a customer referral program? What about one that is operated with slick online software that does a lot of the heavy lifting for you? No, I’m not talking about an affiliate program, per say. I’m talking about reaching out to customers of yours, offering them a discount coupon or offer to purchase from you to share with their friends, then paying that customer for passing on the referral.

Referral Candy is a platform that does just that. They’ve joined Social Media Explorer this week as a sponsor! W00t!

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What Role Do You Want Social Media to Play in Politics?

by Nichole Kelly · August 5, 2011

Last Friday Mashable reported that President Barack Obama’s recent #compromise campaign actually cost him over 36,000 followers. Was it an example of how “not” to use social media to move a political agenda or was it a great example of how to spark conversation amongst constituents? I’m sure that’s going to be an open debate for awhile. While we consider the thought of whether Obama and his social media team made the right decision with the campaign, it opens an even bigger question. What is social media’s role in politics? Where do we want to see social media in the political conversation?

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Why Companies are Afraid of Social Media

by Jason Falls · August 4, 2011

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post from my co-author Erik Deckers. We’ll be posting a series of ideas, cross-posted on his blog and that of our publisher, Que Publishing, talking about the themes in our upcoming book No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide To Social Media Marketing. Pre-order your copy today!

“We don’t do social media, because people might say bad things about us,” the executive said. “If we have a Facebook page, people might leave negative comments on it.”

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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Content

by Jason Falls · August 4, 2011

Everything you ever wanted to know about content, you’ll learn at Content Marketing World. The conference, which is not-quite-inaccurately being billed as the premier international content marketing event, takes place in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 6-8. I’m speaking there, along with an all-star roster than includes the likes of CBS News and New York Times contributor David Pogue, David Meerman Scott, Kevin Smith (a/k/a Silent Bob), Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi and a roster that’s frankly eye-popping.

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Bloggers Are Promotional Partners, Which Is Bad For PR

by Stephanie Schwab · August 4, 2011

I’ve been ranting for some time about the disconnect between PR and social media, and particularly between PR and blogger outreach. In the evolution of social media, somehow blogger outreach became equated with public relations’ pitching to journalists, and so for years it’s been largely the domain of PR coordinators and account executives.

That’s seems wrong. I feel that PR should not be primarily responsible for blogger outreach. And likely not for other types of social media either.

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Your Community Is Out There, Where Are You?

by Jason Falls · August 3, 2011

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post is from Harrison Kratz, perhaps the most talented, aggressive, smart and socially minded person who can’t legally drink I’ve ever met. He’s a fire ball and has done more in just a few short years in the social media space than most people will in the next 10. He wanted to share something passionate with you. I think you’ll see why I said yes.

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