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07 Apr 2010
Whether you're a veteran in the social space or relatively new trying to figure this whole social media thing out, all of us are aware of many social media myths that get tossed around as fact.
"Social media is the answer to get your brand out there!"
"The goal is to get a lot of fans."
"You need to get out there and start interacting."
The myths hold some truth, but it's the truth that is never really explained or shared, and that is the difference between a rookie and a professional. First ring of truth is that social media ...
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social media, marketing, customer service, branding, social media tips
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25 Feb 2010
It's nothing unusual when a company wants to put their name in front of as many people as possible.Sometimes it's not for the hard sale, sometimes is just for awareness. It's great when people who see your brand for the first time become interested in your products or services and start to ask the right questions. To think that business nowadays simply happens because you tell people to buy your product or service is unrealistic. Today consumers are much more educated, having access to tools that not only share information on your product or service, but the ability to crowdsource ...
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SXSW, San Antonio, technology, social media, online community, co-working
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08 Feb 2010
A quick glance on a Twitter stream, or perhaps a Facebook and you’ll probably see mentions of Foursquare with a person’s location, or perhaps a small graphic detailing, with an address, just where another person is, using Gowalla. These location based tools are frightening to some and a welcome to others, but like any emerging technology, is fun and interesting to play with. Currently the heavy hitters mentioned above will soon be joined by updates to other programs that offer similar services, Loopt and Yelp. Knowing where you are is always nice, but knowing where you are in ...
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Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, location based services, marketing, advertising, online community
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27 Jan 2010
There was a time, not long ago, when websites became the status quo for any business. Much like the California Gold Rush, businesses saw an opportunity to gain a foothold in the online space. What companies failed to understand is that websites were NOT meant to be static billboards, but rather a place to highlight their company with changing content every so often. What we saw years later was a digital scrap heap of sites that were abandoned, forgotten, and left unloved. The digital landscape is littered with these sites and for a company to think that is what you ...
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business, social media, social networks, relationships, community building
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08 Jan 2010
Social media has been marked as a branding tool, to establish your position with online communities who may
not be aware of the services or products you provide. It's also been marked as a marketing tool where interactions and customer comments have driven satisfaction to an all time high. With all we've seen in the last two years, it's hard to ignore the fact that online engagement has changed the way businesses and customers coexist. In most instances it's a positive change, and the this has further pushed the business relationship paradigm to shift.
People are fickle, it's a fact ...
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Dominos, branding, business, marketing, customer service, customer satisfaction
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05 Jan 2010
Blogging, whether for personal or business purposes, has taken on a life of its own in the world of new media. As popular as video and audio have become, writing seems to be the fundamental process that all of us go through when we want to share information. Blogs in general are meant to be conversational. Company blogs sometimes have a tough time defining themselves as they adjust the paradigm shift in how businesses interact with people today, but we're seeing more and more success with company blogs and the conversational tone they are using to gain support from the ...
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blogs, blog tips, internet, online, blog tags, blog categories
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15 Dec 2009
Facebook has made some pretty big changes in the last year, more specifically this last quarter of the year. Some of these changes have had its fair share of critics, but in the end the changes have taken place and they are going to continue making more in the near future as the online numbers continue to swell in all demographic markets.
With its popularity continuing to rise, the social network has become more then even its own creators expected, and is interestingly becoming a hub for discussion, business, commerce, announcements, and more. I've always personally thought of it as ...
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online, community, Facebook, Facebook changes, social media, marketing, Facebook Pages
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08 Dec 2009
Before there was money, before there was product, even before there was media, there was us. We existed in a world that was big, unexplored, and limitless from our childlike perspective. We existed to connect with others, whether it kids in the neighborhood, or friends at school, our personal value existed solely on the idea of relationship building. This was the purest form of marketing who we were and what we had to offer. Some of us were intellectuals, some of us were jokers, but all in all, we brought value to the relationships we built.
Today we've grown ...
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social, media, relationships, branding, marketing, advertising, online, community,
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20 Nov 2009
An often overlooked necessary piece to your social media strategy is the creation of a social media policy for your online interactions. Much like face to face brand representation, your online interactions should demand the same level of professionalism, expertise, and respect that you'd expect any employee to display in or out of the office. Still, because so many companies are scrambling to develop an internet presence beyond their website, the creation of a social media policy is skipped and can ultimately be the downfall of your online engagement efforts.
So what's the solution? What will a social media ...
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Social Media, Internet, Online, Community, Media, Branding, Marketing, Advertising, Conversation, Networks
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12 Nov 2009
Today’s post will quickly highlight some of the biggest mistakes bloggers make, whether it's personal or business related. Online communication via a blog has been a successful step for many that have ventured into this space. Focusing on all the effective methods for blog writing and promotion can truly help in the success, but ultimately your content will be decided upon by the audience that reads your blog.
Please note that these are generalized and
may not pertain to your own blog directly, but these seem to be the biggest problems seen online.
- Not using a self hosted blog
- Copying ...
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blog, blogs, internet, online, social media, communication, community, writer
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10 Nov 2009
Twitter, with its millions and millions of users online, has struck a deal
with multiple search engines and is now benefiting from the Internet
crawler experience. This will benefit marketers, advertisers, and users
alike by providing link-back benefits, mention benefits, and assuredly,
keyword benefits.
What's a crawler?
Stated simply is
the behind the scenes scanner that goes through web content looking for
specific keywords which ultimately help web content rank higher in
search engines. Considering how many Tweets go out daily, it's
surprising that Twitter and the search engines involved (
Bing, Google, Yahoo)
didn't seal this deal earlier. With more users coming on ...
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SEO, Internet, Online, Google, Bing, Yahoo, Search Engine, Twitter
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03 Nov 2009
SEO is vital for any industry with an online presence. Ensuring your online community can find your website can convert users to patients when content is clear, relevant, and easy to find. Too often medical doctors become concerned and frustrated when their medical practice does not come up during a standard Google search.
Dr. X to Healthcare Marketer: “I do 45% of the procedures in the city; I presented at the national conference last month; I took care of that NBA player when he was in town; I see patients 7 days a week! Why doesn’t the name ...
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doctor, medical, health, healthcare, internet, hospital, SEO, search engine
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28 Oct 2009
In years past blogging was simply looked at as a past time, something a person did to get their thoughts from their head and onto something that could record it. As more and more people began to seek out blogs for information and news, larger players started paying attention and incorporating them into their day today. Now there is no doubt that blogging has established itself in mainstream digital culture with both business and personal uses have found a way to coexist in the blogosphere.
When we write we stand to build credibility, reliability, and trust. Our readers are ...
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Attribution, Blogging, Writing, Building Trust, Social Media, Networks, Online Community, SEO, Post Ranking
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26 Oct 2009
H1N1 is top of mind for most parents these days. It certainly is the top of the newscast each night. Many hospitals are making it the top of their social media strategy. Part marketing and part social service, messaging around H1N1 is vital to keep our communities informed and up to date on the latest news around this epidemic.
If you’re a hospital marketer and you’re not sure how to begin communicating with your community on H1N1, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Campaigns/H1N1/. There you will find some excellent tools to add your website such as buttons you add to your website to ...
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Hospital, Medical, Doctor, HealthCare, Social Media, Online Community, H1N1, Swine Flu, Epidemic, Crisis Management, Health Risk
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16 Oct 2009
Blogs are becoming a more popular way for businesses to inform and connect with their consumers. A chronological posting of conversational style entries, blogs are a great way to share ideas, connect with similarly minded audiences on the web, and enter into a dialogue with followers of your business, product or service.
The Sitefinity Blog publishing system streamlines the management of single or multiple user blogs appearing on your site. Its module is extremely easy to use and makes this simple social media marketing tool a must-have feature on your website. You can also use an RSS feed on ...
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blogging, blogger, new media, social networks, online community, branding, marketing, advertising
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13 Oct 2009
Lawyers, by nature, are adverse to risk. That’s their job. So when we’re talking with our prospective law firm clients about the importance of maintaining robust content on their website and the use of social media tools like a blog, it is understandable that they get a little nervous. We are, after all, asking them to “put it in writing,” and share their thoughts, their opinions and their legal philosophies with what might seem like an unknown audience.
At GWT, our feeling is that a robust website that engages potential clients, along with the use of social media tools like ...
Tags:
Gray Web Tech, GWT
legal, law firm, social media, online networks
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07 Oct 2009
I've done presentations for many groups on the topic of whether social media is a fad or a practical trend to follow. It's hard to assure the naysayers of social media that the concept is not a fad. Though there's enough evidence that social media marketing has been an instrumental strategy for numerous brands that have established a popular, more well known reputation thanks to the democratization of the conversation, still too many see it as a passing fancy.
Ultimately social media is simply a set of tools used strategically to help build positive customer service lines, increase visibility ...
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Listening, Media, Online Community, Social Networks, Branding, Advertising, Marketing
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23 Sep 2009
Regardless of the medium, whether it's face to face, or
conversations using social technologies, there are key reason why
successful individuals and companies are reaching new heights in what
they do. Conversation is vital for any understanding.
It's said that "money talks," but I challenge that by saying "people
talk," and it's people that we are focusing in on with the new models
of business that social networks have established for us. No longer are
the ambiguous corporate suits the face of brands, but rather real human
beings who respond to positive and negative commentary with compassion,
understanding, and the need to help make things right.
Unlocking ...
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Online, Community, Media, Branding, Marketing, Advertising, Conversation, Networks
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14 Sep 2009
Customer communities are where you will find some of your brand's biggest assets. Within that community you will find advocates, supporters, and word of mouth marketers that will carry your banner to the farthest reaches of their social circles. Alternatively, bad performances can work against you, but having established a community of supporters ahead of time and delay the backlash of confusion and anger until you have the opportunity to respond.
The goal is to essentially build your community, build your network, before you need it. This concept is no different from the reality of face to face communication. In ...
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online, community, social media, networks, sitefinity, custom design, media, Gray Web Tech, Luis Sandoval Jr
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03 Sep 2009
The world of social engagement is large and wide, especially considering the number of tools available and the number of people that engage through these networks. There's a lot of benefits on the customer/client side of things to connect with a brand, but what benefits does a business receive when they decide to take a step into social media?
For starters, social media is a tool you'll want to implement into your existing branding strategies, i'ts not meant as a replacement for anything you are currently doing. If you're finding success in what you are doing now, do not forsake ...
Tags:
Branding, Social Media, Online, Community, Marketing, Advertising, Gray Web Tech, Luis Sandoval Jr
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