Mitch Arnowitz

March 02, 2010

Social Media Myths and Truths

(reprinted from ShowSmart October, 2009 issue) by: Mitch Arnowitz

second in a series

Getting involved in Social Media can be intimidating. So much so that you might not know where to begin. Here, we’ll uncover some of the myths and truths about today’s hottest marketing medium.

Myth: Build it and they will come.
Truth: Success in social media requires relationship building and time!

In the early days of the Internet, companies created billboards or websites in cyberspace. Unfortunately, these same companies thought that customers and prospects would flock to the websites. Many learned the hard lesson that 'build it and they will come' doesn't play well on the Internet. The same philosophy holds true for social networking communities like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Outreach to similar groups, joining online conversations, and offering value to participants are some of the ways that you can drive traffic.

Building relationships takes time! Content and conversation help to establish a sense of community. Relationships are built by listening; this is especially true in social networking. Finding the right attendees to build relationships with also helps to drive traffic. The Internet's golden rule is to give, then take. Offer information, add to the conversation, or help someone before making the ask!

Consumers have choices of established and newer brands to reward with their loyalty. Those companies that offer real value- a reason to visit and return- will do well. Through social networking efforts, you can build a community of loyal prospects and attendees!

Continue reading "Social Media Myths and Truths" »

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February 16, 2010

Social Media Myths and Truths

(reprinted from ShowSmart January, 2010 issue) by: Mitch Arnowitz

first in a series

Myth: Social media is Facebook and Twitter
Truth: Social media is web forums, e-mail lists, video, photo sharing, wikis, social networking and social bookmarking.

Many people falsely believe that 'social media' is defined by websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Social media certainly includes these social networking services but also encompass other content channels. Wikipedia defines social media as "media which are formed mainly by the public as a group, in a social way, rather than media produced by journalists, editors and media conglomerates."

Consumer generated content can be found in Internet forums such as Creative Cow, Yahoo! Groups e-mail lists, blogs, podcasts, YouTube and vimeo videos, photo sharing services such as Flickr, wikis, and social bookmarking websites like Delicious and StumbleUpon. Rather than broadcasting messages, social media outlets engage prospects and attendees while building relationships. In the new communications paradigm and shifting landscape, consumers create their own value through the use of social media. Some companies harness this activity and turn passionate customers into a public relations bonanza while others misstep in their approach and become negative case studies.

Social media efforts should be managed by a stakeholder or someone with a vested interest in your product or service! Utilize all networking vehicles available but maintain a seamless approach so that conversations and relationships are woven together. Grow your relationships through social media by participating in conversations while listening. Let prospects and attendees help define your presence while driving traffic to 2010 NAB Show!

Continue reading "Social Media Myths and Truths" »

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February 08, 2010

Crucial Keys to Driving Event Traffic Through the Use of Social Media

(reprinted from College of Association Marketing February, 2010 newsletter) by: Mitch Arnowitz

Using social media is vital to your marketing plans today, especially for increasing attendance at your association’s events. Here are some tips for success.

You need good information about potential event attendees, which means knowing whom to reach. Create a strategy and define goals and metrics. Then, hunt for people who are passionate about and likely to be interested in your event. Some of our best promotional efforts have come from out-of-the-box thinking—we pick up unlikely “rocks” on the Internet to find those whom others respect, and our research landscape includes social networking sites along with e-mail lists, web forums, user groups, e-newsletters, online communities, niche websites and individuals, along with a human search engine, conversation tracker and e-mail list finder.

Your message must include a clear, concise value proposition. For it to get delivered, you have to find real people to send it to—that’s why we don’t send to sales@, info@ or pres@ e-mail addresses. If you build relationships on a one-to-one basis, you get great contact information! We use syndicated calendars to spread the word, and make it easy to pass along information by supplying a sample newsletter or blog post.

Program execution includes personalizing all communications, and visiting blogs and other marketing vehicles before reaching out. Best practices include asking publishers to pass the word along. Be transparent: Identify yourself in outbound communications, and follow up promptly.

We use Google Docs for organizing, sharing information and streamlining the process. We track activities and report on progress with free tools like Google Alerts and targeted sites for comments, reach, trending and blogs, and an RSS reader.

A successful social-media campaign has all communication components in sync—there really are no shortcuts to delivering awareness, excitement, attendees and ROI. Have fun with it and, above all, be social!

Continue reading "Crucial Keys to Driving Event Traffic Through the Use of Social Media" »

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January 31, 2010

There is no doubt about it, 2009 was ...

There is no doubt about it, 2009 was the year that Twitter came into its own. It was everywhere. Suddenly the social network found itself transformed from a niche tool used to network and share idea among geeks to one of the biggest buzz words of the year. You couldn’t turn on the local news without there being shown random people’s “Tweets” about everything happening. Even Oprah made an account. The perception has quickly become that if your company or organization is not on Twitter you are falling behind. Twitter has reached critical mass.

So where does that leave us now and what does it mean for your organization? It's important to remember that just because a social media tool is widely popular it still needs to fit into your organization’s marketing strategy. One of the main reasons a lot of social media initiatives fail is because tools like Twitter are utilized without a good strategy to back them up.

When using social media to engage with the consumer it’s always important to take a step back and ask yourself what your end goal is. Why are we here? What purpose does being on Twitter serve us? Remember, the end goal is to not have thousands of followers, it's to have thousands of targeted followers who will engage in a two way communication with you and receive a real benefit from your interactions.

Your real ROI is achieved when those who are passionate about your brand find you and have a connection. One thousand followers who care about your brand and are truly engaged are worth 10,000 who are not. These followers are the ones who will Retweet you, participate in your promotions and spread the word about you.

Twitter is an amazing tool, but it’s just that, a tool. At the end of the day it takes creativity, forward thinking and an ability to take a step back and look at the big picture to make Social Media marketing work.

Not so different then any other successful marketing effort, really...

Continue reading "There is no doubt about it, 2009 was ..." »

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July 07, 2009

Social media: how do YOU gauge success?

The following discussion was recently posted to the AdMarketing list. You can follow the thread here.

There, of course, has been much written about social media metrics. The topic has come up lately with a couple of our clients. Following are the metrics or measurements that we use. I know what the experts say but am more interested in your opinions.

How do you define social media success? What measurements do you use? Can you add to or revise this list?

Metrics

- Actual leads, donations, registrations or, whatever the call is. These are tracked by source or promo codes.

- 'Buzz', excitement, awareness, education- we do a lot of events so this can be tracked by Tweetups, exhibitor and attendee feedback.

- Traction in social networks (Ning, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc): discussions, friends, followers...

- Website traffic (Google Analytics, Webtrends, etc)

- What else? Thanks, Mitch

Continue reading " Social media: how do YOU gauge success?" »

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June 19, 2009

Twitter: past, present or future?

The following post comes from the AdMarketing list. You can follow the conversation here.

The list has been quiet for wayyyy to long. I trust this note finds everyone doing well and getting ready to enjoy the summer!

Interesting topic lately is (of course) twitter. Many are saying that celebs have tarnished the landscape.
Others are saying that its demise will be caused by newer collaborative tools coming onto the market, like Google wave. Still others point to #iranelections as an example of twitter's prominence.

So, what say you? Is twitter the future, part of the past or a present day tactic used in your day-day activity?

More:

Why Twitter will soon become obsolete

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

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November 02, 2007

[AM] Getting plugged into DC

Posted to AdMarketing list
-----
Hi everyone--

While doing client research, we discovered a ton of 'newer' groups, blogs and start-up offerings in town.

Pointers for a Tuesday morning:

DC Tech Events calendar (great roll-up of user groups + more, offers
feeds)

The DC Technology Network (new social network, join and start a group)

Alice Marshall's Tech on the Potomac blogroll over on Blogdigger

Refresh DC

nextDC

TECH cocktail in DC

The Webpreneur (interesting thread)

There's other activity going on including this past weekend's Startup Weekend DC last summers barcamp and upcoming WidgetDevCamp.

This is in addition to the tons of DC MeetUps available and flickr groups.

This is all, of course, in addition to this week's New New Internet 2.0 conference in town.

Have any other pointers? Send them into the list! Txs, Mitch

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December 06, 2006

newspapers and citizen journalism

WashPost had a great article on changes that newspapers, and others, are going through. The article details the well documented saga of consumer journalism and shrinking circulation.

The best part of the article though is the last lines:

On the other hand, none of the sources Myron dealt with in two assignments on consecutive days seemed to grasp that what he was reporting and writing about them would go to the News-Press Web site.

"They ask me, 'When's what you wrote about me going to be in the paper?' " Myron said. "I have no good answer."

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September 17, 2006

Ronald McHummer Just Say No

EWG and HybridCars.com have teamed up to bash the McDonalds Hummer relationship. The Ronald McHummer website lets you create and download your own sign, tell a friend and take action.

(saw it at BL Ochman's whatsnextblog.com)

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July 06, 2006

Angry Customers Use Web to Shame Firms

Here is yet another article about the ease & power of the Internet
when it comes to spreading the word about bad customer service. Things have changed quite a bit (thanks to Web 2.0 services like youtube) with consumers understanding how to get the word out beyound putting up a Web site like AOL Watch.

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June 12, 2006

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox: Surviving Inbox Congestion

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for June 12 is now online: Email Newsletters: Surviving Inbox Congestion

Observations:

Our main conclusion remains the same: Email newsletters are the best way to maintain customer relationships on the Internet.

1. This is a strong statement. With all the talk about engaging and opening up the dialogue, it's interesting that Nielsen's research shows that a broadcast is still the best way to grow the relationship.

2. Using the term 'news feeds' makes more sense that 'RSS'- very true. I still can't find contacts that know what an RSS feed is but they do understand 'news feed'. The challenge though is explaining, in English, how feeds work. Nielsen's idea of using My Yahoo! as an example for feeds is a great idea.

3. Feeds are not a relationship builder but newsletters are- I never thought that we'd consider newsletters to be warm and fuzzy...

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May 08, 2006

Building an Effective Marketing Program

(read it on Potomac Tech Wire)

Lisa Martin, of Leapfrog, recently interviewed Gerald Gordon, Ph. of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

It's encouraging to see that this short touches upon online communications with the following:

5. What are some of the most cost effective marketing tactics for a small company today?

Networking with groups that make up your potential clients, targeted trade shows, targeted letters with a call-to-action and something inside that will get it opened out of curiosity, targeted online communications, guerilla marketing, e-mail sponsorships or e-mail campaigns directed toward core audiences. But, the number one tactic should be following up with your leads. It sounds simple, but I’m amazed at how many people don’t do it.

Lead gen follow-up is so true. This is something that Brian Carroll over at the B2B Lead Generation Blog discusses quite a bit.

Continue reading "Building an Effective Marketing Program" »

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January 11, 2006

Everyday Hogwash

Steve Rubel points to a good marketing campaign. VoIP company SunRocket has started a website called Everyday Hogwash. The idea is for people to post rants about everyday companies that stick it to you through mouse type, bad customer service or whatever. Link back to the promotion and get entered to win prizes. The message, of course, is that SunRocket is the 'no-gotcha' company void of hidden fees that typically send consumers over the edge.

(disclosure: our firm did some grassroots work for SunRocket before they launched).

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September 12, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Resources Page for Marketing, Advertising, & PR Professionals: MarketingSherpa

Diva Marketing points to an interesting MarketingSherpa list of Hurricane Katrina Resources for Marketing, Advertising, & PR Professionals. Meanwhile, a conversation over on AdMarketing asks if marketers have a civic responsibility to use our abilities for the greater good--especially in times of crisis?

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August 23, 2005

Lead gen and free chapters

I have always been a fan of free chapters as a way to sell more books. After all, some really well known marketers have been doing this for years.

We are in the middle of a B-B lead generation campaign that uses a book as an incentive. We just discovered that the publisher gives away a free chapter. What we're unsure of is whether the chapter increases the value of the offer or prompts someone to take the wrong action.

I should probably post this question to Brian Carroll's blog...

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July 29, 2005

hand written notes are a nice touch

On the good practices front, I met up with the head of a Washington, DC PR agency last week where we discussed potential partnerships between our firms. A couple of days later, I received a hand written note. What a great touch-- someone taking the time to send a personal response. This also reminded me of a comment by Robbin Zeff during an on line advertising & marketing conversation a few years ago.

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July 26, 2005

Name a company, win $100.00

The AdMarketing list has an interesting conversation going on. Internet marketer Marcia Yudkin has announced a contest to come up with a name for a web design/search engine optimization company. The winning name (and namer) gets $100.00.

Some AdMarketers think that the contest stinks while others are OK with it. Seems some are insulted to be paid $100.00 for the effort while others are glad to have the opportunity. $100.00 for a name seems like a pretty good deal. Question is, who's it a good deal for? More.

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July 13, 2005

Naming Fred's New Ping Service

Our friend Toby Bloomberg, of Bloomberg Marketing, is trying to name Fred's new ping service. Fred's service saves time-- especically the option that saves your settings to bookmarks!

More: Diva Marketing (Blog): Help Naming A New Ping Service 

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June 27, 2005

LISTSERV Choice Awards program

The LISTSERV Choice Awards program is back again this year. LISTSERV is the brand name of parent company L-Soft's email management  software package.  Self-nominations are welcome!

It's worth checking out last year's award winners. It's also worth following and finding email conversations at CataList, the company directory of lists.

The contest invites all LISTSERV email list enthusiasts to participate in the only industry-wide recognition program honoring the most interesting, creative, innovative or exemplary usage of email list, email campaign and mailing technology. This year's 2005-2006 contest features four different nomination categories: LISTSERV Discussion, LISTSERV Newsletter, LISTSERV Announcement and LISTSERV Innovation.

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June 20, 2005

The Gilbert Email Manifesto (GEM)

More oldies but goodies... Michael Gilberts email manifesto created quite a stir when it was released in 2001. Like with the other list recently published, these points make as much sense today as they did yesterday.

What do you think? Repeat after me:  "Email is more important than my web site!"

Michael's list:

Rule #1: Resources spent on email strategies are more valuable than the same resources spent on web strategies.

Rule #2: A web site built around an email strategy is more valuable than a web site that is built around itself.

Rule #3: Email oriented thinking will yield better strategic thinking overall.

 

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June 15, 2005

Top 10 Internet Marketing- 1995

I'm doing some research for a client and came across the following Top 10 List of Internet Marketing Do's and Dont's.

Internet marketing has certainly may have changed over the past several years but this list is still relevant. It's also interesting to read a communications list developed before the world of blogging took off.

The list:

DO

   1. Use a sig file.

   2. Ensure that your email address is included on stationery, your business card, brochures and advertisements. Include your web site URL, if you have one.

   3. If you have a web site, keep it simple and straight-forward.

   4. Find a way to stimulate dialogue with visitors to your web site.

   5. Consider news groups and mailing lists important resources for gathering marketing-related information.

DON'T

   1. Announce your web site until it is completed and fully functional.

   2. Broadcast your message indiscriminately, unless you enjoy being flamed.

   3. Lose sight of the fact that it is the user, not the advertiser, who foots the bill for Internet advertising.

   4. Make your email messages or news group posts any longer than they need to be.

   5. Underestimate the speed at which bad news can travel throughout the Internet, or the negative impact this phenomenon may have on your company.

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May 05, 2005

Meeting Nan Dawkins

I had the pleasure of meeting Nan Dawkins earlier this week. Nan is a principle over at Redboots Consulting and truly an expert in the areas of search engine marketing and optimization.

I learned a few interesting things for sure. Like how press releases are being used to improve (news) search engine rankings. More here. It also amazes me that most brands STILL do not check search engine rankings. This means that many companies are not aware of what customers and detractors are saying about them.

It's sometimes difficult to have perspective but my sense, after meeting with Nan, is that we're still early in the game of online communications.

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April 14, 2005

Dear Meetup Community

Dear Meetup Community,

We have some news to share that we don't think you're going to like. There's no point in dancing around it so here it is. Starting May 1st, every Meetup Group will have to pay a monthly fee. Read on for the details.

I am sure that the coming days will produce the reasons why Meetup feels it necessary to charge groups to cover costs but you have to admire the way they delivered this news...

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April 07, 2005

AMS Interactive becomes Acuity Media Group

Mark Dorf just wrote to say that his company AMS Interactive  has merged with longtime partner American Media Services to form Acuity Media Group.

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March 30, 2005

Cluetrain free for the reading

I just found the Cluetrain book entiely online and free for the reading. The book has become required reading for bloggers (thanks to Steve Rubel for pointing to Hugh Macleod that pointed to the Cluetrain website).

It doesn't seem that long ago that the Cluetrain boys came to Washington, DC and spoke to Netpreneurs...

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March 29, 2005

Open Standards – A Call To Action

NTEN stands for Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network and is an organization that "works to support the diverse people and organizations who help nonprofits understand and employ technology effectively".

Their blog has an interesting post on open standards:

Open Standards – A Call To Action
http://nten.typepad.com/forecast/2005/02/open_standards_.html

Despite recent innovations, technology in politics and the social sector too often limits rather than enables people and organizations to collaborate, share information, and solve problems.

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March 22, 2005

LISTSERV Choice Awards

disclaimer: L-Soft powers AdMarketing, and other Morino Institute lists that I'm involved with. I also like the company.
   
L-Soft, the email management list company, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with the LISTSERV Choice Awards.  The Awards recognized the "seven most interesting, creative and innovative LISTSERV e-mail lists in the world".

The award list is interesting. DorothyL: A Unique Community of Mystery Lovers won the The E-Mail Community Award Winner.  The other study to check out is: E-Mail Marketing Award: Stockholm International Fairs.

"Today our database contains over half a million registered email addresses of visitors who receive their exhibition tickets and other information via the Internet," explains Kinna Jonsson, project manager at Stockholm International Fairs. "By using email we are able to deliver customized information and new services to optimize visitors' experiences."

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March 01, 2005

What is Open Source Marketing?

Scoble points to the ChangeThis Manefesto: What is Open Source Marketing?

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February 20, 2005

vermin of communication

Amy Gahran, of CONTENTIOUS, has written a really good series on Handling Porcupines, Trolls, and Other Online Vermin.

Contrary to popular opinion, the internet is not really about technology. It’s about people, specifically how people communicate.

In my time on the internet, I’ve encountered just about every kind of online vermin. At times, I admit, I’ve even participated in the pestilence. Over the years I’ve learned some useful strategies for handling conflicts with each of the major online pests. In this series, I’ll share these tips.

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February 16, 2005

Email is dead (again)

UPDATE:

Actually, email is still dead. ;) Since I was the first person to stick my neck out there and SAY that, everything old is new again.

Chris brings up a great point with his comment to this post. Everything old IS new again. People use the term 'newsreader' when they talk about RSS feeds. Last time we heard about newsreaders, Deja News still archived newsgroups.

If I close my eyes and listen to talk of RSS ad opportunities, I think it's 1995 (?) and I'm listening to Phil Tanny of OakNetPub.com or Ros Resnick talking...  When I hear the talk of 'citizen journalism', I think back to the earlier days of community building.

Let's just hope that CEOs don't start talking about 'monetizing members' to soon...

===========
Chris Pirillo likes RSS. Who doesn't? More: Bye Bye Email? (compliments of adrants)

RSS is 'push' without the 'proprietary,' Pirillo pointed out. "Right now, it complements email, (but) tomorrow, it will replace news delivery.

Spam, which is the 800-pound gorilla responsible for most enterprise email blacklists and whitelists, is impossible via RSS. "Because the user controls his or her subscription, RSS subscriptions imply confirmation that he or she wants to receive your message," Pirillo added.

I guess this means that we're OK until companies and others start to push out unwanted info. through RSS readers.

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February 10, 2005

Why Craigslist works (Poynteronline)...

Steve Outing, who has recently posted on citizen journalism, has a nice entry on Craigslist's classified ad model: Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits

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Shady Web of Affiliate Marketing

Wired News: Shady Web of Affiliate Marketing (from reachcustomersonline)

The biggest annoyance on the internet is not the guy trying to sell you a knockoff watch or prescription painkillers, it's the marketing scheme that rewards spammers who drive customers to his site.

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February 09, 2005

Tips for better webinars

You can't argue with Brian Carroll's B2B Lead Generation Blog results when he talks about a 255% increase in webinar registrations. He also has a nice graphic that shows where webinars fit into lead generation.

 

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January 10, 2005

Most Hated Advertising Techniques (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

A recent column from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox.

Most Hated Advertising Techniques (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox).

People often have strong negative visceral reactions to ads that commit the sins listed in the table. One user, referring to an ad that automatically started playing audio, wrote: "IF ANYTHING COULD BE WORSE THAN POP-UPS, THIS IS IT. I HATE THIS AD. HATE HATE HATE."

Another user entered the following comment on a major website's feedback form: "You people should be ashamed of yourself! I did not ask to have 3 pop ups come across my screen when I visit you. I do not visit singles sites, and I don't want to add 4 inches.

As a matter of fact, I don't use any of the services that pop up on my screen. I think it is disgusting that you money hungry bastards have infringed on my computer for your own selfish gain. From this moment on, I am boycotting you, and I am advising EVERYONE I know to do the same thing. Down with you and your pop up ads."

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January 04, 2005

Missed opportunity

With all of the good press that companies like Amazon and Apple are getting for helping out tsunami relief efforts, it's surprising to see this global firm's homepage broadcast the message but not include a link...

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January 03, 2005

Zack Rosen's advice for the News & Record

More citizen journalism...  This advice for the Greensboro News & Record Newspaper comes from Zack Rosen-- founder of CivicSpace and nephew of Jay Rosen. Jay actually began the conversation about this newspaper here.

Zack Rosen: My Advice for the News & Record

My Uncle Jay gave me a writing assignment last Thursday:

    I want 400 words from you on what you think the News & Record and the bloggers of Greensboro should do...

I’ve been enjoying my nearly two year school work hiatus but there was no getting out of this one.

"Look to Kos. He has a real community. 10,000+ active particpants regularly participate in his space. They converse, peer-moderate, scheme, and organize day in and day out on his site. They come up with incredible ideas, rally their fellow 'kossacks' around them, and galvanize them into action..."

 

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December 24, 2004

Links matter

Last night, I checked my blog's referrer logs. Traffic is obviously light but I'm interested in how people find me (note to self: bloglines).  In the referrals, I saw that someone had visited through a Google search on advertising. The actual search was on Cary Hatch advertising. Cary Hatch runs Washington, DC ad shop MDB Communications.

I wrote a short entry on Cary some time ago. Googling Cary's name + advertising now brings up my blog as the 1st search result, even before her own company! When I Google just Cary's name, my blog still appears in the Top 5 listings.

Searching Cary's company MDB Communications doesn't include the blog in search results, but I wonder what would happen to the listings if I did blog the company (vs the owner). I also wonder how much Cary paid to optimize her website and what their linking strategy is?

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December 22, 2004

Yahoo! Mail vs RSS

Well, I just got the latest copy of the well respected EmailUniverse Ezine-Tips with the subject line: [Ezine-Tips] CAN-SPAM ACT New Rulings Heads Up.

Only problem was that it ended up in my Yahoo! Mail [BULK] filter...

Funny, I have no problem getting Chris Knight's other, most excellant [EmailUniverse] newsletters through my RSS feed.

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December 14, 2004

AOL with your paper and coffee?

This morning, I was greeted by the friendly AOL mascot shrink-wrapped with my Washington Post newspaper. The AOL offer and CD included 1099 hours FREE and 10 Games FREE. 

While marketing employees come and go, it seems one tried and true AOL acquisition program remains to be the CD-ROM give way.

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December 12, 2004

More citizen journalism

Steve Outing has an interesting post on citizen journalism and big media companies. He mentions local start-up backfence that seasoned entrepreneur Susan DeFife is involved with.

While at the Netpreneur Program, I got to know the folks over at restonweb. I think that they had the same hyper local, advertising idea as some of the newer websites. This was years ago so it'll be interesting to see how much has changed.

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December 06, 2004

E-Mail Creative: The HTML/Text Struggle

Jeanne Jennings mentions several AdMarketing subscribers and a recent list discussion in today’s ClickZ:  E-Mail Creative: The HTML/Text Struggle

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Posted by Mitch at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 13, 2004

Bobquits.com

Bobquits.com

The Bobquits.com campaign is plastered around Washington, D.C for the month of June. The campaign uses traditional exposure/billboards and the Internet to spread the word. The online portion is geared towards those with broadband access. The stories that readers send in are the best part of the website.

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