We have some terrific case studies that were submitted for our event in SIlicon Valley tomorrow night, Five For Sharing.  It was hard to choose, and indeed we had to pass on a couple of really great one’s just due to time constraints.  In the end, we have a great balance that will be really informative and entertaining.

In addition to Shashi Bellamkonda who will be presenting an overview of the integrated social media programs being produced at Network Solutions, we will also be joined by:

• Mike McGrath of McGrath/Powers will be presenting on how his agency used social media as part of a product launch for Nero
• Dave Peck will be sharing how he promoted this video on YouTube, how he drove traffic there and how they engaged in the conversation that ensued.
• Cathryn Hrudicka will be talking about the new social media program underway at Sutter Health about building a new medical center.
• Cory O’Brien will be talking about how they used social media for a Dwell Magazine conference.
• We also may have one other remotely presented case study, which I will simply call our surprise guest for now….

In short, we have case studies on the use of social media for: an event, a product launch, promoting content, engaging with community and as part of a broader marketing initiative at a high tech company. Wow! You just gotta love how we can all do things like this together.  Thank you all for agreeing to participate and share what you have learned.  So now that you know what we are going to be discussing, go register today so we can have an accurate head count

Yep, that is it. I just wanted you to know that one key to Obama winning was that he used social media.  Move along now. This is the end of the blog post. Nothing more to read here.  Really, are you still reading this? Fine….

How about I share with you some of the social media tools Barack Obama used to help become the next President of the U.S.A? I will give them to you in list form, because people like lists:

-There is the Black Eyed Pea’s Yes We Can Video as of this post 13,000,000 have seen it. (How is that for a return on your investment?)

- The Obama/Biden blog that averaged about 300 to 1500 comments per post. This was updated several times a week and sometimes several time daily.  This blog was what I think the most important part of the whole website which has several other social media aspects to detailed to get into.

-A Flicker account. Now this is key. These were not pictures of Barack. Not just pictures of his staff. They were pictures of people. Those in the field, those who were supporting him. Heck most of them don’t even have the people’s names. My point.. the Obama campaign did not just push a single message or talk about Barack. They shared pictures of everyday people who were part of the campaign, the people working hard, the message here with Flicker was almost more personal. Bottom line.. brilliant!

-Facebook There are fan pages, groups and of course a “Supporter Page” for Barack Obama. Why not? Easy, quick and simple. People join and all their friends can see that you did via notifications.

-Youtube Channel Videos they say, tell a thousand words.. wait that’s pictures.. but you get the idea.  Lots and lots of videos they posted over 1800 as of this post. Each video has at least 50,000 views and most are around 100,000 on up.

-Twitter Yep he was on Twitter posting updates, where he is, what he is doing. Lots of posts sharing links to live videos and blog updates.

Oh and notice that I said a few times “as of this post”? That is because these videos, pictures, tweets, posts, etc are still getting views and impressions after the fact. They are still out there for people to interact with.

There are to many tools that the Obama campaign used to list. The bottom line here. Social media has amazing reach and power. This is an amazing example of the power of social networks. Let this be a call to action for companies and those big brands, get involved now!

Footnote: One item that is not necessarily social media, Search Engine Optimization. I have no knowledge that they used it, but I have no doubt they did. SEO is a very powerful thing these days. Companies need to get on board with SEO.

So this will be a quick and short post. Wanna see something really cool? Thought you would! Check this out!

See! Pretty cool huh?

The newspaper! Im talking about the New York Times “Obama Wins” Headline. See you can give it as a gift to someone on Facebook! Here look at what my friend C.C. gave to Steve

Click on the image if you are having trouble seeing it, I will wait.

So here is my point. The New York Times has 2,000,000 plus of these things for people to give to one another on Facebook. Its a mini NYT newspaper.  People send them to their friends in excitement for the Obama win or like I did to my friend John, to throw salt in his wound.  My point though is this is part of online branding for you right there! This is social media at its best.  People are sending millions of NYT gifts back and forth on Facebook, cause they want to!

Another cool thing is that FB then sees what is happening between the users and the system says to its self ” Ah, Steve must be interested in Obama lets hit him with some custom advertising on his screen! See the NYT:Obama Wins ad on the right side? More then likely you don’t even know its happening, its really a natural flow that is niche marketing and online branding. NYT gets it!

…and yes Facebook knows what you are doing, talking about  and sending. It creates custom ads based on what your doing. Do not think for a minute they are not watching!

“Are you on Twitter?’

“Have you heard of Twitter?”

” Blah, Blah, Twitter, Blah, Twitter?”

I recently was asked a great question by the twitter Indie Radio Chattanooga.  It was simple and direct.

“Why Do People Flock To Twitter?”

What is the reason  that over 3,000,000 people so far are heading to this site? Whya re companies like  Reuters,  Apple, and  Southwest Airlines using it?

Lets break this down into 2 parts. What is Twitter and instead of asking why do people flock to Twitter, lets ask the  question of how people are using it. . Now I am thinking we do this in list form, because people like lists.

What is Twitter?

- Twitter is simply put a social networking site that allows you to post in messages in under 140 characters. This is sometime referred to as micro blogging.

-These updates or tweets as they are called on the site allow the user to share messages, status updates, what they are doing  to anyone who has opted in to get them.

-Members can get these updates via the twitter website, an RSS feed, text message, email, a number of applications including  Facebook, and so on.

Why Do People Use Twitter?

(or as my wife would say”Why in the world do people care what your doing?”

-Networking: Its a great way to meet people. If your in a niche business you can easliy find people who have the same interests.

-Marketing: I don’t just mean big companies like Coke, Southwest and such. I’m talking about branding and marketing your self. Your putting yourself out there for all to see. I get a lot of business by just being on Twitter and talking about what I am doing and learning in regards to social media.

-Stream of Information: I seem to be getting breaking news and information on Twitter before most news sources. Great example was when the last earthquake hit the Bay Area. It was all over Twitter a good 10 minutes before CNN had it as breaking news.

-Its fun! You meet all kinds of people from all over the world. You can find someone to chat about something!

I highly recommend that if you have not checked out Twitter you should give it a try.  Its a great simple, straightforward site. There are many ways to “cross post” which means typing a single status message and have it show up in other social networking sites like: Facebook, Plurk, MySpace, Linkedin and such.  If you have questions about these tools, feel free to ask me.

It is time to answer, or at least attempt to answer, a tough question I have received.  Joel Postman, yes the Joel Postman who has a book coming out called SocialCorp; Social Media Goes Corporate, asked me if I think “Large companies should block employees from using Social Networking Sites At Work?” Wow, Joel does not throw softball questions at all.

So, my answer to the question?  Yes, they should allow their employees to have access to the Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, Bebo, sites of the world.  The benefits out way the negative claims of loss of productivity. Also, some employees wont work at places that block SocialNetworks.

Since I am for allowing employees to access these sites, I think it would be a good idea to put my reasons why down in list form. People like lists.

-SocialNetworks are a great way for online marketing. Your employees have the name of the place they work right there for the world to see on their Myspace profile. Its free online advertising.

-Imagine  the brain trust. Heave a problem at work? Stuck on something? Ask the question on a social network.  That’s how this blog post came about. I asked my SocialNetwork for blog post ideas

-Think of the business networking. Your employee is on Linkedin and able to network with their peers and customers. Going to the Q & A area of Linkedin can get people thinking. It can get the brain juices flowing.

-Increased customer relationships. Employees will end up adding customers to their SocialNetworks. This will increase the bonds with your clients. “Oh, Mike I saw the cute pictures of your new baby, how cute”. Your employees will get to know their customers better and on a whole new level.

- Lets say your an accountant. There must be a SocialNetwork out there for accounts. Its probably got a forums area where accountants share ideas, thoughts and give/get help. I would want my employees to be part of that.

-Social networking sites are where over 100 million people are worldwide. I would want my company and employees to be there and not my competition. I would want to own that social networking space. Have people go, “Wow that company gets it.”

-If you do not give the employees access, they will find away to get on the sites. I have a friend who works at Visa which does not allow access to sites like twitter. This person has already found a work around to get to twitter on the first day it was blocked.

-Using it can increase your sales and brand recognition.  Look at Zappos. They encourage their employees to be on networks. 

-It will help increase company communication. Serna uses Facebook as their internet.

I think the simple answer here its the way things are going. SocialNetworks are becoming part of everyday routines. Just like reading the news online is common instead of getting a newspaper delivered. Companies need to open up these channels of communication to their employees, while at the same time educating their employees on proper use.  As in everything education is key.

Now before you post comments saying, “My company will lose productivity, I dont know what my employees are doing, etc ” Think about how you can make the SocialNetworks work for you and your company. These are amazing tools that all companies should be using..before their competion does.

…”In this corner we  have the defending self replicating champ Viral Marketing. In the other corner we have the word of mouth up and coming challenger Social Media Marketing”….

Viral Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing, whats there to fight about? They are the same thing right?

Wrong! (ding ding ding)

Well, to be fair they seem like the same thing and find themselves in that  “grey area” of marketing. I am just saying it really easy to get the two of them confused, I can easily see how it can happen. So what is the difference between the two? Lets break it down in list form, people like lists.

Viral Marketing

-Simply relies on the audience to distribute the objective

-Uses social networks like Facebook, MySpace,  Linkedin, Twitter to help achieve an objective…i.e sales, brand awareness, etc

- This objective is obtained by a “Viral Action”. This action is people passing  on the content such as video, picture, an application, banner, heck even just word of mouth.

-Sometimes people don’t even realize they are passing on a viral marketing message. I did it earlier this year with this video, I did not know it was from Gatorade. I totally fell for it did you?   Here lies the big difference between Viral and Social Media Marketing,  Viral is sneaky and sometimes you don’t even know your passing on a marketing message.

Bottom Line:Viral relies on the audience to spread the message with little or no interaction. Its a one time interaction.

Social Media Marketing

- SM Marketing relies on the audience to distribute and engage in the dialogue and sometimes the creation of additional content.

-Its about engaging,communicating via a dialogue and interacting with people. More so customers.

-Increasing traffic to a site by links, brand awareness and well attention.

-You pay attention to what your customer/user wants and needs! You do this by listening, interacting, chatting.

- One does this by having a presence on social networking sites and channels. We are talking about Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogs, Podcasts, Digg and others.  The brand interacts and engages with the community, customer or even potential customer.

Bottom Line: SM Marketing uses good content to start a conversation with the goal of the relationship to grow, get deeper and keep it going

Both Viral Marketing and Social Media Marketing have the same goal, getting the word out about a brand. Yes, we are talking Word Of Mouth Marketing, which is passing information on.

Thanks to John Avilla for letting me bounce ideas of him for this post and helping me break it down.

The last few days I have been hurting for ideas for blog posts. I was not feeling it. Maybe I have writers block. I’m just not sure.

Well about 2:00 today I thought “How can I get an idea for a blog post?”

Where the heck can a social media, online community advocate type get an idea for a blog post… hmmmm

Oh wait! I can ask my community! I preach to companies all the time to “Ask Their Community” go back to their community. I did not practice what I preach.  Maybe the writers block has grown into “Social Media Block” or something.

So i went to my community and asked for  ideas for a blog post. Within 10 minutes I  had..count em.. 7 ideas that were kick ass. Just like that! I have been banging my head trying to come up with something and I got them with one post to my networks. One single post got my 7 amazing responses.  So there you have it, the power of having online networks.

So thank you all who responded like Scott Place, Meghan Rodberg, Joel Postman, The Diva, Netvalar, indieradiochatt, and DylanFan.  I will do my best to blog about each of your questions in the next few days!

I’m a New Media Strategist!! Good enough answer?

Lets just stop right there shall we?

I am very excited to share with you all that I have been hired as the New Media Strategist for<a href=”http://www.lsfinteractive.com/”> LSF Interactive.</a>

So now your saying “Great! Congrats! What the heck is a New Media Strategist?” I am so glad you asked! Well a New Media Strategist provides planning and execution of public relations strategies that will help increase a company’s image, community stature as well as brand awareness.

Yes, that is a mouth full isn’t it?

Lets break it down into its parts. How about a list? People like lists! The areas all be handling and advising on are:

-Blogs

-Social Networking Sites i.e Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk,(always have to work the word Plurk in)

-Podcasts

-Outreach/Advocacy

-Relationship management

-Webcasting/Lifecasting

-Tradeshows/Industry Conferences

-Viral Campaigns

-Public Relations

So there you go. The Cliff Notes version.

This is a repost from my older blog peckpack.com

-

“Will this video go viral?”

“How soon till this video goes viral?”

” His video went viral, what about mine?”

If I got a nickel for everytime someone contacts me asking, “What do I have to do to make this video  go viral?” Its  got to be one of those classic lines social media folks get. Right up there with, “How do I measure social media results and what is twitter?” (these questions will be answered in upcoming posts).

So the answer to this question? Let us keep in mind that this answer is not limited to video. It can be a blog post, podcast, (insert media type here).

Well lets start with there is no simple answer. Its about timing, community, the message, oh and….Content. That maybe the simplest and best answer. …Content.

Content is King.

If your putting something out there that is amazing, well done and grabs people, then you have a better chance of going viral.

If your putting something that is just Blah, well then that’s what your going to get back.

My friend Tim Street, who is the brains behind French Maid TV, shared with me a simple secret to help increase the odds of a video going viral. He says ” A video must make you feel at least two emotions to go viral.” Be it sadness, happiness, anger, love, etc, etc. I think he is dead on with that. So my tips for things you should do to help a video go viral? Let me share them in list form, people like lists:

-Feel at least two emotions (thank you Tim.)

-Its got to be simple to share. So have  the sharing tools already embedded and available for the person. A simple tool like ShareThis will do it all.

-Its got to be simple. Something Straight and to the point. Do not make people think to hard.

-If they share it what is in it for them? Maybe making their friends laugh? Could it be helping a cause they believe in? Are they maybe getting linklove?(Wait for upcoming blog post to explain linklove)

-Timing. I believe the time of day and day of the week play into the release of a video too. If you do it at night people may be sleeping, but they check webpages in the morning and forward things on. Then you need to factor in other countries too. Remember we need to think global, not local sometimes.

Again, I use videos as the example but it about content in general.