Social Tuesday: Twitter, Thoora, blogs

In an increasingly digital world, success is more relationship-driven than numbers-driven. But when you’re interacting virtually, how do you create real connections? From creating custom Twitter backgrounds to choosing interesting topics for conversation, success lies in the personal details.

Research on Twitter trends is emerging. One of these trends, retweeting, is a way to share/forward information that you find useful and interesting from a fellow poster, and serves to validate the original twitterer. If you believe you are putting out great content, but are disappointed with the amount of times you get retweeted, it could be that you are simply “LOL’ing” too much. Read Brian Solis’s posting here.

Get all your media news, social and traditional, in one place: that’s what Thoora is aiming to offer consumers. Thoora recently publicly launched their free service that offers their perspective on breaking news based on Twitter, 81 million blogs and 4,500 traditional media sources. Check out Andy Merrett’s take on the new service.

If you are a novice blogger and are questioning your site’s success, you’re not alone: most blogs don’t live to see six months. Although people measure blog success differently –  ad revenue, visitors, reader retention – you may be looking for a basic way to gauge how you’re doing. Darren Rowse helps keep you and your blog on the right track.

Common sense might tell you that the more you tweet, the more link click-throughs you are going to get. But think about it: on Twitter, most people can only read a fraction of their friends’ total activity and all of those fantastic links that you’re trying to share may be getting lost in the Twitter avalanche. So what is an avid link-sharer to do? Dan Zarella advises you to tweet less.

Social media land grab

Did you hear? There’s a big debate on who is best equipped to manage social media, ad agencies or PR firms. Go ahead, Google it – I’m sure there’s some conversation out there.

My take? This needs to stop being an “either or” argument. This land grab for social media assignments has resulted in a host of qualified – and an equal number (if not more) of unqualified – social media “pros” looking a piece of the action. I think my son’s 5^th-grade class is seeing a presentation next week from a former creative director who now writes for Helium.com and has reinvented himself as a social media expert for the middle school universe.

What we are really seeing is the true emergence of the concept and practice of integrated marketing. PR, ad shops, marketing, search and digital firms are shifting toward this blurry middle. No doubt some firms are ahead of others, but there are more “experts” in this new space than is really possible. Building out a social media platform within each of the marketing disciplines as these firms are currently formed seems to me a losing battle.

Mergers, acquisitions, start-ups, niche firms – these are some of the opportunities that can help build the new marketing integration model. Firms that embrace shared services and collaboration, filled with smart thinkers, can also work to deliver optimal client results.

The next couple of years? I see a rise in new model firms and a likely consolidation of the types of firms listed above. Though some firm websites claim to espouse the complete marketing package, wrapped snugly in a social media blanket, I don’t think anyone has really created the next generation marketing communications firm yet. We’re working on it aggressively here at The Castle Group.

What’s your take? Is there a model that gets it right and offers that comprehensive mix of strategy, services and tools?

Social Tuesday: blogging, Google Voice, Twitter, Oprah

Are you a blogger or aspiring blogger, but can’t seem to find the time to give 100 percent to your postings? What if you could call your own phone number, record your ideas and then have a neat transcript sent to you for editing? Check out Andrew G.R.’s blog detailing how he uses Google Voice and ClipMate.

In the words of Chris Brogan, “People don’t use social media because it’s cool.” Perhaps a more accurate statement is, “Companies don’t use social media because it’s cool…they do it for results.” So, if you’re attempting to sell social media integration to a company, you need to show not simply tell them their projected results. And how do you do that? Make blueprints.

If you consider yourself a Twitter trendsetter, then you probably already compare your notes and predictions with great social media influencers Steve Rubel, Chris Pirillo, Leo Laporte and others. Just in case you’ve been busy and are slacking on your follows, Jennifer Van Grove shares their perspectives on emerging Twitter trends.

Do you believe that while consumers and individuals seem to have caught on to social media and its uses, many companies and brands seem to still be struggling to figure it out? Do you think the title “social media expert” is not appropriately assigned? If so, you and Michael Brito have a lot to discuss.

Attention: Oprah has joined Twitter. What does this mean to the rest of the celebrity world? Many stars now feel that now that Oprah has given Twitter her stamp of approval, they too should join. Go ahead and add these celebs to your “follow” list. Don’t feel guilty, Oprah says it’s OK.

Goby part 2

I discussed Goby in a recent post. Here, Walt Mossberg gives his review of the service.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574485383786620844.html?mod=rss_The_Mossberg_Solution

Social media survey

The Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) is conducting a survey on social media.

Please take the survey and offer your thoughts. Feel free to distribute and invite other PR and communications executives (clients or colleagues) to take the survey as well. While all the answers will be anonymous, we will be sure to share the overall findings.

To take the survey, visit http://websurvey.plumvoice.com/take/1343-55523874?c or dial (866) 402-6243.

The Incentive is Not Fear

Travel is dead! Incentive programs are dead! Stay in the office and work! Keep your head down!

We heard these proclamations following 9/11 and the economic crash at the beginning of this decade. But you know what? Our clients kept their event programs, continued to travel and stayed the course with incentives.

Fast forward to the fall of 2008. The beginning of this latest recession echoed the same fearful statements we heard nearly 10 years ago. And our clients continue to stay the course with their programs. Our incentive clients are traveling to Mexico, New York, Spain and other destinations. Our corporate meeting and event clients are heading to New Orleans, Florida, Boston. The point is, they refuse to be swayed by the negative sentiment that AIG and others put on the industry because they believe in the value of their programs – and the ROI proves that their programs work. They work to drive revenue, foster collaboration, meet face-to-face and reward hard-working employees. They also work to stimulate the economy by hosting goal-focused events in various destinations.

As businesses mark the one-year anniversary of the current economic crisis, decision-makers who are still in “scared” mode must ask themselves a simple question: Are we ready to shift from cost management mode to growth mode?

A new study by research firm Oxford Economics addresses these issues and makes a very strong case for the power of business travel.

The study finds that for every dollar invested in business travel, businesses benefit from an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits. Where else can companies find that kind of return? Likewise, the data shows that a 10 percent increase in business travel spending will increase U.S. GDP by between 1.5 and 2.8 percent. We need that, right?

According to the study, a sure way to limit business growth potential is to indiscriminately cut corporate travel. For instance, executives who were surveyed estimated that 28 percent of their business is lost without in-person meetings. Working backwards is not the answer.

Claims that virtual meetings and teleconferences are a good substitute for in-person meetings turn out to be off the mark. Eighty-five percent of corporate executives perceive web meetings and teleconferences to be less effective than in-person meetings with prospective customers, and 63 percent believe virtual meetings to be less effective than in-person meetings with current customers.

Finally, the study contradicts the rhetoric we have heard that describes incentive travel for top employees as wasteful junkets. In fact, according to the research, companies would have to pay those employees eight percent more per year to achieve the same level of motivation. Thus, according to the research, incentive trips are often a cost-saving measure. We would go so far as to say incentive trips are economy-stimulating measures.

Best of all, the study helps answer the question: How do you attach an ROI to a sales trip, a trade show or an award to a high-performing employee? 

Travel is alive! Incentive programs work! Get on the road and see your customers, teams and partners! Lift your head up! Our clients are succeeding – we work with the biggest brands in the world on their global events, corporate meetings and incentive programs, so we see this success on a firsthand basis – because they remain committed to sound business practices that work to generate revenue, sell products and services, motivate and reward high-performing staff, and spend smartly on programs that work.

We’re happy to share more about our programs if you’d like to learn how meetings, events and incentive programs can work for your organization. And we want to hear how these valuable marketing vehicles have worked for you.

Read an executive summary of The Return on Investment of U.S. Business Travel here.

And read the full study here.

Finally, here’s a great SlideShare presentation, courtesy of US Travel Association: Business Travel ROI Study: http://tinyurl.com/yjex7al.

(Thanks to my friends and partners at the U.S. Travel Association and DiscoverAmerica.com, as well as the great research team at Oxford Economics, for this invaluable piece of research.)

Explorica Rewards Educational Travel

New client Explorica, which creates educational tours that connect students to new cultures, languages and people, recently announced its Treasure Hunt program – a challenging promotion with huge rewards – $100,000 to be exact. Student tour groups that partake in the Treasure Hunt Challenge are eligible to win $10,000 to create new hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for their school. Each customized treasure hunt will require students to complete region-specific challenges and answer questions before and during their tours. Whether ordering gelato in Italian from a Roman street vendor or taking a glass-blowing class in Venice, groups will receive points for each completed activity and correctly answered clue. Explore, learn and win here. Please feel free this share with any high school teachers, students or families that you know – it’s a terrific way to travel and learn at the same time.

Social Tuesday: video blogs, Twitter, social media policy

Although video blogging has been around for a while, it is still a novel idea to many people. Video blogging is a great equalizer, as it puts people on the same platform as broadcast media. Video blogging also allows for direct feedback from viewers. With popular, user-friendly channels such as YouTube and affordable video equipment and software available, now may be the time to expand your blog to become more dynamic. Leah Betancourt offers her guide to video blogging.

While utilizing social media can do great things for your company, it can also cause severe damage. B.L. Ochman describes the top three mistakes that companies make over and over again.

Twitter allows you only 140 characters for each update – this can cause some difficulty when trying to define your brand. So what’s the key? Transparency. From expressing personality to admitting when your company is wrong, being open allows customers to get to know you, and more importantly, trust you. Michelle Bowles offers suggestions on how you can both keep tweeting and keep it honest.

If your company is still hesitant to immerse in social media and you want your team to participate, convincing them may be harder than you think. Make sure you are prepared and are able to offer your company’s decision-makers both research and a plan of action. Chris Brogan offers his suggested plan of attack.

Recently, major news organizations have issued social media policies. Are these policies a smart way to protect themselves, or are these organizations closing themselves off from great opportunities? JD Lasica is leaning toward the latter.

PBLN Summit on a Sustainable Economy

The Progressive Business Leaders Network, a two-year-old bipartisan organization (Castle co-founder Sandy Lish is on the board) is hosting 200 top business leaders to a summit on how business and policy leaders together can “invent a more sustainable economy.”

The event is October 23 at the John F. Kennedy Library, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Register here to reserve a seat, and connect with business leaders and policymakers, learn about best practices and share ideas.

Robin Chase on climate action now

Client Robin Chase, CEO of Meadow Networks and Founding CEO of Zipcar wrote the following post on climate action for the Huffington Post. Please read and share.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-chase/fossil-fuel-is-the-new-sl_b_310007.html