Posted June 26th, 2009 by Rose
In this week’s Market Edge podcast, Larry talked with Linda Gridley, President and CEO of boutique investment bank Gridley & Company, about the future of financial services and the impact the recession has had on her business and clients.
Linda has more than twenty years of investment banking experience at several Wall Street firms, including ABN Amro, Furman Selz and Lehman Brothers. As the head of Gridley & Company, Linda has provided financial advisory to companies in the Information Services industry with a specific focus on financial technology, marketing services, data services, outsourcing, and internet services.
Larry and linda discussed the post-recession outlook of several economic sectors and the challenges many of them will face, among other things.
Go here to listen to the full discussion.
Posted June 12th, 2009 by Rose
During this week’s Market Edge podcast, Larry talked with Dr. Nora Barnes, Chancellor Professor of Marketing at UMass Dartmouth, about her research on social media adoption and her thoughts on the future of social media.
As highlighted by the New York Times in 2008, Nora and her colleague Eric Mattson discovered that nearly 40 percent of Inc. 500 companies were blogging while less than 12 percent of Fortune 500 companies had blogs. One of their later studies revealed that colleges and charities are far ahead of the Fortune 500 in blogging as well, with 40 percent of colleges and 57 percent of charities blogging publicly, and only 16 percent of the Fortune 500 doing the same.
Nora’s research has been covered by Business Week, Computer World, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other business media, as well as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Boston Globe and the Washington Post. She and her students have provided marketing research to more than 200 companies in the northeast U.S. She has published more than 125 articles in academic and professional journals and proceedings.
Listen to Larry’s full conversation with Nora Barnes here.
Posted May 20th, 2009 by Rose
On this week’s Market Edge podcast, Larry Weber discussed the future of health plans with Charlie Baker, President and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Charlie has taken to engaging the health care audience with his blog, Let’s Talk Health Care. He is one of few health care executives to keep his own blog – writing and responding to all comments. Charlie admitted that at times, blogging is hard work, but he is committed to taking the “namelessness and facelessness” out of the health care industry.
Larry and Charlie zeroed in on transparency, one of the key topics on Charlie’s blog. He explained to Larry that information on the health care industry is limited, and he hopes that in the future, industry leaders will adopt a “more is better” philosophy (despite roadblocks in compliance and industry regulations).
Larry and Charlie both agreed that as this generation of internet savvy individuals grows up, the information they are seeking will need to grow with them. In the future, patients may be able to look for advice from physicians in other parts of the country from home. But, Charlie mentioned, doctors are still wary about dispensing advice to patients without a face to face meeting.
Charlie on social media: “I think it is a very effective and interesting way to learn what other people are thinking about you and your industry…There are huge opportunities for particular parts of your constituents to engage in conversations with you and each other if you bring them into the dialogue, and it costs nothing.”
Listen to the full conversation here.
Posted March 18th, 2009 by Kevin
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to join a panel discussion on The Strategic Growth Concepts for Small Business, a blogtalkradio show discussing the basics of social media and how small business can leverage community activity to grow. For many small business owners and marketers, navigating social media can be a challenge due to lack of time and resources. As a result, many companies miss out on an opportunity to harvest customer insights and data through online relationships that could drastically impact their bottom lines.
Simply getting started can be daunting for many folks who haven’t grown up with the technology. The panel stressed that having a strategy and plan in place that details your goals and expectations is crucial before jumping headfirst into the social media conversation. This isn’t just good practice for small business, many large organizations should think long and hard about their current activities and how the disjointed efforts may impact future initiatives and segment their audience. All too often, many marketers fail to see the big picture, understand the extent of the commitment and know where to participate to obtain the greatest ROI. You don’t need to be everywhere and you don’t need to reach everyone - reach the right audience in the right place with the right information.
For more insights, listen to the panel discussion featured here and feel free to leave comments on the blog or direct message me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/KevinMGreen) if you’d like to discuss further.
Posted March 10th, 2009 by Michael
Recently I had the opportunity to attend an MITX event on how Obama used social media to fundamentally change the nature of politics in America. The panel included people who had been involved with the campaign’s web site, technology and data analytics.
As everyone knows, Obama’s campaign used the social web in ways never before attempted. For me, one key insight was around the relationships that the organization was able to build with voters across the social web. These relationships were built on multiple social media channels, rather than a single social platform (which is typically the case).
As an engaged Obama supporter, you could connect with the campaign by being a fan of Obama’s on Facebook. But you could also connect with Obama supporters on obama.com and Twitter and through other channels. This integrated approach allowed the campaign to track voters and volunteers across the web, and engage with them through the voters’ channel of choice. This also supported the gathering of data on individual voters that allowed the campaign to meaningfully target people for special events, get out the vote drives, and financial support.
The other major insight I gained was the degree to which the Obama organization not only allowed but enabled and encouraged passionate Obama supporters to take the campaign into their own hands. Through the various social media channels, supporters connected with each other on particular topics, debated the issues, organized locally on their own, and distributed messages on behalf of the campaign.
A great example of how the campaign used the full power of the social web was when an issue arose regarding the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate. The campaign quickly created a fact-checking microsite, www.fightthesmears.com, and posted all of the relevant information on the topic. Voters were able to check out the facts on the issue and were encouraged to spread the truth by distributing the message and links to their personal social networks on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. With reach they could never achieve through traditional news outlets or advertising, the Obama campaign was able to quickly quash unfounded rumors and short circuit the typical 48-hour news cycle.
I think there are several key lessons that marketers can take away from the Obama experience as they develop and enhance their own social media activities:
• Know your users: Too often companies build social media programs that don’t build in the ability to deepen their knowledge of the users. With planning and forethought these tools and techniques (simple registration, email capture, opt in, etc.) can be built into programs to allow engagement to become much more than an anonymous exchange.
• Integrate across social media channels to drive stronger engagement: People use many different social channels as they engage with others across the web. However, frequently I see companies using only one channel to support a social campaign, such as YouTube or Facebook. Engaging with users across multiple channels and then letting them choose how they want to communicate broadens reach and ensures deeper, longer-term engagement.
• Trust your enthusiasts: There’s an 80/20 rule in business. But in social media it’s more like 95/5, where 5 of the users are truly engaged with the brand or product and the rest are passive observers. Just as the Obama campaign used their most passionate followers to help distribute the message and organize locally, marketers can engage their most passionate users as well to help them broadcast relevant content. When you connect your enthusiasts to the tools and trust them to drive, great things can happen.
• Manage the social web: Once in a great while a largely unmanaged social media campaign takes on a life of its own and achieves remarkable results. But in reality this happens about as often as a blue moon on Tuesday. Just as the Obama campaign aggressively managed the social web, marketers need to dedicate resources to manage core social media programs and initiatives. Unmanaged communities based on UGC almost never succeed.
No doubt there are many other lessons that are worth discussion. But social media practitioners who embed these four lessons into their programs will be taking an important first step toward success.
Posted February 24th, 2009 by Rebecca
Twitter is one of the most popular and least understood social media vehicles. This micro-blogging service is the equivalent of sending a 140-character SMS to upwards of 3,000,000 people at once.
Of course, some companies are concerned that as products become part of a customer conversation, some control may be lost. The trade-offs are that the dialogue with real, live customers can help you refine or improve your products to meet your customers needs. Not to mention Twitter lets you keep up with what your competitors are up to in real time.
Some of the most well-known uses of Twitter by advertisers include Zappos, Dell, BestBuy, Pepsico (Tropicana) and Amazon who are using Twitter to brand build without breaking the bank.
Other high-profile uses of Twitter include a Twitterer aboard the ferry headed to rescue the US Air passengers, a global Twestival event that raised money for clean water, Lance Armstrong staying connected to cycling fans and the LiveStrong community, and Democrats mobilizing to help elect Obama.
To fiind out more about the possibilties Twitter offers, check out this SlideShare presentation called “How Twitter Changed My Life”. It’s good food for thought about how Twitter can help you or your company expand your social network, stay on top of trends, have a genuine 1×1 relationship with your customers and ultimately spread the word.
Posted February 11th, 2009 by Kristin
It’s the day you’ve all been waiting for: the second edition of Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business is now available.
First published in June 2007, Larry Weber’s second book quickly became a bestselling guide on how to build businesses online. It talks about the decline of traditional advertising and helps marketers navigate the evolving digital world of blogs, reputation aggregators, social networks and e-communities. These environments, he shows, present new opportunities for businesses to maximize marketing investments.
Grab a copy to read the new foreword by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and communications consultant Andrea Weckerle, a new chapter on Facebook as a marketing tool, and updated examples and interviews. You can also check out a video of Larry talking about what’s new in edition two. Let us know what you think!
Posted January 26th, 2009 by Rebecca
Will the economy make advertisers run for the traditional advertising hills? This was the topic of the evening at the Digital State 2009 BIMA/MITX event I attended recently.
All 5 the panelists were survivors of the dot bomb. And 4 out of the 5 agreed that the economic downturn of 2001 was far more devastating to the industry, largely because the Internet was in its infancy and the value of digital marketing was not yet established.
Their experience reinforces our thinking at Digital Influence Group – that a flight to safety by advertisers would be a huge mistake. Clients who reduce their presence online could miss out.
Those who capitalize on this environment by using social media could gain an increased ability to listen to the market, share their vision, influence their customers and generate business income.
Major takeaway from the evening: the economy is tough on everyone. But, savvy clients will recognize that some of the best opportunities come after a downturn and that the value proposition digital marketing offers is now clear and measureable.
Posted November 5th, 2008 by Kristin
DIG’s “Burma: It Can’t Wait” campaign, developed in collaboration with Fanista and the U.S. Campaign for Burma, is a finalist in the 2008 Forrester Groundswell Awards’ Social Impact category.
DIG felt honored to work on a campaign that sought to draw attention to the plight of the Burmese people for human rights, freedom and peace. During each day in May, a different video appeared with celebrities urging viewers to sign an online petition, share the site with their friends and take action to improve the dire political situation in Burma. Celebrity voices included Will Ferrell, Ellen Page, Anjelica Huston, Jennifer Aniston, Judd Apatow, Julie Benz, and many more.
We hope that this recognition by the Forrester Groundswell Awards continues to draw attention to the situation in Burma. While our initial 30 day campaign for a million voices has ended, the need for advocacy, education and action continues. Visit uscampaignforburma.org to see how you can help make a difference.
Posted November 4th, 2008 by Kristin
It was an insanely busy summer for us at DIG. Today I finally had time to poke around a bit and check up on some topics and people I’ve written about in the past. So “where are they now?” Let’s find out.
Queen Rania of Jordan and her strife to foster tolerance and acceptance:
Ok, noble as her cause is, I admit I thought this hottie was only doing a few YouTube videos to up her and her husband’s popularity – that it was just something her publicist told her to do. Well since March she’s posted 13 videos. Looks like she’s sticking with it! I’m impressed. The world, and even specifically the U.S., could certainly benefit from more tolerance and acceptance of differences. So you go girl!
Good ole Mitt:
Remember when Mitt Romney wanted to know what you believe is America’s single greatest challenge? His YouTube channel started as a tool for conversing with us. Did he stick with it? Ha. There are now 676 videos posted. Take a look. You’ll see his channel quickly became a tool for shameless self propaganda. I’m not shocked. But boo boy, boo.
Magibon and the freaky fan/stalker site www.magibon.com:
Well the stalker, Frank, was a fake, but not a marketing ploy as I suspected. It was supposedly (honestly I don’t know what to believe anymore) an experiment/art project by Joakim Danung. View the freaky videos and read a statement from the “artist” about his project.
Did people want to dance with Matt?
Hell yes. Hang on until about a minute in. Simply awesome. I don‘t know if it sold more Stride Gum, but it was inspiring to me. And check out the number of views. Today it was well over 11 million.
Did MySpace die as a former colleague of mine predicted?
Let’s look at the US first.
Per Hitwise, in July 2007, MySpace was the #1 ranked site with 6.33% of the market share. As of September 2008, MySpace is the #3 ranked site with 4.01% of the market share.
How about Facebook? In July 2007, Facebook ranked #10 with 1.03% of the market share. September 2008, Facebook ranks #8 with 1.2% market share.
Now what about those wacky UK sheep throwers 
July 2007, MySpace ranked #8 with 1.28% market share. September 2008, #15 with .66%. There’s a bit of an ouch.
Facebook in July 2007 was at #10 with .94%. September 2008, #2 with 3.16% of the market share. And there’s a nice up trend.
MySpace is going strong in the US. While Facebook is hitting it big with the Brits. Interesting… yes. But clearly, Yianni, MySpace still ain’t dead.
Anon
~k
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