When I began my education into the world of social media a few years ago, my beacon of expertise and guidence was the book I have spoken of often, “Groundswell”. In the book, Josh Bernoff and Christine Li talk about understanding social computing behaviours in order to be able to engage your target market and connect in a way that is in line with the goals that you plan to reach by implementing a digital strategy.
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One of the keys to sharing information is telling a story. A story about who you are; a story about a product or brand; a story about a country or a culture. I write in our own blog that in defining a brand—everyone has a story—people use those stories to identify not only with one another but also in reference to the products and services they choose to use. In our “About Us” section of this blog, I ask “is your story being told“?
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In the last few days, “thought leadership and innovation” has been a discussion topic between myself and several different business people. It was first brought to my attention a few days ago by someone who passed on the assessment (from another business associate) that, after reviewing my blog posts, they felt I was not showcasing our business skills, expertise and brand offering because I was including full articles written by others below my daily thoughts. The reason I began this blog was to use the premise of our business name, SHARE, to share with people what I read.
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Last night, one of my close friend’s 14 yr old daughters messaged me (via MSN) with links to the much hyped, “Kardashian Reality Show Wedding”. As far as I know, the show has yet to air here in Canada (but I stand to be corrected on this). As fast as it was promoted—via word of mouth—I found out where I could watch the show online right now. She provided me with a couple of options and  the link I picked was via Youtube.
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One of the big questions out there for many marketers is—what kind of advertising and marketing could be and should be leveraged from social media sites? How are our customers using these sites and how does it relate to our brand? I have spoken before about the maven circle we all have in our lives. I do believe that social media really allows brands the opportunity to reach those mavens and use them to tout their experiences to their perspective circles. We all have those “go to” people that we seek out for specific things in our lives. Now that circle is beginning to expand with blogs, twitter and Facebook all providing opportunities for people to talk about the products and services they like—or dislike.
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In 2009, there is no longer a business out there that can negate the importance of social responsibility as a key component of their brand identity. The current global economy, the planet and our communities—both local and global—demand the respect and commitment from all of us on a business and personal level. Many brand evangelists are now committing themselves to products and services whose corporate social responsibility is associated with their own values. Social media is now beginning to be seen as a vital tool in allowing these businesses to demonstrate how they are using their business, their brand (and their employees) to assist them in their mission to be good corporate citizens.
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We are proud to say that one of our core business strengths in the world of digital advertsiting and communications is our great design. As with everything in life, first impressions count. How you look, how you present yourself in that first 5 to 10 seconds, sets the tone for one’s perception of who you are. Same thing in business. Now-a-days, almost every business has a website or at least a landing page. This page is the gateway or first impression for your presence on the world wide web.
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The time has arrived where  brands have jumped on the bandwagon  to engage the consumer. In the case of some of the BIG brands, they are now ready to engage their customers in realtime via video. As per comscore media in January 2009, Canada had an online reach of  88%, United Kingdom had an online reach of 81%, Germany had an online reach of 82%, France had an online reach of 82% and the United States had an online reach of 76%. These are definitely numbers worth paying attention to!!!!!!!
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These days, for most companies this question is their biggest fear. Marketers grapple with the assumption that as soon as we enter the world of social media, we are opening ourselves up to the brand bashing bad-vocates.
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There has been a lot of talk about women and the work force this week. Maria Shriver came out with a report called “A Woman’s Nation,” co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress. This report took a look at the condition of American women today. We have spoken often about the implications of the new economic power that women wield, and one of the stats that came out of this study was that women in the US now make up 50% of the workforce.
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