Disney is really into Twitter. Or so one would think based on their embracing of Twitter’s latest attempts at making money. They jumped on the Promoted Tweets opportunity with the Toy Story release and are now following that as the premier launch deal of @EarlyBird which grants followers special deals and discounts. Continue reading Twitter’s Earlybird Tries to Monetize Tweets While Providing Value to Users

While BP battles the ever increasingly disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, their PR department is trying to conduct a brand cleanup through traditional and online media. You may have seen the TV ads featuring Darryl Willis, the VP of Resources at BP America, featuring him as a Louisiana-born “volunteer” eager to help citizens file their claims. (Apparently  CEO Tony Hayward wasn’t quite cutting it, and so a new “face” for the company was chosen.) But BP is also embracing new media methods such as Search Engine Marketing and Twitter. In this article, we take a look at how BP and its detractors are using Twitter to connect with the world. Continue reading BP, the oil spill, and Twitter

DCWEEK has finally come to an end for creatives in the Nation’s Capital and now its time to recap the bits of knowledge gleaned by roving reporter yours truly. Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) is a 10 day festival in Washington DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital. It took place from June 11th to June 20th, 2010 in venues across the city with the mission of strengthening the capital region’s digital economy via events focused on creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, marketing, content creation, and innovation. Continue reading Digital Capital Week 2010 – “A Slice of DCWEEK”

Forgive me if you’ve already run across “Promoted” Tweets in your Twitter stream as they did launch in April of this year. Perhaps I don’t follow or search for enough major brands, but regardless, I’m seeing them now- largely in part because they are now testing out “Promoted Trends”. And sadly (or luckily?) its to promote something I love. The Toy Story franchise. (You may remember me talking about Toy Story and Twitter about a year ago and how Director Lee Unkrich was using Twitter to troubleshoot screenings of Toy Story 1&2 in 3D for followers.) Continue reading Twitter: Promoted Tweets and Trends… They’re Heeeerrreee

The digital publishing and training group Econsultancy has released a June 2010 report on Social Media and Online Brand Monitoring Trends. The free briefing (membership required) contains an overview of market trends, tips for best practice, new statistics and useful resources. The information was collated from sources including: Econsultancy conferences, supplier showcases and roundtables; Third party events; Research carried out by Econsultancy and other organizations. Continue reading REPORT: Social Media and Online Brand Monitoring Trends Briefing

Do you remember when the cable and satellite television network A&E was the place to go for higher brow entertainment and historical documentaries? I do. And many of us still associate A&E with the sepia toned tint of the past (they do own the History Channel after all). Perhaps thats why they are trying so hard to rebrand and reprogram themselves as HBO has done with high quality dramas and reality based shows (they even acquired the rights from HBO to rerun Sopranos episodes). But winning over the audience is only half the battle. Someone has to pay for all of that production and reinvention (Gene Simmons and Dog the Bounty Hunter don’t work for free you know), someone like advertisers. So how do you show media buyers and ad planners that your new face is the place to sell? With a smart ad campaign of your own of course! Continue reading Thinking outside the box with A&E’s Leanforwards

A recent report from White Horse conducted in March 2010 on Business to Business (B2B) marketing found that B2B marketers are adopting social media marketing tactics at a much higher rate than previously expected. Research revealed that:

Continue reading B2B Marketers jumping on board with Social Media

A national (US) study of social media usage by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies was conducted in February 2010 with the goal of learning more about why people become fans of company pages on Facebook or followers of brands on Twitter. Researchers wanted to know if these activities changed their behavior towards the brands themselves.  A survey was conducted of 1,504 adults (ages 18 and up) between February 8, 2010 and February 9, 2010 by Chadwick Martin Bailey, and iModerate Research Technologies held individual interviews to better understand participants’ behaviors. Continue reading Consumers Engaged Via Social Media Are More Likely To Buy

There is a new post up on the Treepodia blog regarding online video and our dwindling collective attention spans. A new behavioural study, commissioned by Lloyds TSB Insurance, reveals that the average attention span is now just five minutes and seven seconds, compared to more than 12 minutes a decade ago.

Continue reading Web Video and Short Attention Spans

Now that you know HOW to Create Your Facebook Fan Page, lets talk about the basics of managing it. If you are familiar with Facebook and have a personal account, managing your fan page will be fairly easy. If not, I’ll walk you through the basic steps and share some advice. Continue reading Managing Your Facebook Fan Page (Basics)