I’ll start with my wish list, and you can add to it.

1. I’d like to be able to select a date and have the ability to view the posts from a given time period. Right now, we have to keep clicking “older posts” or something similar. Are they kidding? What if we’re sick in bed for a week and don’t have time to check the social scene? (Apparently, Facebook is launching this. Yay!)
2. I want to be able to organize my LinkedIn page without restrictions. No, I don’t expect to have control over ad placements, but I would like to pretty up and customize my own content. I wouldn’t change their basic formats, but wouldn’t it be cool to display our creativity and uniqueness?
3. How about some creative developers coming up with an app that allows us to access ALL our sites in one format? Not just the sites they choose, but the ones we want?
4. Why must social media sites restrict us to a specific number of posts a day? As long as we’re not spamming, why should they care? If we post too much, our followers can choose to unfollow or de-friend us. Isn’t that the free market way?
5. I want to be able to organize my Twitter followers in any way I choose. Maybe I’ll try it alphabetically first. Or maybe I’ll segment my list like I do in Tweetdeck—by keyword. How cumbersome is it now to keep scrolling down to see our earlier followers? Once you get into the thousands, forget it!

OK, I’ll pause here. YOUR turn. Go for it! Let’s tell them what we want.

1. You haven’t included any biographical information about yourself. How do I know you’re not a criminal? A spy? If you don’t reveal anything, then it’s hard to befriend you.

2. We share absolutely no common ground. If you’re into deer hunting,  pie-eating contests, and football, chances are we aren’t going to have much to talk about.

3. Your previous posts are all quotes from other people. Yuck, my pet peeve. Sorry, not interested.

4. Your only raison d’être for social networking is to promote your product, service, or latest MLM scheme. Forget it.

5. You post about local issues, local places, or local deals—and I don’t live in your city.

6. You try to impress me with your own accolades.

7. You tweet to say goodnight. (Gag me with a spoon.)

8. You post way too much and way too frequently.

9. Your profession or mission in life has nothing to do with me. I don’t need a mortgage; I don’t have an iPhone; I’m not investing with you; I don’t need you to help me live my passionate life; I’m not interested in your first novel; and I certainly don’t need a stretch limousine in Germany.

10. You claim to be a social media guru, yet you have 86 followers.

What reasons would YOU add? (Come on, get it off your chest.)

Ready to test your Twitter knowledge? Take our 10-question Twitter quiz, then you can download our Twitter guide “How to Be Twitter Superfly in 12 Simple Steps.”

So, what’s the driving force behind all this change, the force that has marketers failing? It’s the buyer. Studies continue to confirm that, when it comes to making a buying decision, they have more access to technology, more interaction with their peers via social networks, less need for vendor-driven information, and less reliance on salespeople. Marketers are struggling with this new dynamic. Amid the morphing of the buyer and, subsequently, the B2B environment, marketers are failing to convince buyers to buy their products or services. Why? Because there remains one constant no matter how technology-driven or socially enabled we become. That one constant (and many fail to understand it) is that we market and sell to people.

As obvious as that seems, it is something that is lost in many of today’s marketing approaches. It’s as if we in the B2B space have failed to understand that behind the “B” in business to business are hosts of “Ps” (people).

A recent study by Televerde shows that even though some companies are making an attempt at nurturing the buyer, they are truly not connecting to the human element of B2B marketing.

• Over 60% of those surveyed stated incomplete data and poor data hygiene as their biggest marketing challenge when it came to data.
• Only 29% stated that more effective and relevant customer touches should be the highest priority for lead nurturing. (For that 29%, conversion rates ranked the highest. This indicates that  more effective and relevant touches lead to higher conversions.)
• 83% described their definition as providing educational and collateral (i.e., one-way communication).
• 57% make no distinction on how they nurture leads based on their buying stage. (All buyers are treated the same.)
• Of those that use nurturing, 54% do not use lead scoring. (Lack of lead scoring does not allow for one-on-one dialogue, but ensures that all buyers are treated the same.)

As seen above, many organizations are still not clueing into the fact that we are selling and marketing to people. People are the ones who make the buying decisions and vendor choices. Those people have thoughts and emotions that affect their buying decisions. We must remember that. To help move from a B2B mindset to a B2P mindset, here are a few quick tips.

Stop Trying to Sell

Randy Aronis of Ingenuity Sales Consulting has taught many that the first sales call should be focused on the building of rapport. In other words, start by getting to know your buyer. It seems crazy, but try it sometime. The first time I tried this was early in my career. I was selling into the largest IBM distributor in the world and had secured a call with one of the key decision-makers.

After the obligatory introductions and overview, we spent the next 25 minutes talking about golf, our favorite courses, etc. (Keep in mind the call was scheduled for 30 minutes.) We ended the call by scheduling a follow-up onsite that, of course, included a round of golf. Long story short: They were one of my best accounts for my remaining two years at the company. Why? My contact told me, “You guys were not the lowest cost nor did you have the largest staff, but I liked your company and knew I could call you directly if we were ever going to have a problem. I felt that you would personally address it.” Instead of selling, I built a relationship. Marketers would do well to begin thinking this way.

Put the Social Back in Social

The term “social media” is interesting to me. Yes, there is indeed a component that is social. Yet, social media also provides a false sense of relationship. Too many marketers are using this channel to provide one-way communication, doing nothing but sending out facts, figures, and business information. They forget to use social media to engage. What does that look like? Well, for starters, don’t be afraid to have some fun with social media. Comment on posts, answer questions in forums, and engage in online conversations. This will significantly enhance relationships with your buyers online and socially. Buyers want to know there are people behind the walls. So, listen and respond.

Act Like a Politician

OK, before you stop reading, don’t worry. By suggesting you act like a politician, I am not suggesting you give yourself a pay raise every year, slander your competition, or tell lies to divert attention from your mistakes. What I am suggesting is, like many politicians, seek to get personal with your buyers. This doesn’t necessarily mean a marketing/sales bus tour. However, it does mean adding face-to-face interactions to the mix. Marketers erroneously think that the face-to-face stuff is for sales to handle. Not so! Marketers need to stop hiding behind technology and to start meeting with buyers. This can be done by attending sales calls, conferences, and even one-on-one meetings. Nothing will replace a face-to-face interaction and connection. Sitting down across the table from your buyers (or playing a round of golf) will go a long way.

Be Slow to Speak

This goes hand in hand with the “Stop Trying to Sell” tip. My brother tells his kids all the time, “God gave you two ears and one mouth to remind you that listening is more important than speaking.” He may have something there.

By listening to your buyer and asking questions, you will gain (as will they) more from them than from all the things you so desperately want to tell them. You will also show them that you are genuinely interested in them and in meeting their needs. In the course of building a relationship, you’ll have plenty of time to talk about your product or service. So, be patient.

No matter how advanced technology becomes or how easy it gets to dole out information about our products and services, we’ll always be marketing and selling to people. That fact is something we cannot afford to forget.

In a recent blog post, MarketingProfs blogger and social media consultant and author Jay Baer said:

“The number of ‘inboxes’ we possess is staggering … That’s a lot of relationship bait in the water … How do we justify this? How do we convince ourselves that slicing our attention so thin the turkey becomes translucent is a good idea? We do it because we believe that more relationships provide more opportunity.

“All of these chestnuts are passed around like a flu strain because they make intuitive sense. But common among them is the underlying premise that interacting with more people is inherently better than interacting with fewer people. I have always believed this to be true and in fact have delivered the lines above in presentations and on this blog. But today, I’m no longer convinced.

“Instead I wonder, what if we have it ALL wrong? Social media forces upon us a feeling of intimacy and closeness that doesn’t actually exist.”

After attending the most recent MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Kyle Flaherty, director of marketing at BreakingPoint, blogged that:

“This shift makes obvious sense, and it will take a few more years for social media to exit the hype cycle, but doesn’t it seem like we’ve been here before? Remember eMarketing? Email marketing? Direct marketing? Eventually, they move from being a short-lived yet enthusiastic fad and into a function of a greater practice. In this instance, marketing. Social media, although extraordinarily useful outside of marketing, has now rightfully started to move from fad into fade.”

From blogger, author, and principal at Altimeter Group, Brian Solis:

“The reality is that the cost of social networking is great, and without checks and balances, engagement can cost us more capital than we have to spend. The net result is then social and emotional bankruptcy. And the most difficult part of this unfortunate state is that it is at first difficult to recognize and far more exacting to overcome.”

What’s happening today? Is there a shift taking place? Has social media reached its peak or is it taking on a new role in an integrated marketing strategy, as it should have been all along?

What do YOU say?

Before anyone focuses on improving their efforts, they need to get a few things out of the way (or out of their minds). In no particular order, here are 3 all-too-common social media marketing myths that must be dispelled. Now.

1. “Everyone Needs Social Media Marketing.”

Social media marketing is the golden child of marketing today. It’s sexy, it’s fun, and everyone—from enterprise organizations to small businesses—thinks that they need to add it to their marketing mix.

But you know what? That’s not quite the case.

Before you invest more resources into social media marketing, ask yourself these 4 critical questions.

• Does my target audience use social media networks? Can I reach them there?

• Do I have competing, higher-ROI priorities that can potentially drive better results more efficiently?

• Will it help me achieve my goals?

• Do I have enough time to invest to do a worthwhile job? (Good social media marketing is time-consuming!)

If you answered “no” or “not sure” to any of the above questions, please take some time to reconsider your social media marketing investment.

2. “Social Media Marketing Is Easy.”

Effective social media marketing isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. Just because you acquired 500 Facebook friends without lifting a finger and your little sister is on Twitter, doesn’t mean you can drive real, measurable business results with social media marketing.

You need:

• A good strategy

• An educated team

• Monitoring and measurement tools in place

• Adequate time and resources

• To stay on top of industry trends

3. “The Intern Can Do It!”

You wouldn’t hire an intern or entry-level marketer to be your customer relations or public relations manager, would you? Of course not. You’d hire someone with experience in customer service,  strategy, and communications. Please don’t let the most inexperienced employee in your organization be the voice of your brand. They can assist, for sure, with proper training, but give them a few years before they start communicating to the public on behalf of your brand.

Now, it’s your turn. What’s one common social media marketing myth you’d like to dispel?

Want to learn how to improve your social media and content marketing? Join us this Friday, September 9, for our FREE virtual conference, Digital Marketing World: Smarter Marketer.

Did I mention she’s a hardcore Facebook user? Who doesn’t see the value in yet another social network? Who doesn’t get the point of why she should care? In terms of her skepticism, she was worse than the most hard-shelled CEO.

Google+ is the new kid on the block, of course. What’s the skinny for marketers? We offered some thoughts on that here.

Also, check out this video. It tells the the story of Google+ cleanly and simply, and I think sums it up nicely for anyone … be they 14 or 40. To put this video in some context, here are Google+ usage numbers from Experian Hitwise, for the week ending July 23:

• Google+ received more than 1.79M total visits the week ending July 23, 2011—a decrease of 3% vs. the previous week (July 16). The site received 1.86M total visits the previous week.
• The average time spent on the site was down as well by 10% from 5 minutes and 50 seconds to 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
• Among the top 50 Upstream sites, 59% of Upstream traffic to Google+ last week came from other Google properties. Google.com accounted for 37% of Upstream traffic to the site. Gmail accounted 15.59%, a 9% increase from previous week.
• 40% of Upstream traffic to Google+ last week came from Search Engines (8% increase). Email provided the 2nd largest amount of Upstream traffic accounting for 19%.
• 59% of visits to Google+ are from males, that is a 4% increase from previous week (4 weeks ending July 23).
• Among age demos, 33% of visits are from users age 25 to 34.

Brands aren’t actually allowed on Google+ yet, but some (like Ford Motor Company) are already anticipating it. So—shiny new toy or significant new social network? Or both? You decide:

Want to learn more about all aspects of social media and how they’ll help to grow and strengthen your marketing efforts?  Check out MarketingProfs University’s course Social Media Marketing Fast Track:  a 17-class course available on-demand now!  Receive $354 in free course bonuses when you register today!

“Is that you, baby, or just a brilliant disguise?”
Song: Brilliant Disguise

What It Means for Social Media Users: Quite simply, be yourself. No disguises—no matter how brilliant they may be. It is vital to be yourself and transparent at all times … else you will be found out and banished to Jungleland.

“You can’t start a fire without a spark.”
Song: Dancing in the Dark

What It Means for Social Media Users: I know you want to get to a million Twitter followers at warp speed, but unless you are Charlie Sheen who skipped the sparks and went right to raging inferno, you need to take your time, create that spark, that buzz, and build your network. After all, this is the Land of Hopes and Dreams.

“Well now, I’m no hero, that’s understood.”
Song: Thunder Road

What It Means For Social Media Users: It means this is just one man’s opinion I am sharing with you. A very tongue-in-cheek opinion. Just remember, there is no such thing as a social media expert. If anyone tells you they’re a social media expert kindly ask them to Fade Away.

“Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul, I want control right now.”
Song: Badlands

What It Means For Social Media Users: If you’re a business owner, company, advertiser, etc and have the idea that you can control the conversation in the social media world, you will very soon be a Dead Man (or Woman) Walkin’.

“No retreat, baby no surrender.”
Song: No Surrender

What It Means For Social Media Users: Yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s also true. In the world of social media, you can’t surrender, you can’t give up and you surely can’t retreat. You have to remain consistent and vigilant because hey, after all, you are Working On A Dream.

“When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band.”
Song: Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

What It Means For Social Media Users: Not a damn thing … just wanted to end this with a salute and tribute to Clarence.

Rest in peace, Big Man.

In case the gritty realism of the video (ahem, read: “the clanging of dishes and cups from the guys cleaning up the place after the talk”) is a little too gritty, I’ve transcribed a quieter, smoother version of the conversation. You can find it below the video window.

I’m here with MarketingProfs chief content officer and “Content Rules” author Ann Handley on her book tour. Say, Ann, what are the benefits of going on a book tour?

AH: The benefits of going on a book tour are … Well, there’s a couple: 1.) meeting people who actually read the book, which is kind of an awesome thing to do because, you know, writing is kind of a lonely exercise, right? You’re typing  away at your  desk, and you don’t really know how it’s going to resonate until it goes out there, actually meeting people and having people come up to you and say, “Thank you. That was awesome.”

The other cool thing is that a lot of them are actually MarketingProfs members and, as a virtual company, we often don’t talk to our subscribers or see them—actually, I should say, we don’t talk to our subscribers face to face—so it’s really great to meet people in carbon form and hear what they say. “We love MarketingProfs.” “We love your book.” Whatever. That’s the fun part.

So, is that the best part, would you say?
AH: Well, that and, you know, the rock-star lifestyle that is a book tour, right? I’m talking one city to the next. We’re about to get back in traffic and drive back to LAX from Orange County. Who doesn’t love to sit in traffic?

And the free food?
AH: The free bagels, the free muffins. So much of it. And then there’s, you  know, the drugs, the chicks, and all that stuff, but yeah …

What’s the worst part of being on a book tour?
AH: The worst part is being away from my family. And just constantly going to the next city.

How long has this tour been going on?
AH: It started the end of January. It hasn’t been consistent, but almost every week, it’s been two different cities. So, this is Orange County that we’re in now right?

Yes.
AH: If it’s Tuesday, it must be Orange County! And then Wednesday, tomorrow, it’s San Francisco. Last week, it was Dallas and another city that I’m blanking out on. Oh, Atlanta. It’s all good, but it’s tough. And I’m tired because … you know …

The rockstar lifestyle does that to you?
AH: The rockstar lifestyle. We talked about that.

What surprised you most about being on a book tour?
AH: Hmmm.

Were you thinking, “Ok, I’m getting this book out, then I’m going on tour”? What were your expectations versus the reality?
AH: Well, let me just say that it surprises me that I’m on a book tour. OK, let’s just start there. It’s funny to even think that this book is actually a real book. This book right here. (points to book) And also, there’s this notion that you write a book, and then the publisher is going to send you on an amazing tour and you’re going to go here and you’re going to go there and have lavish dinners and the whole thing. But it’s not like that at all.  Bridgeline, we’re here through Bridgeline Digital, which sponsored the whole tour, so it’s just having to start there. It’s amazing that we’re doing this. It’s been really great.

So the most surprising thing is that you’re on tour?
AH: That I’m actually here. That I’m on tour.

What advice would you give to someone on a book tour, to someone who has either gotten publish or is self-published, and ready to get out there and start sharing the content they produced. What advice would you give them?
AH: Selling books these days is about hustle, really. I mean, it’s just like anything. Any success is going to come from the hustle. So, I guess, more broadly, is that anything you do, you have to be out there working it. That and hydrate.

Hydrate? OK. Well, thanks so much for talking to us. You probably have to run off to the airport now, so-
AH: I do!

Thank you, Ann!

For business-traveling advice from Ann Handley, be sure to read her 8-Point Survival Guide for Too Much Business Travel. Special thanks to Suzy Gehrls and Megan Cordero for recording the interview.

Here are a few recent examples:

• “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” (Marcel Proust)
• “There’s only two types of people, those who lift up and those who pull down. The difference is how you think about yourself.” (Lou Holtz)
• “If you always do what you’ve always done; you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” (Goethe)
• “Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.” (John Wooden)
• “That’s the secret to life … Replace one worry with another.” (Charles M. Schulz)
• “He who chooses the beginning of a road also chooses the place it leads to.” (Harry Emerson Fosdick)

Get the picture? If I had wanted to read inspiring words, I’d have bought a motivational book or sought out a therapist. All I want to do is unfollow these quoters who have nothing original to say or anything of interest to share. Booooring.

What do you think of the quoters among us? Do you read these posts? Do you unfollow them? Or do you enjoy these inspiring words? Do these quoters encourage you to engage or do business with them?

Got any interesting/funny/stupid social media quotes to share?

That’s what’s happening with the Digital Marketing Forum 2011.

The party took place Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 in Austin, Texas. And some of the biggest names in digital marketing held sessions that showed why they have that distinction. Information and stories were shared in real-life, accessible, and engaging language.  And the sessions themselves showed the current state of digital marketing: lively and personal.

Here are some reasons  the Digital Marketing Conference stood out:

• well-known anthropologist Michael Wesch’s brilliant take on our mediated culture (and the history of the words “whatever” and “meh”)
• a special book-signing section for authors (and forum speakers) Jay Baer and Amber Naslund of the “The Now Revolution,” and authors C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley of “Content Rules”
• rockin’, geeky graphic designs and a talk about passion for a product, courtesy of Threadless vice president of marketing, Cam Balzer
• a real-time example of the frustration of dealing with non-social-media-savvy companies using Facebook as Frank Eliason spontaneously shared the roadblocks he faces while working in a company with private, legal info
• awesome insights regarding the convergence of search and social from ExpertBail, a bail bond company that wowed everyone with its social-media savviness

In the true spirit of digital marketing, the sessions were like conversations between the speakers and the attendees, those listening in Austin and those watching from their computers. And the #mpforum hashtag served as a campfire, where we swapped info, memorable tweetable quotes, cell-phone pics, and even gave shout outs to the speakers.

And now though we’ve all headed back to our own stomping grounds, the campfire is still there. Here are some recent quotes from Twitter:

• @JJPool: Head still swimming with all the great ideas and inspiration picked up at #mpforum. Thanks for a great event!
• @Marcomm3: Revisiting @CKsays #mpforum  session on What’s Hot in Mobile Marketing. Just as awesome as the first time! Thanks again CK and @MProfsEvents
• @MitziThomas: I’m so impressed with @marketingprofs live video feed. Sorry to miss Austin, but this is next best thing. #mpforum

I could go through agenda and offer up more examples; each session had a steady stream of attendees sharing info via Twitter, Facebook, and their own blogs. But you’ll just have to check the forum out online. Yep, the fire is still burning bright for y’all.

So, if you didn’t get to experience the Digital Marketing Conference last week, just register to see it online until May 1. It features streaming video of 20 sessions plus both keynotes—all for just $199.

And after you’re done, don’t forget to join us at our other campfire site.

Most marketers get it wrong. The moment they create an online social media presence, they are quick to think that an audience has been eagerly waiting for their arrival. Post a few links, send a few invites, make a few friends, and their brand will grow instantly. No more work is needed, no more effort is required.

The problem is this: With so many people using social media each day, unless you can employ a unique way to gain attention online, no one will really care about your profile. After your family and friends join, the attraction stops, and you are left to wonder: How can I get a stronger and more authentic following?

This is where the hard work begins. I am convinced that the “niche community”—a small yet loyal network of followers that anticipate your every post, tweet, or blog post—is the more effective way to nurture your network, one person at a time.

When I started to post parts of Franky Benítez, my online novel, I had two central questions in mind:

• How do I get people to follow it?
• But more importantly, how do I get the right people to follow the novel?

That is when I decided to start tweeting about #LatinoLit and made a simple request: If you are a Latino author, writer, poet, agent, publisher, or book marketer, drop me a line on Twitter, and I will add you to a new #LatinoLit directory on my blog. The directory would be shouted out to others on Twitter (and eventually on Facebook), and our goal would be to share and promote the literary talents of so many online Latinos.

Within two weeks, we had grown the list to 50+, and it included award-winning authors, such as Esmeralda Santiago, Cristina García, and Luis Alberto Urrea. Each day, I make it a point to share these and several other authors with my social networks, but I also actively look for links related to the members of #LatinoLit.

I know what you are thinking: 50 isn’t a big number. You think that it’s all about numbers. I will argue the opposite: When you are online and actively participating on social media, quality always trumps quantity. Being an authentic and real profile that tries to share its network to others will lead to more cross-links and sharing of content.

So I ask you, who are the 50 most influential people in your industry or interest area? What would you to make sure they follow you? Would you just talk about yourself? No, because (and I don’t mean to be harsh) the online world doesn’t care if you are just streaming noise and not engaging other profiles.

Start small. Create a “niche community” and work that community with passion and consistency. That is the “secret” to social media and it surprises me that the majority of social media profiles don’t practice this very simple (although time-consuming) approach.

Go create your “niche community.” You won’t be disappointed.

A graduate of Harvard, Julio Ricardo Varela is an editorial director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company. When he isn’t busy developing content for schools, Julio blogs about social media and writes his novel at JulioRVarela.com.

From last week’s #TechChat, here are 4 social media lessons for the enterprise from LaSandra Brill of Cisco Systems:

1. Educate Employees on Social Media Marketing Best Practices

How many people have you met that say,”I just don’t get Twitter. People don’t care what I ate for lunch or that my cat just puked”?

If you’re like me, you’ve met lots of ‘em. Marketers, too. But Cisco Systems is turning regular employees into social media enthusiasts by educating them on social media best practices with their in-house optional social media certificate program.

2. Have an Open Social Media Policy

Unlike Apple (and the NFL), Cisco encourages social media participation, and has a clear social media policy. Want to comment on a blog, or Tweet about Cisco? Go for it—as long as you follow these rules.

3. Encourage All Employees to Participate

The one advantage that large corporations have is well, a large workforce. Cisco has 70,000 employees—70,000 potential social media brand champions. Just imagine the power those 70,000 people would have on Twitter. Pretty awesome, isn’t it?

4. Share Knowledge with Other Groups

Cisco has an internal site where they post best practices and planning resources. They meet and share their success stories monthly. So if product team A finds out that XYZ works, they can easily share it with product team B, and vice versa.

A big thank you to LaSandra for participating in #TechChat, and an even bigger thank you for those of you who shared your insights during last week’s seminar Cisco and the Social Web — it got rave reviews!  If you missed the free seminar and want to learn more about Cisco’s high-performance social media program, have a listen to the recording. Learn even more about high-tech B2B social media marketing in San Jose at SocialTech 2010. SocialTech is our new conference about social media for the high-tech industry. Not in San Jose? No worries. We’re streaming all content to virtual attendees as well.

And don’t forget: #TechChat is every Tuesday at 8 PM ET. Our next guest is Michael Brito, SVP of Social Media at Edelman Digital. Michael has worked for major brands in Silicon Valley (HP, Yahoo! and Intel) and was instrumental in driving social media programs and campaigns emphasizing authenticity and long-term relationship building. Awesome, right? We can’t wait to see what lessons he has to share.

Not only are large corporations beginning to get social media, small businesses are as well. As a case in point, Austin, Texas, wedding and portrait photographer Dustin Meyer uses Facebook to effectively market his business.
For his wedding photography services, Meyer targets brides in the 22-35 age group and their mothers who have an upper-middle income range and a wedding budget of $25-50K. For senior portraits, he targets students whose parents have an annual income of $200K+.
Meyer uses Facebook to market both services, as the social network is an ideal match for his demographic and provides him opportunity to market directly to students and young adults.
“I use the birthday feature to email gift cards for portraits,” says Meyer. “Once a student has their portrait done, I use Facebook to display their images as a portfolio.” He also posts wedding and engagement photos in the form of video montages on his business page, along with personal comments about each couple and their wedding.
“The results have been nothing less than remarkable,” says Meyer. “I would say that 75% of our students are introduced to us via Facebook, which in turn allows them to refer other students to us once they’ve done their portraits.”
Meyer uses no direct mail or search advertising to market his business. “I would say that the majority of our sales are brought about by our exposure on Facebook,” he says. “It allows people to instantaneously promote my business to everyone they know with barely any effort.”
This post is the fourth installment in a series called Social Media Works for Small Business: I Have Proof (See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). It is also excerpted from my new book The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media.

You are about to see a number of real-life case studies about Facebook. These people are not actors or anything I dreamed up …. they are real people whose lives changed based on a few bad keystrokes and misaligned priorities.
So sit back, relax and enjoy another installment of the ways in which social networking can change your life …

Cost per Acquisition (the old CPA) has been around since the dawn of the internet. Those unwilling marketers like me who were not willing to pay the Internet bubble prices for CPM (cost per thousand) impression based model demanded a more accountable model from our media partners and CPA (cost per acquisition) was born.
Now with the new era of Social Commerce about to dawn then perhaps advertisers will want to BUY targeted ads based on social profile of an individual. The stronger the profile of an individual the higher the price it will be to reach them. Like keywords–perhaps there is a bidding process for these individuals that rank highly on influence for a particular topic.
With something like Facebook Ads you can already target your message based on real data, real tastes, stated likes and desires so perhaps the next iteration of Facebook ads will have a way to segment based on influence–if you have 5, 50, 500 or the max 5000 friends–why should all of those profiles cost the same? All Facebook needs to do is add a feature that targets 500 friends or more and charges you a premium price!
One thing is for sure–we have a long way to go when it comes to social media marketing and this is just another frontier that we have yet to discover.

So what you say?
Facebook Connect provides 4 very important features:
1) Trusted Authentication …. meaning it uses your Facebook account to authenticate your profile
2) Real Identity …. meaning it taps into your real identity information from anywhere on the web
3) Access to your Friends …. meaning it allows you to stay connected to your friends anywhere Facebook Connect is offered
4) Dynamic Privacy …. meaning your privacy settings travel with you to external sites using Facebook connect
What this all means is that as eCommerce sites start to implement Facebook Connect and some already are …. you will be able to access your profile and create conversations with your friends around an individual purchase!
Example …. Lets say you would like to buy the new iPhone 3Gs …. you look the Apple Store and see they have implemented Facebook Connect (again this is just an example). You see several of your friends are online and open up a chat with your buddy Jim who always has the newest Apple device and ask him if the new 3Gs is for you. He unequivocally says yes and you decide to make the purchase.
This scenario illustrated the power of a new era of what we will call Advocacy Based Marketing (ABM). If a brand can see and understand that you are a strong positive supporter of the brand and that you are making referrals about the product …. they should be reaching out and engaging with you (Jim in the above example). Perhaps they will even offer you and your followers/friends (Twitter/Facebook) a special discount or a peak at the next version before the launch to get the viral buzz going.
All of this will lead to a new era of digital commerce in the next 24 months …. Are you ready?

I am excited for this to happen, I can’t wait for this to happen, I am completely convinced this is going to happen. In fact I am beginning to see seeds of it happening right now!
Facebook Connect has been generally available now for a while and quietly we are seeing sites begin to take advantage of it. So far I have noted on Inside Facebook –

• YouTube Integrate Facebook Connect to Auto share Uploaded Videos
• PageReach Launches First “Content Network” Built On Facebook Pages
• Microsoft Xbox Games to share Games with Facebook Connect

Users can update their Facebook status, post photos, and play games with friends directly within Xbox Live. In addition, Electronic Arts announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 would integrate Facebook Connect on Xbox when it is released this fall, marking the first Facebook Connect integration on a gaming console ever!
Websites will also present themselves very differently if you use your social profile on them though Facebook Connect. They wont say …. “Talk to us on Facebook” or “Connect with us on Facebook” they will say use your social profile to get a completely customized experience on our website or navigate our website based on what your friends found important.
These are new an exciting ways you can spend all that Social Capital you have been building up in your Twitter or Facebook account. Increasing Social Capital will become more important than ever to you and your web experience. It will be the way to find things, buy things and experience things on the web.
The time is now to build your Social Capital, synchronize and prune your Social Networks so that followers you have in Twitter are also friends you have in Facebook and connections you have in LinkedIn. Bottom line is you should build your Social Capital now before you need it!

Does Google have any idea how long would it take me to go through 64 Million responses? One day we are going to look back at the days of searching and getting 64 Million responses to anything and equate that to a Commodore 64 or Betamax tape.
I know, I know the point is Google is trying to bring me the best responses to the term in the first few pages (if not the first page). But the best responses according to who? Why don’t they know I work at Avaya (who sells products and services in the VoIP space) and therefore I most likely have a very different mission in typing in VoIP?
Microsoft just launched Bing a new search service which is supposed to rival that of Google. To me it looks like Google but in a new wrapper with a few enhancements. This post is not an indictment of Bing, my point is they didn’t take it far enough.
Someone can (and will) connect search to my social profile (say on Facebook) thereby making a truly intelligent search engine that will know where I work, and who my friends are. Then when I Google a term like VoIP …. it will know I work for Avaya, it will know my friends and can present me with a way to filter the web based on my social profile …. call it Social Search.
Then I will be able to narrow down a search for VoIP down in seconds based on the company I work for, members of my marketing team, friends I have in my network and get a completely different view of the internet that I can’t get now.
24 months from now Social Search should be common place …. we should see social tools like Facebook Connect or OpenID which are already out there, used for search. I feel everyone wants to make the search market more competitive (right now Google has 87% of the US marketing and 90% of the European market) so perhaps Yahoo or AOL can revive their search business by going Social!
For more ideas like this please check out my latest eBook called 7 Ways Facebook will Change your Life!

What you are about to see is a number of ideas I have about the future of Facebook. These are not pie in the sky ideas or something I dreamed up – I feel these are very doable.
In fact, I wondered if I could get this eBook out fast enough to share these ideas with you before they actually happened!
So get ready to enjoy what I think is a sneak peek into the future of social networking …

Whether you are a small local business, or even a well known product or service you will need to give some thought to your audience like, who they are, how do they want to be spoken to, what messages would you want them to receive, and what are the tactics for having them interact with your message. So let’s go through some of your options when it comes to the tactics of social networking marketing.
Have a Strong Presence
A Facebook presence, like a website, is a fundamental tactic and should be on everyone’s list of must haves for social network marketing. Similar to the .com land grab that happened in the late 90’s, you should secure your company name on as many social sites as you can.
Once you have your presence you will need a strategy for posting updates as frequently as you can with interesting content. Be sure to get your employees involved. Encourage them to become fans and drive the conversations to create a thriving community. The reason being, you will want Facebook users to be able to discover your Facebook Page through their friends’ profiles and with Facebook searches. This is the key to growing your fan base “virally”. Also keep in mind Facebook Pages are indexable so be sure to write your content with good SEO in mind.
Do some Advertising
You will find that advertising on Facebook is unlike any other advertising experience you have ever had. Mainly do to the unique ways in which you can precisely target a specific ad down to the person’s profile. For example if you want to target MBA graduates that are 3-5 years out of school and working in Southern Connecticut that like Classic Rock music whose favorite food is Sushi …. you can do that!
There are 2 basic types of ads: Display ads and Social ads. And they can be purchased like banner ads with Cost per Click (CPC) and Cost per Thousand (CPM). And they work similar to online banner ads but try not to use them in the same way. Most Facebook users feel more comfortable staying within the Facebook environment. So try to direct them to someplace on your Facebook Fan page. With the new Facebook Fan page design, you can send them directly to a tab of your Fan page since each tab has a unique URL.
Create an Application
If you are going to send your ads to a specific tab why not send them to an application you built to engage them with your brand. Facebook Applications are similar to widgets or snippets of code that can be embedded in any Facebook Fan page to make it more distinguished. You can think of them like interactive spaces that can allow the user to take a poll, play a short game, or anything you can dream up.
Creating a Facebook Application has become widely popular because custom applications are not that hard or expensive to build. Some Facebook Applications have seen tremendous growth because they were built to take advantage of the viral nature of Facebook.
Syndicate your Content
Another tactic to consider if you already have a steady stream of rich content is using Facebook as an outpost for your content. If you already have a blog, podcast series or video series you can effectively use Facebook to attract another audience to interact with those assets.
There are a variety of ways to syndicate content on your Fan page. You can use the Notes page to import blog posts to your Fan page, you can use the My Del.icio.us application to import any bookmarks you may have made in your Del.icio.us account, you can use the Simply RSS application to bring in all the RSS feed you may have on your company website, you can edit your links section of have a variety of blogs or websites you may want to highlight perhaps by employees or partners of your company, and don’t forget to edit your Feed settings to include the complete versions of all your blog posts so they appear not only on your Fan page but on the Feeds of all your fans.
Throw an Event
Facebook Events are a great way of getting people together virtually or in person in support of your local business, brand or product. They are also a very economical way of getting the word out beyond your normal in-house marketing list by inviting the Fans of your Page. Fans can also help you promote your Facebook Event to their friends by sharing the event if it seems of value to a group of their friends.
Also don’t forget to follow-up after your event, it’s just good protocol to do so. If you had a very healthy debate with lots of questions …. why not send a transcript out to everyone who attended or even those that didn’t attend. If some questions didn’t get answered because of time constraints …. why not write up the answers and send them to the all attendees too.
The key point is try not to take a “set it and forget it” mentality to any social presence you have. While the costs of social marketing are low don’t let that fool you. The true cost is found in the creation of content. And your key to success will be the consistent participation and willingness to engage your customers you can create by using great content.

This article contains excerpts from Facebook Marketing For Dummies (September 2009, Wiley – available for pre-order on Amazon)

What’s going on here you think?
Reluctantly you give them your Facebook id and behind the scenes there is technology at work that matches you up with the best Call Center agent based on your profile information: Age, Sex, Hometown, Current Location, and Interests.
Instantly you are matched up with someone who you can relate to. Someone who now can give you the best service and hence the best customer experience of your lifetime. They know exactly what would be best for you because they share the same interests or age bracket and can talk to the product in ways you never heard before coming from a call center agent. Maybe they know someone in your social network and can even broker a chat with them (live through Facebook) about their recommended rod and reel combo for you.
Sound a little like Star Trek?
Actually it sounds very doable. Technology like Facebook Connect or Facebook personal URLs are already available. We are just beginning to see that technology harnessed more broadly for the web. In fact I predict we will see it start to appear in Search, on Amazon.com, on YouTube and Microsoft Xbox …. in some cases this has already begun!
So why isn’t your call center taking advantage of this data as well?

“Early in the nineteenth century, most Americans worked twelve hours a day, six days a week. The work week shrank gradually during the nineteenth century and more quickly during the twentieth. The traditional six-day week was shortened to five and a half days during the 1920s and to the five-day, forty-hour week during the 1930s.” (Preservation Institute)
What happened? The shortening of the official work week was supposed to free us and give us more time for our families and friends while allowing us to sustain the same standards of living. Yet, we are bombarded by more communication devices, tools, and channels than ever before. From the traditional telephone and telex, we got the fax machine, then the Internet, e-mail, blogs and social networking sites. The ocean of communication channels increases rapidly. The questions are…

1. As exciting as these new channels are, are we (as marketers) becoming slaves to them, attempting to keep up for fear of falling behind and becoming obsolete?
2. How does this situation contribute to the division between our work and leisure time?
3. Are we addicted to our communication tools, devices, and channels?
4. How has the situation affected our quality of life and the number of hours we inevitably work weekly?
Please share your experiences. Are we stopping to “smell the roses,” or are we too wrapped up in the next big thing?

One of the things I was pleasantly surprised to find in the first few days was that Avaya has their own Yammer account within their firewall. So naturally I signed up and started sharing.
Within days I had identified a group of really smart people inside Avaya that are totally switched on and not only sharing but discussing real issues in our Yammer forum with other like-minded individuals. I immediately asked my entire team to join since I wanted us to post some discussion threads and get reaction from sales people on our upcoming programs. And at last week’s VoiceCon conference I got to meet some of these folks face to face and it was like we were already long time friends.
One of my biggest concerns about coming into a new environment and managing a whole new group of people was – how am I going to build a network of trusted peers and sales people who I can tap into? I am happy to report that within a matter of weeks that piece is well on its way. Now we can get down to the business of making an impact for the organization.
So often I read and see discussions of Social Media and Social Networking ROI but hidden in that discussion is the unique ability for new employees to get up to speed quickly and build a network while building credibility in the organization. It would have taken me months to do that the traditional way, but with the power of Social Media and Social Networks it took weeks. What’s the ROI to Avaya on that? To borrow a phrase Social Networks like this are indeed Priceless.

Right now, I have Facebook on the brain. As you may recall I am in the middle of writing a book called Facebook Marketing for Dummies (Wiley) due out at the end of the summer. This book is in collaboration with long time friend Rich Krueger who is the CEO of AboutFaceDigital – an agency devoted to helping companies setup and optimize their marketing efforts on Facebook. Something they call – Facebook Marketing Optimization.
Anyway I found myself thinking – why does any business need a website any more?
With Facebook Fan pages you can build your own website on the Facebook “Platform”. A website that is totally FREE of hosting and server costs, public and indexable on all search engines, with unique URL’s for individual landing pages that you can tune based on if they are Fans or Non Fans, where you can host all your video (so long as it is under 10mb) and upload your product catalog with detailed descriptions (and get feedback from Fans), where you can throw an event or show presentations on a Slideshare ap, run a contest or a survey, host your blog or retweet your status updates (or better yet – just use Facebook instead of Twitter). Oh don’t forget send emails to your Fans for FREE and if you want to buy targeted ads you can do that too.
With all that in your favor – Why would any business need a website anymore?

Brands are the sum total of the experience a customer has when they are interacting with your brand. But on Facebook that interaction is relatively low and un-engaging. The interactions people may have with your brand will be limited to the people they interact with from your company.
Yet many companies limit the use of Social Media at work which I think is very short sighted.

“Of those not allowed to use social media at work, 65 percent said their managers block access to sites like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr because they’re afraid employee productivity will suffer.”

Blocking social media sites entirely may not be a good idea. There will always be people who abuse trust and spend time on social media sites with non-work related activities, but I believe the benefits outweigh the risks in the long run.
Building and allowing personal brands to flourish is important to having a strong Social Brand. It’s the sum total of many personal brands that make up that experience people have with your brand on Social Networks like Facebook.
Guidelines for companies to allow Personal Brands in Social Networks
So if you are going to allow access to Social Networks spend some time pulling together some guidelines for your employees. The IBM social computing guidelines have been called “The Constitution” of Social Media / Blogging guidelines and a good place to start.
3 Takeaways for Companies who want a strong Social Brand

1. Allow as many personal brands to grow in your company
2. Empower them with tools (guidelines, group blogware etc)
3. Train them on how to be a brand ambassador

Brands cannot make an impact by shouting at you with advertising anymore …. and in Social Networks it doesn’t even work! It’s the people of the brand that can make the difference. So empower them with the tools and training they need and watch as your social brand grows!

By now you’ve likely heard of Bernard L. Madoff. This hedge fund operator is accused of the largest corporate fraud in United States history, to the tune of $50 billion dollars lost. In a SEC complaint, Mr. Madoff–a former NASDAQ chairman–is accused of a “stunning fraud of epic proportions” by essentially running a Ponzi scheme where new investor money was used to cover losses and pay-out returns to previous investors.

While there were plenty of warning signs along the way such as steady returns during tumultuous times and allegations of manipulation from other brokers, investors continued to pour money into Madoff’s funds.

Madoff used interesting schemes to dupe high net worth investors, many of which preyed on basic human needs of social connection and esteem.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, Madoff cloaked his investments in a “mysterious allure and sense of exclusivity.” Simply getting into the club–if you will–gave investors bragging rights, a sense of belonging, and enabled them to feel they had access to something special.

In fact, according to the same WSJ article, once an investor was “in”, it would be considered an insult to ask deep questions about the fund for fear of being thrown out. “When you are in an exclusive private club,” the article notes, “you don’t go rummaging around the kitchen to make sure the health code is being followed.”

Adding insult to injury, many of Madoff’s customers came from good old “word of mouth” connections where new clients were referred by other wealthy families, political leaders, and charity organizers.

Mark Penn, writes in a recent Wall Street Journal article, that Madoff, “sold himself to people on the basis of brand, and he got access to more marks by using the smart, rich and famous to introduce him to more of the smart, rich and famous.”

Madoff’s fund wasn’t built on advertising. It wasn’t built on direct marketing tactics. It was built on leveraging customer trust, exclusivity, and word of mouth recommendations.

Many otherwise very intelligent people failed to ask questions of Mr. Madoff as they invested millions of hard earned dollars.
While red flags popped up on occasion, as long as “the returns” kept coming most investors operated from a “don’t ask, don’t tell” perspective. Investors, referred by other people they trusted, wanted to gain access to this exclusive hedge fund so badly that they in effect checked their brain at the door.

Don Peppers and Martha Rogers often talk the importance of building customer trust to improve revenues and profitability. In an article, “Trust Stakes Its Claim“, they say, “Although trust is the welcome consequence of any successful customer relationship, it is not something to take for granted. Building trust is an investment in the future of your customers. You have no more important asset; you have no more important strategy.”

While many companies have altruistic motives for building customer trust, Madoff did the opposite–using customer trust to defraud. He leveraged his political, social and faith (Judaism) network to ensure a steady flow of recommendations (and investors). And people blindly trusted him with their millions.

Surely, this is an egregious example of fraud, and hopefully an outlier. That said, as economic times get tougher and scam artists abound, it is probably fair to ask more questions, perform due diligence on personal and corporate investments, and check the assumptions that underpin our decision making.

Should we stop trusting altogether? That’s not a very practical strategy. We live in communities, we need to participate. That said when it comes to recommendations– whatever their source–we should at least pause and think about the motivations for those recommendations. Opaque is out, transparency is in.

Questions:
* Should recommendations–from companies, friends, relatives, etc be trusted? Under what circumstances?
* Many of Madoff’s investors were “swayed by the gut” and ignored the warning signs. What analytical techniques could have sniffed out this fraud?
* With cases of fraud and deception abounding, what practices can companies use to establish and maintain customer trust?
* Have you taken a break from thinking in a significant area of your personal life or business? Who is watching your hen house?

But what is missing from these crowds are leaders. Like any social network that you may join you have those that join and just lurk, those that maybe make a comment or contribute but then you have those who stand up, take some initiative and lead! And that’s what these social networks really need is more leaders!
That’s what Seth Godin’s new book Tribes is all about.
For example, the internet is a great place for Ukrainian Folk Dancers because now for the first time people who love Ukrainian Folk Dancing can ban together and create their own “Tribe”.
This is an important fact since traditional media is no longer working. There is just too much noise out there to shout at people. No consumer brand has been built on the back of traditional media for a while now. TV certainly isn’t working for the creation of new consumer or B2B brands.
Which means your only option is to define your brand in a way that is open to a dialog (no Command and Control branding please) and in a way that is narrow enough to start or tap into a “movement”.
Take for example …. Harley Davidson …. here is a consumer brand that also is a movement a Tribe. Take from the brand what you want and maybe even lead your own Tribe in your own area.
Seth recently held an event in NY to bring his own Tribe together. You can view his slides here and you can listen to the audio of his presentation here.
Some of the highlights from my notes were:
7 elements of leaders
- Challenge …. leaders challenge their tribe
- Culture …. leaders create a culture within the tribe
- Curiosity …. leaders open up a curiosity gap for outsiders
- Charisma …. being a leader gives you charisma
- Communicate …. leaders communicate
- Connect …. leaders connect others in the tribe
- Commit …. to the movement
5 things tribes want
- Connect …. they join to connect with others
- Create Meaning …. joining gives them purpose
- Make a difference …. joining allows them to make a difference
- Be Noticed …. they join to be noticed
- Matter …. they join because it matters to them
Marketing management is now Tribal leadership. Start doing things for people not to them. It’s an obligation and it up to you!

Author and speaker Nicholas Carr recently wrote in the Atlantic Monthly how the use of technology has altered the way he absorbs and processes information. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr makes the case that by consuming most of his information via a computer screen vs. the printed medium he’s “not thinking the way (he) used to think,” and perhaps even “remapping (his) neural circuitry.”

For a writer like Carr, “the Web has been a godsend.” He can now easily research topics with the click of a mouse, and spend minutes instead of hours in the library. He no longer needs to read tomes of information to find the “telltale fact or pithy quote” needed to support an argument. In a sense, the efficiency of internet search technologies brings many benefits including more productivity (due to better and faster access to information), however there are downsides as well.

By “tripping from link to link,” capturing bits of information here and there, and constantly scanning internet news and information, Carr finds that he’s losing the ability to concentrate and stay focused on longer pieces of writing. In the article, Carr interviews friends and other professionals who constantly use the computer. These associates report that they’re also having difficulty reading articles of more than 2-3 paragraphs and often find they’re skimming more than deeply reading.

Dr. Gary Small is a Professor of Psychiatry & Bio-behavioral Sciences, and Director of the UCLA Center on Aging. He is also the author of “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.” Via letter to the editor of Atlantic Monthly, Dr. Small agreed with Nicholas Carr’s observations.

He writes, “The average young person spends more than eight hours each day using technology (computers, PDAs, TV, videos), and much less time engaging in direct social contact. Our UCLA brain-scanning studies are showing that such repeated exposure to technology alters brain circuitry, and young developing brains (which usually have the greatest exposure) are the most vulnerable. Instead of the traditional generation gap, we are witnessing the beginning of a brain gap that separates digital natives, born into 24/7 technology, and digital immigrants, who came to computers and other digital technology as adults.”

In the letter to the editor, Dr. Small continues, “Today, video-game brain, Internet addiction, and other technology side effects appear to be suppressing frontal-lobe executive skills and our ability to communicate face-to-face. Instead, our brains are developing circuitry for online social networking and are adapting to a new multitasking technology culture.”

So, our brains are “re-wiring” and adapting to how we’re using technologies, but this begs the question; “Is this rewiring of our brains a positive change?”

I found Dr. Small’s letter to the editor very intriguing and thus I contacted him for a few follow up questions.

When asked about the effects of too much technology on the brain, Dr. Small said, “Tech users may increase their hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision and reaction time. Research has found that surgeons who regularly play video games make fewer errors in the operating room. Potential negative effects include increased frequency of errors from multi-tasking, worsening of attention, the risk of technology addiction, and a decline in face-to-face human contact abilities.”
Many of us are well down the path of too much technology usage. We’re addicted to our Blackberries, inboxes, PSPs, and YouTube. What if we deem the costs outweigh the benefits? What if we want to stop? Is the rewiring of our brains reversible?

“The brain is malleable at any age so we can continue to rewire our brains in ways that improve our lives,” Dr. Small says. “The best approach is to make sure that we are spending enough time off-line, both with other people and on our own. The lure of technology can present a daily challenge for many people so scheduling regular breaks and learning ways to reduce stress and increase focus are helpful too.”

Questions:
* Do you find that constant use of technology is changing the way you think? Positively or negatively?
* Have you noticed a dramatic shift in your online vs. offline reading?
* Technology is surely making us more efficient, but with too much technology are we also training our minds to be more “robotic”?
* In the Atlantic Monthly article, the founders of Google have suggested that humanity would be better off if we had “all the world’s information directly attached to (the) brain” via interface or implant and of course, supplied by Google. How much technology is too much? When will we know when we’ve crossed “the line” between benefit and harm?
Related post: Are Web 2.0 Tools Dumbing Us Down?

Ascentium …. A model for the agency of the future
I spoke to the CMO, Romi Mahajan who explained Ascentium’s go-to-market strategy to me. They are the nexus of a digital marketing company mixed with a technology firm that does Microsoft CRM, Business Intelligence and Analytics to provide creative solutions for brand perception and instantiation.
No doubt very useful and very powerful when they come together (I read this as an agency mixed with a lead nurturing platform that can track ROI!). Not only do they build cool marketing campaigns but they can connect to your sales process. They in effect unify sales and marketing so that clients see that their campaign pay off …. thereby eliminating the normal tension between sales and marketing.
Romi was also a speaker on Agency 2.0 on how should agencies of the future be organized. Clearly I would think Ascentium is a model for agencies of the future.
Brickfish – Measuring Social Engagement
Brickfish offers an innovative way for brands to connect with their target audience online. They offer a launching pad for highly viral marketing campaigns that allow you to reach consumers where they live on the social web. They get them to listen to your message and interact with your brand, and more than that, they produce the results.
What does this mean …. as I understood it …. they make various viral marketing campaigns or social applications that can then be shared with friends who can customize them to post it to their blog or website via an iFrame. The iFrame technology allows Brickfish to measure where, when, who and how many times your messages were viewed.
Some examples are Coach engaged consumers to design a new tote. Nike asked consumers to share their inspirational athletic achievements. Kodak got consumers to share their Kodak moments to celebrate their new low-ink printer. All of these examples needed consumers to make customize the message and make it their own then spread it virally. Best off Brickfish is an all in one platform to do this.
HiveLive …. Platform for building unique communities
I spoke to the CEO John Kimbel and visited with HiveLive crew on the Expo floor and was very impressed. HiveLive has a very different take on Enterprise Communities. In short, what they do is act as a platform that aggregates all your types of media (both new media and social media) to create a very different type of experience than say a standard community. So that means they integrate things like blogs, podcasts, wikis, forums into a “Hive” (one could say mashup here). That can be customized to the experience you want to create for your users.
One of their customers is Serena Software. Their CMO, Rene Bonvanie is a forward-thinking marketer who’s been leading the community charge for quite some time now at places like SalesForce, SAP, BusinessObjects, and Oracle. Below is a video where he does a great job explaining Serena’s vision of a new model of community-powered marketing and how they’re using tools/technologies (like Facebook, HiveLive, and YouTube) to reinvent their business: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDsJE98NPbM
InsideView …. Smart marketing and sales tool
I was lucky enough to have breakfast with the CEO Umberto Milletti. Who started InsideView in 2005 because he saw that “business information was becoming more distributed over the web” though articles, interviews, various databases and then eventually social networks.
He viewed this as an opportunity to aggregate these sources of information to provide a composite view of a person or a company through the use of some proprietary Natural Language Processing.
All comes together in a mashup within your own CRM …. InsideView integrates with all of today’s most popular CRM systems namely Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, and recently announced Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and Landslide.
InsideView also tells you who you are connected to in Facebook or LinkedIn. It’s a form of “Smarketing” as Umberto called it.
Over 200 companies use their application with hundreds of sales reps using the application. They sell per seat licenses but they also have a free version in the spirit of Web 2.0 with a limited version of the functionality. No doubt this is a company to watch in the coming years!
Wi5Connect …. Welcome to Social Learning 2.0
I spoke to Matthew Bowman, VP of Sales and Marketing, for Wi5Connect who explained what they did as a “different approach to learning that marries two technologies …. Social Networking and eLearning” into an easy to deliver SaaS solution.
Their new product LearnSocial is a revolutionary new way for businesses to train employees. Different than online learning, user manuals, or instructor lead training, LearnSocial is an online community that captures the power of social networks and fortifies with a state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) platform. Finally, an effective learning tool that allows you to better engage, track the engagement, correlate progress to training, and measure ROI.
Matt called it “a way to combine the brain trust hidden in all levels of your own organization with the magic of your own corporate social network!”

Enter Jesse Stay …. Facebook developer and guru, a recent author of FBML essentials, blogger of Stay-n-Alive and social media junkie like myself.
I sought Jesse’s help in further understanding how he was using FriendFeed for tracking and commenting on all the conversations that were happening at the recent F8, Facebook developer conference.
Here his thoughts and excuse my ignorance on any of these topics for those of you more social advanced.

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About Jesse
Jesse is a Social Media technologies expert. He specializes in Facebook and other technologies that enable you as a business to better reach your customers in a viral manner, leading to more targeted ad and marketing positions, leading to faster adaptation of your brand through the social networks.
Through his company, Stay N’ Alive Productions, he has firm experience developing and providing quality applications that have already had strong successes. He has both developed and consulted for successful social networking applications, some of those which currently have over a million users (the top 90 on Facebook!).