How Brands Can Leverage the 'Interest Graph'

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This SXSW coverage is brought to you by Red Square Agency. The agency that also brought you shamelessness.

In a SXSW panel that jumped on the topic du jour, Pinterest, moderator Jolie O'Dell, a reporter at Venture Beat, carefully crafted a discussion that steered clear of the usual social media blather that all too often pervades conference panels.

The panel, while acknowledging the importance of the social graph, advocated consideration of what they dubbed the "interest graph." The interest graph is a focus on, as the title suggest, what people are interested in. And services like Pinterest have brought this to the forefront.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-12-12    
Topic: Industry Events, Social



AMEX to Use Twitter Hashtags to Offer Merchant Discounts

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Last night, American Express launched a program on Twitter that allows cardmembers to "tweet their way to savings" by syncing their AMEX card with Twitter at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter and tweeting merchant-specific hashtags to load couponless offers directly to their Card. When the cardmember makes a purchase in-store or online, an automatic statement credit is issued within days.

Of the program, American Express Vice Chairman Ed Gilligan said, "American Express is turning Twitter content into commerce by connecting Cardmembers to merchants and delivering real world value to both. With the continued convergence of online and offline commerce, our closed loop continues to enable us to bring seamless, relevant ways to connect our cardmembers and merchants on the most powerful social and digital platforms."

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by Steve Hall    Mar- 7-12    
Topic: Social



How to be Agile and Authentic in Social Media

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Entitled How to be Agile and Authentic in Real-Time Marketing and PR, this white paper includes practical, candid and irreverent advice from author, speaker and marketing strategist David Meerman Scott on what it means to be real time in marketing and PR.

In this white paper you will learn that long-term campaign planning is all well and good but if that's where you put all your focus, you will miss powerful opportunities to leverage success from what's going on right now. See an opportunity. Seize the opportunity. Do it now, while the story is still hot.

In this white paper you will learn the four steps of real time marketing along with strategies to deploy the steps and real world examples of the steps in action. Download the white paper now.

by Steve Hall    Mar- 5-12    
Topic: Research, Social



How Companies Can Better Integrate Their Content With the Social Web

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Murray Newlands interviews Echo Strategic VP Chris Saad in this episode of Future of Publishing. Saad discusses the convergence of static traditional media with fluid social media.

During the past several years, the rise of social media has threatened publishers (and brands employing content marketing) with a certain loss of control over customer conversation. Social media has forced publishers to find new ways to connect with customers.

Contrasing the future of publishing with both traditional, top-down media and more modern social media, Saad describes future content creation as both "content curation and content creation."

Check out the three and a half minute interview below.

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by Steve Hall    Mar- 5-12    
Topic: Social, Video



GSD&M Will Help You Survive SXSW With Pinterest-Based SXSurvival

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This guest post was written by aWeber Education Marketing Associate Amanda Gagnon.

Let's face it, the biggest draw of South by Southwest isn't the announcements of technical innovations (though I'm sure they'll be trippy) or music (though I'm sure it'll be satisfyingly edgy). You'll learn an awful lot no matter what sessions or shows you attend.

Instead, the biggest draw is the massive collection of savvy, creative individuals and the ensuing melee.

So what you really need to know as you prepare to fly to Austin in a couple of weeks is where this crowd will be eating, where they'll be shopping and where the good parties are.

Ad agency GSD&M has made that information available with their campaign for SXSW 2012, SXSurvival. The ad agency's main site for the campaign includes tweetable suggestions and blog posts, but its primary focus is getting viewers to Pinterest.

GSD&M used the up-and-coming network to create a survival manual: a series of virtual bulletin boards "pinned" with the areas best resources for those attending SXSW. Boards include The Refresh (outdoor rec spots around Austin), The Parties (hosted by vendors & participants) and The Eats (the best local cuisine sources), among others.

By capitalizing on their Austin expertise, they attract the attention of the hordes headed to SXSW. Then they've got hordes of ad-minded Pinterest followers they can market to however they'd like.

by Steve Hall    Feb-24-12    
Topic: Industry Events, Social



How Adele's Middle Finger Played Out in Social Media

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On Tuesday, the Brit Awards celebrated the best in British music. Twenty-three year-old British singer Adele, already a winner of six Grammys, was honored with a Brit Award. However, she was cut off partway through her acceptance speech which left her fuming. She gave the middle finger before storming off camera. Controversies erupted over the Brit Awards' decision to cut her off (many felt it was so they could run more commercials) and her response. In Future of Engagement, Murray Newlands analyzes how people reacted on social media and discusses what businesses can learn from it.

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by Steve Hall    Feb-23-12    
Topic: Research, Social, Video



How to Measure Social Media ROI

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Radian6 is out with another social media focused white paper, part of the Adrants white paper series. It's entitled The ROI of Social Media: Myths, Truths and How to Measure. The in-depth report will provide you:

  • Real calculations and measurements to calculate social media ROI
  • The ability to distinguish your brand as a pro in social media ROI
  • Real social media success stories and the ROI of each one
  • Social media metrics for different professionals - PR, Customer Service, Marketers and more

We've read it and you will, in fact, learn how to measure social media and be provided a formula illustrating exactly how to do so. Social media's great but nothing really matters in marketing unless you know how it worked. This white paper will show you how to numerically state the ROI of your social media efforts. Download it now.

by Steve Hall    Feb-20-12    
Topic: Research, Social



Agora Social Visualizer Delivers Social Media Insight to Nokia Employees

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What if you were able to walk into the lobby of your company and get an instant snapshot of what people were saying about your brand across social channels? It'd be worth standing there for five minutes and taking it all in with a cup of coffee, right?

That was Nokia's goal when they created Agora, a six screen social visualizer that brings together all the social conversations, good and bad, about the brand.

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by Steve Hall    Feb-14-12    
Topic: Brands, Social, Tools



Top Five Reasons Why Brands Should Focus on Earned Media

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The over-saturation of advertising and an ever-increasing distrust of ads has led to a decline in the effectiveness of paid media. But all is not lost. Earned media, messages passed between consumers as a resulted of an experience with a brand, is gaining momentum. This white paper from Zuberance examines earned media and how brands can use it to their benefit. You will learn:

Earned media is the most trusted and credible form of content for a brand
Social media has amplified the sheer quantity and reach of earned media
Earned media can help improve conversion rates and ROI
In the form of word of mouth, buzz and viral, earned media can have a long lifespan
Earned medis can, in fact, be measured

Download Zuberance white paper, part of the Adrants white paper series, and learn why you should shift a portion of your marketing focus to earned media.

by Steve Hall    Feb-14-12    
Topic: Research, Social



Golden Voiced Ted Williams Delivers Valentine's Day Love

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Starting yesterday and and running through Tuesday, "Golden Voice" Ted Williams is spreading a little bit of Valentine's Day love in a new Twitter campaign from CP+B for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Valentine's Day Tweets from consumers tagged with #VoiceOfLove will go to Mr. Williams' virtual mailbox. He'll record a personalized video reading to the ones he likes in his deep, soulful voice. Consumers will know if theirs was chosen when @kraftmacncheese Tweets a message to them with a link to view their video.

All #VoiceOfLove videos will be available to view on the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese YouTube channel Additionally, each #VoiceOfLove Tweet spurs a donation of 100 boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to Feeding America, up to 100,000 boxes.

Ted recorded the following introduction video for the campaign here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8spsLM42f4A&feature=player_profilepage

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by Steve Hall    Feb-13-12    
Topic: Celebrity, Social, Video