For Moms, Offline Friends Still Wield Heavy Brand Influence†

Study: Social Media Is Kept, Well, Social, While Marketers' Website Become Important Tool for Product Info

Advertising Age, November 6, 2009 — Technology's influence is widely assumed to have morphed the over-the-fence backyard chat into mommy blogs and Twitter networks. But when moms are seeking product advice, it's not all social-media all the time. A study due out next week from the Parenting Group found that while moms are avid web and social-media users, they still turn to family and friends first, whether by phone, e-mail or in-person, when making decisions about product purchases

Beware Social Media Marketing Myths

MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook are all the rage, but for most business owners there are better ways to stay close to customers

BusinessWeek, May 26, 2009 — Comedian Jim Gaffigan has a suggestion for preparing a Hot Pockets frozen entrée: "Take out of package. Place directly in toilet." Gaffigan is not a big fan of Hot Pockets. He doesn't like exercise, either. But he loves bacon. "Without bacon, no one would even know what a water chestnut is," he says. Gaffigan's also a fan of social networking sites.

You'll see him on Facebook, Twitter, and News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace. He keeps fans up to date on his concerts, albums, TV appearances—and naps. In short, he's a social networking success story. For a one-man band like Gaffigan, who probably has a decent amount of free time between eating bacon and being on stage, social networks and blogs have proved effective vehicles for marketing his business and... continue reading

Study: ROI May Be Measurable in Facebook, MySpace After All†

Package-Goods Brand Earns $1.28 Million in Sales From $1 Million Social-Media Campaign

Advertising Age, April 13, 2009 — Package-goods brands are still cautious about social media, figuring that the return on investment can't be accurately measured. After all, marketing on Facebook or MySpace might generate a conversation but not necessarily a sale. Now, however, a method is emerging to relate one to the other, potentially eliminating a major impediment.

Social Media Marketing Is A Multicultural World

MediaPost Publications, February 19, 2009 — Social media is now ubiquitous. Usage of blogs, social networks, and video sharing sites is increasing rapidly, and millions of people now look to social media sites as their primary source of news, opinion, and entertainment. As we witness this dramatic shift from traditional to social media, we believe it's important to examine its cultural dimensions - that is, who is driving this shift, what are the cultural factors behind it, and what are the implications for marketers seeking to reach specific ethnic/cultural groups via social media?

Facebook's friendship comes with fine print

Despite a perceived social contract, the reality is the social-networking site has a broad reach when it comes to using your content

Chicago Tribune, February 17, 2009 — Facebook knows your age, alma mater and favorite band. It's seen your spring break photos and read the messages you sent to your friend. So, can it do anything it wants with that content?

Legally, almost. But in practice, the rules that govern Facebook's relationship with its users are abstract and subject to constant negotiation.

Engineering Firm Charts Ties†

Social-Mapping Method Helps MWH Uncover Gaps

Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2009 — To boost productivity at engineering firm MWH, executive Victor Gulas asks employees which colleagues they talk to, and whom they turn to for help. Then he draws a "map" of the connections, which reveals dark patches around employees who work closely with others and lighter areas where there's little interaction.

Mr. Gulas says the map shows communication gaps, information bottlenecks and underutilized employees. "It's making the invisible visible," he says.

How Nike's Social Network Sells to Runners

The Nike+ site is drawing hordes of runners, and its success may hold lessons for brand building on the Web

BusinessWeek, November 6, 2008 — Next Issue

After joining nikeplus.com, Seattle's Winters was inspired to run 50-mile races John Keatley

Nike's Olander at first didn't foresee the marketing power of Nike+ Lee Emmert

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linkedin connections

Nike (NKE) is winning a new game that other corporations, from Coca-Cola (KO) to Verizon (VZ) to General Motors (GM), have tried unsuccessfully to play: building brand loyalty via online social networking.

In the two years since it launched Nike+, a technology that tracks data of every run and connects runners around the world at a Web site, nikeplus.com, Nike has built a legion of fans. In August,... continue reading

Study: Blogs Influence Purchases More Than Social Sites

ClickZ, October 28, 2008 — Blogs can have more impact on purchase decisions than social networks, a new study finds. Blogs create a conversation and trusted resource that influences purchase decision.

The study, "Harnessing the Power of Blogs," sponsored research by BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research company, looks at the evolving influence from the reader's perspective. "What we wanted to do was look at the reader's side of the coin, look at reader patterns and how people are reading blogs...and drill down into the content impacting other media platforms," said Valerie Combs, VP of corporate communications at BuzzLogic.

Twitter for Enterprises

Springwise Newsletter, October 9, 2008 — Breaking down barriers and fostering cross-company communication has long been one of enterprises' most persistent challenges. A tool that was launched last month at TechCrunch50—and then went on to win the conference's Best in Show award—offers a new solution, however, in the form of a sort of Twitter for the enterprise.

Yammer aims to make organizations more productive through the exchange of short, frequent answers to the question, “What are you working on?” Employees' responses to that question get aggregated into a private, central feed, enabling coworkers to discuss ideas, post news, ask questions and share information.

The Contribution Revolution: Letting Volunteers Build Your Business†

Intuit’s cofounder challenges traditional companies to follow the lead of internet superstars—and of innovative peers such as Honda, Procter & Gamble, and Hyatt—in tapping the contributions of countle

Harvard Business Review, October 1, 2008 — Earlier this year, I spent an intense half-day closeted in a room with the top 70 executives at Intuit. Our aim was to come up with ways that people outside the company could volunteer their time, energy, and expertise to make life better for our customers. Sound odd? Well, if you’re not conducting an exercise like that at your organization, you risk missing the boat on a sea change that’s transforming business.

Every day, millions of people make all kinds of voluntary contributions to companies—from informed opinions to computing resources—that create tremendous value for those firms’ customers and, consequently, for their shareholders. When I first encountered this idea, several years ago, it struck me as unfathomable: Volunteerism was for... continue reading