Marketing execs drinking midday highballs on Madison Avenue are posh and glamorous. No wonder then that some businesses still hold traditional media marketing—glossy campaigns in print, splashy billboards, tv spots and their mindless jingles—over and at the expense of their social media marketing efforts. Just like business school is stuck in analog and antiquated ways, denigrating modern, online MBA programs in favor of prestigious institutions that have always been there. Marketing is the same way.  But the problem with this dated type of advertising push is that the information…

Nearly every business in the world has considered using social media for their brand (or at least been told by someone to do so). It’s an important concept because social media has all of the characteristics of an excellent set of venues for getting out a brand message – popularity, ease, reach, and interactivity. The challenge is that with so many businesses doing it, many messages start with great intentions and end up falling on deaf (aka nonexistent) ears. There are ways to use social media properly to get out the message whether it’s a general PR item or a major announcement. While press releases…

When Groupon rejected a $6 billion buyout from Google in late 2010, the company clearly saw nothing but rosy skies. Generating nearly $2 billion in annual revenue, their prospective earnings at that point showed nothing but an uphill curve. Today, they’re likely singing a different tune. After peaking at a share value of $31.14 following their initial public offering in November, the stock has slid as low as $12.95 this April. That means there are a lot of early investors crossing their fingers for a rebound of a business model that probably won’t find a second life as rich as it’s first. Anyone…

In 2007, there was an emerging social media site that had a modest but growing userbase. It was designed to let users tell their friends and followers what they were doing at that moment regardless of how mundane or personal. The posts on it were comprised of over 90% unlinked statements or questions. It wasn’t very common for people to post links unless it was to an image that helped encapsulate the moment in which they were living. The mainstream explosion of Twitter in 2008 changed the site tremendously. People started flocking in. Celebrities started flocking in. Marketing zombies started…

Social media has been the most enigmatic tool that chief marketing officers have used with varying degrees of success over the last few years. They know that there’s something there but it eludes many. In some cases, social media has been seen as having a negative effect on the overall marketing efforts. This infographic by CMO breaks down the landscape nicely. While there are certainly things included in the graphic that could be argued, it’s generally an exceptionally well-done breakdown. Click to enlarge. …

Some say less is more when it comes to marketing. Mercedes takes “less” to a new level in the marketing of their F-Cell vehicle line. The concept is simple and brilliant. To demonstrate that a vehicle has no emissions, they made an “invisible” vehicle to represent its lack of a footprint on the environment. By covering one side of the vehicle in LEDs, they’re able to let people see through it via a camera mounted on the other side. The results of the publicity stunt will be seen over time but it highlights a creativity that has evaded the German luxury car manufacturer for a while. …

Simplifying life has been an unofficial mantra of Apple for years and their marketing ha proven to be effective in portraying this to people. Their latest marketing push for “iCloud Harmony” highlights the ability of various devices to sync with the iPhone. Is this technology really worthy of Apple marketing? Perhaps I’m a snob but this is something that I’ve come to expect with mobile devices. I have all 3 mobile operating systems in my pocket at any given time and both Android and Windows 7 allow me to take photos from them and have them on my computer and tablets, just as Apple is promoting with iCloud….

For most, Facebook is an internet tool for keeping up with our friends and family while broadcasting the “interesting” things that are happening in our own lives. For businesses, it’s a relatively-untapped marketing tool that has a world of potential but that often doesn’t offer the results that are promised. People don’t want Facebook to be a marketing tool and Facebook is obligated to them more than businesses (for now). The key to success with Facebook is EdgeRank, the algorithm that Facebook uses to determine how high on a user’s feed your posts will appear. Chronology has a little to do with…

A year ago, Google announced something that made the real journalists and publications on the internet cheer and sent shivers of fear down the spines of spammer and content farmers. The “Panda Update” was designed to take low-quality, “thin” content that is often found on sites like HuffPo and eHow and reduce the rankings (and therefore the traffic) that Google gave them. Those who were unaffected rejoiced. Those who were hit cried fowl. Google went through several iterations and course corrections with some sites getting vindicated, but it hurt many beyond repair. Yahoo was one who was notably…

With Google aspiring to be a major player in the social media space, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the search giant is using its leverage to push Google+ in whatever way possible. It appears as if the Mountain View, California corporation is at it again because its news discovery product has been enhanced to be more socially appealing. Thanks to a recent update, Google News is now the latest of its properties to connect with the company’s new social networking platform. +1 Button strikes again The recent update applies to the Spotlight section in Google News. When logged into their…