Posts Categorized: Technology Tools

Common Legal Errors in Social Media Marketing

By Brendy Barr, President, Brendy Barr Communications, LLC Beware of the Tweet that could result in legal repercussions!  Many professional communicators are launching into social media marketing campaigns and not considering the legal mistakes they may be making.  This oversight could result in fines and/or a disruption in the client’s business. So before you post that next photo or conduct a sweepstakes on Facebook, read this blog on Write Speak Sell by attorney Kyle-Beth Hilfer about the most common legal errors in social media marketing… Click here to read full post.... ⇢ read more

Optimizing Fan Engagement for Brands

By Brendy Barr, Brendy Barr Communications It’s no question that Facebook has become a tremendously powerful vehicle for promoting brands and businesses…for those who are doing it right.  Successful social media marketers know that posting status updates for a company is not the same as updating a personal Facebook page. If you want to optimize fan engagement, you need a strategic plan; you need to know how and when to post content to maximize its effectiveness.  This recent blog posted on mashable.com offers some great insight, tips and findings from a new report from Buddy Media…  Improve Engagement on Your Brand’s Facebook Page... ⇢ read more

If Facebook could bring down a country it can for sure bring down your company

By Margaret Nathan Strategic Communication, Inc. According to the buzz coming out of SXSW (South by Southwest), this was this year’s mantra.  And I have to admit probably nothing is truer.  It’s hard for me to believe Facebook and Twitter could start a revolution, but it did and that’s now history.  But there is something else that can bring down a company.  As we move past the financial crisis and things begin to grow again as they appear to be doing however slowly, companies and brands need to quite saving their way to profit.  I’ve worked through more down turns than I... ⇢ read more

Super Bowl Ads – The Morning After

As a light football fan, I'm one of those PR/marketing folks who watches the big game for the ads.  It started during my first job after college at DDB Needham Advertising.  As a newbie in the ad scene, I'd "yes ma'am" and "no sir" all day to the many levels of management above me as I scurried between departments, toting creative storyboards, thick research reports, and media analyses.  But the night of the Super Bowl, our class of Assistant Account Executives got to sit around bowls of salty chips and pizza and play CEO as we analyzed the creative genius... ⇢ read more

Social Media in 2011 – so, what’s new?

I had a recent encounter that affirmed what I already knew: While social media is not a replacement for other forms of engagement, it can be an excellent door-opener for relationship building. I was tweeting @jlevans about a social outing, and I referenced a possible adventure in Houston’s incredible Museum District. I received a response from the brand-new Editor of the Houston Business Journal, Candace Beeke (@candacebeeke). Candace, also a Mom, asked me for a parent review after my visit. Did I know there was a new Editor at HBJ? Of course, I make it my business to be aware... ⇢ read more

E-Mail Spoofing is Downright Spooky

By Nancy Tamosaitis-Thompson, Vorticom, Inc. As Published in BrandWeek Has your email or Twitter account been hijacked?  Today I received an email on my business email account from my long term AOL address that invited me to “solve my erectile dysfunction problem now!”  A second email advised me to click on a link to purchase a product that would “flush my body of all toxins in less than two hours.”  I went into my sent box on AOL and found that an alternate AOL reality was sending hundreds of e-mails to trusted friends and associates touting the benefits of sexual health, weight... ⇢ read more

"Oooo Pick Me," Said the Social Media Website

By Sam Sims, Jones Public Relations, Inc. The dramatic influx of social media websites is overwhelming at best, but what this should show communicators is trends. Take for example the trend for real-time micro updating – doesn’t sound as appealing as saying Twitter in a conversation. But, seeing how Facebook incorporated micro updating (known in Facebook as “status updates”) into its platform is undeniable. How are we to make heads or tails of all of this? First ask this question: What barrier does the site/technology remove? If the site removes a barrier for its users to communicate openly, such as the need to... ⇢ read more

“Oooo Pick Me,” Said the Social Media Website

By Sam Sims, Jones Public Relations, Inc. The dramatic influx of social media websites is overwhelming at best, but what this should show communicators is trends. Take for example the trend for real-time micro updating – doesn’t sound as appealing as saying Twitter in a conversation. But, seeing how Facebook incorporated micro updating (known in Facebook as “status updates”) into its platform is undeniable. How are we to make heads or tails of all of this? First ask this question: What barrier does the site/technology remove? If the site removes a barrier for its users to communicate openly, such as the need to... ⇢ read more

Access to Information

By Deb Trivitt, APR, Trivitt Public Relations, Inc. I’m seriously considering buying a smart phone.  I’ve resisted mightily because I hate to give people more access to my time.  I was quizzing a salesman about which phone would be the best. As we talked more, he mentioned that one phone had more “apps” than another. The a few days later my friend Todd Murphy posted this video and I understood why the “apps” are so important.  They give us access to information. It is the access to information we’re willing to pay for.  We’re willing to pay for the TV, the computer,... ⇢ read more

Social Media and Social Events: Match in Heaven

It's Valentine's Day, and working for one of Boston's largest ski, sports, and social clubs has got me fired up about the power of social media and how it rocks the world of special events. Watching Boston Ski & Sports Club (BSSC) get more and more engaged in social media - and watching it WORK for them - is like watching a young couple fall in love... it warms a marketer's heart, and gives a PR gal a plethora of new public relations opportunities to get the word out and connect with consumers.  Social media is certainly not meant to replace... ⇢ read more