Eco Optimism

Paid Tweets? Don't Bother.

The concept of using a 3rd party service to Tweet "releases" to media has been brought to the forefront with the recent launch of Muck Rack.  

Read about the service and our recommendations on our agency post.

Social Web Prediction for the Next 5 Years: "Wing of Bat and Tail of Newt"

Forrester Research (the same people that brought us the Bubble in the 90s), today unveils its Five Eras of the Social Web.  Like most prognosticators, Forrester "expects the groundswell to continue."  Thanks, I thought it was just a passing fad.

Still, if I allow myself to stop being snarky, this is a good look at how the social media world is developing.  Suffice to say, any company still on the sideline needs to jump into the game.  HOWEVER, if you read the trend, it's not necessarily about how organizations interact with their target, but how they can become part of the interaction between individuals.  This is a very, very important distinction.

Take a look at the predicted The Five Eras of the Social Web: 

    1) Era of Social Relationships: People connect to others and share (ended in 2007)

    2) Era of Social Functionality: Social networks become like operating system (matures 2012)

    3) Era of Social Colonization: Every experience can now be social (matures 2011)

    4) Era of Social Context: Personalized and accurate content (matures 2012) 

    5) Era of Social Commerce: Communities define future products and services (matures 2013)

"Social Media Map" Brings Order to Digital Communications

Twitter.  Facebook.  MySpace. Blogs.  Marketing pros are besieged with a maelstrom of choices when it comes to digital communications.  

The first step to developing a plan that will work for your business is to make sense of this confusing landscape.  Thankfully, our partner agency Overdrive Interactive has done this for you with its Social Media Map.

It's a great one-page view that organizes online marketing choices into easy-to-follow categories, including blogs, video sites, micro-blogging, photo sites, wikis, tools, search engines and more.

One warning: there's most likely a ton of sites and tools you've never heard of.  DON'T feel you need to know, use and master them all.  Just get acquainted (and appreciate) the order the maps brings to the mix.  Then, make simple choices of what works for your business today.

I'll write more on the various categories, their roles and a few tips for each in the coming posts.

Until then, hit the road.

A Great Use of Twitter for PR Pros

Okay, just when I said I'd start blogging again next week, I came across a post that is worth sharing (posted Nov 25).  A few PR folks and a bunch of journalists have teamed up to create @MicroPR.  This is a Twitter group that allows writers, bloggers and analysts to reach the PR community to ask for help on stories in process.  It's much like a grassroots Profnet system (and free).

As long as PR folks don't abuse the requests with off-the-mark responses, this will grow like wildfire. I'm going to jump on it and see where the ride takes me.

But this also underscores a great use of Twitter.  Right now, there's a lot of confusion in the communications world on how to to use or not use Twitter. This network has recently been pushed into the limelight with Motrin-gate, where a flash mob of upset moms Tweeted Motrin into pulling an ill-conceived video targeting mothers of newborns.

The strength of Twitter is a realtime, mass-messaging system.  It's not a replacement for the thoughtfulness of a blog (one hopes!!) or the personal networking of Facebook, which is a vastly richer interaction.  Twitter excels in pushing out frequent bursts of information packets to many people en masse.  It's perfect for updates from events, dealing with technical or customer service issues, and its power in crisis management is scary.

So for all the marketing and PR pros out there trying to figure out how to use Twitter as a tool, start with @MicroPR and get a feel of the medium.  And in the meantime, you just may land a great hit.

Senator Needs a Lesson in Social Media

About two months ago, I sent a note to my Senator, Ted Kennedy, asking Congress to renew the lapsing tax credits that drive investment and innovation in alternative energy.  This was a very specific request, and in my opinion, warranted a very specific response.

Weeks later, I get this email back:

Dear Mr. Cercone:

 

Thank you for writing to me about the nation's energy policy.  The increasing cost of oil and the need for national energy independence is an extremely important issue that deserves immediate attention and action. 

 

Rising gasoline prices and our dependence on foreign oil severely undermines our national economy and security.  A growing number of families are struggling to pay for the gasoline they need for their daily activities, and many cannot afford this heavy financial burden.  Additionally, our reliance on oil from other countries jeopardizes our national security and weakens our own economy.  It is therefore essential that we develop alternatives to our current sources of fuel.

 

The United States must end its dependence on oil in order to protect the national economy and aid American families.  I strongly support the development of alternative sources of fuel such as wind, solar, and hydrogen power. Additionally, I am firmly opposed to drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other protected national lands. The oil obtained from these lands would be rapidly depleted and will make little, if any, difference in gasoline prices.  Instead of sacrificing our preserved wild lands for a temporary solution, we should focus on establishing clean, efficient, renewable sources of fuel.  By switching to these renewable energy sources, we can end our dependence on foreign oil, protect the environment, and bring down the cost of energy for the American people.

 

While I advocate the production of alternative fuels, the development of sources of renewable energy will take time.  I realize that our country needs an immediate solution to our energy crisis until we are fully able to transition to renewable energy and establish true energy independence.  Please be assured that I will do all I can to pass legislation that will provide immediate help for our nation's families as we work to develop a solution to this growing problem.

 

Again, thank you for contacting me.  I understand your concern regarding this issue and am working hard to find both immediate and long-term solutions.

 

Sincerely,
Edward M. Kennedy 

Teddy, I'm not picking on you, but clearly you need a lesson in social media.  First of all, that's WAY too long to wait for a response.  And then to get back to me with the blandest of form letters is a wasted opportunity.  Hey, I don't expect The Senator to personally return each and every email, but I'd be perfectly okay with some real information, even if it came from a staffer.  And this, my friends, is why social media works great, or can bite you in the butt.

Companies and politicians need to realize that they need to give their audience a place to get real answers, voice their opinion and, if handled correctly, be brought closer into the the fold of the brand. When it becomes impersonal, non-responsive or mass-produced, it's worse than nothing at all.

To keep this post from running on, I'll wait till tomorrow to post a list of advice.  But in the meantime, post your thoughts or email suggestions on effective social media interactions, and I'll work them into the post