What better way to start a week than by sharing the gift of knowledge with the industry's up-and-comers? Today, we're excited to have Abbie hanging out with us, a 17-year-old writing extraordinaire from a local high school. Halfway through her day spent skipping school, uh, I mean learning from professionals, we asked her to reflect on what she came in expecting and how she sees things now.
Everyone, meet Abbie:
Hello, my name is Abbie. I’m a high school senior job shadowing at Axiom Marketing Communications for the day to learn about marketing. To my knowledge, I always thought marketing was about advertisements and meetings. But within the first ten minutes of being here it was all about social media and reaching numerous people at once.
Social media in my eyes is just a fun way to connect with friends, family, and classmates. But because of social media there is the chance of creeping and stalking, which is the main reason why I don’t personally have a Twitter account. However, in a matter of minutes, I realized the amount of people that are reached through a single Tweet and the impact that would occur.
Marketing is a lot different than it was once thought to be, but with the rapidly changing technology and communication, it’s clear that the marketing business also has to change in order to keep up with their directed audiences. It’s crazy to think that a one-hour Twitter Party can influence and benefit multiple people.
Weird, our 17-year-old visitor is noticing what Mashable thinks will be a big trend for 2010: The give and take between personal privacy and online "TMI." While college students seem to lean towards online popularity (and earning it by posting shocking, possibly embarrassing photos and information), the High School Class of 2010 (or at least Abbie) is still skeptical to reveal personal information online.
So, that leads to today's question. How do you decide what to post online? Are you guilty of the TMI trend in hopes of getting more attention and, in turn, more followers and friends? Or are you a little more modest in what you share in hopes to protect yourself? In other words, how do you gauge what's okay and not okay to share online?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
YouTube keeps video makers rolling in dough - USATODAY.com
Remember what the slaves whispered in the ear of the Roman conquerors: 'Fame is fleeting.'
Monday, December 14, 2009
Will Foursquare Turn You Into a Yes Man?
I finally took the plunge. After giving it several months of thought—well, avoiding it for several months is a little more accurate—I decided to turn my personal privacy settings down a notch and sign up for Foursquare, the new social networking tool that allows you to tell your friends exactly where you are at any given time.
After looking up a few of my favorite Minnesota places, I was overwhelmed with a Jim Carrey-esque “Yes Man” attitude. For those of you who have not yet seen the film, Carrey leaves his life of nay-saying and starts saying “yes” to every opportunity presented to him. Much like the character, I saw a tip listed at one of my new favorite breakfast spots:
“Arrive early. Line up behind someone who's almost done. Come hungry. Enjoy the taste of those hash browns for the rest of the day!”
Good idea! Yes! Next time I go I’ll order hash browns. From there I stumbled to places I haven’t been, but have heard about.
“#5 pizza. Red wine. This is all you need to know.”
I might not know what a #5 pizza is, but I can tell you I want to go get it right now.
Where most applications encourage you to stay home, all curled up adding comments to blogs, updating Twitter or adding discussions on Facebook, Foursquare encourages people to take their social networking to the real world. I'm not sure what it is, but I’m so eager to go out, visit new places, and tell my friends all about it. (And of course I can’t wait to be major of something.)
Is this the new bridge that connects online conversations to real life places? Or is this application one step too far in the destruction of personal privacy? Facebook started by encouraging you to update your friends on your life, Twitter encouraged you to make new friends by revealing information to strangers, and now Foursquare is encouraging you to post your exact location on the world wide web.
If you’re on Foursquare, are you as eager to get to be “mayor” as I am, or is this something you have just to have without frequent updates? If you haven’t signed up yet, what’s holding you back? I’m ready to get started by exploring new places and taking recommendations from my new Foursquare friends, but am I alone? Or is Foursquare well on its way to stimulating the economy by turning stay-at-home online enthusiasts into adventurous "Yes Men" ready to hit the town?
After looking up a few of my favorite Minnesota places, I was overwhelmed with a Jim Carrey-esque “Yes Man” attitude. For those of you who have not yet seen the film, Carrey leaves his life of nay-saying and starts saying “yes” to every opportunity presented to him. Much like the character, I saw a tip listed at one of my new favorite breakfast spots:
“Arrive early. Line up behind someone who's almost done. Come hungry. Enjoy the taste of those hash browns for the rest of the day!”
Good idea! Yes! Next time I go I’ll order hash browns. From there I stumbled to places I haven’t been, but have heard about.
“#5 pizza. Red wine. This is all you need to know.”
I might not know what a #5 pizza is, but I can tell you I want to go get it right now.
Where most applications encourage you to stay home, all curled up adding comments to blogs, updating Twitter or adding discussions on Facebook, Foursquare encourages people to take their social networking to the real world. I'm not sure what it is, but I’m so eager to go out, visit new places, and tell my friends all about it. (And of course I can’t wait to be major of something.)
Is this the new bridge that connects online conversations to real life places? Or is this application one step too far in the destruction of personal privacy? Facebook started by encouraging you to update your friends on your life, Twitter encouraged you to make new friends by revealing information to strangers, and now Foursquare is encouraging you to post your exact location on the world wide web.
If you’re on Foursquare, are you as eager to get to be “mayor” as I am, or is this something you have just to have without frequent updates? If you haven’t signed up yet, what’s holding you back? I’m ready to get started by exploring new places and taking recommendations from my new Foursquare friends, but am I alone? Or is Foursquare well on its way to stimulating the economy by turning stay-at-home online enthusiasts into adventurous "Yes Men" ready to hit the town?
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Is Facebook Lactose Intolerant?
If you haven’t had a chance to yet, now might be a good time to read up on Facebook’s updated Promotions Guidelines. Most of it is pretty straight forward. You are fully and solely responsible and liable for your promotion. Check. The promotion must be true and accurate, and cannot mislead, deceive or otherwise misrepresent the prize. Sounds good. You may not publicize or administer a promotion on Facebook if the promotion’s objective is to promote any of the following product categories: gambling, tobacco, dairy, firearms, prescription drugs, or gasoline. Come again?
I think most of us can understand why Facebook doesn’t want promotions for tobacco, gasoline or firearms, but dairy? Sure, some people might lower their cholesterol if they lay off the cheese or lose a few pounds if they cut out the ice cream, but there’s no telling how Facebook came to include dairy in their list of promotional no-nos. Are they just doing their part in helping control the obesity crisis or is there some other aspect of this new restrictive policy that they aren’t telling us?
As the dairy industry continues to decline, they, if anybody, could benefit from a little social media promotion. Now, the guidelines aren’t preventing the dairy industry from having fan pages or groups, but to be banned from offering contests and promotions is pretty hindering. Consider the money the dairy industry is spending to increase consumption in this down market, from all the ads for Wisconsin cheese or California milk, why wouldn’t Facebook want a piece of the revenue?
What do you think? Are there any theories that might explain why Facebook has taken such a bold stance against America’s favorite cookie companion? Why is dairy suddenly blacklisted from connecting with Facebook’s over 200 million users via a contest or sweepstakes? And so I have to ask: Is Facebook in fact lactose intolerant?
I think most of us can understand why Facebook doesn’t want promotions for tobacco, gasoline or firearms, but dairy? Sure, some people might lower their cholesterol if they lay off the cheese or lose a few pounds if they cut out the ice cream, but there’s no telling how Facebook came to include dairy in their list of promotional no-nos. Are they just doing their part in helping control the obesity crisis or is there some other aspect of this new restrictive policy that they aren’t telling us?
As the dairy industry continues to decline, they, if anybody, could benefit from a little social media promotion. Now, the guidelines aren’t preventing the dairy industry from having fan pages or groups, but to be banned from offering contests and promotions is pretty hindering. Consider the money the dairy industry is spending to increase consumption in this down market, from all the ads for Wisconsin cheese or California milk, why wouldn’t Facebook want a piece of the revenue?
What do you think? Are there any theories that might explain why Facebook has taken such a bold stance against America’s favorite cookie companion? Why is dairy suddenly blacklisted from connecting with Facebook’s over 200 million users via a contest or sweepstakes? And so I have to ask: Is Facebook in fact lactose intolerant?
Monday, December 7, 2009
Hi, My Name is Heidi
As some of you may have heard, Tim is no longer working with Axiom and has moved on to other opportunities. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that I’m excited to be teaming up with Mike and Sara to bring you our take on the latest happenings in social media. My name is Heidi Bobier, otherwise known as @hbobier in the Twitterverse. If you’re wondering, it’s pronounced BO-beer, and yes, I do get that question often.
I may be new to Axiom, but I’m no stranger to social media. To work in public relations, you have to go where the public is. At the dawn of 2010, that means I spend a lot of my time online. On blogs. On Twitter. On YouTube. Heck, even on Facebook.
Feel free to say “hello,” and let me know if there is anything you’re just dying to know about me. Otherwise, stay tuned as we tackle the latest in social media news and even make some news ourselves!
The good news is that I’m excited to be teaming up with Mike and Sara to bring you our take on the latest happenings in social media. My name is Heidi Bobier, otherwise known as @hbobier in the Twitterverse. If you’re wondering, it’s pronounced BO-beer, and yes, I do get that question often.
I may be new to Axiom, but I’m no stranger to social media. To work in public relations, you have to go where the public is. At the dawn of 2010, that means I spend a lot of my time online. On blogs. On Twitter. On YouTube. Heck, even on Facebook.
Feel free to say “hello,” and let me know if there is anything you’re just dying to know about me. Otherwise, stay tuned as we tackle the latest in social media news and even make some news ourselves!
Detroit's admen cope with tough times - Dec. 7, 2009
Think you have it bad? You could be living in Detroit!
Michael Ferrara
Principal
Axiom Marketing Communications
3800 American Blvd. W Ste. 1275
Minneapolis, MN 55431
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Customer Service and Social Media
1/3 use the toilet while left on hold by customer service agents. Gross, maybe, but can you blame them? Between holding and transferring, a five-minute question can last hours and lets not forget the unbelievable rage that can couple with long wait times. None of this fares well with consumers or a company’s bottom line, 53 % have left a company due to a poor customer service. Dwight and Jim from The Office demonstrate the importance of customer service in this clip . : )
Integrate.
Old systems of customer service leave a consumers feeling powerless and angry. In this age, consumers are ruling with distinct understandings of the quality-value price equation, feeling powerless doesn’t cut it. One solution is social media. 50% of Fortune 100 companies (JetBlue, Samsung, Best Buy, AllState, Ford, Wells Fargo, etc.) are partnering with social media for an integrated approach to important company functions like customer service.
Visibility. Engagement. Real Time. Proactive.
Engagement. By responding, you are directly engaging with a customer and building a relationship. Unlike customer service rep. Mark from New Jersey, Twitter or Facebook has a uniform personality. They don’t build a relationship just with Mark, but they engage with the organization as a whole.
Real Time. This can also equate saving time. Twitter’s under 140 characters complaints mean concise problem vetting and less ranting. Smart phones and new technologies allow social media to be real time and mobile.
Proactive. Over Black Friday MOA took a proactive approach to its customer service tweets and directed frantic consumers to empty parking ramps. Social media allowed MOA to communicate anticipated consumer needs. And everyone agrees proactive is much more fun than reactive, ask Tiger Woods.
For the process to function, it entails a having a punctual system in place to sympathetically and systematically respond. Also, like with any new product, system or service glitches and tweaking will occur. Finally make sure these social media site demographics match yours! Don’t try to direct lumberjacks to Twitter for customer service!
The Next Hot Neighborhood: Rural America - WSJ.com
Axiom puts client Polaris on the map with this article that mentions the new electric RANGER EV.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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