Recently in Blogging Category

(by guest blogger, Greg Carter from the Aquent's Orange County office)

I started blogging because one of my friends suggested that it would be a useful tool to keep my writing skills in shape. I hemmed and hawed, but finally gave in, and after re-reading many of my earlier posts, I believe (hope? pray?) that I'm a much better writer than way back when. But what started out as a way to hone my skills has given me the opportunity to chronicle bits and pieces of my life, to share my views on books and movies, to post a recipe or two, and to even post a few samples of fiction.

That works for me. I like talking about different things when the mood strikes me. And being able to read the blogs of others, to catch a glimpse into their lives (and even to meet a few face to face) not just in my neighborhood, but in New York, Denver, Portland, Atlanta, Montréal, and England, to name a few, has been quite a happy bonus. I've never expected my blog to be more than a journal of my life. But, as author Paul Gillin discusses in his book The New Influencers, many companies are slowly beginning to see the far-reaching impact that blogging has had on the way corporations communicate with the public.

With the growing shift to electronic media, marketers need to stay on top of new venues of communication, and blogs present the best opportunity. Take a look at almost any blog, and what you'll find is a mini-community, with blogrolls containing links to myriad other blogs who communicate back and forth constantly. Any kind of news -- good or bad -- gets passed on, linked to, talked about much faster than any magazine or newspaper could have imagined.

Take, for example, AOL. Back in 2006, Vincent Ferrari had heard the rumors about the high-pressure tactics used by AOL when someone tried to cancel an account, so he decided to record his own attempt then post the recorded file on his blog. He then emailed a consumer activist site, The Consumerist. The site, in turn, published a link to his post, which soon swarmed across the blogging world and eventually into mainstream media. That small post from a single blog generated so much negative publicity that it helped to influence a change in AOL's policies.1

And that's just from personal blogging. Quite a few other blogs deal with a specific topic and have reader bases focused solely on such things as graphic design, Microsoft, Netflix, plant care, and so on. A smart marketer will find a way to communicate with such groups because those bloggers are passionate about that particular topic, and their readers are more likely to listen to their recommendations.

Another blogging form discussed is the corporate blog, one written and managed by a company. In one of the many Influencer Profiles peppered between chapters, Gillin describes how Microsoft used the corporate blog as a means to allow the public a glimpse into life at the personal computer giant. They seemed to realize that if they weren't out there communicating about the company, then someone else was -- and not always in a positive light. By allowing Microsoft employees to discuss their jobs or whatever moved them in such an open and public forum and by using the blogs as a way to answer questions and criticisms, Microsoft was able to slowly reverse the negative view of the company.2

So thanks to the Internet, the world really has become a much smaller place. More companies and marketers need to change with the times, and The New Influencers is the perfect guide for that, explaining how blogging (and podcasting) works,  how they can be used to generate buzz about a product or to change/enhance a company's public image, and how to get along in this new age of communication.

1. Gillin, Paul. The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media, 2nd printing. Sanger, California: Quill Driver Books, 2007. pps 1-3.
2. ibid., pps 105-112


(Yes, I did read the book myself.)


Image composite by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Do you tweet? Like MyFace, Spacebook and LinkedIn before it, Twitter is the new 'micro-blogging', social-networking phenomenon that has taken on a life of its own over the past few months.

Millions of people worldwide are literally falling over themselves to tell anyone who cares (people rather poignantly called 'followers') what they are having for dinner, why they prefer Coke over Pepsi and all about their overseas trips planned for 2022, all within 140 characters. What is perhaps more surprising is that there appears to be many people out there who are interested in the fact that you're having Crème Brulée for dessert.

Not me though.

But enough about me (you can read all about ME on my Twitter feed). The reality is that, from Oprah Winfrey and that other 'celebrity' Ashton Kutcher, to mainstream media outlets, Twitter is attracting a wide and diverse audience and is 'so hot right now'.

But will it last? An interesting study has just been released by Nielsen Online suggesting that, contrary to all the hype surrounding Twitter, the service's retention rates are not as high as one might think and that perhaps peoples' lives just aren't that interesting to warrant regular, on-the-hour, often trivial updates. The Nielsen Online study suggests that more than 60 per cent of US Twitter users fail to return month-on-month and that Twitter's retention rate is approximately 40 per cent, compared to retention rates of 50-60 per cent for Facebook and MySpace when they were in their early stages of growth.

I once had a Myspace page, and it was fun ... for a little while. Then I grew tired of people spamming me with invites to parties on the other side of the world and strangers extending their hand of 'friendship' only for me to be a mere number to whom they could send their junk. Before I knew it, months had passed since I had logged in. Now I can't even remember my password.

All social networking services need to evolve in order to hold their users' attention. The trouble is that Twitter can't, in its present form, really evolve much more without becoming something completely different and thus losing the appeal that attracted so many people to it in the first place. Remember the uproar when Facebook redesigned its user interface a few months ago? Feedback was so scathing that the powers that be were forced to release several statements, including this one:

'The new Facebook home page is one step in the continued evolution of the site, designed to give people more ways to share and filter all types of content, such as status updates, photos, videos, notes and more. We are grateful to have 175 million people worldwide using Facebook to connect with the people and things they care about most, and we take their feedback very seriously.'

Facebook didn't take its users' feedback so seriously, however, to backdown completely and revert to its original layout. The whole debacle did demonstrate that Facebook, in contrast to Twitter, has more nous to hold its users, regardless of what changes it makes to its Terms Of Service (which previously included questions over who actually owns your content once it is uploaded to Facebook, just one of many reasons why I don't have a Facebook profile). Then again, it might be a little unfair to compare a glorified online short message service (SMS) like Twitter to Facebook, which allows your friends, colleagues and peers to see just how many pints you downed at the local on the weekend, and the rather unfortunate events that followed.

Time will tell whether Twitter can hold its new bevy of devotees but any uncertainty doesn't appear to have dampened Apple's spirits, who have reportedly entered into talks to purchase Twitter for a rumoured US$700 million; not a bad price to learn what people like to have on their sandwiches.

What do you think? Are you a fan or foe of Twitter? And what might be the next big thing in social time-wasting? Leave a comment below; 140 characters only please!

Image courtesy of: dayglowill

In a recent post I introduced the concept of Viral Marketing ...

Just a quick recap: Viral marketing is an online tool which plants the seed of an idea, product or service which later on spreads virally through social networks.

I have intentionally chosen to use the word seed. In fact the terminology for beginning a viral marketing is also called seeding. If we want to create a viral effect of spreading the idea, we begin with a hot Idea. Most people have the questions as where do we go to post our content? Who will follow us on this idea and how do we create the viral effect?

A seed idea which is a corollary to a "meme" has to have the 6 "R" characteristics which I call it the 6Rs ...

• Replication ability: It has to have an inherent quality of being able to copy itself and fast. Something on the lines of the latest fashion trends in the physical world, a seed idea has to become a rage online.

• Reach: This will address your million dollar question how do I make people follow me? There has to be an analysis the social platforms you are currently using and your strategy. Does a You Tube upload create more excitement or do you create a blog which receives rave comments? The idea has to start spreading instantly.

• Regular audience: This is your own on-line popularity chart counter! How many of your friends, relatives and colleagues are a member of your social community online and how many of them like you enough to spread the message?

• Resilience: The idea has to have some type of resilience to be a continued discussion point. It cannot have a short life span. It has to tease, excite and provoke people to talk about it.

• Reliance: Since the whole concept of viral marketing is on the basis of social networks, we need to rely on the source and the seed idea. The originator has to have a reliability factor which encourages the people to move this idea forward.

• Response: Nothing makes an idea more popular than feedback. The more conversations and the more the arguments the better. At least there is enough interest created around the seed to grow it.

Happy seeding!

Image courtesy of: robpatrick

Imagine this ... you've just been to the movies and seen ... either the best spine tingling, edge-of-your-seat, popcorn spilling cinematic block bluster, or the worst and most painful sleep inducing insult to the silver screen ever!

As an avid tweeter the first thing you do is reach for your mobile phone and update your status on Twitter. Good or bad you want to let the world know!

For any bird brains in the dark, Twitter is, according to the ever trusty Wikipedia a free "social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them".

Comments range from the mundane to the downright topical and even controversial and everyone from the chap next door to Richard Branson is tweeting.

Directly or indirectly Twitter is increasingly being seen as an invaluable resource for Market Research, Marketing and PR professionals. With millions of consumers every day talking about what makes them happy and what makes them sad you can bet your bottom dollar someone somewhere is talking about the brand/product/service of interest. By listening in on these tweets, marketers are able to get real time market intelligence on what consumers are thinking and feeling.

Twitter has a search function that allows you to search by key words and phrases and there are an ever-increasing number of applications (Tweetdeck, Tweetbeep, and NearbyTweets) that are designed to help you managing the morning chorus of bird song coming from the Twitter community.

But Twitter isn't the only source of Consumer Generated Media (media consumers create and share amongst themselves) that those within Market Research, Marketing and PR are listening too. There are a whole host of other online venues including message boards, forums, ratings and review sites, group, social networking sites like face book and of course blogs. And with companies like Nielsen Online producing products like BuzzMetrics, which are designed to give their clients a competitive advantage by uncovering and integrating data driven insights culled from millions of these places you can be guaranteed that big industry is listening.

So if you want to get your consumer voice heard - go on, get out there and start tweeting!

Image courtesy of: obLiterated

I didn't need the Fake Steve Jobs to tell me that blogging won't make you rich (though I'm comfortable). And while I do believe that blogging can help you find work, I understand from this ex-CNN head writer/senior producer that it can just as easily foreclose numerous career options.

Do you have a blog? Has it helped or hurt your job prospects? Even if it hasn't made you rich, is it worth reading by people who don't know you (yet)? Talk to me and I'll tell the world via this incredibly powerful communication platform!

People talk a lot about "brand promise," so that got me thinking about "blog promise." What exactly does this blog promise, and am I delivering?

Right up front, of course, this blog promises "career advice and insights for marketing professionals." I think I deliver on this. What do you think?

Beyond that, though, this blog participates in Aquent's brand promise. At the risk of getting in trouble with my colleagues in the marketing department, I'll venture to say that that promise goes something like this: "At Aquent, you will find honest, friendly, and knowledgeable human beings who are sincerely interested in and passionately committed to finding diverse organizations great marketing and design talent while also finding great talent great work."

I know that's too lengthy and a tad over-stuffed with superlative-laden puffery. How's this for boiled-down simplicity? "Aquent = Friendly and Experienced Professionals." That leaves out our specialization in marketing and design, of course, but highlights three attributes that should define your experience with us and, by extension, this blog.

Friendly

I chose this word because it implies a lot like: engaging, human, connected, community-oriented, outgoing, good-natured, approachable, etc. I think this blog comes across as friendly and "human" - at least, I feel human-ish most of the time and have striven to maintain an air of engaged, honest openness in these pages. I have also tried to inject humor and even emotion here. Is it working?

Experienced

At first I wanted to go with "knowledgeable," but then thought that "experienced" was more comprehensive. Yes, we are knowledgeable, but we've also been around. We have practical knowledge, so we know what works and we get the importance of "fit." I'm also hoping that "experienced" comes through on this blog, not just thanks to my own professional adventures, but through the experiences of others that I've shared.

Professionals

I use this word advisedly, and not just because I think that this blog might come up a little short in the "professionalism" department. As far as Aquent goes, we are are pros and we work with pros. Our clients include some of the best-known brands on Earth and our talent have produced work viewed and used by millions. That's what I'm talking about.

As far as I go, although I do get paid to do this (among other things, natch), I still feel like the Eternal Noob or, at best, an amateur professional. The question is this: does a certain level of noobicity actually make this blog more human, friendly, and "sincere" (I thought it would be funny to put scare-quotes around that)?

Third "vlog" installment. This one was inspired first by Josh Bernoff's discovery that people don't trust company blogs and secondly by a comment made by Christopher Penn on Twitter: "I'd actually listen to a cold call from a sales person that said, 'We're not thought leaders or anything, but we CAN get shit done for you.'"

So, my take on keeping this blog real, what "reality marketing" might sound like at Aquent, and why marketers should never use the word "best."

Thoughts?

In the aftermath of the horror in Mumbai last week, Twitter has come of age, or, as the New York Times put it "evolved from an oddity to a full-fledged news platform."

I followed the hype about Twitter when it first reared it's 2.0 head a few years back but, like many, didn't get it. I started using it more regularly following a MarketingProfs conference in Boston last spring and now I'm finding myself drawn to it more and more to the extent that it's cutting into my blogging. (SORRY!)

Or I should say, my "macro-blogging," since Twitter is a micro-blogging platform and, in many ways, it resurrects the original vision of blogging as "brief updates on places you've been on the web." It improves on this original vision, however, by reducing your immediate audience from the billions of web inhabitants to the much more manageable community of your followers.

So. My name is Matthew T. Grant (@Aquentminister on Twitter), and I'm a Twitter Addict.

Mind if I follow you?

This week in the United States, Americans are all celebrating Thanksgiving. So I thought I would hop aboard the Thanksgiving bandwagon and thank everyone who has taken the time to visit the Aquent Oracle over the last four months. Next week will mark four months since this blog was officially launched! Given that I recently read that today there are 184 million blogs worldwide, with a new one launching each second, as the host of this particular blog I am seriously thankful to all the visitors and contributors, and to the many who have sent questions through to the Oracle or have commented on the many topics I have put out there into the big wide blogosphere!

Please keep coming back, and let people know that the Aquent Oracle is here to provide career advice, interview tips and to answer any specific questions you may have about careers in the world of marketing, design and digital.

Image courtesy of: gravityx9

Interesting article from Wired, "Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004." Gist is: the blogosphere has been taken over by professionals. This blog is kind of a case in point, if I'm reading this dude correctly.

Long story short, Twitter is the new, better way to voice your opinion and have it get heard.

What say you?

Thanks to the Conversation Agent for sharing this link.... via Twitter, natch.

BTW, on Twitter I'm @aquentminister.