Category Archives: Social media

What’s the ROI on Social Media? A Panel of Experts Weighs In

August 30, 2010 – 10:51 am

The recent Mailorder Gardening Association conference included an informative panel of MGA members active in various types of social media. Not surprisingly, questions from the audience quickly focused on the ROI of Facebook, Twitter, discussion groups and the like. The panelists each had somewhat different takeaways on the point. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Facebook | Leave a Comment

The 7 Big Benefits of Social Media Marketing

August 11, 2010 – 4:15 am

The 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, sponsored by Social Media Examiner, makes for some interesting reading. The report summarizes the results of a survey that sought to determine how marketers are currently using social media to grow their business. Among many other findings, the report cites 7 main benefits of social media marketing, as follows: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Facebook, YouTube | Leave a Comment

What’s the Best Way to Present Your Message?

July 14, 2010 – 4:15 am

The rise of new media has given companies many options for presenting their sales messages: video, blogs, podcasts, and much more. Many wonder what’s the best way to get their message out. The answer: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Marketing | Leave a Comment

A YouTube Small Business Success Story

July 2, 2010 – 4:15 am

Always on the lookout for interesting uses of social media, I stumbled upon an interesting story in Google’s blog. A recent post featured a case history of how Dynomighty Design – an innovative young company that markets unique jewelry, wallets, and more – shot to success thanks to a YouTube 96-second video in which not a word is spoken.

Not only is their use of YouTube interesting, but it’s worth noting (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Video, YouTube | Leave a Comment

Lessons From the Garden Watchdog Top 30

June 25, 2010 – 4:15 am

If you’re a gardener, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the Garden Watchdog website. Garden Watchdog describes itself as “a free directory of 7,109 mail order gardening companies” where “gardeners share their opinions on which companies really deliver on quality, price and service.”

Garden Watchdog highlights the highest ranked companies on their Garden Watchdog Top 30 list. I periodically look at the Garden Watchdog pages of the Top 30 companies, and whenever I do, I notice several common attributes: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Resources | Tagged | Comments (3)

Facebook’s Staggering Growth

May 7, 2010 – 4:15 am

We all know that Facebook has been growing like Topsy, but it recently hit a new first: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Tagged | Leave a Comment

How One Little-Known Blogger Generated Worldwide Publicity in Two Days

April 19, 2010 – 4:15 am

Robert Scoble may not be a household name, but he’s well-known in the social media world. I’d venture to say, however, that few people knew his name when he went to work for Microsoft in 2003. While there, he produced hundreds of videos for Microsoft’s Channel 9, and started his own blog, Scobleizer, which continues to this day. He co-authored a fabulous book about blogging, called Naked Conversations, published in early 2006. A few months after that… (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Blogs, Resources | Leave a Comment

Great Book on Social Media and More

April 12, 2010 – 4:15 am

For all the buzz about social media, I haven’t found many books that “put it all together” from a business point of view. I’m currently in the middle of reading The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, and can recommend it highly. The book’s subtitle is How to Use Social Media, Blogs, News Releases, Online Video, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly, and Scott delivers. What’s more, it provides not only a how-to, but also (click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Blogs, Marketing, Resources | Comments (3)

Some Facebook Marketing Aids

April 2, 2010 – 4:15 am

One of the most popular topics I post on is marketing via Facebook. While I’m not yet convinced that Facebook deserves a prominent spot in everyone’s marketing plan, it’s hard to ignore its 400 million active users. At the very least, it’s worth staying abreast of how other companies are incorporating Facebook into their marketing. Here are some links to help you do that: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Facebook | Leave a Comment

Generating Traffic From YouTube: A Different Approach

March 31, 2010 – 4:15 am

This month’s issue of Internet Retailer reported on a different way to tap into the marketing potential of YouTube. Instead of starting their own YouTube channel and building traffic over time, online merchant BeautyChoice.com wanted to jumpstart the process. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Video, YouTube | Leave a Comment