When you’re collecting information from a new prospect or customer, do you ask how they heard about you? Does your contact form have one of those drop-downs with a bunch of pre-populated options? If you’re like a lot of companies, you probably get a lot of people who tell you that they found you through [...]

The post Lead Attribution: “Company Website” Isn’t Enough appeared first on 30 Lines.

When you’re collecting information from a new prospect or customer, do you ask how they heard about you? Does your contact form have one of those drop-downs with a bunch of pre-populated options? If you’re like a lot of companies, you probably get a lot of people who tell you that they found you through [...]

The post Lead Attribution: “Company Website” Isn’t Enough appeared first on 30 Lines.

I stumbled across a blog post a few weeks ago about how social media was ruining the traditional college experience. To me this seemed like a bold statement and more a matter of opinion. A large percentage of millennials are in college or heading to college this fall – it is interesting to think about [...]

What should you do to optimize your Facebook page for Graph Search? Find out in these 5 must-reads. What Facebook Graph Search Means for Your Business By Kelly Jo Horton Graph search is Facebook’s social solution for connected search. It is a search algorithm that delivers results based on connecting the dots in the mountains [...]

Saturday, April 20 was the 2013 TechPoint Mira Awards – Firebelly was named a finalist in Marketing Technology Excellence & Innovation category . We are honored to be named one of “The Best Of Tech In Indiana” among the tech greats of Indiana. Check out Duncan’s video, where he talks about being a finalist in a recent blog [...]

Millennials do not want to miss anything – we check our phones as soon as we are awake, clutch them all day, and finally fall asleep after a nightly update. For millennials, checking social media is as routine as brushing our teeth or eating dinner. Millennials have a need to be connected and fulfill this [...]

Facebook has rolled out Facebook Home, a mobile experience that “puts your friends at the heart of your phone.” But what does this mean for marketers and brands? Find out in this week’s must-reads below. Facebook Home: What’s in It for Marketers? By Andrew Cherwenka Facebook introduced the launch of Facebook Home, ending rumors of [...]

It feels like every time I turn around there is a tragedy in the news. It’s no secret that social media is the new way of finding out about events in real time. The tragic events at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, are no different. If you were to ask someone how they found out about the [...]

Even though I am ‘technically’ not a teenager anymore I can still easily relate to the amount of mobile technology used among the teens. I have been out of high school for a few years, but can easily remember most of my peers having cell phones. Most of us got our first cell phone around [...]

Vine is an iPhone app that allows users to shoot short looping videos they can then share with their followers. What can your business do with six-second videos? Read this week’s 5 must-reads for ideas. 7 Surprising Ways to Grow Your Business on the Twitter Vine By James T Noble It’s been hailed as Instagram [...]

There is a fun quiz offered by Pew Internet that gauges how millennial you are. I am a member of the millennial generation and got a pretty solid score of a 98! Duncan, who age wise does not qualify to be a millennial, got a score of 88 – not too far behind me! Here [...]

The National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT), a Lafayette, Indiana-based, organization that has been certifying fitness trainers since 1988, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year! We’ve recently helped them launch its Best Workout Face Photo Contest on Facebook to celebrate. NFPT is running a photo contest through April 28 for one winner to receive $500! Also, [...]

Regardless of the size of your company, the most important component of your social media program is executive buy-in. It doesn’t matter if you work for a Fortune 100 company or a small business. I’ve talked to marketers in both those groups (and let me tell you size is no indication of smarts or sophistication) [...]

There seems to be a lot of talk about the oddities of Generation Y, or the Millennials, but what really makes this generation stand out? The millennial generation is full of technology driven, social media fanatics.  Millennials were born between the early 80’s to the mid 90’s, currently being between ages 18-29, making me part [...]

Today, April 3, 2013, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of mobile telephones. It’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones. Most of us use them for a lot more than calls nowadays. We use them for everything from asking Siri where to eat for dinner to updating our Facebook statuses, emailing and business transactions. We [...]

Editor’s Note: Duncan did this interview a while ago. I’m just amazed at how relevant and current all of this still is. – Chad What getting data to work for us,  customer engagement and Gladys Knight have in common. I’ve been following Susan Etlinger’s work for some time. She’s intelligent, a brilliant analyst, and she’s [...]

We’re living in a culture where instant is becoming the norm. We answer the questions during conversation by looking it up instantly on a mobile device. We check all our social networks multiple times a day. Tomorrow is no longer fast enough for many of us. Get me an answer ASAP really means now. I [...]

Facebook has lifted many of the restrictions regarding cover photos. Cover photos can now include calls to action, price and purchase information, contact information and Facebook references (such as “Like”). The arbitrary 20% text rule is still in effect – cover images cannot be made up of more that 20% text. Some people have found [...]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Check out these three must-reads on how your brand can celebrate it. 5 Great Green Social Media Tips for St Patrick’s Day By Muhammad Uzair St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and for many, so are pints of Guinness, shamrock hats and a bit of the craic. We’ve compiled [...]

Firebelly is a fast-paced working environment – sometimes we forget to stop for a minute and take a breath. That being said, one of my favorite parts about working here is taking a breath to meet with clients in person, whether it is for coffee, food or drinks. This M.F.K. Fisher quote fits perfectly with [...]

Hard work does pay off because Firebelly has been nominated and selected as a Mira Awards finalist for Marketing Technology Excellence and Innovation. I’m thrilled! I don’t typically use exclamations in blog posts. We’re usually editorial in our blog, but good times call for celebration – and that includes you – our community. I’ve included [...]

Hard work does pay off because Firebelly has been nominated and selected as a Mira Awards finalist for Marketing Technology Excellence and Innovation. I’m thrilled! I don’t typically use exclamations in blog posts. We’re usually editorial in our blog, but good times call for celebration – and that includes you – our community. I’ve included [...]

2012 didn’t end well for social networking and the ever-looming subject of online privacy. Popular social sites like Facebook have been the subject of privacy concerns for years, but users are starting to hold companies accountable for their actions – making others rethink the way they take on Internet privacy. Instagram Hates You In early [...]

Today Facebook announced several upcoming changes to the News Feed. One announcement stood out to me as something that may be a big benefit to brands – the Following Feed. The Following Feed contains ALL posts from pages that people Like — not Edgerank-filtered updates. Chris Struhar, Tech Lead of Facebook News Feed, announced, “We’re [...]

Firebelly is excited to be working with Register.com on its first Facebook Photo Contest. The Register.com eCommerce Photo Contest is running now through March 26 for 2 winners to each receive one free year of the eCommerce Premium Package – which includes hundreds of design templates and design tools, real-time inventory tracking and product catalog [...]

Thanks to @mbrewer for the push to do a video.  Yes, I say “tools” a bunch in this video, but I wasn’t going to do it over. Find out some things about Matt Kilmurray on his blog. Click here to watch on YouTube

If you are a woman business owner, you’re going to love to hear this news! The Web.com and National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) national survey of women business owners (WBOs) found a pervasive sense of economic optimism - including a prediction by 85 percent of WBOs that more women will become entrepreneurs in 2013 than in past years. Women start their [...]

Firebelly first worked with Cisco in 2012 when we helped them generate awareness, excitement and registrations for their Cisco Live event via a Facebook sweepstakes and photo contest. Both promotions were a success, but fans and followers suggested also doing something on Twitter for the next event. Well, the 2013 Cisco Live event in Orlando [...]

A fun little debate thread on Lisa Trosien’s Facebook page has me thinking today about where we’re going with online ratings.  As the title of this post states, I feel the online ratings game has just become another marketing play.  Here’s my comment from Lisa’s page, and then I’ll continue below. I’m somewhere in the [...]

In honor of Martin Luther King Day today, here are 3 must-reads on how MLK may (or may not have) used social media – as well as lessons that can be applied to social media usage today. 4 Social Media Strategy Ideas from Martin Luther King Jr By Chris Pahor Today we can look back [...]

When it comes to posting on your business Facebook page it’s important to keep in mind the value that photos add to your text and/or link posts. The infographic by Wishpond reenforces strong data that photos are king when it comes to posts. For example,  photo posts on Facebook receive 84% more link clicks and [...]

Yesterday, Facebook announced Graph Search – a new type of search where “the objects we search for aren’t web pages but instead virtual representations of real world objects: people, places and things.” Learn all about it in today’s roundup. Facebook Graph Search: 10 Things You Need To Know About The Social Network’s Big Announcement By [...]

Some of you may be familiar with my iFad posts of the past. I argued against the device as I didn’t see the value of having a device that fits somewhere between my phone and my laptop. I fought it until someone was generous enough to give me one of these luxury items about a [...]

Guess what.  I suck at it.  Why?  Like many, I could give a number of excuses.  However, I know it’s really just because of a few things that could be overcome. 1. Discipline  At one time I had nearly made it a habit.  But, like anything in life, habits can change and priorities can shift.  [...]

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Here are the 12 most-read posts on our blog in 2012. Pinterest, Instagram and memes were popular topics. Thank you for reading, sharing and commenting last year! We’re looking forward to more in 2013. 12. Sh*t Social Media People Say 11. How To Run An Instagram Photo Contest 10. Pinterest Early Best Practices From Firebelly [...]

Ashley Verrill, CRM market analyst with Software Advice conducted “The Great Social Customer Service Race.” The race was created to evaluate how efficiently the nation’s top 14 brands across seven industries provided customer support on Twitter. The evaluations are based on the response time and the percent of total tweets that received a reply. Snapshot of the [...]

So you shot a video of your latest product offering and you want to get some SEO/content marketing juice out of it. Try putting up a transcription of the audio in with the actual media file. Here’s why: Right now, a great way to win search is to have your video rank high on YouTube. [...]

Facebook Gifts rolled out in the U.S. just in time for the holiday shopping season. Learn all about it in these 5 must-reads. Facebook Gifts Now Available to All U.S. Users By Chloe Albanesius Just in time for some last-minute holiday shopping, Facebook today rolled out its Gifts products to everyone in the U.S. How [...]

This week Instagram announced changes to its terms of service that will go into effect on January 16, 2013. With change, comes drama. There has been plenty of that – with many in the traditional and social media spaces speculating the consequences these changes may bring. Instagram says it now has the right to sell [...]

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I hear from my friends in the video content marketing business that they’re frequently asked to create a viral video. As if it’s something they can just whip up, post it to YouTube, and it will become the next Charlie Bit My Finger, garnering millions of views in a few days. To tell the truth, [...]

Today’s article is a guest post by Jason Bean, Internet Marketing Sherpa at Deep Ripples. I recently wrote a post that discussed how Major League Baseball used Instagram to really connect with their fans. For that post the main focus was on Instagram and how MLB was taking advantage of the photo sharing activity of [...]

With as quickly as things move on social media sites, there are going to be mistakes. Learn about some of the biggest ones brands made in 2012 (as well as lessons learned) in these must-reads. 11 Biggest Social Media Disasters of 2012 By Seth Fiegerman The calendar year wouldn’t be complete without a few social [...]

2012 was an exciting year in the social media space. Learn all about the good, the bad and the ugly in these must-reads. 8 Big Social Media Disasters of 2012 By Dori Zinn With our favorite restaurants and brands offering deals and gifts on Facebook and Twitter, there’s no shortage of companies eliminating the marketing [...]

  Pinterest recently launched Secret Boards. Pinners will appreciate this new feature and it will encourage more personal users to join as well. This new feature is fantastic for businesses, especially those who are planners. If a company is planning to launch a new product or host a special event a Secret Board can be created in advance, [...]

This year has been one of major upheaval after another for content marketers. We’ve had our tried-and-true algorithms and techniques busted by Google, we’ve had new algorithms and measurements introduced, which actually sent some search engine optimization professionals out of business. Here are three things that every content marketer should have learned from the past [...]

Take a look at the impact (or lack thereof) social media has on Cyber Monday in today’s must-reads. Cyber Monday: Facebook Adds Social Gifting Service By Nick Trenchard Facebook is gearing up for the holiday season and expanding its roster of online retailers to help the social media giant transition into the world of e-commerce. [...]

Take a look at the impact (or lack thereof) social media has on Cyber Monday in today’s must-reads. Cyber Monday: Facebook Adds Social Gifting Service By Nick Trenchard Facebook is gearing up for the holiday season and expanding its roster of online retailers to help the social media giant transition into the world of e-commerce. [...]

Today’s article is a guest post by Dennis Yu, an international speaker and author on search engine marketing and Facebook marketing. Dennis is also Chief Executive Officer of BlitzMetrics – creating awesome Facebook dashboards that show how you stack up against your competitors. Everyone has their travel horror story to share — the obnoxious front [...]

Mashable created the infographic below for a recent study by market research firm, Lab42. The study concluded that about 50% of consumers view a brand’s Facebook presence more than its website. One thousand social media users were asked how they felt about Liking and interacting with brands on Facebook. At Firebelly, we really harp on the [...]

Instagram has begun rolling out web profiles for users. Get the scoop with these 5 must-reads. As Instagram Debuts Web Profiles, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Facebook By Mike Isaac Welcome to the new era of Instagram. Brought to you by Facebook. Instagram launched Web profiles on Monday morning, the first true attempt [...]

People who are aware of what’s going on with Google, but aren’t mired in the details of SEO every day may have heard the oft-used-but-incorrect phrase, “SEO is dead.” My utter contempt for any phrase that says “______ is dead” notwithstanding, SEO is anything but dead. True, it has undergone some serious transformations, but calling [...]

Election Day in the U.S. is November 6th. Take a look at how social media has influenced campaigns in today’s must-reads. 8 Big Social Media Takeaways from the 2012 Election Campaign By Alex Kantrowitz While face-to-face engagement is still the bread and butter of electoral politics, social media does have an important role to play [...]

Many of you know I am an Indianapolis Colts fan.  Regardless if you are a football fan or sports fan in general, I wanted to share a powerful message from Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.  Chuck was recently diagnosed with Leukemia and has gone through his first round of chemotherapy.  He attended yesterday’s game and [...]

When natural disasters strike, social media sites are often the first places people go to find, and share, information. Here are 5 must-reads on Hurricane Sandy and social media. Facebook, Twitter abuzz with Sandy chatter, photos By Barbara Ortutay Whether you call it Frankenstorm, Stormpocalypse or simply Hurricane Sandy, the giant weather system barreling into [...]

Over the last month or so Twitter has designed its platform to compete with ever changing Facebook. Many have their opinions about the redesign, but it’s the right move for Twitter to allow users to tell their stories more visually. New Twitter Features: Header Image: The new header image on a Twitter profile ressembles Facebook’s [...]

When I played college soccer, my coach, Larry, said something that has stuck with me for the last 25 years: the best defender a forward will ever face is an orange cone. “The orange cone doesn’t actually do anything, but immediately the forward is more likely to make a dribbling mistake, because he’s got to [...]

Stamen, a design and technology studio, has put together a series of videos visualizing the spread of content (originally posted by George Takei) being shared across Facebook. The data used for the visualizations spans a three-month period from July to September. These are definite must-sees for data lovers and artists alike. You can view all [...]

Like many in the blogosphere, I noticed a “September slump” in regard to reach on some of the Facebook pages I manage. Many have speculated that Facebook changed their Edgerank algorithm so that organic reach of brand updates was decreased – forcing brands into pay to play visibility via promoted posts. Get the scoop in [...]

Social media haters are familiar to those of us who do social media on a regular basis. These are the people who, for whatever reason, aren’t just content to never use social media, but think that everyone else is a raging lunatic for even using it. These are the five social media haters you will [...]

Firebelly is excited to be working with two amazing new clients: Heartland Truly Moving Pictures and Cerulean Restaurant opening in the City Way development in downtown Indianapolis. We’ve recently helped them both launch Facebook sweepstakes offering exclusive VIP prizes. To enter or find out more information see below. Heartland’s All-Access Fest Passes Sweepstakes This year [...]

Red Bull Stratos proves success in social media doesn’t always mean you need a dedicated social media campaign. Do things worth talking about, and people will do the sharing for you.

The post Be Awesome. The Social Media Part Will Take Care of Itself. appeared first on 30 Lines.

As an enthusiastic photographer, I’m always reminding people that when it comes to content marketing, it’s more than just writing. Don’t get me wrong, writing is very important. People read to gather information, learn important news, be entertained, and even get an education. But there’s so much more to content than the written word that [...]

A Klout score, while controversial to many, is becoming more mainstream and carrying more weight in the real world. (For those who care, my own score is currently 56.) Get the latest scoop in today’s must-reads: Klout in the Classroom: Grading Students on Social Media Use By Ryan Thornburg The least favorite part of my [...]

“It seems like nobody truly pays attention to the actual content of their social media, so how can it be used effectively if everyone is using it this way? It seems like the actual content is ignored.” I was guest speaking to a business class at the University of Nevada Reno, thanks to the miracle [...]

Facebook celebrated hitting the one billion user milestone by releasing a some-have-called-odd ad comparing itself to chairs. The video has already been spoofed on YouTube. You can watch it below:

[Video URL: http://youtu.be/c7SjvLceXgU]
What do you…

In the Who Uses The Internet Best? Infographic below by Online Education Database you may be surprised to find that the United States have a lower percentage of Americans online and a smaller percentage of households with personal computers compared t…

One of the biggest sales lessons I learned a long time ago, back when I was selling wagon wheel straighteners, was that you’ll be a great salesperson if you help people solve problems they have. I had figured this out as a marketer, but I refused to do sales at all. I was working for [...]

Facebook recently launched Facebook Gifts – a way to give real gifts to your virtual friends. Learn all about it in today’s 5 must-reads. Facebook unwraps new Gifts service By Jon Swartz Facebook is hoping social-gift giving will be a revenue gift that keeps on giving. The social-networking giant unwrapped Facebook Gifts, a new service [...]

Facebook has announced major changes to Facebook Offers. These 3 must-reads will fill you in. Facebook Offers: The Beginning of the End of Business Freebies By Michelle Stinson Ross Now, any business, whether brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, or a mix of both, can offer deals to their fans. There is a catch, though. The option to post [...]

My first video in awhile. I’m concerned we’ve let our customers determine how we talk to them online when we should be doing a better job leading them down the best path for us. Check it out on YouTube

About a month ago my fiancé and I went out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a post engagement celebration. We did everything from whitewater rafting to seeing Ole Faithful and the Tetons to hanging out at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. The highlight of the trip was the wildlife expedition and South loop tour of Yellowstone National [...]

Last week, I wrote about the importance of using proper punctuation and grammar for the benefit of your personal brand and even your entire career. Unfortunately, grammar is not something you can just pick up a book or listen to a podcast. Or is it? Here are 4 resources where I constantly go for grammar [...]

Last week, I wrote about the importance of using proper punctuation and grammar for the benefit of your personal brand and even your entire career. Unfortunately, grammar is not something you can just pick up a book or listen to a podcast. Or is it? Here are 4 resources where I constantly go for grammar [...]

Last week, I wrote about the importance of using proper punctuation and grammar for the benefit of your personal brand and even your entire career. Unfortunately, grammar is not something you can just pick up a book or listen to a podcast. Or is it? Here are 4 resources where I constantly go for grammar [...]

Last week, I wrote about the importance of using proper punctuation and grammar for the benefit of your personal brand and even your entire career. Unfortunately, grammar is not something you can just pick up a book or listen to a podcast. Or is it? Here are 4 resources where I constantly go for grammar [...]

Interested in running an Instagram photo contest? Check out these 3 must-reads. How To Host A Photo Contest On Instagram From Instagram Blog Photo contests are a great way to increase visibility of your brand on Instagram. We asked Deftones and the brains behind the contest, Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group, for some tips [...]

Facebook is always in flux. Stay up-to-date with this week’s 5 must-reads. Zuckerberg: Facebook future is mobile By Benny Evangelista and James Temple In his first public appearance since Facebook’s stock flopped in May, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the social network is staking its future on mobile devices, but admitted that [...]

Social curation will not cure your C.P.A. If you’re asking what’s C.P.A. or think I’m talking about accountants, don’t feel bad. That’s not what I’m talking about. C.P.A. also stands for continuous partial attention. I first heard my friend Stewart Quealy mention it a few months ago “Dude, I can’t reach anyone in NYC in [...]

If you can’t write or spell worth a damn, your career can be adversely affected. I’m not talking about the occasional typo or error that slips through unnoticed. I mean, if we’re being completely honest here, I still don’t understand the rule about who/whom, even after several people explained it to me yesterday. I’m talking [...]

Over the past couple months, Pinterest has made a few changes to its pin-tastic platform. Many of these changes have been subtle, and the average user would not notice. However, there are 3 features that have been added that all users will benefit from. Below are the features that will both improve the user experience, [...]

My post last week, Brand Discovery: The First Step In A Social Strategy, discussed the importance of brand discovery whether it be with an agency or internally. This week, I stumbled across the infographic below by Awareness, Inc. that explains the objectives and goals of the audit. A social audit is one of the most important parts of discovery work [...]

Have you heard of the Condescending Corporate Brand Page on Facebook? If not, I’d recommend giving it a “Like” – just don’t be like it. The page was created to spoof (and shame) efforts some brands have launched on their Facebook pages. They describe themselves as “a big corporate brand using Facebook. So look out [...]

Have you heard of the Condescending Corporate Brand Page on Facebook? If not, I’d recommend giving it a “Like” – just don’t be like it. The page was created to spoof (and shame) efforts some brands have launched on their Facebook pages. They describe themselves as “a big corporate brand using Facebook. So look out [...]

Admit it. You looked, didn’t you. You were intrigued by the headline, and you wanted to see what this was all about. You wanted to see what the 3 reasons were — I nearly called them 3 secrets — and whether you could pick something up. What if there was really only one secret? (Don’t [...]

Happy Labor Day to our U.S. readers! Here are 5 must-reads on social media in the workplace. National Labor Relations Board Takes Sledgehammer to Social Media Policies By Allen Smith In a report whose guidance is likely to be challenged in the courts, the National Labor Relations Board cautioned that it believes that numerous common [...]

In July, I participated in the Social Curation Summit in New York City. Here are 9 noteworthy sound bites from Twitter that represent the variations in conversation, people and moments – my curation from within the Social Curation Summit. You’ll see that I’ve ended with two of my own tweets. Hope you enjoy this. 1. [...]

Based on my extensive work with brands at Firebelly, brand discovery is an essential part of the any marketing strategy, including social. It’s imperative for brands to know this information whether they are working with an agency or not. From there, Firebelly meets with the client and runs through discovery questions – the meat and potatoes. By [...]

With the Google Panda and Google Penguin updates, content marketing just got harder for everyone else. The problem was, people were creating “thin content.” This is the poorly-written crap that’s thrown together with an article spinner and an infinite number of monkeys, trying to trick search engines into ranking their stuff higher than it should [...]

Facebook is always in flux. Stay up-to-date with this week’s 5 must-reads. Facebook’s iPad and iPhone App Just Got Faster By Joanna Stern If you’re an iPhone or iPad owner and a heavy Facebook user, you know the Facebook app has been slow. It can take time to get to a friend’s profile, see updates [...]

You’re creating and curating killer content on your Facebook page. You’re including strong calls-to-action with each post, but you’re still not seeing as many comments, shares, offer claims and Likes as you’d like. This doesn’t mean your Facebook efforts have failed. Some consumers are simply that – consumers. Many of your fans will never outwardly [...]

Content marketing is about more than just blogging. While that’s the first thing that people think of — at least me, as a professional blogger — content is anything that can be read, watched, seen, or heard. Some basic content concepts: Written word: White papers, ebooks, newsletters, electronic magazines, online articles, print books — you [...]

If you are unsure about going social with your business this is a great visual to consider. The Improve Your Marketing Or Get Out Of The Business infographic below created was by Demandforce. Focusing the importance on current customers through their word of mouth and online reviews. It also illustrates how social sites have increased customer growth and [...]

How should you approach influencers and advocates on social media? Find out in today’s must-reads. INFLUENCERS VS BRAND ADVOCATES & WHY INFLUENCER OUTREACH IS OVERRATED By Cara Fuggetta Many marketers are investing in Influencer outreach strategies in hopes that a known name can deliver their message to a vast audience. 40,000 Twitter followers may look [...]

Recently, I was presenting to the executive team at Web.com in Jacksonville, Florida. On my way back, I encountered Tony just outside the airport security check. My companion, Shashi Bellamkonda, and I were thoroughly impressed with Tony and got our shoes shined. “Recently” was actually three months ago. And I’m still thinking about Tony’s Shoe [...]

I love Instagram. My favorite filter, and therefore the one I use the most, is X-Pro II. My followers, however, seem to prefer when I use the Earlybird filter. Those photos received the most engagement by way of likes and comments. How do I know this? Well, I could have scrolled through all of my [...]

Call them what you will, but identifying top fans is an important part of a social media strategy. There are many applications that can generate this data, but it’s all about what you do with it. Like any relationship it’s all about give and take, and of course, love. Top fans can help in the development [...]

If you’ve been hearing about Google Panda and Google Penguin, but still aren’t sure what they are, just know that it’s Google’s way of saying, “Stop trying to trick us. Give us the good stuff.” If you’re not a search engine optimization wonk, I’ll explain it this way: Two years ago, you could win Google [...]

A social publishing approach is the cradle-to-grave, beginning to end approach for audience-based content development, distribution, and measurement. It encompasses the entire process of audience-based editorial planning, content development — curated and created, content-triggered conversation management, distribution and, of course, consumption and conversion measurement. It includes keyword research and usage, monitoring across the social web, [...]

I’ve been talking a lot lately about content curation lately, and our contributor, Erik Deckers, is all about content creation, which has led to some “Tastes great! Less filling!” types of discussions. But the one thing that we’ve both agreed on is the importance of publishing of our content, regardless of where it came from. [...]

I’ve been talking a lot lately about content curation lately, and our contributor, Erik Deckers, is all about content creation, which has led to some “Tastes great! Less filling!” types of discussions. But the one thing that we’ve both agreed on is the importance of publishing of our content, regardless of where it came from. [...]

You’re curating content on your Facebook page. You hope and think your fans appreciate it, but how do you know? Here are 3 indicators that will help give you a clue. Interactions Okay, so this one’s a little obvious. But if the content is getting a lot of positive comments, Likes and shares, then there’s [...]

The ContentPlus Infographic: The Anatomy of Content Marketing below depicts the importance of an integrated marketing approach. This approach includes content marketing through curating, creating and promoting the brand’s core ideas and values to its clients. The infographic highlights the significance of the having the following: A corporate blog to increase visibility Thought leadership content to engage the [...]

A lot of bloggers worry about the problem with repeating their blog topics. They think they’re going to bore readers or keep them from coming back. But that’s actually the opposite of what’s going to happen. Here are three reasons you should repeat your blog topics: 1. You need to teach Google. When you first [...]

There’s been a lot of talk about an upcoming (or existing) social media bubble burst. Here’s the scoop: The Social Media Bubble Starts to Burst By Rick Newman Score one for the Luddites: Social media really does seem to be overblown, at least as a business proposition. Social Media Investment Bubble Has Popped By John [...]

I talk to a lot of people who are intimidated by blogging. “I’m not a writer,” they say. “I can’t string two sentences together.” I usually point out that they just did right there, and that blogging is not as hard as they make it out to be. The great thing about blogging is that [...]

I talk to a lot of people who are intimidated by blogging. “I’m not a writer,” they say. “I can’t string two sentences together.” I usually point out that they just did right there, and that blogging is not as hard as they make it out to be. The great thing about blogging is that [...]

It seems as though more and more clients are coming to us for LinkedIn ads – and with bigger budgets. These are mainly B2B companies looking to generate leads, drive traffic to a website or a LinkedIn company page. Here are some best practices to consider if you are thinking about running some LinkedIn ads [...]

Social Curation is the big new buzzword this year in social media circles — collecting information in a strategic amassing of selected information that’s presented in a new way to draw out the subtleties and patterns that might not otherwise be noticed when looking at the group in toto. Curation is an art form into itself. [...]

We don’t want you to miss these 4 must-reads on new changes Facebook made to its Reach metric. Facebook Radically Changes ‘Reach’ Metric: How You Were Affected By Corey Eridon Have you checked out your Facebook Insights lately? Did you notice that your ‘Reach’ number was a little out of whack? Did you freak out? [...]

“What’s my return on investment?” This is a question we know all too well at Firebelly. We like to compare it to the ROI of a your mother because it’s almost impossible to put a value on everything she has done for you throughout your life. But, that’s another blog post. This infographic from  MDG [...]

The Firebelly crew wishes the Colorado theater shooting victims’ loved ones our sincere condolences. I was unsure if I wanted to compile this round-up. I didn’t want to come off as opportunistic or insensitive. When tragedy strikes, however, social media sites are frequently the first places traditional news sources (along with worried family and friends) [...]

Ask for unlikes? I thought we wanted likes. At the AllFacebook Conference, one of the panelist suggested asking fans to unlike your Page. You could hear a few gasps around the room, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about. Let’s say you neglected advice about giving away an iPad to grow [...]

Big companies have been acquiring social media startups a lot lately. Here are 3 must-reads on some of the larger acquisitions and, more importantly, why these companies feel the need to become more social. Salesforce Buys Buddy Media To Ride Social Media Marketing Wave By Trefis Team Salesforce.com has agreed to buy Buddy Media, a [...]

During the AllFacebook Marketing Conference, I was particularly excited about attending the Facebook Pages: Using Content & Conversation to Build Community session. After all that is a large part of what we do everyday for our clients. I was somewhat disappointed when the session was called to an end because it felt as though the panelists [...]

No matter what the session topic was at the AllFacebook Marketing Conference, when it came time for Q&A, the same question was frequently asked: “How often should we update our Facebook page?” Answers given were as varied as the presenters. Here’s a compilation: “Once a day.” “At least once a day and at a consistent [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on new changes Twitter made to its search functionality we don’t want you to miss. Simpler search By Frost Li Today we’re introducing search autocomplete and ‘People you follow’ search results to twitter.com. In addition to recent improvements like related query suggestions, spelling corrections and more relevant search results, these updates [...]

During the 2012 AllFacebook Marketing Conference opening keynote, tech evangelist Robert Scoble led panelists in a discussion on The Verbification of the World. While ‘Facebook’ itself has become a verb (e.g. “Go Facebook him and find out who he is.”), the conversation focused primarily on Facebook Actions – a way of interacting with apps, content [...]

During the 2012 AllFacebook Marketing Conference opening keynote, tech evangelist Robert Scoble led panelists in a discussion on The Verbification of the World. While ‘Facebook’ itself has become a verb (e.g. “Go Facebook him and find out who he is.”), the conversation focused primarily on Facebook Actions – a way of interacting with apps, content [...]

This year, HardingPoorman Group, was once again named “one of the best companies to work for,” and yet David Harding, CEO of HardingPoorman Group, is pushing even harder for innovation in every sphere of the business. As he leans back in his chair, David Harding (who’s based in Indianapolis) smiles and says “there’s always room [...]

The Firebelly crew is back in the office today after spending last week in San Francisco for the AllFacebook Marketing Conference. Here are 5 must-reads by AllFacebook’s Justin Lafferty that came out of the conference sessions. We will be sharing some of our own thoughts on the conference later this week. Photos, Engagement Are Keys [...]

Social media sucks (but not really). Check out these 5 must-reads. Social Media Sucks For Businesses And Here’s Why By Adam Helweh For years it’s been “business as usual” and then suddenly everyone is bouncing around words like “social”, “engage”, “community” and all kinds of other blather. Social media sucks and here’s a few reasons [...]

Social media sucks (but not really). Check out these 5 must-reads. Social Media Sucks For Businesses And Here’s Why By Adam Helweh For years it’s been “business as usual” and then suddenly everyone is bouncing around words like “social”, “engage”, “community” and all kinds of other blather. Social media sucks and here’s a few reasons [...]

There is a saying that goes around Firebelly, “If you build it, they will not come.” Meaning just because your target audience is on Facebook does not automatically mean they will “like” your Facebook Page let alone engage with you. One of the best ways to grow your Facebook community is through Facebook advertising. You [...]

I hear it a lot. “We had/have a Facebook page, but it didn’t/doesn’t do anything.” If you’re thinking this right now about your brand’s Facebook page, forgive me for being the bearer of bad news, but your Facebook page is not going to do anything. YOU have to do something… First, YOU have to determine [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on social media and spam that we don’t want you to miss. ‘Likejacking’: Spammers Hit Social Media By Olga Kharif Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites. About 8 percent of messages sent via social pages are spam, approximately twice the volume of six months [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on the LinkedIn hack in which more than 6 million users’ passwords were stolen. LinkedIn Hacked: How To Protect Yourself Online By Dave Johnson Security problems are pervasive, and any site that requires a password is susceptible to this sort of thing. That’s why it’s time to review the essential requirements [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on the LinkedIn hack in which more than 6 million users’ passwords were stolen. LinkedIn Hacked: How To Protect Yourself Online By Dave Johnson Security problems are pervasive, and any site that requires a password is susceptible to this sort of thing. That’s why it’s time to review the essential requirements [...]

Facebook made posting to a brand page more convenient last week when it revealed a new scheduling tool. It is a great resource if you don’t use a third party application, such as HootSuite and have to stress about logging on to Facebook at a certain time to post a message. Scheduling can now be [...]

Here are your 5 must-reads on Facebook’s Promoted Posts that began rolling out last week. Facebook Promoted Posts: A Step-By-Step Guide By Lauren Drell Facebook has started rolling out Promoted Posts for Brand Pages, a new feature that allows businesses to pay for posts to be more predominantly displayed on news feeds. Facebook Launches Promoted [...]

There is, has been, and will be social activity online beyond Facebook. Cool infographic from Socialjumpstart.com for sure. Certainly there is some perspective to be gained – revenues, employees, when they were founded, other players. They represent a variety of purposes, intents and activities. Although the Pinterest numbers are suspiciously low. Regardless, it’s worth a 30 second [...]

Google Place pages are now Google+ Local. Here’s what it means for your business.

The post Google+ Local: What Does It Mean for Your Business? appeared first on 30 Lines.

All work and no play makes LinkedIn a dull boy. They loosened up a bit and showed a sense of humor with a marketing parody video they played at the D10 conference.

Take a look…

[Video URL: http://bit.ly/LKNdYi]
What do you think? Do you lik…

The popularity of Pinterest is growing by the pins! With all of the followers, likes, repins, boards and comments, it can be hard to keep track of everything your brand is doing on Pinterest. Consider using these tools to help with your Pinterest efforts: PinReach Pinreach is a free platform that is very user-friendly. It [...]

First of all – let me say that Jeff Widman, Co-Founder of PageLever, and numerous other top talent will be speaking at All Facebook Marketing Expo. This is a wonderful opportunity to interact one-on-one with these people in a small conference environment. [Disclaimer: I'm moderating at the conference as well; as is my colleague Todd Tweedy. Firebelly [...]

Here are your 5 must-reads on Memorial Day and social media that we don’t want you to miss. Memorial Day Thoughts From Social Media Explorer By Jason Falls A happy Memorial Day to you all, especially those who might be somber today because of a loved one lost in the service of his or her [...]

Edelman, a global PR firm, recently released an infographic highlighting the best practices of social media marketing on Pinterest. This is an excellent supplement to an earlier post on our blog, Pinterest: Early Best Practices From Firebelly.
Are ther…

Edelman, a global PR firm, recently released an infographic highlighting the best practices of social media marketing on Pinterest. This is an excellent supplement to an earlier post on our blog, Pinterest: Early Best Practices From Firebelly.
Are ther…

Edelman, a global PR firm, recently released an infographic highlighting the best practices of social media marketing on Pinterest. This is an excellent supplement to an earlier post on our blog, Pinterest: Early Best Practices From Firebelly.
Are ther…

Last week, we reimagined Pinterest had it been invented in the 90s. This week let’s take a look at…

…if Linkedin had been invented in the 80s. It’s about as exciting as it is now (zing!)

[Video URL: http://youtu.be/csuHU8B6Gg0]

What are you doing to filter your digital life now?  Godin posted about filtering the noise today.  How are you going about it?  Jade and I weigh in. Watch on YouTube

Here are your 5 must-reads on Facebook’s IPO that we don’t want you to miss. Facebook IPO? Flat. Facebook future? Bright. By Charles Arthur Facebook IPO generated no big stock gains on its first day of trading. But Facebook has many of the traits that made Apple, Microsoft, and Google great in the long run. [...]

“I believe that creativity and philanthropy are two things that belong together.” — Daniel Herndon Daniel Herndon is a bad ass. There I’ve said it.  He’s a brilliant word-of-mouth practitioners, and he exudes energy. He’s just a pleasure to be around. And, I love people, especially people with an unstoppable burning passion for life. Here’s [...]

We’ve look at Facebook as if it were invented in the 90s. We’ve looked at Twitter as if it would have been invented in the 80s. The creative folks at Squirrel-Monkey are back at this again. This week let’s take a look at their video that imagines… …if Pinterest had been invented in the 90s. [...]

Presented By: OnlineUniversities.com

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed some blog posts I’ve been sharing by Jeff Spanke.  I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeff to chat with him about his life and to ask him a few questions. When the meeting was over, I realized there were [...]

Here are your 5 must-reads on Instagram marketing that we don’t want you to miss. The Rise of Instagram in Social Marketing: Tapping Into Consumer Creativity By Andy Parker In just the past few weeks, there has been an explosion of brands jumping on the Instagram bandwagon. Track Social has been following brands’ use of [...]

This infographic created by Maxymiser shares interesting information about Pinterest. It details out the who, what, where, when and how you can use Pinterest. For marketers, the last two sections are particularly intriguing.
Are you working on Pinteres…

Here are 5 must-reads on Facebook Offers that we don’t want you to miss. Facebook’s “Offers” News Feed Coupons Launch In Self-Serve Beta For Local U.S. Businesses By Josh Constine Today any local U.S. business can start using Facebook’s Offers product – free-to-create coupons that businesses can share to the news feed, and that users [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on Facebook Offers that we don’t want you to miss. Facebook’s “Offers” News Feed Coupons Launch In Self-Serve Beta For Local U.S. Businesses By Josh Constine Today any local U.S. business can start using Facebook’s Offers product – free-to-create coupons that businesses can share to the news feed, and that users [...]

Ever wondered how America’s top colleges stack up when you compare their Facebook presence?

Compiled By: OnlineUniversities.com

Brands are still relatively new to Pinterest. I’ve been working on several brand programs on Pinterest over the last several months. I’ve come up with a few early “best practices,” based on our work, that brands should consider before launching a Pinterest program. Here they are: Social Media Assets Matter First, when you get permission to [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on the ROI of Pinterest that we don’t want you to miss. What’s the ROI of Pinterest? By Geoff Livingston Well known social media experts like to slough off tough questions about return on investment (ROI) with flip phrases like, “What’s the ROI of your mom?” Now it’s time to turn [...]

Facebook has finally made changing your Page name a bit easier. Here’s how to do it. View your Page’s Admin Panel, click the Help link, then scroll down and click ‘Request a name change for your Page.’ Below is a screenshot of what it looks like and where to go: Once you’ve clicked that, you’ll [...]

Facebook has finally made changing your Page name a bit easier. Here’s how to do it. View your Page’s Admin Panel, click the Help link, then scroll down and click ‘Request a name change for your Page.’ Below is a screenshot of what it looks like and where to go: One you’ve clicked that, you’ll [...]

Yesterday was Earth Day, but the information and recommendations shared in some of these 5 must-reads can help you be “greener” every day of the year. How To Mobilize Social Media To Do Nice Things For Earth By Drew Bowling Recyclebank had the great idea that people could use this medium as way to educate [...]

Love Facebook? Love Pinterest? Want to combine your love for the two and make Facebook look like Pinterest? Now you can! The Pinview Facebook app reformats your Facebook account – making it look like a Pinterest pinboard. It’s a really cool way to experience Facebook. You can select to view the News Feed, your own [...]

I’m thrilled to introduce my new cohort, Jade Williams, to the J.C. Hart and Resident Connection marketing team. Please do me a favor and follow/connect with Jade.  We look forward to bringing even more online fun to the Multifamily space. Twitter LinkedIn

Here are 5 must-reads on April Fools’ Day and social media that we don’t want you to miss. The Internet Has Killed April Fools’ By Alexia Tsotsis The Internet has killed April Fools’. Back in the day you used to be able to tell your friends you were engaged, pregnant or had Cancer without them [...]

Facebook recently purchased Instagram for $1 billion. Here are 5 must-reads on the topic. 3 Marketing Lessons From Facebook’s Instagram Acquisition By Matthew Siegel Pages upon pages of commentary have been written about Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, the astronomical valuation applied to the deal, and the competitive impetus for the transaction. But what’s most interesting [...]

Last week we imagined if Facebook were invented in the 90s. This week, however…

…we’re exploring what Twitter would have looked like if it had been invented in the 80s.

[Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvidD5JKBg]

Pinterest has gone to the classroom. The infographic below demonstrates how people in the education field can utilize the visual bulletin board platform. Pinterest allows educators to conveniently organize ideas, share information, be a resource for th…

Pinterest has gone to the classroom. The infographic below demonstrates how people in the education field can utilize the visual bulletin board platform. Pinterest allows educators to conveniently organize ideas, share information, be a resource for th…

Pinterest is radically different from other social networks for a variety of reasons – and that’s another blog post folks. While we’ve got some clients that we’re working with – in various stages from launched to in development – on Pinterest programs, you might not want to put the same level of planning, execution and [...]

There’s a scene at the beginning of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where an entire warehouse of women unwrap box after box of candy bars in search of a Golden Ticket. After weeks of searching, the factory owner’s bratty daughter – Veruca Salt – finally gets her wish (“But I want a ticket nooowwww, Daddy!”) [...]

The post Four Simple Steps to Eliminating Waste and Increasing Conversion on Social Media appeared first on 30 Lines.

Here are 5 must-reads on social media ROI that we don’t want you to miss. 5 Social Media Metrics That Matter Now By Debra Donston-Miller As businesses get more sophisticated in their use of social networking, so too are the metrics by which they measure social business ROI. Measure Social Media ROI with Google Analytics [...]

As this discussion has accelerated over the last few weeks, I think it’s appropriate to look at this infographic. Should we have to share our personal information with potential employers? Via: Online Background Check Resource According to ACLU attorney Catherine Crump, “It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s [...]

Has wondering what Facebook might have looked like if it was launched a decade earlier – 1994 instead of 2004 – kept you up at night?

Rest easy, my friends. Here is your look at Facebook as if it were invented in the 90s:

[Video URL: htt…

Last week Blackberry/RIM and Best Buy were two businesses that went on a list of dying companies.  It’s often hard to predict what the future holds, and we have a tendency to get tunnel vision when it comes to our own businesses.  It’s unfortunate these companies have found themselves to be in dire straights, but [...]

Facebook is always changing. Stay in the loop by “Liking” these 9 pages run by Facebook employees. 1. Facebook Facebook’s primary page with nearly 65 million fans. Like this page for ongoing updates on new products, announcements and stories. 2. Facebook Marketing Solutions Facebook Marketing Solutions helps marketers reach their customers on Facebook. This page [...]

Facebook Pages will automatically switch over to the new Timeline format on March 30, whether you’re ready or not. It’s worth the effort to preview your Page before the deadline. This will give you time to explore and customize the cover photo, applications, milestones and pinned posts. Below is a helpful inforgraphic by Marketo explaining the [...]

Here are 5 must-reads related to Facebook privacy and employers that we don’t want you to miss. Facebook Privacy Debate a Passionate One By Christina DesMarais Employers who ask job applicants for the passwords they use to log in to Facebook are going overboard. Such a practice is being condemned, and rightfully so. It is [...]

Upstream’s 2012 Digital Advertising Attitudes Report revealed that 66% of adults feel they’re being exposed to too many ads on Facebook and Twitter. One in five online Americans even said they would stop using a company’s product or service if they were subjected to too much advertising. Additional findings are displayed in their Consequences of [...]

Setting expectations is the corner stone of any successful Facebook community. According to a report by Jeremiah Owyang of Altimeter Group, only 8 out of 30 brands surveyed had expectations set. It’s interesting that so few companies aren’t taking the time or don’t even know that expectations would not only protect the brand, but maximize [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on March Madness (go Hoosiers!) and social media that we don’t want you to miss. Kansas Jayhawks Win Social Media’s March Madness By Sam Laird If the NCAA championship was determined by which school’s fans are most tuned in to social media, Kansas would take out Duke in the national title [...]

Here are 5 must-reads on March Madness (go Hooisers!) and social media that we don’t want you to miss. Kansas Jayhawks Win Social Media’s March Madness By Sam Laird If the NCAA championship was determined by which school’s fans are most tuned in to social media, Kansas would take out Duke in the national title [...]

As part of Pinterest week at Firebelly, here are some of the key findings from RJ Metrics: The all-time most popular pinboard categories are Home (17.2%), Arts and Crafts (12.4%), Style/Fashion (11.7%), and Food (10.5%). Good news for e-commerce players looking to cash in on Pinterest: Products I Love is the third most popular pinboard name, and pins that [...]

I recently wrote about the virality of DollarShaveClub.com and why “social discovery” is now a serious way we need to look at our marketing and stories.  Are they sharable?  That was the question I posed.  Well, in the the case of DollarShaveClub.com it was over shared.  Nice problem to have. I can’t wait to see how they [...]

Interested in social media, but still not sure where to begin with Pinterest? Start by following these 5 social media-related boards. All are guaranteed to be educational and/or entertaining. 1. Let’s Get Social 2. The Social Media Manager 3. Marketing + Social Media 4. Social Media Place 5. Social Media Infographics Looking for something more [...]

Last week I was quick to share one of the best online commercials I’ve seen in awhile.  DollarShaveClub.com‘s execution on this video was right on and most definitely hit the demographic they were targeting.  What a great way to recognize an issue and put together a product and service that fits a need.  The marketing [...]

Pinterest isn’t just for amateur cooks, brides-to-be and expecting mothers. While it is female dominated this virtual bulletin board is a huge opportunity for marketers. MDG Advertising created this wonderful infographic illustrating how it should used, who’s using it and what companies are taking advantage of it. Is your business using Pinterest? If so, how are you [...]

This week we take a look at the issue of diversity in social media. Below are your 5 must-reads. Blinded by the White: Social Media and Diversity By Jay Baer If social media is going to be a public “face” of organizations, and drive kinship with the populace, we have to do more than rely [...]

Ah, it’s time for the annual roasting of the iFad and all it’s non-glory (see- No, I’m not the first one to call it an iFad & Dare I Call it iFad 2?).  To be fair, last year I did end my rant stating that I believe the iPad is cool.  For that reason alone [...]

What will happen with Facebook between now and 2025? This infographic makes some pretty interesting assumptions. Could they really reach world domination in just 13 moves? Click the image to view full size.

According to Urban Dictionary, “a hater is a person that develops a strong dislike for another, solely basing their own opinion on personal judgment rather than objective merit. The formation of a hater’s contempt commonly arises from jealously and/or resentment.” At one time or another you will come across these people, offline and online. But, [...]

Below are 5 must-reads on using Facebook Timeline for Pages that we wouldn’t want you to miss. The Complete Guide To Facebook Timeline Pages By Brian Honigman Relax! You have plenty of time to get comfortable with the new timeline layout and add content between now and March 30. So here’s a comprehensive guide to [...]

According to data from comScore, TechCrunch and Shareaholic (compiled by Modea) – Pinterest is most popular with people between the ages of 25 and 34. The age groups that come in next are 35-44 and 45-54. And behind those age range are college kids. So much for the social trickling upwards from the teen demographic. [...]

Stuck with a Facebook page name you’d like to change? While this used to be impossible to do for pages with over 100 fans, it just got much easier! The big news this week was Facebook’s rollout of Timeline for brand pages, but they also rolled out a form allowing you to request to change [...]

All businesses have recognized that social media is here to stay. WRONG! In a recent interview with Kyle Lacy on this blog, the lead question was, “Now that most organizations have recognized that social media is here to stay – how will organizations train their staff?” I want to address the premise of that question [...]

Like it or not, Facebook isn’t afraid to make big changes. And with their announcements yesterday, they’re going to be making some very big changes to business pages, as well as a number of other tools for marketers using the site. We’ll focus on the business page updates for now … trust me, these updates [...]

The post Facebook Timeline for Business: A New Look for Your Page appeared first on 30 Lines.

You can check in at your favorite coffee shop or gastropub on Foursquare. You can check in to your favorite album or guilty pleasure reality TV show with GetGlue. Now, thanks to Planned Parenthood’s QR-coded condoms and their Where Did You Wear It? campaign, you can even check in to sex. Yes, sex. In an [...]

NASCAR was pushing their presence on Twitter in the days leading up to the Daytona 500. Displaying Twitter handles from the newscasters to NASCAR drivers. And, last night, NASCAR definitely got the Twitter push they were wanting. On lap 160, Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer carrying 200 gallons of jet kerosene causing [...]

Last August I wrote a post comparing cited marketing sources from 2007-2010 for the J.C. Hart portfolio as a whole.  The purpose of the post was to show off how our shifted marketing spend away from print has resulted in successes from reinvestment into our own websites and search engine optimization efforts.  In the last [...]

The Academy Awards were last night so let’s take a look at posts related to the Oscars and social media. Below are your 5 must-reads. Social Media Tips from the Oscars By Shira Lazar Here’s how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC are engaging digitally to bring viewers closer than ever [...]

Photo by Kyle Weller.  The guy opposite me at an upscale Indianapolis restaurant is telling me about being ready for “even bigger things”. Meet Kyle Lacy. Many of you already know him. His passion and determination is palpable. We’re drinking wine and bourbon. He’s a serial entrepreneur, a leading voice on social marketing, and now [...]

Rumor has it Facebook will be rolling out Timeline for brand pages any day now. The most frequently given date is February 29. Until Facebook makes their official announcement, however, we don’t exactly know how Timeline will work for brand pages. Assuming it’s going to be a lot like Timeline that’s already rolled out for [...]

My good friend Lisa Trosien shared an article on Facebook recently.  I love what Lisa shares because it’s often informative or thought provoking.  The particular post she shared recently was definitely thought provoking.  I thought, “DAMN, ’7 Lessons from Great Marketers of Apple, Nike, Starbucks, and Red Bull,’ this should be interesting!”  Unfortunately, it wasn’t. [...]

Today is Presidents Day in the U.S. Below are 5 must-reads related to things presidential and social media that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Celebrate #PresidentsDay 2012 Social Media Style By Sarah Evans Monday, February 20, is Washington’s birthday or, as we know it, Presidents’ Day. Why not follow your FAVE POTUS and former [...]

Today is Presidents Day in the U.S. Below are 5 must-reads related to things presidential and social media that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Celebrate #PresidentsDay 2012 Social Media Style By Sarah Evans Monday, February 20, is Washington’s birthday or, as we know it, Presidents’ Day. Why not follow your FAVE POTUS and former [...]

I started writing a marketing manifesto about a year ago.  I wasn’t sure where it was going so I shelved it.  The idea is resurfacing though as I’ve had some inspirational moments in recent months that are driving me to pick it up again.  I wanted share 3 of these moments. First, is a conversation [...]

The How People See Me/What People Think I Do meme is the new Sh*t ___ People Say on Facebook. In the fun spirit of this new meme I’ve crafted one of my own. A social media manager does a lot, but when I tell people what I do I always get the same reaction, “Oh, [...]

In Facebook Page Management Tip #3: Asking Probing Questions, I discussed that people are on Facebook to engage with friends and family, not brands. But, you can inadvertently spark conversation with your fans if you relate to them. In addition to asking questions, you need to give your Page a human voice. Fans can become [...]

Below are 5 must-reads on Valentine’s Day and social media that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Social Media Moms Choose Sex Over Facebook This Valentine’s Day By Megan Calhoun Given the choice to go without one thing for Valentine’s Day, about 76% of social media savvy women choose to give up Facebook over sex [...]

It’s amazing how quickly things can change online.  The potential for Google+ is incredible, but their lack of syndication and connectivity to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or other social networks has been their downfall in my opinion.  With the only option to post to Google+ being through Google+ itself, I think they’ve limited their opportunity to [...]

Heineken is using Facebook in a fun way this Valentine season with their new app – Serenade. How it works 1. Pick a Facebook friend that you want to ask out. 2. Using the app, you can ask that person out on a date in just four clicks. 3. A personalized serenade video (created based [...]

Facebook fans love incentives–you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back. Think about your personal page and the feeling you get when you start getting likes or comments on a post about finding your new favorite restaurant or a photo of you at the Super Bowl. When you receive those interactions you are more inclined [...]

It’s been an exciting week for sports (and social media) enthusiasts here in Indianapolis! Below are 5 must-reads on Super Bowl XLVI and social media that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Who Won the Social Media #SuperBowl? (Infographic) By Kyle Lacy At the ExactTarget Social Media Lab we looked at the nexus between the [...]

What Henry Ford, Espresso, And Community Have In Common A little over two years ago, I spoke on a panel with Jason Falls and Jeremy Epstein at GrowSmartBiz Conference in Washington D.C. (Thanks to Shashi Bellamkonda for making that happen). It was my first interaction with Jeremy – I started reading and following his work. [...]

It’s Super Bowl week in Indianapolis.  The atmosphere is all a buzz, and the committees and local groups that organized the event have done an incredible job.  It’s inspired me to make sure and be a part of more local events.  I think yo…

The sh*t people say meme won’t die. And that’s okay. People are saying some funny stuff. Let’s take a look at some of the top videos about what “social media people” say. I may be guilty of saying a few of these things myself. Sh*t Social Media Experts Say Sh*t A Social Media Community Manager [...]

Fans want to be heard. You want a successful Facebook Page for your brand (a successful Page really depends on your goals, but that’s another post for another time). So, what is the best way to make your fans feel heard and gather information to help make your Page successful all at the same time? [...]

Below are 5 must-reads on using Instagram for business that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 23 Brands Using Instagram And What They’re Doing Right By Jason Keath So the question is, can brands get real business value out of a photo sharing app that is not focused on link sharing or buying products or [...]

Have you heard the buzz about responsive website design?  What is responsive design you ask?  With the plethora of mobile and tablet devices on the market today it’s a huge challenge to create mobile versions of websites that work for everyone.  Or is it?  In comes responsive design where a website automagically adjusts to fit [...]

After mentioning Apple’s new textbook market in last week’s blog post (Read: Be Your Own Publisher In The iBooks Store,) I’ve noticed how online tools and social media have changed many aspects of education. No, I don’t mean how much harder high school teachers need to work to keep their students off Facebook during Algebra. [...]

Calling all small business owners! Facebook Marketing Solutions, the official Facebook Marketing page, has launched a contest called Facebook Small Business Boost that will award a $10,000 prize to the 10 participating small businesses that accrue the most likes on their Facebook page by April 1, 2012. What you need to participate: 1. A Facebook [...]

The main reason people get on Facebook is to engage with friends and family, not brands. So, it’s important to relate to your audience and spark conversation by inadvertently getting them to engage. But, how is this done? There are a number of ways, but one of the most important is to ask lifestyle questions. [...]

Today is the 3rd annual Community Manager Appreciation Day! Below are 5 must-reads. A Worldwide Salute to Community Managers By Jeremiah Owyang It’s the third annual Community Manager Appreciation Day (every fourth Monday of Jan) and I’d like to salute the folks working on the front lines at companies big and small leading the charge. [...]

Google keeps fiddling around with the Internet, and (to no one’s surprise) they’ve done it again. Their latest change – Google Search Plus Your World – could be the most disruptive ever. To make a long story short (see end of article for some long stories), expect to see some hyper-personalized search results the next [...]

Apple may not own the eBook selling marketing like they own the digital music industry, but they’re trying to get there. While Apple relatively quietly announced a new platform for textbooks today that includes partnerships with textbook powerhouses Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson, they also announced the iBooks Author App. The iBooks Author app has potential [...]

Businesses are rushing into social spaces – with Facebook being among their top interests. This isn’t surprising to me. Facebook is massive. And it continues to grow – size and engagement wise. According to a recent comScore study, 90% of all social media time is spent in Facebook. According eMarketer, 93% of people expect brands [...]

I trust your year is off to a good start.  I know mine has been busy with beginning to plan out the website overhaul for J.C. Hart, planning new social media strategies, and evolving our email marketing efforts.  As I plan out all of those initiatives for J.C. Hart I’ve also been working on my [...]

2012 is the year Google+ will sink or swim. Take a look at the infographic below to see who is using it.
Click to view larger.

[Via Flowtown]

Last week I discussed the importance of using consumable content in Facebook Page Management  Tip #1: Use Relevant, Evolving Content. The topic this week is: Respond To Fans In A Timely Manner Conversations happen quickly today, so you and your business need to be ready to engage and participate with you fans in a timely [...]

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, here are 5 posts related to MLK and social media. 4 Social Media Strategy Ideas From Martin Luther King Jr By Martin Cooney & Chris Pahor Today we can look back at the characteristics which made Martin Luther King Jr so influential and apply them to [...]

I’m a bit late to the bandwagon, but I finally bought a Roku box over the holidays. I won’t spend the a lot of time explaining how great the device is, but I’ve already discovered so much new content. Most importantly, I’ve found so much new tech and social media-related content. To start with, you [...]

Whether this is the first time you’re reading our blog or you’re a regular reader – let me thank you! It means a lot to us to know that people (like you) are reading. We invest a great deal of time and effort (and some money) in producing quality content. We write for a variety [...]

Yup!  It will be here before you know it.  This is THE ONE conference I don’t miss each year.  Great minds, great information, nerdy stuff, friends, and fun.  If you haven’t been then I highly recommend it. Last year we had fun with an impromptu recess session, and Mike and I have some other plans [...]

Social media campaigns have both immediate and lingering effects on your brand’s bottom line. A recent report by eMarketer revealed that there was an immediate boost to brand advocates’ likelihood to purchase products after being exposed to them in a social media campaign. Those same advocates were also much more likely to recommend the product [...]

Use a tool like Tweegram to visually convey your most important ideas on sites like Pinterest and Instagram.

The post Make Your Blog Posts Pinterest-Friendly With Tweegram appeared first on 30 Lines.

Over the next 6 weeks we will be sharing 6 tips on Facebook page management. The first tip is about content and conversation. Conversation is the lifeblood of any successful Facebook fan page and an important part to your overall social media marketing plan. Conversations are critical for building relationships through interactions with your fans. [...]

People make bad decisions.  This is reality.  Unfortunately, when people take to the internet to proclaim their dissatisfaction (due to a bad decision) it can become a PR nightmare for a company today.  Papa John’s took an absolute beating the past few days since the “lady chinky eyes” racial slur debacle.  Here’s a bit of [...]

Below are 5 must-reads on using Pinterest for business that we wouldn’t want you to miss. How and Why to Use Pinterest for Business By John Jantsch These days we get a new “it” thing every few months. Right now a newish service called Pinterest qualifies as next year’s Google+ or Twitter. Smart marketers are [...]

Look beyond the tools in front of you.  Please!
View on YouTube

Our 8-part Facebook For Business blog posts were among our most popular posts of 2011. Still relevant today, we’ve consolidated them below for easy reference. Tip #1: Pages not Profiles This first tip is pretty important. If your business has a Profile instead of a Page, then you won’t be able to utilize most of [...]

Unabashedly persistent, conversationalist- that’s me The first time I met Duncan was almost a year and a half ago at a networking event – I was a literary publicist and social media consultant at Author Solutions at the time. After meeting, I knew I could learn a lot from his big picture view. I talked [...]

Happy New Year from the Firebelly crew! Below are 5 must-reads related to social media New Year’s resolutions that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 10 New Year’s Resolutions from a Social Media Rockstar-Guru-Ninja By Seamus Condron Phew! This year sure went by fast. I’ll be honest—the year did not start out too well. I [...]

Here are the top 11 social media marketing posts on the Firebelly blog in 2011 based on number of views. 11. Facebook For Business Tip #1: Pages not Profiles 10. Social Search: Tempur-Pedic “Ask Me” Commercial 9. Facebook For Business Tip #8: Wildfire Contests 8. Gettin’ Unique With QR Codes 7. Make Your Social Media [...]

Below are 5 must-reads related to 2012 social media predictions that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Social Media Predictions For 2012 By Avi Savar Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other outlets are constantly evolving and experimentation is necessary to find success. Once we accept that “social” does not equal “transactional” we’ll all be a lot [...]

Twitter, Trains & Tandoori Chicken I met Shashi Bellamkonda a few years ago at the Optimization Summits where we were both speaking (along with Mack Collier, Jason Falls, John Jantsch, Jay Ehret, Mark Juleen and other members of the social media intelligentsia). I was immediately struck by the sheer number of people that Shashi knew – [...]

Social means Facebook. While we have a wide variety of platforms that we’ve worked with, our focus seems to have become Facebook oriented. Some might say our Facebook-focused service approach is too narrow and specialized. But consider this: Facebook accounts for 95% of social networking time in the U.S. In this Silicon Alley Insider Chart [...]

The prize(s) you offer can make or break your Facebook contests. Besides promoting your contest, the prize(s) you offer are the second most important factor in determining the success of your campaign. We run a lot of contests for our clients. Here are 5 tips on Facebook contest prizes that will help make your next [...]

Duncan, Mike, and I were discussing 2012 and what we’re looking forward to.  I will tell you that we don’t predict for the world to end, but we may see some things begin to fall off that seem tried and true today.  Enjoy my 2012 marketing predictions and listen live to our podcast 12/20/2012 at [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads related to the holidays that we wouldn’t want you to miss. How Social Media Prompts Holiday Purchases [INFOGRAPHIC] By Todd Wasserman If you’re a consumer, this may confirm that you are not alone in using Facebook and Twitter as a sounding board for your gift giving. If you’re a [...]

Social Promotions, Coffee & Dancing David Adler is a regular speaker at conference all across the country. We recently both spoke at All Facebook Expo. But, we met years ago at SES Chicago. David, to me, is one of the top notch “intellectual property, media and e-commerce” attorneys. He has a keen understanding of social [...]

Let’s take a break from social media and realize something important – the holidays are approaching. While it may be nearing 70 degrees here in the Indianapolis area, there’s still a vibe in the atmosphere that makes you realize it’s that time of year. Rhyme unintended. Whether you’re celebrating the start of the Christmas season [...]

We’ve all experienced a Facebook page where the same person keeps posting their complaint over and over, spamming the wall and making it hard for other customers to use the page and communicate. All Facebook is reporting a new feature may alleviate some of these social media pains. Pages may soon be able to receive [...]

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a video because Flip camera number 2 is kaput.  So here goes another video try with the Sony Bloggie Duo.  As I mention in the video, I’m linking up the 3 most visited posts of 2011 as well as the 3 I think maybe flew under the radar.  Enjoy.  If [...]

Here’s a quick tip for growing your Facebook page fans and email list at the same time… Step 1: Run a sweepstakes on your Facebook page Fan-gate it so that people must Like your page before entering. Collect names and email addresses on the entry form. Step 2: Import names & email addresses into your [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Twitter’s Fly Redesign Aims To Be Faster, Simpler By Laurie Segall When co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to Twitter earlier this year, he announced that his top priority would be to improve the service’s user experience. On Thursday, Twitter unveiled the first fruit [...]

Honesty, Being a storyteller, Love, Family, and Tart Lemonade I met Michael Husain, President of Good Vibes Media, many years ago as I was looking for advice to make my first short film. We’d meet for lunch – always Vietnamese food – and over the years we became friends over bowls of Phở Ga, Banh It T, [...]

On the heels of writing a step-by-step approach to custom QR codes last week, some interesting statistics came out showing surprising results from a study involving college students – nearly 80% of college students have no idea what to do when they see a QR code. According to a recent study conducted by youth marketing [...]

What types of conversations lead you towards trust? I was at IUPUI’s New Media program recently speaking about building a personal story and activating social networks. I asked the class two questions. The answers to the first question are here. The second question was what kinds of content are you most likely to share? Here are some of their thoughts. “Someone [...]

Two infographics related to social media usage among small businesses have been released recently and I wanted to share them.
Here’s the first…

And the second…

Mayors that keep checking in week after week need to have mayoral term limits. Why? Because it’s discouraging to other customers/visitors to a location or business. It’s ultimately better for the business to be able to feature more than one great customer. Here’s the background on why I’m saying this. I’ve been on a bit [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Facebook Comments Are Four Times The Value Of Likes By David Cohen ikes remain the most prevalent form of engagement on Facebook, but comments have more pull — more than four times as much. EdgeRank Checker has found that the average comment [...]

Social analytics, the role of social in the future of SEO, and his favorite city – Auckland I’m thrilled to bring you this interview with Alan K’necht! Alan and I hung out in San Francisco recently. He’s candid, cerebral and caffeinated – even as we discussed the merits of spending the weekend in San Fran after [...]

There’s simply no excuse to be using boring black-and-white QR codes. They’re popping up everywhere and, whether you like them or not, they seem to be sticking around for a little while. But the designer in me can’t stand seeing the dull black-and-white ones everywhere. Many designers don’t realize that thanks to QR code readers’ [...]

Sure, many of you that know me well know it’s not surprising for me to share videos and posts from Gary Vaynerchuk (follow him on Twitter).  This video is one that I’m more excited to share than any other. 1. Because it’s for a real estate crowd. 2. Because he made it PG and left out [...]

I was chatting with Mike Whaling yesterday, and we both agreed there are definitely some quick wins out there to help optimize your brand, stores, properties, etc. online.  It can be time consuming, but claiming your businesses pages on Google, Bing, Yelp!, etc. can be quick ways to get some SEO juice for your websites [...]

Help us raise funds for 500 AIDS test kits December 1st is World AIDS Day. I’ll be tweeting as part of an all day Indiana AIDS Fund “Tweetathon” to raise money for 500 free AIDS test kits that cost $10 each. The parts I like best about this are (a) it’s easy to see where [...]

The goal: get people to read your blog posts While blogging acts as an integral SEO tool, your blog will have to engage readers to get them to leave a comment, share it or come back. Getting started can be awkward but there are a few tricks to finding some good topics to blog about. [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads (all related to Cyber Monday) that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Cyber Monday Piggybacks On Social Media To Become Top Online Shopping Day By Scott Silverman According to Shop.org, 29 percent of consumers will check out a retailer’s Facebook page as part of their online holiday shopping this [...]

Professional Blogger and Book Author Erik Deckers on disruption, middle men and his deepest secret Erik Deckers, is co-author of No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing (2011), Branding Yourself: Using Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (2010) and  Twitter Marketing for Dummies (2009). That’s a pretty formidable output in [...]

Happy Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Firebelly! Extreme Thanksgiving, designed by Resource Media, visualizes how the elements have affected your Thanksgiving dinner. And the part to ponder is that it isn’t likely to get better in the future.

A quick thank you to all my friends, family, colleagues, and connections for all the inspiration you continue to give me.  It does not go unrecognized.  Have a great holiday season!

We hear this question all the time. “What are the best days and times to update my brand’s Facebook page?” Before I share our response, let’s look at what various studies & reports across the web have to say. Best days and times to update your Facebook page Saturdays at Noon Weekends and off-peak hours [...]

Have you set goals? Do you know what your audience wants? Now that you have determined to venture on a blogging track to reach your customers and audience, it’s a good idea to identify motives for the blog. As with any marketing plan, it is essential to ask “Why are we going to try this?” [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Brand Management: The Asshole Effect By Olivier Blanchard Want to boost your repeat business, get tons of free referrals, acquire bunches of new customers and get lots of positive buzz for free? There’s a pretty simple way to do it that doesn’t [...]

Just 3 quick questions.  Thanks for your input.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M93GQYW

Our friend, Mark Juleen, has this to say about Jonathan Saar “Beyond his role at The Training Factor, Jonathan is a tremendous networker and advocate of social media marketing for the multifamily industry. I’ve been extremely impressed with his efforts in this space and utilizing social media marketing to help build his business. Jonathan is [...]

This week at work, I was explaining Pinterest to some of my coworkers, and one of them posed a question that I had yet to ask myself — What brands are using Pinterest? How It Works If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, it’s basically an online bulletin board. Users can share pictures from websites that [...]

Brands have become quite good at asking customers to Like them on Facebook. Once they get the Like, however, many brands fail their fans. Most simply ignore them. In fact, 95% of Facebook wall posts are not answered by brands! Because it’s lame to say “Like me! Like me! Like me!” and then not like [...]

It seems like the debate continues on and on regarding which ILS model is the best.  At the recent NMHC Tech Conference people were tweeting about it.  At a recent Apartment Guide conference people were tweeting about it.  It seems that at every conference people are tweeting and talking about it in recent years, let [...]

BLOG! Blogging should be the meat and potatoes of any social media marketing (and/or SEO strategy). So, why are you looking at us with blank stares and mouth agape? Whether you have no idea what a blog is or the idea of writing intimidates you into a frozen face of fear, you are not alone in [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Beyond Facebook Analytics, The Guide By Thomas Baekdal A couple a weeks ago, Facebook came out with a new “Insights” dashboard. It was a big improvement from what we had before, mostly because the metrics are all based on people instead of [...]

The past couple days in social media have shown why it’s important to think about, and then re-think, everything that’s posted to Facebook and Twitter. It doesn’t matter if you’re just representing yourself or a whole brand, it only takes one simple mistake before your screw-up goes viral.

I was at IUPUI’s New Media program recently speaking about building a personal story and activating social networks. I asked the class two questions. The first question was what kinds of content are you most likely to share? Here are some of the responses. “People or companies who are interested in helping the community.” “Unusual [...]

At the beginning of October we held one of our bi-annual training sessions for our leasing teams at J.C. Hart.  As part of that process we generally ask everyone prior what things they are looking to learn and if there is anything they would like us to focus on.  One of the topics consistently mentioned [...]

Google+ Pages for brands have launched; let the comparisons to Facebook brand pages begin! Many people have been boasting the potential search engine optimization advantages these Google+ Pages will have, but there are 5 important things Facebook Pages have that Google+ Pages currently do not. 1. Vanity URLs Find us at facebook.com/firebellysocial is a lot [...]

Google launched Google+ Pages for business today. Below are 5 must-reads related to this that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Google+ Pages: Connect With All The Things You Care About By Vic Gundotra For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they [...]

Probably. The internet is progressively moving in to a new age, where knowledge gathering is no longer the dominant use for the web. Information has given way to interactivity. Users log online to interact and keep up with friends, blogs, brands, celebrities, and others. This movement used to be called Web 2.0, but that term [...]

What do Nicki Minaj, “techertainment”, solomo, and walks on the beach have in common? Brandon Prebynski is at once engaging, funny and charming. He doesn’t do coffee – juice only please. He’s worked at companies like Pearson Publishing and Cisco. His questions have stumped national speakers. He’s most recently fascinated by video, mobile, and analytics. [...]

In listening to phone calls I wondered how often we get the question, “How much are your 1/2/3 bedrooms?”  I can tell you from the calls I’ve listened to that it happens a bunch.  The problem is, so many people want to just answer that question for the customer right away.  Here’s why I think [...]

Living in New York, I take every opportunity I can to go to Broadway shows. It really is one of the best parts of living in the city. And when I go, I want everyone in my social media world to know what I’m seeing, so I always take a minute before the curtain opens [...]

Happy Halloween! Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Social Media Slayers: Top Halloween Campaigns By Rachel Leamon Halloween is one of the sweetest treats of the year for public relations and marketing campaigns. In terms of consumer outreach, Halloween is a lucrative marketing opportunity for the fact that [...]

Brands constantly use the flawed thinking that consumers are actually interested in useless dribble. Here’s the hint: you need to figure out the secret formula. The fun facts, random questions, and product advertisements all keep the consumers coming back to the brand and builds the community, but if and only if you sprinkle in some of what they actually want.

Never lose sight of what matter at the foundational level I’m amazed at the great lengths that brands will go to with their marketing without paying the slightest attention to the foundation of great word of mouth and, really, all marketing – the story and customer experiences. I was in San Francisco last week to [...]

Halloween is less than a week away, and if you still don’t have a costume, here are a few easy ways to take part in the festivties and pay homage to your favorite social media trends this year: Facebook Notification Make yourself a red talk bubble with a white “1″ in it that attaches to [...]

First off, if you don’t use RentSentinel for their Craigslist posting tool then you are really missing out.  Also, just because you have a tool like RentSentinel, it doesn’t mean that it’s being used consistently.  It needs to be monitored and measured for success.  I had one of my late night work sessions last night [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. The Bank of Facebook: Currency, Identity, Reputation By Venessa Miemis There has been much speculation recently about the role Facebook Credits could play in becoming a global virtual currency, and even the possibility of Facebook becoming a bank. A Secret about Facebook [...]

I’ll be upfront here. ReCAPTCHA has been around for quite a while. I’ve noticed it around everywhere and thought it was just some generic CAPTCHA plugin that was being used on many websites. Then I noticed the tagline: “Stop spam. Read books.” and immediately became curious what it meant. The “Stop spam” part is pretty [...]

Last week, I met a true rarity in this day-in-age — a driven 20-something who does not own a smartphone. As I sat and talked to her, baffled by the fact that she can even make it through a day without constant connection to e-mail and the Internet, I started to realize how addicted I [...]

Last week I made a prediction.  Not sure how close I am with that prediction, but if companies are smart they probably use Facebook and Twitter that way already.  Anyway, after making an effort at looking forward, I thought I’d take a bit of a look back.  I’ve had a few conversations over the past [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 10 Things You Should Include in a Social Media Plan By Mike Sweeney hile the 4 Ps of marketing are still relevant, it’s the 7 Ps that are most applicable to modern day marketing. Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. [...]

Without trust there is no “real” community Community at work… Image Credit: STAN HONDA – AFP/Getty Images  Community is an over-used word these days. Perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that there is a community continuum. Or perhaps – just many varietals of community. In these days, we’re used to brand communities both online and [...]

Jonathan Saar shares his story about testing various WordPress plugins, understanding how readers are using your site and why he believes it’s critical to have effective sharing options on your blog.

The post Don’t Be a Plug About Plugins appeared first on 30 Lines.

There are two things that have to be combined to make something great – the big picture, and the small details. This applies to everything from design to business, and no industry is excluded from the simple rule. While many companies and their products try to skimp on the details, the truly influential ones make sure it’s all there.

Over the past several months, did you notice Hulu asking you questions about your ad experience? For example, while commercials played, it asked “Is this ad relevant to you?,” and you could click “yes” or “no.” Well, now we know why. The New Choice Hulu recently launched its Ad Swap option. When your commercials start [...]

As social media platforms evolve, so do the ways you explain them when people ask, “How do I use this?” Although it has been around for a while now, Twitter is a social media platform that many have but still don’t know how to use. Here are the ways my answer to the question, “How [...]

One of the fun parts about blogging is taking some risks.  I’ve made some predictions over the last few years that, well, haven’t come true.  But that’s part of the fun in making bold predictions.  I enjoy taking some risks and even trashing some big things like iFads just to see what everyone else has [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Writing Effective Facebook Posts By Andi Graham What you see in your Facebook newsfeed isn’t magic; it’s controlled by a very important algorithm called EdgeRank. Facebook wants users to be engaged, so EdgeRank is a critical aspect of their business. Facebook’s New [...]

Part 2 of 2: teenage perspectives on community and trust While trust can be experienced in countless ways, the meaning of trust might be pretty universal. This was definitely clear to me last week – as I was at Westfield High School’s “Entrepreneurship 101” class – interacting with kids between the ages of 14 and [...]

Part 1 of 2: teenage perspectives on community and trust While community can be experienced in countless ways, the meaning of community might be pretty universal. This was definitely clear to me yesterday – as I was at Westfield High School’s “Entrepreneurship 101” class (the second session to be exact) – interacting with kids between [...]

The unfortunate death of Apple’s CEO and industry icon Steve Jobs took everyone by surprise, even those who were expecting it. The amount of sympathy and condolences expressed over social media may have a hit a new high, with at one point over 17% of tweets referencing his life and his death.

Facebook users have been very vocal about how much they hate all the changes. Well, let’s drop a truth bomb. There are more to come — and soon — and there will always be changes. Technology is not cyclical, so it constantly updates and adapts to user needs. Users argue Facebook is doing everything but [...]

Yep, Mark is doing more social media excitement.  But I’m not alone.  Carmen Benitez has organized a crew of apartment nerds to discuss apartment marketing topics in a video forum.  We call it the Apartment Social Council.  Fell free to like us on Facebook and enjoy the thoughts of Sarah Greenough, Sara Graham, Ed Javier, [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Facebook Launches New Metric: “People Talking About” By Todd Wasserman Facebook has overhauled its Pages Insights analytics tool and added a new metric to gauge the health of a page: “People Talking About.” Facebook’s News Feed Changes May Be Reducing Impressions, Increasing [...]

It’s easy to make content (for 2-5% of most audiences). It’s even easier to take part in conversations – comment, like, RT, MT, and share. This applies to both brands and individuals. Wait – it applies to the individuals behind the brands as well. Don’t create content or take part in conversations if you can’t…

Do you really want to be the “Johnny Knoxville” of Social Promotions? Every brand is either running or looking into running promotions on Facebook and Twitter. This has spawned an eco-system of service providers to help run these promotion – from official network-approved platforms to legal advice to promotions specialists to community management. Social promotions [...]

Skype in the Classroom announced it hit more than 16,000 users this week. Across the country, teachers and schools are connecting with each other, sharing project ideas and hosting speaker presentations that may not have been possible otherwise. They do so through customized profiles where they post information about their classroom and projects they’d like [...]

At my job, I am constantly surrounded by people who are building a brand. They are building brands for their new companies or, more often, themselves. They, as individuals, are the brand. The key to building a brand is to pick a word that describes your brand and stick to it. You define the word. [...]

This week’s guest post is from Jonathan Saar of The Training Factor.  A true student of the game, Jonathan is a model networker online.  Please enjoy his Facebook tips this week. _______________________________ There appeared to be quite the measure of fear throughout multifamily as we witnessed numerous changes to the Facebook platform.  Questions regarding how [...]

Facebook rolled out a lot of changes last week. These changes have dominated the headlines – both online and off. Some users love the new Timeline. Some users hate it. Our designer, Jake Hamilton, shared his opinion in his blog post Facebook Timeline: First Impressions. As someone who helps clients navigate the constantly changing world [...]

Developers got first access to the new Facebook Timeline profiles, and even non-developers are trying to get in on the action. Since I’ve already had a developer account and app made through Facebook, I noticed a pop-up inviting me to be one of the first to try it out. When I first opened my new [...]

Twitter has been moving slowly-but-surely in to the ad business over the past year. It started with promoted topics, then promoted tweets and has started to creep in to user timelines and other places across the network. Enter politics. Political ads have graced televisions, radios, and unsuspecting suburban yards for years. Whether it’s for mayor, [...]

Conversations opens doors online and in social spaces While Jim Morrison’s mantra might have been “ People are Strange”, I love people. They intrigue me. Their dreams, frustrations, pursuits and actions fascinate me. Their stories fuel and inspire me. However, reading and seeing from a distance is a spectator sport and not my cup of tea. I prefer a [...]

I’m one of those “morning people.” When my phone alarm goes off in the morning, I jump out of bed, ready to start the day. My internal alarm often wakes me up before my phone, to be honest. But I know many people who hate mornings more than going to the dentist. They snooze their [...]

Before I wrote a post on the new Facebook lists, I was giving them some time to marinate. I wanted to take them for a trial run before I jumped to conclusions that it was another horrible update on the Facebook Wall of Shame, as many other Facebook users have done. After testing them out [...]

For those of you that have followed me for awhile you know that I take the position to respond to all online reviews and to encourage them as well.  Just type in “reviews” up in the little search bar at the top of markjuleen.com and you’ll see plenty of posts on the topic, including a [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Study: Auto-Posting to Facebook Decreases Likes and Comments by 70% By Josh Constine Facebook Pages that automatically publish content to the news feed through third-party apps such as HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Networked Blogs receive an average of 70% fewer Likes and comments [...]

I’ve never made any attempt to hide it, I have an ongoing love affair with WordPress. The website management system flat-out beats all other blogging and even web development platforms I’ve worked with… when used correctly. Often times, WordPress I’ve found WordPress used poorly. Handy features go unused, the website looks boring, and issues plague [...]

What Rob Lowe, Todd Tweedy, San Francisco, Making Money and Social Media have in common. The short answer: “The powerful lineup and sheer diversity of timely topics covering the entire spectrum of social gaming, mobile, search and social all under one roof.  Plus, the cool San Fran-based Rickshaw Bags case study.” #1. Much like my [...]

GetGlue, the social service that many call “the Foursquare of entertainment,” launched its dashboard for marketers this week. The program allows official marketers of TV shows, books, movies and all other entertainment mediums to manage their accounts through tracking stats and managing promotional campaigns. This will make pulling tangible results from the service and enhancing [...]

From the minds behind The Resident Connection comes the official 2012 Apartment Marketing Checklist.  Budget meetings coming up?  Trying to move around some marketing dollars?  Be sure to download the checklist and make sure you have your bases covered. —>CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR APARTMENT MARKETING CHECKLIST!<—  Watch Video on YouTube       

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 7 Ways to Get Noticed on Facebook With Facebook News Feed Optimization By Michael Stelzner Are you wondering how to get your updates into your fans Facebook news feeds? Did you know that 90% of the people who click your Facebook fan [...]

“I don’t know if I should build an online community”. I hear this very often when I’m working with clients that are launching a community – or building the foundation of what might become a community – to be more accurate. A couple of over arching considerations: What are the marketing goals and how will [...]

Our good friends at the Pew Internet and American Life Project have found that, while your personal newsfeed may be flooded with check-ins and friends adding locations to their statuses, most Americans are not revealing their locales. To be specific, only 28 percent of mobile phone users in the U.S. are using any location-based services to [...]

When out window shopping for fun gifts to send to my friends in the Midwest the other day, I stumbled upon these Social Media Citations that made me laugh and triggered my inner dialogue to say, “I know a few people who need served with these on a daily basis!” This got me thinking about the [...]

People ask me all the time for my recommendations and thoughts on building online communities – and why this is such a good time to build them. The answer is layered and yet perfectly straightforward. People are less willing to commit to traditional organizations People want greater transparency from traditional organizations People want to make [...]

While it may be criticized for every step it takes, Facebook is very well known for doing one thing especially well: attracting a whole new crowd to the internet. The baby-boomer crowd was never strongly into the internet or technology in general before around 2006. Since then, Facebook has been infiltrated with moms, grandmas and people from [...]

When my office did a “shaky dance” last Tuesday afternoon, I couldn’t tell if what I had felt was real. I didn’t turn on the TV. I didn’t even turn to an online newspaper. I picked up my Blackberry not to text, but to click on my friendly blue bird icon and asked, “Did anyone [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 10 ways to use psychology to lure web customers By Mark Schaefer I’ve been researching and thinking about the psychology of the social web and our Internet relationships. There are many common psychological techniques you can use in your every day Internet [...]

Question of the day:  How often do you interact with consultants or advisers outside of the apartment industry?
I’ve found this to be extremely helpful with my work at J.C. Hart.  How about you?

ESPN – every sports fan seems to hate it, yet watches it religiously at the same time. Now the worldwide leader in sports wants to push its reporters away from Twitter. Reporters like Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian are very known for breaking news on Twitter. As soon as a piece of news is known [...]

I’m not concerned about Steve Jobs leaving, but I get it.
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In my world, it isn’t officially the fall season until I have a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks in my hand. I know I’m not alone. Today, Starbucks launched a nation-wide competition on Facebook. Fanatics from city-to-city will compete to have the latte hand-crafted in their Starbucks locations one week before it is available to [...]

So, who’s getting the biggest slice of the pie?  As budget season approaches I’m doing my mid-year study of marketing data that we collect here at J.C. Hart.  In the past I have mentioned how I think it’s important to not just review data month over month, but to also look at it year over [...]

As many of you have already heard, “retweet” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary this week. Social media lingo can be overheard in almost any conversation on the street, and now, it’s taking over the dictionary. The official definition is: Pronunciation:/riːˈtwiːt/ verb: (on the social networking service Twitter) repost or forward (a message posted by another user). [...]

This week’s guest post is from industry consultant and customer review advocate, Leigh Curry, of Curry Conduit Services, Inc.  This topic is near and dear to me, and I wanted to share Leigh’s perspective and advice.  Why do you need to embrace Internet apartment ratings and reviews? Are you a multifamily owner/manger that constantly bemoans [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 6186 Words On Becoming A Facebook Machine By Lori Taylor Warning: [If you’re a social media tool chaser (not to be confused with tail chaser), this post is NOT for you. This post is for only for smart people looking for real [...]

Time to get creative with your budgeting for 2012.  If you want to be forward thinking with your online presence here’s a few things I recommend you keep in mind.
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This may just be me, but I cringe every time I hear “social influence.” Social influence has become a buzzword (or buzz-phrase) in the social media world. Various tools are coming out to measure the influence that social networking users have over the other people in their network. Typically, this is generated by looking at [...]

There’s a way to do anything.  Let’s put this excuse to bed please.

A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project revealed this week that 13 percent of adults (ages 18 to 49) have faked a cell phone conversation in order to avoid talking to someone. My first reaction was to guffaw at this statistic and add another item to the list of cons about [...]

Occupancies and Rents are on the up.  Sure, it may be time to cut some marketing expenses, but I’m recommending you take some of that savings and improve the way you measure your results.
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Barack Obama has long been considered the politician to lead the way with social media. According to a 2008 New York Times article, Obama is the first president to truly understand social media. “Thomas Jefferson used newspapers to win the presidency, F.D.R. used radio to change the way he governed, J.F.K. was the first president to [...]

They stack up quick, no?  It can be a challenge to have everything working together.  I work with Firebelly Marketing and 30 Lines to help me.  What’s your strategy?
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The other day I was discussing with a friend how to organically increase Twitter followers (She has photography business and has just started using Twitter for marketing). We discussed Tweeting more information-related content, but I also told her the key is to get retweeted by major Twitter players.  You all know, that ripple effect thing. [...]

This week’s guest post is from Steve Lefkovits.  Steve is the Executive Producer of the Apartment Internet Marketing Conference and the upcoming, first annual Apartment Revenue Management Conference.  I’m excited to share this post from Steve and details of what’s in store for the Apartment Revenue Management Conference. “Generally speaking, a 5% reduction in sales expenses [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 7 Annoying Blogging Personality Disorders By Laura Click A few months ago, I told you about the annoying social media personality disorders that will kill your ability to be successful on the social web. But guess what? Bloggers are not immune from [...]

Earlier this month, the internet was fascinated when a YouTube video surfaced of a girl doing mundane things around Central Park… with four Apple iPads surrounding her face. While the idea itself is far from new, the best part of the video was just the reaction from the unsuspecting public. The best viral videos tend [...]

We were approached by a television network asking for our permission to do taping on our property with a resident.  I share my thoughts, but what are yours?
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Here is the follow up post from last week (as promised) from Miss Kim Cory Fitness, Kim Cory, and what more you can do with Foursquare at your community. Now let’s talk about all those other hot spots at your community like the pool or fitness center.  We currently offer the “Flash Special” which are [...]

Living in a city like New York, you are surrounded by some of the most creative advertising and marketing in the world. I recently read an article about how Oxfam’s Curiosity Shop puts QR codes on their clothing that, when scanned, open a video of the celeb who donated the piece talking about where they [...]

We are quickly approaching some exciting announcements at The Resident Connection, but in the mean time I hope you have enjoyed some of the guest posts here.  I will, of course, continue to bring you some tidbits from my noggin, and would like to know if you have any topics you would like myself, Firebelly, [...]

Mobile food vendors, or food trucks, are becoming a growing trend all over the country. While it’s far from a new idea, it’s gaining new-found popularity thanks to the ease of communicating and growing a following through social networking. Everywhere from New York to Indy, people are flocking to the streets to get authentic, unique [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 20 Expert Tips for Better Facebook Marketing By Pamela Seiple Nurturing a Facebook presence that actually provides business benefits takes some work. That’s why we’ve gathered the following 20 expert tips to help you take your Facebook marketing to the next level. [...]

I hope you enjoy today’s guest post from Bill Szczytko (pronounced Sitko).  Super Nerd extraordinaire and IT Manager for Maryland Management. Let me tell you a story about a boy. 4 foot 11, 120 pounds soaking wet, wrinkled Bugle Boy pants, his blond hair in a bowl cut, tousled. When he spoke his voice cracked and the [...]

Recently, HubSpot’s Website Grader began factoring mobile optimization in to its scores. After all, it’s about time for mobile platforms to be considered in the production of every website, as more people are owning smartphones. This doesn’t mean making a completely new version of the website built just for mobile. There are three essential steps, [...]

Unsolicited excitement for customer service pride at our Pebble Brook Village community!

Twitter announced this week that a “parental controls”-type feature is in development. In your feed, you will soon notice an additional flag on Tweets that contain links that may contain content not suitable for the younger Twitter users. “In the future, we’ll have a family of additional API methods & fields for handling end-user ‘media [...]

This week’s guest post is from Director of Sales and Marketing (and Student Housing Specialist), Kim Cory, of University Village Apartments near The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Today, peer to peer recommendations are king and word of mouth counts for over 80% of our decisions when choosing to do business with a brand [...]

Didn’t take much for me to say no to this.  Sorry Oodle and Marketplace.

I’ve discussed this before, but wanted to throw it out again.  What are you thoughts on model apartments?  Critical?  Use or don’t use?  Show every time?  Would love for some folks to weigh in. Watch on YouTube  

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. ComScore Report: 27% of Facebook Browsing on News Feed, Just 10% on Apps By Josh Constine Most engagement with branded content happens on the news feed, not Pages, yet the average brand in the top 100 Facebook Pages reaches only 16% of [...]

When I joined Twitter on August 23, 2007 I was clueless.  I really didn’t even start using the platform for about 6 months.  I was still an early adopter at that point, so I spent a bunch of time learning the ins and outs of the platform.  I connected with a number of online marketing [...]

The abundance of social media sharing buttons is becoming ridiculous. Whether you call them chicklets or widgets, more of them seem to be popping up above (and below, and beside) blog posts on every blog. The buttons alone are not bad – they make life easier for your readers and encourage them to share your content. But if you’re including 50 different ways to share your content, you’re simply turning off the reader.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about promoted trending topics on Twitter. This week, I wanted to touch on another promotional aspect of Twitter — the promoted account. Promoted Twitter accounts are a lot like the People You May Know feature on Facebook, but the Twitter version suggests both personal and corporate accounts. [...]

I had a great opportunity to spend some time with Ed Spiegel of RentMineOnline.com.  During our time together we discussed the correlation between the amount of a referral fee and the results a property gets.  Check out the video today, and we’ll soon be sharing some results from what Ed is collecting on the topic. [...]

I took a couple days off this week.  It can be difficult for me to get away from being connected, but I achieved it the past few days.  I struggle to do this as my mind is constantly thinking about business opportunities and innovations.  Some days I think this is a fault, while I think [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Is SCO the new SEO? By Gregory Lipman SCO (Social Content Optimization), is a process Edelman Digital is presently refining based on our belief that search and social are intertwined. In short, a digital asset that is searchable AND sharable is more [...]

Not everyone has common sense when it comes to social media. Some people are still new to the game and trying to figure out exactly how all this ‘nonsense’ works. Many of these people own businesses. I’ve found 4 horrible (yet sometimes hilarious) mistakes to bring to attention only in hopes that nobody else will [...]

It’s super easy today to click “Like”, accept a connection, follow someone, or now put someone in a circle, but that’s just scratching the surface.  It’s those next steps that really begin to make connections.  I was listening to a Gary Vaynerchuk keynote presentation last night and a statement he made really stuck with me. [...]

This week J.C. Hart will break ground on a $19 million project, they’ll enter their fourth year with a mostly digital marketing program, and  will begin working on a social layer to their CRM system. And Mark Juleen is smiling as he digs into his broken yolk sandwich at the hip local eatery, Cafe Patachou. During a [...]

Today’s guest post is by Sarah Greenough.  She is the brilliant Sr. V.P., CMO for Princeton Properties and a great friend. Here are two compelling reasons to start using video:  More Exposure – by using a medium that your prospective residents desire. Improved SEO – online video content aids to maximum visibility across search engines. [...]

Many of you that know me and follow my blog probably know that the inspiration for me doing videos comes from a guy by the name of Gary Vaynerchuk.  If you’re not familiar with Gary, then you should be.  His energy is infectious! While some people may feel he positions himself on the edge and [...]

Has anyone noticed the “Favorite Places” spot on Facebook?  I just noticed this and thought it was interesting.
Next question, have you participated?  Is this something that you think is engaging?

As I watch users jump into Google+ and begin sharing content I start to think that the Tumblr platform is in trouble.  For those of you not familiar with Tumblr here’s a link to the Wikipedia quick definition. From what we’ve seen so far, Google+ is integrating many other Google services and tools like Picasa, [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Are we killing our customers with engagement? By Neicole Crepeau Social media consultants and bloggers have long urged companies to create Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and start a conversation with their customers. So, lots of companies have done just that. The [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Are we killing our customers with engagement? By Neicole Crepeau Social media consultants and bloggers have long urged companies to create Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and start a conversation with their customers. So, lots of companies have done just that. The [...]

Last week I asked, “When was the last time you scanned a QR Code?” Here’s the results from that question. –  Within the past week – 21 votes –  It’s been awhile – 20 votes –  Never – 18 votes –  What’s a QR Code? – 4 votes –  Today – 1 vote –  Within [...]

There have been a lot of infographics popping up on the web lately.  It’s become a popular trend. Companies generate these images using charts and imagery combined with statistics to show a point, but I’d never considered this – an interactive infographic. Mashable featured this new infographic by Online Schools, a popular online education portal, [...]

More details on what The Resident Connection is and how we can help you.
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With Google+ giving me an opportunity to somewhat reorganize my online connection in another way, I decided to take a look at the way MarkJuleen.com was organized.  Prior to the changes last week there were categories for “The Apartment Nerd“, “The Marketing Nerd“, “J.C. Hart Spotlight“, “EverydayMap“, and “The Resident Connection“.  I had a few [...]

Many out there are job hunting, and for some reason, many of us end up on Facebook during our online job searches. It may be attributed to the fact that Facebook is the greatest time suck when you’re supposed to be doing something else, but that’s another blog post. Thanks to Monster, spending time on [...]

I asked a simple question on Google+ yesterday and had some pretty good discussion.  So I wanted to take it to another level to see if we can find out if QR codes are just a flash in the pan or not.  I created a Question on Facebook to poll some people.  I’ve asked my [...]

It’s still a search game.  Social is just a part of that now.
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So Facebook tried to create some buzz after Google+ launched by announcing their “Awesome” partnership with Skype.  There seemed to be more criticism of the effort within the nerd community than real excitement though.  After the launch of this “Awesome” service I even read someone post that they tried it and it was “Awesome”.  Really? [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Four C’s for Community Cultivation By Ike Pigott I have a friend who is building a nice niche community around natural hair. While not entirely new to communications or even blogging, she was new to the concept of building an intentional audience. [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. Four C’s for Community Cultivation By Ike Pigott I have a friend who is building a nice niche community around natural hair. While not entirely new to communications or even blogging, she was new to the concept of building an intentional audience. [...]

With yet another social network being added, if you sign up what will you sacrifice?
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Before the holiday weekend, I sat down with my laptop and popcorn to finally watch the season finale of one of my favorite TV shows. I was about a month overdue for watching. Needless to say, I was extremely excited. As I nestled into the couch and hit “play,” the first commercial to appear took [...]

People have been asking me recently, “What is The Resident Connection?” In summary, we are an online marketing strategy company for the multifamily industry. We help you find the best solutions and strategies to build better online brands for management companies, properties, or even multifamily/apartment vendors and suppliers. We have some of our own solutions [...]

Everyone has heard about Google+ already. When the search giant revealed its attempt at social networking, the news spread through the internet like wildfire. It has some extremely nice features lined up and it’ll be exciting to see how it eventually stacks up against Facebook, but it’s even more interesting (to me, at least) how [...]

The majority of the comparisons I’ve read online are geared toward Google+ vs. Facebook.  I actually think Twitter is the network that will be impacted the most by Google+.  Here’s my top  5 reasons why Twitter will be effected more by G+ (as of today): 5.  Organization – For early adopters on Twitter, “Lists” came [...]

Todd Tweedy, AF Expo moderator (l) and Stewart Quealy, Director of Content, Events/Conferences at Mediabistro.com (r) I had the benefit of experiencing this conference as an attendee and speaker. Here are 7 reasons why you should attend the next AllFacebook Expo: 1. Facebook focused education Facebook has 750 million users and the real opportunity is to [...]

I love coincidences.  After a relaxing weekend away from work I was discussing with Duncan Alney how I don’t think “we” (and I say that for myself and people in general) take enough time to celebrate our victories.  It may be cliche’, but I don’t really care.  Taking time to smell the roses a bit [...]

Five years ago, nobody expected the new social networking website called “Facebook” to become a powerhouse. Now, companies invest billions of dollars each year into finding new ways to reach an audience through the social giant. Some have succeeded by finding truly unique ways to attract attention, including adding new levels of interactivity and sharing. [...]

I’ve dodged this, and played along responding the best I can to reviews as a regular user.  I think it’s time to take the next step.  Check out what they sent me in regards to Bulk Registration and what you get.  So … what do you think?  If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em??? ———————————————- [...]

Yesterday Duncan Alney did a guest post talking about his upcoming trip to the All Facebook Expo.  I’m really excited for these guys to have this opportunity to share their Facebook experience and learn some things as well.  What I’m really excited about as well is our partnership at The Resident Connection with Firebelly Marketing. [...]

Duncan and the Firebelly Marketing team are headed to the AllFacebook Expo to learn and participate on a few panels.  Here’s Duncan’s quick preview.
Want to learn more about building community for your apartment brand on Facebook?  Ask me…

Let’s chat about branding, specifically one trend I’ve been watching lately. “Consistent” and “logo” are often words applied together in branding, as in a logo should never deviate from the set colors and shapes that it was designed around. After all, many of the reasons a logo is designed is to bring recognizable consistency to [...]

How are you going to treat your customers online from today forward?  This isn’t a surface question.  I hope you think long and hard about this.

I don’t think even Facebook could tell you how many accounts are used against their terms of service as business accounts or as duplicate accounts.  The fact is, they have plenty of other problems to worry about that actually make them money.  Yet, we social media nerds get all bent out of shape about the [...]

While all these strategies are important, they are secondary to doing great work and celebrating our customers. Solving our customers and clients problems – that’s the reason we’re in business. Right?

For those of you that have followed me for awhile you know that I’m not a fan of the iFad and I lean toward Google and PCs with my fandom in general.  That said, my recent experience with Android devices has me losing some of my trust and excitement for the platform. I was one [...]

The talk these days among IT guys is “What business practices can we push into the cloud?” Cloud computing is, among many things, a great way to save money, resources and helps with your green initiatives. Cloud computing, for those who don’t stare at monitor screens all day compiling code, is a pretty boring topic [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. How to Create a 5 Step Facebook Marketing Strategy for Your Blog By Jeff Bullas Bloggers are starting to wake up to the fact that a Facebook page is now a necessity for marketing their brand and spreading their ideas to a [...]

Who’s retelling your story?  Are you creating shared value?
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I meant to post this yesterday, and posted the follow up post.  So here’s the Mike’s post the day after.
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I meant to post this yesterday, and posted the follow up post.  So here’s the Mike’s post the day after.
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On Tuesday, Google let loose on to the world a slew of new announcements, all changing the way users can search the web. First and foremost is Search by Image, a new feature that opens desktop searching up to the features of Google Goggles for Android phones. In a style similar to the popular app, [...]

I’ve been a believer in the power of stories for most of my life. In fact, I came to America because I believed in the “Western” stories that Hollywood created. John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood all embodied the outrider – that rugged individual who in many ways personifies a certain essential part [...]

Went through the car wash and it had me thinking.  What are your thoughts?  Is marketing taking a backseat in your organization?  Are you humanizing those efforts or just stroking a check for advertising?  What’s more powerful to you?
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This is a guest post from Heather Whaling, cross-posted from prTini. Last week, Google make a fairly techy-sounding announcement. If you’re like me, you saw it, but didn’t pay a lot of attention. As I re-read the announcement today and some corresponding blog posts, the light went on. I get it now. The new “authorship” [...]

The post 6 Ideas to Leverage Google’s “Author” Markup appeared first on 30 Lines.

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. How To Use Facebook To Enchant Your Customers By Guy Kawasaki There’s lots of good advice out there for running a good Facebook Page and how you can build a long-term community. I wanted to offer something a little bit different and [...]

During the Monday announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, it was made clear that Twitter will be heavily integrated in to the next version of iOS, the operating system used by iPhones and iPads. This left a lot of people, including me, wondering “What about Facebook?” Obviously, somewhere along the line, Facebook [...]

Authentic vs. Slick, Consistency, and Show that you care.  Online words of wisdom from my friend Duncan at Firebelly Marketing.
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Sorry for the hiatus.
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As many of you know by now, our son Enzo was born a few days ago. It has been a long road for us and our happiness is immeasurable. The entire process has been emotional, especially his birth and the last few days. There’s been an outpouring of support and love which we are so [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. 8 must know tips on how to run a quality Facebook Page By Lauren Fisher There’s lots of good advice out there for running a good Facebook Page and how you can build a long-term community. I wanted to offer something a [...]

Everyone pretty quickly forgets what they’ve posted to Facebook. It’s in the front of your mind, it gets posted, then it’s immediately gone. That’s what makes Intel’s new social tool “Museum of Me” so interesting. You’re presented with a unique collage of everything you’ve posted on Facebook. The collage comes in the form of a [...]

Your community has grown significantly. People have responded to your story and your conversational style. Your last contest brought hundreds of new members to your Facebook community. Here are a few points to now ponder: 1. How has the audience make up changed? 2. How has the conversation changed? Are the existing advocates being drowned [...]

Below are 5 social media must-reads that we wouldn’t want you to miss. How to Optimize your Contests for the Highest Entry Rates! By Wildfire While video, photo, and essay contests are the most inherently social promotion apps you can run for your fans, not all contests perform equally. We’ve analyzed the entry rates of [...]

The tablet computer market is growing larger and larger by the day. As a matter of fact, some are attributing dwindling PC sales to the rise of tablets. While tablets used to be a bulky laptop system with a touchscreen, now you can grab an iPad or Motorola Xoom that can not only replace a [...]