Like most newbie's to Pinterest, I am waiting patiently for a response to my invite request. Pinterest is rolling out invites slowly - enticing more and more interest to their website. What is it? Well basically, Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

According to Pinterest, the access to their site lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people (allowing you to 'repin'). Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

What's unique about Pinterest is that they are taking all the learning from other sharing communities by insuring proper 'pin etiquette', diminished copyright infringement as well as a "Pin it" button (similar to the share feature).  

However, it seems like a good place to promote your small business - but be careful - this is a sharing community and you will need to be very creative to insure that you are not blacklisted!

Great resources to get you started!

Pinterest: A Beginner's Guide to the Hot New Social Network by Mashable

How to Use Pinterest for the Web by USA Today

I am hoping to get my invite approved shortly - if so, I'll give you some more info as my adventure to the site unfolds!

Best

Denice MacDonald

Simply put -- gamification involves applying game design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging.

Gamification encourages people to perform certain actions that they ordinarily consider boring. Tied to compelling content and within a relevant digital channel, gamified websites, applications or processes can increase user engagement, ROI, data quality, timeliness or even learning.

Some common techniques applied to gamification projects include:

• achievements / badges
• levels
• leader boards
• progress bars
• activity feeds
• avatars
• real-time feedback
• virtual currency
• gifting
• challenges and quests
• trophy case
• embedding small mini games within other activities                               [Image courtesy of http://www.thepixelreport.org]

To learn more about gamification and to determine if this type of strategy is good for your business, read or download the following resources:

Demystifying Enterprise Gamification for Business by Ray Wang of Constellation
http://www.constellationrg.com/research/2011/12/demystifying-enterprise-gamification-business

Is Gamification Right for Your Business? 7 Things to Consider by Erica Swallow of Mashable
http://mashable.com/2011/12/24/gamification-for-business/

The CEO Guide to Business Gamification from Business Week Special Reports Gallery
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/special_reports/20110404ceo_guide_gamification.htm

Gaming Business Review
http://www.gamingbusinessreview.com/

Gamification
http://www.gamification.org/

Gamification 101
www.bunchball.com/gamification/gamification101.pdf

Gamification applications and providers:
http://www.badgeville.com/
http://www.gigya.com/
http://www.bunchball.com/

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Google+ has emerged as a key player in online marketing and definitely poses competition to Facebook. However, Google+ isn’t the easiest thing to understand. Reason simply, it has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.

So to help out, I have assembled some really good articles for consumers AND businesses to aid in adapting quickly to Google+.

Original announcement (with video) and introduction to Google+

Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-project-real-life.html

Here's a great article by Mashable (continually updated) containing screen shots, video and cheat sheets with content for all facets of Google+ including Circles, Sparks, Hangouts and mobile:

Google+ The Complete Guide

http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

New eBook: How to use Google+ for Business Hubspot)

http://www.hubspot.com/how-to-use-google-plus-for-business/?source=hspd-website-magazine-how-to-use-google-plus-for-business-20111122

Here's a great cheat sheet from Mashable:

Best,

Denice MacDonald

We all have seen the surge in the use of social networks like Facebook and MySpace allowing us to connect in unprecedented ways. The acceptance of social networks has allowed niche networks to flourish - offering topics and resources to specific targeted markets. 

Marketing through social sites 

While these sites' traffic may pale in comparison to the big networks, there's a good opportunity to connect and market to a dedicated audience who might be more open to learning a little more about your product, services or offerings. If you provide real value to members, they will be much more willing to engage your brand. 

Finding that 'niche' social network 

Try spending a some time investigating your industry - chances are there's a network out there where you can promote and/or brand your business to a specific target audience. Begin with associations or affiliations that are tied to your industry segment. Then, research specific topics or issues that resonate with your customers. Yes, your competitors will be right alongside you, but consumers will be there too. And they will be looking for an expert in the field.  

Lastly, if you can’t find a specialized community for your industry, you could always create one.   

Get started: Learning from the best 

How to Identify & Target the Right Niche Social Media Sites  by Chris Winfield

Fastest Growing Niche Social Media Sites and Networks by Jessica Merritt

Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network by Mark Hendrickson

The following is a list of the top social niche networks that target specific audience or cater to a special interest for you B2C enthusiasts:

43 Things -- A social networking site that targets goal-setting, members are interlinked by the goals they are going after and the goals they have completed.

BlackPlanet -- One of the oldest social networks, and the most popular special interest social networking site, BlackPlanet caters to African-Americans.

Care2 -- Green living beyond just social networking, Care2 offers email, blogging, shopping, and more, all catered to those wishing to live a green life.

Classmates -- Founded in 1995, Classmates was one of the first social networks on the web and still caters primarily to schools and colleges. Classmates charges a fee for advanced services that are usually free on other social networking sites. The website also uses questionable marketing practices by emailing non-paying users and inviting them to pay for the premium service under the pretense that someone was searching for them.

eCrush -- A social network targeting teens, eCrush is the 21st century's answer to writing "Do you like me?" on a piece of paper with a boxes for yes and no and a request to check the one that applies. Teens tell eCrush who they have a crush on, and then eCrush asks those people who they have crushes on. If there is a match, eCrush lets both know, otherwise, the person is none the wiser.

Flixter -- With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixter combines social networking with movie reviews.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Social media and social media marketing are quite the buzz these days. My user groups and close business colleagues remind me how ‘hot’ this topic is.  Although social media can be the silver bullet for some, e-mail marketing is still quite viable for others.

Customers still want to hear from you

Your strongest (and most loyal customers) still want to have a personal interaction with you. E-mail allows a strong format for segmented content to your customers – reminding them of your products, services or news. 

Some prefer to have the message delivered to their in box

Undeniably, no one can underestimate the power of a third party sell through a strong social networking community – but believe it or not, some prefer to have targeted information sent to them routinely, if not daily through e-mail.

E-mail can be delivered based on opt-in parameters from your mail list (what, when and how content is delivered). That way, there is a win/win for both parties: customers get the content they want and you have a way to stay connected - intimately.

Social Media – some not getting it quite right

Overzealous fan pages, corporate pages with no viable links, as well as poor content will lead to a marginal social media experience – possibly eroding any chance that your company will get noticed – nonetheless virally promoted. 

In order for social media to be successful, there needs to be a strong integrated interactive marketing strategy.

Until a strong social media plan is place, continue some form of e-mail marketing to stay connected to your customers. 

Other exceptional thought leaders who agree: 

Social Media vs. Email: Which Is A Better Marketing And Communication Channel? By Robin Good, MasterNewMedia  

Social Media Marketing Vs. Email Marketing By John Chow Dot Com 

Is Email Marketing Endangered? By ExactTarget (White Paper Download) 

Best

Denice MacDonald

Earned Media is basically free media. Earned Media specifically refers to publicity gained through editorial influence and has become the backbone of many social media initiatives and social content development strategies.

With so much user generated content these days, it would behoove an organization not to take advantage of the magnitude of earned media – integrating an earned media strategy during content conception into execution.

Definition

To get the definitions out of the way, those in the marketing and agency world are privy to the buzzwords “paid,” “earned” and owned.” Traditionally, they stand for the different types of media and can be easily broken down like this:

• Paid: Buying a 30-second Super Bowl spot
• Earned: Coverage on Mashable (aka user word of mouth)
• Owned: Your company’s website

The business case for Earned Media

Don’t forget all content — whether it’s text, a video or a microsite — will be “reduced to a link” for social spheres making Earned Media an easy thing to do. There were 500 billion word-of-mouth impressions made by Americans online according to Forrester. Such volumes of word-of-mouth marketing can spread awareness of a product incredibly quickly, and it’s why earned media has become so important to a marketing campaign.

Understanding its usage

Let’s run through a scenario. Earned Media, for example, is what you get when you develop a connection with someone that’s compelled to write a Yahoo review, a blog post, a comment or a tweet, sharing their thoughts on your brand with their social network. It sounds simple but it does take forethought.

Specifically, you will need to develop a strategy at content conception and then filter everything through its earned potential. That is, did I get the right audience, is the content compelling to share (good or bad) and do we make it easy to ‘syndicate’ the efforts (share tools, icons, other channels and formats) and, most importantly, does it integrate nicely as a natural springboard from traditional paid or owned media?

More on Earned Media:

For Social Media Marketing, Earned Media Rules -- MediaPost

How Social Media is Changing Paid, Earned and Owned Media -- Mashable

Defining Earned, Owned And Paid Media – Forrester Blogs

Best

Denice MacDonald

Fast and furious - that is how all users want to access AND consume content. QR codes are being used to make that possible.

What is it?

Quick Response code is a type of matrix barcode or two-dimensional code consisting of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.

Aligning and integrating lots of cross-channel initiatives:                  

Digital strategists like myself LOVE this new and evolving technology. The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike. From locations, to hours to freebies, QR codes can engage all types of buyers readily and without distraction (less friction and more interaction).

Of crucial excitement is the ability to really integrate offline initiatives to measurable online actions. Consider adding QR codes to your print, name tags, event material, advertisements, door signs and more.

Want to create your own QR Code? Simply go to this website http://keremerkan.net/ where you can create any or all of the following code to:

• Browse to a website.

• Bookmark a website.

• Make a phone call.

• Send a short message.

• Send an e-mail.

• Create a vCard (v2.1 or v3.0) with coordinates to add a contact to your device.

• Create a meCard to add a contact to your device.

• Create a vCalendar event to add to your calendar.

• Create Google Maps URLs.

• Create Bing Maps URLs.

• Create raw geological coordinates.

• Create iTunes app and review URLs for iOS devices.

• Create market:// URLs for searching for publishers or packages on Market app for Android.

• Create Foursquare venue URLs.

• Create special youtube:// URLs for YouTube app on iOS.

• Obtain and encode the latest tweet of a Twitter user.

• Overlay a Twitter profile image over the code.

• Create a mobile URL to tweet on Twitter.

• Initiate a chat to a particular Blackberry PIN on Blackberry Messenger.

• Connect to a WIFI network on Android devices.

• Read plain or free formatted text on your device.

As you can see, the ideas are endless. Take advantage of this new technology now and make it a staple in your digital and offline marketing campaigns and initiatives!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

BTW: Here's the MacDonald Consulting Services QR Code:

Check this out – a side-by-side comparison of the top 10 social networking websites compiled by Top TenREVIEWS. Although we assume Facebook and MySpace are the top channels – there are others worth taking a look at.  

For example, most social
networking websites offer additional features:    

In addition to blogs and forums, members can express themselves by designing their profile page to reflect their personality.   

The most popular extra features include music and video sections. Members can read bios of their favorite music artists from the artist's profile page as well as
listen to their favorite songs and watch music videos.  

The video section can include everything from member–generated videos from hundreds of subjects to TV clips and movie trailers. 

About Top TenREVIEWS: 

TopTenREVIEWS gives you the information you need to make a smart purchase. They make a recommendation for the best product in each category. Through their side-by-side comparison charts, news, articles, and videos, they simplify the buying process for consumers.  

What a great website and I would highly recommend it to you as an ongoing resource.

Best
Denice MacDonald

Nielson Online called LinkedIn, “The world’s largest audience of affluent, influential professionals.”  In fact, you will find more than 80 million of them from more than 200 countries. LinkedIn’s population is highly educated; more than 80 percent have bachelor or graduate degrees.  

With that being said, LinkedIn provides the greatest opportunity to create business relationships, partnerships and highly refined / qualified leads. Most of the research I’ve done on this topic is fairly straight forward and easy to do.  Here are just a few suggestions - check out the links below for specifics:

1.     Don’t assume your LinkedIn profile should be a quick thirty second sell – this is an opportunity to layout your personal and company information in a way that says ‘let’s create an ongoing dialoque’ --- and  by the way, I’m an expert with information I want to continually share with you…

2.     Have a complete profile - include polls, videos, your blog feed and PowerPoint presentations. Using the new publications application, post your e-books, books, articles and other publications.

3.     Connect via groups – not only sign up but participate on an ongoing basis. Share information and begin creating relationships.

4.     Create a community on LinkedIn – one that is authentic and consistently shares pertinent and relevant information to the group. 

5.  Lastly – don’t forget to optimize your profile – that is, insure that you are using relevant keywords within all rich media links that will get your profile noticed on search.  

To learn more – check out these must-have resources: 

LinkedIn Cheat Sheet by my favorite Hubspot Certified Partner Kuno Creative:
http://www.kunocreative.com/linkedin-cheat-sheet/ 

How to optimize your profile with keywords by Linked Strategies:
http://www.linkedstrategies.com/linkedin-keyword-optimization-video/

View Denice's Linked Profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldconsultingservices

Good luck!
Denice

[LinkedIn photo image from http://technorati.com/]

Facebook is the most popular social network, and with over 750 million users, it can serve as an important marketing tool for any business. Let's face it: your prospects are on Facebook whether you like it or not.

A successfully maintained Facebook presence can help your business:

•Get found by potential customers

•Connect and engage with current customers

•Create a community around your brand

•Promote and expand the reach of your content

•Generate leads!

Download This Free eBook Now!   

Denice MacDonald 

With the social media craze in full action, how do you keep ahead of the pack relative to the best social resources? 

Below you will find my top picks that will help your organization connect social media to business initiatives – including the last resource on building influence while maintaining your brand reputation. Enjoy! 

Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel

This is the first book to integrate digital marketing, social media, personal branding, and entrepreneurship in a clear, entertaining, and instructive manner that everyone can understand and apply. 

Buy it at Amazon

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     . 

Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck

Cash in on your passion! The social media revolution has changed the way we live our lives and conduct our business. Learn how Crush It will give you the tools to take advantage and WIN.  

Buy it at Amazon 

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .    

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Use the web to build influence, improve reputation and earn trust. 

Buy it at Amazon 

Denice MacDonald

Marketers are under constant pressure to measure and demonstrate marketing’s ROI and impact on overall revenue. With compelling graphics and real-life examples of Marketo’s own metrics and tactics, the new Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Analytics offers best practices and techniques for harnessing data to not only prove, but improve ROI.

This 70 page guide will teach you:

1. The right metrics for understanding and interpreting marketing results
2. Why measuring marketing programs is difficult, and how to do it correctly and efficiently
3. Revenue metrics that get the executives' attention and prove marketing ROI
4. The critical elements of a marketing dashboard
5. And much, much more!

Marketo requires some basic information for download - but well worth it!

Best,
Denice MacDonald

[Source: Marketo Website]

With social media on the rise, many marketing professionals are in the midst of explaining, emulating and selling social media to management and/or clients. Why not consider infographics - visual representations of social information, social data or social knowledge?

Specifically, infographics provide statistical relevance, digital integration not to mention future payback that words cannot convey.

The following are great links with various infographics:

35 Great Social Media Infographics by Pat Dyer of Pamorama – 35 great infographics that have been cropped down for viewing – linking to the original graphic.

10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics by Grace Smith of Mashable – Similarly to Pamorama’s collection, this grouping concentrates on both social networking sites and twitter – also linking back to the original graphic.

Social Media Infographics from Slideshare – Tons of infographics – 50 in total.

These social media graphics will help convey your message – quickly.

[Infographic courtesy of Elliance]

Enjoy!

Best

Denice MacDonald

Word of Mouth Marketing is a practical, hands on guide to getting people to talk about your company, your cause, and your stuff.

With straightforward advice and humor, marketing expert Andy Sernovitz, CEO GasPedal and SocialMedia.org, will show you how the world's most respected and profitable companies get their best customers for free through the power of word of mouth. 

Book Highlights:
3 Reasons People Talk About You
4 Rules of Word of Mouth Marketing
5 T's of Word of Mouth Marketing
6 Big Ideas: Deep Stuff That Changes Marketing Forever

How You Can Use Word of Mouth Marketing
The Five T's in Action
•Talkers: Who Will Tell Their Friends About You?
•Topics: What Will They Talk About
•Tools: How Can You Help the Message Travel?
•Taking Part: When Should You Join the Conversation?
•Tracking: What Are People Saying About You?

You can get Word of Mouth Marketing at Amazon or Barnes&Noble or other locations listed on Andy's website.

I highly recommend this book as well as subscribing to Andy's fantastic free email newsletter - sign up here now!

Best,
Denice MacDonald

[Source: Content and book description from http://wordofmouthbook.com/]

Let’s face it folks, social analytics is a new frontier – not anything like the analytics and metrics tracking we’ve used for advertising, direct mail or other one-way channel marketing.   

However, in a recent and compelling white paper Social Marketing Analytics – A New Framework for Measuring Results in Social Media, Web Analytics Demystified and the Altimeter Group defined social marketing analytics in a way that all of us can understand:  

Want to Go Deeper on Social Media Measurement? 

Web Analytics Demystified and Altimeter Group each approach social media from unique perspectives 

 If you would like more detail on social media strategy or identifying the business objectives of your social initiatives, please contact Altimeter Group by emailing jeremiah@altimetergroup.com.  

Alternatively, if you’d like to learn more about measuring social media or applying the measurement framework to your business, please contact Web Analytics Demystified by emailing john.lovett@webanalyticsdemystified.com.

Best

Online marketing continues to evolve while traditional media is waning. The result is that many organizations are embracing social media as an effective way to engage and collaborate with consumers through social communities.  

LISTEN -- ENGAGE -- INFLUENCE 

Unlike traditional marketing, social media allows a two-way communication with consumers. People are talking about brands all the time. Companies need to evaluate if they are ready to start active listening and engaging in conversations with their customers and prospects with an effective strategy that will build personalized, lasting and meaningful connections. 

This connection will prompt viral exchanges, call to action scenarios and brand lift for a number of organizations that are stuck in traditional strategies that are no longer effective. 

There are a number of excellent resources that will aid organizations that are ready to embrace social marketing. Here are a few great resources to get started:  

Online Retailers Rank SEO and Social Media as Top Marketing Tool by CIO (Social networking, improved site content and utilising analytics are the top areas CIOs need to be looking at in the online retail space)

Mashable: The Social Media Guide (Learn the various components of social media - realizing that social interaction is 1 to many, not just 1 to 1)

110 Ways Retailers are Using Social Media Marketing (Leverage this detailed listing of organizations that are doing it right the first time)

Internet Retailer: Growing Importance of Social Media (Don't underestimate the growth potential - Internet Retailer has it all fared out for management disbelievers)

Best

Denice MacDonald

[Image Courtesy of http://www.valleyprblog.com]

Facebook allows marketers to stay connected with people throughout their day whether they are on their computers or mobile devices, at home or at work, watching TV or shopping with friends. This allows businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing – word of mouth.  

Connecting with people is just the beginning. In the following Best Practice Guide, you will find best practices for reaching your businesses objectives on Facebook.  

The Guide highlights five guiding principles:

1. Building a straetgy that is social by design
2. Create an authentic brand voice
3. Make it interactive
4. Nurture you relationships
5. Keep learning 

Download the guide here.  

Best

Denice MacDonald

Love, love, love this new resource: Social Media: SmartBrief. SmartBrief is a media company on a mission to save you time and keep you smart (me included).

The premise behind SmartBrief is simple: there’s too much information out there and too little time in the day to read it all.  

Their editors hand-pick the most relevant and important news from all over, summarize it, link to the original sources and deliver it – for FREE! 

I chose the Social Media syndicated newsletter but there are others!  
   

SmartBrief for CFOs 

SmartBrief on Entrepreneurs 

SmartBrief on ExecTech 

SmartBrief on Leadership 

SmartBrief on Social Media 

SmartBrief on Sustainability 

SmartBrief on Workforce 

SmartBrief on Your Career



View samples and sign up for industry-specific and best practices e-newsletters.

They’re FREE and open to everyone

Enjoy!
Denice MacDonald

You've spent a lot of time building up your reputation and image both online and off, so it's important to make sure that someone or something has not jeopardized your brand.

One of the simplest and easiest ways to track your reputation is to use Google Alerts. With this free service, you can search either all of Google's properties, or you can specify that only News, Blogs, Web, Video, or Groups is searched. You can then configure the Alerts results to be emailed to you either as it happens, once a day, or once a week. There is also a page where you can edit the alerts once they are created or delete them when they are no longer in use. 

If making a good name for yourself online is a priority, it's time to take a proactive approach to getting your name out there the way you want.  

BUSINESS SOCIAL NETWORKS – Complete your profile in its entirety and connect with key professionals in your network.

BLOGS – Consider a business blog and one that you contribute to – showing you are a thought leader will aid in elevating you or your products in your industry. Likewise, use blogs to amend or respond to bad hype.

WEB 2.0 PR – Get news interviews, podcasts, webinars with clients 'live' online. Third party testimonials by key constituents regarding your products and services will go a long way in building brand reputation.

LINKING – If you have a web site, consider carefully where and how inbound and outbound links are connected – bad links will reflect poorly on your brand.

SUB-DOMAINS - Add a sub-domain for careers, corporate and/or product info for little or no cost.  Not only will sub-domains elevate your search results but add depth to your reputation.

PPC/ONLINE ADVERTISING – This can only help protect your brand and will help influence visitors to see who is the real website that should be visited.

SEARCH - Take control of the visible results of any search related to your brand. By taking a coordinated approach to search engine optimization, you take greater control of the other nine slots.  

FREE MONITORING TOOLS:

Similarly to Google Alerts, Yahoo! Pipes is also a good tool for aggregating and combining feeds into one central repository.

Using Twitter search you can locate any instances of your name and decide whether you want to tweet back or ignore them. 

If you have a blog, then you have to be on Technorati. Technorati tracks “blog reactions,” or blogs that link to yours. Search for your brand on Technorati, and subscribe to RSS alerts so that when someone blogs about you, you find out.

Yacktrack lets you search for comments on your content from various sources, such as Blogger, Digg, FriendFeed, Stumbleupon, and Wordpress blogs.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Whether it’s starting a social media campaign, integrating social media into your advertising or simply setting up a Facebook fan page, it is always wise to seek out experts who have proven experience (and metrics) to help guide you in your social media initiatives.  

Here are some great resources you should bookmark or subscribe via RSS: 

Learn How Human Business Works — Beyond Social Media
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

Web Strategy, Social Media, Web Marketing
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog

Brian Solis
http://www.briansolis.com/

Social Media Strategy Blog and Social Media Consulting — Convince and Convert
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/  

Social Media Explorer — Social Media Consulting, Public Speaking and Education
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/

Seth Godin’s Blog
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Conversation Agent
http://www.conversationagent.com/

PR-Squared
http://www.pr-squared.com/

Online Marketing Blog
http://www.toprankblog.com/

Social Media Examiner, Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

Social Media Today
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/

Web Ink Now 
http://www.webinknow.com/

MarketingProfs Daily Fix
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/

Hubspot Internet Marketing Blog
http://blog.hubspot.com/

Search Engine Land — Search Marketing & Search Engines
http://www.searchengineland.com/  

And lastly, Top 100 FREE Social Media Marketing Resources from my LinkedIn group "Social Media Marketing": http://tinyurl.com/6esq5kp 

Best
Denice MacDonald