@BasilPuglisi

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Individualized and Interactive Media with GBTV

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Glenn Beck says the television model is no longer working because for the most part, the networks do not respect their audiences. Beck believes the key to change for this media format is to give viewers the options to delve deeper into an interesting segment or clip, or to pick and choose a bit more easily exactly what they want to view. This type of interactive TV is not a format that broadcasters have available at their fingertips today. 

Beck cites that current television has to play to the dumbest guy in the room while boring the rest endlessly.

“Why should I bore the 10 smartest guys to death, if they can move forward faster, let’s enable them,” he said. “Once I can change the usage of it so it’s not just one way information, television as we know it is over.”

Beck shared that he is working on a variety of projects that will serve to completely overhaul the television industry as we know it today. Beginning with his company, Mercury Radio Arts. He has recently launched his own pilot video program called GBTV. At the recent Ignition conferences, Beck’s boss had a bit to say about him as well.

Chris Balfe Shares Why People Watch Glenn Beck

Beck tracks his audience engagement fully. He uses this information to customize his segments into what he believes the audience will want to read. Beck shares that he doesn’t use this type of engagement with his audience to pander to them, but to learn from the analytics and his audience respectively. Recording about five hours of broadcast each day for viewers, Beck certainly stays busy, often on monologues that can last over forty minutes long.

According to Chris Balfe, people listen to Beck because they care what he thinks about issues. He also attributes Beck’s multi-media activities, along with unique opinions and audience loyalty, largely lend to the success of his programs. Balfe also suggest that anyone who is looking to build a brand for themselves do the same.

Opposing Views

Not everyone agrees that Beck has cornered the market on perfect customer and viewer engagement.

Arianna Huffington shared her thoughts on Fox News.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DevH6VwAfd4]

Huffington’s standpoint on the state of Fox News Media seems to have been taken with applause by some, a grain of salt by others. However, she may have a point in sharing that sometimes, news, that while by itself may not sell, with pomp, circumstance, and catchy headliners, can quickly become a viral topic.

She also makes an extremely relevant point in that which consumers and news viewers on all sides have been turned off in recent years by subjective journalism practices. This recent change also having fueled the statistics that have shown that networks like Facebook and Twitter are where people tend to go to get their news first. From friends, peers, and those they can trust have done their journalistic duty by providing an objective view.

Huffington denies that her site is a liberal blog, she instead prefers to think of it as a publication that will look at good ideas regardless of their standpoint on the political views. She also disagrees with news platforms like CNN who in her opinion provide too much of both sides for their stories to hold weight.  Huffington shared,

“When one side is clearly wrong and one is clearly right, it’s not good journalism to pretend that they have equal weight.”

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Facebook Marketing Solutions – Staying Ahead of the Social Media Game

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There are so many Facebook Fan pages dedicated to marketing and social media topics that it can seem nearly impossible to zero in on those that actually offer true education and not just covert advertisements of their own products. When searching for an educational Facebook Fan Page, you may have already found that having one source for everything you need is nearly impossible.

Facebook Marketing Solutions may have found the perfect combination in Facebook Fan Page Marketing Education. It supplies more than one needed element when planning a full-bodied marketing campaign. It is proving a useful tool for helping internet marketers reach their targeted consumers.

Run by employees of Facebook, you can find an abundant wealth of information here that can directly benefit your business.

APIs

Through efficiency and innovation, Facebook’s marketing APIs can help marketers achieve success. The companies listed on the Facebook Marketing Solutions page have developed proprietary tools with various functions for reporting, monitoring, campaign management, and ad creation.

They also provide a list of managed services. Managed services generally support both business models but may, in some instances, use different brand names.

Some of the available API tools include:

Tools

Some of the managed services listed include:

Managed Services

Success Stories

With a long list of small and large business success stories available on Facebook Marketing Solutions fan page, users in any industry should be able to find a story similar to their own goals for business growth.

Here are a few stories we previous covred on dbmei, Facebook Success Stories

Endless List of Resources

Facebook Marketing Solutions fan page seems to have an endless list of resources.

  • Facebook Marketing Bootcamp U.S.
  • Facebook Marketing Bootcamp U.K.
  • Videos from Business Leaders like CEO, Chris McCann at 1-800-Flowers.com & Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
  • Past and Future Events Listings
  • Business Boost for Beginner Small Business Owners

You can find resources and case studies available on their wall at any given time on such things as scaling, product development, and even a good buy or two along the way.

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The ABC’S of Networking Follow Up

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Most of us have attended numerous networking events. We make it a point to meet and greet many people with the idea of building a relationship for potential business. So, why don’t we follow up?

How often after an event have you found yourself with a dozen or more business cards only to put them in or on your desk to collect dust. Weeks may go by before you look at them again and forget who they are or where you met them. Well, that is why, right off the bat I suggest to put your picture on your business card. It does help when people see your picture to remember who you are. That would be my first suggestion.

Next, I would suggest you ask yourself what your goals are. Are you going to these events to become a card collector? I know in some industries it’s a numbers game but then that is not really networking. Networking is about building relationships not necessarily transactions.

So many of us put so much time and effort into networking but fail to follow up. Did you know that follow up should actually begin shortly after the introduction? You should instinctively know during your conversation whether or not you would like to speak or meet with them again. (Remember don’t just look at them as a potential client but rather a potential referral source.) So, you might want to say something like “I really enjoyed speaking with you and would love to follow up with this conversation. Would you prefer I contact you via telephone or email?” At that time, they will either say:

  • Response A: “I enjoyed speaking with you as well but I am really busy right now – maybe we will run into each other again.” (meaning – they are not interested in networking with you) Keep in mind that doesn’t mean it’s over simply wait until you run into them again and let things happen naturally.
  • Response B: “The best way to reach me is via email or ….”

At this time, you may want to make some notes on the back of their business card to help remind you of some key points in the conversation for your follow up.

The only way to see the “ROI” on networking is by putting in the time. Successful people know the importance of a strong network.

According to Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI – offers 2 tips – 1 for networking and 1 for follow up meeting:

1. A one-page flyer – Have a brief overview of your business ready to pass along at all times in case you meet someone while networking who wants to quickly pass along your information to a prospective client he/she knows. You should have a hard copy to fax and an electronic copy to email.

2. Question-and-answer sheets – One of the quickest ways to learn about a person’s business as a networker, and for him or her to learn about yours, is to make the initial meeting as organized as possible. A sheet with questions that you can each ask each other can ensure you don’t forget to find out the information that could lead to a quick referral.

A great article to read, by Dr. Ivan Misner, is “Don’t make this networking mistake” He explains how to go for the “long-term relationship” and not the “short sale.”

Try to follow up from immediately to up to 72 hours while the person and conversation is still somewhat fresh in not only your mind but the other persons mind as well. Hopefully, during the initial conversation you did most of the listening this way you can offer something of interest to them based on things they have said. For example, they may have said they love golfing – so maybe you can let them know of a golf outing that is coming up or an interesting article you may have recently read about golfing. You want to look for a solution to a problem they may be having. Your follow up can include:

  • An article or a book you read
  • An expert opinion
  • A contact or introduction
  • An invitation to an upcoming networking event or target event
  • Refer to a commonality you both may have. For example:
  1. Could be You came from same town
  2. You share the same hobby
  3. You Vacationed at the same location
  4. Your both reading the same book

Just remember to be genuine and real and do not try to sell unless they showed an expressed interest in your product or service.

  • Visibility comes with being present.
  • Credibility grows during the follow ups.
  • Conversations create stronger relationships.

For a more personal follow up, which will help you stand out from the rest, send a personal handwritten note or a personalized card from sendoutcards.com.

During the course of a conversation, you may want to ask if they utilize social media. You may request to connect on facebook. If that is too personal, ask if they have a business page that you can become a fan of or try connecting on linkedin. Start building the relationship before you actually need them. Suggest a date to meet explaining how you would like to know more about their business. People like to talk about themselves so be sure to ask open ended questions.

You need to feel out the person you are following up with. Be mindful of their time. Become someone they enjoy talking to. In order for your follow up to work you need to follow through. Remember it’s not about “chasing prospects” it’s about “building relationships”

There are guidelines or campaigns for your follow ups – one is reaching out with the 8 x 12 method – meaning – you reach out to potential prospect 8 times over a 12 week period which is more for a sales follow up. Networking follow up is a much longer process to building relationship that you hope to keep for most of your career.

You may want to break down the cards into 3 catergories:

  • Prospective clients
  • People you will refer to others
  • People who will pass referrals to you

As the saying goes “The Fortune is in the Follow up” speaking of which, there is a recently published book out by Heidi Sloss called “The Fortune is in the Follow up” I have not had the pleasure of reading it yet but I may soon.

To help you stay more organized with your contacts and follow ups there is a site called jibberjobber.com – it is a personal relationship manager that can help you organize and track personal & professional relationships. It is free to set up and free to use or you can upgrade to a premium package for a low monthly cost but it is not necessary.

Don’t forget to reconnect with old business relationships, clients / customers because they too can become a good referral source.

Appropriate and sincere follow up will ultimately lead to meaningful and fruitful relationships

Here is a great guide for sales follow ups – creating a great follow up with your clients in 7 simple steps by followupsuccess.com

Statistically speaking – for sales…..

  • 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect.
  • 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop.
  • 12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop.
  • Only, 10% of businesses make more than three contacts. This means they’re losing a small fortune.

Because…

  • 2% of sales are made on the first contact.
  • 3% of sales are made on the second contact.
  • 5% of sales are made on the third contact.
  • 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact.
  • 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact.

Back in January, 2011, I wrote about Networking 101. This article is a follow up to networking 101 on how to follow up.

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Ezines Articles: Networking 101

“Don’t make this networking mistake”

Creating Great Follow Up With Your Clients in 7 Simple Steps

Social Media Management Tools Keep Updating: So Be Informed

Social Media Saturday:Management Tools

 

LinkedIn Groups: Analytics, Stats, the data

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LinkedIn is by far the biggest professional social network and the second, after Facebook, in the total registered users in the social network world. 120 million register users as of August 2011 in about 200 countries and in 10 languages.

What started as a place to connect those who are hiring with those who are looking for work, and to do that based on personal contacts and recommendations, offers now much more than that. Users can upload photos to help in recognition, they can follow different companies and get notified when a job in one of those becomes available, and they can form a Group. As of 9 months ago, there were 870,612 groups, most of them employment and business related.

Group enables a limited discussion area and moderation by the owners and managers. It can be accessible to members only, or open to all. It is an effective way for B2B advertising, building leadership and driving traffic to your site.  Groups draw users for a longer session, experts say, and thus enabling a person to introduce himself and become noticeable. This has become a way for a person to establish himself/herself as experts in their field, on top of being a wonderful way to target customers.

Up until now, users only knew the number of people in a certain group, but this month LinkedIn added Statistics to the Group function to show in a very visual way, the most important facts about the group; a summary, the demographics, the growth and the activity of the group.

Within those tabs you can see the information in greater detail; where, geographically, are most members located, how many active members the group has, the discussion rate and how many people joined recently.

This kind of information, LinkedIn thinks, will give new members more in depth information and make the decision process, whether to join or not, much easier.  In marketing, this information gives the business owner information that he did not previously have. If you are a local business owner, the location of the people in the group you are targeting is an important factor.

The statistics shows the growth of the group, a great tool for the group manager, which enables him to see the daily activity and response to ad campaigns.

LinkedIn have been paying attention to its Group function in the past few months, unveiling new features. In November their numbers grew to 131 million members  worldwide and 1 million groups.

Why data?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akLmMAnQDVk]

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IGNITION: Future of Media Conference

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This two day conference is coming to New York City November 30th through December 1st, 2011. Exploring the future of media business, IGNITION brings together executives and key stakeholders to discuss what is happening in the here-and-now.

We all understand that the definition of media has begun to expand to include games, local, social, and real-time communications that include sharing and other forms of data exchange. However, this also means that the lines between advice, business, and entertainment, has begun to blur.

Business Insider’s founder and CEO, Henry Blodget, will host IGNITION. One of the goals of IGNITION is to discuss how what is happening now, will affect your business. For this reason, a long list of top-notch speakers covering many media industries will be attending.

  • Glenn Beck – Founder and CEO, Mercury Radio Arts
  • Deep Nishar – SVP of Products and User Experience, LinkedIn
  • Sheryl Sandberg – COO, Facebook
  • Eliot Spitzer – Former Governor, New York
  • Sarah Bernard – Director of Online Engagement, White House
  • Adam Bain – CRO, Twitter

Business Insider designs their conferences the same way they design their media: intriguing and straight to the topic at hand. Discussions are kept short and each moderator or speaker will quickly get to the point. The fast-paced schedule will keep all attendees connecting while learning. IGNITION is expecting an impressive list of 400 to 500 entrepreneurs and executives from all facets of media including print, TV, digital, music, radio, and entertainment.

Attendees should arrive ready to strategize and create new business.

Adam Bain – CRO Twitter

Before he was CRO of Twitter, Adam Bain was the president of Fox Audience Network, or FAN, where he administrated strategies that would help to monetize Fox’s digital properties. He got behind Fox’s largest acquisitions of IGN, Scout Media, Photobucket, and Myspace. Before he held that position, he was the EVP for Product and Technology for Fox Interactive Media.

Bain began at Twitter just as they were gearing up to launch new monetization efforts. Although Twitter has executed minor experiments with advertising, they now want to increase their revenue significantly. With Bain’s proven abilities in that exact area, it seems to be an incredibly good choice for Twitter and for all who use it.

Get Ready for IGNITION: Future of Media

If you plan to attend IGNITION, register now and make sure to input dbmei15 for 15% off the price of admission as a DBMEi subscriber! This IGNITION Discount Code has been created exclusively for dbmei.com readers.

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Professional Spotlight: Robert Basso

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On Tuesday, November 15th, a group of everyday entrepreneurs who have proven track records from building their own successes, came together to share how they had achieved those goals on their own terms.

Some attendees included:

  • Joe Corcoran, Founder of Joe Corcoran Productions
  • Selena Cuffe, President of Heritage Link Brands
  • Jeff Hoffman, Co-founder of Priceline.com family of companies
  • Steve Davies, President, The Alternative Board – Nassau
  • David Becker, President, PhilippeBecker

Robert Basso, the author of The Everyday Entrepreneur, is a well-recognized business leader and advocate. With an entrepreneurs eye for spotting opportunities, Rob has a long list of achievements from founding investor in Empire National Bank to owner of Advantage Payroll Services. Rob frequently contributes on Fox Business as well as other national programming such as Entrepreneur. Rob has also submitted to interviews with USA Today, AP, and CNN Money. Rob also hosts a web program called Basso on Business which features businesses and entrepreneurs.

The Everyday Entrepreneur

The Everyday Entrepreneur is loaded with powerful strategies and important objectives for defining, setting, and achieving goals for your own entrepreneurial success. Revealing how its readers can learn to apply their own ambitions to their desired goals and gain an understanding on how to proceed on their own, this book provides realistic goal setting ideas that can lead to successes that may have eluded you so far.

The Everyday Entrepreneur is unique from other available books on the market in that it supplies palpable entrepreneurial strategies for business owners. The contributions of The Everyday Entrepreneur allows for business owners to build their own wealth, financial freedom, and success regardless of age.

In The Everyday Entrepreneur, Basso explores other innovative entrepreneurs like himself and discovers what encouraged each one of them to push the limits and find their own genuine successes on their own terms.

You can also expect to learn:

  • Valuable lessons regarding how to drive business growth
  • How to best hone entrepreneurial instincts
  • How to reawaken your sense of adventure in your business endeavors

So much more is covered here but we can’t share it all. The Everyday Entrepreneur provides a roadmap allowing readers to follow the success stories of a variety of individuals who all hail from very diverse backgrounds. Take a walk with Basso as he shares the stories of each entrepreneur while they find the answers to achieving their own successes and surpassing goals unimagined.

My Take on Robert Basso

In a room full of professionals this picture speaks but a touch of the moment and what Robert Basso conveyed as an Entrepreneur, Professional and Parent. At the start of the event Robert thanked a few people, something you expect from most at such an event, but the moment to see Robert’s character came forward when he called his children to the front of the room.

“You might not quite understand this yet, but it’s my hope that you will someday” Robert Basso told his two children.

A moment that was so passionately about a father conveying an important message to his children that he had to be instructed and nudged by others to turn so they could get the photos they wanted. One could try and say that this was possibly staged, but if you had seen it first hand, you’d know the sincerity was without question.

My short interaction with Robert leaves little to argue about the long term experience of knowing or doing business with this professional, but if how he cares and treats his family is any indication, then clearly he is a professional worth knowing.

THE EVERYDAY ENTREPRENEUR

Published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Publication date: October 24, 2011

$24.95; Cloth; 175 pages; ISBN: 978-1-118-10644-0

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Facebook Ad Campaigns – Are They Working?

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A World Obsessed with Facebook

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJXOavGwAW8]

With so many potential customers on Facebook, Facebook ads should be a profitable and beneficial to your business. With over 850 million users, and 225 million of those in the United States, there is quite an audience to target through the use of Facebook ads.

How Facebook Ads Work

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhn0-MrDR18]

The Facebook Ad Marketplace

Like other online advertising options, Facebook ads are a type of marketplace where the user bids on how much they are willing to pay to reach their prospective consumers and how much they will pay if those consumers take action.

Facebook has become a common place for businesses who are using customized Facebook Fan pages to increase the amount of fans on their page, thereby increasing their consumer base. Fans are simply customers waiting to happen. So how do you make sure you are getting a good ROI from the investment on the ads?

Basic Marketing 101 – ROI

To determine your ROI you should take your gross profit, subtract the capital spent on your Facebook ad campaign, then divide by the expense. This should give you a good comparative measure in which to determine which of your marketing expenditures are most effective for your business.

Has Anyone Had Real Results from Facebook Ads?

If you watched the video above, you heard from Bob Ford, a representative for Papa John’s Pizza. He describes how an ad placed on Facebook increased their Facebook fans by 130,000 fans overnight with a one day engagement ad.

Starbucks ran their own event on Facebook ads for World Aids Day and had an overwhelming 950,000 people who agreed to attend the event. Alex Wheeler, a Starbucks PR rep shares, “I think it (Facebook) is really effective because its part as the content experience that people have on Facebook. They can interact with it. They can actually participate. We can have these shared ideals with our customers.”

The Value in a Facebook Ad as Part of Your Marketing Campaign

The ultimate benefit, just as the Facebook developer in the video states, is that Facebook itself provides not only the venue to advertise to direct demographics, but that its very nature encourages other Facebook users to share the content with their network. This means that with an effective Facebook ad campaign, many of your connections could be made for ‘free’ in the form of users who willingly share your content with others. This digital version of ‘word-of-mouth’ advertising has proven to be highly effective for some.

“The conversations are happening, with, or without the brands participation.”

Do you want to be a part of the conversation?

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#SMWF: How Hilton Does Social Media

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Hilton has one message from their industry that rings true into their social media campaigns. Hospitality is social. If it isn’t, the execs at Hilton think it should be. Their studies into how social media integrates with travel accommodations has shown:

  1. Those who travel often are commonly also active on social media networks.
  2. Those who use these channels do expect their favored businesses and locations to be listening, available, and willing to respond via these networks.
  3. Those using these venues are not only interested in deals, but often also travel advice, and to deal with customer service issues.

Hiltons Wide-Reaching Social Network

Hilton has made finding information on an incredible variety of things on social networks of all types, quite easy. They regularly post interesting videos on YouTube that show a myriad of benefits for choosing Hilton accommodations when you head out for your next vacation.

Check out this video about a spectacular special drink created by one of Hilton’s own bartenders at the Hilton Hawaiian Village® Waikiki Beach Resort.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZJbW5uBY]

Not only does this create an interest in this location and its amenities, it also builds upon true customer engagement by giving them a real taste of what to expect on their next trip, but also a familiarity that many can appreciate.

None of the above even takes into account that not only does Hilton engage their customers with this type of open information but they have also effectively engaged the employee. It looks like Hilton has taken the proactive stance that many other businesses have by utilizing their current staff to share the big picture through social media networking.

@HiltonSuggest

Social Media Guru for Hilton, Vanessa Sain-Dieguez, helps implement training for their employees on how to use social media to help take care of their customers. In a comprehensive study on using social media with their guest, they noted one very important issue, customers do not just expect their favored businesses to be ‘listening’ to them, but they also expect them to act.

A highly active Twitter account known as @HiltonSuggest stays on the lookout for those who Tweet messages like:

Although none of these Tweets specifically mentions Hilton, @HiltonSuggest still doesn’t mind offering immensely helpful suggestions based on exactly what folks are looking for in the Twitterverse. Also noticable is the fact that not all of the blurbs thrown into the Twitterverse have hashtags, which shows that Hilton is really listening, the replies show that they are also willing to act, even when it doesn’t mean a direct consumer experience for their industry.

It turns out that dbmei author had written an article that had personally touched him and his family, and yes Hilton was behind it! Check it out here.

Defining Social Media in the Hotel Industry

A panel co-hosted by HVS Executive Search and ESSEC Business School Paris was held on February 7th, 2011 to discuss what the rise in social media means for the hotel industry. Attendees were students, hoteliers and other staff, all of whom declared they are active on at least one social media network.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhg4vug1yZM]

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Jeff Pulver’s Second #BRANDSconf Kicks off This Month!

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The second Jeff Pulver’s #BrandsConf will be kicking off on November 9th, 2011. BrandsConf helps businesses to explore the options for ‘humanizing your brands’ as well as the possible effects this can have on your business.

In recent times, many businesses on and off the web have begun to find that utilizing Facebook and Twitter as a part of their business marketing plan has helped to firmly establish their presence on the web. This provides a new challenge in a business’s marketing campaign. Do you need to need a person, or a team of them to help establish and maintain your brand in the social world?

Views From BrandsConf on Humanizing Brands

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBqSRXYMaog]

What to Expect at #Brandsconf

Instead of just standing by and watching those who have achieved success and trying to learn from them at a distance, Jeff Pulver has invited them to attend #Brandsconf  and participate in the vital discussions held there.

You will hear from some of the most creative and innovative thinkers who will share their personal knowledge from the inside of several types of business segments. Since brands can transcend business elements, Jeff Pulver’s hope for #Brandsconf is to have a wide variety of industries represented.

With the same tradition practiced in the #140 Conferences and events, panels will run for ten to twenty minutes and presentations will remain ten minutes long.

Exploring a wide range of topics with the best practices for corporate branding, everyone should be able to come away with a new insider perspective in their particular industry.

About Jeff Pulver

Jeff Pulver is a top-notch entrepreneur who grew up in Kings Point, New York.  Graduating from Great Neck North High School, some of his early accomplishments include the founding of Spreadsheet Solutions Corp. that marketed macros and add-ins for Excel and Lotus.

In 1995, Pulver cultivated an interest in Internet Telephony. During this time, he was a systems administrator for the Cantor Fitzgerald firm. In 2003, Business Week listed him as a tech guru. Co-founder and shareholder in Vonage, a voice-over-ip provider, Pulver also invented a device known as CellSocket. Cellsocket could make and receive cell voice calls through standard telephones.

Pulver also helps to organize the #140conf, or 140 Character Conference, and is an investor in many startup companies.

Guest Speaker Ryan Osborn (@rozzy) – Director of Social Media at @NBCNews

In the summer of 2010, Ryan Osborn was named the first social media director at NBC News. With earlier beginnings as an aspiring journalist, he went from a page on The Today Show in 2002, to reaching the rank of Director of Social Media. However, Osborn does not have the typical view of how to utilize social media.

Osborn concentrates his efforts on Facebook and Twitter in the form of extended storytelling editorials from NBC News, instead of using it solely as a marketing tool. Osborn knows his organization well and knows the specific personalities that make it function smoothly. He believes that if you tell the right story, it will market itself. Having discovered Twitter in 2007 at a SxSW conference, he carried this knowledge back to The Today Show and began a feed. Ryan brings loads of vital social media marketing knowledge to  #BrandsConf .

Please help share awareness for the event by sharing the Twitter hashtag #BrandsConf

Want to attend? Enter Discount / Coupon Code “dbmei.com” to save 10% OFF, special discount for dbmei.com readers.

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Facebook Contests: What are they? Who’s doing them? Why?

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Facebook contests have begun to prove themselves as the buzz generating, engagement increasing, fan count boosts that they are. Facebook landing pages have made creating email list for more in-depth advertising smooth and contact list-friendly. However, Facebook has their own notions about what you can and cannot share, administer, or promote via their platform. These days the best way to prevent your contest from kicking up Facebook moderator’s fury, is to keep any explicit elements from any type of promotion you run.

What Tools Help with Facebook Contests?

There are many ways to get a Facebook contest up and running. Many users with reasonable internet content experience can likely run them with little or no additional knowledge or training needed. Other users who may not have the knowledge or the time can easily engage the services of most any marketing consultancy to target this particular type of social media marketing campaigns.

Wildfire provides users with the ability to create different contest types.

  • Sweepstakes
  • Coupons
  • Group Deals
  • Trivia

Bulbstorm offers a similar experience as a consultancy and social media management firm. They have top-notch services that offer interactive campaign management to help those who may not have their own tech or social media department to do so for them.

BinkD is also another great option with free and paid options for creating Facebook contests.

Who Has Used Facebook Contest as Part of their Social Brand Management?

Many big brands have relied on Facebook contest to give themselves a boost in traffic, sales, and user-interaction.

Burger King

A unique and bold move by fast food giant Burger King was a contest they held in 2009 where Facebook users could claim a free Whopper for deleting at least ten of their friends from their lists. This contest gained instant popularity for a couple of reasons.

The main reason being of course that a coupon for a free Whopper was very enticing, but another reason was a smooth play on words that Burger King Contest developers used. As Facebook users deleted friends to gain their coupons, a message went out via their news feeds saying, “John Jones has sacrificed Emma Taylor for a free Whopper.” Many enjoyed the spirit of the contest, not just the free Whopper.

Coca Cola

Coca Cola execs also seemed to find value in Facebook contest when they attracted many new fans to their page with a photo contest. Users were asked to take photos of their most refreshing Coca Cola experiences. The top one hundred images with the most “Likes” moved onto the next level of the contest.

This method utilized a common feature of Facebook in that when users uploaded a photo, it was shared in their own account photo list. This triggered more fans that joined simply because they had seen the contest photo on a friends account.

Why FaceBook Contests?

There are a long list of reasons why using Facebook contest can be beneficial to your social media campaign as well as overall business growth. Considering the statistics of social media usage in marketing and business research, as well as the nature of many who love to enter contest, share photos of their friends and family, and of course win prizes, this is likely one of the biggest win-win’s in customer engagement for any size enterprise.

 

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