The Next Decade of Social Media

Last week, I shared some thoughts on the next decade of social media at the 2015 Cannes Lions festival. The key points are highlighted in this Guardian article: Gone Shoppable Snackable Automated Connective Filtered Integrated Chinese Subcutaneous Empowering More coverage of the talk is available in these write-ups: “Ten social media trends that will shape marketing over the …

Is social media free?

In 2002, I was having a budget conversation with my CFO. I was general manager of the online store and we were discussing my requests for FTEs, technology upgrades, and marketing spend. The CFO asked me, “this is an online store…why do we need to spend any more money…doesn’t it run itself?” (I’m 99% sure he wasn’t joking.)

This week, news has been circulating that FMCG company Procter & Gamble will eliminate 1,600 jobs and shift more budget into digital media. The headline over at Business Insider is a bit more incendiary: “P&G To Lay Off 1,600 After Discovering It’s Free To Advertise On Facebook.”

The statement that “it’s free to advertise on Facebook” is wrong at minimum and leads executives to a potentially dangerous point of view regarding social business.

Who’s on first? Key problems today with location-based services

Abbott: “Who’s on first.“ It’s a classic comedy routine by Abbott & Costello. And it’s the first thing that came to my mind while watching the launch of Gap’s free jeans promotion on Facebook Deals. Location-based services are hot right now – wildly promising but wholly experimental. With only 4% of online Americans using LBS, brands …

A conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk

A couple weeks ago, I had a public, online conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk aka @garyvee. He’s on a PR blitz to promote the release of his new book “Crush It.” If you’re not familiar with Vaynerchuk, he’s a self-trained wine expert who has used social media, online video in particular, to drive exponential growth in …

Recap on P&G Digital Night

That was fun. Last night, P&G brought a group of internal staffers and external partners together for a friendly charity-based event.  I didn't have any details about what we'd be doing before arriving in Cincinnati, but was looking forward to reconnecting with former colleagues, social media connections, and others who I've heard of but never …

A Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples

Over the weekend, I created a framework to port A List of Social Media Marketing Examples into a wiki.  I also invited the 166 people who've left comments on that post to become the initial collaborators in the new effort. (At least I tried to…Google Sites seems to have had a delivery problem. If you …

Social Media Marketing’s New Clothes

Lewis writes, “Don’t Say ROI Unless You Mean It.”  Agreed.  I see a lot of bloggers wading into unfamiliar territory, starting to spew opinions on measuring return on investment (ROI).  It’s easy for anyone with an understanding of business finance to see the shallowness of these analyses.  But don’t be surprised – has not knowing …

Slicing and Dicing A List of Social Media Marketing Examples

Since starting a list of social media marketing examples, I’ve seen some great work to frame content for specific uses: By technology/media type I posted a framework on Mashable called The 22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan Ray Schiel has listed almost all the examples by category By country Australia: former colleague Steven Noble has …

Ego Trap: Social Media Ranking Tools

It seems like a new ego trap gets sprung every month.  This time, it's social media ranking tools. What's an ego trap? In a nutshell, social technologies use game mechanics to get users hooked on participation.  People often get addicted to ego-stroking system feedback, until they can temper their usage (addiction?) in terms of utility vs. serendipity.  Self-promotion …

Ego Trap: Influencer Lists

I’ve been thinking about how ego traps operate in social media – which could also be called hero marketing (credit Seth Godin for suggesting the term).  Social media focuses on individuals.  Self-promotion lies at the root of ego traps, usually inclusive of helping and promoting others. I don’t think ego traps are inherently "bad."  However, …

Being: Peter Kim