Your Guide to Implementing Kick-Ass Social Media Programs

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Every company wants to make social media an essential component of marketing, communications, lead generation and customer support programs. If you are responsible for social media efforts at your company, this means you will be running more initiatives, tracking results more closely and involving a whole lot more people in your efforts than ever before.

That is a whole lot of work heading your way. Fortunately, there is a a framework, Spredfast's Social Media Planning Guide, that will help you plan out everything from high level social media strategy and communication to day-to-day social media best practices.

Download the Guide now and ensure your social media efforts are top notch.

by Steve Hall    Oct-22-13    
Topic: Research, Social



Twitter Used to Determine Whether or Not Talking to A Plant Helps it Grow

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Carmichael Lynch has created an interesting tweet-to-grow social media campaign for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to support MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition. The initiative, called Talk to a Plant, invites everyone on Twitter to help test the myth that talking to a plant helps it grow stronger and healthier.

Here's how it works: People can go to talktoaplant.com and send the plant a message. It doesn't matter what you tweet. A custom tweet-to-speech technology, developed by the agency using an Arduino-based device, will then read the tweet aloud to one of the plants. The other plant, as a control, sits in silence.

The plants run on 12-hour light cycles and are watered by an in-house lab technician. People can watch a 24/7 live stream over the next couple of months to see if the myth might just be busted.

by Steve Hall    Oct- 9-13    
Topic: Social



The Top Six Ways to Use Social Media for Kick-Ass Business Results

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Of course you're already implementing social media and social business strategies for and within your brand but have you covered all the bases? Are your social activities and strategies the best they can be?

This Social Media Pocket Guide (one of the best we've ever seen!) from Spredfast, part of the Adrants whitepaper series, outlines the top six objectives every company should consider having at the core of its social strategy. The guide helps point companies in the right direction for creating and implementing social media initiatives based on proven success tactics. In this 40-page social media guide, discover:

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 9-13    
Topic: Research, Social



Is Influencer Marketing Dead? What Will Replace It?

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There's been a lot of talk about social media influence and its role in the new consumer decision journey. Big brands are not only buying into the concept of leveraging people with influence, but are spending serious money. From Polaroid actually hiring Lady Gaga to a study showing that the majority of marketers are allocating budget to influencer marketing, it's clear that companies are keen on figuring out how to leverage "influencers."

But what many brand marketers don't realize is that influence doesn't matter unless the influencer is willing to endorse your brand and its products. Jay-Z won't promote your phone charger unless you pay him (a lot) and bloggers are starting to demand the same.

Moreover, brands don't trust social scoring tools anymore, as they only measure potential influence.

So what's a brand to do?

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-13    
Topic: Opinion, Research, Social



Why You Need to Implement Social Business Practices Within Your Marketing Team

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Social media is great. It's great for marketing efforts but what about your business as a whole? That's where social business comes in. Today, marketing teams have to work smarter and faster across a growing range of activities and an increasingly diverse array of participants. Improving cross-functional collaboration is the new marketing mandate, and social business is the enabler, allowing marketing teams to drive more leads, increase sales and cut operational costs.

Download this Jive whitepaper now, part of the Adrants Whitepaper Series, to learn how marketers are achieving success with social business technology.

by Steve Hall    Sep-20-13    
Topic: Research, Social



George Takei Teams With AARP For Video Series

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George Takei, perhaps more famous now for his social media wit than for his role on Star Trek, has teamed with AARP for a video series which aims to provide older Americans with interesting and educational technology-focus content. AARP says the series, called Takei's Take,"takes a smart, funny, irreverent look at what is happening in the world of the Internet and how it infiltrates our lives."

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by Steve Hall    Sep-19-13    
Topic: Celebrity, Social, Video



Royal Caribbean Launches Instagram Film Festival

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In New Zealand, Royal Caribbean has launched what it claims is the world's first Instagram film festival. Created by Hulsbosch and Circul8, a campaign leading up to the festival will encourage people to film and hashtag Instagram videos which represent "wow" moments.

The InstaFilm Festival, as it's called, invites people to upload their "wow" moments using Instagram's video feature via the hashtag #InstaFilmFest. Passengers, friends and family can also vote on their favorite short film captured anywhere, anytime not just on board a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Those films receiving the most votes will be celebrated at a special VIP on board screening event to be announced for February 2014. An expert panel of judges to be announced late 2013 will choose the winners.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-19-13    
Topic: Social



Honda Aims to Save Drive-Ins With Vine Auction

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Well this is certainly sad. In less than three months, many of the 368 remaining drive-ins across the U.S. will go dark forever if they can't afford to convert to digital projection, estimated at $75,000+ per screen. Honda aims to change that. In support of Project Drive-In, Honda's effort to save as many drive-ins as possible, the automaker is hosting a one-day live Twitter Vine auction today with film critic Leonard Maltin as auctioneer. Proceeds will go directly to Project Drive-In: Save the Drive-In Fund.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-12-13    
Topic: Brands, Social



Colgate Makes It Easy to Tell Friends They Have Food in Their Teeth

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Colgate-Palmolive in Canada, with help from UNION, has launched a Twitter-based campaign entitled, "There's Something In Your Tweet," to support the introduction of the new Colgate Slim Soft toothbrush in Canada. The campaign includes a service that allows people to anonymously alert others they have food stuck in their teeth.

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by Steve Hall    Sep-11-13    
Topic: Social



Denny's Pokes Fun at Apple's Gold iPhone 5S

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Oh everyone's talking about this one. Perhaps you've already seen it. If not, here it is. Yesterday, Denny's had a bit of fun with Apple's announcement of the new gold iPhone 5S. It produced an Oreo Dunk the the Dark-style Twitter ad.

The ad shows a stack of pancakes alongside the word "pancakes" which is rendered in Apple iPhone font along with an "S" in a box. Underneath, copy reads, "Always available in golden."

Mmm...kinda makes you want to run out and grab a stack right now, doesn't it?

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by Steve Hall    Sep-11-13    
Topic: Brands, Good, Social