Is the Twitter logo change a good thing?

The answer, quite frankly, is NO!  Yes, they may be wanting to convey upward movement, and psychologically, that's probably a good move; the old bird seemed to be flying horizontally.  The problem is that the new bird looks like a clip art graphic, which, for a major Internet brand, is probably a step in the wrong direction.  The old logo, with its little tuft of hair, was more personal.  Click below to see the picture!

A successful viral video

I haven't listened to the radio in a long time; mostly, I've just been listening to books non-stop.  Also, I'm not extremely active on Twitter, so I totally missed out on this gem of a music video.  It's unique, the song's catchy...and the marketing implications of this video are amazing!  Read my full post to view the video, too!

MORE cheap ways to help your "personal brand"

In my original post, "Cheap ways to help your 'personal brand'...," I mentioned two specific methods: improving your LinkedIn profile and setting up a professional blog.  I still recommend these two methods to everyone.  However, looking back, there was WAY more I could have said!

To keep with the theme from the first, however, I'll mention only two others:

The best of James Bond, in ONE novel!

From an article in The Guardian:


In a shocking turn for the debut novel by Q.R. Markham, Assassin of Secrets, the US publisher is recalling all copies and offering refunds to those who have already purchased the book.  The UK publisher is taking back all copies of the book before it is released there this week.  Why are they doing it?

The answer is simple: plagiarism.

Minor Leauge Player Falls into Marketing Gold!

Recently, a minor league outfielder facilitated a triple play with his head. His quick reaction and cool execution, despite what must have been a decent headache, could be used to promote the team and help his career. The key will be to market the incident properly.

Google+ Gets Verified!

The Internet is a crazy place, and there are all types of even CRAZIER people using it! Verification on Google+ and other social networks for celebrities and other public figures ensures that when I try to follow my favorite movie star, I can. There's nothing worse than following someone, then finding out that it's actually a 17-year-old kid in Korea.

The Color of Money

No, I'm not talking about the movie with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman; I'm talking about something green - hence, the "color of money" reference - but also tasty.  It's a client I'm working for right now: Kicking Lizard.

Logos through the Ages, Part 3

"Fall into the Gap!"

That's the most recent Gap slogan I can remember, and I think that was a WHILE ago.  To the right was their new logo for a week back in October.  It's not a bad logo, but it's SO different than the look of their older logo.

For Social Media Jugglers...

Click on the title to be re-directed to one company's take on juggling social media. The most relevant point for me was the suggestion to simplify. Yes, I can try to be on as many as possible, but when the possibilities are at the expense of quality, I should stop. When I have to decide between commenting on a friend's blog post or signing up on Digg, I should forget the latter.

Post a comment about your challenges juggling social media. I'd love to hear what you think!

- MJP

Wasting time like a pro!

I just read an article on SocialMediaToday.com called, "6 Ways to Waste Your Time on Social Media." Click the title of this post to go directly to the post. It did a great job of pointing out some fairly common ways that a lot of people, including myself, waste time in the social sphere.

Twitter for Job Seekers?

Apparently, it's the next wave in job searching. I read an article by Kevin Kermes, who interviewed two Twitter "pros" who claimed that it really is possible, if done correctly.

Cleaning House, Part 1

In these tough economic times - I wonder if it's EVER really "NON-tough" - marketers are looking for cheaper means of communicating with customers. Most often, people turn to "non-traditional" methods like Facebook and other social media to spread messages and build customer databases, but a new fad is emerging. The new "social media" for communication and data-building is actually one of the oldest tools in the marketing arsenal: direct mail.

Over the next few posts, I'll talk about the following topics, and hopefully get some responses supporting or refuting my claims:
- List Hygiene
- Targeting
- Prospecting
- Creativity

Now, before people start attacking me with questions, I know that many marketers HATE direct mail; I too am a hater. That being said, there are advantages to this type of marketing that aren't possible with web advertising and Facebook accounts. Feeling something in your hand, even if for a moment before throwing it away, leaves an impression in your brain that's different than seeing a web ad; there's an interaction in that second that can't be duplicated digitally.

Using Twitter for E-Commerce and Beyond

According to Nielsen's NetWare statistical survey, 41.7% of Twitter users are between the ages of 35 and 49. For companies, this is a prime demographic, full of influencers and decision-makers that can help propel sales and brand recognition on budgets that are a lot smaller than in years past.

Many probably know already that Twitter is a great way for companies to get feedback directly from customers, but the following article, "How to Use Twitter for E-Commerce," is a great introduction to using the site for more than just "feedback." Readers might be shocked at the possibility of using an online short message service (SMS) to sell products and services; I know I was!

Image via CrunchBase

If you think about it, you'll realize that it’s fairly similar to companies that send SMS messages via phones. In both cases, customers and prospects opt-in to receiving messages - on Twitter, they’re called “tweets” - from certain parties. Despite the similarities, however, Twitter’s the biggest thing in messaging these days. The Nielsen report, mentioned earlier, states that Twitter has grown 1,382% from February of 2008 to February of 2009. That's at least 10 times faster than any other social networking site.

Managers and marketers should read the following article to get some insights into using Twitter for e-commerce and regular sales.

Here’s the article:

How To Use Twitter for E-Commerce - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

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Nudge, Nudge

Thank you to all the people who've been reading this blog. I really appreciate it, and in an effort to shamelessly self-promote the brand, I would ask everyone who reads to scroll down on the left-hand side bar to the blog's Facebook Fan Box. Click on the button, "Become a Fan."

My goal is to have everyone that reads this blog to go and become a fan. For now, the only thing you can expect is a big, fat "thank you" from yours truly. However, in the future, there could be prizes involved for Facebook fans of the blog. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

A tweet worth tweeting about

Image via Wikipedia

In an attempt to engage people that follow them on Twitter, Southwest Airlines did a "20,000th follower on Twitter" prize. The lucky winner was from New Mexico, and that person won a lot of travel-related promotional items branded with the Southwest logo.

This promotion was a success for two reasons. First of all, it engaged customers in a more social setting than television, print or a traditional website. Twitter, Facebook and other social networking outlets allow customers to virtually shake hands with companies they admire.

Secondly, it was just nice. They didn't HAVE TO do anything, but they did anyway, just to say, "Thanks." Often, there's no better reason for a company to do a giveaway; "just because" is a good reason to do promotions because customers often see it as a great big "hug," so to speak. And let's face it: everybody needs a hug every once in a while!

Twitter users vs Habitat

"Habitat" is a UK furniture brand; apparently it's like an upscale IKEA. It's been a respected brand since its creation in the 1970's, but then they decided to dabble in the social media giant called Twitter. Not only did they use their brand and marketing power for evil by using spam tweets, they still haven't apologized for it.

In the world of social media, where feedback is instant, brands need to have someone on

Image via CrunchBase

call when they use a campaign tactic like this. Twitter's not a bad way to advertise promotions, sales and new products, but it needs to be done in a responsible way to avoid the negative fallout that can follow within minutes.

Here's a link to a good article on Habitat's mess:

http://www.digitaltip.com.au/index.php/how-not-to-use-twitter-habitatuk-as-a-case-study/