Social Media Observer ™

100XTV.com

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:06:14 +0000

I have been talking with the founder of this video production company and am very impressed with the product, person and vision.

100XTV Who We Are from Rick Small on Vimeo.

YourBuzz.com Analytics

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:41:54 +0000

I’ve been testing out this personal analytics service out:

Thank you for using YourBuzz to manage the online conversation around your business.

Good news! You have social media activity in the past :

Social Activity
You have 165 mentions on Twitter.
You have 10 mentions on LinkedIn.
You have 231 new fans or followers.
See who is following you

We’ll send you another e-mail about any social media activity you’re monitoring with YourBuzz. Thank you again for your continued membership.

My Video Ad Courtesy of Naymz.com

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:20:23 +0000

The Importance of Naming and Tagging Images So People Can Find You Easily and Increase Traffic!

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:22:17 +0000

I have to let you all know that I have started this little article for everyone who uses Flickr, Pinterest, DeviantArt, stock photography sites, weheartit etc. On to the importance of tagging images…

When you are feeling uninspired do you reach to Flickr, weheartit and Pinterest for inspiration? I certainly do. Now…last week I was feeling very inspired by the colours and florals being used in wedding photography on sites such as once wed. The site I was searching on was Pinterest.

I typed in “Wedding” and four images came up – I’m unsure if its an error that is currently, with Pinterest; as when I search for ‘pins’ and hit the ‘pins’ tab – no further pins appear – nevertheless.. I found 4 images.

I then went on to the browsing people’s boards and I discovered an image of a couple sitting on a swing, in full bridal gear…very easily described. I went to ‘repin’ the image to save it for future reference; when you repin the image all the details show up – title/description and tags.

There were 2 tags and the title description said ‘Ribbon Swing’. It did not contain the keyword “Wedding” and that was a pretty generic search term, I thought.

From my description of the image how would you describe and tag this image?

When you are tagging images ask yourself some questions:

What is in this image?

A Swing
A Couple
A Bride
A Groom
A Wedding Dress
An Outdoor Seat,
A Fence
What are the items made from in this image?

Swing – ribbon
Couple – a man and a woman (could be a same sex couple – be descriptive)
The Bride – Female, obviously (detail like this is obvious so no need to include)
The Groom – Male (obviously again)
A Wedding Dress (Unknown fabric BUT what word could you use to describe it? It’s short!)
The Outdoor seat – unknown material BUT what colour is it?
Can you now add more adjectives? Can you describe the colours?

The swing – Multi Coloured or Multi Colored (depending on where you are from)
Keep in mind that when you are writing tags you need to recognise that Americans and English folks spell words differently. I don’t know why Americans do this but its weird for me and makes a game of Anglo-American scrabble an absolute nightmare! Colour to those in Britain is Color in the states. This is important.

ALSO – Use a thesaurus..notebook…OR a brainstorming page….it helps pick out the best descriptive words and themes the image could be suitable for…

I was taught how to do a brain storming page when I was 16 and it just opened my creativity completely!!

So why is it important to add a description and tag? Well I put this to you; if someone typed the word ‘wedding’ into a search engine and it turned out you were the photographer of this photograph, if you had the appropriate tags that people were looking for (and a kick ass image) the search engine would find you, it would find your Flickr or your blog and BAM – there is a potential customer or you have inspired someone to create a ribbon swing, or style this at their wedding! Also sometimes people are nice enough to credit you as their inspiration OR get in touch to let you know how much you inspired them. (That feeling is wonderful)

The beauty of sites such as Flickr and DeviantArt is that the Tags and descriptions are married with the search engines. Tags are especially important if you have a specific theme you want to look for.

I used to work as an Image Researcher for a stock photography company that was in partnership with Getty Images when i was a young student. If you don’t know who Getty Images are – just look in your card store, magazines, TV programs.. likelihood is – they provided the images. Now.. A client would give the account manager (person who sells them the images) and you have to go find them. Sometimes it was a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE and other times – with the right keywords it was a total dream. In the end of my time there I had so much responsibility with different areas of the business and image editing and launching of a new stock photography site that i became extremely experienced in key-wording and describing images for the site to sell.

I ALWAYS had on hand the thesaurus. I will give you a an example and I will attempt to show you keywords you can attach to them. On Flickr and Pinterest you have no limit – and I ALWAYS go there for inspiration for themes. There have been so many wonderful pieces of art I have found by trawling through groups and have had no keywords. That’s frustrating to me because I think – how will anyone know how good you are unless they go and join a specific group?

What is special about the items in the photograph? What are the items sitting on? Is there anything else around the main items in the image? Are they bright? Black and white? Colorful? or Colourful? or both?! :p Show me your examples! And remember…it’s boring to tag your images but it’s completely worth it!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Claire_Donovan

A Picture’s Worth 1,000 Links: How To Find and Cite Images (blueglass.com)
How To Use Pinterest For Local SEO (shanecrombie.com)
Pinterest Can Grab You And Swallow You Up (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
Pinterest and the Power of Social Bookmarking: Tag Yourself (Web Design is Dead) (uber.la)
Pinterest is the new black! (patranila.blogspot.com)

Tagged: blogging, Business, DeviantArt, Flickr, images, Pinterest, seo, Stock photography, tagging

CMO Weekly Top Stories

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:49:11 +0000

Top-Level Domain Opportunity Awaits CMO Trailblazers (CMO.com)
With the three-month application window for new TLDs opening Thursday, CMOs have the chance to participate in a unique online marketing opportunity. But do they have the guts to try?

Digital Marketing In 2012: Predictions From 32 Industry Luminaries (CMO.com)
CMO.com turned to its array of contributors, colleagues, and staff and asked them what they envision the new year will bring for the digital marketing world. From new shopping behavior, to making sense of big data, to social TV and a mobile majority, their range of answers is staggering.

Global Positioning: The Promise–And Pain–Of Multigeography Marketing (CMO.com)
The starting place for any global campaign is the message–that big idea capable of spanning media, geography, and customer segment. But crafting a position that is at once simple and resonant isn’t easy; it’s equal parts art and science.

8 Marketing Partnerships That Succeeded (iMedia Connection)
As these examples show, marketing co-operations can be powerful tools for companies looking to expand their digital horizons–providing businesses stay flexible and open to companies with which they might align.

In Hollywood’s Clubby Culture, A Disney Marketer’s Rapid Downfall (NYTimes.com)
Despite successful ad campaigns for films like “The Muppets” and “The Help,” M T Carney, Walt Disney Studios’ president of movie marketing, never found her footing.

The Leadership Resolutions That Work Best (Harvard Business Review)
Many resolutions work better in pairs–diet and exercise, for example. The same is true in developing your leadership skills. Following are pairs that, you’ll notice, combine some kind of technical expertise with an interpersonal skill.

These Famous Brands Will Disappear In 2012 (Business Insider)
Kodak has been in trouble for years, of course, but it was intriguing that a survey about corporate reputations signaled the company’s potential end before its lawyers did. So what other brands could be on the brink, and why?

A Star Is Born: Digital-Video Advertising Ready To Roll (CMO.com)
Representing the fastest-growing Internet ad format, marketers’ enthusiasm about digital-video advertising is easy to understand. But as with any medium, video advertising is not without its challenges. This article provides an overview of the digital-advertising landscape.

Web Advertising’s Master Auctioneers (Fortune)
Upstart AppNexus is holding its own with heavy hitters like Google in a booming field for online ads–the real-time auction. “AppNexus has taken a really interesting approach to this business,” says one exec.

Report: Consumer Media Usage Across TV, Online, Mobile And Social (Nielsenwire)
Among the findings from Nielsen’s State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report: Nearly four in five active Internet users visit social networks and blogs, and 51% of consumers are OK with advertising on their devices if it means they can access content for free.

CMO’s Year End Specials

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:03:27 +0000

The 2011 CMO’s Guide To The Social Landscape (CMO.com)
These days, marketing channels, platforms, and tools that lack a social component are probably doomed to failure. CMO.com’s second annual downloadable guide will help you determine which ones are a must in your marketing strategy.

10 Great Expectations: What CEOs Want From Their CMOs (CMO.com)
CEOs have always held their CMOs to high standards, but in this day and age, marketing accountability has never been more intense. What does it take to please the boss?

10 Tips For Building Your Next-Gen Marketing Team (CMO.com)
From choosing a chief digital officer, to opening your eyes to talent in new places, to incenting employee innovation, these suggestions–and more–will help CMOs build a forward-thinking team of top-notch marketers.

10 Details CMOs Overlook (But Shouldn’t) (CMO.com)
With so many issues on a CMO’s plate, it’s no wonder a few things slip by. Unfortunately, those under-the-radar issues can come screaming into view if not properly managed.

Special Report: The 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook (CMO.com/Society of Digital Agencies)
The Society of Digital Agencies’ “Digital Marketing Outlook” report explores a multitude of topics that make it clear the era of integrated marketing is very much here. More than 600 CMOs, agency executives, and digital media technologists were surveyed for the report, rolled out over four weeks in the form of 25 insightful articles designed to inspire, validate your thinking, and fuel action.

10 Ways Your Brand Can Be Meaningful (CMO.com)
Consumers want to feel they’re part of something that makes the world a better place. Marketers who fail to realign their thinking and behavior in the pursuit of meaning will be quickly overtaken by those who do.

Marketing Metrics: The Good, The Bad, And The Irrelevant (CMO.com)
Metrics can be a good news-bad news situation for marketers. They’re necessary to gauge our marketing efforts, of course, but picking the wrong ones can be worse than using none at all.

Slide Show: 8 New Technologies Marketers Should Know About Now (CMO.com)
CMOs have at their disposal more new technologies than ever before. And the barriers to entry have never been lower. To help you narrow the field, we have selected eight new technologies–what they are, why now, and what to watch out for–you should be testing or implementing now.

The Positive Effects Of Cause-Related Marketing (CMO.com)
It is getting more difficult for a company to connect with customers and prosper if it doesn’t stand for something more than its bottom line. Here, we assemble survey data and expert opinion to give marketers guidance on what consumers expect from companies–and how companies can satisfy those expectations.

Meet Four Marketing Rule-Breakers (CMO.com)
Slavish rule-following can have predictable, dull results–exactly what marketing shouldn’t be. Done right, breaking the rules can be liberating and successful. Meet three executives whose marketing risks paid off, plus one whose didn’t and cost her her job.

iMedia Connection Weekly Picks

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:57:45 +0000

8 reasons marketers can’t trust Facebook
	By Douglas Karr Is your business or your clients’ marketing heavily dependent on Facebook? If so, you have more to lose than you think. Here’s why.

Our industry’s unethical, indefensible behavior
	By Eric Picard As an industry, our methods of tracking consumer behavior online are wrong. See why all of the arguments to the contrary fall apart when logic is applied.

Why clicks are the wrong metric
	By Jarvis Mak Click-based analyses are fundamentally flawed. It’s not just that clicks don’t tell the whole story; they tell the wrong story. Here’s why.

Guy Kawasaki talks startups, Twitter
		The author and founding partner of Garage Technology Ventures took a moment to discuss what he looks for in a startup and how marketers could be using T

ThinkUp: A Social Media Insights Engine

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:47:22 +0000

The top digital-marketing stories from around the Web.

Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:55:44 +0000

In This Issue
We have a decidedly digital batch of stories this week. In the social arena, Twitter is rolling out a redesign in an effort to “organize a growing sense of information overload” and “convince advertisers that their products will be visible to consumers,” according to Wired. Meantime, in mobile, marketers surveyed by AT&T said they’ll be expanding their initiatives in the new year, with a heavy emphasis on mobile apps and barcode technology. E-mail-wise, the CMO from Augeo Marketing offered some ideas for boosting engagement, while on the Web-site front, the fight to halt, or at least slow, the addition of top-level domains continued. Finally, for a glimpse of what to expect in the new year, click through our “Top 10 Digital-Marketing Trends For 2012″ slide show.

Until next week,
The Editors of CMO.com

Top 10 Stories

Courting Users And Brands, Twitter Gets A Face Lift (Wired)
A redesign, which is currently being rolled out to users over the next few weeks on mobile devices and the Web, consolidates a number of Twitter’s existing features into four separate categories to better organize a growing sense of information overload and convince advertisers that their products will be visible to consumers.

3 In 10 Americans Say Social Media Ads Useless (Marketing Charts)
That said, a growing number of Americans say they use Facebook to research and review consumer product information, according to Epsilon Targeting.

FTC’s Leibowitz Criticizes Plan To Add Top-Level Domains (Adweek)
In an appearance before a House Judiciary subcommittee, Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ decision to begin accepting new top-level domains like .bank or .coke “a potential disaster” for consumers and businesses.

AT&T: 90% Of Marketers Will Expand Mobile Programs Next Year (FierceMobileContent)
Marketers are extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities of mobile barcode campaigns, with 66 percent of respondents agreeing that barcodes will drive innovation in mobile marketing next year.

Yahoo CMO To Depart (Direct Marketing News)
Yahoo’s central marketing team will now report to interim CEO Tim Morse, who took over the role in September after the ousting of then-CEO Carol Bartz.

App Firm Reveals 240% Rise In QR Code Scanning (BizReport)
2D were the most popular barcodes scanned with 87% compared with just 13% for 1D barcodes.

Augeo CMO: Rewards Boost Email Engagement (MediaPost)
Not all rewards need to be financial, but can involve an emotional connection or educational benefit, which people are increasingly seeking, says Ken Greer.

Ad Markets To Outperform Economy In 2012: Report (Reuters)
According to a new forecast by media service agency ZenithOptimedia, the global advertising market will grow by 3.5 percent in 2011 and by 4.7 percent in 2012, down from a forecast in October.

Google Ramps Up Ads And Marketing (San Jose Mercury News)
The effort is intended to help Google recast its image with consumers as its products broaden far beyond search.

General Mills Wants Your Ideas For Its Next Cereal Game And Cake App (Fast Company)
General Mills is moving its open innovation efforts to the digital world. With G-WIN Digital, the food company is looking for consumers’ gaming and mobile ideas.

Inside CMO.com