Updates from July, 2009

• Need Advice From Businesswomen?
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:15 am on July 29, 2009 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Microblogging (76)

  With everyone and their mother signing up for Twitter, a lot of people are trying to find someone worth listening to. What we have been seeing is Twitter move past the sudden interest phase where knowing the play by play of your nephew’s T-ball game has subsided. Users are looking for substance, but with millions to choose from, who is worth reading? For anyone looking for marketing or business advice, we have a list of 25 influential business women whose tweets are impressing the industry. These women tweeters have made a name for themselves as frontline thinkers. So update your “Following” list, tune in and keep up.

  The full story at MarCom Writer Blog:
  http://marcom-writer-blog.com/2009/07/29/25-very-smart-business-women-to-follow-on-twitter/

  

  

   

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• Social Shopping Meets Social Media
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:15 am on July 28, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks (702), WOM Trends (738)

  For anyone who enjoys meeting a friend and spending the afternoon shopping, buying goods online might take away a lot of the pleasure in the activity. An emerging trend is developing that might free online shopping from its solitary nature. Social online shopping has blended the online retailer with social media. Buyers have profiles, shopping lists and post product reviews. So far there are several dozen social shopping sites (listed in full article.) As they battle it out in the marketplace, anyone looking to build a following should keep an eye on them. This is the combination of two Web 2.0 aspects that have, so far, stayed detached. Once a few clear leaders pull ahead, their value to marketers could be immense.

  The full story at Search Engine Land:
  http://searchengineland.com/why-you-should-get-involved-with-social-shopping-e-commerce-20-22995

  

  

   

• Tomorrow’s Webinar
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:14 am on July 28, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Webinar (210)

  Title: How to Weave Social Marketing into your Word of Mouth Marketing Programs
  Time: 12pm East | 11am Midwest | 10am Mountain | 9am West

  Register Here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/758310922

  
  Featured Speaker: Sarah Hofstetter, Vice President, Emerging Media & Client Strategy
  Summary: The rapid growth of social media has shifted the way marketers approach customer engagement, presenting new challenges, but also new opportunities for reaching customers in deeper and more meaningful ways.

  The goal of this webinar is to:
  * Provide a framework for establishing a set of clear objectives and strategy when approaching social marketing
  * Move beyond the checklist approach and offer a filter for evaluating the myriad opportunities and platforms
  * Encourage thinking of social marketing as an opportunity to have a continuous, valuable exchange with customers
  * Advance discussions on amplifying marketing results through the integration of social marketing and offline campaigns

  A thoughtful, well-planned social marketing program can shift the way you interact with your customers and, as a result, the way customers perceive your brand. We hope this webinar and find valuable insights that may contribute to future program or campaign successes.

  Speaker Bio
  A results-oriented marketer with more than a decade of related experience, Sarah Hofstetter leads the agency’s social and emerging media group. Under Sarah’s leadership, the group delivers forward-thinking and brand-relevant strategic counsel on marketing opportunities across social platforms and emerging online technologies to clients including NBC Universal, JCPenney, Reckitt Benckiser and more. In addition, Sarah oversees a large team of digital publicists who maintain 360i’s proprietary Digital Word of Mouth (DWOMSM) service, building and nurturing relationships with online influencers to drive buzz and editorial coverage on behalf of 360i’s clients.

  

  

   

• Super Rewards gets Rewarded
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:08 am on July 28, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: WOM Trends (738)

  In a week of gigantic buyouts, one little firm missed out on a lot of media coverage. Super Rewards, a company that establishes virtual currency, was bought out by Adknowledge for $50 million, in real money. That’s right, $50 million and it didn’t make the papers. The price isn’t the interesting part though. Super Rewards generates income by creating small economies in apps that are used by millions. The proliferation of apps has led many brands to offer incentives in the apps to generate real sales. Basically, this is how Mafia Wars makes money. It’s also how a company like Netflix gets new customers. By using the popularity of Mafia Wars, Netflix provides players virtual money in the app when they sign up for the DVD rental service. A small fee is paid to Super Rewards and everyone is happy. This is an excellent example for all those naysayers who don’t see the business value of little online games. Once the player is invested, their interest can be leveraged.

  The full story at Tech Crunch:
  http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/26/the-value-of-virtual-currency-the-real-price-of-super-rewards-was-closer-to-50-million/

  

  

   

• Resume Update: Twitter Followers?
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:05 am on July 28, 2009 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Blog Marketing (202), Microblogging (76)

  The recession has put many people in the unemployment line for months, but not all of them are patiently waiting for interviews. Rachel Levy was laid-off from her marketing position a year ago. She expected a few months off ending in a similar job. But the job market had different plans. Instead of moping around the house, she spent some time learning about social media. Her following grew to 5,000 people. She regularly updated her blog and made sure to include links in her emails to potential employers. Eventually she landed a job through one of her Twitter followers. Lots of people are unemployed, but Levy made herself stand out with exactly what employers needed her to do, social media. In marketing, results are the easiest selling point. And 5,000 followers is a pretty good result.

  The full story at The Wall Street Journal:
  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124872913797784831.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

  

  

   

• TV Channels Target Hard
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 12:09 pm on July 27, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Research (521), WOM in Entertainment (42), WOM Trends (738)

  Back when there were three channels to choose from, only one number meant anything to marketers, viewers. But now that consumers have a choice of hundreds of channels, new methods of measurement are needed. To solve this problem CNN and ESPN are both working with WOMMA member company Keller Fay to find out how much WOM advertising on their channels draws. Keller Fay gets their data by recruiting a “rolling cross section” of consumers to take notes on their conversations over a 24-hour period. The topics are then analyzed to see where the subjects spurred from. This data is then used to show potential advertisers the specific value of advertising on one station as opposed to another with similar ratings. The fact that this type of research is being performed shows how media outlets and brands are taking WOM seriously and integrating it into their current marketing options.

  The full story at AdAge:
  http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=138128

  

  

   

• Tomorrow’s Healthcare Webinar and WOMUK Event Info
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 12:08 pm on July 27, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Array (5)

  Health Care & Pharma Webinar

  Applying Current FDA Guidelines to Social Media Marketing

  When: Tuesday, July 28, 2009
  Time: 1pm Pacific | 2pm Central | 3pm Eastern
  Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/690055002
  Cost: Free!
  **Open to WOMMA members and healthcare-centric brands & nonprofits only

  Presenters:
  Gina Ashe - CMO, Sermo
  Elizabeth Browning - Founder, BeWell.com
  John Serio - Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

  Moderator:
  Ann Moravick - Founder, President of Rx4Good

  Overview:
  Healthcare and social media are evolving at a rapid pace and changing the landscape forever for physician treatment practices and patient care.

  How will social media evolve in the coming years? What promise do social media hold for the betterment of our healthcare system? What role should pharmaceutical companies play in the patient and physician dialogue? These questions will be the focus of the first in a series of WOMMA sponsored healthcare webinars. Our first session will feature three guest speakers each with a unique perspective on the social media environment today.
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  Ridley Scott’s Purefold Brings Hollywood and Web 2.0 closer together to turn online audience conversations into premium content

  Purefold is one of the most exciting innovations for a decade. Conceived by Ag8, it brings together an open media franchise, combining premium quality content production, distributed storytelling and open license distribution.

  Purefold solves some of the key issues facing brands and agencies today:

  • How to amplify online audience conversations in a meaningful way
  • How to engage with audiences in real-time
  • How to bring Hollywood and Web 2.0 closer together
  • How to increase adoption and distribution of content through the use of an open license

  Date: Thursday 30th July 2009
  Speaker: Tom Himpe, Founding Partner Ag8
  Location: Grey, 77 Hatton Garden, London ECIN 8JS
  Breakfast: 8.30am
  Presentation: 9am-10am
  Cost: Members £20, Non-members & invited guests £25
  Payment: BACS or cheque in advance or cash at the door
  To register contact Julian Ferguson on:
  Email: julian.ferguson@womuk.org
  Phone: 0203 286 4145 or 079 2105 1282
  (all prices are inclusive of VAT)

  

  

   

• Female Bloggers Tell All
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 12:00 pm on July 27, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Blog Marketing (202), WOM Trends (738)

  A survey taken at last week’s BlogHer conference showed that 53% of attending female bloggers are willing to share information about marketing to women. Many were keen to note that they aren’t just open books. About half of those surveyed claimed they get contacted at least once a week by a PR person. The attention may be gratifying, but they did have several general guidelines for pitching to female bloggers. Since bloggers aren’t traditional journalists, their personality, location, and life matter. They aren’t just an outlet for news. Without doing proper research to find out who the blogger is, a relationship with the blogger will soon go cold. This data coupled with similar reports from bloggers is indicative of the contrast between traditional marketing and marketing 2.0.

  The full story at Search Engine Watch:
  http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/090727-012900

  

  

   

• Scientists Get Social
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:59 am on July 27, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks (702), WOM Trends (738)

  When most people think about social networking, science usually doesn’t play into their imagination. Professors David De Roure and Carole Goble have recently expanded the scientist social networking site myExperiment to include Research Objectives. The option allows one researcher to post everything needed for others to use their data in further research. This is a challenge to the traditional form of research publishing. The goal of the site is to become an aggregator that makes research more reproducible, reusable, and reliable. Social networking has seen some interesting developments, but this one stands out. Like Linkedin, it is a social network with a purpose, sharing and advancing research. We might see more targeted social networking in the future instead of one-stop-shops like Facebook.

  The full story at University of Southampton:
  http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/about/news/2628

  

  

   

• Retraction
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:36 am on July 24, 2009 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Member News (143)

  We would like to apologize to our readers and Affinative for a story we ran on July 2 which contained incorrect information. The story stated that Affinative had recently launched their 100th WOM campaign. This was very outdated information from two years ago. We deeply regret disseminating false information. WOMMA has taken steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.