Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Measuring Social Media Marketing
In working with our various clients at New Marketing Labs, we like to start with measurement as it aligns to goals. We’re always excited that people want to work with us, but we also want to make sure their time isn’t wasted by simply “doing social media.”
To that end, we start with an understanding of our clients’ goals, and work from there into what kinds of measurements we might come up with to help them with their success. I don’t talk about specific clients (as that’s not part of our contract), but I’ll share the general way we’re going about working with clients in 2010, so that you can get a sense of how we’re doing what we do. (My goal is to open conversations about how social media can be used effectively as part of business communications, including marketing and channel development.)
Our 8 Questions
In working with clients, I have eight questions that I like to ask to get a sense of what we might be able to do to improve business:
- How can we fill your sales funnel?
- How can we improve engagement?
- How can we improve exposure and coverage?
- How are we empowering your community to interact?
- How do we grow sales from your community?
- How can we build a voice and a new stage for your ideas?
- How do we bridge your offline experiences with your online presence?
- How are we extending to the mobile environment?
These questions don’t always line up with what our clients are seeking for help, but they always get the conversation going in the direction Read More via http://chrisbrogan.com http://www.chrisbrogan.com/measuring-social-media-marketing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chrisbrogandotcom+%28[chrisbrogan.com]%29
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Beware Social Media Snake Oil
At this moment, the must-read stories in technology are scattered across hundreds of news sites and blogs. That's far too much for any reader to follow.
Fortunately, Techmeme arranges all of these links into a single, easy-to-scan page. Story selection is accomplished via computer algorithm extended with direct human editorial input.
Our goal is for Techmeme to become your tech news site of record.
Why Google Chrome OS has already won
Today InfoWorld’s Randall Kennedy says that Google’s Chrome OS will fail.
What he is missing is he’s looking at the wrong field.
Google is playing a different game. Google Chrome OS is NOT about killing Microsoft or Apple.
What is it about? Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers.
See, what happens if the world goes to Microsoft’s Silverlight, the way that Seesmic did this week? Google is locked out of such a world.
Google is in a war over developers with Microsoft. Google wants developers to build for the open web. Microsoft wants developers to build for Silverlight. Those messages are VERY clear coming out of both camps now.
But that’s not really the game either, although if it were Google Chrome OS would already be a winner because it reinforces to developers that they better keep developing for the Web using HTML5, even if you follow Loic Le Meur into Microsoft’s camp and build for Silverlight too.
So, what is the game?
Well, it’s a new field altogether. I’m hearing a raft of new, low-cost, devices are coming that you will only need to have on the Web. For instance, I want a cookbook on my kitchen counter that just brings me cool recipes. Right now I use my big Windows 7 computer for that, or my big MacBookPro.
But what if there were a new device that costs less than $100 that JUST does cookbooks and other things I need in the kitchen? I would buy one. A Chrome OS is all that’s needed for such a specialized device.
Where else would I use a low-cost computer? How about the bathroom? Just leave it there. Put a bunch of news sources and magazines on it.
Or, what about my son who is in high school. By the time Chrome OS comes along in big numbers he’ll be in college. Why take a $1,000 computer to class? Couldn’t he do everything he needs to do on a low-cost computer that’s lightweight, replaceable, uses low power, and just uses the web? Absolutely!
See, InfoWorld is making assumptions that the world is going to stay the same. That simply is NOT true.
Now, what will run on these new devices? A heavyweight OS like Windows 7 that takes me 40 seconds to boot up and does a ton of stuff I really don’t need, or a new OS that just has Google Chrome as its centerpiece?
Hey, I just wrote this post on Google Chrome while sitting listening to Marc Benioff at the TechCrunch Real Time Crunchup. I have not seen a single thing demonstrated on stage yet that won’t run on Google Chrome OS.
This is a winner, but on a new field.
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Friday, December 4, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Tablet Business Is Clearly Not Easy Business (http://louisgray.com)
We are nearing the end of 2009, and the world of tablet PCs is just as fuzzy as it was at the beginning of this year. Despite continued rumormongering and finger waving about guesses on what Cupertino has planned, Apple's long-anticipated tablet remains unseen and more discussion has been devoted to its reported slips than has been made about its potential specifications. Meanwhile, as you no doubt saw, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch made the abrupt announcement this morning that the CrunchPad project had been put to rest before it was able to debut - the victim of relationships gone awry between client and vendor. While the two examples are significantly different, they both demonstrate how hard it has been for companies big or small to make headway into this space.Despite seeing only the earliest of prototypes, and not ever seeing the product run myself, I was bullish on the CrunchPad's potential for a few reasons. The first was due to its promised low cost, starting at $299, and later said to be closer to $400. The second was the recognition that computing is moving away from the folders and desktop metaphor, and more to a Web-centric cloud (as discussed with Apple vs. Google), with applications running on Web services instead of CPUs. Third, I wanted the opportunity not to avoid Apple, but to support a new challenger - as I saw a respected peer and occasional acquaintance try to take the leap from creating content to creating hardware.As I mentioned in a pair of posts in July, I said I was leaning to choose CrunchPad over Apple, and guessed Mike could be as much known for the success of the device as he has been for the success of his blog network, if it were to take off. Now, barring a complete reversal, it looks like not only can't I get my hands on a CrunchPad, but we won't get to see Mike and his team fight the operational and sales challenges common in any hardware firm.These challenges look to be exacerbated when you add the word "tablet" - either due to the challenging engineering demands on cramming so much utility in a slim technology device, reducing costs, or in finding the right market. Even if I find the concept of a tablet intriguing, I am still wondering where I would put a laptop down, and pick up a tablet, or when I would holster the iPhone and pick the tablet up. It occupies an uncomfortable middle ground which hasn't yet been solved, in mass, by manufacturers keen on penetrating the space. Even Google's Chrome OS, which looks like a clear candidate for such a project, looks to be focused on NetBooks, which are not quite tablets and not quite laptops. Once you divide up the potential market, it's one full of slivers, without much pie.Unlike others who are calling the CrunchPad vaporware, I am not. I see no good coming from seeing this product never reach the market. Even if it were to have shipped and not found dramatic traction, it would have had a chance, and given customers choice.
