Community Marketing Blog

Are You A Top Social Media / Marketing Blogger?

By Andrew Ballenthin October 20, 2009 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

Blog-Off II is here and we're searching for the best social media and marketing experts who know how to command top online social media and marketing performance. Would you like to know how well you rank compared to other marketing and social media bloggers? Would you like to be independently recognized as a thought leader? If the answer is yes, enter Blog-Off II, it's a contest for professionals who meet and exceed the standards they set for their clients and employers in online leadership.

Are You A Passionate Blogger? $45,000 in Prizes Could Be A Game Changer.

By Andrew Ballenthin October 20, 2009 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

I’ve spent over 2,500 hours in social media and online thought leadership and have realized how much work it is to be heard above all the internet noise. I want to give back in 2009 and help a few top professionals get the recognition they deserve going into 2010 for all the great things they do.

Who's Calling the Shots? (Hint: It's Not You)

In today's marketing world, the innovators are the ones who are setting the pace and dictating which brands will come out on top. Not too long ago, advertising agencies decided what you watched, ate, bought and played with. However, changes to the communication landscape have put the consumer in the driver's seat. 

Winning Strategic Accounts: Permission + Self-selection= Referrals

Smaller  firms need major accounts because large companies are more likely to award multiple contracts year after year. However, getting past the barriers in Fortune 1000-sized companies can be daunting and time-consuming. How about doing something counter-intuitive?

Cold-calling senior executives is discouraged in many key account acquisition strategies.  Yet how do you crack into a Fortune 1000-sized firm who would be a perfect client for you if you have no "natural" network access?

CMB Roundtable: New World Order of Advertising – A Tale of 2 Ad Budgets Pt 1

Andrew Jenkins:

With audiences fragmented and snacking on content when and where they want (on their PCs, laptops, netbooks or mobile phones), advertisers face difficult decisions regarding where to spend their ad dollars and how much to spend in each instance.

Blog-Off II: $45,000 In Online Publicity To Be Won

By Andrew Ballenthin October 20, 2009 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

Building a reputation online is a lot of work. For social media and online marketing people it's become difficult to stand above the noise of thousands of people giving advice to readers that want quality content. For a few people we are going to make that easier with a prize package that's never been offered in social media before.

5 Reasons Why You Need To Delete Your Facebook Fan Page.

This past Friday I helped out at Terri Holley’s Social Media Soiree. The people who attended the event came around to different stations on varying social media and asked their questions about said social media. I manned a battle station on business blogging. The event was great, and I found that everyone was asking me great questions.

Even though I was primarily talking about business blogging, Facebook Fan Pages invariably came up. And, while I’m happy to explain Facebook Fan pages and answer questions, strategically, I recommended that people should delete their Fan pages.

Crowdsourcing: Spoils of a Pyrrhic Victory

By Ted Morris October 28, 2009 4ScreenMedia Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

Call it the Vegemite effect but you have to wonder when you read press and blog statements such as “…one of the biggest ever crowdsource fails” or “the creative industry embraces crowdsourcing”, (emphasis mine).

25 Reasons Why Nobody Comments On Your Blog And Posts

By Andrew Ballenthin October 20, 2009 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

You are not alone in your quest for more comments. This problem is more of an epidemic than what you might first think. Blogs like “open mike” by retired Executive Chairman Mike Critelli of Pitney Bowes and world electronics giant Hitachi see an average of 0-5 comments a post. If voices for these multi-billion global businesses have these challenges it’s not unreasonable for the rest of us to see similar results.

5 1/2 Things I Am Not Going To Tell You About Social Media

	By Andrew Jenkins October 31, 2009 Volterra Consulting, Founder Biography	Connect.Follow.Network.

There has been so much written and recorded about social media in historic and social media channels.  The coverage in the various blogs and tweets runs the gamut between opportunism and relevance. You’ll find the 3, 5 or 10 things you need to know about twitter etiquette, making the most of twitter, how to drive traffic to you blog, how to get thousands of followers in a matter of days or weeks and, most importantly, how to make money using social media. 

Online Brand Mentions: Choose the Best Places for B2C2C Engagement

	By Ted Morris October 28, 2009 4ScreenMedia Biography	Connect.Follow.Network.

I  was recently intrigued by a blog post from a notable social media monitoring company. The post was about the rationale for brand engagement and the issues related to responding to online brand mentions. As I understood it, one of the main assumptions was that consumers only wish to speak to other consumers online about their respective brand experiences.