Tweet a Journalist (…is that wrong?)

May 27, 2009 – 11:29 am

By: Matt Clark

I remember Peter Shankman talking about MSNing, IMing, Facebooking and Tweeting journalists.  This was right around the pitch-via-Facebook debate and I didn’t want to push the envelope with journalists.  But now I understand the value of using social media to instantly reach journalists.  My co-worker Jess talks to Entrepreneur via MSN and I talk to ESPN.com via AIM all day.  It helps us beat our competitors to the punch.

Now that Twitter is all the rage, PR pros taking advantage of it.  If your not, well… I hope you have a client that competes with mine.  How do you find them?  MediaOnTwitter!

@JessicaFletcher just put me on to the site.  MediaOnTwitter is “the most comprehensive database of media on Twitter.”  Think Vocus / Media Atlas / Cision for Twitter.  Plus… it’s free.  Love free.  Check it out and happy pitching.

Disclaimer: Only pitch via social media if you know the reporter or they ask for story help via social media!!

Posted in PR, Social Media, Strategy | No Comments »

Best MySpace Design Team… Ever

May 15, 2009 – 8:12 pm

By: Matt Clark

I need to give a quick shout out to Daddy Design.  These guys make the best MySpaces pages out there.

If you looking to run a MySpace campaign, but don’t want to spend the $250-500k it would cost to get a custom page through MySpace, use these guys.  They are quick, effective, reasonably priced, and they understand your needs.  After a quick 10-minute phone call and two emails, they delivered an amazing MySpace page for my new client launching June 1.

Check out their work with Universal Music, ELLE Online, The NBA on TNT, Symbolic Motor Car Company, and Hustler (giggity…).

They also do some great WordPress and Twitter stuff too.

Seriously, I know this looks like a shameless product plug, but it’s not.  I started this blog to help answer the same questions I had about how to get started with social media for clients.  If you are wondering, “how do I create a kick ass MySpace page for my client?” the answer is Daddy Design.

Posted in Reviews, Social Media, Social Networking | No Comments »

10 Things I Think, I Think About Social Media

April 29, 2009 – 10:38 am

By: Matt Clark

I had to work on NFL Draft Saturday.  I was in the office during my favorite time of the year.  It was horrible.  My boss was nice enough to buy me a pizza, but that didn’t help take away the pain of not celebrating the Jets draft of Mark Sanchez with 100 other drunk Jets fans.

During the day I was reading updates from SI.com columnist and legend, Peter King.  Peter King writes an NFL column every Monday and close with “things I think, I think.”  In honor of Peter King, I created 10 things I think I think about Facebook and social media.

Now for 10 social media things I Think, I Think:

I think homepage-sponsored stories (aka - ads on your Facebook news feed) cost a minimum of $50,000 with an average CPM of $10 with an up-sell cost if you want targeted demographics.

I think I am more influenced by my brother joining a Bart Simpson fan club or my friend Ben receiving a movie gift over a direct ad. It adds third party creditability from a trusted source.

I think I’ve heard that it can cost $150,000 for a sponsored page.  This is not a brand page that we have been talking about, but a true branded page (like MySpace).

I think creating groups and fan pages gives brands a direct link into the Facebook community as participants, not outside advertisers. That’s what consumers want, to participate with and experience a brand, not be sold on it or talked to by it.

I think everyone HAS to read faberNovel Consulting presentation on Social network websites best practices from leading services.  This goes over who and how you want to target an audience will determine what social networking website is best for your needs. Check it here.

I think Facebook pages are only useful for existing brands (ie. Bart Simpson).

I think Facebook pages for new brands are useless without a Facebook application.

I think this is a great post to check out how to measure Facebook App.

I think Facebooks new metric for measuring engagement on its applications from daily to monthly usage will help developers focus on “longer-term engagement” and show them “the number of users who visit [their] application over a longer time frame than just one day.” This should help marketers justify FaceBook App initiatives.  Check out the site here and a full example of the metric tools here.

I think we should all look into Clearspring ConnectedAd Program.  This might enable Zookz to reach audiences using 80+ social web sites, while taking advantage of the deeper notification, messaging, and feed functionality offered by social network platforms such as Facebook and MySpace. So we have a Zookz Widget on these sites instead of just pages….

I hope you find this helpful….  GO JETS!

Posted in Digital Marketing, Facebook, Reviews, Social Media, Strategy | 1 Comment »

How A Crush on Pete Cashmore Changed My Life

April 9, 2009 – 8:59 am

by Mallory Dash

OK, maybe “changed my life” is too strong. But read on…

The year was 2007, and I had just begun my young career in tech PR, with nary an interest in Teh Webs, and I didn’t even know what a Twhirl or an Om or a Soshal Meedya was. A few days into my new job, I was doing some research on Silicon Valley movers and shakers, and ran across…

The most beautiful man in the world: Pete Cashmore.

I instantly became hooked on this man and his work, reading Valleywag post after Valleywag post on this Adonis of the Interwebs, this Wonderman of Web 2.0, this Justin Timberlake of Juicy Technology, this Sexy Man of Social Media. Obvi, I immediately placed Mashable on my newly formed Google Reader page, and even started out on this thing called Twitter to follow his updates. Stalker? Me?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Blogs, Communities, Events, Social Media, Social Networking | 3 Comments »

The Value of Twitter to Journalists

March 28, 2009 – 11:23 pm

By Matt Clark

I just had an interesting conversation with Dr. Pauly from Tao of Poker.  We were all hanging out in the Caesars sports book after the AMAZING VILLANOVA WIN (I think I chain smoked 10 cigs in the last 5 minutes). 

Pauly was twittering during the entire Dream Team Poker event today.  For the first time he opted in for mobile updates on a few other players he knew were doing the same.  “This is definitely going to help me write my posts,” he said.  “I can go back and reference hand play and bust outs.”

If what Pauly says is true, Twitter is making journalists jobs easier.  Brands can use Twitter to not only engage customers, but also use it as another PR vehicle to update journalists.  This adds another component to Twitter, making it more valuable to companies, and something that PR firms should suggest to clients (more work for me…damn it). 

I decided to ask a few poker journalists what they thought.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Branding, PR, Social Media, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Twitter Invades Poker

March 28, 2009 – 6:06 pm

By: Matt Clark

I’m out in Vegas at the Dream Team Poker event.  There are about 444 people in the tournament with a healthy number of pros.  What’s really surprising is the number of people twittering the event — while they are playing. 

I tried this a few weeks ago while playing a cash game in New York City@matthewclark.  I found it difficult to keep up, but I was surprised at the number of people following me.  I got a healthy number of @replies and direct messages I got. Within a 24 hour span I received 20 new followers.

There are about six pages of tweets that mention the event right now if you search.twitter Dream Team Poker.   Currently there are about 30 people consistently twittering their action, including:

• @phil_hellmuth
• @wickedchops
• @_PokerListings_
• @DreamTeamPoker
• @TiffnyMichelle
• @CKMasterson
• @LizLieu
• @BJNemeth
• @markseif
• @CourtHarrington
• @brettcalapp
• @techgurus
• @pdparv19
• @tomvds
• @MariaHo
• @taopauly
• @LaceyJones
• @Hollywood_Dave
• @wickedbecool

These people are doing a great job of growing their brand through twitter.  It’s an opportunity for them to interact with fans/customers as a chance to increase their personal or professional brand.  Consistently updating and engaging fans/consumers on twitter has the same results as meeting them in person.   Followers make a true connection and have more of a “brand experience” beyond what they hear and read in the news. 

Phil Hellmuth is doing some serious damage with mobile twitter updates.  Always modest, he claims to be one of the first pro poker players to start twittering during poker tournaments. “A young internet billionaire convinced me it was a good way to go,” Hellmuth said.  “I trust what he says so I started doing it.  It’s worked out well so far.”

Brian Cooley, of Wicked Chops Poker, finds twittering during events very valuable. “It’s replacing the forums and the Web sites,” Cooley said.  “You don’t need to go to a Web site to check out the action and get updates, you get better details on twitter.  It definitely helps build brand images and get new readers.”

Mashable had a great blog post a while back about how to build your brand using twitter. 

Uh-Oh they just made an announcement over the loud speaker encouraging people to twitter the event.  Is someone spying on me?! 

Back to the event… 

 

Posted in Blogs, Branding, Communities, PR, Social Networking, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Live from Your Computer… It’s Saturday Night! (Or, How Facebook Can’t Sit Still)

March 5, 2009 – 12:25 pm

by Mallory Dash

So I was sitting in a little pizza shop on Broadway yesterday before a meeting. Whilst chomping away on my veggie/olive slice, I was scanning my Twitterberry feed, and saw tweet after tweet on OMGNEWFACEBOOKLIVEFEEDNEWPAGESOMGWTF. Intrigued… I read this post on Mashable on my Blackberry’s tiny screen, trackballing away…

Wait wait wait. Are you for real? Another Facebook revamp? Not only that- but an adjustment that will just further feed my ADD/information addiction, as evidenced by my (extremely interesting) story above. I’m not sure why I would to know about a high school acquaintance’s latest order off SeamlessWeb, but gosh darn it, girl’s gotta stay updated! (On that note… I’m totally gonna order some sushi after this…)

But I digress. The name of the game now is REAL TIME. Facebook’s definitely got Twitter envy, and is turning itself into a one-stop shop for publishing and sharing information with friends.

Besides the changes to the home page, I’m also wondering how the changes to Fan pages will affect marketing efforts on the ‘book. This will definitely pose more work to those marketers charged with maintaining a client’s page’s newly-added Status feature, but I think this will make Facebook a much more attractive option for businesses who want to engage more efficiently with their audience. Not to mention, social media mega-presences Peter Shankman and the Scobes will definitely enjoy the ability to have inordinate numbers of friends wannabe fanboys.

For more info and a great look at the Facebook/Twitter connectivity race, check out Sarah Lacy’s article for BusinessWeek here.

And as a parting note… enjoy this news from The King of Pop…

Deuces!

Posted in Communities, Digital Marketing, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Billiard Balls vs. Cobwebs: The Politics of Web 2.0

February 23, 2009 – 12:17 pm

Mallory Dash

My deepest apologies to our reader(s)… I have been M.I.A for way, way, way too long. But please rest assured I am alive, healthy, and just as okay-awesome as ever.

As you might know, I was a Polisci major at McGill University way up there in the Great White North. While there, I took many classes on political theory and international relations. One of the tidbits that has stuck with me is the varying theories of how countries interact with each other- and just how much interaction really occurs or is relevant between sovereign nations or states. Two main theories are Kenneth Waltz’s states-as-billiard-balls theory of neorealism, and that of a more globalized, interconnected network of states, nations and even non-state actors, forming a sort of web between political forces.

I won’t bore you with the minute details of each of these theories (you can click the links above to find out more), nor is this a commentary on the benefits of globalization vs. isolationism within international relations, but I think it brings up an interesting correlation within the Internet and social media, and each of our presences online.

The Billiard Ball: Just as you might expect, these individuals just bounce off of each other, not integrating or sharing with others. So you have a website, a Facebook, or maybe even a Twitter account. But do you use these tools to their greatest advantage? Or do you just broadcast/lifecast your own news, without adding any value to your peers or to the community at large?

The Cobweb: These really put the “social” in social media. Linklove, retweets, and acting as a part of an engaging community- “Cobwebs” realize they are not acting alone, and that they are not only able to share with others, but can also learn a lot from their peers.

Just as with politics, each individual is their own state with an outward-facing persona and something to import and export in the way of ideas, services, and advice. The key is how each of these individuals interact with each other to achieve a common good- if they do so at all.

So- are you a billiard ball? Or a connection hub to others within a large, tangly web? Which do you feel is more relevant now?

Posted in Communities, Social Media, Social Networking | No Comments »

What Marketers Want - Size vs Stamina

February 13, 2009 – 10:32 am

By: Matt Clark

As reported by TechCrunch and every other technology/social media/marketing/consumer Web site in the world— comScore recently released their stats for 2008.

Facebook has beat up, made fun of, and taken the lunch money of every social networking Web site in the world.  With 221 million members, they are only 4.5 million users behind Blogger.com for the number one social media Web site when measured by total unique visitors worldwide.

But if you look closer (thank you TechCrunch) number of users doesn’t mean value.  MySpace still has more US unique visitors per month.  MySpace also has better user engagement.  Users spend 226 minutes/month on MySpace, compared to just 176 minutes/month on Facebook.

Yea but Facebook will catch up and pass them with that too, Matt.

No. No. MySpace saw the number of minutes each U.S. user spent on the site per month grow 15% compared to a 4% growth for Facebook.

MySpace is marketer friendly and has a track record of success. Meanwhile companies continue to spend $4k on Facebook apps that flop.  I might enjoy Facebook more, but for clients, MySpace is the right recommendation.

On a side note, Facebook placed the market value of its privately held shares at $3.7 billion, according to a transcript of a court hearing held June and released Wednesday. The amount translates into $8.88 per share. Damn it…

Posted in Digital Marketing, Facebook, News, Social Networking, Strategy | 3 Comments »

I Rock… just incase you didn’t know

February 11, 2009 – 1:36 pm

By: Matt Clark

Towards the end of January there was a HARO request by PRChannel, looking for advice for the PR grad.  I shared some of my personal experience in hopes to help out.  Of course they used your boy’s stuff.  I mean, who wouldn’t.  I am sooo a thought leader.  You can find it here.

Apparently they received so many great tips they decided to run a week-long series.  The HARO community really stepped up and gave some great advice.  Its worth a read if you about to graduate in May or are looking for a new job. Here is the entire series

• Advice For The PR Grad - Part 1
  
• Advice For The PR Grad – Internships
• Advice For The PR Grad – Networking
• Advice For The PR Grad – Interview Tips
• Advice For The PR Grad – Be Bold and Creative
• Advice For The PR Grad – Final Thoughts and Additional Resources

Posted in News | No Comments »