Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

How do You Build Value with Micro Updates for a Time-Starved, Information-Intensive World?

Does actionable/useful content sit at the convergence between the role of businesses, government bodies, and news organizations on the social Web? A few days ago the news of a swine flu strain originated in Mexico started spreading with greater speed and alacrity than (hopefully) the flu itself. The interconnected nature of those of us who are online helped the information make its way through multiple networks. In a matter of hours, the Twitter stream by CDC went from a 1,000 to 46,000 67,000 78,000+ followers (updated at last check). This is word of mouth at work. It’s much more than... Read more →

The Agency Side of Business: David Berkowitz, 360i

David and I met in person when we both blogged BRITE at Columbia a couple of years ago. No matter how long you may know someone online, the best way to get to know them is face to face. Since we've also spent a few days crossing paths at SxSWi recently, I wanted to invite him to participate to our conversation on the agency side of business. How long have you been on the agency side of business? What do you enjoy most about your work? David: I’ve been on the agency side for five years now, the past three... Read more →

Extraordinary Impact

It comes with emotion and with interaction. There are no two ways about it, especially when our certainties start to vacillate, we go back to meaning as in what resonates with us at an emotional level. We want to rediscover what lights us up and how we can keep others interested in and engaged with us. It's human to want to rediscover what the new normal is. As far as I can remember, there have been some conversations that had the most extraordinary impact in my life. Mentors and teachers who have given time and advice freely. We connect with... Read more →

Anticipate, Stimulate, Welcome, Recover

The title of this post comes from advice Alan Webber gives in his new book Rules of Thumb in the chapter if you want to change the game, change customer expectations. At the root of this conversation is the company that acts human, again. In many cases, this means getting the people part right. Does your organization have the right managers in the right functions? At the root of problems with customer conversation is often a mismatch between what the company thinks is important to customers and what you on the other end of the phone consider a priority. The... Read more →

When is it a Good Idea to Include Bloggers in Your Media Outreach?

There are plenty of posts dedicated to how to pitch bloggers. I give Darren Rowse the gold for starting his commentary with the suggestion that you'd want to comment first and become a genuine and active member of that blog's community before pitching. Lee Odden assembled a great reading list at TopRank blog a couple of years ago - be relevant is what resonates to me most about his list. Jeff Pulver stated that PR is not an industry for lazy people. It isn't indeed. Adam Singer broached the topic most recently and I must say that his final word... Read more →

Monetizing Video Online

How do you transform digital pennies into dollars? I don't think we had one answer at the Hub Cira Center PhIMA panel. Rather, we had a spirited discussion and discovered how much many people on Twitter and in the room love Hulu. Kudos to that marketing team for the experience they have been able to craft. The premise for the discussion was simple - despite all the hype, video represents just 3% of online advertising. YouTube has 5 billion video views, but it reportedly makes less than $40MM from video advertising. Few sits have been successful in getting users to... Read more →

A Truck Full of Yogurt

When in driving school back in Italy, we had this instructor for theory that always had good stories for scenarios and situations we'd encounter on the road. For example, he would teach us about checking the oil levels in the car, telling us what to do about low levels. Then he would call on someone, ask them to evaluate a scenario - and lo-and-behold, the levels in the new scenario were high. Now what? The idea was that we needed to be prepared for every kind of occurrence, and be able to solve problems that came along the way. That's... Read more →

Syndicators, Meet Bill Harman, Radio Program Director and Connector

He's been a brand manager, strategist and architect of contemporary instrumental music since the early 80’s. As a pioneer of this sound, he's programmed stations and specialty shows in Columbus, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Austin, Sarasota/Ft. Myers and Gainesville. He has helped design contemporary instrumental stations for radio groups in Australia and Canada. Harman's been nominated multiple times as the Gavin Report Smooth AC program director of the year and my operation in 2005 was nominated as Smooth AC station of the year by Radio & Records. Winner of 13 individual Addy Awards for writing/production of commercial radio spots. His projects have... Read more →

Top Ten Reasons Why Your Content Marketing Strategy Fails

It is better to fail after trying something new, than to fail because you're not even trying. The definition - content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action. It's the opposite of interruption marketing. You create great content that attracts customers and prospects, educates them, and potentially engages them in a conversation with you. With that in mind, here are Top Ten reasons why your content marketing strategy fails: (1) You don't have... Read more →

A Monsters, Inc. Move at Domino's

It made the company react, and customers wary. This would not happen as much if companies continuously put their customers first, if they were known entities intimate with the people they serve. Sure, there are always going to be detractors and pranksters, it's part of human nature. But defensive, distrustful, and suspicious are also drawn out when there is a void in knowledge and understanding of how things (and people) work. [image - snapshot from Domino's video response] Just like it was narrated superbly in Monsters, Inc. [hat tip to lloyd] once employees and customers know each other, relationships are... Read more →