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Convince and Convert Blog: Digital Marketing for Advertising Agencies and PR Firms

Social Media and Email Marketing Trends, Strategies and Consulting

BL Ochman - The Twitter 20 Interview about Social Media and BloggingYesterday

BL Ochman, author of the What’s Next blog, and a veteran of digital marketing since 1996 and a public relations powerhouse before that, agreed to withstand the crucible of a Twitter 20 interview (20 questions live on Twitter).

Here are BL’s thoughts on blogging, email, social media, and getting the job done right online.

1. @jaybaer: You were a long-time PR genius. What’s the role for public relations in a digital, social media connected world?

• @whatsnext: I still meet PR peeps who don’t know the basics of social media. There is no excuse for that. They need to get up to speed.
• @whatsnext: PR can play an impt role in social media, providing information, concepts, and putting people together. Mostly, they need to educate clients.

2. @jaybaer: You’ve been critical of press releases for years. Do new social media release services like PitchEngine change your min

Think Bottom Line, Not Top Line, on Social Media ROIDecember 3

There’s been a lot of conversation lately about social media ROI but the hand-wringing about it is totally misplaced.

True ROI (return on investment) calculations are possible in cause/effect marketing scenarios where you can isolate tactics and variables to determine incremental revenue generated. Today, the only marketing programs that can semi-reliably generate “real” ROI calculations are SEO, PPC, email marketing, banner ads, and in some cases direct mail. Even these programs can only generate decent ROI calculations for e-commerce or lead generation.

Social media is anything but cause/effect. It’s by definition amorphous and circumstantial, and because it’s a two-way conversation rather than unilateral shouting, the customers control the frequency and intensity of the message in a way that they do not elsewhere.

Thus, true ROI measures a la SEO, PPC and their brethren are not possible for social media.

But, guess which other

The Power of Truth, Woot-StyleDecember 2

On a recent trip to New York, I was pondering the future of the in-flight magazine and bemoaning its general editorial shoddiness when I stumbled upon an extraordinary interview with Matt Rutledge from Woot about their policy of telling the truth and acknowledging mistakes. (hat tip to US Airways Magazine)

Since the first caveman painted a sign depicting always low prices, brands have believed in the primacy of telling people how great they are, even if it doesn’t square with reality. As my friend Roger Hurni from Off Madison Ave likes to say about Applebee’s (and others):

“If you have to tell customers you’re the neighborhood bar and grill, you’re definitely NOT the neighborhood bar and grill.”

Truth: What a Concept

Woot takes an entirely antithetical approach, and it’s working. Revenue this year is estimated to be $117 million, and staff has doubled recently to 110. The Woot model is based on telling the truth to the customer even

An Amazing True Story of Cars, Bribes, and Customer ServiceNovember 24

(Originally posted on Off Madison Ave blog) Earlier this year, I received a FedEx envelope unexpectedly. It was from Infiniti (Nissan Motors USA). I purchased an Infiniti EX in late December, 2007.

Turns out, according to the letter enclosed in the FedEx, the window sticker on my vehicle listed a “rollover sensor” as standard equipment. Two questions immediately come to mind. First, what is a “rollover sensor”? Second, if you’re going to rollover, or already have done so, what good is a sensor at that point? It’s like a Google alert that says “guess what, you’re losing your ass in the stock market.” A little late.

I continue reading the letter…Apparently they did NOT include the rollover sensor in the car, and in fact had never planned to do so. However, because it was listed as included on the window sticker, Infiniti will immediately write me a check for $2000 or BUY THE CAR BACK FROM ME.

Again, questions come to mind. First, how fired is the person

Video Blog Post - 7 Deadly Sins of Social MediaNovember 21

My first video blog. Apologies for the audio quality. I’ll work on that for next time. Comments most welcomed on this first effort. Thanks as always,
j

Download the sins as a PDF>>