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PandemicBlog

Insight into viral and social media marketing

Who’s Running Your Social Media?April 14

If you can’t answer the question that is the title of this post, then you have a problem. Companies have had decades to form very nice little fences around their various departments of marketing, PR, and the like. Even e-commerce (as a department) has had over a decade of time in some companies to establish itself and its boundaries.

Like all social organizations, companies are full of members (departments) that take great care in marking their territory and making sure everyone knows what is their (and sometimes more importantly, not their) responsibility.

• PR departments handle the PR agency
• Marketing departments handle the Ad Agency
• E-commerce departments handle SEO/SEM

A few years ago, it was (relatively) nice and peaceful in the jungle. Then, along came this disruptive thing called social media. Social media didn’t neatly fall into anyone’s preconceived buckets, and whats more, no one had any idea whose responsibility it was to figure out if these new tools could be used for marketing.

I know firsthand that some very large companies grabbed the youngest person in their marketing department and said, “Get us on Facebook.” Think that is a tenable position in the ever-increasing field of the social web?

Now that social media marketing has settled in a little bit, a lot of the stories are coming to the surface about how social media was (and in many case still is) handled within companies. I have se

The Geico GloveBox: Changing the Insurance Industry’s Smartphone LandscapeMarch 24

You’ve seen their Cavemen. You’ve seen their Gecko. But have you seen the Geico GloveBox?

Currently available for the iPhone, the Geico GloveBox allows customers to access a multi-functional, extremely useful application. Equipped with a handful of tools, this product is single-handedly transforming smartphone apps for the entire insurance industry. Before going any further, allow me to share just why this application is built to succeed.

Once it’s loaded, individuals have access to a wealth of useful and handy tools. First, is an accident helper that allows someone to quickly contact emergency services. It also gives you a place to organize photos from an accident, to help you prove that it was the other guy’s fault.

Next, it has a “Roadside Service” tool that allows you to find gas stations and tow services if you are ever misfortunate enough to need either one. There’s also a taxi/rental car function that utilizes the phone’s GPS, to help you find other ways to get home. Lastly, the application is equipped with do-it-yourself and how-to videos, covering everything from jump starting a car, to changing a flat tire.

Aside from these excellent services, what makes this app so groundbreaking is just how much stock Geico has invested in a product that doesn’t actively recruit new customers. While there are portions of this app that are dedicated to

America’s Navy – A Social Media Force For Good?March 5

In a previous blog post covering the basics of social media, I discussed a few major goals of social media (Creating community through two-way communication, creating and providing the opportunity for content that can be shared, responded to and evaluated, and finally, being personalized/customized). To better explain these goals, I decided to profile an organization that has dived in head first –pardon the pun – the U.S. NAVY. For full disclosure, I am a proud NAVY sister, and I have found the branch’s use of social media beneficial for keeping connected to my brother, as well as to other military families who “get it.”

The branch has embraced social media with open arms by maintaining accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and iTunes (featuring news in the form of podcasts and video podcasts). As of 1/15/10, the NAVY listed over 200 official social media sites . Additionally the NAVY sponsors their own social network for Moms on Ning. Th

RedBull Stratos: Record-Breaking Marketing?February 23

So here’s how it works:

1. Put dude in fancy new space suit
2. Put dude in a little box
3. Hook box to a super-cool weather balloon and let go
4. Watch as balloon floats towards space
5. Once the balloon is 23 miles above the earth, dude opens box and JUMPS OUT!
6. Dude falls back towards earth and (hopefully) becomes the first person to break the sound barrier with his body
7. (this is the important one) Dude survives

That is the RedBull Stratos project in a nutshell. Visit the website for more details, or even better, check out the trailer they made for it:

Social Media Context vs. Dogma: What is it and Why Use it for Marketing?February 9

Social media has been one of the leading topics in the marketing industry for a few years now, but people seem to have difficulty defining it and determining how it can be best leveraged for marketing purposes, i.e. doing “social media marketing”. (Note: There is a difference between the phrases “social media marketing” and “social marketing.” Please refer to our previous post “Social Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing” for more information). This is our unique perspective on the social media basics, as a company that has executed hundreds of successful social media campaigns for the past 3 years in nearly every vertical, intended for both the new practitioner and old hats looking to adapt and refine their thinking.

The Basics

Social media is the result of taking what we naturally do as humans – mainly communicating and developing relationships – and combining it with technology and user-generated content. Unlike traditional media, which is one-way, social media allows for a two-way conversation between friends, family, and even companies. This provides companies with the opportunity to really listen to their customers (both existing and potential), gain insights and feedback, and hopefully put the acquired information to good use.

When social media is used correctly and in the right