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B.L. Ochman's weblog: Internet marketing strategy, social media trends, news and commentary.

B.L. Ochman's views on Internet marketing and social media are based on her 12 years of experience handling strategy, implementation and promotion to creative marketing and blog advertising for S&P 500 companies.

Smart Companies Will Get Social Media, Dumb Ones Won'tJanuary 6

You gotta love Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV because he does not mince words. Discussing the ROI of social media marketing says:

"I'll be honest - i'm just not intrigued or interested...or motivated to convince big companies that they need to do this: the smart ones will and they'll win and the dumb ones won't and they'll lose. I really don't care who wins or loses."

Dear CEOs and CMOs: please watch the (very short) video and give what Gary said some thought. (Entire speech here) All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Playing for Change: Peace Through MusicJanuary 5

Playing for Change is a movement to help build schools, connect students, and inspire communities in need through music. Watching it is a great way to start the year. Enjoy!

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

How Companies Can Get Started in Social Media MarketingDecember 31 2008

By B.L. Ochman

In 2009, it's clear that resistance is futile. Corporations can no longer avoid social media.

Millions of people are creating content in social media. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time.

How do you start? Forget baby steps and dipping your toe into new media. The train has left the station.

Getting started
Before you begin, consider that:

o Social media isn’t one thing – it’s a set of tools.
o Social media is not a quick fix – the results come in the long term, the same way they do with PR. In fact, social media campaigns, like PR, often start producing their best results in the third year.
o Social media is not free. It costs money to create an effective social media campaign.
o You need to drive traffic to a blog, a forum, a community, a social network. That requires time, effort and money
o You have something to say that may be of interest beyond the CEO's office or the marketing department

Lurking is Good
o Before you join the conversation, lurk. Monitor what’s being said about your company in social media -- even on weekends.
o Once you have the lay of the land, join the conversation
o Tread gently
o Remember: we’re all humans. People are what matters, not companies.

Don’t be afr

DaimlerChrysler Christmas 2003 v 2008 - a Study in Contrasts, and Just DesertsDecember 29 2008

In December 2003, DaimlerChrysler created what it called the "first ever" living window display by challenging a family of three to live for five days in a 2004 Dodge Durango SUV that was parked in Times Square.

For every day the family stuck it out in the Times Square SUV, Chrysler donated $5,000 to a homeless organization, "up to a total donation of $25,000!" If the family lasted five days, they'd own the car. As Dan Barry pointed out in the NY Times, the value of the SUV was $36,000 so homeless organizations might have made out better if DaimlerChrysler just gave them an SUV to sell.

In 2003, DaimlerChrysler demonstrated their resistance to emerging social media, by not incorporating a web cam, or daily video blogs from Times Square into their stunt. Then, for the next five years, they continued to resist changes in consumer sensibility, in politics, and in the economy.

Now, five years later, this type of PR stunt is completely out of the question for a car company, and not just because many families are actually living in their cars.

In August, 2007, DaimlerChrysler drove off into the sunset in the gas guzzling SUVs they'd been stupid enough

Dear Jeff Bezos - Here's How Amazon Lost Me as a Customer - ForeverDecember 29 2008

Dear Mr Bezos: Let me tell you how, earlier today, you lost me as a customer – forever.

A month or so ago, on Amazon's website, I pre-ordered the second and third book in the 10-book series, The 39 Clues for my nephew.

Book two, One False Note, was published on December 2, 2008. It was my nephew's much-anticipated Chanukah gift. He didn't receive it.

The third book, The Sword Thief, is scheduled to be released on March 3, 2009. I also pre-ordered the card set that goes with the second book to help him play the online 39 Clues game. I chose the shipping option “Group my items into as few shipments as possible.”

Would you think that meant do not ship the book that comes out in December until March 2009? I didn't.

Nobody likes to wait
But as the customer service person for whom I waited for on hold for seven minutes said – that means all items in the order will be shipped when the last one is ready. To whom does it mean that? I wonder.

What would be the next thing the customer service person might have said: “We’re sorry your nephew didn’t get his Chanukah gift. I can imagine that was a major disappointment to an 11 year-old boy. Please let us send the book to h