My take and recommendations from the Frontier social media webcast
Is Social Media Working For You?
I’ve seen questions and comments about how to get more people to participate on a Facebook page. I am finding in some of those cases there probably needed to be a bit more research on whether the audience you need to reach is participating in social communities. It could be there either isn’t a whole lot of people in that company’s geographic area on Facebook, which means there is a limited pool of people to engage.
Another issue is subject matter. The company may want to talk about what it does and the Facebook audience wants to talk about something else. Those marketers that realize this and want to engage will find a way to participate in the topics their audience wants to discuss.
Look at it this way, say you are a utility company who wants to talk energy. Perhaps a way to do that is have a weekly contest giving away five ice cream cones during the summer to people that participate on your page. While you promote that contest, you are reminding people about energy conservation, air conditioner usage, potential brown outs, weather forecasts, what do to in severe weather, etc. You can even hold an event at the selected ice cream stores in your coverage area.
Social media can be about your company, but it starts with what is of interest to the people you want to reach.
Seeing is Believing
Dig into Twitter using these research methods. This will help you quantify and qualify your audience that are active participants.
Audience Interest and Your Geography
Facebook can help identify social media audience size by either “likes and Interests” and/or location.
A final recommendation is to do a Social Media Assessment that can provide:
1) Audience Size by geography and topic
2) Key participants and thought leaders in your area
3) Recommendations for engagement, audience growth strategies, and content
August 26, 2009 at 7:09 am
· Filed under Uncategorized
Albert Maruggi and His PR and Social Media Guests Can Be Streamed to Smartphones
St. Paul, MN, August 26, 2009 — The Marketing Edge podcast – one of the Web’s longest running marketing podcasts – is now available in streaming form on iPhones and many Blackberry models via Stitcher Radio.
Stitcher allows users to access podcasts on their mobile devices without downloading them and creates stations that customize to users’ preferences and interests. Listeners can also stream podcasts on Stitcher’s website. “We are delighted to add podcasting veteran Albert Maruggi and his Marketing Edge podcast to the Stitcher Radio line up,” said Colin Billings, Director of User Experience at Stitcher Radio. He was interview about audio and mobile applications on a recent episode of the Marketing Edge.
“Stitcher is the combination of consumer customized information on a mobile and streamed platform,” Maruggi said. “Mediums like Stitcher Radio serve as a platform for unique and niche content as well as the mainstream media. It is another opening for audio, one of my favorite mediums because it is passive which allows organizations to reach end users, while accommodating an end-user’s busy and mobile lifestyle.” Stitcher Radio is capitalizing on the growing number of smartphones and the inevitability of a mobile, on-demand information world.
“We are excited by how quickly smart phones are developing. In addition to supporting the iPhone and many Blackberry models, we are preparing to release a Stitcher Radio application for the Palm Pre very soon, and plan to support Android based phones later this year. As mobile phones and wireless networks become more sophisticated, Stitcher will continue to harness these improvements in order to deliver rich listening experiences, and ease users’ transition to consuming talk and audio content on mobile handsets” said Billings.
The Marketing Edge podcast, created in February of 2005, focuses on the latest in the social web, business technologies, public relations, social media and marketing. Maruggi is joined by journalists, business leaders, authors and other innovators to discuss topics spanning from Twitter to health care The Marketing Edge recently interviewed Chris Brogan, author of Trust Agents. Upcoming shows will feature Jeremiah Owyang the former Forrester analyst, Shel Israel author of Twitterville and a preview of the Health 2.0 conference.
About Provident Partners
Along with hosting and producing the Marketing Edge, Maruggi is also the founder and president of Provident Partners, a Minnesota based marketing firm which specializes in the effective use of social media, business communications, and public relations strategies. Maruggi is a frequent conference speaker on how business, organizations, and society can benefit from new technologies and communications strategies. Provident Partners also provides PR and marketing strategic consulting, execution and multimedia production.
Beyond Social Media 101 to Advanced Business Communications with Social Strategies
Saint Paul, MN, July 24, 2009 – Taking social media beyond 101 is what you’ll get at a seminar with Albert Maruggi of Provident Partners and Mark Palony, Global Marketing Manager, SAP Solutions of SoftBrands. The pair has been working together for five years integrating social media tactics with traditional marketing. Their breakfast seminar What Works, What’s Next on Wednesday, August 12 in Saint Paul, MN is designed to get beyond the basics and show what worked, what failed and why. Their approach is to get beyond what is Twitter, and focus on the best ways to package, participate, and promote your message.
The session covers real example to drive awareness, attract and support channel partners, and give the sales team the tools to be competitive. Some of the tactics include video case studies, audio podcasting, Google Ad Words, piggybacking media relations, Twitter, and blogging,
“I frequently speak at conferences and the issue constantly arises about using social media in a B2B environment. It’s not as sexy to talk about as B2C and social media; it’s a lot of hard work, creativity with certain parameters and persistence. We will share our tactics with the seminar attendees and engage in a discussion about how these tactics can be uniquely shaped for them,” said Maruggi
“We had specific objectives with each tactic and when you put them together the strategy was a blend of increased thought leadership exposure to the market and effective sales support using socially friendly digital assets,” added Palony. “The body of work includes, blogging to drive web traffic, Twitter to engage in relationship building with media and analysts, podcasting about thought leadership topics, and videos of customer situations that highlight industry solutions,” he said.
You will walk out with:
A clear map of communication priorities that match your objectives (PR, sales and partner support, investor relations, marketing communications)
A method to get support from the necessary resources in your company (identifying thought leaders, using multimedia effectively while keeping it simple for others in the organization)
A set of tools to use in the areas that matter most to you (avoid chasing shiny new objects)
I’m trying something a bit different, instead of just a blog to land on from Twitter, I’ve decided to provide a unique page that I’ll update as needed. First some basic items to consider when following me on Twitter. I use Twitter as a total communications outlet, business, personal, relationships, and even sometimes, What I’m doing now.
Confessions: I use it to highlight, even promote new blog posts. I don’t go hog wild, a couple of tweets here and there to let people know I’ve something potentially worthwhile on the stove. By the way, I write the Marketing Edge blog and podcast, that even others have recommended. :>)
Hidden Objective: I crack myself up. And I hope to share some of those chuckles with people on Twitter, people, I don’t care if the bots following me laugh or not. So you might see some tweets that don’t make sense, unless you read what I responded to. I know, I know, I shouldn’t end a sentence with to, sorry Mrs. Grady (elementary school English teacher)
Clients: Sometimes I will share what I’m doing with or for clients on Twitter. I usually will indicate those tweets with a (C) just to save space. If there is room the first time I tweet about clients I will spell out the word. I have not yet taken on clients that I promote their stuff, for example. Here’s XYZ software company, they have great stuff, you should buy some. That situation has not yet presented itself and I’d rather not get into that kind of relationship.
I have pointed tweets to clients that have a software product in beta that they want feedback about. I believe this represents more of Twitter’s core value, it is a two way street and I’m not asking someone to shell out cash. I also do not get paid for Tweeting about clients.
What I do like to do is report about industries and trends. I will do that for clients and gladly take that conversation to Twitter to get more dialogue on a topic. To me, that is the beauty of social media in general and Twitter specifically. For example, I am doing project work Verizon Wireless. I will reference articles or blog posts that highlight the issue of the Android phones, cell networks, and mobile application development. As part of this interesting project, I tapped into an organization I have a commitment in the Social Media Breakfast. Verizon Wireless is interested in being a part of the social community, in Des Moines there is an active and growing community online and in mobile development. I am involved with Nathan Wright of Lava Row in organizing the first Social Media Breakfast in Des Moines, Iowa with a dynamic panel conversation about the mobile web. I will be Tweeting a lot about it. I have also created Twitter lists in the areas I’m interested.
Dogs: Occasionally I talk about dogs, and you’ll see Torry, I am guaranteed to get a smile from at least her when I come home. Thanks for following.
New media outlets are endeavoring to accommodate the public’s demand for multimedia messaging. Content isn’t just words. It’s video, pictures, audio, graphics and even animation.
Albert Maruggi joins a panel discussion entitled “Using Multimedia PR to Score Breakout Media Coverage” on May 19 at the Bulldog Reporter’s Media Relations Summit in New York City. The panel will provide bold ideas on how to use multimedia messaging to drive search engine results and dramatize your story.
The panel also features:
Ephraim Cohen - Founder/Principal at Fortex
Corinne Kovalsky - Director of Public Relations at Ratheon
February 18, 2009 at 11:26 am
· Filed under Events
On Wednesday, March 18, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association will host a panel discussion titled “The New Deal: Recession-Era Marketing adn the Rise of Social Media.” MIMA’s own description says attendees will leave with:
Real-life examples
Links to smart resources
Advice about how to structure and maintain a community team inside a marketing organization
Tips on how to illuminate the c-suite and collaborate with outside partners
Provident Partners’ own Albert Maruggi will moderate the discussion that will take place among a panel of impressive speakers:
Paula Berg: manager of emerging media at Southwest Airlines
Rick Mahn: social media architect
Connie Bensen: community strategist at Techrigy
Gary Koelling: creative director and founder of BlueShirt Nation at Best Buy Inc.
February 5, 2009 at 11:19 am
· Filed under In the news
Is Twitter, the short-message social networking tool, just the next Web fad or is it a useful tool for business-minded communication?
A recent article from Black Enterprise magazine addresses the issue, and Albert Maruggi offers some tips for businesses looking to get started with putting Twitter to good use.
One particular tip that stands out: “Make certain you can give a few minutes every day to monitoring messages and sharing information.” Indeed, just like any other people-driven social media forum, Twitter is not something you can set up and leave on autopilot. You get what you give. You reap what you sew. Etc.
Julio also took a few minutes to do a video interview about his book, some good folks to follow on Twitter, and tips for pitching him and other reporters via Twitter. That interview is embedded below and found here on YouTube.
December 1, 2008 at 10:11 am
· Filed under In the news
On Black Friday, KTLK-FM, a news talk station in the Twin Cities, had Albert Maruggi and others in the studio to discuss Twitter and its impact on communication, politics, marketing and more.
The full discussion, with some news segments thrown in here and there, runs about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, there’s no particular Web page or post to point you to, but there is a podcast you can listen to — grab this .mp3 file.
The conversation covers an introduction to Twitter, some examples of how it’s used in real life, and some of the more dramaticexamples of Twittering during a crisis. Albert even squeezed in a mention of Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s new book, “Twitter Means Business.”
The Pioneer Press ran a preview of the new book over this past weekend. From that article:
“Twitter might seem like the last place on the Internet any self-respecting company would want to do business,” the author writes. “It can be a trivial and childish realm, filled with blather about bodily functions, pet excrement and what users had for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
“Yet…the companies come. The reason: Twitter is on fire. Its users are a remarkably vocal, energetic crowd. More and more businesses want this energy to rub off on them, and seek to generate some fireworks of their own as they discover their inner tweeters.”
We at Provident Partners have been eagerly awaiting this new book, as we were lucky enough to play a part in its creation. Albert Maruggi and Mike Keliher both appear in the book, as does one of our Twittering clients, Mark Palony of SoftBrands. Albert also wrote the book’s afterword, in which he explains how Twitter “taps human needs — the desire we have as part of a humanity to connect, to be curious, to seek recognition, to be part of something, and to share.”
For a deeper look (listen, actually) into the book, check out this podcast interview Albert did with Julio a few weeks ago. And of course, buy the book!
Albert Maruggi
My take and recommendations from the Frontier social media webcast
from at least her when I come home. Thanks for following. 
On Wednesday, March 18, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association will host a 
Is Twitter, the short-message social networking tool, just the next Web fad or is it a useful tool for business-minded communication?
On Black Friday, KTLK-FM, a news talk station in the Twin Cities, had Albert Maruggi and others in the studio to discuss Twitter and its impact on communication, politics, marketing and more.
“
RSS feed
Subscribe via e-mail