  The Squared Root - FG Squared's Blog |
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The Squared Root8 Posts tagged with the squared_root tag
Social commerce, the use of social media in business, is putting companies on an even playing field; and the companies that aren't getting on board are going to find themselves falling behind the competition.
Think about it - social media is everywhere! Wiki-ing, blogging, podcasting, twittering, FaceBooking, and MySpacing - this is how the world is communicating now. And if your company isn't playing along, your message is less likely to reach your target audience. For this reason, major corporations, like Austin-based Dell, Intel and AMD are integrating social networking and other social media into their marketing plans.
To help companies get to where they need to be, interactive professionals in Austin that understand the power of social media in today's world have converged to create Interactive Austin 2008. This forum which takes place on June 19th, is an event dedicated to educating companies on the advantages of Social Commerce, the importance of it in the rapidly changing corporate environment, and how to harness its power for profitability.
The event will feature two prominent keynote speakers. Brian Magierski, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of nGenera Corporation, will speak on "Social Commerce and It's Impact on Business." While the Vice President of Corporate Marketing & Communications for AMD, Pete Hayes, will speak on "Get into the Click Stream: An Alternative to Driving Traffic to Your Site." Aside from the keynote speakers, this will be a day full of educational and informative panel discussions and case study presentations from Austin's social media experts.
If you have a company, it would be a wise decision to attend Interactive Austin 2008. For more information about it, check it out online at http://www.interactiveaustin2008.com.
We will see you there!
Late Friday morning, the South by Southwest Festival officially kicked off here in Austin. It’s that crazy time of year when aspiring rock stars, film makers, internet strategists, and other hipsters of every stripe converge into the downtown Austin entertainment district. Being the brainiac that I am, this year I decided to arrive twenty minutes early, so I was one of the first in line. Moments after I arrived, the line was snaking around the corner of the wide convention hall. Wow, was I relieved to be near the front, so I could quickly get back to my office across the street.
For those of you attending the festival, check out http://sched.org/sxsw2008/. It’s a slick and interactive event marketing tool that allows attendees to quickly make their schedule and share it with others.
For instance, here is my schedule: http://sched.org/sxsw2008/steve_golab. If you want to meet me at the event, this will give you an idea where you'll be likely to find me. I doubt I’ll actually stick to the schedule, though, and also I may be changing it around as the event goes on.
If you are not heading to the festival this year, I still encourage you to check out http://sched.org/sxsw2008/ and http://sched.org/sxsw2008/steve_golab. This web-based scheduling tool is elegant and also brings high impact user experience of sorts. Try to use it, you'll see what I mean. From an event marketer’s perspective, the tool allows exhibitors, producers, and sponsors to measure participant interest in real-time and better forecast where the crowds will be. If I had more time, I could probably rattle off eighty other benefits possible with the right social media marketing strategy in place. The tool itself is an attraction for the event and I bet it wins honors this year for the Interactive Awards. Rock on!
This evening I stumbled upon some research findings that each of you who are parents will surely relate to. Namely 91% of mothers prefer to purchase brands that other moms have recommended.
Wow, that is a powerful idea! As marketers, we spend so much on traditional media and new media, and in the end, the buyer's purchasing decision is most heavily influenced by referrals that occur on a personal level rather than originating from your tightly controlled marketing message. I am speaking about the thickest root of any truly successful business, namely word of mouth from a current or former Client and Customer.
With that in mind, I'd like to introduce a video you may find interesting. Dave Evans was recently interviewed as part of a South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Festival promotion. Dave is our own FG SQUARED Social Media Practice Director and a very close friend of mine. I wanted to share this interview with you because I find it very timely and relevant to innovative business folk. Perhaps the biggest question I continue to face is "How should I measure the ROI impact of interactive social media?" Dave is a forerunner in this kind of thinking so I thought you should hear more about what he has to say:
After watching the full 20 minutes of Dave's interview, I'd love to know what you are thinking. Even if all you have to share is a chuckle about the Red Bull he is chugging throughout the interview.
You don't need an MBA to know the bottom line in business is about profit and performance.
That's why "Be The Bottom Line" currently serves as my office-hours mantra.
Be The Bottom Line.
In a metaphysical sense, being the bottom line requires training that unites the body and mind - not to mention a fusion of eastern and western ideologies.
Be The Bottom Line.
Four little words that say so much about FG SQUARED. This yin-and-yang microthought neatly summarizes the holistic viewpoint we bring to our clients -- visionary people in organizations that are market leading -- willing to examine and adopt new interactive tools to create a faster track to profitability.
If you're a business leader -- someone responsible for making sure your company competes at the highest levels -- I'm sure you are constantly considering new ways to increase sales, reduce cost or improve productivity. Perhaps for you, the role of Corporate Marketing is already shifting to a profit center rather than a pure cost center.
Innovative social media technologies like social networks, podcasting, mobile messaging (SMS), and collaborative tools can be applied to make new connections at a fraction of the cost of traditional creative media. And when executed intelligently with passion, it is possible to dramatically increase overall marketing communications effectiveness.
Ultimately, though, it's through integrated thinking that you can fully harness the power of interactive marketing. And that's when the FG SQUARED mantra begins.
I'll delve deeper into context in my upcoming articles. In the meantime, welcome to The SQUARED Root! The Squared RootFG SQUARED Company Blog |
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