As the original social network, forums dominated the web for since the early days and have grown along the way. Often started as a hobby or network between friends, these small sites can reach hundreds of thousands, even millions of users and unlike the big networks, the topics can be very focused from Frequent Fliers to Disneyland Tricks to Headphones. But just as the close-knit community built and user to user focus of forums give them huge reputation power, it makes entering into them tricky to say the least. Continue reading →

Right now it’s around 2:30pm pacific time and about 45 minutes ago I caught wind of an escalating crises the apparel brand Urban Outfitters is now facing. Updated comments now appear at the end of the post. The background As … Continue reading →

In the first part of my post I explained how Facebook uses an algorithm called EdgeRank to help users see the posts they are most connected too. While intended to help end users, this system can kill as much as 70% of the visibility of a page, I even mentioned a client I’m working with who has seen their views go down despite a 5x growth in fans. So now that we’re agreed on the importance of having a good EdgeRank score, it’s time to discuss the Do’s & Don’ts to get there. Continue reading →

Pageviews, visitors, time on site have all been eclipsed by fans as the go to metrics for digital engagement. For most digital / social managers, management is looking at one thing and one thing alone to gauge success: how many fans do we have on Facebook?! But if pageviews were a misleading indicator for websites, fan counts could be a killer robbing your company of a chance to succeed in the social space due to a little system known as EdgeRank that at this very minute is reducing the impact of your every post! Continue reading →

So much emphasis is being placed on driving Facebook “likes”, Twitter followers, YouTube subscribers these days that we seem to be forgetting the user in the drive to grow, grow, grow. In the earl[ier] days of social networking it was fairly novel just to have a brand page that you promoted, regularly posted too, and *gasp* replied on. Now that’s the norm. That and a lot more. So standing out requires doing more than raising your hand and saying “I’m here”.

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Disclosures up front:  I’m not a financial analyst, mind reader or anything resembling a stock broker and as I didn’t buy in to LNKD at market open I’m just a bystander in this game. Normally I wouldn’t touch an IPO … Continue reading →

A couple of weeks ago a client who runs marketing for a mid-sized retailer called for some advice on staffing up her social team. I’ve been helping her to find a social lead but that takes time and she’s been … Continue reading →

With so much money to be made, the online counterfeit marketplace has grown up and in some industries now rivals brands and major retailers in sophistication of marketing tactics and experiences. From auctions to marketplace listings to entire knockoff sites, today’s consumer faces an uphill battle in separating good from bad when shopping for electronics, clothing, jewelry, and many other types of products online. Making matters worse, few brands openly disclose that there even is an issue leaving it up to consumers to discover it for themselves after making a purchase.

While marketing can’t stop the problem, using the same marketing tools that we leverage to grow our brands, we have the power to educate consumers to safer pastures. From website warnings to social media campaigns, it’s time to start marketing against counterfeits.

Part two of my series on online counterfeiting. Continue reading →

We all know about fake products, purses, watches, handbags, and other stuff we see walking through certain parts of major cities. But what most people don’t realize is that over the last decade buying a fake is no longer just about a purse or limited to a dark alley. The very benefits that make ecommerce so attractive and successful have opened up a dark door and allowed a small market to explode into a massive problem that’s confusing consumers, taking profits away from companies and in some cases even killing.

There’s a big counterfeit problem and it’s online. Continue reading →