Social Media Marketing and the impact of Social Video

Why Is Video So Important?

Don't take our word for it. See what others are saying about the power of online video!

"New York Times Highlights Advantages Of Online Video For Small Business"
http://www.varvid.com/2011/03/new-york-times-highlights-advantages-of-online-video-for-small-businesses/

"27 Benefits of Online Video"
http://www.sitepoint.com/27-benefits-of-online-video/

"Why You Should Use Online Video Advertising For Business"
http://www.famousbloggers.net/online-video-advertising-business.html

"5 Benefits Of Online Video Marketing"
http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Benefits-Of-Online-Video-Marketing&id=858538

"B2B:The Benefits Of Online Video"
http://www.onlinevideo.net/2010/09/b2b-the-benefits-of-online-video/

"Does Online Video Sacrifice SEO Benefits?"
http://www.davidrisley.com/does-online-video-sacrifice-seo-benefits/

"Explore The Benefits Of Online Video Optimization"
http://www.industrialsearchenginemarketing.com/blog/2009/02/03/explore-the-benefits-of-online-video-optimization/

Our goal is to provide our clients with a marketing tool that can be used to promote their business online, provide a powerful and positive impact to their SEO (search engine optimization) and allow customers to meet the face behind their business. That’s why we are excited to provide our clients with what is quickly becoming the most powerful tool on the internet, a video!

WHO: You, the Local Expert and Small Business Owner

WHAT: As a Guest Expert via Skype Video Interview

WHERE: Online at WorldClassTV

WHEN: At your convenience, from the comfort of your home or office

WHY: Creating videos is great way to increase the potential of being found on searches for your products, company, industry, or services, at least on Google.  Google now incorporates video results into its Web search, specifically those videos hosted on YouTube, which is an affiliate.

Let me ask you the following questions:

• Did you know that having effective video on your website is the best way to "be real" for prospects?
• Do you have a YouTube Channel for your business?
• Do you know how many videos are viewed on YouTube every day?

If you are following any of the major marketing guru's these days, there is a consistent encouragement to return to"being real".  There is no better way to "be real" with your target customers than to share who you are in a video.

A video message is much more appreciated because it feels more personal to your target audience.  Instead of reading words, they can see your facial expressions, smiles and other emotions you wish to convey.  Plus, a video could make them feel as if they’re talking to you.

You can also engage your customers by requesting them to send in their videos, such as a video of themselves talking about your service and the great experience they've had with you.

And lastly, there is a great new way for you to be presented in a "real" format by being interviewed through the WorldClassTV Social Media Internet Show.

Be A Guest Expert on WorldClassTV

If you have been watching the news recently you've likely seen the increased use of Skype to remotely interview Guest Experts.  If you have a laptop computer with a video camera, we can provide you with a great new Guest Expert Video personalized for your business.  This video is produced at your convenience, no travel involved and done at a time convenient for your schedule.

30 minute to 50 minute "Infomercial" TV Interviewers are charging $12,000 to $15,000 to produce this type of Guest Expert Interview and are then charging you thousands of dollars per month for local cable distribution.  Our production costs are a fraction of this, and we will give you the source video for you to freely distribute through your social network.  We will also host your video on our Internet Channel at no additional cost!

Link to WorldClassTV Show Opener

Your Skype Video Interview

We have developed a very convenient and cost-effective way to interactively interview you from the convenience of your home or office.  The Skype Video Interview Package is available for a limited time. This promotional pricing is being done for $297 USD which includes the following:

• 30 Minute Personalized Interview
• Questions Provided in Advance
• Your graphics and logo included in the video
• Call-to-Action Close with Your Contact Info
• Royalty Free Background Music included
• Review and Approval of Final Video
• Full Length Video included
• Short Promotional Video included
• Source Video File for both is Yours.

Link to Order Your Skype Video Interview

Social Media Marketing is being greatly impacted by Social Video, and our unique Skype Video Interview lets you get the benefit of being interviewed as a "Guest Expert" on the WorldClassTV Social Media Show.

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100,000,000 – that is the # of YouTube videos viewed per day- is your Small Business Video on that list?

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A recent survey of more than 3300 participants titled the State of Social Media Marketing found  that 77% of social media marketers plan to increase their focus on video marketing in 2012.

Uncle Sam Wants Your Money - I Want Your Money Documentary

This is so good...sad, but true :(



Set against the backdrop of today's headline - 67% of Americans don't approve of Obama's economic policies, the film takes a provocative look at our deeply depressed economy using the words and actions of Presidents Reagan and Obama and shows the marked contrast between Reaganomics and Obamanomics. The film contrasts two views of the role that the federal government should play in our daily lives using the words and actions of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Two versions of the American dream now stand in sharp contrast. One views the money you earned as yours and best allocated by you; the other believes that the elite in Washington know how to best allocate your wealth. One champions the traditional American dream, which has played out millions of times through generations of Americans, of improving one's lot in life and even daring to dream and build big. The other holds that there is no end to the "good" the government can do by taking and spending other peoples' money in an ever-burgeoning list of programs. The documentary film I Want Your Money exposes the high cost in lost freedom and in lost opportunity to support a Leviathan-like bureaucratic state.Documentary Ray Griggs Want Your Money Entertainment

Social Media Marketing and Social Media Broadcasting via Puppetheads

This is way too funny!!!

Social Media Gaining Popularity with Corporate Travel Professionals

Press Release Source: American Express Business Travel On Wednesday July 21, 2010, 9:34 am EDT

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research by American Express Business Travel found that corporate travel professionals are increasingly using social media to communicate with travelers and to stay on top of latest travel industry information. Respondents also reported high expectations regarding their companies’ future social media usage plan, reporting that within the next year forums, webcasts, and online video are the most likely to be implemented by businesses.

The latest research report “Social Media in Business Travel Management” by American Express Business Travel’s eXpert insights research practice outlines the evolution of social media tools and sites from consumer use to business-to-business use, and illustrates how social media supports managed business travel today. The research also includes survey results conducted in the beginning of 2010 to reveal how individuals as well as their companies are currently embracing social media technology and how they might use these tools to support managed travel in the future.

“As businesses around the globe alter the way they communicate and receive information from clients and prospects, social media has also proven to be a useful and effective tool to share pertinent information with employees and drive change in organizations,” said Christa Degnan Manning, director, eXpert insights, American Express Business Travel.

“Applying this research to the social networking platform we’ve launched, BusinessTravelConneXion, it is encouraging to see corporate travel departments becoming more comfortable with this form of collaboration,” said Alicia Tillman, vice president, corporate affairs and marketing services, American Express Business Travel. “We will continue to provide a free forum to share ideas, connect community members, and offer webcasts, videos and blogs to meet the demand for industry information and connection entrepreneurial travel category managers are looking for today.”

Social Media Finds a Role in Corporate Travel

Social media has evolved to play a role in business travel programs. While half (50%) of respondents said that they use social media to some extent to support travel management today, mid-size companies ($3M to $10M USD in air volume) were the largest adopters (59%) of social media to support business travel management to date.

Many respondents indicated that the primary benefit of social media in supporting managed travel is educating themselves or their organization about the market. In fact, 44 percent indicated that staying on top of the latest travel information was the most important social media benefit. This response was followed closely by the interest in using social networking to learn and communicate best practices and reduce business travel costs (43%). Other findings include:


42% use social networking to look for preferred vendors and services from travelers
34% seek to uncover travel patterns that could lend to better vendor rates and services
27% look to gain visibility into traditionally siloed business functions/departments
26% use social media tools to encourage travelers to network with each other
18% network with other travel manager/procurement officer peers

Customization and Oversight Desired For Expanded Social Media Use

Of those survey respondents who do use social media to support travel management, when asked specifically what features or functionality would they add if they could design their own social media tools for professional use, the majority (61%) indicated they wanted flexibility to accommodate business travel management processes. Other top ranking features/functionality include:


Real time updates such as mobile application, the ability to push out notifications and alerts (39%)
Supervision of the entire social media sharing process and specific monitoring of those who are using social media tools (35%)
Reporting ability – notification to website abuse, comments and security issues (29%)

Corporations Apprehensive About Implementing Social Media Tools

Even though the global economic crisis curbed spending, financing was not the main social networking adoption barrier. In fact, only six percent of respondents cited lack of funding as the most significant barrier or challenge to adopt social media tools.

The most significant barrier to adoption of social media as an organization has been the lack of direct benefits realization. Twenty percent found the business case for social media tools and usage within travel management programs unclear. Lack of strategy or understanding and lack of support from upper management each followed at 15 percent respectively.

Notably, only five percent of respondents indicated that they have had no barriers or challenges to adopt social media tools as an organization.

“While companies have a way to go to embrace widespread social media acceptance, they are very involved in evaluating how to use these new technologies rather than simply dismissing it particularly as younger generations enter the workforce and move up the corporate ladder,” continued Manning.

American Express Business Travel’s own www.businesstravelconneXion.com (btX) is an online community serving as the destination for travel professionals to become more informed about travel and expense programs by learning from peers and experts. Community members including travel buyers, suppliers, technology providers, industry experts and influencers, use btX to discuss perspectives, share best practices, build relationships and stay up to date on current research and industry news. The site has grown into a community with an approximate 8,500 user base where thousands of members have participated in online events such as webinars on how to recession proof travel programs, how to adapt to the “New Normal” of business travel, building a strategic meetings management program along with volcanic ash emergency tutorials. Regularly established bloggers from the industry have also prompted hundreds viewing the sites’ blog each month.

About American Express Business Travel

American Express Business Travel (www.americanexpress.com/businesstravel), a division of American Express Company, is committed to helping its clients maximize the return on their travel investment through increased cost savings, world-class customer service and greater spending control. With clients ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, American Express Business Travel provides a combination of industry-leading technology, travel management consulting, strategic sourcing and supplier negotiation support, alongside global customer service available online and offline. The Company also provides a dynamic online community (www.businesstravelconneXion.com) harnessing the collective intelligence of those in the business travel industry offering a variety of perspectives, best practices, current research and industry news.

American Express operates one of the world’s largest travel agency networks with locations in over 140 countries worldwide. Total travel sales volume in 2009 was $21.5 billion, including proprietary volume, volume processed through joint ventures, and American Express branded volume processed through its partner network.

American Express Company is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

To Learn more about using Automated Social Media Marketing for your business, go to WorldClassID Social Media Optimization.

How To Use Social Media Marketing To Generate New Leads

New Social Media Optimization (SMO) Capabilities demonstrated through
Automated Social Media Marketing Offering.

How To Use Social Media Marketing to Generate New Leads! - kewego
WorldClass Brand Management, the premier Social Media Marketing Agency and recognized leader in automated social media marketing software solutions, today announced the availability of new "Automated Social Media Optimization Solution Packs" -- innovative social media marketing for automated creation of social networking websites (including personalization), and social media marketing capabilities for users of its automated social media marketing solutions.



In today’s socially networked world, everybody is generally aware of social networking websites like Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Millions of individuals have utilized these sites to find more friends, but savvy marketers are now using social networking profiles to drive more visitors to their core website. This is called social media marketing.

Keywords: social media networking social social network network social social networking sites online id social definition brand management social society social web social website issues management reputation management social analysis social identity social networking software the social network sociology social marketing branding

Video from socialmediaguru

New Automated Social Media Marketing Solution for Social Media Account Creation, Social Networking Website Personalization, and Social Media Advertising Help Marketers Make Sense of Social Media Optimization.


SAN DIEGO, CA, April 2010 (online) – WorldClass Brand Management, the premier Social Media Marketing Agency and recognized leader in automated social media marketing software solutions, today announced the availability of new "Automated Social Media Optimization Solution Packs" -- innovative social media marketing for automated creation of social networking websites (including personalization), and social media marketing capabilities for users of its automated social media marketing solutions.

In today’s socially networked world, everybody is generally aware of social networking websites like Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Millions of individuals have utilized these sites to find more friends, but savvy marketers are now using social networking profiles to drive more visitors to their core website. This is called social media marketing.
You may believe that social networking sites are completely pointless. But here is where we take a contrarian view in that social networking sites are actually broadcast distribution systems which help us get our message to a new audience in a totally unique way.

You have to be clear about your objectives, and this may sound crass, but you have to view this as a one-way messaging system. It is impossible to think of managing thousands of friends on hundreds of different social networking sites, and that’s just not the objective. You want maximum exposure to drive new leads to your core website and social networking websites can do just that.

Remember, most “industry experts” will tell you that social networking is give and take and that you need to be part of other peoples’ network. Honestly, that’s just a way for them to convince you to waste your time and money trying to convince you they might actually know something about social network marketing. Our approach is totally different.
It is crucial to post your web site URL or video links on your profile, and on your status. If the URL is too long, you can create a shorter link by using free web services like www.tiny.cc.

Are you stressed by wasting countless hours on social networks, online marketing, and Search Engine Optimization? Discover automated social media marketing. Go to the website www.WorldClassID.com.

About WorldClass Brand Management and WorldClassID
Brand HyperDistribution: a social network distribution channel. WorldClassID utilizes a variety of peer-to-peer technologies which are even more efficient at reaching a target social network audience than any single method of channel distribution such as print, email, video, social networking, direct mail, network and online broadcasting.

WorldClassID provides a unique methodology to most widely distribute your brand message. Whether you want more clients, are looking to sell more product or want to reinvent yourself…the WorldClassID Social Networking Software Service is the solution. WorldClassID is a proven alternative to traditional marketing solutions and the only personal branding solution on the market today that can validate the distribution of content through HyperDistribution.

For more information about becoming a WORLDCLASSID CUSTOMER visit http://www.WorldClassID.com or to schedule an interview with Mr. Kendell Lang, please contact by email at Kendell.Lang@worldclass.com or by phone at 760.445.3315.

“Are you overwhelmed by Social Networking? Are you confused by hundreds of social networking sites? Are you hiring a social network coordinator to manage your MySpace, Facebook or Twitter accounts? WorldClassID Service is the answer. This revolutionary new social networking software service gives you the answer to managing your personal brand in the SocialSphere without being totally frustrated. WorldClassID is what can help you harness the power of the SocialSphere without driving you crazy.

WorldClassID (http://www.WorldClassID.com) is all about providing answers to the question, "do you have a consolidated social content management and social network channel publication system that allows you to WRITE ONCE and then PUBLISH GLOBALLY?" WorldClassID is "Simplifying the SocialSphere™" and making sense out of a chaotic jumble of hundreds of social networking sites.”

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What is Social Media Marketing and How Can I Drive New Leads Using Social Media?

The internet is where people now go to get information on products, services, businesses, locations, directions, etc. The internet is also where people are talking to each other about all of these things.


Social media is the communication between both individuals and groups – in all kinds of ways – all over the world wide web. The social sites that we use to engage in conversations are our marketing tools. Tools will come and go, but this advertising and marketing method is here to stay. Remember that the internet is still very young, and every day new people are getting access.

Social media is an opportunity for people to talk directly with major brands in a way that was never available before. And small businesses can use social media exactly the way much larger businesses are doing – right now there is nothing to hold any business back from participating.

The cost of social media is measured more in terms of time than it is in dollars. In order to effectively join this new way to market a business, and have success with it, there has to be a consistent and sincere effort to engage on the popular social networking sites as well as industry specific locations.

Advertising and marketing is no longer about pushing out a message, in the form of an advertisement, to a general crowd or even a targeted market. People do not want to be ‘sold to’ anymore. Prospective buyers want information, referrals, testimonies, and conversation about a brand, service, or products.

Social media is about attracting a crowd, pulling them in to your message, by engaging them in conversation, posting valuable (helpful) content online, entertaining, educating, enlightening their market.

And it’s not only enough to provide this great content. The other part of Social Media is the marketing of the message: Social Media Marketing. Helping the content to be seen to an even wider audience is achieved by consistent efforts to market the messages in strategic (non-selling) ways.

Promoting your business online using online social channels can include answering questions, listening to concerns, establishing relationships, asking for feedback, and building brand awareness. The most effective way to utilize social media marketing is to constantly be in touch with the conversation that is already happening about your brand, and responding to it in a sincere way.

There are multiple returns for social media marketing efforts. In addition to achieving a wider reach for your content that results in more visits to your website, there are search engine optimization benefits. Social media sites are now receiving top search engine listings so that even more people find your business when going to Google and other search engines to find your product or service.

So there is a plan for Social Media and there is a plan for Social Media Marketing. Both plans should be worked on a daily basis. There are optimal ways to do each, and we plan to cover that here on this blog.

Takeaway: Social Media is sharing information online. A business can participate by posting content in all kinds of creative ways to engage new people to the product or service that is represented – not to sell, but to use the social space on the internet to facilitate communication that will lead to sales.

To learn more about how to take advantage of automated social media broadcasting go to http://www.worldclassid.com/.

Is Social Networking Too Big To Fail? Can You Really Afford to Quit Facebook?

Is Social Networking Too Big To Fail? Can

You Really Afford to Quit Facebook?

These two overly eager social neophytes named @mmilan and @josephdee got a bug in their bonnet and
decided that May 31, 2010 was going to be a day designated as QuitFacebookDay.com. The site states: "If you agree that Facebook doesn't respect you, your personal data, or the future of the web, you may want to join us." A counter indicated that some 33,607 folks are committed Facebook quitters.

Long before Facebook catapulted into its now dominant position in the social networking world, MySpace and other social networking sites had been pioneering this fertile new marketing ground.

Facebook was founded in 2004. By August 2008 it claimed 100 million users. According to the company, it now has more than 400 million active users (nearing 500 million), 50% of whom log on in any given day. The average user creates 70 pieces of content each month and more than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month.

It was Facebook's introduction of new open network features with automatic access by third-party apps (which you have to manually go in and shut off) which set off a firestorm of criticism over privacy issues. Many outraged folks threatened to delete their accounts and some actually did, including some high-profile
web industry people. Some people have proposed the creation of an interoperable social networking protocol as an ideal alternative to Facebook www.readwriteweb.com/archives/more_web_industry_leaders_quit_facebook_call_for_o.php).

What really amounted to a media stunt to get publicity for their own venture was a misguided notion that you might want to have something private out in a very public arena.  The whole point of social networking from an economic perspective is to generate new leads. 

You may disagree with that notion, but why else would businesses spend millions to reach target audiences on social networks?  Just like search engines, there are the easy ways to generate leads (Pay Per Click and any of the paid advertising alternatives) and then there are the hard ways through "Natural" or "Organic"
search engine ranking.  We have been saying for a while that there is a parallel evolution going on in the Social Networking world that tracks quite consistently with the search engine models.  Why do you think Google is taking such an aggressive stance towards Facebook? 

It is because they represent a threat to the core business model and just as with Google, you will achieve better results in Facebook with "Natural" or "Organic" listings than through paid search results.

To be blunt, you are either going to participate in the social networking arena for pleasure or business.  You might think your social cause is neither, but it's totally business.  It's all about reaching your target audience and influencing them (sell them) that your position should be supported. 

Our approach to social networking is a traditional capitalist perspective, so our belief is that once you know what your objectives are you can design your strategic plan to take advantage of the medium.

As far as off-site factors like social networking websites impacting your search engine ranking and the use of social media to positively impact ranking, we are actually contrarian to how most experts will tell you to
handle social networks. We really don't care how many followers you have on Twitter or how many friends on Facebook.

Take Dell as an example. Dell has 1.5 million followers on Twitter. Do you think they're really engaging those followers in any kind of meaningful social dialogue? They are radically focused on pushing their message, one-way...out into the system. If someone likes the special deal being offered in a particular tweet, the
user is linked to their ecommerce site to take advantage of that special offer.

We are focused on this media as a one-way distribution channel and it's purely a way to distribute your message the way you want to the most number of distribution points. The objective is to drive people to your website and to use your social media marketing to improve your base website ranking (locally or globally).
What that means is that you're never actually going to be establishing a dialogue with anyone in Germany on Bebo (or Orkut in Brazil), but your Bebo and Orkut accounts will point both people and search engines back to your core website. Whether a potential client in Germany sees you on Bebo shouldn't actually matter (that would be a bonus), but what does matter is that search engine spiders find your backlink on Bebo
and Orkut and give your base website an added ranking score when your "localized" website is ranked.

Someone in Germany wanting to "Start a business in Singapore" should see your website in the Top 10 returns on whatever search engine they use if that happens to be your target keyword.

In late May, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would roll out a new, much simpler way
for users to control their privacy settings. With one control, users would be able to determine who they want to share all of the content on their profile with-though more granular controls would let users specify who
could see individual updates. Users will also be able to easily turn off access to their profile info by third-party apps and websites. Here's an explanation of the changes www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php), and if you want to see what its current policy is (since it changes frequently), go to www.facebook.com/policy.php. 

All of this, of course, implies that you actually care about privacy as if everything you've ever posted isn't already permanently etched into cyberspace.  As I tell my kids, this is not like the saying, "what happens in
Vegas, stays in Vegas", but more aptly is reflected by, "what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet."

The reality is, if there is something you don't want the world to read about you, don't post it anywhere on the Internet because it will remain there FOREVER!  If you doubt the reality to this, just check out the Internet
Archive Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org/ and you will see the modern day version of the Great
Library of Alexandria which now contains in excess of 150 BILLION archived web pages. 

And that's just what is publicly published and doesn't include the kind of technology seen in the Wil Smith movie "Enemy of the State" which gave a glimpse into the technology called "Carnivore."  If you think Facebook has an issue with their privacy policy, you clearly haven't looked into what our very own government is up to these days under the auspices of the Patriot Act.  Funny that the "change" Obama
promised didn't include repealing this unconstitutional violation of our right to privacy, but in fact made it premanent.  The vote to extend HR 3199 was a YES Vote by Obama to adopt a conference report
that extends the authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to conduct "roving wiretaps" and access certain business records through December 31, 2009, and makes the remaining 14 provisions of the Patriot Act permanent.

Looking Ahead
So here is my summarizing question, "Is it possible that social networks like Facebook are too big to fail?"  There is some speculation that successful ventures like Facebook will become mostly tools for business
(public and private).  Useful for social media marketing services, while individuals concerned about privacy retreat to some other less public network? Will sites like Facebook really be just about social media broadcasting, personal endorsements, and influence?

To show the broad appeal of social networking sites, even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recently jumped into the social media craze. On May 20, 2010, the PTO unveiled its official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/USPTO.gov. The PTO intends to engage the public and the intellectual property community directly and provide real-time updates including press releases, information on upcoming events, and posts from the PTO's Director's Forum blog. The PTO's Facebook page allows Facebook users to provide comments, discuss, and offer feedback to the PTO directly on a wide range of issues and initiatives. The new Facebook page, however, does not replace the PTO's website, www.USPTO.gov, as the official source of information but, rather, provides a new channel for the public to connect with the agency.

ABOUT WWW.WORLDCLASSID.COM

WorldClass is an automated social media agency made up of social media engineers. We provide automated social media marketing and new online social media marketing. We are next generation search engine optimization known as social media optimization, using automated social media broadcasting to provide online social media public relations.

Contact Information:

• Lead Brand Manager
• WorldClass Brand Management
• 1155 Camino del Mar, Suite 521
• Del Mar, California 92014
• http://www.WorldClassID.com 

(+01) 760.445.3315

(e) Contact@WorldClassID.com
 

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Neo in the Social Media Marketing Matrix

I’ve written previously about the current economic times in which we find ourselves, and uncertain times like these drive me into a big picture, naturally reflective state – “What does this mean for me?” “What should I do with this information?” “What do I value most personally?” and “Is social media turning us into the Matrix?”

One of my all-time favorite movie trilogies is the Matrix. My number one all-time favorite is Blade Runner, but I’ll save the analogy to that movie for another day. In the Matrix all humans “live” plugged in to the outside world through cocoons that facilitate all of their interactions electronically. They see, talk, hear, feel, taste, etc through nasty cable connector plugs that connect to their brain through the back of their head. No physical interaction is necessary; it’s all done electronically.

[caption id="attachment_12" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="social-media-marketing-matrix-neo"][/caption]

Neo in the Social Media Marketing Matrix.

I first noticed the Matrix at the airport and on the M in Washington, D.C. Everyone was plugged into their iPods or their laptop, no talking, no looks, just zombie-style existence moving through the day. Everyone is in the same place but very much alone.

The Matrix also lives on planes, trains and automobiles, where individuals text, IM, surf the web, and talk on their phones. No face-to-face interaction, only electronic communication.

The Matrix is also disturbingly showing up in the classroom. It’s no secret that many (most?) students are on Facebook, Google Chat, Twitter, and email consistently during classes, including during the middle of lectures by professors in college.

My kids have grown up in a world where they didn’t know the Internet didn’t exist before. They have grown up in a wired world with a multi-tasking perspective that is all about connections. Technology by itself isn’t necessarily a good thing or a bad thing; it’s how it’s used that determines good or bad, so I’m just providing some observations about impacts I’m seeing. I think we can safely say that social media has increased the ability of all of us to be, well – social – at least electronically, but with networks much more diverse than we were able to maintain before.

But what price do we pay for social media? Is social media decreasing our ability and comfort with communicating physically, through face to face interaction? After all, when Neo emerged from the Matrix, his body was weak, he had to heal and build strength before he could survive in the real world!

While I’ve been amazed at the amount of interaction that an individual can maintain through social media, I’ve been slightly underwhelmed by their ability to translate that electronic interaction into physical interaction. Furthermore, the decline in effective communication skills and ability to deal with confrontation, conflict resolution and relationship building is an alarming trend that does not bode well for the future of my Digital Youth.

No one talks to each other at the gym or on the bus. In the real world, people might Google Chat about life issues, but not ask questions verbally. I’ve seen individuals in group settings who remained silent during group meetings only to unload all their thoughts in a brain dump email after the meeting was over. A number of folks even question the value of meeting face-to-face period, saying “we can all just figure it out through email.”

I think it is an easily drawn conclusion that the more you use social media, the more comfortable – and reliant – you become on it as a means of communication. We all know it’s tough to introduce yourself to someone face to face, and it seems that my Digital Youth are practicing that interaction less and less.

I spent some time researching this topic (or at least as much as could be expected from someone who is graduating in eight days) but was unable to find a direct answer to my question. There are a number of articles posted on both the perils of social media usage in the classroom, and the potential benefits. One article proclaims that continuous connection to electronic devices is killing face-to-face interaction, while another suggests it could actually create dissociative disorder. I found a couple of people asking the same question, one from his video blog, and another who realized he was being unsocial while on his computer during a Superbowl party. There is even a survey trying to figure out the answer!

So the ultimate paradox is that I’m using social media to both vent and pose the questions. Social media is supposedly all about dialogue and creating conversations. So…is social media turning us into the Matrix? As electronic communication facilitates more and more of our daily interactions, will it decrease our real world ability to connect face to face, or at the very minimum, devalue face to face interaction?

Automated Social Media Marketing Service presented on The Wellness Hour by Randy Alvarez

Automated Social Media Marketing Service highlighted in Video Interview

How do you get on the first page of Google? On this weeks report, I interview the C.E.O of WorldClassID. He is an expert on the topic of social media marketing. If you are considering or want to know more about social media marketing. You have to watch this weeks report.



New Automated Social Media Marketing Service, WorldClassID, Takes Industry By Storm

Have you ever considered what the benefits of "write once...publish globally" automated social media marketing service can do for getting your message into social networks and your business profit margin? Learn where this is actually being done!

WorldClassID is an Automated Social Media Marketing Service that is taking the Social Media Marketing Industry by Storm.

There is absolutely no doubt that automated social media marketing, also known as social marketing, is one of the fastest growing powerhouses on the planet. Automated social media marketing is assisting with getting your branded message out to the SocialSphere pronto, on a daily basis if you want it that frequently. No matter where in the world clients and businesses are located, you're going to want to reach them using an automated social media marketing service and WorldClassID is the ONLY solution actually delivering!

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About WorldClassID (http://www.WorldClassID.com) is all about providing answers to the question, "Do you have a consolidated social content management and social network channel publication system that allows you to WRITE ONCE and then PUBLISH GLOBALLY?" WorldClassID is "Simplifying the SocialSphere" and making sense out of a chaotic jumble of hundreds of social networking sites.

WorldClassID provides a unique methodology to most widely distribute your brand message, as well as protecting and managing your digital reputation. Whether you want more clients, are looking to sell more product or want to reinvent yourself...the WorldClassID Social Media Broadcasting Service is the solution. WorldClassID is a proven alternative to traditional marketing solutions and the only branding solution on the market today that can validate the distribution of content through HyperDistribution.

Understanding Social Media Broadcasting

Are You Confused About Social Networking?

Are You Confused  About Social Networking?  Trying To Make Sense of Social Networking? What is Social Networking all about and how can it help your business?  Are you confused by hundreds of social networking websites?  Are you hiring a social network media coordinator to manage your MySpace, Facebook or Twitter accounts?     If your social networking plan makes you feel like the picture above, WorldClassID will impact your search engine ranking and drive new leads by making your social networking strategic plan look like the following: Positively Impact Search Engine Ranking >If you don't have a social networking content plan, you're missing out on a significant new way that search engines are ranking your content.    Drive New Leads to Your Website >Social Networking gives you a positive forum to broadcast your message and achieve peer-to-=peer endorsements, the most powerful way to generate new leads.   CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEOS ABOUT WORLDCLASSid WorldClassID   1155 Camino del Mar, Suite 521 Del Mar, California 92014 (760) 445-3315

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Top Social Media Marketing Agencies

Top Social Media Agencies

A Recent Article by Jason Keith of
http://jasonkeath.com

September 21, 2009

In the last month I have had 6 separate conversations
with peers surrounding the question “What is a social
media agency?”

There are several types of
social media companies out there. Some are research
focused, or software heavy, or app developers, or
monitoring services. Some are purely extending the PR
battle plan to a new medium.

The social media agency is one that can grasp all
these segments and help companies extend their brand and
marketing through training, long term strategy, and
execution.

For the purpose of this list, I have focused on
companies who mostly do social media. There are many
companies making social media a piece of what they
offer. These companies are the top ones focusing on
social media.

As
Armano points out “What
McKinsey would offer in SM would be very different than
Crayon”. Since almost every company would almost be it’s
own category, I am avoiding the categories for now.
Perhaps in future lists we can add some delineation.

Advanced Guardof CC Chapman fame.
Acquired by
Campfire, which may not fall into our criteria of a
“social media agency” but now has some major talent in
the arena.


Altimeter Group,
of Charlene Li and
more recently Jeremiah Owyang fame, “provides
thought leadership, research, and consulting on digital
strategies, with a core focus on how companies can
leverage social and emerging technologies.”

Ant’s Eye View “At Ant’s Eye View we
concentrate on helping companies of all sizes understand
and engage in customer collaboration, social media, and
community building.” Clients include Apple, Microsoft,
Cisco, Dr Pepper, and Maker’s Mark. [added per @TShelton]

The Conversation Group “The Conversation
Group is a global consultancy broadly dedicated to the
art, science, and practical application of social
technologies. We’re enabling organizations around the
world to radically scale their ability to discover,
engage and collaborate with their constituencies, both
inside and outside the enterprise.” [added per @PeterKim]

>carrot creative “is a new-media marketing
agency located in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY specializing in
social media marketing and user experience design. We
have the unique ability to take a project from the
initial ideation stages to full scale application
development all under one roof.”

Collective Bias “The Wisdom of Connected
Crowds – this is CollectiveBias, a partnership between
us, consumers, brands, & retailers.” CollectiveBias,
of John Andrews, @GeekMommy and Walmart Moms fame,
is a
new social media company
underneath the MARS Advertising umbrella.

Crayon,
of Joseph Jaffe fame, “is
a strategic consultancy that helps its clients achieve
positive change and impact by joining the conversation.”

Dachis Group, of Jeff Dachis, Peter
Kim, and David Armano fame, “was
created to unlock the value of social technologies for
large corporate enterprises through its Social Business
Design global advisory practice and technology
implementation program.” Dachis has
$50 million in funding from Austin Ventures and
recently purchased London/Sydney based
Headshift.

Ignite is “the Original Social Media Agency
®. We’ve combined content developers, technologists, and
social media strategists to form the Ignite team.
Together, we keep up with trends, filter the noise, and
help companies like yours put social media to work.”

the Kbuzz “is a Word of Mouth Marketing
firm that creates and sustains buzz through word of
mouth and social media marketing.”

New Marketing Labs,
of Chris Brogan and Justin Levy fame, “is dedicated to
solving your online marketing and social media
challenges. They approach this in two ways, events and
education (see
Inbound Marketing Summit) and through guiding you
and pitching in as a social media marketing agency.”

Mullen “is a social media agency rooted in
strategy, public relations and a belief that creativity
is as important as community. Social agency of record
for Panera, Olympus, Grain Foods Foundation, Stanley,
Stop and Shop and others.”

Shift Communications“is a fast-growing,
national agency that lives at the intersection of
Influencer Relations & Social Media. We measure our
performance according to the impact that we have on
driving your business forward.”

Social Media Group “Highly respected
independent social media shop, delivering results as
Ford’s social media agency since 2007, clients include
SAP, Yamaha, ING & govt. One of the world’s largest
independent agencies devoted exclusively to helping
companies navigate the new socially engaged web.”

Undercurrent “is a think tank based in NYC
that provides digitally-focused strategic planning,
ideation, measurement, training, and advisement to
global brands ready to engage a new generation of human
beings that were born digital.” Clients include Pepsi
and Ford.”

We Are Social is “a conversation agency. We
help brands to listen, understand and engage in
conversations in social media. We’re already helping
Ford, Skype, Eurostar, The Economist, Absolut, Dunlop,
Barclaycard and the WWF.”

Deloitte, McKinsey, Ogilvy’s
360 Digital Influence, and Porter Novelli
are also in the space. Not sure any of them would pass
the “mostly social media” standard, but I felt the need
to include them in the discussion. They are all
contributing to what a “social media agency” is evolving
into.

Also, Charlene Li of the Altimeter Group has a
great Wiki going with more information if you want
to dive in deeper.

List of Social Networking Websites

So if you have limited time and limited money to
invest in a social networking strategy, where do you
go?  We have compiled an ever growing list of social
websites, so please go to the following links to see the
entire list with URL links:

·        

Top 10 Social Networking Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Blogging Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Video Sharing Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Bookmarking Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Photo Sharing Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Professional Networking Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Press Release Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Article Posting Websites

·        

Top 10 Social Music Sharing Websites

The challenge is the idea that you can limit your social
marketing strategy in any way.  Even if you decide to
limit your strategy to just the Top 10 websites in each
of the 9 categories listed above (remember, there are
over 350+ in total) that means you’re looking at 90
social memberships!  If you believe that having a
strategic social networking plan is a valuable
investment, then you should also understand that having
a presence in ALL the social websites is important. 
Why? Because there are potential customers, potential
eyeballs who are in social networks other than the Top
10 who you’re not going to reach if you don’t show up in
the other social networks.

Social Networking Software Service (SnsS) – an obvious
solution

The old adage of work smarter not harder seems obvious. 
The only way to work smarter and have a reasonable
solution to managing hundreds of social networks is
through an automated software solution.  That is the
essence of what WorldClassID is and does.  It is a
technology solution which takes the manual and highly
complicated process out of the equation and creates a
repeatable, scalable solution for dealing with hundreds
of social networking sites.

About WorldClass Brand Management and WorldClassID

Brand HyperDistribution: a social network distribution
channel. WorldClassID utilizes a variety of peer-to-peer
technologies which are even more efficient at reaching a
target social network audience than any single method of
channel distribution such as print, email, video, social
networking, direct mail, network and online
broadcasting.

WorldClassID provides a unique methodology to most
widely distribute your brand message.  Whether you want
more clients, are looking to sell more product or want
to reinvent yourself…the WorldClassID Social Networking
Software Service is the solution.  WorldClassID is a
proven alternative to traditional marketing solutions
and the only personal branding solution on the market
today that can validate the distribution of content
through HyperDistribution.

For more information about becoming a
WORLDCLASSID CUSTOMER
visit

http://WorldClassID.ning.com
or to schedule an interview with Mr. Kendell Lang,
please contact
by email at
Kendell.Lang@worldclass.com or by phone at760.445.3315. 

 “Are you overwhelmed by Social Networking?  Are you
confused by hundreds of social networking sites? Are you
hiring a social network coordinator to manage your
MySpace, Facebook or Twitter accounts? WorldClassID
Service is the answer.  This revolutionary new social
networking software service gives you the answer to
managing your personal brand in the SocialSphere without
being totally frustrated.  WorldClassID is what can help
you harness the power of the SocialSphere without
driving you crazy. 
WorldClassID
(http://www.WorldClassID.ning.com)
is all about providing answers to the question, "do you
have a consolidated social content management and social
network channel publication system that allows you to WRITE ONCE and then
PUBLISH GLOBALLY?"
WorldClassID is "Simplifying the SocialSphere™"
and making sense out of a chaotic jumble of hundreds of
social networking sites.”