Daily Archives: August 15, 2009

-Ground breaking business TV channel, yourBusinessChannel, has this morning launched an app which links Facebook and YouTube together like never before. The app allows people on either platform to comment on videos, with their comments appearing on both platforms simultaneously.

YouTube and Facebook are amongst the biggest names in online social media. With literally hundreds of millions of people spending many hours a month on these platforms, it comes as no surprise that many businesses are looking for a killer social strategy to allow them to leverage marketing results from the enormous popularity of these sites.

The app launched by yourBusinessChannel’s business advice team has the potential to revolutionise Facebook marketing by allowing the two popular platforms to “talk” to each other. Video content and the posting of comments is completely synchronised across two platforms.

The potential for this application to transform social marketing in general and Facebook marketing in particular are enormous, says Mark Sinclair, Features Editor at yourBusinessChannel.

“Some of the social marketing applications of this tool are fairly obvious, such as allowing users to read and respond to comments regardless of what social media platform they are on,” says Sinclair. “But what is really exciting about the tool is that once it’s out there, there will be hundreds of new and different business development uses that we can’t currently foresee. The power of the internet is that it allows everyone to access and collaborate using new technology.”

The App has been engineered by a team of specialist social media developers with expertise in Facebook, Twitter and Google integration. The development team says that it has built technology to allow a new level of synchronicity between almost any combination of platforms.

To encourage initial take up of the Facebook application, yourBusinessChannel is putting together a package of freebies for everyone who installs it, as well as a prize draw valued at up to US$60,000, all of which will be announced next week.

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=65406196214

NuVox, a leading competitive communications provider of voice, data, business applications, and security solutions for business customers throughout the Southeast and Midwest, recently launched a Social Media campaign to increase brand awareness and establish a greater presence on the web. NuVox’s overall marketing strategy combines social media tactics and traditional public relations practices to promote the NuVox(R) brand to its target customers.

The Social Media campaign will build awareness of NuVox’s products and services by using the latest social media tools. By incorporating social media into its marketing strategy, NuVox extends its overall reach making information on products and services more accessible. With a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Flickr, and the NuVox YouTube Channel, these social media networking sites act as an effective outlet for releasing information to key audiences.

“Our Marketing team is constantly exploring and developing creative ways to promote the NuVox brand to small and medium- sized businesses,” said Sid Earley, Vice President of Marketing for NuVox. “Utilizing social media tools allows us to target customers, prospects, dealers, vendor partners, referral agents, and friends. We believe this initiative will boost our presence on the web and allow us to continue building brand awareness for NuVox.”

One of NuVox’s most recent social media endeavors included launching a series of funny, yet informative videos on YouTube. The videos, featuring the “NuVox Office Genie,” are available on NuVox’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/NuVoxComm

Today, everyone knows that social media is the place to be, yet few have mastered the concept and are able to deliver the types of results that yield brand awareness in a big way.
“Record sales keep declining. DVD sales are continuing to wane. Entertainment companies keep slashing their budgets. The companies with the big budgets are big corporate clients and they are all very interested in joining forces with online tastemakers and celebrities,” explains Johnny Royal, CEO and Chairman of social media and viral branding agency, Luthier Society, Inc. “Whether you like it or not, this is the new model for both the entertainment industry and corporate branded campaigns.”
Understanding the need to deliver something exceptional, Luthier Society paired their client Michael Welch (“Twilight” Saga) with iNDELIBLE’s campaign for pharmaceutical giant, Allergen, who recently launched their Aczone product line by developing a multi-media website and online video series at AczoneTheMusical.com, featuring the already buzzed about “Twilight” star Michael Welch. The campaign ignited a new media wildfire with features on top social media websites such as Buzznet.com, About.com, Examiner.com and Bebo.com. The viral buzz spread across “Twilight” blogs, fan sites, music portals and online pop culture havens, resulting in millions of impressions in the company’s targeted demographic, where a pharmaceutical company would not normally live.
Luthier Society runs multi-tiered campaigns and is considered one of the most innovative social media and viral branding agencies in the world. Creative integrations such as the Luthier Society National Collegiate Social Media Program are just one element the company utilizes to stay ahead of the curve. The program runs simultaneously through every DMA in the U.S. with the top collegiate marketing, public relations and communications curriculums. A total of 300 students are given the task of building their own e-team and street team, creating their own blogs, writing press releases, taking screenshots of their work and learning how to use Luthier Society’s proprietary public relations and multi-media reporting system, ARCHIMEDES.
Developing a field strategy and excelling at online execution have been but a few aspects of Luthier Society that have turned heads. In 2010, the company will launch ARCHIMEDES 1.0 to the public. The ARCHIMEDES platform will function as the first monetary based value-measured system of analysis for internet users around the world and will relay traffic patterns and placement values similar to the NASDAQ.
Luthier Society, Inc. is a boutique social media and viral branding agency based in Los Angeles that provides all aspects of online communications and public relations to the music, film, fashion, lifestyle and technology industries. They employ a boutique specialized staff and have worked with clients ranging from Universal Records to The White House to Sony. Luthier Society, Inc. was founded by Johnny Royal in 2007.
Luthier Society: http://www.luthiersociety.com
Archimedes 1.0: http://www.luthiersociety.com/mediakit

Across the globe, business owners are continuously looking for new and improved ways to market their companies. The introduction of so many online tools has made this easier than ever; and Twitter – an online service similar to text messaging, but with the capacity to reach thousands of potential customers at once- is no exception.

Twitter allows business owners to build large lists of Twitter followers who are interested in the services and knowledge they have to offer. In order to help business owners discover the power that using Twitter can have when used as a part of their overall marketing strategy, leading Twitter expert Sean Malarkey has released a Twitter how-to course entitled Twixplode.

The course is designed to teach business owners how to best implement Twitter as a part of their online marketing plan; as well as show them how to build a massive, and responsive, list of potential customers. By building a relationship with a business owner’s Twitter followers, another aspect Malarkey teaches in his course, he or she has a willing audience for sales, new product releases, and even feedback on a company’s service.

Twixplode (which can be found at http://www.twixplode.com ) includes a full workbook which walks business owners through the entire process of using Twitter – from account creation to finding potential followers; a series of video tutorials which show users the exact steps Malarkey himself took to gain more than 80,000 followers in less than five months; and a series of audio sessions. Also included in the course is a personal coaching program designed as a classroom setting in which business owners can get their questions about Twitter answered by Malarkey himself.

This version of Twixplode is actually the updated version 2.0, having twice as much content as the original version. There is also a member’s area where users can access the private content Malarkey has included. Those interested in learning more or purchasing Twixplode can do so by visiting http://www.twixplode.com

Privacy and Social Networking Sites

To protect yourself on social networking sites, you must begin by recognizing that the integrity of your account on any Web site may be compromised. Once something is available online, it is no longer private. Your seemingly private profile may be accessed by any number of people, in many different ways.

Your soon-to-be ex-spouse may know your standard passwords or may be able to answer your security questions. Although few would debate that such invasions of privacy are unacceptable, people sometimes make bad decisions in the midst of divorce. It is best to be prepared for all contingencies, including the possibility that your future ex-spouse will look places he or she should not. Make sure that you are using strong passwords that are difficult to guess, with challenging security questions.

Furthermore, although many social networking sites provide privacy controls, this privacy can be little more than illusory. For example, if everyone in your network is allowed to see your profile, and your network includes a company or a city or a school, your profile may be available to thousands of people you do not know. If you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse are both members of the “Atlanta” network, you may be able to see each other’s profiles despite the fact that you have eliminated your direct online connections. When preparing for divorce, check your privacy settings; make sure that you have narrowed the scope of your networks to those people you really want to have access to your profile.

Even if your passwords are secure and your privacy settings are restricted, any person that you provide access to your profile may leak information to your future ex-spouse. Most married couples have friends in common, and these friendships are likely to extend into online social networking services. These mutual friends may share information without understanding the consequences of such disclosures.

Particular Actions to Avoid

Given the lack of legitimate privacy protections, it is important to remember that anything you put on a social networking site may ultimately come back to haunt you as part of divorce proceedings. Beyond this general warning, though, there are a few specific actions to avoid when you are involved in a contentious divorce.

First, avoid demonstrating reckless behavior on social networking sites — especially if your divorce involves a child custody dispute. Divorce can be an emotionally draining and stressful experience, and people often deal with this stress in many different ways. However, many of these coping techniques are best left outside the courtroom, and therefore best left off of social networking sites.

Also, limit references to extravagant spending. Mentions of your most recent vacations or newest purchases may provide the court with an unrealistic picture of your finances; this can be important when establishing alimony payments or child support levels.

Finally, don’t accept “friendship” requests from other users unless you know and trust them. Fictional profiles are easy to generate and may be used to obtain information that isn’t intended to be public.

Conclusion

Clearly, social networking sites can raise a wide range of problems for people working through divorce. For some people, the best solution is to simply avoid these sites entirely. You can deactivate your accounts and return once the terms of your divorce have been finalized.

However, for other people this is not a wise option. Social networking sites can help to maintain connections with support systems, which can be critical when working through divorce. In these cases, the goal should be to minimize the potential risks of social networking sites.

Ultimately the key is to avoid displaying private issues in public spaces, and to remember that the Internet is a public space. Assume that your future ex-spouse and his or her lawyer will see anything you post, and restrict your posts accordingly.

Article provided by The Siemon Law Firm
Visit us at www.siemonlawfirm.com