The Flotsam Blog

Dare Social Hub: Twitter Embedded Tweets

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:35:23 -0500

Dare Social Hub: Twitter Embedded Tweets:

As Twitter continues its attempts to push the platform’s impact beyond the constraints of 140 characters, this week Twitter have announced the latest update to Embedded Tweets.

Embedded Tweets are essentially tweets reproduced on external sites and this latest move sees the product revamped…

melbourne-it: The number of people using the Internet to search...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:01:09 -0500

melbourne-it:

The number of people using the Internet to search and find information is growing. Other research, stats and information about domain names, please view the infographic

: Four Tips On How To Avoid The Spam Folder And OPT-OUTS

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:56:54 -0500

: Four Tips On How To Avoid The Spam Folder And OPT-OUTS:

go4articles:

When you run an email campaign, you want to maximize the return on your investment. They key to a strong email campaign is in more than just the delivery. Here are four things to consider before you send your message out the proverbial door.

1. Send your Messages to a Qualified…

Canvass Blog: Four simple tips for maintaining a clean email marketing database

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:46:40 -0500

Canvass Blog: Four simple tips for maintaining a clean email marketing database:

canvasstech:

1) Do not buy email and phone number lists

Purchased lists tend to have a high percentage of bogus, invalid and badly formatted contact data. It is far better to have fewer but relevant contacts than a large list of “bad” customer records. You will also have more SPAM complaints from people…

SMEI-Vietnam: Tips for Success With Third-Party Email Marketing

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:42:48 -0500

SMEI-Vietnam: Tips for Success With Third-Party Email Marketing:

smeivietnam:

Many of the inquiries I receive for consulting help are from organizations looking to use third-party lists rather than their own house lists. Successfully marketing to third-party lists is more challenging than marketing to your house list for a number of reasons. Here are a few tips to help.

…

transmediatic: [Infographic] Content Marketing vs. Traditional...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:17:48 -0500

transmediatic:

[Infographic] Content Marketing vs. Traditional Advertising

pearcesocial: If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn in the last...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:59:03 -0500

pearcesocial:

If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn in the last few months you’ve seen this show up at the top of your profile, as well as profiles you’ve visited. I’ve had a few friends and clients ask what it is and what they should do with it. Here are a few important points and recommendations…

What is it? The feature is called LinkedIn Endorsements. Your Connections on LinkedIn can now endorse you for particular skills and knowledge. It’s basically their way of saying, “Yes, she knows social media and I would recommend her to others for this skill.”

How do people endorse me? There are three different ways endorsements can take place:

When Connections visit your page, they will see a box at the top asking if they want to endorse you. LinkedIn will pick certain skill(s) to show in this box, but it’s somewhat random, which is why it’s so important you update your list of Skills & Expertise - more on that below.

When your Connections visit your profile directly they can scroll down to your Skills & Expertise and click on the skill(s) they want to endorse you for.

When you visit your own profile, LinkedIn will show the box seen above, which includes a group of four people along with skills LinkedIn thinks you might want to endorse them for.

Here are a few steps I recommend taking with this new feature:

Update your own list of skills & expertise and make sure it reflects the areas you want people to know you for. For instance, I started my career over 12 years ago handling print management, but that’s not where my career path has led me and is certainly not what I want people to know me for now.

Be deliberate in your choice of which skills to show. There’s a fine line between showing your full range of skills and expertise without taking the focus off the areas you truly want people to endorse you for.

Endorse others. If you spend time endorsing others, they will endorse you in return. However, I don’t recommend a random shotgun approach. Take these endorsement just as seriously as you would an offline endorsement or recommendation and only endorse those people you truly believe in and only for the skills you know them for.

When others endorse you, you will get an email/notification from LinkedIn asking for your permission to post their endorsements to your profile. Be sure to click through and approve these Endorsements or they won’t show on your profile.

Despite how overwhelming this new feature might seem at first, it really doesn’t have to be. (1) Update your skills and expertise and (2) endorse others. It’s that simple!

Is a newsletter right for your firm?

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:30:18 -0500

Newsletters are a great way to share information about what your company is doing. Newsletters promote connectedness, and are an excellent way to brand your firm and become thought leaders in your field. Like anything though, a newsletter is a huge commitment and not one to be taken lightly. Before you begin writing, consider the following:

Do you have the staff and availability to put it together in a timely manner?
Do you have contributors who are both capable and willing?
Can you consistently schedule relevant content the benefits the reader?
Does your workload allow you to commit to quarterly or monthly deadlines?
Can you afford print and emailing costs?
Does your customer base accept e-mail solicitations?
Do your customers have time to read what you write?

Like social media, newsletters require full time commitment. If you answered the above questions with most of the answers being “yes”, then go for it!

We love this newsletter announcement! What a great way to let...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:57:34 -0500

We love this newsletter announcement! What a great way to let your followers know that you have other ways to connect with them!

the-ninja-bot:

Newsletter time! Sign up today at theninjabot.com for the latest news, prints and more! Link: http://eepurl.com/ufKSf #theninjabot #newsletter #ninjabot (at Ninjabot HQ)

Are you teaming with a turkey?

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:00:57 -0500

Oftentimes we team with subcontractors in pursuit of RFPs just to get a local presence on our team or fill a niche, but that can be dangerous if you don’t know much about who you are teaming with. The truth is, if you haven’t worked with that sub before it can help you as much as hurt you.

Selection committees prefer to hire teams that have a long history of successfully completing projects together, but we all know that this isn’t always feasible. Not having a shared portfolio to point to should not make us cower from the bid.

Here are a few tips to follow before placing a subcontractor on your team.

1. Create your own RFP. I say this with caution because you really shouldn’t ask them to jump through hoops to team with you, but you should get answers to a few key questions. Have them send you proof that they are the best to team with.

2. Ask for references. If you want to know if they are turkeys with a tarnished reputation you have to do some PI work; it won’t take but a few phone calls.

3. Ask for examples of their past experience. Find out what they have worked on before. The worst thing that you could do is wait until the time that you are putting your proposal together to see their qualifications. What if they have never worked on this project type before?

4. Talk to your own network and see if anyone knows them. Your real friends will give you the real scoop.

5. Google them. You would be surprised how many people have opinions about businesses that they feel compelled to share online. Find out what people are saying about them before you put them on your team.

C.M.Neu

paulcolgin22: (via The CEO’s Social Media Strategy: Ignore It...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:01:23 -0500

paulcolgin22:

(via The CEO’s Social Media Strategy: Ignore It [Infographic])

lsuedbeck: So very true. #integrity #authentic #speaktruth...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:02:06 -0500

lsuedbeck:

So very true. #integrity #authentic #speaktruth #reputation #watchwhatyousay #honesty

The evolution of PR

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:37:20 -0500

The evolution of PR

"A company’s reputation rests on its employees. If they do not believe in you, no one will."

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 07:58:02 -0500

“A company’s reputation rests on its employees. If they do not believe in you, no one will.”

- Michael Fleming, GlaxoSmithKline’s head of reputation strategy and stakeholder engagement, at the PRWeek/Burson-Marsteller-hosted Corporate Reputation Roundtable.

Read the roundtable here, or check out the other new content from our January issue.

(via prweek)

Photo

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 07:56:01 -0500

Flotsam - Inspiring people to seek adventure daily.

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:01:00 -0500

Feeling rather guilty for encouraging you all to be cautious in your pursuits and abandon recklessness, I feel compelled to share a story from my past, which I hope will be both a lesson and an insight into the culture / tenets of Flotsam.

I moved to Colorado in early 2001 where I began working in an architecture firm and quickly struck up friendships with my co-workers. Never embarrassed to admit that I star-gaze, on one particular day I sent my colleague a copy of his horoscope. It said something to the effect of, “there is no time like the present – if you are ever going to do it, today is the day.”

Some hours later I was called into my boss’ office and the door was closed. He said (quite angrily) “where’s Fred?” (by the way, my colleague’s name was not really Fred, but from what I understand he is today a successful architect who might want to be known more for his design than impulsivity). Now, I was friends with Fred, close friends, and it was well-known that we spent time together. On any given day, I could have certainly said to my boss, “well Fred is grabbing a coffee”, or “Fred is delivering the model to the client”, or “Fred said that he had to poo.” Today, however, I hadn’t seen Fred for hours. He had left without saying a word.

I shared my ignorance with my boss who grew more agitated and started pacing, “I know that you know something,” he said.

Then we bantered for a few moments; me trying to convince him of my unawareness.

“You’re email was left open on his computer.”

Complete panic. Surely, Fred didn’t leave open the email that I sent about the boss coming in sloshed that day and demanding that I take his wallet to buy beer for the office at the corner liquor mart.

“Why did you send him that email about his horoscope?”

Quite frankly, up until that moment I had forgotten about the horoscope. Sending them to Fred was a part of my morning routine, something I did right after I checked E! online while enjoying my first cup of coffee. Leaving out the part of my infatuation with entertainment, I assured my boss that I hadn’t thought twice about the content.

Fred didn’t come back.

Late that night, Fred paid me a visit at my Wash Park apartment. He said that he couldn’t leave without thanking me for the inspiration and that in the morning he was leaving Colorado and heading for Japan.

Apparently, and looking back we must not have been too close, Fred had always dreamed of going to Japan. His brother lived there and Omar’s horoscopes gave him the impetus to accept the open invitation that his brother had so graciously extended to him.

I cannot say for certain that Fred found happiness in Japan, but I am certain that he found marvelous adventure.

I strive to encourage people to seek what their heart desires. To (quoting Hiram Gordillo) “go higher!”. People often approach marketing as a chore. Business development is that thing that their boss forces them to do, but they feel much more comfortable hiding out in their cubicle. I think of marketing and sales as a wonderful opportunity to achieve your goals and take your firm on that next big adventure.

So, feeling guilty that I encouraged you all to stay clear of the Charlizes, I encourage you all to go for it (with research, development, etc.). If you are ever going to have it, today is the day. What are you waiting for?

-C. M. Neu

creativemornings: “If you’re vulnerable and authentic, you...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:44:32 -0500

creativemornings:

“If you’re vulnerable and authentic, you stand out more and people will trust you.”

Kate Kendall, Founder and CEO of The Fetch
speaking at CreativeMornings/Melbourne(*watch the talk)

communicationprofessor: There are many different types of...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:38:20 -0500

communicationprofessor:

There are many different types of speeches. Introductory, informative, and persuasive are the three most basic that we learn in most public speaking courses. In honor of the Golden Globes last night, watch Amy Poehler and Tina Fey give a hilarious opening monologue at the awards show.

What's up, 2013 social media stats?

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:49:00 -0500

Thanks for the scoop, Digital Buzz Blog.

transmediatic: The Shapes of Stories by Kurt Vonnegut (via...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:48:07 -0500

transmediatic:

The Shapes of Stories by Kurt Vonnegut

(via Explore-blog)