Using Twitter for customer service
Microblogging service Twitter is not only useful for online marketers, or to link to interesting blog posts; it can also be an effective customer service tool.
Rebecca on SEOmoz has provided an interesting case study describing how Comcast used Twitter to solve an issue for her; something other companies can potentially learn from.
Bit.ly: the rockstar URL shortening tool
One of my new favourite web tools is called bit.ly, a kickass URL shortener with a difference.
Essentially, bit.ly is, backed by the interesting folks at Betaworks, is a next-gen version of TinyURL, replete with some advanced features that you might find useful.
And where TinyURL has stood still, bit.ly has innovated...
An online PR wallchart for your viewing pleasure
Roger Warner at Content & Motion has devised a handy cut-out-and-keep wallchart to help define and explain online PR.
Gary Vaynerchuk on video, social media and Twitter
Gary Vaynerchuk is director of operations at Wine Library, a wine retailer, and is perhaps more widely known in internet marketing circles for his videos, where he primarily delivers insights into topics related to social media.
He is also the face behind Wine Library TV, the video-based wine tasting blog that has done much to help transform the Wine Library business into a $50m-a-year retailer, from $4m six years ago.
Gary is a blast...
Wired says bloggers should make like Calacanis and quit
Wired’s senior editor Paul Boutin has climbed aboard the 'blogging is dead' train, pointing to Jason Calacanis’ decision to quit blogging as a primary reason to bail out.
The article starts: “Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug.”
The Web Week in Review
Earnings season is in full swing and while there were a few pieces of "serious" news that I found interesting, it was a story of a virtual murder from Japan that took the cake.
Is Nokia guilty of SEO PR astroturfing / comment spamming?
Has Nokia bee n a victim of brand sabotage or agency heavy-handedness? Because something is very amiss in the way it is conducting its social media / SEO strategy.
Can Twitter make money?
Even as a hardened skeptic of the microblogging service Twitter, I cannot deny that it has built up a passionate if not mainstream userbase.
Putting aside the reasons why I personally think Twitter is a waste of time, the real problem for the site is that it doesn't yet have a business model.
Downturn! Ramp up your PR and marketing budgets!
I spotted a good post by PR Squared’s Todd Defren on the value of retaining a PR agency during an economic downturn.
Based on the principle that it is a wise move to invest in marketing activities during a recession, and picking up on some advice in Sequoia’s recent ‘RIP Good Times’ event, the post contains five key reasons why you need to be aggressive when it comes to your PR strategy.
The blog that sold for $15m and the value of SEO
In all of the chaos that is the global economy, a story about the sale of a blog for $15m probably received less attention than it would have under different circumstances.
22 year-old Johns Wu started the Bankaholic blog in 2006 to help individuals obtain the best rates for bank savings products.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
