Top 7 Most Influential Female Voices Online

Site Sketch 101 recently posted a list of the top 7 influential female voices online. These women below all have an expertise and have used the power of social media to reach thousands of followers. Take a quick look, do any other women come to mind?

1. Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post
2. Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman
3. Sonia Simone, CopyBlogger and Third Tribe
4. Lorelle VanFossen, public speaker, trainer, writer, and consultant on web writing, web design, and blogging
5. Kara Swisher, co-producer and co-host of D: All Things Digital
6. Michelle Melkin, blogger, a syndicated columnist and a published author
7. Amber Naslund, marketing practitioner, and the Director of Community for Radian6 social media monitoring.

Social networking and business objectives

Dion Hinchcliffe recently looked at the how online communities are revolutionizing many businesses. Millions of individuals have joined online communities with in the past few years. Hinchcliffe looks at the difference between the growing contrast between business communities and consumer communities. While many business communities have not faired as well as consumer communities, some businesses have found the perfect way to strike the balance.

He recognizes a running theme in all of the communities that work:
[Successful communities are] Attracting like-minded people highly interested and engaged in what they do.

Read the full article here.

Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies Highlight: Michael Donnelly, Coca-Cola

Michael Donnelly, Group Director,
Worldwide Interactive Marketing,
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Follow Michael: @michaeldonnelly

As Group Director, Worldwide Interactive Marketing for The Coca-Cola Company, Michael is responsible for increasing the understanding, testing, adoption and effective use of Digital Marketing and Emerging Media amongst Coca-Cola's marketers throughout the world. Working in the interactive marketing arena since 1998, Michael recently focused on creating effective programs in Social Media Mkt, Consumer Generated Media, Virtual Worlds and on expanding the company effective use of Search Engine Marketing. Programs under Michael's supervision have recently won “Best in Show” at OMMA, Silver and Bronze awards at MIXX, a Creative Media Award from Media Magazine, 2 achievement awards from the Society for New Communications Research and an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Best Use of Commercial Advertising on Stand Alone Broadband Devices“.

Michael was with Johnson & Johnson for 9 years prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company. There, as part of their Global Marketing Group, he led their Interactive Marketing Center of Excellence and focused on developing an incoming pipeline of emerging media opportunities and on creating a community for marketers to test, learn and share experiences. Before J&J, he spent five years each with Beiersdorf Inc. and SmithKline Beecham in consumer product sales management positions focused on accounts such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, AHOLD, COSCO and many others. Michael received his BA from The College of New Jersey and my MBA in the Management of Technology from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Michael's biography courtesy of iMedia Connection.

Join Michael and a great line-up of others (download the brochure for details) at "How Can I Find the Sweet Spot where Traditional Media Meets Social Media? A Panel Conversation with Media Directors taking Traditional Media Social" on Wednesday, April 5 at The Social Media & Community 2.0 Conference in Boston. For more event details, please visit the website.

Could social networking be used more than the telephone?

A report from the UK webpage Broadband-Finder.com reports that in the UK, social media growing at a fast pace, and sometimes more used than a telephone. Last year, over 72% of all UK citizens signed up for a social network.

So how does usage for UK citizens break down?
51% of users regularly sign into Facebook
20% of users regularly sign into MySpace
17% of users regularly sign into Twitter

Do you think stats are similar around the world? What does this say about our future forms of communications?

Should You Advertise on Facebook?

Courtney Rubin of Inc. writes that Facebook may be a better avenue for advertising ROI than Google, according to a recent study. Hitwise reports that Facebook's news readers are more loyal than those of Google News.

As many as 78 percent of users returned to Facebook to access more news stories, compared with 67 percent of Google News users, according to Hitwise

To learn more about the Hitwise article and how you can harness the advertising power of Facebook, check out Rubin's original article.

Should You Advertise on Facebook?

Choose Your Own Adventure Comes to Twitter

Fans of R. A. Montgomery, Edward Packard and Louise Munro Foley can now relive their childhood love for Choose Your Own Adventure novels on Twitter. Mashable reports that Jonah Peretti has created a choose your own adventure game using only Twitter.

To join in the fun, click here.

SFWeekly's Maya Baratz writes, At the start of the game, you're "assigned a dangerous mission to save the world!" The ending of your adventure depends on the series of choices you make from there ("accept mission" or "go on vacation," and so on.)

Give it a try and let us know - we'll be playing along, too!

With the widespread success of Farmville, Mafia Wars, etc - will we see more social games pop up?

Social Media Pays: People More Likely to Buy from Brands they Follow

Andy Beal over at The Customer Collective posted on a recent report released by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies which showcases that in a survey over 1500 consumers showed that they were more likely to buy from and recommend brands they follow on Twitter and Facebook. Cha-ching!

51% of those surveyed said they were more likely to buy from a brand after following them on Facebook; 67% said they were more likely to buy after following on Twitter. Brands also got a boost in recommendations: 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers were more likely to recommend a brand to their friends.

Learn more about this study:

Social Media Pays: People More Likely to Buy from Brands they Follow

Are you more likely to purchase a product that you follow on popular social networks?

Catch Top Brand Marketers from M&Ms, Chicago Bulls, B&N Talk Social Media

Are you tuned in to your customer needs? The Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies Conference has two full days of case studies from savvy marketers and brand managers who've leveraged social media to develop authentic relationships with their customers.

If you are responsible for Marketing or Brand/Customer Engagement, here's 10 sessions YOU CAN'T MISS:

• M&M's Racing Uses Colorful "Fanvocates" to Connect with NASCAR Fans
Ryan Bowling, Director of Communications, MARS SNACKFOOD US

• BARNES & NOBLE Adds the "Cart" to the Conversation with
Kevin Ryan, Vice President Social Media, BARNES & NOBLE

• CHICAGO BULLS Use Social Media for Better Fan Experiences AND Increased Revenue Opportunities with Jeremy Thum, Director, Interactive Marketing, CHICAGO BULLS
• INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Drives Revenue by Empowering Brand Advocates with
Cassandra Jeyaram, Social Marketing Manager, Global Consumer Marketing, INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP

• WELLS FARGO Quantifies the Value of a Year of Experiments from the Front Lines of Social Web Customer Support with Kimarie Matthews, Vice President, Customer Advocacy and Loyalty, WELLS FARGO BANK

• CIGNA Moves from Social Media Presence to Integrated Customer Experience Practice with Ingrid Lindberg, Customer Experience Officer, CIGNA

• SEGA Manages Multiple Brands Communities to Achieve Individual Brand/Product Objectives with Kellie Parker, Community Manager, SEGA OF AMERICA

• LEGO Collaborates with Talented Lead Users to Drive Value Creation with
Tormod Askildsen, Head, LEGO Community Development, LEGO

• ZAPPOS Utilizes Social Media to Engage Employees and Wow Customers with
Maura Sullivan, Customer Loyalty Manager & Marlene Kanagusuka, Customer Loyalty Manager, ZAPPOS.COM

• MICROSOFT Answers Community Makes Support Social with Consumer-Generated Answers with Steve Alter, Community Program Manager, Product Manager/Microsoft Answers, MICROSOFT

Don't miss out! Join us for The Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies Conference

Conquer Any Networking Event

If you're a novice at networking or could use a little refresher, Stepcase Lifehack has posted "5 Ways to Conquer Any Networking Event." We encourage you to check out the list and utilize it at your next networking event.

1. Establish Event-Specific Goals

Walking into a networking event or conference without a plan is, barring a miracle, a waste of your time. Without a plan you’ll bounce from event to event and float toward the people you already know. But not this time! This time you’re going to establish real goals for what you’ll get from a specific event.

For example, a small business owner might attend a local meetup of social media types hoping to expand her network with some web-savvy marketers. Instead of saying, “this meetup will give me the chance to make business contacts” she’ll have a specific outcome in mind and won’t waste time on the wrong people.

2. Identify & Research Targets
3. Use An Event Card
4. Establish Your Presence
5. Follow Up

For more information on Stepcase's list, please visit the original article.

5 Steps To Conquer Any Networking Event

The Great MySpace Return?

MySpace, the News Corp. owned social network is undergoing a huge redesign of the site. A preview of the social network was release on Monday, according to ChannelWeb. In a briefing for media and analysts in Beverly Hills Monday, the social networking company, outlined a plan that its new co-president says requires "believers" to come to fruition.

USAToday reports that MySpace is moving back to its original DNA: appealing to self-expressive, creative under-35-year-olds who are into games, music and movies. More than half of MySpace's estimated 100 million users are 25 and younger, according to market researcher ComScore. The 13-to-34-year-old demographic spends 84% of all user time on the service.

So we're seeing MySpace go back to their roots - do you think that we'll see a spike in membership?

We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Who is the Reigning Social Media Champ Between Google and Yahoo?

When it comes to social media, Yahoo and Google have differing strategies but both work well. Yahoo relies on outside partnership whereas Google uses in-house development. Yahoo recently announced that it would integrate Facebook Connect into it's website, following the failed attempted of bidding for Facebook in 2006. Google's advanced social product, Google Buzz, has been launched but time will only tell if its adoption rate will be better than it's previous social product endeavors including Google Connect and Orkut. Check out this post on Mashable to view Ben Parr's take on the scenario.

Which company has the right social media strategy?

Social Media Win! Betty White May Host SNL

Thanks to the efforts by her social media-savvy fans, the actress Betty White will soon be hosting Saturday Night Live. The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly a half a million fans joined a Facebook page for the actress. White has seen her popularity spike again since starring in “The Proposal” with Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock. People is reporting that White confirmed the invitation to host at an Oscar party.

Learn more:

Betty White Will Appear on Saturday Night Live
Betty White May Host ‘SNL’

What do you think?

Chicago Bulls and Social Media

Sports fans are passionate and feel a natural sense of connection with each other. As the web turned social it created a new way for fans to share the highs and lows of a season with each other. The question was not "Are Bulls fans interacting online?" but rather "How do we further encourage and enhance that interaction while creating additional revenue opportunities?"

Not only was Bulls.com, BullsTV implemented, but a new initiative was created, BullsConnect. From the Chicago Bulls website, BullsConnect the ultimate place for Bulls fans to connect with one another, the new official social network website of the Chicago Bulls. Built using the latest cutting-edge social media tools from Pluck, fans can register at BullsConnect.com for free, create their own Bulls fan profile, upload and share photos and videos displaying their fandom, write their own blogs on the Bulls, and participate in message boards. In addition, the Pluck technology makes it possible for fans to connect with each other on BullsConnect as well as Facebook and Twitter.

Discuss how through new digital initiatives, the Bulls created a more positive fan experience AND increased revenue opportunities with Jeremy Thum, Director of Interactive Marketing, Chicago Bulls on Tuesday afternoon, May 4th at Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies in Boston.

What other sports teams are utilizing the power of social media?

The world’s largest conference company announces the launch of the Performance Marketing Expo to be held this September in Miami

IIR (The Institute for International Research), the company responsible for industry leading brands such as FUSE, Front end of Innovation, The Market Research Event, GAIM, and PREPAID Card Expo, is launching a brand-new affiliate marketing/performance marketing event.

The Performance Marketing Expo, will take place September 27th-29th in South Beach at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Consistent with other IIR conferences, The Performance Marketing Expo features best-in-class educational sessions, industry insider top level speakers, super-affiliates with proven earning power, the premier online merchants and retailers, affiliate networks, and hundreds of affiliates eager to network and grow their business (and their earning potential).

What makes this event stand out from all the rest? It will include facilitated business networking and quality content brought to life by the best storytellers, representing merchants, affiliates and networks.

TOP SUPER AFFILIATES JUST CONFIRMED AT The Performance Marketing Expo
Stephanie Nelson, Coupon Mom
Todd Martini, Alex's Coupons
eCoupons * MarketAmerica * TrialPay * Parent Media
The program is currently being finalized. For More Information about getting involved, please email kpotanka@iirusa.com or visit our contact page if you have specific questions.

Join The Performance Marketing LinkedIn Group

U.S. military OKs use of online social media

CNN.com reports The United States military has approved the use of social media by its troops. Until now, the military's various branches and departments had differing policies regarding social media use. The Marine Corps, for instance, prohibited use of social media sites from its computers in 2007, according to the Pentagon.

The new policy allows commanders to temporarily restrict online access to maintain operations security or to address bandwidth constraints.

What do you think? Should social media be open to soldiers?

U.S. military OKs use of online social media