CaliberPulse
Caliber Group has launched CaliberPulse.com to help businesses stay abreast of the latest consumer behaviors, opinions and marketing trends to survive and thrive. Our agency excels at building brands and relationships. We’re well versed in the use of both traditional and social media to educate, influence or persuade audiences. To deliver an effective message, we know you have to understand your clients/customers: what they want and what they need.
What can you expect to find on CaliberPulse.com?
- National, regional and local consumer behavior trends and opinions.
- Insider marketing, public relations and Web marketing trends and tips.
You are viewing our Social Media posts.
Bloggers and Advertisers Beware: New FTC Rules Impact You
Whoa! Before you ask Janet in Accounting to blog about the firm’s terrific service or you give a sample of your miracle product to cousin Ernie in the hopes that he will post an oh-wow comment on Facebook, pay heed to the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. Don’t let the regulations catch you by surprise or the FTC could slap a $10,000 per day fine if it finds you making and not immediately yanking unlawful claims. What the FTC considers “advertising” may be a surprise.
Facebook’s Audience Booms, Hesitant Companies Left Behind
comScore, an online measurement firm, recently released a staggering report on the significant increase of visitors to Facebook. Between December 2008 and December 2009, the social network more than doubled its U.S. audience from 54.5 million visitors to 111.9 million. Facebook is now the fourth most visited online property, right behind institutions such as Google and Yahoo!. Facebook is where people are going to communicate and get information. Every demographic has a presence on the Facebook network and each is rapidly growing.
2010: The Year Social Media Comes of Age
New technologies changed the way businesses communicate with customers, friends and families throughout the last decade. For public relations and marketing professionals, the emergence of social media created new opportunities to build relationships never dreamed possible. Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, LinkedIn…Where are these social media platforms taking us? Will there come a day when information is somehow beamed directly into the cortex of our desired audience? While that seems unlikely, so did the concept of a social networking site like Facebook ten years ago. Today, one can update customers through a company’s social media account through a cell phone or notebook. Restaurants and businesses have free wireless Internet services to plug into. The news doesn’t wait for the evening broadcast or morning newspaper; rather, news reaches us instantaneously on our mobile devices through the latest post or tweet. Even traditional news sources allow for public comments after each story on their Web sites. Remember the days of dial-up Internet service or sending faxes to communicate 10 years ago? The times are certainly changing.
How One Salon is Building their Business Using Social Media
Hit a link and hit the jackpot? Well, maybe. No one knows for sure about the jackpot part. But one Southern Arizona salon is betting it will boost business by increasing relationships and referrals using social media. Gadabout SalonSpas has jumped into the Facebook and Twitter communities to enhance its top strategy for attracting new clients—word of mouth marketing. Starting this year, Gadabout has attracted 1,950+ Twitter followers and 450+ Facebook fans and a dedicated company blog readership. It figures. As Megan Davis, marketing director at Gadabout, points out, today’s social media platforms fit right into the classic relationship Gadabout clients have with their hairdresser.
The Fine Art of the Soft Sell and Social Media
I'm a huge fan of the Corporate Curmudgeon, a syndicated columnist who appears locally in our Arizona Daily Star doling out wry advice to the green, unsophisticated or just plain clueless employee. Yesterday's column touches on an art form that, to me, is highly underrated:The fine art of the "soft sell." Why, might you ask, should a marketer/copywriter/pr practitioner/social media guru/flack/hack/car salesmen care to know what a "soft sell" is? Well, my dears, because we as a society are burned out. And when audiences burn out, they shut their ears.
Buffalo Exchange – A Social Media Case Study
As Marketing Director since 1999, Michelle Livingston has been overseeing marketing, advertising, graphic design, public relations, promotions and the online presence for Buffalo Exchange, a national chain of hip resale clothing stores based in Tucson. Michelle has participated in the impressive growth of Buffalo Exchange to 36 stores and 2 franchises in 13 states, with $56.3 million a year in sales. Currently Buffalo Exchange has 5,414 MySpace friends, 3,606 Facebook Page fans, 1,193 Twitter followers and 222 Flickr photo favorites posted by other members.
Social Media Workshop Highlights the Benefits to Businesses
Sam Brace takes the audience through the smorgasbord of social media tools they can use to build their brand's reputation. Caliber superstar Sam Brace gave an enthusiastic and informative presentation on social media this morning to the Northern Pima County Chamber of Commerce at Ventana Medical Systems. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to attend on of Caliber’s many Smart Marketing Workshops, you can download a PowerPoint of the presentation at CaliberGroup.com
Need a Social Media Policy at Work?
So if a misguided tweet occurs in an office cubicle and a boss isn’t around to hear it, did a twit, in fact, tweet? As with all new toys – the Internet, e-mail, instant messenger, text messaging – there comes a time in an employee’s life when said employee has to decide: will my company […]
Socialnomics and How it Affects Your Bottom Line
A shout-out to our friend Abbie Fink in Phoenix who shared this entertaining video at the Public Relations Society of America - Tucson Chapter luncheon on Tuesday. This fun video is both enlightening and eye-opening - especially for those businesses who aren't in the game.
Don’t be the TMI Twitter Guy
Everybody knows somebody who shares information that should be kept to themselves. I like to call that person "The TMI (Too Much Information) Guy." Typically they are somebody you know at work or interact with in social settings. Now that social applications like Twitter and Facebook are bursting at the seams with new members, The TMI Guy is now your friend or follower. Not only can this make your social media experience a not-so-fun one, but it can also hurt your online reputation with other friends and even employers. Imagine if TMI Guy starts blabbing about something embarrassing you did - it's in their personality to share everything. This is definitely a trend. Here are some tips to consider as you build your online networks, whether you know a potentially dangerous TMI Guy or happen to be TMI Guy yourself (shame!).
Are Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube Really Free Marketing Tools?
A popular argument in the business world against social media is that employers would have to pay employees to blog, tweet or post video and photos to YouTube and Facebook. The "man/woman-hours" is the expense.
Personalizing Twitter Account Key to Building Social Media Brand Following
A recent study on social media shows that taking the time to personalize your profile and targeting followers who are peers and influencers could yield better results than using your brand name and logo and waiting for consumers to come to you. While the study focuses on insomnia and a fictitious pharmaceutical brand, the results really translate for any business looking to build awareness and/or educate consumers using social media.