CaliberPulse

In 2010, social media played more of a key role in the marketing, advertising, and public relations industry than ever before. More companies, large and small, used social media to increase interaction with their consumers, promote company news, events, and sales, and much more. As the use of these platforms increases, it is important to take note and understand the constant changes occurring in the world of social media in order to plan for using it most effectively.

January 13, 2011

It’s been an evolutionary year for social media. Many new trends and facts have been published that may help you shape your 2010 marketing and PR plan. We have included a sampling of these facts and our recommendations on how you can use them when developing your 2011 plan. FACT: 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content. Source: Social Media Revolution 2 Video, based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman

November 24, 2010

Face-to-face encounters with other human beings are easily avoided with all the new technology we have at our fingertips. Given how easy it is these days to keep up with business acquaintances and colleagues by e-mail and social media, the traditional methods of engaging with professionals in your industry have taken a back seat. However, tradeshows, once the most direct way that companies engaged with and targeted new customers, are still an important part of any marketing strategy and should not be overlooked. A new study by Oxford Economics USA shows how a dollar invested in business travel, returned a $12.50 increase in revenue and $3.80 in new profits. With that reinforcement in mind, plan your next industry show with a strategy. Check out these “11 Trade Show Strategies to Boost ROI” to get the most out of your time and investment.

November 17, 2010

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.

September 22, 2009

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

September 16, 2009

If a conversation happens in a forest and you're not there to be a part of it, did it really happen? In the online world of social media - you bet your bottom dollar it did. And an entire network of friends, fans and followers heard it, participated in it and repeated it to their friends, fans and followers. When I worked for a small town newspaper right out of college, we often joked the biggest threat to being scooped was the gossip that took place at a quaint diner downtown. There's no message tool more effective than word of mouth - especially when the topic is heated, controversial or sensational. That's how I like to think of social media. It's not really all that new to those of us who understand how gossip works - it's fast, can often be misleading (think the children's game of telephone - the more you repeat something, the more inaccurate the message becomes) and sometimes damages someone's reputation.

August 28, 2009

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.

August 4, 2009

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.

There seems to be two social media camps emerging in the marketing/public relations world. Camp Go For It! and Camp I Don't Have Time For This! can be found in every office nook and cranny defending their positions. So what's a good business executive/entrepreneur to do? (Check out this ReadWriteWeb post on degrees of social media usage.) The same thing your predecessor did when the Internet was born. Or how about when that newfangled box, the television, came to be? The radio? The truth - as is usually the case - I believe lies somewhere in the middle. Marketing and PR professionals didn't stop reaching out to print media when the first radio the size of a Volkswagen took up floor space in Grandma's living room. And companies today still advertise on TV and radio, despite the numerous banner and pay-per-click online advertising opportunities. So what's the deal with social media? Will those tried-and-true traditional media tools we've gotten so comfortable with really go away if you dare to Tweet? Hang on to your blanket, Linus.

July 31, 2009

More than a hundred attended our Smart Marketing Workshop on Social Media yesterday morning! “Using Social Media to Build Your Brand and Business” offered a introduction to social media while representatives from Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arizona Daily Star, KOLD News 13 and Buffalo Exchange discussed how they’ve used social media to improve their businesses. Some of the takeaways I Twittered during the workshop, in case you missed either: If your demographic isn't using social media, don't wait another six months, get there before your customers do. Best Western has been using a travel blog to allow visitors to share tips and great experiences. Result: Best Western's site has grown 50 percent since creation. Customers who want to identify with a cause can identify with Kenneth Cole and interact with the clothing brand and its fans on its Awearness blog. Result: The clothing brand is reaching a niche customer demographic interested in identifying itself as socially conscious (Gen X anyone?). Hewlett Packard created a scavenger hunt using Twitter, offering free products and building brand awareness for HP. Result: they increased traffic to their Web site around the holiday season - great timing! Domino's Pizza used social media (YouTube) to successfully manage a crisis situation involving former employees and food safety. Result: Social Media proved an important PR tool as they reassured their customer base that their food is safe. Nature Conservancy used Digg to raise awareness by posting articles like, "14 easy ways to be an environmentalist." Result: they substantially increased the number of visitors to their Web site.

June 18, 2009