Mediaboss Marketing

The trend for the last 3 or 4 years has been for businesses to try to tap into social media as a broadcasting tool. It's not universal, but many (most) see social media as a place to post their messages to prospective clients in hopes of switching on the social media faucet that touches a billion people worldwide.

The promise of social media for businesses, particularly local ones, has only been seen by a small percentage. Most believe there's something there, but they aren't certain that their efforts are going anywhere. In many cases, they're not. It's not that social media is so challenging that only the select few can get in, nor is it that there's no value in it.

It's about intention. Those with the intention of sheer marketing with social media will likely be met with limited rewards. People don't go to Facebook or Twitter to see what they want to buy or which services to select. They go to engage, to have fun, and to experience the virtual filter on the real world that social media has to offer them.

In other words, they don't want to see marketing. If and when they're ready to interact with a business through social media, it's because they have questions or needs that can be fulfilled through easy-access communication. This is the part that most businesses are missing.

The real promise of social media is not just to business, but lies an the center between business and consumer. More internet time is spent on social media than any other category; in fact, it's equal to the next three on the list (games, email, and portals) combined.

Businesses want to take advantage of this fact and many are trying, but customer service management is still 3rd on the list of initiatives they perform on social media with brand reputation management and driving promotions above it. This is backwards. Most businesses can achieve their top two goals by focusing on the customers themselves.

It comes down to a lack of understanding. Those who are able to focus their attention on their customers through social media will gain a better reputation and find it easier to broadcast their promotions as a result. It's counter-intuitive to all other forms of interactions with customers, but it makes sense once one realizes the true capacity of the medium.

This infographic by ZenDesk breaks down the trends in customer service through social media. Click to enlarge.

(Source: ZenDesk. Via: Infographic Design. H/T: Lauderdale Mazda)

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Instead Of Marketing, Businesses Should Be Using Social Media For Customer Support

SIGMA Marketing today announced the launch of Fast Forward Social Media, an expert, streamlined assessment process to help marketers quickly gauge the effectiveness of their business-to-business social media efforts.

Rochester, NY (PRWEB) February 13, 2012

SIGMA Marketing Group, the customer intelligence-driven, direct and digital marketing services firm, today announced the launch of Fast Forward Social Media, an expert, streamlined assessment process to help marketers quickly gauge the effectiveness of their business-to-business social media efforts.

Fast Forward Social Media from SIGMA Marketing Group offers a rapid assessment of business-to-business social media effectiveness, then delivers recommendations on how to best reach target audiences.

“Studies show that over two-thirds of business-to-business companies use social networks in their marketing mix, while few calculate the ROI of their social marketing campaigns,” said Martha Bush, SIGMA senior vice president of strategy & marketing. “That leaves a huge gap in understanding and correcting the profitability of businesses’ social marketing. Fast Forward Social Media fills that gap.”

Fast Forward Social Media will review both online and offline marketing activities as they relate to social media, showing their critical connection. The assessment will also include a thorough analysis of customers’ social media usage, including social profiles, channels and campaigns – and how those efforts stack up against competitors.

The result will be an in-depth report that supplies business with the components of social marketing success:

Learn more about how Fast Forward Social Media can unlock the ROI in business-to-business social marketing, visit [http://sigmamarketing.com/Pages/Social-Media-Marketing-Maturity-Assessment.aspx .

About SIGMA Marketing Group

SIGMA Marketing helps clients like Xerox, Nationwide, AAA and Citizens Bank engage with their customers through Analytics + Strategy + Technology. We turn data into customer intelligence and innovative marketing solutions -- online and offline -- with direct and digital solutions that focus on multichannel marketing strategies, data and technology integration, web analytics and sales enablement. SIGMA builds long term customer relationships and drives Marketing ROI. Visit us at http://www.sigmamarketing.com and at our Fifth Gear Analytics blog: http://fifthgearanalytics.com.

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Jim McNulty
StandPoint Public Relations
(508) 481-2024
Email Information

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Sigma Marketing Launches Fast Forward Social Media Service Determines B2B Social Marketing Effectiveness, Boosts ROI

One of the biggest advertising agencies, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, is starting practice units that are devoted to helping clients navigate two areas that are rewarding but confusing: social media and youth marketing.

Ogilvy & Mather, which is part of WPP, the world’s largest ad-agency holding company, is to announce the formation of the social media unit, called Social@Ogilvy, on Monday morning.

The other unit, Ogilvy Youth, is in a nascent stage, or, in keeping with the vernacular of younger consumers, “in beta.”

The new units join others at Ogilvy & Mather that are devoted to areas like cross-cultural marketing (OgilvyCulture). The formation of the units is indicative of efforts by large ad agencies to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of marketer clients, who must grapple with the seemingly continuous changes in consumer behavior.

“Thinking across the disciplines is critical,” said Miles Young, global chief executive at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York. “You have to redesign your agency around content and domains.”

Social@Ogilvy will operate across all the specialty agencies of Ogilvy & Mather, including advertising, direct marketing, public relations and digital marketing. Clients include American Express, BP, Ford Motor and I.B.M.

The new unit, with more than 550 employees in 35 markets, is derived from what had been a specialty offering inside Ogilvy Public Relations.

“The headline here is that it’s a worldwide practice that connects all the agencies,” said John Bell, an Ogilvy executive who is being named global managing director of Social@Ogilvy.

Although “we’ve had a social media unit for seven years,” he added, “integrated social solutions matter a lot more,” particularly because, by some estimates, brands will spend 17 or 18 percent of their total marketing communications budget on social media in the next few years.

Brandon Berger, chief digital officer at Ogilvy & Mather, said: “Social has become such a huge priority. It’s core to the way consumers behave. They talk about you, and they talk about you online, and it’s measurable, and you can get involved in the conversation.”

Needless to say, social-media services like Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube are an integral part of marketing to young consumers. That is underlined by the fact that Ogilvy Youth, although a fledgling, already has a presence on Tumblr.

Ogilvy Youth will be focused on teenagers and millennials, also known as Generation Y. Initial clients include the United Way.

Ogilvy Youth will be overseen by Lauren Crampsie, who is 31; she recently became global chief marketing officer at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. The day-to-day operations will be led by Felicia Zhang, 28, who is at the agency as part of her stint as a WPP fellow.

There are two reasons to start Ogilvy Youth, Ms. Crampsie said. One is “thought leadership,” citing a global youth insight study that the unit is hoping to release next month, which will offer a look at, among other things, “a day in the life of teens in 12 global markets.”

The other reason Ms. Crampsie gave is for “recruitment and retention,” in that the employees working at Ogilvy Youth are all to be young themselves.

“I see so many missed opportunities” for the ad agency industry, she said, “with kids right out of school going to work at Google or Facebook.”

“We need to make sure we don’t lose this generation to technology companies and social-media companies,” she added, and demonstrate that Generation Y “can be excited and inspired about agency life.”

Stuart Elliott has been the advertising columnist at The New York Times since 1991. Follow @stuartenyt on Twitter.

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Media Decoder: Ogilvy & Mather Staffs Up in Social Media and Youth Marketing

Vanessa Gera WARSAW, Poland— The Associated Press Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 12:37PM EST Last updated Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 8:26AM EST

Protesters took to the freezing cold streets of several European cities Saturday to voice anger at an international copyright treaty they fear will lead to a blocking of content on the Internet.

Poland, France, and Italy are among European nations that recently signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, but ratification remains in question in many countries as contempt builds against it, mostly from young people.

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ACTA has been under negotiation for years and it still in the process of being signed. The United States, Japan, South Korea and others say it is needed to harmonize international standards to protect the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to piracy and intellectual property theft.

Strong opposition to the treaty suddenly emerged in Poland last month and is now spreading across Europe, where protests are taking place in many cities. Critics say they fear it will lead to online censorship and overly harsh punishments for those who use copyrighted material.

Some of the first to gather Saturday were in the bitter cold of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. In Germany, a few thousand people protested in downtown Berlin, some with sticking tape over their mouths or wearing Guy Fawkes masks. They carried placards such as “Stop ACTA,” ”Right to Remix“ and ”ACTA: the rule of law was yesterday.“

A protest organizer, Tillmann Mueller-Kuckelberg, said the movement against the agreement was “a broad civil rights alliance that has come together out of spontaneous outrage at this project.”

“We have the protests in Poland to thank above all for what is happening in Europe and worldwide at the moment,” he said.

“A lot of people in other European countries woke up then, and we hope worldwide that the protests will lead to the ACTA agreement being stopped.”

Germany's Foreign Ministry said Friday that the country had held off on signing ACTA after the Justice Ministry voiced concerns. An official signature is needed before the deal can go to Parliament for approval.

In Vilnius, hundreds rallied in front of a government building, some carrying signs that said “Stop ACTA.”

“We are deeply concerned about this controversial deal, which most of our society does not know anything about,” said Mantas Kondratavicius, leader of the Vilnius Liberal Youth organization, a rights group.

“There was no public presentation or debates on the principles and possible threats of this act,” Kondratavicius added, voicing another common complaint. Many critics are angry that ACTA was negotiated at high political levels and in secret, without involving civic society.

In the Czech capital Prague, hundreds rallied at the medieval Old Town Square while a similar crowd gathered in the second largest city, Brno. They waved banners that read: “ACTA stinks,” ”ACTA harms you“ and ACTA equals cyber fascism.

Czech organizers said protests were planned in 18 other towns and cities. The government has suspended the ratification of the treaty and the protesters welcomed the move but say it is not enough.

Marches also took place in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Szczecin, Poznan and Gdansk.

“Down with the censorship of Big Brother,” said one of the banners in Warsaw, where about 150 people gathered in front of the presidential palace.

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European protesters fear online censorship from copyright treaty ACTA

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Empire Post Media Inc. (OTCQB:EMPM.PK - News) is pleased to announce that its common stock has been upgraded to the OTCQB tier of the over-the-counter market. OTCQB was created in 2010 to help investors identify small and emerging companies that are current in their regulatory reporting obligations and to facilitate electronic trading through a broad spectrum of broker-dealers.

"We believe that this is a significant improvement for our company and represents where we are in our growth cycle," Empire CEO Peter Dunn stated. "We expect to announce several new projects and relationships in the coming weeks," he added.

Further information about Empire can be obtained from the company's website, http://www.empirepostmedia.com. Information about the company's common stock can also be found at http://www.otcmarkets.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Empire Post Media Now Trading on the OTCQB Tier of the Over-the-Counter Market