creatorbase

Online Marketing Summit 2010

This year’s Online Marketing Summit (OMS) was a first for me and I was impressed with the caliber of content, speakers, and participation from roughly 700 marketers. Aaron Kahlow and team did a great job to create a collaborative, educational and open environment that was highly productive and enjoyable. I had the pleasure of speaking on an integrated marketing panel and I also dropped in on a few great presentations. Here's a video clip from Tom Hoehn's session regarding Kodak's social media strategy:

Read the complete OMS review post including more video with Gary Spangler from DuPont and my conversation about social media success with Steve Ennen and Eric Bradlow of the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative. 

Next up in mid April is MediaPost's Email Insider Summit 2010 in Captiva, Florida. I'm going to: co-host a Lyris client and event speaker (Hayle Chun) from NBC Sports & Olympics; moderate the "45 Tips in 45 Minutes" panel with speakers from Barnes & Noble, NHL, eHarmony and Responsys; do some blogging, video, PR and networking. Here's the agenda for Email Insider Summit -- stay tuned for tweets and a review post.    

A conversation with John Mast of Expedia CruiseShipCenters

A cruise on the warms seas with extended stays in a variety of ports; that sounds very appealing right now. My conversation with John Mast, vice president of marketing at Expedia CruiseShipCenters, at MarketingSherp's 2010 Email Summit in Miami is a reminder of how much I enjoy tropical pace and weather.

John presented at Email Summit about his permission marketing strategy including CRM and tri-messaging work. Like many online marketers, John and his team are achieving significant results by integrating email, social and mobile channels to engage and serve on-the-go consumers and influencers. It's all about creating customers for life with memorable experiences. Learn more about the Expedia CruiseShipCenters success story in this brief clip:

Shame on moi.

I appreciate French culture, language and the people and have fond memories from a trip to Paris in the 90s. The word "moi" is an informal way of saying "me" in French but it will also represent an acronym for a new point of view that I'm going to keep in mind going forward: meaningful online investments

It occurred to me last week that I missed a planned January blog post on creatorbase.com. It's not that I didn't have content or ideas in mind, or that I wasn't online and able to make a post. I spend a lot of time using the Web (via laptop and mobile) for work, family, friends and personal interests -- but I simply prioritized other things over thinking about and creating a meaningful post last month. I also know there is no turning back time and creatorbase will forever be absent of a January 2010 post; a hole in the archive. 

To be clear, a hole in the archive is not an issue for me or anyone reading or sharing creatorbase. The key here is that blogging, social media and time online, in general, has become a very important component of an investment strategy for living. What's the take-away here? I'm committed to meaningful online investments that help others and are sometimes meaningful to me. The reality is I won't always get it right for others and that's okay.

Alexis Ohanian at TED on "losing control"

In this November 2009 TED talk, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit describes how losing control on the Internet can be a very good thing for individuals, businesses, nature, society, etc. I think you'll agree that his passion for the topic and youthful delivery is a bit infectious. And in true Twitter-form, Alexis is brief and to the point.

Is there a lesson here for 2010? Perhaps a resolution-nugget? Hint, letting go and not being afraid of the unknown can pay dividends.

Email, social and mobile...

The online marketing space has evolved, and social media and mobile channels present the opportunity for more personal engagement to exist between people and brands. Businesses and marketers need to think beyond a batch-and-blast email marketing mentality to a well choreographed and integrated approach that is in sync with target audiences. 

Social media and mobile channels combined with email marketing can help fuel this shift, enhance engagement, grow customer opt-in lists, and maximize audience touch points. Yet, as noted by Forrester’s David Daniels, “not enough email marketers are integrating proven channels, such as social into their email marketing campaigns.” Likewise, Altimeter Group’s Jeremiah Owyang recently discussed on his blog why he believes that email marketers can no longer avoid integrating social tools. Continue with the post...

Think like a tribal leader to create change.

Seth Godin argues, with a sense of humor and insight that only he can deliver, the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big changes. Successful (tribal) leaders today tell meaningful stories, connect people, lead a movement and create change.

I read Seth's book "Tribes" last year during a memorable trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving with our extended family. This video recorded at TED in February 2009 is a fantastic summary of the book and Seth's ideas on how to lead today... 

Are you leading a tribe? If so, please share your thoughts, ideas and links so others can learn from your experiences.

Does social media create ROI for businesses?

You bet! And I'm counting on this fact, and some factoids from this video and 2009 results at Lyris, for an upcoming presentation. I lead our community practice at Lyris and social media is right smack in the middle of an infusion that includes customer engagement, thought leadership, traditional media, community intelligence, mobility, response management, and brand-building activities and investments. Of course -- analytics, communications, innovation and teaming are required behind the scenes to successfully bring it all together.

If you're having trouble selling social media and networking strategies and programs to your boss or leadership because of a perception that it's difficult to create and measure ROI, watch this video for some ideas and proof points; share with others too...

  

Thinking about creating an epipheo?

One thing leads to another on the Web. I was just browsing my Twitter account and a timely tweet led me to a blog post, that led me to have an epipheo experience. That's the beauty of the Internet -- it helps us to make connections (ideas, people, decisions, inspiration, etc.) that, if we're open-minded and patient, can lead to something valuable. 

So I reached out to the creative folks at epipheo studios on their blog. Let's see where it goes. Here's their epipheo that inspired mine...

Make Face-to-Face Part of Your Strategy

I had a little "ah-ha" moment a few weeks ago after co-hosting an informal BMA roundtable at Chevy's in San Francisco. I realized that I need to get out more! Yep, out of the office and into more face-to-face conversations, debates and networking with peers, competitors, practitioners and the curious. This occurred to me not because I am looking for a new job -- but because I experienced how face-to-face conversations can help me be better in my current role.

The good news is event formats like meetups, roundtables, tweetups and the like are very easy and cost-effective to organize and host. This is especially true now with online communities, web-based services and cultural shifts that I believe are being driven by workforce transitions, mobility, social media and mass restlessness. 

JD Peterson and I posted some thoughts about this topic including some tips and tools to consider. I'm convinced that face-to-face is required in the mix if you want to be more effective in your business. Expensive travel and event management budgets do not necessarily apply but you might consider serving margaritas and chips!

Socialnomics Video: Facts or Fiction?

This new video, with data from Erik Qualman's blog (and new book) about the social media revolution, is powerful and quite stimulating. The question -- is the video 100% factual or not? I'm an optimist and tend to trust people. But many folks are posting comments that assert the video is misleading. What do you think?