Marketing Pilgrim Published: "The 140 Character At A Time Press Release" plus 3 more

The 140 Character At A Time Press Release

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 05:42 AM PDT

Yesterday, HubSpot announced their acquisition of social media marketing company oneforty. A big move for the SaaS inbound marketing provider indeed. What they did to announce it was pretty interesting as well.
In a blog post simply titled #Hub140 – @HubSpot Acquires Social Media Marketing Company @oneforty – http://bit.ly/Hub140 which is simply a pre-packaged tweet they went on to provide the story in 11 separate 140 character or less bites that had a "Tweet This" link at the end of each. In essence you could get the word out about any number of points of the acquisition quickly and easily while being able to pick and choose which point you wanted to highlight. Here's a sample

Today @HubSpot acquired @oneforty, a social media marketing company based in Cambridge, MA. #Hub140 – http://bit.ly/Hub140 Tweet This
Like @HubSpot, @oneforty recognizes the importance of social media in the transformation of marketing. #Hub140 Tweet This
.@oneforty created a directory of social media applications and the social media marketing tool SocialBase. #Hub140 Tweet This
The @oneforty directory will merge into the @HubSpot App Marketplace, the largest app store for marketing. #Hub140 Tweet This
Features from the @oneforty product SocialBase will be incorporated into the @HubSpot product. #Hub140 Tweet This

You may have seen this technique used elsewhere but I have not to this point. What's your take on this way of announcing whatever news you may have about your business? I like it if for no other reason that it got my attention and held it. It also helped me look at individual points about the news that I may have glossed over had it been in paragraph form.
What about you?

Foursquare Check In for Events Is Launched

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 05:24 AM PDT

In the Internet world launched is a relative term since most launches are done piecemeal and often further off in the future than you might suspect given the hype afforded most of these upgrades.
Foursquare's new offering around events is no different in that it is only coming to the iPhone initially but don't fret, they promise it will arrive on other platforms (they just don't say when).
So what is this? It's pretty simple. Foursquare has seen how people gum up the works by creating a variety of check in options around live events so they are simply going to control that process. Here's a look screens for a sporting event and concert.

Foursquare will be partnering with some big partners to supply event information for sports event, movies and concerts. Here is a description of each partnership from the Foursquare blog

ESPN is not only providing us with event details, but also information about the game. Tap on the event and see info, like, from a recent game: "Did you know CC Sabathia is 5-0 against the Orioles this season, but the Orioles are on a 9 game winning streak. Something has to break." For more info on how this works, check out ESPN's announcement.
MovieTickets.com adds another cool dimension – see not only showtimes, but help decide what you want to see with summaries and links to more info.
In addition to giving us concert details, Songkick is launching a competition to win a year's worth of free concert tickets to celebrate the launch of our partnership with them! Check out this page for more details.

It's an added dimension to checking in for sure. It's actually a better way to check in overall when the sharing of the event is the focus rather than the simple fact that you have graced a building with your presence. Of course, it's more information about your activities that is being gathered and used by a third party to find out what makes you tick so advertisers can offer you something. You know it's going there, right? Here's a look at how you will be able to check in at a movie theater and tell people just what movie you are watching and who has done the same.

Marketing Pilgrim's Social Channel is proudly sponsored by Full Sail University, where you can earn your Masters of Science Degree in Internet Marketing in less than 2 years. Visit FullSail.edu for more information.

So here's to giving even more information about your likes or dislikes etc to marketers. It makes marketers very happy so share away!

Separate Social Media or Do You Live Your Brand?

Posted: 18 Aug 2011 01:18 PM PDT

Specialist insurer Hiscox reports that only 13% of small business owners have no separation between their work and personal social media accounts and only 8% of respondents said they didn't have a good balance between life and work. The other 92% are lying to themselves.
How many times have you sent a Tweet during dinner? Checked Facebook when the kids were waiting for the story you promised or blew off Sunday brunch to get one more article written and posted? Social media addiction is a problem for everyone, but for the small business owner, it's even harder to cut the strings. Only 5% of the SMB owners said they didn't work weekends and an even lower percent banned cell phones from the bedroom or dinner table.
Kevin Kerridge, small business expert for Hiscox says,

"These results highlight the innate drive we see in our startup clients. Starting a small business requires a high level of commitment, and there are few times when they're not focused on their business and looking for opportunities to drive it forward."

And it's not just for startups. Everyone feels the push to post one more time before signing off at the end of the day (be it 5pm or 5am.)

But let's go back to the question of separate social media accounts. For many, the brand is their life, so it doesn't make sense to divide the pot by running multiple accounts. Facebook forces the issue by requiring people to make profiles and businesses to make pages, but what if you're a consultant by trade, or a freelance writer or designer where you are the whole business.
The real issue is how you use your social media accounts. Studies have shown that followers enjoy personal, chatty bits of information sandwiched in between updates about the company and the products. But your company Twitter is not the place to air your family problems, health issues, or views on politics and religion. Then again, maybe you shouldn't be putting that stuff on your personal account either.
The problem with having separate personal and business social media accounts is that unless you hide your identity, both of them still represent you. That means both of them represent your business. You don't have the luxury of writing, "my views are my own and not that of my employer" and I'm not sure that would matter anyway.
If you own a small business, you are your brand and that's 24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year. You may be able to balance your work and home life in the real world, but in the virtual world, there's no such thing. Your customers are always watching.

Daily Deals on Dry Wall? HousingZone and Bizy Make it So

Posted: 18 Aug 2011 08:52 AM PDT

HousingZone, an online portal for builders, contractors and remodelers, is getting into the deal business with the help of BizyDeal.com.
Bizy is Groupon for small business with daily discounts on items such as job ads on LinkedIn, social media marketing services and a virtual receptionist. In October, they'll be launching their first industry specific B2B deal site at HousingZone.com.
The new deal site will include discounts on building materials such as roofing supplies, plumping, lighting and doors. (Can't have a building without doors!)
Tony Mancini, Group Director-Principal for HousingZone parent SGC Horizon said in a press release,

"The timing of HousingZone Deals couldn't be better, as residential construction and remodeling have been hard hit by the recession. Powered by Bizy, HousingZone Deals will help builders and remodelers improve their bottom lines with heavily discounted goods and services while providing manufacturers with a powerful new channel to promote their products to a large and very targeted audience."

I know the construction market is tough and I'm all for any option that helps small businesses stay in business but half price smoke alarms and Buy 1 Get 1 water heaters? Does the idea of cut-rate construction supplies scare anyone else?
Daily deal sites work because they're a forced impulse buy. They tell you how everyone else is doing it and you have a limited time to either join the crowd or be an outcast. There are large numbers of people who have bought deals only to realize later that they didn't really want the item, they simply hit "buy" because the marketing pitch hit them just right.
Is that how a contractor should be buying his building supplies? What's next? Daily Deals for Doctors?
I supposed I'm being naive. I'm sure suppliers routinely offer discounts to builders in order to get them to try new products or remain loyal. The difference is, I didn't know about it, now I'm going to wonder every time I walk into a new building.