Posted: 15 Oct 2011 05:12 AM PDT

dead rat Last week I had the honor of attending and speaking at Search Exchange in Charlotte NC (along with the likes of Andy Beal).

My talk was about building brands social media. As I was preparing for my talk I felt kind of weird about the topic. The truth is, to build a brand in social media effectively you have to do a lot and spend a lot, and I mean a lot, of time doing it. True brand building in social media is an ongoing effort that entails content development, brand managers, monitoring, and strategy just to name a few. Which is why some are starting to realize that for many small businesses social media is a waste of time and other valuable resources.

Sure, I know what you are thinking. This guy is crazy. I mean even I will admit that my company gets on average 1 or 2 new projects a month from leads we gather from social media. But the only way that has been possible is through years of hard work developing a following and community that is already part of social media. The truth is if your customer base is not already using social media then devoting years to building a brand in it can be pointless.

But it's not only in building brands where social media has started to show its true colors. Prominent SEO's are also calling shenanigans on social media as a supposed SEO tactic.

Sometimes it feels like most of the folks that are still talking heavily about social media marketing are just using it as another area of expertise in their list of services. Whether or not it is a viable strategy for their clients is another story.

So, is social media marketing dying? Or is it just losing its shine with smaller companies as they realize what it takes to play? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

[photo credit]

Is a Controversial Campaign Worth the Risk?

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT

Visit Dr. Pepper's Facebook Fan Page right now and you'll see this message:

"Because of the new ad campaign, I finally have a reason to give up my Dr. Pepper love affair for water. Thank you! "

The woman is upset because Dr. Pepper's new social media marketing campaign is aimed at men and only men. The "Ten for Men" program pushes the "Dr. Pepper Ten Man'ments" which includes such notations as "THOU SHALT NOT POST FURRY ANIMAL VIDEOS. Exceptions made for beasts fighting to the death and bears destroying idyllic picnic scenes" and "THOU SHALT NOT OMG. If it's not exploding, it's not exciting."

Dr. Pepper is hoping to make their new diet soda look manly and it's a brilliant move. I'm one of those women who doesn't understand why other women are getting mad.

But that's the problem with any ad campaign that uses parody, sexism, racism or any other -ism to make their point. It could backfire on you.

Wave Metrix recently published a report called Q3 2011: the benefits and limits of a social media fan base. The report focuses on the public's response to a variety of iffy marketing campaigns.

One case is EasyJet, a discount airline who decided to poke fun at rival British Airways with their social media campaign. Fans were not amused. They thought it was rude and childish and the brand's image took a hard hit.

Nike also made a misstep when they re-launched the "Back to the Future II" MAGS on Facebook. Because the proceeds went to charity, Nike's "caring" score rose but the high price-point alienated the Nike regulars so a high percentage of the brand buzz was bad.

Who Got it Right?

Burberry made a bold move recently when they decided to release photos from their Spring/Summer 2012 fashion show exclusively on Twitter. Followers were excited to be a part of the chosen few and brand love abounded on fashionista Twitter streams from all over the world.

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.

And remember when Domino's Pizza put Twitter messages on a ticker in Times Square? They closed their eyes and threw the switch, hoping they wouldn't get slaughtered by hours of negative remarks. There were a few, but mostly the comments were positive. More importantly 12% of those surveyed thought it was a brave move and that gave them a positive feeling about the brand.

When it comes to social media marketing, your fans and followers can be your biggest ally or your greatest foes. Sometimes you have to take a chance and roll with an idea. If it backfires, don't panic. You can make it up to them with a coupon in your next campaign.

They say that all publicity is good publicity and despite the negative comments on their wall, I'd bet that Dr. Pepper agrees.

Google Says Good-Bye to Buzz

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 12:37 PM PDT

Sit down. I'm about to tell you some extremely upsetting news. Google is shutting down Google Buzz.

Take a moment. I know it's a lot to absorb.

It's a story we've seen unfold time and again. The romance that goes south when he finds someone new and more exciting. I'm not saying Google+ is necessarily to blame, but face it, how could Buzz have ever hoped to compete with Plus?

Google says that it's nothing personal, they simply want to surround themselves only with the best and the brightest. They want to focus all their attention and pour all their money and lavish gifts on to those that make them feel important and that's why Buzz isn't the only one being tossed out on the street.

Code Search, Jaiku and the University Research Program for Google Search will all be goners by January 2012. They're also taking the social features off of iGoogle, so users can go back to enjoying their RSS feeds alone and unfettered by share buttons.

All good, hard-working programs, but still, it's the loss of Buzz that will linger on. For those who want to preserve the memory, you can download our existing profile using Google Takeout.

Bradley Horowitz, Vice President of Product had this to say;

"Changing the world takes focus on the future, and honesty about the past. We learned a lot from products like Buzz, and are putting that learning to work every day in our vision for products like Google+. Our users expect great things from us; today's announcements let us focus even more on giving them something truly awesome."

Awesome would be. . . well, awesome! But we'll never forget the day we made our first Buzz. Now, it's time to move on.