Get To The Grapes

I am not usually one for jumping on the bandwagon of every new social media platform released.  In fact, there are some popular sites such as Foursquare that I personally have no need for.   I can update my friends on things going on in my life just fine on Facebook and for marketing and business updates LinkedIn and Twitter work great.  But Foursquare just plain creeps me out.  There are however, occasions when a new platform comes out that I go crazy over.  A few months back I discovered Spotify and music listening will never be the same for me.  Most recently, I discovered Pinterest which is down-right genius! For those that have not been introduced, Pinterest is a platform for sharing images that inspire you visually with ideas on organization, wedding planning, home décor, cooking, planning your child’s birthday party and the list goes on.  I can and have spent many hours perusing and pinning fabulous things to my personal boards.

So, how does this fabulous new tool apply to businesses? From my vantage point, if your product can be used to inspire women in any way, you have a place on Pinterest.  I can see a place for every type of business to share images from stylish brands to personal trainers, chefs, wedding planners, photographers, restaurants, hotels, authors etc.  So, how do you get started and what are some of the “rules” on Pinterest? I would like to share an article that will give you some tips to get started from Mashable, a fantastic group of social media thought leaders. The article, entitled, Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips will give you a great start to thinking about Pinterest from the vantage point of socially connecting consumers to your brand.  After reading this post you should have some great ideas on how your business can connect with women on the fabulous platform.

With the mainstream use of social media, it’s not shocking that more and more brands are leveraging this movement by establishing a social media presence through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.  But what is shocking is how some of these brands are going about doing it.  Social media is an incredibly powerful tool that can make or break a brand.  Yet, many companies are underestimating this power and putting the control into the hands of interns.  INTERNS! 

While interns can be a great asset to your company, they are learning. They are not experts. If you had a million dollar advertising budget, would you rely on an intern to make sound recommendations?  If you needed creative for that advertising campaign, would you hire any intern with InDesign software to develop a campaign that reflects your brand and message?  Probably not.  For some reason, because the tools and platforms are free, many companies underestimate the power of social media.  Just like with the other tools in the marketing mix, you need to hire trained professionals to manage and represent your brand. 

Check out this article from PRDaily.com on the four reasons the PR team should handle social media.  Do you agree or disagree?

 http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10554.aspx.

What key traits make up a successful social media influencer?   Forbes lists them as the following:

#1. Being active in a large number of channels

#2. Creating and maintaining a high quality network

#3. Frequency of participation

Social media is social after all, which means you need to get intimately involved, engaged and well connected. See entire article here.

So just who are the top social media influencers? According to Forbes, they include:

Name                                    Total Audience (Followers)

Chris Brogan 193,999

Ann Handley 111,619

Gary Vaynerchuk 906,833

Robert Scoble 220,062

Scott Stratten 108,497

Reg Saddler 151,673

Jason Falls 45,859

Scott Monty 63,436

Mari Smith 127,973

Pam Moore 66,618

I’ve included only the total follower numbers, but PeekAnalytics measures not only the size of the consumer audience, but their quality in terms of their network size, social participation and their ability to spread a message further. Thus, the table summarizes pull, total audience, identified consumer count, and consumer ratio.

And one of my favorites, for obvious reasons… Gary Vaynerchuk

From our heart to yours, THANK YOU for supporting Super Theo. We are so touched and incredibly thankful to work with such amazing friends, clients and colleagues. Because of you, (your “likes” and “posts”), Merlot will be making a generous donation to help Super Theo continue his journey for more “super cells.” We wish you a healthy, prosperous and joyous 2012! With sincere thanks, The Merlot Team

Posting stories, video, photos helps you connect with followers

Premium content from Sacramento Business Journal by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer

Date: Friday, January 6, 2012, 3:00am PST

You already have the tools to reach more people more often and more efficiently than ever before.

For years, small businesses looking to market their products and services have been at a disadvantage because of limited budgets. With the advent of social media, small businesses now have a marketing tool they can afford.

Yet few companies, especially small ones, have strategically incorporated social media into their marketing mix. Many have amazing content but don’t use the “social” tools available to distribute it. Think you don’t have great content? It’s time you dig a little deeper. See if you have any of this content to share with your customers.

• Pictures

• Press releases/news

• Video

• Charitable work

• Personal stories

Social media provides the perfect platform to engage your customers on a more personal level and, depending on the size of your organization, your employees as well. You might not feature a personal or behind-the-scenes story in an ad campaign, but social media is the perfect way to tell that story. In fact, that’s what people want — something authentic to your brand. So don’t be shy — tell your story.

The next time you post something to your website, ask yourself where else you can promote it. In today’s world, your website is simply the first step in telling your story. To truly engage your audience, you need to embrace all of the distribution channels available to you and connect with your clients.

For complete article, visit the Sacramento Business Journal.

To generate awareness and to support Theo, Merlot will make a generous donation for every “Like” or post to our Facebook wall that includes: “I support Super Theo!”

Thank you to everyone who has and will support Theo this holiday season! Here’s to you – and Super Theo!

Wendy’s has its $0.99 menu! McDonald’s, Taco Bell and almost every other major fast food restaurant has some sort of ‘cheap eats!’ So, what’s so special about Subway’s new $2 Six inch Sub promotion? First, the company talks about “showing a little love” to its customers as a basis for this December promotion, which is brilliant marketing in itself.  During these tough economic times, instead of talking about how they need to boost sales in December since it is typically a very slow month for fast food chains, they instead talk about the benefit to the customer: smart! And, given it’s drastic price reduction, it’s garnering tremendous press coverage.  It’s one thing to offer fries at $0.99, but a sub sandwich has a greater perceived value than your average $2 burger or fries, so the news media is covering it as ‘news!’ In fact, USA Today ran this headline in its “Money” section: “Meal-deal trend: Catch a (6-inch) Subway for only $2″ You can’t ask for better advertising than that!

So the next time you’re preparing to run a promotion, make it not only compelling to your audience (your customers), but to the media as well. Getting a “little love” from the media can go a long way for your promotion and your brand. Read full article here.

There is much talk about the amazing impact social media can have on your brand and business, but equally important is knowing what social media can’t do. Social media can’t:

• Substitute for marketing strategy.
• Succeed without top management buy-in.
• Be viewed as a short-term project.
• Produce meaningful, measurable results quickly.
• Be done in-house by the vast majority of companies.
• Provide a quick fix to the bottom line or a tarnished reputation.
• Be done without a realistic budget.
• Guarantee sales or influence.
• Be done by “kids” who “understand social innately”
• Replace PR

Want more details, read full article here.

Jenny Craig hired Valerie Bertinelli to show off her figure at almost 50 – in a bikini!  Then NutriSystem signed on “Dancing with the Stars” alum, Marie Osmond. Weight Watchers upped the anti with Jennifer Hudson who is now “Feeling Good.”  So, what’s next for Jenny Craig? How do they even compete with Jennifer Hudson and stay relevant as a brand? The answer? Change your name to “Jenny” and sign on…

Yes, it’s Mariah Carey. Check out the new “Jenny” video here.  Click here for full story. 

Social media usage may have reached a tipping point, according to a new report from, The Pew Internet and American Life Project.

It’s true, grandma did create a Facebook account to see her grandchildren.  However, it isn’t just grandma anymore who is frequenting social media sites.  More and more baby boomers are jumping on the social bandwagon-both personally and professionally.  Social media is finally starting to mature…

“The graying of social networking sites continues…said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Research Center. “While seniors are testing the waters, many Baby Boomers are beginning to make a trip to the social media pool part of their daily routine.”

Fully 65 percent of adult internet users now say they use a social networking site like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61 percent one year ago. This marks the first time in Pew Internet surveys that 50 percent of all adults use social networking sites.

Among the Boomer-aged segment of internet users ages 50-64, social networking site usage on a typical day grew a significant 60 percent (from 20% to 32%).

Consumer behavior continues to evolve and it’s continuing to evolve at every age range.  So no matter who your target audience or what your selling, social media should be considered an integral part of your media mix.

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