It was quite interesting that I received two packages in the mail on the same day. Why? To me these two packages perfectly highlighted Old Marketing versus New Marketing.

To be fair, the Old Marketing I am referrring to, the Yellow Pages Book, was not techically delivered; it was thrown on the ground, near my mailbox in a plastic bag.  But, I digress.  It arrived the same day as a sample of chocolate from Montazuma chocolate.

This is the Old Marketing

When someone mentions the Yellow Pages to me, I comment that I use the book once per year; when I pick it up out of my yard and dispose of it in the trash can.  Not that it doesn't have it's uses; it can be recycled, used to prop something up, hold up books on my bookcase, and other non-essential tasks.  But, as an effective method to market a business; not so much.  The Yellow Pages can work for some businesses as a marketing tool; but that number is decreasing rapidly, along with the number of users of the book.  The majority of our population own smartphones and computers.  Anything that you can find in the Yellow Pages book can be found, along with a substantial amount of other information on a business, via a Google search. This fact combined with the increasing number of homes that have eliminated home phones makes my argument that The Yellow Pages is Old Marketing. 

This is New Marketing

On the same day, I received a sampling of Montazuma Chocolate from Abes Market. Their dark chocolate sample was sinfully delicous. It was fresh and just the perfect combination of chocolate  and sweet, but not too sweet.  The other sample, the Jungle Fever Milk Chocolate with Fruits and Nuts was beyond words!  Simply the best chocolate I have ever eaten!  And yes, I have eaten a lot of chocolate!

So why was this sample New Marketing?  Their representaitve contacted me on Twitter after we started following each other and after they noticed some Tweets about coffee and chocolate.  I provided my address to them privately and before you know it, I have a free sample in the mail.   This is a perfect example of how social media can build a loyal audience!  NOT the free part, but reaching out to individuals and turning them into brand ambassadors! I am a believer in their products and have become a shopper, and obviously a raving fan. Social media is not about free or about which platform a company is on; it's about buiding a community of brand ambassadors.

Social or New Marketing works. Simple as that. 

This is from their website, AbesMarket.com  Follow @AbesMarket on Twitter and try out their products today! 

Abe's Market is the online marketplace for great natural products. We connect buyers seeking amazing natural products with the people who make them. There's no need to prowl the Internet for a broader natural product selection than can be found at your local natural market. At Abe's Market, you can get all your natural product buying done in one place.

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You haven't been able to be on social media sites in the past week without seeing news about the upcoming Facebook IPO.  With Over 800 million active users – more than half of whom log in on any given day and interact with over 900 million “objects” (pages, groups, communities, etc.). Over 250 million photos uploaded every day, over 70 languages on the site. The stats go on and on, and anyway you look at them, the numbers are huge.

There is no argument that Facebook is a major player in social media, and the impending IPO could be HUGE financially for those willing to invest in stock in the leading social site.

So, why is this good news as it relates to free enterprise. it is a shinning example of how one individual can create something that becomes a platform used worldwide.  Think about it, Mark Zuckerberg decided to start the site on his own. He didn't go to his local or federal government for help.  He made the decision to start the company, albeit for reasons not connected to success (check out the movie The Social Network - http://www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com/  for more on that); but that is not the point.  The point is, one individual created what has become the leading social media site with over 800 million active users!  That is amazing by itself; but now thinking abou the company going public and the money that it will generate for Facebook is staggering.  The point is too that he did this in a free market, free enterprise environment that we have here in the United States.  We should all be thankful that it exists and should support it as much as we can.

This also means that Facebook's perfromance, their profits and losses will be key due to the fact that shareholders will expect results.  It should be interesting to see how that impacts advertising revenue and future changes to Facebook

Good luck to Facebook and it's investors. Will you be buying stock in Facebook?

 

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In light of this weeks 24 hour blackout against SOPA, we thought it would be a good idea to explore what the world would be like without WIkipedia. Check it out below:

 

<br />Created by: Online University

 

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I must admit, I have been a fan of Ford motor company for years. Over the years I have owned two Ford's and my family has been loyal to the Ford brand for many years.  It didn't hurt that my uncle, Bob Ripley worked for a local Ford Dealership for several decades.  Anyone familar with southern West Virginia will recognize the name Dodson-Hager Ford.

Thinking of the cars Ford has produced over the years brings back great memories.  Come on, the Ford Mustang?  How great was and is that car?  Well, with the exception of the Mustang II during the 1970's, but we can overlook that period in time. 

The current line up of Ford products seem to further the quality of the brand. I do not own a Ford currently, but their trucks, SUV's and some of their cars are worth the look in my opinion.

The current line up Ford commercials, at leeast the interveiew style commercials, stink in my opinion!

If you haven't seen them; here is one:

Recently these commercials have underwent a makevover of sorts, shifting the interview to outside, on the steps of a building in impromptu press conference styel format.  Complete with someone, portraying a photographer, running up to snap pictures of the interviewee. So, what is my problem with the commercials?  They are old school and expect the viewers to believe that these Ford owners are surprised to be interviewed.  They show "reporters" writing down answers and sticking microphones in the faces of the owners.  And, they have NO reference to social media whatsover! Even at the end of the commercial, no website link, Twitter image, Facebook logo or YouTube brand page link.  I guess what makes me shake my head is that Ford has a strong online and social presence, so why hide it?  Click over to Facebook; they have MULTIPLE pages; one for each model!  It's like these commercials are produced by a complete different marketing department; and they seem so fake! They are not attempting to connect or build a community at all with these commercials. 

Do shoppers turn to social to research cars prior to purchasing?  Yes, check out this post from Splash Media:  Social Media Marketing CAN Fuel Auto Sales - If Done Right.  Cars.com has done it for years, so can all other brands. 

Those are my thoughts, and a bit of a rant I suppose. But what do you think? Do you like the commercials? Are they effective? 

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There is a little known, to must users, location on Facbook where you can discover new Facebook Pages.  Here is the link: 

Facebook.com/Pages

This page provides you with several search criteria for pages that you may want to like or follow. You can narrow your search by Music, Movies, Television, People, Sports, Brands & Products, Companies & Organizations as well as Local Business & Places.  It is important to note that the Local Business & Places is NOT business located near you. These pages are pages that were created using Local Business & Places category.

When you visit this page, you will see Page Invites on the right side of the screen, along with which of your friends suggested this page to you.  Not sure why Facebook doesn't make these recommendations easier to find, but maybe that will change one day. 

Below the Page Invites on the right, you will find Friends Similar to You.  This shows your friends and if you click on it, you will discover the pages they like.  This can be helpful in engaging with pages that are owned by your friends or that may be important to your friends. 

I encourage you to visit the Discover Pages page often to see what is new and what your friends have recommended to you!

What are your favorite pages?

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The latest edition of the Socialnomics 3 video, an even longer 4:00+ version, has been making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.  If you are not familiar with the video, it is  the world's most watched social media series by Erik Qualman. Based on #1 Best Seller Socialnomics.

It seems like social networking powerhouse LinkedIn has pulled a Facebook this week.  They opened up their 100 million + users to a default setting that allows names and images to be used  for third-party advertising.  Facebook did this several months ago, and now LinkedIn has followed suit.

Facebook announced exciting changes during their live video conference today.  Do you believe these are improvements? Announced today:

1. Video Calling with Skype
2. New Chat Design, complete with Buddy Lists
3. Group Chatting

The partnership with Skype was something necessary and a natural next step for the two companies.  It solidifies Skype's place in the social environment and it helps Facebook to continue to grow in the wake of Google + 1. Do you see these changes as improvements?  For businesses that use Facebook to connect and stay in communication with their client and potential clients; this is HUGE!  Imagine interfacing with fans and clients directly off of your Facebook Business Page!  Holding a Group Chat Session with employees in other locations!  It's all about being connected, being responsive and humanizing business. How will these compete with Google + 1 ?  Too soon to tell; and in reality, it is two different situations; but it does raise the bar for both Facebook and Skype in our social environment.