We’ll kick-off the first conference recap with John Battelle’s (CEO/Founder, Federated Media) keynote on “All Media is Social.  Now What?”  John’s keynote was brilliantly right-on-topic to get us all kindling new ideas.  Here are four key areas he covered:

1.  The Rise of Conversational Marketing: First we declared our intentions (what we want) through search.  Then we declared our relations (social graph — who we are as defined by how we are connected to other people) on sites like Facebook.  Finally, during the past year we declared our utterances (what we are doing, what we are interested in, etc.) on sites like Twitter.  When you put all these declarations together — intention, relations and utterances, you have an economy of conversations.

2.  Conversation Economy: Every marketer is a publisher and every publisher is a marketer.  And every consumer is both.  What was once a one-way conversation has now become a two-way conversation. To succeed as marketers, we must leverage appropriate digital media and have conversations with customers at scale.  If you believe conversational marketing is real, we have to contemplate how we can best market in that native environment.  It’s a new form of exchange between numerous participants, and we as marketers are one of those participants representing the brand.  We are still in an early stage and we have to learn new skills by trying and relentlessly testing.

3.  What Brands Need to Succeed in Conversational Marketing: Marketing must become everyone’s job and it must become a horizontal practice rather than a vertical specialty.  This means rethinking from the top down and the bottom up.  To succeed in the Social Media, brands need the same things that are required in a Packaged Goods environment.

Scale + Safety + Quality + Engagement

4.  Conversational Marketing Guidelines:  Fuel for Thought tips and suggestions include:
-  Find conversations you want to join or start
-  Find the natural leaders of those conversations
-  Listen first, then join
-  Add value to the conversations
-  Make media annuities

To hear more great nuggets from John, be sure to follow him on Twitter at @JohnBattelle. To get an electronic copy of his presentation, please email me at jkim (at) sigmagroup.com.  The next post will recap Radian6’s workshop on “Why Listen to Social Media?”

Our first event last year focused on finding the optimum digital marketing solutions.  Geoff Ramsey, CEO/Founder of eMarketer shared his Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn and it sure got our attendees engaged in various discussions to help them jump-start planning in the right direction for the coming year.  Today, we’re thrilled to see that many of the attendees have implemented steps built from those insights/conversations into their marketing programs.  We as an agency also applied those insights and it helped us innovate and grow during the downturn.

The second Fuel for Thought conference will take place on Thursday, November 5th at the Hilton Parsippany Hotel.  This year, we’ll be focusing on Social Media Marketing — not on lofty, intangible theories and concepts, but on actionable smart practices, case studies, resources and tools that will help our attendees properly consider, test and incorporate them into their upcoming marketing programs.

We are thrilled to have John Battelle, CEO/Founder of Federated Media as our keynote presenter to fully profile Why All Media is Social and how it’s impacting the relationship between brands and consumers.  He will share how marketers can embrace new strategies and best practices to ensure their brands are positioned properly in conversational marketing.

We are also delighted to have our partners Radian6, Visual Goodness and Federated Media on-board with us at Fuel for Thought.  To equip our attendees with the right strategies and practical steps, each of our partners will lead an interactive workshop session customized for the conference. Attendees can join the session most suited to their needs:

* Maximizing the User Experience
* Why Listen to Social Media?
* Conversation at Scale
* Twitter for Business

The conference is complimentary to our clients and marketing executives seeking growth and innovation.  To request for your seat, visit http://www.fuelforthoughtseries.com.  We hope to see you on November 5th.

[Never forget to safeguard your Twitter password and only use it on sites you trust.]

Twitter Search, Trends & News

Search.Twitter – Twitter’s own search engine (formerly Summize).  Type in any search term and see what’s happening on Twitter for that keyword.  You can subscribe to a search via RSS.

Twazzup – An alternative Twitter search engine.  It has the basic functionality of search.twitter.com, but is faster, has a better UI and offers additional useful resources.

Spy - Tracks real-time keyword mentions in Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr, Blog Comments, Yahoo News, Blogs and Google Reader.  You can subscribe to a search via RSS.

Twendz - A real-time Twitter search application that also measures sentiment.

TwettMeme, Twit(url)y, MicroBlogBuzz – Tracks and features the most popular links on Twitter.  MicroBlogBuzz aggregates links from Jaiku and Identica along with Twitter.

ReTweetist – Tracks the most popular retweets (RT).

RetweetRadar – Allows you to see popular retweets.  Also archives top trending terms and Twitter users by day.

WhatTheHashag - A wiki that tracks hashtags on Twitter.

TwitScoop – A real-time tag cloud of Twitter buzz.

Tinker – A simple way to discover events people are chattering about on Twitter and across the social web.

Favrd- This site lists interesting things that show up on Twitter based on the number of times an item/tweet has been declared as a “favorite.”

TweetNews – Ranks top stories based on the amount of related tweets.

StockTwits - Shares the investment discussions on Twitter in real time.

Twitter Alerts

TweetScan - Schedule Twitter searches to be sent to your email.

TweetBeep- The Google Alerts for Twitter, allows you to monitor conversations that mention you, your brand and related products.  When an assigned keywords are tweeted, an email alert will be sent to you.

Twitter Analytics & Graphs

Twitalyzer – A complete analytics and visualization tool for Twitter users.  The site evaluates the activity of any Twitter user and/or brand and report on relative influence, signal-to-noise raitio, generosity, velocity, clout, and other measures of success.  Twitalyzer also allows you to combine Twitter data with your Google Analytics.  Sign up for Twitalzyer Pro to gain access to additional measurements (e.g., Your Top Influencers, ROI, Clouds reports).

TwitterCounter - Graphs your twitter usage – followers, friends and updates.

Trendrr – Tracks trends and statistics on multiple social media platforms.

Twist – A Twitter trends tool that graphs your queried terms into a format similar to Google Trends.

TweetVolume – Graphs how often words and phrases are mentioned on Twitter and then indexed on Google.

TwitterGrader – Learn your Twitter grade, your local Twitter Elite, and find new people to follow.

Twitterholic - Lists top 100 Twitter users based on followers.

TweetStats – Offers a graphical analysis of your Twitter usage.

Twinfluence – Measures your Twitter influence based on reach, velocity, and social captial.

RetweetRank - Measures how many retweets you have received.

Find and Manage Twitter Follower, Friends and Tweets

WeFollow - User generated directory of Twitterers categorized by their industry, interest and hobby.  Include yourself to the list by clicking on “Add Yourself to WeFollow” button.

Twellow - Yellow Pages of Twitter.  Breaks out tweople by industry category and location.

TwitDir - Offers a variety of ways to search for people on Twittr (user name, location, description).

Mr. Tweet - Follow @mrtweet and he will send you a DM with a suggested good people to follower based on folks that are in your Twitter network and recommendations they received.

Twubble , WhoShouldIFollow - Type in your Twitter username and this program recommends people you should follow based on popularity and location.

LocalTweeps , NearByTweets – Enter your zip code or location and find who is near you.

GeoFollow – Location based Twitter directory.

Tweetizen - A web-based tool designed to help you filter tweets by categorizing your followers and their tweets by assigning Twitter groups.

FriendOrFollow - This tool compares your list of friends with your followers and shows you who does not follow you back.

SocialToo – Summarizes your new followers and those who unfollowed you via email.  Also offers autofollow and opt out of auto DM’s services.

Twitterholic – Find out who has the most followers and who can be an influential asset to your campaign.

Twitoria – Finds who haven’t tweeted in a long time that are part of your Twitter network.

Qwitter – Helps you manage your network by sending an alert when someone unfollows you.

Twalala – Put a mute button on certain people or topcis for a set amount of time if you are receiving way too many unwanted updates.

SocialMojo – Cute application that reveal what kind of “social mojo” you possess.  Just enter your user name and find out your mojo trait.

Twitter List (Brands, Government Officials, Retailers)

TweetBuzzer – Tracks the top 100 tweeted brands. We especially like the “Track Your Favorite Brand” feature, which summarizes the number of tweets and impressions during the past 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days.

Retail Twitter – Aggregates selected retailers (Brick & Mortar and E-Commerce) who are using Twitter to connect with their customers.

ExecTweets – Launched by Federated Media and sponsored by Microsoft, the site aggregates and groups Tweets from business executives by verticals and offers additional features to easily keep track of brands/executives on Twitter.

USGovernment - A full list of government officials, agencies, departments and staffs on Twitter.

JobMob – A global directory of Twitter accounts that post job openings.

Sharing Image, Videos, Links, Files, URL Shortners on Twitter, Twitter Polls

TwitPic – The most popular photo posting and sharing service.

Filetwt - A convenient utility for quickly sharing any files, upt to 20MB, with your entire Twitter network or just a single user.

TwitVid - Twitter video sharing site that supports upload via Web, email to u@twitvid.io.

Twiddeo – A service that allows you to upload video from the Web, camera phone and webcam.

BubbleTweet - Create a short video that pops up as a “bubble” over your Twitter profile page.  You can also embed a pop-up video message into your website with BubbleGuru, and BubbleComment allows you to include a video message on blogs.

URL Shortners that Tracks Clicks:  Bit.ly, Twitclicks, Tweetburner are few that we use often (we said our good byes to Tr.im in Aug-09)

StrawPoll – Poll your Twitter friends.

Glue – Post links to books, movies, restaurants and more on Twitter through Glue.

Twitter Handel, Plug-Ins, Clients

TweetDeck - A popular Adobe Air desktop client for Twitter offering variety of ways to organize your Twitter dashboard through preferences you set up (e.g., groups, key-word).

Twhirl – Adobe AIR desktop application connecting users to their Twitter, FriendFeed, Seesmic and laconi.ca accounts.

PowerTwitter – Firefox add-on that offers additional features to your Twitter Web interface (e.g., inline pictures and video to Twitter stream, URL expansion, Facebook status updates, etc.).

Hootsuite – Allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts and pre-schedule tweets.  Also allows you to send links with banner ads by  linking your Hootsuite account with Google Adsense.

TweetLater and CoTweet – Allow you to schedule when your Tweets get published.  Also help you to manage multiple accounts.

TwitterBerry - A popular BlackBerry Twitter application.

Ping.fm – A free service that allows you to update all of your social networks at once.

TwinBox – Lets you use Twitter inside of Outlook.

Organization & Productivity

Twittercal - Links your Twitter account and Google Calendar to easily keep up with your events and appointments.

@Timer , @RTM- Follow one of these Twitter accounts and direct message an upcoming task to receive reminder tweet.


TrackThis - Send TrackThis your tracking number and it will send you a message (via Twitter, Email, SMS, RSS, Facebook) when a package has arrived.  Tracks UPS, Fedex, USPS, DHL and several other carriers.

Jott – Voice-to-Text mobile messaging service that will transcribe your voice message to Twitter.

TwtVite - A simple event manager that helps you organize TweetUp.

TwtTrip - A travel organizer tool that helps you share your travel plans and find other Twitter travelers going to your destination.

Fund Raising, Petition, Promotion, Coupons

ChipIn , TipJoy – Helps you raise funds on Twitter for your cause.  Both service tracks the progress of your fund raising program.

TwtQpon - Allows you to create a simple Twitter coupon for your business.

Act.ly , TinyPetition -  A Twitter petition sites where user created petitions are tweeted out to their followers for them to join in.

Twibbon – Helps supporters of a cause overlay their Twitter avatars with an icon that shows of support and solidarity around an issue (e.g., pink ribbon)

Blogging

Add To Any – A WordPress plug-in that gets your blog posts shared on Twitter.

Tweet This - Allows your blog readers to tweet your post directly from your blog/site.
MyTwitter - Allows users to display their recent Twitter status updates on their WordPress site.


TwitterCounter - With this plug-in, you can display the number of follower you have on Twitter.

Twitter Visualization

VisibleTweets.com - Aggragates and animates Twitter search results.  Great for presentation.

TwitterSheep – Creates a tag cloud  based on the gios of the Twitter user’s followers.

Twistori - Features tweets containing love, hate, think, believe, feel or wish.

Social Collider – Tracks conversations based on users or topics and graphs if connected to another conversation or not.

Miscellaneous Simple Single Function Sites

WhenDidYouJoinTwitter – Tells you when the Twitter account was opened. IsTwitterDown - Tells you if Twitter is down or not.

DoesFollow – Tells you if a user is following another user.

For additional Twitter Tools, Apps and more, check out the following:

• 100 Tips, Tools, and Resources for Twitter Research

Diego Stocco – Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Discovering new and unique ways to create something different from a common object or idea is a challenge for all creatives. We often set our own boundaries and expectations of what something “should” be, defined either by the project parameters or personal preferences. Overcoming these limitations opens up a world of new experiences and fresh inspiration for our work.

Let’s consider the words of A.A. Milne, best known for his books about Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children’s poems:

“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.”

What can YOU do with your tree?

Recently comScore reported that in April 09, U.S. Internet users viewed 16.8 billion online videos.  Nearly 152 million folks watched an average of 111 videos, and an average online viewer watched 6.4 hours of video.  The age of online video viewers trends slightly younger, however, viewership by Generation X and older boomers are at no small scale.

That’s a lot of folks watching videos online.  And every minute there’s around 20 hours of new videos being uploaded to YouTube.  However, videos that generate millions of views overnight are few and far between—especially those uploaded to support a marketing agenda (e.g., commercials or promotional videos created by companies to promote their brands).

Here are some basic, yet essential, guidelines for online video success that we use to provide results for our clients.

1. Take a Long-Term Perspective:  While it is true that some online videos became an overnight sensation (e.g., Susan Boyle), the reality for most is that building an audience takes time—weeks, months and perhaps even years.  Keep in mind that unlike running a TV commercial where your ad/message disappears after your schedule runs out, online video has a potential to be active for years, accumulating viewers all along the way.  Therefore, creating content that has long-term relevance is key, which brings us to our second point.
2. Content is King:  Don’t just put a TV ad online (unless you have an incredible, one-of-kind commercial).  Create a short, entertaining message through a good story (e.g., humor, heartfelt tales, did you know, can you believe this, etc.).  People love to be surprised and everyone enjoys a good laugh.  Just as laughter works, so do tears, joy, compassion and a poignant moment.  The key is offering the viewer some quick entertainment that will engage them to respond, further investigate and/or share with their network.
3. Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan:  Just like you would with a TV commercial, incorporate a strategic plan behind your online video. Don’t just count on people stumbling onto it.  Remember that your new video has a shelf life of 48 hours before it’s moved from the Daily Most Viewed list to the Weekly Most Viewed list on most video sharing sites, so it’s important to share and spread the video quickly.  Some basic tactics that should be included into the online video launch include sharing and posting on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace), reaching out to bloggers and sending out email invites to your circle of contacts.
4. Engage with Your Viewers: Some of the most successful videos are those that are able to solicit comments and start discussions with their viewers.  According to Tim Street, creator of French Maid TV, in order to get your video to a higher plane, “It needs to interact with the viewer, and allow the viewer to interact with the characters or the creators.” Comments are a great way to hear feedback and receive ideas for future initiatives.  Keep in mind that comments may not always be positive, but they present the opportunity to connect with your audience one-on-one.  Therefore, make sure to properly monitor the social web sphere across all chatters on your video and brand.

Related articles:

The shift towards social media today is huge. Numerous articles, case studies and statistics extol the myriad benefits of this powerful new marketing movement each day.  However, getting your feet wet in social media can be quite a challenge as social media is not just another medium or channel where traditional marketing messages can be pushed. Instead, it’s all about understanding the culture of participation. And then harnessing and incorporating that into all your marketing and business processes.
So, what is the best way for an organization to embrace social media?  Here’s some of our top-line suggestions:

1.  Set a goal. All marketing programs, from advertising to promotion, starts with a defined goal. The same is true for social media marketing. Some of the common SMM goals and uses are:

• Converse with your market:  Corporate voice community
• Build and reward loyalty:  Loyalty community
• Generate ideas: Innovation community
• Customer support: Peer support community
• Stimulate a passion: Enthusiasts community
• Build and maintain buzz: Events community
• Create excitement: User-generated content or contest

A note about virals: As much as you may desire a “viral-something” (video, site, email, etc.), please keep in mind that “viral is a result, not a goal/strategy”, as Scott Monty stated in his recent tweet.  Also keep in mind that something will only become viral if your prospect thinks it’s worth passing along to other like-minded individuals, and so on.

2.  Realize and accept that everyone now has a voice. This mean your employees and customers as well as your detractors.  Technologies collectively known as Web 2.0 have spread widely among consumers over the past five years and today, everyone has the potential to be a content creator. Social networking websites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, etc.) attract more than 120 million unique visitors per month and more than 82 million people in the US created content online last year.

Therefore, if you want to succeed in this new social world, you need to engage the people you want to reach by meeting them on their own turf, or by creating a turf that you make available for them (e.g., community).

3.  Don’t fall for ‘build-it-and–they-will-come’ syndrome. We have seen so many programs where a company focuses solely on a splashy design and tools and forgets to pre-populate their community with valuable content. We have also seen programs launched with promising content only to find out later that there are no updates as well as those without a proper marketing plan behind it to gain traction and visibility.  Please keep in mind that when a potential member comes to a community, the only way to have them join, share and return again is through fresh, compelling content.  Additionally, build out a support plan and schedule to promote your social media effort (e.g., SEM, SEO, social media seeding, PR, display ads, integrated into appropriate offline messages, etc.).

4.  Social Media is more than a campaign. It’s about having a holistic marketing program that includes leveraging social technologies over the long haul. It’s about socializing with your brand fans through commitment, integrity and honesty. At the end of the day, social media is about building relationships—this means you don’t just show up one day and then disappear when your campaign is over.   Just like in a real relationship, you have to treat social media users as you would treat the people in your life. Get to know them, interact without promoting and earn customer trust through transparency.

5.  Find the team to champion your SMM effort. Identify and enlist the right people in your company to spearhead the social media program. These people need to believe in the initiative and have the experience, energy and passion to engage others in the effort.  Additionally, choose a social media-marketing vendor to help you bring your goals to life and deploy the appropriate technology solution.  There are only handful of companies in the world with the right suite of in-house resources to effectively and efficiently support/operate a social media program.

The above is just a sample list taken from hundreds of suggestions. To find out more, feel free to contact us or explore some additional information on the following posts.

-  Ron Jone’s Social Media Marketing 101 – Part 1 and  Part 2
-  Adam Ostrow’s (Mashable) What are the Benefits of Social Media Marketing
-  The McKinsey Quarterly’s Six Ways to Make Web 2.0 Work

I’m a firm believer that challenges open doors to opportunities, and opportunities bring innovation with possibilities to further advance and emerge as a leader – as many brands did during the Great Depression.

As eMarketer CEO/co-founder Geoff Ramsey puts it, “Consumers are still consuming.” They are still out there, looking for deals and recommendations to make product choices. They are relying on all available resources to find what is right for them. For marketers, the good news is there are more options than ever to make a connection with customers.

Below is a compendium to Geoff Ramsey’s presentation at the Fuel for Thought event in November. It’s based on his recent whitepaper Digital Marketing Now: Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn that is available for free at eMarketer.

That’s it for today.   I hope we sparked some new ideas and look forward to seeing your test programs in market.