The Follis Marketing Report

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Levy, the founder and CEO of a very cool new media called BlogTalkRadio. Check it out:

“http://twitter.com/ObamaNews”

Social Media is an online approach to communicating and sharing ideas. Social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs let people become more involved with the messages they send and interact with the messages they receive. So, if you have a business or cause to spread awareness about, social media can help.

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Shel Israel, the 50-something marketing/tech guru was recently asked this question on the LexBlog Q & A. His answer is worth hearing. (And I agree.)

Rob La Gatta:
It seems like while a lot of professionals utilize new media, the general public is less quick to adapt. Is a mass embrace of these tools - newsfeed readers, for example - something that will inevitably occur over time? Or will we continue to see this technological divide until the old model is rendered obsolete and retired?

Shel Israel:
I disagree with your premise. When you add up the number of people reading blogs, watching online video, [and] engaging in social networking, you probably have a number nearly equal to the number of people reading newspapers and watching TV. For example, there are 125 downloads on YouTube for every New York Times newspaper sold. Until a couple of months ago, Facebook was growing by a million [users] a week. I don’t see a technological divide. I see a generational divide. Younger people are in the habit of using social media tools and most older people are not. As the younger people age and replace my generation, their habits will not change.

So, what do you think?

It pays to be creative. The more creative your message is, the more memorable it will be. The more memorable it is, in a positive way, the better your chance of making a sale. Here’s one Follis example:

Click here to see more.

Just incase you’re not up with Web 2.0 terms and sites, here are the most popular:

Web 2.0
The second generation of the Web involving social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, video, podcasts, etc, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing.

Social Media
The umbrella term that defines the activities that integrate technology and social interaction.

Blog
(short for ‘web log’) is a website formatted as an on-going log or diary of text entries posted by the creator or “blogger”. Unlike traditional websites, blog technology allows users to easily create a web site and then easily add content (text, mostly).

Podcast
An audio or video blog.

Facebook
Perhaps the most popular social networking website. It began as a way for college students to connect and is now open to all.

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No matter what your business, 99% of people could care less about it. Why? Because some people simply aren’t good prospects. But for many others it’s because you haven’t convinced them otherwise. In fact, there are thousands of people who’d buy you IF you got them excited and convinced them of the value of your product.

Do you Believe in Marketing? (more…)

“Can blogging make money?” If you’re Michael Arrington the answer is definitely yes. Last year, revenues from his “little (TechCrunch) blog” were 3M. And he’s turned down a “firm offer” for 8M. See the recent Arrington interview.

Reprinted from CT Business Magazine Dec. ‘07

If you’re involved with a business then you know how challenging it is to stay on top of a competitive marketplace. You may also know how challenging it is to stay on top of a constantly evolving Internet. With that in mind few things in recent months have generated more buzz than blogs and podcasts. And, maybe you know all about them. But, if you don’t or aren’t sure how they can help your business, this article’s for you. (more…)