… or forever tarnished? What’s your comment?

Today I received yet another Facebook “Fan Request” from a woman I barely know for something I’ve never heard of. I’ve been getting a lot of these lately. Why I’d consider being a “Fan” of something I don’t know, sent by a person I barely know, is beyond me.

Beneath the “I’m just offering you something good” facade is an aggressive, self-promotional practice motivated by a desire to leverage social media for personal and professional gain. And, what these fan requesters fail to realize is that if they continue to bug people they barely know with these spammy requests their “friends” will not only not be fans, they won’t be friends.

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“G-Cred“, a term coined by John Follis in ‘05, and described in this ‘07 ADWEEK column, is now part of the Web 2.0 lingo. This encore presentation of an ‘08 Follis interview discusses what G-Cred is and why every product, service, and professional must have it. Right click to download interview.

Listen to The Marketing Show podcast.

The past decade saw a seismic shift in marketing communications as blogs, podcasts,  online video, and other forms of Social Media led the media evolution. It’s an exciting time. And yet, with this evolution, the focus on “message” has, too often, been lost. In many cases, the over-reliance on new media and technology, has sacrificed the focus on development of a compelling, creatively engaging, message.

The most successful companies and organizations (Apple, Google, Team Obama, etc) work with marketing experts to help them develop and maintain a strong brand message realizing that the media and technology is only a tool — a tool to help them get their important message out.

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That is the question. Is it a useful tool, or not? What’s your take?

Learn about Social Media and why “G-Cred” is the credibility barometer of the next decade. To get alerts for the full 13-part talk, Subscribe here —>

Listen to more Follis talks.

“G-Cred“, a term coined by John Follis in ‘05, has become part of the Web 2.0 vocabulary. What exactly is it, and why must every product, service, professional person and business have it? Listen to the interview and read the ADWEEK article.

MP3 File

Part I of John’s talk covering:

    • the importance of engaging your customer.
    • establishing “the essence” of your product or service.
    • the value of a great tagline.
    • how to excite vs merely inform.
    • the “huh” factor.
    • PR
    • the future direction of media and marketing.
    • successful case studies.

Hear Part 2

Question of the Week:

How many people do you think really follow those whom they claim to be following? Or, are they “following” primarily as an ego-fueled attempt to try to get more followers for perception value?