The Follis Marketing Report

from the NY Daily News:“Obama Underwear”

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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Don’t underestimate the power of a great card. A business card is one of the most important, and most overlooked, elements of any marketing effort. It’s often the first impression that a prospect will have of your business. So, rather than ignore it, why not make it an impressive, memorable reflection of your product or service?

It’s almost comical how often at networking events people will blather on and on about their product or service and then hand out the most lame, cheesy-looking card. Not exactly a great credibility builder, is it.

Can you imagine a business card sparking a conversation, that sparked a meeting, that led to a 93 thousand dollar project? I can, because it happened to me. If you want to hear the story and see the card, just leave me a comment below and ask for the “card story.” I’ll be happy to share it with you.

Coors Light is extending its presence in the new media with efforts on the social networking Web sites Facebook and MySpace.
Read full article.

Great marketing will not help a bad product for long. For real, long term success, be sure you have a great product that there’s truly a market for.

Repetition works. Studies show that people need to see the same message several times before they  even recall it, never mind act on it.

Repetition works. Studies show that people need to see the same message several times before they even recall it, never mind act on it.

Humor works too.

More and more organizations are using popular virtual world Second Life for advertising, education, e-commerce, or for the novelty factor alone. Are these meaningful forays into the future of the internet, or simply companies playing around in virtual reality for its own sake? Leading tech journalist Leo Laporte chats up Virtual Worlds Marketing Consultant, Catherine Winters, about SL and future applications of virtual worlds.

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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?