Spark Effect

Shoutlet Receives $2M in Series A Funding

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:14:00 +0000

Today we're proud to announce that Shoutlet, our social media platform, received $2 million in Series A funding. The funding will allow us to maintain the pace we've set the past several months in terms of sales and development updates.

With exciting new clients added weekly, including companies such as American Family Insurance, Solo, Cannondale, and others, the investment helps us press ahead to accomplish the many goals we've set and help more companies effectively integrate Shoutlet into their social media marketing initiatives for 2010.

The financing was co-led by Origin Ventures and Leo Capital Holdings, both based in Chicago. The statement from Steve Miller, managing director at Origin Ventures, sums up our excitement about the future of Shoutlet:

"Shoutlet is a game-changing technology that empowers brands to market themselves with maximum impact through all major social media outlets. We see tremendous potential for the platform and for Sway, as all companies looking to manage and coordinate their social media Internet marketing are potential customers."

Shoutlet, BlueHornet Announce Partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:52:00 +0000

We're excited to announce a partnership between BlueHornet Networks Inc., a leading provider of permission-based email marketing solutions, and Sway's social media communication platform, Shoutlet. We've teamed up to offer the interactive, social features of Shoutlet to BlueHornet clients, with plans to integrate BlueHornet's industry-leading email functionality into the Shoutlet platform.

From today's release:

BlueHornet Networks, Inc., a leading provider of permission-based email marketing solutions and subsidiary of Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV - News), today announced it has joined forces with Sway, Inc., developers of a social media communications platform called Shoutlet. The companies have launched a new joint marketing solution that combines social media communications with targeted email messages.

The solution, which is based on the integration of BlueHornet’s flagship eMarketing Suite (eMS) email marketing solution and Shoutlet, is designed to help marketers identify and engage their brand’s social influencers, track their reach across a wide network of Web 2.0 channels, and send strategically targeted messages geared toward sales conversion. Companies using the new solution have full access to a comprehensive email marketing platform as well as SMS, RSS, podcast, widget and video campaign creation tools, distribution capabilities, and reporting features.

“Bare Escentuals partnered with BlueHornet and Shoutlet to test a combined email and social marketing campaign in support of a new product launch,” said Sarah Wilcox, online marketing manager at Bare Escentuals. “We were pleased with the results. We plan to continue using email and social media together to maximize engagement and increase the ‘share-ability’ of our messaging.”

“We’re excited to offer our clients tools that build strong bridges between their email marketing initiatives and social media strategies,” said Susan Tull, vice president of marketing for BlueHornet. “Thanks to Shoutlet’s social media tracking capabilities and open distribution channels, we can help our clients consistently engage their brand’s social influencers throughout the email messaging lifecycle, making sure they receive and share relevant messages that are proven to increase sales.”

“Email plays a strategic as well as a tactical role in generating results through social marketing initiatives,” said Jason Weaver, CEO of Sway, Inc. “In Shoutlet’s pursuit of ROI-focused social commerce programs, we recognized the need for a partner who could move beyond point solutions and take a holistic view of the relationship between social media and email marketing. BlueHornet stood out for its customer lifecycle management expertise and because its email marketing platform is built completely around the needs of retail marketers.”

Holiday Advertising: When Do Consumers Want It?

milissa@swayonline.com (Milissa Rick) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:39:00 +0000

A fun post for this Friday!

AdWeek released the results of a poll they conducted on LinkedIn asking individuals "When should marketers begin their Christmas-shopping ads?". The poll yielded 4,055 responses (since August 31, 2009). Here are the results:

42% After Halloween
35% After Thanksgiving
12% Never
8% After Labor Day

Shoutlet Social Sharing Buttons Now Fully Customizable

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Social sharing options have become common lately on websites and blogs, with social sharing/bookmarking buttons increasingly visible. For those of us who frequently tweet, share, and bookmark, having a simple way to do this makes our pass-along easy and seamless.

That's why we're excited to roll out fully branded share buttons to our licensees. Now the "share this" button provided to a client's website and blog visitors is customizable. Third-party branding no longer conflicts with a website or blog's branding and design.

Companies who use Shoutlet to power social media efforts can enjoy the full functionality of these accessible buttons, including full tracking capabilities, while also adding their own logos to the button.

Below: An example of the branded widget for our company, Sway, Inc. (Or here if you can't see it in your RSS reader.)

TiVo Partnership Brings Content to DVRs through Shoutlet

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Today Sway, Inc. announced its partnership wth TiVo. Through Sway's social media marketing platform, Shoutlet, users have the option of distributing video podcasts to TiVo DVRs in a variety of topic categories.

"This relationship provides an extremely efficient and effective way for marketers to get their message directly in front of their audiences, with measurable results -- an important feature, given tough economic times and increased financial accountability in the advertising community," said Jason Weaver, CEO of Sway, Inc. "We are bringing relevant, engaging advertising content to TiVo subscribers and creating a new revenue stream for TiVo."

More details in the press release.

Help Them Help You: Only 13% of Brands Include Social Sharing Options in Email Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:45:00 +0000

A new finding from Smith-Harmon (via eMarketer) is almost shocking: Only 13% of brands include buttons in emails that allow subscribers to share content via social networking and bookmarking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Although 41% of brands understand that a "forward to a friend" via email button makes sense, nearly half of brands surveyed don't include forward to a friend OR sharing buttons in their emails.

Few social media tactics are as effortless as adding social sharing to emails and other content. Providing a simple avenue for your email subscribers to share your content with their own networks on social sites benefits you and makes their lives easier if they want to tell their own communities about your content.

Choosing a platform that enables you to easily include these buttons and track the pass-along results can be invaluable to learning more about what interests your customers and what resonates with them enough to share with trusted friends.

If your brand isn't facilitating sharing, it's a huge opportunity lost - but one that is easily remedied.

Shoutlet to Power Social Media for Connected Community, Higher Logic's Social Networking Platform for Non-Profits

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:49:00 +0000

We're excited to announce that a leader in non-profit social networking, Higher Logic, has tapped Shoutlet to power its platform's social features. Announced yesterday at the American Society of Association Executives’ annual meeting in Toronto, the partnership will allow the Connected Community platform to offer a comprehensive social media solution to non-profit networks.

The new partnership provides not-for-profits with a special bundled offering designed to give organizations the ability to post content to well-known social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as offer video, podcasts, RSS feeds, polling, text messaging, and more.

More details in the press release.

Jason Weaver - August SoHo Player

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Audibly Successful, that's Jason Weaver. A Web 3.0 mindset in a Web 2.0 world. Navigating new heights when it comes to developing Web Marketing tools that allows companies to listen, engage and participate with their clients.

To find out more about Jason, download a PDF copy of Magazine Soho.

Who Is A Soho Player?

A person or business who directly or indirectly enhances the growth of "growing business," either locally or nationally. Soho Players are passionate about their business, products, services, brand, the clients they serve and most importantly, they are passionate about life. Do You Know The Next Soho Player? Contact @thatwoman_soho on Twitter or by visiting the site www.sohobiztube.com.

Are YOU the next SoHo Player?

Magazine SoHo nationally features and profiles Soho Players, check out the upcoming Players:

AUG | Jason Weaver | Madison, WI
SEPT |Steve Johns| Chicago, IL
OCT | Barb Rozgonyi| Chicago, IL
NOV | 360 Direct| Milwaukee, WI
DEC | Erica Conway and Scott Baitinger |Milwaukee, WI

~Kristin Gritt, Online Insights Manager

Franchisors, You Can Be More Social

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:35:00 +0000

Franchisors face a dilemma. On one hand, they want their franchisees to hop on the social media train. It's perfect. Local content for local customers, the opportunity to tie offline to online, authentic connection.

But on the other, there's worry. Worry that the branding will be distorted, worry that one franchisee might spoil it for the rest.

But there are engaging ways to help franchisees be more social without sacrificing total control and without policing Twitter streams. In an upcoming webinar this Thursday, August 6 at 12:30 p.m. CST, "5 Ways Franchises Can Leverage Localized Social Media and Retain Brand Integrity," Sway, Inc. discuss some of these challenges. We'll run through these questions:

How can we give franchise owners the freedom to pursue locally focused social media initiatives without giving up total control?
How do we ensure all of our franchises stay true to branding guidelines?
What are simple solutions for adding social media efforts to franchise marketing support programs?
What tools are available to assist in this process?
What tactics can we implement other than strictly Twitter and Facebook?
What are some social media initiatives our franchises can pursue today that will get their local patrons energized online?

Plus, we’ll discuss 5 engaging, fun tactics franchises can implement that strike a balance between corporate control and localized content that connects with each franchise’s unique customer base.

Join us Thursday.

Why wait? Ten PR skills of tomorrow that are needed today.

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Some great information written by Al Krueger the founder, partner, right brain of Comet Branding + PR:

Over the last couple weeks there have been several blog posts and stories written about the skills that PR pros of tomorrow will need. Here is one by Arik Hanson. I agree with many of the points that were raised in Arik’s and others’ posts.

We need to push this conversation about an improved skill set forward so it is heard at the highest levels of the PR industry and in the universities and colleges that are teaching our future PR pros.

I am not writing this to be a “me, too” author. I am writing this because the skills outlined in many of the “skills of tomorrow’s PR pros” posts are needed today. We should not be waiting for tomorrow or for younger pros to figure these things out.

If we don’t all start employing these skills today, we will continue to read blog posts that PR is dead.

Social media and other forms of the read-write-Web create significant opportunities (not challenges) for PR that weren’t possible a few short years ago. But for us to use all of these new opportunities, there are a few skills that will always be needed:

1. Strong journalistic writing and storytelling. We must always be able to tell a strong story with all of the relevant information beyond the what, when, who, and where. We have to work hard to determine and then tell the story of the why, the how, and the why does it matter.

We should figure out different angles to the “why does it matter” question for different audiences. As the opportunity grows for companies to connect directly with customers, these skills will continue to increase in value. Developing strong journalistic content will be paramount.

2. Relationship development. PR is so much more than media relations and pitching. We need to be able to develop relationships on multiple levels of an organization, with the media/bloggers, with customers, and with people who have opposing views.

3. Business acumen. Access to C-Suite level discussions and decision-making is possible only if we can offer well-rounded and strategic business recommendations. This ability can come only from experience and practical knowledge.

If we can look at a business and figure out what it needs to expand business and sales and help make that happen through PR/communications/social media, that’s when all of us will have a seat at that table. If we are only seen as flacks or a media relations vendor, then that journey is going to be seriously difficult.

4. Curiosity and restlessness. Within every industry, there are people who are constantly curious and restless about what they do. They lead the pack. These people are always keeping tabs on the latest developments and trying to find new ways to do things. The moment we become comfortable and satisfied with the current state of things, that’s the exact moment to be significantly concerned. We, the PR industry, should always be thinking about what comes next and advancing what we do.

As the current forms of media continue to fade, and social forms continue to evolve, PR pros have the opportunity to help their company (or clients) connect more directly with their customers/publics today—not just tomorrow. To do this, we need another set of skills that we haven’t needed before:

5. Programming and design. We all need an understanding of Web programming so we can communicate with programmers to get what we need to build a Web site and contribute/edit and customize content. It would be ideal to know some coding ourselves, but a lot can be said about having someone who is truly skilled take the lead.

6. Working knowledge of social media distribution platforms. For all of the great elements of social media, one drawback is that the social Web has many gathering places. I am sure you could name 10 such sites off the top of your head. It has become burdensome to push content onto so many sites. Thankfully, applications for social media publishing continue to evolve, and distribution platforms such as Shoutlet are coming to the forefront to help communications pros distribute content across many channels (e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, widgets, etc.) instantaneously. We all need to know how to use these tools, because they put the true power of the social Web at our fingertips.

7. Video creative direction, writing, and production. The Web is fueled by engaging and relevant content. One of the most attractive and engaging forms of that content is video. A caveat is that video needs to be very good, but it does not have to be great. Frankly, the slicker the video looks, the less authentic it feels and the less accepted it can be. Because of this, we don’t need to be Grade-A class video producers, but we need to be pretty good.

There are many programs out there that make video production relatively easy. They are worth looking into. It’s more likely than not that you will need to produce a Web video before the year’s end.

8. Community gardening. Many people refer to this as community management, but a friend of mine recently shared with me that he doesn’t think we can fully “manage” a community. I liked what he had to say. If you think about it, the masses probably don’t want to be managed. In this, a PR pro needs to be able to help grow a community and foster activity and conversation within it.

9. Walking the talk. There are many lessons that can only be learned by doing it yourself. There is no better teacher than personal experience. If we aren’t out there writing blogs, doing podcasts and/or videocasts, and growing a community for ourselves or our own agencies or companies, all we can do is talk. How far will that get us? If we are doing all of these things, we are learning every day, and those lessons can be used to drive strategy for our clients and others.

10. Proving return on investment. If we can’t prove to our clients that the programs we are running for them are worth it, then they’re not worth a heck of a lot. We have to show proof, proof, proof, and more proof.

Though not exhaustive, this is a list of the things that I feel are important and relevant today – not just tomorrow. We all need to evolve and progress every day, or our industry will die, and the only people we will have to blame are ourselves.

What would you add to the list? What are the skills you wish you had today?

Data, Data Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:43:00 +0000

"In 2009, more data will be generated by individuals than in the entire history of mankind through 2008."

If true, this is powerful. As this article, "The Social Data Revolution," points out (via Steve Rubel), the amount of data collected from people is profound. It's forever changing the way business works, society works, and the world works. Good thing we can track exactly how. We'll just look at the data.

Happy Friday! Babies, Babies, and More Babies

milissa@swayonline.com (Milissa Rick) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:09:00 +0000

So I have been seeing this Evian video popping up in several of the social spaces I frequent online such as Facebook, ModernMom.com, to name just a couple. It is getting some good viral pass along. Here is my contribution.

Enjoy!

Gosh, I just love babies. They make me smile.

~Milissa Rick, VP of Online Insights

Listen. Ask. Then listen again: Getting to Know Your Audience

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:33:00 +0000

There's a common lesson running through the conversations of those who live and breathe social media: listen. Listen to your customers. Listen to how they use your product/online store/service. Listen to what they are saying about you.

This is critical. But an added lesson? Ask. You learn by listening, but you can learn a great deal if you ask prospective customers directly as well. How do you like to interact with our brand (or brands like us) online? What types of social activities do you spend time online doing? What do you want out of your online experience?

Opening your ears and asking the right questions can set up your social media efforts for success. Because people are social media, and all people are different. Whether you're wanting to engage more with Gen Y, tweens, moms or another common demographic, your current and prospective customers are as unique as your brand. Lumping them solely in one group and using that data to reach them through social media marketing can be done, and often is. But there's always one more layer you can uncover; one more that both shows them you care and that you've properly thought out your social media strategy.

The advice to listen is golden. But keep listening, and ask the right questions, too.

Image: Atomicity/Flickr

Children's Internet Usage Growing

milissa@swayonline.com (Milissa Rick) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:59:00 +0000

MediaWeek reports that the number of children going online (for entertainment) continues to grow; at even a faster rate than the general population.

Based on my household's experience I would agree. My son and daughter enjoy spending supervised time on sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin.

According to Nielsen Online, in May 2009, approximately 16 million U.S. children ages 2 to 11 years old were active online, totaling 9.5 percent of the overall online audience.

Not only are the number of children going online increasing but so is the amount of time they spend online. For the general U.S. population over the last five years, the overall time spent on the Internet is up 36 percent. Seems like great growth, until you look at the numbers for the child segment; children's time online is up 63 percent to 11 hours per month. Pretty amazing.

Just like my children, kids in general are going online to play games, view videos, and interact in virtual worlds.

I predict we will also see a lift in young children's use of smart phones. On my iPhone and my husband's iPhone at least 25% of our apps are for our children--coloring apps, educational games, etc. Our children also view cartoons and other videos through YouTube.

A clear sign that if you are a brand and not in the social media space you need to be because that is where your future customers are going to be.

~Milissa Rick, VP of Online Insights

You've Got It and They Can Use It: A Quick Look at Content Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:03:00 +0000

People are the social web, and one of the main motivators for getting into the social space is information. Information from professional peers, from friends, from the brands people invite into their lives.

Like individuals, companies have information - content - their audiences can use. As Kat French (@katfrench) points out on Social Media Explorer, every company has a unique value proposition that can serve as a starting point for choosing that content.

There's direct, useful info about products and services. But brands also have knowledge and expertise to share, whether you sell apples (who wouldn't want a 100-year-old orchard's hands-down best apple pie recipe?) or yo-yos (personally, I'd watch a how-to video of a yo-yo trick any day).

It's getting that content out to people in a "friendly, engaging, portable" way that is key. French writes that there's "a business case for simply providing kick-ass, value-add content based on information that is either your business’ main product or service, or a by-product of your main product or service."

Sharing helpful information with target audiences builds trust, adds value, and will ideally get your customers talking about your organization in the social space.

French sums it up beautifully in this step-by-step:

"(Extremely) Quick ‘n Dirty Guide to Content Marketing:

You* know stuff.

Offered in the right (friendly, engaging, portable) form, the stuff that you know can be helpful/valuable/entertaining to people.

People will like you for offering it to them.

People will tell others about you giving them good stuff.

Those people may well need to buy your product/service.
Lather, rinse, repeat.

* Replace “You” with “Your company/organization.” See? Still works."

Getting to Know Shoutlet Part 1: An Introduction and Overview

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:27:00 +0000

Shoutlet, a social media communications platform, allows marketers to upload content, distribute, and track viral pass-along in real time.

1. Create.

Shoutlet is a comprehensive social media communications tool that combines the most popular Web 2.0 formats into one easy-to-use application. Create e-newsletters and SMS (mobile messaging) campaigns. Create custom sized and branded video, podcast, RSS feed, polling and sign-up widgets.

2. Distribute.

If you are distributing e-mail or SMS, Shoutlet has a contacts manager that allows you to upload and store thousands of your contacts. Create the message, assign the contacts, add social bookmarks, and hit send. You can also distribute videos straight to many open source directories like YouTube, Revver or MetaCafe. Or, if you are distributing widgets, Shoutlet supplies you with the embed code that allows your widget to be placed on websites, blogs and social networks.

3. Track.

And finally, once you've created and distributed your content, you can use Shoutlet's tracking and reporting features to measure your marketing's effectiveness with your audience.

Stay tuned for "Getting to Know Shoutlet Part 2: Features and Interface."

~Kristin Gritt, Online Insights Manager

Michael Jackson's Death: Impact on the Web

milissa@swayonline.com (Milissa Rick) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Twitter fielded 5,000 tweets per minute.

AIM crashed for 40 minutes.

TMZ's (the celebrity site that broke the story) site traffic jumped 30 percent.

Shelly Palmer of MediaBytes says the overall traffic spike was unprecedented.

Source: iMedia Connection

See What You Search: Spezify Turns Search Results into Visual Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Kara Martens) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:01:00 +0000

You'll never "see" searches the same way again. Spezify is a visual search engine that gathers images, videos, tweets, and more into a high-level look at your search term.

Thanks to Firebelly Marketing for sharing.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Diving Into Social Media

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Nearly any brand can reach their customers using social media marketing. But there are questions to ask yourself and your team before engaging consumers and sparking a meaningful dialogue with them. Effectively using social media is a commitment; it’s an exercise in enthusiasm and requires a sincere desire to reach people. Before planning your strategy, have a conversation with your department:

Why are you interested in social media for your brand now? More specifically, do you have solidified goals? What are they?

If you want to insert new social media tactics in your marketing plan, be frank about your reasoning. If pressure from within your company is the only thing prompting this conversation, re-evaluate. Social media marketing should begin with a passion for your product and the goal of making your customers’ lives easier. Establish this as a goal first and set yourself up for success.

How much time does your staff have to devote? People drive social media, and it takes manpower to keep the online conversation vibrant. If you’re already stretched too thin, plan ahead. Carving out time for social media is well worth it - just kickoff your campaigns knowing these hours are essential.

Do you believe in your product? Authenticity is imperative. When you’re not confident about your product or services, it shows. Be a true evangelist and you will attract evangelists online. Not wholeheartedly passionate about what you’re marketing? Attempt to fix whatever is preventing you from delighting your customers before reaching out. The effort spent on the front end could prevent more headaches than you might think.

Do you love your product enough to send it out into the world? If you stand behind your product, you’ll know that when you send it out into the online world, it’ll hold its own in an environment where you don’t have a great deal of control.
Be ready for what can happen after you launch a social media effort. No matter how well prepared and how proud your team is of what you’re promoting, negative comments will arise. That’s the nature of the space. But if you’re willing to let those occasional comments happen, you’re positioning your company to possibly receive big-time payouts.

Have this heart-to-heart and you’ll be prepared. Once you feel good about engaging in social media, you’re ready to start the exciting process of planning your strategies. Read more about the process of planning your strategies at Social Media is Everywhere, Where Are You?

~Kara Martens

Comet Branding Radio Show with guest, Jason Weaver, CEO of Sway, Inc.

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:25:00 +0000

On Wednesday, June 17th Jason Weaver, CEO of Sway, Inc. chatted with Al Krueger and Sara Meaney on Comet Branding Radio Show

Listen to hear their discussion about where social media is going and how to make the most of it right now.

The Comet Branding Radio Show is dedicated to being a platform for sharing and discussing the progressive and evolving elements of branding, marketing, PR and social media with the people leading the charge. The show is hosted in Milwaukee by Al Krueger and Sara Meaney from Comet Branding.

Sway Inc & Sohobiztube.com Presents - DIY Social Media Workshop

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Keynote: Rishi Shah, owner of Flyingcart.com and finalist of Business Week's Best Young Entrepreneur's in 2007.

Bring your laptop to this interactive, Social Media Strategy Workshop where by the end of the day, you will leave with your own draft of a social media strategy.

Presenters include:

Cindi Thompson of Fullhouse - Everything I learned about social media I learned in Kindergarten

CD Vann of Sohobiztube - Integrating traditional marketing strategies with social media marketing strategies

Scott Baitinger of Mader Communications - Social media tools, tactics, and strategies

Steve Glynn of Spreenkler - Monitoring your social media community

Barb Rozgonyi of Cory West Media - Business Blogging and PR

Jason Weaver of Sway Inc. - Social Media Marketing and Social Communities

WHEN: July 22, 2009, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tweet-up to follow from 4:30 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Holiday Inn & Suites, 1109 Fourier Drive, Madison, WI

COST: $85 per person (includes continental breakfast, snacks and lunch)
$55 student discount (with student ID)

Sponsored by Sohobiztube.com and Sway Inc.

Sway's Tips for Identifying Influential Bloggers

milissa@swayonline.com (Milissa Rick) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Sway has written a Blog Outreach Guide for companies interested in doing a blog outreach initiative. Here is an excerpt from the Guide that indicates what to look for when vetting influential blogs/bloggers for your campaign:

1) The content of the blog matches your product or brand's niche.
2) The blog publishes frequent posts (a minimum of a couple times a week).
3) The blog receives high unique monthly traffic. (You can run the numbers at Compete.com.)
4) The length of stay of the visitor on the site (the longer the better). (Again, run the numbers at Compete.com.)
5) The average number of comments per post (the higher the better).
6) The size of the blog roll and types of sites the blog is linking out to. (A blog roll is a listing of blogs that the blog author reads or recommends--usually listed on the side of the blog.)
7) The number of link-backs to the site. (Run the numbers at Technorati or Alexa.)
8) The types and frequency of outbound links included in the blog posts.
9) Is the blog doing non-sponsored product reviews? The blogger should not be paid to post!
10) The types of advertisers on the blog. Advertisers should be appropriate for the content and readership of the blog.

Good luck vetting!

~Milissa Rick, VP of Online Insights

Social Media ROI: Part 1. Expand Your Sales Team With Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Caitlin McCabe) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Lately the social media conversation has been shifting from "what is social media?" to "can social media ROI be measured?" so I'm going to do a series of posts around measuring ROI with social media campaigns. I recently spoke at several Online Marketing Summit events and what I'm seeing is this: the people that get social media are at the events and they think it's a great addition to their marketing plans. What they need is help selling it to their higher ups. You know, the ones with the purse strings and checkbooks instead of Twitter feeds and Facebook pages.
Social Media Can Expand Your Sales Team. Without hiring one person, social media can help you get your message out. Take bloggers for instance. One blogger that writes about how great your product is has essentially given you access to their entire Rolodex (their network). If a blogger loves your restaurant, your security systems, or your travel site and writes a post about it, they have put your message into their words (product placement is going to be huge) and sent it to their readers who love and trust them. You haven't done anything wrong, just provided a great product that your fans want to write about.
You could have hired a salesperson to speak to 500 people they don't know about your travel site and had less success and paid a lot more to reach those 500 people. Maybe you would have had to place banner ads for a month to reach those 500 people, what would that have cost you?
I hesitate to call these brand advocates salespeople since they aren't employed by your company and aren't paid commission nor do they have to write about your product but they can very well bring in sales.
The same can be said about a well placed and relevant e-mail campaign that is forwarded to hundreds of friends or a community member that puts your "top 10 ways to...." article on their page.
Your job as a marketer is to supply all of these potential brand advocates with information that they can use. This is a win/win since the blogger or community member has engaging content to pass on and the brand wins because it has expanded it's sales reach without having to hire and train new salespeople.

~ Caitlin McCabe, Director of Social Media

Forrester: Interactive marketers stick to tried and true

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Via Daily News Alert from BtoB Online:

Even though interactive marketers are sticking with tried-and-true tactics (such as e-mail and search) instead of investing dollars into emerging channels such as mobile and online video; there has been significant growth in one relatively new area.

That area is social media with 64% of respondents already investing in social applications such as podcasts, widgets, user-generated content and blogs, and another 22% expecting to do so within the next 12 months.

The survey, “Interactive Marketing Channels to Watch in 2009,” which polled 204 interactive marketing professionals online in March, found that more than 90% are clinging to direct response tactics such as e-mail and search. Meanwhile, spending on online video advertising is stagnant, with 66% of marketers involved, the same percentage as last year.

~Kristin Gritt, Online Insights Manager

Shoutlet Is Proud to Support TOMS Shoes

kristin@swayonline.com (Kristin Gritt) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Shoutlet is a proud supporter of TOMS Shoes, an organization dedicated to providing shoes for children in need. With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.

“When I first heard about TOMS Shoes, I immediately shared the TOMS Shoes Drop video with my employees and wanted to find a way to use our experience in social media to help spread their message,” said Jason Weaver, CEO of Sway Inc. and founder of Shoutlet, a comprehensive social media marketing tool that combines the most popular Web 2.0 formats into one easy-to-use application.

A Shoutlet RSS widget is currently being used on their MySpace page to scroll through a list of messages about ways people can support TOMS and their mission. The widget allows visitors to pass along the information to friends, family members and colleagues, as well as the ability to embed the widget on their own site and/or blog.

Check out TOMS MySpace page to see how YOU can get involved and join the One for One movement at http://www.myspace.com/tomsshoes, and help spread the word.

More About TOMS Shoes
TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about.

More about Sway and Shoutlet
Sway, Inc. is a leading social media marketing company based in Madison, Wis. Founded in 2004, Sway executes highly targeted online marketing campaigns using its proprietary Web 2.0 marketing platform, Shoutlet®. Along with Shoutlet, Sway’s marketing research services and campaign management services assist companies seeking to reach customers through the latest social media marketing techniques. Learn more at swayonline.com or shoutlet.com.

~Kristin Gritt, Online Insights Manager