social networking Archives | waveSpawn Marketing

September 18, 2010

Succeeding in Buffalo with social media marketing

Small business owners in the greater Buffalo area have a lot of marketing options to leverage. Many of these are changing by the minute. Services such as Groupon, foursquare, Yelp, Facebook Marketplace, Yahoo Places, Twitter, and too many others to mention are waiting for local retailers to exploit. With GPS technology and mobile apps at consumers’ fingertips, local businesses can create more visibility than ever before. By harnessing the power (of a combination) of these social media platforms, Buffalo businesses can successfully generate brand awareness, in-store traffic, product buzz, and ultimately revenue.

Many of the strategies and underlying concepts of social media marketing are derived from traditional marketing; however, there are many new tactics and technologies to incorporate. Businesses need to open their minds and be creative. Innovation is paving new opportunities for businesses to market themselves and secure customers. Integrated marketing campaigns with direct mail and PPC advertising can yield even more significant results. Whatever your objectives are, social media can be a powerful communication tool to help spread your message.

waveSpawn is a pioneer in social media and located right here in beautiful Buffalo, NY. We are proud to work with a number of local businesses and assist with their marketing efforts. Please feel free to download our white paper on Understanding Social Media ROI. For specific questions or information, please feel free to contact us.

February 10, 2010

Olympic Committee limits social media activity

Lindsey Vonn Sports enthusiasts around the world are geared up for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, CA. This is the perfect venue for social media platforms to be involved – let athletes from all parts of the world stay in touch with their friends and family. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has implemented extremely strict social media guidelines for all athletes and participants to abide by. Athletes are not to post any type of videos, Olympic logos, or action photos.

The dissemination of moving images of the Games through any media, including display on the Internet, is a part of the IOC’s intellectual property rights. No sound or moving images (including sequences of still photographs which simulate moving images) of any Olympic events, including sporting action, Opening, Closing and Medal Ceremonies or other activities which occur within any zone which requires an Olympic identity and accreditation card (or ticket) for entry – e.g. competition and practice venues, Olympic Village, Main Press Centre – (“Accredited Zones”) may be made available, whether on a live or delayed basis, regardless of source.

Violation of these Guidelines by an Accredited Person may lead to the withdrawal of such person’s Olympic identity and accreditation card, as foreseen in the Olympic Charter. The IOC reserves the right to take any and all other measure(s) it deems fit with respect to infringements of these Guidelines, including taking legal action for monetary damages and imposing other sanctions.

These strict guidelines are forcing most athletes to refrain from participating in any type of social media. One of the potential stars of the 2010 Olympics, Lindsey Vonn, mentioned to her nearly 35,000 Twitter and Facebook followers that she would not be posting until after the games were over. Vonn wrote that “because of the Olympic rules (blackout period) I will not be able to post any updates from now until march 3rd. Sorry, it bums me out too!”

I’m surprised the IOC has not embraced social media – it would be the perfect opportunity to get more fans and visibility of the games. Let’s hope they change their policy for the 2010 Summer Games?

February 4, 2010

Brand yourself – build your own brand

The today show featured an interesting segment on branding yourself. It emphasizes the importance of standing out in the crowd. Especially those people who are looking for employment. In today’s job market, it’s more important than ever to create a way of being remembered. Be unique and build your own personal brand. They suggest focusing on your best qualities – become known for one thing that you do well. It all starts by defining who you are and who you are not.

While this sounds like an interesting concept, it takes time and effort. Most importantly the brand needs to be realistic and believable. Let’s be honest, most people can’t just decide they want to be a rock star, and poof, they morph into Bono status. No, the focus is building an attainable brand. One that accurately represents you and that you can be proud of. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this topic… have you built a personal brand? If so, how?

February 2, 2010

Photo editing just became a Picnik

Picnik photo editing with waveSpawn I’ve heard of the photo editing site called “Picnik” before. I just read their press release announcing that one billion photos have been edited through their service.

“How much is 1 billion? If we viewed all these images, it would take us over 100 years to see them all!”

Because of the hype, I figured I would give the service a test drive for myself. It’s worthwhile to mention that I’ve been a professional Photoshop user for several years. I’m an expert user and very familiar with photo retouching and the various options that are available. With that said, I think Picnik has delivered a quality web-based photo manipulation tool for the masses. It has a simple and intuitive interface that any generation can maneuver. I think it will accomplish 90% of what most people would have the need to do. Furthermore, Picnik has added some great themes for Valentines and other holidays to quickly spice up your photos and create unique scrapbooks.

It’s also worth noting that tomorrow – February 3, 2010, Picnik is opening up their premium services (typically a paid service) to everyone for free. The promotion runs from Wednesday 2/3 at 9am PST through Thursday 2/4 at 9am PST.

“In addition, the person who edited the billionth photo on Picnik will receive Picnik Premium for life and will be featured on Picnik in the month of February.”

Give them a try at http://www.picnik.com and share your feedback with us.