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Social Media Marketing World 2013 recently wrapped up in San Diego, and the nuggets of useful information we’ve come back with abound!

Take, for example, this super simple, yet highly effective social media marketing tactic from Michael Bepko, Global Online Community Manager for Whole Foods: 

Segment your Tweets.

Great idea, right? But Twitter doesn’t exactly have a targeting system in place. So how is it possible to take one piece of content and make it relevant to the various segments of your social media marketing audience?  (more…)

Chris Brogan, a respected authority on social media strategy, said he didn’t recommend outsourcing social to agencies during Social Media Marketing World this week. (Cue the shouts of disapproval from agencies.)

Chris Brogan at his “You Aren’t Going to Like This: Social Media Isn’t the Answer” session during SMMW13.

I kind of agree with him.

Before you recommend I start revamping my LinkedIn profile, let me explain. Kind of is the operative term.

I also kind of think he’s wrong.

The biggest challenge with agencies, Chris said, is in them having (or not having) the cultural code of the brand. I agree that it’s the most vital asset for a social media agency partnership.

Wait. Did I say agency partnership? Weren’t we talking about outsourcing to a third party?

If you’re setting up to “outsource,” you absolutely won’t get meaningful results. But if you look for a strong partnership, you’ll likely find more success than you could on your own.

Am I just arguing semantics here? Nope – there is a fundamental difference.

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One of the most fun assignments you can work on in a creative advertising agency is a guerrilla marketing campaign. In a world where specs, file size, and frames per second can dictate the creative limits, guerrilla marketing often has no boundaries.  But for all the originality and fresh ideas, there are also certain lessons that can be learned from some less-than-successful past campaigns. Let’s take a look at a few things to avoid in planning a guerrilla marketing activation.

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Moosylvania has descended upon Social Media Examiner‘s Social Media Marketing World conference. Between the tweets, vines and Instagrammed photos, we’ve noticed a few emerging social media strategy trending topics among the speakers and side conversations.

You can follow @moosylvania for real-time updates and subscribe to blog for upcoming in-depth blog posts, but in the meantime, here’s a quick preview of what we’re talking about in San Diego.

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Our industry fuses artistry, strategy and vision with wildly different personalities and clientele. Life in an internet advertising agency forges all of these largely ethereal ingredients with exciting results. I love my job. However, it’s not for everyone and the industry is self-policing. People are regularly ejected from the biz, not because they aren’t talented but because their attitude sucks. So to anyone in school thinking about a career in design or marketing, please heed this advice. At the very least you won’t suck. You may even thrive.

ART DIRECTION: Stefan Sagmeister DESIGNER: Richard The, Joe Shouldice PHOTOGRAPHY: Jens Rehr

1. Have an insatiable desire to do next level work: Mediocre work in school garners you a C. If you’re good with that, you will graduate, but you will not have a long career. I’m sure you’ve heard that art school grades don’t mean anything, and they don’t, but your portfolio does. The reason many who graduate don’t land positions is that they were doing the minimum. They passed. They graduated. They “succeeded”. The minimum does not cut the muster after graduation. There’s nothing wrong with getting C’s. It’s the acceptance of that mediocrity that’s problematic. Anybody that is excelling in this field is driven and self motivated, and to a certain extend, dissatisfied with their work… (more…)

Here at the Embassy, there’s a group of us Game of Thronies who are highly anticipating Sunday’s season 3 premiere. The build up has reached its peak after last summer’s finale and the marketing behind this upcoming season has left us all feeling a bit more anxious and excited.

Even if you don’t know a Lannister from a Stark, you should still take note of this year’s Game of Thrones promotional marketing efforts. Check out these three key takeaways and consider how you can incorporate them in your next marketing strategy.

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What is it about The Walking Dead that keeps fans coming back week after week? Is it because fans love seeing mankind’s resourceful, persistent survival skills during times of crisis? Or is it because we like to watch Rick and Darryl blast away zombie brains from afar with unprecedented accuracy?

Today, through social TV,  it’s possible for TV networks to answer these questions. They can dig deep into their shows, figure out what captivates audiences, and implement those insights into future programming. And, in turn, marketers can use this information to make their ads, product placements and partnerships more targeted and relevant. (more…)

Creating content to be shared and liked in any social media setting is no easy task. A 403×403 pixel canvas can be frightening at times, but do not fret, my friends. To help you engage as many fans as possible, in such a small area, here are four guidelines to go by that will ensure social media marketing success in any image post.

1. Less is More

Do not think for a minute that you need all the bells and whistles, plus the entire Macy’s Day parade to make a post impactful. Sometimes a stunning hero shot of your product can go a long way. Remember, it’s a brand sponsored page, and your fans actually like YOU! (That’s why they hit that Like or follow button after all.) So give them what they want.

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Facebook announced last Thursday that they will be rolling out updates to their interface over the coming weeks.

Here’s what’s changing:

Newsfeed updates:
—More prominent media display in newsfeeds (larger images, videos, link thumbnails, apps, etc.)
—New sub-feeds that users can toggle to via the left-hand menu bar:

All Friends: a feed that shows you everything your friends are sharing
Photos: a feed with nothing but photos from your friends and the Pages you like
Music: a feed with posts about the music you listen to
Following:  a feed with the latest news from the Pages you like and the people you follow.

We hear it time and time again. When it comes to social media marketing, creating compelling content is a big part of interacting with your community — and results in higher engagement rates. Well that all sounds great, but leaves us with a couple of questions, like “How does one create content that will stand out?” And, “How can I optimize my strategy to be more engaging, in terms of Likes, RTs and Vine Smileys?”

After listening, reading and playing in the social realm, we’ve come up with a few tips to help you improve your social media marketing strategy simply by being more compelling.

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