Zanesville, Ohio Wild Animal Outbreak; Real-Time Conversation Monitoring

Wouldn’t it be great if you could monitor a conversation online: in real time?

With Webbed Marketing’s Spiderfly, real-time social media monitoring is a reality. Keep track of social media posts, press releases and more and sort them by tone of voice, author gender and other important factors!

Below is a dashboard depicting the online conversations around the Zanesville exotic animal escape. This information is updated in real time (hit “refresh” on your browser to update the information).

Zanesville, Ohio Wild Animal Escape – Real-Time Social Media Statistics

**UPDATE** Social response to this event has subsided, so below is now a static screenshot summary of the activity.

Tags: social media

Discount on 2011 Midwest Social Media Summit

As we’ve mentioned before, the 2011 Midwest Social Media Summit is happening in Cleveland on November 17, 2011. What we haven’t mentioned is that we have a special offer for Fathom guests: $295! All you need to do is contact Anne Hydock of Smart Business via phone (440-250-7041) or email (ahydock@sbnonline.com) after registering online. Tell her that you were referred by Fathom.

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What: 2011 Midwest Social Media Summit, a one-day conference that shares practical social media applications for your organization.

When: November 17, 2011 | 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Where: Executive Caterers at Landerhaven, Mayfield Heights, OH (Get directions)

Who:

• Mary Henige, Director of Social Media & Digital Communications, General Motors
• Jeff Rohrs, VP of Marketing, ExactTarget
• Alan Gaffney, Director of Global eBusiness, Parker-Hannifin
• Curtis Danburg, Sr. Director of Communications, The Cleveland Indians
• Paul Roetzer, President and CEO, PR 20/20
• Bill Balderaz, President of Fathom Columbus
• Kurt Krejny, Director of Online Marketing, Fathom

Why: Because if you don’t take part in the conversation about your brand, you’re missing out on revenue opportunities.

Cost (special rate) : $295 (mention the “friends of Fathom” rate)

Contact: Anne Hydock | ahydock@sbnonline.com | 440-250-7041 | Online Registration

Tags: social media

Health Care and Social Media: What works, what doesn’t and what you can do about it

Webbed Marketing* recently conducted a study on social media usage by the largest 25 health systems in the nation (defined by number of employees). Join Webbed Marketing’s online research team Amy Marshall and Lindsey Grant to learn how the top 25 health systems stack up, as well as what the key innovators in healthcare marketing are doing from a social media perspective.

In this webinar you will learn:

• What the largest health systems in the U.S. are doing from an online marketing perspective
• What channels and topics have proven most effective for health systems to reach their audience
• The latest innovations in healthcare marketing
• How to make social media work for your organization while adhering to HIPAA and Joint Commission standards
• Ways to measure and benchmark your organization’s progress

*Webbed Marketing is a division of Fathom Online Marketing

Register here, http://www.fathomdelivers.com/forms/healthcare-webbed-webinar.asp

Tags: healthcare, social media, webinar

2011 Midwest Social Media Summit

Get ready to get down to business at the 2011 Midwest Social Media Summit on November 17, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. The day promises to be full of practical social media applications for business from some of the region’s top leaders. Fathom will be co-sponsoring and featuring 2 panel speakers at the event, Bill Balderaz and Kurt Krejny (see more below).

The cost of an individual ticket is $495, while packages of 5/10 go for $2,295/$3,995, respectively.

Register online now, or call Anne Hydock at 440-250-7041 or email ahydock@sbnonline.com.

***

What: 2011 Midwest Social Media Summit, a one-day conference that shares practical social media applications for your organization.

When: November 17, 2011 | 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Where: Executive Caterers at Landerhaven, Mayfield Heights, OH (Get directions)

Who:

• Mary Henige, Director of Social Media & Digital Communications, General Motors
• Jeff Rohrs, VP of Marketing, ExactTarget
• Alan Gaffney, Director of Global eBusiness, Parker-Hannifin
• Curtis Danburg, Sr. Director of Communications, The Cleveland Indians
• Bill Balderaz, President of Fathom Columbus
• Kurt Krejny, Director of Online Marketing, Fathom

Why: Because if you don’t take part in the conversation about your brand, you’re missing out on revenue opportunities.

Cost: $495 per ticket | package of 5: $2,295 | package of 10: $3,995

Contact: Anne Hydock | ahydock@sbnonline.com | 440-250-7041 | Online Registration

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Update 11:27 a.m.: An online registration page is now available.

Update 9/14/11: The keynote speaker has changed. It was previously Dennis Maloney, the VP of multimedia marketing at Domino’s Pizza.

Update 9/22/11: The Cleveland Indians’ speaker has changed. Previously it was Rob Campbell.

Tags: smart business, social media, social media event

Is Google+ Ready to Make Its Comeback?

Back in July, when Google+ was first released to the lucky users who were able to get an invite, it was met with a lot of fanfare. Considered the first real threat to Facebook’s social media dominance, Google+ was instantly popular, accumulating 20 million visitors in its first month.

But Google still has a lot to learn about sustaining that initial burst of enthusiasm. Since that first month, visitors have continued to drop off the social network, as Google+ attracted only 1.1 million visitors just a few weeks ago.

Since that time, though, Google+ has decided to open its doors to everyone, removing its invite-only registration process and reaping the benefits. Last week, the social network experienced a 13-fold spike in traffic (to 15 million), a 1,269 percent increase in market share growth, and analyst Paul Allen believes that Google+ may already be at 50 million users while acquiring 2 million new users each day.

So that makes it official – Google+ is back on everyone’s radar. It comes at an ideal time, as Facebook has recently caught heat for its slew of new updates. This is nothing new for the world’s biggest social network, as it seems nearly every update they make is met with a certain level of animosity. The catch is that it’s never led to a mass exodus by Facebook’s users.

What does this mean for Google+ then? Can they capitalize on the surge in interest? It’s obvious at this point that Facebook isn’t going anywhere, not with their recent partnerships with a number of companies and the abuse the public doesn’t seem to mind taking from unpopular updates and privacy controls that, historically, have been lacking.

It’s no longer about erasing Facebook from the minds of the public, because that’s not happening. Based on its short history, Google certainly has no problem getting people to check out its social network. Keeping them interested has been the problem.

With the biggest search engine and a variety of great products at their disposal, Google+ can compete with Facebook. It’s all about finding the right formula for making that happen. Google was on the right track with features like Circles and Hangouts, so it can be done. And with the competition heating up between the two social networks, it will be interesting to see what happens down the road.

Tags: facebook, google

Columbus-based Internet Marketing Firm Serves as “New Facebook” Expert for Sources

Webbed Marketing, a leading social media and search engine optimization firm, based in Columbus, Ohio, is positioned as an expert on the “new Facebook” for the media and other sources seeking professional advice on the changes and updates that just happened on Facebook.

“If you’re looking for an expert on the new Facebook changes, our social media specialists are the ideal source,” Bill Balderaz, Webbed Marketing’s president, said.  “Webbed Marketing is a pioneer in social media marketing, and the new Facebook changes, and our team is readily available for interviews, questions and even discussions about the ‘new’ Facebook.”

All the hype, positive and negative, around the changes coming from the F8 Facebook conference has left many businesses in confusion.  Not to mention, several media outlets are trying to cover stories on the hot topic, but struggling to understand all the changes and updates the social networking platform is offering.

Webbed Marketing’s extensive specialization in social media has positioned the company as a go-to source for your Facebook questions and tips.

For more information about Webbed Marketing’s social media experience, or to contact them about the Facebook changes today, visit www.webbedmarketing.com or contact Courtney Cooper at ccooper@webbedmarketing.com.

Tags: Facebook changes, Facebook updates

Facebook rolls out new content sharing, privacy controls

Facebook users have been asking for years, and the company finally listened (perhaps the rise of Google+ had something to do with it), as a slew of new privacy and content sharing controls new privacy and content sharing controls have now been introduced to users.

These new changes are wide-ranging, covering everything from who is able to see your profile and location-tagging to easier overall access to your privacy controls. Making access of the controls over who can see your content easier has consisted of giving users an inline dropdown menu that allows them to make the necessary changes right on the profile.

Additionally, simply posting on one’s profile comes with a number of new options. When choosing to share content or change one’s status, a few extra things are available:

• Friend Tagging: You can now tag non-friends and pages you have yet to Like in your posts, though if you have been tagged by a non-friend, you have the opportunity to approve it before it shows up on your profile.
• Location Tagging: As Facebook Places continues to be phased out, the location feature has been opened up to any status update, whether it’s a simple status update, a photo, or a Wall post.
• Post Editing: As always, you can choose who sees your updates, but now you’ll be able to change who can see your post after it has been sent.

A number of other features have been rolling out as well, which points to a concentrated effort by Facebook to finally provide easily accessible privacy controls for its users. The ability to tag friends (and non-friends for that matter) and one’s location are added features that make content sharing on the social networking giant even more fun and influential.

Privacy control remains one of the biggest battles in the social media world, as users are becoming more aware of what is happening to their information once it is posted. These are big steps (albeit late ones) by Facebook to ensure that users have more control over who is seeing their content.

Fathom Online Marketing Announces Acquisition of Webbed Marketing

Cleveland-based Fathom Online Marketing, one of the 25 largest search engine optimization and online marketing firms in the country, today announced the acquisition of Webbed Marketing.

Webbed Marketing, based in Columbus, Ohio, has experienced double-digit annual growth since its founding in 2006, and today serves more than 60 clients regionally, nationally and internationally.

“Webbed Marketing is a highly visible company in the online marketing space, and has done a great job earning a reputation as experts in search and social media,” Scot Lowry, CEO of Fathom Online Marketing said. He explained that the acquisition allows Fathom to expand its social media offerings and cited Webbed Marketing’s expertise in healthcare, government and information technology as key reasons for the acquisition.

“In addition, this acquisition allows us to offer online social media research, planning and analysis to large organizations through Webbed Marketing’s VisiOne service” Lowry said.

Lowry said that Webbed Marketing’s office will remain in Columbus. “The Columbus region has been very supportive of Webbed Marketing and our plans are to not only continue to operate the Columbus office, but to continue to grow the Columbus presence.”

“Today’s announcement comes as a result of all the support we’ve received from our employees, clients, partners, and the Columbus community during the last five years,” Bill Balderaz, Webbed Marketing’s founder, said.

“We’re grateful to everyone who has played a role in our success,” Amy Marshall, COO of Webbed Marketing, said. “This move allows us to serve all those around us even better than before.” Marshall, who leads the company’s VisiOne group, added that she is looking forward to introducing in-depth audience research through social media analysis to Fathom’s clients.

“This is another great success story for Central Ohio,” Tim Haynes, Vice President of Member Services and Marketing for TechColumbus said. “It reflects the growth and the strength of our region’s interactive marketing, web development and digital community.”

Susan Merryman, Vice President of Marketing and Communication for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce agreed, “We have a long standing relationship with Webbed Marketing and welcome Fathom to Columbus. This is another great indicator of the economic growth of Columbus.”

Lowry agreed, “This is a case where everyone truly wins. Fathom’s clients now have access to Webbed Marketing’s research, analysis, social media and healthcare experience. While Webbed Marketing’s clients have access to Fathom’s performance based email marketing services and additional SEO and online advertising resources. Employees of both firms have even broader career paths. And the economies of Columbus, Cleveland and all of Ohio benefit by having one of the powerhouses of online marketing based locally.”

About Fathom Online Marketing
Fathom Online Marketing is an online marketing firm located in Valley View, Ohio, specializing in organic search-engine optimization, opt-in email marketing, online public relations, Internet video products, and pay-per-click advertising. Fathom can be found on Twitter: @fathomseo.

About Webbed Marketing
Webbed Marketing’s goal is to help organizations grow by using the power of online marketing, advertising and public relations. The firm specializes in search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, social media, mobile marketing and research and planning. Visit http://www.webbedmarketing.com for more information.

Tags: business, internet marketing, marketing, SEO, social media, webbed marketing

Who Wants a Google+ Business Profile?!

Not so fast!

Like the Google+ personal profiles, Google planned to slowly roll out and test Google+ company profiles through a test program first. They asked interested businesses to apply to be considered for the test program at the beginning of July. The feedback they received was overwhelming. According to Googler Christian Oestlien, “Believe it or not we actually had tens of thousands of businesses, charities, and other organizations apply to take part from all over the world.”

Because of this interest Google+ has accelerated the business profiles program and they will hopefully launch for everyone in Q3 2011.

According to VentureBeat, Google+ business profiles will have analytics as well as more sophisticated sharing options. A Google spokesperson told VentureBeat,

“There will be a product very soon that has businesses’ interests in mind… We want to give them the features businesses expect and the features that can improve the sharing experience both for consumers and businesses… You can expect to see a level of analytics and measurement that you’d typically find in Google products as well as a nuanced approach to how things are shared. It encourages and enhances conversation, it doesn’t just put things in the stream.”

Google is asking businesses not to create Google+ profiles using the regular profiles. They will even be disabling business profiles that use regular profiles. They recommend using a real person to represent your business until business profiles are ready.

So as tempting as it may be to set up a personal Google+ profile for your business – don’t! The wait will be worth it!

For more updates from Google+ on business profiles follow Googler Christian Oestlien at https://plus.google.com/105923173045049725307/posts

What do you think of this Google+ business profile saga? Will you create a Google+ business profile when they are available?

Tags: google, google plus, social media

How Can You Effectively Pitch Media These Days?

It’s pretty clear pitching has changed drastically in the past five years.  When speaking to a group of media pros in the Columbus area, I learned a lot about how our role as public relations professionals as changed, and more importantly, how the media want to be contacted.

Most savvy PR practitioners have been strategically utilizing social media for the past few years.  We’re listening to our audiences, we’re gathering news, we’re promoting our events and announcements, we’re staying on top of the latest trends, etc.  However, I remember the time when it seemed like we still needed to cater to those “old-school” journalists when we were pitching media outlets like newspapers, radio stations, etc.  It was assumed journalists were more reluctant to take your tweet or direct messages seriously – they probably wanted a phone call (or something else entirely old fashioned).

At the PRSA monthly luncheon this week, any lingering ideas I had of stuck-in-time journalists were erased.  I listened to editors, directors and reporters from the Columbus Dispatch, WOSU, 10TV, WTVN and Business First all confirm they want email pitches.  In fact, some said they want DMs on Twitter.  I could not agree more – the immediacy and effectiveness of hitting a media contact on Twitter is far more efficient than sending them one of 300 emails they are getting that day, or calling them (when they are likely too busy to answer or out of the office).

When you start following media contacts on Twitter or LinkedIn, you begin to establish a relationship with that person.  You are paying attention to what events they are covering, RTing their articles, or replying to questions they post.  (You can even build a list of media contacts that you want to follow daily in a dashboard like Hootsuite or TweetDeck).  And vice versa, if that contact is following you, they can see you are a knowledgeable source who posts relevant information.  So, when you send that DM, they are going to pay attention to what you have to share.

Ideally, the best pitching strategy for today’s busy media:

• Send them a relevant, targeted email.  According to one media pro, format your subject line like this: “subject, verb, object.” For example, “Tressel leaves OSU.”
• After you send this email, send them a direct message on Twitter, and let them know you just sent them an email about Tressel leaving OSU.  Reporters always want an exclusive, so if you can, give it to them… and doing it via Twitter DM is an immediate, private way to do so.

Again, this strategy works best when you’ve been following this media contact previously.  So get out there and follow your target media contacts.  Build that relationship, offer them exclusives and get those targeted, concise pitches flowing!

**Special thanks to all the media who participated in the PRSA luncheon this week; the information was very valuable!

Tags: media, pitching, pitching media, public relations, twitter