A few weeks ago, I was asked to share some of my favorite social media tools with iMedia Connection.  Here is a re-post of that article and a few of my favorite applications - some free and some paid - that are worth their weight in marketing gold.

Article Highlights:

• Social Mention gives a great snapshot of blog, forum, and microblog buzz, sentiment, and keywords
• Radian6 and Alterian’s SM2 offer solid analytical tools, easy-to-use interfaces, powerful data retrieval, and more
• Quantcast and Compete are both free resources for basic metrics such as site/blog traffic, user demographics, page views, and unique visitors

In many ways, 2009 was the year of the “a-ha!” moment for social media marketing. While many people long-involved with social media and word-of-mouth marketing knew it was only a matter of time for the masses to embrace this type of marketing, others were just starting to get their arms around the importance of establishing and leveraging their social footprint to build engagement, dialogue, and awareness.

As more companies, brands, and individuals are building their social media presences, the universe of online tools — which used to be somewhat more limited — continues to expand on a daily basis. Not only do we have more choices in how we place content and measure social media, but the tools available to us also change and improve just as frequently.

To provide a little background on me: I run a social media marketing agency (KARMA Media Labs) that helps organizations and individuals connect with their target audiences and build word of mouth in the communities where they live. In order to find these audiences and strike a chord, it’s important to be armed with the right tools to listen to what is being said, find the right influencers, communicate with your audience in a way that is relevant, and provide content that is likely to be shared.

The following is a list of some my favorite tools and sites — some free, some paid — that have been worth their weight in gold in not only finding that desired audience and key influencers, but also putting the right content in front of them to build conversation and word of mouth.

Read the rest of this entry at iMedia Connection

A few weeks ago, I was asked by Lisa Lacy on behalf of ClickZ why MTV’s Jersey Shore has become so popular through social media and conditions for the “perfect storm”.

‘Jersey Shore’ Builds Momentum with Social Apps

By Lisa Lacy, ClickZ, Jan 20, 2010

When actor Michael Cera got his hair blown out by Jersey Shore’s DJ Pauly D in a cross-promotional effort for Cera’s new film, Youth in Revolt, it was a new high for MTV’s hit reality show.

The show’s basic premise is similar to over 20 preceding seasons in MTV’s Real World franchise, yet Snooki, Vinny and the rest of the gang have reached an unprecedented level of cultural saturation. According to Nielsen, 1.4 million viewers tuned in to the premiere on December 4. And numbers have steadily risen since then, culminating in 3.6 million viewers tuning in on January 14.

That’s thanks in part to MTV’s efforts to harness organic buzz and create branded content. The company has launched a Twitter integration, exclusive online videos, and is preparing new features such as a character generator and an iPhone app.

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Most people who follow me on Facebook and Twitter have come to realize that I’m not shy about expressing my opinion about AT&T Wireless’ lack of coverage and poor service in my city and neighborhood—which just so happens to be Los Angeles, California.

For the last two years, I have had little to no coverage in my home and other areas of Los Angeles, often getting the “Searching” or “No Signal” notice on my phone. Last time I checked, LA is the second largest city in the US, which makes me wonder why one of the biggest wireless providers isn’t delivering in one of our nation’s biggest cities.

My neighbors and friends, equally frustrated with the lack of service, have also tried everything to voice their opinions—ranging from calling AT&T, to going to their stores, which ironically, had no signal inside the store (aka the store on Beverly and La Cienega).  One of my friends even carries a newspaper ad in his back pocket showing AT&T’s claims for excellent coverage in LA.  None of these efforts proved to be worthwhile.

Making matters worse are the endless Luke Wilson commercials touting AT&T’s fantastic coverage. Don’t mock me Luke Wilson. I doubt you’ve spent endless hours on the phone with AT&T trying to get the service that you paid for.

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Last Fall, Mass Animation’s Yair Landau, former president of Sony Pictures Digital, partnered with Intel on a Facebook-hosted competition to create an animated film.

The result of that competition is the 5-minute short film Live Music, which will premiere on November 20th as a short before TriStar Pictures’ film Planet 51.

Artists were invited to install a Facebook application which would allow them to download creative materials and assets, including music from guitarist Steve Vai and violinist Ann Marie Calhoun, use Maya to animate shots, and then submit them back for post production.  Three separate deadlines were used to keep content contributions coming.

The Facebook application contained a sequence viewer and classified material as Easy, Medium and Hard.

The prizing included $500 per shot used in the final cut, as well as Dell computers.  Users were invited to vote on their favorites and the Facebook community determined the winners.

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As a marketer wishing to create a presence on Facebook, one is often faced with the decision of whether to create a Group or a Fan Page.

Before the design revamp earlier this year, Facebook Groups and Fan pages both had similar functionality and one big problem: they didn’t give people a reason to come back.

Once someone joined a group or became a fan, there wasn’t much to remind them to return for a visit.  This made the decision pretty much 50/50 for a marketer as one option had about the same pros and cons as the other.

Point: Team “Fan Page”
The Group vs. Fan Page game changed a few months ago when Facebook updated Fan page functionality to act more like a personal page.

Rather than having static content, fan page news updates and wall posts would be pushed out to fans’ newsfeeds and foster more organic word of mouth and engagement (see our previous entry on the benefits of a Fan Page). During this time, Groups stayed the same– stuck with limited functionality and passalong factor. The marketing choice became a lot easier: create a Fan Page to maximize participation.

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Last Sunday night, I noticed multiple posts on Facebook about Kanye West’s inappropriate actions at the MTV Video Music Awards, where he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech.

Since the program was delayed on the West Coast where I live, I naturally went to social media to see what the fuss was about.

To my surprise, every video I tried to play was interrupted by a message saying the content was removed by Viacom.

Much has been discussed the past few days about Viacom’s decision to make VMA-related content available only on MTV or MTV.com. Viacom has been actively removing clips and content where they see it posted. Forums, message boards, UGC sites and blogs all had clips that had to be removed or wouldn’t play.

While Viacom is still engaged in a lawsuit with Youtube, my guess is their actions are as much about controlling content as driving traffic to their site and advertising supported video player.

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Yesterday, over a lunch meeting with some friends and media colleagues, we started getting a bit philosophical about social media marketing and how companies are not only beginning to embrace it, but how they’re budgeting, implementing, and integrating this type of media internally as part of their overall marketing strategy.

One of the questions that came up: 

Does a company really need senior level involvement or outside help to execute social media marketing, or can it be done internally by a team of interns?

Interesting question.  The short answer is, yes and yes.

In my opinion, the mistake many companies make in leaping into social media marketing is that it’s all about having a Twitter and Facebook page.  Well my friends, if this is all social media marketing means to you, by all means, have your interns go to town.  But to me, social media marketing is so much more than that.

Reaching your target audiences where they live online is much more than how you’re represented in social networks.  Tapping into the power of influencers, bloggers and taste makers who specialize in your cause or subject matter is something that is a bit of a talent, as there’s so much clutter and competition with getting messages and your call to action heard.  If that’s something your intern can do, more power to you.  However, sometimes it’s better to have a strategic game plan in targeting where you’re brand is represented, how consumers will engage, and the likelihood they will spread the word.

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In this morning’s post 4th of July, Sunday morning blog reading and Facebook browsing, I came across something that made me do a double take:

One of my Facebook friends posted “Terms” for writing on the wall of her profile page.

Framing this as “An Open Letter to My Friends” (while at the same time excluding work contacts) she posted the Do’s and Don’ts of posting on her page.

The consequence of breaking the rules? She’ll unfriend you.

Not only did this individual spell out what isn’t allowed, she broke it down into an easy to read agreement, something along the lines of:

1. Innapropriate comments of a sexual nature will not be accepted
2. Innapropriate comments criticizing diet and vegan interests will not be accepted
3. Innapropriate and unsolicited comments about a particular politician will not be accepted

So on and so forth… This to me looked more like terms of service one might see when signing up to post on a forum and less like what Facebook profiles are meant to be. Read the rest of this entry »

KML had the chance to spend some time talking with Jonathan Waud, who recently appeared on Bravo’s Make Me a Supermodel Season 2. He not only won us over (we may be slightly biased)– he won over the fans by winning the vote for Favorite Model.

Since we love all things social media, we thought we’d take this opportunity to ask our favorite supermodel some questions about how he uses social media and the web to connect with his ever-growing fan base.

How active would you say you are online?

I love to be online but I’m always on the go so I don’t get as much surf time as I’d like. Thank goodness for mobile!  When I am home, I do everything online–  Facebook, banking, news, staying in touch with family.  Everything.

What are your five favorite web sites you can’t live without?

Google is my home page, Style.com, Topgear.co.uk, iTunes, Facebook, oh and of course KARMA Media Labs! (laughs) Read the rest of this entry »

Last Monday, KML had the honor of attending the red carpet premiere of the horror/comedy One Eyed Monster, starring… Ron Jeremy (playing it straight - it’s rated R people!!) and Amber Benson (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame).

Our Mission:

To help represent… er… the star of the movie, The “Monster”, on Twitter while he worked the premiere.

While this may not sound like your typical work assignment, it’s one that the KARMA crew enjoyed — as we, his “Monsterettes”, were able to report live from the movie premiere and share details with all of the movie (and monster) fans.

Our approach?  Report on arrivals, comment throughout the event, share Twitpics, and respond to fans over the course of the movie and premiere.

While the premiere is long over, you can still follow our star on Twitter at @RonsMonster (note- be prepared for some candid remarks and humorous, slightly NSFW photos).

And for a small plug for our client… One Eyed Monster is not only hilarious, it’s now available at Amazon.com.

Monsterettes, over and out.