Using Social Media for Lead Generation?

Mike Doherty — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:15:51 -0400

Given everything that is written on Social Media, I was surprised to learn that three quarters of marketers have $100K or less budgeted for social media marketing. This is based on a Q4, 2008 Global Social Media Survey from Forrester of companies with 250 employees or more.

So why is there so much ink and so little spend?

Where do you fit with today’s consumer mindset?

Mike Doherty — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:39:04 -0400

Like any other loss, people progress through difficult times like a recession in stages. The first stage is “Distress” which includes feelings of anger and sadness. I think we are past that.

The next stage is “Acceptance” which is eventually followed by the third stage: “Moving On”. While my colleagues and I would assert that consumers are in stage two, we don’t believe anyone will be “Moving On” anytime soon. Given that, marketers should consider how they position themselves for today’s mindset.

What is useful in the online ad space?

Mike Doherty — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:31:26 -0400

Enjoyed Cliff Kuang’s piece (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/print-medi...) on why ads might be to blame for the crappy state of Internet advertising. I think the key words in his piece are “useful functionality”. While I agree that ads that don’t just sit there are better overall, the key is in defining what constitutes “useful”.

An Innovation Lesson from Politics?

Mike Doherty — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:46:28 -0400

I can’t think of many lessons that I have learned from Politics but we should take a lesson from the Obama administration. To succeed in tough times, you need to be committed to a “Big Purpose”. In Politics it would be easy to make decisions based on short-term polls and criticism, but rather than do that, the Obama administration has stayed focused on his purpose for running the first place…to “change the world”.

Incenting innovation

Mike Doherty — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:05:54 -0400

I believe in the value of innovation and creativity as a business driver. I think it is one of the last competitive advantages. And running a business, I always find that “what gets rewarded, gets done” so I am always thinking about how to link the two.

Twitter’s tweet out quickly.

Mike Doherty — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:33:36 -0400

I just read that Neilson Online (www.nielsen-online.com) has found that 60% of people who sign up on Twitter abandon the service. In fact Twitter’s retention rate is around 40%, which means that only 40% of the people who visited Twitter last month will come back this month. And that number is higher since Oprah joined. So what’s the big deal? Well, according to Nielson, if their retention rates stay around 30-40%, they will never reach more than 10% of online consumers. So what’s missing? Why is the hype so much greater than reality?

To Trust or not To Trust

Mike Doherty — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:40:41 -0400

What drives us to trust companies? I just saw a study from Edelman called the Trust Barometer. It talks about the lack of trust people have in business and governments and how it’s changed over time. For some perspective, the dictionary.com definition of trust is:

Noun
1. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
2. Confident expectation of something; hope.

Verb
1. To have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.
2. To believe.

Comment on Node ant

Mike Doherty — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:11:01 -0400

I just returned from Rwanda a few weeks ago and found this article to be very representative of what we experienced. Thank you for your article as it helps with what they need most and that is to change the global public perception of this wonderful place.

Can America truly change?

Mike Doherty — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:31:41 -0400

Is change really coming to America? After all we did elect a President who ran on the platform of change. I do however wonder if we as Americans really have the capacity to change. And if we do, why are we so slow to change?

Is it because we haven’t had strong leadership driving change? Personal political views aside, I think its safe to say that throughout history, we’ve had some good leaders so I don’t think the speed at which we change as a country is driven solely by the strategies set by our leaders.

A culture that nurtures innovation

Mike Doherty — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:20:36 -0400

There’s a lot being written about how to survive the down economy but I think something is missing from the dialogue: how to create a culture that thrives during it.

Yes, intuitively most people know that to truly excel during a down time, we should be looking for opportunities to innovate rather than retrench. Think about it, in recessions people are much more likely to reconsider a brand because they want to feel they’re getting the best value. In fact, Roper is calling this time the “big reassession”.