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With all the talk of Google+ over the past few weeks, one bit of news from another social platform managed to grab some headlines. Twitter formally announced a “Promoted Tweet” ad program. This allows brands you already follow to be at the top of your feed on Twitter.com (surprisingly 78% of users access the platform through the site) instead of in the stream. It’s like getting a fast pass at Disneyworld or maybe the first spot in a television pod. Two thoughts came to mind immediately: 1. I thought that already existed and 2. How do you buy that?

Yes, this did exist. Twitter tried “Promoted Tweets” in a beta form with HootSuite last October though under a slightly different model. The first foray allowed brands to target anyone rather than just their current followers as in the new program. That move was smart because it allows Twitter to sell more ads using their “Promoted Account” option which helps brands find consumers to follow them, then they can send them more messages [preferably at the top of the feed for a fee].

Not many people in the business were very surprised by the announcement, but the media loved it. In fact, although Twitter isn’t the largest social network, hardly has any money, and has lost its founders to other ventures [though both remain marginally involved], it clearly is a media darling. It was Twitter, not Facebook, that got credit for helping achieve a debt ceiling agreement this weekend (although news of President Obama losing 38K followers was also noted). Twitter was also the main means of communication in Egypt when the Internet was shut down (via mobile phone text updates) during the crisis in January. And it is Twitter that gets credit for influencing the stock market.

So with all that attention, a growing usage base (over 200MM now), and now an ad platform, why is Google+ being viewed as competition more for Facebook instead of Twitter? I actually think the media is driving that more than Google. In fact, I’m sure Google would love to supplant both of them.

Twitter’s differentiation is the real time delivery and access to people and companies you don’t really know. Although Facebook updates in real time, the amount of updates per minute is much lower than that of Twitter. And Google+ just doesn’t have the user base to have that effect yet. Ultimately, Google+, like Facebook can bring together everyone you know - though notably in a much easier to use, segmented manner. But it’s going to be hard to provide access to all those that you want to know (or want to watch). We’ll all just have to wait for Justin Bieber to start a circle to find out what the possibilities are.

Now that Twitter appears to have a revenue plan in place with their new and existing ad features (the going rate for a Promoted Trend is reported to be over $100K/day), a plan that Facebook started strongly utilizing a few years ago, Google+ is under even more pressure to showcase how brands can get involved. They will surely use their Adwords technology to deliver text ads just like they do in Gmail (hopefully with more relevance), but the rest of their plan is likely still being developed. In the meantime, Twitter will hopefully open access to Promoted Tweets, mobilize their new sales staff and take marketer’s budgets off their hands. One thing I think we can count on from Twitter is better analytics than Facebook has ever offered, although nothing close to what Google+ surely will offer.

So how can you buy those “Promoted Tweets”? Well you can’t – yet. The official Twitter statement is that they are currently partnering with several charter advertisers and will notify me when it is available which is estimated at “about two months”. “Promoted Trends” is also only listed as a beta opportunity not currently available. You can, however, secure a “Promoted Account” today – and as mentioned before, that’s a great place to start if building your follower base is the goal.

Show of hands time. Have you been asked in the past month  “So what are we doing with Google+?”

And did you know how to answer?

Fear not, there is a Strategy For That. And one that is already in market that you can easily adapt. This is the Five Platform Social Media Strategy.

Today many brands are executing across multiple social platforms because they understand their consumers are also engaging across multiple platforms. They also know that the nature of how these consumers engage with each other in social spaces continues to evolve. They know they need to fish where the fish are, and this might mean casting a line into multiple ponds.

So What Has This To Do With Google+?

Well, the June 28th launch of Google+ meant there is another platform we will soon need to include in this framework. So consider this a guide to being ready to integrate G+ into your Five Platform Strategy framework when the time is right.

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There is this new startup on the block aptly named Hipster. You probably have not even heard of it yet, but that’s okay because once it has gone mainstream it may be obsolete to its audience anyway. Even so I think this one actually has a chance.

This social networking site is currently creating quite a buzz, while still catering to a young audience that revels in irony, rejecting mainstream culture, listening to noise rock, wearing cardigans from American Apparel, and generally being edgy in all the same ways. Just dropping this term creates a lot of differing opinions and loyalties. But this new site is coming onto the scene with confidence and may well be the talk of the town at SXSW this year. The site boasts itself saying, “hipster is the best resource for anything and everything in your city.”

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The late Jack LaLanne of The Power Juicer (May He Rest in Peace)

First, we got Lean ’n Mean with The George Forman Grill. Then, we were dazzled by the Bedazzler. Oh, the 21^st century infomercial has provided us with so many titillating, and downright hilarious, consumer goods.

So what, you ask, are the top-selling among them?

Weight loss remedies, exercise equipment, kitchen appliances, and skincare products.

Thanks to off-peak advertising space and late night shopaholics trolling the broadcast networks at 3am, we have… the infomercial. And yet, these days, the infomercial isn’t just saved for the 3am crowd. The infomercial has finally made it to the mainstream. In fact, by 2009, most US infomercial spending was during early morning, daytime, and evening hours and, if that’s not shocking enough, over $150 billion worth of consumer products in the U.S. are now being sold through infomercials.

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Sin City has long been the ultimate venue for a weekend of “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. Well it seems as that party might just be over.

The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas ended Sunday, and in doing so, set several new records. This included the 30,000 international attendees descending on Vegas last week, and the 2,700 technology companies exhibiting – both record numbers according to the organizers, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

However, the trade show also is the first such event to generate such a widespread buzz in social spaces around the world. What made 2011 the year social media hit the tipping point at CES?

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I know the last time I was here, I spoke generally about Facebook fan engagement and how you have to have a vibrant, consistent and fun interaction with your fanbase in order to have them be engaged with your Page. And all of what I said is indeed true — however, I want to dig a little bit deeper on what keeps your fans coming back or…has them leaving you alone.

If we take a far enough step back, from all of the tools out there in the world of social media and even all of the tools out there on the internet, we are left with what exactly? The product or issue or message that you want to get out to particular audiences, right? And if we take an even further step back, we recognize that what we (as in brands) are really trying to do is get someone out there to understand us, connect with us and hopefully want to hang out with us, right? continue reading

We are very excited to announce that we are a proud sponsor and participant of an upcoming virtual conference brought to you by our friends at PRWeek next week. With new applications and social media tools emerging every day, staying up to date on the latest trends in social media innovation is critical to our business as PR professionals.

The PRWeek Lab will take place Wednesday, June 2 and Thursday, June 3, 2010 and will provide an online resource for PR professionals on the most recent social media trends, tools, and strategies, thought leadership, and case studies- all without leaving one’s office. The online platform includes live webcast sessions, keynote speakers (such as Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak and Ben Edwards, VP of Digital Strategy and Development, IBM), as well as exhibitor booth environments for follow-up questions, live chats, and material downloads. PRWeek Lab will be a fully interactive experience, with Q&A throughout, as well as polling of all participants on the quality of the content and the future of social media. No other PR event will bring you closer to the action that is driving today’s social media innovation.  Please visit here for additional details.

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Last week, WOMMA hosted a webinar that discussed common interests and online behavioral trends among Generation Y–specifically people from the ages of 22-29, who they’ve dubbed as “Early Careerists.” Being a relatively recent college graduate and Early Careerist myself, I found some of their findings especially interesting. Below are a few findings that I found most compelling: continue reading

We are 10 days away from PR Blackout Week - a week for mom bloggers to get back to the basics of blogging and temporarily ignore PR folks and brands - being organized by mom blog aggregator MomDot.  Opinions have varied as to  whether or not this is necessary or is a PR tactic in its own right. Regardless of your position, it is a wonderful invitation to discuss the state of union and give current practices a good sniff test. continue reading

As citizens are increasingly discussing and sharing content online, we decided to take a look with the European Centre for Public Affairs at digital discussion and debate in the weeks leading up to the European elections. Covering English, French, German, Greek and Polish language, we asked the following questions: Was there an EU debate or were conversations limited to national politics? What were the most popular themes and how did the rankings compare? Did online “buzz” translate into votes at the ballot box? We also examined the digital footprint of an MEP using social networks to see how effectively he communicated with voters. And we purposely chose an online seminar format to do share the results with a wider group. continue reading