I'm gearing up for my social networking seminar next week here at Tortus, and I wanted to share this very good article on using the photo sharing site flickr to market your business. If you already use flickr for your personal photos, why not consider giving it a try for your business or organization? Using flickr can be an indirect marketing method that drives traffic to your website and builds community with your customers. In contrast to the opinion of the article's author, I do believe that flickr can be utilized for nearly every type of business, whether you sell products OR services. Check out flickr today!

What e-commerce strategies are businesses taking during the 2009 holiday season? e-Marketer takes a look; see the full article here.

Some of you may be familiar with the saga of unhappy Maytag customer and well-known mom blogger Heather Armstrong, who writes the blog Dooce. In her post “Containing a capital letter or two”, Armstrong described her arduous attempts to get her brand new Maytag washing machine repaired while coping with the monumental amounts of laundry generated by her newborn baby. Armstrong finally resorted to tweeting about her Maytag misery, setting off a chain reaction of help from Maytag executives as well as offers of a free new washing machine from competitor Bosch (Armstrong asked Bosch to donate the machine to her local homeless shelter). Her Maytag got fixed, but at what price to the company’s reputation?

Angry consumers posting on Twitter or other websites about bad experiences with companies’ products and services don’t inevitably have to result in negative publicity. NPR host and Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield founded the website Comcast Must Die after repeated and frustrating attempts to get help from Comcast’s customer service department. According to Slate magazine columnist Farhad Manjoo, the end result was unexpectedly positive:

Over the next few months, the site attracted thousands of visitors, lots of press coverage, and, most surprisingly, Comcast's ear. The company began responding to complaints posted on the site. People who hadn't been able to get through to Comcast on the phone were suddenly getting personal calls from executives eager to help them resolve what had gone wrong. Now Garfield and his Comcast-hating partners are declaring victory; they've transformed Comcast Must Die into a more general-purpose gripesheet, Customer-Circus.com. Comcast, Garfield writes, is still "a vast, greedy, blundering corporate colossus"—but at least it's no longer tone deaf, and that's a start.

This is an astonishing reversal. To be sure, Comcast is still reviled—Consumerist's readers recently voted it the country's second-worst company. (AIG beat it out to take the blog's coveted Golden Poo award.) But as Garfield documents, Comcast has taken a number of positive steps to address complaints, including setting up a team to respond quickly to online grumbling about the firm. If you grouse about Comcast on a blog or Twitter, there's now a good chance the company will seek you out and try to fix your problem.

I attended a social networking seminar this past spring in which the presenter confidently proclaimed that “all social media press is good press, even if it’s bad”. His philosophy was that all criticism on the Internet should be viewed as an opportunity to learn more about your organization than you can from your insider’s perspective. It’s certainly food for thought.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of this summer's smash hit, Glee. The TV show, which airs on Fox, has had a large and loyal following from its premiere and was the first new series to secure a full season showing after only two episodes. The secret to its unusual success has been credited to the large online marketing push in the months before its premiere. 

Glee follows the adventures of a group of underdogs who are members of a high school show choir. To prepare for the premiere, Glee created a large online presence that included Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for the main characters and a streaming version of a sneak peak at the pilot. The director's cut of the pilot was followed by a "Tweet-peat" in which the show's stars and  fans took to Twitter to discuss the episode. The result has been an strong fan base with a deep online engagement. Glee fans are even buying the show's featured songs on iTunes.

Glee is not the only success story stemming from social networks. Millions of businesses of all shapes and sizes are finding a new and captivated audience online. If you are not currently taking advantage of the marketing opportunities available online, there is no time like the present! 

A Tortus client recently recommended Jeff Jarvis' book What Would Google Do to the Torti. According to Booklist reviewer Mary Whaley:

Jarvis, columnist and blogger about media, presents his ideas for surviving and prospering in the Internet age, with its new set of rules for emerging technologies as well as industries such as retail, manufacturing, and service. We learn that customers are now in charge, people anywhere can find each other and join forces to support a company’s efforts or oppose them, life and business are more public, conversation has replaced marketing, and openness is the key to success. Jarvis’ other laws include being a platform (help users create products, businesses, communities, and networks of their own); hand over control to anyone; middlemen are doomed; and your worst customer is your best friend, and your best customer is your partner. Jarvis offers thought-provoking observations and valuable examples for individuals and businesses seeking to fully participate in our Internet culture and maximize the opportunities it offers.

Sounds good--I've added it to my reading queue!

Wikipedia has quickly become THE destination for info on the web. With more than three million articles in a variety of languages, contributed and edited by the world, it has become one of the biggest web phenomenas in Internet history. But what exactly are people looking up? The answer may surprise you..

According to the website's Wikistics, this year's most-viewed Wikipedia article was actually Wiki! According to the "wiki" entry,

"Wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor, within the browser. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, and for note taking. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis. Wikis are used in business to provide intranet and knowledge management systems. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work."

While many of the rest of the top 50 are not surprising (Michael Jackson, Barack Obama, etc.), entries such as Adolf Hitler are sure to turn some heads! To view the entire list of the top 50 most view articles on Wikipedia click here.

To learn more about contributing to Wikipedia please visit their wiki!

Have you heard the terms "in the cloud" and "cloud computing"? You may not have realized it, but if you use Facebook, you are already in the cloud! What does that mean? "The cloud" is simply a metaphor for the Internet. Our account manager, Ann, described the concept of cloud computing for business applications in her June post "Cloud Computing - What's the Fuzz?", and we'll be discussing it in our upcoming Tortus newsletter in August, too. It's a complex concept to grasp, and I found this very helpful video by GoGrid that uses simple visuals to help explain.

Looking for an interesting read to take with you as you head down the Cape or up to Maine? Consider this book I just finished: Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky. Shirky is a graduate professor in NYU’s interactive telecommunications program who teaches courses on the interrelated effects of social and technological network topology. In this book, he takes a look at how blogs, wikis, and other Internet social media phenomena are revolutionizing the social order. Through stories, Shirky shows us how our work and personal lives are being transformed by the technology of social tools. The book starts off with the real story of a New Yorker who accidentally left her cell phone-- which was the sole respository all the information (guest list, catering information, etc.) for her upcoming wedding--in a taxi cab. With the help of social media and thousands of "friends" she'd never met, she eventually recovered her phone from the thief who found it on the backseat of the cab. A quick--and compelling--read that will get you thinking about how social media can work for you.

What exactly are people looking for when they go online? Who is more likely to spend money while online—men or women? Do senior citizens go online to socialize like their much-younger counterparts, Generation Z (also known as the Internet Generation)? What is the absolute number one reason across the board that people go online? The results of this survey on Internet use by eMarketer are eye-opening!

While recently researching the pro's and con's of using social media for business purposes, I stumbled upon a list of the Top 10 Tweets to Get You Fired as compiled by freelance web marketer and blogger Paul Wilson. 

Top 10 Tweets to Get You Fired

1. "hate my job!! I want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy!"

2. "So my job was to test all the food at the new resturant, can I just say, ughew. I'm going to taco bell then twistee treat."

3. "Workin... This job sucks worse then the economy!"

4. "I'm going to work! Walmart! Must find better job! I hate it when chicks there have a deeper voice than me and refer to me as foo!"

5. "Also I'm really bummed that I'm working today, i asked off so i could study but my boss is a ******* **** ***** ***** who can't read."

6. "Coworker smuggled out a chair for me. Currently being paid to SIT around and listen to John Barrowman on my iPod. I don't hate my job today!"

7. "having sex dreams of people you work with makes for an awkward day."

8. "smoking weed at work is so [EDITED] great :)"

9. "It's bad when you overhear the n00b programmer say "I used to work at McDonalds with him" and you wonder if he is talking about the CEO..."

10. "Huh, with my boss on twitter, maaaybe I should take down that sexy picture of her... but her reaction will be priceless!"

Recipe of the Month

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chipotle and Fire Roasted Tomato

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Flickr is a popular website that allows users to share and utilize photos, as well as interact with other photo enthusiasts. Launched in February 2004, Flickr has become the destination on the web for photo sharing, beating in popularity such sites such as Photobucket and Shutterfly. In 2008, Flickr expanded into video sharing, even allowing those who are signed up for a “pro” account ($25 per year) the ability to upload high-definition (HD) videos. Other Flickr features include Flickr Map, a tool that enables users to find photos based on location and Picnik, Flickr’s very own photo editing tool.

One of the mainstream uses of Flickr is the ability for users to search the site for images to incorporate into their own marketing pieces or personal collections. Since images are tagged with relevant keywords, it's easy to find images with specific subject matter. Depending on the photo-sharing settings that the photographer has selected, you might be able to use the image without worrying about copyright infringement, as long as you give credit to the photographer. Flickr’s Creative Commons License details the terms of agreement for sharing or adapting another user's photos. According to the Flickr website, “You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).”

One of our very own Torti has experienced firsthand the joys of Flickr. Alison West, a Tortus web designer, has watched her treasured photos take many unexpected journeys across the web. Since creating a Flickr account to showcase her photography portfolio, Alison has witnessed the following:

Hercules the Liger Photo Courtesy of Alison West

• A digitally enhanced spooky Halloween photo she created was picked up and featured as an e-greeting card.
• A series of photographs of Hercules, the world's largest Liger, has been used in many articles, including one on geneticsevolution.com (Check out her credit when you click on the image!)
• Alison recently received a request to allow one of her photos to be featured in an upcoming book. Her photo of a pair of kittens will be included in the next "LOL Cats" book, published by Ulysses Press of Berkley, CA.
• Alison has been contacted numerous times by people who are planning a trip to an area that she has photographed and would like the inside scoop or instructions on how to find the setting they saw in the photo.

Check out Flickr for yourself – you never know where one of your favorite photos might end up!

Economy Raining on Your Parade?

With the economy slowly grinding along, business owners are becoming more aware of how company funds are expended and more wary of new expenditures that cross their desks. This fiscal conservancy is wise in uncertain times as multi-national corporations, once symbols of American ingenuity, are now cast as cautionary tales of fiscal irresponsibility. Despite the fact traditional sales are down, online sales continue to increase in the double digits.

The Silver Lining

Forrester Research Group (Nasdaq: FORR), an independent technology and market research company, forecast that US online retail sales in 2009 would grow by 11 percent to $156 billion. Despite the doom and gloom proponed by the media (whose jobs depend on high ratings, and by proxy, public panic), people are still shopping. More consumers are just choosing to make their purchases online rather than visit a "brick and mortar" store.

Why? Ecommerce websites provide the consumer with the convenience of conducting research as they shop.

In direct response to this trend, agile businesses focused on growth are actually increasing their investments on the web. Businesses are providing more information on their websites; online tutorials or product demos are becoming more popular. In order to retain customers, businesses are using multichannel marketing methods to build a sense of community. Online retailers are taking the guesswork out of shopping by providing product guides right on the product detail pages or sending online newsletters about special features directly to their customer base. Taking the content one step further, smart online retailers are posting the newsletters on their websites to boost search engine placement. Just click around and you will quickly notice how even local grocery stores, career centers and appliance retailers are using social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to build a strong online community.

A Shift in Focus

We know that traditional sales are on the decline. It is not the end of the capitalist world, as we know it. Our focus simply has to shift. Businesses that utilize the web as the driving force behind their businesses are realizing success where most businesses are not. In fact, Forrester found that 24% of retailers will spend more on their online business over the previous year with investments focused primarily on social marketing web-based software (60%), broadcast email (65%) and intuitive search tools (80% of respondents).  Marketing managers have realized that the web is the most cost effective tool for building a stronger consumer community and converting potential consumers to faithful return shoppers.

Marketing and eCommerce managers are not using Twitter because they like the cute bird or because they find writing a promotion in under 140 characters a joyous pastime.  They use Twitter because Twitter is a free and incredibly effective form of viral marketing. Forrester Research principal analyst and author of the report, Sucharita Mulpuru states the facts plainly:

“Because consumers continue to spend online, interactive marketing spent to drive web sales remains a lucrative investment. While other retail channels struggle, eCommerce managers have a unique opportunity to drive more sales and test different tactics that resonate with consumers.” 

At Tortus we recognize that the web is only going to continue to grow. Therefore as efficiency experts, we focus on utilizing methodologies that will increase our clients’ profits and decrease their operating expenses. In this economic climate, you don’t have to panic - you have to focus.  The business climate has been irrevocably changed by this economy, and consumer confidence is shaken as a result. Your online presence should be representative of your experience, longevity and value.

"Tweet" with Vigor, "Friend" the World

Does your website generate trust and confidence through the use of product guides, newsletters and email marketing rich with special promotions? Do you promote your business with an active online community that encourages sales through consumer generated reviews? If not, its time to reevaluate investing in the web. To insert a classic English idiom: Spending money on traditional marketing techniques and neglecting the web is being "penny-wise and pound-foolish." Consumers are still spending money, they are just choosier about which companies they buy from and more aware of the value they are getting for their dollar. Suddenly, the main attraction of Twitter has grown from just trying to be cool and “in the know” to trying to stay afloat and make some dough.