I have often said two things when it comes to social:

1. You don’t need a million fans.
2. Success in social is often realized through search.

The reality is that these statements are linked. Let’s face it; most organizations will never have a million Facebook fans or Twitter followers. So what does that mean? Does it mean that an organization can never leverage social in a way that yields a genuine ROI? Does it mean they have to settle on doing social because it’s “cool” or everyone says they have to? Of course not. It simply means that you…

Everyone is rushing into mobile, but is anyone doing it well?

According to the 2013 Mobile Sophistication and Strategy Study conducted by Kontagent, only 25 percent of mainstream companies using mobile have a well-defined strategy. Even more shocking, when Kontagent asked companies to rate the customer experience of their mobile programs, more than half rated them as either average or below average.

So why is everyone rushing into mobile if very few seem confident about what they are doing?

Check out my ClickZ article to read more.

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  ]]> http://blog.ovrdrv.com/the-rush-to-go-live-with-mobile/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-rush-to-go-live-with-mobile 9083 Ryan Wilensky May 9th, 2013

You know that old keychain you have with your name on it?  You know the one I’m talking about, it’s the one that your parents bought from the tchotchke store when you were a kid that you’ve been holding onto all these years.  Well, Coke in the UK is taking this idea of personalization up a notch in the by offering personalized bottles and cans.  The products will feature 150 of the UK’s most popular names[1].   So for all you Sophias, Emmas,…

Launching this week is Cartwheel, a new deals program from Facebook and Target that will initially offer more than 700 deals that are redeemable only in Target stores.  And every time someone claims a deal an automatic Newsfeed post is generated unless the user has elected to turn off that option.

This sounds like an earlier Facebook program, Beacon, that generated so much user dislike that Facebook had to end the program almost before it began.  Both companies claim that Cartwheel…

I eat out quite a bit, and I have avoided a lot of restaurants that offer up a subpar web experience. Even though many of these establishments might have great food, if I can’t accomplish simple tasks like finding out if you are open, looking at your menu, or finding your location, I am probably not going to make the effort to come in for dinner.

It is understandable that restaurants don’t always have the greatest websites. The owners and operators are passionate about food and the experience they offer, and don’t often have the expertise or…

Programmatic buying – the latest buzzword that you probably hear everywhere. It has been around for a while now, but it has become increasingly more important as marketers test and find value in its ability to engage consumers throughout all phases of the purchase funnel, from broad reach, low-cost tactics to lower funnel retargeting. So what are the key things to know about and where is everyone headed with this? To help answer these questions, I have spoken with Jay Habegger, CEO of OwnerIQ. Check out the interview at ClickZ.com.

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  ]]> http://blog.ovrdrv.com/programmatic-buying-what-weve-learned-and-where-were-going/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=programmatic-buying-what-weve-learned-and-where-were-going 9052 Sarah Mitus April 22nd, 2013

I was able to see Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, speak a few weeks ago at a Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business event, where she was speaking about her book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.

She starts each of her presentations asking the audience to stand up if they have ever said any of the following phrases, out loud. I want to be the leader in…

Businesses turn to social media to increase visibility, connect with customers, self-promote and stay relevant. The simple nature and accessibility to these networks make them available to any type of business. Social media is inexpensive, easy-to-use and is a great way to handle customer relations. But, is there a wrong way to do social media? Many businesses have taken the leap into social media, but most of them are not utilizing the networks to their fullest capabilities and are missing out on ways to target new customers. Below are some tips to keep in…