m2h blogs by Marcia Hansen

Roger Warner has a good point in this post at TechCrunch, Social Media Gurus Push Conversations Over Kudos and Fail. He argues brands should do more meaningful posts that make customers look good, than just engage in simple banter on Facebook that doesn’t really amount to much or go to the brand’s mission. Similarly, I [...]

In Pre-Commerce: How companies and customers are transforming business together, Bob Pearson, formerly of Dell Computers and now Chief Technology & Media Officer at WCG, a marketing communications agency, delivers the goods on why and how to create a successful pre-commerce program that delivers solid relationships with your customers and strong e-commerce results. The Transformation [...]

The SXSW conference can be a lesson for brands in how to blend a face-to-face event with social, music, and film. The organizers, panelists, and attendees create an experience, lots of content, encourage ongoing social participation and promotion, which all leads to it being an entertaining and educational experience for attendees. You have to understand, [...]

In a couple conversations with people yesterday, friends suggested they are attempting to get greater meaning and value from the social communities where they participate. Real conversations — not imitation, not facsimiles. One of the people I follow (sorry — I can’t remember who) said something along the lines of — let’s have real conversations, [...]

In The Three Keys to Social Media Marketing, Hugh MacLeod talks about developing his business based on the concept of gift-giving. Every business day he sends out a new cartoon to the people on his email list. He does this to provide value, or gifts, before the sale. Hugh writes: If enough people like the [...]

Organizations that can bring humanity and flexibility to their interactions with other human beings will thrive. Seth Godin, Linchpin I really believe what Godin is saying in the above quote, and I’ve tried to put it into action in the work that I’ve done. From responding in a personal voice on Twitter, to doing man/woman-on-the-street [...]

Whether you have a small or large business, creating a sound social media strategy to meet business objectives is important. In a recent post, Shel Holtz points out that Chaos is Not a Strategy. He outlines three types of social media: organic, programmatic, and campaign-based. I’d like to expand on these three categories and offer [...]

Based on what I’ve learned from working within a large organization, there are many suggestions I have for managers in marketing, communications, or public relations before they leap into the social media space. While I truly believe that large corporations need to learn how to act like small, local businesses again in order to be [...]

Are you ready take your business into social media? If you’re at the research stage and trying to figure out if social media is the place for you, then the following three tips are something to consider as you evaluate whether to get your business into social media. Because, let’s face it — not every [...]

Last year, I won a customer service award because of how I acted proactively to assist customers on Twitter. I was one of about 50 employees invited to a special luncheon with Dennis Haysbert. I didn’t know about the special lunch ahead of time. I just did what I thought needed to be done, and [...]