You are waiting in line to order your coffee and while the six people in front of you are going through excruciatingly long orders, you happen to glance at a display next to you featuring a Bruce Springsteen collection you’d never heard of. All you need to do to own the Boss’s greatest hits is take the small credit-card-sized iTunes card to the barista and gladly hand over your $9.99, plus the cost of the latte you ordered, drive that puppy home, turn on your computer, log onto iTunes, type in a 10 digit code, download the album and sync it with your iPhone! In just seven easy steps, you can be listening to “The River” and “Pink Cadillac” and just a few hours prior, you had no idea that you even wanted to.

While it is certain your life is now more enriched, one may ask – why in the world did you go through all of those steps, when you could have just opened up iTunes from your iPhone and downloaded the album? The answer is simple. It’s for the same reason millions of people have bought magazines in grocery stores for more than fifty years, when they could get a subscription for nickels on the dollar.

Impulse zones.

You had absolutely no idea you needed Bruce Springsteen until you saw his mug on a display . . . in the impulse zone. That special place where we, as consumers, lose all of our inhibitions and simply must have whatever it is that is in that place. Magazines have been successful at this for decades; so have candy bars, gum, mints and overpriced flavored water. Impulse zones are the highest revenue generating areas of any retailer and often have sales per square foot that by far surpasses any other square foot in the store. It is also the most competitive part of a store, usually costing marketers a pretty buck to put their product there.

Marketers are increasingly trying to figure out how to reach audiences in the digital marketplace, since that is where a massive upward moving trend indicates buyers are now going. The challenge, however, is that online marketing has a tremendous amount of clutter to break through. If one is marketing a product in a brick and mortar store, they simply need to secure placement near the cash registers to improve sales velocity. Online, the cash registers are embedded with the actual product. So, apart from spending an incredible amount of advertising dollars and implementing extensive word of mouth campaigns, how does one get through the clutter online and be noticed by a potential consumer?

Impulse zones.

Online marketers need to remember that there is a real world too. And in this world, there are plenty of brick and mortar stores. Apple demonstrates this perfectly with its iTunes/Starbucks partnership. All digital marketers need do is bridge the offline world with the online world, using the impulse zone. With that strategy in place, tons of tactics pour forward: coupon codes on countertop handouts, QR codes on countertop displays, promotional giveaways referring visitors to a website, location-based social network promotions, etc.

It amounts old school marketing, but in the new world of communications. Find where your customers are and reach them offline in order to influence their behavior online.

Twitter can sometimes be foreboding. One logs in, takes a look at that ominous “What’s going on?” question and may think . . . “What is going on?”  And that person may not have an answer.  Sitting there? Drinking water?  Procrastinating on a project?

Looking for something to discuss, the “Twitter-blocked” may browse through the main feed searching for inspiration.

Stanlopez forget about it.

Covid My buddy broke his collar bone.

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Ronmalone My 12-year-old is great at Photoshop!

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Mikehilton Time to close the laptop.

Xfdgg TOP 10 WAYS TO GET 10000 FOLLOWERS IN JUST 1 WEEK!!!!

Nothing.

The Twitter-blocked may look around the office hoping for something to tweet about. Color of the walls maybe . . . or perhaps how quickly the coffee has gotten cold.  Nothing is clicking.

The Twitter-blocked is generally not using Twitter to talk about “coffee” or “sitting there,” instead he/she uses Twitter to build a brand presence. The Twitter-blocked understands that endless tweets about the brand won’t work and that there needs be a genuine connection with the Twitter community. A trusted network builds meaningful relationships, thereby strengthening the brand. Sounds easy, right?

But what to tweet about?

When I have “Twitter-block”, I resort to my personal “C.R.A.S.H.” formula:

Comment
Reply
Ask
Share
Help

Comment
Every time you go into Twitter, tweet something. Anything.  It could be “Good morning, Twitter,” or “Sitting down to start my day,” or anything benign.  Just write.  Once you do that, the rest comes easy. The hardest part of filling out a blank page is writing the first sentence. Just get something out and be natural.  Twitter isn’t always about broadcasting your brand; sometimes you can just talk. Casual conversation builds trust within your network and identifies that the brand is supported by real people. It is easier for people to connect with a person than it is for them to connect with a logo or product.

Reply
Reply to someone. Find a tweet and reply to it.  It doesn’t have to be Shakespearean, just say, “@neatfollower Good point!” or “@hungryfollower Yeah, pizza sounds good now” or “@Xfdgg Why do I need 10,000 followers?”

Ask
Ask a question. The question could be something like: “How does one get past Twitter-block?” Or it could be a discussion question about your industry. Or something personal like “What is going on with all of you today?” Questions encourage conversation and the more people that you respond to, the more conversations evolve. Check your @replies frequently and make sure that you aren’t missing out on connecting with someone.

Share
Share something. Either tweet a link for a blog you’ve read or retweet something interesting someone else said.  You can pipe in many RSS feeds into FriendFeed and easily post them on Twitter straight from there.  You can even tie your blog into FriendFeed so that it tweets whenever there is a new post.  There are Twitter applets and Firefox apps that will help you tweet from wherever you are browsing. Make it a habit to simply share what you find as you find it.  Link retweets are the most popular type of tweet for a reason.  Most people are there to find news and websites, and if you post interesting things people will notice you more.

Help
Help people. Use Twitter Search (or some other 3rd party search system such as Monitter.com or any of the Twitter desktop applications) and find conversations that you can contribute to. Search by whatever your expertise is and jump in – give advice, help people that are asking questions and peddle your smarts.

Use hashtags (#) on your topics so that they reach a broader base of people, such as: “Writing press releases is good for your SEO! #PR #SEO”. When you use hashtags the tweet shows up in a feed on Twitter Search, which many people follow.

Using the C.R.A.S.H. formula once a day keeps you a valuable and contributing member of Twitter. Leveraging your own expertise and the benefits of your brand in each of those steps will build awareness. But most importantly, C.R.A.S.H. will help you get rid of that dreaded Twitter-block.

“QR,” as “Quick Response” technology is referred to, has been around in Japan ever since the technology was first created by the Japanese corporation Denso-Wave, back in 1994.  It is simply a bar code that delivers an arsenal of information to a device that can scan it. Surprisingly, while Japan has been immersed in it for the last 16 years, we are just now starting to see a “QR” phenomenon in the US.  As it turns out, mobile phones are the perfect scanner for QR.

If this catches on in the US, beyond only elite tech gatherings, the possibilities for corporate communication seem endless. On a practical level, QR code can instantly deliver contact information to a phone with a simple scan, direct mobile browsers to websites, or display phone numbers that can be instantly dialed. The more sophisticated codes can automate social media following or access cloud software.

For starters, companies can instantly tap this trend by putting QR into the social media activities, whether on blog posts, Facebook walls or websites. Beyond that, brick and mortar businesses, especially, have an opportunity to take advantage of this by offering special deals, access to specific (and hidden) microsites, or by setting up social media networking protocols into QR code. These are only a few ways of bringing offline marketing into the online world.

Other practical applications can include putting QR code on business cards for easy networking at trade shows, setting up QR code “bread crumbs” throughout a community leading consumers to store locations, or simply using it on products or storefronts so buyers can “like it” on Facebook in real time.

To begin messing around with this, search for “QR” in your smart phone application directory and read this blog again, but through the QR code. Or better yet, go to Kaywa and start making your own QR codes for free.

The curious power of modern computer technology has allowed us to view the world around us through our webcams and iPhones, and in so doing, we have been able to super-impose images, video and sound over our view of reality. The result: augmented reality.

This new trend of entertainment technology has led to some remarkable applications.  For example: face-recognition technology uses your webcam to put a Transformer’s head on you; it allows you to try on virtual sunglasses as well as translate street signs by looking at them through a mobile device, or bring animated characters to life on your desktop with a webcam.

While this entertainment technology is very entertaining indeed, what are the implications for marketers? There is currently much discussion on the potential marketing value of augmented reality technology, what with new mobile applications and online programs popping up everyday, but there is little clear regard for measurable and useful marketing tactics.

Certainly, the use of augmented reality to develop viral social media campaigns is viable. According to Businessweek, it has been done by Kia Motors, Nestle, Frito Lay, and Wise Foods however with mixed results.   Still, it is expected that $170 million will be dumped into mobile augmented reality advertising within the next 5 years.

Viral videos, tactically, are only one slice of the augmented reality pie. Take for instance what iPhone apps Layar and SekaiCamera are doing. Both apps have taken augmented reality and geo-positioned this together into a whole new virtual universe, where consumers can hold up their iPhone, see information about the business in front of them, as well as its phone number and Wikipedia article. SekaiCamera takes it further, and allows users to post their own comments (virtually) on that business or location. Already a huge success in Asia, the SekaiCamera phenomena could potentially transform the world into a series of post-it notes visible to anyone who holds up their iPhone or Android. The ability to slap a comment on a restaurant’s physical location makes Yelp look like child’s play.

The marketing potential for an app like SekaiCamera trumps imagination. Coupling geo-positioning and augmented reality is a great way to get the word out about one’s brand. In one sense, the whole wide world can be an advertising platform wherein companies can post messages in physical locations right where their audience is. Creative campaigns could even include treasure hunts, whereby customers who uncover particular messages in particular locations, get free prizes or discounts. Or companies could award discounts to consumers who post in the sky about their product. Brick and mortar locations could encourage customers to post virtual tags all over the wall, telling other customers of their positive experiences there.

The overarching point is that the online world has now come full circle and the once global universe of social media marketing is now being transformed into a geo-located virtual reality  – right back in the middle of your target audience’s physical location.

While it will take time for SekaiCamera and other apps like it to catch on in the U.S., location “check in” apps like FourSquare are already transforming the market. The trend is inevitable: mobile technology and augmented reality will bring customers back into the real world and away from their global social media safety net. Online or off, it is still about location, location, location.

Photo courtesy of Wired

It was unofficially announced that the cost for subscription to The Wall Street Journal on Apple’s new “must have” device, the iPad, will run a news hound $18/month. This produced an immediate gasp in the media world as to whether this is too much money for an app, when you consider that a subscription for the print version is only $9.

Still, the argument in favor of the premium price is that this is, after all, The Wall Street Journal – not just “any” news app. Another, is that online version promises to have far more features than found in the print version, Also, it will be the very first newspaper app on the iPad and counts for something.

Whereby at first glance the $18 price tag seems over the top – double, when compared with the print version, I began to wonder what should the cost of newspaper apps be on the iPad, how is it formulated and what will the market bear?

Thinking about the standard price formula, I translated some of the costs involved. If we already know that pricing is generally based upon the sum of variable costs, fixed costs, and profit, then without a degree in Business Economics, I may be able to figure this out.

We can assume that WSJ has priced their print to include all of their costs for producing content and that it costs the WSJ less than $9.92 per month to produce it and still make a profit. So, let’s focus then on the costs involved on an app.

Not really knowing as yet the average costs for developing apps on the iPad, it is safe to assume that it will be similar to developing one for an iPhone. According to this discussion, it takes 200 hours at $50/hour on average to produce an app for the iPhone. If I assume that WSJ hires someone at $50/hour to do this, than one only needs to add the application license fee from Apple of $399.  As to downloads, iPhone applications, on average, are downloaded 25,000 times per year. It is therefore safe to assume that the WSJ iPad application will follow this pattern and be downloaded that many times.

So here is the formula that will figure out the WSJ app’s ideal price:

(Development Hours X Hourly Rate) + License Fee/Average Number of Downloads = Price (Apple’s Commission) + Print Subscription Price

Or, shortened:

If we follow this formula, it will cost The Wall Street Journal $10,399 to produce the app, including the license. If they fall into the average, then approximately 2,083 will be downloaded every month. The total cost then per download is $4.99. When you add Apple’s commission, the cost becomes $6.49. Next, when you add in the current price of the print subscription (which theoretically includes the cost of producing content), the price according to our formula should be $16.41.

If you consider the “prestige” category and that and the fact that the app will contain added features, then $18/month makes perfect sense. Also, if WSJ continues to support and develop the app throughout the year, then the costs would stay relatively the same monthly.

Does that mean the market will bear that price? Time will tell but the sticker price is no longer so shocking.

In such a crowded online world, one point of differentiation a company can make is to be recognized as a thought leader. Consumers are generally more attracted to brands that they perceive as leaders in their field and a resource for their needs and the simplest way in which to communicate this is through blogging. The problem is, the people needed to be the face of a company’s online presence, the organizations’ leaders, are often the very same people that have absolutely no time to do that sort of thing. Fortunately for them, the web has generated tons of tools to help with just that problem.

Here are three of them:

1. WordPress

WordPress is arguably the de facto blogging platform for prominent bloggers. It is also increasingly becoming a favorite engine for corporate websites by web designers. Its robust customizability, free price tag, and expandability through widgets and plug-ins make it a leader in content management systems.

Still, your average thought leader in a company does not have the time or resources to navigate WordPress’ technical back-end. But if one’s IT can set up the right configuration for the blog, then  a thought leader, would need to do no more than send an email to post a blog. Simply put, if they have time to send emails, then they have time to blog.

2. Tumblr

For those of us old timers who remember the state of blogging way back in the salad days of 2007, we all believed that Tumblr would be just as useless and boring as Twitter. It was yet another micro blog with seemingly very little purpose. While Twitter eventually proved us skeptics wrong, Tumblr has remained a dark horse in the blogging world, trapped somewhere in between a micro-blog and a regular blog.

The site has taken on so many features that it is a bright answer to those that find either blogging or Twittering too limited. For our time-starved thought leaders, Tumblr is an incredibly simple and adaptable platform on which to blog. Firstly, one can blog by sending not only an email, but a text message. Secondly, if one does want to blog from the site itself, there is no technical back end — only a place in which to type, upload photos, or share links.

Another very useful component of Tumblr for thought leaders, is the ability to post from a browser, while on a particular web page.  As such, while thought leaders read the news,  all they need to do to comment on the article they just read ,is hit the Tumblr button and — and voila! A blog post!

Tumblr also tweets blogs, so one doesn’t have to get involved with that other micro-blogger and waste even more time. It is a powerful blogging tool for many more reasons, but a bottom line for thought leaders is that it is simple and accessible.

3. Posterous

Posterous has garnered a great deal of attention lately and is an up and coming contender to the legacy blogging applications of so many dozens of months ago (Tumblr and WordPress). Like its contemporaries, Posterous allows one to post blogs simply by sending an email. Yet Posterous takes it to a whole new level.

A single email that you send can update all of your social networks automatically, including Facebook, Twitter and even Tumblr and WordPress. You can also pick and choose what particular social network gets updated by sending an email to a particular address. To make things even easier, there is a browser button that allows you to do the same exact thing.

Posterous also has something that the others don’t have. It can intelligently recognize multi-media you are sending in your email and post it correctly. If it is a picture, it is posted as an image and then cross-posted to Flickr. If it is a video or a link to a video, it embeds it for you. This means that without ever having to leave Outlook you can post a beautifully designed blog complete with image slideshows and videos simply by hitting “send.”

So for even your most time-strapped thought leader, blogging can be easily incorporated into a daily regimen. Using browser buttons to share and comment on articles that one is already reading, and then sending emails off to be automatically posted and shared on various social media sites, can remove many of the hurdles that get in the way of creating a resourceful point of differentiation.

It is arguably widely known in the public relations world that “social media press releases” can tremendously impact the appeal of a press release to both the media and consumers. Popularized by communications professionals like Brian Solis, these releases offer a different tone in language and often include multi-media assets like photos and videos  as well as widgets that make the release easy to share. In the past two years, wire services have caught onto the trend and now provide social media release templates in their service packages.

While social media press releases do make an otherwise dry communication tactic more interesting, the real potential of how press releases can evolve has yet to be realized. There are many emerging tools that can make releases compelling, interactive and even viral. Thinking outside of the “press release box” can add a mark of creativity on press communication that not only garners more attention but also invites the recipient of the release to be more involved with the news.

When constructing a social media press release, one should consider assets not traditionally used for multi-media and develop a narrative around the release that will captivate and engage a wide audience.

Following are examples of the potential for creative interactive elements that can be used:

1. Slideshows

Many companies already know about the power of SlideShare. The ability to create a presentation, upload, and use on other sites as embeddable content, can be an invaluable communication tool. In the context of press releases, this can be a way to organize the message and make it interactive. Also using SlideShare provides the added benefit of having your messages exist in a social and sharable online network.

It is often awkward to have more than one photo on a release, but a SlideShare embed will allow for as many photos as you please and can be easily browsed by the reader. Another use is presentational communication. Putting key points with engaging images can be a visual way to punctuate information within a release.

In particular, releases about new products, studies, or other stories that require a great amount of support data, a slideshow, can encapsulate the information visually for the reader and encourage media to re-use the element in their story.

Podcasts may bring visions of radio production with a mixer board, headphones and cables into one’s head. In reality, podcasts are very easy, extremely popular and effective. In the increasingly mobile world, podcasts are an upward trending way consumers access information. For the purposes of a press release, it can be a one-shot deal or part of a regular program of communication.

Podomatic is a powerfully simple website that allows one to freely record, host, and embed podcasts. Once recorded, they can be shared, downloaded, embedded or distributed throughout social media. Putting key messages into audio in the form of a “news report” or interview can be a powerful way to demonstrate the newsworthiness of the story and also deliver an element that the media would be inclined to use in their coverage.

3. Video

With innovative sites like xtranormal you don’t need a camera, actors, or location to make a movie. You can simply type in a script and use animated characters, in a setting you choose, to speak the lines. This, like the others, can be easily embedded and distributed online.

Many in the blogosphere have taken advantage of xtranormal and often make  humorous movies that offer commentary for their audience. This can also be a valuable tool for press releases. Putting information from a release into a visual conversation creates a shareable element for media to use, but also delivers the messages in an engaging way to viewers.

Here is an example of one I made to demonstrate the point:

All of these methods ultimately accomplish a broader objective of bringing messages out in a variety of vehicles to reach a broader audience. Using sharable tools like the ones mentioned here provide a level of interaction in social media releases that images or twitter buttons alone won’t accomplish. They also provide more reasons to push that “Share This” button.

Last week a Digital Trenches discussion noted the rising trend in interest surrounding daddy bloggers. But in face of this week’s eMarketer published report, mommies still have that edge with marketers.  And for good reason. According to the report, 68% of new mothers began using “mom-centric social media” after having children, and 33% increased their use of social media in general. Couple that with the current estimate that mothers control 80% of household spending, then it becomes clear why marketers prefer Moms. Senior eMarketer analyst Jeffrey Grau commented that moms come together to “share information about product deals” – a valuable bonus to marketers.

Is the value of mommy bloggers in their buying power? Or is it more about their networking power? The evidence is in what marketers approach mommy bloggers for: endorsements. If their value is really buying power, then simply advertising on a “mom-centric” social network like BabyCenter or Circle of Moms would likely get the job done. While that may be happening, the activity getting the most attention in 2009 by, not only the media, but the FTC, was product reviews.

One can easily conclude then that the value of mommy bloggers is their ability to influence other moms and to leverage their buying power. If that is true, then a mommy blogging is something akin to consumer journalism and marketers would be wise to take note.

Here are five ways marketers can earn a mommy journalist’s respect for a highly valued third party endorsement:

1. Construct meaningful, personalized and targeted pitches about products that clearly appeal to the blogger.
2. Don’t expect a positive review, but an honest one, and do not try to tell the mommy journalist what to write.
3. When following up, be respectful of time and do not spam with email or voicemail messages.
4. Read the blog before pitching so that there is a thorough understanding of what they do or do not write about.
5. Thanking a mommy blogger for writing about the product can build a long-term professional relationship down the road.

Mommy bloggers have an invested interest in their readers and approaching them with a journalistic respect will show that marketers truly understand the value of a mom.

Mommy bloggers certainly captured a lot of attention in 2009. This often elusive, yet highly influential network of moms that took to social media with flagpoles, megaphones, and important insights on parenting, was all the rage in the media. Headline after headline we saw that these parental bloggers were so influential, they began accomplishing the “Holy Grail” of social media: churning a profit. If advertising was not enough, companies began buying reviews from mommy influencers to the point where the FTC had to step in and wag a finger, a story we weighed in on in our Strategy and Musings blog last June.

But if 2009 was the mommy blogger year, 2010 is already being penned as the “year of the daddy blogger” by an expert, a daddy blogger, a social media marketer, and a poll (currently resulting in 65% favorable to the idea). We even discussed the rising trend in Strategy and Musings last August in response to Sony’s DigiDad project.

Certainly daddy bloggers are on the rise and so are networks that are supporting them. They have taken to Twitter with their stories on parenthood and are already involving brands in their publications. Like the moms, each of them target a particular interest, but with a focus on parenthood, as a theme.

Here are a few:

The Dad List: http://www.thedadlist.com/

Natural Papa: http://naturalpapa.com/

Daddy Is Tired: http://www.daddyistired.com/

Mocha Dad: http://www.mochadad.com

DaddyGotCustody: http://daddygotcustody.com/

Playground Dad: http://playgrounddad.com/

LookyDaddy:  http://www.lookydaddy.com/

DadGoneMad: http://www.dadgonemad.com/

CynicalDad: http://www.cynicaldad.com/

LaidOffDad: http://laidoffdad.typepad.com/

DadCentric: http://www.dadcentric.com/

DadLogic:  http://dadlogic.net

This new trend of blogging begs the question, is this actually a new trend? And if so, is there a discernable difference between mommy and daddy bloggers apart from gender? Certainly topics will vary between the two types of blogs, but ultimately they are parenthood blogs and so, therefore, will appeal to the same demographics with the same marketing tactics. Parents read these blogs to participate in conversations about parenthood and to seek peer-oriented advice on products parents need. From a marketing perspective, the objectives and tactics will remain the same, whether or not the parent is a mommy or daddy.

The media is already making noises about  the next big trend and companies are not far behind in trying to tap this rising market. There is even talk of a daddy blogger convention. Regardless of whether that will happen, marketers will be trying to get a piece of the pie. Just follow any of the new daddy bloggers, and it will be obvious that an influencer can come out of anywhere — dads or moms, and that what matters most is the transparency in these types of consumer engagements.

Maybe 2011 will be the year of the Kiddy Blogger.

In light of Google’s decision to shut down six music blogs on Google’s properties Blogger and Blogspot for copyright infringement, there are perhaps many in the webiverse that are second guessing what they have on their sites. The fact is, it is extremely easy to violate copyright on the web and, increasingly, it is very difficult to know what the rules are.

To save brand managers and marketing and PR professionals the hassle of getting a law degree, following are three places where content can be found that is not bogged down with the threat of copyright litigation:

1. Flickr.

Flickr is arguably the leader of hosted web images on the web, although certainly sites like Picasa and SmugMug are certainly worth noting. Flickr’s unique feature of isolating “Creative Commons” licensed images, separates it from the pack. Creative Commons is a “copyleft” movement that attempts to put better controls on copyright law by allowing publishers to license their content however they choose. Some licenses are stricter than others, but each license makes very clear how the image, or work, can be used.

To use a photo or an image from Flickr on your blog or website, simply go to flickr.com and search for your picture. Click on “advanced search” and scroll down to the Creative Commons section. You can choose to look for pictures that you can use non-commercially, commercially, or with adaptation privileges. Then the resulting search will provide photos that you can, rest assured, use with the artist’s permission.

Note that even with Creative Commons there are limitations so be sure to read and understand the license. Most of the licenses under Creative Commons require that you attribute the source of the photo.  Often a link back to the Flickr photo with the Flickr user’s name is sufficient. When in doubt, Flickr makes it easy for you to contact the source and ask how he, or she, would like to be attributed.

2. Google

If you can’t find what you need on Flickr, Google has a photo search by Creative Commons as well. When you click on “advanced search” on the Google page you’ll see a selection about “usage rights” and you can easily choose your criteria from there before searching. This will pull up not only images, but also texts and blogs.

The search will return many Creative Commons licensed media, but also can include other more software-oriented licenses like the GFDL(GNU Free Document License) and things that are simply in the public domain. However, always check the source and make sure it explicitly releases those rights to you and, when in doubt, pass for something you are sure about.

3. Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is perhaps the largest online collection of public domain and freely licensed content on the web. One can read, download and email all the works of Shakespeare and Plato and listen to CD’s before downloading sheet music. There is so much content here, in fact, that it may difficult to sift through.

Gutenberg can be a resource for text, commentary, books and music, and each article explicitly details what is appropriate use of the content. Gutenberg boasts that its content can be used for “nearly all uses,” but there may be limitations that are detailed by entry.

The bottom line to copyright infringement is to use common sense.  Resting on with the idea that you are safe under “fair use” rules is not stable ground. Fair use is often ambiguous, vague, and easy to argue. Free licensing and public domain are safe avenues because the usage is clear. There are many tools in place to determine if what you are using is okay or not.

If you don’t know the source and can’t determine the copyright than don’t use it, because it isn’t yours.

Today, the agency introduces a new channel on the corporate blog called “Digital Trenches,” which will feature tactical suggestions and guidance on trending digital communications and marketing topics including search optimization, social media, mobile marketing, online media and the blogosphere.

Consumers are in the driver’s seat now. They expect companies to take care of their problems and to do so on their own terms. Consumers will not tolerate anything less than service in real time, without phones and web forms, and without hassle. Like the phones and websites of the days of yore, social media is currently the consumer-demanded touch point of today.

So why is ROI in the mix? Do you measure ROI on phones and websites? Sales firms will use phone call metrics to determine employee efficiency. Widget manufacturers will track traffic and determine the ratio of conversions. These metrics would be around things like productivity, efficiency, and sales. But are they measuring the ROI of these channels of communication?

The purpose of ROI is so that decision-makers can justify an investment because that investment is directly connected to a monetary return. So as companies brave the social media landscape they enter it with ROI glasses on and wonder how they can justify the time and cost to enter this channel in the first place.

I believe that this approach is way off. Time and resources put into social media is not an investment. It’s an expense. Like a website. Or a phone. Using social media is not a competitive option that will yield dollars to one’s bottom line, it is a cost of doing business.

Therefore, you should monitor and develop metrics that make the expense as inexpensive as possible: develop efficiencies, improve productivity, escalate reach, increase conversions, etc. None of these things have a direct monetary value and neither does your phone or website. They are business tools to fulfill a consumer demand of adequate channels of communication.

So a “return” on social media has more to do with operational considerations: website traffic, the size of one’s presence and influence, the number of impressions one creates to reach the largest number of eyes, changes in sentiment, and resolution of customer issues. Even taking on new prospects and converting them to customers or selling a widget is a function of operational costs, not investments.

The context around social media’s ROI needs to change. We can no longer afford to sit back and decide whether or not social media is “worth it” based upon the amount of time spent, but instead focus on how to make social media efficient, productive and essential for company’s operations given that it is now a necessary channel of communication.