Fans hailed the film on Twitter, while other social media outlets urged consumers to visit www.paranormalmovie.com to have people urge their local theaters to showcase the film. You Tube was used to engage with the fans and to continue to encourage them to spread the word on the film.

The film has been sold as an “experience”, rather than just a movie. Paramount’s experience has ultimately led them to the bank. Another case in point that showcases the power of WOM and social media.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/12/paranormal.activity.movie/index.html

1. You don’t have email addresses for all of your customers. There is no way that every prospective customer or actually customer has provided you with a correct email address to reach them at, and a simple post card that directs your customers to new deals or alerts is much easier.

2. New customers are going to be hard to find through email lists scrapped from the web, and everyone needs new customers! Buying a list of relevant prospects is completely up to standards, and can quickly be converted into a direct mail piece.

3. If your product is expensive, you might get more of a reaction by putting your product in front of them on a piece of mail.

4. Everyone likes to be welcomed into a new neighborhood or community, and what better way to do that than with a new mover special direct mail offer, or an introduction of your institution that is near by their new home.

5. A direct mail piece gives you a reason to call, as well as telemarket your business. With a postcard offering, you include a reminder that you will be following up, and then call about a week later, and continue to market your product!

Most importantly, it is important to note that a direct mail piece should always include a call to action, a boldly displayed offer, an expiration date, benefits, and of course your company logo. Direct mail is STILL a great way to grab prospective customer’s attention, and direct traffic to your website and product/service.

Apparently, the internet is not as robust as we all believe it to be, as Google, CNN, LA Times, Wikipedia, and most other news and search related sites experienced a volcanic eruption of online visitors searching for the latest news updates about what happened to Michael Jackson. Even Twitter crashed and had to be temporarily disabled due to the overload of traffic coming into the site. LA Times, the first news organization to confirm his death, reported being down for 40 minutes after “never seeing anything like this in terms of scope or depth.” AOL consumer Regina Lewis said that the day would likely become a historic milestone for mobile internet traffic. Mashable.com even reported that topics related to his death were responsible for 30 percent of tweets.

With the ability to have news at our fingertips and in a world of real-time reporting not only from news organizations but from “Tweeters” who often don’t get the real and accurate story, our society has proven what we all have known for the past several years: we are dependent upon the internet for our information.

News of Michael’s untimely and unexpected passing started a whole new wave of people online sharing information, reacting to it through various social and email postings, starting tributes in his honor, as well as starting a whole new line of communication regarding urban legends and the “who’s next to bite the bullet” tailspin.  

All being said, while I am not surprised to hear that most of the world joined me in their interest and disbelief by heading to the internet in search of the “real story” behind what happened (which, let’s be honest, folks – we really won’t know this for some time), but I am surprised that the power of the technical revolution on the internet cannot sustain the significant spike in user volume due to such an event as the death of a super star. I am simply hopeful that internet user capacity and speed significantly grows before the next “big event” in our universe unfolds. 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/26/michael.jackson.internet/index.html

The keynote luncheon presentation was given by Steve Patrizi from LinkedIn, and he did an amazing job at displaying to his captive audience how LinkedIn (as well as other social engagement sites) can assist professionals who are looking to get feedback and advice from their professional network. I never realized what a valuable source LinkedIn can give to professionals, offering such applications as “TripIt”, where you can not only save your travel arrangements and activities, but also reach out to your network to get suggestions and ideas as to places to stay or sights to see when traveling to a certain destination for either business or leisure. He also had mentioned a new word I plan to add within my dialogue and in my daily business practices, “coopitition”, basically where various competitors work in collaboration together to achieve a common goal. In these challenging economic times, it is refreshing to know that professionals within the same industry can cooperate with one another and join forces to deliver a product or package that best meets the needs of the client, regardless of who is the primary contact or client holder of that piece of business is.

There were so many other notable, worthy speakers who gave refreshing perspectives of new marketing tools that are now available in the interactive marketing community, many of which I hope to see EDU Interactive bring to the table for their clients to take advantage of. More to come…

Meanwhile, I do plan to take some time this weekend to update my own LinkedIn page, since I never know who from my professional network will be calling on me in the near future for helpful tips, advice or feedback. I encourage you all to do the same, and let’s link up soon.

There’s no limit to what sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In really can do for you, especially with the kind of economy crisis we are facing today. To find a job is getting harder and harder, and the more connections and diversity you have in your network, whatever it may be on, the better the chance of actually getting into a successful position. A great example for how much social marketing has uplifted those who use it correctly is Mark Gentry, who got a job through Facebook when it seemed as if all other doors had closed on him. Like most of the 2009 graduates, jobs were scarce, and it was of large concern to the graduates how they were going to land the job they needed, or desired. He had applied to over one hundred jobs, and only got one response which unfortunately did not result in a hire.  But, it was when Mark received a friend request on Facebook from his childhood camp counselor, Kevin that things started to change. As Mark and Kevin caught up on each others lives they got on the topic of occupation, which was a subject in which Mark was lacking, and Kevin offered to help. He set up a meeting for Mark with the recruiter at his job and soon enough he was part of the company, with Kevin as his boss. These social websites are the new age way to land yourself huge opportunities both through professional and personal contacts. There are a few guidelines though. As CNN suggests, along with many others, make sure that if you are trying to reap professional benefits from your social marketing sites, that they are in fact professional themselves. Don’t have unnecessary suggestive pictures in your profile, or racy language on posted on your walls; it’s just another excuse for you to be judged without even getting a change. Keep your social site full of your personality, but only the kind of personality you’d like to portray to a potential boss. I don’t know how many examples and stories of success one might need to jump on the bandwagon and get their own social networking sites going, because honestly these networks are taking over more of the media and online communication, and affecting others in more ways, than was even intended by the creators.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/12/news/economy/hired_camp/index.htm?postversion=2009061611

EDU Interactive has opened its doors to a new employee, Leann Freeman. A 2007 graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Leann was previously employed with Spectrum Marketing, located in Carlsbad, CA, where she held the position of Account Assistant. As a Media/Account Coordinator for EDU Interactive, Leann works alongside an Account Manager and Online Media Specialist to assist them in their daily responsibilities, as well as managing monthly reporting, lead flow, quality assurance, social networking updates, market research and many more tasks and initiatives for the clients she is assisting with. We welcome Leann to the EDU Interactive team!

In other EDU team news… Caroline Tall has recently been promoted from Media Coordinator to Account Assistant. Caroline has been with the agency since July 2008, and has excelled in the areas of media analytics, buying and vendor management. In her new role, Caroline will be responsible for execution of clients’ marketing plans by working directly with various vendors, affiliates and media partners of EDU to finalize details, secure placements and make necessary adjustments through the duration of their campaigns. Congratulations, Caroline! 

In today’s uncertain economy, many people are faced with the concern of what their future holds in terms of their career. With unemployment rates rising, individuals are looking closely at their skills within their existing profession, and are considering the notion of returning to school in some manner, whether it be for specific training in specialty-related fields, or earning their undergraduate or graduate degree in order to better secure their future. 

There are various advantages during tough economical times to explore further learning, either online or within the classroom. We have outlined the top five reasons to explore the possibility of continued education below:

1) Explore New Professions.

Identify areas within the workforce that are more recession-proof than others, a career that may offer more job security. This will help you be better equipped and prepared for the possibility in the future of the loss of your job due to downsizing or layoffs. 



2) Attain Self-Fulfillment.

Take the time to invest in yourself, and become more marketable for future opportunities in your profession. Besides providing self-fulfillment, your investment in your growth will increase your long-term growth potential.



3) Secure Your Existing Job.

Aim to become invaluable to your employer, improve your existing skills, and learn new skills that you can apply to your current position that will show your ability to think outside of the box and find opportunities to help your company grow and proper during these challenging times.



4) Utilize Employer Tuition Reimbursement Plans.

Many employers offer tuition reimbursement opportunities, so now is the time to take advantage of these plans and apply them to your continuing education. Additionally, and existing student loans can be deferred while attending school, and there are also a number of federal and state student loans available for assistance in funding your continued education.



5) Take Advantage of Opportunities to Learn Online.

The greatest advantage distance learning provides us today is the ability to attend class anytime that works within your schedule. By attending online courses, you can determine the days and hours you prefer to complete your coursework, which allows many full-time employees and parents juggling taking care of a family and household to complete their coursework in a timely manner.

Whatever your professional aspirations may be, pursuing higher education during a challenged economy is beneficial in terms of providing you with an opportunity to become more valuable and allowing you to reach your full potential and accomplish both your short-term and long term career goals.