With social networking on the rise, it is no surprise that companies are investing time, energy, and money to be up-to-date with sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Among the companies making these efforts are Ford Motor Co., PepsiCo Inc., and Southwest Airlines. Social networking has vastly increased the importance of a timely response to crises and consumer communication. It is no longer the case that companies have a couple of hours to respond to incidents and consumer’s concerns, but that they should be responding instantly with tweets and posts.

Companies are creating corporate Twitter profiles to monitor what is being said in cyberspace, a time consuming task to say the least, and listening to consumers’ tweets, posts, and blogs to influence company decisions. Along with launching tracking software, companies are also training their employees on how to use Twitter by teaching them how to represent their company online and interact with consumers. In our constantly technologically advancing society, it is going to be crucial for companies to be connected to the information superhighway.

More and more of the media giants, such as Disney Media Networks and CBS, are investing millions of dollars on new research facilities to track how people respond to ads of varying sizes, locations and animations on the Internet.  We know how to measure precisely how often Web site visitors click on advertisements, and which kinds of ads draw the most clicks. But what about those who do not click, the many millions of others whose eyes merely flit across the screen?  These types of answers are what companies like Disney are hoping to uncover with these studies.  By using advanced technologies, such as eye-tracking goggles, heart-rate monitors, skin temperature readings and facial expressions (probes are attached to facial muscles), scientists and advertisers hope to uncover the secrets of how the human brain responds to different types of online ads and messages.  As findings are unveiled, they will begin to drive the design of Web sites and ad campaigns of the future.

TARGUSinfo Lead Verification

EDU Interactive has selected TARGUSinfo as its strategic partner for real-time lead verification. TARGUS improves lead quality and conversion rates by verifying leads the instant they are submitted. On-Demand Lead Verification services not only validates that the individual pieces of a prospective consumer’s contact information are accurate, but also confirms that they belong together and relate to that consumer.

TARGUSinfo Integration

Integration with LeadGenisys facilitates the seamless passing of leads through TARGUS for a final quality check before accepting them from a vendor and delivering them to the client. LeadGenisys allows us to enable or disable TARGUS in real-time for a client based on lead source, program of interest, location or prerequisite. We are able to customize for each client whether a lead is accepted or rejected based on each of the 20+ possible TARGUS decisions returned. For clients using TARGUS, LeadGenisys includes a detailed summary of leads accepted and rejected based on TARGUS decisions in the daily lead reports.

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The answer will be revealed on August 5th, when Bing announces the winner, who will hold title to Bing’s new jingle (or “bingle” as they like to call it) and a $500 AmEx gift card!  Be warned – time is running out…you only have one more week to submit your entry on Bing’s You Tube site!  The contest winner will be picked based on number of views and quality of ratings they get on their video submission.

This is another perfect example of a company attempting to use viral marketing as a new way to market, advertise and connect with prospects and customers.  They are utilizing a creative way to spread conversational buzz about their search engine and with hopes – begin to compete on the same level as the Google giant.

I’m interested to see how well the campaign will be received and picked up by online users.  Check back in early August for a follow up on their campaign performance!

I officially have a serious case of blog envy.

Murphy-Goode, a winery based in Northern California, is seeking to hire an internet-savvy wine-lover to blog and tweet about their experiences in wine country for six months. The pay? $10,000 per month — that’s $60,000 total — plus free lodging in a private home nestled in the picturesque Sonoma County Wine Country. And did I mention tasting hundreds of wines every day for free?

Talk about a buzz. Already, the social media job search has generated a significant amount of promotion for the winery: 2,000 applicants, 900 posted videos, national media attention and a major jump in traffic to the company website. What’s more, these are just the preliminary results– the official launch of the actual campaign begins August 15.

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