The Challenge is Out. Will You Accept?

At ProspectMX we know firsthand the value that social media can play on a business. In our own backyard, the United Way of Lancaster County is currently looking to expand their Facebook Fan base to 1,000 followers by 1/1/11. Therefore, in efforts to help the local community, we have agreed to put up $1,000 when United Way of Lancaster County reaches their goal by the New Year. The purpose of this challenge is to keep Lancaster County informed and engaged on health & human service issues throughout the county.

What do we ask of you? Simply visit United Way of Lancaster County Facebook Page at UWLanc and click the “Like” button to the right of their name. On the page, you will find photos, videos, articles, event listings and a deeper look at the work of United Way and their partners. Feel free to write on their wall, ask questions and even post pictures of how you are living united every day. This page is maintained by their staff but it is created for you!

For additional information, visit UW eNews: Facebook Challenge here.

Thank you for joining hands with us and keeping the LIVE UNITED movement going strong through 2011!

It is true…..Ken just broke up with Barbie using Twitter. I could not believe my ears when my 6 year old daughters latest Barbie DVD was playing in our car during our last family road trip and those exact social media and more technical phrases were being referenced as common place.

Uncommonly, I began to pay extra attention to the dialogue that was taking place and the references of Twitter, email, texting and Facebook kept repeating themselves throughout the story line. I can only imagine what it must be like to actually watch these activities take place on the screen.

We are losing the art of conversation and I am just as guilty of this crime. What is worse our kids are going to completely be conversing via technology and losing site of traditional methods. How can we help keep the art of conversation alive and well, especially with ouryouth?

One good thing from the Barbie video is that one of the characters spoke and stated “you don’t break up with someone using Twitter….that is wrong!” Perhaps this a step in the right direction.

As you may have heard, we here at ProspectMX are sending Matt Cutts to space.

Well, ok, not the REAL Matt Cutts… and not really into space, but…well watch the video if you haven’t heard.

ProspectMX is Sending Matt Cutts to Space! from Dave Conklin on Vimeo.

That’s right, we had a doll of Matt Cutts made and we’re going to send it on various adventures in the coming months. Hopefully, other prominent members of the SEM community will be on their own adventures, too.

Joe Latrell, a fellow employee, also happens to be a Rocket Scientist (isn’t everyone?). He volunteered to build us a 10 foot rocket to help Matt on his journey.

But there was one critical piece left that we didn’t have for the launch next week.

A name.

So, we polled the community and got a couple great suggestions as to what to call this magnificent beast of a rocket. After much deliberation, crying, voting, and tallying – we have reached a consensus. The rocket will be called…

Drumroll please…

SPAM BLASTER!

Yes, the rocket will be called Spam Blaster. And what better name for the rocket-fueled-speed-machine that will hold Matt Cutts on that fateful day? A phrase that not only encompasses a giant rocket but also Matt Cutt’s day to day responsibilities at Google?

We’re quite pleased with the name and would like to thank everyone that suggested names and voted.

So it’s the final countdown. We have a rocket. We have Matt Cutts. And we have a name.

There’s less than a week left until the launch, so we hope to see you all back here next Monday at 2pm to see how it all goes down.

When it comes to my Twittering, I like to kick it old school.

While the rest of you tweet using your fancy iPhones, your massive TweetDecks, or your mini Twhirl’s and TwitterFox’s, I use the original method – “from web.” I realize this totally makes me a dinosaur, but I don’t care.

Anyway, for marketers, bloggers, and PR folks, one of the biggest benefits of using the actual Twitter website is the ability to be able to watch and respond to trending topics. Twitter always provides the 10 hottest topics people are tweeting about on the site in real time, in the right sidebar. The same topics are also listed right underneath the search box on the homepage of the site.

Over the last few months, many of the world’s biggest news stories and popular entertainment topics have come and gone from the rankings of Twitter Trends – District 9, Snow Leopard, and the Iran election to name a few. But over the last month, one particular trending topic has outlasted them all, and the subject may surprise you.

Jay-Z.

Jay-Z’s Tremendous Twitter Trending

During the month of September, Jay-Z seemed to be a trending topic on Twitter literally EVERYDAY. His reign as a trending topic began on June 5 when his single “Death Of Autotune” was released. An admitted Jay-Z fan, I was quite surprised to see my favorite rapper trending on my favorite microblog in June.

Jigga (never thought I would use the word “Jigga” in something I wrote at work) then showed up maybe once or twice during most of July and August as the single “Run This Town” and its video were released. Then his album leaked on August 31…

and then Rhapsody announced a Jay-Z twitter contest on September 2…
and then Roc Nation started a Jay-Z themed hashtag game on Sept. 9…
and then the Blueprint 3 was finally released on Sept. 11…

and people STILL continued to tweet about him through Sept. 24, when Jay-Z was on Oprah.

And through all of that time, Jay-Z remained one of the hottest topics on Twitter. Not the no. 1 topic, mind you, although he did wear the crown at some point on September 11. He did, however, remain enough of a topic to stay trending in the top 10. By the time his album hit stores, I had grown tired of seeing Jay in the list of Twitter trends… and I wasn’t alone.

In total, Jay-Z was a trending topic on Twitter 23 days between June 5 and the end of September, according to TweetStats.com (see photo above). Since September 24 of last year, that amount of time as a trending topic on Twitter puts Jay in the same company as Sarah Palin and Xmas, and only 3-days behind Michael Jackson.

Analysis Of Jay-Z’s Social Media Marketing Campaign

So, after all that attention on Twitter, did social media marketing mean big business for Jay-Z and the Blueprint 3? Sales figures seem to point to a resounding yes.

Despite the web leak 10 days in advance, the Blueprint 3 debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and sold around 820,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. Only one album in 2009 has sold more copies through its first two weeks of release than the Blueprint 3 – Eminem’s Relapse.

On top of those totals, multiple Jay-Z tracks ranked in the top 10 digital downloads following the release of the Blueprint, and the song “Run This Town” peaked as high as no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Did Jay-Z over saturate the Twitterverse as part of marketing for the Blueprint 3? Yes. Did the social media blitz pay off?

Yes.

To date, the Blueprint 3 has likely exceeded 1 million units sold in less than one month of release. In today’s music industry where traditional sales are far exceeded by downloads of the legal and illegal type, that total seems remarkable. The album should be considered a certified smash.

The amount of money Atlantic Records and Roc Nation were able to put behind the Blueprint 3 typically far exceeds the budgets many companies have to devote to strategic internet marketing.

However, the amount of buzz Twitter generated for Jay-Z and the Blueprint 3 is just the latest example of how social media can pay big dividends on the bottom line.

So, for those of you who still think social media marketing doesn’t apply to your business, I have to ask – why?

And also… can you really afford not to give it a try?

You might want to tweet yourself. Or at least send a direct message. To another juror. But don’t communicate with anyone on the “outside.” Otherwise, you might cause a mistrial.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, a circuit court juror’s postings to Twitter are the subject of a possible mistrial of a $12.6 million judgment.

“Juror Johnathan” (aka Johnathan Powell) is the juror who commented on the trial via his smartphone. He sent 8 messages that said things like

Thanks to Powell’s use of Twitter during the trial, the motion for mistrial alleges that he was able to research the case and communicate with others outside the jury. It would seem that justice was served for the two investors in the company – Mark Deihl and William Nystrom – before Powell’s use of Twitter went public. Russell Wright, the principal owner of Stoam Holdings, didn’t even show up in court to dispute the claims.

I’m all about incorporating social media into your daily life, but I think taking your smartphone into a trial probably isn’t a good idea. Especially when doing so can compromise an entire trial and a huge settlement for investors done wrong.

What’s the public opinion out there on this issue? Was Powell in the wrong? Did the court drop the ball in not confiscating his phone?

Would love to hear other’s thoughts on this.