by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | The common accepted mantra of the social media and digital platforms is “open”. Your ecosystem should be open and free to all. This is an effective strategy when your goal is to get mass numbers of users. It’s not a great way to drive real revenue. More and […]
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Tag Archives: Social media
Facebook and brands: The rules and regulations for brands on Facebook
December 11, 2012 
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by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Since many marketers use or associate with Facebook, I thought providing a brief summary of Facebook policies for brands would be useful. This comes courtesy of Winston & Strawn, LLP, a law firm in Chicago. A partner of the firm, Brian Heidelberger, took the time to read the full […]
Read more Social media now must make advertisers their priority, not users
July 9, 2012 0 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | Technology and advertising are both, at odds with each other and dependent on each other. Companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter each has shunned advertising in their beginnings calling it a form of “hucksterism”. They believed that “advertising” was a dirty word and their work was pure […]
Read more The difference between creating a brand and creating a buzz
June 18, 2012 0 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | The terms, “creating a brand” and “creating a buzz” are often used interchangeably, but that’s not correct and could lead to false expectations. Technology (the web) has contributed to this confusion. Occasionally, clients ask us to help them “create a buzz” so they can build their brand while […]
Read more Study shows Facebook is as effective as TV in engaging your customers
April 24, 2012 3 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | One of the common beliefs is traditional media, like TV, is more wasteful of marketing dollars than online and social media properties. The old joke of “I know half my money is wasted in advertising, but I don’t know which half.” comes from this idea. Yes, it is […]
Read more Online marketing showing signs of “maturity”
April 9, 2012 0 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | New media may be showing signs of maturity (in the business sense). It’s not that it’s losing money, but it the 400-600% increase of revenues are harder to come by. Many have built their model on selling advertising. The trap that the online world presents is there is […]
Read more Social media – …if it’s free, you’re the product
February 21, 2012 1 Comment
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | “If you pay for it, you’re the customer. If it’s free, you’re the product.” This is the core of what social media and some of these other “free” sites are. It’s a very interesting concept to think about. There is an explosion of Facebook wannabe’s. Twitter, Pinterest, Pandora, […]
Read more Digital companies are reinforcing traditional advertising
January 11, 2012 2 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, Be Branded | Since the advent of new media and social media, many of the digital faithful have sounded the demise of traditional media. I know it’s cool and hip to say, “We no longer use TV, print, or radio for our advertising. Instead we use Facebook, SEO, and apps.” But, […]
Read more It costs $4 to get each follower on Twitter
December 13, 2011 2 Comments
by Tony Fannin, CEO/Partner, BE Branded | In social media, it is hard to tell what is that really worth. For example, do you know how much a facebook “like” is worth or a Linkedin “connection” is valued at? Because the social media world is still very new, everyone is trying to see the real […]
Read more Twitter looking for traditional marketing help
October 17, 2011 0 Comments
by Tony Fannin, President, BE Branded | Twitter is looking for a good, old-fashion PR firm to help it connect better with the public. I’m sure many of you thought that Twitter was already well connected to the masses. Well, according to their CEO, Dick Costolo, Twitter still has a ways to go in becoming mainstream. […]
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