It should come as no surprise that Twitter is interested in making money.  They have taken $1.16BN in funding since inception (2006) and, while estimates vary greatly, conservative figures place them at ~$300M in revenue for 2012.  As their revenue growth is primarily driven by advertising dollars (insert snarky comment about Google being a one trick pony here), Twitter has made some changes to their platform recently that will help to ensure the business model has a chance at success. Click to continue…

    

This article is adapted from a talk I gave recently at the B2B Corporate Social Media Summit.

Did you know that McDonalds views their partnership with Wal-Mart as an opportunity to train new store managers? If you want to be a store manager or a franchise owner, chances are you will spend some of your time stationed at a McDonalds inside Wal-Mart.

Why? Simple. There are fewer moving parts.

  • A Wal-Mart McDonalds does not have a drive through. That’s one less thing to worry about.
  • A Wal-Mart McDonalds does not have a parking lot for which it is responsible. One less thing to worry about.
  • A Wal-Mart McDonalds does not have an exterior building facade for which it is responsible. One less thing to worry about.

McDonalds recognizes that the limitations imposed by their Wal-Mart locations are beneficial to their training program. New store managers and owners can train themselves on the inner workings of the store prior to adding complexity like a drive through and parking lot maintenance. It’s brilliant when you think about it.

They have taken a known limitation and spun it into an advantage. An advantage that allows for a higher level of focus.

Click to continue…

A Tree, The Forest, And Why Social Media Marketers Should Care…

We have all heard the hypothetical question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  Well, the answer to that question probably depends on your perspective.  What’s curious to me about this mental exercise is how close of a parallel you can draw [...]

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Twitter is “Interested” in You…

A few weeks ago, Twitter announced their “interest targeting” tool for advertisers.  This new advertising mechanism allows advertisers to target more than 350 interest-related categories.  These categories are determined based on what Twitter has been able to deduce about you from your historical tweets/interactions (who you follow, etc) on their platform.  It’s an interesting move [...]

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A Social Media Lesson from College Football…

We are a few weeks into college football season and this fact has been repeatedly bashed into my brain.  Why?  I live in the southeastern United States.  In the past it’s been difficult to ignore college football in the South (and I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to have a conversation with….well, anyone).  Today, it’s [...]

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