Well, I guess I have to do a real Gin and Topics this week that is all serious and PR/marketing focused.

Why, you ask?

Because NO ONE sent me funny videos this week. Here I sang your praises last week and then you let me down this week.

Bah humbug.

So you’re going to have to think this week. No fun for you!

If you want out of intellectual prison, you should send me videos or funny stories to feature next week. Continue Reading »

I’m not going to pretend I remember how I met Krista Giuffi.

I think it was because she kindly linked to a Spin Sucks blog post on her blog, PR in Pink. And, like I do with anyone who is nice enough to link to us, I headed over to her blog house to check things out.

When I got there, I discovered not only a smart communicator, but pink. Lots of pink!

And, let’s be real. Pink is my favorite color so I was drawn to her blog just because of the name.

Anyone woman who is confident in the fact that she likes the color pink is awesome in my book. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post (and video) is by Lisa Gerber.

It’s Facebook question of the week time (clap, clap, clap)!

Today’s question comes from Barry Silver. Barry is a long-time Spin Sucks reader, the inventor of the name Gin and Topics, and a good friend.

He also is a Chicagoan (sort of – if you count Rockford as part of greater Chicagoland) and he blogs at A Life Well Lived Concludes with a Smile, where he discusses social media, happiness, life-affirmation, marketing, and some search. Continue Reading »

Yes, I know it’s Facebook question of the week time, but we’re trying something new this week.

You see, Social Fresh wrote last week about the best times of the week and day to blog, in order to get social shares.

Historically, Mondays and Tuesdays on Spin Sucks are our big days, but the Social Fresh research proves we might be missing something on Thursdays.

I’m curious to see if a blog post runs at 8 a.m. and the video runs at noon, if there is a difference both in traffic and social shares.

So Lisa Gerber has answered Barry Silver’s Facebook question and that will run at noon.

This morning, however, you get an intellectual discussion about when to determine it’s time to fire a client. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Lisa Gerber.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked on more than one occasion why we add “(client)” to the end of certain tweets.

In 2009, when the FTC revised their guidelines for online endorsements and testimonials, there was a lot of discussion on how this affected PR agencies and brands when working with bloggers. Not a lot of discussion, however, involved how it affects PR agencies endorsing their clients on social networks.

From time to time, we share a client’s blog or promotion when we know it will add value to our audience. In compliance with FTC guidelines, it is an Arment Dietrich policy to add “(client)” at the end of any communication we conduct on behalf of them. Continue Reading »

This post is running concurrently on Future Comms.

On Facebook just after the first of the year, Paul Sutton posted something about not understanding what the big deal is about Pinterest.

It won’t be a surprise to you that I commented. I said something about how he was off his rocker (except I think I was a bit more nice than that).

So he challenged me to a duel.

I’m not at all competitive (hahahaha!!) so I accepted.

See what you think! Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by John Fitzgerald. 

A recent study revealed 79 percent of college students have no idea how to scan a QR code.

Let that sink in for a second.

Four out of five 18- to 22-year-olds don’t know what to do when they see an ugly barcode slapped on a print ad targeted at them.

If college kids can’t grasp a new technology at the crossroads of social and mobile, it must be a bust. Right?

Well, not exactly. Continue Reading »

Late last year, Lisa Petrilli published The Introvert’s Guide to Success.

It popped into my brain when I saw, “The Rise of the New Groupthink” in the New York Times last week.

Combine those two pieces of content and you may have actually heard me yell, “Hurrah!”

You see, I’m an introvert. And, until about two years ago, I thought there was something wrong with me (well, there is clearly something wrong with me, but it’s not because I’m an introvert).

I know, I know. When I say that people don’t believe me.  Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Molli Megasko.

I’m sure you’re as overwhelmed as I am with all Google+ search and looming FTC investigation stuff, but as marketers, it’s our jobs to stay on top of what is happening and how it can affect our clients or our companies.

If we break it down, I see two different debates going on:

1) Fairness (for corporations and businesses); and

2) Privacy (on the individual side).

Let’s dig into each one. Continue Reading »

As most of you know, N-Control recently was the brunt of a social media consultant gone rogue.

The issue was a N-Control customer sent an email asking why his delivery was delayed and, taking the role of customer service, the company’s social media firm, Ocean Marketing, responded, IN WRITING, in ways most of us would never even think to do.

The issue was told over and over again on Reddit, giving N-Control a PR crisis they never could have expected…all from hiring the wrong firm. And it made the rounds on a lot of the blogs the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It has not been a pleasant few weeks for the video game controller company.

But they recently took control of their own destiny, fired Ocean Marketing, and hired Moises Chiullan to help them discuss delivery issues with customers.

And the first thing Chiullan did is take them to Reddit, to address the irate customers who, to this point, have pretty much been ignored. Continue Reading »