Want to get a clear idea of what social media marketing techniques work? Ask a girl in middle school.

Last month, I went back to my hometown to spend time with my niece and nephew. My 12-year-old niece Maya is the kind of media smart, technology savvy subject that marketers dream about. She has a Facebook page. She knows the latest and greatest forwarded videos. And she can tell you who is dating who in the world of tween pop culture. We spent many mornings together on our respective laptops. I would bang my head on the keyboard trying to come up with content while she toured the Internet stopping at all the must-see must-read places on the web. Particularly interesting were her choices in social media and how she responded. I had test market gold sitting next to me — in pink pajamas and eating cereal, no less.

When it comes to social media, 12-year-olds like Maya are choosy. She didn’t read blogs other than the prerequisite daily visits to Fail Blog. She had no interest in Twitter. It was all about Facebook. Like the rest of us, Maya uses it to keep up with friends and post her feelings about current issues (like her ongoing quest to own a bunny). Yet the real draw at Facebook for Maya and others her age is the amount of free gaming. The sheer number of free games like FarmVille that are available online is a growing trend and the middle school set is eating it up with a spoon. She didn’t care if the games were loaded with advertisements or product placement. She liked being able to play and play along with her FB friends. Marketing and social media gaming are the next big avenue to be explored and Maya proved this much-touted theory.

Interactive appears to be the key with social media users of all ages; Maya responded enthusiastically to viral videos she could post on her friends walls like this anti-Justin Beiber vid, who by the way is persona non grata for most hip 12 year olds. She spent lots of time “liking” things popular in her crowd while making it clear what ads she didn’t like on her page. On the other hand, she didn’t bat an eye at following Facebook pages of products that she liked. Recent studies find that Maya isn’t alone when it comes to welcoming advertiser-branded content; nearly half of social media users ages 9 to 17 say that they regularly participate in advertiser-sponsored social media activity.

What Maya knows about social media marketing is simple — but it’s something that sometimes escapes the professionals. It’s not important if the content on sites like Facebook is at times nothing more than blatant advertising. If it’s interesting, fun and above all something cool that can be shared with friends, it’s getting a thumb’s up. 12-year-olds and now even senior citizens are using social media feverishly. From what I witnessed, social media users are simply responding to the marketing that speaks directly to them. Sounds simple, yet sometimes it takes a 12-year-old to help us see what’s been in front of us the whole time.

In a slow week of tech, marketing and social media headlines, it may appear that you already read everything important and know all things timely and trendy. Do not be lulled into this false sense of security! We here at Brandsplat have sought out five more jewels of wisdom and curiosity to add to your treasure chest of knowledge.

1.) Marketing, Dead Head Style: This blog at Huffington Post from David Meerman Scott outlines what every company can learn from the marketing geniuses of The Grateful Dead. After all, the Dead have been a thriving and viable brand for decades with a following that seems to, well, never die. So in depth are the marketing lessons of the Grateful Dead, Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan even wrote a whole book about it, Marketing Lessons From The Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn From The Most Iconic Band in History.

2.) Infusing Glee & Branding In PSAs: This week LG, makers of some of the most distracting phones on the planet, enlisted the comedic talent of Emmy nominee Jane Lynch to help stop teens from texting while driving. The Glee actress stars in a series of humorous spots aimed to show the dangers of texting behind the wheel. They’re funny ads that deliver a message while also promoting LG’s phones — and Lynch is red hot right now so all the way around it’s a well-thought-out campaign.

3.) Saving Time On Social Media: This quick read from Bloomberg is a smart reminder that our social media marketing need not suck up all of our time. Good to remember when you’re tweeting instead of, you know, actually working.

4.) Lionel Richie. Period: So we always like to give a shout out to the weird advertising moment of the week, and Lionel Richie doing a chip commercial in the UK pretty much fits the bill. We heart the smooth, soulful sounds of Mr. Richie and we think he could be on the brink of a kitsch advertising comeback ala William Shatner. Plus, he has prior experience.

5.) Digging The New Digg: From the way folks have reacted, you would have thought that the new, more Twitter-esque version of Digg was a mind-controlling weapon destroying humanity. Nope. The new Digg is just an easier-to-browse version of the old standby and the most amazing thing about it? The relaunch actually has people talking about Digg again! We kind of like the new Digg and we like a good old fashioned brand comeback even more.

We all heart Twitter and the instant connection it gives us to our clients, friends and other followers. Yet the “Twitterverse” has gotten crowded lately with new apps, ideas and tools being pushed out and blogged about at the speed of light. Lucky for you, dear readers, we here at Brandsplat have dug through the latest in Twitter topics to find some nifty techniques you may want to integrate into your Twitter and social media marketing plan.

Fast Follow: Launched on August 10^th and blogged about ever since, Fast Follow is the Twitter tip on everybody’s lips. But just what is it? Fast Follow is a free tool from the social media giant that taps into the mainline of Twitter/SMS text messaging. Tweet marketers can now text something like “follow peachmahoney” to 40404 and that person’s or brand’s tweets then will be delivered via text message — no Twitter account necessary. Fast Follow is truly worthy of all the chirping as it blasts the doors open to reach a much bigger audience. Even as an avid Tweeter, I’ve just started using Fast Follow and now can’t imagine life without it.

Tweaking Twitter Contests: Many Tweet marketers thought the disastrous Air France Twitter contest would be the end of the promotion as we know it; alas, hungry tweeps haven’t given up on contests and either should marketers. Contests of any kind need to be simple to enter, clearly defined and watched like a hawk. By posting contests regularly stamped with a time limit, marketers can avoid a hot mess of “But I tweeted first!” responses from angry consumers. Also, focusing the contests based on your products and services keeps the conversation about your business (which is kind of the whole point).

LinkedIn & Tweets App: Another must according to the folks in the know, Tweets App was given an overhaul this spring to easily connect LinkedIn users with new tweeps to follow. Tweets App works as a social butterfly and introduces you to folks in your industry to follow based on your current LinkedIn connections. Tweets App is the kind of like-industry back scratching Twitter marketing was built on and the best part is the app does all of the work for you.

Those are three of our favorite Twitter tips, and now you should give us some of yours. It’s only fair, after all. Enlighten us, Twitter gurus, in the comments below!

If your Twitter feed is anything like mine, it’s populated by dozens of RTs, or re-tweets. If I see a particularly good tweet, I will RT them to my followers and so on and so on. It’s the 21^st century version of passing notes in class without the humiliation of getting busted by your scowling 6^th grade teacher. Re-tweets are a real gold mine when it comes to article marketing. RTs usually consist of links to articles published elsewhere or tweets published by another Twitter user. Depending on the number of folks who read your RTs, this is potentially a click-and-link jackpot. So what makes an article re-tweetable and how can we use Twitter to help market our own articles?

Scan your favorite blogs and look for how many times it’s been re-tweeted. Timely, newsworthy stories tend garner the most RTs, followed by funny, unique and informative articles that are great reads. Don’t worries if your articles aren’t about Chelsea Clinton’s wedding or the story of the moment. There are other avenues. How-to pieces seem to have everlasting RT life. Web junkies young and old are forever looking for instructions or hints. For example, I wrote a piece in 2008 about tipping at restaurants that still gets comments and RTs. Articles can live forever if the content is well-written and packaged for mass audiences.

However, there is no accounting for taste (ahem). I have written pieces that seem destined for RT fame only to find they’ve only been pimped once or twice during their lonely lifespan online while, other pieces that were frankly a snooze to write have been re-tweeted far beyond my expectations. So were some of the pieces better than others? Did the site they were posted on experience a lull in traffic? Who knows, and better yet, who cares? With article marketing, the publishing has to be constant so if the prior one didn’t catch fire, there’s always another one coming down the pike. Twitter really helps out in this arena. Don’t be shy about re-tweeting your company articles and blogs to your followers. Shameless? Perhaps, but everybody else on Twitter is doing it, too. RTs help market articles to your followers and target audience without any middlemen. In other words: write, re-tweet and repeat.

Article marketing seems to be more fun and less mysterious using RTs and Twitter. Regularly practiced, RTs can open up our business and articles to readers that traditional marketing may have missed. So, Brandsplat readers, tell us the truth: Do you read RTs or do you pass? Any article marketing tips that you’d care to pass on to rest of us? Let’s hear it in the comments section!

Great Hera! There has been a rash of online branding makeovers happening this summer. The message is clear: if your brand’s new-and-improved image is something people will buzz about, it will translate to sales. For evidence of this, look no further than Wonder Woman.

She of the invisible jet and the shoddy stepchild treatment from DC Comics made international web news when photos of her new look and image hit the Internet. Hipsters applauded the sassy jacket and tough chick demeanor. Purists cried foul. Even Fox News wondered if Wonder Woman wasn’t being forced into looking less patriotic. All of this talk was good news for a brand that hasn’t generated much buzz since Lynda Crater spun her into television history over 30 years ago. The Amazon princess turned out to be a real goddess at the comic book store, too. Wonder Woman #600, at the time of this blog, has entered its second printing and breaking sales records. Sure, people are still kvetching about the look and new origin storyline, but it doesn’t matter. DC took a risk and it paid off.

True, not all of us have the PR juggernauts of Time-Warner behind us, just waiting to promote the heck out of our latest brand makeover. But every small business can infuse its trusted brand with something new and newsworthy. As seen via Wonder Woman, if we offer our customer base something new, then media will pick up on it. If your cafe is offering a new online menu, for example, send out digital press releases to let food bloggers know about the changes. Likewise, if your technical company is starting a groundbreaking service, alert the tech geeks (pronto!). Social media is great for new campaign and brand makeovers. Your Facebook page can instantly update your already faithful following to watch for exciting changes. Facebook is a great way to test-run and get feedback on new products and campaigns that your company is working on. Lastly, all of your already-in-place digital marketing avenues can be put into play for fresh, exciting visual campaigns or announcements of recently-updated websites.

How do you, dear Brandsplat readers, feel about the new Wonder Woman? Do you have a digital makeover in the works? If so, how will online branding and social media make your latest venture a talked-about hit? Tell us in the comments below!

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