What with all of this Google, Apple and Twitter news this week it seems like it has been an eternity since we’ve heard a peep out of the bombastic yet reliable Facebook publicity machine. Well, fear not. I was able to dig up the latest in Facebook dirt in the suddenly neglected (yeah right!) social media superstar’s life.

For starters, this spiffy, little study showed that Facebook as well as Twitter both experienced a big bump last year in use on more…

HootSuite just launched an exclusive app made just for Android. HootSuite is kind of your all-in-one application for business Tweets. The calendar feature lets users compose messages and place the desired Tweets to pop up on a time and date wheel. HootSuite has been a hit in the original flavor and now the ease of use is at social media marketers fingertips. Scrolling and auto-updates are supposedly easier on the Android version of the app but some reviewers say otherwise.  Nevertheless, the clamoring and buzz around more…

The good folks over at the Pew Center’s Internet and American life project along with the Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted a survey to find out where and how Americans get their news. The results that were released yesterday and  splashed all over any website that would sit still (bravo, Pew, bravo!) won’t cause any of  us online junkies to fall out of our chair. As expected, TV is where most Americans still get their news with the Internet running a close second and more…

The Patient: MTV, the little cable network that changed television and music forever.

The Ailment: MTV suffers from Brand-nesia, a condition in which a well loved brand forgets what and who made them famous to begin with. MTV also suffers from a social media overdose, chronic pointless video abuse, and multiple marketing personalities.

Prognosis: Not so hot. Jersey Shore notwithstanding, MTV’s buzz making machine has nearly run out of steam. If a newer, fresher look and hipper demographic isn’t targeted soon, the network will continue to be a joke.

Recommended Treatment: Once upon a time, MTV set the bar for coolness and told us which artists to love and what music to buy. Even shows like Beavis and Butthead told us when to laugh. Today, however,  more…

The upkeep of social media marketing can be a tricky thing. A recent article in Ad Week pondered the future of Twitter. With the loss of about a million users last year and the average account updating numbers in a slump, media watchers are quick to bury Twitter in a plot next to Friendster and move on. Digging a little deeper in the article, however, reveals the real truths about all social media, not just Twitter. Those sad numbers are not the entire story as they include only visitors to the traditional website and not mobile users which make up the majority of the Twitterverse. The  general consensus of large and small business alike when it comes to social media marketing is that full-time care is needed otherwise the venue becomes useless. Twitter, like blogs or email marketing or mobile marketing, requires constant care and upkeep. Businesses who stay in contact with their more…

This is the first in a  special series of  Thursday blogs that aims to give familiar but dated brands a digital face-lift by using social media, original videos, article marketing, mobile marketing and blogging.

The Patient: Hostess Snack Cakes purveyors of Twinkies, Cupcakes, and Ho Hos.

The Ailment: Hostess suffers from a chronically lame website, a lack of identity, a dwindling presence online, and a sagging social media strategy.

Prognosis: Grim. If the snack food brand refuses to step into 2010, Twinkies could be a thing of the past.

Recommended Treatment: When the going gets tough, the tough reach out for something fun. Sure, Twinkies are the exact thing films like Food Inc. are warning people against. Yet Hostess Snack Cakes like cheesy action films or reality TV serve their purpose: in moderation they provide a little fun and a little escape. So there’s no reason the classic junk food can’t get an update and survive well into the next decade.

First off, Hostess needs to lighten the heck up. Jeeze. It’s Ding Dongs, not prunes for crying out loud. Their website is a flat, bland affair with little reason to ever return other than the promise of coupons upon signing more…

When Katie Couric took over as anchor of The CBS Evening News in 2006, media watchers lined up with bats to take a whack at her like she was some sacrificial journalism pinata. The former Today show host was always thought to be too perky, too eager, and not evening news material.  Her arrival at CBS was highly hyped and endlessly promoted while Couric’s salary was rumored to be astronomical. The overwhelming consensus after two months, however, was that CBS had made a big mistake. Her ratings were awful and the reviews were unkind to say the least. So how does a television whipping post like Katie Couric wind up winning the Edward R Murrow Award for best newscast in both 2008 and 2009? Tracking the anchor’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes is valuable seminar in new media marketing, technological innovation, and good old fashioned “never give up” persistence.

Katie Couric’s morning show fan base always admired her happy-go-lucky and friendly demeanor yet this persona simply would not fly in a nightly news format where anchors are expected to be stoic like Walter Cronkite. Instead of abandoning the personality that put her on the map, the newswoman struck gold at the 2008 Democratic National Convention with original web content that featured a relaxed Couric who could be seen clowning with crew members, ribbing politicians, and offering personal insights into the event’s goings on. The popularity of the coverage lead to the creation of @katiecouric, an online news program that allowed her to let her hair down and be the Katie viewers fell in love with. The show features a looser format, frank talk and opinions, and most importantly, original content not to be found anywhere else. This week the show featured a blow by blow of the President’s first State of the Union address.

With @katiecouric, the anchor was reinventing CBS’ longstanding reputation as, ” the old people’s channel” and the makeover didn’t stop there. Couric tapped into the social media craze by supplying more original content on her Facebook and Twitter accounts. Daily updated, her social media sites promote The CBS Evening News as well as her original web content.  Moreover, she communicates directly with her viewers by asking them to send in questions for interviews, suggestions for stories, and photos from news making events.

The most important thing any struggling business can learn from Katie Couric is to never give up. Instead of quitting and opting out of her big bucks contract, Couric rolled up her sleeves and got creative.  When she famously grilled what’s-her-name from Alaska, Katie asked the questions that were on her viewers minds without apology or cynicism. The interview, in turn, has become one of the most famous political train wrecks of all time while the interviewer gained respectability for staying true to who she is.  Producing webcasts, diving into social media marketing, and tapping into your own marketable identity are tasks that virtually everyone can do. So the next time your scratching your head to come up with a new marketing plan ask yourself, “What would Katie Couric do?”

Twitter has to be one of the fastest growing online entities seen in years. For many, it’s a waste of time. For others, an effective way to communicate. There are those who are learning how to use it as an effective marketing tool whilst others are struggling to understand what a Follow Friday, or a mention is. It is common for some companies to hire an in-house Twitterer to get the ball rolling. Others are still waiting on the sidelines to see if this social media thing will take off.  What, then, does Twitter mean to your business?

Online marketing has taken some interesting turns over the years. It is clear that ‘Joe Public’ wants to take part in communicating with brands and wants that communication to be clear and two-way. Twitter, and to a lesser extent Facebook, has been able to provide that two-way communication. Twitter has been used quite successfully by some businesses to engage in not just two-way, but multi-way communications as well.

Other businesses have utilized Twitter as purely an announcement tool. There is no two-way communication - it’s all one way and that one way is coming from the business to the public, much like old school marketing works (newspaper ads, tv commercials, billboards, etc.)  For many businesses this has been very effective. But these one-way types of communication are missing an opportunity to engage their customers.

The one thing that has been missing for many businesses is the personal touch. They have several people involved with the business Tweeting under the one business name. That could be about to change and hopefully for the better. Twitter has just announced a beta trial of what is effectively multi-users for the one account. This means that each individual could log in and send a Tweet - the difference being that their Twitter name will appear as a byline alongside the company or brand Twitter name. It’s a positive move which hopefully will move beyond beta to a more permanent feature.

In the meantime, Twitter continues to grow. Some users are growing with it while others are being still waiting on the sidelines. Which are you? Are you struggling to understand how to command Twitter and use it to market your business? Or are you a Twitter master of the universe?

What if you could help a sick child make a wish come true? Now you can. In a recent PR Newswire release, real-time search-engine LeapFish just partnered with the Make-a-wish foundation to announce “Tweet-a-cause,” a twitter-based campaign that will help a child with a life-threatening disease realize his dream… to go to Disneyland. Here’s how it works. LeapFish will donate 5 cents for every Tweet you to the Make-A-Wish Foundation until $10,000 has been raised to cover the cost of sending Jacob, age 4, and his family to the magic kingdom

“We are privileged to be able to make a difference in young Jacob’s life by helping his dream come true,” said Ben Behrouzi, CEO of LeapFish. “What better tool than Twitter to get the community involved and allow everyone to share in making a difference for someone.”

As of this writing, already over 500 tweets. Why not do your part. For more details on the campaign and how to help, visit LeapFish.com/MakeAWish

Want to learn more about LeapFish? Check out the LeapFish promo video below.

During the yesteryears of the dot com craze, companies scrambled to get branded websites up more from herd mentality than from fully understanding why they needed one. For most companies at the time, websites were mostly used as a platform to broadcast their marketing communications to potential customers and brand evangelists. Today, there has been a tectonic shift away from broadcasting out to the consumer to inviting them in and allowing for them to play an significant role in branding and marketing efforts. We’re seeing a shift from the one-way communication model where brands blare out messaging to consumers (think old disruption-based media like television, outdoor, print etc.) to the two-way conversation model (think opt-in social networking, user generated content, blogging, etc.) where advertising and communication are taking place in real time.

One such company that has embraced this model and has transformed the way they communicate is Chik-Fil-A. For those of you who don’t know, Chic-Fil-A is famous for their “Eat more Chikin” campaign delivered by cows who started a quest to convince humans to choose chicken over beef. The humorous campaign started in 1995 and slowly has successfully integrated the two-way stance on communications. While the company has not abandoned traditional media, they have beefed up (sorry about the pun) their online media with a bevy of new outlets that enable their customers to take part in their marketing and communications. And they’re at it again. Along with a healthy Facebook and Twitter presence, Chic-Fil-A recently launched a microsite (EatMoreChikin.com) which, according to clickz,

“…is the latest attempt by the restaurant chain to turn its cows — well-known from TV commercials — into viral marketing thoroughbreds. Its launch follows the company’s successful build-up of one of the biggest Facebook presences in the restaurant niche.

Are you already a fan of the cows? Then you’re in for a treat this holiday season because according to a recent PRNewswire release, Chic-Fil-A is offering the coveted 2010 edition of their annual cow-themed calendar featuring spoofs on famous works of literature to discourage burger-eating throughout the country. Titles include: Ali Barbacue, Porter Pan, Jack the Flipper and The Three Brisketeers among others. You can pick yours up for six bucks at participating restaurants or you can order online. It’s a nice offering that makes for a great stocking stuffer. Hey, chalk one up for old media.