We had the privilege of attending a recent panel discussion hosted by Techpoint on the Effectiveness of Social Media.

The panelist included David Galvin of Polimark, Joshua Towns of CivicResound and Kyle Lacy from Exact Target.

Here are our take aways:

• Facebook is a great medium to ask what people think and LISTEN.  Marketers think they know what people want but that is not always the case.  Facebook is a place for ideas!
• The KEY to Facebook is to have fun with it!
• Social Media is not an option anymore…it is today’s method of COMMUNICATION
• No matter what channel you are using in marketing, if you have BAD CONTENT you will FAIL.
• MOBILE & EMAIL are the best channels according to Kyle Lacy.
• How do you figure out which channel is the best for your business?  ANSWER: What does your Sales Team use to COMMUNICATE with their CLIENTS?  Use the same avenue!

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Miles Printing was a sponsor of today’s SOLD OUT American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Luncheon featuring Chris Baggott on the topic of Content Marketing.

Here are the takeaways from today’s meeting:

• 5 Steps: Determine Objective, Schedule, Source Content, Distribute Content, Measure
• Pull content from emails.  Questions that you get through email are a great content source.  Answer the email and also share the answer on your blog!
• Blog like everyone is a first time reader since 80% of the visitors are!
• When developing content you do not need one “home run” topic; it is better to have lots of “singles”….just like in baseball!

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In the social media boom, what is the big deal about twitter?  Twitter is a different phenomenon than Facebook.  Twitter is basically just a status update.  Unlike Facebook, where you can ramble on in your status for eons, Twitter only allows you 140 characters to get out what you would like to say.  The 140 character status update is what is known as a “tweet”

So why do people love it?  Well, many people enjoy the simplicity of twitter. It’s just a burst of information, ranting, or conversation between your followers.  It also allows you to find out what’s trending in your area and in the news.  Many users like to hash tag (ex: #milesprinting) a phrase or word to make it a “trending topic”.  If that topic gets going, you can click on the hash tagged word and see what others are tweeting about your subject.

Twitter is also personable. Many people like to build a community on twitter.  People on Facebook become “friends” with others for the numbers it seems, on Twitter, it’s different.  You aren’t “suggested” to become friends with people or forced to see other people’s updates like on Facebook. You control who you want to “listen” to on twitter. You seek out who you want to follow. It’s a different world than Facebook.

Do you think that Twitter is a more organic form of Social Media?Tweet

How many times a day do you check your Facebook page? Do you even remember life before this site was around? Even if you are not a member of Facebook, you cannot deny that it has become an addiction and a common daily habit for many of the people in our lives.

When Facebook first came around in 2004, it was open only to certain college campuses. By 2006, it was opened up to every high school aged student. Now, anyone from your little brother to your dog can have an account. Not only has Facebook become a daily routine to check but now we can check it anytime, anywhere, on our smart phones and tablets just in case we didn’t think we were connected enough!

When Facebook started, it was to keep in touch with your college and high school friends. That was the idea at least.  Now, people are using it for finding lost friends, spouses, and family members. The positive impact of Facebook seemed endless until people started arguing that the constant connection 24/7 could cause problems with actual face-to-face interactions. It also became an easy way for people to mislead one another about who we actually are in “real” life. You can manipulate your profile in any way you would like in order to seem appealing to your chosen audience.

Facebook has also caused a problem when people are trying to land jobs and get into colleges. Many people post inappropriate images, quotes, and statuses and they don’t realize who is reading it, or who could be potentially reading it. Now, employers are almost always checking Facebook and other social networking sites before hiring.

Facebook has also become a way for businesses to advertise and join in on this social media boom. Businesses often use Facebook to get noticed in the public by maintaining an image of being hip to what their customers are interested in. Many people run contests and try to see how many “likes” they can get in a day.

With the endless possibilities of Facebook, one can’t help but think when will this trend come to an end? Well, it seems with the addition of games, marketing, and much more on this site, the end doesn’t seem near!

Do you think Facebook has become a problem to the people around you?Tweet

Social Media is a new wave of communication for the 21^st Century. Ever since MySpace and Facebook came around, the way we portray ourselves online can be completely different than the way we portray ourselves in real-life. It has also formed an almost addiction regarding how many of us send and receive information.

Most of us know that MySpace didn’t make the social media boom, but between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, we have various sources to gain information on our friends and family, celebrities, and news stories.  We also use these forms of Social Media to connect with people from our past and to stay connected with people. According to the New York Times, 50% of adult Americans have used a social media site. Just 6 years ago, it was only at 5%. That’s amazing!

In this blog series, we will examine these 5 new and “old” forms of social media. These are the only forms that we will be examining right now. There are so many others forms of Social Media out there that if we covered them all, this blog series would never end! We are excited to dive into how different each of these avenues of communication is. How do they work? What do people get out of them? Stay Tuned next week for the first installment: FacebookTweet

Augmented reality might be a new term for most people. A lot of you might even be asking, what is augmented reality? Well, unlike virtual reality which completely replaces all layers of the real world, augmented reality or AR is a virtual layer and a real life environment placed all in one. But what does this have to do with print?

Like QR codes, augmented reality gives print a chance to come to life. Instead of scanning like you would with your QR code and being immediately taken to the internet, AR allows you to bring paper to life. For example, you are walking by a movie poster and it has an AR code on it, it might allow you to scan the photo with your phone, iPad, etc and watch the trailer embedded in the poster. It might make something on the poster move or come to life. AR can also revolutionize the way students learn. With codes inside textbooks, students will be able to scan it and see 3-D renderings of say the Earth or inside volcanoes. The possibilities are endless.

Sometimes print is thought of as a dying source but according to the Marsid M&M group, “AR is causing print to evolve.” The main thing with this new technology is that it allows print and computers/tablets to work together instead of being forced to use one or the other. These technologies are coming together which is rare. Although AR isn’t as mainstream as QR Codes it is definitely gaining momentum. What do you think of Augmented Reality? Leave your comments below.Tweet

When cell phones came around in the 80’s people thought they were an amazing invention. How could it get any better than being able to literally call anyone, anywhere? Well, nowadays, we can definitely do more than just make a phone call. Some people would even say that they rarely use their phone to make a call anymore. Smartphone’s are primarily used for internet, email, text messaging, music, and apps. Not only are Smart phones available anywhere but now people can use their MP3 players or tablets for the same thing as they use their cell phone for to stay connected.

These three devices have changed so much about the world today. They have actually been a source of contention among groups because some say they have caused people to become disconnected. Most people would rather shoot an email or send a text before they would actually call someone on the phone. Even with all of the negatives that people bring up regarding these devices, most of us couldn’t live without them. They help us find directions, buy movie tickets, play a game anywhere, and browse the internet when we need something to do. They are a new form of entertainment that doesn’t seem to be a passing fad.

With every year these new forms of technology are changing and advancing. They can do so much more now than they could do even two years ago!  How have these devices changed how you operate daily? Leave your comments below.Tweet

Computers are one of the most diverse forms of media that we have available for use. 30 years ago, people never thought that a computer would be as useful as it is today. There is probably not a business in the world that doesn’t rely on computers for almost everything. Computers offer us something that TV cannot, which is portability and the ability to literally look up and watch virtually anything we want.

Coffee shops, restaurants, and other businesses are now offering the ease of internet wherever you might be. With the invention of WIFI (wirelessly connecting electronic devices to the internet), a new way of life came about. You can chat, Skype, work, and browse from practically anywhere. There is hardly a time when we are disconnected from the internet.

The internet is an open platform where people can be as creative as they want and post their ideas and videos from anywhere. Not only videos, but computers have started a new rage of social networking that has been running rampant. Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become staples in most people’s lives. It’s also very easy to stay connected with the news from computers as well as the new favorite internet pastime, video streaming.

There are many positives to computers and how they have enriched our daily lives and the negatives of them are hard to find. Do you think with the inventions of Smartphone’s that computers will ever become irrelevant? Laptops are obviously easy to carry around but an IPad is easier. Share your thoughts in the comments below.Tweet

Most people have more televisions in their houses than people. TVs nowadays can stream internet, movies, and pictures. It’s almost like our televisions have become just as useful as computers. According to the State of the Media Democracy report, 71% of Americans say that television is their favorite form of media.

With DVR (digital video recorder) being so prevalent through most cable outlets, you don’t even have to watch commercials anymore. At the same time though, televisions bring advertisements to life. Ads still remain the most effective on TV compared to Internet ads. Advertisements are much more effective and retained on TV compared to the internet.

What does TV offer that helps it remain the most effective form of media? Share your thoughts below in the comment section.
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Everyone has their favorite method of media and how they prefer to digest information. The fact that technology is at our fingertips (literally), has changed how fast we can get information as well as how effectively and efficiently we can receive it.

The United States has four favorite means of media; the TV, computer, MP3 players/Smart Phones, and Print. All four of these forms have taken over, and it’s important to realize why these forms are so effective. The next series of blogs will cover each form and why they remain relevant in today’s fast paced world.

Check back soon and please leave your comments below about your favorite form of media.Tweet