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Post from: Dan Nedelko

• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-10-29 Google Docs just keeps getting more useful to me. Who knew Folders could help so much. Even though you may be evil I love you Google. # @stopthetvtax Do you honestly think anyone feels sympathy to corporate telco's? Or believes anything that is spun out of your campaign? #......
• Internet Marketing Tweet Digest 2010-01-24 The stupidest Internet Marketing headline of the week: "Facebook is the new Twitter". Huh? # Wade Phillips staying in Dallas another year. Now he can worry about his job all season go 13-3 then lose in the playoffs AGAIN @thepickzone # Stop playing defense with your business in a......

• New Loan Funded — Finance for an ESTABLISHED Business — $25,000 at 24% — B Credit — DTI 1392557% A new loan funded (Finance for an ESTABLISHED Business – $25,000 at 24%).  I participated via a manual bid the loan was Autofunding.  The borrower had B credit and a 1392557% DTI (unverifiable income).  As a reminder my standing orders (and manual bids) only...
• Adobe Confirms 0-Day Vulnerability With No Patch Yesterday SecurityFocus posted a piece of code that could exploit the current and a couple of older versions of Adobe Reader. Today, Adobe has acknowledged the 0-day vulnerability and advises users to disable JavaScript in the PDF viewer. The vulnerability...

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Post from: Dan Nedelko

• SEO Return On Investment I am pretty active on LinkedIn and have been for quite some time. I really do my best to try to answer one question per week and participate heavily in that community. It’s a good way to connect with others, make contacts and also use it as a sounding board......
• Internet Marketing Tweet Digest 2009-12-27 I'm doing Grey Hat stuff to about a million people tonight. I'm sorry. Sincerely. *Hugs* # Honeypot Marketing Is Named Home Energy Team’s Strategic Internet Marketing Provider http://bit.ly/5xZklL via @honeypot_mkting # Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We're getting ready to wrap up for the day and......

• Internet Marketing Agency-3 How to set up a model agency in the UK? am with an agency nd I have only had minor jobs and if I never get any work in modeling or when I become too old to model, I think...
• 4 Ways to Measure Your Success When we think of weight loss success, we tend to think in inches and pounds, but there are actually many ways that you can measure success. When you make that commitment to get healthy, many things in your life and...

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• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-08-13 Setup an test for a couple of sites using ClickTale - this is going into the optimization arsenal of tools. http://clicktale.com # The catfish ad tests on 3 of the sites are proving extremely successful. Double digit conversions... # Quick http://google.com tip. To see US results add &gl=US to......
• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-05-29 Former Yahoo tech whiz believes Google vulnerable to the new Microsoft "Bing" search engine http://bit.ly/bZcXK # Even though month end is a bugger, there is nothing like a happy one month old baby to make it a fantastic day. # @therealluis @dirtydann101 @calliopeconsult @reelclever @jimkerr @ciaobella50 #followfriday # RT......

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Wow Vimeo's payment processing stinks. Don't want the business or what? Eeesh. If my card was charged 3 times I'll be @%#ing mad! #

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Post from: Dan Nedelko

• Internet Marketing Tweet Digest 2009-06-07 Had a fantastic conference call with @paulmay over at @buzzstream. Fantastic changes coming up very soon. # Gary Bettman is on The Fan 590 talking about Jim Balseille - he sounds pretty rational to me. # RT @SilverOakCasino Comedian Gambles With Life at MTV Awards ( http://bit.ly/cGJdI ) haha......
• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-06-03 After seeing Balsamiq Mockups during a conference with @paulmay I'm going to dig into it and write up a review. http://bit.ly/I5I4W # @jakub_zalas Yup, I contacted them already and got a quick reply with a license. in reply to jakub_zalas # Google changes course on NoFollow http://bit.ly/u7cLF via @honeypot_mkting......

• Internet Marketing Uncut Tricks: For Newbies? Internet Marketing Uncut: Thank You For Your Order - Clickbank There are many ways that you can employ to help you start receiving thank you for your order clickbank emails. This means money for you as an affiliate. Many marketers...
• Don't Write About Internet Marketing Actually I'm tired of seeing all the internet marketing blogs but I do need to read them to learn more about internet marketing and to generate more from blogging. I'm also tired of those so-called 'internet gurus' which almost 60...

Once again it's become exceedingly clear I am not a project manager #

@stephaniegmack anytime Stephanie – it's not exactly a case study, more like an editorial case study in reply to stephaniegmack #

Conference call #5 coming up – holy smokes how did Friday turn into Conference Friday? #

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• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-06-30 Azarenka makes the most ridiculously annoying noises when she plays tennis. Annoying enough to mute the TV. #wimbeldon # @ShelliCindberg Thanks for the shout out ;o) in reply to ShelliCindberg # I am looking forward to Serena Williams beating Azarenka so I don't have to listen to her stupid......
• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-05-25 Sorry to all my #feedburner subscribers #twitter tools was creating a daily blog post and feedburner was sending it out. Problem corrected # @randfish I had a similar experience when I spoke in Norway last year, a rebooking cost me $800 USD. Unbelievable. in reply to randfish # Jean......

• Teleconferencing Equipment For Improved Audio Conferencing Teleconferencing equipment with high-tech features facilitate organizations to host teleconferences, which is a much easier process, than assembling people physically for attending a meeting or a seminar. The different teleconferencing options available at present times have made it very easy,...
• 6 Killer Online Business Ideas For The SEO Article Title The persuasive title is the most important element on the SEO article, it must be a tempting promise to the reader and at the same time optimized for the search engines, i.e. it must include the main keyword of your...

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• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-10-22 Looks the principals of http://betonline.com are on the run. The simple solution - legalize online gaming http://bit.ly/3Vb6CX # Using the bikini marketing concept can pretty effective. Love it. # Handy tool from Crestock - Free High Quality Images for your blog http://bit.ly/1S2HFd - Wordpress Plugin is here http://bit.ly/nshcQ #......
• Internet Marketing Tweet Digest 2009-10-24 @anilopez It's not a useful metric for a number of reasons - Google created the marketing PR obsession. in reply to anilopez # I really want to setup my Mac as a media server for my PS3 # @thedirtyturtle Thanks I'll give it a try. I tried an open......

• Bloggers: Exclusive, Limited-Time Offer to Save Big on The Blog Traffic Exchange While this won't interest my general audience, the Wordpress bloggers among you might want to listen up. The Blog Traffic Exchange is very similar to your related posts plugin (you are using a related posts plugin, right?). The difference is...
• WordPress Plugins These Wordpress plugins are offered by the Blog Traffic Exchange. Enjoy Related Websites / Related Posts Cloud based multi-site related posts plugin. Traffic balancing algorithm to ensure equality based on traffic. Randomization to spread the effect. New traffic opportunities every...

@NailaJ Thanks Naila Tell everyone you know! in reply to NailaJ #

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• Internet Marketing Tweet Digest 2010-01-10 If someone asks you for computer help, pretend you're dumber than a sack of hamburgers. http://dannedelko.com/eua # Facebook Cuts Off Access to Profile-Killing Service - http://bit.ly/8A0m3K RT @anthonystevens4 # A look back to how Google Analytics has grown over 2009 - very useful! http://dannedelko.com/ga09 # Just ran into this......
• Wordpress Injection Attack March 4, 2009 Update: My plan has worked out very well and everything is back to normal without too much of an interruption. My request for Google site review took a total of 12 hours and it was completely handled through Google Webmaster Tools. Google spidered the entire site for......

• Week in Tweets Ending Saturday 2009-07-04 Things You Need to Know About Twitter Security | http://ow.ly/gspE # How FriendFeed Could Become the Ultimate Social Media Tracking Service http://ow.ly/gspr # #FreeConsulting # #FreeCoaching # Get Some Outstanding Content For Nothing http://bit.ly/Sp7qh # #FreeConsulting # #freecoaching # How...
• Online College Term Papers   *Microsoft Windows 2007 Template   We are often required to write term papers for online college courses. Some of my term papers have been over things like VRML and Windows 7. I enjoy writing papers because it can prove...

So off an on I am constantly looking for low cost ways to have a temporary workforce out there for any number of tasks. It could be some content I need written, link built, social media mentions. The list is pretty much endless and it also causes me some headaches.

It’s tough to find a group of people out there. I could easily place Craigslist or Kijiji ads but that’s time consuming and a pain.

That’s why when I ran into Short Task I was pleasantly surprised. The basic idea is this:

• You have some tasks you need performed online for a specific project.
• Short Task connects you to a marketplace of people who can complete that simple task for you.
• Your workforce will work at home.
• You pay.
• Task is completed.
• Everyone moves on with life.

It’s a cool idea and uber convenient so I thought I would include a Short Task Review for those of you who have never used it before.

Short Task divides their site up into “Seekers” and “Solvers” which is pretty straight forward. If I’m a solver I can perform the tasks that are in their Marketplace.

Once you login into http://shorttask.com you’ll see “Tasks” in the Main Menu. Select that and then you can filter based on Keywords or Amount Offered.

I just checked a few of the tasks and started at $9.00 – I also got a few hits for $15.00 tasks. Not a bad payout if you get yourself into a system and become quick and proficient with this. You won’t retire tomorrow but you could make a nice supplementary income from this type of work if you take it seriously plus you can work from home.

Having looked through the Marketplace I’d also suggest you stick to the $3.00-$8.00 categories. These could be completed relatively quickly (less than 15 minutes) if you’re a decently quick writer and are relatively good with a search engine (so you can find the sites you need to find).

The higher paying categories look like they want some pretty in depth research done for $15.00. If you think about it, if you can post a quality comment in 10 minutes for $3.00 you can make $18.00 in one hour easily. Instead of spending that single hour on one in depth research article.

That’s just a thought though.

From the perspective of a Seeker, I like it. I can assemble a relatively strong human work force in minutes by posting tasks and having people complete them for me. If I took $300.00 of a budget here and wanted to build some links for instance I could easily post it for $3.00 and would be able to get 100 human edited inbound links.

Neat idea. You should check out Short Task whatever side of the coin you might be on.

Post from: Dan Nedelko

• Twitter Updates for 2009-02-27 #SEO squabbles are amusing and entertaining all at the same time. You guys kill me. # My personal site is finally coming back together - added the #dofollow #seo plugin. Do you use #dofollow? http://bit.ly/DIeaq # @webaddict StumbleUpon is better than Digg # RT @SilverOakCasino: Craps Strategy Guide Lesson......
• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-05-25 Sorry to all my #feedburner subscribers #twitter tools was creating a daily blog post and feedburner was sending it out. Problem corrected # @randfish I had a similar experience when I spoke in Norway last year, a rebooking cost me $800 USD. Unbelievable. in reply to randfish # Jean......

• A Writing Service To The Rescue So you want information to get out about what you do, it can help to bring in more business. Or sell a product or an idea you may want everyone to know about. A great way to advertise is to...
• Asia marks fifth anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami [/caption] Countries across the Indian Ocean are marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic tsunami that killed almost 250,000 people. In Indonesia's Aceh province, where 170,000 died, thousands held prayers in public mosques and private homes. On Thai beaches, Buddhist...

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Post from: Dan Nedelko

• Internet Marketing Tweets 2009-05-25 Sorry to all my #feedburner subscribers #twitter tools was creating a daily blog post and feedburner was sending it out. Problem corrected # @randfish I had a similar experience when I spoke in Norway last year, a rebooking cost me $800 USD. Unbelievable. in reply to randfish # Jean......
• Online Gambling in CR Government Sites This article has been reprinted from http://gamblingcompliance.com: The Costa Rican government has confirmed plans to create a new gaming authority under forthcoming legislation that will also subject all gaming companies – online and offline – to tighter licensing and taxation requirements, the country’s finance minister has announced. The government’s plans......

• Apple's 'Tablet' rumour mill gets more fuel In yet another example of Apple teasing its fanboys with snippets which could in some way be linked to the infamous Tablet computer, Apple has applied for a patent which details a method for handling pen-based computer input. And whilst...
• Make Your Website Popular With SEO Link Building Search Engine Optimization has become one of the most important and crucial parts of Internet Marketing. Most of the online entrepreneurs rely on these services for the online promotion of their business. In such circumstances it has become very important...

The Pepsi Cheer?

You’re probably doing Social Media in your Internet Marketing mix, most companies and marketers have jumped on that bandwagon faster than people become Dallas Cowboys fans when they go on a winning streak.

To be honest, chances are if you’re doing Social Media you are most likely completely wasting your time and resources because you’re doing social media badly.

No offense. But the large majority of marketers simple do not use Social Media the same way they might use other forms of media and advertising.

No ROI (Return On Investment). This can also be measured in Brand terms rather than dollar amounts.
No clear and definitive goals.
No strategy.

If you took a few hours, set up a Facebook group, Facebook fan page and Twitter feed then simply post to those profiles then you’re completely wasting your time.

Stop.
Stop Now.

Doing Social Media badly is much worse than not doing Social Media at all.

As with everything in Marketing you need to attach a value, strategy and execution plan to each and every program you put in place. If you don’t then frankly you’re Marketing badly.

Case in point.

Let's pretend this didn't happen, OK?

The Pepsi Cheer was an abysmal failure from a Social Media standpoint and from a Marketing standpoint. Here is a good overview from Marketing Mag:

Pepsi Seeking One Million Members for Pepsi Cheer

This campaign was the brain child of the Toronto Agency Capital C (Yeah that’s right their corporate website is hosted on Typepad – very edgy).

Before we look at Pepsi’s Social Media Strategy results, let’s have a quick look at what they implemented:

On Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/PepsiCanada
http://www.facebook.com/PepsiCanada#/PepsiCanada?v=app_193041964437

Twitter
http://twitter.com/PEPSICANADA

and

http://www.pepsi.ca/jointhecheer/default.aspx?bhcp=1

Here’s what Pepsi wanted to do:

1. Create a contest to create a Cheer for Hockey Canada and the 2010 IIHF Mens’s Hockey Championship in Germany.
2. Have the winning cheer promoted via Social Media, on television and radio.
3. Have fans at the events use the cheer during the games to be started by Pepsi employees in the crowd (really bad idea).

The winning cheer was an annoying (in my opinion) “Eh! Oh-Canada! Go!” which was a customer submitted cheer and was then heavily promoted through advertising mediums (all listed above).

Now on a fundamental level this idea should have died in a brainstorming session. You never ever mess with the patriotism of Canadian Hockey fans. Here in Canada, Hockey is a big part of people’s sports watching mix and particularly since Canada dominates International Hockey (even though we lost in the finals to the US this past year).

The cheers Canadians have been using for years are pretty popular and there was never a need to add a new one to the mix when it was clearly a very shallow corporate marketing initiative.

Their brutal social media implementation also caused them more brand damage than had they done absolutely nothing. Pepsi and their agency failed to remember one key component of Social Media.

It’s a conversation with people. People can (and should talk back).

The Pepsi Cheer Gone Wrong

This is exactly what people did and it wasn’t pretty.

Let’s look at some very basic stats:

Pepsi’s Facebook Fan Page: 134,926 Fans
Pepsi Canada’s Twitter Profile: 1034 Followers

Basic Negative Results

Pepsi – I Don’t need yer damn cheer
231 members
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=259956356825

The” Eh! Oh! Canada Go!” chant is a national embarrassment
64,762 Members
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=217528662837

Twitter Search for Pepsi Cheer
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pepsi+cheer

I’ll actually run a reputation report for this later in the week and add this to an overall case study, since this is such a blatantly bad idea.

Let’s have a quick look at why I’m saying this was not only a bad Marketing idea but it was a failure from a Social media perspective:

1. Pepsi struck a chord with a national sport and national pride. Basically saying “You’re doing it wrong Canada”. Bad idea.
2. Pepsi blatantly promoted themselves over simply promoting cheering for the team.
3. Replacing the cheer was unnecessary. There are a number of cheer Pepsi could have latched onto and promoted. This likely would have gone over well.
4. Their social media profiles simply ignored any backlash except for a few references to cheering “any cheer you want”. Too little too late.
5. The Pepsi Canada Twitter stream did little to engage anyone talking on Twitter except for positive feedback and inane Re-Tweets about their promotion.
6. The Pepsi Canada Twitter stream was hardly used but it was still there. Hey Pepsi Marketing Team – here’s a tip. Don’t use it if you’re going to use it badly.
7. http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pepsi+cheer has far more negative sentiments than neutral or positive ones. Clearly Pepsi made a mistake here since they’re ignoring the fans they tried to approach. Oops that only serves to piss people off.
8. The negative groups on Facebook almost outnumber the Fans of the Pepsi Cheer Fan Page. As a side note there is a decent set of sign up forms and calls to action on internal tabs of the fan page but there appears to be little focus to the fan page. They would have been better off to have participated in other Fan Pages (example: Hockey Canada) than to try to become the hub of Hockey Fans.

The Pepsi Cheer clearly annoying.

This is just the beginning of this fiasco for Pepsi in my humble opinion. They’ll be dealing with the backlash for quite sometime. Particularly since they appear to be staying the course on the same bad Social Media Strategy.

Another dumb move.

The key take aways here:

If you are going to do Social Media properly then do it properly and think about what you are doing, devote resources, a strategy and team to it.

If you think you need to have a presence on Social Networks just for the sake of being there, then you’re dead wrong.

If you are going to do a half assed job of Social Media Marketing then do yourself a favour and don’t do it at all.

Additional References

Junior Hockey Chant Falls Flat – Vancouver Sun

Traditional Cheers Given Vocal Support – Star Phoenix

Post from: Dan Nedelko

• Absolute Casino - Social Media and Gaming I've been in the eGaming industry on a number of levels and in a number of capacities for 7.5 years now, a lifetime in that sector. Over the past couple of years specifically it has become increasingly clear that the industry is completely stagnant from a product perspective. I......
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