Just getting here now? You’ve got some catching up to do:   [...]

During the Second World War, a small watch company was the first to put an ad on a new, unproven advertising medium. The watchmaker Bulova paid $4 for a placement on New York station WNBT before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The 10-second spot displayed a picture of a clock superimposed on a map of the United States, accompanied by the voice-over “America runs on Bulova time.” [...]

Many companies have relied on outside social media consultants and agencies (and unfortunately a few gurus) to help them get started with social media. That can work in the beginning, but it’s hard to be truly ’social’ and ‘authentic’ when somebody who isn’t part of your company is managing your social media presence. For companies that see social media as a long-term must, it’s time to consider building a competent in-house team that focuses, in whole or in large part, on social media. [...]

The word conversation has become synonymous with social media. Appropriately so, as it encapsulates one of its most useful features for companies— the ability to engage in two-way communication with your audience. [...]