As you are studying how to use technology to promote your business, be mindful that the technology and the platforms already exist. The question is how are you going to use what is already there to promote your message effectively into the marketplace.

These tools can allow you to “see” what your visitors are doing (or not).

Web analytics is a well worn subject. But do you really know how to pragmatically utilize the data that you are gathering to create the effect that you want? Are you visitors finding what they want on your website? Is your content captivating, compelling and valuable?

These are the questions that analytics can answer…

In the video, we discuss the use of web analytics, bounce rate specifically, as a tool to gauge visitor interest.

Enjoy,

David Bullock
Advanced Research – Barack 2.0 Project

The business landscape is changing quickly. Pay attention. Keep up. Or you will be left behind.

We are back with updates for the Barack 2.0: Social Media Lessons For Business project. We have been very busy since the book launch in January. Check out the Barack 2.0 event schedule.

From ideation to transaction is our theme these days. The landscape of social media has changed the face of politics and business. Now, “Social Media” has gone mainstream.

What does that mean for your business?

Simple, your prospects and future customers are using social media. If you are not there, they will not find you. And, you have no chance to engage them.

Check out our Year One Social Media For Business Video Update. Here we discuss the changes in the space that we have observed since undertaking this project…

There is still the ongoing argument about the “ROI of social media”.  For the pundits, this is an argument worth having. It takes up plenty of airtime. Talking is not doing.

For the business owner who is looking to increase revenue and reduce customer acquisition and retention cost. Why argue? Using social media works well and will continue to work well. Try the platforms and find out what works for your business.

There is no magic formula.  Success using social media to grow your business takes time, effort and creativity.

Speaking of creativity… As you can see, we are trying other media as we communicate with you. Let us know what you think.

Until next time,

David Bullock
Co-founder Barack 2.0 Project

*** Barack Obama Social Media Strategies For Business – Brent Leary & David Bullock from David Bullock on Vimeo.

The Book – Barack 2.0: Social Media Lessons For Business Is Available Below.

Below is a link to our final B2.0 update:

[media:http://www.box.net/shared/static/orcps7o2lq.mp3]

It is now official – President-elect Barack Obama has authored the most successful Internet marketing campaign ever. He and his campaign have gone from the longest of long-shots, to the presidency in less than two years. And his campaign’s embrace of technology has played a key role in spreading his message of hope and change to millions of people – people looking to be a part of that change.

David Bullock and I have had the pleasure of watching this unfold, and sharing some of things that piqued our curiosity with respect to just how Obama and his team utilized a dizzying array of tools and strategies. We’ve learned a great deal in studying the campaign, and we hope you learned along with us. In fact we know you did, based on the many comments you’ve shared with us.

We are greatly appreciative of all of you who’ve visited the site. We’ve been consistently surprised by all the interest people have shown in the business lessons coming out of this historical campaign. And we’re glad to have learned with you and from you.

Although this is the last B2.0 update, this is not the last you will hear from us, as we have some exciting things we’ll be announcing in the near future – so please stay tuned!

Thanks again for all of your support. David and I appreciate you all.

By David Bullock

The first presidential campaign to fully embrace the ideas and practices of social media has met with a successful end. Senator Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America.

This punctuates the successful use of social media for the promotion of a message into the marketplace. Communications has evolved.

It is not days to get a message via pony express. Now it is in an instant.

This is what social media is all about. This campaign is the product of superior multi-channel audio, video and text content distribution using new and traditional media platforms.

• Getting the message out.
• Keeping the message fresh.
• Sticking to the story.
• Tracking and staying in touch with the interested visitor.
• Developing a worthwhile engaging relationship with those who can support you and your concerns.

These are just a few of the (many) lessons illustrated with this successful campaign. To all those that have taken the time to visit and comment as we moved with this case study – Thank You. We have learned much from this experience.

David Bullock

Director Of Online Research
Barack20.com

Barack Obama Social Media Update

A few the unique ways Obama’s campaign targeted the gaming community by advertising on the billboard of Burnout Paradise – a popular game on the X-Box platform. We also touch on the strategy behind the campaign’s Tax Calculator page, as a creative piece of content to reinforce his message to those he’s trying to engage. To learn more about these particular moves you may want to check out my blog entry over at Inc.com’s technology blog – Barack 2.0.

The second podcast is the last one before the election. David and I cover a lot of ground here, as well as take a look back at the last three months of doing these weekly updates. We discuss the impact of Michelle Obama’s blogging on BlogHer.org, and how the campaign is still marrying offline/online activities. Also David and I each share our personal observations as to what was the most important lesson to take away from analyzing Obama’s campaign – a campaign that led Ad Age to name Obama as their marketer of the year. It was also one of the driving factors in me writing a white-paper you may want to read, entitled Social CRM – Customer Relationship Management in the Age of the Socially-Empowered Customer.

We’ll have one final weekly update after the election to conclude the story that is Barack 2.0.

David and I are also pleased to let you know that the Barack 2.0 site was featured in the November issue of Black Enterprise as part of an article discussing the Obama campaign’s use of technology.

Thank you all for your great interest and support. David and I are extremely appreciative to for your kind words and comments.

Below is this week’s B2.0 update:

This week is a different kind of update. As host of Technology For Business Sake (TFBS) I have the great pleasure of having excellent guests on with me to discuss how technology can help small businesses compete, thrive and survive in a “web-enhanced” world.

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Jascha Franklin-Hodge, co-founder and chief technology of Blue State Digital. BSD is the technology partner the Obama campaign turned to build and manage their web presence. This includes the creation of the BSD-powered sites BarackObama.com, and the social networking component My.BarackObama.com.

These sites have been responsible for:

• Capturing 1.4M email addresses
• Creating over 1M user accounts
• Promoting over 75,000 campaign events
• Supporting donation efforts that helped raise over $250M

Jascha shares how BSD got started with the campaign and built the BarackObama.com site in less than a week, the strategy behind the campaign’s web presence and the way it has fostered a wildly active community. He also discusses what small businesses can take away from the campaign with respect to using technology to engage people.