Marketing Pilgrim

Today, the fledgling social network Path was forced to issue an apology based on how it used contact data from its users. That’s an oversimplification of course but you can find plenty of places where the incidentals have been explained. Even Path investors like Michael Arrington’s CrunchFund had to call out the company.

The story of the day is definitely about Path (a CrunchFund portfolio company). The company has been copying address book information to their servers without user knowledge.

The company was apparently already aware of the issue and was taking steps to address it prior to this post coming out. The Android app has an opt-in, and a version of the app with an opt-in is awaiting approval at Apple, says CEO Dave Morin in the comments to the original post. Morin has also flat out apologized.

We think that most people understand the fact that once you do something online it can be very difficult to make it go away. Just ask Bruce Clay about his issues recently around trying to take a site down in time for people to not tear it apart. The “magic” of the Internet has created numerous ways to still bring that site up even though it is no longer in existence. Ooooops.

The reality is that most people (those outside of the Internet over-saturated, Silicon Valley types whose level of disconnect from reality can be startling) don’t understand what they are doing when they post things online. And apparently, at least with Facebook, “deleting” a picture isn’t what it might seem either.

According to Ars Technica

The Integer Group and the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council understand the importance of social networking in marketing. That’s why they’ve dedicated themselves to making sense of it all, beginning with a five-part series called entitled Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers.

The first part is available right now (it’s free) and right off the bat you’ll find this little gem.

Comparing social media to high school isn’t an original concept, but I do like the way they’ve phrased it. It’s funny. It’s all true and it explains why social media is such a fickle beast.

Here’s another gem:

40% of social networkers log on
to a social site before they get
dressed in the morning.

No wonder General Mills is so set on making cereal boxes digitally interactive.

This post was created by our Reputation Channel sponsor Webimax.

Numbers reflecting user participation on social sites were issued recently, stirring the interest of marketers and brands leveraging popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. Out of 2,000 U.S. web users asked, an astounding 85% had Facebook accounts. About three-quarters of the population use the social platform daily, and over half of those asked have at least a hundred friends. Wow, the opportunity to engage markets is there.

The Consumers Have Arrived, Where’s the Businesses?

Further research showcased what consumers do with brand-produced media. It seems consumers are more than happy to share videos, mention companies in updates, read brand-produced editorial, “like” businesses, “retweet” posts, and interact with brands in other ways. So, consumers will interact but will brave brands?

This post comes from our Reputation Channel sponsor WebiMax.

As online marketers, we celebrate the application of SEO. Quality, search engine optimization tactics help align a brand’s Web pages with particular keywords and phrases. However, the steady process takes time to solidify. A brand may benefit, perhaps reaching some goals more quickly, by engaging in other areas of online marketing. SEO unites user queries with a brand; a diligent brand executive can do the same. Consider the following ways to accelerateyour brand and online reputation.

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Amazon should be pretty happy with the results from the, get ready because this is a mouthful, National Retail Federation Foundation / American Express Customers’ Choice Awards. In the age where reputation can make or break your operation Amazon and its subsidiary, Zappos, took 1st and 3rd place respectively. Of course, one has to assume that these results were arrived at before Zappos had their own brush with a potential reputation crusher of being hacked over this past weekend.

Here are the Top 10

1. Amazon.com
2. L.L.Bean
3. Zappos
4. Overstock.com
5. QVC
6. Kohl’s Department Stores
7. Lands’ End
8. JCPenney
9. Newegg
10. Nordstrom

70% of consumers said they wouldn’t buy a product from a company they didn’t like.

That may sound like I’m stating the obvious, but let’s run with it for a moment.

The statement comes from a new Weber Shandwick report called “The Company behind the Brand: In Reputation We Trust.” The report is focused on big companies with multiple brands, but the information is just as relevant for the small business owner.

The overall concept is that folks are getting pickier about where they spend their money. A great product won’t woo them, if the company behind the product can’t be trusted.

Trust means different things on different levels. For big corporations, it might mean a company that is concerned about the environment, cares about its customers and makes good when a product goes bad.