All You Need is LUV: Southwest Airlines' Social Media Strategy

Paula Berg is a member of Southwest Airlines' Emerging Media team and manages the airline's corporate blog, Nuts About Southwest.

Fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride as Paula Berg, Manager of Emerging Media for Southwest Airlines, explains the evolution of her socially savvy, cross-discipline team.

Join us for a look at social media from 30,000 feet and learn:

• How Southwest listens to online communities.
  
  
• Why it's important to engage customers on multiple platforms — online and off.
  
  
• What a rapping flight attendant and viral video can do for a brand.

After the interview, check out The Brand Show LinkedIn Group, and share your favorite examples of brands using social media to connect with customers.

*This interview originally aired on July 29, 2009

Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Blogs, and Social Media

Halligan founded HubSpot in 2006 to help small businesses "get found" by more prospects.

Gone are the days when a brilliant 30-second spot inspired customers to get off the couch and into the store. Nowadays, consumers turn to blogs, search engines, product reviews and social media before deciding to buy. This fundamental shift in the typical purchase journey has turned traditional marketing upside down. But despite industry upheaval, one age-old question remains: "How do we get customers to come to us?" Brian Halligan, CEO & Founder of HubSpot and author of Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Blogs, and Social Media , joins The Brand Show to discuss how marketers can transform their brands into lead-driving machines.

Brian shares insights from his book and other tips, including:

• A five-step process to create killer content that drives business to you.
  
  
• How LinkedIn can become a B-to-B brand's best friend.
  
  
• Why marketers need to embrace their inner Gretzky and “skate to where the puck is going.”

How has your purchase path changed in the last five years? Join us on LinkedIn and share your thoughts.

Survey reveals budding future for green brands

Landor's Russ Meyer is a frequent commentator and lecturer on brands, business, and sustainability.

Sustainable and globally conscious consumer brands are here to stay, according to the recently released U.S. ImagePower Green Brands Survey by Landor Associates. Russ Meyer, Chief Strategy Officer with Landor, joins The Brand Show to share his company’s findings and discuss how brands can cash in on this booming business.

During our conversation, Russ addresses:

• Why consumers spend more on globally conscious brands.
  
  
• How companies can overcome the green market's barriers to entry.
  
  
• The five biggest myths that keep companies out of the green game.

What influences you to buy green? Join us on our LinkedIn Group, and share your thoughts.

Conversions are king in online marketing

Bryan Eisenberg's Persuasian Architecture® model helps companies improve sales by matching marketing messages to buyer behavior.

Bryan Eisenberg, 2009 Bolo keynote speaker, joins The Brand Show to
talk about converting consumer interest into sales. Co-author of bestselling
books “Call to Action,” “Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?” and “Always Be
Testing,” Bryan shares how he has helped clients such as Hewlett Packard,
NBC Universal, General Electric, WebEx, Overstock and Dell increase sales
through Persuasion Architecture®, an original approach to mapping customer purchase behavior.

• How to choose the most relevant messages to connect with buyers.
  
  
• How to understand consumers through social media.
  
  
• How to combat the pitfalls of persona marketing.

How does your brand move from conversation to conversion? Join us on our
LinkedIn group and share your thoughts.

The Future of Social Media: Outsourcing and Government Regulation

Amanda Vega has helped clients including Banana Republic and Eli Lily launch brands through social media and direct marketing.

*CLICK HERE FOR ALL INTERVIEWS FROM 2009 BOLO*

At fifteen years old, Amanda Vega worked at the forefront of social media before the term even existed. Her first job was to spot emerging trends in AOL chatrooms. More than a decade later, Amanda continues to apply the basic principles she learned at AOL to help leading brands establish valuable online social strategies. We caught up with Amanda, now CEO of Amanda Vega Consulting and author of PR in a Jar, at BOLO 2009 to talk about the evolution of social media and her predictions for the future.

Listen as this social media maven shares her thoughts on topics including:

• How companies can combat brand sabotage, including “Twitter Terrorism.”
  
  
• Why more companies may offshore social media in the next decade.
  
  
• How government regulation could change social media as we know it.
  

Where do you think social media is going in the next ten years? Join us on our LinkedIn group and share your thoughts.

Solving for Social Media ROI

Matt O’Brien started Mint Social to help brands unlock the secrets of social media.

*CLICK HERE FOR ALL INTERVIEWS FROM THE 2009 BOLO CONFERENCE*

With more than twelve years of digital marketing experience, Matt O’Brien, founder of Mint Social, shares his "five-by-five" model for social media as well as his insights on social media's holy grail: return on investment.

Also on The Brand Show, Matt explains:

• How to establish goals for a social media campaign.
  
  
• Why social media delivers short-term gains but works best as a long-term investment.
  
  
• Which brands can benefit the most from social media.

How did your brand develop its social media strategy? Join us on our LinkedIn group and share your thoughts.

Google reveals marketing strategies for the new "Info Shopper"

Jim Lecinski oversees global sales and service for Google's Fortune 500 and 1,000 customers.

*CLICK HERE FOR ALL INTERVIEWS FROM THE 2009 BOLO CONFERENCE*

Earlier this month, The Brand Show headed to Scottsdale, Ariz., for the 2009 BOLO annual conference presented by agencyside. With three days chock-full of technology labs, hands-on training and break-out sessions, the conference offered smaller independent agencies a front-row seat on the leading edge of online and digital marketing.

The Brand Show took the opportunity to catch up with a number of BOLO's speakers and session leaders, including Jim Lecinski, Managing Director of Global Sales and Service at Google. Jim sat down with us to discuss how Google sees consumer behavior changing and why marketers should rethink their priorities for 2010.

Listen for this advice from one of Google's gurus:

• How to connect with the new “Info Shopper” in a post-recession economy.
  
  
• How to use consumer insight to improve your product offering and online searchability.
  
  
• Why you should make video the centerpiece of your marketing strategy.
  

Do you plan to change your marketing mix in 2010? Join us on our LinkedIn group and share your thoughts.

The U.S. Army makes Hollywood a brand ally

Lt. Col. Gregory Bishop (fourth from left) and his team on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

When Reese's Pieces lured a shy little alien from the bushes in the 1982 blockbuster E.T., sales for the bite-size candy shot through the roof. Fast forward to the summer of 2009: the aliens are much, much bigger and so is the opportunity for brands that appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Like other brands featured in the film, The United States Army takes its screen time seriously. Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Bishop , Entertainment Liaison for the U.S. Army, joins The Brand Show to offer his perspective on the value of entertainment as a branding vehicle. The seasoned officer discusses his organization's role in film and television projects including G.I. Joe and Army Wives.

Listen as Lt. Col. Bishop talks with our hosts from Two West about:

• The process of choosing projects that fit a brand's strategic objectives.
  
  
• How the U.S. Army measures the effectiveness of branded entertainment.
  
  
• The delicate balance between creative storytelling and authentic messaging.

What is the most effective branded entertainment project currently on television or in theaters? Join us on our LinkedIn group and share your thoughts.