Mediapirates Top Five Reasons To Use Social Media!

In the past few days I have used social media for so many things that I think I’m almost starting to take it for granted. It’s just SO convenient and I use it so much that I think that I would be lost if it suddenly disappeared. So for those of you not yet completely immersed in this fantastic new form of communication I present my top five reasons why you might want to consider it!

5) Driving Traffic – Who knows maybe this is how you found my blog! It’s just amazing how powerful social media is for driving traffic to your own media or things that you find interesting. I can’t tell you how many sites I visit daily because my social media community has recommended them. It would really show the power of social media traffic to know how you got here so if you get a moment leave a comment on this entry and just say how you found out about my blog.

4) Getting Work – Since starting our social media initiatives Sterling Cross Communications has received numerous business leads, speaking offers (Which have lead to business), partner projects and actual direct contracts. I believe that in the future this will be our largest segment growth for new business. Yeah, I know this one should have been higher but I like social media for so many other things than just work.

3) Searching For Talent Or Just Plain Advice – When I go to look for a specific talent or I need to know something, social media is the first place I turn. I can’t even tel you how many times I have needed to know something specific or needed a very specific service and have found it in my network. In fact last night I was looking for a PR arm in Ohio and within six minutes I received well over 30 responses! These people are amazing!

2) Posting Media – Posting my photos, videos, blog entries, etc. and being able to share these moments instantly with family and friends. Allowing people to share my life from a distance is very important. My girlfriend lives in Fargo, my daughter and friends live in Calgary AB, Canada, and my parents go between a lake place in Canada and a winter place in Texas so you see how crucial communication is to me. My social media campaigns allow me to feel connected to all of the people that matter in my life and that really rocks 🙂

1) Community – My favorite part of social media without a doubt is being part of something bigger and being able to rely on the support of a community. The reach of social media is truely unlimited and I have met some fantastic people that without social media I never would have met. Some help me in business (I hope I do the same for them as well) and some I just like to chat with but regardless of the reason the world seems just a little bit smaller.

If you ever had doubts about the value of social media I hope this helps. Please feel free to add me and say hi! Below is a list of just some of the social media portals I am on. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you.

All the best,
Scott

Myspace
Facebook
Plurk
Twitter
Friendfeed
Jaiku
LinkedIn
Hellotxt
Pandora
Mashable
plaxo
Ping FM
Hi 5
tagged
youare
Pandora
Blip.fm
Wordpress
youtube
bebo
yammer
tumblr
technorati
Flickr
ReJaw
Brightkite
Identi.ca
Kwippy
Utterli
Mahalo
poprl

Merry Christmas Now Walk The Plank You Scurvy Elf!

Merry Xmas everyone! I am off to Texas/Mexico to spend time with my family over the holidays so I just wanted to wish you all amazing holidays and enough pirate rum that you can’t remember enough about them to tell me 🙂

Check out one of the sweetness of presents (My new nifty T-shirt) that the lovely duo of Chris (@MrChristopherL) and Mary (@PRMoxie) gave me for xmas! Neato hey?

Merry Christmas from Sterling Cross Group!

A Great Concept in Cross Marketing

I just wanted to write a little nod to the marketing team at Dr. Pepper for their “out of the box” concepting. Approximately a week ago Dr. Pepper issued a challenge to rock band Guns and Roses. The challenge states “The soft drink company says it will give a free can of Dr Pepper to “everyone in America” (excluding ex-Guns members Slash and Buckethead) if “Chinese Democracy” arrives anytime during the calendar year 2008. – Reuters/Billboard”.

This challenge has re-introduced Dr. Pepper to millions due to extensive press coverage and no doubt increased sales exponentially. All of that benefit and only the small chance that they will have to follow through and deliver the product. Even if the album does come out, I’m sure they will have made back the loss in spades. This, in my opinion is a great campaign and I think creative marketing like this make the marketplace more fun and effective.

Welcome to Media Pirate

Hi!

Welcome to the Media Pirate Blog where I will be discussing my own random thoughts on social/viral media, PR/media relations, creative design, advertising, and may add a ninja or two into the story to make it a little more exciting. To start out on the right foot I’m not perfect and I may occasionally say things that don’t make sense, so feel free to comment and share your thoughts with me as well. I currently work at Sterling Cross Communications which is a PR/Marketing company located in Maple Grove MN. Feel free to check out the site if you get a chance at : www.sterlingcrossgroup.com. I have been in the advertising, print, web, new media industry for just under 10 years and have spent a good portion of that as a Creative Director so I would like to think I know a few things about this landscape. So again, welcome to Media Pirate and I hope you enjoy!

– Scott