Is getting Green your key to getting Buzz??

Green is the new Black, and tech vendors -- just like fashion designers -- are trying to cash in on this latest trend. That means developing batteries, chips and computers that are less power hungry and more eco-friendly.

Tech vendors including Advanced Micro Devices, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems have joined forces to create an organization called the Green Grid. The Green Grid will work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Alliance to Save Energy to develop metrics and standards for measuring the performance and power consumption of data center equipment.

As green tech products proliferate, innovative Buzz marketing will be key to attracting consumers' attention. One potential hurdle to overcome is the perception that some organic consumer products have been considered of lesser quality. One potential hurdle to overcome is the perception that going green means giving up performance. Further, many people have had enough gloom and doom. Your customers are likely to crave upbeat messages, so try to avoid the “the planet is going to hell in a handbasket” angle!

So if Green is the new Black, what’s your eco-friendly strategy?

 

A new social media tool: Skypecasts!

Web phone-calling company Skype (now part of eBay) is bringing online social networking to the masses. It’s unveiling a service that allows groups of up to 100 people to hold spontaneous conversations online.

The international calling service, which has signed up 100 million users and is adding 200,000 more a day, said it is previewing a shared communications service called "Skypecasts," along with an upgrade of its core Skype software.

Skypecasts are live, moderated discussions that allow groups of Skype users anywhere in the world to discuss shared interests. The discussion can be moderated by a designated host, who passes a virtual microphone to participants in the group when they wish to speak. To keep conversations on track, the moderator has the power to silence or eject detractors.

How will you use Skypecasts? I would love to hear from you …

 

Was Harry Houdini a Buzz Marketer??

Well check out this story I found in one of my 7-year-old son’s books …

Houdini came up with a terrific Buzz way to promote his act in the early years of his fascinating career. Whenever he and his wife Bess arrived in a new town, Harry would pay a visit to the local police station. “I am Harry Houdini, King of Handcuffs,” he would announce. “Lock me up, tie me up, put any and all of your handcuffs on me, and I guarantee you I will escape in no time at all.”

The police usually laughed at him and figured that since he was a magician, he must use trick handcuffs. After all, nobody could escape from real handcuffs. They were so sure of this that they let Harry bring in reporters from the local paper to watch. The police would search Harry for tools and then cuff him, usually with a few pair of shackles around the ankles and hands, then lock him up in one of their jail cells.

Imagine their surprise a couple of minutes later when Harry would walk in holding the cuffs in his hands. Sometimes he was able to free himself in just one minute!

The police and news reporters were amazed, and they spread word of Harry’s feats in print and by word of mouth. People from miles around wanted to see the magician who could trick their own policemen!

Can you be like Houdini? Can you leverage the magic of a guarantee that your technology will help companies compete and succeed? If you can, that’s some serious Buzz!

 

Waiter – There’s IM In My Ad!

This week, Atlanta-based startup, ContactAtOnce! announced that it’s added new features to its “presence-aware” marketing service, which it says can help increase lead conversions by as much as 25%!

What is presence-aware marketing? Well, just as Instant Messenger (IM) users can check to see which of their buddies are online, presence-aware-enabled ads, listings and landing pages provide consumers with a visual indicator that someone is available to answer questions. That’s right Buzz Marketers – there really is IM in the ad!

ContactAtOnce!’s presence-aware service can help you be more successful at converting Web-surfers into leads. And, along with using visual presence indicators to stimulate more leads, the service facilitates better communication using IM, click-to-call, VoIP and live video. The service also tracks many aspects of performance.

Presence-aware marketing is a huge trend for Buzz Marketers wanting to have more live "conversations" with prospective technology customers. Don’t believe it? Well, eBay certainly does. It’s integrating Skype’s Internet telephony service into its various Web properties including eBay Motors, Rent.com, Kijiji, and, of course, the flagship eBay marketplace. eBay appears to have very high hopes that presence-awareness will make a major contribution to revenues, based on the $2.6 billion it paid for Skype last fall!

Who should tune in to presence-aware services? Buzz Marketers using search engine marketing, who may want to try a little presence-enablement to see if it has an impact on lead conversion rates.

Want to put a taste of IM in your ads? ContactAtOnce! is offering a no obligation demonstration.