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Howard Bragman, the legendary Los Angeles public relations agency leader, passed away from leukemia on February 11, 2023, at the age of 66. Bragman was known for his pioneering work in the field of public relations consulting, helping to shape the image of numerous celebrities, politicians, and organizations over his long and distinguished career. In…

In this podcast episode of For Immediate Release B2B, Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman interview SAP Head of Social Business Sarah Goodall about the risks of relying on social networks to deliver news in a democracy, Sprinklr’s Get Satisfaction acquisition, Meerkat and Periscope. Fair use is essential for journalists, enabling them to draw upon copyrighted…

Morgan Stanley’s decision to loosen the reign for their financial advisers on Twitter is the latest in a long list of financial services case studies of interest to website marketing companies. FINRA fined Barclays $3.75M for system is record keeping and email retention failure. The regulator warned investors against trading on “pump-and-dump” emails. The finance…

Ideally, you want someone with a neutral point of view editing Wikipedia entries, not a PR firm clandestinely gussying up their client’s pages.  PR has a conflict of interest. But that doesn’t mean they can’t also help improve the accuracy of Wikipedia entries or that they shouldn’t have a right to do so.   It’s…

Most people think social media policies are just for regulated industries. It is true that regulated industries have more rules to comply with. But social media compliance is everybody’s business.   Whether you’re business is regulated or not, there are dozens of federal and state regulations and local ordinances that dictate how you can and can’t…

In a significant legal development, a US Federal judge has deemed it unlawful for social media policies to require employees to include a disclaimer in their posts, stating that their opinions are their own. The judge expressed that such a restriction was “unreasonably burdensome,” adding a new dimension to the ongoing debate on employee rights…

The number of social media policy violations by employees has doubled over the last 16 months.  Ann Handley didn’t violate anyone’s social media policy, and those aren’t schadenfreude likes from Beth, Shel and Richard. They’re only there to demonstrate what kind of screen capture you need to take of a Facebook post if you’re documenting…

What steps has the FDA taken to provide the pharmaceutical industry with guidance and regulations around using social media for marketing, and what should their social media policies be?   We talk to John Mack, editor and publisher of the Pharma Marketing Network, about the issues and challenges of regulating pharmaceutical companies on social media.…

In a podcast I recorded with Doug Bonney, the chief counsel and legal director for Kansas’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), we delved into the complex web of issues surrounding the Kansas Board of Regents’ social media policy. As a public relations agency leader, I was interested in the Kansas Board of Regents social media…

In this eye-opening podcast discussion, Corynne McSherry, the Intellectual Property Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), delves into the intricate details of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to repeal net neutrality. The proposal, which became available for public comment via DearFCC, prompted McSherry to scrutinize its potential ramifications meticulously. Net Neutrality was officially repealed…

This is a deep dive interview with Marcia Stepanek. She is a journalist, new media strategist, NYU professor and an award winning news and features editor. Eric:  Tell us about yourself.   Marcia:  I have been covering the intersection of technology and its impact on society and business, for pretty much the past 25 years.…

Anyone can create an online course. On the other hand, making it an engaging and educational experience is a whole other question.   In this simulcast of FIR on Higher Education episode 7 Kevin Anselmo interviews Eric Schwartzman talks about how to make content interesting and educational in an online learning format. Eric has been…

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America hosted a panel discussion on what it takes to prevent a social media crisis.   In my opinion, PR spends too much time talking about crisis management and not enough time thinking about how to prevent them from happening in the…

So you’re using social media for business. And sometimes customers and prospects actually notice.  But you can’t figure out how to scale engagement more consistently.  You need to get more people involved because on social networks, reach is a factor of engagement.  You’ve thought about getting your coworkers involved.   But they don’t all know…

In a rapidly evolving landscape where data is the new currency, the power of big data analytics cannot be understated. In a recent podcast interview hosted by Eric Schwartzman, Jeff Jonas, an IBM fellow, delves into the world of big data analytics, discussing its profound implications for digital marketing success, personal privacy, and the future…

In today’s digital age, data has become the lifeblood of businesses and organizations across the globe. Big Data, in particular, has emerged as a game-changer, holding the potential to revolutionize industries and shape our society’s future. As a digital marketing agency founder, my ability to comprehend the significance of Big Data is crucial. It’s not…

Drawing the line between what’s okay to share and what’s just too risky to share, the potential impact of the NSA PRISM surveillance program on the private sector and the top 5 things not to share on social media.   Ryan Garcia Associate General Counsel at Facebook talks about the impact of social media usage…

What does it take to help a company become a social business? It takes the support of management and employees, and that requires education and enablement. Which is why Intel launched their Digital IQ social media training program.  Because they knew that without the buy-in of Intel’s 100,000 employees, social marketing would never be truly…

This is an exclusive recording of a discussion with Attorney Daniel Stuart about how the advent of crowdfunding transformed the fundraising landscape for startups. If you are crowdfunding for a startup and want to understand better the challenges associated with direct fundraising from nonaccredited investors, you’ll want to listen to this podcast. For the longest…

This audio podcast is a presentation delivered by Top Rank Marketing CEO Lee Odden (@LeeOdden) on Friday June 28th at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference in New York. The session was titled:   Attract, Engage and Convert: Get Ahead With Content Digital Marketing and PR In today’s fast moving search and social Web, content marketing…

This is a recording of the luncheon keynote title “The Content Imperative” delivered at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference on June 27, 2013.   The speaker is Steve Rubel (@steverubel) is Chief Content Strategist for Edelman – the world’s largest independent public relations firm. In this role Rubel is responsible for creating and cultivating best…

Recruitment marketing has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, and one individual who has witnessed this evolution firsthand is Gerry Crispin. With decades of experience in recruiting and career planning, Crispin recognized the potential of the Internet, particularly social media, in revolutionizing the hiring process. In this exclusive interview with Eric Schwartzman, Crispin shares…

I spoke to social media marketing analyst Brian Solis about his new book What’s the Future of Business – Changing the Way Business Create Experiences, which redefines the key elements of an effective social media strategy. If you haven’t read it yet, the new book advances his “shareable moments” concept into a framework for social…

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, personal privacy boundaries in social media have become increasingly complex. Attorney James DeSimone, renowned for his civil and constitutional rights expertise, offers a comprehensive exploration of the legal intricacies surrounding social media privacy rights. Whether you’re an employee, employer, public relations agency professional, or an individual concerned about your…

Just how well does the broader human resources community get social media? The answer to that question and many more about the state of social media in HR are revealed in this podcast.   We talked to Tim Sackett, EVP at HRU Technical Resources, a $40M IT and Engineering contract staffing firm, and Recruiting Processing…

News and social media monitoring remains critical to effective social media marketing.  Because if you don’t know what people are talking about, you don’t know what’s important to them or where to focus your efforts. Since the announcement that one of the most popular social monitoring tools Google Reader will be discontinued on July 1,…

In a tight job market, attracting top talent through employment marketing at Sodexo – the 20th largest employer in the world and the most prominent company most people have never heard of – involves much more than just a LinkedIn presence and a blog. Consumer marketing strategies can also be applied to employment marketing. The…

In this exclusive podcast interview hosted by Eric Schwartzman, HR recruiters Steve Levy and Tom Bolt share invaluable insights into social media recruiting. As businesses increasingly turn to digital channels to source and screen candidates, the discussion delves into various aspects of social media recruitment strategies, legal considerations, and emerging trends. Legal Risks and Ethical…

In this episode, Netvibes CEO Freddy Mini shares why a social media monitoring tool without integrated social media analytics is a hammer without a nail. Most of the Google Reader alternatives are focused on giving users social filters to discover the best content.  But Netvibes has been there and done that. They’re more interested in…

On April 2, 2013 social media was officially deemed an acceptable venue for publicly traded companies to disclose material information to investors by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.   The new SEC ruling on social media stipulates that before companies use social media for material disclosures, they must alert investors where they’ll be doing…

How do businesses use social media differently than individuals, what’s the secret to leveraging social media to steer B2B purchasing decisions and how do you sell social media to disengaged bosses, coworkers and clients? These are other B2B Social Media Topics are discussed on this expert panel produced by Social Media Club L.A. that I…

Dan Goldman (@danielg280), Mayo Clinic and Advisory Board member to the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, discusses the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and social media. The Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of the use of social media for marketing communication since the dawn of social networking. Most other healthcare…

  Guest host Andrea Vascellari and Eric Schwartzman discuss Le Web 2012 which ran from Dec. 4-6 in Paris.

This is Episode 30 of the Social Pros Podcast featuring Eric Schwartzman, best-selling author, speaker, blogger, trainer and advisor.  Eric Schwartzman on the Social Pros Podcast Jay: Hey, everybody, and we’re back with another episode of Social Pros, shining the light on real people doing real work in social media. I am Jay Baer, joined,…

I’ve updated my social media policy template as a result of this conversation with Lisa Milam-Perez, who edits a blog by CCH Wolters Kluwer about US law and business practices and who recently published a post about the latest guidance from the National Labor Relations Board, which says organizations need to be more specific in…

Handling crisis PR at GM before, during and after US taxpayers rescued the automaker with Jennifer Ecclestone (@jenecclestone), Social Media and Executive Communications for the GM Product and Technology division. Jennifer discusses the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010, how the US automakers got caught without hybrids when gas prices increased, how US Dept. of Defense…

If you’re a B2B growth marketer looking to generate leads on Linkedin marketing strategy, this podcast is for you.   You’re going to get tangible, applied Linkedin marketing tips and learn Linkedin marketing strategy from the company’s own developer advocate Kirsten Jones (@synedra), API Evangelist at Akamai Technologies who blogs at Princess Polymath. In this…

It sounds almost too good to be true: rent an apartment in any city for a fraction of what it costs to stay at a hotel. You get a kitchen, more space and save a lot of money.  And that much IS true. But with the savings comes the risk and stress of fending for…

In this podcast, recorded at Le Web 2011 in Paris, Christian Hernandez, Director of Platform Partnerships at Facebook discusses “The Power of the Graph” and explains why social design and engineering is the future of social marketing.   Social marketing campaigns — where people-powered social media optimization and social networking activities comprise the bulk of the social…

Most Facebook and LinkedIn members are outside of the US. So, when you market through social networks or SEO, you’re promoting your message to a global audience. To be successful, you need a global perspective. And that’s what this episode is about. In it, you will get significant take aways and marketing insights from what…

Why would someone use a social media blocker app? It’s a reasonable question with a reasonable answer. “Most users are only two clicks away from malicious content,” says Patricia Hogan, senior public relations specialist at WebSense, who discusses how some companies install a social media blocker on their employees’ computers, web security, email security, and…

One of the most interesting alternatives to measuring online influencers to surface yet is Traackr, a premium service that reveals reach, resonance and rank in online social spheres. In this exclusive interview, Traackr Founder and CEO Pierre-Loic Assayag, talks about how his service differs from Klout and other online influence scoring services. This interview was…

This is a recording of the closing digital marketing keynote I delivered at Social Media Week Los Angeles. I spoke about social business, how social is changing the way organizations communicate, and the way business customers procure and make purchasing decisions.   Social Media Week Keynote Topics:

Official Le Web 2011 conference bloggers Luca Sartoni (@lucasartoni), Karin Hoegh (@karinhoegh) and Nebojsa Radovic (@eniac) discuss the tech scene in Paris, this year’s scheduled keynotes from Eric Schmidt of Google, Sean Parker, Daniel Ek of Spotify, Brian Chesky of AirBNB and Kevin Systrom of Instagram as well as what type of coverage to expect…

Shira Lazar, Host and Executive Producer of the weekly live interactive show and 24/7 news hub, “What’s Trending” discusses: Hosting live streaming programming for mainstream audiences Selling online content to advertisers Working with online influencers Premium apps Leo LaPorte Emotional ties to social media The future of web search And the mistake which ended her…

If you were denied a proper Cotillion or never had a chance to be presented at the debutante ball, it’s not too late for you. You can still learn how to act and behave politely from Philip Galanes (@SocialQPhilip) who writes the Social Q’s column in the New York Times every Sunday in Style Section. …

In preparation for my second German-American Social Media Boot Camp in Berlin, I assembled an expert panel of digital communications professionals to discuss the state of social media in Germany, and the start-up scene in Berlin.   Germany has come a long way since Fredric Lardinois wrote on ReadWriteWeb that the country is still 5…

How do you find and retain the best WordPress Designers?   WordPress, web software built by hundreds of community volunteers to create websites and blogs, currently powers 14.7% of the top million websites in the world, up from just 8.5% last year, and the latest data shows that 22 out of every 100 new active domains…

What is the future of elearning?   How do you design online training courses?   How do you keep people interested? And how, if at all, will gamification and the social web change the way we learn? Keeping up to date with the latest changes to software and web services we use for work has…

Blogging statistics, including counts on blog readership and blog traffic, were presented by Technorati CEO Shani Higgins to public relations agency leaders at the PR Summit in San Francisco. Much of the data she shared was a preview of the blogging stats to be included this fall in the Technorati State of the Blogosphere Report.…