Today I’m on a video panel at the DMAW’s Social Media Day event. I’m pumped! ;) Below is my [short and sweet] presentation about the benefits of integrating video into your inbound marketing strategy.

Also, here’s a handful of the awesome marketing videos we’ve made at HubSpot. (I mention a handful of them in the preso.) Enjoy!

Posted: November 5th, 2009 under Social Media Tools.
Comments: none

Hey, folks. Guess WHAT!

I will be doing my FIRST ever live video podcast with my good friend and colleague @KarenRubin this Friday,  July 10th! We’re going to do a fun little “ladies night” episode full of goofy (yet smart!) fun. I’m also going to try really hard to make it a bit more interactive than the shows normally are. Should be a good time.

The podcast is on LIVE at 4:00pm EDT at www.hubspot.tv. Watch me. Really. Even if it will make me nervous. — It’s funny. Singing in front of a crowd? FINE. Doing a live “tv show”? Eep!

If you have NO clue what HubSpot TV is:

1) You’re missing out. Seriously. (I mean… I’m a PRODUCER! What do you mean you don’t watch HubSpot TV!?)

2) Here’s one of my favorite episodes with the fantastic C.C. Chapman:

Imagine that… except no guest, no @mvolpe (sorry, Mike!), and a lot more girly-ness.

And? Maybe a few surprises!

Posted: July 9th, 2009 under Social Media Tools.
Comments: 3

Secret’s out! I’m working on a new video to be launched next week. And this time, I’m wearing the creative director hat by not starring in it! My goal is to beat my 40K/week record that I had with You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing. Can I do it?! Who knows!

While on my “viral” kick, I wrote up a HubSpot blog article today on *my take* of  the top 10 qualities that can make your video go viral.

Here’s the abridged list:

1) Do a parody/spoof of something familiar.

2) Incorporate music.

3) Make your video very short: Murder your darlings!

4) If you use music, keep it uptempo.

5) Edit your video into sharp, quick scenes.

6) Be funny to people other than you.

7) Don’t get stuck on quality.

8) Be bigger than life.

9) Shock your viewer in first 5 seconds.

10) Remove as much “corporate friction” as possible.

Read the full blog post here.

Sooo… do you agree with me? Anything I missed? ARE YOU AS PUMPED FOR MY NEW VIDEO AS I AM?

Posted: July 7th, 2009 under Social Media Tools.
Comments: none

In about an hour or so, I’ll be doing a presentation at NYC TwitterQueens on inbound marketing and–my favorite!–the value of creative content.

Feel free to check out the presentation below.

Posted: June 27th, 2009 under A Cappella, Social Media Tools.
Comments: 1

Steve Rubel’s recent post Twitter Is Peaking; Get Ready to Follow The Geeks Onward on AdAge sparked a very interesting discussion between the great @TWalk and me.

Is the entrance of celebrities into Twitter ruining it for the “rest of us?”

In Rubel’s article, he states, “Just six months ago, the list of the top 100 users on Twitter read like a who’s who of geeks.” I agree. And to us, those in the top 100 were seen as celebrities.

Eventually, new Twitter adopters realized the possibility to exist equally among those celebrity geeks. Yes! We could become celebrities ourselves! We could be important! Known by thousands! Big shots in our little Twitter world.

So what originally determined Twitter Celebrity Status?

Twitter Age (Interesting Content x Rate of Updates)

Twitter Age is–obviously–the length of time someone has been using Twitter.

With this idea, I don’t blame those who’ve worked hard to earn “Twitter Elite Status” (potentially Rubel himself?) for getting peeved off that *REAL* celebrities are changing Twitter, or raising the bar. Where the advantage previously was “Twitter Age,” a totally new variable has entered the picture. Prior fame.

So what does this mean? Twitter Celebrities are not the celebrities of Twitter anymore. There is a whole new standard that we normal people are going to have a tough time reaching.

So what now? Should we pout? Does it really matter? Your network is still your network, regardless of a celebrity’s ability to have thousands more followers than you. Maybe this will separate us into two camps.

Or maybe we’ll just find a new castle where we can be king.

Posted: April 13th, 2009 under Social Media Tools.
Comments: 4

I’m leaving for Austin and SXSWi early Friday morning, and I am BEYOND excited. True story: I won my conference ticket in a raffle during Boston Twestival. Best $20 bucks in raffle tickets I’ve ever spent. (And for a good cause too!)

While I’m there, one of my main projects will be a creative piece (Did I hear… music video?) that will include dancey video clips from all the folks I meet–especially, at the Austin Tweetup that HubSpot is sponsoring on Sunday, March 15th from 9pm-2am at the Aces Lounge.  It may or may not involve awesome *thug life* poses and dance moves. (See exhibit A.) It’ll be a really good time. So if you think you’re up for it, you should definitely @repcor/DM me.

I’m also scheduling casual meetups for a video interview series for my company’s Inbound Marketing blog (with over 11 thousand subscribers… hey now!) You can check out the questions I’ll be asking here. So, don’t be shocked if I ask to interview you. That just means I think you’re really, really smart.

Things are finally coming together! It’s going to be an amazing time, and I’m really looking forward to meeting all sorts of new people and learning lots. So let’s hang out!

Posted: March 9th, 2009 under Hip Hop, Social Media Tools.
Comments: 7

Yesterday started as a normal, busy day hustling and bustling around. Getting HubSpot TV prepared and ready to go. Starting the show at 4:00pm as normal. You know. Just an average, normal Friday.

Then MC Hammer showed up.

That’s my hand (and my messy handwriting) that made a cameo in front of Hammer. :)

So how did it happen? In short, my colleague Dan Zarrella was on Twitter and noticed him tweeting that he was in Boston. So… we tweeted him like CRAZY inviting him to stop by. He showed up. There you have it!

I’ve talked about this before, but Twitter really, really does level the networking playing field. In what other medium could a software company get in touch with a rockstar and actually get him to drop by? That doesn’t happen ANYWHERE else. It just doesn’t.

You can read the full blog post about Hammer’s HubSpot visit or watch his full interview on HubSpot TV. Very cool stuff indeed.

Posted: February 21st, 2009 under Hip Hop, Social Media Tools.
Comments: none

Poor ROFLcon kids got their Crank That ROFLcon video taken down.

It really is a shame, but I love their response. It would be pretty awesome if this was one of the results that came up when searching for Crank That/Soulja Boy on Youtube. Don’t you think?

Let’s make it happen.

Posted: November 24th, 2008 under Hip Hop, Social Media Tools.
Comments: 8

Happy Halloween! Just wanted to share two cute things with you.

First, CHECK OUT THESE AMAZING HALLOWEEN ICONS FOR TWITTER. I am absolutely obsessed. I discovered them when @DieLaughing mentioned them in a Tweet, but I have no clue who the creator is. Show yourself!

Second, Adam Lasnik sent me a super cool 64-voice a cappella version of Thriller. The sounds in the beginning are pretty nuts, but the guy needs to work on his pitch (and falsetto) a bit. I give him a B- for vocal ability and an A+ for effort and creativity.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Posted: October 30th, 2008 under A Cappella, Social Media Tools.
Comments: 2

Earlier today, I had a pretty heated debate with Mr. @Tibbon about the word “viral” or a video’s ability to “go viral.” He believes that any company that creates a video with the specific purpose to “go viral” will fail, simply because it will be associated with a company that has a clear corporate gain. These people are missing the point; “going viral” cannot be contrived.

While I agree that this misunderstanding of the beloved buzzword occurs far too often–especially in marketing campaigns–I also believe that if a video or piece of content is THAT good… it will “go viral” regardless who made it. Companies can have awesome ideas too. If it’s funny/cool/original enough, the public won’t hide it away and forget about it in fear of being part of a marketing ploy. People share what they like.

I also believe that something can be viral without “going viral.” For example, I think a video that a single person sends around to one or two friends has a viral quality. Can’t that person-to-person component be considered viral? Or is that only mildly contagious? How rampid does the disease need to be before it can be called “viral?” Can’t we create a gray-scale? What do you think?

I’ll leave you with this OK Go video. That went viral. Or did it?

Posted: October 15th, 2008 under Social Media Tools.
Comments: 1