Are you interested in the social-media-sphere?  New Breed Marketing is recruiting a team of  interns to join our agency.You will be working with agency professionals on a new social media campaign.

Want to learn about:

• Blogging
• Twitter
• Google Analytics
• Search Engine Optimization
• Facebook
• Social Media Strategy
• Radian Six
• Web Development
• Market Research
• Graphic Design

Think outside of the box, but you only have 140 characters to explain to us why we should choose you!

Tweet your pitch to @GobiTheJerboa

(No longer accepting tweets, Check back for future openings) Updated  11/05/09

Looking for Interns! (No Longer Acepting tweets, Check back for future openings) - Permalink
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Yahoo and Microsoft recently announced their ad-revenue sharing model. Microsoft’s new search engine Bing will power Yahoo search. Yahoo (currently number two in the search game) will receive .88 cents per dollar of search revenue (for the first five years of the ten year deal), and Bing, in turn, will be powering Yahoo’s and Microsoft’s online searches – a 28% market share.

What does this all mean?

For starters, powering 28% of online searches could teach Bing a few things about search behavior that it currently doesn’t know. The sheer number of searches could help refine its algorithms, help focus search results on what searchers want, and could make Bing a formidable competitor. ‘Could’ being the operative word because Microsoft has never been very good at looking at and reacting to user data. They seem to be driven by engineering – which is fine for the back-end of the things – but the front end needs to be human-driven. Something Google (and Apple) are very good at.

User experience should be paramount if you want lots of users.

In brief, Microsoft has never been too groovy. Google’s starkness along with the “I’m feeling lucky” button on its home page and their playfulness with their logo, has always given Google the human edge.

But with the number of searches Bing will be pulling, it could teach itself a thing or two about human (and search) behavior. Will it? I don’t know– but the potential is there.

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Secondly, a well-optimized site has always done well across the boards on all search engines. While many people take the time to submit specifically to Google, they don’t take the time for ‘the others’. Now that ‘the others’ are joining forces, that might change. Will it? Again – I don’t know. I am guessing a 28% market share will make people pay attention.

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But proper optimization is proper optimization. Bing’s technique of pulling out reviews for shopping related results could drive e-ecommerce sites towards more compliant code – which is a good thing– but there is no ‘game changer’ in optimizing that I can see.

Sure – there are certain tricks for Bing – just like there are certain tricks for Google. But those ‘refinements’ in page code are small. And usually the personal white hat ‘tricks’ of the SEO’s.

Thirdly, Google is still number one. With a 65% market share it is just not logical to put more the 35% of your energy into thinking about engines other then Google. With Google-voice, Google-docs, the up and coming Android platform, the new Google OS,  the rise and popularity of social media and its impact on the public, one could considerably not think about the other engines at all and still market their services to a great number of people.

So–do we as SEO and Web Marketing Experts need to react to Yahoo and Microsoft deal. The answer is yes.

Arguably we’ve been paying attention to them all along! We might not have recommended ad-spend on their networks due to the relatively low market share, but optimizing for those engines and knowing how they work has been part of our existence since… well… since they were in existence.

What this deal means is that now there is a greater possibility that a higher number of other people are going to be paying attention too.

And reacting to that fact needs to be incorporated into current strategies and future game plans!

posted by M. Nedell 9-3-09

There’s nothing quite like learning on the job. My first day as an intern at New Breed Marketing had me tagging along to a client visit where I not only saw some of the finished work that New Breed produces, but also their collaborative work process both within the firm and with their clients. As a recent college grad and student entering an MBA program in the fall, I applied for a summer internship with New Breed hoping to learn about how a boutique marketing firm works, and also to expose myself to the variety of tasks that encompass marketing. By the end of the summer, I’ll have a better idea if this’ll be a good field for me to continue to pursue!

When I returned to the office after the visit, and many days since, I’ve gotten a better understanding of the atmosphere at New Breed. The staff here has been outgoing and friendly, the office comfortable (with some construction rumbling in the distance,) the teamwork uplifting and the atmosphere laid back, creative and productive. My goal is to absorb as much knowledge and experience this summer as I can!

New Breed Marketing is also home to a few other summer interns squatting on the office conference tables: ???? ????????????? ???? ??????
Sabrina DeRose, born and raised in New York City, decided to pursue an internship at NBM because “there was this vibe surrounding New Breed that reminded me of home.” She added that she likes New Breed because “Because of the collaborative atmosphere, I really feel like I’m a part of the team.”

At New Breed DeRose has a few different tasks, one of which was contacting publications companies in Montreal. “I really enjoyed learning more about Montreal’s largest newspapers and magazines,” she said. “My only wish was that I knew French!” In the future, DeRose said her dream is to own a New England bed and breakfast someday, but added that she’d “love to work in a public relations firm or in the event planning industry.”

Tyler Vock joined New Breed after winning a contest earlier this spring.
He said he took the internship for many reasons, including as a way to “to test the ‘business waters’ and see what there was available for a business major. Marketing has always been an interest to me so I wanted to see also which part of marketing, (business or creative) I liked more.” Vock says “its awesome working here because I immediately felt involved and included.” He added that after one week on the job he has already been involved in many projects and said that so far his favorite is designing logos, “It’s an awesome way to be creative and have to think from different perspectives.” Vock said he plans to attend UVM’s Business School in the future, but is unsure of what specialization he might pursue. He added, “This internship has definitely helped me realize that marketing is a great time and has been a great experience.”

Carly Schwer, a junior at UVM and local Vermonter, also applied for the internship as a way to get a better understanding of Marketing as a career path. She said she has been working with NBM on one major account since joining the team, but added that her “favorite task is researching and finding new ways to market because social media is constantly changing.” Schwer said she enjoys working at NBM “primarily because I love the work atmosphere. Everyone is very friendly, helpful, and laid back, yet still hard working, motivated, and passionate about their job.

I also support the firm’s values, having a more local, “Vermont” feel as opposed to being a giant, profit-driven business.” Schwer will return to UVM in the fall in pursuit of a Communication major and a Business minor. In the future she said she hopes to pursue a career in marketing, particularly environmentally or non-profit based.

Sure – It took me all of 45 seconds to break the newest challenger to Google – cuil.com – which was built by some ex-Googlers and boasts being the World’’s largest search engine. So – like some blogs have already mentioned – Cuil isn”t so cool.

But – hey – it takes time to get cool. Fonzie didn”t ride a motorcycle until he was like what… 12…

And hey – you can”t be cool forever. At one point the Fonzie character was cool . Put him next to Jay-Z now-a-days though… So let’s try to remember that when we speak of Google’’s cool factor.

What is – might not be what is – later on down the road. Google wasn’t even around however many years ago – the internet is still in diapers – so while 40000 bloggers are rushing to jump on the bandwagon of denouncing the next Cuil thing I would like to kick back and say hey – be cool… give it a couple of years… coolness on the web is not a factor easily measured out of the box – especially when the box is placed next to the main industry goliath.

And I do like the black screen. If the Internet went all black for a week I think we would save 2 billion killowatt hours… On predominantly black screens… “Image displayed is primarily a function of the user’’s color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen.” Roberson et al, 2002

posted by M. Nedell 7-22-08

Seth Godin is a genius. I know I”m not alone in thinking that, but nearly everything the guy writes seems to have a revolutionary tone to it, as if to say, “this is the way things are, but why aren”t we thinking about them in this way instead?”

On his blog, Seth announced a while back that he was looking for interns to work for him this summer (if you”re in college and interested in anything related to marketing or media, you”d be nuts not to look into it). His post two days ago leads me to believe hes getting a lot of run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter resumes with nothing really tangible to them. No meat and potatoes.

He basically states that we live in an world where the people reading your resumes are so saturated by uniformity that to get noticed you have to break the mold. You have to hook them before you can show them what you can do and unless you can do that, you”re dead in the water.

In his post, Seth asks if you don”t have something special to show why you”re different from the competition, why should anyone else think you”re remarkable

? A great question that seems to get down to the core of what we do in every facet of our work for a client. You have to set yourself apart from all others to get ahead. This includes everything you do for marketing, including your organization’s blog.

I see blog after blog from organizations around the world attempting to market themselves by talking about their new product and how they “get it” over the next guy who is trying to sell you the same thing. What I continually find is that they really don”t “get it” at all. What they get is that “blogging is ”in” right now.” They don”t seem to comprehend that blogging for the sake of blogging could actually hurt the way people feel about the authenticity of your organization.

To me, its a distress signal when I see an organization blogging about something that isn”t compelling. It shows me they need help. If you”re blogging and its not of any importance to anyone outside your organization (and maybe not even people within your organization) it is time to put the keyboard down.

We live in a world where people are so web-savvy and media-saturated that they can spot a fake without taking much more than a glance. Never forget how much competition there is out there. You may only have one chance to make an impression. Keep this in mind before you hop on the bandwagon of “the next big thing” that comes along.

Don”t put up videos on youtube just because your competitor did; don”t launch a facebook page just because you know your core audience spends most of their day friending and poking people; and most importantly, don”t blog unless you have something worth saying. Its a waste of your customers time, it makes you look careless, and like a standard resume on a heavy stock paper, it tells people you”re just like everyone else: easily forgettable.

Be different. Be compelling. Know you’re who you”re trying to sell to and make them want to know you in return.

posted by D. Mason 3-19-08

People take in a LOT of information these days. Think of how many different images and words you are exposed to in a day – from magazines to web banner ads to text messages, everybody’s got something to say. To keep from being overloaded by these messages, many times we will “tune them out”, especially if it is a message we feel we have identified previously.

Bearing that in mind, when it comes to Press Releases, you are essentially competing with a lot of different messages in many forms. Since the ultimate goal is to get your release published or at least noticed, here are a few tips of how to leverage what you do have on your side to hopefully get some buzz generated.

1. Get to the point – quickly. Make your point in the quickest, clearest way. Boil down the information to its essentials, and then arrange it so it makes sense. A press release is not the place for clever or flowery language, unless you have the rare skill of writing with brevity and wit. Save the commentary, opinions and clever observations for your blog – like I am!

2. Avoid Jargon. You know what you mean, and I may know what you mean, but the general public may not. A large part of boiling things down means to put them in terms that most will easily understand. Using confusing jargon is an easy way to lose a reader. Many people have access to and read press releases that have not been filtered by the media. Keep this in mind.

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3. Make it Timely. Modern culture moves at the speed of light. What’s interesting to a reader one day will change the next. Keep your releases as current as possible. A good way to get into this habit is to write press releases on a consistent basis, even if you don’t feel like it is news. You never know what will be published, and this will keep you in the practice of completing releases in a timely manner.

4. The Web is your friend. The Web is not only your friend; it’s the dependable friend that you can call for a ride home. Most everyone uses it on a near-daily basis, space is unlimited, and many times you can control the content. What a great tool! Leverage this as much as you can by writing releases that contain keyword-rich copy and placing links in releases to deliver potential customers to landing pages on your Web site. Another idea to consider is adding social media tags to the release, such as DIGG, del.icio.us, and Technorati, to enable your release to be found easier on the web.

So in short: get to the point, make it clear, make it timely and leverage the web.

Good luck!

posted by K. Viles 1-12-08