After noticing that Quicken was next in our series 26 Social Media Marketing Examples in Detail, I assumed that this case study would be a review of Quicken the accounting software made by Intuit.  Instead, I found out that Peter Kim, who originally included this on his list was referring to efforts made by the independent company Quicken Loans.  At this point in time, both Quicken and Quicken loans have efforts within social media, which is a bit confusing and difficult to sort through as a consumer.  After an overview of both, in this post I will uncover mostly what Quicken Loans is doing, while highlighting a few findings of Quicken along the way.  Let's jump in.

Facebook

When I first noticed Quicken Loans on Facebook, I thought this may be a good area for them to discuss home loans.  While I did find out about their $500 credit to first-time homebuyers, I also was asked my opinion of a potato chip called Popchips, and updated about a teacher's retirement (who also happens to be the father-in-law for the person managing the page).  I wish I was joking, but see the screenshots below as proof.  One tip to make this a better page is simply to stay on topic.  I just purchased a home, and when I was wading through the waters of choosing a loan, I would have loved to have a place to ask questions and get real answers. I don't care about your father-in-law on a personal level. I do care about what loan he would choose and why.  If it is going to personal, at least make it relevant.

I love widgets. If there is any kind of functional piece of eye candy that I can use to decorate the sidebar of my blog, I am all over it. If I worked at TGIFriday’s, I would have more flair on my vest than any rational human could justify.

So when new blog bling crops up, I like to check it out and take it for a test drive, which is exactly what I did when I was turned on to Robo.to. Basically, it’s a video status update, which you can record, insert text, and then publish to a widget that you can embed any/everywhere. Look:

Yes, that is an upside-down picnic table behind me, and you can direct all interior design queries to my boss, Jim Tobin.

I am excited to announce the launch of the Reputation Thesis Skin for the Wordpress Thesis Theme. For users who are looking to create a presence for themselves online, it is absolutely critical to have a professional, search optimized website at their disposal. That is where the integration of the Reputation Skin comes in. With the click of a few buttons you can have yourself a fully powered, well designed, and social rich site.

If you are not already familiar with the Thesis Theme then check out this fantastic article that explains its benefits in depth. This is a paid Theme that the skin works with so you will need to make sure you have obtained a copy of Thesis before this skin will work.

Social Media Marketing can be a very tedious task, and thoroughly time consuming. Firefox addons are a great way to help supplement the exhausting nature of the medium. Just recently Firefox released what it calls "collections". Collections are groups of add-ons that are submitted by users. There are lots of neat features like the ability to subscribe to someones collections, as well as the ability to easily download and share new addons with friends.

I have compiled a collection of social media marketing add-ons I use that help me in my day to day job as a social media marketer. I have tried to give a thorough explanation of how to use each below. I encourage you to subscribe to the collection set as I will continually update it.

Brians Tip: Fireshot is my favorite snipping tool. It has robust functionality with a paid version as well that allows you to quickly take screenshots and upload them to easycaptures.com. I have tested 5+ different firefox addon snipping tools and this is by far the best.

By now you're probably aware of the great Facebook vanity username (or vanity URL) gold rush that takes place this Saturday (pssst: It's actually late Friday. Don't miss it by 24 hours) . If not, this screenshot explains it in a nutshell:

But what does it mean for brands and for social media marketing for fan pages? Here are answers to some of your questions:

Does this apply to fan pages?

Yes. You can now change your Facebook page URL from something like: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Clever-Company-Namel/36396852117?ref=ts can be changed to http://www.facebook.com/CleverCompany. This makes it much easier to share your URL, and it will help you a bit with search engine optimization for your company name.

It's not breaking news that the citizens of the Internet love some humor. It always excites, yet hardly amazes me when I see something start to spread around and go "hot" all at once. Friends send me videos, photos and blog posts that are hilarious, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. But the things that end up being the most humorous aren't necessarily tied to any one product or brand. So can you intentionally use humor to drive awareness and create affinity?

It is not uncommon for websites to go through revamps on an ongoing basis. Some of your favorite social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Digg to name a few are much different looking nowadays then they once were. Below I have compiled screenshots of 16 top social networks outlining the drastic changes some of them have made since first launching.

Old Badoo Homepage

Current Badoo Homepage

• It’s so easy to share a status update, a Tweet, a Qik video.
• It’s so easy to log-in on Brightkite and show exactly where you are, and then have that update your Facebook status.
• It’s all so easy, which is why it’s so popular. 

But it’s also the reason why you have to "Think Before You Tweet." 

In January, we had "KeyInfluencer" inadvertently slamming the home town of one of his largest clients. In March, we had Cisco Fatty. Now we’ve got @izzyvideo getting robbed after Tweeting out that he and his family were on vacation.

On Friday night, I was on NBC17, talking about social media and personal privacy. Here’s how the segment went.

Occasionally when I tell someone that I work in social media, I get an eye roll and a snide comment that typically includes some version of the phrase “get a real job.” Fortunately, I was a Women’s Studies major in college and I am therefore adept at deftly navigating this sort of derision and distain. Recently, however, I’ve been noticing a lot of hateration directed toward the general concept of social media. These first tremors of backlash can be anxiety inducing if you or your client are feeling unsure about the value of “this whole social media thing.” The last thing companies want is to be embarrassed by jumping all gung-ho dollar signs onto some faddy bandwagon (hello Coke in SecondLife). And like every other shiny new movement, there’s bound to be an eventual moment where it finds itself being parodied on Saturday Night Live or poked at by Conan O’Brian.

Here’s a little Tuesday Trivia for you - what do environmentalism, Argentina, and a Netty Dress have in common? Still stumped? Well, each is an embodiment of the eco-friendly provider of all your outdoor clothing/gear needs for climbing, hiking, surfing, running and travel: Patagonia. Patagonia has been making quality outdoor wear with minimal environmental harm since 1972 and has become a staple “green” company since before it was the cool thing to do. So, continuing with our series, 26 Social Media Marketing Examples in Detail, I’m going to take a mental vacation and vicariously explore the great outdoors of South America by venturing into Patagonia’s online expeditions.

So what has this Fortune Magazine-dubbed “Coolest Company on the Planet” been up to in the world of social media? Let’s take a journey to find out…

Patagonia.com

Besides making it far too easy for me to watch my hard-earned paycheck disappear, the Patagonia Web site also contains a wide array of informative, enlightening, and engaging tidbits on environmentalism, conservationism, and, well, humanism. There are multiple subpages that offer some really interesting content, however, they’re not very social/interactive, which was a little disappointing. One of the more engaging parts of the site is The Footprint Chronicles - this is something I haven’t really seen before, but essentially it’s an interactive tool that guides you along the journey from raw material to final distribution by selecting a particular clothing item and traveling across a map from California to Turkey and back to L.A. This provides consumers with a unique perspective and insight into the full production process, leaving no secrets - I dig that.