Who’s right, Betty White or the newest AARP Social Media Survey for the baby boomer crowd?  On her recent SNL appearance, White satirically exclaimed that social media tools, like Facebook (the site that helped put her on SNL) are a “huge waste of time.”  But, according to a recent AARP study, one in four Americans 50 years and older stay connected using social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.  Additionally, nearly half of older adults, aged 50 to 64, say they are ”Internet savvy.” In fact, AARP’s study prompted the organization to redesign its own website to increase its focus on social networking and refine its look and feel.  

These findings supersede notions that the baby boomers lack the adeptness and know-how to navigate the social media environment. Looks like it’s not just for kids anymore.

While the boomers are increasingly embracing these technologies in their personal lives, the trend hasn’t been as quick to catch on in the workplace.  Many companies are still reluctant—sometimes completely opposed—to using social media, because of misconceptions that these tools waste employee time, can cause brand damage and a loss of brand control and greaten the risk of lawsuits or disclosure of “corporate secrets.” 

While the social media pool is complex, it is clearly here to stay and continues to generate momentum across generations.  These websites and tools are fruitful opportunities for organizations to consume, create, share and influence information on their own terms.  And you don’t have to be a cannonball to make waves—instead, consider baby steps:

Begin by listening at a safe distance, find your audience, develop a clear strategy and then establish your social media footprint. Done right, organizations can deeply influence effective team building, communication and collaboration.

As the prevalence of social media continues to rise, organizations of all types and sizes are recognizing the ways in which social media can help them better understand, respond to and attract the attention of their target audience. So while Ms. White might call on her Ouija board to make connections, the rest of us should consider ways to start or ramp up our own campaigns and leverage the power of social media.

With access to endless amounts of audience research niche marketing is more prevalent and calculated than ever before. Companies target moms, kids, and even grandparents, but are they forgetting someone?  Based on an article in BrandWeek the answer would appear to be yes.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, singles, as in the unmarried, spent $2.2 trillion in 2008. With a growing market of over 110 million single Americans out there, why not target singles as a unique and important demographic? After looking at the numbers some companies are beginning to do just that.

Recently, Norwegian Cruise Lines announced that their new ship set to debut this July will feature single occupancy cabins. Hasn’t this been done before? The surprising answer is no. While some cruise lines have “singles cruises” where guests can troll for dates on the ship’s deck, none offer single occupancy cabins for their traditional cruises. If you were to travel solo on these trips you would have to take a double occupancy room and of course pay double the price.

Coldwell Banker debuted an ad campaign aimed at single home buyers, with good reason. According to National Association of Realtors, single women accounted for 21 percent of home purchases in 2009. Coldwell Banker has even called singles the “new wave” of home buyers.

With staggering statistics that continue to grow, perhaps it’s time to use market segmentation at its best and include singles.

Just Ask a Woman states: “Letting singles go unnoticed is just leaving money on the table.” So why aren’t more companies following the campaigns of Coldwell Bankers and Norwegian Cruise Lines?

Singles are clearly on the rise, but there is still speculation about whether or not it is cost-effective or effective at all to segment by one’s relationship status. Do people self-identify as singles or do they even want to be associated with that lonely phrase? There’s only one way to find out. Put it to the test. With the likes of Norwegian and Coldwell Banker taking the first step, we’ll probably have some good insights soon.

Who knows niche marketing and the singles set could be the perfect marketing match and live happily ever after.

“We believe that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. We call it The Fun Theory.”

This statement is the impetus for a clever viral marketing campaign from Volkswagen launched last week that has already yielded more than 3 million impressions online. The lead video, promoted via TheFunTheory.com and posted on YouTube, asks the question: “Can we get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?” In the video, shown below, workers transform a subway staircase into a piano that plays musical notes when you walk on them. The result: 66% more people than normal chose the stairs over the escalator. Other examples include “The World’s Deepest Bin” and the “Bottle Bank Arcade Machine.”

Click here to see the video.

Kudos to VW for a job well done. The only element that’s still not altogether clear, however, is how the campaign ultimately ties back to Volkswagen. Sure the VW logo is subtly on the campaign website and at the end of each video, generating millions of impressions. But what’s the message – that VW cars are fun to drive? What’s the behavior they’re trying to change – stop driving your clunker and trade it in for a VW? Upon some further digging, it turns out that VW is rolling out new Diesel-based cars, which they are positioning as more environmentally-friendly.  Hence, the recycling, walking, and trash disposal themes of the videos.

For the average consumer, this campaign falls a little short. The behavior change that would have the biggest impact on the environment could be reducing our reliance on cars in favor of walking, biking, and public transportation. Now if only there was a way to make that fun.

99 cents for a cab ride in New York City? Sounds like a pretty good deal when a typical NYC cab ride costs between $10 and $20 (sometimes even more) depending on traffic.

During the month of June, Verizon is showing people the value of a dollar to raise awareness for their prepaid cellular plans. These plans charge a mere 99 cents a day as a usage fee, but not many consumers are aware they exist. Verizon’s guerilla campaign, “99 cents does more”, intends to show consumers just how far 99 cents can get you.

On June 10, 99 cents took New Yorkers pretty far as Verizon sponsored a fleet of 40 cabs that transported commuters from the key transit hubs during rush hour. Passengers were treated to a ride to anywhere in Manhattan for just 99 cents.

In addition to cheap taxi rides, Verizon will show New Yorkers a sweet deal on June 23. Trucks will be set up around the city serving Mr. Softee Ice Cream for 99 cents.

Verizon isn’t the only company to launch a recession-based marketing campaign. Sharpie has developed an online community where users can share affordable and creative tips using Sharpie. Giant’s campaign has also jumped on the recession bandwagon by providing online coupons for customers with a Giant Bonus Card.

In these times of economic recession, everyone is pinching pennies. As a result, companies must find a way to reach consumers in a time when many are hesitant to splurge. Verizon’s campaign shows that you don’t always have to spend a lot of money for quality. Through their guerilla tactics, Verizon is teaching New Yorkers the all-important value of a dollar.

You get the request in public relations all the time: “I want to be a thought leader.” The problem is that saying it – even wanting it really badly – doesn’t make it happen. You have to earn it. You have to prove it. And that’s exactly what one client we work with did last week.

The client: a software services firm named Alliance Global Services. The situation: a competitor, Indian outsourcing giant Satyam, essentially became the Enron of India several weeks ago when its chairman confessed to inflating profits to the tune of more than a billion dollars over the course of several years. In the ensuing fallout, competitors all clambered to win over Satyam’s outraged clients.

Alliance could have simply piled on and joined the masses professing expertise, trustworthiness, and financial viability to anyone who would listen. But they wanted to do more than that. We helped them demonstrate leadership through the development of an IT Bill of Rights, intended to serve as a conversation starter for the creation of a new set of industry standards for IT vendor/client relationships.

The bill outlines ten new rules of engagement designed to ensure greater accountability and integrity among IT service providers and ultimately to restore confidence in the industry. A web site, www.ITBillofRights.org, was created to give others in the industry an opportunity to react, contribute to or simply join the effort in a show of support. Now Alliance is taking a leadership role and prompting and facilitating a conversation that will hopefully lead to real industry change.

Their leadership position has been recognized by clients and competitors and through coverage by top media, including BusinessWeek and Information Week among others.  And that leadership position should be an asset in sales conversations going forward.

The lesson here is that real leadership is demonstrated through actions, not rhetoric. Companies can only become thought leaders if they earn it.