Delia: Welcome to the Leadstream Podcast! To listen to the podcast, simply click on the “arrow” button.

Today, we’re talking with Giovanni (Gio) Galluci, Search and Social Media Evangelist. Gio writes strategy for new developments in social media, search and technology, and functions as top level contact to assist clients, staff and partners in determining technology and media requirements and solutions for DexterityMedia. You can follow the link to view the website. Gio created DexterityMedia, social media website directory, socialtrackr.com, and posts almost daily on his blog, TheAgencyBlog.com.

Galluci is on the faculty of xTrain providing training on podcasting and social media, and is a speaker at various industry events including ad:tech, FlashForward, Got Social Media?, Search Engine Watch Live! eMarketing Summit, and macworld.

Good morning, Gio.

Gio: Good morning.

Delia: Do you feel that social media will still be the hot topic of 2008?

Gio: Absolutely! In fact, I think that 2008 is going to be somewhat of a honeymoon for social media the same way that search enjoyed its day in the sunshine a couple of years ago. So, there’s so much stuff that encompasses the phrase or the term, social media. In particular though, I think, we’re looking at a very, very hot year for video. And that just comes from consumer-generated content and how marketers can use it, and technologists can use it as well as social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Bebo and places like that. Read more

Iowa voters spoke loudly this week in the Democratic and Republican caucuses. And depending on the campaign, the roster of candidates in both parties is recalibrating itself as things roll on towards New Hampshire and beyond. Republican winner and upstart Mike Huckabee heads to the Granite State with clear momentum from his 8 point victory in Iowa, as does his Democratic counterpart, Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are left sorting through the debris of millions in Hawkeye advertising expenditures and little real return for the investment.

What does any of this mean from an online marketing standpoint? Well, it’s a mixed bag. Candidates are surely spending loads of cash on display advertising and socking away tens of millions of monthly impressions. At the same time, they’re investing in website development that’s allowing online visitors to view candidate videos, make instant campaign donations, sign-up for local volunteer efforts and meetings, and otherwise jumpstart viral campaigns that run less on money and more on word of mouth. In a phrase, the 08 online campaign season is shaping up to be consistently unpredictable.

Overall, there are two important lessons to be learned.

Lesson One: A wave of political advertisements, paid and otherwise, are flooding the ether. Read more