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The rapid pace of the social media landscape is exciting and definitely overwhelming. There are so many opportunities (and the majority of them low cost) but so few that end up with genuine results for your brand.

The impulse to throw your hat into every single ring is understandable. After all, you don’t want to be the brand that doesn’t have a Facebook page when every competitor has already surpassed 10k fans. But you also don’t want to be the brand that half-heartedly sets up a page on a platform where none of your customers hang out and lets the digital weeds grow.

Remember, just having presence on a social media platform does NOT make it a strategy. A strategy is developing said presence, growing your user base, engaging and exciting your fans, and seeing real ROI — whether it’s in the form of sales, biz dev or good ole fashioned brand building. Research is critical to understanding whether a platform is right for you. Perhaps you have a product that is geared toward teenage boys. Then maybe Pinterest isn’t where you should put all of your energy. Know what each platform offers, what people are doing on them (e.g. if Pinterest is for what people want to do, then Facebook/FourSquare is what people are doing) and assess it for your brand. If you’re not a location-based brand, then maybe FourSquare isn’t for you. p.s. We have some good Pinterest tips for you here.

Knowing the user base of every emerging social media platform and knowing what that user base is doing on the platform is key to your strategy. If your service or product doesn’t fit, then keep tabs on the platform as it is constantly evolving and can shift to eventually meet your needs, but don’t spend energy, resources and time on a platform where you don’t have any customers or engaged user base.

Unless you have an unlimited budget (in which case, you are Apple), you’re not going to have enough community managers and PR professionals to truly leverage all of these social media platforms. Focus on the most important ones for your audience, and the ones that make the most sense for your brand. To use a dreaded phrase, keep a finger on the pulse but don’t expend the resources that will be better suited to more productive platforms.

Mere presence on social media platforms is not a strategy. It’s not even good branding. It shows a lack of sophistication both around your brand and around the social media platform. It’s certainly a fine balance between getting swept up in media hype around the latest, greatest thing that will eventually evaporate in a matter of months, and being tragically left behind.

So just take a deep breath, relax, and start using these mediums, talk to the folks who are also experimenting with them and do your research. Once you know it’s the right place for your brand, you can then dedicate your creativity and budget without feeling stretched thin.

And don’t forget, today’s Pinterest might just be tomorrow’s Friendster.

What is “Kihon?” The word is a Japanese term referring to mastering the basics and fundamentals of martial arts. For Kihon Games, the term is a philosophy, the way that Kihon approaches their craft. This dedication to quality and creativity led to Kihon’s investment from the venerated Rick Thompson and his Signia Ventures. We are proud to work with Kihon Games and in this interview with the App Marketing Podcast, CEO Mark Grossnickle offers insight into Kihon’s process, his vision, and the surprising genesis of Kihon’s first title, the popular game “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig),” which recently surpassed half a million downloads. Along the way, Grossnickle explains his career path, and (brag alert) Change Communications gets a nice shoutout around the 18:00 mark! Thanks, Mark! It’s been our pleasure.

Kihon’s upcoming title, “Dojo Danger,” will hit the Apple store in Q2.

This week, we got great news for three of our beloved clients so we’re celebrating with a cocktail.

Our first official client ever, eCert, won a well-deserved recognition, winning SC magazine’s award for Best Rookie Security Company. It’s an honor to be nominated but it’s way more awesome to win.

Then, one of our newer, exciting clients, ViewBug, was featured as the website of the week by e-junkie.com, highlighting the passion that is the foundation of ViewBug. The founders of ViewBug are two energetic entrepreneurs with a love for photography and a greater love for community. Getting to tell their story is absolutely thrilling.

And lastly, Kihon Games, the team that brought “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)” to your iPhone, announced a major investment from a revered game industry vet with impeccable taste.

The common thread for all three companies? They all love doing what they’re doing. Sound simple enough? It is, but it’s shocking how few people are actually doing it. So we salute eCert, Kihon and ViewBug for not only loving what they do but being darn good at it, too.

That’s a quote we always see on a billboard when driving to San Francisco. And it pretty much sums up our love for life and pizza. ‘Cuz we love pizza. Fancy pizza, cheap pizza, boxed pizza, microwaveable pizza, pizza pockets – you name it, we’ll eat it and enjoy it. Our favorite pizza place in L.A.? Mulberry Street Pizza. In San Francisco, we’re partial to Irving Street Pizza. NYC? Everywhere. Don’t get us started on Chicago. Our love for pizza is why we’re thrilled to work with Mobi Pizza.

Take equal parts social gaming, Yelp integration and pizza, and you’ve got the new free mobile app, Mobi Pizza. A hungry gamer’s dream, Mobi Pizza is the only independent app where users can play a Pizzeria Challenge game, make over the top “dream” pies, and check Yelp listings for local pizza parlors, all from their iOS device.

Mobi Pizza challenges players to run a successful pizzeria, while managing an overhead of $100 a day to stay in business. The Pizzeria Challenge is absolutely a time management game, as you’ll find order tickets piling up once you start creating your first pie. With the pressure of a ticking clock, this quickly becomes a game of memory and coordination, as you rush to fill and ship orders. The more pizzas you bake and ship successfully, the more money you make in a day. Mobi Pizza is even sensitive to the personal touches you add to your pizzas, paying out tips for extra sauce and toppings, and charging for botched orders. Not a pizza-pie virtuoso? No worries. As with any good app, Mobi Pizza gives you the opportunity to purchase more “Mobi Money” within the game. You’ve got to spend money to make money, right?

One of the most interesting features of the app is the Yelp integration. If you develop a craving in the middle of the game, switch to the Yelp directory to locate pizza shops close to your location. You have full access to Yelp’s listings, reviews and even directions capabilities. In the coming months, Mobi Pizza will launch a feature allowing users to order pizza directly from the app.

Mobi Pizza is a great example of combining social gaming with real usability. That, in tandem with its genuinely fun and interactive game-play will keep this new app in high rotation on our iOS. Originally created for the iPad, Mobi Pizza is also available for the iPhone and iPod, and has been optimized as a native app for both iPads and iPhones. Download the Mobi Pizza app for free from the iTunes store.

Not using Pinterest yet? You should be. Once the near exclusive playground of blossoming fashion bloggers and hobbyists, the image-collecting platform has quickly evolved into a brand specialist’s dream.

More than just a way to pass the time when executives aren’t looking, Pinterest should be viewed as the next natural extension of your current social media and branding efforts. You create “Boards,” or galleries, to organize things you find online that peak your interests, and reflect your — or your brand’s — style and aesthetic. Those items are then “Pinned,” or categorized, by topic. This is more than organizing pretty pictures. You’ve got a platform for creating visual and emotional connections between users and the things your brand stands for, the lifestyle your brand pushes, and the ideas and images you want your market to ascribe to. Basically, users are linking into, and engaging with, the soul of your company. This being the case, you really want to make sure your Pinterest manager had a strong sense of your business’ voice and message.

Remember, Pinterest is not just an output medium, where you exclusively push your brand’s message (think Facebook or Twitter). It’s more of an interests sharing experience. You’re showcasing the things you discover online, and you’re sharing pins from other users. And, just as much as Pinterest opens a small window to the minds behind your business, it’s also an opportunity for you to get to know your market. Browse the pins of the people following you–you’ll learn all sorts of things about their interests, and how your company’s mission, products and activities line up.

There are five things to keep in mind when starting and running your Pinterest page:

– Get creative: Run a contest, source pictures for giveaways, create and share visual stories. Mashable‘s Lauren Drell has some great ideas on ways to capitalize on pinning.

– Be consistent: Just as sad as it is to see a company with a stagnant Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or blog, its entirely depressing to see a company with an underwhelming Pinterest page. Especially in light of the vibrant pages populated by hobbyists who pin for fun, not brand appeal. Don’t stop at one board. Create many. And fill them!

– Be intentional: Obviously, you don’t want to pin randomly; rather, pin things that speak to your brand. Take a look at the way Allrecipes pins about food, drinks and cookbooks, or the way Modcloth pins reflect a cute, vintage-loving girlie-girl aesthetic, through fashion, food and craft boards. Be creative and expansive, but always pin with your company’s brand in mind.

– Be unselfish: Again, Pinterest is a discovery platform. Don’t just pin things from your company’s repertoire. Pin from multiple brands and multiple sites. And, re-pin from other people’s boards. Not only does that show you play fair, but it also brings humanity to your brand, and is the first step to establishing an active relationship with your followers.

– Most of all, have fun!

–By Kara Ashe, Account Executive

Who doesn’t appreciate a nice little pat on the back, especially if it comes from prestigious industry bigwigs?

For us, our awards come when our clients are honored. You won’t see a laundry list of industry awards for Change Communications and that’s because we don’t submit for them for ourselves. They take entirely too much time and energy, and those are better spent securing awards for our clients.

So we are thrilled to congratulate email security leader eCert for being honored by SC Magazine as a finalist for Best Rookie Security Company!

In addition, eCert is also recognized by the Info Security Products Guide as a finalist for two awards: Best Security Products and Solutions for Finance and Banking and for Best New Security Start-Up Company of the Year. Last year, eCert won Info Security Products Guide’s awards for Best Security Innovation and Woman Executive of the Year for CEO, Kelly Wanser.

eCert has been recognized for its security service to protect the email traffic of enterprises, banks/institutions, government agencies and all of their constituents, which basically means that they are protecting YOUR email from phishing and email fraud attacks. You don’t have to know how eCert does it but know that they are there making sure you’re not getting a wave of emails from fake banks asking for your financial information.

And hey, friendly PSA because we care, never give out your financial or personal information (social security number, address, banking account numbers, passwords, etc) to ANYONE, especially Nigerian Princes!

Yesterday, we read the rather sordid (and frankly, mildly depressing) article about a boneheaded PR/Marketing guy who sent a nasty email response to a customer of his client’s, an interesting video game control manufacturer called N-Control. The customer, appropriately offended, responded to the rep, one Mr. Paul Christophoro, and CCed several influential gaming blogs, including Kotaku and Penny Arcade.

If you have the time and inclination, you can read a summary of the shenanigans here and the original article on Penny Arcade here, but to summarize, Christophoro proceeded to send even more cringe-worthy emails attempting to bully the customer AND the game blogs, merrily digging his own grave, unaware of such a thing called The Internet that would allow his embarrassing emails to live on in infamy.

Appropriately, Mr. Christophoro has since become a much-maligned Internet meme, and has since lost the client he was representing. It’s certainly disappointing to hear that he and his family are being harassed. The wrath of the Internet community is vicious and often, unnecessary. We ourselves have made many professional mistakes, for sure. And we don’t want anyone to be crucified for mistakes that any one of us can make, especially if they are sincerely apologetic. But Christophoro hardly made a mistake. He acted like a jerk with no instigation. That’s not a mistake. That’s a personality flaw. That’s just a poor human being.

The lesson here isn’t from Christophoro, though (uh, don’t act like a bullying jerk). The lesson is that a company like N-Control, and any other company, should think twice before hiring bully PR firms or individuals. It’s not a secret when someone is a bully PR person or a firm reeks of a certain negative aggression. The overly aggressive approach, the promises and guarantees of PR success, the name-dropping, perhaps the typo-ridden emails? Those should all be major detectors that the person you’re dealing with isn’t the right person to be dealing with your public image.

Given the massive verbal and grammatical atrocities committed by Mr. Christophoro in his emails to the customer and Penny Arcade, there is no doubt in our minds that he must have sent similarly poorly-constructed and written emails to his client. Yet they hired him nonetheless. Your PR/Marketing person can’t spell “marketing” properly and you hire them? To quote Penny Arcade, “Just wow.”

If you hire a bully PR firm, the blame lies with you, too. It’s easy to blame them (and yes, they do deserve the bulk of the blame), but you are also the one who entrusted them with your valuable public image, knowing that you were unleashing a loose cannon out there. Sure, hindsight is 20/20 and no one can predict someone’s behavior, but there had to have been signs that Christophoro was not who he professed to be (again, we’re going to say it again, the typo-ridden emails should have been the first and only clue!).

Many people like an aggressive approach; no one likes a bully. They have no place in business, and they shouldn’t be supported by your company’s dollars. Take the responsibility in ensuring that the people you are hiring to represent your public face, communicating with your customers, and pitching your respective media, is not a bullying jerk. They’re easy to spot.

We can’t remember the last time we asked for a holiday present from a friend or loved one. Maybe we’re just old, and the joy of furiously unwrapping a present seems like a childhood novelty, but there’s never been a “thing” that we’ve wanted, other than a vintage Shelby Mustang and we don’t think anyone loves us THAT much. And seriously, Car Commercials, do people really buy each other cars for the holidays? Because if so, we’d like to marry you. Instead, we’ve always hoped our family members and friends would donate to one of the many in-need charities that we support. And that’s our hope for you, that you too will encourage your loved ones, clients, vendors, whoever sends you a fruit basket, to save that money and donate it to a non-profit instead.

And before you worry that the non-profit that you are considering donating to is one run by corrupt types like the scummy Wyclef Jean, Charity Navigator has always been a good tool to research a non-profit that you’re interested in donating to. Word-of-mouth among your network doesn’t hurt, nor does a quick and dirty Google search of the charity.

And hey, if you really love us, and we know that you do, we’ll forgo that vintage Mustang if you donate to one of the below non-profits that we support. They are all organizations we’ve either done pro bono work for, charities that we’ve volunteered for, or charities that we simply support and believe in, so we’re pretty confident that your money will go into the right hands and a make difference.

Be the Match Foundation/Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
What a Pair! (benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Institute)
The Alameda County Community Food Bank
The Midnight Mission
Testicular Cancer Foundation
JW House
Good Neighbors
Bay Area Parents Leadership Action Network
Oakland Digital

Oakland has always been in the news, but always for the wrong reasons. Whether for gang violence, an alarmingly high crime rate, or just their rowdy football fans, Oakland has struggled to overcome its reputation as a dangerous place to be. But like everything, there are two sides to Oakland, and with local organizations like Oakland Digital championing the city, Oakland is changing its reputation and increasing its presence in the technology market that neighboring San Francisco and Silicon Valley have a stronghold on.

The not-for-profit Oakland Digital Arts and Literacy Center works to provide technology education to small businesses and low-income students and adults, improving their lives one gigabyte at a time. Much like the similar-minded Bay Area Parents Leadership Action Network, Oakland Digital puts the tools in the hands of people who lack the resources but have the desire. Change Communications is proud to support Oakland Digital, who embody what it means to be the change.

In December, Oakland Digital will be hosting its 2nd annual Inspiration Awards and are looking for a few good sponsors. Obtain sponsorship information and details on the awards ceremony, where longtime Oakland supporter MC Hammer, Change Communications’ client North Social, and musician Goapele will be honored for their contributions to Oakland. And keep Oakland in the news for the right reasons.

Back-to-school season is officially underway and it’s always during this time that we at Change Communications rue the sad state of public education in our country. Instead of kicking rocks, we want to do more to improve the quality of public education for children in American, no matter their socioeconomic status. To that end, we’re lucky to work with PLAN (Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network), a non-profit organization comprised of parents and caregivers that advocates for low-income families in public education.

PLAN‘s message is positive and inspiring. The hard-working advocates at PLAN believes that the schools most affected by a failing education system can be reformed if parents unite, become educated, and are given adequate tools to make a change. Through a diverse mix of networking forums, leadership trainings, and action campaigns, PLAN offers parents the powerful tools they need to help reform the school systems in their communities.

As a 501(c)(3) dependent on rapidly shrinking grants, PLAN is currently seeking sponsors for their upcoming fundraiser gala ceremony in December. In addition, PLAN is always seeking annual corporate sponsors. If you know of a company that believes in building a voice for children throughout the Bay Area, please send an email to melia(at)parentactionnet.org. You can also make donations on their Website. It’s time to get with the PLAN!