ZeroChaos is, according to their website, “ a full-service provider of high-quality contingent workforce solutions.” I do some work for a client through them and was having some issues this week that required dealing with their customer service department, so I wound up spending some significant time on their site.

They’re doing one thing right on their home page (and throughout their site): They have links to their Facebook, Twitter and blog feeds.

They’re doing three things wrong on their home page (and throughout their site): They have links to their Facebook, Twitter and blog feeds.

Click on the Facebook link and get to a dead Facebook page with no content.

Click on the Twitter link and get to a list of ZeroChaos associates which isn’t really helpful if you’re looking for official news and information, and possibly a customer service channel, for ZeroChaos.

Click on their blog link and get a 404 error page.

That’s 0 for 3 … 0 as in zero … zero as in ZeroChaos having zero clue about social media.

(If you want to count online customer service chat as social media, then I could make an 0 for 4 argument, but I don’t want to be accused of piling on.)

Seriously, putting one’s social media icons front and center, but then offering absolutely nothing when the user clicks on them is about as shabby as it gets. Is no one at ZeroChaos checking their own site? Is no one there charged with maintaining their social media presence? At the very least, pull the icons and links off the site entirely so you don’t look like a completely clueless company.

Takeaway for marketers: You set up the blog and the Facebook and the Twitter 18 months ago … do you have any idea what’s happening with them today?

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
—Arnold Schwarzenegger

How long before a political issue or movement can be appropriated for marketing purposes? Well, according to the screen shot of my inbox above (note the highlighted subject line from Daily Candy), the over/under seems to be about a month.

Haven’t we all felt like Michael Douglas in Falling Down from time to time?

Several times a week I receive an email that says something like the following (excerpted from one I received yesterday):

Could you please let me know your target market that you are focusing to reach.

I could help you reach this market through our 11+ million business contacts database which was released this Jan 2011.The list comes with information such as: Company Name, Website, Executive Contact Name, Title, Verified opt-in Email address, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, Fax number, Industry, Sic Code, Revenue, Number of employees etc. You can use this list for online lead generation, telemarketing, newsletter promotions, etc.

The list I really want is a list of list marketers so I can send them all a targeted message to remove me from their list marketing their lists.

Takeaway to marketers: Email to third-party lists like these is repeatedly shown to be among the absolute worst-performing online marketing tactics. Just saying.