Social media: Have we finally hit the peak of the hype cycle? Ted Sapountzis is vice president of social media audience marketing at SAP and has been with the company since 2004 in various product-management and strategy roles. You can follow Sapountzis on Twitter or visit his personal blog. It’s pretty simple, actually: The people we are trying to attract see no value, we are not able to show the return to our companies and our bosses are not willing to invest more, and so the vicious cycle continues. No, I am not predicting a doomsday scenario; I am merely looking forward to some sanity settling in as we get into 2012. Don’t get me wrong, I still fundamentally believe in the significant disruption that social media will cause to business. However, to paraphrase Mark Benioff, I believe we are about to enter a long and cold Enterprise Winter. Could the lackluster initial public offerings of Jive and Zynga this month be a sign of what to expect next year?
So what does this mean for us? 4 Reasons Blog Comments Are Great for Link Building. Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees. Small Businesses are Responding to Social Media Comments. I’m so pleased to see more and more small businesses embracing social media to market their businesses. Constant Contact’s Fall 2011 Attitudes and Outlooks Survey, released today, proves that the change is happening pretty rapidly: in the past six months, social media use among small businesses is up 8%, from 73% this spring. And what’s really interesting is small businesses are beginning to recognize the value in engaging with customers who post comments to social platforms. About 60% of those surveyed said they respond to these comments, whether they’re negative or positive.
So for every tweet, Facebook or Google + update or blog comment mentioning a brand, these companies are interacting with consumers in a way they weren’t just a few years ago. The 40% who aren’t regularly responding to comments gave the following reasons: They don’t have timeThey don’t think it’s necessaryThey don’t know what to say What about you? Do You Respond to Social Media Comments? Total Voters: 4,887. Your Business Needs a Marketing Video, Here’s How to Create One. When it comes to competing with larger corporations, small businesses struggle to compete in the marketing and advertising arena.
While a mom-and-pop store may not have a $1 million advertising budget, a great equalizer has recently entered the scene: the viral video. While it's true that not every video will reach the "viral" superstardom of YouTube favorites like Blendtec's iPhone "Will it Blend? " clip, which has garnered more than 3 million hits, video can help you market your business in a unique way without spending a lot of money. Nathaneal Mohr , a small business marketing coach, said while many small businesses readily acknowledge that video marketing is something they should be trying out, most are confused on how to begin.
"With confusion, people usually stay still," said Mohr. John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing , said fears aside—entrepreneurs need to take advantage of the opportunity video marketing presents. Define your audience. Think about your formula. Publications Video is Evolving -- Don't Get Left Behind 11/15. Consumer usage of video is increasing at an astonishing rate. Cisco has estimated that video will increase from 30% of Internet traffic in 2010 to 90% by 2013. Online retailers are already using video, and service companies, manufacturing, and many others are also hopping on board. The scope of businesses that employ video and the different uses for video are expanding. The message is clear: Consumers expect online video as a central element of a company’s communications strategy. No matter what sector of business you are in, incorporating video is an essential step in preparing yourself for the future of marketing. 73% of online retailers use video on product pages, which means that if you’re a retailer and you don’t have video on your site, you are officially in the minority, according to eMarketer.
Other sectors of business are beginning to follow suit. Video can be used in various ways, which explains why more companies are using video to achieve business objectives. Fashion's Next Frontier for Social Media - Digital. In addition to the social platforms, this summer Mr Porter added to its site Instagram, a photo-sharing program, as well as YouTube, which has been popular for its “how-to” videos. To achieve maximum engagement with consumers, content is updated multiple times a day during the week — and now the weekend, after the site found that fans are interested in new posts and tweets on Saturdays and Sundays, too.
Mario Muttenthaler, Mr Porter’s head of sales and marketing, said the most popular features are new arrivals, either new products, designers or trends, as well as a weekly style clinic where personal shoppers talk to shoppers in real time on Twitter and Facebook. This week, content on the site includes an editorial with British actor Bill Nighy — whose obsession with navy blue suits served as the focal point of the shoot — and a look at the style of Oscar winner Gary Cooper, a “sartorial role model” for the e-tailer. Facebook: Website killer. Bestselling author, Dave Chaffey, explains why the majority of corporate websites are in decline as Facebook snatches their traffic and the implications for marketing priorities? I was recently listening to an interesting talk by Dave Wieneke where he looked at the way brands need to change how they engage with consumers. One of the nuggets he shared, looked at the relative importance of company Facebook page visits against their main website visits.
So I dug into the original data -- 2011 research from Webtrends and Adgregate (PDF) and it tells a very interesting story I thought was worth summarising. For many companies now, particularly those with non-transactional sites, visitor figures are in decline, while their Facebook visitors are growing. 1. Looking at the year-on-year change in visits to Fortune 100 sites to 2010, the majority are declining, although of course there are similar levels of growth in others: 2. 3.
You'll know this, but this graphic makes the point forcefully: 4. Brian Solis on Five Common Social Media Mistakes and How to Avoid Them | Blog | Daily Dose. Brian Solis is known to many in the tech scene as a man about town. He's a social media connoisseur, speaker, author and is currently a principal analyst at the research firm, Altimeter Group. While his first book, Engage, covered how brands and businesses can use social media to build communities and support in the online ecosytem, his latest The End of Business As Usual covers the consumer revolution and what industries need to do to "rewire" their business models. Digital disruption seems to be hitting every business right now, but it's also causing many to thrive. Here, Solis offers five tips on how to avoid common social media mistakes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Shira Lazar is the host and executive producer of What's Trending live Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Facebook's New Analytics Reminds Businesses To Engage Fans.
Fans are 40-150 times more likely to consume branded content in their newsfeeds than on an actual fan page. Translation? November 21, 2011 New Facebook analytics are designed to remind businesses to engage fans on their business pages. Businesses large and small see the positive impact of engaging their brand-loyal public and—more importantly—potential customers with Facebook business pages.
While fan pages are typically seen as a destination for users who want to be privy to brand news, a recent comScore report shows that a page is really just the place where content resides. Fans are 40 to 150 times more likely to consume branded material in their news feeds than on the fan page itself. This discovery led to Facebook’s expansion of its Insights page to include new metrics and analytics for business owners, showing that engaging content does matter.
Facebook uses an algorithm that ensures that the most relevant content for each user finds its way onto that particular user’s news feed. 14 Powerful Tips for Marketing on Facebook. Posted on August 10, 2010 Filed Under Facebook, Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Traffic Building, Uncategorized Finding a good place to showcase your products, services and websites for free in the online world is a dream for everyone – Facebook has made this a reality. With half a billion Facebook users and thousands of online communities to choose from, Facebook has brought potential customers much closer to you. It’s no big secret that Facebook can help you in online marketing. However, I know there are many of you who believe that just registering on Facebook is enough… it’s not. Your Facebook success story ends before it even begins! There is much more to marketing on Facebook than just creating a profile. 1.
O Profile Picture: Always put your best foot forward, which means us e the most flattering picture as your profile picture. O Add Friends: After creating a profile, don’t wait for things to happen. Case the latest collection of your product. 2. 3. 4. Guest post: Karen Leland – Use SlideShare to tell your small business story. Editor’s Note: Karen Leland is a freelance journalist, best-selling author and president of Sterling Marketing Group, where she helps businesses negotiate the wired world of today’s media landscape — social and otherwise. She recently published this article, which got the attention of the SlideShare community and team.
Ms. Leland has graciously granted us permission to republish her article here as a guest post. I recently gave a talk to a group of new authors on how to promote and market their books. Instead of taking the time and expense of providing handouts (not to mention all the trees saved), I decided to create a SlideShare presentation and offer it, post-conference, to the participants. If you’re not familiar with the tool, Wikipedia likens SlideShare to “YouTube, but for slideshows.” My initial dabble in SlideShare started my marketing and branding brain humming about other ways the tool could be used to tell a small business story. Related Posts. Five Social Media Mistakes Your Startup Must Avoid. While using social media can be an effective marketing idea for startup companies on a small budget, executing them isn't always foolproof. Falling victim to any of the common flubs can end up damaging your business's reputation and chances for success. Here are five of the most common social media mistakes and how you can avoid making them.
No. 1: Starting without a plan. If you are tempted to skip creating a social media strategic plan for your business that outlines your goals and the resources you'll need to accomplish them, don't do it. By developing a plan, you create a critical foundation for which the rest of your social media efforts are based on. Your first step to creating a strategic plan for your social media operation is to answer the following questions: a. Answer these questions along with your core team members -- your lead sales, marketing and programming people. Related: More Social Media Mistakes No. 2: Poorly timing social media posts. (3) Chase Freedom. Three Tips for Getting Started on Foursquare. Luke Holden quit his job on Wall Street in 2009 to follow his dream of opening up a restaurant selling lobster sandwiches.
His small place in New York's East Village quickly garnered a loyal following, and Holden, who comes from a fishing family in Maine, has since opened up three restaurants. How has "Luke's Lobster" grown so rapidly despite the worst recession in decades? Holden hasn't spent a dime on television spots or newspaper ads. But he has spent a great deal of time on social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook. One of Holden's most powerful tools to reach new customers is a relatively new location-based social media tool called Foursquare. You might have heard of Foursquare, but if you're not using it for business, you're missing out on a powerful marketing and engagement tool that can help any business -- large or small -- tell its brand story to an entirely new category of consumer. Related: The Innovators -- Foursquare's Dennis Crowley (Video) Stake your claim. How to Make Facebook a Useful SEO Tool. 10 social networking etiquette mistakes | ITManagerDaily.com.
Social networking is becoming more of a necessity for companies and individuals, as it’s being used in marketing, job recruiting, and countless other areas. But like any other communication platform, there are etiquette rules that must be followed. Here are some of the top ways social network users fail to mind their manners, according to tech and etiquette experts: 1. Engaging badly behaved posters and commenters – Some people leave nasty comments on blog posts or online profiles just to get attention. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Can you think of any other social networking etiquette mistakes? Twitter for Business. Platform Basics - Facebook Help Center. 10 ways not to get turned off Twitter. Twitter has come into its own as the Western world’s No. 2 social network, smaller than the leviathan of Facebook, but frequently offering more potential to reach new customers and make professional connections. Its open-endedness, however is a weakness, too: Joining Twitter can be a disorienting experience that falls short on instant gratification. Here are 10 tactics for making an entrance on Twitter a rewarding experience: 1. Pick who you're following carefully Of all the complaints that Twitter newbies make, “I can’t stand the people I’m following” seems to come up most often. There’s a simple fix to this: Unfollow all the people who irritate you.
It’s true that there’s some value in following feeds for strategic reasons, but at the end of the (busy, overcommitted) day, you won’t use a service that irritates you. 2. Once you’re signed up, the next question is what to say. This isn’t a terrible idea on its own, but it will quickly get tired for subscribers. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.