Why Brands Need Friends - Not Fans - on Facebook. Clyde McKendrick is founder of Cultural Capital, an innovations and insights lab based within WDCW-LA, an integrated advertising agency where he also serves as executive strategy director.
Clyde has spent the last 15 years guiding brands like Pepsi, Red Bull and T-Mobile to develop their brand strategies and communications. Facebook offers brands access to its vast audience with no apparent cost of entry. Therefore, one would presume that brands would develop strategic and forward-thinking campaigns to maximize their reach. Not so. Instead, brands quickly entered a popularity contest for the most Likes. SEE ALSO: How Facebook Timeline Might Radically Change the Look of Brand Pages [PICS] Starbucks, one of the most popular brands on Facebook, has startlingly low engagement numbers, despite its 26 million fans.
The challenge for brands is to evolve from simply being a company with a product to becoming a valuable source for interesting, entertaining and useful content. 1. 2. 3. Google+: The Complete Guide. Using Google+?
Add Mashable to your circles. You'll get the latest about new Google+ features and tips and tricks for using the platform as well as top social media and technology news. Guide updated January 18, 2012 Google+: It's the hot social network on the block. In just a few months, Google's competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 40 million users, and its growth hasn't stopped. Google+, however, isn't the easiest thing to understand. A recent change new and old Google+ users should take note of is Search Across Your World launched on Jan. 10, 2012. Now Google can pull search results from your Google+ friends and material from other Google+ users whom you don't follow who have related content labeled public. We will continuously update this guide as new initiatives such as the Search Across Your World are started, further integrating Google+ into the Google ecosystem.
So, without further ado, here is Mashable's complete guide to Google+: 6 Ways to Be More Persuasive With Social Media. Neil Patel is the co-founder of KISSmetrics, an analytics provider that helps companies make better business decisions.
How can you be persuasive with consumers on social media? One of the best books on persuasion is called Influence, in which author Robert Cialdini describes six elements of effective persuasion. I share those tactics below and analyze how they can best be applied to a social media audience. 1. Reciprocation – The Oldest Trick in the Book Reciprocation is built upon the theory that if you give something as a gift and then ask the recipient for a favor, they’ll respond in kind. For example, Dropbox will give you 2GB of storage space for free. Another common social media strategy is to give away ebooks. 2. When it comes to making decisions, we often look to other people for clues. Subscriber or follower counts – Are a lot of people following this blogger? Bottom line: When it comes to social media, a large audience is golden. Why Companies Should Invest in Google+ Brand Pages. Crispin Sheridan | November 16, 2011 | 4 Comments inShare55 Three unique elements that you should consider before writing Google+ brand pages off.
As the lines between search engine optimization and social media continue to blur and form one synergistic effort, it is critical that both small and large companies stay up to date with new opportunities for spreading brand awareness and connecting directly with their audiences. When Google makes a move in the social space, it's important to pay attention to, understand, and identify how the offering can and should be leveraged for your business. With the recent announcement of Google+ brand pages, many people may be saying "My business is already active on Facebook and Twitter, why should I bother with yet another social media channel? " Smaller User Base Unique Functionality Google+ offers very unique functionality with its ability to host "Hangouts," or live audio/video chats, between itself and its audience. Crispin Sheridan. Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide.