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Get over it! Social media doesn’t owe you a thing!

Social media respect : Get over it! Social media doesn’t owe you a thing!

As the father of identical twins, I wonder if my dad simply grew tired of repeating himself and so decided to keep his lessons simple and few in number. Whatever the reason may have been, he focused on only a handful and he drove them home at every opportunity. By all accounts my father (he’s almost 80) has led a good life and a wall of service plaques and awards attest to his community leadership and contributions. It’s is my father who more than anyone, taught me about community and how it is the core of that good life. He never expected recognition for his efforts. Oh, he got some, but he never expected it or expressed regrets when it didn’t happen. “The world doesn’t owe you a thing son, just remember that.” – Gilbert H. Ducharme … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion, Relationship marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Tweet Tips: 12 Ways to Tweet the Same Thing

Tweet Tips: 12 Ways to Tweet the Same Thing

Just tweeting a subject line and link from a blog (be a post by you or a post on another blog) is not always the most effective way to drive traffic to the post. If the subject line is really good, that can certainly be effective, but there are other options to get people’s attention with your tweets. Be creative with your tweets and mix it up! As with subject lines, a little originality and creativity can really make your tweets stand out. Not all of these approaches would be suitable for use by you about your own posts. As well, not all of these examples as written will suit your personal style – the categorization I’ve done should be more helpful creatively than the actual examples. You have to decide what your style is and work it for all it’s worth. Be yourself and have fun! Just consider these examples some food for thought. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Belgian Marketing Professionals Waffle on Social Media

Belgian Marketing Professionals Waffle on Social Media

JP De Clerk (who is never shy about offering an opinion) vented some frustration in a post, that also appeared on Social Media Today, regarding the state of social media marketing in Belgium. Based on the numbers he cited from a recent report from Leads United of Antwerp, it appears he’s got good reason to rattle some cages. The study surveyed 70 Belgian communication and marketing professionals regarding their use of social media. It certainly appears that based on this survey, Belgian marketing professionals have a way to go yet. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Word-of-Mouth Marketing: The Ostrich Factor

Word-of-Mouth Marketing: The Ostrich Factor

I had an interesting exchange a few days ago regarding social media and the power of word-of-mouth. I was at my car dealership and one of their senior people was looking at a problem with my car. When he asked what I did for a living we started talking about social media. To set this up right, let me point out that this gent is a vet of the business, has seen a lot of changes and has tons of customer interaction and service experience. When I mentioned how word-of-mouth has been turbo charged by social media and too many businesses out there aren’t catching on fast enough, his response was one I’ve heard before. While he acknowledged the impact of social media and the reach it provides consumers, he felt that impact was lessened by the fact that most people will take any critical information on these channels with a grain of salt, assuming there are two sides to every story. This perspective can only be described as the “ostrich syndrome”, but even ostriches don’t … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing, Word of mouth marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Marketer’s Important Objectives for Social Media in 2011

Marketer's Important Objectives for Social Media in 2011

MarketingSherpa has posted an interesting chart derived from a survey of 3,300 marketers asked to indicate their most important social media marketing objectives they hope to achieve in 2011. The question was: What are the most important objectives for your organization’s social marketing program to achieve in 2011? Increasing website traffic via social media integration was number one at 56%, followed by improving brand awareness or reputation at 51%. Also top of mind at 51%, was the desire to develop an effective and methodical social marketing strategy. Achieving measurable ROI from social was most important to half of those surveyed, while converting social media members, followers and the like to paying customers was the primary to 45%. Achieving or increasing measurable lead generation from social marketing came in at 40%. Why is it that only half of those surveyed thought that achieving a measurable ROI from social media was important? Is this because the newness … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Research, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Top of the Pops: Five of Our Most Popular Social Media Posts

Top of the Pops: Five of Our Most Popular Social Media Posts

You may have noticed that we have a nifty little feature on our right nav bar which lists our most popular posts. Have you checked them out yet? Well, just in case you missed them the first time around, allow me to share a few of our most popular posts with you today! The Two Second Rule by Dave Chaffey Whether it’s welcoming a visitor to your site or social presence, the answer seems “not very long at all”. But, exactly how long do you have to make visitors “Think, Feel, Do”?! Brand Marketers & Social Media: Great Expectations by Jim Ducharme The debate regarding the value of social media to marketing is ongoing. On the one side we have the evangelists who preach that you just have to get in there and not worry about details like ROI. On the other, we have traditional marketers who are becoming more vocal in their demands for some kind of measurability. Somewhere in the middle of all this we have the question of how much a social media brand fan is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Spelling Out Social Media

Spelling Out Social Media

Ed note: This was originally posted at the Red Pill Email Blog. Thank you Shannon for letting us share it here too! Last week, I read a brilliant post by Jim Ducharme titled, “EMAIL: What’s in a name?” where he defined the word email. I loved the acronym approach he took as it really got me thinking about what’s behind my baby, social media. In contemplating the realities of my everyday job and my personal testaments, I’ve come up with my own list. Without further ado, here’s my take on defining social media: S – Speediness Yes, that’s right. Not strategy (you’ll find that elsewhere). If your company is going to invest in social media, you need to address the immediacy in responding to others. Don’t wait days after a question is posted, or after a contest has concluded to make respond. As mobile technology continues to grow, the requirement for propinquity will grow. Note that I don’t relate speediness to thoughtless replies, but as a way to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: ,

Report: Future Plans for Focus in Social Marketing

Report: Where Marketers Plan to Focus in Social Media

Yesterday I went over some numbers from the Social Media Marketing Report 2011, which showed how much time marketers invest in social media and how a number of things influenced the channels they focus on. Today, let’s look at where marketers plan to put their efforts in the future. 73% plan to increase usage of YouTube (videos), blogs, Facebook and Twitter while 86% stated they’ll reduce their efforts in MySpace. I’m sure you are utterly shocked about that MySpace percentage. According to the study, YouTube came out on top as the channel where most marketers plan to increase their efforts. 77% stated they would be doing more on YouTube and/or video marketing. 82% of those companies with 1000 or more employees indicated this as a key growth area. I’m not all that surprised by this. Video marketing isn’t as easy to jump into as other social channels and can be a little intimidating. So, its growth has been a bit slower, but as marketers witness the incredible power of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Research, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Social Media Will be Back After this Break from Tradition

Social Media Will be Back After this Break from Tradition

When TV was just starting out before any kind of formatics came into the picture, we had advertising which was integrated into the actual shows. Uncle Miltie might deftly shift from a performance or bit into a commercial for sponsor Texaco. As I recall, back then the line between programming and commercials was not as stark as it is today. As TV evolved, it went the way of radio and print where the content was segregated from the advertising rather starkly for the most part. Oh sure, you still had (and have) some live sponsor tags in radio, but mostly it’s all prerecorded and slickly produced. Radio and later TV advertising began to evolve as marketing execs started to formalize the presentation of commercials. The division between the content and the advertising which paid for that content widened. It’s ironic that commercials are unpopular among so many when they have funded and continue to fund the production of the content we enjoy. That’s simply a reality and by no … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Brand Marketers & Social Media: Great Expectations

Brand Marketers & Social Media: Great Expectations

The debate regarding the value of social media to marketing is ongoing. On the one side we have the evangelists who preach that you just have to get in there and not worry about details like ROI. On the other, we have traditional marketers who are becoming more vocal in their demands for some kind of measurability. Somewhere in the middle of all this we have the question of how much a social media brand fan is actually worth. According to a survey last year of social media marketers reported in eMarketer, it seems at least some marketers are moving away from the daunting task of attaching a hard dollar value to brand fans. So, since that’s the case, what are marketers really valuing now with their Facebook fans for example? The three top responses ran neck and neck percentage-wise with a source of insight and increased loyalty being number one with 85% of respondents. Right behind those at 80% was the hope that these fans would be brand advocates (word-of-mouth). There is indeed a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

7 Social Marketing Insights

Seven Social Marketing Inisghts

I’m known for turning a phrase now and then. You’ll find them (some of which have been inspired by other, smarter people) scattered through my posts around the web. Today, I thought I would gather seven of them to share with you all in one place. How insightful they actually are is for you to judge, but I do hope this post generates some thought and discussion. 1 - The web is driven by communities Communities laid the foundation for the web and they continue to be its engine. It’s certainly true that once companies developed transaction technology, the web started to develop into a commerce channel and money from that kept building it. However, without communities all you would have is huge strip mall with infinite parking. Understanding how communities grow and interact can help you develop a communication strategy which will work. 2 - The email vs. social debate is a red herring being used by some to drive personal agendas By definition any interaction between two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand marketing, Content marketing, Relationship marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Fusion Marketing Experience Wrap Report

Fusion Marketing Experience Wrap Report

I knew this event was going to be different from your standard online marketing conference, but until you experience it, you just don't realize how refreshing a whole new presentation style such as this can be! The speakers were not just there to do their strut on the catwalk and then leave -- they mingled and networked before and after their presentations. They shared their insight and gathered wisdom from attendees. From the excellent food to the intimate layout, well integrated social media (Twitter Wall) to the loose format which allowed for lots of learning in the halls; this was an event which remolded the genre. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm privileged to work with Both JP De Clerk and Rien van den Bosch, the two organizers, but even so, they still blew my mind with an event which was everything an online marketing conference should be. Quarterly Magazine, Reviews & Reports   [superbutton … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand marketing, Email marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Twitter Noise Reduction: The Twit Cleaner

Twitter Noise Reduction: Twit Cleaner

  Twit Cleaner is a handy little web app which gives you a report on the behaviour of those you are following on Twitter -- the app can also provide a report on you too. It has some potential for marketers using Twitter which I will get to in a moment. Twit Cleaner breaks down tweets this way: Dodgy - spam phrases, @ spamming, duplicate links etc Absent - No updates in a month, or fewer than 10 tweets. Repetitive - High numbers of duplicate tweets or links Flooding – High volume of tweets flooding your channel Non-Responsive - No interaction & those that follow back less than 10% Little New Content - Retweeting lots or just posting quotes NonResponsive - People who've posted less than 10 times, whose tweet streams are purely pumped out from an RSS feed, or have no followers Absent - People with deleted or suspended accounts (depending on whether they've left "voluntarily" or not) Based on the percentage of the behaviour flags above, Twit Cleaner rates … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Ahoy Social Media! Cap’n on Deck!

Ahoy Social Media! Cap'n on Deck!

  First the good news: According to Quaker Oats, Cap'n Crunch should soon be sailing social via Twitter and other channels. All it took were two guys with brains, imagination and some strong ideas about what social marketing can accomplish. Back in January I told you about a great social marketing initiative from a Chicago boutique agency called "the Giant Steps" regarding the iconic Quaker Oats brand Cap’n Crunch. It seems the folks at the Giant Steps had sat down to munch on some of the cereal and noticed the new retro packaging. The guys liked it and wanted to give props to the Cap’n for it. Unfortunately, their efforts to find the commander of the S.S. Guppy on social failed. When they asked Quaker Oats where he was, they were essentially told he was lost at sea and Quaker had called off the search. So, the Giant Steps decided to develop a campaign around answering the question of “Where’s the Cap’n?” They created “missing” posters which people could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Why Women Own Social Networking

Women and Social Networks

Has the male gender's seeming inability to interact beyond "road rage" and taunting at sports events finally caught up with us? Is my gender doomed to obscurity on social networks because we just don’t know how to communicate? Let’s face it, guys have issues when it comes to really communicating emotions and needs effectively. Oh sure, we’ll talk about how our local sports team sucks or maybe brag about that fish we caught, but do we really know how to share our lives in a social sense? I have to wonder when it appears our opposite gender is beginning to dominate social networking. Is this due perhaps to some kind of genetic shortcoming on our part? Soon men will be driven back to the garage where we will huddle around broken down, rusted muscle cars, drink beer and lament our relegation in grunted musings. I’m doomed. The only thing in my garage is a baby carriage and an electric mower. I’ve been reading comScore’s “2010 US Digital Year in Review” and one bit … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing, Word of mouth marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Influencers and the Power of Word-of-Mouth

Influencers and Word of Mouth

It’s long been known that word-of-mouth is an extremely powerful advertising method. Having customers who like your products or services enough to promote and recommend them to friends is the kind of advertising you just can’t buy. The web and social media haven’t changed that. Actually they’ve made WOM even more powerful because now brand advocates have much more reach via such social tools as Twitter and Facebook. Social channels such as these mean WOM is no longer limited to smaller circles of friends – now the world can hear people rave or rant about you. The studies I’ve read consistently state that a very small percentage (as small as 1%) of those using social media are actually doing the sharing and generating the content the vast majority consume. If you need to be reminded of this just take a look at the traffic of one of your blog posts and compare the traffic to the actual number of tweets or “likes” about the post. The post may get a real bump in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social media marketing, Word of mouth marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Parents are Social and Cross Channel Consumers

Parents are Social and Cross-Channel Consumers

It’s pretty easy to start thinking that demographics are just about age and gender, but of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. What channels people frequent are affected by where they happen to be in their lives and what they are focused on. Those stages and the inherent priorities are important flags which marketers should be sensitive to. According to a report from Media Audit (as reported by eMarketer) on social media users, where we happen to be in life means different frequency and usage of different channels. It won’t come as any surprise that younger respondents with no kids are the most active on Facebook, Twitter or Myspace. However, the study also found that adults with children were much more likely to be on social sites. More than 60% of those adults with kids living at home used Facebook, Twitter or Myspace. Parents with young children under six were the most avid users with 67.1% responding they had been on one social site at least in the past month, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Content marketing, Cross-channel, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Dave Chaffey: The Online Value Proposition

Dave Chaffey @ Fusion Marketing Experience

We’ve got a stellar line up of online marketing thought leaders as keynote speakers this year for the Fusion Marketing Experience in Brussels, March 23, 2011. Dr. Dave Chaffey is sure to be one of our big hitters! Dr. Dave Chaffey is the CEO and co-founder of Smart Insights. He’s been amassing experience and expertise in internet marketing and business technology since 1994 and has made a career out of sharing this knowledge and experience with students and professionals. He’s a much sought after consultant, passionate educator and published author. Dr. Chaffey is just the kind of chef we want cooking up new ideas about online marketing at the Fusion Marketing Experience. When we started putting this conference together, we went looking for leaders in the field who are “thought disruptors” and have a passion for bringing new ways and new ideas to share with others. It’s that passion they have for sharing ideas and the desire to help others take those ideas to the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Marketing And Branding in Social Gaming

Social Marketing : Social Gaming

My college programming professor always used to say that computer games were a complete waste of time and if you had spare moments, he expected you would use them to practice your coding. It was only after I graduated that I found out he was a big player of Sid Meyer’s Civilization. I wasn’t so much shocked as I was reassured that gaming is something even the most serious minded engage in. I’m not surprised that social gaming has taken off as it has. Facebook games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars allow one to interact and gain status within a community governed by rules which everyone (well almost everyone) abides by. Games allow for interaction while reassuring us that everyone is being guided by the same rules as we are. In the year of social media (2010) we also saw social gaming burst forth with huge numbers of people playing. Since the first online gaming networks came along in the late nineties, producers have struggled with revenue models. While subscription seemed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand marketing, Research, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,