Our advice - be worth Liking
Value: [rating=4]
Our commentary: I've blogged about it in the past, and of course getting Likes is fundamental to not only Facebook marketing but increasingly digital marketing, especially if you're in B2C. Yet at the same time - the drive to Like can sometimes feel, well, desperate. Though I am the first to appreciate strong calls to action - and some traditional "DM" thinking, it's also worth remembering why the visitor or customer would bother, no matter how big or elaborate the arrows on your sign up tab are. We know that collecting Likes is not the point, it is one crucial part of the process, I think it's the result of inspiring someone in the first place (maybe briefly, maybe they've loved your brand for years) - the Like connection then opens up the potential…
Considered, clever and committed - Cisco share their insight
Since experimenting with a blog back in 2005 Cisco's clever use of social media now plays a serious part in the company's worldwide presence, writes Meryl K. Evans in a post at the B2B Social Media Digest - Cisco staff update content regularly and engage with audiences, it's part of the company culture and their pride in being the 'human network'.
As background and context for colleagues on the journey to social media you may want to check:
The Timeline of The Journey to Social Media at Cisco
The company's vision to inform it's social media strategy is considered and simple - the company's director of social media, John Earnhardt says Cisco "€œchanging the way we work, live, play and learn" We believe it's something that networking technology inherently does. We connect. We make the world a smaller place through video and…
Groupon - The Failed Magic Bullet? A 'cool tool' won't fix a weak sales promotion...
It's the third time now that that I've heard reference to new research on Groupon indicating that "32% of businesses using Groupon find it unprofitable". The report by Utpal Dholakia of Rice University in the US is the first of it's kind, surveying 150 businesses, it can be found here.
With the chatter this week that Google is in discussion with Groupon about a $5 billion acquisition it's likely that Google sees the advantages in a scalable, viral platform solution and they realise it can be made to work if the sales promotion is right.
There are common themes from those 32% of businesses that were unhappy:
Groupon promotions worked effectively to drive purchase, often too many sales were made
Some people spend a lot less than others - consumers are extremely price sensitive
The consumers using Groupon are deal hungry…
So, you're maybe launching a new campaign, maybe a product launch, something like that. You've limited budget and time, do you create a micro-site, a new Facebook fan page or section within your current site? I've faced this dilemma before and I came across this article from Guy Kawasaki, which I feel offers some valuable perspective from somebody like him, so I wanted…
One in four page views are on Facebook in the US
Hitwise has reported that visits to Facebook accounted for over 10% of US Internet traffic in the week ending November 13, 2010, year-on-year that's a whopping 63.5% up from the same period in 2009.
Of course, both Google and You Tube show Growth as well, but nothing like Facebook - this is on top of Facebook reaching it's other milestone this year when it overtook Google in the US to become the most-visited website of the week (March 13, 2010).
But what's really interesting here is that content consumption via Facebook has also increased: Nearly one in four page views in the US took place on Facebook in that same…
Dan Zarella - the social media scientist - suggests that as social media marketers, there are lessons that we can learn from hypnosis and suggestion - though personally I'd be more likely to take this as a bit of light entertainment and genuinely fascinate our "subjects", over trying to hypnotise them :-) There are one or two good (ethical) points - share your ideas on hypnotising in marketing, in the comments!
1. Suggestibility
This is a measure of how inclined a person is to act a suggestion of another person. Research indicates shown that there's a connections between how hypnotizeable a person is and how easily they react to suggestions.
Zarella suggest that in social media, once we understand the level of engagement - the people who respond to joining email lists, who ReTweet links, or respond with social…
Yesterday, Facebook launched 'Deals' - a new application within Facebook's now updated iPhone app - it will let you find deals at nearby businesses. It's only available on iPhone for now, and only in the US until early next year.
Mashable explains that there are four types of deals: "Individual Deals (for discounts, free stuff or other rewards), Friend Deals (where you and a pal claim something together), Loyalty Deals (for the regulars) and Charity Deals (which allow you to donate to a cause)".
The concept is simple enough - users look for the yellow icon when they Check In using Places. You then click on the deal to claim…
Social network LinkedIn beefs up company profile pages
Aside from improvements to the user profiles and implementing Groups half-way through this year, Techcrunch have posted about the beefed up Company profile page, a feature originally launched back in April this year. Now with over 1 million company pages already, LinkedIn is clearly seeing the value and creating new ways in which to members and companies can interact within the network.
The expansion appears to not only make the network a more social place but to also provide meaningful data to users about the company, to really start opening up and provide new ways to mash-up the 75 million+ members"€™ data. We can only assume that this is something that we are going to see more of from LinkedIn.
So - what's interesting in the update?
Company profiles are getting more social. Admins can…
7 Steps To Help Guide Social Media Planning
Value: [rating=4]
Our commentary: Lee Odden, of Top Rank blog fame, has pulled together a pretty detailed list covering his key areas to check when creating or refining a social media marketing plan - I thought it would be useful to our followers so here's a short summary plus a link to the full post:
Organisation: Who is the senior sponsor that is going to give you support at board level, is there appetite in the organisation? Think through the human resources necessary, who are the key staff who'll benefit and how will the wider team be involved?
Listening: Open your ears (via software) to general brand mentions, customers referencing you, what are prospects talking about in your market - and what's the competitor behaviour, are they being mentioned too.
Goal Setting: This is going to be key when getting senior management buy in. How are you going…
Did you know that YouTube is now the second largest search engine? Here's some proof of its importance and techniques to engage your audience
Value: [rating=5]
Our commentary: For the last 2 years You Tube has been widely recognised by most as the second largest search engine in the US, if not worldwide. First reported in October 2008 (view article) YouTube has continued to dominate as a video orientated social network.
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