Are consumers looking for a simple ad free social network?

Ello is a new social media platform designed by a small group of artists and designers. It started as a private network which is now available publicly, but with an 'invite only' membership. Is it an anti-social media platform to fight back against Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn who are now set on squeezing money out of us as they monetise using advertising and fees for premium add-ons. They're certainly positioning it that way. Or is it a network which is more social and simple to use - in line with their strapline 'Simple, Beautiful and Ad-Free'? Ello is currently available in beta form only and is only accepting new members by invite only, which some have suggested is restricting growth and goes against the ethos of a social network.  However, Google Trends suggests a…

The growth in popularity of hashtags 

Hashtags describing a topic or campaign offer prefaced by '#' are now a common feature across most social media platforms. So no longer just Twitter, but including Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+... If used correctly, then they can improve reach and social sharing of content for brand awareness and lead generation.

There are many Twitter tools to find trending hashtags and to ensure you use relevant hashtags.

Offerpop's Infographic provides a timeline history for the use of the #Hashtag from its initial use on Twitter to later adoption on Facebook and Google+. Greater engagement with hashtags is suggested by research referenced in the infographic which shows that 'Tweets that contain hashtags are 55% more likely to be retweeted than those that do not, and more than 70 percent of people use hashtags'. We don't…

More reasons for businesses to share on Pinterest

Importance: [rating=4] Recommended link: Pinterest blog: new article pins for media sites and Ad announcement Pinterest has recently developed their pins for media sites, so articles on pins can now include the Headline, Author and Story Description including a larger link. 'Article pins can help writers, media and other businesses reach new audiences, get more referral traffic and extend the lifespan of their content' It appears Pinterest are trying to keep up with business needs this year, as can be seen by their developments including promoted pins and free analytics. Its usage is growing at 48.7m uniques users per month, and they are clearly extending functionality and usage for mobile users, to improve shareabilty and facilitate content sharing. So what does the new pin look like for Media Sites?  The New York Times, Fortune…

Which social media drive online retail sales?

Richrelevance carried out an e-commerce survey in the USA for clients of their personalisation technology evaluating more than 690m browser shopping sessions over a period of a year, to identify the impact of Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter on retail sales.

It's interesting if you are managing an e-commerce site, and seeking to understand which is a driver for conversion to actual online or in store sales, which generates referrals and brand awareness or the social media creating more engagement?

Their Infographic shares some expected results, which are mainly due to a variation in  demographics and content sharing features:

Facebook has a greater 'stickiness' and ' higher conversion rates'.Pinterest generates higher order values, though bear in mind the demographics are those who are well educated with high income.Twitter drives traffic into stores and retail sites.

…

Examples of how the new Rich Pins in Pinterest are being used in retail

Value/Importance: [rating=3]

Recommended link: Pinterest releases Rich Pins

Pinterest recently released a new feature called ' Rich Pins' which allows companies to add Product price and availability information to their pins. We thought it worth alerting readers to, since it appears to provide a useful way to link Pinterest pins more directly to prompt purchase.

Ecommerce businesses, particularly in fashion and style categories are increasing their traffic and sales orders via Pinterest - according to this research from Shopify, visitors referred from Pinterest are 10% more likely to buy compared to other social networks.

Given this, it's common practice for retailers to feature products with the relevant URL to drive pinners back to their website to purchase.  This pin from HomeDepot shows this. The new Rich pins feature now adds pricing and stock information.

…

12 tips and examples from using Instagram to market a restaurant

If you haven’t heard of Instagram already then:, where have you been?! It’s a popular photo sharing app available to both Android and iOS smartphone users? Instagram was launched in 2010 by co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and has enjoyed phenomenal growth, helped in part by Facebook purchasing the app in 2012 for a mere $1 billion in cash. But even with this social giant becoming their owners, Instagram continues to stand out on its own as a very credible social network that should not be ignored. If you need convincing of its potential value to marketers then just take a look at these current stats: 100 million Monthly Active Users 40 million Photos Per Day 8500 Likes Per Second 1000 Comments Per Second.

So how can you…

New Nielsen research reviews investment and ROI from social media

Nielsen have shared some recent interesting findings from their research on Paid Social Media Advertising 2013.  500 Digital Marketing and Media Professionals were contacted by phone and email, and asked for their views and practices on social media advertising. The report concludes:

'Marketers are increasingly viewing and using paid social media advertising as an integrated tool. Social media is no longer being viewed as its own discrete medium but instead used alongside other tactics to achieve an overall, usually branding related, objective.......,

but there is a gap between how marketers would like to use the medium and the current reality. This gap is the most pronounced when it comes to measuring ROI...'

Key insights I think are worth highlighting include:

3/4 of respondents use Paid Advertising and 64% were seeking to increase spend this year.Budget spend is shifting from off-line to on-line.ROI is…

Where do you start when seeking to establish your social networks

While much of the social media marketing advice on Smart Insights gives advice on social media best practices for companies that are already set up on social networks, some businesses are still venturing onto social platforms for the first time. If this is relevant for you or your clients, this introductory post is for you.

Understand how and when your users use social networks

If you’re online a lot you will probably have an innate built in idea of the demographics on the different platforms. If you are new to social you will need to do a bit of research beforehand. See these top 10 sources of digital marketing statistics or this free 2013 digital media usage data from comScore for useful research into how different ages and genders use different social networks. You also need to bear in mind how…

New study shows that social media sacrifices vary by gender

This is a thought-provoking infographic based on a summary of a study commissioned using an independent research company for Browser Media. The survey investigated the UK usage of social networking sites and their sacrifices for the ‘social fix’. The Infographic illustrates key findings from the survey, the takeaways for us were: Women are more active on social networking sites; 60 minutes per day vs 48 minutes. Social media users are sacrificing socialising (14%), sleep (10%) and even sex (8%). Location is one factor determining social usage; respondents in Sheffield spend twice as long as those in Edinburgh. Can you conclude that from a survey? We're not sure about the accuracy of this comment: "if you're young, female and live in Sheffield, it's highly likely that you spend a substantial part of your day on social networking sites" …

Pinterest releases new analytics service for verified businesses

Value/Importance: [rating=3] Recommended link: Pinterest blog announcement about Pinterest Web Analytics

Our commentary on Pinterest Analytics

Until today Pinterest, like Twitter, has been weak at providing insights to marketers about which content is popular for their company pages. It didn’t have the equivalent of the Facebook or LinkedIn Page Insights for example. Instead companies have used tools like Pinreach, Pinfluencer and Reachli (formerly Pinerly) to find out which boards and pins were popular and who was influential in sharing content.

How to use the new Pinterest Analytics

It’s good to see Pinterest Analytics isn’t a pre-announcement and it’s available from today.  I have just set ours up. Here’s how: Step 1. Setup a verified Pinterest business account as we explained when these were introduced in November 2012. Step 2. to the New Look - top right Step 3. Select Analytics from the company menu - again top…