Archives for admin

2011 Social Media Trend – eCommerce & Facebook

Just a few months ago, you’d have had to argue why your business should have a Facebook store; today you’d probably have to justify any decision not to have an e-commerce function on Facebook.  It is becoming so big now that it is enabling a huge shift how people shop and how they are influenced. Facebook is coming up on 600,000,000 users which is about 8.7% of the world population. That’s an astronomical number and seems to be growing at ever increasing speeds.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that new f-commerce pages from major brands and retailers are beginning to gain traction and actually generate revenue. Actual ROI. This new function allows people to shop directly from Facebook tabs without leaving the site, which is huge in that Facebook users prefer not to leave the site.

Facebook commerce (f-commerce) is the newest trend for 2011 and by 2014 I would imagine that most consumer packaged goods, airlines and retailers will be seriously considering this functionality on their Facebook pages.  It should be an interesting year.

Here is a very insightful study by Altimeter Group, one of the most influential thought leaders in the area of social media strategy and social commerce. A must-read for anyone seriously considering utilizing social media and e-commerce.

Generate New Business and Engage Existing Clients through Social Media

While social media seems ever present these days, there is still a lot of confusion on how to identify, connect with and engage potential partners, customers and vendors. You hear the hubbub about how social media is revolutionizing marketing, sales, retail, healthcare, journalism but you’re still not sure how you can get utilize social channels for your business.

You may already have a Facebook page, Twitter account and/or LinkedIn profile yet nothing is generating any new business and you’re not even engaging with your existing clients (that is, if they’ve managed to find you out there). At this point you’re probably wondering, with a good deal of frustration, “What am I missing? How does this social media thing work?”

The truth is, social media isn’t a replacement for the marketing and communication efforts you already have in place. People still do business with people and not with profiles.  However, social media can have an important place in your marketing mix and can greatly enhance your presence in an online world.

Social Media for Entertainers

EntertainmentI’ve been having a great time recently conducting research social media for the entertainment community. But what I realized is there isn’t a great deal of information out there pertaining to this industry, especially as it relates to smaller local entertainers.

I thought that odd as its obviously this is an industry perfectly suited for social networking since entertainment is inherently social. When you see some fantastic performance you automatically want to share it with someone by sharing a picture, website, video, quote, etc. That can’t be said for many industries.

The reason I’ve been researching this is I recently was given the opportunity to speak to a group of local Minnesota artists about social media. The group consisted of a juggler, jazz musician, comedian, hypnotist, magician, Latin band, ventriloquist and a singer. What a diverse and interesting group. I had a blast talking with them. Special thanks to G.L. Berg for inviting me to speak. If ever you need to book an entertainer, they’re the ones to talk to.

Here is the presentation I gave:

In case you’re interested, here are a few resources I found on this subject:

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-starter-moves-for-entertainers/
http://www.devonvsmith.com/2010/06/the-social-media-bubble/
http://mashable.com/2010/03/12/musicians-social-media/
http://redcubemarketing-blog.com/2010/06/08/case-study-crunch-entertainment-tv-film-music-more/
http://mashable.com/2009/05/26/twitter-comedians/

Social Media for Entertainers

I’ve been having a great time recently conducting research social media for the entertainment community. But what I realized is there isn’t a great deal of information out there pertaining to this industry, especially as it relates to smaller local entertainers.

I thought that odd as its obviously this is an industry perfectly suited for social networking since entertainment is inherently social. When you see some fantastic performance you automatically want to share it with someone by sharing a picture, website, video, quote, etc. That can’t be said for many industries.

The reason I’ve been researching this is I recently was given the opportunity to speak to a group of local Minnesota artists about social media. The group consisted of a juggler, jazz musician, comedian, hypnotist, magician, Latin band, ventriloquist and a singer. What a diverse and interesting group. I had a blast talking with them.

Here is the presentation I gave:

In case you’re interested, here are a few resources I found on this subject:

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-starter-moves-for-entertainers/

http://www.devonvsmith.com/2010/06/the-social-media-bubble/

http://mashable.com/2010/03/12/musicians-social-media/

http://redcubemarketing-blog.com/2010/06/08/case-study-crunch-entertainment-tv-film-music-more/

Social Intelligence – Utilizing Social Media Data

Social Intellegence DataIts amazing to see how social media has so quickly transformed the marketing world, not to mention the realm of advertising and public relations. We went from talking about how to build a Twitter account a few years ago to now expecting social media to do some heavy lifting.

And much of that heavy lifting is in the form of data collection based on online discussions and engagement. Companies are trying to keep up with these emerging social interactions by monitoring what is being said about them online but can’t seem to grapple with the fire hose of data that is coming at them. Most of them are just trying to make sense of properly engage customers and haven’t quite figured out how to use the information that is coming back at them.

From what I see, most companies, not named Ford or Dell, are still hesitant to really embrace social technologies and aren’t quite convinced of its relevance to their business. Either that, or they haven’t the faintest idea how to craft and implement a strategy that incorporates branding, business lead generation, quality customer service, and consumer insight.

Many companies these days have a social media presence but they aren’t really tying it to their overall business objectives. Its just hanging out there on its own. They throw up a Facebook page or sign up for a Twitter account but don’t really have a strategy on how they engage with people or what type of data they hope to glean out of social interactions.

Without any prompting, customers are openly sharing information that would otherwise have taken months of surveys and focus groups. And they’re doing it for free. This has prompted the growth of a relatively new field called Social Intelligence, which harnesses the insights found within social media data to better understand customers and inform marketing and business strategy.

McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s biggest consulting firms, as just recently partnered with Neilson to provide this service to clients, so you know there must be something do this. (Nielsen Joins Forces With McKinsey For Social Intelligence Consulting)

Social Intelligence is quite an easy concept but one that isn’t being fully utilized by most companies. It involves these three basic steps:

  • Monitoring social media
  • Collecting and analyzing the content
  • Using the insights to inform your strategy

Companies are just beginning to figure out the first two steps but have yet to figure out the third and, what I’d consider to be, the most crucial step. Zach Hofer-Shall, an analyst at Forrester Research recently published an article called Defining Social Intelligence which he encouraged companies to start taking online conversations seriously to better utilize the data coming from their social channels.

I think Zach and Forrester are on to something. Thus, you should be seeing more and more demand for services that link social data to business insights.

Here are some interesting articles I’ve found on the subject:

[facebook_ilike]

So You’re On Twitter & LinkedIn – Now What?

[facebook_ilike]
Main logo

Presentation for James J. Hill Library

You hear the hubbub about how social media is revolutionizing marketing, sales, retail, healthcare, journalism, etc., and you’ve been receiving an uncomfortable amount of needling from your friends and colleagues to connect with them online. So, hesitantly, and ever-so-cautiously, you dip your toe in the water; you succumb to the professional pressure and create a LinkedIn profile. And perhaps – just to prove that you’re not afraid of technology – you even go so far as to register a Twitter handle.

So why, then, having taken such bold steps in the direction of full web disclosure, do you still feel invisible? Your profiles have yet to generate any new business and you’re not even engaging with your existing clients (that is, if they’ve managed to find you out there). At this point you’re wondering with a good deal of frustration, “what am I missing? how does this social media thing work?”

Social media is a fairly easy concept to grasp if you think about it in terms of a social gathering like a cocktail party. The etiquette you adhere to at a cocktail party is the same etiquette you abide by within social media channels: be yourself (casual, witty, interesting) and above all show interest in who you’re talking to (in other words, don’t talk about yourself too much; ask questions instead!). The difference is that your cocktail party is offline.

The truth is social media isn’t a replacement for the marketing and communication efforts you already have going with your company or yourself. People still do business with people and not with profiles. However, Twitter and LinkedIn are two valuable tools you can use to identify and connect with potential partners, customers and vendors, and get you to that ever-important first meeting. You just have to know how to effectively engage your targeted audience using these social media networks.

As highlighted in the following presentation, one must first understand how to engage people on social channels and then the rest is fairly easy.

Integration of Twitter & LinkedIn

Tools
Here is a quick list of essential tools you’ll need to help manage your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles along with other social networking channels.

Integrating LinkedIn and MS Outlook: An Effective Sales Tool

linkedin-outlook-betaLinkedIn and Microsoft’s Outlook have teamed up to provide a powerful tool to help users utilize the power of their connections through their e-mail. This tool is still in beta but can currently be downloaded quite easily. This new add-on capitalizes on Outlook Social Connector, an Office 2010 feature that integrates social networking feeds into Outlook. Right now Social Connector is limited to LinkedIn, but Microsoft says connectors for MySpace, Facebook, and Windows Live are “coming soon”.

Here’s how it works:

When you open a message in Outlook from someone in your LinkedIn network, you will see LinkedIn information pulled from your connection’s profile below the message pane. You can see things like their profile photo, latest status messages, recently added connections and see any recent questions they’ve asked or answered. LinkedIn Connector will also add a LinkedIn contacts folder where you can you see your network connections’ profile photos, e-mail addresses and profile details such as their current job title.

This is a fantastic tool for any sales force or business development professional looking to build relationships.

[facebook_ilike]

Facebook Launches Us Into the Era of Social Colonization

Facebook just announced a very significant development in the world of social media yesterday zuckerberg042110called the Open Graph. It allows for any and all websites to become social through a simple “Like” button which companies can include on their individual websites. Users will now be able to click on a page, comment, picture or other content to signal their interest in that item and share it with their friends on Facebook.

We are definitely now into the Era of Social Colonization as laid out by Jeremiah Owyang and Forrester Research that predicted that every experience on the web will be social. Even if companies or organization aren’t on any social channels they can still be social using this new functionality. There are now more than 400 million people on Facebook so this move is quite significant in terms of leading the way for other social channels to adopt this mode of sharing.

This bold move by Facebook is also putting it in direct competition with Google in terms of aggregating information on people’s online preferences and behaviors. Facebook will map out connections between people and their interests, gathering more explicit information about users’ favorites in order to deliver personalized experiences as well as provide for better targeting for ads.

It should be very interesting to see how many websites will start including this function on their web pages and content. Facebook said more than 70 partners have signed up to embed “Like” buttons or other customization widgets on their sites, including ticketing site NYTimes.com and CNN.com.

“The Web is at a really important turning point right now,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Up until recently, the default on the Web has been that most things aren’t social and most things don’t use your real identity.” Facebook, has now launched us over the deep end into this Era of Social Colonization and is driving the increasing relevance of social media for companies and brands.

Articles:

For Developers:


Selling with Social Media

TMAI’ve been honored to speak at the Tour Minnesota Association this spring at the Science Museum of Minnesota on the subject of utilizing social media for the purposes of sales and networking. The event’s theme is “Go for the Gold!” Sell, Sell, Sell!” in response to the recent economic recession. The goal is to help participants improve their networking skills and find new ways to leverage personal contacts to enhance sales efforts.

Social media has definitely become a huge component in helping people network but it should not be seen as a substitute for actual face-to-face networking. There still is no better way to build trust and make sales than a good ‘ol fashion meeting. However, social networking channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can help initiate conversations and get you to that first meeting by replacing a “cold call” with a “warm call.”

Here are some good resources to better understand social media and networking:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Tools

Facebook and Professional Networking

Evolution of Mobile Marketing

smartphones_lgAt a recent Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) event, Michael Becker, EVP Business Development iLoop Mobile spoke about the ever increasing importance of mobile marketing.

The value of mobile is found in the convergence of a wide variety of media such as web, television, radio, social, and cinema, and it’s being increasingly used for such things as online banking, digital couponing, rewards programs, sweepstakes, point of sale promotions, customer service, geo location, CRM, mobile enabled advertising and a lot more.

Companies are beginning to realize significant return of investment through mobile marketing and Mr. Becker recommends companies start now in determining how mobile marketing will play a role in their overall business objectives.

Here are some interesting mobile tidbits from the presentation:

  • There are 4.1 billion mobile subscribers in world; only 1 billion PCs & 1.4 billion TVs
  • By 2013, 75% of all customer care calls will be initiated from a mobile phone
  • In the next 5 years, more people will be accessing the Internet thru mobile devices than thru broadband
  • Voice is no longer the primary communication method on mobile devices; its texting
  • Over 4 billion text messages get sent every day in the U.S.
  • Of 235 mobile subscribers in the U.S.; 65% are text messaging, 31% using multimedia messaging, 21% using email, 30% watching video & 21% using mobile web
  • Smart phones only account for 17% of the mobile market; iPhone only accounts for 3% of this market

MIMA 1.20.2010 – EMBRACING MOBILE MARKETING from Ech03 on Vimeo.

Further Mobile Marketing Resources:

mobile marketing associa

direct marketing association

college of mobile marketing

A Paradigm Shift – The Future of Marketing, Advertising & PR

[facebook_ilike] Earlier this week I attended the ever interesting and insightful Conversations About the Future of Advertising (CATFOA) organized by Tim Brunelle and sponsored by the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) and Minneapolis College or Art and Design (MCAD). This is by far is the best speaker series in the Twin Cities, where you’ll find nationally renowned digital experts talk about where the future of marketing, advertising and public relations is headed.

2010-03-08 18.07.48

Faris Yakob speaking at CATFOA

I’ve attended about 5 of these events, put on every winter/spring, and have recently noticed the demographic of the audience has been changing from just the digital geeks to …how should I say this…older… ahem….more experienced business professionals who have begun to realize that the digital space is becoming increasingly social and more relevant to their world. I say kudos to them.

Faris Yakob, formerly the Chief Technology Strategist at McCann Erickson, was the speaker at this CATFOA event and his theory that once you hit 30 years of age, everything you’ve learned up to that point about marketing, pr and advertising is now hard wired into your brain and new technologies and cultural dynamics have a harder time breaking through to your consciousness.

His point is perhaps a bit extreme but it holds a grain of truth as there’s been a rapid paradigm shift in the way communication technologies have become faster and more pervasive, as Faris talks about in his Fast Company article on Cultural Latency. Thus companies (mostly run by people older than 30) are slow to catch on to this paradigm shift and realizing this isn’t just a fad. This is real, it’s growing in significance, and it’s going to have serious repercussions for organizations if they don’t quickly grasp this new world of interactive social engagement.

People are starting to slowly catch on though as witnessed by the demographic shift at these events and the droves of Minnesota professionals flocking to such associations and events as:

  • MIMA – 1,400 members and counting
  • Social Media Breakfast (SMBMSP) – average event attendance: 300+
  • CATFOA – average event attendance: 250+

Organizations such as the MN American Marketing Association (MNAMA), Advertising Federation (AdFed), Midwest Direct Marketing Association (MDMA) and Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) have been slow to incorporate interactive programming and have been losing members and event attendance to these groups. They will be in serious trouble if they don’t start bringing more interactive and social media content to their event schedules.

My guess is that five years from now we won’t be talking about digital marketing or social networking as it will be one discipline; marketing. And it will further blur the lines between what we perceive as marketing, public relations and advertising. There will definitely be an interesting shake out in the agency world in the next few years.

It’s a confusing world out there right now as for marketing and communication professionals as the digital space is constantly changing and the only means for learning about the newest and latest trends will from listening to such thought leaders as:

… as well as the attending events at the Minnesota associations mentioned above: MIMA, CATFOA and SMBMSP. You won’t be able to find this type of programming at local universities and colleges (MCAD is an exception) as it’s moving much too fast for schools for tenured professors to keep up so my recommendation is start learning fast by reading blogs, attending events and of course participating in the online social space through blogging, tweeting, commenting, rating, digging, voting, friending, linking, etc…

Don’t be left behind……See you at the next event.