Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Social Networks Revolutionizing Trust Systems

April 20th, 2010 | Posted by David Hardt in News - (0 Comments)

In the real world, a small number of people decide who we trust or don’t trust, but on the Internet, that paradigm is rapidly evolving.

Thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter, small groups and individuals are wresting control from those at the top of the online food chain, who arrived there by way of money and power. Craig Newmark of cnewmark.com writes in “Trust and reputation systems: redistributing power and influence,” that social media allows peer networks, thriving communities and even individuals, to influence and build credibility. Becoming a trust leader still takes place through many traditional methods. For example, sharing personal experiences, spreading a pervasive message and being backed by other experts or professionals. While there will always be quality issues and manipulation problems, the openness of social media and sites like Wikipedia has created a powerful grassroots-like system of trust.

The SSN Take: Evaluate your company’s social networking image through trust metrics like history, reputable recommendations and the context of the message, to ensure you maintain a strong currency of trust.

David Hardt, April 20, 2010

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Twitter is an Entertainment Site’s Best Friend

April 19th, 2010 | Posted by patrickroland in marketing | News | Twitter - (0 Comments)

If your business deals with entertainment, Twitter could be a goose laying golden eggs.

A recent ThoughtPick article, “InfoPorn: Twitter by the Numbers” regurgitated a lot of commonly known data about Twitter, but tossed in one surprising nugget about where Tweeters disappear to. The bulk of the information focused on how Twitter boasts having millions of users, but about 80% of accounts are dormant. It’s no secret a small concentration of users do most of theTweeting. While this didn’t raise any eyebrows, a graphic about sites users visit from Twitter links was shocking. According to a study by Hitwise, over 30% of users went directly to entertainment sites—more than any other destination, including other social media.

The SSN take: If you have a business dealing in entertainment, consider Twitter a holding pen for future customers.

Patrick Roland, April 19, 2010

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Facebook Fan Pages on the Cutting Block

April 19th, 2010 | Posted by David Hardt in News - (0 Comments)

Facebook is attempting to clear up the often confusing line between official fan pages and the anything-goes third-party ones.

In his recent article, “Brands Hope ‘Community Pages’ Make Facebook Presence Clearer,” Christopher Heine from clickz.com breaks down what should be a win-win initiative for companies and individuals on Facebook. While big brands like Coca-Cola have healthy followings (5.3 million fans), the more than 500 third-party Coca-Cola fan pages surely siphon off a good deal of traffic from the soft drink maker. For example, the fan page, “Coca-Cola In a Glass Bottle Is Better Than Plastic,” created by a third-party fan, has collected about 400,000 Facebookers. This activity is a big reason why Facebook is on the verge of replacing “fan pages” with “community pages.” The move benefits companies by more clearly delineating their official brand page, while leaving individual Facebookers less confused about the term “fan.”

The SSN Take: Take advantage of the upcoming move from “fan” to “community” pages by making sure your organization’s Facebook site screams “official.” Special note: Facebook is advising marketers to replace phrases that currently use “fan,” with “find us on Facebook” or “like us on Facebook.”

David Hardt, April 19, 2010

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What Separates You from Spam?

As Spammers turn to social media to prey on users, it will become more and more important to differentiate yourself to succeed in business.

A recent Technology Review article, “Spammers Turn to Social Networks,” focused on the increasing threat of spam in the world of social media. The reason for the threat is an aura of trust, which makes people more apt to click on a strange link or befriend someone they don’t know. While it’s disappointing to see spam ruin the social media fun, it should also put honest social media marketers on alert. There is a thin line between you encouraging legitimate business through honest means and spammers using that mentality for bad.

The SSN Take: Build your marketing network slowly and avoid blindly attracting customers because you could be viewed as spam.

Patrick Roland, April 19, 2010

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It’s Official: Twitter App for iPhone

April 18th, 2010 | Posted by Samuel Hartman in branding | News | Twitter - (0 Comments)

“Twitter Buys Tweetie iPhone Client” confirms it – Twitter will be launching an official app for the iPhone, and it will be free.

But the Twitter team’s app isn’t brand new; they acquired Tweetie, a Twitter-branded mobile client that won a 2009 Apple Design Award. A BlackBerry app is on the way as well. Named “Twitter for iPhone,” the app will be optimized by Tweetie’s developer LorieBritcher. Not everyone is happy though – once the change happens, all other Twitter-capable apps will be “implicity labeled as second-class citizens,” possibly affecting Twitter’s success given the multitude of Twitter-capable mobile interfaces. But Twitter wants to avoid the “confusion” users experience when searching for a way to tweet on the go, and who can blame them? The microblogging site still has room for growth, and needs to dominate in the mobile market.

The SSN Take: Twitter’s open-source, friendly persona may be on the line with an official iPhone app.

Samuel Hartman, April 18, 2010

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Track Your Tweet Reach

April 18th, 2010 | Posted by patrickroland in News | Twitter - (0 Comments)

Several new tools give you a bird’s eye view of social media and allow you to see what people think.

A recent 10,000 Words article, “10 Ways to Track What People are Saying About You on Twitter” provides some excellent tools for honing your social media marketing plan. Each of the 10 ways involve a website that allows you to search Twitter for specific words, ideally your name or your business’ name. Some, like Social Mention, are more in depth and say whether reaction is positive or negative. These sites should take up an important space in your social media toolbox, because it allows you to see what strategies receive positive reviews, which ones get negative reviews and which ones simply fall flat on their faces.

The SSN Take: Utilize new Twitter tracking technology to strengthen your message.

Patrick Roland, April 18, 2010

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Three Tips for Successful Social Media Marketing

Communiscpace CEO Diane Hessan has some advice about using social media and the common element is this: use your head.

In “Lessons From Leno and Twitter Bombers: 3 Rules for Next-Gen Marketing,” Austin Carr writes in FastCompany about Hessan’s recent presentation at the Advertising Research Foundation’s (ARF) 2010 Re: Think Conference in New York. Hessan presented eight rules for next-gen marketing research based on feedback from over 200 consumer-insight professionals. Carr focused on three of them: 1) manage social media jitters; 2) game-changing insights don’t usually come from testing; and 3) don’t underestimate the power of one.

Regarding responding to social media, Hessan prescribes a balance between reaction and overreaction. “We need to listen hard to consumers, for sure, but if your target consumers are not on Twitter, for instance, then you don’t necessarily need to change strategy because of an angry tweet or two.” Hessan said that research doesn’t always translate into success. Game-changing insight may instead come from ongoing discovery, which she views as a necessary part of marketing. And Hessan said “the big breakthroughs often happen away from the spotlight. … The one lone voice in the background” may have the best insight.

The SSN take: Rules can be good guidelines, but in the end you still need to think.

John Sniffen, April 17, 2010

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Experimental Twitter Formula Produces Amazingly Accurate Box Office Predictions

April 17th, 2010 | Posted by David Hardt in News - (0 Comments)

If a simple formula using Twitter mentions can predict a movie’s success better than the prestigious Hollywood firm, just imagine the forecasting possibilities for your company’s product sales strategy.

In his updated article, “Twitter Predicts Box-Office Sales Better Than a Prediction Market,” Fast Company’s Cliff Kuang describes how two researchers at HP Labs devised an algorithm that was highly successful at predicting the opening weekend and second weekend Box Office performance of 24 movies. Their tactics included computing the rate of tweets and a ratio of positive to negative tweets. While there are many unknowns about the study, it’s 97.3% accuracy in one instance, says a great deal about the potential of mining real time buzz.

The SSN Take: This story is another reminder of the growing possibilities that are available when real time data from thriving social media communities is put to creative uses.

David Hardt, April 17, 2010

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Social Media Playing Key Role in Book Promotions

April 16th, 2010 | Posted by John Sniffen in marketing | networking - (0 Comments)

Use of social media is becoming a vital part of successful book promotions.

Chris Bass, who recently became director of author marketing services for AuthorHive, says, “Authors who want to optimize their marketing efforts should incorporate a wide array of social media tools into their plan,” according to “AuthorHive Author Marketing Expert Observes: ‘Social Media Tools Vital in Building a Successful Book Promotion Platform’” on Yahoo Finance.

“Social media is highly effective in leveling the playing field, for example for emerging authors, who may not have the largest marketing budgets,” Bass says. “It permits authors to actively engage potential readers from the convenience of a computer and breaks down the barriers of cost and access.”

Bass said AuthorHive, which serves both traditionally published and self-published authors, offers several options for “getting in the social media game.” A basic package incorporates social media with a personal Web site and a mass email campaign. A more advanced version adds the services of a literary publicist, whose goal is to gain the attention of both traditional and online media.

The SSN take: One wonders how much time dedicated book readers spend online (or maybe on their Kindles or iPads). But the thought of Ernest Hemingway tweeting with fans while watching a bullfight in Spain is somewhat amusing.

John Sniffen, April 16, 2010

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The SSN Minute: Tactics to Social Media Strategy

April 16th, 2010 | Posted by Jessica Bratcher in News | video - (0 Comments)

The newest SSN Minute video is posted, and the topic is trading in a social media strategy for social strategies.

A company needs to focus on how it is affecting people, not just using social media options.

“Before pushing a product or building buzz, a company should carefully consider whether its efforts are aimed at creating meaningful value or merely increasing profits.”

The video is posted at YouTube.

Jessica West Bratcher, April 16, 2010

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