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Engaging Customers with Social Media Pays Off

January 25th, 2013 | Posted by admin in branding | business process | News | social media - (0 Comments)

If you’ve had your doubts about the marketing effectiveness of your social media presence, doubt no more.  A recent study by University of Buffalo assistant professor of marketing Ram Bezawada shows that customers who engage with a company social media spend approximately 5.6% more than those who don’t.  Kevin Manne posted “Social Media Can Boost the Bottom Line” in the Society and Culture blog at Futurity.org about the study, which will appear in Information Systems Research.

According to the story:

“Bezawada says there are a number of ways businesses should engage customers to achieve the best results.

‘Social media activities help strengthen the bond between the customer and the firm—and boost financial performance,” says Bezawada. “When building communities, businesses should craft personalized messages, encourage member contribution, integrate knowledge about customers from both online and offline interactions, and create specialized sub-communities for customers looking for premium and unique products.’”

The study compared  customers’  Facebook activity on the company’s page with their actual purchases at a large specialty retailer in the northeastern United States to arrive at 5.6% figure, according to Bezawada.

A professional social media consultant such as ArnoldIT can help you create the right social media presence to engage your customers.   There’s now proof that doing so will increase your company’s bottom line.

Laura Abrahamsen, January 25, 2013

A service provided by the creator of Beyond Search

What You Need to Know Before Hiring a Social Media Consultant

January 15th, 2013 | Posted by admin in business process | LinkedIn | News | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

Everyone with a Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn Page seems to be calling themselves a social media expert these days, but how do you separate the phonies from the real pros? Communications Conversations addresses this issue in the recent article “Do Consultant/Agency Social Footprints Matter to Clients?”

The short of it is, they do. The author recommends keeping three things in mind when hiring a social media consultant: passion is important, digital footprints matter, and a social media consultant should either be all over of the social interwebs or not visible at all.
When explaining the importance of a social media footprint, the author writes:
“Like it or not, social footprints should matter to clients. Not so much the numbers. I don’t think there’s a big difference between someone with 500 Twitter followers and someone with 5,000. But, the big picture? Yes. What does their LinkedIn profile look like? How complete is it? Who else are they connected to? How do they show up in a simple Google search? How do they even use Twitter? Are they using other niche networks? Are they a blogger? What does their thinking look like there? The footprint shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all, but it should be a factor in your decision to work with the agency/consultant. Why? Because the footprint is a signal. A signal that tells you this consultant knows what they’re doing–and that they’re going to apply that knowledge and those ideas to your business.”
On the other side of things, your clients are looking at your social footprint as well. Do you know what it is saying? more often than not, executives and CEOs are unaware of the need to craft a digital persona. ArnoldIT offers a range of digital fingerprint services that use semantic technologies to position subjects in a favorable or unfavorable light.
Jasmine Ashton, January 15, 2013
A service provided by the creator of Beyond Search

Social Media Transparency Remains Important

January 8th, 2013 | Posted by admin in business process | marketing | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Transparency in business is rule number one for many folks. However, effectively navigating social media while utilizing that principle can be tricky. However, it’s what customers demand, as we discovered from a recent Forbes piece, “4Ways to Set Your Social Media on Fire.”

According to the story:

Transparency is VERY sexy for brands. People want to talk to & listen to REAL people behind real brands – Not Big Bad Corporate Logos. Social Media transparency can mean a lot of different things to many different people. But to my social media firm & myself it means letting your personality shine, engaging with people, being cute or funny, and sometimes putting it out there.  People love fun, exciting and real and are far more likely to tune in and even engage with you if you are. If you like something as a brand or as a whole and it’s not political or really controversial then put it out there. If someone tweets your brand something funny, don’t be afraid to retweet it or share it. People also appreciate humility, admitting mistakes or saying you can do something better goes a long way towards being authentic as well. Always remember you’re real people behind the company & username and people will appreciate that.

This is terrific advice, but can be terrifying for an exec or a company. Having a trusted voice in your ear, explaining how best to approach social media transparency  will ensure your fans love what your are saying and that you say things you love. Arnold IT, with years of social media transparency experience, can help you get there quickly and painlessly.

Patrick Roland, January 8, 2012

A service provided by the creator of Beyond Search  

Getting the Most Out of Social Media

January 7th, 2013 | Posted by admin in business process | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Where is social media in your marketing plan? If not living near the top, it should be. We are finding more and more examples of  its importance, like in the recent Huffington Post piece, “Social Media—It’s Not Just Another Channel.”

According to the story:

Social media collects and distributes knowledge faster and more widely than anything we’ve seen. It’s a testament to our deeply collaborative nature and shows us the enormous value that collaboration brings. Social media works the way it does because people are quick to contribute; we jump at opportunities to cultivate our talent and love sharing our knowledge and experiences. The Internet makes it easy to publish — social technologies make it easy to share. The resulting explosion of user-generated-content (UGC) — real, authentic voices of shared experience — has indelibly changed our economy.

This is a tremendous guiding light for those looking to leap into the social media realm for business. This piece only highlights a little of what we feel are all the possibilities of the medium. Thankfully, organizations like Arnold IT have been working within social media for years and provide expert plans for maximizing your digital footprint.

Patrick Roland, January 7, 2012
A service provided by the creator of Beyond Search

Small Businesses Fail to Develop Social Media Strategies

January 1st, 2013 | Posted by admin in branding | business process | marketing | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Social media is a hot topic right now but developing a full-proof social media strategy may not be as easy as it initially seems. According to a recent Small Business Trends article, “Fewer Than One Quarter of Small Businesses Have Social Media Strategies.”

While more small businesses are using social media they struggle to use it as a tool to advance overall marketing goals.

The article states:

“Fewer than one-quarter of small businesses (24%) use social media as part of a planned social media strategy. Another 29% use social media in an ad hoc way, suggesting that they are intrigued with social media but aren’t sure exactly how to make it work for them. That’s according to the 2012 Small and Medium Social Business Study conducted by the SMB Group earlier this year in 2012.

Even the informal ad-hoc users are more advanced than the 47% of small businesses that do not use social media at all. But that’s actually gotten better since 2011, when 56% were not using social media.”

In order for social media to work, it is important that organizations have a plan in place. ArnoldIT offers strategic and tactical social media services that address the multifaceted nature of social media marketing challenges.

Jasmine Ashton, January 1, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT, developer of Beyond Search

Wisegate Projects Social Media Threats Will be Paramount in 2013

December 26th, 2012 | Posted by admin in admin | business process | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Eweek.com recently reported on the consumerization of IT and security threat projections in the article, “BYOD, Social Media Among Top Security Threats of 2013.”

According to the article, the increase in bring your own device programs (BYOD) and social media usage in workplaces is leading to huge security threat projections for 2013, according to a report from information services specialist Wisegate.

In addition to concerns regarding theft, loss, or leakage of company data, chief security officers are also concerned about social media threats.

The article states:

“Social media is another area where platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook could be used for spear-phishing attacks and may potentially reveal confidential company information. The report cautioned that there is a need for enforceable policies and procedures as well as awareness training to help control the type of information workers share on a personal level when it might be connected with work assets.”

In order to prepare for the security threats awaiting in 2013, companies should focus on an integrated social media plan that takes security risks into account. ArnoldIT offers strategic and tactical social media services, including a range of specialized “digital fingerprint services”.

Jasmine Ashton, December 26, 2012

Sponsored by ArnoldIT, developer of Augmentext

SMEs Stand to Gain from Social Media

December 24th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | News | social media | Strategy - (0 Comments)

SMEs might not realize it, but they have the most to gain from a strong social media campaign. We were clued in from a recent Asia One story, “Leveraging on Social Media for New Business Potential.”

According to the story:

Over the last few years, social media has attracted unprecedented levels of traffic and interaction.

And the evidence is overwhelming – social media has today assumed a key role in business.

Just in the last couple of years, the number of “social media analytics” start-ups has skyrocketed and obviously major analytics vendors too have released products in this space.

Last but not least, several open-source platforms now offer decent social media analytics packages or libraries.

SMEs are best positioned to take advantage of social media because there is a plethora of venues online for establishing social presence nearly free of charge.

Some popular platforms provide APIs (Application Programming Interface) for data extraction and there are many open source tools and packages for data analysis.

Best to stick with a trusted consultant to help your small business find its voice on social media outlets. Arnold IT provides a unique path for each client, knowing everyone’s goals for social media are as specialized as their business.

Patrick Roland, December 24, 2012

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

Not All Social Media Marriages are Happy

December 17th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | LinkedIn | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Just because a social media platform exists, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. The tricky part is matching up with your goals and customers in a way that makes sense. This is a problem across the board, even with enormous corporations, as we discovered in a recent Forbes article, “3 Reasons Bloomberg, LinkedIn Aren’t Made for Each Other.”

The point that spoke to more than just this pair was the second:

2. The user/customer dilemma. At Bloomberg, users and customers are essentially identical. If you want to use the company’s terminals, you pay. LinkedIn operates in a profoundly different way. Most of its 187 million users engage with the site for free. The vast majority of the revenue comes from less than 1% of the LinkedIn user base: the recruiters and other people hunters who are willing to pay for premium access.

So a huge part of LinkedIn’s success involves creating free content, connections and the like, so that its nonpaying users keep swarming in. Those apparent freeloaders actually create ever-larger data pools that are prized by the much smaller group of paying customers. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner and his team have shown a savvy sense of how to carry out this balancing act. Bloomberg, by contrast, has its feet pointed in the wrong direction to get the hang of a “free” economy.

This is a great example of two parties not needing one another on the social sphere. LinkedIn is great, but not needed for everyone. Deciding which direction to go is a thorny decision and what to do when you chosen is even tougher. Pros like Arnold IT provide the research and industry insight to maximize your social footprint and value. This is a decision too big to be left up to the intern.

Patrick Roland, December 17, 2012

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

The Best of All Social Media Worlds

December 12th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | News | social media | Strategy - (0 Comments)

The beauty of social media is that it’s not an either/or option. You can have a strong business presence on all formats. However, not everyone thinks so, as we found from a helpful, yet offbase Business 2 Community article: “Which Social Networks Should Your Business Key on?”

According to the story:

First, let’s answer the basic question of whether your business should consider having a presence in social media. Some recent stats compiled by the blog “The Social Skinny” outlines that:

  • 91% of online adults use social media regularly
  • Internet users spend 22.5% of their online time social networking
  • 70% of adult social networkers shop online

So the short answer is that social media is where adult Americans are spending significant time per month.  If your goal is to be visible where potential customers are, then social media is a place to be!

This is a good primer and the article goes on to do an ample job of describing the different formats and how they can help. But what it overlooks is that you can have it all. Everything. You just need a savvy social media management strategy. Organizations like Arnold IT have built a reputation on providing clients with social presences that go beyond simple tweets and posts. Which made us think, we’re all looking too small picture with social media. This coverall philosophy should be used by more.

Patrick Roland, December 12, 2012

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

Salesforce with Chatter Competes with Microsoft

May 31st, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | cloud computing | marketing | prospecting - (0 Comments)

Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company, is competing with Microsoft’s monopoly on communication products. With their offering of Chatter they will be integrating an IM system that will compete with products such as Windows Live Messenger. Salesforce has a whole set of products in the works for their suite of communication tools. These products and their features are outlined in an post by Readwriteweb, “Salesforce’s Chatter Elbows Microsoft’s Skype Out of the Enterprise.

From the article:

Piece-by-piece, but by no means slowly, Salesforce has been assembling an integrated arsenal of cloud-based weapons aimed squarely at Microsoft’s stronghold on enterprise applications, particularly with respect to communication. We’ve talked about its move to reduce workers’ reliance on Outlook, and email in general, as their main mode of indirect contact. Outlook’s trump card has been its tie-ins to Windows Live Messenger, which are certain to be augmented by tie-ins to Skype (hopefully within our lifetimes).

Competition is what makes life interesting, and companies can’t get too smug and complacent. With Salesforce, time-to-market will undoubtedly play a part in their success. They certainly have product versatility on their side.

Sandy McIntosh, May 31, 2012