marketing

Knowing what the hot topics are in social media can be beneficial for marketers and the like, but targeting in on a particular city makes the data even more valuable.

User generated content continues to become more well-known across the web as more and more users post information online. This type of information has generated real time search as a powerful way to navigate the web. Sency was created to help you easily navigate the real time web. At any time, they allow you to see what is going on right now with any person, place, or subject. Sency for Cities allows you to search what’s being said right now inside of 13 major US cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC. This powerful tool will allow anyone to see how people inside a city are reacting to current events or being affected by breaking news.

The SSN Take: When a new movie, commercial, or product launches; businesses will now be able to see how the public responds and compare that between major cities.

Melody K. Smith, April 30, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

With some creativity, your business could capitalize off of social networking away from the Internet.

Best Mobile Contracts’ recent article, “New Microsoft Social Networking Phone: The Kin,” detailed how the computing giant’s phone competes with the iPhone, but its interesting twists can apply to non-tech businesses too. Microsoft not only built a phone, but angled its features to focus on younger users and making social networking easier with its applications. Social networking is becoming a booming business that doesn’t have to be limited to Facebook updates and Tweets. Attorneys are boning up on social media legalities, marketers are honing their social skills and, obviously, tech companies are adjusting.

The SSN Take: Social media is sprawling into offline sources and it could be a time for your business to capitalize.

Patrick Roland, April 29, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Sometimes it helps when someone else does all the research and gives you the fruits of their labors. That is exactly what Social Media Explorer has done in their article, “Four Search Engines Marketers Should Know About.” Search engine optimization has grown beyond your standard websites to now even Twitter. History has shown us that things are always changing. This article highlights four search engines that marketers should pay close attention to as things continue to progress and evolve. The first being OneRiot – a special type of search engine that crawls the links people share on Digg, Twitter and other social sharing sites and then indexes them in real time. It is important to note that OneRiot is reporting a half million hits a month. Got your attention now, didn’t it? The rest of the list includes Wolfram|Alpha, Book of Odds, and Evri. Check out the article for complete details on these search engines.

The SSN Take: Marketers may find it profitable to check out these tools and how they can effect positive results.

Melody K. Smith, April 28, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Since it seems like every business is jumping into the social media world, have you ever wondered how the average company gets started?

Let’s take Avery Dennison for example. SmartBlog’s Andy Answers did in their post “How Avery Dennison got started in social media.” Though they are a familiar brand, they are not exactly a trendy topic for a Facebook page. According to Joyce Munoz, group manager of interactive marketing for Avery Dennison, they had the same concerns. However, they are seeing some early success through social media. Her full presentation is viewable in the article, but a couple of key ideas that seem interesting include keeping it simple – pick a platform or maybe two and focus on it (them) until you are comfortable moving forward; and to not analyze things to death in your planning process and just launch. Things tend to work themselves out as you learn and gain experience.

The SSN Take: Any size of organization could learn some good tips from watching this presentation and applying what works to their social media strategy.

Melody K. Smith, April 27, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Sometimes your needs are special and boxed products just don’t fit your organization. The same could be said for social media sites.

If this applies to you, consider “Do-It-Yourself Social Media“, Entrepreneurs article for those who aren’t getting what they want from mainstream social media. The author reminds you that building a social media website is not the same as adding social media elements to an already existing site. Step back and consider what features you want to offer. What do you want your site to do for the user? Consider the goals in stages. What do you want to achieve this year, next year, and the next ten years? Take a good look at the technology options out there to determine what best fits your needs and budget.

The SSN Take: It is important to remember that building a social website is about two important points–a clear business model and the applications used to help you grow that business.

Melody K. Smith, April 27, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Just as in real life, we seek trust and confidence in those we interact with each day. The same applies to our online consumer relationships.

In the article, “The Four Pillars of Building Instant Trust Online.”  ClickZ’s author speaks to this need of trust we human beings crave and how marketers can build trust online.

The four pillars he speaks to in the article title include Appearance, Transactional Assurances, Experts and Media, and Consensus of Peers. When you look closer at these pillars you find some tangent, applicable approaches to achieving instant online trust in your client relationships.

As our grandmother and career advisor have always reminded us – first impressions do matter. Books are judged by their cover just as we are by our outward appearance in a job interview. So why wouldn’t Web sites be judged with the same initial scrutiny? Research has indicated that people form an initial impression of your Web site within 50 milliseconds. This is 1/20^th of a second. In other words, we subliminally decide whether a more considered review of the page is warranted. In the immortalized words of Joey Russo from the 80’s sitcom, Blossom – “Whoa”. We can pause here for a deep breath if you like.

Don’t get discouraged. There are things you can address to dress up your appearance to make the most out of that 1/20^th of a second. The visual design should always be professional in design. Fonts, colors, and graphical elements must combine into a unified look. Neatness is critical. Remember white space can be your friend. And as always, less is more.

As far as transactional assurances, consumers need to know that their email address isn’t being sold off, they aren’t part of a spam scam, and that ultimately, their personal information is secure. Reassure them every step of the way.

Experts and media can build legitimacy. Your audience may not have heard of you before, but they are impressed by awards and recommendations from well known organizations and established brands. Be sure to place these above the “fold” to ensure they are noticed.

Consumers for the most part like being part of the “in” crowd and knowing that 200,000 other thirty-somethings have purchased this product can be what seals the deal for them. Check out the complete article for more tips on how to build trust in your online marketing relationships.

Melody K. Smith, April 26, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.

Social media use is not just about selling products; it can and should be about moving people to action.

In “6 Ways Brands are Using Social Media for Real-World Action” on Mashable, digital marketing expert Daniel Stein looks at new ways companies can  “mobilize [their] social media audiences to take action in the real world.”

For instance, he cites Nike’s Livestrong campaign for the Tour de France as “a nice example of a brand blending the digital and physical worlds and enabling its audiences to take part in a real-time event.” Nike made it possible for people around the world to have their inspirational sayings chalked along the Tour route by way of WearYellow.com, Tweet or SMS. The users then received links to see where their message was chalked. Nike “was able to cleverly connect user to a real world event using social media as the conduit,” says Stein.

Businesses should aim to empower, excite, inspire and enable consumers “to engage with [their] brand in a relevant, new and useful way that adds to their real-world experience,” he concludes.

The SSN Take: Good examples of how some companies/organizations are utilizing social media to its fuller capabilities and expanding the possible rewards as a result.

John Sniffen, April 23, 2010

Post not sponsored.

Sure, social media marketing doesn’t cost as much as a minute of Super Bowl advertising, but marketers appear to be vastly underestimating its expense.

Econstituency vice president Rebecca Lieb says 32 percent of marketers who responded to the e-commerce advisory firm’s recent survey said they spend nothing on social media, according to “Live from SES NY: Marketers Claim Social Media Doesn’t Cost a Dime” by Tim Parry on Multichannel Merchant. Lieb theorizes that respondents consider dollar figures to equal the amount of money spent, and are not accounting for resources such as the manpower that go into having a social media presence.

And they are using social media. More than four-fifths – or 86 percent – report marketing on Facebook, while 77 percent are tweeting and 58 percent are using LinkedIn, says Leib.

The SSN take: Either the accounting departments have not caught up with the marketers, or someone is really trying to make social media use look cost efficient. Neither is good business.

John Sniffen, April 22, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored.

Like living organisms adapting to their environment, news, marketing and other websites are evolving from their original forms.

For instance, David Kaplan in “HuffPo Launches Separate ‘Twitter Edition’; More Focus on Real-Time News” on paidContent.org, says that the new edition’s main purpose is “to harness the social networking aspects of the site to create a real-time news service” for each of website’s sections. It will be “an entirely separate edition” but “with the same kind of content we always have provided—but super-charged, if you will, for Twitter users,” he quotes HuffPo chairman Ken Lerer.

The tweets won’t just come from HuffPo regulars, says CEO Eric Hippeau. “This is our way of doing breaking news, using real-time Twitter feeds of people that we have followed, people who have a certain authority on the news we cover. … We’re one part social network, one part news content site. So for us, the question has always been how to use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools and our content and integrate it with our advertisers.” Yes, they will seek to raise money from the Twitter edition, but they were not ready to say how or when.

The SSN take: Most websites are becoming amalgams of social media and other communication tools on the Internet.

John Sniffen, April 21, 2010

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Allowing a smaller golf party to “play through” and politely allowing the bowler in the lane next to you to finish before you approach are examples of unspoken protocols or rules in these fields of sports. Though they may actually be printed somewhere, it is just one of those things any seasoned player knows. So, in the field of social media, have seasoned users established these same types of playground rules?

In his article, “Does Money Belong in Social Media?”, the self-titled author of Augie Ray’s Blog For Interactive Marketing Professionals takes issue with Domino’s recent consumer marketing campaign on the basis of what appears to be unspoken rules of conduct. Because they are offering consumers monetary rewards for hits on a promotional badge they can place on their website or blog, he feels the social word of mouth has been tarnished. We’re not talking about a lot of money here folks. The reward is 0.5% the value of a placed order stemming from their page. This equals a dime for every $20.00 order. Just a dime.

Any consumer that uses the widget will be able to promote products or services within a framework of designated brand guidelines. Consumers who participate in Domino’s new campaign will be able to track the sales generated through their web page on a dashboard.

Marketing Week recently spoke to Dan Clays, managing director of BLM Quantum, the creator of the dashboard program. He believes

“Brands benefit by aligning with sites run by fans who are more likely to drive a sale, while site owners can generate revenues from their Facebook page or blog.”

By adding more content for social search engines to peruse, this also allows for additional research data to be gathered. This online marketing campaign will be supported by an online media campaign later this spring.

The SSN Take: Key-word promotional blogging has become more and more popular in the past few years with the explosion of bloggers out there looking to make a few dollars while journaling. This seems to be a natural progression of the social media marketing movement.

Melody K. Smith, April 20, 2010

Note:   Post was not sponsored.