Archive for February, 2010

Social Media Integration in 2010…The New Marketing Key.

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Is Social Media Here to Stay? Absolutely.

Social media is not necessarily a known term of the past, but undoubtedly a driving force of the future. Companies are quickly learning that if they intend on reaching their internet-savvy audience in as many ways as possible, integrating a social media marketing campaign into their existing communication strategy isn’t just necessary, it’s imperative.

Social media marketing is the fastest and most efficient way to communicate with your current customers, target audience and potential consumers. It has changed the way marketers communicate and engage with their audiences indefinitely. As a company, you are able to gain instant feedback through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook that is valuable for increasing your customer’s satisfaction, as well as the future success of your business.

It is highly important to integrate social media into your company’s overall marketing campaign, and refrain from treating it as its own separate entity. According to the Alterian “Annual Survey 2009” report, the maturity of digital and social media requires integration of marketing strategies. Of all respondents surveyed on the level of importance marketing professionals worldwide place on social media for overall marketing success, 14% considered it critical for success while 54% considered it increasingly important. If your company desires to create an impression on your target audience from all directions of their online media intake, it needs to engage with them and their opinions through social media.

Word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied customers has just taken an entirely new turn in its process; right through the tunnel of their computer. A satisfied customer who enjoyed the performance of your product five years ago might tell his or her friend, sister, co-worker and possibly a few other people in his or her daily life. In 2010, a satisfied customer simply needs to Tweet once, create one Facebook status and write one blog post possibly reaching thousands of people in a matter of just seconds.

According to the “Small Business Marketing Forecast 2010” from Ad-ology, 50% of respondents claimed that lead generation is the biggest benefit of social networking for U.S. small businesses. Other benefits reported included 45% of respondents saying it assisted them in keeping up with the industry, 44% said it helped them monitor online conversations and 38% found it helpful in finding vendors or supplies.

A recent study from PostRelease showed how online forum users are enthusiastic brand advocates and are taking their online activities to the streets, telling others about products and services they recommend. These users are not just tweeting about your product or posting a Facebook status about it, but they are much more likely to publish blogs on it and organize meet-ups finding such joy in the online interaction.  Today’s online users are yearning for interaction and feedback with their favorite brands, letting these users know that the brands are listening. The overall focus of marketers is consistently shifting from siloed campaigns and placing much more of an emphasis on listening to and communicating with consumers across channels, on and off of the Internet. Is your company making the effort? Please visit us at www.advp.com to learn more!

 

 

 

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RT @PeterCullen

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Learn Internet Marketing-Does Google Steal The Buzz For Business?

February 22nd, 2010 | by John Trenaman |

Will Google Buzz Help Increase Online Brand Awareness and Can it be used as an SEO Tool for Businesses?

Recently we have seen developments from Microsoft to integrate social networking platforms and email applications to support corporate branding and customer sales campaigns. Is “Buzz” a first competitive response step from Google? And how relevant will Google Buzz be for the enterprise sector?

This article gives a view on:

-    An Insight into Google Buzz and where it’s going

-    Where Microsoft seems to be heading with Social Media

-    Google and Microsoft’s initiatives to integrate social networking sites and applications

-    How Google Buzz may become important for local search.

If you plan to learn internet marketing – read more to find if Google Buzz has any relevance for your business?

What is “Google Buzz”?

Buzz is a distributed social networking service integrated with Gmail that lets users post publicly via their Google profiles or privately via their Gmail contacts.

Buzz includes updates on what you and your followers do on related Google sites, such as the photo-sharing site Picasa or on Google Reader. It also can include updates from Yahoo’s Flickr photo service and from Twitter, if a user decides to turn on those services.

Buzz makes sharing photos, videos and links very simple, with no need for URL shorteners.

Users automatically begin by following the people they have e-mailed in the past. And in an attempt to cut through the noise, Buzz only puts Buzz posts into one’s inbox if the algorithms find them interesting.

Will Google Buzz Have Relevance In The Business World?

While Google hopes its new Buzz social networking tool can be applied in the corporate world, I have mixed views over whether it can offer features that enterprise users need. Will Buzz help Business’s develop and learn new Internet Marketing strategies?

Google will attempt to inject Buzz into the heart of the enterprise networking world over the next year or two. Their very well thought out strategy of penetrating the corporate environment started to become apparent with the launch of Google apps going after the MS Office suite, Gmail going after Outlook (and all other still-breathing email apps), Chrome browser going after IE and Chrome OS going after Windows

It has been announced that Google will shortly be launching the business side of Google Buzz in the coming months, I for one, cannot wait to see how it will compete against the likes of Microsoft Outlook Social Connector and other Social Networking sites that have business functionality about them.

What About Microsoft Social Connector for managing Internet Marketing Strategies?

Last November, Microsoft announced the beta of the Outlook Social Connector (OSC), a tool that blends social networking updates into the business functionality of the software.

Recently Microsoft has announced an updated beta of the OSC along with the immediate availability of the public beta of LinkedIn for Outlook. They have also announced partnerships with both Facebook and MySpace. Buzz doesn’t yet integrate with any of these three social networking Giants. It integrates only with Twitter, Flikr, Picasa and Google reader.

If you want to Create Brand Awareness and increase traffic to your website it is vital now to setup a social networking presence for your organization. To ignore this would be catastrophic for any business. However it is vital to be able to harness and control all the interest and traffic that results from your presence on these social networking sites.

Logging in to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other social networks one by one and trying to stay up to date with all of them is both inefficient and time consuming for businesses.

If you can harness all these networks into one organisational hub it will be far easier to manage Brand awareness campaigns across different Social Media Sites. From what I can see, Microsoft’s Outlook Connector seems to provide this service!

With Outlook’s Social Connectors managing your Social Networking Campaigns is made easier. The People Pane at the bottom of the Outlook Reading Pane provides users with an intelligent and effective way to access all relevant social media  information about a given contact, including e-mail, calendar events, file attachments, as well as RSS feeds and social network status updates.

See Outlook Social Connector in Action with LinkedIn!

Why Does Social Connector Look More Promising for Business?

Several analysts noted that Gmail isn’t the primary e-mail service used by most businesses, and that likely means that corporate IT departments won’t be widely installing Google Buzz. I use Outlook as my e-mail platform, so in order to use Buzz I have to open yet another window alongside Facebook and Twitter.

Gmail is used in business, but my feel is that it is typically a second or third e-mail account for most business people in midsize and large corporations. I don’t believe that Gmail’s penetration into the corporate world is large enough to give them a decent sized market to create a Buzz Enterprise.

From what I can see, Buzz turns your e-mail platform into a new social networking tool, while Outlook 2010 social connectors provide a means of efficiently managing your existing social networks. Which would you use for business?

The Google approach with Buzz can be overwhelming-inundating your inbox with a steady stream of comments and status updates. If you are not careful about managing the privacy of your comments and threads, you also risk exposing information to parties that you weren’t even aware of.

Google Buzz is limited, at least for now, to tying Google contacts and a single Twitter account into the Buzz network. Outlook 2010 Social Connectors promises to be a more open platform. Microsoft has created a software development kit enabling programmers to create add-ins for Outlook to tie in any other network. Not just ones on the Goolge Network.

The contact-centric approach taken by Microsoft enables you to quickly and easily view all content associated with a given user–including their recent Twitter tweets, Facebook status updates, or other social networking interactions–without overwhelming the Outlook inbox or dumping an avalanche of irrelevant communications on you.

We’re still a few months away from the official launch of Office 2010, and LinkedIn is the only Social Connector available at this time. However in my opinion, Microsoft’s approach seems much more efficient and more promising for business professionals, especially for business users that already rely on Microsoft Outlook for e-mail, or who are interested in integrating social networks beyond Twitter.

Facebook – A Key Traffic Driver for Online Business.

Facebook is now the top source of traffic for major news-entertainment portals such as Yahoo and MSN, according to traffic analysis firm Compete, and is “among the leaders” for other sites as well.

Compete’s director of online media and search told the San Francisco Chronicle that a snapshot of web traffic from December 2009 showed 13 percent of the traffic to major web portals like Yahoo, MSN and AOL came from Facebook. Traffic from Google generated just 7 percent.

Facebook has a substantial business presence on it. More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook . By incorporating the use of  Facebook Ads and useful tools like Facebook Connect business owners have been able to drive more traffic to their sites. More than 60 million Facebook users engage with Facebook Connect on external websites every month.

Business’s can target Niches accurately with Facebook Ad campaigns. If Facebook is now driving more traffic on the web then why should business not be focusing more on Facebook Ad campaigns which are exposed to its target audience in less volume when compared to a flood of sponsored Ad listings in search results pages.

Due to the high Authority of Facebook in search rankings, Business pages and Profiles are indexed for optimal search engine positioning, Allowing for an increased presence in Organic search listings without the use of AdWords.

LinkedIn for Outlook brings together the most popular professional network with the world’s leading professional Inbox. Linked In has over 55 million users now and It will take a lot for the Business version of Buzz to draw away a significant proportion of these users. It would prove very difficult to over shadow the reputable and professional image of this professional social networking site and match its business networking functionality.

From a Local SEO Perspective Buzz is Way Ahead of the Game.

It’s important for business’s to learn the benefits of local SEO and to understand how Google Buzz in the very near future will provide far more Local SEO benefits than Facebook or Twitter will.
When you search for businesses in Google Maps and you go to their mobile place page there is now a button that says “Buzz about this place”. You can Buzz about a business you like, you don’t like, etc.

This is an area where Google is leagues a head of Facebook or Twitter as people who are using Google Maps to search for local businesses will be able to see what other people are saying about this business, much like a review. Far more effective then becoming a “fan” of a business page I would think. The more Buzz’s, the more visibility for your Business!

While Google Buzz’s development is still very young, and its Business platform has still to be released it is evident that it has much to compete with! However it will be exciting to see how it will compete in the corporate world against Outlook’s Social Connector and with other social/ business networking Giants such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

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What To Include In Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Every client desires their social media marketing strategy to create the ultimate “buzz” around their product, service, business or event. What may be a success or failure for one company could result in the exact opposite conclusion for another, simply verifying how incredibly different and customized each social media marketing strategy truly needs to be. In order to attract your target audience, the time and effort must be instilled in a strategy that is targeting exactly who you want to reach with as much potential pull as possible.

Think of it as a large technology puzzle. In order to create this necessary “buzz” a company needs all of the pieces of the social media marketing strategy to be in the box and strategically placed for success. This “buzz” requires more tools than just a simple blog or an online profile, but it encompasses the power of word-of-mouth marketing matched with a personal relationship that people truly value. Here we have created a check list of helpful “buzz” puzzle pieces that every company needs to include in their social media marketing mix for a profitable outcome.

Blogs

A great blog can be thought of as the “heart” of a social media marketing campaign. It is where a company can not only express their personal values, opinions, views and offers, but directly drive traffic to their website separate from the extensive costs of advertising to their target market. A quality blog has the capability of  creating internal links, fresh content, active community or non-search engine traffic.

Examples of widely used blog sites where personal or business accounts may be created are: WordPress, Blog.com, Bloggers.com, Typepad, etc.

Microblogging

In many of the same ways as a blog (but in a much more directly to-the-point manner), microblogging allows for the key points of a company’s message to be passed on extremely quickly and effectively. Microblogging sites such as Twitter and Posterous, allow for millions of people to see the exact same message your company wishes to publish, at the exact same time and potentially be re-tweeted to be seen by people that don’t yet follow you. The power of these sites is truly not even close to being maximized and to see the vision of the exponential potential growth for a company and it’s brand is simply incredible. Its the way of the future and a social media marketing tool no company will be without within the next few years.

Online video

Online videos have taken interaction with the consumer and matched that with the necessary information the company needs conveyed to create an all-encompassing (audio, visual and emotionally-stimulating) experience that provides instant gratification throughout the desired learning process. Videos give the consumer a chance to “see and hear it for themselves” which is commonly proven as a more effective way to reach a company’s target audience. Some websites who successfully specialize in sharing online videos are: YouTube and Vimeo.

Photosharing

When dealing with social media, the whole idea is to technologically “share” what you have with a much larger audience to spread the bigger “picture”. Why not begin with a classic photo? Pictures are a powerfully-packed punch for a social media campaign, that can convey so much meaning and clearly seen information with just one simple file. They are essential to the visual component of a social media marketing campaign and very exciting to work with. Some popular photo-sharing sites include Flickr, Memeo, and Photobucket.

Presentation sharing

Another interesting way to connect with your target audience and further your company’s brand identity would be to offer your target audience presentations on topics of interest to them via presentation sharing websites. This not only shows your consumers that your company cares enough to research their personal interests, but that you also took the time to spread valuable information to them that could be of helpful use. Some commonly used websites include: SlideShare, MyPlick, Scribd, AuthorSTREAM, or Myplick.

Social Networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities

There have been many ways to promote a company, convey their personal mission and express their competitive advantage in the past via various forms of communication, but social networks have opened up an entire new can of interactive worms. Social networks are not like any other form of social media marketing in that they not only are a clear, concise representation of your company and your brand, but they allow the consumer (who spends time, effort and money on your product or service) to “feel the feedback” by actively participating with you on your profile. 7.

Bookmarking/Tagging

Bookmarking websites for Internet users allows them not only to organize, search and manage their web resources, but also share them with millions of other Internet users; the key point. In your social media marketing strategy, you want your consumers to “share” their findings on your site with as many people as possible, hence the beauty of the Internet. Not only does this increase company and brand awareness, but more importantly it allows for exponentially growing traffic of your website, ultimately resulting in profit. Some commonly used social bookmarking websites include: Delicious, Digg, Diigo, Fark, Mixx, MyBlogLog, Newsvine, Propeller, Reddit, Slashdot, StumbleUpon, Yahoo! Buzz.

Discussion Boards and Forums

Online forums are a perfect opportunity to have open discussions and to interact with other experts in your field and/or curious target audience members. They are also a great way to market your products and/or services, while engaging your present or potential consumers, further building your brand equity and awareness. These interactions and engagements with your audience will undoubtedly add to the valued open relationship they feel to your brand.

Content aggregation

Content aggregation is much like your hall closet, only less coats and more news mixed with feeds. Each social networking site you belong too, blog you update and subscribe too, microblog you have an account with, etc. has their own separate news feeds. These feeds tell you what’s going on, who has updated what and where you are able to find the newest information. Having multiple feeds to pay close attention too can be exhausting, which is where content aggregation comes into play. It simply gathers all of those news feeds for you and allows you to organize, manage and search all of your online communities accounts in one place. Commonly predicted as the “future of social media.” Some emerging content aggregation websites are: Lifestream.fm, Lijit, Bloglines, FriendFeed.

Brand monitoring

The branding of your business and company image as a whole is extremely important. Social media offers many ways to help YOU, the company employee or owner, understand the most effective ways to accomplish successful branding. Some commonly used examples are: Buzzlogic, Radian6 or Reputation Defender.

Ratings and reviews

The best way to see the progress, success or improvements needed regarding your website are through ratings and reviews.  They allow you to not only see the “big picture” of how your brand is perceived by others and how much traffic you receive, but they are able to pinpoint exactly what is working well, what isn’t working well and most importantly; why. See Getsatisfaction, Yelp.

Widgets

Widgets are a great tool for businesses and companies to use that promotes their brand by creating a badge on the company’s website including the company’s link to its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts.  This badge not only increases traffic flow to all of the sites liked to it, but more importantly it furthers brand awareness. Some example sites are: WidgetBox or Spring Widgets.

Wikis

Wikis are our online encyclopedia. A short list of wikis includes: Wikipedia, Citizendium, Aboutus, Pbwiki, or Wetpaint.

Publishing your content on networking sites is very important, however publishing  your articles on publishing sites like Ezinearticles, eHow, Google Docs, IdeaMarketers and Yahoo Articles Group undoubtedly takes precedence.  Submitting your press releases on important specialized sites such as i-Newswire, PR.com, PressReleasePoint, PRLog.org are also great ways to capitalize on the newest mediums of the Internet.

Companies are struggling to understand what social media marketing mix they should use to make their brand successful in the online world, and that is more than understandable. Social media marketing can be extremely difficult to comprehend, let alone be successful at increasing profitability from it. The most important thing to remember is what will not work, and that is randomly choosing any network without thought, strategy or positioning.

In our expert opinion, it is most lucrative to begin at the starting point of determining exactly which channels are suitable for your business depending on your target audience and their personal preferences.   It is wise for businesses to plan a step by step online marketing strategy with their online marketing agency that is personally customized to their product or service, and that is where Adventure Web Productions steps in. Please visit us at www.advp.com to learn more!

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Business Benefits of Facebook

Friday, February 12th, 2010

At first, Facebook was used for college students to find out about their freshman roommate. Gradually, it moved to high school students and now it is popular in the business world. Facebook has allowed companies to create endless opportunities by allowing their current and prospective clients to learn more about the company’s mission, employees, and events. Listed below are some of the key components of Facebook that allow small and large businesses to become successful:

  1. Branding: Allows customers to see who and what your company truly is through pictures and information on your profile
  2. Customer Interaction: Allows customers to leave feedback or ask questions regarding event or products of your company
  3. New Customer Search: allows you to find customers you may not have found without Facebook
  4. Keep Your Reputation: constantly updating your Facebook page will encourage clients to keep coming back for more
  5. Client Retention: allows another option of relationship building
  6. Networking: word of mouth on Facebook will attract prospective clients to your page
  7. Feedback: the numerous application availability allows customers to give feedback on various concerns

Visit www.advp.com to learn about our new social media management products.

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