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Between the endless Euro drama and the Bitcoin brouhaha, currency has been much in the news of late. Most people would probably name the US Dollar as the dominant currency in this day and age.
Via janlgordon, Gladys Pintado, Firas Ghunaim
Social Media doesn't work for the vast majority of small businesses. That was the main message in the USA Today article titled, Study: Social media a bust for small businesses, published on April 17th, 2013. From the news item:"About 61% of small businesses don't see any return on investment on their social-media activities, according to a survey released Tuesday from Manta, a social network for small businesses. Yet, almost 50% say they've increased their time spent on social media, and only 7% have decreased their time. What businesses are trying to get out of social media: 36% said their goal was to acquire and engage new customers, 19% said to gain leads and referrals, and 17% said to boost awareness. Facebook was most cited as the hardest to maintain social-media platform, according to the survey." There is a big lesson in this data... What you want from social media may be very different from what it is.
Via Martin Gysler
Do you run contests on Facebook? Would you like to make your next Facebook contest stand out? This article will give you 4 ideas to improve your next Facebook contest. Why Facebook Contests? Facebook contests are a popular way for you to get your audience engaged and excited about your brand. More and more companies have adopted the use of Facebook contests to better track participation and engagement.
Via Martin Gysler
Pinterest is a fast emerging visually oriented social network that provides a platform that can bring out the creative marketer. So how can you market your business on Pinterest whether you are a B2B or a B2C company?
Via Martin Gysler
Do you use Twitter for your business? Are you wondering how Twitter can help you build relationships? To learn about Twitter marketing and how it can help your business, I interview Mark W. Schaefer for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner. It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing. The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting). In this episode, I interview Mark Schaefer, author of Return on Influence and The Tao of Twitter. He’s also a marketing faculty member at Rutgers University and he blogs at Grow.
Via Martin Gysler
Robin Good: Matthew Fields has published a really good guide on SocialMediaChimps for anyone who wants to get serious in using Twitter for reputation-building and marketing purposes. In the illustrated article he showcases four key concepts and many small tips and tools that helped his own account (the SocialMediaChimps one) get more than 10k followers in less than 90 days. Useful. 8/10 Full article: http://socialmediachimps.com/2012/get-followers-on-twitter/ ;
Via Robin Good
Robin Good: Matthew Fields has published a really good guide on SocialMediaChimps for anyone who wants to get serious in using Twitter for reputation-building and marketing purposes. In the illustrated article he showcases four key concepts and many small tips and tools that helped his own account (the SocialMediaChimps one) get more than 10k followers in less than 90 days. Useful. 8/10 Full article: http://socialmediachimps.com/2012/get-followers-on-twitter/ ;
Via Robin Good
After yesterday's Facebook campaigns Scoop, here are 6 great tips to help you increase your return on Facebook Ads . . .
Via David Blundell
A simple guide to understanding how to effectively use Twitter hashtags in marketing and how you shouldn't! [note mg] Every time we host live webinars (and as this long list suggests, that is quite often), quite a few attendees get confused about what to do with the hashtag we provide. What is it? What does it do? How do you create one? Let me explain! What is a hashtag? A Twitter hashtag is simply a keyword phrase, spelled out without spaces, with a pound sign (#) in front of it. For example, #inboundchat and #ILoveChocolate are both hashtags. What does a hashtag do? A Twitter hashtag ties the conversations of different users into one stream, which you can find by searching the hastag in Twitter Search or by using a third-party monitoring tool such as HootSuite. Read more: http://bit.ly/K8LKcQ
Via Martin Gysler
Learn how to measure the ROI of your Twitter marketing efforts.
Via AnnaGenis
Is everyone supporting social media at your company?Are you struggling to get the support you need? Great blog from Social Media Examiner with some ideas to help you it . . .
Via David Blundell
Social media is a source of endless discussion. With the advent of new tools and / or platforms every day, keep up has become a challenge. But some among the many are the undisputed leaders and decide largely on what will be the future. This slide presentation may give us interesting information on the trends and what might we expect in 2012 and beyond. [note Martin Gysler] Social networking is the #1 activity online. Even though Google gets the most visitors, Facebook is where most of us are spending our time. And it’s not just about Facebook anymore. We are spending a lot of time on LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr and Twitter. While there are some clear major players in the social space, the social media universe continues to expand and 2011 was a banner year for the idea of an "Interest Graph." In 2011, we saw Google launching Google+ and Pinterest grewing at an astounding rate. Facebook launched "Timeline" and "frictionless sharing" with partners like the much anticipated Spotify. Facebook also acquired design companies and the team behind Gowalla, showing the company’s intent to provide a consistent experience across devices and becoming a more prominent player in the mobile space. Read more: http://www.slideshare.net/socialnerdia/the-state-of-social-media-and-social-media-marketing-in-2012-10743590?from=ss_embed
Via Martin Gysler
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Besides a quick explanation of what responsive email design is; I take a look at what’s possible, going through some of the responsive layout patterns we’ve
Via paulo oliveira, Martin (Marty) Smith
The video game industry is worth more than $100bn worldwide, so it's no surprise that businesses are using gamification to try to boost sales. The idea is that by adding gaming elements to the sales process, such as small challenges and rewards, you can increase customer loyalty and advocacy. As in every game or competition, the participants have to be motivated by a worthwhile reward. It’s also true that the greater the reward, the more you can ask people to do to earn the reward.
Via Martin Gysler
Here are 101 fantastic social media technology tool tips that you can use to promote your business on social media. Are you looking for some tools and tips related to social media tools and technology? Want to add a bit of magic to your social media marketing? As we specialise in tools and technology we come across great tips and tools every day. From the list below we guarantee you will find something very useful for your business.
Via Martin Gysler
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and love is in the air. But even if there isn't someone special in your life right now, as a marketer, that doesn't mean you still can't get into the lovin' spirit. If you're creating marketing people love, that is. But just like there's more than one way to skin a cat, there's more than one way to make people hate your marketing guts. So we thought we'd round up a pretty hefty list of ways (101, to be exact) that you can create the polar opposite of lovable marketing -- how to make people hate your marketing. So double check your marketing tactics against this list to ensure you're being as lovable as you possibly can to your prospects and customers. Because love is all you need ... and probably some leads. Warning: Sarcasm and snark abound.
Via Martin Gysler
A constant challenge for Internet marketers targeting Facebook has been gaining engagement. Generally brands and page admins have defined engagement as things such as likes, shares, and comments, but more importantly to gain reputation with Facebook’s algorithm. This infographic created by SocialMouths and American Express OPEN illustrates ways to help make a Facebook page’s post a bit more popular through optimization of post elements such as short posts, the use of emoticons, the best times to post, and contest ideas...
Via Lauren Moss, Firas Ghunaim
Beth Kanter wrote a very complete and interesting piece in NTEN's latest edition of their quarterly journal for non-profit leaders. You have to download the journal but it's worth it and it's free (you just need to register). Jan Gordon: I agree with Guillaume, Beth Kanter knows what she's talking about and her article is definitely worth reading. Guillaume Decugis wrote this commentary: "It's been fascinating for me to see how non-profits seem to embrace Social Media in general and Content Curation in particular - Beth of course being a key advocate in that move. The broader take-away that I see for those of us in all sorts of organizations, as independant professionals or SMB-owners is the validation it brings to the model. When tightly-budgeted NPO's embrace a practice as a group, you can bet they're not wasting their scarce resources on a hype. They have to be efficient and as Beth puts it in the article: "Putting content curation into practice is part art form, part science, but mostly about daily practice. You don’t need to do it for hours, but 20 minutes every day will help you develop and hone the skills." This is precisely where we see the opportunity with curation for professionals: building up a good practice that fits with one's daily routine and that -as Beth puts it - brings great "unexpected benefits". Selected by gdecugis and Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond" Read full article here: [http://tinyurl.com/75ucphe]
Via gdecugis, janlgordon
With over 800 million active users, Facebook is by far the biggest social networking website at present. The number of users is increasing on a daily basis, with thousands of people setting up Facebook accounts. The traffic and usage is sufficient to judge Facebook’s stature in the social media industry. It has grown in leaps and bounds and is far ahead of the competition.
For the past few years, businesses have gauged the potential of Facebook for marketing and creating a brand image. The trend towards online marketing has increased, with internet based promotion becoming a major part of businesses’ marketing strategies. Through Facebook, businesses can target their market segment and attract customers. Already, a majority of the businesses are using Facebook to increase awareness about their products and services. A corporate Facebook page can enhance the popularity and sales of your business.
Read more: http://bit.ly/KUeh5U
Via Martin Gysler
Getting your app discovered is the fundamental challenge every app marketer faces. With millions of apps across iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and other platforms, standing out in the boundless sea of available apps is becoming increasingly difficult. The best app marketers will pursue a comprehensive, well-rounded app marketing strategy that includes pre-launch work and post-launch work. The best strategies will include organic and paid app marketing channels. Here’s the complete guide to app marketing that every app owner needs to follow. Before Launch Contrary to popular belief, your marketing strategy needs to start well before your app goes live in the app store. Like any successful product, understanding who your customers are and where you can find them is one of the most important pieces of the app marketing puzzle. There are a few steps you need to take before you launch your app: Read more: http://bit.ly/JkeEHT
Via Martin Gysler
As Internet marketing consultants, I’m sure we’d all agree SEO is a vital part of a successful marketing strategy. Online visibility is essential for both branding and conversions. But I think because we are passionate about what we do (and therefore, perhaps a bit biased,) we can lose sight of the fact that SEO and Internet marketing are not the only ingredients in our client’s marketing mix. Print advertising, radio and TV commercials, e-mail marketing, direct mail – for most businesses, these forms of marketing are still heavily used. And really, in many cases, they should be. We might all like to think that online is the single best way to reach our client’s audience, but depending on their product or service, that might not always be the case. My job as a Marketing Coordinator in real estate taught me the value of multi-channel marketing, and how different channels spoke to different demographics. Read more: http://bit.ly/HQlRDn
Via Martin Gysler
The article posted yesterday asked the question "Should I Keep My Personal and Professional Identities Online Completely Separate?" that of today gives you an answer on this. Maybe it'll help you find your way ... [note mg] Facebook personal profiles are not for business use. With that said, plenty of people use their personal profiles to interact with their target audience through sharing blog posts, industry news, and events. So today, we’re going to look at how to set up your personal profile for marketing and eight things you can do with your personal profile that can’t be done with Facebook business pages. Before we begin, there are a few things that you will want to do before using your personal profile for marketing, in terms of privacy and making sure the right information is displayed on your profile. Keeping Personal and Public Facebook Content Separate... Read more: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/tactful-facebook-marketing/
Via Martin Gysler
As a specialist in social media you should be able to answer these 52 questions ... and if you are looking for a company that will take care of your social media, you should ask them... there's a lot of work ahead! [note mg] Confession time: I have a really hard time getting started. There’s just something about those awkward first steps that makes me delay projects as long as I possibly can. For example, last month I finally fixed the check engine light in my car so that I could get it inspected. It was actually pretty excited since the light had been on since October. Of 2008. I wish I was kidding. It’s not that I’m irresponsible, that I don’t value my safety or even that I didn’t know I was potentially creating a bigger problem – it’s that taking the first step and committing to something is scary. And it’s especially scary if you don’t know where to start. Because the not knowing makes you feel dumb. And no one likes to feel dumb. Read more: http://outspokenmedia.com/social-media/quesitons-hiring-a-social-media-company/
Via Martin Gysler
Brief description of top sources named from Awareness, Inc.eBook on Social Marketing in 2012. As we embark on 2012, the team at Awareness, Inc. consulted with the best and the brightest in marketing, strategy, technology, business and social media to help us identify the top news, analysis and trends resources for social marketing and social technology. Our industry is among the most dynamic, with many voices reporting, analyzing and advising on social technology, social media developments, successes, and best practices. To help you navigate the active social news space, we compiled this Ultimate Guide to the Top Marketing, Technology and Social Media Resources. This guide aggregates resources quoted by leading strategists such as David Meerman Scott, Brian Solis, Erik Qualman, Jason Falls, and Jay Bear, top analysts and influencers Jeremiah Owyang, Debi Kleiman, Laura Fitton, David Berkowitz, brand leaders such as Ekaterina Walter, Michael Pace, and Pam Johnston, and agency visionaries Steve Rubel, Mike Troiano, and Jonas Klit Nielsen in our free report on 2012 Social Marketing and New Media Predictions, to name just a few. Read more: http://www.socialnomics.net/2012/01/03/the-ultimate-news-resource-guide-to-social-marketing-55-top-marketing-technology-and-social-media-news-analysis-and-trends-resources/
Via Martin Gysler
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It's always great practice to also to go back and review what you've posted and commented on just in case. This is a must-do.