Archive for the ‘Social Media Marketing’ Category
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
If you relate marketing on facebook as a means to primarily reach a teen demographic, it’s time to take a second look at the social networking giant that’s all grown up. According to comScore their largest segment of users as of December 2009 was in the age group 35-49, with the age group 25-34 doubling in size every six months. Facebook currently has over 400 million members, and is reportedly on track to generate a whopping $1.1 billion in revenue this year, while representing over 80% of America’s top 100 brands. What do advertisers love about facebook?
In addition to numerous marketing platforms including FREE facebook pages, advertisers can snag cost-effective CPC/CPM campaigns. Unlike search ads such as Yahoo and Google, facebook offers a less saturated environment while providing the ability to target members based on demographics, interests and keywords. facebook also provides a tracking system, where advertisers can get real-time reporting. Here are just three ways for businesses to use facebook:
- Facebook Pages: a FREE interactive platform for businesses to interact with facebook members. A page is typically used to increase brand awareness, communicate directly with members, and generate leads. Pages are a great way to gain consumer feedback and create a fan base which can lead to great word of mouth advertising. Comprised of features such as events, videos, pics and info, advertisers can directly communicate with fans in innovative and dynamic ways.
- Facebook Ads/Direct Response: used primarily to drive traffic to your site or page, facebook ads are approximately 1/3 the cost of major search engine ads and offer many targeting options as well as the ability to add images. You can target members by location, age, gender, education, workplace, relationship status, languages and ofcourse keywords. As with sponsored links, you have the option of Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per 1000 Impressions (CPM). These ads appear on the right hand side of targeted facebook member’s profiles, giving them easy access to ads. Direct Response ads, integrated late last year, allow advertisers to offer a promotion in exchange for member’s information. For example, when a member clicks on a cosmetic company’s ad, a short form appears offering the member a free sample of lip gloss in exchange for them providing information such as an e-mail address.
- Facebook Applications: such as games and questionnaires, are generally built to generate interest and interaction. Applications can take on a viral marketing effect and attract new clients in a way that sponsored links cannot.
Tags: facebook advertising, facebook for businesses, facebook pages
Posted in Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Keeping tabs on social search sites such as Yahoo Answers, Mahalo and GoogleAsk has been helpful to businesses primarily for reputation management and competitive analysis purposes. These sites provide user generated answers, reviews and tips to questions posed by other users. People frequent these sites because the information provided is generally seen as relevant, current and trustworthy as they come from other users, just like themselves. Wouldn’t it be great to receive and answer questions relating to your business?
Well now you can, using Google’s recently acquired social search site Vark.com which urges users to “ask a question and I’ll find someone to answer”. Unlike most social search sites, Vark.com gets answers from people, not sites. That’s right, you can get an answer from someone in your current social network (i.e. facebook, gmail contacts) or anyone that has listed an interest in the topic, typically within 5-10 minutes. So how do you answer a question about the product or service you provide? Vark.com offers Sponsored Answers, where businesses bid on specific keywords. Vark then forwards questions that include these keywords to you. You can either answer the question (you should include a link to your site) or pass. This is a great way to generate warm leads. Here are a few statistics for Vark.com at the end of 2009:
- 87.7% of questions sent to Aardvark got answered
- 70.4% of answer feedback had a high quality rating of ‘good’ as opposed to ‘ok’ or ‘bad’
- Average of 3,176.2 questions per day
Tags: generate leads from social search site, leads from social networking
Posted in Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Google Caffeine, Google’s newly revamped search engine, has many of us wondering what effect it will have on our websites SEO. Many studies, including an impressive 9,000 keyword research conducted by Summit Media, found that although search rankings are not highly affected, Caffeine favors sites that have new and timely content, especially for generic searches. Unlike long tail searches that are more specific, generic searches will bring up results that are real time oriented in order to give the user a more current scope of results. Here are a few ideas to consider about Caffeine’s effect on your site:
- With Caffeine showing a bias towards updated sites, consider integrating features onto your website that will keep it fresh and dynamic, such as a blog.
- Caffeine is said to boost real-time results, you may want to amp up your social media by contributing regularly to Twitter, blogs, etc.
- Since Caffeine will deliver more relevant search results, focus on keywords and use relevant, high quality links. Get rid of broken and irrelevant links and make sure your site loads quickly.
If you have experienced Caffeine, please feel free to share your findings or any user tips.
Tags: Google Caffeine, social media
Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
2009 brought us e-book readers, micro-mini netbooks, amazing LED TV’s and exciting mobile devices. This was a great year for developments in the uber sleek, user friendly, loaded with apps, mobile devices we call cell phones. More than ever, people today are using their cell phones for much more than just talking. According to Interactive Data Corp (IDC), a global market intelligence provider, over 450 million people this year accessed the internet on a mobile device. What’s even more amazing is that IDC expects that number to surpass one billion in the next four years. For businesses this info means one thing: getting mobile presence. Fortunately today there are several location based services (LBS) that can help put your business on your customer’s phone.
LBS in essence, are applications that provide users with location focused information through the use of a mobile device’s GPS. For example, using your phone for directions to the nearest gas station, getting a local restaurant review, or receiving an alert for a sale at your favorite retailer. Location based social networking communities such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Brighkite, and Loopt offer users information about venues based on their coordinates.
Foursquare combines a “friend-finder” feature with “social city guide elements and game mechanics- where users earn points, win mayorships and unlock badges for trying new places and revisiting old favorites.” When users “check-in” they are given recommendations to venues nearby, and provided with their friends locations. The goal is for businesses to offer foursquare users enticing specials, such as two for one drinks. Those specials are then visible on the foursquare site to anyone within a certain radius of a business. Users accumulate points for visiting participating businesses, and if they frequent a venue enough, they can claim mayor status! It’s a win-win for both businesses and patrons. Foursquare will also be “offering participating venues tools that will lend insight to who’s visting, how often, where they’re coming from and where they’re going next.”
Brightkite, which also connects users to venues, boasts over 5 million monthly visitors and the ability to target “the right person at the right time, in the right place, doing the right thing, in the right weather conditions, in the right language…” you get the idea. In November, Brightkite launched the “Ultra Targeted Advertising Solution” which allows businesses to target a wider range of criteria, beyond the limits of traditional age, gender, race, and income categories. Another great marketing tool they offer is a mobile coupon campaign.
Check out these location based networking communities, many of them have strong followings and are gaining more every day. These along with a Google Maps listing, and a mobile site will help give you a strong mobile presence.
Tags: location based social networking, mobile presence
Posted in Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Social media marketing, using social networking sites for business marketing purposes, is a fun and effective way to bring your brand to life. With two way communication and features such as video and event invites, businesses can now show consumers their brand personality.
Brand personality, according to wiki “includes all the tangible and intangible traits of a brand, say beliefs, values, prejudices, features, interests, and heritage…seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand engagement and brand attachment, in much the same way as people relate and bind to other people.” Generally, a brand name is associated directly to a product or service, i.e., Nike equals athletic gear. Social media marketing transforms the association people have with a brand from a lifeless item/product/service to something relatable, significant, and relevant. For example, on Facebook, Nike is no longer just an athletic shoe company, their page is a source for like-minded athletes, it’s engaging and motivational. Nike’s Ballers Network on Facebook allows users to set up pick-up games around the world! To its users, Nike is more than just an athletic gear company, it’s the brand that brings them together.
With social media marketing, you have the ability to give your brand a face, a cause, a personality that your consumers can form an association with and support. The hope is that you create a connection with your audience, they relate and recommend it to their friends, who pass it on to their friends, and their friends, and you get the point.
Here are some tips on getting started:
- Decide on the best social networking site for your company based on your niche. (Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, Flicker, Digg, etc)
- Design a page that showcases the personality of your brand. If possible, include interactive features and applications.
- Setup blog content to feed into your page. Do not hard sell on your blog or page.
- Maintain your page with frequent content updates so your friends keep checking up on your site. Remember, Search Engines love new content!
Have fun being creative with your brand! We will provide more information on the different Social Networking sites in upcoming blogs.
Tags: Social Media Marketing
Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
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