As marketers, we spend a lot of time thinking about our message, as well we should. Our job is to tell prospective customers how we can help them, so we focus on what we say. The Internet has turned the tables on marketers, however. Time was that marketing messages were conceived by extremely creative people to get attention for products, but now, listening to what customers say and do are just as important as creativity. Old-time marketers have always listened to a few customers in focus groups, so you can think of the Internet is the biggest focus group of...
Everyone has been watching Facebook to see if it can monetize its enormous traffic to become a going business. And the focal point of that monetization effort is advertising, just like Google's. And you've probably read about Facebook ads, or perhaps even tried them yourself. And maybe you've decided that they just don't work. You might be right, but it could also be that you are trying to use Facebook ads the same way you use Google ads, when you ought to be doing something very different....
Facebook seems like the star of the social networking show these days, doesn't it? It's where people connect and keep in touch with friends and family all over the world, and from a business perspective there's no doubt it can be a great place to build relationships and gain contacts. With all of the press surrounding Facebook though, it can be easy to forget that another network out there offers its own advantages: LinkedIn....
If you were a small startup, suddenly becoming hugely popular, would you align with a bigger brand or keep the startup momentum churning? It's somewhat akin to the decision some high school or in-college athletes face when approached by major-league teams. Do you carry on with your innocent talent or do you join the ranks of the bigger and better experienced, hoping to maintain that initial spark?...
In the last few years social media has jumped to the forefront of online marketing for many small businesses. Some business owners aren't even bothering to market (or in some cases even build) their websites anymore.
Easily create your custom Facebook profile by using static FBML language and maximize the value of your social networking efforts. With its ever-increasing number of users and sheer magnitude of its future plans, you can't afford to ignore this dominant social network. Static FBML language is a powerful tool to help you get even more benefits out of being on Facebook....
Hitwise says Facebook Most Popular U.S. Site. Did you think this day would come? That a social media site would over take the mighty Google in traffic? Hitwise says that day has finally come....
An interesting study by Chadwick Martin Bailey: "Consumers Engaged Via Social Media Are More Likely To Buy, Recommend" - "The study of over 1500 consumers by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower. And an impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of. Considering Facebook's over 400 million users, the opportunity is great for social media marketers."...
Developing a strong presence on social networking and bookmarking sites doesn't involve complex formulas or algorithms. Sure, sites like Digg and Reddit have algorithms, but your best bet is to focus on the two major pillars of success on social bookmarking sites - great content and a network of users to promote it - rather than focusing on racing to the front page....
Social media is free, but what's the catch? Time. We only have so much time to spend putting our message out there, but we don't want to limit how many people can hear what we have to say. This problem comes up in many ways, but the simplest is the dichotomy between Facebook and Twitter. Many folks decide to spend the bulk of their social time on one or the other, with relatively few people using both. If Google Buzz catches fire, this fragmentation might only increase. What's a marketer to do?...
JESS3, a creative agency specializing in data visualization, has put together an amazing video which shows the current state of the Internet. We have highlighted some of the data below, but please also watch the video for yourself (it rivals the Social Media Revolution)....
Marketing Pilgrim reported on a study dealing with the effectiveness of Facebook fan pages. The study makes a pretty strong case for the power of Facebook....
Today we're going to take a look at how to make use of the Photos and Video applications. These are your chances to really add some content to your Facebook Page. Sure, you can (and probably should) have this content set up on other areas of the web designed for it (Photos could be shared over at Flickr and videos find homes on sites like YouTube), but there is an advantage in housing this content on Facebook.
Tons of companies come in to Facebook, set up their page, throw a few photos and status updates on it and leave. Doing this is akin to building a web site without bothering to optimize it for search engines and create a content strategy.
There's amazing viral potential involved with Facebook pages and it provides companies an easy way to reap the benefits of photos, videos, discussion forums, micro-blogging and pretty much every other form of social media in one neat little package.
Imagine being a Tennessee Volunteer football fan. There are a lot of them, maybe including yourself. So, you and over 100,000 other fans go to Knoxville on a fall Saturday morning to watch your beloved Volunteers take on Alabama, you take a picture with your cell phone, then a security guard comes up saying "I'll need you to erase that picture and to leave the stadium now".
Top 10 Social Networking and Blog Sites Ranked by Total Minutes for April 2009 and their Year-over-Year Percent Growth (U.S., Home and Work). Facebook and Twitter increase dramatically whereas MySpace sees a decrease in total minutes....
Are all those people on Facebook really your friends (or customers)? ...
I have rules about my social networks and I am sure most people who are comfortable utilizing social networks do too. When someone is just starting to get involved in building up their social network it's hard to know or recognize when and where to set boundaries. As well, there seems to be a bit of a challenge when it comes to being completely professional or being yourself. Luckily, the rule of being "you" is winning out and those folks who think they are being "professional" in sending blog links, promotional introductions, and other spammy items are turning into "professional...
I'm probably going to lose a lot of Friends with this post, but I need to get some stuff off my chest about Facebook. If you're a real Friend, you'll listen without judgment. If not, it was nice Facebooking with you. I hope there are no hard feelings left in my wake....
In the past I have discussed how to create Successful Facebook groups, however I still find the regular (non sponsored) Facebook groups very limited. Below is my personal wish list for Facebook Groups...
If you've heard about Facebook and understand it can help grow your business but aren't sure how to get started, read on. This article is a step-by-step outline on how to market yourself on Facebook.
So you were all excited when you first discovered Facebook Groups and noticed that all the cool kids had their own and you quickly jumped on the bandwagon to create one for yourself. You went through the process of creating an enticing title/description, selected the perfect logo and then proceeded to invite all your friends to join...but now what???
Facebook is one of the most powerful social networking services currently available. Its interface and framework allow a person to spread news virally as quick as any social bookmarking service. Facebook Groups, communities of friends with similar interests, are also becoming extremely popular. But, why create a Facebook Group?...
Recently, many prominent members of the SEO community that I follow and respect all started talking about Facebook simultaneously which told me that I was missing out on an important conversation that I needed to hear and participate in. So, I went back to Facebook, created my page and I now see its enormous potential....
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