As social media marketing is becoming increasingly prominent for businesses, so is the development of applications, such as those that can be downloaded for the iPhone and other smartphones. If you are thinking about developing a mobile application, there are a few things that you should take into consideration.
 
First, think about what someone will do with the app.  Will it serve as a tool or will it be for entertainment? What is the value that users will receive from using the app?  In other words, what will entice them to come back?  If you have an iPhone, you probably know how it works. You download an app, use it three or four times, and then about a month later, you realize that you haven’t used it since the day it was downloaded.  So, from a marketer’s perspective, what will you do to entice downloaders to use the application more than once or twice?  Perhaps you’ll roll out a new and improved version after a few months. Or, maybe it will make sense to continuously add new content or features to the app.  Lastly, one of the most important considerations is whether or not a mobile app is appropriate for your company or business.  A lot of people have iPhones, but a large portion of your customers may not.  iPhone users are typically younger and more technically savvy. If you find that this is not your audience, consider waiting to build a mobile app and focus instead on creating a presence within established social channels, where your audience is already participating.

With the thousands of applications available for download, below are a few that are widely popular.

Kraft iFood Assistant
The Kraft iFood Assistant continuously builds brand awareness from the kitchen to the grocery store.  It offers how-to videos, easy recipes, tips and a built-in shopping list.

Chipotle Ordering
You can order favorite Chipotle burrito, pay for it from your iPhone, and then pick it up from your local Chipotle with this handy app.

B&N Bookstore by Barnes & Nobles
This app offers everything from book recommendations to finding events at your local store. It also allows you to use your camera to take a photo of a CD, book or DVD cover, and receive product details, reviews and ratings of that product.

SitOrSquat sponsored by Charmin
This app contains information on where to find bathrooms, changing tables, handicap access and other amenities that you may need on the go.

Facebook has been very busy this past week. Not only have they have now topped 300 million active users, they have also launched two new simplistic features; Facebook Lite and Status Tagging. Many believe this is all in an attempt to stay competitive with Twitter, while at the same time pleasing their ever-growing user base.

Facebook Lite, is a pared down version of the original social media channel. Originally created for users with a slow Internet connection, the ‘Lite’ version does not include any applications, engagement ads or custom features that we have become so accustomed to seeing. Brand pages seem to have the most to lose from this new version, if it catches on. The search function is enabled only for profiles and not groups or pages, making it that much harder for a page to be found.

Facebook’s Status Tagging is set to function similar to Twitter’s @mentions. You can now tag any profile, group or page within your status updates. This is a great new way for pages to be able to interact with fans. However, reputation management within Facebook will now become a full-time job, with companies needing to stay abreast of all mentions of their brand within Facebook. 

Now, more than ever, businesses using Facebook need to develop and execute a clear-cut strategy for the channel and understand how each of these new features can affect their online goals with social media marketing.

Are you launching a new product or service? Are you looking to fill inventory at rock bottom rates? Using social media to drive hoards of traffic to your site could be the solution. Nothing brings in the people like the words “free”, “win” and “sweepstakes”.

Many businesses are using contests as a way to garner interest in a brand, product or service and get traffic to their site. Businesses can promote the contests on various social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter. Marriott, for example, recently launched a contest, “Tweet Yourself to Hawaii”. This sweepstakes allows you to enter for a chance to win a trip to Hawaii using your Twitter username and login. Also, you can enter for another chance on Facebook.

It is important to make sure the prize is something people want. Free t-shirts are not as appealing as a free iPod or even a cash prize. Is the contest something that is easy to share with friends making it have a viral effect? Contests should be fun and engaging. This is not the time to tout a brand, focus on the contest and so will visitors.

When beginning a contest, it is important to let people know about it. Press releases, tweets, blogs, forums and even links to the contest on your site are all good ways to get exposure for your contest. Contests are a great way to increase traffic to your site and get people more engaged in your brand.

Have you ever had a bad experience at a store?  Did you tell a friend or friends about that experience?  What if all these experiences could be used to help businesses improve their image and the way they interact with customers?

Social media platforms such as Twitter allow users to unite and express their joys and frustrations with certain products or services.  This mass sharing of information among Tweeters (those who post updates to Twitter) can at times be overwhelming for advertisers to keep up with.   However, managing and maintaining your presence within social media outlets is now becoming a crucial part of every marketing strategy.

People who post negative comments simply want to share their experience.  These customers want to vent their frustration and disappointment directly at the source. So the question remains; how do you respond to negative comments within social media? 

Sharyn Lauby of Mashable, the Social Media Guide says “No matter how proactive you are, customers will start to question your organization when they see problems. And, whenever there is an information-void, those customers will tend to fill in the gaps with their own thoughts on what the cause may be. That’s why it is important to respond to issues quickly, even if the message is just, “we’re looking into it.” 

While responding with ‘We’re looking into it’ may temporarily pacify an upset customer; it is suggested that the communication be courteous, understanding and apologetic.  Social media is a powerful tool that can easily be used to a company’s advantage.  The worst possible thing any business can do, is to ignore problems, especially when technology moves as fast as it does.

No one thought the book 1984 would become a reality when George Orwell wrote it back in 1949. However, it seems that with the increase of technology, 2009 is becoming 1984, especially in the arena of social media. Social media is no longer just a way to socialize with friends or reach loyal and potential customers; it has evolved into a research tool and a tracking device for businesses to watch current or potential employees.

It may seem unconventional, but human resource departments are starting to use social media to do background checks on potential employees. In fact, a recent article by eMarketer Daily shows that job candidates have been helped and hurt based on what they posted on social media sites. Based on stats from the article, HR departments are looking for inappropriate pictures, drug habits, and other things that might deter them from hiring a candidate. However, they’re also looking at communications skills, as well as what a potential job candidate has posted about a previous employer or boss. What a person writes and the pictures they post are fair game for critiquing a potential hire. In fact, a recent article in Computer World said that President Obama warned school children about posting inappropriate material on social media sites because it could come back to haunt them in the future.

Speaking of the future, more and more companies are implementing
corporate social media policies that they ask employees to sign. It’s not about invading privacy, but it’s about protecting the company image and name. Remember what happened to Domino’s. Some companies are encouraging employees to set up two separate profiles. One would be a professional profile and the other would be a personal profile. It could seem over the top to some, but really it’s a safe move. Think about it, what if your employee fans a client site, but has a difference of opinion with the client and vents their frustration to their friends through their social media sites. Oops, that won’t make for good business, especially, if the client catches it before your business does. A corporate social media policy doesn’t sound like a bad idea does it?

Given that social media is being used for researching and tracking by companies; it’s best not to post anything that may seem questionable whether it’s on your professional profile or your personal profile. People may forget what you say, but what you write and post is a different story, and don’t think you’ll just erase it. There are tools out there that can pull deleted posts from websites, but we’ll save that for another blog.

The internet isn’t private; anything you post or write can possibly be used for or against you.

Many times in business, the early adopters gain the most by embracing new marketing techniques.  Being first to advertise in a new channel is an indicator of a business’ forward thinking and proactive approach to be on the front line of new technology.  In this way, they create new strategies for business development and improve client retention.  As a business, its better to be ahead of the curve than trying to play catch up after realizing your competitors beat you to the punch.  Social media marketing is gaining more steam and acceptance among the well known brands, but I find many small and mid-size businesses are still dragging their feet.

One reason for pause with many small and mid-size business owners is that they don’t understand the channels from a personal perspective and naturally shy away from the media from a business perspective.  Which raises the question, do you have to participate personally in social media sites in order for your business to benefit from the channel?  The answer is a resounding “No”. 

Back in the day, the phone book was the “go-to” source to find businesses before the internet became such an integral part of our lives.  I recall working for a company who was at the forefront of selling online advertising to small and mid size businesses when the phone book was still King.  The most common objection business owners gave for passing on the option to utilize the internet to market their business was that “everyone uses the phone book to find us”.  Well, fast forward and look at how Search has dominated the way people look for businesses today.  I am not here to announce the death of the phone book as an effective marketing tool, but the younger generations simply do not use the phone book anymore.  Consequently, it was the early adopters to internet marketing that reaped the greatest benefits as more and more people use search engines to find and research businesses before making a purchase.  The experience gained by starting early (and making mistakes along the way) are precious in the long run.

The shift is well on its way with the social media channels.  It is a rare occurrence that I don’t see or hear a commercial that references Facebook or Twitter, even though the commercial itself is not promoting either of those sites.  These social media networks are simply becoming part of our digital culture.  It won’t be long, and we are well on our way, where one’s social network profile will be as commonly used as their cell phone.  Businesses who find creative ways to develop a presence in these channels will undoubtedly have the advantage over their competition.  It’s a numbers game and your potential customers are gravitating and engaging in social media sites in increasing numbers.

You may already be utilizing text links on your company website that lead visitors to your company’s Facebook Page.  Facebook has also provided its users with resources to quickly create “Profile Badges” and more recently “Fan Boxes” followed by “Live Stream Boxes” that can be incorporated seamlessly into other online platforms (company website, blog, email html, etc).  With the release of “Facebook Widgets” on September 4, Facebook is making it even easier to give more visibility to your Pages and Profiles by amalgamating their resources in one place.  They have even rolled out Page Badges and Photo Badges that give businesses more creative options for developing custom (Facebook) graphics / links.  A complete list of what you will find at the Widget Center includes:

• Personal Profile Widgets
• Profile Badge
• Photo Badge (NEW)
• Business Widgets
• Page Badge (NEW enhancements)
• Fan Box
• Live Stream Box

If you missed the chatter about Fan Boxes and Live Stream Boxes, here is a quick run-down. 

Fan Boxes

• Lets your website visitors become a Fan of your Facebook Page with 1 click, without leaving your website
• See how many users (and which users) are already Fans
• See a Stream of your Page activity
• Gives you an option for incorporating across multiple Social Media channels

 
Sample Facebook Fax Box

Live Stream Boxes let your visitors (blog, website, email, etc) post updates in real time and interact with one another, without leaving your website.  Be aware:  your fans’ status updates and comments will be incorporated on your company website when this tool is used.  Although you can customize the Live Stream Box to some degree – there will be content here that is beyond your control. 

The resources that Facebook has brought together make it easy for any business to give more visibility to their Facebook activity, without extensive involvement of designers and programmers.  These options are ideal for a business who loves the idea of Facebook Connect, but may not have the in-house team to accomplish the programming or the budget dollars to outsource the integration.

If you have ever done a “how to” search in any of the top search engines, chances are you have come across at least 1 article from eHow returned in the search results.  eHow offers users visitors an online knowledge base of more than 140,000 articles and videos offering step-by-step instructions on “how to do just about everything”.  The vast information is contributed by both professional experts as well as “regular” consumers.  Articles are organized into 100’s of categories to make it easy for users (and search engines) to locate specific instructions.  The tight organization and structure of the website’s content is also ideal for SEO. eHow offers businesses the opportunity to quickly and easily submit their content, and have it available for an audience of over 20,000,000 (and growing) monthly unique visitors. 

Having a presence in eHow can benefit companies in the following ways:

• Opportunity to link back to your website in certain situations (via personalized profiles)
• Networking opportunities within the eHow community
• Opportunity to comment on articles related to your product / service

 
eHow Article: How to Detect Diabetes Symptoms

Each article and video has a “share” button, making it easy to pass along to friends.  eHow also sends out an “eHow of the Day” email, which provides additional exposure to consumers (and professionals).  By incorporating complimentary How-To Videos, eHow is even more attractive to a wider range of internet users.  This extensive video content is also organized very well and even listed on a special Site Map, reserved for video files.

eHow Video: How to Know if You Have Diabetes

Becoming a member and contributing content to eHow is fairly straightforward.  If your business is interacting in other social networks – give eHow a try!

More companies and brands are on Facebook than ever before, and this number continues to grow daily.  The ways in which companies can interact with fans also increases continuously, making it difficult to say on top of the possibilities.

One feature that doesn’t seem to be widely known is that Facebook users can actually become fans of a company or brand page through a simple text message. If you are a Facebook page admin, you first need to edit the page to enable someone to successfully become a fan via text messaging. 

From a user’s perspective, to become a fan of one of your favorite pages (company, brand, musician, etc.), all that you need to do is simply text “fan PageName” to FBOOK (32665).  There is one catch… to successfully “fan” a page, a Facebook user must first activate their phone. This can be done through the Settings page shown below.

Does your company attend events or conferences? If so, this feature could be especially beneficial. You could promote your page during an event, and those interested could immediately become a fan of your page through a text message. It could also be a great way to integrate your social media marketing (SMM) efforts with other offline campaigns and promotions, such as TV and radio ads, to encourage page fans that way as well.

For those of us who have been waiting for a marketing tool for Twitter, something is in the works. IDTweet.com is a service that allows advertisers to specifically target Tweeters by the keywords in their member profiles. IDTweet.com can also locate the keywords within current tweets. In addition, IDTweet.com lets advertisers find previous tweets in which their keywords were mentioned.

Targeting followers based on words they’ve Tweeted gives businesses an upper hand. Advertisers can investigate whether their brand name or product(s) are a hot topic in the world of Twitter. It’s very possible that the Twitter community is already aware of your brand and possibly a fan it.  IDTweet.com also becomes an extremely helpful tool for reputation management.  If current customers are experiencing issues and Tweeting about it; advertisers can quickly address and fix problems, thus improving customer service.

A keyword “spy” tool like IDTweet can help businesses find niche users by keyword, but what about finding Twitter followers by location? Geographic targeting options are also available through IDTweet. In addition, Twitter recently announced the launch of their internal geo-targeting options that should soon be available. Hopefully with these new tools and targeting options, Twitter will become increasingly effective for advertising.