Social media has become the new 800 lb gorilla, replacing Google as the most visited web site in the United States. Social Media platforms have become a driving force in how customers view brands and businesses, which can be both beneficial and detrimental depending on how you approach social media.

All businesses must enter the social media realm with a plan to manage the possible associated risks and repercussions that may occur. As we have seen over the past few weeks with Nestle and Toyota, social media can be the gasoline added to a fire. Preparing for these types of situations should be of utmost importance to all businesses before they delve into social media.

Nestlé’s lack of preparation and immediate response to their social media backlash has resulted in severe ramifications.  According to Viral Agency, Nestlé’s online brand attitude shifted from 43% positive attitude on March 15, to negative 35% on March 17. Just two days following the launch of the Kit Kat Palm oil viral video campaign, Nestlé’s had a huge 78% negative shift of favorability.

The exchange of information and news is accessible to users within seconds. A clear plan is the best method for preventing a social media fire and dealing with those fires after igniting. If dealt with properly, social media can be of great valuable and very beneficial to businesses during a crisis.  

How to successfully prepare for social media issues:

1. Establish a Crisis Management Team- Create a dedicated team of people who are educated in social media and crisis management
2. Set up response channels – i.e. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Blog. Know how to quickly respond and interact in each channel
3. Listen, interact and stay engaged – Set up alerts, stay engaged, always know what is going on and keep up with the latest buzz.
4. Prepare-  Be fully prepared for a crisis and establish your plan of attack
5. Business Plan - Develop a business model and etiquette for employees to follow when engaging in each channel. Always be prepared and plan for the worst.

Burying your head in the sand won’t cut it. The fire won’t put itself out. You need to prepare a strategic plan of attack and turn a crisis into a benefit.

Today’s Wall Street Journal blog post drums up mixed emotions for me.

It talks about recent apps that Fisher Price has developed, targeted both to moms (facebook) and toddlers (iphone). Although I haven’t had a chance to experiment with either, I do see real potential with the Facebook application. The ability to organize photos and selectively share them (or not) with certain friends seems very helpful. The iphone app I am just not sure about. It’s obviously for parents to purchase and download, but truly meant for toddler use and enjoyment. The “marketing mom” in me thinks this is a very savvy and targeted product from Fisher Price, plus an easy way to buy time when you’ve run out of entertainment ammunition. From Apple’s standpoint … man, hook those potential brand loyalists in young! However, the “traditionalist mom” in me is a little concerned with wiring up a toddler. Yes, we want them to be tech-savvy and prepared for what will likely be a totally digital life that they will lead … BUT, how about the old-fashioned art of learning patience? What about getting back to the basics of simple fun and creative self-entertainment?
 
I am just as guilty as the rest in terms of looking to simplify and streamline everything in my life, but maybe some things really shouldn’t be. What do you think?

In the past month LinkedIn has expanded their marketing capabilities in a positive direction for businesses. Previously there were no options available to test more than one ad in the same campaign. Businesses would have to run ads in different campaigns at different times, or compete against their other ads, which in turn had the potential to raise their overall per click (CPC).

LinkedIn’s New Features Include:

1. Capability of creating multiple ads under one group of demographic settings.
2. Ad optimization capabilities, which are automatically performed by LinkedIn based on click thru rates (CTRs).
3. Option to evenly rotate ads.

Creating multiple ads is easy to do and assists in marketing strategies within the channel. Testing a different ad copy with features of the product or service versus an ad with an offer or discount for that specific product or service, can be used in determining what your customers are reacting to and how they are making their final decisions.

It is an easy step-by-step process. First, click on create a new ad campaign, you will be asked to create your ads first (screen shot below). Next, you can just mouse over the ad and a duplicate ad option will appear, or you have an option to click “add an ad variation.”

After creating the ads, click on “next step” and it will walk you through the entire available demographics, verticals, ad bidding options, etc.

To ensure you are properly measuring the success of your efforts, you should be sure to properly code your URLs for tracking in your analytics platform. To code your destination URLS (“Go to URL”) and tag each ad separately so you may clearly see how each ad is performing.

There’s nothing quite like a trip down memory lane. Sadly, my uncle passed away not too long ago and my brother and I have shared the difficult task of going through his belongings. Boy was he a pack rat! He had saved everything from his kindergarten report card to this Howdy Doody Collector’s Pin from 1947, which I might add, is in mint condition. I took a closer look at the post card that accompanies the pin and was amazed at the verbiage on the card. Obviously there was no internet back then, but that did not stop them from taking their best shot at creating as much buzz as possible. Tell All of Your Friends about the Howdy Doody Club…Don’t forget to watch me on NBC Television, etc. …It got me thinking about how businesses utilize Facebook and Twitter today; we are essentially doing the same thing, however, in a much more sophisticated fashion.

Although Facebook originally launched in 2004, followed by Twitter in 2006, Social Media is not “new” by any stretch. According to Answers.com, “Although social media as a term is relatively new, many experts cite its origins to the development of ArpaNet - the predecessor of the Internet.” 

Without even realizing it, we have been utilizing components of  Social Media for many years and with the constant media buzz surrounding it, I do not see it going away anytime soon, if ever. If you have a website and are not actively promoting your company/brand/products services, etc. through the various Social Media channels, you are missing out on opportunities galore.

Is Facebook becoming a threat to the 800 lb gorilla known as Google? Ever since Facebook decided to open up its Application Program Interface (API) to agencies to allow advertisers to manage their Facebook ads more effectively, they have become a force to be reckoned with.

Facebook is now a powerful source in directing traffic around the Web. According to Compete Inc, Facebook has surpassed Google and has become the top source for traffic to major portals like Yahoo, MSN and AOL. For the first time ever, Google has formally listed Facebook as a competitor in its annual 10K filing.

Is social media becoming the next generation of search engines? Social Media trends are impacting the way people are approaching online marketing, even as Google takes steps to move into the social-media world. It’s quite possible that Google’s new social media buzz efforts may just be a reaction to Facebook’s overwhelming presence.

Facebook has over 400 million active members and 225 million of which have become active users in just the past 12 months. Facebook states that the average time users spend on Facebook exceeded 7 hrs per month in January 2010 and is up by over 10% from the previous month. According to Compete Inc, 13 percent of traffic to major Web portals like Yahoo, MSN and AOL has come from Facebook. Google, which has consistently been a leader in directing Web traffic in the past but, has slipped into third place with 7 percent.

Facebook has clearly become a major platform in the marketing arena. Now is when advertisers should be sure to focus more attention on social-networking sites like Facebook and figure out the best ways to capitalize on their ever growing traffic.