Many argue that users of social media channels have no interest in connecting with companies while they are spending time within their social networks.  Recent data from emarketer and comSore make a good argument against this thought.

Social media is not a fad.  It is a change in the way that people are communicating. Whether using a desktop, laptop, Smartphone, etc. people are accessing social networks on a regular basis. In 2010 about 127 million people (57% of all US Internet users) will use a social network at least once a month, according to emarketer. This is estimated to grow to two-thirds of internet users by 2014.

In addition, 33% of Facebook users have connected with brands on Facebook.

Online retailers have the ability to offer coupons, promote new products, encourage customer reviews, etc., and are thriving in social media. Those companies that have not yet ventured into social media marketing are realizing that they are falling behind and are letting the potential of social media marketing pass them by.  Emarketer estimates that 9 out of 10 companies are planning to build a presence in Facebook during 2010. Some might think that these companies are just jumping on the bandwagon. While that may be true, it’s a smart choice.  ComSore data shows that users who spend time on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, spend more money online than those who are not engaged in social networks.  If you have an online store, why would you not want to be in social media to put your brand in front of these individuals?

This data may also coincide with the growth of social networks. Channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. are no longer just for teenagers.  The fastest growing age groups are adults, and not necessarily younger adults. This leads to more people using these channels who have a bit more disposable income than the average teenager.

While social media is extremely important for online retailers, it will not replace the importance of search engines.  Social media is great for awareness and creating a positive brand image, but when someone is really looking to research a product, they will turn to search engines. Social media does not replace search. They each have their own place in the buying cycle and enable companies to reach customers and an interested audience in different ways.

On April 21, 2010 Facebook expanded its presence across the web through the Open Graph protocol. This Open Graph enables any website to be a part of Facebook’s social environment without having a Facebook company page.  So if you are a business owner and don’t currently have a Facebook company page, but want to have a presence on Facebook, you can now do just that. 

You may have recently seen Recommend or Like buttons on some website’s pages.  With these buttons, users can easily share the website’s page with their friends on Facebook.  Below are examples of these buttons and how they may look:

You may see some sites that have these buttons with a bit more personalization. For example, it may show how many of your friends Like or Recommend the same content (when you are logged into Facebook) while viewing the page. If you are not logged into Facebook, you will simply see the number of people who Like or Recommended the page. You can choose whether you want to have Like or Recommend text within the button, but these are often used for different types of content.  For example, you wouldn’t really want to “like” an article about a natural disaster, but you may choose to recommend that article instead.

When someone Likes or Recommends a page, that page is pushed to the user’s Facebook news feed allowing their friends to see, and a link will be included back to the original page. In addition, your content can be included within the search results on Facebook and in user profiles. As the administrator or “admin” of the page, you will have access to Facebook’s new Insights for Your Domain.  These new insights will provide you with detailed information about how users share and interact with your content.

So how do you get your website’ to be part of Facebook? First you need to make sure that you tell Facebook specific information about your page. This is done by adding tags to your pages, following Facebook’s Open Graph protocol.  The buttons will need to be installed on the page as well.

Facebook has and will continue to make changes that will further enhance the capabilities for marketers.  This is just one step toward integrating any type of web content into Facebook and making Facebook more prominent throughout the entire web.

Social Media has certainly been a significant area of growth for online marketers over the past year. According to a study conducted by Econsultancy, only 17% of those surveyed said they do a good job measuring ROI from social media.  At the same time 70% are planning to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2010.
 
All companies who advertise online should be tracking their website’s data in some way, typically through an analytics platform, such as Google Analytics.  With social media on the other hand, the activity that occurs within these channels can be difficult to track. People often look for concrete numbers and sales, but within social media it’s not always that clear-cut.  While you can code links and see referring traffic, other important measurements are overlooked.

Within each channel, evaluating success will be different.  For instance, in Facebook you can view your Page Insights to assess information about the interactions fans have had with your Page. Just last month, Facebook also announced Post Insights, which lets “Page administrators find out how many impressions each story on their Page receives and what percentage of those impressions result in action (likes, comments, or clicks). “  In other Social Media channels such as Twitter, you can use URL shortening services such as bit.ly or hootsuite.com, which both have their own tracking capabilities built in. YouTube also has Insights available to view data about the videos posted.

These are only a few ways to measure success. It’s important to understand that positive dialogue about your company and an increased awareness of your brand can mean success for social media. So as you’re working to grow your social media presence, take a look into channel specific measurements of success as well as pay attention to the conversations held.  Are they positive?  Are people spreading the information that you post? Social media doesn’t always lead to direct sales, but positive interaction over time and increasing brand awareness certainly can.

Social media is changing the way individuals communicate with one another.  It is how many of us stay up-to-date with news near our homes and around the world, keep in touch with those who we went to school with years ago, are notified of class reunions, seek advice from peers, and much more.  Social media has also changed the way companies are doing business.  Within social media channels in particular, businesses have the opportunity to push content, news, promotions, and more out to a targeted audience.  As an individual, to be connected with a company through your social network of choice, you need to fan their page, follow them, or opt-in in some way or another.  Therefore, as a company, while you may not have thousands of followers or fans, you know that those who are connected with you are already interested in your products or services and want to know when and what content you share.

One of the most powerful parts of social media, in my opinion, is how consumers can have an affect on brands and products.  Consumers contribute to a brand’s presence within social media from the very beginning when they fan or follow the company’s page or profile.  Within Facebook, for example, typically those individual’s friends are then notified that they are now a Fan of X company’s page.  In Twitter, that person’s news feed will then include the company’s tweets, enabling the individual to retweet that message instantaneously.  This is very powerful because as a business you are now a part of your fans’ communities and they can help to spread your message for you. 

SheSpeaks Annual Social Media Study shared data about social networking that I thought was pretty profound.  Although those surveyed were women, the information still shows how powerful consumers are within social networks.

• 72% of those surveyed learned about a new product or brand, or joined a group around one.
• 86% of women had social media profiles in 2009, compared to 58% in 2008.
• 72% of women log into their social networking site at least once per day.
• 80% of female Internet users said they had become a fan of a product or brand on a social network.
• 50% of women with social network profiles have purchased products because of information from friends or companies on social networking sites.
• 40% have used coupon codes found on social networking sites.

The largest new media purchase driver is email, but purchases based on information within blog posts increased dramatically from the prior year.

It is quite obvious that participation in social media facilitates brand awareness and purchases. It’s important to note that direct sales are not always made immediately from a link placed on a Facebook page or within a tweet.  Instead, someone may share an experience that they had with a brand or product within their social network and that information is then spread to their connections, potentially influencing their friends’ perception of that brand or product.

If your company is not in social media today, and particularly if you have a consumer-oriented brand, it’s something that should be seriously considered in 2010.  Now more people are able log into their social networks instantaneously from almost anywhere, including from their phones, which will leads to a continued growth of these social networks and their marketing potential.

If you’re an avid Twitter user, the announcement of Twitter Lists is probably old news.  If you are not, then you may find this post helpful to manage the many different types of people or companies that you follow on Twitter.

In mid October, Twitter announced a new feature called Twitter Lists.  Lists are basically a way for users to organize those who they follow into groups, referred to as lists. Any Twitter user can create a list and by default these lists are public but can also be made private.  Lists can be created around any subject or theme and are viewable on the page of the user who created the list.  You can also follow others’ lists to see what is being discussed about a particular topic. Following lists enables you to easily find users that you can connect with and see the information discussed about that topic.  Just as you can follow others’ lists, other Twitter users can follow your lists as well if they are public.

Creating lists is easy.  Simply log into Twitter and look toward the right-hand side of your homepage.  You will see a link to create a new list. Once a list is created it can be easily shared, as each list has a unique URL.

There are a few ways to add users to lists however, at this time there does not appear to be a way to add multiple users to a list.  Instead, you have to do this one by one. You can add users to a list just about anywhere that profiles are listed. Just look for the list button next to the profile. When clicked, it will show the lists that you’ve created and allow you to add them to your list of choice. You can also add users to a list when viewing their page.

So where do you go to find lists that might interest you to follow? You can browse lists created by another Twitter user by viewing their profile and browsing through all of the lists that they’ve created.  Another place to look is http://listorious.com/, a site that offers many different lists available to follow. You can also add your list to this site too.

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.

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.

Twitter is without a doubt one of the fastest growing social networking channels on the Internet today.  Nielsen reported that Twitter had a massive 1,382 percent growth rate from February 2008 to February 2009.

As people are jumping on Twitter to join the conversations, many are not only faced with the challenge of answering the question, “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less, but they are often overwhelmed by the terminology that is unique to Twitter.  To help ease some confusion, here’s a list of some of the most commonly used terms and communication shortcuts on Twitter:

Tweet
Starting with the basics, a tweet is a 140-character message or update sent via Twitter. Tweets can be sent by various means including your mobile phone, the Internet, or third party applications. Tweets are public and can be viewed by any Twitter user, with the exception of Direct Messages and Protected Tweets, both of which are mentioned below.

RT @username
Also known as “retweets”, RT @username is a way to re-send a tweet. Through retweets, you are able to send someone else’s message to other Twitterers who are following you.  Retweets are very similar to forwarding emails and out of courtesy, it’s best to credit the original creator with the @username.

@username
These can be used to reply to a tweet, mention another user, or direct a tweet to someone. When replying to a tweet, the @username typically appears at the beginning of the tweet and when using the @username in the middle or near the end of the tweet, it’s often used to mention or direct the tweet to another user. It’s important to note that these replies can be viewed by anyone on Twitter and the @username is a way for others to know who you are “talking” to. 

Direct Messages
Direct Messages are tweets that are sent to a specific user and are not viewable on the public timeline. They are similar to Messages on Facebook, for those who are more familiar with that social networking channel.

Favorites
Favorites are essentially bookmarked tweets.  They are a way for you to share your favorite tweets with Twitterers. In addition to the short bio that you can provide about yourself, favorites enable you to showcase the type of information that is most interesting to you.

#hashtags
#hashtags (where the topic or keyword is used in place of the word “hashtag”) are used to group tweets by topic or keyword. To have your tweets grouped with others about the same topic, include the #hashtag in your tweets.   For a look at the most popular hastags, visit http://hashtags.org/.

Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to jump in and start tweeting!

A few months ago I touched on why blogging can be good for SEO.  Today I want to offer a few tips on the social media aspect of blogging.  One of the biggest pitfalls that we see related to blogging is that many blogs are not maintained regularly.  Typically the first few months that a blog is up and running are great, but then the posts start to reduce in frequency, sometimes only to once a month or less. This not only prevents you from making use of the blog to supplement your SEO efforts, but it can also cause your website to look out of date.  Additionally, if your blog is pulled into your social media channels or pages, those too can end up looking poorly maintained. So with that said, I want to offer a few blog post ideas that can help you to formulate future blog posts ideas. 
Identify a need of your audience. Are there common questions that are asked by your customers?  If so, try compiling the most frequently asked questions into one blog post.

What is going on in your industry right now?  Finding something topical to write about will afford you the opportunity to have your blog post position in the search results for those popular search terms. Google Trends or a Google Blog search may help you identify what is being talked about. You can then comment on those topics from your own perspective.

Provide “How-To” posts. These are a great way to offer easy instructions that help your readers.  If you have complicated/technical products, this may be especially beneficial.

Make recommendations.  The best way to engage your audience is to offer value, and the only way to offer value is to provide something that is useful to your readers. Making recommendations about other companies, products or services that compliment what you have to offer is just one way to do this.

Has a popular book recently been written by someone within your industry? Showcase an interview with the author on your blog or do a review of the book within a blog post.

Lastly, create an editorial calendar. Formulate the topics that you want to write about and spread them out over time accordingly.  This will make posting less stressful and will enable you focus on offering valuable content to your readers.

Social media networks are valuable for marketing as they enable companies to build a personality outside of their website, express points of view on various topics and share their industry expertise within communities where they can build relationships with potential customers.

Social media marketing is becoming more and more prominent, however, building a company presence can be a headache if it is not approached in a thoughtful manner.  It seems as though many companies are not sure how to begin even though they may be familiar with channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, on a personal level. To get started on the right foot, there are a few things to take into consideration.

The first two questions that are important to answer are: “Why should my company have a presence within the channel(s)?” and “What should my company strive to achieve (what are the goals) within the channel(s)?”  Without being able to answer these questions, how will you know if you are successful?  Once you can answer these, you may also find it a bit easier to establish a “voice” for your company.

Take into consideration who will be managing the channel(s). This can be approached in different ways.  For instance, have you decided to launch a social media presence for customer service purposes?  Or, is your presence intended to be a means for your company leaders to share information or industry specific news from a management level perspective?  The voice that you portray and who manages your channel(s) will obviously go hand in hand.
 
You should also know your audience. Once you identify who you are trying to reach, you can determine the channels that are the best fit for your company. Don’t forget to research smaller, industry specific communities that may exist relevant to your business.  Individuals within these niche communities will likely be better targets for potential customers.  Although there will be a smaller audience, the audience will likely be more relevant for what you have to contribute. Recognizing your audience will also help you to tailor your messaging. Should you share industry information, promotions, special offerings, company news, or all of the above?

Without knowing the answers to the questions above, you may find yourself without a clear direction for your social media marketing efforts, leading to a disappointing or overwhelming experience.