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In the past few years, social has gone from being a consumer phenomenon to an enterprise opportunity. But many companies are struggling with how to implement strategies and realize ROI from their social investments.
The new IBM Center for Applied Insights study, “Charting the social universe: Social ambitions drive business impact,” found that as many as 74% of social decision makers recognized that a social business uses social technology to foster collaboration among customers, employees and partners, but only 20% felt their companies were truly social.
So how do companies navigate the social journey? The study found that companies adopt social capabilities through five primary social ambitions, or entry points -- distinct clusters of social capabilities aimed at realizing specific business goals....
The ever-evolving media landscape presents significant challenges to marketers.
Brands are now required to work out how best to communicate across a growing number of channels ranging from traditional media to digital environments, all the while maintaining a consistent message and identity.
To find out how marketers are adapting to deal with the change in the way that people engage with media channels, Econsultancy and Mediaocean have today published a new report entitled Managing Media Convergence. The report is based on a survey of 124 agencies as well as in-depth interviews with 18 executives from agencies and brands, all with significant interest and experience in managing media.
It covers how to define the convergent environment, identifies pain points in managing new workflows and examines how the measurement of media is evolving as a result. The author identified four key trends running through the report....
Just when it seems social media marketing has gone as far as it can, a new year begins and the field continues to evolve. As businesses watch a new year approach, many are wondering how they should adjust their content marketing efforts to match any industry changes next year.
As you formulate a plan for your upcoming campaigns, it’s important to take into account the social media environment we can expect over the course of 2014. Here are a few major changes to the social media landscape that experts are predicting next year....
Keeping up with the social universe is challenging but necessary if you want to operate your marketing at unfathomable speeds.
Social marketing now drives a faster everything. In fact, social forces marketers to go faster, not the other way around. It’s for this exact reason that businesses are afraid to become a social business.
Take Uber for example. Their vision was simple in creating a service that put the power of seamless ‘right now’ transportation into the palm of our hands. How about Apple? Steve Wozniak talked about how they originally set out with a simple vision to build a personal computer. They built the first personal computer that delivered a word processor.
It turned out that the computer called for networking, which quickly grew into the need for the internet. We needed a way to see the new clusters of information created on the internet, so search engines were born. And now, social commerce is enabled. Steve says “we did not build a computer knowing all this was going to happen, we started with a simple vision.”...
Businesses can no longer afford to have top leaders sit on the social media sidelines, a new study finds.
More than three-quarters of executives worldwide believe it is a good idea for CEOs to participate in social media, the research from public relations firm Weber Shandwick and research partner KRC Research found. The study identified a wide array of benefits that come with top executives who are socially active online.
More than 70% of those surveyed said CEO sociability increases information-sharing throughout the business, improves company reputation, demonstrates innovation, humanizes the company and improves business results....
Like millions of music fans, I explore online radio stations and YouTube often. Searching to find, curate, save, share and enjoy new music of all kinds. Let's just say "jazz" doesn't entirely cover my interests....
The social media lessons are simple, valuable and worth sharing: - Engage with your fans
- Make it personal...
What do The Walt Disney Company and the WWE have in common (other than lucrative merchandising revenue and a cast of memorable characters? If you followed the Dachis Group’s Social Business Index, which “analyzes the effectiveness of strategies and tactics organizations employ to engage the market through social channels,” you’d know that Disney and the WWE are two of the most socially savvy brands out there. Apparently, people are still gaga for staged fighting and Donald Duck.
Did these corporate giants reach such great social heights by pursuing the exact same social media goals? Of course not. Disney and the WWE are vastly different companies with vastly different business objectives. You don’t market sweaty, hulking wrestlers the same way you do talking mice.These two very different companies achieved social media success by applying specific social media tactics to achieve specific business objectives.
You may not be a multibillion dollar business with a killer mascot (at least not yet), but you can still do social like the best of them, so long as you connect your business objectives to an effective social media marketing strategy....
Social media has grown to much more than an avenue for teenage ramblings about what they had for dinner.... It’s hard to believe that despite the life cycle of social media being only in its infancy, it has revolutionized our personal and professional lives so profoundly. Organizations have finally begun to recognize the importance of building a business platform that can seamlessly amalgamate the interests of employees and customers. Companies are branching out via social media tools such as blogs, forums, viral videos, Facebook contests, etc. that allows customers to see the dynamic personalities driving corporate entities. Linear processes and conventional marketing models are rusted chains clinging to your organization’s arms, preventing it from reaching its true potential. In order to do so, bold and brilliant leaders who are willing to embrace social media must step up to the mantle and overhaul outdated business models to take your organization to new levels. Here are 5 essential tips to follow to become a truly successful social media leader....
Social Media Engagement: how to use content to nurture engagement with your audience in a way that's easy and manageable.... Are you looking to create content that engages? Does your content connect with people and encourage them to engage? In this article I’ll show you 26 ways to make content that engages people, in an A-Z guide of tips....
In the U.S. and abroad, a new set of B2B media products are showing there's room for growth in niches — and that there's new power in incumbency.... ...Much of Atlantic Media’s sales, marketing, analytics and financial functions can be leveraged to support the new product, minimizing what would be similar expense for a one-off start-up. Also like Quartz, it is going free, looking to marketers to make it profitable. It isn’t just an ad play. Rather, it looks to an emerging model of higher-end sponsorship and content marketing — with the important adjunct of events marketing — to propel it forward. Its offer to marketers will follow the playbook of what Atlantic Media’s half-dozen other publications (The Atlantic, The Atlantic Wire, The Atlantic Cities, Quartz, National Journal, Government Executive) now offers. It’s on-site sponsorship/share-of-voice placement, content marketing, and marketing services aid and placements and sponsorship of physical events. That events business rides right alongside inclusion on its websites, providing marketers with a brand association that fluidly moves from online to off and back. It’s a strategy now well-employed in D.C. — also exploited by Politico and The Washington Post — and among events leaders like The Texas Tribune. Atlantic Media has turned events into a potent, higher-margin revenue source, now accounting for around 16 percent of revenues....
As marketers, it is our jobs to assure our clients that the time and money that they are investing in social media is not in vain. Therefore, we are constantly tasked with searching for studies and statistics that suggest that social media is still heading for world domination. One particular source I like to turn to for said stats is AllTwitter.com by MediaBistro. They frequently feature studies done by excellent social media companies. Recently, they featured an infographic by Balihoo that had some great and validating social media statistics. As we know, infographics are meant to present data in a quick and easy to digest way, so let’s apply some context to the data....
How Does Social Media Impact Shopping? Did you know that 81 percent of shoppers say that posts from their friends on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook directly impacted their purchasing decisions? Moreover, 30 percent of social media shoppers respond better to brand offers when they have been reposted by a friend, and almost two-in-five moms (38 percent) are more likely to purchase from brands they “Like” on Facebook than other women. Social media has revolutionised many industries, and it’s greatest impact has perhaps been on the world of online commerce. There’s still room for improvement, however, with competitive pricing, the ability to purchase online and delivery speed cited as the most important factors that determine a customer’s decision to purchase, with advice received via social media sites impacting just 18 percent of transactions....
How do colors affect us when we buy things? The latest research reveals the science of colors in marketing and how to use it for your advantage: Why is Facebook blue? According to The New Yorker, the reason is simple. It’s because Mark Zuckerberg is red-green colorblind. This means that blue is the color Mark can see the best. In his own words Zuck says: “Blue is the richest color for me I can see all of blue.” Not highly scientific right? Well, although in the case of Facebook, that isn’t the case, there are some amazing examples of how colors actually affect our purchasing decisions. After all, the visual sense is the strongest developed one in most human beings. It’s only natural that 90% of an assessment for trying out a product is made by color alone. So how do colors really affect us and what is the science of colors in marketing really? Let’s dig into some of the latest, most interesting research on it....
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Know what the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter is? Or how many new members join LinkedIn every second? The answers will surprise you!
Excellent case study on how a Napa Valley winery hit on a winning social media formula that pays dividends in both increased sales and brand loyalty.How can wineries use social media to increase sales when the law prohibits them from giving away product samples?Whitehall Lane, a 20-year-old Napa Valley winery run by the Leonardini family, has hit on a winning social media formula that pays dividends in both increased sales and brand loyalty....
We get this question pretty frequently here at Quintain Marketing. We’ve been advising clients on their social media marketing since early 2009 and I can’t tell you how many times this has been the focus of client meetings.
The problem with this question is that it is really the wrong question to be asking. It’s the marketing equivalent of saying “where should I go out to dinner tonight?” Just as you can’t really recommend a restaurant without knowing what kind of food the person would like to eat, it’s impossible to know what social media sites a business should be on without first figuring out who they are targeting and what the message is.
In fact, I would argue that it’s less about what site you are on and more about what it is that you are using social media to accomplish.
...So back to the initial question about what social media sites your business should be on. My new answer is that I don’t care so much about what sites you are on as I do about what content you are using those sites to promote. If you’ve got great content, you’ll be able to drive traffic and leads....
Social media marketing is a critical piece in the online marketing puzzle for local businesses today. But it’s just one part of a successful online marketing system, and some days, there is so much to juggle that you just need a quick, easy way to fill your social media feed with interesting, engaging content. So, here are 10 ideas you can use to keep your social channels full of relevant, timely, and useful content – fast!...
Ian Cleary founded RazorSocial.com and built it into an award-winning blog in only six months. I invited Ian to Marketing Smarts to discuss his approach to content creation, as well as the tools he used to build his blog audience, email list, and social media following.Ian is a social media tools and technology specialist; he is also a respected speaker on social media, technology, and blogging. His blog, RazorSocial, was named one of the Top 10 Social Media blogs of 2013 in the annual Social Media Examiner blog awards after only six months of operation. Here are just a few highlights from our conversation....
The transition from traditional marketing techniques, however, hasn’t been without some challenges. The shift in mindset to engage their audience online (as opposed to simply broadcasting) has been a fairly confusing proposition. Although the concept of engaging and interacting with their follower base is new, most will agree that it’s an important component to adopt if they’re to actively create brand advocates.
But what is considered engagement? In it’s purest sense, engagement is the ability to cause another person to respond. Because of the wide variety of social media platforms, a brand follower can conceivably respond using any (or a combination of) the following methods:...
If you’re a marketer or business owner, you probably know that social media is an important way to market your business online and may already have a presence on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. But in the world of social media, nothing stays the same for long. To keep your business on the forefront online, it’s important to stay up to date on emerging social networks that can help you spread the word about your business online. So, we put together this list of seven social media sites for SMBs to watch. New Social Media Sites to Watch Several hot new social media sites have launched recently. Will they be the next big things in social media marketing? Only time will tell, but here are a few to keep your eye on....
What You Can Learn From Profitable New Media Companies.... It ain’t easy being in the media business these days, or so they say. There are in fact lots of people allegedly, or actually, raking in digital dollars, according to this article from Fortune. They’re all content producers with a journalistic twist. They are all different in their own ways, but you can parse out some ingredients for financial success in the industry. Not surprisingly the top, profitable companies are: The Huffington Post, Gawker Media, The Awl, Business Insider, SAY Media, Vox Media, and BuzzFeed. So what sets them apart?...
Social Media - In the early days of social media, users interacted like real people do. However, in time, social networks evolved into pits of broadcast messages. Here's how companies lost their way ...
Social Media's ROI can be tracked with these 7 metrics. However, measurement is more than just results. It must tie back to your objectives.... For years now you’ve heard everywhere that you can’t measure Social Media ROI (return on investment). I’m not sure if it’s been an excuse to discount Social Media’s value or a fear of adapting to a new marketing model. Perhaps a little bit of both. Marketing Charts recently outlined on a new report by the Platt Retail Institute, conducted in association with the American Marketing Association comparing marketers’ rankings of various channels’ budget allocations against the channels’ perceived importance and ROI. The study reveals that of the 11 channels identified, Social Media marketing ranks 4th in both current importance and ROI but ranks only 6th in budget allocation. Scott Monty of Ford Social explained in his blog that “The study reveals there’s a mismatch between marketing budget and effectiveness in key areas. Two are mass media and customer support, which are being overspent on versus their return on investment. Alternatively, email and social are being underspent on while they have a more effective ROI.”...
May Day, May Day! Small businesses are drowning when it comes to social media. Research by Constant Contact shows that almost 60% of small businesses need help with social media marketing. Includes four tips to help small businesses create content.
There is a lot of social media sites out there, but what are the differences between these platforms and why would businesses want to use each specific one? Depending on your industry some might work better for you than others, but I believe that all businesses should be using these top social networks as much as they can. Today, people are no longer turning to the yellow pages to find the services or products you offer, but instead they are doing a quick search online. Making sure you have a positive presence in the top social media sites is important. These are my personal thoughts and opinions on the seven top social media networks (by user base) and an idea of what type of content you might see and want to use on each one....
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High level insight into how to make social work for business.