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Businesses are beginning to fully embrace social media as a vehicle to create and enhance brand awareness as well as drive sales.

Imagine, if you will, this one example: A small Minnesota firm beat out the likes of Target, Wheaties, and Dairy Queen for “Best Brand” in the state using  social media. Can this be possible?

Well that’s exactly what happened to Creative Memories!

This Minnesota-based scrapbook supplies company beat 64 other brands to take the “Best Brand in Minnesota” title.  And they simply relied on social media to make it happen!

Go to their site and see how socially friendly they are. http://www.creativememories.com/

How did they do this? It all began with Creative Memories monitoring Twitter for mentions and seeing a single tweet that mentioned a local newspaper brand challenge. The biggest player in the game was Target who had 5 million Facebook fans at the time. However, with just 60,000 fans themselves, Creative Memories went on Facebook and Twitter and posted the contest while simply asking their fans to vote for them. And vote they did. Their fans voted for them again and again through the various rounds of the competition and Creative Memories emerged as Minnesota’s Best Brand.

This is just one example of fantastic results, which provided fan engagement, and a small brand rocketing to increased brand awareness simply by recognizing an opportunity and turning to social media to make it happen. This example simply demonstrates how being aware and engaged in media where your fans spend their time can benefit you.

With that being said, Google + is saying that their Enhanced Ads are up to 10 percent more effective. It is worth taking a look at this platform as the “next thing” may become “the next big thing”.

Google Vice President for Engineering Vic Gundotra told the New York Times Tuesday that advertisements on Google sites with “social annotations,” such as thumbnails that indicates someone you’re connected to once clicked a +1 button on an ad, have experienced a 5% to 10% increase in click-through rates.

‘We have been in this business for a long time,” Gundotra said, “and there are very few things that give you a 5 to 10 percent increase on ad engagement.”

This sort of social recommendation is a proven boon to online advertising. After Facebook introduced new features to Sponsored Stories, which highlight Friends’ connections with marketers on each other’s profiles, Nielsen tracked 79 marketing campaigns over six months in order to determine the new format’s effect compared to ads on the platform that don’t include such information.

Ads that told users their friends had liked or interacted with a brand page saw a 55% rise in ad recall.

Gundotra pointed out to the Times one advantage Google has over Facebook in the social advertising arena. Google’s ads, socially annotated or otherwise, are delivered to users when they search for something directly.

What do I do when I’m looking to buy sunglasses? I Google “sunglasses.” That’s a great time to hit me with a sunglasses ad.

Although Google + is only consuming about 3.3 minutes a month of a typical users time, while Facebook is consuming 7.5 hours, the continuous improvements in the site make it worth getting in on the ground floor with Google +. After all, a single recommendation from a friend can be more worthwhile than a hundred print ads that are not read.

The following is a short introduction to Google +

Full articles can be viewed at:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/businesses-to-fully-embrace-social-media-in-2012-2/

http://mashable.com/2012/03/06/google-plus-ads/

Do you have a social Media strategy yet? If you don’t, you could be missing out on some game-changing results.

According to the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 78% of marketers saw increased traffic with just six hours a week invested in social media.

The businesses that do social media marketing well will see even bigger wins in 2012, as the gap between who “gets it” and who doesn’t grows wider by the minute.

The good news? You don’t need to be everything to everyone anymore. Chances are your strategy will be more effective if you keep it simple.

Just like any journey, it is helpful to have a plan or a road map if you will. Let us look at a simple 3 – Step map designed to give you a simple road map to increased social media success.

Let us take a look at the first logical step – Assessment.

Before you move forward you should know where you are and specifically where you want to go. In addition, what will your wins look like?

In doing this consider your audience’s needs. Perhaps a good place to start would be by taking a survey. There are several inexpensive survey tools you could use including Survey Monkey or Google Docs that will allow you to do this. Simply ask your audience to take a couple of minutes to clarify what they desire.

There are 5 major benefits to knowing your audience well.

1.Laser focus: You can create content that resonates instantly.

2.Break barriers: Confront pain points head-on to build trust.

3.Language: Increase engagement by being a person your audience relates to.

4.Empathy: The more you listen, the better you can respond to specific needs.

5.Positioning: You can become the go-to source in your niche.

In their book, The Now Revolution, authors Jay Baer and Amber Naslund explain the importance of defining your theme. Since you’ve identified your audience, the next step is to ask yourself what you want them to do . What’s your theme? It’s usually one of three things:

■Awareness

■Sales

■Loyalty

Loyalty and awareness can both lead to sales, of course—but stick to just one overarching goal for your strategy. Consistency and simplicity are key here.

Now it’s time to get really specific. This might be the hardest piece in the assessment process, and yet it’s critical to your success. Ask yourself, what does my business actually do? What do my fans say when they’re happy? What is at the core?

To borrow Jay’s examples, if Disney = magic and Apple = innovation, what do you equal?

Your “One Thing” is the voice of your strategy across every network.

Identify Metrics and Monitoring Opportunities

How will you measure your strategy’s success? Depending on your theme, the metrics may change. For example:

■If your theme is awareness, you’ll want to measure growth, engagement, brand awareness, sharability, likes and subscribes.

■If it’s sales, look at click rates, social e-commerce sales and conversion rates.

■For loyalty, look at engagement, sentiment and influence (HINT: Klout and EdgeRank Checker are good sentiment-measuring tools).

Next is Step 2, Implementation.

Consider these questions:

■What is the theme or essence of your content?

■Who will create it?

■When and where will it be shared?

■How often will you create content versus share third-party content?

■How will you deliver content—as eBooks? Blogs? Video? All of the above?

Ask them to join you on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google + by making those plug ins and icons visible.

Finally, step 3 is to Monitor and Measure.

You need to see where you are going by looking at measurable results. Metrics, no matter how simplistic, will help you figure out what’s working and what’s not. Include time for brainstorming new ideas, too.

Here are ideas for some “next steps” to take:

■Facebook ads are a good, inexpensive way to grow your fan base, increase engagement and collect leads. Try mixing up different ad types and destinations.

■Run a multi-level contest integrating multiple channels (like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube). Use a promotion, event or reward that will resona

te with your audience. Word-of-mouth is a powerful way to leverage momentum.

■Live Q&As on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ hangouts.

Ultimately, everyone’s social media strategy will look different—and will get very different results. To be effective, know your business and the metrics that matter to you.

With some simple to follow steps even those feeling the most challenged can reach greater heights.

Reference article: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-steps-to-an-effective-social-media-strategy/

Facebook. Nearly everyone is aware of the social media site that connects people to friends, families; and in the context of marketing, to brands and services.

There have been rumors of Facebook’s demise, and much like Mark Twian’s response to a visiting reporter in 1897 in which he said, “The report of my death was an exaggeration”, the social network’s demise has been mostly rumors. This is not to say the Facbook has no concerns. They have seen seasonal shifts in subscribers and some decline in the US, but they still rule the roost. Like many large brands or firms, many have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. The most recent flood of complaints is over their timeline, and many people object to pulling information from their past, but few have left the site as a result.

Facebook is still alive and kicking, and the latest stats from ComScore illustrate that they continue to shine. The most important factor for any marketer is the rate of engagement and Facebook continues to show some great levels of it. In fact it outdoes other social networks and occupies second place in the list of top online properties. ComScore terms Facebook as the most engaging web property accounting about 15 percent of all time spent online. The number should come as a surprise considering the fact that the biggest video site Youtube manages about 10 percent.

For marketers the site is a very viable solution to connecting to customers, and they should not be distracted by the Wall Street analysts that are looking at the .6% decline in subscribers in the US. There is constant growth in other regions. In fact, Facebook is launching new premium ads.

Facebook is now preparing a grand launch of its new advertising approach next week in New York. According to leaked documents which was posted on Scribd via GigaOM, Facebook plans to make an upgrade of premium ad units on February 29. The documents also reveals that Facebook will leveraging on a few core principles such as making new ads social by default which means they’ll show users what brands or advertisers that their contacts have Liked already. But the most notable aspect of this new ad format is that it won’t use a customized ad copy, the new format will include content from posts on brands’ Facebook pages. What does this mean? Facebook is now ushering the rise of true social advertising using every brand’s most valuable asset: user-generated content (UGC).

This new advertising approach is actually not advertising per se, Facebook is teaching brands to improve on user engagement through an ad platform. In this age of social business, users want to be part of a conversation with a brand and this is how brands can turn users into consumers. The more you engage with users, the more they learn about they learn about what you’re selling. Brands who listen to their customers get good PR, and arguably that’s better than traditional advertising. As one of the documents said “”Everything starts with great content from the Page. Paid, owned, and earned work seamlessly together.”

The new premium ad units will include comment spaces and the Like button. Whenever a user’s friend throws a comment or Likes the ad, it automatically appears on the user’s friends’ news feeds and will also show on the brand’s Facebook page. The great thing about these new ad units is that Facebook is customizing each unit according to the content a marketer or a brand intends to share on the page. The six new units are labeled: Video, Photo, Question, Event, Status, and Link (Facebook driving traffic to your website). Facebook is a destination-location for social collaboration. Brands know that. Marketers are aware of that. But do users have an idea what that means? Facebook’s new ad units will enable them to engage more with their favorite brands through sharing content.

What is your take? Do you think the new premium ads will engage consumers more?

For full text of sources see:

http://socialmediatoday.com/node/454852&utm_source=feedburner_twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=autotweets

http://fastgush.com/facebook/the-biggest-myth-of-2012-facebook-is-on-the-decline.html

We have seen that being a more social marketer calls for being seen and interacting with customers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, and YouTube. But, have you considered pinning your product? Pinning refers to making your products seen on the fast growing social network Pinterest. 

If you are not familiar with Pinterest take a moment to check it out.

http://pinterest.com/

Pinterest is currently driving more business to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google +, and LinkedIn combined according to recent studies. Further, the average user spends about 98 minutes per month on the site.

Pinterest involves placing images on the site which will contain the link to where the original was obtained. And, just like other social networks, you can become seen and heard while building relationships with others. Here are a few tips to making sure your business or blog or interest can be “pinned” to Pinterest.

1. Interaction – Avoid self promotion which is not permitted on the site. However, you can interact with others by commenting on photos of those you follow and engaging in conversation. They, in turn, are much more likely to follow you and engage on your pins.
2. Pin information that is relevant to your business – Since Pinterest contains visuals you must select content that is visual by nature about your product or service. You can pin pictures of relevant information that contains a link to your site. Remember, it is all about creating conversation and trust.
3. Drive site traffic – Post eye appealing content is your best route for driving interest and sales to your site. When you do this for a product be sure to add a price tag which ensures it will show up in the gift board.
4. Increase SEO – By using appropriate keywords in your description and sharing your pins to other social networks the result is valuable information search engines can pick up on. The more content you share the higher up you will be seen in search results.

Below is a nice, easy tutorial that explains the basic ins and outs of Pinterest in order to get your feet wet in this growing community. Be cautioned: Not investing time in Pinterest results in missing opportunites to be present in a fast growing social network that is growing in visits and conversions.

 

For a complete explanation of these tips, please visit: http://socialmediatoday.com/node/448286&utm_source=feedburner_twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=autotweets

Feel free to Follow me on Twitter @wvumsimc

In prior weeks we have spoken about social media quite a bit. Social media and new ways of presenting information are all the rage these days and for good reason. These emerging methods of presenting a message are important in terms of meeting people where they spend their time, and in cutting through the clutter of the thousands of messages we are bombarded with in a typical day.

Despite the emerging means to provide the message, there remain some fundamental considerations to getting your message across. Just like a $1,000 suit on a presenter with a boring message does not keep your attention, using new methods to get across a message that is fundamentally flawed will not be effective.

Today, let’s step back and look at 10 tips to effective media messages. There are many different types of messages being conveyed, so not every tip applies to every message. But the design of the message must incorporate some of these ideas to be effective.

1. Attention grabbing – in order for your message to grab a person’s attention it must be relevant to them or be different enough to cut through the clutter of other stimuli.

2. Be clever and creative – By being clever and creative you stand a better chance of standing out from the crowd. One example of standing out from the crowd can be seen with Chick-fil-A. When they first appeared they were very different and grabbed the attention of people in a humorous way.

3. Say something – Loud – When you want to get a person’s attention in a busy, crowded setting it is often best to be loud. The louder ad will get the attention. However, loud does not refer to simply volume like those crazy electronic ads with some guy screaming about his low prices; but; being loud means being heard above your competitors for attention. Below is an example of an ad that is silent, yet is heard above others.

4. Keep it simple – By keeping your ad simple you do not require your audience to think too much and tempt them to turn their attention to something less taxing. If your product is more complex you want to lure them to seek more information from other sources, so don’t be tempted to provide all the information in the ad. The below ad for a rest stop conveys the message very briefly with very little thought process.

5. Color – The color of your visual needs to pop out, yet stay consistent with the brand or company it is supporting. Bright colors tend to grab the attention more quickly.

6. Be informative – Your ad should provide information to your audience or reinforce what they already know. The below ad speaks volumes with few words.

7. Be memorable – Oftentimes the decision to act is based on a picture in our mind or a memory. Ask yourself, how many of your purchases are based on the fact that a family member used the product? Are some purchases automatic when you select them? Seek to spark a memory.

8. Provide a feeling – Since emotion is such a strong cue, elicit an emotion in order to stick with your audience.

9. Show them, don’t tell them – Use visuals in a way that shows your audience the benefits of using your product rather than simply telling them. In the below ad it would take many words to explain the effect that a simply picture tell.

10. Use metaphors or humor – We often make comparisons in order to remember information. Using metaphors or humor are excellent ways to stand out and be remembered. Be cautious with humor as one person’s idea of humor may not be liked by others.

Now that we have a general idea of the elements needed, let’s tie it all together, add some action and sound, and bring it to a level expected today.

Although you will not experience it for Super Bowl XLVI, the day may be coming where you can catch the latest action from the big game, direct from the players themselves. The National Football League is learning quickly that social media enhances their business. During the 2012 Pro Bowl players were not only able, but encouraged, to tweet their fans.   There were some restrictions, of course, to the tweeting policy. Only one player could tweet at a time; only during commercial breaks or when his offensive or defensive unit was not on the field; and during the course of the game only from the designated computer station. Players could tweet from their smartphones before the game or during halftime. For the immediate future the regulations for all other games stands firm. Those regulations do not permit tweeting within an hour and a half of game time through all post-game interviews http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/26/football-players-can-tweet-during-the-2012-pro-bowl/

I thought you had the phone…who’s got the phone? On two, hut…

Why the change of heart? Well, social media and professional sports are a perfect match. Analysts predict that Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time on social media sites and a quarter of them are visiting sports sites. People that follow sports have their favorite teams and players and are eager for the latest updates regarding them. Indeed, the last year has seen fans flocking to the team sites. The Dallas Cowboys, which Forbes ranks as the most valuable NFL franchise, has the most Facebook followers at 3.6 million. The NFL itself saw an increase of 474% last year to a level of 4 million followers.

The loudmouth New York Jets seem very well suited for social media with a total share of 11.9% of all social media activity. The teams attempt to keep their sites fresh with new posts to attract new followers and keep current followers coming back. Even in a small market such as New Orleans, the Saints update their site as often as 12 times each day for their 2.3 million fans. The Super Bowl bound New England Patriots update their 2.8 million fans using a feature called “Ask a Pat” in which a player responds via video to fan questions. http://techland.time.com/2012/01/26/social-media-and-sports-natural-teammates/

I, myself, follow the Super Bowl bound New York Giants on both Facebook and Twitter. Today I have received 8 updates on the team through Twitter, and 3 on Facebook. This is in addition to several individual players I follow. However, it is not all social media for the players as I notice very few updates from them as the big game approaches. Prior to this week there were at least 4 updates per day from the players. And it is not just the NFL getting in on the action.

I follow West Virginia University on Twitter and it comes in handy during sports contests. I live outside of the typical market for their games but find I get updates on every scoring drive of either team. I am able to follow the game by simply checking my smartphone every 10 or 15 minutes.  Major League Baseball is getting in the act slowly with 100 million page impressions on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile the New York Yankees seem very well suited for social media with 500,000 Twitter followers and 5 million Facebook fans.

 Yankees

The landscape of American sports is changing and it seems as natural as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Twitter.

The Complexities of Online Marketing
So you have decided to take your idea, your company, and your passion online and reach a broader audience. All you have to do is create a website somehow, get on Twitter, and get on Facebook, right?
Well, not so fast there bucko. Although those are great starting points, for sure, there is much more involved to becoming truly successful in the global marketplace. In addition to creating a webpage and jumping into the social marketing pond there are other issues to consider. There are things such as Email marketing, lead generation, issues to consider with the site such as organic (SEO/SEM), conversion optimization, analytics, content marketing, and pay-per-click.

Rut Ro!!!!
Too Much Information!!!

Calm down Scooby Do, I’m going to make it a bit easier in just a little while.

For now, let’s just look at the social media portion. Within social media there are some important considerations. You want your idea to be uniquely yours so you should claim your brand name. You should certainly create your Twitter account and build a following, but you want to leave Twitter open in live tabs so you can quickly see and respond to posts. In addition, look at the timing of your Tweets. I find that many people engage most heavily with Twitter during business hours (when they should be working) and in the evening hours.
Of course you should create a Facebook page, but how about seeding some Facebook fans?
Or, perhaps, creating a conversation oriented Facebook page? Don’t forget to create a blog and link it to your Facebook page as well.
This may seem overwhelming but I promised you it would get easier. There is a pinwheel entitled “Noob Guide to Online Marketing” that contains all the essentials.

Good luck, and good selling!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MNXBD/unbounce.com/noob-guide-to-online-marketing-infographic/