Social Media Marketing Blog

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If you still don’t think social media is important, I think I have found the nail in the coffin for that argument. The We are Social blog posted a Facebook Infographic outlining key numbers specific to Facebook and what it’s users get up to. We will comment on a few of the key numbers here an also explain their impact for you and your business.

Each day Facebook Users

• Become a fan of 2 pages
• Is invited to 2 events
• Is a member of 12 groups

With those numbers you now need to ask yourself as a business owner:

• Does your business have a fan page? Is it regularly updated?
• Are there any Facebook groups that exist currently that could help those people solve their problem or a great gift? Have you joined the group and shared it with them?
• Any work event, product launch, or new offering should be handled in Facebook (and LinkedIn where appropriate). Do you include your Facebook users in your invite list?

Each Week 3.5 billion pieces of content is uploaded and shared through Facebook

Once upon a time, the only place you can regularly find new and current information on the Internet was search engines. You would also have the regular websites that you visited everyday to see if there was something new.

Now both those means of discovery can be merged into the Facebook platform. This is because the information shared is referred by trusted partners (friends, family, workmates) and generally those people have similar interests to you.

The ease of sharing through Facebook’s interface has also contributed to its continual growth. Make it easy to do, and people do it.

So the questions you need to ask a business are:

• Do you feel the content on your website is Facebook-share-worthy?
• Are you even writing regular information on your website for people to regularly visit and be updated?
• Are you alerting your clients of special offers and action plans in little Facebook releases?

At the end of the day, the numbers here are not really a revelation because those that realise the power of the platform are already utilising it.

This graphic needs to be shared with the decision makers in your organisation that are the doubters and think it is nothing more than a time waste.

Give it to them now!

So it looks like Augmented Reality and mainstream appeal are merging closer and closer together. I think you can safely say that once AR codes and app access is included with sneakers much like toys inside cereal boxes - we have taken the next step in getting consumers and our customers to engage with our brand.

Adidas has now included features when buying Adidas Original sneakers that allow people to interact over the Internet. Specifically:

On Feb. 10, Adidas Originals sneakers will include a code that lets consumers partake in an augmented reality program… By holding the code in front of a Webcam, consumers will be able to access the virtual neighborhood and interactive games (created by Xform)

What does this mean for Social & Online Marketing?

It means more than just conversing with our clients. Social Media has done a fantastic job so far of being able to reach our customers and getting them to engage with us, leave feedback, and in some cases purchase as well. But what it cannot enable consumers to do is interact with the brand and use the product at the same time.

Adidas are getting some top tier advice here as now not only are they getting people to buy and use their product, but they are getting them to use it online and log and track their movements. They can learn how shoe buyers behave online - which is information they could not have access to any other way previously, besides doing costly research.

So I guess the question is - how far away are you from tying your products to an online world and community?

I love social media, I really do. It fills my inbox with great blog posts to read, see where my friends are in the world, and makes me laugh and shocked at the same time with viral videos. It could be said that much of YouTube’s success comes from the creation of viral videos and well crafted campaigns that rely on video for effective launches (I’m looking at you film and gadget industry). So what I think I would look at today is not so much how to create a viral video (that’s for another post) or how to distribute it affectively across all the major channels (yet another post) but what happens afterward, what could really determine whether it is truely a success. (more…)

I am a member (active or inactive) in way too many social networks. In fact, if you searched for me online, probably all the results are social media profile pages full of “just testing” status updates and just being sat on so no one else is me online (online reputation management for the win!).

But the problem that has recently occurred is the fact that with all these networks, they all want you to use your login creditials to sign into other networks, for example:

• Google Friend Connect
• Facebook Connect
• OpenID
• whatever it maybe next week….

(more…)

The sad news this week is that The Population, a social media agency in Sydney, will be closing its doors. I really feel that it is an unfortunate state of affairs that in an industry that is clearly booming and on the up and up, could not stand alone in the market.

I feel the fact that businesses in general still feel that social media appears to look like “play time” for it’s staff, or the agency that it is hiring. Coupled with the fact that there are many unscrupulous characters masquerading as experts and then basically auto registering branded channels and profile pages before jumping ship to a beach on the coast of some island.

It is actually very similar to the search marketing industry, with many abusing the system and the process in order for short term gains. Adding crazy expectations and immediate results that were never achieved, left a bitter taste in client’s mouths. But looking back now on around 10 years of search engine marketing and optimisation, we can see the fact that businesses would be crazy not to be taking search seriously. The industry involved, the snakes disappeared, and properly structured and specific campaigns are being setup and run effectively and generating a return.

Social media will get there - I am sure of it. We will look back on this time and comment how crazy it was that no business had someone sitting on their Twitter account and monitoring conversations and generating feedback. It would be crazy not to syndicate their content across all the available channels.

So I feel for the Population team, and I wish them all the best in their new endeavours. And soon, I am sure, the rise of the dedicated social media agency in Australia will occur, and the industry as a whole will benefit.

With the rise in social media, it has given individuals multiple access points online. Facebook lets you be you and interact with all your friends. LinkedIn lets you be your professional self. Flickr shows the world what you love and what you love to do. But the resulting problem is the fact that you are disjointed. You are only you inside a particular network - not you as the individual person that you are. This idea works for some instances and yet at the same time hinder you in others. The answer though arrives in the form of vanity websites (it might not be the official term, but it is the one we are going to be running with). (more…)

Is there anything Facebook can’t do? The network that once had control in Australia and New Zealand for a while has now been placed firmly on the chopping block. The Age Reports that it is basically because of dwindling MySpace users and rapid acceleration of Facebook memberships. What I want to examine is though why Bebo did not succeed. (more…)

As I spend most of my days knee deep and data as well as interacting with people regarding how they should be spending their time online during the day, I get a whole bunch of crazy ideas of people thinking that updating statuses and making semi entertaining comments on people’s photos is “social media marketing.” And it’s because of this people think that once they have received the green light from the marketing department to start an initiative or campaign, their daily routine can fly out the door and anytime a network is open, you are “networking.” What I want to outline is some of the guidelines I use to make sure I play by the organisation’s rules regarding participating as well as doing it properly. (more…)

Last night, the world’s largest social media club (yes it is official) was held at one of Sydney’s leading universities, UTS. The special guest? One Mr @MCHammer. His presence in itself was pretty amazing, considering the fact that it appears his sole appearance was basically to evangelise Social Media to Australian business. To have Australians so excited and interested in social media is great for the industry and hopefully this exposure will give it the respect that it deserves. Many of my acquaintances that did not believe in social media before are now at least asking questions due to this event. (more…)

So I figured this time around I will show you some of the links I really found valuable from various different companies and any web apps I waste my days on. And any funky news clips or crazy stats. Enjoy! (more…)