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Not Being on Social Media is Killing Your Business
If you read one article this weekend, this should be it!
Quick Engagement Tip - Profile Picture
Go to your favorite brand’s Facebook fan page and what you’re most likely to see is a picture of their company logo as their profile picture. There is nothing wrong with including your logo in your profile picture, but if it’s the only thing there you’re missing out on a great opportunity. You see, when fans visit your page, chances are they are already aware of who you are and what you look like since they sought you out; plus, Facebook lists your company name in bold across the top of every page. Instead, think of using your profile picture as a way to engage your audience and promote your products. Check out these great examples we love and see if you can be inspired to create a new profile picture of your own.
Beginning to Measure Social Media ROI
Analytics are undeniably important and usually the only way to convince a CMO to grant a budget for social media. However, tracking social analytics hasn’t been much of a science until late. For many, social media ROI has been strictly centered around conversions, likes, followers and views. While these are all valid and still necessary, they only measure static, single-time interactions. A customer can join you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, or even click on a link to your website once, but once that initial interaction is complete it shouldn’t continue to count towards your ROI. Instead, analysts need to look towards dynamic, ongoing interactions. Read on to learn more.
Yelp Explains Reviews & More
Read this post to see insider information from Yelp on how to make the best uses of checkins and reviews. Note: Yelp states that more established reviewers carry more weight on your rating, so if you’re worried about that one disgruntled customer joining Yelp to destroy you, think again.
Blogger Revamp
Looks like Blogger is finally getting a revamp. Whether it’s just out of necessity to compete with Wordpress (known for it’s style sheets and use in developing full websites) and Tumblr (known for simplicity and ease of use) or because Google’s finally innovated some new tools is yet to be seen. Click the link for the article on TechCrunch.
The Evolution of Social Advertising
Are you familiar with the Sponsored column on Facebook? That series of ads on the right side of the screen that highlights products and services and then says 4 of your friends like this? If so, then you’ve been introduced to social advertising. Named as such not because it is advertising that appears on social networks, social ads are marketing messages that integrate an interactive social element to them. On Facebook, this comes in the form of friend referrals, but it can also include shared links to fan pages, #FF on Twitter and viral YouTube clips. For now, this form of advertising has been widely absent from the web outside of Like and Retweet buttons. One company, however, is taking social advertising to the next level, and may reinvent banner ads as we know them.
(Source: feedproxy.google.com)
QR Code Case Study: Disney
Disney is a brand always on the forefront of technology and social communication and for the launch of elecTRONica, the nighttime dance club experience to complement the launch of Tron: Legacy, the park didn’t fail to use the latest in mobile tech to keep visitors informed and compliment the attraction’s theme at the same time. While constructing the facades that would transform Disney California Adventure’s Hollywood Pictures Backlot into the Grid from Tron, the brand used QR codes as a way of educating visitors about the latest addition to the park. The codes were placed on prominent signs outside the construction and even included simple, although incomplete, instructions for those unaware of the symbol’s purpose.
The code surely aided in increasing hype about the highly anticipated experience, but Disney’s execution wasn’t flawless. Besides not including the term “QR” or “2D” to describe the code in the sign’s instructions, so users would know what app to search for to scan the code, the park also failed to lead scanners to a mobile-formatted website, as stated in QR Tip #4. The code linked to an article on the park’s blog, which is formatted for a very large screen. Thus the text required zooming in and panning from left to right repeatedly in order to read. This may have reduced the overall number of viewers who actually consumed the content after clicking through.
Starting Conversations with Your Fans - Part 2
We know that starting conversations with your fans can be tough. Social media marketers must be able to find a balance between creating natural, engaging dialogues and trying to sell your product to your audience. As we discussed in the introduction of this series, the key to forming a relationship with your audience is to find your branded voice - the tone, language and personality that embodies your brand and which your audience identifies with. Step one was to author your positioning statement, which is the true goal of your business. Disneyland doesn’t operate an amusement park, it delivers a magical experience that brings families closer together. Step two of this process is to identify your brand’s personality attributes. Click below to continue reading.
Don’t Just Talk, Listen!
Is your business using social media just to push messages and media at your customers? Then you may be missing out on opportunities. Social networks are an opportunity for two-way conversations and listening to what your customers are saying about your brand is the best way to gather information about their expectations, needs and experiences. Read the comments and wall posts being left on your Facebook fan page, search for your company name on twitter and monitor your @replies, and set up Google Alerts for your brand and product names to monitor the talk on the web. Collect this data and act on upon it! Show your customers you are listening, you care about what they have to say and that you are making the changes that they are asking for. And then tell them about it.
QR Code Tip #4
QR Code Tip #4: Make sure the site you take your customers to is formatted for a mobile device. This includes: size and layout for a 3.5” screen, touch-friendly interface and low load times. Another option, if you are advertising for an iPhone app, is to link directly to the app in the App Store. Rather than link the customer to a website that discusses your app, take them right to the App Store. This decrease in the amount of steps necessary to complete the transaction will actually increase impulse purchases/downloads and the presence of reviews will help influence the skeptics.
