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Tag Archives: social media

Small Business Marketing Tips from #SXSWi 2012

Posté par Cynthia Fedor le March 14, 2012 – 9:51 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Events, Integrated Marketing, Leadership & Innovation, Marketing Technologies, Mobile Marketing, News & Trends, Small Business Marketing

Didn’t get to attend the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin this year? Have no fear. There’s a ton of notes available on Twitter. To make it easier than sifting through all of the information to find useful bits of information, I’ve outlined some helpful tweets from just a couple of the panels that I attended.

Feel free to use the associated hashtags to discover more information about each panel or leave a comment for this post to get a conversation started here.

Why Small is the New Big and Big is the New Small

Twitter Hashtag: #eggcellent

What was this panel about? Size doesn’t matter anymore. The over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one. The rapid development and adoption of information communication technologies (ICT) over the last ten years is driving this change. As consequence, businesses are leveraging new web, mobile and social technologies to interact with customers and prospects in a whole new way. A role reversal between SMB and Large Enterprise is taking place: SMB is becoming more ubiquitous and quantitative while Enterprise is becoming more personalized and qualitative. This session explores the causes, corrections, and outcomes of the changing dynamics within the marketplace that now allow SMB and Large Enterprise companies to compete for the same customers.

Takeaways:

Social is transforming IT, making it more accessible for small businesses to go to market & compete w/ the big boys.
Everything is becoming more local. Even big business needs to find ways to be unique & visible in local markets.
Get hyper-personal; make your customers your board members and sales force. They can be the greatest influencers that attract more business for you.
When customers are cheap to acquire don’t forget to work on loyalty and retaining that customer
Identify your differentiators and make those things drive your business. It’s not just about price.
What you do with data regardless of how big (or small) of a company you are is what will differentiate you

FutureShop–Virtual QR Stores, NFC Receipts & More

Twitter Hashtag: #futureshop

What was this panel about? The mobile shopping revolution isn’t theoretical, it’s here and it’s all around us. Innovations abound such as Tesco’s virtual QR grocery store in a Korean subway station, Levi’s digital fitting rooms, Nestlé’s instant deals for UPC scans of ice cream, and NFC payments that obliterate consumers’ need for a physical wallet. Providers of these and other game changing consumer experiences are mashing up new capabilities to create magical experiences and frenzied user adoption. Read More »

Og the Social Media Expert?

Posté par Eric Welch le February 24, 2012 – 10:29 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Leadership & Innovation, Marketing Strategy

As we careen headlong into an uncertain 2012—a year which could, according to some, bring about the end of the world or, at the very least, give rise to more of those cool gadgets we can’t seem to get enough of—the phenomenon of social media continues to grow exponentially like some enormous mutant beanstalk on steroids. But where is it all headed? And once we get there, will we even know why?

The short answer is “we don’t know.” The long answer is “weee… dooon’t… knooow.” Consider the humble cave man. We’ll call him ‘Og’ (although his real name was probably something closer to ‘Snorts-While-Chomping-On-Mammoth-Ribs’). There he was, hunting and gathering much like his fellow cavemen in a state of Neanderthal bliss, confident that his existence tomorrow would be virtually identical to his existence today, as it probably would for the rest of his life (barring the quite likely scenarios of being eaten by a sabertooth cat or killed in an epic battle with a rival tribe).

One fine Pleistocene day, a fellow tribesman taps Og on the shoulder, or kicks him in the shin (the traditional Neanderthal afternoon greeting) and motions him to come over and check out what he’s done on the wall of his cave. There, on the bare stone in the dim firelight, a crude image of last week’s mammoth hunt greets Og’s tired old eyes (by the way, Og is 34 and already qualifies for Medicave). He stares in absolute awe as the memories and sensations of nearly being trampled by the gargantuan beast come flooding back to him in a tidal wave of emotion. Mind. Blown.

Fast-forward to 2012. Or, as I like to call it, the Sociomobilmediamania Era. No longer compelled to hunt and gather to ensure our basic survival, the people of the modern world (and by that, I mean developed nations) are pretty much free to explore and indulge in all sorts of fascinating pursuits—from fantasy football leagues, to 3D movies, to the gigantic time sucks that are Facebook and Pinterest—confident that our existence tomorrow will be virtually identical to our existence today, as it probably will be for the rest of our liv… but wait! Not so fast. There’s another force at work the likes of which ancient man never saw coming. Read More »

Nielsen Social Media Report is Out!

Posté par Eric Welch le September 12, 2011 – 7:28 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Marketing Strategy, Mobile Marketing, News & Trends

Nielsen has just released their Q3 2011 Social Media Report. Here are some of their key findings:

Social networks and blogs continue to dominate America’s time online, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet
Social media has grown rapidly — today nearly four in five active Internet users visit social networks and blogs
Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website
Close to 40 percent of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone
Social networking apps are the third most-used among U.S. smart phone owners
Internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the Mobile Internet
70 percent of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12 percent more likely than the average adult Internet user
53 percent of active adult social networkers follow a brand, while 32 percent follow a celebrity
Across a snapshot of 10 major global markets, social networks and blogs reach over three-quarters of active Internet users

So, how will this information impact your online and offline marketing efforts and strategies going into 2012? Sound off in the comments!

8 Elements of a Successful Facebook Advertising Campaign

Posté par Cynthia Fedor le August 26, 2011 – 9:00 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Marketing Strategy, Small Business Marketing

As businesses are beginning to integrate digital, mobile, and social media into their marketing communications mix, it seems as though some may be forgetting about best practice fundamentals. Although there are more technologies, channels, and strategies to consider than ever before, the basic campaign elements forming the foundation for success remain consistent.

Tip to marketers starting to experiment with Facebook ad buys and campaigns: Don’t assume that there’s added complexity just because you’re navigating territory previously unknown to you. When planning a digital campaign, refer back to traditional direct marketing best practices.

I recently came across a short video which outlines eight elements of a successful Facebook advertising campaign. They’re solid recommendations that businesses can reference—as a check list of sorts—when planning a Facebook advertising campaign. Read More »

Social Media: It Doesn’t Reach Everyone, Particularly the Wealthy

Posté par Jamie Matusek le August 18, 2011 – 2:32 pm

dans Digital & Social Media, Direct Mail Marketing, Direct Response Marketing, Marketing Strategy

There’s no denying that as marketers, we’re heavily influenced by the social media bandwagon. While it’s still hot, companies in nearly every industry are focusing their budgets on it, to use the power of Facebook, Twitter and online networks to get their message out to customers and prospects. Be cautioned: social media is not a numbers game, nor is it one that reaches all consumer audiences.

An article in Luxury Daily reports that 50% of our wealthiest populations (the top 10% of affluent U.S. individuals who make up 35% of all U.S. income; individuals with a minimum net worth of $828,000 and an average net worth of $3.1 million) don’t engage with social media at all.

Although the United States is still considered to be in a recession, the Center for American Progress’ Prosperity 2050 study claims that the very rich are growing in Read More »