5 Social Media Marketing Tips You Cannot Ignore

Posted on October 26, 2007 by marc meyer

As social media marketers race to all things social these days, a lot of them go in with blinders on, assuming that they can learn it on the fly. All they see are the massive amount of numbers flocking to MySpace and Facebook and they want a piece of that. But before they jump in here are 5 things they better not ignore as they attempt to slice up the pie.

1) If you think you are going to just bum rush your social network with product before establishing yourself as a “Playa”, you better think again. You will have zero “street cred” if you go in talking about this product, or this company or how great this service is. If you do that from the get-go, you might as well be playing an instrument under water.

2) Target a niche, not a specific social networking site. One of the most foolish things would be to just assume that you are going just “go to MySpace” and set up shop. With that mindest, you might as well bid on the top spot for the term “mortgage” in Google Adwords. You’ll burn through about $300,000 in one day,you’ll have a ton of clicks and zero conversions. Because you were not targeting the right term, the right people and the right niche. The same holds true for marketing in social networks. Find your people!

3) You better know what you are doing. This applies not only to social networks but all forums in which people have an opportunity to speak to a large group of people. You have to realize that WORDS HAVE POWER if used the wrong way. There is usually some individuals who have more power based on longevity or whatever and you really don’t want to start off on the wrong foot. Once you have developed a comfort level with the people in the network, and them you, then you can start to pitch a little bit.

4) Don’t underestimate the power of your profile. Contrary to what some might think, a profile will tell a lot about you, what you do, and how well you do it. When creating the profile, be honest but also be humble. There is nothing worse than reading about how great someone thinks of themselves. But there is nothing wrong with success either, You need to strike a balance. Doing it right, will have people wanting to know more about what you do. It’s another way of promoting yourself with subtle ease.

5) Blog about it. Blog often and blog alot. But make sure that instead of selling, you’re telling. There is nothing more viral than blogs, especially if they are good. An extension of your social network persona, will be your blog. If you take it serious, then your network will realize that you take what you do, serious. Be an expert, but also be someone that your social network can rely on for anything. they will find you through your blog eventually.

If you do these things, along with about a dozen more smaller things, then you can set up your business and yourself for a happy coexistence in the burgeoning social network marketplace. If you don’t so these, you’ll join the other millions of people with empty profiles and blogs with 2 posts in 2 years. It’s your choice.

So do you have any suggestions to anyone who might be considering marketing in social networks? Let’s hear them!

Baby Boomers and Social Networks.

Posted on October 25, 2007 by marc meyer

So we have MySpace and Facebook and LinkedIn and a smattering of other social networking sites out there, but what’s out there for the wired boomer? How about Eons? I’m not so sure about the name. But maybe that’s intentional? Eons sounds like a nightclub. You know the kind that’s only around for about 3 years and then is reinvented into a country saloon… Almost sounds somewhat presienct.. So before we spell the demise of Eons, Let me digress. Eons features sections on fun, love, money, body – and obituaries, among others. True to the demographic, you won’t be seeing obit notices on MySpace any time soon.

Founded by Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, Eons.com caters to the 50-plus demographic, aiming to become their MySpace and Facebook, writes Reuters. “These are people who want to spend money to save time rather then spend their time trying to save money,” Taylor is quoted as saying. The site offers interactive games, news on entertainment and hobbies, a longevity calculator and an obituary database that sends alerts when someone you know dies. Note: If I’m starting to send obit notices to friends about friends who bit it in their 50’s, then it’s time to put away the bong and lace up the cross-trainers.

The site creates associations between members with similar goals, some of which, such as “take a trip to Hawaii,” will serve as leads for marketers, writes ClickZ. Site partners hoping for such leads include Verizon, Hyatt, Liberty Mutual, Harrah’s Entertainment, and Humana.

Eons.com also offers standard display ad units as well as high-level sponsorships and targeted contextual placements. Its “Cranky” search engine, which uses Ask.com technology, allows users to rate search results, some of which will be vetted by human editors.

Another Boomer site is Boomj. I’m not sure if that’s pronounced Boom-J or is it Boomja? nevertheless this site seems to have a little bit more going on than Eons. Here is Boomj’s description:

The name BOOMj derives from the two primary audiences we serve: the Baby Boomers Generation and Generation Jones – both born during the big 20-year, post-World War II boom in births from the mid-1940’s to mid-1960’s.

Baby Boomers were born 1942 to 1953; we associate their youth with Howdy Doody, Davy Crocket hats, and later, Woodstock and Vietnam War demonstrations.
Generation Jones, born 1954 to 1965, is a newer concept and name that represents the actual children of the sixties (more wide-eyed than tie-dyed); Jonesers were weaned on The Brady Bunch and Easy Bake Ovens and later were the teens of 70’s heavy metal, disco, punk and soul.

At this point it still remains to be seen whether these will actually work in the same fashion as some of the larger more notable social networks. The question is do Boomers want to spend time sitting in front of the pc making friends or would they rather be out in the clubs throwin down? It really does boil down to how the Boomer nation has adapted and adopted to social networking. Social networking is more an extension of Gen Y and even younger as yet to be named generations. Boomers with exceptionsl power and influence however may choose to keep it simple to the extent that their cell phones and email are what they consider as being wired in todays culture, Boomers will make a determination very quickly whether Eons and Boomj is for them or not.

Facebook is white hot!

Posted on October 25, 2007 by marc meyer

If you haven’t already heard, Facebook has a valuation of $15 billion. That’s fifteen billllion dollars, I’m quoting Doctor Evil there. Why is it valued so high? Every day Facebook adds another 100,000 users. It has 35 million active users and underneath that it has over 6 million active user groups.

According to the WSJ, Facebook is going to make close to $30 million this year. More incredibly Facebook costs nothing to use. So this begs the question, how is it going to make 30 mill and why is it valued so high? The answers are traffic, data, and advertising. Similar to what Google has done with AdWords, Facebook has the built in luxury of 35 million users with deep data points to pitch. The other reason why the valuation is so high is that what makes Facebook so attractive is that the data is essentially user data.

Google Adwords relies on keyword contextual data but Facebook can get down and dirty. If it wants to go after sophomore high school students in Trenton, New Jersey, it can. Or lets say, college graduates from UCLA from 2004, that hail from Long Beach, it can do that too. It has the ability right now to target by age, gender and location. Eventually it will be able to automatically target its users based on the personal information that users have supplied.

What we don’t know is what the finished product of Facebook will eventually be. Mark Zuckerberg has stated that it could be 30 years before we finally see what the last iteration of Facebook could be, and that it could be very different from what it is now. It’s amazing that when he started Facebook, he was 19. His initial intent was to create a site that showed you who was in certain classes at Harvard, so that you could make a more than educated decision of what classes you wanted to take and with whom. Amazing how something that started out as a mere tool or app for a college campus has turned into a social networking phenomenon. It reminds me of Napster.

I’m sure what a lot of people are thinking, or rather a lot of marketing people are thinking, is how they can get in the slipstream of Facebook. What this means is, how can a marketer create a business that is a direct result of the creation of Facebook? Google has spawned the creation of 1000’s of companies that are around because of Google. I’m sure we can expect the same thing with Facebook.

What do you think will happen with Facebook? Are you a part of Facebook? Do you use it regularly? What will the landscape of social networks look like in 2 years?

Social Networks continue to evolve with myfamily.com

Posted on October 23, 2007 by marc meyer

If you’re thinking of creating your own social network, you better hurry. Myfamily.com, today announced a new release of myfamily.com 2.0 beta available at http://www.myfamily.com. The new release lets families connect online to share news, recipes, family history, photos and video in a safe, private and media-rich environment. Myfamily.com 2.0 beta offers several new features and services, including the ability to leave voice messages directly on the site or narrate photo slideshows using a phone.

Since its launch in 1998, myfamily.com has enjoyed a subscriberbase of nearly two million members. Originally a free service, myfamily.com moved to a subscription-only service in 2001, and now with the new 2.0 beta is introducing a free option once again. Families are using myfamily.com to build private spaces where invited members and guests can participate in sharing photos, news, videos, slideshows, recipes, files, family-trees and events. Many are also creating sites reflecting the social groups their family interacts with, including sports teams, schools, hobbies, or other groups. The new 2.0 site is currently available at http://www.myfamily.com andis in open beta for anyone to try out. One feature called‘SnapGenie’ allows members to select and sort photos into a slideshow andthen add voice narration by calling a toll-free number and clicking throughthe photos on their computer screen. These multimedia stories are viewable by family members on the site and can also be shared via email invitation to others, or embedded in web pages or on a blog. For times when you want to contact the family and just can’t get to acomputer, the new myfamily.com site provides a phone number and PIN that you can call from anywhere to leave an instant voice message on your site. Any member of a myfamily.com 2.0 site can create additional password protected sites and invite the people they want to share in the new experience. So you can have a ‘cousins-only’ site, or a ‘Family ReunionPlanning’ site, or a ‘Mrs. Johnson’s 5th Grade Class’ site to communicate,share photos, art, and upcoming events with other families at your child’sschool. Individuals can be a part of as many family or group sites as theywant and easily switch between them. Myfamily.com 2.0 can also deliver reminders to your extended family forall the important events in life including birthdays, anniversaries,reunions, or other special events. And, if you need a unique gift forsomeone, the integrated shopping features let you order prints, t-shirts,mugs and other photo creations using the photos shared on the site. Myfamily.com 2.0 free sites will be supported by advertising andcommerce. Members who prefer an ad-free environment will be able topurchase a reasonably priced annual subscription, much like the originalservice. Details of the subscription service have not yet been announced. As myfamily.com transitions to the new 2.0 version, members of theoriginal 1.0 version will still be able to use their existing family sitesduring the beta period. Many of these loyal members are also contributingto the development of the beta site by participating in member surveys,advisory groups, and the 2.0 blog at http://blog.myfamily.com.

The Convergence of Mobile Marketing

Posted on October 22, 2007 by marc meyer

Lets face it, the cell phone is an extension of who you are. Back in the day, it used to be that your car was how we determined your social status. The bigger and flashier the car, the “more important” you seemed to be. To that end, the bigger and badder your cell phone is, the bigger and badder you are, right? Wrong.

To the mobile marketer, all cell phones are created equal. The space that they are most interested in, is the 2×2 real estate above your key pad. More importantly is your demographic, not the type of phone you have, but where do you as a ptential customer reside. Because, to the mobile marketer, your 2×2 real estate is the beach head to marketing nirvana. You and your phone, which are inseperable, are what they want.

eMarketer projects that the global budget devoted to mobile brand advertising will rise to $3.5 billion in 2011, up from $123 million in 2006. Thats less than 4 years from now. Are you as a marketer prepared for this? As a consumer are you prepared for the onslaught of potential mobile marketing intrusions?

According to eMarketer’s forecast:

During the forecast period, mobile direct marketing is projected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2006 to $16 billion.
In 2007, mobile brand marketing spend – $277 million – is expected to constitute just 10 percent of total mobile ad spending, which is projected to reach nearly $2.8 billion.
By the end of the forecast period, mobile brand ad spend – nearly $3.6 billion – is expected to make up 22 percent of total mobile ad spend.
Total mobile ad spending is projected to grow from nearly $2.8 billion in 2007 to nearly $5.0 billion in 2008 (79 percent year-over-year [YOY] growth) and $7.5 billion in 2009 (51 percent YOY growth).

Factors driving the growth:

Mobile text messaging has become more or less a mass-market service worldwide
Mobile music is climbing the rungs of the mass-market ladder
There are mobile-centric tribes of users in both advanced and developing economies, where the mobile screen is the first place where marketers can reach them, according to eMarketer.

But mobile marketing campaigns need to be relevant and hiccup-free so that they don’t turn off consumers sensitive to ad exposure, Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a Maritz Research survey of Gen Y consumers said they were unlikely or definitely unlikely to subscribe to text retail offers sent to their handsets. Moreover, a full 84 percent of mobile users in an Ingenio survey conducted by Harris Interactive said text messages sent by companies would be unacceptable:

So that means, that although the numbers are certainly going to spike and escalate over the next 4 years, marketers are still unsure as to what means will work in marketing to people via their mobile device. The technology is virtually in place, but users need to trust the ad and marketer. They need to trust the brand.

To that end, there is potential in the industry, provided marketers don’t drive the consumer away before they have even begun. What do you think should happen? What do you think might happen? How can marketers utilize social networks to better achieve their mobile marketing goals?

7 great tips you need to know when marketing to Moms.

Posted on October 19, 2007 by marc meyer

Did you know that there are more than 80 million mothers in the United States and 51 percent of all US Internet users are women? In addition, did you know that mothers of children under the age of 18 are “significantly more likely to go online than the rest of adult Americans?” This, according to the Pew Internet Project.

The translation then is that ” Moms” will tend to disproportionately influence household purchase behavior. So how, as a marketer do you reach them?

1) They are savvy buyers/shoppers. More and More of them are using the internet to influence future and current buying decisions with the possible exception being electronics.

2) Working women ages of 24-54 — of whom the U.S. has some 55 million — have emerged as a potent force in the marketplace. If you’re product is not aimed at them, you are mssing the boat. These women are not only balancing work, but chances are, also a family.

3) Women make more than 80% of the buying decisions in all homes. And women shop differently from the way men do: Females research more extensively and are less likely to be influenced by ads. Men buy, women shop. and Mom’s compare. They make buying “decisions”. Even in the online world, when selling a product, it’s imperative that you have features and benefits as well as savings.

4) According to data compiled by AdAge, there are more than 30 million moms who read up to five blogs on a daily basis. Within these blogs can be the basis for buying decisions. More importantly, women talk, they are social, so if something is worthy in regards to a purchase, they will tell others. Viral marketing is an untapped resource in marketing to Moms.

5) The average household income of these moms is $70,000. They are computer savvy. They are educated. If they cannot find their info through traditional search, they will find it in blogs, If not a blog, then chances are, a social network or a forum will provide the answers and or information they are seeking.

6) Early in 2006 a company called Lucid Marketing, which specializes in targeting moms, issued data that reflected just over 20 percent of stay-at-home moms and another 19 percent of moms who work part time visit “message boards” or “chat rooms” on a daily basis. A great place to market, but also an area where marketers need to be sensitive and not pushy sales peple.

7) Women’s decision-making authority has grown in part because more households are headed by women — 27% at last count, a fourfold increase since 1950-according to Businessweek. What does this mean? As online marketers, if you don’t realize that you need to segment your online marketing efforts into distinct niches, then you’ll be sure to see a reduction in overall conversion numbers.

So given the purchasing power of Women and or Moms. If you underestimate, ignore them, and don’t bother to find out what they want. Then chances are they will ignore you and not bother to find out what you have to sell. It’s as simple as that.

What do you think women want online marketers to know about the way they buy and shop online? Do women use social networks for the purpose of making buying decisions?

Web 2.0 Discussion

Posted on October 16, 2007 by marc meyer

So I’m talking to my friend Randy who works at an inventory optimization software company called Smartops (simple name for a mouthfull of an explanation) about a site of called Howzitsound that really needs in no particular order ….angel investors, a face lift, some marketing, and some people to do the heavy lifting. I mentioned that the site needs to be pushed into the Web 2.0 stratosphere, and in saying that, I asked,”you do know what web 2.0 is don’t you?” Below is our email conversation.

Me:

“on a locallized level… i.e www.howzitsound/pittsburgh.htm Myspace was developed for bands and music fans but morphed into a major big ass social networking site predominantly because of the cool tools associated with creating…”your space” 200 million users and going strong

Randy:

Is this a quiz? From what I know, Web 2.0 is a next step in online networking, where the users create much of the content ie- MySpace, wikipedia, etc. It’s a wave I have not ridden. I know it’s enormously pervasive and popular since everyone seems to have a myspace, but frankly I still feel like it’s a teenager phenomenon and I don’t care to follow. Not to say that I wouldn’t like to have some of the myspace $$

Me:

well you’re somewhat right, but where you are wrong is thinking its a teenager phenomenon, what you will eventually see is that content and content creation will become more interactive and robust than it already has. web 2.0 is more about the tools and apps used as well as the sites that have evolved from it such as a myspace. web 2.0 is more about getting your information and sharing your information and creating it as well, through social networking sites but also individually as well i.e. blogs.

What you will eventually see is that social networking will evolve onto enterprise levels, it already has in some aspects. What it does is, it creates better communication between entities working on a project, or collaboration on a contract, or temporary virtual communities, etc etc. So the easier the tools are, the more apt are the client to embrace the notion. Think Ajax, and xtml..

Him:

Interesting take on it and a valid point. I think your point on it developing to an enterprise level is where more focus needs to be placed. I tend to ignore a lot of the “real” applications because I’m sick to death of everyone talking about their myspace or their blog as if they’re someone who I should be paying attention to just because they have a webpage. Everyone wants to be a celebrity now, and it frustrates the hell out of me.

Sorry for the rant, I think there is tremendous application for the content development tools, I just wish it was limited to people that actually have something to say

Me:

Yea I guess everyone is a pundit and a builder of web pages now even if it is with wizards and what not. so having said all of that, howzitsound/pittsburgh for example would not be totally user generated but could be user driven. i think on a local level a branded sight that i knew i could go to that had THE places to go for live music and possible just cool clubs would far outweigh fucking doing a local search and ending up on myspace or about.com….

Him:

Exactly, if I wanted people’s opinions I’d give it to them. Ha.

I’m still a big fan of the howzitsound concept. keep me in the loop for it

So that’s where we left it. What do you think? Did we get it right? Someone out there needs to give me the definitive explnantion of what web 2.0 will be, or what it is and what form it will eventually take as we go forward.

Social Networks meet Mobile Networks

Posted on October 16, 2007 by marc meyer

As mobile networks and devices continue to evolve and converge into all things digitally possible, doesn’t it make sense that the next big thing should be a social network that is solely dedicated to a mobile network?

It was a matter of time before social networks were destined to leave the confines of the pc. But with the advent of powerful new mobile devices, the ability to to send round-the-clock updates about what you’re eating, who you’re talking to, and what you just bought seemed inevitable. And of course, why not? These things are important in the fabric of our every day lives. We need to know these things.

Jaiku is one of the many sites that is now geared towards mobile social networks. What might make Jaiku formidable is that it is owned by Google. So it probably has a better than average chance at success.

Jaiku’s main goal is to bring people closer together by enabling them to share their activity streams. An activity stream is a log of everyday things as they happen: your status messages, recommendations, events you’re attending, photos you’ve taken – anything you post directly to Jaiku or add using Web feeds. Perhaps one of the most popular right now is Twitter, which allows users to let people broadcast short text messages from their phones and computers to those of friends and strangers. The gist of these networks is to offer a way to connect with the people you care about by sharing your activities with them via the Web, IM, and SMS – as well as through a slew of cool third-party applications built by other developers using propriatary API’s.

Another one that seems more geared towards a younger demo is Kyte. the difference is Kyte allows anybody to create their own interactive TV channel on their website, blog, social network or mobile phone

With kyte, you create your own live TV shows and broadcast them on your own interactive channel, on your website, blog, social network or mobile phone. You can share your kyte channel with your friends and collaborate with them so that they can also be a part of your shows, by adding their own content, by voting and by chatting live with other viewers. With kyte, you can share your experiences live with the world and be the star, director and producer of your own live TV channel, wherever you are and however you want.

At this point we need to coin a new phrase, “digital voyeuristic exhibitionism”. Where do you think we are headed as social networks converge with all things electronic and media related? Is any aspect of our personal lives off limits now with the broad acceptance of reality based programming? Where do we go from here?

Do social networks make us less social?

Posted on October 9, 2007 by marc meyer

So I use Facebook and Linkedin, and to a lesser degree even MySpace. I’ve even started to Twitter. I’ve connected with former Co-workers and even some classmates from high school and college. But now what? None of my former classmates from high school live in my town and so there won’t be any connection there. My college classmates have even splintered more. So now what? I made the effort to connect, so I guess now it’s time to network with strangers. How do I feel about this? My first inclination is, what do I hope to get out of it? I might as well cold call people and introduce myself and ask them if they want to be my friend. Well maybe that’s where the beauty of social networking kicks in. I can hide behind the screen and type away without really uttering a word. Pretty social huh?

I’m thinking that there are more people like me out there. We have been drawn to the light of the flame, or by others who have touted it as the NBG(next big thing) and once we got there, we’re like, “Ok, now what”? I don’t want to work “That” hard to connect with people that a) I barely remember b) I barely knew and c) I hardly liked. So what is there to do with my newfound social network?

I think what would be more fun is to have a site that does then and now pics. Now that would be social. We could sit around and do what everyone does at reunions. Whisper behind their backs about how fat and bald they all are, how messed up they are, how much they changed, etc etc. That’s social isn’t it? It’s also a form of networking.

Truthfully, I’m still trying to figure out what to do next. I suppose that I need to maybe elaborate more on my profiles and make them even more accessible than they already are. Which in reality, I’m not wild about, because I really don’t want my data passed around like a church collection plate. But I think I’m a little too far down that road. I suppose it does have networking possibilities, but that will have to be something that I continue to evaluate. To me, networking is of 2 forms: Can you help me get a job or Can I get some business out of you?

Now, I’m not saying that the social networks don’t work on certain levels, it’s just that it might work better on large scale enterprise lavels rather than former classmates and workmates trying to connect after x amount of years apart. In fact for high school and college and large organizations, social networks totally make sense. The question is do the social networks create online social clicks similar to what you might have offline? The data is still out but I would be curious to hear from someone who is knee deep in one to give us their impressions and feedback as to how it has affected them negatively or in a positive way. There has to be some twisted slant already brewing from the advent of these. We don’t need to address the stalkers, the lurkers, and the usual freaks that go to these. Don’t forget the internet is a reflection of our society. To that end, to bad we can’t be made aware of these people online. Picture some type of nondescript, dirty white conversion van as an icon or avatar. That would be sufficient warning.

The bottom line is social networks are here to stay. They just need to be more socially accepting to the average lay person who might not swim in the same circles as everyone else. But still would like to be accepted, would like to enjoy and utilize these networks to some degree. Sort of mirrors life doesn’t it?