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He Who Has the Most (Social Media) Friends, Wins

posted on October 27, 2011

Every Friday, I prepare a social media report for a client and the very top number is how many Facebook followers we gained that week. Sure, it’s a random number with no proven correlation to the success or failure of a campaign, but it’s all we’ve got.

Facebook has taken a stab at creating more meaningful metrics with their new “reach” and “talking about” stats but it comes down to this: the number of followers is the one metric we all understand.

That’s why Chief Marketer found that 60% the marketing professionals they surveyed use follower (friend, fan, etc) count as their chief method of measuring social media success. And it’s the favorite by a mile. Sharing, leads and time spent came in under 39% and incremental sales was only mentioned by 25%.

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5 Facebook Privacy & Security Tips You Ignore at Your Own Peril

posted on October 27, 2011

Chances are you’re a pro at using Facebook. You have your Page optimized, ads targeted, and your privacy settings impenatrable. So why is it that I see so many glaring issues that could cause the average person to have their account life hacked?

I come across these 5 issues below every day. Any one of them could result in a someone nefariously hacking your account, stealing your identity, or even ransacking your home. If you have these covered, congrats, but please share them with your Facebook friends, because many of them are leaving themselves vulnerable.

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Getting Website Traffic from Toll Booth Traffic

posted on October 27, 2011

Website owners and companies with sites are obsessed with traffic as well they should be. It’s the lifeblood of any online presence and it’s not as easy to generate as most would think. What is becoming more and more apparent is that we live in a mixed marketing world. many of the older “go to” marketing ideas are struggling or flat out dying. The way we live life is changing and marketers really need to adapt or die.

There is, however, a bit of a marketing sweet spot of sorts that can be found that mixes some traditional activities that are not going away and the new world order of online life.

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Is the Impact of Social on Shopping More Hype or Reality?

posted on October 27, 2011

If you read about the impact of social networks and deal sites on how people shop and what they buy when they are shopping, you would think that everyone is doing it on a regular basis, right?

A study conducted by Performics and ROIresearch gives the impression that while many people are using social networks and other online shopping options like deal and shopping sites to influence purchases, it may not be as prevalent as we might like it to be. Look at the results that examine what percentage of those surveyed use any of the mentioned techniques on a daily basis to influence their shopping activities.

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Google Voice Asks: Can Siri Do This?

posted on October 26, 2011

While Siri is taking the voice recognition world by storm Google is down under testing their voice search. Hey it’s not answering the meaning of life or anything but the engineers from Google Australia have done a series of different tests putting voice search through a few unique trials. Here is one in the Great Barrier Reef.

There are a few other videos that go out into the desert for some voice search fun and games. While it’s more for the gimmick it’s still interesting to see what some engineers are up to down under on their 20% time (or is this their job?).

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Majority of Americans Say No to Daily Deal Sites

posted on October 26, 2011

Everyone loves a great deal, right? Coupon for $1.00 off. Free Shipping with $50 purchase. Up to 75% off! Consumers not only eat this stuff up, they demand it. But according to a new survey by Accenture, America isn’t as enamored with daily deal sites.

Their survey, conducted in September 2011, showed that 56% of Americans do not subscribe to a deal site. Even more interesting, 42% said the “do not like anything” about daily deal sites.

Who is favoring the art of the deal? People 18 to 24 and households with earnings of more than $150,000 a year. Accenture’s numbers showed a direct correlation between income and the proportion of consumers who subscribe to at least one deal site.

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X-Factor and Twitter Make a Powerful Pair

posted on October 26, 2011

TV executives have discovered the power of Twitter. At first, they used it to just to send promotional messages to fans. Then they found it was a useful tool to gauge viewer reactions and interest in a show. Now, they’re using Twitter to make people a part of the show and that’s where The X-Factor comes in.

Simon Cowell’s American Idol look-alike series is about to break new ground by giving viewers the option of voting by Twitter. Cowell, once a Twitter scoffer, now takes the social media site very seriously. An article in the New York Times states that Cowell not only reads the Twitter comments about his show, he also acts upon the feedback immediately in order to satisfy the biggest audience. With the new, Twitter voting system, Tweeters will have more power over the show than ever.