By Bob Speyer and Kristin Tomlinson, Web Success Team
Internet marketing gossip is exploding — and the line between fact and fiction is blurring. If gossiping is a crime, then every blogger and Internet savvy professional needs to be incarcerated for this misdemeanor. What was once an indulgence is becoming a dependency as more and more individuals are turning to various social media outlets to extract their daily dose of breaking news and scandal. Today, people are simply taking a quick glance at their updates on Facebook and Twitter to squeeze out the latest juice. Social media marketing is the driving force behind this Internet sensation, and businesses everywhere are taking notice of its impact on consumers and using it to their advantage. They’re spending less on print ads and relying more on word of mouth through online marketing to establish their web success.
He Said… or Did He?
It’s no secret that a small whisper can turn into a loud buzz through emails, blogs and tweets. Like Michael Jackson’s tragic death or the shocking fabrication of the demise of actor Johnny Depp, gossip is an unstoppable force and it’s making a special guest appearance on every text, tweet, and chat room. Whether imported or formed domestically, hoaxes and factual stories alike are making the evening news. As Mark Twain once said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” This was a giant wake up call for marketers who underestimated the power of the digital word to deliver their message. Companies are quickly fanning this fire by to turning their words into actions by using Internet medias to promote their brands, goods and services.
What Happens in Vegas, Goes on the Web
If you want to save a marriage before it’s even begun, do yourself a favor and delete last week’s bachelor party pictures from your camera. Today nothing is safe from the prying eyes of the Internet. When pictures and comments get posted on Facebook, they will go viral on other sites like Flickr, Twitter and YouTube. Even Google is jumping on the bandwagon by indexing Facebook Updates. You can bet your dirty laundry that friend and competitor will read it. With so many social media sites itching to be the first ones to deliver the breaking revelation of the day, nothing ever is kept hush or in the dark anymore. So it is a good practice to discriminate what you post — from a corporate or personal standpoint.
Rumor Control
With Internet gossip running rampant, things can spiral out of control. You may not be able to stop it but you are not helpless either. Managing your reputation is important, especially when your business relies heavily on online marketing to deliver your message. Good communication has always been effective and holds true in this digital era. Be honest, transparent and consistent. Address your detractors online and promote your brand.
By Bob Speyer and Kristen Tomlinson, Web Success Team
Text messaging has officially jumped ship from being a high school phase made popular by teenagers to an advertising craze utilized by business powerhouses to promote their brands. SMS stands for “short message service,” and is more commonly known as texting. This type of service can be found on an array of cell phones and allows text messages to be sent from one phone to another or from the Web to a cell phone.
The Coming of Age of Mobile Marketing
Demographically speaking, there are over 2 billion people in the world that own a cell phone, and of that number, 200 million are in the U.S. These figures alone make SMS Marketing very appealing to businesses. There is now great opportunity to target untapped markets for new and existing customers cost-effectively and achieve web success by delivering promotional online campaigns direct to cell. SMS Marketing gives corporations the ability to personalize and customize messages via text. Mobile SMS marketing is a quick, personal, and direct way to publicize products and services, producing real time measurable results.
In Text We Trust — to Promote
SMS allows you to send a variety of promotional materials, such as coupons, daily reminders for upcoming events, specials on products, and emergency alerts with the click of button. This form of direct response marketing is also beneficial because it allows you more personal contact with your clients “one-to-one” and enables you to reach customers anytime, anywhere. SMS Marketing is a great way to let your audience interact with your brand. Notable marketing campaigns include President Obama’s text notification of his pick for Vice President during the 2008 Campaign and the current Red Cross 90-999 Mobile Campaign to raise money for the earthquake victims of Haiti were groundbreaking and very successful.
Valuable Take-A-Ways to Consider
Pricing: At present SMS Marketing is new and therefore very reasonable.
Branding and Updates: It is a quick and easy way to connect with your customers and potential customers.
Captive and Unlimited Audience: Everyone has a cell phone. And they read their messages.
Get Your Slice of the Mobile Pie
With the Mobile Advertising Industry worth at least $1 billion, the informed are positioning to slice up the mobile pie. So now is the time to get in on the action. With Google’s recent purchase of AdMob and news that Apple is buying Quattro Wireless, the mobile advertising industry is fast becoming one of the biggest social media outlets since Facebook and Twitter. SMS marketing is easy, quick, and it falls directly into the palm of your very own hand.
With the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl just around the corner and with the World Cup taking center stage this summer, sponsors are taking a new and different approach to advertising their brands. They are scrambling to invest more in social media campaigns and less on expensive TV and print advertisements. Aside from the obvious cost savings, the big question is why social media? The answer is two-fold. Social media is personal and it builds relationships. Advertisers are fast recognizing that to build brand loyalty they need to connect with their consumers in new ways through online direct response marketing. What better way than through sports marketing where fans identify with athletes and their national teams.
Social media is playing a critical part in presenting brands and athletes in a manner that interacts with fans on a worldwide basis. It creates anticipation and excitement for fans that can communicate directly with their favorite athlete and connect with them on a more personal level. Social media is enabling brands to create lasting relationships with people around the globe that isn’t possible with television and print media.
The Crossover to the New Media
NBC, who has exclusive broadcast rights to air the Vancouver Olympics, is making a big play with online marketing as a major part of their promotions to achieve web success. It has partnered with the social media firm The Swarm Collective to produce Olympic Pulse, a place where visitors can look up tweets from athletes, Olympic blogs and top trending stories. The Super Bowl promotions have also been very active in social media on Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Athletes and teams are scrambling to hype the event and gain more followers.
In order to prep for the World Cup in the coming months, the corporate partners of FIFA, football’s world governing body, are moving away from the use of traditional TV and billboard campaigns. Instead they are trying out social networking sites to promote their brands, to sell their pitch and build their business online. Calum MacDougall, director of global marketing partnerships at Sony Ericsson, says 2010 will be the first “social networking World Cup.”
Changing the Way the Game Is Played
What makes social media so attractive to powerhouse companies is the realization that more and more people are resorting to popular social destinations like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to get their daily dose of their favorite brands and athletes. In addition to this, these sites come with major audiences and give brands a huge boost and a way to reach millions of consumers. As an added bonus, these sites give brands the viral, online hype that they’ve been searching for in their audiences and their markets. In addition to this, it’s cheaper than spending millions on TV, billboard and print campaigns, and they can get real-time results in relation to how many people are engaging in these sites and taking advantage of their promotional offers.
The consumer has changed and companies have finally recognized that they need to be where the consumers are most responsive. Is social media the advertising vehicle of the future, replacing more traditional media? Probably not, but it may run an effective second.
I recently came across an article in Advertising Age about re-branding Time Warner Cable.
In my very recent past Time Warner Cable was one of my accounts on the creative services side. Being tightly controlled by the large Madison Avenue Advertising Agency. Creativity was very limited.
In this day and age with all the social media avenues Time Warner Cable can find a viable avenue to re-brand the company and its services.
We are a client of Time Warner Cable and find that the company is “stuck” in the last century, as you can see by the comments on the Ad Age post.
They are competing with the Dish, Netflix and many other more “modern” avenues like watching TV online. Customers are their lifeblood and they need to do a better job taking care of them.
I would STRONGLY recommend that Time Warner get a Facebook page and a Twitter page and USE them for customer complaints and suggestions. That would be a start. Then follow what other strong customer oriented brands are doing. Starbucks, JetBlue and others are using Social Media to better communicate their services, offer discounts or specials, field and resolve complaints, and to gain valuable customer feedback. They gain loyalty and repeat business.
Here is one of many “Time Warner Sucks” pages that I found on Facebook. It has over 1,000 members.
A Lesson for Your Business
Throw a rock in a pond and watch it ripple. The bigger the stone, the bigger the consequences. But what does this mean for your business? Do not underestimate the value of social media. It is a unique way to reach out to current and new customers. Business is about building relationships and trust. Keeping open new and popular channels of communication will help grow your business online. And it is a good way to defuse negative press before it gains momentum.
What a success! The workshop hosted by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and VPE Public Relations was packed with eager non profits and companies wanting to learn more about social media marketing and how to implement it for their organizations. The Web Success Team was fully represented with Team colleague and featured speaker, Marci Rosenblum.
1. Knowledge Is Power:
Social Media is a driving force in this new age of media marketing. Some eye-popping statistics: 300 million active Facebook users; 14 million Twitter users; 100 million YouTube viewers per month; 346 million blog readers. And it’s growing exponentially.
2. Your Competition:
Whether you are a non-profit, solopreneur, or small, medium, or large business, your competitors and customers are using social media. You can’t afford not to jump on board, but being a passive player doesn’t cut it. You must be active, aggressive and committed. The good news is that it’s not too late to “catch-up,” grab the opportunity and profit.
3. Benefits of Social Media:
Let’s be candid. You want the opportunity to grow your business. Social Media will help you achieve web success by connecting with people in target market, building relationships, advertising your brand, promoting your products and services, and going viral. You will increase your reach and turn contacts into “friends” and have them evangelize your brand.
4. Time, Management and ROI:
Perception — “We don’t have the resources to actively manage our social media profiles;” “It takes too much time to do social media.” “Where do we begin and how long does it take to see results.” “What is the Return on Investment.”
Reality — There is no instant gratification or magic bullet with social media. The best and most productive way to short cut time management and get results is to hire an authority on social media and have them develop a strategy to be implemented and to train your employees how to effectively manage and promote your brand online through social media marketing.
5. Get Social – A Turnkey Solution:
The Web Success Team can tailor a social media strategy for your business, implement it and train your employees how to effectively manage your social media campaigns. You will save time, money and valuable resources while maximizing your online effectiveness. Contact the Team today for a social media marketing consultation. The time is now to “Get Social!”
Cyber Monday is a term coined by retailers to capitalize on the shopping season and traditionally know as the strongest day for online retail sales and web success. Point of fact, it is also generating more sales than in store purchases, making it bigger than Black Friday.
Cyber Monday is the traditional “kick-off” to the online shopping season. This year sales could exceed $900 million, making this the biggest day for online retailers according to the Dow Jones and Com Score. Sales rose 14% this year over last year’s haul and bought 30% more items per order as well.
Online shopping is a juggernaut that is here to stay. Be it convenience, time and cost savings, shoppers are rabid for deals. Couple this with the fact that Monday is a workday, imagine the lost productivity as shoppers take advantage of the Internet bargains.
Social Media Fuels Cyber Monday Sales
Retailers are capitalizing on this consumer onslaught by leveraging social media to drive sales, using their Facebook Fan pages and their Twitter accounts to offer huge discounts. Here are some Facebook page examples: Cyber Monday offering holiday deals for more than 700 merchants with “Deals of the Week” and “Deals of the Hour;” JC Pennyoffering huge discounts for Cyber Monday; and Wal-Mart with savings from their website on electronics, toys and groceries.
According to the Wichita Business Journal: “Electronics retailers will be the big winners during this holiday season with: Amazon had the most visits on Friday, up 28 percent from last year. Wal-Mart, Target, Apple and Best Buy, all of which have multiple stores in Wichita, were among the most popular sites. Apple’s traffic was up 39 percent from last year, the biggest year-over-year gain among most-visited sites.”
And since online holiday shopping is just kicking off expect more of the same great deals as we progress to Christmas, and the after Christmas sales to build even more momentum.
Capitalize on the Power of Social Media Marketing
If you still are underestimating the power of Social Media, think again and use all the tools that the web has to offer you to build your business online. The Web Success Team can you promote your business through the Power of Social Media Marketing. Contact us today and we’ll show you how to build an effective network to sell your products and services.
TeamWork Builds Web Success
The Web Success Team specializes in building and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online tools and proven techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site through the expanding social media and online marketing strategies.
For more tips, tools and articles of interest, become a fan of the WebSuccessTeam Facebook Page and learn more about online marketing, SEO and social media.
Contact the Team today for a complimentary consultation to your web success!
Thanksgiving dates back to 1621, when both the Mayflower Pilgrims and the American Wampanoag Indians shared 3 days of celebration for conquering their harsh environment and feasting with new friends in a new world. Today, Thanksgiving is a time where people come from near and far to reconnect, rejuvenate, reflect and rejoice. Thanksgiving is one of the few times of the year that can be classified as a social holiday. People actually have a reason to get back in sync with someone they’ve lost touch with or possibly repair old ties that have previously been severed.
Like Thanksgiving, social media gives people the tools to reconnect and stay in touch. Instead of a wooden table decorated with lavish decorations and dishes, people gather around electronic devices adorned with various forms of networking sites and portals that enable people to get plugged in and unite. Thanksgiving and social media networking draw similar parallels, bringing people together for practical purposes, whether it be eating or solidifying business deals, cooking meals or cooking up interesting tweets and Facebook chats.
Just as Indians and Pilgrims from distant lands came together on common ground to harvest their bounty, people from various parts of the globe join forces in a “cyberspace” field to prosper for business and networking purposes.
Thanksgiving is also a time for welcoming friends and neighbors into your home to get better acquainted and make existing bonds stronger. Similarly, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter were all designed for people to welcome others to their homepages and websites and get reconnected.
Proclaimed a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving has morphed into an international event celebrated by Americans and their friends across the globe. In contrast, social media was founded by a few daring entrepreneurs and has exploded into virtually millions of household and businesses throughout the world wide web, granting a ton of web success.
Thanksgiving only comes around once a year, but by incorporating online marketing into your everyday life, you can have a reason to celebrate daily. You certainly have a reason to give thanks because social media is known for giving back. It can help businesses reach more customers, boost their sales and give them an edge on the competition. Social media can sit at the proverbial head of the table, and allow consumers to feast on success and profits (instead of turkey and yams).
Both Thanksgiving and social media gives us a reason to celebrate and bring us closer together. But unlike our historic ancestors, we hope our brave new social world will lead to better and more understanding between people of all ethnicities and cultures. Happy Thanksgiving.
Attention fellow fans and friends of the Web Success Team Fan Page! We have recently posted an exclusive report regarding specific points of “How Facebook Can Help Your Business – A Few Proven Results” and we want to offer it to our fans first.
The Web Success Team is sharing this report to help you achieve web success with direct response online marketing, search engine optimization, online branding, and online business strategies.
10 Specific Strategies to achieve facebook success
In this report you will learn It how your Facebook fan page can help further your business and increase your sales. We are more than happy to share our wide range of tools, tips and suggestions to educate the online business community to help make it better and more informed about choices regarding websites, how to target niche markets, and how to maximize growth and accelerate ROI.
Facebook is proven to boost traffic and sales, it produces guaranteed results. Web Success is our middle name, and we want to show you how to achieve it via Facebook. Whether you’re a small business or large cooperation, success doesn’t discriminate and neither does Facebook. The report illustrates how Facebook can make your business goals a reality. Through the various media outlets that Facebook has to offer, you can accomplish your goals, increase your traffic and sales, and reap the rewards, all with the click of a mouse! It’s that simple!
So if you are a WST Facebook Fan download your version! Or Fan the WST today for tips, tools and articles of interest and FREE stuff.
And of course do feel free to share, blog, tweet and Retweet!
What exactly is productivity and how is it measured? In regards to a single business day, in the past, it’s how much paperwork you can skim through, complete, and finish, or how many cold calls you can make in a designated hour. But maybe, just maybe it can be classified in retrospect to how many social networking sites you connected or marketed to within an hour and how you were able to increase your sales and traffic by a certain percentage. Even though most business gurus would prefer the latter, certain businesses are still banning social networking sites from the work place.
Working Network Smart Produces Benefits
Of course, there’s the concern that, if given open access to sites like Twitter and Facebook, most workers would spend the workday tweeting or wall posting about unrelated and inappropriate topics, completely irrelevant to their work or tasks at hand. But, if implemented in an effective and appropriate manner, these sites can actually help a business instead of harming it. Social Networking has helped some of the major powerhouses reach unforeseen markets and consumers; has guided small businesses into bigger territories and playing fields; and it has even helped a presidential candidate sweep his competition in the general election and stake a 4 year claim to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Equal Rights For All
Emails and cell phones have been around for a years, yet they fall into the same category as Facebook and Twitter when it comes to social media and distractions. They too can contribute to straying far from the workload sitting on your desk, but they haven’t been banned, so why should social networking sites? Cell phones and emails are two primary components that help guide a business in getting goals accomplished and deadlines met, but they can also contribute to interfering with work and mingling with fellow co-workers. Social media marketing sites cannot be patronized and shunned when they can provide just as much (if not more) business, productivity, and web success that other media outlets can.
Embracing New Technologies Increase Productivity
Yes. There’s the possibility that workers will abuse these social networking sites, but by banning such sites, you are inhibiting the possibility of further growing a business and helping it prosper. Allowing an open environment that allows access to these sites will only create a more comfortable workplace to share ideas and thoughts of how to better a business, see results faster, and make it stronger. Businesses are being unproductive by avoiding such sites like the plague. By embracing such social media networking tools, businesses can take advantage of the endless benefits and power it can bestow.
Cyber Monday is a term coined by retailers to capitalize on the shopping season and traditionally know as the strongest day for online retail sales and web success. Point of fact, it is also generating more sales than in store purchases, making it bigger than Black Friday.
