Determining which platform to use for business can be a daunting task. I’ve seen small, little-known brands take off like wildfire via Facebook campaigns, while some large companies struggle to make their presence known. Just compare Squishable, a small company out of NYC that has created a very niche market – they have more than 280,000 fans on Facebook and they engage their customers. Yet Staples has less than 200,000 and many of their posts garner less than 8 responses.

Choosing which networks to leverage takes time and requires some key research. There is a place to start, however.

CMO.com (Digital Marketing Insights for CMOs) created a simple chart that tells us which primary outlets are better for the engagement we seek. It’s from 2010, so Google+ isn’t included, but the information overall hasn’t changed.

Use this guide to decide which outlets are best for communication, exposure, promote incoming traffic and increase presence in search engines (branding).

 View full-size PDF CMO.com’s Social Media Landscape

It’s important to realize and remember that there is no cookie-cutter method to using social media to better your business. Little known brands have a much bigger hurdle to jump, but if they listen to their customer base, they can stand to gain a higher percentage of wealth in the long run.

What’s your industry? And what tools have you found to be best for increasing recognition of your brand/company and, ultimately, increasing sales?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/10/23.
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Post tags: conversion, facebook, marketing, social media, twitter

You can learn a great deal about engaging your users from these food and drink related companies:

• Dunkin’ Donuts (@dunkindonuts) From social media contests to interacting with customers via Q&A, Dunkin’ Donuts shows you really can boost sales via social networking. Like them on Facebook, too!
• Starbucks (@starbucks) Okay, so I’ve never gotten a reply from the many tweets I’ve sent their way, but I do see them interacting with their customers throughout each day. Another example of engagement = sales.
• Whole Foods Market (@wholefoods) This company has really set the bar high for competitors. Where they really succeed, though, is allowing local stores manage their own accounts. Talk about interaction! Find your local store’s Twitter account.
• The Veggie Grill (@veggiegrill) This account is a great example of how local restaurants can engage their customers. Tweets are managed by co-founder Kevin Boylan, who likes to wake you up with interesting news, provide customer service and make you laugh. He calls Wednesdays Veggie Grill Virgin Night – challenging customers to bring new folks through the door. (I found this great post that explains what I’m talking about.)
• Taco Bell (@tacobell) You don’t have to like the food to appreciate this company’s Twitter account. Taco Bell knows its target audience. Even in the wake of a lawsuit (dropped, by the way) they launched aggressive ad campaigns, ultimately demanding apologies (view the PDF). This rallied up more supporters, and they’re happy to have them. I especially love that when someone asked what a menu item looked like, Taco Bell promptly uploaded a Twitpic. Very cool.

Of course, there are plenty of folk worthy of mention. My picks are based on current trends and my experience. Know a foodie-type account we all need to follow around? Share your thoughts in the comments box!

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/22.
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Post tags: #FF5, facebook, social media, twitter

There are two factors that can equate to success in the social world: luck and risk.

Luck

Don’t believe in luck? You should. It’s what makes online campaigns go viral. You could argue that it’s really the marketers and producers of content, but, you’d be wrong. Sure, they play a role in the process, but it’s luck of the draw that shoots a video – say, Rebecca Black’s Friday – through the roof.

Consider your own social media accounts. Unless you follow or friend a handful of people, chances are you’re missing more than half of the goods. Even lists and bookmarks can get overloaded with content, and, let’s be honest, you’ll never have enough time to read every article and watch every video your favorite folks share.

It’s more about luck because search results will never return “everything”, so you take the chance that when you look at your stream something important is being shared. You take the chance that you don’t miss a post that’s going to trigger an A-Ha moment.

Risk

Risks are taken by companies and professionals. They put money and time behind a campaign, taking the chance that a certain percentage of followers are going to see posts as they happen. They pray that people will share the content (via RTs and Facebook posts). This includes the media and blogs, which – usually through RSS feeds and search engines – can shine a brighter spotlight on the message.

The ultimate goal is total saturation… Let’s call it the “Charlie Sheen Effect” because his rants and #winning attempts are a perfect example of what companies want to do. Well, most companies aren’t looking for controversy, but they are seeking to become trending topics. Who wouldn’t want to gain a million followers in just over a day? Who wouldn’t want people of all walks of life sharing a specific message? Who wouldn’t want to experience this type of domino effect?

Guy Kawasaki calls “nobodies” the new “somebodies”, because it only takes a few traditional folk to get the ball rolling. The time (and money) spent by companies trying to influence those key nobodies stems from belief in a product or service. Still, the investments are a risk because there are far fewer “viral” success stories than actual attempts.

It’s Not a Fad

Social media, however, is not a fad. We’ve been using it for centuries. Word-of-mouth is a form of social media, as are forums and blog posts. People will always want to learn new things and share information, and companies will always want to influence people to buy their products. We may not always use the same tools (technology allows for new methods), but we’ll always be a social world.

If you’ve been putting off using today’s social tools to engage existing and potential customers, what’s the real reason? Is it the risk factor? Or are you so scared you won’t get lucky you’re not even willing to try?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/18.
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Post tags: facebook, marketing, Mistakes That Kill, social media, twitter

The rules and trends of social media are ever changing. It makes sense to follow people who stay on top of the latest happenings. Here are five of my favorite tweeters focused on our social world:

• Social Media Examiner (@smexaminer) makes it fun to learn. I love these guys because they break everything down into easy-to-understand language and supporting graphics. Visit site–>
• Mirna Bard (@mirnabard) is a social media consultant who focuses on reality rather than excessive hype. I’d followed her for several months before I won a consult, which was used to publicize my husband’s film efforts. Mirna’s strategies are realistic and she makes concerted efforts to understand people’s needs and goals prior to full project planning. Mirna also gets people engaged by asking questions rather than relying on shady statistics. Visit her site–>
• Mari Smith (@marismith) knows Facebook! Seriously, forget all those other “help” groups and sites out there, because Mari already has it covered. From the very basics to in-depth campaign creations, Mari’s resources are top notch. (On a personal note, lots of newcomers treat Mari like she IS Facebook support. She’s not. All the more reason to buy her books and/or user her services). Visit her site–>
• Tweet Smarter (@TweetSmarter) teaches, helps and analyzes all things Twitter. Dave and Sarah’s articles and posts are quite useful and they’re great at culling through all the garbage out there. If you want to truly understand Twitter from many angles, follow these fine folks. Visit the site–>
• Craig H. Collins (@craighcollins) is a social media consultant and coach. He posts regularly on Facebook and other social sites, focusing on providing a service to customers and potential clients. Visit his site–>

Of course, there are plenty of folk worthy of mention. My picks are based on current trends and my experience with their work. Know someone we all need to follow around? Share your thoughts in the comments box!

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/15.
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Post tags: #FF, facebook, social media, twitter

From May 3-26, more than 20 key players in the business will be sharing their methods, predictions and statistics. I attended the summit last year and walked away armed with tons of new ideas, some merely triggered by case studies totally unrelated to my work.

The organizers make it simple. Presentations (which include Q&A) are scheduled throughout the month, which helps ease the burden of information overload. If you miss a session, or just want to see it again, you get access to replays. SMSS is actually the first online “big” event I’ve attended where I didn’t feel pressed for time to get in and out of education panels.

Many of you have been asking me if the summit is worth the cost. Since no travel or accommodation costs are involved – no one is going to judge you if you’re sitting in your jammies eating M&Ms (yes, guilty) – there’s no worries about connecting flights or lost reservations.

But, seriously, if you want to gain more customers and brand recognition, it makes sense to understand what tools are available, how to use them, and how some companies went about making their mark. The sessions are designed to guide you down a logical path. It’s also a great opportunity to hear speakers you might not otherwise have the chance to experience.

Of course, like anything else, if you can walk away with just one, really good idea, it wasn’t at all for naught.

Learn more…

I pay for my own attendance to this event. However, I do use an affiliate link in this post.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/14.
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Post tags: Ecommerce, facebook, marketing, social media, twitter

In his concise, logical post, Brogan explains how an order of fajita’s passing through a restaurant dining room triggers more orders (ooh, the sizzle; ooh, the smell—its enough to make me want to head to On the Border right now).

Brogan’s idea is to offer incentives to customers if they tweet their purchase.

Know what? It could work.

There are already social sites that allow users to share their purchase information—what they bought and how much they spent—but such services require users be connected (much like you must be friends with a Facebook’er to see what he/she is sharing). Brogan’s concept is similar, but provides for broader reach using platforms most of our friends already use. The question is—as he puts it—how do you tempt others to follow suiy when they can’t “smell the fajitas”?

Some of Brogan’s loyal followers have posted creative ideas, the most compelling being offering a small discount (like 5%) if someone agrees to tweet or like their purchase in real-time. Some online stores already have “I just bought” tweet functionality built-in, but, for most, there’s no real way to confirm if the shopper actually completes the task. Thus, a real-time discount would require some development work if the store owner wants to prevent rewards hitting those who don’t hold up their end of the bargain. For some shopping carts it could mean generating coupons for a future purchase.

Instant gratification (discounts now, rather than later) is a great way to close sales. The way I see it, social media could easily play a big role in not only finalizing purchases, but bringing more people in the door.

What say you? Is live-tweeting what you’re buying worth a discount? Are consumers willing to share their purchases with the world?

Chime in below.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/04/13.
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Post tags: conversion, facebook, marketing, social media, twitter

The apps—UberTwitter and Twitroyd (for Blackberry and Android, respectively)—were among hundreds of Twitter applications that are pulled each day. While Twitter’s explanation at their own site is rather vague, the company told Mashable that the violations include “changing the content of users’ Tweets in order to make money”.

While content altering is something users would undoubtedly take issue with, even more disconcerting is Twitter’s statement that, “…on an average day we turn off more than one hundred services that violate our API rules of the road.” And, no doubt, privacy is part of Twitter’s developer policy.

Only allow trusted sites, services and apps to connect to your social media accounts.

Millions of web pages feature ways to share content via Twitter, including sites that use their own methods of connecting users to the social site. It’s similar to how brands and services connect users to Facebook, requiring the user to click a button that approves the application in order to gain access to their accounts.

My point is simple… think before you share through third-party tools. When it comes to spreading the word via Twitter, Facebook and other sites, most of these tools are there to “dummy proof” the process. Twitter and Facebook have their own official scripts which any web site can use to promote content sharing. Look for these official methods, and research third-party apps to determine if they can be trusted.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2011/02/19.
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Post tags: facebook, privacy, security, twitter

Internet shopping continues to increase, and with that, a plethora of “recommendation” engines are available to help guide us to what we supposedly want. Those of us who are comfortable using search engines, and are savvy enough to do our homework the right way, can often find exactly what we need, from the right company, and at a decent price. Those less-in-the-know, however, tend to rely on big business sites to tell them what to buy.

Social media and supporting content can help small businesses reap bigger benefits.

These engines pose a big problem for small business ecommerce because, even if your company has a stellar track record, the funds many require to be listed or top-promoted are often prohibitive.

Previously Mashable.com ran an article: 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like. The top choices are geared toward online entertainment rather than products and where to buy them, but it’s worth the read in order to understand how algorithms are used to tell us what we need to buy. Most services rely on some sort of user input – ratings, reviews, and satisfaction ratios – but often use other unknowns to determine what to display. Even sites that use real shoppers’ data can be misleading.

Shopping engines, and even Google, can be great outlets for smaller businesses carrying niche products. All too often, however, bigger brands and higher priced items tend to be the most promoted, making it difficult for the small guy to truly get noticed.

It’s time for small businesses to let go of the frustration of not having the capital to do whatever they want. Most outsiders will never truly understand the blood, sweat and tears that goes into running a small business. Believe me, it’s the insiders who know all about the mountain of obstacles.

No, we’re better off focusing on what we can do to simply succeed and, hopefully, surpass expectations.

Here’s a few places to start:

• Facebook. If you haven’t yet created a Facebook page for your business, you need to. I don’t care if you hate the site and are trying to send a message – 500 million user accounts are screaming louder than you are. I’ve yet to hear one viable argument for a small business not to create and maintain a Facebook page. As well, I’ve yet to hear any “moral issue” story that would be nullified by maintaining such an account. Simply put, if you’re not using Facebook as a tool to build your business, you’re ignoring tons of potential customers, many of which subscribe to no other social media outlet.

• Twitter. This social engine can help fill another void: letting customers who don’t want to receive email know what’s new and on sale. Some people are opting to follow brands online in lieu of signing up for email newsletters. By using Twitter to post key information, your offering another means to keep them interested.

• YouTube. People in general love watching video. By shooting short, simple videos about your store, your products and things to come, you’re opening the doors to your audience. A short, creative video can help sell you and your products.

• A Supporting Blog. It’s not that the mere act of publishing content will bring people to your site in droves. What helps, though, are shares of those posts through social media outlets and other sites like Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon.com and reddit. While there is debate over whether or not any of these sites push significant traffic on a regular basis, each has its own dedicated users. Tapping into that base can only help you in the long run.

Many people stand by sites and services like MySpace and Google Buzz as well. Of course, maintaining several accounts can be time-consuming and cumbersome. For that, I recommend using a multi-service posting tool like TweetDeck.

The goal is to reach people, and, in turn, have them reach out to others. Content sharing is a driving force in today’s marketplace.  Small businesses can reap great benefits, so long as they look at the big picture, and are willing to branch out in order to succeed.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/22.
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Post tags: blogging, facebook, marketing, practical ecommerce, social media, twitter

With every upside, however, comes downsides. Facebook’s social interaction tool is no different. Put aside the folks who simply don’t like Facebook – let’s face the facts – millions of people can’t be wrong when it comes to telling us how they want to share information on the Internet. At least, until the next best thing comes along. All this “liking”, though, has consequences.

Less True Interaction

It’s much quicker to “like” something than it is to actually make a comment. In short, the tool makes many of us lazy when it comes to letting businesses and friends know what we really think about the latest products and services a company offers. Less people are using comment systems, because it only takes a second to click a button.

This also means less people are spreading the word about their favorite charities, products, companies, and what fellow friends have to say. As easy as it is to click a button, it’s even easier to overlook the single line, automated text that appears on one’s page. It doesn’t have the same affect as actually “sharing” content on Facebook (which puts the information in actual feeds).

How the Numbers Stack Up

Does the sheer number of likes lend more credibility to the page’s content? Perhaps. But does it motivate people to do more than just skim the information and click the like button themselves?

In my experience, the number of existing likes and/or tweets about products, columns or pages made little difference to the following people who also shared the content.

It’s also about media attention and other social tools. If another company had been the first to launch a campaign like “Old Spice Man”, would it had gone viral? This is dependent on several factors. My point is, 5,000 people can “like” something, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to sales or further interest.

What do they do after liking?

The true measure of success is the number of people who stay on a page or web site after they’ve clicked the like button. Pages reached as a result of a user clicking on someone else’s shared link often have a high bounce rate. Analytics can tell you what people do after liking a page, which can provide insight on things you can do to keep them moving around.

There are two useful tools you can implement to determine both demographics and a user’s post-liking activity. Facebook Insights will give you information about likers’ age groups, country, and page views. Google Analytics can tell you what they visitor did after liking a web site page. You should use both in order to gain better knowledge about your existing audience.

Facebook Insights can define the demographics of those who like your content not only on Facebook, but on your web site as well.

To get started on tracking likes and determining success, visit the following resources:

• Using Facebook Insights to Track the Like Button, Box, and Shares

• How do I track that little Facebook “Like” button in Google Analytics?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/21.
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Post tags: facebook, marketing, social media

Was it really an addiction? On one hand, it wasn’t like I couldn’t function if I didn’t replant those strawberries. I didn’t bounce off walls if crops withered, and I didn’t freak out if another mafia of the same size beat me to a pulp on Mafia Wars. I didn’t spend money to buy an unwither ring or other cool “pixel” creations.

You can't just slap a cartoon avatar in a "real" withered field and call it "real". But he sure looks cute, doesn't he?

But, there’s many hours – probably hundreds – that I lost, never to be recouped, playing these games. In the mornings, I took shorter walks in order to keep up with my farming. In the evenings, I’d often crawl into bed in the wee hours. It was all outside of work time, yet I couldn’t help but wonder: Just how much more would I have accomplished if…?

Now, I know. In April I upgraded my Palm Treo to a Palm Pre Plus. Within weeks my passion for all those games on Facebook dwindled as I opted for the simpler things in life. Apps like Scrabble, Crosswords and Solitaire can be launched from the main screen on my webOS device. Games? Yes. But certainly more brain massaging than clicking my mouse a thousand times an hour. I get more enjoyment out of learning new words than I’ve ever gotten mastering crops on Zynga’s most popular social-based game.

While I’m on the topic of social-based, by the way, there are a few more things I’ve discovered:

• Most of these social-based games aren’t really that social at all. Sure, you “compete” against others (your friends) and send and receive gifts, but you never really converse about your farms or mobs or restaurants. It’s all point and click tools that do all the talking for you.
• I couldn’t play any of these graphical games with my husband, yet we often enjoy completing a crossword during dinner.
• I can pass time and stimulate my brain at the same time, and thus have more real-life time to spend with real people at real places.

This week marks a three-month hiatus from social gaming. Every now and then I think about hopping on and seeing what’s new. And that thought leaves my mind just as quickly. It’s not that I’m concerned I’ll relapse, but, to be honest, I’m content just swiping my fingers across the screen of my Pre to form words, solve puzzles and otherwise “think” about what I’m doing.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/13.
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Post tags: facebook, smartphone, webOS