Facebook may have recently passed MySpace as the most-visited social networking site in the US, but it’s facing stiff competition for the attention of social media marketers. By some metrics, Twitter is more popular in the marketing world.
Burson-Marsteller, in a July 2009 study of Fortune 100 companies, found that more companies had a presence on Twitter (54%) than on Facebook (29%).
According to the study, which looked at corporate blogs in addition to Twitter and Facebook profiles, about one-fifth of Fortune 100 firms only used one of the three channels. Those companies were overwhelmingly likely to choose Twitter (76%) over Facebook (14%) or blogging (10%).
Companies that used two of the three channels were most likely to have a blog plus a Twitter account (64%).
Burson-Marsteller found that these top companies were using Twitter for several purposes: company news, customer service, marketing promotions and employee recruitment.
Twitter is also beating out Facebook’s popularity among e-mail marketers. Email Data Source found that among the US e-mail campaigns it tracked, links to Twitter became more common than links to Facebook in March 2009.
Links to both the social networking giant and the microblogging site rocketed in the first half of 2009, but Twitter’s rise has been more dramatic.
Almost half of U.S. female Internet users surfed to a social media site at least once in the second quarter of 2009, a 54.3 percent boost from the same quarter of 2008.
All told about 43 percent of U.S. Internet users frequent social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, Tangle, and Digg, according to the “Consumer Internet Barometer” report from and The Conference Board as reported by eMarketer.
Men were generally less likely to be users of social media sites with slightly more than one in three men visiting such a site in the second quarter. Men were also more likely to use social media as a function of work.
Best Buy launches service via Twitter, linking consumers and experts
There�s a trend brewing among retailers using Twitter: customer service. When a retailer assigns staff to monitor a Twitter account all day, customers can get extremely fast answers to questions because of the instantaneous nature of the micro-blogging social network. Twitter even rivals live chat when it comes to answering customer questions in a timely fashion. The big difference between a live chat system and Twitter, though, is that Twitter is free. What�s more, tweeters with mobile phones can tweet a retailer anytime, anywhere.
Best Buy is pushing customer service via Twitter in a big way through the introduction of a new service dubbed Twelpforce. The idea is to tap into the expertise and product passions of all of Best Buy�s employees to immediately give consumers all the information they need. Staffed by Best Buy employees from across all operations, including Blue Shirts and Geek Squad, Twelpforce will answer product questions, troubleshoot technology challenges and solve customer service issues, all from a user�s personal computer or mobile phone.
Twitter users can send messages to @twelpforce to alert Best Buy employees of their problems or questions. Twelpforce will reply to that specific user, although other Twitter users will be able to monitor conversations if they elect to follow @twelpforce. Messages contain attributions to the individual employees who respond to questions.
�If you have a question about an electronics product�no matter where you bought it, no matter where you are and even if you haven�t bought it yet�Best Buy is here to help,� says Barry Judge, chief marketing officer. �We�ve long believed that it is Best Buy�s employees who make us unique, and their knowledge provides the greatest value customers receive in shopping at Best Buy. This unique extension lets them share their passions and abilities to bring true support to those in need anywhere.�
Best Buy, No. 10 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, is aggressively pushing Twelpforce, with in-store signs, online banners and even a television commercial devoted solely to the new service.
The company was keeping a close eye on the ongoing online conversations regarding sustainable agriculture — reading the blogs, the posts and the tweets.
Now Monsanto has entered the cyber conversation. Last fall, the agricultural company put together a team of communications professionals to focus solely on social media. They started a Monsanto blog site (“Monsanto according to Monsanto”) and launched a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a YouTube channel.
The three-member social media team is now part of the leadership team for Monsanto’s recently reorganized corporate communications department. Mica Veihman leads the company’s three-employee social media team.
The reasons for tapping into social media resources are as varied as the companies doing it. At Brown Shoe, social media resources are viewed as a marketing tool. The company’s marketing team currently manages four Twitter handles — one for Shoes.com, one for the Via Spiga brand, one for its Famous Footwear retail stores, and one specifically for Famous Footwear’s Make Today Famous campaign. A Facebook page also has been launched for Famous Footwear.
“Everybody is using it to develop even stronger connections with our consumers,” said spokeswoman Erin Conroy. For example, Via Spiga recently posted a 20 percent coupon solely for its Twitter followers. “It was a Twitter-specific discount. It makes the consumer feel very connected to the brand.”
Shoes.com has close to 600 followers on Twitter. The other Twitter accounts were just launched in recent weeks and haven’t built up a large base of followers yet, Conroy said.
Brown Shoe, which had more than $2 billion in 2008 revenue, recently assigned an intern specifically to the task of enhancing the social media resources for the Shoes.com brand.
“The marketing departments are shifting their focus,” Conroy said. “We’re really placing a priority on this.”
Anheuser-Busch also is making social media a marketing priority.
“We are integrating social media into our marketing efforts as our adult consumers increasingly want to have a conversation with us,” said Dan McHugh, vice president of media, sponsorship and activation for A-B Inc.
A-B has an internal digital marketing and media team dedicated to managing its social media marketing initiatives, which include things such as Twitter conversations between consumers and brewmasters and brand-specific Facebook fan pages that share news about upcoming sponsorships, promotions and ad campaigns. The company’s Bud Light page boasts more than 145,000 fans, while Budweiser has 113,000-plus followers.
“And both are growing exponentially,” McHugh said.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital plans to add a social media specialist to its communications team in the fall. The hospital, which has more than 9,300 employees, traditionally has had a media relations staff of three. However, recent changes in the media have altered the hospital’s communication needs, said Jason Merrill, Barnes-Jewish supervisor of media relations.
Ameren Corp. is using social media as a recruiting tool. Earlier this year, the company launched an Ameren Careers Facebook page to provide prospective employees with information about the company.
“We are looking to build a talent pool to replace baby boomers as they start retiring in the next five to 15 years,” said Nerida Wilbraham, supervisor of talent acquisition.
Also using Twitter in its recruitment efforts is the Missouri Department of Transportation. MoDot now sends out job vacancy notices via Twitter. Interested applicants can sign up for the Twitter updates on MoDot’s Web site and select the geographic areas where they would be interested in employment.
For Schnuck Markets, Twitter has been used to expand its communications efforts. The company launched a Twitter account a few months ago and tweets news releases and recall notices to its followers.
Interest in its downtown Culinaria store, which is set to open Aug. 11, prompted the company to increase its twittering, according to spokeswoman Lori Willis. “That was really the catalyst for us looking to Twitter,” Willis said. “We were looking for ways to communicate the most up-to-date information on that store.” Original Article here
amueller@bizjournals.com
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In July, the National Association of REALTORS® released its new and improved e-PRO Course, as well as an online course available to all REALTORS® that will make sense of Web 2.0 and the marketing and sales aspects of Social Media and Social Influence Marketing.
What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0, the second generation of Web-based services and behaviors, includes social networking sites and communication tools which emphasize collaboration and sharing. Web 1.0 can be described as the “Static Web” and Web 2.0 can be described as the “Programmable Web.” Think of Web 1.0 as a digital newspaper. You can open it and read, but you cannot add, change or interact, except perhaps by sending an e-mail to the editor. Web 2.0 sites are dynamic, and change frequently with people adding, creating, and sharing information, plus socializing.
Today on the Internet, information about homes, neighborhoods, real estate professionals, the home buying and selling process, lending, you name it, are all available and searchable. Since the real estate business is really an information-based business, Web 2.0 will have a major impact on the conduct and process of real estate related objectives by consumers.
Social Networking and Social Media
Social networking technologies can expand the reach of your brand and connect it to existing and developing social groups.
* People – friends, connections, friends of friends
* Interests – common activities, hobbies, clubs
The rise of social media is creating a new form of marketing called Social Influence Marketing (SIM). SIM is about employing social media as part of the entire relationship lifecycle that begins before and extends beyond the Sale. It is no longer sufficient to be in the “center of the transaction”; REALTORS® must be in the “center of the conversation.” REALTORS® must employ social media, build social capital, and redefine their value proposition.
For many agents, embracing the collective power of connected Internet users means “letting go.” It feels risky, but properly connected users can reinforce your message and brand in ways you never could.
It is important to keep in mind that your goal as a REALTOR® is to remain in the center of the conversation about real estate. For most consumers, the role of the REALTOR® is to be that “Trusted Advisor” in all things related to real estate, and that includes being the community and neighborhood expert. Using Web 2.0 sites today will allow you to be that local area expert, to demonstrate knowledge of your area, and show your expertise, not only when it is time for your client to buy and sell real estate, but all of the time, as you remain in the center of the conversation.
Social Networks are virtual communities
Virtual communities give people with similar experiences and interests the opportunity to come together – freed from the restraints of time and space – to form beneficial relationships. An online community is a network of people sharing and collaborating with one another.
Major benefits for REALTORS® from participation in online communities include referrals from other real estate professionals, leads for listings and sales, a resource for information at your finger tips, and collective power with vendors.
With online communities, people are connected to people. This is a powerful force because “No one is as smart as everyone.” There is a world of online communities out there for you to discover, as your interest and time allows, using Websites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and RealTown.
A large part of the job for any sales professional is prospecting and “working a territory” – be it geographical or a circle of friends and acquaintances – sometimes referred to as a sphere of influence. The Internet is a vast, relatively untouched territory, which can easily and effectively be reached with a modest marketing budget using Web 2.0 and social networking tools. The real estate professional who has the ability to gather, position, and distribute information in a cost-effective manner will be the big winner.
For more on the new e-PRO course and the Social Networking Course, go to http://eProNAR.com.
Everyone knows that social networking sites are growing in popularity. Millions of individuals visit daily—or even more often.
According to the “Consumer Internet Barometer” report from TNS and The Conference Board, 43% of US Internet users visited social networking sites in Q2 2009.
That figure was up 16 percentage points from the previous year.
Nearly one-half of females visited social networking sites, compared with 37.6% of men.
More than 70% of Internet users under age 35 browsed social networks.
That percentage decreased as users got older, with only 43.1% of those ages 35 to 54 and 18.9% of users ages 55 and older visiting social networks. Still, those represented huge climbs from usage in Q2 2008.
Most users visited social network sites more than once per day.
Respondents were most likely to visit social networks in a family area at home, followed by in a private area at home, at work and through mobile devices.
The most popular social networking sites came as no surprise: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, in that order.
Yes, I am now up there with the mega-brand big dogs, at least momentarily, in an article in Forbes this week. Not only that, but I was acknowledged as a Twitter marketing authority in the same breath as Chris Brogan and Jeremiah Owyang, two national marketing luminaries.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that I make up about 75% of what I say and fabricate the other 25%. You’re thinking that now too, aren’t you? No, it’s true. I’m really in there.
How did this happen?? Through social media, of course. And it’s a great case study on the Social Media Formula for Business Benefit:
Connection + Meaningful Content + Authentic Helpfulness = Business Benefit
Let’s see how this worked in the real world.
CONNECTION
It started about nine months ago when I attended a free webinar featuring Nathan Egan, a former Linked-In exec who had just started a company call Freesource. I thought he was an exceptionally bright guy and decided to comply with his public request to “link” with him. I also looked him up on Twitter and he became one of the first people I followed.
MEANINGFUL CONTENT
Through his posts, I grew to appreciate Nathan’s vision and he became a regular reader of my blog. He was so interested in one particular article that he called and talked to me for over an hour, deepening the respect and connection between us.
AUTHENTIC HELPFULNESS
Our friendship has grown and now we routinely support each other. We discuss new ideas and bounce around solutions to business challenges. Nathan recently asked for my help on a new app his company was developing (which I will also be featuring on a future blog article). He has tweeted out my blog posts, helping to grow my readership. That’s what social media is all about!
BUSINESS RESULTS
When Nathan was interviewed by Forbes, he was asked if there was anybody he could recommend who had done an exceptionally good job nurturing business relationships through social media. And he thought of me.
So now I had an opportunity to extend content and helpfulness to a reporter at Forbes. Over a lengthy phone call, I brought him up to speed on my experiences, my client’s social media successes, and ideas about the future of social media. And now we’re friends, too.
That’s how social media works for business: C + MC + AH = Business Benefits. Look at ANY B2B or B2C success story and these three elements were in place — none can be missing. Over the next three days, we’re going to look at this STEP BY STEP and come up with some new, actionable ideas that you can use to realize your own business benefits from social media.
But here’s the best part. YOU AND I ARE CONNECTED, TOO! Who knows what will happen NEXT?
When developing your marketing plan, including social media as a component is a very important step. Remember that marketing is the process of sharing information and what better and faster tool to use than social media.
Have you developed your marketing plan but forgot to include social media or didn’t know what should be included? Then let me help you by listing a few things that should get your started. I’m using the acronym, A.C.C.E.S.S., to help you remember.
Asking – don’t be afraid to ask your consumers what they want or need because this can help you develop a social media marketing plan to better suit them.
Compare – it is always a good idea to assess what your competitors are doing and compare it to what you plan to do; this may help you come out ahead in your industry.
Communication – it is key that you choose your communication channels wisely and then implement a communication plan that will not only reach your consumers but also entice them to buy from you.
Engaging - don’t just push your marketing plan to your consumers but also entice them to interact with you so that it can be a two-way communication process. Then listen to what they have to say.
Success – measuring your success is important so make sure that you create a way to monitor your efforts from the beginning.
Strategize – being prepared is the most important thing you can do so make sure that you have a strategy with a good solid base foundation to build on.
Hopefully this starter list can help you gain A.C.C.E.S.S. to your consumer and encourage them to buy from you by using social media in your marketing plan. To help you learn more about social media marketing, I have included the video below.
Meeting radically changing customer expectations is a massive and snowballing challenge for established players in the global communications industry, confirms a new study from the CMO Council and its Customer Experience Board.
The convergence of new, free or low-cost interactive digital media channels, social networks and online communities and mobile messaging devices are not only empowering consumers to bypass once-dominant services and channels, but establishing content-based relationships with which more traditional players cannot currently compete, according to the report.
For the study, online audits and one-on-one qualitative interviews were conducted with more than 140 industry marketers in the telecom, wireless, cable, satellite, broadcast and Internet service provider sectors.
Incumbent communications providers are struggling to adapt to increased innovation, growing price pressures and heightened competition from new and adjacent market entrants, and to differentiate themselves in a crowded, increasingly commoditized market, sums up CMO Council Executive Director Donovan Neale-May.
Expectations for always-on access to content on every device and more personalized on-demand services and experiences are forcing service providers to re-think their operational structures, product portfolios, customer handling systems, and strategic partnerships and investments.
“With the broadband connectivity and mobile devices revolution, fewer and fewer consumers — particularly among the younger population — are connecting from home,” Neale-May observed to Marketing Daily. They are producing and sharing content in a closed environment through social media networks, and the more content they produce and publish on such networks, the more dependent they become on them.”
In addition, “the gratification level is much higher,” he points out. Expectations for always-on access to content on every device and more personalized on-demand services and experiences are forcing service providers to rethink their operational structures, product portfolios, customer handling systems, and strategic partnerships and investments.
Nearly half (47%) of marketer respondents said that the growth of social networking and user-generated content represent the most significant digital lifestyle shift affecting the communications market.
Other highlights from the “Service Invention to Increase Retention” report:
* 84% reported that the costs of acquiring and sustaining customer relationships are increasing for their organizations, and 63% reported rising customer churn and attrition. The biggest contributors to customer losses are competitive offerings, pricing or fee structures and inadequate customer service.
* The biggest sources of customer dissatisfaction are unmet needs and expectations (59%), product/service usability and complexity complaints (43%), billing errors (40%), and lack of quality or relevancy of service/product offerings (32%).
* More than half said their company cultures and structures are not aligned around the customer, and that business practices and personnel are not customer-friendly. Not surprisingly, more than half also said that responses to customer dissatisfaction or “pain” are not up to par, and 89% said their organizations need to improve customer handling and response.
* Misalignments between marketing and IT stand in the way of gathering and analyzing customer information — optimizing go-to-market strategies and new product launches, as well as improving customer acquisition and relationship management programs. More than 60% of marketers say they provide strategic direction for systems investments, and 73% said they expect back-office systems to enable faster, more effective implementation of marketing strategies. Yet more than a third reported that deficiencies in IT, back-office or operational systems are subverting marketing claims and failing to meet customer expectations.
Angela Cortright, founder of Spa Gregories, which recently opened a branch in Del Mar, uses social media to find new potential customers.
“We’re trying to reach out to the local community through Facebook and Twitter,” she said, “It helps us by word of mouth. This is just a new mouth — it’s a digital mouth, instead of calling my friends.”
Cortright and about 75 other business owners attended a workshop on “Internet Marketing 3.0″ last Friday in Mission Valley. The event organized by Score, a non-profit business training group, was the first of its kind offered by the national network and the highest-ever attended in San Diego. The workshop will be held again on Tuesday in Carlsbad.
Social media brings fear and opportunity to many business owners.
“They’re very fearful because they don’t understand,” said Score counselor Fred Schlaffer. “These are small businesses usually that have very, very limited resources. So to get involved with social networking means more of their time or (the need) to hire somebody.”But Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, YouTube and other networking sites are places to attract customers, build loyalty and ultimately generate more revenue, said workshop leaders.
“The opportunity is huge, because it’s a very cost-effective way to get to a large group of people and build that (customer base) with little investment,” said Schlaffer.
Building trust
Trust is a critical part of social media, said one workshop leader Bill Trumpfheller, president of Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, a public relations agency.
He cited statistics showing that:
— 91 percent of 25 to 61 year olds buy products and services from companies they trust.
— 80 percent of 34 to 64 year old read online reviews.
— 90 percent avoid hotels with bad reviews.
Companies that build trust develop “brand advocates,” who help market the business online by word of mouth. This is a more powerful, yet cheaper form of marketing than traditional advertising, he said.
Stonyfield Farm, an organic dairy company, has five blogs targeted at each of its market segments. The blogs convey the ecological values, issues and activities that the brand supports. These blogs have built large followings of customers who share these values, while solidifying brand loyalty.
Bad management
The reverse is also true. For United Airlines, one online rant was a PR disaster. A customer who was upset at the company for breaking his guitar wrote a song and uploaded the video on YouTube.com. Posted July 6, the video has had more than 4.5 million views.
In another case, Lifestyle Lift was fined $300,000 for posting its own positive reviews. The cosmetic surgery company required its employees to write glowing testimonies on consumer Web sites, to counteract negative reviews from real customers. The New York attorney general’s office nailed the company.
“Ethics need to be part of the social media space,” said Trumpfheller. “If you’re not operating in an open and transparent manner, and really managing that trust with your customer, you’re gonna get caught.”
Attract customers
Companies can improve service by listening to what customers say in social media. When Trumpfheller started working with the makers of WD-40, the do-it-all lubricating spray fluid, his team noticed that many customers were griping online about losing the long, red straw that comes with the can.
The company responded by sending replacement straws to these customers. It also changed the product design so the straw is permanently attached to the can. Such actions create happy customers, who become brand advocates, said Trumpfheller.
Grow business
Customers can also use social media to grow business. In one case, Splitends Salon in Orange County noticed it was not attracting new customers, despite ads in the Yellow Pages. So it started asking customers to write reviews on Yelp.com, a consumer-driven site. Now, the company gets five to 15 new client calls a day, said Trumpfheller.
KogiBBQ, a Korean-Mexican food truck which travels throughout Los Angeles, sends daily messages stating its next location. It shares these messages to its more than 38,000 “followers” on Twitter.com, which caps posts at 140 characters.
The mobile vendor typically has hundreds of customers waiting at a location by the time it arrives. These fans then write Tweets while standing in line about how good the food is.
Social media has its detractors too.
“Who cares?” asked one woman in the workshop, wanting to know how such niche companies build a following on Twitter.
“Are people really searching for Korean tacos in a truck?”
“People follow people who have content they are interested in,” said another workshop leader Teresa Siles, an executive at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker agency. One Tweet that interests one person else can get forwarded, or “reTweeted,” to others who share the same interest, thus creating a community of followers.
But companies need patience, said Siles. “It’s a slow build.”
Add value
The key to a strong social media program is to consistently add value to conversations, said Siles. In addition to listening to customers online, this also means contributing comments that are relevant to a particular community.
Siles noted that when she sends out messages on behalf of clients on Twitter, only about one-third are brand messages, while two-thirds are interesting comments, tidbits or forwarded “reTweets” pertaining to its followers.
“You have to add value,” she said.
Helen Kaiao Chang is SDNN’s business editor. You can follow her on Twitter @HelenChang.
