Now that we’ve had some time to absorb the changes in the space during Q3, let’s take a look back at the big announcements, compare the new landscape to the changes from the second quarter, and project what will have the most impact for Q4 of 2011. In a sentence, Facebook’s f8 developer conference contained more sweeping changes to the largest social platform (now 800 million users) since its launch in 2004. (more…)
While the majority of notable first quarter 2011 changes in the social space originated from Facebook – from the launch of Facebook Deals and Questions to the shift from FBML to iFrame – this past quarter’s shifts were more balanced across the landscape, and as the months progressed from Spring to Summer, the changes got more dramatic, with the climax occurring in the final days of June. Let’s take a look back at the social landscape from Q2 2011 so we can paint a picture of what Q3 has in store. (more…)
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According to a study released this week by small business insurance company Hiscox, 64% of small business owners don’t believe social media is important. What’s more, 50% say their businesses could not run without word-of-mouth marketing, while only 4% say social media – today’s equivalent to word-of-mouth – is a mandatory part of their business strategy.
At MWW, we believe that trust + relevance = action. So we can infer that small businesses who haven’t acted on the opportunity of social media either don’t trust it to deliver results, or don’t find it relevant to their business.
In either case, these businesses are compromising their ability to gain new customers, keep the ones they have, and compete in this economy. Social media isn’t going away, but those businesses who choose to ignore it might. Doing nothing is the equivalent of turning your business and customers over to the competition.
Many business owners believe that the investment isn’t worth the reward. Yet it takes less than ten minutes to set up a Facebook page, a Twitter handle, or a foursquare account. Companies like Postling can help not just establish a presence, but keep the conversation going.
There are good examples of small businesses who have already mastered social media strategies. One of our digital strategists told me to check out his eye doctor, Parkslope Eye. An eye doctor with 3,000 followers on Twitter? And there’s more: rather than a standard website, ParkSlope Eye centralizes it all on its Facebook Page, where anyone can print coupons, read the office blog, make an appointment, view feedback on Yelp, and recommend it to their friends. Another favorite in our New York office is the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck (@RickshawTruck), a food truck that tweets its location and specials from various locations around the city, as a way to drum up publicity for its store.
Social media isn’t just for the urban business – businesses in Small Town USA can benefit from social media strategies, too. It’s not about undermining the mom and pop shops, it just means giving mom and pop a Flickr account to post photos of their loyal customers or Yelp profiles to respond to any customer complaints.
Social media is the single greatest opportunity for small businesses – and businesses of all size – looking to gain and retain customers, provide great customer service, reach new audiences, and build brand loyalty. And with small businesses creating 80% of new jobs in this country, we all have a social media responsibility to help others open their minds to the possibilities, before they have to shut their doors for good.
Michael Kempner is the founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MWW Group. MWW Group has 10 offices in the United States and Europe and is one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. A nationally recognized authority on crisis management, investor relations, public affairs, business to business, consumer marketing and corporate social responsibility, Michael has successfully guided corporate communications programs for hundreds of companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. Michael is a member of Social Media Week’s Global Advisory Board and can be reached at mkempner@mww.com or @mkempner. This post was originally published on Michael’s blog, Straight Talk.
The importance of social media and how it relates to business is a hot topic. From how these tools/apps can improve brand awareness, increase connections with one’s customers, to improving customer service along with many other things. More and more businesses need to understand the importance of social media and how it can impact their brand.
The use of social networks and tools has become an important part of mainstream life. People have integrated these networks and tools into their day-to-day lives. Whether at home or accessing the tools on the go using apps on their mobile devices engaging in social media throughout the day is now second nature to most people.
To showcase not only the many social networks and tools a person can access each day, as well as the potential impact on brands, I decided to chronicle the highlights of one day in my life and share how I use these networks, tools and why brands should care.
Social Media tools/apps
5:30 a.m.: Time to get up and get ready for the day ahead. Awakened by a trusted iPhone app I downloaded – Alarm Clock 4 Free.
As I have a coffee, I turn on my laptop and immediately check Twitter to get a curated version of the latest in local news (@cbcnews) and entertainment (@thewrap) news, and if there are any delays with the TTC (@ttcnotices).
Thanks to #BestDads being a promoted trend, I remember to pick up something for my dad. Time now for Facebook to catch up on what my friends have been up to and learn that it’s my friend’s birthday – Happy Birthday BFF!
8:00 a.m.: As I head off to work, I check-in to GetGlue to share with others what music I am listening to on my iPod and see what others are. I share my post with friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter.
8:30 a.m: I arrive at work and check-in on Foursquare. Looks like I have been bumped from ‘Mayor’ status – sigh.
12:00 p.m.: Time for lunch. I head out to a nearby sushi restaurant - a decision based on positive reviews on Yelp. First, I check-in on Foursquare and see that two of my colleagues are also here, but decide to sit at a table for one so to take in some quiet time.
As I wait for my food to arrive, there is a song playing in the restaurant that I can’t recall the title of so I hold my phone to the song and allow Shazam to discover the track playing … it’s Bat For Lashes – a song I don’t have, and therefore decide to buy the track from iTunes by way of the app. Lunch is over, I post a quick review on Yelp complimenting both the food and service – this restaurant gets 4 stars.
Social Media tools/apps
3:00 p.m.: Energy level low, a trip to Starbucks is needed. Once there, I check-in on Foursquare and am pleasantly surprised (and rewarded) with a special – show this special to the barista and get $1 off any muffin. I will definitely pick one up.
6:30 p.m.: End of day, I head home. Listening to rare David Bowie and wanting to share the moment with friends via the Soundtracking app – I select the song, a matching photo, add a comment and share with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.
I notice some graffiti on the side of a building that deserves to be captured in an Instagram photo. Point, snap, apply a couple of neat filters and use this as my next Tumblr post. I create the post as I continue home and then share the post on Facebook and Twitter.
8:30 p.m.: Catch up on episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Television viewing does not happen without my mobile phone. I follow what others are saying about the show while watching, but first, to check-in to GetGlue and share what I am watching. As well, I check the #bigbangtheory Twitter stream and share the experience with folks here.
10:00 p.m.: A friend’s birthday is coming up, first to check Facebook for the book that she is currently reading and then head to Amazon.ca to purchase a similar book relying on recommended titles – “people who bought this also bought…” Reading the positive reviews from others for one book specifically, I find the book to buy.
11:30 p.m.: Before calling it a night, I check my email to see if ModCloth’s customer service has responded to my complaint. I check, and there is an apologetic email response followed by a notice from PayPal that a full refund was issued – no questions asked. Amazing! I of course had to thank them publicly Tweeting about the fabulous service and ensuring I tagged them in the post – other brands need to follow suit.
1:00 a.m.: Time for bed.
Absolutely everything! This one-day reinforces the importance of social media and the role it plays in e-commerce, brand – customer relationships and the immediacy of customer service.
Below is a summary of the tools/apps used above and the potential relevance (and impact) each has for brands.
Twitter: Here’s a great place for brands to interact with consumers (existing or potentially new) on a number of levels. If you have great content (whether it videos, photos or a corporate blog) that you want people to consume, why not announce this on Twitter with a link back to your site?
As well, ensure that you add a ‘tweet me’ on your website so that people landing here first, can easily share the content with their followers. Twitter is also a great customer service tool where brands can respond to a customer inquiry immediately. Before plunging into Twitter, I would suggest that a strategy and content plan be developed first.
Facebook: With close to 700 million users on Facebook it only seems logical that brands would at minimal consider this as part of their overall business and marketing strategy. Aside from the brand page where users and brands can engage, there are other tools that Facebook has and continues to roll-out that can also benefit brands.
With the recent launches of Facebook Places, Deals Credits it’s abundantly clear that Facebook is focusing on F-Commerce and ways for users to engage with brands directly within the Facebook platform. This could include renting a movie using Credits and watching it directly on Facebook (i.e. recent Warner Bros offering The Dark Knight on Facebook in exchange for Credits), or checking-in using Places and being rewarded for doing so. Brands need to at the very least, be aware of what is happening within Facebook’s walls – this could be a new place for brands to acquire new customers and new sales.
Shazam and Soundtracking: The decline in CD sales does not necessarily mean that people refuse to pay for music – it just means a different model is in place that you will need to embrace – digital music downloads; individual tracks or full albums. Soundtracking and other music apps are a great way for people to share the music they like and purchase tracks immediately from iTunes. If friends and like-minded people like a song or artist, there is a greater chance that I too will like it and of course buy it.
Yelp: Brands, especially those offering a service, need to be aware of how your service and product are being reviewed by your patrons. Whether positive or not, it is worth noting as it can influence decisions other potential patrons make.
GetGlue: Broadcasters, studios and music labels, here is a great app where users engage with your content, share with their friends on other social networks – raising awareness for your products without you having to invest a lot of time or effort. Be aware of what is being shared and when. This is also a great way to integrate similar rewards as we’ve seen on Foursquare, instead for checking-in to your content.
Foursquare: Brands, if you have locations where users can check-in to, this is a great way to reward loyal customers – by presenting specialty badges for the ‘Mayors’ or limited time offers for frequent check-ins – as in the case of Starbucks. What a great way to promote a new product, promote trial of said new product and reward your loyal customers. What is important to note is that each check-in can be announced to friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter – telling these people where you are and what you just purchased.
Reviews & Recommendations (i.e. Amazon.ca): Brands, especially those with an ecommerce presence, this is important to you. Having recommendations and reviews on your ecommerce site is important. It really does make the purchase process easier as well increase the likelihood that your product will be purchased. If the reviews are positive there is a greater chance that I, as a consumer, will purchase the item, and if you can offer me up related products I may include them in my basket especially if it means FREE shipping when I reach a certain amount. With there being a lot of brands offering similar products online, how will your ecommerce site stand out?
Throughout the day, a customer (or potential customer) can interact with any one brand by way of various social media tools and apps. There is no longer the need to wait until one is at home, school or work to access social media tools, as users/customers can now engage with brands and friends alike on social networks, on the go via mobile (web and apps).
This means that if a customer has a bad experience – they can and will share this immediately – brand, make sure you are there to take necessary action if need be. Brands need to think about how their services and products are being consumed and the impacts this could have on each. Furthermore, brands need to be aware of what is being said about their product and/or services – good or bad.
There are a number of possible touch points between a brand and their prospective consumer throughout any one given day – whether directly or indirectly. If a brand really wants to make an impact, they should know and be where I hang out.
Di Gallo is the Digital and Social Media Marketing Manager at Cineplex Entertainment and a contributor to the Social Media Week Global Editorial Team based in Canada. Follow her on twitter @digallo
Interested in joining the Social Media Week Global Editorial Team? Apply here!
After many shifts in the social landscape during the fourth quarter, Q1 proved active but provided few monumental changes. Let’s take some time to look back at what the last three months have brought to the social media space.
January
Places and Deals have a symbiotic relationship, as Deals is dependent on Places, and Places is made more compelling by Deals; the greater the penetration of Deals among brands, the more active users will become with Places.
On the heels of our Social Media Week Los Angeles announcement last week, we are psyched to publish the Milan city schedule today for September 20-24. You can view the Milan schedule by going to to their city page and navigating to the schedule tab, or else by going directly to milan.socialmediaweek.org.
Milan city partner Marco Montemagno and the Augmendy team have put together a spectacular week showcasing the best of Italy and Milan. Social Media Week Milan launches with over twenty-five events confirmed already and many more in the pipeline. Events will be taking place all over Milan at locations like Frog Design, Urban Center, and more. Speakers include social space leaders like Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder of Foursquare, the leading social geolocator; Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz, world leading expert in search engine indexing; and Dina Kaplan, co-founder of the television network Blip.tv.
Check out the Milan city page to learn more, and check back here for more city schedule release announcements!
Download the press release of this announcement here:
Press Release: Social Media Week Milan Schedule Announcement
About this Guest Blogger: Johnny Makkar is a digital marketer who blogs at Attention Digital. You can follow Johnny on Twitter @jsmakr.
No matter which location-based social app you prefer, they can all be useful during Social Media Week to network with other attendees, find nearby food venues, and discover other activities to compliment our events. I’m a Foursquare user myself (which seems to be the most popular choice among this crowded space), but see value in some of the competing apps and new social event apps like Hot Potato.
Here’s are a few tips for those who will be attending Social Media Week equipped with a mobile device:
Foursquare
CHECK-INS: If you are a regular Foursquare user, you’ll probably be anxious to check-in when you arrive at an event. You should find that most venue locations have already been added to Foursquare like the Condé Nast Building (where The Future of Space and Time, hosted by Wired.com, will be held) or 92YTribeca (the site of Mashable’s Future Journalist event). In case the venue name does not come up automatically, be sure to search first before adding it to Foursquare. If you still find nothing, help everyone else out and enjoy some extra points by adding the venue.
NETWORKING: Broadcasting your check-ins to Twitter and Facebook will obviously help you discover other people in your network that are nearby. Within Foursquare, you can also take a look at everyone else who is checking in at each event (complete strangers who have common interests). Browse through their Twitter bio/feed quickly and if you’re up for it, reach out during or after the event to start a conversation and continue the discussion.
TIPS: Make sure to look out for useful tips for that specific venue. For example, visitors of the The Roger Smith Hotel (where Social Media Club’s Speed Dating event will be held) have mentioned they like having a “fabulous cocktail” from Paul the bartender or trying the mussel’s at Lily’s bar which are “edging delicious.”
TWITTER SEARCH: Another great way to find out which events are popular throughout the week is by monitoring Foursquare and Twitter to see what’s trending. Foursquare does a fairly good job at highlighting trending locations near you (just launch the app and those will be highlighted at the top of Places tab).
However, since all SMW events require pre-registration, this feature won’t necessarily allow you to spontaneously attend an event (unless that usually doesn’t stop you). Some events might have their own unique hashtag but to get an idea of where the most people are congregating once things are underway, try searching for #SMW + 4sq.
Yelp
Yelp is worth noting especially since they recently upgraded the app to include venue check-ins. Yelp’s extensive database can be a great for attendees looking to find nearby restaurants and bars to migrate to after a SMW event is over.
Simply launch the app, make sure you’re on the Nearby screen and the first three options will be Restaurants, Bars, and Coffee & Tea. Depending on the size of your group, make sure to browse the reviews to see if the place is accommodating then easily make a quick call to let them know your coming or make reservations.
Hot Potato & PegShot
These are two more relatively new iPhone apps that aim to make live events more engaging through further discussion and media sharing. We have partnered with both of these companies for SMW so keep an eye out for more in-depth instructions on using them during the conference.
Hot Potato has a great Web and iPhone interface that organizes a real-time stream around a specific live event. Once you have the app installed and are logged in using Facebook Connect, look for the Social Media Week page. Once you have it open, Check In to follow along and post your own comments/photos.
PegShot is also great for sharing geo-coded images and videos during any event. Take a few minutes and check out the video tour on the homepage to see how it all works and give it try during SMW.
The biggest advantage to using these apps is creating a micro-community in one location away from all the Twitter and Facebook noise (but both still easily give you the option to share your activity).
More Tips
Many of the same tips given for Foursquare can also apply for Gowalla users. Deciding how you use any of these apps really comes down to preference. Let us know which app(s) you’ll be using and if you’ve found any of these useful in other interesting ways during live events not mentioned above.
Finally, to access the complete schedule on-the-go, don’t forget to download the official SCHED* Social Media Week New York (iTunes) iPhone app.
