Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’
List of Brand-Side Corporate Social Strategists: Twitter Edition
Monday, February 28th, 2011Jeremiah Owyang recently published a fantastic List of Corporate Social Strategists for 2011 (Buyer/Brand Side), an impressive compilation of individuals either holding the title or performing the role of corporate social strategist, defined by Jeremiah as “the business decision maker for social media programs – who provides leadership, roadmap definition, and governance; and directly influences the spending on technology vendors and service agencies.”
It’s an outstanding list, categorized by industry including Automotive, Chemicals, Electronics, Telecommunications, and a dozen other sectors, but all of the names were linked to the individuals’ LinkedIn profiles—no Twitter links! You can follow Marshall Kirkpatrick’s entire Social Strategists list, based on Jeremiah’s list, here, but what if you want to get a bit more granular and be a bit more selective in your following?
Here you go. This list is a tad shorter than Jeremiah’s original as some of these strategists appeared not to have Twitter accounts (an odd omission for a “Corporate Social Strategist,” or possibly just inadequate searching on my part) and includes only the Twitter accounts I could fairly confidently match up with these names, that tweeted in English, and that did not use “protected tweets.” (If your title includes “social media,” why on earth would you have a Twitter account but protect your tweets? Serious disconnect there.)
Followers range from less than 10 (no, that’s not a typo) to more than 10,000. It is somewhat surprising how many have only a few hundred followers, despite being social media managers, practitioners and strategists at large corporations. Not that number of followers means everything, of course, and those few hundred followers may be really highly engaged. It’s also possible there may be errors in my list; please let me know in the comments or through my Twitter if you find any, and I will correct them. Anyway, on to the list!
List of Corporate Social Strategists for 2011
Airline
• Morgan Johnston – Manager Corporate Communication at JetBlue Airways
• Bowen Payson – Manager of Online and Digital Marketing at Virgin America
Automotive
• Kim Snedaker – Social Media Manager at AAA Mid-Atlantic
• Christopher Barger – Director, Global Social Media at General Motors
• Scott Monty – Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager at Ford Motor Company
Business Services
• Matt Anchin – Senior Vice President, Digital Communications at The Nielsen Company
• Collin Douma – Vice President Social Media at Proximity Worldwide (CAN)
• Debbie Curtis-Magley – Public Relations Manager at UPS
• Aneta Hall – Social Media Marketer at Pitney Bowes
• Jaimee Clements – Senior Online Product Manager, eBusiness at AAA NCNU
• Kenny Lauer – Vice President, Digital Experience at George P Johnson
• Rick Mans – Social Media Strategist, Capgemini
• Jodi Gersh – Manager, Social Media, Gannett
• Stephanie Gaspary – Director, Social Strategy and Creative Services, CareerBuilder.com
• Niall Cook – Worldwide Director of Marketing Technology at Hill & Knowlton
• Yianni Garcia – Digital Marketing & Community Manager, The McGraw-Hill Companies
Chemicals
• Kristina Bobrowski – Social Media Manager, Dow Corning
• Alison Buckley – Social Media Manager, Dow Corning
Consumer Product Goods
• Matt Ceniceros – Director, Global Media Relations at Applied Materials
• Philippe Borremans – Chief Social Media Officer at Van Marcke Group
• Jordan Williams – Manager of Digital Engagement at REI
• Bonin Bough – Global Director of Digital and Social Media at PepsiCo
• Michael Donnelly – Group Director, Worldwide Interactive Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company
• Jennifer Cisney – Chief Blogger and Social Media Manager at Eastman Kodak
• Jim Deitzel Sr. eMarketing Manager at Newell Rubbermaid
• Bert DuMars – Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing at Newell Rubbermaid
• Marisa Thalberg – VP, Global Digital Marketing at The Estee Lauder
• Gareth Hornberger, Digital Marketing Manager at Levi Strauss & Co.
• Brian Snyder – Senior Manager, Interactive Communications and Knowledge Management at Whirlpool Corporation
• Andrew D. Nystrom – Digital Marketing Manager – Social Media, Red Bull
• Debbie Weinstein – Senior Director, Global Media, Unilever
Educational Services
• Mike Rivera -New Media Strategist, University of Denver
Electronics, Devices, Mobile
• Jussi-Pekka Erkkola – Digital Marketing Manager at Nokia
• Marcy Cohen – Sr. Manager at Sony Electronics
• Ray Haddow – Senior Manager at Nokia
• Ian Kennedy – Head of Service Innovation at Nokia
• Esteban Contreras – Social Media Manager at Samsung
• Dan Anderson – Emerging Media Manager at T-Mobile
• Christopher Baccus – Executive Director of Digital and Social Media at AT&T
• Michelle Kostya – Social Media Support Program Manager, Research in Motion
• Baldev Solanki – Manager, Self Service, Research in Motion
• Angela Losasso – Director, Social Media, Research in Motion
• Felix Leander – Senior Social Media Marketing Manager, Research In Motion
• John Pope – Senior Communications Manager, Nokia
Energy
• Maria Amezaga, Global Social Media Advisor, Shell
• Lanie James – Social Media Specialist, Chesapeake Energy
Financial Services
• Ken Hittel – Vice President, Corporate Internet Dept. at New York Life Insurance Co.
• Allan Schoenberg – Director, Corporate Communications at CME Group
• Ed Terpening – VP Social Network Marketing at Wells Fargo
• Betsy Flanagan, Social Media Strategist, Wells Fargo Bank
• Christine Morrison Roszak – Social Media Marketing Manager at Intuit
• Annalie Killian – Director Innovation, Communication, & Collaboration at AMP Ltd
• Shawn Morton – Director of Mobile, Social and Emerging Media at Nationwide Insurance
• Zena Weist – Director of Social Media at H&R Block
• Stacy Gratz – Social Media Marketing Manager at American Express
• Steve Furman – Director, Design, Customer Experience and Social Media at Discover Financial Services
• David Meiselman, Director of Digital/Web Strategy, The Hanover Insurance Group
• Jennefer Meyer – VP Social Media Strategies at BBVA Compass
• Suzanne Stull – Social Media & Brand Manager, E-Business at Discover Financial Services
• Michael Rubin – Social Media Strategist at Fifth Third Bank
• Kimberly Mahan – Director of Emerging Technologies, Genworth Financial
• Ryon Harms – Director of Social Media, Farmers Insurance
• Jim Rosenberg- Head of Social Media, The World Bank
• April Hammons – Social Media Manager at Bank of Oklahoma
• Jason Diperstein – Online Channel Coordinator at Aetna
Health and Life Sciences
• Jessica Soulliere – Social Media Communications Coordinator at University of Michigan Health System
• Ryan Squire – Social Media Program Director at The Ohio State University Medical Center
• Bob Stanke – Community Manager, Interactive Community Manager | Social Marketing Strategist at Life Time Fitness
• Shwen Gwee, Lead New Media Communications, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Charlie Schick, Sr Media Producer, Children’s Hospital Boston
• Lee Aase – Syndication and Social Media Manager at Mayo Clinic
• Holly Potter – VP Public Relations at Kaiser Permanente
• Vince Golla – Director, Digital Media and Syndication at Kaiser Permanente
• Erin Macartney – Public Affairs Specialist/Social Media at Palo Alto Medical Foundation
• Nick Dawson – Director of Communications & Community Engagement at Bon Secours Health System
• Jamey Shiels – Director Social Media and Digital Communications at Aurora Health Care
Hospitality, Food Service
• Vanessa Sain-Dieguez – Social Media Strategists at Hilton
• Virginia Suliman -Vice President – Websites at Hilton
• Kara Imai – Senior Director, Online Marketing at Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau
• Shannon McDowell – Director, Website Management & Communication at Hilton Worldwide
• Diana Plazas – Director, Doubletree Online Marketing at Hilton Hotels Corporation
• Scott Gulbransen, Director of Social Media & Digital Marketing at Applebee’s
• Nick Ayres – Social Marketing Manager at IHG
• Rick Wion – Director of Social Media, McDonald’s Corporation
• Eric Schechter – Social Media Manager, Carnival Cruise Lines
• Joe Curry, Social Media Manager, Global Web Communications at McDonald’s Corporation
Government, Armed Services, Education
• Christina Whitlock – Social Media Management, Supervisor at Marine Corps Recruiting
• Kevin Jones – Social Media Manager at NASA / SAIC
• Scott McIlnay – Director, Emerging Media Integration, Dept. of the Navy, Office of Information at U.S. Navy
• Paul Bove – Social Media Strategist/Web Developer at Air Force Public Affairs Agency
• Mike Boehmer – Senior Public Relations Specialist at Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services
• Sonny Gill – Online Marketing and Social Media Strategist at DeVry University
Media and Entertainment
• Brett Rudy – Director, Strategic Consulting at Epsilon
• Charles Miller Director – Digital Care/Social Media Strategy at DIRECTV, Inc.
• Michael Hall – Director of NESN.com at New England Sports Network
• Amy Worley – Vice President of Marketing at Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Robert Michael Murray – Vice President, Social Media at National Geographic Society
• Kelly Owen – Social Media Manager and Strategist at SPEED Channel, Inc., Fox Entertainment Group
• Tom Fishman – Manager, Social Media & Community at MTV Networks
• Kate Farber Gold – Social Media Director at Scripps Networks
• Ryan Osborn – Director of Social Media at NBC News
• Matthew Milner – VP, Social Media, Hearst Magazines Digital Media
• Gayle Weiswasser -Vice President, Social Media Communications, Discovery
Retail
• Winnie Hsia – Social Media Specialist at Whole Foods Market
• Tracy Benson – Digital / Interactive & Emerging Technologies at Best Buy
• Gary Koelling – Director Emerging Media Technology at Best Buy
• Vanina Delobelle – Manager, eCommerce Product Management at Sears Holdings Corporation
• Alexandra Wheeler – Digital Strategy at Starbucks Coffee Company
• Sarah Molinari – Senior Manager, Social Media, The Home Depot
• Dan Beranek – Social Business Strategy Leader, Target
• Daniel B. Honigman – Social Media Manager at Sears Holdings Corporation
Technology: Hardware, Networking, Component, Computer, Devices
• Bill Johnston, Head of Global Community at Dell
• Todd Shimizu – Director of Communities at Juniper Networks
• Len Devanna – Director Web Strategy & Operations at EMC
• Gunjan Rawal – Developer Marketing Manager, Intel AppUp dev program at Intel Corporation
• John Earnhardt – Senior Manager, Global Media Operations at Cisco Systems
• LaSandra Brill – Senior Manager, Global Social Media Marketing
• Richard Binhammer – Senior Manager at Dell
• Bill Pearson – Manager, Intel Software Network at Intel Corp
• Aaron Tersteeg – Communities Team Manager at Intel Corporation
• Bryan Rhoads – Sr. Digital Marketing Strategist at Intel Corporation
• Amy Barton – New Media Communications Manager at Intel Corporation
• Bob Duffy – Social Media Strategist at Intel Corporation
• Ken Kaplan – Broadcast and New Media Manager, Global Communications at Intel Corporation
• Adam Christensen – Social Media – IBM Corporate Headquarters at IBM
• Jeanette Gibson – Director, New Media at Cisco Systems
• Deirdre Walsh – Community and Social Media Manager at National Instruments
• Annie Rodkins, Program Manager at Intel Corporation
• Kelly Ripley Feller – Social Media Strategist, Sales & Marketing Group at Intel Corporation
• Adam Gartenberg – Program Director, Information Management Marketing and Strategy at IBM
• Todd Watson – Social Media and Search Marketing Manager, IBM Software Group at IBM
• Jamie Pappas – Manager, Social Media Strategy at EMC Corporation
• Colleen Swanger – Director, Graphics and Digital Marketing at NCR
• Tony “Frosty” Welch – Lead Social Media Strategist and Community Manager : Personal Systems Group at HP
• Amy Paquette – Sr. Manager, New Media Communications at Cisco
• Zoya Fallah – Social Media Expert, Consumer Marketing at Cisco
• Frank Days – Director, New and Social Media at Novell
• Stephanie Marx – Social Media Marketing at Cisco Systems
• Steven Lazarus, Lead Strategist, Social Media & Interactive Marketing for SOA and WebSphere Software at IBM
• Carolina Velis – Social Media Strategist at Intel
• Ekaterina Walter, Social Media Strategist at Intel
• Petra Neiger – Senior Manager, Global Social Media at Cisco
• Becky Brown – Director, Social Media Strategy at Intel Corporation
• Deanna Govoni – Social Media Marketing Manager, Cisco
• Allison Johnson, Social Media Manager, Cisco Systems
• Sharon Crost – Global Online Marketing/ Social Media Manager, Hitachi Data Systems
• Shanee Ben-Zur, Social Media Manager, NVIDIA
• Kerry Bridge Social Media Communications Manager, EMEA
• Chris Byrd – Social Media Strategist – Dell Corporate Reputation & Relations, Dell
• Cory Edwards – Director, Social Media & Corporate Reputation at Dell
Technology: Software, Internet
• Diane Davidson – Sr. Manager of Customer Success and Community Program at Cisco WebEx Technology group
• Steven Tedjamulia – Head of Social Commerce Innovation at Dell
• Alison Bolen – Editor, blogs and social content at SAS Institute
• Marty Collins – Director of Emerging Media at Microsoft
• Mark Yolton – Senior Vice President – SAP Community Network at SAP
• Brian Ellefritz – Sr. Director, Social Media Marketing at SAP
• Maria Poveromo – Director, Social Media at Adobe Systems
• Shashi Bellamkonda – Director Social Media, Network Solution
• Natalie Hanson – Senior Director, Strategic Programs & User Experience Consulting at SAP
• Lorna Li – SEO & Social Media Marketing Manager at Salesforce.com
• David Kim – Group Manager, Consumer Content Strategy at Symantec Corporation
• Fred “Fritz” Alberti – Director of Social Media at Salem Web Network
• Vishal Ganeriwala – Sr. Manager Citrix Ready Program at Citrix Systems
• Peter Parkes – Social Media Communications Lead at Skype
• Betsy Aoki – Sr. Program/Product Manager, Social Media at Microsoft Bing
• Marcus Nelson – Director of Social Media, Corporate Communications Salesforce.com
• Michael Procopio – Social Media Strategist at HP Software
• Karen Wickre – Senior Manager, Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google
• Gurmeet Dhaliwal – VP, Internet Marketing at CA Technologies (formerly Computer Associates)
• Justin Kistner – Sr. Manager Social Media Marketing at Webtrends
• Winton “Sonny” Adcock – Program Manager, Social Media & Customer Channel for Technical Support at Intel Corp
• Jamie Grenney – Sr. Director of Social Media at Salesforce.com
• Brian Kling – Social Media Manager, eService at Autodesk
• Kirsten Watson – Director, Marketing at Kinaxis
• Gail Lyon – Global Internet & Social Media Manager at Siemens Enterprise Communications (UK)
• Venson Kuchipudi – Senior Director of Social Computing Strategy, Infor
• Benjamin Gauthey – Digital Marketing Manager/Marketing Technopologist at Microsoft
• Chip Rodgers, Vice President and COO, SAP Community Network
• Diane Beaudet – Vice President, Marketing Programs and Communications, Webroot Software
• Kris Kozamchak, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, NEC Corporation of America
• Doug Kern – Director, Corporate Communications at GXS
• Rawn Shah – Social Software Practices and Business Transformation Consultant at IBM
• Laurie G Buczek – Social Media Strategist & Platform Vision Team Manager at Intel
• Kirsten Hamstra – Social Media Manager at SAS Institute
• Rob La Gesse – Director of Customer Development, Rackspace
• Mario Sundar, Social Media Manager, LinkedIn
• Alan Belniak – Director of Social Media Marketing at PTC
• Dora Smith – Director of Global Social Media, Industry Automation, Siemens
• Robert Dell’Immagine – Director of Community at Qualys
• Adam Kranitz – Social Strategy, Segment & Product Marketing, Avid, Inc.
• Atom McCree- Digital Marketing Manager, ASG Software Solutions
• Charl Pearce -Sr. Marketing Manager, Emerging Media, US Integrated Marketing Programs, Microsoft Corp.
• Jacob Mullins – Sr. Marketing Manager, @BizSpark & Windows Phone 7, Microsoft Corp
• Claire Flanagan -Director, Social Collaboration Strategy, CSC
• Justin Levy – Senior Social Communications Manager, Citrix Online
• Tony Dunn – Social Media, Community & Web Marketing Manager, VMWare
• Nicholas Polt, Manager of Online Marketing and Social Media, MicroStrategy
Telecommunications
• Sherri Maxson – Director Interactive at US Cellular
• Keith McArthur – Senior Director of Social Media and Digital Communications at Rogers
• Bill Strawderman – Digital Marketing Lead, AT&T Business Marketing
• Trish Nettleship – Social Media Lead, AT&T Business Marketing
• Heather Thoms – Senior Communications Specialist, Tellabs
• Ronan Keane – Social Media Marketing Manager, XO Communications
55 (of the) Best Social Media Tips, Tactics and Tools of 2010
Monday, February 7th, 2011If 2009 was the year many marketers puzzled over, poked at and pondered incorporating social media into their marketing mix, 2010 was the year of diving in. Adoption soared. According to a HubSpot study, 71% of marketers viewed Twitter as a useful marketing tool last year, up from just 39% in 2009. Facebook added more than 200 million users last year, and Twitter more than doubled in size, adding 115 million. 85% of Inc. 500 companies now call social media “very” or “somewhat” important to their marketing or business strategy.
With that rapid adoption came a great deal of learning. Mistakes were made. Myths emerged and (some) were busted. ROI remains a contentious issue, but in at least a few areas best practices began to emerge.
Now that social media has advanced from the “should we do it?” to the “how do we do it better?” stage, many new questions arise. How does the traditional notion of a corporate website need to change to embrace social median norms and capabilities? How should you integrate social media with other marketing tactics like email? How can you “train” your CEO to use social media productively? What’s the difference between a “like” and a “share?” Should social media be under the overall purvue of marketing or PR? What will be the “next” big issues in social media marketing?
Discover the answers to these questions and more here in 55 of the best guides to social media strategies, tactics, tools and statistics of the past year.
Social Media Tips, Tactics and Techniques
How are marketers really using social media? by iMedia Connection
Dan Neely discusses which social networking sites get the most attention from marketers (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, no surprises there), how marketers can best use social media for branding and business development, and concerns about the use of social media in brand planning. Most valuable is his dissection of the best way to use the popular social sites, YouTube and blogging in an integrated manner that capitalizes on the strengths of each platform.
How to Use Your Blog to Drive Social Sales by Social Media Examiner
“The ultimate goal for many businesses is profit, not engagements, retweets or Facebook likes,” as Nathan Hangen points out, so he offers a four-step plan to making a blog into an effective, non-pushy sales tool.
The Social Media Marketing List: 45 things you should be doing but probably aren’t by Conversation Marketing
In the inimitable words of Ian Lurie, “When discussing social media marketing, lots of folks, including me, say things like ‘be authentic’ and wave our hands around. That makes you want to kick me in the coccyx, I’m sure. So, here’s a list of 45 specific things you should be doing,” including learning (at least a bit of) HTML, using bit.ly, retweeting someone else at least twice per day, and my favorite: “Don’t track ROI. You can’t track return on investment from social media. Not directly, anyway. Don’t set that expectation, and smash it anywhere it shows up. Social media marketing is about building a reputation that you can trade on to boost other marketing efforts.”
A formula for finding social media fans by iMedia Connection
Making the observation that “Every brand Facebook page or Twitter account begins with an audience of zero, unlike every medium that’s come before it where access to a given channel brought you a defined audience size and type. In the new world of owned media, you start at the beginning with nothing. The early agenda is to earn your way into a trusted relationship,” Bob Wheatley explains how to build social media marketing programs around what your audience cares about, not your corporate messaging.
6 Basic Questions For Social-Optimizing Your Company Website by BlueGlass
Gina Gotthilf proposes “6 questions to ask in determining if your website welcomes interaction,” such as whether or not your content is sharable, dynamic, and open to reader input.
How to Use Social Media for B2B Marketing by Inc. Magazine
J.J. McCorvey explains how to integrate targeting, monitoring, content sharing and analytics into a coordinated b2b social media marketing program.
10 Social Media Tips And Pointers For Start Ups by Simply Zesty
For those fed up with the hype and “shiny sparkly” type enthusiasm often exhibited in posts about social media, Niall Harbison provides a breath of fresh air: brutal honestly about both the benefits (you have incredible freedom, it complements other forms of marketing, helping other people really works) and the limitations (it’s not a quick win, your friends aren’t your customers, it’s easy to spend too much time there) to be mindful of in using social media for small business marketing.
Learn to leverage the social-search connection by iMedia Connection
Liza Hausman explains how feeds, traditional search and social network search can work together and steps through “four ‘musts’ of on-site social optimization” for organizations.
Which Profile Aspects Should Be Emphasized on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? by Served Fresh Media
Chris Tompkins suggests tailoring the style of your profiles in the big 3 social networks much as you’d dress differently for various types of business events.
How to: Use B2B Social Media for Lead Generation by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Adam Singer identifies situations where social media marketing doesn’t make sense (e.g. you have a tiny customer base and they are all in top-secret military installations) and what groundwork needs to be laid before embracing social media in your marketing practices, then delves into how to use content for lead generation and integrate social with other marketing activities like email.
So, Your CEO Wants to Tweet! 7 Steps To Avoid Disaster by iMedia Connection
If your non-social-media-savvy CEO decides it’s time to get active, Rob Rose outlines seven steps to set up your new “engager-in-chief” so that he or she has the best chance at success, staring with understanding the “why” and easing into it and ending with making sure someone is listening and measuring activity around the CEO’s accounts.
11 Practical Business Uses for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter by GigaOM
Aliza Sherman supplies an outstanding list of “basic ways you can use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for specific business activities. No bells, no whistles, just business.” Among them: asking questions, getting answers, building your brand, and driving targeted traffic to your website.
4 Ways to Find Legal Music for Your YouTube Videos by Mashable
In the wild days before Google acquired YouTube, users would routinely create and upload videos using any music tracks they had about. The squealing of the music industry and desire of Google to add some respectability to the video-sharing site put an end to that. In this post, Peter VanRysdam helpfully outlines four free-to-reasonably-priced sources for legal music soundtracks. You won’t get Black Eyed Peas or Nickelback, but you won’t run afoul of YouTube’s censors either.
6 social sharing best practices for driving traffic by iMedia Connection
Liza Hausman (again) explains the difference between a “like” and a “share” (and why both are important), why it’s important to enable users to easily share content beyond just the largest social networks, and how to use social sharing to build relationships.
4 experts on how to turn social media into sales by Social Media Today
J.D. Lasica share insights from Becky Brown of Intel, Michael Brito of Edelman and others on how to generate revenue through social media. The specifics are different in each case, but “listening” and “trust” are recurring themes.
Getting Started Social Media Advertising on Facebook, YouTube & LinkedIn by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Frequent “best of” contributor Lee Odden provides a great explanation of how ads work on three of the most popular social media venues, the pros and cons of each platform, and best practices for creating and targeting ads on each site.
Social Media Strategy Guides
The Difference Between Doing Social Vs. Being Social by Social Media Today
Vanessa DiMauro contends that “Most companies start doing social within their marketing and sales departments to drive traffic to their site and raise awareness about their products or services…However, being social means building competencies across the organization that encourage, support and institutionalize the use of social tools by a broad cross-section of employees and other stakeholders.” She shows how to identify and emulate organizations that are “truly social.”
For Companies: 10 Questions to ask yourself before entering social media by Mindjumpers
Jonas Klit Nielsen advises marketers and business executives to ask critical questions about objectives, targeting, internal resources, synergies with other efforts and more before embarking on a social media strategy.
Do You Want To Succeed At Soc Media Or Soc Media Marketing? by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Forrester senior analyst Augie Ray distinguishes social media marketing success (creating online buzz, having lots of Facebook fams) from true social media success (delivering on brand promises, fostering genuine, even fanatical advocates online and off).
9 Ways to Sell Social Media to the Boss by Social Media Examiner
It’s not just small businesses that question the value of social media. Ekaterina Walter quotes Doug Frisbie, Toyota National Marketing Manager, as saying, “The price of inactivity is greater than the risks of anything we’d be doing in social media.” She explores why some executives seek to avoid social media and presents nine tactics to demonstrating its value to the higher-ups.
Does social media belong in PR or marketing divisions? by iMedia Connection
Ben Cathers answers this question with an unequivocal…it depends. He demonstrates how staring with your company’s primary objectives for social media will determine how your efforts should be structured.
Top 10 Responses To Use When Dealing With Social Media Naysayers by PR at Sunrise
Andrew Worob provides an excellent, thoughtful list of responses to common social media objections such as “we don’t have the resources,” can’t justify the costs, or executives don’t believe their audience is using social media.
5 strategies for a captivating social media conversation by iMedia Connection
Peter Platt quotes Emily Post—from 1922—to illustrate that market conversations are nothing new, it’s just that social media now amplifies and accelerates the spread of such communications. He offers five tips to help “get your brand into the social space without becoming a bore.”
The 6 Next Most Important Social Media Issues by BlogNotions
Now that social networks have global reach, account for a significant percentage of time spent online, and are increasingly being adopted as core marketing channels, Danny Flamberg says the next steps are about differentiation, quality, and accurately valuing brand advocates.
Is social media making you anti-social? by iMedia Connection
David Grossman offers six tips for building trust in social media communities, among them: be approachable and friendly, be respectful of others’ ideas and perspectives, and make sure your social media words align with your real-world company values and actions.
Why Banning Social Media Often Backfires by Mashable
Greg Ferenstein cites a range of examples and research to show that banning access to social media sites—whether in schools, companies or done by national governments—is ineffective and ofter counterproductive.
Are social media professionals unfairly constrained by organisations? by Governing People
***** 5 Stars
Craig Thomler astutely asks why many organizations that give their accountants, customer service reps, graphic designers and other employees specialized software to perform their jobs still block access to sites like Twitter and Facebook that marketers need to use to communicate with prospects, customers and industry influencers. 
The 8 Steps of B2B Social Media Marketing by EngageSciences
Richard Jones details an 8-step process of “web and social nurturing that complement and extend email centric concepts of lead nurturing to drive better lead generation.” The process starts with segmenting and targeting and ends with conversion—no suprises there—but interesting incorporates social proof, monitoring and harvesting “positive posts and tweets about your company and products and merg(ing) them with your marketing content, on multiple display units across your websites and Facebook. Use your community to help you promote your products…Customer advocacy drives sales.”
How to prepare for social media’s big shift by iMedia Connection
Philippe Guegan declares that social media is now officially “well beyond a passing marketing fad,” and therefore “marketers need to start thinking, behaving, and organizing themselves as content producers who treat engage consumers as audiences.” He outlines five key differences between the old world of advertising / paid media and the new earned media realm.
How to Introduce Social Media to Your Business by Social Media Today
Writing that “too many businesses still need to wake up and realize that social media is not ‘one of these Internet fads’ that will disappear,” Danny Brown recommends clearly defining your audience, objectives and tools among the first tasks for developing a cohesive business social media strategy.
Social Media…Not as Free as it Seems? by Green Buzz Agency
Social media marketing can be very cost-effective, but Victoria Ipri reminds us that it’s not free, spelling out the multiple area of costs to consider, such as implementation (copyrighting, image rights, project management), engagement (testing time and tools), and analysis (reputation management tools and tasks).
7 Tips for Succeeding as a Social Media Strategist by Mashable
Erica Swallow reports on research from social media guru Jeremiah Owyang summarized into seven key tips for building a successful, strategic social media program including being proactive rather than reactive (“You cannot wait for the company to catch up to you. You have to go to the business units and tell them what is required to participate in your company’s social media program before they ask you for a Facebook Page.”), organizing for success, and deploying scalable social media programs (“when you take your best customers and you give them a platform and let them do the work for you, and you don’t pay them—those are scalable programs”).
The 5 components of a complete social media program by iMedia Connection
Adam Kleinberg places strategic planning, customer insights and integrated programs among other components in the core of a comprehensive social media program.
The 3 Pillars of Social Media Readiness by Social Media Examiner
***** 5 Stars
Michael Brito believes that most brands “get it” when it comes to social media listening, engagement and transparency—but “there’s an underlying challenge that’s not being addressed as it should be,” the transition to becoming a social business, which is elegantly defined here.
Only Stupid Answers: What Is Social Media by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Andrew Ettinger searches for a common definition of “social media” and concludes that “Social Media lacks a singular definition—one on which we can all agree…Ultimately, each company will need to create their own Social Media taxonomy; one size does not fit all.”
Social Media Metrics and ROI
6 Key Metrics for a Social Media Measurement Dashboard [Best of SEW 2010 #4] by Search Engine Watch
Nathan Linnell says companies need a true social media measurement dashboard in order to really understand their progress toward achieving objectives in social media, and specifies six key metrics that dashboard should track.
Measuring the Impact of Social Media by Adotas
Jim Wehmann predicts that social media measurement will move from inconsistent, ad hoc measures to more sophisticated approaches as the tools and techniques mature, as happened in the early days of the web with email and website analytics.
The Maturation of Social Media ROI by Mashable
Brian Solis reports that most marketers still aren’t measuring the ROI of their social media marketing efforts even though such analysis is increasingly expected, and predicts that CMOs will increasingly attempt to tie social media marketing programs to revenue, conversions and average order value. Nevertheless, the social media ROI debate is not over.
Vital statistics for B2B marketers – The case study by Earnest
***** 5 Stars
In June 2010, Earnest produced an outstanding video about social media use in b2b marketing (highlighted in this post). A few months later, they wrote this case study about the experience, detailing their initial objectives, the production, how the video was promoted, the results, and lessons learned from the project.
8 Social Media Metrics You Should Be Measuring by Social Media Examiner
Nichole Kelly details eight key social metrics that in her words, “you may not be measuring, but should be,” such as comparing conversion metrics for your social media connections vs. a control group of non-social media users, growth rate over time, retention rates and customer saves.
Get ready. Social scoring will change your life. by {grow}
Mark Schaefer cites several examples of how companies are offering perks to customers based on their social media influence, as measured in various ways such as Klout scores. He predicts, only half tongue-in-cheek, that “within a 12 to 18 months, you will be able to use new augmented reality technology to scan a room of people with your smartphone and get a numerical social rating for every person in sight.” This scenario is, as he notes, creepy—but also potentially very lucrative for businesses.
FOUND the ROI of Social Media for B2B Marketers! by Buzz Marketing for Technology
Paul Dunay believes “there is one place that delivers a strong ROI in Social Media and if you follow my advice not only will you conquer social media but you will delight your customers in the process!” And that place is…
10 ways to measure social media for business by Socialmedia.biz
Writing that “tracking a few well-chosen metrics…can contribute to the bottom line,” J.D. Lasica (again) details 10 key social media metrics that can be tied to business performance including customer engagement (e.g., number of retweets on Twitter, number of comments per blog post), brand sentiment and customer retention.
50 Ways to Measure Success in Social Media by B2C Marketing Insider
Garrett Ira recommends 50 potential metrics for measuring social media success (though, as he notes, you don’t need to use all of them), categorized into website/blog measures (e.g. average time spent per visit, bounce rate), email, Facebook, Twitter, other networks, and ROI metrics.
Social Media Tools
10 of the Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs by Mashable
Barb Dybwad explains how small businesses can best capitalize on 10 free social media tools, from the obvious (Twitter, LinkedIn) to the fresh (Monitter, UserVoice).
50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on by Focus
***** 5 Stars
Social media is about more than just the “Big 4″ sites as illustrated by this post listing a wider range of sites where a business social media presence is important, categorized into social bookmarking, professional networking, niche social media (e.g. Tweako for gadgets, Sphinn for online marketers), general social media, and job sites.
22 Social Media Marketing Management Tools by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Lee Odden serves up mini-reviews of 22 tools for multi-platform social media marketing measurement and management, including Objective Marketer, Spredfast and Sprout Social.
12 Social Media Monitoring Tools Reviewed by Six Revisions
Jason Schubring first defines some of the key terms used in social media monitoring (e.g., influence, sentiment, volume) then reviews a dozen social media monitoring tools ranging from Google Alerts and Twitter Advanced Search to more powerful offerings like HootSuite and Scout Labs.
Online Database of Social Media Policies by Social Media Governance
Need to write a social media policy but not sure where to start? Need some inspiration? Check out these 164 examples from companies and organizations that have put guidelines in place to help their employees use social media wisely and productively in the workplace.
Social Media Facts, Stats and Figures
MIT Study Suggests Social Networks Influence Behavior by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Laurie Sullivan reports on research from MIT that quantifies how social networks accelerate the spread of information and affect the behavior of members.
10 Outstanding Social Media Infographics by NowSourcing
Brian Wallace shares a series of infographics showing information like social media use by country, the age distribution on various social networks, a timeline of social media sites, and uses for social media at various levels in the corporate hierarchy.
Riding the rising tide of social media investment by iMedia Connection
Gordon Plutsky reports on recent research showing that, of companies embracing social media for inbound marketing, 90% are doing the job internally, with an increasing number making social media management a dedicated role rather than just another task for already harried marketing staff. Almost two-thirds of responding companies are blogging and half are on YouTube, but less than 60% are measuring results.
20 Cool Social Media Infographics to Show The Power Of Sharing by DesignBeep
Twitter is adding 300,000 new users per day, and 80% of Twitter use is on mobile devices. 22% of all online time is now spent on social networks. 210 billion email messages are sent each day, which is more than the annual volume of postal mail letters in the U.S. And lots more.
Social Media Trends
Creative Destruction: Why Facebook and Twitter May be Doomed by Spin Sucks
Citing AOL, MySpace and Friendster as cautionary tales, guest author Jay Pinkert warns that Facebook and Twitter, despite their tremendous current popularity, aren’t invincible. Privacy and usability issues, among others, could damage the leaders and allow upstarts to unseat them. Jay advises marketers to keep an eye on the landscape for new entrants and test new platforms as they emerge.
Six Social Media Trends for 2011 by Harvard Business Review
David Armano, who did pretty well at predicting some key trends (such as the explosion of mobile social media use) in 2010, reveals his predictions for the coming year on issues like social media integration within enterprises, further developments in tablet and mobile computing, Google’s new social media strategy and more.
Related Post
78 (of the) Best Social Media Marketing Tips, Guides, Tools and Strategies of 2010 (So Far)
Best Social Media Stats, Facts and Marketing Research of 2010
Monday, January 17th, 2011For anyone in marketing or PR being asked to make “data-driven” decisions “based on the numbers” (and doesn’t that include pretty much everyone in marketing and PR these days?), the sources below provide a vast wealth of data, statistics and research results, as well as a bit of interesting social media trivia.
How are consumers and b2b decision makers using social media in their buying processes? Which social media platforms are most effective at influencing buyer behavior? How do the audiences differ across various social networks? How do social media marketing strategies in small businesses differ from those in larger enterprises? Although social media has been the hottest topic in marketing this year, what other tactics are critical to adopt, maintain or expand?
Discover the answers to all of these questions and more here in more than 40 of the best resources for social media and marketing stats, facts and research of the past year.
Social Media Facts and Stats
10 Interesting Social Media Statistics by Jeff Bullas
Social media networks and blogs consume nearly 25% of people’s time online. The number of people who are visiting social media sites has increased by 24% over the last year. The average visitor spends 66% more time on these sites than they did a year ago. Facebook is the world’s most visited social media brand with 54% of the worlds internet population visiting the brand. And much more.
What Americans Do Online: Social Media And Games Dominate Activity by Nielsen Wire
Americans spent nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs in 2010, up from 15.8 percent just a year earlier—a 43 percent increase. 40 percent of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities: social networking, playing games and emailing. Mobile internet activity is different, however, with the dominant share of time (42%) spent on email, and just 11% on social media.
20+ mind-blowing social media statistics revisited by Econsultancy
More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook. 70% of bloggers are organically talking about brands on their blog, and 38% of them post brand or product reviews. At its current rate, Twitter will process almost 10 billion tweets in 2010.
Social Marketing Lifts Organic Conversions by MarketingSherpa
***** 5 Stars
Still don’t think social media is important for marketing your business? According to MarketingSherpa research, marketers working in social media report an average 27% conversion rate for organic search traffic, while those not using social media reported a 17% rate. Adam T. Sutton concludes, “Clearly, SEO is more effective at attracting attention and ultimately converting people. However, social media is more likely to increase positive thinking around a product and brand.”
Marketing Salary Survey: Social Media Marketing by Aquent
How much are you worth? Find out in this report. The median salary for a social media marketer in the Minneapolis area is $63,179, just a shade below the national average of $64,000. However, that figure rises if you work for a company generating at least $10 million in annual revenue, or you’re in management (in which case it’s $109,000). Salaries are lower in certain regions (e.g. Houston—but consider there’s no income tax in Texas) and highest, shock of shocks, in Silicon Valley where the median social media marketer’s salary is nearly $78,000.
Facebook, Twitter Growing As Video Referral Sources by MediaPost Online Media Daily
How should you expect to promote that cool new video? Well, about two-thirds (64%) of the traffic from third-party sites to video sources currently comes from Google, followed by Yahoo (11.9%), Facebook (4.3%), Bing (2.6%), and Twitter at 1.2%. However, Facebook and Twitter send the most-engaged traffic as measured by average viewing spent time per visitor.
Are Twitter Followers Better Than Facebook Fans? by eMarketer
Yes—sort of. According to an ExactTarget survey, Twitter users who follow a brand are more than twice as likely as Facebook users who “like” a brand to say they are more likely to purchase from the brand after becoming a social media follower. And a third of Twitter followers say they are more apt to make a recommendation about brands they follow, compared with 24% of email subscribers and 21% of Facebook fans. However, marketers need to keep in mind that Twitter’s user base, particularly active Tweeters, is much smaller.
Social Media 3Q Update: Who Uses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & MySpace? by Social Media Today
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn continued to add users in the second half of 2010, albeit at a slower pace than in previous quarters. Facebook reaches 57% of the U.S. population, and the average visit length is 23 minutes (versus 13 minutes for Twitter and 10 minutes on LinkedIn). The fastest-growing demographic group on Facebook is no longer women over 55 years old–it’s now users under 18. Young adults (but not teens) are fueling growth on Twitter.
Roundup of the Top Internet and Social Media Statistics by Awareness Community
A goldmine of social media trivia, e.g.: Classmates.com has the oldest demographic of any major social network. Twitter has the fifth oldest. 75% of small businesses in the U.S. have a company page on at least one social networking site (but only 39% blog and just 26% tweet). 35% of bloggers are professional journalists. 5% of Americans had heard of Twitter in 2008; that figure rose to 87% last year. 80% of Twitter use is on mobile devices.
Social Media Gender Roles Follow Traditional Offline Trends by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Recent research from the University of Texas suggests that many of the actions people take on Facebook follow traditional psychological and physiological gender roles. For example, women (63%) are more likely than men (56%) to post comments and likes to their profile, suggesting that women show a greater tendency to engage in personal communication. Women are also more likely than men to share pictures. The types of photos women post most frequently are described in the study as “affectionate,” such as pictures of family gatherings or friends hanging out and having a good time. Men, on the other hand, generally post photos that reflect hobbies and landscapes. Men are also more likely to post videos as opposed to still images, oriented toward pop culture, sports, entertainment or politics.
The State of the Blogosphere 2010 by Brian Solis
Frequent best-of contributor Brian Solis shares stats from Technorati showing that nearly half of all bloggers are U.S.-based, with another 29% in Europe. Bloggers are social and outspoken; the two most common motivations given for blogging are “to meet and connect with like-minded people” and “to speak my mind on areas of interest.” The largest share of bloggers have been at it for 2-4 years, though 35% of corporate bloggers have been blogging for 6+ years. Nearly half of all bloggers use WordPress, and roughly three-quarters promote their posts via Twitter.
6% of Adult Americans Use Twitter by Roy Wells
Roy Wells reports on research from the The Pew Internet & American Life Project detailing Twitter use in America. 8% of all Internet users are on Twitter, but the group is skewed more toward women (10%) than men (75), the young (18-29 year olds are most heavily represented) and urban. 62% of respondents said they post updates related to their work life, activities or interests, with 12% doing so on a daily basis.
Who Really Uses Twitter, and How? by Pamorama
Pam Dyer puts her own unique spin on the Pew Twitter report, noting that 55% of these Twitter users share links to news stories, with one in eight doing this at least once per day. 53% retweet material posted by others, while 52% send direct messages to other users.
Everyone Uses E-mail, But Blogging Is On the Decline [STUDY] by Mashable
The title is a tad misleading; while younger Internet users (aged 18-33) are blogging somewhat less than in 2006 and gravitating to Facebook, there has been an uptick in blogging among those 33 and older, and blog readership is up among all age groups. Not surprisingly, email and search are the most common online activities among all age groups.
The Difference Between Friends, Fans and Followers by Brian Solis
Brian Solis contends that “The future of business is tied to how the 3F’s (friends, fans and followers) convert into the 4A’s, action, advisor, affinity, and advocacy, regardless of network.” And which tool works best for that? When asked if they were more likely to purchase from a brand after becoming a subscriber, fan or follower, 37% of Twitter users said “yes” (strongly agreed), versus 17% of Facebook users and 27% of email subscribers. Asked if they would recommend a brand based on their social media connection to it, 33% of Twitter users responded affirmatively versus 24% of email subscribers and just 21% of Facebook users.
A Year in Numbers: Top 10 Marketing Charts and Research Articles of 2010 by MarketingProfs
Noting that social media was the hottest topic on MarketingProfs last year, featured prominently in 7 of 10 articles, Ann Handley share some key stats, for example: if you’re going to market on Facebook, be prepared to offer special deals. 40% of Facebook users said their motivation for liking a brand there was “to receive discounts and promotions,” 36% said it was to get a freebie (sample, coupon, trial etc.), and 30% said it was to get updates on upcoming sales. Email open rates continue to decline from 14% in the second half of 2007 to just 11.2% in the latter half of 2010. Among small companies, 39% used Facebook for corporate purposes while 31% had a company Twitter account; those figures were 63% and 47%, respectively, in large companies. Less than 30% of respondents in either group said their company maintains a blog.
Social Media Use in Big Companies
Social Media Facts & Figures for B2B Sales by Inside View
You’ll learn from this fascinating infographic that Forrester Research estimates that $716 million was spent on social media marketing in 2010, and the figure will reach $3.1 billion by 2014. At that point, social media will be a bigger channel than email or mobile, though still far smaller than search or display advertising. Among the global Forture 100 companies, 65% use Twitter, 54% are on Facebook and half post videos to YouTube. 79% of the Fortune 100 use at least one of these social media sites, and 20% use all of them.
Fortune 500 Social Media Use: Twitter Overtakes Facebook by MarketingProfs
60% of Fortune 500 companies now maintain an active Twitter account, up from 35% a year ago. Meanwhile, 56% of those enterprises have a Facebook profile.
Social Media Use in Small Companies
How social sharing is working for SMBs by iMedia Connection
Simon Grabowski reports that the data should persuade even small businesses to “get social” with their email and other marketing tactics. 57.5 percent of internet users, or 127 million people, will use a social network at least once a month in 2010; that figure is projected to rise to two-thirds by 2014. According to MarketingSherpa, 49 percent of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email, compared to 33 percent of all email users. And email messages that include at least one social sharing option generate a more than 30 percent higher click-through rate (CTR) than emails with no social sharing options.
Social Media Has Scorching Impact On Small Biz by Forbes
54% of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) were using social media to promote their businesses as of September 2010, double the number using these sites in December 2009. And it’s working for them: 60% credit social media with positively impacting their businesses, 46% said their company’s brand awareness has increased and 36% have attracted new business as a result of their social media efforts. LinkedIn is the most popular site, with 73% of small businesses using it, followed by Facebook at 64%, and Twitter, used by 63% of respondents.
Study: Social Media Affects SMB Purchasing Decisions by HubSpot Blog
Younger buyers rely more heavily than their older counterparts on social media as key influence in SMB purchasing decisions–but not by all that much. Just over 50% of buyers under 40 use social media, versus 35% for more senior buyers. Regardless of age group, personal recommendations from company or industry colleagues are rated the most influential information source, while retail websites are least relied upon.
Social Media Is Greater Marketing Priority for Small Businesses by eMarketer
Websites and email are far and away the highest-priority marketing tactics for small businesses; 93% of respondents to a Constant Contact survey last fall identified their website as one of their “most important marketing tools” while 92% said the same for email. Just 63% put social media marketing on the list, though that was up from 51% in a similar survey done in early 2010. In larger businesses, 95% said websites and social media were among their most important tools, with 82% also putting social media in that category.
B2B Marketing and Social Media
The B2B Marketer’s “New Normal”: How to Use Social Media to Generate Leads by iMedia Connection
***** 5 Stars
In this must-read post for anyone in B2B marketing, Courtney Wiley reports that “the B2B buying process is fundamentally changing.” 93% of B2B buyers use search to begin the buying process and 37% post questions on social networking sites when looking for suggestions. In response, B2B spending on social media is expected to rise 67% over the next three years, with digital and online marketing spending predicted to increase 64%. Nine out of ten B2B buyers say that when they’re ready to buy, they’ll find vendors. As for specific tactics, “43% of B2B marketers prefer Twitter when it comes to social media marketing; 32% leverage LinkedIn to generate leads; 16% engage customers on Facebook, and 8% rely on blogs…100% of large and enterprise B2B firms realize the most value with Twitter as their #1 lead-gen tool.”
28 Awesome B2B Social Media Statistics by Social Media B2B
More than half (53.5%) of marketers currently use social media as part of their marketing strategy, up from 45% in 2009. However, B2B marketers are less active on social media than their B2C counterparts, with only 32% engaging on a daily basis compared to 52% on the B2C side. 36% of B2B executives report that there was low executive interest in social media in their company, compared with only 9% of B2C marketers who say the same. Nearly half of the B2B marketers using social media view LinkedIn as an effective channel, while only one in three say the same of Facebook.
17 Compelling And Highly Usable B2B Marketing Statistics by Modern B2B Blogs
B2B advertising spending on social media is forecasted to grow at an annualized rate of 21% through 2013. Odd as it sounds, the majority of B2B marketing budgets are still spent on off-line marketing tactics. 86% of B2B firms are using social media, compared to 82% of B2C outfits. And 93% of business buyers believe all companies should have a social media presence. However, 54% of CIOs prohibit the use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook while at work. Seems like a bit of a disconnect.
The social prehistory of search engine marketing relevance and what it means for SEO and content by Conversionation
B2B vendors still on the fence about social media need to take the plunge. J-P De Clerck reports here on research showing that “Three quarters of…buyers use a social media channel at some point in the information cycle…LinkedIn is used by 58% (!) of the respondents to find information or to talk to colleagues about solutions in the context of a purchase. Blogs represent 50%, Facebook 47% and even Twitter scores 41%.”
B2B Marketing: Red-Headed Step-Child of SEM World? by aimClear
Old Spice and Skittles aside, online marketing isn’t just for B2C types as this post makes clear. For example: 84% of C-level executives find search very valuable in making business decisions. 83% of B2B buyers research online before making a purchase. There are 1.5 million business-oriented queries on YouTube every week. YouTube reaches 36% of all business decision makers (more than 10 times the figure for Forbes.com).
It’s Budget Season – B2B Marketing Budget Trends for 2011 by Everything Technology Marketing
After slashing marketing budgets by 8% on average in 2009, B2B technology marketers increased spending nearly 4% in 2010. According to IDC, “tech companies will allocate 19.3% of their total marketing budget to digital, up from 12.6% last year (2009). Within digital marketing, the largest share of the budget will go toward company websites (26.7%), followed by display ads (21.0%), email marketing (18.6%), search ads (13.6%), search engine optimization (7.6%), digital events (7.1%) and social networks (5.4%).”
2010 LinkedIn Marketing Stats That Matter For B2B by SmartBug Media
What’s the most important social network for B2B marketers? Brittany Brouse reports that “43% of employees at the largest companies in the US (think Gap, Microsoft and Google) report using LinkedIn for professional reasons. Only 11% say the same about Facebook and only 3% say the same about Twitter…100% of Fortune 500 companies have executives using LinkedIn. 50% of LinkedIn’s users are decision makers in their companies. 41% of people using LinkedIn for marketing have generated business with it.” Not convinced yet? There’s more.
PJA Social Media Index: Wave VI by Toolbox.com
***** 5 Stars
That title may be a snooze, but this study contains an incredible wealth of data on the use of social media by HR, IT and finance professionals. As a technology marketer, I’m particularly interested in the responses from the IT group. Among the findings: It professionals spend, on average, almost six hours per week consuming social media content, versus roughly four hours with editorial content and less than three-and-a-half hours on vendor content. More than 55% of IT professionals say they “use social media to make better decisions based on insights from like-minded professionals.” More than 53% say that either their company doesn’t have a social media policy or they are unsure if one exists.
B2B Social Media Marketing –Is it relevant? by CustomerThink
For those B2B executives who still “refuse to see the value social media can add to their marketing programs,” Merlin Francis has a few—actually quite a few—compelling facts to share, among them: 90% of B2B technology buyers view online video. 80% read blogs. 69% are active in social networks. In response, 60% of B2B marketers increased their spending on social media efforts last year, and there is growing acknowledgment that hard social media ROI isn’t everything; the top reasons cited for using social media marketing include demonstrating though leadership, generating greater awareness, and engaging customers.
Sales People Want Social Media Training - but Aren't Getting It
Social Media Driving Sales Worldwide by MarketingProfs
Nearly half of sales professionals worldwide, and almost two-thirds of top performing sales people, say that “social media is integral to their success,” according to research from OgilvyOne. 25% of U.S. sales pros are on Facebook, while 20% are on LinkedIn and 8% Twitter. Most disturbing: while almost half of sales people say that they would like their companies to train them on using social media for sales, less than 10% actually get such training.
Marketing Strategy & Tactics
Marketers Put More Lead Gen Budgets Online by eMarketer
Marketing budgets continue to shift more from offline to online tactics. 68% of companies increased budgets for website development and content in 2010, making this the top area for increased marketing expenditures. The next three targets for increased investment were email marketing (54%), new media (e.g., blogs and mobile marketing—52%) and SEO (51%). Conversely, telemarketing and direct mail saw the biggest declines in spending.
Paid Search Gaining Respect, But Not Enough by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Pay per click (PPC) advertising is viewed as highly effective for generating leads, sales and website traffic. However, only about one out of five marketers in a recent MarketingSherpa survey said that PPC was helpful in generating offline sales, and even fewer believe it improves product reputation.
Searching For Online Leads And Where To Find Them by MediaPost Search Blog
55% of companies who use paid search increased their budgets in this area in 2010, up from 53% who did so in 2009. Just 22% decreased spending on PPC ads. Other findings Laurie Sullivan pulls from the eConsultancy study: “After natural search campaigns, email marketing is the second most widely used online lead generation method…Between 70% and 81% of companies generate leads online with the intention of converting them offline. Only 21% of advertisers surveyed say they work with specialist online lead generation companies, suggesting that this is still an emerging sector which hasn’t fully matured.”
Search Marketers Tap Social to Boost SEO by eMarketer
***** 5 Stars
71% of respondents to an SEOmoz survey (likely a somewhat more sophisticated group than average) say they are using social media as part of their SEO strategy. 53% are using blogging to help achieve SEO goals. The most popular SEO activities however were using Google Webmaster Tools to identify SEO issues and performing keyword research. Among the most interesting findings in the report, however, were those who failed to learn from the experience of others: 32% said they were adding rel=”nofollow” tags to internal links, while 21% were removing them, having realized how little effect this has on SEO. Also, 14% of respondents admitted they were buying links from other sites, while 12% were sending reconsideration requests to Google—likely after being banned for buying links.
Does Google Instant Generate Query Shares? by MediaPost Search Blog
Google’s share of the U.S. search market increased from 65.4% in August to 66.1% in September, just after Google Instant was launched. The effect of the annoying new feature has been a notable shift from organic results to paid; prior to the launch of Instant, clicks ran 82% to 18% for organic compared to paid search clicks. After the launch, the shares were 78% to 22%. Total U.S. search volume rose 16% from 2009 to 2010.
How Google Instant Changes Behavior by MediaPost Search Blog
Same topic and source as the post above, but with a different set of stats. Google Instant is bad for long-tail searches, but good overall for AdWords advertisers: overall impressions for paid search ads have increased by more than 9%, while clicks are up more than 5%. “Searchers search and click more as a result of Google Instant.” Furthermore, average cost-per-click rates have declined by 3%.
Comparing SEO & Social Media as Marketing Channels by SEOmoz
The smart but oblivious Rand Fishkin explores, though statistics, the relative business value of SEO vs. social media. When asked how discover new online products, a large majority of consumers chose search engines over social media sites. Even in the 18-24 year-old age group, where the gap was at its narrowest, search beat social 42% to 24%. Search traffic also converts better. But as Rand concludes, this isn’t an either/or proposition: both traffic sources have value.
11 Mind-Blowing Mobile Marketing Infographics by HubSpot Blog
59% of Americans connect to the Internet wirelessly (this includes laptops). MorganStanley predicts there will be more mobile than desktop Internet users by 2014. 75% of U.S. teenagers own cell phones. 72% of them text on their phones. 54% send a text at least once per day. Find all of these stats and more in this collection of cool and useful infographics about the mobile web market.
Other Downright Interesting Stuff
50 most stunning examples of data visualization and infographics by Rich Works
A big collection of awesome infographics, covering topics ranging from Twitter user types and the top earners in world football (soccer) to an explanation of how 3D technology works and the global popularity of World of Warcraft.
And Finally…
Best of 2010: Social Media Stats & Year in Review by Social Media Group
Leona Hobbs shares some interesting insights in her roundup of social media stats from last year, such as: Facebook is unsuprisingly the number one tool for sharing content, according to social sharing service AddThis, but the second-most popular tool? Email. Then Twitter. “Facebook” is also the most commonly used term in search.
Related Post
Best Social Media Stats and Market Research of 2010 (So Far)
2011 Social Media Marketing Trends
Friday, January 7th, 2011Social media marketing has progressed from radical new idea to widely adopted practice in a remarkably short period of time. Just 5% of Americans said they were familiar with Twitter in 2008; by the fall of last year, that figure was 87%, and Twitter is now adding 300,000 new users per day. Facebook added more than 150 million new users in 2010. Three-quarters of b2b buyers use social media at some point during their purchase decision process, and marketers are responding with increased spending on social media marketing.
So what’s next? A new report from Focus, 2011 Trends Report: Social Media Marketing presents observations and predictions from eight leading social media experts (and me) about social media trends and developments to watch for in the coming year.
The thrust of this brief but enlightening report is that social media is moving from the “what is it and should we do it” stage to the “how do we integrate social media with operations and do it better” realm.
Among the top 10 trends identified:
1. Social efforts will permeate the enterprise. “Social is much bigger than marketing and PR. “Social is much bigger than marketing and PR. It’s a customer phenomenon. This will demonstrate itself as social moves into product development, operations, customer service and even sales,” according to Michael Brenner.
3. Stronger focus on global audiences. “Much of the social innovation will come from Third World countries that are using these free platforms to make up for deficiencies in their communication infrastructure,” says Mark Schaefer.
5. Metrics will mature. “News Feed Optimization (NFO) on Facebook will become the new SEO. Basically, 2 percent of fans return to a fan page, and in some cases it’s more like .02 percent…What you need to focus on is the content and optimizing the content to get comments and likes,” per Paul Dunay.
6. Social media will become targetable. “Soon, we’ll be able to email only to customers who clicked a particular bit.ly link on Twitter. We’ll be able to send a Facebook status message only to customers who visited a particular page on our website. By combining what we know about our customers and prospects and friends across multiple social outposts, we’ll end up with a centralized view of each of our connections,” in the words of Jay Baer.
There’s much more, from Frank Days of Novell, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group, Stephanie Marx of Cisco and Lee Traupel of Linked Media Group. Download the report and join the discussion on Focus.
5 Great Reasons to Retweet Others on Twitter
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010One of the key characteristics I (and many other Twitter users) use when determining whether I should follow someone back on Twitter is the level of interaction in their tweet stream. Do they ask questions? Answer them? And most importantly, do they ever retweet others’ content?
Now virtually every blogger and business user on Twitter tweets their own content, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that—it’s one of the strengths of the platform. But Twitter is a social tool, not a broadcasting medium. Tweeting only their own stuff makes a person look like one of those cocktail party boors who only want to talk about themselves. More often than not, they end up talking only to themselves.
Retweeting is a key part of the social interaction on Twitter. Here are five great reasons to share content posted by others.
1. It helps those you retweet. Retweeting provides others with both social (“nice work!”) benefits as well as the practical benefit of driving more traffic to their content. It’s a nice thing to do, and (usually) appreciated.
2. It helps your followers. Tweeting and retweeting interesting and valuable content helps those who follow you. When you help your follows discover new knowledge and information, you become a valued information source and build trust.
3. It generates more retweets for you. Others are more likely to retweet your content when they view you as someone trying to share helpful content with the community rather than just broadcasting your own material.
4. It makes others more likely to follow you. People want to be retweeted. Having retweets and other interaction in your tweetstream makes you a much more attractive person/entity to follow than someone whose tweets are one-way and obviously done on auto pilot.
5. It gets you more #FollowFriday recommendations. For all of the reasons above, retweeting makes others more likely to recommend you to their followers, which in turn grows your following.
It all comes down to the “social” in social media; people value tools like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for the interaction with like-minded individuals they provide. Those who focus on “broadcasting” only their own content through these media tend to be shunned or ignored. Conversely, those who interact and add value grow their networks, influence and trust over time. Sometimes the best way to advance in social media is to retweet.
