Sometimes Social Media Does Trump Email - MarketingVOX

Sometimes Social Media Does Trump Email - MarketingVOX ...and sometimes it doesn't! As one of the surveys quoted points out, we need email addresses even to get on a social network -- and then the social network generates an awful lot of email notifications to us. I'm still of the opinion that in general (but not always) Facebook is best for issues that concern people in their daily, personal lives, mostly on the fun side of life: gossip, family, entertainment -- although other topics are certainly creeping in. If your product or service can connect to the conversations your target audience is having on Facebook in some subtle way, great. If not, listen more and push less. An example: a garden supply center realized that FB ads targeted to their local market were very cheap. But how many people are talking about their gardens on FB? If you look for groups, you'll find very few, with very low membership. Garden talk goes on, but not on FB. The campaign, cheap as it was, didn't work, and was soon pulled.

How NOT to use the web

Top of an email I received today:


"Thank you for your request to ABC News.

To submit a story idea to one of the ABC News shows listed below, write a single page letter including your name, phone number, and address. Include photocopies of backup information. On the outside of the envelope, write "Story Idea." If a producer is interested in your story, he/she will contact you. Here are the show addresses:"


And you won't be surprised at this point to know that the addresses were all "bricks" -- no email, Twitter, chat, video... NBC (MSNBC.com), Foxnews.com and CBSNews.com also have the typical "contact us" link in the footer, but different things happen when you have the patience to scroll all the way down -- a very long way for Fox News. NBC and CBS give you the usual email form -- NBC devotes a whole page to the various shows, while CBS hides them in a dropdown list for the email form. But if you find and click the "contact us" link for Fox News, here's the nice welcome you get:


"We want YOUR input! Tell us what you love, tell us what you hate ... just don't keep it to yourself! As a FOX Fan, you'll have a unique opportunity to make your voice heard and affect change at FNC. Below, you'll find a few ways to contact us. BUT, if you're more of a phone person, you can call us at 1-888-369-4762."


If only they put that at the top of the home page, I'd be more inclined to believe them.

Finding the words Google will rank highest, on deadline

Article kicks off with a good case study of the frenzy behind the scenes as savvy web editors at newspapers tried to figure out the words that would get their story above the others, when the Ft. Hood shootings were underway. Author Kim Krause Berg then takes us through some of the details of how to go about it.

The Algorithm Chasers

Smartphones plus new Google click-to-call mobile ads to make 2010 the year of mobile -- really!

A new survey of what people do with their Android and iPhones, combined with Google's announcement means that mobile advertising, long-promised as the next big thing, should really truly happen in 2010. The AdWords email, time-stamped 1:23 am, begins:

"We’re pleased to announce that beginning in January, your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices. Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website. You'll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website."


A new survey by Compete, just released, says shopping activities lead all other uses of smartphones. ReadWriteWeb reports: 


"Smartphone users are becoming increasingly comfortable with using their phones to shop online. According to new data from Compete, about 37% of smartphone users have purchased something with their handset in the last six months. Among the most popular items that these users bought were music, books, DVDs, video games and movie tickets. At the same time, though, Compete also found that smartphone users are very likely to abandon shopping sites that haven't been optimized for mobile usage. Almost 8% of smartphone owners who tried to buy something from their phone were simply unable to do so...Researching products is still the most popular shopping-related activity on the smartphones. According to Compete's survey, 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android owners check sale prices while they are shopping. Surely, the popularity of mobile apps like ShopSavvy andRedLaser - which make checking prices as easy as scanning a barcode - will only drive these numbers up in the coming months.
The second most popular shopping-related activity for smartphone owners is finding consumer reviews. 39% of iPhone users and 31% of Android users use their devices for this."


Take this trend and combine it with the ease of use and accountability of pay-per-call AdWords on the phones, and savvy businesses should do well this year.

Proud to be a community moderator for an award-winner!

Over two years now. Internet Evolution's thinkernet.com site has scored several awards over the last few months:
"We're thrilled to inform you that Internet Evolution won the min's Editorial & Design award for Best Blogs, recognizing the site's renowned ThinkerNet blogosphere, which publishes exclusive content from the biggest names in the Internet industry.

Read more about the award here: http://metacast.agora.com/link.asp?m=60666&s=7205559&l=0

Internet Evolution was up against a number of industry leaders, including Entertainment Weekly, About.com, Harvard Business Publishing, Martha Stewart Living, Newsweek, Time, and Haymarket Media.

With regular content from more than 200 industry leaders like Vint Cerf, Lawrence G. Roberts, Craig Newmark, and Andrew Keen, the now-award-winning ThinkerNet blogosphere has become the go-to destination for analysis and discussion on the future of the Internet.

This latest honor is Internet Evolution's fifth award this year. The site was previously recognized by minOnline for Best B2B Video Show, Best B2B Community/Social Network, Best Customized Website/Microsite, and Digital Team of the Year, taking accolades in categories against leaders from Sports Illustrated, Conde Nast, The Atlantic, and Scholastic Inc., among others.

The site also received Honorable Mentions in other Editorial & Design categories, including Best Use of Social Media, Best Online Column, and Best Special Section/Microsite.

(Yet another) top 10 list of tools for small business social media success (but a good one)

Okay, the title is a bit unwieldy -- my apologies. But it conveys my sense that we're being swamped with lists. TechCrunch even makes a list of its top ten lists. Magazines, of course, have long done this: 33 ways to drive your man crazy in bed; 27 new chicken dishes you can make in in under 60 seconds. However, I also have to admit that not only do lists serve to draw readers in, but they are easy to read, and therefore really can be useful.

So, clearly labeled as a sponsor list (but not a sponsor of this site, I'm sorry to say), her's the list of social media tools especially appropriate for small business...

But wait-- before I give you the link, let me say I have my own list within this list! Choose from the following list:
1. My shortened list of tools;
2. The original length-ten list of tools.

What do you mean, you're not measuring your social media ROI?

Christina Warren refers to a study that says 84% of social media initiatives do not include any measurement! That was last month. Now she has a very complete guide.