Social Media Archives - Page 12 of 12 - McLellan Marketing Group

A practical, tools you can use conference

October 2, 2009

You all know I am an unabashed fan of the site Marketing Profs and their blog Daily Fix. Ann Handley and her crew are just some of the smartest, most generous marketing pros out there.

So you can trust me when I say…their Digital Marketing Mixer is going to be a "your hand hurts from scrambling to write down all the ideas and must do's for when you get back to work" sort of an event.

Here are the details:

Chicago, October 21 and 22. (If I wasn't speaking at the Iowa Tourism conference, I'd be there in a nanosecond!)

The speakers' list is a who's who of internet marketing & social media. You'll meet and learn from the likes of Andy Sernovitz, Peter Shankman, Mack Collier, Amber Naslund, Paul Chaney, Mari Smith, Leigh Duncan-Durst, Ann Handley, Beth Harte, Jason Baer and many others.

It is sick and wrong that all of these people are going to be in one place and I have to miss hearing them teach and learn from one another.

They're going to be talking practical, real content. How to develop leads from webinars. How to monitor and measure social media activity, e-mail newsletter campaigns, how to get creative with SEO, how to impact Google…all for the taking.

What are you waiting for? Click on this link to save $200 on the registration and get to Chicago! You owe it to yourself to at least take a look at the incredible content and try to figure out a way to get there.

If you're a regular reader, you know I don't gush about too many of the conferences out there. But this one's different. This is not for the social media super stars. This is for you — the marketing pro who is looking for some new ideas, some new contacts and a new playing field.

Have a great time and come back and tell us about it!

More

Are you afraid of Facebook and other social networks?

September 11, 2009

Apparently, if you are a manager, the answer is yes. If you're someone updating your status and telling people your home will be unoccupied (and ripe for a burglery) the answer is no.

Two studies were recently released and I find the results ironic.

We're afraid

Though 70% of US marketing, management and HR executives say they plan to increase social-media use at their companies, more than 80% say they are concerned about the risks, and many do not have policies or training in place to avert reputation mishaps or lost productivity, according to a study by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law.

The graph shows that we're at the "I'm afraid but don't know what to do stage." Further proof that most business leaders are still in the dark when it comes to social media. They have heard enough to suggest they should be afraid, but they don't know how to create policies or educate their employees.

Look at the opportunity this presents. Are you in a position to help your company think through a smart, rational social media policy? Could you offer to do some SM 101 training for not only your co-workers but your senior management team as well?

Seems like a way to contribute and get noticed for doing so.

On the other hand….

We're not afraid

As we blithely tell people we're headed out for dinner or that two week vacation to Maui, we assume that everyone who is seeing that update is a "friend."

The truth is…we're giving away vital information about ourselves and our whereabouts that is potentially being used by professional burglars to establish a list of targets, according to a new report from UK insurer Legal & General.

“The Digital Criminal” report, which was prepared with assistance from reformed burglar Michael Fraser, found that nearly 38% of users of sites such as Facebook and Twitter have posted status updates detailing their holiday plans and one-third (33%) have posted status updates saying that they are away for the weekend.

The study goes on to say that certain types of "updaters" are more likely targets. Are you a “Chatterbox,” “Loner,” or “Holiday Snapper?”

The Digital Criminal report (pdf) is available free for download. It details the personality types that burglars will target online, offers advice on the type of information that is potentially valuable to a burglar, and provides tips to social media network users to help safeguard privacy.

It seems to me that when we should be cautious and concerned, we're not. And when we let ignorance cloud our opinions, we are overly so.

More reminders that this brave new frontier is in its infancy.

More

Women love their social networks more than their mothers in law

August 6, 2009

Okay, so maybe that isn't so surprising. But how about this…they'd also give up their Pradas (shoes and purses, guys) or chocolate before they'd give up their social networks.

But, if Facebook or the others began to charge a fee for membership….50% of the women would bolt.

So says a study done by ShesConnected Multimedia.

More than one-third (36%) of online US and Canadian women would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their mother-in-law before they gave up their social networks, but only half would be willing to pay subscription fees to continue using such networks, according to a research study and report by ShesConnected Multimedia.

The study, “The Power of Social Networking for Women,” asked women in the US and Canada how they are using social networks and found that 53% of online women use social networks at least weekly, and that social-networking women – most of whom are highly engaged and comfortable with technology – are one of the fastest growing segments on social networking sites.

Women are also most comfortable with ad-supported revenue models for social networking sites, the survey found. While 92% have some degree of comfort with seeing ads on social networking sites, only 22% say the same about selling data to advertisers and 28% have comfort with a subscription-based model. Nearly half (49%) say they would not use a social networking site if It charged them a subscription fee.

The study also looks at what features are must haves, reasons for belonging etc.

Check out these additional stats from the report:

More than two-thirds (67%) of survey respondents belong to three social networks, while 48% belong to four or more.
The adoption of social networks by older women is especially strong. Women ages 50+ comprised the largest age group in the core user survey.
Women using social networks are highly educated, with 23% of respondents having a masters, PhD, or other advanced degree (vs. 8% nationally).
More than one-third report they are in business for themselves.
Respondents spend a significant amount of time online each day, with 49% reporting they spend 1 – 2 hours per day for personal use and 48% reporting they spend five or more hours per day online for work.
83% of respondents have 50 or more connections or friends.
56% have started at least one group and have joined an average of two to five groups. Nearly one in three (29%) belong to 10 or more groups.

More

Grasshopper case study shows you how to create a viral campaign

August 3, 2009

Remember when I told you about getting some chocolate covered grasshoppers in the mail and how effective the 3-D mailing was?

Well, now the Grasshopper team has gone one further. They have documented in a step by step, 8-page case study exactly how they created this brilliantly executed viral campaign.

The case study includes detailed budget numbers and short of their mailing list — pretty much every detail you might want to know.

This idea of freely sharing what you know/did is one of my favorite aspects of social media. Do yourself a favor and go download the case study. It is an excellent example you can use as the framework for your next effort.

Many thanks to Jonathan Kay (Ambassador of Buzz at Grasshopper) and his team for not only creating a smart and buzzworthy campaign but also sharing their secrets so we can all do the same!

More

Thanks for the nods!

July 26, 2009

Drew's Marketing Minute has recently been noted on several websites — as always, I want to thank you readers who make the comments and discussions so lively for getting this blog noticed. It would be a quiet and boring place without you!

Without further ado….

The folks at Online College Reviews put together a list of 100 awesome blogs for your business education. Proud to say this blog is among 99 other excellent blogs. They did a nice job of categorizing the list so you can find just the right blog for any business concern you might have.

The editors at blogged.com have once again reviewed a huge slew of blogs. Drew's Marketing Minute was given a 9.4 out of 10. They base their reviews on: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. You can check out the 10's of thousands of blogs they've reviewed her e.

The Invesp Consulting company (the e-commerce experts) have put together a new ranking system based on 20 factors ranging from pages per visit to link to page ratios. As of today, this blog is ranked #3 in its category…so thanks to the Invesp folks for that.

More

Social media isn’t for everyone

July 20, 2009

I know…blasphemy. If you read the blogs and tweets of many social media proponents, they'll speak of social media like it is the holy grail. Seek it…find it and all your marketing woes will be gone.

I don't think it's anywhere near that simple.

Don't get me wrong — I still believe in the value and power of social media. But I also believe:

There are levels of involvement and not everyone should do a deep dive
It's no magic bullet — we're talking a serious time commitment
It does not eliminate the need for traditional media efforts

If you look at this great diagram by Gary Hayes you'll see that there are degrees of involvement that correlate with different activities.

The Consumer: This is the person/company who actively listens to what is being said online about themselves, their company, their industry etc. This, I believe is the level that ALL people/companies need to be at. (check out this great post by Jason Falls about listening)

The Sharer: This is where you go from reading it to sharing it. Maybe you tweeting great reads or you have one of those blogs where you just list other blog posts worthy of reading. You might also be an association or company leader who wants to create word of mouth or keep your team current. (Word of mouth elevates you as well as what you share.)

The Critic: I take exception with Haye's label on this one. Yes, at this level of activity, you might be criticizing something, but I think in most cases you are reacting to something that's been said. You are adding additional facts, correcting a misperception or asking a follow up question. (If you're doing a good job at level one (The consumer) you'll be able to respond quickly.)

The Editor: There's nothing that says you have to create all new content if you want to deep dive into social media. You could create a site like MarketingProfs that has many authors creating and re-purposing content or perhaps you belong to a group (like my agency networking group) and everyone writes a little…which adds up to a lot.

The Creator: This is where many will tell you that you need to be. It's mandatory. I think that's rubbish. In fact, I think most people should not be here. Why? Because of the time commitment is huge. Because there may not be any ROI for your company to be blogging/content creating. And because most people will start…and then stall. I'm not saying this isn't a smart strategy. I'm just saying it's not for everyone.

I believe that everyone needs to be a consumer. And as a result of actively listening…they can and should be sharing and critiquing when need be. For many, that's where it should end. And there's nothing wrong with stopping there.

What do you think? Should everyone have a blog? Are we all content creators at heart?

More

A practical, tools you can use conference

Are you afraid of Facebook and other social networks?

Women love their social networks more than their mothers in law

Grasshopper case study shows you how to create a viral campaign

Top 42 Content Marketing blogs — are you reading them?

Thanks for the nods!

Social media isn’t for everyone