Latest Updates: WOM and Social Networks RSS

• SXSWi Can’t Miss List
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:16 am on March 5, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Influencers (60), WOM and Social Networks, WOM B2B (51)

  It’s the beginning of March, which means it’s high time for SXSWi session suggestions. We found some good ones based on what you want to learn:

  How to be Strategically Unlikeable Online

  Mon., March 12 9:30 AM

  This should explain it…

  

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  Being Likable

  Sat,. March 10, 11:30 AM

  Dave Kerpen of longtime WOMMA member, Likeable Media, discusses a social strategy based on likeability.

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  The State of Social Marketing

  Sun., March 11 9:30 AM

  A panel that examines social marketing from all angles. Speakers are from Eloqua, JESS3 (both WOMMA members), The Next Web and Unified.

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  Pinterest Explained: Q&A with Co-Founder Ben Silbermann

  Tues., March 13 11:00 AM

  This session will sell out. Get there early. That is all.

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  For more on SXSWi suggestions, check out Eloqua for B2B sessions; the Influential Marketing Blog for influence sessions; and David Binkowski for social tips.

  

  

   

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• Facebook Timeline To-Dos
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:09 am on March 5, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Facebook (27), WOM and Social Networks, WOM How-to (591)

  Timeline is available for all brand pages now. Get out the gate early. Here are a few to-dos for the week to get your page looking snazzy.

  The Cover and the Profile Photo

  Gone is the thin upper-left placement for your branding. You’ll need a wide image that heavily defines your brand. The Cover is the first thing users see (good-bye splash pages). Refrain from calls-to-action. They’re a no-no in Facebook’s eyes. For the profile, add your logo

  Specs: Cover - 851 x 315 pixels; Profile Photo – 180 x 180 pixels

  

  Rethink the Splash Page

  Your stream is the first thing users see. No options here. You can still have tab apps, but you can’t force users to visit them. Ask yourself which apps you truly need. If you were using a splash page to build Likes or leads, figure out how you can do that in this new environment.

  Get Moving

  Timeline is optional for now, but on March 30, your brand’s Facebook page will switch whether you like it or not.

  More tips at PC World

  

  

   

• Privacy, Privacy, Pinterest
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:05 am on February 24, 2012 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Pinterest (9), Privacy (8), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Ethics (138)

  

  We’ve covered the Pinterest explosion for the past few weeks and have found little to hold against the quickly-growing social network. The streak has ended.

  Pinterest recently got knocked for switching user links to affiliate links in an attempt to generate revenue - hardly a cardinal sin. The uproar started because Pinterest never told their users about it.  Privacy, once again, throws water on the fire.

  Facebook and Google are no strangers to getting knocked for lax privacy policies. But when you look at their business models, even Pinterest’s, the dollar is in the data. Facebook and Google sell advertising. Pinterest almost inevitably will soon do the same. But users tend to have a knee-jerk reaction whenever a social network steps over the line.

  Key Takeaway: You may not run a social network, but almost every company collects customer/user data to some extent. Always be clear about how you use it and who sees it.

  Read more about Pinterest and Privacy at Edelman Digital

  

  

   

• Is Pinterest Right for Your Brand?
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:13 am on February 20, 2012 | 4 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Brands and WOM (503), Pinterest (9), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Trends (738)

  The last 6 months have been huge for Pinterest. Their growth has inspired over 100 brands to begin pinning. So is it right for you? Maybe…

  Retailers: Yes

  Brands that are really blowing up on Pinterest are retailers. Right now, Etsy dominates – a natural choice considering how visually focused they have always been. eCommerce has always been a visual experience. Now retailers have an opportunity to have their wares pinned all over the internet in non-ad form.

  Everyone else: Maybe (sorry!)

  In social media, there are a lot of bandwagons to jump on. Smart brands don’t want to invest time and resources into social media that is just a flash in the pan or too niche for their customer base. Yes, Pinterest is driving lots of traffic and very popular. But unless Pinterest provides a real solution to a problem that already exists, hold back.

  Key Takeaway: Pinterest, like other social media, is a tool that might help your brand. However, it might not. Keep your goals close.

  But hey, Mark Zuckerberg just joined.

  Read more about Pinterest at The Digital Influence Mapping Project and MarketingProfs

  

  

   

• Research: Emails drive 1350% more traffic than social media
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:07 am on February 20, 2012 | 3 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Email Marketing (7), Research (521), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Trends (738)

  Eloqua analyzed traffic data from 392 of their clients and found that social media is not threatening email referrals, not by a long shot.

  

  The “Social media will kill email” argument has been around for a long time without proper back up. Indeed, the data showed that social media referrals have increased 331% Q4 2010 to Q4 2011. Email opens saw a solid 27% increase over the same period.

  Key Takeaway: The correct argument would sound more like this, “Social media is growing in influence but still dwarfed by email.” It won’t make for great headlines, but it is true and should be considered in your marketing plan.

  Read more about Eloqua’s data at It’s All About Revenue

  

  

   

• SaaS Help: When to Pay for Social Media Software
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:16 am on February 17, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks

  Hootsuite and TweetDeck aren’t doing it for you or your clients anymore? Not sure? Vicki Blair at Visible wrote a helpful post on when to make the leap to paid social media SaaS.

  First off – Do you need it?

  The free tools are great to know retweets, clicks, and replies. But if you want to track sentiment, centralized publishing and deeper data, you should upgrade. The increased information will make your time more productive and your engagement more effective.

  So what do you need?

  Imagine buying a car without ever having driven one. Knowing what you need is critical to paying for the right service. First, do some free trials and get your footing. Find what you like and need. Consider their customer support, training, data history storage, engagement tools and hidden costs.

  Key Takeaway: Do your homework. The market is very new and leaders are still emerging. Know your needs and find a solution, not the other way around.

  Read more tips at Visible’s blog

  

  

   

• #1 Advocacy Goal: WOMM
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:55 am on February 15, 2012 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Brand Advocates (8), Infographic (22), WOM and Social Networks, WOM How-to (591)

  Brand advocates don’t simply appear. One becomes an advocate after a series of engagements and experiences that drive sharing.

  Mark Smiciklas created an infographic that visualizes the process, the people involved, and what it means for the brand.

  

  Key Takeaways: The bottom half closely resembles a sales funnel. But once the advocates are active and nurtured, the brand explodes in connections. After the development process, brand advocates become a very effective sales force.

  Read more of Mark’s insights at Social Media Explorer

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  Have you run an amazing advocate program? Submit the case study for a speaking opportunity at WOMM-U, May 7 – 9. Submission deadline: March 9.

  

  

   

• Content Marketing vs. Social Media
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:51 am on February 15, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Content Marketing (62), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Trends (738)

  A debate is brewing. Last week Michael Brenner, Senior Director at SAP and founder of Business2Community wrote a post “Will Content Marketing Kill Social Media?” Amanda Maksymiw, wrote a retort with a simple answer – No.

  Most social media work as very efficient content disseminators. The volume of content will not change that function. The quality, however, does affect the effectiveness of social media. One commenter, Ardath Albee, aptly asked:

  “Instead of ‘content marketing will destroy social media,’ how about ‘noise and selfishness will destroy social media?’”

  Key Takeaway: Social media are the cars and pieces of content are the drivers. If they’re bad drivers, there will be more congestion and frustration, but the road isn’t going anywhere.

  Read more about the debate at Influencer Marketing Review

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  Have you done great stuff with content? Submit the case study for a speaking opportunity at WOMM-U, May 7 – 9. Submission deadline: March 9.

  

  

   

• Data Privacy Day is upon us!
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:26 am on February 10, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Privacy (8), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Ethics (138)

  Data privacy isn’t a subject that will sell out a room in most places, but the sheer amount of data online makes security a major issue. January 28 marked Data Privacy Day was celebrated in the U.S., Canada, and 27 European countries.

  Edelman Digital published a Microsoft infographic that really sums up why Data Privacy not only effects companies, but also employees, friends and neighbors.

  

  Key Takeaway: Data privacy will only grow in importance as companies skirt the line between Big Brother and Big Mother – the brother’s more helpful and much less intrusive counterpart.

  Read more about Data Privacy at Edelman Digital

  Edelman is a WOMMA governing member.

  

  

   

• Super Bowl Ad Trends: Integration is here to stay
  
  

  Pat McCarthy 11:19 am on February 6, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: Research (521), WOM and Social Networks, WOM Trends (738)

  For those of you that enjoy the commercials as much as the game, Altimeter whipped up some analytics on this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads. They found five trends:

  Main Destination: Traditional Websites

  The dot com era is certainly not over. A clear 57% of ads directed viewers to a website or microsite. Perhaps more interestingly, 32% didn’t include any online resources

  

  URLs Stay Corporate

  The ads relied heavily on destination, not conversation. Corporate URLs dominated the field, appearing in 49% of the ads. Twitter, surprisingly, came in last – even losing to hashtags.

  

  Unanswered Questions: While only 7% of the ads included hashtags, I’d be really interested to see the data on the conversations generated. Who used them? What actions did they take later?

  If you see anything that answers these questions, we’d love to know! Please comment the link.

  Read all of Altimeter’s takeaways at Web Strategy