influent the blog
Right now, people are talking about your brand. Fluent helps you connect with them.
Like any other type of campaign, set goals before you measure
by admin - posted on February 1st, 2010
So many companies are jumping on Twitter and Facebook, devoting a ton of hours to crafting a conversation and engaging with consumers, but after they’ve spent a lot of time and some money doing so, they hit a roadblock.
What stops them in their tracks? Figuring out how to measure the success of their social media endeavors. Well, as with most marketing campaigns, the best way to track success is to create goals. read more
Actually, NPR, you have it wrong
by admin - posted on January 27th, 2010
NPR published an article a couple months ago about the profitability of social networks and how often the best way to pursue profits is to charge users, instead of using ads.
Their sources? Jill Clapp, a 42-year-old Facebooker who says that the ads on Facebook are unappealing to her since they make a lot of assumptions based on her age and gender (see: Botox, NutriSystem). Well, yeah, I would hate to constantly be reminded that I wasn’t young and beautiful anymore, but that isn’t Facebook’s fault. It’s the advertisers. See, Facebook ads are actually pretty genius. You can target by the most specific things, such as obsessed with Starbucks, a hardcore Chicago Bulls fan who is vegetarian, women interested in law and the color red that live near Anchorage. As long as it’s in someone’s profile, they’ll see your ad. Which is obviously like a goldmine for marketers. The problem is that most haven’t figured out how to target very specific audiences.
Denise Paolucci, formerly of Live Journal and Founder of Dreamwidth, says that the big problem with selling ads on social networks is that “people are there to socialize, not shop.”
That’s interesting, because, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve clicked on an ad on Facebook for a retailer, ranging from online tee shirt shops to American Apparel ads with the latest additions to their collection. Also, I’ve even asked friends where they got the dress, top or handbag they were wearing in their Facebook picture. While my main goal on Facebook, as it is with pretty much everyone, is to find out what my friends are up to and connect with them, another huge aspect is discovery. Facebook is pretty much the holy grail of word of mouth. Users can see what their friends like, whether it’s new movies, bands, products, stores, restaurants. Discovering new things—whether it’s that Mom is into bikram yoga now or that your best friend just went to the White Rabbits concert or your old roommate found a Theory dress on sale—is what Facebook is all about, and ads can play into that, if they are done right.
Paolucci also states that advertising on social media sites is “just like if you’re at a cocktail party and mingling with people having a conversation, you’re not going to want to be interrupted by somebody jumping and shouting, ‘Hey! Free widgets!’”
Right, just like I’m not going to want to be hit up for cash while I’m at a cocktail party mingling…
So, what’s the lesser of the two evils? Well, it depends on the history of the social network. With Facebook, there would be no way they would maintain their numbers if they switched to a paid service. So, much to Clapp’s chagrin, Facebook ads will most likely be here to stay. However, to make the social media giant even more profitable, they could offer premium benefits at a cost, like LinkedIn does, such as premium pages for brands that allow easy customization or such as increasing limits for personal pages (such as increasing number of friends allowed, etc.).
read moreThey are fluent: charity: water
by admin - posted on December 25th, 2009
Charity: water has been blowing up all over the scene lately, but their specialty is definitely social media. The organization is just shy of being three years old, yet they have a massive following and world recognition – and a huge factor in that growth is social media.
How many people are thirsty for charity: water updates? Over 1 million on the organization’s Twitter account (and thousands more on each employee’s Twitter account). Over 44,000 on Facebook. About 1 million on YouTube.
They have used social media to promote events, such as Twestival. Twestival was an event that raised money around the world for charity: water and was organized using Twitter, drew in over $250,000 in donations, but most importantly, the event took place in 80 cities across the globe.
Their website even caters to the social media addicted, by offering borninseptember.org, a site where people that were born in September can create a profile where they can collect donations that go to charity: water in lieu of birthday gifts. So far 1,646 (including one of our own) have given up mediocre and unnecessary birthday presents for charity: water.
The key takeaway from charity: water’s practices? They treat their social media fans and followers like friends –constantly letting them know what’s happening within the organization. They let people know about campaigns, especially ones that are location specific (which, hello, only adds to ROI), they talk about events (like how Blake Lively hosted one of their recent events), they talk about the people they help (“Not having to share water with animals makes us feel more human” says woman with a new village well), they upload a picture everyday that either shows what they’re up to that day or something they’ve done recently and much more.
So, you’re probably thinking, “I’m a CPA and I own my own business…what exactly could I talk about that would be interesting?” Well, you’d be surprised… Blogs for small businesses such as accounting firms and law firms are a great way to show future clients your voice, such as offering tax tips to small business owners or starting a blog and commenting on legal issues in the news. Twitter and Facebook are great for small retail businesses, offering deals to fans and followers and letting them know about upcoming sales. There are tons of ways to apply what charity: water teaches us to your own business.
read moreIn case you missed it: Clay Shirky speaking at TED 2009
by admin - posted on November 24th, 2009
In this clip, Clay Shirky talks about how social media is ending the top-down control of news, which is changing the scene in marketing, news, politics and many more arenas. People are know allowed to speak freely about (almost) whatever they want and they’re able to reach large audiences and little snippets can spread virally. As Shirky points out, some countries are trying to control this.