You know you should listen to your customers and you are aware that social media has been the new way for people to express their opinions about products and services. But what are the platforms available and what are the differences between each one of them? Here is a quick guide for you:
FACEBOOK
What it is: It is the most popular social network with over 800 million users. People usually build profiles to keep in touch with family and friends. Lately it has been used by businesses as a marketing tool. On Facebook people can send and receive messages, chat online, post pictures and share links and videos. They can also "like" a page - there are six types of pages: local businesses, companies, products, artists, entertainment and community. Facebook offers many options to interact such as the Wall, photo albums, comments space and the "like" button, where people click if they like the comment or post. If users don't like something or someone, they have the option of blocking the person's updates or deleting the person from their profile.
What do you need to know: Facebook is a great way to generate customer loyalty and there are many ways to do it. But because it's a very personal network, people don't appreciate when businesses overload their pages with information or un-wanted promotions and they usually block the pages if that happens. The best way to increase interaction is by sharing useful content, asking customers' opinions and giving quick answers-Facebook users really expect you to reply A.S.A.P. In other words, show you care about them and they'll care about you.
Vocabulary you need to know: Wall-page where people post and receive comments; NewsFeed-page where Facebook shows the users what is going on with friends and pages they like. It shows popular posts first and then most recent ones.
TWITTER
What it is: It is a platform that shows real-time updates. On Twitter you can choose which updates you want to see and you can also use the search engine to look up other people's updates on a specific subject. Businesses can use Twitter to inform about their products and services and to see what people are saying about them. Twitter was created in 2006 as a texting program and grew to be the only real-time information platform in the world.
What do you need to know: Twitter is a great way to spread the word about your business. People sign up for it to get news before anyone else - so make sure you post there first. Many times, news was on Twitter before it appeared on big media channels such as CNN. Twitter updates can be only 140 characters long.
Vocabulary you need to know: Twitter has a very particular vocabulary. Users are called Tweeters and are divided in two categories: Followers-people that see your updates, and Following-people that you choose to see updates from. Also, the updates-or the things you write-are called tweets.
FOURSQUARE
What it is: It is the first location based platform for mobile devices (smart phones, iPods, iPads). It is not as popular as Facebook and Twitter but it has been growing fast. People use it to "check-in" at places and to show their friends where they are. They can also leave comments and reviews about the place they are at.
What do you need to know: Foursquare offers many tools to attract customers to your venue and it is a great opportunity for a business to grow loyalty and to get new customers. Facebook has a similar feature (Facebook Places) but FourSquare lets customers write reviews right away and search for places nearby. Businesses can use FourSquare to give away coupons, prizes and virtual badges, making the whole experience feel like a fun game. The platform offers a dashboard (a data report) where you can see when and how many people went to your place.
REVIEW WEBSITES(Yelp, Google+, Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor, Superpages, Yahoo! Local, MerchantCircle)
What it is: Websites that provide information about a business, including location, hours of operations, amenities and customer reviews. Each website has different features but they are all very similar in content.
What do you need to know: Review websites are really important for businesses. Google revealed that 97% of customers look online for a new place to go. And they are influenced by other people's opinion. So make sure you monitor every website and respond to each bad review you get with an explanation. Customers really appreciate when a business' owner takes the time to do it.
GOOGLE+
What it is: It is the newer social network out there. It's still in beta phase (a testing period) but it promises wonders. There has been a lot of talk about Google's new platform but the network was opened to the general public on late September/2011. It is very similar to Facebook but it's evolved around Google tools.
What do you need to know: Nothing yet. Google+ just launched its Business pages and while big brands and professionals are crazy about it, customers are not there yet. Keep one eye on it too. It could become a powerful network once it incorporates all Google services.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7063116
Thursday 24 May 2012
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Sir Richard Branson invests in new social network, Path!
'Path' is a new social network to rival others like Facebook, but with a little twist, it is a mobile-centric social network. This means that members can only access their accounts via the use of their mobile device which can be downloaded by the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace. Path was created by former Facebook employee Dave Morin in 2010, and the social network surprisingly only allows its members to have 150 friends.
Path's original high profile investors include the likes of serial technology investor Ashton Kutcher who has previously invested in such ventures as Foursquare and GroupMe. But during the site's latest round of investment which managed to generate more than $30 million, Sir Richard Branson was one of those investors.
Last month Path felt the wrath of its members because the site was automatically uploading users' mobile phone contact details and storing the information without gaining proper consent from its members.
From this, Morin was forced to apologise for this and changed the mobile settings on Path. Currently, Path members are now asked whether they want to opt in to share their mobile address book with the site.
A spokesman from Apple said at the time; "Apps that collect or transmit a user's contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines.”
Path has other high profile investors which include;
Yuri Milner, the Russian investor in Facebook, social games company Zynga and Twitter
Mark Pincus, the chief executive of Zynga
The news of Path comes only weeks after the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook who snapped up the deal for $1 billion.
Path who currently has two million users has yet to roll out the commercial version of the social media network.
Path's original high profile investors include the likes of serial technology investor Ashton Kutcher who has previously invested in such ventures as Foursquare and GroupMe. But during the site's latest round of investment which managed to generate more than $30 million, Sir Richard Branson was one of those investors.
Last month Path felt the wrath of its members because the site was automatically uploading users' mobile phone contact details and storing the information without gaining proper consent from its members.
From this, Morin was forced to apologise for this and changed the mobile settings on Path. Currently, Path members are now asked whether they want to opt in to share their mobile address book with the site.
A spokesman from Apple said at the time; "Apps that collect or transmit a user's contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines.”
Path has other high profile investors which include;
Yuri Milner, the Russian investor in Facebook, social games company Zynga and Twitter
Mark Pincus, the chief executive of Zynga
The news of Path comes only weeks after the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook who snapped up the deal for $1 billion.
Path who currently has two million users has yet to roll out the commercial version of the social media network.
Thursday 17 May 2012
Facebook and Twitter Ad Spending to Double by 2016
This week’s impending Facebook IPO, which could top $12.7 billion, is sparking questions about the value of Facebook and other social networks. The future of social media ad spending may justify the hype surrounding Facebook, which is geared to being the highest valued U.S. Internet company at IPO.
Facebook has received criticism about being overvalued. Critics point to the company’s ad model that doesn’t fully reach its 901 million users. Plus, investors worry about Facebook’s post-IPO growth. On Tuesday, General Motors pulled a huge $10 million advertising campaign from Facebook, citing ineffective ads.
Though there are hurdles, the BIA/Kelsey’s U.S Local Media Forecast predicts within four years, global ad spending on social media platforms will reach $9.8 billion from $3.8 billion in 2011. Social media ad revenue in the U.S. is predicted to jump from $840 million in 2011 to $3.1 billion in 2016.
Companies will drive the ad growth on social networks by incorporating more creative elements like video and pictures.
Facebook and Twitter are paving the way for the rise in online ad earnings, according to BIA/Kelsey. Both companies are making crucial changes to their advertising platforms that open doors for companies hoping to reach consumers online instead of offline.
“Facebook opening its ads API to more partners, including those that work with SMBs (small and medium businesses), and Twitter’s self-serve platform will help to ‘democratize’ social ads, which will ultimately lead to more local growth,” Jed Williams, BIA/Kelsey analyst and program director, states.
In Facebook’s IPO video presentation for potential investors, company COO Sheryl Sandberg spoke about Facebook’s new business model. Sandberg said the end goal is to become the choice online advertising platform for the 70 million businesses worldwide.
This is just the “beginning” for Facebook. Sandberg stated users are adopting the social network faster than ads are incorporated — an imbalance that needs correcting. The social network will continue pushing personalized and targeted ads in new formats and contexts.
Twitter introduced a new way for small business to advertise through the microblogging website in March. The self-serve advertising platform will be available for clients to create promoted tweets and promoted accounts.
Twitter, who partnered with American Express for the advertising initiative, opened up the platform to the first 10,000 business to sign up.
Do you think social media will see the bulk of online advertising campaigns in the future? Let us know in the comments.
Facebook has received criticism about being overvalued. Critics point to the company’s ad model that doesn’t fully reach its 901 million users. Plus, investors worry about Facebook’s post-IPO growth. On Tuesday, General Motors pulled a huge $10 million advertising campaign from Facebook, citing ineffective ads.
Though there are hurdles, the BIA/Kelsey’s U.S Local Media Forecast predicts within four years, global ad spending on social media platforms will reach $9.8 billion from $3.8 billion in 2011. Social media ad revenue in the U.S. is predicted to jump from $840 million in 2011 to $3.1 billion in 2016.
Companies will drive the ad growth on social networks by incorporating more creative elements like video and pictures.
Facebook and Twitter are paving the way for the rise in online ad earnings, according to BIA/Kelsey. Both companies are making crucial changes to their advertising platforms that open doors for companies hoping to reach consumers online instead of offline.
“Facebook opening its ads API to more partners, including those that work with SMBs (small and medium businesses), and Twitter’s self-serve platform will help to ‘democratize’ social ads, which will ultimately lead to more local growth,” Jed Williams, BIA/Kelsey analyst and program director, states.
In Facebook’s IPO video presentation for potential investors, company COO Sheryl Sandberg spoke about Facebook’s new business model. Sandberg said the end goal is to become the choice online advertising platform for the 70 million businesses worldwide.
This is just the “beginning” for Facebook. Sandberg stated users are adopting the social network faster than ads are incorporated — an imbalance that needs correcting. The social network will continue pushing personalized and targeted ads in new formats and contexts.
Twitter introduced a new way for small business to advertise through the microblogging website in March. The self-serve advertising platform will be available for clients to create promoted tweets and promoted accounts.
Twitter, who partnered with American Express for the advertising initiative, opened up the platform to the first 10,000 business to sign up.
Do you think social media will see the bulk of online advertising campaigns in the future? Let us know in the comments.
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Watch Out, Google: Bing Nabs 30% of Search Market
Microsoft’s search engine Bing now accounts for 30% of U.S. web searches, according to a Experian Hitwise report.
Bing-powered queries — made up of searches from Bing.com and Bing-powered searches on Yahoo and the websites of other notable partners — accounted for 30.01% of searches in April, according to the Hitwise report.
Bing-powered searches rose 5% and Bing.com searches rose 6% month-over-month, respectively. The number of Google searches dropped 3% from the month previous and 11% from the same period in 2011, accounting for 64.42% of U.S. searches in April. Bing-powered search, on the other hand, gained 11% in year-over-year percentages.
Bing, the second most popular search engine in the U.S., unveiled plans for a website redesign this week — aiming to make search more social.
The new social search will compete with Google’s Search Plus Your World update. Google’s integration of Google+ data into its search engine was unveiled in January.
Microsoft says the Bing update will introduce “a better way to search.” The update will incorporate personal search results into the search engine’s algorithm. The results will appear in a panel on the side of the page. This includes which “friends might know,” “people who know,” and related activity recently on Facebook. Microsoft announced updates would come slowly.
Do you think Bing’s new redesign will help the Microsoft search engine catch up to Google? Tell us in the comments if you would consider switching to Bing.
Bing-powered queries — made up of searches from Bing.com and Bing-powered searches on Yahoo and the websites of other notable partners — accounted for 30.01% of searches in April, according to the Hitwise report.
Bing-powered searches rose 5% and Bing.com searches rose 6% month-over-month, respectively. The number of Google searches dropped 3% from the month previous and 11% from the same period in 2011, accounting for 64.42% of U.S. searches in April. Bing-powered search, on the other hand, gained 11% in year-over-year percentages.
Bing, the second most popular search engine in the U.S., unveiled plans for a website redesign this week — aiming to make search more social.
The new social search will compete with Google’s Search Plus Your World update. Google’s integration of Google+ data into its search engine was unveiled in January.
Microsoft says the Bing update will introduce “a better way to search.” The update will incorporate personal search results into the search engine’s algorithm. The results will appear in a panel on the side of the page. This includes which “friends might know,” “people who know,” and related activity recently on Facebook. Microsoft announced updates would come slowly.
Do you think Bing’s new redesign will help the Microsoft search engine catch up to Google? Tell us in the comments if you would consider switching to Bing.
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