Social Media Trends 2013

Social Media Trends 2013


Social Media today has considerably evolved and brought along with it many marketing theories and technologies. Social Media Marketing encompasses a lot of primary and secondary functions of an organization without much hassle and given its wide diameter & reach, more and more brands are engaging in this medium. Visual Media, a leading Digital marketing Agency located in New Delhi India notices some of the ongoing Digital marketing trends as follows:

Price

Companies are now spending twice or more on Social Networking & Social Advertising as compared to Traditional Media thanks to its economic reach (Yes! As compared Television, Radio, Print) and it creates a bridge directly between the brand & the consumer. This engagement possibility enhances the Digital marketing experience of the consumer making him/her aware of a lot of facts that they were not aware of or didn't think before coming across the brand on say Facebook or Twitter. According to a report by Hub spot as quoted in an article by Phil Mershon social spending habits are on the rise in small businesses too.
Outsourcing to Digital marketing Agencies vs In-House Management

Larger Enterprises with different departments for each division or function prefer outsourcing to Digital marketing Companies as it becomes the responsibility of the Social Media Agency to coordinate, assess and assimilate knowledge, information & content from different department of the enterprise. Having a single point of contact is much easier for proper S.M Optimization & performance as it delegates the responsibility in an orderly manner.

Small & Medium Enterprises prefer In-House operations of Social Media Management Agency as coordinating with each other on events or subjects to be promoted are more convenient by virtue of location, smaller team size, etc. Each member can contribute their information to a small team of Social Media Marketers who then compile and optimize the information before distributing the same on Social Media Networks. An in-house approach also provides the person engaging with the brand, with a sense of authenticity that each reply comes from someone representing the company.
Further, there is another type of enterprises who use Social Media Marketing for troubleshooting or addressing the at Technical queries of their customers & prospects. For example, Vodafone IN assists Vodafone India customers on various issues, complaints & distribution of information. Such an entity would either require partial Social Media Outsourcing or completely in-house Social Media support so as to refer to guides, technical departments and managerial decisions.

Purpose

The essence of Social Media Marketing lies in networking and engagement. It should encourage a reader to  your content enough to make the content and/or your brand popular among his network. A common practice: User Generated Content - is the ideal scenario where a question can get many answers generated and it becomes a powerful platform of discussion. User Generated Content for example, YouTube is used by viewers and for viewers! Implies, Viewers upload content which is immediately visible to other viewers. Facebook - a comprehensive platform - empowers brands to make smooth interfaces on their Facebook Fan Pages in order to get maximum Facebook Fans and Fan Engagements.

Politics

It had to be used someday and today, Digital marketing is one of the most powerful mediums of expression used by citizens of governments across the world. The ‘India Against Corruption Movement saw tides of people on their Facebook & Twitter accounts flooding them with queries and comments mostly in support of the Lokpal Bill which is still in pending consideration from the Government. Although as of now, any expression on Digital marketing Networks is not recognized by the Government as an official plea - but the time is not far where Governments too will allow moderated viewpoints & grievances to come through via Social Mediums. A popular service, Consumer Complaints.in in India has been one of the pioneers of this revolution. Social Media Marketing is being increasingly considered by Politicians and Parties as a tool to express their concern, ability, power & sympathy for the potential voter and hopefully we shall see a pleasant outcome from our future leaders!

Mobile Revolution

With the increased accessibility and portability of Mobile Broadband and 3G/4G services, the consumer could not have asked for a better period of time with respect to technology. Facebook for Blackberry, Twitter for iPad, Hoot suite for Android, etc are some of the must-have tools commonly used for Digital marketing Networking while on the go. The purposes vary in nature: Video Calling, Email Checking, Sharing of Digital Content, Music/Video downloads (hopefully no piracy), Real Time multiplayer Gaming & Networking, Emergency Services, Location Based Marketing, Low Latency Push-to-Talk and Push-to-Video Message Services, etc.

Social Media Worth Exploring

Social Media Worth Exploring

Social media is a perfect vehicle for connections between family and friends. While it has many marketing opportunities there is a more personal side to social media worth exploring.

For instance, families used to connect only through the occasional letter that may be passed around from one family member to another and photos of grandchildren were passed along in Christmas cards.

Today social media is having an impact on how scattered families can remain connected. Beyond the useful emails, the use of social media can allow families to access a number of methods to help keep others up-to-date on family news.

Slide Shows - this is a photo tool that can allow you to send highlights of a special event in the life of your family such as a birthday party, anniversary or family trip. In a matter of moments your family can gain access to a visually pleasing presentation of your most immediate adventures.

Social Networks - many social networks provide a privacy setting that only allow approved members into your personal network. For all intents and purposes this type of network allows you the privacy you may desire in sharing family news, audio, video and photos in one convenient setting. Other family members can also set up a privacy account, which allows a no-cost alternative to family connections.

YouTube - Video sites like YouTube can be repositories for family videos. In most cases, however, the video information remains available to the public for viewing. If privacy is a primary concern there are programs such as BigUpload that will allow you to host a video or other large file and select email addresses to receive access to the files for download.

Family Forums or Blogs - the use of a forum or blog can allow the various personalities of your family to shine through. They can also allow you to coordinate potential gatherings or gift exchanges. Due to the dynamics of family there might even be the occasional bit of tension - even cyberspace can't change that.

The use of social media offers great opportunity for families to enjoy the privacy you want with the connectedness you desire.

When you participate in a social network you can also branch out to visit other friends without disrupting the privacy you need. If you desire a more public profile you should check with the social network to see if they allow a second account. If they do, the second account can be used to keep in contact with a more public audience.

Social media provides a unique opportunity to connect families in the 21st century. Perhaps it is an idea worth pursuing.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects.

Social Media Promotion

Social Media Promotion

In today's world of modern technology, online marketing has evolved as a boon to many organizations. It forms the powerhouse for all the promotional activities of the organizations. Though the routine methods like Newsletters, Brochures, Bulletin, Leaflets, Fliers, etc., are still in existence, a lion's share of revenue is driven from online marketing. Earlier, promotions were carried out by going to door steps and explaining about the products and services. But today, organizations are cutting down all the non-essential expenditure by making a good use of online marketing.

Online Marketing is a phenomenon, where you can transmit all the information about your organization, school, hotel, hospital, etc., through social media. The information by this way spreads like a wild fire attracting the eye balls of millions of customers. There are various social media platforms which give you a privilege to carry out your promotional activities if you don't fail to follow their terms and conditions.

Some Important Concerns For Social Media Promotion:

Choice:

Choice matters a lot in social media promotions. If your content can create most acceptable version, you are lucky enough to get popular.

For instance, if you consider Facebook, which is a wide craze among millions of people can be used as a platform to care out the awareness of your products and services. You can create a business page in it and start garnering the visitors who might ultimately become your customers. It form the cheap source of publicity as a person who likes your services will go ahead and share it with others. This forms a big and formidable chain, which when handled with care might yield best results.

Scope:

There is a high level of scope in social media promotions. The scope of getting popularity is to be creative. If creativity envelops in your content, you are the winner.

Directories form the best choice to promote your services as a large section of people check them for a possible solution to their queries. You can post your promotion in the respective categories provided by them for free of cost.

The ratio of promotional content should be moderate; otherwise that content would become more repetitive.

Once you post in each one of the said resources, you can do a Google Analytics on your website to check which of the tools are actually providing you more traffic. This way, you can channelize your resources and promote the services through online marketing.

Usefulness:

Promotional content in social media should carry quality too as it is the most important part of focusing. People like to read quality content and that should be creative while addressing regular need.

Classifieds, Article Writing, Free press releases are also preferred to a major extent as they are available for free of cost.

I'm a passionate article writer and very fond of playing online bingo games. In my further articles, I want to explore the ways to have fun while playing online games.

Benefits Social Media Marketing

The realms of the internet are always changing. New websites and features are always being added and social behavior affects what is being used. This makes it difficult for businesses to effectively market themselves in today's world. They are always having to find new ways to stay ahead of the game, but that is nearly impossible due to the fact that the internet changes rapidly. One of the best ways for you to connect with your clients is through the use of social media marketing. It is a great business strategy that helps you in numerous ways. There are four main reasons that social media is the way to advertise your business.

1. You Can Establish Your Brand: Millions of people come to social media sites and they use them regularly. They see the ads and the pages on these sites constantly, so setting up a brand on a social media page is a great option. Brand advertising has shown itself to be an excellent way to advertise and it is one of the most successful options available to you. You an easily set up your brand logo on your social media site and you can advertise it to millions of users.

2. Connect With Your Clients: You can easily connect with your clients or potential clients through social media marketing. This allows you to give a face to your company, rather than just seeming like a heartless business. You can converse with specific people one-on-one and it will give them the feeling that they are a valued customer. Potential clients also see your business as more legitimate when you run a social media page. Your customers will trust you more if they see your business has a real human voice. They want to know that they are not giving their money to a ruthless CEO at the head of a company.

3. Traffic: When you use your social media page, you can post links and deals to your website. You are easily able to give these offers to a concentrated group of people. If you use social media marketing correctly, this means you can send out your website to hundreds of people with the click of the button and you do not have to worry about page rankings or SEO details. This is an opportunity that every business should take advantage of.

4. Feedback: Because social media marketing allows everyone to easily post their opinions online, you are sure to get thousands of comments about your service or product. Whether they be positive or negative, they can help. If you receive a large amount of negative reviews, you know what you must change and you can use these comments to improve yourself. If you happen to be receiving a lot of positive reviews, you know that you are providing a great service toy your clients. By taking these opinions into account, you are sure to increase the quality of your service/product and it will show your customers that you care about their needs and wants.

Social Media Is All About Community

If you could listen in to a conversation among retail advertisers, on-line affiliate and email mail marketers who have been in the business for over 10-15 years or so, you'll most likely hear complaints about the increasing difficulty of maintaining a readership among their email audience. The conversations would emphasize, correctly, the need for great content, great customer service, email etiquette and the like but there would be a huge void when the conversation got to using social media for advertising. Sure, the subject would be discussed, and in some detail, but the actual specifics and particulars would be light.

Why? Because we don't know how to advertise on the social media platforms.

Over 85% of the largest US companies are not using social media to any large extent, instead, they are relying on email marketing. Don't get me wrong here, email marketing is a valid and reliable marketing tool, I have written many articles and a couple of E-Books about it but it is pretty clear to me that there is an ever growing population of potential customers who don't use email.

It has taken me a while to understand the compelling draw of millions to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and the hundreds other social media sites. I honestly could not "get" why someone would want to read about their friend's trip to the grocery store or the fact that their 3 year old was stomping on their last nerve. But now I get it.

It's all about community. Unlike the isolating technologies of the twentieth century, social media have exploited the natural tendencies of humans to band together. Where the emergence of television, closely followed by computers tended to cut off one person from another, the emergence of social media utilities evoke relationships and speak to the need we all have- to belong. Less interested in "all about me" the younger generations seem more interested in "us".

In 2008, the most popular Facebook application was the new one called Causes, a very simple application which lets the users start and join the causes you care about and grew very quickly to over 20 million active monthly users.

That young mother knows that in her circle of close Facebook friends, there are at least one or 2 other young Mom's feeling exactly the same way. And why is all of this relevant to us marketers? Simple.

Eric Qualman, author of Socialnomics, defines socialnomics as word of mouth on steroids- is word of mouth marketing something you aspire to? You bet you do.

Intermediate Ways to Social Media

Intermediate Ways to Social Media

Using social bookmarking to create a linked network of sites is a recently growing internet trend. Interlacing websites using online communities and such websites through social media optimization (SMO) is fast gaining currency with many webmasters who are looking to find like minded people sharing similar interests that don't always appear high on search engines.

These provide an excellent tool for generating more traffic to your site. All you need to do for SMO is to create a list of the social media sites that are very popular and provide free services. You can use multiple accounts with multiple sites for greater benefits.

Then what is important is having the appropriate keywords in your chosen category that people are going use as link baits in tags. This is what is behind the success of SMO as what you are doing is using SMO for creating good content relevant to the topics and you can do so without the use of may automated software that is used for requesting links for link emails and such. All you need to do constantly is update your content frequently and include the correct keywords.

What is also equally important is getting you a username or handle that is unique in highly density social media, email or forum sites. This is because there are many who can pose like you to trick people and transfer the blame and also to protect yourself against any action thereof. Finding user names that have a high relevance with the associated topic is also a way to get you noticed.

It is very much possible to generate traffic through SMO there are countless websites and blogs benefiting from this while SEO efforts have not been up to the mark.

Author: Sean Mize. Sean teaches a unique perspective on growing your online information business using 4 key principles: 1) purpose and mindset 2) expert positioning 3) target market activation and penetration and 4) maximizing sales per buyer.

Sean's training is specifically geared towards advanced marketers who are already making money online and want to increase their market share through innovative and cutting edge methods.

Sorting Your Social Media Strategy

Sorting Your Social Media Strategy

Social Media Marketing can play a big part in generating leads and awareness of your small business. Like most things in life, you get better results when you plan, or create a strategy as it enables you to ensure you are reaching your ideal prospects. So how do you create a strategy for your small business social media marketing?

Start with the WHO.

Who are your ideal clients?
It's essential to know who your audience are. When you who who they are, you'll know where to find them or at least be able to research where they hang out. Which leads us nicely in to the...

Where are your ideal clients?
Are they tech-friendly? Are they on Facebook and Twitter? Does she hangout in forums? Is she an avid offline networker? Reasearching your ideal client and where to find her means you'll be in the right place to have conversations and share useful information with her.

What keeps her awake at night?
You've found your ideal client and you know where she hangs out, you now need to work out what to share with her, what will catch her attention and enable you to start talking to her in a natural, unforced way.

Working out the "what" helps you provide awesome material for your fans and followers. It means your strategy stays on track and starts to attract the right people to you.

Why should she care about your business
The Why is your marketing message. It's why someone should follow you, it's the why someone should get to know and become interested in your business. It's the Why that generates profitable social media conversations. Why is a mixture of personality, the ability to listen and a dash of being in the right place at the right time. That of course leads us to

When...
A lot of small businesses ignore the "when" part of their social media strategy. Imagine you are selling headache pills, not any ordinary headache pills but ones that head off migraine. When is the perfect time to talk to the ideal customer about your product? If you answered when she's about to have a migraine, you have got the when down to a pat. But social media can reach you too late, you can miss the engagement that leads to others recommending you and by then your prospect is in bed with someone else's headache pills!

So you listen for the conversations that are the triggers. You share useful information that will help you be found for headaches and migraine and you know when the perfect timing is to say "take a look at this product" and when to say "read this article". The when helps you build advocates and come across as a professional. No matter how well-intentioned you are you don't want to look like a social spammer!

The How is now putting together all of your answers to form your social media strategy and once you have it all you have to do is act upon it.

Sarah Arrow is the co-author of Social Media Marketing guide; Zero to Social Media FILM Star. The book contains advice on setting up your social media profiles and contains strategy templates to help you get started marketing your business.

Social Media Channels

Social Media Channels

Social Media Channels and Their Relevance on the Enterprise

Social media marketing has been the buzzword in the enterprises owing to its omnipresence. Nearly every facet of life is now engulfed by social media sites while consumers have taken to the medium for nearly everything, asking for options and opinions, sharing of ideas and information, job search, and even for sorting out trivial tasks and problems. Enterprises and analysts believe that leveraging the medium will help companies to know more about their consumers closely and then devise strategies making use of that information.

The best channels for social media marketing for enterprises

>> Facebook, which was launched by Mark Zuckerberg, has millions of users and the number is increasing rapidly. It is one of the best social network platforms for companies to promote their brands and even publicize relevant events. You can get a company page and list out the activities and projects that your organization has been undertaking. One can update profiles, exchange messages with interested people, socialize with similar interest groups, and even organize different events like webinars by getting people to join it.

>> Twitter, which was founded by Jack Dorsey, is a micro blogging service which gets the world to know your opinion in less than 140 characters. The site has more than 200 million users and can be linked with Facebook accounts for automatic updates. It is perfect for all types of people to stay in touch with celebrities, get others to follow your company and even promote new launches with posts. Sharing of information is fastest through this micro blogging site.

>> LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and is known to be a perfect professional networking medium, which deals in business related social networking boasting of more than 100 million users. Companies can get their profile page up and ready with relevant information about the history of the company, product and service information and link with employees who are working presently. One can get the company promoted through co workers and ex employees who can discover new connections. Job seekers find the site pretty much useful because relevant groups post job related information which is conveyed easily through feeds. HR professionals can also judge the career history of a particular job seeker and pitch in their offer keeping the info in mind. LinkedIn is rapidly growing at a consistent rate and can be integrated with both Twitter and Facebook for instant updates.

But is social media really relevant to your enterprise? Yes and no. This is because every company engages with a social network channel due to different reasons. One needs to get the purpose clear before even engaging in social network.

With any social media application, one needs to assess the benefits before venturing for a social media experience? Enterprises are keen to get on the social network marketing bandwagon because everybody else is doing the same. But as an organization, one needs to have a definite motive for accessing the social media channel. One needs to devise strategies which are ingenious and catchy especially while promoting the latest product or service, so that they resonate well with the right set of prospective customers.

Smart Social Media Tips for Retailers

It is no joke to establish a business. You definitely want to draw consumers to your store and please them with your goods. So why not utilize modern technology to finding these people. This is when social media training comes handy for your business. This will make you understand how your store should utilize it and gain more customers.

As a retailer, you may need social media to promote what you want to offer. Certainly social media experts can show the right way to do it. They can explain how your online business can draw traffic. Or you may want more consumers to drop by your traditional store.

To understand how social media work especially for retailers, below are few tips to guide you with your marketing strategy. This may help you win customers and keep your business going.

1) Popularize your retail store by showing actual pictures and videos

This is why photos and videos are useful. You can utilize Facebook to post your physical store and the products you sell and tweet comments in Twitter. You can create a fanpage for followers to like it. This way they know you exist; perhaps they may visit your store and try your products.

2) Know your audience and connect with them

As you have advertised your business, you will know who are your audience and how you can keep them for good. You may want them to like your fanpage or comment your tweet. If possible, you may want superstars to disseminate information as they have many followers. Who knows, this can create a major impact for the business.

3) Use gadgets to reach consumers

A portable computer is for home or office use. As you travel, bring along smaller gadgets to connect you to your audience. Technology has provided mobile phones and tablets to stay in touch with consumers. Remember social media allows you to interact with them. This way, you know where your business stands as your fans continue to communicate with you.

4) Utilize email and mobile marketing

More people will know about your business. They will want to leave personal information for you to contact. You can send them email or mobile marketing and offer various promotions. Many times, consumers can drop by and patronize what you got. They will also love to receive freebies, special offers and discounts.

Nothing is better than using social media as your means of reaching people. You can learn new techniques if you seek help from a social media training company.

Media Explosion

Media Explosion

Social media sites have exploded onto the scene in the last couple of years and they’re already having a profound impact on the way many people communicate with friends, family and brands online.

With the success of sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, it’s no surprise that the overall social media landscape has gained traction as a viable communication option for businesses and especially content creators like article writers.

Social media offers a relatively new option for article writers, like yourself, to connect with a tech-savvy audience to share your articles and your expertise. Plus, that audience can be invaluable as each member has the power to share your articles with their own followers. Then, those followers can share with their even larger network of followers and so on.

The viral nature of social media makes it a perfect tool for article writers. The question is no longer “Should I be using social media to generate interest in my expertise?”, but “How do I get started and where do I go from here?”

To help answer those questions, we put together this list of 6 social media best practices for article writers. These guidelines will help you on your way to giving your article writing a whole new dimension.

(1) Come Up With a Social Media Plan – Social media marketing takes time and effort. When you choose to add it to your promotional mix, give yourself a set amount of time each day to research and explore. That set amount of time will help keep you focused until you figure out the best strategies for building your brand as an expert. Then, scale back and focus on those best outlets and strategies.

Listen In and Observe – Social media sites are great places to work on your online voice, learn how to effectively communicate with others and follow your competition. Believe it or not, they’re also great places to find article inspiration. Spend time listening to how other people communicate.

Engage Others and Let Your Voice Be Heard – Join conversations on social media sites and share the same level of great content you do in your articles. If people have questions and your existing articles answer those questions, refer them to your articles. If you don’t have an existing article answering their questions, consider writing one and sharing it.

Avoid the Temptation of Responding to Every Negative Comment – Replying to every negative comment can be detrimental to you in 3 ways. It will (1) drain your energy, (2) waste your time and (3) make you seem defensive to your readers at times. If your original message was loaded with great content, it’s likely your readers will come to your defense, which is far more powerful. Taking the higher ground will position you as an expert.

Keep the Proportion of “Salesy” Messages Low – Treat social media sites as you would a table full of friends. Listen and contribute only when you have something valuable to say. Build the relationship first and then ease into your sales message. That is (and always will be) the best way to acquire long-term customers no matter what form of marketing you’re using.

Choose Followers Wisely – As your number of followers grows, you’ll get a sense of how much of an impact you have. If you aren’t selective on who you’re following, it can cost you a lot of valuable time, so make sure to follow people that have some sort of connection to you and your business. Quality trumps quantity. Following quality people (not spammers or fakes) is always the best strategy when it comes to using social media for your business.

Incorporate these social media best practices into your article writing plan today for increased exposure and traffic back to your website or blog. Leave a comment to share your own experiences with social media and what it has done for you.