Monthly Archive for July, 2011

Google+: a One Hit Wonder or a Classic?

Published on July 27, 2011 in facebook, Miscellaneous, News, Social Media and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Following up to Google+’s buzz these past couple of weeks, an article that was originally published in the San Jose Mercury News by Mike Swift covered the surge of popularity that Google+ is getting. Noting that this is Google’s fourth try at social networking, Google+ has reached 20 million people in about three weeks. While the numbers and the response seem to be in favor of Google+, two executives that are in charge of Google+, Vic Gundotra and Bradley Horowitz commented that, “We’re Google. We can get anybody to kick the tires of a product…It doesn’t mean it’s going to be successful…”

The sentiment is shared upon as experts also agree that it’s too early to decide. Michael Fauscette, an analyst with IDC, commented, “Until it really starts to go mainstream, and I see my cousin in Florida decide to get on it, I just don’t think we can say it’s a success. We’ve got a ways to go.”

While I do agree that Google+ still has a long way to be titled a hit in the social networking field, it definitely has some, if not a lot, of potential that can be explored in the future. In the mean time, enjoy Facebook’s Zuckerberg’s thoughts on Google+ as shared by Mashable.com.

 

The History of Computing

Published on July 22, 2011 in News and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A great history lesson…

Like in Every Relationship… You Gotta’ Give a Little…

Published on July 20, 2011 in Customer Relationship, facebook, Miscellaneous, Motivation and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

You’ve probably heard it many, many times: the importance of keeping up the relationship with your Facebook fans. Since Facebook is a social media whose effectiveness relies crucially on developing relationships, engaging the fans of your business page is a given. Easier said than done, it’s not surprising that even though you’ve been advised on it many times, you still scratch your head every time you think about how the actual practice would pan out.

A few months back, Mashable.com published a post that originally from the American Express OPEN Forum, titled 4 Creative Ways to Reward Your Fans.

You guessed it, just like any other relationship, the act of giving rewards is highly beneficial in maintaining the relationship.

In the article, Blake Cahill, principal and president of social media agency Banyan Branch, commented on the issue, “Fans have signaled a level of passion or connection with a brand, so rewarding that acknowledgement only further endears the brand to those fans… Giving fans what they want can vary from discounts, to empowering them to support causes, to providing them with exclusive content and information. In many cases, success is a mix of all of these.”

There are four ways to treat your Facebook fans for their support and maintain the relationship:

  1. Offer exclusive discounts, coupons and contents
  2. Help fans give back
  3. Show you’re listening
  4. Recognize individual fans

In managing the image of your brand, the maintenance of your customer relationship would be supported as you follow a little of each advices.

 

Booqoos Launches Online Deal Marketplace

Published on July 18, 2011 in Miscellaneous. 0 Comments

A new company of interest launched in the competitive daily deals space last week. Called Booqoos, the Austin, Texas-based startup aims to offer a better way for merchants and consumers to manage online deals.

For merchants, Booqoos claims to provide a powerful platform with complete control and self-management of deals to suit individual business goals, and instant distribution through multiple channels. For consumers, Booqoos aggregates deals from other sites, as well its own, creating a one-stop shop with the ability to search by location, date and product/service category.

Booqoos’ do-it-yourself platform claims to be a smarter choice for local small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike other deal sites, Booqoos aims to be more than a discount solution for merchants: instead striving to be a full marketing platform that gives businesses unparalleled control over their deals.

With Booqoos, merchants have the power to:

•    Self-manage deals— Create deals with no minimum required discount, place caps on the number of deals available, plan deals up to a year in advance, and distribute them to consumers via email, social media and/or Booqoos.com all in one click

•    Feature multiple deals— Present multiple deals at once; package deals to upsell slow-moving items or excess inventory

•    Optimize scheduling— Set up traditional open-ended coupons or offer deals available only for specific, scheduled time slots to increase business during slower times

•    Avoid deep cuts into profit margins— Post a deal at half the cost of other deal sites and customize it to meet the business’ unique needs

“Booqoos is better for businesses, and better for buyers,” co-founder Tina Cannon says. “It gives merchants the flexibility to optimize deals to better suit their needs and gives shoppers an easy-to-use platform that cuts down on the clutter and confusion of countless deal emails.”

Source: Website Magazine

Well, hello there Google+

Published on July 13, 2011 in Miscellaneous, News, Social Media, Technology and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

“What? Another social networking site?”

No joke, that was exactly what I was thinking when I heard the news about Google+ a few weeks ago. While in truth, there are probably numbers of other social networking sites that have been popping in and out of the internet universe, few actually make it to be quite as big as, say Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Only a few weeks ago, Google released a trailer announcing its new project called “The Google+ project”. From the trailer, Google described its project to have the ability present a different sharing experience to its users. The project is currently open through invitations only as it’s still in its beta stage. Nonetheless, I’m quite impressed. I wasn’t looking forward to completely shifting over to Google+ as I’m now comfortable with Facebook, but Google+ definitely well, has its plus.

A new feature that Google+ introduces that is different to Facebook is the option of categorizing people into “Circles”. While Facebook has its groups, Google+’s circles allow users more options in selecting the people you want the information to be shared with.

Another feature that Google+ has is the “Hangout” feature. Google+ describes “Hangout” to be a place where “the unplanned meet-up comes to the web for the first time”. Although face-to-face chat is a quite old idea, with “Hangout”, Google has integrated both social networking and face-to-face chat.

Overall, I’m not disappointed, though I can’t say I’m that impressed with Google+. Then again, the project is still in its trial status so who knows what other cool knick knacks are going to be added to Google+. I do feel that Google+ is much more personal and homey than Facebook, so it should be interesting to see how, or even if, Google+ can be utilized in the interests of marketing.

 

 

How to Deal with Negative Comments

Published on July 8, 2011 in Blogging. 0 Comments Tags: , .

If you have been blogging for a while, you have probably felt the frustration associated with negative comments. If you are new to blogging, you probably fear receiving biting criticism. But you might be surprised to learn that negative comments can sometimes be a good thing.

Understand the Criticism.
When you have somebody who is thoughtfully critical of you, respond to them and show that your organization is human and you are a caring person. Critical comments can spark meaningful and authentic discussions. Responding to them shows that you are attentive to the remarks of others and that you are not just rambling in a vacuum.

React in the Same Channel.
It is always a good idea to react in the same media that the comment was made in. If someone posts a tweet, tweet back at them. If they leave a blog comment, comment on the same post. Pay attention to people’s preferred method of communication and continue the dialogue on that platform.

Don’t Respond to Bullies.
If it is a thoughtful comment, it deserves a response. If it is a bully and all they are trying to do is bully you, you don’t have to respond to that. Trust your guts to evaluate if a comment is attacking you or your argument. If the commenter is being insulting without providing any meaningful criticism, feel free to ignore them.

LinkedIn: The Social Network for Business Professionals

Published on July 5, 2011 in Blogging and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , .

The social network businesspeople may be most familiar with is LinkedIn. This network of over 101 million business users and more than 1 million business profile pages can be an important resource.

To get started using LinkedIn for your business, it is best to set up and complete a personal profile for yourself as well as a company profile for your business.

When setting up these profiles, remember to include all important information such as your website and blog URLs.

Additionally, it is important to take the time to make the descriptions for you and your business interesting to read and an accurate reflection of your experience, knowledge, and passion.

LinkedIn Groups.

Once you have created profiles, LinkedIn has two major features that are of particular use to businesses and their employees. The first feature you should examine is the Groups feature. The Groups feature allows LinkedIn users to create and participate in discussions around a topic within LinkedIn. Groups can be a great way to make potential business connections, but can also be a great place to share relevant blog content.

LinkedIn Answers.

The second feature, LinkedIn Answers, allows you to find people publicly stating they have a specific problem or need that your product or service would solve. Identifying these questions and responding with a resources or a blog article of yours that answers that person’s need can offer a great marketing opportunity for your business. Ultimately, you can generate high-quality traffic to your blog from LinkedIn Answers, and get some really qualified leads as well.

Be Mobile-Friendly

Published on July 1, 2011 in Mobile Website. 0 Comments Tags: , .

It’s obvious that mobile platforms are becoming more and more of a consideration when it comes to internet marketing. The growth of the iPhone is going to continue, with reports showing that Verizon may sell as many as 13 million iPhones in 2011.

If you are trying to market on the mobile web, you need to consider the importance of creating entertaining and quality content that can be easily consumed on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablet computers.

Optimize for Mobile.
Mobile marketing is being tossed around frequently in marketing circles, often with many different intended meanings. While mobile marketing can mean many things, there is one primary message being conveyed for marketers looking to take advantage of mobile: optimize for mobile devices.

While developing a mobile application relative to your business is another option, most businesses are still just ramping-up their internet marketing efforts and do not have enough content to support a mobile application. Additionally, many marketers would be better off optimizing their SEO, email, lead nurturing, and social media campaigns for maximum lead generation before taking on yet another major project such as a mobile application.

For those internet marketers just getting started with mobile, the important thing to focus on is making sure your website is easy to view and navigate when accessed on mobile devices.