Numbers you must know; 93, 33 and 3

If you have not understood the importance of establishing a digital presences read along and you will.

93% of persons who use social media believe business should have a presence. This is NOT banner ads, but appropriate content that finds itself naturally lending to the ongoing dialog in social spaces.

Cone Finds That Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media via kwout

Less that 33% of business have any presence in social spaces. Without a presences there is no opportunity for brand promotion or protection. A consumer can not start a rumour in a printed magazine article but they surely can online. Managing a brand online is as much about protection as it is about promotion.

Retailers Turning to Facebook — Social Media Optimization via kwout

The 3rd most trusted source of brand information. Following behind family and friends and newspapers the 3rd most trusted source is information online from our "virtual" friends. This is very telling about the level of trust and comfort persons have for the digital world.

Global Survey: Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool via kwout

Aspirational Marketing: Naughty or Nice

We all have hopes, dreams and wish lists. What separates us is the items on the list and how far away from them we are. Welcome to the world of Aspirational Marketing. This type of marketing could be thought of as either the most nice or the most naughty. Let me paint a picture with a few examples.

Nice:

Aspirational marketing is the action of promoting brands, messages or services through a mentoring and emulation approach. There is not pressure or hard sell. The effectiveness of aspirational marketing is the innocuous approach it uses. We identify with things that are positive symbols to us and respond to them through our following.

Naughty:

Aspirational marketing plays on our most base instincts. Going back to our very survival instincts. Humans have an inherent need to be the best "survival of the fittest". We identify the fittest through comparisons against what our culture deems desirable; beauty, wealth, success, big houses, private jets, etc. Aspirational marketing plays on these desires by creating the strongest incentive to purchase of any; biology.

Regardless of which thought you are, there is clear and compelling that aspirational marketing is effective. It can be used for purposes of pure altruism such as civic responsibility or for less benevolent ends.

We love to follow the leader, because most of us aspire to be the leader regardless of our motivations.

Social Media Marketing is hard!

I was at a dinner last night with a couple of persons I have only recently met. Some were clients that had engaged my company in their first social media campaign and others were social media entrepreneurs I had invited to share thoughts and ideas.

The dinner was wonderful, the people lovely, and the conversation stimulating. The discussion centred around how different marketing in the social network spaces was from traditional marketing. Of course, there are those taking the short cut with display advertising, but that is not social marketing, it is just old school advertising and is not appropriate for social networks. It is like having an insurance salesman at your wedding reception - just not a good fit.

As we went around the table, there was a chorus of agreement on the 3 tenants of TRUE social marketing:

1. It is hard work. Yes it is, there are no shortcuts to social marketing. It is about making friends the old fashioned like in the real world. Engage in meaningful conversations, be interested in the ideas of others, be consistent and available.


2. Honesty not advertising. Any attempt to pass off advertising or to come across as insincere will result in immediate and long term repercussions


3. It takes time. Like in the real world, building up a network of friends takes time and commitment. There are no short cuts to building long term relationships

So in the long run the lesson is simple. To truly participate in Social Spaces you must remember that you are engaging people on the individual level not on mass.

Data Driven: Customers on line, but where is business??

A slew of studies have come out just in time for the holidays with predictions about our shopping behaviour. In lieu of the financial crisis, it is not surprsingly many are turning to the internet to save money. What is surprising is that, despite the fact that customers are flooding the internet, business still has a very small foot print there. Additionally, the figures show that those online are increasingly older and monied! Business had better get its game on!

Less than a third of business have a social media presence even though this is the #3 choice for consumers to make brand decisions.

Retailers Turning to Facebook — Social Media Optimization via kwout

Customers turn to online channels to save money on gifts. The value ads up in many ways, from better comparison shopping to saving on gas for driving. And think of your poor nerves, stay home and quietly shop with a glass of holiday cheer.

Pinching Pennies Online for the Holidays - eMarketer via kwout

Video is becoming the clear choice for information and entertainment. But the myth that it is an exclusive domain of the very young continues to get debunked. The fastest growing segment on online video viewers is the choice 35 - 54 age bracket. These are the people with the real money! Well, except me that is.

Online Video Streaming Reels in Women, Older Adults via kwout

What your online media seller doesn't want you to know

Prosperity Research has launched many campaigns for customer utilising the editorial spaces on social networks. We have proven that we can reach a vast demographic, capture the front page of search engines and do it in an honest and meaningful way without the use of ppc or display ads. Read on to learn what your media seller does not want you to know.

Social Networks are the fastest growing space on the Internet and arguably the fastest growing space for information and entertainment. With this has come an avalanche of advertisers and marketers (online media sellers) to take advantage of its popularity. Unfortunately they came with the same old bag of tricks. What they don't want you to know is that the old bag of tricks is . . . well, old. To tap into Social Networks it is critical to understand the dynamics of why they are the corner stone of the the greatest communications revolution since movable type. It is simply, people talking to people on a one to one level. It is this dialogue between individuals, not business to customer that is the difference.

Knowing that it is the conversations BETWEEN people in social spaces is what drives both the generation of content and the explosive growth rate of these spaces. This dynamic defines how it is possible to get vastly better results without relying on ppc or Display advertising.

What to do? Become part of the conversation!

• Create interesting and engaging content that is relevant to your customers
• Establish conversations with your customers
• Be interested in their opinions and respond to them
• Establish a presence for the long term to build relationships, trust and loyalty
  Keep your content current and evolving. Like in real life relationships it is about continuously growing

Using these techniques will not guarantee results, but it will provide you an effective and more cost efficient means of reaching your customers. It will also allow you to establish loyalty with your customers that can not be attained with ppc and banner ads.

It is time to become part of the conversation before you get left out.

Data Driven: Social Media A Must Do!

A continuous show of force for the value of digital marketing and especially Social Media. This is NOT ppc or banner ads! This is true social network marketing. That is, interacting at a peer to peer level with content sharing and interaction between business and customers that looks, feels and is the same as when two customers interact in social spaces. The audience of one is now! Being able to understand what this means is critical to business' success in the digital space.

Social Media Presence - Why You Need One — Social Media Optimization via kwout

I now spend more time watching videos on my tv than watching terestrial tv on my tv.

Google Trounces Web Video Competitors With 5 Billion Views via kwout

Even brick and mortar stores are finding a space in the digital frontier.

Social Media and Retail — Social Media Optimization via kwout