Who Checks Your Company's Social Media Profile?

Adults have long used social media sties like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. But the number of adult Internet users who now claim they use those and other social networking sites has more than doubled since 2008, according to a new report released late last week. hotel social media marketing For business owners who already use social media to market their brand or engage with customers, this data isn't all that surprising. But for those who may have been on the fence about using social media or who only use the sites occasionally, this news may drive you to rethink that strategy. At the very least, if your existing communications plan is more than two years old, you might want to drag it out, dust it off and revise your outdated information. Yes, textbook-marketing principles (the 4 P's, Porter's 5 Forces, etc.) are still the backbone of brand marketing, and still hold significant weight today -- as they should. However, the past few years have proven that certain traditional forms of marketing and advertising are yielding way to this wild and crazy "new media" (see the magazine, newspaper and radio industries for more info.) The best social-media marketers are expertly displaying the basics of marketing and their corporate goals within this "new media" -- be it with likes, hashtags or check-ins.Social media can be effectively outsourced to a PR firm. If you want to qualify that statement by saying that hiring a PR firm doesn't necessarily equal social-media success, then I would agree. However, there are many PR firms and social-media agencies that consistently make sure they understand a client's values and goals before publishing to the social-media ecosystem on their behalf. atlanta social media marketing We really like what Rockfish Interactive is doing Bicycle Playing Cards, for instance. Rockfish, a digital-marketing agency that's based in Rogers, Ark., recently helped the 143 year-old playing-card maker relaunch its online social presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These firms are doing amazing things to harness the power of social media for their clients.

More adults use social networking sites

A whopping 65 percent of online adults regularly sign on to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking sites, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That figure is up from last year’s 61 percent and way up how to do social media marketing from the 28 percent of such users recorded just three years ago in a similar study.By far, photos generate the highest interaction rate for the six varieties of content, with status updates ranking No. 2. Others -- in descending order -- include video, music and links. The fact that links are at the bottom is interesting, considering they are posted the most often. Photos rank at the top because they’re visual, easy to digest and they elicit emotion.Absolutely. Just by taking advantage of a "Like" call to action boosts your interaction rate by 216 percent. Momentus Media analyzed 49,266 Page posts, comparing interaction rates for posts with "Like" and "Comment" calls to action and those without. And while only 1.3 percent of status messages had a call to action attached, those who used "Like" or "Comment" showed a huge boost in interaction rates. You’d think that by asking questions you’d get a better interaction rate, but such is not the case. However, Facebook page admins looking to achieve the highest comment rate should pose questions and then directly ask for fans to reply with comments.According to this study, size does matter. While there’s a higher posting rate for shorter posts (especially those that stay within the 140-character limit for cross-posting purposes on both Twitter and Facebook), interaction increases as the length of the status message increases.In the first hour of a Facebook status update, social media marketing trends half of the users who will click on the post will have done so, with 90 percent of the clicks occurring within nine hours of the post going live.When you look at the Old Spice campaign that just ran with Fabio vs. Mustafa, there's a whole lot to be excited about. Old Spice continues to understand how to extend the story, which is one of the key components in marketing that so many people really struggle with.

More adults use the sites daily

Forty-three percent of online adults said they access social networking sites on a daily basis, up from 38 percent just one year ago and 13 percent in 2008, says the Pew survey. Only email (61 percent) and search engines (59 percent) are used more frequently on a typical day than sites like Facebook, social media marketing new york LinkedIn and Twitter.Kabani is also giving back: Earlier this year, she was part of a delegation of businesspeople from the U.S. and Denmark that traveled to Egypt to educate young entrepreneurs. It's all part of her far-reaching quest for enterprising youth to tackle the new global business market."The world we live in today is not the world of our grandparents, or even that of our parents," Kabani says. "A college degree does not guarantee success. Young entrepreneurs have to create their own opportunities. The economy needs fresh blood and bold new ideas.Many business owners start posting status updates because they think that is all they need to do to grow their company online. But the way they do it cuts off any chance of having a two-way conversation. In today's messaging marketplace, consumers want to be heard. If you are just talking to customers but not letting them to talk back and engage with you, then you are wasting considerable time and effort online.When you go online and post in a status update area, do not just talk at people; speak with them. Tag people in a post and ask them a question. Tagging simply means that you write directly to a person on his or her Facebook wall or Twitter feed. On Facebook you put the "@" sign in front of their profile name. For Twitter, this sign would go in front of their username.Also, take a few minutes to stop by the "neighborhood" of each social site that you frequent and say hello, social media marketing pdf find out what your neighbors are up to and post a quick reply. By actively engaging in these spheres, you keep your business top of mind.Many online businesses have conducted conversations with their connections for quite some time now, without translating this dialogue into any sales.