Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
2009 was the year of social media with social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, experiencing explosive growth as consumers increasingly turned to these networks for recommendations on products and services. In fact, a recent Razorfish survey of digitally connected customers found that 97 percent of their online experiences influenced their purchasing decisions. Some additional interesting data to consider:
- Facebook now has more than 350 million active users. Fifty percent of those users check their Facebook page every day.
- In October 2009, Twitter had more than 58.3 million unique visitors.
- LinkedIn has more than 53 million members around the world including executives from all Fortune 500 companies.
As we approach 2010, we believe social media will become even more ubiquitous and continue to evolve as more businesses and organizations leverage these mediums. Some key trends for 2010 that we anticipate on the horizon include:
- B2Bs will continue to leverage social media to drive sales and achieve business objectives.
- More business decision makers will look to social networks for information.
- Real-time search results will make social media content and posts more discoverable.
- Social networks are here to stay. We are going to see companies increasingly turning to social media to engage with and provide value to their target audiences.
For more information on how businesses can leverage social mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, revisit some of our past blog posts including:
On Mon., Dec. 14, Twitter began testing a new feature called Contributors. According to PC World, this new feature ’allows business users to manage how its employees post 140-character messages from a single account. Writer Ian Paul says this new feature indicates Twitter is ’interested in commercializing the service.
The primary focus of Contributors is to create a more authentic engagement for business accounts. It allows organizations to manage multiple contributors to their account to optimize engagement opportunities via Twitter. For example:
- With the Communiqué PR Twitter handle (@Communiquepr), multiple employees could contribute to the handle and post updates.
- If @CMMoffitt (Colleen Moffitt) was posting a tweet on the companyís behalf, then a tweet from @Communiquepr would include @CMMoffitt in the byline. Below is an example from Twitter:
The exact launch date has yet to be announced, however, the company says the Contributors feature will eventually be available to all business users through its Web site and through third-party clients such as Seesmic and HootSuite. Commercial accounts are expected to be rolled out by the yearís end. These accounts will be subscription services with some form of analytics incorporated to help businesses better leverage Twitter to reach out to consumers.
While some companies are adding employeesí initials to the end of the tweet to disclose the person behind the update, this new feature could mitigate issues surrounding transparency and enable users to ’get to know the real people behind the organization.
Do you have any thoughts on this feature? How do you think it will impact your business and your organizationís use of Twitter?
Weíd love to hear your thoughts. Leave us a comment or send an e-mail to info@communiquepr.com.
Many of us have heard about the mistakes companies, such as Dominos and United Airlines, have made around crisis control. However, there seems to be a dearth of information about how companies can use social media in the right way for damage control during a crisis.
In late January, I am moderating a panel on ’Damage Control in Social Media: Discussing Effective Strategies for Turning Negative into Positive. The discussion will center on how companies can react to and prevent negative outbreaks on social media platforms.
Specifically, I plan to ask the four panelists to share their perspective on the following:
- What are the three or four most important steps a company can take around social media to prepare for a crisis?
- Once a crisis has begun, what can an organization do to effectively respond using social media? What are the best practices around leveraging social media for damage control?
- What strategies can be used to stop the negative news outbreak?
- How can businesses turn negative news into a positive situation?
- After a crisis, what can a company do to evolve its plan to be more adept in the future?
- What are some suggestions for integrated communications (social media with traditional PR activity) to prevent or control negative news?
- What percentage of a social media expense budget should be allocated to online crisis management?
The expert panelists include:
- Dolf Wittkamper, virtual worlds new business director with Philips Electronics;
- Ellen Leanse, head of enterprise marketing communications at Google;
- Robert de Haan, marketing director with Paypal Benelux; and
- Mike Moran, chief strategist and author on social media marketing
Please let me know if you have other questions that youíd like me to pose to these individuals. In early February, I plan to write a follow-up post on this topic to share what I learn from executives with these companies.
The conference, called Enterprise Social 2.0: RIP or ROI, will take place on January 27 & 28, 2010 at the Dorint Hotel in Amsterdam. I am looking forward to the event and suspect it will be a lively and interesting two days with people in attendance from around the world.
On December 1, Ward’s Dealer Business published an article from Jennifer Gehrt titled, “5 Tips for Better Brand Building.” This article provides insight on how auto dealers and auto makers can leverage digital assets to build brand awareness and increase loyalty with consumers.
Many dealers are striving to differentiate themselves and want to encourage consumers to purchase vehicles from them. It is now more important than ever for dealers to positively position themselves as the ’ideal place to shop for and buy a new vehicle.
Jennifer shares examples from companies including Volkswagen, General Motors (GM), Carter Subaru in Seattle and Honesdale Auto Mart in Pennsylvania.
To read the article online, click here. If you have questions about how to build brand awareness and leverage digital assets and social mediums to reach target audiences, contact us at info@communiquepr.com.
Rex Fisher, vice president of business development for Digonex Technologies, recently wrote a contributed article for Virtual Goods Insider, which was published on Dec. 3.
In the article, Rex discusses the recent explosion of the virtual goods industry and how dynamic pricing models will be a key driver of the industry’s continued growth and success. Virtual goods are objects that exist solely online, such as digital gifts; virtual swords, currency or clothing for online games; and applications like Mob Wars and virtual greeting cards for social networks. Virtual goods are purchased and exchanged on the Internet and have no real physical value.
The virtual goods industry has exploded in the past two years. Some industry analysts predict the market will top $1 billion in 2009 in the U.S. alone, and nearly $7 billion in China. As the industry continues to evolve and expand, it will be important for companies to develop sound pricing strategies including the adoption of dynamic pricing tools in order to maximize revenue opportunities and ensure long-term success.
Dynamic pricing solutions, such as Digonex’s Digital Online Exchange (DOE) platform, can help organizations including makers of casual multiplayer online games and virtual world developers, adjust prices up or down based upon consumer demand, which enables companies and social game developers to offer prices that are market-driven. Dynamic pricing tools provide a powerful alternative for virtual goods companies seeking a solution to effectively monetize products and maximize profits.
To read the contributed article entitled, ’Show Me the Money: Maximizing Virtual Goods through Dynamic Pricing, click here. You can also visit www.digonex.com to learn more about dynamic pricing and how this pricing structure can positively impact both retailers and consumers.
We are proud to share that, Mobile On, a developer of the first cross-platform, do-it-yourself (DIY) solution that enables businesses and organizations to create customized smartphone applications, was featured on Tues., Dec. 8 in a Wall Street Journal article titled, ’Services Tailor Apps for Small Businesses. The story discusses the new wave of DIY services available to small business owners looking to leverage mobile applications to complement their business.
Freelance Reporter Riva Richmond takes a look at the emerging category of companies enabling small businesses and organizations to build their own iPhone/smartphone applications quickly and affordably – without the need for a developer. These applications provide small businesses with an opportunity to interact with customers directly on their smartphones.
Riva illustrates the impact a mobile application can have on a small business through a variety of stories from early adopters such as Barb Heinrich, owner of Local Motion, a clothing boutique in Minneapolis. Heinrich leveraged Mobile Onís BuildAnApp solution to develop an application that allows her to display store hours, location and pictures of new clothing arrivals. This application aligns with her other online marketing efforts including a company Web site and e-mail blasts aimed at connecting with regular customers.
Mobile On recently launched the open beta of its flagship product BuildAnApp, the first cross platform, DIY Web-based solution that empowers small businesses, community groups and professional service organizations to create compelling applications that work across any smartphone platform – without any software development skills or resources.
Opus Research Analyst Greg Sterling believes DIY mobile solutions can be beneficial for small businesses and was quoted in the article saying, ’For ongoing, regular contact with customers that are on the go, it makes sense as a promotional or loyalty tool. Since apps enable businesses to send out coupons and event details, including by text message and customers can easily place orders or contact you for information.
Are you interested in building your own smartphone application? Check out www.buildanapp.com to get started on building your application in a matter of minutes.