A generational-divide?

We are still waiting for the official voter statistics from Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office, but I am sure we will find a large number of younger residents voted for Brown.  Not because there is an ideological shift amongst this cohort (all data suggests there is not) but because Brown ran a campaign whose message was delivered in a tone and style that connected with younger voters, and was delivered using mediums they embrace.

Coakley, by contrast, ran an old-school campaign; where the state’s long-powerful party served her up as the right choice because; well, because they told us so.  And that’s how things work in the bluest of blue states, right?  Wrong.  This is not Mike Dukakis’ Massachusetts and the Kennedy’s don’t actually run the state.  Turns out things have changed since 1985 and no one told the Boomers on Beacon Hill.

I am not sure how democrats thought a generation that is self-reliant and anti-institutional (Gen X) and a generation that needs to be included in the process (Gen Y) would react positively to Coakley’s approach.

Benjamin Franklin called it…

Customer insights, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

So how did Coakley fall out of alignment with voters?  Marketers know very well what happened; she let her customer data get stale. 

The Coakley campaign worked off the erroneous assumption that recent elections were an endorsement for democrats in perpetuity.  True, voters frustratingly reacted to years of republican rule that delivered poor results, but that was then, and today is different.  Turns out voters are disengaged and frustrated with all of Washington.  Her opponent paid attention to what the customer was saying and quickly crafted a message around their frustrations (good post on this concept at the Savvy B2B Marketing blog).

The power of the network

Having listened to customer concern and crafting a message around it, the Brown campaign then leveraged the same viral and social media marketing playbook that President Obama used to get elected: he galvanize his customer base to engage them in the process and then gave them the tools to promote his brand.  This included leveraging their own online community (Brown Brigade), effectively using existing social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc), and even launching a widget called the “voter bomb” which allowed voters to blast messages of support to their personal networks.

All of these tools represent how an organization can utilize Web 2.0 technologies to empower their customer base to become brand ambassadors and spread the word to their networks, on their terms.   The latter being as important as the former.

Clint Poole is a Boston-based business-to-business marketing professional with experience developing marketing strategies for professional services and business services firms.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/brown-vs-coakley-a-lesson-in-generations-and-marketing-in-the-networked-era-1782520.html

We all know how annoying all the Twitter ‘Thanks for following’ DMs are, right?  Mine have become downright out of control these days.  I miss my friends DMs thanks to all the SPAM in my DM column. Sigh. It’s worse than email because I can’t block Tweets.

I wouldn’t mind the DMs so much if they really were thanking me and/or offering something valuable. But we know that’s not true either.  It’s a rare DM that offers anything other than ‘Follow me on FB’, ‘Get 1,000 followers in under 60 seconds’, ‘Use my MLM and you’ll be a millionaire tomorrow’. Blah Blah.

Recently I’ve been paying a bit more attention to those pesky DMs. I wanted to see if anyone had a clue about an effective use of Direct Messages in response to Follows.  I’m sad to say – I haven’t found a single one yet that made me jump up and scream “Yes!!”

I did find one yesterday that made me scream “NO!” more loudly than usual.  The Tweep has over 32,000 Followers so you’d think he’d know better.  Obviously not.

Here’s the DM…with a few changes to protect the guilty.

I’m honored for the follow! I create sustainable business systems. Can I help? See my site: http://XXX.com   (NO DM’s pls)

No DMs Please? Excuse me Mr. Tweep, I must be confused. Didn’t you just DM me to sell your services?  Didn’t you just take my time, invade my space, without asking permission?  And now you’re telling me you’re too busy to accept a DM back from me?

You gotta be kidding me.

I am amazed at the Power of Twitter and other Social Media platforms to network with like-minded folks.  ISM is a fabulous tool when used appropriately.

I’m also continuously shocked at the seeming lack of just plain common sense (or maybe in this case it’s common courtesy) from folks on social media – especially Twitter.

So, here are a few little clues for anyone  using Twitter.  Forget the DMs, stop annoying people and just be yourself. Let your voice shine through your Tweets, share your value freely and let people see why they want to be a Follower of you and your  thoughts. That’s the key to creating a loyal SM following – on any of the platforms.

• Don’t send blind, pointless DMs.
• Stop Spamming with your promises of thousands of followers.
• Forget the millionaire overnight promo and most of all…

Don’t insult people by telling them your time is more valuable than theirs.

In over 20 years as a strategic consultant ‘ve led more than 100 successful client engagements. I help companies grow by creating market strategies, redefining companies and products, launching these same companies and powering successful sales and marketing endeavors. My clients tell me I have a unique ability to understand technology and pinpoint its value – and then deliver a go-to-market strategy that works.

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my book, Defying Gravity, available fall of 2010.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/no-dms-please-1783500.html

However, many companies are unsure of how to use these tools to their fullest advantage. The possibilities are endless, but naïve businesses constantly overlook them. With social networking profiles becoming a must-have, it is important that all businesspersons acquire the know-how to use them.

The good news is you don’t have to do it alone! There are social media experts whose sole objective is to submerge you into this increasingly popular world of networking. In fact, Netwave Interactive has assembled its very own team of social media consultants in order to improve their clients’ audience-base online.

Developing interactive ways to make social networking easier to understand, Netwave Interactive provides webinars to walk you step-by-step through the social media process. Individual consulting is also offered in order to specifically teach you which sites best fit your company. Maybe your company’s products are better promoted through Twitter’s constant conversation format. Maybe Facebook is what you are looking for; establishing contacts on a larger basis with links and images of new products or events. No matter the case, we are here to help you decide the suitable path to take.

Netwave Interactive offers webinars and consultations for company-size group pricing. Our highly trained team will have your business networking in no time with results that you can’t help but be impressed with. Inquire today and jump on the social media bandwagon.

Netwave Interactive
www.marketingagencynj.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/social-media-profiles-a-musthave-for-businesses-1782543.html

The traditional 9-5 workday has been blown apart. With the help of the smart phone and Web 3.0 ideas sprouting everywhere, the workday cannot be confined to a neat and tidy eight-hour day. That said, organization and structure is still an important part of the business profile. 

In order to maintain some structure and make all the new techno-gadgets work for you, check out Google’s suite of apps. Google alerts is one of the tools that we use at MetaSpring in Ann Arbor.  As each new bit if information that you wish to monitor comes out, your Google alerts (As well as the suggested Google Reader) will collect the data in an organized, easy to use program.  This way, you can digest the news on your terms and at your pace.

Web Marketing is a simple concept to grasp, but rarely can a company or individual rise above the rest by maintaining the status quo. There is a large degree of self-motivated capital that goes into this field.  With more timely knowledge, you will be able to show your clients that your approach is proactive.  Market yourself with real world web marketing research and your stream of conscience will become an achievable advantage.

MetaSpring is a Digital Marketing Consultancy that focuses on the big picture. We design, develop, strategize, implement, and execute every project based on proven processes and planning. Our team of experts strives to become a valuable partner who understands your business inside and out.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/web-marketing-in-the-real-world-1767909.html

Marketers have turned to different social networking sites to reach their target market. Even if using social networking sites has proven to be effective, it still does not leave a good feeling when you annoy people and deceive customers.

Today, Facebook has replaced MySpace as the number one choice in web 2.0. Problems arose as Facebook rose to fame. Some people were complaining that their friends were only interested in talking about business. Some even found their friends more interested to transact business over catching up on their personal lives.

To resolve these problems, many marketers started Fan pages and cleaned up their friends’ list. Now, all marketing strategies will be done in the Fan pages while their personal Facebook profiles are reserved for family and close friends only.

This year, Facebook is estimated to gain over $710 million in revenue. Facebook now has more than 350 million members and the number is growing continuously and fast. With its newest feature called Facebook connect, members can now connect across the Internet through sharing their blogs or websites.

Because of its rise to marketing fame, Facebook will be the leader in social networking because of its global scale. Facebook today is translated into 70 different languages! With its translator, language barriers are broken down.

But as the years progress, Facebook must find a way to avoid spam messages. Today, any user can send a message to anyone even if that person is not his or her friend. This means that users can receive all kinds of spam messages – from the long lost relative who has the same surname as you do and is asking you to give her $14,000 in order to transfer $1.4 million into your account to the sexy men and women who want to chat and be friends with you!

With last year’s problem with content privacy, Facebook users will now be overly sensitive when it comes to changes in the site. Last year, Facebook announced that they own users’ contents which caused many people to get angry. To put out the fires, Facebook retracted that statement.

There are so many ways to advertise on Facebook. As you can see, advertising is in full scale there. There is an AdWords-like campaign which targets users by location, age, and more. You can also create an ad, choose pay per impression or PPC and track conversions. Competition will definitely heat up among marketers. Be ready to step up your campaigns early in the game.

Learn how to make money online using the 7 Steps to 7 figures by Simon Stepsys at www.SimonStepsysCoaching.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/facebook-the-marketers-top-choice-1764411.html

Marketers have turned to different social networking sites to reach their target market. Even if using social networking sites has proven to be effective, it still does not leave a good feeling when you annoy people and deceive customers.

Today, Facebook has replaced MySpace as the number one choice in web 2.0. Problems arose as Facebook rose to fame. Some people were complaining that their friends were only interested in talking about business. Some even found their friends more interested to transact business over catching up on their personal lives.

To resolve these problems, many marketers started Fan pages and cleaned up their friends’ list. Now, all marketing strategies will be done in the Fan pages while their personal Facebook profiles are reserved for family and close friends only.

This year, Facebook is estimated to gain over $710 million in revenue. Facebook now has more than 350 million members and the number is growing continuously and fast. With its newest feature called Facebook connect, members can now connect across the Internet through sharing their blogs or websites.

Because of its rise to marketing fame, Facebook will be the leader in social networking because of its global scale. Facebook today is translated into 70 different languages! With its translator, language barriers are broken down.

But as the years progress, Facebook must find a way to avoid spam messages. Today, any user can send a message to anyone even if that person is not his or her friend. This means that users can receive all kinds of spam messages – from the long lost relative who has the same surname as you do and is asking you to give her $14,000 in order to transfer $1.4 million into your account to the sexy men and women who want to chat and be friends with you!

With last year’s problem with content privacy, Facebook users will now be overly sensitive when it comes to changes in the site. Last year, Facebook announced that they own users’ contents which caused many people to get angry. To put out the fires, Facebook retracted that statement.

There are so many ways to advertise on Facebook. As you can see, advertising is in full scale there. There is an AdWords-like campaign which targets users by location, age, and more. You can also create an ad, choose pay per impression or PPC and track conversions. Competition will definitely heat up among marketers. Be ready to step up your campaigns early in the game.

Learn how to make money online using the 7 Steps to 7 figures by Simon Stepsys at www.SimonStepsysCoaching.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/facebook-the-marketers-top-choice-1764492.html

Marketers have turned to different social networking sites to reach their target market. Even if using social networking sites has proven to be effective, it still does not leave a good feeling when you annoy people and deceive customers.

Today, Facebook has replaced MySpace as the number one choice in web 2.0. Problems arose as Facebook rose to fame. Some people were complaining that their friends were only interested in talking about business. Some even found their friends more interested to transact business over catching up on their personal lives.

To resolve these problems, many marketers started Fan pages and cleaned up their friends’ list. Now, all marketing strategies will be done in the Fan pages while their personal Facebook profiles are reserved for family and close friends only.

This year, Facebook is estimated to gain over $710 million in revenue. Facebook now has more than 350 million members and the number is growing continuously and fast. With its newest feature called Facebook connect, members can now connect across the Internet through sharing their blogs or websites.

Because of its rise to marketing fame, Facebook will be the leader in social networking because of its global scale. Facebook today is translated into 70 different languages! With its translator, language barriers are broken down.

But as the years progress, Facebook must find a way to avoid spam messages. Today, any user can send a message to anyone even if that person is not his or her friend. This means that users can receive all kinds of spam messages – from the long lost relative who has the same surname as you do and is asking you to give her $14,000 in order to transfer $1.4 million into your account to the sexy men and women who want to chat and be friends with you!

With last year’s problem with content privacy, Facebook users will now be overly sensitive when it comes to changes in the site. Last year, Facebook announced that they own users’ contents which caused many people to get angry. To put out the fires, Facebook retracted that statement.

There are so many ways to advertise on Facebook. As you can see, advertising is in full scale there. There is an AdWords-like campaign which targets users by location, age, and more. You can also create an ad, choose pay per impression or PPC and track conversions. Competition will definitely heat up among marketers. Be ready to step up your campaigns early in the game.

Learn how to make money online using the 7 Steps to 7 figures by Simon Stepsys at www.SimonStepsysCoaching.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/facebook-the-marketers-top-choice-1764495.html

The fact, that people are now able to have easy access to mobile phones, so is the case when it comes to accessing the internet. Social networking sites like facebook and twitter are receiving millions of visitors at any given time thus the potential to market your internet business is immense. Currently the best internet marketing strategy is through social media marketing.

With a phone that is connected with the internet your potential target market are able to connect with their friends on social networking sites. This is the power of social media marketing. I do not need to tell you that one advertisement appearing on facebook will give you the exposure you need to make sales online.

There are many ways you can leverage the social media marketing platform to drive traffic to your business link. First connect with your target market on these social networking sites and create a rapport with them. Do not rush to make a sale before building a relationship with your contacts. Building relationships helps you gain confidence from your target market thus introduce your online business program.

Another approach would be to advertise your products or services on these social sites. In addition, write informative articles and post them on your status bar for your connections to read and know more about you online business program thus drive traffic to your blog. Social media marketing will increase the chances of you getting visibility on the internet thus make money online. There is still more you can learn about internet marketing therefore click the business link below.

Stephen writes rich content on Online Business Programs. He is an Online Business Merchant and his webpage is on Money Making Ideas and Home Business Strategies. Visit his informative and insightful website at:- Money Making Secrets for Updated Internet Business Solutions.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/aspect-of-online-business-promotion-in-relation-to-social-media-marketing-1764728.html

The Haiti quake should make you see the power of social marketing. By just a link of the button you can reach thousands of people with your online business ideas. Anyone seeking to have impact on the internet needs to announce his presence social networking sites. Connect with your target market on social networking websites and you will start making money online.

This brings me to my point on how you can use article marketing and social marketing in promoting your online business. I use a service called pinging, where every article I write is automatically sent to all social networking sites that I have an account. A site like pingfm.com would also come in handy in making sure you update your statues bar in all social networking websites that you are a member.

To effectively maximize in online marketing and generate traffic, link your article submitting accounts to twitter and facebook and all your connections will receive your post. In addition, you will optimize your blog for searching engine listing.

Internet marketing may seem as an intricate issue, but if you learn these little secrets you will not only generate traffic but also drive targeted traffic. For more online marketing tips follow my business link called money making secret appearing below.

Stephen writes rich content on Online Business Programs. He is an Online Business Merchant and his webpage is on Money Making Ideas and Home Business Strategies. Visit his informative and insightful website at:- Money Making Secrets for Updated Internet Business Solutions.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/best-use-of-article-marketing-and-social-marketing-in-promoting-your-online-business-1764759.html

Direct

Many companies use Twitter as a marketing or public relations tool. They post accomplishments and distribute links that take people back to their web pages, press releases, and other promotional sites. You need to be careful about this – an authentic online community like Twitter doesn’t have patience for too many self-serving, self-promotional tweets.

Indirect

Other businesses use Twitter by letting their employees tweet. The thinking behind this is that a company’s reputation is enhanced indirectly.

Internal

Some companies use Twitter internally to share ideas or communicate about what projects they are working on. This is OK as long as the information is not confidential.

Inbound Signaling

Other businesses are Twitter “listeners.” Using search tools like search.twitter.com or apps like TweetDeck so they can keep track of what’s being said about them or their industry as a whole.

Here are 10 businesses that use all or some of the above mentioned methods and they do it in an effective and positive way:

1. Southwest Airlines has entertaining discussions with their customers on their Twitter profile. They combine weather updates and any flight delays with fun and friendly conversation.
2. Dell has a number of Twitter profiles – each tailored for different types of offers and deals. One of their profiles – DellOutlet – posts used computer specials.
3. Starbucks participates in lively discussions with their followers. They offer promotions and discounts and they tweet their followers with information about in-store sales.
4. Zappos has their entire staff communicating with customers via Twitter. @ Zappos features its CEO, Tony Hsieh and every Zappos’ employee has their own Twitter account. They have a leader board that ranks the employees according to the number of followers they have and the staff is encouraged to use the leader board and promote Zappos at the same time.
5. JetBlue has a very good Twitter-based customer service profile. They even provide the customer support employee’s name who is on duty.
6. ComCast offers a friendly Twitter customer support with real customer service representatives. This kind of interaction helps give Comcast a more humane and personal touch.
7. Ford is a very good Twitterer. They initiated an entire marketing campaign for the launch of a new vehicle on Twitter and they have profiles for many divisions of their company.
8. Home Depot uses Twitter to help their customers. They ask customers who are frustrated with the service they received at a local Home Depot to get on Twitter and chat with a spokesperson.
9. Whole Foods Market recommends new food and invites them to upcoming store events. They are conversational and friendly – asking what their clients like to read and watch…and, of course, what they like to eat.
10. Popeyes does a good job responding to client feedback in and they do it in a hip and cool way. They also tell their followers about current deals and discounts.

If your company is thinking about jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, don’t do it blindly. Look what other companies are doing – and then develop your own strategy. The return of investment a business gets on Twitter has yet to be realized, but the low cost of a social media network like this and the positive engagement you have with existing and prospective customers is well worth it.

Sofia Sapojnikova
Vesta Digital
http://vestadigital.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/10-businesses-that-know-how-to-use-twitter-1766946.html