Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Google's Management Doesn't Use Google+ So Why Should You?" plus 3 more |
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| Google's Management Doesn't Use Google+ So Why Should You? Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:43 AM PDT Let's keep this one short and sweet. The chart below was put together by Michael Degusta who blogs at The Understatement. What this shows though is no understatement at all. In fact, it could be one of the most interesting points about social networking you can make. Is it really just for the commoners? Look at how little Google's own team uses what appears to be a linch pin service for the company moving forward.
What does this say about Google's commitment to Google+? It's like the stockbroker who sells a stock to his "clients" all day long then tells his buddies at the bar after work "I wouldn't buy that piece of junk with your money!". Your thoughts?
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| Google+ Plus Allows Users to Lock Posts and Turn Off Comments Before Publishing Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:42 AM PDT In an effort to continue to differentiate itself from Facebook, Google+ has turned its attention to giving users more freedom with regard to just how public their posts are. As Facebook keeps moving itself in the direction of Mark Zuckerberg's "share everything" mantra, Google+ is taking what might be considered the privacy and user rights high road. Here is a video that was embedded in a post (a public one of course) by one of the engineers on this team, Ebby Amirebrahimi, regarding the ability to now lock a post and turn off comments before publishing. It appears as if Google is learning that Google+ may have to continue to be the "anti-Facebook" in order to succeed since going toe to toe with Facebook could end up in disaster. By dressing itself up to be attractive to those who are getting turned off by Facebook's push to force everything out into the open at all times, Google may be attractive to a smaller audience than Facebook but it could end up being a sizable one nonethelesss.
Hopefully Google has realistically defined what victory is in this battle because then there is hope for making a real impact in the social space. Often projects are doomed by expectations that are out of line with reality (like replacing Facebook at number one) or are based on outside pressures (like allowing the tech press to lead the service around by the nose and rub it in every mistake). So far it seems like Google+ has a shot. Will it be the new Facebook? Honestly, let's hope not. Pilgrim's Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
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| New Study Shows Companies Are Getting Serious About Social Media Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:36 PM PDT If you're reading this post, then chances are you use social media to market your business, but what else do you use it for? A new study by Booz & Company and Buddy Media, shows that social media is coming into its own as a customer service tool, a way of conducting market research and even a way to handle internal communications. It all points to the fact that companies of every size are getting serious about social media and that means more money and resources going to support the cause.
The new study, called "Campaigns to Capabilities: Social Media and Marketing 2011, takes a closer look at the role social media plays in a variety of companies. The results are hardly startling, but interesting nevertheless. The majority of responded said that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were their top social media platforms. Facebook came in at 94%, Twitter at 77% and YouTube at 42% but that number should climb in the coming year. MySpace got only 2% of the vote, with location-based services fairing only slightly better with 8%. A Measure of Success In order to track their success, more than 90% said they look at engagement and participation which includes number of followers, sharing, likes, re-tweets, etc. 66% said they track buzz. A great idea that's hard to pin down. They look at trending topics, blog mentions and mentions by influential people. Only 38% said they measure transactions such as sales or lead generation and that's rather disheartening. I'm sure that more than 38% of social media marketers are looking for a rise in their bottom line. The problem is, measuring the correlation between a social media post and a sale.
This is probably why 90% of respondents said brand building was the biggest benefit to social media. Respondents also said that the ability to adapt and react quickly was essential to success, along with clear support from execs and a "culture that encourages experimentation." Content is Still King Companies stated that they were actively involved in creating customized content for social media. To this end, 96% said they'd be increasing their investments in that area. 57% said they are actively hiring new creative and editorial talent and community managers are in high demand.
Hiring full time social media managers means that companies are finally taking social media seriously. It's no longer that trendy tool that might or might not be working. Now, it's an important part of a company's brand strategy and that's good news for marketers.
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| What the New iPhone Means for Marketers Posted: 04 Oct 2011 01:10 PM PDT
The live blogger for the New York Times summed it up best with this statement:
Here's a quick rundown of the new features. Siri: Your Personal Assistant Voice command module, Siri, is the main reason to switch to this new iPhone. It's an incredibly intuitive system that understands and responds to conversational English (and a few other languages). Ask what the weather is and you'll get a weather report. Ask what time it is in Paris and you get a clock showing Paris time. Ask it to remind you to call your wife when you leave work and it will — because it knows which of your contacts is your wife and it has geolocation to know when you've left work. Siri can also make appointments for you, read off text messages and events in your calendar. It can calculate days until a holiday, convert money, find the best Greek restaurant in the neighborhood and I imagine it can even call and lie to your wife about why you're late for dinner. It's the ultimate cool tech toy, which can be really useful once we get past the point of asking it to do dumb things just to see how it responds. For the marketer, this is gold. Think about it. Where does Siri get the answers to the questions? From the web. If a user asks Siri to find the best sports bar in the area, it's going to look for high ratings on sources such as Yelp. If your sports bar isn't listed, or isn't well reviewed, Siri is going to pass you by. This concept also plays into iPhone 4S' new "Reminder" app. It's the ultimate To Do list which reminds you to complete an errand when you're near the appropriate place. Need to pick up a prescription? Reminder will ping you when you're near the drug store. Imagine how this could impact holiday shopping. Photos, Video, Speed and Storage Apple has also made a few tweaks under the hood that will help your phone run twice as fast and stay charged longer. It's not 4G, but Apple says it doesn't matter since the speed and a fancy switchable antenna more than makes up for it. They've also upgraded the camera so it rivals any point and shoot out there. You can start shooting within one second of opening the app and reporters at the event say the photos are amazing. Video is also a joy to behold. To prove it, Apple had a couple of gamers play "Infinity Blade" for the crowd to show off the amazing graphics display. Again, I defer to the NYTimes:
Storage is also a big issue and Apple is offering three options: 16-gigabytes for $199, 32-gigabyte for $299, and a new 64-gigabyte model for $399. More storage means more apps, more photos, more music. It means more people will be spending more time on their mobile phones, so that's where you have to go if you want to reach them. A Little Old School In the middle of all this techno-wow, Apple also announced a new app that sends personalized greeting cards through the mail. Snail mail, not e-mail. In other words, using high-tech to go low-tech. How weird is that? What it sounds like, is Apple trying to jump on the bandwagon started by other app developers. In addition to Cards, they've also added a Text Only button to Safari that allows you to strip down webpages for easier reading. "Find My Friends" is a new app that allows you to see where your friends are at any given moment so you can meet them for lunch, or avoid them at lunch, depending. New and Improved? The new iPhone is an upgrade, but if you take out the voice commands program, not by much. The size and shape is the same and most people don't need 64 gigs of memory. Most people don't even need an iPhone. Tim Cook says, "the iPhone has only 5 percent of the worldwide handset market." So why is it so important to marketers? It's important because it's new, it's hot and it's the future. Time spent crafting marketing campaigns for the iPhone is time well spent. Smartphone owners are young, educated, and financially well-off. And increasingly, mobile phones are their main route to the internet. This is a customer you want to reach and the new iPhone is going to help you do it. Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community
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