Social Marketing: Page 287

  • Story Sell: Once Upon a Brand Sell

    There was a time (in the recent past) when brand sell was all about showcasing features and benefits to an intended target audience. With the emergence of social media, the art of the brand sell has evolved to include a very real social component. Social media has made engagement and response rate some of the main objectives for brands. With that, in the framework of brand development, the art of storytelling has become much more important. What was once brand sell, is now story sell. Now brand marketers need to wrap their initiatives around the story sell of their brand. Like it or not, engagement is where it's at today and the way to consumers' hearts is through storytelling.

    By • April 3, 2015

  • Sharing with Intent

    Let's face it. With all of the social media chatter, it's hard to find a way to break through the noise to distinguish your brand. In a world of viral cat videos and reposts, how do you find and share engaging content that reaches your main audience? I have a few thoughts on how to get started.

    By • April 2, 2015

  • The Power of Pinterest Business Pages

    Pinterest's digital bulletin board is quickly becoming the preferred marketing tool amongst its social media counterparts for big and small businesses alike. With its branding-oriented features like do-it-yourself promoted pins and its recently updated analytics, Pinterest for Business is a must-have for those who need their aesthetics and visual elements front and center. Though Facebook and Twitter still rein king over content-sharing, Pinterest is quickly becoming the single most important networking site for having your brand discovered and tapping into core customer bases. Here is a quick overview of what Pinterest is, who uses it, what its business applications are, and how they can benefit you with the right approach.

    By • April 2, 2015

  • Managing Social Media Expectations [INFOGRAPHIC]

    ROI as a metric to measure the success of social media is problematic. Social media doesn't typically generate fantastic ROI versus other channels because social media is about conversation not broadcast. But just because an activity doesn't have tangible ROI, doesn't mean that it's not valuable.

    By • April 2, 2015

  • Are You Afraid to Dive into Social Media?

    Anyone running a business will occasionally come up against difficult situations that need handling. Often these situation can be resolved, when handled with a strong customer service-relationship mindset, in a way that strengthens the business-customer bond. And occasionally, people (and customers) can be nasty. But most people, when treated right (and sometimes when not treated right), aren't!

    By • April 2, 2015

  • 4 Reasons Your Business Should Be on Social Media

    When they need to make personal connections with the rest of humanity, more and more Americans are doing so via the Internet. A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center showed that 74 percent of adults who go online use a social networking site, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or something else.

    By • April 2, 2015

  • Why "Better" Is Not a Differentiator

    In a world of commoditization, with endless providers and solutions for every problem known to man, you can't live by a "better as differentiator" philosophy.

    By • April 2, 2015

  • Social Media and Digital Expertise: A Recommended Hiring Hierarchy

    Although social media can no longer be considered a novelty, many organizations (especially small- and mid-sized groups) are still trying to figure out whether and how to leverage it as part of their marketing, branding, public relations, customer service, and revenue-generating efforts.

    By • April 1, 2015

  • B2B Content: 5 Tips for Articles That Aren't "Bland 2 Boring"

    Let's face it: a lot of content out there on the web is dull, boring and humdrum. Such content will never motivate anyone to advance along a conversion funnel or be passed along on social media. Here are some tips for making sure that your BtoB content isn't "Bland to Boring."

    By • April 1, 2015

  • Google It: Taking the Guesswork Out of Life?

    Google makes it easy for us to search for any kind of information we want, instantaneously. It has taken the guesswork out of life. But how accurate or relevant is the information we find?

    By • April 1, 2015

  • 5 Great Alternatives to 24/7 Social Customer Service

    How can you manage conversations with your customers if 24/7, round-the-clock support isn't feasible? How can you still manage to exceed the expectations of your customers? Take a look at these 5 great alternatives to make sure you can still deliver smooth customer interactions over the weekend, during and outside peak hours, and those make or break crisis moments.

    By • April 1, 2015

  • Sprinklr Joins the Billion-Dollar Club

    Sprinklr announced today that it has raised $46 million in new funding, bringing its total funding to $123.5 million, and the company is now valued at $1.17 billion. The New York City-based social software platform company received its last round of funding from Intel Capital, Battery Ventures and Iconiq Capital.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • How to Go Viral: Watch Your Shares Multiply Like Rabbits This Easter

    Having your marketing message go viral is one of the most cost-effective ways to spread your brand image. Very few viral advertising successes happen by accident. Built on observation and research, this checklist will help you have the best chance of encouraging readers to share your content, helping to take it viral.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • IBM Launches #NEWWAYTOSTARTUP Contest at SXSW

    This year at SXSW, IBM held a contest that gave 10 startups the chance to raise their profiles, win IBM software, and snag an invitation to an exclusive TED@IBM event.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • #SMMW15: The Experts' Guide to Personal Branding

    Of the nearly 2,000 attendees at Social Media Marketing World - including a veritable "who's who" of social media royalty - no one has more followers than social giant Guy Kawasaki. With over 10.5 million followers across multiple platforms, including more than 1.5 million followers on Twitter alone, Guy is reminiscent of that old E.F. Hutton commercial: When Guy Kawasaki talks, people listen.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • What Is the Right Social Media Strategy for Your Brand?

    While there are a number of ways to measure ROI generated from social media, Facebook and Twitter are still worthy tools that can add a lot more value to your internet marketing campaign. Indeed, how greatly can social media benefit your business depends on how well it has been executed. The way you execute the social media decides how you will progress on the digital footprint.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • Will Digital Coupons Be the Death Knell of the Printed Newspaper?

    Currently, 90% of coupons are still sourced via print, but digital coupon technology is on the rise and once consumers make the inevitable switch away from paper, what will keep newspapers afloat? For now, online coupons are offered directly by retailers and manufacturers. But for the broadest array of digital deals, consumers look to third party sites that specialize in issuing coupon codes, offer printable coupons or apps that allow for seamless paper redemption.

    By • March 31, 2015

  • Facebook to Enter eCommerce Search by Acquiring TheFind

    Facebook can surely be termed as the front runner in the world of social media. With over 1.39 billion monthly users, it is surely the perfect platform to be on if you are looking to connect with the maximum number of people. But what if you want to purchase something? Facebook hardly had the answer even a few days back. However, the Company has found a solution to this problem as well.

    By • March 30, 2015

  • 5 Takeaways from Social Media Marketing World to Help Your Brand

    With so many amazing social media experts under one roof at Social Media Marketing World, it's almost impossible NOT to come home with a pages full of tips, notes, and suggestions for your brand. As usual, my main note-taking device was Twitter, so here's a list of my top 5 learnings curated from my hundreds of tweets over two action-packed days.

    By • March 30, 2015

  • Will Customer Reviews Help or Hurt My Business?

    e-Marketer recently reported on a November 2014 study by YouGov which says the top reason (at 62%) US Internet users post reviews is to help others make good purchasing decisions. Another said they thought it's "polite" to provide feedback, and a quarter or so were split between making sure the word gets out about good businesses out there and their own positive experiences.

    By • March 30, 2015

  • Social Customer Care in the Middle East and Malaysia: An Overview

    I've been coming to the Middle East and Malaysia since 2011 running workshops on social customer care. Those first couple of years were hard work: literally me at the front talking for three days, trying to convince the attendees that social customer care was the future. By the time I got to the first coffee break I was already feeling exhausted. But how things have changed since then.

    By • March 30, 2015

  • What Do Pinterest Users Look Like? [INFOGRAPHIC]

    Overall, when compared to other social media sites, Pinterest users are more likely to purchase products from their most shared categories, reveals new data from ShareThis.

    By • March 29, 2015

  • Customer Service Has Its Day at Social Media Marketing World

    "Customer service is the new marketing." I've probably tweeted that a dozen times, and I think about it almost every day. But social media conferences - and the practitioners who attend them - have continued to be divided into two tribes as if they were playing Survivor: the Marketing tribe and the Customer Service tribe.

    By • March 29, 2015

  • Google+ is Changing, but How Will it Change Your Business?

    It's no secret that as underutilized as it is in the social media world, Google+ has been a powerhouse for search engine optimization. From personalized search results to improving organic reach, the Google+ platform has been a go to source to start building SEO for businesses. Google+'s number one spot might change as a result of an upcoming platform reorganization.

    By • March 28, 2015

  • The First Thing To Do About Making Your Site Mobile-Friendly

    We've all seen how the relentless march to mobile is changing the way we do business. People are using mobile devices to search for what they want, whether it's information to win an argument or running shoes to train for a local marathon. They also probably found out about that marathon online and often used their phone to see where to run. After that, the miles they ran may have been boasted about on social media.

    By • March 28, 2015