This is the final installation of a three-part series on how to build a successful brand advocacy program. The series covered the importance of brand advocacy, how to find your advocates, and examples of implementing a brand advocacy program. 

Throughout this series we learned why brand advocacy is crucial for your business and three steps to implementing a successful program. Brand advocates are 83% more likely to share information than the average Internet user (Source: Bzz Agent Field Guide to Brand Advocates). And each time an advocate posts content on a social network, it reaches 150 people (Source: Zuberance via Forrester Peer Influence Analysis). So once you have your strategy in place, how do you mobilize your brand advocates to be the marketing force you want them to be? Here are three creative brand advocate campaign examples from Shoutlet customers.

SHARE YOUR STORY: ESSAY

Stories pack a powerful punch when used effectively in marketing content. Raw, real, and emotional accounts from your advocates give other customers untarnished insights into your company. As we learned in the first week, consumers are more likely to trust a friend than a business, so gather your customer stories and put them to work.

The Canadian-based coalition loyalty program Aeroplan, owned by Aimia, a global loyalty management company, looked to discover their fans that not only loved their travel rewards program, but were willing to share their real accounts and experiences with their brand. Using Shoutlet Social Canvas™ and Social Contests™, Aeroplan created a Facebook tab/app to gather their member’s stories, and published the promotion to their Facebook page.

Aeroplan then converted these fan stories into blog posts which have proved to be the most visited entries on their site. They also promoted the blog post on their social networks and email channels, which encouraged fan sharing. By leveraging stories from their brand advocates, Aeroplan communicates the strong relationships they create with customers without traditional advertising.

SHARE YOUR STORY: MULTI-MEDIA

National health store franchise Complete Nutrition looked to tap into their advocates’ raw and emotional journey of losing weight. Video testimonials proved to be the company’s most powerful form of marketing and customer acquisition, so a brand advocate video story promotion was a natural progression.

With Social Canvas, the team created a micro-site for their contest with several key pages including entry, voting, and terms. After posting to Facebook, their brand advocates’ stories poured in. To encourage even more engagement, the team included a voting component where fans could vote on their favorite video.

By empowering fans to submit their own emotional stories and giving them the power to select the best entries, the Complete Nutrition team discovered new customer insights in a non-traditional fashion.

FAN INVOLVEMENT

Everyone is short on resources. So why not ask your willing brand advocates help out?

Amaysim, a large Australian mobile phone company, discovered that mobile phone reviews drove more generic SEO traffic to their website than any other type of content. But, they lacked the resources to test and review as many phones to fuel the target volume.

The team launched the Amaysim Review Project – a promotion that allows members of their community to apply to become official phone reviewers. 

Amaysim built the form using Shoutlet Social Canvas and promoted it through their social networks and other owned assets, including their customer newsletter. The company has seen great success with this ongoing campaign – in the first 48 hours, nearly 2,000 people engaged with the post and more than 400 people applied to be phone reviewers.

What other brand advocacy campaigns have you seen out there?  Have you ever participated as a brand advocate for a favorite company?

In fact, data shows it was HBO’s most social episode ever. Social analytics firm Mashwork charted more than 700,000 online mentions of the episode across Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other sites. To put that in Game of Thrones terms, that’s a heck of a lot of ravens.

With Sunday’s finale wrapping up the season, there are plenty of takeaways for brands from the show’s social success. Let’s look at a few of the brilliant ways the show’s creators stoked the fire by cultivating and curating fan content.

Putting fans on the stage

Game of Thrones Curates Fan’s Westerosi Recipes

Game of Thrones is unique: The art, memes and posts made by fans far outnumber (and out-creative) what show creator HBO could ever produce. So, smartly, the network seemed to focus their strategy on giving all of this content a wider audience.

On Pinterest, they curated boards including “works of the realm” and “westerosi recipes” that showcase fan blog posts and illustrations. On Twitter, they partnered with paper.li, to produce a custom Game of Thrones newspaper that curates articles shared by fans and gets delivered to over 12 thousand followers. And, they built a social hub on HBO.com where you can see tweets, video, live chats with the cast, and more.

While most brands don’t have this level of fan engagement, there’s still huge value in encouraging and showcasing user-generated content. A mix of UGC, original content (produced by the brand) and curated content is the key to a well-balanced social diet.

Create a contest (but make it resonate)

One way to encourage user-generated content is to host a social contest – a good one can gain hundreds or even thousands of submissions. To create an effective contest, develop easy steps to entry and offer a prize that ties back to your audience’s interests.

This season, Game of Thrones did just that by using their official Tumblr as a contest hub, where people could submit original artwork for the chance to have it created into a poster.

Game of Thrones Tumblr Contest

Let the community give your hashtag life

Every company wants to start a trending hashtag, but it’s a mistake to think that people will start using your hashtag just because you create one.

A wiser approach is to build off of a hashtag that’s already popular among your audience. In this case, the hashtag “#GoTfan” became popular among fans to share insider jokes about the personality traits of show addicts (think “you may be a redneck if…”).

The official Game of Thrones Twitter account pays homage to this intent, using it to engage followers, give respect to fans and offer them chances to win #GoTfan swag.

Socialize the viewing experience

Research shows that many TV viewers use additional devices, like tablets or smartphones, while they watch their favorite shows. Start-ups like GetGlue, a social networking site for TV viewers, have sprung up to create a community in this space.

HBO uses GetGlue to offer fans specialty stickers when they “check-in” to each Game of Thrones episode – they can even request to receive real badges in the mail.

By doing this, they’ve turned the passive experience of watching television into a competition among the viewing community. That sends a very important message: Viewers are no longer alone, they’re part of a tight-knit community that HBO cultivates every step of the way.

The list of smart social tactics from Game of Thrones goes on. But, winter is coming after all, so you probably have other things to attend to now. Tell us what you thought about this season, and how the show uses social, in the comments below.

Last week, we learned the basics of brand advocacy and why it is crucial to your business. More and more consumers are trusting recommendations from friends on social networks, and your brand advocates are twice as likely to share product information on social networks than average web users. Implementing a brand advocacy strategy is a win-win situation. Now that we know the why, let’s take a look at how to implement a brand advocacy strategy at your company in just 3 steps.

1. Find Your Brand Advocates

The first step is to identify your brand advocates. Who are your customers that will go out of their way to talk positively about your brand to their friends? Start by asking the Ultimate Question: (Source: Zuberance)

How likely are you to recommend us on a scale of 0-10? 

It seems a simple question at first, but after thinking it through, its relevance grows. Would you recommend just anything to a friend? A bad meal you ate, or a poor customer experience? Probably not. Thanks to human nature, we want to recommend positive experiences to our friends and social circles.

Send the question in a single email to your customer database, or ask on your social networks. Ask your web developer to create a sequence of pages that allows you to capture their 0-10 answer, and fill in their e-mail, so you can track them as an advocate in your CRM. If you use Shoutlet, you can complete this step without a developer in Social Canvas™ and Social Profiles™.

Your customers that answer 0-6 are your brand detractors. These customers are unhappy because of one thing or another that doesn’t necessarily have to do with your brand. This set should be treated with care and, as a separate effort, spend energy on discovering what will turn them from a 0-6 to a 9-10. Your 7-8′s are brand passives: they buy your product, but aren’t going to talk negatively or positively about it. These are great customers to target with offers and coupons.

Your customers that answer 9 or 10 are your brand advocates. As we saw last week, about one in four customers are brand advocates (Source: Zuberance Study). These are your customers that will market for you, and convert friends and family to your business if you give them the tools to do so.

Post this question to your database and social networks once a month or so to gain new advocates and to keep your list accurate and fresh.

2. Empower Your Advocates to be a Marketing Force

Now that you’ve identified your brand advocates, empower them to create amazing content for your brand. Invite all your advocates to review you on your social outlets including Facebook and Yelp, offering the direct link and making it as easy as possible.

“You’re amazing! Thanks for being an awesome customer. Share your review with us.”

By targeting your brand advocates for online reviews, you’ll not only see a higher percentage of review completion, but also more positive reviews. Brand advocates are motivated by recognition, so writing a review fulfills that need. And because brand advocates are twice as likely to share information on social networks, the likelihood of the review being shared is also high (Source: BzzAgent Field Guide to Brand Advocates). When your advocates boost ratings, they also boost sales. A Harvard Magazine study found that a one-star increase on Yelp is equivalent to 5-9% increase in revenue for the restaurant business (Source: Harvard Magazine).

Another way to empower your advocates is asking them to tell them your story. Gathering customer stories for your marketing content can be very powerful as they are real, raw, and emotionally driven. You may be surprised at the customer insights gathered from these types of stories – insights that can help you improve your marketing message to your target market.

And finally, make your advocates feel special. Give them a tailored offer and ask them to share it. Offer a referral program or incentivizing calls-to-action, and make it easy to spread the word with their friends and family. Just remember – keep it authentic and genuine. I recommend a thank you or small offering after their work to show your appreciation.

3. Track Your Progress

Gone are the Mad Men days – marketing today is more of a science than an art. To show the power of your brand advocate strategy, be sure to set benchmark analytics before starting your program, and use link tagging and shortened URLs to track activity. Implement unique brand advocate codes, so that when new customers convert, you can attribute that purchase and revenue to your brand advocate strategy. If you have Shoutlet, you can set up specific segments for your brand advocates, track page views of Social Canvas pages, and use shortened links and campaign tagging to analyze progress.

Keep in mind that a brand advocacy strategy is an ongoing program like public relations, so nurture it frequently and it will grow over time.

Next week, we’ll take a look at some examples of brand advocate campaigns and creative, including examples from Shoutlet customers.

How do you engage your brand advocates? Do you have an amazing customer brand story that you used as marketing content?

So when the day arrives when your team begins the search for a new social media software tool, there isn’t much time to thoroughly investigate your options. Time-pressed social pros must wade through an ocean of information, which is littered with myths and misconceptions.

We’ve heard you, and we’ve created this eBook to help sort the myths from the realities of social media management systems (SMMS). To find the best software for you brand takes time and resources. We’ve extracted the top 11 myths we’ve heard about social media management software so your team can find the best for you tool based on your goals and needs – all while remaining focused on the important duty of interacting with your customers in social media.

Debunk the myths you’ve heard. Read the eBook for a primer on some of the most common myths about enterprise social tools.

Other content recommendations:

Social Media Management Systems: How to Build a Case for Adoption and Choose the Right Platform

The Marketer’s Guide to Social Customer Data

Webinar Replay: Smooth Workflow to Smart Practices: Steps to Building a Cohesive, Engaging Social Program

This is the first in a three-part series on how to build a successful brand advocacy
program. The series will cover the importance of brand advocacy, how to find your advocates, and examples of implementing a brand advocacy program.

Have you ever received a rave recommendation from a friend about a favorite restaurant, dentist office, or vacation spot? Of course you have. Coming off the heels of a good, bad (or downright ugly) experience, it’s human nature to share that story. We are hard-wired to do so.

The same thinking can be applied to how brands approach the customer experience. Some brands have failed to recognize that they have a mini-army of customers that could help tell their story, potentially talking about how they loved a brand so much that they recommended it to all their friends.

Brand advocacy is just that – “a customer that goes out of their way to evangelize your brand to his and her peers and colleagues without cash or coupons, payments, or perks.” (Source: Brand Advocates by Rob Fuggetta)

In theory, brand advocacy is a great idea. But most businesses don’t believe they have enough customers that fall into this category to make an impact. I disagree. Studies show that about one in four U.S. adults online are brand advocates (Source: Zuberance Study). This translates to tens of millions of advocates in the U.S. alone – a highly influential and powerful force that could be spreading the good word about your company. The opportunities to build strong brand advocates across a variety of channels are huge. Case in point, by the end of Q1 2013, Yelp had more than 39 million reviews. Multiply that by the estimated 1+ billion active Facebook users and 500 million Twitter users and the numbers are enough to make your head spin.

Let’s take a look at three reasons why brand advocacy is crucial to your business:

1. 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know, and 70% trust opinions of unknown users (Source: Econsultancy, 2009)

Brand recommendations thrive on social media and by word of mouth. It can be some of the most powerful marketing out there, as consumers trust a friend’s account of his/her experience so much more than they trust traditional advertising. It is also far more effective in resulting in an additional touchpoint or sale for a brand. As a business, making sure that your customers are chatting positively about your brand to friends could have a huge impact on acquiring new fans and customers.

Image Source: WOMMAPedia

Even though the majority of word of mouth is positive, brands need to be aware of customers that have bad experiences. Encountering a negative review online can be a golden opportunity for your business: be transparent, immediately address the issue, and offer to fix it – even if it’s not your fault. Learning from bad reviews and experiences are key to understanding what to change to improve the customer experience. And you may be pleasantly surprised when that customer evolves into a brand advocate because of the follow-up treatment.

2. Advocates are twice as likely to share product information on social networks than average web users (Source: BzzAgent Field Guide to Brand Advocates)

Developing a brand advocacy strategy is a win-win situation for all parties involved. Not only are they twice as likely to share your information, but they also enjoy the recognition. They like to share! Frequent reviewers are often rewarded for taking the time to pen their thoughts. Many businesses offer deals or simple ‘thank you’ gestures to recognized reviewers. Yelp hosts parties to thank their most prolific users – whom they call the ‘Elite Squad’.

For example, I recently tweeted a thank you to a vendor I work with, and in return, they sent me some mints and a Starbucks card for the Twitter compliment. I still have their note at my desk.

This is further supported by how easy social sharing has become. Yelp gives user the chance to share their reviews on Facebook and Twitter upon completion. This level of integration encourages brand advocates to take the time to recap their experiences and share within their networks.

Developing your brand advocates ensures that recommendations and your content will be shared more often, engaging existing fans and exposing yourself to new customers.

3. 68% of Facebook users say a recommendation from a Facebook friend would make them more likely to buy a specific product or visit a certain retailer (Source: Morpace Omnibus Report, 2010)

By empowering advocates, you are creating a support team that accomplishes a lot of your Word-of-Mouth marketing goals for you.  The addition of a brand advocate program can increase your reach and improve the trust of a new and skeptical customer, increasing the likelihood that they visit your store and even make a purchase from you.

The amazing thing about brand advocates is that they typically don’t want anything in return. These types of customers are deeply motivated by recognition and the spotlight – they love your brand, product, or service so much that they are happy to spread the word. That being said, giving your brand advocates a little VIP treatment after the fact never hurts.

Next week, we’ll take a look at how you can identify whom your brand advocates are and how to implement a brand advocate program at your company. You can subscribe to our blog in the right sidebar to get the next post in the series delivered straight to your inbox.

How has a brand advocacy program helped your business? Do you feel social media has helped or hurt your Word-of-Mouth marketing?

But then, you go to a conference, or read data like Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing Industry Report, and you don’t feel quite so alone. Everyone has the same challenges. And most importantly, everyone has the same opportunities.

Social media is a brave new world, ready for innovators and big ideas. Take a look at this year’s social data. We promise you’ll feel motivated to take action.

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE

In its 5th year of measuring industry opinion, the 2013 SME report found that the #1 question on marketers’ minds was, “What social tactics are most effective?” With only 37 percent of marketers saying that they feel their Facebook efforts are effective, it makes sense that marketers want to know what works so they can spend time (and money) were results are proven.

Why this is motivating: No one has the treasure map that leads to social ROI, there is no X marking the spot. What’s effective, what’s a return on investment, is up to your team. Start by tying all of your social activities back to marketing goals. Then, identify a small set of metrics that help you track your efforts and, most importantly, tell the story to leadership of how social is creating value for the company.

SOCIAL MEDIA STILL ISN’T A FULL-TIME JOB

Despite what you may imagine, a large majority of marketers aren’t working on social all day, every day. About 62 percent of them are using social media for 6 hours or more, 36 percent are using it for 11 or more hours weekly, and only 17 percent for 20 hours or more.

Why this is motivating: At one time or another, we all fall prey to the green-eyed monster, imagining the bountiful social resources other organizations have. In reality, many social media managers struggle to find enough time for social. The good news is, social is more about creativity than spend. By working smart and being creative, your team can compete with brands triple your size.

MARKETERS ARE WRESTLING WITH MOBILE

While smartphone usage increases by the day, many brand sites aren’t prepared for mobile viewers. The SME study shows that only slightly more than one in four marketers agreed that that their blog was optimized for mobile.

Why this is motivating: You have the opportunity to lead in this space. Optimization can be resource-intensive, but it may not be as daunting as you think. Some website platforms, like WordPress, offer flick-of-the-switch responsive design. Start the conversation with your IT or development teams and get a timeline in place today.

VIDEO AND IMAGES ARE THE “IT” TACTICS

While marketers cited Facebook and LinkedIn as the two most important social networks, they’re also looking to explore new frontiers in image and video. A significant 69 percent of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube. Thirty-eight percent plan on increasing use of photo-sharing sites like Instagram.

Why this is motivating: Gone are the days when you needed an in-house production team for multimedia projects. Now, tools like Instagram have lowered the bar, making it easy to produce something (dare we say) artistic by adding a filter. Put aside your concerns on quality, and hold a brainstorming session on how to produce more multimedia content. You may already have a few bonafide Instagrammers on your team who’d love to contribute.

SOCIAL IS DRIVING AWARENESS AND TRAFFIC

Eighty-nine percent of marketers stated that increased exposure was the top benefit of their social media marketing. Another 75% reported increasing traffic as another major benefit. See the breakdown in this chart from the Social Media Examiner report.

Why this is motivating: In addition to these positive numbers, the study also showed that marketers had key results in the areas of increased sales, better partnerships, reduced marketing expenses, new leads and more. In some cases, the more time invested in social, the better the results.

How’s that for motivation?

Check out the full Social Media Examiner report – it offers a wealth of data on the state of social marketing right now. Also subscribe to Shoutlet’s blog in the right sidebar for weekly insights on the state of the industry and more.

c/o Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

As a tactic, content marketing is not new, nor is it uncommon. Ninety-one percent of marketers report practicing some form of content marketing – whether that’s writing blog posts, updating social media channels or creating whitepapers.

But, despite its history and prevalence, not so many find their efforts fruitful, with only 36 percent of respondents to a CMI study reporting that their content marketing is effective.

What’s the challenge? Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute, joined us on our webinar to shed light on content challenges and offer ideas for improvement.

RISING ABOVE THE CHALLENGES

“When we ask marketers their biggest content marketing challenge, it’s always been producing the kind of content that’s truly engaging,” says Pulizzi. “It’s truly a challenge to produce relevant, engaging content. ”

But recently, Pulizzi says he’s been hearing a new challenge: “Now when we ask, the new challenge is producing enough content.”

Whether you’re struggling to produce enough or to produce the right kind, Pulizzi offers a few tips to get your strategy on the right track.

1) START WITH A MISSION STATEMENT

What’s the goal of your content marketing? Are you trying to create leads? Brand awareness? The first step in your journey is asking why, and Pulizzi recommends crafting a mission statement to reflect that.

He shared an example from Home Made Simple – a site that shares recipes and lifestyle tips for women. The brand keeps more than 10 million subscribers engaged with their content by keeping this mission statement in mind: “Enabling women to have more quality time with their families.”

Shoutlet customer VCA Animal Hospitals is another example of a brand that figured out their “why” – to help people keep their pets healthy – and reflected it through a stellar Facebook app that provides resources for pet owners.

VCA Animal Hospitals created an app through Shoutlet that keeps pets healthy

2) DEVELOP PERSONAS

Most organizations have multiple audiences. Sending the same content to each isn’t likely to resonate. So, take time to consider your unique value proposition for each segment. Determine their challenges, their needs, how they think.

“You need a buyer persona for every group you’re targeting,” says Pulizzi. “Make sure you have something you can physically hand to the content creator so they have a really good idea of who they’re talking to.”

Check out Up Close & Persona as a resource to get started.

3) REPURPOSE BEFORE, NOT AFTER

When a piece of content is successful, you likely try to repurpose it across your other channels to get the most out of your investment.

Here’s a new idea: Repurpose upfront. As you create a piece of content, or strategize how to communicate a new message to your audience, also plan a variety of collateral to go with it. Version it by persona if you really want to move the needle.

4) MAKE USE OF INFLUENCERS

Who are your customers listening to, reading, watching? Who has sway in your industry? Tapping into these people can be an important way to get content shared to the right places, especially for B2B brands that often benefit from product recommendations or recognition from industry leaders.

Start by making a list of influencers and develop ongoing outreach strategies to build these relationships over time. Don’t try to tackle too many at once or blast out generic pitches – start small and connect intentionally.

BETTER CONTENT STARTS WITH STRATEGY

Many marketers struggle with the same content challenges, but the same solutions won’t apply to all. Spend time to audit your current content library, create a mission statement and determine a path forward that’s tailor-made to your organization and your audience.

These tips are just the beginning. Download our webinar to hear more from Joe Pulizzi, including 10 content marketing initiatives to start right now. 

As a Shoutlet partner with an advanced solution for integrated social media marketing, I’m happy to give you all a sneak peek at some recent research Kenshoo Social just released.

Earlier this year, Forrester Consulting surveyed 105 large social advertisers — social media and advertising professionals whose companies spend more than $100,000 per year on social media ads — to uncover how both organic social media marketing and paid social media advertising are working to achieve their business goals.

In this Kenshoo Social commissioned study, The Key To Successful Social Advertising, How To Choose The Right Tactics To Achieve Your Social Advertising Objectives, there were three key findings:

Finding #1 – Organic posting is the most popular social tactic

As you can see below, 73% of the large social marketers surveyed “create branded pages and post messages on those pages” across social networks. But organic posting alone is not enough to meet most organizations’ goals from social media. As the chart shows, 56% of marketers also buy ads on social networks. And, later in the study we saw that those marketers who are most satisfied with their results from social media are deploying a combination of paid and organic tactics.

Finding #2 – Social advertisers still aren’t using advanced optimization tactics

It’s not surprising that the most popular tactic among social advertisers is “rotating through creative” because that is something that digital marketers have been found to be a best practice with most other forms of online advertising including search, display, etc. However, a majority of these large social marketers are not taking advantage of some of the more advanced optimization approaches, such as using automated bid management tools or simple A/B testing on creative.

Finding #3 – Social advertisers should pay for promoted content to drive awareness and buy ads to drive sales

Social advertisers who paid to promote their branded content were most satisfied with the awareness they created, while those who bought paid ads were happiest with their ability to drive purchases.

Four Steps to Improve your Ad Results

After years of experimenting with organic and paid advertising tactics on social media channels, it’s time for social advertisers to focus on the strategies and tactics that drive success. Forrester Consulting recommends four steps that can immediately improve marketers’ results:

Start with clear marketing objectives. Marketers must define their most important priorities and objectives before they choose social advertising tactics and then focus on the tactics that will help them reach their objectives.

Promote your brand and your content. Social marketing can be free — but if you want it to deliver results, try paid tactics.

Take advantage of robust targeting. Granular social targeting enables brands to increase the ROI of their advertising efforts on social networks.

Develop a holistic approach for greater success. Smart marketers will consider how all of their social opportunities fit into the customer journey and into their broader marketing initiatives — and then take a holistic approach to managing and measuring those programs.

To learn more, please download the paper and join us on May 29th at noon EST for a webinar presented by Kenshoo Social when Todd Herrold from Kenshoo Social, guest Kim Celestre from Forrester, and I will discuss the research from the study and demonstrate how Kenshoo Social can help marketers to win at social advertising.

Please reach out to the teams at Shoutlet or Kenshoo Social if you’d like more information regarding our integrated solution for paid, owned, and earned social media management and attribution. And be sure to check out the recent webinar we co-hosted on the New Facebook Post Lifecycle – you can view the recording here and slides here.

But, it takes time and hard work to perfect the art of content – which is why we’re excited to host a special webinar with content expert Joe Pulizzi to help you hone your content strategy. Join us next Tuesday for 10 tips and new ideas to improve your content marketing strategy, starting today.

In case you’re still on the fence about content marketing, take a gander at the stats we’ve pulled together as a preview for Tuesday’s presentation.

SURVEY SAYS … CUSTOMERS PREFER CONTENT OVER ADS

Seven in ten consumers say that they prefer to learn about a company through a collection of articles rather than in an ad. (See the Source.) Tweet this! 

Content creates value for the customer that an ad may not, improving customer trust and building a deeper relationship with the brand over time.

DISTRIBUTION IS SOCIAL

87% of B2B marketers are using social media to distribute content. (See the Source.) Tweet this! 

Social media ranks among the top content marketing tactics for both B2B and B2C marketers. It’s a fantastic engagement tool that can attract and retain followers.

BRANDS ARE PUTTING MONEY WHERE THEIR CONTENT IS

On average, 39 percent of marketing, advertising and communications budgets will be dedicated to content marketing this year.  (See the source.) Tweet this! 

Spending on content production rose to 43.9 billion in 2013, according to the Custom Content Council. If your department isn’t budgeting for content marketing, it may be time to make the case for how it can generate leads, raise brand awareness, and bring in revenue.

VIDEO IS WHERE IT’S AT 

62 percent of respondents to a survey from the Custom Content Council report using video in their content marketing.  (See the source.) Tweet this! 

Is your company spending money or time to create video content? “Video has been the fastest and most consistently growing medium for content marketing,” said Lori Rosen, Executive Director, Custom Content Council.

CORPORATE BLOGGING IS ALIVE AND WELL

Blogs on company sites result in 55% more visitors (See the Source.) Tweet this!

Some bloggers have proclaimed corporate blogging to be a thing of the past – rendered inert by bite-size communication tools like Twitter. Plenty of research shows that’s not true, including this stat that shows how corporate blogs bring in fresh faces to your site.

RELEVANT CONTENT = GOOD CONTENT 

82% of prospects say content targeted to their industry is more valuable. (See the source.) Tweet this! 

We all know that targeted content is key, but it can be tough to find the time and resources to create it. Stats like this one make a strong case for an investment in content that appeals to each unique segment of your audience.

Convinced that content marketing matters? Looking for tactics to improve your strategy? Attend our webinar to learn 10 content marketing initiatives your company should start today.

Social teams are creating content like never before for multiple social accounts, several times a day, 365 days a year. And they want to do more: A recent survey of Shoutlet customers found that brands want to focus on using Instagram and Pinterest more strategically in 2013 – more than either Twitter or Facebook. Generating consistently impactful images that connect with people is a challenge. While visual content can be video or graphics, too, a sizeable portion of many brands’ social content calendars are photos.

How can you take a great picture that will enrich the experience your fans and followers have with you? Two successful Instagram photographers shared with us their tips for capturing compelling photos for your brand accounts.

From Adam Senatori, a photographer who has done work with brands including General Electric and has more than 375,000 Instagram followers:

Go behind the scenes

“Give your audience what they want… an inside glimpse. Create images that your fans wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. Behind the scenes type shots. Somehow this gets overlooked by the majority of brands, they generate boring, ‘safe’ images that are not compelling. “

More magic happens in the photo than the filter

“Filters do not make up for otherwise poorly shot images. Focus on shooting a technically solid image rather then slapping overdone filters on a mediocre photo. Genuine, well-composed, perfectly shot images will garner more attention than fake vintage filters any day.”

Go pro with a photographer who gets your brand’s mission

“Don’t be afraid to hire professional photographers who, most importantly, understand your message and product. GE has hired me a number of times to shoot photos and video for their social media platforms, Instagram, Tumblr and Facebook. I shoot images of their aviation products… huge jet engines that power passenger and military aircraft. It’s the perfect relationship because they recognize the importance of making their products look great and seek outside help to achieve that, and I’m a pilot as well as a photographer who understands their message and product.”

credit: Adam Senatori

credit: Adam Senatori

Follow Adam on Instagram and Tumblr, and see more of his work at www.adamsenatori.com.

______________________________________________________________________

Photographer Mike Kus’ brand work has included taking over the Burberry Instagram feed for London Fashion Week. His advice for brands:

Don’t just rely on Instagram filters to make pictures pop

“Use an app such as Tilt shift generator to increase photo contrast before processing through Instagram,” Kus says. Also, fix small discrepancies with apps: “Straighten wonky horizons with the Photoshop express app.”

Seek new angles

“Take pictures from unusual angles to create interest.”

Tip in Action:

credit: Mike Kus

Keep it simple

“Less is more: Simple pictures with a clear focus on a subject work well.”

Tip in Action:

credit: Mike Kus

Ditch the ordinary

“Look for pictures in unlikely places, there’s normally a picture there!”

Tip in Action:

credit: Mike Kus

Join 475,000 others and follow Mike on Instagram. See more of his work at www.mikekus.com.

Tell us: What tips do you have for using images in your marketing?

“The biggest question Facebook gets is how to measure success on Facebook. It’s one of our toughest questions because there is no one answer.”

That’s Becca Foy speaking, Facebook’s marketing solutions account executive. Foy spoke at Shoutlet’s New York Social Media Summit earlier this year, providing a transparent look into how brands are using Facebook now and what the future holds for the social network. Check out the interview below to hear more from Foy on:

• How Facebook advertising is evolving – “From an advertising perspective, we’ve changed drastically over the last couple of years.”
• Two key Facebook products she recommends every brand uses: Custom Audiences and Offers
• What 2013 will bring to social marketing  – “The biggest thing that will change everything is how people think about customers in the mobile space.”

In a new integration with LinkedIn, Shoutlet now offers users the ability to post Company Page Updates, monitor the social interactions on Company Updates, and track their impact.

With our new LinkedIn integration your team can:

• Use Shoutlet Social Canvas™ to promote your company page by using eight of LinkedIn’s promotional button tools within designs.
• Plan, schedule, and post Company Page updates that can be targeted to various segments of your follower base (company size, location, seniority, job function and industry).
• Monitor conversations within Shoutlet’s Social CRM, alongside management of interactions happening on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Foursquare.
• Track the performance of your updates and your Company Page – both through integrated reporting and through link-tracking technology that works with your web analytics platform.

Read more about Shoutlet’s LinkedIn integration below. Plus, learn how to maximize your LinkedIn Company Pages with our new guide, 8 Ways to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn Company Pages.

Now, imagine you were tasked with collecting, organizing, and analyzing just a part of this data to use to improve your customer communication and personalize their experiences. That is the goal that lies in front of CMOs and CIOs today – to harness this data to become data-driven marketers and leaders. Crucial to meeting this goal is technology, and this is the trigger that has brought together the CMO and CIO.

CMOs understand that this data is available and that processing it will help them keep up with the digital landscape. CIOs, already managing technology across the business, can help the CMO not only use this data for their teams, but also connect this marketing data to other parts of the business to form a cohesive story that everyone can use to improve.

In our latest paper, C-Suite Convergence: Why the Intersection of the CMO and CIO Is the New Normal, we cover the factors that have edged these two executives toward each other. Included are how real companies are managing this shift internally, as well as recommendations for building this relationship at your own company. Lastly, we also touch on social media and its pivotal role in speeding this collaboration along.

Download C-Suite Convergence: Why the Intersection of the CMO and CIO Is the New Normal to learn about how the imperative to create a data-driven company is changing the game for the C-Suite.

Today, Shoutlet is excited to announce its own integration of Facebook Replies as part of its Social CRM, providing customers the ability to view replies and respond to fans through the Shoutlet platform. Shoutlet customer Finish Line is already anticipating major boosts to their social efforts through the new feature.

“Facebook replies will become a key piece of our social CRM strategy moving forward,”
said Wendy Hofstetter, Finish Line’s Manager of Digital Engagement. “We strive to create the most useful and personalized experience for our customers, so the ability to respond to individual comments and questions will help us foster better relationships with our fans. I know our fans will appreciate this feature!”

Shoutlet introduces Facebook Replies

THE SKINNY ON FACEBOOK REPLIES
Here’s what you can expect with Facebook Replies, which is currently opt-in for pages with over 10,000 followers but will automatically roll out to those pages on July 10, 2013.

• Pages and public figures can reply to comments (also known as top-level comments) within a Facebook thread. The user who made the original comment will be notified of the response.
• Facebook will surface the most engaging and active conversations to the top of your posts, i.e. if a comment is garnering likes and replies, it will get more visibility.
• Facebook will highlight comments and replies that are relevant to each user.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU

A one-to-one connection
No more do brands have to tag users with the @ sign to reply to their comments. Now they can respond directly to the person within the thread – creating a personalized experience and more easily responding to and resolving questions. Replies will be a boon for customer service oriented brands and may also come in handy during social crises, giving brands a way to address individual concerns without broadcasting to the entire fanbase.

In its launch post, Facebook suggests the feature will also be useful for holding open Q&A
sessions. SportsCenter recently tried this out by hosting a Super Bowl chat with Herm Edwards, former NFL coach and player, where viewers could ask questions and get responses directly from Herm himself.

Engaging content takes centerstage
Replies wouldn’t be a Facebook feature if there wasn’t an algorithm involved. In this case, comments and replies that get the most engagement will get more prominence in the thread. This could be a double-edged sword as most community managers would love to highlight the good comments, but may wish to obscure the negative comments (which often garner a larger response). However, Replies also presents a huge opportunity to resolve customer services issues one-on-one and turn a negative experience into a positive one.

As a bonus, Facebook will demote comments in the thread that are marked as spam or are posted by frequent spammers.

Custom experiences for each user
Facebook will also re-order threads based on relevance to individual users, so posts from your Facebook friends will likely appear higher in the thread. This is a nice feature for brands looking to play off of peer-to-peer recommendations and sharing.

New metrics for analysis
Replies will offer a new set of Insights, including number of replies on each post and the number of likes each reply receives. This is just another piece of data that will help community managers develop or hone their content for the most engagement and impact.

WHAT’S NEXT
The future of Replies isn’t certain, but the feature is almost sure to be a hit among brands. Has your brand opted in to Replies? What are your thoughts on the new feature?  

Visit our Social CRM page to request a demo or learn more about how Shoutlet is incorporating Facebook Replies into its social media management platform. 

Get to know Brian in our Q&A and hear about his past experience at Angie’s List, thoughts on social trends for 2013 and what you can find him doing in his free time.

Q: You’ve been a part of Angie’s List for quite some time and played a vital role in the company’s explosive growth. What is the biggest business lesson you learned while there and how do you think it will apply to your role as VP of Application Development at Shoutlet? 

A:  The #1 lesson I learned by far is how important metrics and analytics are to a growing
technology company. We utilized analytics at Angie’s List in almost every facet of the business and it was extremely comforting to know that decisions made at all levels were based on facts vs. opinions. As Shoutlet grows, I plan to dive deeper into the analytics we have at our disposal and utilize that data knowledge to make informed decisions throughout the development cycle. The other business/life lesson I learned at Angie’s List is to not take yourself too seriously and have fun. After being at Shoutlet for such a short amount of time so far, I am pretty sure the fun part will not be a problem.

Q: Historically, you’ve worked with social media from the brand’s position. Now that you’re on the other side of the fence, what are the biggest industry challenges out there and how do you think Shoutlet will respond to them?

A: The major problem I have seen is just figuring out how to measure success. Social Media has been a lot about building the brand and engaging with current customers, which is important but hard to quantify. What I love about Shoutlet’s vision is that we are looking to demonstrate concrete value to the customer via leads for B2B or sales for consumer brands. We are also working to provide additional insight to our customers on which customers to target with what content and also which content they should promote via ads.

Q: What do you think will be big in social in 2013?

A:  From a brand’s perspective, I believe that marketing will really cross over from thinking of social as a separate entity and will just consider it another channel within marketing – a very important channel. This will bring into focus things like ROI and predictive analytics as people will just treat it the same. From the perspective of a social media user, I think people will expect more personalized content that is relevant to them. They will also be looking for more one-on-one engagement through social media with the companies they like, building a relationship with trusted brands. This isn’t new, but the industry is still working towards doing this well. I really like that people are now less averse to having relationships with brands as long as they can expect to have a trusted relationship. I am looking forward to being a part of that story through our work here at Shoutlet.

Q: What could you be found doing on your free time? 

A:  I have an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old, so most of my non-work time is spent at soccer practice/games, swimming, playing in the yard, and the amount of homework my 8-year-old gets is crazy. My wife and I also love old houses and currently own a 1928 English Tudor with quite a large yard that pretty much takes up the rest of our free time. I will say that the free Angie’s List membership was really handy over the years!

Q: Shoutlet is known for its fun, competitive nature, often hosting shuffleboard, dodge ball, and bowling competitions. Where will your inner athlete soar? 

A:  As I told my team when I started, I am actually quite the dancer (mostly old school break dancing or the robot) and have a secret YouTube video that has not yet been found by the team. I am fairly competitive and Aaron (Shoutlet’s President) has caught me several times staying late and brushing up on my Golden Tee skills. Either way, I am ready to take on anyone in the various athletic competitions that I am sure will come my way.

Q: Vanilla or Chocolate?

A: Well, it depends on the item. Ice cream – chocolate; cupcake – vanilla; coffee – mocha-chino!

Yet, many brands don’t maintain an active presence on LinkedIn like they do on Facebook or Twitter. It might be that they feel the network is just for B2B companies or that they think of it as a recruitment platform only.

Well, times have changed. In the last year, LinkedIn evolved its company offering to provide ways for brands of all types to forge a meaningful (and engaging) connection with their audience.

YOUR CHECKLIST FOR IMPROVEMENT
On our recent webinar, LinkedIn’s senior product marketing manager Lana Khavinson shared inside tips on how brands can get the most out of their Company Pages. Check these 10 items off your to-do list as you optimize your LinkedIn Company Page.

1) Update your cover image
As one of the first things visitors see on your page, your cover image is a 646 x 220 opportunity to establish a first-glance understanding of your brand. At the least, include an image of your company logo, but think about taking it to the next level by using an image that showcases your brand, promotes a product launch or tells people exactly what you do, as Shoutlet customer Associa does here. 

2) Complete the Products & Services section
“Our members are influential, affluent business decision makers,” shared Khavinson. “We found they have two times more buying power of those on Facebook and Twitter.” The product & services section of your LinkedIn Company Page offers a wealth of opportunities to generate leads among these influential leaders.

First, complete this section by listing your products and encouraging people to share their positive experience with your brand through product recommendations. Make sure to also take advantage of the three linkable tiles at the top of this page to share a piece of content marketing, link to an event or drive people to your site.

And, for advanced users, take advantage of LinkedIn’s versioning feature to target this page to each audience segment.

3) Post content your audience cares about
Research by LinkedIn reveals that users have very different needs and expectations from professional sites like LinkedIn than they do for personal networks like Facebook. “On professional sites, people are looking to invest time,” Khavinson says. “They’re looking for business opportunities and to see how they can improve their professional selves.”

According to the research, LinkedIn members are 26 percent more interested in receiving updates from brands than they are on other social sites. Remember this research as you post content – provide people with meaningful professional value and don’t be afraid to share news about your company or products.

4) Update frequently
Each of your status updates only reaches 20 percent of followers. Don’t be afraid to post daily to reach more people. And, to extend your reach further, consider following LinkedIn’s recommendation to post during peak times of morning and midday Monday through Friday. 

5) Use targeting for laser focus
LinkedIn offers a wide range of targeting options to help your brand reach sub-segments of your audience and deliver the right content to the right people. Start the process by looking at your current audience breakdown through the Insights tab on your company page. Then, experiment with posts that target specific groups among your followers. Just keep in mind that targeting tends to work best for companies with a larger follower base, large product portfolio and many difference audience segments.

6) Promote your LinkedIn presence
To build your LinkedIn community, it’s important for people to first know it exists. LinkedIn offers a widget you can include on the homepage of your website to drive people to your LinkedIn page. Consider also adding a share widget that allows site visitors to share content such as blog posts or whitepapers to their own network.

7) Review the analytics
LinkedIn offers brand analytics that include follower statistics, page performance and metrics on every post for impressions, clicks, shares and engagement rate. As you experiment with new content and different approaches to engagement, make sure to also dive into the analytics to understand how you are doing. “It’s so important to test and keep testing,” says Khavinson.

8) Have a little fun
Even if your brand’s focus is providing education, job opportunities or industry analysis, don’t forget that your followers are human beings, too. Eliciting a laugh or sharing something offbeat can go a long way – even better if it ties back to your product. Hewlett-Packard, the first brand to hit 1 million Company Page followers, posted this image, which uses the internet’s favorite animal to share information about sustainability practices.

Looking for more insights into LinkedIn Company Pages? See our webinar with LinkedIn’s Lana Khavinson or download our whitepaper on getting the most from your company page. 

How are hospitality and travel brands using social media to connect with guests? Here are 5 ways how Shoutlet customers are connecting with travelers:

Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

In April, Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara launched a “Dressed at Four Seasons” sweepstakes designed to connect with a dedicated segment of its customers: fashion enthusiasts. The promotion offered a two-night stay at the resort plus a $500 gift to spend at local designer boutique Dressed. Plus, it enlisted the help of fashion bloggers to reach fashion lovers.

Aeroplan

Canadian-based travel rewards program Aeroplan set out to uncover members’ travel stories through social media to use for customer-focused content on their blog. It used Shoutlet to create a Facebook app that collected member travel stories and photos.

After reviewing the entries, they selected members to interview. These story blog posts are the most visited blog entries and have helped the company generate positive engagement and sentiment across other channels. Aeroplan is also adding testimonials gathered here as content in their marketing campaigns.

Sandals Resorts

Sandals Resorts ran a Facebook Offer on Black Friday to encourage Facebook users to purchase a vacation package. With more than 800 claimed and hundreds of likes, comments and shares on this Offer, Sandals plans to run more Offers in the future.

The Sandals Foundation ran a holiday campaign that encouraged people to donate $12 to the organization (which Sandals Resorts International matched) to help provide a toy for a child in the Caribbean. Each time donors gave they were also entered to win a free vacation. Also as part of the T.W. Elves (Truly Wonderful Elves) campaign, Sandals provided the chance to opt-in to email lists for both Sandals and Sandals Foundation, allowing them to capture user information and build their mailing lists.

Outer Banks This Week

Destination guide Outer Banks This Week runs a weekly giveaway on its Facebook Page using Shoutlet Social Contests. The promotions help spread the word about local Outer Banks businesses and helps those local establishments also grow their fans bases among people who either live in or are traveling to the area.

 Are you part of a social media team at a brand in the hospitality or travel space? Check out how Shoutlet’s social marketing platform can help:

Get inspired to create a sweepstakes of your own by taking a look at these successful examples from Shoutlet customers.

DIRECT AUTO INSURANCE SENDS FANS TO SHERYL

The Concept: Direct Auto Insurance engaged fans with an easy-to-enter sweepstakes for concert tickets.

How it worked: The insurance company put together creative visuals using Shoutlet’s Social Canvas. Fans could enter the contest via Facebook or by using a hashtag on Twitter.  By including this hashtag option, and tracking it through Social Contests, Direct Auto saw a 400% increase in entries and higher engagement throughout the sweepstakes.

Why it worked: Adding Twitter helped Direct Auto extend the reach of the contest. And, by allowing entry across platforms, they nurtured and grew two online communities by giving users on each network the opportunity to become part of the other.

TAKE A NOTE FROM SHIP’S LOG

The Concept: Mercury Marine ran a sweepstakes on its Facebook page to encourage fans to download its new iPhone/iPad app Ship’s Log. Along with downloading the app, participants could enter to win Mercury brand swag.

How it worked: Facebook users were required to like the page before entering, and upon the like, they saw a new landing page. Featuring video and clever imagery, the page linked to the app store and asked users to enter the sweepstakes to celebrate the launch. After entering, social sharing buttons encouraged them to share the contest with friends. In the end, this multi-page sweepstakes increased app downloads and created a dynamic experience for the fan.

Why it worked: While the giveaway was simple, it created awareness of the real message – the launch of the iPhone app. That’s one smart pairing of incentive + promotion that delivers a win for both the brand and its fans.

NORWEGIAN’S SOCIAL SHIP SETS SAIL

The Concept: Norwegian Cruise Line initiated a Facebook contest to promote its new ship launching in April 2013.

How it worked: Facebook users had to first like Norwegian’s page before entering the sweepstakes. Then, they submitted their email address to get to a third page where they completed a few additional steps to encourage sharing and engagement. The team saw over 11,800 entries and 7,000 entries.

Why it worked: The app encouraged social sharing as part of entry, which ensured it spread the word about the contest (and the brand-new ship) across Facebook.

Ready, set, goal!
No matter what form your sweepstakes takes, make sure it aligns with your overall social media goals. This will ensure that it doesn’t just give you a temporary follower boost, but also contributes to the long-term objective of your social program.

For more tips on running Facebook contests, see our whitepaper, “Facebook Contests: A Step-by-Step Guide for Marketers.” 

Being a true entrepreneur and lover of start-ups, Jason feels he has helped grow Shoutlet to the point where it makes sense for him to step away in confidence, leaving the company in the strongest market position in its history and in the capable hands of existing leadership.

Since the company was founded three years ago, Shoutlet has grown from 10 employees to more than 125, having expanded its footprint beyond the company’s headquarters in Madison, WI, to include six additional offices in North America (San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City) and Europe (London). Quarter-over-quarter growth continues at record highs – with Q1 2013 closing as the biggest in company history. And validation of product excellence was reinforced this week as Shoutlet was given top honors for its current social relationship management offering by prestigious analyst firm, Forrester, in their report “The Forrester Wave: Social Relationship Platforms, Q2 2012.”

As President and COO, Aaron Everson will continue his leadership role to focus on business growth, long-term vision, and providing valuable direction for Shoutlet’s product strategy. Aaron has been instrumental in the evolution of Shoutlet from a new, relatively unknown market player in 2010, to an industry leading platform deployed by some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands.

Additionally, the company will announce significant additions to senior leadership and its board of directors in the coming weeks.

“We thank Jason for his vision, passion, and leadership during his time with Shoutlet,” said Aaron Everson. “His drive to succeed is a large part of Shoutlet’s ability to position itself as a leader in the social marketing space. We wish Jason all the best in his future endeavors.”

It is our great honor to announce today that Shoutlet’s social marketing platform was given top honors for current offering in The Forrester Wave™: Social Relationship Platforms, Q2 2013 report as judged against seven other market vendors. Our technological vision, coupled with our commitment to providing customers with the tools they need and the actionable insights they want, is resulting in some of social’s most creative, well-managed, and successful campaigns.

Forrester evaluated and interviewed a total of 44 vendor and user companies, with the report identifying “The Eight Providers That Matter Most” and recognized Shoutlet as taking ‘top honors for its current offering’ with its “long list of very good functionality.” The report also lists Shoutlet as a Strong Performer, based on the platform’s ability to respond to 49 judging criteria, ranging from monitoring and responding, to usability and measurement and reporting.

We believe that this recognition by Forrester is a testament to Shoutlet’s product strength, developmental vision, and commitment to building the best platform on the market. As social marketers continually face a building list of challenges – from execution to analytics – the pressure to prove market ROI to the C-suite is mounting. By combining strong, strategic one-on-one customer relationships with our powerful technology, brands using Shoutlet are better positioned to design, execute, and reap campaign returns. Shoulet’s full press release on the report can be found here.

Forrester’s recognition underscores the company’s focus on developing the tools that help brands effectively and efficiently market themselves across social channels, and solidifies Shoutlet’s short- and long-term strategy. We as a company aim to help our customers execute their social campaigns faster, smarter, and with the best results; and we’re honored that our efforts thus far have been recognized by both customers and industry analysts alike.

To learn more about Shoutlet and Shoutlet 6.0, request a demo.

]]> http://www.shoutlet.com/blog/2013/04/shoutlet-takes-top-honors-in-prestigious-forrester-wave-social-relationship-platforms-industry-report/feed/ 0 http://www.shoutlet.com/blog/2013/04/5-things-to-consider-about-facebook-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-things-to-consider-about-facebook-home http://www.shoutlet.com/blog/2013/04/5-things-to-consider-about-facebook-home/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:53:02 +0000 Kara Martens http://www.shoutlet.com/blog/?p=5202 Continue reading →]]> Today is download day for Facebook Home, when Android users with an HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III or Samsung Galaxy Note II can download it from Google Play (or buy the new HTC First™).

As people start playing with the not-an-operating system, people-first platform today, the true impact of Facebook’s announcement last week is still in play. Here are a few things to consider about Home, what it means and why we shouldn’t glaze over this particular Facebook announcement:

It could be all about Messaging.

Yes, Home is pretty, slick and Facebook-centric. But the real player in this scenario could be messaging, writes PandoDaily’s Hamish McKenzie. Home’s Chat Heads, which bring Facebook and text messaging to the forefront of the mobile experience by popping up within apps anywhere on your phone, could be Facebook’s strategy to weed out the smaller chat players like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik, MessageMe and Viber, which are serving as “de facto social networks” that are eating into Facebook’s potential usage.

Advertising is the logical next step (Zuckerberg said so).

With Android users making us 43.5% of U.S. smartphone users last year, convincing them to think about their phone differently, then breaking advertising into the Home experience would clear a powerful new path, writes AdAge. We Are Social’s Robin Grant pointed out that beyond the obvious flashy opportunities to insert a branded update into the Cover Feed rotation, Home could signal the “Holy Grail of mobile advertising” with – privacy settings permitting – location-based ads serving messages at just the right moment. When asked about ads, Zuckerberg acknowledged they will likely be integrated into Home at some point.

A global shift to smartphones is looming, and Facebook wants to be (quite literally) front and center

At the announcement event April 4, Zuckerberg said that just a third of the world’s population is on the Internet. But millions have feature phones and will soon transition to smartphones. Do the math and you realize how quickly Facebook could become the one mobile platform to rule them all.

You might like Home more than you think.

Some early adopters took Home for a spin, noting that it did encourage them to interact with Facebook more. From Nathaniel Mott’s piece on PandoDaily:

Even the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg, who, sole among the group, describes himself as “a regular Facebook user,” writes that “with Home, I paid more attention than ever to my news feed, Liked items more often and used Facebook’s Messenger service more often.”

That’s promising. Just wait until the most active users get their hands on it.

For brands, Facebook Home just reinforces recent trends.

Facebook Home reiterates much of the advice propagated for brands in recent months. First, big, bold images are important for any future insertion into the Cover Feed. Second, engaging content that generates comments and shares will no doubt be equally as critical on Home as the desktop or Facebook mobile app newsfeed. And lastly, Home reminds brands that Facebook is focusing on a mobile-first strategy for its users – who are also fans and customers – and that their mobile user experience should be a priority, too.

Will you try Facebook Home today? Take our poll:

Since its inception last year, forty-two million unique users have claimed a coupon or discount through Facebook Offers. (As noted, that’s more claims than our neighbors to the north.)

Has your brand considered running an offer? It can be an effective way to get people into your store, build brand awareness and supplement discounts you’re already offering via Facebook apps. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

THE BASICS: WHAT IS FACEBOOK OFFERS?

Facebook Offers is an easy way to share a coupon or discount with your fans or a targeted segment of them. They can claim the Offer directly in their feed and receive an email with additional details on how to redeem it.

This distinction between “claimed” and “redeemed” is an important distinction to make. A “claimed” offer is simply one that a user has clicked. Facebook tracks this data. A “redeemed” offer is one they have actually used. The business can track that data. Far more people claim an offer than actually redeem it, though there are valuable benefits of a simple claim, as well.

For example, a much-touted benefit of Offers is the ability to get your deal (and your brand name) out to far more people than you’ve actually targeted. Facebook’s David Fischer recently said that friend-to-friend sharing drove 75 percent of redemptions among the most popular offers. That means that 75 percent of people who claim an Offer were not even in the originally targeted audience – they saw it when a friend shared or redeemed it (and it popped up as a story in their feed).

IDEAS TO INSPIRE YOUR OFFERS

While it’s not for every brand, some businesses are already seeing results from Offers. Get inspired by how the following brands are getting creative with coupons.

Add Additional Value for Customers
Shoutlet customer Sandals Resorts ran a Facebook Offer this past Black Friday offering a free night when booking a 6+ night trip.

Despite the high competition for eyeballs on the day they posted, they received 816 claims and, most importantly, saw actual sales from the promotion. Another nice result? Dozens of fans commented on the Offer, sharing their love of Sandals and encouraging others to book a vacation. Sandals plans to run additional Offers in the future.

Share Something Simple
Sometimes a simple freebie is all it takes to get people clicking. Chili’s ran an Offer for a free appetizer or dessert with entrée purchase. While that kind of coupon is commonplace – in the old days you might clip it from a newspaper – running it through Facebook Offers elicited a huge response. Over a three day period, 433,773 people claimed it.

Bring Paid Media Into the Picture
Support your Facebook Offer with paid media that extends it beyond your fans. Facebook shared an impressive case study from Aria, a Las Vegas resort and casino, which used paid media with Offers to increase bookings, gain Facebook fans and spread awareness.

Along with its Offer (pictured), Aria ran Facebook ads that described the offer and drove people back to its site to book. Then, they created Sponsored Stories for friends of people who claimed the Offer to the tune of “John Smith claimed an Offer to Aria Resorts and Casino. Claim yours.”

The results of the paid campaign paid off with 177,000+ offer claims (40% of which came from paid media), 671 new reservations and a 485% return on investment.

Wrap your Offer into a Social Contest
Pairing an offer with a social contest can help spread excitement and awareness of your businesses’ offerings. Sweet Frog, a frozen yogurt store, paired an Offer with a sweepstakes contest that asked users to share their mobile numbers for a chance to win (and get notified by text). 9,200 people claimed the Offer and 144 redeemed it in the store. The sweepstakes saw 3,747 contest entries and throughout the campaign, SweetFrog gained 500 new likes.

WHAT’S NEXT
Nearly 100,000 businesses have used Facebook offers, according to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. With that kind of success, Facebook is looking to enhance the product. The site is currently testing new mobile and desktop features with a few global retailers, including a “remind me” button that helps Facebook users remember the items they’ve claimed.

Also in the works is a feature that allows users to “tell friends” and share the offer in their feed. (Previously, after you claimed an offer, Facebook automatically generated a story in friends’ feeds and in the “recent activity” section of your timeline.) So, if you’re redeeming something slightly embarrassing, or planning a surprise gift for someone, have no fear, it will be your little secret.

Have you run a Facebook Offer? Share your experience and results in the comments. 

We were thrilled to host Tarra on a panel at the Shoutlet Social Media Summit. And, after, we caught up with her for a quick conversation about Guess’s blogger ambassador program, Pinterest promotions and trends in social media.

Watch our conversation with Tarra or, if you’re the literary type, read the transcript below.

GUESS WATCHES’ TARRA DEL CHIARO ON SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Shoutlet: Hi, we’re here with Tarra Del Chiaro, social media director for Guess Watches. For Guess and retail in general, social media marketing is really big. How is Guess using social media differently?

Del Chiaro: I think we really took a different approach to our content strategy. While we’re doing the standard posts showing product and big beautiful imagery, we really wanted to create authentic content for the users to engage with.

So, we had a blogger search on Facebook, which identified our brand ambassadors. Then, we gifted those ambassadors product and let them tell our marketing story in their own voice. Then, we took that content and put that on our social channels.

It’s not an in-your-face marketing push strategy, we’re pulling the users in with content that they can relate to because it’s a girl or guy that looks just like them wearing our watch.

Shoutlet: Facebook is one thing, but what do you think about channels like Instagram and Pinterest and even Vine. How do you think retail brands can harness image-based marketing? 

Del Chiaro: Image-based marketing is huge and provides huge value, especially for fashion brands. Vine is one of the hottest things out there right now; one of the most interesting uses I saw was at New York Fashion Week. Designers were using Vine to show the last six seconds of the runway show, which was brilliant. 

Using these image-based platforms, like Pinterest, like Youtube, is really going to help showcase the product in an authentic way but also show all the details and features about it and help us tell the story – and help us tell it more visually than we can through text or even a static photo.

We just did a Pinterest promotion that we tied in with a YouTube series. It was for Valentine’s Day and it was called “Pin Love with Guess Watches.” It was cool because we showed videos of these girls creating Pinterest-inspired projects around the holiday while wearing their Guess watches. Then people could participate real-time by sharing their own Pinterest inspirations about Valentine’s Day.

Of course, we fed all this content through Facebook and had a cross-channel strategy of conversation and storytelling about their specific Valentine’s Day series of watches. I think we’ll see more of those collaborative strategies across platforms and hopefully those will start to move the needle to sell that product as well.

Shoutlet: What do you think 2013 will bring in terms of social marketing and changing the way buyers buy and sellers sell?

Del Chiaro: I think this year is really the year of conversion – whatever that may mean to your specific business. Brands are realizing that it’s not just about Facebook clicks and likes anymore. The great thing is that Facebook is realizing that along with us and they’ve been giving us great products like the conversion pixel and OCPM and ways that we can track how social is effecting sales.

I think that will also effect how we position the product in the marketplace and the places we’re marketing to and how the retail environment is – in store and online.

Subscribe to our blog in the right sidebar to see more videos from our Social Summit and insights on social media best practices. 

The business of social gaming is booming – emarketer predicts there will be over 80 million social gamers this year – which begs the question: Where does it fit into your marketing strategy?

TO GAME OR NOT TO GAME

Community managers and social marketers understand better than anyone the value of “going where the people are.” And, as the numbers indicate, social gaming is one of those places right now – some games have had larger audiences than primetime TV shows.

Big brands like Honda, McDonald’s and Elf on the Shelf are all finding success connecting with gamers in this space, building brand loyalty and growing their communities.

Even if your team doesn’t have the resources to launch an entire game, there are plenty of avenues for involvement – from simple game mechanics to in-game advertising. As you plan your strategy, understand the trends now so you can plan for a bright future.

Where Gaming’s Going in 2013

Trend #1: Game mechanics are making campaigns pop
A recent study found that 57% of respondents believed product discounts are a “very compelling” incentive for completing a social challenge. In essence, people may want to engage with you to get deals, but you better make it interesting. Look to game mechanics. These elements of gaming – whether it’s rewards for behavior or competitive incentives – are often great marketing tools.

Brands like the L.A. Kings are building game mechanics into their website, giving fans a chance to earn points and unlock rewards (swag!) by completing activities such as watching videos and commenting on pages.

As you create contests or campaigns, think about ways to inject incentives to encourage engagement. You might create a Facebook app that rewards fans with coupons when they share products with friends or offer badges for best user photos.

Trend #2: Mobile + Social = A strong pairing in 2013
The numbers of mobile gamers are growing by the day. Come 2014, eMarketer predicts there will be 141 million mobile gamers in the U.S. alone.

An innovative mobile game can generate engagement and interest from your fan base. One of Shoutlet’s customers Elf on the Shelf recently created the mobile game Snowball Fight to maintain brand engagement after the holiday season.

They integrated social by creating an automatic tweet that gets sent when fans download the game. The tweet, which encouraged others to play, included a trackable URL that allowed Elf on the Shelf to get an array of data about game usage and the fans who downloaded it. Of the 255,000 downloads, they saw 75,000 click-throughs, 2,000 email opt-ins and 7,500 Twitter mentions in a two-month period.

By combining the popularity of mobile gaming with the ease of social sharing, they got the game out to new audiences and connected with fans in a creative way. According to Roger Lopez, digital director with Elf on the Shelf, “This type of social plus mobile strategy is going to be crucial to our future games and campaigns.”

Trend #3: The emergence of interactive in-game advertising
Many social games offer advertising opportunities. Some of these are more traditional – such as pop-up ads during game play – but the rising trend is interactive in-game advertising.

Source: mashable.com

A common element of in-game advertising is branded virtual goods: fake items for use in game play that cost real money. Century 21 took an interesting approach to virtual items in their partnership with mobile gaming company ngmoco. In an effort to reach a younger audience of homebuyers, they created virtual houses and buildings that users could buy in the game WeCity.  In the end, 92% of users added Century 21 buildings into their cities – creating hands-on engagement that goes far beyond advertising.

Trend #4: Gaming for Good
The intersection of games and charitable giving is another big trend for 2013. Forbes covered this trend, quoting social gaming giant Zynga’s Executive Director Ken Weber: “We know from talking to our players and seeing their generosity first-hand in response to nearly 100 in-game campaigns since 2009, that social games are not only a proven way of connecting people but also a proven way to helping others in the real world.”

Mastercard recently tapped into this by creating a Facebook game that donated money to a non-profit for every minute that the user played.

That’s a win-win for the non-profit, gamer and brand providing the opportunity.

For more information on how Elf on the Shelf combined social sharing and mobile gaming, download the full case study. 

This month, Pinterest gave marketers what they wanted: a brand-new analytics dashboard that provides insight into a brand’s most pin-worthy content. And, it’s a treat to look at – displaying data in the pinboard style that the site pioneered.

Analytics is a smart move for Pinterest – especially since only 17 percent of marketers are currently using or planning to use the social network. For the other 17 percent who said they were aware of Pinterest but not sure how it could add to their business, the addition of analytics may open a few eyes to new possibilities for understanding website traffic and reach.

A GIFT OF NUMBERS
Let’s look at the new metrics Pinterest tracks, along with a few of the site’s other recent changes that may have slipped under your radar.

Gift #1: See what’s hot right now

Pinterest Analytics will show you which of your pins are most popular with users, with tabs for most pinned, re-pinned and clicked. This information is definitely power, allowing marketers and web content managers to understand what content they might want to highlight. A fashion retailer, for example, might consider showcasing each week’s most pinned items.

Gift #2: See what’s hot over time
Not only do you get real-time data on pins, you can set time frames to understand how your pins fare over time. Watch impressions and reach of your pins to evaluate when content is losing steam (or gaining it). Another handy metric: You can also see the percentage increase or decrease from previous time periods.

Gift #3: Watch the effect on site traffic
One of the major boons for brands on Pinterest has been watching referral traffic soar. Not to mention, this referral traffic has proven ready to spend – 47% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from Pinterest. Now Pinterest gives you information on your traffic directly in its dashboard with stats on how many users visited your site from Pinterest. The site also encourages users to visit brand sites with the addition of a ‘website’ button at the top of each pin page, taking people to the page the pin originated from.

Gift #4: Filter it
To help you analyze your data and easily see what’s working, you can filter your boards by most recent, most repinned and most clicked. And, as no metrics feature would be complete without it, you have the the ability to export all of this to .csv.

For an introductory walk-through on the new analytics tool, check out Pinterest’s video guide to Business Analtyics.

FOUR THINGS YOU MIGHT MISS
With progress comes changes we may not like as well. Here are a few other tweaks Pinterest made recently that you might come to miss.

Bye Bye Birdie: Hashtags no more
With Pinterest’s recent tweaks, they retired the ability to search by hashtag. This may be a buzzkill for those using hashtags to track and group content, such as contest entries. At least the lil’ #’s will have a new home soon – Facebook is adopting them with its upcoming  plans for hashtag integration.

Comments should neither be seen nor heard
Pinterest retired comments from displaying on the homepage, but you can see still comments buried on the pin’s individual page. Some brands may miss this extra opportunity for engagement on the homepage.

Links are out, too
If you included links in your pin description to aid in content discovery, you’ll need a new approach. Pinterest no longer allows links in comments or descriptions.

So long, cross-promotion
Users can no longer “like” boards on Facebook, removing an opportunity for a cross-promotional effort between the two major networks.  Similarly, the option to tweet a pin at the same time as you pin it is now defunct.

What do you think of the new changes? Are the metrics a key bonus for you? What impact will the removal of hashtags and links have on marketers?

Consider a few of these ideas on how to get started – curated from our partnership with social ads expert Kenshoo Social. (Catch the webinar and whitepaper on the topic, too.)

First, do away with silos                     

In the past, marketers have drawn a hard line between paid, owned and earned media strategies.

“This was due, in part, to limitations in features and functionality provided by social networks,” says Todd Herrold, Kenshoo’s senior director of product marketing. “But, it was also due to challenges associated with the novelty of social media as a marketing channel and a general lack of experience and toolsets that look holistically across these areas.”

But now, social networks like Facebook are blurring the lines between branded content, paid advertising, and consumer conversations. And the opportunities are abundant: An engaging Facebook post engagement might be boosted into a paid news feed ad. Or, a brand might create a sponsored story out of a fan’s “like” to market themselves to that fan’s friends.

Whichever tack you take, it’s important for your team to put aside the silos and consider how these strategies can work hand in hand.

Three steps to transform your posting strategy

1) Optimize your post content.
“A good posting strategy starts with quality engagement,” says Blake Samic, Shoutlet’s director of product development. Without it, he explains, you’ll have a hard time knowing where to put your money. But, to engage fans, they need to see your posts. (This is easier said than done with various sources suggesting that just 8 – 15% of a brand’s fans are reached through organic post activity.)

Consider a few ways to optimize your posts for higher news feed ranking:

• Content: What will result in the interaction you hope to generate? Is it a picture of your latest product? A link to a brand’s blog post?  As you create content, make sure it’s relevant to your fans, their interests and needs.
• Format: Facebook allows brands to post a variety of content, including photos, links, text and videos. Choose a format that fits your purpose, but also consider what drives engagement. (Photos garner 53 percent more likes than the average post.)
• Timing: “Google “best time to post on Facebook” and you’ll find thousands of studies and conflicting opinions. Truth is, the best timing ultimately depends on your followers and their habits,” says Samic. He recommends experimenting with posting different times and days of the week. Better yet, enlist a social media measurement tool that can help you uncover the reach and interaction rates of posts throughout the day.
• Call to Action: In your posts, include directives to click through, like or share with friends. Use this creatively and in moderation. Too many posts asking people to like your content may come off as insincere.
• Targeting:  Facebook has robust targeting options that allow you to specifically pinpoint who will see your message. For example, if you’re trying to reach an audience of seniors, you might target by age. If you’d like to reach single men, you might target by gender and relationship status. 

2) Monitor and measure to determine how to involve paid media: Most marketers like to see some evidence that a strategy will work before they put it in their budget. This is why brands often wait to see which of their posts get the most interaction before they add paid support to these selected posts. To make this process easier, use social media tools like Facebook Insights to see which posts have the highest engagement and interaction.

3) Track performance: As posts move from being displayed in the organic News Feed to being boosted into Page Post Ads or Sponsored Stories, monitor the impact throughout the post’s life so your team can extract insights. Seeing how engagement, sharing, and sales performed at each step help create even better future content.

“Social media marketers can use this information to optimize owned media initiatives toward revenue goals,” says Samic.

From “likes” to “ROI”

In the end, the new landscape for paid, earned and owned media brings opportunity – opportunity to expand your reach and move beyond a focus solely on brand engagement and metrics, such as likes and comments.

Even if this type of tracking is down the road for your brand, now’s the time to start thinking about how your paid, earned and owned strategies can work together in perfect harmony.

Interested in learning more on this topic? Watch our recent webinar with Kenshoo Social or download our whitepaper on the New Facebook Post Lifecycle. 

Challenge: Finding the sweet spot

Social marketing offers up countless ways to engage with an online audience, whether that be with loyal, lifetime fans, or trying to attract consumers that are new to the brand. The big challenge in finding that ‘sweet spot’ — keeping loyal fans engaged and excited, and marketing broadly enough to be enticing to new target audiences. In short, community managers need to somewhat be ‘everything to everybody,’ always keeping in mind that most posts and pieces of content need to serve the purpose of both recruitment and engagement.

There’s been a shift in the last few years that moved the goal of a community manager away from generating pure numbers of fans and followers to understanding fans on a deeper level and engaging with them in a way that’s meaningful and specific to their tastes.

Tips & Tricks
Define the role and goals – From an internal perspective, community managers should work within their organizations to understand their responsibilities.  Is it creating and executing social campaigns, developing social strategy, being the social customer service rep, or all of the above? Understanding the role and the overall goal and direction of social marketing will inform how a community manager communicates with the brand’s external audience.  Will it be to talk about the brand’s big ideas? Promote the product? Will it be used as customer service portal? Getting a solid sense of the role itself will give community managers a better sense of how the brand intends to use social and can potentially narrow the scope of work.

Implement a referral program – During a SXSW panel on activating influencers, Intel’s Social Media Strategist and Innovator Ekaterina Walter said 10% of passionate people can sway the beliefs of the rest of the population. Think about that: 10% of a brand’s fanbase has more influence on shaping a brand’s reputation and helping it expand its reach than the vast majority of those that click the ‘like’ or ‘follow’ button. Harnessing these brand influencers is key in understanding what content resonates on a massive scale and, in turn, promotes referrals to products and brands through massive social sharing. Influencers can range from mommy bloggers, to deal-seeker Twitter users, to everyday fans that have networks made up primarily of users that are interested and able to drive commerce and additional sharing and promotions. Incentivizing the referral program further cements the relationship with influencers and gives them return on their word-of-mouth marketing.  Many flash deal sites have seen the benefits of referral programs, with many offering monetary credits for friend referrals. Community managers should explore the value of a social referral program and the impact it can have on the sharability of content as well as the fanbase size.

Challenge: Staying On Top of it All Without Going Insane

Let’s face it: Social marketing isn’t a 9-to-5 job. Consumers often tweet a brand when they have time, which for many, means after 5pm. Brands have the responsibility of capturing and responding to fan communication in a relatively short period of time, especially if it’s a complaint. A major challenge for community managers is staying on top of all the social accounts and activity – that can mean anything from comments on the corporate blog, to Facebook comments to Tweets to Pinterest board responses.

What are your big challenges in community management?  Share your tips and tricks in overcoming them in the comments section.

One is the path of the social media and community manager, where engagement and interaction rule.

The other is path of the media buyer, crunching numbers and allocating dollars to reach prospective customers online.

Now, these two paths have crossed. Paid, earned, and owned social media has brought new (dare we say, exciting?) opportunities to connecting with customers, especially on Facebook.

Aligning paid and owned efforts are a necessity for the savvy brand on Facebook. And when done right, the effect can be powerful. This means working together to optimize posts throughout the new lifecycle of Facebook content, which starts with organic posts and continues to paid, with earned media intertwined throughout the process.

Shoutlet and Kenshoo Social will be discussing this new lifecycle in a free webinar Thursday, March 21 at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET. Join Shoutlet’s Director of Product Management Blake Samic and Kenshoo Social’s Senior Director of Product Marketing Todd Herrold as they cover:

• The definition of paid, earned, and owned media
• How to take advantage of the new content lifecycle, including optimization tips and best practices
• How new tools have helped real brands effectively track the ROI of integrated paid and owned media

Register for the webinar today. Everyone who registers will also automatically get a copy of our latest white paper: The New Facebook Lifecycle: How Paid, Earned, and Owned is Reshaping Brand and Consumer Interaction.

Already registered? Submit your questions now for the Q&A in the comments.

That’s what panelists tried to answer Saturday, March 9 at Shoutlet’s SXSW panel, “Telling Your Brand’s Story on Social and Getting Results.” With TechCrunch’s Josh Constine moderating, IBM Vice President, Social Business Evangelism and Sales Sandy Carter, bareMinerals Director, North America Marketing & Digital Brand Building Linda Santiago, and Shoutlet VP of Customer Experience Tarik Hart offered their expertise and experience on how to accomplish this.

The first few years of the Facebook & social media explosion prompted questions about the value of a fan, Constine said. But it’s not about value; it’s about the lifetime value of a fan, cultivated through years of engagement. How brands do this as “vividly and expressively as possible”:

Content – the fuel on the fire

The panel agreed that creating content that serves a purpose, is entertaining and aligns with the brand wins.

One of the newest trends: brands hiring Instagrammers and photographers. This is a new wave of content marketing that requires brands to connect in an authentic, relevant way. For bareMinerals, it is the “girlfriend brand” and connects with customer through topics like love, work and fashion. Santiago described the brand’s partnerships with blogger Saucy Glossie for Fashion Week, which resulted in 3x the traffic to owned media properties. The takeaway: “Be a girlfriend,” Santiago said.

Creating content is a constant challenge, but one way to solve this is to use content customers are creating. IBM asked its community to create videos about why they loved IBM products, and it received more than 500 video responses. Not only did they data mine the descriptions customers used for insight, the company used it in advertising campaigns and users became a “brand army,” Carter said.

Paid, Earned, and Owned

Paid, earned, and owned creates a loop that leads people from organic content to sponsored content, which they share to their own networks. Carter suggested to also consider tapping influencers to generate more earned media. At IBM, they’ve identified the most loyal, influential customers and created a community for them that gives them exclusive content to share.

“Great marketing is like the Harlem Shake”

Give people a template and the opportunity to customize it and it’ll spark participation and sharing to their own networks, Constine said. Memes have a formula – people remix their own and share to their own networks. When the original content is from a brand it means people take your content and amplify it with their own twist.

“Lead people into creating something that they want to share,” Constine said.

Diplo’s Guide to Customer Engagement

Constine brought up singer Diplo as another real-world example of how to encourage people to create their own content. Diplo announced that for one month, if people uploaded a photo of themselves doing the dance he does in his song “Express Yourself” (warning, possibly NSFW) he may retweet it. The response was incredible. Nearly a year later, people are still posting their photos. It’s a perfect example of how customer participation can naturally extend the shelf life of a campaign. Constine even demonstrated the dance for full effect:

Techcrunch’s @joshconstine demonstrates Diplo’s dancing #ShoutletSXSW #SXSW #cantunseethat twitter.com/adamcohen/stat…

— Adam Cohen (@adamcohen) March 9, 2013

“If the call to action…is really, truly part of you brand identity and it really tells the story itself, people want to participate in telling that story,” Constine said.

Influencers – Finding them and engaging with them

The criteria for finding influencers will vary for each company. IBM spoke of how it was working with a large investment bank, which discovered that a 20-year-old college student was among the top influencers. The company brought him in for focus groups and learned a great deal about how to reach their audience. It doesn’t take a significant amount of money, just an understanding that when you give people a chance to earn something for evangelizing your product, they take advantage of it. Carter drove home the point that this college student had no real credentials to speak of in the investment department but that his advice was real, valuable and sought after.

The panel also highlighted the importance of both looking for influencers offline, as well as connecting the real world to social campaigns as much as possible. bareMinerals took a road trip across America, meeting with fans of the brand at stops in various U.S. cities. Because attendees were bareMinerals’ most active, loyal customers, it asked them their opinions on how to launch a new skin care product. Should a new cream be in a pump or a jar? They took those answers, launched a pump, and the product is successful today.

Tools & Metrics

For brands to get a sense for how their social storytelling efforts are working, Carter advised they adopt four sets of tools:

• Social analytics
• Social networking
• Social content
• Social integration

“The real power – the real ROI – is getting this integrated into the rest of your business,” she said.

For bareMinerals, monitoring social conversations and sentiment is a daily focus for the brand, and they use this data to create content tailored to their customers.

Using tools to measure everything (IBM tracks ROE – Return on Everything) is essential to know how different content and messaging impacts every touchpoint with customers.

Partnerships as Avenue of Discovery

“A brand story told by one is met with skepticism, but a brand story told by many is met with intrigue,” Constine said. That said, by partnering with brands that are not direct competitors but who have a similar target audience can introduce your channels to others who might be current customers or willing to try your products. Creative partnerships also open brands up to exposure to whole new sets of audiences and is mutually beneficial. bareMinerals partnered with Jonathan Adler with great success because it was a great fit. How to find those partnerships? Use analytics to discover which brand are the right fit.

From ‘Me’ to ‘We’

The shift in thinking by brands has begun and needs to continue. It’s no longer about the brand or competitors’ brands, it’s about you competing against the problem you’re trying to solve for customers, Constine said. When you align the needs of users with the stories you have to tell, great storytelling emerges. With the right approach to storytelling, customers can quickly become a very important part of the brand building – both sharing the story and informing it.

Get more from this event: Download the slides instantly here or watch the video of the conversation. And check out our other recaps of SXSW panels here and here.

Have additional questions about the topics discussed? Let us know in the comments.

Can Ad Agencies and Brands Humanize Technology?

With new platforms emerging and maturing all the time, how can brands create authentic experiences using these new tools? BBDO CMO Simon Acton-Bond, Mars Chocolate President Debra Sandler, AT&T VP of Brand Identity & Design Gregg Heard, and Twitter’s President of Global Revenue Adam Bain discussed how brands and platforms can both contribute to humanize the customer experience.

Can Ad Agencies and Brands Humanize Technology? panel

Top Takeaways:

Platforms were built for people, not brands

Platforms like Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, and others were built for people and are powered by the content and connections people generate – not by brands. But brands want to be there to make connections, and the platforms are better because of brands participation, Acton-Bond said. Sandler said brands haven’t figured out exactly how to do this consistently but that “if you do it right and it catches that right storm it’s magic in a bottle.”

Real-time marketing offers a chance for humanization

Oreo’s dunk in the dark ad during the Super Bowl has reignited conversations about real-time marketing, especially in social media. It’s a dilemma for brands, Sandler said. Governance issues are a challenge when you’re dealing with immediate content creation. “We are comfortable when we’re in control,” she said. But real-time marketing requires a willingness to fail.

“Marketing’s always been about winning the moment,” Bain said. “Now you can win the moment in real-time and have the pain of losing the moment in real time.” But a successful outcome can be huge for consumer connection.

The best experiences make technology invisible

The best experiences make the technology and platforms used invisible as part of a seamless experience that provokes emotion.

Affinity, Intent, & the War for Marketing Dollars

In this solo session with Forrester Research Analyst Nate Elliott, he presented a case for why Google – not Facebook – is better positioned to “win” the race for affinity data and its application. Attendees learned:

Marketers have relied on assumptions – and spent significant dollars against guesses about consumer interests

Even the largest, savviest companies continue to guess about how to target their consumers with advertising. But with the amount of data available, brands don’t have to continue to rely on pure assumption.

The “database of intentions” and the “database of affinity” are distinctly different

John Battalle famously dubbed the growing body of data about online search the “database of intentions.” Google, as the leader in search, clearly reigns in this area. But with social media and the overwhelming stores of data consisting of everything from Facebook Likes (there are 83 billion Likes on Facebook every month) to YouTube videos, there is a database of affinity that holds information about connections and interests. Facebook is amassing this data more than any single platform. Intention data is generated usually before the point of purchase, while most often affinity data is engaging and happens after the sale.

Affinity data is key to improving the relevancy of brand advertising

The database of intentions was a boon to direct advertisers. Like this, brand advertisers will see the same benefit when it comes to the database of affinity. For this database to be properly applied, it requires these elements:

• A database that pulls in multiple sources of affinity data
• Analysis tools and analysts that can bring meaning to the data
• Rich ad formats that can be tapped to act on the findings

Facebook is going to lose the race to own this database of affinity, says Elliott

Who will win the race to meet these needs first? Elliott argues that it will be Google, not Facebook. Facebook is insular with its data – lack of partnerships means it primarily has its own data, rather than tapping a variety of sources to create a more robust database. Plus, the affinity data owned by Facebook, such as the Like, is a comparatively weak measure of affinity (47% of brand likes are from people who have never done business with the company.) This data is also big in volume but narrow in depth. Facebook hasn’t been able to effectively bring meaning to this data, and its ad formats aren’t compelling enough. Video, for instance, is consistently the most engaging format, but it isn’t available for brands on Facebook.

Google is in a better position to win

Google has owned the database of intentions, and it’s well on its way to owning the database of affinity. It has built a network of products that bring a slew of affinity data points together. That includes data on 800 million users on YouTube, 135 million Google+ users per month, a half a billion people’s Gmail conversations , and reviews on Zagat, for example. It has a proven track record of bringing meaning to that data, with a long history of clear analysis of its search data. Finally, the ad units it offers are as rich as they come: YouTube preroll, IAB size display ads, and others.

Within 5 years, brands will be fully harnessing the database of affinity

Elliott laid out Forrester’s four stages of affinity that they predict will occur over the next five years: Simple Affinity, Smart Affinity, Big Affinity, and Ubiquitous Affinity. Over the next 5 years, marketers will be moving through these stages to finally being able to use a complete affinity database and start tapping more high-impact advertising. By 2017, expect to see this database power offline advertising like TV, too.

Death by Demographics: Killing Your Ad Budgets

In a similar vein as Nate Elliott’s description of marketers guessing about targeting, this panel started on the premise that demographic data is now mostly irrelevant. Yet brands are still using it to based millions in spending every year. The Wall Street Journal’s Ann Zimmerman moderated the conversation with RadioShack’s new CEO Joe Magnacca, Bonin Bough, VP of Global Media and Consumer Engagement at Kraft Foods, and Todd Morris, Executive VP of Mobile and Marketing at Catalina.

Top takeaways:

Personalization is transcending the media channel

Marketers can stop wasting money by analyzing the data about consumers. That data leads to a personalized experience for customers, which results in less wasted ad dollars and a better relationship with consumers. Personalization goes beyond traditional media because of this. Case in point: 30% of TV advertising is spent on people who have not purchased within that product category within the past 3 years, Morris said.

Mobile will transform organizations

Bough said that the potential of personalization in mobile is powerful. For instance, people who used mobile commerce are 18% more likely to make impulse purchases and are 49% more likely to come back to a store. Personalizing offers and content to them the moment they need it? That’s the Holy Grail.

Personalization is tough, but it’s cheaper and more effective

It’s tough for brands to take the steps necessary to start using this data. But when they do, personalization makes marketing more effective and at a lower cost – all while enhancing the experience for customers. (One example cited by the panel is Amazon. It has high satisfaction numbers and is efficient because of personalization.) “It’s hard,” Bough said. “It requires you to actually do work…. but if we put in the work we can change the way we buy.”

Read yesterday’s SXSW panel recap and check back Wednesday for out final installment of SXSW sessions.

Mobile Saturday: Loyalty in the Pocket

This session began with a request: Stop calling your smartphone a phone. The smartphone has become a tool with a wide range of capabilities far beyond making a call. For many people the phone is one of the least used “apps” on the device. The panel, made up of Dana Kruse, Mobile Channel Manager at Starbucks; Tina Prause, Senior Director of Mobile Products at World Wrestling Entertainment; Michael Griffith, Director of User Experience at Bottle Rocket; and Brent Hieggelke, CMO of Urban Airship, discussed branded apps and the experiences brands should be striving to create in mobile.

Top takeaways:

Understand that branded apps are a commitment.

For the WWE, its app is an exclusive experience that includes new (including live) content for every event. “You have to be committed to mobile as a division of the company if you’re going to deliver content like that,” Prause said. Custom branded apps also turn brands into product managers. With the success of Starbucks’ mobile app, the list of feature requests and internal requests for additional inclusions – plus the technical updates for each device platform – make running custom apps like managing a software product.

Know your purpose.

50% of all apps have never been opened more than four times. That’s a disheartening statistic, but knowing what your purpose is for creating an app can help make it useful for both your brand and your users. Think “focus, clarity, and delight” when designing your app, said Prause.

Track the basics + what you need

Basic KPIs like downloads, active users, and any commerce conducted via the app are givens. But Prause advises brands to have a keen understanding of the purpose of the app and let yourself pick one or two metrics that reflect that focus and pay attention to those, such as time of day the most activity occurs.

Location is what makes mobile unique

Location data and the opportunities to customize the experience for users based on that data is essential to tap. An example: Kruse described Starbucks’ recent messaging for customer in the area affected by winter storm Nemo, offering them hot chocolate to warm up. Personalize and engage through location-based features and messaging that focuses on the customer.

More from the hashtag #mobilesaturday

Consumer Data: Can I Get Satisfaction?

In this session, attendees saw a few of the possibilities for marketers when multiple data points start coming together. Rick Orr, Executive VP of TabbedOut, described three types of data we all generate:

• Passive data, such as search, tagging, pinning and Twitter data
• Behavorial data, including patterns gleaned from check-ins, mobile payments and loyalty programs.
• Social graph data, including engagement activity on social networks and Facebook apps you opt-in to.

Top takeaway:

When combined, the power of this information could take personalization and mobile commerce to a new level. The trouble is aligning these data points in a consolidated system – hence the ongoing discussions about how brands can tap ‘Big Data” and structure various data sets into a database that can unlock valuable insights.

More from the hashtag #tabbedout

The Secret Dangers of Online Influence Marketing

Tools like Klout, Kred, and PeerIndex “don’t work and they never will,” said Jure Klepic of Lucule Consulting in the opening minutes of this session. The conversation touched on what influence really means (“Influence is the ability to sway”) and how brands can really define influence in a meaningful way instead of tapping these tools, which often are just a measure of popularity.

Klepic, Intel’s Ekaterina Walter, Debra Kaye of Lucule and Matt Hixson of Tellagence delved into what marketers want when it comes to activating influencers and how they can achieve it.

Top takeaways:

Brands are looking for true advocacy, and that means finding true advocates

Those who are influential to their networks about a brand’s products aren’t always the most active in social media. Findings presented by Lucule Consulting at the session found than in tests where users shared information about a “virgin” product, the most influential people did not have high scores. Things like the timing, format, even the device played a more significant role in how influential a peer’s recommendation was.

Perks don’t work.

Giving something to the people with the highest influence scores, such as a Klout Perk, doesn’t make a strong impact, the panel agreed. Walter gave an example of how one Intel fan got a tattoo of the Intel logo and tagged Intel in a Facebook post with a photo. In cases like these, it’s more effective to connect with people like this for free, rather than offering perks to people who are lukewarm about your brand.

Look for influencers within your communities – and outside, too

10% of passionate people can sway the beliefs of the rest of the population, Walter said. This means finding your influencers, and many are already in your own online communities. Setting up criteria for identification helps create a standard appropriate for your own brand. Then, seek people who have not connected with your company outside your communities to discover new influencers.

People want to be part of movements – so create them

The panel advises brands to stop worrying about being ‘big’ and start focusing on being precise. When it comes to offering content that activates, people want to feel like a part of history. When Ashton Kucher was the first to hit 1 million followers on Twitter last year, only because many felt like part of something bigger. This is a key to activating people and sparking word of mouth.

More from the hashtag #influencer.

Check back Tuesday and Wednesday for more SXSW takeaways, or subscribe to the blog by email in the sidebar to get the latest recaps sent to you directly.

But, whatever form it takes, a social policy is important: It sets expectations for behavior, helps prevent a PR crisis, and can give you legal recourse against employee actions.

Before you dive in, think first about your purposes: What are trying to create? To get you started, let’s walk through three common types of policies you might explore.

A policy for every need

HR social media policy: Marketing may have a hand in its creation, but this type of policy is often managed by HR to ensure employees know how they should use social media on company time. A 2012 Altimeter Report shows that 56% of companies have an employee policy on social media.

Policy on corporate use of social media: Some companies have many corporate users of social who update regularly on the company’s behalf. This requires a more robust policy – and should be paired with training – than what you might create for the average employee.

Social policy for customers: This is policy that gives your online community expectations for behavior. For example, Cleveland Clinic’s policy warns against posting personal health information on CC sites. Only 38% of companies have a policy for customers.

A Real-Life Example: Creating an Agent Social Media Policy

Do you have a number of employees who update for the company? It’s likely you need the second type we mentioned – a policy for corporate use.

This was the case for American Family Insurance. Collin Kromke, one of the company’s social media administrators, recently joined us on a webinar to talk about their agent social media program. The thousands of American Family agents who update on behalf of the brand were initially bound to an HR social policy, but Collin soon realized the need for a separate policy.

“Employee policies focus on things like appropriate use during business hours. With our agents, that doesn’t really apply, “ said Collin. “These people are independent business owners. What they do with their time is up to them. With agents, every post or comment is subject to compliance and archiving requirements. We needed a policy just for them.”

So, Collin crafted a policy that contains everything from the usual reminders to follow copyright guidelines to unique stipulations that give American Family the right to shut down dormant agent pages that may be a poor reflection on the agent and company.

The results? Collin says the agents appreciate the social policy and its guidelines. You can see some of the specific guidelines from his policy below.

10 Things to Include in Your Social Policy

OK, here’s what you clicked here for: 10 guidelines that we recommend you (and all companies) should include in a social media policy.

1) Prohibit the sharing of confidential information.
Set boundaries for what company information can be shared online. Remind (or even link) users to the confidentiality agreements they’ve signed.

2) Encourage employees to identify themselves as representatives of the company. American Family encourages people to do this in both their employee and agent social media policies. “We ask agents to be transparent anytime they’re talking about the company or products, so people are clear you’re speaking from that role,” says Collin.

3) Update people on copyright laws.
With the abundance of free online media, such as Google images, it’s important to remind people there are rules about how they use it.

4) Avoid engaging in arguments or debates.
When employees get in flame wars, it can cast your company in a negative light. Remind people to be respectful by including a guideline similar to American Family’s:  “Do not engage in arguments or post inflammatory comments or statements in response to any negative or derogatory comments about American Family, its employees, agents or products.”

5) Set boundaries to protect customers.
This is important if your employees deal with customers regularly. Identify exactly how employees are allowed to talk about customer interactions online – for example, can they post customer receipts? 

6) Refer back to your company’s code of conduct and ethics policy.
Chances are you have other documentation about employee behavior. The same rules stand on social.  Make the connection back to these documents.

7) Remind about proper social etiquette.
You may want to remind employees who post on behalf of the company to mind their social P’s & Q’s. American Family encourages agents to avoid “over-selling” by stating, “Do not make more than one explicit request for a client or prospect to connect with you or your agency on a social media site in a 90-day period.”

8) Don’t forget the permanence of the Internet.
As the quote goes, “The Internet’s not written in pencil, it’s written in ink.”

9) Instruct employees on when they can use the company name within their social usernames (if at all.)
Provide clear rules and an internal contact to speak to on how and when they can set up a corporate-sanctioned account.

10) Offer assistance and training.
Instruct people where they can learn more about social media and the policy. Even better, hold regular company trainings like Dell.

For more tips and resources on creating your social media policy, watch our webinar featuring American Family Insurance.

But what does it mean for brands? Important points for Page admins and advertisers:

Facebook wants you to know that everyone has the option of seeing all your posts in feeds.

Announced today as part of the choice of feeds option is a ‘Following’ feed that will display “every single post” from Liked Pages and public figures in chronological order. Facebook’s Chris Struhar said the platform wants “content publishers know they [users] can see every post that they make.” Along with this comes a friends-only feed that eliminates Pages posts altogether.

Every picture matters more.

We’ve heard it for months – photos are THE content format now. Zuckerberg said photos are 50% of what’s now being shared, a partial reason why these changes were enacted.

Bigger sizes for photos and bolder eye-candy is in store for a variety of stories, from links to events to third-party app updates. Now, not only are the photos shared to your Facebook Pages important, but also images users are sharing from places such as Pinterest and your website. For example, when several users share the same link and their comments are collapsed, the image shown for the link increases in size, which could have implications for links shared from your website.

Facebook is changing the format of stories that display when two people become friends. Instead of just an avatar, a banner taken from the Timeline – including a user’s cover photo – will display within the feed. Facebook hinted that this could be coming for Pages as well, making the importance of the cover photos that much greater.

All photos – including photo posts that are sponsored – will be bigger, which could lure more brands into dropping dollars into paid media, writes Josh Constine at TechCrunch. It also puts Facebook’s recent rules on ad images having just 20% text in perspective. Copy-laden photos in a redesigned News Feed that blows up images would diminish the user experience.

You’ll have a better sense for how posts will look across devices.

Anyone who has jumped from the desktop to iPad to iPhone or other devices knows that posts vary (sometimes wildly) across them. One of today’s announcements is to roll out a consistent UI, with many changes borrowing from the mobile interface, such as the “New Stories” bubble. Page posts will maintain a consistent look on desktop and mobile. But it is yet to be seen whether this might impact engagement rates, considering the high number of people who use Facebook mobile and will get a slightly different experience.

Your current Likes matter even more.

After Graph Search was unveiled in January, conversations erupted about how much more your Page connections matter, simply because search will be partially based on the interests users have indicated to Facebook. Now, with changes to the design of the News Feed, users will see things like personalized recent articles based on the interests and Pages they’ve Liked on Facebook. For brands, this opens up another channel for content discovery among fans and their friends.

What’s Next?

As with any Facebook announcement, it’s a wait-and-see game for brands. Among the questions that remain:

• Currently Facebook apps are not accessible on mobile. With the changes that make the experience more consistent, does this mean they will be?
• How will users react? Facebook redesigns have a history of inciting backlash. Some changes in the News Feed were made because of user requests, such as a friends-only feed that would make sure they see all their friends’ updates, Facebook said today. The messaging of “Goodbye Clutter: Hello Bright Beautiful Stories” might reflect user opinion that there was too much happening on their Facebook home page.
• How will this impact reach for Pages? Brands might get a better understanding about whether their content is engaged with simply because it’s there – or if users really will go out of their way to click the new ‘Following’ feed or spend their time in the friends-only stream instead.

The changes will start rolling out on desktop today and mobile in the weeks to come. You can request early access here: www.facebook.com/newsfeed. Here’s a preview of what to expect when you get access: [VIDEO].

What do you think about the changes? Are they a step up or a step down for brands? Tell us in the comments. 

When you get nearly 100 social marketers in the room, two things are certain: The tweets will be flying. And someone’s going to mention ROI.

Both were true at Shoutlet’s New York Social Media Summit, where a group of smart social minds gathered in an airy venue overlooking the Hudson to learn from digital leaders with major brands including American Express, Facebook and Havas Worldwide.

To give you an inside look at the event, we pulled together a roundup of social insights (and tweets!).

Connect with the always connected

Shoutlet’s VP of Customer Experience Tarik Hart kicked off the Summit with a talk on digital branding for the digital generation. This group – from millennials to generation Z  – is constantly connected. They understand their voice and its impact, so they often engage with brands. They’ve got a keen eye for spam, always look for open lines of communication and seek out exclusive access to information and deals.

According to Hart, brands looking to reach this audience need a listening strategy to ensure they’re catching questions and comments. With this group, responding quickly and offering easy-to-digest information is no longer just good customer service – it’s a necessity.

Check out Tarik’s full presentation here:


Create “Snack-able” Content

Tweeters raved over a talk by presenter Jason Stein from social media agency Laundry Service. Stein offered tips on creating snack-able content – content that’s “easy, quick and fun to consume, and like any good snack, doesn’t take too long to make.” (In other words, we’re sorry, but no one’s going to watch your 15-minute YouTube video.)

Stein talked about how brands can take advantage of current events to create snack-able content in real time (such as Oreo’s spotlight stealing SuperBowl tweet). But he cautioned, real-time means real-time. Don’t go planning that “real-time marketing” in advance, hoping to capitalize on a big moment. Work with your agency or an internal group who will function as a command center during live events and be on the lookout for opportunities to connect back to your brand.

Determine your mobile story

Rebecca Foy from Facebook added her expertise to the Summit with a presentation on driving customer engagement through Facebook. Foy shared that mobile users are spending nearly 12 hours per month via Facebook, compared to 6 hours a month from desktop users.

Mobile usage is not just a trend among Facebookers. Mobile will continue to rise in 2013, and your strategy should include plans for location-based marketing, website optimization and customer service preparedness.

Find the ROI you’ve been looking for

Since the day when social was just a twinkle in many brands’ eyes, companies have been talking about social media ROI. But these days, it’s no longer a guessing game.

Michael Berner, Director of Global Social Media Strategy with American Express, and Shawn Shahani, social strategist with Havas Worldwide, led a session on conversion strategies. The first step, they say, is aligning social goals with business goals. Know what you’re trying to achieve in order to benchmark success. After you put goals in place, use technology to track results.

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for tracking conversions, and advanced tools such as Kenshoo-Shoutlet’s new solution can ensure social is no longer just a soft art. For more information on ROI and social media conversion, join us for our upcoming webinar, “How the Facebook Post Lifecycle is Delivering Brands ROI.”

Now that this month’s Summit is a wrap, we’re already looking ahead to the next! What would you like to hear about at Shoutlet’s next social summit?

Today’s community manager faces unique challenges –from managing multiple channels to fielding comments 24/7 to avoiding social media crises. It’s no small task, but there is a way to be prepared: Get your social media workflow in order.

On our recent webinar, Tom Buchheim, social media administrator with American Family Insurance, joined us to talk about how the company’s social team implemented a workflow, as well as other smart social tactics, to protect the brand, connect with customers and stay sane.

Step One: Listen Up

“Since our inception, we emphasized the need to monitor and understand customer conversations,” said Buchheim. “It’s one of the most important reasons we dipped our toesinto social media four years ago – to be here for our customers when they need help. Using a variety of social tools, we identify brand mentions and attempt to respond to any customer service issues we see. When there’s an opportunity to step in and help, we do that.”

How are you catching complaints, comments and questions people have about your company on social media? Take a lesson from American Family Insurance: Develop a listening strategy that ensures you’re identifying (and responding) to brand mentions. Don’t be like brands that only read 3 percent of tweets about them.

Step Two: Keep Response in Mind

When American Family spots a brand mention, it has a sophisticated process for how to proceed, especially in regard to negative posts and tweets.

American Family celebrates life on their Facebook and Twitter accounts – making a positive connection with people through social.

“When people take the time to post on Facebook or tweet, we want to recognize that we appreciate that – whether it’s positive or negative,” said Buchheim. “We address them in a timely manner and connect people with someone in the organization who can help them.”

Because the company is highly regulated, the social team sometimes takes conversations offline to safeguard the privacy of customers.

“We refer people to a dedicated email inbox, so we can get their personal information. From there we work with partners to get immediate help or determine the next steps. We’re marketers, our goal isn’t to fix problems, but to respond to negative comments in a timely manner – we aim for a window of two hours or less whenever possible.”

Step Three: Fix Your Chain of Approval

Does your organization require approval of social content before it goes live? Approval processes are a fact of life for many community managers. If that’s the case for you, help yourself by ensuring that everyone involved has a clear understanding of their role in the approval process and how long they have to respond. Social workflow tools like Shoutlet can provide a central place for everyone involved to review and approve content.

Step Four: Keep Crisis at Bay

An organization has little control over whether it gets caught in a social media crisis. But, if you have a listening strategy in place, you may be able to catch (and address) the problem quickly.

“We’ve developed crisis strategy and process that includes folks from across our company – it’s a partnership and information sharing is important part of it,” says Buchheim. “We have an open line of communication when there’s a potential for traditional or social media conversations to turn negative.”

Buchheim addresses a key aspect of workflow: Gathering input and investment from departmental representatives. Start by brainstorming possible crisis scenarios for how you’ll respond.

“If there’s an official response needed,” said Buchheim,” we’ll work with our media relations team to craft a message that fits our social media audience and voice. People expect a more conversational, less robotic response when they’re on social media so it’s our job to provide this variation on a legally approved response to the situation.”

Step Five: Document, document, document

Don’t forget to capture conversations for later review. This is especially important if a customer complains or a legal situation arises that calls for review of the conversation and actions taken. A social management tool can help you archive all of your social conversations, as well as collect analytics about the interaction, for later review and documentation

Experimentation is good (but lay the foundation)

Many companies dive into social media without an appropriate action plan. A little experimentation is a great thing, but for the most success (and least risk) give thought from the outset to how social media affects every department, employees and your end users.

Watch the full webinar for more from Tom and thoughts on social media policy from his American Family colleague Collin Kromke and Shoutlet CEO Jason Weaver.

But like most industries, the movie business has not been untouched by sweeping changes social media has ushered in. As you watch to see which titles (and which dresses) win at the Oscars, consider these nuggets about how social media is reshaping how we watch the Oscars and how social is impacting the film industry overall:

• Oscar-nominated documentary Searching for Sugarman was partly shot with a $1.99 iPhone app after the filmmaker ran out of money for Super 8 film. http://shout.lt/grC7 Tweet
• New York Times numbers guru Nate Silver applied his wizard-like data analysis to the Oscars, predicting that Argo will take Best Picture, Spielberg will Take Best Director, and Jennifer Lawrence and Daniel Day-Lewis will win for actress and actor, respectively. http://shout.lt/grFd Tweet
• 50% of fans have bought movie tickets online as a result of social media recommendations  http://shout.lt/grDc  Tweet
• For some, warnings to turn off your phone are just suggestions. 55% of moviegoers have texted during a movie. http://shout.lt/grFk  Tweet
• 3 of 4 Facebook users discover new movies from friends. http://shout.lt/grDc  Tweet
• Positive posts about movies had more influence over decisions than negative ones, says survey: http://shout.lt/grFk  Tweet
• Younger-skewing genres like horror get the most boost from social networking. 6% saw Paranormal Activity 3 because of social media. http://shout.lt/grDg  Tweet
• Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence would take home Oscars if social shares alone picked the winners. http://shout.lt/grD7 Tweet
• Twitter has released a list of celebrities who will be live-tweeting the show Sunday, including Heidi Klum, Dick Van Dyke, and Helen Hunt. http://shout.lt/grD8  Tweet
• Tablet-owning moviegoers watched almost 47 movies on average over the past year, 10 more than other viewers http://shout.lt/grFB Tweet

Marketing overall no longer has the same impact in the movie business. Social media reveals more of a movie’s flaws.

“The biggest issue for movie studios has always been that some films are good and others aren’t so good,” said Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Corporation of America in an interview with AllThingsD. “Originally, marketing was supposed to smooth that out. But we can’t do that anymore. With social media, you can no longer hide the goods. … If you have a good movie and the right people see it, you can put that message out there and accelerate the promotion process. But those people don’t like it? That’s a very difficult message to muffle.”

Social media also sways how movies perform in theatres, Lynton said. Chatter can influence how much a movie brings in at the box office. “Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, viewers can actually affect the way a movie performs, he said. “A film’s audience can now help kill a movie or extend its life.”

Ready to add your thoughts to the conversation? Follow the action of the Oscars with the hashtag #Oscars or #BestDressed. Or head to the Academy’s Oscar Buzz page to see real-time tweets and photos of the big event. 

Photo credit: iheartstockings on flickr

For many, the process of “falling in love” with a brand in recent years has involved interaction with them in social media. And like infatuation in the real world, brands with looks and personality tend to win more customers over. And when the look of social media presences and a social media voice align to portray an experience for the customer – magic happens.

LOOKS

Owned media spaces are a home away from home for brands. For loyal customers they also are a place to engage with brands they already adore, and for new customers they are an opportunity for brands to help them fall in love with them, in a sense.

As social marketers, we have an intense focus on optimizing and engaging in the newsfeed. How can we not? Constant changes in Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, plus the daily goal of cutting through the noise in other social network streams, should be a primary effort. The importance of cohesive visual branding, though, is still a big part of the comprehensive social and digital experience.

Aligning the visual elements of your social presences creates consistency with your brand image as a whole. A visually disjointed look and feel in the ecosystem can tarnish the connection you’re trying to establish. Visually cohesive branding is also just convenient for users. We’ve all landed on pages that made us pause and ask – is this a brand’s real account?

Kate Spade New York frequently updates its social media presences to reflect its products and campaigns – even adding bonus downloads on the Kate Spade blog with wallpapers for tablets, iPhone and Facebook Timeline photos.

PERSONALITY

Voice. Authenticity. Personality. However you describe it, every brand’s got it – the persona that comes across on each of its social presences. This voice shapes post content and how community managers interact with customers.

Brands like Taco Bell, Skittles and Old Spice have been heralded for their unconventional social media voices. For Taco Bell, its “sassy” voice fits its overall brand like a glove. And this drives how it thinks about content, as seen last week with its announcement of Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos via Vine:

It’s out of the bag. Coming March 7th. #CoolRanchDLT vine.co/v/bvlaYggdIiU

— TACO BELL (@TacoBell) February 13, 2013

For any brand, the persona that comes across is assisted by visual branding and vice versa, no matter what a company sells.

For Brooks Brothers, looks and personality converge to create a brand experience that emits a sense of luxury and modern fashion that draws on traditional style. From its visual branding to posts to dialog with customers, it’s one example of a brand that has the double whammy of looks and personality.

Knowing your brand and developing a social media personality that falls in line with that means engaging your customers in a way that will make them swoon.

What other brands do you think have mastered the art of social branding? Tell us in the comments or by tweeting us @shoutlet.

Your company has numerous social media accounts with community managers across the country.
How do you keep things under control?

Your brand accidentally tweeted something that came off politically insensitive.
How do you react on Twitter?

These are just a few of the issues that today’s community manager face. While these challenges are daunting, they can be overcome with a smart social media workflow. But, where do you begin?

Start by joining us this Thursday, February 21st, at 2 p.m. ET for a webinar on how to develop a smart social media workflow and social media policy. Shoutlet’s CEO Jason Weaver will present insights and best practices alongside Collin Kromke and Tom Buchheim, social media administrators with American Family Insurance.

Here are just a few of the things we’ll cover:

• Tips on refining your social workflow, including solutions to common problems and examples of brand workflow charts
• How to create a social media policy that shares effective guidelines with employees
• Workflow features to look for in a Social Media Management System that help your company avoid brand risk

Refine your social workflow – register today. 

After all, well-respected bloggers can exert more influence on readers than major news providers – especially when it comes to niche communities. Research shows 81 percent of consumers trust blogs as a source of information and 61 percent have bought something recommended on a blog.

But, as always when exploring a new medium, this poses a challenge for marketers. How exactly can you and your organization reach out to bloggers without looking like spammers or hacks?

Start with Research

To get a blogger’s perspective on engaging with brands, I spoke with Karen Putz, the voice behind DeafMom  – a blog focused on deaf parenting and other deaf and hard of hearing issues. Her first piece of advice? Make sure you have a firm understanding of the blogger’s work before you reach out. Putz says it’s pretty obvious when companies don’t put in this time upfront.

“I have received requests from brands who have not done their homework – they have not read my blog nor bothered to take the time to understand who I am and what I do. I’ve been contacted by companies who ask me to support audio or video products which are not captioned – thus, they are not accessible to me or many of my readers. But, some of those companies have willingly provided access and we’ve worked together.”

If the task of reading blogs all day to “get to know” bloggers seems a bit daunting, prioritize the list into several tiers. Focus your time on the first tier and keep the others on the back burner. While you read, keep a file of ideas on how you might partner with the blogger.

Plan your Approach

Before the pitch, consider where your needs and the blogger’s intersect. Think about how you might contribute valuable content, or how you might give them a unique opportunity. “Make sure your product/company is a good match for the blogger and that the relationship and outcome is mutually beneficial for both parties,” recommends Putz.

Your collaboration may go beyond the printed page. The British Heart Foundation gave top UK bloggers a chance to design window displays in London. Coach showcased bloggers in their advertisements. Other brands have taken bloggers on the road to live events.

“A great relationship with a blogger can pay for itself over and over with brand loyalty and social media exposure,” says Putz. “For example, the Tommie Copper company has supported me in the past when I was injured. I will often come across someone on Twitter who needs pain relief from an injury and I recommend this product to them.”

Be sure to also check out the blogger’s website to see if they have guidelines for brand partnerships, such as mommy blogger Rage Against the Minivan provides here.

Ready, set, pitch

It’s time to make first contact. Here, personalization is key. Blasting out the same press release to 50 bloggers is unlikely to garner a response. As Brian Solis puts it, “The traditional press release has no business in blogger relations. You’re going to have to put things together as building blocks in order to help someone tell a story.”

Write a personal introductory email to the blogger through his or her preferred method of contact – whether that’s email, Twitter or a contact form. Take note of common etiquette for blogger relations, such as never pitching via a comment on a post. (Mr. SocialPR spells out four other surefire ways to anger bloggers.)

In your note, clearly state your thoughts on how you might work together in a way that benefits both parties. Include your contact information and close with a request to speak further.

Think before you mention pay

Paying bloggers for brand coverage is a hotly debated topic. Some bloggers feel no need for compensation if the brand’s contribution adds value for their readers. But for others, receiving a fee is essential. (Hey, bloggers gotta eat, too!)

In some cases, brands send freebie products for bloggers to review or give away to readers through a sweepstakes or social contest. This is especially prevalent with mommy bloggers, who are often great resources for families looking for new products or advice on successful methods of parenting. Since some of these popular blogs have hundreds of thousands of readers, sending a free product can be a simple one-time investment that may result in big sales down the road.

The important thing is to never assume a blogger will respond to offers of compensation or free products. If you do enter into a monetary agreement, clear it with legal, and set clear goals from the beginning so you can benchmark for success and justify your budget internally.

Worth the Plunge

As content marketing continues to be an essential strategy in 2013, take advantage of opportunities to bring bloggers into your editorial strategy. If the value is there for the readers, they’ll be happy to work with you, too. As Putz says, “I like working with brands where the support is mutual and it is a win-win situation for both of us.”

Has your organization worked with bloggers in the past? Share what techniques worked for you in the comments below.

Subscribe to the Shoutlet blog in the right sidebar to get regular insights on industry news and social media best practices. 

Why not take the time to thank them?

Here’s how four brands offered thanks to their communities on Facebook:

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts facebook.com/fairmonthotels

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offered its fans in the Middle East and Africa a special hotel discount for 1/2 price off certain hotels during the weekends. It used Shoutlet’s Social Canvas™ to create a dynamic page with the offer details, a link to book the hotel, and images of all the properties involved in the promotion. It also added sharing features to help fans spread the word.

Lands’ End facebook.com/landsend

Lands’ End celebrated reaching 1,000,000 fans on Facebook by launching a Million Fan Contest. The national retailer asked fans to answer this question: “Why are you a walking Lands’ End billboard?” The prize was a unique experience: a trip to the Lands’ End headquarters with a makeover, styling, free outfit, and photoshoot.

This type of contest rewards the super-fan and also gives Lands’ End the opportunity to showcase the winner’s experience post-contest.

The Elf on the Shelf facebook.com/elfontheshelf

To celebrate 200,000 fans on Facebook, The Elf on the Shelf posted a celebratory photo and highlighted the post on its Timeline to encourage more interaction. The post generated high engagement with more than 5,000 likes, 80 comments, and 150 shares.

Ulta facebook.com/ulta

ULTA celebrated its fans by creating a Fabulous Fan Giveaway with Shoutlet where fans could enter to win one of ten prize packages. ULTA also promoted New York Fashion Week by letting fans know where they could follow along in social media and included tweets from its participation at the event.

What other examples of “thank yous” have you seen from brands in social media? Share them in the comments.

Just why is Vine so addicting? The new app, which lets users create short looping videos, makes it easy to become a cinematographic genius. Well, maybe not a genius, but the app does lower the barrier to entry with its easy-to-use interface and six-second time limit. This is just one reason thousands of users are joining Vine every day, taking close-ups of their cats, demonstrating important life skills and showcasing the, ahem, unique talents of their dogs.

A New Tool for Social Brands?
As with any successful new platform, social marketers are instantly imagining how to utilize it for their brand. It certainly is a boon for brands already active on Twitter. Since Twitter purchased the app, Vines now show up directly underneath tweets in the stream, giving brands a new way to share media on the network. And many are taking advantage. (Just make sure you don’t misuse it.)

To inspire you, we’ve compiled a few examples of creative Vines as well as ideas for making the new tool work for you.

Show (& Tell) Your Product Story
During the Super Bowl, Calvin Klein made a strong Vine debut, pairing its racy commercial with Vines showcasing the same male eye candy. And, when the lights flickered out during the big show, the brand jumped in with a clever video that played off the situation and got over 250 retweets.

Since the lights are still out… vine.co/v/b1iiiiUz5uq #SB47

— Calvin Klein (@CalvinKlein) February 4, 2013

Think about the unique aspects of your product that visuals could play on. A restaurant might feature a “how-to” video walking through the steps that go into making a popular recipe. A fashion line might unveil its latest collection. Or, a retail store might simply present its product in a interesting way, such as this tweet from Urban Outfitters.

What it feels like to have a bestie: vine.co/v/bJTP2QTDrT2

— Urban Outfitters (@UrbanOutfitters) January 29, 2013

Encourage Your Audience to Vine
Ann Handley with Marketing Profs aptly described the magic of Vine, writing: “Just as Instagram put wizard wands into the hands of us Muggles, allowing us to create and share photos that were beautiful and expressive, so Vine allows us to elegantly create short, 6-second videos through an intuitive interface.”

In other words, it makes even the creatively challenged among us feel like artists. Encourage the aspiring artists among your followers by asking them to submit a Vine as part of a social contest. Or, lower the input needed by asking followers to RT your Vine to enter a contest. Cadbury UK gave their contest a boost through Vine his week (and promoted a new product) – a technique that’s earning them 1,000 retweets and counting.

Delicious NEW Cadbury #EggNSpoon – Chop off the top & scoop out the yum! Retweet if you’d love to share a box vine.co/v/b1ej2K29Q0u

— Cadbury UK (@CadburyUK) February 1, 2013

Get Creative in Advertising
Give your advertising a boost by adding a visual component. The movement of a Vine draws the eye and requires only a short time investment from the viewer, making it the perfect fuel for a promoted tweet. General Electric is trying this model by promoting animated Vines like this one:

From zero to #innovation in under 6 seconds. vine.co/v/b1iqzeXgVmF — General Electric (@generalelectric) February 1, 2013

 

 

Show your Clever Side
At this stage in the game, creating a Vine is an experiment to see how your audience reacts to this form of visual storytelling. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun. Here at the Shoutlet offices, we enjoyed Red Vine’s Vine-within-a-Vine.

We made a @vineapp Vine video of Red Vines. #Vineception vine.co/v/b5D7vzrz6OY — Red Vines (@RedVines) January 25, 2013

Bottom Line
At its heart, Vine is a storytelling tool. Remember this as you consider where it fits within your marketing strategy. Our recommendation? Don’t put the main focus on growing your Vine community just yet – focus on how visual storytelling, in general, is part of your strategy this year. Videos (and images) will be key to marketing in 2013, so now’s the perfect time to have the conversation.

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With almost 80% of marketers planning to apply more social customer data to drive marketing campaigns in other channels in 2013, having a plan to use social data is becoming imperative for marketers.

Here are three reasons why:

Relevancy is more important than ever.

“Social media ushers in an era of contextual relevance that finally trumps content as king.” – Brian Solis, Altimeter Group

“Content is king” has been the common mantra in social media. While interesting content continues to be the fuel behind engaging social programs, focusing on relevancy is key to taking that engagement to a higher level. The space has seen a trend in the number of personalization options available to social media marketers, ranging from post targeting for Facebook Pages and LinkedIn Company pages to more robust features for serving more relevant ads to people on Facebook.

By capturing and delving into the findings social customer data can reveal, you will be better able to understand what content is most relevant for your community so that you can tailor your messaging more skillfully.

Data-driven marketing is now a requirement.
With the ubiquity of digital marketing, which generates massive amounts of data, using this data has prompted campaigns, products, ad spend – nearly every part of the marketing landscape – to be supported and informed by data. Social media is no different. Almost half of CMOs have used social data to make predictions or forecasts. Roughly 90% have said social data also influences their decisions.

Social is moving out of the silo – and its data should, too.
The trend toward social business, where social media touches every part of the enterprise, requires that social teams do not operate in a marketing or public relations bubble. By unlocking findings about your social customers and then intertwining that data with data from other parts of marketing and the enterprise as a whole, you can free your social customer data from silos, too.

How can you do more to harness your social customer data?
The above is an excerpt from Shoutlet’s new guide, The Marketer’s Guide to Social Customer Data. Download the guide to learn more about this type of data and ways to start putting it to work for your brand.

Norwegian created a Facebook app for the contest using Shoutlet’s Social Canvas.

Chances are you’ve been hearing a lot about social contests lately. In 2012, many brands devoted time and resources to this space, with no signs of slowing down this year.

Our latest webinar dove into this topic by profiling Norwegian Cruise Line, a brand that recently asked users to pin their dream vacation for a chance to win one. Marisa Scime, the brand’s director of social media communications and strategy, shared some insights with us on how it worked and why they chose Pinterest.

An Engaging Fit for Norwegian 

“In 2012, we already had a great presence on Facebook and Twitter,” Marisa said. “But all of a sudden, Pinterest popped up out of nowhere. And we found that people were spending an average of 16 minutes per day on it. The engagement was three to four times more than Twitter. We decided, we really need to do something to grow our presence on that site.”

People love sharing vacation pictures on Pinterest, so in many ways, the fit was natural
for Norwegian. At launch, it the first cruise line to join the network, and as they explored the space, they realized they were going to need to get creative to get new followers.

How the contest worked
Norwegian knew that people love to dream about exotic destinations and constantly look forward to the next big trip. So, what better way to encourage people by asking them to pin their vacation aspirations for a chance to make it reality?

Norwegian’s Contest Flow

Entrants were first required to follow Norwegian – helping to grow its Pinterest community. Then they had to create a board that represented their dream cruise with images from both NCL.com and elsewhere. Users then could tweet the link to their board with the hashtag #norwegianspintowin or enter their board URL through a Facebook app.

In the end, the contest garnered 650 board entries – 500 submitted through Facebook and 150 through Twitter – serving to spread awareness across the Web about opportunities for taking a dream vacation through Norwegian.

Navigating the legal requirements
When it comes to contests, it’s key to pay attention to the rules – both the rules of social networks and legal requirements in your state. Marisa and her team started with research.

“We read about successes from other brands running Pinterest contests,” she said. “We used their examples to draft our own terms and conditions, and Norwegian had an excellent legal team that was able to review it.”

Of course, it did take a little explaining.

“Our legal team had no idea what Pinterest was and they were concerned about the fact that we were asking users to pin other companies’ photos to boards that were owned by us. But we were able to get around that because Pinterest is all about social sharing and getting these photos to go viral. That’s the nature of the site.”

Bringing Twitter into the picture
As part of the contest, Norwegian allowed contest submissions via Twitter through the #norwegianspintowin hashtag.

While this was successful – generating 248 total tweets and 428,531 impressions – allowing entry via Twitter did bring some unexpected challenges.

“There were so many links being submitted through Twitter and sometimes they got lost in the feed. So, we were nervous we were missing out on potentially great submissions… Using the Shoutlet submission form on Facebook was the best way to gather all the submissions.”

Results
While it was just their first foray into Pinterest contests, Norwegian was thrilled with the results and the fan growth across all of their social channels.

“We were overwhelmed by the success of the Pinterest contest. Our following on Pinterest tripled. The creativity of the boards submitted was unbelievable.”

For more from Marisa and best practices on running Pinterest and Twitter contest, you can download our webinar here. If you liked the campaign, follow Norwegian on Pinterest  or on Twitter at @cruisenorwegian to see more!

Just click the share button of your choice on each card to post it via Twitter or Facebook. Tag or “@” your Community Manager to make sure they get their special card delivery.

But, before the games begin, it’s key to have a solid plan in place, or you may not get the results you’re looking for. Take a moment to ask yourself a few of these key questions before you start your first, or next, social media contest.

Do you have the time and resources to devote to planning and managing a campaign? 
Contests have a variety of moving parts – they can be incredibly valuable, but also have the potential to harm your brand if mismanaged or confusing. Make sure that you have a dedicated person or team who can focus on the contest while it’s running. If you have limited time, consider running a sweepstakes or another promotion that requires fewer steps for management.

Do you have clear goals for the contest?
Before you begin, nail down a defined outcome of what you hope to result from your contest. It should connect back to your overall marketing plan. Do you want to sell products, grow your online community, or engage your current one? Create a shared vision among your team of what you’re trying to accomplish and, most importantly, how you’ll measure your success. This will focus the conversation as you move forward.

Do you have a third-party app provider that you can use to administer the contest?
Once your contest is running, it’s possible something might go wrong. Technology can fail. Find a supported third-party provider to help you when running the contest. An all-in-one tool will also help alleviate the stress of managing the contests from a variety of different sites and platforms, giving you one dashboard for contest management.

Do you have an alluring prize (and the budget) to incentivize your audience to participate?
How will you tempt people to enter your contest? Giving away a Starbucks gift card or an iPad may inflate your following temporarily, but offering an incentive that’s relevant to your brand can create a much deeper connection. In its recent Pinterest contest, Norwegian Cruise Lines gave away a free vacation. AMC Theatres gave away a custom Dark Knight Rises Xbox. Consider who you’d like to participate and choose an incentive that’s relevant to what they like, need or want. 

Ready to take the next step? Shoutlet CEO Jason Weaver will dive into tips for planning, managing and measuring contests in our webinar this Wednesday – register here.

A badge of honor
Through the program, Twitter awarded Shoutlet with an engagement badge that showcases the capabilities of our social media management tool.

This badge is given to tools that bring businesses closer to their customers, and it allows Twitter to scale to the needs of larger organizations.

In the announcement post, Twitter mentions that it’s working with Shoutlet because we “make it easier for large and small businesses to manage their Twitter presence — for example, by allowing multiple team members to respond to customer’s Tweets from one Twitter account.”

We’re excited for the great work that this partnership makes possible. You can read more about the certification in Twitter’s announcement.

Mark Zuckerberg unveils Facebook Graph Search. Photo: CNET.com

by Kara Martens and Kira Sparks 

Recently, Facebook announced some exciting news: Graph Search – a re-imagining of Facebook’s search capabilities that lets you find surprising new connections among people, photos, places and interests.

In essence, Graph Search makes it possible for users to “slice and dice” their unique data. Everything they’ve cultivated on Facebook for years – every Page Like, connection, photo, and more – will fuel their user experience.

Search based on “you”

Graph Search is already starting debates about how it compares to Google – which has also been shifting toward search customized to the user’s preferences and connections. In Facebook’s announcement post, Tom Stocky and Lars Rasmussen shared their viewpoint on the distinction between graph and web search.

“Web search is designed to take a set of keywords (for example: “hip hop”) and provide the best possible results that match those keywords. With Graph Search you combine phrases (for example: “my friends in New York who like Jay-Z”) to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that’s been shared on Facebook.”

During the announcement, Zuckerberg shared a few ways graph provides a unique, customized search experience:

• People: Learn more about your friends and what they like, such as “people who like biking and live nearby.”
• Places: Discover businesses nearby or find connections between your friends and places, such as “Restaurants in Chicago my friends like.”
• Interests: Discover new interests by learning more about your friends, like “Music my friends like” or “Books read by CEOs.”
• Photos: Find pics of people or places – both friends’ photos and publicly available pictures.

In essence, graph empowers users to discover interests based on those of their friends. People no longer have to solicit recommendations via a one-time post, but can dig through historical data on their own to find what they want or need.

Why Brands May Benefit
While the implications of Facebook Graph in terms of the future of search are exciting and impressive, this new product brings up important points for brands. Like users, everything brands have done until this point will fuel how much they, too, will get out of Graph Search. This brings incredible value to understanding what a Facebook fan can do for a brand, turning it into usable data. Being connected to their true customers via Pages and Places will help brands be discovered in entirely new ways.

Check-ins and Page Likes matter more
Place is a key feature of this new search, giving users the ability to search for businesses and locations friends have liked or visited, such as “Indian restaurants nearby that my friends like.” This could give a big leg up to businesses with large fan communities and frequent check-ins by getting them in front of new faces.

Facebook’s wealth of data offers a wealth of insights
Facebooks users will be able to search for information about their friends, but also about groups of people with similar interests, for example, “TV shows liked by Software Engineers.” It remains to be seen exactly how robust this feature is, but if fully realized brands may have a new customer research tool at their disposal.

Keep Graph Search in Mind
Begin thinking about how you can assist customers with adding information to their Facebook activity to capture information about your business. Encourage check-in in the store, ask fans to upload pictures of themselves and tag their location.

Make sure you are doing everything you can to connect with real customers on Facebook. Graph Search will introduce you to your customers’ friends at a point when they are looking to use your products or services.

And if you’re not allocating enough resources to Facebook, either as a whole or on a local level, now is the time. Maintaining a solid Facebook presence isn’t just a nice thing to have, it could be a necessity for being discovered.

Graph search is currently in beta. You can join the waiting list for beta here.

What do you think about the news? What are the implications for brands? 

Of course, the mobile buzz isn’t all that shocking. Mobile devices are a huge part of the way we live, work and play.  As Qualcomm’s CEO noted, 84% of people worldwide say they can’t go a day without their mobile device. And many of them (85 million, according to Nielsen) are using their phones to go on social networking apps like Facebook and Twitter.

It’s clear that in 2013, social and mobile strategies will be intricately connected. And that means it’s time for businesses to make an investment that ensures an excellent experience across all platforms. As you plan, keep in mind a few things for mobile-social success.

Don’t forget to go local.
With 74% of consumers using location-based services to get directions or recommendations, make sure your business is thinking local–especially if you have a bricks-and-mortar location. Some businesses are using check-in services like Foursquare to reward patrons with freebies or discounts when they check-in. (Jimmy Choo ran a clever contest where thousands checked in all over London to win a pair of shoes.) Others are going a step further by analyzing check-in data to identify peak sales times and track customer demographics.

Where to start: If you haven’t already, claim your locations on Facebook and Foursquare. Then, think about your audience demographics and research how they’re using check-in services (This chart could help.) Try planning a few contests or promotions as an experiment and evaluate the response to refine future efforts. Dig into analytics on your customer check-ins to uncover more about your visitors.

Treat your social traffic right.
It’s happened to all of us. You see something interesting on Facebook or Twitter, click the link and get hurtled onto a site that renders awkwardly on your phone or tablet. This issue led to a major effort in 2012 to create sites that work across devices – known as responsive design. In 2013, make sure you’re aware of the experience mobile visitors have on your site, and consider ways to optimize for better results.

Where to start: Talk to your website team about options for enhancing your site for mobile users – does a mobile version make sense, or would a stand-alone app serve the user better? If you need evidence for the infrastructure investment, look at the analytics to see how much traffic is coming from mobile and where they go on the site.

Shore up your social service.
While place-based features offer an opportunity to connect with the customer, it also gives the customer a chance to voice their complaints – in real-time. And in our on-demand culture, they expect a speedy reply. A recent study shows nearly half of social media users have requested service via social media, and even more importantly, 72% of those who have a positive experience are likely to recommend the brand in the future. It’s key to put a process in place that makes sure you can resolve questions quickly.

Where to start: Put together a team to determine the workflow and escalation process for questions or complaints you get on social media. Put support channels in place, such as a hashtag or username specifically for customer service. Consider using a social CRM solution to easily handle and route requests throughout your organization.

It’s a world of social discovery.
How can you deliver customers an excellent mobile experience that allows them to discover friends, deals and deepen their relationship with your brand? That’s the nut to crack.

2013 is the year to do it.

For more information on driving sales and personalizing experiences with location-based marketing, check out our Going SoLo webinar. And, tell us about your organization’s mobile strategy in the comments below. 

Lose Weight

It’s hard not to let your eyes be bigger than your stomach, especially in social. Every new app and every new tool can be so attractive! In 2013, social marketers should take a closer look at their social campaign goals and discern which tools their business is ready for and identify the ones that should be part of the a longer-term strategy. Taking a realistic approach and understanding the current limits of a business’ social program and mapping the growth from there is critical for expansion and success.

Small to mid-size businesses have to be the most mindful when it comes to social investment, so spend wisely. Part of doing so is knowing where to focus your dollars and efforts and understanding the difference between ‘need to have’ and ‘nice to have’ tools.  A social program’s success doesn’t always come down to how much money a company has to spend more than it involves getting the most bang for your buck.

Save Money

With that in mind, saving money should be on a social marketer’s list of resolutions because social can be a place where a little goes a long way, or a lot goes nowhere. If you haven’t already done so, 2013 should be the year your brand researches and understands which social marketing software to implement so that the brand is best served. Make it your Q1 mission to understand where you want your business to thrive this year (is it video, contests, sweepstakes, etc.), and spend the rest of the year looking for and implementing the tool that provides the functionality and level of control you want in order to execute smart social campaigns.

Keep in mind that many SMMS providers rely on service contracts to boost revenue. While there are certainly instances that this may be beneficial, be sure to spend the time to understand where you can own your campaign and where you may want additional resources to help reach your goals. Doing so will help you trim the ‘fat’ for things you either don’t need or can’t take advantage of right now.

Get Organized

As mentioned above, social is a place where a small investment can thrive or a large investment can vaporize (or anything in between). That said, in 2013, take a step back and closely examine your marketing program and exactly how social fits into the mix. Then, get organized. Without organization, it’s almost guaranteed a social investment will result in some (or a lot) of waste – wasted time, resources and investment.

By getting organized, you as a social marketer can’t/won’t run the risk of getting lost in the details with everything social has to throw at you. Start by clearly outlining your goals for each campaign and the social tactics you want to use to get you there. Do not waste time in areas that pose very little return for the brand. In short, don’t do social for the sake of doing social. Be as smart as you can be and having a well-organized plan of attack is the place to start. There are many tools out there to help you accomplish this, such as Shoutlet’s Social Switchboard.

In short, Social Switchboard is a tool built to help marketers streamline social campaign activity. The first trigger-based campaign tool, Social Switchboard is a scheduler where content is set to ‘fire’ based on pre-determined criteria – date/time, and events – across a variety of social platforms. Incorporating a tool like this not only helps you organize a campaign, but it also takes the stress out of tracking every move and triggering the next step manually. And shouldn’t ‘reduce stress’ be towards the top of your resolutions list, too?

Learn Something New

If 2012 was any indication, social has a lot in store. We saw a lot of new tools take off last year– Pinterest and Instagram to name two – and social marketers clamored to make these tools work for them in social.

This year, resolve to learn about new tools and do your part in understanding how your business can benefit from them. But perhaps more importantly, understand which new tools don’t apply well to your brand…yet. Spend time only on the things that make sense, as there is no realistic way to do it all and do it all well. Knowing which new tools add value and executing a smart, well-thought-out campaign is the only way to make new tools worth your while.

What do you think? What other resolutions do you have for 2013? Tell us in the comments.

To sweeten the deal, we’ll choose one random respondent to get a $25 Amazon gift card. So go ahead, tell us what you’d like to hear about in 2013.

TAKE THE SURVEY

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