Internet Marketing, Social Media, Business | StuckInTheFunnel

pleaserobme.com – Philanthropy or Viral Marketing at it’s Finest?

ForTheHack launched http://pleaserobme.com/today – a site that essentially filters and displays a stream of Tweets that link to a user’s real time location via the 4 Square Website.

 It also let’s you search for people based on their location and Twitter username.

 When you really break it down the site does not really provide anything outside of what 4square already offers (especially considering the stream links out to the 4square website.) It should also be noted that it does not actually list the empty home’s address despite the site’s claim.

 So why did they do it?

 The site creators claim:

The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not… home. So here we are; on one end we’re leaving lights on when we’re going on a holiday, and on the other we’re telling everybody on the internet we’re not home. It gets even worse if you have “friends” who want to colonize your house. That means they have to enter your address, to tell everyone where they are. Your address.. on the internet.. Now you know what to do when people reach for their phone as soon as they enter your home. That’s right, slap them across the face.

The goal of this website is to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc.

I think there might be a little more to it than that…

The obviously controversial/humorous context of the site has already caused a stir on Twitter and the blogosphere. The creators of the site will wake up tomorrow to a wealth of inbound links from bloggers (they are already are on Tech Crunch), tweeters and disgruntled 4square users. They may even collect some revenue off of that obligatory Google Adsense ad…

As an internet marketing and social media enthusiast, I commend the guys over at ForTheHack for coming up with such a clever marketing tactic and raising some awareness about the possible dangers of location-based services.

The Futility of Banning Text Messaging While Driving

I’m back from my Thanksgiving hiatus and have been monitoring some local Twitter trends. Today, there was lots of talk about the new law in North Carolina that bans drivers from sending SMS or email messages on their cell phones. In all honesty, I don’t think this a bad idea. I have had a few close calls with drivers who were staring gazenly at their screens. However, I think the law won’t have much effect.

There are more than enough technologies to distract you while driving in North Carolina that are not banned by the government such as:

• Regular phone calls (adult drivers.)
• CD players
• DVD players and screens. (Some DVD Players even have screens that come out of the deck.)
• GPS units
• Luxury cars that have more in-dash controls than an airplane’s cockpit.
• Etc.

Social media and the web have changed how mobile phones are used:

I think this law will pretty difficult to enforce as it only bans “texting and email”. Think about the nomenclature. What does texting entail? I could be browsing the internet with my BlackBerry and get pulled over for texting. I could rebut with “Actually, I was browsing by using my jog dial, not the keyboard. Therefore, I was not texting.”  Or what if he caught me as I was dialing a phone number (adult drivers can still make phone calls in NC) and accused me of texting?In-car surveillance would be necessary for claims to hold water. Bottom line, this is mostly a scare tactic. A scare tactic with a hefty fine of $100.

In fact, NC senators even thought the bill would be difficult to enforce and Ron Wyatt, president of a local chapter of the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police was quoted saying:

“It’s all about safety, and I think we have a lot of law-abiding citizens, If people know it’s illegal, we’d hope they’d abide by those rules.”

Hmmm…does not seem to stern.

As more and more gadgets fall into our hands, driver distractions will not be erased until cars start driving themselves.

19% of Americans Tweet/Update Their Status Online

According to the latest survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, almost one in five (19%) of Americans uses Twitter or similar services to post updates about themselves and their businesses.

This data shows a substantial growth over previous surveys that reported Twitter use. In December 2008 and April 2009, Pew found that only 11% of Internet users made use of a status-update service. A study by Harris Interactive in March/April 09 found the number to be even lower, at a mere 5%.

Yum…Some Twitter Demographics:

In addition to the basic demographics of Twitter users, Pew also determined that the following 3 groups of Americans as those responsible for this new growth:

• Social Network Users (35%)
• Mobile Internet Users (25%)
• Young Internet Users between 18 and 24 (37%)

These figures continues to support the trend social media advocates have been trying to pitch to their upper management: Social Media is here and it’s not going away.

Enterprises Will Continue to Spend on Social Media Despite Spotty Success

A survey conducted by Deloittle, Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research indicated that 94% of enterprises expending dollars for social media plan to maintain or increase their investment.

Despite the fact that investment in online communities and other social media campaigns by enterprises has been strong, many companies are having a tough time meeting business and marketing goals with these vehicles.

While some of the respondents agree that social media has helped them with word of mouth advertising, customer loyalty and brand awareness, many others report that the new phenomenon has had less that a substantial impact on their bottom line or customer acquisition costs.

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Don’t Become a Social Media Burnout

In a world where you can let 1500 of your friends know what you are doing instantly, while tracking the status of your Dominos Pizza order online, there’s no secret as to why many of us may suffer from information overload.

I purposely spent some time the past couple weeks away from the computer during off hours to read and take a tour of North Carolina’s beautiful mountains.

Unlike most of my getaways, I only used my laptop and BlackBerry to access information that was pertinent to my trip itinerary which meant no work email. At first I thought I could not do it unless I tied my hands behind my back, but in the end, it was worth it.

The effectiveness of your Social Media marketing efforts are largely based on the amount of time and labor you put into them. That being said, it is important that use this time effectively so you get the most out of the time you sacrifice.

How to get the most out of Social Media without burning yourself out:

Set valuable and measurable goals

I stress the word “valuable”.   Telling yourself:  “I will spend 2hrs a day on Twitter”  is not a goal. Instead, commit to something like building 3 new relationships with potential prospects or professionals in your industry. This rule can be applied to any of the networks you participate in, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, etc. Bottom line: get the most out of the time you spend.

Syndicate for success

With a little planning, you can syndicate your online content and reduce the time it takes you to spread your message across all of your social pipelines.

Here are a few tools that can help you do this:

• Tweet Deck (update Twitter and Facebook simultaneously).
• Word Press Twitter Plugin (Display your Tweets on a Word Press Blog)
• Twitter Feed (Automatically feed your blog posts to Twitter)
• Hoot Suite (for scheduled Tweets and other workflow)

While these programs may take some manual labor off of your hands, it is important not to abuse them. Don’t use them to blast your audience with never ending streams of content. Use them ethically and remember to build your audience organically.

Track and Refine

The only way to determine if the time you have invested has been well spent is to measure the goals you have set. If your goals are to build relationships and network, maintain a directory of the new contacts you have obtained and where they came from. If your goals are to increase sales and revenue, use a tool such as Pea Shoot to log your conversions and ROI.

Be Patient

Don’t expect to achieve all of your goals overnight. Just like any other campaign, get ready to struggle, test and refine. Do it smartly and you will achieve success while making time for the other important things in your life.

Twitter Users are Twice as Likely to View Your Ads

According to a study from research firm  Interpret, LLC, Twitter users are twice as likely to click internet ads than those who stick to traditional social networks such as Myspace, LinkedIn and Facebook.

The study was conducted on 9200 Internet users in August 09 and concluded that 24% of Twitter users had rated or reviewed products online compared to 12% of those who used other social networks, but not Twitter.

It was also found that the users of Twitter are twice as likely to view online company profiles than non-Twitter users (20% vs. 9%).

Why is this the case?

Given the hyper/ADD nature of Twitter and the fact that it is not a destination site is the primary culprit behind these numbers in my opinion.

Twitter’s rapid stream of information is more conducive to link clicks than social sites which provide content that requires more concentration and engagement.

What does this mean for your business?

Get on Twitter and start building those relationships. Put a strategy in place that leverages Twitters’ click happy audience and get your brand noticed.

Sears continues to ride the Social Media Bandwagon

According to RetailerDaily.com, big time retailer Sears is continuing to make good on their home improvement site: Manage My Home. The site targets consumers working on home improvement projects and provides a portal with products, information and other features sucn as:

• Expert advice and assistance from Sears
• Scheduling delivery of products and home improvement services from Sears reps.
• Helpful blogs written by volunteer homeowners called “Neighborhood Helpers”.
• Advice and tips pushed via Twitter.
• Parts list creation
• Project planners
• Cost estimators

Why is this a good strategy?

Creating a community where you can get free advice, purchase products your project requires and manage your project makes sears a one stop shop for your next home project – if you prefer to use the web for research and planning. This will surely increase the loyalty of Sears’ current customer base and will attract other curious home owners as well.

Twitter Tips for Businesses

A lot of companies are beginning to embrace the SMS dispatch service Twitter. Before jumping into the new phenomenon, it is wise to educate yourself on some best practices first.

Here are a few of my humble recommendations for using Twitter for a business account:

Don’t Automate.

Using software such as Hummingbird  may help you rack up followers quickly, but you run the risk of coming across as a spammer. Twitter has recently buckled down on removing accounts with suspicious activity as well.

Don’t just promote, engage.

Many businesses make the mistake of using Twitter to push out product offerings and nothing else. While this is expected in traditional media like television or radio, it makes your company seem like a promotion machine that is not concerned with their customers. Use Twitter to spark conversations with customers and listen to their problems.

Put some time into your company profile.

Setting up a company profile with a bio on Twitter does not take more than 5 minutes. If possible, create a custom background that reflects your company’s branding and displays your contact information. You should also display a list of other users on Twitter that work for your company.

Watch those @replies.

Whether you are using free software like Tweet Deck or have a reputation management firm watching your online identity, make sure you respond to all mentions of your brand. This will make your customers feel more connected and appreciated - which will ultimately improve your brand loyalty.

As Twitter evolves, it will be another aspect of your brand maintenance. Make sure you embrace it smartly from the beginning.

Proof that Twitter is Good for Your Brand and Your Customers

When educating new or current clients on the benefits of social media I often hear “I don’t get Twitter” or “How can Twitter help our business?” After spending some time on the subject, I get most of the point across, but there are still some suspicions present.

A case study or real world example always helps, so I am going to share an experience I had with a company that has begun to utilize Twitter to reach out to their customers.

I use @Task, a web based project management tool to keep track of client accounts. While viewing a webinar a couple weeks ago, I logged into my @Task account to check on a few things (yes, I multitask). My Gant Chart screen was acting a little flaky so I sent out a Tweet to see if any of my followers were having the same issue:

I did not get much of a response from my followers, which I expected. What I didn’t expect was to have an @Task representative call me within 3 minutes!

Unfortunately, I was not answering my phone due to my webinar participation but I still appreciated the prompt follow up and concern nevertheless.

The issue ended up being my browser’s fault, not @Task’s.

I even received a follow up Tweet from their Twitter account administrator making sure the problem had been rectified:

That was the icing on the cake. The whole experience made me feel like a valued customer, even though the firm I work for is small compared to many of their clients.

There you have it: real world proof that Twitter is good for your brand and your customers.

Rumor Control: Apple Planning Social Music Application?

This is only a rumor at this time, but the Boy Genius report claims to have some developing details on Apple’s latest release of Itunes. It is believed that Apple’s latest release of their popular music download and management software will allow you to broadcast your favorite tunes to various social networks, which will not only spread Artist’s music, but the Itunes brand as well.

The informant to the Boy Genius Report claims that the app will do the following:

The social networking integration that we reported iTunes 9 would have seems to be part of a bigger social networking push by Apple. We’ve been informed that Apple has plans to tie iTunes 9 into a “Social” application that they plan to release in the future. It was said that the application (separate from iTunes) will be similar to Yahoo’s OneConnect offering and consolidate all your social networking services. (iPhone application? Desktop app? Wasn’t clarified to us).

The application will allow you to broadcast what music you’re currently listening to, allow you to share your music with people on your network, connect with your friend’s friends (no clue on that one), and update all of your statuses at the same time. ITunes 9 will let you broadcast music statuses as well.

As far as the iTunes application organization feature, we’ve been told it allow you to sort your applications alphabetically, by genre, date added, and of course, custom arrangement.

Apple’s strong foothold in the smart phone market will surely help them in pushing this application to consumers. More details to come as the story develops.