Don’t skip today’s bonus tracks this which focus on social networking sites. With Facebook making headlines lately for their $200 million Russian bailout, the first article takes a close look at the battle of social networks. Check it out to see who is up these days and who is down.
Photo credit, iStock (read more…)
SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues. Paul Chaney, Internet marketing director for Bizzuka and member of the SmartBrief on Social Media Advisory Board, creates the questions and analyzes the results. We run the poll question each Wednesday in our e-newsletter and feature Paul’s analysis on this blog.
Last week’s SmartPulse question: What is the primary way you use Twitter?
- Staying on top of breaking news/trends, 42%
- Broadcast messages and announcements about your company, 23%
- Staying in touch with friends and family, 13%
- Prospecting and lead generation, 9%
- Monitoring what’s being said about you or your company, 8%
- Customer service, 5%
“There are many more reasons to use Twitter than what we listed in the poll. Still, these represent a broad range. Two things stand out: The extremely low percentage of people/companies using it for customer service. (read more…)
This guest post was contributed by Christian Georgeou of Search Engine Watch, producers of the Search Engine Strategies San Jose Conference & Expo.
In “Most Corporate Social Media Efforts Will Fail” Liana Evans made note of important finds from a recent Gartner study. The lure of social media is quickly catching the attention of corporate America — nearly 60% of all Fortune 1000 companies will be involved in some online community by 2010.
The benefits offered with the establishment of a community are high, says Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner. But Sarner also stresses, “Companies will be challenged with what applications to use, who ultimately ‘owns’ an application or interaction and the management of socialization itself, from measuring success to mitigating negative interactions to sourcing and cultural restraints”.
Social media acts as a superior conduit through which companies and brands can engage consumers in a conversation, helping to build long-term relationships that can foster customer loyalty and new product development. (read more…)
Check out today’s bonus tracks – some special links that we couldn’t let you miss. The first article is an interesting analysis about B2B social media. It points out that this group of buyers in the business-to-business sector may been one of the most active when it comes to social participation.
Photo credit, iStock (read more…)
Recently, I wrote about how to write great headlines to help share your stuff on Twitter. If just a few of the right people re-tweet your headline, you can reach tens of thousands of potential new blog readers instantly — meaning you’ve got to write Twitter-ready headlines. Here are my tips, as well as a few ideas from readers. Share yours in the comments below.
What to do:
- Tell the complete story in the headline. Your headline has to make sense before people click, otherwise they won’t.
- Use the copywriter’s tricks. Using headline phrases like “3 tips” and “How to” are classic ways smart copywriters get people interested and forwarding their stuff.
- Keep it short. Not only does your headline need to fit within Twitter’s character limits, but you need to also leave room for the @name of anyone who re-tweets it.
Other tips from readers:
- Use @names when possible. This helps cross market both your content as well as what you’re talking about (i.e.
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