Social Media Catalyst

Sites focused on shared interests allow advertisers to better target their messages.

HIGHER COSTS

According to itLinkz figures, advertisers are paying more each time their ads are viewed on his site than on more general social networks. Advertisers are paying double-digit figures for every 1,000 times their ad is viewed. MySpace‘s average charge per 1,000 views is considerably less than $1, according to an August eMarketer study citing press reports. The only question is: How can I get more ad inventory and can I lock that rate in for a year?
The other aspect fueling targeted sites is privacy. Some users are wary of posting on the larger sites because they don’t want their boss, a college admissions officer, or relative finding pictures or posts they would rather keep for friends’ eyes only. Because they reach smaller audiences, targeted sites have less exposure than a major online destination such as MySpace.

PRIVACY TOOLS

Social networks are also satisfying this need by providing tools that allow users to select who sees content. The big networks, such as MySpace, have adopted limited privacy controls. (MySpace, for example, allows users to keep their entire profile private.) However, the newer social networking tools and platforms such as Vox have more targeted controls, allowing users to choose who in their vast network sees particular information.

Adesso Systems, which creates business and consumer Web applications, has built a “Tubes” networking and document sharing platform. The downloadable software allows users to segment their social network into as many groups as they want and then send information or files only to that group. For example, a user could have a Tubes toolbar on their computer with a folder for family, a folder for friends, a folder for a specific group of close co-workers, and then another folder for view by everyone in the office. When someone wants to share a photo, document, e-mail or other file with the group, he or she just drags it into the respective tube.

One is the sheer popularity of sites such as MySpace and Friendster. As those sites have expanded and become among the Internet’s most trafficked, some users and potential users have grown wary about exposing themselves to so many people. Some users would rather connect with people with whom they share common interests, such as hobbies or professional associations, other than knowing somebody who knows somebody who is listed as a MySpace friend.

SOME SUCCESSES
Demand for more specific social networks, and the resulting targeted sites, is a natural outgrowth of MySpace and Friendster’s popularity, the inevitable reaction to when something gets too big? Leave for a smaller, more personal experience.

Dozens of such targeted sites have taken root in the past several years with varying degrees of success. Among the most popular is LinkedIn, a site with 9 million members focused on helping people further their career through professional networking.

Fuzzster is a social network for pet lovers; Yub is a site for shopaholics; Model Mayhem, a network for models and photographers; and Mog, a network for music lovers, as just some of the networks now catering to specific interests.

There are financial reasons fueling the targeting as well. Advertisers are expected to spend $1.9 billion on social networks by 2010, up from $280 million in 2006.

Many business-networking sites also post jobs on their sites. So, you get one more online option to look out for jobs, i.e. in addition to the job portals. Online networking also helps you to build relationships before you can actually ask for a job. And that too without facing the recruiter. It is always better to break the ice in the virtual world before meeting in the real world. This is particularly beneficial to people who are somewhat apprehensive about talking to strangers.

Many of the recruiters also use networking sites for finding out potential employees. In an interview, there is always a chance of the candidate lying about his capabilities, though, the availability of sophisticated software and the various developments taking place in the HR field makes it very easy for the recruiter to spot the lies. In an online networking site, the relationship is established and trust is built over a period. Hence, the recruiter is able to decide the true capabilities of a person. This is also perhaps the reason why more and more recruiters are choosing the ‘networking’ way instead of posting jobs online.

Business and networking sites are thus revolutionizing the way people are getting jobs. More and more people are becoming aware of the power and benefits of online networking. Online methods should be judiciously combined with traditional methods to make sure that you do bag that coveted job.

LinkedIn has some of the smartest investors around. These investors have deep pockets and they are almost certainly following the model of building both scale and deep end user value before attempting too much monetization.

There are signs that they are looking at deepening their service value, specifically by becoming a network to find small service providers. With reputation ratings, that has big value. It has reciprocity as there are times as a buyer when you really need a small, specialist firm at short notice. So this is valuable to buyers as well as sellers. There are specialist networks doing this already, so LinkedIn can do it at scale across multiple domains.

Thinking about monetization, the primary motivations for using a business networking service like LinkedIn:

1. Push marketing. Find the right contacts to avoid cold call. This has limits. Over-use will lead to barriers getting erected to avoid ‘networking spam’. This is true whether one is selling a product, a service or person (e.g. recruiters). This works when it is occasional, uses close contacts only and there is reciprocity in the real world relationship.

2. Pull markerting. Put up your profile, or your firm’s profile, and get found by the right buyers. This is nascent in LinkedIn today but shows big promise.

3. Just-in-time expert advice for cash. This is what companies have done for years and they have built a real business. There are more consumer-oriented variants such as BitWine. With their scale, LinkedIn could easily get into this business.

1. Linkedin mirrors real world relationships but does not change them. I assume the same is true on Facebook. More to the point, attempts to use LinkedIn to change real world relationships can be counterproductive.

There are a few people who seemed as if they were almost professional LinkedIn users. Their names came up constantly as connections. They had 500+ connections (LinkedIn shows the number of connections but only says “500+” above 500, so the person could have 5,000 connections). Most of those are bound to be weak connections. One example; somebody who contacted me by email years ago, it was not of interest to me but I must have responded to his LinkedIn request to connect. I really did not know this person. Another example; somebody I know well, but when I tried to use the connections he told me that during a job search period he’d networked relentlessly and entered every random contact into LinkedIn. He had effectively made his LinkedIn connections useless by ‘pollution’.

2. I can bye-pass the network and avoid paying the fees. The ‘professional’ users of LinkedIn tend to be sales people or recruiters. In other words people who network for a living. They are the ones who will pay the fees that LinkedIn charges

The problem is that ‘reciprocity’ (what goes around comes around; or you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours) is missing. Sales guys sell, they don’t buy. If they simply use LinkedIn as a glorified marketing database, people will put up the barriers.

Sending a standardized mail through LinkedIn seemed like a cold and impersonal way to re-establish a relationship and ask for a favor. So I am not sure how viable the subscription revenue business will be.

This leaves advertising to be thought of. If they go for something similar to the Facebook ad model, that would go down like a lead balloon in this business community. It is possible that LinkedIn has the ‘magic monetizer’, the Adsense equivalent that turned a useful service into $ billions in revenue. I just have not seen it yet.

Create your account- Creating a profile is not very hard task and can be easily done. However, you may need to keep all your profiles updated on a regular basis.
Expand your network- Almost every networking site provides you option to search friends who share same interests as you. So always search and invite members who share the same interest as you or those who needs your product or services.

Try to be more socialize-Always participate in online discussion forum that maybe directly or indirectly related to your site. This simple practice can sometimes be more fruitful to build connection with your prospective clients and pitch in your products.

Be more persistent- Social marketing advertising work best when you are persistent. Keep in contact with your “friends” with comments and messages.
Show your expertise- You may also write an article or blog about your product and post it to bulletins. This simple act can let your friends or members who belong to same community know how your products or services can address their needs.

Create your product or service video- This is perhaps one of the emerging ways that seems to be rising in popularity by advertising in the form of a video. You as an individual can create videos and can even share on different social networking website.

Paid Advertisement- Just in case, if you are willing to shell out some money, make the best use of paid advertisement to these social networking sites. It will surely be an extra advantage.

When you utilize social media sites, you may soon appreciate the advantages of it. It doesn’t matter, how you choose to go about social networking advertising, whether you create your own profile for free or buy advertising space, you can rest assured that your sales and business network will receive a vast increase

Social Networking sites are new tool of marketing that has gained its popularity in last couple of years. This new concept is considered as very effective tool for capturing marketing leads. It has emerged as one of the most significant tools that provide a platform where you can network and gain new customers. This newest form of advertising online has become a must for any business who wishes to market their product or service over the internet.

Today, many local and international companies are using this common tool to create their own customized profiles on social media sites, and then add potential customers and business contacts as friends. Making friends and connecting with a targeted demographic play an important role in social networking. In fact this simple practice of making friends has been the key factor to bring success in different social media sites. Unquestionably, the potential growth of advertising your product or service is unlimited when you utilize social networking sites.

A social network websites primarily focuses on creating online community of people who share common interests and activities. Since this tool is internet based, it provides different ways for users to interact, such as instant messaging and e-mail services. As a result, it has created new ways to communicate and share information. Indeed, social networking has become a favorite place to advertise your business for free. So, if you are one of those who is planning to advertise your product or service, these are simple ways that can help you utilize social networking sites more effectively-

Here are the important points in this issue:

1. An organization has to understand the importance of social media and transparency for the future of your company/organization
2. An organization needs tools to make it easy for customers and prospects to participate (product reviews, service reviews, ideas, enhancement requests, online catalogs and other tools need to embed social media)
3. An organization needs the ability take action by routing and assigning the feedback to be acted on by R&D, Marketing, and Product Management.

I see two issues with why social media isn’t being utilized to its full potential.

1. Agencies shy away because they were unsuccessful with their one off attempt

2. In an organization, there is an lack of ownership of the content. Does the media team take ownership? Does the PR team write the content? Should the creative be in charge of what is going out the door? Or is it the account managers?

The real answer is all of them. Instead of having a social media team that is in charge of content, you need a social media point person who is able to provide that structure and dole out who does what across an agency while giving support/guidance.

Organizations need to understand SM and develop a specific strategy to fit their organization exactly where it is in its understanding. Trying to move the earth by re-engineering will result in failure. A good strategy will understand that prove out a step-wise, scalable solution that will allow for progression.

Can you really energize your customers if you’re not listening to them first?

What I think is interesting is that:

1. There are companies that have deployed social media and gotten amazing results (ie. reduce operating costs and increases in revenue. But the media keeps saying that there isn’t that much success yet.

2. Perhaps the nay sayers keep focusing on where social media got its starts- Marketing and PR, both of which are harder to measure than say, Customer Service.

3. Most Chief Marketing Officer’s , CEO’s and other executives who have seen the results that can be produced in customer service social media initiatives feel that while social media is important to Marketing, PR and Advertising, the real transformation of business comes from deploying a customer service social media initiative. That’s because that’s where customers complain and where customer’s product and service issues get handled and when companies take that voice of the customer information back into the organization.

Social Media channels are by no means totally different or even totally new. The term “social tools” was coined in 1999. It’s been a decade now. Yet the number of people in the world who still have no idea about blogging is staggering. Surprisingly or not, not every advertising/marketing professional has a blog. This makes me wonder how well the industry itself understands the benefits of Social Media.

If they don’t know or use even the oldest Social Media channels, how are they supposed to understand and use channels that were established recently but that draw on the same principles as other social tools?

Social media presents many new possibilities for conducting business. Sticking with your metaphor, the interim challenge is consistently proving that planes yield enough value for the Army in order for people to even realize the need (and then pay for) an Air Force. That’s happening as understanding of influencer value, social media Web metrics, etc. progresses but for many companies that’s still a leap.

What will be more apparent for companies soon if it’s not already is immediate value – even as measured by ‘traditional’ metrics – for functions like customer service, R&D and sales.

Marketers need to take the hint social media provides, and look at marketing holistically. Yes, this is an old concept, but if we look at marketing from a POV where customer interaction is as important as customer satisfaction, we may just start to make some progress. The best companies are doing this.

Innovation is the bulwark of growth. It increases the standard of living for all concerned. However initially when presented with a new technology, people tend to use that innovation to do existing jobs more effectively. Brand building is no different. As social media gains momentum, brand communicators are experimenting carte blanche with these new technologies and connections to get their jobs done, typically coming at it from an advertising, interactive or PR perspective.

If social media and its inherent benefits are indeed so revolutionary, so potentially game-changing why is it that it is taking time for people to figure out how to best use them? More fundamentally, organizational silos and constraints limit its potential to brand-building exercises.

A historical analogy brings this issue to life. When airplanes began flying 100 years ago, they came under the purview of the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps. As guns and artillery went airborne in World War I, the Army controlled the aircraft. The military brass saw this innovation as means to help move soldiers forward by attacking enemy lines. Thus, aircraft grew in stature as a tactical tool for Army purposes.

This is a perfect metaphor for the current state of innovation with marketing and PR team thinking. The pace of functional change isn’t keeping pace with the unprecedented social shifts disrupting media and consumer behaviors and the possibilities that come with it.

We regularly see brand teams struggling to incorporate social strategies into their specific function and worldview. They’re confused over whom to turn to for help with a glut of new-media experts, or how to value the merits of ideas. They aren’t necessarily structured to take advantage of programs in play and can’t, for example, route customer comments through social sites to customer service or R&D. And they’re struggling with how to design and execute campaigns inline with the media habits and behaviors of people they’re trying to reach.

The value of social-media acumen and inline thinking will skyrocket in stature as rapidly developing capabilities grow. But to realize the value, new practices shouldn’t necessarily follow the exclusive lead of advertising, interactive or PR in its mission. Teams should be organized to exploit possibilities for making new contributions in a way that lets people in and where possible, lets people do the marketing for them. This goes beyond one-off UGC campaigns and Twitter accounts. It’s about committing to a new design for social business and communications.