SEO and social media have become one in the same. That’s why we’ve developed iGenii’s Ten Pillars to Increase Your Income Through Social Media. With Google’s ever-changing algorithms, SEO has become only half the battle. It’s imperative to your business to have a social media strategy because you can count on the fact that your competitors do. At iGenii, we’ve developed a results-oriented strategy that allows you to see the benefits from social media.

Each week we’ll be giving a tip about how to make social media work for your business…

 

TIP ONE – Outsmart the search engines.

Google (and other search engines) are getting smarter, and their algorithms are making it tougher to win the SEO battle based on keywords alone. Social media essentially solves this issue, providing your company with the exposure it needs to potential and current customers.

      How long do social media duties take?  The question we’ve ll been trying to answer for the last handful of years…

While there is no hard answer, there are a few universally accepted duties that must be done in order to maximize social media potential and, theoretically, increase one’s business.

 

 

 

1.  Update.  Take a few minutes to post something, scan your social media pages and respond to anything outstanding.

2.  Tweet on a trending or applicable topic.  Re-tweet throughout the day.

3.  Blog.  Comment on other blogs related to the topic and make sure you’re updated regularly.

4.  Be thankful.  Communicate with customers and friends, expressing gratitude for their business and interactions.

These points may seem general; they are.  Depending on the type of business you have and what you’re goals are, the amount of time and effort will be different.  But understanding that social media is integral to any business is a step in the right direction, no matter how many resources you want to devote to it at first.

NASA is apparently turning to social media to promote and garner interest for their new mission to the moon. They have a rover landing on Mars next month, and in the meantime, NASA has posted a Twitter page and a Youtube video.

The Youtube video outlines the challenges ahead. More than 111,000 followers have been tracking updates about the rover’s mission scheduled for August 5th. You can view their pages, here:

https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/

 

It seems social media is now officially ‘other worldly.’  For assistance with social media on planet earth, please don’t hesitate to contact us @ kurt@igenii.com!  :)

There’s been a new movement in social media over the last few months and it’s directed at a new demographic.  Typically associated with a young and tech-savvy crowd, social media was intimidating to the older crowd initially.  In time, everyone’s parents (and even grandparents) got on Facebook but it didn’t happen overnight.

Pinterest is different.  It’s being pioneered by a somewhat older crowd and has been deemed “The Napster for Housewives.”  While that’s an overstatement, there’s no question that Pinterest has found itself being utilized by quite a different demographic; a slightly older female crowd.

The site essentially provides a platform for social photo sharing and the topics often revolve around recipes, fashion, travel, hobbies, etc.  It’s quickly become one of the fastest growing social media web sites with over twelve million unique users.

With over 80% of the American users being women, it’s safe to say that social media platforms are changing and becoming more specified.  It’s also safe to say that a male equivalent is probably right around the corner.

As many savvy business owners may already know, Google has recently developed their new algorithm update which is aimed at discouraging some of the current SEO tactics. “Penguin” – which was predated by “Panda” – is presently affecting over 3% of the searches in English.  So, what’s one to do? How does this affect your business?

In a nutshell, you need to react, and you need to react quickly, ideally by working with a company that’s savvy enough to adjust to the ever changing model.
Here’s the way Penguin works:
It is penalizing web sites for an overabundance of key words and phrases, in theory lessening the ability of internet marketers to trick a search engine. What you need is a company who understands the new algorithm and is able to adjust to its changes. Google’s changes are not an event; they’re a process and a journey. You need SEO strategists that can make that journey with you.
In the last several weeks a host of new videos, blog and articles have come out, some well sourced and explained; others not. Here’s a video explaining the concepts of the new Penguin update, the legality behind it, and a philosophical approach about thinking ahead with regards to internet marketing.

Due to overwhelming interest in our December blog regarding the “Peer to Peer” marketing model, we’ve decided to take a closer look at what makes this method so effective.  You can find the prior post, here:

http://www.igenii.com/blog/2011/12/why-peer-to-peer-marketing-is-a-relevant-business-model/

 

P2P = an untapped resource for many companies or individual’s marketing a product. 

Once a revolution, P2P has become somewhat pedestrian in terms of public perception.  Napster and Limewire created a platform for people to share media.  These services spiked in popularity so wildly that it’s been taken for granted, especially after the legal disputes they each had to deal with.  The fact is, with a tangible product that one has rights to (like apparel in the case of Karmaloop) the P2P and social media model is very effective.

One particularly interesting example is the online apparel retailer, Karmaloop.  They have done 27% of their business through the peer to peer model.  By allowing customers to sign up to become a “rep,” they can then share the unique promotional code with their various social networks like Twitter and Facebook for a savings of 20% initially, and 10% after the first purchase.

This model gives customers a reason to get involved with the company itself.  By creating a peer to peer platform, Karmaloop was able to do something many companies have failed to utilize in the last few years; the power of friends.

We all know Facebook and Twitter are two of the biggest digital platforms for brand promotion, but just because they’re both social doesn’t mean the typical consumer response is the same across the board. AYTM put together an infographic that compares the two platforms on several consumer angles, so read on if you’re hoping to improve social engagement.

To get a general idea of how consumers interact with brands on these platforms, AYTM surveyed 2,000 randomly chosen Internet users. A variety of questions were asked, including how online consumers like their updates served, where they prefer to virtually hang out, and where they’re most likely to interact.

And the Winner is…

Both platforms have their benefits, but Facebook was the big winner in most of these categories:

• 85% of users are on Facebook while only 49% of users are on Twitter
• 29% of users follow a brand on Twitter, while 58% of users have “liked” a brand on Facebook
• 57% of Facebook users have 100+ friends, which means if you engage with one, the likelier you are to get noticed by several more.
• Virtual personas are clearer on Facebook for obvious reasons, making it easier to target audiences and improve engagement

But Its not About The Platform

While Facebook users are more engaged with brands, it’s a different story when it comes to B2B. Another recent study fromPardot revealed that 91% of B2B marketers are using Twitter as part of their integrated social media campaign, beating out Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging and YouTube; However, only 15% of these efforts generate leads. Does anyone else smell a huge opportunity for improvement?

The most important statistic on AYTM’s infographic isn’t about Twitter or Facebook, but about how people like to get brand updates in general: 32% of respondents prefer shorter, social media-y updates. E-mail came in at 27%, offline ads at 22% and everything else — snail mail, blogs, video clips, podcasts — at less than 10%.

“There’s no question social media can be a powerful tool for establishing community and generating leads,” said Adam Blitzer, co-founder and COO for Pardot. “But to optimize its value, social media efforts should be monitored carefully and integrated into broader content and lead nurturing programs.”

Success in 2012

Going forward into 2012, it will be less about the platform and more about the experience. Like I said in an earlier article (Social Media Marketing Success in 2012: Forget About the Sale) old school methods of marketing and advertising are fundamentally different from what customers respond to today. Like a presidential campaign, they rely on the effectiveness of blasting one single message to the masses, but what the masses are increasingly demanding is the exact opposite: personalization and palpable sincerity.

In the end, platform choice is the easy part. The experience you give is what really counts. While you marinate in that, check out AYTM’s findings in picture format: