Social Media News For The Week Of 5/17/13

Google I/O 2013 Is All About Cleaning Up the Mess and Filling In the Gaps

The Google I/O conference this week in San Francisco did not result in any new hardware product announcements, but was focused instead on providing better tools for app developers and Web service improvements with new features. Google changes include a new Pinterest-like interface and improved photo editing tools. Also a separate Google Hangouts app for Android and iOS was announced as well. Full Story Here:


Don’t let social media negativity get you down - use it to improve business

While social media can sometimes be a risky medium for brands, since people can say ugly things with anonymity, the alternative is much worse. Not having any presence on social networks will leave your business vulnerable, since your brand may be talked about anyway, without your knowledge and ability to respond. Close monitoring of the discussions, followed by careful and restrained responses to negative comments, can actually help your business grow in the long run. Full Story Here:


3 ways social media can accelerate business development

Effective use of social media can quicken the pace of business growth by providing a larger number of sale prospects, of a higher quality, within a shorter period of time. Also, this is accomplished by a means which is outside of more tradition cold-selling techniques, which is appealing to both customers and the company as well. Full Story Here:


Google Hangouts Merge Mobile, Social Media Marketing

Google Hangouts is emerging as a leader in the convergence of social media marketing  and mobile technology. The service provided by Google , allows up to nine users to video conference together with streaming live to a larger audience possible. Google has now made this feature available to users via their mobile devices, while using the Google platform as its base. This opens new possibilities for mobile marketing through providing customers with live video content anywhere. Full Story Here:

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OnFast Promotions - Sweepstakes

Contests, sweepstakes, and quizzes are extremely popular with consumers and have always been useful tools for connecting brands with their customers, even in the days before social media. For a business looking for more interaction between their brand and the fans, promotional contests, sweepstakes, or quizzes can increase engagement levels significantly, while at the same time expanding the fan base.

OnFast, as part of our all-in-one social marketing solution, provides a helpful tool for our business customers to create, post, and manage their own promotions across their social networks and blogs. In addition to coupons, which we looked at previously in a previous blog, OnFast provides functionality for contests, sweepstakes, and quiz promotional types. This can all be accomplished from within the user’s OnFast account. Promotion type specific Facebook applications are provided as well, so your fans and participants can keep up with all the latest promotional offerings from your company, right on your Facebook page.

Let's take a look at how easy it is to create and manage a sweepstakes promotion right from your OnFast account. The OnFast tool provides all of the functions needed by the user, from a simple and easy to use one page creation screen (see below). Here all details of your sweepstakes can be entered, including a description of the promotion, number of participants allowed, along with starting and ending dates & times. There are places to upload your company’s logo and any other images you choose to include in the posting. Space is available for your business address and also check boxes for the selection of all the information requested from your participants.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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Tumblr For Business - Why Your Business Should Be On Tumblr

Many companies have taken the plunge into the social media realm and have seen success with their Facebook and Twitter accounts alongside a blog written on either Blogger or WordPress. If that scenario fits your company you may be wondering - What else can I do to expand my reach even further with social media? Consider Tumblr as a next step.

The micro-blogging and social media site has really taken off the last few years, hitting the 100 million blog mark in March of 2013. That is up from 50 million in April of 2012, according to The Next Web. Of course, you need to determine if your audience has a presence on this platform before diving in. ComScore reported the predominant age of Tumblr users to be between 18 and 34 (46.5%) and male (52%). If those figures fall into a sizable portion of your target audience, here are some other reasons to try Tumblr for expanding your social reach:

 

 Tumblr is easy to use - The Tumblr interface is extremely simple and straightforward. Your page can be set up and you can be on your way within minutes.

 Tumblr is low cost - You can save money by not having to pay for a domain name. There are also a large variety of custom themes available for your page, most of them free or for very little cost.

 Tumblr has a viral element - Users can share your content by “re-blogging” it and each time your posts are re-blogged, your company will be cited as being the original source of the information. In this way Tumblr can really help your business expand your social presence.

 

Another factor to keep in mind about Tumblr is its visual nature, as half of its content are images. If your products and services lend themselves well to visual treatment and you have access to high quality images related to your company, then Tumblr could be an effective platform for your social marketing efforts.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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OnFast Coupons and Coupon Builder App

Everyone knows consumers love feeling like they are getting a deal and of course; merchants live to make a sale. So the rise of social coupon sites, such as Groupon, should not have been such a surprise. What also shouldn’t be surprising is the downfall of those sites, following their initial meteoric impact. Ultimately, these social coupon offers have left the merchants losing serious revenue. For the largely one-time only customers they gain from the offers, they have to give up to 50% of what is already a discounted price, to the social coupon site.

OnFast, the all-in-one social marketing solution, provides a better answer to your business equation. An important component of OnFast’s solution is our Coupon Builder and companion Coupon Builder App for mobile devices. This provides the merchant with the functionality to easily and quickly, create and distribute discount and promotional coupons to their customers. These coupons can be effectively presented to customers across the social networks where they gather, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, or found on your blog. They can even be exported for your own email distribution. With OnFast’s convenient scheduling tool, the coupons can be sent out for immediate distribution or scheduled for release at a later date and time. Remember, not all of your customers and prospects are on social media networks, so coupons can be put directly on your website as well.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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Social Media News For The Week Of 5/10/13

Small Business Favors Social Media Over Location Marketing

Small businesses are utilizing social media marketing and mobile technology at a much higher adoption rate compared to location-based promotion sites, such as Foursquare. According to a study conducted by Constant Contact, an amazing 97 percent of small business owners are using social media networks in their marketing efforts. Furthermore, 66 percent report they are using mobile devices or apps as a component of their marketing strategy as well. This in contrast with only 17 percent utilization of location-based marketing. Full Story Here:


New Social Media Technologies of 2013 (So Far)

People now spend approximately 20 percent of their online time surfing social media sites, according to research by Buffer. With the ever-growing popularity of social networking, new technologies have appeared in the first half of 2013 which look to have an impact on users. New platforms such as Chirp and Flavyr could transform the way media and images are shared across social media. Full Story Here:


Facebook Tops List of Small Business Social Media Sites

The office products company, Staples, recently surveyed small businesses and found Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (in that order) are the favored social media platforms for marketing purposes. 40 percent of theses businesses state they have gained by using social media, while 61 percent report they are using at least one social network in their marketing strategy. Full Story Here:


Can Social Media be Your Primary Marketing Strategy?

While social media can be a key piece of a business’ overall marketing, for most companies it should only be one component part of a multi-faceted strategy. Every business has unique requirements, including budgets and target audience and need to be flexible as growth is achieved. Only in rare cases can social media be successful as the company’s sole marketing effort. Full Story Here:



 

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Google Plus For Business - Part 3 - How To Use Google Plus For Business

The power of Google alone makes having a Google Plus business page a worthwhile time and energy investment. In part two, we looked at some other compelling reasons. The features unique to the Google Plus platform can also work to your company’s advantage. Here are some ways to leverage Google Plus to the benefit of your business.

 

1 - Link Your Google Plus Posts

A great feature of Google Plus is that the platform gives you the ability to link your post’s URLs. By clicking the arrow in the upper right hand corner, you can link the post anywhere. By doing so you can drive traffic from your other platforms to your Google Plus page.

 

2 - Link Google Plus To Your Other Platforms

Google Plus allows you to customize your links and place them where they will be most effective, right alongside your stream. Just click the “Custom Links” button to the right and your followers will be able to easily go to any of your other platforms. Be sure to link your website, Facebook page and Twitter profile. Also place “G ” buttons on those platforms to bring followers to your Google Plus page.

 

3 - Classify Your Followers With Google Circles

The unique to Google Plus “Circles” feature provides one of the platforms decided advantages over other social networks. You have the ability to classify and organize your followers into their own groups or “Circles”. Having the capability to selectively target your marketing messages to specific segments of your base of followers is a powerful tool provided by Google Plus.

There are constant reports of the demise of Google Plus. This is not going to happen. The platform is growing at a tremendous rate, especially in recent months. With 343 million active users as of April 2013, Google Plus is a social network your business can’t afford to ignore.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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Google Plus For Business - Part 2 - Why Your Business Should Be On Google Plus

Even though it might appear to outsiders that Google Plus may not be worth their time or effort, nothing could be further from the truth. Although Google Plus started off with early adopters such as “techies” and photographers, the public at large is beginning to catch on. The social network has 343 million active users as of April 2013, certainly not insignificant and still growing. As your customers sign on over time- eventually everyone with a Google account will automatically be on Google Plus - you can be learning valuable lessons about its usage and seeing some benefits already. If you are still not convinced here are a few compelling reasons to set up a Google Plus Page for Brands.

 

1 - Power Up Your Search Engine Results

Google is the single most powerful search engine site ever. They turned the word “Google” into verb. Google has virtually no competition and with the immense power and influence they wield, businesses with Google Plus Pages have seen a dramatic rise in their search engine exposure, leading to higher results listings.

 

2 - Google Circles

The Circles feature on Google provides a powerful tool for targeted marketing messaging. A business can place their customer contacts into one or more “Circles” after they have added the company. The business can then target certain segments of their customer base with a targeted message just for them. For example, a 20% off promotion just for the top customers. Individuals need to add a company to their Circles first, but then the company can place the individual in whatever Circles they want without the individual’s knowledge.

 

3 - Google Hangouts

Hangouts is the video chat function of Google Plus, where a chat can be held with up to 10 participants at a time. A business can host video chats for their customers to talk with experts in their industry, have question and answer sessions, or show off new products. Complete webinars can be created around this feature.

Now, when Google Plus is growing, but not crowded like other social networks, is the best time for a business to learn the ropes. Interact with other companies, whether in their industry or not, and learn from them. In time, Google Plus will have a membership to rival Facebook and Twitter, better for your company sooner rather than later. In the next part of this series, we will look at some techniques for using Google Plus for business.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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