Google+ and Its Impact on Social Media Marketing

Google+ even has an application that extracts contacts from your Facebook account

As the Social Media storm continues to permeate every aspect of American Society, observers are tuned into the introduction of Google+. Is this new social media platform destined to challenge Facebook because Google launched it or is Facebook dug in too deeply to be uprooted by the new kid on the block?

The initial success of such a venture depends on whether or not it resonates with the users first. And if it does, was Google+ built for to be business-friendly?

You have to believe that the folks at Google already have several powerful business apps waiting in wings until Google+ gains some momentum. However, we could all be waiting months or even years before Google chooses to release these “mystery tools.” At this point, Google+ is offering profiles for individual users and not business, but all of that can change at any moment with the simple stroke of a key.

Google has had a long time to pick apart the business shortcomings of Facebook and will surely have a battery of products that will allow companies better and more effective ways to reach out to the consumer.

Also, Google+ is in a much better situation to launch a new social media network, because they are more acutely aware of the undeniable shift of all computer usage migrating to the world of hand-held devices. Google+ is already offering a group video chat function – an application that offers an instant attraction to a corporate culture that is trying to limit travel and promote video conferencing.

The bottom line is that it will be a while before we know what corporate goodies Google+ has up its sleeve, but it’s sure to have some breakout products to make social media a more effective means of marketing.

Acello Media: How to Retain Your Most Valuable Asset – Your Clients

Keep your current clients satisfied and content!

In this volatile economic climate, client retention has never been more important for businesses than it is right now. Each client is recognized as a critical asset that could make or break some companies.

Businesses spend millions of dollars to attract new clients, but retaining the ones they have is essential for the success of any business.

No one knows this better than Acello Media Solutions and that is why they are sharing their top 5 Client Retention tips.

Do your homework – learn about their business
Having a knowledge and understanding of your clients and their needs is crucial. Find out about each company’s vision and mission, goals and objectives and desired outcomes. Attend meetings and planning sessions with them. Find out what they want, what exactly is it they seek from you and how they want it given to them. Implement the ideas that works for you. This will establish a mutual connection and help you to cater to their needs more effectively.

Focus on existing customer’s needs – value them
It is crucial to focus your time and resources on better serving your existing clients. Go deeper instead of wider. Make your existing customers the number one priority and ensure their needs are catered too. Nurture your customer relationship by consistently treating all customers with respect and honesty; this will encourage cross selling, up selling and referrals.

Provide superior customer service and support
Customer service should be considered more of an investment than an expense. Companies that have had a reputation for outstanding customer service have achieved high successes in the past. Paying special attention to complaints and compliments of existing clients, helps provide a positive customer experience, loyalty and a long-term relationship. Customer complaints can also be used to bring about new ideas and ways to improve your product or service.

Not all customers are equal and providing profitable ones with a dedicated support line can be a good investment. Employees should be trained to meet the client’s needs by answering questions, receiving comments and handling complaints. Retention is the key – it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

Develop customer loyalty programs
Loyalty programs can be used for outstanding customer retention, where your long-term clients are rewarded through gifts, services or discounts. Clients like to feel as if they are being rewarded for choosing your company. After all everyone likes a special discount or free gifts!

Feedback is Critical
Feedback is a reflection of your product or service. Client’s feedback provides and excellent learning opportunity. Both the client and company can benefit from it if taken constructively. Companies should actively socialize with their clients and gather feedback.

Clients are always right even if they’re wrong. Therefore, take both positive and negative comments constructively. If a client contacts you with a complaint, ensure that they receive top priority. Troubleshoot the issue and try to reach a satisfactory agreement for everyone. Feedback can easily be done through the company’s website, blog, social media sites or through an email. Make the customer feel valued by involving them with every step and valuing their input.

In today’s challenging business environment, retaining your client gives you the competitive edge. If you don’t give them reasons to stay, your competitors will likely take them away from you. Client retention is all about keeping the client you’ve worked hard to acquire, maintaining a strong bond with them and make them come back to you again and again. It drives profits for the business and is far less expensive than attracting new ones.

Grandparents Plugging into the Social Media Matrix

Decode the social media matrix with Acello Media

It seems that the matrix is seeping into the baby boomer culture. No seriously, more than 20% of grandparents over the age of 60 have joined the world of social media.

Seniors were asked, “Do you have an account on any social networking websites?” An astounding 22% of grandparents over 60 said YES and the overwhelming majority of them are on Facebook! 71% of those who said yes, say they are living to good life of Facebook.

Since we’re spitting out so many stats, 68% of those who joined social media sites, have done so in just the last year! More than half of those who recently joined said they did so with the urging of the younger generation.

Hey kids, be careful for what you wish for. Do really want your grandparents reading about some of the whacky stuff you post on your Facebook page? Just a thought.

Critical Steps for Building Solid Relationships with Journalists

Use Acello Media Solutions to promote your brand.

All solid relationships with reporters takes time and effort, and that holds especially true with the field of public relations. One critical element is making sure that you target the right reporters and publications for the maximum buzz potential for each release. Building relationships with journalists is a key step in helping each business get the most mileage possible out of every new release.

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The public relations experts strongly suggest that each business follow these critical steps for establishing and fostering fruitful relationships with journalists.

1. Know your target

Read up on what the journalist you’re targeting has written to find out what he or she covers. Understand what is interesting to that individual journalist’s audience. Don’t waste time pitching on a topic unrelated to their beat.

2. Know your client

Before you start reaching out, become the resident expert on your client and the issues that you’ll be discussing. The more knowledgeable you are, the better your chances of establishing strong connections with journalists.

3. Get to the point

The first questions during your initial call to a journalist should include:

• Are you on deadline?

• Do you have a minute to talk?

• If they do have time, explain why your article and client may be of interest to them, quickly and succinctly.

4. Who are you? Identify yourself:

Get to know your journalists–take notes and keep a file on each person. What do they value? Information? Insight? News tips? Story ideas? Press releases or exclusives only? Do they prefer face-to-face meetings, e-mail or phone? What are their deadline pressures?

5. Altruism helps

Put that knowledge of their likes and dislikes to use. Call with a story tip you’ve heard about, even if it’s not about your client. Suggest story angles they may not have considered. Send an interesting link. Compliment them on their big stories.

6. Deliver the goods

When a journalist is seeking information or an interview, do everything in your power to get them what they need, and quickly. Failing to respond to a journalist on deadline is inexcusable.

7. Cast a wide net

Always be on the lookout for new journalists to contact by tracking the media coverage of your client’s industry.

8. Keep after it, Tenacity Pays

Once your research has established that a particular journalist should be interested in your client, be persistent, but not annoying. Following up weekly, but don’t be too intrusive.

New Study: Social Media Linked to Surge in Restaurant Sales

Acello Media understands the unharnessed power of Social Media (click image above)

A recent study shows that consumer spending is strongly influenced by social media. The study conducted by Ogilvy and ChatThreads, says that social media led to increased spending and actually enhanced the impact of other forms of advertising.

Those exposed to social media were more likely to increase spending and or consumption than those who were not. The study used various QSR’s (quick service restaurants) to gauge the results.

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The study compared those who engage in social media against those who have no exposure at all. It also studies the relationship between social media and other forms of marketing including billboards and television ads.

Social Media Impact:

• Consumers are 7x more likely to spend more at KFC

• When coupled with television ads, consumers are 2x more likely to increase consumption at Wendy’s

• When coupled with billboards, consumers are 2x more likely to increase consumption or spend more at QSRs

• When coupled with news stories or editorials, consumers spend 17% more week over week than people who were not exposed

Billion-Plus to Access Web Using Mobile Devices by 2013

 

Gerard Grech, Global Head of Distribution for Nokia

Gerard Grech with NOKIA kicked off Social Media in New York City predicting (according to IDC & Infometrics) that by 2013, more than 1-Billion people will use mobile devices to access the web.  He insists that all indications are that mobile devices will drive the next phase of Internet Growth.

Grech emphasized that the Internet is coming to us and adapting to our social context. He says that mobile is now at the epicenter of the digital and physical worlds that is transforming our decision-making processes. Our physical location, social contacts and preferences will shape the information we receive and how our everyday decisions and plans can flow more spontaneously. ‘Context’ has now become just as important as ‘content.’

He sited numerous example of how people across the planet are using mobile devices as critical tools for learning, training and of course, communicating.

Metrics according to IDC and Informetrics

Today
4.6 billion mobile devices in use
1.6 billion Internet USERS
450 million access the Internet through mobile

By 2013
5.9 billion mobile devices
2.2 billion Internet users
1 billion will access the web using mobile devices

 

August 2010 Entrepreneur’s Forum – Web Design for Startups

Click Image to REGISTER NOW

Web Design for Startups will:

–  Provide essential design topics for web entrepreneurs
–  Provide overview of working at a startup for designers
–  Connect designers and startups

REGISTER HERE

Panel Topics:

What are the essential web design disciplines and why is each important?

Graphic/visual, interaction, information architecture, print, branding/identity, user experience, research, usability testing, etc.

Examples of startups with successful web design. How were these design efforts staffed/resourced?

Startup design prioritization – how to know which design tasks are essential at which point in a given startup.

 

Web Design Expert Panel:

Seth Giammanco, Principal, Technology Lead at Minds On Design Lab

Dan Maccarone, Co-Founder at Hard Candy Shell

Gloria Petron, President of the New York City Usability Professionals’ Association

Christopher Fahey, Principal, User Experience Director at Behavior Design

 

Travel Site for Female Execs Delivers Fun, Fashion and a Few Surprises

There’s a new site called In-Flight Insider aimed directly at female executives and business travelers. The topics seem straightforward enough – but there seems to be a touch of class and elegance that similar sites seem to be missing.

The fashion element is the most developed theme on the site with seemingly unlimited product descriptions and options. Many of the products listed are not only fashionable – but many seem to share a practical nature for ease of travel.

There are also new articles each week with travel safety and security tips for women who travel alone. Some of the items are pure common sense – but there are also a variety of travel tips that will definitely deliver some piece of mind when you’re on the road.

The site even doles out some techie advice – displaying and describing some of the new gadgets out there to make any trip or flight you take that much easier. Hop aboard this travel treasure trove and see where it takes you. In-Flight Insider

Social Media Drives Site Traffic, Not Direct Sales

The ROI is the delivery of potential customers!

There is a great deal of discussion about social media and its role in business these days. A common misperception revolves around what the ROI, “Return on Investment” is supposed to be from a Social Media Campaign.

The purpose of social media, in its current form, is to drive eyeballs to your website. This means driving traffic to your site – What your site does once those people arrive on your site is up to you and your marketing expertise. There is a world of difference between company exposure and direct sales.

This going is going to be hard for many business leaders to understand. Social Media Campaigns are designed to generate interest and traffic – NOT TO SELL! This needs repeating, so here we go again…

Social Media drives the traffic, someone else must be tasked to sell.

Experienced Social Media consultants will help you drive traffic to your site. That’s not the same as direct sales, nor should it be. If you confuse the two roles, both parties will eventually walk away from the deal feeling like they have been taken advantage of.

Many so-called social media experts are into this “New Media” for the short hall, because they are not up front about the limitations of social media. I’ve had many a business owner ask what good is social media if it doesn’t produce direct sales.

The answer is really quite simple. Potential customers who visit your site due to social media efforts may or may not choose to buy your products or services. BUT, these are potential customers who found your company because of the social media campaign in the first place.

Think of social media as a large expo or conference, companies attend these functions to gain exposure, not necessarily to sell right there on the spot. So before you undertake a social media campaign, determine what you really hope to gain. If your company needs nothing but quick-strike sales, then it is more prudent to spend your money on another strategy.

MyPRGenie’s Unique Service Gains National Recognition

MyPRGenie, the world’s premiere do-it-yourself PR platform and newswire was recently honored as one of the OnDemand Top 100 winners selected by AlwaysOn.

As part of the OnDemand Top 100, MyPRGenie was recognized by the AlwaysOn judges for its leadership among its peers, and for its game-changing approaches and technologies that were deemed likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players.

“This is a tremendous honor, and we humbly accept it,” said Miranda Tan, Chief Executive Officer of MyPRGenie, Inc. “It’s very gratifying for our staff to be recognized for its hard work and innovation. It’s also nice to have an independent third-party evaluation confirm what our clients have already been telling us: that MyPRGenie, by far and away, is the most advanced, effective online do-it-yourself public relations toolkit out there.”

Using MyPRGenie, clients can create an online business profiles, upload their press release in any language and significantly increase their online exposure.

With the MyPRGenie platform, it takes only an instant to connect to thousands of journalists and automatically post on 28 social media sites. MyPRGenie currently has thousands of clients ranging from large and small companies to public relations professionals who are using the MyPRGenie platform to drive their PR business.

The OnDemand 100 winners were selected from among hundreds of other technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2010 list.