Social media campaigns and creating brand value on mobile devices

Emergence of the social media has changed the contours of marketing, especially in the fast-evolving mobile market, transforming it into a two-way conversation that cannot be controlled by brand managers alone. However, not realizing the consumer aspiration and the changing market realities, many brand managers still focus on the technology part, ignoring the users.

What they need is a smart of mix of video, audio, search capabilities, social angle, live gaming, commerce, location-based services, payments, etc that make mobile apps more powerful. They also need to analyze the way of scheduling call-to-action around new product releases and related campaigns. We’ve grasped in the previous post that from a pure messaging standpoint, there is immense novelty of a mobile communication tool that companies can look to unlock.

Next important area is to socialize the content (or subject matter) and campaign with two-way conversation. As today’s social media has become quite seamlessly integrated into the daily chores of life, it is not really surprising to witness the gradual saturation of the social network market, if one goes by the figures.

Fine tuning marketing strategy for smartphones

There are no worry signs as yet on this count, but overall growth trajectory is experiencing some fatigue. Just to elaborate, more than 134.5 million people made use of social networks like Twitter or Facebook across any of the available technology platforms each month in 2010. That count is expected to increase by a little over 3%, in 2011, according to research agency eMarketer. However, you have to consider the fact that social networking has become the fastest-growing activity on mobile devices.

Brands must spot the trend and take this noticeable shift into account while devising their strategies. They need to fine tune their offering as consumers get in the mode of checking their Facebook accounts on the move and ignoring those brands and their messages not respecting or responding to the core of the Facebook realm, or very simply, direct interaction.

Get a fair idea of consumer mindset

Facebook is now a highly popular tool for conversing. And in a way, any ad campaign is also a form of conversations. This can present a great opportunity for blending the message and the medium. This coincidence can be contextual for any brand manager who knows how to integrate the oft-chaotic feedback, which comes pouring in from this new segment of smartphone-liberated users, checking their devices in stores, homes and offices.

By combining activity, location and time, the three key mobile data types, marketers can get a fair idea of consumer mindset, one also taking into account their shifting priorities and personas. A woman, for example, is in a different frame of mind early morning when getting the children ready for school, than a couple of hours when she prepares to leave for the office. Can a marketer make the message relevant accordingly? Relevancy presents both the challenge as well as the opportunity of the smartphone’s powerful data-collection capabilities.

Facebook Fast Fan Pages

Facebook  Fan pages- create fan pages in minutes

Facebook has grown over the years and more and more public use this social website to communicate with loved ones or people that might have the same notice as them. Though only a few know about the compensation of using facebook to boost your website traffic, it however, still remains one of the website that many just use it to connecting to many additional facebook users, far and near.

The concept of facebook fan page and facegroups have recently brought changes that many people have used to make substantial amount of money using either fan pages or groups. In this article we are going to look at how you can make money with fan pages, create them in minutes, and use the traffic from these fan pages to increase your website rankings.

Facebook  fan pages tool kit

To cover this steps mentioned in the last paragraph manually is going to be labor intensive and downright boring, however I came across this software that creates fan pages, monitories them and you even have the option to redirect the traffic from these fan pages to your website or affiliate link. The name of this software is facebook fan pages, it creates many fan pages in minutes.

Making money with facebook  fan pages.

The potential of making money from facebook are truly endless. Facebook alone has millions of users logged in at any given time creating a facebook fan page focusing on facebook and getting followers is easy. Once the facebook fan pages are created the facebook fan pages predicts the right moniterising technique that will make it possible to reap more rewards from your work.  The graphic user interface (GUI) of the software makes it even more easy for anyone to get started and make money on facebook.

Facebook Fan Page Tagged Brand Photos: Opportunities and Risks

How much do you think a Facebook user’s photo that a brand is tagged in is worth? While a quantifiable value is not currently measurable, positive photos that fan pages are tagged in are valuable to the brand as they provide a strong word-of-mouth recommendation (without the words, of course).

Brands will see themselves and their products tagged in more and more photos on their Facebook fan page now since Facebook announced last week that users have the ability to tag fan pages in their photos on Facebook in the same way they can tag their friends. This new functionality creates even more of a deeper connection between the user and the brand. It makes the brand more of a friend than just a brand.

If your brand’s fan page allows for it, users can already upload photos. This new feature provides an easier, one-click to tag opportunity for Facebook users. Currently only fan pages within the Brands and Products or People fan page categories can be tagged in photos, but expect this functionality to be expanded over time. The opportunities and risks for brands and user-generated photos were always there, but are now amplified due to the easier tagging process.

Brands should be excited about this new opportunity. As a result, brand fan pages will see more user generated content from their fans. In turn, expect organic Facebook photos to also be used more in brands marketing materials and print advertisements. If the photos and descriptions associated with the tagged photos are positive then a brand letting the photo tab on the facebook fan page become more of a story book for fans when they view the images. This is ideal as the tagged photos help take control away from the brand and puts more power into the hands of fans.

Brand and user authenticity also becomes more prominent. Brands will be able to easily identify their prominent users on Facebook. They then have the ability to take that relationship either offline or amplify it on Facebook by writing on their Facebook wall (if they have a public profile). Photos of people utilizing a product prove who a brand’s true users are as opposed to simple affirmation messages.

While user generated content is key, there are also risks associated for brands with this new feature. More photos will be posted to brand fan pages, but they won’t only be positive photos.

Facebook fan pages run the risk of having negative photos of their product or business posted and should be prepared (like they should be already) in the event this occurs. For example, if you run a doorman service and there are photos posted on your fan page of one of your doorman sleeping on the job, be prepared to respond if necessary to your most loyal brand ambassadors on Facebook.

There will undoubtedly be an increase in spam photos as a result of this change. Page administrators should always make sure they are monitoring their photos section and remove any photos that violate terms of service or are not properly tagged.  These photos won’t appear directly on the wall, just under the photos tab, which means a robust monitoring system (via human or computer) is necessary to make sure not only are the photos appropriate, but photo descriptions as well.

Facebook Releases Greatest Practice Guide For Marketing

Social networking has smooth way to social marketing and Facebook appears to have taken it very seriously. Reportedly, Facebook has published a guide that talks about greatest Practices for Facebook Marketing. This 14 page PDF document introduces five guiding principles and Facebook by point for superior marketing techniques. It introduces users to the Facebook bionetwork which begins with building aFacebook fan page and making your existence felt (you can use Social Plugins and Graph APIs).  Further, to fortify the fan base with Facbook Like ads and then on amplify it with news feed and sponsored stories. The document lists Facebook objectives for superior marketing and also explains a step by step procedure to get the desired results. This guide is basically to help its members perform better marketing strategies using the following objectives:

-          promote product development and innovation

-          Generate responsiveness

-           Drive partiality and differentiation

-          Increase visiters and sales

-          Build constancy and deepen relationships

-          Amplify recommendation and word of mouth

-          Gain insights

Facebook showcases its tools which will help create new product ideas and innovations as well as learn about the target audience. Just creating a page isn’t enough, you’d have to generate awareness and increase your product value. It lays stress on leveraging Facebook’s Ads and Sponsored Stories for a wider reach and enhanced targeting abilities.

The facebook fan page acts as a key touch point as the referrals come through word of mouth.  The document suggests to try and appreciate what others think of your business, and drive preference and separation.

rising sales and traffic is one of the essential factors noted which can be done by creating promotional campaigns, setting sales goals and driving people to the purchase point. The social site reveals the importance on building and strengthening relationships by reminding people that you are around, by asking questions and also accepting feedback.

Facebook is further about word of mouth as when people like something it is shared with their friends and so on. It is significant to encourage people to like your facebook fan page by adding good content which also helps augment recommendations and word and mouth, reveals the guide.

Understanding clients is equally important so Facebook recommends learning from reports of your advertising campaigns and sponsored stories. It also tells its members to study from page insights and use advanced campaign metrics. The last page of the document takes you to helpful Facebook resources related to pages, permissions, publicity and more.

NEWS Flash: The End Is Near For Previous Facebook Groups

Facebook will begin archiving all groups created using the older format, in a push to catch everyone onto the newer story of the feature.

The following message appears at the peak of the group page as seen by the owner of it:

Above the next few months, Facebook will be archiving all groups created using the old groups format. stirring ahead, you can create groups using the new groups format, which makes it simple to share with the important groups in your life.

Facebook offers pretty thorough guidance about the forthcoming archiving and upgrades in the site’s help section, fleshed out in three diverse questions.

The site explains that old groups that get archived will automatically also become accessible in the new group format. Most of the associated content will stay available in the upgraded version, with some notable exceptions.

The things that won’t create it over are:

·         current news

·         Group officer titles

·         The information  box below the old group picture

·         The group system

·         The members of your old group.

Yup, you’ll have to redo your membership list in the new group if you wait for Facebook to do the archive and upgrade for you. The Latest  version will include:

·         Group photos and wall posts

·         Group chat threads, which become wall posts

·         The group explanation, which can be found at the top of the facebook fan page when you click “see all” members in the new group

Facebook recommends that keep backups of their group content before the archiving. Plus, the site wants all businesses using groups to support themselves to switch to pages instead.

At few point, a link saying “upgrade this group” will emerge at the top of the owner’s admin screen — only for old groups, of course. Ones created in the new format won’t go through some of this.

For now, the messages that readers have said they are considering comes as a friendly early alert, which we appreciate. Putting the word out early seems like a wise move, based on how public reacted to fresh upgrades of profiles and pages.

StumbleUpon shoots past the 1 billion mark!

StumbleUpon is one of the internet’s most used bookmarking services and according to their latest figures it has become even more trendy.

Users can bookmark their favourite pages using the websites toolbar and then click the stumble button and find other related pages that they may like. It is a awesome  tool that allows users who are interested in your service or product to find your website and contact details.

StumbleUpon users are currently bookmarking more than 1 billion web pages per month and with increases in visitors to the site, the bookmarking company has become a awesome place for companies to interact. If you would like to advertise your service through online sites such as StumbleUpon, Facebook and Twitter take a look at our social media pages on our website and find out how you could gain customers online.

Upsetting trend: big brands pimping Facebook “Likes”

A upsetting and abhorrent trend has emerged on Facebook, where big brands force visitors to “Like” their page in return for a gift, coupon, or special access to promotions or contests.

“Don’t ‘like’ us yet?” Jockey asked in a current email. “You’ll want to now!” Umm, no, I won’t. “Like our page to unpack prizes!” demands Pepto Bismol. Nah! My liking feels fine. Like us before you can create your own royal wedding commemorative stamp, demandsPeople publication.

What do compulsory likes prove?
They explain that people will click a Like button because they like coupons, discounts and games, but they surely don’t indicate that we plan to buy from the brand again, or come back to the Facebook page. Like so many upsetting marketing practices, forcing Likes is a nothing more than ham-handed bean counters’ idea of how social media works.

Facebook and other social media let retailers connect their online and corporeal properties in ways never before possible. And, asMediaLogic’s recent Retail Marketing Reports note, total visitors to social sites now rival physical retail traffic and, in some cases, are approaching the reach of national paid media. And, the report notes, more than 30% of retailers are forcing visitors to Like their Facebook fan pages to access their promotions.

Sadly, people who are forced to Like brands are also forced to give them entrée to their individual data, unless they jump through Facebook’s notoriously complex privacy jewels.

Will you silent respect me in the morning?
And the long-term appointment, earned media, brand evangelism, and kindness that Facebook and other social media can produce are lost in the process of buying likes. while People Magazine pimped its way past the million (forced) Facebook like mark in January, Forbes cluelessly advised “It’s still early in the game but clearly all publishers need to be paying much closer attention to their Facebook fan pages and how many ‘Likes’ they’re racking up. It’s a real-time indicator of how relevant a brand is to its spectators — and especially to its advertisers.”

Nope, it’s not. Forcing community to like your brand is a lot like getting a kid to promise to be good in exchange for a cookie. Or promising someone you’ll still respect them in the morning. The promise and the like are forgotten as shortly as the goodies are gone.