2010 trends Archives - One Social Media

New Social Media Platforms For Innovative Marketers

September 10, 2010 By Joe Soto 4 Comments

Have you noticed how big brands like Starbucks, Nike, Adidas and others are making their presence felt on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter? Every company today is adopting social media marketing as a prominent tool to reach out to its target customers, but some innovative marketers have gone a step beyond by experimenting with lesser known social media platforms to reach to their target audience. To know more about a couple of out-of-the-box social networking sites read on…

Aardvark

If you are looking for an alternative to the LinkedIn Answers, then Aardvark is probably the name you can count upon. Being recently acquired by Google Aardvark is a useful question-answer platform.

Gowalla

With 450,000 users it is a new location based application based in Austin, Texas. Gowalla is the latest favorite of innovative marketers, and brands like National Geographic, Red Bull and Levi’s are some of the popular names that are exploring this new platform for social media marketing.

To read the full article click here.

Joe Soto

Joe Soto is the CEO of One Social Media. A leading expert in social media marketing, Joe has over 16 years of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, online lead generation, and Internet marketing.

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Filed Under: Social Media News Tagged With: 2010 trends, blogging, Business, business blogging, des moines social media company, facebook, One social media, online marketing, search engine marketing, small business social media, social media, social media des moines

What Do Business Leaders Think of Social Media?

May 5, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

It’s important to know what CEO’s and other business leaders think of social media. Getting to know their concerns about using social media as a part of their online marketing campaign, and understanding what kind of information they are looking forward to can give us a fairly good idea of the social media climate in the business world. A recently conducted survey by SmartBrief revealed interesting results which I’d like to share with you.

Familiarity: On being questioned on how familiar business leaders were with social media, 75% of them said that they had a fairly good idea of social media. Many among this group also admitted that they were actively involved in getting to learn more about social media.

Usage of social media: 51% respondents said that they are using social media and its various tools actively in their business. Around 30% of business leaders said that they were either testing social media platforms or considering using them. However, 27% are still reluctant to use social media for their businesses.

Reliability: 63% people find social media to be genuine and think that it’s here to stay, while the rest feel that it’s just a marketing fad. More than half are of the opinion that it’s not a waste of their company’s time and resources.

While discussing about the implications of business leaders ignoring the social realm, 40% of them felt that they were lagging behind their competitors who are also using social media. A quarter of the respondents admitted that they were oblivious of what their competitors were up to on social media.

We can conclude that businesses are showing a lot of interest in social media marketing and that they do believe in the potential of social networking for their company.

Article to Reference: SmartBrief stats: How business leaders view social media

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing Tagged With: 2010 trends, ceo social media, online marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, SMO, social bookmarking, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog

Twitter: The most misunderstood social media tool for small businesses

April 3, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

Even though 25 to 30 million people registered for Twitter between late 2009 and early 2010 (and company projections estimate 1 billion users by 2013), Twitter remains one of the most misunderstood social media tool for small business owners.
Avoiding Twitter could cost you money if you don’t take advantage of it. Too bold of a statement?
Think about it, at some point there was a time that the idea of the internet seemed very foreign to you. There was even a time when the idea suggesting every home could have a personal computer seemed impossible. But now the business community at large can’t imagine being able to conduct business without the internet or a computer.
With that said, admittedly Twitter may not be right for every business, but there is a way it can work for most.
One of the misperceptions is Twitter is only useful if you have a national or worldwide product or service. The fact is, local businesses can connect to local followers on Twitter and build a local following.

Here are some quick Twitter tips and resources for you:

Click here for an article on 16 Twitter Tips for Small Businesses
Click here to see a video on how NYC street vendors are using Twitter
Here is a video that explains “Twitter in Plain English:”

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing, twitter Tagged With: 2010 trends, how to use twitter, learning twitter, seo, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, social media videos, twitter, twitter for small business, twitter marketing, web trends, what is twitter

Yahoo Mail to Integrate Facebook

April 1, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

Facebook added a huge feather in their cap this week. Yahoo, a leading provider of web-hosted email, has integrated Facebook into Yahoo Mail.

Yes, you’ll be able to see your friends Facebook profile photos directly from your Yahoo Mail and further interact with their Facebook buddies. While this news is not a revolutionary change, it does display Facebook’s dominance and other web properties’ desire to team up with them.

By integrating Facebook into Yahoo Mail, Yahoo will keep more people connected to their web property for conducting social networking activity. This overlap of social networking sites is a trend that will likely continue as other “Yahoo” like properties (i.e. AOL) try to figure out how to either compete or play on the same field with new players such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz.

Articles to reference:

ABC News/Technology

Paidcontent.org

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: social media marketing Tagged With: 2010 trends, business blogging, facebook, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, twitter

Twitter vs. Facebook, Which is Better?

March 31, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

A new comparison study of the Social Media marketing strategy benefits of Twitter verse Facebook was released. The goal was to determine which of these social media marketing platforms offers the best strategies for the specialized needs of businesses and online marketers.

The study was broken down into eight different categories comparing them as effective website traffic driving platforms, comparing their viral marketing benefits, the better overall platform for business to business marketing, the better overall platform for business to consumer marketing and more.

Would it surprise you that Twitter won the “Better overall platform for business to business marketing” category?

It didn’t surprise us.

Read the article here to learn more

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 2010 trends, facebook, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, twitter, twitter marketing, web trends

Leaving Doubters in Your Dust: 3 New Studies Prove Social Media Marketing Growth

March 29, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

Still wondering if social media is proven to be effective for your small businesses? There is a a new recent article entitled “3 New Studies Prove Social Media Marketing” published by Amy Porterfield of the Social Media Examiner.

The 3 new studies reveal the following:

Small Business doubles social media adoption. The study results show that “social media usage by small business owners increased from 12% to 24% in just the last year, and almost 1 out of 5 actively uses social media as part of his or her marketing strategy.” Read more here.
Nearly 20% of Marketing Dollars Will Go to Social Marketing in 5 Years. The articles states that “in February 2010, marketers reported that they plan to allocate one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media marketing in the next 5 years.

Joe Soto
Joe Soto is the CEO of One Social Media. A leading expert in social media marketing, Joe has over 16 years of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, online lead generation, and Internet marketing.
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To blog, or not to blog? That is the no longer the question.

March 26, 2010 By Joe Soto 3 Comments

Last month we blogged about how the fastest way to increase search engine rankings is to consistently provide fresh content through blogging. We titled that post “Is Blogging the New SEO?”

Now we have some back up: Hubspot released research based on their actual customers on how a blog impacts their business.

The study is taken from a sample size of 1,531 of their customers which are primarily small and mid-sized businesses. Roughly half (795) blog and half don

Joe Soto

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New York Street Food Vendors "Tweet" Through the City (Video)

March 24, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

New York food vendors use social network Twitter to announce their whereabouts to customers in the city. See how they almost rely on Twitter to sustain their business each day.

So simple, yet so powerful.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing, twitter Tagged With: 2010 trends, micro blogging, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, social media videos, twitter, twitter marketing

Are More Small Businesses Using Social Media to Attract New Customers?

March 20, 2010 By Joe Soto 3 Comments

The answer (according to recent research) is yes.

In fact, nearly one in five small business owners are using social media at least partially. The new study shows social media use by small companies has doubled — and that more than half use it to attract new business. This was published in a March 19, 2010 article on Inc.com.

The article states that the most common social media sites used is Facebook and LinkedIn. A few (16%) are using Twitter and it goes down from there with other social media sites.

It goes on to mention, “Small business owners’ biggest hopes (and current use) for social media is for lead generation. Three out of five respondents use it to identify and attract new customers.”

While the article certainly reinforces the use of Social Media for small businesses, it’s important to note that putting up a Facebook page or setting up a LinkedIn account isn’t enough. It takes time and consistent effort to make social media work for you. The article backs this up by stating, “Half of small business social media users complain that the platforms take more time than they’d thought, but almost the same number believe it’s time well-spent — that their social media initiatives will pay off financially in a year or less.”

The article fails to mention the most effective way to maximize your social media influence, to generate more leads and attract the most customers, is with a “social media mix.” As a business owner, having a (social) media mix gives you the best chance at success. In the past this may have included advertising in the Yellow Pages, running an ad on the radio, having an ad placed in the local newspaper, or possibly also on T.V.

Today, the media mix is social. To maximize social media, you will want to have a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile, a Twitter account (targeting your local area), a Youtube Channel (video is taking over the Internet), and you will want to start a blog (it’s proven to the be fastest way to boost organic search engine rankings), which allows you to build extended community and bring more content to your prospects and customers.

How engaged in social media are you? Waiting could cost you a lot of customers (and money).

Our advice? Go for it, give it time, and it will pay off for you and your business.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business Tagged With: 2010 trends, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media marketing, social media trends, twitter, web trends

Be found, add value, find customers.

March 16, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

This month’s March 2010 issue of Success Magazine, features an article entitled “Embracing Social Media”, written by John H. Ostdick. It’s a great article on how old school principles are being accelerated by social media.

Quoting the article, “People buy things from companies they like, trust, remember or that provide them with value. All this is happening in a new way as social media transforms how people make connections with businesses.”

All social media does is provide the tools (i.e. Facebook, Blogging, Twitter, etc.) to build “trust”, connect with customers, become more “memorable” or show value in new exciting ways online.

The article goes on to mention small businesses; “Small business owners want to reach as many people as possible while keeping costs down. That’s why it’s impossible to ignore social media – online communication platforms that cost little, if anything, while potentially offering access to more people than any traditional marketing approach.”

The article also points out something we share with our clients – that’s it’s not something that happens overnight. It often takes 6-24 months of using social media before seeing real results. But the results are long lasting and have a residual affect.

An ad in a newspaper or on the radio comes and goes. Your blog posts get archived, and never go away – the search engines can always find them.

It requires commitment and it’s the biggest stumbling block small business have. Many don’t have the time so they seek out outside consultants or resources to help them fulfill their commitment to implementing social media marketing in their business.

Click here to read the full article.