3 Reasons Facebook is Too Big to Fail

3 Reasons Facebook is Too Big to Fail

3 Reasons Facebook is Too Big to Fail

Facebook stock is down, but the future is looking up.

Let’s face it, the Facebook IPO was drastically overvalued.  Overly optimistic traders, corporate greed, a shift in members viewing Facebook on smart phones vs. PC’s (resulting in fewer advertising opportunities) are among the many reasons for a lower than expected IPO and corresponding current stock price. And while its revenues represent only 1% of the world’s $507 billion in total ad spending, the growth opportunities for Facebook are limitless.

It is not uncommon for a stock price to dip significantly after its IPO. Companies such as LinkedIn and Angie’s List experienced similar plunges. LinkedIn’s share price was $94.25 in their first day of trade after their IPO, yet plunged to $63.71 a month later. It currently trades at $105 a share. Angie’s List Inc., the consumer-reviews site, had a first-day close after the IPO value of $16.26, up 25 percent from IPO price. It dipped to $11.56 within the first month. Four months later the price was $18.89.

There are many examples of tech stocks which have performed well after initially dipping in price.  Google is currently trading at $675, compared to $84 since its 2004 IPO. Apple stock prices were at $22 dollars for its IPO back in December of 1980 – and increased 1700% within one year – and as of today are trading at a whopping $665 per share (over a 4000% increase). What is most important to recognize is not the short term expectations, but the long-term growth potential of this technology platform. There are three reasons Facebook is too big to fail:

1) Lifestyle Facebook is not just a software application, it is a way of life.

Individuals can find lost family members, old classmates, share pictures and events with friends and family, and chat live with other members. According to Mashable.com, the average person spends 5 hours and 46 minutes per month on Facebook, up from 4 hours and 39 minutes back in June of 2009.  This is more than Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft, Amazon and Wikipedia combined!

2) Advertising Machine Facebook relies on Ads to drive revenues.

While there has been a shift in members viewing patterns on Facebook from personal computers to mobile phones (which have fewer ad opportunities due to a smaller screen), Facebook has barely scratched the surface of reaching out to other companies to partner with. Companies with large networks of people have the ability to exponentially grow the views and ad opportunities. The same untapped potential is true of 3rd party software applications that allow Facebook users to share content with online friends, and login with their existing Facebook logins.

3) Demographics Collection and Meta Data build value.

The most significant accomplishment of Facebook is the statistical data they have compiled. Users fill out their age, physical location, interests, simply by signing up. Pages users view, topics they frequent, companies they visit, all are collected which allows Facebook to search for patterns that their advertising department can capitalize on. But even more than that, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have all have teamed up to share demographics (meta-data) from one site to another. While in many cases the personal information or identity of a specific person cannot be revealed, those seeking to advertise now have a larger reach, and the most precise statistics ever available. As the number of technology partnerships increase, the value and advertising opportunities increase.

Like any other tool, technology can be used to build or to harm.  Other Social Medial platforms such as MySpace have gone by the wayside. This is not because they weren’t useful, but because their technology did not keep up with the changing needs and demands of their users. Facebook understands their users. They “get it”.  Improvement of existing features, incorporating new features such as Timeline which allow users to display more content (and allow for more advertising opportunities), a large R&D budget, and an untapped world market guarantee a long and profitable future.

Click here to contact GANZ Media today and find out how we can create a Social Media Campaign for you!

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

 

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

Ten Blog Writing Tips Every Business Should Know!

Blogs have become a primary source of information for a great number of people – and are surpassing the older forms of information gathering. People want to learn something – fast. They are seeking information on a person, an activity, a business, a recreational activity, technology or other area of interest. Here are some tips that can help you write a blog that gets read and shared with others:

  1. Keep it short. Don’t be long-winded. 250 words is adequate.
  2. Ensure you have done your research and that your facts are 100% correct.
  3. Keep it simple, straightforward and to the point. Avoid long, convoluted sentences.
  4. Take the right “tone” – whether friendly, informative, or aggressive, that best reflects your brand or the image you want to project. Avoid “salesy” blogs – keep it informational.
  5. Add an image. People want to see a graphic representation.
  6. Write it but don’t post it – take a least ½ an hour, re-read it and make changes, and then post it.
  7. Choose a subject people are interested in, or present your company’s strong points in an appealing way – you want to engage your reader.
  8. Use keywords sparingly. Keywords and phrases are important for ranking, but when overdone, it is a disaster. Your content must make sense and be interesting to the reader.
  9. Introduce your key point early in your blog post. If it is hidden within the text, the reader may never get to it. Once you lose them, they are usually gone for good.
  10. Include a link to your website so that the reader can find you, your company or the activity you are discussing.

Use these tips if you want your blog to be read and shared. If you aren’t a writer, hire a professional. It is affordable, and ANY content posted on the web should be 100% unique, professional and engaging.

Contact GANZ Media to see how we can help you with all your online content needs.

4th of July + Email + Social Media = Winning Combo!! The fireworks continue!

4th of July + Email +  Social Media = Winning Combo!! The fireworks continue!

Happy 4th of July from GANZ Media!

Happy 4th of July from GANZ Media!

GANZ Media hopes everyone enjoyed the 4th of July Holiday.  We certainly did. Our fireworks are still continuing to go off with the launch on Tuesday of our holiday email, encouraging viewers to “Exert your Online Marketing Independence”. Click here to view the email.

Placing Social Media Icons with corresponding links in the body of an email is a must! The reach of our email was extended through the use of Twitter and Facebook. When an email campaign is sent out, a unique link or URL is generated. This URL can be inserted into a “Tweet” or posted on a Facebook page,to allow people to share content with friends, and increasing the amount of people viewing your content. Additionally, each email allows a subscriber to “Like us on Facebook”, “Follow us on Twitter”, and share with a friend via email.

GANZ Media email campaign sets off fireworks with 15% open rate!

GANZ Media email campaign sets off fireworks with 15% open rate!

As of today over 200 subscribers have viewed our email. This represents a 15% open rate, versus an industry standard of 13.9%. (*Note- as of 7/23/12 the open rate has increased to 16.5!)  This is achieved through a well crafted subject line. Creating subject lines are an art form. One doesn’t want to appear too “salesy”, which can result in being labeled as spam even by folks who chose to sign up to receive your content. The idea with subject lines is to be use clever or playful phrases (depending on the tone you are looking to set) to encourage people to open the email, click on content, and drive people to your website to buy your product or service.

We do recommend that those on your email list agree to get your emails by agreeing to it twice, in a process called double opt-in.  This ensures that your subscribers really want you to send them stuff, and also helps screen out fake email addresses for your list by making sure an actual human acknowledges signing up.

Please contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with your next email campaign or Social Media project!

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

Why Your Company Needs a Blog: Your Online Presence

A blog can enhance your online presence, and many company owners and PR managers are now engaged in blogging as part of their digital marketing campaign. Blogging is an effective tool that can increase interest in your company, product or service as well as improve the ranking and visibility of your site, and increase in clients, customers and profitable contacts.

The cost of hiring a professional writer to create your posts is significantly cheaper and more effective than traditional types of marketing campaigns. One TV ad, which is very likely to be muted, skipped or ignored, will likely cost your company far more than a full year or more of professionally written blogs.  A recent study reported that 78% of the public look for information online about products and services they are considering purchasing. Many read blogs as their most trusted source of information. You can use your blog to access these readers.

To make the process work for your company, it is necessary to have ongoing postings. The content you post must be relevant, interesting or useful information. In creating an effective blog, you need to continue to post content, at a rate of several blogs per week. Readers will not return to read your blog or share your blogs if there are few or no new postings, or when the content is not relevant or interesting.

Creating a blog is not a process that gets immediate results. It may take several months before a blog begins to affect your site’s ranking. If at first you don’t see results, it is important to understand that to take effect requires longevity and continued postings. In one recent case, it took 2 months to move the blog from page 5 to page 1 on Google, with 3 blogs posted every week.

There was an earlier belief from some digital marketing firms that the actual value of what was written was not considered of great importance; this is definitely no longer the case. The content you post on your blog, and the quality of the information, whether it is funny, informative, or technical, is the most important part of successful online marketing. Your content must be completely unique and original and offer the reader useful and interesting information.

Your blog can be a source of information for a variety of interested people, including journalists who are looking for specific information in an industry. Well-researched and professionally written blog posts can become a trusted source of industry information. With careful management of your blog, you and your company can become an authority that others pay attention to, and follow.

Contact GANZ Media today to see how we can help you with all your online content creation!

Video Marketing Secrets Revealed! – Start marketing your business today.

Well crafted videos can mean the difference between a company thriving or dying in the new economy.

 

 

According to the website comScore: “80% of web users have watched a video ad on a company homepage. 52% took action after viewing the ad.”    Using the latest video technology to spread the word online about our clients’ needs is our goal.

For our latest project we are creating an awareness campaign for a nonprofit group that works with people with developmental disabilities.  Their budget is small but their story is great so we used our shoot from the hip package:  this is comprised of 3 flip type cameras as well as an outboard sound recorder.

Click here to view the video on IndieGoGo.

The reason we use multiple cameras is because this is REAL, there are no retakes, so to capture the story as it happens takes more than one viewpoint.  Reactions that are real are powerful, and will make your video that much more impact full.

Sound is one of the most important factors in any production, yet the consumer video producer often misses the impact of this key component.  Poor sound quality will lose an audience faster than you can imagine.

Last but not least is editing all the material together into interesting, short segments.  The tech-generation has a short attention span, so you have to make your point quickly and don’t forget a call to action at the end.

These videos can then be uploaded to YouTube, and blended with (SEO) search engine optimized key words to help drive traffic to your website.  Well crafted videos along with proper SEO can as much as double your website traffic. To maintain sustained traffic to the website we offer monthly Social Media marketing programs, promoting your videos through: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and our own YouTube distribution channels.

 

YouTube Videos & SEO Combined

Well designed Videos with finely tuned SEO result in ranking in top 3 slots in Google Search Engine.

 

Contact GANZ Media today to find out pricing and more details!   Be sure to check back and watch for additional Touching Stories.

IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda

This photo is evidence of a fan led social media involvement through Twitter. The photo was posted at IZOD IndyCar Series blog pages on May 5, 2010 and urged fans traveling to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to log in to, and follow tweets on Twitter through the account set up presumably by the cable media outlet (VERSUS) carrying the race that weekend. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series Admin (2010)

IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda

Here in 2012, this will not be your father’s IndyCar … or CART/ChampCar for that matter.

Last year (2011) was the last year for a bunch of IndyCar-ism’s, not the least of which was the continued running of a tired and old formula that utilized an old Dallara chassis that was optimized to work well on ovals and adapted for use (with many engineering and driver complaints) on road and street courses with all teams using the same naturally aspirated engine from Honda. The first year of the new DW12 Dallara chassis has a frame that has been designed to be more balanced for use on road and street courses and the teams will run turbo-charged engines manufactured from three manufacturers of Honda, Chevy, and Lotus.

One of the strongest changes, however, concerns itself with the communications medium of New Media and the sub-set known as Social Media. To illustrate the change of visibility and understanding from the top when, during the announcement that F1 standout driver Rubens Barrichello was joining KV Racing Technology’s three car team for the 2012 season, IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard went to one of Barrichello’s test sessions to meet the Brazilian. He said last Thursday it was an exciting day for the series ”and a positive step to start” the year.

“There’s not a person in the world who knows racing that wouldn’t tell you that Rubens Barrichello is one of the greatest drivers of all time,” the series CEO said in a statement. “That will create great competition and expands our international platform.”

What Randy Bernard was alluding to was that Barrichello brings with him an ardent and strong New Media fan base … his 1.47 million followers on Twitter is one million more than Kanaan’s … who leads all IndyCar Series drivers with 448,000 Twitter followers.

So basically, as was written in the article titled “Brazilian Changing Of The Guard, Barrichello In As Meira Leaves IndyCar“, what we will expect to be hearing from the PA speakers in the stands, at every 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series venue during the season is – “Ladies and Gentlemen … start your ‘Tweets’!”

The IZOD IndyCar Series has set an agenda to utilize the Social Media platform of Twitter that allows fans to communicate to one another in 140 character (or less) messages known as “Tweets”. If one were to use their smartphone, iPad, tablet, or laptop to post the messages, and wanted to follow what others who were following the comments and on-track action of a particular race, all one would need to do is employ the search method of locating messages through the use of a “HASHTAG”. A HASHTAG takes the form of an indexing tool utilized in real-time to send messages and look at messages on Twitter … it opens the door to the discussion room of that IZOD IndyCar Series race so socially, we all can participate in the process.

Mario Andretti, always in command, three generations of Andretti get a kick out of Tweet’n on Twitter. Image Credit: More Front Wing

This excerpted and edited from Pressdog –

IndyCar Sees More Twitter Integration, Hashtags, Driver Engagement in 2012
Pressdog – March 05, 2012

IndyCar fans can expect Twitter handles on race broadcasts, much stronger at-the-track Twitter presence and a set of event-specific hashtags in the 2012 race season.

The series is also trying to provide teams with resources and expertise required to engage fans through expanding social media avenues including Twitter.
—-
Kate Guerra (@kateguerra4), public relations coordinator and manager of social media for IndyCar (@IndyCar), said last week NASCAR (@NASCAR) may have made a big social media splash in Daytona, but IndyCar also recognizes the value of social media like Twitter to engage fans and has been building its Twitter efforts since late last season.

Guerra said last fall IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard (@RBINDYCAR) and COO Mark Koretzky “said to me we want you take over our social media and we really want you to just go for it. We want you to do anything you can to help us out. We want you to reach out to everybody in our atmosphere — teams, drivers, sponsors, tracks, local social media influencers and more. We set goals where we want to be every month.”
—-
IndyCar has four primary social media thrusts planned for 2012.

First, more integration of Twitter handles into race broadcast. Guerra said after she saw how SPEED integrated Twitter handles into graphics during the Rolex 24, she met with producers for ABC and NBC Sports who were very willing to do something similar on all IndyCar broadcasts.

Second, Guerra hopes to create “hashtag communities” for each race.
—-
For example, leading up to and during the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg, tweets that include the event hashtag — #gpstpete – will be collected under that tag. By clicking on the hashtag in your Twitter stream, you’ll go to a listing of all tweets that contain that hashtag.

“They really create a sense of sense of community,” said Guerra. “People who click on a hashtag see everything anyone is sharing on it and at the same time see who is

sharing their opinions. It’s really a great place for IndyCar fans to interact with each other about whatever certain event we have going on. Hashtags were something that were asked for and demand by our fans. They are out there now and have been shared with our teams and drivers and tracks. It’s almost like creating a forum, but it’s on Twitter which is such a user-friendly medium.”

Third, IndyCar and Guerra continue to offer help and guidance to teams and drivers who want to up their game on Twitter. In that regard, Bernard invited Omid Ashtari from Twitter to speak to teams and drivers during the State of IndyCar meetings last month.

Guerra said Ashtari’s talk stirred many inquires of her from teams looking to increase the effectiveness of their use of Twitter. Guerra expects Ashtari to be involved in talks with IndyCar’s television partners on ways to best optimize the use of Twitter during broadcasts.
—-
Teams and drivers are also starting to incorporate their Twitter handles into their uniforms, car paint schemes and more. Examples include the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing hauler that features a HUGE “@SFRHindy” on the side to EJViso (@EJViso) doing things to rapidly increase his Twitter followers.

Fourth, IndyCar is trying to increase its at-the-track Twitter presence. “I feel like the second people step onto a track they should be absolutely surrounded by everything social media,” said Guerra. “Whether in our fan village or at autograph sessions when there are massive lines and people playing on their phones. All the name plates we have and use for autograph sessions will have the driver’s twitter handle right underneath the name. It’s little things like that that people tend to underestimate that I feel like could make a huge difference.”
—-
The newness of IndyCar this season also gives drivers an opening to reintroduce themselves to fans. “It’s almost a new sport,” she said. “There’s so much new — with the car, with the engines, with some new drivers — they may want to rebrand themselves and really make this a reintroduction to the sport this season. Nobody has said that specifically, but I really feel they really want to grow and help us grow.”
—-
Race car drivers’ nature may also help fuel Twitter growth. A driver who has half the followers of another may feel the need to pick up the pace. “As you well know, drivers are a very competitive breed,” Guerra said. “So, yeah, it’s even a little bit of that I feel. I haven’t heard any Oh, man, let’s see who can get to 50,000 followers first,’ but maybe it’s something I could push needle on.”

Guerra said she and others are determined that IndyCar will also ride the wave of Twitter s well. “It’s definitely something I am working very hard on,” she said, “something that is very important to me. It has always been a dream of mine ever since I realized I wanted to work in sports that I handle a league’s social media.”
[Reference Here]

Over the last three years or so (2009), we at The EDJE pioneered posting race action blogs that featured selected comment and reaction “Tweets” with posts labeled “Tweet-By-Tweet”. Using Twitter, Facebook, twitpic, Pinterest, YouTube, and any other New Media communications platforms that allow people to have free access to words, photos and action in realtime, of events as they happen, can only expand ones interest and fanbase knowledge with the result of a stronger experience and racing series.

People experienced in using Twitter have expanded their access to message input through the use of “TweetDeck” which allows the user to set up and follow several #hashtag streams … check it out on Chrome (download application) and a laptop.

2012 IndyCar Series Official Race Event Hashtags (16 races) = #name

RACE *** (TWITTER ACCOUNT – @name) *** = #hastag

1.) Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (@GPSTPETE) = #gpstpete

2.) Honda Indy Grand Prix of AL (@BarberMotorPark) = #higpa

3.) 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (@ToyotaGPLB) = #tgplb

4.) Sao Paulo Indy 300 (@IndyemSaoPaulo) = #saopauloindy

5.) Indianapolis 500 (@IMS) #indy500

6.) Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (@DetroitGP) = #detroitgp

7.) Firestone 550K (@TXMotorSpeedway) = #texas550

8.) Milwaukee Indy Fest (@MKE_IndyFest) = #indyfest

9.) Iowa Corn Indy 250 (@IowaSpeedway) = #iowa250

10.) Honda Indy Toronto (@HondaIndy) = #hondaindy

11.) Edmonton Indy (@edmontonindy) = #edmontonindy

12.) Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (@followmidohio) = #midohio

13.) Streets of Qingdao, China = #Indychina

14.) Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (@InfineonRaceway) = #igps

15.) Baltimore Grand Prix (@BaltimoreGP) = #bgp2012

16.) Auto Club Speedway (@ACSupdates) TBD – Suggestion = #fontana

Again, what we will expect to be hearing from the PA speakers in the stands, at every 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series race venue during the season is – “Ladies and Gentlemen … start your ‘Tweets’!”

Happy tweeting.

… notes from The EDJE

** Article first published as IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda on Technorati **

Retailers Fail to Understand Social Media! – Gamestop & J.C. Penny Facebook Failures

Facebook “F-Commerce” enables consumers to purchase online using Social Media: but is it a bust?

Retailers Fail to Understand Social Media! - Gamestop & J.C. Penny Facebook Failures

Retailers Fail to Understand Social Media! - Gamestop & J.C. Penny Facebook Failures

 

Last year Facebook launched a new platform for online purchasing through their Social Media platform called F-“commerce”.  Many large retailers jumped on board to sell using this new distribution channel without understanding Social Media, and those who use it.

In a recent Bloomberg article GamesStop & J.C. Penny were cited as halting their Facebook store presences after disappointing sales. The article inferred that major retailers pulling out was a result of a poorly designed strategy by Facebook as a company, and would weaken their proposed upcoming IPO.  The real story is that the failure of Retail stores launching into Facebook e-commerce is a lack of their own understanding their digital audience.

Retailers enter the world of Social Media marketing without an understanding of the unique buying patterns of their visitors. They offer nothing new: no novel product or content, duplicating efforts found on their company websites or in the store.

Here are five tips for Retailers looking to use Social Media-

Retailers may want to consider:

1) Selling specialty items: hard to find or rate items not found in the store will keep existing shoppers excited, while bringing in new customers that might not normally shop at the physical stores.

2) Selling overstocked items: retail outlets can reduce inventory and cut storage costs by creating an outlet for products that are not flying of the shelves as fast as they would like, or selling used items as well.

3) Providing discounts not already found on website or in store: unique discounts, special offers, and linking them to QR codes on printed marketing materials.

4) Posting unique content: original news items, articles, customized Facebook apps & games, that keep viewers coming back for more. Creating a “Like Us” tab to showcase video and pictures combined with an opt-in email/newsletter sign-up. These allow for more advertising opportunities as well.

5) Incentivize sharing with friends: referral programs, “Like Us” programs traded for discounts, and integrating Social Media icons & links into every company email (both for corporate & employee sales teams).

[See article reference]

Contact GANZ Media to see how we can help launch your Social Media Campaigns!

New Media Communications Strategies For Small Business Awareness & Growth

From Facebook to Twitter, blogging, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more, discover the new principles of communication that apply across all networks and how these specific social networks work and their possible inherent uses for your organization. Caption & Image Credit: Saginaw Valley State University (svsu.edu)

New Media Communications Strategies For Small Business Awareness & Growth

Ever since the advent of Microsoft Windows in the mid-nineties, which made the computer as a mode of communication more accessible to most everyone, people have been trying to figure out how to leverage its communicative power to have their business interests grow. In other words … How can one use New Media communications to make money and have their businesses grow to meet the needs of more potential customers?

The next layer that has developed over these last one and a half decades are programs that help people to connect with additional ease to share interests, ideas, information, and just plain communicate on a broader field more quickly. This layer is called social media, and when used properly, social media can help a growing business boost brand awareness, improve customer relations, garner market research, even bolster sales. As the number of people who use social media rises, many marketing experts believe it’s essential for even the smallest of companies to consider developing a strategy to utilize this resource.

The worst effort a small business can put forth in this arena is to enter the world of New Media communications without a focus or a plan upon which the small business can leverage its limited resources to take advantage of the many social media communications opportunities that exist. As always, a business desires to place in motion a plan that will have a great chance at success, otherwise, why bother … just run an ad in the local paper which fewer people bother to purchase, let alone read.

Logging on to a computer just takes a few clicks to potentiality connect one with thousands of business contacts and customers … in addition to setting up networking strategies, business owners can use social media to glean useful insights by reading comments made by customers, industry experts, even competitors.

THE BURGER WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING. Research shows that one cannot live on burgers alone. That's why we offer a wide selection of chicken sandwiches like the grilled or crispy Avocado Chicken Club. Think of it as a Smashburger's equally awesome partner in crime. Image Credit: Smashburger Master LLC

This excerpted and edited from the Tucson Citizen –

Small businesses use social media to grow
by Laura Petrecca on Feb. 16, 2012

Hamburger chain Smashburger has become a smash hit, growing from three Denver locations in 2007 to 150 outposts nationwide. And while its Angus-beef burgers and unique toppings have helped to propel its success, its secret sauce is social-media outreach.

Smashburger offers coupons and trivia contests for its 67,000 Facebook followers, replies to questions and complaints on its Twitter and Facebook profiles, and actively reaches out to bloggers who might write about the new Smashburger restaurants opening in their areas.

“The brand was really built on social media and PR strategies,” says Jeremy Morgan, senior vice president of marketing and consumer insights. “Social media is an opportunity for us to engage with consumers and have a conversation, which is different than paid media, when you’re just shouting through a bullhorn.”
—-
“Everybody should take a look at it,” says Dan Galbraith, owner of marketing support company Solutionist and a National Small Business Association board member.

“Whether they chose to jump into social media or not is a question that only they can answer,” he says, but all firms should at least explore how social media could work for them. “There’s a lot of good information floating out there,” he says.
—-
A time investment

It takes dedication to achieve social-media success.

“The common misconception about social media is that it’s free,” says Morgan. “Facebook and Twitter accounts are free, but for small business owners in particular, time comes at a premium.”

To keep from feeling overwhelmed, business owners should decide how much time they can dedicate to this burgeoning arena, says Galbraith. Some may need to hire social-media help.

Either way, business owners should first set goals, he says. For instance, an owner might want to increase store traffic by 20% by offering coupons via Facebook or another social-media site. Or a business-to-business company could plan to reconnect with 10 former clients and re-establish solid relationships in the next three months.

The goals should be clear-cut, but as many business owners have learned, the initial strategies might have to change.
—-
Consistency counts

While marketing experts advocate joining the social-media conversation, most say that doing it poorly — such as combining personal and professional updates or not posting information consistently — is worse than not doing it at all.

“Consumers won’t stick around, and you won’t get much traction,” says Morgan.

There are some basic social media tenets to keep in mind, says Sabina Ptacin, co-founder of ‘Preneur, which provides tools and resources for small businesses.

She first suggests that business owners “baby step it out,” to see what feels comfortable to them and is do-able. Those who can’t contribute on a daily basis might want to hold off on creating a public profile.

“You can’t post once a week and think it’s going to make an impact,” she says. “You need to constantly be contributing, definitely every day.”
—-
She counsels social-media users to think of it as circulating during a cocktail party.

“I always tell people to pretend that they’re at a party and (act) how they would behave,” she says. “No one wants to talk to the person who is always talking about themselves. … They want you to ask them questions and engage in conversations.”
[Reference Here]

A business should also understand that the communicative strata of social media is as varied as there are concepts and interests held by humans themselves. Most are aware of social platforms as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the like but many could gain from understanding other social communications platforms such as SodaHead, Pinterest, Google+, Stumble, as well as other syndicated message and image sharing environments.

A business must decide what niche(s) it speaks to, and can participate in upon which they can contribute so as to receive the benefits of engagement. A well placed pebble thrown into a pond sets up a communications wave that can reap incredible benefits … social media environments are just well placed ponds for well placed communications pebbles.

 

** Article first published as New Media Communications Strategies For Small Business Awareness & Growth on Technorati **

Corporate Videos in Los Angeles – January Promo from GANZ Media

Corporate Videos in Los Angeles - January Promo from GANZ Media

Corporate Videos in Los Angeles - January Promo from GANZ Media

Start off the New Year right with Corporate Videos!

For those in Los Angeles, our award-winning production crew is having a special promo starting at $750 (normally $1500). We are filming locally in the Los Angeles area from Jan 21st to Jan 26th only this month.

Click here to see our Corporate Video email promo! http://eepurl.com/h6i7A

Listed below are some interesting video facts:

“80% of web users have watched a video ad on a company homepage. 52% took action after viewing the ad.”
–comScore

“A video-embedded website is 53 times more likely to show up on Google search.”
-Forrester Research

“Nearly three-quarters of marketers (73%) say integrating video with email marketing increases click-through rates (CTR), and fully one-half are now using video in their emails.”
-Web Video Marketing Council

“Video landing pages generate 4-7x higher engagement & response rates than static image and text landing pages.”
-SearchEngineWatch