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vangogh
01-04-2011, 11:37 AM
I know Facebook and Twitter are the two big players when it comes to social sites, but there are more that are worth joining.

Here's a quick post from SEOmoz, Social Media Marketing: Facebook + Twitter Aren't Enough (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/social-media-marketing-facebook-twitter-arent-enough), which mainly lists some other sites along with their associated number of members.

In the 100 million + users you'll find both Facebook and Twitter. You'll also find LinkedIn and YouTube, either of which can work well when it comes to marketing your site and business.

Anyone an active member of some of these other sites and if so how have you used them to help your site and business.

KristineS
01-04-2011, 12:19 PM
We definitely are looking at YouTube as our next big social media plank this year. We've seen a lot of companies in the garment decoration industry who have had a lot of success with videos on You Tube. A lot of them build channels and do a lot of how to videos and stuff. It's a great way to introduce new products.

mattbeck
01-04-2011, 01:42 PM
YouTube is hugely useful for some folks and has an added benefit of being awesome for SEO.

LinkedIn is ok, but is less about marketing businesses and much more about marketing people (basically a social resume sharing service).

MySpace is a dud except maybe for bands.

Sites like Flickr have very useful social components as well.

In the long run, I think we'll see a lot of micro social sites springing up, with a focus on specific user groups (Ravelry is a good example of this, a social site for people who knit or crochet). Depending on the markets our clients are in, those places may turn out to have the best social ROI.

vangogh
01-04-2011, 04:21 PM
I was thinking the same thing about microsites or niche social sites or whatever you want to call them. Since the operative word in all of them is social or community it only makes sense that some of the best communities and social sites will be those about a specific topic. For example imagine how much different it would be here if we weren't focused on small business, but anything and everything. We'd be casting a wider net, but likely wouldn't have a community. We'd be much more fragmented.

An hour ago I was looking at LinkedIn in order to add some buttons to a site. It looks like they've made a lot of changes. I agree it's more about the individual than the business, but I see a much greater social layer than previously present.

andymc
01-04-2011, 08:04 PM
Video, Video, Video... it's the most crucial medium that everyone should utilize.
With consumers getting splashed with so many forms of information. Visual stimulation is the most effective.
Picture is worth a 1000 words... Videos are worth X amount more!

vangogh
01-04-2011, 11:16 PM
Video is in my plans for the coming year. I want to start producing some screencasts. I need more practice with the tools and general, but it's definitely something I want to add to my marketing plan.

AaronConway
01-05-2011, 01:16 PM
Right now, I'm testing Foursquare for a couple of the businesses I work for. I think it has some real potential, just figuring out how to get the most from it.

There is a real danger in trying every new SM gadget or web site that comes along. For established businesses, you don't want to sign up, try it then abandon it. I see so many local businesses that do that with FB & Twitter and it drives me nuts. They would have been better off not trying them at all than leaving a profile abandoned.

Aaron

vangogh
01-05-2011, 04:50 PM
Aaron I don't get into any of the location services where you check in. There's no denying those sites and services are popular and the their popularity is going to increase. I totally get how they can benefit businesses. I just can't think of a single reason why I'd ever want to let people know exactly where I am. Anyone who I do want to know where I am is likely there with me. I just don't get why people want to check in to a restaurant or store so others can know they're there. On the other hand if I was a criminal I'd be tuned into every one so I could know when you're not home. :)

Again it's clear that people are fascinate with checking in and there's no denying that businesses with a physical presence would do well to try out Foursquare or Gowalla. And of you have a business with a physical presence you should start paying to these services sooner rather than later.

KristineS
01-05-2011, 05:07 PM
I'm with you Vangogh, I don't understand services like Foursquare and that sort of thing. Who cares if you became the "mayor" of your favorite coffee place, and how does that really help that business. I guess the theory is that the more people that check in at your place, the more people will see it and maybe think that's the hot place to be. I'm not sure I buy it though.

Patrysha
01-05-2011, 05:47 PM
Oh it works when it does work when it's done well. People do care...in small pockets. Basically what you're doing as a business is taking advantage of the micro-niches of family and friends through your current customer base. Now you have some types of businesses where it's just not going to work and some where it works very, very well.

And it has already led to some break ins and so forth, but that doesn't make a difference when you're using it as a small business (or any business with a physical location that they invite customers to for that matter)

Of course there are some businesses that should stay away from it...daycares come to mind.

But it's free and it's worth it to see if a fan base does exist in your market for these types of things...

AaronConway
01-05-2011, 06:01 PM
I hate to say it but I think it's a generational thing. Being mayor for the sake of being mayor means nothing but if the business offers a freebie or nice discount to the mayor then it might be worth checking in. Also, you don't have to let anybody know where you are, you have the option of deciding whether or not to let FB, Twitter and your friends know where you are.

Aaron

vangogh
01-06-2011, 12:23 PM
I agree that it's something of a generational thing. People like myself were brought up in a different world, one that didn't track your every movement. I still cherish my privacy and do what I can to hold on to it even as I know it's eroding each and every day.


Also, you don't have to let anybody know where you are, you have the option of deciding whether or not to let FB, Twitter and your friends know where you are.

I guess I don't see services like Foursquare, Facebook, or Twitter as being the vehicle I'd choose for letting my friends know where I am. I'd much sooner use a form of 1:1 personal communication like a phone call or email, text message, or even instant messenger. I don't see how some of the social sites make it any easier or better to communicate with friends. The benefit of those sites is more in their reach than their intimacy. I'll communicate on Twitter for example in order to reach beyond my circle of friends and family. When I want to stay within my circle of friends and family I'll choose a more personal means to communicate.

And the above is very much a generational thing. Under a certain age there's much less of a distinction in regards to reach and intimacy of the channel used to communicate.


Oh it works when it does work when it's done well. People do care...in small pockets

I agree that the idea of becoming mayor works and works well. People are competitive. Take social voting sites. Much of the appeal there isn't so much to post interesting content, but to post that content that will garner the most votes and increase your authority within the community. Gameplay in general is something marketers know will motivate people.

brocktoon93
01-09-2011, 09:19 PM
There are defintiely other social networks other than the big ones like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, but there's so much traffic you can get from those 3, it,s almost not worth focusing your time on the smaller ones. I m sure there's good traffic to get from smaller ones, but from my experience, it's worht more to focus on the big ones...

jamesray50
01-09-2011, 09:49 PM
I use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I have it set up so when I tweet my facebook page and LinkedIn page are updated. I have received emails through LinkedIn from contacts, but usually they want to invite me to an event or sell me something. I got an email over the weekend from a contact to call their company on Monday. Then the email asked if I dealt with Quickbooks Online. I'm not sure if they are wanting to sell me something or if they are inquiring about my services. Guess I'll find out. I'm not going to buy something just to get their business.

Harold Mansfield
01-10-2011, 09:01 AM
Right now, I'm testing Foursquare for a couple of the businesses I work for. I think it has some real potential, just figuring out how to get the most from it.

There is a real danger in trying every new SM gadget or web site that comes along. For established businesses, you don't want to sign up, try it then abandon it. I see so many local businesses that do that with FB & Twitter and it drives me nuts. They would have been better off not trying them at all than leaving a profile abandoned.

Aaron

That drives me nuts too. I don't think people understand how bad it looks to have your Twitter,Facebook, or even book marking profiles like Digg prominently displayed and then when readers click on them, there hasn't been any activity since 2009...if at all.
The smallest things cause me to form a bad opinion about a business or the person running it and that is one that is at the top of my list because it's not necessary.

vangogh
01-10-2011, 11:19 AM
There are defintiely other social networks other than the big ones like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, but there's so much traffic you can get from those 3, it,s almost not worth focusing your time on the smaller ones.

Traffic is not the same thing as a customer or client. It's not even the same thing as useful traffic. If all you're interested in is numbers I'll happily program a robot for you that visits your site as often as you want and you report about all the wonderful traffic you get. It'll be useless, but your numbers will look good.

Most traffic from the large general social sites lands on your page and leaves just as quickly. Not all, but a very large amount. On the other hand with a niche social site, while the overall traffic may not be as much, it's more likely the traffic that does visit is genuinely going to be interested in what's on your site.

There's a lot more to success than raw traffic numbers.

KristineS
01-10-2011, 12:14 PM
There's a lot more to success than raw traffic numbers.

This is so true. I'm doing a series for a blog I write for one of the magazines in our industry and that was the first point I made. You can have 5,000 friends, but if you can't motivate those people to do anything, what good are they to you? It has to be about influence, not just about numbers.

vangogh
01-10-2011, 11:55 PM
Unfortunately that's how too many people think of social media. Everyone wants a follower or to show some traffic numbers. Unless you're making real connections it's kind of pointless. Naturally some of the people who click through to your site will be interested, but the reality is most won't. They're clicking because someone they follow posted a link. Often the click has more to do with that other person than with any real interest.

Spider
01-11-2011, 08:50 AM
A little peeve I have about linking your social accounts - and I'm surprised no-one has mentioned it --

-- When you link your accounts, so that a post on Facebook automatically posts on Twitter and LinkedIn, everyone you know who is on all three, like you are, gets that notice three times. But some people (like me) use the services differently and have a different group of people on each site. For me, LinkedIn is only for business people with whom I have actually worked or had dealings, Facebook is for friends and aquaintances and some people I haven't actually met, and although I don't use Twitter let's suppose I use that for anyone and everyone.

Normally, you post a personal note on Facebook and a business remark on LinkedIn - or whatever. But suppose you get a new client and feel pleased enough to notify everyone. Well, not everyone is linked to you in all three services, so you post your notice in all three. Now, any of your aquaintances who are linked to you on all three services gets notified NINE times about your new client.

Okay, already! I am happy for you, too, ...but I don't need to hear about it 9 times?!!

Then you get those folk who have a business page as well as a personal account and post the same message on both. Even some famous names do that.

Harold Mansfield
01-11-2011, 11:20 AM
A little peeve I have about linking your social accounts - and I'm surprised no-one has mentioned it --

-- When you link your accounts, so that a post on Facebook automatically posts on Twitter and LinkedIn, everyone you know who is on all three, like you are, gets that notice three times. But some people (like me) use the services differently and have a different group of people on each site. For me, LinkedIn is only for business people with whom I have actually worked or had dealings, Facebook is for friends and aquaintances and some people I haven't actually met, and although I don't use Twitter let's suppose I use that for anyone and everyone.

Normally, you post a personal note on Facebook and a business remark on LinkedIn - or whatever. But suppose you get a new client and feel pleased enough to notify everyone. Well, not everyone is linked to you in all three services, so you post your notice in all three. Now, any of your aquaintances who are linked to you on all three services gets notified NINE times about your new client.

Okay, already! I am happy for you, too, ...but I don't need to hear about it 9 times?!!

Then you get those folk who have a business page as well as a personal account and post the same message on both. Even some famous names do that.

Then that means that it is not set up properly. Blame the people and how they set up their profiles. It's not a problem with the tools, it's with the people using them.
Facebook business and personal accounts should be separate anyway.

Spider
01-12-2011, 09:08 AM
Then that means that it is not set up properly. Blame the people and how they set up their profiles. It's not a problem with the tools, it's with the people using them.
Facebook business and personal accounts should be separate anyway. I was not blaming the tools - I referred to a peeve about linking one's social accounts. These tools don't link things, people do. And it's annoying.

jamesray50
01-12-2011, 09:41 AM
I was not blaming the tools - I referred to a peeve about linking one's social accounts. These tools don't link things, people do. And it's annoying.


You are right, I don't think I set my Facebook up right. Everytime I tweet it post to both my business page and my personal page. I'll have to look into that. I remember when I did it that I had to do it twice, and I tried to change it, but I don't think it let me. I really didn't want my tweets to go to my personal page. But, then I thought, what the heck. Some of my friends are my former associates from the CPA firm that I was layed off from and I want them to know that I am busy and doing well. Kinda of selfish. Plus I have some other personal friend out of town that don't know that I have a business page, so unless my tweets are posted to my personal page then they won't see them. It may or may not generate work, but it is free advertising. They know I have a bookkeeping business and can find me on my facebook page.