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Posts from Web 2.0 & Social Media

How will your conversation with customers change in the world of Web 2.0 and beyond?

May 28

Bring the Social Experience to Life

The social-sphere of twitter, ratings & reviews, blogs, etc. are as popular as Cabbage Patch Kids and jelly-bracelets were in my era, yet they still aren’t available at Target or Macy’s. Yet they can and should be; and retailers just have to start thinking of how to do this – how to make these part of the tangible in-store experience. Why?

Last week as I was shopping at Babies “R”Us, I noticed a guy carrying a laptop around. I thought he was a store employee and approached him to ask a question. He responded by saying, “No, I don’t work here; I just want to be able to read the customer ratings & reviews while I shop.” His comment really made me think. Why isn’t this social experience that we have with retailers online a part of their in-store experience as well? Wouldn’t it help better bridge the gap between online and offline for a more seamless, consistent shopping experience? Over the past several years, marketers have made tremendous progress integrating online and offline marketing, e.g. using email coupons to drive shoppers to the store, etc. Now it is time to make the actual shopping experience more integrated – especially with the power and popularity of social media components like ratings & reviews.

In a live store you are able to touch, handle and experience a product first hand. To combine this with the online social interaction of learning what other customers felt and experienced with a product could really make the shopping experience complete. Retailers could do this with kiosks stationed around the store, with signs by highly rated customer products, “star” ratings on product shelves and that’s just the taste of the many possibilities. Retailers like Babies “R”Us and Target who have established, widely used online rating & review systems could hugely benefit from such integration. Also, sellers of high ticket items such as car dealers, or home, appliance, and furniture retailers could also reap the rewards.

And, you may ask, what about that ever persistent quandary of negative feedback? This integration may actually offer retailers another way to tackle that first hand. What better way to combat unsatisfactory commentary, than having your sales people demonstrate a product and prove it’s real value to customers - live!

Beyond, creating an integrated shopping experience, this would help marketers answer the core issue of trust. Consumers no longer trust brands as they once did – they trust each other – and that goes for the in-store experience as well. When you are shopping, you want to know, “how did other customers like me feel about this product?” Wouldn’t this type of integrated experience make you feel more comfortable with the retailer – wouldn’t it encourage you to make the purchase?

posted to: Digital Marketing, Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »

April 14

Webcam to the Rescue

by Karen Lin

: Would-be burglar, Wii motes in hand, is captured on live webcam.

In the age of real-time information broadcasting, who wins when it comes to law breakers and law enforcers? This YouTube video from a Florida woman’s webcam as her home gets burglarized got me wondering: will whoever has the more powerful live surveillance technology — the ”all seeing eye” — always be the winner?

Think of it this way. There are more and more ways to track live information between live webcams, GPS services like Loopt and Google Latitude, and even Twitter (if you can trust the source). Both lay people and law enforcement agencies are turning to these tools for information about safety. The Boynton Beach PD relied on this live webcam technology to respond to the burglars in the act and, through their own YouTube channel, have also published it as a PSA to educate the public about protecting their homes. Other examples like this abound: an LA firefighter monitors Twitter for reports of fires and even used real-time tweets from citizens during the 2007 Griffith Park fires to relay information to his crew on the ground.

Despite all the greater good these technologies can serve, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened, if say, the would-be burglars had their own system for tracking the whereabouts of the BBPD and knew they were headed to the house? Could they have gotten away with it? Could these technologies actually be used against law enforcement? So far, I haven’t personally heard of any examples, though I suppose one might be able to tune into the same radio channel as the police to get the same effect. But everyday as I look around me and see all the mobile phones with built-in cameras attached to each person’s ear, hand, and hip, I can’t help but wonder what the world would be like if each one of these devices could stream live footage 24/7 to anyone anywhere in the world. What, if anything, would happen then?

posted to: Industry Trends, Technology, Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »

April 6

The theme of 2009? Curation.

by Steve Mulder

The new meme is the stream, and it’s being taken to the extreme. With Twitter growth exploding, Facebook redesigned its home page to be more Twitter-like: a stream of everything you (never?) wanted to know about your friends. Now Friendfeed has also redesigned to provide a live stream of updates.

The problem with streams is that they rapidly become overwhelming floods as more and more people participate. In theory, the more people I connect with, the more valuable Facebook and Twitter should become to me. In theory, the more reviews or user-generated content I see on a site, the more credible and usable it is.

Unfortunately, reality is quite different. Streams don’t scale, because I simply can’t keep up with the torrent of content. Useful, interesting stuff from my friends scrolls off-screen, pushed aside by fresh updates on just how tasty that hamburger was.

(more…)

posted to: Digital Marketing, Industry Trends, Web 2.0 & Social Media | 3 Comments »

February 25

8 Quick Tools for Successful Tweeting

by Kathleen Gambale

In these uncertain times, marketers are seeking to decrease spending, while increasing engagement – driving social media as a bigger component of their strategies. Yet these outlets are not completely free. They do require constant maintenance and investigation of new ways to earn the attention of your audience, engage them, and get them to interact – and Twitter is no exception. In order for Twitter to be an effective marketing tool, you must attract not just many followers, but the right ones. So how do you do this? Here are 8 tips and tools can help.

1. Look Beyond Your Rolodex

Often when you follow the right people it accomplishes two goals. First, these people will reciprocate the follow and second, their thought leadership will add value to your page which also attracts more followers. To find the right followers, try looking beyond your Rolodex at these groups. Once you have exhausted all those you know of in these categories, try looking at who they are following. This may give you access to other industry leaders you haven’t already heard of. Also keep in mind; you don’t have to actually “know” a person to follow them.

Clients
Analysts
Writers
Bloggers
Publications
Conferences
Employees
Sister and Parent Companies
Professional groups
Supporters
Vendors

2. Make Ever Character Count – Say the Right Things

This is your chance to flaunt your stuff to your customers and industry. Show em’ what you got. By doing this, it ups your chances of engaging customers, improving customer service, gaining media interviews, and receiving conference speaking spots. That is why it is so important to make sure your page isn’t full of “I just ate nachos and had a Guinness” or “Can you believe Madonna and ARod?” type Tweets. Though nachos and Guinness are tasty, they don’t really spice up your page.

3. Remember to RT

Yep it’s true, you can do more on Twitter than Tweet – you can “Re-Tweet”. Re-Tweeting is officially defined as re-quoting someone’s Tweet. Usually when you come across an interesting Tweet and you want to publish on your page, you Re-Tweet it. This is a way of crediting the person who initially created it, while sharing it with your audience. You do this by writing in RT; the @ symbol; followed immediately by the Twitter name of the person you are Re-Tweeting; and lastly ending with the phrase/link you are Re-Tweeting. So what is the value of doing this? This is a great way to provide your followers with more thought leadership. And remember, the more valuable your page is for people, the more people will follow you!

4. Don’t Fear the Report Card – Use Grader.com

You can’t get grounded anymore so get your grades! This site does an analysis on your Twitter profile grading against other profiles on:

The number of followers you have.
The power of this network of followers.
The pace of your updates.
The completeness of your profile.
The score is based on your twitter profile in relation to other profiles that have been “graded”.

5. Get in Tight with Mr. Tweet

Twitter is more than just a social media site, it is also a bit of a popularity contest. The more followers you have, the more credible your page appears, and the more people will want follow you. So, how do you get popular? Get to know Mr. Tweet. By following him on Twitter, he provides you bi-weekly updates with advice on who you should be following (that you are not), as well as usage statistics, and more. It is a great way to find additional quality people to follow – which can lead to more followers for your page!

6. Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Twellow.com and JustTweetIt.com are just two of the Twitter directories out there where you can register your profile. This is yet another way to promote your page. The directories are organized so that other users can search by categories, which make finding you easier than just using the “find people” function.

7. Take TweepSearch.com for a Test Drive

TweepSearch allows you to search key words in users’ bios and location information. This can really help you find the right way to follow. Hopefully, they will return the follow.

8. Recycle – It’s Not Just For the Environment

This tactic doesn’t just have value for the green movement. It is also a great way to increase your exposure. When you upload a new deck to SlideShare, release a new video on YouTube, or send out your newsletter, announce it on Twitter. This may seem like old news to you, but it probably isn’t to everyone. And remember, repetition is not always bad. The old print tactic of showing the same ad multiple times still has value in this new world – so use it. Repetition will expand the audience that sees your message and can also help break through media fragmentation.

posted to: Web 2.0 & Social Media | 3 Comments »

February 20

Yelp tries to monetize . . . and runs afoul of its business community

by Judi Decicco

User-generated ratings and reviews site Yelp was recently featured in an article in the East Bay Express that raises concerns about Yelp’s practice of deleting or reprioritizing user reviews.

The article has anecdotes from local business owners who tell of Yelp sales reps offering to delete or bury negative reviews if the owner signs up for Yelp’s ad program (at around $600/year). Some owners also recount that positive reviews of their business were removed from the site after the owner refused to buy ad space.

While these allegations are unsubstantiated, they do raise an interesting question about how pure ratings and reviews sites can balance impartiality and profitability. According to this article, Yelp “draws more than 16 million unique visitors to the site each month” yet it is not profitable. Online advertising, the typical revenue stream for content-only sites, is problematic for sites like Yelp: potential advertisers are also their subject matter, yet any hint of collaboration between the sites and businesses would destroy their credibility.

Users understand that sites don’t pay for themselves, and they will accept advertising more readily than paying a fee for content. Charging for content only seems to work on ratings sites that focus on high-value, high-risk services like home repair. However sites like Yelp need to be completely transparent and aboveboard with how paid advertiser content is solicited through its sales process and implemented on its site. Failure to do so will risk alienating its user base.

posted to: Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »