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Are You Making the Wrong Offers on Social Media?

March 28th, 2013 :: Karen Axelton

By Karen Axelton

If you’re trying to grab fans and followers on social media just by offering discounts, deals and special offers, you might be making the wrong move, according to a study by mobile video advertising firm Rhythm NewMedia.

The study, which looked at how customers engaging with brands on mobile social media platforms, found that discounts and deals (although important) aren’t the only or even the biggest factor in whether customers like or follow companies. What mattered more was simply showing loyalty to the companies.

Rhythm found that while 51.9 percent of mobile social media users follow brands on Twitter to get discounts, 60.7 percent do so because they want to support the companies and show their loyalty. Similarly, 55.9 percent like brands on Facebook in order to get deals or discounts, 57.6 percent do so to show support for and loyalty to the businesses.

The study reports that customers are engaging with businesses on mobile social media in increasing numbers. Some 74 percent use Facebook on their mobile devices several times per day, and 68 percent engage with brands on Facebook on their mobile devices. A slightly smaller figure (63 percent) use Twitter on mobile devices multiple times per day, and 56 percent say they engage with businesses or brands via Twitter.

Brands are engaging, too, with about one-quarter (24 percent) of marketers in the study reporting that they have mobile social media campaigns. That’s an increase of more than 400 percent from a year before the study was conducted in late 2012.

Try these three tips to improve your engagement on mobile devices:

As you create your social media campaigns, think about how they will play out on mobile devices. That means keeping posts short and sweet, using images that display well on mobile devices, and thinking about the kinds of content users will want to see on the go.
If you use mobile advertising, consider putting social media buttons within the ad so that users can easily share, tweet or like it. The study reports that social media buttons in ads increased using engagement by 36 percent.
If your current social media campaigns are focused on discounts and deals, expand what you do to appeal to loyal customers. Consider spotlighting customers, encouraging them to share photos or make comments, or asking questions so users will feel like they’re part of your brand.

Image by Flickr user Beverly & Pack (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, small business, social media
Posted in Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 1 Comment »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Pinterest Web Analytics (Web Analyzer)

March 25th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Pinterest Web Analytics

If you’ve been waiting to see if Pinterest would catch on in the social media world, you really shouldn’t wait any longer. Especially if your target audience is women. Women make up 80 percent of Pinterest users and since women make 85 percent of all consumer purchases, you don’t want to miss out on all these eyes seeing information about your business. Now, Pinterest is offering Web Analytics so you can measure how well your Pinterest business account is performing. Be sure to set up your Pinterest account as a business account and then sign up for Pinterest Web Analytics. You’ll find out how many people are pinning from your website, seeing your pins and clicking on your content. Plus, pick a specific timeframe to see how your numbers trend over time.

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Tags: Marketing, Pinterest, small business, social media, web analytics
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 1 Comment »

Hot Market: Indie Women

March 25th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

When you think of marketing to women, do you think of moms? Then you’re missing out on a huge and profitable target market of “indie women.” Age 27 and up, these single women are living without partners or kids, and pack a disproportionate amount of spending wallop, as MediaPost reports.

Currently, indie women account for 31 million or about one-third of all U.S. women over 18, and their numbers are increasing: There will be a projected 50 million indie women by 2035. What do you need to know about this powerful market?

Indie women have higher incomes than the average woman and spend $1 trillion each year, including:

$22 billion on vehicles (that’s five times more than “indie men” spend)
$20 billion on entertainment
$50 billion on food

Indie women watch more television than average women and are multi-screen users, meaning they frequently accompany TV-watching with a “second screen” such as the tablet, laptop or smartphone.

Indie woman are highly socially engaged online. They are 6 percent more likely than average women to rely on online ratings and reviews, 12 percent more likely to report that friends and family routinely ask them for advice on health and nutrition advice, and 10 percent more likely to say they are frequently the first among their friends to purchase from a new brand or store.

Indie women are professional: They hold 59 percent of masters’ degrees and 52 percent of managerial positions.

What should you do to reach indie women?

Use social media. These women are key influencers and brand advocates, so engaging with them on social media can drive your success.
Treat them with respect. Indie women are successful on their own terms, so make sure your marketing reflects the fact that they’re happy with their lives and making their own decisions.
Know where they’re spending. Indie women are more likely to dine out, entertain at home and spend money on home décor and apparel than the average woman, making these potentially lucrative areas for your business to focus on.

NBCUniversal Integrated Media began studying the indie woman because this group does a lot of discretionary spending, but is not yet widely researched in demographic studies, making it an undiscovered marketing opportunity. You can learn more about this demographic by watching NBCUniversal’s Integrated Media group’s film about indie women here.

Image by Flickr user EpSos.de (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, marketing to women, niche marketing, sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

How to Reach Niche Markets on Social Media

March 15th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

If your small business is targeting niche markets such as specific minority groups, age groups or other demographics, it’s important to know what social media tools these individuals are likely to use. New research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project examined what social media networks are most popular with different user groups. Here’s what they found:

Overall, social media use is widespread. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of all Internet users use at least one social networking site. Those 18-29 are the most likely of any age group to do so (83 percent), but even among the 65-and-up age group, nearly one-third (32 percent) use social media. Women are more likely than men to use social media, and urban residents are more likely than rural Internet users to do so.

What sites are most popular? Pew took a look not only at the “biggies,” but also at some up-and-comers.

Facebook users

Facebook is still the most popular social networking platform, with two-thirds of online adults on the site. Women are more likely than men to be Facebook users (72 percent vs. 62 percent), and the 18-29 age group is most likely to use it (86 percent).

Twitter users

Twitter is showing steady growth, with the percentage of Internet users who use this social media site doubling since November 2010, to 16 percent. People under 50, and especially those 18-29, are more likely to use Twitter. Urban residents are more likely than both suburban and rural residents to use Twitter. African-Americans are the most frequent users of Twitter, with 26 percent reporting they use it, compared to 14 percent of white Internet users and 19 percent of Hispanics.

Pinterest users

Overall, 15 percent of Internet users use Pinterest, but this site is especially popular with the youngest cohort (18 to 29), those with higher educational attainment, and upper income consumers. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of Internet users with household incomes between $50,000 and $74,999 use Pinterest; so do 18 percent of people with incomes of $75,000 or above. Women are five times as likely to use Pinterest as men (25 percent vs. 5 percent).

Instagram users

Photo-sharing site Instagram is popular with 13 percent of Internet users overall. Women and younger users (under 50) are the most likely to use it; so are urban dwellers, African-Americans and Hispanics.

Tumblr users

While Tumblr is still the least popular social networking site users were asked about—used by just 6 percent of Internet users—keep in mind that just a few years ago, Twitter had similar numbers. In addition, Tumblr is far more popular among younger users, with 13 percent of 18-to-29-year olds blogging on the site. However, Instagram, which offers similar photo-oriented functionality, has become twice as popular overall in a shorter period of time.

What do these stats mean for your business?

If you’re targeting younger customers, you definitely need to be on social media—and you need to be checking out the newest up-and-coming sites. Whether that’s Instagram, Tumblr or something even newer, take the time to explore it and see if your target customers are there.
No matter who you’re targeting, you probably need to be on Facebook. With even the 65-plus-crowd hanging out here, Facebook is a smart marketing tool for just about every consumer-oriented small business.
Trying to reach women or high-income customers? Get familiar with Pinterest, since a high proportion of those customers spend time there.

Image by Flickr user eldh (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 6 Comments »

Meet the Mobile Super-Shoppers

March 1st, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

Is your small business reaching out to Hispanic consumers on their mobile devices? If not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. New research reported by eMarketer shows that Hispanic consumers are not only far more likely than non-Hispanics to use mobile devices, but are also far more likely to use them to shop.

A study from Acosta Sales & Marketing found that Hispanic consumers, in particular, are more likely than the average shopper to use a smartphone (51 percent of Hispanics vs. 41 percent of all consumers), regularly use text messaging (47 percent vs. 42 percent) and use mobile apps (19 percent vs. 14 percent).

According to a study from Leo Burnett and Lapiz, Hispanic consumers are 7 percent more likely than non-Hispanic consumers to use their mobile phones to shop (56 percent vs. 33 percent of non-Hispanics). They’re also more likely to shop with a tablet (43 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 25 percent of non-Hispanics).

The same Leo Burnett/Lapiz study reports that Hispanics are far more likely than non-Hispanics to make shopping a social activity, whether they’re shopping online or off:

Nearly half (48 percent) of Hispanics use social networking sites as part of their shopping activities, while only 31 percent of non-Hispanics do so.
Hispanics are twice as likely to share their opinions of products or brands and write product reviews on social media sites (36 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 18 percent of Non-Hispanics).
Hispanics are more than twice as likely to reach out to friends and family for help with shopping decisions (37 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 17 percent of non-Hispanics).

What do these numbers mean to you? First, with Hispanics a growing segment of the U.S. population, there’s scarcely a business out there that shouldn’t be reaching out to them. To attract these super-shoppers, consider:

Creating a mobile app for your business that lets customers do something more easily, whether that’s getting product quotes or making purchases directly on their phones.
Making it easy for consumers to share information from your website or ecommerce site or social media accounts with friends and family, whether via email, social media or text messaging.
Have an active presence in social media and make sure your business is represented on ratings and review sites.
Taking advantage of text messaging, since Hispanic consumers are actively engaged in it. But be careful: Don’t overstep your welcome or send too many texts.

Image by Flickr user moodboard photography (Creative Commons)

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Tags: hispanics, Marketing, Search Marketing, small business, social media
Posted in Branding, Business Development, Email Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Facebook Boost (Customer Relationship Manager)

February 22nd, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Facebook Boost

Just getting your Facebook page published isn’t going to help you build fans and market your business—unless you do it right. Facebook Boost gives you a dedicated social media analyst to help you build buzz for your business on Facebook, plus create customized Facebook advertising to help you increase “likes” to your page. Thanks to its detailed reporting on your social media accounts’ activity, you’ll never be in the dark as to whether your efforts are working. With Facebook Boost, you’ll get help in managing all areas of your page, including posts, how many people are talking about your page and fan interactions.

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Tags: Facebook, Marketing, Resources, small business, social media
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

Marketers Are From Mars, Consumers Are From Venus

February 21st, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

Social media is growing by leaps and bounds, but email is still the best way to reach out to the most customers and gain their loyalty, reports a new study by ExactTarget. Called Marketers from Mars, the study found significant gaps between how marketers think customers want to be marketed to, and how customers actually want to interact with brands.

The clear winner? Email, which was named as the most valuable marketing tool for building loyalty by both customers and marketers. Ninety-three percent of consumers subscribe to at least one brand’s email, while about half (49 percent) have made a purchase as a direct result of email messages. One-third of consumers want marketers to invest more in email marketing.

However, while marketers were highly focused on mobile marketing, customers aren’t quite there yet. About one-fourth of marketers thought mobile apps were an effective marketing tool, but just 7 percent of consumers thought so. Instead, consumers were more likely to want brands to invest more in marketing on their traditional websites.

Consumers were more likely than marketers to want to interact with brands on Facebook. More than half (58 percent) of consumers have “Liked” a brand on Facebook, up 20 percent from the prior survey in 2010. About one-third of consumers with a smartphone and one-fourth of consumers who do not own a smartphone say they prefer to interact with brands on Facebook, making it the second most common place consumers go to connect with businesses online.

While just 21 percent of consumers have made a purchase as a direct result of a Facebook message, 22 percent of consumers say they want marketers to invest in creating a better Facebook experience. This suggests that there is great potential for Facebook to grow as a sales and marketing channel.

While marketers are highly engaged with Twitter, consumers are far less so. Some 61 percent of marketers follow at least once brand on Twitter, but only 12 percent of consumers do. That was an increase of just 7 percent from the prior survey in 2010.

What’s the takeaway? If you’re involved in small business marketing, you’re on the cutting edge of new trends and technologies—so don’t make the mistake of assuming your habits mirror those of the average consumer. Always do your research to understand exactly what your target customers are doing and how they want you to market to them—it may not be how you’d like to be marketed to yourself.

You can download the complimentary research from Exact Target or view an infographic of the survey.

Image by Flickr user (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Email marketing, Marketing, sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Branding, Business Development, Email Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Thought Leadership, Web Design | No Comments »

Social Shopping Isn’t Taking Off Just Yet

February 19th, 2013 :: Karen Axelton

By Karen Axelton

While the idea of shopping directly through social media (such as making a purchase from within Facebook) is frequently touted as the next big development in retail, it’s still got a long way to go, a new study from PwC reports.

Last year just 12 percent of shoppers globally made a purchase directly via social media. And even social media’s much-touted ability to drive sales is not so strong as you might expect: Just 18 percent of shoppers who are active social media users were driven to make a purchase as a direct result of social media, PwC found.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t strong potential for social media to drive purchases going forward. The study found that consumers are rapidly growing more willing to interact with businesses on social media. Fifty-nine percent say they follow brands on social media, compared to 49 percent last year, and 27 percent report having discovered new brands via social media, up from 17 percent last year.

PwC’s report divides shoppers into three categories and assesses each group’s likelihood of becoming social shoppers. Here’s what they found:

Brand lovers: Accounting for 38 percent of consumers, Brand Lovers follow brands on social media and are also voracious multichannel shoppers. More than half (53 percent) actually go into a physical store at least once a week and 45 percent buy something online at least once a week. PwC says this group has the most potential to become social shoppers.
Deal hunters: Accounting for about half of consumers, this group is savings-motivated and social media will drive them to click through and purchase if the offer is good enough.
Social addicts: This small group is most active interacting with brands on social media, which they use to share shopping experiences, find information and reviews, ask their friends for recommendations and directly give feedback to companies. “These very active online users tend to have huge social media networks and wield an outsized influence,” the report concludes.

Conclusion? While social shopping isn’t yet a major force, it’s likely to become one—so keep working your social media tools.

Image by Flickr user birgerking (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: TrendSpottr (Social Trend Tracker)

February 7th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

TrendSpottr

Keeping up on the trends affecting your industry could be your full-time job, so it’s good to know TrendSpottr wants to make the process easier for you. TrendSpottr works like a search engine, so it’s easy to navigate and find what topic or trend you’re looking for. TrendSpottr researches the top Twitter feeds in a specific category to tell you what is being said on a particular topic in real time. The algorithms used by TrendSpottr identify real-time trends at their acceleration point in order to provide early and predictive insights. You can also just click on any of the “Popular Topics” and “Popular Searches” to see what people are talking about in general. Subscribing to the dashboard costs $99 per month.

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Tags: Resources, small business, social media, Technology, trends
Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, social media, Technology | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Heyo (Social Marketing Tool)

January 24th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Heyo

Want a better Facebook page? How about a mobile app for your business? Heyo is a social marketing tool that lets businesses do all that and more–all with easy drag-and-drop steps that don’t take a lot of time. If you’ve ever run across a Facebook fan page you admire and wish you could create one, too, Heyo can help with attractive templates or custom design tools. You can choose from over 30 widgets ranging from coupons and “Buy” buttons to contest and email opt-ins. Then Heyo takes your fan page and creates a mobile app based on your social data complete with photos and fan page tabs so your customers can see your page on their smartphones or mobile devices.

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Tags: Facebook, mobile apps, small business resources, social media, Web Design
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »