From the monthly archives:

May 2009

MediaPost is wrong. Social media isn’t.

by Tim on May 28, 2009

in Facebook,Social Media,social strategy,twitter

Do these quotes sound familiar?

“…there is scant evidence that anyone is getting rich yet from this grand marketing experiment…”

“…its use is limited…”

How about this?

“…employers are concerned about employees spending too much time…”

Surely these refer to social media, circa 2009, right? Nope. The first quotes are from 15 years ago – the New York Times edition of November 4,1994 – in an article called “Companies Rush to Set Up Shop in Cyberspace.” The second, also from the Times, in 1995: “Finding On-Line Distractions, Employers Strive to Keep Workers in Line.”

So, why is it that years later, we’re involved in the same dialogue about social media? A recent MediaPost article – pointed out here on thinks last week – claims social media fails as a marketing medium. As Amy Poehler and Seth Myers used to say on Saturday Night Live, “Really?!? Really?” It looks like those who don’t know their history really are doomed to repeat it.

First off, let’s define some terms. Social media is the set of tools used by people to communicate and connect with one another. Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or message boards, the medium is just a tool. We already know people discounted the Internet as a marketing tool in its early days. The same with email. I don’t suppose the telephone was a particularly effective marketing tool in its early days. And until Mr. Sears, Mr. Marshall Fields, and Mr. Montgomery Ward came along, I doubt mail had much use either. Now, while I can’t say with confidence which service – Twitter, Facebook, what-have-you – will dominate in the future, dismissing the whole set of tools out of hand is ludicrous. By which I don’t mean the singer. Yes, I’m an acknowledged fan of Twitter. But more due to what it represents, rather than the tool itself.

Second, social assumes people. And people equal word of mouth, at least if you give them something to talk about. Encourage your customers to tell their friends. Make it easy to share your information – whether via Facebook, re-tweet or offline. Don’t assume your customers aren’t already talking about you on social media. More important, shouldn’t you be more worried if they’re not? So give them something to talk about.

Do these facts guarantee social media is the right channel for your company? Of course not. But only you can determine that for yourself. Plenty of brands are discovering how to get benefit from social. Learn from their mistakes and from their successes. Set goals for your activities. Measure your actions. Then decide for yourself whether social media fits into your marketing plans. Blindly following anyone, whether it’s me or MediaPost – but especially if it’s MediaPost – is a bad idea.

Think I’m off my nut? Or is social media valuable to your business? Tell us about it in the comments.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

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And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
e-marketing, facebook, Facebook, goals, internet marketing, marketing, online marketing, social, social marketing, social media, social strategy, twitter

Tagged as: Facebook, social, social marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, social network, social networking, social networks, social strategy, twitter

{ 4 comments }

Should Google’s antitrust woes worry you?

by Tim on May 27, 2009

in E-commerce

We’re all pretty reliant on Google, right? Well, it looks like the government’s antitrust investigation against Google – which thinks first looked at last fall – is picking up some steam. Should you worry? As before, we say, “Nah.” Despite its legal woes a decade ago, Microsoft didn’t lose much in the way of market share. But, you should plan ahead in case it distracts Google and makes room for some upstart down the road. How?

Put simply, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. There are multiple sources of traffic for your business’s website, including:

Direct navigation – Customers find your business lots of ways. One is to type your name directly or visit a bookmark. Make sure you have the right URL. And make sure it’s displayed prominently on all your printed materials. Finally, suggest customers bookmark any page on your site and ensure those bookmarks continue to work in the future (a quick review of “page not found” or “404″ errors in your analytics tool can show you where they’re looking).
Referred – These are links that point to your site. They’re good for both search engine optimization (assuming they come from high-value sites) and for traffic from potential customers (assuming they come from sites your customers visit). Broadly speaking, there’s no such thing as a bad link (bring on the comments, SEO-types). Link-building campaigns are very worthwhile. Check out SEOmoz for some great tips on link building (this one’s good, too). Oh, and recommendations/links from social sites by your customers count here, too.
Email – Yes, email traffic is fantastic. Don’t believe me? See guest poster Brent Doud’s 8 easy ways to increase your email opt-in list to learn why you want more business from email.
Paid and natural search – Waitaminnit. Aren’t Google’s troubles what started this discussion in the first place? Yep. But that doesn’t mean search is going away. It isn’t. At least not soon. What you should look at is how you rank on places other than Google and also look at piloting high-performing campaigns on other paid search sites as well.

At the risk of getting into politics, you could go broke easily betting on what’s going to come from government actions. So, don’t bet on this investigation one way or the other. That said, diversifying the sources of traffic to your site will benefit you whether or not this investigation goes anywhere. And that’s a Very Good Thing.

Have you had success using media other than Google? Tell us about it in the comments.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
e-marketing, email marketing, google, Google, google adwords, internet business, internet marketing, marketing, metrics, online marketing, ppc, ppc marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo

Tagged as: Google, google adwords, Marketing, online marketing, online strategy, Search, search engine marketing, sem

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Still more ways to benefit from social media (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – May 22, 2009)

by Tim on May 22, 2009

in del.icio.us links,Social Media,social strategy,twitter

What? You think I’d let the Friday of a long holiday weekend pass without a dose of juicy link goodness? Not on your life. Here are some good reads to hold you over ’til Tuesday:

This Twitter thing – I’m fairly bullish, you know – might have some legs after all. TechCrunch reports Twitter has more visitors than Digg, LinkedIn and the New York Times.
Some clown steal your brand name on a social network? Bummer. The Wall Street Journal offers some ways to fix that. Spoiler alert: You don’t have many options. But these are a start, at least.
OK. So you’ve got your name back? Good. Now, do you need more followers on Twitter? Don’t want to use really sleazy tactics to do it? NewsPaperGrl offers some helpful tips.
Obviously, I think Twitter offers loads of value to businesses (oh… and here, too). SearchEngineWatch ups the ante with this set of tips to gain more value from Twitter.
Of course, the big question is whether you can use social networks to build your brand. And the answer is “Yes.” Forbes has one possible answer on how to build your brand using Twitter and Facebook.
Finally, in the interest of being, for lack of a better term, fair and balanced, you should check out Media Post’s critique of social media. As you might imagine, I disagree. Strongly. Because, y’know, friends talking to one another never recommend a favorite restaurant, suggest a solution to friend’s problem or talk about their upcoming vacation. But, give it a read all the same. I’ll have a more detailed smackdown… um… I mean counterpoint, next week.