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Customer reviews: Who needs an app for that?

by Tim on November 14, 2011

in E-commerce, Facebook, Social Media, social strategy

TechCrunch points to a kind of funny video for a parody app, one that lets you review anything:

What makes it even funnier, is that an app kind of like that exists already, called Oink.

But that’s not why this story’s important. Because your customers aren’t waiting for an app to tell people what they think of your products and services. They’ve got Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr and Foursquare to say nothing of Yelp, TripAdvisor and AngiesList.

If you’re worried that apps like Oink or the mythical Jotly will expose your flaws, don’t be. Worry about the ways customers do that already. Customers talk about your products and services all the time. And they don’t need an app for that.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Tagged as: E-commerce, ecommerce, ecommerce strategy, Facebook, social marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, twitter

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Killer Facebook Ads: Master Cutting-Edge Facebook Advertising Techniques by Marty Weintraub (Book Review of the Week-ish)

by Tim on November 10, 2011

in Book Reviews, Facebook, Marketing

Usually, the books I review cover strategic aspects of e-commerce and online marketing. Which makes Marty Weintraub’s “Killer Facebook Ads: Master Cutting-Edge Facebook Advertising Techniques” a bit of an anomaly.

But that’s OK.

There’s no question that Facebook remains both tantalizing and an enigma for many marketers. They know there’s “gold in them thar hills.” They just haven’t figured out how to get it out yet.

Read this book and you can expect that to change.

While Weintraub spends a little time explaining why you might want to market on Facebook, he assumes you’re already interested in advertising on Facebook—why buy a book called “Killer Facebook Ads” otherwise—and really just want to know how to make your advertising work better.

It’s a wise choice.

This book is a treasure trove detailing how to get the most out of Facebook Ads, whether you’re a novice at online advertising or an old hand. Each chapter covers one aspect of Facebook’s Ads platform and how to use those ads to reach the right customers, whether through improving your body copy, your headlines, or, most important, your targeting.

My favorite feature of Facebook Ads is their inherent targeting abilities. Weintraub recognizes this and more than delivers, spending two full chapters on the topic. Chapter 5, which Weintraub calls “…the crux of the book,” is worth the price of admission all by itself. And the detailed look into esoteric, but ultimately valuable techniques like Occupation Targeting and Country/Language/Interest combinations can make a huge difference in your results.

So, yes, “Killer Facebook Ads” is not focused on social marketing strategy. I say, in this case, don’t worry about it. If you’re planning on advertising on Facebook, you owe it to yourself to read those two chapters and the rest of the book, too. And, if you’re not planning to advertise on Facebook, read the book and ask yourself, “Why not?”

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: book review, book reviews, books, e-commerce, e-marketing, ecommerce, F-commerce, Facebook, facebook, Facebook Insights, Killer Facebook Ads, Killer Facebook Ads book review, Killer Facebook Ads by Marty Weintraub, Killer Facebook Ads by Marty Weintraub book review

Tagged as: book review, book review of the week, books, f-commerce, Facebook, facebook like, facebook marketing, killer facebook ads, killer facebook ads book review, killer facebook ads by marty weintraub, killer facebook ads: master cutting-edge facebook advertising techniques, marty weintraub, marty weintraub book review

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Social commerce is hiding in plain sight

by Tim on October 26, 2011

in E-commerce, Facebook, Social Media, social strategy

Brian Solis, the author of the excellent books “Engage” and “The End of Business As Usual,” has a great piece over on Venture Beat, where he refers to social networks, Facebook in particular, as defining consumers’ “personal operating system.” But what stood out for me most was this statistic:

“250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month.
“

With its 800 million users, Facebook sometimes gets called “the third largest country in the world.” But, I think these numbers are out of this world, not in it. When a quarter of a billion people use something every month, that’s truly extraordinary.

For instance, take a look at the highlighted bit of this image (or, better yet, check it out on Amazon itself).

Notice the little Facebook button?

What about on Overstock.com?

Same thing.

What about travel?

And, yes, even plush dog toys on Walmart:

Social commerce is all around us, every day. Your customers are on social sites (often before coming to you). Social commerce may still have a ton of growing up to do. But that doesn’t mean it’s not already here.

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Tim Peter & Associates helps companies from startups to the Fortune 500 use the web to reach more customers, more effectively every day. Take a look and see how we can help you.

Technorati Tags: E-commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce strategy, e-marketing, ecommerce, F-commerce, Facebook, facebook, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social search, social strategy