Posts Tagged "Twitter"

Facebook launched a new section called “Questions” recently.  I am not sure exactly when they launched it but today it showed up in my feed.

ask question on facebook
As a Social Media Professional, the questions I get most is almost always about Facebook and their business.  More specifically,  “How do I Market My Business on Facebook?”  Well, Facebook Questions could be your answer to effectively marketing yourself as an expert in different topics that could drive traffic to your website and business to you and your company.

If you are familiar with LinkedIn question section, then you are already one step ahead.  Facebook Questions work pretty much the same way.

While this is limited – Facebook says that this is intitally rolling out to 3-5 million users, they have plans for a broader roll out down the line.

Social Media Marketing Reaching AudienceNot only is this new service a great way to brand yourself and reach a large audience, it is also a great way to reach a relevant audience.  (The most important aspect of Social Media Marketing)  These questions and answers can be tagged with category keywords, too, which will eventually be used to fill up an aggregate “questions” tab on relevant Community Pages on Facebook, meaning more relevant people seeing your answers.

Why is this important?

  • There are officially over 500 million users on facebook.  That is a lot of potential traffic.
  • Facebook is the number 1 “Social Network” referring source of traffic ALL sites on the web!  According to ReadWriteWeb, Facebook sends nearly 7 out of 10 visits to websites that come from a Social Network.  (Twitter brings 25% and LinkedIN 4%.)
  • Eventually when this becomes a mature product questions and answers will be found on google and other search engines increasing visibility and traffic if used correctly.

Social-Network-Referrers-500x389
Cautions
Everything in Questions is PUBLIC and will be shared with everyone!  This refers to both questions and answers.  So if you are a Facebook privacy hater this is probably not for you.

Techcrunch says, “Facebook obviously isn’t going to ask your question to everyone else on Facebook; instead, its system is going to try to analyze a user’s interests to determine who would be best able to answer your question. The service will also show the question to some of your friends, so ideally you’ll receive answers from a healthy mix of friends and experts.”

Who can benefit and use this?

  • Anyone with a product or service to sell!

If someone asks a question about the best type of camera to buy, online retailers can answer and give a link to buy.

If someone asks the best place in NY to get a massage, spa owners/marketers could offer a discount and link.

The list goes on and on!

How to Get Started
If you are not on the “chosen” list of 3-5 million users request access here.
To test other facebook apps go here.

Start answering question and asking questions and start building your name!

For all you in the travel industry you can get your start now! I have asked a question which may pertain to you.

After we spend time in Costa Rica, where should our next destination be?
SEE QUESTION HERE!!

Like I say with everything…Get in Early! By doing this you will be positioning yourself as an expert before it gets too crowded.

READ MORE:

Mashable
CNET
Facebook Blog

The good, the bad and the ugly….Social Media :: Retail Wars

Happy Cyber Monday! As the holidays are coming up quickly, retailers are amping up their promotions.  Next to Black Friday, Cyber Monday is coined as one of the next most popular shopping days of the year.  Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday, meaning people are shopping heavily today and they are doing it online.

According to a recent survey over 100 million consumers are expected to be shopping online today.

Although Cyber Monday may be halfway over, online shopping is up 3% this year and I expect that to be slightly higher for this month.  Which means if you aren’t doing anything NOW is the time to REV up your Social Media Retail Plan.

WHAT ARE OTHER RETAILERS DOING?
According to a new study by Deloitte Services, National Retail Federation

47 percent of retailers plan to increase social media use for the holidays
75 percent will improve their Facebook pages
59 percent will boost Twitter use
60 percent of consumers will use social media to locate coupons and discounts
53 percent will research gift ideas through social media

What can you do?
Here are some easy ideas to accelerate your sales online through the holiday season.

1.  Make sure you have your facebook/twitter page up to date with current products, images, and deals. (Need help?)
With over 50% of consumers researching gift ideas through social media and 60% using social media to locate coupons and discounts, now is the time for you to make your mark!  Your brand needs to be found.

2.  Create an online promotion for twitter, tweet it yourself and submit it to relevant feeds.

  • CheapTweet- Designed for medium-to-large e-commerce sites and national brands, our Stores program delivers maximum exposure to eager buyers across all CheapTweet properties
  • CouponTweet – Will retweet related sale tweets
  • TwtqPon – Allows you to create your own twitter coupon

3.  Submit yourself to different Social Shopping Sites and Coupon Forums where people will be shopping online.  If the key is exposure, make sure you are able to be found.

4.  Utilize your own network and email list to notify current customers and encourage pass along and sharing to their networks and friends.

5.  Listen to the conversations out there.
For example I did a summize search on Gift Ideas.  Here is your first lead.
Screen shot 2009-11-30 at 1.21.51 PM

6. Advertise
My choice for Advertising is Facebook.  If you need help with this let me know!!!  It is my forte.

Do you have a B2B product/service to sell?
Tis the season!   You too should be doing some sort of promotion.  You never know what is on people’s Holiday Wish List.  Check out some other tips from Internet Marketing Guru, Jason Clegg here.

It has always been my belief that as an Entrepreneur it is very important to be ahead of the curve.  In Social Media being ahead of the curve also means being an early adapter to new technologies and building a presence on new sites that could potentially benefit your business.

A new site that I recommend to all Entrepreneurs is Sprouter, which is something like the Twitter for Entrepreneurs.

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Where Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” – Sprouter asks entrepreneurs the question “What are you working on?”  Sprouter enables collaboration and networking between Entrepreneurs globally in a real-time format.  It also allows you to expand networks, discover events, start discussions, and follow topics relevant to your business.

While many may argue the need for a site like this that is so similar to twitter, I argue if you get in early, the benefits could be endless.

Benefits of Sprouter

1.  Grow your network before it is over-populated and market yourself as an expert before the next wave of users come in.
In an untapped network, making yourself an expert in your industry is easier as there is less competiton and less noise. Having a presence on a site before it blows up gives you “street cred” and the opportunity to be heard before the noise and spam sets in.

2.  Own Your Own Hashtag

By owning your own hashtag, you are given the authority in that subject.  Although the limit is 12 hashtags per account, owning the keywords that are important to your business will give you influence and will result in a larger following or network.

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For exmple, I own the #smo (Social Media Optimization) hashtag on Sprouter.

3.  Follow Topics and Conversations in an Organized Manner
Sprouter is extremely easy to navigate and all content is presented in an organized and clean way.  I particularly like the way replies are set up as it allows you to follow the conversation and see the conversation as it is happening.
Screen shot 2009-11-13 at 11.01.32 AM

4.  Get the User Name You Want
Get in before your username is taken.  As I have mentioned before – owning your search is crucial.

Connect with me on Sprouter – http://www.sprouter.com/frasco

Other Experts & Early Adapters to follow:

Jason Clegg, Web Entrepreneur
Brett Petersel, Events Director at Mashable
Janine Just, PR Entrepreneur
Sarah Prevette, Founder, Sprouter
Erin Bury, Community Manager, Sprouter
Paul Farkas, Socialpreneur
Bill Murphy, Startup Financier
Todd Levy, Emerging Leader