Social Media Lessons From the Offline Real World
Posted on 17. Oct, 2011 by Harrison Kratz in Blog, Guest Posts, location based services, mobile, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, social media listening, social media marketing, social media strategy, social networks
An interesting report released from Pew Internet Research about the use of location-based services among adults found that only 28% of American adult cell phone owners use services such as maps or recommendations based on their location. In addition, 4% of all American adults use check-in apps such as Foursquare and Gowalla.
Conversely, in the social media community, checking-in is a frequent behavior, and legions of blog posts are written about location-based services.
Is this disproportionate enthusiasm among the cognoscenti? Are we so entrenched in this bubble that we’re forgetting what the “norm” really is?
I have recently become fascinated by the way that people who don’t work in social media use social. Previously, I spent a great deal of time trying to meet everyone in the world’s of social media and PR. I’ve discovered that world and the real world don’t always intersect.
Here are three ways I’ve started listening to and learning from those outside the social media bubble:
Facebook Stalking
Facebook is primarily a network of your friends, and in most cases not all of your friends have jobs in social media. Our friends come from different industries, locations, and have different interests. If you go look at your Twitter stream, the majority of the people you follow are most likely talking about the same types of issues. Facebook on the other hand offers more demographic and topical variety.
By studying and listening to what your friends post, you are able to look into the pulse of the public’s use of social media. What apps are they sharing to Facebook? What stories compel them to share with their networks? What Facebook campaigns are they responding to? What pages do they post on?
Find Some Storytellers
I don’t mean read your RSS feed or scour your Twitter stream. I mean reading blogs that individual people set up to tell their stories. This is a great way to see how people outside the professional social media world communicate, and why they take the time to blog. Reading non-industry blogs has broadened my understanding of why people use the Internet, what speaks to them, and what content they actually care about.
Want a great example of story telling from someone who has never been into the social media game? Check out my best friend’s blog about his cross-country bike tour this summer.
Listen Offline
I think this is something we always have in mind, but don’t necessarily remember to do. I’m always curious why a particular business is actually using social media. Why are they using their budget and resources on social media? Does it have a return? Has anyone scanned that QR code? Are people actually checking-in?
These are all interesting questions that we don’t ask enough in three dimensions. The best way to find out these answers is to ask real people. Ask the owner of your favorite bar how their social media specials are going. Ask your dentist if their Facebook page is worth the effort. Ask your dog groomer if they look at their Yelp reviews.
Sometimes in social media we become so enamored with the speed and power of online relationships and information that we may be forgetting that all of this ultimately has to have an offline impact too if it’s to be truly successful.
Are you keeping an eye on social media outside the realm of social media?
Guest post by Harrison Kratz, the Community Manager for MBA@UNC, an MBA degree online program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He sticks to his entrepreneurial roots as the founder of the global social good campaign, Tweet Drive. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter, @KratzPR!
Social Media Success is About the Wizard, Not the Wand
Posted on 28. Sep, 2011 by Jay Baer in Blog, foursquare, location based services, mobile, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, social media tools, tom webster
Thoughtful research genius Tom Webster wrote an interesting post a couple weeks ago about where the location-based business could head, moving beyond the momentary check-in toward more nuanced and relevant customer interactions, using location data as the raw materials.
His example was his local watering hole, where he figures by the time he’s checked in 10 times, the offer they make on Foursquare should encourage his evangelism, not just offer a discount on an item he doesn’t order.
And he’s absolutely right. Businesses could – and should – be doing so much more with location-based services like Foursquare, unified social log-ins like Janrain, custom landing tabs on Facebook, video, Google Analytics, mobile, ad retargeting with Fetchback, multi-variate testing, and about 100 other things. But you know why they aren’t? Because they are trying to run their core business, not maximize the value of Foursquare.
Pointing the Finger in the Wrong Direction
I think Tom (and others) are misplacing the blame. We have all the tools we need to do amazing digital and social marketing right now. The problem with advanced social marketing isn’t the wand, it’s the wizards.
We have so much crazy and amazing stuff at our disposal that it’s hard to fathom the days of not-so-long-ago when the big corporate decision was what size to make the direct mail piece.
Businesspeople (especially small business), and even professional marketers cannot possibly keep up with the pace of social media innovation. It’s wholly and completely unsustainable, and instead of learning to swim in this river of invention, it’s making people scared of getting in the water.
Whose fault is it that Klout is widely misused? Klout’s or the companies that use it? Whose fault is it that most companies utilize about 10% of Google Analytics’ capabilities? Google’s or the companies that don’t have time to learn how to use it better? Whose fault is it that for many companies Twitter is still just a tiny press release machine? Twitter’s, or the companies that use it that way?
We don’t have a technology and tools problem. We have an understanding and adoption problem, which is driven primarily by confusion and lack of time. In fact, I think we genuinely would be better off as marketers if we had a six month moratorium on EVERYTHING. No new Facebook features. No new social networks. No new YouTube functionality. No new Instagram or Foursquare or Viddy or mobile apps or near field communications or QR codes or the hot new skywriting app somebody is cooking up as I write this.
I am fortunate enough to do social marketing for a living, and it’s still challenging to keep up with it all. I can’t imagine how somebody with a “real job” doesn’t feel constantly overwhelmed.
Let’s focus on doing just a few things better, and worry less about doing everything that’s possible.
When a Picture is Truly Worth 1,000 Words
Posted on 29. Jun, 2011 by Jay Baer in Aaron Strout, Blog, foodspotting, foursquare, Gowalla, LBS, location based services, microcontent, mobile, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, WCG
Guest post by Aaron Strout, head of location-based marketing at global agency WCG. He blogs at Citizen Marketing 2.1.
There is a lot of excitement these days about the potential of location-based services among marketers and social media professionals. For anyone that doesn’t know what a location based service is, it’s an application or website that you access from a mobile device to check in — or digitally acknowledge — that you are at a particular location. Some of the top location-based services are Facebook Places, foursquare, Gowalla and SCVNGR.
One of the benefits of these location-based services is that users can leave tips and upload pictures that other users can can comment on. As more and more people start using these services (according to Comscore, 17.6% of all smartphone users accessed a check-in service in March, 2011), the number of tips and photos will increase, thus adding valuable information about a location. This is similar in a way to reviews on Yelp but it’s a less formal process which should encourages more people to contribute.
Because the “add a photo” functionality is a relatively new feature on these location-based services, most locations only have a few photos added by users. However, over time these photos will continue to build up adding valuable information to a particular venue.
I’d actually bet that within the next 6-12 months, LBS will start to add functionality that will either start ranking tips and photos based on relevance once a venue hits a certain threshold.
So what types of businesses can benefit from the presence of photos?
- Restaurants – this category is a no-brainer. With the quality of the cameras on smart phones ever increasing, customers are taking brochure-quality pictures of their food and drink.
- Bars/nightclubs – if you’ve got fun, hip customers, why not show them off to the world. Or run a nightly drink special and give a round away for the best shot uploaded by a customer.
- Retailers – encourage your customers to take product shots and upload them. If somethings on sale, give deeper discounts for best visual depiction of the featured item.
- Any location that is tricky to find – this is truly where a picture can be worth a 1,000 words. If your store is set back from the street, at a tricky intersection or especially if you’re in a strip mall.
Have you ever used a location-based service? If so, have you uploaded a picture? If the answer is no, maybe it’s time you give it a try.
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