What is the ripple effect of social media on friends and family?
While some people are finding themselves still having to defend social media, what has been clear from the beginning of marketing is the impact that a personal referral has on a purchase. A girlfriend raving about her new pair of wedges she got from Zappos and how they overnighted so she could wear them on an upcoming date, is an immediate endorsement.
First you have the human touch to the brand, this isn’t a commercial on TV, this is a personal story that is being shared with you by a personal friend.
Second, this is not an endorsement she is being asked to give, she is simply sharing a story about the brand that she feels compelled to spread.
Third, and possibly the most important, this is a trust source, she is your girlfriend, someone you have already vetted to be in your inner group. She is a trusted source providing you with a personal story and therefore an complete endorsement of this brand experience.
When people ask me why social media is important for their brand, time and time again my response is the same; if you have people that love your brand, give them the opportunity to share that love. The example above shows how a trusted source is cultivating the brand’s development and very possibly a purchase. Social media allows you to do this through multiple channels, from sharing a post on Facebook, to a Twitter status update, to posting an image through Pinterest.
How are you seeing brand development cultivated through social media?
Below is a piece from eMarketer with recent stats on the ripple effect of social media on friends and family. If you are more of a quantitative person then qualitative, here is another way to help justify the power of social media:
The Ripple Effect of Following a Brand on Social Media
JULY 10, 2012
Nearly one-fifth of US internet users would buy a brand if a friend followed that company on social media
Consumers are influenced by what brands their friends and family follow on social media.
A study from Ipsos OTX and Ipsos Global @dvisor asked internet users worldwide about their presumed action when they saw that a friend “liked” or followed a certain brand on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter. In March 2012, 22% of internet users worldwide said they would buy such a brand. But in the US, that number dropped a bit, to 18% of all US internet users.
While that is a relatively small percentage, younger consumers were more likely to buy because of a “like.” Ipsos found that 23% of US internet users under the age of 35 said they would buy a brand because of a friend’s social endorsement, and nearly as many internet users between the ages 35 and 49 would do so. Females and males were about even by this metric, at 18% vs. 17%.
As social media gives average consumers a larger reach, the impact of “liking” a brand is growing and becoming more significant for companies. Many companies must cater to their fans on social media as a way to cultivate brand advocates who can support and recommend the brand, and its products and services.
A May 2012 study from internet advertising network Burst Media about web users’ preferences and habits found many reasons why US internet users really followed brands on social media. Keeping up with the latest content was the most popular reason, cited by 43.5% of moms, 44.4% of other women and 30.7% of males.
As consumers continue to interact with brands on social media, and as social media’s influence grows, a “like” or follow can influence the purchase decisions of fellow networkers, even if the reason a brand garnered that “like” wasn’t necessarily to provide an outright endorsement.
See the full coverage here.
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
What do your teeth & Facebook have in common?
I have found that many clients who are in structured professional industries (real estate, chiropractic, dentistry etc.) have packaged products that they use for their marketing efforts. The benefit to these packages is the instant content and a relatively professional appearance, but the downside is so much greater. Utilizing a packaged product may provide you with an overall professional experience but it will look just that, packaged. Your readers will not feel the personal touch with your brand, the human touch. Your search engine optimization will decrease because many times the websites have the same content for multiple business and Google outsmarts these techniques.
One of the main selling points I hear from these companies selling packaged products are how easy it is for the client, and that is true, but there are also so many other options out there. With the platforms and integration available today clients are able to have as much or as little control as they like while keeping and at the same time encouraging the human touch with their brand.
The below article is one that recently came out on PRWeb about a new packaged service to help dentists with social media. Now here is where I get even more adamant about the human touch with your brand. Relationships, and especially relationships built through social media are human relationships, these are people talking to people, not packages talking to people. It seems to me if there was one areas you would your brand to have the human touch it would be in building your relationships, don’t you think?
See the article below and let me know what you think:
A recent survey of practicing dentists by TheWelathyDentist.com gives the breakdown of how many dentists use Facebook for dental marketing, and the ways they use that site to promote their practices.
Curious about how dentists are using Facebook in their dental practice marketing campaigns? In a recent survey conducted by dental marketing resource TheWealthyDentist.com (TWD), two thirds (67%) of the dentists who responded said they have a Facebook page for their practice, while only one third reported that they do not. Most of the dentists using Facebook pages practice in suburban locations.
The high percentage of dental practices on Facebook is not necessarily surprising, since the site has become a household word —- it has close to 160 million monthly visitors and is second only to Google in total web traffic. Also, since the survey was conducted on the TWD website, it included only dentists who already spend time online.
What’s more interesting for dentists to note is how their colleagues are using their Facebook pages. According to the survey, close to 90 percent of the practices that have a Facebook page use it for basic “business card” information – address, phone number, doctor names and services provided, etc.
When it comes to using the pages for dental advertising, the numbers are much lower. Only 50 percent of the dentists reported using their practice’s Facebook page to offer discounts or specials. And only 35 percent use their pages to network with their dentistry peers.
“This means half of the dentists on Facebook are not maximizing their pages when it comes to marketing their practice,” says Jim Du Molin, editor of TheWealthyDentist.com and founder of dental marketing innovator Internet Dental Alliance, Inc. (IDA). “And about half of the dentists who aren’t yet on Facebook aren’t sure how to use it to promote their practice. That leaves a lot of room for improvement!”
In summary, the majority of dentists surveyed have either taken the first steps of setting up their Facebook business page, or are willing to do so if they could easily ascertain what to do and how to do it. But most have not yet actively and strategically incorporated Facebook into their marketing plans.
“Most dentists know that social media is here to stay,” adds Du Molin. “Most of the dentists who are already on Facebook still need better ways to convert leads. Dentists who aren’t there yet need easier ways to get their pages built. And none of them have any extra time! They all just need a simple way to integrate Facebook with their current marketing plans.”
About TheWealthyDentist.com
Jim Du Molin, Editor in Chief of TheWealthyDentist.com, has been helping dentists improve their dental practice management, marketing and profits since 1985. He helps dentists improve their business skills and manage their practices more effectively. As founder of sister company Internet Dental Alliance, Inc. (IDA), Jim helps dentists attract more new patients that fit with their clinical skills to maximize cash flow.
IDA is North America’s largest provider of websites for dentists and online dental marketing plans. Its New Patient Marketing Machine™ packages include dental directory listings, and customizable dental websites with automatic Facebook page integration and interactive mobile applications.
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
Brand mistakes to learn from the big guys
Mistake can be great learning, or they can be extremely harmful for your business. Here are some great lessons on the power of your brand and doing it right.
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
5 Essential Characteristics Of The Entrepreneurial Mind
It takes a certain type of person to be an entrepreneur. First off you need to be okay taking risks, and those risks can range from not knowing if you can cover the mortgage to putting your name behind a method or product that you know in your heart has a chance. But the risks don’t stop there, and the characteristics you need to succeed are clutch in helping you realize your dream. Here is a recent article from American Express Open Forum on the 5 Essential Characteristics of the Entrepreneurial Mind. Which ones do you have? Which ones do you need?
by Kentin Waits
Inventors, business owners and corporate superstars who reshape and remake companies are some of our strongest cultural heroes. They reflect an essential part of the American story—the story of the average person who sees an opportunity, seizes it and in the process creates something new.
But what do these entrepreneurs share? What qualities or ways of thinking characterize the entrepreneurial mind, and can this type of innovative thinking be cultivated in others? Let’s explore some of hallmarks of entrepreneurial thinking to better understand how it works and how we can challenge and adapt our own thinking to achieve better results.
1. Creativity
The seed of entrepreneurship is the ability to see things differently. Whether it’s with new products or new processes, entrepreneurs are driven by the uncanny knack to see holes in the marketplace and devise innovations to fill them. Though it’s not the only essential quality to success, creativity may be the foundational mental skill. Entrepreneurs ask the “what ifs” that drive inquisitiveness, and they’re able to let go of what they already know to source fresh information and new ways of thinking about a problem.
2. Suspicion of predictors
Entrepreneurs tend not to labor under the assumption that data is the sole predictor of an outcome. Especially in new markets and with new products where data is largely interpretive or extrapolated, entrepreneurs are undaunted by the typical predictors that may put off fainter hearts. One study by Inc. magazine found that nearly 60 percent of Inc. 500 CEOs had not written business plans prior to the launch of their companies, and only 12 percent had done market research. These entrepreneurs realize that creating something new is a heated evolutionary contest, and no one can know the outcome with any amount of certainty. It’s as if their thinking, freed from the “no’s” of the data, can begin to build, test and refine.
3. Comfort with uncertainty
Similarly, a distrust of prediction and analysis creates an atmosphere where uncertainty rules. Indeed, uncertainty is the very essence of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are comfortable existing in that space between raw idea and successful product, and they tend to thrive in the wide middle ground of experimentation, revision and testing.
4. Openness to experimentation
A comfort with experimentation goes beyond educated trial and error. The ability to experiment with products, processes and outcomes, no matter where the results may lead, is the key element of this quality. It’s difficult to fully appreciate how much of what we call “experimental” is actually quite predictable. Most people are comfortable testing new products or systems with a range of one or two possible outcomes. When the results fall nicely within the range, we move on to the next step. But for entrepreneurs who are bringing something new and novel to the marketplace, experimentation can be truly…experimental. Removing expectations and letting the results lead you in completely new directions is the attribute that marks a truly entrepreneurial mind.
5. Functional humility
Egos can destroy the very best ideas. Entrepreneurs who are committed to solving a business problem or reinventing a product or service display a functional humility. They understand that their egos are only useful in moving the idea forward, not dictating outcomes or wrestling to make results conform to a preconceived notion. The very best entrepreneurs may constantly generate and promote their own ideas, but they think and act collaboratively and are staunchly solutions-focused.
So can everyone have an entrepreneurial mind? Probably not. But with time and practice, we can begin to think more like entrepreneurs. We can start to make subtle shifts in old, reflexive thinking that keeps us from exploring a new idea or taking the leap and launching our own business. Entrepreneurial thinking may be less of a destination and more of a journey as we push our own boundaries and explore exactly what we’re capable of. There are few things more elemental than how we think. What kind of beneficial chaos could we create if we began to think differently?
Kentin Waits is a freelance writer and marketing specialist based in Portland, Ore. His work has been featured in US Airways magazine and top-rated blogs such as Wise Bread, the Consumerist and MSN SmartMoney. When he’s not writing, Kentin runs a small online antiques business.
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
Tory Burch on the Social Media Journey
You have probably seen the double T brand icon on a pair of flats or a great bag. Tory Burch has created a brand empire that started with a mission to not only make high end clothing, but to also do good for women through a foundation for micro-loans. This is really the clincher for us because it is doing good with the brand that strikes home. We love how she integrated this mission for good from the beginning, way to go Tory!
Below is a video of Tory Burch speaking about her brand’s social media endeavors at the WWD CEO Summit early this week.
My two favorite takeaways:
1) How they utilize social media by suggesting related blog posts when viewing a relevant product.
2) Tory mentions many times how open they are to new forms of social media and how they always take meetings. It is through this willingness to experiment that they are so successful.
What is your favorite takeaway?
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
Nike is leaving social media in the dust
Nike has been known for it’s brilliant marketing campaign time and time again, but it’s latest innovative initiative has done what many imagined was not possible. In a time where communication and technology is bolting at Mach 5, Nike found a way to go Mach 7, Nike has out run social media.
“Ultimately, we are about connecting with the consumer where they are,” says Stollak. “We started with notion that this was about publishing to them with the right message and at the right time. We’ve quickly evolved to a focus on conversations and engaging them to participate as opposed to using new media in traditional ways.” Read full article here.
What do you think of the campaign?
What do you think about Nike’s social media efforts and how can you apply it to yours?
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post by Jordan benShea
Established by Jordan benShea, SkyView Projects is a boutique marketing firm based in Santa Barbara, Ca and aims to help brands maximize their potential through strategic direction and utilization of innovative marketing initiatives. SkyView Projects specializes in social media and brand development and has clients near and far. Learn more at SkyViewProjects.com.
When the idea came up, (Newman’s Own) I said, “Are you crazy? Stick my face on the label of salad dressing?” And then, of course, we got the whole idea of exploitation and how circular it is. Why not, really, go to the fullest length, and the silliest length, in exploiting yourself and turn the proceeds back to the community?
We First - Social media branding
We have been a big fan of brand expert Simon Mainwaring for a while, and have enjoyed many tweets with him. Simon has worked with many big brands, but we love how he uses his knowledge and expertise to help make this world a better place. So we are super stoked about his new book We First, and we aren’t the only ones… Check out the book review from Inc Magazine and let us know what you think!
Congrats & way to go Simon!
Social media ROI
Social media is sweeping across our world, from impacting revolutions to elections. Now more than ever people are able to reach out, to share, to engage with friends and business beyond what has ever been possible before. Lost friends are found, strangers become new friends. If you are a business the question is not whether or not you participate in social media, but rather how you participate.
One of the biggest challenges a business faces with social media is finding a way to give the suits upstairs a bottom line to justify the time expenditure. We see tools popping up left and right with measurement capabilities, time will tell as these flush out the winners and the losers from the pack. But in the mean time, we need to find a way to measure our social media ROI, don’t we?
Or maybe want we need to do, is to recognize the powerful cross-integration capabilities of social media into almost all aspects of our life. Maybe the question isn’t at all how we measure social media, but instead that we start by getting involved. It is no longer a question of whether as a business you need to be integrated with social media, it is more a question of how you are going to integrate. Before, the brands ran the industries, now the customers run the industries, all of them. So can you really afford to not play a part?
Listen to your customers, for they are your true calling. For the first time in media history, now you can actually hear them and have a dialogue with them. This video has been around for a while, but it is so important to remember the impact:
What results will your brand get today?
Who will see your content today?
Where will your brand go with social media tomorrow?
