Here is my top 6…

1.  Coca- Cola

Objective: Customer engagement

Coca-cola is one of the leaders in SMM – they make social media work!

Deciding that customer engagement was their main objective, Coke created a ‘fans first’ approach in social communities. Their social media marketing strategy was developed to engage their customers via social networks, photo sharing and video sharing. Not only a great strategy but they even share it! Its worth a couple of minutes to read it on Simply Zest.

2.  Dominos

Objective: Customer Feedback

A fantastic example of listening to customers and reacting to what is being said.

Dominos position in the market place had been declining for a while, one of the reasons cited was that it had the same pizza recipe since they launched 50 years ago!  In an attempt to regain market share as well as hoping to reinvent its brand and change its reputation for taste, Dominos decided to completely change its pizza recipe.  Instead of leaving the decision making to the management team they put it instead to the customers and asked for feedback on their pizzas.  A compelling video on BlogSpot shows the whole Dominos process.  Its worth the few minutes to get a better understanding on the positive impact social media can have on a business.

3.  Dell

Objective: Crowd sourcing

Dell know that social media in business is becoming more and more important.  To address this issue they created a Social Media for Small Business Facebook fan page.  Here they offer free downloads and giveaways on how to implement social media.

However this particular strategy is about crowd sourcing. Dell decided to create a community called The Ideas Storm, where people could come and share their ideas on how to improve Dell products.  They know that the people who understand the products the greatest are their customers.  By improving models and reacting to customers ideas they can create products people actually want to buy and there is a demand for.

4.  Starbucks

Objective: Crowd sourcing

Another social media success story comes from Starbucks.  They have several elements to their Starbucks strategy which are outlined in a great articles by The Next Web and Directory Journal.

They too wanted to use crowd sourcing as a way of improving their products, shops and service so they created a social network site, My Starbucks, for people to congregate and share their “Starbucks experience”

The site gives users the ability to see what others are suggesting, vote on ideas and check out the results. This site is a brilliant and important aspect of Starbucks social media strategy. Users who are part of this network feel that they have some role in the decision making process of the company and it makes them feel a part of it.

Starbucks successfully managed to create a community that people actually wanted to hang out in, just like their shops.

5.  Ikea

Objective: Viral marketing

Definitely one of my favourites, just for its sheer simplicity.  A blog post by Ikea Fans shows how a Facebook profile was created for IKEA Malmo store manager Gordon Gustavsson. Over the course of 2 weeks, 12 pictures of IKEA showrooms were uploaded to his profile. Facebook friends of Gustavsson could ‘tag’ the items in the photos with their name and then win the product.  As you can imagine the campaign went viral!! A genius idea yet oh so simple!

6.  Ford Fiesta

Objective: Generating Buzz

Ford held a competition called the Fiesta Movement where 4,000 people applied with a video to win the chance to drive a Fiesta for six months. The winners then created content around their experience with the car.  Not sounding too strategic is it?  Well what if the winners where are social media personalities in the making? The reach was phenomenal in just six months..

- 4.3 million YouTube views
– 500,000+ Flickr views
– 3 million+ Twitter impression
– 50,000 interested potential customers, 97% of which don’t own a Ford currently

Supercollider and Mashable deliver great detailed breakdown on the Ford Fiesta Movement.

Summary

I hope these case studies help you understand the true value of social media.  Many of you want to know immediately how social media will impact your bottom line, but this is no longer the big sales push via traditional marketing and PR.  It is about companies recognising: that the power now lies with the consumer; and we fortunately have the ability and resources to tap into this wealth of knowledge.

Everyone likes to feel valued!  Involving your customer so they feel like their opinion counts can go a long way in building customer loyalty and repeat business, not to mention positive word of mouth.  It’s time to see the bigger picture!

This is only a list according to little oul me! If you have any other social media examples that you think should be in here then please leave a comment below…

Lo and behold two weeks later I got a lovely apologetic email from Smirnoff.  Now the cynic in me thinks “well they know I work in social media and will therefore write this great piece about them” but then the other optimistic part of me is ecstatic to see social media working in full flow.

Social Media Monitoring

So for those who don’t know how the system works Smirnoff will be paying someone in-house or an agency to monitor their brand.  These monitoring tools such as Radian6 and Meltwater Buzz track all Smirnoff’s mentions in blog posts, forums, networks and so on.  They are also clever enough to pick up if the blogs (and sentiments) are negative or positive.  Positive will be used as a pat on the back, testimonials etc and the negatives are sent to customer service/PR department to deal with.  They now have the opportunity to turn this negative comment into a positive.

Smirnoff are implementing the social media model effectively. Interacting with the conversation, listening to what is being said and reacting accordingly.

Smirnoff’s Response

Hi Katrina,

I hope you are well? I am contacting you on behalf of Smirnoff regarding your article on the recent advert and the direction message to Facebook.
It’s really important to us that we work with our consumers on matters like this, so we have looked into your problem, and the reason you have been unable to access the page is as follows:

The SmirnoffGB Facebook page has until now been set so that it is only available to UK IP addresses. This was originally put in place because our competitions are only open to a GB audience. Unfortunately Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man were not included under ‘GB’ in this restriction. Based on this and your feedback we have lifted this restriction and the page is now open to all markets. Competitions will still only be open to GB residents however, but you will now be able to see all our content and find out about all our events.

We apologise for this oversight and hope that you’ll still be happy to engage with us and get involved in some of our activities and content. It is never our intention to annoy any of our consumers, which is why we looked into this and have made the correction.

We’d really like to make sure you remain happy with Smirnoff and keep following the brand, so if you’d like to send me your address we will send you some product by way of apology.

Cynic or Optimistic?

I’ll go with the optimistic!  It’s great to see companies using social media proactively.  The fact that a small blog can impact on a top brands campaign is fantastic. Over 200,000 extra people can now access the Smirnoff fan page that were previously excluded…just a shame we cant enter, even though we are part of GB!

Naturally a free product by way of apology is also a bonus…although Im thinking I should’ve started with Chanel or Versace

What’s your take on Smirnoff’s response or do you know of any other good case studies you would like to share?

1.    Real Time Search – Link well

Google signed real-time search with Facebook, Twitter and MySpace in late 2009. This means that when somebody searches for a particular topic on Google they will receive real-time updates from a variety of social media sites, as well as the usual list of search results.

What you write in Twitter and Facebook matters.  You want to keep it real but think carefully about the subjects you choose to update your status with.  Im not saying be keyword heavy just to sell your product but be aware that your words have an impact. Links from Twitter and Facebook are treated the same as any other site. Google does not distinguish them.

2.  Decrease your usage of Hastags

We all know the hastag happy people!  We love #Googlebuzz #ipad and #socialsearch.  Yes its fun and can help us identify people with like minds but can also be overkill.  
One of Google’s jobs is to identify what is spam and what isn’t.  Trending topics on Twitter, measured by hashtag popularity, can attract lots of junk tweets.  Unfortunately Google finds hastags to be a negative indicator of tweet quality and adjusts is ranking factors for tweets with hastags accordingly. Be careful not to abuse the hashtag.

3.  Know your No Follow/Do Follow

“Link juice – expression refers to overall quality or “weight” of the incoming link to your website. All outside links pointing to a certain page of your site affect your page score in the eyes of the search engines. High quality links considered to have more “link juice”.”
internet-marketing-website-design.com/internet-marketing-glossary.html

DO Follow means that it passes link juice on to your site.
NO Follow prevents link juice in order to block spam

Twitter – No Follow Links

Twitter links in Tweets are NO Follow, but the link in your Twitter Profile is DO Follow Links on Tweets to your site are NO Follow, but remember, keywords you use in your Tweets now show up in Google’s Real-Time search results.

Facebook – Do Follow Links

Set-Up a Facebook Fan Page for your business. Facebook Fan Pages are public and are DO Follow links.  By updating it often with links back to your site should help increase your Google rankings.

4.    Increase your circle in Google’s new Social Search

This is a great new tool for making search results more relevant. It’s just out of Google labs so it still has a few bugs but essentially Social Search pulls in information from Websites, blogs, public profiles, and other content linked from your friends’ Google profiles and creates your Social Circle.

In order to appear in more search results you need to:

•    Build your Google profile
•    Grow your network and update your information as much as possible
•    Try to make more connections with people using the Gmail network and Friends

5.    Join the Google Buzz

It likely you have a Gmail account in order to use Google Analytics or Google Reader.  Recently Google have announced their own network site Google Buzz.  Although Buzz has raised many negative points Google still hold the cards when it comes to search.  By completing your Buzz profile and increasing your network you should impact on their search engine results pages.  If you become a ‘buzzer’ in your field you could become influential and show at the top of search engine ranking pages

Your Business

Katrina de Gruchy is a social media consultant with Bright Social Media.  She can help you build your business’s social media presence to gain new customers and enhance relationships with existing ones.  Contact her today to find out how.

Google Love/Loathe

So whether you love or loathe Google they are very much the monopoly and in control of your businesses destiny.  Im not saying that you should keyword stuff your social media networks and make friends with just anyone to raise your profile on Google.  Contrary…It should be an organic process, building true relationships that matter but you should be aware of how social media impacts on your Google rankings.

How do you feel about Google’s monopoly? Have I missed any points out that you would like to discuss?  Feel free to drop a line…..

Google’s new move to launch Social Search demonstrates that social media is no longer just a #trend and is actually here to stay.

As the usage of blogs, social networking sites and forums continue to rocket sky high it’s only natural that more people are influenced by their circle of friends online. When you buy a camera for example, do you go straight to the website or do you read an honest, un-biased review?

Recognising the power of social media influencing such decisions Google have launched Social Search which integrates your social media profiles and your friends into their search engine.

How Does Google Create Your Social Circle?

Google cleverly generates your connections by pulling together content from:

• People you’re publicly connected to through social services that you’ve listed in your Google profile, such as Twitter and FriendFeed
• People who are contacts of those in your immediate social circle (basically friends of friends)
• People in your Gmail (or Google Talk) chat list
• People in your friends, family and co-workers groups in your Google Contacts

You always have control over connections and content and you can block or remove someone just as you would befriend a person.

Social Search has been in Google Labs since last year and is still in beta status as change is inevitable with this launch.

Your Google Search Essentials

• You need to have a Google Profile
• Your Google language preference needs to be set to U.S. English
• You need to search on Google.com.
• Not everyone has it just yet…be patient it will come

The impact this will have on Search Engine Optimisation is still unclear but ensuring you have a profile and friends with Gmail should help.

Take 10 minutes to watch these two videos and how Social Search works.

Google Social Search in Plain English

Google Social Search Explained

So its time to start widening your circle, join me on  Twitter and say hello or check out my Google Profile!

Here are the top five reasons that many business fail in their Social Media efforts…

1.Lack of Planning

When you first launched your business did you need a marketing plan?  A business plan?  Well it should come as no surprise that you should also have a Social Media Marketing plan too.   Without a strategy it’s easy to get caught up in the social media frenzy and not actually see it as a valuable marketing tool. Research your target market, where they hang out and pick the best social media tools to network with them.

2.One way Conversations

Ever had a conversation and were you can’t get a word in edgeways and you either end up completely bored or switch off?  Well that’s what it’s like online too. So many businesses talk constantly to customers, ‘we have this sale, try this voucher, look what I did’…not too appealing is it?  They are called networking sites for a reason.  Your customers are there to talk, not to be talked at.  Vary your conversation feed, retweet people or post interesting articles about your industry but don’t tell them what you think they need to hear.

3.Ignoring questions

Possibly my biggest bugbear!!  When someone asks you a question, answer it.  The person is obviously interested in something that you do.  Would you turn away from a potential customer in your store?  Quite frankly it’s rude and these days people are so internet savvy that they will happily move on to your competitor.

4.Keeping Social Media online

Yes it’s great that you have lots of new friends and potential customers or employees online but don’t forget to drive your social media offline. Put it on your business cards, stationary, email signatures.  Don’t miss an opportunity to drive more people to your brand online.

5.Not giving it time

With the fast paced advance in technology businesses are expecting face paced results with Social Media.  This is not marketing as we have known it before.  Its relationship building and, as with every relationship, it takes time to build trust and friendship.  When you plan your strategy, bear this in mind.  Set yourself reasonable goals and time line implementations.  Monitor your social media and review it at a reasonable date.

Do you have any you wish to add to the list?

It’s because of these astounding statistics you should not ignore!  If you haven’t watched the Social Media Revolution video then you should.  I admit it’s quite a rapid experience, emulating the lightening speed with which Social Media has progressed, leaving you breathless at the end thinking ‘WOW’.  If you have watched the video and want to take note of some of the key statistics here is your chance.

Social Media is Booming…

• By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network
• Social Media is the #1 activity on the Web
• If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia (note that Facebook is now creeping up – recently announced 300 million users)
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.
• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
• The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube

It’s reach is PHENOMENAL…

Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.

People are talking about your brand…

• Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth
• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
• Only 14% trust advertisements
• Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
• 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
• 80% of Twitter usage is outside of Twitter…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences

Social Media is changing the way we live…

• % of companies using LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees?…80%
• 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation because we no longer search for the news, the news finds us
• In the near future we will no longer search for  products and services they will find us via social media

* Socialnomics

SO…how do you jump on the bullet train?

Speak to Bright Social Media who will help you find your voice and as well as your Social Media mojo!! We can help you:

• Create a winning social media strategy complete with implementation timeline
• Train you with the social media tools you need
• Manage your social media on a monthly basis (and much more!)

Build a Bright future with Social Media!  Contact enquiries@brightsocialmedia.com

Traditionally we, as marketeers, have bombarded the customers with our ideas on what they want, why they want it and sometimes even when they want it!  But something has changed.  The new Social Media Marketing (SMM) revolution is altering customer’s behaviours and reactions.

What was once a one way communication street has now developed into a two way conversation.  Customers want you to listen! Listen to their advice, complaints or suggestions.  Is this not what we have been waiting for all along?  Marketing that gives us direct feedback, gets us closer to the clients and help us better understand our target marketing and positioning in the market place?

However, many traditional marketeers are dubious about SMM.  Some are doubtful because it is new, others because it has a small track record in comparison to other methods.  But you only have to listen to the deafening growth statistics on social media to know that change is on the way, whether you like it or not.

Take a minute to watch this clever video which explains how a traditional marketeer would have talked to their customers and watch the customer’s reaction.  The customer is desperate to tell the business something, but the traditionalist marketer just keeps telling the customer what they think they want to hear.

I am not suggesting that SMM will work as a standalone strategy by any means!  What I am saying is that it is time to integrate all your marketing tools, both old and new, to really get a true picture of your customer.  It’s time to listen.

Tell me, what is your view on ‘Traditional Marketing Vs Social Media Marketing?

Social media is a form of internet marketing.  The concept is to use a selective number of  social media  tools available to and communicate with customers, strengthen the business brand and ultimately increase sales. An example of social media tools include:

• Networks sites (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Micro blogs (Twitter)
• Social bookmarking (Digg, Stumbleupon)
• Social media sharing (Flickr, YouTube)
• Review/ratings sites (ePinions, BizRate)
• Blogs (WordPress, Blogger)
• Forums (Digital Photograhy Review)
• News aggregators (RSS, Google Reader) and
• Virtual 3D networks (SecondLife, ActiveWorlds).

For someone new to Social Media it can all be overwhelming and somewhat daunting, but take a moment to watch this video which explains Social Media in plain English!

If you still do not understand what social media is, please feel free to ask a question!

What Are You Trying to Do?

First and foremost, you need to determine what your actual goal is.  Are you trying to create brand awareness, generate sales, find joint venture partners, communicate with customers?

These are all worthy goals, but they will be measured and achieved very differently. So, if you haven’t thought about it yet, schedule a brainstorming session with your team to discuss exactly why you’re involved in social media and what you hope to get out of it.

Choose Your Measurement Tools

Once you’ve determined your overall goals, it’s time to put tracking and measurement tactics to work. How will you track the actual results you are receiving from your social media efforts? The most obvious (and probably the easiest) tool is your traffic program.

In order to measure traffic effectively, you will need to lure the conversation back to your website and use a dedicated landing page for each individual source. That way, not only will you be able to see where your social media traffic is coming from, but you’ll also be able to see which sources are providing the most valuable traffic.

Let me give you a quick “for instance” of how this works. We recently set up dedicated landing pages for our client Dean’s social media efforts. We created tracking codes for his traffic sources in order to trace the prospect throughout his life cycle with Dean. By following traffic patterns and ultimate destinations, we were able to determine that Dean’s Facebook traffic is 34% more valuable than his Twitter traffic. Now, when budget is low or time is short, Dean knows to focus more of his effort on Facebook than Twitter.

Some social media goals are harder to measure, such as brand awareness or name recognition. You will need to decide which tools to use and what to track in order to measure any goal that does not involve sending traffic to your website. A few ideas might include:

• The number of times your posts are retweeted on Twitter • The number of friend requests and/or friend suggestions you receive on Facebook • The number of targeted group invitations you receive • How often your blog posts are posted to delicious, stumbled upon, digg, etc. • How many new inbound links your website gets • The number of times your blog posts are being published elsewhere • The number of trackbacks your blog receives

Don’t Quit Tracking Too Soon

The time it takes for your social media traffic to convert can vary across sources. It’s a lot harder to build up the “know like trust” factor in 140 characters (such as Twitter) than it is with pictures and posts and back-and-forth conversations (such as Facebook). Give yourself adequate time to thoroughly track and measure the effectiveness of a social media source, attach a timeframe to each of your goals, and don’t abandon an effort too soon.

It’s also extremely important to always keep in mind the lifetime value of your customers. If your typical customer is worth $100, but you’re spending $120 worth of time and effort to bring in that customer from Twitter, you might be able to determine that those efforts are not worth it. Take advantage of auto-pilot marketing tools wherever they are applicable.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Scharf [tags]Karen Scharf, Social Media, ROI, measurement, measuring, value, tracking, marketing mix, Katrina de Gruchy, Bright Social Media, social media, freelance, outsource, WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, strategy[/tags]