I recently read an article titled “6 New Terms to Use When Measuring Social Marketing Efforts” and thought it worthy of sharing.

You see, most of us know these terms and use them on a daily basis – this puts the terms into a social setting and helps you get a better perspective. The follow is the terms;

1.Attractions. It’s not quantity but quality that matters in social media. Being able to attract a qualified, quality following is a real social marketing skill. It isn’t about spending huge amounts of money to grab people’s momentary attention. It’s about a slow and steady build of identifying and reaching the right people and then connecting with them for the long term. Did you just spend $250,000 on a funny series of videos and got 23,000 fans on your Facebook Page? Sucker. Most of those people will ignore you from here on out. They may have clicked “Like” during your campaign, but they really don’t care. Are you attracting the right people ,or are they just empty numbers?

2.Participations. Your investment in developing content should be measurable. But what is the value of a comment, or a “like” on your status update? A retweet of your tweet? There can be an algorithmic calculation of the relative or exact reach of the participant, the number of posts from you, the number of overall fans or followers. But is it those numbers that matter here? Facebook Insights offers a “Post Quality” metric, a metric calculated on a rolling seven-day basis that uses the percentage of your fans that engage when you post content to your Page. But how else can you calculate participations? And more importantly, how are you appreciating the value of those who are participating with you in your social channels?

3.Interactions. Do you know how to leverage an online community? Once you get a community going, it seems to take on a life of its own. But good community moderation and management means that you can artfully leverage the interactions and turn them into actions. There is value in those interactions, not just between your customers or potential customers and you, but also those between the customers and potential customers themselves. How are you identifying and measuring these interactions? Have you calculated how much time and money you are saving in the long run because of the more direct and intimate customer service interactions you can have in social channels?

4.Actions. There is a vast difference between impressions and actions. Impressions are nebulous because you really have no idea if someone actually saw your ad. Actions are measurable. Social marketing can drive actions, although it often takes some time and a few steps in between. Don’t be turned off by the time it may take to get to the action. There is a great deal of value in the steps between.

5.Transformations. In marketing, a conversion occurs when a prospective customer takes the marketer’s intended action (usually when the customer moves from browsing to buying). But in social marketing, there is another kind of conversion that I’m calling the “transformation.” An example of transformation in social marketing: Picture the disgruntled client who vocalizes his or her frustration or displeasure publicly on Twitter or Facebook, a blog, or any other platform that they can access because of the advent of social media tools. Your company has been listening to the chatter in social channels, and a representative from your company addresses their concerns immediately. That person realizes that you are not only listening but that you care and will work to find a solution to their issue. They transform from angry customer to champion of your company’s brand. There is an incredible value in the transformed customer.

6.Transactions. The transaction is the closing interaction, the goal. Keep in mind that you want these transactions to happen more than one time in many cases. And this does not always refer to a monetary transaction i.e. a sale — that’s easy to measure. A transaction could be signing up for something; filling out a survey; referring a friend; sharing information. What are you trying to get people to do? When they do that, a transaction has occurred. How valuable is that to you? And what are you giving your customers in the transaction? A quality product or service? A discount? Additional perks of some kind? How are you communicating to your customers (or friends, fans and followers) that they are more than a sale? How are you showing them that they are a part of a valuable relationship that you are willing to maintain?

So, these are a few terms put into social perspective – I didn’t write or invent these terms though I do like how they have been layed out to help us better understand what some of the things we are trying to accomplish with our social media strategies.

Let me know what you think.

Thinking about this and being inspired by what I read at TwitterTips, I decided to write what I think are good etiquette rules for using Twitter. Some of these aren’t my brainchild and others are. They are in no particular order yet all have the same significants.

1. Always be Polite & Nice - This one is self explanatory. It’s like when you meet someone for the first time, you typically would say hi,  nice to meet you, the pleasure is all mine, thank you, have a great day, you know, just like you would do normally. Its also very important to take the time to reply to all tweets that come to your Inbox. Some tweets are auto replies and of course there is no need to reply to that tweet.

2. Don’t Be a Useless ReTweeter – This is one of my pet peeves with Twitter and tweets. So many people retweet things that really have no significants at all. Actually most tweets really have no great meaning so there is no sense in retweeting. Retweet the ones that have great significance, otherwise, let the useless ones die in Twitterland.

4. Do Not Repeat Yourself - We all know repetitive messages are crucial for Branding however, you must be careful not to overstate your message. I have found Social Media to be more of what the title says, social. People are not neccessarily looking to buy your product in a social setting so be smart about what you tweet. Gain loyality first and give free stuff away… eventually if you have what they want, they’ll buy it from you.

5. People Have Names – Use Them! I have always appreciated this… when someone uses and remembers my name in business, I remember them too. The same applies in the social network arena. Either use their real name or screen name, they will appreciate it.

6. Give Credit and Share - If you find something you like, share it and tell your followers where it came from. If someone tweets something interesting that you want to retweet, thank them and mention him or her in your retweet. Again, I know this is hard to do every time, especially if you follow many people, but once in a while is nice.

7. Don’t Be Pushy - When people try to promote their product, they usually take the wrong approach. I have seen tweets with a link to their product and the tweet contains no real information about what the link is. I usually ignore these tweets. Share a little about what your link is about. This is what people either say yes or no to and the headline is the most important part of any tweet.

8. Tweet & Tweet Often – I have been on Twitter for quite some time. The first few months I really didn’t do anything with tweeting. The next few months I dabbled in tweets. I have managed to steadily get better with tweeting. I have found that when I stop posting tweets, the traffic to my sites drop. THe bottom line is you have to tweet everyday, even multiply times a day to get anywhere with Social Media.

Written by Kevin Conway.

OK, I finally said it publicly, Social Media for business is Crap! .

Maybe because my feeling for the hyped-up benefits of social media was recently confirmed by a top millionaire online guru. If you follow the most successful gurus his name is always at the top of the list. As a matter of fact, he was the first online entrepreneur to make a MILLION $$ in a day. That said, recently he published a PDF where he said “I think social media Su-ks”. When I read that I felt a sigh of relief, “maybe I am not off the tracks after all”. You see when you don’t “follow the pack” you tend to sometimes feel like you are going down the wrong path or at least missing an opportunity. Now, I must admit I use all the major social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, etc, etc. However, not for direct marketing. And, even though I publish new product releases on Twitter, analytics tells me no convertible traffic comes from that source or Facebook. My primary use of social sites is for building backlinks, but that is for SEO purposes. And, of course the added exposure. i.e. “branding” doesn’t hurt.

However, I never felt like any of the exposure or traffic was ever really serious “convertible traffic”. In other words social media is used for entertainment and communication, ahh, socializing. “Socializing” people are not in the “consumer mode” when they are cruising the social sites. They are looking for friends, maybe a date, etc. Proof of this observation is that these social sites still cannot monetize themselves via paid advertising to nearly the level of search engines like Google or Yahoo. Why? Because you really cannot target potential consumers when they are out at their “buying behavior mode”, i.e. when they are specifically looking to buy a product or service. To try and pull social surfers out of the “social mode” and into a “buying mode” requires many steps before a behavioral shift is realized. Sure, you can start a dialogue and maybe down the road they will recall your business, but the effort to generate business is much more ROI effective using PPC or SEO. The one bright spot for social media as a business tool may be list building, but my own results have been mixed (via measuring quality of opt ins).

And yes, I have read the eMarketer predictions that social ad spend will increase by about 400% by 2013. But, these same groups are also publishing reports like today’s “Does Social Media Work for Small Biz?” where 88% of all small business owners say social media is not helpful to their business. Proof that most of us are not yet seeing the tangible benefits, i..e., sales, leads, etc, from our social media profiles. Personally I am not even seeing much return on creating and maintaining groups within the social media outlets. And, one of the most raved about tools within social media is creating specialized groups.

So, at the moment using social sites for business generation, in my opinion is still highly overrated. As an owner of several e-commerce business I don’t see myself investing advertising dollars in social media any time soon. And, even though there are those that will disagree, I don’t think many of them can show you their own e-commerce business that has experienced any serious ROI using social media. If anyone can show me any REAL results otherwise, please I am all ears. But please Hold the HYPE.

If you have been keeping up with the news recently you will be aware that social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are the talk of the town. Not only are they great for connecting on a personal level but they can be extremely valuable for your multimedia and storytelling projects. By utilising your social network effectively you can direct significant traffic towards your projects. You can, if you know how, make your projects viral and ones which are talked about all over the Internet. But with so many different social media websites around it can be difficult to know how best to approach social media.

There are many resources online which can help you learn the best methods for using social media, and many tools to make your life easier. I have put together a very brief list of four sites which I think will really help you become a social media pro.

1. Twitip
Darren Rowse runs this great site (www.twitip.com) which focuses on teaching you how to make the most of Twitter. There is a lot of really helpful and useful information on this site and it is a must read for anyone looking seriously at using Twitter to drive traffic to their website. No matter what you want to find out about, there is probably an article on Twitip for you.

2. Hootsuite
This is one of my favorite applications. Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) lets you manage several different social networks, Twitter, Facebook, etc.. all at once. There is also a great iPhone application and a bookmark button which allows you to post links directly one or all of your social networks. You also get fantastic statistics on who clicks on the links you share which can help you decide what suite your audience better.

3. Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is one of the leading social networking experts. His website, www.chrisbrogan.com, is a wealth of great information that will help you not only build a large social networking presence but will help you grow a community of interested people. Not only does he have the website but Brogan also co-wrote a book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, which has received many good reviews. I guarantee that you will get some great information from him.

4. TweetDeck
TweetDeck is another great social networking tool which allows you to manage and connect to multiple social networking websites. Unlike Hootsuite which runs in your Internet browser, TweetDeck is a desktop application which runs on Adobe Air. Many of the top social networkers have often commented about using TweetDeck as their main social networking client. If you would like to do all your networking from one easy desktop tool then head to www.tweetdeck.com.

No matter what resource or application you find best for you, the important thing to remember with social media is to stick with it. Eventually the hard work will pay off and you will have a great list of followers who are interested in you and your projects. You will then be able to leverage this audience to make your projects more successful.

Stay tuned for our next article, when we discuss how many small firms don’t have a website today.

As Social Media continues to be a huge part of what Businesses need to do in order to help build their brands, I wanted to put together a list of websites that can help you get even more “social” with your business.

 I have compiled a list of 8 websites to help you get started. Facebook and Myspace are crucial however there is a plethora of other site out there too. Here is 8 to get started.

 Xing: Search this global site for business partners, contacts and professional opportunities.

APSense: Tap into an affiliate marketing revenue stream by promoting products and sites on your business profile, and get paid for the friends you refer.

Biznik: Join your local business community to connect and collaborate with nearby entrepreneurs, and find out about local seminars and events.

Entrepreneur Connect: Share ideas, join groups, publish content and promote your business on Entrepreneur’s own network.

FastPitchNetworking: Create a profile, product listings and blog, and take advantage of e-mail marketing and virtual trade shows.

GoBigNetwork: Get serious about fast growth in this startup community focused on finding funding, talent and expert advice.

Konnects: Build a network among other startup entrepreneurs and launch your own branded network when you’re ready.

Marzar: Connect with other business owners while promoting products and services in the marketplace.

Of course there is Facebook and Myspace so now is the time People – The year is ending and if you’re anything like my business, now is the perfect time to get out there with your social marketing.

So, here it is December 7th, 2009 and another Holiday season is upon us. This time of year for me is a little different than my counter part, my lovely wife! Let me explain my perspective what “Holiday Cheer” is for me…  Like most men… I am only here to make things wonderful and joyous for my family. I will admit, there is a part of me that loves Christmas, or more so the thought of children sharing an idea of Santa Clause, a big guy with a beard in a red and white suit. who comes once a year and delivers presents to all the good boys and girls.

This year, I’m going to really make Christmas special. I have two boys; one 9 years and my little one who is 13 months. My oldest son who is still a believer gets so excited this time of year which of course get’s me excited. Starting on Thanksgiving and until we did it, it was “daddy, can we put the tree up? Daddy, can we put the lights on the house?” it never stopped until, you guessed it, we put up the tree and outside lights.

But in the end… it makes me happy to see my son so excited. It made me realize what my role is as a Dad at Christmas. Its about being there for my kids. It’s about providing the love, patience, encouragement, stories and everything else that this time of year demands. It’s about passing along the tradition of Christmas and being there as a Dad. Actually, 99% of being a daddy is jusy being there and that is my promise to my family.

So I say – spread the Holiday Cheer… let others know what Christmas is about and let’s do our very best to ensure we are always there for our family…

Today in business… that kind of thinking would soon put you “out of business”. I read an article I will subtitle as How Social Media Enables Social Change written by David Needle, who quotes a lot from the famous Clay Shirky. Between these two people, one can easily keep up with the trends in business today.

How should we use Social as a tool for business? What are the best Social sites to utilize for my business? These are both great questions and finding the answer is the tricky part. With the rise of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other social networks, Shirky said the media landscape is increasing in both size and visibility. This is so true!

Finding what works for your business is not easy and my recommendations is that you educate yourself as much as possible. We have to learn what works and what doesn’t work. We have tried at least different 100 things before we found one that worked. When we found one that worked, we stuck with it until it ran it’s course than guess what, we tried something else. Sounds crazy but it’s all about being seeing what sticks.

As business owners, we have to take the time to make a “change” within our communities and to try new things. The same applies with using Social Media, get in there, get down and dirty and learn. Read great articles like the ones linked here. Educate yourself and make things happen.

If a business doesn’t have the money to hire a big fancy SEO company then you must get in there and do it yourself – that’s the only option! We’ve done, thousands like us have done it and now you need to do it!

The article was written by David Berkowitz who is the director of emerging media and client strategy for Digital Marketing Agency 360i

And Mr. David Berkowitz believes its time for a new model… The articles covers the new pricing models for Social Media and also covers pricing models that are in place today.

Let’s first take a look at some current options;
• Cost Per Impression; better known as CPM
• Cost Per Click Impression; better known as CPC
• Cost Per Action Impression; better known as CPA
• Cost Per Engagement Impression better known as CPE

I think it’s worth your time to venture over and read David’s article – I find his insight to be very useful and I always learn something new from his writings.

I found this article written recently about looking for a job in online social marketing? It’s not what you know. It’s the number of Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and connections on other social network sites that matter, according to Nance Rosen.

Nance Rosen is a career coach extraordinaire and CEO of Pegasus Media World, a communications firm focusing on publishing, social media and seminar. Her insight into social media is one you all should pay attention too.

We believe in the power of Social networking and use it everyday as part of our strategies. We have used social sites like Twitter to increase our traffic and conversation rate to our two main properties of My Local Lookup and Beyond The TV. So while you’re here, click on the links provided in this post to learn a lot more.