To answer that question I’ll tell you a short story.

Recently, I noticed my twitterfeed account wasn’t sending blog posts to twitter. I tried to troubleshoot the issue but ended up creating a support ticket on the company’s forum. An employee was quick to resolve the issue (2 days) and I thought I was all set, but now it seemed I had a different problem.

Twitterfeed was working too good. It was double posting every blog post. I went back to the support forum and tried a couple of the common fixes but nothing seemed to work. I was really frustrated but, at the time, I was too busy to look into the issue. So, I simply posted a tweet exclaiming my frustration. (Please disregard the typo.)

The goal of my tweet wasn’t to get help from twitterfeed. I was still planning on going the support route and resolving the issue at some point in the future. But then, something happened that changed everything.

I received the above tweet from the company dlvr.it – a self-proclaimed twitterfeed alternative. Hmm, should I continue to troubleshoot my problem with twitterfeed or take 5 minutes to tryout another tool? Well, you can probably guess what happened next. I created an account, setup the new feed and, low and behold, everything worked fine. Bye-bye twitterfeed.

What happened?
In the blink of an eye, a competitor stole away your customer for almost no cost to them. How could this happen.

1. The cost to switch was zero
For starters, these are both free services so monetary considerations are removed from the equation. Secondly, the entire process from account creation to feed creation takes about 5 minutes – much shorter than it would have taken me to complete a support ticket and wait for a solution. I was actually saving time by changing services.

2. It’s hard to love a utility
Nobody loves utility companies. You tolerate them because you like modern conveniences and there is little differentiation between operators. These web utilities are really no different. Frankly, I don’t care who takes my blog post and sends it over to twitter as long as it works.

Key learnings

• Listening isn’t the most glamorous aspect of social media but it’s one of the most important. If your aren’t monitoring the stream, you’ll miss opportunities. Opportunities your competitors will seize.
• You have to work hard to keep customers. Give them a reason to love your brand. It doesn’t have to be about your product; it could be anything. Your goal is to create something that makes them unable to live without you.
• Know how to respond before you need to. I recommend developing policies for common customer inquiries. This ensures quick and consistent replies to customers.

Are you listening? Tell us about it in the comments.

Related Posts:
Don’t tick off your customers
Do you have time for social media?
Outsource your social media, if you dare
Research fails to understand social media

Thumbnail image courtesy of Hryck

Your competitors are listening is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

A recent survey of global CMO’s conducted by Bazzarvoice highlighted that “81% of respondents expect to link their annual revenues to their social media investment in 2010, up from just 44% of CMOs in 2009.”

The study also went on to show that “53% of respondents are unsure about their return on Twitter; 50% are unsure about the direct value of LinkedIn; and 50% are not sure how to measure the impact of industry blogs on business metrics.”

Social media grows up
As mentioned by Brian Solis, MarketingSherpa recently released their Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report and in it they state, “2010 is the year where social media marketers gain the experience required to advance from novice to competent practitioner capable of achieving social marketing objectives and proving ROI.”

The industry is growing up. Social media marketing is simply becoming marketing. Companies are starting to expect more from the agencies that serve them.

Do you have the right expertise?
According to B. L. Ochman at the end of 2009 there were 16,000 self-proclaimed social media experts listed on twitter, up from 4,487 just seven months earlier. The growth is astounding but we all know this number is probably grossly overstated – having 20k followers doesn’t make you an expert in social media. At best, it makes you popular; at worst, it makes you proficient on one website.

The future experts of social media
As companies get more comfortable with the day-to-day aspects of social media and content production, the expertise they’ll require isn’t going to be social media management. Instead, they’ll need help understanding conversion attribution and translating social media efforts into sales dollars.

In the coming year, the real heroes of social media will be web analysts that link social media efforts with financial returns.

What do you think? Is your team ready to link social media efforts with sales dollars? Are you already proving the ROI of social media within your organization? Tell us about it in the comments.

Thumbnail courtesy of AlanCleaver_2000

Related Posts:
Do you have time for social media?
Outsource your social media, if you dare
Research fails to understand social media
Social Media – It’s not about the tools

In search of a better social media ROI is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

This post will cover four of the more popular Retweet buttons; tweetmeme, Retweet, Topsy and the tweetcount widget by backtype.

The problem
A lot of people rely on retweets from others to find new twitter friends to follow, so when they see an insightful thought passed on from one of their followers (credibility) they’re more apt to check out that person’s profile. But if you have the default code installed, the retweets will say @tweetmeme and not @yourusername, which won’t do much to bolster your popularity.

Proper Tweetmeme button configuration
The following code is the default tweetmeme script with one small addition. The parameter ‘tweetmeme_source’ has been added which allows customization of the twitter user name. To add your user name to this script simply replace the text ‘yournamehere’ with your twitter user name.

Proper Retweet button configuration
The following code is the default Retweet script with the parameter ‘username’ added. Similar to tweetmeme this allows customization of the twitter user name. To add your twitter name to this script simply replace the text ‘yournamehere’ with your twitter user name.

Proper Topsy button configuration
The following code is the default Topsy script. In this case the parameter you need to change is ‘var topsy_nick’. To add your user name to this script simply replace the text ‘yournamehere’ with your twitter user name.

Proper tweetcount button configuration
And last but not least, the following code is the default tweetcount script with the parameter ‘tweetcount_src’ added. By now you probably now what to do with this but just in case, to add your twitter name to this script simply replace the text ‘yournamehere’ with your twitter user name.

Additional customization
All of the buttons above offer further customizations (configuring the look, changing the link shortening service, etc.) so check out their websites for more options.

And before I end this post I have to give credit to one of our friends who graciously pointed out we had overrode this setting when we redesigned our website. Thanks @mikecatlett for catching what we missed!

What are you waiting for? Retweet this post!

Thumbnail image by Le Petit Poulailler

Get credit for your Retweets is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

Another popular form of this question is “who is going to do all this stuff?” While it may seem funny, it’s one of the most important questions to ask before diving into a new campaign. Unlike some other forms of marketing, social media requires a constant investment of time and effort.

How much time does social media take?
It’s less “Build it and they will come” and more “Build it, take care of it, staff it, ensure it has all of the proper resources and then they will come.” Building a successful social media presence is like establishing a friendship. It’s not going to happen over night and it’s going to take a lot of effort on your part to develop.

Forecasting your time investment
I don’t know if there is an absolute way to quantify the time requirement but the considerations below should help you estimate the level of time needed to properly manage your campaign.

1. Define your goals
Defining your goals will give you an idea of what it will take to accomplish them. Do you have lofty goals like becoming a thought leader around a specific topic? Maybe your goals are more tactical, such as simply listening to your customers and better understanding their needs. Depending on your choice, the time commitment will vary widely.

2. Determine the current level of conversation
Similar to forecasting search volume, you can get a gauge for how many conversations are already taking place about your company, category or offering. To obtain this data, you can perform relevant searches across social networks, utilize keyword research tools or use one of the many social media forecasting and listening tools available.

If  you operate within a smaller market or niche, you may find that the current level of chatter is very small or limited to specific websites and blogs. On the other hand, if you operate within a large competitive market, there may be thousands of conversations taking place across hundreds of websites. The greater the volume, the greater the time investment.

3. Determine your level and area of engagement
How do you plan on reaching people? Are you going to author a blog? How about a facebook company page? You could always join a relevant forum and become a top contributor.

The opportunities are really endless and the choice of engagement points should actually be the easiest of all questions to answer. By now, you’ve clearly defined your goals, you know where conversations are occurring and what people are talking about. How and where will you add value to the conversation?

It’s time to be honest with yourself. You know exactly what you need to do but can you do it?

Let’s make up an example for illustrative purposes. You’ve gone through the steps outlined above and determined that within your industry there isn’t a helpful portal for consumers and a lot of misinformation is floating around. Your competitors keep valuable information behind closed doors and don’t want consumers empowered in any way. You realize that freeing this information and making it publicly available will present you as an authority on the subject and create a ton of credibility for the organization. So you decide to write a blog.

Being an expert within your industry means you have the necessary knowledge and you know what topics are most relevant to consumers. However, the thought of writing anything longer than an email gives you the cold sweats…you image yourself starting blankly at a computer screen waiting for the right words to come. Plus, you barely have enough time to handle everything else on your plate let alone write an article for a blog. You realize you need help but where should it come from?

If you need help, what are your options?

Option 1: Don’t do it
You think I’m joking, but I’m not. Halfheartedly doing something just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The decision to engage in social media should be handled just like any other decision in business – with careful consideration and analysis. You may find out that engaging in social media doesn’t make sense for your business or, more likely, it isn’t feasible at the current time given your resources.

Option 2: Share the responsibility
If the commitment is too much for one person or you want to ensure that the success doesn’t depend solely on a single individual, consider having multiple employees share the responsibility. In this day and age, every employee should be an advocate of your company and offering. I highly recommend that companies pursuing social media develop guidelines of conduct and then encourage participation within the organization. Just ensure that personal conversations aren’t lost from person to person.

Option 3: Hire someone
If you don’t currently have the resources in house, consider adding employees with the right skill set to focus on social media.

Option 4: Outsource
If you don’t want to hire someone internally, you can always outsource some of your efforts. We’ve talked about outsourcing social media on here before and my stance remains the same – transparency is necessary for this to work.

Make the most of your time
No matter who is handling your social media marketing, the recommendations below will help them make the most of their time.

• Invest in the right tools
  There’s absolutely no shortage of tools available. Some cost money, some are free. Utilizing the right tools is crucial for a successful campaign. Being able to hear the right conversations while ignoring the irrelevant will allow you to focus your attention and maximize efficiency.
• Organize your day
  Social media is always on but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for it. Organize your day and set aside specific times for tasks. If you have the right tools, most of the listening will happen automatically ensuring interruptions are minimized.
• Prioritize
  Not every conversation requires an immediate response and some conversations are much more relevant than others. Develop a method of prioritizing events and conversations; respond to the most crucial events first and in the proper format.

We’d love to hear your thoughts – how much of your day do you spend on social media marketing?

If you liked this post consider subscribing to the feed.
Image courtsey of Stevendepolo on Flickr

Do you have time for social media? is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

To be eligible for this promotion you must meet the following criteria:

• Must currently operate a functioning website. No under construction websites.
• Coupons can only be applied to new Google AdWords accounts (less than 2 weeks old).

To enter the contest simply:

• Leave a comment below (OR)
• ReTweet this post on twitter

Winners will be chosen at random. Good luck!

The contest is now closed. Thank you to all those that participated!

Image courtesy of Kevindooley on Flickr

Free $100 Google AdWords coupons is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

Rosetta Stone is a leader in proprietary language-learning software. If you’re not familiar with the product, their language software is priced per level per language, i.e., level 1 Spanish. With each language consisting of three levels and each level costing around $200, the software is not cheap. And, needless to say, software with a high price tag will be subject to piracy.

So the question becomes:
Can a person actively searching for an illegal copy of software be convinced to pay for it?

Most companies would probably say no and simply pretend these people don’t exist and hope they go away. But Rosetta Stone doesn’t appear to be ignoring this group and actually is going out of their way to target them.

The above ad is shown on Google AdWords for the search phrases “Rosetta Stone Torrent” and “Rosetta Stone Rapidshare” (Rapidshare is a file upload site that many people use to host large files.).

According to Google keyword data:

Rosetta Stone Torrent:
Global monthly searches = 90,500
Average CPC = $0.05

Rosetta Stone Rapidshare:
Global monthly searches = 22,200
Average CPC = $0.05

So instead of missing 112,700 potential consumers every month, Rosetta Stone places an ad relevant to their search request (possibly instilling a little fear in them) and gives them a chance to purchase the software legally.

I have yet to see other companies employing this method, which is a shame because in most cases the volume of search warrants a response from the company.
Check out the data for Microsoft related keywords.

Office Torrent
Global monthly searches = 368,000
Average CPC = $0.93

Office Keygen 2007
Global monthly searches = 201,000
Average CPC = $0.79

A keygen (an abbreviated form of “key generator”) is a program that will generate valid CD keys for a piece of software.

Why this is important
I know it probably seems a little weird to target people that are actually trying to steal your product. However, consider where they are in the buying cycle.

1. Awareness √
2. Interest √
3. Desire √
4. Action

This person is well aware of who you are, they are very interested in your offering and they are actively searching for a way to take action. Don’t let them get away now!

Why it works
Let’s not forget the facts: downloading software is illegal, it’s time consuming and can lead to viruses and spyware. No, not all of the pirates are going to concede to defeat and buy your software. But, some percentage of them will. Make it easy for them to do so.

Sweeten the deal
The ad below appears when you search for “Rosetta Stone Coupon” and similar variations.

When you click the ad you are taken to a landing page that gives you 10% off. Rosetta Stone is offering this discount because the customer is one step away from a purchase and the company wants to remove all doubt. Everyone likes to get a deal and most people don’t mind paying for something if they see value in it. Why not offer this same incentive to individuals trying to get a free copy of your software.

You’re not rewarding bad behavior, your encouraging good behavior with a reward.

It’s time to start thinking outside the box when it comes to paid search marketing. It’s so much more than a simple direct response. Yarrrgh what ye say matey?

Profiting from Pirates is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

If you’re familiar with Google AdWords, then you probably know that within the campaign settings you have the ability to target consumers with smartphones (i.e., full HTML mobile browsers). Google calls this “device platform targeting.” Even better, AdWords allows you to directly launch the iTunes Apps Store, Google Maps or YouTube applications from the sponsored ad.

This seems like a no brainer for companies selling apps and music downloads. Create a campaign – target only mobile users and direct them to your offering in the app store or on iTunes. Keep in mind that you can’t target specific types of smartphones (i.e., only iPhones or only Blackberrys) but with smart keyword and negative keyword choices, you can get pretty darn close.

Tom Tom AdWords ad and corresponding mobile site

Tom Tom provides a soft landing for mobile users and quick access to buy the app in the iTunes App Store.

When not searching from a smart phone, the same ad directs you to the regular website.

Why I’m picking on Apple

I was determined to find examples of companies targeting mobile users and directing them to a mobile version of the site and the most logical company to showcase would be Apple – right? You would think that a company that owns about 11% of the smart phone market and almost all of the mobile searches performed each month would want to show off their mobile prowess with a slick iPhone optimized site. The problem is, this site doesn’t exist.

Each of the AdWords ads (as well as organic search results) for Apple directed me to portions of their main website. It seemed that no matter what I searched for, I couldn’t get a mobile version of their site. Note: I performed the same searches on a Blackberry Pearl and had similar results.

Why is this troubling?

Read any design or usability blog and you’re sure to hear about Apple’s well laid out and intuitive web design. However, when this same design is displayed on mobile browsers, it becomes completely useless.

Apple’s homepage as displayed on the iPhone

Secondary iPhone page displayed on the iPhone

I’m sure you could argue that mobile visitors are only a small percentage of total visitors to Apple.com, but is that really any excuse not to have a mobile site? Compete shows that Apple.com get’s about 23M unique visitors a month. Assuming that even a small percentage of them are mobile users (0.5%), this means that 138,000 visitors are greeted each year to a site that is cumbersome to read and navigate.

AdWords mobile advertising – what you should do

1. The first step is to determine if you want to show your AdWords ads to mobile users. If the answer is no, then simply uncheck this option in your AdWords setting. If the answer is yes, move on to the next step.
2. Determine if your current landing page is suitable for mobile users. Most likely it will need additional modifications.
3. Create a new version of the landing page optimized for mobile browsers
4. Copy your existing AdWords campaign but target only mobile users in AdWords settings

Need some inspiration for your iPhone optimized site?
Check out these resources

• Smashing Magazine – showcase of iPhone optimized websites
• CSS iPhone gallery
• Engage interactive mobile site – This site not only displays well in the iPhone browser, it actually responds to movement of the phone. Turn your phone to the left and right and browse the site effortlessly.

UPDATE: 1/20/2010
Today Google announced new targeting for mobile ads.

• Device targeting now allows you to target specific mobile devices and mobile carries.
• Ads linking to mobile app downloads will automatically appear only on devices that offer those apps. Plus, the ad will display a ‘Download’ link instead of a URL

What do you think – Does Apple need an iPhone optimized version of their website?

Shame on you Apple is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

What makes a good affiliate marketer?
Here are 3 strategies that you can employ to become better at search marketing.

1. They are opportunity based – Affiliate marketers are quick to spot opportunities and exploit them even if the benefit is short lived. Much of what we do in search marketing is based on long term strategies but that doesn’t mean you should ignore changes in the search landscape. Paid search marketing is perfectly suited to take advantage of internet memes, recent events and relevant pop culture happenings. Organic search, while less likely to be influenced by these items can also provide some really good opportunities if you keep your eyes open.
2. They are results based – Affiliate marketers are focused on conversions because conversions = commissions. Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not saying you should be charging for results, I’m saying you should be focused on results. SEO is especially labor intensive and if you put your effort into areas that don’t generate results you are wasting time and money. Focus your efforts on the tactics that deliver the best results.
3. They are constantly optimizing – The best affiliate marketers and are always looking for ways to increase their returns and you should too! Whether it’s paid or organic search you should always be optimizing your campaigns in order to maximize your returns. Analyze your results and improve upon them.

Now get out there and start acting like an affiliate marketer!
Image courtesy of left-hand.

Act like an affiliate marketer is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

I could fill an entire blog post with all of the available social media sites and tools that you can use to promote your business on the web. But the fact is, it’s not about the tools.

With all of the press these companies receive it’s easy to forget about this and focus on the delivery method.

Remember the vessel is less important than the destination. The tool is just that, a tool that can be used to accomplish a task. Define your task, set your goals, determine how to connect with your consumers and then and only then worry about picking up the right tool.

The tool you plan to use today is less important then the goal you plan to accomplish.

Image courtesy of Robert Donovan

It’s not about the tools is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog

I recently joined a new gym and paid for a full-year membership upfront. About 2 weeks into my year membership, I walk into the gym and see a giant banner advertising a yearly membership for 62% less than I had just paid. Not 10%, Not 25% but a full 62% cheaper. To make matters worse, I provided my email address when signing up and the owner of the gym thought this would be a good time to do a little email marketing. Yes, not only was I forced to see the new lower price every time I ventured into the gym but I was reminded via email that now was a good time to buy a year package.

If this scenario sounds familiar it should. It was only a couple of years ago that Steve Jobs wrote an open letter to early iPhone adopters recognizing that they should receive compensation after Apple dropped the price of the phone from $599 to $399 only 2 months after release (wow, remember those days?) Sure it took a couple hundred complaints to get Steve to respond but eventually he did, offering a credit to the  group of early adopters.

What should marketers do?
Like any 12 step program the first step is admitting you have a problem or, more accurately, acknowledging that some of your customers are going to be angry with your new promotion. This in itself isn’t a bad thing; it’s what you do next that matters.

Determine the size of the group affected
How large is this group? How many people are affected by the new promotion?

Determine the extent of the issue
How big of a deal is this to your customers? Is it something worth tweeting/bloging/facebooking about?

Propose a solution
If the group is large enough and the issue is severe enough, you’ll need to develop a solution. You don’t have to match your current deal and I’m not promoting that you do. The customer did derive value from purchasing your offering and hopefully has been enjoying it this entire time. But understand that this value might not equal the cost savings they could have received had they waited to purchase.

What do you think? Have you been burned by purchasing at the wrong time? We want to hear about it in the comments.

BTW – email address isn’t the only field in your customer database, please use other data when deciding who to send an email to. I don’t want to be encouraged to make a purchase days after I just did. If this is confusing please read more on what Seth Godin says about friction here.

Don’t tick off your customers is a post from: Radium
Check out more articles on our Search and Social Media Blog