As E-Mail Open Rates Plunge, Social Media Marketing Makes Even More Sense
November 24, 2008 | 4 Comments
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I was speaking with a friend the other day, as she had the opportunity to take a new job in social media marketing at the large company she worked for. The job was only funded for one year, however, so she was going to sit tight, feeling it was too risky. She currently works in email marketing for that company.
The only thing I could say was, “I’ve got to think that staying in email marketing for the next year is the riskier move.” I said it politely, but I’m personally unsubscribing from just about every email list I’m on. New data from eMarketer (one of the few emails I always open) shows that I’m not alone, as email open rates are falling off a cliff recently.
These are pretty significant declines given how quick it is. This means email marketing is 18.75% less effective than it was a year ago.
Email marketing (like TV advertising, billboards, even press releases) is interruption marketing. “Let’s get people when they don’t expect it.” Nothing wrong with that, but consumers are doing everything they can to stop being interrupted (using DVRs, opting out of direct mail lists, getting on no-call lists, and unsubscribing or deleting emails).
Isn’t it better then to decide why your company matters to people? Then you can contribute to that conversation online in some sort of meaningful way. Ironically, if you do that well, you might just make your email campaigns more effective.
But I think generally speaking, email will continue to be less effective, while good social media marketing will become more effective.
“Social Media is a Cocktail Party” Makes Amazon Best Seller List
November 22, 2008 | 2 Comments
Thanks to all of you who made the launch party for Social Media is a Cocktail Party so successful. I really 
can’t thank you enough, so I wanted to give you an update on how we did with our little social media marketing experiment.
It was an amazingly fun day to watch the sales rank climb on Amazon.com and so many of you helped by re-tweeting the updates that we’re now ranked #51 among all marketing books. I’m really indebted.
So here’s what the results were:
- We sold several hundred books, peaking at #350 on the Amazon Sales Rank of all books. At 6:30 a.m. on launch day, we were at ranked #111,000. By 9 a.m, we hit #35,000. At 10:00 a.m. we hit #9,000 and so on, until we broke into the top thousand around 2:00 p.m. and hit #350 around 6:00 p.m.
- As of right now, the book is ranked #51 on Amazon.com’s Bestseller list of Marketing books (out of over 51,000 Marketing books listed).
- We’re also ranked #18 among social media marketing books, which is a decent start for a book that’s been out for 3 days.
- But perhaps most importantly, you helped raise hundreds and hundreds of dollars for Make-A-Wish during a tough economic time. That’s going to help a sick child’s Wish come true that much faster.
Most of all, we want to thank you. From friends we grew up with to our newer “social media friends” and blog readers, Lisa and I were really grateful to have the support of so many of you.
(Even if you made fun of me about our “Will it Blend” spoof where we tried to blend our book. Even if I deserved it.)
Social Media Posts That Are Igniting 11/21
November 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Here is some of the best stuff in the social media marketing world from the past two weeks. Enjoy and Happy Friday-Before-Turkey/Tofurkey Day!
What Do CEO’s Think of Social Media?
Apparently the big shots at companies are having mixed feelings over how effective social media can be for enhancing their businesses. Clearly they haven’t read the chapter in Social Media is a Cocktail Party on how social media can benefit research and development!
Social Media Identity Theft, from your Face to House Keys
Listening to what’s being said about your company isn’t just important for engaging in the conversation, it’s also essential for protecting your brand against online thievery. And how scary is it that a video image of your key can be used to create a working copy?
Looking at Social Trends for Recession Indicators
I know the “R” word isn’t a popular one right now, but it’s undeniable. Fortunately there are some useful options out there for online job seekers or if you’re searching for some unique and affordable holiday gift options.
Ten Comments You Think Are Cool and Insightful But Aren’t
Jeremy Griffin isn’t the only writer who thinks some things need to change. TechCrunch gives readers a few comment no-no’s. Don’t worry we don’t think you’ve gone down hill!
AOL Ditches Its Own Video Player for Brightcove
AOL thought it was too hard to constantly update the video player. If AOL can’t do it, then who can? Just one of the reasons that YouTube will continue to dominate the world of online video.
Top 5 Reasons Social Media Requires Commitment
Once you get over your cold feet and jump into Social Media, you have to keep swimming! Here are a few things to continue doing so that you keep your connections!
Lines Blurring Between Social Networks? Let Them!
How many social networks are you a part of? It looks like a lot of people are just like you, and now the lines are blurring. Great news for us!
How to Keep Your Conversations From Turning Into Broadcasts
A guest post by Jacob Morgan on Chris Brogan’s blog highlights a major concern in Social Media Marketin. If you spam them, they will leave. Quickly.
Will it Blend? We Try to Blend Our New Book
November 20, 2008 | 10 Comments
So today is the launch of the new book Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing on Amazon.com. So far, we’ve gone from ranked #111,000 among all books on that site to being ranked #623. (UPDATE: We’re up to #350 among ALL books on Amazon.) But why stop there?
One of the best examples of social media marketing ever is Blendtec’s “Will it Blend” series. We pay homage to that with our own effort, in which we try to blend our new book. Enjoy:
That’s one sturdy book… 
Remember, buy the book today and we’ll donate $3 to Make-A-Wish.Thanks to Taylor Barr for suggesting the idea to us via Twitter.
Today’s the Launch of Social Media is a Cocktail Party!
November 20, 2008 | 6 Comments
Just a quick reminder: Today is the virtual “launch party” for our new book “Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing.”
For every book sold today on Amazon.com, we’ll donate $3 to Make-A-Wish.
You can read more at our initial article on the launch, or just click here to buy the book.
And thank you!
The 2008 Social Network Analysis Report - Geographic - Demographic and Traffic Data Revealed
November 19, 2008 | 48 Comments
In recent times I have compiled two interesting Social Network Reports. The Social Network Geographic report and the Social Network Traffic Report. Both reports conveyed some interesting insights. The sources for all data below were pulled from Google Insights and Google Adplanner.
The last real insight into these social networks is the Social Network Demographic data. Below you will find all three combined for ease of reference.
Update: I have added Ning.com, Multiply.com and Tuenti.com. Let me know if there are others you would like included.
QUICK JUMP BELOW
Badoo.com
Bebo.com
Digg.com
Facebook.com
Fark.com
Flickr.com
Flixster.com
Friendster.com
Gather.com
Habbo.com
Hi5.com
Iambored.com
Identi.ca
IndianPad.com
Last.fm
Linkedin.com
Livejournal.com
Meetup.com
Metafilter.com
Mixx.com
Multiply.com
Myspace.com
Netlog.com
Newsvine.com
Ning.com
Plaxo.com
Plurk.com
Pownce.com
Propeller.com
Reddit.com
Reunion.com
Shoutwire.com
Skyrock.com
Stumbleupon.com
Teamsugar.com
Tribe.net
Tuenti.com
Twitter.com
Wayn.com
Xanga.com
Yelp.com
YouTube.com
Badoo.com Domain Search Traffic
Badoo Geographic Data
Badoo Demographic Data
Bebo.com Domain Search Traffic
Bebo Geographic Data
Bebo Demographic Data 
Digg.com Domain Search Traffic
Digg Geographic Data
Digg Demographic Data
Facebook.com Domain Search Traffic
Facebook Geographic Data
Facebook Demographic Data
Fark.com Domain Search Traffic
Fark Geographic Data
Fark Demographic Data
Flickr.com Domain Search Traffic
Flickr Geographic Data
Flickr Demographic Data
Flixster.com Domain Search Traffic
Flixster Geographic Data
Flixster Demographic Data
Friendster.com Domain Search Traffic
Friendster Geographic Data
Friendster Demographic Data
Gather.com Domain Search Traffic
Gather Geographic Data
Gather Demographic Data
Habbo.com Domain Search Traffic
Habbo Geographic Data
Habbo Demographic Data
Hi5 Geographic Data
Hi5 Demographic Data
Iambored.com Domain Search Traffic
Iambored Geographic Data
Iambored Demographic Data
Identi.ca Domain Search Traffic
Identi.ca Geographic Data
n/a
Identi.ca Demographic Data
Indianpad.com Domain Search Traffic
Indianpad Geographic Data
Indianpad Demographic Data
Last.fm Geographic Data
Last.fm Demographic Data
Linkedin.com Domain Search Traffic
Linkedin Geographic Data
Linkedin Demographic Data
LiveJournal.com Domain Search Traffic
Livejournal Geographic Data
Livejournal Demographic Data
Meetup.com Domain Search Traffic
Meetup Geographic Data
Meetup Demographic Data
Metafilter.com Domain Search Traffic
Metafilter Geographic Data
Metafilter Demographic Data 
Mixx.com Domain Search Traffic
Mixx Geographic Data
Mixx Demographic Data
Multiply.com Domain Search Traffic
Multiply Geographic Data
Multiply Demographic Data
Myspace.com Domain Search Traffic
Myspace Geographic Data
Myspace Demographic Data
Netlog.com Domain Search Traffic
Netlog Geographic Data
Netlog Demographic Data
Newsvine.com Domain Search Traffic
Newsvine Geographic Data
Newsvine Demographic Data
Ning.com Domain Search Traffic
Ning Geographic Data
Ning Demographic Data
Orkut.com Domain Search Traffic
N/A
Orkut Geographic Data
Orkut Demographic Data
N/A
Plaxo.com Domain Search Traffic
Plaxo Geographic Data
Plaxo Demographic Data
Plurk.com Domain Search Traffic
Plurk Geographic Data
N/A
Plurk Demographic Data
Pownce.com Domain Search Traffic
Pownce Geographic Data
Pownce Demographic Data
Propeller.com Domain Search Traffic
Propeller Geographic Data
Propeller Demographic Data
Reddit.com Domain Search Traffic
Reddit Geographic Data
Reddit Demographic Data
Reunion.com Domain Search Traffic
Reunion Geographic Data
Reunion Demographic Data
Shoutwire.com Domain Search Traffic
Shoutwire Geographic Data
Shoutwire Demographic Data
Skyrock.com Domain Search Traffic
Skyrock Geographic Data
N/A
Skyrock Demographic Data
Stumbleupon.com Domain Search Traffic
Stumbleupon Geographic Data
Stumbleupon Demographic Data
Teamsugar.com Domain Search Traffic
Teamsugar Geographic Data
Teamsugar Demographic Data
Tribe.net Domain Search Traffic
Tribe Geographic Data
Tribe Demographic Data
Tuenti.com Domain Search Traffic
Tuenti Geographic Data
Tuenti Demographic Data
Twitter.com Domain Search Traffic
Twitter Geographic Data
Twitter Demographic Data
Wayn.com Domain Search Traffic
Wayn Geographic Data
Wayn Demographic Data
Xanga.com Domain Search Traffic
Xanga Geographic Data
Xanga Demographic Data
Yelp.com Domain Search Traffic
Yelp Geographic Data
Yelp Demographic Data
Youtube.com Domain Search Traffic
N/A
YouTube Geographic Data
Youtube Demographic Data
N/A
Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Sneak Peek #5
November 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Anyone else excited for the book launch on the 20th?! (If you aren’t please pretend.)
Until we get there, I’m moving to Sneak Peek #5 - a little peek into a chapter that discusses how social media can be used within the product development cycle (and how this in turn influences marketing).
Overall, this chapter discusses the value that can be gleaned from a company using social media to talk to consumers within all stages of the product development cycle. It dives into the cost effectiveness and efficiency of using social media tools like social networks and blogs to receive feedback and direction, and how this can also help a company avoid larger, costly mistakes. After hearing about the Motrin communication crisis over the past weekend, I also think many parts of this chapter can also be applied to the testing and development of marketing messages as well.
Below are the 5 benefits of using social media for research and development that are listed within this chapter of the book:
- Increases Reach: Companies can gain customer input from a wide-ranging, global audience in addition to small niche audiences.
- Increases Frequency and Results: Companies can gain customer input throughout the entire product development process and receive these results immediately.
- Increases Customer Buy-In and Loyalty: Customers contributing to the development of a product are more likely to purchase the product and even become brand advocates.
- Increases Intelligence: Social media enables companies to reach and utilize more minds and ultimately receive ideas for improvement.
- Improves Marketing: Marketing becomes easier as many companies create products that better resonate with the target audience.
You can now buy Social Media is a Cocktail Party on Amazon.com.
Pubcon 2008 - Social Media Marketing Recap
November 17, 2008 | 4 Comments
I just got back from Pubcon 2008 and it was incredible. The content was solid, although I did see a lot of people copy and paste presentations from last year, other then that though I got some solid ideas to run with.
This year was the first year they had a Social Media track. Which was exciting to say the least.
The networking was fantastic, twitter has changed that landscape forever. I had the incredible opportunity to hang out with many smart individuals such as Jordan Kasteler, Brian Carter, Rhea Drysdale, Taylor Pratt, Wil Reynolds, Aaron Chronister, Nick Andron, Matt Inman, The Pubcon Pony, Jon Henshaw, Ben Cook, Kate Morris, Kate O’Neill, the entire Lead Flash team, Dan Zarrella, Alexander Barbara, Vik Chhabra and many other great folks.
I took a decent amount of notes, you can find them below if you are so inclined in reading 1 and 2 liners:
note: like my blog writing style I do not take detailed notes, straight to the point - enjoy
Social Media Marketing Pubcon08 Roundup:
- yahoo buzz gets a ton of traffic - very difficult to frontpage however - rand fishkin
- big mistake is to use other peoples images/ video etc you can get in a lot of legal trouble - graywolf
- google.com/?q=term&as_qdr=d - search for mentions of a phrase in the last 24 hours in google - rand fishkin
- solve someones problem through a tool or resource - graywolf
- viral campaigns can create a huge increase in searches for you product or brand, so make sure you rank for those terms before hand so people can find you… vanessa fox
- coca colas sue zero campaign failed in instituing a cohesive organic and paid serach campaign pre launch, to accumulate traffic from people searching for campaign related terms - vanessa fox
- @chriswinfield is giving an example: “wtf broccoli” tons of backlinks, blog mentions, and rankings followed.
- video sharing, li evans explains is the biggest sector of scoial media as far as sharing and spreadability goes.
- 80% of fortune 1000 will invest in social media in 2009 - 50% will fail. most are not measuring at all - li evans
- check out lexicon for facebook trends
- Facebook connect allows the users of facebook to bring their friends and can syndicate back into facebook - Brian Breslin
- You can only join 301 groups on facebook
- Chris winfield says reddit makes accounts invisible if they spam and might not outright kick you out, the user might have no idea.
- leverage timely content re: tags that people are searching for to help drive awareness and traffic. - geoff livingston
- can generate lots of awareness from trending on twitter, will only increase over time as more people adopt these services
- social media proof will increase the overall legitimacy that your site is of quality which can help you garner more subscribers, sales and backlinks.
3 Ways To Be a Better Blogger
November 17, 2008 | 5 Comments
Out of all the social media characters in the deck, bloggers seem to be a very particular kind of creature, mainly because blogging requires a particular micro/macro mindset and a slightly thickened skin. Since gaining popularity in recent years, more people are aware of and read blogs (about 57 million, according to Pew research), but the general population still seems to regard bloggers with an equal mixture of suspicious disdain and interest. They think we’re slightly self-absorbed and vaguely narcissistic for thinking that anyone else would be interested in the minutiae of our lives. 
Take the case of former Gawker.com blogger Emily Gould. Back in May, she published a piece in the New York Times Magazine about her personal experience as a blogger. The online community swiftly and brutally skewered her in full adolescent fashion, leaving nasty comments about how little they cared about her or her writing, to the tune of 1,200 comments.
It’s good to take a look at some of the basic tenants of blog psychology to understand how to become a better blogger, whether you’re using a blog to promote your business or track the details of your cat’s daily activities.
- Consistency – Blogging frequency is a mindset. Mainly because in order for it to be effective, you have to be consistent. Whether you blog once a week, or once an hour, consistency is always key, because you’re basically training your readers what to expect from you. For Google purposes, the more you post, the more attention your blog gets, but we’re talking about psychology here. Blogging has to become an organic part of your routine, possibly requiring you download some sort of mobile blogging platform and thus exposing yourself to the ridicule of your friends and family. You also have to have a mind that is compartmentalized in a way that hangs on to the type of experiences you can blog about. Because blogs are not for launching into a treatise that fully explores the nature of good and evil, but you can encapsulate a similar idea into a charming vignette about bunnies that smoke.
- Content – The reason people read blogs is to get something of an insider’s look at you or your business. They’re not going to stick around for very long if you’re just reposting the same slick content they can find by clicking around on your website. You have to give them a little conflict, a little intrigue, some slightly blurry Photo Booth pictures of you in action. This means that, in order to be a blogger, you have to be willing to be blogged about. It’s also important that you care about what other people in your industry are saying. No blogger is an island. Blogging isn’t just about generating content, it’s about developing a unique voice and adding something meaningful to the online conversation. You don’t want to be known as “that guy,” the blogger that hops into the blogosphere and only promotes their own stuff to anyone and everyone they come across. That’s not a conversation, that’s shilling your content.
- Commitment – “A blog is as a blog does.” In order to be an effective blogger, you have to believe in the platform. This sounds painfully obvious, but you wouldn’t believe how many reticent bloggers I come across. Their conflict is apparent: they want the benefits of blogging; the increased site traffic, the visibility, the conversation, but they don’t want their friends to make fun of them. When you are a conflicted blogger, or a blogger who resents the amount of time you have to spend blogging, your readers will pick up on it. Believe me.
Great bloggers are not always born, sometimes they are made. Learn the method behind the madness, and take heart, grasshopper. There is hope for you yet out there in the great big blogosphere.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbdbrobot/140068142
Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Sneak Peek #4 (The Power Shift)
November 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lisa shared some thoughts on social media as a segmentation tool in Sneak Peek #3 on Friday and that’s important. It’s part of Chapter 2, “What is Social Media?”, we explain the basics of the tools, the power of the tools, how it impacts marketing and, in this section, we talk about how this is a continuum of a larger power shift that’s been occurring for the last few decades.
“I’m a fan of Professor Robert Lauterborn, who wrote the books Integrated Marketing Communications and The New Marketing Paradigm. In the latter book, as far back as 1994, Lauterborn and his co-authors wrote: ‘The marketing systems created in the United States [from the 1950s to the 1970s] worked like well-oiled machines through the mid-1980s. Then technology collided with society and human wants and needs.’ Lauterborn termed it ‘demassification.’
“Increasingly pundits are speculating that the mass media era was an anomaly in our society. In fact, the seminal book on social media, ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto’ argues that social media is pulling us back into a more natural system of niche marketplaces that are smaller and more finely honed than any mass market. This is, of course, chilling to the CMO trying to plan a traditional advertising campaign.
“What’s more, Lauterborn also describes a shift in power that has occurred over the last 50 years that has profound impact on marketing in a social media era. The diagram explaining it is below.
“The 1950s and 60s were the glory days of advertising, now being chronicled on AMC’s ‘Mad Men’. Post World War II, the ravenous appetite for material goods fueled tremendous growth. Things were good for the marketer. Over time, however, the channel gained power. Suddenly grocery stores, Wal-Mart and others began to realize they had power in the transaction and could dictate terms of the transaction to both the marketer and the consumer. Suddenly the manufacturer was paying for shelf space.
“That has shifted profoundly yet again, and in the 1990s, the Internet empowered people with information like car buying guides, consumer reviews, price comparison websites and more. Suddenly, we were all walking into auto dealerships knowing not just the invoice price, but that the invoice price wasn’t the real price the dealer paid. The rise of ‘Web 1.0′ gave the consumer an incredible amount of power in determining the terms of a transaction.
“Social media and Web 2.0 have turned this dynamic even more solidly in favor of the consumer. Bad service? Low quality manufacturing? Where to find the best price? Who has the better features? In the 1990s, we could tell our friends and colleagues. But with social media tools, we can tell the world about it, and our reviews can live in search engine results for years to come. Unquestionably, the power has shifted. Have your strategies?”
You can buy Social Media is a Cocktail Party here.