Yesterday I wrote a post about how much I love social media. Since I love it so much, I spent a good portion of my day watching a live stream of the F8 conference, to learn about all the new changes coming to Facebook that are supposed to revolutionize the social network. Not to sound too much like a geek, but wow! These were some pretty intense changes they announced (in case you missed it, here is a recap of all the changes: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20110181-93/what-facebook-announced-at-f8-today/). Now, there is still a lot to digest and I don’t want to be too quick to judge all of these changes, but there was one thing that popped into my mind as I watched. If Google+ is every going to become a real threat to Facebook, they better do it now!
Its Now or Never for Google+
Social Media Week: What I love Most About Social Media
This week, September 19-23, is Social Media Week 2011! Social Media Week (SMW) is a global platform that connects people, content, and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media. This weeks events are taking place in 11 cities spanning across 10 different countries! That is pretty amazing. But what makes Social Media so special is that even those who don’t live in one of the cities where events are taking place, or can’t get away from the office to attend an event, can still get in on all the action! By following one of the designated Twitter hashtags, or watching live streaming events, you can literally stay up to date with everything taking place (maybe even more so than attending in person!). As I sit here and think about how awesome technology is, and all the great things that have happened to me as a direct result of social media, I wonder why so many people are still so hesitant to give it a try. So for those people, I decided to put a little list together of why I love social media. Hopefully it will give them a little something to think about.
Marketing Pieces for your Small Business
Today’s guest post comes to us from Suzzie Moore. Suzzie is a freelance writer posting about a variety of topics on her blog “Rediscovering the Pen” and working on her dream, her first novel. You can also find Suzzie on Twitter @suzzziemoore.
Marketing is essential to any business. But if you’re the owner of a small company you’ll know that successful marketing comes at a cost. And yet you may not realize how much you can save by doing it yourself. A small investment of time and money now can save you a fortune in the long run. You just have to know where to begin.
Are Social Media and Word-of-Mouth the Same Thing?
I have seen a lot of articles recently in response to a small business survey conducted by Hiscox, a small business insurance provider, which surveyed US small business leaders on their social media usage. Hiscox found that many of these business owners weren’t using social channels to promote their businesses and products. In fact, the results of the survey showed that only 12% of the business owners described social media as a “must” and 47% indicated they did not use social media for business purposes at all. The survey also concluded that 50% of the business owners said that word-of-mouth marketing was essential to their business. This is where things get interesting…and heated!
Product Review: Sprout Social
Here at NxtGen, we are always looking for affordable, yet effective, social media solutions that the everyday small business owner can use. For the past several months, we have been testing out a few different Social Media Management tools. Today I am going to share my thoughts with you on one of those tools: Sprout Social.
Review: Sprout Social is a social media management tool that allows businesses to efficiently and effectively manage & grow their social presence across multiple channels and turn social connections into loyal customers. Overall, I really like this tool. You can easily connect your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Gowalla accounts and manage them all from one convenient location. They even recently added the ability to connect your Google Analytics account, which is a really nice feature. For business owners that don’t have the time to waste checking and updating several different social media sites, and don’t have the budget to pay a high priced consultant or service, this is a great tool. You can easily update all your social networks in one place, find new customers with their advanced search technology, monitor conversations taking place across the web either about your brand or your industry, and easily organize all your social media connections in one place, complete with history, notes and more, using the address book feature. They also provide really great analytics that give you detailed information on followers, influence, engagement, clicks and more – all in colorful, intuitive charts & graphs. You can review the data right from your browser, or you can create branded PDF reports with the click of a button (data can also be downloaded in CSV form). But even better is the price! For the average small business owner out there, who only needs to manage one account (one account handles up to 5 identities), the Pro Plan is only $9/month! And for those businesses who need to manage multiple accounts, or are looking for a little more in depth analysis, their Business Plan is still an affordable $49/month. Both plans come with a 30-day free trial. See graphics below for more detailed information on what is included in each package. Read more