Social Media Insecurity?

Whether it's Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter, etc., do we really need to know your exact home address and home phone number? Think about it, especially if you live in a house. 

Houses, first floor condo/co-ops and hotel rooms are extremely easy to break into. I share this from personal experience which began at age 10 when I came home from school to an empty house. The sticking point was that my key was inside.

Being a very resourceful child, I rolled a huge rock under my parent's bedroom window. Up I went, fiddled with the window, and in under 10 minutes I was inside. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of an empty house and I was so proud of myself.

Things are more open now, but why help it along? In many cases, advertising works, so the next time you're taking a fantastic cruise with the whole family...tell us about it after the fact. 

I've noticed that even on Linkedin, people will post personal flight info and dates. Studies has shown that burglars use social media to find this type of info. Suggesting that you don't help them.

In case you missed the first posts, here's a recap:

Many small companies make major mistakes with social media. To cite just one example with Twitter...you open an account and send info on your products and/or services. This is a positive step, but frequently the negative aspect comes into play when consumers ask questions and there's no response, or the response is not timely.

Let's jump over to Facebook. You post something and people Like It and sometimes, they make a comment. The polite and smart thing to do is thank them and make a comment in return. It can be something as simple as, "You've mentioned some interesting points James."

This is how you engage your audience...not by ignoring them. People want to be recognized.

Stay tuned.

Facebook Overall Growth is Lower

Overall growth has been slower for two months straight It's interesting to note that the United States lost nearly six million FB users, falling from 155.2 million at the start of May to 149.4 million at the end of the month. The UK, Russia, and Norway have also posted lower numbers.

The ultimate FB goal is one billion. Will it happen? Too soon to know.

A number of people we've interviewed feel there are too many restrictions such as a limit on friends. Other comments involve bugs, privacy issues, and the lack of real benefit for business users.

For now, it's a wait and see.

Source: Inside Facebook

Major Mistakes with Social Media

Many small companies make major mistakes with social media. To cite just one example with Twitter...you open an account and send info on your products and/or services. This is a positive step, but frequently the negative aspect comes into play when consumers ask questions and there's no response, or the response is not timely.

Let's jump over to Facebook. You post something and people Like It and sometimes, they make a comment. The polite and smart thing to do is thank them and make a comment in return. It can be something as simple as, "You've mentioned some interesting points James."

This is how you engage your audience...not by ignoring them. People want to be recognized.

These two tips are part of a series that I plan to develop, so stay tuned.

One Third of Consumers Turn to Facebook, Twitter to Engage Brands Online

A new study released today by ExactTarget finds nearly 40 percent of consumers turning to Facebook and Twitter to supplement the news, information or deals they receive via email marketing.

Featured in ExactTarget’s Social Profile report, the survey of more than 1,500 consumers identified 12 distinct personas for how consumers interact with brands online by studying the levels of social media creation and consumption across all ages and income levels.

“Consumers don’t silo their engagement with brands to a single channel, instead they tend to ‘layer’ marketing channels on top of one another to meet their different objectives,” said Morgan Stewart, principal, ExactTarget’s research and education group. “The things that motivate consumers to go online initially dictate where and how they choose to engage with brands – whether that be email, Facebook or Twitter.”

Key findings of the research include:

# More than 90 percent of consumers that are a fan of, or “like,” at least one brand on Facebook also receive at least one permission-based marketing email per day.

# More than 75 percent of consumers that follow at least one brand on Twitter subscribe to at least one brand’s email marketing.

# Nearly half of consumers who engage with brands via Twitter do so silently, regularly reading tweets even though they do not have their own Twitter account.

# 45 percent of mothers with children living in the home identify themselves as ‘Deal Seekers’ and on average are a fan of 10 brands on Facebook, follow 10 companies on Twitter and receive 14 permission-based marketing emails daily.

# 33 percent of consumers identify themselves as Info Seekers, influenced most heavily by product reviews and other forms of user-generated content.

# While 28 percent of consumers under the age of 25 identify themselves as “social butterflies” and fan the most brands on Facebook, they are more likely to buy from companies that send them permission-based email.

“Simply understanding demographics of a customer group is no longer enough,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer. “By bridging the gap between demographics and consumer motivations, the Social Profile research identifies unique personas that give marketers an entirely new level of understanding of consumer behavior.”

ExactTarget’s Social Profile study is the third research brief in ExactTarget’s six-part Subscribers, Fans & Followers research series set for release through September. The series provides marketers exclusive insight into how U.S. consumers’ interact with brands online based on a series of focus groups, interviews and surveys conducted in March and April. For more information about the study, to access an interactive application of the Subscribers, Fans & Followers data or to subscribe to receive future research briefs delivered via email, visit www.ExactTarget.com/sff.

No Social Media Fairy Dust

It never ceases to amaze me when friends, friends of friends and relatives ask for help with Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin social media, among others, and then react with amazement when they find out the details. When I spell out the specifics, they are shocked at the regular level of commitment that's needed on their part to make it happen. The typical comment is, "That's a lot of work. Where will I find the time?"

Because I'm a nice "guy" what I don't say is, perhaps you could watch one less TV program. Thus far, I've given these 30 to 45 minutes consultations at no charge in an attempt to help. I won't tell you what my hourly rate is, but it's far from inexpensive.

I could be spending this time on my own corporate social media programs. By the way, none of these people are any further along with social media because they won't make the commitment. And, I'm doing this because?