PCM Client Boost

Your customers are searching for your salon using their Smartphone but can’t find you!

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Mobile advertising has played a significant role in driving online sales during this past year. Smartphone’s are proving to be an invaluable tool when it comes to online purchasing, with 4 out of 5 consumers using smartphones to shop according to comScore.

For salons and salon owners this means that using mobile marketing to connect with your customers has never been more possible. It is estimated that 95% of all text messages are read immediately!

With mobile marketing, you can confidently target your customers in a way that other offline and online advertising methods can’t reach or produce great results.

Using mobile marketing to increase your sales revenue is easier than you might think. Once set up, you can use mobile campaigns as a tool to share news, keep in touch with your customers, offer promotions or simply as a means of an appointment reminder to help decrease the amount of irritating no-show ups.

An important fact to bear in mind however, is that despite the many benefits of mobile, your customers are searching for your website from their smartphones, which means if you don’t have a mobile website you simply won’t be found!

According to Google, if what your customers see is your full-sized main website on their mobile phone screen, you will be losing as many as 40% of prospective local customers.

You may have invested in a website for your salon, but do you know if it is mobile optimised?

Click here: http://www.pcmclientboost.com/page-simulator/ to what your website looks like on a mobile phone.

A simple easy to navigate mobile website with attractive offers, booking form, click to call buttons etc, could attract as many as 1,600 prospective customers who are searching for a hair or beauty salon using their mobile phones or devices in your local area each month!

To make it easy for your customers to call you, book an appointment, or buy a product from you, why not claim a no obligation FREE mobile site mock-up for your salon, bringing you right up to date with your competitors. http://www.pcmclientboost.com/mobile-websites-2/

To find out more about how our mobile marketing campaigns can help to fill your salon appointment book with ease, please get in touch here: http://www.pcmclientboost.com/contact-us/

Speak to you soon!

Beverley Anderson
Your Marketing Mentor & Coach

Have You Claimed, Verified and Optimised Your FREE Google+ Local Page Listing?

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:41:03 +0100

Google offers a place to list your business for FREE where local consumers can easily find you; it’s called Google+ Local).

So, what is Google+ Local?, it’s just basically an upgrade and a redesign from the old Google Places profiles.

In order to utilise this tool, you must first add this feature or claim it as part of your Google+ Local account. In the process of claiming and verifying your Google+ Local page, you can start optimising it to achieve high search engine rankings. This process involves making your Google+ Local page listing as complete as possible – filling out as many fields as you can. There’s also a way to incorporate keywords into your Google+ Local listings that will help optimise it. It’s also important that you add the maximum amount of videos and images to make your listing complete.

This is FREE advertising!

Once you complete everything and submit it to Google, they will give you an activation PIN code that you will use to activate your listing.

To manage your account, you still need to go to Google.com/places, and from that dashboard, you can manage your account from there.

Google+ Local offers mapping as part of their webpage format. This helps your prospects and customers find their way to your business location with a clear road map that is available for download right from the web.

As you can see this is a very powerful strategy designed to dominate your competition and keep your business at the top of Google. Not using Google+ Local is a major profit leak in your business because the truth is that most consumers stop in the Google+ Local section when searching for local products or services.

If your business is absent, you are missing out on a huge potential to attract more new customers.

To help our business clients started with claiming and optimising their Google+ Local pages, Profitable Creative Marketing has launched a new Google+ Local Optimisation and Reputation Management service

This new service is a comprehensive package designed to support local businesses with fully optimised Google+ Local pages and Reputation Management.

Introductory subscriptions are available until 30th September!

Profitable Creative Marketing

Tel: 01506 301114

Email: info@pcmclientboost.com

www.facebook.com/ProfitableCreativeMarketing

Quick Start Tips To Get Your Mobile Marketing Started

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:43:02 +0100

Technology allows us to do many things. We can go anywhere at top speed, see anything as instantly as it happens, and buy anything from any location. Technology also allows us to advertise on most things these days. Mobile marketing uses technology to advertise on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and tablets cost effectively, particularly for small business owners, consultants, and other professionals.

If you haven’t started with mobile marketing, here are some tips to get your campaign started:

1. Figure out who your target demographic is for mobile marketing before determining your strategy. It’s likely they like technology, and if they’ve opted-in they like what you have to offer. Cater to their wants and needs by providing them with quality information.

2. A key to successful mobile marketing is to offer exclusive content, discounts, and other attractive offers to your mobile customers so they feel like they have an inside deal. Your customers want to feel special and they want to know that there was a reason they signed up for your marketing, so give them something for it.

3. Use a professional looking Landing Page to communicate your sms or text message coupons or offers. Mobile Landing Pages are specifically designed to convert mobile visitors to your website into valued customers. With built-in features such as click-to-call, sms/text, email marketing and social media component, you will be able to grow your own online list following. Here are some cool example templates: http://goo.gl/M7U5k

4. Make sure your mobile ads are compatible against all platforms, mobile devices and more. Your business must stay accessible to as many mobile users as possible. By ensuring compatibility on all platforms, you maximize your exposure and your business’ ability to reach more customers via the devices they use the most.

5. Maintain your program. There is nothing more disappointing for a customer than to sign up for a mobile marketing campaign and never hear anything from the company. Take the time to send customers a message at least once a week, even if it just something simple, like telling them you are glad to have them on board.

As stated above, we can do many things with technology. With mobile marketing, anyone can advertise on any mobile platform, whether it is a mobile phone or tablet.

Using the advice from this blog, you can use mobile marketing to promote your products and services, keep your existing customers up-to-date with valuable information in real time!

If you found this blog post helpful, please share it with someone you know who may benefit.

Best wishes,

Beverley

Make Your Traditional Business Card Stand Out with QR Codes, Social Media & Mobile Marketing

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:46:39 +0100

Business cards are one of the most over looked of all business tools. Your business card gives a visual representation of you and your business.

A business card is used to introduce a company and is usually a printed resource for contact.

Whilst virtual business cards are becoming more a popular viable alternative to paper cards, there is still a huge demand for traditional business cards.

If you placed your business card on a table with many other business cards, would yours be the one that stood out?

A growing number of small business owners are finding it useful to include QR Codes and social media links on their business cards. Including social links on your card not only showcases your modern approach to doing business, but it also gives your business contacts more choices in how they engage with you.

If you are looking for new ways of promoting your business card, try adding a QR- Code and integrated with social media and mobile marketing.

By adding these features to your traditional business card, this will enable you to attract and acquire new customers to your business.

Remember, your business card is a lead-generating marketing tool, so include these strategies as a modern way to attract more potential customers and build your online community.

Top Tips for a Successful Business Card

Keep it simple. A normal size business card is about 3.5”x2”, you don’t want to make it any bigger than that.
Make sure you have clear action taking message
Utilise the back and the front of your business card to promote your key benefits
Include a QR Code leading potential customers to your website
Add your social media icons such as -‘like us on Facebook to claim your 20% discount’

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel welcome to share this information with someone you know will benefit.

If you would like to receive more marketing tips, why not sign up to my fortnightly ClientBoost™ Secrets. It’s FREE, so what have you got to lose?

Speak to you soon!

Beverley Anderson
Business Owner

Sshhh.... Are You Benefitting From A SECRET Facebook Group?

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:13:11 +0100

Did you know you can set up your own secret group on Facebook? Your customers may appreciate and value more from being part of a private group. Is it completely private? My experience is yes!

Secret groups can be beneficial in lots of different ways for example:

If you have staff to manage, you can share internal information such as scheduling staff meetings, upcoming internal events, important announcements, project management, last minute changes, gaining feedback etc. In fact, anything that you would normally email or text your staff about you can use your Facebook secret group to do just that.

You also have the option of using a chat feature, allowing you to bounce ideas or simply post to other Group members. Your discussions are completely private.

If you don’t know how to set up your secret group, here’s a quick guide:

Setting up your Group:

In order to create your secret group, you must have a personal Facebook account already set-up, then simply do the following:

1. Go to http://facebook.com/groups

2. Click the green Create Group button

3. Give the Group a name and choose an icon with the dropdown arrow

4. Add any members who are your Facebook Friends by typing their names

tip: if you are including members who are not your personal friends create a Closed Group first before changing it to a secret one once all members have joined.

5. Finally, select the Privacy setting and click the create button

When you have set up your group (as a Closed Group first), send the URL for the group to your select Secret Group Members. The URL will take them to the page where they can ask to join the page.

The Group founder will approve the ‘Join the Group’ requests; once you have your members change the Group setting to secret.

Once the group members are all in the loop change, and the setting has been changed to ‘secret’ the group becomes untraceable! The Groups URL will then even be hidden from Google!

If you follow this strategy, you and your staff will benefit from having a conversation on Facebook, but keeping some things PRIVATE. You may also want to consider setting up secret groups for VIP or other client groups!

Enjoy!

Beverley

How are you getting on with your Facebook Timeline?

Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 +0100

It’s been sometime since my last blog post, as I’ve been busy getting up to speed with the all new Facebook Timelines.

I hope you are seeing its benefits and beginning to get to grips with the features.

I must admit however that while there are lots of new features that work in the favour for our business (such as FB giving us more control elements and engagement outlets); it will take a little longer before we are all up to full speed.

Hang in there, you’re not alone!

I believe that once you have really got to grips with your Timelines you will have more control and benefit greatly from its ability to allow more engagement with customers and marketing avenues.

If you’re struggling to put the jigsaw pieces of the Timelines puzzle together, I’m here to offer a helping hand. I will be sharing some great tips I’ve picked up along the way in my upcoming blogs, so stay tuned!

If you also have something of value to share, please feel welcome to post a message to: www.facebook.com/profitablecreativemarketing

Here’s one of my friendly tips:-

Activity Log

Your Activity Log stores information on every interaction that you have with your fans on your page. It keeps a record of the updates you make, which is fantastic for tracking and monitoring your posts and ensuring you don’t become repetitive.

By utilising the Activity log, it will help you assess how you are getting on with your Facebook marketing efforts.

It is important to mention however that while such new Timeline features are here to give us a great user friendly Facebook experience, the real important factor to having a successful Facebook Timeline is YOU!

You are your brand and you will quickly see your Timeline grow if your page portrays a human personality. So, if you can confidently tick off the list below, you’re on the right track.

¨ keep up to date with current affairs
¨ share relevant content of value to your followers
¨ answer your customer’s queries
¨ interact with quality status updates

If you follow this strategy, you will be rewarded with a Facebook community that enjoys being a part of your page.

Essentially this takes time, and I am aware that time costs money! So, build the time and the cost into your overall business and marketing strategy. If you can’t spare the time and conscious about your ROI, consider hiring a social media expert who is dedicated to helping you grow your social media presence and offers you a no quibble guarantee.

If you found this blog post helpful please feel free to sign up to my fortnightly Clientboost™ Secrets newsletter.

Best wishes,

Beverley

The Facebook Timeline Countdown is on ........

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:44:30 +0100

A few weeks ago I shared some hints and tips to get you going with your new Facebook Timeline layout. I hope you are all adjusting to the changes and getting organised. There is not long to go now before this rolls out for us all!

Just to remind you…. there are some areas you will need to take care of as a priority.

Here is an example of the new Timeline layout changes and some important factors that you should take care of straight away:

Cover Picture

There is a nice big area (851 x 315 pixels in size) at the top of the page allocated to a cover picture.

This picture should give a good feel for what your business is, although it must NOT include the following:

Price or purchase information for your products, such as ”20% off” or ”download it at our website”.
Contact information, website address or email addresses.

References to Facebook features or actions such as ”Like” or ”Share” or an arrow pointing from your cover photo to any of these features.
Calls-to-action such as ”Get it now” or ”tell your friends”.

Profile Picture

You will still have a profile picture, with measurements of 180 x 180 pixels (ensure your image looks good when scaled to 32 x 32). We highly recommend using your profile picture to show your company logo or an image that strongly represents your brand. The profile picture has been moved from the upper left corner of your Facebook page to a location nested in the bottom of the “Cover” picture.

Links & Custom Tabs

The links to your Custom Tabs have been removed from the left side of your Facebook page, and they are being replace by large “Custom Tab” images which will displayed below the “Cover” picture. If you do not have any Custom Tab images, then Facebook will display generic icons in those spaces. The default landing tab is being eliminated so all visitors to your Facebook page will arrive at your Timeline page. The “Custom Tab” images will be your way to guide visitors to your custom pages.

If you would like to know more, we have created a fantastic guide to the Timeline changes, and how to go about ensuring your business keeps ahead of the game with these changes.

BONUS!

Download Our
FREE Timeline Facebook Guide
You’ll be Able to Adapt Swiftly To These Changes TODAY!

TO CLAIM YOUR FREE TIMELINE FACEBOOK GUIDE FOLLOW THIS LINK http://www.pcmclientboost.com/our-services/facebook_timeline/facebook-timeline-special-offer/

I hope that you have found this helpful, and you are well on your way to having a great Timeline Business Page.

If you are having any problems at all please don’t hesitate to contact us or take up our special offer of a Timeline conversion package for £37.00 (offer ends 3rd April).

I’m looking forward to seeing all your new business pages : )

Best Wishes,

Beverley

Facebook has made some BIG changes: Find out how this affects your business

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:03:14 +0000

No doubt you have noticed the Facebook message on your Facebook page affecting us all.

As of 30th March our business pages will be updated to a new Timeline layout.

Here are some very important things we think you should spend some time getting up to speed with before these changes are officially implemented.

Here are some new rules and regulations to be aware of:

1. There is a nice big area at the top of the page allocated to a cover picture. This picture should give a good feel for what your business is, although it must NOT include the following:

Price or purchase information for your products, such as ”20% off” or ”download it at our website”
Contact information, website address or email addresses
References to Facebook features or actions such as ”Like” or ”Share” or an arrow pointing from your cover photo to any of these features.
Calls-to-action such as ”Get it now” or ”tell your friends”

2. Your cover photo should be 851 x 315 pixels in size.

3. The new design incorporates photo’s, likes and apps at the top of your page below your cover photo. The photo app will always be first, but the rest can be moved around to change the order. This is where we will advise you to create custom apps allowing you to still use Facebook for Lead Generation.

4. One of the biggest changes is that you will no longer be able to select a default landing page for new visitors to your page. Everyone will come straight to your timeline. Ensuring you have a custom welcome tab is an alternative to this and our team at PCM are coming up with some creative ideas to make sure your new visitors won’t hesitate to click it. : )

5. Remember with the changes Facebook will look more visual. We encourage you to use this to your advantage, so use images in your posts to generate 2x more engagement than other post types!

6. Other new features include being able to direct message your connections and being able to pin your favourite update to the top of your Timeline for up to 7 days.

It might take a bit of getting used to, but most importantly we have time to prepare.

Stay tuned, we will be sure to keep you updated.

Best wishes,

Beverley

In 2012 (this year) more people will use mobile phones than PCs to get online!

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:24:17 +0000

As you probably recall me telling you before in my last blog post, I am going to discuss Mobile Marketing over the next coming weeks, simply because Mobile is in DEMAND.

So, why does Mobile work and how can you make the most of it?

What is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile marketing is a type of marketing that uses the mobile phone to provide information, advertisements and other types of promotion. One of the best features of mobile marketing is its ability to get right to the customer at the right time. By promoting in this manner, mobile marketing allows individuals to get just what they want when they need it. This allows your businesses to reach your customers right on target!

Benefits of Mobile

A mobile phone has become something that people just do not leave behind. It is a tool that connects them with their friends and family and even their favourite retailers. It allows them to correspond in emails and text messages and it allows them to stay connected to the rest of the world. In short, the mobile phone is something that almost everyone now owns.

The combination of the mobile phone and marketing techniques can lead to increased sales and promotion as well as convenience and affordability. It works so well because of just what it is. It is a tool for your consumers to stay in touch with just what they need and for your businesses to provide for that need.

I only have a small Marketing Budget; How Can I Make The Most Of It?

Ever notice how health clubs market heavily in January and in the spring? They know people are more likely to be focused on getting in shape at the beginning of a new year, and before summer. So they spend more marketing budget and focus their promotional efforts during these times of the year and they maintain a lower profile the rest of the year.

§ Ask yourself these questions: What “seasonality” exists in my business? How can I schedule my marketing to take advantage? For example, it may not make sense or be necessary to market consistently all year long.

§ Are there times when your particular business is slow and customers are not likely to purchase?

§ Conversely, are there times during the year when your customers are more likely to be in the market for your product or service?

Tip: Try scheduling your marketing activities to take advantage of these peak times and to avoid what I call the “valleys” (when no one is in the market for what you are selling). Aim to persuade as many people as possible to buy from you when they are in the buying mood.

Are you using mobile marketing in your business? If so, what are your experiences? I’d love to hear more!

Share your comments at: www.facebook.com/profitablecreativemarketing or tweet me at: http://twitter.com/bev_clientboost

If you’re not using mobile, contact us to find out how: www.pcmclientboost.com

Best,

Beverley

2012 New Year Ahead For Your Business

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:08:53 +0000

Wow! 2011 is over but…

How was your year? I’ve been asking many of my customers this question and I’m getting mixed reactions. Some say they had a good year and others say it didn’t go as well as they hoped.

No matter how good or bad your results were in 2011… how about we all make 2012 the best year ever? If you had a tough year, don’t dwell on the past. There is always ways to improve your business!

So what will I be doing to help my customers improve on in 2012? Let me sum it up in one sentence…

“My goal for 2012 is to help as many business owners to achieve a better marketing ROI from their online social media and mobile marketing efforts.

In my upcoming blogs, I will be sharing the hottest tools and predicted strategies to help make this year, the year that you reach your business goals and most importantly gain successful ROI results from your online social media and mobile marketing campaigns.

Look out for my next blog where I will be focusing on mobile marketing.

Why?

Well, with purchasing power very much moving to the hands of mobile devices, Google has estimated that 44% of last minute online shopping searches will be done over smartphones and mobile devices. This gives businesses, particularly small business owners a great opportunity to reach a wider network of customers where traditional marketing methods may never have reached.

In 2012, I believe the successful marketers will be those that can grasp this new move!

Best wishes

Beverley

seocopy: Social Media Hypocrisy. Think about it… how many times...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:29:54 +0000

seocopy:

Social Media Hypocrisy. Think about it… how many times have you heard someone ask show me the ROI in social media? Seriously people, you’re asking the wrong question. Social media entails so many different aspect and elements. How can anyone answer that question with a straight face? Take a look at this video, then lets talk about ROI.

Join me on LinkedIn!

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:54:37 +0000

If you are a business looking to get more information on growing your business on-line join my group on LinkedIn! I’d love to share my experience and knowledge with you having 20+ years experience as a business growth specialist. If you need any help at all with anything feel free to get in touch! Today’s discussion is all about the benefits of Video Marketing!

Beverley Anderson

digitalspark: Enough said … are you learning by doing?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:36:01 +0000

digitalspark:

Enough said … are you learning by doing?

Pinch of Marketing /////: Top Tip Tuesday /// Content is key

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:33:59 +0000

Pinch of Marketing /////: Top Tip Tuesday /// Content is key:

pinchmarketing:

Image via: http://www.volacci.com/content-strategy

As marketing savvy businesses have gotten themselves online and are blogging, tweeting and maintaining websites left-right-and-centre, the last 12 months have signalled that now is the time to optimise that presence. And the route to…

socialmediainfografiken: Social Media Infografik: Biggest...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:58:19 +0000

socialmediainfografiken:

Social Media Infografik: Biggest Websites compared

5 Ways to Make Your Tweets Stand Out

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:57:10 +0000

progressivemediaconcepts:

It’s hard to get noticed on Twitter when there are hundreds of thousands of tweets being posted every minute. Between its 200 million users, Twitter sees approximately 350 million tweets everyday. How is your business going to stand out with all of that going on? First off, not everyone sees 350 million tweets a day because they probably do not follow that many users. But you still need to be able to shine in your followers’ Twitter feeds. Let’s discuss some ways that you can create attention-grabbing tweets for your company.

Read More

Toronto Social Media Consultant: 5 Key Digital Media and Advertising Trends for 2012 [VIDEO]

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:56:59 +0000

Toronto Social Media Consultant: 5 Key Digital Media and Advertising Trends for 2012 [VIDEO]:

torontosocialmediaconsultant:

The past year didn’t see the emergence of the next Facebook or Twitter. Rather, it saw social and digital spread to new places and along the way enabled a wave of new opportunities for content creators and marketers.

Recently, I had an…

The Hamburger of Marketing! :)

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:55:16 +0000

The Hamburger of Marketing! :)

analyticisms: Some critical insights from a social video...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:51:58 +0000

analyticisms:

Some critical insights from a social video study. Our favorite:

Social video programs deliver completion rates that are significantly higher than pre-roll. On average, 64 percent of users served a 30-second pre-roll video watch to completion. In contrast, 95 percent of users who opt-in to a social video of the same length watch to the end.

The State of Social Marketing 2011 – 2012 via Brian Solis

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:24:10 +0000

The following report is brought to you by the Pivot Conference taking place in New York on October 15-16, 2012. You can download a full copy of the report for free by clicking here.

At the end of 2011, Social marketing stands at a profound crossroads. Some organizations are finally embracing the importance of social networks and, as a result, increasing investments in creative engagement, marketing, and service programs. Others see the future value, but lag behind in execution. At the vanguard, Social Businesses drive a virtuous cycle of discovery: Their successes in Social marketing lead to new data, which lead to insights, which lead to new and more effective programs as well as the business systems and processes necessary to improve internal and external collaboration.

In 2012, social media marketing, driven by these innovations, will only continue to mature. Bottom-up learning about what really works in Social will be essential for this expansion. Research conducted by IBM in 2011, for instance, revealed a gap between consumer expectations toward the businesses they support in social media, and executive assumptions about what these consumers wanted. This “Perception Gap,” as defined by the IBM study, demonstrates the importance of bottoms-up, informed social marketing programs, as opposed to the traditional top-down strategies tied to the usual monologue-marketing channels.

Not all customers are created equal. So, businesses are learning that there must be more than one approach to reaching and engaging customers through the emerging Social channels.

This year, at the second annual Pivot Conference, we explored the evolving landscape for consumerism as colored by the emergence of Social Consumers. Brands, agencies, academics and thinkers examined how Social Consumers find and share information, how they influence and are influenced by engagement, and also how they make decisions. In the end, it was clear that the Social Consumer is fundamentally unlike a traditional consumer and, as such, compels brands to rethink sales, service, and marketing strategies across social, broadcast, and mobile networks. At stake is a business’ relevance to the Social Construct, which is the new key to consumer connection and success. For brands today, if you don’t establish this connection, Social Consumers will just connect themselves and collaborate without you.

To help brands more effectively plan for improving customer engagement and experiences in 2012 and beyond, the Pivot team, along with The Hudson Group, surveyed 181 brand managers, agency professionals, and experts. Their answers paint a picture for how businesses intend to reach their Social Consumers. Additionally, the results serve as a benchmark as you, the Social Business leader, assemble your strategies over the next year.

The Rise of the Social Consumer

Who is this Social Consumer and how does he or she differ from traditional counterparts? Let’s start with a working definition. A Social Consumer is someone who first goes to their social networks of relevance to learn about products and services. Though somewhat influenced by their overall social graphs, Social Consumers emphasize the input of those who define their interest graph – like-minded individuals on any given subject who share common interests and experiences with them. In this way, Social Consumers evaluate the shared experiences of those they trust, and expect businesses to respond to their socialized questions. As a consequence, Social Consumers don’t follow a linear approach through the classic ‘interest to intent’ funnel during their decision making process. Rather, they follow an elliptical pattern where their next steps are inspired by the insights of others, and their experiences are, in turn, fed back into the cycle to inform the decisions of others.

Reprinted from The End of Business as Usual, Chapter 14

In the Pivot study, we asked if participants had a clear picture of who their Social Consumer is. An astounding 77 percent said yes.

Comparing these results to the working definition presented above, which survey participants did not review in advance, as well as the Perception Gap produced by IBM, I wonder how these numbers would change if the question was asked now. Given the results noted below, it appears that respondents believe they know who their Social Consumers are, even though they may not have actually engaged them in a detailed conversation.

When the Pivot team explored specifically if respondent organizations asked Social Consumers what they expect from engagement, most responded, “No.” This is intriguing because we have 77 percent of organizations who say they know what their Social Consumers want, but 53 percent haven’t really asked. They do not—cannot—really know how to deliver value in social and mobile networks, thus pointing to IBM’s Perception Gap. On the other hand, 35 percent did note that they asked Social Consumers about their expectations. Our belief is that these organizations will most likely outperform organizations that did not ask.

Businesses shared their perspectives on the benefits and customer expectations of social engagement in their responses to the survey. The results cover a wide spectrum of sales, service, and marketing benefits, with customer service, insight to make decisions, and the ability to learn about new products as the top three entries. Deals and rewards came in fourth and fifth respectively. Each of the benefits is important, however. Offering exclusive content, the ability to provide feedback for improvement and social commerce add to the complexity of reaching and engaging the varying needs of social consumers. We think marketers should look here at the whole tapestry, more than the individual strands.

When asked about the gender of the Social Consumer, respondents believe their Social Consumers are equally divided between male and female. This is result is intriguing for many reasons, not least of which is the findings in previous studies that females skew higher across popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as for most social commerce services. Are we seeing the emergence of more men in social networks? Perhaps.

As we continue to examine the demographic makeup of Social Consumers, this study indicates they tend to be most commonly in their 30s and 40s. But there are strong showings of Social Consumers distributed across those 26-30, 46-50 and also 51-55. Clearly, social is no longer the province of just the young.

The household incomes of Social Consumers are scattered across the board. But in aggregate, it appears that Social Consumers lean toward desirable income levels. Median income from the study results is just over $60,000.

When asked which networks are frequented by their Social Consumers, participants stated that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were numbers one, two and three respectively. Facebook and Twitter are viewed as essentially ubiquitous. At the time of this survey, Google+ hadn’t yet opened up brand pages, but as of November 2011, businesses can develop official brand presences. Yet, even without the ability to do so during the survey process, businesses recognized the important role Google+ plays in the lives of their Social Consumers

When it comes to Social Consumers’ increasingly common mobile activity, Facebook and Twitter still maintain the top two spots. Foursquare, though, jumps into the third position ahead of LinkedIn, an indication that geo-location networks continue to rise in popularity.

Pleased To Meet You, I Hope You Get My Game

Gamification is becoming part of social networking, education, and loyalty programs due to its attractiveness to the Social Consumer.

Zynga is currently the overwhelming leader in capturing the time and attention of Social Consumers when it comes to gaming, probably a reflection of Facebook’s current dominance. Intriguing here is that the second most common response is “other,” a sign of the diversity in this arena.

Social professionals don’t see a clearly dominant player amount the many current portable photo networks available for popular smartphone platforms. No option received even 25 percent of the responses. However, Hipstamatic is firmly positioned at the top of the list with almost double the usage of Dailybooth, which currently sits at number two, according to respondents. They seem to be leading a rather open field.

In the world of social and group-based deals, Groupon ranks number one among Social Consumers, but LivingSocial maintains a strong foothold in the number two spot. Facebook Deals was in third, but the service has since been discontinued by Facebook.

“After testing Deals for four months, we’ve decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks,” Facebook told Reuters in a statement published in August 2011, during the time the survey was already in the field.

Engagement is not defined by conversations. Engagement is the act of a consumer and an organization or brand interacting within the consumer’s network of relevance through a combination of conversations, content, or related information. Engagement, and here’s the important part, is then measured by the takeaway value, sentiment, and resulting actions following the interaction.

Brands largely disagree with the belief that conversations in social networks alone drive meaningful business outcomes. The true test, of course, is whether or not outcomes are defined and if they are introduced into engagement as a desired click path. On the flip side of the coin, brands either completely or mostly agree that conversations help with brand lift and relevance responding with 51 percent and 45.5 percent respectively.

There’s notable difference, however, in whether or not brands think their Social Consumers want something of tangible value in exchange for a social connection. 21.6 and 45 percent completely or mostly agree. 27 percent and 6 percent mostly and completely disagree. Our advice: When in doubt, ask.

With all of the fanfare around social media, it would be easy for those living within the new marketing paradigm to assume that social media already was or soon will be mainstream within the organization heading into 2012. However, respondents were divided in their outlook. Just over half believed that social marketing is already mainstream within their organizations and just under half think that social marketing will still be experimental a year from now. This shows where we are in the social revolution: the reality of change is broadly accepted, but norms about fundamental issues still remain elusive. We know we are going to a new place, we just aren’t yet sure exactly where and how fast.

When asked what was preventing the organization from moving beyond experimentation in social marketing, respondents’ reasons were widely distributed. Budget was seen as a challenge, as was the inability to define or measure clear outcomes. We feel that, whatever your personal sense, each of these points is worthy of exploration and definition within the organization. This is the only way to ensure that the needs of Social Consumers do not go unmet. A working strategy and understandable benefits are critical to rallying support across the organization, especially among executives. Defined metrics tied to thoughtful strategies demonstrate progress. Listening combined with research will reveal the need for a cross-functional approach as data always spotlights the varying needs of Social Consumers – beyond marketing.

Confusion reigns today, but conviction lies on the horizon. 2013 is the year a solid set of respondents sees social marketing finally breaking beyond experimentation within the organization. Still, we can see the current uncertainty about the development of social: 15 percent look to 2014 as likely year for corporate breakthrough, another 15 percent see 2015 or later, and a sobering 35 percent still don’t know what to think.

While respondents see social marketing as crossing into the organizational mainstream relatively soon, an overwhelming 89 percent of participants see social marketing as a permanent series of experiments. The takeaway here is that professionals, for the foreseeable future, feel that there is much to learn with regard to the Social Consumer and how to effectively engage and steer positive experiences and outcomes for social marketers. As one area of social moves into the mainstream, it will just open up new areas for experimentation.

The trend in social media budgets is positive. The percentage of respondent companies spending less than 5 percent of budget on social drops by about half between 2011 and 2013 and the percentage spending over 50 percent more than doubles. The sweet spot hovers around 25 percent of budget, rising slightly over the next two years. All this indicates to us is that it remains early days in the development of social in organizations.

Looking ahead to 2012, brands are thinking through goals as they plan next year’s social marketing programs. At the top of the list, at almost 100 percent, is the need to increase sales, which is a reflection of the need for marketers to demonstrate tangible ROI. Consumer engagement, lead generation and brand lift are also atop the list. Among the notable responses from participants, influencing consumer behavior is at just over 60 percent, establishing points of influence at just under 60 percent, and discovering points of relevance shown at 40 percent spotlight how new touchpoints will play a role in driving desirable outcomes and experiences. The overall sense of the responses is a tilt away from “soft” benefits toward harder edged benefits that drive the bottom line.

Surprisingly, improving customer service and support was toward the bottom of the list, but it is promising to see that the research does show that businesses are placing it in the upper half of 2012 planning. We see customer service as one of the potential breakthrough areas for social networks.

Make the Pivot

Here’s the important takeaway: To successfully reach the Social Consumer and ensure that social media extends across the organization, look at this list as a series of steps rather than a hierarchical rank. Thinking through each item will force a more thoughtful approach to reaching Social Consumers and guiding positive experiences and outcomes. Budgets and support are the net benefits of following these action items.

1. Increase understanding of the benefits of the Social Construct within your organization.
2. Develop a clear strategy for social.
3. Define outcomes.
4. Tie strategies and supporting metrics to business objectives.
5. Earn executive buy-in with data, demonstrate the needs of Social Consumers, and show how others are successfully engaging them today.
6. Earn support across departmental functions by showcasing how the varying needs of the Social Consumer are unmet by key roles in the organization.

As you review these data and compare them to your 2012 plans, or if you’re in the planning stages now, remember that benchmarking against peers is only one part of the process. The real opportunity lies among your Social Consumers by identifying their needs, and benchmarking them against your solutions for them and thus your business opportunity.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Via briansolis.com