One of the biggest problems to face social media marketing is that due to it being a relatively new area there is little in the way of “text book” theories. That’s not to say that there aren’t books on the subject, there are hundreds. But, whilst many share similar ideas, the field just isn’t as developed as traditional marketing.

As such, the industry tends to suffer from buzzword mentality, jumping from one buzzword theory to the next. One term in particular that has stuck is community marketing, upon which many other loosely developed theories have been built. In fact, the term has become fundamental to how many in the social media industry think about their work and sells it in to clients. “You need to engage your community!” self pronounced social media experts (read social media douchebags) decry, probably because someone writing for Mashable has told them so. (more…)

Marketing underwent a massive shift in the last half century, with traditional methods of mass marketing moving to more niche strategies, targeting small groups or even individuals. The change came about as companies were able to learn more about their customers; improvements in technology meant they were able to gather huge amounts of transactional data and use this information to target relevant marketing material to their customers. (more…)

Facebook Insights does a really good job of showing you average stats for your Facebook pages, allowing you to see at a glance how your page is performing. What it has lacked thus far is a way of seeing which posts specifically are doing well, aside from looking at the number of interactions per post i.e. the number of times the post has been commented on and liked. (more…)

Here’s a quick look at how Digital PR and Social Media Optimisation can be used to improve SEO. The presentation ends with 5 Rules for Social Media Optimisation. Let me know your thoughts and feedback.

Not a day goes past without some mainstream media post about Twitter. It really is the poster child for social media. But, how many people in mainstream media really get it? As in enough to know the difference between the number of people a user follower, and the number or people that follow that user? (more…)

Facebook today rolled out notices at the top of the news feed section encouraging users to use their automatic friend finder tool. If you haven’t logged in yet today, you’ll be prompted to try out the tool with the notice that many of your friends have already successfully found friends using the tool. (more…)

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it, we all do. And on the Internet, where a new blog, Twitter feed or YouTube page is just a click away, first impressions really count. If you haven’t grabbed that person’s attention in the first 5 seconds, unless they are there for a reason, they’ll probably navigate away. Now this isn’t to say that great content won’t attract people to your outpost, but why put unnecessary hurdles in the way? This post isn’t going to go into the details of writing good content, but instead is focused purely on the aesthetics of your outposts. (more…)

Marketing Sherpa has released a report titled “2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark report” which details the importance of strategy in social media marketing.

It demonstrates that we are shifting phase in the social media marketing roll out, from the trial phase, where companies dip their toes in the social media ocean, to the strategic phase, where companies begin to integrate social media into to their core business. It is important to note that in the trial phase, companies are concerned with learning what works, largely by trial and error. As we move in to the strategic phase the focus shifts to proving the value of social media activity through quantifiable ROI, among other success measures. (more…)

It just goes to show the power of connected networks. What started off as a a graduate asking the girls in her department has spread quickly around the internet, being sent from department to department, company to company:

From: Leam-Taylor, Holly (UK – London)
Sent: 08 December 2009 11:50
Subject: Deloitte First year analysts Christmas Awards :D

So girls….

It’s been nearly 4 months at Deloitte so I think we should have some sort of Xmas awards ceremony for us ladies about the stuff that really matters at work i.e. gossip/ the boys! This probably massively violates the HR equal opportunities policy, but never mind! It’s all for fun and a bit of a laugh.

Ok, so the categories are below, please get your votes in asap, I’ll send out the results on Friday 18th Dec (that is all I will be doing that day as I will be SO hungover from the ball!) Any comments as to why you’ve picked a certain person that are particularly good/hilarious can be included, anonymously, of course ;)
1.) Fittest boy – looks
2.) Fittest boy – body
3.) Best dressed boy
4.) Boy most likely to sleep his way to the top
5.) Best piece of gossip you’ve heard so far this year
6.) Most attractive “older” member of staff (i.e above analyst grade)
7.) Boy with the best personality
8.) Most hilarious/embarrassing moment a girl has had
9.) The official Deloitte First-year Analyst Girls “Man of the year”

Enjoy thinking about it!
Much love to all

Holly xxx

The email has been forwarded through all the major financial institutions in London, and from them, major companies in the world. In just two days. Now the girl in question, Holly Leam-Taylor has taken down her Twitter and Facebook pages, probably trying to shy away from her new found internet fame. Just need to search google to see why…

In their increasing attempt to dominate the social space Facebook has announced drastic changes to the privacy controls of a person’s profile and content. In short, Facebook wants you to share your content with everyone.

One of the reasons that Facebook has proved popular was that it was a walled community. It was a place for you and your friends, not the strange guy who lives down the road. Facebook has been continually opening itself up, and in the process been alienating users. (more…)