Sales & Lead Generation Success with Social Marketing, Social Networking

A recent business survey reported 39% of business to business (B2B) marketers are generating leads from Facebook, and 19% generated sales from Facebook.  Business to Consumer (B2C) marketers have higher success with Facebook at 67% generating leads and 39% generating sales.

The numbers reverse on the professional oriented LinkedIn with data from the August “State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report” showing 44% of Business to Business marketers generating leads on LinkedIn and 23% generate sales.  The numbers are lower at 21% of Business to Consumer companies generating leads from LinkedIn and 9% generating sales.

Business to Consumer lead generation on Twitter is a far larger source of leads than LinkedIn with 43%,  Google+ is 15% and Pinterest lead generation is 13%.  In terms of sales the order is the same: Facebook generates 30% of sales, Twitter at 19% followed by LinkedIn at 9%, Google+ at 7% and Pinterest  generated 6% of sales generated.

An aspect of Social Marketing many companies overlook is the engagement with 90% of businesses reporting some type of engagement on social networks.  Engagement is the interaction between potential, current and past customers on social networks.  The higher the engagement rates (people who click LIKE or SHARE or COMMENT on posts) increases rankings for websites, spreads the message, brand or product to a exponentially larger audience and increases the rates of lead and sales generation.

Social Marketing is not going away, companies not activly marketing through social networks are losing out on hundreds of millions of potential buyers, sales and branding.  If your business needs an expert to build the best Social Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or websites contact the Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting 816-842-7774 for a professional consultation.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com 

Pinterest Influences 37% of Men to Purchase & 25% of All Users

Women make up the majority of Pinterest users with estimates varying from 60% to 90% of the user base.  It turns out that men report being more than twice as likely as women to have purchased a product or service after discovering it on the social network according to a recent Compete survey released in June 2012.

A total of 37% of male users said they have purchased a product or service after discovering it on Pinterest, compared to 17% of female users.  A total of 25% combined users on Pinterest said they made a purchase after viewing the product or service on Pinterest.

A Reuters and Ipsos poll released in June 2012 revealed that 1 in 5 American Facebook users say they have ever bought a product or service due to advertising or comments they saw on Facebook.
Both these results differ from recent SteelHouse data, which found that 59% of Pinterest users have purchased an item they saw on the site, compared to 33% of Facebook users who have bought an item they saw on their news feed or a friend’s wall.

Reach More Buyers and Sell More Online - Contact the Social Marketing Experts at www.SocialMarketingBuilders.com to build effective social network marketing!

Google+ Social Network Reaches 18 Million Users in the First Month

New statistics from Experian Hitwise shows Google+ is growing fast, thanks to a young demographic and significant traffic from other Google websites and tools.  The internet analytics firm has released its first set of data regarding Google’s new social network. Although the data only extends to July 16, it provides a detailed picture into the numbers that are driving Google+’s growth.

Below are some of the most interesting stats from Experian Hitwise’s report:

• As of July 16, Google+ is the 42nd most-visited social networking site in the US and the 638th most-visited site on the web. These numbers are amazing since the social network is invitation only at this time - Google+ will gain significantly when it opens to the public.
  
• According to Hitwise, Google+ had 1.8 million total visits last week, an increase of 283% from the previous week. Google+ has grown by a whopping 821% from the week ending on July 2, the first week Google+ was available.
  
• 56% of Google+’s upstream traffic came from other Google properties last week, with 34% of that traffic coming from Google.com. And 37% of its upstream traffic coming from search engines and the final 21% of its traffic driven by email.
  
• According to Hitwise, 57% of visits to Google+ were from males for the four weeks ending on July 16
  
• Google+ is dominated by young adults with the  25-34 age group being the largest age group with 38.37% of all visits and the 18-34 age group making up 38.11% of total visitors.
  
• Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco are the most dominant metropolitan areas driving traffic to Google+. Other locations with a higher proportion of visitors to Google+ than the general online population include Bowling Green, KY, Portland, OR and Bend, OR

 Internet Builder Consulting and the Social Marketing Builders teams of experts are busy helping customers setup their Google+ and other social media marketing (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube and more!).  Contact us today for a consultation or have our experts setup, manage and market your company on social networks for as little as $350

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing since 1995
816-842-7774 Corporate Offices

Consumers & Online Buyers Are Tapping Into the 'F-Factor' of Social Networking

Consumers are increasingly tapping into their online social networks of friends, fans, and followers to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services, according to analysis from Trendwatching.com. The consumer trend analysis firm calls this trend the “F-Factor,” with the “F” standing for friends, fans and followers.

Social Sources Become Trusted

As a result of social networking and other online communication technologies, consumers can now use trusted sources they know to obtain information about products and brands, rather than rely on third party advertising or perform extensive first hand research.

Trendwatching.com advises that consumers have always relied on word-of-mouth advice from friends, relatives and associates, but modern technology is greatly accelerating its development as a major influence of purchase decisions.

Facebook Dominates the F-Factor

The F-Factor is currently dominated by Facebook, according to Trendwatching.com. As of April 2011 Facebook has 500 million active users spend more than 700 billion minutes a month on the website and every month more than 250 million people engage with Facebook across more than 2.5 million external websites.

2010 Facebook data shows the average user clicks the “Like” button nine times each month and February 2011 Ad Age/Ipsos data shows 3/4 of Facebook users have liked a brand.

Consumers ‘F-Discover’ Best of the Best

Trendwatching.com has broken down five key ways the F-Factor influences consumer purchasing decisions. The first, ‘F-Discovery’ involves consumer desires to own or experience the best of the best and their desire for serendipity, excitement, interaction and community. People are curious and interested in what their friends and contacts think, do, eat, read, listen to, drive in, travel to and buy, because this will often be similar to how they want to think, act and buy.

Thus consumers are embracing communities, tools and apps that allow them to dive into and discover selections from friends, fans, followers, and so on.

Consumers Want ‘F-Rated’ Products

Consumers sometimes enjoy finding the best of the best through discovery; they are increasingly able to access personalized recommendations and reviews on something they know they want to purchase. Research from trendwatching.com shows more and more websites will automatically serve up friends’ recommendations, ratings and reviews next to goods and services that people are researching.

‘F-Feedback’ Makes Recommendations Personal

Anonymous reviews aren’t always what consumers need or want; they can lack relevance and context, and consumers with many options sometimes just want an unambiguous or finite opinion. F-Feedback involves consumers actively disclosing their purchasing intentions and reaching out to their friends and contacts for personalized feedback.

Trendwatching.com further advises that with more and more consumers increasingly viewing their online reputation as something to enhance as well as just protect, the quality of answers on Q&A services is rapidly improving.

F-Together Makes Shopping Social

While group buying platforms such as Groupon are revolutionizing local, consumers typically do not know the other members of the group that they are buying with. So, while consumers get to leverage the power of the web to benefit from better deals, the actual shopping experience frequently lacks the F-Factor. Consumers have strong incentives to share certain purchases, especially for F-Factor-friendly experiences such as buying event tickets where consumers can now automatically invite friends to a concert or movie right after purchasing a ticket.

F-Me Individualizes the F-Factor

Trendwatching.com refers to the trend of personalized products and services based on the activities and output of one’s social network as ‘F-Me’. This includes services that turn a user’s Facebook page into a daily newspaper and a user’s Twitter feed into a published journal.

Look for ‘Twinsumers’ and ‘Social-lites’

Both of these types of online consumers were identified by Trendwatching.com in December 2010 as critical to spreading positive word of mouth recommendations. Twinsumers are consumers with similar consumer patterns, likes and dislikes, and who are valuable sources for recommendations on what to buy and experience while ‘Sociallites’ are consumers who consistently broadcast information to a wide range of associates online.

Social Networking and the integration of social factors with websites, online marketing and eCommerce are imperative in any Internet Initiative today. Contact Internet Builder Consulting and the Social Marketing Builders social networking experts to build a BETTER website or Social Media Marketing solution today at 816-842-7774.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, Social Marketing & Consulting since 1995

Social Media Marketing Assists with Customer Satisfaction & Brand Performance

Retailers and businesses can use social media to turn consumers who have had a negative experience with their brand into brand advocates according to a new report from RightNow and Harris Interactive. Data from “The Retail Consumer Report” indicates 68% of US consumers who posted a complaint or negative review of a holiday shopping experience during the 2010 holiday season were contacted by the retailer. Two thirds (67%) of them wound up taking an action that would be considered positive for the brand.

Out of the 68% that complained and were contacted following a negative social media posting 34% deleted their original negative review, 33% turned around and posted a positive review and 18% became a loyal customer purchasing again. 

These figures show 85% of customers who posted a negative review of a shopping experience and were then contacted by the retailer wound up taking an action that was positive for the retailer. Two thirds (67%) took an action through social media directly removing or improving their original negative posting. 

Excellent Customer Service Improves Online Purchasing

Half of all online buyers shared that great customer service and/or a previous positive experience as influencing their decision to buy from a specific online retailer. After a positive online shopping experience, 31% of consumers purchased again, 21% recommended the seller to their friends, and 13% posted a positive review on a social network.

Effective professional social networking and social marketing will reach more buyers, sell more, improve customer satisfaction and assist with branding.  All business today providing a product or service needs to have professional Social Media Marketing and Social Networking setup and managed every week.  To contact the Internet Builder Consulting Social Marketing Experts call 816-842-7774 or visit us online. 

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet, Social Marketing & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, Social Marketing and Technology Solutions since 1995
816-842-7774 Office

Social Networking Dratamically Increases for Older Users - 3/4 of Working Adults Online

Overall social networking use by online American adults has grown from 35% in 2008 to 61% in 2010.  The increase is even more dramatic among older adults, according to new data from the Pew Research Center with the rate of online social networking nearly quadrupled among Older Boomers (from 9% to 43%) and the GI Generation (from 4% to 16%). 

8 Out of 10 Adults Are Online
79% of US adults 18 and older can be classified as “online” in correlation to their much higher social networking rate.  Millennials are the most active online with 95% participation. 
Online rates drop with each higher age bracket with 86% of Gen X and 81% of Younger Boomers are online. Even 76% of Older Boomers are online, meaning a solid majority of working-age adults are online.
Adults in their retirement years are online at lower levels though more than half (58%) of the Silent Generation are online. This figure sharply dips to 30% of the GI Generation (age 74 and older).
 
Social Networking and Social Marketing are EXTREMELY effective tools in reaching more buyers and managaing your online brand.  It is also important to have 'Social Optimization' similar to 'Search Engine Optimization' by a professional such as http://www.internetbuilderconsulting.com/ and our http://www.socialmarketingbuilders.com/ programs. 
 
Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Websites, SEO & Social Marketing Experts since 1995
816-842-7774

Use of Social Networking on Mobile Devices Grows Significantly

Social networking is among the fastest growing US mobile categories by total audience, according to a new report from comScore.   Information from “The 2010 Mobile Year in Review” indicates social networking reached 57.9 million US mobile users in December 2010, an increase of 56% from a less than 40 million users in December 2009. 
This growth rate compares favorably with the growth rates of other leading mobile categories such as classifieds (55%), mobile retail (53%) and general reference (47%). It is also worth noting that social networking had the third largest audience of leading mobile categories in December 2010, slightly behind weather and approximately 10% less than personal email, which had an audience of more than 60 million and a 39% growth rate.

The growth of social networking via mobile devices is primarily driven by Facebook which reached 90% of US social media users and 85% of European users growing more than 120% during the past year in both regions.  YouTube and Twitter hold second and third position in the US as well as Europe although European market shows much stronger growth.  In Europe YouTube grew 95% between December 2009 and December 2010 and the number of mobile Twitter users grew 195%.

Reach Social Networking users and prospective customers through expert Social Media Marketing solutions provided by Internet Builder Consulting SEO & Social Networking and our Social Marketing Builders.  Contact us online or call the corporate offices to setup a professional consultation with packages starting as low as $350.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com - Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing since 1995

816-842-7774 Corporate Offices

Women Lead Men in Social Networking Usage, Facebook Still # 1

One demographic trend that continued to increase in 2010 was women extending their lead on men in the share of their online time spent on social networking websites. Women spent 16.8% of their online time on social networking sites, up 36.5% from 12.3% of their online time a a year earlier.
By comparison, men spent 12% of their time on social networking sites in December 2010, up 32% from 9.1% a year earlier. The comScore data shows women not only use social networking websites more than men, but they are also accelerating their usage at a faster rate.
 



Of all the social networking websites Facebook continues to lead with an increase of 153.9 Million Users in December 2010 alone (38% increase).  Facebook now has more traffic than the # 1 Search Engine, Google making social marketing equally important to search engine marketing in terms of reach.
 
Contact Internet Builder Consulting and Social Marketing Builders to have an an expert social network marketing campaign built for your business starting at only $350 for professional setup, integration and training.  Visit and connect with our experts on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/InternetExperts
 
Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
816-842-7774 Corporate Office
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, Search Engine Optimization & Social Marketing Solutions since 1995

Friends with Benefits

All knowledgeable website and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms include Social Marketing as an intricate part of any website solution.  A website that is not properly Search Engine Optimized is useless and any Search Engine Optimization campaign is incomplete without Social Marketing.  The key aspect of Social Marketing is communicating 'socially' to engage, entice and interact with others rather than simply pushing a message out through a one sided conversation.

Online or offline it is important to connect and make 'friends' with others of similar interests, in the same industries and market to the proper prospective customers.  In either situation a one sided conversation will result in lack of results and likely loss of friends or connections.  The key to success is making 'friends with benefits' who will connect, communicate and produce online success.  Facebook separated the 'News' and 'Most Recent' last year to determine which items are considered important while others are simply 'updates'.  The reason Facebook changed this was to determine what information will be fed to Search Engines and what information is simply shared with only the people directly connected to each other.

Facebook is the # 1 source of referrals on the Internet today with more daily usage than all other websites and search engines including Google.  Search Engines have adopted their criteria and ranking algorithms to include information from social networking websites and online classifieds such as Craigslist in search results in real time.   The way information posted on Facebook is determined to be NEWS or just a Recent Update is determined by a simple hierarchy of criteria with the basic principles being:

1. How many friends or connections you have
2. How much interaction your friends or connections have with what you post
3. How much interaction do your friends or connections have with others
4. Is the post made on a Personal account or properly setup Page
5. The format and content of what was posted is important

This means that no matter how much you post on facebook it will not matter unless your 'friends' interact with what is posted.  If you have one 'friend' who constantly comments or likes your post it will dilute the interaction leading to lack of results thus you must have several 'friends' who interact on a regular basis to see real benefits.  Everything posted must be properly formatted and ideally done through a Page setup for your business, product or service.  Pages receive higher value ratings than personal accounts do and how the Page is setup affects how well it will rank when people search.

Facebook is the # 1 source of referrals today, buyers are using Facebook to connect with sellers but the most important aspect is the effect on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Content and posts from Facebook will show up on Search Engines when setup and marketed properly providing a double benefit if you have the right friends.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing and Virtual Tours since 1995
816-842-7774 Office

Social Networking Makes Users Feel More Connected Even as They Have Less Face to Face Communications

Social network users feel more connected to friends and family even as their face to face interactions dwindle, according to results of a new Harris Poll.

6 out of 10 Social Networking Users Feel More Connected
Six in 10 (59%) of social network users say they feel more connected to people now than previously. That figure is highest among 18-to-34-year-olds (63%) and females (61%). Similar percentages (58% overall, 63% of 18-to-34-year-olds, 60% of females) say they keep in touch with friends more now than in the past.

Social network users say this even as majorities admit they recently have had less face-to-face contact with friends (55%) and know what’s going on with many of their friends and acquaintances, but don’t interact with them personally or individually (60%). Negative emotional impact of this loss of personal contact appears small, as only 32% of social network users feel lonelier now than previously.

Social Networking Users Value Opinions
One key statistic for marketers to note is that 60% of social network users value the opinions others share on social media. This may explain why a little more than half (53%) would rather to listen to others’ opinions on social media than share their own. In addition, only four in 10 (41%) social network users feel important when giving brand, product and service feedback.

In all cases, 18-to-34-year-old users reply in the positive more than older age groups. Most notably, 68% of the youngest users value the opinions others share on social media and 47% feel important when giving brand, product and service feedback.

Social Networking is a Good Interface for Acquaintances
Forty-four percent of social network users would prefer to interact with acquaintances via social media rather than face-to-face. This percentage drops for interactions with friends (23%) and family (19%).
A substantially higher 59% of 18-to-34-year-old users would prefer to interact with acquaintances via social media rather than face-to-face.

9 out of 10 Online Adults Use Social Media
Nine in 10 (87%) online adults use social media. Overall, the highest percentage (22%) uses social media less than one hour per week. The highest percentage of 18-to-34-year-olds (17%) uses social media six to 10 hours per week.

Most Companies Have Social Media Strategies
Reflecting widespread adult use of social media, about three-quarters (72%) of companies currently have a social media marketing strategy, according to recent data from King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42.
Of the 27% without a social media marketing strategy (1% were undecided), 80% plan to have one within the next 12 months. Furthermore, only 11% of companies without a strategy definitely do not plan to implement one in the next 12 months, with 9% undecided.

Contact Social Network Marketing Builders to Build a Professional Social Networking Marketing Campaign for your business today or call us at 816-842-7774 for a consultation.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet, Website and Social Networking Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER websites and Internet Solutions since 1995

Businesses Are Starting to See the Importance of Social Marketing

U.S. businesses assign moderate importance to social networking as a technology tool, according to a recent study from Gartner.

Email Trumps SocNets in Current Importance

Asked to rate various technology tools on a scale of 1 to 7 (7 meaning extremely important and 1 not important at all), the average respondent rated social networking tools at slightly more than 4. Social networking only ranked ahead of four other tools, all of which have a social media aspect: wikis, social tagging/bookmarking, web feeds and blogs.

Email was clearly ranked as most important, with an average score near 7. The only other tool to receive an average score of more than 6 was group calendars/scheduling. The top five tools were rounded out by web conferencing, team workspaces, and simple end-user tools.

Social Networks Hold Future Importance
Despite their relatively low rating of the current importance of social networking tools, respondents gave it the second-highest score (more than 5) when asked to rate tools for their likely increase in future importance by 2012. Only team workspaces, with an average score close to 6, were rated higher in terms of likely increase in future importance.

Surprisingly, email was last in terms of its expected change in future importance, scoring about 4.5. This suggests respondents think email will retain its current high level of importance while other tools will become significantly more valuable. No tool is seen as becoming less valuable in the next two years.

Email Completely Deployed Almost Everywhere
Email is ubiquitous with complete deployments at the organizations of 94% of the respondents; while group calendars or meeting scheduling, web conferencing, instant messaging and team workspaces are in full deployment or are being deployed at more than 50% of the organizations surveyed.

Wikis are also adopted quite widely, with more than a fifth of the respondents reporting complete deployments and almost just as many again with deployments under way. The wiki is the most readily adopted newer social software technology with full or production deployments at more than 40% of the organizations surveyed.

Desktop video conferencing, blogs and web feeds are beginning to make inroads in many organizations with about a third of them reporting these technologies as either in full or production deployments. Expertise location, social networking tools, as well as social tagging and bookmarking are less widely deployed, with less than 10% of the organizations surveyed reporting full deployments.

Most Companies Have Social Media Strategies
Three-quarters (72%) of companies currently have a social media marketing strategy, according to a new study from King Fish Media, Hubspot and Junta 42. Of the 27% without a social media marketing strategy (1% were undecided), 80% plan to have one within the next 12 months. Furthermore, only 11% of companies without a strategy definitely do not plan to implement one in the next 12 months, with 9% undecided.

Does your business or organization need expert social networking and social media marketing setup, training or consulting?  Contact the experts at Internet Builder Consulting or visit us online at http://www.socialmarketingbuilders.com/ for examples and inexpensive options to get you going online!

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Social Marketing Expert
816-842-7774 Office

The Best Time to Post on Facebook is Friday Morning with an Image

A recent study found that Facebook posts with images posted on a Friday morning offer marketers maximum effectiveness, according to a new white paper from social media management company Vitrue.

Image Attachments More Effective than Video, Text

Comparing posts with image attachments to those with video and text attachments, “The Anatomy of a Facebook Post” found that image posts received 22% more engagement than video posts and 54% more engagement than text posts. Video posts received 27% more engagement than text posts.

While image and video being more engaging than text in Facebook posts is fairly intuitive, Vitrue analysts found image beating video in terms of effectiveness somewhat surprising. To explain this discrepancy, they cited image being easier and less time-consuming than video for the consumer to view and manipulate, as well as the difficulty of creating a high-quality video and problems many mobile Facebook users have viewing video.

TGIF

While most salaried professionals are happy to see Friday arrive, Facebook marketers should be even happier than most. Friday is the best day of the week to launch a Facebook marketing post.

Friday Facebook posts produce 64% more shares, likes and comments than posts made on Sunday, the day of the week with the lowest engagement. Friday posts are also 13% more engaging than Saturday posts, 7% more engaging than Monday posts and 3% more engaging than Tuesday and Thursday posts.

High Noon Marks Drop in Post Effectiveness

Dividing the day into 12-hour time blocks, posts made in the morning (the first 12 hours of the day) get 65% more engagement than posts made in the afternoon, or second 12 hours of the day. Vitrue suggests this correlates with the theory that people check Facebook first thing in the morning before the day gets busy.

Consumers Like Facebook Discounts
The prospect of receiving discounts is the number one driver for consumers to like a brand on Facebook, according to a new study from ExactTarget and CoTweet. Data from “Facebook X-Factors” shows that the highest percentage of consumers (40%) is motivated to like a brand on Facebook by discounts and promotions.
Almost the same percentage (39%) is motivated by showing support for the brand. However, two other popular reasons – getting free samples or coupons (36%) and updates on upcoming sales (30%) tie into the discount/promotion motivation. Other popular drivers include staying informed about the activities of a company (34%), getting updates on future products (33%), and fun or entertainment (29%).
Education and interaction (13%) are the least-popular reasons to like a brand by a substantial margin.

Contact Social Marketing Builders to build your expert Social Network Marketing and expand your reach online or call the main office at 816-842-7774