The SEO Benefits of Social Networking with Facebook and Google+

The best way to rank higher on a Search Engine is to build a BETTER website since SEO is not something you do 'to' a website it is how the website is built.  Strong valid content, proper META, TITLE and ALT Tags, formatting of pages and links all lead to higher rankings.  There are direct benefits from social networking since a key aspect of the Search Engine algorithms has always been 'how many links from other sites go to your website' and what is the value of those other sites.

Facebook is still the leader online with 300 times more daily traffic than Google.  Google is attempting to draw some of the user base back with Google+ social network.  Google+ is built to be Search Engine friendly with the following key attributes:

• Content is crawled nearly instantly (it IS Google) unlike Twitter and Facebook
• Each post has a unique URL (the first 45-50 characters of the post are the title tag)
• Google indexes the text of every post and creates hash tags based on top keywords
• Any links to external websites are indexed and crawled which may lead to higher page rank
• Posts that are shared, interacted with and +1'd are seen as more important

There seems to be a correlation between highly followed and interacted 'Authors' or 'Pages' with higher value for posts made from more popular profiles or pages.  This means that an author (profile) who posts links to external websites with strong well written text that receives multiple interactions is valued higher than posts made by other profiles with little to no interaction.  

The image above shows how Google+ automatically pulls and displays the title of the post or page that was shared.  It also illustrates the 'Likes' and 'shares noted in the numeric values (+20 people and 1 share on the left and +33 people and 4 shares on the right).  Google does not directly follow the links to external URL's (website addresses) from posts but the people using Google+ do so so there is a benefit.  

The key is interaction not just posts, the value comes from connections of the connections creating exponentially vast networks who see your information as each new person '+' or shares your post.  Google owns Google+ so ALL content posted on Google+ is instantly indexed.  One study attributes Google+1's as having a slightly higher value than Facebook interaction although it is .30 for +1's and .27 for Facebook so it is a narrow margin.  

The top factor remains the quality of the web page or web site content which is where SEO is invaluable.  Building a proper website in the proper architecture with the proper content has always been the best way to rank higher on search engines.  The Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting have been teaching the values of Google+ for years and now the proof is in the SEO results!  If your company needs a better built website with SEO and Social Marketing for a complete solution contact the experts at Internet Builder Consulting today 816-842-7774

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

Social Networking Studies in Successful Social Marketing Timing, Posts, Interaction & Reach

Social Networking has been around for years, it transformed from a place to catch up with old friends from college or find a new band to the top online marketing platform in less than 5 years.  There are several recent studies that cover a wide range of statistical data, use and success from all of the social networks.

• Facebook is still King:  As of April 2013 Facebook has had over 120 BILLION Impressions where the longer posts were less read and less interacted with than shorter ones in the 100-119 character range.  Posts with Questions drove interaction up 10-20% as the chart below illustrates (on the left you see the character length and the red is posts with Questions while blue is posts Without Questions).

• Timing is Everything - the KISSMetrics study found that the best time to post on Twitter for ReTweets is 5PM.  The best time to post on Facebook for the most Shares is 1PM.  The best number of times to Tweet on Twitter is 1-2 Tweets per hour while it is best to post an average of once every two days on Facebook.  

• A study by Bit.ly and Raka found the best time to post on Twitter for Clicks is 1-3PM while the best overall time for posts on Facebook to receive the most clicks is 3PM.  Forget about Tweeting anything important after 8PM or posting on Facebook after 3PM Friday

• A third study by Argyle Social found the best time to post on both Facebook and Twitter is 9AM-7PM.  Tweets during the Weekday have 14% more interaction than on Weekends.  The last item is the most unusual since the study found posts on Facebook have 32% more interaction on Weekends than Weekdays.  Most other studies conflict with this finding the best times to post on Facebook are during the week.  

• 70% of Consumers Trust Recommendations on Brands from Friends:
  This is # 1 reason Facebook GraphSearch engine is going to change the way companies market online.  People like to work with, go where, be with and buy from others that they know and trust.  Facebook has more information about people than any other site on the Internet thus when someone searches for a "Pizza Place' or 'Real Estate Agent' and Facebook shows them a list of pizza places friends like or real estate agents friends work with they are highly likely to use what friends did.

• The average 'Shelf Life' of Social Networking Links or Posts is only 3 Hours.  A study by Bit.ly tracked user posts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and direct on Bit.ly showing the most interaction happens within the first 60 minutes of a post.  The chart below shows the density or views/interactions on the left with the time/seconds across the bottom.  

• Women Spend 30% more time on Social Networking websites than men.  This study by ComScore is fairly well known although I would say I am the exception to the rule since I am on Social Networks 12+ hours a day!  Some social networking sites like Pinterest have a significantly higher rate of use by women over men while others like Twitter are closer to equal.  

Statistically Social Networks are THE place to market no matter what age, gender, race or location you are targeting.  Social networks constitute over 20% of the total online time worldwide with more daily users on Facebook alone than ALL search engines combined.  The key is knowing how to setup, optimize, manage and obtain the most interaction.  If you would like an expert consultation on social networking, social media marketing, search engine optimization or simply have a question Contact the Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting  online or Call us at 816-842-7774.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing Solutions

Frequency of Posts, Unwanted Contact Discourage Likes On Company Pages on Facebook

A recent study by Lab42 found social media users who don’t like brands on Facebook are primarily deterred by newsfeed clutter (47%), while many don’t want to be contacted (36%) or are concerned about their privacy (30%). A total of 73% of users unliked Facebook Pages that posted too frequently since it 'filled up their news feed'.  March 2012 survey results from Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) and Constanct Contact similarly found that over communication was a leading turnoff for Facebook users.

Deals Drive Likes More Than Loyalty

Overall, the Lab42 study finds that 87% of the social media users surveyed like brands on Facebook. When asked their biggest motivator for doing so, these respondents cited promotions and discounts most often (34%), followed by free giveaways (21%). Loyalty and brand trust were cited by 14% and 11% respectively. 77% of respondents who liked brands reported having saved money as a result of their likes.

Still, 46% have liked a brand from which they had no intention of buying. Asked why, 52% of this segment reported having liked the brand for a free item, while 46% said they couldn’t afford the products, and 24% that they liked the brand to help out a friend.

Even so, most social media users appear to truly wish to connect with brands via Facebook. Of those who like brands, 82% believe that Facebook is a good place to interact with those brands. 3 in 4 feel more connected to the brand on Facebook, and 35% feel that the brands listen to them on Facebook. This preference for engagement on Facebook is supported by June results from an Allstate/National Journal survey, which found that 64% of social media users want to see an increase in companies using social media to respond to customer questions and complaints.

Embarrassment Discourages Likes

The Lab42 survey also finds that some product categories discourage likes. 22% of respondents reported having been too embarrassed to like a certain brand, most often in the categories of adult novelties, weight loss products and health and wellness products.

The results reveal that the leading ways by which brands can get users to like them on Facebook are through more giveaways; posting less often; and letting consumers hide the fact that they like the brand.

But, brands may see little value from that engagement, particularly from young social network users. April 2012 survey results from a group of professors showed that almost 7 in 10 Millennials who like a brand on Facebook rarely or ever return to the page, while a February 2012 report from Ehrenberg-Bass Institute revealed that just 1% of Facebook users who like big brands such as Procter & Gamble or Coca-Cola actually engage with those brands.

Social Marketing, engagement and optimization must be done properly to be effective.  Contact the Social Marketing Experts and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultants at Internet Builder Consulting and Social Marketing Builders to build better online marketing for your business 816-842-7774

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 

Social Networking Reputation Risks and Online Reputation Management

Social networks present enormous branding and marketing opportunities, but they also present significant risks to business reputations.  A company page or business profile on Facebook setup and properly optimized will drive traffic to company websites, products and services.  The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results of this are incredible although companies often neglect to understand the potential risks posed from a 'public' forum.  Facebook, Blogs, Yelp and other interactive websites enable anyone to share experiences  opinions, ideas and feedback which needs to be monitored daily.  The example below is only one of the dozens of 'sales' and new business received from Facebook where people will often post requests for contacting them about a new website, SEO or social marketing.  This referral made late Wednesday evening on Facebook became a new customer early Thursday morning.  In addition to the new customer it adds creditably when others see public recommendations for your company, products or services!

Best case scenario social networking will expand the reach of a brand, product or service though multiple online locations similar to having a billboard on every major highway in the city.  Worst case, if social networking is not managed and monitored properly, a disgruntled customer or former employee may cause harm through negative, false or misleading posts.  No company will make every customer completely happy 100% of the time, mistakes happen, people have bad days and sometimes there are just difficult people who choose to be unhappy no matter what.  The best way to combat this is constant daily management of all social media marketing to immediately address any issues as an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction.

Someone who may have had a bad experience can give you the opportunity to correct that or at least empathize through social networking.  If there was a misunderstanding it can be cleared up quickly similar to a recent experience I had with Aristocrat Motors over my Jaguar service.  I left a review for Aristocrat Motors on www.Yelp.com pertaining to a misdiagnosis of a problem and an unresolved issue with the service center.  A representative from Aristocrat motors monitored the online reviews for the company and contacted me with an offer to resolve the past issues which will bring me back to them as a customer.

Prior to the response from the company online I had shared with anyone who asked the bad experience recommending that nobody I know take a vehicle there.  Now I plan on going back to have the problem resolved and may bring future business back to the company rather than keeping friends, family and associates away.  The # 1 Ranking Algorithm Google Search Engine today is Facebook so any successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) MUST include social marketing. If you need a BETTER built website, SEO or Social Marketing for your business, product or service contact the Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting today for an expert consultation and results 816-842-7774.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson

Internet & Technology Expert

 www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com - Building BETTER Websites, SEO & Social Marketing Solutions

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!

Social Marketing is about Interactions, Questions, Creating Buzz

Having a Facebook page or Twitter account is not enough to be successful with Social Marketing.  The search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) entered into agreements with the top Social Networking websites and classified sites (Craigslist, eBay) to place content from those sites in the search engine results.  This is why when you search for a company on Google you often find the social networking pages within the top search results (if the company has the social networking setup properly). 

To be successful with Social Marketing consider the main point of being 'Social' just like you would in any offline 'social' interaction.  When you meet a potential customer the first thing you need to do is ask questions, find out what they need, what they are interested in and then share how you can meet or exceed those needs and interests.  Any one-sided conversation online or offline tends to be ignored.  People like to know you are interested in what THEY have to say, that you care enough to find out what they need or want.

Getting users to 'Like' a page on Facebook is easy since most people will 'Like' anything a friend suggests or any product they have used or may be familiar with.  April 2012 survey results show that almost 7 in 10 Millennials who like a brand on Facebook rarely or ever return to the company page.  A February 2012 report revealed that just 1% of Facebook users who like big brands such as Procter & Gamble or Coca-Cola actually interact with those brands.

Marketers looking to boost engagement need to ask the right questions and engage social network users. By asking about personal preferences, appealing to fans’ expertise, and making it aspirational marketers can achieve a positive impact and increase social network visibility.  Instead of posting one sided 'marketing' ask users how they feel about new products, what they need, wish for and be sure to interact with others.  Spend some time adding new 'friends' from Facebook suggestions or mutual connections and be sure to look at their individual or company pages to 'Like' and comment on what they shared. 

The more marketers interact with others the more others tend to interact back.  Recriprical 'Likes' and comments provide three times the results.  The more a company 'page' or account has interaction the higher it ranks within the 'social network algarythms' which determines what posts, updates, photos and information is shared in the 'News Feed' and with Search Engines.  Someone who updates and posts information all the time but has few interactions will not been seen by anyone except the person or company publishing the information. 

Updates, photos and other details posted that have numerous 'Likes' and 'Comments' will be shared with an exponential online audience (the people who interacted with, commented or liked it plus all of the people they are connected with).  This is why Social Marketing experts and companies who specialize in social marketing are able to produce better results than internal staff or a single person trying to market on social networks.  Social Marketing companies will have multiple login's and accounts they can use to 'create' the buzz, interactions and improve reach on social networks that others cannot. 

Keep the 'Social' aspects of Social Marketing first, be sure to interact, engage and entice people to come back and invest the time to do it right.  If you need expert Social Marketing setup, optimization, training or just have a question contact the Internet Experts at Internet Builder Consulting 816-842-7774.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing since 1995

Pinterest Now # 3 Social Network Behind Facebook & Twitter

The Experian “2012 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report” shows social networking has 91 percent of  adults using social media regularly.   Social networking usage has changed dramatically with Pinterest taking over with the 3rd highest usage numbers ahead of Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace.  Pinterest traffic increased 50% in just January and February of 2012 with an average of 89 minutes per month spent on the website.

Facebook still dominates social networking with an average of 405 minutes spent on the website but Twitter is likely to be overtaken by Pinterest as the # 2 social network.  Pinterest has become a huge place for marketing by large and small companies worldwide due to the simple, visual appeal and ease of use.  We started setting up Pinterest accounts for our company and clients in 2011 and advocate creation of accounts for all businesses, products or services.

Contact our SEO and Social Marketing Experts for a complete Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Marketing campaign at 816-842-7774 or online at www.SocialMarketingBuilders.com 

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting
Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing Solutions since 1995

Websites, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Networks, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Blogger & Success

The one question every business owner asks when we meet for a consultation is "What do I need to be doing to rank higher on Search Engines and reach more customers?".  The answer is a complicated one since there is no one thing that will lead to online success, it requires specific properly setup and optimized 'Online Building Blocks' starting with the website. 

No Online Marketing will be successful without a properly built and properly optimized website as the foundation.  The website must be readable by search engines, must contain multiple 'calls for action' to entice online suppers to submit a request, question or share information and the format of the website must be user friendly.  A website is "more than Meta Tags" today, the backend code is a requirement (still missed by many bad website companies and Template websites) but dozens of other key elements are required for online success.

This Template Website was produced by a a communications company for the customer and published without META Tags which ranked the website lower and lost the customer sales.  The customer did nothing wrong but noticed months later that old 'marketing websites' were ranking higher on search engines than the main company website.

The website IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM for online marketing success.  Make sure the website is built by someone with experience, expertise, focus (they build and market websites as the primary business - not an ad agency or public speaker or other type company that builds websites on the side to make extra money) and longevity.  There are hundreds of  unemployed people starting website, social marketing and graphics design companies.  There are more with expertise in public speaking, mortgages, ad agencies or even print marketing firms with little to no expertise with websites, Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Marketing that now present themselves as 'website companies'.

The most capable website companies will have a minimum of 10 years experience designing, developing and marketing websites. Any company with less than 5 years experience is still 'learning' how to build a website and anyone working from home is someone to be avoided.

Once the website is built properly, optimized and submitted to Search Engines the next step is building awareness of the new website.  The top algorithm used to rank a website is how many other websites (that have value, not link farms) are linking TO a website and what content those websites have on them.  Search Engines track how many links go to websites over periods of time which brings Social Networking into play as an key role in any SEO success.

Facebook is the # 1 location on the Internet, Facebook is the # 1 source of referral links on the Internet and Facebook has more traffic from people who spend more time on Facebook than any other website or search engine.  The importance of Facebook cannot be overlooked, there are millions of potential customers on Facebook every day.  The few people who do not use Facebook can still find information from Facebook on Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing since content from Facebook is fed to Search Engines.  Setting up a business profile and a business page, optimizing the page and creating a successful social media marketing campaign with regular updates, posts and interactions will help rank websites higher and potentially reach millions of people.

Facebook is like High School where popularity and interactions mean everything.  Setting up a profile ad setting up a page has no benefit unless there are multiple people connected to the page who interact, comment and share information or posts.  This is where it may be worth hiring Social Marketing Experts like www.SocialMarketingBuilders.com to create, optimize and CONNECT everything so that Facebook and Search Engines value the content ranking it higher.  At a minimum all companies need to have a Business Profile setup with a Business Page for their company, product or service.  Ideally it is worth hiring a company with teams of Social Marketing Experts to create, optimize and train you for around $350-$550 so time and efforts are not wasted.

Twitter is the text message wonder of the Internet setup with 140 character length messages with the idea that people would 'Tweet' updates from cell phones.  Twitter users are loyal and there are millions of them so setting up a Twitter account for business is a requirement.  Setup the Twitter account then link the Facebook account to it (do this in Facebook) so that updates from Facebook are automatically sent to Twitter like we have setup at www.Twitter.com/WebsiteExperts.  Connecting the accounts reduces the amount of time spent with updates and ensures everything is up to date across the online board.

Pinterest is the new top player on the Social Networking playground with a simple visual approach.  (View our article explaining Pinterest earlier this month for setup details)  When we first came across Pinterest it seemed like just another annoying social network to learn.  Once we setup the account and spent time to research what items to 'Pin' that would being value to business we started seeing increased traffic on company websites from Pinterest.  The average visit from Pinterest spent nearly 5 minutes looking through the website, 5 times longer than Facebook visitors.  Our company builds websites so the main thing we used on Pinterest was thumbnail images of websites we built with a description of the website.

We then setup another 'Board' for Social Marketing and another 'Board' for company training classes and speaking events.  We removed the default Boards that came with the account and spent time considering what would showcase what we did, who we are or what we can do for customers to create the most effective Boards for business and a few fun things.

Pinterest requires a few hours to create, setup and then locate enough content to 'Pin' so that it is effective.  Spend a few minutes connecting and 'following' other people since they tend to follow you back similar to how Twitter users follow people who follow them.  If your company sells homes then Pin photos of homes for sale or floor plans while others can Pin photos of electronics for sale or any item located on the Internet.  Pinterest is not permitted is not permitted to Pin items from Facebook but Google+ users are welcome to Pin any photo from their accounts.

Google was the 800 Pound Gorilla on the Internet for years until Facebook took the # 1 spot away.  Google tried to buy Facebook and when the offer was turned down Google decided to create it's own Social Network.  Google+ is the result at http://Plus.Google.com with a combination of features from Facebook, Twitter and a few new ideas such as 'Circles'.  The article on Google+ Setup and Optimization outlines the key features and benefits of Google+ if you are just getting started.  One unique benefit of having a Google+ account is that Google announced that websites are being ranked higher on the Google Search Engine based on usage or interactions from Google+ accounts.

When a company has a Google+ profile setup with the company website listed on Google+ and other users connected who 'Like' or '+1' the website then it will rank higher for other users on Google.  In short Google is enticing people and business to use Google+ with the added benefit of ranking higher on the Google Search Engine.  Setup a Google+ account, place contact information, website links and a profile online and spend a few minutes adding people to your circles.  It may not be the top social network yet but Google is spending millions on development so it will only get better.

Google purchased Blogspot and combined it with their other Blog system to create one of the leading online Blog systems today www.Blogger.com.  Setting up a Blog (web log = Blog for short) is free, fast and reaches millions of potential customers online.  If a Blog has enough traffic and the right content it will be republished, shared and even sold online at the Amazon Kindle Store.  A properly written Blog will also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), establish creditability for the writers or company and provide fresh content for social networks or websites. 

Creating a Blog is about creating content about your company, services, products or solutions and related information people may be interested in.  There is no wrong way to write a Blog, simply make sure you DO it and always 'sign' the Blog with contact information including a phone number and full website address.  Write articles about your area of expertise, industry news or information and your company.  Once a Blog is setup be sure to link it to Facebook so any updates are automatically sent to the Facebook business page and even the company website similar to how Google Blogger feeds scrolling Blog articles to the Internet Builder Consulting website Home Page.

Last is the LinkedIn Social Network typically used for Business to Business connections.  There are no grandmothers sharing recipes or families uploading photo's of the weekend trip.  LinkedIn is focused on business and company or professional information although it will accept direct feeds from Twitter and Facebook which may contain any sort of content.  The LinkedIn network suggests connections based on mutual places of employment, mutual existing connections and feeds nearly everything on the LinkedIn website to Search Engines.

Setup a LinkedIn profile and then a LinkedIn company page for the best results.  Company Pages and Personal Profiles are both indexed and sent to Search Engines so people may locate you or your business on Google because you have a LinkedIn page.

The list above outlines the very basic requirements for online success today.  Take the time to setup at least the basic profiles with a description, contact information and then practice every week until you are comfortable with each of the social networks.  If your business needs a BETTER built website, Search Engine Optimization or Social Networking setup, training or Social Marketing solutions contact Internet Builder Consulting online or call the experts at 816-842-7774.

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

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 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

Americans Use Social Networking More than Other Countries

Americans are most likely to use online social networks, according to a new study from the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Among the 22 publics surveyed, Americans most often say they use websites like Facebook and MySpace: 46% use such sites, 36% use the Internet, but do not access these sites, and 18% say they never go online.
The survey finds three countries close behind the US in social network usage. In Poland (43%), Britain (43%) and South Korea (40%), at least four in 10 adults say they use such sites. And at least a third engage in social networking in France (36%), Spain (34%), Russia (33%) and Brazil (33%).
 
Germany and Japan Have High Internet Usage; Low Social Networking Use
Germans and the Japanese stand out among highly connected countries for their comparatively low levels of participation in social networking. While 31% of Germans use these types of sites, 49% go online at least occasionally but choose not to use them. In Japan, 24% are engaged in social networking, while 44% have Internet access but are not engaged.
Among the 22 countries polled, social networking is least prevalent in Indonesia (6%) and Pakistan (3%). In both nations, more than 90% of the population does not use the Internet.
 

Younger Online Users are Most Active on Social Networks
In every nation surveyed, there is a notable age gap relating to social networking. Social networking is extremely popular among people younger than age 30; in 12 of the countries polled, a majority of this age group uses social networking type websites. There are only three countries, Britain, Poland and the US where most 30 to 49 year-olds are involved in social networking.  There is no country where even 1/4 of ages 50 and older are involved.
In 10 countries, a gap of at least 50 percentage points separates the percentage of 18 to 29 year-olds who use social networking sites and the percentage of those ages 50 and older who do so. This includes the US, where the gap is 54 percentage points (77% of 18 to 29 year-olds and 23% of those 50 and older).
The age gap is largest in Germany, where 86% of people younger than age 30 take part in social networking, compared with 36% of 30 to 49 year-olds and just 8% of those ages 50 and older (78 percentage point difference).
While it is true that the young are more likely to go online, these age gaps are not driven solely by Internet usage. Even among Internet users, young people are more likely to participate in social networking.

Women More Likely to Use Social Networking than Men in the United States
There are relatively few gender gaps across the countries surveyed. For the most part, men and women tend to engage in social networking at roughly the same rates. The US is the only country in which women are significantly more likely than men to use social networking. While 52% of American women engage in social networking, just 41% of men do so. This gap is not driven by a difference in access; similar percentages of women (18%) and men (17%) say they do not access the Internet.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, about one-third of men (34%) use social networking, compared with only 19% of women. Similarly, in Japan, 30% of men report that they are involved in social networking, while just 19% of women say the same.

Harris Interactive Study Confirms Younger Americans Favors Social Networking & Facebook
Results from the recent Harris Interactive “YouthPulse 2010″ shows three quarters of 8 to 24 year-olds use a social networking site and about two-thirds (68%) spend time on a social networking site daily. Facebook is the most popular social networking site in this demographic, with 86% of 18 to 24 year-olds using Facebook and 71% of 13 to 17 year-olds doing so. More than one-quarter of 8 to 12 year-olds (28%) use Facebook.
 
Social Media Marketing and the use of Social Networking for business has become the norm for reaching more customers and online brand management today.  Contact Internet Builder Consulting and our Social Marketing Builders today to have a BETTER website or Social Media Marketing campaign setup for your business or product.
 
Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites and Online Marketing since 1995
Social Marketing Builders - Building Effective Social Network Marketing for Business
816-842-7774 Office

Marketers Are Watching Social Networks & Reading Your Posts!

Tech Savvy marketers are using Social Networking for targeted advertising.  With Facebook you can target ads for Facebook users based on job, income, location, hobbies and a wide range of other criteria for the Pay Per Click ad campaigns.  Another unique 'feature' we found some marketing companies use is a 'sniffer' that automatically browses facebook posts for specific keywords or phrases to include users who match the criteria in targeted marketing campaigns.

This only works if the Facebook user has privacy settings shared for their email address and 'wall posts' otherwise there is no way an automated program could capture the proper information.  To verify our suspicions we had two of our website experts login to separate Facebook accounts to post status updates about interest in seeing the new TRON movie released December 17th 2010.  Both accounts are setup to share contact information, wall posts and interests and both accounts ended up receiving direct emails (via email, not through Facebook) from the same company advertising TRON movie night tickets.

The advertisement on the left was from a theater in 'East Taunton, MA' that sent direct emails to BOTH Facebook user's email addresses listed on the individual accounts after they posted interest in the TRON movie within 1 day of the post.  It would have been a genius method of targeted marketing had the additional qualifier of LOCATION been added to the mix since neither website developer in Kansas City plans on flying out to Massachusetts to see the movie!

What this illustrates is the power of targeted marketing using Social Networking and the Internet in general.  No other advertising medium provides the same potential and nowhere but the Internet do users share such a wide range of personal (and purchase) information.  Any company providing Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Marketing should be studying trends, algorithms, interactions and usage to properly plan and implement solutions for customers. 

The SEO, SEM and Social Marketing Experts at Internet Builder Consulting have led the way innovating and teaching online marketing since 1999 with constant research to keep our customers ahead of the competition!

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

Social Networking is the Most Increased Online Activity in 2010

US online adults were most likely to say they have increased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks out of a wide variety of online activities during the past year, according to results of a new Harris Poll.
1/3 of Online Users Have Increased Social Network Viewing
About one-third (34%) of online US adults say they have increased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks either significantly or somewhat in the past year. This was the highest percentage combined response for increasing any of the eight activities presented to respondents (multiple answers were accepted).

Reading newspapers/current events followed at a distant second with a combined 26% saying they have increased this online activity either significantly or somewhat in the past year. However, somewhat mitigating this low rate of increased online activity is an often lower rate of decreased online activity.

For example, only a combined 8% of online adults say they have decreased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks either significantly or somewhat in the past year. A full 23% say this activity is not applicable and 34% say it has not changed.

Results are similar for most other activities, with the not changed rate of many hovering above 50%. Shopping had the highest combined rate of decrease (17%).  Interestingly, a leading 55% of respondents say posting information on their own blogs is not applicable, and 43% say posting or commenting on friends’ blogs is not applicable, reflecting the shrinking popularity of blogs among US online users.


Young, Educated Social Networking Users are More Likely to Increase Online Activity
Almost across the board, social media users, younger and better educated respondents are more likely to say they have increased an online activity in the past year. The difference between social media users and non-social media users is most pronounced in rates of viewing friends’ photos and information on social networks, posting and commenting information on friends’ or own blogs, and posting comments/reviews about brands, products or services.

Conversely, non-social media users were more likely than social media users to have increased reading newspapers/current events, the only online activity where they surpassed social media users.

Blogging, reading newspapers and review posting were the only areas where increase rates were not highest among 18-to-34-year-olds. Posting information on your own blog, reading newspapers and posting comments/reviews had the highest rates of increase among 35-to-44-year-olds, posting/commenting on friends’ blogs had the highest rate of increase among 45-to-54-year-olds.

While there was some variety among what age brackets were the second-most-likely to have increased an online activity, 55-plus respondents had the lowest response rate in any area except shopping, where their increase rate of 22% beat 45-to-54-year-olds (20%) and tied 35-to-44-year-olds.

Meanwhile, respondents with a high school education or less were the least likely to have increased all eight online activities. Those with a college degree or more had higher increase rates than those with some college in every activity except posting comments on friends’

3 in 10 Use Social Netwotks for Product Reviews
Only a combined 28% of online adults say they have used social media to rant or rave about a company, brand or product. However, a combined 80% of respondents agree strongly or somewhat they give up part of their privacy by participating in social media, and a combined 73% agree strongly or somewhat social media only reveals a snapshot, rather than a full portrait, of who they are.

Nearly 60% of Social Networking Users Feel More Connected

Six in 10 (59%) of social network users say they feel more connected to people now than previously, according to another recent Harris Poll. 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.

The trends are clear, Social Networking is an effective method of reaching buyers, maintaining your brand and improving Search Engine Optimization for any business, product, service or website.  Contact the Social Network Marketing Experts at Social Marketing Builders today for a consultation or to improve your Social Marketing!

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building Better Websites and Online Marketing since 1995
Social Marketing Builders - Building Expert Social Networking Solutions for Business
816-842-7774 Corporate Office

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