Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #24

Stories This Week: Pinterst blows up, desk.com, Twitter engagement increase, email effectiveness, and social picks a president?

1. Salesforce launches Desk.com

[VentureBeat] Enterprise cloud powerhouse Salesforce has launched Desk.com, a savvy customer support application that connects agents with e-mail, phone calls, and social channels.

My Take: I spoke with Social Support Superstar – yes a triple SSS threat – Mike Pace and he liked the original acquisition. He also likes the small business price point, what remains to be seen is if Salesforce can integrate Desk.com with it’s other online properties like CRM and Radian6.

2. Study confirms Twitter engagement is on the increase

[link] The article pulls out some interesting data from a recent study showing that active use of twitter has grown and that the global use of twitter is increasing.

My Take: Only 27% of tweeted during a 3 month period. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you figure that some people use twitter in a “read only” mode you actually get a higher # of users.

Email Impact on CMO Goals

3. Does Email Deliver on CMO Objectives?

[Marketing Sherpa] Their chart of the week shows that email drives website traffic, lead generation, nurturing prospects and building brand awareness. What does it not do well? Increase sales conversion/revenue.

My Take: You have to look at the entire sales process, especially for B2B sales. Just because email doesn’t make the sales doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. Email is good for filling the top of the funnel. Prospective buyers are going to look to other marketing channels, like the information on a website and a direct sales  force, to commit to a sale.

4. Consumers Turn to Social Media for Presidential Campaign Info

[eMarketer] Candidates’ ad agencies invest more heavily in Facebook than Twitter, while Twitter wins out over blogs for more posts about the race.

My Take: I really like the comment from Jordan Bittman of Digitas:

“JFK is considered the first television president. Next year’s victor may well be determined by the impact of Facebook and Twitter”

Pinterest On The Rise

5. Pinterest Drives More Referral Traffic Than Google Plus, YouTube and LinkedIn Combined

[Shareaholic] Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google Plus, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.

My Take: The headline astonishes me but Pinterest is pretty crazy.  Want an example, look at what it did to Christina Refford’s traffic. After her post got pinned (and repinned) her traffic exploded.

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #23

This week: 50 tools you should know, CMAD3, “Showrooming”, Google consolidates its privacy policy and opens to teens.

1. 3rd Community Manager Appreciation Day was Jan 23rd 2012

[Web Strategist] Jeremiah Owyang started CMAD 3 years ago to celebrate and support those who support us!

My Take: I’m glad Jeremiah started the special day to salute community managers. In addition it also raised awareness and helped define the position with greater clarity.

2. Showdown Over ‘Showrooming’

[WSJ] Box retailers are tiring of customers coming to their stores to inspect products then buying them online at a discount. Essentially consumers are using retailers as showrooms.

My Take: Target is trying to squeeze vendors to match price. I just can’t see that working.  So what will work?

Apple is extending its Best Buy program to put Apple outlets in more stores. like Target. Will that be the future? Will Amazon partner with retail stores or open actual its own retail stores?

3. Google Consolidates It’s Privacy Policy

[VentureBeat] Google is changing its privacy policy, consolidating 60 different policies into one. You cannot opt-out of it unless you stop using all Google products.

My Take: This is part of Google’s plan to unify it’s properties under one umbrella. Thankfully you can manage all of your Google apps on one Dashboard as well as download all of your data in Google’s cloud with Takeout.

4. Google+ includes Teens

[Mashable] Google, which had previously barred consumers under 18 from joining Google+, is attempting to avoid such a situation on its network via a series of enhancement aimed at protecting people on the network aged 13-17.

My Take: Google continues to ramp up it’s ability to compete against Facebook (and twitter). It’s easy to forget that Google+ is still a new product. It’s only been broadly available for the few months. Will teens adopt Google+?

Consolidating it’s product platform, opening to teens and allowing for pseudonyms – are all part of it’s competitive strategy.

5. 50 Tech Tools You Should Know About

[CNN] CNN tallied 50 tools/apps that caught its eye.

My faves: Path (love), Flipboard, Hipmunk, Instagram, Pinterest, Tweepi, Zite (love)

BONUS Social media cheat sheet

[Mktg Tech Blog]

Social Media Cheat Sheet

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 – #22 Stories this week: new apps for Facebook open graph, dead SOPA, Google includes social in SERP, paid search in B2B, and social ROI.

1. Facebook’s biggest change yet: Actions are here

[AllThingsD] Facebook announced 60 new apps will join Spotify and Runkeeper in accessing the Facebook open graph.

My Take: With these innovations Facebook extends its lead over other social network services. Although we’ve seen timeline integration used as a blunt instrument in the past, the newest edition of open graph allow apps like Fab and Ticketmaster to create a more nuanced integration.

2. SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill

[Mashable] The Republican senator pulled SOPA on Friday responding to criticism. SOPA drew battle lines between old media and new media.

My Take: New media and silicon valley  won this round.

3. Search Rankings are Dead: Long Live Search Placements

[SearchEngineLand] The newest change to the search engine results pages (SERP) is Google’s inclusion of social in the results page. This is a technical, hand-to-hand breakdown of the impact of the changes.

My Take: These changes are not well received by people who get paid to game the system or competitors, but ultimately I believe search results are more relative the more personal context is included. It’s becoming harder for brands to game the system.

4. Using Paid Media to Achieve Remarkable B2B Conversion Rates

[CMI] With SEO starting to “break” CMI breaks down how to drive a successful paid search campaign – the elements: discipline, a niche-marketing strategy and lots of testing.

Wildfire Social Media ROI

5. Marketers Lack Standard Social Media ROI

[MarketingCharts] The top metrics used by social media marketers for ROI are increased fans, likes, comments, and interactions (38%), increased revenues (24%), and increased brand awareness (15%).

My Take: This is a hot button issue for me. If someone is asking you about the ROI for a social program that doesn’t yet exist, what they are telling you is they don’t understand how social supports the business. Respond with information about your customer’s social-graph. Show where are you customers and how can you benefit them using social media. If you’re not serving your customers on social media it’s an opportunity for your competitors to serve them.

However, if you have a social program you really need to be tracking metrics associated with your social and business goals.  The popular metric categories are: audience( size and engagement), cost (savings or revenue) and brand awareness.

Marketing Technology 5

5 CES Products That Caught My Eye

MT5 – #21

Stories this week: This week I’m bypassing a lot of good news (Google+ into SERP for example) to focus on 5 CES products that caught my eye.

Hot topics from this years CES in Las Vegas:

• Kinect for windows – Microsoft announced a February release of Kinect for Windows. No clear direction on how you might be “Minority Reporting” your spreadsheets.
• Window Phones – Everyone seems to like the interface yet no one seems to use the phone
• Microsoft Metro Interface – this is the new user interface. It is planned for use in Windows 8 and Xbox
• TVs – big assed TVs. TVs that do more stuff. I’m not a home theater guy so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to this.
• Ultrabooks – they’re like a Macbook, except not quite.

On To The Goods…

My eyes bled from looking at photo after photo of big TVs, laptops and phones. HOWEVER, here are some of the cool things from CES.

Turn your camera into a wireless network

1. FlashAir – Turn Your Camera Into A Wireless Network

[link] The FlashAir SD card includes a mobile hotspot making it easy to get photos off your camera and onto your phone or laptop.

My Take: I’m dying for this product. My DSLR takes such better pictures than my phone, especially at night, but to share them I need to lug around a laptop. The link has a video to see this in action.

2. Onlive Desktop – Use Microsoft Office On Your iPad

[link] Onlive Desktop brings you Microsoft Office to your iPad for free.

My Take: I haven’t tried it yet (waiting for a beta license) but early reports are mixed.  Some say it works great. However, Walt Mossberg points out problems: You need a physical keyboard, the virtual keyboard doesn’t work, as a cloud service, you need network connectivity, and last, it doesn’t interact with other apps on your iPad so you can’t open attachments from email in Onlive Desktop.

Nokia Lumia 900

3. Windows Phones Make A Splash

[link] The Nokia Lumia 900 was generally perceived as the best of the Windows phone.

My Take: The Windows Phone user interface seems very intuitive and the 4G LTE network is a plus. However reports are expressing worries about battery life, photo quality and other features.

4. A Smarter Way To Lose Weight (or at least track your progress)

[link] Using the Fitbit Aria you can track your weight and also your body fat % and body mass index. You can send the data wirelessly to a secure website. Then track your progress, earn badges and share your progress.

My Take: Ever try to lose weight by exercise and feel frustrated that your weight is not going down? It may be that, although your weight is constant, your body fat is actually decreasing. For many, body fat is a better metric than body weight. Because of this, people will by the Fitbit Aria. Add on the easy tracking features and gamification and you have a winning product.

5. CES Wootable Awards

Okay, not a product, but I just love Woot’s offbeat sense of humor and there are some awesomely awful products in the video.

2011 was a year of ramping up efforts in communities. I became an active member of local communities, charities and invested a lot of time making wonderful friends in the Boston social community. Mike Pace and I started the Deep South of Boston which has become a great way of meeting Marketers and business people who live in our community. Developing strong ties to my communities has been tremendously rewarding.  I’ve learned so much from inspiring people. Yet, things have gotten out of balance.

A few years ago I learned to manage my life balance in four segments: spirituality, family, career and community.

life balance

3 Step Process For Making New Years Resolutions

1. Review priorities
2. Compare time spent against priorities
3. Decide what to: Keep doing, Stop doing, Start doing

Step 1: Review Priorities

My priorities are, in order: marriage, family, career, community then spirit.

Step 2: Compare time spent against priorities

How have been spending my time?

In reviewing how I spent my time in 2011, what I learned was I’m not spending time on my priorities. I’m out of balance and I need to make some changes. I need to spend more time with my family and less time in the community. I hate to step back from community and charitable work, but I need to reinvest time with the family. The kids are at a great age and need a father that is making time for them.

Step 3: Decide what to: Keep doing, Stop doing, Start doing

This is the key to making resolutions that stick. We’re all busy people. You can’t just say you’re going to start doing something without stopping something else. And you also have to recognize which activities are worth keeping.

Keep Doing

In 2012 I will:

• Keep dedicating time to my sons scouting – being the den leader for my son’s scouts is a great way to focus on family
• Keep taking the kids to the Bruins game each season. The prices are exorbitant since the won the Stanley Cup, but I can still take each kid to a game for some one on one time

Stop Doing

I get excited by an idea and start things that are hard to maintain. I don’t think things through. This year I won’t start anything new, I’ll focus on managing the time I have and focus on my priorities. If I want to start something new, it will be centered on family life and I’ll only begin after thinking it through.

In 2012 I will:

• Stop spending so much time in communities
• Limit activity in the Deep South of Boston
• Take a break from the Lions club until the kids are older

Start Doing

Changing direction. Starting something new. This is where the fun happens. For me the key is to let it come to me. I’m going to create time for serendipity. By spending less time in so many communities I will have more time to spend with the wife and kids. We don’t have a plan. We’ll make it up as we go.

This is the way life is – you shift your activities in accordance with your priorities. In 2011 I decided to focus on expanding myself in my communities and I was very successful. Too successful. It’s time to rebalance.

Best wishes for 2012.

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 – #20

Stories this week: Spotify unlimited streaming no longer free, Ultrabooks are fake technology, huge Google+ growth, Klout picks up $30mm and learn to code.

1. Get Ready To Pay For Spotify Music Service

[link] Spotify launched with 6 months of free desktop streaming. If you signed up when it first released you can expect to get an email soon regarding upgrading to a paid service.  It’s reported that users will be able to stream 10 hours per month for free. In looking at the pricing plans, it appears free users will have to pay $5 to continue to get unlimited streaming.

My Take: Spotify’s product launch has been pitch perfect.  They used klout to launch to influencers and early adopters and their product has worked as advertised.  People are hooked and I expect a number of people really enjoy the service and will gladly pay $5 a month. However, I ALSO expect many to jump back to ad supported (free) services like Pandora.

2. Ultrabook Laptops – Are they “Technology” or “Marketing”?

[link] This Fast Company asked if the laptop is dead, drawing comparisons between the marketing strategies of the once hot, now marginalized, netbook and the Ultrabooks that are set to light up CES next week.

My Take: Here are Ultrabooks being announced at CES. Do they look much different than a typical high-end business laptop to you? To me it seems Ultrabooks are a Marketing ploy, not a new category of laptops.

Google+ Growth in Dec 2011

3. Google+ Sees Massive Traffic Growth in Dec.

[link] Google+ visits jumped 55% in December.

My Take: Maybe a lot of people had time on their hands over the holidays…maybe people are taking Chris Brogan’s advice and setting up their Google+ profile…in any case, Google+ is not a Facebook killer.  It will continue to grow in 2012 because Google is going to use it as a mechanism to unify all it’s properties, but will the sum be greater than the parts?

API Billionaires Club

4. Klout Picks Up C Level Funding

[link] Klout secured $30 in funding.

My Take: Klout gets so much attention for things it is and isn’t. It’s neither savior nor devil – but it is hot.  Look for klout to look past the super influential and focus more on the “kinda influential” in 2012. There are also rumors of a mobile app.

5. Learn To Code

[Code Academy] [Code Year] Sites are popping up that teach you to code. Basic programming is a great skill to have and here are great ways to get started. Since I haven’t used these sites, I don’t know if they are free or freemium.

My Take: It saddens me that I have a Computer Science degree but I don’t code. I’ve forgotten so much that these services are highly attractive to me.  Yet, taking on yet another obligation is against my 2012 resolutions…speaking of which I need to write that post before 2013 hits.

http://bufferapp.com

How I use Bufferapp

Jeff Cutler asked “How can someone get the most out of Bufferapp?”  I started and stopped using Buffer two times before it took hold, now I’m an avid user. With that in mind I’ll try and answer Jeff’s question. If you think I missed something, hit me up in the comments.

What is Buffer?

From the website:

We designed Buffer to offer you a both personal and yet more efficient solution to handle twitter.

Buffer makes your life easier with a smarter way to schedule tweets. Work out all your tweets at one point in time during the day. Then fill up your Buffer with your tweets and Buffer schedules them for you. Simply keep that Buffer topped up and you will then be tweeting consistently all day round, all week long.

How I use Buffer?

I use buffer in two ways:

1. During my commute on the train I scan hundreds of RSS feeds. Articles I want to share I add to my buffer. Usually I find 10-20 articles worth sharing. Without Buffer these articles would all be tweeted all at once – very annoying to my followers and since I’m an early bird, most people wouldn’t see what I’ve shared since they’re still eating their Cheerios. With my Buffer schedule set up, (one time set up) my tweets trickle out through the day.
2. During the day, if I see something interesting come out during the day I can share content with two clicks. Easy peasy.

Why I like Buffer:

1. Simple and easy to use
2. Posts to Facebook and Twitter
3. Allows me to schedules tweets
4. Straight forward analytics (see image)
5. Integrates with Bit.ly Pro so I can use my custom domain shortener (reff2.me)
6. When installed on an Android phone, sharing is a snap
7. On an iPad, where integration is less straight forward, I can still send articles to my buffer via email or via a Bookmarklet.
8. Browser extensions make sharing super easy
9. Socialbro integration allows my to find the best time to tweet and set that schedule for my buffer

 

Buffer Analytics

 

What I don’t like about Buffer:

1. Free version only allows you to put have 10 items in your buffer at once
2. The paid version is $10/month when a more suitable price point is $3

Sign up for Buffer here and I get an extra post in my buffer!

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 – #19

Stories this week: Twitter demographics, B2B Marketing in 2012, Social Media in America and MORE!

B2B Marketing: 6 lessons learned in 2011 from 7 marketing experts

[link] Article has a focus on lead generation tactics.

My Take: If you look at their experts, you’ll see it contains true leaders like Jay Baer so I think you’re getting some valuable insights here.

Marketers Look Beyond Social Media Experimentation

Factors Driving Further Use of Social Media

[link] Marketers are becoming more mature when it comes to their social media marketing, and many in the US say they hope to move beyond the experimentation phase in the coming years.

My Take: This makes sense. As Marketers are learning to use social they are feeling more comfortable with the medium and how best to use it.

Analyze Your Twitter Followers with “Schmap It”

[link] Provides interesting demographic information at an aggregate level for free. Paid versions provide more data points.

My Take: There’s an arsenal of free analytics tools available for twitter, add this to the list.

8 Ways Digital Will Improve B2B Sales in 2012

[link] Here are the 8 Ways

1. Social Selling Will Go Mainstream
2. Companies Will use Facebook as a Sales Channel
3. Sales Executives Will Adopt Big Data
4. Customer Engagement Becomes a Top Priority
5. Outside Sales Reps Will Use iPads
6. Most Sales Tools Will Move to the Cloud
7. Sales and Marketing Will Converge
8. More Companies Will Offer Free Trials

My Take: Some of these things, such as Sales use of iPads certainly will happen in 2012, however I don’t think Sales & Marketing will converge organizationally in the next 12 months.

9 Surprising New Facts About Social Media in America

[link] For example, super socials love twitter, but most brand interactions happen on Facebook. What does that mean? Engage with influencers on twitter and market to potential customers on Facebook.

My Take: I saved the best for last, Jay cuts through the noise with some simple truths

Blog guru, Tom Catalini

Blog Technology: The WordPress Progression

Tom Catalini blogs about People & Technology over at tomcatalini.com (http://www.tomcatalini.com/). He runs that and other sites on the WordPress platform and has shared lots of WordPress tips in is Website 101 blog post series (http://www.tomcatalini.com/category/website101/). He’s presented at WordCamp and PodCamp on similar topics. In this post Tom takes us through the WordPress progression so that those looking to get started with a blog can get a feel for what WordPress has to offer.

Level 1 – Get Started with WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a free site for blogging, and it only takes a minute to setup an account. Once you’ve done that, you can start blogging immediately. The software is pretty intuitive and there are plenty of tutorials to help get you started. The point is, you really have no excuse anymore. So get started!

Level 2 – Customize Your WordPress.com Blog

Rely on the WordPress Community

No More Excuses, Start Blogging!

Photo credit: Adria Richards

Marketing Technology 5

The hell with Marketing Technology, Here Are 5 Holiday Videos

MT5 – #18

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

I Hope Santa Checks in to My House

Mortar Holiday Card 2011

Puppy Christmas

Apple – iPhone 4S – TV Ad – Santa

Angry Birds Christmas Light Game