Twitter becoming Monetized

Previously a paid-for free zone, Twitter has now started testing phases on allowing companies to have “promoted by” tweets.  One of the main features of these tweets is a company can set a budget and promote a specific tweet.  The tweet will allow sub-text to be provided followed by ‘Promoted by ______’.  This will also show the number of retweets that the ad has received.  Currently, there are only a few companies that are allowed to use this tool and are testing to see how successful the program is.  This new way of tweeting combines organic search with paid promotions.  Read the full article from Blog Catalog.

Jennifer DeMarco
Marketing Manager

Who’s In and Who’s Out?

The statistics are in!

The newly formed Social Media Marketing genre have taken companies by storm.  Small companies have found an inexpensive way to speak with their customers about special events, promotions, problem-solving and much more.  But, the questions has shifted from: should I join the conversation to where do I join in the conversation?  MySpace was a large forum and a launchpad for the social networking generation, but movement has appeared to shift fom MySpace to Facebook.  Yet, companies still ask…should I join MySpace?

A recent study of business owners found from 2009 to 2010, social networking sites such as MySpace, Digg, Flickr, and StumbleUpon have become less important than their more popular counterparts: Facebook, Twitter, and a company blog.

This research is a strong reinforcement of what we have been saying at Strike Marketing for a year now…not to mention the success our clients are finding from implementing a strong social media marketing program!

SMM as the new Word of Mouth?

We did a story in 2009 about the possibility that social networking sites have allowed for a new version of having a pen pal. I’ve been pondering more out of social networking lately and it crossed my mind that social sites have allowed for a new form of word of mouth.

Word of mouth was once deemed the best form of marketing – when cast in a positive light. Word of mouth is free and spread by a trusted source. It wasn’t encouraged by a business,, but from peer to peer.  But word of mouth has changed forms, in a sense. People still talk at school, work, or on the phone; however, social networking sites have allowed for an additional forum for peer to peer talk.

Social netwokibg sites like facebook, myspace, Twitter, and yelp have allowed peers to speak to eaach other about great sales, services, companies, etc. Yelp was recently hit with a lawsuit regarding their rating techniques by a business.  Businesses are worried that their image is being misrepresented. If you think back to word of mouth, it can be good or bad. It is all based on how the consumer views the company it’s products and/or services. So why should companies be outraged by what people are doing or saying on social networking sites?

If a company wants good reviews, then it is their responsibility to provide great products and customer service. Social networking is a way of open, honest communication that reaches millions. Create a positive business and the payback should be immense with such a large forum talking about their business practices.

Jennifer DeMarco
Marketing Manager