Investing in Social Media

In the beginning, everyone knew social media would be beneficial to their business objectives, so they did it without a real way of tracking the impact it was having or by measuring the returns generated from the time and resources being invested.

We thought, “everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn’t we?” And why wouldn’t you? Social Media made big promises. It promised to build a deeper and more meaningful connection between your brand and your consumer and that it would broadcast your brand and personality to the world that would listen. You could reach people you never even knew you wanted to listen.

But has social media delivered? Can you even tell?

According to eMarketer, Social network ad spending will reach $2.5 billion worldwide throughout 2010 and $1.3 billion just in the US, but according to an outside survey only 1 IN 5 marketers even measured their social media ROI in 2009.

Much of the problem starts with the fact that when companies construct their social media plan, it’s often not a plan at all. It’s simply a pre-meditated series of executions to which no strategy is implemented. There’s no true objective other than to throw it out there and see what comes back. Then, as you can see below, marketers try and justify these “random executions” by simply measuring website traffic as a key indicator of social media success.

We’ve found that in order to successfully measure return on social investment, marketers’ need to define their goals and directly connect them to all social media objectives, including the dollar value associated with them. Markets should be systematically monitoring all social interactions with advanced web analytics including the negative feedback.

The most value added to your social media can be found by enabling your network URLs with analytics-encoded strings to successfully measure inbound traffic and campaigns for visitor trends. All of this lies within your Search Marketing and Optimization strategy. Something New Media Gateway is especially qualified to help with. NMG is a Google Analytics Authorized Certified Consultant which, needless to say, pretty much means we know what we’re talking about when it comes to web optimization.

Companies all over are catching on to the importance of measuring social ROI and it’s time you did too. To learn more about what successful social media tactics to employ, measure and optimize, visit our blog “Social Media Tactics that Work,” or contact a New Media Gateway representative.

Merry Measuring!

It’s safe to say we can all be optimistic for the marketing industry in 2010. Here’s why we at NMG think you shouldn’t be afraid to allocate and spend your marketing dollars:

First, statistics such as those represented here from the “US Ad Spending” report by e-marketer reveal that companies will significantly increase their online ad spending this year and in the following years to come.

In addition to the sunny forecast shown, a recent article posted by iMedia provided 13 insightful reasons why we can believe the marketing industry is finally recovering, and we’ve added a few extra hospitality tid bits to back them up:

Clients are investing in social media: It’s not just about posting a few tweets and status updates here and there, it’s about integrating social media into your marketing plan and finding strategic and innovative ways to reach customers such as those mentioned in our last blog "Social Media Tactics that Work."

Shifting budgets, not cutting them: Marketers are evaluating the areas where budgets can be allocated to tactics that are more measurable and efficient, such as mobile and search engine marketing.

Lost and Found money has emerged: Do you have money left over in the couch cushions from 2009? SPEND IT! Think about upping your PPC advertising for example.

We’re all working together: Employees have discovered that two heads are better than one, which ultimately has resulted in more quick and efficient work. At New Media Gateway we say "many hands make small work."

Numbers are up: Q4 turned out to be surprisingly lucrative for the travel industry as well as retail, online shopping showed an 11% increase over 2008 and according to the US Travel Association the travel industry is predicting a growth of about 2% overall for 2010.

Abundance of e-mails: When money is short, e-mail marketing is the most economical vehicle so marketers went a little over the top in 2009. We’re sure to see an abundance again this year, however, those marketers who are tired of e-mails will be shelling out some cash to try some new and interesting mediums.

We’re still wasting budgets: Clients are still experimenting and testing new mediums such as viral and ambient campaigns so we can only expect them to be realistic and willing in 2010, especially when it comes to online spending.

Companies are hiring: According to the International Travel Association Leisure travel is expected to rise 2.0 percent, business travel is projected to increase by 2.5 percent and international inbound travel will increase by 3.0 percent. The travel industry can expect to add 90,000 jobs in 2010 alone!

Mobile marketing is blowing up and brands will need to follow suit: Smartphones such as the iPhone and Nexus One are becoming a staple and catering to them is a must. If a company doesn’t have an app or a mobile strategy by now, they will if they want to live.  

Bing happens: Marketers will want to make sure they have a presence on Bing as well as Google and Yahoo! Companies like New Media Gateway can help optimize your search marketing ROI all across the board.

Social streaming: Social network streaming into marketers search engine results has become more popular. Real time is the new pink! If companies haven’t already spent money on social streaming integration, they will.

Small businesses will survive: There are so many new options for small businesses to make advertising easier and more economical such as building their own websites on Intuit or enhancing their listings on Yelp. It’s safe to assume these companies will grow in 2010.

Mergers and acquisitions: What do we do when we can’t afford our rent? We get roommates or we rent out the basement, thus increasing our disposable income (aka our marketing budget). Collaboration can easily lead to optimization.

Now, we’re not saying that you should go and blow your whole year’s budget on marketing but it’s apparent that there will be room to wiggle in 2010, and naturally we believe the wiggling would best be done in evaluating your online presence and business management solutions.

Utilizing products such as our hospitality management platform, which includes an industry-specific CRM, an integrated web-marketing platform and a robust web management system (CMS), can help you make the most of your optimistic budget for a successful bounce back in 2010.

You know where to find us.

As you well know, Social Media has rapidly become the leading promotional tool in today’s market but it may not be yielding the results you thought it would, or the results it promised it would. Certain tactics that were once proven to be successful may in fact no longer be the best as sites like Facebook and Twitter are constantly changing.

We’ve found that a recent survey of 5,140 B2B and B2C marketers conducted by MarketingProfs shows how companies are successfully using social media to measure ROI, create better campaigns, and reach new and qualified audiences.

Current Facebook marketers most commonly used tactics to drive traffic consist of leading customers through status updates and administering friend requests to their clients and followers. However, more and more consumers are becoming tech savvy with the increased usage of products like the iphone so marketers are switching to more effective practices such as generating custom Facebook apps.

Another popular method B2B and B2C marketers found successful was implementing fan surveys to track and analyze useful data and gain consumer insight. What’s important to note, however, is that buying ads was proven to be the least effective type overall. This chart shows the percentage of marketers surveyed and the tactics they most commonly deploy.

Twitter marketers looking to increase traffic most commonly used links to their web pages and promotional pages but once again, these may not have been the most useful ways to reach their targets. More and more users, especially B2C marketers, found that the most success came from monitoring for PR problems and contacting those users who tweeted negatively about their brand or service. This kind of monitoring is successful for B2B companies as well paired along with inviting users to events. Notably, the study showed that driving sales concluded to be the least effective tactic overall when marketing on Twitter. Below shows the most commonly used tactics by the marketers surveyed and, as you can see, communication and monitoring are among the highest used strategies.

It’s clear that a significant number of marketers are planning to continue the use of social media marketing as well as trying to find more innovative ways to reach targets such as emerging mobile tactics. So, not only is it important to stay on top of interactive web marketing trends but it’s also important to take note on exactly HOW you as well as your competitors are utilizing certain resources such as those mentioned here today.

So as you move forward into the New Year stay ahead of the competition by making sure you’re using all social media resources to the best of your advantage in the most successful ways possible.

Some interesting charts regarding social media usage and budgeting is allocated in the charts below. As you can see, social media can be leveraged in a number of different ways, ranging from the most commonly predicted areas (such as generating leads, or additional web traffic) through to better managing and offsetting customer support issues.

When it comes to developing a social networking strategy, your organization should understand that there is no "one size fits all" mentality that can be taken. Each organization is different and will require a unique strategy custom built for their own needs/requirements.

With that said, however, nearly all social media strategies will require two things:

1. A consistent message across all users representing a brand
2. A personal touch
3. A listening strategy

As you can see, social media can be leveraged as an extension of your search engine marketing efforts, something that New Media Gateway is uniquely qualified to assist you with (as we are Google Analytics Authorized Consultant and Google AdWords certified providers).

When developing a budget line item for social media expenditures in 2010, you may want to consider what your colleagues in your industry are doing, who responded to the same study (again, conducted by MarketingSherpa in the same report cited earlier in this article). If you are categorized in any of the following industries, you may consider itemizing a social media budget for your 2010 initiatives moving forward, as well.

Overall, it looks like 2010 is going to be a good year for a great number of industries. We believe that many marketers believe it's time to invest and increase their marketing expenditures (not just in social media, but in other marketing services) to increase results. All indicators that we're reviewing here at NMG are showing that the companies that they work for are in agreement that it's time to put the bad economy behind us and move forward strong into 2010.

All the best to you/yours and enjoy your holiday season!

Happy hunting in 2010!

Sincerely,
The New Media Gateway Team

Crucially, Adobe has signed on a number of key launch partners for the product including Google (GOOG) and Research in Motion (RIMM). By the first half of next year, consumers can expect Flash on nearly every smartphone operating system including Google’s Android, Nokia’s (NOK) Symbian, Palm’s (PALM) webOS and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Mobile.  (Hopefully iPhone will be soon also!)

This is GREAT NEWS for Digital Marketing Center customers.  The release of Flash on mobile devices will allow users of the Digital Marketing Center to send recipients video e-mail messages and interactive multimedia presentations using the E-mail Marketing Center and Presentation Generator capabilities.

Return Path, a New Media Gateway partner, has secured a deal with MySpace to ensure that the new social networking email service upholds the same high standard as ISPs.  MySpace will also be implementing Return Path Certification to make sure that MySpace members get the email they request.  That means that Return Path Certification partners (such as New Media Gateway) will receive VIP access into the inboxes of millions of MySpace users in addition to the largest and most respected whitelist program in the email universe.  Additionally, MySpace will contribute data to the Return Path Reputation Network, the cooperative database that powers Return Paths Sender Score service.  This announcement in addition to New Media Gateway's already leading social networking capability through its recent Sharethis integration continues to keep New Media Gateway at the bleading edge of marketing technology.

New Media Gateway continues to leverage its platform as well as integrated partner relationships to maximize return on investment for our clients. 

Americans reluctant to be tracked

Despite the concerns of some consumers and privacy advocates, marketers have defended behavioral targeting on the basis that Internet users would prefer to look at relevant advertisements and offers.

But a study from researchers at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of California Berkeley School of Law and the Annenberg Public Policy Center reports just the opposite.

“Contrary to what many marketers claim, most adult Americans (66%) do not want marketers to tailor advertisements to their interests,” according to the paper. “Moreover, when Americans are informed of three common ways that marketers gather data about people in order to tailor ads, even higher percentages— between 73% and 86%—say they would not want such advertising.”

Respondents showed somewhat more interest in receiving personalized discounts and news, but still, less than one-half of Americans wanted any tailored Web content at all.

That was true of consumers in every age group—even young adults ages 18 to 24 were more likely to say no to behavioral targeting than to accept it, except for discounts.

Several earlier studies reached different conclusions. For example, ChoiceStream consistently found from 2006 through 2008 that at least 70% of Internet users were interested in seeing personalized online ads. And more than one-half of Web users surveyed by Q Interactive in March 2009 said they would prefer to receive targeted advertisements based on their personal data in order to enjoy free content. Most also said they would view an online advertiser favorably because of ads tailored to their interests.

More than two-thirds of respondents to the Annenberg/Berkeley study felt they had lost control over their personal information. At the same time, however, they believed businesses handled their data well and that they were already protected by current regulations.

Even so, marketers hoping to avoid regulation through industry self-policing may have an uphill battle, as most respondents were in favor of new legislation. Almost two-thirds (63%), for example, thought there should be a law requiring advertisers to immediately delete information about their Internet activity.

October, 2009
Emarketer: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007121

Small Businesses Get Social

Strength in numbers.

It is not just big businesses that are communicating with customers using social media.

According to a study by Sage Software and AMI-Partners, more than 260,000 small businesses in the US and Canada employ social networking tactics, too.

Most of them used professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn. General social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook were also widely used, followed by niche communities and job sites.

Less popular were microblogging services (such as Twitter and Yammer), forums, wikis and social bookmarking applications.

The reasons for adopting social networking tactics varied, but the most widespread uses of social media were for responding to customer questions, networking, and reference and educational purposes.

While few used the sites to influence purchases, this may be a strategic error. Direct sales are one way to leverage social media marketing.

An exclusive-to-Twitter promotion brought in 15% of the day’s business, Jeff Leach of Naked Pizza told Advertising Age. “Sure, there’s the brand marketing and getting-to-know-you stuff…but we wanted to know: Can it make the cash register ring?”

Ad Age offered five tips for marketing on social media platforms:

• Track sales made on social media.
• Don’t use Twitter as Facebook (and vice versa).
• Create a conversation with friends and followers.
• Sell last-minute inventory.
• Alert followers to changes.

These are the two primary drivers as to why New Media Gateway's DMC Multichannel Marketing Platform is in such high demand.  This article provides more insight into the conference.

Article: The Future of Digital Marketing -

The Future of Digital Marketing conference, presented by Econsultancy, is an annual fixture on the London marketing calendar. This year’s gathering again boasted a number of stimulating presentations, as well as heated discussion.

After the opening keynote, four hour-long sessions were devoted to the travel, financial services, retail and publishing industries.

These were the themes of the day:

The Future of Digital Marketing Is the Future of Marketing

Digital channels are increasingly crucial for all advertising and other communications with consumers. In fact, the word “digital” is becoming superfluous.

The Future is Unknowable—But It’s Already Here

Few speakers were prepared to predict the future. But speakers and delegates seemed to share a sense of what it will be like.

Within a few years, one or two genuinely new technologies will burst on the scene. But most “innovations” in marketing will be new applications of technologies already available, such as using Google Earth more to provide local context for travel destinations online, or using augmented-reality programs in mobile phones to display full product and price information for items viewed in the physical world.

Respect Is Key

In a world of behavioral targeting and the mountains of information being amassed about Internet users, transparency is more important than ever.

Top tips:

• Relevance for consumers means respecting their declared preferences, the explicit permissions they give and their right to privacy. Take the high ground.
• Give people access to their own information. That breeds trust and will lower resistance to marketing messages.

Going Back to Basics

A recurring refrain in all the industry sessions. Marketers of all stripes, dogged by the recession and overwhelmed by the plethora of digital tools and channels available, need to get the essentials right.

Top tips:

• Website optimization. Know what’s working, and fix what’s not. Ease of use for consumers is increasingly important. Make sure navigation and content are efficient and up to date, and remove dead links.
• Consistent, end-to-end branding.
• Ensure your products, services and USP are crystal clear to consumers.
• Make simple, clear calls to action.
• Set deadlines and keep them. Work backward from where you want your business to be in six months to establish marketing plans. If you can’t see reaching the goal you set, rethink the goal.
• Concentrate on home markets first. Get those right before rolling out elsewhere.
• Search: It may not be sexy, but it remains “the lifeblood of marketing.”
• Don’t average cost-per-click data over entire campaigns. To see underlying patterns, you need to get granular.
• Make your money go further. Assess the media you own (content assets, Website and so on), the media you buy and the media exposure you earn (mentions in major newspapers or industry news sources, for example). Maximizing coverage of your owned and bought media in the press can multiply your exposure many-fold.

Basics Aren’t Enough

Somewhat paradoxically, this theme went hand in hand with hard advice on Web analytics, clarity, brand consistency and leveraging existing assets. Many speakers stressed the importance of getting beyond the predictable and the merely adequate to deliver an unexpected, higher-value consumer experience—aka “magic.”

Top tips:

• Think high value, not high volume.
• Avoid fake personalization. If you claim to act on your customers’ declared interests, make sure it shows. Tailor content to your site visitors and the recipients of your e-mail campaigns.
• Empower your advocates, and provide tools they can use to spread the word.
• Cool tools are best, such as iPhone applications or widgets that make key activities portable, easily accessible—and fun.
• Use an element of surprise to spark excitement and interest. If you run a travel site, delivering one unexpected, intriguing option in an otherwise predictable list of hotels in Florida can remind users of something often forgotten these days: Serendipity is central to the online experience.

Dennis Mortensen, COO of Indextools and author of the VisualRevenue blog, wrote a great piece this weekend entitled What and how to measure Online Travel and Hospitality websites.  Go read it immediately...you'll be glad you did.

Here's an excerpt:

Knowing your visitors is an extremely important consideration for the success of your Web site or online marketing strategy. Addressing your key audiences and providing them with relevant information is one of the key aspects of any travel and hospitality site. If your site does not speak directly to each of these audiences, you will lose most of them to the competition.

Link to full post.

The thoughts below may seem like basic ideas, but you might be surprised how many people forget these three little rules. It is always good to take the time to refresh your thoughts. It may help close your next deal.

1. Face negatives that come up along the way. It is always safest to tell your client "please let me look into that and get back to you." Have the client focus on priorities and let them know it's in their best interest for you to investigate appropriate information.  

2. Know how to "close" the sales call. It's a special skill to turn your conversation with a prospect into an action that takes the sales process to the next step. Do you end your call with a request for a follow-up meeting, or ask permission to submit a proposal?

3. Negotiating is simply part of the process. The sales manager needs to insure your client that you have the best product out there in order to begin any negotiation. If the sales manager enters the discussion unwilling to negotiate, chances are the deal will not happen and no one moves forward in a win-win situation.

 To read the full article click here.

Return Path, a New Media Gateway partner, has secured a deal with MySpace to ensure that the new social networking email service upholds the same high standard as ISPs.  MySpace will also be implementing Return Path Certification to make sure that MySpace members get the email they request.  That means that Return Path Certification partners (such as New Media Gateway) will receive VIP access into the inboxes of millions of MySpace users in addition to the largest and most respected whitelist program in the email universe.  Additionally, MySpace will contribute data to the Return Path Reputation Network, the cooperative database that powers Return Paths Sender Score service.  This announcement in addition to New Media Gateway's already leading social networking capability through its recent Sharethis integration continues to keep New Media Gateway at the bleading edge of marketing technology.

New Media Gateway continues to leverage its platform as well as integrated partner relationships to maximize return on investment for our clients. 

Earlier this wee, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation approved S. 1023, the "Travel Promotion Act of 2009." The bipartisan legislation, led by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John Ensign (R-NV) creates a public-private partnership with a budget of up to $200 million annually to attract international travelers to the United States by better communicating America's security policies and competing for visitors. According to an analysis by Oxford Economics, the program could drive $4 billion annually in new spending by international travelers to the United States.

Roger Dow, president/CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, was of the many travel industry professionals that praised the act. "Our nation's economy is struggling and international travel promotion is part of the solution. This much-needed legislation will help the United States to create thousands of new jobs and welcome billions in new spending by international visitors."

The Travel Promotion Act specifies that travel promotion would be paid for by private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers from countries that do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. The legislation requires no contributions from U.S. taxpayers. Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate and passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, but did not receive a vote before the Senate adjourned.

Overseas visitors spend an average of $4,500 per person, per trip in the United States.

For more information, visit www.poweroftravel.org.

How People Share Online Video

Digital WOM

In a world of continuous technological change, the concept of “new” can get old.

Take online video, for example.

A few short years ago, the term “online video” was wishful thinking. Clips could only be slowly downloaded. They had to be viewed in tiny windows on the computer screen. Sound and graphics were primitive. Video was hardly a killer app.

But then, in a rush came—sometime between 2005 and 2006—YouTube in the US, Dailymotion in Europe and Tudou in China, video-sharing sites that all had three basic elements in common:

• Flash Player technology that enabled instant viewing in the browser, without downloading
• Upload-ability that made file-sharing with friends (as well as viewers around the world) quick and easy
• Embedding code that allowed users to post video clips on Webpages and blogs

Suddenly video was an open, consumer-driven platform, with virtually no cost of entry. As a result, online video moved from niche to mass market, and in the process became one of the fastest-growing media platforms in history.

According to “The Global Web Index,” from Trendstream, with research conducted by Lightspeed Research, early this year 72% of US Internet users watched video clips monthly—making video bigger than blogging or social networking.

According to the survey, 62% of US Internet users watched at least one clip a week, a figure that Lightspeed analysts translated into 97 million weekly viewers.

By contrast, Nielsen Online pegged the number of US online video viewers in April at nearly 117 million.

That scale of usage would mean online video in the US is now as big as network TV.

“This research shows that in just three years we’ve reached a watershed in the way that consumers expect to watch, contribute and share video content,” said Tom Smith of Trendstream. “Web users want to participate at every stage, including the creation and sharing of material.”

The age of online video viewers trends younger: 82% of teens (16-to-17-year-olds) and young adults (18 to 24) streamed video, compared with 73% of Generation X (25 to 34) and 65% of older boomers (55 to 64) who said they watched.

Online video-sharing was less common, with only 46% of users participating. While teen, young adult and Gen X sharing percentages hovered around 50%, the older the Internet users, the less likely they were to send videos.

One-half of all respondents shared videos via e-mail to friends and family. Twenty-three percent sent video out to friends on social networks, 21% by instant messenger and 14% to their friends on video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Hulu.

The most widely used platform for discovering and viewing video online was YouTube, followed by e-mail, music sites, Yahoo! and news sites.

Sharing appears to happen mainly among close friends, as 72% of video-sharers sent to just one, two or three people.

“Those who access video are completely engaged in the content that they choose to watch,” concluded Mr. Smith. “It’s an impactful universe.”

What is the future of E-mail marketing?  Well, more than one study suggests that despite all of the Web 2.0 hype around social networks and other forms of communication wtih your clients and prospects that E-mail marketing is still the primary vehicle to connect and market to your audience now and in the future.

As stated in the article by eMarketer:

"Far from being eclipsed by Web 2.0 and other emerging communications methods, consumer expectations suggest that e-mail will be the workhorse channel around which future online communications will revolve," said Des Cahill, CEO of Habeas, in a statement.

That is not to say that consumers are ready for random, untargeted e-mail. Opt-in is still key. Consumers are even willing to help marketers custom-tailor their messages. More than 88% of respondents said they would like more choices in e-mail content and frequency, including options on advertisements and special offers.