Many people today are still skeptical about the actual value of using social media to promote their business. However, social media has rapidly evolved and become hugely popular. Considering it’s the biggest activity on the Internet today, it makes sense to capture people’s attention where they are spending their time. Also, most social tools are free, so the only investment really needed is time.

Some of the rewards you can reap include:

• Increase traffic to your website
• Generate exposure and buzz
• Develop your reputation
• Build business partnerships
• Reduce marketing expenses
• Improve search rankings

Developing a social media strategy may sound intimidating but you actually don’t need to be tech-savvy. Get started with these 6 simple social media strategies:

1. Create & Maintain a Blog
Blogs have a higher likelihood of getting search engine traffic than websites that aren’t regularly updated. Set one up and try to update it at least a few times a month. Try to provide valuable content that helps answer common client questions and demonstrates your expertise. Keep the articles short, and make the content easy to scan by breaking it down into lists, bullet points and headings, and be sure to respond to comments. If time allows, offer to guest post for someone else to further develop your reputation.

2. Twitter
Many consider Twitter the easiest social media strategy to implement and maintain. Just take a minute each day to update your Twitter status with useful content, questions for your followers, or even retweet industry news. Follow influential people to stay up-to-date on your industry.You can also use Twitter Search to see what is trending in your local area and participate in the conversations.

3. Facebook
Create a business page and invite all your clients to “Like” the page. Post photos of your business or products, special offers, etc. These posts will go out to your network’s feeds which will increase your brand awareness and help you get referrals through previous clients.

4. YouTube
Create a short video demonstrating your industry or product knowledge and post it on YouTube. Video is the most engaging form of content and having a video can move you up in search results. For instance if you own a bike shop in Chester, give your prospective buyers a virtual tour of the store or a demo of one of the most popular bikes. Not used to editing videos? No problem. You can instead create a free slide show using Animoto. As always, be sure to respond to comments on your YouTube page to engage your clientele!

5. LinkedIn
Complete 100% of your profile, including a link to your website, blog and other social media accounts. This will ensure you appear in search results and on your network’s feed page. Join LinkedIn Groups in your industry and participate by asking and answering questions (select the ‘Answers’ tab in the drop down search field at the top right). Be sure to ask for recommendations from clients and colleagues to build your reputation online. It’s also essential to set up a profile page for your company, which will allow you to gain followers – it only takes a few minutes!

6. Google Places
One out of five searches on Google are related to location. Google Places allows users to look up local businesses by category, much like Yellow Pages. You can add coupons, description, photos, and location to your business listing. Simply visit Google Places to create your listing.

So you’ve set up your social media channels. Now what? Implement these 3 key steps:

1. Offer Discounts and Promotions
Grow your following by offering discounts (if applicable to your line of business). People will follow and watch your account and likely purchase from you.

2. Train Your Staff
More authors means more relevant, engaging material you’re able to post. I’s essential to also guide them on appropriate content and how to respond to negative feedback. While we’re all wary of negative feedback, especially in a public setting, it can be a valuable learning opportunity and shows you care about your clientele’s concerns and needs.

3. Promote Your Channels
Include your social media addresses on your business card. You can even include a QR code, which will take your new contact straight to your website, which should list your social media addresses as well.

Most of us have probably seen them in magazines, newspapers or even websites and still have no clue as to what they are and the purpose they serve; however, for those that have been introduced to the world of QR codes, they are experiencing the endless possibilities of using these codes to connect the physical world to the interactive world through mobile web access.

Try scanning the code to the right to see some of my contact information.

For those with limited information or no knowledge at all on QR codes, the following is a simplified breakdown.
“QR” stands for quick response and, for a clear definition on these codes,Wikipedia states: “A QR code is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.”

Relatively new

While these codes might seem relatively new to the scene, they were actually created as far back as 1994 in Japan and were primarily used for tracking components in factories. Their entrance onto the scene in the UK, however, has been a bit slow because the demand and the use of smartphones had not reached the levels we are currently experiencing.

The advent and acceptance of smartphones, together with the ability to download QR code readers, has suddenly created a greater opportunity for marketers to interact with current and potential consumers through mobile web access, leading to QR codes becoming very relevant for connecting and sharing information.

So how does one generate a QR code?

Quite simply, actually; anyone with a computer can generate a QR code. All you have to do is search the Internet for “QR code generators”. There are several sites that will illustrate how you can easily link information to the code.

Two important points to consider

However, there are two important points that need to be taken into consideration when you are generating a code.

1. The more data you put on your code, the more it will result in the pixels of your code being smaller and this might make it difficult for some QR code readers to scan your code.
2. Because the codes are scanned using phones, one has to make sure that the site or URL will load well on a mobile phone browser.

Once the code has been generated, the next phase is to display it such that the target will be able to see it and scan it. Most smartphones now come with preinstalled QR code readers; for those that don’t, downloading them is a very easy process. Once the QR code is installed, you just have to point the camera to the code and the phone scans and links you directly to the desired information provided by the generator of the code.

Much can be done using QR codes in the advertising, publishing and branding sectors. While QR codes can be used to connect with consumers interactively, avoid linking to sites and URLs that don’t add value but instead try to use the codes for rich and relevant interactions.

Practical examples

Here are some practical examples of how to use QR codes:

• Business cards: QR codes on your business card can link directly to your website or to pages containing information about your services and products.
• Emails: QR codes used in direct mail to consumers will enhance their experience with the brand and deliver more information quickly.
• Products: QR codes embedded on the packaging of products can link to information on ingredients used, the production process or special discounts /coupons.
• Commercials: QR codes embedded in commercials can give you more information about the product being advertised, the cost and where you can purchase it.
• Train stations and bus stops: QR codes placed at bus stops and train stations link to information such as timetables and costs.
• Restaurants: QR codes placed at the entrances of restaurants link to information about the place, their menu and prices.

Asia has been the leading continent with regards to the use of QR codes and one can expect to find these codes on almost anything, from magazines to subways. The impact has been so great that McDonalds in Japan is using the codes on its packaging to direct customers to a webpage displaying nutritional information about the different products.

Smartphones to play a pivotal role

The increase in the number of smartphone users and the increasing popularity of mobile web access, especially in the youth market, is going to play a pivotal role in the use and acceptance of QR codes in the UK. The youth are tech-savvy and beyond just using their smartphones for social networking; they are now keen to discover what else their phones can do.

Some student newspapers are paving the way and have started using QR codes on their front page. We can expect the major tabloids to soon follow suit and we will also start to see these codes appearing more in magazines, billboards and on different products.

The ways of engaging and connecting with consumers are changing; marketers need to adapt to the current trends in the market in order to ensure that their products and messages stay relevant and that they remain in touch with their consumers. QR codes are one such trend. New and effective uses for these codes are cropping up each day and, for those who thought that these codes would be a fad, there is a need to rethink where they stand and start looking at the endless possibilities that exist when making use of QR codes in marketing.

For marketers seeking to provide more information and to interact with consumers to gain a competitive edge in the market, the use of QR codes in a creative and relevant way will, without doubt, be a step in the right direction.

Do you currently use QR codes? I’d love to hear from you if you do.

General Motors is offering a new feature they are calling “responsible connectivity”. This allows you to check your Facebook for messages and update your status from your car.

This would be part of the OnStar system. OnStar is the subscription based support service that comes with GM cars.

I saw this when I was watching television and there was a commercial about a man dropping off his date at the door. He then goes to his car and drives away. While he is driving he is able to use OnStar to check his Facebook and finds the girl has posted that she is back from the best date EVER.

I work with social media every day and far be it for me to say it isn’t important to stay connected. But even I have to say enough is enough.

Social networking while driving might just be one distraction that drivers don’t need.  Unfortunately we continually read about horrible accidents by people, especially teens, who text while driving.

OnStar is quick to point out that this is a hands free device. But anything that takes your focus off the road is still a distraction. Drivers already do enough things in the car that they shouldn’t without giving them some other way to multi-task.

I love Facebook and other social media tools and I don’t want to see them get a bad reputation. There are plenty of ways to access your social profiles from computers to your mobile any time of the day. Save your social networking for when you’re not in a moving vehicle.

What do you think? Do you need to stay connected so much that you would buy a car with this feature?

Retailers and businesses from other sectors must adhere to new online marketing rules set by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this week.

Marketing communications on companies’ own websites and in other third party space under their control, such as social media portals Facebook and Twitter, will have to meet standards set out in the Committee of Advertising Practice code.

ASA ran an ad campaign across TV, radio, online and outside over the last month to raise awareness of the organisation’s extended remit, calling on firms to ensure marketing messages on their websites are “legal, decent, honest and truthful”.

But how might the changes affect retailers?

With social commerce quickly growing in importance as a sphere in which business is conducted and user-generated comment being more closely monitored, companies could inadvertently breach the new regulations.

The new rules only apply if user-generated content is used for marketing purposes, but businesses that are active in the social commerce arena are uncertain how this will be assessed and there could be mistakes made as firms adapt to this new environment.

I’d love to hear how you think this may affect your business?

Thanks,
Mike

When users click the Like or Recommend button on a third-party website or within a Facebook app, it now publishes a full news feed story instead of just a one-line Recent Activity story. Previously, full stories with headlines, thumbnail images, and captions were only published if the website chose to implement the “Like with Comment” version of the button and users chose to add this additional context.

As the Like button now encompasses the functionality of the Share button, which Facebook has removed from its documentation, Facebook may phase out the Share button entirely. The change gives more prominence to outbound links in the news feed and on a user’s wall, and so will increase referral traffic and draw more sites to add the Like button.

Full stories appear larger, more compelling since they often include an image, and are ranked better in the news feed than Recent Activity stories. Therefore, the stories generated from clicks of the Like / Recommend button will been seen by more of a user’s friends and drive more traffic to third-party websites and apps than before.

Since Facebook launched its social plugins including the Like button at last year’s f8 conference, over 2.5 million websites have integrated them. In July, Facebook introduced Like with Comment, allowing some implementation to publish full feed stories.

By August, 350,000 sites had Like buttons, and that count is probably much higher now. Facebook has since allowed developers to integrate Like buttons with social games and other Facebook apps, and is trying to increase third-party awareness of their ability to publish news feed stories to those who click their buttons.

Up until now, Facebook had supported three different ways to share third-party content to the news feed:

• The Share button –  When clicked, users see a Facebook Publisher dialog pop up allowing them to add a comment. It publishes a full feed story, similar to if the user had copied the link into the Publisher on Facebook.com. The Share button doesn’t subscribe users to future updates from the owner of the button.
• The Like / Recommend button without comment – When third-parties use the standard iframe Like button with a width less than 400 pixels, the button_count, or  box_count version of the Like / Recommend button, users aren’t given the option to comment. A simple, one-line story linking to the content is published to the Recent Activity feed of the user’s wall, and the story is less frequently displayed in the news feeds of friends. Users are subscribed to future updates from the button’s owner.
• The Like / Recommend button with comment – When third-parties implement the XFBML version or the standard iframe version with a width of 400 pixels or more, users are always given the option to comment. If they comment, a full story is published. If they don’t comment, a simple story is published. Users are subscribed to future updates from the button’s owner.

Now, all versions of the Like / Recommend button publish a full feed story, whether a comment is added or not. The change has been applied retroactively, so old Recent Activity feed simple stories from Likes now appear as full stories.

Likes allow third-parties to publish future updates to a user, and therefore drive more traffic and create more lifetime value than Shares. This value lures additional third parties to implement Facebook’s social plugins, so it’s in Facebook’s interest to shift everyone from Share buttons to Like buttons.

The Share button is often displayed amongst a set of other buttons for Twitter, Digg, bookmarking, and email, but Facebook would rather have its own real estate opposed to being lost amongst the competition. Now that Facebook has given the Like button almost a year to prove its worth, third-parties would probably implement a Like button if they could no longer use the Share button, granting Facebook this improved placement.

The phase out of the Share button is evident in Facebook’s documentation. The “Facebook Share” typeahead result  shown when searching for “Share” on the developers site directs to the Like button documentation page.

Overall, the change will benefit users, third-parties, and Facebook. Compelling Liked content from around the web will appear in the news feed more frequently, initiating discussions between friends. Third-parties will gain traffic from new users, inspiring more to implement Facebook’s social plugins.

This increased presence across the internet will spread awareness of Facebook, raise barriers for its competitors, and seed a client base for a potentially monetizable plugin, such as an Open Graph ad unit.

So, what do you think the benefits are for this new funationality? I would love to hear your comments.

Thanks

Mike