Marketing Virgin

Check out how web trends and social media have evolved in this series of pictures. This is worth checking out! http://bit.ly/5gh8EH

Courtesy of the Huffington Post.

This was written by a blogger named Shane, and it’s really funny. Visit his blog by clicking here. 

The 46 stages of Twitter: 

1. Hear the word Twitter.  Scoff.
2. Hear it again from someone else.  Scoff again.
3. Hear about famous celebrity who is apparently “On Twitter.”  Scoff, but make mental note to check it out.
4. Log into Facebook to comfort self.
5. Sign up for Twitter.
6. Give up because it seems dumb.
7. Loudly criticize others on Twitter.
8. Follow @johncmayer, @aplusk, @rainnwilson, @wilw, @mrskutcher, @oprah, and one other person you actually know.
9. Post tweet that is a variant of: “Trying out this Twitter thing.”
10. Attempt to dig a little deeper into Twitter.
11. Notice rampant usage of words: “Tweet,” “Twitter,” “Twitterverse,” “Tweetie,” “Tweetdeck,” and something called “RT.”
12. Scoff again, this time in confusion.
13. Tell friends you “tried that Twitter thing, but didn’t get it and it’s stupid anyway.”
14. Log into Facebook because that site at least makes sense.
15. Read story about Twitter somewhere.

Read the rest of this entry »

Not long ago, many believed that people only used social media to communicate with their family and friends. eMarketer recently published survey results that how people use social media to interact with a brand, something we all hope to achieve as marketers.

Follow me on Twitter! @MarketingVirgin

Have you been tasked with creating a Twitter account for your company? You may be a sceptic now, but soon you will realize the true value Twitter can provide in terms of both brand management and building relationships with potential customers.

Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Use your company name, not a variation of it.
This will make it easy for people to find you in the Search feature.
2. In order to be followed, you must follow others first.
Start following other Twitter accounts in your space. Analysts, industry publications, press, subject matter experts, etc. Out of courtesy, they may decide to follow you as well.
3. Re-tweet.
Get the attention of others by re-tweeting messages posted by the people you follow. This is another way to get them to follow you back. Always put an “@” in front of the username of the person whose message you are re-tweeting.
4. Add hash tags.
Hash tags is a way for Twitter to trend the hottest topics of the day. They appear in the right-hand side of the screen, and have a # in front of them. For example, #marketingvirgin.
5. Add pictures.
Use www.twitpic.com to add photos to your Tweets.
6. Add links.
Use www.tinyurl.com to shorten long URL’s that you want to reference in your Tweets.
7. Don’t just talk about yourself, engage others.
Ask a question. Encourage participation. You could even have a contest.
8. Add yourself to WeFollow.com.

It takes years to build your personal brand, and only seconds for someone to destroy it. BINC, a professional headhunting firm, shares 12 tools that will help you manage your brand online.

Find more about the list by viewing the full BINC article.
1. TrackUR
2. Reputation Defender
3. BuzzDing
4. Trendrr
5. Social Mention
6. YackTrack Chatter
7. Filtrbox
8. Rapleaf.com
9. Google Alerts
10. Yahoo Alerts
11. Windows Live Alerts
12. TinEye

Think social media is a hoax? Check out this great video that proves its value: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8.

 Find out more by following Socialnomics:

1. By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network 
2. Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
3. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
4. Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
5. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia Read the rest of this entry »

   

In just 8 months, Facebook grew from 100 million to 200 million users. Now, in the last 3 months, they have added another 50 million more.

 According to Nielsen Online, users are spending an average  of 4 hours, 39 minutes on the site every month.

Considering all of the information they are able to collect on users, get ready for highly targeted ads to begin popping up on your screen. It will feel like they can read your mind, except they are simply using keywords you supplied in your profile.

Facebook has unveiled a new application that is currently in its beta form. People can now become “fans” of a particular group by texting “fan username” to 32665 (FBOOK). For example, you would text “fan Target” to become a fan of the Target group.

Twitter already has this feature enabled. To follow someone on Twitter you simply text “follow (username)” to 40404. For example, text “fan andreakstout” to follow me!

If you currently work in marketing, you could embed these promotions into your collateral, website, ads, etc. It’s really exciting to see how social media is becoming integrated into all types of communication.

If you work in a field related to communications and you’re not on Twitter, you’re out of the loop. It’s a fact.

If you’re new to Twitter and you’re wondering who you should follow, check out WeFollow. This site lists the top followed people for various categories including politics, travel, marketing, and news.

Don’t forget…the first annual Twestival will take place tonight. This is your opportunity to meet other social media geeks much like yourself, and the proceeds go to a great cause!

To find a city near you, please visit http://twestival.com/.