Salesforce.com tries to bring social networking to the workplace
Salesforce.com built a billion-dollar company by allowing companies to ditch their CRM software and bringing CRM to the cloud. Now it has its sights set on perhaps an even bigger feat: bringing social media to the enterprise.
Yesterday, the company announced that it will be launching a new service called Salesforce Chatter in 2010. Think of it as Facebook for the enterprise: a social networking service for companies with an application platform to boot.
Razorfish: Social media is helping established brands. But what about everyone else?
Razorfish has released its annual study into consumer behavior online and this year's results have a lot to do with social media. According to Feed: The Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report, many consumers are engaging with brands online to receive exclusive promotions or discounts.
The study also found that people who actively engage with a brand digitally — from participating in a contest to downloading a mobile application — are substantially more inclined to purchase and recommend that brand to others.
The question for brands is how to create digital events that impress consumers. Because negative experiences online have a bad influence on the bottom line for brands.
Q&A: Sienne Veit on Marks & Spencer's social media strategy
Marks & Spencer's online strategy has gone through a variety of changes in recent months. As well as revamping their main website, the British retail giant has embraced social media by incorporating ratings and reviews into their website, and using Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation and better engage with customers.
It is encouraging to see a major brand like M&S experimenting with new online channels. By incorporating social media into their strategy, Marks & Spencer has enhanced its ability to respond to customers. Additionally, the brand is better placed to manage their online reputation more effectively.
At a recent iCrossing social media briefing, I asked Business Development Manager, Sienne Veit about the changes that Marks & Spencer has implemented and the impact of social media on the brand.
Gamers coming clean on scam ads: Is contrition enough?
The social gaming lead-gen controversy sparked by TechCrunch's Michael Arrington came to an end this week when OfferPal, the company he singled out for scamming users and advertisers, replaced its CEO and posted a mea culpa for its past and current practices.
Beyond that, Facebook, MySpace and mega gamer Zynga have made moves this week to better regulate gaming offers. Will the move decimate the social gaming industry?
Facebook wins $711 million anti-spam lawsuit. But social spam is here to stay.
By now everyone online is accustomed to receiving and filtering spam in their inboxes, but recent spamming attacks on social sites like Facebook have caught many by surprise. Facebook is hoping to change all that, with a court win this week against uber spammer Sanford Wallace.
Facebook hopes that a $711 million fine and the threat of jail time will not only sideline Wallace, but function as a deterrent to future social spammers. But let's be honest. That's not going to happen.
Social media stats round up
Here's a selection of recent social media stats, taken from a range of sources, including Econsultancy's Social Media Statistics document, which forms part of the Internet Statistics Compendium, and other reports...
Facebook changes put end users above app developers
The app economy generates big bucks for Facebook's most prolific developers. Thanks in large part to virtual goods, the companies which develop some of Facebook's most popular apps are reportedly pulling in over $100m/year individually.
But what's good for Facebook's app developers isn't necessarily good for Facebook's users. App developers are understandably willing to go as far as Facebook will allow them to in their quest to acquire more users and generate more revenue.
When social media attacks: learn from others' mistakes
As a social media marketeer, I'm very aware of how tricky it can sometimes be to prove the value of social media to a brand, particularly a brand with a self-deprecating view of their public perception.
I lose count of the ways I've heard a brand tell me 'Not everyone can be 'the Meerkat' or sexy like Nike', which in some ways is true, but that shouldn't put you off.
What should make a brand nervous is the prospect of getting it wrong, as in the examples I've gathered together for you here...
Pew: More internet users are reading status updates (and marketing messages)
It looks like Twitter can be carefully taught. According to the Pew Internet And American Life Project, internet users are becoming more comfortable updating their statuses online.
The report found that 19% of internet users polled say they use Twitter or another service to share updates. That's one in five internet users. And good news for marketers.
Are marketers moving their Google search dollars to Facebook's display ad business?
Wired's argument this spring that Facebook is the next Google may have legs. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Facebook is skimming ad dollars from Google's search business.
SAI's Internet Analyst spoke with an ad agency that has noticed brands quietly moving ad dollars from Google search to Facebook's new self-serve display ads. If this becomes a trend, it could be huge for Facebook.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
