2011 State of Social Media Survey goes live
Econsultancy and LBi / bigmouthmedia have launched the 2011 State of Social Media survey, which aims to benchmark trends and levels of spending within the market.
As with similar studies published in 2009 and 2010, the research is based on a survey of client-side marketers and in-house PR professionals, as well as agencies, consultants and other specialists working in the social media arena.
More than 600 companies have already completed the survey since Friday, a great response which shows that interest in this topic shows no sign of abating.
How do consumers feel about brands on Twitter?
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any companies are under the impression that opinion about brands on Twitter is mostly negative, but a new survey conducted by Econsultancy (and supported by Toluna) shows evidence to the contrary.
The Twitter for Business Guide, published earlier this week, includes findings from consumer research, which indicates that a higher proportion of consumers have conveyed positive, rather than negative feedback on the social platform.
Twitter for business: the experts' view
Earlier this year, Twitter celebrated its 5th anniversary. The social platform now has 200m users, generates over 200m tweets and handles over 1.6bn search queries per day.
Twitter is now undoubtedly popular and many businesses use the site as a tool for marketing, PR, branding, engagement, customer service, and much more.
Despite this, companies still face barriers to getting the most value from the microblogging site, which is why Econsultancy has produced its first guide to Twitter for Business.
If your business isn't using Twitter yet, it's worth considering the value it offers for your organisation. I've been talking to a number of experts about best practice on the platform, including business benefits, tips and pitfalls, and how to measure success.
Top 50 brands in social: seven key takeaways
What we learned from analysing the top brands in social media, and food for thought for brand owners starting to look at social reputation monitoring.
Seven online PR questions (and answers)
At the PRSA's massive annual conference this week, thousands of communications professionals gathered in Washington, DC to take a long, hard look at trends in public relations. What's on their radar? Social media, of course.
Several questions around how PR can dovetail with social media arose repeatedly. Herewith, the seven top FAQs PR professionals are asking about social media - along with the answers.
Investment in social media still modest: report
While most companies have increased the amount they spend on social media over the last year, the figures are still modest compared to investment in other channels.
Our Social Media and Online PR report, produced in association with bigmouthmedia, finds that 28% of companies are not spending anything on social media marketing while a further 33% are spending less than £5,000 a year.
Acceptance is the missing ingredient for social media success
In a world where social networking is key, I was glad to be involved in the Engaging Times summit in Chicago last week.
According to Engage chairman Stan Rapp, 'today’s consumers are the most narcissistic in history. We’re all looking after brand I.', while Don Peppers, head of Peppers & Rogers thinks that companies should not 'waste money on social media until your organisation can competently handle a customer phone call or email.'
The event was thought-provoking for a number of different reasons but the stand-out message is summed up nicely in these two quotes.
Revised mind-blowing social media statistics revisited... and 20+ more
Six months has passed since I chewed out 20+ revised social media stats, so I went back to see if there were any more changes. It turns out that there were, so I’m updating some of the more impressive ones...
Tips on responding to brand reviews
Consumers are increasingly using the internet to investigate others’ experiences of products and services online before they decide to buy.
While it may be a complex process to involve yourself as a brand in a general community forum where your product may be discussed, review websites offer structured platforms on which to respond to the critiquing of your products.
Q&A: Antony Mayfield on managing online personal reputation
How often do you Google your own name? And how often do you Google the names of potential employees before opting to hire them? In these data-driven times, it is important to recognise that personal information is becoming much more accessible and can impact you both postively and negatively.
In his new book, iCrossing's Antony Mayfield addresses how to manage personal online reputation effectively. We recently caught up with Antony at the launch of Me and My Web Shadow to find out more.
