It’s great to see some API competition for FaceBook Apps, in fact Google’s Open Social looks to give strong competition with the fact that it’s a shared API, meaning multiple sites will be using it, increasing distribution of the app.

What is OpenSocial?

As stated on the home page: “OpenSocial provides a common set of APIs for social applications across multiple websites. With standard JavaScript and HTML, developers can create apps that access a social network’s friends and update feeds.”

The question is just, is there something like critical mass on this kind of viral marketing? Obviously apps can be absolutely anything, from business tools to quirky viral ‘zombie bites’. It’s just important to remember how information is shared with these apps. Information that is very valuable to potential marketers, so don’t just install any app.

Facebook on the other hand has rolled out some social business tools that should keep things alive and well in Facebook land and some major players have already signed on. Companies can soon have their own Facebook profiles. Would be interesting to monitor over the next few months. I’ve been talking for almost a year about leveraging Facebook as business tool and it seems it’s the next logical step for them.

Exciting times!

I presume it might be a case with likeness to the electric car vs oil giants. Not so much social media, but internet marketing as a whole. BUT we’ve managed to prove otherwise with traditional online advertising. We’ve proved that there does lie real value in online marketing and as with all new technologies, the early birds will catch the worm.

The problem comes in where companies make use of service providers that don’t really know how to utilise the power of social media marketing / Web 2.0. And it doesn’t work for everybody I might add. But  when implemented correctly these strategies can add immense insight into your consumer markets. Especially where we’re talking of large corporates with big databases that have responsibility to maintain a good profile on the CRM side of things.

I agree that social sites will come and go (like with all fads), but the principles and application thereof will live on and surely it is also up to the owners of such sites to innovate and improve their offerings to keep their subscribers happy? The fact that there’s such large buy-in to new media like video (YouTube), Photos (Flickr) etc opens up new avenues of marketing at much lower budgets than traditional advertising. And to top it off we have the advantage of real time stats with return on investment. Tracking is what makes online advertising so popular, plus the market is growing by the day.

You might ask the question, where does the value lie in social media and its marketing principles?

Well, it’s measured in different ways, but you can look at the following (to name a few):

• Brand Loyalty/Awareness Building
• Word of Mouth Marketing
• Consumer Generated Content
• Consumer Data Profiling
• Advanced CRM Principles
• Viral Marketing Aspects
• And More…

The problem will always be implementation and finding service providers that understand the methods and can implement those principles to drive social online strategies for clients.

It guess it’s true that the early adopters will pay some school fees and that the corporate world is sitting back to see what happens, but dead, it’s truely not…

I thoroughly enjoyed Tom London’s broadcast on 567 Cape Talk with Dave Bullard last night. Allthough they didn’t really discuss the whole blogging saga, Dave did mention that he’s got two brilliant IT guys that help him make easy work of his blogging experience. Asking him through a comment on his blog whether he’s warmed to blogging he mentioned that he has mellowed towards blogging, but he “feels a bit old doing this” and that people of this age usually play bowls as recreation, ha-ha.

I’m glad Dave started blogging, he might just help us teach people of all age groups that blogging is fun, but also that it could well put a positive spin on a company’s corporate image if maintained right (if you have some brilliant IT guys that is). By the way Dave, I know of people much older than you that blogs, so you’ve got some time to go before exchanging your keyboard for bowls.

This is proof that insight, will give you end sight in what blogging can do for you.

The influx of new social media platforms have created some confusion among my non internet savvy friends and business contacts. I have been preaching social media for a while now to them, trying to get them to understand the concepts and the power of ‘Word of Mouth’, but from what I could gather, it fell on deaf ears. Until recently…

While chatting to some business acquaintances this morning I almost fell on my back from both astonishment and laughter. There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. A good friend asks me (one who I haven’t reached in my quest of education) yesterday.

Hey bru, do you know ‘myface’?

And while trying to keep a straight face (yes, ‘my face’), I politely corrected him and explained the difference between MySpace and Facebook.

Not to be outdone, this morning at a business breakfast I attend, a middle aged lady (bless her soul) told us she wants to start ‘logging’ and asked how she should go about it.

I mentioned a saw might come in handy for ‘logging’, but if she wants a blog, I can help her out.

Awareness

Yes, word is spreading about social media portals. Be it in an unconventional way, but it shows you the power of the personal referral. Big corporates would scramble now, if they knew the possibilities. Like logging though, it’s not for everyone…

Whilst writing my car off recently I had an epiphany. How cool would it be to have a website that acts like a car crash site? People slow down, rubber necking, they look once, twice and a third time. Curious culture, it’s something called ‘the viral element’ on the internet and something that when gotten right can generate amazing traffic to your website. Link bait? Yes, I would assume link bait would fall under that category, but it’s to be used with caution. Want your website to go viral? You know who to contact…

Facebook brings some great communications services to the business world. It seems as if communication has become very simple and that the world is a better place because of it. There are however pitfalls that people using Facebook should be aware of. It’s important for new users to know ‘what they’re getting themselves into’ right from the start and actually it doesn’t just apply to Facebook, but any website in general available to the public.

continue reading "Blurring the lines between business and social"

I’ve taken notice of MyGenius.com which is a South African based business networking website. Seems pretty cool. I like the feature where you get notifications of other members visiting your profile. I also like the way (almost like LinkedIn) where you have to ‘complete’ your profile in more detail in order to get more functionality. Will see how that pans out…

I got an email about www.browzit.co.za, a business directory where South African companies can list their services for free. You never know, it might be worth a try. Only thing I don’t like is the crude ads on the right on certain pages. It’s sort of contextual, but would probably better serve in a set size. It is for free though, so one probably can’t moan. Looks like a nice selection of Cake and AJAX running on the site.

Vinny Lingham (of IncuBeta fame) mentioned that Facebook is the new Internet. What he obviously meant was that it’s the latest ‘fad’ in internet usage and through its social viral aspects it’s spreading like a wildfire. I totally agree with him. I mean, I can’t remember when last one of my Internet/Technically disabled friends last came to me and asked me whether I’m on ‘this cool website’?!

One thing I especially like is the apps, which gives it just so much more meat on the bones. Facebook continues to innovate, which makes them the top social networking platform at the moment. Full stop! It also opens up a myriad of possible ways to marketing your business. I know, I keep on saying that. I’ll post more on that soon!

Now that we’ve all gone ‘Web 2′, sharing the love and getting listed on Amatomu, Afrigator and whatnot, what does this all mean for your website and marketing opportunities? Well, in short, social online marketing is easy to get wrong. It’s something many people would say should stay social, but it’s impossible to ignore the power of what it can do for your business if you do it right.

The first type of social sites are called aggregators (like the above mentioned), which reads and distributes your content feeds to their member network, with search facilities and linkback love. This is a powerful for attracting attention with good written content.

The second type has a more social aspect in that they allow you to create profiles and join groups. The advantage of groups is that you can join specifically targetted groups and build up a network of ‘friends’. Now because no-one likes spam, it’s a fine line between good and evil here. If not done right, you’ll lose an entire network forever. It’s better to use the social aspect and build up contacts. Every profile you have on MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and all the other social networks allow you to build a new network of friends who can be possible clients.

Now something like this takes up alot of your time and if you’re not in the right target markets your efforts will be futile. It’s something we like doing. We’re a social bunch here at PERONii of course. It’s also something you can track and report on if implemented correctly and we can help you do that.

Just remember that you shouldn’t do it for personal gain only. If you give a little love, you’ll receive much more back. Well written content will always help you develop your social network. Another thing about social networks though is choosing what information to share. It’s important that you know that if you publish things online, chance is that people you know, and most importantly your competitors will be reading with utmost interest. Always keep that in mind before blabbering away ‘socially’.

The advantage of social online marketing is the different angle from which you approach your target market. It’s a way to get in their heads, to have your ears on the ground and get valuable feedback and referrals right out of the horse’s mouth. If managed properly you can only benefit from it.

Note: Also known as ‘Social Media Marketing‘.