An Educated View

Came across a great article on Seeking Alpha regarding Twitter.

From Sarah Lacy:
"But, truth be told, in this Darwinian Web cycle, the financial results are a lagging indicator when the king-du-jour of the Internet gets dethroned. If you look closely, we're already seeing loads of signals that Google is losing its grip on Web supremacy.

• The Inauguration: I flicked to this in my daily Yahoo "ValleyBuzz" post yesterday, but it bears noting again. Look closely at the Web stats on Inauguration day. While Obama was taking the oath of office and delivering his speech, Google's stats shows a decline in search activity. Meanwhile, Twitter and Facebook usage soared. This speaks volumes for two reasons. One: It proves why Twitter and Facebook are ultimately more powerful sites, and paradoxically it's the same reason they are so tricky to monetize. They aren't about "transaction" they're about "connection." People went to Google to find specific information about the President-Elect and the ceremony. People go to Twitter and Facebook to share the experience with one another. That means, Twitter and Facebook are delighting users more than Google, because they are keyed into natural human needs and emotions that trigger far greater and more addictive endorphin rushes than just finding a piece of information. But far more telling and troubling was the explanation on Google's blog about why their numbers went down: Because people were obviously glued to the TV. Maybe. But they were also on other sites. Google no longer gets where the Web and its audience is going."

Labels: Sarah Lacy, Social Media, Twitter

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The hot topic in 2009 is the advancement of social media (SM) with Twitter being one of the more intriguing SM tools. Per its Web site, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" However, to marketers, PR professionals, advertisers and most importantly, brands, Twitter is an invaluable tool. With all new things, though, Twitter does not come without varied opinion. Some love it, some don't see the value and a lot don't understand it.

My opinion on Twitter is this: it has the potential to be a beneficial resource for those individuals/companies to put forth the effort. It's a pretty unknown tool compared to Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn; but I think it has the potential to be a lot bigger. Why? The return is so much better than other forms of social media.

Imagine you're a small floral shop. You don't have the big budget for advertising, nor do you don't have the tools to put out a huge marketing campaign. Sure, you can put an ad in the local newspaper, you can place a coupon in the local pennysaver. But what is the return on those investments? More than likely, pretty small.

Now you have Twitter. It's a free service. The only real cost is the time you spend, or your employee(s) spend on it. Granted, that time could be used for other activities; but a quick 5 minutes on Twitter announcing "Dozen Roses $19.99" is a free form of advertising. I understand that larger companies would need to scale this approach quite drastically, but the concept is still the same. Why can't Polaris have a Twitter account? Why can't Best Buy tweet that they are having a 1-day sale?

The biggest concerns are security and control of content. However, I don't see why this should be viewed any differently than the content being placed on radio, print, etc.

There are a couple of good discussions out there regarding Twitter and social media. I'd encourage you to check them out. Social media is the new "it" in PR and advertising...jump on board!

Interesting read on social media in general - http://marketingpie.risdall.com/?p=700
Cost of social media via the MNPR blog - http://www.mnprblog.com/2009/01/cost-of-social-media.html

Happy Hunting!

Labels: Cost of Social Media, Social Media, Twitter

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Putting political views aside, no one can argue that Barack Obama didn't run a masterful campaign. The way he engaged voters, the press he generated and the overall public relations aspect of his campaign was brilliant. As he sets to take office and gives his inauguration speech on Jan. 20, the question looms - does the "Obama Brand" wear off?

One of the keys to Obama's successful nomination was his campaign's use of social media. His status was constantly updated via Twitter, his Facebook profile was filled with thousands of "friends" and his supporters were constantly reached via email. I firmly believe that any chance Obama has of maintaining his positive image, or of his "brand" continuing to be at an all-time high, is to continue to capitalize off the success social media brought. The tools and resources are already in place. They have contacts and they have lists. Why throw these valuable tools away? If I had any direct involvement with Obama, I would highly recommend the continued used of Twitter and Facebook. Why not update supporters of policies via Twitter? How about using Facebook to gauge public opinion? His email list is gold - a perfect way of getting direct feedback about how his term is going.

Obama's campaign was historical in the fact that it got the country involved. It got people out of their seats and finally got people to voice their opinion. It would be a shame if Obama didn't harness what every marketing and advertising company dreams of - verifiable data that generates results.

- Happy Hunting

Labels: Barack Obama, Facebook, Inauguration, Obama, Social Media, Twitter

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