@BasilPuglisi

Content & Strategy, Powered by Factics & AI, Since 2009

Basil Puglisi's Brand Blog #AIassisted

Strategies for going Viral and creating Visibility!!!

by Leave a Comment

At the beginning of this month, in New York, a gathering of some of the most interesting people in the social media circuit took place. There were interviews with leaders of Foursquare, Gawker, Hulu, Yahoo, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, News Corp and more.

One of the presentations was by Jonah Peretti, the co-founder of The Huffington Post who serves today as the CEO of Buzzfeed. Peretti has been advising companies such as Procter & Gamble and Sony Pictures about their viral strategies.

If someone knows about going viral, it’s this guy, and what he said should be listened to;

–          The biggest network you have at the moment are the bored people sitting in their offices, connected to high speed internet. This network is bigger that all the traditional existing networks combined. Create something that will draw their attention so they will pass it around. Make it easy to understand, easy to share and include in social media.

–          Put the business in the front, but don’t forget the fun stuff. He calls it the “Mullet Strategy”. Keep your website serious and business-like in the front and all the crazy remarks in the back. Have a place on your site to start a conversation.

–          If you are dealing with a brand, you should spend some money on advertising. Pushing a new brand through viral means is very difficult. You should spend money to seed it around the internet, or as he calls it: “Pay for the seeds and get the viral for free”.

–          Target the maniacs. The web is ruled by people who gets worked up about a subject and do the work for you. “Content is more viral if it lets people express their personality disorders.” He says.

–          Spread the word. Make sure some people are carrying on your word, and keeping it alive. He brings an example from religion – the Mormon Church, which actively spread the word and recruiting members, is growing in numbers at a higher rate than any other, older religions. It’s not just the quality of the idea that counts, it’s the effort you put into spreading it.

Now think how you can apply these 5 principles to your business.

Social Brand Visibility: Slashdot

by Leave a Comment

Slashdot is an aggregator of news about science and technology related stories. They call themselves “News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters”. 

Slashdot started as a blog in 1997 by the computer science student Rob Malda. It became a site a year later.

The name definitely shows a sense of humor. When asked about the origin Malda said the name was chosen to confuse those who tried to pronounce the URL of the site (“h-t-t-p-colon-slash-slash-slashdot-dot-org”) over the phone.

Users provide suggestions of new articles and links and Slashdot editors select the stories that will appear on the home page that day. They provide a one-paragraph summary and a link to an external site where the story originated. Each story can become a topic of conversation and a thread for comments and discussion. Those discussions can get up to 10,000 posts per day.

Slashdot traffic is estimated to be over 5.5 million visitors per month, and the site has won many awards. A term “Slashdot Effect” was coined after a story was posted on the site which sent much traffic to the source. Statistics shows that about 50% of the users check in to see the news of the day, while the other half stays and takes part in the conversations.

Slashdot Japan was launched in 2001 and carries the US stories as well as the local ones.

As of June 2010, Slashdot rank is 1,323, with the average user spending 3.7 minutes per day on the site and 45,393 sites linking back to it.

Social Media Trends for 2011

by Leave a Comment

2010 was a banner year for social media. It was the year in which Facebook overtook Google in site traffic. It was a year in which some surveys claim that 95% of companies are using LinkedIn to look for prospective employees.

The use of social media through mobile devices tripled. The tablet became popular and threatens to revolutionize laptops and school books.

What can we expect in the coming year? Here is what a few experts agree on:

–          Big companies will take a serious look at the social media, integrating it not only locally but globally.  Companies like Dell computers and Jet Blue are already doing it.

–          The mobile and tablet war creates social computing – the competition is heating up with new tablets and smart phones coming into the market. It will create more discussions on the web. Social media will be on the go even more than it is today – out of the house, out of the office on the move; in trains, planes and automobiles. There will be more competition, variety and affordability in devices.

–          Facebook location based services will probably overtake all the others. With the huge amount of users –over 500 million – and with tons of data and the programs behind it, they will become the biggest.

–          There will be a social media overload. The average user experiences Facebook, Twitter, G mail, chat, Skype, Tumblr etc. Many experts in social media have adopted systems to access all of them at once but average users might get a case of schizophrenia, with so many profiles on so many social networks. Integration will have to become more wide spread.

–          Social media will be integrated into other tools, making websites important again and more modern.

–          More and more companies will turn their social media connections into customer service, answering questions and complaints.

–          Social recruiting will get bigger. Even small companies will go to social media to find new and better applicants.

Social Brand Visibility: Ping.fm

by Leave a Comment

A relatively new company, Ping.fm, founded in 2008, comes to answer a burning question: how to control your social media from one place.

Posting an update on Ping.fm will push it to different social media sites simultaneously. Users can update their status only once, without logging in to different sites.

At the moment their alliance reaches to more than 30 social media sites. Users can configure their account to connect to services like: Bebo, Blogger, Google Buzz, Delicious, Facebook, Friend Feed, Friendster, hi5,Identi.ca, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Plaxo, Yahoo 360 and more.

Ping.fm might be a nice addition to everyday users, but for marketing professionals and social media experts it might be God-sent.

To make it even more useful the site has a character counter to make sure you don’t go over the 140 characters per tweet, and a “record video” link allows you to upload videos.

The dashboard allows you to set it up so you can ping from your e mail, instant message, mobile phones etc.

The only problem with Ping.fm has to do with your contact lists. If you have the same contacts in a few social media sites, they will be getting the same message from different sites, a fact that may annoy them.

At its core, social media sites are meant to be a communication platform, where you connect with people in a two way conversation. Ping.fm might turn it into one-way broadcasting mechanisms.

Approximately 37% of the site’s visitors are from the US, where it is ranked #746. It is also popular in Pakistan, where it is ranked #177.

Archos 101 and Archos 70 Internet Tabs ruined by Archos business model and execution.

by Leave a Comment

I have had the Archos 101 for the last several days and then added the Archos 70 Internet tablet for my wife. After a few days I am sending them off to ebay. While the Android operating system is all you have come to expect with an open market and system, the products and more importantly Archos as a company fail miserably.

Style: 10/10

The 101 and 70 Internet tablets are sexy, they are light, slim and feature stands built in to allow you to watch media. The ports and accessibility is what you would expect for a tablet hardware system built to interact with everything.

Operating System: 9/10

Android 2.2 Froyo, the system bolsters Androids supercharged operating system, which allows semi common users to customize and maneuver around any limitations attempted by companies like Archos. i.e. adding the google market and flash 10.1

Function: 6/10

As one would expect the 101 has a few issues as the tablet screen doesn’t size up to files and media that looked great on the phones we have all come to love android for. The system struggles to find media and become sluggish. No Flash means the web browsing experience is similar to the Android 1.5 OS.

Archos: 2/10

This is the real failure for the tablets, Archos tried to restrict the market by forcing you to run through their AppsLib instead of google, the tablet requires a bit of knowledge to add google products and software. The company website is a mess, navigating is sloppy and policies prevent the users from accomplishing much. Some of the most surprising failures should have tossed flags up prior to getting the tablet.

1 ) Tablet Release pushed back repeatedly.

2 ) Users that asked to be notified when the tablet released via e-mail got nothing when the Archos 70 IT and Archos 101 IT become available.

3 ) Archos did not restrict purchase quantity much, would be ebay stores bought ten at a time.

4 ) Anyone with a PO Box as their billing info was not getting one, or the software upgrades.

5 ) Customer support averages about a week to respond, if at all.

6 ) The tablet upgraded to 2.2 and wiped out the third party apps.

7 ) Archos did not get the Adobe cert so the tablets did not have Flash

8 ) The AppsLib market has less than 1% of the open market applications.

9 ) Youtube? Um No???? The second largest search engine, owned by the operating system parent company, largest media site and NO!!!

10) Sloppy storage, the tablet can’t tell where the media is, be it internal or storage without having to jump through a bunch of steps to find it.

Summary:

The use of the Froyo Android 2.2 was a great leap forward in tablets, as anyone who is not a novice can change root files, add software you expect to be a part of Android, but why should you have to know how to do it, this created the greatest problem in my opinion, you just shouldn’t have to work to make it work.

Archos was the big mistake here, trying to control the market, failing to get an adobe certificate which completely canceled the effectiveness of the Android 2.2 web experience is just a few of the many problems. The understaffed and underfunded company tried to take on a monster and got crushed in execution. I expect the value of these tablets to drop dramatically and quickly in the next few WEEKS!!!

Advice: Stay clear of the Archos Internet Tablet line.

Note: I was very excited to see this project and while I tried to find every reason to support the tablet, the ultimate test of a product is the company behind it, Archos clearly made a mediocre product terrible.

Some Knowledge For Creating A Small Business Website

by Leave a Comment

There are a few things that you will need to know in order to successfully build and maintain a website for your small business. These things are mostly common sense issues, but a few of them are things that only the top flight business people really focus on and have now mastered. You have seen just how successful some of the big companies have gotten with their online advertising, so if you want a piece of that action, here are a few things to take note of.

For one, you will need to have a clear idea of what the purpose of the website is going to ultimately be going forward. As you business expands, you will need to kind of make adjustments on the fly. Your customers need to feel safe and secure that you and your partners know what they are doing and are able to keep up with the ever-changing marketplace. Be precise in your marketing plan and things should fall into place quite nicely.

Another thing to take note of is to know right off the bat exactly what you are going to need in order to run a successful website. Whether you think that some video advertising or maybe some audio clips will do the trick to attract more and more people to your site, you will have to have a plan set up no matter what direction you decide to go in.

Also, you will need to have a good idea as to what to expect in terms of profits and website clicks from the very start of the site to even as far down the line as five years. We all know that it is pretty much impossible to predict a fluctuating marketplace too far down the road, but with the right people at the helm and a solid business plan, the sky really can be the limit in terms of your eventual success.

No matter what you decide to do with your website, it is going to end up being one of the most powerful tools for your company’s present and future success. The internet can work wonders for you and these days it is pretty much imperative to have a strong website and at least a decent sized following. We have come a long way with the internet providing us with more and more extra abilities every day. Just make sure to keep an eye on the market and for what is hot and in on a monthly basis, and things will start looking up.

Social Brand Visibility: Plaxo

by Leave a Comment

Plaxo, launched in 2002, is a tool that enables users create and maintain an online contact list and have it automatically updated.

Users have their information stored on servers, so they can access it anytime from everywhere. When your contact information is updated it will be changed in all your contacts’ address books that are connected to you through the site.

You can reach your contacts very fast. Results start to show with the typing of the first few letters. Opening a record is fast as well, without delay, after double clicking the contact. You can categorize your contacts into groups and add your contacts to more than one group. This way you can create distribution lists and send messages to the whole group at once.

Another feature allows you to mark your favorite contacts and they will appear on the front page of your address book.

Since 2008, Plaxo allows its users to share content from different social media platforms like blogs, social networking and post photos. Plaxo can also track feeds from different social media. Users can share and view content they have chosen by categories; friends, family, business and so on.

Up until 2009, Plaxo offered sync-up service with Outlook, Mozilla, Gmail and Yahoo. This service still exists but it has become Premium (paid) service in July of that year. It allows people to keep their contacts, calendar and tasks up to date across many platforms.

Plaxo is ranked #1,752 in the world, and #985 in the United States, where about 40% of the users are located. It is also popular in South Africa and is ranked #682 among all the South African sites.

Statistic shows that this site appeals more to high income women over the age of 35 who use it for business.

How to Use Facebook to stimulate your Business?

by Leave a Comment

It is not just about creating your own Facebook page anymore; it is about maintaining it so you can be able to better connect with your existing customers and develop a connection with future ones. Being active on the site is one of the main things you should think about. How to be active? Here are a few ideas that can change you Facebook page from a dormant one to an active one:

Use your existing customers to promote your page. Once they connect to your page they are able to share it with their friends. That is the essence of Facebook, but for businesses there are some free tools you can use; Page Badge allows you to promote your Facebook page from your website and drive traffic to it so they can see what is going on and what’s new in your business. “Like Box” – implementing a “like” button on your website page gives your customers the ability to like your Facebook page from your website. Include a link to your Facebook page in your newsletter and e mails to encourage your customers to join your Facebook page.

Facebook Ads is another way to create a marketing campaign within a budget. You can do it yourself by going to the site and following the directions for creating a successful ad campaign.

Publish relevant information on your Facebook page, be helpful and giving. Write in your true voice, as a person, not a business owner. Talk about things relevant to your business.

Use humor and provide fun facts that will make them come back.

Update the site frequently. A few times a week is recommended. If you have nothing new to inform your customers, dig up some relevant information and post that.

Encourage writing on your page and respond to the comments. If you get favorite reviews about one of your products respond to it and mention a similar product you’ll have for sale soon. If you have a complaint, answer it even quicker. Show your followers that you value them and their feelings.

Use Facebook to ask customers what they think about a certain product or service. Creating a two way conversation, and finding out what your customers would like to have is very important.

Use Page Insights. It is a program which provides anonymous statistics about your friends including demographics and frequency of use.

Use photos and upload videos to make it come alive and fun.

Update your page using mobile technology. This is very simple today with the iPhone and androids. That helps you update your page if you are on the road and have no immediate access to your computer.

Social Media Monitoring – SCRM

by Leave a Comment

One of the biggest questions small business owners ask themselves is how effective is my presence in the social media circles.

A good word of mouth can go a long way, but in the same way a bad comment can have a negative effect on your business.

People are sharing their thoughts on blogs, forums, groups, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Somewhere in there, among all the social talk, there might be a piece of information that will be crucial to your business. To be effective, your reaction should be quick. You can’t afford to wait weeks for reports. You want to know what people are talking about in your niche. That can give you an idea where you should go next in your business.

That is what CRM all about?

CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy for managing interactions with customers, clients and potential clients. Using technology CRM helps you organize, synchronize and automate sales activity, marketing, customer service and support. Similar to Social Brand Reputation Management (SBRM) The aim is to find and win over new clients, retain those who the company already has, win back former clients and reduce the cost of marketing.

Social CRM does that with social media.

With the help of social media, people can now research a company and ask for recommendations about a product or service through social media channels and make their buying decisions without looking at the company, or the site, itself.

Social media is used to share opinions and experiences. Since social media is not monitored and censored like the mainstream media, people can say whatever they want, good or bad.

“Social CRM is the company’s response to customer’s control of the conversation” is how it is defined. Companies are looking for a way to gain access to those conversations and take part in the dialogue.

There are many systems that integrate the social media sites. Using online communities as a source of leads, finding out what clients are looking for to better target marketing and sales and responding quickly to customer’s complaints. All these things can increase interactions and win hearts. The goal is to make the relationship with customers more intimate.

Social CRM adds to the traditional view of customer relation management. The focus here is on people, not technology. It aims to join the ongoing conversation, not try to control it.

There are many companies offering software that allows the users to manage multiple types of information, lead aggregation, status updates, and offers community platforms. It allows you, the business owner to listen to their conversations and respond in a timely manner. It allows you to understand the influences that make them decide on a product. Happier customers, faster customer service, product development, more reach and spreading the word is what SCRM is all about.

Companies that provide SCRM software:

Jive Software, Lithium Technologies, Neighborhood America, Concourse, CrowdEngineering, Fuze Digital Soultions, Helpstream, Buzzient, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite among others.

A Few Quick Pointers For Building A Successful Business

by Leave a Comment

There are a couple things that I have learned over the years about being able to successfully start a small business from scratch and build it into something potentially special over the long haul. A few of these things are actually pretty basic when it comes down to it, but the others definitely take some precision and hard work for the business to get off of the ground.

Create A Promotional Message

One of the first important things that I learned is to make sure to use one simple message to promote the business that you are building and trying to sell. It can get quite confusing for a potential consumer if there are a bunch of mixed message being sent out by your business. Just keep it really simple and to the point that you are trying to make and hopefully that message will in time sell itself.

Create An Advertising Strategy

Strategic advertising is probably the most overlooked and unappreciated aspect to any successful small business plan. You need to make sure to set aside about seven to fourteen percent of your gross target for marketing and advertising. Also, make sure that the ads that you are putting out there for the world to see are tasteful and to the point. You do not want people getting the wrong idea about your company or even not knowing exactly what it is that you are trying to sell.

Always Be Available To Your Customers

It is vastly important to be able to be reached by phone or by email at any point in time to answer the questions of your potential customers. There is nothing more frustrating for a consumer than to have an inquiry or problem with a product and to not be able to reach the company in which they seek advice or the ability to troubleshoot the issue. Be easy to contact and you should be golden in the customer service aspect of your small business.

Keep Your Customers Interested

The last little bit of advice I am going to give you is to make sure that you create a little bit of curiosity amongst your potential client base by mixing things up a little bit and throwing a few curve balls their way. Try coming up with new and innovative ways to advertise your products and make it exciting for someone who is in the market to buy whatever you have to sell. Fresh and interesting things will keep your customers interested in your company.

I hope these quick pointers were helpful to you and your future business and I wish you the best of luck in all that you decide to do.