Are Likes the New Links? Hypertext links have served as the web's traffic signal network. Links guide where our clicks, attention and, therefore, money flows. It has given rise to multi-billion-dollar businesses and even entire industries. Likes are explicit endorsements rather than implicit ones. Google and Bing aren't sitting on the sidelines of this new trend - both … [Read more...]
Social Media Metrics and Conversion
US businesses have definitely accepted that social media has to be a part of their marketing and PR activity - four in five US businesses with at least 100 employees will take part in social media marketing in 2011, says eMarketer. That’s a big jump from the 42% who used social media in 2008. eMarketer expects the number of marketers using the channel will continue to … [Read more...]
Corporate Spokespeople Getting Their Mojo Back?
According the to the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer out yesterday, that appears to be the case. After taking a dive when the rise of social media saw people turning to their peers online, the wheel seems to be coming full circle. CEOs now rank among the top credible spokespeople globally – a striking rise from two years ago when they were in the bottom two. A “person like me,” … [Read more...]
Should You Be Outsourcing Social Media?
The answer is yes and no - depending which part of the social media program you're talking about. Mark Evans wrote this week in the Sysomos blog Here’s something that has surprised me in recent months: the number of companies that want their social media tactics to be handled by an external agency – public relations, advertising, digital or pure social media. These … [Read more...]
The Social Media Measurement Debate
Yesterday Geoff Livingstone pointed a finger at PR people and called the industry's measurements "suspect." Responsibility for the resulting social media bubble and the increasing demand for impact belongs to the PR industry in its 2.0 incarnation AVE's have always been a troublesome metric, and the recent Barlecelona Principles laid them to rest. And we are moving … [Read more...]
