Archives for October 2012

MAM Summit Recap: Facebook IS Losing Its Cool

October 26, 2012 by eglomb

This blog post is written by guest blogger Laura Harders

Since I’m a blogger & social media consultant, I really gleaned a lot from the social media geared sessions at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit in Baltimore. Directly following lunch, I had the pleasure on sitting in on the session “Is Facebook Losing Its Cool” with Moderator Rob Pegoraro, and speakers: Mitch Arnowitz, Managing Director of Tuvel Communications; Geoff Livingston, author & marketing strategist; Cary Lawrence, VP of Business Development at Social Code; and Kari Mitchell, Director of Digital Marketing at HZDG.

My takeaways from the session included:

1. Facebook IS losing its cool (almost unanimous amongst the panel of speakers).

2. Facebook is still an important social network and place where the largest audience is.

Some of the “issues” with Facebook that were discussed deal with the privacy perception and continual changes. I know for many bloggers and marketers, the change in reach of your message has been frustrating. Just because you have fans, doesn’t mean they will see your content. You now have to “pay to play”, in other words, you need to pay for Facebook post promotion and advertising in order for your fans to see your content in their news feed.

Some other takeaways for me:

Facebook usage has declined among young people.
Facebook has become more “noisy.”
Younger users are more likely to “like” a brand than older users.
Older users are more likely to click thru ads than younger users.
Facebook advertising is now an opportunity to amplify your message.
Facebook’s Timeline feature allows ongoing conversations with a readable thread, unlike other social platforms.
Out of all four panel members, only one “friends” their clients on Facebook. The majority of the speakers felt that their personal FB account was reserved for family & close friends, a smaller network.
Key to Facebook marketing is to gain “shares” as social validation for your brand & message.

Is Facebook losing its cool? Yes it is– for both users & brands. And while it’s still one of the predominant social media platforms, the importance of targeting other niche networks is critical, as well as creating custom approaches & goals on a variety of social media platforms.

Now its your turn! Do you agree with the panel conclusion that Facebook’s loosing its mojo? Please let us know in the comments below.

Laura Harders is a blogger and social media consultant living in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Besides working with small businesses to develop their social media marketing strategy and content, she also runs a popular, local deal blog, Beltway Bargain Mom, and teaches Coupon Classes.

We’re Hiring! Part-Time Social Media Campaign Associate

October 8, 2012 by Mitch Arnowitz

Tuvel Communications is a market research and development company that combines human processes, social media and analytics. We collaborate with government entities, technology companies, non-profits and associations to identify rich untapped market segments and convert them into engaged online communities.

We develop and execute social media outreach campaigns, conducting market research and using customized communications while building valuable relationships. We’ve worked with such esteemed organizations as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Association of Broadcasters, Carahsoft Technology Corp. and 1105 Media, Inc.

We’re looking for a part-time Social Media Campaign Associate, who will be responsible for overall project management of a client campaign from start to finish, moving them forward on schedule. Please be aware that this is a telecommuting, 1099 independent contracting position.

Responsibilities include:

Managing and executing campaign strategies and tactics, including research, outreach, relationship-building with community influencers, social networking and contests/promotions.
Managing campaign analytics, tracking and reporting.
Assisting with the development of proposals.
Contributing to the company blog, social networks and newsletter.

Requirements:

3-5 years’ experience in an online marketing and/or communications/PR role specifically using social media and working on email/influencer outreach campaigns (including development, implementation and/or management).
2-3 years’ experience in a project, campaign and/or account management role, managing all aspects of campaigns/projects.
Experience developing and measuring campaign analytics, as well as developing reports.
Experience with online market research and able to locate influencers and contact information using a variety of online research techniques. Our outreach campaigns go beyond just blogs, so knowledge of and the ability to find influencers in a variety of online communities – like web forums, user and professional groups, listservs and email lists, and other social networks – is absolutely essential.
Extensive knowledge of third-party marketing and reporting tools and platforms and how they can be used for different projects. These include WordPress, Hootsuite and Mailchimp.
Experience using Google Docs and Basecamp for project management.
This is a telecommuting role requiring remote access, so you should actively use tools like Skype and gchat for communication with the Tuvel team and clients.
Highly organized, self-starting and flexible individual, able to change directions on a dime and put in extra work when needed.
While this is a telecommuting role, location within the Washington, DC Metro area is preferred.

Interested? Please e-mail your resume to hello<at>tuvel<dot>com with the subject line “Social Media Campaign Associate”

Is Facebook Losing its Cool?

October 3, 2012 by eglomb

I remember my senior year of college when this thing called Facebook came around. I waited rather impatiently for the time when they would open up Facebook to my university. Finally, it opened up and I was one of the first people at my school to sign up. As a result, my inbox was flooded daily with dozens of friend requests.

Fast forward a couple of years and we saw high school kids getting into Facebook. Fast forward a few more years and anyone with an email address is signing up for Facebook!

In the beginning, Facebook was an exclusive club with limited membership. Now, this club has almost a billion members. Facebook has become the destination for extensive marketing campaigns and promotions brought to you by some of the world’s largest companies and brands. And, there’s this privacy issue that doesn’t seem to go away…

The mainstream media tells us that some teens aren’t liking Facebook as much as older users. And, the comments in this SodaHead poll seem to suggest that Facebook has become a “geriatric social network”. There’s even this website set up for people that aren’t to jazzed that their parents are even on Facebook.

While the number of cool things that you can do on Facebook has increased, do you think Facebook’s losing its “cool” appeal to the masses? Was Facebook ever cool to begin with?

The Mid Atlantic Marketing Summit is coming to Baltimore on October 18^th where we’ll be be discussing Facebook’s coolness factor, content marketing and the next big thing. Hope to see you there!

Now it’s your turn! Take our easy Facebook poll below and then tell us what you think in the comments. To throw in some fun, we’ll be giving away a FREE marketing summit pass to someone randomly selected from the comments below.

Facebook- hot or not?

[polldaddy poll=”6580616″]