YouTube’s Tweeting.
It’s official: YouTube has migrated to Twitter. Effective immediately, if you click the “Share” link below a video, you’ll find three options: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter. (There are more sharing options.)
Choosing Twitter takes you to your Twitter account, creating a Tweet telling your followers to “check out this video,” along with the title and URL. (Currently, the URL is not automatically shortened, but YouTube is working on that. If you don’t already use it, now’s the time to learn about TinyURL.)
From a social media standpoint, YouTube’s adding Twitter is, let’s face is, an “about time.” But it makes jumping between both interfaces even easier for people like us. Expect the feature to get more robust pretty quickly.
Want to engage customers? The answer lies within.
“Look inward.” A great mantra for self-help gurus. Too soft for marketers? How about: “Hey goofballs, really now, you’re leaving money on the table??”
Fewer than 40% of companies collect customer feedback more than annually. And much of that feedback comes in the form of same-old, lame-old standard satisfaction surveys, according to the CMO Council report released in February. Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council sums it up succinctly: “What we’re most concerned about seems to be the lack of ownership of customer experience at a high, strategic level. It should be a differentiator for companies, but most aren’t there yet.”
No kidding! We know that dialogue about companies, products and services is going on continually online. We also know that most companies don’t monitor the conversations, let alone get in on them. This is equally true for B-to-B and B-to-C marketers.
Are we behaving like guerrilla networkers, or just like gorillas?
As the marketing world continues to decide what role social media really should play in the grand scheme of our efforts, the topic is spawning all sorts of discussion and theories about its usage. Here’s a synopsis of an exceptional one, posted by “economist.com” earlier this week.
Are we behaving like primates on Facebook??
Twitter go “corporate”? For a fee, yes.
Sick of all the buzz about Twitter? Well prepare for more.
According to Nielsen Online, Twitter had more than 7 million unique visitors this February—compared to 475,000 in February 2008. Picture Glenn Close as a little white bird: “I’ll not be IGNORED, Dan”
Yes, not ignored by Dan and, apparently, not by his 7+ million closest friends.
But like most social marketing sites, the company isn’t making any money … yet. Despite somewhat-known plans to start seeking revenue in 2010, the company may be putting that plan into effect much earlier, starting with corporate accounts. Does this mean marketing departments looking to harness the power of said little white bird will get better results for their efforts? Outlook good—for a price. Take a look.
Insight from CIMA’s interactive marketing survey
The Scene: Chicago Interactive Marketing Association
The affair: 6th annual interactive marketing survey and panel discussion
The headline: There is a sharp decline in the health of the industry
That news was unexpected and a shock. But before we turn off our laptops and go back to reading hieroglyphics on slabs of rock, let’s get behind this news shock. The news was being delivered by highly respected researcher Troy Mastin who comes with impeccable credentials, which just made the headline that much more of a shock. The industry is deemed unhealthy because of slow growth — only 5% over the next 12 months versus the previous trend of 18% — and a less optimistic outlook for 2009 versus last year. The economy is having its impact on certain verticals; automotive, travel and financial services are greatly affected by slow- to no-growth. Not looking good so far. However, if you look at who the completed the survey — media sales reps accounted for 46% of all survey respondents — they are likely responding to less commission as their barometer.
Connecting financial literacy and brand loyalty
I’m working on a hypothesis and need your help.
The recent economic events prompted thoughts about the need for financial literacy programs. Large government agencies, education institutions and several well-meaning non-profit organizations all believe in the critical importance of financial education.
That’s to be expected. In fact, financial literacy is a topic that’s always been considered the responsibility of educators and government.
But fall 2008 changed everything. Right along with the disappearance of 401K balances and low credit card APRs went brand loyalty and trust. Our thought is that one way to regain it is to reach out and help someone with their finances. Or at least understand their finances and payment options.
Simply put, the hypothesis is that the new path to brand loyalty (which translates into purchase frequency) starts with a more financially astute customer. And that from retail to real estate, financial services to utilities, brands who engage customers on this issue will benefit greatly.
Thoughts? Please let us know.
