Woah. That’s a lot.

My boyfriend isn’t falling for it though. He steadfastly believes that it just isn’t for him, despite my repeated attempts to get him to join.  But still, he is not fully without social media. His one and only golden jewel of social media is his Instagram account, a social media app for iPhone and iPad that allows you to take and share pictures with friends.

Regardless of the Kyle’s (aka: non-Facebookers) of the world, it’s hard to deny the power of social media for business and for pleasure.

Sarah Evans of AdAge.com collected an impressive array of social media stats that I found thoroughly impressive. I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you to start off your weekend of social media posting (You can see the article here for source info).

• Business to Consumer Facebook results are 30% higher than average on Sundays.
• 23% of overall internet usage is devoted to time spent on a social networks or blogs.
• What people are retweeting: 92% retweet interesting content, 84% retweet humor, 66% retweet personal connection, 21% retweet celebrity status, 32% of retweets offered incentive and 26% of retweets were because some asked them to “Please RT”.
• Auto-posting things to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70%
• There are over 100 million active Twitter users. 40% of which aren’t actually Tweeting but simply reading what is going on in their feed.
• 95% of Facebook Wall posts by fans are not answered by the brands walls they post on (!!)
• Consumers who use social media apps (Twitter, Foursquare, Urban Spoon etc) dine out more often and are more likely to be return customers.
• 20% of Google searches made every day have been NEVER been searched for before.

As you can see people are really using their social media! And it helps to be aware of some of these statistics to better utilize social media for your business. The above statistic that states that 95% of wall posts by fans are not answered by brands (Source allfacebook.com) boggles my mind! I understand that some brands are huge and inundated with wall posts, but social media (and marketing) is all about relationships and sending someone a thanks or answering a question can be a great way to connect with a new or existing customer!

Paying attention to how and why people are using social media is the first step to creating and leveraging social media that works for your business or organization.

So keep reading!

To check out more interesting social media statistics visit the AdAge.com article Stats of the Day: 50 New Social-Media Stats to Kick-start Your Slide Deck.

For additional social media  fun you can follow me on Twitter @jenniejacobs or  Web Marketing Therapy @WebMarketing_RX

Kudos to the Honda advertising team, not only for thinking of this *brilliant* commercial, but for also snagging Matthew Broderick to reprise his role as an adult-like Bueller, and for creating one helluva buzz on the internet to make sure that everyone, and their mother, father (mine included, who actually forwarded me the commercial, although I had already seen it), brother, and sister see this incredible mini-movie before millions of more people see it during the actual Super Bowl. How’d they do it? They simply sent out a newsletter to their entire opted-in email customer base saying “See our ad before 100 million people do” and embedded the extended version (a whopping 2 minutes, 25 seconds) of the commercial in the newsletter and invited people to “share with your friends and family too”.

What was the overall goal for releasing the commercial early and online? While I can’t speak on behalf of Honda, I can always speculate:

1. Possibly they were excited to show off the new CR-V.
2. Possibly they were thrilled with how the commercial turned out and just couldn’t wait to show it off.
3. Possibly they were testing out the effectiveness of internet marketing and wanted to see how fast the buzz about the commercial would spread.

Let’s go with option three because the whole point of making a commercial is to expose it to as many people as possible, right. (Note: no question mark needed in the previous sentence because I wasn’t asking a question, okay).  The beauty of internet marketing is the measurability of outreach. And this commercial certainly “outreached”. The commercial was emailed out 2 days ago. In about 48 hours, I see that the commercial (hosted on YouTube) has been viewed 6,518,483 times, garnering over 23,000 “likes”. Searching on Google for “Honda CRV Super Bowl Commercial” returns 5,880,000 results from the Christian Science Monitor to ABC News to people’s personal blogs and everything in between. The commercial posted on Honda’s Facebook page has 1,170 “likes” and 112 comments. Wow!

I would deem that Honda successfully used the power of the internet to leverage their commercial.  They reached over 6 million people in 2 days, some of whom may not necessarily have seen the commercial otherwise (me included: Super what?). The commercial has been talked about in countless online publications and the video will live forever on the web, available for viewing again and again. And for all the rest of the people that haven’t seen it, they will see it on Super Bowl Sunday. The combination of releasing the commercial early online and airing it on a day when 100 million people are expected to see it on TV, will insure that this commercial makes a lasting impact. Just as the original movie did. Well done, Honda!

Facebook
Outside of your Website, Facebook is the most  important resource for a non-profit; and worth your energy and time. It can be used as a tool to organize your supporters to further your cause, communicate your events and news, conduct research, launch fundraising campaigns and more.  Think of Facebook as an extension of your Website. The advantage of Facebook page is the ability to interact directly with supporters.

If you don’t have a Facebook page for your non-profit, setting one up is free and easy.  Facebook will walk you through the process in the step by step set up guide.

Once you have your page set up, follow these tips to give your page a boost:

1.Tell the entire world that you have a page.  Place a link to your Facebook page on your Website.  Give your page a custom url by going to facebook.com/username so you can easily direct supporters to your page by including the url on all printed materials, business cards, email signatures, signage, etc.

2. Design a large profile picture that shows who you are (logo, website)- it makes a great first impression. Profile pictures can be 200pix wide x 600pix high

3.  Include a sentence or two that clearly says who you are and what your non profit organization does in the “About” section. Keep it simple and to the point.

4. Make  your page relevant and current by making 2-3 updates a week:
-If you have a blog, all posts should be a part of your FB updates.
-Post photos and video
-Good to ask questions, encourages people to respond
-Communicate event information and fundraising initiatives

5. Interact with other organizations by tagging them in your posts. To do this, you must “Like” their business page, then place an @ symbol in front of their name in an update and it will create a live link to their Facebook page.  This is a great way to develop relationships with other businesses.  You can’t do this with personal profiles however.

6. Designate 2-3 people responsible to managing your Facebook content.

7. Use Facebook Insights! There is a lot of valuable information here, it helps you gage your audience, and the effectiveness of your posts!  Watch this video tutorial to learn how to use this free tool.

Twitter
Twitter can also be a useful way to gain support and spread awareness for your cause. Socialbrite has a great article with some valuable tips: 24 best practices for nonprofits using Twitter.

Here are some of the tips from the article that I found to be very helpful
-Don’t over think your Twitter entries. Use your own voice, not a detached, institutional one.
-Use the “60-30-10 rule” 60% retweets and pointers to promote items from other users or sites, 30% conversation and responses, 10% announcements and events.
-Use Twitter to conduct research, to solicit ideas, to identify experts, to thank donors
-Link to newsworthy events that people are already talking about and how they relate to your cause
-Be current/in the moment- “Live Tweet” from events
-Reach out to other influencersIf you have a blog, always tweet about an updated post

Want more info?  Here are some additional resources
How Non-Profits Use Social Media
How Non-Profits Can Use Social Media
Non-Profit Social Media Success

Video: Use social media to connect with donors

To me, its a no brainer. Of course we need to utilize social media to distribute press releases (in my humble opinion). But I was so intrigued by the question, that asked the Web Marketing Therapy team what they thought- here are the responses I got from them:

Nowadays with the world wide web being so accessible, information about almost anything is available at a moment’s notice. With this being the case, I believe that the more people ‘know’ about a company or product, the more they will trust or like the brand or product. Press releases give the public another glimpse into a business that, in the old days, they may not have been privy to.  So, yes, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to use social media as another way to leverage a company or product because people want to be ‘in the know’.- Anne Orfila

Press releases should go out in social press release distribution tools like prweb.com but only if they are educational….not overly promotional. We use tools like prweb and pitchengine and love them!- Lorrie Thomas Ross

Distributing Press Releases using Social Media is must! Tools like Pitchengine allow the release to live on the web with branding – company logo, relevant images and videos, news bites, a Twitter feed and links. Pitchengine is great for SEO (highlighting keywords in natural searches). The distribution tool, PRWeb can be found by other high-level online publications and helps gain your story exposure by getting picked up and shared. To continue the visibility a Facebook “Notes” version of the release gives a whole new audience one more way to get your news! To ensure that all of this PR mojo doesn’t get lost in cyberspace – sign up for Google Alerts and use key pieces of the title and content to keep up with where your release can be found on the web.- Darla Bea Smith

The article presents an ongoing conversation marketers are having and there are credible arguements on both sides by some of our industry’s top thinkers.  Here is a breakdown of what they had to say.  Please note, these are my summaries of their comments and not actual quotes. To get the full story read the article on Forbes.

YES
Stacey Acevero, Social Media Community Manager, Vocus/PRWeb.
Share your news in relevant platforms Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter and create conversation around your news.  It is also good to incorporate engaging features like pictures or video into your release.

Charlene Kingston, Social Media DIY Workshop
Yes, but don’t over do it- send out releases only when you have significant news for your target audience (otherwise, make it a blog post).

Jennie Smythe, Founder, Girlilla Marketing.
Use the news in your release, then personalize it.  Link to the release from your website or an outside outlet.

IT DEPENDS
Marcus Fagerlund, Area Director, North America West, Meltwater Buzz
You should judge on a case by case basis.  Some releases can be used to successfully engage your community while some releases are not appropriate to share on social media platforms because they contain sensitive info only relevant to your industry.

Neal Rodriguez, Online marketing expert, Forbes.com blogger
Simply posting a press release in social media is not effective; but if you link the press release to interesting and relevant content on your website. “Just think of your objective, which is promoting your own digital asset, not the press release.”

NO
David Meerman Scott Lecturer, Author, The New Rules of Marketing and PR (Third Edition)
Press releases are good for two things: reaching members of the media and improving your search engine ranking by publishing it on your own website and using one of the press release distribution services.  Press Releases are too formal for social networks.

So- based on the comments above.  When should marketers use Social Media to distribute Press Releases?  Robert Wynne sums it up:

Facebook – Rarely, almost never. Make sure the news is BIG.
LinkedIn – Sometimes, with short intro and a link. Better for groups.
Twitter – Maybe, with a snappy intro and a link.
Blogs – always.

December 8, 2011

New Video Course Helps Business Professionals Learn Online Marketing Fundamentals

Online marketing course taught on video by web marketing expert Lorrie Thomas Ross is on lynda.com – a subscription-based online video tutorial website.

SANTA BARBARA, December 2011 — In the ever-changing world of online marketing, the options are endless, which is exciting, but sometimes can often leave professionals overwhelmed on where to begin, regardless of their level of marketing experience. New journeys often go better with a map and directions, so online marketing expert and author Lorrie Thomas Ross created a course to help professionals map their online marketing with the launch of the new Online Marketing Fundamentals video course on lynda.com.

Online Marketing Fundamentals, released December 7, 2011, introduces web marketers, web designers, business owners and executives to the world of online marketing, and reviews how the different aspects of a business’ web site can support its marketing goals. Online Marketing Fundamentals helps even the smallest businesses to get started with web marketing and allows more experienced professionals optimize the marketing collateral they have already built. Thomas Ross teaches viewers how to set themselves up for success by covering all the critical pieces of the online marketing puzzle. She shows how to create an effective website and incorporates the use of social media sites as some the ways business owners can interact with customers. Lorrie gives instruction on the world of blogging and search engine marketing, breaking each concept down into easy-to-digest lessons.

Lorrie Thomas Ross is known as The Marketing Therapist® as her “healthy marketing advice” expertise is frequently quoted by the media, giving advice on topics ranging from search engine marketing to developing web marketing strategy. Lorrie is CEO of the full-service online marketing agency, Web Marketing Therapy®. She is a nationally recognized public speaker and teaches customized web marketing workshops for businesses big and small. Thomas Ross is the author of the “36-Hour Course: Online Marketing” (published by McGraw-Hill), a top-rated guide teaching everything online marketing has to offer.

“Having a website does not mean that you are engaged in online marketing”, says Lorrie Thomas Ross, The Marketing Therapist®. “You have to know the fundamentals of online marketing. Whether you are a VP of Search Marketing, a webmaster or a professional looking to make the web work for you, this course can help get you ideas for optimization and new channels. Smart online marketing comes from having a plan, doing continual optimization, tracking success and being creative. This is an ongoing process, so it requires a commitment and work, but once you get the hang of it, it pays off! Offering the Online Marketing Fundamentals course on lynda.com is fantastic, it’s affordable and embodies the way we learn today – on the web! The final outcome is something that everyone can take away knowledge from no matter what level they are at experientially.”

The twelve chapter course is featured exclusively on lynda.com and outlines the fundamentals of online marketing in easy to understand and informational video tutorials. There are many pieces to a success-backed marketing puzzle and the Online Marketing Fundamentals course highlights the necessary topics including up-to-date information on social media marketing (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), search engine marketing, online advertising, blogging and content marketing. Thomas Ross teaches a range of marketing lessons on business branding, creating a better user experience, how to create an email marketing campaign and finally how to properly promote your brand through online public relations. Lorrie Thomas Ross believes you can’t have a successful marketing plan without strategy and measurement so before viewers implement all of the teachings from this course into their business, Thomas Ross covers web marketing strategy.

The Online Marketing Fundamentals course by lynda.com officially launched Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 and is available at www.lynda.com

About Lorrie Thomas Ross:

Lorrie Thomas Ross, M.A., The Marketing Therapist® & Wild Web Woman®, is a marketing strategist, educator, writer, web marketing expert, and speaker. Thomas Ross is the CEO of Web Marketing Therapy, a marketing agency and online marketing education company. She is the author of top ranking “36-Hour Course to Online Marketing” available on Amazon.com. As a she-geek with super relationship savvy, Lorrie’s craft brings the heart of marketing into organizations that are “in it to win it”. Thomas Ross was recently recognized as an entrepreneurial leader in the Pacific Business Coast Times “40 Under 40” Awards. She has been featured in Forbes, Success, Inc., Entrepreneur and Fox Business. Thomas Ross lives in Santa Barbara with her husband, daughter and cat named Grumpy. For more information, please visit: www.lorriethomas.com and www.webmarketingtherapy.com

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