Social Media has become ubiquitous, but which outlet should you master, who is winning the battle for Social dominance?

Jeff Bullas has complied some interesting statistics and thoughts on which is better, Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Shortly after announcing Google+, Google removed a feature that went almost unnoticed and that was “RealTime” search. This feature provided users with a search capability that included tweets on Twitter that provided breaking news and other links  in real time.

Google’s response via a tweet was

“We’ve temporarily disabled google.com/realtime. We’re exploring how to incorporate Google+ into this functionality, so stay tuned”

Google also said that it hadn’t renewed its agreement with Twitter (which had originally been struck in 2009)  that enabled this feature to be offered. So if you want “real time” search then Twitter is where you will have to take your keywords and phrases for the moment.

The Battle for Social

This small change to Google’s search features reveals an evolution of the web that is an early indicator of the growing battle for social that will over time produce winners and losers but will also create a web that will surprise you with its speed and capabilities. The announcement and launching of Google+ saw Zuckerberg respond with a a Skype feature offering free video calls and promising more to come.

The survival of the social species is a digital battle that will create opportunities and disrupt traditional business models for decades to come.

Social is about Sharing

All marketers know that if you can make something so shareable that it goes viral then you will produce results for brands that will sell products, make people famous and maybe even position your agency as part of marketing folklore.

You only have to look at viral videos such as the Old Spice YouTube videos to see the results of that.

Marketers also know that sharing by peers and friends creates more traffic and trust than brand advertising so motivating sharing is the holy grail of social marketing

Where is all the Sharing Happening?

Google proudly announced 2 weeks after the Google+ launch that it was sharing one billion  items per day. Mark Zuckerberg revealed at a recent announcement that on Facebook

• Users are sharing 4 billion items on the Facebook social network everyday
• This is double what it was a year ago
• This trend will continue and predicts that it will double again in 12 months
• The new apps they are developing will make sharing easier

Where does Twitter Fit in this Sharing Social Web?

Twitter revealed (via a tweet of course) that it is sharing 350 billion tweets a day that makes the Google+ announcement seem rather dismal at only 1 billion.

The amount of sharing and traffic that Twitter drives is not always obvious from your referral traffic when you check your Google Analytics or WordPress stats. In fact there are now 1 million registered Twitter apps that are sharing every day

Twitter Drives 4 times as Much Traffic as you Think

According to data collected from Awe.sm over the last 6 months the referral traffic you see on your website or blog is less than 25% of the traffic actually driven by Twitter.

This is what the data revealed.

• Only 24.4% of clicks on links shared on Twitter had twitter.com in the referrer
• 62.6% of clicks on links shared on Twitter had no referrer information at all (i.e. they would show up as ‘Direct Traffic’ in Google Analytics)
• 13.0% of clicks on links shared on Twitter had another site as the referrer (e.g. Facebook.com, Linkedin.com).

So Google+ has the headlines and the the hype and Facebook has 750 million users but don’t forget Twitter in your marketing, it still is a sharing power house that keeps on giving.

Right now we are all looking for ways to increase sales and gain a competitive edge over our competition and improve customer retention and loyalty.  Nothing, helps sell a product more than praise from other customers. 

Print testimonials are good, but many customers have become skeptical of the authenticity of them.  Just hearing a few positive words can be all it takes to turn a skeptical prospect into an actual sale.  A testimonial video of a customer’s words of praise uses the power of audio and video to send a compelling message.  A testimonial video connects to potential customers on a personal level and shows that other people just like them use your product or service.

Here are a couple of great examples we just recently created for a few of our clients.

West Coast Toyota

West Coast Mazda

If you would like to find out how to get and use video testimonials for your business, give us a call.

We’re here to help!

We guide our clients on best practices and procedures in all things marketing. One thing we have been big on is encouraging our clients to get video testimonials for their website, blog, youtube channel and other social media platforms.

Since we manage this for our clients we thought we better lead by example and make sure we are doing what we preach, so below we asked a few of our clients “Would they recommend us?” Here are their answers…

We just finished off a very interesting film project for Pastor Chris Price from Calvary Baptist Church in Coquitlam, BC.

The project was designed to engage people in questions they may have about God and Christianity.

These brief three – five minute videos were not designed to go fully in depth and have a sermon around each question, but more so to give some answers to the questions and hopefully create more dialogue for discussion.

The topics we covered off were :

Chapter 1 – Why do you believe in God?
Chapter 2 – Was there really an Adam & Eve?
Chapter 3 – Why can’t Christians even agree?
Chapter 4 – Look at me, I’m a Christian
Chapter 5 – Is there only one path to God?
Chapter 6 – Why do some people dislike Christianity?
Chapter 7 – Did God create evil as well as good?
Chapter 8 -  Can the bible be trusted?
Chapter 9 – Was the resurrection a hoax?
Chapter 10 -  Why does Christianity exclude homosexuals?
Chapter 11 – Just one life to live?
Chapter 12 – Who are what created God?

To see the video series click here

To find out more or to ask your own questions about God, you can connect with Chris at :

Blog
Twitter
www.CalvaryBaptist.ca

We recently had the pleasure of filming pastor Chris Price from Calvary Baptist Church in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

What was enjoyable about this project was the concept. To film series of video’s to engage people in the questions that they are asking about God.

- Does He Exist? Creation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Suffering, The Bible, Good & Evil etc..

This is the first video in the series… Why Do You Believe in God?

To find out more or to ask your own questions about God, you can connect with Chris at :

Blog
Twitter
www.CalvaryBaptist.ca

If you are like me you find it challenging to stay up to date on the best ways to use and engage with social media.  The following 9 tips from Michael Brenner will give you great advice and links on how best to use Twitter..

In the course of those nearly 4 years, I have interacted with some of the smartest business and marketing people on the planet. I have learned more than I ever thought possible and I have forged relationships all over the world.

So I thought it was a good time to share some of my top Twitter Tips (and not to brag with stats that mean nothing to anyone) … I hope you find these helpful and please add your own twitter tips in the comments below

Twitter Tip 1: Listen Before You Tweet

I am no crazy expert like Scott Stratten (@Unmarketing) who wrote one of the most shared blog posts ever about his 50,000 tweets, but in looking at my Tweetstats, I noticed something interesting: I waited 3 months before sending a single tweet. Then in October of 2009, I sent 55.

I watched. And I listened. I followed early adopters like Chip Rodgers (@ChipRodgers) and Mark Yolton (@MarkYolton) from my own company, but also Scott and Mark Schaefer (@markwschaefer) and many, many others. Then I jumped in with both tweet (sorry couldn’t resist).

Twitter Tip 2: Share Great Content

Twitter is an amazing mechanism for distributing news, tips, blogs and other types of information. I am somewhat voracious about my desire to scan, filter and share great content. And to me, this is the greatest way to gain followers and become known as a valuable content curation source for your audience.

Twitter Tip 3: Engage With People

Twitter is an amazing information channel, but it’s real power comes from the ability to interact with people in real-time, from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Looking for someone to follow who really understands engagement? Follow Aaron Lee (@AskAaronLee) from Malaysia. Aaron has over 342,000 followers but somehow finds a way to connect with lots of people all the time.

Twitter Tip 4: Find Your Voice

If you are interested in business, cats and knitting, then you should find a way to build that in to your tweeting habits. It’s important to define your goals for being on twitter and then to find your voice in support of that.

By sharing content about topics you are interested in, you will attract an audience with similar interests. Then you can slowly become more influential within that community.

Twitter Tip 5: Have Good Manners

I always say “thank you” in social media. I also try to follow back everyone of my followers who looks like a real person, has a real bio filled out, a profile picture and interacts with others.

So make sure you fill out your profile. Load up your picture. Explain where you work, what you are interested in and anything else important. Include a link to your blog or Linkedin profile.

If you read my top tweeted words over the course of my 4 years on twitter from the image above and string them together, they would read:

RT Thx Social Media Marketing Great RTs B2B Content Business Blog

Twitter Tip 6: Mix It Up

Sometimes I follow all the people who RT me. Other times, I thank them. Other times I RT one of their tweets. And other times, I will go and comment on one of their great blog posts. I try to find different ways to engage with people and test new approaches.

Also, make sure you follow some version of the 4-1-1 or 9-1-1 rule (depending on your goals), where you share 4 or 9 articles from other people, and engage in 1 conversation, for each (1) self-promotional tweet you send.

I try to be more like 9-9-1 (9 articles from others, 9 @ replies for each 1 link to one of my blog articles) but you should find what works for you.

Twitter Tip 7: Use Twitter Tools

I rely heavily on Twitter Lists to filter accounts into important groups like “people I work with,” “great bloggers and media accounts” and other important segments. I use Tweetdeck and the columns to scan my lists and schedule posts. I use Triberr to curate great blog posts to share from others. I use Buffer when there is just too much great stuff out there and I want to spread my sharing out over a few days.

The trick with using tools is not to over-rely on them. I am not a fan of total twitter automation and will always use Twitter to engage with people on a personal level.

Twitter Tip 8: Use Hashtags Sparingly

Hashtags are a great way to have your content exposed to people outside your circle, but try not to over-use them because it feels a little SPAM-ish to me. You should know what hashtags to use and when to use them for the greatest effect.

Twitter Tip 9: Attend As Many Tweetchats As Your Time Permits

When I first started, I participated in a lot of Tweetchats. I found them to be a great way to find people with similar interests and to engage on topics I was interested in. I don’t always have the time, but tweetchats are a great tool.

I could probably go on for a while, but these are my “top twitter tips.” Feel free to check more tips on how to get started on Twitter where I explain why you should tweet, who you should follow, how to manage your twitter time and more. Or check out my own readers top twitter tips.

We have been talking about how “Content Creation is King” for the past year. So how do you launch a new car?

Well Fiat UK created a great video for The Fiat 500L that has generated millions of views.

The Motherhood Rap was published on Dec 13/2012 and has had over 2,600,000 views, after watching it I am sure you will see the genius in the content and how it’s likely to generate strong social buzz for Fiat!

If you have big ad budgets you can hire a great Ad Agency and make a splash like Old Spice did with their latest ad campaigns, but what do you do when you don’t have big dollars to throw at marketing and video production?

The answer, you do what DollarShaveClub.com did. Create a great video that communicates the message of your product in such a way that gets people talking and sharing.

Dollar Shave Club couldn’t be simpler. Select one of their great razors, pay one low monthly fee, and they send ‘em right to your door. No more over-paying for fancy brand name shave tech. The video that Dollar Shave Club created cost $4500 to produce and has generated almost 8,000,000 views.

The video struck a chord with people because of its irreverence as you can see by the comments posted on their YouTube Channel.

The lesson here is that in the world of video, it’s all about content.

We took a trip out to South Centre VW in Calgary last week to make some new video’s for their dealership. Little did we know that after we met Finance Manager, Shanna Leonty we would end up making this 50 Shades of Grey parody.

Shanna was great to work with and as you will be able to tell by this video, threw herself enthusiastically into her first video project.. We were actually thinking of creating a Christmas themed video, but after a little banter back and forth the creative juices were flowing and The 50 Shades of Grey parody just had to be made.

Needless to say, there were a few heads turning from customers at the dealership wondering what the heck was going on and I think there were even a few requests to buy the same car Shanna was demonstrating.  The result was a video that everyone at the store fell in love with and everyone has been sending to their friends to view. We think in short time the most popular color request at South Centre VW will be, Does it come in Grey?

John Gordon, shows us that it’s not that hard to really stand out in business today. The secret weapon is one word, Care!

In today’s economy where businesses and people are always looking for the latest and greatest ways to grow their business, build their brand and garner attention, I believe one word embodies how we can stand out and be noticed for our work.

The word is CARE and I’d like to share two simple ways you can put care into action.

First, you care about the work you do. I know this may sound like common sense, yet in reality most people don’t care. That’s why the people who do care stand out.

Steve Jobs is a great example of caring in action. In Water Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, Steve shares a story about helping his father build a fence when he was a young boy. His father told him he must care about crafting the back of the fence as much as the front. When Steve asked why the back mattered since no one will see how it was crafted his father said, “But you will know.”

Steve Jobs father was a craftsman who taught him to put care into all of his work. Years later Steve would design and create Apple products with such care and craftsmanship that it generated feelings of awe, loyalty and passion among its millions of new customers. Because Steve Jobs cared about his work and the products he made, his customers cared about him and Apple.

The second way to put care into action is to show your customers you care about them. I’m convinced that the most successful people and businesses show they care in their own unique way. Les Schwab Tire Centers are famous for running outside to greet their customers when they drive up to the tire center. Zappos is celebrated for free shipping and returns. Publix Supermarket employees walk you to the aisle and spot on the shelf when you can’t find the item you are looking for.

And Fitz at Rosenblum’s in Jacksonville did something to show me he cared and I’ll never forget it. I bought a suit from him a few weeks ago and decided to wear it the other day for the first time. Not only did it fit and feel great but right before I was getting on stage to speak I found a card from Fitz in the jacket pocket. It said “I hope you are doing something positive right now.” It’s no wonder that Fitz and Rosenblum’s have such a loyal following.

A year ago a carpenter came to my house to do some work. When I asked him how business had been the last few years because of the recession he responded, “I’ve been busier than ever.”

It made perfect sense. He’s considered the best in our city. He is known for the care he puts into his work and has a reputation for caring about his customers. He stands out from the competition and is in more demand than ever. He will be successful in any economy.

And so will you… if you choose to care.