Gremln — Social Media for Small Business | Finally Determine Return on Investment

5 Social Media Analytics You Can’t Live Without

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Clayton Smith

When it comes to social media marketing, analytics are king. Knowing the details about who’s interacting with which messages (and to what extent) is priceless when it comes to building marketing strategies. But let’s face it; it’s easy to get lost in a sea of charts and tables and graphs that delve deep into details about the demographics behind followers, fans, likes, unlikes, tweets, retweets, mentions, clicks, views, shares, check-ins, posts, comments, impressions…the list goes on and on. It’s all great information, but it can get overwhelming, especially for smaller companies that just don’t have the time.

Sometimes you just need to quickly grab the most important snippets of social information. When you’re short on time, there are a handful of key analytics you can use to get a clear, bird’s eye view of how you’re doing in the social space. Here are five essentials: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged analytics, brev.is, business, education, facebook, gremln, link shorten, linkedin, Marketing, measurement, metrics, ROI, sentiment analysis, sentiment.al, social media, twitter | 2 Comments

5 Resolutions for a Successfully Social 2012

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Clayton Smith

As the New Year begins to peek over the horizon, so too does the infamous New Year’s Resolution. We often design these annual edicts to help make ourselves better people. Just ask the U.S. Government; they’ve compiled some of the country’s most popular recurring resolutions, which include the decision to save money, stop smoking, and lose weight.

You’ll notice that “be a better social media marketer” didn’t make the list. Even so, I think there are a lot of committed marketers out there hoping to make 2012 the most successfully social year ever. For those of you determined to make the most of your social media strategies in the coming year, here are a few resolutions to live by:

1. Be Open
Social media represents a pretty significant shift from the traditional marketing dynamic. It brings us from a one-way, hard-sell communication to a back-and-forth, community-building dialogue. In addition to changing the way we view marketing, social media itself can change pretty quickly. In 2012, resolve to be open to change. Try new networks, experiment with different strategies, and learn as much as you can about what’s new in the social media world and how you can use it to your advantage. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2012, business, facebook, gremln, linkedin, Marketing, network, new year's, resolution, ROI, social media, strategy, twitter | 3 Comments

Staying Social at the Holidays — 4 ways Gremln can help keep your marketing message strong over the holiday break

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Clayton Smith

We’re nearing the end of December, which means that many offices are about to hit Ghost Town status for a week or two. Between holiday time off and the last-minute usage of leftover vacation days that won’t carry over into the next year, the time between Christmas and New Year’s is a time of relaxation for many people.

This can be tricky for marketing departments, especially in small businesses, because the same surge of vacation time that’s allowing marketers to stay home over the holidays is also giving millions of potential customers the chance to spend some quality time browsing around on social media. Many companies have strict policies about social networking, so their employees are likely to experience a little digital release from home over the end-of-year break. With so many potential customers surfing the Web, it’s a prime time for marketers to shine. Here are a few ways you can keep your campaigns and promotions running, even if there’s no one in the office: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business, christmas, education, facebook, gremln, holiday, linkedin, Marketing, small business, social media, tips, twitter | 1 Comment

A Gift for Marketers — The link between social media and holiday spending

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Clayton Smith

Infographic property of marketing firm Mr. Youth

I came across this infographic today (from Mr. Youth, via Mashable), which illustrates the link between holiday purchases and social media. The graphic suggests there is indeed a strong correlation between social media communication and product purchases, offering evidence from two sides of the social media coin; the social side, where you interact with family and friends, and the marketing side, where you interact with businesses and brands.

According to Mashable, Mr. Youth “polled about 4,500 adults and found that social media is a key driver of holiday gift purchases this year.” Here are a few of the statistical highlights:

93% of social media users made or received purchase recommendations on Facebook.
It’s a reliable piece of industry knowledge that word-of-mouth is a marketer’s best tool when it comes to generating sales. Social media is, at its core, word-of-mouth amplified; instead of one-to-one personal communication, social platforms allow for one-to-many communication. Facebook is by far the largest social network out there, and if it’s worth saying, then it’s probably worth saying on Facebook. The importance of digital word-of-mouth just can’t be overstated, so neither can the importance of social media brand representation. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged crm, facebook, gremln, holiday, Marketing, ROI, sales, social media, strategy | Leave a comment

Which Network Works? Finding the social media network that’s best for your business

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Clayton Smith

According to research company Experian, approximately 91% of online American adults log on to a social network every single month. That percentage represents about 129 million Americans. That’s 129 million potential consumers your company has the ability to reach on at least a monthly basis.

Goodness. That’s a lot of people.

And that’s just in America, and just people aged 18 and over. If you’re a company with the ability to ship your product all over the world, that number rockets upward. And if your product is targeted toward teenagers as well as adults, bump that number up even higher. Frankly, it’s getting to the point where very few companies can afford to ignore the social media revolution.

You may or may not be surprised to learn that there are thousands upon thousands of social networks out there. Sure, we’re all pretty familiar with Facebook and Twitter. But how many of you are on hi5? Or Disaspora*? How about Heello? No? Then what about Bebo? Maybe Orkut?

The number of networks is growing at an almost daily rate, which is in direct opposition to the growth of resources in many companies’ marketing departments. While social networking options are seemingly infinite, marketers have extremely finite resources at their disposal. We can’t be on every social network all the time, so instead we have to strategically select which channels to use for our digital marketing messages. But which social networks are right for your company? Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business, discount, facebook, Foursquare, google plus, google+, gremln, linkedin, Marketing, myspace, recommendation, social media, twitter | Leave a comment

Why Isn’t Every Day Cyber Monday?

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Clayton Smith

Ah, Cyber Monday. The Black Friday of the less motivated. We’ve arrived once again at what is typically the biggest online shopping day of the year. Retailers are touting great deals all over the Web, banking on the ubiquitous nature of the Internet to bring in some much-needed revenue during this persistent recession. According to the L.A. Times, today’s sales could total a record breaking $1.2 billion. That’s a lot of digital dollars. Given the fact that so many people (myself included) seem so willing to spend money online when the price is right, and given the continued growth of Internet culture, I can’t help but wonder…why isn’t every day Cyber Monday?

The Internet is becoming easier to access (and utilize) every day. For many of us, online purchases can be made at home, at work, in the car, at the gym, at the bus stop; virtually anywhere. Sophisticated mobile browsers and strategic retail apps have made those online shopping carts extremely accessible, and payment services like PayPal mean you don’t even need to have a credit card handy to buy that new Firefly boxed DVD set at 30% off. Online shopping is easier and more prevalent than it’s ever been–so why limit the big retail push to just one day?

I know that part of the success of Cyber Monday is the branding of the idea. The term “Cyber Monday” offers retailers a collective buzz word platform on which to tout their deals, and the idea of a major “one day only” sale allows them to capitalize on the frenzy of immediacy. But even if we keep the title and brand of Cyber Monday, why should retailers limit their big online money draw to just one day? Why not make the same push for the entire holiday season?

This year, I’ve started noticing more online retailers doing just that…offering extended discounts for the holiday season, often starting on Black Friday and continuing through Christmas. It’ll be interesting to see if those retailers can perpetuate the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales upswing by doing so.

We at Gremln want to hear from the retail experts out there to get your thoughts on the topic. Does your store offer Cyber Monday deals? Do you extend them through the holiday season? Why, or why not? What pros and cons do you see in making every day Cyber Monday? Tell us in the comments below!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business, cyber monday, gremln, Marketing, retail, social media | Leave a comment

The Path to Glory: How to channel your social media fans through to your website

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Clayton Smith

Why do you work so hard to increase your social media following? Have you ever really thought about it? I mean, really, really thought about it? When it comes down to brass tacks, what’s the actual benefit of having half a million Facebook fans? Sure, it means more potential eyes on your marketing message, but what’s the point of that? Your social media strategies aren’t living up to their full potential if your fans are just watching your social media accounts and aren’t making purchases.

Many companies don’t have the capability to sell their products directly through Facebook like Delta Airlines does, and even for those that do, there’s a drawback: Offering product sales through third-party sites necessarily results in a loss of control. While social media networks are wonderful as marketing channels, you still need to move your fans to your website to really close the deal, whether you sell your product online or not.

Your website is perhaps your greatest marketing tool. In the digital universe, your website is the sun, and your social media networks are the orbiting planets. Some people have predicted the imminent demise of the website because of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but I’m not buying it, at least not yet. Not only is a website a space where many companies make their sales (or, in the case of services, a space where would-be customers can find direct communications channels and submit requests for proposals), but it is completely under control of the company that owns it. Having a Facebook page is important, but it’s also limiting. Facebook offers a pretty rigid structure from which it’s difficult to deviate. If you have the money to burn, you can hire a firm to create a Facebook tab for you that sort of resembles a real website, but no matter what you do to spruce up your page, it’s still going to take second billing to the Facebook brand.

That’s why your social media isn’t working to its full potential if it’s not driving traffic to your website. Here are a few ways to help your fans and followers make that digital journey. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business, education, facebook, Foursquare, gremln, Marketing, social media, Social Media for Small Business, twitter | Leave a comment

This Week in Social Media – 11.11.11

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Clayton Smith

Happy 11′s! We here at Gremln hope you’ve had a great week and that you’re about to have an even greater weekend. Here are some of the social media news highlights you may have missed this week:

Google+ Adds Business Pages
Google’s social network continues its quest to compete with Facebook this week with its own brand of business pages. Now Google+ users can connect with some of their favorite brands on G+, including Gremln! Check out our page here!

The Christmas Code
J.C. Penney’s is getting personal this holiday season–they’re offering Santa Tags, which are QR codes you can use to record personal voice messages that the recipient will hear when she scans the code on Christmas morning (or three days before, if you’re impatient, like me). (via Mashable)

A plus K equals Trouble
Ashton Kutcher has decided to take a break from Twitter after a wayward comment about Penn State coach Joe Paterno enraged the Twitterverse this week. (Sounds like Ashton might need some Gremln advice!) (via L.A. Times)

Facebook Reintroduces “Recent Stories”
Millions voiced frustration over Facebook’s recent redesign, which automatically sent “top stories” to the top of the news feed. They’ve now rectified that situation, giving you the ability to filter by recent stories rather than highlighted stories. (via CNN)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged facebook, google plus, google+, gremln, news, QR code, social media, twitter | Leave a comment

Traditional or Digital Advertising: Where Should You Put Your Marketing Dollars?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Clayton Smith

According to a recent report from Forrester, “By 2016, advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing – as much as they do on television today.” That means in just five short years interactive marketing—including “search marketing, display advertising, email marketing, mobile marketing, and social media”—will be as big of an industry as television marketing is today. This represents a massive shift in marketing mentality from one-way marketing message promotion to interactive marketing communication.

It’s no secret that digital media are becoming serious players in the marketing game. The ubiquitous nature of Internet-connected devices, including computers, smartphones, televisions, e-readers, and more, has made digital marketing communications a lucrative business. But when we step back from our computers and set down our smartphones, we’re still confronted on all sides by traditional medium marketing campaigns. Television, print, and radio advertisements are still the dominant players in the advertising industry. But how much longer will that be the case? Digital media is gaining an incredible amount of traction in the marketing world.

And why not? Making the move to interactive marketing makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. Here are a few that stand out: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business, cost, digital, gremln, Marketing, media, strategy, traditional media | 7 Comments

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Traditional or Digital Advertising: Where Should You Put Your Marketing Dollars?

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