A YouTube video based on a #1 international best-selling book, Socialnomics, by Erik Qualman, has recently been released.  Social Media Revolution 2011 is a three-minute video with the latest facts on how social media affects our communication, business, and the way we live our lives overall.  While the new video is full of remarkable information, we found the following statistics especially fascinating.

How have you seen social media connect people around the world?

1. YouTube is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world.

YouTube is a powerful search engine that generates a massive amount of traffic from all kinds of viewers – some of whom could be your potential clients.

2. The latest Ford Explorer ad on Facebook generated more traffic than a Super Bowl ad.

Compare the cost of a Super Bowl ad to a Facebok ad.  That’s a no-brainer.

3. 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations.  Only 14% trust advertisements.

Online resources, such as Yelp!, are changing the way people are deciding to buy.

4. 93% of marketers use social media for business.

Your competition is most likely active in social media – are you?

5. “We don’t have a choice in whether we DO social media.  The question is how well we DO it.”  – Erik Qualman

Qualman hits on the purpose of social media.  If you are still wondering how social media is worth your investment, now is the time to learn how measurable social media can impact your ROI.

Social media is strategic.  Are you involved in the social media revolution?

This is a question we hear a lot as we talk with clients, and with good reason.  Including video within your content on your blog or your website can help you show up higher in the search engine results, and helps keep your visitors engaged on your website for longer periods of time.  We are the TV generation, and your visitors expect video now when searching online.

“Social video is one of the most effective ways advertisers can reach their consumers on social networks,” said Mitchell Reichgut, founder and CEO of Jun Group. “It’s an exciting new medium that brings guaranteed engagement and tremendous amounts of sharing.”

In a recent study, the Jun Group discovered:

• :15 second social video ads are shared 37% more often than :30 second or one minute ads

• :15 second ads are shared 18% more than ads over one minute in length

• CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brands are driving nearly 20% of social video views

• Content creators need to engage Facebookers

It’s common practice to keep web videos under three minutes in length. The reason is that many people are browsing and won’t watch anything longer than the three-minute time frame.  The length of your web video is also dictated by time limits imposed on each video sharing site.  YouTube limits uploads to 10 minutes each.

If you have content that takes more than three minutes to explain, try making several short videos. At the end of each video let the audience know where they can find more information around the topic, by pointing them to other videos, your website or blog.  Creating social videos that are designed for sharing, in conjunction with your social media strategy, will help ensure you get the most benefit possible from your video efforts online.

Is there a secret to making a video go viral online? Sometimes it’s because of humor, and other times it’s simply because it involves a newsworthy topic. But what about the idea of using a weird form of shock value to grab attention? That’s just what Nokia has done in one of their latest advertisements – it’s a “disturbing” video, according to the Star Tribune, that will most likely leave you confused.

Watch the video.

If the doll head turning around to face backwards made sense to you, what did you think about all of the loose doll legs flipping around?

Yes, the internet and social media sites allow you to effectively reach your target audience, but who is this ad trying to reach?

Tell us what you think — is the “disturbing” video actually an effective ad? Or do you feel like you just wasted your time watching a weirdly-haunting clip?

In this time of ever-changing social media tools, most of us wonder how we can keep up with it.  Every day the question  “how does social media really help my business?” is asked. Like all marketing tools, it should continue to be reassessed and updated.  Here’s what I know for sure… social media is not a hobby (at least not for those of us busy running companies.)  It IS an effective business tool when managed and implemented strategically. (Of course, there are those fortunate few who happen to hit it right on the mark without planning or integrating their social media efforts with other marketing.)   For those skeptics of social media, ask yourself, “Are my customers and prospective customers finding me when they “Google”?  If you’re not on the first page of the search, you’re missing an incredible opportunity …and social media is the answer.

Ask geriatric care expert Deborah Dolan (advocateonaging.com) and she’ll tell you that social media has expanded her areas of influence.  Her mission of getting information and resources to families is happening beyond her dreams.  She has become an online authority for elder care…in a real, genuine and credible manner.  Social media reached audiences that, in the past, would have required much more of her effort and time three years ago.

I asked Deborah what’s next for this geriatric social authority …and she said it’s reaching the corporate market with employee training that will help decrease time away from work. We’ll follow her progress and influence in the corporate market.  In the meantime, share your stories of social authority success with us.

Earlier this week the Star Tribune released an article that online users and bloggers should take into careful consideration. The article titled “In social media, why let the facts get in the way?” points out the fact that many people use the internet as a forum to post or share things that would never be appropriate, politically correct, or respectful if said in public or face-to-face. So why does posting it on the internet make it acceptable?

The article highlighted numerous examples why posting libelous statements online borders internet laws. Minnesota examples of these tricky lawsuits were used in the article:

“In Minnesota, only a handful of people have been sued for comments they made online and even fewer cases go to trial. Reasons for this, experts say, include:
•Attorneys can’t sue Internet companies — who have the deep pockets — for what individual users say because of protection from the federal Communications Decency Act.
•A blurring between fact and fiction continues unabated on Internet sites.
•Many states have no laws to address the endless ways people fabricate information.
•Many online postings are never seen in the first place. Unlike permanent comments in newspapers, postings can slide past without being noticed — but whether they ever disappear from databases remains in dispute.
•Online postings, depending on how they’re delivered, can have narrow audiences.
Ordinary folks are held to the same legal standards as news reporters and anyone else who makes written statements in public, but few seem to know that — or care.”

It’s almost as if the internet is a mask for many to use as a shield or a way to hide after spewing written words – a way to defy consequences.

As Marketing Maverick Caroline Melberg says, “If you wouldn’t be willing to put your statement on the front page of the New York Times with your name on it, don’t post it online.” In other words, posting online is releasing a statement publicly.

Do you think we need to enact stricter laws that hold online users accountable? Or do you see the internet as a place of deserved freedom?

In my role as a Social Media Strategist, I often speak to groups of business owners from a variety of different industries, as well as one-on-one with clients who wish to consult with me regarding putting social media to use in their business.

Invariably when I’m out speaking about social media, I will have someone make a statement such as: “This all sounds great, Caroline, but I’m in the ________________________ industry; my customers aren’t on social media!”

Now I’m not going to tell you that I’ve researched every possible industry out there, but I’ve looked at a lot of them.  With Facebook having over 500,000,000 members, it’s likely that there’s someone from every industry imaginable out there.

One day I was meeting with a director of marketing for a large commercial construction firm, and he told me that his customers “were old guys with white hair who don’t hang out on social media.”  I asked him if they did hang out on Google, to which he replied, “of course!”  I explained the connection between social media and search engine optimization, which helped him understand the importance of getting a strategic social media plan in place.

I wish I’d had this video from AARP to share with him about the participation of people 50 years of age and older on social media sites – they’ve done a great job of explaining how customers of every age and every industry are using social media to find the products and services they are looking for:

It’s not about the technology; social media represents a fundamental shift in the way people are communicating, learning, referring, sharing and making buying decisions. If you think your customers aren’t on social media – think again.

Caroline Melberg, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization & Social Media Strategist

For several years, I’ve been talking with business owners about social media for business – and for much of that time, I’ve encountered some level of skepticism.  Everything from “social media is just for kids” to “my customers aren’t on social media!”

So I was pleasantly surprised to read in Advertising Age this week that several major brands are planning strategic social media tie-ins with their Super Bowl ads this year.

Audi, for instance, is publishing a Twitter hashtag as a part of their television spot, so that viewers can follow the conversation about the spot on Twitter during the game.

I like what Scott Keogh, Audi’s chief marketing officer had to say about it:

“You need television spots that are obviously humorous and creative, that cause a conversation, that have some kind of cause or meaning behind it. Truth be told, the cause can only be sustained by social media.”

Is this the same social media that a short while ago was “only for kids”?  Wow!

Always a Super Bowl advertising favorite, Budweiser this year is combining their television efforts with a themed Facebook campaign, with a contest that requires you to “Like” their page to participate.

Known as “fan gating” or “locked until liked” promotions, several brands are trying their hand at integrating social media with more traditional marketing tactics.

Other brands with integrated Super Bowl Facebook promotions include Macy’s, Oscar Mayer and the movie Certifiably Jonathan.

Who will these companies be reaching during the game as a result?  Because of the rise in smartphone adoption and Internet use overall, Lightspeed Research estimates that during the 2011 Super Bowl:

-       59% of Super Bowl viewers will text about the game

-       32% will post about the game to their social networks

-       18% will check advertising replays from mobile phones

-       18% will visit advertiser websites from mobile phones

In a recent BizReport article, Chris Urinyi, CEO of Lightspeed Research in The Americas said, “The Super Bowl has always presented an exceptional way to reach the American public, but TV ads today are just one piece of the puzzle. For brands, there’s a viable opportunity for real-time social engagement and promotion due to TV’s heavy competition from increasing numbers of smartphones and PCs in use during the game.”

In 2009 and 2010, E-Trade was the lonely daring advertiser during the big game who teased to their Facebook presence – this year, look for that to be the rule, rather than the exception.

Caroline Melberg

Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization & Social Media Strategist

On this past Sunday morning at 5a.m. Fox Sports was testing their cameras in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN, to prepare for the Vikings game scheduled for noon that day. After noticing some unusual activity at the top of the Teflon dome, Fox Sports employees decided to keep the cameras rolling – and it’s a good thing they did. The cameras captured the collapse of the Metrodome as the weight of the heavy snow (from a major storm on Saturday) overwhelmingly crashed onto the field, tearing the Teflon fabric of the roof in several areas.

The footage has been all over television since Sunday morning, and even the front page of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune reads “DOWN IT CAME” with a photo of the snow-covered field. However, newspapers and TV newscasts are not the only way that people are seeing the footage;  a few million people have already watched videos of the collapse on YouTube. In just over 24 hours, there are already more than 20 videos posted that show the cave-in on the social media site. Those videos have several million views already, and the numbers are constantly growing. What does this say about social media as a major news source?

“Social media sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, allow online users to instantly find breaking news and important information,” said Chelsea Janke of the Social Media Incubator. “There’s no longer a need to wait to hear the latest headlines because smart phones and similar devices provide immediate answers via the internet. Social media provides real-time information that is effectively changing the way we communicate, and you should definitely use it to your advantage.”

Want to ask questions or give feedback to a company or brand? Use social media forums to post your comments and find answers.

“One helpful aspect of social media forums is that instead of calling a customer service number or waiting for someone from the company to respond to you, there are most likely other users/customers out there on the forums who can help get you answers or advice,” said Chelsea Janke, Social Media Administrator at C.E.L.

Facebook pages are a great example of a social media site where you can give and get answers. Try searching for the brand’s company profile page or group.  Your feedback on these forums can be very constructive for the company as well, allowing them to potentially solve problems and answer questions for their customers. Yahoo Answers is a great online resource for advice as well.

Do you own your own company? What are your clients saying about your brand online?

Tell us your favorite or most reliable social media forum.