The Social Media Incubator prepares for Zenith Social Media Conference in Duluth this upcoming Wednesday, May 23. The conference will feature speaker from national and internationally known speakers including Rand Fishkin, Marty Weintraub, Laura Weintraub, Greg Jarboe, Merry Morud, Ric Dragon and many others.

On our way to the beautiful shores of Lake Superior!

Some of the topics will address the latest in the social media industry including:
Facebook Marketing, Killer Social Ads, Combining Social Media & PR, the Mobile Revolution, Reputation Monitoring Online and Social Media Law.

The advanced track will be hosted by aimClear, an advertising and social media company located in Duluth. As an international speaker, CEO and Author of “Killer Facebook Ads” Marty Weintraub is a leader in the industry in integrating social media into the business world.

Social Media Administrator Chelsea Janke will be attending the Zenith Conference. “I am excited to further my education of what others in the industry are using and the tools and tactics they are integrating with their clients’ marketing. After the OMS12 conference in San Diego in February, it has become clear that the most effective social media happens when business integrate social media fully with their current marketing plans. There are numerous companies out there that have template-like content and social media information to use, but quality over quantity is making its presence known, especially after the Google Panda update of February 2012.”

PR Specialist & Copywriter Kelly Kison will be attending the conference as well. “I’m looking forward to endeavoring more in the crossroads of where public relations meets social media and how to better optimize, publicize and socialize company news in the most creative, effective and lasting way. I am excited to learn more about strategic writing for different types of content across the internet.”

Are you attending the Zenith Conference or any other social media conferences in the near future?

Mention social media marketing and most people think of Facebook and Twitter. Sure, they are the biggest players on the Internet…or are they?

It’s true that Facebook and Twitter receive a lot of visitors each day, but that doesn’t make them the biggest players when it comes to social media marketing. There are some businesses that don’t seem to be able to make an impression on either of those sites, yet they find real success connecting with their audience on Pinterest or MySpace.

Where is your target audience online?

Social media sites are not all the same. Each site draws a different group of people for different reasons. With over 900 million users, Facebook has the widest appeal when it comes to demographics; however, each group has a different agenda when logging in. “Millenials” tend to want to upload photos, banter with their friends, and organize party dates – they really are social. Parents will log in to check on their children, compare notes with friends, ask questions, then log out again.  While that’s a bit of a generalization, it’s clear that everyone uses social media just a bit differently.

“If you look at the latest fad in social media, it’s Pinterest,” shared Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg. “By all accounts, Pinterest is driving more traffic than Facebook and Twitter combined for some niches. When it comes to Pinterest, the audience is 75%-80% female, generally mothers, and mostly interested in fashion, food, personal services and baby-related goods. If you deal in any of those niches, then you may well find that Pinterest is the best social media channel in which you should market.”

When considering a social media marketing campaign, you need to strategically segment the social media channels that are available. Analyze each one to see whether or not your audience (potential customers) is heavily involved, and if so, find out in what way. Just because the numbers are large, that doesn’t mean you are going to get a huge response. By carefully assessing each option, you can then plan a marketing campaign that doesn’t just deliver your message to the right audience, but one that delivers that message in a way that is acceptable to them in that channel.

“The days are long gone where you can just pump content through Facebook and Twitter,” said Melberg. “You now need to be smarter in how you approach social media – more importantly, smarter in how you assess your approach to each social media site.”

BizReport.com shared recent study findings that showed two-thirds of small and midsized businesses are not providing adequate contact information and links to their social media channels.

The following three results were shared on BizReport.com:

- 60% were missing either a toll-free or local telephone number on the homepage;
– Almost three-quarters were missing an email contact link on the homepage;
– Two-thirds were missing any type of form to allow consumers to request information or provide feedback.

It’s easy to think that basic contact information and important links are at the top of the list of necessities for all business websites. So why are so many small and midsized businesses forgetting to utilize and grow their online presence?

Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg shared her own three tips that business owners can consider to stop hiding from customers online.

1.  Make sure your contact phone number appears prominently on your website – certainly on the home page.  Because visitors to your site can enter through any page on your site, it is a good idea to put your contact information on all pages of your site.
2.  Create a link so your visitors can easily e-mail you. Be sure to avoid putting your e-mail address on your site, as that invites spammers who crawl the web looking for e-mail addresses.  Create a link such as “E-mail us” that links to your e-mail address. This makes it easy for your visitors to get in touch via e-mail if that is their preferred method of contact.
3.  Connect your website with any social media channels with which you participate.  All of the major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ have icons that allow you to easily let visitors to your site know the additional places they can get in touch with you.

Of course, these aren’t the only items you need to consider to establish a successful website, but doing these will certainly make sure that your potential customers can get in touch with you when they need your products or services.

We used to say that one happy customer will tell 10 of their friends; one unhappy customer will tell 100.  This concept is magnified in the age of social media, where anyone can post anything, any time, anywhere.   Are online reviews a bad thing?

“If you think of the new connected online world as ‘Real Time PR’ and realize that having people talk about your business is a great thing, then online reviews can become a  powerful ally in building your business,” says Online Strategist Caroline Melberg.  “It comes down to knowing how to be proactively strategic and how to handle them correctly that determines whether they will be an asset or a problem for your business.”

Caroline’s tips for managing your businesses reputation online:

1. Provide outstanding customer service
We recommend utilizing something known as the “Net Promoter Score” … simply, ask 10 of your customers at random, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would they be to recommend your company to their friends and colleagues – and why.  Anything less than an average of 7 or 8 and you may have some work to do in improving your customer service.

2. Offer your clients and customers an easy way to give you feedback – good and bad.
Would you prefer to hear about problems first-hand, or learn about them in an anonymous posting on InsiderPages.com or Yelp.com?  Offer your customers and clients an easy way to leave you feedback on how you are doing.  If you have a retail location, post a “suggestion” box or provide a survey with every transaction.  Allow a spot on your website for customers to leave you a note telling you how you are doing.  Provide easy access to contact information so that if there is a problem, a customer can get in touch with you directly. Participate in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to give your customers another easy way to connect with you.  All of these methods are preferable to hearing about a problem via anonymous posting on a site you have no control over.

3. Encourage positive reviews from your satisfied customers.
Most businesses that plan to stay in business have many more positive, happy customers than they do unhappy ones.  Encourage your satisfied customers to leave a review for you on their favorite review site.  When they tell you about a great experience they have had with your product, service or staff, ask them if they would do you the favor of going out to Google Places or Yelp.com and telling others so they can benefit from your services as well.  Most happy customers are enthusiastic about telling others when they have received great service, and they like to help business owners who have helped them.

4.    Engage in an ongoing online marketing campaign to get the positive word out about your business.
Do not rely solely on your clients to leave good words about you online.  Proactively engaging in an ongoing online marketing campaign where you are consistently putting information out about all the good things you do creates a positive reputation online that will balance any negatives if they do occur.

This can include a regular blog, posting press releases with newsworthy events mentioned, uploading video of your services and products in action, writing and publishing articles about your expertise or participating in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+.

Make sure your program includes a systematic approach to “listening” online – that is, monitoring everywhere for mentions of your name, your company name, your products and services – so you are aware immediately when something is being said about you online.

5. If you do receive a negative comment or review – do not panic!
Treat the comment seriously and address it quickly.  Do not become defensive or respond to the comment in anger.  Investigate what happened, get the facts, and then post a response that explains what happened and what you are doing to fix the problem.
Oftentimes, the way you respond to a negative comment does more to help your business than all the positive accolades you achieve.  People know that everyone has a bad day, and by showing how you handle it when something does not go quite right demonstrates your character as a business and will help to build your reputation in the long run.

Here’s the bottom line: online reviews can be very powerful, and you need to think carefully before reacting to them. Customer feedback is an excellent way to learn suggestions for improving your business. In order to improve, you have to be able to take both the good AND the bad reviews into careful consideration.

With over 850 million users, one might think that Facebook is a no-brainer from a business perspective.  The fact is, there are many businesses who have yet to embrace Facebook and other social media sites in a strategic manner.  I just spoke with a prospective customer last week who told me he “doesn’t quite know what to do with Facebook,” so he has chosen to do nothing.  (Yes, we can certainly help him!)

With Facebook heading toward it’s multi-billion dollar IPO, expected in May of this year, Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg predicts that changes will happen that will force businesses to take a look at their social media participation – and soon.

“You need to look at Facebook’s potential revenue drivers with this IPO on the horizon,” says Melberg.  “Yes, they currently make money on advertising, but to date they are leaving the entire search advertising market (valued at $15 billion annually) on the table.  Have you ever tried to search for something on Facebook?  It’s terrible.  Facebook today ranks today with the lowest amount of search volume (behind Google, Yahoo, Bing, EBay, Craigslist, Ask, AOL and even Amazon).  That is going to change with new investors on board.”

While Google is moving into social with it’s Google+ product, Facebook will move into search by adding a stronger search component within it’s existing platform – one that 850 million users (and growing) already use regularly.

According to this article on Bloomberg Businessweek, “Greg Sterling, a senior analyst at Opus Research, says Facebook could quickly become the second-most popular search engine if it tackles the (search) problem in earnest.”

So – what does this mean for your business?  When Facebook improves it’s search functionality, suddenly your customers won’t have to leave Facebook to search for what they want to find.  If your business isn’t on Facebook…how will they find you when they do so?

Searching for a meaningful summer internship can be difficult for many college students who are actively looking to add helpful experience to their résumés. But what if you were one of the lucky students chosen to spend your summer working for the largest online search engine?

Google is offering the “Summer of Code 2012,” which is an internship for students who are willing to work on open-source projects. Unlike many interns who are working for experience without monetary compensation, Google has made their program a paid internship.

“The program works in a three-phase cycle, with organizations and mentors submitting proposals for their projects,” reported TheVerge.com. “…then students also applying to work on said projects, and finally the two groups get connected together for a summer of open source coding madness.”

This is not the first year that Google has offered the opportunity to willing students. The program was started in 2005, and this year the company will be accepting roughly 1,000 students for the internships.

If you’re looking to find out more about Google’s Summer of Code 2012, the search engine giant reportedly will be hosting an online hangout on April 2^nd. They also offer additional information in their FAQs.

What do you think about Google offering internships to students? Are you, or is anyone you know, planning to apply for the Summer of Code 2012 internships?

Many business owners are asking themselves if they should be using Google+. Josh Lloyd, chief technology officer of ShopVisible, recently shared an article on Forbes.com with his recommendations of why businesses should use the tool.

Lloyd’s main points for his recommendation were, “Better social search rankings,” “It broadens your consumer appeal,” and “Potential to upsell, cross sell and just sell.”

There are actually a few other important pieces of information that must be included when deciding whether or not to use Google+…

First, it is necessary to distinguish the difference between Google +1 and Google +.

Google +1 is a button you can place on your website that will help you in search if people “+1″ you.

Google+ is a sharing site that allows you to interact with others, much like a social networking site but with the added benefit of using Google’s other shared products (mail, youTube, calendar, docs, etc.) with everyone in your network – much like cloud computing.

“Lloyd’s article is a bit confusing because he does what a lot of people do, and that is cross the streams between Google+ and Google +1,” shared Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg.

In the article, Lloyd mentions, “Unlike the Facebook Like button, the +1 button is not limited to use within the confines of the social network, but rather it’s open to anyone searching on Google.”

“This statement is true – the +1 button shows up in search results and if people click on it, it will help you in search,” said Melberg. “However, what Lloyd doesn’t’ mention is that the Facebook ‘Like’ button can also be placed anywhere across the web – on any website or blog – so people can Like you from wherever they are…but not within the Google search results.”

Here’s the bottom line: yes, businesses should consider implementing both Google+ and Google +1 into their overall search and social media strategy, particularly if search engine optimization is one of their overall goals.

However, if word of mouth and reaching your audience is a more primary goal than SEO, then it may be too early to jump into Google+, (with 100 million users) as it is a community of early-adopters at this point (not necessarily where your potential customers are spending a lot of time yet).

It may make more sense for businesses interested in driving word of mouth to really maximize the potential of Facebook (with 850 million+ users) for their business before investing the time necessary to branch out to Google+ effectively and strategically.

Should small businesses add the Google +1 button to their website?  Absolutely, there is no reason to not do this as it can help with search engine optimization and is a low-time-commitment activity (adding the button to your site is not complex, but you may need your webmaster to help you).

However, if you are going to add the Google +1 button, then you should also consider integrating other social media connectivity (such as the Facebook “Like” button, Twitter “Follow” button, Pinterest “Follow” button) to your site as a part of your overall strategy. You may also need to look at the design of your site and determine where and how you will place these on your pages effectively for maximum usability.

The much-anticipated launch of Timeline for Brands is coming soon to a Facebook Page near you.  Last September, when Facebook launched its “Timeline” initiative for personal profiles, speculation began about when this change would be available for Facebook Pages as well.

During today’s Facebook Conference for Marketers, the company announced their plans for Timeline for Brands.

What do business owners need to do now to prepare for this switch?

One of the most obvious things that will happen is Pages will get a new look and feel.  They will adopt the over-sized graphic (known as the “Cover”) on the Wall with a small inset profile graphic intended for your company logo.

“While the obvious first instinct for this space will be a huge promotional message from brands, it’s important to remember that a strong sales push is not the way to go with social media,” says Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg.  “It’s still about creating a relationship with your visitors and generating word of mouth – now companies have a larger space to tell our story in a branded way, and that’s a good thing.”

Pages are known as “Mission Control” in the Facebook world.  The “Cover” space on your page is designed to be the voice of your page, and your “visual status update.”  This sets the tone for your page, and is designed to be changed frequently.

Your posts will also have larger image areas attached to them, so each post will have the ability to generate increased engagement (as posts with photos attached get twice or more the engagement of plain text status updates, according to average figures from internal Facebook research studies).

Less obvious will be the way that companies will need to change how they manage and interact on their Facebook Pages with the launch of Timeline for Brands.

As it’s name suggests, “Timeline” gives companies the opportunity to tell your entire company history (compared with just the history of your company since Facebook came to be).  “This is in line with Facebook’s goal of encouraging engagement and interaction,” says Melberg.  “The more a company has the opportunity to tell their whole story, the more interaction can be fostered.”

Because of the increase in focus on interaction and engagement, “blast posts” to the masses on your Page will have even less positive effect than they do currently.  It will become more important to watch your Page more frequently to engage in conversations happening there about your company, products and services or industry, and likely to post more frequently and with more relevance as a result.

“Gone will be the days that scheduled blast posts are effective,” says Melberg.  “Companies who succeed with Timeline for Brands will be those who can create a theme with content that is bigger than the products or services they sell and who create a strategy for helping build passion and engagement around that mission on Facebook and integrate that across their entire marketing strategy.”

Facebook is also giving companies the opportunity to become more creative with custom apps.  Similar to popular social media break-out site, Pinterest, companies can now create Facebook apps for their Pages using customized verbs for actions taken on the Page.  Instead of “Liked” for instance, Pinterest uses “Pinned”.  While existing apps will continue to work (with potentially some maintenance), it’s easy to see that a whole new world is opening up for companies ready to take advantage of this exciting new phase of marketing on Facebook.

A recent USA Today article claims that “Small businesses use social media to grow”and quotes Smashburger’s Jeremy Morgan, Senior VP of marketing and consumer insights as saying, “Social media is an opportunity for us to engage with consumers and have a conversation, which is different than paid media, when you’re just shouting through a bullhorn.”

But is it right for small businesses? “That ability to engage in a conversation with your customers is one of the main appeals of social media for small businesses, because these are businesses who are typically more connected with their customers any way, as compared to their larger counterparts,” said Social Media Strategist Caroline Melberg. “But that ability is only leveraged when business owners use social media properly. One of the biggest challenges business owners tell me they have with social media is coming up with creative, interesting things to say to initiate that conversation.”

To get started, Melberg shared these tips for creating meaningful conversations using social media:

-       Be authentic!  If you’re not a marathon runner, for instance, don’t pretend to be one online.  Be your true, authentic self and share what you are really interested in.

-       Ask questions. When someone posts something on Facebook or Twitter that you are curious about, ask them for more information. Show that you are genuinely interested in what they have to say.

-       Answer questions. When someone in your network asks a question about something you are familiar with, provide an answer for them. Send them to a resource online, give them information or help direct them to someone who does know.

-       Be a Go Giver, not a Go Getter.  Approach social media like you would any relationship, and plan to give before you get. By helping people in your network you’ll become viewed as a trusted resource that people can rely upon, and your credibility will increase as a result.

“Once we started truly interacting with our customers and created a community, we began to see an increase in interest and customers,” said South Carolina entrepreneur Brian Henry, who sells pimento cheese with his wife, Sassy.

In the always-on, connected world of social media, becoming a trusted resource is your goal, as it keeps you top of mind with your network of potential prospects and current clients so you are the one they think of when they need your products or services, or when they have a referral to send your way.

It’s that time of the year again when businesses have made it through the previous year and are now looking ahead to their plans for the upcoming year. Starting the year off right, Caroline Melberg of Small Business Mavericks and Chelsea Janke, Social Media Administrator, are headed to sunny California for the 2012 Online Marketing Summit.

Chelsea’s Schedule for Thursday’s SES Search & Social Accelerator Conference:

• Spotlight Session: Optimizing Humans! The Art of Data-Driven Social Marketing (Marty Weintraub)
• The Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing (Lee Odden & Arnie Kuenn)
• Local & Social: Trends & Tips for Growing Your Business (Paul Bruemmer & Chris Silver Smith)
• Developing a Video Optimization & Marketing Campaign (Greg Jarboe & Leslie Drate)
• Networking Lunch
• Links, Likes, Share, Tweets & Follows: The Social Web & SEO (Simon Heseltine)
• Meaningful SEO Analytics (Brent Chaters & Ryan Jones)
• Social Media Marketing: Kills Facebook Ads (Merry Morud)

Caroline’s Schedule for Thursday’s SES Search & Social Accelerator Conference:

• Spotlight Session: Optimizing Humans! The Art of Data-Driven Social Marketing (Marty Weintraub)
• SEO Diagnostics for the Skilled Search Mechanic (Chris Boggs & Cindy Yerkie)
• Advanced Keyword Modeling (Bill Hunt)
• Social Media Metrics: Measuring the Value to Your Business (Siddharth Shah)
• Advanced Data Analysis to Better Understand Search Performance (Ray “Catfish” Comstock)
• How to Optimize Your Search Campaigns with Social Listening (Rob Key)
• HTML5 for Search (Michael Martin)

We are very excited for Chelsea and Caroline to be networking and hearing others’ ideas on online marketing campaigns and search engine optimization techniques. Watch for our updates as they head into this new adventure!

Any readers out there in the area who want to grab a coffee on Friday?