eSterling Launches Social Media Training
Due to popular demand, eSterling has launched a social media training course for our clients.
We have found that many of our clients are aware of the value of social media sites, but are unsure how to use them for their business. Many also find that they haven’t got the time to spend getting to grips with the technology and therefore keep putting it off for another time.
That’s why the team at eSterling has devised a three-hour training session that will get you up and running. The aim is to give you the confidence to run your Facebook or Twitter account without feeling overwhelmed.
eSterling social media training is jargon-free, with everything simplified into terms that you can understand. We actively welcome your questions during the training session and you will be given handy worksheets to take away so that you can refer back to your notes.
Our training course is one-to-one and can be tailored to suit which social network(s) you are interested in, whether you are looking to use Facebook, Twitter or another site such as Pinterest. As each training session is tailored to suit your needs, you can request topics of interest that you would like us to cover.
Examples of topics covered include:
- Twitter/ Facebook layouts
- Twitter trending topics
- Suggestions of what to share using social media
- How to increase followers
- Social media reporting
As we predict that social media will have more of an influence on Google rankings over the next two years, it really does pay to get ahead of your competition and make a start with social media.
To book your training session please call Cassandra on 0121 766 4080 or email cassandra.lilly@esterling.co.uk.
Pinterest – a social network to watch in 2012
There’s no doubt that Facebook and Twitter are the big hitters in the social media game that everyone (yes, you!) should be using, but there are other social networking sites that are well worth a look this New Year.
Pinterest is one of the developing social networks that I’ve just discovered. Using Pinterest, you can ‘pin’ your ‘interests’ using the ‘online pinboard’ interface. This works like a virtual pinboard and is great for making and sharing collections of anything you are interested in. Once users gather their pinned items together they then group them into categories and share them with others, who can then comment and share accordingly.
Pinterest’s main users are women between the ages of 25 and 44. 58% of Pinterest visitors are female and the most popular ‘pinned’ topics are fashion, lifestyle, homes, weddings and food.
If your target customer fits into this demographic, then Pinterest could help to boost your social media engagement in 2012. Think about your customer – would it be helpful for them to be able to collect and save your products in this way? I think back to when I was choosing a wedding dress last year… I collected images of dresses I liked online and then contacted suppliers to track down what I wanted. If I had used Pinterest back then, would it have been helpful come across wedding dress shops in my area? Absolutely!
Although Pinterest is mainly about social networking, it can also double as a workflow tool. If like me, you constantly bookmark websites just because you like one picture on the page, or save interesting images to your desktop, Pinterest is the way to get organised. Sharing this process with your potential customers is a sure-fire way to engage them with your brand.
Pinterest is now in the top 10 websites in social networking and forums – so it’s definitely one to watch in 2012. I’m pretty much sold on the idea, but the downside is Pinterest is still invitation-only (which makes me want it all the more!). I’d better start looking for an invitation – I’ll keep you posted!
My Journey to Becoming Twiterate
Many of you know that when it comes to new technologies I like to figure them out before I believe in them fully. Twitter is one of the things that I’m beginning to see the benefits of for use in the commercial realm.
For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a social networking site that is often referred to as a ‘micro-blogging’ platform. This is because Twitter users issue tiny updates to their followers that are no more than 140 characters – this is called a ‘tweet’. Other users can reply to a tweet, or forward it to their followers by re-tweeting it. In other words, a single tweet can be interacted with and passed on to others – and this is where Twitter has value for your business.
Once you have set up your Twitter account and you have gained a few followers you will be amazed at the snowball effect. More people will begin to follow you – especially if you can offer something of worth. This is especially evident for companies that use Twitter to offer exclusive discounts, promotions or competitions, as your followers will be more likely to re-tweet your messages.
Twitter has 200 million users so it makes sense to promote your business using this medium. It doesn’t take long to set up a Twitter profile and eSterling can help you to customise it so that it really stands out to your followers. All you have to do is get tweeting!
I have long way to go until I’m fully Twiterate (Twitter literate that is!) but I believe that if something might benefit your business then you should go for it!
Facebook Updates – An Enhanced Experience or Just a Reaction to Google+?
This week Facebook launched its latest updates which has drastically changed the layout of the news feed.
So far the update has received very mixed reviews. It seems that lots of people are finding their new feeds overloaded and complicated, while others like the news ‘ticker’ as it offers a real-time experience even when you’re not on the home page.
Whatever your views on the update, most people doubt it is coincidence that this latest Facebook update has come in the same week that Google+ opened its doors to the public. Some might even suggest that the Facebook bosses aren’t concerned with whether you like the update or not, as long as your status is about Facebook (and not inviting people to join you on Google+).
While there is no doubt that Facebook is still the number one social network in the world, Facebook must be starting to worry about their status as top dog. Now that Google has joined the social networking revolutions Facebook is facing competition from the biggest name on the internet. Google is a massive brand and the billions of people that use Google on a regular basis for other purposes will surely be tempted to try Google +.
As Richard’s post last week explained, the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ should be a major part of any company’s online strategy. Ask us how to upgrade your website so that it is social media friendly.
The world has gone social networking crazy… now Google+ joins the party!
The internet has changed beyond recognition. I remember the early days when an email address alone was considered one of the coolest things a guy could have.
Can anyone remember Geocities, Netaddress, Yahoo Chat etc? In those days if you could string a few pages of a website together; you were considered a Guru… Yeah. I recall my first encounter using the internet with much nostalgia.
Today the internet is (kind of) the same as it was, however, we have embraced it and are using it in such a way that is far different than a decade ago. Today we are accustomed to using social networking in our everyday lives.
To me, if you are not ‘part’ of the internet by having an active email address, website, social media presence etc, then you are missing out on a massive change in the way humans interact in the 21st century.
Now we have another social media network available to us – Google +, which I’ll be trying out as soon as I can!
I have no idea what is in store for us within the next decade of the evolution of the internet. However, I do believe we are going to see some changes and new ideas popping up all the time.
The internet is now very social…are you part of it? And do you have any fun memories of your interaction with the internet over the last decade or more?
The Next Big Thing: Social Commerce
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder): “If I had to guess, social commerce is the next area to really blow up”
The race is now on to monetise the network of relationships between people by tapping into the influence they wield over their friends’ purchasing decisions. Companies are looking to build social interaction into e-commerce; from group-buying sites through to product-recommendation services.
Transaction is now becoming more entwined with word of mouth communication. Social networks are turning products into conversations. Retail was in the last decade transformed by e-commerce. In this decade social media will transform e-commerce.
People thinking of ways to spend their money are often looking at what their friends – people they trust – have bought. The idea is that pressing the checkout button isn’t the end of purchasing online – there is another stage where you share what you’ve purchased with friends. Which, in this day and age, means sharing on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
But what exactly is Social Commerce? It is e-commerce that involves social media, supporting customer input and interaction to assist in the online buying and selling of services and products. This includes adding features to your website such as ratings and reviews, social media integration and marketing through Facebook and Twitter, forums and communities, sharing and referral buttons, support for social shopping features and mobile based applications that link into your site.
Involving customers means increased engagement. Sites that have added social shopping features have reported sales increases of up to 50%.
Research has shown that just by adding customer driven ratings and reviews, traffic volume and order value can be boosted up to 25%. On-site customer reviews need to be distinct from external review sites, which have not shown as much impact. Believe it or not, negative reviews have little to no impact on sales.
Endorsements by friends show double the conversion rates but you need to influence the right people. The efficiencies and scale of the social internet can change retail or service businesses overnight.
How do you tap into this ?
You need a strategy for engaging your customers.
You need a strategy for targeting the right people.
You need a strategy for building trust in your company.
Talk to eSterling about building a social commerce presence. Either through social network marketing, integrating with Facebook, or even adding a distinct social presence into your site build.
Konami Code
A recent mock up for a new design had a couple of us musing on the avenues for adding interesting discoverable content to websites. By interesting I of course mean silliness that may not be appreciated by the clientèle and so the thought ended there. There are however websites that have audiences that are perhaps more appreciative of easter eggs. A growing subset of these use the Konami Code first seen back in the heady days of the NES. Enter the elusive code on such a site and all manner of wackiness occurs. Try it on Facebook for instance. Clearly it’s a bit onerous to try this on every website you visit just on the off chance they have something for you but thankfully wikipedia steps up with this handy list – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Konami_code_websites
Want to add it to your website ? Konami-js provides an easy drop in solution http://www.snaptortoise.com/konami-js/ and there’s a jQuery plug-in for fans of that library http://www.gethifi.com/blog/konami-code-jquery-plugin-pointlessly-easy
P.s. It’s Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A