This week the State of Social Media Marketing by Awareness was released. This is an annual survey (US based) looking at a range of social media questions to gain insights into what is changing in the social media arena.

Some of the insights included:

• The underesourcing of social media within organisations still presents a challenge. I am very aware of this issue after talking with clients but also my Masters students at UTS who are marketing managers and deal with this issue daily.
• Most social marketing departments are severely underfunded
• ROI is still seen as a key challenge though most companies are measuring it
• So how are companies keeping up to date with the latest social media news? Blogs, Peers and Conferences were the top ways to gain news and insights
• The big three platforms are Facebook Twitter and LinkedIn
• Most companies are using a variety of free and paid monitoring tools
• In 2012 Blogs, Forums and YouTube are the platforms organisations are planning for. This seems interesting as they are almost the old-school or original platforms many of us who first entered the space around 2005/06 were originally using. It seems the old platforms are having a resurgence.
• Presence and frequency of content remains a top priority for novices and dabblers
• Social Media leaders will venture into new platforms and focus on processes and tools to help manage their social marketing investment
• In 2011 only half of the respondents reported measuring the success of their programs and those that did measure their primary measure was reach. It looks like there is still some way to go in the measurement stakes in terms of usage and elements measured.
• The most experienced social marketers  plan to invest in robust social media management platforms compared to social marketing novices

View the full State of Social Media Marketing report for more details including a range of charts and graphs

Yesterday along with NET:101 I presented an advanced Social Media course with organisations as diverse as local councils, specialist social media agencies, health ngos and others.

One of the areas that can be difficult to find is local statistics on our own use of Social Media as much of the data produced is US and UK centric.  Via the very lovely @em_skins I came across this data provided by EConsultancy.

It is a great summary of a range of reports by companies such as AIMIA/Sensis, ComScore, ACMA and others

What’s the internet penetration like?

• 94% of the Australian population access the internet, 79% do so every day. [AIMIA / Sensis]
• 60% of Australian internet users go online multiple times a day. [OMP]

Video

• 65% of Australian users have watched an online video clip in the past month [ADMA]
• Online video streaming has grown 550% in less than four years. It’s expected that there will be more than 11bn views of video content by the end of 2011 [Frost & Sullivan]
• More than three quarters of Australian users (77%) watch video content on their computer and just over a quarter (26%) do so via their mobile phone. [Nielsen]

Social media

• 38% of Australian users regularly interact with companies via social networking sites. [Nielsen]
• Impact of social media on purchase behaviour: Actions done as a consequence of viewing online video/listening to online audio vs. reading online consumer comments. [Nielsen]

• The average small business is investing $2,050 into social media marketing on an annual basis. 27% expect this to increase over the next twelve months. [AIMIA / Sensis]
• The average large business is investing $78,750 into social media marketing on an annual basis. 66% expect this to increase over the next twelve months. [AIMIA / Sensis
• Types of incentives provided by businesses through social media [AIMIA / Sensis]

E-commerce

• The most likely Australian age group to shop online are those aged between 35-44 years old (73% of total online consumers) [ACMA]
• Travel goods, tickets and accommodation are the most popular items purchased online, followed by clothes, shoes and personal items. [ACMA]
• 36% of Australians made a purchase after researching products via social media. [AIMIA / Sensis]
• The reasons behind consumers shopping online have changed during the last 18 months: there has been a decline in convenience and an increase in looking to save money. [ACMA]

Search engine marketing

• Search is the biggest online activity, with 89.9% of Australian users doing this on a regular basis. Social networking came a close second. (81.6%) [comScore]
• Australian users make more than four searches, per search visit [comScore]
• Australia leads the APAC region for mobile search, with more than 61% of mobile users doing this activity. The next closest country is Taiwan (29%). [iProspect]
• After making local searches via their devices, nearly half (49%) of Australian smartphone users called a business. [OMP]

Email marketing

• Email is by far and away the method most preferred for (personal) online communication [Nielsen]

• 62% of web users in Australia use email on a regular basis. [comScore]
• 68% of Australian smartphone users have read email on their devices. [OMP]
• 72% of Australian users unsubscribe from emails because the content is irrelevant. [Epsilon]

Mobile

• 26% of Australian smartphone users have made a purchase on their devices. [OMP]
• 75% of Australians using GPS devices are open to viewing targeted deals when visiting bricks and mortar outlets. [Galaxy Research]
• 83% of 18-34 year old Australians find geo-targeted content via mobile when shopping an appealing prospect. [Galaxy Research]

Social Media strategy templates and Social Media strategy tools are often in demand by the social media marketing industry but is there such a thing? is there a one size fits all?

Recently Vocus has produced a Social Media Strategy planning tool.  The tool developed by Vocus and MarketingSherpa entails a Drag-and-drop module where you answer answer questions and create a social media strategy tailored to your needs. 

Overall it is a nice snapshot of some elements you will need to think about but it does breeze over concepts  rather than examining them in detail. The ability to compile relevant readings however is a particularly useful component to the tool.

Verdict? It certainly can’t replace an experienced online marketer who can view your online strategy wholistically but its a fun and reasonably well executed tool.

Nice summary here for Forrester subscribers and a list you may also find valuable of key marketing articles:

Surviving Disruption in the Age of the Customer by Josh Bernoff, Advertising Age feature
The Post-PC Era: It’s Real, But It Doesn’t Mean What You Think by Sarah Rotman Epps, Forbes feature
Facebook Won’t Become E-Commerce Force, Analyst Says, The Wall Street Journal feature
How CMOs Are Adapting For The Future, Marketing Week feature
Can Mobile Apps Save Customer Loyalty Programs, CRM feature
Where’s Your Company On The Social Maturity Scale? by Sean Corcoran and Josh Bernoff, Forbes CMO Network feature
Why CMOs Must Learn to Understand the Customer-Experience Ecosystem by Kerry Boudine, Advertising Age feature
Marketers Failing Interactive Part of Interactive Marketing, Advertising Age feature
Are You Prepared For The Intelligent Enterprise? by Tamara Barber, ESOMAR feature

The British Medical Association (BMA) released social media guidelines this week entitled Using Social Media: Practical and Ethical Guidance for Doctors and Students.

This guide  ’provides a brief overview of the challenges and potential pitfalls that health professionals may encounter when using social media. It gives practical and ethical guidance on a range of subjects including, protecting patient confidentiality, defamation, the public-private boundary and the potential impact of social media use on medical education and employment’

This follows the release of similar guidelines in the US and Australia.

View the BMA site and download the full social media toolkit

We have been involved in Marketing for over 15 years and working solidly in the Social Media space for five. To find out how to get your business engaged online contact us 0423073099

Talk to us and let us help you grow your business through an integrated online marketing strategy. Unsure of where to begin with Social Media? we can help! Contact me jenni@digitaldemocracy.com.au  ps. we also still answer the phone 0423073099

Is your marketing looking slightly retro? Digital Democracy can help you navigate your social media journey.   We have social media packages to suit a range of businesses.  Connect with me on Twitter @jennibeattie or simply pick up the phone 0423073099

A fortnight ago I taught a Social Media course in conjunction with Net101.  Along with working for a range of clients I also teach a Masters Communications subject at UTS called Rethinking Media (essentially about the changes that Social Media is bringing to the communications professional). In  both these environments I am always interested in hearing what is happening within organisations regarding the integration of social media into the business.  These are some of my observations from both large corporate and SMB empoyees:

• Communication Manager’s are overloaded with their job responsibilities that now extend into Social Media
• IT departments are still to come to grips with giving staff access to the tools they need to do their job
• While many are well versed in the concepts the practicalities (hands on) of how to do the tactical work is still difficult for many
• Underresourcing is a huge issue with social media elements given to juniors who have hands-on skills but no business acumen
• The c-suite (many of who are mid 50s and up) still don’t get it - forcing in some cases good comms managers to look around for businesses that will embrace social media so they can get experience in this area
• The pace of change - many are overwhelmed by how fast the platforms changes – think Facebook competitions t/cs and many worry they will be caught unaware in this environment

What observations can you make about what is happening within offices in Australia?

Perhaps you dabble in Facebook? tweet occasionally but wonder how you can make Social Media work for you for events? In this short post we give you a few tips to get started.

Firstly, there are many good primers on Social Media so start reading! The Govt recently launched Digital Business a site that includes an overview on Social Media as well as other key online elements.

There are also lots of videos out there regarding how Social Media has finally hit the mainstream – for something Australian based you can view the Social Media – SMB video by Optus regarding the uptake of Social Media by small/medium size businesses in Australia.

Ok, now on to Social Media and Events…

The Benefits

By including Social Media you will:

• gain real-time market research regarding your event
• gain another channel for communicating about your event
• find speakers, exhibitors, acts for your event
• produce a relevant, dynamic and vibrant event
• build long-term relationships with speakers and attendees
• Ultimately produce a better event! because you are in real-time conversations with the people that matter most- the attendees.

Getting Started

It is always good to break the event up into the following elements: -pre-event, event and post-event.  This helps you to chunk out the three key timeframes:

Pre-Event

• Your specially created Facebook page can be a great source of information about your attendee’s interest.
• Be sure to host discussions to find out what topics they are most interested in, the Poll application is also a simple way to garner information
• Create an Event within Facebook so that people can RSVP and share the information with their friends
• Give people a reason to talk about your event!
• LinkedIn is also another valuable online platform where you can set up a group to discuss the event itself.
• Utilise Social Media platforms to create event related competitions
• Don’t forget YouTube, you can set up your YouTube channel and interview a few of your key speakers to get attendees interested
• Be sure to create a special Twitter hashtag for the event that people can use to follow the latest information. So if your event was the Fun Park Annual event it could be #funpark2011.  Don’t forget to include the hashtag on all your event information such as flyers, website, email signatures etc…

Event

• Mention the hashtag each morning of the event to remind the attendees that day
• Hold a Tweetup for those that are participating actively in the event, this could be at a lunchtime or break time – don’t forget to reward them for their effort (free lunch or drinks wouldn’t hurt!)
• Incorporate the Tweet stream into the backdrop of a screen at the event for real-time comments and questions.
• If holding a panel session at a conference encourage people to tweet some questions beforehand so you can incorporate these.
• Hold discussions on your Facebook page about the proceedings of the day, choose a hot topic and take the discussions offline for further conversation.
• While at the conference remember to take photos and videos, vox-pops – remember content is the currency! so ensure you are taking every opportunity to create interesting and relevant content.
• Do you have a blog? live-blogging can be incorporated into the event and helps inform those that cannot be there on the day.

Post Event

• Upload your photos (do you have a Flckr account?), upload your videos, upload any additional blog content (ideally this is done daily or post event).
• Encourage your attendees to upload their comments, videos and photos too – user generated content is vital to keep your content fresh and engaging.
• Keep chatting on your Facebook page – create a poll, ask questions, what can you improve for next time? remember Social Media is not just about getting your information out there but about improving! whether that is an event, service or an individual product.
• If you are running an annual event Social Media is ideal to stay in touch with those speakers and attendees all year long.

These are just a few very simple things you can do to ensure your event stays relevant and fresh.

Remember! Social Media is simply one tool in your online communication toolset it should be integrated into a strategic plan, measured regularly and refined.

Jenni Beattie is the director of Digital Democracy a Sydney based digital communications company.

Jenni is a senior communications strategist who has worked across advertising, public relations, market research and media.  She has worked for companies such as News Ltd, CARMA International, McCann Erickson Advertising,  Media Monitors, The Digital Edge and Network PR.   Her recent clients include PEDIGREE, Tourabout, MLA, CelebrityThread and others.

She can be found on Twitter and  LinkedIn.