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Pinterest Rivals Twitter in Referral Traffic

February 1, 2012 – 12:23 am

To those of you who lead “the Pinteresting life,” you’ve contributed to a phenomenon that is certainly putting its clicks where the hype is. By that I mean, Pinterest is a two-year old cultural sensation that is borderline causing dependency among its users and the rabid audiences they’re developed. This rapid fire network has pinned itself to a rocket with estimated unique viewership ascending 429% from September to December 2011…and I’m not even sure if the sky’s the limit here.

For those who are unfamiliar with the fledgling community, Pinterest is a effective marriage of social bookmarking and visual curation with an extremely fervent user base. Essentially, people create a series of pinboards for areas of interest where they pin relevant snapshots with commentary to serve as both a reminder for later reference and also as a tour guide for visitors to learn more about each object.

Many consumer brands are also experimenting with Pinterest, using pinboards to present complementary products, ideas, and imagery to inspire consumers to visualize and remix new possibilities. From fashion to interior design and home to retail to entertainment, brands are using Pinterest to thoughtfully assemble a curated lifestyle. And, they’re packaged for the social and mobile web and optimized for driving actions as part Facebook’s new frictionless sharing ecosystem.

Some initial brands to watch include:

- Whole Foods
- Martha Stewart
- Better Homes and Garden
- Real Simple
- west elm
- Bergdorf Goodman
- Today Show
- Travel Channel
- HGTV
- Nordstrom
- Gap
- Birchbox
- AMD

In addition to soaring traffic, Pinterest is also rising as a bona fide referrer of notable Web traffic. According to a new report published by Shareaholic, Pinterest drove greater traffic than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and Youtube…combined. Additionally, Pinterest was just .01% shy of tying Twitter for the 4th spot and .02% behind Google, which currently sits in 3rd place.

It should be noted, that Facebook is clearly the dominant player here, accounting for 26.4% of all referring traffic with StumbleUpon sitting far behind, but firmly in second position.

No report can be fully appreciated at face value. The data as packaged is extremely flattering. Shareaholic based its findings on the aggregated data from over 200,000 publishers that reach 260 million + unique monthly visitors. Publishers using Shareaholic are not reflective of worldwide internet web trends or everyday activity, but they do provide a relevant snapshot of the digital lifestyle within the social web.

What’s most remarkable is that Pinterest is still an invitation-only network. This of course lends to its desirability and mystique. Certainly, as anticipation builds coupled with creative and compelling use cases that continue to emerge, Pinterest shows only signs of remaining #pinteresting and relevant to visualized + curated storytelling and driving meaningful clicks for some time to come.

So what are your thoughts? What do you love about Pinterest? Are you a brand finding success or looking for guidance? Share your stories, experiences and questions below…

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+ | Pinterest

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

By Brian Solis | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

5 Trends That Will Change CRM

January 30, 2012 – 9:51 am

I was recently asked to join a group of experts to contribute thoughts on trends driving the evolution of CRM over the next five years. I must say, that it’s a group of individuals whom I not only respect, but also am lucky enough to know in the real world.

- Ray Wang, Principal Analyst & CEO at Constellation Research
- Brent Leary, Owner at CRM Essentials
- Esteban Kolsky, Principal & Founder at ThinkJar LLC
- Denis Pombriant, CEO at Beagle Research Group, LLC
- Paul Greenberg, Owner at The 56 Group, LLC

SoftwareAdvice‘s Lauren Carlson led the discussion under the banner of CRM’s Next 5 in 5. I’ve included some of the highlights here to give you a glimpse of what each expert is tracking. Of course, take a moment to read the full post for a deeper perspective…

Ray Wang: In the next five years, we will see tremendous growth in context services and the data they provide. A key source of this context data will be from mobile devices. Context services are subscription services that help add context during engagement. For example location, relationship, roles, business process, and other sensing technologies.

Esteban Kolsky: We still don’t have the analytical tools to make sure we can deliver value in the instances described. We need to build the infrastructure to make sure there is value in the technology. Analytics and Cloud are leading the charge there.

Paul Greenberg: We’ll see more technologies like SAP HANA, Hadoop and other in-memory and distributed technologies deliver radically faster information processing capabilities. Real-time customer intelligence will become a reality. Technologies around unified communications will be not only hot, but game changers.

Denis Pombriant: Virtual interaction increases the need for enhanced content management systems, as well as spur demand for video production tools that lightly-trained people can use to create animations and conventional “talking head” broadcasts. We will also probably see CRM systems evolve to track these virtual interactions.

Brent Leary: Near Field Communication and the impact it will have on person-to-person and machine-to-machine information exchange will have a big impact on CRM in the not too distant future. I’d also throw in connecting the TV to the mix of screens companies will use to create better customer experiences When people are at home with access to a big screen, they will want to leverage that for their interactions and rich content experiences. Companies that begin developing engagement strategies with this in mind should be in line to see some competitive advantage in terms of customer engagement.

While only some of thoughts made the cut, I didn’t want to lose the other ideas that were swirling in my mind as a result of this exercise. I needed a place where I could park the other important trends I’m following…

1. In 2012 and continuing into 2013, I believe businesses will start to explore new dynamics of CRM beginning with the Customer Influence Factor (I.F.). Services such as Klout, PeerIndex, and Kred are by default creating a social customer hierarchy that introduces influence beyond marketing, to now include service and sales professionals.

2. The second trend is the development of CRM systems that integrate I.F. data into the mix. This will help the front line prioritize engagement, personalize engagement, while providing a more comprehensive view of the social customer and their needs and expectations.

3. Naturally this introduces complications and new parameters in how businesses engage and develop relationships with customers. This will by default necessitate the development of new rules of engagement and supporting metrics to convert leads, solve customer issues, and improve experiences.

4. Next, we will see gamification extend beyond marketing to improve loyalty through integrated social rewards programs, social graph data, and a more community-focused effort on expanding the company’s reach through influence and advocacy programs.

5. Finally, the convergence of marketing, service, sales, and business intelligence will set the stage for businesses to build a more holistic front and experience through traditional web, social and mobile networks. Integration signals not only technology frameworks and connected systems and processes for collaboration, but more importantly, a mission, purpose, and charter to meet and exceed customer needs and expectations.

Where do you see CRM headed?

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

By Brian Solis | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

How Evernote Helped Me To Write My Book

January 30, 2012 – 8:11 am

It was the greatest feeling to neatly pack up all of my chapters in a zip file and ship them off to my executive editor.  It took about three months to write the introduction and 10 chapters for my book, “Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional.” By far, the quickest writing process for me yet. About a week ago, I publicly thanked my husband on Facebook for “putting up with me” during the writing process homestretch. And, now it’s time to give thanks to the note taking software that kept me organized from draft outline through to final chapter edits – the software that enabled me to be more efficient, remembering everything, and capturing snippets of information, which most certainly would have been lost otherwise.

Thank you Evernote for helping me to remember, save and then access information later.  I used Evernote everyday and everywhere (on my laptop, Kindle Fire, iPad and Droid to add so many interesting quotes, facts, case studies, technology tools, and pieces of research into my book.  If you’re not familiar with Evernote, you certainly don’t have to be an author to use it.  I recommend Evernote to those who love to write lists and check them off completed tasks.  I also think Evernote is perfect for busy professionals who uncover interesting information all the time, but because they’re on the go want to save the information to review later.  Evernote is also terrific for recipe keeping, accounting of your monthly expenses, and a place to document progress on any project.

For me, Evernote was the first step in my book. As soon as I received my contract from Pearson Education, I started my chapter outline and also set up notes for the many experts I wanted to reach out to for interviews.  I used Evernote as a step-by-step “To Do” list as I contacted, interviewed, and wrote expert passages. I’ve written four other books in the past, and working with a number of people, it’s very easy to let deadlines slip through the cracks.  With Evernote, I reached every deadline with ease. I also used Evernote as a way to capture the footnotes for each chapter. I’ve learned to add the footnotes in at the end, after using one single note to keep track and to neatly organize every citation by chapter.

Here’s a screenshot of several different notes I used during my book writing process:

Evernote was an everyday, almost every hour, tool and I would not have finished my manuscript in such an organized and expeditious manner if it wasn’t for this note taking software. Just for the record, I have no affiliation with Evernote other than I’m a huge brand champion!

I hope you will check out Evernote and let me know some of the creative ways you are using it to help with your projects or your daily tasks.

By Deirdre Breakenridge | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Don’t Forget Who is Also Interested in Your News — Congress and Wall Street

January 30, 2012 – 7:00 am
by Danny Selnick, Vice President, Public Policy Services, Business Wire DC Did you ever think that your earnings or hiring news might really be of interest to members of Congress?  Well they are.  When a company has positive earnings or announces expansion plans,  it may tie into job stability and growth — not just at the company, but [...]
By Amy Yen, Marketing Specialist, Business Wire | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

This week in Investor Relations

January 28, 2012 – 3:30 am
A weekly compilation of news from around the world of investor relations. Compiled and edited by Pam Agnew, ABC. Facebook Readies IPO Filing The deal, seen as defining moment for the latest Web investing boom, could raise as much as $10 billion and value the social network between $75 billion to $100 billion. Wall Street [...]

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By Pam Agnew | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Nissan Embraces Social Media to Improve Customer Experiences and Foster Advocacy

January 27, 2012 – 1:25 pm

Interesting Green: Geneva's Hottest Auto Shows

In this episode of (R)evolution, Nissan’s David Mingle, Director of Customer Management and Erich Marx, Director of Marketing join me for a refreshing conversation about social media’s impact on business transformation, customer experiences, and building an adaptive business model to learn and evolve based on new opportunities.

We explore Nissan’s approach to new media for not only marketing, but also how the company uses social media to invest in and shape the customer experience over time. Having both David and Erich on the show offered a 360 view of the customer and also demonstrates how organizations must rethink the customer journey before, during, and after transactions to ultimately define and lead it. I must say that I appreciate the honesty and full transparency in this discussion. It shows why Nissan is on the road to successful engagement.

At one point at about 1:54 in the discussion Erich Marx shares how the pact between leadership, customer management, and marketing at Nissan is creating a culture of exploration and innovation, “…understanding that we’re defining as we go what our ability is to play and play effectively in this space, a willingness to talk about what’s possible, a willingness to invest…to me, that’s leadership in the space right now…and, a trust that we will deliver ROI and value to the company.”

Season 2, Episode 15

This episode was recorded during the Salesforce Social Advisory Board meeting in San Francisco. Participants included brand managers from the likes of Disney, Livingsocial, P&G, Nissan, SunTrust, Dunkin Donuts, Get Satisfaction, and VW, we address the need for businesses to not only react to conversations but also lead them.

Season Two:

S2E1: How Mercedes Benz Successfully Uses Social Media to Engage
S2E2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
S2E3: Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Enchantment
S2E4: Adly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh on the Social Era of Celebrity Endorsements
S2E5: Filmmaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain
S2E6: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 1 of 2
S2E7: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 2 of 2
S2E8: Marcel LeBrun of Salesforce Radian6 on the Future of Social Media Monitoring
S2E9: Our Digital Society in the Next 30 Years: An Interview with John Battelle
S2E10: How Social Customer Service is Changing the Culture at Comcast
S2E11: Dunkin’ Donuts Uses Social Media to Improve Customer Relationships and Experiences
S2E12: USA Today’s Jon Swartz on Disruptive Technology’s Impact on Business and Culture
S2E13: Ford’s Jim Farley on the importance of putting your brand in the hands of customers
S2E14: How Suntrust Uses Social Media to Engage Customers and Comply with Regulation

Season One on YouTube

Now on iTunes!

 

By Brian Solis | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

The Mobile Marketing Value Exchange

January 26, 2012 – 8:21 am

Guest post by Scott Forshay, creator and editor of mobi.luxe. Following him on Twitter @mobiluxe

Establishing consumer relationships through mobile marketing, as with any successful, productive relationship, inherently requires a mutual exchange of value. Whether consumers are opting-in for brand communications via SMS or engaging with the brand in a single instance through scanning a QR code, the onus is on the brand to deliver value in return for customers’ valuable time and information. Without the perception that value has been exchanged for value, the relationship becomes essentially one-sided and unrequited attempts at interaction on the part of the consumer will spell the end of the relationship – perhaps permanently.

In the early stages of mobile marketing, the value exchange was almost exclusively defined through promotional-based marketing. Consumers were asked to share their mobile numbers in exchange for coupons. While seemingly primitive by today’s standards, text back couponing remains an effective behavior stimulus for many brands and retailers, but for luxury brands discounting flies in the face of the intrinsic value of the brand. The challenge for innovative prestige brands is defining how best to create a true value exchange with their most loyal advocates while remaining true to themselves and not cheapening the brand in the process of attempting to deepen relationships.
Any value exchange requires the exchange of currency. Whether the currency is monetary, emotional, or informational, it establishes the parameters necessary to define a successful exchange and secures a commitment to future exchanges. With this in mind, an analysis of the efficacy of any value exchange must be measured by the mutually beneficial exchange of mobile currency.

Affluent loyalists of prestigious brands seek greater intimacy with, and priority access to, the brands they most covet. In exchange for priority access, the affluent consumer will exchange premium monetary currency. A mobile campaign touchpoint that directs the consumer to an optimized landing page or microsite featuring a product exclusive to mobile subscribers effectively plays marionette with the heartstrings of affluent consumers by exclusively engaging a prestigious audience with exclusivity and access to product available only to a select audience. Tactics such as these create a successful value exchange whereby a monetary commitment is made by the consumer in exchange for priority access to the brand and the prestige associated with exclusive ownership.

The essence of any coveted brand is the story it conveys. And as Brian Solis believes, “the aspiration it evokes.”

The rich heritage and tradition of the brand is infused with creative vision and continued innovation as the brand narrative unfolds across mediums to engage consumers and create a vision of a lifestyle to be aspired to and desired. Traditionally the brand narrative has been told in a unidirectional fashion through artfully produced photography and film, but the consumer was only capable of experiencing the story in a disconnected way. Mobile, as a medium, is innately transitive in nature, serving as a persistent interface for consumers to navigate an ever-evolving digital ecosystem of retail touchpoints and become, themselves, players in the storytelling experience. Strategically dissecting the brand narrative to take on an episodic form allows the brand to engage audiences in the on-going drama, create desire to see where the story will lead, and create deeper emotional connections in the process. Whether bringing still imagery to digital life through QR codes or augmented reality, targeting desired audiences and engaging them with rich mobile display advertising, or consistently communicating emotional currency via SMS marketing, the mobile value exchange is successful in the exchange of permission to communicate with highly-valued consumers in return for deeper levels of involvement and engagement with the brand.

Regardless the strategies or technologies employed, successful mobile marketing relies heavily on a fair and evenly balanced value exchange between consumer and brand. Given the intensely personal nature of smart devices, coupled with the fact that the device is nearly always within arm’s reach, it is more important in mobile marketing to avoid being intrusive and irrelevant. Consumers will not give up their valuable information in exchange for clutter or noise. Focus on an understanding of the currency of mobile marketing and utilize it to create an exchange that delights both the audience and the brand that value them.

Scott Forshay is a Luxury and Premium Brand Marketing Consultant and Mobile Strategist who’s been featured in PSFK, Luxury Daily, Fashion’s Collective, Business of Fashion, and The Wall Street Journal.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

By Brian Solis | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Business Wire Florida office…movin’ on up!

January 26, 2012 – 8:00 am
by Laura Sturaitis, EVP Media Services & Product Strategy I know it might get on some people’s nerves, even on a good winter’s day, to be focusing on the lucky one’s at Business Wire’s South Florida office in January, but add to that bit of geographical luck that the BW Florida team is now happily [...]
By Phil Dennison, Senior Marketing Specialist, Business Wire | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Likes, Genre, Action – Facebook Introduces Clicks to Action

January 25, 2012 – 10:51 am

Following the official roll out of its new Timeline, Facebook is introducing Actions, a series of new applications that change how people interact with apps, content, brands, and each other. The new apps will extend Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of frictionless experiences based on Facebook’s Open Graph platform, where apps introduce new ways to share your actions with your friends either implicitly or explicitly. With the new Open Graph platform, developers will introduce new Actions and Action buttons that extend the functionality of sharing beyond Likes to now include a dictionary of suggestive words such as “Want,” “Own,” “Read,” etc.

As Facebook states, “Apps bring your Timeline to life.” Two of the first frictionless Timeline apps I experimented with were Spotify and the Washington Post Reader. These apps, with my approval upon installation, automatically sent updates that share with friends what I was listening to or reading. For example, “Brian Solis is listening to ‘Love will tear us apart’ on Spotify” or “Brian Solis is reading ‘Talking with Aung San Suu Kyi’ on Washington Post Reader.” These updates are designed to pique curiosity and motivate people to either click through to the source and ultimately, install the app for themselves.

With the new Open Graph platform, Facebook is going live with over 60 Timeline App partners including, Ticketmaster, Pinterest, Rotten Tomatoes, RunKeeper, among others. These apps will extend the interests, activities, and accomplishments of people beyond the moment, to create a more engaged ecosystem around you and your interests.

The Achilles Heel of any social network is the state of engagement among users. In-network sharing and interaction combined with external integration between outside sites, Facebook, and the people who share and engage, are critical to the sustenance and growth any network, especially one that is approaching one billion users. The Like button is far too limiting to fuel ongoing discovery and interaction in a maturing social economy. Expectations grow as complacency perpetually looms.

Frictionless experiences are merely the beginning. Facebook is empowering developers to think beyond the Like button. Yes, you read that correctly. Actions are now going to open up a new genre of buttons that share your accomplishments and desires with your network. Initially, developers will introduce action buttons on their Websites to alert friends to a greater variety of interests and achievements.

In the example below, you can see how Recipe Box is experimenting with two words, “Cooked” and “Want.” Clicking either one connects the Website with Facebook, distributing the action, intention and the destination to the Timeline, News Feed and Ticker. Before, a visitor would simply “Like” the recipe, which might invite a reaction back on Facebook. Certainly, it would require a much more manual approach for someone sharing it to say, “I want to try this.” Now it’s as easy a clicking a button.

As a developer or as a brand manager or marketer, this is your time to rethink not only web design, but the entire click path and experience. It’s not just the button that will trigger shares, it is the page, the design, the words, and consideration of the psychology of sharing. Why would someone want to take this click to action? What will the thread of engagement look like? Those who think it through will find greater engagement, reach, and ultimately adoption of the app. Here are additional insights into the Open Graph platform for developers.

Facebook’s Open Graph invests in what I refer to as the Egosystem, a network in which each person is at the center of their own universe. Each app now extends the persona of each individual, where they tell their story through updates and actions and tailor engagement based on what they do and say. Facebook is simplifying the sharing process for doing so. The idea is that we strengthen relationships through interests and foster conversations based on our actions and intentions. As such, Facebook is investing in the quality of our relationships through technology where the social graph, people we know, slowly transforms into an interest graph, people with whom we share common interests.

Surely our timelines will be riddled with irrelevant updates for a short while until we are compelled to experiment with filters. Of course privacy concerns will one again percolate as people learn how to master their settings. There is physical work required in the migration from social to interest graphs. But, the reward is an improved Timeline, Ticker, and News Feed that matters to you and those who orbit your Egosystem. Here are some tips to get you started via AllFacebook.

This is a positive move for Facebook, developers, and also for brands that hope to invest in consumer engagement and experiences. Effective engagement is an art and science. Those who introduce apps based on the Open Graph platform must be mindful of what it is that is shared frictionlessly and also manually and how it adds value to:

1) The individual sharing and experience,

2) The interest graph, and

3) The developer.

A thoughtful approach inspires meaningful interaction. This comes down to what I refer to as A.R.T. of engagement, it must prompt Actions, Reactions, or Transactions. Each contribute to the quality and caliber of engagement and when designed accordingly, encourages people to share experiences that foster productivity. These should be viewed as pillars for application development. The goal isn’t to trigger frictionless updates. The objective is to inspire noteworthy responses and experiences…or significant actions, reactions and transactions.

Think about this for a moment. Facebook and social media in general is powered by shared experiences. The Open Graph is an invitation to develop applications that stimulate engagement and can and should influence outcomes. This is only the beginning however.  The Open Graph will increase and improve discovery and interaction. Over time, it will also help users refine relationships and the interactions between them.

I have to say with all puns intended, I do like Facebook’s new direction.

Here is an organized list of the initial Open Graph applications courtesy of TheVerge.com:

Travel

Gogobot
Airbnb
TripAdvisor​
Wipolo
Where I’ve Been

Food

Foodspotting
Cookpad
Snooth (wine)
Urbanspoon
Yummly
​Foodily

Shopping / Fashion

Pose
Pinterest
Polyvore
Oodle
Fab.com
eBay
Giftrocket
Payvment
Livingsocial

Fitness

MapMyRun
Runkeeper

Entertainment

Rotten Tomatoes
Dailymotion (French video site)
Cinemur (French video site)
Metacafe (videos)
Ford (game)
Wooga (Bubble Island, Diamond Dash)
OMGPOP (Draw My Thing)
Zynga (Words with Friends, Castleville

Giving

Causes
Fundrazr
Artez.com

Additional Open Graph Apps

BranchOut (job search)
Monster (job search)
Color (photo and video sharing)
Courserank (education)
Grockit (education)
Foursquare (location)
Goodreads (books)
Kobo (books)
StubHub (ticketing)
Ticketmaster (ticketing)
Ticketfly (ticketing)
ScoreBig (ticketing)
Appsfire (app discovery)
Artfinder (art)
Autotrader (cars)

Please see other perspectives of the significance of Facebook’s news by my Altimeter colleagues:

Lora Cecere: A New Technology that should Push Your Buttons

Susan Etlinger: Facebook Apps for Timeline: Three Implications for Business

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Image credit: Shutterstock

By Brian Solis | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

New Year, New Online Newsroom

January 24, 2012 – 10:28 am
by Ibrey Woodall, VP Web Communications Services, Business Wire Florida Hopefully, one of the items on your list of New Year’s resolutions is to closely review the workings of your current online newsroom. Do you have a fully developed and optimized online newsroom? Does it have the expected features? Does it fit well into your [...]
By Amy Yen, Marketing Specialist, Business Wire | Posted in Industry Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off
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