Slideshare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations, documents, and pdfs. Individuals and businesses can upload documents to SlideShare to share their ideas and also generate new contacts for their businesses. With over 25 million monthly 

Slideshare is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations, documents, and pdfs. Individuals and businesses can upload documents to SlideShare to share their ideas and also generate new contacts for their businesses. With over 25 million monthly visitors to their site, people are able to view presentations about topics that interest them.

How does this fit into social media? With the content that is uploaded, it gets spread into other social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. When the information gets spread to other social networking sites, it allows for the companies to get their products and ideas out to a broader market.

When uploading the information on SlideShare it also allows you to embed slideshows into your own blog or website, market your own event on SlideShare, and join groups on SlideShare who share your own interests. When used effectively, SlideShare can really help build your presence online.

When posting your presentation online through SlideShare, it is important you distinguish yourself and your company. MarketProfs lists the following four tips of effectively distinguishing yourself:

1.      Note Liberally

SlideShare allows users to upload any notes behind the slide, allowing you to put a one- sentence slide, but also gives notes to your users about the complete idea, not just an overall picture.

2.      Explain Eloquently

SlideShare transcribes presentations automatically, so you can benefit from an increase in SEO.

3.      Name Your SlideShare Account After Your Company

Add relevant tags to the topics of discussion for easier search optimization.

4.      Share Like Your Mama Taught You

Tweet the link to your presentation on Twitter, embed it in blogs, and post it on Facebook.

Implementing these four tips can really help to get you and your company noticed on SlideShare, which in turn will help to market your product or service.

What have you done on SlideShare to get yourself noticed?

With 45 million Smartphone users now in the United States, searching on mobile web browsers has increased significantly. Google’s mobile search volume has grown more than fivefold over the last two years. Google’s new click-to-call 

With 45 million Smartphone users now in the United States, searching on mobile web browsers has increased significantly. Google’s mobile search volume has grown more than fivefold over the last two years. Google’s new click-to-call mobile ads have helped with the overall increase in search volume. The click-to-call feature allows mobile phone users to search for goods or services on their mobile phone browser and then click on the number within the ad to call the business. Some ads can be based on user location so the ad that they click on can call the store location that is nearest to them.

The clickthrough rates on Google’s click-to-call ads do 6 – 8% better than ads without a number or URL associated with it. A unique feature about the click-to-call is that it allows the advertisers for the ads to track how many calls they are getting per keyword, ad group, or campaign. The advantage that mobile ads have over computer ads is being able to target the ad by location, making the chances more likely that the ad will be opened.

With an increasing amount of Smartphone users, mobile advertisements will become a more common venue of searching on the mobile web, opening up more opportunities for marketers to explore more channels available to them.

Don’t rush into the social media scene before you’ve done your research. Take it slow, play it smart and find long-term success!

First step to social media success is to make sure your offering is relevant to your audience. 

Don’t rush into the social media scene before you’ve done your research. Take it slow, play it smart and find long-term success!

First step to social media success is to make sure your offering is relevant to your audience. To do this, listen to the conversations that are already taking place involving your brands.

Second step: before creating or distributing any social object, ask yourself a few important questions:

• “What value am I introducing into the mix?”
• “What makes this object worthy of attention?”
• “What action do I want to inspire?”
• “How does this contribute to our standing within each community?”
• “How can I make this shareable?”

Third Step: Keep it Significant and Shareable – the easier your brand is to recognize in the social media world, the more it will resonate with consumers and the more likely they will be to pass on your message to all their connections.

Takehome: Relevance + Resonance = Significance: Consistently demonstrating relevance over time and continually striving to earn resonance will increase your significance as a company in the long run. It is the culmination of reputation, trust, influence, accessibility and value within each social network.

(source: Harvard Business Review Blog “The Conversation” http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/07/social_medias_critical_path_re.html)

According to comScore, Facebook hit a new record high in traffic for the month of June.  Facebook had more than 141 million unique visitors in the U.S. for the month of June, which put its 

According to comScore, Facebook hit a new record high in traffic for the month of June.  Facebook had more than 141 million unique visitors in the U.S. for the month of June, which put its unique visitor numbers next to that of Google, the leader in unique site visits.  Google is currently the most visited website in the U.S. right now and has pulled in a total of 179 million unique visitors across its sites in the month of May.  

Facebook, on the other hand, is currently a leader with its social networking competitors for total unique visitors, and it is still soaring past the competition.  Last year in the month of June, Facebook accounted for 77 million unique U.S. visitors, so their numbers from this year are nearly double the numbers from last year.

What does this mean for social media? With Facebook growing so quickly, it opens up the opportunity to use it as a marketing and advertising platform for many companies.  With so many unique site visits and return visits, this allows companies to have the opportunity to advertise and reach a larger and more specific audience.  So using Facebook as an avenue for marketing and advertising may be something to consider.

Do you know of any other sites that rank as high as Google and Facebook?

More and more professionals are finding it useful to include social media profile links on their business cards. Including links to your company/personal profiles on your card not only showcases your progressive approach to doing business, but it also 

More and more professionals are finding it useful to include social media profile links on their business cards. Including links to your company/personal profiles on your card not only showcases your progressive approach to doing business, but it also gives your business contacts more choices in how they communicate with you.

A few easy tips on how to implement this:

• First of all, if there is one particular profile you would like to drive traffic to, only list that web address.

• In contrast, you can use the “the more, the merrier” approach by listing the URLs for all of your profiles – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube – so they realize how many options they have to connect with your brand.

• Print the web addresses in a contrasting color to help it stand out from the other information on the card.

• For recognizability, accompany the web address with the profile icon to draw attention to it (who doesn’t automatically know what the white ‘f’ in a blue square means?)

• Almost every company includes a link to their corporate website, but it is very helpful to also supply the address to your blog. This can often be more useful than your website because a blog has the ability to show the personalities, ideas and happenings behind an organization.

• How do you know how much personal vs. professional information to provide? A good rule of thumb is to keep it 50/50. For example, you can provide your mobile number, personal Twitter handle and LinkedIn profile while listing your company’s Facebook fan page and blog address.

OVERALL TAKE HOME: Whatever you try, make your card standout from others so you can leave a lasting impression!

(http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/social-media-business-cards/)

Facebook groups enable you to demonstrate your expertise in a specific area. By maintaining a regular presence in the social media community and meaningfully contributing to conversation your company can be viewed as a valued opinion. Here are a 

Facebook groups enable you to demonstrate your expertise in a specific area. By maintaining a regular presence in the social media community and meaningfully contributing to conversation your company can be viewed as a valued opinion. Here are a 5 tips to help you get there:

1. Consistent Contact

• Don’t just post on your page. Regularly review your page to see who has “liked” and commented on your page. Answer any questions that may be asked. Express gratitude for those who have participated in your contests or promotions. Be sincere. Establish yourself as a “real” person who cares about your supporters and value their feedback. This can also help you address complaints before they get out of hand.

2.  A Picture is Worth 1,000 words

• It doesn’t matter how good your content is if no one reads it. Graphics and videos add variety to your page and attract people’s attention. They also aid people’s understanding. Allow people to tag your photos and encourage them to share your links on their personal pages.

3. Become a Trusted Resource

• Give easy how-to tips, share latest trends, provide links to the best local or online deals – anything to give value to your followers and encourages them to regularly check your page. Leave them wanting more. If you want them to do something specific – make sure there is a direct and clear call to action wherever they land.

4. Facebook Advertising

• Facebook ads can complement your already existing marketing efforts. The convenient thing about these ads are how targeted they can be – you can choose to only have your ads appear for male or females, certain ages, cities, education level, marital status, interests, etc. You are only charged when people actually click on the ad for more information and you can regularly change the image and phrasing used with your ad to see what is the most attractive to consumers.

5. Custom Tabs

• The most successful Facebook Pages (such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola) have custom tabs that are interactive for their fans. Suggested uses for these tabs are contest entry forms, maps, reviews, menus, videos – anything you think will make your brand stand out from the rest. You want to be able to give consumers a taste of your brand so they get hooked and want more.

Did you know that Farmville (a game that allows players to tend to a virtual farm with their friends in Facebook) is currently played by 70 million people per month? That’s 1 in 4 Americans! Sure, you may hide 

Did you know that Farmville (a game that allows players to tend to a virtual farm with their friends in Facebook) is currently played by 70 million people per month? That’s 1 in 4 Americans! Sure, you may hide your friend’s game results in your news feed, but did you stop to think what a powerful marketing tool online games can be?

Behavioral psychologists have studied what motivates people to perform specific actions – specifically the impulse to purchase. Online game designers have transformed this theory into the rules and rewards of their games. Farmville and other social games combine highly addictive positive feedback loops with viral social play. Gamers are able to interact with other people on line while they play, ask their friends for resources and post their achievements for all their followers to see. Users compete with each other for status, measured in “levels,” while paying real money for virtual items that enhance their gameplay. Incorporating rewards points and loyalty programs between an online game and your brand can be a powerful marketing tool.

How can you use this captive audience to benefit your company? Check out a couple real-world examples:

1. Farmville just launched a massive in-store campaign with 7-Eleven that includes broad in-store co-branding while rewarding cash purchases of hot dogs and Slurpees with Farmville currency.
2. Bunchball is a San Jose-based start-up whose technology allows brands to integrate challenges, leaderboards and virtual rewards into their website. Their customers, which range from NBC to Victoria’s Secret, are excited to be able to map any activity to a reward. For example, a user might be given 500 points to visit a particular page on the site or 1000 points for joining the brand’s Facebook group.

(Smartbrief “Why Marketers Should Pay Attention to Booming Gaming Trend” by Reuben Steiger)

With the many online social communities on the web, marketing and managing your brand can create some challenges. Here is a list of common challenges that can arise, and some ways to address the challenges.

1. Transparency 

With the many online social communities on the web, marketing and managing your brand can create some challenges. Here is a list of common challenges that can arise, and some ways to address the challenges.

1. Transparency

If your company fails, you have to be the first one to call yourself on it. If you succeed, you have to message that in a way to get people’s attention.

2. Scale

A successful brand will have more customers than employees, which in turn will create more conversations about your brand than you’ll be able to participate in.  Exercise judgment when deciding which discussions are worth spending time on, such as publicly handling a customer complaint, or giving fans special access to events.

3. Tool Belt

There are many tools that are available and they all vary in quality. The difficult part is determining which tools should be used from the hundreds of tools that could be used. The right tools will be able to save a lot of time, money, and hassle.

4. Revenue

It is difficult to convince managers that it’s not about cool, but about revenue. If what you’re doing does not increase revenue in some way, then it doesn’t matter how cool it is.

5. Relationships

Companies need to make the mental switch from seizing every opportunity to sell their market to instead look for ways to engage with the customer. Listen to what your customer is saying and make every effort to develop an ongoing communicative relationship. The relationship will be more valuable than a one-time sale.

6. The Future

A culture shift is required to not only support engagement in social media but also to adapt to become an authority within each network. Businesses need to listen to their communities and embrace new ideas while having the administrative structure and openness to convert those ideas into practicable services.

What challenges have you faced with your brand in social media?

In recent studies comparing internet usage from mobile devices and PC-based computers, reports indicate that mobile web usage will surpass PC based internet usage by 2014. Although mobile web only accounted for 1.26% of overall 

In recent studies comparing internet usage from mobile devices and PC-based computers, reports indicate that mobile web usage will surpass PC based internet usage by 2014. Although mobile web only accounted for 1.26% of overall web traffic at the end of 2009, it is estimated to surpass desktop internet usage by 2014.

Why such a change?

Mobile internet is becoming more accessible to people with PDAs, Smartphones, and 3G phones so mobile web is becoming more of a medium for accessing the internet than the common PC based internet browsing. With many more people browsing via mobile devices, on average it has added additional traffic of 13% for leading mobile websites in the US.

One thing for companies to consider when creating their websites is whether or not it is mobile-friendly.  Because there are so many different cell phone models with different browsers, screen sizes, and connection speeds, it is important for companies to be able to have a mobile-friendly website to capture a larger web browsing audience.

Here is a list of 7 tips for making your web site more mobile-friendly:

1. Style for mobile
   1. Maintain visual consistency with the desktop site
   2. Minimize scrolling and page transitions
2. Resize images for smaller screens
3. Automatically detect mobile devices with user agent detection
4. Rethink navigation
   1. Eliminate links that do not have a high mobile priority
   2. Add, or prioritize mobile-specific items
5. Provide a clear path to the full site
6. Don’t break links
   1. When linking to a different web page, show the exact content the user is expecting
   2. Present the visitor of your website of a mobile-optimized version after linking to the webpage
7. Measure the mobile audience
   1. Know what devices are popular with your users
   2. Analyze traffic and lead generation

  I have been seeing mentions of augmented reality all week long. I don't know if it's because of the Consumer Electronics Show or what but I decided to put up my own post on it. For those of you who don't know, Augmented Reality is the merging of the real and virtual worlds. It's sort of like virtual reality except its probably a little more useful. I went to a local AIGA shift.option talk lunch and Michael Kern from welikesmall got me really hooked on the idea. A few companies have used this new technology for marketing purposes and they have worked extremely well. Esquire pulled off a beautiful AR cover of their magazine, the cover itself worked perfectly but once you hold up the magazine to your computer's camera new virtual content is shown to the reader adding a whole new level to magazine publishing. I delved a little deeper into the world of AR to see what people are doing with this new tech. It seems like this holiday season it was used for a few cards. It looks to me that Japan is ahead of us as usual in the technology department. Katamari inc. who is famous for strangely bizaar video games sent out a great  New Years card. Check it out here. I made my own card for it and you can download the pdf here. Another Japanese company RDZ Comic has turned AR into a highly amusing game. I've embedded one of the games below but make sure and check out their website to play them all. Hit play and then click the print button at the top right to print out the corresponding sheet.




Finally check out this great video of an in progress puzzle game.


levelHead v1.0, 3 cube speed-run (spoiler!) from Julian Oliver on Vimeo.

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