Nicholas Kontopoulos's List: Social Media

• • Investigate PowerReviews - this company might make for a nice fit with the SM co-innovation appraoch
• Even bad reviews boost sales
• But a month after installing the PowerReviews service, Hobart saw sales climb 23% on items that had customer reviews
• "People are really researching their purchases," he says. "We knew our customers liked our products, and we wanted them to tell one another."
• But today's customer feedback software is growing more sophisticated, more personal and more affordable for small businesses
• Internet shoppers rank reviews as the most desired feature of a Web site, according to a recent survey by Forrester Research. "People want to talk among themselves," says Jacqueline Anderson, a senior consultant at Forrester.
• Hobart currently pays $80 a month for PowerReviews Express. The software sends e-mails to customers who have made purchases and invites them to submit reviews. The feedback system includes a text box for comments and the all-important five-star rating system. PowerReviews' staff members read every review and remove posts they deem obscene or libelous. Otherwise, everything is fair game.
• Reviews help build that initial trust

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• Most of us had at least two personas — normally a work persona and a non-work persona. Many of us had several personas: social, work, family, coach, charity, and so on.

• Businesses Need to Find Their Niche

   

  The same holds true for corporate behavior in social media. For corporations, trying to be too many things to too many people is costly.
• In a 140-character world, if you want to have a chance at helping the consumer retain something and eventually pass it on, it’s crucial that you focus on your strengths or particular niche

• To stay relevant, businesses or individuals must:

   

   

   
  • Realize everyone is watching — just ask Tiger Woods.
   
  • Be true to your brand, whether it’s your personal brand or company.
   
  • Realize we’re all human and make mistakes. Hopefully people are forgiving when each of our times come.

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• Social Media ROI Examples & Video

  • Use this article and the video with your next SM deck built
• A big question out there these days is: What is the ROI of Social Media? Or the ever popular how do I measure the ROI of social media?
• After all, why are we trying to measure social media like a traditional channel?  Social media touches every facet of business and it should be viewed more as an extension of good business ethics
• “You can’t buy attention anymore. Having a huge budget doesn’t mean anything in social media…The old media paradigm was PAY to play. Now you get back what you authentically put in. You’ve got to be willing to PLAY to play.” – Alex Bogusky, Co-Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky
• Wetpaint/Altimeter Study found companies that are both deeply and widely engaged in social media significantly surpass their peers in both revenue$ and profit$.
• Lenovo was able to achieve cost savings by a 20% reduction in call center activity as customers go to community website for answers
• Dell sold $3,000,000 worth of computers on Twitter

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• Social Media Q & A

  • Use this blog entry within your next SM deck
• Social media is still in the early stages of development, and with that comes many questions. I’ve picked some of the most often asked questions by companies and individuals and have responded with my thoughts. Please let me know whether you agree or disagree.  This is a re-post from my SEW column this week.