No comments · Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy

Google has done it again! Their recent Google+ recruitment tactic has gone viral and created an enormous buzz. In just two weeks, Google+ has gone from an invite-only field trial to a social network about to surpass 10 million users. There is speculation that users could reach 20 million soon. Google+ has managed to create this hugely successful viral marketing campaign for its most recent stab at a social network, but I would argue that it’s more about the exclusivity of membership than the product itself.

For those of you who haven’t been invited to this “Super Cool Kids Only” club, here’s a little background. Google+ is a social networking site that is meant to incorporate all the best elements of social network rivals Facebook and Twitter, but with added features exclusive to Google. Here are a few of the Google+ specific features:

• Instead of a News Feed or Wall, you have one Stream where you see your updates and those of your friends.  Like Twitter, you can follow someone who you’re not necessarily friends with and read and comment on their statuses.

• You can create Circles that are groups of your friends and family. Each time you post a status, picture, video, link, etc., you can choose which circles can see your post.

• Sparks enables you to type in things you are interested in, so any posts about that particular subject will show up in your stream.

The two features that are getting the most buzz are Hangouts and Huddles.

• Hangouts is a video conferencing feature that allows you to video chat with multiple users. It has a built-in type chat feature to share links, and you can also post a video and watch it simultaneously.

• Huddle is a feature of Google+ for mobile, which allows you to have a chat room with several users rather than just one at a time.

By keeping membership exclusive, Google has evoked an enormous buzz around Google+. One by one, bloggers in the industry began announcing they were finally “in” – making those without an invitation even more eager to get their hands on one. The idea of receiving an invitation quickly developed into a sense of entitlement, especially in the marketing community. Receiving an invite before your peers gives you a sense of superiority. But how long will the sensation last?

While 20 million users is still a far cry from Facebook’s estimated 700 million, the rate at which Google achieved success early on is admirable. Whether interest will continue to grow or wane once the novelty has died remains to be seen.

When I hadn’t received an invite in the first few days, I have to admit I was disappointed. However, now that I am “in” and have passed out my own invites, the newness is fading. For now, I am comfortable sticking with formerly established social network Facebook for social purposes and LinkedIn for business while the buzz fades.

How about you?

google · social media

Posted by admin

No comments · Posted in Uncategorized

Recently, blogs have been abuzz with posts about LinkedIn Ads versus Google AdWords and Facebook Ads, as well as reviews of LinkedIn’s updated advertising platform. Both of these topics certainly merit discussion. The competition between the three media giants is currently awash, but that may change with LinkedIn’s latest advertising platform update. (Read more about it here.)

The new LinkedIn ads specific to recruitment can help connect applicants to those key folks in their network who might be able to help them find a job.  This tool can be powerful in that it leverages the connections you might already have to find that perfect job.

Linkdin Recruitment Ad

LinkedIn has also made changes to their basic ad program by combining the traditional ad with real time social actions. This marrying of the two now increases the validity of a particular ad, assuming the activity on your corporate profile is positive in nature.

Adding the social component to LinkedIn ads

What I want to know is: With these new updates, will LinkedIn continue to create a strong bond with the Business Professional in the future?

After spending the past year looking for employment (yes, I am finally employed), I have come to appreciate LinkedIn’s job postings. There are many advantages to using LinkedIn Jobs as opposed to CareerBuilder or Monster. LinkedIn is not an independent destination site that only supports job postings, it is also my source for networking with colleagues, peer-to-peer discussion within my industry’s groups, and a news source for industry trends and hot topics.

• Your LinkedIn Profile essentially serves as your resume. It is easy to update and transparent to potential employers.
• Your Recommendations are the equivalent of your references. Therefore it is important to have at least a few.
• Your affiliation within groups allows for interaction and networking with peers, as well as alerts for job openings in your industry.

While in my recent job search, I didn’t have the benefit of being able to use LinkedIn Recruitment Ads. However, I could have definitely benefited.

With regard to the new additions to the basic LinkedIn Ads, there is definite benefit to leveraging the power of social activity in the ad space. The ability to view peer endorsements further breaks down the wall between marketers pushing a product message and a personal colleague’s recommendation of that product.

Facebook has something similar with their ad network, whereby you can see how many of your friends ‘like’ that page or product.

While Facebook is continually trying to woo businesses by making their network friendly to advertisers, they will still be primarily seen as making connections on a much more social and personal level. LinkedIn has really been successful in capturing the business professional audience and will only make those connections stronger if they continue to innovate better ways to connect.

linkedin · social media

Posted by Jayme Clark

No comments · Posted in Clean Technology, Go-To-Market Strategy

Video is an ideal way for B2B companies to reach and engage your audience. If you are already publishing content to YouTube, uploading those videos to your company’s LinkedIn profile can be accomplished in a few simple steps.

Step 1: Select the “Products & Services” tab at the top of your company page.

Step 2: Click the box that says, “Add a product or service”

Step 3: Scroll to the box marked, “Step 10. Add a YouTube video about this product or service” and title the video. This will be the video header.

Step 4: Go to the next box marked, “Step 11. Add your YouTube video URL”. Copy and paste the URL to the YouTube video you would like to upload.

linkedin · social media · YouTube

Posted by Mark Hall

No comments · Posted in Clean Technology

Using LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and Google Alerts Effectively

Business today moves faster than it did yesterday – and no doubt tomorrow will be faster than today. In order to stay ahead of the game, we need to get things done smarter, faster and more efficiently than everyone else. Technological advances have made it possible to accomplish more in less time, however many marketing managers are unaware of how to utilize these powerful tools to their full potential. If used correctly, these tools can give us access to real-time information that is not only relevant, but specific to our unique needs. Gone are the days spent sifting through heaps of irrelevant information that may be out of date by the time it reaches us.

By now you’ve likely used Twitter, LinkedIn, a blog or Google Alerts, but have you done so effectively? We can show you how to use these powerful tools so that you can maximize the effectiveness of your technology, getting you the results that you need. Our goal is to get you up and running as soon as possible. Most people have a basic familiarity with the tools in question so we will not go into detail about how to set up accounts, usernames, passwords, etc. We will focus, rather, on the practical features of each tool, highlighting the different business applications and utility for a marketing manager.

To learn more about how these valuable social media tools can boost the effectiveness of your business’ marketing efforts, download our White Paper entitled: Competitive Research in Real Time.

google · linkedin · social media

Posted by admin