Thanks to Auctioneer Magazine for Publishing Valerie Jennings’ Social Media Marketing Insights
Posted by: Katie Stumpf, Intern at JSMM
Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing and Viral Bolt Media, was recently highlighted in Bryan Scribner’s article published in Auctioneer Magazine, the official publication of the National Auctioneers Association. In the article, Jennings gives her thoughts, approaches and strategies on integrating social media into a marketing plan.
Social Media Marketing: Give your customers something to talk about
The Future of Google+: Integrating Brand Pages with the Social Network’s 40 Million User Profiles
Posted by: Micah Pratt, director of social networking r&d
Last Wednesday at the Web 2.0 conference held in San Francisco, Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Google+, discussed the possible changes coming to the social networking site. One of those changes included the idea of Google+ brand pages for companies anxiously waiting to reach out to the more than 40 million users. Here is an article from Mashable.com on what Google+ brand pages could look like when made available to companies.
What Google+ Brand Pages Could Look Like [PICS]
A few weeks ago, Mashable contacted some ad agencies and asked them to imagine how brand pages on could change in light of that platform’s planned redesign.
Just as Facebook was announcing its tweaks, though, Google was on track to add brand pages to Google Plus. Though it looks like that will happen any day now, the integration hasn’t been announced yet. Meanwhile, a handful of brands, including Ford, are already enjoying the possibilities.
There are several barriers to designing brand pages for Plus. For one thing, it’s hard to stand out the way Plus looks now. The somewhat rigid format has a leveling effect. But Colin Murphy, director of social for Skinny, one of the agencies that accepted our challenge, says there are potential advantages to Plus, too. “A primary gripe among Facebook and Twitter users is that brands bombard them with messages they don’t want or care to see,” said Murphy. “In its current form, Plus doesn’t solve that problem, but Plus Brand Pages might, if they implement Public Circles.”
Skinny outlined how this might work with a hypothetical example for Mini, the auto brand. In this case, a Mini Countryman fan could join the Countryman circle and see just Countryman updates in her feed. “This level of selectivity isn’t possible on Facebook or even Twitter, unless of course you are a fan or follow the specific product you’re interested in — but there’s a major drawback to that method because the user has to seek out content streams,” Murphy says. “With Google+ it’s all in one place, and the all the admin has to do is feed pertinent content to the appropriate circles.”
In addition to Skinny, Fantasy Interactive created some fictional Coca-Cola and Starbucks brand pages. Are these on the mark? We’ll know soon enough, but in the meantime, let us know what you think of these agencies’ vision of how Google+ can accommodate brands.
Doctors Utilize Social Media to Attract New Patients
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Medical Groups are learning that social media is a helpful marketing tool. Many doctors and Health Care providers are beginning to utilize deals and promotions on sites such as Groupon and Foursquare. Doctors are offering discounted medical services for those who check the sites. This article from The Los Angeles Times illustrates the way the medical field is changing as doctors find innovative ways to attract new patients.
HealthKey: Doctors Experimenting with Social Media
Monica Dillon wasn’t happy with her eye care provider, so when she saw an online deal for an exam and glasses for $50, she clicked on it.
The accountant, who lives in Columbia and works in Washington, doesn’t ordinarily get medical care without a recommendation. But the offer was too good to resist — and, as she notes, there would be no surgery or undressing.
“The timing was right so I jumped on it,” she said about her purchase via Groupon, a deal-of-the-day e-mail sent to tens of thousands of people in the Baltimore region and millions nationwide. “I’d be more cautious about laser surgery or hair removal. That would take more research. But this worked out; they found a problem with my prescription.”
Katzen Eye Group, the company behind the deal, is among the growing number of health care providers testing the latest in social media. They’re intrigued by the opportunity to attract new patients who might have no or little insurance for specialty services, and to provide information and services to current patients.
Web pages, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts have become a staple of businesses. The newest trend are dealmakers such as Foursquare (a mobile application allowing participants to “check in” at locations and win small rewards), Scoutmob (e-mails that promise discounts at hot spots in cities such as Washington, though not yet Baltimore) and LivingSocial (a Groupon-like deal site).
Report on Online Marketing: How Effective are Facebook and Twitter?
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Twitter and Facebook are effective marketing methods which are growing in popularity. Austin Carr’s report on online marketing techniques provides graphs and statistics that show that among social media sites, Twitter is the most effective tool for click-throughs.
Twitter Crushing Facebook’s Click-Through Rate: Report
What is the most effective way for marketers to spread their message online? Facebook? Twitter? Company blogs? Email?
According to a new report by marketing firm SocialTwist, Internet sharing trends have shifted heavily shifted toward social networking, but other platforms still have a strong presence for word-of-mouth advertising. SocialTwist analyzed more than a million referral messages send using the company’s Tell-a-Friend tool, a widget that lets users share sites through social media.
In the last year, social networking sites saw a 10% increase in usage, and a 16% bump in click-throughs. Overall though, email still accounts for 55% of referrals.
However, when it comes to click-throughs, social networking sites are far more effective, accounting for more than 60% of the market share.
Thank you B2CMarketingInsider.com for Featuring Jennings Social Media Marketing
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Thank you to Brian Rice for publishing Valerie Jennings’ article regarding why businesses need organic SEO on B2CMarketingInsider.com.
Why Businesses Fail Without SEO
The evolution of social media continues to effect search engine optimization (SEO), and this is an on-going problem for many business owners, CMOs and brand strategists. While Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Metacafe, LinkedIn, blogging, SEO press releases and flickr give companies an advantage to monitor, drive website traffic and increase awareness, the bottom-line is that most companies will wait to understand SEO.
Social media will enhance SEO, and by reviewing reports such as Google’s Keywords Tool, businesses can evaluate results immediately for free. Now business owners, CMOs and brand strategists can work with online resources to evaluate what keywords will drive their search engine results.
Valerie Jennings 
Cassie Stubs
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