Smart phone adoption is supposed to hit 50% by the end of 2011. This will have an enormous impact on marketing (not breaking news obviously). Google recently commissioned a study to get a better understanding of how consumers use smart phones. Here is a video summary:

What stands out to me is how integrated everything is and marketers can not ignore traditional channels in favor of new ones. The smart ones will develop plans that incorporate all mediums and use it for maximum benefit.

When work gets going it really gets going and my week just breezes by for the most part. I’m not unique by any means, and am pretty sure a great number of you can relate. A lot of things get squeezed out when life gets this busy. Over the past few months its been my social media engagements that has fallen by the way side.  That includes this blog. It also includes Twitter, which I enjoy quite a bit.

Half the time, all I do is watch the Twitter stream and feel pretty tongue tied since my mind is so occupied. I’m finding myself not sure what what I should say and what I should share. After feeling this way for a while I started making a list of things I could Tweet about. Before I knew it I had pretty decent list of things I could talk about. I hope to start following this list in order to keep myself more disciplined with my social interactions and get to know some more folks on Twitter.

So, here is my twenty Twitter tips for happy tweeting, to help you get over this “engagement hump”:

1. Comment on local events
2. Comment on local news stories (stay away from highly charged political stories)
3. Comment on local sports teams and the Green Bay Packers
4. Comment on fund raisers and good causes
5. Comment on industry related news
6. Comment on funny ads
7. Comment on how good life is
8. Comment on relevant historical markers (for example today (March4th) is National Grammar Day)
9. Respond to interesting Tweets from followers
10. Re-tweet interesting Tweets from followers
11. Recommend some of your followers to others on Fridays
12. Discuss your likes/dislikes on any given topic – (I loved “The Social Network”)
13. Comment on the weather
14. Talk about special events and promotions (10% off at Best Buy was awesome etc.)
15. Share a link to an inspiring story, funny video, great picture etc.
16. Make a bold statement every once in a while
17. Attend some local Tweet-ups to meet the community – and Tweet from the event.
18. Tweet about personal achievements, goals, ideas etc.
19. Post pictures of fun stuff seen here and there.
20. Have fun connecting with new people, and remember, you can’t plan a conversation, so you’ll find plenty to talk about once you connect with others.

I hope to up the ante in the next few weeks. Keep me accountable people, keep me accountable.

photo credit: leyla.a

Related articles

• Who cares about National Grammar Day? Or is it whom? (oup.com)
• Live Tweeting Shares Your Event with More People (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• Council’s Twitter study hits half way (guardian.co.uk)
• Business Use of Twitter (thinkup.waldenu.edu)

Looking back at the year 2010 I see that this blog started off with great intentions but the pace slowed as the year went on. This is partly because a lot happened this year, and I wish I had devoted more time to sharing my thoughts on the major developments as they occurred. Nevertheless, I wanted to share my thoughts on some of the major developments in the world of Internet marketing (from social media and search marketing to branding and technology).

Here are the top five developments, events, news items (whatever you want to call them) that caught my attention this year.

Google Instant Search solves a non-problem

Sure it sounds like a great idea, but its a non-innovative innovation in my opinion. Plus Yahoo already had this back in 2006 and didn’t think much of it. My main problem with instant search is it improve to the search experience. The main issue with search has always been relevancy not speed. Getting irrelevant search results fast isn’t better than getting high relevancy search results a little slower (0.1s slower). Serving highly relevant search results is what made Google, not speed of search. It seems like Google is forgetting this as the years go by and very few of their recent innovation is focused on improving the search experience.

Online ad spending exceeds newspaper ad spending

This just happened in December so it’s fresh news and very significant. While it is not new news, it does confirm what everyone has been saying over the past few years. On the flip side this shift in advertising dollars means the advertising industry will be under greater pressure to deliver a directly measurable ROI. Marketing agencies will need to improve their tracking and reporting mechanisms to build confidence with clients. Furthermore, a premium will be on data analysis to continuously optimize and increase performance. In many ways marketers will need to start moving towards a mindset that CFO’s can appreciate.

Groupon puts social commerce on the map

The recent failed Google move to acquire Groupon signals the rise of social commerce and the role it will play in the coming years. However, I’m not sold on the Groupon business model because too many retailers who have used its service have indicated that they will not be using it again. This is a big problem in my estimation and indicates that once the novelty of the idea fades it will become more difficult to sustain. Groupon should have taken the Google offer, because in a year their valuation will be significantly lower.

Facebook becomes ubiquitous

It’s hard to ignore a company that is becoming increasingly ubiquitous to the web experience. From sharing data with third party sites like TripAdvisor to churning out new features, the company is always in the news. While I think marketers are spot on to try to engage customers on this social networking site, I question outsourcing company web functions to Facebook. Its akin to moving from a house you own to a rented apartment. Using precious marketing dollars to advertise your Facebook page is counter productive and very short term thinking. Marketers need to think more long term and need to figure out a way to develop their brands through social networks but still retain domain equity in the process.

The iPad paves the way for the tablet

I’m not a Mac guy and I don’t have a puppy love crush on everything Apple does. Having said that I tried a Mac laptop earlier this year and it only confirmed my thinking. I know Apple is an innovative company and it bring lots of great products, but for some reason their market share seems to tap out and the mass market always seems to move towards a better performing, lower cost alternative (see the rise of Android). I think the iPad is significant because it has now positioned the tablet as a viable product alternative to laptops. However, in a few years Android based tablets will surpass the iPad in adoption and use and relegate the iPad to secondary status.

So, there you have it. My thoughts on what I perceive as the major events of 2010. It has been a tremendous year but I’m looking forward to 2011 and all that it will bring!

Finally, I’d like to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have a great celebration this season and are greatly blessed and enriched with family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

Top Photo: Slideshow Judge on Flickr
Side photo: Dan Taylor on Flickr

Related articles

• Why is Groupon so Important? (measuringmeasures.com)
• The Year In Writing, 2010 (battellemedia.com)
• Groupon Seeks New Funding At Valuation Less Than Google’s $6 Billion (pamil-visions.net)
• The year in search: the experts’ view (econsultancy.com)
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 22, 2010 (searchengineland.com)

The travel industry is zooming ahead in social media adoption. According to this article on USA Today, intense competition within hospitality and travel is driving this accelerated adoption of social media tools. This same article provides a list of notable social media integration:

Social media are being incorporated at a rapid rate into every part of a journey, from making the reservation to finding out where to eat. For instance:

•As of August, Delta passengers can buy tickets on Delta’s Facebook page.

•Southwest has three staffers dedicated to monitoring and responding to queries made through social-media channels.

•Marriott is launching its Marriott Courtyard Facebook page Tuesday to issue messages about the chain and related information that might interest customers.

•Hyatt Hotels launched a Twitter account last year to serve as a virtual concierge. Staffers, based in Omaha, Australia and Mumbai, are instructed to respond to requests and questions within an hour, and are fielding queries ranging from where to find good sushi to alerts that a guest will be checking in late. The account has 12,000 followers. Hilton has a similar Twitter account.

Compared with other industries, the travel and hospitality sector is ahead of the curve in engaging social media, says Carl Howe, a director with the Yankee Group, a telecommunication market research firm.

It’s “mainly because there is so much concern about consumer perception,” he says. “There are a lot more choices for hotels than there are for cable providers, and the same is true for airlines.”

One thing the article doesn’t point out are the social media disasters that have hurt the travel and hospitality industry over the past few years. From “United Breaks Guitars” YouTube video to the story of  Kevin Smith – who was deemed too fat to fly by Southwest – so he took his case up on Twitter. It’s good that the industry has taken note and is taking a proactive approach.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Travel industry uses Facebook and Twitter to reach customers (usatoday.com)
• Using social media in the travel and leisure industry (video) (freshnetworks.com)
• Why Foursquare is the (almost) perfect travelling companion (freshnetworks.com)
• Social Media For The Travel Industry Professional (socialmediaexplorer.com)

I came across these today and found them very clever:

There are more of these on the DesignMom website.

I just received an advance copy of Charlene Li’s new book “Open Leadership, How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead”.

I am eager to get started reading this new book and will be posting a review. If its half as good as  her previous book “Groundswell”, I know it’ll be awesome.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had an opportunity to speak with many marketing minds. One thing that became increasingly obvious to me during these conversations is that there is a social media divide. For as much as the social media community advocates and believes in the power of social media (I happen to be one of them), there is a world out there that yawns. They yawn not because they don’t believe in its power and potential, but because they have yet to see the hype realized. In many ways they’re asking for a bottom line view of this whole craze. As Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr. character in the movie Jerry Maguire) put it so eloquently “show me the money”.

Here is a reminder:

Personally, I am starting to wonder if I believe my own hype!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Socialised brands can be contagious. Social media is just stuff. (bluurb.wordpress.com)
• Twitter, Facebook Leading Social Media Marketing Tools (marketingvox.com)
• Help Yourself to Help Your Clients (myventurepad.com)
• Measure Your Social Media Efforts by Using Business Objectives (mpdailyfix.com)
• The Catalysts of Social Media (socialmediatoday.com)

I’ve known Jennifer Furrier for over four years and she’s an impressive businesswoman. She is the owner of Essential Organizing, a professional organizing and productivity consulting business specializing in helping busy professionals get organized and efficient through realistic systems for time, space and information. She is the recipient of the 2007 National Association of Professional Organizers Arizona Chapter Founder’s Award, and was featured on news Channel 12 for her work creating and leading, Destination Organization, a non-profit project providing full organizational home makeovers to deserving families around the Valley.

Jennifer was selected for Arizona Business Journal’s Top 35 Female Entrepreneurs Under 35 for 2009. She has been featured on The John Adam Show and contributed to articles for the Scottsdale Tribune, Phoenix Business Journal and BizAZ, Phoenix and So Scottsdale magazines. Her mission is to help people slow down their days, and have more time for
what’s most important in their lives.

She’s energetic, passionate and of course very very organized. Over the past few years Jennifer has also been using social media to increase her business. While she’s not as active as she’d like to be, she has been able to generate business from this new medium. So, I sent her some questions to gain some insights on her business as it pertains to social media in particular. Here  are her answers:

1. What is the most amazing thing you did in 2009 when it comes to social media? Perhaps there was a blog post or a Twitter connection?

Had to be when I filmed and broadcast on YouTube, the removal of my 9 lb plaster cast, including a doc aggressively pulling out two huge, (at least to me they were huge), screws from my poor shattered wrist! All the work I’ve done to put high quality, solid content out there, has not received even close to the amount of attention that this painful couple of minutes did… As of now, there have been 15,587 views. To put that in perspective, I did a very informative radio interview on a well-known business radio show, and as of now, that has had 174 view. Haha! I love how social media lets us take any wild experience and turn it into an opportunities to entertain and teach others.

2. As a service professional is it possible to successfully use social media without being passionate about your work? What role does passion play in making your social media usage successful?

Ew! I can’t imagine being a service professional and not being passionate about your work, period! To answer the question though- no, I don’t think it’s possible to do this successfully. Even if someone wanted to fake it, it would be forced, painful for them, and obvious to their audience.

Constantly, I see life experiences as perfect metaphors for the deeper meaning of the work I do, which is one main way I create content. If I wasn’t connected to this bigger mission with what I’m doing, I don’t think I would “see” these blogging opportunities as I clearly as I do now. Also, I’m a constant learner, and just believe so strongly in the benefits of being organized, that I actually want to tweet to the world! If someone wasn’t into their work, ugh- well I just would tell them to figure out what sets their heart on fire, and go do that… (then get blogging & tweeting to all of us who want to hear from them, and learn what they know!)

3. How do you answer those that say social media takes too much time and is a waste of time?

I completely understand how some people see it that way, and honestly, I’ve felt like that at times… I believe it definitely has to be a fit for the person, and their goals. If they’re content with their current marketing strategies, and don’t have a desire to teach or inform, then they can continue to think this way and I don’t think it’ll hurt them…

Now, I would also say, that it is actually a great way to leverage time. Think of how many hours face-to-face networking can take. Or imagine sending out an organizing tip to thousands, without utilizing the awesome resources out there. And just think of the kind of connections that can be made via social media, that would take hours of research, back and forth phone calls, etc. Now that, would be a waste of time! Funny too, because I’m a systems girl, so there are absolutely simple ways to be efficient with the time that is spent on this arena. It can be done effectively, I think with an hour a day. (Some tweets and peeps would say less, I’m sure).

4. How do you measure the success of your social media strategy? What role did social media play in making 2009 successful for you?

I’m answering the second question, first… The role social media seems to have played most clearly, is building credibility and giving people an opportunity to get to know and trust me, and what I’m doing. I think it’s hilarious to hear clients preach to me, my quirky solutions for being organized and efficient, which they learned from reading my blog. For me, to be successful, I want to know I’m helping people-LOTS of people, and I know that all the tips, tricks and tweets that I shared over the past year, have helped people – and those are people I wouldn’t have reached otherwise. I measure the success of the strategy based on the feedback I receive, both concretely (google analytics, number of views on a video or blog), and intangibly- (people commenting saying they’ve implemented a tip, they’re thinking of something in a new way, etc).

5. How has the use of social media affected you personally?

I have become so much more aware of what incredibly big-minded, creative, passionate and powerful people are out there. This inspires me, and this motivates me. There are so many people sharing their invaluable lessons, their deep knowledge of something that I wouldn’t have a clue on otherwise, and basically, have put their authentic selves out there- and I have just LOVED learning from them. I’ve even got to rock out to new bands I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise, read books I may not ever have picked up on my own, and learned of new sites, new foods, and I could go on and on!

The saying “done is better than perfect” is one of my favorites, and goodness, sometimes the things I put out there are so far from “perfect,” I’m cringing, but I know it’s about progress, not perfection… Social media has given me a good platform to practice this, and get over myself and on with my mission!

Also, this is kind of funny, but I used to be terribly camera shy- and now I’m doing video blogging, sometimes for thousands! I’m not exactly sure how that’s played out for me- but I’m guessing my confidence has been strengthened by facing something that was initially, completely frightening. I think overcoming fears is one of the coolest ways to grow, and get the most out of our lives!

6. What are your hopes for 2010 when it comes to social media?

I want a few thousand people more this year, than last, to have a positive shift in the way they’re spending their time and energy, thanks to something they learned from what I do. (ok, ok, ideally, from purchasing my online training video, or hiring me to speak to their company). J I also want to continue to learn and be inspired by the insane amount of brilliant people that are out there, and then use this knowledge to better the way I live, including increasing my ability to uplift and inspire others.

Thank you Jennifer for taking the time to answer my questions.

photo credit: tuchodi

photo credit: anolobb

Read the other “socializing interviews” to learn more about social media practitioners.

Socializing with Marc Spagnuolo: Building A Business Around Your Passion

Socializing With Dru Bloomfield: She Beat the Down Real Estate Market Using Social Media

Socializing With Non-Profit Director and Refugee Advocate Kelli Donley

Socializing With Mortgage Pro & SEO Expert Justin McHood

Socializing With Online Marketing Expert Nipa Shah

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• Using Social Media Correctly Gives Your Customers and Community More Power (powertofightthebigboys.com)
• How to make money in social media by teaching people how to make money in social media (steveheimoff.com)
• Nobody Said Social Media Was Easy (e1evation.com)
• New Chart: How Important is Social Media to Your Strategy? (hubspot.com)
• Making the Most of Your Social Media Content (proactivereport.com)

Social Media is everywhere these days and your kids are on it. Whether they’re on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or any other social media utility, chances are your kids are interacting with all kinds of people on the web. And the truth of the matter is your kids know more about social networking and social media than you do. To top it off you feel pretty powerless when it comes to helping them be safe. Like anything online and in life there is the good, the bad and the ugly.

Don’t worry though the Social Media Club Phoenix is partnering with Raising Arizona Kids magazine to provide parents with information to help keep kids safe on social media. Here are the details:

Date & Time:
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 6pm

Location:
The MadCap Theater on Mill Avenue in Downtown Tempe.

Parking:
1 hour of parking FREE at these Mill Avenue District parking structures:

• Brickyard Garage on 6th & 7th Street
• Centerpoint Surface Lot on Maple Street
• City Parking Garage on 5th Street
• Hayden Square Garage on 3rd Street

FREE PARKING ALL DAY AT Ash & Farmer Surface Lots
FREE PARKING AFTER 6pm at City Parking Garage on 5th Street

Panelists:

• Sheila Unwin – Educational professional with an 18-year-old son.
• NJ Unwin – University student and son of Sheila Unwin.
• Calie Waterhouse – Skateland Internet Community Manager and mother of 3
• Devon Adams – High school teacher and Online Community College professor, as
• well as the father of a 5-year-old

And pass this information along too by the way. So, if you know parents at your childs school, your neighbors,  your friends who could benefit please forward them this information. Help spread the word about this valuable resource!  Keep in mind more information is available on their Facebook event page, where you can also RSVP.

photo credit: notahandbag

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• Like Social Networking? Be Careful What You Share (abcnews.go.com)
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