The global sharing that is social media, churns out some statistics that if you didn’t have a calculator handy, would turn your mind to mush.
The growing connections of these networks from Facebook to Twitter are increasing the velocity and the virality of information and “global brand” discovery.
Sharing buttons are popping up on websites, blogs, ecommerce sites and even in your emails.
If you want to be with the “In Crowd” you need to have “sharing” buttons!
Just including social sharing buttons for Facebook or Twitter can significantly increase traffic to blogs and websites.
Sharing has become a healthy virus!
So What are People Sharing?
According to data from “AddThis” the sharing platform which is on more than 11 million websites and combines data from more than 1.2 billion users, the most shared categories and stories are:
- Death and disasters made up 73% of the top 10 shared stories of 2011
- 28% of all shares on “AddThis” were about Osama Bin Laden’s death
The Two Top Surprises for 2011
There has been some interesting and surprising developments over the last 12 months with two revelations that most people would not have predicted.
- Tumblr sharing grew by 1299.5%
- StumbleUpon creates a 320% viral lift in sharing
Social Media Sharing Trends in 2011
Infographic by AddThis of ClearSpring
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Dec 14th, 2011. 
For those in the search industry, 2011 was a big year. For some, it was big in a good way, and for others, it was just the opposite. Either way, the impact was largely due to Google’s Panda update.
As Bruce Clay explained to WebProNews, the changes Panda brought were significant to the search industry. However, overall, he thinks the quality of Google’s search results have improved. That said, Clay told us that we likely haven’t seen the end of Panda and that it has the potential to get bigger and meaner.
Social media and local search also played important roles in search over the year. Although the advent of Google+ is obviously noteworthy, Clay said that it would become more integrated with search over time, especially in regards to local search.
Going forward, he believes that SEO will become much harder. In addition, he said that SEO, social, conversion rate optimization, PPC, and other search marketing elements will, instead of being separate areas of expertise, will all fall under the broad title of Internet marketing. In other words, SEOs will also have be experts in social media and vice versa.
How have the search events of 2011 impacted you and your business? Let us know.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Dec 9th, 2011.
As the BlogWorld Expo came to a close in Los Angeles, Rick Calvert, the show’s CEO and Co-founder, sat down with WebProNews to talk about the event. According to Calvert, it was the biggest show ever for BWE. He believes that the growth of the show indicates that the industry is growing as well.
At the very first BlogWorld, back in 2007, the audience consisted primarily of bloggers. There were only a few podcasters and only 1 or 2 video news outlets present, (WPN was there!) and Twitter was in its very early days. Today, the show has evolved to include WordPress, Blogger, and Posterous, and has sponsors such as Ford, Southwest Airlines, and Century 21.
Calvert told us that the show would continue to evolve as the industry does.
The next BlogWorld Expo will take place in New York June 5-7.
For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Nov 16th, 2011.
One of the best articles I read this year was this one.
“I Will Never Hire a “Social Media Expert,” and Neither Should You” by ‘Peter Shankman.
Mr. Shankman stresses some great points in his article. His main point is:
“IT’S ABOUT GENERATING REVENUE THROUGH SOLID MARKETING AND STELLAR CUSTOMER SERVICE, JUST LIKE IT’S BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.” by Peter Shankman, May 20, 2011.
Peter emphazies this point with some follow-up points:
It’s about Transparency – Don’t lie, be real and help your clients tell your company story.
It’s about Relevance – Know which channels are connecting you with your clients. Don’t build a Facebook page just to have one. At some point it needs to drive revenues or add value to your customer service.
It’s about Brevity- Learn to write quality content with correct grammar and that can capture people’s attention in a matter of seconds.
Knowing your customer -Reach out to your audience. Make sure your customers think of your company first before your competitors. Are your customers involved with helping you make your products and services better. Make sure you connect with them on a first-name basis.
I really thought this post and the recent “To Don’t Post” have really helped me get back to focusing on key ideas and have helped me determine where I need to spend my time with respect to marketing projects.
Where do you stand with your marketing projects in 2011? Do you have a clear direction, or do you need to take a step back and reevaluate your priorities?
Picture: Mai Lee
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Nov 8th, 2011.
Some of my earliest recollections of my elementary school’s technology in the early 80′s include the “ding” from the film strip projector and playing the original Oregon Trail on an Apple II in the school library. Each generation has its own memories for how technology shaped their learning experiences. Smart boards and iPads will probably be my first grader’s earliest reference points.
Recently, I received the October newsletter from my child’s school. As I took a quick read through what the various grades were working on, I noticed something very cool – a QR code. The fifth grade students spent the first month of the school year studying ecosystems and developing posters depicting their findings. The posters were hung on the halls of the quad, but the teacher also created a QR code for parents to scan so they could see all of the work without taking a step into the school.
Obviously, QR codes are nothing new for retailers, but I thought this was a great use of technology to engage parents with their children’s learning experiences. Instead of finding a rumpled poster shoved into the bottom of a backpack, a parent could instantly admire their child’s work.
Despite being impacted by budget shortfalls within the past few years, it seems school districts are still finding inventive and cost-effective ways to leverage technology to connect with parents and students. My district broadcasts school board meetings online with a moderated chat room so attendees can discuss and ask questions. Video conferencing also makes it much easier for traveling or deployed parents to still be included in their children’s parent-teacher conferences.
Most teachers have class webpages for parents to keep track of assignments and important dates and use email for weekly updates. And although there may be privacy concerns, some teachers also use Facebook groups to share day-to-day happenings and photos. Teachers are also using new technology and social media to expand the level of engagement with students. Blogs and podcasts are replacing composition notebooks and allow students to share knowledge with each other and their teachers in real-time both inside and outside of the classroom.
Being reintroduced to the elementary school experience, I’m looking forward to seeing how technology influences my experience as parent as well as my kids’ educations. It will be fun reminding them what it was like back in the “old days” of the 20th century.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Oct 18th, 2011.
