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Where does Google+ Fit In?

January 9, 2012 Leave a Comment

Have you asked people whether they have set up their Google+ account yet? Working within social media as a component of our overall communications expertise, we know that our colleagues within the industry typically respond with, “of course, you want to hangout?”

However, when we leave the office and go home, talk with our family, go out to dinner with our friends, and perhaps bring up the topic of social media, the Google+ question is often met with a different response:

“Ugh, another social media site? I still haven’t uploaded myvacation pictures to Facebook or canceled my mySpace account.”

In December, we posted on our Twitter page something that we deemed to potentially be the statistic of 2012…if it happens: Google+ will grow to 400 million users by the end of 2012 (right now, it still remains our Prediction of the Year).

The reason it is an amazing statistic / prediction is because as of the end of December, Google+ had 62 million users which−while a tremendous accomplishment −still leaves them well behind the more established social media sites (and as for social media traffic, Google+ was barely over 1% as of the end of last year).

So, the story is over, right? Wrong. Despite having to increase six-fold, we aren’t counting Google+ out yet because, to date, they have already done a number of things right:

They made the capability to create a page temporarily exclusive.
They added the ability to create Brand Pages at a perfect time after enough individual pages were created.
They have gotten celebrity buy-in.
They have integrated their platform with other media.

And, perhaps most importantly, they have integrated the other Google products as well. As VentureBeat put it in a recent article:

“…One major strategic move has helped Google achieve steady growth: Google+ has been slowly integrated with other Google mobile and web applications, starting with Google Reader’s integration back in October. Now, you’ll find G+ features in Gmail, Google Apps, Blogger and more.”

However, the next step is up to us: The Public. Those of a certain demographic and / job description have created their pages already because that is how they stay plugged in. However, the people that will determine Google+’s true success are those that were forced or guilted into creating a Facebook page in the first place. People that check their page almost by accident if they are in front of their computer and don’t care if their Facebook URL is customized. If Google+ converts these people into joining, then it has a chance at 400 million in 360 more days.

Working with clients in various industry sectors, we have been asked the Google+ question a lot since its launch over the summer, specifically as it relates to Facebook or LinkedIn Company Pages. We know what our answer is, but we want to hear from you first.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Filed under Social Media Marketing Tagged with 400 million users, Facebook pages, Google + Branded Pages, Google Plus, Google+, Google+ Success, internet marketing, LinkedIn Company Pages, marketing, social media marketing, social media tools, Twitter

Leveraging LinkedIn: A Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association Luncheon

October 25, 2011 Leave a Comment

Direct Choice is an active participant in a number of professional organizations in the Philadelphia region as a way to meet and share our expertise with members of one of the strongest business communities in the world. Account Director Kathy Bademan is the company’s representative at these events and will offer her insights on important discussions shared at these events.

Last week’s PDMA luncheon was a seminar presented by Brynne Tillman, President and COO of Business Development University on using LinkedIn to build your business. This apparently is a popular topic in the Direct Marketing community because the result was the most highly attended PDMA luncheon yet (extra chairs were required).

LinkedIn continues to be the world’s largest professional network (with hardly any competition) at over 120 million registered users and 33.9 million unique visitors in the last month statistics were made public (June 2011). It has steamrolled right past MySpace to become the second-largest social networking site, and with participation up 63% over the past year, depending on the long-term projections of where social media is headed, even the mighty Facebook might not stay on top for long.

There’s no doubt that LinkedIn is powerful. But the real question is, “How do you and your business benefit from all that power?” Brynne Tillman, who has over 20 years in business development and sales training, has created and taught lead generation and client acquisition programs for many companies, including Dun and Bradstreet, Progress Leasing, Kinko’s and Vantage Point Bank. Her primary focus is coaching sales teams, and working with non-selling professionals who are responsible for client acquisition. There is nothing she loves more than developing sales and networking plans, LinkedIn strategies, implementation and measuring the sales process!

Among the topics she covered included:

Five ways to complete your profile so that it represents you well and gets you noticed;
Two ways to post content and update your status;
Two ideas in leveraging your newsfeeds;
Two ways to organize your connects;
Two ways to export your connects;
Tow to follow companies and create new ones;
How to search for prospects and request introductions.

In addition to the Brynne’s presentation, registrants received a comprehensive workbook that help attendees develop an action plan for using LinkedIn quickly and efficiently.

The message and information was well received. Comments heard after the meeting include:

“That was the best webinar/seminar I have been to in a long time.”
“This was great! I want to listen to it all over again because there was so much information.”
“I hope my son’s game is cancelled tonight so I can go home and play with my LinkedIn.”

Brynne did a great job, and the aspect that rung the truest to us was the confirmation that the process we have undertook for using the medium is not only considered a best practice by an industry leader, but puts us ahead of the curve of our competitors. LinkedIn is a powerful tool, and as it continues to evolve, so will our abilities to use if effectively.

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Filed under Social Media Marketing Tagged with direct mail advertising agencies, direct mail advertising companies, direct marketing advertising, direct marketing advertising companies, direct marketing campaign, direct marketing consultant, direct response marketing, email marketing services, email marketing solutions, full service advertising agency, how to use LinkedIn, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Best Practices, online direct marketing, Philadelphia advertising agencies, Philadelphia direct marketing, ROI marketing, social media marketing, targeted email lists, targeted email marketing, targeted mailing lists

Direct Choice Inc. Hosts Business Club of America Roundtable

October 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

In our continued effort to bring together business stakeholders from throughout our region, we recently hosted a “For CEOs Only” Roundtable Discussion for members of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Business Clubs of America (BCA). The topic was, “The Rise of Digital Media” which we know, from our experience with clients throughout the country, is a point of concern for many CEO’s, and something that most Philadelphia business-owners have been thinking about. The questions began immediately:

Is it for my company?

How can we use digital to truly target ideal prospects?

Will our customers expect us to utilize digital?

How can I integrate social media into our marketing plan?

The last point is important. Social Media was, naturally, one of the first things we discussed, and we tracked some numbers and topics.

More than half of the CEOs had a Facebook presence.
All of the CEO’s had personal and company LinkedIn profiles.
Twitter was the least utilized and was a point of strong contention, but was considered important by most, as was YouTube.
Each of the attending companies had websites, and had dabbled in SEO marketing, banner ads, and blogs.

As a company predominantly known for direct marketing, it may seem unusual for us to host an event with such a digital focus, but keep in mind, email is direct marketing, too. Email blasts and eSignatures were significant points of discussion, as were other integrated marketing efforts, such as QR codes, pURL’s, and offline promotion of digital efforts. Being part of the BCA has always been a learning experience, and we were proud to be part of both sides of the experience at this event.

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