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The continuing growth of social media marketing

Social media marketing is becoming an important cog in the wheel of many companies' overall marketing plans. According to HubSpot.com, U.S. advertisers spent $1.7 billion (that's billion with a "b") in 2010 on social media marketing. Of that, 53% was spent advertising on Facebook. Globally, companies spent $3.4 billion on social media marketing in 2010. Pepsi -- a staple of Super Bowl ads for decades -- has announced that it will not run any ads in this year's game. Instead, the company will invest more heavily in social media campaigns. So what are the most popular social media channels for large companies? HubSpot reports that 65% of Fortune Global 100 companies maintain a corporate Twitter account, 54% host a Facebook page, 50% have a company YouTube channel, and 33% run a company blog. Having a Facebook page, Twitter account, or blog is one thing. Keeping it active is something else entirely. Of the companies cited earlier who use Twitter, 82% post multiple tweets per week. Among corporate YouTube users, 68% upload at least one new video per month. On Facebook, 59% post at least once per week. And 36% of corporations with blogs update those blogs at least once every month. While HubSpot focused its research on larger corporations, social media marketing is ideally suited for small businesses, too. The cost of getting started is minimal, and commitment can grow and scale over time. If you aren't using social media marketing, I recommend you start. If you can't commit too much time, that's ok. Start small, and build your efforts as time allows. Begin with a Facebook page for your company, a blog (like this one), or a Twitter account. Make a plan for adding new content regularly. And engage with customers who engage with you online. Once you're started, include the address for each of your social media channels on your website. Add your Twitter name to your business cards. And begin to engage with your customers and prospective customers through social media. You'll be glad you did. If you'd like to see more from the HubSpot study referenced in this post, visit: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/8594/Social-Media-Marketing-By-The-Numbers-Infographic.aspx Joe Gass @ Heritage Print & Visual 5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Ste G, Charlotte, NC 28269 * 704-551-0700 * www.hpvisual.com  22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650  * 301-475-1700 * www.heritageprinting.com Wide Format â?? signs, banners & banner stands, displays, posters, wall and window graphics, vehicle and floor graphics, decals, backlit signs, point of purchase, end caps and toppers, on-site installation and fulfillment Offset and Digital â?? newsletters, magazines, publications, catalogs, conference and meeting materials, brochures, rack cards, presentation folders and direct mail  Veteran Owned and Operated

Researchers using data from Twitter, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Google Maps API have mapped the mood of our nation over a three-year span, based primarily on what we tweeted about during that time. A joint venture of scientists at Harvard and Northeastern universities, the study looked at 300 million tweets sent between September 2006 and August 2009. Here are some of the findings: * Tweeters tend to be happiest early in the morning (around 6:00am) and later in the day (around 10:30-11:00pm). Moods dip to their lowest in the early afternoon, then slowly begin to rise again. * Not surprisingly, weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) are the happiest days of the week. In fact, Sunday morning ranks the highest overall. * Thursday -- not Monday -- sees the lowest dip, on average, of any of the days. Our collective mood bottoms out on Thursday evenings, apparently. Tweets were scored against the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) word list to determine their overall "mood." The researchers say they plan to continue their work into the future, with further breakdowns of weekday versus weekend moods. More details can be found online at the study's website: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/amislove/twittermood/ Joe Gass @ Heritage Print & Visual 5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Ste G, Charlotte, NC 28269 * 704-551-0700 * www.hpvisual.com  22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650  * 301-475-1700 * www.heritageprinting.com  Wide Format - signs, banners & banner stands, displays, posters, wall and window graphics, vehicle and floor graphics, decals, backlit signs, point of purchase, end caps and toppers, on-site installation and fulfillment Offset and Digital - newsletters, magazines, publications, catalogs, conference and meeting materials, brochures, rack cards, presentation folders and direct mail  Veteran Owned and Operated

Enjoy Twitter but not willing to pay for it? You're not alone. In fact, researchers at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found that, while 49 percent of Internet users surveyed had used Twitter or a similar free micro-blogging service before, zero percent would be willing to pay to use Twitter in the future. That's right: Zero. Zilch. Nada. "Such an extreme finding that produced a zero response underscores the difficulty of getting Internet users to pay for anything that they already receive for free," said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at the Annenberg School. The 2010 Digital Future Study is the 10th such study performed by faculty and students at the Annenberg School. "Beginning with our first Digital Future Study in 2000, and in every year since, we have found extraordinary levels of shifting views," Cole explains, as well as "evolving attitudes about technology." Over that time, the number of Americans going online has climbed from 67 percent to 82 percent, the average time spent online has grown from 9.4 hours to 19 hours per week, and broadband use has jumped from 10 percent to 82 percent among home-based Internet users. In addition to its Twitter-related findings, the 2010 study found... 65 percent of adult Internet users buy online, making an average of just over 35 purchases per year. Books, clothes, gifts, travel, and electronics/appliances round out the top five categories of products bought online. 78 percent of respondents consider the Internet an important or very important source of information, compared to just 56 percent for newspapers. However, 61 percent said that only half or less than half of the information available online is reliable. 70 percent of respondents found Internet advertising "annoying," and less than half ever click on online ads. However, 55 percent said they would rather put up with the ads than have to pay for content. For more results, visit http://www.digitalcenter.org. Heritage Printing & Graphics�. Improving Your Image in the Marketplace Signs, Banners, Posters, Displays, Decals, Wall, Window & Floor Graphic, Backlit Signs, Brochures, Booklets and Publications, Marketing Materials & Direct Mail 5900 Harris Technology Blvd., Suite G, Charlotte, NC 28269    704-551-0700  22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650    301-475-1700 www.heritageprinting.com   

Twitter is a free, social networking service which offers a new-age way to enhance brand recognition and build relationships with your prospects and customers. Twitter enables users to micro-blog, or communicate through small, quick spurts of content and reach thousands of people every day. Here are few tips on how to use Twitter as part of your online marketing strategy to target new business in Charlotte and anywhere else in the world.

• Create a list of topics for posting before you get started. The more you plan out your endeavor, the more you'll benefit from marketing on Twitter.
• Follow your competitors. Your competitors will have already sought out a similar target audience you want to reach, which enables you to catch up quickly. You can also track your competitors' marketing tactics and messaging.
• Make a commitment to Twitter before starting. Twitter requires constant involvement and timely follow-up. Without this, Twitter loses its credibility. Successful Twitter marketing also requires intelligent message writing. With only 140 characters at your disposal, choosing the right message and responses is crucial to your success.
• Strengthen your brand image. Create an interesting profile by posting photos and information about your company. Be sure to seek out people, companies and groups that you are interested in on a personal level, too, even if they are unlikely to use your services. This helps create a personality for your company, which can help make you seem more accessible and friendly.
• Participation is key. Users must be willing to participate in online conversations and communicate with other businesses, consumers, and individuals. Not only can you share your industry knowledge, but it gives you the opportunity to spread the word about your business and share something about yourself with the rest of the community.
• Inform people of new products and services offered by your company. The Twitter community is a great way to stay on top of industry news, as well as promote your new products and services. However, don't to make product or service promotions the sole focus of your Twitter account. Twitter is a social network, not a medium for spamming. Be sure to post only meaningful, relevant content that readers will look forward to reading.
• Drive traffic to your web site. You can add links to your website, blog or press releases, which is also a great way to increase your company's exposure.
• Promote events. If your company is throwing an event or attending a conference, you can tweet (create a status update or post) about it to generate interest in the event. Pre-networking can add value to the relationships you then create in person.
• Create unique ways to interact with readers. Engage others in your field by asking thoughtful questions, request feedback on your products, take polls, and facilitate conversation.
• Follow relevant Twitter feeds. The owner of a feed will be notified when you follow their feeds, creating awareness and building traffic for your own company as well.
• Use it as a back-up form of communication. Twitter is a reliable tool for communicating with customers if your website or email servers go down.
• Read feedback about your company without a formal survey. If you search for your companyâ??s name using twitter search, it will return all the tweets where people mention the terms you search for. This is a great way to gain insight on opinions behind the scenes.

Whether you are selling a product or a service in Charlotte, or want to make your companyâ??s name more visible in Europe, Twitter is an advantageous way to attract interest in what your company is all about.  If youâ??re looking for other ideas on how to communicate with your prospects and customers, give Heritage a call! Weâ??d love to show you examples of marketing materials that will create a significant impact on your business.

Joe Gass, President Heritage Printing & Graphics 5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Suite G, Charlotte, NC 704-551-0700 www.heritageprintingcharlotte.com