Facebook #1, YouTube #2… Google #6 for Clicks vs Search. Why a solid Social Strategy matters even more now.

Reaching the top of search results doesn't matter if people aren’t clicking on your links. (http://torreyrussell.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-you-need-to-be-on-facebook-and.html )

New data indicates not only are people clicking on Social Media site links more than on search engines but the reason consumers are doing this is because being more “connected” is why we are all here.

Social media is about engagement. If you aren’t ready to figure out how to engage using these new tools you are missing one of the most important ways to get consumers to open their wallets to your pitch, become an advocate and do your marketing for you.

Being connected is a primal drive coming from our earliest development of motivation according to Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. Being accepted by the group, being a thought leader, being heard are all a part of this motivation. While there are many different types of people, they all desire to be connected in their way.

Brene Brown asks, “How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness?” This, according to the author of “The power of vulnerability” is the core to a successful Social Media strategy. That being authentic or Vulnerable provides others a way to feel they can engage and connect more deeply and more often.

Tough stuff for an Auto Dealer or a Real Estate Broker. Without sounding like a session on Orpah, we as purveyors of goods and services need to reach into our own heart centered space and deliver an authentic and believable value for our customers to buy it. This is the reality of today’s market when the consumer has more choices than they know what to do with.

Let’s deconstruct this problem. You could easily separate consumers into functional groups to create a profile of that group and then address them in a way they will find appropriate and authentic. For example if you were to create several profiles around the way certain groups engage you might break it down as follows: Streakers, Strollers and Studiers. Each of these profiles engages in different ways. Core to the end result is to turn prospects from, “I don’t know you to I can’t live without you”. You also have to run a business, so it is important to quickly create a way to build commonality among groups so you can connect to a group quickly and authentically with the bottom line in mind.

But lets stand back a little bit and realize that the person who is at the other end of your Facebook account trying to engage you is willing to be vulnerable, trying to get an authentic answer to their search. After all they clicked on your search result… now you have to perform. You have to return the favor by being authentic and appreciative of this risk taking behavior by a prospective buyer or a customer looking for more ways to stay connected to something they already paid for.

I wanted to start this dialog for you within your own organization, what resources should you be putting toward Social Media and what value (Executive level commitment) do you plan to apply to win this game. How many [your brand here] dealers are within 20 miles of your auto dealership… how many Real Estate Agents are there in your MLS? Answer: Too many! Some are getting this right. How about your business?

Watch this great 20 minute video from Brene Brown at a recent TED.com conference on The power of vulnerability. (OK, shut your door, turn your cell phone off, close your email.... try and focus on why this concept will become the most important way for you to build your business in 2011)
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html


Develop your plan to answer the phone authentically, create a social persona that is accepted as the authority on the subject and figure out how to do this in such a way as to get a greater “share of wallet” from your current customers and to get them to bring you more business from their contacts. Solid social connections start by being vulnerable to failure and 100% transparently authentic when being engaged.

Social Media is about "Building a Collaborative Brand"

A Social Media plan is really all about recognizing this new movement and how to participate in an authentic way with your customer for life... not just one sale.

In an excellent article and general life's work Rachael Botsman is helping us to see the future.  She talks about Collaborative Consumption. READ:  BRAND 'WE'

Here is a quick video telling her story in pictures and music.


WHAT'S MINE IS YOURS from rachel botsman on Vimeo.

Definitely watch this 16 Minute TED.com presentation she did recently where she makes the case for this new model.
http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_botsman_the_case_for_collaborative_consumption.html

Here are 10 ways she says you can help your organization or company to build your collaborative brand

10 ways to start building a collaborative brand

1. Think of your users not as consumers. Embrace them as members – giving them all the traditional benefits of joining a “club”: status, identity and shared interests.
2. Interact honestly with your members versus shouting at them in one big monolithic voice.
3. Invest a lot of time greeting your first wave of core users and then, on an ongoing basis, introduce them to other members.
4. Empower the brand evangelists with simple, sticky tools and language that is easy to spread and share.
5. As your brand grows, recognize and reward evangelists for their role in your success.
6. Capitalize on the psychological social influence of “everyone’s doing it”, making your brand a popular movement worthy of joining.
7. Let go. You can’t pick and choose what gets spread or try to control the way advocates choose to advocate.
8. Criticism is helpful. In almost every critical blog post, tweet or angry complaint there’s something of value.
9. A chief marketing officer, CEO or founder is not a brand ruler but the best host and grand guardian entrusted by the community to “do the right thing”.
10. To build a collaborative, social brand, your culture must be collaborative and social, too.

For more go to her site atwww.collaborativeconsumption.com/ 

Why you need to be on Facebook and YouTube ( its about Clicks not Search)

http://searchenginewatch.com/3641604

Here is the 10 Top 10s for 2010: Search Year in Review By Eli Goodman  Searchenginewatch December 6, 2010

In the final analysis it is about potential customers that click on your presentation to see what you are offering not just getting a position high in a search engine.  I think the most surprising entrant this year was the way the Facebook has taken the lead in CLICKS... not necessarily search, but in CLICKS.  Being at the point of a search result is great but does nothing if no-one clicks on it.

See how YouTube still holds the number 2 spot - video is a very compelling format when it comes to getting people to click on your presentation... now how do they become a buyer is an entirely different kettle of fish!

  

Top 10 Most Popular Search Clicks

 Just one year ago, MySpace was No. 1 on this list. Some food for thought.

1.  Facebook
2.  YouTube
3.  Yahoo
4.  Yahoo Mail
5.  Craigslist
6.   Google
7.   Myspace
8.  Gmail
9.  Yahoo.com
10.  Hotmail

Most of the time we see top "searches" put out by the engines (see this year's lists for Bing, Yahoo, Ask, and AOL), but being that clicks are a better proxy for relevance (they were terms that got searchers to the destinations they were seeking), this will give you a slightly different version of lists to work through. All these lists are based on United States searchers and exclude Adult/XXX websites (just to keep it family oriented).

Note: Google #6 on the list... again, its about clicks not searches

Groupon reaches tipping point for Google

My Quote:
Groupon reaches tipping point for company that does no evil to purchase company that tricks it's customers... seems like a marriage made in heaven!
see wired article
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_hackingretail/

Interesting that these two are seemingly a good fit.

What does it mean?

I think it is just a fade.. how many mani-pedis can a girl buy at a discount... rather how many times can her local shop offers such incredible deals before they just can't afford to do it.

Novelty is a fleeting thing

Our consumers may jump once but not a thousand times.
How long before people turn this off and call it spam? It is spam... well email offers are something you want and spam is something you no longer want.

What is the way for Auto Dealers and Real Estate Professionals to get in on this sort of thing. My advice is to work with your traditional media, to get them to help you create an incredible deal. Look at the Conversion Driver industry like our partner who offers where you give a $250 gift card to a consumer to take a test drive that costs you only $25.00. ( see http://techmediamarketing.com/digitalmarketing-conversion-drivers.php?page=digitalmarketing )

Even Groupon is groaning under its own success... now they ship out a catalog of offers ... not just one. How special is that? My Costco has been doing that for years?

What is next... targeting on smartphones, Re-targeting (see http://torreyrussell.blogspot.com/2010/08/remarketing-101-follow-your-future.html ) ads on the Internet - that is ads that follow the consumer around.

Keeping ahead of this curve... so Groupon is "trick people into getting out of the house and doing the things they always wanted to do." As Andrew Mason, Groupon’s 30-year-old founder and CEO, sees it in a recent Wired Article. (see link above) Really? How long will the consumer allow themselves to be "Tricked"? Or is the price so low this ONE TIME that they feel compelled to buy it... just like Costco as you walk by that new fangled gadget that is priced almost too low to believe. How many times will this work for a retailer?

Think this is very fadish.

My advice is to focus on your own ability to be found locally, don't give away your inventory/listings to 3rd party sites that will use your inventory to steal your front page position on Google. (see: http://torreyrussell.blogspot.com/2010/08/3rd-party-sites-are-stealing-your-front.html )
Try Google's new BOOST service on their Places
(see http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1040967 )

"With Google Boost, simply set up a monthly budget for your ad, and we’ll determine what search keywords trigger your ad based on the categories that you select. You’ll only pay for the clicks that your ad actually receives."

This of course melds with Groupon I guess so Googlepon will probably add permission based email marketing to PUSH deals to consumers... OK I get that now.
Still 6 billion is a lot for a 2 year old company.
That is since its inception (Groupon) 2 years ago, an increase of value of 20 million dollars per day - WOW.