4 steps to social media success

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April 30, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Today's Buzz    Retailers use "social gifting" to drive foot traffic Marketers and major brands are abuzz over "social gifting," a process in which consumers use social applications from companies such as Wrapp and CashStar to buy branded gift cards for one another. Advocates say the model drives e-commerce and real-world foot-traffic at minimal cost to retailers, but some analysts say social gifting may be receiving more attention than it deserves. "There is a promise and there is a reality. ... You can't just introduce a platform like this and expect it to deliver gold to everybody," Forrester Research's Sucharita Mulpuru says. Reuters (4/30)       Tax season can be tough. The IRS has increased the time it spends auditing small businesses by 30%. This free white paper brought to you by American Express OPEN, will help you learn how to navigate changes in tax legislation, leverage often overlooked deductions and strategize for the coming years. Download your free white paper, What Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know For Tax Season. Network Update    Study: LinkedIn pummels other social networks in visitor conversions LinkedIn's visitor-to-lead-conversion rate of 2.6% ranks it significantly higher than Twitter and Facebook, according to a HubSpot study. Despite those impressive numbers, "few B2B companies use LinkedIn to its full potential," HubSpot's David Meerman Scott writes. Social Media Today (4/29)       Badoo looks to interest-based features to help broaden its appeal Badoo, a Spanish social network that lets strangers forge real-world connections, is booming in Latin America and southern Europe, but will it take off in the English-speaking world? Marketing chief Jessica Powell says the freemium social network is determined to break into the U.K. and the U.S., and is launching new services -- such as a tool that let users find people based on shared interests -- with those markets in mind. LondonLovesBusiness.com (4/30)       Other News Ads are coming to Tumblr on Wednesday The Daily Beast (4/30)       You've heard about the switch businesses are making to VoIP phone systems but are they right for your business? With more features and lower costs, the answer is probably yes. But don't take our word for it. Read Ziff Davis' Phone Systems Buyer's Guide and Comparison Guides, FREE with your registration. Ideas in Action    Mexican presidential race gets down and dirty on Twitter Mexico's presidential race is getting unexpectedly heated, with candidates trading barbs via social channels. Campaigns vie to create trending Twitter topics and celebrate their widely shared tweets as major campaign victories, even as some lament the way social chatter has lowered the tone of the debate. "Twitter is like a jungle. ... With the anonymity, it is like a free-for-all," says Aurelio Nuño Mayer, media director for Enrique Peña Nieto's campaign. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (4/29)       Nuns go social to reach potential recruits The nuns of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Quebec are embracing blogging, Facebook and YouTube in a bid to recruit the next generation of nuns. The group's youngest nun is 64, but it's hoped that social outreach could popularize monastic life for younger devotees. "You have to go where the young people are. And that's where they are," says Sister Elaine Lachance. Bangor Daily News (Maine)/The Associated Press (free registration) (4/29)       Kraft says thanks for the "likes," a cappella Kraft has created a Web video in which an a cappella group sings personal thank-you messages to each of the 4,632 people who liked one of Kraft's recent Facebook posts. Adweek (4/27)       The top 10 secrets to using data mining to succeed at CRM Data mining has clearly moved into the mainstream and now plays a central role in helping companies in virtually every industry improve daily business decision-making. This white paper addresses how data mining is used to get more value from CRM systems — particularly focused on application of predictive analytics to the customer life cycle (acquire, grow, retain). Download the free white paper now. Research and Reports    Social buzz may predict box-office success Box-office returns can be predicted by social media, says Ben Carlson of Fizziology. Researchers say early Twitter buzz can affect returns. Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (4/27)       Download our free report “How to Stop Webpage Speed from Killing Your Marketing” and see how decreasing the time it takes to get customers interacting with your online campaign can increase engagement, response, and conversion. The Takeaway    Crafting a 4-point plan for social media success Brands that hope to generate real value from a social media campaign need to embark on a four-step journey, write Roxane Divol, David Edelman and Hugo Sarrazin. Brands must first monitor social chatter, then respond to it, amplify their messages by encouraging sharing and lead their customers toward long-term changes in their consumption habits. The McKinsey Quarterly (free registration) (4/2012)       Leveraging Cloud Security to Weather Threatening Storms Web attacks and retribution campaigns are on the rise, and they have become more frequent, more random and more extreme. This paper assesses the current cyber threat environment and discusses the use of distributed cloud services as an effective means to protect against evolving, modern-day IT threats. Social Shareable    Titanic II cruise ship is planned Clive Palmer, an Australian billionaire, says he will build a life-size replica of the Titanic. The Chinese-built Titanic II is expected to make its maiden voyage, retracing the original vessel's planned trip from the U.K. to the U.S., in 2016. "It is going to be designed so it won't sink," Palmer says. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)/Australian Associated Press (4/30)       Interactive marketers are feeling the pressure from government to offer clear, transparent privacy regulations for consumers. This free whitepaper, discusses various legislation, such as the EU Cookie Directive, and outlines how marketers must comply while offering a positive and enriching consumer interaction via the new paradigms of consensual targeting. Get the free whitepaper here. Featured Content    Build Your Brand One Champion At A Time Monica Skipper — Director, FedEx Global Brand Management Next-Gen Direct Sales: Reviving the Tupperware Party Courtney Rubin Seeing the Writing on the Wall Julie Bawden-Davis Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Why You Can't Fire Employees for Bad-Mouthing Your Business Courtney Rubin The Worst Businesses to Start This Year Courtney Rubin A Eulogy for the Private Office Cameron Herold Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Most Read  Top five news stories selected by SmartBrief on Social Media readers in the past week. How major brands are taking the plunge on Pinterest (OnlineMBA.com) How to incorporate Instagram into your next event (The Guardian (London)) Tips from Guy Kawasaki for using Google+ to share your passions (SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media) Why social marketers should stop trying to make sales (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)) Brands are caught in crossfire as agencies battle for social-ad dollars (Advertising Age (tiered subscription model)) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. Position Title Company Name Location Web Content Manager Corporate Executive Board Washington, DC Bloomberg Government Marketing Analyst Bloomberg Washington, DC Click here to view more job listings. Editor's Note  Check SmartBrief on Social Media updates all day via Twitter Don't settle for just one dose of SmartBrief on Social Media each day. Follow @SBoSM on Twitter and get great social media news and best practices stories all day long.       SmartQuote  As marketers, we want to be where the consumers are, and they are all on Facebook." --Bradford Robinson of Chili's Grill & Bar, as quoted by Reuters       SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality   This SmartBrief was created for ignoble.experiment@arconati.us   Andy Sernovitz, Editor at Large Andy Sernovitz is the author of "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking" and the fantastic blog "Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!" He runs WordofMouth.org, where marketers and entrepreneurs learn to be great at word of mouth marketing, and SocialMedia.org, the community for social media leaders at the world's greatest brands. He taught word of mouth marketing at Northwestern and internet entrepreneurship at Wharton.   Subscriber Tools SIGNUP   SEND FEEDBACK   E-MAIL THIS BRIEF Today's Brief - Permalink | Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Privacy policy Suggest a story: VIA E-MAIL   VIA TWITTER     Advertise Associate Publisher:  Dena Malouf 202-407-7837 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Jackie Basso 202-407-7871   SmartBrief Community: Most Clicked Facebook Twitter Blog Publish your Press Release Who's Hiring LinkedIn Get this RSS Feed Search Archive Grab this Widget About Download a SmartBrief Mobile app today     Recent SmartBrief on Social Media Issues: Friday, April 27, 2012 Thursday, April 26, 2012 Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Monday, April 23, 2012     Lead Editor:  Jesse Stanchak Editor at Large: Andy Sernovitz Contributing Editor:  Ben Whitford     Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004     © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information