Trends in Social Media and other predictions for success in 2012*

Watch the Slidecast (PPT+MP3) As part of the San Diego Direct Marketing Associations (#SDDMA) 2012 Marketing Trends Seminar, I was asked to present what I thought would be trends to watch in social media during this coming year. Admittedly, I felt somewhere between The Great Carnac and Jimmy the Greek. Sure, I can make predictions, but ultimately where I would tell you to put your money will be based on my experience and insight.

In preparing, I reviewed each of the types of social media (yes, there is more than one ;-) and recounted some of the the latest activity in the space (not necessarily the newest comers). Most of the usual suspects are still very active (Facebook, Google+ – even MySpace), but there’s some new names on the roster for this coming year you may not be familiar with (like Pinterest, Tumblr and Klout).

Ultimately, it’s still just people interacting with people – using technology…

Ideahaus® voted Best Boutique Agency, Best Creative, Best Interactive in Media All-Star Awards

The votes are in, and according to the Media Association of Pittsburgh (MAP), Ideahaus is the Best Boutique Agency in the city. It’s also the Best Creative Agency, and the Best Interactive Agency (which includes social media).

The Media All-Star Awards is one of MAP’s signature events “held to celebrate the hardest workers in the media industry.” Agencies, media, vendors and marketing professionals are nominated, then the communications community votes for their choice in a number of categories.

Hosted by KDKA-TV on-air talent Larry Richert, the event was attended by nearly 200 professionals who filled the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh to learn who would make this year’s All-Stars team.

Ideahaus Founder Kevin Popovic was honored by the recognition, and elated with the wins…

Understanding “What Great Salespeople Do”

A review on Mike Bosworth & Ben Zoldan’s new book exploring “the science of selling through emotional connection and the power of story” by Kevin Popović, Founder of Ideahaus.

“What Great Salespeople Do” humanizes the sales process. Learning from sciences, and from their previous success in Solution Selling, Mike and Ben takes the sometimes very impersonal business of sales and reminds us that it’s still people communicating with other people…

e-Commerce has gone Social

Think of Social Commerce as the “new mall”. Everyone is there. People watching. Catching up with familiar faces and checking out what others are wearing. What’s hot and what’s not. Shopping is a social sport. Online shoppers are motivated in similar ways, but rather than using window displays, it’s now “curated” online products and recommendations from friends, families or even an anonymous consumer. Word of mouth is still the cornerstone of commercial activity. 71% of online shoppers say that reviews from family members or friends exert a “great deal” or “fair amount” of influence…

The goals and metrics by which we measure our website traffic and success change with the evolution of social media. The reasons and places that online commerce take place are changing daily, and unfortunately, they are not trending towards your website. They are going social and mobile. With influences like Facebook friend’s purchase recommendations, social plugins, group buying incentives or photos and videos from smartphones showing off user’s acquisitions, it’s obvious that social media is playing a pivotal role in the online purchasing process…

Testing My Social Capital: Getting the ROI from my social media network

For years now, we’ve been told – and preached ourselves – on the virtues of social media and the value of a network connection. We must get friends, followers and connections to build our reach and expand the resources necessary to be successful. This, we’re told, will help us make new contacts, build our careers, and generate business for ourselves, and our companies.

But how many actually do what you’re supposed to do?

How many people are working towards reaching out to the people you already know to create more connections? How many people communicate with new followers once you get them to follow you? Do you actually participate within the network you’ve created or are you, like most, a voyeur? And do you ever get anything in return for any of your effort?

The biggest challenge with social media isn’t growing a network, it’s identifying the return on investment…

Coming to a mobile device very near you…

I remember my first statistics class, when on the first day the professor boldly claimed, “Statistics don’t lie. But, they can’t be trusted.” And, while he wasn’t undermining his own profession and existence, his point was clear: statistics can easily be manipulated to be misleading or even contradictory.

I mention that first as a caveat to what I’m about to tell you, because I’m about to hurl some statistics on you for this discussion. Take what you will. Interpret what you will. Any way you want to look at these numbers though, the proverbial 30,000-foot view will give you the intended takeaway from this article. And that is… The consumption of mobile video is growing rapidly.

Let’s just start there. What it means to you and your business is, of course, as subjective as with any other communications tool out there. And, I’ll discuss what that means for you in later articles. But, if you’re thinking that mobile video shouldn’t impact your strategic communications mix…

Planning How Your Business Communicates with Your Target Markets

Entrepreneurs know that a business plan is critical for funding. Marketers know that marketing plans are key to management and success. Sales pros have a plan to approach target markets, they wouldn’t dream of selling without it. But what about communications? Yeah, we’ve got a plan for that. With every dollar critical, it would be irresponsible to not have something in place.

Developing a strategic communications plan is one of the client services Ideahaus has provided for more than 20 years. Although each plan has been unique, patterns and process have revealed themselves. With feedback from CEOs, VPs, marketing directors, entrepreneurs, sales professionals – and you – we continue to improve our process to what you see today.

A couple caveats from the podium: First, this only works if you follow the process. Improvising along the way voids my warranty that this will deliver a comprehensive, efficient and strategic plan. Second, you only get…