Whats with the Friday wrap up?

-Created with you in mind, so you can quickly scan and digest all of our posts from the week….

-Created with us in mind as we like the idea of a “day off” from blogging

-Perfect for checking out on a Friday at 4.30 as its remotely work related and should fill the dreaded 4.30-5.00 pm gap (Gin in coffee mug optional)

-Share it with your boss and look like a genius

Topshop lands in Australia and uses Social Media to engage

Social Networks, Christmas and Giveaways.. a match made in heaven?

Looking for love? Try Google…

Its not like that they actually need to, but Topshop are heavily promoting their long waited arrival in Australia by using Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The mega fashion retailer is opening its doors on Thursday to the general public, but in the meantime are offering passes to its opening party on Wednesday night, the hottest ticket in town, via a “treasure hunt” using Facebook and Twitter.

The retailer known for it’s fast fashion appeals to women 18-35 and is using social networking to promote its arrival in Melbourne (Sydney and Perth to come in 2012) by reaching out to their customers where they hang out online… facebook and twitter! They are also leveraging “influencers” by inviting fashion bloggers and online personalities to the launch on Wednesday rather than just traditional “A listers” A great lesson for small businesses in “fishing where your fish are” and being relevant and contextual when speaking to their audience.

Image: Topshop

Whats with the Friday wrap up?

-Created with you in mind, so you can quickly scan and digest all of our posts from the week….

-Created with us in mind as we like the idea of a “day off” from blogging

-Perfect for checking out on a Friday at 4.30 as its remotely work related and should fill the dreaded 4.30-5.00 pm gap (Gin in coffee mug optional)

-Share it with your boss and look like a genius

Female Small Business owners embrace Social Media

Obessed with Facebook?

Build your business with our blog. Social Media Daily is for sale!

Facebook most shared news for 2011

As the year wraps up its time to do our annual audit of the years big events and newsworthy moments.

Facebook has compiled a list of the most shared  news content on the social network this year and whilst the content is mostly US based there are still some of the years biggest news stories (Japan earthquake) included and some surprising omissions like the royal wedding, political uprising in the middle east, etc etc.

Check out the list below and see what you think consider to be “important” and what was “shared”

Check out the Top 10 here:

1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (New York Times)

2. What teachers really want to tell parents (CNN)

3. No, your zodiac sign hasn’t changed (CNN)

4. Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps (CNN)

5. (video) – Father Daughter Dance Medley (Yahoo)

6. At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan (Yahoo)

7. You’ll freak when you see the new Facebook (CNN)

8. Dog in Japan stays by the side of ailing friend in the rubble (Yahoo)

9. Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines (Yahoo)

10. New Zodiac Sign Dates: Ophiuchus The 13th Sign? (The Huffington Post)

Check out the list here and

According to research released by American Express, 43 per cent of female entrepreneurs are using at least one form of social media in their business, compared to 37 per cent of male small business owners.  Women are also planning to increase their focus on social media over the next 12 months (48 per cent).  In contrast, male business owners are more likely to invest in staff and training than they are in social media in the next year.

The nationwide survey of more than 1000 small business owners shows that female entrepreneurs are twice as likely to cite a Facebook page as the communication tool most likely to generate sales.  They are also more likely than their male counterparts to have a business twitter account (15 per cent compared to 10 per cent).

While both sexes are equally aware of the importance of maintaining a company website, women are also more likely to have enabled their services or products to be purchased from the company website (48 per cent, compared to 40 per cent of men).

yesterday we saw another PR/Social Media train wreck that was brought to us by Qantas. Poor old Qantas, once a loved and treasured icon of Australiana, now a mega brand, that’s almost completely “Un Australian”

I’ve written about my love for Qantas before... I am a die hard loyal Frequent Flyer. It started a long time ago, before lunch was served in a paper bag, before work place agreements and way before those horrid Morrissey dresses… anyway… I digress.

The latest disaster from Qantas comes off the back of yesterdays attempt to engage followers using social networking site Twitter by asking people to tweet their dream luxury inflight experience with the hash tag #QantasLuxury. This opened Qantas up to a whole new fresh round of attacks coming from some rather vocal followers on Twitter including digs at their recent lockout.

The problem wasn’t that they were putting themselves out there after their recent PR disaster, the problem was that the offer, the incentive, the “prize” was a Qantas First Class Luxury Pyjama set…
Lets have a  think about this… if Qantas had of offered something more than a pair of ill fitting jersey pyjamas the engagement and more importantly the SENTIMENT would have been significantly different…

Yes, I know, they are a money cant buy item… (actually you can buy them, on eBay… for around $8.50 if you so desire) however the offer isn’t THAT compelling…

So, what can we learn from this?

1. if you are going to engage… be compelling

2. make sure your offer is exciting, relevant and more importantly something your followers would actually WANT

3. make sure your competition is SHARABLE for the right reasons (ie: because its AWESOME)

That’s right readers, Social Media Daily is on the market and looking for a new owner/s who are wanting to grow their online presence.

Are you a social media professional (or want to be one) or are you a marketing agency who wants to quickly expand their profile? Well, Social Media Daily might be the blog for you!

Due to a change in Emily’s (Contributing Editors) career and a desire to refocus before the start of the new year, social media daily is being prepared for sale.

The asking price? Modest and inline with the content that the opportunities that arise as a result (media, events, projects, clients etc etc) In fact its probably less than your annual coffee budget…

As the new owner of Social Media Daily you will receive all of the content produced over the past three years, all branding and assets associated with running the blog.

What you CAN”T do, is claim the old content as your own. The original authors of the posts remain unchanged.

Please get in contact should you wish to find out more (only genuine interested parties please)

Stuck for something to say on Twitter? Don’t know who could possibly be interested in what YOU have to say? Think again.. by surrounding yourself with like minded people who share the same interests and thoughts as you can be the first step in setting up a great communication channel.

Start with these 3 top twitter tips to make sure that you are making the most of your time on the social network…

Share your VALUABLE content...
Not the same old crap that everyone else is re hashing.. share stuff people WANT to read and that they WILL share. You dont need to reveal all of your secrets but give your followers something they will learn from

Share other peoples content
See something you think other people might find valuable? Then share the love and help a tweeter out by spreading their content far and wide… by sharing you are showing your followers you are on the pulse and you are showing the original tweeter some love… and acknowledging their tweet as something of value…

Listen
Listen to what the community is saying. By being aware of your community you are able to chime in with topics that are relevant and more likely to be shared. Keep an eye  on hashtags and the general twitter feed of whats happening in the world and make sure you are on topic and more importantly, relevant!

In some cases we fins new target markets, audiences and customers by taking a “scatter gun” approach to our marketing. Spray it all over and see where it sticks. This works well in mass advertising… advertising in a region that you normally wouldn’t, placing ad’s in different time slots, or buying pages in magazines that you wouldn’t normally bother with. This works well when you have a “high line” branding message to communicate.

Taking this similar “scatter gun” approach with social media doesnt have the same effect, in fact, it has the exact opposite desired reaction. Not only do you come across as random and skittish, its completely confusing and at the end of the day damaging to your brand.

We have all heard of the social media/online marketing technique of identifying an influencer to leverage in order to build your own brand. This means going out and finding someone that influences similar types of people to your target market and creating meaningful discussions with them in order to engage an audience.
One brand that has popped up on our radar has taken to this to be their entire social media strategy, however they have skipped on the meaningful part and are instead just firing off random tweets to influencers in their geographic region, hoping for the best. This approach makes the business look unprofessional and is down right bizzare and ultimately damaging to their growing brand. They have become that annoying person at the party that introduces themselves to everyone at the party and wears out their welcome.

Avoid becoming THAT person by making sure you

-identify influencers that also want to work with you

-create meaningful relationships with them, don’t just bug them

-offer value

-know when you have worn out your welcome

-have a strategy, don’t just try to “wing it”

More than half of Australia’s small businesses intend on engaging with their audience via social media in 2011 and with the end of the year fast approaching its time to get cracking on your social media strategy if you haven’t started already. Bring home the bacon in 2011 with these proven and winning strategies and end 2011 with a bang!

Before you start getting clicky and creating profiles on lots of different social networks, stop! Read on to make sure you are ticking all of your boxes when it comes to getting your social media marketing campaign off the ground…

• Define your objectives
• Listen  to what your customers are saying before you start talking
• Go to where you customers are. If they are on Facebook, head there, if they are on Twitter… venture over there and see whats happening
• Be consistent with your messages, speak to your customers in the same tone as your would normally
• Be useful. Provide value
• Respond and acknowledge your audience
• Ask your customers what they want from you online
• Be open and honest

By thinking strategically about your campaign and defining what it is that you want out of your social media marketing you will be in a great position to put your best foot forward…