inapro.posthaven

Google posted some guidelines on how you can conduct A/B or multivariate testing and stay clear of any issues with being listed in its search engine, such as avoiding penalties.

image: ladyleet blog

so - in order to use the announcement feature, you have to be a linkedin group manager. and the announcement goes out only to group members - if they haven't turned off announcement because you spam them every week. so it's like having only a few bullets. use them wisely, and keep count for pete sakes. you don't want to end up with clint eastwood asking if you feel lucky, do ya, punk?:) 

having solved that mystery, on to the tips!

With LinkedIn Announcements, you can send email messages straight to the inboxes of likely prospects. Sound good? Here's the right way to do it:

·      Ditch the default subject line. If you don't take the time to write an original subject line, why should anyone take the time to read your message? Treat this like any other email campaign—intrigue your recipient with a subject line that compels further investigation.

·      Make your copy irresistible. Grab your reader's attention with a relevant case for action. "This is a great place for stats—not only can they present a compelling case in a short amount of space," she notes, "but they can also help readers visualize a particular topic or subject matter, which will help pique their interest."

·      Include a call to action. Don't expect anyone to read your mind. Make your call to action, and the pathway to conversion, perfectly clear.

·      Don't be a jerk. Would you want an endless stream of irrelevant LinkedIn Announcements? Probably not. So treat this access to a prospect's inbox with respect.

via marketingprofs.com (click through to the full post)

Here’s how it might work: A user could search Twitter for people who have engaged directly with a brand more than twice over the last month, have mentioned the brand more than five times and have more than a specified number of followers. The suite can also dig into publicly available profile information to add filters by location, profession or any other data that is publicly available on Facebook or Twitter. So if you’re looking for health care professionals in the Milwaukee area who frequently recommend Motrin over Advil, you can find them for prospecting or a targeted marketing campaign.

Awareness goes a step further by combining public profile data with conversation topics to create prospect databases. This information can be imported into CRM and marketing automation packages, easing what is usually a laborious manual process. Integration with Salesforce.com is built into the first product and most of the leading platforms will be added over time, according to Mike Lewis, VP of marketing at Awareness. This addresses the problem of lead quality, which is the biggest cause of sales waste.

Here's the buried lead in Jay Baer's awesome post about measuring the financial impact of social media:

it's not about the leads

ironic, huh? ask any smart salesperson or strategist to identify their best customer, and they will tell you, "the one who's bought from me before." why? because everything about selling to them a second time is cheaper, ergo more profitable...and social is a great way to keep the handshake warm.

Turn Social Media ROI Upside Down

A third area where we’re to blame for not measuring social media ROI effectively is in thinking about social effectiveness purely through through prism of new revenue generation.

Here’s my prediction: We’re going to look back at the early days of social media and say “why did we think this was about customer acquisition, when it’s clearly about loyalty and retention?”

The people that are fans of your company on Facebook? Current or former customers (84% says research from DDB). The people that read your company tweets? Current or former customers. The people that read your company blog and watch your videos and look at your pins? Current or former customers.

Choosy nonprofits choose Beth.

Beth Kanter, that is, for spot-on strategy and implementation advice. Here's a snippet from a chat Beth had recently with a member of Facebook's strategic partnerships team. Libby had this to say about the social media giant's goals in working with causes and nonprofits:

Facebook is all about sharing and connecting.  On Facebook, people connect with friends, family, their communities and the issues and causes they care about most.  Causes can be some of most personal things that individuals connect with and represent as part of their identity on Facebook.

Our goal is simple: we want to provide causes and nonprofits with the tools that they need to best utilize our platform.  We work to empower the millions of people and organizations that use Facebook to create high-impact solutions to problems big and small, all over the world.

good stuff - and Beth indicates that FB is not just talking the talk. Don't forget to read the comments on Beth's posts - some of the best people working in the nonprofit space today chime in on a regular basis.

photo: Beth's Blog 2012

ever get the feeling an ad is stalking you? it's called remarketing, and you'll be seeing a lot more of it

 

Google just announced that it is bringing its Google Analytics and Google Display Network closer together to give advertisers an easier to use option to remarket to very specific audiences who have previously visited their websites. This new service, says Google, simplifies the remarketing process and gives its advertisers more flexibility and “new ways to connect with [their] target audience.”

Until now, website owners had to use at least two different tags on their sites to enable remarketing and weren’t able to use the same detailed stats that Google Analytics offers to segment their audiences. Now, with its new Remarketing for Google Analytics feature, Google is making this service significantly easier for advertisers, which will likely mean that you will also soon see significantly more retargeted ads as you browse the web.

InfiniteWP

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I saved the best for last! InfiniteWP is a little trickier to set up because you need to upload files to your server, but it is so worth it! First of all, InfiniteWP is FREE! And, second of all, since you’re hosting it on your server, you’re not dependent on a third-party service and you have more control over the security.

And, guess what! InfiniteWP is FREE!

piece from mashable on Facebook's homegrown resources for marketers

Take a peek at the following resources and, as always, please share your own Facebook marketing advice in the comments below.

1. Facebook Studio

If you’re looking for examples of successful social marketing, turn to Facebook Studio for inspiration. Studio curates game-changing campaigns that have appeared on the social network. In addition to a gallery of marketing efforts, the site presents Facebook Studio Awards to exceptional campaigns. You can even submit your own. Studio highlights campaigns from all over the globe, so you can see what works in other cultures, too.

The critics cry, "Social media is supposed to be social!" The supporters retort, "It's all about efficiency!" Surely, there's a middle ground, right? Just look at those adorable little robot eyes. Automation can't be all bad, right?

We certainly agree. Social media automation can be done right. Just avoid the following 11 awful social media automation mistakes, and you'll be good to go.