B2C (Business to Consumer), Social Media for Business, Things We Like (or Not)

Daily Discount Deal Fatigue

The school holidays are over, the house is quiet, the wind is howling outside and I take a moment to enjoy my breakfast and coffee while catching up on the recent papers – I’ve been meaning to read the Business Herald from Friday – an article about the plethora of daily deal web offers.

I admit that, although I am subscribed to a few of these sites, I have actually become annoyed by their constant appearance in my in-box; I always look at one of them (the attractive GrabOne email), I don’t ever look at another one (because the images do not even load in my inbox – have they considered mac users?!), but the interesting thing is I have Never bought anything. Why is that? I ponder.

It’s a little bit like the constant barrage of Sales from big retailers such as Farmers and Briscoes, Rebel Sport etc and holiday sales like Boxing Day, Easter. I am immune to it.

It’s like the Entertainment Voucher books – great if you don’t mind going to different places, but what about your local favourite restaurant – I like to go where I know its going to be great.

It’s like wine on special in the supermarket – why would you buy it full price when you know next week it will be on special again?

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Perhaps I am just odd, perhaps I like to rebel against the norm, but overall there are a few factors at play here for me:

1. Convenience – I am a busy person and I don’t like to have to buy on a certain day because there is a sale.   I don’t like to fight with the crowds or be given a purchasing deadline… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Facebook

Understanding Facebook’s Privacy Settings

There is a lot of talk around in the news and among groups of people about the privacy of your information online and in particular, concerns over Facebook Privacy.

The interesting thing is that very few people seem to know how to adjust the settings to ensure that your facebook profile and information you share on facebook is protected from the public eye.

What concerns me is that many of us, including teenagers, are on Facebook with profiles that are partially or fully open to public search.

It is a big topic, and over the time it has taken me to write this blog post, there has been even more in the News about Facebook Privacy, Facebook itself has put out some new help (see their Family Safety Centre) and other advice-articles have been written.

So here in this article I give you step-by-step instructions on adjusting yours and your family’s Facebook Settings to give maximum privacy.

Why is this important – many reasons, and probably different priorities for different people, but the 3 biggies are:… Read More

B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), Social Media for Business, YouTube

Using Video in your online marketing

Posting and sharing video on your website and social media platforms is a great way of connecting to your customers, whether its your own video or linking/embedding someone else’s.

We’ve all seen the viral video campaigns.   They range from cute to bizarre to emotional and more often than not gain media attention because of the amount of people who have viewed them and the impact this then has on the person concerned.  Case in point, in yesterday’s news the story of the boy who was bullied and fought back.

Here’s another, a video showing a babies’ reaction to his mother blowing her nose (!) that’s gathered well over 9 million views in just one week(!), proving that babies are always appealing…click here to view (embedding has now been disabled)
… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Resources, Social Media for Business

The Power of Social Media – “The Thank You Economy”

This is a great clip of an interview on msnbc, with Gary Vaynerchuk, author of “The Thank You Economy”.

It is a powerful explanation of the return of one-on-one attention and the humanising of business.

Knowing your customers is the ultimate power of social media.  If you know your customer, you can “connect” with them and win their business.  Business is moving from big-box style of retail, big-advertising brands to the more local, social and personal approach, using social media.

Would you agree with him that there is a “hunger for socialisation” in todays marketplace?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), Business Blogging, Resources, Social Media for Business

Interacting and Engaging with Customers Online: Benchmark Report & Practical Tips

The Rules of Engagement: NZ Website Study Finds Plenty of Room for Improvement

46% of major websites in NZ do not have a Blog on their website, despite the majority of them using them Facebook and Twitter as a marketing tool.

Only 42% of major companies allowed other people to share content with only 12% allowing interaction in the form of rating or tagging content.

Yesterday I had just finished a phone call with a colleague discussing the differences of the NZ pysche compared to the US with regards to active online engagement, when this report: The Engaged Web in New Zealand landed on my desk (or rather in my email inbox).  What great timing and an opportunity to put pen-to-paper (or rather finger to keyboard) and update my own blog!

This report studied 50 most popular/highly trafficked NZ websites (nb. these are large-sized businesses) across a range of industry sectors to see how kiwi businesses engaged and interacted with their customers online.  The findings are interesting.  Conclusions are, unsurprisingly – “plenty of room for improvement”…. Read More