Clearing Clouds of Confusion – the 5 Categories of Social Media Software

The social media software industry offers some amazing functionality, but it suffers mightily from murky messaging and customer confusion. The truth is, many marketing professionals do not know what this software can do, much less what specific companies’ versions can do. And the software companies themselves make it worse by not being specific about their capabilities and areas of focus. There are five specific categories of social media software, and lumping them all under “social media management” does us all a disservice. I’ll clarify the categories below… , but first please take this little quiz, and see if you can match the software to its benefits messaging (taken from the website home pages of the companies listed). Hard to figure out who does what, right? Everyone in this industry needs to sharpen their messaging and be more specific about what they do. Let’s at least try to sort out the categories of software that exist. The 5 Categories of Social Media Software First, let me reiterate that all of this is more about the wizard than the wand . I don’t care which of this software you procure, if you don’t know why you need it, and how to use it, it will turn into a pit of despair and social media dream killer faster than you can say “Lebron chokes in the playoffs.” Consequently, I’ve organized 5 categories of social media software not based on company size, or pricing, or platform, or niftiness of logo, but based on your needs. The questions you need answered will (and should) guide you to the right type of software. Important notes on this taxonomy: This list is not exhaustive. There are WAY more companies than this. If I’ve overlooked your favorite, please leave a comment. In practice, these categories aren’t quite as tidy as I’ve made them, as many of these software companies are trying to play in multiple categories. This is especially true of the marketing management guys like Buddy, Involver, Vitrue, Wildfire, et al who all hope to be end-to-end solutions. Further, every company has analytics at some level. So, you may not need five different software packages (thankfully), but it’s entirely possible that you’ll need more than one. For purposes of this segmentation, I have listed companies in the category where I believe they are best-of-breed, or where they originally focused their efforts. There are other types of social media software, such as social sign-in, social advertising, etc. But these five are the categories needed by the broadest array of businesses. Your Needs Determine the Category of Software “I need to know what’s being said about my company, our competitors, and our category in social media. What words are used in association with our brand? Where is this chatter occurring?”  You need  Social Listening Software (AKA Social Media Monitoring Software). Key players:  Crimson Hexagon , Lithium , Radian6 , Sysomos , Trackur , Visible Technologies . Small businesses alternative: ViralHeat , SocialMention ? “I need to efficiently respond to questions posed to our company in social media, and find real-time opportunities to provide assistance. Ideally, I could assign conversation opportunities to various people in the company.” You need Social Conversation Software (AKA Social Media Engagement Software, Social Media Management Software). Key players:   Argyle Social (a Convince & Convert sponsor), Attensity , Awareness , CoTweet (now SocialEngage from ExactTarget – a Convince & Convert client), Spredfast , Sprinklr . Small business alternative: Hootsuite , Jugnoo , Postling , Sprout Social ? “I need to create custom Facebook apps, launch and administer promotions, and manage creative assets on YouTube and beyond. Ideally, multiple people can create with workflow and approvals.” You need Social Marketing Software (AKA Social Media Management Software and a bunch of gibberish labels). Key players: Buddy Media , Hearsay Social , Involver , Shoutlet , Spredfast , Vitrue , Wildfire Small business alternative: Agorapulse  (have given us a free account), ShortStack ? “I need to know how effective my social media efforts are, both on specific platforms and (ideally) overall, and whether all of this is worth the effort.” You need Social Analytics Software. Key players: Adobe/Omniture ,  PageLever (investor), People Browsr ,  SAS , Simply Measured , Syncapse Small business alternative: Crowd Booster , Google Analytics (also viable for large business), Swix ? I need to find social media participants that are disproportionately interested in, or influential about, a particular topic. I need to understand their passions and spheres of influence. You need Social Influencer Software. Key players: Appinions , GroupHigh  (have given us a free account), Klout , Kred , Peek Analytics (have given us a free account)  Plexus Engine (closed beta. investor), Vocus About the Jay Baer: Jay Baer is a hype-free social media strategist & speaker, tequila guy, and co-author of The NOW Revolution . Jay is the founder of http://convinceandconvert.com and host of the Social Pros podcast . Clearing Clouds of Confusion – the 5 Categories of Social Media Software is a post from: Convince and Convert Blog: Social Media Strategy and Social Media Consulting

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Marries Longtime Girlfriend Priscilla Chan

AllFacebook would like to congratulate Facebook Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg , who announced on his timeline Saturday evening that he and longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan are now husband and wife. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media .

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Marries Longtime Girlfriend Priscilla Chan

Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today

Apply for a contest or award today — there are good business reasons to do so. First, you get recognition and publicity for your business — and that’s just good marketing. On top of that, it’s good for employees. You give your team something to excite them and to rally around. Finally, awards are good strategy: being nominated and winning can set your business apart from competitors. But remember, YOU must make it happen, by applying for awards. Don’t be shy — nominate your company. Or nominate a customer or client for an award and show them you care about THEIR success and want to honor them. The list of awards and competitions below is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com . – * * * * * The New York Enterprise Report 2012 Small Business Awards Enter by May 21, 2012 The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards is the annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of the 500,000+ small businesses throughout the tri-state area. The Small Business Awards will recognize 5 small businesses for their best practices and 3 businesses under the “Best of the Year Awards” categories. A panel of experts in the related fields will judge all award packages. Awards will be presented to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages, revenue profits and/or long-term value. Please note the criteria and requirements listed on the awards website. Small Business Influencer Awards 2012 Enter by July 15, 2012 The 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards are now open for nominations! The Influencer Awards honor companies, organizations, apps and people who have made a meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. Impact may mean (i) providing products widely used by significant numbers of small businesses, or (ii) influencing significant numbers of small businesses by being a thought leader, or (iii) providing information or services of note to significant numbers of small businesses. Nominate here . Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Enter by August 8, 2012 The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is an annual international business plan competition in Michigan. The event is the world’s largest business plan competition with more than $1 million in prizes. The goals of the competition are to promote Michigan as a venue for innovation and opportunity and stimulate job creation. The New York Times Make Your Pitch Contest Enter by August 29, 2012 Submit your pitch on video, telling about your product or service, your marketing plans, your customer base. Tell what makes your business different — why it is one to watch? Do you need capital? If so, how much and what for? Most important, how are you going to make money? All video pitches that meet the submission guidelines will be featured on The New York Times small-business Facebook page and selected pitches will be featured on the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog. To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar . If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free). Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award. From Small Business Trends Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today

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Our Black Year: Supporting Conscious Consumerism And Small Business

I find it funny when people from all walks of life speak on how a business is run, but few thoroughly examine a business’ relationship with a community.  A family’s experiment shows the importance of that relationship more than any words could express. Our Black Year, One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy , written by Maggie Anderson with Ted Gregory, is thoughtful journalism on being a conscious consumer — in this case, supporting businesses in traditional black communities. We read about thought-provoking ideas in great books like Lisa Gansky’s The Mesh , but Anderson, a Chicago lawyer, lived the values behind her ideas. She and her husband John (they have two young daughters, Cara and Cori) purchased goods and services from Black-owned businesses operating in local economically depressed neighborhoods.  It was a year-long “conscious consumerism” project.  I contacted the publisher for a review copy after seeing Anderson speak on C-Span about her experience during the study, because I thought the book would be of interest to small business owners. New Century Approach To A Long Standing Problem Discussions on supporting black businesses are not new. Our Black Year places a new more proactive twist on that notion, approaching its topic the way Hollowing Out The Middle , a book on the economic drain of rural America, did. Anderson shares illuminating data and historic perspective on how businesses in under-served communities start at a disadvantage — from lending discrimination that still plagues Black and Hispanic business owners, to the degree to which economic spending flees a community, such as the studies quoted below: “One of the first things I uncovered was a report from a 2004 showing that for every $100 flowing into an average underserved Black community, about $95 leaves ….  Just as illuminating was a radio piece produced in 2009 by WBEZ-FM, Chicago’s National Public Radio outlet, that examined retail leakage in thirty Chicago neighborhoods. Its findings: “Thirty neighborhoods have more than 50 percent retail leakage. Of those, 20 are on the South Side. Almost all are majority-Black neighborhoods. In 2007 residents in these neighborhoods spent a collective $3.8 billion outside of their own South Side communities.” Historic views of the African American community ranging from Talented Tenth to the Black Wall Street in Tulsa heighten the points raised. Making A Difference While Overcoming Obstacles Anderson’s story perspective enhances the impact of family decisions, more than any white paper exercise could. Moreover, the retelling shows what a customer may undergo in becoming a “conscious consumer.”  I was particularly touched by Anderson’s worry about selecting clothes for Cara to attend a christening while meeting the study criteria: “Cara was going to wear an informal dress with spaghetti-straps and open-toed sandals. No sweater. It was barely acceptable attire….  I kept wondering whether I had forsaken my sweet babies for a purpose.…  But someday, I kept telling myself maybe my daughters will understand that taking a stand often creates collateral damage.” Family reactions are notable, particularly at the start of the project as Mima, Anderson’s mother, discovers she has pancreatic cancer.  The trials have thoughtful literary-quality honesty and add humanity with each point Anderson makes. Anderson also shared the not-ready-for-PC reader commentary from a Chicago SunTimes feature article. These critics who felt the project emphasized racial differences harmfully.  Anderson felt disappointment from being told to “move on to Africa” among other more sharp mentions. Fun fact: Ann Coulter even weighed in (I won’t give away that nugget! Read the book!). The text speaks sharply to the post civil-rights African American middle class.  Anderson shares how gentrification overlooks the voices of community residents, via comments from Michelle Boyd, an associate professor of African American studies and political science at University of Illinois-Chicago: “One reason poorer residents do not present sustained opposition is that they are filtered out of the community development process.” The book sounds militant in some passages, but that tone demonstrates eloquent arguments meant to establish an urgent proactive stance, as well as to address the harsh responses encountered. Our Black Year highlights a quintessential concern among business owners – the thin line between activities that will keep the doors open versus being an active steward within a community.  Highlighting long ignored economic structures in traditionally Black neighborhoods is an example of how far some segments of the United States have been derailed. Here are some rich takeaways that can serve small businesses with a “conscious consumer” audience: How treating customers well can engender support, be a gateway for customer loyalty, and a form of “brand” identity without trying so hard to creating it through marketing tactics Sometimes good marketing tactics can not save a business if used too late (another nugget, read the book) If your business is looking for new opportunities, consider basic goods not offered conveniently rather than that “radical new health juice.”  Anderson noted an absence when seeking family needs.  “Among the businesses we had trouble finding were Black-owned shoe stores and other outlets with children’s clothes.” The appendices contain terrific data and sources.  They complement the ideas raised in Locavesting , another book on supporting local businesses. Combining the listed financial resources like Local Investment Opportunity Network with the resources in Our Black Year is a powerhouse move for those practicing conscious consumerism. One nitpick: Andersons’ tips for shopping consciously should be a chapter on its own, but I write that with uplifting respect.  It’s an excellent thoughtful list that should be highlighted. Our Black Year will fascinate people who have an interest in community development.  Place it in your business library. It is a treasure for how ideas should be enacted and funded with discipline and compassion. From Small Business Trends Our Black Year: Supporting Conscious Consumerism And Small Business

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Twitter Weekly Email Digests: This Week in Social Media

Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news . To help you stay up-to-date with social media , here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Twitter Brings Weekly Email Digest to Your Inbox : You can now “discover the best of Twitter in a weekly email digest delivered to your inbox. This summary features the most relevant tweets and stories shared by the people you’re connected to on Twitter.” “Stories feature a design similar to the recently updated Discover tab, emphasizing who shared each story beneath summaries to help you decide which ones matter most to you.” Facebook Initial Public Offering Proves Social is Hot : “Facebook has priced its initial public offering at $38 per share, making it the third-largest IPO in U.S. history.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiuX64iHrgM Discussion from our Networking Clubs : Thousands of social media marketers and small business owners are asking questions and helping others in our free Networking Clubs. Here are a few interesting discussions worth highlighting: The importance of social media monitoring How to set up specific social media goals How to track your blog with Google Analytics Facebook Insights Has Two New Features for Apps : You can now check App Ratings and Negative Feedback for your apps on Facebook Insights . “App Ratings and Negative Feedback can inform not only how you design your app experience to increase engagement and satisfaction, but also how your app grows through the App Center.” The new App Ratings provide a variety of information including statistics by gender and age. Facebook Improves Mobile News Feed Design : The photos in your mobile Facebook news feed are now much bigger. Shares of single photos look a lot like Instagrams . Photos shared on Facebook are now larger on mobile news feeds. Facebook Slowly Launches Facebook Pages Manager iPhone App Outside of the U.S . : iPhone users in Australia, New Zealand and possibly a few other countries can currently download a free Facebook Pages Manager app to manage their Facebook pages. This new app helps Facebook page managers on the go. Google Adds More Google+ Integration Inside Gmail : “Today’s changes include quick access to contact details when viewing past conversations as well as improved integration with Google+ circles.”  in the search box.””] “Circles are also now supported in search and filters. Find messages from a specific circle by typing circle:[circle name LinkedIn Today Redesign :  LinkedIn Today  has a new design. LinkedIn has “made changes across the product experience to offer further customization of news so that members can receive the most timely and relevant news impacting their peers and industry.” There's a “Customize your news” tab on the right side which enables you to control the news feed in LinkedIn Today. LinkedIn Introduces Windows Phone App : This is LinkedIn’s latest mobile application. “You’ll find that in some cases (hint: companies and jobs), the Windows Phone app offers even more functionality than its iOS and Android siblings.” Here’s a useful social media tool worth noting: Scan-to-gram : A tool to turn your Instagram profile into a QR code . Scan-to-gram provides a new fun way for companies to have a web presence and grow their following on Instagram. What social media news caught your interest this week? Please share your comments below. Tweet

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Donna Summer Dominates Social Networks After Death

Donna Summer died on the morning of May 17 and many people reacted by taking to the Internet and online music services. Radio Remembers Donna Summer: Songs Get Huge Airplay After News of Singer’s Death According to data provided by Next Big Sound, fans flocked to her Wikipedia page. Normally receiving close to 2,000 hits a day, her page garnered a whopping 1,480,461 page views on May 17. Further, an increase of 419,476 plays on VEVO was a 48% increase from the norm. 23,834 people — 19% more than on any other given day — took to Facebook and became fans of Donna Summer’s official page. Online listening sites also responded by creating tributes featuring the Queen of Disco’s greatest hits. Donna Summer – In Memoriam: There Will Always Be a You Slacker Radio launched a station in honor of Summer and her legacy that can be found in the Slacker Spotlight station category anywhere Slacker is available. The curators at Sharemyplaylists.com have also put together their own tribute that people can listen to and share on Spotify. As reported by social sharing analysis company Monstro, Donna Summer’s music represented 4.53% of all shares yesterday on Twitter. Heavy sharing activity came from the following platforms, led by Rhapsody. 91.67% of all shares by Rhapsody listeners were Summer songs. Donna Summer’s Enduring Billboard Chart Successes Percentage of All Music Shared (May 17) Rhapsody – 91.7% Rdio – 33.7% ThisIsMyJam – 27.6% Spotify – 23.6% SoundTracking – 11.7% In prior weeks, Summer averaged about one share every four hours across all monitored services, while yesterday (May 17) there were an average of 139 shares per hour, with the peak at 637 per hour at noon EST. Tributes For Donna Summer: Questlove, Nile Rodgers, Sheila E., George Clinton, More React According to Spotify, Donna Summer saw a 3,000% increase in streaming activity on the on-demand platform. Her top song on Spotify was “On the Radio” which received 56,001 plays yesterday, according to Nielsen BDS. Other top hits included “She Works Hard For The Money” and “Bad Girls.” Most Played Summer Songs on Spotify (May 17) “On The Radio” – 56,001 “She Works Hard For The Money” – 31,932 “Bad Girls” – 29,802 “Last Dance” (Single Version) – 25,386 “Dim All the Lights” – 25,343 Lastly, the top five songs that were shared, according to Monstro music, differed slightly from those that fans listened to on Spotify. Most Shared Summer Songs (May 17) “I Feel Love” – 522 shares “Hot Stuff” – 434 shares “Last Dance” – 268 shares “Love to Love You Baby” – 183 shares “MacArthur Park” – 127 shares Source Billboard

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How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat

Save the date!  In honor of Small Business Week, we’re holding a Twitter chat on May 23 at 3:00 pm Eastern time, on the topic of online marketing.   I am thrilled to partner again with Stephanie Chandler on this event. We’re going to cover some of your favorite topics – from email marketing, to local listings, to online reviews, to optimizing your website, to social media, and more. A big shout out goes to our sponsor, Yahoo! Small Business, for making it possible.  This Twitter chat came about almost by accident.  I recently had a chance to preview an intriguing new Marketing Dashboard from Yahoo!   Stephanie and I were on the same demo.  One thing led to another, and we suggested a Twitter chat. Those of you who are regular readers know I am a HUGE fan of business dashboards – I write frequently about them.  I learned the value of dashboards when I was in the corporate world, where dashboards tend to be highly customized.  Most of us don’t have the resources to build customized dashboards for our own businesses, connecting with all of our business systems. That’s why it’s great to see the growing trend of ready-to-go dashboards for small businesses. Today you can find dashboards for tracking sales, finances, or – now, with the new Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard – for online marketing.  Managing your online presence and making sense of all the data you have is more important than ever, as the infographic below shows. Twitter Chat Details – Mark Your Calendars! When:   Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 3:00 pm Eastern time Where:   On Twitter!  Follow the event hashtag #YDashboard to participate Who:   Stephanie Chander (@Bizauthor) and I (@smallbiztrends) are co-hosting. Sponsor:  Yahoo! Small Business (@YSmallBusiness) Bonus:   We’ll be holding random drawings for two $100 AMEX gift cards.  But  you have to be there! If you’re new to Twitter chats, check out Lisa Barone’s “ How to Participate in a Twitter Chat .” Click to see larger infographic From Small Business Trends How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat

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How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat

JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments

The manner in which J. P. Morgan Chase lost more than $2 billion is particularly appalling. It’s even more insulting when one takes into account that risky foreign bets were made in lieu of investing in American companies. For months, JPMorgan Chase has been one of the most difficult banks for small businesses seeking capital. My company, Biz2Credit, recently conducted an analysis of small business loan rejections. More often than not, JPMorgan Chase ranked #1 or #2 as the lender that most often denied requests for small business funding. At a time when big banks reject almost 9 of 10 funding requests, the banking behemoth was a leading naysayer. Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase took small business account deposits and bet big on risky investment products that led to huge losses. Embattled CEO, Jamie Dimon, says that “it could get worse” because of the company’s “errors, sloppiness, and bad judgment.” I’ve experienced first hand the hypocrisy of how Chase treats small business owners. My company’s business credit card had an unlimited line of credit. Without cause, they capped it at $10,000 even though my personal and business credit rating is quite high. Biz2Credit’s credit marketplace attracts up to 6,000 loan applications each month from small business owners, many of whom were rejected for loans and business lines of credit by Chase even though they had existing banking relationships with the firm. Led by Dimon, JPMorgan Chase had built a stellar reputation for being great risk managers, but now the curtain has been drawn back, and the Wizard of Wall Street isn’t looking so great and powerful now. His firm took oversized bets with other people’s hard earned money and lost big time. Yet Chase frequently rejected small business funding and cut lines of credit because they were deemed “too risky.” Does Chase really expect us to believe that derivatives and credit default swaps were considered a safer bet than American entrepreneurialism? In its pursuit of continued big profits, Chase went to extremes to try to guard against risk. Anyone who understands how the markets work knows that this is not feasible over the long haul. You don’t take record profits without taking big risks and saying otherwise plays us all for fools. Risk Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments

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Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow: If You Buy Facebook Stock, You’re In For The Long Haul

Social enterprise software giant Buddy Media Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Lazerow was at no loss for words this morning when it came to dissecting Facebook’s impact on advertising. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media .

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Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow: If You Buy Facebook Stock, You’re In For The Long Haul

Confessions of a Social Media Girl: Being part of the “Tweeting Elite” is Bad for Business

Word to the wise: if you are a business- FOLLOW YOUR FOLLOWERS. You might think you look like some kind of star to have a few thousand folks following you (whereas you follow about four people), but what does that say to your followers?

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Confessions of a Social Media Girl: Being part of the “Tweeting Elite” is Bad for Business