Third Largest Country Blocked in Some Countries

About a week ago it was announced that Facebook now has more than 500 million users. That officially makes the population of Facebook the third largest country in the world, bigger than the United States by almost 200 million but still half the size of both China and India.

Ironic now is that in a country half the size by population of the United States and lying geographically next to one of the largest countries, that Pakistan joins the largest country--China--in a block of Facebook.

What is going on here? Well, the situation is different between China and Pakistan. And the Pakistan blockade is supposed to be lifted in just a week or so. But still the situation bears consideration.

In China, the ban is permanent or at least there is no foreceable date of the ban being lifted. In China the ban includes Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube and is part of the government's communist block against free speech. In Pakistan the ban includes Facebook and YouTube and is a temporary block in protest to a Facebook page which promotes the drawing of Mohammed, which is against the Muslim faith.

What is very interesting to me is that Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik turned to Twitter for his social media "fix" after his son explained that Twitter should work for him. By the way, it was reported on NPR four days ago that the original Facebook page which was offensive to Islam has now been removed, possibly by the page creator.

Social Media is more than a past time. For many of us it is the most important tool for our business communications and marketing. What is your view about the Pakistan blockade?

Branding YOU

How are you doing at marketing yourself? You know when it comes right down to it, whether you're teaching school, leading a corporation, or heading up a non-profit, your effectiveness will be based on your relationships.

I've discovered that it isn't your level of education, the size of your bank account or even how cool your website is (though of the three things listed, I'd put my money on your website!)--it is how much people dig where you're coming from.

This will be a short post but a few things I want to share with you. One is the excellent social media website called Alltop (www.alltop.com). Watch their explanation video here

It was at Alltop (an on-line magazine rack for your favorite topics) that I found the well written article on seven people who have marketed themselves very well. The article is on another great site called Social Mouths and can be found RIGHT CHERE

So go brag about yourself, in the right way. Help people. We need to be doing that!

More on the Like Button and Why it CAN be great for marketers!

No need to rewrite this article. Ben Cohen has done a fine job. Let us know what you think.

The discipline of relationship marketing is already facing waves of changes with social media providing a variety of new approaches and opportunities to communicate with customers. Optimizing communications with email marketing alone has been an ongoing challenge for companies of all sizes. Developing an appropriate communication strategy requires understanding the needs, attitudes and behaviors of customers, fine tuning copy and frequency that will resonate with customers a business is trying to reach.



Clearly social media is already having an impact. Customers opting to follow Twitter streams, join community programs or become “fans” on Facebook are signaling they are opting in to some sort of communication. I met recently with a financial services company who is leveraging these opt-in communication points to offset email marketing – literally, they are sending less email because customers are choosing to interact with their brands through different vehicles.

Facebook just threw yet another a monkey wrench into the mix. With the ability to “like” any page or content out there with a unique URL, a communication strategist has another dimension to manage. When a customer “likes” a page, or perhaps even a specific product, the brand then has the capability to communicate directly with those fans. For example, as a reader if you “like” this blog post (you can choose the verb “recommend” instead, in the settings for the API), I have the ability just like a normal fan page in Facebook to communicate to just the fans of this post. Facebook creates a ‘ghost’ page only available to the admin, which will allow me to track statistics and see an explicit list of people who “like” or “recommend” the post.

Imagine the applications. Companies in all industries could consider implications around targeting through Facebook for specific brands, product lines or individual products. A pharma company, for example, could leverage this function to communicate with Facebook users around specific conditions if they happen to “like” a specific treatment. Retailers could too, except they need to be careful – do they really want to manage communications and fans at a SKU level? Nike could integrate communications via Facebook likes for fans of Air Jordan, but it’s probably not sustainable for each shoe. Bookstores could manage communications with folks who “like” historical fiction different those who “like” Manga.

At the big business level I think there is going to be an emerging emphasis on communication management, copywriters and ongoing relationship marketing strategists to digest these technologies and build case studies to drive business results.

The magic sound of the cash drawer opening

There's always a story to tell. The trick is getting people to listen.

Do you have a product or a service that you want to promote? Are people beating a path to your door?

What we do, at the Smart Group, is lovingly package your story into a compelling form of communication. Then we go find the conversations that are taking place, which are likely to be gatherings of your target audience. We then introduce your story as part of that conversation and lead that audience back to your door.

Come share your story with us so we can deliver more customers to your cash register.

Facebook Changes

This article in the Huffington Post does a great job cataloguing and explaining the recent changes on Facebook. If you're like most of us and not a developer, some of this seems very technical. I suggest you bookmark the article and put it away until the time you need to know the specifics. Chances are, you will have a need to know with a client or when developing something for your own business. Cheers!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/22/facebook-changes-the-ulti_n_548356.html

Fans vs Like on Facebook

I wish to share an article about the newest development on Facebook. She makes some great points and indications are good that this will be better both for consumers and marketers. Your thoughts?

http://larasolomon.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/i-love-the-new-facebook-interaction/

A Rose by Any Other Name

Many people are discussing the sweet smell of success. Whether you're in business selling widgets or new construction, whether you're an employee for a major corporation, a non-profit seeking funding, a political campaign or a small business entreprenuer--we all hope that the cash registers will be making that beautiful music again, which we simply pronounce...ching ching.

Social Media Marketing is widely discussed. But it has many names. Facebook now has more than 400 million users and new applications everyday. Twitter continues to add value to a marketing campaign, if the marketer is savvy enough to uncover the leads by cleverly finding keywords that will lead to consumers and supporters.

But did you know that software tools may be the most important component to an integrated marketing communications plan? Even without understanding how they work, everyone already benefits by software of social media. Google is very social. Facebook works on huge data entry fields and dissemination.

We like to build special software packages for our clients so that using all the elements of dozens, even hundreds of social mediums can be done efficiently, spontaneously, timely and within a given budget. Space doesn't allow me to explain this simply but imagine having an interface which exposes your business to all social mediums in one place and your workers can operate the system while other service providers can also assist if you so desire.

Why not call me today for a test drive. You can decide if the idea stinks or smells as sweet...