Looking Ahead - Content Marketing and Social Media Plan for 2013

Like many others, we consultants want to share with you what we know about the web landscape, how innovations can help drive your social media marketing. What should we should expect in 2013 in the overall webscape of social media, content marketing, mobile and more. 

One trend we will see in 2013 is that your company's behavior, practices and consistency online in social, content and marketing will matter more in 2013 than ever before. Social media experts and web marketers everywhere are wondering...

• What's next in the mobile web? What's next in mobile device payments?
• What innovations in small business content and web marketing will we see more of in 2013? 
• Will Google+ finally fulfill its ambitions with online users?
• Does Pinterest matter for content marketing? How can companies best use the photo service? 
• Where and how does Facebook fit into all of this? 

Let's check out what some of the top names in Internet marketing are finding:

- Ryan Holmes (Hootsuite's CEO) described his thoughts on expected social web trends in 2013 to Fast Company. In the article, Holmes noted some obvious factors we've already seen plenty of in 2012, like continued growth for mobile social media usage and social advertising.

I think we're so already there in 2012, with everyone I know checking social media feeds and content opportunities online using their mobile devices. And need I say more about the ubiquity (and irritability) of social advertising? It's already here, especially if you're downloading free apps.

But one area stuck out from the Fast Company article: how social media education is going to become more formalized in companies. I think that's a good thing. Holmes writes:

Read the full post on What's Next for Social Media and Content Marketing in 2013?

What every marketing and business should be doing on Google Plus

What happens when great marketing minds get together to share ideas? Inspiration happens and marketing patterns take shape that could be seen as trends. #SMAZ 6 is the culprit for the inspiration behind my top 5 take-aways from this event:
1. Facebook is still a powerful marketing beast but for what purpose (especially when the avgerage brand has .5% engagement from their marketing efforts)?
2. "Eat me!" is arguably the best brand tweet ever (thanks @JasonFalls and #Quiznos).
3. The word 'kittens' converts better in Pay-per-Click than 'Death Lawyer' (@MySpy and Convertasaurus.com)
4. You can loose weight from a beer and sausage diet. (+Evo Terra)
5. Google Plus is not a priority for brands and marketers. (Thanks +Fred von Graf and SMAZ for forcing me to create a new presentation on Google Plus)

Content marketing is the hot topic and focus for most marketers...and it should be. What is odd is how few have a content marketing startegy in place, and those that do are not including Google Plus. At the start of my presentation I polled the room and found about 5% of the audience admitted to having a Google Plus account and only half of them are active with their account. This just shows that people are not paying attention to #gplus.


When you look at the top 5 social networks, only one has the potential to directly influence your rank in Google SERPs. You certainly can argue that all social networks help influence rank but when it comes to getting the most juice from your content marketing, Google Plus is the winner. Is this not enough motivation to say, "maybe our business should shift some resources to Google Plus." What is the main reason businesses turn their back on Google Plus? Lack of time and believing the hype that no one is on Google Plus or active with their account is my best guess.


We have all heard about search engine spiders. They work hard every second to make sense of what we publish so content can be indexed and easly found in search results. Search engine optimizers work just as hard to influence the spiders as to where their website and content appears in the rankings.

Since Google Plus came around, the Google spiders have taken a back seat to the 'Google octopus.' Read the full post: http://bit.ly/UwCKUq

Social Media Marketing Ranks As B2B Marketers’ Most Popular Tactic

Linkedin May have 83% of the B2B market but the growth horse is Google Plus with a 300% increase in users from 2011 to 2012 for content distribution.

Eighty-seven percent of business-to-business (B2B) marketers now spread their message through social media, according to a new report from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

CMI's 2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends research report found that social media marketing outpaced company-written articles to become the most commonly used tactic for B2B marketers.

The report says that LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform for B2Bs with an 83 percent adoption rate.

That percentage is up from a 71 percent rate last year. Facebook and Twitter came in second to LinkedIn with a tied adoption score of 80 percent.In all, CMI says that B2Bs are using more marketing tactics than ever before.

Tactics range from social media all the way to in-person events. According to the report, all tactics saw a rise in company adoption except print advertising, which stayed consistent from last year with a 31 percent adoption rate.

"We applaud [B2B] marketers for doing more and trying new tactics, although we must say we are pretty sure that throwing content at a customer is not the answer," CMI said in its report.

"But it's all part of the progress we are making as we evolve from marketing departments into what are starting to look like B2B publishing departments.

"While social media has become a prime tactic for B2B content marketers, many B2Bs still wonder how effective the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn are.

CMI reports that only 49 percent of B2B marketers think social media marketing is effective for their audience. Forty-five percent of B2B marketers say they use social media-sharing statistics to find out if their marketing efforts were effective.

CMI found that 33 percent of B2B marketing budgets were going to content marketing efforts

Read on...

SMAZ6 Event 11/5 Digital Marketing for Business: Social, Mobile, Local

Social Media for Business AZ is the largest Social Media event focused on business in Arizona. Want to learn about Social Media and Digital Marketing focused on business? This is the event you should attend! Register today! http://bit.ly/WAagNA (Promo Code - Mint30 for 30% off)

A business focused event designed to help businesses understand, improve and learn about Digital Marketing, with a Social Media focus. Covering Social Media, Search, Mobile and more. Learn from Industry Experts and Corporations that are well versed in using Social Media to reach and support their clients. Presenters range from Fortune 200 executives to Social Media authors and SEM architects with years of experience willing to share the challenges and rewards of implementing internal and external Social media strategies. Learn policies, processes, tool sets, and monitoring techniques from the experts. Bring your questions and meet the right people.

Why join us?

• Focus on Real World experiences!
• Learn from and meet the best in the business!
• Mobile, video, search, social, measurement, and more.
• The major Digital Agencies will all be there.
• Everything from the 101 session, Small / Medium Business to Enterprise.
• Join our panel of experts in a comfortable environment allowing for direct interaction. 
• Ask questions that are pertinent to your organization 
• Hear and see how other companies are approaching Social Media, the challenges and successes.
• Case Studies will be emphasized, real world information!What tools are being using?
• How do you measure success?
• How do you convince your management?
• What questions do you need to ask to be successful?
• How to address corporate policies around Social Media?
• Meet others with similar goals and make new connections.
• Oh and there's some great food too.
• Exceptional prizes are being given away as well!

For additional information please go to: SocialMediaAZ.org

Location:
ASU SkySong
1475 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Date/Time: Monday, November 5, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (MST)

Follow the chatter: Use #SMAZ on Twitter

Register today! http://bit.ly/WAagNA (Promo Code - Mint30 for 30% off)

Our partner associations:
Business Marketing Association (BMA)
Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
Social Media Club (SMC)
Arizona Interactive Marketing Association (AZIMA)
Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization Arizona (SEMPO)

Should Businesses Get Serious About Google Plus?

Over the last month the process of aligning Mint Social's digital assets into the Google+ model has grabbed a lot of my attention and time. The last thing anyone wants to do, even one in the business, is  having to keep up with yet another social networking site. In this case, get started now...it is not going away.

Google+ has been described as the fiber mesh that gets thrown over all of Google's products to make it a bundled solution. Thank you Tim Moore of CrushIQ for that great visual that you shared at our last @JoinAZIMA event. 

Google+ is much like Facebook in that your personal account is the key to the network. There are personal and business pages and they behave independent of one another...just like Facebook. Here are four key points for getting started right with Google Plus...

Comments from Google+

CrushIQ originally shared this post:

Is +Google+ a Fad or a Trend

In this month’s #AZIMA event in Phoenix, Arizona, keynote +Tim Moore,+CrushIQ CEO, described Google+ as a ‘digital fiber mesh’ over all of Google’s products to make it a bundled solution.

Read his excellent recommendations for all marketers here in Mint Social's +Matthew O'Brien's blog post : http://www.mintsocial.com/social-media-marketing/is-googleplus-a-fad-or-a-trend/

#googleplus   #gplus   #gplustips   #search   #SEO   #evang+  

Tim Moore

Yesterday 10:52 AM  -  Public

Thank you +Matthew O'Brien for such a nice writeup. I'm glad it was valuable to the Arizona businesses!

#googleplus   #gplus   #evang+   #google   #search   #SEO  #searchengineoptimization   #searchengines   #searchenginemarketing  #internetmarketing  

Mint Social

7:35 AM  -  Public

Google+ Business Pages...Better Than Facebook?

Are businesses paying attention to the importance of +Google+ pages? The SEO and social media benefits combined into one tool, Google's bundled solution,  should be enough motivation to get active.

#googleplus     #gplus   #gplustips   #SEO   #socialmedia   #evang+  +Tim Moore 

Elise RedlinYesterday 9:19 AM

+3

Nice post, Matt. +Tim Moore 's presentation inspired me to do one too! http://bit.ly/OZLYLE

Matthew O'BrienYesterday 10:06 AMEdit

+3

+Arnie Kuenn +Thomas Tenkely +Tim Moore  +Steve Heideman +Fred Willey +Bryant Garvin  I think you all agree Google+ is a trendsetter and not a 'Fad'. How will this impact the other social networks for our time and attention?

Tim MooreYesterday 10:07 AM  -  Share

+Matthew O'Brien +Elise Redlin You guys are awesome!

Matthew O'BrienYesterday 10:08 AMEdit

+1

You inspired many into action +Tim Moore! The mark of a great presentation!

Steve HeidemanYesterday 12:38 PM

+2

Definitely a trend. Time to go fishing with a better net ;)

FACEBOOK Comments

Mint Social shared a link.

21 hours ago

Time for Facebook'ers to pay attention to Google+

With customer satisfaction and growth surpassing all other social networks, we have yet to see the full impact of bundling of all things #Google in one tool.

Tim Moore

 Thanks to Mint Social for such a kind writeup on my presentation last week in Phoenix, AZ. I hope you enjoy it and find some good Google plus tips for your business

14 · 23 hours ago

AZIMA Event This Thursday (5-17): GRAMMY Awards Marketing Success Story

Want to know how this year's GRAMMY Awards achieved a true two-screen experience that generated more than 180 unique hashtags and 13 million explicit mentions? Then join AZIMA this Thursday for 54th Grammy Awards: A Social TV Success Story, presented by Beverly Jackson, Director of Marketing, Strategic Alliances and Social Media for The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Awards.

Learn How Customer Engagement Using Social, Mobile and Traditional Marketing Can Grow Your Busienss!
Registration closes soon, so don't miss the opportunity to hear the strategy behind the "The Most Social Event in the History of Television".

Register Today - http://bit.ly/JEzvHH


Date: Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Location: Hilton Scottsdale Resort | 6333 N Scottsdale Rd | Scottsdale, AZ 8525
Time: Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for networking. Dinner served at 6:45 p.m. and presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dinner and one drink included.
Price: Students $25 (Enter "STUDENT" promo code) Members $35 (Enter "AZIMAMEMBER" promo code) Non-members $45 At the door $55