Send the Trend, Sets the Trend

Send the Trend is a fashion start-up that's doing some pretty interesting and practical stuff with social media. Check out this video.

Mobile Social Media: The Next Great Disruptive Trend

Article first published as Mobile Social Media: The Next Great Disruptive Trend on Technorati.

Over 1.3 billion users are expected to access social media from mobile devices by 2016. This is almost double the number of mobile social media users in 2011, according to a report from Juniper Research.

The report found "the trend to integrate social, local and mobile experiences is driving the geosocial phenomena. People want to find out not only what their friends are doing, but also their location and other available activities in the area. Geosocial networks are particularly suited to the mobile space as most smartphones now include GPS, and have an 'always on, always connected' experience."

This also means digital content strategies for mobile social media will need to be reconstructed based on how content is consumed on these platforms. Unlike the PC/notebook era, mobile devices come in a dizzying array of screen sizes, platforms and user interfaces. Add to that the context in which the user is accessing the content. Context could be a mashup of any or all of the following:

Device: Smartphone or tablet. Size of screen etc.

Location: Where is the content being consumed...at home, while commuting, in an outdoor environment, in a noisy indoor area like a restaurant or a mall.

Time: When is the content being consumed and what would be the most relevant information at that time.

Social Relevance: What is their network consuming probably at that time and location. Also what are other people in their vicinity consuming.

Personalization: To what degree can the content be tailored to an individual. One way of doing this would be through data analytics of user and group behavior to serve up increasingly relevant content.

Attention Spans: If web attention spans were low, they are even lower on mobile devices. According to a survey on mobile content consumption users typically consumed:

 a) Less than three paragraphs of text

 b) Less than 30 seconds of audio

 c) Less than one minute of video

Mobile social media creates new and exciting ways for businesses to connect with consumers. Information like location and time can be used to produce a compelling consumer experience. For example restaurants giving consumers details of its breakfast or lunch menus depending on the time the data was accessed. This could be followed by a discount coupon valid for a couple of hours and directions to the nearest restaurant. Compared to what most restaurant websites serve up today, it's almost as if boring old web pages got a magical Steve Jobs makeover. 2012 is already looking good.

Google+ Brand Pages Get Top Billing in Search Results

Google is apparently giving preferential treatment to brand pages from Google+ in its search results.
Google+ Brand Pages Begin Appearing in Search Results - Technorati Technology: I tried the examples mentioned in the link, but the pages did not come up, so the experiment is probably limited to the United States for the moment.

While there is the usual hue and cry about antitrust issues with Google using its Search power to drive traffic and interest in G+, I believe the move is great for  businesses struggling to create a credible digital media presence. Opting for a G+ brand page, now will ensure a greater or higher degree of search listing, which means they will finally begin to see some of that much promised ROI from social media.

Facebook Becomes A Box Office

Ticketing 3.0: Facebook Becomes A Box Office | TechCrunch:

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20 Million Americans Scanned a QR Code in October

20.1 million mobile phone owners in the U.S. used their device to scan a QR code in the three-month average period ending October 2011, according to comScore.

Among these mobile users who used their phone to scan a QR code, 59.4% did so from home, while 44% did so from a retail store and 26.6% did so from a grocery store. 21.4% scanned a QR code while at work, while 11.2% did so outside or on public transportation with nearly 10% scanning a QR code while in a restaurant.

5 Interesting Products Based on QR Codes

Following up on my earlier posts on QR Codes and QR Code campaigns, I thought it would be a good idea to feature products developed around QR Codes. I found these five interesting. If you know of any more please share.

• Folloyu: As the name suggests this allows you to take your browsing experience with you, across different devices. So if you're shopping on your PC and have to leave, you can scan the QR code onto your mobile and continue exactly where you left off from your mobile or tablet: http://folloyu.com.
•  Qrapping Paper: Brain child of entrepreneur Justin Gignac, this unique gift wrapping paper takes viral marketing to a new level. Available in pairs of 20-inch x 30-inch sheets, the paper accommodates upto 50 different YouTube videos: www.qrappingpaper.com. 
• Punchd: A virtual loyalty card program that collates data using QR Codes, the program has been purchased by Google. Once the Punchd app is installed on the customer’s phone businesses can keep  track of buyer analytics, buying patterns and discounts when the buyer scans a QR Code: www.getpunchd.com. 
• Paperspring: Paperspring.com, an online greeting card company sells wedding invitations with QR Codes. The code leads to a mobile website that has a wealth of details from directions, RSVPwhich offers a map of the event venue, R.S.V.P area, additional photos and create calendar entries on the users’ Smartphone calendar among other things: www.paperspring.com.
• Social QR Code: Businesses Social QR Codes to direct users to their social media channels. Be it their Facebook or Twitter page, Youtube videos/channels. You can also let users scan coupons to be redeemed later: www.socialqrcode.com

Do let me know if you come across other great business ideas using QR Codes.

Is Social Media Compromising Your Business

Article first published as Is Social Media Compromising Your Business on Technorati.

Facebook’s dodgy record on privacy got a fair bit of press the last couple of weeks…with the Mark Zuckerberg photo incident probably being a bit more embarrassing than the rest. Facebook has done its bit, with a pressure from the FTC among others, to address this issue.

The point is so far the privacy issue has centered on individual users. However, in the fracas, the issue of business security being compromised seems to have escaped attention.

Getting a social media profile has been the top priority for corporates. Over 84% of Fortune 500 companies are already on social media platforms. This is generally representative of the larger universe of business establishments, especially in the B2C space.

However, in the mad rush to socialize, I wonder if companies have thought through the consequences of their social media strategy. To understand the dangers of social media let us just take the simple and ubiquitous “Like” button that have popped up on almost all online promotional collaterals.

For this example, I have picked the website of my all-time favorite car the Swift. Like a majority of car markers the Swift site has links to Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Flickr. Now I see two problems with this. First a very basic marketing issue: Why have links that will take potential buyers away from your site. Browsing attention spans are notoriously fickle and a customer sent to another location might not come back. Your social media strategy should drive customers to your site, not away.

However, that is the lesser of the two evils. Now assume I, a potential Swift buyer, click on the Facebook link and like the Page. I am essentially broadcasting a fairly high degree of interest in the car and would be a potential target for every one of Swift’s rivals.

Facebook has made it incredibly easy for a rival to target these buyers. In fact an advertiser on the site can actually select the precise interests to target. So selecting, India in the country option and Maruti Suzuki Swift in Interest column will allow me to reach over 130,000 people who have Liked the Swift page.

Given the current ad rates on Facebook this allows rivals to target potential Swift buyers for a fraction of what Maruti Suzuki would have spent during the launch of the latest Swift model. Question is, have marketing teams assessed the potential loss of business a simple could create? Is that an acceptable risk for the overall payoffs that social media promises?

The bottom-line is social media is a critical marketing and communication tool. However, it seems that most companies have outsourced this activity to agencies, rather than try and understand the medium and make it an integral part of their communication strategy. This could compromise their business, rather than help them.

No ROI in Social Media Marketing

Loved this interview with the CFO of Copyblogger Media Sean Jackson. He takes on that old bug-bear of social media--ROI--and provides a really good and different perspective on it. Must read for everyone plagued by the ROI question.

There is No ROI in Social Media Marketing

Folloyu Uses QR Codes to Enable Continuous Browsing

Folloyu uses QR codes to enable viewers to continue their browsing experience from their PCs to their mobiles. Check out this video for another great example of QR Code use.

Amit Gupta and the search for a cure

BBC News - Amit Gupta and the social media search for a cure:

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YouTube Revamps Includes Social Recommendations

Youtube has revamped its content serving engine...it is now based around channels. Also it is now using social recommendations to define user preference. A harbinger of how media will serve up content, especially in the mobile era.

YouTube Revamp Foreshadows Google’s Vision of Media | Epicenter | Wired.com:

Fancy building your own social network?

An interesting article on the benefits of building your own social network. I see this as the next logical step in social media.

BBC News - Social science: Fancy building your own social network?:

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How The Mobile Web Changes The SEO Landscape

Interesting take on how search is redefined on mobile. Also how content is consumed on portable devices.

How The Mobile Web Changes The SEO Landscape - Forbes: