With a record number of women on social networks, getting to the heart of their motivations for participating in these social spaces is more important to marketers and business owners than ever before.  A recent survey by a women’s social networking site called ShesConnected attempted to tackle the question “What do women want out of social networks?” Their findings not only illuminated what women are looking for on social networks, but also where they’re going to get what they want.

Why is this so important? Well, if you’re looking for the perfect gift to get the woman in your life for her Birthday or trying to decode what she means when she says “It’s fine!” this information won’t help you; but, if you’re selling women’s products online this will give you a good idea of where you need to be to reach your market.

Where Are All The Ladies?
Facebook and LinkedIn were by far the most popular social networks with the women surveyed. Below is the percentage of women who indicated that they were members of each social network:

• Facebook 83%
• LinkedIn 73%
• Twitter 55%
• MySpace 41%

The results of the survey show that the women on these social networks are very active. In fact, more than half of women check their networks multiple times per day, and 48% reported being a member of four or more social networks.

What Makes These Social Networks Appealing to Women?
When surveyed, the top five responses that women cited as being “very important” reasons for them to join social networks were: (more…)

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Earlier this year eMarketer wrote an article based on MarketingSherpa’s surprising findings concerning social media effectiveness and measurability.

MarketingSherpa’s study asked US Social Media Marketing Professionals to identify the most appropriate marketing uses for social media. Here are the results (in order of effectiveness):

1. Influence brand reputation
2. Increase brand awareness
3. Improve search engine rankings
4. Increase website traffic
5. Generate leads
6. Improve internal communications
7. Increase online sales

If you have a small company, chances are you’ve heard the following phrase in a marketing meeting while discussing whether or not to engage in social media: “It will increase our online sales!” As you can see, however, this oft cited justification for involvement in social media is actually the least effective marketing use for social media. When you’re thinking about social media involvement you have to be thinking long term. The biggest marketing impact you will have will be changes in brand reputation and brand awareness. Next in line will be SEO benefits, and an increase in traffic and leads. It’s likely that all of these things will ultimately lead to an increase in sales, but not overnight.

Social Media Tactics That Get the Most Bang For the Buck

Since your company’s social media efforts are going to be a long-term commitment you should determine what’s most important to your company and which activities align with those factors. Ask yourself “Is it more important to be able to measure the results of my social media efforts now or is it more important to focus on social media efforts that will be the ‘most effective’ in the long-run?” (more…)

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Spending on online video advertising is still small compared to total online spending and television spending, but last year it grew by 126.5%. According to recent studies, online video advertising spend is expected to continue on its upward trend- increasing by an average of 41% per year over the next five years.

With online video popularity soaring and more video advertising platforms available than ever before, your company should seriously consider integrating online video advertising into your marketing mix. YouTube is a logical place to start because of its sheer size. In fact, YouTube revealed recently that:

• In a given month more Americans visit YouTube than watch the Super Bowl on average
• Every 45 seconds approximately more than 12 new hours of video are uploaded

YouTube’s Sponsored Videos advertising program is already being utilized by a wide variety of companies. Sponsored Videos reach a huge audience of online video viewers and are incredibly easy to set-up (think Google AdWords with only half the steps). (more…)

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The Moms that work in our Texas office.
Okay, so Megan (Far left) doesn’t really count yet, but she will soon!

A recent eMarketer study revealed that there are more than 34 million US moms online- making online moms one of the biggest internet user segments in America right now. This fact is incredibly important because, as eMarketer explains, “Moms are the key decision-makers for many family purchases, and increasingly the information they obtain and activities they engage in online affect those decisions.”

Key Mom Facts:

• Over the next few years the number of moms online is predicted to grow by about 12% per year.
• Moms rely most on trusted websites, referrals from friends/family, and search engines to get information to make purchase decisions.
• Above all other categories, moms shop for clothing/fashion accessories, food/cooking, and baby/parenting products (in that order).
• Regardless of whether they plan on buying online or at a brick and mortar location, moms have a high tendency to hit the internet first to research products before buying.
• Moms shop for themselves online almost as much as they shop for their children.

Online Mom Culture:

We caught up with Quinn Curtis from www.CreatedByMom.com to get her perspective on the “online mom phenomenon.” Quinn’s site www.CreatedByMom.com consolidates products from more than 45 moms- offering a place where small time mompreneurs can get the recognition they need to succeed in business.

(more…)

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It may be July, but online stores are already gearing up for the holiday shopping season. Whether you are a first time store owner or a seasoned pro hopefully these tips will help you to organize and prioritize your holiday efforts to achieve the maximum effect this holiday season.

Based on feedback we have received from our customers the best way to get your online business “holiday ready” is to follow these three general steps: look pretty, get your name out there, and communicate with holiday shoppers.

Look Pretty
In terms of appearance, many online store owners are planning on making eye catching holiday specific design changes to their websites to bring shoppers in. Others are also considering spotlighting their most popular products with a “Seasonal Favorites” or “Holiday Must Haves” section on their homepage.

Get your name out there
To get the word out about their sites online store owners are running the gamut of advertising options from traditional media like magazines and holiday shopping guides to newer social media like Facebook.

Communicate
Communications with customers this holiday season will range from text-based newsletters and emails to interactive live chatting. The goal will be to announce holiday promotions that are running and give consumers the information and resources they need to get their gifts.

But even if you know what you will be doing this year, you may need some help deciding when you should you be doing it. Here is a rough time schedule of these crucial months leading up to the holiday shopping season: (more…)

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