The future of Blogs
Posted by Jan in 
The word blog has a long and storied history that parallels the rise of social media and the internet. We have come a long way from the original blogs on Geocities and other proto-giants of the world wide web. Some may even argue that blogs were the original form of social media, the networks of posters and commentators predating social networks like myspace.
But are they still relevant? With flashier options for social media coming out every day, and with constantly hyped standbys like twitter and facebook all over the news, those seeking for a fully stocked social media campaign will often overlook the significance of the humble blog.
eMarketer released a report on blogging last week about the future of the practice as it stands today. The report contained several interesting findings putting hard numbers to the blogging trend.
As of 2010, just over half the internet population goes on blogs regularly, a number which is expected to hit 60% in the next few years. In addition, 11.9% of internet users in the United States currently own a blog. In terms of interactivity, a brand cannot ask for much more. How much stronger is a thought out response to a blog post compared to a tweetback?
Think about ways that your company could harness blogging to show a more human side to your business. Let us know what you think in the comments and stay tuned for more updates on the art of blogging.
Facebook and You: Using the Like Button to Drive Traffic
How much would you pay for a 500% increase in website referral if you were a major online publisher? 20% of your budget? 50%?
How about 0%? According to a recent presentation by Facebook Director of Media Partnerships, Justin Osofsky, merely integrating the Like button into a website has increased web traffic by outrageous proportions for some very high profile websites. Sites like TypePad, Gawker, NBA.com and Global News have all seen traffic referral increase by a factor of at least two by integrating like buttons into their profiles.
How does this work? We’ll start with a look into the mind of your typical user who uses the like button. These users are the perfect candidates for social media, in addition to visiting 5.3 times more sites from facebook, they also possess an average of 310 friends, 2.4 times more than the average of 130. So in addition to driving traffic more, they possess more influence to drive traffic themselves. The users themselves tend to be younger, with an average age of 34 versus a population average of 51.
So, in order to maximize the proliferation of content of your company page, blog or any other social media object, the like button should be taken into consideration. And in order to maximize results, there are a number of things which can be done to optimize your “like”ability, which we will cover in a later post.
I’m lovin’ it: Mcdonalds wins big with Foursquare
In late summer 2009, a girl who lived above me was telling me about her Twitter account and how much fun she was having with it. She told Twitter was here to stay, and that once everyone settled into the mass updating service, they would increase their social media with a nifty geo-based website called Foursquare. She said it would be the hottest thing of 2010. I balked, saying people could never be convinced to reveal their location. And now, thanks to Mcdonald’s latest successful campaign, I’m finally admitting that I may have been wrong.
Mcdonald’s road to Social Media success first caught some attention in 2007, when they launched a campaign online to have users create their own ads for a Honey Mustard Snack Wrap. Then, in 2009, they purchased Wayport, a prolific wifi company, to provide wireless free internet at all its locations (something I didn’t even know until the other day), which almost coincided with the fast food giant trying to break into the coffee industry by offering specialized caffeine drinks.
And then just a few weeks ago, Mcdonald’s increased their Foursquare Check-ins by 33% in just one day. And although check-ins don’t necessarily mean purchases, it definitely means foot traffic to their various locations. They accomplished this by announcing they would be offering a limited amount of $5 and $10 coupons to their customers who checked-in using foursquare, and the tactic may have set a standard for big chains using geo-location media. Heck, it could set a precedent for the whole advertising industry, which spends countless Billions every year on attracting customers.
The cost of such a potential industry crushing experiment? A measly $1,000 (the cost of the coupons).
And with that, Mcdonald’s has successfully integrated the latest Social Media software into new (or returning customers). I guess my former neighbor wasn’t so crazy after all. You could almost say she was Lovin’ It before I even knew about it.
Be sure to check out Mashable’s reaction.