Social Media for Business?

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:59 am

This is good stuff - thanks folks! Cid and Anthony you've given me some things to ponder (and perhaps pilfer from a bit - hope you don't mind.)

Looking forward to other insights so keep 'em coming!

UF Prof · Post by **UF Prof** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:07 pm

I am in academics, while we are not actually B2B or B2C, in a sense we are. We market knowledge. A number of universities have opened a presence on Second Life as have several large corporations. At present, this medium seems to be mostly social, but has potential to be much more.
I am curious if any of you have looked into Second Life for business purposes.

California Girl · Post by **California Girl** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:05 pm

I don't Twitter, I got that link from someone else, but it is hysterical!

I figure I'm "out there" enough with VIOL and Facebook. Oh yeah, I'm on Linked In, too, but I never do anything there. And even though I've tried a couple of times to put a little bit of marketing on Facebook on my own behalf, people shun any posts like that. I don't hammer, if I don't get a response, I don't post that again, because the way I mostly use Facebook is completely "social". I think if I want to market myself, I should probably buy one of those ads that display on the side.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:02 pm

djmom wrote:I don't twitter, but Margo posted a link from this on her facebook page- this is the absolutely funniest thing I have ever read. By the time I got to the end I was crying.

I would definitely subscribe to this guy if I was a twitter person.

Or just check it out on the web:
http://twitter.com/Shitmydadsays

While his posts are amusing, they are also indicative of the problem. When I follow this link, I see a page with little to no value. There are no ads there, although there are sidebars for them. While this seems like a plus for the page reader, it's a non-starter from a business standpoint. Complicate that with the fact that a large percentage of folks are viewing just the message itself in a phone or feed reader. Again, I just don't see how you can generate revenue from that kind of content. Would you pay a monthly fee for Twitter? People love YouTube videos, but not many would pay for it. It's now a huge targeted advertising platform.

Post by **Anthony** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:18 pm

Cid I think twitter is definitely going to monetize with ads at some point. The question is (for me anyway) would you want your ads on some of this stuff?

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:23 pm

I think they've missed the boat much like Murdoch buying MySpace. He bought on the downside and now he's stuck with a dog. Twitter should have monetized months ago so it was ready when the mass influx (and subsequent outflux) of people was occurring. I don't see the value when the landing time on a page is negligible...and as you said, do you really want an ad on that guy's page?

Pete (Mr. Marcia) · Post by **Pete (Mr. Marcia)** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:16 pm

Cid, your point about "why fish in the ocean when you can fish in a pond" makes a lot of sense. (On the other hand, businesses looking to expand their market base would answer..."because there are bigger fish in the ocean.")

For my business, a Wisconsin based service corporation (law), the ocean is too big. What I would like to see is regionalized FB-like sites geared to business. I am in Madison, WI. So, something like "Madison Business Book." Businesses could have a profile/home page and there would be a way to search other businesses by business type. The interface would have to be intuitive and easy to use, like FB.

Linkedin falls short because it is about individuals trying to network...it's like a boring cocktail party. I would like a way for local businesses to be able to interact.

I think the advertising possibilities would be positive, as it would be businesses advertising to other businesses.

It there a model for this? Is anyone aware of such sites in their local areas?

djmom · Post by **djmom** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:12 pm

Cid wrote:
djmom wrote:I don't twitter, but Margo posted a link from this on her facebook page- this is the absolutely funniest thing I have ever read. By the time I got to the end I was crying.

I would definitely subscribe to this guy if I was a twitter person.

Or just check it out on the web:
http://twitter.com/Shitmydadsays
While his posts are amusing, they are also indicative of the problem. When I follow this link, I see a page with little to no value. There are no ads there, although there are sidebars for them. While this seems like a plus for the page reader, it's a non-starter from a business standpoint. Complicate that with the fact that a large percentage of folks are viewing just the message itself in a phone or feed reader. Again, I just don't see how you can generate revenue from that kind of content. Would you pay a monthly fee for Twitter? People love YouTube videos, but not many would pay for it. It's now a huge targeted advertising platform.

Agree but the dude in this case is going to get very rich. After reading about him and his success so far I think something much bigger is in the works for him.

Which is cool-because I think he started it as something fun. I like that.

Post by **Anthony** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:30 am

Pete I think Google local has some of this but I would have to look at it closer. Sounds like you have a good business idea. Usually the local efforts (if you remember Microsoft tried it forever ago) have failed because the scale isn't right - you need a full staff to make the thing, run it, keep it up to date, sell ads, etc. but you only have so many advertisers/customers to draw from. I definitely think it could work, if you had a large entity running the technical framework, with locals filling in the blanks. Then you could franchise it.
Actually there is an expat site that does something very similar - maybe you should check it out for ideas - I think they have the info but am not overly impressed by the execution. I just met someone here last week who says she bought the lawyer who advertises with her her new Jaguar - i.e. she gets so much business from the website that it is really making her a lot of money (the lawyer - the person running the site is struggling to sell ads and pay the franchise fee): http://tuscany.angloinfo.com/

Post by **Anthony** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:18 pm

We may not all use it or "get" it - but it is getting more important:

Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/ ... h-rankings

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:56 pm

I'm still real skeptical about the real value of Facebook/Twitter search. I recall You Tube and MySpace both claiming to be the next revenue messiah. I believe the claims were that there was a treasure trove of data that would lead to great ad revenue etc....It never materialized and both those properties would be defunct without being propped up by the deep pockets of Google and Rupert Murdoch respectively.

The article begs the question.....Why would I do a Twitter/Facebook search to find out snow conditions at a ski area? I would Google the ski area and get the info directly from the source. I see Twitter being a fad, but it seems Facebook has some staying power. Whether it will ever be a huge money maker remains to be seen.

Post by **Anthony** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:16 pm

Cid I am as skeptical as you - but here is an example from today that has me leaning: there is big news here that Piazza Duomo or Piazza San Giovanni is becoming a pedestrian only zone, starting this Sunday.

I used twitter search for "duomo" and found a bunch of up to the minute tweets, linking to blogs and websites with the news. Search "duomo" on Google and you get the same tired links

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:42 pm

I see what you mean about the difference. I have to admit my Italian is horrible, but I did get the point. The links were more localized and timely. I also found that by clicking the news tab on Google gave me similar results as I saw on the Twitter search. I'm sure the search engines will also crawl tweets for their own search purposes, as part of the recent deals. So a fair amount of people will get real time results from a place they are already familiar with. If you are a Twitter or Facebook user, I'm sure they'll be handy. I'm sure the search companies will fight hard to keep you looking at their ads.

I find it odd that all these great, cool technologies get introduced as a free "beta". My experience in sales has always followed a few basic tenets. One of them is that, "You can always lower the price to get the sale, but you can never do the opposite". Another rule of sales is that you need to build value in order to sell something. Giving it away for free instantly devalues it. I realize it gets the product in people's hands etc....but trying to monetize after the fact seems like an uphill battle from the start.

Post by **Anthony** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:58 pm

Cid wrote: Giving it away for free instantly devalues it.

Right - I actually just said that to my wife tonight. But it may be changing -

BTW check this out: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/techn ... er.html?em

And this too - freemium - http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2006/03/the_freemium_bu.html

usvi-on-line

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Social Media for Business?