Social media marketers are beginning to really latch onto the social networking platform Facebook to promote and sell their brands. Through contest, video, coupons and conversation marketers are trying to draw in customers to up their fan count - yet they still seem to making the same rookie mistakes.

They key to social media is being a good listener. Just like in face-to-face conversation no one wants to be talked at, they want to be engaged, heard and cared about. Here are a few things you might be missing in your Facebook marketing strategy: (more…)

The Internet grows in terms of users everyday. By the hundreds, thousands and even billions platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are being seen by more people as useful ways to consume and share media. However, this social media craze isn’t just for the kids anymore.

A new study from Pew Internet found that between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking site usage grew 88 per cent among participants aged 55-64, and that the 65 and older group’s social networking presence grew 100 per cent in the same time frame. (more…)

You’ve got yourself all set up with a Facebook fan page. The value of this marketing strategy is undeniable and you have easily sold your theory to executives and CEOs. The engagement and reach that Facebook offers is insane, so where are all your fans?

While so many brands are focusing their efforts inside Facebook they are still struggling to bring their customer base into this social hub and getting them to “Like” them once they arrive.

Facebook fans are certainly not the only measure of success in this platform, or even the most important, however fans definitely play a role into the overall reach of your brand and your messaging - so they are certainly a part of it. (more…)

If you’re looking to get the last bit of fun and irresponsible behaviour out of your system before the summer is over then Chrome has just the idea for you with its Summer Sabotage Video Contest. (more…)

Early this week saw famous coffee and donut shop Dunkin’ Donuts hit hard in the social media space as spammers took the brands Facebook page for an X-rated, wild ride flooding it with adult links and images, which just kept popping up.

The incident raises the obvious “who’s in charge?” questions, however perhaps more importantly: Do brands still think they can do this alone? Speed, competence and continuity are all important skills when it comes to staying on top of the content posted to your brand’s social spaces - and if you can’t offer all three on your own, you clearly need help. (more…)

In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of Toyota’s green vehicle, the Prius, the car company is asking drivers to share their passion for the car through a user-generated content (UGC) contest through the Prius Facebook application.

Participants were required to submit a story, video or photo about their cars and why they drive them between July 28 and August 13, 2010. Each submission was uploaded through the contest Facebook 10 Years of Prius page. (more…)

More and more brand websites are being replaced or out-done by their Facebook fan pages. So how is it that some companies are still holding up their brand websites while others are slowly losing traction?

According to DBM/SCAN U.S. web traffic to brand websites rarely exceeds six figures, however it can already count 37 branded Facebook pages with at least a million fans just among consumer packaged goods, retail, pharmaceutical and fast-food marketers. (more…)

In its latest user-generated content (UGC) campaign, Papa John’s has tipped the marketing scales finding a way to let their fans do the marketing work for them, and the whole deal falls within a pretty decent budget.

Earlier this month the pizza powerhouse pulled in 12,000 entries to a contest asking for the next great specialty pizza recipe. Entrants from across America submitted recipes through the companies Facebook page and the top three finalists were selected by a panel of judges including Food Network’s Ted Allen and Rich Eisen of the NFL Network. (more…)

Video is certainly becoming one of the strongest platforms for communication for brands, as proven by Facebook’s recent launch of the new Facebook Live channel. More companies are beginning to integrate live video streaming into their business model to better engage and interact with their online customers. (more…)

A huge part of marketing success is based on the consumers ability to trust a brand. With the influx of social media use by today’s marketer, that trust has now taken an entirely new form where a company’s trustworthiness must be proven day after day, after day.

A study put out by research firm Invoke Solutions found that overall, people trust people they know much more than brands or service-based companies, the platform that brands used, be it Facebook or a blog, did not make a significant difference in how trustworthy they were perceived. (more…)