Marketing Pilgrim Published: “SMB’s and Social Media STILL Playing Hard to Get” plus 4 more

SMB’s and Social Media STILL Playing Hard to Get
Google Set to Deal Groupon Some Competition with ‘Offers’
Like Everything Else, Email is Going Mobile
Holy Schmidt! Google CEO Given the 301 by Page & Brin
As Kids Grow, Parents Spend Less Time on Social Media

SMB’s and Social Media STILL Playing Hard to Get

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 06:57 AM PST

With all the attention that the SMB space is getting from the sudden realization that people shop locally (really?!?!), it's important to see if all of this is just media hype or are the actual small and medium businesses of the world actually catching on.

If the findings reported by eMarketer are any indication then the answer is a resounding "Kinda". The chart below speaks to the results from a study done by Ad-ology. The standard MP research warning alert is in effect. We keep our research validity threat level at a constant orange (high risk of PR drenched research) and we are not adjusting for this data. You have been warned .

So Facebook leads the pack. No surprise there.

The numbers I am most interested in are the "Very Beneficial" ones regardless of the platform. I think that SMB's that find social media to be very beneficial are those who look beyond the metrics of leads generated and other 'hard' measurements. My feeling is that if there is a real and sincere effort to work social media channels to their utmost then the likelihood of them being completely worthless is slim to none. This is regardless of what channel they have decided to work.

It's the "Somewhat Beneficial" group that is the social media tinkerer types. They dabble and try things without giving them a chance to develop. As a result they can't admit that they have not really worked the channel as well as they should so they won't say that they wasted their time because then they would look stupid. Instead they are the ones that will say "Well, I don't think this social media stuff really applies to my business like everyone says. I won't commit any more resources to it because I have other ways that I do business. Oh and of course, I get most of my business from referrals."

Those who say it's not very beneficial are the delusional types. I would rather hear that someone doesn't use it over someone who is not getting very little substantial benefit from some form of social media. If there is any real effort given to the right form of social media for a business the benefits will likely be seen, although they may not be what was originally considered to be a key performance indicator. This is the group that says if there are no sales then this is no good. Of course, the ULTIMATE goal of any marketing effort is to contribute to top and bottom line goals but there is a 'soft result' aspect of social media that many SMB's either don't get or are unwilling to explore.

Below are some of the ways that SMB's do get benefit from social media.

Notice that overall branding is not even mentioned and I think this is where the SMB falls short on truly understanding the business potential of social media.

So how do you see these statistics? What are the most important aspects of these findings in your estimation?

Have a great weekend, Pilgrims!

Google Set to Deal Groupon Some Competition with ‘Offers’

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 05:05 AM PST

Following yesterday's headline grabbing news about Eric Schmidt being removed from his CEO post in early April, Google just happened to let the cat out of the bag on a new product designed to give Groupon and LivingSocial a run for their money. The new product is around the daily deal concept and will be called Google offers.

Of course, no one is naïve enough to think that this 'leak' was an accident. Even if it was in this day and age no one believes that anything is ever 'leaked' anymore but rather given to a publication in exchange for some drama filled presentation of the 'news'.

This particular exclusive went to Mashable and they report on Google Offers

Google is preparing to launch Google Offers, the search giant's Groupon competitor, Mashable has learned. We have the documents to prove it.

One of our sources has sent us a confidential fact sheet straight from the Googleplex about the company's new group buying service. "Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email," the fact sheet says.

Google Offers looks and operates much like Groupon or LivingSocial. Users receive an e-mail with a local deal-of-the-day. They then have the opportunity to buy that deal within a specific time limit (we assume 24 hours). Once enough people have made the purchase, the Google Offer is triggered and users get that all-too-familiar $10 for $20 deal for that Indian restaurant you've never tried.

From what we can tell, Google Offers will be powered by Google Checkout. It also includes Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Google Buzz and e-mail sharing options.

Here's a look at one of the pages.

Google has been starting to push the idea to the SMB set and it makes sense considering the fact they finally have a human element to talk to the 4 million plus verified Place Page businesses about other offerings from the search giant like Tags and Boost (where available).

What is most interesting is just how truly crowded the daily deal landscape has become in the past few days. The sentence in the Mashable write up from above that now mentions Groupon and LivingSocial in the same breath may not have happened had it not been for the wildly successful Amazon deal from LivingSocial that was obviously designed to jumpstart the competition.

I suspect Google saw this move and decided that it would be a great time to 'leak' something about their offering so they could be mentioned in the same breath as the biggest players in an increasingly crowded space.

What this kind of news and competition does to the IPO potential for Groupon remains to be seen. The space has quickly gone from being Groupon's eminent domain to now having Amazon and Google in their daily deal grill with the same offering (the complaint of many that Groupon was not unique and could be readily cloned) and very deep pockets to put up a serious threat to Groupon's perceived market dominance. Has all this new found ‘competition’ taken some of the shine off the Groupon apple?

So back to Google. Now the whole Place Page push is coming full circle since it is likely (though not mentioned in the Mashable post) that a verified Place Page will be an important part of this equation as well as integration into the Hotpot recommendation mechanism that has been talked about but not fully promoted just yet.

Google made a 'statement' to Mashable yesterday as follows

"Google is communicating with small businesses to enlist their support and participation in a test of a pre-paid offers/vouchers program. This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect businesses with customers in new ways. We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted."

The Mashable site also has copies of the sales sheet that is being used to talk to businesses.

So will this be a success for Google? It almost has to be. The search giant cannot afford many more out and out failures in the social realm. It also has a new public face at the ready in Larry Page so things need to be different. Gone is the aloof "I'm so stinkin' rich from this deal that reality is not an option" approach from Schmidt that was ticking off everyone as of late. Of course, Page is even wealthier but the hope is that because he is co-founder along with Sergey Brin that his take on the business of Google will at least look different and hopefully carry some co-founder passion ala Steve Jobs (although that is admittedly a big stretch).

So what are your thoughts of Goggle being in the daily deal game? Are you interested in checking it out? Do you think they stand a chance in the space or will this 'offer' just be another nail in Google's social marketing coffin?

Like Everything Else, Email is Going Mobile

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 04:02 PM PST

comScore's latest study on email usage returned a result we already suspected was true – more people are using their mobile phones to access their email causing a drop in web-based email usage.

The shift is more about the advances in technology and less about the way we use email to communicate. Web-based email has always been about ease of access. If you're only using Outlook then your work emails stay at work and home emails stay home. Forwarding emails from one computer to another was the only way to gather all of the information in one place and if you were traveling the you were stuck.

With the invention of web-based email programs, email became portable and centralized. Everything in one place and you can access it from home, the office, at your mom's house or at the beach if you've got a laptop and WiFi. Of course, web-based email addresses have also been used as email dumping grounds, a "throw away" email address you can use to access websites and signup for things without fear of being deluged with spam.

According to comScore's stats, the number of people visiting a web-based email site went down 6% over last year. Not a huge number, but look at the other side. Mobile email usage grew by 36% over last year.

Age plays a huge factor in the web vs mobile saga (surprise, surprise), with a 53% decline in web-mail usage in the 12-17 age group. Frankly, I'm surprised that age group is even using email, but maybe they won't be in the near future if things continue in this matter. The only uptick in web-based email usage was the 55 and older groups with all other age groups coming in with declines of 14% to 18%.

Conversely, mobile email usage increased all across the board with the 25-34 age group being 60% more likely to use mobile email than web-based email. Male users edged out the women by 14%.

Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile said:

"What we have seen in the smartphone era is the rapid acceleration of data consumption, which has helped drive mobile usage across multiple categories including email. In a relatively short period of time, adoption of mobile email has reached 78 percent of the smartphone population, which is very similar to the penetration of web-based email among Internet users. These findings demonstrate just how quickly channel shifts can occur and why it's now essential for media brands to have a strong presence in both arenas."

You can read the full report right here.

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Holy Schmidt! Google CEO Given the 301 by Page & Brin

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 02:25 PM PST

If you missed today’s earnings call from Google, here’s what you missed:

Google did $8.44 billion in revenue–a jump of 26%. Net income was up 18% to $2.2 billion. Google ended the quarter with with $33.4 billion in cash and 23,300 employees.

Oh, and Eric Schmidt is no longer the CEO.

Say what?

No kidding! Google’s CEO for the past 10 years is stepping down from that role. In a blog post Schmidt states…

…we have also agreed to clarify our individual roles so there's clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company.

Larry will now lead product development and technology strategy, his greatest strengths, and starting from April 4 he will take charge of our day-to-day operations as Google's Chief Executive Officer. In this new role I know he will merge Google's technology and business vision brilliantly. I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.

Schmidt will take on the role of Executive Chairman…

…I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google's global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.

A role that sounds a lot like the role he played over the past 10 years–being the grown-up face of the company, while Brin and Page play with algorithms.

Honestly, this news is too fresh to make a fair analysis of what went down. Was Schmidt pushed? Has Page & Brin figured out that Google is, arguably, losing its cool? Does this open the door for Schmidt to jump back on the Apple board?

So many questions, so few answers. What do you think’s going on?

As Kids Grow, Parents Spend Less Time on Social Media

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 01:05 PM PST

Parents with children under six years old spend more time using social media than those with older children. This is one of the findings of a new survey conducted by Media Audit and featured on eMarketer.

Starting with 67.1% (for parents with kids under six), the study saw a gradual but steady decrease in usage ending at 55.2% for parents with kids over 18. My guess is that the decrease is based on two factors, parental age and lifestyle.

Though there are exceptions to the rule (Elton John), most sources quote the mean age for a first baby at 25 to 27 years old. So the top level of responders in this survey are in their early-thirties and under. That alone, will account for more social media usage.

Lifestyle also plays a part in parental usage for as the kids get older, the schedule usually gets busier. Where the first group of moms are often home alone with a new baby, desperate for some social contact, even of the virtual kind, moms with older kids are running to soccer games and ballet class so there is less time for online.

The good news for marketers is that the “Under Six” families are not only online more often, but they’re also actively engaged in buying stuff. 77.6% said they were looking for new computer equipment, 72.4% were in the market for a new car and 71.8% were contemplating a household appliance. Face it, a new baby changes everything and there is no end to the items a new parent needs.

If you have a product aimed at families with young children, ramp up those social media efforts because according to Media Audit, you’ve got yourself a captive audience.

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