Blog : Technology

Nearly 60 Percent Say LinkedIn is Most Important Social Network Account
Dan Noyes

Nearly 60 Percent Say LinkedIn is Most Important Social Network Account

According to a June 2011 social media study from Performics and ROI Research, nearly 60 percent of respondents said that LinkedIn is their most important social network account (complete report).  The study went on to say that half of those with active LInkedIn accounts visited the site at least once a weekly and twenty percent visited the site daily.  While the frequency of visits is down from the highs experienced during the recession the perceived value of their LinkedIn profile has dramatically increased in value.  The study goes to discuss the significant impact that social media has on brand perception and awareness.

Small Business Flocking to Social Media
Dan Noyes

Small Business Flocking to Social Media

According to a survey from Webs.com more and more small to medium sized businesses are flocking to social media as a way to grow their business and communicate with existing clients.  Here are a few of the primary takeaways.

  • 69% of small business owners use social media
  • More than 89% are using Facebook
  • 77,5% plan on spending more time on social media
  • 40.8% use social media to attract new customers

These results are not surprising especially given the impact that a social media presence can influence your organic search presence it only makes sense to see this grow even more.

Lady Gaga’s Innovative Use of Social Media
Dan Noyes

Lady Gaga’s Innovative Use of Social Media

Lady Gaga’s Innovative Use of Social Media

Lady Gaga, who has already proven to be one of the most innovative and influential superstars of recent generations, has recently been at the forefront of yet another wave of change, this time in the area of social media.  With the release of her new album “Edge of Glory” and single of the same name, Lady Gaga launched a social media campaign unlike any that has been used before, encouraging fans to post videos on YouTube of them singing and dancing to her song “Edge of Glory” and then editing the fan videos into one collective and compelling video promoting her new music. This strategy successfully forged a direct link between her and her fans and resulted in Lady Gaga’s gaining 36 million fans on Facebook and 10 million followers on Twitter.

Lady Gaga through this effective and innovative utilization of social media has proven to be an unlikely example for businesses to follow.  Direct interaction with fans, or customers, has proven to be a compelling method of Internet marketing for businesses to employ, especially through tools such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Best Times to Follow-up
Dan Noyes

Best Times to Follow-up

Thanks to a report titled Lead Response Management Study from the Kellogg School of Management and presented by David Elkington, CEO of Insidesales.com and James Oldroyd, PHD Professor at M.I.T. Here are the facts.

  • Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to call in order to contact (by 49.7% over the worst day) and qualify (by 24.9% over the worst day) leads.
  • Thursday is the best day to contact a lead in order to qualify that lead (by 19.1% better than the worst day).
  • 4 to 6pm is the best time to call to make contact with a lead (by 114% over the worst time block).
  • 8-9am and 4-5pm are the best times to call to qualify a lead (by 164% better 1-2pm, the worst time of the day).
  • 4-5pm is the best time to contact a lead to qualify over 11-12am by 109%).

The odds of calling to contact a lead decrease by over 10 times in the 1st hour. The odds of calling to qualify a lead decrease by over 6 times in the 1st hour. After 20 hours every additional dial your salespeople make actually hurts your ability to make contact to qualify a lead. The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times. The odds of qualifying a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 21 times.

This is why a tool like Leadlander or Demandbase can be such valuable tools in your online business development process.  If you’re interested in learning more about these tools, please don’t hesitate to let me know.