They are also REALLY REALLY annoyed when they do not lead to a call to action.

But I recently came across this article here about how Content marketing is becoming Key and KING in social media. You can see the full article here MIKAL E. BELICOVE Is the creator of this article and does a good job of laying out the key facts. I do want to pull out a few of those to highlight them.

“HiveFire’s B2B Marketing Trends Survey Report, twice as many B2B marketers now employ content marketing as they do print, TV and radio advertising, according to the survey.”

This is a great statement. I agree with it 100%.  Now that Google is dumping 100 million dollars into YouTube to make it more of a destination site similar to cable TV with quality shows its even more important to look at each PR, Marketing , and Event or Show you do and see how you can capture that on video to maximize your exposure and spread your costs out over each marketing channel. You control the content here and putting that content out to all those channels through video is very very cost effective.

“Part of the popularity of content marketing is its ability to generate qualified leads while engaging prospects in a branded environment without busting the budget.”

And in today’s world this is very necessary to do.  Not only do you want to maximize your exposure through content marketing but give the customers a direct call to action once you have convinced them of their need for you or your product. Don’t make them go to another site or go to another department in charge of leads get them now!

“Nearly 70 percent of content curators say lack of time hinders their efforts, with 66 percent saying a lack of original and quality content is a major drawback. Another 38 percent say difficulty in measuring results is the stumbling block and 37 percent say lack of staff to do the work is the hindrance.”

True good content takes time but in your weekly or monthly meetings see what your staff or departments are creating and see if other departments can take that same creation and re utilize it . Lack of time usually means lack of time management but if it truly is a small staff then focus on quality content not tons of content.

Content marketing can also come through your customers and fans. Look to them also to see if you can save time and energy by employing a small group of them as evangelists for you. Content marketing will only be growing more and more so the time to start is now.

Now combine this with a new service that combines a Foursquare/Groupon like take on deals and you have a very good potential for viral explosion. This new company is called Deal Springer and you can check them out here. Their a great way to do adds and specials through your smartphone on the fly.

The year of Upstart interactive TV’s ( google and apple amongst others) and Tablets ( over 100 shown at CES). For those of you who do not know CES its the years show of shows for tech. The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Nevada… viva Las Vegas! This year set records for attendance as well as a buzz in the air of promise for the New year. Last year was kind of dowdy and dreary and you had to stand in line to see a 3D tv. This year they were all around the expo halls as were tablets and tablet/notebook hybrids and e-tablets. Also QR codes made the booths go around this year. Almost  all the large manufacturers of tech had Qr codes one could use to expound upon the virtues of their products and services. If only CES had seen the wisdom of that instead of handing out individual maps to show all the exhibitors for all the Halls ( over 7 maps in all not very well done CES).

But that is the Joy of this show and the burgeoning power of smart phones and the new kids on the block ..tablets. Already the manufacturers of tablets that were shown at CES with out cameras built in were promising within 3 months that they would have them.  The ability for you clients and consumers to access your company via mobile tech is becoming one of the most important channels to pursue in the coming 5 years. So get on the band wagon now. With smart phones projected to be half of the cell phone marketplace in the US alone by 2015 ( that’s 150 million of them) and with a projected sales of 40 to 50 million tablets this year alone you had better be able to be accessed by this technology. IF not your customers will find someone else who is available.

Also I had the privelage of being with Soma Games and Intels Peter Biddle’s Atom Mashing Radio show. You can listen to it here.

Have a Great New Year from SMMEE!

So are there any trends here that you can use for your company? talk to your employees and customers about what they would like to see. If your at a loss or stuck in a paralysis of ideas contact us today for a consultation.

Also Kudos to Macy’s thanksgiving parade for incorporating Foursquare into this years parade. Who’s going to be the mayor?…too bad Macy’s did not take it one more step forward and offer a prize along with the badge for this first year Macy’s Thanksgiving mayor badge.



But its not the same as having your own branded  smart phone app. In this economy not many want to shellout $10,000 or even $5000.00 for these apps.

NOW you don’t have to. For under $1000.00  Appinklingallows you to have a branded image for both the I phone and Android phones. This now allows your customers and potential customers to see who you are and what you do without having to find a computer and looking you up. Self help guru’s you needs this… Service oriented business’s should find this as a must have to proclaim themselves to the world… Artists, Authors, Publishers and especially Musicians should all have one of these. There is alot of flexibility in the template offered by Applink. Also to get placed in front of other customers just mention to them you heard about this from Seth Crofton at Smmeenow and you will get placed in front of the line.

Your Size Works in Your Favor

As a small business, your size is your friend in social media channels. Use your small size as an advantage and respond to each and every person that mentions you. Since you’re working with a smaller customer base, you can also build customer Twitter Lists to separate different categories of customers into groups, which should help you offer more personalized customer service — something the big businesses don’t have the time or resources to support.

Here’s an easy example: Who are your most frequent customers? Make a Twitter List called “Regulars,” and add your regulars on Twitter to it.

In doing so, you’re associating patronage with prestige. Your efforts could even inspire semi-regular customers to frequent your business more often just so they too can get added to the list. This tactic might also serve as a catalyst for one regular to connect with another, though you could also facilitate customer-to-customer connections with introductory tweets. So if a customer tweets for a recommendation, you could respond with something simple as, “@customer1 good question, I like the cheesecake but @customer2 really loves the custard.”

These types of personal exchanges highlight the advantages afforded to small businesses using social media