dominatelocalsearch.com http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com Dominate Local Search Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Facebook IPO: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Buy Yet http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:36 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Everyone’s talking about the Facebook IPO — and for good reason.

Facebook is currently valued at around $100 billion, though it made less than $4 billion in revenue last year. Still, if the social network with more than 901 million users plays its cards right, it could be the world’s first $1 trillion company by 2014.

The Facebook IPO is slated for Friday. New investors can potentially buy around 421 million shares of Facebook stock at $38 a pop.

The big question is: should you buy Facebook stock while it’s hot? Multiple financial experts told us no — at $38 per share, the stock is overpriced.

Former NYU Stern School of Business finance professor Kenneth Froewiss believes adding Facebook to a portfolio early on is risky for experienced pros and investment amateurs alike. It’s like playing the lottery, he says.

“Even for those individuals with above-average net worth, purchasing shares at an IPO, especially a ‘hot’ one that has been widely hyped, is rarely a good idea,” Froewiss says.

“Might someone on occasion reap a tremendous windfall by doing so? Yes, but then again, on occasion someone wins the lottery. That does not make the lottery a great investment in general.”

Factors that can affect Facebook stock are legion. The current excitement about the company’s stock market debut doesn’t guarantee long-term interest or success.

“In my experience this stock and its IPO has seen more enthusiasm than any other I have seen over my 40 years of investment experience,” says Lewis Altfest, Ph.D., CEO of NYC-based Altfest Personal Wealth Management.

The social network’s success or failure may lie in its ability to conquer the mobile space — which is growing faster than the company is adapting. Post-IPO, Facebook will have to ramp up its mobile ads to push profits.

Facebook reported $205 million in the first quarter of 2012 — down from December’s high of $302 million. “Revenue in the last quarter was actually off quarter-to-quarter,” Altfest says. “They have to deliver revenue growth. Over a longer period, they will have to deliver earnings.”

Altfest advises average consumers wait at least six months. He warns in the following weeks after the IPO, demand will cause stock prices to stay high, which is normal for an IPO debut. But it may eventually fall.

“Even in stocks there are laws of gravity,” he says. “Take a deep breath and come back in six months.”

Joshua Gans, professor at University at Toronto’s School of Management, advises people do nothing instead. “All of the uncertainties surrounding Facebook will not get resolved in the six months,” Gans says. “We’ll only know a decade from now whether it has a permanent place in the economy like Microsoft.”

Microsoft traded at $22 per share at its IPO in 1986. Now it’s $61 per share.

SEE ALSO: Facebook Meets Wall Street: How the IPO Stacks Up With Tech’s Titans

“There’s a scenario where Facebook clearly becomes the next Google or Apple, but there’s also a scenario where it simply does not and it ends up more like Yahoo,” Gans tells Mashable.

A safer alternative is buying into an index fund such as the SP 500 instead of buying Facebook shares directly. Owners of an index fund can reap the benefits of the entire stock index doing well — without suffering sudden losses when a company’s stock tanks.

“Facebook will eventually be included in that, and it will be part of an index fund and you can buy it that way,” Gans says.

Some financial experts see Facebook as a good buy now. Lubos Pastor, finance professor at the University of Chicago, says it’s financially beneficial for investors to buy shares at IPO price. After the price of public shares rise, users have “historically earned subpar returns”, he says.

“However, the poor average post-IPO returns have been driven mostly by small firms, so it is quite possible that a large firm like Facebook will turn out to be a good investment,” Pastor says.

What do you hope Facebook has in store after going public? Sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, blackred, Infographic by Statista

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fXxmZxtx8Wo/

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]]> Everyone’s talking about the Facebook IPO — and for good reason.

Facebook is currently valued at around $100 billion, though it made less than $4 billion in revenue last year. Still, if the social network with more than 901 million users plays its cards right, it could be the world’s first $1 trillion company by 2014.

The Facebook IPO is slated for Friday. New investors can potentially buy around 421 million shares of Facebook stock at $38 a pop.

The big question is: should you buy Facebook stock while it’s hot? Multiple financial experts told us no — at $38 per share, the stock is overpriced.

Former NYU Stern School of Business finance professor Kenneth Froewiss believes adding Facebook to a portfolio early on is risky for experienced pros and investment amateurs alike. It’s like playing the lottery, he says.

“Even for those individuals with above-average net worth, purchasing shares at an IPO, especially a ‘hot’ one that has been widely hyped, is rarely a good idea,” Froewiss says.

“Might someone on occasion reap a tremendous windfall by doing so? Yes, but then again, on occasion someone wins the lottery. That does not make the lottery a great investment in general.”

Factors that can affect Facebook stock are legion. The current excitement about the company’s stock market debut doesn’t guarantee long-term interest or success.

“In my experience this stock and its IPO has seen more enthusiasm than any other I have seen over my 40 years of investment experience,” says Lewis Altfest, Ph.D., CEO of NYC-based Altfest Personal Wealth Management.

The social network’s success or failure may lie in its ability to conquer the mobile space — which is growing faster than the company is adapting. Post-IPO, Facebook will have to ramp up its mobile ads to push profits.

Facebook reported $205 million in the first quarter of 2012 — down from December’s high of $302 million. “Revenue in the last quarter was actually off quarter-to-quarter,” Altfest says. “They have to deliver revenue growth. Over a longer period, they will have to deliver earnings.”

Altfest advises average consumers wait at least six months. He warns in the following weeks after the IPO, demand will cause stock prices to stay high, which is normal for an IPO debut. But it may eventually fall.

“Even in stocks there are laws of gravity,” he says. “Take a deep breath and come back in six months.”

Joshua Gans, professor at University at Toronto’s School of Management, advises people do nothing instead. “All of the uncertainties surrounding Facebook will not get resolved in the six months,” Gans says. “We’ll only know a decade from now whether it has a permanent place in the economy like Microsoft.”

Microsoft traded at $22 per share at its IPO in 1986. Now it’s $61 per share.

SEE ALSO: Facebook Meets Wall Street: How the IPO Stacks Up With Tech’s Titans

“There’s a scenario where Facebook clearly becomes the next Google or Apple, but there’s also a scenario where it simply does not and it ends up more like Yahoo,” Gans tells Mashable.

A safer alternative is buying into an index fund such as the SP 500 instead of buying Facebook shares directly. Owners of an index fund can reap the benefits of the entire stock index doing well — without suffering sudden losses when a company’s stock tanks.

“Facebook will eventually be included in that, and it will be part of an index fund and you can buy it that way,” Gans says.

Some financial experts see Facebook as a good buy now. Lubos Pastor, finance professor at the University of Chicago, says it’s financially beneficial for investors to buy shares at IPO price. After the price of public shares rise, users have “historically earned subpar returns”, he says.

“However, the poor average post-IPO returns have been driven mostly by small firms, so it is quite possible that a large firm like Facebook will turn out to be a good investment,” Pastor says.

What do you hope Facebook has in store after going public? Sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, blackred, Infographic by Statista

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fXxmZxtx8Wo/

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 Samsung Received 9 Million Pre-Orders for the Galaxy S3 [REPORT] http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:36 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Samsung has received 9 million pre-orders from more than 100 international carriers for its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, Korea Economic Daily reports.

Samsung’s smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity, which is 5 million units per month, according to the same report.

This is more good news for Samsung, which became the world’s biggest phone maker in Q1 2012. The company is also the undisputed king of the Android market: Its smartphone sales represent about 40% of all Android-based smartphone sales worldwide.

Samsung Galaxy S3 hits Europe on May 29, followed by a US launch in June.

It sports a 4.8-inch touchscreen, a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel forward-facing camera, and comes with the latest version of Android — Ice Cream Sandwich.

[via Reuters]

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Gqb3zXJ0I3o/

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]]> Samsung has received 9 million pre-orders from more than 100 international carriers for its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, Korea Economic Daily reports.

Samsung’s smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity, which is 5 million units per month, according to the same report.

This is more good news for Samsung, which became the world’s biggest phone maker in Q1 2012. The company is also the undisputed king of the Android market: Its smartphone sales represent about 40% of all Android-based smartphone sales worldwide.

Samsung Galaxy S3 hits Europe on May 29, followed by a US launch in June.

It sports a 4.8-inch touchscreen, a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel forward-facing camera, and comes with the latest version of Android — Ice Cream Sandwich.

[via Reuters]

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Gqb3zXJ0I3o/

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Adds Online Voting for Season 19 http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:35 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Veteran reality TV competition America’s Next Top Model will let viewers help determine, for the first time ever, which aspiring model must pack her belongings and go home.

The CW revealed the audience voting addition, a new judge and a new stylist Thursday during its programming upfront in New York City. Meanwhile, the show’s Twitter account spent the day sharing the news and retweeting excited fans.

For 18 seasons, creator Tyra Banks and her ever-changing judging panel have chosen the eliminated contestant. But now viewers get to vote at CWTV.com. Adding online voting for the college-themed cycle 19 in the fall season will give fans only some power, however, as their votes and the judges’ votes will collectively decide who stays.

Reality shows — new and old — are trying new ways to keep viewers engaged, particularly with fresh social media-driven voting methods.

Most recently, The Voice introduced for season two voting via a Facebook Timeline app. In October 2011, X Factor began allowing votes to come in from direct messages on Twitter. And for season 10 of Idol, producers let viewers vote on a dedicated Facebook page.

SEE ALSO: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato Break ‘X Factor’ News on Twitter, Path

The CW also announced Rob Evans, a globally known model will join Banks and fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone on the judging panel. Stylist Johnny Wujek will become part of the cast, too. Evans and Wujek replace America’s Next Top Model staples Nigel Barker, J. Alexander and Jay Manuel.

This cycle’s college theme is fitting, considering Banks received a diploma from Harvard University in February.

On Thursday, @CW_ANTM took the photo of Banks with her diploma from February and plastered an America’s Next Top Model logo on it (see below).

BONUS: Summer TV Guide — 20 Social Shows to Watch

A crop of new and returning reality shows, comedies, talent competitions and dramas will vie for your attention on your TV screens, web browsers and mobile devices this summer.


Comment


Premieres: May 14 on NBC

Social media: America’s Got Talent ushers in a new judge this season: shock jock Howard Stern, who’s already igniting buzz across social networks with his recent jabs at the American Idol‘s too-soft judging panel. Anticipate his critical judging style to incite significant social chatter. Meanwhile, AGT‘s Facebook Page has been pushing multimedia, including Spotify playlists from Stern and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne.

Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger/NBC


Premieres: May 20 on E!

Social media: The mega succesful Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns for a seventh season after having spawned spin-offs Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloé Lamar. A new show companion app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone lets viewers see the Twitter feeds of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, watch video clips and flip through photo galleries.

Photo courtesy of E! Entertainment


Premieres: May 24 on Fox

Social media: Heavy online commentary from fans of So You Think You Can Dance started in January after producers announced the show would dwindle its two-night format to one night, killing the often weekly, drawn-out results show. Fans are still waiting for the show to begin posting official performance videos on YouTube — which would help the show reach more eyeballs — just like The Voice and American Idol did this past fall.


Premieres: May 24 on ABC

Social media: Star-studded Duets is trying something new with the traditional singing-competition scheme. Instead of having its celebrity panel — Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thick — judge or mentor, they will perform with contestants on stage. The show’s website has a “Discuss Duets” page at which viewers can find Twitter handles for the four stars and host Quddus (of TRL fame), see relevant hashtags and chat with fellow fans.

Photo courtesy of ABC


Premieres: Summer 2012 on Syfy

Social media: Alphas, a scripted drama about people with super powers, touts its interactive Alpha Powers online portal, where fans can take a 10-question assessment to discover whether they’re Alphas material. The website also lets viewers submit Alpha sightings (a.k.a. citizens doing extraordinary things in the real world).

Photo courtesy of Justin Stephens/Syfy


Premieres: May 28 on History Channel

Social media: Hatfields McCoys, a three-part miniseries about a legendary decades-long family feud, will have help from a strong History Channel initiative on Facebook. “History just launched a new Facebook game for its new show Hatfields McCoys a trend A+E Networks is at the forefront of,” Natan Edelsburg, writer at social TV blog Lost Remote, told Mashable.

Photo from History.com


Premieres: May 29 on Comedy Central

Social media: Funnyman Daniel Tosh is back to host Tosh.0, a series that pokes fun at viral videos, celebrities and everything pop culture. The “What You’re Saying” page on the show’s website highlights the best tweets mentioning the Tosh.0. Viewers also can suggest their favorite on-air moments to be shared on the site.

Photo courtesy of Ian White/Tosh.0


Premieres: May 30 on CBS

Social media: CBS is letting the dogs out on-air with Dogs in the City, an unscripted series about doggy dilemmas. New York City dog “guru” Justin Silver will help solve any pet issues people have with their canines. As we’ve learned from our time on YouTube, anything about dogs and puppies is bound to go viral.

Photo courtesy of Brian Friedman/CBS


Premieres: June 3 and 4 on MTV

Social media: MTV unveiled the trailer for Teen Wolf on May 6 with a challenge to its audience: Get the trailer to 5 million views and the first 10 minutes of season 2 will be unlocked ahead of the June 3 and 4 two-part premiere. The season begins after the MTV Movie Awards.

Photo courtesy of MTV


Premieres: June 4 on Bravo

Social media: Three new faces join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for season 5. The show often spawns significant buzz on Twitter and GIFs across the web. A “Tweet Tracker” on BravoTV.com displays tweets from and about each housewife in real time and lets viewers send tweets on the platform.

Photo courtesy of Michael Rosenthal/Bravo


Premieres: June 5 on ABC Family

Social media: Murder Mystery Pretty Little Liars capped last season with a revealing episode that received the most social media buzz in TV history. Topics about the show regularly trend on Twitter, with about 50 trending during the season 2 finale.


Premieres: June 7 on NBC

Social media: A new host (comedian Jenny McCarthy) and a new location will help spice up the action on season 2 of dating show Love in the Wild. As the title implies, the singles will compete for love in a tropical paradise. Challenges lead to rewards and finishing at the bottom yields not-so-favorable living conditions with another single. Look for McCarthy’s wild personality and commentary to spark entertaining reactions from social media users.

Photo courtesy of Trae Patton/NBC


Premieres: June 10 on HBO

Social media: “True Blood will no doubt take over social conversations for another year,” says Edelsburg, echoing how many insiders and fans feel about the hit HBO series about vampires and other superhuman characters. HBO has been teasing season 5 with new trailers, art and photos on Facebook (10 million Likes). Most of the images feature hashtags as HBO tries to build a bigger following on Twitter. Last season, its Facebook Page pimped “Immortalize Yourself,” an interactive app that pulls Facebook data to create a video starring the user and his or her friends. Don’t be surprised if HBO delivers another digital gem leading up to season 5′s premiere.


Premieres: June 13 on TNT

Social media: “The Dallas reboot on TNT has been garnering positive buzz,” says Scott Ellis, VP of marketing at social TV company Peel, in an interview with Mashable. The show’s Facebook Page, for example, includes entries dating back to 1978 — told in the voice of character J.R. Ewing — to help viewers get a taste of the original Dallas episodes and feel for the modern-day ambience.


Premieres: June 28 on FX

Social media: “Everyone will tune into FX’s Anger Management with Charlie Sheen, who we’ll definitely see using his social influence to promote the show,” says Edelsburg. Sheen plays Charlie, a therapist specializing in anger management. Sheen’s social media antics played out for the world to see in 2011, after he joined Twitter, set a Guinness World Record for reaching 1 million followers the fastest, and then eventually accidentally tweeted his phone number to 5 million followers. Keep your eyes tuned to Twitter as Sheen will likely leverage his now 7.2 million-strong following to support Anger Management.


Premieres: July 1 on Showtime

Social media: Dark comedy Weeds enters season eight filling in the holes from the prior season’s finale. The show’s app for Android and iPhone allows fans to watch exclusive clips, read episode guides and use the Weeds photo booth, where they can create show-themed images and share them across social networks.

Photo courtesy of Jordin Althaus/Showtime


Premieres: July 2 on Showtime

Social media: Web Therapy, a televised comedy that started as an Internet series, stars Lisa Kudrow as therapist Fiona Wallice. A feature on Showtime’s website lets fans ask Fiona a question and get an answer straight from her lips.

Photo courtesy of Showtime


Premieres: July 10 on USA

Social media: White Collar, a drama about a con man and the FBI, has one of the most interactive websites out of all the summer offerings. The “Character Chatter” page shows which characters are garnering the most buzz online, while a slew of games and features immerse fans deeper into the White Collar world.

Photo courtesy of David Giesbrecht/USA Network


Premieres: July 12 on CBS

Social media: Veteran reality TV show Big Brother has roped in viewers since 2000. Now in its 14th season, the show is no stranger to causing moments that spread quickly online. CBS also makes live streams available to fans who want more than what’s televised and care to pay for the live footage.

Photo from CBS.com


Premieres: Sometime in July on AMC

Social media: “Breaking Bad‘s final season will be huge, especially after the buzz it created after last season’s finale,” says Edelsburg. The drama series’s website offers several spiffy interactive features, including a graphic novel game, case files and a criminal aptitude test.

What shows will you be watching? Let us know if we missed your favorites.

Photo courtesy of AMC

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Premieres: May 14 on NBC

Social media: America’s Got Talent ushers in a new judge this season: shock jock Howard Stern, who’s already igniting buzz across social networks with his recent jabs at the American Idol‘s too-soft judging panel. Anticipate his critical judging style to incite significant social chatter. Meanwhile, AGT‘s Facebook Page has been pushing multimedia, including Spotify playlists from Stern and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne.

Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger/NBC

Premieres: May 20 on E!

Social media: The mega succesful Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns for a seventh season after having spawned spin-offs Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloé Lamar. A new show companion app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone lets viewers see the Twitter feeds of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, watch video clips and flip through photo galleries.

Photo courtesy of E! Entertainment

Premieres: May 24 on Fox

Social media: Heavy online commentary from fans of So You Think You Can Dance started in January after producers announced the show would dwindle its two-night format to one night, killing the often weekly, drawn-out results show. Fans are still waiting for the show to begin posting official performance videos on YouTube — which would help the show reach more eyeballs — just like The Voice and American Idol did this past fall.

Premieres: May 24 on ABC

Social media: Star-studded Duets is trying something new with the traditional singing-competition scheme. Instead of having its celebrity panel — Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thick — judge or mentor, they will perform with contestants on stage. The show’s website has a “Discuss Duets” page at which viewers can find Twitter handles for the four stars and host Quddus (of TRL fame), see relevant hashtags and chat with fellow fans.

Photo courtesy of ABC

Premieres: Summer 2012 on Syfy

Social media: Alphas, a scripted drama about people with super powers, touts its interactive Alpha Powers online portal, where fans can take a 10-question assessment to discover whether they’re Alphas material. The website also lets viewers submit Alpha sightings (a.k.a. citizens doing extraordinary things in the real world).

Photo courtesy of Justin Stephens/Syfy

Premieres: May 28 on History Channel

Social media: Hatfields McCoys, a three-part miniseries about a legendary decades-long family feud, will have help from a strong History Channel initiative on Facebook. “History just launched a new Facebook game for its new show Hatfields McCoys a trend A+E Networks is at the forefront of,” Natan Edelsburg, writer at social TV blog Lost Remote, told Mashable.

Photo from History.com

Premieres: May 29 on Comedy Central

Social media: Funnyman Daniel Tosh is back to host Tosh.0, a series that pokes fun at viral videos, celebrities and everything pop culture. The “What You’re Saying” page on the show’s website highlights the best tweets mentioning the Tosh.0. Viewers also can suggest their favorite on-air moments to be shared on the site.

Photo courtesy of Ian White/Tosh.0

Premieres: May 30 on CBS

Social media: CBS is letting the dogs out on-air with Dogs in the City, an unscripted series about doggy dilemmas. New York City dog “guru” Justin Silver will help solve any pet issues people have with their canines. As we’ve learned from our time on YouTube, anything about dogs and puppies is bound to go viral.

Photo courtesy of Brian Friedman/CBS

Premieres: June 3 and 4 on MTV

Social media: MTV unveiled the trailer for Teen Wolf on May 6 with a challenge to its audience: Get the trailer to 5 million views and the first 10 minutes of season 2 will be unlocked ahead of the June 3 and 4 two-part premiere. The season begins after the MTV Movie Awards.

Photo courtesy of MTV

Premieres: June 4 on Bravo

Social media: Three new faces join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for season 5. The show often spawns significant buzz on Twitter and GIFs across the web. A “Tweet Tracker” on BravoTV.com displays tweets from and about each housewife in real time and lets viewers send tweets on the platform.

Photo courtesy of Michael Rosenthal/Bravo

Premieres: June 5 on ABC Family

Social media: Murder Mystery Pretty Little Liars capped last season with a revealing episode that received the most social media buzz in TV history. Topics about the show regularly trend on Twitter, with about 50 trending during the season 2 finale.

Premieres: June 7 on NBC

Social media: A new host (comedian Jenny McCarthy) and a new location will help spice up the action on season 2 of dating show Love in the Wild. As the title implies, the singles will compete for love in a tropical paradise. Challenges lead to rewards and finishing at the bottom yields not-so-favorable living conditions with another single. Look for McCarthy’s wild personality and commentary to spark entertaining reactions from social media users.

Photo courtesy of Trae Patton/NBC

Premieres: June 10 on HBO

Social media: “True Blood will no doubt take over social conversations for another year,” says Edelsburg, echoing how many insiders and fans feel about the hit HBO series about vampires and other superhuman characters. HBO has been teasing season 5 with new trailers, art and photos on Facebook (10 million Likes). Most of the images feature hashtags as HBO tries to build a bigger following on Twitter. Last season, its Facebook Page pimped “Immortalize Yourself,” an interactive app that pulls Facebook data to create a video starring the user and his or her friends. Don’t be surprised if HBO delivers another digital gem leading up to season 5′s premiere.

Premieres: June 13 on TNT

Social media: “The Dallas reboot on TNT has been garnering positive buzz,” says Scott Ellis, VP of marketing at social TV company Peel, in an interview with Mashable. The show’s Facebook Page, for example, includes entries dating back to 1978 — told in the voice of character J.R. Ewing — to help viewers get a taste of the original Dallas episodes and feel for the modern-day ambience.

Premieres: June 28 on FX

Social media: “Everyone will tune into FX’s Anger Management with Charlie Sheen, who we’ll definitely see using his social influence to promote the show,” says Edelsburg. Sheen plays Charlie, a therapist specializing in anger management. Sheen’s social media antics played out for the world to see in 2011, after he joined Twitter, set a Guinness World Record for reaching 1 million followers the fastest, and then eventually accidentally tweeted his phone number to 5 million followers. Keep your eyes tuned to Twitter as Sheen will likely leverage his now 7.2 million-strong following to support Anger Management.

Premieres: July 1 on Showtime

Social media: Dark comedy Weeds enters season eight filling in the holes from the prior season’s finale. The show’s app for Android and iPhone allows fans to watch exclusive clips, read episode guides and use the Weeds photo booth, where they can create show-themed images and share them across social networks.

Photo courtesy of Jordin Althaus/Showtime

Premieres: July 2 on Showtime

Social media: Web Therapy, a televised comedy that started as an Internet series, stars Lisa Kudrow as therapist Fiona Wallice. A feature on Showtime’s website lets fans ask Fiona a question and get an answer straight from her lips.

Photo courtesy of Showtime

Premieres: July 10 on USA

Social media: White Collar, a drama about a con man and the FBI, has one of the most interactive websites out of all the summer offerings. The “Character Chatter” page shows which characters are garnering the most buzz online, while a slew of games and features immerse fans deeper into the White Collar world.

Photo courtesy of David Giesbrecht/USA Network

Premieres: July 12 on CBS

Social media: Veteran reality TV show Big Brother has roped in viewers since 2000. Now in its 14th season, the show is no stranger to causing moments that spread quickly online. CBS also makes live streams available to fans who want more than what’s televised and care to pay for the live footage.

Photo from CBS.com

Premieres: Sometime in July on AMC

Social media: “Breaking Bad‘s final season will be huge, especially after the buzz it created after last season’s finale,” says Edelsburg. The drama series’s website offers several spiffy interactive features, including a graphic novel game, case files and a criminal aptitude test.

What shows will you be watching? Let us know if we missed your favorites.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Xel5zFpe-60/

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]]> Veteran reality TV competition America’s Next Top Model will let viewers help determine, for the first time ever, which aspiring model must pack her belongings and go home.

The CW revealed the audience voting addition, a new judge and a new stylist Thursday during its programming upfront in New York City. Meanwhile, the show’s Twitter account spent the day sharing the news and retweeting excited fans.

For 18 seasons, creator Tyra Banks and her ever-changing judging panel have chosen the eliminated contestant. But now viewers get to vote at CWTV.com. Adding online voting for the college-themed cycle 19 in the fall season will give fans only some power, however, as their votes and the judges’ votes will collectively decide who stays.

Reality shows — new and old — are trying new ways to keep viewers engaged, particularly with fresh social media-driven voting methods.

Most recently, The Voice introduced for season two voting via a Facebook Timeline app. In October 2011, X Factor began allowing votes to come in from direct messages on Twitter. And for season 10 of Idol, producers let viewers vote on a dedicated Facebook page.

SEE ALSO: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato Break ‘X Factor’ News on Twitter, Path

The CW also announced Rob Evans, a globally known model will join Banks and fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone on the judging panel. Stylist Johnny Wujek will become part of the cast, too. Evans and Wujek replace America’s Next Top Model staples Nigel Barker, J. Alexander and Jay Manuel.

This cycle’s college theme is fitting, considering Banks received a diploma from Harvard University in February.

On Thursday, @CW_ANTM took the photo of Banks with her diploma from February and plastered an America’s Next Top Model logo on it (see below).

BONUS: Summer TV Guide — 20 Social Shows to Watch

A crop of new and returning reality shows, comedies, talent competitions and dramas will vie for your attention on your TV screens, web browsers and mobile devices this summer.


Comment


Premieres: May 14 on NBC

Social media: America’s Got Talent ushers in a new judge this season: shock jock Howard Stern, who’s already igniting buzz across social networks with his recent jabs at the American Idol‘s too-soft judging panel. Anticipate his critical judging style to incite significant social chatter. Meanwhile, AGT‘s Facebook Page has been pushing multimedia, including Spotify playlists from Stern and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne.

Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger/NBC


Premieres: May 20 on E!

Social media: The mega succesful Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns for a seventh season after having spawned spin-offs Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloé Lamar. A new show companion app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone lets viewers see the Twitter feeds of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, watch video clips and flip through photo galleries.

Photo courtesy of E! Entertainment


Premieres: May 24 on Fox

Social media: Heavy online commentary from fans of So You Think You Can Dance started in January after producers announced the show would dwindle its two-night format to one night, killing the often weekly, drawn-out results show. Fans are still waiting for the show to begin posting official performance videos on YouTube — which would help the show reach more eyeballs — just like The Voice and American Idol did this past fall.


Premieres: May 24 on ABC

Social media: Star-studded Duets is trying something new with the traditional singing-competition scheme. Instead of having its celebrity panel — Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thick — judge or mentor, they will perform with contestants on stage. The show’s website has a “Discuss Duets” page at which viewers can find Twitter handles for the four stars and host Quddus (of TRL fame), see relevant hashtags and chat with fellow fans.

Photo courtesy of ABC


Premieres: Summer 2012 on Syfy

Social media: Alphas, a scripted drama about people with super powers, touts its interactive Alpha Powers online portal, where fans can take a 10-question assessment to discover whether they’re Alphas material. The website also lets viewers submit Alpha sightings (a.k.a. citizens doing extraordinary things in the real world).

Photo courtesy of Justin Stephens/Syfy


Premieres: May 28 on History Channel

Social media: Hatfields McCoys, a three-part miniseries about a legendary decades-long family feud, will have help from a strong History Channel initiative on Facebook. “History just launched a new Facebook game for its new show Hatfields McCoys a trend A+E Networks is at the forefront of,” Natan Edelsburg, writer at social TV blog Lost Remote, told Mashable.

Photo from History.com


Premieres: May 29 on Comedy Central

Social media: Funnyman Daniel Tosh is back to host Tosh.0, a series that pokes fun at viral videos, celebrities and everything pop culture. The “What You’re Saying” page on the show’s website highlights the best tweets mentioning the Tosh.0. Viewers also can suggest their favorite on-air moments to be shared on the site.

Photo courtesy of Ian White/Tosh.0


Premieres: May 30 on CBS

Social media: CBS is letting the dogs out on-air with Dogs in the City, an unscripted series about doggy dilemmas. New York City dog “guru” Justin Silver will help solve any pet issues people have with their canines. As we’ve learned from our time on YouTube, anything about dogs and puppies is bound to go viral.

Photo courtesy of Brian Friedman/CBS


Premieres: June 3 and 4 on MTV

Social media: MTV unveiled the trailer for Teen Wolf on May 6 with a challenge to its audience: Get the trailer to 5 million views and the first 10 minutes of season 2 will be unlocked ahead of the June 3 and 4 two-part premiere. The season begins after the MTV Movie Awards.

Photo courtesy of MTV


Premieres: June 4 on Bravo

Social media: Three new faces join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for season 5. The show often spawns significant buzz on Twitter and GIFs across the web. A “Tweet Tracker” on BravoTV.com displays tweets from and about each housewife in real time and lets viewers send tweets on the platform.

Photo courtesy of Michael Rosenthal/Bravo


Premieres: June 5 on ABC Family

Social media: Murder Mystery Pretty Little Liars capped last season with a revealing episode that received the most social media buzz in TV history. Topics about the show regularly trend on Twitter, with about 50 trending during the season 2 finale.


Premieres: June 7 on NBC

Social media: A new host (comedian Jenny McCarthy) and a new location will help spice up the action on season 2 of dating show Love in the Wild. As the title implies, the singles will compete for love in a tropical paradise. Challenges lead to rewards and finishing at the bottom yields not-so-favorable living conditions with another single. Look for McCarthy’s wild personality and commentary to spark entertaining reactions from social media users.

Photo courtesy of Trae Patton/NBC


Premieres: June 10 on HBO

Social media: “True Blood will no doubt take over social conversations for another year,” says Edelsburg, echoing how many insiders and fans feel about the hit HBO series about vampires and other superhuman characters. HBO has been teasing season 5 with new trailers, art and photos on Facebook (10 million Likes). Most of the images feature hashtags as HBO tries to build a bigger following on Twitter. Last season, its Facebook Page pimped “Immortalize Yourself,” an interactive app that pulls Facebook data to create a video starring the user and his or her friends. Don’t be surprised if HBO delivers another digital gem leading up to season 5′s premiere.


Premieres: June 13 on TNT

Social media: “The Dallas reboot on TNT has been garnering positive buzz,” says Scott Ellis, VP of marketing at social TV company Peel, in an interview with Mashable. The show’s Facebook Page, for example, includes entries dating back to 1978 — told in the voice of character J.R. Ewing — to help viewers get a taste of the original Dallas episodes and feel for the modern-day ambience.


Premieres: June 28 on FX

Social media: “Everyone will tune into FX’s Anger Management with Charlie Sheen, who we’ll definitely see using his social influence to promote the show,” says Edelsburg. Sheen plays Charlie, a therapist specializing in anger management. Sheen’s social media antics played out for the world to see in 2011, after he joined Twitter, set a Guinness World Record for reaching 1 million followers the fastest, and then eventually accidentally tweeted his phone number to 5 million followers. Keep your eyes tuned to Twitter as Sheen will likely leverage his now 7.2 million-strong following to support Anger Management.


Premieres: July 1 on Showtime

Social media: Dark comedy Weeds enters season eight filling in the holes from the prior season’s finale. The show’s app for Android and iPhone allows fans to watch exclusive clips, read episode guides and use the Weeds photo booth, where they can create show-themed images and share them across social networks.

Photo courtesy of Jordin Althaus/Showtime


Premieres: July 2 on Showtime

Social media: Web Therapy, a televised comedy that started as an Internet series, stars Lisa Kudrow as therapist Fiona Wallice. A feature on Showtime’s website lets fans ask Fiona a question and get an answer straight from her lips.

Photo courtesy of Showtime


Premieres: July 10 on USA

Social media: White Collar, a drama about a con man and the FBI, has one of the most interactive websites out of all the summer offerings. The “Character Chatter” page shows which characters are garnering the most buzz online, while a slew of games and features immerse fans deeper into the White Collar world.

Photo courtesy of David Giesbrecht/USA Network


Premieres: July 12 on CBS

Social media: Veteran reality TV show Big Brother has roped in viewers since 2000. Now in its 14th season, the show is no stranger to causing moments that spread quickly online. CBS also makes live streams available to fans who want more than what’s televised and care to pay for the live footage.

Photo from CBS.com


Premieres: Sometime in July on AMC

Social media: “Breaking Bad‘s final season will be huge, especially after the buzz it created after last season’s finale,” says Edelsburg. The drama series’s website offers several spiffy interactive features, including a graphic novel game, case files and a criminal aptitude test.

What shows will you be watching? Let us know if we missed your favorites.

Photo courtesy of AMC

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Premieres: May 14 on NBC

Social media: America’s Got Talent ushers in a new judge this season: shock jock Howard Stern, who’s already igniting buzz across social networks with his recent jabs at the American Idol‘s too-soft judging panel. Anticipate his critical judging style to incite significant social chatter. Meanwhile, AGT‘s Facebook Page has been pushing multimedia, including Spotify playlists from Stern and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne.

Photo courtesy of Mark Seliger/NBC

Premieres: May 20 on E!

Social media: The mega succesful Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns for a seventh season after having spawned spin-offs Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloé Lamar. A new show companion app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone lets viewers see the Twitter feeds of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe, watch video clips and flip through photo galleries.

Photo courtesy of E! Entertainment

Premieres: May 24 on Fox

Social media: Heavy online commentary from fans of So You Think You Can Dance started in January after producers announced the show would dwindle its two-night format to one night, killing the often weekly, drawn-out results show. Fans are still waiting for the show to begin posting official performance videos on YouTube — which would help the show reach more eyeballs — just like The Voice and American Idol did this past fall.

Premieres: May 24 on ABC

Social media: Star-studded Duets is trying something new with the traditional singing-competition scheme. Instead of having its celebrity panel — Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thick — judge or mentor, they will perform with contestants on stage. The show’s website has a “Discuss Duets” page at which viewers can find Twitter handles for the four stars and host Quddus (of TRL fame), see relevant hashtags and chat with fellow fans.

Photo courtesy of ABC

Premieres: Summer 2012 on Syfy

Social media: Alphas, a scripted drama about people with super powers, touts its interactive Alpha Powers online portal, where fans can take a 10-question assessment to discover whether they’re Alphas material. The website also lets viewers submit Alpha sightings (a.k.a. citizens doing extraordinary things in the real world).

Photo courtesy of Justin Stephens/Syfy

Premieres: May 28 on History Channel

Social media: Hatfields McCoys, a three-part miniseries about a legendary decades-long family feud, will have help from a strong History Channel initiative on Facebook. “History just launched a new Facebook game for its new show Hatfields McCoys a trend A+E Networks is at the forefront of,” Natan Edelsburg, writer at social TV blog Lost Remote, told Mashable.

Photo from History.com

Premieres: May 29 on Comedy Central

Social media: Funnyman Daniel Tosh is back to host Tosh.0, a series that pokes fun at viral videos, celebrities and everything pop culture. The “What You’re Saying” page on the show’s website highlights the best tweets mentioning the Tosh.0. Viewers also can suggest their favorite on-air moments to be shared on the site.

Photo courtesy of Ian White/Tosh.0

Premieres: May 30 on CBS

Social media: CBS is letting the dogs out on-air with Dogs in the City, an unscripted series about doggy dilemmas. New York City dog “guru” Justin Silver will help solve any pet issues people have with their canines. As we’ve learned from our time on YouTube, anything about dogs and puppies is bound to go viral.

Photo courtesy of Brian Friedman/CBS

Premieres: June 3 and 4 on MTV

Social media: MTV unveiled the trailer for Teen Wolf on May 6 with a challenge to its audience: Get the trailer to 5 million views and the first 10 minutes of season 2 will be unlocked ahead of the June 3 and 4 two-part premiere. The season begins after the MTV Movie Awards.

Photo courtesy of MTV

Premieres: June 4 on Bravo

Social media: Three new faces join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City for season 5. The show often spawns significant buzz on Twitter and GIFs across the web. A “Tweet Tracker” on BravoTV.com displays tweets from and about each housewife in real time and lets viewers send tweets on the platform.

Photo courtesy of Michael Rosenthal/Bravo

Premieres: June 5 on ABC Family

Social media: Murder Mystery Pretty Little Liars capped last season with a revealing episode that received the most social media buzz in TV history. Topics about the show regularly trend on Twitter, with about 50 trending during the season 2 finale.

Premieres: June 7 on NBC

Social media: A new host (comedian Jenny McCarthy) and a new location will help spice up the action on season 2 of dating show Love in the Wild. As the title implies, the singles will compete for love in a tropical paradise. Challenges lead to rewards and finishing at the bottom yields not-so-favorable living conditions with another single. Look for McCarthy’s wild personality and commentary to spark entertaining reactions from social media users.

Photo courtesy of Trae Patton/NBC

Premieres: June 10 on HBO

Social media: “True Blood will no doubt take over social conversations for another year,” says Edelsburg, echoing how many insiders and fans feel about the hit HBO series about vampires and other superhuman characters. HBO has been teasing season 5 with new trailers, art and photos on Facebook (10 million Likes). Most of the images feature hashtags as HBO tries to build a bigger following on Twitter. Last season, its Facebook Page pimped “Immortalize Yourself,” an interactive app that pulls Facebook data to create a video starring the user and his or her friends. Don’t be surprised if HBO delivers another digital gem leading up to season 5′s premiere.

Premieres: June 13 on TNT

Social media: “The Dallas reboot on TNT has been garnering positive buzz,” says Scott Ellis, VP of marketing at social TV company Peel, in an interview with Mashable. The show’s Facebook Page, for example, includes entries dating back to 1978 — told in the voice of character J.R. Ewing — to help viewers get a taste of the original Dallas episodes and feel for the modern-day ambience.

Premieres: June 28 on FX

Social media: “Everyone will tune into FX’s Anger Management with Charlie Sheen, who we’ll definitely see using his social influence to promote the show,” says Edelsburg. Sheen plays Charlie, a therapist specializing in anger management. Sheen’s social media antics played out for the world to see in 2011, after he joined Twitter, set a Guinness World Record for reaching 1 million followers the fastest, and then eventually accidentally tweeted his phone number to 5 million followers. Keep your eyes tuned to Twitter as Sheen will likely leverage his now 7.2 million-strong following to support Anger Management.

Premieres: July 1 on Showtime

Social media: Dark comedy Weeds enters season eight filling in the holes from the prior season’s finale. The show’s app for Android and iPhone allows fans to watch exclusive clips, read episode guides and use the Weeds photo booth, where they can create show-themed images and share them across social networks.

Photo courtesy of Jordin Althaus/Showtime

Premieres: July 2 on Showtime

Social media: Web Therapy, a televised comedy that started as an Internet series, stars Lisa Kudrow as therapist Fiona Wallice. A feature on Showtime’s website lets fans ask Fiona a question and get an answer straight from her lips.

Photo courtesy of Showtime

Premieres: July 10 on USA

Social media: White Collar, a drama about a con man and the FBI, has one of the most interactive websites out of all the summer offerings. The “Character Chatter” page shows which characters are garnering the most buzz online, while a slew of games and features immerse fans deeper into the White Collar world.

Photo courtesy of David Giesbrecht/USA Network

Premieres: July 12 on CBS

Social media: Veteran reality TV show Big Brother has roped in viewers since 2000. Now in its 14th season, the show is no stranger to causing moments that spread quickly online. CBS also makes live streams available to fans who want more than what’s televised and care to pay for the live footage.

Photo from CBS.com

Premieres: Sometime in July on AMC

Social media: “Breaking Bad‘s final season will be huge, especially after the buzz it created after last season’s finale,” says Edelsburg. The drama series’s website offers several spiffy interactive features, including a graphic novel game, case files and a criminal aptitude test.

What shows will you be watching? Let us know if we missed your favorites.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Xel5zFpe-60/

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 Rise of the Tech Bandits: AllThingsD & Sarah Lacy, the Business Reporters http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:29 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/

Editor’s note: In the Summer 2012 issue of SAY Magazine, Dan Frommer chronicles the history of tech blogging. For the rest of this week, Richard MacManus, who founded ReadWriteWeb in 2003, will be looking back on the early days.

When Sarah Lacy launched the oddly named PandoDaily earlier this year, the goal was to dislodge Silicon Valley kingmaker TechCrunch, New York media heavyweight AllThingsD, and Wall Street-friendly Business Insider as the daily source of business technology news. Those are three formidable competitors and PandoDaily was competing on the West Coast turf of TechCrunch, Lacy’s ex-employer. But Lacy had a couple of aces up her sleeve, in the form of TechCrunch founder Michael “The Dark Knight” Arrington and his earnest Robin, M G Siegler. Unfortunately, the dynamic duo were forced out less than three months later by Lacy. Meanwhile, AllThingsD superheroes Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg have been on a tear this year, often scooping TechCrunch on important business news in the technology sector.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/DC5iIf_pxVw/rise-of-the-tech-bandits-allthingsd-sarah-lacy-the-business-reporters.php

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]]>

Editor’s note: In the Summer 2012 issue of SAY Magazine, Dan Frommer chronicles the history of tech blogging. For the rest of this week, Richard MacManus, who founded ReadWriteWeb in 2003, will be looking back on the early days.

When Sarah Lacy launched the oddly named PandoDaily earlier this year, the goal was to dislodge Silicon Valley kingmaker TechCrunch, New York media heavyweight AllThingsD, and Wall Street-friendly Business Insider as the daily source of business technology news. Those are three formidable competitors and PandoDaily was competing on the West Coast turf of TechCrunch, Lacy’s ex-employer. But Lacy had a couple of aces up her sleeve, in the form of TechCrunch founder Michael “The Dark Knight” Arrington and his earnest Robin, M G Siegler. Unfortunately, the dynamic duo were forced out less than three months later by Lacy. Meanwhile, AllThingsD superheroes Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg have been on a tear this year, often scooping TechCrunch on important business news in the technology sector.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/DC5iIf_pxVw/rise-of-the-tech-bandits-allthingsd-sarah-lacy-the-business-reporters.php

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 5 Ways to Increase Online Registrations Using Social Login http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:28 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ About the panel

Jonathan Salem Baskin is an author who writes a regular column on Advertising Age posts on his award-winning blog. More »

John Bell heads up the 360° Digital Influence team teaches graduate studies in Digital Influence at Johns Hopkins University. More »

Don Bulmer is Vice President of Communication Strategy at Royal Dutch Shell More »

John Byrne is chairman editor-in-chief of C-Change Media Inc. the author or co-author of eight books. More »

Gini Dietrich Gini Dietrich is the founder and chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich, Inc. More »

Vanessa DiMauro is the CEO of Leader Networks has been creating successful online communities for over 15 years. More »

Maggie Fox is the founder and CEO of Social Media Group was named one of the Top 100 Marketers in Marketing Magazine. More »

Laurent Francois I lead the marketingdevelopment hub @ Express Roularta Services, a media company. I focus on 2 main brands (L’Express, More »

Rachel Happe is a Co-Founder and Principal at The Community Roundtable a blogger at The Social Organization. More »

JD Lasica is a consultant who is considered one of the leading authorities on social media user-created media. More »

Brian Solis s author of Engage and is recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders authors in new media. More »

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/NbRpFZ2_2TA/5-ways-increase-online-registrations-using-social-login

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]]> About the panel

Jonathan Salem Baskin is an author who writes a regular column on Advertising Age posts on his award-winning blog. More »

John Bell heads up the 360° Digital Influence team teaches graduate studies in Digital Influence at Johns Hopkins University. More »

Don Bulmer is Vice President of Communication Strategy at Royal Dutch Shell More »

John Byrne is chairman editor-in-chief of C-Change Media Inc. the author or co-author of eight books. More »

Gini Dietrich Gini Dietrich is the founder and chief executive officer of Arment Dietrich, Inc. More »

Vanessa DiMauro is the CEO of Leader Networks has been creating successful online communities for over 15 years. More »

Maggie Fox is the founder and CEO of Social Media Group was named one of the Top 100 Marketers in Marketing Magazine. More »

Laurent Francois I lead the marketingdevelopment hub @ Express Roularta Services, a media company. I focus on 2 main brands (L’Express, More »

Rachel Happe is a Co-Founder and Principal at The Community Roundtable a blogger at The Social Organization. More »

JD Lasica is a consultant who is considered one of the leading authorities on social media user-created media. More »

Brian Solis s author of Engage and is recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders authors in new media. More »

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/NbRpFZ2_2TA/5-ways-increase-online-registrations-using-social-login

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 Turning Customer Behavior into Currency: Key Insights from Liz Crawford’s Educational Webinar http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:27 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ You’re a marketer. You spend countless hours measuring, analyzing and strategically planning ways to “build a better mousetrap.” If you think you know what’s going on inside your customers’ head, Liz Crawford will challenge you to think again. Liz Crawford, author and analyst, has over twenty years’ experience in brand management and consulting with a concentration in strategic innovation. We recently co-hosted a webinar with Liz, examining key concepts from her book The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency. In this webinar, Liz explains the changing consumer behavior and defines “value transactions” that illustrate your customers’ ever-growing role in their relationships with brands.

Marketing used to facilitate a customer transaction with a brand, generally one that occurred before a sale. At the time, marketers ‘rewarded’ customer relationships by delivering a good or service. Today, it’s no longer enough to simply reward your customers for buying your product. Consumers want a reward for their behavior as well.

In the webinar, Liz examines the transformed relationship of buyer and seller, likening it to one of employee / employer. By building marketing strategies with this framework in mind, we can create “value transactions” that effectively reward customers based on their behaviors. As an example, Liz points out that Motorola rewards customers with one minute of additional phone time for watching a one-minute advertisement. In this example, customers are rewarded for a particular behavior: their attention to an asset Motorola considers valuable, hence a “value transaction.”  She cites multiple instances of companies seeking a certain behavior, such as customer attention, participation, advocacy, commitment, before reciprocating with an appropriate reward like PayPal cash, gift cards, exclusive access to content, earning a desired item, and discounts. 

As Liz would advise, customers understand their elevated level of influence and control over brands, citing a Dunkin’ Donuts example to illustrate the premise. When Dunkin’ Donuts customers were promised a free K-Cup for “Liking” a Facebook page and did not receive one, they voiced their disappointment. They expected a reward for their action and took action to get noticed by commenting on the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook page. This elicited a fast response from Dunkin’ Donuts to fix the problem.

I know what you are thinking – rewarding customers for actions other than buying your products can be really costly. As Liz shares, you don’t have to break the bank when rewarding your customers for more than their purchases – on the contrary, you can and will make more money if you approach the new Shopper Economy right.   For an in-depth examination of how a number of socially savvy brands are effectively targeting behaviors and developing meaningful and measurable relationships with their customers – watch The Shopper Economy webinar recording here. You can also download chapter 1 of The Shopper Economy here.We guarantee you’ll learn some great new ideas and ways to identify key behaviors to effectively elevate your sales strategy to encompass these insights. Don’t forget to tell us your key takeaways on Twitter at #AwarenessTips. 

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/QAERWIPNCec/turning-customer-behavior-currency-key-insights-liz-crawford-s-educational-webinar

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]]> You’re a marketer. You spend countless hours measuring, analyzing and strategically planning ways to “build a better mousetrap.” If you think you know what’s going on inside your customers’ head, Liz Crawford will challenge you to think again. Liz Crawford, author and analyst, has over twenty years’ experience in brand management and consulting with a concentration in strategic innovation. We recently co-hosted a webinar with Liz, examining key concepts from her book The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency. In this webinar, Liz explains the changing consumer behavior and defines “value transactions” that illustrate your customers’ ever-growing role in their relationships with brands.

Marketing used to facilitate a customer transaction with a brand, generally one that occurred before a sale. At the time, marketers ‘rewarded’ customer relationships by delivering a good or service. Today, it’s no longer enough to simply reward your customers for buying your product. Consumers want a reward for their behavior as well.

In the webinar, Liz examines the transformed relationship of buyer and seller, likening it to one of employee / employer. By building marketing strategies with this framework in mind, we can create “value transactions” that effectively reward customers based on their behaviors. As an example, Liz points out that Motorola rewards customers with one minute of additional phone time for watching a one-minute advertisement. In this example, customers are rewarded for a particular behavior: their attention to an asset Motorola considers valuable, hence a “value transaction.”  She cites multiple instances of companies seeking a certain behavior, such as customer attention, participation, advocacy, commitment, before reciprocating with an appropriate reward like PayPal cash, gift cards, exclusive access to content, earning a desired item, and discounts. 

As Liz would advise, customers understand their elevated level of influence and control over brands, citing a Dunkin’ Donuts example to illustrate the premise. When Dunkin’ Donuts customers were promised a free K-Cup for “Liking” a Facebook page and did not receive one, they voiced their disappointment. They expected a reward for their action and took action to get noticed by commenting on the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook page. This elicited a fast response from Dunkin’ Donuts to fix the problem.

I know what you are thinking – rewarding customers for actions other than buying your products can be really costly. As Liz shares, you don’t have to break the bank when rewarding your customers for more than their purchases – on the contrary, you can and will make more money if you approach the new Shopper Economy right.   For an in-depth examination of how a number of socially savvy brands are effectively targeting behaviors and developing meaningful and measurable relationships with their customers – watch The Shopper Economy webinar recording here. You can also download chapter 1 of The Shopper Economy here.We guarantee you’ll learn some great new ideas and ways to identify key behaviors to effectively elevate your sales strategy to encompass these insights. Don’t forget to tell us your key takeaways on Twitter at #AwarenessTips. 

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/QAERWIPNCec/turning-customer-behavior-currency-key-insights-liz-crawford-s-educational-webinar

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 GM Pulls $10 Million Facebook Ad Campaign – A Blip or a Google Scheme? http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:27 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Ahead of the much ballyhooed Facebook IPO, General Motors pulled $10 million from its Facebook marketing budget. Since GM spends about $40 million, the ad buying represents only a quarter of the total budget but this is indeed an interesting play. Is it simply the reported lack of response to the Facebook ads? Does this reflect negatively on Facebook’s advertising strategy?

Or could GM’s move be, as some insiders are theorizing, a result of Google recognizing the advertising competition with Facebook and luring companies away, perhaps with the promise of free ads? Either way, it’s a significant loss for Facebook. But is it really about just Facebook ads and GM?

Facebook posted earnings of $3.7 billion last year. Google posted earnings of $37.9 billion dollars. While literally making one tenth of the revenue that Google does, Facebook earned its money the same way that Google did – from advertisements. Does Google view Facebook as that serious of a competitor that it would make a play for Facebook’s ad revenue? Facebook is already partnered with Bing for its search results. Google launched Google+ as a direct social media competitor to Facebook. How much of a threat is Facebook to Google? Or rather the issue is how much of a threat does Google feel Facebook is?

So could Google be a silent player in the recent GM maneuver? It is entirely possible. It’s impossible to believe that Google hasn’t been watching Facebook under a microscope to see what the new kid is going to do next. Since both companies make their money from advertising revenue, Google might not appreciate the little puppy nipping at its heels. Little puppies, with the right care and feeding, can grow up to be great big dogs, capable of much damage.

My personal thought on it is this: GM spends $10 million on Facebook ads which don’t convert into sales. It’s but a drop in the bucket of their nearly $2 billion worldwide ad campaign. They’ve spent $30 million to develop content for a Facebook page that, at its core, is free. But if Google came along and promised them $10 million worth of free Google ad placement, GM would be pretty foolish not to accept the free offer. Granted, it’s only $10 million dollars but that is money that could be better spent elsewhere. Research and development perhaps, working on a new tungsten carbide driveshaft or some new alloy for a stronger frame.

Either way, I’m most interested to see how this all plays out. I doubt Mark Zuckerberg will comment publicly about this, ahead of the May 18th Facebook IPO launch but there’s no doubt that this will mar the occasion. Black eye or permanent disability, GM’s issue is sure to make other companies look more closely at their own ROI and make some hard decisions in the coming months.

-

 

Eileen is an SEO specialist at fishbat, an online marketing company.


Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/xwSezuOL5HQ/gm-pulls-10-million-facebook-ad-campaign-blip-or-google-scheme

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]]> Ahead of the much ballyhooed Facebook IPO, General Motors pulled $10 million from its Facebook marketing budget. Since GM spends about $40 million, the ad buying represents only a quarter of the total budget but this is indeed an interesting play. Is it simply the reported lack of response to the Facebook ads? Does this reflect negatively on Facebook’s advertising strategy?

Or could GM’s move be, as some insiders are theorizing, a result of Google recognizing the advertising competition with Facebook and luring companies away, perhaps with the promise of free ads? Either way, it’s a significant loss for Facebook. But is it really about just Facebook ads and GM?

Facebook posted earnings of $3.7 billion last year. Google posted earnings of $37.9 billion dollars. While literally making one tenth of the revenue that Google does, Facebook earned its money the same way that Google did – from advertisements. Does Google view Facebook as that serious of a competitor that it would make a play for Facebook’s ad revenue? Facebook is already partnered with Bing for its search results. Google launched Google+ as a direct social media competitor to Facebook. How much of a threat is Facebook to Google? Or rather the issue is how much of a threat does Google feel Facebook is?

So could Google be a silent player in the recent GM maneuver? It is entirely possible. It’s impossible to believe that Google hasn’t been watching Facebook under a microscope to see what the new kid is going to do next. Since both companies make their money from advertising revenue, Google might not appreciate the little puppy nipping at its heels. Little puppies, with the right care and feeding, can grow up to be great big dogs, capable of much damage.

My personal thought on it is this: GM spends $10 million on Facebook ads which don’t convert into sales. It’s but a drop in the bucket of their nearly $2 billion worldwide ad campaign. They’ve spent $30 million to develop content for a Facebook page that, at its core, is free. But if Google came along and promised them $10 million worth of free Google ad placement, GM would be pretty foolish not to accept the free offer. Granted, it’s only $10 million dollars but that is money that could be better spent elsewhere. Research and development perhaps, working on a new tungsten carbide driveshaft or some new alloy for a stronger frame.

Either way, I’m most interested to see how this all plays out. I doubt Mark Zuckerberg will comment publicly about this, ahead of the May 18th Facebook IPO launch but there’s no doubt that this will mar the occasion. Black eye or permanent disability, GM’s issue is sure to make other companies look more closely at their own ROI and make some hard decisions in the coming months.

-

 

Eileen is an SEO specialist at fishbat, an online marketing company.


Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/socialmediatoday_allposts/~3/xwSezuOL5HQ/gm-pulls-10-million-facebook-ad-campaign-blip-or-google-scheme

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 Facebook IPO and Two Other Stories You Need to Know http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 11:27:26 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Facebook IPO Stock Price and Predictions

Facebook’s IPO has definitely been the story of the week, and it’s definitely been a busy week for both current and future shareholders of the company.

Yesterday, Facebook has confirmed that it will price its stock at $38, raising $16 to $18.4 billion in the IPO, making it the largest tech initial public offering in the history of the US.

What everyone wants to know, however, is the closing price on Friday afternoon, and Twitter-based crowdsourcing might just have an answer.

Meanwhile, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin denies he renounced his U.S. citizenship in order to escape taxes. Saverin said his decision to do so is “based solely on (his) interest in working and living in Singapore.”

Steve Jobs Dreamt of an iCar

Steve Jobs dreamt of designing an iCar, claims J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler. Unfortunately, Jobs never got to design it, claims Drexler, shedding some light on Apple’s immediate plans. The living room is something Apple is “dealing with at some point in the near future,” said Drexler.

Samsung Received 9 Million Pre-Orders for the Galaxy S3 [REPORT]

Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, is due to hit the European market on May 29, but it’s already doing really well, according to a report from Korea Economic Daily.

The company reportedly received 9 million pre-orders from more than 100 international carriers for the device. KED’s sources also claim Samsung’s smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity, producing 5 million units per month.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mattjeacock

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/RXXlQ8wS5aY/

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]]> Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Facebook IPO Stock Price and Predictions

Facebook’s IPO has definitely been the story of the week, and it’s definitely been a busy week for both current and future shareholders of the company.

Yesterday, Facebook has confirmed that it will price its stock at $38, raising $16 to $18.4 billion in the IPO, making it the largest tech initial public offering in the history of the US.

What everyone wants to know, however, is the closing price on Friday afternoon, and Twitter-based crowdsourcing might just have an answer.

Meanwhile, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin denies he renounced his U.S. citizenship in order to escape taxes. Saverin said his decision to do so is “based solely on (his) interest in working and living in Singapore.”

Steve Jobs Dreamt of an iCar

Steve Jobs dreamt of designing an iCar, claims J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler. Unfortunately, Jobs never got to design it, claims Drexler, shedding some light on Apple’s immediate plans. The living room is something Apple is “dealing with at some point in the near future,” said Drexler.

Samsung Received 9 Million Pre-Orders for the Galaxy S3 [REPORT]

Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, is due to hit the European market on May 29, but it’s already doing really well, according to a report from Korea Economic Daily.

The company reportedly received 9 million pre-orders from more than 100 international carriers for the device. KED’s sources also claim Samsung’s smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity, producing 5 million units per month.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mattjeacock

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/RXXlQ8wS5aY/

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 First Online Presidential Primary Fails to Find Candidate http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 05:26:12 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Americans Elect, a platform that set out with the hope of becoming the first online presidential primary in U.S. history, has failed to field a candidate for the 2012 race to the White House.

None of the 52 possible candidates — not even popular mavericks such as Rep. Ron Paul and Gov. Buddy Roemer — gathered enough support to make it to the online convention process scheduled for June, per the platform’s rules. Americans Elect had previously delayed the convention, reportedly because of the unusually long Republican primary.

Ileana Watchel, the group’s national press secretary, announced in a statement Thursday afternoon that Americans Elect would not alter its procedures any further to accomodate the current top candidates.

“Americans Elect, from the outset, has been a rules-based process, with the rules publicly available and open to debate by the delegates,” wrote Watchel. “The rules, as developed in consultation with the Americans Elect delegates, are clear.

“As of this week, no candidate achieved the national support threshold required to enter the Americans Elect Online Convention in June. The primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end.”

Americans Elect is not a political party, but rather a vehicle for getting presidential and vice presidential candidates on ballots nationwide through a process that lived almost entirely online.

The idea, according to the organizers, is to capitalize on the Internet’s ability to connect like-minded people to disrupt the two-party system and revolutionize how the American political system works.

“The number-one goal is to produce a presidential ticket of great quality that wouldn’t normally be able to run under the party primary [structure],” Chief Technology Officer Josh Levine told Mashable in February.

Americans Elect has thousands of participants and a line on the ballot in 29 states for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Users can support either “declared” candidates, who acknowledge they’re running on the Americans Elect ballot, or “draft” candidates, who haven’t made that decision.

The top declared candidate is former Louisiana Governor Buddy Romer, whose campaign went all-in on Americans Elect after failing to make headway in the Republican nominating contest. The top draft candidate is Ron Paul, who is still running for the Republican nomination.

SEE ALSO: Buddy Roemer Wants to Be the Internet’s First Presidential Candidate

Some, including Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig, have hailed Americans Elect as a solution to what they view as a broken political system. Others have expressed concern about its funding sources.

CEO Kahlil Byrd announced the failure of any one candidate to pass the threshold on Tuesday. However, he added that the organization’s leadership would take two days to discuss whether to alter the process. A statement he released read in part:

. . .as of today, no candidate has reached the national support threshold required to enter the ‘Americans Elect Online Convention’ this June,” read Byrd’s statement. “Because of this, under the rules that AE delegates ratified, the primary process would end today. There is, however, an almost universal desire among delegates, leadership and millions of Americans who have supported Americans Elect to see a credible candidate emerge from this process. Americans Elect will announce the results of [our] conversations on Thursday, May 17.

Do you think an entirely-online political primary could work in the future? Tell us why or why not in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, pagadesign

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/nNjbTWJkIzM/

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]]> Americans Elect, a platform that set out with the hope of becoming the first online presidential primary in U.S. history, has failed to field a candidate for the 2012 race to the White House.

None of the 52 possible candidates — not even popular mavericks such as Rep. Ron Paul and Gov. Buddy Roemer — gathered enough support to make it to the online convention process scheduled for June, per the platform’s rules. Americans Elect had previously delayed the convention, reportedly because of the unusually long Republican primary.

Ileana Watchel, the group’s national press secretary, announced in a statement Thursday afternoon that Americans Elect would not alter its procedures any further to accomodate the current top candidates.

“Americans Elect, from the outset, has been a rules-based process, with the rules publicly available and open to debate by the delegates,” wrote Watchel. “The rules, as developed in consultation with the Americans Elect delegates, are clear.

“As of this week, no candidate achieved the national support threshold required to enter the Americans Elect Online Convention in June. The primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end.”

Americans Elect is not a political party, but rather a vehicle for getting presidential and vice presidential candidates on ballots nationwide through a process that lived almost entirely online.

The idea, according to the organizers, is to capitalize on the Internet’s ability to connect like-minded people to disrupt the two-party system and revolutionize how the American political system works.

“The number-one goal is to produce a presidential ticket of great quality that wouldn’t normally be able to run under the party primary [structure],” Chief Technology Officer Josh Levine told Mashable in February.

Americans Elect has thousands of participants and a line on the ballot in 29 states for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Users can support either “declared” candidates, who acknowledge they’re running on the Americans Elect ballot, or “draft” candidates, who haven’t made that decision.

The top declared candidate is former Louisiana Governor Buddy Romer, whose campaign went all-in on Americans Elect after failing to make headway in the Republican nominating contest. The top draft candidate is Ron Paul, who is still running for the Republican nomination.

SEE ALSO: Buddy Roemer Wants to Be the Internet’s First Presidential Candidate

Some, including Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig, have hailed Americans Elect as a solution to what they view as a broken political system. Others have expressed concern about its funding sources.

CEO Kahlil Byrd announced the failure of any one candidate to pass the threshold on Tuesday. However, he added that the organization’s leadership would take two days to discuss whether to alter the process. A statement he released read in part:

. . .as of today, no candidate has reached the national support threshold required to enter the ‘Americans Elect Online Convention’ this June,” read Byrd’s statement. “Because of this, under the rules that AE delegates ratified, the primary process would end today. There is, however, an almost universal desire among delegates, leadership and millions of Americans who have supported Americans Elect to see a credible candidate emerge from this process. Americans Elect will announce the results of [our] conversations on Thursday, May 17.

Do you think an entirely-online political primary could work in the future? Tell us why or why not in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, pagadesign

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/nNjbTWJkIzM/

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]]> http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/feed/ 0 4 Steps to Cultivating Online Trust http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 05:26:11 +0000 News Feed http://www.dominatelocalsearch.com/ Wendy Lea is the CEO of Get Satisfaction, a customer engagement platform powering 65,000+ customer communities to help build better relationships with their customers. Follow her @WendySLea.

You’ve likely heard that the secret to building relationships with your customers is to “be everywhere your customers are.” As a result, you’ve probably signed up for a dozen social networks hoping that just showing up will turn out to be enough.

SEE ALSO: How to Maximize Your Facebook Engagement

But being everywhere is only the beginning. It turns out that online, just like in real life, the key to building relationships is trust. Cultivating trust online is tricky and takes work, but is by no means impossible. When you respond to your customers in the right way, you earn that trust and build the foundation for a real, long-term relationship. Here’s what you need to consider as you do that.

1. Acknowledge with Empathy

When it comes to earning trust, it’s not if you answer, it’s how you answer. Recognize the type of feeling your customer is having, and respond in an empathetic, emotionally intelligent way. The worst thing you can do is respond with the attitude that your customers are yet another problem to be solved. They will sense it. For example, if a customer tweets asking for help with a lost password, winning their trust might be as easy as adding an, “I’m sorry” or “that must be frustrating” to the response.

Also, when a customer has a good experience with your brand, amplify it. Thank them and then share their feedback socially. Not only do you validate their emotion, you also create the opportunity to connect with the members of your community that might have the same feeling or problem, but haven’t made it known.

2. Enable the Right Outcomes

Before they trust you, your customers need to know not just that you’ll hear them, but that when they raise concerns, they’ll see a resolution. That means enabling your customers to express their feedback in the place where it’s most productive for them, whether that’s Twitter, Facebook, product pages on your website, or anywhere else. In other words, your community needs to have multiple front doors under one roof.

In order for a customer to find a channel that works, you have to make sure that all the conversations people are having about your brand are accessible anywhere your customers are. From there, they need to be able to access information and conversations about products, customer service, and community. That way, your customers are able to find like-minded people and can jump in on any conversation on any platform.

3. Educate Through Experience

It’s not your job to tell your customers what the company values are. It’s your job to let them experience those values by bringing them into the fold of your brand’s community. That requires a system for archiving, organizing, and sharing conversations, the rallying point for your community of customers.

For Intuit’s TurboTax that means offering a robust library of help documents created by the company, but the site also includes a “Live Community” widget that invites people to get help from a community of tax experts and users. Every customer experience is converted to valuable insight that can influence prospects, customers, and onlookers alike. What’s more, the community is a testament to the brand’s values: Offering a DIY tax experience that’s accessible and easy for everyone.

Of course, you still need to produce and share content. It’s not time to ditch the company blog or stopping sending original tweets. It is time to recognize that the conversations within your community actually turn into knowledge. Ultimately, your community is a living FAQ.

4. Keep the Momentum Going

Once you’ve earned your customer’s trust, they’re likely to be even more engaged with your brand and product. That’s a good thing, but it means you’ll need to go above and beyond to continue building that relationship. To do that, you have to get to the point where the trust goes both ways and you trust the customer. Take Tyrel Hartman, who wanted to use the social discovery app StumbleUpon to propose to his girlfriend. Both were active Stumblers and often enjoyed exploring the site together, so Hartman contacted the company and requested that they rig his girlfriend’s account so that she’d stumble on a wedding proposal disguised as a blog post.

StumbleUpon’s team could have easily said no to Hartman, but instead, they were inspired by Hartman’s enthusiasm and explored a new use for their product. It required cross-departmental collaboration and an investment of resources, but it was also a priceless marketing opportunity that earned the company ample news coverage across the web.

Ultimately, real relationships are a two-way street, and your customers know that. Trust is the foundation of a relationship, but to keep that relationship going, you need to prove that you earned it, every day and everywhere.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mikkelwilliam

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/1J0_t1eR_bI/

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]]> Wendy Lea is the CEO of Get Satisfaction, a customer engagement platform powering 65,000+ customer communities to help build better relationships with their customers. Follow her @WendySLea.

You’ve likely heard that the secret to building relationships with your customers is to “be everywhere your customers are.” As a result, you’ve probably signed up for a dozen social networks hoping that just showing up will turn out to be enough.

SEE ALSO: How to Maximize Your Facebook Engagement

But being everywhere is only the beginning. It turns out that online, just like in real life, the key to building relationships is trust. Cultivating trust online is tricky and takes work, but is by no means impossible. When you respond to your customers in the right way, you earn that trust and build the foundation for a real, long-term relationship. Here’s what you need to consider as you do that.

1. Acknowledge with Empathy

When it comes to earning trust, it’s not if you answer, it’s how you answer. Recognize the type of feeling your customer is having, and respond in an empathetic, emotionally intelligent way. The worst thing you can do is respond with the attitude that your customers are yet another problem to be solved. They will sense it. For example, if a customer tweets asking for help with a lost password, winning their trust might be as easy as adding an, “I’m sorry” or “that must be frustrating” to the response.

Also, when a customer has a good experience with your brand, amplify it. Thank them and then share their feedback socially. Not only do you validate their emotion, you also create the opportunity to connect with the members of your community that might have the same feeling or problem, but haven’t made it known.

2. Enable the Right Outcomes

Before they trust you, your customers need to know not just that you’ll hear them, but that when they raise concerns, they’ll see a resolution. That means enabling your customers to express their feedback in the place where it’s most productive for them, whether that’s Twitter, Facebook, product pages on your website, or anywhere else. In other words, your community needs to have multiple front doors under one roof.

In order for a customer to find a channel that works, you have to make sure that all the conversations people are having about your brand are accessible anywhere your customers are. From there, they need to be able to access information and conversations about products, customer service, and community. That way, your customers are able to find like-minded people and can jump in on any conversation on any platform.

3. Educate Through Experience

It’s not your job to tell your customers what the company values are. It’s your job to let them experience those values by bringing them into the fold of your brand’s community. That requires a system for archiving, organizing, and sharing conversations, the rallying point for your community of customers.

For Intuit’s TurboTax that means offering a robust library of help documents created by the company, but the site also includes a “Live Community” widget that invites people to get help from a community of tax experts and users. Every customer experience is converted to valuable insight that can influence prospects, customers, and onlookers alike. What’s more, the community is a testament to the brand’s values: Offering a DIY tax experience that’s accessible and easy for everyone.

Of course, you still need to produce and share content. It’s not time to ditch the company blog or stopping sending original tweets. It is time to recognize that the conversations within your community actually turn into knowledge. Ultimately, your community is a living FAQ.

4. Keep the Momentum Going

Once you’ve earned your customer’s trust, they’re likely to be even more engaged with your brand and product. That’s a good thing, but it means you’ll need to go above and beyond to continue building that relationship. To do that, you have to get to the point where the trust goes both ways and you trust the customer. Take Tyrel Hartman, who wanted to use the social discovery app StumbleUpon to propose to his girlfriend. Both were active Stumblers and often enjoyed exploring the site together, so Hartman contacted the company and requested that they rig his girlfriend’s account so that she’d stumble on a wedding proposal disguised as a blog post.

StumbleUpon’s team could have easily said no to Hartman, but instead, they were inspired by Hartman’s enthusiasm and explored a new use for their product. It required cross-departmental collaboration and an investment of resources, but it was also a priceless marketing opportunity that earned the company ample news coverage across the web.

Ultimately, real relationships are a two-way street, and your customers know that. Trust is the foundation of a relationship, but to keep that relationship going, you need to prove that you earned it, every day and everywhere.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mikkelwilliam

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/1J0_t1eR_bI/

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