Guest post by Danna Vetter, VP, Consumer Strategies, ARAMARK People laughed when we began talking about putting resources towards building a social structure for a company like ARAMARK. We heard it all: The standard – “We can’t open ourselves up to this kind of risk.” The mean – “You’re just trying to manipulate company perception.” The ridiculous – “No one wants to read tweets about hot dogs.” If you don’t know, ARAMARK is a private, $13 billion global company that…
Engagement ain’t nothing but a number – why 1% isn’t good enough
The headline calls attention to everything that’s wrong with how businesses measure engagement in social media today. Businesses that invest any level of marketing resources in networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the like (get it?) are being groomed to focus on soft metrics instead of the relevant activity that signals the strength and worth of a community. By weighing conversations, interactions, and views, businesses are fed raw numbers that demonstrate KPIs but they do not offer the insights…
The rise of Generation-C…and what to do about it
I recently had the privilege of presenting at the GDOL Digital Talkfest in Istanbul. The focus of the event was very much in line with my current work. GDOL tracks the new generation of consumers who do everything online and the impact they now have on popular culture, society and ultimately business. I refer to this generation as Generation-C. Prior to my trip, I met with Capital Magazine for an in-depth interview. They asked some very important questions, questions that…
It’s a Small World After All: The Top Global Web Trends
Social media is a global phenomenon indeed. Certainly Facebook, Twitter, Google+, in their own way, each make the world a much smaller place. The distance between any two people is shrinking as the number of network connections continues to proliferate. I’m sure you’ve heard at one point or another, that the distance between two people in an offline world is six degrees. In a recent Facebook study for example, the average degree of separation between two people in the network…
Meet Generation C: The Connected Customer
Marketers, educators, parents, it seems that almost anyone in the Generation X or Boomer demographic is scratching their heads trying to figure out Generation Y aka the Millennial. After all, it’s the first generation to seemingly possess digital prowess as part of their DNA. And, it’s the first generation to receive both a birth certificate and a social profile or presence upon delivery into this world. A study published in 2011 by security company AVG and Research Now surveyed 2,200…
Brands Give Facebook F-Commerce an F
With a looming $10 billion IPO on the horizon and a community that’s estimated to hit 1 billion users this Fall, Facebook seems unstoppable. Yet on one important front, the store front that is, Facebook has exposed an imperfection. People are not proving ready to actually buy goods and services in Facebook – at least not at the scale retailers are used to seeing through traditional e-commerce. And suddenly, many question the role Facebook actually plays in the monetization strategy…
The 6 Pillars of Social Commerce: Understanding the psychology of engagement
Social media is about social science not technology. As such, its value is not realized in the Likenomics of relationship status nor in the scores individuals earn by engaging in social networks. The value of social media comes down to people, relationships, and the meaningful actions between them. As such, its value is measured through the exchange of social currencies that contribute to one’s capital within each network. Through conversations, what we share, and the content we create, consume and…
In an era of Digital Darwinism, no business is too big to fail or too small to succeed
In an era of Digital Darwinism, no business is too big to fail or too small to succeed…this is your time. Many follow, but very few lead. Many compete to survive, but few compete for relevance. Do we listen to our customers? Do we truly understand them? Do we create experiences or do we simply react? The future of business comes down to one word…change. This is a new era that redefines everything. An era of empowered consumers and employees….
The Pillars of Influence and How to Activate Cause and Effect
Digital Influence is one of the hottest trends in social media and it is also one of the least understood. Klout, PeerIndex, Kred among many others are investing millions of dollars to understand how our social media activity translates into influence. The market for influence is only heating up with more entrants expected to debut and acquisitions or mergers likely on the horizon. Within the last 90 days alone, Klout took in a Series C of $30 million from Kleiner…
Report: The Rise of Digital Influence and How to Measure It
About three weeks ago, I celebrated my first anniversary as Principal Analyst of Altimeter Group. And, it is with great pride that I mark the occasion with the release of my first official Altimeter report, “The Rise of Digital Influence.” Not a traditional market report, it was written as both a primer and a how-to guide for businesses to spark desirable effects and outcomes through social media influence. We live in a time when social networks such as Facebook, Twitter,…
