Social Commerce: Are We Too Focused on One Platform?

The other day I received a marketing email from a well respected analyst firm which I consider to be quite ahead in the area of social media. The firm was promoting its upcoming social commerce event. My area of focus now is the supply chain so the event doesn’t have direct relevance to me but nonetheless it is quite interesting–how will/should retailers and manufacturers respond to the shopper’s desire to have a personalized experience and what role will mobile technologies play. One item stood out to me and its not just this email that falls victim to focusing on one particular mobile platform.

The iPhone is without doubt an amazing device built on a solid, user-friendly platform (though you may need to stand on your head with only 2 fingers holding the phone to stay connected). It receives the most hype. As Dana Blankenhorn highlights in “Android Froyo and Why it Matters“, traditional media and bloggers jump hoops to cover any Apple announcement but seem to ignore the the developments of other platforms such as Android, Blackberry, WebOs, WinMo, and the number one OS on mobile phone, Symbian.

In no way do I discredit the importance of iOS4 and the opportunities it presents to retailers, manufactuers, service providers, etc. If you look at the combination of these operating systems, the total potential for mobile social commerce is amazing. In the U.S. alone, more than 41 million people use a smartphone (RIM still holds a commanding lead with 41.7 percent of the market). In the first quarter of 2010, more than 54 million smartphones were shipped worldwide, according to research firm IDC. From the chart below, it is clear there is more than one player.

Is the media creating an unnecessary hype that is detracting from the greater market potential or will developers overlook the hype and see the potential in the other platforms? My guess is the developer community looks beyond the hype to see the actual revenue potential available to them. In the end, this could be a three-legged race between RIM, Apple and Android. WinMo 7 definitely looks impressive but I don’t know if it really has the legs to compete, especially if what I have read about BlackBerry 6 and the shift to appease the consumer market is true.

How does this relate to PR you ask? Well, I have seen many fancy proposals and ideas surrounding campaigns and app development focused on one platform. Be aware fellow PR folks, a multi-platform/channel strategy is what you need to truly reach the mass market.

Full disclosure: I own an HTC Droid Incredible and love the device. Personally, I am all about Android but professionally I see there is a need to target multiple audiences to gain the maximum impact.

It’s Been A While…And SEO is for Real!?

It has been quite a while since my last post. Going on six months actually. If I recall correctly from my own preachings to clients…never go silent. Oops! Once you go silent the conversation stops and interest is lost. Hopefully I still have at least one reader left out there!

Since my last post I have started a new job. I have gone corporate, focused on one goal for one company. It is quite an interesting change of pace but mostly it is a change in perspective. My role has also evolved into more than PR and AR to include advertising and some traditional marketing functions such as whitepaper development and working with the web folks to improve our SEO.

SEO is an interesting term. I have heard many call it snake oil (there are quite a few posts dedicated to this) while others swear by it. (For a laugh, check out SEO is Bull$&@*, SEO is Snake Oil, SEO is a Waste of Money).  I am not sure if I am quite sold yet on SEO. I definitely see some benefit to it but as online noise increases does SEO lose its effectiveness? I mean, how many times can you put in a term to increase your rankings against 100,000 other sites before you get penalized.  To an extent, SEO is still a buzz word, one people like to drop to sound smart. You know the type, those that use words they have no understanding of to “fit in”. (Social media comes to mind).

Working directly with the web team I have seen first hand how legitimate SEO (not the black hat mail order bride stuff) helps drive sales leads. Here are some things I have found to be effective. While they are a bit basic, you would be surprised how many companies are not engaged in these.

• Understand your key words, what prospects are searching for and incorporate these terms into your site. Don’t go overboard as many small companies tend to do. Keep it real.
• Content, Content, Content. What is your industry talking about? What are your customers’ pain points? Create educational (not sales) material that addresses these. While the material will likely be in PDF format, make sure to create plain text abstracts for each asset. These are more easily indexed.
• Get rid of PDF news releases. For one, opening a PDF is a pain unless you have a new computer. Offer the asset as a new, stand alone page. You can offer the PDF version for download but it shouldn’t be the main link.
• Keep the conversation going. Don’t do like me and fall off the face of the earth for 5 months! Want to incorporate social media into that ongoing conversation? Check out this post from Steve McAbee over at Wunderkind, “Developing a Social Media Plan: Research, Strategy and Tactics.”

New Research on the Social Media Engagement of Georgia’s Top Companies

Wunderkind Public Relations announced today findings of a research project into the social media engagement of Georgia’s top companies. The 2009 Social Media Engagement scorecard takes a look at the top 25 public and top 25 private companies in the state and basis their engagement level on the use of five tools: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, and YouTube. The research gave these 50 companies a D grade meaning, on average, each company used 2 of the services. Only 4 scored a perfect score.

Social media is still new to the corporate world, especially those in B2B circles. While the score was low, it does show companies are engaging and testing the waters to determine how this medium will provide the greatest return on investment. Some which scored low may never reach a perfect score because services like Facebook don’t reach the audience they need. Either way, there is a lot of room for growth and as more companies test the waters each will figure out how social media can impact them and the best way to create an online dialog with customers and prospects.

Here are some of the stats from the scorecard:

• LinkedIn is far and away the most popular social networking service; 96% of all companies have a LinkedIn page, followed by Facebook (42%) and Twitter (38%)
• Only 9 companies received a SME score of 4 or better
• CEOs lack engagement with an average SME score of .26
• 12 companies have a dedicated YouTube channel while only 7 have a blog
• Only 1 CEO contributes to the company blog
• Private B2C companies led the pack scoring a 3.2 on the SME scale while private B2B companies trailed with a mere 1.6
• 33 of the 50 companies on the list are B2B
• 1 company is completely disengaged

Disclosure: I am employed at Wunderkind Public Relations and participated in the research.