Props to Jill and Kevin for infusing their own personalities into an ageless routine. It’s amazing what a little tweaking can do. They took something good and made it BETTER. What started as a treat for about 100 of their closest friends and family… the JK wedding entrance has accumulated over 1.6 Million views and 8K comments on YouTube in just 4 days. And this isn’t even the party — this is only the ceremony!
This video makes me want a wedding do-over. It made my day. I think it’s probably making Chris Brown’s day too. ‘Forever’ is now No. 29 on iTunes, No. 28 on Amazon — and climbing fast! I’m totally diggin’ the red-headed usher… he can groove that aisle!
**Update: 3 hours after this post, YouTube views of the Wedding Dance were at 1.9MM and comments at 11.5K
**Update: 24 hours after this post (7/25/09), YouTube views of the Wedding Dance trippled to 4.4MM and comments also tripled to 22K. The video was featured on The TODAY show. ‘Forever’ is up to #3 on Amazon and #12 on iTunes.
I LOVE HootSuite!
Maybe I’m a productivity junkie, or obsessive compulsive, perhaps a little narcissistic… the truth is that HootSuite helps me get smart about using Twitter. If you’re out to measure engagement, HootSuite provides the real-time data you need to figure out which of Tweets get the most traction.
No more tweeting in the blind. From topic areas to timing and cadence, flight test the variables that affect your audience the most. Especially useful for the newbie tweeter and folks running short on time, HootSuite provides instant feedback on clicks, lets you pre-schedule tweets and manage multiple Twitter profiles from one interface.
Add multiple users to your account and designate their access levels, monitor conversations using the search feature and even post directly from the web.
In a perfect world, I wish that HootSuite could integrate with my blog — that way new posts could go up automatically — what a time saver! As it is, I’m relegated to using the bookmarklet (hootlet) to send tweets. It also doesn’t track any clicks to links not created using the hootsuite hootlet. So if you’ve got “Tweet this” buttons or some other twitter integration on your blog/site — there’s no way to track that activity.
Alas, the world of microblogging is still developing – HootSuite is definitely in a class by itself with a robust platform that’s user-friendly and FREE.
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I’ve heard more excuses than I care to list about why folks aren’t using social media to grow their business. One of my favorites is the one that goes something like My kid’s on Facebook (or MySpace or Twitter – insert favorite social network here)… Why in the world would I want to be?
This excuse, in particular, gives me the chance to educate the person about the power and reach of social networks. Let’s face it, the “change” is here to stay. Here’s the skinny according to Quantcast:
About 23 million people in the USA use Twitter every month
44% of them (roughly 10 million) are between 18 and 34
Another 33% (about 8 million) are between 35 and 49
Facebook sees 11 million visitors between the ages of 35 and 54 every month. Are your ideal customers among them? You may or may not be using social media yourself, but millions of other people are. According to the Pew Internet American Life Project, the median age of people engaging in social computing broken down by social network are:
- Twitter: 31
- MySpace: 27
- Facebook: 26
- LinkedIn: 40
Surprised? Are those numbers higher up on the age scale than you anticipated? The truth is, that even if social media isn’t your thing, it may be your customers’ and prospects’ thing – and that’s what matters.
That being said, social media marketing isn’t a one-size fits all mass marketing effort. You’ll need a more sophisticated approach if your efforts will ever have a chance at being successful. You’ll want to target your campaigns to maximize their effectiveness. So which one is right for you? That depends on what your goals are and who your target is so do your homework.
- MySpace has a younger audience. You probably want to shy away from marketing products created for an older crowd (e.g. hearing aids and business books), but if you’re promoting media and entertainment related products, you’re probably in the right place.
- Twitter on the brain? Ask yourself these 4 questions – if you answer YES to any of them, then Twitter’s probably for you.
- Facebook pages let you build a community around your company, brand and products. You can also use it to add company news, launch new products, add videos and distribute press releases. Focus on cultivating your community and let your fans do the promoting on your behalf.
Okay, I’m ready for your next excuse… bring it on! If you’re still not convinced that social media is good for your business, state your case in the comments section.