Social Media Blog by Michael Brito

I got an email from a colleague at work today asking the broader team about the definition of “social popularity.” It was an excellent question and I have been thinking about it all day. I am still not sure what the right answer is but I think the term “popularity” is a little fluffy and vague. Unfortunately, I see many people today using tools like Twitter to “gain popularity” using shady tactics; and all it really amounts to is their perceived influence over others merely by their follower count or the ego they try and down play in their bio. Twitter is just one example but it happens all over the web, and even in person.

Earlier this week, I wrote a guest post on the Social Media Examiner about real time search and it’s affect on businesses. Now that Google and other search engines are displaying real time feeds from Twitter and Facebook in the search results, brands need to understand the implications. I would suggest reading the full article; but here is a quick synopsis.

Here is real time search can drive business results:

• Increased reach of your messages
• Growth in social equity
• Potential customer acquisition

According to this report, senior marketers say that social networks and applications were their biggest priority for their 2010 marketing plans, followed closely by digital infrastructure. The others priorities included search optimization, mobile, blogger outreach, viral campaigns, digital advertising, email marketing and games.  While these are all important, what’s interesting is that “community management and/or engagement” is not mentioned at all. Perhaps those marketers interviewed consider community management a part of “social networks” but I doubt it.

According to Nielsen, consumers spent more than five and half hours living in the conversational streams of  Facebook and Twitter in December 2009, an 82% increase from the same time last year when users were spending just over three hours. And, of course that was followed by an astronomical increase of unique visitors.

Image from Nielsen Blog

Ok, the title may seem a little over the top but it’s true. Over the last 5 years or so, the exponential growth of the social web has suddenly given a voice to just about anyone who wants one.  I wrote about this a few years go but it’s even more true today.  The emergence of technology and the fact that tools like Twitter and Facebook have become mainstream is forcing the enterprise to plan accordingly and consider something new, something they aren’t used to. Consumers. I’m not referring to audience segmentation or identifying a target audience either. I am talking about consumers’ perceptions, point of views, interests, dislikes and likes about their brand.

I love Twitter because it allows me to share and consume information. Whether it’s the protests in Iran or the recent earthquake in Haiti; for me, it’s the number one source of information because it is curated by a community that I trust. It’s the perfect medium to build and activate a community for reasons greater than ourselves.  Another reason I love Twitter is because it helps bring awareness about causes and fundraisers that one would normally not hear about.

… well, maybe one or two may be.

I was inspired from this post by @mediaphyter a few weeks ago and I thought I would reflect back on 2009 and mention a few people who have really impacted my life and my career. These are friends I know personally and I look up to based on their knowledge of the social space; leadership qualities or things they do in their personal  lives to make change and help others, all in a 140 characters or less:

Jennifer Leggio | @mediaphyter

Personal friend, influencer, partner, smart, good hearted person who has been to my house before and we broke bread for my birthday

Ted Murphy | @tedmurphy

Entrepreneur and good friend; he has given me solid career advice and I am inspired by all of his achievements despite constant criticism

I had the opportunity to write a guest post for Amber Naslund that highlights some of the issues/challenges and conversations I have had with others working internally for brands. Here is a snap shot of my post, but please do continue to the conversations in the comments section of Ambers blog:

Measuring Social ROI – The question we need to start asking ourselves is “how do we go about quantifying metrics to show how they drive true business value and/or revenue?”