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Hi
Here is your latest issue of Social Business Bites. 3 items this week:
- Thought Leadership & the Funnel - a
Fresh Look
- 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report
- NY Times Innovation Report a Must Read
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4 Stages of The Thought Leadership Funnel
Short link: http://linkd.in/1n6JXfL
The term "thought leadership" gets bandied around a lot in discussions about social media. Mitchell Levy is one person who has a handle on what
is meant by thought leadership and how that is relevant for social media, and vice versa.
This post of Mitchell's on LinkedIn includes a graphical illustration of that inter-relationship, incorporating Mitchell's re-thinking and
re-configuring of the traditional marketing funnel, or "purchase funnel".
"The Thought Leadership Funnel
articulates the relationship between the organization selling products and services and the buyer in the new #CustomerObsessed world. Embodied in the Funnel is the flow of social media, traditional media, employee, and advocate-based activities organizations engage in to acquire, maintain, and propagate advocates."
By the way, this post appeared on LinkedIn and is an example of the new LinkedIn feature which
allows each of us who are members to publish on that platform.
2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report
Short link: http://bit.ly/1krG0kw
One of the most useful reports produced each year about social media is this report from Michael Stelzner's Social Media Examiner (a site I recommend highly for staying in the social business information loop). With an abundance of current data and 70 charts, the
latest report just out makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the state of play and emerging trends with social media marketing.
Key findings are summarized early in the report. They include the following:
- Blogging holds the top spot for future social media marketing
plans.
- Marketers are keen to learn more about Google+ and 61% plan on increasing their G+ activities this year.
- Podcasting on the rise: from the current 6% of marketers using podcasting there is a projected 3-fold increase to 21%.
- Facebook and LinkedIn are the two most important
social networks for marketers.
And it is free to download.
Last week, someone leaked a copy of a New York Times report on innovation that is shockingly good. It clearly identified the major problems facing the newspaper in an increasingly digital world, and it made some smart recommendations for transforming the Times into a "digital first" publication. If the Times were to follow them, it would have a large
and positive impact on the paper.
Although not explicitly about social business, the leaked and now universally available New York Times internal report on Innovation is very much about the social business revolution. The report is being discussed widely on the social web and is a must-read for anyone interested in the
impact of digital technology and social networks on traditional businesses (not just media businesses). You can read the full report (97 pages) here.
This article is, as the subject line suggests, pessimistic about the chances of
the NY Times implementing the report, although at the same time the article is respectful of the Times and its cultural and historical significance. Among the many articles on the subject, I selected this one for SB Bites because it sets out the issues clearly and - as I see it - fairly.
What I found particularly interesting about the report and the commentary is how they illustrate the significance
of entrenched business (and journalistic) cultures for any change process - a hobby horse of mine as some readers will know. :)
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Till next time
Be well, be social :)
Des
PS: If you are not on the list yet to receive Social Business Bites in your email inbox, and would like to try it, you can register for that at this link (there is an easy unsubscribe link in every update).
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My contact
details
Phone: International +61 413 089 355 Australia 0413 089 355
Skype: userid is deswalsh (if you want to connect with me there, just type in "Social Business Bites" - or email me and we can set it up).
Email: deswalsh@webartsco.com
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