This report, based on a survey of 1,614 affluent luxury consumers with an average income of $239,300, also reveals that some 78 percent of affluent consumers have at least one social networking profile, and that for most, that profile is on Facebook. The findings also show that contrary to popular opinion, the younger demographic is not the only one tapping in. Some 70 percent of affluent consumers over the age of 40 have at least one profile on a social media site.

Food for thought from National Jeweler on how the luxury customer is utilizing the social web. Your customers are likely on Facebook, so make sure to figure out this site fits into your personal and professional lives.

We will be sure to work on a few tips for how to best leverage Facebook Fan Pages for jewelers in an upcoming post! For now, be sure to click the link above to read the full article on NationalJewelerNetwork.com.

Do Web Portals Have A Future?

Something big happened in the Digital Marketing landscape last week.

In case you missed it, on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010, Compete announced that Facebook surged passed Yahoo! as the number two most popular website in the U.S. That’s big news, and most people focused on the numbers (nearly 134 Million Unique Visitors in January 2010, amazing engagement and thoughts about whether or not Facebook can eventually trump Google’s position at #1), which is an important part.

But there’s something bigger happening here.

It’s easy to call this the death of the portal (and it might be), but that comment would be somewhat displaced if you looked at the numbers and how the rest of the Compete list plays out. What is happening is that as more and more people who are connecting online - and are building their profiles in spaces like online social networks - are much more inclined to make those personal pages their homepage.

Another interesting take on Social vs. Search from Mitch Joel at Twist Image. Click the link above to read the entire article, it is really interesting food for thought…

Slowly, but surely, it does seem to appear that Social is surpassing Search… Sure, this is only US stats, but it certainly indicates just how prevalent Facebook and social technology has become in our lives.

Connect your Client

• Pidgin - Windows/Mac/Linux
• Adium - Mac
• iChat - Mac
• Other - Windows/Mac/Linux

Looks like AOL is not the only one getting FB chat integration! Finally their chat might actually be useful!

It is wild to see how quickly a brand like Facebook can emerge as well as the kind of stats it can create on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis…

An interesting peek into how Google plans to leverage the Social Web… Look forward to kicking the tires!

1.    Talk like a real person. Nothing gives the impression that you’re faceless more than using completely neutral third person language across your site. Instead of using the same old marketing mumbo jumbo to describe your business, how about giving people a bit of the story behind your company? Why was it started and how did you build it? When you can tell a story in your own voice, it creates a foundation for believability in everything else you do online.

2.    Share your plans. If you think about your relationships in real life, when people share more about what they are thinking and planning to do, you feel more involved with them. Giving the inside story is a great way to build trust. There are several ways this could translate online. One may be to offer some sort of exclusive experience and content through a loyalty program or Fan page on a site like Facebook. Another could be to choose a set of customers to be part of an inside circle of advisors that you ask for feedback and inspiration. The more you can share online, the more people you can get invested in your business.

3.    Admit your failures. One of the things you can learn from Domino’s recent campaign about their  

Now that you know where to start (check my last post), here is some solid advice on who to be online. Be sure to click the link above to see all 6 excellent suggestions.

If you are just getting started with your business and Social Media, here is a great starting place from The OPEN Forum. If it seems like there is just too much and it is all too complicated, here is the perfect place for you to get your feet wet.

In a report published by Forrester Research, one-third of adults online are “conversationalists,” posting to sites like Twitter and Facebook at least once per week. The group is age 30 and older and, not surprisingly, mostly women. It also reported that 17 percent of the internet participates in social networking at all.

FYI - This is why you want to figure out how Social Media can work into your business. If this is the extent that people are contributing, just try to imagine the extent that they are lurking.

• Social media strategist: 10 hours per week @ $100 per hour = $1,000 per week. Total for 52 weeks – $52,000.
• Community manager: 30 hours per week @ $60 per hour = $1,800 per week. Total for 52 weeks – $93,600.
• Micro-site build (if not using existing platforms) – $15,000.
• Mobile application (more than 70% of web browsing is via mobile phone) – between $20,000 and $150,000 depending on functionality.
• Ongoing moderation and measurement using third-party specialists – between $30,000 and $80,000 depending on frequency.
• Total = $390,600.

Now I’ve given you worse-case examples, since you won’t need a social media strategist for the whole time during the campaign. You might only need a community manager half the time mentioned above. You can also build micro-sites for less; the cost will depend on how interactive you want the site to be.

But even if you halve the total cost used in my example above, you’re still looking at $195,300. Almost $200,000 for a year-long social media campaign.

Danny Brown takes a step back from his theme of community to take a hard look at the costs of a proper Social Media Campaign. You can certainly argue the costs that Danny has proposed. I also think that most businesses tend to ease into the space rather than jump in this deeply, but you cannot argue the point. The cost of Social Media Sites might be free, but the people who really know how to make a difference and impact your bottom line are not. Give the article a read by clicking the link above!