News today that Facebook have overtaken Google as the number 1 website in terms of visits according to “Hitwise”.

This is something I was only giving a talk about today to a group of business people here in the south east. I was explaining that social media needs to be managed correctly by staff of businesses if they are going to use this tool to attract traffic to their business using Facebook.

I had mentioned that facebook had over taken Yahoo and Microsoft already and this news today that this has happened this week has huge implications for the search world in general.

Companies will now be wondering if they should get a website and Facebook should now be exploiting this fact with their advertising costs and web designers/ programmers guru’s should be writting Apps for facebook.

The Whole World’s In A State O Chassis !

If you remember the quote from,  Juno And The Paycock then you will know what I mean. If we look at this in other terms, lets say 10 years ago we needed to find a telephone number where did we look ? Yes in a big yellow book in the office, now that big yellow book has been demoted to “Computer stand for your Monitor”

The whole world is changing, now we look for information online usually Goolge. But if Google have been toppled off the number 1 position in just 3 short years, what is next?

Food for thougt, chewing gum for the brain.

Enjoy the St Patrick’s Day where ever you are

I was browsing facebook and a friend of mine who works in a Media company in Sweden posted a link to a blog from a social media company in the UK. The post was about the percentage of tweets that contain brand names or organisation names. So what you may say,but like everything on the net you have to read between the lines to fully understand the benefit and reason for something.

We often get asked, why have a twitter account for business as most people just put some rubbish on it about what they are doing rather than actually using it for it s real purpose.

Conversation.

Twitter is a mini blog of types that give you the ability to ask questions, people will ask where a restaurant is, what shampoo do others use, what time is Metallica on stage, what ever the question is you must remember it is logged and search-able.

Twitter is a search engine that if we really think about it. It logs the real-time conversation that pople have online and you can search it to get the latest information.

http://search.twitter.com will show you what people are saying right now and don’t forget twitter is mobile so its not just nerds like me writting on their blog in the office on a dark evening, Its people standing outside supermarkets, sitting in restaurants, they are all around us telling us things using their mobiles.

19% of tweets mention brands

Yes it’s true, apparently news out this week shows that the Irish nation has embraced social media websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, YouTube etc with such a vigor that now they are viewed more often than adult websites.

I read recently on a blog run by the famous Damian Mulley that facebook has gone from 200,000 users to nearly 900,000 in 2009 alone.  This is faster than light, this must be a world record for the use of a product to grow this fast.

When I started this company back in 1999 here in Gorey the Internet was nearly a rude word as it always had a connotation that the use of the “Interweb” was used to view adult material or that only very big computer companies needed to use it for communication.  Now everyone is seeing that the use of the internet is reducing their telephone bills as VOIP calls increase, online backups, emails, marketing, advertising and of course E-commerce and selling and buying on-line.

Using social media is a great example of how the recession is making people aware of their current marketing costs and getting them to reflect on their advertising budgets and ask them selves : are we getting bang for our buck. Usually the answer is not any more. Websites such as Facebook for example allow you to bring your company into the arena where your client base is already mingling.

Example: A pub in Gorey might not want to get a full website but they do appreciate the custom of their clients and they reach out to them using social media, They set up a facebook page and allow people to become fans, and I see now today they have 1,126 listed. They are using facebook to communicate to their customers to let them know about music nights, quiz night, sports matches etc.

Fantastic use the social media and the Internet. Well done guys.

A friend posted this on Facebook and it’s just great to see social media being used to bring an issue to the attention of management. This is what i mean by digital footprint, See how many people have view the video!

click on the video to see it on YouTube and the Number of “hits” it has got so far.

This is a questions we get asked all the time, no matter if it’s on-line, via the office telephone or sitting at a family dinner table. What the hell is twitter and why would anyone be mad enough to upload “I’m having my lunch” as a statement on their twitter page.

Let me explain how we see it.

Twitter came about as a mini type of blog It allows it’s users to publish a short sentence about their feeling, opinions, questions they might have and other users who are linked to their page can view, read and answer them. In the industry we call it starting a conversation. Be it on-line, it’s still a conversation.

Many people also assume that to use twitter you must be sitting starring at a computer all day. Again another myth. You know we are always saying “The Web is Everywhere, Be part of it” the reason we are saying this is that the website is also on mobile phones and has been for some time now. Many users are still afraid to use it because of massive roaming charges whilst abroad and high prices of using the internet via a mobile device.

Blackberry & Internet ready devices

Everyday we see people we assume are “texting” as they stroll along the street, but in actual fact many are updating their Twitter or facebook profile. Some are personal pages telling their friends what they are doing right now and thus inviting them to meet them for lunch etc. Others are maybe business people in a new town looking for help for finding a business or location. It is said that twitter was the first method in announcing the death recently of Michael Jackson, from a person updating their twitter profile and that profile being “followed” by others.

Following someone on Twitter??

This simply means that you are saying to that person that you will read what they are putting on their profile. As with other social networking website, what you write appears on other people profiles. (can you see why they call it the web now?) This linking from profile to profile or website to website is what makes the internet special. It’s dynamic, it’s evolving, ever changing and like it or hate it it’s where the majority of people both in business or private get their information from.

Broadcast Media?

Noticed over the past few years how TV stations are pushing their website addresses more and move after each program and during shows themselves. It’s because they are loosing viewers. They know people are moving on0line and so they have heavily invested in on-line media in order to try to regain some on their audience.

Advertising on TV? Why bother?

Using Sky+ has changed my life, no longer waiting up to see late night tv programs etc. I can record everything using the record button and then the green series link button. so now when i get home i press play and watch my favourite show (House, lets say). Then its time for an Ad break and we see the show is sponsored by Carpet Right, then what happens?

Fast Forward through the Adverts. . . .

Completely missing all the ads and their clever messages till we see the sponsoring advert again then we press play. Now tell me honestly how many of you do that. Everyone i have spoken to does. Now would you still agree to paying thousands on TV adverts. I wouldnt give them €100 euro

So how does all that relate to Facebook or Twitter. Well basically broadcast media is throwing it our there and see who may or may not be watching. Online publishing allows the audience come to you.  A completely new concept to many business people. Some companies still believe in shouting and telling everyone about themselves, others are now understanding that people can get in touch with you by less formal means, by “Starting a conversaion” with you on-line or via a mobile device. It’s less formal, it’s cheaper and easier to get involved in.

Any size business can use these type of services, from one may bands to multinationals. Their are great benefits to be had by using the power of the internet no matter what shape of form it takes.

To start growing your business, call Dave Jordan on 053 9430748 today.

The Web is Everywhere, Be part of it.

Understanding the internet

One remark that comes up again and again is how “confusing the internet is”...

Indeed the world wide web is such a vast virtual organism that its hardly suprising that many folks are stumped when it comes to applying the latest web technology such as blogs, you tube videos, flickr photos , forums and google tools to their business.

For example a restaurant owner or blind manufacturer may be suprised at how the web can work for his /her business promoting their brand and ethos not justy locally in Gorey or Wicklow but internationally.

A few points about the web include:

• size doesnt matter,
• you get out what you put in ,
• believe in it and it will reward you
• and of course, content is king.

So don’t give up , why not call into us here at John Street Gorey and find out from our google guru Dave Jordan – no seriously, he has been called this by clients ..(in fact recent clients have  described a conversation with him as full of ‘new york energy’ ( I dont think he’s been to new york yet?) and how he ‘has basically explained the web to me“)…exactly how google and the web can promote and help your business grow…

The Web IS everywhere..Be part of it!

Rosa

We’ve started on a new campaign for one of our clients in Galway. The college of hairdressing has approached us and asked us to develop a strategy for them to improve their online presence and go after their target audience online.

We have started working on this project this week and will be keeping an eye on its progress over the coming weeks, we will let you know how it performs and what we have devised.