Andre Ivanchuk

Delivering business results through the online social space cannot be accomplished without being genuine. It’s only a matter of time before your real intentions and objectives are revealed.

It doesn’t take a genius to distinguish between the scents of genuineness and the stenches of garbage. Online users are extremely savvy and intelligent. There is an inherent level of transparency within the digital. If you’re online, do it right from the start. Set out to build lasting relationships.

Here’s a simple takeaway: Be real. Be honest. Don’t serve garbage on a silver platter – you’re only kidding yourself.

What does concrete data really say about the quality of a click. How can we measure the quality of concrete data to better understand online users within our communities?

If 500 individuals “like” a post or a page, it is simply 500 individuals who clicked the “like” button. We can assume if the number is high, then the probability of a genuine click is higher. But this does not necessarily provide us with a clear picture of the quality of the clicks and users.

I’m not sure that we can effectively track social media efforts, yet. This might be one of the reasons why companies across the globe are having a difficult time justifying cutting their ad dollars out of traditional media to fuel social media. But, if social media efforts were brought to a halt at a brand that currently utilizes online social channels, there would be a measurable dent in their bottom-line, even thought we can’t track the upfront efforts.

Looking at hard data is a classic quantitative approach. And there’s always validity with numbers. But, how do we measure the quality of the data? Certainly we can make educated interpretations of the data, but this will not give us a true understanding of the quality of our users, followers or community.

I’m a firm believer in numbers and concrete data. Numbers cannot lie. But numbers are representative of quantity, and not of quality.

(A response & dialogue to Mitch Joel’s post on The Almighty Endgame Of Marketing on Six Pixels of Separation)

We’ve been noticing major and minor brands utilizing Social Media as part of their online marketing initiatives. To include these non-traditional marketing approaches is good. The way it is executed is not good. Why would someone click the Facebook or Twitter link on a page with a “follow us” call to action?

There is nothing in it for the customer!

Simple Solution: Include incentives like

• Exclusive Deals to the Online Community
• Promotion Announcements
• New Products/Services Announcements (PR)

Give your future customers a good reason why they should invest the time and make you part of their world.

Southern Comfort had spent nearly $8 million last year on traditional marketing – TV and Print. Now, their entire budget has moved online; facebook, hulu, etc. Pretty impressive to shift funds without partiality.

What’s more interesting is what did an alcohol brand see online that attracted them enough to completely slash their traditional advert budgets in favor of the digital?

Read the full article at AdAge

There’s an increasing number of health care providers who are essentially giving no option for their patients but to keep silent and not post any negative remarks on the Internet pertaining to the doctor.

If you offer a quality service, regardless of the industry, you can be confident that the experience you offer is a positive one. If a health care provider is concerned about patients posting negative remarks online, then simply provide a service with excellence.

If a doctor is forcing their patients to sign a silence order, I would question the quality of the doctor. Typically, one is concerned about negative feedback when the services offered are not at their best.

Secondly, this is an issue of freedom-of-speech. If my experience at a health care facility was a negative, my family and friends would appreciate to know prior to getting care.

This is basic Word of Mouth Marketing. Word of Mouth is the most effective way, and trusted way to build business. Those doctors that are silencing their patients are only hurting their business… unless they are offering horrible services.

For further reading:

Doctors Demanding Online Silence by Jane Akre
Online ratings are actually good for hospitals and doctors by Christopher Boyer
Docs Seek Gag Orders to Stop Patients’ Reviews by ABC, Lindsey Tanner