Just When Bosses Learn Social Networks Are a Pain, It Gets Worse

 

Employers have been already sweating over poor worker productivity because they access social networks, Facebook or MySpace at work. But now bosses have a new worry – appointment gaming hosted by the Web sites.

Yes, appointment or asynchronous games. Encarta defines asynchronous as “relating to or using an electronic communication method that sends data in one direction, one character at a time.”

Ouch. It doesn’t sound productive does it?

Well, it isn’t. It allows your workers to play games with their friends even when they’re not even online.

The games are called Café World, Farmville, Happy Aquarium, Pet Society and Restaurant City. The developers are Crowdstar, Playfish, Slashkey and Zynga.

Employees lose a double-digit percentage of their productivity because of such games, according to published reports. This isn’t surprising news to employers who have already found it necessary to make social networks off-limits to employees.

A Reuters’ published report quoted Rebecca Wetterman Nucleus Research, www.nucleusresearch.com, who said nearly 50 percent of white collar workers use social networks at work. The report also attributed a claim by Facebook that one in five of its members play the social networking games during office hours.

If you have to meet a payroll, this is an ominous development. Facebook has 350 million members.

From the Coach’s Corner, such social networking work is not only wasteful, it’s a threat to your company’s Internet security:

You’ll see why when you read these columns:

• 5 Safety Measures to Thwart Mounting Social-Network Attacks
• Web Security Checklist and Warning about Mobile Banking

How Multi-Channel Marketing Yields Best Results

 

 Q: Dear Biz Coach, after using your suggested tips on managing the boss, I got a promotion in less than three months. Thank you. Things really seemed to turn around after I wrote thank you notes regarding our company benefits to key managers. Now that I know how to market my services in the workplace, do you have any advice on marketing my company online?  How did you learn this stuff?  (Please keep my name and company confidential.)

A: Congratulations on your career achievement. While I have confidence in self-promotion strategies, I like to self-effacingly tell people I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair. Actually, I’ve had the best possible mentors. They didn’t come to me, I sought them out. Whenever someone was successful in ways I wanted for myself, I asked for their input.

You’ve suggested a great topic. The key, of course, is to motivate or inspire people to buy from you.

Yes, it’s true. Online marketing is a good place to be. Published reports indicate Internet advertising dollars average more than $5.5 billion a quarter. Forty percent of Internet advertising revenue has usually been driven by search engines; display ads have accounted for about 32 percent.

And, of course, there is Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of social networking sites.

Not knowing what your industry is, I won’t be specific, but it’s worth considering the results of several developments:

Viral marketing. As tempting as  social networking and the Internet are, however, I strongly urge you not to ignore the benefits of traditional media, which drive traffic to Web sites. Millions of potential customers watch TV, listen to the radio and still read newspapers. And media outlets have Web sites. In fact, whether you want credit-worthy customers or those with sophisticated tastes, it would be a mistake not to utilize mediums with a strong news reputation. Today’s fragmented society demands it.

My sense is that viral campaigns – consumer-generated media or how Internet users spread messages via word-of-mouth in social networking – when coupled with TV and other mediums – build brand equity by affecting consumer behavior and direct-response buying.

A key is to make it entertaining while focusing on the marketing goals. It has to be edgy and grainy-looking, and you can’t divulge the advertiser right away.

Getting people to blog about you is another technique and interactivity with customers is another. In other words, these are all forms of online word-of-mouth advertising.

E-mail blasts. According to data from RightNow Technologies, www.rightnow.com, 3 percent of shoppers wanted after-purchase follow-up by retailers. How can you convert shoppers into buyers? Some 42 percent of consumers want fast and easy access to information online. RightNow also says 68 percent were motivated to visit a Web site upon getting an e-mail from a merchant.

That would also seem true in order to attract repeat business.

Lyris, www.lyris.com, a subsidiary of J.L. Halsey, reports it’s true that the majority of large Internet service providers in the U.S. have a low success rate in e-mail deliveries. Readers won’t see your ad, if you use lots of graphics or images. A failure to include a legitimate address prevents deliverability, too, thanks to content filters or junk/bulk folders.

Other factors: The sender’s reputation in mailing history; including its complaint record.

A study by eROI, www.eroi.com, says that attention to detail is critical for strong results. For example, a call-to-action is best when inserted in the e-mail above the fold. Study author Jeff Mills advocates using ALT tags, which are used in HTML and XHTML documents. ALT tags specify which text is to be rendered. Mills says readers are then able to see what the e-mail offer contains. I’ve found this to be especially true when using either my PDA or Blackberry.

ROI. Being able to measure your return on investment is critical. iProspect, www.iprospect.com, a search engine marketing firm, says 88 percent of search marketers are now able to track results. That includes overall business results and search metrics.

Trends in direct response. A study by the Direct Marketing Association confirms there is no longer a distinction between branding and direct marketing, and that marketing across multiple channels is in vogue.

For example, 30 percent of those marketers surveyed say they use TV. Twenty-eight percent include a call for action while 26 percent include a Web address or 800 number across all media advertising.

Online search costs. There have important search-cost findings in a study by Performics, www.performics.com, DoubleClick’s marketing division. The study tracks the progress of search engine ad campaigns. For example, it points out that Yahoo search costs have decreased. Yahoo’s ad system, Panama, is doing well by targeting ads to the right readers.

The use of keywords is up, but the trend prompted increases in average cost-per-clicks and the average cost per keyword. That’s because the use of keywords have increased in recent years.

Selling to tech buyers. A study by KnowledgeStorm, www.knowledgestorm.com, showed 56 percent of tech buyers use three or more keywords when starting their search. Fifty-three percent scan three to five pages in their searches and 53 percent click on sponsored links or paid ads.

Finally, here’s another reason to utilize all channels of marketing: Some 80 percent of tech shoppers admit offline marketing prompts them to search for more information. Forty-three percent of them provide their name, e-mail address, and career information in registering for tech content. But many admit to supplying incorrect phone numbers because they would prefer an e-mail response.

From the Coach’s Corner, even a study by TiVo, the adversary of television advertisers, provides an insight for targeting men. While it concludes that Mother’s Day is more hallowed than Father’s Day – 86 percent of consumers spend more money for mom than they do for dad, and only 51 percent of consumers will observe Father’s Day.

However, the study also shows what dads likely will be doing on Father’s Day: In order of preference, they’ll be watching TV, playing outdoors, working on home improvement projects or reading. The study says 75 percent of men are in charge of the remote control.

If you’re targeting men, do it on TV even though TiVo claims a 17 percent penetration.

To increase odds that their commercials will be seen by even TiVo users, savvy advertisers try to get their commercials scheduled last in the commercial break. Your chances will be enhanced if you use bookends – a 15-second commercial at the start of the break and another 15-second commercial at the end. Other success factors depend on the content of your message and sponsoring the right channels, especially local news.