There’s a hot new tool that offers HUGE opportunity to ramp up your marketing results, by linking social media with surveys.

Today, we’re going to fill you in on the new tool and show you EXACTLY how you can capitalize on it.

Pay close attention because this kind of geographic targeting promises to be the next big thing.

Here’s the scoop:  a small (1%) group of Twitter users now has access to a new service, Local Trends.  It’s a new twist on local search that lets you measure trending topics in a geographic area.

With this tool, you can do 2 very important things.  First, you can target your own area (appears you can change it when you travel).  So if you market locally, this gives you a huge opportunity, because you can

• stay on top of hot topics in the local market and keep your brand in the conversation,
• follow up on these topics in your surveys, to get more systematic information, and
• use these topics in your marketing messages and offers.

The second function of Local Trends is where it really gets cool for those of us who market nationally or nternationally.  Local Trends lets you click on a list of cities and countries to find out what the trending topics are there.  Right now, the list is small, but you it will grow.

Once this list does grow, this gives you a HUGE opportunity to really increase your conversions.

We’ve told you for a while that segmenting your list and personalizing your offers could skyrocket your conversions but this can put it on steroids.

Here’s an example:  Let’s say you’re getting a lot of prospects and customers in Vancouver, BC.  With Local Trends, you could find out about issues, hot spots, trends, controversies—all sorts of things going on in Vancouver so that, when you send messages, offers, or invitations to your customers there, you can connect with them in a much more personal way.

How do you do that—how do you KNOW if a lot of prospects and customers come from Vancouver?  Use surveys.

Use super-short surveys of your prospects and put a customer profile survey in place, as we’ve been teaching you, and include location information in the data you collect.

As your database grows, look for cities, regions, areas where you have “clusters” of customers.

Where those segments are big enough, create a list segment.

Use Local Trends to periodically see what’s going on in that area, so you can use those trends in your messages to that segment.

It’s just as simple as that.  Location-based targeting, like Local Trends and Foursquare, is just the beginning, so stay tuned for updates and get ready to ride the next big wave.

]]> http://mysurveyexpert.com/blog/603/twitter-segmentation-strategy/feed/ 0 http://mysurveyexpert.com/blog/536/creating-brand-loyalty-what-social-media-cant-do/ http://mysurveyexpert.com/blog/536/creating-brand-loyalty-what-social-media-cant-do/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:27:00 +0000 admin http://mysurveyexpert.com/blog/?p=536 Bad marketing advice abounds. One of my Google alerts picked up an article on using Twitter to tap customer sentiment, which said things like the following:

One key way to get value out of Twitter in terms of a customer service tool is by listening. If you’re able to track conversations related not only to your specific business, but also among potential clients discussing their needs, you will gain invaluable insight into what your clients really want from you.

This can play a huge role in your marketing and sales efforts because you can tailor your offerings to meet the individual needs you’ve witnessed discussion about on Twitter, and take time to focus on what current clients are saying outside of your own interactions.

Why is that such bad advice?  Because, almost without exception, social media CANNOT give you a systematic picture of what your customers want, think, or need, or when they’re satisfied.

How can I make such a bald statement?  Particularly since I’m a social media consultant and I’ve studied social networks for more than 20 years?

Because I HAVE studied social networks and because I’ve looked at the research.

That research shows clearly that you’re probably hearing from 1-5% of your customers on a site like Twitter.

To hear the whole story–and to find out how you can avoid this “social media trap” AND turn it into profits–check out the video we made for you:

http://www.siteproweb.com/launch-video-three

Although these results are being widely touted as showing how widespread Twitter use is, that’s not necessarily true. Because the question included not only Twitter but also other status update services–such as Facebook–it’s impossible to tell how much of this activity is really on Twitter, as opposed to other social media sites.

The survey also reinforces just how important mobile phones have become for social networking. Only 10% of people who have only one Internet-connected device (such as a computer) report using status updating services, but nearly 40% of people who have 4 or more Internet-connected devices use these social media services.

The survey also shows that more than half (55%) of those who use status update services are under age 50.