Pinterest: Social Media That Works for Retailers

Sources for the infographic are: Shareaolic Blog, comScore, Tech Crunch

Infographic's Creator: modea


For many who know me they know one thing: I love information. Social media channels are in a state of constant change. So when I saw this veryPinteresting infographic I just had to take a second look. The results speak volumes. 


It has been said that traditional media reaches a certain type of audience. But sadly, you have half the chance of reaching as many of them as you would have 10 years ago. Paul Gillin is a respected social media marketing guru and Author of The New Influencers. It's no surprise in the last eight years, we have gone through a major shift in consumerism. We begin with a search engine, as Gillin points out his forum at the SuperGenius Conference.


So now I'm thinking where does Pinterest fit into the picture? 
Pinterest has shot upwards in the last two years. It boasts over 11 million registered users, 9 million of which are monthly active Facebook-connected users.

Here’s Who Is Using Pinterest

Would it surprise you to know that 28.1% of users are well off? 

Annual Household Incomes are $100,000

Brands on Pinterest

Nordstrom: 9,276 followers

Whole Foods: 12,808 followers

West Elm: 10,428 followers

ModCloth: 10,678 followers

Mashable: 9,596 followers

Daily visitors on Pinterest

1.36 million/day

Comparison of Average Time Spent on Social Channels: Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter

Pinterest: 15.8 minutes

YouTube: 16.4 minutes

Facebook: 12.1 minutes

Twitter: 3.3 minutes

Since May 2011 Total Unique Visitors increased

2,702.2%

Unique Visitors

7,516,000 visitors in Dec. 2011

11,716,000 visitors in Jan. 2012

Pinterest Users with Children

50% of users have kids

Age Demographics

12 to 17 – 4.1%

18 to 24 – 17.3%

25 to 34 – 27.4%

35 to 44 – 22.1%

45 to 54 – 17.9%

Gender Breakdown

31.8% are Male

68.2% are Female

Facebook Fans

97% of fans are women

Referral Traffic

Pinterest: 3.6%

Youtube:1.05%

Google+: 0.22%

LinkedIn: 0.2%

Apparel Retailer Referral Traffic

Rose 289% from July – Dec. 2011

Conclusion: Many companies who are trying to keep up with all the new social media channels should take note: your brand image is key. 


Pinterest could be the missing ingredient that will allows your users to become curators of content. 

The facts speak volumes about your users: they are Females (68%) and are making a good income ($100K plus). The key is Pinterest can help you spread the word, and some apparel retailers are not yet on board. What is holding them back? 

Pinterest’s benefits are endless and provides referal traffic that takes you back to your website.

Some of my favorite sites are joining in on the fun!

Checkout:

Amazon.com: http://pinterest.com/source/amazon.com/
Ralph Lauren: http://pinterest.com/source/ralphlauren.com/

Holt Renfrew: http://pinterest.com/source/holtrenfrew.com/

Williams Sonoma: http://pinterest.com/source/williams-sonoma.com/

Do you know any company that is a perfect candidate for Pinterest? If so what are they waiting for?

How to Use Twitter as a Business Connector for Female Entrepreneurs

Right now, everywhere you look, people are engaging in social media. From what I have personally observed on my own Twitter timeline I think it’s safe to say that men and women are using this social media tool in a very different manner. In fact, a recent study at the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom shines a light onto this very subject. The results are illuminating to say the least.


Did you know that the way men and women entrepreneurs interact using Twitter is very different? Men ‘tweet’ about business 46 per cent more than women, showing even their more casual conversations involve business.


The study analyzed nearly 5,000 tweets from twelve influential entrepreneurs over a month and found that male users sent 61% more self-promotional tweets than their female counterparts.


Professor Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire, said: “It’s been interesting to see how men are using social media as an extension of the board room or playing field where they typically have to lead the competition and dominate.


She also observes: “Women use social media far less aggressively, and they tend to use it more socially to build contacts and network with people, as is often the case in the ‘real world’.”


This report focuses on how female entrepreneurs are using Twitter as a means of spreading brand awareness, establishing credibility, generating new business, increasing website traffic and engage with customers on both an intimate and mass level. Twitter has been incorporated into their company’s overall marketing strategy, and the vast majority of female entrepreneurs are reaping the benefits through increased direct sales, online sales, brand exposure and reputation management.


One key characteristic of all successful female entrepreneurs is that they have laser vision. They find a ‘niche’ in a particular market and find a way to fill it. They give life to their vision/business on a personal level or are finding a way to make it happen. This ‘vision’ keeps them focused and able to bring visibility of their product or service to the market.


Brand Awareness
Spreading brand awareness involves using the right social media strategy whereby you can communicate directly with your customers, create engaging discussion topics, and help your marketing go viral at breakneck speed. Twitter can boost the prominence of your online brand-awareness and organically propel your business to the top of local search results on Google.


The social media landscape has become complicated for many marketers. The good news is that there is a solution and it’s not complex at all. What we do recognize is that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Groupon, Flickr and Foursquare, and Facebook Deals have joined in the ever-increasing competition for local businesses marketing dollars.


For many, interactive marketing options have become unduly complex and so has their criteria requirements for search engine optimization. With all the recent changes in Google algorithms, search engine optimization is now aimed at delivering more relevant and personalized information to its searchers.


With all the social media tools currently available many marketers and business owners don’t know where to focus their online efforts. In order to achieve the maximum Return On Investment (ROI) they must keep up with the rapidly changing social media landscape. In the past some marketers have used a combination of trial and error strategies and tactics. Some have been wildly successful for certain brands, yet it has not worked well for other brands.
Companies marketing a national brand understand all too well the importance of having your locations rank prominently in geo-specific searches. The goal for those who have multi-location businesses such as restaurants, retail locations and hotel chains is to make your business prominent across the web. Prominence is one of the primary factors used by Google in local search rankings.


An active social media program includes a combination of utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Youtube, and Group-Buying sites such as Groupon or LivingSocial.


Facebook: Building a Facebook fan base is an incredible place to begin. Many start by showcasing their product or service as research has shown that 40% of Facebook users also follow a brand. What’s even better is that more than half users will purchase that brand. Facebook ‘likes’ have been proven to be a speed-marketing tool that spreads brand awareness virally. This is accomplished by delivering information to the news feeds of everyone who has befriended your loyal customer base of brand fans.


Twitter: Many know that Twitter is the tool to keep in touch with customers. Statistics reveal that 1 in 4 Twitter users follows a brand, and 67% of those brand-followers will end up purchasing that specific brand. Tweets that engage consumers are the ones that provide them with helpful information about your business and services. Many tweet about special offers, and this is a great way to grab the attention of your Twitter followers.


Establishing Credibility, Generate New Business and Increase Website Traffic (through Customer Reviews): When you encourage your customers to rate and review your business you get massive exposure. A Mashable report by Ben Parr dated Feb 11, 2001 discussed this very issue: Yelp’s Growth is Accelerating, Despite Increasing Competition from Groupon and Google. Customers or potential customers are hungry for knowledge. They love online reviews because they can see what others are really thinking about a product or service before they make the decision to buy. Additionally, reviews on socially interactive sites such as Yelp improve your search engine rankings and drive free web traffic.


As of late 2010, Yelp.com boasted more than 39 million monthly unique visitors. The site combines local review and social networking to create a local online community. The user reviews create a reputation system. Each visitors can see which contributing users are the most popular, respected, and prolific, how long each has been a member, and which user has interests similar to theirs. In addition Yelp has a forum for online socialization and to discuss local businesses and events.


YouTube: Who wouldn’t want to leverage the power of YouTube in local search results? Embedded videos in Google Place Pages, websites, and social profile pages are the key components to showcase your products and services while you put a face and emotional connection to your business.


Group Buying Sites: Groupon or LivingSocial are just two examples of subscription based coupon sites. Customers are encouraged to try your product and are notified about it via email marketing. The idea of promotional deals is not a new one. Its benefits are that it’s a fast and easy way to create buzz and spread the word about your business or service without spending money on costly advertising. Both Groupon and LivingSocial have huge subscriber bases that encourage your customers to try your product and service for the first time. The marketing and engagement goal is to create repeat customers that visit your site and will try other products that you have to offer, and recommend your product or service to others.


When you are able to create an engaging social media program, it makes it easy for your customers to find your local business and talk about it online. This will result in an incredible ROI that will amplify your web marketing, generate calls and appointments and boost brand awareness over the long-term.


Did you know Twitter is the fastest growing social network: and its traffic has grown over 600% in the past 12 months? An estimated 10,000+ new accounts are opened every day. According to Mashable, “Women have firmly established their presence on the social web, and account for the majority of users on many popular social media sites.”


Engage With Customers On Both an Intimate and Mass Level
What strikes me about Twitter is how women now have the “opportunity” to not just be heard, but to make a change, make a difference, and make an impact.


Social Media Marketing has brought about a massive change in marketing strategy. Now that we are armed with the facts let’s get back to how to use Twitter as a business connector for female entrepreneurs. Over the years many of us have been invited to join Twitter, add others as friends and are now aware of the limitless applications for using this very powerful tool.


Top 12 Marketing Applications of Twitter
1. Instant Focus Group: Poll your followers to find out what they think about your product or service. This can be accomplished by posting a question, it could include something about your new website’s design, or what they think about the latest guest author to your website’s blog.


2. Giveaways: Some businesses ask or pay a top twitterer to giveaway some of their products for free. Could include an eBook, 15 minute consultation, invitation to an online seminar, the possibilities are endless. The benefits are endless. Invite people to get to know you and what you have to offer.


3. Spread a Message: It’s no wonder that Twitter has been called the ultimate catalyst for ‘word of mouth.’ Twitter is the global chat room where news and ideas can go viral within minutes. Many companies who are offering great deal spread like wildfire on Twitter. These deals are accelerated especially to those who have mobile access to Twitter via SMS. Interesting news spreads quickly and easily.


4. Marketing Research: By entering the word ‘track’ plus the keyword of your choice you can gain immediate updates whenever someone mentions your name, product or service. An example of this is the giant shoe retailer Nike who uses this to monitor what people are saying about their brand (e.g. track Nike).


5. Endorsements: Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton started using Twitter and their followers total in the millions globally. Brittany boasts 7.9 million and Paris boasts 4.0 million. High profile individuals with a devout following love other people’s brands as well, and have the ability to influence people to favor your brand.


6. Provide Valuable Content: When women and businesses provide valuable and useful content people will give you their attention. Both useful information and updates builds goodwill for the brand. When you build passionate followers everyone wins.


7. Direct Leads to Your Website: Many use Twitter to get the word out about products and services on their website. By directing to your site you have the ability to then convert them to customers. A link to your site gives you some added Search Engine Optimization value.


8. Customer Communication: Through Twitter your company can speak to a customer on an intimate level. When you show the depth of your company’s heart and soul and the issues that are relevant you win! A winning strategy shows that companies that monitor Twitter carefully and respond to customer complaints immediately win big points with customers. Dell responds to complaints immediately and posts a resolution on Twitter in the shortest amount of time possible. They can’t afford to lose customers, who can? Many companies who aren’t aware of their customers needs have felt the repercussions of bad press, and a poor online reputation.


9. Have a Conversation: Engage with your audience. Twitter is not a one-sided conversation. When you reply to what someone says you can essentially have a conversation about anything from the lives of consumers to issues that society faces on a daily basis. The possibilities are endless.


10. Companies waste money interrupting strangers: Solution? Take the strangers and turn them into friends by building a permission asset. There are thousands of people out there who are willing to hear your message. Start by attraction, rather than promotion.


11. Spare time, attention and trust are scarce: Therefore, the way your audience allocates their time and resources has changed, also. To attract more customers your company needs to change the way you think. Now, more than ever, you need to compete for their time and attention and earn their trust.


12. Ideas can spread so far and so fast: People are talking about you, and your business. If your thinking is outdated, step aside, because you are going to get run over! The old marketing system gave companies the advantage for manufacturing and distribution for decades. Today, your market power and reputation is what sets you apart.


Twitter has been used as a business connector whereby women are able to communicate to a larger community, promote their blog, and build relationships with short bursts of information. It’s proven to be perfect for on-the-fly updates. Twitter allows you to get into your network of followers and see just who your network is networked into. Many women are finding people who they want to ‘network’ their way into. But it does stop there! Once you have made the connection it’s so important to nurture the relationship. Don’t ask for the connection and then never go back and communicate with them.


We all know women who use Twitter. The women that use Twitter successfully have discovered that their success rested on the following factors:
1. How engaged you are with your network?
2. How engaging are YOU?
3. What value you offer them – Put yourself in their shoes and ask “What’s in it for me?”
Finding followers and engaging in valuable conversations online is key. Example: I loved your comment on XYZ, our backgrounds are similar and I’d love to connect with you further. This puts the relationship in context. Who you are and what you have in common is the best way to start building a relationship.


Communication should be genuine and authentic. No one wants to hear your PR tweet or someone wanting to sell something to you. We want to know who the real person is behind the product, or service. You want to know that, too.


Business should be casual, and your followers want you to understand their needs. Listening is the most important factor when establishing a business connection. The advertiser/consumer relationship needs to be put into perspective. It is no longer a ‘one size fits all’ world any more.


Consumer Usage of Twitter
A U.S. consumer survey conducted in April 2010, where comScore asked men and women how they use Twitter proved interesting enough. Women responded to the question by saying they use Twitter more for finding deals, following celebrities and their own self-defined purposes than to post tweets or read tweets from the people they follow.


Extrapolating data from this chart paints a unique pattern regarding the way men and women shop.
The share of category dollars is very different.


Both men and women visit retail sites in equal amounts. What’s interesting to note is that women spend 20% more time on those sites. As marketers are aware more time spent equates to more money spent in most retail categories. The reason being is that women buy more frequently than men do.


Women’s spending habits are significantly different. They spend more money on apparel and accessories, with their dollars accounting for 71% of all dollars spent in that category in the U.S. for February, 2010. Additional money is spent on books and music, toys, and video games and consoles.


The comScore study concludes that women are also driving growth on group-buying sites. They make up the majority of the U.S. audiences on both Groupon (62%) and LivingSocial (67%).


It’s true that many female entrepreneurs use Twitter as a business connector to promote their products and services, but there’s a completely different side to Twitter. Many non-profit organizations have used it to bring about awareness to their cause and do some good. Others have used their philanthropy to join women together in empowering communities both online and offline.


A Vanity Fair article that was written in January of 2010 titled “America's Tweethearts” caused a huge uproar, and rightfully so. The spotlight illuminates women who are heavily engaged in using Twitter. Who’s featured? The social strategist Julia Roy, publicist Sarah Evans, travel journalist Stefanie Michaels, actress Felicia Day, lifecaster Sarah Austin and marketer Amy Jo Martin. These women use their social media savvy to promote themselves or the people and causes they believe in; but this article focuses on Twitter as an enormous and hollow popularity contest.
In my opinion, the article couldn’t be further from the truth.


Vanity Fair magazine missed an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of all of these six high profile entrepreneurial women. Collectively they have more than five million followers, which for anyone currently using Twitter is a difficult thing to do. When you think about it for a moment that number it is huge! At present, President Obama has 8.2 million followers. What’s obvious is that people are clearly interested in what these women have to tweet about. All the women featured have reputations for working hard and really “getting” the power of Twitter marketing and conversation.


For example, did you know one of the women featured wrote, created, acted, and produced in one of the most successful online projects of all time? Her name is Felicia Day. She re-invented and legitimized web television. She’s a breaking down barriers kind of woman who used her brains to create an award winning American Comedy web series called The Guild. She just happened to use Twitter to get her message out to the masses.


When you really think about it on an exponential level, each of those 5 million people also has followers. Each of those people might in turn, comment and spread the word to those who follow them. If you really think about it the possibilities are endless.
Twitter has proven to have legitimate value as a business and marketing vehicle. And, the reality is its power users are using Facebook's Twitter app exclusively for its brand-marketing “fan pages” highlights this. It’s safe to say that print media has drastically changed over the years, whereas an online presence has gone from being “trendy” and a “fad” to something that’s imperative to those doing business both offline and online. Twitter has brought visibility to the masses and has enabled women entrepreneurs to expand their brand.


Clearly the lesson learned for VF’s journalist would have been to write a more optimistic post and portrayal of the six women. When you think about it these women are the ones considered to be influential users. An article could have been written that appeals to Twitter users as well as motivated women entrepreneurs everywhere. Perhaps it could have motivated women who were thinking of becoming an entrepreneur to take action and actually take the first step to becoming one. The six women featured in this article could have reveled in an avalanche of responses from Twitter. The results could have been so much different, a wider audience, not to mention positive media coverage all around.


On the other hand, Forbes wrote a very different article about women on Twitter called “14 Power Women To Follow On Twitter.” This article focuses on women and their online empires, and chronicles why these women are worthy of the countless followers they have amassed over time. When you think about it there’s a new generation of Twitter powerhouses. Move over Oprah, these women tweeters have brands that are soaring. These are the same women who have found their niche and are capitalizing on it. They use their work, their personalities, their skills as writers, and now, their Twitter followers to spread the word virally.


I love the quote that says “These ‘twilebrities’ are constructing digital empires by building brands from the ground up. They are not only experts, but also extraordinarily engaging, hard working, interactive and responsive to their communities. And they are deserving of your follow.”


The Forbes list is respectful of every one of these women on their list.
Twitter has made it easier for women to reach out to real experts in real-time. It’s a personable experience. In all honesty there’s quite the broad spectrum of women featured on Forbes. The partial list ranges anywhere from Jessica Weiner, a self-described “actionist” who focuses on inspiring young women, to Liz Gumbinner, a Brooklyn mother who works hard to maintain solid relationships with the important people in her field. And last but not least author Juliette Powell who wrote 33 Million People in the Room. The book is a crash course in social media. Her network is enviable, not to mention her A-list clientele. Many call her the ultimate connector.


It’s not difficult to find interesting people to follow, and they have the option to choose to follow you back. Many have found other Twitter users have been the first to initiate contact by following you, and they like what you have to say. This list includes your real life friends and contacts. Initially, this is how most of us build our own following and when we follow others, we seek out those we know. But the real connection begins when you follow someone back.


Twitter etiquette allows you to follow or to be followed by people who you do not know offline. Twitter is a powerful way of building a social network, making new introductions and accessing interesting and varied content. http://wefollow.com is a site whereby you can enter a tag and discover who’s the ‘Most Influential’ and has the ‘Most Followers.’ The Top Tags are ranked by the following areas: Celebrity, Music, Socialmedia, Entrepreneurs, News, Blogger, Tech, TV, Actor, Comedy… and there’s an ever expanding list of categories. One example of how I have personally found influencial users on Twitter is by entering “entrepreneurship” into the search engine. This term reveals 1052 users, and from this list one can glean exactly who they want to follow and also see how their follower base has recently expanded by looking at the amount of NEW followers. These users are located virtually all over the world. I added the women or groups that I wanted to follow. Seeing who followed the followers was key. Being an entrepreneur means that many entrepreneurs or like-minded people will follow you. You can therefore pick and choose the ones that resonate with you just by doing some simple research by clicking on their site and seeing what they are tweeting about.


What are the Objectives of Twitter and How Can They be Measured?
Objective Measures
Extend reach of existing corporate messages online (e.g. news, speeches, web updates, YouTube videos) by building relationships with relevant audiences including intermediaries, stakeholders, and key influencers such as journalists and other bloggers Number of followers; relevance and type of followers; number of web traffic referrals from Twitter to your website content.


Provide an informal, ‘human’ voice of the organization to promote comprehension of and engagement with your corporate message(s) Feedback from followers (unsolicited and solicited)


Provide thought leadership and credibility, increasing your visibility as the experts tweet within the online space Feedback from followers (unsolicited and solicited); number of re-tweets (Twitter users repeating your updates); clickthroughs from your tweets


Provide an additional, low-barrier method for audiences to
interact with the company to provide feedback, seek help, and suggest ideas Volume and quality of @reply and DM contact (Direct Message) from followers; the impact of this feedback is relevant


Monitors mentions on Twitter of our brand, engaging with your critics and key influencers to resolve problems/dissatisfaction and correct factual inaccuracies, and with satisfied customers to thank them for and amplify their positive comments.


Qualitative assessment of individual cases of turning negatives to positives and positives into brand advocates


Provide live coverage of events (such as conferences, webinars, radio talk show interview or promotions) Number of events covered per year; positive feedback on that coverage


On Twitter you can post updates that are up to 140 characters in length. This can be accomplished using a variety of applications over the web on your computer or mobile phone. The messages usually address one of two questions “What are you doing now?” or “What holds your attention now”?


A tweet may include links to other websites (using link shortening services such as bitly.com). Two useful terms often used to describe this activity are “microblogging” – blogging in miniature by posting short updates throughout the day about thoughts and findings of interest – and “hyper-connectedness” – the idea of being in constant contact with your network and being aware of what holds their attention right now.


Essentially everyone who follows you can read your updates. People can also subscribe to your updates using the RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) and they can receive your updates via their preferred feed reader software or browser start page, without using Twitter, and can also see them in the Twitter public timeline.


Gather evaluation data using a range of methods:
• Web analytics for and clickthroughs from URLs in our tweets http://bit.ly – to track referrals from Twitter to your web pages


• Twitter surveys – regular surveys on Twitter to ask for feedback http://twtpoll.com


• Twitter data – the follower/following data presented in our Twitter account
http://twitterdata.org


• Third party tools – analytics tools including measures based on re-tweeting
(Retweet Radar; Twist) and online reputation (Monitter, Twitter Grader)


• Free Twitter Alerts by Email! – tweetbeep.com good for tracking conversations that mention you, your products, your company, with hourly updates. You can even keep track of who's tweeting your website or blog, even if they use a shortened URL (like bit.ly or tinyurl.com).


• Real time observation - http://twitterfall.com and similar tools


• Analysis of your followers using http://tweepler.com and similar tools


Interaction on Twitter
The way users interact with you is the same way you interact with them. Here are some examples.


@Reply: You can reply to an update posted by another user in your Twitter stream by clicking the reply button or typing @ and then their username atthe start of the message. Anyone following you will see this reply, irrespective of whether they are already following the recipient. (This is one of the ways in which users find new people to follow, as you are effectively introducing that person to your followers by showing his/her username and engaging them in conversation).


DM: You can send Direct Messages to individual users, provided you are ‘friends’ (i.e., you are both following each other). These are private and can only be seen by the sender and recipient. Direct Messages can be used to say thank you for the follow, but are often used to promote goods or services in a direct way.


Re-tweeting: Because people have different networks of followers, it is common to repeat interesting tweets from your own stream for the benefit of all of your followers, preceding it with “Re-tweet:” or just “RT” for short. You do not need permission to do this – it is considered a compliment to the originator to repeat their content. If your retweet is interesting enough it may persuade someone to add this person as a follower.


Hashtags: You can include keywords in your updates in order to associate those updates with a particular event, movement, current trend or issue by adding a hash sign (#) in front of a word. For example at events Twitter users will often agree a common tag to identify themselves to each other and form a Twitter ‘back channel’ for that event. Tagging tweets enables Twitter users to collaboratively document a cultural event, and aggregate all tweets containing that tag on another medium. For example on a blog, projected on screen at the event, or displayed on a map as a visual representation of what is being said in different places about the same issue.


• The Twitter website itself is not the only (or even the main) way that users access or post updates to their Twitter accounts. The majority of Twitter access is via mobile devices (such as Twitter applications on the iPhone), third party desktop applications (such as TweetDeck or Thwirl), web browser plugins (such as Twitterfox) or widgets on personalized homepages (such as iGoogle, Pageflakes or Netvibes).


• What’s possible (and popular) is to include photos and videos in your messages using third party add-ons, such as TwitPic.


• Your Twitter updates can also be integrated with your other social media profiles – for example you can use Twitter to edit your Facebook status updates and show your Twitter updates on your blog, if you have one.


Why is Twitter important?
• Twitter is a place where news often breaks
• This social media tool has established itself as the main source of live update information
• Trending: As everything being discussed on Twitter is by its nature happening now, it is increasingly being used as a way of monitoring and reporting on trends.
• Top Trends are shown on the right hand side: of every Twitter user’s stream, and tracked by other tools (examples include Retweetist, Twitturly and Twitvision). If your company is trending it appears on a top 10 trending list on Twitter itself and further raises your profile and discussion around the events in real time.
• Search Engine Optimization – because it is updated frequently, Twitter content ranks highly on Google, and is therefore an increasingly important way to generate traffic and disseminate messages online.
• 62% of the audience access Twitter from work only, while only 35% access it only from home. This could suggest a trend towards a professional use rather than a recreational use.
• Twitter receives the largest amount of its traffic from the USA, but its penetration is greater in the UK market


The need to see the value of Twitter, and how best to use it effectively as a business connector is as follows: Use Twitter to enhance your social circle, to expand your social network and to learn from the influencers. Find out what influencers read, and what they are talking about. If you want to stay on Top of the News you can do so on Twitt(urly) – which tracks the current top 100 urls on Twitter in all languages. To find out what is Buzzing Right Now use Qik on your smartphone and it’s brings powerful video capabilities to your mobile phone - video chat, video mail, video share. With Twitter can find your own voice, read and provide some fascinating stories, get up to the minute news updates and watch trends. 


Any questions?

McHappy Day® Brings Smiles To Canadian Children’s Charities

I original posted this on the http://shesconnectedblog.com on April 24th

I’ve always thought McHappy Day® was a great campaign. But I never really knew much about it, until now. The concept is simple. For one day local communities across Canada raise money that will help support children in need and their families through children’s charities.

Last year McHappy Day® raised $3.4 Million. Can we do better this year? You bet! Already I’ve seen all kinds of organizations who have put together amazing and creative fundraisers. And that makes me smile

On Wednesday, May 2, 2012 let’s show everyone what matters most. Local community leaders, politicians, media and sports personalities as well as special guest volunteers have all supported kids in need in the past. But, we need your help, too.

So get ready for McHappy Day and go to your local McDonalds restaurant. More than 1,430 McDonald’s restaurants in Canada will donate $1 from every Big Mac® sandwich, Happy Meal®, Premium Roast Coffee and Premium Tea sold to local charities like Ronald McDonald House.

Here’s something else I didn’t realize… did you know that McHappy Day in Canada has been so successful that it is now celebrated annually worldwide? Now McDonald’s restaurants the world over join hands for a great cause.

364 Days of Giving provides Canadians who want to show their McHappy Day support all year long by texting MCHAPPY to 30333 to make a $5 donation* to RMHC of Canada and by “Liking” McDonald’s Canada on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsCanada). To receive McHappy Day updates from across the country, Canadians are encouraged to follow McDonald’s Canada on Twitter (www.twitter.com/McD_Canada).

Now that’s something to really SMILE about!

Fashion Icon Ralph Lauren Fights Cancer Globally

I have always loved what Ralph Lauren stands for. His clothing and iconic style have been a big part of my life for over three decades. As everyone knows fashion designer Ralph Lauren has become the epitome of classic fashion. His innovativeness along with countless other traits have made him the founder, designer and chairman of a $900 million company. He sells a lifestyle image of sophistication, class and taste. Behind the scenes he’s a crusader, with his Pink Pony line of clothing and home items which supports breast cancer awareness. Essentially Pink Pony’s 10th anniversary line of clothing and cashmere throws, are limited editions and customizable. The Pink Pony Fund has raised over $40 million to fight cancer in 13 different countries.

Companies define themselves as a lifestyle brand when their products promote a more than a product with key benefits and attributes. Lifestyle branding is more than just promoting “a way of life”. Think about a product or service that provides consumers with an emotional attachment to the lifestyle of the brand. With Ralph Lauren, and you notice that it is not about the clothes. Social media can provide a platform can showcase the attachment to an exclusive lifestyle. Emotional identification is where it begins.

For over 40 years, Ralph Lauren has cultivated the iconography of America into a global lifestyle empire. His line of clothing has seen reflections of the New England coast, Native American culture, or Hollywood glamour. Ralph Lauren embodies an expression of timeless style that is recognized and coveted around the world.

He’s somewhat of a contradiction of terms: a multibillionaire who dropped out of school. He’s also relentless. He is as generous as he is successful. Just for today I want to focus on his charitable efforts and the side of him that will hopefully inspire us all to do great things.

I have often wondered what motivated him to set up his philanthropic foundation: how does he pick the causes he donates to? One turning point was when he lost his longtime friend Nina Hyde, the fashion editor of the Washington Post, to breast cancer. He established the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research [the largest breast cancer centre in the world] in 1989. The Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Lombardi Cancer Centre is located at the Georgetown University Medical Centre. Dr. Marc Lippman is the director of the centre and states “Our multi-disciplinary programme includes prevention, environmental factors, genetics, and novel therapies in an effort to find answers for women fighting breast cancer.” Medical researchers from all over the world have come together to focus on every aspect of the breast cancer problem due to the vision and tireless philanthropic efforts of Ralph Lauren.

He continues to be a driving force in raising breast cancer awareness both on a national and international basis. For Ralph Lauren it’s all about education and awareness. The Pink Pony line was created as a global year round effort to raise funds for Breast Cancer, and thankfully, has expanded to include all types of cancers. Its mission is now to help address the needs of the medically underserved bringing quality cancer care, access to cancer care, and early detection for those who need it most. Ten percent of the proceeds from Pink Pony products benefit the Pink Pony Fund.

In 2003, in cooperation with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center [the world's oldest and largest private cancer center], he established the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care & Prevention in East Harlem, New York. One of the center's most innovative services is called patient navigators: a concept pioneered by Dr. Freeman, the center’s medical director. He’s the national authority on the relationships among race, poverty, and cancer. Patient navigators assist patients and family members to ensure that they are not lost in the complexities of the healthcare system.

It’s amazing how giving Ralph Lauren is. The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, was established by a generous gift from the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. This generous gift has offered the medically underserved, predominantly minority population of Harlem access to the highest-quality cancer screening and treatment services.

In his remarks, Ralph Lauren acknowledged the “efforts, the care, and the love of everyone who worked so hard to see that the center came into being. This is not the end, but the beginning of a long fight for all of us.”

Today I express my gratitude for your efforts. Keep fighting the good fight, Ralph Lauren. You have truly made the world a better place.

Spin Selling

SPIN Selling is considered to be the Bible of all sales books and was written by Neil Rackham. The book, published in 1988, emphasizes the importance of asking the right sales questions. Inspirational books on sales do not come along every day. This one forced me to come up with the best questions to ask customers so as not to appear so much like the dreaded sales person we all tend to run from. The word S.P.I.N. conjures up many images for me. As we all know putting the right S.P.I.N. into your business can change your attitude and improve your selling results.

With the acronym S.P.I.N. we can actually see the four pieces to the selling puzzle.

S = Shrug it off
Let’s face reality… most of the world's news is not positive. In the US the real estate market is really at one of it’s all time lows, the financial markets are in chaos, and gasoline prices are at an all time high. Shrug it off.
Making the connection to dismiss the bad news is key. If you don’t it will eventually overtake you in a negative way. There will always be bad news so to counteract that is to do something that picks you up. Common sense dictates that if you're an entrepreneur or a professional sales person you can't afford to be down and negative. When you're working with your sales prospects and customers you must project a positive and engaging attitude.
People by nature get stuck in the same routine… but it’s best to try to switch it up on a daily basis. Get out of the rut with exercise, reading motivational books, or get a book of inspirational quotes. The ones that have been most helpful to me are by the individuals who have overcome some type of adversity.
It’s best to stay away from negative people. Negativity can be contagious… is it something that you want to catch?

P = Preparation and practice
It’s best to inject a little Preparation and practice into each and every selling day. When planning sales calls for the next day, you can prepare several questions in writing. Practice the questions you want to ask, if you don’t you end up practicing on your sales prospects and customers. That’s a disaster that’s just waiting to happen
• Prepare and practice how you will present the benefits of your products.
• Prepare and practice how you'll deal with the price objection.
• Prepare and practice how you'll ask for the appointment.
• Prepare and practice how you will ask for the business.

I = Initiative 

S.P.I.N. selling includes "Initiative," personal initiative. Professional selling has its ups and downs. When the going gets tough the tough get going.
Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t follow the crowd. Take the initiative to learn more about personal salesmanship and selling skills. Notice how I use the word “personal”, you are unique and your prospects and clients are too.
Those to take the initiative to cross sell and up-sell whenever possible are the ones who ‘get it.’ Do everything imaginable to help your customers solve their problems, that’s just one of the ways you show initiative. The trick is to exceed your sales prospect's and/or customer's expectations.

N = New
The forth and final piece to S.P.I.N. selling is the word "New." Did you know that the two most popular words in the English language are "New" and "Free?" Many sites give away stuff that’s free. Free e-books, free assessments, contests to win free tickets to an event, etc. always focus on “what's new.”
When prospects and clients ask "What's new?" you must be ready to show them new products, new technology, new methods to solve old problems, new programs. So, ask yourself do you have anything that's new?

When you get excited when you're talking about “what's new” to your sales prospects and customers, it’s contagious! When you're excited, they'll become excited, too. Try not to talk about issues that are problematic… it’s a turn off and you will turn off your prospects before you’ve had the chance to turn them on.

When you have new attitude about everything your world begins to change. I don’t need to remind you about the economy and the debt crisis, we hear it every day. As sure, as I’m writing this, Warren Buffett is seeing many buying opportunities right now.

Foreclosures are at an all time high, the real estate market has not rebounded, and the future looks bleak for many. On the other hand, there are many shrewd investors who enjoy buying properties at bargain basement prices. They know, that at some point the market will go back up, after all, as we all know the real estate market is cyclical.

At times it will be tough to remain positive when the news is so negative. You have the ultimate control over your thoughts. Choose optimism over pessimism, positive over negative, sunny versus gloomy, and winning over losing.

Here’s what sets you aside from everyone else. Tell your prospect right away that it's ok to tell you No, that you will not be offended. By giving your prospect a way out you are going to save yourself a lot of grief.

Your goal is to learn how to build a long-term relationship with this prospect, so make sure that you are selling to the right person.

If you pretend that your independently wealthy and you don't need their business you will not come across like a salesperson, and people will like you. What’s most important to remember – people buy from people they like.

Growing your business, increasing your sales, and making more money is a lot easy when you put the right S.P.I.N. on it. Don’t you think?

Live In Mindfulness

Over the last twenty years I have met many people who want to learn how to live in mindfulness. The rules are simple. Mindfulness has been described as a way of life, a journey in self-discovery and an education. For me it has been all about living deliberately and purposefully. Mindfulness is about being in the present moment at all times. To life a spiritual life is not about any theories, we have to be able to live that life one day at a time.

Mindfulness is a practical way to live. For many who are just beginning to embrace some of the concepts the following are suggestions to enable you to make it a reality.

1. One Day At A Time The idea of this can be baffling to some initially. It is not a new concept… sometimes you have to be able to live one minute at a time. Problems tend to arise when we are getting too far ahead of ourselves into the future, or thinking too much about the past. It is the only sensible way to live. But it takes practice.

2. Do One Thing at a Time Multitasking is toggling between one task and another. When you are cooking a meal, just try to cook the meal. The same goes for when you are eating the meal, just try to concentrate on the one task, eating. Keep it simple! The image that comes to mind when I am multitasking is the women who looks like an octopus with the eight arms all doing different things at once. Did you know that your brain can actually only handle one cognitive function at a time? Multitasking gives the appearance of efficiency but in essence slows down our thinking, and messes with our attention. In addition it causes stress, depression and limits our ability to connect with others on a meaningful level.

3. Be Mindful of Your Thoughts and Feelings From time to time we all have negative thoughts or feelings of anger or resentment. The trick is not to identify with them. Think of them like thoughts that run through a passing stream, you are merely observing them. That is all they are… thoughts and feelings, nothing more, nothing less. Try to discover what is going on and gain some insight into what is really happening. When you impersonalize both the thoughts and the feelings you destroy the power that they have over you and you begin to gain awareness.

4. Relax At Intervals Throughout the Day Learn to be still by taking periods of calm and quiet throughout the day. Take note of any tensions that have arisen in your mind and body. Imagine it passing down through your body, through your feet and right into the ground. Learn the art of how to prefer quietness to noise. Inhale and exhale three long, deep breaths at regular intervals throughout the day.

5. Empty Your Mind to Let Go Of Negative Thoughts And Feelings Something I have learned how to say is “I am now emptying my mind of all anxiety [or fear/anger/resentment].”
Try Not to Carry The Day Into Night, or identify with anything. Suffering stops when you refuse to identify with anything negative. A combination of insight and understanding, coupled with a sincere desire for positive change, will destroy painful negatives.

6. Meditate for at least 15 minutes once a day. Some prefer to meditate in the morning and others in the evening. Only you know what works best for you. Let experience be your guide.

7. Accept the inevitable. Challenges will arise in your life, and life itself can be hard at times, not to mention unfair. Those who have learned how to overcome adversity are the ones who tend to lead a happier life.

8. Happiness is a choice. “we manufacture either our own happiness or our own unhappiness by the thoughts we habitually think ... regardless of what happens to us! ” Norman Vincent Peale. One spiritual truth states – it is impossible to be unhappy in the present moment, for all unhappiness is rooted in either the past (in the form of memories) or the future (in the form of anticipations and fears). Clearly, mindfulness is the way to freedom.

9. Get Your Mind Off Yourself. Do you ever find that many problems disappear when we focus on others rather than ourselves? It’s everywhere you look: self-centredness, self-obsession, self-absorption. These are the maladies of mind and our body results from all of these things! Get out of your way! It will do you a world of good.

10. This Too Shall Pass. Things are constantly changing and evolving. Many spend too much time working and not enough living. Life is short. So, go ahead, seize the moment!

Good to Great

If you want to explore what goes into a company's transformation from mediocre to excellent ‘Good To Great’ Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t is the truly the book to read. It is based on hard evidence and volumes of data, Jim Collins and his team uncover 
timeless principles on how the good-to-great companies like Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo produced sustained great results. But it’s not about great results but rather the story about how they achieved enduring greatness. The evolution of these companies were 'Built to Last' and showed many valuable insights.

Bear in mind that a lot has changed since the book’s launch in 2001, however, there are still valuable learnings to be had. It’s best to start with what Jim Collins team selected: 2 sets of comparison companies:

a. Direct Comparisons – Companies in the same industry with the same resources and opportunities as the good-to-great group but showed no leap in performance, which were: Upjohn, Silo, Great Western, Warner-Lambert, Scott Paper, A&P, Bethlehem Steel, RJ Reynolds, Addressograph, Eckerd, and Bank of America.
b. Unsustained Comparisons - Companies that made a short-term shift from good to great but failed to maintain the trajectory, namely: Burroughs, Chrysler, Harris, Hasbro, Rubbermaid, and Teledyne

Wisdom In A Nutshell:
a. Ten out of eleven good-to-great company leaders or CEOs came from the inside. They were not outsiders hired in to 'save' the company. They were either people who worked many years at the company or were members of the family that owned the company.

b. Strategy per se did not separate the good to great companies from the comparison groups.

c. Good-to-great companies focus on what Not to do and what they should stop doing.

d. Technology has nothing to do with the transformation from good to great. It may help accelerate it but is not the cause of it.

e. Mergers and acquisitions do not cause a transformation from good to great.

f. Good-to-great companies paid little attention to managing change or motivating people. Under the right conditions, these problems naturally go away.

g. Good-to-great transformations did not need any new name, tagline, or launch program. The leap was in the performance results, not a revolutionary process.

h. Greatness is not a function of circumstance; it is clearly a matter of conscious choice.

i. Every good-to-great company had "Level 5" leadership during pivotal transition years, where Level 1 is a Highly Capable Individual, Level 2 is a Contributing Team Member, Level 3 is the Competent Manager, Level 4 is an Effective Leader, and Level 5 is the Executive who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.

j. Level 5 leaders display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In contrast, two thirds of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company.

k. Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They are resolved to do whatever it takes to make the company great, no matter how big or hard the decisions.

l. One of the most damaging trends in recent history is the tendency (especially of boards of directors) to select dazzling, celebrity leaders and to de-select potential Level 5 leaders.

m. Potential Level 5 leaders exist all around us, we just have to know what to look for.

n. The research team was not looking for Level 5 leadership, but the data was overwhelming and convincing. The Level 5 discovery is an empirical, not ideological, finding.

o. Before answering the "what" questions of vision and strategy, ask first "who" are the right people for the team.

p. Comparison companies used layoffs much more than the good-to-great companies. Although rigorous, the good-to-great companies were never ruthless and did not rely on layoffs or restructuring to improve performance.

q. Good-to-great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously in search of the best answers, yet who unify behind decisions, regardless of parochial interests.

r. There is no link between executive compensation and the shift from good to great. The purpose of compensation is not to 'motivate' the right behaviors from the wrong people, but to get and keep the right people in the first place.

s. The old adage "People are your most important asset" is wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.

t. Whether someone is the right person has more to do with character and innate capabilities than specific knowledge, skills or experience.

u. The Hedgehog Concept is a concept that flows from the deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles:
1. What you can be best in the world at, realistically, and what you cannot be best in the world at
2. What drives your economic engine?
3. What are you deeply passionate about?
v. Discover your core values and purpose beyond simply making money and combine this with the dynamic of preserve the core values – stimulate progress, as shown for example by Disney. They have evolved from making short animated films, to feature length films, to theme parks, to cruises, but their core values of providing happiness to young and old, and not succumbing to cynicism remains strong.

w. Enduring great companies don't exist merely to deliver returns to shareholders. In a truly great company, profits and cash flow are absolutely essential for life, but they are not the very point of life.

"If you’re doing something you care deeply about and if you believe in it, it’s impossible to imagine not trying to make it great.”