Whether we realize it or not, the one, single trend that ALL marketers are obsessing over is how quickly and effectively we can “change” human behavior.

No matter how hard Facebook tries, no matter how much of a genius Zuckerberg is, they can’t magically retrain users see Facebook as a shopping channel. That’s why they’re having major growing pains with f-commerce… There’s no refresh button inside of their users’ brains.

Google is facing a similar problem. It can get users to sign up for Google+, but it can’t train them to actually use it.

Imagine if Amazon launched a Twitter-esque micro blogging network tomorrow… would you actually use it? Probably not, right?

Established media channels their own organic identities. Even with Google or Facebook’s resources, they can’t actually change these identities overnight. It happens gradually… sometimes way too gradually.

For example, email has long been the marketing channel through which we receive shopping offers and purchasing information. Some gurus predicted that email would disappear as social media continued to grow… BUT it hasn’t happened. NOT AT ALL.

Instead, email has only become more important, as both a marketing vehicle and a go-between that alerts you about social media happenings. According to the awesome infographic below (hat tip eConsultancy), 73.4% of US mobile users received alert emails from Facebook in 2011… that’s a TON.

In fact, as a marketer, one of your major social media goals is to collect opt-ins. It’s kinda of funny, really.

Even though social media is incredibly addictive, and we’ve become extremely comfortable on these platforms — they still depend heavily on email for their monetization strategies. Just look at the graphic below and you can see just how critical email is to social media strategy for the foreseeable future…

Channels are slow to change because people like comfort and familiarity. Look, I’m right there with you. I’d rather get a receipt emailed to me than sent via Twitter or Facebook. Email is just comfortable.

That’s why its so interesting to watch a new social network like Pinterest thrive and drive revenues — right out of the gate.

The fact that Pinterest started with a blank slate has given them a HUGE advantage. As a social platform, it’s building engagement and driving shopping behaviors in a way that Facebook or Twitter could only dream of.

It’s a good thing to remember, not just in how you use online marketing channels, but for your own business. You train your customers/users on what they can expect from you from day one… changing it can be a slow and sometimes painful process.

I had a great time watching Super Bowl XLVI, but not so much because of who was playing.

It was a great game, don’t get me wrong… BUT what’s really exciting about events like this for marketers is watching the massive changes year over year.

The Super Bowl is a litmus test for what’s going on right now in marketing…

This game brought us some real firsts. For example, Sunday marked the very first time the Super Bowl was streamed online for free… legally.

That’s actually a huge admission, by both the NFL and NBC, that the streaming video is eating your television.

Incidentally, the Feds smacked down illegal streaming sites like Firtsrowsports.tv in the days leading up to the game. Taking down these sites was a big move, because it clears the way for a real push by the true copyright holders… It’s a little bit like taking down Napster to build iTunes.

Millions of sports fans were hitting up these sites for all the big games. Heck, even Tom Brady admitted that he was doing it. Now that these pirate sites are out of the way, the stage is set.

Another trend that jumps out at us is the BOOM in social media engagement during the game.

According to AllThingsD, multiple social monitoring firms say there were approximately 12M social media comments during Super Bowl XLVI. That’s 6X more than during last year’s game, and a new Twitter record of 12,233 tweets per second.

Next year, it could easily be up 600% again… and not just because more people are using social media during the game.

Instead, it’s what ties these two macro-trends together: Mobile.

As the Super Bowl moves online, engagement will become more automatic — simply because it will be streaming through mobile devices and computers.

This year, advertisers had some luck getting viewers to tie their commercials to a hashtag. But that’s a pretty primitive way to get it done.

Imagine how easy it will be to tweet about a bad call in real time when the game’s streaming through your iPad. Imagine how much easier it will be to get users to click-thru on a Super Bowl “commercial.”

…on social media.

In fact, that’s probably more true than any us of care to know.

This morning while scanning the headlines on Reeder (great app, BTW), I came across a post on Mashable titled “Need a Kidney? More Are Turning to Facebook [VIDEO]“

Literally, the story is about a guy in Seattle who found a kidney donor via a Facebook page named “My husband needs a new kidney.”

Right away, this story brought two super important things to my mind:

1. Adding “[VIDEO]” to any blog headline or email subject line significantly increases clicks (a little tip for success in 2012)
2. We’ve been seeing news stories like this since 2010, but in reality… these tales are no longer newsworthy.

Why? Because the only people who would consider Facebook an secondary or unusual place to search for a vital organ are those living in an outmoded fairytale land called “local TV news.”

Don’t get me wrong, the story is cool. And I’m very happy this man was able to find a donor on Facebook — that’s excellent…

…But is it AMAZING?

If you’ve been on Facebook for even a week, you’ve probably seen a page dedicated to raising money for a dog’s hip-replacement surgery. You’ve probably also seen people trying to sublet their apartments.

So let me ask you this: Why wouldn’t you use Facebook to locate any legitimate, legal product or service that you may be searching for?

To take it a step further: Why wouldn’t you use it to find prospects or customers for the products or services you may be marketing? Not doing so is borderline negligent.

I mean, it’s 2012… not that you need a reminder.

BUT frankly, if you run an organ donor service and you don’t use social media to find matches — you must be understaffed. Or else grossly out of touch.

Either way, you’re neglecting an incredibly powerful tool.

Right now, a company is suing one of its former employees for…

… 17,000 Twitter followers — each valued at $2.50 per month.

According to the NYT, that’s a grand total of $340,000 folks!

It’s the first time I can remember a lawsuit that places an actual dollar figure on Twitter followers, but I’m positive it won’t be the last.

In a nutshell, the employee (Noah Kravitz) left the company (PhoneDog) on supposedly good terms. After leaving his post as a writer on PhoneDog.com’s blog, Kravitz switched his Twitter handle from “phonedog_noah” to simply “NoahKravitz.”

Can you see where this is going?

In the lawsuit, the PhoneDog is basically saying that the following Kravitz built while working for them amounts to intellectual property — a customer list of sorts. Therefore, even though the word “phonedog” has disappeared from his Twitter handle, the company alleges that they actually own the account.

Before you dismiss this as ridiculous, consider PhoneDog’s side of the argument. It would be one thing if Kravitz created a different account and tried to poach all of PhoneDog’s followers, but he literally took the account with him. The account and its followers were built by Kravitz as part of his employee duties…

Anyone interested in social media marketing, should be paying attention to this case…

BUT not simply for the legal outcome. Even though it probably won’t go to trail (few cases do these days), it will be interesting to see how PhoneDog tries to substantiate it’s dollar figures.

If there’s a settlement, it’ll require only a little long division to figure out how much PhoneDog received per Twitter follower.

Old school marketers are always asking: ‘What’s social media really worth? What’s the ROI?‘

Well, you’re about to get a pretty good idea.

If you haven’t watched the video Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote speech at this year’s Inc 500, you SHOULD (be advised, the guy really likes profanity).

In the speech, he lays out some amazing predictions for the the future of marketing. In specific, he explains how social media is flipping the marketing model.

What I really like about Gary’s approach is that he’s clearly not a social butterfly. I mean, he’s funny and engaging…

…but he makes it perfectly clear that he doesn’t ENJOY obsessing over social media. He only obsesses over social media interaction because that’s how you sell stuff in today’s marketplace.

It’s an important distinction to make really. One of the challenges that I hear about constantly from marketers I meet is “I’m just not a very social person. I don’t like sharing my personal life on Facebook.”

Fair enough, but let me ask you this: Do you like cold calling? Do you like direct mail? Do you like spending money on ad buys that produce less and less ROI?

You don’t have to LIKE social media in your personal life. However, you do need to understand how to use it to connect with leads and customers though… It’s ONLY the future of marketing, folks. No big deal.

Think about it. Every time a new technology emerges, most of us say, “No thanks, Twitter’s not for me. I think I’ll sit this one out.” It’s human nature.

Of course, most of us have eat our words. Just imagine how ridiculous it would be if you decided to “sit this one out” when it comes to the internet, or cell phones, or texting.

I think you get my point.

As Vaynerchuk points out, social media is rapidly replacing the old “push” model. Email, banner ads… all that stuff is losing value.

Will it die out completely? Probably not, but marketing today is becoming more and more about the “pull.” Rewards marketing, thanking you gifts, and offering customers special deals based on their unique interests, that’s the future of selling.

Here’s the beauty of it though, with social media your customers actually tell you all kinds of information about themselves automatically.

Forget surveys, follow your customers on social media. You’ll learn a lot more about them — what foods they like, where they shop, what football teams they like, etc.

It’s always been a marketer’s job to study and connect with customers. Now, social media is taking the guesswork out of the equation.

Consider Facebook’s new Timeline feature. A marketer can go on timeline and learn all about a FB user’s life. It’s like peeking into their scrapbook.

Scratch that, it IS peeking into their scrapbook… and they’re inviting you to do it.

In a weird way, Facebook and Twitter are helping to create the most valuable and complete customer profiles that any marketer could ever hope to buy. Use those profiles to turn your customers into your friends.

Facebook advertisers are about to get some new real estate to play with. “Sponsored Stories” – the ads that allow advertisers to glom onto the posts, “likes,” and check-ins of your Facebook friends – were launched last August. Starting on Monday, these context ads will break out of the greyish “Sponsored Story” box and into the fast-moving and slightly obnoxious Ticker section.

So, say your friend decides to “like” a burger joint. If that fine dining burger establishment advertises on Facebook and has selected the proper options, you may see your friend’s profile pic and comment alongside that restaurant’s logo… in the Ticker section.

Why is this potentially better than having the same ad in the “Sponsored Story” area?

That’s easy – Facebook users are likely to develop “banner blindness” (the unconscious ability to ignore advertising) when it comes to the “sponsored” area.

In fact, some of you reading this are probably so good at ignoring ads that you didn’t even notice Facebook had a sponsored section – a fact that Facebook HATES and is looking to change.

By placing these “sponsored stories” in a real-time, moving Ticker feed, users are more likely to notice the ads…

…maybe even mistaking the ads for something that more closely resembles a friend’s straightforward recommendation or endorsement.

Sure, it may be a little sneaky. But the best marketing usually is. Right?

In all of our research at Digital Marketer, we’ve found that banners with animation, obnoxious colors, etc., get more clicks. That’s why you’ll see those in my banner ads. Hey, as long as being obnoxious sells, marketers will keep doing it.

By this logic, making sponsored stories a little more noticeable, and a little more obnoxious, there’s a good chance they’ll get more clicks. This should definitely make sponsored stories a more attractive feature for advertisers.

I’ll stop short of endorsing the new feature until we’ve been able to test it out and track the results. Still, as a marketer, I’d be surprised if this development didn’t boost CTRs.

[This is a special guest post by Social Media expert Kate Buck Jr]

As a Social Media Manager, you know that to ensure your client has the best online exposure possible, it’s important to determine who’s been talking about them.

This chatter can be as simple as being mentioned in a blog post, or perhaps a backlink sending someone towards your client’s website. Or it can be something like a Twitter post being re-tweeted by the fans of your client. Whether your client wants to thank these online personalities or wishes to expand their network to include them, here are some great ways to find out exactly who’s been talking.

Perhaps one of the most straightforward and easy ways to get the ball rolling is to simply do a Google search of the client’s name or brand name in quotations. In less than a minute you’ll be presented with websites, blogs, or other social media websites that have been talking about your client, and what they have been saying.

It’s also a good idea to make use of Google Analytics. This Google application is a great way to get real-time results concerning your chosen website, and where it’s been mentioned on the Internet. For example, if you type “link to: your website” in the Google search engine, you’ll get a listing of where your website has been mentioned on the web. Plus, by searching for the full URL, you can see which blogs have provided backlinks to your website and perhaps start a dialogue with the blog authors.

If you or your client uses Twitter, it’s fairly simple to determine who’s been retweeting your postings to the world. First, you can track who has been mentioning you in your twitter account under the mentions tab. Also, websites like TweetMe.com offer simple ways to determine who has become a fan of your tweets, and who has been spreading your message far and wide.

Plus if you have upgraded your Twitter account to the Pro level, you can easily use the various analytics that are provided to get more specific and detailed information. Another great website concerning Twitter statistics is TweetStats.com.

In the end, finding out who has been talking about you and your business on the Internet can be a fantastic way to expand your networking horizons, and strengthen the connections you already have. By learning how to use these simple tools, and keeping on top of things, you’ll be able to provide your client with the most effective, and efficient social media strategy in the market.

To learn more about how to earn a full-time income as a Social Media Manager, check out my course:

Lets Get Social: How To Become A Social Media Manager

**Note From Ryan: I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about Google + and its role in digital marketing…

“Is it a Facebook Killer?”, “Is it a Twitter Killer?”, “Is it going to be useful for business?” (to the second question, I happen to agree with Shoemoney, and I think Google + is a big reason why…)

For most of these questions, it’s still too soon to tell.  BUT… I asked my social media manager Shane Stearns to write a quick post about how we’re using it and here is what he had to say: P.S. My comments are at the bottom of the article…

You’ve no doubt heard at least a few things about Google Plus, Google’s new Social Network.  If you’re one of the lucky 20 million, you have already have your account setup and you’re beginning to explore Google Plus wondering if it’s something that will become part of your daily life.

I’m not going to bother venturing into the discussion of ‘Will Google Plus Kill Facebook?” Why would I waste my time wondering that when I could be getting ahead of the game and start using it for what it’s going to be good at?

Here’s the good stuff I’ll be using Google+ for.

1) Circles: Circles is how Google+ allows me to accurately group my followers so that I can be more targeted about the information I share and the information I receive. This isn’t a power trip, just a simple recognition that not all of my followers have the same interest. So I’ll be that much more effective when it comes to truly engaging with like minded people.

2) New Strategies: Google+ is NOT the same as Facebook. Therefore Google+ will not and should not be used the same as a Facebook Fan Pages. So I’ll be testing, trying and tweaking new social marketing strategies, an opportunity not otherwise presented (more on that to come in the future).

3) +1: +1 is Google’s version of the ‘Like’ button and you can pretty much bet on the fact that +1 will become a factor into Google’s search algorithm. Needless to say I’ll be all over the +1 map, integrating it into my sites.

4) Business Profiles: Google+ announced that business profiles will be announced a lot sooner than the planned. With that said, keep an eye for mine.

Ryan’s observations:

My advice?  Stop wasting your time debating about Google+, pondering how it’s all going to pan out. Dive in now, get started and figure things out along the way.

Here is the BIG idea, Google+notices are posted INSIDE everyone’s Gmail inbox, this is 100% REAL-TIME Gmail deliverability. This one point alone makes Google+ a must for any email marketer.

Second, SEO! Yes, SEO. When you write about a subject on Google+ and your circle friends Google that subject, your comments and links are displayed AUTOMATICALLY on Google’s page one. This is HUGE!’

No backlinking, no on-site optimization, just TONS of free traffic.

P.S. How are you going to use Google+?  Leave a comment below?

By now most of you have heard this story about how Taco Bell is getting sued for making false claims about the quality of their taco meat. One customer is claiming their meat is only 34% beef! Let’s hope that’s not true…

I’m not here to defend their food quality, but what’s worth noting is their social response to the claims about the quality of their meat. The team behind Taco Bell went after this one before it even hit the news, buying newspaper ads and attacking the social media front.

They admittedly took a risk here by making the issue more public than it may have been on it’s own, but they also squashed rumors before the millions of social media minions had a chance spread the bad news.

So what did they do?

1. First, their CEO released an official Youtube video statement stating that the claims made about their meat quality are false. They also purchase a few keywords in Youtube so that anytime the word taco or taco bell was searched, this video show up first. Very powerful
2. They purchased promoted Tweets to spread the word on Twitter, linking to their youtube video.
3. They responded to any Tweets regarding the false claims, making a personal connection with any concerned Tweeps.
4. They Made official statements on their Facebook fan page to ensure that their fans were educated.

In the end, the will probably lose a few customers, or maybe even a lot. But I’m confident they greatly reduced the potential damage it could’ve cause had they not been so proactive with their social media response. Who knows, they may have actually gained a few new customers through it all.

Their efforts are a great example of how it’s not OK to wait for the disaster and then play cleanup. Likewise, it’s just flat out dumb to underestimate the power of the millions of bloggers and tweeters out there.

What lessons about social media can we learn here? Leave a comment below!

The video below is a highlight from a speech he gave about the thought behind his up and coming book ‘The Thank you Economy’.

I think Gary is right on the money when he says brands no longer have the option of being silent, and really they must become more human.

Hit play, and watch the clip below:

Social Media is still a little kid and has a lot of maturing to do, it’s not slowing down anytime soon.  Because of this, brands and businesses must be completely and totally aware of what’s happening in social media.

Heck, you’re getting to essentially tap into the convos and thoughts going on inside your customers social lives. The internet has become a giant coffee shop and if the person next to you is mentioning your brand, then you’re a fool and a jerk to ignore it and not respond.

I’m not kidding when I tell you that next year, if you’re not establishing a place in Facebook and Twitter, you’re going to LOSE.

If you feel like you’re not ready for next year with your social media, then comment below and say so!  Now is the time to reach out for help!