A new study released by UMass Dartmouth reveals that the fastest-growing private companies are indeed, increasingly using social media – especially Facebook and Twitter.

The new study compares corporate adoption of social media between 2009 and 2010 by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies compiled annually by Inc. Magazine.

According to the study:

o       59% said they used Twitter

o       70% monitor their brands on social networks

o       50% have a corporate blog

“This research proves once again that social media has penetrated parts of the business world at a tremendous speed. It also indicates that corporate familiarity with and usage of social media within the Inc. 500 has continued to grow in the past 12 months. We are now seeing the incorporation of new platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.”

Even if your client isn’t currently interested in engaging their customers through social media (for whatever reason), they’re going to have to start at some point and this study could be presented and used to bolster support for the implementation of a suitable social media program.

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Company Blog, Facebook, Inc. 500, Social Media, Social Media in the Inc. 500, Twitter

Share/Save

In PRobecast episode #105, Topazers Tony Sapienza, Evan Siff and Renatta Siewert join me in talking about Steve Jobs leaving Apple, Consumers Reports advice on the Verizon iPhone4, Starbucks starting to accept mobile payments and the new GoDaddy.Co girl.

Steve Jobs leaving Apple – Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, is taking a medical leave of absence and Tim Cook, Apple’s COO will be temporarily replacing him. There have been some concerns, especially since Jobs never stated when he would be coming back to return to his CEO position – but Cook has run Apple before – once in 2004 and another time in 2009. However, Jobs has been the face of Apple for a long time. Do you think his absence will affect the company?

Consumer Reports saying hold off on Verizon’s iPhone – Consumer Reports is advising readers against buying the iPhone 4 from Verizon, and they are making some solid points. While, Verizon is a good carrier and the phone will have a WiFi hotspot, CR was unsure that the antenna problem was actually fixed and said, among other points, that consumers will still be paying top dollar for a phone with old technology. What do you think?

Starbucks Accepting Mobile Payments – Over 6,500 Starbucks locations will now be accepting mobile payments through an application on customers’ iPhones, iPod touches or Blackberries. The new mobile card will allow customers to track their rewards and reload their cards via PayPal or by credit card. Since their customers expressed the interest in wanting mobile payments now, they opted for a 2-D barcode system for payments.

Go Daddy’s new girl- Go Daddy, which according to the company is the world’s largest domain name registrar, is revealing the first GoDaddy.Co Girl on Super Bowl Sunday. The company has only released a teaser picture of the legs of the GoDaddy.Co girl. Their current girls are Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick, but this new girl is apparently a “big name – she’s iconic… edgy… off-the-hook-funny.” Have you heard about this new girl, will you be interested to see who she is?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week Starbuck’s launch of mobile payments came out on top! While not everyone is 100% trusting of paying for things via smartphone, that is where the world is heading. So this launch is a big deal – and it will be interested to see which companies will follow their lead.

Who do you think should have won?

MP3 File

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Apple, Consumer Reports, GoDaddy, Mobile Payments, starbucks, Steve Jobs, Verizon iPhone

Share/Save

In PRobecast episode #104, Topazers Evan Siff and Renatta Siewert join me in talking about Apple owning “App Store,” Verizon’s iPhone, Amber Alerts on Facebook and Hyper Local Marketing.

Verizon’s iPhone – On Tuesday, Verizon announced that they will be offering the iPhone 4 to Verizon customers come February and there has been a lot of debate around what this will do to AT&T – or if it’s even worth getting an iPhone from Verizon.

Apple owns “App Store?” – Microsoft wants to call their application store an “App Store” but Apple is saying they can’t do that. Apparently Apple owns App Store as a registered trademark, but Microsoft is saying the term is too general for any company to own it. Thoughts?

Facebook to publish Amber alerts – Facebook has partnered with the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to partner Amber alerts to those who sign up to receive them. This is a big and great step for this program, as Facebook is a huge community. Do you think this will be a big help to find missing children?

Local goes hyper in 2011 – An article in PRWeek, talked about how local marketing is going to go into overdrive in 2011 – especially with companies like daily deal sites popping up left and right. Promoting local brands has been an important strategy to rebuild the current economy, but these local brands must understand the value and needs of their customers because happy customers are essential if you want them to come back.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

It was unanimous: Facebook’s partnership to promote Amber Alerts. Not only is this a great way to promote a good cause using social media, this is also a giant step in the right direction for Amber Alerts to get in front of a huge community that may not have seen these alerts.

Do you agree?

MP3 File

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Amber Alerts, App Store, Apple, Hyper-local Marketing, Microsoft, Podcast Ready, Verizon's iPhone

Share/Save