MySpace Takes a New Marketing Direction

Remember MySpace? The MySpace brand conjures images of sparkly graphics, goofy page designs and top ten friend lists. For years, people have been switching over to use facebook and Twitter for social media, and Google+ has recently gained popularity as well.

The old MySpace is outdated, but their new marketing executives are attempting to revive the site with a new music marketing strategy. Entertainer Justin Timberlake is serving as a creative director, and partnerships have been formed with iTunes, Spotify and Vevo.

Re-branding a well known name like MySpace can be difficult because not only does a company have to compete with its competitors, but it has to compete with its former archaic self.

Do you think music-focused marketing is enough to save MySpace?

Revamped MySpace Will Have iTunes, Spotify and Vevo in Its Crosshairs

Online Social Shopping Trends

Recent data found while studying the behavior and habits of online shoppers revealed three important trends, according to ecommerce-guide.com

Trend #1: Online Shoppers Research Products before Purchasing

Most online shoppers begin their shopping experience by conducting research through a search engine, like Google. This is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important for ecommerce sites and online retailers

Trend #2: Other Customer Reviews and Social Media Comments Matter

A good or bad review can influence whether an online shopper makes a purchase. Shoppers also look into products and companies that have a lot of facebook “likes.”

Trend #3: Consumers Are Using Mobile Phones In-Stores

The recent study revealed that more customers are scanning barcodes and comparing in-store prices to those found on Amazon.com. Customers are also taking advantage of coupons found on their phones.

Overall, the latest data reveals how crucial it is for businesses to stay connected with consumers and have a strong online presence.

3 Consumer Shopping Trends Online Retailers Need to Know

Meta Media, Inc. Welcomes Cars.IAAI.com as a New Client

ATLANTA, GA (August 10, 2011) – Meta Media, Inc., a full-service firm specializing in marketing, website design and development, e-commerce and usability techniques, welcomes Cars.IAAI.com as its latest client. Cars.IAAI, the vehicle purchasing and auctioning division of Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., has hired Meta Media, Inc. to design and implement a natural search engine optimization strategy.

“We are very excited to work with Cars.IAAI.com,” said Michele Fontanelli Arnett, VP of Marketing and E-Commerce at Meta Media, Inc. “The strategic leaders of this website are seeking to increase business and build brand awareness on a national level, and we plan to execute our proven marketing strategies to help them achieve their goals.”

Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is a large national company, with over 150 locations throughout the United States focused on purchasing and auctioning vehicles. Cars.IAAI.com pays cash for all vehicle makes and annually models and auctions more than one million vehicles.

Meta Media, Inc. plans to utilize a variety of search engine optimization techniques designed to provide additional exposure for Cars.IAAI.com, with the ultimate goals of increasing both brand awareness and sales. The main strategy will focus on content, tags, linking and other targeted SEO tactics, which will be implemented and maintained by the Meta Media, Inc. account team.

About Meta Media, Inc.

Meta Media, Inc. is a full-service firm, with expertise in traditional and non-traditional, ROI-based marketing strategies, including website design, usability, front and back-end development, marketing, analytics and tracking, reporting, testing and optimization. In addition to Cars.IAAI.com, the company’s clients include Dr. Comfort, Aaron’s, The ENT Institute, Pope & Howard, P.C. Law Firm and many others. You can read more about the company online at http://www.metamediainc.com.

Social Scoring Systems

An emerging online trend in social media that professionals in the marketing field should keep an eye on is social scoring systems. Currently, the website with the most buzz is Klout, which is a social media metrics analytics company.

According to their website klout.com, the assigned “Klout Score” is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence.

Although Klout is currently the most newsworthy site, there are other up-and-coming social scoring systems, including:

• Tweetlevel and Bloglevel, both from the Edelman PR firm, measure your influence in Twitter and the blogosphere, respectively.
• PeerIndex scores you based on your influence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Quora, as well as blogs and other URLs you add.
• Tweet Grader from HubSpot ranks you according to how influential you are on Twitter.

Social media metrics analysis could potentially be a great tool for marketers, as it measures social interactions and who is influencing who.

5 Things Small Businesses Should Know about Klout