Social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter may be hitting the headlines and are certainly the ?in thing' when it comes to keeping up to date with the daily lives of friends and celebrities. But the value of social networking as a marketing tool for many businesses remains something of a mystery.
If you believe some of the biggest fans of the blogosphere, no self respecting business executive should be without his or her personal blog or twitter to keep the world abreast of their latest ideas, products or services.
But is the investment, particularly in terms of time and effort, paid back in terms of sales or even visits to the blogger's website?
In order to try and shine some light on the issue I recently set up a little experiment to test the effectiveness of blogs and twitters as marketing tools. Admittedly not the most scientific of tests, but it did highlight some interesting trends.
Those who know me will tell you that I'm something of a fanatic when it comes to motorbikes and motorbike racing in particular. For months I had planned to travel to the Moto Grand Prix at Le Mans and decided to provide live updates of the from my mobile on both a blog and Twitter, and test the commercialising possibilities of the interested traffic to a site providing other .
I then asked friends and contacts, via email, to approach their extended networks to attract users to the two media channels to watch the progress of the five-day trip.
To ensure a fair result, both the blog and the Twitter accounts used were brand new, therefore there was no traffic coming from historical events or profiles. In addition to the blog and Twitter, I also posted updates on my existing Facebook page, this was primarily used to give a benchmark between social media; Facebook being friends that already know me and Twitter who didn't know me previously.
On my return I looked at where the most referrals to the new blog had come from and the findings of the research threw up some interesting results.
Pouring through the statistics it demonstrated how a well constructed blog is important, Google particularly was revisiting the blog several times a day, it appeared that they were listing the content in the search results almost as soon as it went live.
But first things first- I am in dire need of finding a few more friends who are interested in bikes! The levels of interest shown by friends on Facebook only just beat that of strangers on Twitter!
More importantly, over the 5 days the blog acquired over a thousand views, of which Twitter and Facebook combined accounted for 29% of this traffic (Facebook 15% and Twitter 14%). Surprisingly the search engines generated more than twice the number of visitors- a total of 64%.
Out of these visitors 20% were interested enough to pass from the blog to the commercial site to view other motorbike trips for the future.
Although the results of this simple test are far from conclusive, some interesting trends do seem to emerge- particular for anyone thinking of using social networking as a means to generating business.
First, both Twitter and Facebook could be good for businesses who are operating in a consumer-focussed environment- but only if they have something interesting to say!
However, in a business-to-business (B2B) situation, the advantages are not so clear cut. First many business people are too busy with their day-to-day work to follow Twitters and blogs. Equally the pace of change and having something interesting to say often becomes a hindrance to generating content for their own blogs or Twitters, or even to regularly update their Facebook pages.
What's more, a recently published study by a Harvard team revealed that just 10% of Twitter users generate more than 90% of the content on the Twitter site which remains the preserve of a dedicated few, despite the hype surrounding it.
The results of my own research shows that although social media is a significant contributor to visitor attraction, search engines are still the most significant provider of visitors to blogs.
The fact that 20% of the traffic migrated from the blog, which was not an aggressive sales pitch device, to a commercial site goes to reinforce how useful a blog may prove to commercial sites, especially if it contains regularly updated theme news and information.
This will not only help the blogger to establish themselves as something of a guru in their own particular field but, more importantly boost their website's traffic and search engine ranking.
Overall the internet may by undergoing something of a social revolution but when it comes to online marketing, no one technique should be used in isolation but most significantly remains king!
Driving an RV on the open road can be a challenge even to the best drivers, as the sheer size and bulk of your rolling home will present difficulties that would not be encountered in most cars or trucks. And of course, as you go you have to try to blend in with vehicles that are much smaller and more agile on the highway. So good road etiquette and planning is needed to insure as safe a trip as possible. Here are some of the top rving tips for staying safe on the open road:
* Take it easy. Being in a rush in a motorhome or RV is one of the worst ideas possible. They just don't lend themselves to being driven aggressively and fast. If you think about it, you are taking your home, putting it on wheels and driving it down the highway, so don't expect more from it than you really should as you travel. This can be tough for impatient travelers, but you have to get into the RV mindset and stop pushing so hard. Very often a safe driving speed that still covers a good deal of ground is one that is about 10 miles per hour under the speed limit. It's not usually slow enough to create any major problems for those who wish to go faster, and yet it still gets the job done in reasonable time.
* Plan your trips in advance so that you can avoid most of the possible problems that could be encountered on the road. For instance, if possible try to stay off interstates and highways that are known for high speed traffic, especially while going through large cities at rush hour. Just look for alternate routes that may afford you better scenery anyway.
* If bad weather comes up, get off the road as quickly as you can. Large RVs and motorhomes don't take to bad weather and especially high winds very well, so don't try to push it. It's better to live and travel another day than try to force a risky situation.
* Avoid steep grades both uphill and downhill as much as possible. Of course, there are some spots in the country where it's almost impossible to completely avoid them, but do your best to take alternate routs if possible even if they take you out of your way. Steep uphill climbs and downhill traverses can put a lot of stress on a motorhome and if you tow another vehicle behind, it can be even more problematic. If you do decide to drive the hills anyway, take it slow, ignore all the other folks passing you and pull over frequently to rest and calm your nerves often.
* Never back up a motorhome while the towing vehicle is still attached. Unless you are a very experienced trucker you will most likely have way too much to worry about. Instead, unhook your tow vehicle and park it safely to the side, then be sure to have someone help guide you as you back up to make sure that you do so safely.
Driving an RV is like anything else, the more you do it the better you will get at it. But new RVers need to pay attention to these rving tips on road and driving safety as they learn their rig and get more used to this wonderful way of travel.
Both Matt Paines & Jim Johnson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Matt Paines has sinced written about articles on various topics from Network Marketing, Affiliate Programs and Computers and The Internet. Matt Paines is an having run his own agency, XSEO, since 2001. Trained as an Electronics Engineer in the early 80's, he made the transition from hardware to inter. Matt Paines's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.