Being Heardable

Being Heardable http://www.heardable.com/heardable.xml The Heardable Blog en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 18:18:35 GMT Francine Martindale: The Good and Bad of Vanity Metrics: The Real 3 Metrics That Matter http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=25&blogentry_id=398 Hits. Likes. Followers.  Every digital marketer wants to have a lot of these.  But simply growing this number doesn’t always lead to increased sales.  Let us walk you through what’s important when looking at these numbers, and how to avoid the pitfalls of simply trying to grow your reach without focusing enough on turning that into sales. What are vanity metrics?  Vanity metrics are simple data that show basic information about your company’s digital marketing but that don't directly measure what's really impacting a company's revenue.  They are called vanity metrics because they are numbers that people can use to easily show off, as in,“Look at how many website hits/Facebook likes/Twitter followers/Snapchatters(and so on), we have!”  When vanity metrics can be usefulBasic Metrics: Vanity metrics can be useful in the very basic sense of measuring how many people your brand is reaching.  The bigger the numbers, the more potential customers are hearing your message.  It is generally good for these numbers to be big and growing.Happy Boss: Your boss may be impressed by these numbers.  If he or she is, pat yourself on the back…briefly.  Then take a deep breath and explain that these numbers actually only reflect the beginning of your sales funnel, and that from these, a portion of people will become more aware of your product, some of those will start to trust it, and finally (hopefully!) some of those will buy something.  When vanity metrics aren’t usefulLook Beyond Number Growth:  Don’t get stuck focusing on growing these numbers.  It’s easy to start swapping ‘likes’ with random people, having your granny sign up for your ‘tweets’, and so on, but if these people are just padding your numbers and are never going to be real customers, they can just cloud your analysis.  It’s even worse if they are bought from a list that has nothing to do with your business; then your numbers might be huge, but your sales will still be stagnant. It’s better to have a smaller number of quality people counted who might one day become real customers.Grouchy Boss: Your boss may look at these numbers and say, ‘So what does this mean for our sales?’ or ‘Why do we have so many likes, and no paying customers from this channel?’  The vanity metrics numbers, however big, won’t justify their own existence.  At the end of the day, sales revenue is what’s going to matter. How to use these numbers smartlyContext: Look at the data in the context of what it is showing about your marketing efforts in relation to your sales pipeline and KPIs.  Are you:1) Attracting brand new people to your sites?  You can easily see this in the basic vanity metrics; see if the numbers are growing. It’s also good if you can track turnover (seeing how many people disengaged from you- unlike, stopped following, unsubscribed, etc).  It’s possible that your numbers have stayed the same, but existing people have signed off, and new people have signed on. You can then see if you have a problem keeping users signed up.2) Keeping people engaged long enough to want to try a product?  This will show in your bounce rate, and page views per visitor.  Maybe you need more engaging content, or to be more clear about what solutions your product provides, or more easily deliver what it is that people came to find at your website or page.  3) Making actual sales? Compare your sales figures to your marketing efforts.  See if a new initiative has seemed to increase your sales.  Surveying buyers will also help link which marketing activities led them to you.Not sure what any of your metrics are?  Check your up-to-the-minute data in a Heardable Report. You can make one in less than five minutes.  <a href="http://www.heardable.com">www.heardable.com</a>  by Francine Martindale Tue, 21 May 2013 18:55:49 GMT Francine Martindale: Why We Measure What You Measure http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=25&blogentry_id=397 Sometimes people ask us, “What is the purpose of your ‘Measurable’ report section?  I already know what analytics software I use.”  Indeed you do.  But here are some key points as to why we think this section is important (and you should too):· You can find out what analytics software you aren’t using.  By looking at the square graph,you can see which ones you use, and which ones you don’t.  Some of those might be useful to sign up for,so that you can have a more complete picture of your online marketing efforts.· You can see which ones your competitors use. Maybe they are measuring their mobile ad use and you are not.  · You can stay on top of which systems are out there to use.  Maybe there’s one that’s showing greater details than the ones you currently use. Or something new and cool.  Our reports will always show what we think are the important analytics options available today, so that you can rest assured that you’re using everything that you should.· You can see which software is the most chosen option across the websites for which we collect data.  · Having at least 2 analytics solutions running at the same time will help to give you redundancy in case one of them changes their algorithm, which could then change your score.  By having something else running too, you can see if the impact on your score change came from the software change (in which case, only that software’s results will change) or something that you’ve done (in which case, all of your measuring software should show the change).  · Not all software is good at everything. You’ll want at least one that has great real-time results tracking, and another that’s got great deep historical data recorded.Measuring the results of how each of your online Marketing channels is performing is the best way to know specifically which of your efforts are working, so you can put your marketing dollars and time behind what will work best.Wondering what software you’re using vs. all the possibilities?  Start by checking your Heardable Measurable Score at <a href="http://www.heardable.com">www.heardable.com</a> .  by Francine Martindale Sun, 19 May 2013 08:22:58 GMT Francine Martindale: 3 Tips About Google to Act on Now http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=25&blogentry_id=396 We all know that when Google+ was launched, it went over like a fart in a spacesuit.  But despite not having all that many people there to market to (and most of those people being reachable by other social networks anyway), there are a few interesting things to know about Google+ that can help your digital marketing efforts now.1) Higher Search Ranking: Google search results prioritize content posted to Google+ .  Even if you don’t have much of a readership there, it’s worth the SEO advantage to post your content there.2) Hangouts:  Hangouts is getting a lot of positive buzz right now, as it just launched as a stand-alone app.  You can use it to video conference up to nine people for free, like Skype, but can also use it to record sessions and post them up to YouTube.  From a Marketing perspective, think about having panel discussions that people can see anytime.  Or creating educational seminars.  It seems simple and easy to use.3) Hangouts: Oh, we should talk about their new Stream or Photo features, (stay logged in on multiple devices, sort your photos easier, blah blah), but honestly, we’re still excited about using Hangouts.  Excuse us while we sign off togo and play with it now.Wondering how popular Google+ is vs. other social networks?  See our chart in the Sociable section of your latest Heardable Report.  The size of the squares and percentages show how many websites have adopted it out of all the ones we monitor.  <a href="http://www.heardable.com">www.heardable.com</a> .by Francine Martindale Sat, 18 May 2013 05:17:45 GMT Francine Martindale: Plan, Do, Measure… Repeat! Where to Start with Online Marketing http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=25&blogentry_id=394 “Our company is new to digital marketing, and we’re not sure what to do or how we’ll know if we’re doing well at it.  What should we be doing?  How will I know if any of it is really working?” I hear this a lot, especially from small businesses. The best thing I can tell them, is to follow these four steps: Plan, Do, Measure… Repeat.PlanFirst, your company needs to understand who its customers are and what problem it is solving for them.  This is important especially with digital marketing activities because the content you create needs to match the words of the problem that people are looking to solve.  Don’t just think about what you sell (fancy widgets) and shout about that (“Get your fancy widgets here!”), but think about why people will be buying them (our fancy widgets help people do XYZ).  For example, people might search for terms such as ‘relaxing romantic weekend getaway’ rather than ‘ABC Bed and Breakfast’.DoOnce you know what problem you are solving for people, spread this message across all your digital channels.  Blog about how you are an inn offering relaxing romantic weekend getaways.  Tweet it. Mention it on Facebook.  Put the terms ‘relaxing’, ‘romantic’, ‘weekend’, and ‘getaway’ into the keywords on your website, blog tags, and Google Ads (if you use them).  Explore and use all avenues that suit your brand and resources.MeasureNow for the fun part (at least for us data-gathering types!):  Check your Heardable Report to see how much your efforts have driven traffic to your site, and increased your sales compared to before you started.  You might find that some activities have been more successful than others.  Maybe your target customers have responded well to particular social media content or keywords.  Maybe more people on a new social media platform are finding you.  Use the data to measure not just how much engagement has grown, but how fast too.  You will see in the report which activities have worked where.Repeat!Use your Heardable Report results to create a plan of what you want to do next.  Increase the use of channels that are working.  Change what you tried with avenues that didn’t.  Launch a campaign of activity on a network that looks like it’s working for your competitor.  Keep up this pattern regularly (some companies will want to check their stats daily; others, weekly), and you will soon likely find that more customers are finding you, and your sales are growing.  See your latest Heardable Report at:  <a href="http://www.heardable.com">www.heardable.com</a>by Francine Martindale Sun, 12 May 2013 20:27:21 GMT Francine Martindale: When Will Facebook Die? 5 Reasons Why Teens Are Leaving Facebook. http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=25&blogentry_id=393 This question may seem premature, or even absurd. Facebook, die?  Could it?  But an interesting fact is that teenagers and college kids that originally made the platform popular are now migrating to lesser-known social media networks and apps to communicate with each other.  You’ll find them using keek, Instagram,tumblr, snapchat.  Why?  A few possible reasons:<ol><li>Facebook used to be their stomping ground, free from adults, but now their parents and even grandparents are there, so they can’t share as freely with each other as they used to without adults seeing everything.</li><li>They’ve figured out that Facebook is public and permanent, and every photo and post of themselves that goes up, stays there forever. This is bad for job prospects, and college applications.</li><li>Facebook has become very commercial compared to its early days.  It’s now overrun with advertisers and marketers, clogging up people’s new feeds.</li><li>Facebook has changed its layout so much, it’s hard to find things that you post, and it seems to be unsearchable.</li><li>A teen’s Facebook account may now have Friends (boy/girlfriends) they no longer like,games they no longer play, and Liked pages they just don’t care about anymore.  Starting fresh somewhere else can leave all of that behind.</li></ol> So as a Marketer,what should you do?  The good news is that there are still millions of people using Facebook every day,including teens, and despite its popularity slowing in that group, it is still the most-used social media network by them, along with YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.  But if you’re looking to keep a step ahead of your competitors, and be where the market is growing, and to get in early enough while it’s still cool, look at how your brand can use the up-and-coming networks and apps.  Here is a short list of cool new digital places that are currently growing in use:Snapchat:  Take a picture, send it to your friends.  Have it disappear after a short while.  Relax that no one’s going to use it against you in the morning.Tumblr:  Take a picture.  Make a picture.  Share it with your friends and family more anonymously than on Facebook.  Keek:  Video sharing platform, as easy as Twitter.Instagram:  Popular photo-sharing software, known for its photo editing effects abilities. Photos can be easily shared on several platforms.Pheed: A new social media platform.  Text, video,audio, broadcast.  And the ability to charge for it.Check these out and others (Vine, Whisper, Tinder) to see if using them would match your marketing strategy.  It’s always better to be ahead of the trends than scrambling to keep up.  To see your own brand’s up-to-the-minute social media stats, go to <a href="http://www.heardable.com">www.heardable.com</a>.  by Francine Martindale Sun, 05 May 2013 17:53:18 GMT Jon Samsel: The Top 10 Live Chat Technologies Used Worldwide http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=392 <img src="/images/blog/046c4f412727abec42cba8213dda663f.jpg">According to Heardable's massive database of over 15 million brand profiles, LivePerson is ranked as the #1 live chat technology used by brands worldwide, beating 2nd place Meebo and 3rd place Olark by a wide margin. What's somewhat surprising is the few number of branded web properties overall that are utilizing live chat as a customer support or sales enhancement tool, given it's positive business ROI and low implementation costs. Only a few companies have employed live chat on their web properties. For example, LivePerson, the top live chat vendor in the world, is being used on only 1% of all websites. This is a shame because live chat can help boost a brand's:<ol><li>Customer acquisition rates</li><li>Customer satisfaction ratings</li><li>Trustworthiness and overall brand image</li></ol>Live chat can helps transform an ordinary website into one that is more actionable for the user. An actionable website is one that makes it easier for visitors to respond, communicate, and transact.A lot has been written about the importance of providing your website visitors with the best possible customer experience. The better the experience, the mantra goes, the more satisfied your visitors will be. And happy visitors behave differently. Visitor delight can translate into increased sales, more frequent and more positive word of mouth, higher ratings and reviews, as well as greater brand loyalty. Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:03:38 GMT Jon Samsel: Coldplay Is the #1 Brand on Google Plus http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=391 <img src="/images/blog/7ddfd1a1ab73ff9e85af8037c05886dc.jpg">Who knew that the band, Coldplay, was the top performing brand in the world on Google Plus, with 4,180,084 followers and 4,235,440 Plus Ones?Your Tube is in the #2 slot with 3,099,973 followers and 3,394,044 Plus Ones, with FC Barcelona Barcelona in 3rd, Conan O'Brien in 4th and Hello Kitty in 5th.Click here to see the live, real-time list of the <a href="http://heardable.com/lists.php?cat_id=&network=gg&bid=0&qid=54091&report_type=ldr&rpp=100" target="_blank">Top 100 brands on Google+</a>.<div> </div> Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:42:11 GMT John Sharp: Heardable Automated Report Builder v3.0 http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=2&blogentry_id=390 We've taken on one of the most vexing problems faced by marketing teams - the monthly progress report - and not only have we reduced the time needed to create this behemoth, we've increased the amount of competitive data.We're also taking our first steps towards allowing custom competitor lists, rather than using NAICS categories to define the competitors, as we have in the past.  Now, when you create your report, it's entirely up to you as to what brands you wish to include - we'll still include the NAICS/SIC ranking in your report, but the more important ranking - how you stack up against your nominated competitors - now drives all table rankings.  Best of all - our new reports can be created right from our new home page.<img src="/images/blog/16bae4bf167afa41d464921104ede090.jpg" style="width: 670px;">One final word - the entire report is now being driven by our v3.0 API.  Which means we can white-label everything Heardable, and produce beautiful custom reports under your brand - or your agency's brand.Enjoy!  And please give us feedback during the launch phase. Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:13:03 GMT Jon Samsel: Special October Discount Coupon Now Available http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=389 Save 20% Off Any Heardable Report for the Month of October 2012 Heardable's brand health benchmark reports are utilized by hundreds of busy marketing executives, strategy planners and social analytic professionals to better understand the relative performance of brands in all industries. Now you can save 20% off any Heardable report by utilizing this special discount code at checkout: 145HH7 20% means you save $99 on any report you buy. Not a bad deal, eh? To redeem this limited time offer, go to the <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/">Heardable Store</a> and select from our full list of reports, including: <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-25-mortgage-lenders-in-america">The Top 25 Mortgage Lenders in America</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/hospitality/products/the-worlds-10-best-hotel-chains">The World's 10 Best Hotel Chains</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-auto-brands-in-america">The Top Auto Brands In America</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/insurance/products/the-top-insurance-carriers-vs-insurance-aggregators">The Top Insurance Carriers vs. Insurance Aggregators</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/hospitality/products/the-top-25-restaurant-chains-in-america">The Top 25 Restaurant Chains in America</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/investing/products/the-top-50-leading-brands-in-venture-capital">The Top 50 Leading Brands In Venture Capital</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/investing/products/the-top-10-leading-discount-brokerage-brands-online">The Top 10 Leading Discount Brokerage Brands Online</a> <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/online-stores/products/the-top-15-online-store-brands-for-pet-supplies">The Top 15 Online Store Brands for Pet Supplies</a> Feel free to share this offer with your friends and colleagues. Best, The Marketing Team @ Heardable.com Thu, 04 Oct 2012 09:34:54 GMT Jon Samsel: Can't Beat the Real Thing (Unless Your Stats Are Off) http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=388 <a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/screen-shot-2012-10-02-at-90712-pm.png"></a><img src="/images/blog/b56a1befe5205471674be8f7cbc618f7.jpg">A new <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/list-global-brands-keeps-coke-102603087.html">article</a> by By Stuart Elliott from the New York Times and reprinted in Yahoo Finance discusses a few findings from the 13th annual Best Global Brands report issued by Interbrand, a brand consulting company owned by the Omnicom Group. The article falsely claims that Coca-Cola has more likes, 51.98 million, than any other brand. We're not sure if Stuart got his facts twisted around or if he obtained his questionable statistics from Interbrand...but there are, in fact, two corporate brands that have more Facebook likes than Coca-Cola: 1. Facebook with 72,646,298 likes2. YouTube with 62,957,369 likes And there are five celebrity brands with more Facebook likes than Coca-Cola: 3. Eminem - 61,184,4494. Rihanna - 60,427,1465. The Simpsons - 54,825,2386. Shakira - 54,714,3487. Lady Gaga - 53,305,473 Coca-Cola comes in 8th place.  Article source: <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/list-global-brands-keeps-coke-102603087.html">http://finance.yahoo.com/news/list-global-brands-keeps-coke-102603087.html</a> Facebook stats courtesy of Heardable: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://tinyurl.com/aswprsh">http://tinyurl.com/aswprsh</a> Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:09:18 GMT Jon Samsel: How Contexual Analytics Can Reveal Actionable Business Insights http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=387 <a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/3.png"></a><img src="/images/blog/0f79ffb7d3c8aa9edabf8fda50bcb65a.jpg" style="">The objective of Heardable's latest benchmark research report, "The Top 25 Mortgage Lenders in America" is three-fold: <ol><li>to help leaders understand the value that 'brand data' brings to enterprise decision-making</li><li> to help these same leaders understand the levers through which online brand value is created in order to help identify opportunities to grow the value of their brands going forward</li><li> to help showcase how contexual analytics can reveal actionable business insights</li></ol>For example, the Heardable platform shows that Quicken Loans has 25% more Facebook likes than Nationwide Home Loans with 52,058 likes for Quicken Loans and 38,857 likes for Nationwide. But Quicken Loans has 317% fewer daily mentions than Nationwide -- why is that?The Heardable platform reveals that Quicken Loans has strong brand equity but weaker brand advocacy than Nationwide, which is somewhat surprising.Comparing a single data point (likes) reveals that Quicken Loans is doing 'better' on Facebook. But by adding a second data point (# of people talking about this brand), information is put into context to reveal an entirely new dimension -- buzz. In this instance, Nationwide has a more passionate fan base -- more people are talking about their brand online than Quicken Loans.Is this a temporary blip in the data or an emerging trend? If a trend, what are the key drivers? Is this trajectory sustainable? For this particular industry, daily chatter about a brand may be a critical metric to monitor."The core challenge facing brand marketers: how do I contextualize all the data that's available online and make it actionable?," says Jon Samsel, co-founder of Heardable.Successful brands utilize real-time data and cutting- edge analytics to glean business intelligence to help them make better informed business decisions -- faster and cheaper than their competitors.Twitter shout outs for Heardable report, "The Top 25 Mortgage Lenders in America," include: @FremontBank @UnionBank @GreenlightLoans @asksuntrust @suntrust @HomeLoanInvBank @EverBank @EverBankHelp @EverBankJobs @chasesupport @CitizensBank @PNCBank_Help @PNCNews @cashcallinc @amerisave @citi @askciti @Nationwide @AskNationwide @Ask_WellsFargo @WellsFargo @WellsFargo_Jobs @statefarm @pennymacnews @usbank @askusbank @USBankConnect @hsbc_uk_press @CapitalOne @AskCapitalOne @Discover @BofA_Help @BofA_News @BofA_Careers @BofA_Community @BofA_Tips @quickenloans @QLnews. Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:54:20 GMT Jon Samsel: Quicken Loans Earns The Title Of Top Mortgage Brand Online http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=386 Quicken Loans Earns The Title Of Top Mortgage Brand Online With 99% Higher Valuation According to HeardableQuicken Loans dominates the home loans sector with a #1 ranking, followed by Bank of America Home Loans at #2, Discover Home Loans at #3, Capital One Home Loans at #4 and HSBC Mortgages at #5. September 24, 2012 - Today Heardable, Inc., (http://heardable.com), the standard for measuring online brand performance, answers the question: Does building a better digital experience result in a better brand?Heardable examined 25 brands for our latest online brand health benchmark report, "The Top 25 Mortgage Lenders in America." Quicken Loans's brand health score of 688 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, Bank of America, by 128 points, or 18.60%, and surpassed third place Discover Home Loans by 135 points, or 19.62%. The gap between Quicken Loans and lowest-ranked Fremont Bank Mortgages was 538 points, or 78.20%.Quicken's brand health score of 688 out of 1,000 possible points was a staggering 99% higher than the average combined score of the 24 other mortgage lenders evaluated in the report.So how did Quicken Loans rise to the position of category leader? Three areas of competence caught our attention: 1) website optimization (tech, mobile, user experience)2) breadth of social media participation3) search engine best practices & optimization"Quicken Loans completely dominates the online mortgage sector," said John Sharp, co-founder of Heardable. "Their smart use of technology has fundamentally changed consumer expectations for online lender engagement. Home loan competitors take heed.""Technology has become so critically important to our business," said Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson in a recent company blog post. "I think it should become more important to the industry. But it’s not just technology alone – it’s technology and process. What we’ve been able to do is take our technology, which has been built internally, and leverage it tremendously in how we handle the mortgage transaction from end-to-end."The Top 25 Mortgage Lender Brands Online1. Quicken Loans2. Bank Of America Home Loans3. Discover Home Loans 4. Capital One Home Loans5. HSBC Mortgages6. U.S. Bank Home Mortgage7. PennyMac8. State Farm Bank9. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage10. Nationwide Bank Mortgage11. CitiMortgage12. AmeriSave13. CashCall Mortgage14. PNC Mortgage15. Citizens Bank Mortgages16. GMAC Mortgage17. Chase Mortgage18. EverBank Mortgages19. Home Loan Investment Bank20. SunTrust Mortgage21. Greenlight Financial22. Union Bank Home Loans23. Crestline Funding24. Provident Funding25. Fremont Bank MortgagesThe full 267 page research report is available at:<a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-25-mortgage-lenders-in-america">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-25-mortgage-lenders-in-america</a>To learn more about the report, Heardable's methodology or get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034.About HeardableHeardable is the world's first and only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's Magic Firehose™ API can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Southern California with an office in Singapore. Sat, 22 Sep 2012 11:17:46 GMT Jon Samsel: Insurance Carriers Winning the Digital Turf War Against Aggregators http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=385 <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/good-hands-branding-heardable-research-shows-insurance-carriers-070300264.html?_esi=1">Read this story on Yahoo News</a> Good Hands Branding: New Heardable Research Shows Insurance Carriers Winning the Digital Turf War Against Aggregators <div> </div> <div>Allstate named the top online brand in the insurance industry, followed by Nationwide at #2, CarInsurance.com at #3, State Farm at #4 and Geico at #5. </div> <div> </div> <div>Today Heardable, Inc., (http://heardable.com), the standard for measuring online brand performance, answers the question: Does lending an online helping hand equate to a strong digital brand?</div> <div> </div> <div>In its latest brand health benchmark report, "Insurance Carriers vs. Insurance Aggregators," Heardable profiles the online strengths (and weaknesses) of the top 5 insurance carriers along side the top 5 insurance aggregators. Surprisingly, insurance carriers outperformed the top 5 insurance aggregators by 21% -- proof that the top insurance carriers have stepped up their game over the past 18 months.</div> <div> </div> <div>According to the research, Allstate's brand health score of 710 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, Nationwide, by 26 points, or 3.66%, and surpassed third place CarInsurance.com by 30 points, or 4.23%. The gap between Allstate and lowest-ranked Efinancial was 254 points, or 35.77%.</div> <div> </div> <div>The report notes that successful insurance brands, whether they are an aggregator or carrier, are those who've shown the agility to respond to business challenges at web speed, providing online experiences that meet or exceed customer expectations.</div> <div> </div> <div>"Insurance industry brands are at a strategic inflection point," said Jon Samsel, CEO of Heardable, Inc. "Real-time data, word-of-mouth marketing and online price aggregation have radically altered the way consumers research, discuss and purchase insurance-related products. Leading insurance providers like Allstate have not only altered the way they think and act, they've integrated the customer experience into the brand experience which has resulting in a expansive and thriving digital footprint."</div> <div> </div> <div>The Top 10 Insurance Carrier/Aggregator Brands Online</div> <div> </div> <div>1. Allstate</div> <div>2. Nationwide</div> <div>3. CarInsurance.com</div> <div>4. State Farm</div> <div>5. Geico</div> <div>6. Farmers Insurance</div> <div>7. InsuranceQuotes.com</div> <div>8. Esurance</div> <div>9. InsWeb</div> <div>10. Efinancial</div> <div> </div> <div>The full 129 page research report is available at:</div> <div> </div> <div><a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-insurance-carriers-vs-insurance-aggregators">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-insurance-carriers-vs-insurance-aggregators</a></div> <div> </div> <div>To learn more about the report, Heardable's methodology or get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034.</div> <div> </div> <div>About Heardable</div> <div>Heardable is the world's first and only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's Magic Firehose™ API can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Southern California with an office in Singapore.</div> Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:47:07 GMT Jon Samsel: Storage Masters Improves Online Visibility Thanks to GreenHouse http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=384 <div> <div style="margin:0;padding:0;"><a href="http://s.tt/1m6MI">GreenHouse Social Media Client Recognized as Top Online Brand in its Industry</a> (via <a href="http://s.tt/1m6MI">PR Newswire</a>) LAKE MARY, Fla., Aug. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Heardable, Inc., the leader in measuring online brand performance, recently released a report which ranked Storage Masters #5 in "The Top 10 Self Storage Brands in America." The report measured the effectiveness and visibility of storage brands… </div> </div> Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:35:20 GMT Jon Samsel: Obama Has Millions of Fake Twitter Followers (You Can Too!) http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=383 <img src="/images/blog/b8ea271498f3bb3866f22d8833fd2d6d.jpg">Ever wonder how many fake followers you and your friends have? What about the follower count for big brand like Toyota, or a soccer star like Cristiano Ronaldo, or even [gulp] the President of the United States? Here are a few brands that are on Twitter we took a look at to see what their 'true' Twitter follower numbers were, using the Status People Fake Follower Check tool. @BarackObama = 31% fake, 39% inactive, 30% good. This takes Barack's Twitter follower count from 18.8 mil to 5.6 mil followers.@MittRomney = 16% fake, 31% inactive, 53% good. This drops Mitt's Twitter follower count from 902,178 to 478,154 followers.@Toyota = 8% fake, 32% inactive, 60% good. This takes Toyota's Twitter follower count from 99,158 to 59,495 followers.@Cristiano = 42% fake, 32% inactive, 21% good. This drops Cristiano's Twitter follower count from 12.5 mil to 2.6 mil followers.@RicohTweets = 9% fake, 21% inactive, 70% good. This takes Ricoh's Twitter follower count from 3,168 to 2,218 followers. Surprised by the results? What does this tell us about socila media data and the importance of having access to accurate Twitter stats? How much do folloers really matter in a world full of of fake fan bases and unused social meda accounts? Fri, 24 Aug 2012 22:08:23 GMT Jon Samsel: The Most Popular Social Networks Utilized By the World's Brands http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=382 <img src="/images/blog/df071c68494f64baead388947a6450e7.jpg"> Today I read an article written by Clare Harrison titled, "<a href="http://www.corpcommsmagazine.co.uk/news/2641-google-tops-youtube-and-linkedin">Google+ tops YouTube and LinkedIn</a>." The article talks about how Google+ has become a popular word-of-mouth utility for online marketers, surpassing other top social networks in usage. Clare quotes statistics provided by SEOmoz in her post, stating, "Google+ is the third most popular social networking site for marketers, after Facebook and Twitter, according to a recent poll of marketers conducted by software provider SEOmoz." Social Media Tools Being Used by Brands (<a href="http://www.seomoz.org/seo-industry-survey">SEOmoz survey</a>) <div>88% - Facebook83% - Twitter55% - Google+49% - YouTube47% - LinkedIn47% - Blogging21% - Pinterest9% - StumbleUpon5% - Tumblr5% - Flickr</div> Heardable decided to fire up its platform of 15 million worldwide brands to do a fact check of sorts on the SEOmoz numbers. Heardable monitors 130 social networks and social media sites, including specialist and industry-specific social communities.  According to Heardable's Social Media Utilization Index, here are the social networks and social media sites utilized most often by socially-aware brands. Social Media Tools Being Used by Brands (Heardable quant) Facebook - 59%Twitter - 59%YouTube - 32%Google Plus - 16%LinkedIn - 15%Pinterest - 11%Instgram - 3%Flickr - 3%Foursquare - 2%MySpace - 1% The stats above indicate the percentage of all brands in our platform that have a verified or official brand presence on the social network, based on a sample size of 100,000 brand profiles.  3 Reasons Heardable Stats Are Different From the SEOmoz Survey #'s 1. Heardable's data was not derived from a survey, which tends to measure opinion or intent. Heardable data is quantifiable data (using objective properties) as opposed to qualitative information. 2. Just like differences in political polls, the source of the data is critical. A polls of likely voters in an election will likely see different results that a poll of all adults. Likewise, SEOmoz survey participant were internet saavy marketing professionals. Heardable data was collected from any brand, large or small, saavy or not, with a digital presence. 3. Heardable's sample size was 100,000 random brands from our database of 15 million brands. SEOmoz survey sample size was 6,479. 3 Reasons Why Google+ May Not Be Attracting Much Brand Usage Most small to medium sized businesses don't have official pages on Google Plus. Why is that? We've identified 3 primary reasons: 1. Lack of awareness - Many companies still don't participate in 'the big 3' social networks, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter -- so it's no wonder that tmany still have not joined Google+. 2. Lack of clear business benefit - Sure, there are millions of people using Google+, but most companies will probably tell you that millions of their target customers are not yet using Google+. So it' no wonder then that many businesses are in no hurry to join G+. Quick Tips On Planning Your Social Strategy The best and most progressive companies of today use social media to literally become social enterprises. These firms use social media channels in a coordinated manner to tie their business interests with their outreach, such that information is shared in real-time and marketing efforts are empowered, regardless of whether they are reaching out to partners or consumers. Which social networks are "right" for your brand to participate in? Answer: Go where your customers are. But before you jump right in, it's important that you first determine how participating in social media will satisfy a customer need while benefitting your organization. Social consumer archetypes can be roughly broken down into fans (people who like or admire brands, products and/or services), followers (people who regularly consume information involving a brand), advocates (people who share information on behalf of that brand), and influencers (people who incite others to make purchases or ignore products). The key is to understand these archetypes as personalities and discover how to best leverage them as customers or potential customers - and the key to that is enabling conversations. At Heardable, we advocate the '5 x 20%' rule. When we're "being social", we spend 20% in casual conversation; 20% doing product promotion; 20% conducting surveys and getting feedback; 20% for PR and status updates, and 20% handling customer services issues. When companies take this kind of multi-faceted approach across social media, they win big, because the relationships they develop are empowered, authentic and transparent...and, almost always, they lead to greater sales. Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:09:24 GMT Jon Samsel: Organizing Goes Digital: Heardable Unveils The Top Self Storage Brands in America http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=381 <div>Extra Space Storage is the #1 self storage brand online, followed by CubeSmart at #2, Public Storage at #3, Uncle Bobs at #4 and Storage Masters at #5.</div> <div> </div> <div>Today Heardable, Inc., (http://heardable.com), the standard for measuring online brand performance, announces the release of its latest research report, The Top 10 Self Storage Brands in America. Extra Space Storage earns the #1 position in a field of strong competitors.</div> <div> </div> <div>According to the research, Extra Space Storage's brand health score of 612 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, CubeSmart, by 4 points, or .65%, and surpassed third place Public Storage by 42 points, or 6.69%. The gap between Extra Space Storage and lowest-ranked Storage West was 323 points, or 52.78%.</div> <div> </div> <div>So how did Extra Space Storage rise to the position of category leader? </div> <div> </div> <div>1) social media participation</div> <div>2) search engine optimization</div> <div>3) mobile website optimization</div> <div> </div> <div>A drill down into social media reveals some amazing insights. For instance, over the past several months, 3 of the top 4 self storage brands garnered, on average, 27 new likes per month on their Facebook pages:</div> <div> </div> <div>CubeSmart = 24 new likes per month</div> <div>Public Storage = 26 new likes per month</div> <div>Uncle Bob's = 30 new likes per month</div> <div> </div> <div>While that number may seem adequate by normal business standards, consider this. Industry-leading Extra Space Storage averaged 1,164 new Facebook likes per month, a staggering 4,211% higher monthly growth rate than it's top competitors.</div> <div> </div> <div>How is Extra Space blowing past its competitors -- and what strategy is driving this serge?</div> <div> </div> <div>In the company's Q2 2012 earnings call, Karl Haas, Chief Operating Officer for Extra Space, said, "We continue to gain market share from our smaller competitors by leveraging our size, resources and sophisticated systems, and we are driving traffic to our websites and properties."</div> <div> </div> <div>"American's take great pleasure in owning things, said Jon Samsel, Heardable co-founder and CEO. "And popular reality shows like Storage Wars are fanning the desire to acquire even more stuff. This has created a huge market opportunity for forward-thinking brands like ExtraSpace Storage. They're doing things like syndicating content across social media to win over new fans and spread positive word-of-mouth. For example, ExtraSpace sponsors a live chat session series on Facebook hosted by two highly respected, professional organizers: Josh Zerkel and Lisa Zaslow. Popular brand outreach programs like this are extending the company brand into the personal organization space and helping to generate greater shareholder value -- a smart move for ExtraSpace."</div> <div> </div> <div>The Top 5 Self Storage Brands Online, Ranked by Heardable</div> <div> </div> <div>1. Extra Space Storage</div> <div>2. CubeSmart</div> <div>3. Public Storage</div> <div>4. Uncle Bobs</div> <div>5. Storage Masters</div> <div> </div> <div>Heardable research does not rely on aggregate cookie data, customer opinions or satisfaction with particular brands. Instead, the Heardable brand monitoring platform studies how effective each brand performs according to 800+ online marketing metrics and best practices. Brands are examined and benchmarked based on measurable performance data, rather than estimates or opinions.</div> <div> </div> <div>To learn more about this report, go to:</div> <div> </div> <div><a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-10-self-storage-brands-in-america">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-10-self-storage-brands-in-america</a></div> <div> </div> <div>To learn more about Heardable's research methodology or to get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034.</div> <div> </div> <div>About Heardable</div> <div>Heardable is the world's first and only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's "big brand data" repository can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Southern California with an office in Singapore.</div> Sun, 19 Aug 2012 18:02:29 GMT Jon Samsel: A Facebook Like Growth Rate 4,211% Higher Than Competitors http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=380 <img src="/images/blog/3db824b3bd4f89aa79103964ec0d9f56.jpg" style="">Over the past three months, 3 of the top 4 self storage brands garnered, on average, 27 new likes per month on their Facebook pages:CubeSmart = 24 new likes per monthPublic Storage = 26 new likes per monthUncle Bob's = 30 new likes per monthWhile that number may seem adequate by normal business standards, consider this. Industry-leading Extra Space Storage averaged 1,164 new Facebook likes per month, a staggering 4,211% higher monthly growth rate than it's top competitors.<div>How is Extra Space blowing past its competitors -- and what strategy is driving this serge?</div><div>Heardable's report, <a href="https://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/collections/moving-and-storage/products/the-top-10-self-storage-brands-in-america">The Top 10 Self Storage Brands in America</a>, delves into the details.</div> Sun, 19 Aug 2012 13:10:23 GMT Jon Samsel: The Top 100 Restaurant Chains in America http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=376 <a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/top25restcoverfinal.png"><img alt="" width="231" height="300" src="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/top25restcoverfinal-231x300.png"></a> The Top 100 Restaurant Chains in America Unveiled by Heardable in New Brand Research Chili's ranked #1 full service restaurant brand online, followed by Denny's at #2, Olive Garden at #3, Applebee's at #4 and Souplantation at #5. Today Heardable, Inc., (http://heardable.com), the standard for measuring online brand performance, released the findings of its latest research report that benchmarks the online performance of the top full service restaurant chains in America. Chili's earned the #1 position in a field of strong competitors. According to the research, Chili's's brand health score of 636 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, Denny's, by 6 points, or 0.94%, and surpassed third place Olive Garden by 10 points, or 1.57%. The gap between Chili's and lowest-ranked Macaroni Grill was 151 points, or 23.74%. Heardable research does not rely on aggregate cookie data, customer opinions or satisfaction with particular brands. Instead, the Heardable brand monitoring platform studies how effective each brand performs according to 800+ online marketing metrics and best practices. Brands are examined and benchmarked based on measurable performance data, rather than estimates or opinions. So how did Chili's rise to the position of category leader? Three areas of competence caught our attention:  1) search engine optimization 2) social media participation and fan base 3) mobile optimization In addition to chilis.com, Chili's maintains a strong social media presence in Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, along with testing location-based channels such as FourSquare and mobile (mobile coupons, mobile advertising to boost ordering via smartphones, and charity awareness via mobile bar codes printed on menus). "Chili's has utilized the essential online branding tools of community management, customer service and content outreach to emerge as a leader in the full service restaurant category," said Gunther Sonnenfeld, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Heardable, Inc. "Chili's understands that the value of its service product extends far beyond calorie counts, specialty food items and discounts -- it sees its business value in the direct relationships it builds with its customer base, and it shows. Congrats to the restaurant chain and its franchise owners." The Top 100 Restaurant Chains 1. Chili's 2. Denny's 3. Olive Garden 4. Applebee's 5. Souplantation 6. Yard House 7. Texas Roadhouse 8. Red Robin 9. BJ's Restaurant 10. California Pizza Kitchen 11. Bob Evans 12. Red Lobster 13. Outback Steakhouse 14. Benihana 15. Carrabba's Italian Grill 16. Morton's 17. Joe's Crab Shack 18. The Cheesecake Factory 19. Capital Grille 20. McCormick & Schmicks 21. Bennigan's 22. Logans Roadhouse 23. Smokey Bones 24. Fazolies 25. Macaroni Grill 26. Houlihan's 27. FATZ 28. Sizzler 29. IHOP 30. Buffalo Wild Wings 31. Ruth's Chris Steak House 32. Steak N Shake 33 T.G.I. Friday's 34. Hooters 35. Brick House Tavern + Tap 36. Friendly's 37. Bertuccis 38. Earls 39. Buca Di Beppo 40. Maggiano's Little Italy 41. Ruby Tuesday 42. Bonefish Grill 43. Waffle House 44. P.F. Chang's 45. Fleming's Prime Steakhouse 46. Golden Corral 47. Fuddruckers 48. Cracker Barrel 49. Elephant Bar 50. Carrows Restaurant 51. Swensen's 52. The Melting Pot 53. First Watch 54. Roy's 55. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co 56. Elmer's Restaurants 57. Famous Dave's BBQ 58. Lone Star Steakhouse 59. Coco's Bakery 60. Acapulco 61. Marie Callender's 62. Village Inn 63. Perkins Family Restaurant 64. Rainforest Cafe 65. Tony Romas 66. O-Charley's 67. Mimi's Cafe 68. Chart House Restaurant 69. Bravo Cucina Italiana 70. Huddle House 71. Redstone American Grill 72. Quaker Steak & Lube 73. Max & Ermas 74. Claim Jumper 75. Ra Sushi 76. Big Boy 77. East Side Mario's 78. Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano 79. Black Angus 80. Saltgrass Steak House 81. Le Peep 82. Shanes Rib Shack 83. Rock Bottom 84. El Torito 85. McGrath's Fish House 86. Don Pablos 87. Country Kitchen 88. Bakers Square 89. Cheddars 90. Copelands 91. Mitchell's Fish Market 92. Vic & Anthony's 93. Ponderosa Steakhouse 94. Shari's Restaurant 95. J. Alexander’s 96. Black-eyed Pea 97. Johnny Rockets 98. Ground Round 99. Shoney's 100. Rusty Pelican   A free 264 page research report profiling the Top 25 Restaurant Chains is available at: <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-25-restaurant-chains-in-america">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-top-25-restaurant-chains-in-america</a>  To learn more about the report, Heardable's methodology or get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034. About Heardable Heardable is the world's first and only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's "big brand data" repository can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Southern California with an office in Singapore. Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:06:48 GMT Jon Samsel: Heardable CEO Quoted in Forbes Story About Successful Brands http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=374 <a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/forbes1.png"><img src="/images/blog/180f28920cba26575e22edae8ba17590.jpg"> </a>Heardable CEO, Jon Samsel, was recently quoted in Forbes. Contributor, Patrick Hanlon's article, 'How Apple, Dominos, Delta Airlines Rise Despite Slumpy Economy,' discusses how certain brands are making more money in the face of a stumbling economy by taking innovative approaches to marketing and rewarding employees.Here is a brief excerpt:Another company creating smiles these days is Delta Airlines.  Having survived plucking Northwest Airlines out of bankruptcy, Delta today is flying high.Delta spends hundreds of millions each year across the board to promote online services, decrease the number of lost bags, revitalize its JFK terminal, and stay relevant for today’s traveler.This week Heardable, the analytics standard for measuring online brand performance, released its Top 10 Airlines in North America report, to announce that Delta beat out rivals United and American for the second year in a row."Not only have they finished #1 in two consecutive reports profiling the effectiveness of the airline industry,” says Jon Samsel, co-founder and CEO of Heardable, Inc., “but they’ve managed to make their brand synonymous with a quality online experience—which requires a spirit of listening and a knack for delivering."Read the full article <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhanlon/2012/07/04/how-apple-dominos-delta-airlines-rise-despite-slumpy-economy/">here</a>.  Fri, 06 Jul 2012 22:26:17 GMT Jon Samsel: Enzoani Makes the Cover of Weddingbells Magazine http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=373 <img src="/images/blog/bbf623839259fffb78ea0b7bec4d74f9.jpg">Here's some good news to start the weekend. Our client, Enzoani, made the cover of Weddingbells magazine with their Blue by Enzoani gown.Well done, team Enzoani!Watch the Weddingbells magazine video promotion at <a href="http://bcove.me/1n9sia06">http://bcove.me/1n9sia06</a><a href="http://bcove.me/1n9sia06"></a> Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:56:17 GMT Jon Samsel: Martha Stewart, The Bachelor UK and Oprah Feature Enzoani http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=371 Heardable Helps Boosts the Enzoani BrandOne of Heardable's clients, Enzoani, just had one of their a wedding gowns featured in Martha Stewart Real Weddings special issue.<a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/enzoanicovers.jpg"><img src="/images/blog/4227fdb7ef1504e69480c8b1994c3452.jpg" style=""></a>Recently, Enzoani dresses were featured in Brides magazine and in O, The Oprah Magazine. Enzoani Goes HollywoodIn releated news, actress Kristen Stewart wore an Enzoani gown in Twilight. Coming up: Enzoani dresses will be worn by hopeful brides to be in The Bachelor UK television series.Way to go, Enzoani! Heardable is glad to play a supporting role in your continued success. Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:53:35 GMT Jon Samsel: Delta Air Lines Fends Off United and American To Be Named The Top Airline Brand http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=370 <a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/airlinecover.png"></a><img src="/images/blog/8149f5760487792d6b47cfee3c0b21fb.jpg" style="">Delta Air Lines Fends Off United and American To Be Named The Top Airline Brand In North America According To HeardableNew 129 page benchmark report reveals a 36% improvement in the online brand health scores of the major airlines over the past 18 months -- jumps in social media, search & mobile performance Today Heardable, Inc., (http://heardable.com), the standard for measuring online brand performance, released an all new benchmark report titled, "Top 10 Airlines in North America," that assesses the online performance of the top 10 airlines in North America. Delta earned the top spot in a field of strong competitors. Delta's brand health score of 739 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, United Airlines, by 17 points, or 2.30%, and surpassed third place American Airlines by 66 points, or 8.93%. The gap between Delta and lowest-ranked Aeromexico was 195 points, or 26.39%. It's been 18 months since Heardable published it's first report on the top performing airlines in North America and this time around, Delta was the top performing online brand once again. Delta is a clearly a bright and shining star for online branding done right.  In looking at the airline industry as a whole, there's been a 36% improvement in the overall brand health scores of the top 10 brands since Heardable's last report on the airline industry, which is an encouraging step forward.  So how did Delta Air Lines rise to the position of category leader? Three areas of competence caught our attention:  1) sharing and syndicating content2) social media participation3) search optimization In addition to delta.com, Delta maintains a strong social media presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It also publishes a blog, offers a version of its site that's optimized for mobile smartphone browzing, and publishes a text-only version of its website. "Delta has accomplished what few brands have been able to do in the digital era," said Jon Samsel, co-founder and CEO of Heardable, Inc. "Not only have they finished #1 in two consecutive Heardable research reports profiling the effectiveness of the airline industry, but they've manage to make their brand synonymous with a quality online experience -- which in an of itself requires a spirit of listening and a knack for delivering. Hats off to Delta's management and marketing teams for leading the pack yet again." Top 10 Airlines in North America, Ranked by Heardable Score (1000 points possible) 1. Delta - 7392. United Airlines - 7223. American Airlines - 6734. US Airways - 6665. Southwest - 6576. JetBlue - 6397. WestJet - 6298. Hawaiian Airlines - 5809. Air Canada - 55510. Aeromexico - 544 Heardable's brand health scores are like credit scores for brands. Scores range from 0 to 1,000. Basically, the higher your score, the better you're doing. Each brand health score is comprised of six subscore categories, each focusing on a unique element of a brand's online effectiveness: Portable, Searchable, Sociable, Measurable, Actionable, and Shareable. The full report is available at:<a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/top-10-airlines-in-north-america">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/top-10-airlines-in-north-america</a> To learn more about the report, Heardable's methodology or get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034. About HeardableHeardable is a <a href="http://heardable.com/services.php?qid=67898">Heardable's Platform-As-A-Service</a> company that fuses math, measurement and marketing best practices into the world's only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that monitors the hundreds of tiny levers through which online brand value is created. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's "big brand data" repository can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Temecula, CA with an office in Singapore. Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:24:45 GMT Jon Samsel: Social Media Marketing Plan Outline http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=368  <img src="/images/blog/181daa386aa3ec8ca5037b8f927992d5.jpg">Social Media Marketing Plan Outline<a href="http://www.jonsamsel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/social_heardable.jpg"></a>1. Establish goals & timeline2. Decide which social networks to participate in and why3. Ready your social accounts (universal login info, latest logo, etc)4. Get up to speed on each network (subscribe, like, pin, retweet, etc)5. Assess content needs, set up a creative library6. Create a content publishing calendar7. Write & create content (ongoing)8. Content syndication, biz dev, advertising & commenting (ongoing)9. Compile & report on results (ongoing)10. Quarterly review meetings, share learnings, revise & improve Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:43:45 GMT Jon Samsel: The World's 10 Best Hotel Chains Revealed In New Heardable Report http://www.heardable.com/blogs.php?user_id=7&blogentry_id=367 <img src="/images/blog/dfe2981ec8788c255594a40b58ced9f0.jpg" style="">Marriott secures the #1 position with an online brand health score of 706, followed by Best Western at #2, Hyatt at #3, Iberostar at #4, and Hilton at #5Today Heardable, Inc., (<a href="http://heardable.com">http://heardable.com</a>), the standard for measuring online brand performance, released an all new research report titled, The World's 10 Best Hotel Chains, that benchmarks the online performance of the top 10 hotel chains in the world. Marriott earned the top spot in a field of strong competitors. According to the research, Marriott's brand health score of 706 out of 1,000 possible points beat its nearest competitor, Best Western, by 4 points, or 0.57%, and surpassed third place Hyatt Hotels and Resorts by 27 points, or 3.82%. The gap between Marriott and lowest-ranked Jumeirah was 105 points, or 14.87%. Sponsored by <a href="http://tisoh.com">The International School of Hospitality</a> based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, the research report delves into everything from mobile readiness to social network participation to a brand's adeptness at SEO. To make it into the top 10, over 7,000 individual hotels were examined. Notable brands such as Westin Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Inter-Continental Hotels, Radisson, Starwood Hotels and The Four Seasons did not make it into the top 10. "At TISOH, our top hospitality industry faculty takes brand management very seriously, says Timothy M Lam, Executive Director of The International School of Hospitality. "Many of our students are would-be entrepreneurs so we teach the importance of building a robust online strategy to help manage their overall brand vitality. We help them navigate through all the social media networks and show them how to maximize their marketing dollars. After all, no matter how well we prepare our students to become world-class event planners, wedding coordinators, concierge, or hotel operators, if their brand is not at optimal health, then they cannot realize their success potential. It is in this vein that we proudly sponsor this detailed report by Heardable."  So how did Marriott rise to the position of category leader?  Three areas of competence caught our attention:  1) sharing and syndicating content2) social media participation3) search optimization Marriott has succeeded where other hotel brands have failed by making their brand synonymous with quiet luxury. As Bill Marriott puts it, "Marriott's personality is a first class experience that lacks pretense, but strives to enhance the guest experience with art, nutrition, culture and overall well-being." The company has also associated itself with some of the world’s leading luxury brands such as Christie’s auction house, Treasury Wine Estates and Aromatherapy Associates, and wellness experts Keri Glassman and Dr. Pamela Peeke – all in an effort to give its guests a luxury experience that speaks to their passions and interests. The Top 10 Hotel Chain Brands Online, Ranked by Brand Health Score (1000 points possible) 1. Marriott - 7062. Best Western - 7023. Hyatt - 6794. Iberostar - 6795. Hilton - 6536. Relais & Châteaux - 6327. Ramada - 6308. Holiday Inn - 6279. The Ritz-Carlton - 60810. Jumeirah - 601 Heardable is a platform-as-a-service company that fuses math, measurement and marketing best practices into the world's only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that monitors the hundreds of tiny levers through which online brand value is created. Heardable's brand health scores are like credit scores for brands. Scores range from 0 to 1,000. Basically, the higher your score, the better you're doing. Each brand health score is comprised of six subscore categories, each focusing on a unique element of a brand's online effectiveness: Portable, Searchable, Sociable, Measurable, Actionable, and Shareable. The full report is available at: <a href="http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-worlds-10-best-hotel-chains">http://heardable-reports.myshopify.com/products/the-worlds-10-best-hotel-chains</a> To learn more about the report, Heardable's methodology or get insights into other brands, contact marketing(at)heardable(dot)com or call 1-888-520-0034. About Heardable:Heardable is the world's first and only real-time contextual brand analytics platform that measures the online health of brands across hundreds of business categories. With its Growth and Accelerator platform-as-a-service offerings, Heardable helps organizations make smarter, faster business decisions to impact tomorrow's quarterly results. With over 15 million brands profiled and 800 unique online variables capture per brand at various points in time, Heardable's "big brand data" repository can be utilized by any business looking for ways to optimize their online performance, boost brand awareness and increase revenue. Heardable, Inc. is a privately held company based in Temecula, CA with an office in Singapore. About TISOH The International School of Hospitality is dedicated to helping students enter the industry as well as assisting current employees advance in their careers. Founded in 2004 by professors from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), TISOH offers practical training programs taught by industry professionals and university professors. Courses integrate theory, practice and on-site learning. The school features small classes with personalized guidance; short, intensified programs; and online learning options. Internships, networking opportunities and career counseling are integral components. TISOH is recognized by most leading professional hospitality organizations such as the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) , the Educational Institute at the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Les Clefs d’Or USA.  Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:17:52 GMT