Top 5 Social Media News Stories of the Week: 8/30 – 9/3
- Charitable Social Platform Enlists Red Cross, Old Navy, Starbucks: New social platform allows users to share their purchases with their friends online and uses analytics to determine the number of click-throughs resulted in online purchases, and the participating companies donate a portion of their profits to charity.
- 4 Tips for Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Posts: Your blog is not an effective component of your business’ online presence if no one can find it–check out these tips to prevent that problem.
- Business School Social Media Courses: Social media truly being taken seriously at Harvard University.
- A World Without E-mail: One Man’s Vision of a Social Workplace: Are you actually wasting time at work with e-mails?
- 8 Ways to Increase Social Media Interaction: Feel like you’ve spent all this time creating your social media presence and no one is paying any attention? Check out some ideas here.
Have a great Labor Day Social Butterflies!!
Top 5 Social Media News Stories of the Week: 8/23 – 8/27
- Mess With Your Friends Using Facebook Places: This one is really funny… lets you know how to get creative to check-in your friends to “interesting” locations using this new Facebook application.
- 7 Steps to Develop and Define Your Social Media Strategy: Going into a social media campaign blindly is a waste of time–use these tips to help you get started.
- 9 Ways to Sell Social Media to the Boss: With the ROI analysis for Social Media evolving at a slow pace, it is sometimes difficult to convince executives that the money their company is spending on social media is worth it.
- The New Digg: Don’t Believe the Snipe: Many users are not satisfied with the new “top news” aggregating version of Digg.
- How Social Gaming Uses Virtual Giving to Get Real Results: How seemingly useless games like Farmville have been leveraged to aid charitable causes.
Creating Varied Facebook Content
Any Facebook page that is constantly posting the same type of content is boring and unlikely to increase in fan size or followers. Here are some ideas for some fresh and varied content for your page.
Pictures
Even iphone shots are better than nothing! Get into the habit of always having a camera on you to take pictures of fun and interesting locations you visit for work. Being able to give an “exotic” persona to your company and giving fans a behind the scenes peek is a great way to engage fans and followers.
Interesting Articles
You are probably already in the habit of checking, or at least scanning, the trades and other publications of personal and business interest at one point in your day. If you find an article that is particularly interesting or that you feel like you’d like to discuss with others, post a link to the article. Make sure to always include a comment with the link in order to engage your fans in conversation about the content posted.
Videos
If you find yourself in a period of time where you are lacking new content, posting videos of old work is a great way to create “filler”. The best way to accomplish this without running the risk of copyright or Internet usage implications is to take the videos from YouTube. You can also post videos of office happenings or
Company/Employee News
A great way to give your fans/followers insight to your company which they may not otherwise gain by visiting your official website is to find ways to personalize the employees that work there. You can do this by announcing birthdays, births, weddings, etc. You can also publish employee’s volunteer or sports exploits. All work and no play makes for a really dull life… and Facebook page as well. If your fans see your company as more down-to-earth, then they will see you as more likeable and relatable and will therefore want to do more work with you. But, be warned, if you post non work-related posts too frequently, it will portray the image that your company is rarely working, which is clearly not something that you want to do. If you keep these posts to 25% of your total posts, then you should be in the clear on this possible confusion.
Events
If you have hopped on board the geo-location trend, then you can check-in when you are attending industry related events. Not only will this give you the opportunity to hook up with others who are attending the same event, but it will also show potential clients who are researching your company how active you are in the industry and its related events. If you are still unsure about using Foursquare or one of its similar competitors, then you can make your presence at these events aware by posting a status update or snap pictures to post following the event.
Top 5 Social Media News Stories of the Week: 8/16 – 8/20
- 5 Huge Trends in Social Media Right Now Did you buy the Gap Groupon this week?
- Facebook Launches ‘Places’ Are you ready for Facebook to know WHERE you are?
- The Future of Public Relations and Social Media Paper press releases are a thing of the past and modes to transfer media-rich data continue to transform the way that publicists place materials for their clients.
- Rethinking the Value of Social Media Sometimes it can be difficult to get quantitative results from your social media campaign, so it is important to focus on the other results you are seeing.
- Google CEO’S Social Media Warning; Impending Information Armegeddon? Perhaps it is time to start thinking a little bit more carefully about which information we choose to share online.
So you have finally stopped kicking and screaming against the social media tide that has moved over the business marketing forefront and are ready to enter the world of blogging. There are a few key items to consider when creating an “official” company blog that will increase the likelihood of the blog being a useful component in your company’s marketing and outreach strategy.
1) Set Objectives
Figure out what it is you want to achieve by diving into the blog-o-sphere. A blog without focus or purpose is not only boring to read, it also does not attract a specific group of followers. Objectives can vary in hopes of setting a company apart as a “thought leader” in their industry, further publicize products, content and services created/offered by the company, giving insight to the inner workings of a company or giving your company/brand a more “human” voice in order to better connect with your customers/clients on a more personal basis. With a clear focus to your blog, you will better be able to attract relevant readers who are interested in the type of content that you will be sharing.
2) Decide on Content
Once you distinguish your goals for your blog, it is time to figure out how to achieve them. There is a variety of different content that you can use to establish your company’s blog in the way you desire. You can post original articles, pictures, videos and also provide interactive contests or surveys to further engage your readers/followers. The type of content in the blog is completely reliant on the message that the company hopes to convey in its blog. If a company is hoping to create a more serious voice for itself, then it might be better off to use a more traditional article format for its postings. If the company is hoping to be perceived as more “light hearted” and personable then it might be a good idea to post photos from around the office or news of note from employees within the company.
3) Create a Posting Schedule
There is nothing worse than a blog that was created with the best of intentions and then left to rot in the realm of blog-o-sphere. Once your company blog is created, it is essential that it is regularly maintained and filled with varied and interesting content. A great way to do this is to create a schedule for posting of content to your blog. You can decide how often you would like to post, what type of content you would like to post as well as set goals and deadlines for your company in order to adhere to this schedule. The frequency of posting should be conditional to the number of readers/followers your blog will likely have. A more popular brand will likely have good results posting several times a day, while a smaller more locally-based company will do better to post a few times a week so as not to overwhelm their readers with an overload of content.
4) Name Your Creation!
Once you have an objective and relevant content for your blog, it’s time to come up with a catchy title that is in line with your brand and how you would like to be portrayed. It is always an option to simply use your company’s name as the blog title, but for more creative and innovative brands/companies, a unique title can be an excellent opportunity to let your creativity shine!
Making Social Media a Priority
Many companies are begrudgingly accepting the fact that social media is an essential tool for all businesses and as time passes, it is becoming very evident that it is not just a passing fad. However, a big mistake that a lot of these companies are making is setting up their social media presence and not making the maintenance of these social media accounts a priority in their day-to-day business objectives. One of the main factors that distinguishes social media from other types of web sites is the constant flow of content, which can be greatly utilized by businesses if they employ the appropriate social media strategy. While having social media presence is becoming as vital as having a company website in terms of legitimacy for your business, it is essential to keep these profiles updated with a constant flow of material. Coming across a business’ Facebook page that has not been updated for a year is like stumbling upon a company’s website that looks like it was designed by a middle school graphic design student: it makes your company look sloppy and like you don’t care about your image.
The introduction of a new social media strategy to any company is going to be the period that is most time intensive and often frustrating. Once past this laborious phase, however, there are highly effective means by which to streamline your company’s social media activity to keep content flowing on a consistent basis. Ways to streamline:
1) Use Social Media Tools
Tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are made to make regular posting work with your schedule. You can schedule social media postings and take a look at all of your accounts all in one place.
2) Engage Your Employees
Make sure that all your employees know about the social media outlets that your company is present on. This way not only can they be encouraged to provide content but can also leverage their own personal accounts on these platforms to promote the company’s presence.
3) Designate a Social Media “Point Person”
If there is one employee in the company that is the point person for all social media activity, other employees will know where to direct their questions and concerns regarding the company’s social media policy and content contribution.
4) Outsource
Social Butterfly is a service offered by Press Kitchen PR that provides its clients with the creation and management of their social media campaign. This includes creating new blogs and accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social media outlets, composing original content for online posting, maintenance and monitoring of all social media accounts as well as providing expertise for the company’s in relation to their social media strategy and implementation. By outsourcing for your company’s social media needs, you are better able to focus on your company’s area of expertise and maintain a positive social media presence without having to devote much precious time to it.
Now it is certainly not recommended that your company decreases its sales team to put more focus on a social media campaign, but it it is important to consider it a integral part of your PR and Marketing campaign as a whole. Social media websites have been legitimized for business use and if you don’t get your company involved you risk falling behind at an alarmingly fast pace.
You may not have begun “checking in” to all your daily stops ranging from your rushed morning coffee at the gas station around the corner from your apartment to the happy hour drinks at the “kitchy” Mexican cafe across the street from your office. It seems that everyone is talking about it, but there seems to be some discrepancy in the conversation: is it giving away too much personal information that could be potentially dangerous or is it a tool that can be leveraged for businesses to market themselves to potential local consumers?
Foursquare, the location-based social media platform that has been steadily gaining mainstream popularity in the past year, is a tool that allows mobile users to connect with the social network on their mobile devices and “check in” to locations and let their friends know where they are. It can also be used as a game where users can receive badges and other merits for “checking in” to a certain location a particular number of times. I would think that one’s gut reaction to publicizing where they are at every moment of the day would be that it could be potentially unsafe, but glancing at the latest news feed on Facebook detailing friends “checking in” at their homes, this is apparently not true for all. Blogger and expert Marketing Consultant Simon Mainwairing had a particularly alarming Foursquare experience when his home was broken into immediately following his introduction to the social networking platform. Posting real-time locations for any high-profile individuals would certainly be a risky venture, but the same can be true for everyone in terms of revealing the details of where you are when in unsecured or private locations.
It is certainly undeniable, however, that Foursquare can be very successfully leveraged as a means for local business promotions and marketing. Businesses can offer special discounts to customers who are checking into their business on Foursquare. Foursquare also recommends that businesses using the platform advertise in-house that they are Foursquare “ready” so that customers are reminded when they walk in that they can “check in” there. Business owners who sign up with Foursquare also have access to stats of visitors to their business, what times their visitors are checking in, etc. This tool is very useful for businesses to streamline their marketing and market research efforts without having to shell out a great deal of very much precious marketing dollars!
So while Foursquare does have the potential to be both creepy and useful, it can be best utilized by keeping usage relevant. Posting information about when you are at your home or other private locations is probably not in your best interest. Your Foursquare friends (and Facebook friends if you have to two networks linked as many do) will also appreciate it if you “check in” to places that actually have some conversational value to them. It really isn’t necessary to check into your local grocery store if you go to get items for dinner every day after work. In terms of businesses, it is probably not best to offer badges to users who have only visited your business one time: it doesn’t really give them any incentive to come back for more. As the platform continues to gain more momentum, there will likely be updated functionalities that allow businesses to connect with their customers. But for now, Foursquare users: use this location-based technology mindfully to avoid being the next headline in the local paper.
To be successful in marketing, especially in the position of consulting others on their marketing and branding practices, it is essential to stay on top of the trends. But even for expert branding consultant Simon Mainwairing, there is always a learning curve involved with diving headfirst into new technology. However, after seeing the Twitter explosion following its use in finding lost luggage (if only it were the end all cure for this bothersome task), Mainwairing knew that in order to stay relevant, he would need to cast aside all fad qualms and join the social media masses. He emerged onto the social media scene with Facebook and has since expanded to become an active “Tweeter” and blogger and finds maximum use of his blog, understanding that, “you can’t share the nuance of your thoughts in under 140 characters.” After the unfortunate break-in of his home inextricably following his introduction to the location-based social media platform Foursquare, however, he is very conservative with his online activity and is cautious to shield his personal life and family from his social media involvement.
His blog, which features an average of three original posts per week, receives up to 20 comments per post, which he takes the time to personally respond to and engage his readers in conversation on relevant topics. Also, his Twitter account (which has 28,413 followers) has received up to 300 retweets on some of his more popular tweets and his Facebook holds a place in the News Feeds of 2,170 friends. Like many other busy professionals on the cutting edge of the social media trend, he uses Tweetdeck and Hootsuite to streamline his postings but in terms of content he is, “the sole architect,” writing all of his own blogs and comments, which is, “very time consuming, but there is no excuse not to have time to write a post.” This dedication to his ideas is what makes Mainwairing the branding thought leader that he is today.
While brands have long employed the use of charitable endeavors to improve their corporate image, Mainwairing believes that many are disingenuous if these efforts since many are not consistent with the brand’s purpose. He believes that, “a brand cannot engage effectively through social media that just talks about itself.” He mentions that often brands run into trouble when they set out on their social media experience when they are still unsure of their purpose and therefore are unable to effectively do outreach that is consistent with that purpose. He maintains that social media is not just a passing fad and that the landscape of business marketing is forever changed by its presence. In the long term, he expects that, “consumers will engage brands in data trading—brands will pay for their attention—consumers will offer their personal information.”
If this idea of a brand’s invasion into the personal lives of consumers is alarming to you, ask yourself this: How much of your social media content incorporates branding? From posting about a new favorite restaurant, “liking” the clothing company that makes your hip workout wear or posting the pictures from the concert of an up-and-coming band you attended last weekend, you are unintentionally plugging all of these brands and allowing them access to your input as a consumer. So make way: social media for branding purposes is only in its emergence and you, the consumer, are a main contributor.
To find out more information about Simon Mainwairing please visit his blog: The Business of Social Media Transformation.
And be sure to follow him on Twitter.
Backyard Case Study Update: Climbing to 900
Since our premiere Social Butterfly client, Backyard Productions, dove headfirst into social media in December 2009, we have continued to see their numbers soar! They have been able to see how their online conversation with both their clients and fans has made it easier to keep them in the loop about Backyard’s current company happenings and new work.
While at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Executive Producer Kris Mathur was able to send photos from his iPhone to keep Facebook fans in the loop on Backyard’s festivities abroad. He commented that there is, “more immediacy to having a social network. It has connected events at Cannes to people in North America that did not have the opportunity to go.” Backyard received more fan interaction than ever from the Cannes posts and brought fans’ attention to their more relevant postings (about work, press notices, etc.)
Backyard’s social media accounts have continued to increase in followers and fan interactivity in the past few months.
Facebook:
o 865 fans
o 22 photo albums (with up to 800 views on select photos!)
o 299 average page views per week
o 16 average new interactions per week (wall posts, comments, likes)
o 118 Tweets
o 37 Followers
o 42 Following
Social Butterfly uses relevant hash tags to attract new followers and be placed in corresponding feeds as well as retweets of industry-related news of interest.
Backyard “Over the Fence” Blog:
o 36 posts since December; Original content generated by Social Butterfly with input from Backyard via photo submissions and interviews.
o Linked to Facebook and Twitter (twitter feed on blog page).
o Gives behind the scenes insights including on set photos, staff profiles and staff community involvement.
o Garners comments by clients, friends and industry professionals.
Director of Research with Backyard Cori Cooperider was able to help connect Backyard to their fans from afar. While back in the U.S., she claimed, “We loved being able to share the Cannes festivities with our fans thru our social media. For all of us that didn’t get to go… now we know more of what we missed! Maybe next year…..” Backyard continues to grow its social network and fan-base and we expect they will hit 1,000 fans by the summer’s end!
So you may have pledged since its inception and resulting frenzy that you would NEVER join the droves of social media fanatics and create a Facebook, Twitter or any kind social media account. You may think that your business does not need to take part because social networking was created for personal use. But rest assured that all the perceived barriers that were up for social networking have blurred and now it has become an absolutely essential marketing tool for any business. Now that consumers, or “followers”, have been granted access to become a part of the conversation surrounding their favorite businesses, personalities and products, they tend to get the idea that any company without a social media presence is either stuffy, un-relatable or too corporate. So WHY should you create a social media presence for your business?
1. Consumers Want a Voice
Social media presence allows your consumers to have more of an insider look into what goes into creating your business. You may feel that you are wasting precious work hours by blogging about your company’s Halloween Costume Contest or tweeting about a new deal you just signed, but it really provides you with FREE market research. With social media, your consumers can directly participate in the online conversation regarding your new products, promotions and ideas and also give you feedback about what you already do best. Consumers are more likely to respond to your tweet or Facebook post than to send a generic e-mail off to your customer service department that will most likely result in an automatic response saying they will hear back in 2-3 weeks. When consumers feel like they have a say in your business they are more likely to trust your business and will therefore be more loyal.
2. Free Press
Social media allows you a greater number of online outlets in which to plug your business! Although your company’s homepage is vital to creating your online branding, having a social media presence allows you to reach out to consumers and potential consumers in an environment in which they are already present and spending a great deal of time and attention. You can use your social media accounts to drive more traffic to your own sites and news.
3. Streamline Your Networking
While personal and phone interaction still hold great value in creating and maintaining professional relationships, social networking now allows your business to streamline this process. Now, after you enter your latest collection of business cards into your Rolodex, it is essential that you find these contacts on all your social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are the best places to start and are ideal for different situations. Facebook will keep you up to date on a client’s birthday or their latest news of interest that they’ve post. Linkedin will allow you to write professional recommendations for others you have done business with.
4. Create New and Exciting Branding
You may have recently updated your company’s website and feel that you have a “fresher” look, but creating a social media presence will allow you spread your branding in more innovative and interactive ways. Facebook is constantly adding new applications to allow you to reach out to your “followers”. Whether it is a contest, a poll, or a fun game, by included elements that require participation, you are more likely to pique the interest of your followers when you are posting more relevant content for your company.
5. Edge of Immediacy
Consumers want things NOW. They want products and services today and they want new and interesting content this minute. By creating a voice for your company through social media, you are able to reach consumers on this immediate level to maintain a constant flow of your brand in their mind. Let’s face it: today’s consumers get bored and lose interest incredibly fast, and if you’re not doing everything in your power to be in the forefront of their daily messaging, you are just asking to be swept under the rug.
It’s not that no one is listening to the radio, watching television or reading the newspaper. But it is certainly a fact that more and more people are hopping on the social media bandwagon and it is plowing full force ahead. So are you going to get on board or be left at the station?
