Blog10

My blog this week is focusing on two articles that peaked my interest on Flipboard.  The first is perfect to discuss for a social media class - 16 Ways Businesses Are Using Twitter Vine.  The other discusses all of the various ways to use social media during conferences.  I attend one conference a year but may attend more.  The one that I attend is a techie conference that truly leverages social media even to the point where live tweets are posted on an overhead projection screen in the hangout area that has tones of arcade and other games like Foosball. 

The first article is important because this new social media service is all the rage so business should understand how to leverage the power of viewership early on to capture an emerging audience.   Engaging your customers is important and quick videos seem like a great way to keep their attention span, which is the whole idea around 7 second videos.  
Another great idea that i pulled from the article was to use the 7 seconds to showcase your brand, or your office, or employees, or even new promotions.  
I don't want to recite the entire article because you should read it for yourself to leverage vine for your business.  But I love , love , love how engaging 7 seconds can be.  I mean even the business of people can be captivated for 7 seconds and probably left wanting more..  


16 Ways Businesses Are Using Twitter Vine
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-vine-creative-uses-for-business/



The next article is definitely using for conference attendees.  I am a techie that has been to a few of them but other people may not think of unique ways to connect with people, which is a major attraction for me with conferences.  Without rehashing the entire article, my favorite was the information on Evernote. I haven't used that solution before to take notes but will this year.  The other idea that I will take away is the business card reader because I always come away with a stack.

So if you ever go to conferences this article on leverage social media is a great one to read and save for reference to review before the next one.


10 Mobile Apps No Conference Attendee Should Be Without
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/10-mobile-apps-for-conferences/

Shared from Social Media Examiner on Flipboard

Blog 9

Week Ending 6/17/2013 
The big social media news this week is that Facebook is now supports Facebook.  I know that I have seen a growing trend of people using hashtags on Facebook, which kind of annoying.   Facebook is just one social media channel as we have discussed in class.  I think with the addition of using HashTags it will get even nosier and harder to read.  Twitter's use of hashtags had a searchable purpose.  They were usually relevant to the point not #Ihatebluecarsfornoreason or something lame like that.
I guess that it makes sense that FB would follow the HashTag trend but a big part of me wishes it didn't.  I am so ready for the next FaceBook to emerge, with or without #hashtags.


http://mashable.com/2013/06/12/facebook-hashtag-support/


Staying with the Facebook theme today: lets look at this article by Smashable about getting a million "Likes" http://mashable.com/2013/06/13/facebook-million-shares/

It was interesting that only 5% of photos get reshares and those get 15 re-shares so there is some proof to the science behind getting the social media buzz following that we discussed in class.  Pass around photos can get you liked but if you want mega FB exposure then you have to go for that 5% reshare to get your million likes.

As articles have mentioned and even the professor in class, the more likes means the more successful the social media campaign.  As we learn what makes the system work, we can strive for better results or more importantly hire firms that understand these relationships but being able to understand the relevance is important for any MBA'er. 

Blog8

The Week of Social Media June 10th

The impacts of Social Media are hard to measure unless you have a specific social media campaign that tracks sales you can't instantly see the results.   In class we discussed how certain publicity stunts in social media have impacted a brand but is truly hard to quantify bottom line revenue.  The only thing we can go on is that social media buzz generates a following, which can lead to increased revenue.  Well along those lines Neilson published a report of how social is moving the numbers of TV viewship in an age category.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhedfpe23kGFmztm9m3MA7B1QGxz_1BN-w5CYuseI-5IKtBjoe1_WAqxXFObSj-jQwyCCO5ZnX0LIrWDpt7HCx7sNHjF3mQBmiBAWcVshyphenhyphen9DU-MA8u45eP8FRA_BHQChqaNzY9LV8DG5Q/s1600/TVViewing.png

However, I would disagree with these findings because social media viewership should be looked at on a show by show basis.   I know that people talking favorable about a show on Facebook and Twitter lead to more viewers by their friends that want to see a good show.  So I think if Nielsen refocuses their social media poll they will find winners and losers within the category even though the needle hasn't moved much in regards to  

Other Social Media news for the week:

10 Stunning Facts About What People Are REALLY Doing On The Internet



The one fact that I found interesting from this article from Business Insider is that Tumblr went from an obscure site to an overnight sensation in a year.  People are using social media more and more to communicate messages, post videos, and check out new products and services.  

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-charts-reveal-stunning-facts-about-how-people-use-the-internet-2013-6?op=1#ixzz2WV6CKBYa

Social Media Buzz for Week ending May 20th

Social Media is a buzz in news about President Obama's mishaps last week and trying to see if it will gain traction and it isn't. With that being said and not being political I will move on to other social media news. 
Yahoo just purchased Tumblr for $1.1 Billion and the marketing experts are asking how are they going to make their money back.

 
 Image courtesy of http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/20/technology/yahoo-buys-tumblr/index.html

I have to admit that I am not a big Tumblr user so I was surprised at the announcement.  The site feels like Instagram meets Pinterest to me.  After a little research of the deal, I noticed that the two big talking points are they as they said with Youtube; how are you going to create revenue from the site and what will change now that Yahoo owns it.   As you can see above they want to keep the Tumblr magic happening as more of a silent owner.  
The other note worthy item of this story is that there claims to be a lot of "porn" on Tumblr, which surprised me.  Yahoo is going to have to come up with some sort of policy to defend against porn the same way YouTube does or feel the wrath of civic organizations around the country and world!   I was curious so I did a search for porn and came back with nothing.  However, I did a search for girls.  Well after about 5 or 10 minutes of scrolling, I came across a few topless women photos.  I wouldn't really call it porn or offensive, but I wouldn't want my 9yr to see the photos.

In other Social Media news for the week, Pinterest announced that it will be offering three new advertising pins that are part of marketing campaigns designed to highlight a large number of major US brands, which will make it easier for click through purchases.   The new pin types will be food, retail products, and movies; these pins will only work if they are from partner sites (paid).
Personally, I don't mind paid advertisements espeically for brands that I am visiting and pinning.  I think that it is a smart move in the right direction because someone has to pay the bills.   Pinterest is going to be around for a while as long as it can generate revenue directly through programs like this or through partnerships that drive customer traction to other social media and / or purchases.

Social Media Buzz for Week ending May 13th

Homework_Blog_for_Weekof_05062013

Some of the social media headlines and tweets that caught my eye: This week social media was discussing a new service called ProPublica that uses people's photographs from places like Instagram to report on events like the Boston bombing. A centralized iReport can be useful to document well known events. Using GPS information to search public photos is a good idea to capture events as they unfold. I think that we are becoming more and more a share-able society. Like Professor Osbon mentioned in our first class there are two main kinds of social media users: 1 those that put everything out on the web to see without care or concern and 2nd are those that keep their privacy and information closed off and protected. I use a filter of what can someone do with this information or posting then go from there. I have all types of people connected to my Facebook so I keep my posts pretty conservative. I wouldn't want the pastor or my boss seeing inappropriate posts. I actually use it as a safeguard to force me not to post anything too stupid. The other article that caught my attention was that Brands should be using Twitter to engage their customers. The article talks about how effective Taco Bell is at engaging their customers with clever tweeting and playful banter. I mean it's tacos for goodness sakes so it shouldn't be too serous. Target's key is sounding human and not like a big box retailer. People already love the Target experience and Ads; now they will love to follow their tweets. Lastly Whole Foods uses Twitter to address issues for all to see. Fixing problems can definitely make customers loyal especially since some of them may have experienced the very same issue.

Week of April 29th Homework blog

Just as resumes needed to be jazzed up to be notice now so does your LinkedIn profile. You can now add graphics and videos. We all should realize the value of social media in getting your next gig, especially LinkedIn because it can speak volumes about who you are. I personally wouldn't jazz it up without thinking it through. Your video should tell more about your abilities including communication.


LinkedIn Visual Profiles: This Week in Social Media
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/linkedin-visual-profiles-this-week-in-social-media/



another hot topic going around this is targeted social media ads. We all don't want to be bothered with ads but when they are relevant to what we want and need, we don't feel as annoyed. Maybe, just maybe, someone will click on them. Big data to target ads is a growing especially in social media where marketers are desperate for new revenue sources as traditional advertising dollars dwindle.



How to Target Facebook Ads Based on Purchase History, Lifestyles and More
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-partner-categories/