background preloader

Social Media

Facebook Twitter

Ursulalynn: Klout Influence Summary. Social Media Made E-commerce a Game of Numbers. Maximizing Social Media Marketing ROI | Terametric - Terametric Friday: Top Stories in Social Media ROI » Terametric Blog. 5-things-to-consider-before-working-with-social-media-experts from smedio.com. What are the things to consider before working with social media experts? A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post on 5Ways to leverage your social media clout. While I’ve always believed that leveraging social media ain’t rocket science, there are times when a business is better off hiring a social media expert rather than risking a Do-It-Yourself approach. From a business perspective, terms such as social media strategy and best practices can be a whelming, especially for newbies in the social networking world. Hiring a social media expert is easier said than done for several reasons. If you are a business pondering over how/ why to work with a social media expert, consider the following 5 key points before you take the plunge.

At the end of the day, there’s a business to be run. Working with an expert helps streamline your social media strategy. In-house or External Social Media Experts? Will your business benefit by creating an in-house social media team or hiring an external expert. Is Reddit Eclipsing Digg in Traffic? Digg's precipitous plummet has left Reddit with a bigger-than-ever piece of the Internet pie, according to stats from three major traffic-tracking organizations.

In fact, according to two of these sources, Reddit is already the larger web property in terms of page views and visits. For the first time ever Thursday, Alexa showed Digg's reach being eclipsed by Reddit. According to the online ranking service, Reddit is now the 117th most popular site on the web, while Digg has fallen to 138th. To quote a famous animated bird, "I'm think I'm going to have a heart attack and die of not-surprise. " Digg has been waning in every sense — staff, effect on the wider community of content creators, traffic — for quite some time. In fact, we can pinpoint the start of Digg's serious troubles: the user-led revolt against the "New Digg". Simultaneously, Reddit was showing signs of significant growth. Let's take a look at the stats from a few sources. And here are similar stats from Compete.com: How to track Social Media within Google Analytics - TNW Social Media. For all the information and insight Google’s powerful Analytics tools can provide, they’re still only providing some top level figures, primarily Direct, Search and Referral traffic.

Think, “Traffic is traffic?” Well think again, as more and more marketers and private individuals are drilling deeper to gain a better understanding of what social media actions are resonating well with their communities, and which aren’t. But how do we separate the social media wheat from the day-to-day chaff? By adding a few Advanced Segment filters to your Google Analytics account, you can easily pinpoint social media interactions, and thus the associated traffic sources for your web property.

Let’s get started… First and foremost, you’ll need a fully functioning Google Analytics account, meaning, your tracking code is installed correctly, and Google provides the, “All systems are a-go!” To set up a custom segment, first navigate to Traffic Sources in the list of available options from the left column. Now that Nearly Every One is Social, How Do You Differentiate Yourself? | Smedio | The New Media and Social Web Guide for Business and Marketers. Facebook has over 600 million active users, and nearly 50% of those users are active on a daily basis. If Facebook was a country, it would be the third-largest in the world.

Though hard to believe, it’s a reality that social media didn’t have any takers few years back and now there seems to be no room left on the overcrowded social media bandwagon. Twitter, too has come off age in the last couple of years, growing at a scorching pace. While social media adoption in the business world is a mixed bag, it’s more of a norm rather than an exception in our personal lives. So, how do you stand out from the social media crowd? Be unique The easiest way to differentiate your business from the social media crowd is to act differently. Merely building a Facebook or Twitter profile and getting few hundreds of Fans/ Followers isn’t innovation. Social yet personal Social media can be used most effectively when it’s considered as a channel for dialogue. You are the brand Tech Savvy Approach Customize. TweetDeck 2.0 for iOS: Here's why you'll want it.

Apparently acquisition rumours haven’t slowed down the TweetDeck team, as today it released a completely rebuilt iOS app, TweetDeck 2.0 is slick, more responsive and has added better navigation and customization features that keep it in the running as one of the premier Twitter clients for iOS devices. Admittedly, I had abandoned TweetDeck 1.0 some time ago, in favour of other clients such as HootSuite and, more recently, TweetBot. TweetDeck’s utilization of AIR was what had initially turned me off of the application as a whole, and it took the iOS app with it. But since TweetDeck has offered a browser-based platform, I’ve been getting back into it. And the improvements to TweetDeck’s iOS app are pretty remarkable. TweetDeck 2.0 takes better advantage of the touch screen, where you can pinch to navigate, edit, delete and move columns. Composing tweets was simple, as it should be.

Swiping to the right in a column allows users to move to the next column, and so on. Social Media pays off for small business. If you’re a small business owner using social media, chances are you’re beating out your larger competitors. According to a recent report, small businesses using socal media are likely to see these benefits: Increase Traffic – 72 percentImproved Search Rankings – 62 percentNew Partnerships – 59 percentBetter Sales – 48 percentReduction in Marketing Costs – 59 percent for self-employed, 58 percent for SMBsTwice as likely to find qualified leads Of course, there’s a catch. This only holds true if you are willing to put in the time. The results also show that the more time business put in, the more results they’ll reap. Full story at Small Biz Trends. More top social media news. Photo credit: Fotolia. Social Media Tip: Here’s 3 Simple Ways To Start Using Social Media (for beginners only)

Brand Monitoring Tools by Backupify (@backupify) - oneforty. Five Ways to Beat Social Media Overload | the hubze blog. Social Media Tip: Educate (and Encourage) Your Customers About Social Media – Lessons from Chipotle. Hootsuite bulks up security across all platforms. The Vancouver based Hootsuite has upgraded its security for its web application and iOS, Android and Blackberry platforms, adding application-wide SSL and secure profiles.

The benefits of Hootsuite’s new security features also include account provisioning, which allows users to share access to profiles without sharing passwords, plus additional measures that prevent malware and spam. In order to make Hootsuite HTTPS-enabled, users must manually do so. Here’s how: Go to to login (note the “s”), orChoose Settings, then Preferences and click the “HTTPS” button. A specific icon will show up in your web browser when you’ve enabled this, adding a lock to the adddress bar.

The location of the address bar will vary depending on what browser is being used. All HootSuite mobile apps are also HTTPS-ready. Another added feature is Secure Profiles for those using Hootsuite Enterprise. Update: Hootsuite is currently down due to the Amazon EC2 server disruption. Social networking overload? Simplify your sharing with Posterous. 8 ways to use social media for your live event. 4 easy tools to keep up your 24-hour Twitter feed - TNW Social Media. By definition, social media is meant to be just that, social.

The argument to automate your Twitter feed or not can be hashed and rehashed over and over, but some facts remain the same; there are people behind the mechanisms. And as human beings, whether we like it or not, we’re not meant to work 24/7, and occasionally need to sleep. In today’s Twitterverse, there are a number of tools such as HootSuite, CoTweet, and TweetDeck that can offer users an almost overwhelming array of options. But what if you want to provide valuee to your followers throughout the entire 24- hour day, and don’t need all the bells and whistles of a full-blown social media package? Let’s take a look at 4 minimal Twitter automation tools that can help you stay engaged, even while catching a few winks. Free Who doesn’t love free? FutureTweets Admittedly, the UI is already starting to show signs of aging, but the service remains very well in tact.

Twuffer Freemium Timely Buffer. Top 10 Social Networking Websites & Forums - March 2011. HOW TO: Make Your QR Codes More Beautiful. Hamilton Chan is CEO and founder of Paperlinks. With the free Paperlinks iPhone app, featured previously by Apple as the #1 New & Noteworthy app, consumers can scan and view QR code content with a native app experience. Paperlinks also provides a powerful platform for generating QR codes, hosting content and tracking their performance. The QR code: A thing of beauty or an eyesore? The magical barcodes that can be scanned by a smartphone to launch an offline-to-online experience are often criticized for their black and white checkerbox appearance.

Those who doubt that QR codes will go mainstream are quick to point out that the look of QR codes will deter marketers and advertisers from using them. Fortunately, QR codes are malleable and can be redesigned in truly extraordinary ways, while still maintaining their scanability. 1. The easiest way to add branding power to your code is to add color to it. 2.

One of the QR code’s greatest aesthetic flaws is its numerous hard edges. 3. 4. The Impact of the Social Web on Media Agencies. Facebook was born in 2004 as a simple directory of profile pages for Ivy League students. Twitter emerged one year later, imploring people to chirp what they’re up to. When these social platforms launched, few people understood the promise they held for marketers and the opportunities they would bring for brands. Five years later, we have Facebook Pages, branded Twitter accounts, pimped out YouTube pages and badges on Foursquare. Social media has had an incredible impact on a brand’s marketing program, but often the brand works in tandem with a media agency to perfect its communication and create its approach on these innovative new platforms. Social media has forced agencies to work quicker, longer and harder — all while keeping up with the newest Facebook features and location-based app.

Its impact on agencies and their work can not be underestimated. We spoke with three agency representatives who describe exactly how social has affected the way their agencies work. For Publishers | LinkedIn. The Winners & Losers of Social Networking [INFOGRAPHIC] The course of social media never did run smooth — not for long, anyhow. And for some Web 2.0 companies, it's running less smoothly than ever. Without question, Facebook is the network du jour; but even though the reigning champion's user stats keep soaring, social networking as a whole might be leveling off.

Nevertheless, scores of other highly competitive social sites keep waxing and waning; and different networks and apps are more popular in specific geographic areas, with certain genders or age groups and even among various social classes. For example, Plaxo is the network with the most users over the age of 65. Facebook is more popular with women, but Digg and Reddit tend to be more popular with men. LinkedIn is the "richest" social network, but Plurk outranks it when it comes to well-educated users who have graduate degrees.

Check out this infographic from social media agency Ignite Social Media, and let us know what you think in the comments. Click image for full-size version. Facebook Commerce Springing Up: No Plug-in Required. Angie Schottmuller | April 11, 2011 | 9 Comments inShare20 Home Depot demonstrates how social media and like-gating can be used to engage shoppers. There's been a lot of buzz about social commerce lately, including Bazaarvoice's Social Commerce Summit earlier this month to discuss strategies and tactics. Is a Facebook storefront necessary for e-commerce? How can reviews be promoted to encourage more sales? What social plug-ins should be included on e-commerce sites? Home Depot's Like-Gating Social Commerce Campaign The afternoon of April 8, 2011 I came across this Home Depot status update on Facebook: "Want to know what next item is?

When I first saw the status update it only had about 300 "likes," and within eight minutes of posting it, it had over 1,000 "likes. " I watched for the next item to be posted, frequently refreshing the page. 6 Key Takeaways to Home Depot's Social Commerce Success Without a fancy storefront or plug-in, Home Depot successfully generated revenue via Facebook. Feature Tour - The Social Media Guide. It’s not who you know, but who you can find - TNW Social Media. Over the past two years I’ve been involved in designing and demonstrating enterprise social across a number of sectors and geographies. In this Facebook age there’s always excitement around the discussion aspects of the software — chatter among employees drives increased engagement and buyers instantly recognise this.

I’ve noticed that the least sexy requirement is often the one at the cornerstone of the business case: the ability to find people within the organisation. With a bit of reflection, it makes perfect sense. Small teams all know each other’s strengths, weaknesses and experience base and when team members draw on each other they are able to achieve all the benefits of working together. Friend finder Admittedly there should be no surprise. Consumer social: More friends = more connections = more users = more revenue opportunities. Within organisations this is less relevant. Four degrees of People Finder 1. 2. 3. 4. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Marketingwhitepapers.s3.amazonaws.com/SocialMediaMarketingReport2011.pdf. Top Ten Favorite Social Media Tools For Daily Use.

There are many online tools I use every single day to manage my social media marketing effectiveness. In my recent interview with Darren Hardy for the May 2011 issue of SUCCESS Magazine, I talked about many of these tools. During our interview, Darren asked if I would put together my top ten list of social media resources for readers of SUCCESS. Of course I said yes – here they are! (It’s a delight and honor to be one of three featured expert interviews on the CD that comes with the magazine, along with Peter Guber – author of Tell to Win, and leadership guru, John C. Maxwell. My audio interview is all about how to build “social equity” through relationship marketing. Plus, check out the article starting on page 38 “Networking With New Media” with contributions from Gary Vaynerchuk, Susan RoAne, Maribeth Kuzmeski, yours truly and others.

Here’s my top ten tools: 1. 2. Plus, be sure to add the bit.ly sidebar to easily shorten and tweet any weblink. 3. 4. 5. Tweetmeme Retweet Button 6. 7. HOW TO: Launch Any Product Using Social Media. Guy Kawasaki is the author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. On March 8, I introduced my tenth book. There are few processes that I enjoy more than a product introduction, and this one enabled me to try many social media techniques and online tools and services.

After only a week, the book was on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. I have to conclude that at least some of that success was due to the promotional techniques I employed. Here, I'd like to outline the 12 things that I did to launch my new book, including information about costs and vendors I used, as well as analytics. Though my "product" is a book, the methods I used can apply to product introductions in general. 1. A Facebook Fan Page is the quickest and easiest way to get a web presence for a new product.

The challenge with Fan Pages, and websites of any kind, is to attract visitors. There were a few costs involved. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. FullyFollow.me lets you Twitter follow & Facebook friend in one fell swoop - TNW Social Media. How the Pros Measure Social Media Marketing Success. Column Five Media – Infographic: Do You Need a Social Media Detox? - Infographic Design, Content Creation, Social Media Strategy, Interactive Infographics.

Jetsetter releases a stellar new iPhone app for exclusive travel deals. TopDish: A new social network for foodies. Creating a new toolbar to communicate all your interactions in one interface | Danielle MacInnis. Storific wants to be the only app you need at restaurants, bars and hotels. The best free social media tracking tools you should know about. Is Hearsay The Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business? | Smedio | The New Media and Social Web Guide for Business and Marketers. The dangerous game of online influence. What’s your score? Digg Continues to Reinvent Itself - WebNewser. Social media by demographic. What Girl Scouts Can Teach You on Using Social Media in Your Business |...

Facebook Tips

Twitter Tips. Be the curator of your favorite topic! Home | Trunk.ly: Never forget a link. Trunk.ly Indexes The Links You and Your Friends Share on Social Networks. Why Quora could be the Next Social Media Phenomenon | Smedio | The New Media and Social Web Guide for Business and Marketers. Social shopping service Nuji launches photo tagging and virtual stores.

10 Tricks for Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and LinkedIn.