Posts Tagged ‘social media’

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When to Post Social Media Updates

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

FAQ: When is the best time to post updates?

For quite some time we have recommended that businesses post their updates between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on weekdays.  Generally, speaking this is a good rule of thumb.  But, social media consumption habits are changing.

There are several factors that are at work here.  One factor is the adoption of social media policies in the workplace.  Another factor has to do with the type of business you do.  Are you a business to business or a business to consumer brand?  Finally, each social media platform has its own consumption habits.

Let’s look at what the adoption of social media policies does to your daytime audience.  For those companies that ban and block social media completely, their employees are only going to visit Facebook or Twitter on their off hours.  That means that all of those fans you’ve gathered are not going to be as involved in your posts as they had been in the past.  If you see traffic falling off, try posting your messages during the evening.  Social media policies at work tend to affect B2C brands more than they affect B2B.

For companies that are supplying products and solutions to other businesses, posting during the daytime is still your best bet.  Your customers are looking to you to make their work day more productive, so feel free to keep them up to date throughout the day.  For B2C companies, the tale is quite different.  Research is finding that posting on weekends is going to be more likely to generate engagement with loyal brand followers.

Also, be sure that you understand the differences in your communities on different platforms.  Your Facebook fans might be more interested in longer, more in-depth conversations, while your Twitter following wants their information in quick bites.  Because of the differences in time involved, you may find one community engaging online during the day and another engaging during the off hours.

It’s always a good idea to review the engagement patterns of your communities from time to time to spot changes.  If you do see shifts in patterns, be sure to take the time to test your posting times and the types of content you are sharing.  Social media reflects the ebb and flow of life, we have to be ready to adjust to the changing needs of the people we have built relationships with.

By Michelle Stinson Ross

 

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Workplace Social Media Policy

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Internet access is so readily available that the temptation to take time out of the work day to check in on a personal Facebook or Twitter account is too easy to avoid for most workers.  A mental break to check out a YouTube video can turn into way too much time not concentrating on the task at hand.

From a human recources perspective this can be a problem in the workplace.  From a marketing perspective it is a golden opportunity to reach business to business customers.  What can business owners do to find balance?

This is where a social media policy for all employees is necessary.  Just as you have stated policies in your employee handbook for sick leave and vacation, you need to develop a clear standard for use of social media while on the clock.

Depending on how your company uses social media for marketing purposes, you may want to keep most employees out of social spaces during work hours and designate someone on your marketing team to handle the company’s social presence.  You may want to allow some work related research via social connections, if it’s kept within certain guidelines.  Or, you may want to encourage your employees to help spread the good word about what your company is doing and harness their natural inclination to be social.

The key to any successful social media policy is to be very clear about what is acceptable social media use and what is not.  The policy will also have to be very clear about the consequences of social media abuse.  As with any other employment contract, be sure that you have your company’s policy reviewed by a lawyer to prevent the risk of lawsuit.

Where does your company fall on the social media spectrum?  Is it better for you to keep employees completely off the social spaces or is there an opportunity for some use within reason?

 

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Now I’ve got to…BabbleOn!!

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

In the it’s-so-simple-why-didn’t-I-think-of-it department, the people at Raster Media have come up with a cool mobile app called “BabbleOn”.

It’s not revolutionary, but it is a whole lot of fun. The app lets your record your voice on your smartphone and post it an audio message either to your own Facebook page or to any of your friend’s pages.

It’s very easy to use. Once you log into Facebook via the BabbleOn app, you hit a button or tap your screen and record your message. Once you’re done, you click on the name of the person’s whose page you want the recording to post on, and that’s it!!!

I used it to say goodnight to my kids while I was out of town. My youngest isn’t of reading age yet, and the voice just carries a lot more power than a text. It’s just another cool way to connect with people on Facebook, and best of all the app is free!

You can download the app from the App Store, Android Market, or BlackBerry AppWorld.

By Chad Cookler

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Time to get your Groupon!

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

A lot of people have been asking me what Groupon is. Simply put, its part of a trend of companies that bring social networking into the world of coupons.

Basically it works like this; each day Groupon, through its website, daily emails, and mobile app, sends out a different deal (or several deals) based on where you live.  Each deal offers goods or services, typically from a locally-owned business (some websites and franchises are also included), at a substantial discount of at least 50%, although the discounts do sometimes go as high as 90%. The deals are ususally offered for a limited period of time before they expire.

For example one deal in my area is from a local spa, offering me a pedicure that normally costs $25 for 12 dollars. Another offers me $100 worth of photo books and calendars for only 35 bucks!!!  If you agree to to the deal, and the deal becomes valid, you end up paying the lower price up front, and redeem a coupon on site. Now if you buy the coupon on a Monday, that doesn’t mean you have to redeem it that day, but there is an expiration date most of the time.

Pretty sweet right?  Bet you’re wondering what the catch is.

Well there is one, and this is where (more…)

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One, Two, Three, Foursquare!

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
Even though I will tweet whatever random thought goes through my head, and I have no problem spending hour upon hour on Facebook (Thank you very much Cafe World)  I’m still somewhat of a newbie when it comes to  location-based social media services, of which Foursquare is probably the most recognized.

That’s probably because I really don’t go that many interesting places on a daily basis (Do people check-in when they go to Publix?). And it seems like Foursquare still possesses that under-the-radar appeal. The site is barely 2 years old, and it doesn’t seem to yet have the mainstream appeal of a Facebook or even Twitter. But it is clear the site is starting to gain traction, and not just with the 20-something bar crowd.

Just last month the company announced they had 6 million registered users, and had over 380,000 check-ins in 2010. (See their stats here). And if imitation is a form of flattery, it’s worth noting last summer Facebook launched a similar service called Places. which apes many of the same features. And just this month Google added the check-in feature to its Latitude location-based service, which started about the same time as Foursquare.  So Clearly… (more…)

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Who are you (Bloggers) Who? Who?

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
There’s an app for that? Well the same could be said for blogs. Looking for the latest cupcake recipe?  There’s a blog for that.

Need advice on planning a wedding? There’s a blog for that too.

But exactly who is blogging these days? Most bloggers are adults between the ages of 21-35, according to a statistics complied last year by marketing company Sysomos. Not terribly surprising, since people in this age bracket grew up as blogs became more prominent on the internet, within the last seven years, Sysomos reports.

After analysing over 100 million blog posts, their stats show over half, 53.3 percent, of were written by 21-35 year-olds. The under 20-crowd came in 2nd at 20.2 %, followed closely by 36-50 year-olds at 19.4 percent. Those over… (more…)

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Click! Take a Pic! Facebook Photos

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

One of Facebook’s most basic appeals, at least for me, is the ease at which I can share photos with family and friends. It’s gotten to the point where I rarely use other online-services like Shutterfly or Flickr, mainly because everyone I want to share photos with don’t use either of those services.

For me nothing beats the immediacy and simplicity of Facebook’s photo albums, and the gratification of instant feedback is why I find myself taking pictures in the first place. The minute my son decides to start wearing his dinner (A semi-regular occurrence), I have an almost reflex-like instinct to find my Blackberry and take a picture.

Facebook has always realized the important of photos to the social media experience, and proved it with a much greater emphasis on photos on its new profile page setup. But where Facebook has suffered  is while it’s easy to share photos, sometimes things got lost in translation. If say, my sister-in-law took a nice picture of my kids and posted it on her page, even if the camera was professional grade, the picture I printed didn’t look it.

Thankfully Zuckenberg and friends have addressed this, and with recent improvements to Facebook’s photos app, it now rivals other photo sharing services. Hi-res photos, photo download links, and bulk tagging options, are among some of the options now part of the mix.

What does this mean?

Well Mashable says you can now upload (or download) pictures that are 2048 pixels wide or high, and each photo now comes with a hi-resolution download link. Bulk tagging? Simply put, it eliminates some of the tediousness of tagging your friends when going through large batches of photos.

Facebook has excelled where other services haven’t.  It has become sort of a one-stop shop for the average social media user. And now, it’s photos app has risen above. Facebook is not just a place for sharing your son’s latest spaghetti accessories, it’s a place for professional-grade photos. Regardless if you’re a wedding photographer or an amateur shutterbug, I think you’re going to enjoy the photo sharing experience even more.

By Chad Cookler

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Just get started with Social Media

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

This is to all the people who are not using social media….What are you waiting for? Social Media Marketing is a fun, interactive way to promote your business online using third party sites.

I talk to business owners every week who are using social media as an additional tool for marketing.  These business owners are experiencing a dramatic increase in brand awareness and buzz about their company.  In addition,  they are providing an additional way for their customers to contact them.

These companies are online right now, wooing customers, creating relationships, providing help… and obtaining the sale.

There is no time like the present to get started.  If you do not know how to use online programs, then you should hire someone to train you.  If you do not have the time to keep up with social media, then you should hire a company to assist you with your online presence.

Above all, you need to move forward and get started.

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Social Media Icons

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Have you been wondering what those  symbols are on many websites,  blogs and emails?  They are called social media icons and they are your friend!

Social media icons allow for people to find your social media sites and bookmark you on their favorite bookmarking sites.  These icons are easily recognizable and will assist in driving people to other sites you participate in.

from Jonathan Bishop's site

from Jon Bishop's site

Are you looking for free social media icons or “share” icons?  Try this link:

http://www.jonbishop.com/2009/06/27-excellent-free-social-media-icons-sets/

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Social Media Helps Customer Service

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Are you tired of long holds and delayed responses to resolve a business problem? Then look up the provider on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and write to them.

What people (or companies) do not realize is that social media messages ARE being read.  Companies will go through extra efforts to resolve your issue quickly because they do not want negative content floating around the internet about them.

I do not encourage making public messages, give the provider a chance to resolve it quietly.  Customer support services through social media is predicted to be the next big thing.

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