Is it just me or are people finally starting to realize that social media is here to stay? Are they recognizing that communication is changing again forever and they need to embrace it?
Of course living here in Indianapolis, Indiana it’s impossible to really see first-hand what is going on in other parts of the world. You have to rely on outside sources to keep you updated. But still I get the feeling that people and businesses are finally starting to get it. I can definitely say that I have seen a huge shift in my connections toward people becoming less resistant. More are really starting to embrace this powerful tool we call social media.
I see people posting a new Facebook status every day that I never thought would be wanting to share updates with the rest of the world. Why? Because these are the same people that I was working with a year ago that ran for the hills when anyone mentioned Facebook. I, of course, did my best to explain the value but for a lot of people it’s really just a matter of time. Now they are making new connections every day and many share with me their surprise that it’s actually beneficial.
I see businesses every single day joining Twitter to find out what their customers are really saying and keep up with the latest news. Some are even running contests to grow their following and expand their network. They realize that this will later benefit them when those people are making purchasing decisions.
I see people creating events and promoting them through social media. They realize that it’s one of the best tools to increase awareness and attendance. Most seem to even realize that the people they meet at these events will eventually be their best friends and business partners.
Being in the Internet marketing/social media industry, I understand that not everyone will understand the full potential and that everyone will use it differently. I also realize that my small sampling of people is not reflective of “everyone.” Nonetheless I am still seeing a significant trend. The points above were not made to show great case studies, but to illustrate that people of all backgrounds are finally starting to come around. Posting a status on Facebook definitely does not mean you are gaining any type of value from your post, but it does show that plenty of people are finally there and more are becoming active users.
If you read blogs from anyone discussing social media, you will no doubt find posts all about convincing people who resist social media that it’s here to stay. You will see things like, “your business needs to change now, otherwise you won’t be in business much longer.” So let me ask you this – are people finally starting to catch on?
My theme for using social media for referrals: If you ask, you shall receive!
I am continually amazed at the ease of passing referrals using social media. Recently a co-worker of mine was looking for a realtor in the Washington Township area in Indianapolis. She is looking into purchasing a new home and needed a starting point. I offered to post this request on Facebook to see if my network of friends could help. It took just seconds to post my request online for all of my friends to see in my status update. Within 30-40 minutes I had a list over 10 realtors to give to my friend! But these weren’t just any realtors. These were all realtors that came highly recommended. And they were not just highly recommended by anyone, they were highly recommended by my friends and people I know. I was able to confidently pass along these names knowing that my friend will have a solid list of realtors from which to pick.
These requests are taking place every single day on social media networks. Keep your eyes open and take advantage of the opportunities!
Today I would like to share a few links that I found to be particularly interesting this past week. Check em out and let me know what you think!
Facebook Home Page has a New Look
So there is now a News Feed and a Live Feed on the home page? Just like with most Facebook updates, the responses to the change have been mixed. What does it all mean? Why did Facebook make the change? Click the link above to find out. Just like with the last changes Facebook made – in the long run it is going to make Facebook even better and more organized!
2009 Masters of Business Online Summary from Douglas Karr
If you are involved in the Indianapolis, Indiana social media scene, you were likely exposed to all of the buzz that came along with the Masters of Business Online. Landing pages, online video, search engine optimization, pay per click advertising and social media – these were just some of the topics covered at this great event. Get an inside look at what took place during the event from Douglas Karr by clicking on the link above.
Thank Goodness It’s Monday
One of my favorite people to follow online is Scott Stratten, President of Un-Marketing.com. On Friday I was checking out his new initiative, Thank Goodness It’s Monday and I just had to share. It’s a great concept: stop letting the day of the week determine your attitude. Embrace each day and make the most of it. Scott is forming a group of people he calls the” 1%” that refuse to fall into the “TGIF” mentality. Click the link above to check out his video on why he’s doing this. If you like what he has to say, enter your email address to get signed up. He will follow-up immediately, as always, with an email welcoming you to the “1%.”
I posted last week about the new Facebook @Mentions that again show Facebook is going head to head with Twitter. Since that time, I have been using this new functionality when it’s relevant. I must say it is very useful when used appropriately. It is a great way to link people directly to a company’s fan page or another person’s profile right from your status update. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out how effective it can be when passing a referral online. Let me explain.
I saw last week where one of my friends had posted that she was looking for a company to help with design and production of shirts for her company. Rather than simply telling her that I knew someone that could help with this need or even just typing that persons name, I decided to take advantage of the @mentions. BAM! A direct link to that person’s profile. But not only did my @mention post on her wall, it also posted on the person’s wall that I was referring to in the @mention. Before I could even follow up with my friend to tell him that I had a referral, he had already contacted my other connection with the shirt production need! I then went to follow up with her and she was amazed at how promptly he was able to follow up. He will likely get the business because within minutes she was able to find a recommend solution for her need. Now that was EASY!
Next time you see a post from one of your Facebook friends asking for help and you have a connection you can put them in contact with, remember this is a perfect time to give the new Facebook @mentions a try!
One of the biggest stories in social media this week was Facebook’s plan to roll out @Mentions in status updates over the next few weeks. This is another update from Facebook that appears to be a page from the Twitter playbook of success. Nevertheless it will be very interesting to see how Facebook users adopt this new feature.
I have talked with many Facebook users that are not Twitter users. They seemed to be a little confused on exactly what the @Mention allows you to do and how it will benefit them. Will many Facebook users even care about this update? Let’s not forget how users have reacted in the past anytime Facebook makes a change. While this update will be nothing as drastic as a new design, the initial reaction to Facebook changes have historically been negative. At first glance, the same group of people who think Twitter is for stalkers are likely to think now Facebook is even further supporting Twitter’s stalker habits. Now not only can I tell you that I am have coffee with someone else – I can link directly to his/her profile from my status update.
My guess is that it will take awhile for native Facebook users to being adopting this new functionality. But once people within your network begin to use @Mentions as a part of their status updates on a regular basis, their friends will likely follow. The hope is that this will allow Facebook users to continue to connect to others within their network to share more meaningful information. Let’s see if this holds true.
I do think this will go a long way in helping the business brands on Facebook. It is now going to be much easier to share that you are going to eat @(restaurant) and link directly to their fan page. This will also encourage more incentives to be offered for customers as sharing becomes easier. I will continue to update my blog as this is rolled out to analyze the trends.
But in the meantime, what is your take on it?
Below is the breakdown on exactly how it will work from Facebook engineer Tom Occhino:
Now, when you are writing a status update and want to add a friend’s name to something you are posting, just include the “@” symbol beforehand. As you type the name of what you would like to reference, a drop-down menu will appear that allows you to choose from your list of friends and other connections, including groups, events, applications and Pages. Soon, you’ll be able to tag friends from applications as well. The “@” symbol will not be displayed in the published status update or post after you’ve added your tags.
Friends you tag in your status updates will receive a notification and a Wall post linking them to your post. They also will have the option to remove tags of themselves from your posts. We hope that tagging your status updates and others posts from the Publisher will enable you to share in a more meaningful and engaging way, and connect with even more people. We’re rolling this feature out over the course of the next few weeks, so you may not see the new feature just yet.
As writers we can often play it safe by using words like: quite, fairly, often, sometimes and may. These words are boring, show a lack of confidence and thus turn readers away. This is where the vampire analogy comes into play- these words act like vampires and suck the life right out of your sentence. So the next time you are thinking of writing a headline like “You May Gain More Customers and You Might Make More Money” you need to stop and stake the vampire words to keep your readers coming back for more.
Douglas Karr did a great job of this today over on the Marketing Technology Blog with his post entitled“Why I Don’t Like Facebook.” This instantly caught my eye and I had to read it. Now if his blog title had been “Why I Kinda Sometimes Don’t Like Facebook” I would not have been as inclined to read it. Heck he even went so far as to put “facebook-sucks” right there in the URL. It’s not every day a social media superstar proclaims that!
So the next time you are writing a blog post title, take a moment to review and find those vampires there as well. Today’s theme: Be confident. Be Bold.
I ran across some quality links about social media tools such as Facebook that I just have to share with you. One is about managing your Facebook account. The other is about how social media is changing the way we communicate. If you have any links you would like to share, just leave them for me in the comments area.
So the Nielsen report is out and people are spending more time than ever on Facebook. In fact, 87 million visitors in the month of June spent an average of 4 hours and 39 minutes on the site. Out of the top 10 web brands, Facebook now ranks #1 in time spent beating out Yahoo!, AOL, and Google. So what is it that people are doing on Facebook?
Communicating like they never have before. I think more than ever people are beginning to use Facebook as a viable , interchangeable communication tool similar to email, text messages or instant messaging. Everyone is there. All in one place and just a couple of clicks away. Why go back and forth sending several emails when Facebook can easily be used to share thoughts, pictures, links and other information within seconds? I am also starting to see many of my business contacts use Facebook as a place to connect not only for personal use, but also for business related use. And like it or not, the new Facebook layout has made this easier. Comments are all over the place, often times leading to further conversation. Think about it – you see that your best client just got back from a vacation in Alaska and posted pictures on Facebook. You have a meeting next week and already you have a great conversation starter. Maybe you have already commented on some of the photos and exchanged wall posts.
The bottom line is this: Facebook is doing more than just drawing a huge number of users that spend a ton of time each month on the site. It’s changing the way we communicate. Possibly forever. What do you think? Do you agree?
Social media tools have allowed NBA fans to follow the NBA Finals like never before. Twitter, Facebook and Blogging bring a new perspective to the games that is sure to make any NBA fan highly satisfied. Below are just a few examples on how social media tools have become a big part of the NBA Finals experience:
Dwight Howard’s Blog See Dwight connect with fans and read about his thoughts on missing critical free throws during the game. It’s all here.
Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Twitter The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and Laker great was tweeting during the games with his perspective on the action. I bet he is happy the Lakers won!
Check Out the NBA’s Facebook Page Stay up to date with all of the action as the Lakers and Magic battle it out. Insider information, vote for player of the game, and create your own amazing NBA moments.
Twitter users were tweeting aplenty. Webcams were broadcasting live all over the world. But as for now, the Facebook username buildup excitement is over. The initial rush has passed. Many people predicted that Facebook would crash or some other type of complication would arise. They were wrong. It was a smooth, seemless process that took about 5 seconds once the countdown was complete.
Now let the interesting part begin…how will we use our new Facebook identity?
The Facebook Username Vanity URL coundown has begun. Many people around the world are logged into Facebook online right now waiting…watching the countdown to an opportunity to secure their very own Facebook username aka vanity url. Up until now, Facebook users have been assigned a long string of numbers in their profile URL and have not had an option to change this to something that is user friendly. As you can imagine, if you were to try to direct someone to your Facebook profile using this original URL it would be quite cumbersome. Now you get the option to create your own Facebook username. This is another chance to own your name online in Google search results.
It will be particularly important for businesses as more and more companies begin to embrace social media filling the spectrum of online competition. Some companies are moving completely away from the “traditional” Web site. Skittles’ Web site consists soley of links to social media profiles such as a YouTube page, Flickr account, and Facebook fan page. Boone Oakley’s Web site is a YouTube video. Opening up the username vanity url will encourage businesses to consider using Facebook as their main web presence, further continuing the movement away from the “traditional” Web site. To prevent users from creating profiles and squatting on business usernames, Facebook is only allowing those pages with more than 1,000 fans (as of May 31st) to get first rights to their username. As for those legitimate businesses with less than 1,000 fans, you will have to wait until June 28th.
So what is the big deal? Why all of the excitement now? Well, Facebook is offering up these usernames on a first come first serve basis. So if you want to “own” your Facebook name – you better act now. You can sign up for your Facebook username vanity url here.
As I write this post less than 30 minutes remain in the countdown.
Do you use Facebook for personal use or business use? Is it okay to post “party” pictures on Facebook that your employer or future employer may see? What is your opinion?
When looking to diversify your blogging portfolio, consider the opinion post. Expressing your opinion helps keep things from getting boring. It is also a great way to encourge others to share their opinions on a particular subject. This goes a long way to build interaction with your readers. These are just a few of the reasons why ProBlogger suggests writing an opinion post in Day #19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
So, now back to the Facebook question. I do not think you have to make a decision to use Facebook for personal or business. The beauty of Facebook is that it can be used for both. In fact, that is when Facebook is most valuable. How else would you know that your largest client’s daughter just won her softball tournament? And then be able to connect right away and send your congratulations comment. Creating a personal connection with business partners can be very difficult and Facebook helps make this easier by removing social barriers. You may not hang out with the same group of friends. You may not even live in the same state. But through Facebook you can still connect on a personal level.
And as for the party pictures. Everyone is a human and likes to have fun from time to time. Just use your common sense. If you have to second guess the photo, take it down.
So, this blog post has now been published. Should I post a link to it on Facebook? Should I post a link to it on Twitter? Or should I do both at the same time?
As each social media giant continues to grow, so do the number of ways to manage both at the same time. Some allow for options to post to just one or both with each update. Others post to both by default.
Today is Day #3 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. The task for today is to promote the list blog post that we published yesterday. I typically promote each blog post that I write using Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic. Yesterday’s post was no different. In fact, within 5 minutes of posting the link on Twitter I had already received 19 click-thrus on the link. I also have my blog set up to feed into several other social networking sites on which I am present – such as Smaller Indiana and LinkedIn. These have been relatively effective in increasing traffic, but I am always looking for other avenues to explore.
ProBlogger has listed some additional ways to promote your blog within this task a few of which include:
Asking another blogger with relevant content to your post to include a link back over to your blog – it may take some time to develop these relationships before you are comfortable asking
Including your blog URL in your email signature – don’t forget your blog is a part of your contact information
Email marketing – this is a great way to see an immediate, significant impact
Post comments on other blogs – a great way to develop reciprocal linking relationships
Followup posts that build off of previous posts within your blog to increase momentum - this was my personal favorite and one I will immediately implement
So…I am in interested in your feedback. What have you found to be an effective way to promote your blog? Do you promote individual posts or your blog as a whole? Please share in the comments.
Facebook Responds to Criticism Over Latest Redesign
You provided the criticism. Facebook listened/read. And Facebook responded. But is this satisfactory for most people? It sure doesn’t look like it. Many comments I read can be summarized by this statement, “Just give us the old Facebook back.”
My Personal Opinion (for what it’s worth) The new Facebook layout really does not bother me. In fact, I am beginning to get used to it. I am still able to quickly accomplish my Facebook goals just as I was before. Ignoring all of the clutter to stay focused is something that you must become good at if you are going to use Facebook effectively. Most of the applications I find to be pointless and avoid them anyway. The simple reality is that Facebook is not just for college students anymore. The demographic is quickly drawing more from the 30+ crowd and a huge amount of businesses. Facebook had to adjust to this trend at some point. I will admit, however, I have missed a few birthdays because of the new layout! So, please blame Mark Z.
So, tell me what you think. Do you like the new Facebook? Take the poll. Leave a comment.
Click on a headline to check out my online reading favorites this week:
How To Friend Mom, Dad, and the Boss on Facebook…Safely
Would I really want my mom to see this pic of me on Facebook? Should I add my boss as my friend? Many of us have pondered these questions. While there may not be a “right” or “wrong” answer, this article offers some good insight. My opinion- everyone has a personal life and putting a few pictures of you having fun on Facebook just shows you are a real person.
Denny’s Free Breakfast A Grand Slam
Remember this Super Bowl ad? In our current economy, a free breakfast is not something that is easy to pass up. Several of us at Fusework Studios took advantage of this offer and the experience that went along with it. The people definitely came out in full force on Tuesday, February 3rd for a free Grand Slam….now will they come back again?
I’m Sorry We’re Out of Time
This is a great blog post from Seth Godin on making the best use of your time when giving a presentation. Read this post and please stop trying cram everything in the last minute of your presentation. I won’t remember any of it. And neither will anyone else.
Below are some of my online reading favorites this week. Click on a headline to read the full article. Hope you enjoy!
Top 20 Social Networks of 2008
Twitter is growing like crazy (I’m sure you already knew that). Facebook is about to catch MySpace. Classmates and Ning are doing surprisingly well? Very interesting report by Mashable.
Marketers Promise Hope
I love this Seth Godin Blog Post. A perfect reminder that marketing isn’t always about a product or service, but about the feeling it creates. The feeling of hope.
SocialScope is an application for the Blackberry that combines Twitterberry and the standard Facebook app into one. SocialScope is currently in Alpha review, so I am unable to include a video with screen shots of it actually working live on my phone at this time. I have been in communication with a representative at SocialScope and will be notified when permission is granted to post a full-blown video review. The SocialScope representative also wanted me to make a note that the Blackberry Storm is receiving limited support because they currently do not have a Storm to test it on.
Overall, SocialScope is a great application for any Blackberry user. I am particularly impressed with its performance considering it is still in Alpha. Twitterberry is going to have some catching up to do. Even in the Alpha review the Twitter side of things is seamless and very user friendly. The Facebook side of things leaves a bit to be desired, but I hear they are working hard on that. Watch the video review above for more information.
Below are some links and brief summaries to articles/posts that I found worth sharing this week. Click on a headline to view the full article. I hope you enjoy!
Get A Free Whopper by Deleting 10 Facebook Friends
Burger King has created an application for Facebook called the Whopper Sacrifice. The theme is “what are you willing to sacrifice for a Whopper?” 10 Facebook friends? Over 177,500 friends have been sacrificed so far. Many of us do have “fair-weather web friendships” and I guess 10 friends isn’t too bad for that flame broiled taste. This Burger King marketing campaign definitely breaks through the clutter.
SocialScope: Twitter and Facebook for Your Blackberry
SocialScope is an application for the Blackberry that is currently in Alpha testing. They have released 200 invitations to try this application. I was lucky enough to catch a tweet in time from @aaronaiken with a link to the invite. I currently have SocialScope running on my Blackberry Storm. It is awesome! Twitterberry and Facebook applications combined into one with near real time updates. I am in the process of working with the SocialScope developers to get permission to do a video review. I have been approved to do a review without video and screen shots. Look for that in depth review to come this week.
Blogging and Social Media Changing the Job Search Blogs and other social media tools are impacting the way people find jobs. More employers than ever are now looking at social media profiles of potential job candidates during the hiring process. People are reporting success from using their online network to lead to a job opportunity. Creating and utilizing such social media tools can demonstrate a level of skill and comprehensiveness that can help separate you from the competition. It is starting to look like the traditional resume may soon become a thing of the past.
Why did you start a blog? Why should I start a blog?
I have been getting these two questions a lot lately as my blog continues to develop. There are a lot of valid reasons why you should start a blog, but just remember a blog should be something that you WANT to do. It may take a little convincing from some friends or co-workers to finally quit talking about it and actually do it. A blog is not for everyone and it should not be something that is FORCED or something that you are not ready to make a commitment to. Having said that, If you do decide to start a blog I believe you will find it to be a very rewarding experience.
Watch the video above to see why I started a blog and read more on some of the reasons on why you may want to think about creating your own blog. There are many more than I could list…trust me.
Through blogging you learn about new things
Learning can be a great experience and a blog enables you to learn a lot about not only the online community, but other topics you might be blogging about. It is natural to want to make your blog the best it can be which forces you to learn about things you do not know and more about things you may already know. It is also very fun learning. Why? Because you get to share something you learned with the rest of your online community. And then the best part- you begin getting feedback. Mostly positive, though you will have a few negative posts as well. You will also have posts of other people talking about similar topics that interest you. Time to go check out those posts and learn even more. All at once you have this cycle developing and you are learning new things every day while having fun doing it.
Blogging is low cost and helps create YOUR brand
What better way to get your name and expertise out to a large amount of people than blogging? Blogging is a great way to help you not only strengthen your company’s brand- but YOUR brand. It enables you to establish yourself in the online community as someone who is knowledgeable about a particular topic or topics. Suddenly you become an expert in your own niche. Then people began to trust you and the next thing you know you have developed followers or a Tribe or even Sneezers (as Seth Godin would say). This allows you to spread your name while developing contacts and quality relationships with those followers. Just like the traditional definition of networking, this can lead to great business opportunities as well as person opportunities.
All of this great exposure and endless potential opportunities and how much money does it cost you – not much at all. In fact, you can create a WordPress blog for free right now. It will take you about 5 minutes to get started.
Blogging enables you to quickly produce content resulting in SEO and ROI Content is king on the web. Search engines are all about fresh, changing relevant content. A blog delivers that content that search engines are after. It makes Google happy. This means your site gets more traffic. Not just traffic, but qualified traffic. With qualified traffic leads are generated. With leads come sales. Sales=money. Money = good = you stay in business. You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out some of the benefits of blogging according to Compendium Blogware.
Blogging helps people This is by far the most surprising and rewarding aspect of my blogging experience so far. I can tell through comments and other interaction that I have been able to help people. Even if it is something as small as telling them why they should or should not buy a particular cell phone, go see a certain movie; or even if it is something as trivial as helping them customize their Facebook or Twitter experience. In some way, I know that I have helped them. I don’t care who you are- helping people (even if it is someone you barely know) is one of the most rewarding experiences in life.
Final Reason: Blogging is fun. Try it. I think you will agree.
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