Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Google – Coming To Theatres Near You

Friday, August 27th, 2010

In the battle for Internet glory, Google and Facebook have been neck-and-neck throughout 2010. And the rivalry to outdo each other has branched off from new product and service offerings to…..movies.

In October, The Social Network, the story of Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg, will hit theatres. Just two months before Facebook’s big movie launch, Groundswell Productions and producer Michael London announced they have bought the film rights for the 2009 book Googled: The End of the Internet As We Know It, by Ken Auletta. The book is to be used as a blueprint for the feature film, which, according to a Deadline interview with London is about “two young guys [Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin] who created a company that changed the world, and how the world in turn changed them.” Sound familiar?

Reading the Deadline interview is like reading the exact story behind The Social Network. Just change a few details here and there, and voila! There you have a brand new movie.

Much of the current talk about the movie is questioning how a movie about a company with the tagline “Do No Evil” can amount to a blockbuster. You can at least admit that part of The Social Network’s allure (although I have to say that it still hasn’t made my list of movies to see in 2010) is that it has a very boundary-pushing story behind it. I’m not sure that Google’s story has that same sexiness about it.

Overall, it seems that the main aim of seeing the Do No Evil story in neon lights is simply an effort to keep up with the Johnsons. I’m not sure that a movie with motives like this could ever become a raging success.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in media, social media | No Comments »

Facebook Places Puts The Pressure On Foursquare, Google Maps

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

2010 has been a big year for Facebook. Thanks to the introduction of an open graphAPI and the ability to “Like” almost anything on the web (not to mention a new movie coming out this fall), the social media giant has proved that it has the drive and the capacity to rule the digital landscape as we know it. And this week, Facebook launched a new location-based service that challenges the niche markets of startups like Foursquare, as well as the Maps arm of corporations like Google.

Facebook Places is a service that allows users to “check in” to restaurants, bars, retail stores and other local hotspots to share their location with friends. There are three main goals behind the introduction of Places, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

1. Share where you are in a social way
2. See who is around you
3. Discover cool new places to visit in the future

When a user checks in to a specific location, the update appears on the Place page for that venue, and is posted to the person’s own wall. One interesting aspect of the service, which we haven’t seen in other location-based offerings, is that Places allows you to check your friends in to the location you’re at, as well. However, if you aren’t into the idea of other people checking in for you, you can tweak your privacy settings to opt out of this entirely. Facebook put up a post on it’s blog with more details on the service.

Now that the service is live, the big question is how this is going to impact brands that exist on the platform of social location-based offerings. As opposed to the small niche services, the advantage for Facebook is that it maintains a database of more than 500 million loyal users who are familiar with the brand and how it works. Will people who check into Facebook Places still feel the need to check into Foursquare, as well?

And as a challenger of Google Maps, Facebook’s social component has the draw that no stand-alone map can live up to. While Google Maps aims to provide as much information about a place as possible, it doesn’t have the capability of also telling users who is there.

The verdict is out as to whether Facebook Places means the end of Foursquare and Gowalla as we know them, or if it will simply force these startups to look at other options to differentiate their product. Regardless, the introduction of Places is just one more way that Facebook is proving its place as leader in the social web.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in social media | 2 Comments »

What’s going on with Facebook?

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

facebook_icon

Over the past few years, Facebook has been an object of wonder, entertainment, connection, and, more recently, scrutiny. Today, the social media giant claims to have 400 million active users, half of which are logging on to the site on a daily basis. That’s a whole lot of private information stored on a single site. If you’re confused as to what exactly has been going on with Facebook lately and why there are so many privacy concerns popping up, we have broken down some of the recent changes and key points for you below.

Privacy Opens Up

In December 2009, Facebook made a major shift that led all user information to be public by default. If users didn’t update their privacy settings, all new updates and photos would be shared to the entire internet. Many pondered if this change was to keep up with other real-time, social media sites such as Twitter.

F8

It’s more than just a keyboard command. The latest f8 conference held in San Francisco in April was announced with the mission to “bring together the developers and entrepreneurs who are building the social Web by moving fast, taking risks, and hacking traditional systems.” At the conference, developers unveiled an array of new features, such as:

  • A “Like” button for popular websites such as NYTimes.com, CNN.com and IMDb. When you “like” an article or post on these sites, it will show up on your friend’s news feeds.
  • Instant personalization so that partner websites can cater to your personal interests and style based on information found on your Facebook profile.*
  • The new Graph API platform, which changed the way developers read and write data to Facebook. Sites can now get real-time updates every time a user adds a connection or posts on a wall.

Guidelines and Glitches

Just days after the f8 conference, complaints about privacy started pouring in, specifically from four U.S. senators who asked the FTC to set privacy rules for social networks. Public interest groups also filed complaints with the FTC, pushing to restore privacy of personal information.

Then, in the beginning of May, a glitch in the system opened up private chats to all of a user’s friends. In a New York Times article, one user was quoted saying, “Facebook has become more scary than fun.”

Crisis

An interview that Facebook’s Vice President Elliot Schrage participated in to try and calm user concerns ended up backfiring and stirring up even more discontent. Today (May 13), Facebook will hold a crisis meeting in an effort to create a plan to regain user trust while pacifying the concerns expressed by political organizations. According to this infographic demonstrating the history of Facebook’s default settings, they have a lot of work on their plate. What do you think? Are the critics right or are people over-exaggerating?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in media | 2 Comments »

Facebook: Building your Brand Online

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Social networking is on everyone’s lips nowadays. No wonder. Not since the Internet took over people’s minds, money and time have we seen such a boom in the world of social and business networking. Social media is free and for everyone. What differs though is how people choose to utilize the social media platforms. Take Facebook for example. Some people like to take quizzes that tell them what animal they will be in their next life. Others choose a different approach: the approach that will increase their business, connections and career opportunities.

So what are the tricks for turning Facebook into a networking tool that will bring success to your company?

facebook1First of all, remember that social media works best when there is synergy. Simply put, social media comes best in pairs or more! Cyberspace is huge, but by utilizing multiple communication channels you will increase your chances of attracting people’s attention and interest.

When you set up a Facebook account, make sure to combine this with a blog and/or website. Wordpress offers a tool that will link your blog to Facebook. Every time you publish a new post your Facebook friends will be notified.

Keep your Facebook page professional, but still personal. Adding a personal touch will build trust and create a more personal relationship between you and your clients. There is nothing wrong in adding pictures of family and friends. This shows your clients that you’re more than just a company.

The Flickr2Facebook uploader is an easy tool that allows you to upload your photos and then easily connect them to Facebook.

Add applications selectively. The applications should be related to your field and if they don’t say something about your business or what your business (not you as a person) is looking to achieve, you probably do best in not adding that application.

Sendible is another useful tool for business owners that want to schedule their updates. You can schedule status, feeds, comments, emails and much more. It’s perfect when you want to connect with all your social network contacts, but you don’t have the time or access to a computer.

From a business perspective, keep in mind that there is no reward for having 500 friends on Facebook. You’d rather have 80 qualitative business connections versus 700 where none of them work in your sector or share the same interests.
facebook2
Edit your news feed preferences in a way that is beneficial to your business. You may not need to know every time your news feed gets updated, but if someone your looking to do business with posts something you would want to know so that you can respond. That brings us to the last and one of the fundamental things when it comes to Facebook and any other Social media. Be active! It’s all about sharing your thoughts and ideas. Respond if you see an interesting comment, relevant question or feed. Let people know what you think. Only then will you experience increased engagement and conversation about your company!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

The Aftermath: Post-Networking Event Follow Up

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

people-networking2So, you did your research and attended a networking event that you were well-prepared for. What’s next? Networking doesn’t stop when the cracker plate is empty and everyone has gone home. The steps you take after a networking event are an essential part of effective networking. Next time you return from a networking event, follow these steps to make the most of your new found contacts.

1.      Reflect on your experience. Make note of what you did well and what you need to improve on. Networking events can be a great learning experience!

2.      Add all new contacts and their info into your Rolodex or contact management system. All details that you remember are important such as where they work, how long they have worked there, any common connections and noteworthy attributes.

3.      Send a follow up email to all new contacts and reach out to them on social media. Further explore their networks on social media to see if your networks overlap by looking for your new contacts on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. Also remember to send a thank you to the host of the event if applicable.

4.      You can also post about the event on your blog or tweet about it.  Post any photos you may have taken from the event as well.

5.      Begin to strategize on how you can make the most of your new connections. What can you do for them? Can they do anything for you? Perhaps you can work together on an upcoming project. The possibilities are endless.

6.      Begin you plan of attack for the next networking event you are attending. If you don’t already have one scheduled, now is a great time to do some more research and start networking!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

Keeping Up to Speed: The Art of Online Research

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

There’s no doubt about it, the world is a busy place. With the evolution of the ways we receive news and the overabundance of information, it seems impossible to keep up. And you’re a busy person. So, how do you keep up to date with all of the occurances in your business, in your market, in your industry and in the world? It seems like a daunting task, but here are a few tricks and tools to keep you in the know in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world.

1. Have the News Delivered to Youpicture-7

Using RSS Feeds such as Google Reader and setting alerts allow you to follow your favorite online publications.  These tools let you to set certain keywords and alerts you when an update surrounding that topic occurs. Editions of your favorite online publications are aggregated into one location and news about your favorite topics are delivered right to your email inbox, which saves trees and time.

2. Keep Up with Your Social Media

picture-8Believe it or not, more and more people are getting their news for social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.  Log in to your social media at least three times a day (once when you arrive at the office, once on your lunch hour and once before you leave). Tools like TweetDeck allow you to keep your social media open all day long and notifies you when members of your network make updates.

iphone_cat_scan_630x3.  Go Mobile

Now you can take the news with you via mobile phones. The iPhone and Blackberry have become the Swiss Army knives of mobile devices and allow you to check your email, receive news and updates your social media all from the palm of your hand.

Sure, there’s a lot of information, but there are just as many tools and tricks to keep you up to speed when you’re on the go!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Management | No Comments »

Navigating the Social Media World: Tricks and Trends

Monday, September 14th, 2009

social-media-wagonSocial Media is THE word, THE trend, and THE future of our world. Just like the internet, it’s here to stay. It’s an unstoppable movement and it’s everywhere! Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube. Young kids use it, college students, CEOs, entrepreneurs, moms and dads: social media stretches across all ages, all places, and it has ultimately changed the way people communicate, how business is operated and how the world goes round.

Food for thought:

  • 100,000,000 – number of YouTube videos viewed per day.
  • Facebook had 250 million users and 35-and-older was the fastest-growing segment.
  • Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email.
  • In June, the top 10 social media sites had 480 million unique (individual) visitors.

Social media provides a venue where people can communicate on a social or business level like never before. From a business standpoint, social media’s accessibility, transparency and widespread reach allows companies to engage with their specific niche market and communicate directly with their consumers.  The user-generated content and managable publishing techniques is non-discriminating and can be practiced by nearly anyone.

Social media has created a venue where interactive marketing becomes attainable. This platform permits companies and consumers to interact with one another almost immediately (in real time), and feed off one another in order to get the best results. Social media is the future of marketing and its vital for company growth. In today’s economic state, social media is a cost effective way to increase public awareness, buzz, and brand recognition. By using social media platforms, small businesses can get in the foreground and build their brand with their target audience and expand their business.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

How to Use Facebook to Win Fans

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

wwwtibethouseorg

Facebook has millions of subscribers.  It has reached international ubiquity, and is has a huge potential  market for whomever puts in enough effort to stand out. But how exactly do you reach people on Facebook? What are the ground rules to follow to keep your fans?

There are several ways to reach out to clients on Facebook. The most unpractical one became the easiest way to do it. It went from “half-baked group with fewer capabilities” to “almost full-blown profile page-like” point of presence.

The answer is: create a fan page !

This is the easiest way to reach people online. The problem is, you cannot go outside and ask people to be your friend, as if you had a profile. You have to wait for them to get to you. But first, how should you create your pages?

If you have a really recognized brand, and a few “blockbuster” products, feel free to create different pages for each of these products. For example, one fan might love M&M’s, but not Snickers bars. Having only one “Mars” page would not make sense in that case. Plus, if you have big products that don’t have pages, you run the risk of individuals creating fan pages named after your product, in which case you will not be able to control it.

There is only one way to get this spot back: kindly ask (no Cease & Desist here) them if they could transfer you the ownership of the page, so you can keep everyone updated with awesome news and updates about your product. In most cases, people will happily transfer ownership (after all, they’re fans too). It is not failsafe: this is why, as soon as one of your product might become huge, you should create a fan page. If your product is or becomes well known, people will join.

Now there is the problem of how to create page without a personal account. One could create a profile named after the company. This is a spreading technique strictly forbidden by Facebook, and you risk getting your account terminated. There is one proper way of creating this is going through these steps:

Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php. Choose the right section, your name, and press Create. You will be taken to a sign up for Facebook page. If you already have a personal account DO NOT USE IT! Use your company e-mail or create a specific one for that purpose. The next step is to validate your registration following the link in your mailbox. Voilà, you have your own Facebook Fan Page! Now you can start to edit it.

So, how and how often should you update your page? The answer is: try to spread the updates as much as possible.  There are several studies on it and some of them think that posting at 4:01PM is the best time for the highest exposure (this is not a joke). If you have several updates to do (uploading videos, adding pictures), it is okay to have 2 of them in a row, 3 maximum. Anything over 5 and all your updates except one will disappear and add a “SHOW x MORE POSTS” link on the user’s homepage, resulting in two things:

  • People will “unfan” you because you’re flooding their homepage;
  • You will lose a lot of exposure since all your posts vanished under that banner.

To sum up, here’s a quick list of things to do and things to avoid:

  • DO have fan pages for all your products, if they are influential enough.
  • DO add enough content to your page so people want to subscribe to it.
  • DO NOT update 10 times in a row; people will unfan you as fast as they added you.
  • DO NOT create a profile for the company to get a fan page: this will get you banned from Facebook.
  • DO add a link to the page on your website; Facebook will even offer buttons to insert directly to your homepage.

Hopefully this post gave you better insight on the matter of getting people to know you through Facebook!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

Twitter 101: The Basics of Tweeting

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Twitter? What’s that?

 

twitter-bird

If you are asking yourself this question then you must have been living under a rock for the past few months. But that’s okay – we’ll get you up to speed and no one will ever know your recent abode.

Twitter is THE new social media tool about today. I know I know, “there is always some latest fad that won’t last”… but Twitter is different. Honestly. It’s growing at a rate much faster than Facebook (gasp!) and is proving rather profitable to many brands in the business world. So pay ‘attweetion’ (ha) here’s a quick “Twictionary“ 101: 

 

1. Tweeps = Members of Twitter

2. Tweets = The sentences (or “micro-blogs”) you write that can be no longer that 140 characters long

3. Tweetup = An event created through Twitter

4. Twerd = A Twitter Nerd

 Okay – so now you know the lingo, how do you actually use the site? Here are a few basics:

1.    Twitter – A site dedicated to micro-blogging that resembles the “Status update” of Facebook

2.    Followers – People who have asked to be your friend on Twitter that, once accepted by you, can read your tweets on your profile

3.    Following – People you are friends with of whom you can read their tweets on their profile

4.    D – The symbol used to “Direct Message” a follower, allowing them to read your message but no-one else

5.    RT – The symbol used to “Re-Tweet” a tweet on your profile that you copied from someone else’s profile

6.    @[enter followers name] - The symbol used to reference a re-tweet (see above) or to reply to a particular follower’s tweet.

 So there you have it – everything you need to know about Twitter from a functionality point of view. Check out our next post where we’ll give you the low down on how Twitter can be used to optimize your brand…

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »