Why your online strategy needs to be diverse

Posted by Clay on October 22, 2012 Comments Off

http://www.jeffdoak.com/facebook-quietly-destroys-half-the-value-of-your-brand-page-overnight/

 

Facebook Quietly Destroys Half the Value of Your Brand Page Overnight

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Jeff

First let me give credit to Geoffrey Colon at Ogilvy for breaking this news over a week ago, though before data had accumulated enough to understand the full impact of what Facebook has done. And let me also say that Facebook can fix this at any time, and may be forced to, considering the backlash they are about to receive from the very advertisers that are practically their sole source of revenue.

Bottom line is this: on or around September 21, Facebook made a major change to the Edgerank algorithm that determines, among other things, which of your brand’s Facebook posts end up in your fans’ feeds, and that change resulted in many pages losing 40-50% (or more) of their organic reach. Let me say that again a different way: with no warning and no explanation by Facebook, your brand page may have just lost half of its value.

As an analyst and lover of statistics and data, I should say it’s a bit early to nail the number down completely. But I pulled data from a number of pages I have access to, and all of them show a sudden decrease in reach starting on September 21, ranging anywhere from a 24% to a 63% decrease (averaging out to around 45%) in average organic reach when compared to the previous two months. And that page that had a 24% decrease has a huge fan base, so that percentage translates into 100,000 fewer fans, on average, seeing each post. 100,000 fans.

There have been stories written previously about how only 16% of the fans of a brand page will see a given post, though my internal numbers range anywhere from 7% to 15% depending on the size of the fan base. That, frankly, was pretty horrible, but could be explained away by insisting that Facebook knew better, and part of their insight into your fans was that they responded better when Facebook made the decision of which posts they should see. We have to trust Facebook, because they don’t tell us a whole lot about our fans; unlike other platforms like Twitter, you can’t even pull a list of all the fans who like your page.

This change is more than just a minor tweak. This is Facebook doubling down and admitting that they really don’t have any interest in brands having a real relationship with the fans they’ve accumulated. This is admitting they don’t know how to create a real ad model other than making brands pay to talk to the fans they may have already paid to find and cultivate. This is also Facebook (probably) admitting that they don’t care about their user experience and are perfectly fine increasing the number of ads or promoted posts that you will see every day.

One could make the argument that the value of a Facebook fan page is not all in the reach you get with each post, that there is value in having a presence there, that the demographic and other data you can gather about your fans is valuable, and that perhaps being able to reach that audience, even if it costs money, has value. To that I say, maybe. But the real value of the page is in the ability for a brand to reach its fans and to engage with them, and that has suddenly become much harder.

How will the industry respond? Hard to say, because Facebook is still the only game in town, at least when it comes to large social networks. They made this change because they can, and I suspect they aren’t very worried about brands pulling out and giving up. I think it speaks volumes that Facebook made no public announcement about this and didn’t reach out to its partners to explain ahead of time. Time will tell, but I know the analysts and strategists I talk to think Facebook has finally crossed a line that puts their entire value proposition in question.

Ship of Fear

Posted by Clay on October 17, 2012 Comments Off

We are very excited to be involved with the upcoming Ship of Fear Cruise – more soon!

 

Twitter announces E-Commerce add on

Posted by Clay on October 8, 2012 Comments Off

Chirpify is a new e-commerce add on for Twitter allowing you to add a PayPal link to sell something that you are tweeting about.  This ability is going to make it much easier for you to directly sell to your followers what you are branding.

 

From their website:

 

The Twitter commerce & payments platform

Chirpify turns Tweets into transactions, enabling consumers and businesses to buy, sell, donate and transact in-stream on Twitter.

These are social, device agnostic, frictionless, in-stream, one step payments. We do this in real time at scale.

By removing all frictions of a traditional payments or e-commerce system, Chirpify transforms Twitter from a broadcast platform into a transactional one. To transact on Twitter Chirpify users need only Tweet simple commands such as “buy”, “pay” and “donate”.

The combination of frictionless one step transactions, social commerce, and Twitter’s real-time reach, is what makes Chirpify such a powerful platform.

Chirpify is venture backed by some awesome humans: Voyager Capital, angel investor Geoff Entress, BuddyTV CEO Andy Liu, former Facebook executive Rudy Gadre, HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, and TiE Oregon Angels.

We done tipped….

Posted by Clay on October 4, 2012 Comments Off

From Hits Online

 

CAN YOU DIGIT? Digital album sales are up 15% this year, while track sales have already broken 1.3 billion units, according to the latest Nielsen report, and mobile has played a major role in this growth. “As we look ahead, it’s clear that digital music purchases—and consumption through streaming sources—will continue to grow, and that consumers’ appetites for digital music will change at the speed of technology,” said Nielsen SVP of Client Development David Bakula. “These trends will no doubt continue to shape the way that music is discovered, marketed, consumed and sold.” (10/3a)

Email is King – Long Live Email

Posted by Clay on August 20, 2012 Comments Off

i again stress if your online marketing strategy doesn’t not focus on getting email addresses from your community you need to start doing so ASAP.  Places like Facebook and MySpace and Twitter are fads you can live with but don’t go down with them.  MySpace pretty much closed up over night and anyone with a million followers or less lost contact with all of them.  Please jump from social media to social media trends but people keep email forever.

 

 

From Hits Online – RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES: Facebook shares hit a new low on Thursday, falling 6.3% to $19.87 as more than 271 million shares—or nearly 13% of those outstanding—became eligible for sale. The stock is down nearly 50% from its May 18 debut. Things have become so dire that Mark Zuckerberg is acknowledging to employees for the first time that the selloff could hurt them, the Wall Street Journalreports. Zuckerberg has long exhorted employees not to pay attention to the stock price, instead pushing them to focus on developing the social network. But in a company-wide meeting earlier this month, he conceded that it may be “painful” to watch as investors continue to retreat from Facebook’s stock, according to people familiar with the meeting. The meeting was part of a new effort over recent weeks to buck up morale. Rules that restricted investors from selling their stakes immediately after Facebook’s IPO expired for those who sold stock in the offering—but not employees, who  are only able to watch at this point. Lockup expirations in October, November and December will allow Zuckerberg and other employees to sell more than 1.4 billion shares. The biggest lockup expiration, freeing more than 1 billion shares, is set for Nov. 14. The last lockup expires next May. For many employees, however, selling shares later this year may not be a palatable option. Facebook’s stock has so far fallen about 48% since the IPO, pushing its market capitalization down to about $42.6 billion.

FourSquare Attempts to make $$

Posted by Clay on July 26, 2012 Comments Off

http://mashable.com/2012/07/25/foursquare-promoted-updates-specials/

  by 6

 

Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr have all gotten into the “Promoted” game — launching advertising products called “Promoted Tweets” and “Highlighted Posts” that offer businesses additional exposure for their content. On Wednesday, Foursquare is joining them with the launch of “Promoted Updates,” its first paid product offering for merchants.

Last week, Foursquare began allowing business owners to send local updates — say, their specials for the day, or a picture of their new outdoor seating area — to their “best customers” when they’re nearby. “Best customers” are those who check in frequently, and possibly have “Liked” the venue on Foursquare.

Now, businesses can aim those updates at users who aren’t their best customers, but could be. The ads are designed to target users whose friends frequently stop by, who have added that venue to one of their Foursquare lists, or who are often visiting similar venues in that neighborhood. These ads aren’t intrusive: They’re confined entirely to the “Explore” tab.

Foursquare is rolling out Promoted Updates and Promoted Specials with a handful of large chains, including Gap, Old Navy, Hilton, JC Penney, Best Buy and Walgreens, as well as some smaller enterprises. The other 1 million merchants registered on Foursquare will be able to advertise through Promoted Updates “in the coming months,” a spokesperson said.

Who are you online?

Posted by Clay on March 22, 2012 Comments Off

Personal branding is not the future it is the now.  Make sure that your Social Media platforms portray you exactly the way you would want some one to see you.  Are you sure you want your boss to see you the same way your family does?  Privacy is dead.  But remember you are the one in control.  You are in charge of your profiles so make sure they say what you want them to.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/job-seekers-getting-asked-facebook-080920368.html

Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords

Resume, references, password: Job seekers get asked in interviews to provide Facebook logins

Associated PressBy Manuel Valdes, Associated Press | Associated Press – Tue, Mar 20, 2012 7:55 AM EDT

  • Robert Collins of Baltimore poses for a photo Friday, March 16, 2012 at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. When Collins returned from a leave of absence from his job as a security guard with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in 2010, he was asked for his Facebook login and password during a reinstatement interview, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)View PhotoRobert Collins of Baltimore poses for a photo Friday, March 16, 2012 at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. When Collins returned from a leave of absence from his job as a security guard with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in 2010, he was asked for his Facebook login and password during a reinstatement interview, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

 

SEATTLE (AP) — When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.

Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. But she couldn’t see his private profile. She turned back and asked him to hand over his login information.

Bassett refused and withdrew his application, saying he didn’t want to work for a company that would seek such personal information. But as the job market steadily improves, other job candidates are confronting the same question from prospective employers, and some of them cannot afford to say no.

In their efforts to vet applicants, some companies and government agencies are going beyond merely glancing at a person’s social networking profiles and instead asking to log in as the user to have a look around.

“It’s akin to requiring someone’s house keys,” said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor who calls it “an egregious privacy violation.”

Questions have been raised about the legality of the practice, which is also the focus of proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would forbid public agencies from asking for access to social networks.

Since the rise of social networking, it has become common for managers to review publically available Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other sites to learn more about job candidates. But many users, especially on Facebook, have their profiles set to private, making them available only to selected people or certain networks.

Companies that don’t ask for passwords have taken other steps — such as asking applicants to friend human resource managers or to log in to a company computer during an interview. Once employed, some workers have been required to sign non-disparagement agreements that ban them from talking negatively about an employer on social media.

Asking for a candidate’s password is more prevalent among public agencies, especially those seeking to fill law enforcement positions such as police officers or 911 dispatchers.

Back in 2010, Robert Collins was returning to his job as a security guard at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services after taking a leave following his mother’s death. During a reinstatement interview, he was asked for his login and password, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. He was stunned by the request but complied.

“I needed my job to feed my family. I had to,” he recalled,

After the ACLU complained about the practice, the agency amended its policy, asking instead for job applicants to log in during interviews.

“To me, that’s still invasive. I can appreciate the desire to learn more about the applicant, but it’s still a violation of people’s personal privacy,” said Collins, whose case inspired Maryland’s legislation.

Until last year, the city of Bozeman, Mont., had a long-standing policy of asking job applicants for passwords to their email addresses, social-networking websites and other online accounts.

And since 2006, the McLean County, Ill., sheriff’s office has been one of several Illinois sheriff’s departments that ask applicants to sign into social media sites to be screened.

Chief Deputy Rusty Thomas defended the practice, saying applicants have a right to refuse. But no one has ever done so. Thomas said that “speaks well of the people we have apply.”

When asked what sort of material would jeopardize job prospects, Thomas said “it depends on the situation” but could include “inappropriate pictures or relationships with people who are underage, illegal behavior.”

In Spotsylvania County, Va., the sheriff’s department asks applicants to friend background investigators for jobs at the 911 dispatch center and for law enforcement positions.

“In the past, we’ve talked to friends and neighbors, but a lot of times we found that applicants interact more through social media sites than they do with real friends,” said Capt. Mike Harvey. “Their virtual friends will know more about them than a person living 30 yards away from them.”

Harvey said investigators look for any “derogatory” behavior that could damage the agency’s reputation.

E. Chandlee Bryan, a career coach and co-author of the book “The Twitter Job Search Guide,” said job seekers should always be aware of what’s on their social media sites and assume someone is going to look at it.

Bryan said she is troubled by companies asking for logins, but she feels it’s not a violation if an employer asks to see a Facebook profile through a friend request. And she’s not troubled by non-disparagement agreements.

“I think that when you work for a company, they are essentially supporting you in exchange for your work. I think if you’re dissatisfied, you should go to them and not on a social media site,” she said.

More companies are also using third-party applications to scour Facebook profiles, Bryan said. One app called BeKnown can sometimes access personal profiles, short of wall messages, if a job seeker allows it.

Sears is one of the companies using apps. An applicant has the option of logging into the Sears job site through Facebook by allowing a third-party application to draw information from the profile, such as friend lists.

Sears Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Kim Freely said using a Facebook profile to apply allows Sears to be updated on the applicant’s work history.

The company assumes “that people keep their social profiles updated to the minute, which allows us to consider them for other jobs in the future or for ones that they may not realize are available currently,” she said.

Giving out Facebook login information violates the social network’s terms of service. But those terms have no real legal weight, and experts say the legality of asking for such information remains murky.

The Department of Justice regards it as a federal crime to enter a social networking site in violation of the terms of service, but during recent congressional testimony, the agency said such violations would not be prosecuted.

But Lori Andrews, law professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law specializing in Internet privacy, is concerned about the pressure placed on applicants, even if they voluntarily provide access to social sites.

“Volunteering is coercion if you need a job,” Andrews said.

Neither Facebook nor Twitter responded to repeated requests for comment.

In New York, Bassett considered himself lucky that he was able to turn down the consulting gig at a lobbying firm.

“I think asking for account login credentials is regressive,” he said. “If you need to put food on the table for your three kids, you can’t afford to stand up for your belief.”

___

McFarland reported from Springfield, Ill.

___

Manuel Valdes can be reached at https://twitter.com/ByManuelValdes .

Shannon McFarland can be reached at https://twitter.com/shanmcf .

Email is king

Posted by Clay on March 22, 2012 Comments Off

New survey focusing on B2B suggests that social media is becoming the best way to keep in contact with customers. Not surprisingly Email gets the best response.  I tell all my clients that Email is king.  You can connect with people thru their various social media outlets but everyone has different platforms (some tweet others Facebook) and times of day or amount of times that they actually do go on but pretty much everyone checks their emails at least once – most multiple – times a day.  All good social media plans should include getting email addresses in the email.  Beg borrow or steal (well don’t steal them..) to get your clients to give you permission to email them.

 

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008920&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4

B2B Marketers Optimistic About Social Media for Lead Generation

MARCH 22, 2012

Email currently most effective lead generation tactic

It’s no surprise that business-to-business marketers and agencies are looking for leads online. A February 2012 survey of B2B marketing and agency professionals by BtoB Magazine found that 59% view lead generation as their greatest online marketing challenge. To meet that goal, marketers are exploring new channels in 2012, particularly social media—and for many, the approach is working.

Currently, most respondents rely primarily on email—57% said it was the online channel that contributed the most qualified leads to their businesses. But a significant number said that some other online channel was their biggest driver of leads, though this group was split among several channels, including paid search (20%) and social media (13%). Respondents from agencies were more likely than marketers to report that social or search was their most successful marketing channel, possibly because agencies are often more able to specialize in such tactics.

 

Online Marketing Tactic that Is the Greatest Contributor to Leads According to US B2B Agencies and Marketers, Feb 2012 (% of total)

 

Both B2B marketers and agencies felt that social media in particular has room to grow for their organizations. After email, social media was found to be the most widely adopted marketing channel, but only 5% of respondents described their social media efforts as “well-optimized,” compared with 30% who felt that way about their email programs. A majority, 55%, said that their social efforts were early-stage but showed promise.

 

Incremental Value that Social Media Marketing Will Drive in 2012 According to US B2B Agencies and Marketers, Feb 2012 (% of total)

 

Data suggests that, in the social space, B2B enterprises should look first to LinkedIn and blogs. An October 2011 study of B2B marketers worldwide conducted by marketing automation software provider Pardot found that LinkedIn was the social media tool most successful at lead generation, followed closely by blogging.

 

Social Media Tool that Is Most Successful for Lead Generation According to B2B Marketers Worldwide, Oct 2011 (% of respondents)

 

Paid search presents another opportunity for B2B marketers to grow their lead generation efforts. Although 18% of marketers reported that it was their single greatest lead creator, only 11% said they had a mature and well-optimized search program in place. Forty-three percent said they didn’t use search marketing at all.

Corporate subscribers have access to all eMarketer analyst reports, articles, data and more. Join the over 750 companies already benefiting from eMarketer’s approach. Learn more.

Check out today’s other articles, “Fashion Adds Fuel to Fast-Growing Retail Ecommerce Sales” and “Mobile Video Viewership Gaining in Australia.”

3 Tricks to look good on webcam chats

Posted by Clay on March 14, 2012 Comments Off

Recently I have been asked more and more by clients and remote employers if I can Skype, GoToMeeting etc.  I like the phone because I can not be so ‘on’ – which is probably why the client likes it that much more.  Any how – here is a quick how to look good (or at least – better) on webcam meetings.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1819425/web-cam-glam-3-easy-ways-to-look-polished-on-video-chats

Webcam Glam: 3 Easy Tricks To Look Polished On Video Chats

BY Amber Mac | 02-24-2012 | 7:22 AM

More than 300 billion total calling minutes take place annually on Skype; 50% of those calls are video conversations. Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer revealed this stat at CES last month while discussing the Internet software’s ongoing success internationally.

While the technology continues to improve, users are slow to learn how to make video calls look good. While not all of us have Oprah’s Skype Guest Kit, which reportedly includes a state-of-the art laptop, desk-sized tripod, and prepaid return shipping label, there are some simple things the average business person can do to take online video chats to the next level.

Buying a USB-powered microphone is an obvious first step (along with using an Ethernet connection versus Wi-Fi) to increase your computer conversation quality, but it’s time to think beyond that. With many employers relying on video chat software to keep employees connected, individuals using webcams to produce expert how-to videos, and television broadcasters depending on this technology to beam guests in from all over the world, it’s no longer just good enough to be happy that your connection works.

Here are three simple tips (along with some convincing before and afters to seal the deal) to improve your webcam video picture.

1.  Look up, not down.  I can’t tell you how many people we interview for Fast Company‘s Work Flow series who are staring directly down at their web camera, nose hairs and all. In other words, no matter how technical they are, most webcam users forget that your eye line matters. If you’re looking down at your camera, the person you’re calling is looking up at you. In other words, it’s not an attractive view. Set your computer (if you’re on a laptop) on a few books so that you’re looking slightly up at the web camera. Not only will this tip make your image look better–and slim down that double chin if you have one–it will be easier to focus on the conversation instead of the empty space in front of you.

2.  Light in front, not in back.  If you’re in a room with a window (i.e. natural light), face towards the window. This will ensure that light falls on your face. Never sit with your back to a window while doing an online video conversation or meeting unless you also have light on the front of your face to balance things out (a backlit shot is not a good shot). If you’re in a room without a window, dig around for a light that you can place in front of you–even if you only have access to a small lamp.

3.  Go external, not internal.  Built-in web cameras have come a long way, but external web cameras have come even further. Just a few years ago the iSight, Apple’s built-in cam, was excellent quality. However, many external web cameras have far surpassed this technology. For less than $50 you can buy an HD web camera that will dramatically sharpen your video. For example, I travel with a Logitech HD webcam C270 series for a better image. Ladies, keep in mind that while HD does provider a sharper picture, this also means that you might also want to do a makeup touch-up before your on-camera appearance since high definition shows a lot of detail.

Get more tips on working effectively in Amber Mac’s Work Flow series.

 

Cloudy Days are a comin’

Posted by Clay on March 14, 2012 Comments Off

Walmart is getting into the Cloud Biz in a smart way.  For a small fee they will put your DVDs into their cloud service.  From today’s Cynopsis digital:

 

Walmart has announced a new in-store “Disc-to-Digital” program that will allow customers to bring a DVD to a Walmart store in order to create a digital copy of that disc. The digital copy would then be loaded on to their account on VUDU, an online video service owned by Walmart. If customers don’t have a free VUDU account, a store rep will help them create one. The price for each conversion will be $2 ($5 if customers want to convert a standard definition disc into an HD digital copy). The program will start on April 16 in over 3,500 Walmart locations. As part of the new offering, Walmart has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros., making each studio’s library of movies available for conversion. Disc-to-Digital will also support the UltraViolet digital locker initiative backed by Hollywood, meaning customers will be able to purchase and watch UltraViolet-enabled titles through VUDU, which Walmart says is currently available on more than 300 internet-connected devices.