Saturday, May 24, 2014

Saturday Stats: 30 Billion is a HUGE Number

Do you use Pinterest?  Don't be ashamed if you do.  Many companies and social media marketers are turning to Pinterest to gain followers and share content with Pinterest users as well.

Pinterest is interesting because it draws people to articles based on images as well as useful, shareable content on your website.

Pinterest launched in 2010 and has, in four years, had more than 30 BILLION pins created.

30 Billion.  That's a lot of pins.

If you aren't on Pinterest yet, you may want to look into it as part of your social media marketing plan.  Pinterest has a partner program for brands that you can easily become a part of.

Check out the articles below regarding the way Pinterest is making a hit in the social media sphere.

For more information: http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/pinterest-features/

And for even further information: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/pinterest-30b-pins/

Happy Saturday!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Friday Facts: The 5 Habits for Social Media Success

It's Friday, which means I have another post to share from another site regarding something in Social Media.  This article came across my feed by looking at #socialmediamarketing in my Google+ feed.

I'll be honest, I follow most of these habits, except for point number 1 because I never really thought about it.  I generally have a weekly plan, which doesn't always go according to plan due to my day job, but I do try to keep things posted regularly and on a semi-normal schedule.  But perhaps I should make 1 a bigger habit than I have.

Check out the article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233676#  Then leave a reply here telling us what you think about the habits they suggest you form.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Thursday Tutorials: Picking the Category for Your Google+ Page

The first step in creating page, the step that comes immediately after tapping the "Create a Page" button, is often the most challenging step for people new to Social Media, or if their page could, potentially, fall into several categories.

The good thing?  Google+ has narrowed it down to five options to chose from.

This tutorial will go into a bit more detail than is on Google+ and help you decide what option to chose.  This tutorial will not go through the "Creating a Page" tutorial.  That tutorial for Google+ is next week.

First, let's list the five options, then we'll define them:
  1. Local Business or Place
  2. Product or Brand
  3. Company, Institution or Organization
  4. Art, Entertainment or Sports
  5. Other
1.  Local Business or Place

This is probably the easiest one to figure out.  If the answer to the following question is yes, then select this page:  Do I own a physical location to sell goods and services from?

When you select this option, instead of providing you with a drop down menu, Google opens up a map and you have to put in the physical address of your location to pin it on the map.  Type in the name of your business, then select it from the options that pop up on the map.

If this is the right choice, fill in the rest of the information - it's important not to leave any of that information blank as it will help customers - and potential customers - to find you.

Unfortunately, at this time, I do not have a client with a physical location to be able to go through the rest of the steps, but it does look like an interesting and accurate way to create a page with your business's address and map on it.

2. Product or Brand

This one is probably the more complicated of the choices as a lot of things people don't think would fall into this category, do.  It is also the most broad of the categories available.

This category can cover something as easy as a product produced by a larger corporation (say Heinz Ketchup as a fanpage or WiiU's Google+ page).  Keep in mind, there are "official" pages and "unofficial fan-based pages."  But it can also be for Apps (like iPhone/Android games etc.), software, websites, companies, corporations or someone who is just launching their own brand or products.

A good question to ask yourself is: Is this page about a website I've created, a product or brand I've created or am creating/launching, or is this a fan-based page for an already existent product.

If the answer is yes, then select the category that fits closest to what your page is for and go from there.

3. Company, Institution or Organization

This category can also qualify as a more complicated category because some people may feel their local business may fall into to company, organization or institution category instead of local business category.  Ultimately, it's your decision to pick the best spot for it - and this article will help with that.

This option is a bit of a broader than just local businesses.  For example, McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, most of which will have local community run establishments, would have a larger company driven Google+ page.  Some restaurants and local franchises of larger companies will have their independent Google+ pages under local businesses as well, which is part of their local marketing initiative.

So if you are an international or even global company or a parent company with multiple branches - you would select this category.

If you are a church, a 501c3, a cause, an institution like a University, a political part, a community organization or any of the other choices in the drop down menu to chose from, this one is likely for you.

If this is the right choice, select the category that fits closest to what your page is for and go from there.

4.  Art, Entertainment or Sports

This category actually covers a lot more than just artists, bands or sports.  This one is too hard to just define, so the options for this category are below:
  • Album
  • Amateur Sports Team
  • Award Show
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Concert and Performance
  • Concert Tour
  • Festival
  • Fictional Character
  • Magazine
  • Movie
  • Music Award
  • Music Band
  • Music Chart
  • Music Genre
  • Music Video
  • Musical Instrument
  • Newspaper
  • Playlist
  • Professional Sports Team
  • Radio Station
  • Record Label
  • School Sports Team
  • Song
  • Sporting Event
  • Sports League
  • Studio
  • TV Channel
  • TV Network
  • TV Show
  • TV Movie/Award
  • Video Game
  • Visual and Performing Arts
  • Website
To figure out if this page suits your needs, ask yourself these questions:
  • Does this page fall into any of the above sub categories (Note: website appears as an option on most of the other choices a well because websites can be businesses too).
  • Is this an official/unofficial page for someone (fictional character, government official, band member, etc.)?  Do you have the right to create said page?
  • Is this a page dedicated to myself and my endeavors?  (ie. You're running your own fan page as an author, a journalist, a public figure, etc.)
  • Is this a page for someone you work for as a social media manager and they fall into the above categories?
If the answer to one, or more, of these questions is yes, then you found the category you are looking for.

If this is the right choice, select the category that fits closest to what your page is for, fill in the blank spots and go from there.

5. Other

This one is really simple.

If it doesn't fit in any of the above categories, choose this category.  All you have to do here is type in the name you want for the page, website if applicable and you're good to go.

Really, really easy, but don't use this one unless it really doesn't fit in any of the other categories (perhaps it's a cause or a community or something like that - that would fit here).

I hope this guide has helped some and, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Thursday Tutorials are a series of tutorials designed to help people who may not be as Facebook savvy as other people.  Some tutorials will be targeted towards newbies to the social media world, others will include tutorials for more advanced users.  Thursday Tutorials are written for the layman and are designed with everyone in mind.  You can find all the Thursday Tutorials by clicking on the Thursday Tutorials tag below.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Wednesday Words: Social Media Optimization (SMO)

We've talked about sharability, interaction and engagement in the past Wednesday Words.  They, ultimately, lead to today's word, which is Social Media Optimization.  This can be defined, in laymans terms, as Search Engine Optimization for Social Media channels.

As mentioned with sharability, interaction and engagement, the key to getting people to interact - whether it's sharing, liking, retweeting, favoring, etc. - is to create online content that is likely to be shared through social networks.  It varies according to each brand and their audience, but it is an important thing to keep in mind.

If you are looking to find out what things appeal to those in your audience, check out similar pages and twitter feeds and see what gets the most interaction, then imitate it.  Don't use exactly what they use, but use something pertinent and similar and go from there.

Best of luck!

Wednesday Words are a series of definitions released on Wednesday each week regarding a word found specific to Facebook's social media platform, or may be a generic word dealing with social media.  These definitions are to help provide you with a better understanding of common and uncommon terms associated with Facebook and social media.   You can find all the Wednesday Words by clicking on the Wednesday Words tag below.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tuesday Tips: Gain More Followers

Today's tips cover ways to help you gain more followers on Twitter.  The majority of the options are free and are common sense - but I will say there is a paid option some people may not consider viable, but can be.

1.  Follow others.
Unless you're a famous personality or have connections to people with a lot of followers who recommend their followers follow you, the best way to start out is to follow other people.  Follow people/brands you have interest in or are similar to.  Follow people who are your friends or who you know visit your business or use your services.  Follow people who's posts you think are interesting.  And, follow people who your friends recommend or if you like the ones Twitter recommend, add them.

Also, if you're just starting out and someone you don't know follows you, follow them back.  Eventually your follower to following ratio will even out and if you're a brand, eventually it will exceed your following numbers.

But you have to start somewhere and that somewhere involves doing some legwork and following others first.

2.  Engage in conversation.
Don't hesitate to reply to tweets publicly.  It allows people to see you and if they like what you're posting in reply, they may follow you.  Or they may see what your other tweets are like, then follow you.  The more you get your Twitter handle out there, the better.

3.  Promote your Twitter handle everywhere.
Put it on your business cards, on your door for your business, on your promotional material and especially on your website.  Add it to your signature for email (if it is appropriate to do so).  As mentioned above, the more you get your Twitter handle out there, the better.

4.  Add the follow button to your blog/website/where you can.
This is fairly easy to do.  If you use Wordpress for your website, there are a number of different plugins that you can use to add the Follow Me button to your site.  There is also code you can manually enter, depending on what your using to create your website.

Even though it doesn't add to your followers, it is a good idea to also add Tweet links for your site, that way people can easily share content from your website - kinda like there's the sharing options below this post, including the T for Twitter.

5.  Tweet and Retweet quality, shareable content.
If someone you follow posts a Tweet that would be good to be Retweeted to your followers, retweet it.  Some ideas for retweets are:

  • Someone compliments/praises your brand in an @message to you.  Retweet that message and say thanks.
  • Someone #FF you.  Retweet it, then be sure to reply to them and say thanks.
  • Someone posts something that is relevant to what you, or your brand, is about, retweet it.
All of these are ways not only to get new followers, but to engage and encourage others to retweet you, getting your name out there.

I can't even begin to mention the number of people I have followed simply because they've retweeted my messages.


6.  Use appropriate #hashtags.
Hashtags are a great way to get new people to see your posts, which in turn gives them a chance to retweet and/or follow you.

Use appropriate hashtags about things related to you, or your brand, or what you're posting about in order to generate accurate ledes and a userbase of followers.  

But do use common sense and don't use too many hashtags.  Just because you can use more than one doesn't necessarily mean you should.

7.  Use the promoted accounts option.
This is the paid option mentioned above and while I've hesitated using it, I'm starting to consider it more.  Twitter is, like Facebook, a free service.  But if you are using it to market your company, your restaurant or yourself, then you should invest money into it as part of your marketing budget and strategy.

Promoted accounts have posts seen by people who are not followers and give them an opportunity to be able to follow you - something they may not have seen or done if you hadn't spent money to be a promoted handle.

With those things in mind, if you're looking to get more followers, try some of these tips and see if they help.

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

Monday, May 19, 2014

The Monday Search: Job Listings Current as of 05/19/14

There are many jobs available out there for people knowledgeable about Social Media, but sometimes finding the job isn't easy.

Don't worry! Each week (when I have time) I will be featuring 3-5 jobs currently available as of Monday. Additional sites will be linked at the very bottom of the article and listed as sources. Other sites may be listed as well.

TripAdvisor seeks a Sr. Manager, Global Communications, Social Media-TA 011488 in Massachusetts.

Job Requirements:

  • BA/BS in Communications, Journalism or Public Relations preferred
  • Experience in public relations, spanning both agency and corporate in-house
  • Expert level understanding of new media and day-to-day management of corporate social media channels
  • Data-driven; proven experience using data, and strong quantitative analysis skills
  • High energy, motivated and aggressive about getting results and growing our company every day
  • Experience handling sensitive media issues
  • Flexible and open to change and new information as well as the ability to think and act on your feet - adapts behavior and work methods accordingly
  • Grasps the essence of new information, recognizes own strengths and weaknesses, pursues self-development and seeks feedback
  • Exhibits integrity though fair and ethical behavior toward others and a demonstrated sense of corporate responsibility and commitment
  • Can be relied upon to ensure that projects within areas of specific responsibility are completed in an appropriate and timely manner.
  • Identifies and analyses problems and suggests solutions as well as distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information
  • Ability to balance time to market with a solution and make the right trade-offs along the way
  • Strong analytical skills as well as understands and utilizes metrics relevant to role
  • Clear communication through expression of facts and ideas in a clear, convincing and organized manner
  • Excellent business judgment when making decisions and always considers the relevance/impact of each decision on the business

For more information, or to apply: https://tripadvisor.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=43982&src=JB-202

MathWorks is seeking a Social Media Manager.

Minimum Qualifications

  • A bachelor's degree and 7 years of professional work experience, or master's degree and 5 years of professional work experience, or a PhD degree is required.

Preferred Qualifications

  • 7-10 years experience implementing social media campaigns in support of product and corporate brands; ideally in organizations targeting engineers, scientists and/or university faculty and administration
  • Demonstrated experience with and a passion for social media (i.e., Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and discussion forums)
  • Experience with online monitoring and measurement platforms including but not limited to Omniture, Facebook Insights, YouTube Insights, Google Analytics, HootSuite, TweetDeck and Meltwater Buzz
  • Proven track record of educating and influencing business leaders on social media value, strategy and programs
  • A bachelor's degree and 7 years of professional work experience, or master's degree and 5 years of professional work experience, or a PhD degree is required

For more information, or to apply: http://www.mathworks.com/company/jobs/opportunities/social-media-manager-11905?s_cid=hp_ff_a_careers&&source=8069

AAA is looking for a Member Relations Social Media Specialist.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

  • At least (2) years customer service experience and Associate’s Degree or Bachelor degree (preferred degrees: Business or Journalism)
  • Excellent social media skills (i.e. experience with Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Newsrooms, etc.)
  • Strong professional interpersonal skills
  • Ability to reason and negotiate fair and reasonable settlements
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Strong time management skills with attention to detail and deadlines
  • Strong knowledge of standard PC applications (i.e. Microsoft Office)

For more information, or to apply: http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/jobs/jobdetails.aspx?sc_cmp1=js_jrp_jobclick&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=JHS5MN734142JZGXQM8&showNewJDP=yes&IPath=JRKV0D

Good luck in your job search!
Other listings:
The Monday Search is a brief listing of jobs available for those in the social media marketing field. All jobs are found through internet searches and are just featured because they are of interest to me. Monday Searches will contain links to sites with other job listings in addition to the ones listed here.