Industry News

Brand Yourself on Every Social Network (Even if You Don't Want To)

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on October 15, 2009 | No Comments

The excuses, of course, come plentiful. You don’t have time to “tweet” or update Facebook. You aren’t convinced your private information won’t be compromised or phished. You get enough spam as it is through your regular Web site, so why compound the problem via fake Twitter accounts bothering you every two minutes? Whatever your reason for resisting the use of social media in your online marketing strategy, know that the importance of associating your brand to a profile outweighs all the cons.

Sociability Means Visibility

How would you like it if somebody were to walk into a restaurant or store claiming to be you, and proceed to create havoc – overturning displays, dining and dashing, and just being a plain nuisance. People will remember the face of the troublemaker, but more importantly they’ll remember the name since they’ll be giving it to the cops! You wouldn’t want an unauthorized person misrepresenting you in real life, so why have somebody do it online?

The more you resist setting up social accounts for your business, the more time you allow people to use the names in your brand. If you operate a company in Virginia with a fairly common name, like Acme, Inc., there’s a change a California company with the same name might come along and take the vanity urls you could use to promote your goods and services. As people search, they could come to think “they” are “you,” and you could lose business. Even if you don’t plan to put too much into online socializing, you should at least establish your brand on these sites so it’s clear you are up to date on social networking. Set up each profile to link back to your official site, and include links to the networks on your site to verify the branding.

Connect Your Networks, Cut the Work

The prospect of having to log into every single social network to make updates seems daunting, especially if you are a small company lacking the extra staff to handle online marketing. Luckily, many social networks offer integration with each other to allow for streamlined updating. You can post to Twitter and the updates will appear on Facebook and MySpace, or you can maintain a bookmarking site like Digg to one-click share on other networks. Applying RSS functionality available on these profiles lets you add the information to your main site, and constantly offer fresh info to visitors.

If you think social media is a waste of time, consider what you stand to lose if you ignore it. Establish your brand across the networks, and build a new following.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist who assists clients with social media marketing services and Virginia Web design.

How Social Media Work Helps Your Marketing

Posted in: Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on October 13, 2009 | 1 Comment

A new research study by GroupM Search and Comscore shows how effectively social media campaigns can help the bottom line – not just through direct results but also through altering people’s future behaviour:

“Social media-exposed consumers are far more likely to search for brand and product-related terms, and click on a brand’s paid search ad,” said Graham Mudd, vice president of comScore, Inc. “This finding provides strong evidence that investing in social media marketing can both increase initial brand consideration and drive higher conversion rates once the consumer has decided to purchase.”

Read more at Mark Pack’s blog.

Starbucks, Microsoft are mighty in social-media marketing

Posted in: Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on October 12, 2009 | No Comments

If you’re a business that’s not using social media, some experts might argue you’re not truly engaged with your customers.

But don’t think that just by setting up a Twitter account or a blog that your company has done enough. In order to be truly successful, companies — like Starbucks, Microsoft and Amazon — need to respond to comments immediately, post new content and share what others are posting, said Charlene Li.

Li, co-author of “Groundswell” and a partner at Altimeter Group in San Mateo, Calif., led a study that linked social engagement, customer satisfaction and business success. She said social-media marketing is about how businesses talk with customers, and found that Seattle-based Starbucks is better than any other brand at doing just that.

Read more from SeattlePI.com.

Are you using your social media presence to “talk” to customers and clients? Perhaps it’s time to learn more about how to put the “social” back into social media, and your business.

Spider Writers is here to assist you with your Virginia social media needs. Contact us today at 757-499-1990, ext. 101.

Social Media Phobia: Killing the Messenger | Web 2.0 Journal

Posted in: Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on October 2, 2009 | No Comments

There are a lot of companies that, for one reason or another, choose this path of avoidance when it comes to social media. The mindset seems to be that if they don’t see the negativity about their company, then it’s not happening, or it’s not so damaging. Or perhaps that if the organization is not giving the Twitterer (or blogger, or Web site commenter, forum participant – really the concepts remain the same for any social media platform) the “time-of-day,” that others in cyberspace won’t either. I think that, when put into black-and-white and read on a page, nearly everyone can see the problems inherent in such an approach: not only is an opportunity to provide enhanced customer service squandered, but an opportunity to engage in true conversation with customer – to learn their wants and needs; to become involved in education; or to shift mindsets to increase brand awareness or product adoption – are missed.

As a PR person, I find such missed opportunities among the most egregious oversights that companies, or agencies on behalf of companies, can make. Let’s face it, technology makes the possibilities to interact with our various and sundry stakeholders available as well as easily accessible and downright cheap – there’s no reason not to get involved. If public relations is truly “management of communication between an organization and its publics,” then what better tool to employ than one that lets organizations speak directly and in real-time to the publics they are communicating with?

Read more: Social Media Phobia: Killing the Messenger | Web 2.0 Journal.

Twitter vs. Second Life: A N00b Takes Another Look – PC World

Posted in: Blog, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on October 1, 2009 | No Comments

Overhyped technology poster child of 2009, meet your counterpart from 2006. We’re talking about Twitter — which, by our reckoning, entered the mainstream at the beginning of this year — and Second Life, the virtual world which went through its own hype phase in 2006 (BusinessWeek: “Virtual worlds abound in useful business applications!”) before being brought roughly back to earth.

But not all hype is created equal. In a June 2009 blog entry for AdAge, PR executive Chris Abraham compared the two services, and concluded that Twitter’s hype cycle is more sustainable than that of Second Life. Why?

“Twitter is light, cheap, open and permanent, whereas Second Life is heavy, expensive, closed and ephemeral. Twitter does things right where Second Life failed.”

Predictably, this description fired up the critics, including Prokofy Neva (real name: Catherine Fitzpatrick), a long-time Second Life resident who is also a rapid-fire Twitter user (17,223 tweets as of this writing). While she agreed that Twitter is overhyped, she also questioned the comparisons of the two services. Twitter, she noted, is “not a place where you can build relationships and collaborate.”

Read more: PC World.

Twitter Adds Lists to Help You Get Organized – PC World

Posted in: Blog, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on | No Comments

Twitter is a great way to find out what people are talking about by following popular topics, finding people with common interests, or connecting with popular celebrities, athletes, or even your favorite product brands. The problem is, once you’re following more than a few hundred people, the endless stream of 140-character messages becomes unmanageable and the value of following so many people for news and information becomes lost.

Read more: PC World.

Should Your Library Have a Social Media Policy? – 10/1/2009 – School Library Journal

Posted in: Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on | No Comments

Today’s new media tools are incredibly powerful communication vehicles that allow organizations to connect and engage with many different audiences. With more than seven million users, Twitter is growing at an annual rate of 1,382 percent, Facebook boasts over 250 million active members, and aspiring writers have started more than 133 million blogs. While the wild popularity of these apps has opened up a world of opportunity for developing brands and building communities, the social and extremely public nature of these services also brings potential hazards. That’s why organizations—including libraries—are developing policies on the use of social media for staff and users alike.

Read more: School Library Journal.

Spider Writers has worked with education organizations in the Virginia Beach area on Web site redesign and SEO consulting. If you are interested in applying social media marketing to your education or non-profit organization, contact us today at 757-499-1990.

2009 BlogWorld New Media Expo to Explore Social Media's Role in the Future of News

Posted in: Article Marketing, Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on | No Comments

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Organizers of the 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo, which will gather the leading voices of social media in Las Vegas from October 15 to 17, announced today a panel to explore the need for standards and ethics in social media, particularly in the area of public journalism and political opinion. The panel, devoted to The Future of Journalism, will feature CNN anchor Don Lemon; award-winning critic, NYU journalism professor and PressThink blog author Jay Rosen; conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt; and Current TV COO Joanna Drake Earl.

As online content, developed and published by self-described citizen journalists, has grown exponentially over the past year, it has also established itself as the originator of misinformation, distortions and accusations often picked up and given a wider audience by a mainstream media scrambling to feed a 24-hour news cycle, as well as bitterly divided partisan politicians looking to gain political traction.

“From the Obama birth certificate controversy, to rumors of FEMA concentration camps, to the death panel claims made by Sarah Palin on her Facebook account, to accusations of 9/11 cover-ups—all were spread online and then widely disseminated by mainstream media, often as substitute for serious discussion of issues such as health care reform and foreign policy that could undercut the profit motives of corporate owners and sponsors,” said Brian Solis new media analyst and architect and author of Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and the PR 2.0 blog.

“At times encouraged and supported by well-funded think tanks and then broadcast globally by television news stations or e-mailed to extensive subscriber lists, online content is disseminated faster than regulations can be legislated, and even faster than any specific corrections or examinations can be offered,” he continued.

Despite many examples of devoted and highly disciplined citizen reporters, can online content even be called journalism if it continues to lack basic standards? And given the increasing revelations of controversial and high profile inaccuracies of a press imbedded with political and corporate interests, does online content even want to be called journalism? As comedy shows become more trusted than mainstream news outlets, and newspapers suffer cutbacks and closings all over the country, what role does online content now play—and what ethical responsibilities should it abide by?

While Twitter, blogs and other platforms for self-publishing are rivaling traditional media, what is the role of journalism in the era of the real-time, “now” Web? As social media lowers the barriers to entry, empowering individuals to emerge as pundits and experts, is it also lowering the standards of investigation, fact checking and due-diligence? These far-reaching and difficult questions will be paramount at the 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo’s Future of News panel. Brian Solis will lead a discussion with leading authorities on the subject including Jay Rosen of NYU’s journalism department, Don Lemon of CNN, Salem Radio Network host and social conservative Hugh Hewitt, and Current TV COO Joanna Drake Earl.

“BlogWorld & New Media Expo has no interest in shying away from tough questions or heated debate,” said Rick Calvert, CEO and co-founder. “We are in uncharted territory in terms of democratized content creation and its influence, and there is no better place to have this conversation about the need for standards, accountability and ethics.”

Now in its third year, the BlogWorld & New Media Expo is dedicated to promoting and supporting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media as a mainstream news source, the most powerful and effective means of online communication and as a highly targeted and traceable advertising medium. BlogWorld attendees are aggressive technology consumers and mobile professionals, as well as the world’s most influential online content creators, citizen journalists, technology consumers, marketers and online community leaders.

In 2008, BlogWorld attendees had a combined monthly audience of more than 100 million readers, viewers and listeners. For the 2009 Expo, BlogWorld anticipates more than 3,000 attendees with a reach in excess of 200 million.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo conference sponsors include Ford, Ebay, PayPal, Johnson & Johnson, Collective Bias, Rockfish Interactive, Procopio, ShareASale, Calacles Consulting and Blame Society Productions. The Light Group is title sponsor of evening parties, with Anheuser-Busch as beverage sponsor. Media partners include Alltop, Mashable, Technorati, Fast Company, MacObserver and iPodObserver, Webgrrls, WomensRadio and more. Sched.org is social media scheduling sponsor. Yubby is the official video aggregator.

Additional information on BlogWorld & New Media Expo, including speaker topics, session descriptions and registration details, is available at www.blogworldexpo.com.”

About BlogWorld & New Media Expo

BlogWorld & New Media Expo is the first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of new media, including: blogging, podcasting, social media, online video, music, TV, radio, gaming, entertainment and communities. In addition to the only industry-wide new media exhibition, BlogWorld & New Media Expo features the largest new media conference in the world, including more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business. The 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo is designed to give participants the crucial strategies, tools and technologies they need to leverage social media for publishing, broadcasting and growing brands and businesses through online presence and community engagement. More information can be found at www.blogworldexpo.com.

Source:
2009 BlogWorld New Media Expo to Explore Social Media’s Role in the Future of News.

Technology News: Social Networking: Caught Up in the Social Networking Frenzy

Posted in: Blog, Industry News by SpiderWriters on | No Comments

On Sept. 19, a Saturday — by all rights a day when normal people do their chores and pay attention to their families — I noticed a spike in my Twitter More about Twitter following. In one day, more than 100 new followers jumped on my bandwagon, bringing the total number up to somewhere north of 400. Now, admittedly, I’ve been slow to jump on the latest social network craze. It’s true, some of my fellow industry analysts have formed entire business models based on supporting enterprises in their social networking strategies and have thousands of followers. But I have remained skeptical to some degree.

After all, I’ve been fiddling around with social networking of one sort or another since the dawn of the computer age. By the mid-1970s, my father’s company, where I worked as a teenager, had already connected brokers and institutions on Wall Street with an instant message capability, and the traders didn’t take long to include in their 40-character blasts, not only position and open interest information, but also snippets on bar mitzvahs, births and relationships. The system, called “AutEx,” was probably the site of the first online date request, although that information, if it exists, lies buried on large-format tapes in a warehouse in some anonymous industrial park.

Read more via TechNewsWorld.

Going Viral on Twitter

Posted in: Blog, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on September 30, 2009 | No Comments

Once you make a nest for yourself on Twitter, it’s time to start thinking strategy.

Not only should you follow people with similar interests and follow the conversation, but you should start the conversation. After some time, you might even be the conversation.

Behold the power of the retweet.

Surely you’ve seen the RT before a tweet. This means the user took that tweet from someone else, and has given them credit by attributing them with an @username.

Here are a few suggestions on getting your tweets popular enough to get retweeted.

1. Make sure your links work. Always check up on link shorteners to make sure your link still gets your followers where they want to go.
2. Keep your content original and relevant. No one likes the person at the water cooler who just repeats what they hear and doesn’t provide any new news. Strive to keep your information fresh and interesting to your followers.
3. Use common keywords in your tweet that are likely to be searched in Twitter search menus. People who typically follow certain trends may find your tweet and RT it on their profile.
4. Make your tweets a little shorter than 140 characters. Keep in mind that for someone to retweet you, they will add RT @yourname before the tweet, and they may alter your message if they have to make it shorter to fit.
5. Don’t ask for a retweet often. Occasionally, you may want to get time-sensitive information out there about a promotion or sale. In this case, you might ask people to RT. However, sometimes this can come off as begging for popularity.

Your brand is constantly under a magnifying glass with each tweet. Like everything else, take the time to really focus on your message and putting your best foot forward. In the end, you may end up with quite a following.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about Social Media Optimization and SEO for travel Web sites.