2Dec/090

The dark side of social media and celebrity status: Tiger Woods story

Traditionally I try not to be in too much with celebrity news because most of the time it's really none of my business. The latest saga about Tiger Woods and how it's been spreading through social media has definitely caught my eye, but I think there's a lesson to be told other than the story that most people are placing their focus.

The truth is social media and even your celebrity status makes you transparent. It's a sad situation but true. Everything is under the microscope or under scrutiny. There isn't much you can do to hide from the waves of followers, fans or friends, and there is a "paper trail" wherever you go. If someone wants information it will be found eventually if they know how to look for it.

The dark side of social media and a celebrity status is that the simple human pleasure of privacy is lost forever if you don't grip it. Tiger has done his best to keep the story from leaking, but when you are a celebrity and couple that with the world of social media there are some who are going to bypass your attempts at some sort of privacy.

I am not going to support anything that may have happened in Tiger Woods' life, and at the same time I'm not really that interested. I do know that at some point there must be a line drawn between traditional media, social media and celebrity and know that a line should not be crossed. I think in the privacy of one's home, phone records, email or any non-public affairs unless it's breaking the law should stay completely their own business.

Some people say you can't be a public figure and have privacy. If you were a public figure wouldn't you want to have one of the most simple pleasures of having some business or some part of you to be your own?

Filed under: Social Media No Comments

8Oct/090

Xbox Live to integrate with Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm

For months now on xbox.com there have been announcements and previews that Xbox Live was going to expand into social media. There are several features that are being included for each social network that is being integrated. It will possibly usher in a new era of social media and television, and it will be another step in how gaming and social media's inevitable marriage will one day take place.

Facebook Features:

Browse friends and status updates
Post your own status updates
Browse photos from your television
Browse friends who have Xbox Live Gamertags
Save, upload and share your favorite gaming moments to your Facebook account
Fantastic user interface

Twitter Features:

Reading tweets from those you follow
Posting tweet updates
Fantastic user interface

Last.fm Features:

Turn your Xbox 360 and television into a streaming radio station
Listen to and create new stations
Skip tracks
Add favorites
Fantastic user interface

You do not get the ability to listen to Last.fm in the background while you play, but it gives you another avenue to listen to music and turn your Xbox into a media center while you have company over.

Filed under: Social Media, Social Networking No Comments

23Sep/093

HOW TO: Measure ROI using social media for your business

A recent study indicates that 84% of social media programs don't measure ROI. That may spell doom and gloom for businesses that are considering the use of these programs, or it may discourage those that are already using these social medial communities for business and branding. I believe nearly every business can find a way to fit the social media paradigm. It may be difficult for some to find their niche, but I believe there is one for all businesses and individuals. You just need to know where to look.

It's easy to jump into social media marketing. In my opinion it may be too easy. For me it's getting much easier to locate a business or brand in a community and decipher whether or not they have a plan behind their presence. It's not to say that the plan is good or bad, but even a bad strategy is better than no strategy in most cases. At least then you're putting some forethought behind what you're doing.

What are ways to measure ROI from social media?

First determine how or what you want to measure (conversion forms, traffic, referrals)
Google Analytics is a great tool to track not only traffic but other metrics of interest
Include Analytics code in URLs you links to help track what program or campaign referred the traffic along with what they did next
In online conversion forms include a field such as "How did you hear about us?"
Measure, adjust and repeat.

Filed under: Business, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking 3 Comments

19Sep/090

I took the plunge into social media games

A friend of mine that I play with from time to time on Xbox Live talked me into giving Farmville on Facebook a try. So far I have been somewhat pleasantly surprised, but at the same time I've gotten what I expected.

The game and it's premise is simple. Your goal is build and maintain an amazing farm. Everything can be done through one or two click steps. It's all laid out for you. Then it's time for your imagination to take over.

So far I haven't done much, but the game has been enjoyable. It seems you have to really base it on your schedule. Don't plant or do anything that you won't be able to take care of when it's ready to harvest, or it will wither and die.

It is also a game you can spend five to ten minutes playing and still feel like you accomplished at least a little something. If you need something to pass the time I recommend you give it a try.

Filed under: Social Media No Comments

18Sep/090

If our children only knew…

I had a crazy thought this morning while doing my daily perusing of the social media atmosphere for topics to blog about or that I need to know for work. In a way, my generation is developing a generation of "little-known child stars". I know that you're probably wondering what in the world I mean, but I think I can explain well enough.

My wife and I have two beautiful children. A son who is three and a daughter who is coming up on six months. Pictures of their whole lives and random blog and Facebook posts have pretty much replaced the old-fashioned baby book, but at the same time it has created a web of publicity for our children. While they're nowhere compared to someone like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, all of our children are still little "stars" in our social networks.

In some ways we know each others' kids better than our aunts and uncles possibly knew us because our whole lives were not out there for the world to see. I know we have capabilities of setting items to private but most of us rarely do this. I don't think it's an entirely bad thing to post this stuff for all to see as long as you take proper measures of protecting them:

Don't give up your address publicly;
I recommend not giving up your phone number publicly either;
No questionable photos;
Be a good parent and protect your children.

So I am really interested to see what the future will bring with the next generation. What social media tools and sites will be available when my son starts reaching high school? Will this generation be struck with crippling narcissism because their whole lives have been out there for others to see? This generation has already experienced narcissism because people have become instant stars thanks to sites like YouTube. I guess only time and guidance will tell.

Filed under: Family and Life, Parenthood, Social Media No Comments

16Sep/090

HOW TO: Find your forgotten Facebook vanity URL

A recent comment inspired me into writing about the Facebook vanity URL. There was no doubt that when Facebook announced this many users were ecstatic to create an easy to remember URL that people could find them versus the old way with a bunch of characters in a query string. A recent friend made a comment on "What you need to know about Facebook @Mentions", and made me realize that many people may have this problem especially if they let Facebook create the URL for them.

First, I would like to say that I do find that Facebook really doesn't make it abundantly clear when you visit other user profiles and even your own what your vanity URL really is. This can make it difficult to remember all things considered.

Steps to find your forgotten Facebook URL:

Log into Facebook.
In the top menu find your name.
Click on your name and in your address bar you may see something similar to http://www.facebook.com/bcoppernoll?ref=name.
Remove the ?ref=name and that is your URL in its purest form. (e.g. http://www.facebook.com/bcoppernoll)

Click to view example of vanity URL.

Unless you use this URL regularly you may have a hard time remembering this. I think this URL if used correctly can definitely be useful for family, friends and colleagues to find you. Here are things I do to help remember the URLs to all my social networks:

Place all links in my resume. Beware only do this if you want employers to look up your social media presence.
Place all links in my social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
Talk about your social media presence and let yourself be known! If you talk about it you will remember.

This is how I found the vanity URL, but if someone has found it by other means please share because I think everyone can benefit.

Filed under: Social Media No Comments

15Sep/094

What you need to know about Facebook's @Mentions

It's been out a few days, and I think that my friends would really like to see how Facebook's @Mentions Status Tags are used. I haven't seen too many take advantage of this new feature yet so I thought I would try to help them use it.

It’s very similar functionality to @replies on Twitter, and most folks will be pretty familiar with how it works and why you’d want to use it. Still, there are some differences to note, and some may appreciate a basic walkthough of how the new feature works.

So in short, here is a step by step on how to use this feature:

Begin typing your message or status on Facebook.
When you want to "tag" a friend, company, brand, artist or virtually anything start with the "@" symbol.
A drop down will appear with suggestions based on what you type next. For instance starting with "@Bran" should suggest my name if I'm on your friend's list.
You can select from the list or continue typing.
When you're complete the "@" symbol will disappear once you've successfully created a tag, and that tag will become a link in your status.

At this time this feature is only available in status updates but not comments. Facebook has received several suggestions about making this feature available elsewhere. So give this new feature a shot. I bet you'll like it. I really do because it can direct me to new people and companies with one click by reading your status. I don't have to hunt down who you're really talking to.

Other Source: HOW TO: Use Facebook's @Mentions Status Tagging

HOW TO: Use Facebook’s @Mentions Status Tagging

Filed under: Social Media, Social Networking 4 Comments

14Sep/090

Case Study: Jay-Crew Landscape, Inc. Promotes Green for Green Sweepstakes

Jay-Crew Landscape, Inc. of Muncie, IN is running a promotion until the end of September open to all residents of Indiana within 60 miles of the city. The Green for Green Sweepstakes winner will receive $1,000.00 in Jay-Crew services toward a landscape upgrade!

A local client at Fusework Studios has a monthly contract in which we perform updates to their site, and the Account Manager Derek McClain has done a phenomenal job at thinking strategically on things to improve the site's exposure in the grand scheme of things as well as promote Jay-Crew Landscape as the premiere local landscape company.

This month we wanted to bring awareness as the busy season closes for Jay-Crew. To help promote Fusework Studios is enlisting the assistance of several Fusework employees as well as social media outlets.

Fusework Studios announces the sweepstakes on Facebook page;
Fusework Studios employees share the news on Twitter and Facebook;
Jay-Crew Landscape utilizes email marketing to its existing customers to spread the news;
Jay-Crew landscape announces the sweepstakes on Facebook page;
Fusework Studios employees are blogging about it too.

This combined effort has one goal in mind which is to drive targeted individuals to Jay-Crew's site to have them register for an opportunity to win a $1,000 landscape upgrade. What does Jay-Crew get out of it?

New contacts for potential new business;
Jay-Crew asks why people feel they need these services which gives them inside information on how they can help them;
Customer interaction on a digital media level.

I'll be sure to keep you posted as this comes to a close to give you some interesting statistics in our efforts. I am excited to see how social media advertising can help this local landscape company.

Filed under: Business, Internet Marketing, Social Media No Comments

14Sep/090

First weekend of NFL football almost over…Social media is buzzing

Tonight will be the close of Week One in the NFL. Being a fan I couldn't be more excited to be able to experience football Saturday through Monday between college and professional levels. I think the interesting thing is that despite the NFL's attempt to limit tweeting and other social media interaction by players the general fan-base is still buzzing about some of the big plays over the weekend.

One of the more popular plays is Brandon Stokely's last-second touchdown catch and run. The Twitter community is still tweeting about it today.

On Thursday night I was a part of a Twitter and Facebook conversation about Troy Polamalu's amazing one-handed interception against the Titans.

It'll be interesting as the season goes on how things will progress between professional sports and social media. Will the NFL open their policies a little to embrace this opportunity. This can be a great touch point for the NFL and their fans. I'd love to see them interact with their fans on the social media level in real-time on Sundays. I think it could take the NFL to the next level if there is one for them to reach.

Filed under: Social Media No Comments

9Sep/092

Simple tip on an effective blog post

I sometimes find myself falling into the trap when devising a perfect blog post that will be an instant success and win me a lot of search of over-thinking what I'm actually writing. A real simple tip: Don't write your post thinking it's the next big thing.

We don't write in our blog and make updates in social media not wanting people to read and keep up with our thoughts and actions during the course of the day. I know I find myself wanting to contribute to the field of internet marketing and social media in a positive light by bringing new updates and thoughts on how to be successful. The problem is I have to remind myself to not go into a post thinking about how I could have a really positive effect on my blog through search and other means. My primary objective needs to remain about the message I'm delivering.

Here it goes: keep your post simple. Deliver your message with authority for your target audience. A well-rounded post with a clear message will result in what you really want which is conversion. In many bloggers' cases, it's all about exposure and interaction with their readers. How do you keep your mind on the message and not get caught up in thinking your post is the next big thing.

Filed under: Blogging, Internet Marketing, Social Media 2 Comments

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