Courtesy of niemanlab.org

The Boston Bombing Recapped on Social

Breaking news. When you hear this on television, it usually means something big has happened – something that affects everyone. Social media has been become the fastest, most convenient way to get news, as it is happening. From terrorist attacks, to school shootings, this was proven just days ago once again – when the bombs went off in Boston.

It was a day like any other in Boston, except there was a large marathon snaking through the streets. An Ethiopian runner, Lelisa Desisa Benti, won the race at about 12pm. A couple hours later, as crowds still milled around the Boston streets, there was an explosion. The first social media tweet was posted at 2:50, by Dan Lampariello.

About a minute later, tweets start to add up on Twitter – there’s been some kind of explosion in Boston. There were people tweeting about seeing smoke, smelling smoke – witnessing people fleeing the course. Then the emergency services arrived, and it became clear that this was no accident, or small explosion.

As the Twitter news spreads, it reaches Reuters, sports stations and other breaking news Twitter accounts. In the beginning, the social media reports stated that it was a possible transformer that exploded. No-one knew the injuries to the people at the finish line were so severe. Some 4 minutes later, photos of significantly injured people hit the net.

Courtesy of niemanlab.org

The numbers began to rise – first it was 20-30 people injured, then 50-60. News outlets all over the world began to report on this tragedy. But it wasn’t the reporters doing the reporting – it was the everyday citizen – the people that were there, using social media. This is how they worked together to get accurate news to the people, and to help those that needed it.

• A Twitter hashtag (#PrayForBoston) began to trend
• The news networks continued with regular programming, so social media took over
• People were on Facebook and Twitter chatting to each other
• Thousands of people offered help to Boston residents in need
• Google Person Finder was activated, to help residents find family and friends
• The Boston Police and Emergency Services tweeted updates

The Google Person Finder

Google Person Finder is a web-based application made by Google, that allows people to search for friends and family when a disaster has struck. It’s a great way to find lost souls amidst the chaos, when a real disaster has taken place.

If you’ve never seen it – check it out here: http://google.org/personfinder/global/home.html

While it’s closed now for use, this social media app helped reconnect families in the wake of the Boston marathon disaster. Google is offering a real service to people in need. Perhaps more services like these will arise in the future, cutting out the need to speak to emergency personnel or police services. If they do, it will help individuals recover faster, and spare them the worry of not knowing what has happened to their loved ones.

The Horrors of Twitter Vine and PTSD

Twitter Vine is the new 6 second looping video app that has become an instant hit on the social network recently. But on Monday, the world saw horrific images on Vine, as bystanders filmed injured people, dying people, explosions and graphic imagery. These social media Vines played over and over to millions of Twitter users this week.

courtesy of entertainment.time.com

The intentions were clear – The Boston bombing was meant to attract this kind of grotesque media attention, not from the media, but from the everyday man. Those that weren’t killed or injured, became historians for the fate of their fellow spectators. This is a massive concern for citizens, in more ways than one.

• Reports of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) are increasing, as people are being exposed to horrific live events. Sometimes they even become the unwilling photographer in a panic situation.

• Terrorists know that lives events are good targets, as the news stations can’t censor social media sites like Twitter. This makes all crowded live events targets for terror.

• Terror swept through America at high speed, making social media an effective platforms for spreading chaos, fear and discord among people.

• The media is prevented from leaving out certain aspects of the bombing, that may lead to arrests or could be important in their investigations. Everything becomes public knowledge which means terrorists are always informed.

These troubling trends are proving that social media – while it is an obvious blessing in times of trouble – is also a terrible tool for fear that terrorists can and will use against US citizens. There is no regulation, the public gets to see it all. I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.

The Fertilizer Plant Explosion

There has been a second disaster – the fertilizer plant explosion in Waco, Texas just yesterday. The explosion was so large it rained flames and shrapnel down on the residents of the area, some miles away. So far, 100 people have been injured, but there are no confirmed dead yet. Some reports say as many as 60 people have died.

The news outlets aren’t reporting anything about a terrorist attack – they are calling it an accident for now. Again, residents and the media have used social media to bring this tragedy to the world. According to Twitter, 200 people are injured, and 100 homes and businesses completely destroyed.

Courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Social Media and These Rising Disasters

It seems to me that social media is becoming a very complex problem for authorities and even for us as users of the technology. It’s a double edged sword. With all the benefits we get from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, we are also starting to experience the downside of instant news and widespread chaos.

It has become second nature for 16 year olds to stand photographing carnage as people all around them are dying in a horrific explosion. Terrorist messages are being received loud and clear, nearly instantly – and our authorities need to do something about it.

In the wake of the Boston marathon bombings and Texas fertilizer plant explosion, how do you think social media needs to be correctly monitored?

Courtesy of latimes.com

What’s The New Myspace Comeback?

Myspace has had a love-hate relationship with its users, and with the people that have desperately tried to revamp it. We all know how horrible Myspace became a few years ago – there was barely space for interaction after all of those ads.

Today, almost exactly one month before 2013, Myspace’s owners Justin Timberlake and Specific Media have made it clear that this Myspace comeback is not to be overlooked. It’s so good, it may be the end of the world prediction that the Mayans made!

Why Does SMMU Believe Myspace Domination is Imminent?

I’ve been thinking about this long and hard – and I have some great reasons for you.

• After a few simple images, and some basic marketing for the Myspace comeback, it’s already experiencing year-over-year growth, whereas Facebook is declining.
• There are already around 28 million users for the platform, so viral usage is going to explode out of Myspace when the new site is launched and promoted.
• Myspace for music works. It’s a genius idea that they should have capitalized on a long time ago. Plus the Myspace comeback is set to have secret aspirations to be an advanced music player – that will destroy Spotify and Pandora. Can this happen? The design is good enough for us to believe that their coders are equally as brilliant.


Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

• The original social network has taken the next logical step from Pinterest. Thought things couldn’t get any better? Wait until the Myspace comeback blows the easy functionality of other sites out of the water. We expect great, great things.
• Myspace will launch as a complete, image/video/music based sharing site that will crush Twitter. Why? Because Twitter is trying to become something more like what the Myspace comeback has now evolved into. The instagrammy, hipster, pinterest-like coolness of the platform will not go unnoticed.
• The Myspace comeback is being created to connect media lovers with media creators – for example, bands with their fans. If they can create a larger catalog of music than Pandora or Spotify (and they can) then they have a fantastic shot of surpassing them.


Courtesy of blog.invisiblechildren.com

• Rumor has it that Myspace plans to launch a $10 million dollar advertising campaign to attract new social users to the site. With $10 million dollars and a lot of influence in the media biz, they’re sure to hit on some viral successes.
• Finally, the unbelievable design of the new Myspace comeback makes me want to sign on, and I truly hated the Myspace of a few years ago.

At the end of the day, Myspace is delivering something NEW. They have a new business plan, a new design and unlimited growth potential. I’d conservatively say that Myspace will be back in the top 5 soon enough. They have some way to go, but everyone loves an underdog. So far, they’re winning!

Did you like today’s post on the Myspace comeback? Then please share it!

What do you think of the new Myspace? Will it sink or swim?

Courtesy of brightpinkstudio.com

#1: Your Competitor Brand Files

I once knew a marketer who took screenshots of his top 10 competitor blogs at the beginning of every year. At the end of each year, he would break out the social media rebranding files and review them. Then – he would outdo them.

#2: Core Message Updates

If your business has drifted into new markets or changed direction, your branding could be off. Social media rebranding is about expressing your core message. If yours isn’t on point, it’s time for a design shift.

#3: Social Media Rebranding Assets

At the end of every year, review your online assets. Assets can include URL’s, account names, domain ownership, images, videos and total worth. If you’re missing some – get them. For example – no Pinterest account? Secure yours right now.

#4: Twitter Page Refresh

Social media rebranding applies to your Twitter page as well – so review it. Then compare it with other pages in your niche. Any trends, useful design tricks or graphics that you like? At the end of this year, your brand needs a shiny new Twitter background.

Courtesy of systemonkey.com

#5: Facebook Page Refresh

Facebook pages should be refreshed every 3 months, so if you haven’t done any social media rebranding there for a while, do it. A new profile pic and cover page can go a long way for your brand. It says – ‘we’re always moving forward.’

#6: Youtube Video Social Media Rebranding

Youtube is changing, so gear up for the change by freshening up your Youtube brand page. Count how many views you’ve received and chart out goals for January. Then start fresh with a funky new look and feel that will attract attention and more subscribers.

#7: LinkedIn Copy Refresh

LinkedIn isn’t about images, it’s about copy. Redo yours! Research better keywords and create new, interesting and punchy copy for your profile. Social media rebranding is more than design, it’s about strategy as well.

#8: Inexpensive Graphics Packages

If you’re trying to keep costs low, great news! November-December is a great time to cash-in on social media rebranding specials from tech and design companies. Template sites offer a lot of great image packages that you can use to revamp your look.

Courtesy of smashingmagazine.com

#9: Newsletter Recharge

Your newsletter is the one social media rebranding tool that you can’t skimp on this year. Find new templates to use or get one designed for your company – your subscribers will love the way you’re always looking to add value to their experience.

#10: Website Rebrand

Websites can be pricey to rebrand every year, so look at updating it instead. Social media rebranding includes your website and blog! Add new plugins, update your social media plugins, add an app or just redo your header.

Social media rebranding lets your customers know that you’re always on the cusp of the latest design and tech trends. That’s good for business!

Did you like this blog post on social media rebranding? Then please share it with your friends!

Which platform do you think is the most important to rebrand?

Courtesy of blog.intrapromote.com

Navigating and Using Facebook Insights

It can be daunting for any small business to review their own analytics data. It’s nice to see that people are responding to your page – but what do you do with this information? More to the point – how do you use this information to get even more response from your fans?

Total Likes

The total amount of likes on your page is an important metric. The higher the number – the more chances you have of reaching people.

Tip! Part of your analytics strategy should be to increase your total likes!

Friends of Fans

The ‘friends of fans’ metric tells you how many people you could reach through your total likes. In other words, these are the friends of your fans who may see your posts.

Tip! You’ll want to improve your friends of fans metric to extend your reach!

People Talking About This

Your ‘people talking about this’ metric just lets you know when people are engaging with your brand. It could be anything, from liking, to commenting, sharing or checking-in. It’s a decent metric to know about, as it improves your Edgerank score between certain people.

Weekly Total Reach

Weekly total reach is really a good metric to know about. That’s because it tells you how many people have actually SEEN your content. Yes, they could have scrolled past it, or not looked at it directly – but it was there – which means they could have been exposed to your message.

Tip! It’s a great idea to try and extend your reach in any way that you can.

Total Subscribes

This metric simply tells you how many outside parties are subscribing to your page.

Courtesy of emersonecom.wordpress.com

People Saw This Post

A number will appear detailing how many people ‘saw’ your post – again it is simply telling you how many people could have seen it. It’s a start – if you increase this number only good things can happen in your business.

Overview Page

Okay, so how do you actually take all of this information and make it useful? Take a look inside your overview section. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see a list of your posts and how popular each one was. Organize these into hierarchies.

If you don’t yet – have at least 5 ‘easy to identify’ post types that you can test. Find out which ones test the best, and try to repeat that formula. Give your Facebook fans what they want!

Likes Page

Use your likes page to check on your demographics. What is the age of your fans? Who of these are men, or women? Who is interacting more? How can you get them to respond more often? How can you get more response out of the age groups that aren’t responding?

Answer these questions and test some gender, age and location based posts.

Reach

Check on how many page views you get in the ‘reach’ section. See which days you got the increase in page views. Come up with a strategy to increase your page views. Test different things and track the progress using certain days as markers.

Use these tips to put together a mini analytics strategy to steadily improve your fan count, reach and popularity on Facebook!

Which Facebook metric do you think is the most important of all? I’d like to hear your opinion!

Courtesy of lifeinsurancefinder.com.ai

Social Media After You Die

It’s sad, but even after you die, your social media presence lives on. People invest so much time and effort into their social profiles these days, they’re like a living reminder of the person who passed. But social media is fast becoming an excellent outlet for people that have lost someone and are grieving.

A Facebook group dedicated to the deceased, along with how they died – makes for a great place to spread the word about their death, and to keep people updated on funeral details. I have a few people in my life that have passed, and there is one Facebook group in particular, where people still post their condolences, kind words and pictures after 3 years.

So there’s no doubt in my mind that social media has evolved into a vital part of the grieving process for friends and family.

Courtesy of thebuzzbuilders.tumblr.com

What Happens To Your Accounts Once You’re Gone?

Facebook: When someone passes on Facebook, you can send a note to the Facebook admin to take down their page, or to keep it in a ‘memorial’ state. Because Facebook is like a public diary, many family members don’t want it to be deleted.

Twitter: You can contact the Twitter admin and request that they take down the user account that won’t be used anymore. If you don’t want to close your loved one’s Twitter page, there are other options I’ll let you in on below.

Flickr: Unfortunately, for the friends and family of Flickr users, they won’t release any private photos from their site, if a user passes. The account will remain live and in public for the most part.

Isn’t There a Better Way of Handling This?

The answer is yes. Savvy business people have seen that there is a growing need to safely leave someone your digital information (passwords and logins) after you’ve died. There are several great sites out there today that you can use to ensure that your social profile is handed over to a friend or family member.

Courtesy of crunchbase.com

One of these sites, Legacy Locker, allows you to protect these online assets of yours for a small fee. If you only want to give someone 3 accounts, then it’s free. You can also check out Entrustet, My Webwill and Assetlock.

If you want to leave your friends and family members a final message from beyond the grave, then you can sign up to ‘Greatgoodbye’ a service that will send one final email to everyone on your list, after your death. Details of your account should go to a trusted source.

These are just some of the ways people are dealing with death on social platforms. Have you heard of any others? Tell me about them here!

#1: Reach your Audience

Engagement is all about connecting with your specific audience. If data tells you that most of your audience has children, then refer to that fact often to appeal to them emotionally.

#2: Leave Out The Boring Bits

A good writer leaves out the boring parts for a reason – no-one wants to read them. Only write about the exciting, the best, and the most inspirational to get your audience hooked.

#3: Have a Unique Voice

People don’t connect with bots, or bland personalities. They connect with real, dynamic people who share their concerns and problems.

#4: The Time Factor

Write for your audience as if they’re late for a meeting and only want to hear the crucial, entertaining, funny bits of the post. They scan your articles most often.

#5: Write What You Love Reading About

Passion comes across in writing, and yours needs to be in the right place. Share your passion with your community to wholly connect with them.

#6: The Headline Battle

In my experience 70% of the struggle is the headline. If you can create an excellent headline, you’re nearly there. So make yours
attract readers.

#7: Be Descriptive

Use descriptive terms, and describe things in easy and interesting ways so that people can understand them better. Leave out all of the ‘old hat’ clichés.

#8: Use The Right Tone

Tone can either draw in a reader, or keep them at arm’s length. Examine how you use tone, and work on it. Then lure them in with some quality tone!

#9: Be Real

It’s good to be your brand, but it’s also equally as important to be yourself. People want to know who you are, and why they should read you.

#10: Tell Stories

Perhaps the greatest of these social engagement steps is – tell stories. Relevance always helps people connect, so when you tell a relevant story involving a lesson that your reader needs to learn, they love it. These stories can be found everywhere, on the most successful blogs and social sites.

Add in a little anecdote mid blog-post to enhance your point, or use a story to outline why your reader is better off doing something completely different. Whatever you decide to do, always use stories to do it. That’s the mark of an emotive, logical writer.

Finally, and something of a bonus step – be transparent. People can spot fakery a mile away, and they don’t appreciate it. Be sincere, honest and friendly, and it will shine through in your writing!

Do you have a method of touching people’s hearts and minds with copy? How do you engage them? Let me know, here.

[Troll] – Defined, a troll is someone who deliberately posts a provocative or offensive message in a group, forum, comment section or on a message board – with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

How To Spot a Troll

It can be tough trying to identify a troll, especially when you could be horribly wrong and end up offending one of your long term readers, who has disagreed with you about something. Here’s how I spot trolls on our social media pages.

• They come out of no-where, i.e. they’ve never commented rationally before
• Sweeping statements that would outrage many people
• A complete disregard for the topic, attempts to derail rational conversation
• Absolutely no sense of humor, like they’re born combatant
• There is no or little personal information about them, i.e. no image or real name
• They use attention-seeking tricks, like making blatant claims, and huge lies
• Often poor grammar, as they could be children
• Sometimes seem plausible, but don’t stop causing arguments or trouble

Courtesy of pointsincase.com

How To Deal With These Foul Trolls

In my experience the absolute WORST thing you can do is respond to them, or fuel their argument. Trolls exist because they get a kick out of causing trouble and getting lots and lots of attention out of it. If I see an obvious troll on my blog, I delete their posts. They like nothing more than to enrage our community and cause trouble.

Step 1 is to remove their social posts if you can. If you can’t, then don’t respond to them at all. If you find other people are suddenly responding to their posts, kindly ask them not to in either private messaging or directly on the post. Try not to call them a ‘troll’ but if it comes down to it, at least your community will understand why you’re not talking to them.

Courtesy of programming4.us

Finally, if the conversation continues, accept the idea that the troll could be controlling both sides of the conversation. It’s not hard to do, and it’s a tactic I’ve seen done many times to draw other people into the conversation. Report them and ignore it. Hide, delete, remove or bury the message.

If you must, and I mean absolutely MUST respond, because they’ve insulted your fans or done something equally as awful – keep emotion out of it. A standard – please stop posting here, your IP has been reported’ will be fine.

I once had a troll that would not go away. Eventually I traced him back to his own blog! Trolls you see, love to cause trouble anonymously. If you know who they are, they will back off, as mine did when I emailed him on his blog!

Have you ever had a troll bother you on your social pages? What did they say and how did you deal with it? I’d like to know!

No surprises here – in my opinion, Facebook is still the most lucrative and savvy way to socially promote your business online. Add that fact to their recent 1 billion user tally, and their almost OCD-like need to update and evolve, and you have a pretty stable investment launching a decent Facebook business page.

#2: Pinterest Power

Pinterest is my number 2, because it’s the most recent and most revolutionary trend in media-based sharing online. The traffic (and growing sales) doesn’t lie.

#3: Youtube or Bust

Coming in third we have ever popular Youtube. Why? Because monetizing viral video has matured to the point where you can become a millionaire, if you have a hit video here. Say what you like about Google, but Youtube has an incredible ad platform.

Courtesy of realestategab.com

#4: LinkedIn Matters

LinkedIn has made some impressive changes of late, and more are to come. For the small business, it can be a powerful networking tool.

#5: What Did You Tweet?

Twitter comes in at a sulky number 5. It’s not that it’s a lesser social platform, but it terms of financial and traffic conversion – it just not as useful to a small business. That said, it should still be part of your social strategy.

#6: The Return of MySpace

I’m so excited about this revamp, I almost put MySpace at number 1. It has a lot of proving itself to do, but it’s already making a comeback. Ebiz recently reported it as the 4th most popular social networking site, ahead of Google+. If you’re in the media, use it.

#7: Google+ Traffic

If you have an e-commerce site, then Google+ is a must-have purely for its new business functions and SEO potential. Otherwise it’s horrible as a social network.

#8: Hello Yelp

Yelp, if you don’t know, is the huge online review directory for all things product or business based. It adds a lot of weight to SEO practices and social proof, which is why it comes in at eight.

#9: Digg a Little Deeper

Digg splashes onto our list at number 9, for being the most used (and most fun) social bookmarking site. If you’re not sharing here, get to it.

Courtesy of pikomal.com

#10: DeviantArt Anyone?

DeviantArt is a social networking site for all of the creatives online. It has serious merit for small businesses as you can find all sorts of great branding stuff here, not to mention superb artistry.

There you have it! Our top 10 list of social media sites according to how valuable they are to small businesses.

Do you agree with this list, or are there some placements you would change? Tell us where and why!

#1: Engage With Them on Twitter

Say hello, and contribute to their set conversation. Comment repeatedly for a week or two and really make friends with them. THEN ask to guest post for them.

#2: Direct Post Contribution

Instead of asking to contribute a post, just send the whole darn thing. If they’re interested, they’ll read the post and accept it. Make sure it’s not published anywhere else!

#3: Become a Big Facebook Fan

Bloggers track their fans interactions, so when you start sharing and caring about their brand – they notice you. Impress them with your ability to give, and they will hear you out.

#4: Join Their LinkedIn Group

If you can join their LinkedIn group – great! Spend some time answering expert queries and making a name for yourself there. Strike up a friendship with their group members first.

#5: Include a Link From Their Blog on Yours

Bloggers track their links like crazy. If you embed a link from one of their posts on yours, they’ll usually follow this to find out where it came from. Do this a few times.

#6: Get Your Name Out There

If you don’t have a blog of your own, then become a ‘bloggers best friend’ by being a voracious commenter. Always have something great to say on their blog pages.

#7: Participate in Live Conversations

If your blogger is hosting a real time Twitter Q&A, or perhaps a live webinar, or Google Hangouts sessions, get in on it. Meet them in real time and leave an impression.

#8: Become Friends With Their Friends

If you can’t get hold of a particular blogger, become friends with people they are friends with. Then try to secure a proper introduction through these channels.

#9: Give Them Lovely Compliments

Don’t be insincere, but read up about what they’ve done and compliment them on something. I once connected with a blogger by leaving a compliment on his amazon.com book page.

#10: Throw Money at Them

If you’ve tried all of these methods, and they’ve still chosen to ignore you – then throw money at them. You can do this by buying their books, ebooks or hiring them to do some paid work for you. At the very least it will get you that introduction. Then you can strike up a working relationship. Most of the time, this won’t happen though.

Bloggers are naturally social online, so they will respond to these prompts. Just remember that you need to give them a reason to respond. How do they know you? Who are you? A good response is, ‘oh yes, he’s that guy that always shares my Facebook posts.’

Can you think of another creative way to connect with a top blogger? I’d love to hear about it here!

The Costco Policy

The statement in question published and made ‘the rules’ by Costco stated:

“Be aware that statements posted electronically (such as to online message boards or discussion groups) that damage the company, defame any individual or damage any person’s reputation or violate the policies outlined in the Costco Employee Agreement, may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination of employment.”

What’s wrong with this? It’s too BROAD. Strip away the general legal language and you have a multinational corporation, publicly proclaiming that they can fire anyone for anything an employee posts or comments online.

If they don’t like it – you’re fired. That was the real issue that the NLRB had with Costco’s policy. We’re running into some basic social media policy mistakes here. First of all, why did Costco create such a ridiculous policy that infringed on the legal rights of its employees?

Because like so many other companies – social media policy isn’t seen to be THAT important. Just get Margaret in accounting to mock up some random nonsense that she found online, let’s not get the legal team involved.

Social Media Policy Is Law

A policy by definition is an important document. It comes with its own set of rules that can legally be enforced by the imposing company. Costco’s first mistake was thinking that such outlandish, broad and frankly – insulting – statements could be made on an official policy document for the corporation.

The ruling that this and other clauses in Costco’s social media policy, has many other companies taking a hard look at their own ‘cobbled together’ policies. EchoStar was similarly penalized after the Costco ruling became precedent.

It would be unwise to think that other brands will get away with general statements in their social media policies. That means you, other brand!

Flipping Through Your Social Media Policy: The Fixes

So, what did we learn today thanks to our friends over at EchoStar and Costco?

• Your social media policy needs to be specific – very specific. The courts say you can’t make sweeping statements about damaging a company’s reputation online. I assume this goes for individuals as well.
• Social media has grown to be a marketing tool. While many brands are still getting used to the idea that social media exists, we know that it’s the MOST EFFECTIVE form of marketing, and will be for the next 20 years.
• You can’t restrict the free speech of an employee, threatening to fire them if they say the wrong thing in a tweet or blog comment. What you should be doing is outlining what they can say, so that they use social media in your favor.
• You need to have a strong, legally binding, well thought out social media policy. The law is already involved. To cover yourself, and your employees – make yours count. They’ll be using Facebook with or without your permission.
• You can’t fire an employee for saying something genuinely outrageous online about your company, if it’s not outlined in your social media policy. The really nasty employees that deserve to be fired will get away with murder, and it will be your own fault!

The moral of the story is – have a good social media policy. Respect your employees, and the gigantic mouthpieces they can be when set lose online!

Do you agree with the court’s ruling? Give us your opinion on the Costco policy debacle!