Keeping Up With The Internet!

Courtesy: http://www.socialannex.com

In 2016, social media = revenue. A simple tweet or Facebook post can push customers to buy your product instantly, learn more about it for a future purchase, or simply know you exist! However, you MUST have a great landing page to make any of that social media marketing even work! As author David Meerman Scott says in his book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR," “if you want to be found on the web, you need a unique identity for yourself, your product and your company to stand out from the crowd and rise to prominence on search engines” (Scott, 2015, pg. 401). That’s right, you read that right, search engines. So, besides earning dollars through effective social media and a great landing page, you must have the right keywords that get you noticed on search engines and get people to those websites and to your great Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube videos.

The company I work for is in the top 5 when you type in a host of keywords in Google.com.  Granted, it is a specific category, but still, it comes up on the first page. That’s what you want. To be found right away.

10 steps to help you get noticed from Idealware – a group that helps nonprofits make smart softwaredecisions:

1. Ensure Your Site Has High-Quality Information

2. Help Search Engines Find Your Site

3. Encourage Others to Link to You

4. Identify the Keywords For Which You'd Like to Be Found

5. Place Keywords in Prime Locations

6. Ensure a Search-Friendly Web Site Architecture

7. Keep Your Site Fresh

8. Consider Google Grants

9. Be Patient, but Keep Checking In

10. Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor

Now that you have search engines figured out, make sure you keep records and track your progress. My company tracks each month our social media progress specifically and how many people viewed our website from an app or from a desktop. I know our company uses a tool called Social News Desk to help track the website and social media. Other tools our Social Media Manger uses, I am unsure. I do know that it is effective and can be correlated right back to dollars and cents. The more people who tune in, the more who are seeing advertisements. Example, besides seeing the numbers of likes on Facebook and Twitter followers increase, at my company data shows around 4 million people view the website on a desktop each month (average). Companies need to know those numbers, so they can better cater to who is stopping by! 

Options for tracking and search engine advertising:

1. Google AdWords

2. Bing Ads

3. Yahoo! Search Marketing

4. Google Analytics

5. LikeAlyzer

6. Simply Measured

So, find the best keywords and track your presence online to get noticed!

References:

Quinn, L. S. (2008, March). 10 Steps to Being Found on Search Engines. Retrieved March 02, 2016, from http://www.idealware.org/articles/found_on_search_engines.php

Scott, D. M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Social Media and Your Workplace

In this week’s readings, we learn that organizations and individuals must strike a delicate balance between setting overly restrictive—even ultimately illegal—social media policies, and leaving themselves open to numerous dangers in the social media world. Dangers include loss of proprietary or personal information, damage to reputation by disgruntled individuals, and criminal predators.

Perhaps the single best way to handle social media policy is to allow it to reflect a broader overall conduct policy. Scott (2015) says in his book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR,” “Work with your managers and your organization’s legal team (and perhaps the human resources department as well) to create guidelines that you can operate under. Your company’s guidelines should include advice about how to communicate in any medium, including face-to-face conversations, presentations at events, email, social media, online forums and chat rooms, and other forms of communication” (pg. 413).

In human terms, if you wouldn’t say it to your CEO in person, don’t post it on Facebook. If you wouldn’t leave your purse full of cash in an unlocked car with the windows open, don’t leave a trail of personal information that can be compiled and used to steal your identity online. Setting broad policies that deal with conduct overall also helps avoid potential legal battles in terms of workers’ rights to free speech—as well discussed in the 2012 National Law Review pieces we read this week.

 

The ways in which we can think about navigating social media so that we protect individuals and organizations are well illustrated in Tracy Mitrano’s (2006) example about sending her child off to camp with the advice to “maintain personal safety; explore all the opportunities the camp had to offer; and remember the golden rule—treat others how you want to be treated.” She then offered this: “The essence of this message is as relevant to students using Facebook, other social networking technologies, and the Internet as it is for my boy attending summer camp. Might not the same three principles serve national law and policy on communications technologies as well? Criminals will always appropriate technology for their misbegotten purposes. That pattern, as old as civilization itself, is no reason to quash innovation. Why deprive law-abiding people of socially advantageous uses of technology? Law enforcement must get smarter, on a continuing basis, about investigating the criminal uses of technology, but no new legislation may even be needed” (Mitrano, 2006).

As a news reporter/anchor, I (Allison) have to watch what I write on social media, how I write it, and always maintain a level of privacy. It’s difficult, at times, to strike a balance of being open with people, but also remembering to think about safety and how my words could influence others. I want to be open and free with all thoughts, but at the same time I know I am a “public figure.” I always stay appropriate, polite, and never negative, plus I stay me and who I am when I am on social media!

Also, my company expects more from us and has rules in place if we do not follow “camp” guidelines. My company only wants us to represent ourselves and the company in a positive light. Almost every company I have worked for has a social media policy. Broad and vague at times. All have one goal: to make sure we are being appropriate.

Not all employees agree with social media guidelines. Though we do have our free time and our right to free speech (and non-work sanctioned accounts), do we still have to think about our employer in our off time? More importantly, our security and safety?

In a recent Rolling Stone article, 6 HSBC employees this past summer were fired for posting on Instagram a mock ISIS beheading. Interestingly, those fired pointed out, “In their defense, the video was reportedly made during a work-sponsored team-building exercise” (Halper, 2015).  This is probably something, obviously, the company didn’t look upon to fondly.

There is also the prison guard in Maryland who posted this on his social mediaaccounts and tagged his boss and the place he works, “Visiting the prisons... haven't been groped this much since the flight on the honeymoon... and this is just the guards” (Halper, 2015). His boss told him to remove the post and he was fired.

While frowned upon on many levels, do you think, on your personal accounts, you need to think about your employer? Were these people appropriate in their posts? Should companies be able to take action?

I wonder what rules HSBC and the prison’s rules were as it pertains to social media?

Does your company have any social media policies? If so, what are they and how do you think they aim to keep the company safe and their employees safe?

References

Halper, K. (2015, July 13). A Brief History of People Getting Fired for Social Media Stupidity. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/a-brief-history-of-people-getting-fired-for-social-media-stupidity-20150713

Mitrano, N. (1 January 2006). A wider world: youth, privacy, and social networking technologies. Educause Review. Retrieved from: http://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/a-wider-world-youth-privacy-and-social-networking-technologies

Scott, D. M. (2015). The new rules of marketing and PR. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Super Bowl Ads That Showed Up To The Cocktail Party

I just can’t get past the singing babies during Super Bowl 50. In my opinion, it was so smart! I could care less what the NFL was trying to “sell me!” Here’s the commercial:

And, of course, I had to share the long 3:07 version:

In analyzing the commercials and really looking at who truly stepped out of their comfort zone and didn’t just preach about their product, I feel the Pantene #DadDo took the cake.

Author David Meerman Scott equated social media to a cocktail party. You don’t interrupt people at a cocktail party to talk up products by using “coercion techniques to make a sale” (Scott, pg. 58). Instead you join the party (pg. 58). That is exactly what the above commercials did this year during Super Bowl 50.

One thing I noticed this year, is besides Pantene, most commercials didn’t use social media in their advertisements, expect maybe for a short hashtag, like at the end of USA Today’s first place winner, “Hyundai’s First Date" (Woodyard, 2016). You only saw a brief hashtag at the end: #HyundaiSuperBowl.

What really seemed to stand out this year was exactly what USA Today said, “Make ‘em laugh” (Woodyard, 2016).

The commercials sure mentioned their products, but in such a subtle way. You knew the Hyundai commercial was about a car, but you almost forgot about it because it was so funny and you started thinking about first dates. Pantene never even mentioned their product, only with small hints. Oh, and the Super Bowl Babies ad, I think it was about the NFL?!

What these three advertisements did is GET PEOPLE TALKING! Exactly what companies should be doing! Author Dave Kerpen of “Likeable Media” says marketing can’t be solely about the brand anymore, he said, “more than anything, you have to get your customers talking, or you have to get involved in their already ongoing conversation” (Kerpen, pg.46-47).

Hyundai did an excellent job of taking the story off-air. If you look at their Twitter account, @Hyundai, they have turned the advertisement in to gifs and memes and they respond to most customers with funny sayings and hashtags. A great example of “continuing the conversation” with one funny ad.

To me, one company who really stood out was Jeep. As AdWeek reported this week, they took home the Super Clio prize for best ad during the Super Bowl. As AdWeek puts it, “’Portraits’ features the faces, both famous and obscure, of folks with various connections to the brand” (Gianatasio, 2016). The take away from that sentence was "CONNECTIONS TO THE BRAND!" They got it! They connected and then engaged. 

This commercial wasn’t about Jeep, but the people in a Jeep. The end of the ad says, “We don’t make Jeep, You do.” You almost forget this is a car commercial. They didn’t push the great reasons for a Jeep or the features; instead they hit the consumer emotionally.  The conversation definitely spilled over on to social media. As of this post, the video @Jeep on Twitter has more than 8,000 likes. It is simple, and yet, people responded. This shows that a great saying and clever advertisement, not pushing the product, can get results. I'd love to see how sales do the rest of this month. Companies need to remember what Author David Meerman Scott highlights in this book, enjoy the cocktail party.

References:

Gianatasio, D. (2016, February 8). Jeep's 'Portraits' Wins Super Clio for Best Ad of the Big Game.  Retrieved February 10, 2016, from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/jeeps-portrtaits-wins-super-clio-best-ad-big-game-169537

Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Scott, D.M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Woodyard, C. (2016, February 08). Hyundai's 'First Date' wins USA TODAY's Super Bowl Ad Meter. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/02/07/super-bowl-ad-meter-picks-winner/79886286/

Listening? Huh? Social Media?

Isn’t social media funny? We use it to be “social,” but it has become such a business now. I recently learned in one of my Masters classes, just how important it is for companies to really listen to what is being said about them in this “social” world. Then, in turn, they build a better business with happy clients who feel someone paid attention to them. In Dave Kerpen’s book “Likeable Social Media” he talks about how “if and when customers or prospects acknowledge that you’re listening, you immediately strengthen your relationship with them (2015). He goes on to suggest that all companies need to do is search their name or keywords on places like Twitter and Facebook to find out what people are saying (Kerpen, 2015).

Here are more simple ways companies can apply listening skills to social media:

      1. Listen, but also acknowledge because it “makes them (customers) happy”    

         (Kerpen, 2015).

      2. Use Google Alerts, Social Mention, or TweetBeep (Kerpen, 2015).

      3. Use paid enterprise software solutions like Meltwater Buzz, Parature, 

          Vocus, or Sysomos (Kerpen, 2015).

Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, wrote in a 2011 article that the most successful companies used social media by expanding “their efforts to engage their customers at every step of what we call the “customer corridor,” touch points that start when a potential customer first learns of a product and extend through the moment they opt to make repeat purchases” (Barry, C., Markey, R., Almquist, E., & Brahm, C., 2011). The firm goes on to suggest some use tips on how companies can apply listening skills to social media and strengthen their customer relationships:

       1. On social media sites like Facebook, Bain & Company says “know your  

           target audience and understand which social media platforms they 

           frequent” (Barry et al., 2011).

       2. They say “companies need engagement plans that explicitly target their 

           promoters and detractors” (Barry et al., 2011).

   

       3. Mobilize “cross-functional” teams and build a “social media organization 

           to deliver results” (Barry et al., 2011).

Thinking of this advice and what “listening” on social media means, immediately made me think of Taco Bell. I have had several interactions with Taco Bell on Twitter and I have watched how they seem to listen to the conversation going on and react. I have tweeted about how “sometimes you just need some Taco Bell” and they tweeted me back! Imagine my delight to know they were LISTENING! It was the little things, but you know what? It caused me to act and I went back and bought more Taco Bell tacos in the coming days. 

A snapshot from Taco Bell's Twitter account on February 2nd, 2016

Look at this example to the right. Taco Bell is using the #TacoEmojiEngine. On February 1^st, 2016, they replied to dozens of Taco Bell fans. Someone appears to be listening to fans and reacting. Kerpen wrote “by listening and responding, greater sentiment comes from customers, whose loyalty grows” (Kerpen, 2015). 

Lastly, look at this graph posted by Bain & Company from their ‘Social Media Customer Survey.’ They found “customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20% to 40% more money with those companies than other customers” (Barry et al., 2011). So, listening = money.

                                                 References

Barry, C., Markey, R., Almquist, E., & Brahm, C. (2011, September 12). Putting social media to work. Retrieved February 02, 2016, from http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/putting-social-media-to-work.aspx

Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable Social Media. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Here I go!

Here I go. My first post in my new blog. This will be a place to talk about life, work, social media, my Masters program, and anything else I feel like! Here's to hoping I can figure this out! Ha! I've had a "blog" for years: allisonbybee.com, but never viewed it as that until recently! My goal is to connect the two and figure all of these social media account out!