Tag Archives: corporate social media

Twitter No Longer Syncing with LinkedIn

Twitter has ended its two and a half year partnership with LinkedIn to share conversations on both platforms. For users, this means tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn. LinkedIn users will still be able to post updates and press a button to share on Twitter, but the reverse is no longer an option.

In an official Twitter blog post by Michael Sippey, the consumer product chief emphasizes “providing the core Twitter consumption experience through a consistent set of products and tools…developers should not ‘build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience.’ That guidance continues to apply as much as ever today. Related to that, we’ve already begun to more thoroughly enforce our Developer Rules of the Road with partners, for example with branding, and in the coming weeks, we will be introducing stricter guidelines around how the Twitter API is used.” Continue reading “Twitter No Longer Syncing with LinkedIn” »


How Cities Around the World Celebrated Social Media Day

On Saturday, June 30, the world celebrated Social Media Day to pay homage to the digital revolution that has changed the way we communicate. Social Media Day is a global event first introduced by Mashable in 2010 that is now held in over 275 cities. From New York to Dubai, each region had its own method of celebrating the special day over the weekend.

Tech startup Urthecast planned a 500-person flash mob along New York City’s Hudson River Park. Tourists were surprised with an 11-minute dance that involved formations of the @ sign and the hash tag in honor of Social Media Day. The event was organized by Flash Mob of America on Twitter and Meetup.com, and spread by word of mouth.

Social Media Day in Buffalo was held at Statler City’s Lobby Bar where 150 social media professionals and enthusiasts young and old gathered for food, prizes, and competitions like the social media challenge where contestants were asked to complete a five-item checklist of activities using various social media platforms. Television screens in the upscale bar played live tweets throughout the three-hour event while participants tweeted, took pictures and shot videos to share with their social networks. Continue reading “How Cities Around the World Celebrated Social Media Day” »


Google+ One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of the launch of Google+. On June 28, 2011 Google rolled out its social media platform Google+ to rival Facebook’s dominance in the social media category. However, one year later Google’s “next big thing” is being called a ghost town. 170 million people have signed up for Google+, compared to over 900 million people on Facebook. comScore released a report earlier this year showing users spent an average of 3.3 minutes on Google+ in the month of January, compared to 7.5 hours on Facebook in the same month. Another report by RJ Metrics showed that even among active users on Google+, their average time between posts was 12 days and 30% of people who post once never return to the social media platform again. In contrast, 53% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platforms daily according to a report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

While there is a small loyal following that swears by Google+, it’s safe to say that the social media platform’s popularity has yet to trump that of Facebook. Continue reading “Google+ One Year Later” »


Watch Out for Viddy!

The popular iOS app Viddy is being called the “Twitter of video” for its 15-second promotional videos that create new opportunities for brands to engage their audiences. The video sharing app made a big impression at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference earlier this year, debuting videos with custom designed filters. Last month the company secured $30 million in funding to poise the app as the “next big thing.”

With 30 million members already on Viddy, companies are jumping on board with these 15 second videos to offer promo codes, exclusive offers and backstage sneak peeks. Celebrities are using the social media platform to continue the conversation with their fans as well. Britney Spears recently started a Viddy account, sharing videos from backstage on the set of The X Factor. Bill Cosby is very active on the social media platform with 59 recorded videos already under his belt. Continue reading “Watch Out for Viddy!” »


How Companies Measure Social Media ROI

Companies and their CEOs seem to be increasingly interested in the potential of social media marketing, according to studies conducted this month. A recent IBM study of 1,709 global CEOs found that 16% participate in social media, but that number is expected to grow to 57% in the next five years. 73% of CEOs polled indicate they are investing significantly in ways to better gain insight from their customers. With over 900 million active users, Facebook might just be an opportune platform to gain that valuable insight.

A study by Facebook marketing company Pagemodo concluded 64% of business owners say social marketing is a promising tactic that will eventually produce ROI. Another 20% say social marketing is producing a measurable ROI and plan to continue investing in it, while only 6% are social media skeptics. Continue reading “How Companies Measure Social Media ROI” »


What Causes Videos to Go Viral?

YouTube videos are an effective – and free – method for companies to share content with audiences. In fact, the rate at which videos are viewed is astonishing. More than 500 years worth of YouTube videos are viewed on Facebook every day, and Twitter shares 700 YouTube videos per second. If a video goes viral, the results are exponential and the company has just hit social media marketing gold. The big question remains, what causes some videos to go viral? Through studying trends, marketers have a few insights on what makes brand videos go viral on the social web.

For videos to go viral, a large number of people must share to smaller groups. A study by BuzzFeed found that among the most popular stories on Facebook, the median ratio of Facebook views to shares was 9 to 1; meaning only 9 people visited the story for every Facebook share. Content becomes viral when it spreads across the social web through ordinary people sharing with their friends. So we’ve established what must happen for a video to go viral. Now what makes certain videos so special? Continue reading “What Causes Videos to Go Viral?” »


How To: Gain Customers Using Social Media

Social media marketing is a powerful method to showcase a company’s products or services to new audiences in various places. However, one must be careful not to sell immediately on social media, but focus on building a loyal following that leads to potential customers. By being informative and entertaining, social media is an effective way to connect with buyers. Here are a few ways to build that loyal following that leads to customer acquisition. Continue reading “How To: Gain Customers Using Social Media” »