Blogs

It's hard to believe the summer is almost over! In the last few months, we have made quite a few updates and improvements to SplashCube. Here are some of the highlights:

• Unfollowing People - Users can now unfollow others without having to leavethe SplashCube™ interface. By clicking on the Unfollow people link in the Task pane, the software will bring up suggested accounts to unfollow. In addition to the recommended people to unfollow, the software will also give you a reason as to why it chose these specific profiles (i.e.: “Tweets too often,” “Rarely follows anyone,” “Follows too many people”). Users can also click on the Twitter handle to see a pop-up preview of that account.

• Retweeting - Users can now search for relevant content and retweet directly though the software. By clicking on the Retweet a tweet link in the Task pane, you will see the new search function. By simply typing in a few keywords, a tidy list of retweetable tweets will appear, making this particular task incredibly easy. 

• Monitoring Speed - The latest update of SplashCube includes major improvements to the speed of the Monitoring tab.  Previously, users had a long wait from the time they chose Monitoring until it would populate. Now it's nearly instantaneous.

• Automated Marketing – If you’ve just set up Automated Marketing, you may see the banner notice in the status section of your campaign, indicating that your initiative needs five or more templates in order for the initiative to start. 

• Blacklisted Words – In addition to certain obscene blacklisted words already blocked by the software, you can also specify certain words or prospects to exclude from an initiative. You’ll find this option in the Edit Initiative view.    

If you haven't logged in to SplashCube recently, be sure to check out these features. If you have any questions, just ask. Remember, each Thursday our SMTV episode is dedicated to SplashCube, so tune in here: http://www.splashmediau.com/smtv

Are you checking in … or checking out? Businesses active in social media have also begun to adopt geolocation services, which have become an increasingly used marketing tool—especially for those companies that rely upon customer traffic. The general public uses geolocation services, like Foursquare, to catalog where they’ve been, to see where their friends go, and to let people know where they are. Most importantly, businesses are using these services to target the customers who are who are nearby and digitally connected.

Location-based programs can be used in many ways. They can provide customer-relationship benefits, reward opportunities, social sharing, games, directories, and review possibilities. They also provide a platform to help businesses offer coupons, acknowledge and reward loyal customers and gather useful data about them. Overall, this all translates to more engagement with both existing customers and more potential leads. So, how does it work?

Claim Your Spot – First, you need to claim your business listing. It may already have a listing with customers checking in. If it doesn’t then you need to create the listing yourself. Once it’s listed, there are steps you can take to register and verify that you are the official business associated with that listing.     

Establish Your Objectives – Do you want to attract new customers or retain existing ones? Do you want to gather info about your clientele? Or do you just want to add support to your social media goals?

• Offering – Entice new and loyal customers with coupons and deals when they check-in via Facebook, Foursquare or Gowalla.
• Rewarding - Reward repeat customers with special deals. Train your customers to return and return again.
• Analytics - You can tell a lot about your target audience by the customer breakdown from who’s checking in. Foursquare offers an analytics dashboard for businesses to analyze customer check-ins and demographics.           

An example: Yelp uses geolocation in tandem with its social media strategy. Yelp encourages reviewers to check in to restaurants, and then these same people are later reminded to review the restaurant and build their online reputation as an expert foodie.

If you’re not sure how you feel about geolocation, then just give it a trial run. See what appeals most to your target audience and how they react to different offerings. More and more consumers are turning to social media and geolocation services to find trusted companies worthy of their patronage. Don’t miss out on possible business connections because you aren’t “checked in.” 

[photo credit: romainguy via photo pin cc]

Mobile Business Apps Making Life Easier

It has taken some time for mobile devices to reach a level of acceptance in the workplace. But if used the right way, phones and tablets—and especially their available apps—can be valuable business assets. The conveniences of reviewing your files before a meeting or scanning a potential client’s business card directly into your phone are just a couple of ways technology is making your work life a little less cumbersome.

Let’s take a look at some of the apps that are changing the way people do business.

DropBox: It’s the trusted name and go-to method of sharing important documents, photos, and videos in the cloud. If you’re a fan of the desktop version, then the app is likely the answer to your out-of-office prayers. Ever had a moment when you needed an important document to reference in a meeting? Now you can keep it at your fingertips.

Beejive for Google Talk: Is your main form of employee communication through Google’s chat function? If so, this app is perfect for those on-the go conversations, meetings in between meetings, and work lunches when employees need to stay in contact with the office. Want to finish a conversation while waiting for a doctor appointment? This app means you won’t miss a beat at work if you have to step out, and is especially helpful when you don’t have additional contact info in front of you.

Skype: You’re likely familiar with Skype, the calling and conferencing software that started wowing users back in late 2003. Now, in addition to being able to call and instant message from your computer, the app version for your phone is available. Now when your client wants a little more “face time,” video conferencing is even easier.

Breaking News: It’s the app for those who want to be in the know at all times. When a news story breaks, this app pulls it first and keeps you updated with push notifications that go straight to your screen. Labeled the “official, trusted source of real-time news for a mobile device” by those over at Apple, this is not your regular news information app. The second a journalist verifies a scoop, that story is in your hands.

ScanBizCards: For the low price of $3.99, this app is well worth it and by far one of the coolest in the list. With frequent updates and new developments to keep it agile, this app enables you to scan a business card directly into your phone. It also includes an extensive array of ways to use the information stored. With one touch and without ever leaving the app, you can send your new contact an invitation to join your LinkedIn network! This app is a must for constant networkers and anyone with too many business cards to know what to do with.

Chances are there’s an app out there that can streamline your business processes. To find the best ones for you or your employees, be sure to read reviews and talk to colleagues. Then get started making your work life easier.

Have a business app that changed the way you work? Comment and let us know.

Here's what we won't be discussing in this blog post: same-sex marriage, the beliefs of Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy, or calls for boycotts of his company. We won't be talking about whether there was questionable timing in Chick-fil-A's announcement that it was recalling Muppet-based toys for reported safety issues vs. the decision by the Jim Henson Company to end its relationship with the chicken sandwich chain. That decision, Henson spokespeople said, was based on Cathy's comments denouncing same-sex marriage. Those discussions are for other blogs dedicated to other industries.

For us, it's all about social media marketing. In that regard, we believe Chick-fil-A has laid an extremely large Grade A egg when it comes to responsible monitoring of the conversations that take place on its social media platforms. Yet permit us a little latitude to include the related communications practices of blogging/journalism; some of those practitioners seemed a bit too eager to convict the company for engaging in sleazy public relations practices.

At issue are two Facebook accounts that defended Chick-fil-A's decision to pull the Henson toys. One of the accounts, "Abby Farle," sported a profile pic of a pretty teenage girl. In a Facebook conversation captured by Happy Place and BuzzFeed, "Farle" argued that the restaurant chain pulled the Muppet toys "weeks before any of this." But one of the people talking to "Farle" on Facebook discovered "she" had only been a member for about a week, and that "her" profile pic came from ShutterStock. BuzzFeed found another seemingly questionable Facebook account that was defending Chick-fil-A, but had since been deleted.

The word shot around the blogosphere faster than a Chick-fil-A peach milkshake disappears on a summer day in Atlanta: Chick-fil-A was creating fake Facebook accounts to defend its brand. Yet nobody could offer definitive proof that the company was responsible. That didn't keep some bloggers from speculating that Chick-fil-A was behind it all. (BuzzFeed's headline said "Someone Is Defending Chick-fil-A With Fake Facebook Profiles" but the URL says "chick-fil-a-gets-caught-pretending-to-be-a-teenage").

Forbes's headline is brutal: "Chick-fil-A Has Completely Lost Control Of Its Facebook Page." Forbes' Kashmir Hill also rightfully points out that no one has been able to screen-capture the original conversation featuring "Abby Farle."

Chick-fil-A's mishandling of the situation apparently stems from its inability to hear/monitor what's being said about its brand on social media, its unwillingness to engage with those streaming onto its Facebook page, and the time it took for the company's social media specialists—internal and/or external—to finally shoot down the fake Facebook account talk with an FB status update that came late Wednesday afternoon Eastern time. By that time, the narrative on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ was all about questionable PR practices, not hoax accounts.

Listen, engage, rapid response—three tactics that could have helped mitigate this situation. Yes, Chick-fil-a's social media accounts have been swamped with users since Cathy's comments were first published. But the company apparently chose to let fans defend its brand online. Cathy's company will have to get in the game, because another lesson for Chick-fil-A in all this is that it won't get a fair shake from some bloggers and other media types.

There's a reason they're called "fanboys" They are indeed mostly male, and their allegiance to their favorite causes - whether it's Apple computers or a particular superhero movie franchise - can be total and overwhelming. (Any questions about why "fan" is short for "fanatic?")

When fanboys feel like those causes are threatened, they usually take to the internet and social media to defend their faves and unleash their wrath. Such was the case this week at Rotten Tomatoes, the popular movie review aggregation website, when the early reviews of The Dark Knight Rises started to come in. Most of them were very positive reviews of what is likely to be the biggest movie of the year so far - yes, even bigger than The Avengers. But a handful of reviewers, notably Christy Lemire of The Associated Press, were disappointed in the third and final chapter in writer/director Christopher Nolan's Batman saga. So the fanboys descended with nasty, threatening comments on Lemire and other Dark Knight contrarians, prompting Rotten Tomatoes to temporarily disable its comments system.

Businesses that see the value in social media for enabling two-way communications with customers might be scared off by the Rotten Tomatoes situation. They shouldn't be; customers are conduits to great information about your company, and their comments form the basis of a continuing, ever-present, virtual focus group. They let businesses know how they're doing, what they need to work on, and what they're doing right.

Yes, the comments have to be given in good faith, need to be constructive in nature, and have respect for the opinions of others. Trollish-type comments and other nastiness should be shown the exit door immediately.

The best guidelines for comments on business blogs, Facebook pages or other social media platforms:

• Have a clear policy regarding comments. Negative opinions presented in a grown-up manner are okay, but obscene/racist/threatening comments aren't, and users should be told upfront that businesses reserve the right to delete them and/or ban the offending commenters.

• HOWEVER: Don't automatically delete all negative comments. (Insert handy Watergate reference here regarding cover-ups being worse than the crime, etc.) Engaging with customers and fixing their gripes in real-time can turn a nasty commenter into a fan. And when it's all done in the open, it makes businesses look that much better.

• Don't waste time engaging with trolls. Sometimes competitors hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, or people with nothing better to do, will simply disregard your attempts to make nice. At that point it will be clear to all that they are simply trolls, and you can move on to other things - like pleasing other customers, providing compelling content, or saving Gotham City.

What do you think? What is your opinion on how businesses should handle comments on their websites/blogs/social networks? Please share with us (in a way that would make Batman and your mother proud, mind you) in our Comments section.

“Pinterest is just for pinning recipes and wedding ideas.” Then there’s “Pinterest is strictly for companies with products.” Heard this kind of pushback about the up-and-coming social channel? Or perhaps you don’t consider Pinterest part of your company’s social media strategy. I think I can change your mind. Here are the reasons and brands that prove why that way of thinking is wrong.

1. Easily Promote Contests and Upcoming Sweepstakes - A great way to engage your already established audience on Facebook and Twitter is to foster their creativity while keeping your brand in mind. A great contest idea that more brands are using is telling fans to “pin” their contest entries, which could be ideas or pictures. Barneys New York held a contest for Valentines Day in which fans were encouraged to create a Barneys New York Valentines Day Wish List Board in their women’s or men’s apparel categories. By pinning at least five Barneys items to their boards, they were qualified for the main contest that Barneys New York was hosting.

2. Show-Off Upcoming Merchandise and Products - Pinterest is all visual, which really comes in handy with retailers and manufacturers wanting to show off new products to potential customers. JCPenney does a great job of setting apart all the different merchandise they carry into different boards with different themes. This is also a great way to display your office or location. Just relocated and want to show off the new digs? Pin the pics!

3. Create a New Way to Communicate to Customers and Fans - Unlike Twitter and Facebook, this is a purely visual site where fans, customers, and potential customers can come see what you’re doing. Literally. Take advantage of this by previewing new ad campaigns that are about to roll out or a toothy picture of the new hires. Your audience will appreciate the behind-the-scenes access and will, in the end, feel more connected to the company. Check out a great example of this at the Travel Channel’s page, which includes behind-the-scenes boards and great trip ideas for viewers.

4. Give Your Brand a Personality - Pinterest is where your brand can have a personality. Show what drives the execs and employees to success. What inspires you? What makes you laugh? When taking a look at the TODAY show’s board, the personality of the anchors mixed with real-time news (all shown in pictures) is certainly noteworthy.

5. Create Themes Not Focused on Product Promotion - Is it obvious by now? Pinterest is not solely for marketing your brand’s products. Viewers want to see the company’s take on different aspects of their industry. A great example is Starbucks, which has boards dedicated to great pictures of coffee and coffee cups, most of which are not Starbucks branded merchandise.

There are plenty of reasons why any brand can use Pinterest, but the primary benefit is the added personality that text alone just doesn’t convey. Use Pinterest to explore the different sides of your company that you want your fans and customers to see and allow them to share what they find with their friends on their own boards. In its short history, Pinterest has already proved itself as a valuable generator of traffic, so you might as well take advantage of it.

Falling behind in the world of this-minute news and information about technology and social media? Sure, Twitter is great for concise, bit-sized info, but what happens when you’re following a few hundred pundits all pushing multiple tweets per day into your feed?

We can help. Below is my list of the top people in the know about what’s going on in tech and social media when it happens. What do they have in common? Humor, brevity, and insight that doesn’t translate in newspapers.

1. Gina Trapani (@ginatrapani): Creator of social media insights engine ThinkUp and host of shows such as This Week in Google, Trapani is a hub of social media insight all her own. Her feed is filled with social media and tech info, along with a small look into her humor that techies like herself understand.

2. Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken): Journalist of all things tech, McCracken has his finger on the pulse of what’s breaking in technology. Founder / blogger for Technologizer and writer for TIME, McCracken knows what’s going on in consumer technology and he tweets about it regularly.

3. OM Malik (@om): Founder and writer for GigaOM, Malik also penned the book Broadbandits: Inside the $750 Billion Telecom Heist. This guy is tech royalty, and his high-brow opinions on tech and analysis of the news out there are worth reading.

4. Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon): Fallon is part of a new generation of late night and has made his mark by creating a booming presence on social media that predecessors Letterman and Leno have yet to achieve. His feed includes videos that go viral within minutes and jokes that bring back the forgotten one-liners.

5. Pete Cashmore (@mashable): This techie website has gone mainstream with its everlasting stream of valuable content that makes it almost irresistible to click and read more. The thread of tweets is just like the website, but in 140 characters. If you’re even mildly interested in tech and media, chances are you’re following this feed.

6. Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer): Former Microsoft evangelist and founder of the techie world’s most popular blog, Scobleizer, this guy gives great insight into what’s going on in the business. His feed is like an insider’s guide to the business, except Scoble isn’t afraid to express what he thinks is right and wrong.

7. Nick Denton (@nicknotned): Deemed the smartest man in digital media, you may have heard of Denton’s little website Gawker.com. When he’s not posting links back to his website, you’ll catch a glimpse of his personal views on everything from politics to current events.

8. Aaron Levie (@levie): As CEO of the online storage program BOX as his day job, Levie was also dubbed “the funniest man in tech on Twitter” by Business Insider. His Twitter feed is full of tech one-liners that avid social media and technology users will find hilarious.

9. Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff): The queen of all things media, Huffington tweets about content that is current and media worthy. Her human insight into what’s going on right now is also a breath of fresh air, especially coming from the president and editor-in-chief of a multimillion-dollar corporation

10. Kara Swisher (@karaswisher): Swisher is constantly breaking news before those at the company she’s dishing on even know what’s happening. Her tweets are gripping news bolts, and you feel like an insider just by following. Swisher isn’t afraid to speak her mind, and when she’s not defending her tweets, she’s sending out ones that will soon be talked about.

Hopefully this list will help focus your stream of tech and media news so that you can stay up to date without feeling overwhelmed. Do you have a favorite techie you follow on Twitter? Leave a comment and let us know!

LinkedIn may indeed be rolling out a new look to its homepage, as reported this week by TechCrunch. And that refresh may dress up LinkedIn Today, its customizable content curation feature, with bigger pictures and easier access from other areas of the network.

But if you ask us, the real opportunity for this social network lies in more original content creation, and more leveraging of the expertise within its membership.

So why not the LinkedIn News Network?

Don't get us wrong; LinkedIn offers a blog that's updated regularly with posts that react to the latest business and economic developments, as well as advice on job-seeking and similar topics. But it doesn't occupy a prime position on the page like LinkedIn Today does; the blog link is still wayyyyy down at the bottom of the home page in small type. And while LinkedIn has shown original video content in the past, most multi-media offerings are those curated within the Today format.

We're talking about LinkedIn dipping into the cash it has on hand, some of it raised through its successful IPO, and using it to hire its own experienced journalists, bloggers and video producers. LinkedIn has already sealed the kinds of partnerships it needs to have with existing top news content providers - the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN Money, Bloomberg, to name just four top sources of business news - so it has established a high level of credibility and trust.  Having an in-house stable of newsgatherers and opinion-makers could make it even more of a favorite destination for professionals, and wouldn't threaten the deals it currently has with those media outlets. After all, we're talking about adjunct content, not replacement for what's already available. And I doubt that those existing media partners would say goodbye to a growing global audience of 161 million members.

That content could include the professionals who are currently members of LinkedIn who can be invited to share their thoughts about the global business environment. There are some A-list executives and business specialists now viewing all the curated content on LinkedIn and taking advantage of its networking features. Why not ask them for contributions, either in text or video form?

All of the original content could sit on the LinkedIn Today page, which for me is a big part of the network's mobile application - one of the best among social network apps. Also, if LinkedIn has now become a major part of recruiting efforts among companies, then original advice for job seekers along with success stories could cement that aspect of the network.

Original content wouldn't just keep people on LinkedIn longer. It would also help the network continue to separate itself from Facebook while giving Twitter a run for its money in the social news delivery/linkage business - especially now that Twitter has ended a relationship with LinkedIn that allowed for cross-posting of tweets.

What do you think about a LinkedIn News Network? Please share your thoughts in our Comments section.

It was earlier this week when I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I feared something terrible had happened.

I was right. Once again, Facebook had pissed off its customers.

The big Star Destroyer in the Social Media Universe had changed the email addresses that users listed on the Contact Info section of their About pages. Instead of the one you typed in when you set up the page, it made your Facebook email address the default. And it did so without even asking permission, which is what sparked all that outrage that showed up on your Facebook feed.

Facebook started its own email service two years ago, but it didn't make enough of an impact to spur a massive exodus away from your Gmail or your Yahoo email or whatever. If you didn't sign up for a customized FB address, one was assigned to you anyway. Facebook spokespeople told media outlets that the switch really started back in April. If so, not many people made a note of it at the time; apparently it wasn't really ranking up there with birthdays, wedding anniversaries and the then-upcoming premiere of the "Avengers" movie.

In the list of Facebook crimes against humanity, I don't think this one really ranks that high. It's easy to switch back to your preferred email address, and it's clear that Facebook did this to remind everyone that yes, you do indeed have a Facebook email address, and to let investors scared off by its wacky IPO know that it truly is a full-service social media company.

But the real crime here is the one against trust and credibility, two things that businesses would really like to have in place before they can start taking advantage of the social media marketing benefits that Facebook can offer them. If a company's customers are spending all their time barking about Facebook arrogance, they may not be all that impressed with a business's page on the network. It should be a simple thing to let users know what changes, if any, are coming down the pike at the world's biggest social network.

That's the best way to keep from disturbing the Force - a.k.a., the Facebook user base.