Social Media: Legal, Policies, Ethics

When it comes to social media, you very rarely think about the ethical problems that may arise. However, the legal and ethical aspect of social media is something that needs to be taken into consideration more often. By doing this, a lot of problems could be avoided.

This article discusses social media ethics, and four common dilemmas that may arise. The article says “Misguided ethics have taken down companies, politicians, and even entire nations. While ethics is not a black-and-white subject, the decisions you make could affect your company or even your livelihood.” All it takes is one status update on Facebook, or one tweet on Twitter, and you could be in a lot of trouble.

The four ethical dilemmas that often arise from social media are as follows:

1.       The fine line of spamming: How do you know when you are promoting your company or product too much? It is important to realize that people need to see the value in what you are offering.

2.       Feuds with others: “Social media is about helping others, not about putting them down. Public feuds and calling people out is more likely to damage your reputation that help it.”

3.       Lying: It is not worth the risk to tell a lie on social media. You are misleading your audience, and the things that you may say, or not say, are easily researchable.

4.       Misrepresentation: Any public relations specialist would agree that more often than not, transparency is the key to obtaining followers. “Don’t use a brand name or an accomplishment unless you truly have the right to it.”

In order to avoid the previously stated dilemmas, it is important to think about the things you are going to post before you post them. The simple act of looking at your message from all angles can save you from serious implications.

In this article, the five deadly sins of social media are discussed. While there are a lot of positive aspects of social media, I think that it is important to also discuss the ways social media can hurt you or your business so that you can avoid them. Here are the five (additional) things to avoid:

1.       Unreported Endorsements: The FTC has updated the guidelines for endorsements and testimonials to include social media. If a business is giving any form of compensation to a blogger or tweeter, it is considered a compensated endorsement and it must be disclosed.

2.       Improper Anonymity: “Even if your anonymous online contributions aren’t illegal, they risk ruining the trust of your consumers. Phony online reviews are one of the biggest plagues for honest retailers…”

3.       Compromising Consumer Privacy: “Facebook has stepped on the privacy landmine numerous times by repeatedly changing the types of personal information automatically shared. Even when these breaches are unintentional and not malicious, they scare consumers away.”

4.       Overly Enthusiastic Employees: It is important that when employees promote your brand, that they acknowledge their connection to the company. If they don’t, consumer trust may be violated. It is important to have a clear social media policy in place.

5.       Using the Online Community to Get Free Work: Holding competitions for customers to submit designs or commercials is a way that companies often do this to get free work. It is usually fine to engage customers and to reach out for the best creative talent. Just stay away from the fine line between “user generated content” and “working for free.”

As I said before, there are numerous ways in which social media can be beneficial to your company. It is important to know what not to do so that your company and reputation does not suffer. As long as you are using these tools in an honest effort, and if you think about what you are posting, you will have nothing to worry about.

For the full articles:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2011/11/03/ethics-and-the-5-deadly-sins-of-social-media/

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/social-media-ethics-4-common-dilemmas-ben-parr

Social Media: Apps

There's an App for that!

By now, you can probably tell that my blog has a theme. The theme is how social media affects businesses. Mobile phone applications are quickly changing how businesses do their advertising, and how they may communicate with their employees. This article discusses what is called “The Android Effect,” which explains how Google’s Android has rewritten the rulebook on mobile phones.

Applications may pose the occasional security threat, and they often don’t do what you actually need them to do. The article discusses that it is “…a good idea to keep the business functions entirely separate from all the others with some strict classifications… Android could easily have a special, easily accessible business app stream saving a lot of false starts and finding where things are.”

The article does point out that Android does have some useful apps, including the following:

-          Cashbook: A useful thing for any business, dealing with expenses.

-          Mighty Meeting: A PowerPoint remote control for your phone.

-          Spreadsheet: An Excel compatible app.

-          GDocs: Portable Google docs on your phone.

-          Docs to Go: Mobile Microsoft docs, PDF, and PowerPoint

-          PocketCloud: You can use this to access your Microsoft, Apple, or Linux computer files and applications.

-          Ignition: Remote access to computers by internet connections.

While these apps are a great start, businesses need more advanced tools to use their phones for business purposes. The concluding paragraph of this article sums up how the “Android Effect” is evolving: “Android’s major and very positive contribution to business apps so far is to raise the stakes and make “Apps for everything” obliged to become more than a few basic operations. With any luck, and perhaps some prodding from users, Android might turn business mobiles into true business tools.”

Another tool that businesses are starting to utilize is QR Codes, also known as Quick Response codes. This article discusses the basics of QR Codes, and everything else you need to know about them. These codes are used to give consumers immediate access to what is relevant, all the customer has to do is convert the code. Converting the code can be done easily by using one of many smartphone applications. All you have to do is take a picture of the code and it will convert it for you.

QR Codes look similar to bar codes, but they are able to hold more information and can link to digital content on the web. There are many practical uses of QR Codes, and they can be located in many different locations. Some common places that you may find QR Codes include: business cards, brochures/marketing materials, product tags, restaurant menus, or even event ticket stubs.

QR Codes can link to almost anything. Some common things that the codes link to might be instructions, directions, customer feedback forms, or coupons and special offers. QR Codes are very versatile and provide an opportunity to get your message out quickly. QR Codes have a lot of potential, and they utilize social media. Here is an example of a QR Code that links back to my blog:

I just decided to link to something simple, however the options are endless. They are easy and cheap, and are an effective way for a business to get the word out about their company.

For Full Articles:

http://smallbizbee.com/index/2010/12/20/android-effect-%E2%80%93-apps-options/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-qr-codes-can-grow-your-business/

Social Media: Search Engine Optimization

Once you have a website, there are a few things that you need to do in order to drive traffic to your website. Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting your website as high up as possible on Google’s and Bing’s search-results pages.

This article discusses ten tips to help you get started with SEO. The tips are as follows.

·         Monitor where you stand. You need to monitor your search standings so that you will know if your efforts are paying off. The article also mentions to check your “referrer log” so that you will know where your visitors are coming from, and the search terms they are using to find your page.

·         Keywords, keywords, keywords! Think from the “searcher’s” perspective, what would you search for to find information on the topic? It is important to have appropriate keywords throughout your website.

·         Link back to yourself. By linking back to your own site, you can boost traffic to individual pages. “You should make it standard to link back to your archives frequently when creating new content.”

·         Create a sitemap. A site map is a page that lists and links to all of the other major pages on your site, making it easier for people to search your website.

·         Search-friendly URLS. “Make your URLs more search-engine-friendly by naming them with clear keywords.”

·         Avoid Flash. Flash doesn’t do anything for your SEO because you can’t link to a single page. If you are going to use Flash, be sure to place text and links below.

·         Image descriptions. “Spiders can only search text, not text in your images -- which is why you need to make the words associated with your images as descriptive as possible.”

·         Content. You need to be updating your content regularly to keep it fresh. Updating regularly is crucial for increasing traffic.

·         Social media distribution. “You should be distributing links to fresh content on your site across appropriate social networking platforms.”

·         Links to others. By developing a relationship with other websites, you can drive more traffic to your site. Ask the webmasters of the other sites if they will include a link to yours, just be sure to return the favor.

Tagging can be considered a type of keyword, and is assigned to a piece of information. This article discusses tags and all of the different uses. “Labeling and tagging are carried out to perform functions such as aiding in classification, marking ownership, noting boundaries, and indicating online identity. They may take the form of words, images, or other identifying marks.”

Tags can be used within a blog, which allow a reader to go to that category and view all of the posts that included that tag. Tags can also be used for an event. An official keyword may be adopted by events and conferences for attendees to use in their web publications.

A special type of tag that applies to social media is the “hashtag.” Hashtags are most commonly used with services such as Twitter. Short messages on Twitter can be tagged with one or more hashtags, which is simply a word or phrase with a # symbol in front of it. Some examples of a hashtag are #AggieLife, #Utah, #PRSSA, and #Halloween.

Tagging blog posts or websites can greatly increase your Search Engine Optimization. It is important to follow the basic rules, but you can still get creative. Just remember to think about what other people will be searching for, as it relates to your website, and use those terms to tag your page with.

For full articles:

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-basic-seo-tips-everyone-should-know-2010-1?op=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)

Social Media: Collaborative and Distance Communication Tools

Technology has greatly improved our ability to communicate, and through web services like Skype we can now see and talk to anybody anywhere on the globe. Skype is the low-or-no-cost voice-over-Internet service that offers free voice and video calling between Internet-connected computers running the Skype software. While Skype has been a great tool for individuals who are missing their loved ones, it can also be a beneficial addition to the business world.

This article discusses the pros and cons of using Skype in business. The first advantage is that Skype offers low-cost calling. For a small monthly fee you get a “SkypeIn” number – a number that people with regular phones can use to call you on your computer – and there is also “SkypeOut,” which is the low-cost calling from computers to regular phones.

While Skype was originally designed for individual use, the company has made improvements to include businesses. Through the Business Control Panel, a company can easily manage SkypeIn and SkypeOut accounts for multiple employees.

Skype is a strategic tool. “…having Skype available to smooth communications is critical. “Often the challenge with outsourcing overseas is that cultural barriers, language barriers and time-zone barriers outweigh benefits,” he said. “Any tool that helps mitigate those risks is very, very valuable.”” One of the biggest factors in losing customers is having outsourced customer service representatives. When you have a problem that is large enough and frustrating enough to call in to customer service, it makes your problem even worse when you cannot communicate with the person who is supposed to be helping you. Skype allows you to see the other person which, to me, improves communication.

Now that we have discussed the benefits of Skype, here are a few of the cons. Skype operates over the open internet, so the call and connection quality are not always what they should be. Security is also a concern, as Skype is not run on a private network. There is no service level agreement, saying that the service will be available and of good quality, Skype only guarantees their “best effort.”

There are many services similar to Skype that are run on private networks, and they may have better quality even. With that said, small, budget-minded companies may benefit from using Skype. If it is not important to have a perfect voice connection, and if you don’t mind glitches every now and then, Skype is perfect for your company.

To change the subject, many businesses have transitioned to the virtual world using. This article talks about one of the ways the virtual world is being utilized. Second Life is one of many “…simulated 3-D Internet imitations that make up what’s known as the “metaverse,” defined as environments where humans interact (as avatars) with each other (socially and economically) and with software agents in a cyberspace that uses the metaphor of the real world, but without its physical limitations.”

Some of the companies that are present on Second Life include Sears, Coca-Cola, Mazda, IBM and Intel. These companies can actually create their own “islands” where employees can attend global meetings, collaborate on projects, and meet with clients. Second Life provides a means by which you can be anywhere and meet with anyone and have conversations.

The article also discusses how important body language is, and how even in the virtual world it can make a difference. When meeting with clients on second life, using hand gestures may make your meeting more meaningful, and even more successful.

The Internet has many communication tools that make the world even smaller and more accessible. With tools like Skype and Second Life, a business can become global. Nothing is out of reach anymore. There are many great opportunities to learn more about the business world, and how you can target your audiences.

For full articles:

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/buyersguide/article.php/10729_3816716_2/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Skype-for-Business.htm

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/10/21/body-language-in-second-life/

Social Media: Viral Videos

Viral videos are exactly what they sound like, a video that just keeps spreading. Viral videos are becoming an increasingly important part of the marketing mix. If you can get your company’s video to go viral you can get a lot of impressions for only the amount that it cost you to make the video itself. Even though viral videos can be used as a part of an organization’s marketing strategy, there are many other viral videos out there that shape what kind of music gets listened to, how people act or how people think about certain things. This article lists nine secrets about viral videos; some of these secrets can even help your videos go viral.

The secrets are as follows:

1.       Not all viral videos are what they seem: It is not very easy to get a video to go viral. It is important to realize that viral videos take work, and you’re lucky if you get there.

2.       Content is NOT King: The content of the video doesn’t have to be perfect, it is still important though, it is what keeps people coming back to the video. “Generally, a concept should not be forced because it fits a brand. Rather, a brand should be fit into a great concept.”

3.       Core Strategy: Getting onto the “Most Viewed” page: This one speaks pretty well for itself. “The core concept of video marketing on YouTube is to harness the power of the site’s traffic. Here’s the idea: something like 80 million videos are watched each day on YouTube, and a significant number of those views come from people clicking the “Videos” tab at the top. The goal is to get a video on that Videos page, which lists the Daily Most Viewed videos.”

4.       Title Optimization: Having a great title can help increase views, and is one of the best ways to persuade somebody to view your video.

5.       Thumbnail Optimization: The thumbnail is what makes videos stand out among other videos.

6.       Commenting: Have a conversation with yourself: It’s okay to have heated arguments in the comments section, it lets people become engaged. It’s even better if it involves the brand.

7.       Releasing all videos simultaneously: “If someone sees our first video and is so intrigued that they want to watch more, why would we make them wait until we post the next one? We give them everything up front.”

8.       Strategic Tagging: Leading viewers down the rabbit hole: Through strategic tagging, you can control (to a certain extent) which videos show up in the “Related Videos” section, meaning that you can place your own videos in that section.

9.       Metrics/Tracking: How we measure effectiveness: There are various tools that allow you to track the views/comments/ratings on each video, and they also track the spread of videos outside of YouTube. Some of these tools are: Google Analytics, Tube Mogul, and VidMetrix.

Now that we know the secrets behind viral videos and how to help them go viral, here are three additional tricks from this article to help create a sense of discovery for your viral videos.

1.       Great Content: The content of the video must be worth discovering.

2.       Build a Fan Base: The people that watch the videos don’t come from nowhere. They have to want to watch your video.

3.       Search Engine Optimization: It should be easy to find your videos. If it is not easy to search and find it in YouTube, something needs to be changed. A clear and concise title always helps, but it is important to add a description with keywords as well.

Viral videos have the ability to change how we think about marketing, and I feel that in a few years viral videos will be the way things are done. Obviously Super Bowl commercials will always have the top spot for advertising, but once those commercials hit YouTube (even now), the number of impressions will absolutely explode. The future holds a lot of surprises. Maybe my predictions will be wrong. It is possible that viral videos are just a fad, but let’s hope not.

For the full articles:

http://techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123481783053894227.html

Social Media: Location Based Programs

Location based programs are a great new alternative to traditional marketing strategies. This article introduces location based programs – what they are and how they work – and relates them to marketing.

There are many different location based programs; Foursquare, Facebook and Gowalla are just a few of the many programs that exist right now. These programs are very unique in the fact that you can “check-in” to many different locations, events, or even TV shows. The purpose of these programs is to drive traffic to locations. “Users are often rewarded for check-ins with discounts or deals that pop up when they're at a certain location or nearby. Location-based apps are also means for users to discover new restaurants, retailers or activities -- or simply to just brag to your friends about the cool places you go.”

In relation to marketing, you have the option to either build your own application or you can just use a broader, better-developed platform like Facebook. Both of these options have their benefits. With your own loyalty application, you can offer rewards for check-ins, however, you won’t have as big of an audience. When you use a larger program like Facebook or Foursquare, there are already a lot of people using these services. Tapping into this resource will allow a larger variety of people to know about your company’s goods or services. Specialized location based applications are also becoming increasingly popular. Gowalla targets travelers, Foodspotting is aimed to foodies who are looking for new food to try, and there are even grocery shopping applications.

While it sounds like the consumers are the only ones who benefit from these programs, marketers are also benefitted. These programs drive traffic into stores, and they can also provide demographic data about user check-ins. This allows businesses to know when they have the most traffic, and who comes in most often – Foursquare launched a dashboard and analytics tool for businesses last year for this very reason.

While location based programs can track demographics and usage, they also help to drive the word of mouth and referrals that a company may receive.  This article provides 17 tips for utilizing location based programs and marketing. Some of my favorite tips, and the tips that I think are most important, are as follows:

-          Align your goals with the right platform: “Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, and understanding the platforms allows you to pick the right platform for a campaign…”

-          Ensure your own location is “check-in” worthy: Consider if you would check-in to your own location more than once. If not, find a way to fix it.

-          Create a budget for your campaign: A budget will help you track your progress and keep you focused.

-          Make sure your employees are ready: Make sure your employees know what the rules are and that everybody is on the same page.

-          Encourage employee participation: Find a way to encourage your employees, some of the best business ideas may come from them.

-          Create an ambassador program: Meet with your best customers regularly – specifically those who check-in – to find out what the best offers are that you could provide to your customers.

-          Learn from other businesses: It is always important to see what has and hasn’t worked for other businesses because it is likely that it will not work for you either.

Location based programs really do have a lot to offer. If you are using them for a business or campaign, these tips (and the other ones provided in the article) are important to keep in mind, as they can help you create the best campaign and business strategies possible.

For the full articles:

http://adage.com/article/special-report-digital-marketing-guide/digital-marketing-guide-check-ins/149103/

http://www.toprankblog.com/2011/09/location-based-marketing-tips/

Social Media: Traditional Views

In this article on Social Media Today, Mike Frey discusses how traditional media created social media. This is a really different angle on the “traditional views” that I’m supposed to be talking about; however, I feel that it is an important topic to understand. When I refer to traditional media, I am talking about radio, television and newspaper. Social media may be interpreted as websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

In the article, Frey mentioned that “Prior to conglomeration there was a time that radio, television and print were local community outlets. At one time the big three were locally owned, and concentrated on local community. Now most decisions that are made for communities regarding their major media are made from thousands of miles away.” This means that now what the audience wants is out of the question, the decision is based on what corporate thinks the audience wants.

Conglomeration has played a big role in the social media boom. Social media provides a place where you get to choose. “We create our Facebook community to entertain and inform us. We choose whose tweets to follow to keep us updated on technology, news, inspiration and events. With social media you have no one to blame for the poor programming or not being entertained as it’s created by you.” This is what has drawn so many people to social media, the fact that they have a say in what they see and hear.

On the Utah State University campus, it is very rare to hear students talking about what they read in The New York Times, or what they saw on the news last night. Traditional media are hard to follow when you, the follower, do not feel like the stories have any value to you. If there was a way for traditional media to be linked up with social media, younger generations can be targeted easier. Instead of not knowing what is going on in the world, maybe you will step onto a college campus and hear a student say “When I was on Facebook last night, I read this article from The New York Times…”

So how is a company supposed to integrate social media with their traditional media? Tom Martin at The Social Media Examiner discusses this very topic in this article. When it comes to integrating social media with traditional media, not very many people are doing it correctly. Most people are asking how to integrate their media, while they should be asking how to think about integrating their media. How to think about integrating social media provides you with a framework, which then enables you to think on your own, instead of just trying to look for a solution right at the beginning.

There are six questions to ask when integrating media. In the article, these questions are geared towards social media and marketing; however, I feel that these six questions can go for any social media integration.

1.       What is the goal? It is important to look at the business goals first to really discover what is required and expected of the integration.

2.       Who is the audience? It is important to visualize your audience beyond their demographics, these characteristics may include what they look like or sound like, and who they are with when watching or listening to the traditional media.

3.       Where is the audience? This doesn’t just mean where they are physically, this question extends beyond that. Where your audience is emotionally is an important factor to consider.

4.       How can you connect with your audience? This means more than channels, you need to consider what will draw your audience to you, look at it from conversational perspective.

5.       How do you extend the conversation? “Once you’ve made that initial contact and gained permission to have an ongoing conversation, what do you plan to do next?”

6.       How can I get my audience to introduce me to others? Be sure to not skip this question. The recommendation from one individual to another is perhaps the most important part.

Integrating social media with traditional media is a smart move, and it should not just be a last minute choice. It needs to be well thought out, and I feel that this is what a lot of companies are forgetting. Integrating social media needs time to be planned and worked on, not just thrown together.

For full articles:

http://socialmediatoday.com/mike-frey/170938/how-traditional-media-created-social-media

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-integrate-social-media-with-traditional-media/