Against the Grain: Social Media

Now that we’re a week into the New Year, it’s time to take a look at your 2012 goals. We’re not talking fitness, eating better or getting more sleep (although, I think we can all say those are on our list) –– we’re talking business. Here are three resolutions to get your year off to the right start.

1. Freshen your website. Interactive Director Yancy DeLathouder says, “With the current pace of web innovations, if your site is more than three years old, you’ll want to consider upgrading your site to keep pace with changing technology. In addition to having a wealth of features available from newer technologies like HTML5, older technologies like JavaScript have also been causing quite a stir, replacing Flash implementations with equally functional and attractive, yet mobile-friendly applications. Additionally, new browsers and new browser versions, including mobile devices, may cause websites built for older standards to not function as expected. Upgrading a website to current standards will ensure proper operation for all potential audiences on all potential platforms.”

2. Create a social media policy. Public Relations Specialist Gabby Bladdick thinks every business, agency and nonprofit –– large and small –– should create a social media policy. Why, we ask? “With the way businesses are relying on social media to be a major part of their marketing campaigns, it’s imperative to establish a company-wide social media policy so every employee is on the same page. It should include everything from what they can/cannot say to repercussions for violating the policy. Trust us, you don’t want to end up like this company.”

3. Review your crisis communications plan. If you don’t have one, create one. Public Relations Director Kristin Sunde says, “We recommend clients review and update their crisis communications plans at least once a year, if not more. As staff, stakeholders, and services and products change, it’s likely your plan needs updating. And if you don’t have a crisis communications plan, resolve to put one in place this quarter. Its value will far outweigh the investment if disaster strikes.

2012 is the year to improve –– so let’s do it together! Give us a call if we can help!

Google+ is a topic that’s been buzzing around the water coolers for the last couple months, but has anyone really grabbed the latest social media platform by the horns? Although it doesn’t have 800 million users like Facebook, it has caused much media attention, and a few early adopters are trying it out. Not sure if you’re ready to jump onboard? Let us take you on the Google+ grand tour:

• Google+’s Stream is just like Facebook’s timeline and Twitter’s feed. Here, you can see updates, pictures, videos and links.
• If you think Facebook’s chat feature is great, you’ll love Google+’s Hangouts. Perhaps the most technologically advanced feature (“it changes who’s on camera based on who’s talking,” according to Mashable), Hangouts allows you to video chat with multiple people from your Circles.
• People are reporting they love Google+ Circles. A creative way to group friends, Circles allows you to designate who sees your posts. Want to share an article related to your industry? Share that link to your “professionals” Circle. Want to post something, but you don’t want your mom to see it? Post to your “friends” Circle.

Most recently, Google+ launched brand pages that have encouraged companies like Pepsi, Toyota, Amazon, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Wells Fargo to share their company messages with their Circles.

Google+ boasts many features that we think will create and engage a large group of users. What do you think about Google+? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

I like to consider myself an early adopter; someone who jumps on the latest social media platform to test it out for myself. I’ve been a long-time fan of Facebook and Twitter and I can’t wait to see where newcomers like Google+ and Get Glue go. Social media is a powerful communications tool for people, companies, non-profits…you name it. Here are a few examples and statistics to demonstrate social media’s importance in today’s society.

Mind-blowing statistics of a couple poplar social media platforms’ reach:

• Facebook has more than 800 million active users (source). That’s the population of New York City multiplied by 100.

• 100 million people joined Twitter in 2011 (source).

• 48 hours of video are uploaded each minute on YouTube. That is eight years of content uploaded each day. Additionally, three billion videos are viewed each day (source).

Remarkable real-life examples of social media’s power:

• Most recently, The Collegiate Time –– the Virginia Tech school newspaper ­­–– utilized its Facebook page to keep the campus alert as to where the shooter was. Students and faculty were giving updates minute-by-minute to ensure campus-wide safety.

• The Wall Street Journal or USA Today did not break the news of the Hudson plane crash. Instead, a man who witnessed the crash simply tweeted a photo.  

• Of 20,000 people polled on Mashable, more than half reported they heard about Osama Bin Laden’s death from either Facebook or Twitter (source).

It’s hard to remember what life was like before social media – how would people have reacted to the news of 9/11 or John Lennon’s death. Social media allows you to have a voice. You don’t need to land a front-page story on The New York Times for your organization’s story to be told – you can do it yourself using these amazing social media platforms.

Take time to think about this important question: if you aren’t utilizing social media, who is telling your story?

What other powerful social media examples do you have? Share them with us on our Facebook page.

Des Moines native Ben Silbermann started a website in March of 2010 and it grew into the latest and greatest social media startup. Haven’t heard of Pinterest yet? Let me introduce you to one of the most addicting sites on the web.

Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board filled with what I like to call, “pretty things.” The website allows you to collect images of your favorite things and ‘pin’ them in organized categories called ‘boards.’ To get started, you request an invitation. After you receive an invitation in your inbox, you can create an account, find friends to follow from Facebook and Twitter, and set up boards to organize your favorite images. From there, the possibilities are endless. For example, I have boards filled with my favorite recipes, outfits, DYI ideas and much more. You can repin images from other people’s boards and even install the “pin it” button on the menu bar of your browser, and collect images from any website.

So, who pins? Brands, companies, organizations, individuals, men, women, adult, youth and many more pin and share images of their future office space, home, dream wedding, recipes, favorite destinations, bucket lists and beyond. Pinterest is not just for individuals, for example, Drake University has boards set up for everything related to college life from dorm room decorations, homework inspiration, studying abroad and alumni gear. They even have a board dedicated solely to exploring the Des Moines area. My personal favorite? The bulldog mascot board – how clever!

No matter your brand, company mission or industry, Pinterest has a place for everyone to showcase their culture, products and services. So, what are you waiting for? Jump on the Pinterest bandwagon!

The Launch of Facebook Timeline

It’s coming (cue the ominous music) another change to Facebook. You may have already heard the rumblings, but Facebook will be launching Facebook Timeline. Creator Mark Zuckerberg says that it will solve a universal problem. “Millions of people spent years curating the story of their life with no way of sharing. We have solved the problem. The story of your life … is the best way to express who you are,” said Zuckerberg. Whether or not you feel that your story has been told, Facebook will now tell it for you.

Facebook Timeline allows you to look back over your entire history of using the social networking site with more visuals and photos displayed. For some that means just a few months or a year, but it can take others back to the beginning of “The Facebook”, which launched in 2004.

You can browse through all of the posts people have put on your wall, find out when you became friends with someone, and look at pictures by the date they were posted. It basically sums up your entire history from the time you launched your profile and humanizes it by showing you when and where you connected with friends.

But, what does this all mean if you use Facebook to market your company or brand? According to Mashable, the Social Media News Blog, it will have profoundly positive effects on the way we interact online. 

“The brand benefits of Timeline could be huge, and will let companies tell a more engaging and authentic story. According to Dr. John Medina’s book Brain Rules, vision is our most powerful sense, and ‘we learn and remember best through pictures, not through written or spoken words.’ This helps explain the popularity of infographics, photo apps like Instagram and visual blog platforms like Tumblr. We increasingly consume information through photos, from browsing friends’ Facebook albums to mobile Twitpics. Accordingly, Facebook has made photos a main focus of the new Timeline profile.”

We can predict that Facebook Timeline will help companies showcase their products and services in a more visual manner. This will, hopefully, allow their customers to have a more personal connection to the brand and enhance the customer-client relationship. We can’t wait to see what happens with the new changes to Facebook and how the new platform will allow us to better serve our clients.