Facebook has once again changed the way it is displaying fan pages. Where people used to be able to “become a fan” of a page, they will now be able to simply “like” a page, similarly to how they can like friends’ status updates and other posts. The abandonment of the phrase “become a fan” is due to research that shows that people are more apt to “like” something than to “become a fan” because it is less committal.
Facebook has also added Community Pages to its site, allowing topics and experiences to have their own pages. Similar to Wikipedia pages, people will be able to learn more about certain topics such as cooking or languages, and also see what others are discussing on the topic. The information for these pages will initially be sourced from Wikipedia, though eventually Facebook members will be able to contribute to the project.
In addition, Facebook is adding a feature to connect your profile to pages related to the biographical information you provide in your profile. Things like current city, education, hometown and work can be connected to Facebook Pages so that they show up as links in your profile. It essentially provides a living map of all the interests, places and people that are important to you.
What are your thoughts on the new changes? What do these changes hold in store for companies who have Facebook Pages?
Is it nearly impossible for you to go a couple hours without checking Facebook? Do you check Twitter on your phone before you get out of bed? You’re not alone.
In a recent article on SFGate.com, 1,000 were people surveyed by Retrevo, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) in order to grasp the hold social media currently has. Some of the numbers:
“18 percent of those under 25, and 11 percent over 25, said they can’t stay away from Facebook for more than a couple of hours without checking.
And 61 percent under 25, and 55 percent over 25, check Facebook at least once daily.
Also, 28 percent of iPhone owners check or update Twitter before they get out of bed in the morning. And 26 percent check or tweet before they turn on their TV. That leads to the 23 percent who rely on Twitter for their morning news.”
Click here for the full SF Gate article.
How often are you using social media? Whether you work in the industry or not, it’s important to remember that it’s good to unplug every once in a while.
As social media continues to gain momentum – and it will – there are certain things that companies should keep in mind when implementing social networks into their marketing platform. One of the most important lessons to learn is that social media needs to be integrated into your overall strategy. In order to do this properly, there are some ideas to keep in mind.
First, you need to put a face to your brand. Many companies are anxious to hop onto Twitter or Facebook, slap a logo on, send out some vague promotional messages and call it a day. People cannot and will not relate to a seemingly distant company trying to connect. People want to connect with living, breathing people. More than connect, they want to converse.
Once you get the basics, it’s imperative to “up your game.” People have followers and fans for one reason – because they’re interesting. Companies that successfully implement social media programs make people laugh or draw curiosity or incite passion.
One mistake that organizations can make is to forget about the brick and mortar aspect of business. While your marketing strategy might be booming online, you need to find ways to tie that back to the offline world, whether its driving traffic to events or to a physical store location. Use social media as a way to empower your offline services, and vice versa.
Finally, remember that your social media strategy will not survive without technology. Embracing technology means embracing change and you must do both if you want your organization’s social media presence to thrive.
The fast-paced technology world makes a solid partnership between creatives and programmers inevitable. Having this type of collaboration ensures that the strategy driven by the marketing team will have a reliable and efficient method and platform for broadcast.
Blogs and online publications have long been a thorn in the side of traditional print publications because of the speed with which they can break news. But now, online publications have an annoyance of their own in the form of Twitter.
From a personal perspective, Twitter is now where I go when I hear word of an important event taking place. Reuters knows a lot of Tweeters do the same thing, and they recently addressed it.
From Mashable: (full article)
Last night, Reuters released their social media policy, which includes instructing journalists to avoid exposing bias online and tells them specifically not to “scoop the wire” by breaking stories on Twitter.
The strict instruction makes it clear that even though news continually breaks on Twitter first — especially in disaster scenarios — Reuters journalists are to break their stories first via the wire and not on Twitter.
Twitter has gained relevance astonishingly quickly. Considering a tweet can hold only 140 characters it’s ironic that Twitter is the most versatile social networking site in the world. It’s a powerful platform, and one that is becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Reuters is taking a bit of a gamble with its new policy, and it will be interesting to see if more news outlets follow their lead or turn in the other direction.
We’re proud to announce our new client, Seigle’s Cabinet Center, the largest distributor of kitchen and bath products in the Chicago market. Seigle’s stands as one of Elgin’s greatest and longest standing family-owned businesses. And if that isn’t enough to spark our excitement, they are also good people—and we love to work with good people.
Seigle’s is an Elgin-area staple—it was established in 1881 by a prominent group of Elgin businessmen led by the Borden dairy family who knew Elgin needed a well-supplied lumber yard. The company grew to be one of the top 50 building materials dealers nationwide. In 2005, Seigle’s was acquired by Stock Building Supply, who exited the market in 2009 due to market conditions. Mark Seigle and family reacquired the cabinetry operation, distributing kitchen and bath products in the Chicago market. Seigle’s, all of Elgin would agree that it’s great to have you back!
We are joining the Seigle’s team as their web marketing specialists to help spread the word about their return to the market, and to establish and maintain relationships with their customer base and potential customers. We are reaching out to builders, home buyers, and purchasing agents through Twitter , Facebook , eblasts, Flickr , LinkedIn , a blog , and other social media techniques.
Expect to see helpful industry news and tips, photos and videos of their stunning work, and current promotions and special offerings. We are proud to be the newest addition to the Seigle’s team.
If you’d like information about how DC Interactive Group can help your business out, contact us.