Kpa / Hasai
Second Screen Usage During Commercials Highlights Social Media's Potential
Quick, what’s the first thing you do when a commercial comes on the television. The standard answers without thinking about it are: flip through the channels, go to the restroom, or get up to get a drink.
Now, think about it more thoroughly. What do you really do when a commercial comes on. The answer for many Americans and people around the world is that they grab their smartphone or tablet and do things there until the show comes back. In fact, many people are using their smartphones or tablets while they’re watching television.
It’s the way of a mobile, always-connected digital world. Active social media users are checking their feeds during commercials. People check their email. They play games. They check out something on the internet that they thought about during their show. Some just do, well, something, anything, because it’s the right time to do it.
Most businesses are not taking advantage of this trend. We saw a glimpse of it during the Super Bowl when many advertisers read their market research and determined that they should use their spot to highlight social media hashtags, but it was isolated. Businesses aren’t moving forward as quickly as they should.
There are two real takeaways from this trend. First and most obviously, advertising on social media is a must, particularly on Facebook. Compared to television ads, they are pennies on the dollar and they’re reaching people at the intended time – during the entertainment mindset. This is what has made television so effective as an advertising venue and it’s what contributes to the effectiveness of social media advertising, just at a much less expensive scale.
As counter-intuitive as it may seem before you give real thought to it, social media is the most cost-effective way to reach your television audience. It sounds weird, but it’s true. It’s not just while they’re watching television. When was the last time you road on a train or a bus? What are people doing when they’re waiting for a plane? At restaurants, when you’ve put the menu up and finished placing your order, you may talk to the people around you or you might pull out your mobile device while waiting for the food. It’s what we do when we have nothing to do and social media advertising is the key to reaching these people.
The second takeaway is this – businesses should be addressing people through television to interact at that moment on their mobile devices. People are on them. Use that knowledge. I’ll be very impressed the first time I see a television ad that says something like, “You probably have your tablet or smartphone in your hand right now, so check out what we’ve done for you at…”
That would get their attention because you’d be talking directly to them. Even the people who aren’t on their device at that particular moment have a chance of grabbing theirs from the coffee table and checking out what you’re doing simply because you asked in a way that makes them feel connected. It’s basic psychology that is not being used today. Will you take advantage of the trends?
Kpa / Hasai
Second Screen Usage During Commercials Highlights Social Media's Potential
Quick, what’s the first thing you do when a commercial comes on the television. The standard answers without thinking about it are: flip through the channels, go to the restroom, or get up to get a drink.
Now, think about it more thoroughly. What do you really do when a commercial comes on. The answer for many Americans and people around the world is that they grab their smartphone or tablet and do things there until the show comes back. In fact, many people are using their smartphones or tablets while they’re watching television.
It’s the way of a mobile, always-connected digital world. Active social media users are checking their feeds during commercials. People check their email. They play games. They check out something on the internet that they thought about during their show. Some just do, well, something, anything, because it’s the right time to do it.
Most businesses are not taking advantage of this trend. We saw a glimpse of it during the Super Bowl when many advertisers read their market research and determined that they should use their spot to highlight social media hashtags, but it was isolated. Businesses aren’t moving forward as quickly as they should.
There are two real takeaways from this trend. First and most obviously, advertising on social media is a must, particularly on Facebook. Compared to television ads, they are pennies on the dollar and they’re reaching people at the intended time – during the entertainment mindset. This is what has made television so effective as an advertising venue and it’s what contributes to the effectiveness of social media advertising, just at a much less expensive scale.
As counter-intuitive as it may seem before you give real thought to it, social media is the most cost-effective way to reach your television audience. It sounds weird, but it’s true. It’s not just while they’re watching television. When was the last time you road on a train or a bus? What are people doing when they’re waiting for a plane? At restaurants, when you’ve put the menu up and finished placing your order, you may talk to the people around you or you might pull out your mobile device while waiting for the food. It’s what we do when we have nothing to do and social media advertising is the key to reaching these people.
The second takeaway is this – businesses should be addressing people through television to interact at that moment on their mobile devices. People are on them. Use that knowledge. I’ll be very impressed the first time I see a television ad that says something like, “You probably have your tablet or smartphone in your hand right now, so check out what we’ve done for you at…”
That would get their attention because you’d be talking directly to them. Even the people who aren’t on their device at that particular moment have a chance of grabbing theirs from the coffee table and checking out what you’re doing simply because you asked in a way that makes them feel connected. It’s basic psychology that is not being used today. Will you take advantage of the trends?
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
Automotive Social Media is Open 7 Days a Week
Many dealers are trying and failing at social media. Some are succeeding. One of the keys to finding success is in taking on an “always open” mentality.
Just like a website should always be on, social media requires constant attention, particularly Facebook. It doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t take weekends off. In fact, some have seen that the weekends are when the real activity happens. For some pages, they’re receiving more interactions on social media during the weekends or late at night than they do during business hours.
How can a marketing manager or internet manager be successful on something that is constantly nagging at you? One of the ways is through tools. The best tool, of course, is sitting in your pocket or on your desk right now. Mobile devices give us the ability to be on pretty much all the time. One doesn’t have to have Facebook or Twitter open in the web browser at all times. They simply need to have their push notifications set properly.
Make sure that you have the appropriate apps on your phone and that they’re pinging you any time someone is engaging with you on your social networks. If they Tweet at you or send you a direct message, you have the opportunity to interact with them while they’re still on Twitter. If they post a comment on one of your posts or to your Facebook wall, you can get a conversation going even if you’re not in front of your computer.
Some people prefer email. Those of us who are constantly on email can set notifications on our social networks to email us when there’s engagement. On some networks, you can even reply through email directly to the networks – Google+ is great at this.
Regardless of the method, keeping an eye on what’s happening is a must. Here’s graphic showing a business engagement level by day followed by a quote on automotivesocialmedia.com:
You can see from the graph above that this particular dealership gets the most interaction on Sundays. Would this be possible if we weren’t there replying to their weekend comments and posting relevant content? Of course not! People don’t wait around. They don’t want to hear a reply on Monday. They’re ready to engage when they’re ready to engage and if you miss the opportunity, there’s a good chance you won’t have another.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
Automotive Social Media is Open 7 Days a Week
Many dealers are trying and failing at social media. Some are succeeding. One of the keys to finding success is in taking on an “always open” mentality.
Just like a website should always be on, social media requires constant attention, particularly Facebook. It doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t take weekends off. In fact, some have seen that the weekends are when the real activity happens. For some pages, they’re receiving more interactions on social media during the weekends or late at night than they do during business hours.
How can a marketing manager or internet manager be successful on something that is constantly nagging at you? One of the ways is through tools. The best tool, of course, is sitting in your pocket or on your desk right now. Mobile devices give us the ability to be on pretty much all the time. One doesn’t have to have Facebook or Twitter open in the web browser at all times. They simply need to have their push notifications set properly.
Make sure that you have the appropriate apps on your phone and that they’re pinging you any time someone is engaging with you on your social networks. If they Tweet at you or send you a direct message, you have the opportunity to interact with them while they’re still on Twitter. If they post a comment on one of your posts or to your Facebook wall, you can get a conversation going even if you’re not in front of your computer.
Some people prefer email. Those of us who are constantly on email can set notifications on our social networks to email us when there’s engagement. On some networks, you can even reply through email directly to the networks – Google+ is great at this.
Regardless of the method, keeping an eye on what’s happening is a must. Here’s graphic showing a business engagement level by day followed by a quote on automotivesocialmedia.com:
You can see from the graph above that this particular dealership gets the most interaction on Sundays. Would this be possible if we weren’t there replying to their weekend comments and posting relevant content? Of course not! People don’t wait around. They don’t want to hear a reply on Monday. They’re ready to engage when they’re ready to engage and if you miss the opportunity, there’s a good chance you won’t have another.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
If You Want Attention on Google+, Go Large and Horizontal with Your Images
When Google+ first rolled out their change, we called it “Twitteresque“. After exploring it further for the last couple of weeks, we believe that it’s actually better than Pinterest in many ways… and worse.
One of the ways that it’s definitely better than Pinterest is in the display of large photos. The algorithm that drives the way that posts appear in your feed is beginning to reveal itself to be more complex than EdgeRank. It may have been that way all along but we never noticed because there wasn’t enough activity. In any case, it’s there now and we’re liking what we’re seeing.
First, you’ll see something here in this image screen captured from a friend’s feed that my post was prominently displayed. It took a while of scrolling to find the right image for this demonstration and it happened to be mine when we found it.
It’s not hard to understand. Google+ likes big posts. Apparently, it only works for horizontal orientation, though. We also saw an infographic that looked terrible because it was shrunk down.
In a lot of ways, Google+ is still a mystery. The community is emerging and flexing its preference muscles which is likely why they made the recent change. They love images much like Facebook but even more so. They highlight them more prominently than any of the networks and it appears to be a function of the algorithm to determine whether an image is displayed in the standard small format on the feed or if it gets the wide screen treatment. The key is to make sure that the images are large and relatively high resolution. That doesn’t mean that you should be posting huge pictures all the time, but if you can make sure that they’re at least 1000px wide, you should have a chance to get it seen better.
It isn’t just individuals, either. Business pages are getting the treatment as well:
My motto – if you’re going to be social, you might as well go big.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
If You Want Attention on Google+, Go Large and Horizontal with Your Images
When Google+ first rolled out their change, we called it “Twitteresque“. After exploring it further for the last couple of weeks, we believe that it’s actually better than Pinterest in many ways… and worse.
One of the ways that it’s definitely better than Pinterest is in the display of large photos. The algorithm that drives the way that posts appear in your feed is beginning to reveal itself to be more complex than EdgeRank. It may have been that way all along but we never noticed because there wasn’t enough activity. In any case, it’s there now and we’re liking what we’re seeing.
First, you’ll see something here in this image screen captured from a friend’s feed that my post was prominently displayed. It took a while of scrolling to find the right image for this demonstration and it happened to be mine when we found it.
It’s not hard to understand. Google+ likes big posts. Apparently, it only works for horizontal orientation, though. We also saw an infographic that looked terrible because it was shrunk down.
In a lot of ways, Google+ is still a mystery. The community is emerging and flexing its preference muscles which is likely why they made the recent change. They love images much like Facebook but even more so. They highlight them more prominently than any of the networks and it appears to be a function of the algorithm to determine whether an image is displayed in the standard small format on the feed or if it gets the wide screen treatment. The key is to make sure that the images are large and relatively high resolution. That doesn’t mean that you should be posting huge pictures all the time, but if you can make sure that they’re at least 1000px wide, you should have a chance to get it seen better.
It isn’t just individuals, either. Business pages are getting the treatment as well:
My motto – if you’re going to be social, you might as well go big.
No Comments
Wikimotive
Listen to your Facebook Page; It Is Telling You Something.
If you are a business that has a Facebook page, then you already know building a community on the page does not happen overnight. Often times you hear or read about how it takes time and patience to create a page on Facebook that is lively and engaging, which is true, but rarely ever do you learn about the gradual steps that will tell you if your page is growing in the right direction.
The first extremely important factor in building an active community on Facebook is Content. Think of the content you share on your page as a type of “invitation”. When you share a photo, link, video, or question on your page, you are inviting people to interact with your page and more importantly, with your business.
The types of content you share with your potential community will effect who will accept your “invitations” (shared posts) or not. Thus, it is important to share content that you are knowledgeable about and that is relative to your business. If you stray away from sharing these types of content then you will be “inviting” people to your page that have no real interest in your business.
For instance, if you are a car dealership and you post images of cats, than you are going to grab the attention of those on Facebook who love cats, not cars. If you want to attract a community who loves cars, then ensure your Facebook posts are about cars. If you also want to attract people who live locally to you, then post about local events, activities and landmarks. The key is to think about what you are posting first, put a reason behind it, and then listen to what the community is telling you on your Facebook page.
However, you may be wondering, what does “Listening” to your Facebook page mean? After all, it is a page, but keep in mind that with every action that happens on your page there is a voice behind it, which signifies, there are plenty of things you need to be listening to with every piece of content you share.
Once you begin sharing relevant content and start listening to those on your Facebook page, you will gradually see a change occur.
- At first, your content will see a few likes and they may be sporadic at times. However, keep posting relevant content.
- Once people on Facebook see a consistency occurring on your page with the type of content you post, you will gradually begin attracting those with the same interest as the posts you share.
- Eventually, you will begin to see comments happen on your page, again, this may be sporadic, but make sure to respond to each of them. Show that you are listening, which will increase the chances that they will comment again.
- Posts that are “shared” by people on Facebook does not happen as often as likes or comments do, but it is another component you should be listening to.
- Overtime, you will see a larger amount of likes, comments, and shares occur on your page and as you continue listening, you will see your active community grow.
Therefore, in order to build a strong community, it is vital that you listen to the likes, comments, and shares on your page; for each will tell you a little bit more about your page and the content you are posting. Listen to the posts with the most actions and engagements, the people behind them are telling you something.
For instance, if you are a Chevrolet car dealership and you posted an image of a Chevrolet Camaro, which received more likes, comments, and/or shares than another image you posted on the page, then what you should have heard from this is that you need to post more content about the Chevrolet Camaro.
If the type of content you are sharing on your page isn’t receiving a lot of actions, again you are being told something, the people on Facebook are telling you that you may need to change to another type of content or become more creative with it. First, listen to what the people are telling you and then give them what they want to ensure growth of your page.
Your Facebook page not only tells a story to the community about your business, but the community tells you a story too, that is, if you are listening.
***
Read more Share Worthy News on Sharocity’s blog.
No Comments
Wikimotive
Listen to your Facebook Page; It Is Telling You Something.
If you are a business that has a Facebook page, then you already know building a community on the page does not happen overnight. Often times you hear or read about how it takes time and patience to create a page on Facebook that is lively and engaging, which is true, but rarely ever do you learn about the gradual steps that will tell you if your page is growing in the right direction.
The first extremely important factor in building an active community on Facebook is Content. Think of the content you share on your page as a type of “invitation”. When you share a photo, link, video, or question on your page, you are inviting people to interact with your page and more importantly, with your business.
The types of content you share with your potential community will effect who will accept your “invitations” (shared posts) or not. Thus, it is important to share content that you are knowledgeable about and that is relative to your business. If you stray away from sharing these types of content then you will be “inviting” people to your page that have no real interest in your business.
For instance, if you are a car dealership and you post images of cats, than you are going to grab the attention of those on Facebook who love cats, not cars. If you want to attract a community who loves cars, then ensure your Facebook posts are about cars. If you also want to attract people who live locally to you, then post about local events, activities and landmarks. The key is to think about what you are posting first, put a reason behind it, and then listen to what the community is telling you on your Facebook page.
However, you may be wondering, what does “Listening” to your Facebook page mean? After all, it is a page, but keep in mind that with every action that happens on your page there is a voice behind it, which signifies, there are plenty of things you need to be listening to with every piece of content you share.
Once you begin sharing relevant content and start listening to those on your Facebook page, you will gradually see a change occur.
- At first, your content will see a few likes and they may be sporadic at times. However, keep posting relevant content.
- Once people on Facebook see a consistency occurring on your page with the type of content you post, you will gradually begin attracting those with the same interest as the posts you share.
- Eventually, you will begin to see comments happen on your page, again, this may be sporadic, but make sure to respond to each of them. Show that you are listening, which will increase the chances that they will comment again.
- Posts that are “shared” by people on Facebook does not happen as often as likes or comments do, but it is another component you should be listening to.
- Overtime, you will see a larger amount of likes, comments, and shares occur on your page and as you continue listening, you will see your active community grow.
Therefore, in order to build a strong community, it is vital that you listen to the likes, comments, and shares on your page; for each will tell you a little bit more about your page and the content you are posting. Listen to the posts with the most actions and engagements, the people behind them are telling you something.
For instance, if you are a Chevrolet car dealership and you posted an image of a Chevrolet Camaro, which received more likes, comments, and/or shares than another image you posted on the page, then what you should have heard from this is that you need to post more content about the Chevrolet Camaro.
If the type of content you are sharing on your page isn’t receiving a lot of actions, again you are being told something, the people on Facebook are telling you that you may need to change to another type of content or become more creative with it. First, listen to what the people are telling you and then give them what they want to ensure growth of your page.
Your Facebook page not only tells a story to the community about your business, but the community tells you a story too, that is, if you are listening.
***
Read more Share Worthy News on Sharocity’s blog.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
What do Abandoned Facebook Pages Say About Your Business?
In many ways, Facebook has lost some of its luster as a business tool. It isn't that it's not possible to properly market a business on the platform. It's that the complexity of the EdgeRank algorithm mixed with the touchiness of the advertising formats has many turning autopilot onto their pages instead of investing time or money into them.
They just weren't seeing a return on investment the way that they had hoped.
It seems to be an ebb and flow of sentiment. General Motors, for example, decided to dump their investment into Facebook advertising last year before returning to the platform this year. It's not an uncommon practice - try it, fail, give it up, hear that things are better, try again.
Those who are on the downside of their Facebook love affair often turn to automation. Once they've decided that they can't get the ROI out of Facebook, they either abandon their page altogether or continue to post to it semi-regularly or through posting tools that take care of the process for them. It isn't hard to see when a business has taken their eyes off the Facebook ball for a while as the posts quickly become unengaged. Users stop liking them. Comments stop coming in. These pages become virtual ghost towns.
The challenge is with the representation it offers to those who visit the page. Just because a business abandons their page or sets it on autopilot doesn't mean that people stop visiting it. Sure, the posts are no longer visible in the news feeds of fans and friends of fans, but there's still search. With very few exceptions, Facebook pages rank on the front page of searches for businesses by name. People visit them to get a feel for what the business is up to and how they're treating social media in general. What do they find when they visit abandoned or poorly managed pages?
It's not good. It leaves a bad taste in people's mouths in the best case scenario. In other cases, it can actually be a detriment as negative posts from spammers find their ways onto the walls of abandoned pages. Spammers love hijacking them and filling them with links to bad places because they're much less likely of getting reported. Spam posts on active pages are a quick way for someone to get banned, while on abandoned pages they can help spammers get more credibility in the eyes of the automatic Facebook spam filters. Facebook relies on pages and users to report spammers. When they can find friendly havens on pages that have been abandoned, it helps them build quiet credibility in the eyes of the filter.
Even pages that are checked on a semi-regular basis can be bad. They demonstrate very little effort in a very loud way. Many social media users are passionate about their networks and don't like it when a business is willing to dismiss their page. Is it worth it? Can investing 5 minutes a day help to prevent this from happening?
Absolutely.
* * *
Post originally appeared on Techi.
No Comments
Kpa / Hasai
What do Abandoned Facebook Pages Say About Your Business?
In many ways, Facebook has lost some of its luster as a business tool. It isn't that it's not possible to properly market a business on the platform. It's that the complexity of the EdgeRank algorithm mixed with the touchiness of the advertising formats has many turning autopilot onto their pages instead of investing time or money into them.
They just weren't seeing a return on investment the way that they had hoped.
It seems to be an ebb and flow of sentiment. General Motors, for example, decided to dump their investment into Facebook advertising last year before returning to the platform this year. It's not an uncommon practice - try it, fail, give it up, hear that things are better, try again.
Those who are on the downside of their Facebook love affair often turn to automation. Once they've decided that they can't get the ROI out of Facebook, they either abandon their page altogether or continue to post to it semi-regularly or through posting tools that take care of the process for them. It isn't hard to see when a business has taken their eyes off the Facebook ball for a while as the posts quickly become unengaged. Users stop liking them. Comments stop coming in. These pages become virtual ghost towns.
The challenge is with the representation it offers to those who visit the page. Just because a business abandons their page or sets it on autopilot doesn't mean that people stop visiting it. Sure, the posts are no longer visible in the news feeds of fans and friends of fans, but there's still search. With very few exceptions, Facebook pages rank on the front page of searches for businesses by name. People visit them to get a feel for what the business is up to and how they're treating social media in general. What do they find when they visit abandoned or poorly managed pages?
It's not good. It leaves a bad taste in people's mouths in the best case scenario. In other cases, it can actually be a detriment as negative posts from spammers find their ways onto the walls of abandoned pages. Spammers love hijacking them and filling them with links to bad places because they're much less likely of getting reported. Spam posts on active pages are a quick way for someone to get banned, while on abandoned pages they can help spammers get more credibility in the eyes of the automatic Facebook spam filters. Facebook relies on pages and users to report spammers. When they can find friendly havens on pages that have been abandoned, it helps them build quiet credibility in the eyes of the filter.
Even pages that are checked on a semi-regular basis can be bad. They demonstrate very little effort in a very loud way. Many social media users are passionate about their networks and don't like it when a business is willing to dismiss their page. Is it worth it? Can investing 5 minutes a day help to prevent this from happening?
Absolutely.
* * *
Post originally appeared on Techi.
No Comments
No Comments