Good news for anyone interested a career in social media marketing

Being a marketing student, and an avid user of social media, it makes perfect sense to jump into the field of social media coordination and developmental strategies. Why?

An article from  Mashable.com headline reads: Most Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Spend this year.

• 70% plan to increase their social media budget by more than 10% this year, according to a poll from Effie Worldwide and Mashable.
• Primary social media goal is to increase Facebook “Likes.”
• Spending will go toward trying to find new Facebook fans, which 35% of respondents said is their main goal in 2011. “Increase our presence on mobile” was number two on that list, coming in at 22%.

http://mashable.com/2011/04/19/marketers-social-media-spend/

With these findings from surveys and polls, I am confident that social media has opened the doors to a new era of marketing and is paving a successful path for new marketing plans. I love that a job is created from such a relationship based outlet. I know I have been looking in social media coordination as a possible job option, are any of you?

Facebook Teams up with MTV

Facebook is the world's largest social media outlet, encouraging you to share as much information as you can. Ironically,  the company itself is one of the most private companies on the Earth.  MTV's aired a  behind-the-scenes micro-documentary, "The Diary of Facebook" on march 30th.  Mark Zuckerberg, himself, appears in the prologue and really explains the culture set up.

This is a great PR opportunity for Facebook! This was the first step, for facebook's company to be on camera. Will Facebook allow more publicity interaction and open-up to "share" with the world? {if there was a "LIKE" button, I'd hit it}

I normally don't watch MTV much anymore, but when I heard they were shutting a documentary about facebook, the company, i wanted to see what it was all about. I saw the documentary and really liked it. I feel like facebook has so many diverse workers and different specialty jobs within the company. The facebook culture is so different from the normal corporate world. They host hackathons to help employees be innovative and create new ideas and applications with facebook.
I love how Facebook has created jobs and opportunities. I think working there would be an experience of a lifetime!


Here is the trailer - a sneak peak- to the show if you want to see it.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/?id=1660746

If you saw the show what did you think? would you want to work there?


Article: http://adage.com/article/digital/mtv-facebook-real-world-treatment/149624/

Zuckerberg's Law

Zuckerberg’s Law: Every year, you share twice the amount of data than the year before.

The creator of facebook is now claiming laws within his social media empire.

"Publicity, exposure, openness are the central tenets of the social network's mastermind Mark Zuckerberg, who famously stated his belief that privacy is outmoded, that there's little purpose to being online if you're not going to divulge who you are and what you like."

With the rise of social media, data privacy is a hot topic. Consumers and regulators are all becoming concerned.  Facebook, inevitably has won the privacy battle thus far. However, Facebook doesn't take personal information, its given, BY YOU, the user. By signing up, users give facebook the permission to collect data on an individual voluntarily.

My opinion is that Mark Zuckerberg created a space where people don't want privacy. Users want to view other's profiles, walls, information and photos- and users want to be viewed. Until facebook, online communities contained anonymity (mock usernames).
The only concern Ive already recognized  is that even if u "delete"something from Facebook, they still have it. The moment the material is posted, Facebook owns it. I think users don't realize this attribute: what you put on the Internet, stays on the Internet. I know that facebook has a spam protection dept within the company that protects users and employees that monitor it every minute, but it still doesn't protect every aspect-- its now a hunter's paradise.

There is talk that the most likely form of regulation will be of third-party data collectors. I don't think the battle over privacy control is quiet over yet as new developments keep coming into existence with Facebook. I am eager to see how the government will continue to try to stick their hand in this cookie jar....

A Directory of Presentations: Slideshare

*Check out this slideshow video about branding yourself that was created using a new tool called: SLIDESHARE*

http://www.slideshare.net/nateriggs/the-resume-is-dead-building-brand-you


Slideshare is a social marketing activity that is similar to an index of videos like youtube, but instead of videos, its a directory for powerpoint presentations. This is a creative media resource for us as students and as marketers to learn to use. These (short, creative, and informative) presentations are posted onto slideshare and then are shared with social networks.
The article gives 5 great tips for using slideshare
1. Use lots of visual metaphors: No powerpoint should be text heavy, and it should keep the attention of you auidence.
2. Include a call-to-action: incorporate buttons or links for viewer to get additional information.
3. Create lead gen campaigns with LeadShare: this a a low fee program that generates leads rom within slideshare interface.
4. keep the presentations short:  the article recommends between 8-15 slides, but its a personal defination of "short". It needs to be long enough to get your point across, but short enough to make viewer wanting more.
5. Make descriptions and tags keyword rich: Make sure all of these are keyword rich (just like blog posts and videos) so they are more easily found

This is the first I have ever heard of slideshare, but it sounds like a great tool for student and professional projects. This may be a great tool that universities and companies should incorporate.


Topic found from article: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/blogging-and-content-creation/top-5-slideshare-marketing-tips/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConvinceandConvert+%28Convince+and+Convert%3A+Hype-Free+Social+Media+Consulting%29

Happy 5th Birthday, Twitter!!

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/03/21/n_twitter_05_0321.cnnmoney/

The video link above is a report that cnn conducted about twitter and its progress over the past 5 years.

      On March 21, 2007 a mircoblogging site was born. Co-founder, Jack Dorsey wrote the first inital tweet that day. Only 5 years old and twitter has changed how we communicate online.
"Twitter now has 200 million users, including tech luminaries, celebrities and the president of the United States. It started off slowly: In 2007, Twitter averaged just 5,000 tweets per day. "

Polital uprisings and natural disasters around the world has contributed to making social media site a huge communications line. The usage and promotion of Twitter from celebrities (Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears)and even politcal figures (President Obama) has also added to the wild spread of people becoming "Tweeps".
"Twitter currently fields 140 million tweets in a typical day, or more than 1,600 every second."

As of now, Twitter is not profitable. This is the next challenge that the founders and management are looking to accomplish to ensure survival.

My own experience with twitter, just started during this year. I had heard about it about a year ago, but was hestitant to take up yet ANOTHER social media outlet. I just didnt think I had enough time to learn to use it and check on updates everyday. My friend pretty much started setting up my account for me and now I love it! It's how I look up about current events both nationally and globally (on my phone). I can check in with friends I follow and see (much quicker than facebook status updates) what they are doing or thinking about. I use it to look up job opprotunities, follow sports, and express my thoughts and actions during the day. Twitter is also becoming a prominent tool for used marketing research. If your not on Twitter, I encourage you to try it out.
I can't wait to see what how twitter will grow within the next 5 years.

 ARTICLE:  http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/21/technology/twitter_turns_5/

Advertise about the good, the bad, and the ugly

I want to discuss a topic that marketers fear about social media. They are afraid that people will leave negative comments on the sites. Today, people are increasingly utilizing social media to express their experience with a companies service or product. It can be either negative or positive comments. Its been proven that people are more likely to talk about their positive experiences (bloggers are 6x more likely to write positively about brands--power point notes), but businesses beware:  becasue social media IS a way people can communicate a negative experience as well as positive. We all have seen examples used in class. The most common example I think of is  of this singer that made a creative youtube video where united breaks his  guitar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

You may be wondering why this topic came to my mind. My recent experience involves using vactionrentals.com. We used this site to rent a house in Fort Lauderdale, FL for spring break a week ago. The site allows private renters advertise their houses. you can see pictures and descriptions and contact information. The house we choose had false advertisement. It said the house had a heated pool-- NO, pretty sure I recieved a cold after jumping in. The advertisement also said the house was located only a mile from the beach--No, it was atleast 3 miles away. We discovered these notions upon arrival. After the week, the landland tried depositing our deposit, and displayed unprofessional conduct leaving inappropreiate messages on my friends phone. He took our whole $1000 deposit for a slight burn mark from a hair straightener, then shut off his phone and all contact with us. What I then precided to do was check the reviews, which are only viewable ever so often. There were several other similar complaints made. My friend that booked the reservations said that until the week of spring break, the reviews were not available to see. Can the renter control the views or does vacationrentals.com have a gliche in their system? Either way allowing a negative renter advertise on their site reflects bad on vactionrentals. We have already decided that we are going to politely post a negative review on the site to communcate our experience to other renters.
My opinion, I definately want people to communicate bad and good experiences on social media sites. This is an opprotunity for businesses getting negative feedback to improve their services, and consumers get the information and make great choices.
WARNING TO BLOGGERS: Dont burn bridges and stay completely professional, even during a negative post. There are always classy ways to deliver ugly messages. Don't be scared to embrace and contribute to advertising and posting on social media sites with both good and bad exepriences.

The Social Network --The Movie--

Here is the link to the trailer of the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4&feature=player_embedded

I'm going to attempt to give a brief synopism of the movie, that won't give it away (or ruin it) for anyoen that hasn't seen the movie.
This movie is about the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. The movie takes us back to the beginning-back to even the idea generation. Mark is the computer genius that has the ability to create the programing that makes facebook happen. Mark stuns administrator's and captures the attention of thousands. "Within half an hour after that, the site is so popular, it takes down the entire Harvard computer network." That is when the realization hits Mark and his friend (monetary supportor for the site).

This movie is about innovation, greed, and obsessions. There are many key characters in the movie that have different view points. You have Mark: the creator, Eduardo: the business backbone and financial stability for the company, the twins: claimed that mark stole the idea for them, and Sean Parker; the co-founder of napster in the late 90's. I personnally find that each of theese characters make compelling arguements.
Im curious: If you have seen the movie, which character's view point do you agree with? Did you like the movie?

This movie is absolutely brilliant!! I feel that it is essential for users (especially in today's world that practically is revolving around social media) to understand where a product that generates this much buzz comes from. especailly if your utilizing facebook, you should want to know how it orginated and background story. I highly recommed this movie to anyone! it's a must see!!

FYI
Awards that the movie recieved:
4 Golden Globe Wins for “The Social Network!”
Best Picture Drama Golden Globe Win for “The Social Network”
Best Director Golden Globe Win for “David Fincher”
Best Original Screenplay Golden Globe Win for “Aaron Sorkin”
Best Original Score Golden Globe Win for “Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross”

Should your employer have your username and password to YOUR facebook?

http://socialmediatoday.com/neville/271920/should-your-employer-have-access-your-facebook-account?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Today+%28all+posts%29

The article above, written by neville Hobson, discusses a story he found about a man, in Maryland, that had to disclose his facebook login information in his interview when he applied for a job at the state’s Department of Corrections (prison service). They told him this was for background checking purposes.

While I understand that employeers want to know who they are hiring in order to maintain the intgretity of their business, and that social media is a pretty good way of getting to know someone, but having full access to someone elses account (including messages and other privatized information) crosses the lines.

So I raise the questions: Is THIS ethical?, Does this intrude on personal rights?

 

I think this is unethical and invasive. Yes, if someone freely and willingly gave their information, that is their choice. However, by doing so, it puts that person's contacts at risk. Companies now are enforcing social media guidelines into their codes of ethics, that limit and restrain employees from unethcial behavior, but I wonder if the codes of ethics apply to this unethical behavior. No employeer asks for your e-mail user name AND PASSWORD. So how is this form of  disclosing personal information of e-communication any different?  

who is to say this comany, that is asking you to give them this information, is trustworthy after just an interview? ...and once you leave the job, they still have access to your profile.

There are other methods to conduct background checks. I think this is an invasion of privacy. Companies already have software that searchs potential employees on facebook, but having the individual give usernames and passwords is over-stepping boundaries between corporate & social media worlds.

When A Social Media Campaign is * SUCCESSFUL *

An example of a successful campaign is the
Old Spice "The man you could smell like" campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

"Major blogs and websites talked about the campaign as well, which made the campaign even more viral and successful. Even tough cynics at Reddit are even calling it “the greatest ad campaign in Internet history.”"-http://blog.thoughtpick.com/2010/07/

These campaigns are funny and creative, yet, are simple enough for audiences to understand. The commercials are very popular with Youtube; the original commercial has more than 13 million views.  The old spice  wraps several key components into one catchy campaign, thus making it successful. The commercials contain  'appropreiate' sex appeal (which is proven to sell), creativity- that gained huge brand recognition, and they knew their target audience (men).
This campaign worked because it grabbed the attentions of millions and got people talking about it. they were smart to air it during super bowl ads. This approach is very expensive, but it got the attention of a mass audience (conveniently also being their target audience).

Another campaign that I think worked is the Dove Evolution Campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBfg3UwkYM
I think it was successful because it was honest. Women appreciate the notion of a product that is focused on the consumer. Women are highly influenced by the images they see in magazines and billboards, but what they don't know is that most likely they have been altered.  I've actually taken a graphic design course and I have the capabilities to distort images. I think it was a great campaign and it generated a lot of viral buzz. Besides generating a new approach to marketing, it definitely boosted Dove's image and brand.

Social Media Can Help and Hurt your Professional Life*

According to our reading, 75% of managers used social media networks to perform background/recruitment research on job applicants in October 2010.

           Today, social media is becoming a more mainstream method for hiring employees.

Social media enhances a person's social life; including but not limited to: networking, and staying in touch with friends. But, if used correctly, then these tools can also be your 'key to success' in job hunting. If you abuse these tools and expose overly-personal or inappropriate information, it can also hurt you.

As a I near graduation in 3 months, this topic becomes increasingly important to me. While I used to view facebook more as a personal social site, i recently view it more as a self-marketing, job-seeking tool. Growing up, my mother told me that anyone and everyone can see what you choose to put on the Internet. This made me cautious of what I've put on the sites. I always knew that what you put on the Internet, stays on the Internet. College students are uploading pictures and posts from fun parties, however, professionals in the working world are also seeing these uploads.  It's important for college students to "clean up" their social media outlets and portray themselves in a positive light. We have all heard the stories of employees losing jobs because of inappropriate posts and pictures on social media sites. We just need to be aware that people are constantly looking at our profiles. It's our own responsibility for the content shown and none of us want to fall into the "no" pile of job applications because of our profiles online.

Sites like facebook and linkedin do have privacy setting and give some control to the user, however, I have heard that some companies and professionals have access to programs that allows them to override the privacy settings and see complete profiles.
"Over 80% of employers now look for new hires on linkedin." My linkedin account is strictly business-oriented. Its clean, professional, and aids me in job searches. I engage in job forum discussions to help me find out what jobs are available. In comparison, I use facebook and twitter more to capture my social life and networking (which also helps in hearing about job opportunities), however, there is privacy settings that I have established and I made sure that I portray a positive image.

Dan Schawbel, Author of HOW TO: Leverage social media for career success, said it best; "Social media tools are becoming mandatory for career success. They are free advertising and give you the ability to connect directly with hiring managers, entrepreneurs, and recruiters. ---your digital assets- blog, podcast, and social networking profiles- are your online identity and how people discover and connect with you." He gives several tips throughout his blog, but I liked the idea that you have to establish a personal brand- promoting strengths and passions and then getting feedback from your network.

We got the chance this week to engage in a personal social media audit. I have never googled my name before. I found another Melissa McCarty who is a well-know newscaster/reporter that came up in every search I conducted. I noticed that she has successfully branded herself out in the online world. I was happy to find that the only search that I was  included in was Linkedin. I  think this is important for everyone to do in order to monitor their "personal brand". 

Is social media marketing a fad or here to stay?

Social Media is a low cost, effective marketing tool that is here to stay!

According to a video on youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VInXr2Sl2ao, it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million viewers, television 13 years, Internet 4 years, i pod 3 year it only took less than a year for Facebook to reach 200 million users in less than a year.

While these numbers are astonishing, I can completely believe it. I don't have one friend that is not using at least one social media outlet. These outlets include facebook, twitter, linkedin, youtube, netflix, and blogs. People are using social media as valuable creative outlets and are satisfied knowing that what they say is being heard. Not only are people having a voice at little to no cost, but people are being connected globally. According to Paul Gillin's book, Secrets of Social Media, "Many experts believe that the Internet will become the world's largest advertising medium within the next three to five years." 

"78% of consumers trust peer recommendations or Word-Of-Mouth.

Where are they going to research products? Sure they may go to

manufacturer websites, but they’re asking their friends on social

networking sites and user review sites. In fact 46% do this on

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn."
-A guest speaker from a social media firm in Entrepreneurship Marketing class

Not only is social media being used in PR and Promotions, the business world is using these tools for employment and recruitment.  The fact that it is providing jobs for people, adds tremendous value to social media and aids in the long-lasting existence of social media.

My Own Experience:

Once against the Myspace craze several years ago,  I fell "victim" to the addiction of social media. With applications being available on my phone now, it's hard for me to not check facebook and twitter throughout the day. Now, I'm a strong user and supporter of facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, and most recently Twitter and blogging. I truly believe that social media is the greatest strategic asset currently taking over old marketing efforts.

Concluding Thoughts:

This industry is rapidly continuing to grow. Each day, people are jumping in the social media world. There are so many different social media outlets (most I haven't even used, let alone heard of) that are still to be tampered with. Social media is positively 'infectious' and is most definitely here to stay to continue to be explored and developed.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VInXr2Sl2ao
The New rules of Marketing & PR,  by David Meerman Scott
Secrets of Social Media Marketing, by Paul Gillin