Social Media Planning

16 Things You Should Know About Social Media for 2016

08/05/2015 by sss4success Leave a Comment

Thank me later for getting you started on this 5 months ahead of time!

A very popular, unattributable internet quote says: "Facebook is for the people you used to know, LinkedIn is for the people you know now, and Twitter is for the people you want to know". In this statement lies a very important trait of social media outlets: You need to know the network you want to promote your message on, because part of that knowledge includes having an understanding of the target audience that exists there!

A true list of everything you should be thinking about in your Social Media Marketing Plan for 2016 could fill a book, but for brevity’s sake, I’ve provided 16 quick-and-dirty things you should know about social media (by topic) as you start gearing up for the New Year:

Websites & Blogs: As you move forward, be sure to make your website/blog the focal point of your Social Media Marketing activities. Why? Because at the end of the day, this is something you own outright, as opposed to social platforms whose Terms of Service pretty much give them the right to giveth and taketh away on their own whims (with or without notice).
Facebook: Facebook is looking to integrate video better into its platform and to optimize the mobile experience (given that most people now access The Web via a mobile device). As they also seek to make money (as most businesses do), be on the lookout for a further lockdown on the ways that you can access folks for free.
Twitter: Over 300,000,000 users are tweeting half a billion tweets a day in order to share information and ideas instantly, without geographic barriers. The platform is continually changing, and they’re working to do what they can to enhance their user’s experience with rich media (i.e. visual content).
LinkedIn: Still the more professional of the “social networks”, LinkedIn is looking to keep its users engaged and further solidify themselves as the go-to network for professional and career opportunities. You’ll continue to see more use of Company Pages and Sponsored Updates as people figure out how best to use this network to reach their target audience.
YouTube: Without question, YouTube is THE video sharing website garnering billions of views per day and 300 hours of video uploaded every minute! The average person that visits YouTube spends between 15-40 minutes there, so this is a great way to create content in another medium and increase the likelihood of expanding your audience.
Podcasting: The average daily commute in the U.S. is 26 minutes, and most people that belong to a gym (and visit it) spend at least 2 hours there a week. All those people need something to listen to; Why not your podcast? A recent survey showed that podcasting is only being used by 10% of marketers, and this presents an opportunity, especially as people look for ways to differentiate themselves in other crowded digital spaces.
E-Newsletters & Email Marketing: Similar to your website and blog, your email marketing mailing list database is something you own and have hopefully cultivated earnestly over the years, so it’s something you can use to your advantage to continually enhance your relationship with your stakeholders. Don’t believe what anyone says if they’ve told you “email is dead”.
Google+ (or whatever new iteration it takes over the next few months): Google’s social network offering has been a point of contention pretty much since it debuted. Both novices and knowledgeable folks have debated the relevance of Google in the social realm, and the only thing that’s clear: Google isn’t going anywhere. They’ve got too much information on me (and you) to just go silently into the night and not find a way to capitalize it. For this reason, I implore you: Don’t count Google out, and don’t take your eye of whatever they’re doing!
Instagram: You have to love Instagram as the “perfect marriage” of Facebook’s social ties and Twitter’s active mobile-friendly, visually stunning style! Those with a need to deliver “real-time” photo or short video-based messages can easily find a home here.
Pinterest: Choosey moms choose Pinterest! Ok, it’s more than just moms; This pinboard-style photo-sharing website and mobile app lets users create theme-based image collections surrounding interests, hobbies, and events. And people that use Pinterest, LOVE IT! If you’ve got a message that can be articulated into a collage-style image board, then this is your new place!
Tumblr: Tumblr lets users post text, images, videos, links, and audio to their tumblelog (a short-form blog), and is very popular among the under 35 crowd. From a social marketing standpoint, one of the best things about Tumblr is that content there is often the catalyst for things that go viral! Remember The Dress That Broke The Internet, or colloquially #ThatDress? It all started on Tumblr!
SnapChat: With content intended to be temporary, SnapChat is really big among 13 – 34 year olds who believe their content magically goes away forever after their 10 second “snap” has expired. The company touts itself as the best way to reach users in the aforementioned age group, and they’ve recently introduced advertising that’s supposed to be game-changing and super-effective. We’ll see!
Mobile Marketing (Users): Mobile marketing is such a huge topic, that you can’t really do it justice in a few brief remarks in a blog post – but I’ll try. I’ve broken it into three (3) parts, to make it easier to digest in such small blurbs. Mobile Marketing: Users – More than 60% of adults in the U.S. & Canada have a smartphone, many with more than one device. Android holds 52.4% of the marketshare, with Apple trailing at 42.6%, and Microsoft at 3.3%. Not sure how (if at all) Windows 10 will effect these numbers, but it’ll be interesting to watch this trend as 2016 gets underway!
Mobile Marketing (Trends) – Users are going to be thinking mobile first, so you should design your webspaces with this mindset. Think about how voice search and handheld devices change the nature of how people will interact with your websites and social content, and work on the best ways to optimize this experience. Also, don’t forget to factor in the use of mobile payments and wearables, and keep your eye on The Internet of Things (IoT), because the Apple Watch and FitBits are only the tip of the iceberg!
Mobile Marketing (Apps): Mobile Apps are cheaper to build than they once were, but more expensive to maintain in the long-run. However, if you’d like a mobile app for your brand, it continues to be a great way to engage your audience over a significant period of time. A mobile app can keep people coming back, and keep you in their minds for a long time to come.
Location-Based Marketing: Location-Based Marketing (LBM) is an off-shoot of mobile marketing that certainly falls under its umbrella, however LBM’s strategy is based on a mobile device’s location. With the ability to target your audience based on the user’s location, you can provide a more personalized experience tailored to their personal preferences and traits. This means things like pushing location notification messages to nearby stakeholders, or providing turn-by-turn navigation instructions to guide visitors right to your location! Location-based marketing is a great bridge from “the digital world” into “the real world”, and the possibilities are endless!

Did you find this quick review helpful? Great! Over the next few weeks, I’ll elaborate on each of these topics more in-depth, but in the meantime, for your own edification, I would suggest checking out “The 2015 State of Social Marketing Report” by Kevin Shively over at Simply Measured and the “2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” from the Social Media Examiner.

Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to leave your comments below.

FAFSA (Federal Student Aid) Mocks The Poor: A Lesson on Using Social Media the Wrong Way

06/24/2014 by sss4success Leave a Comment

Tonight, when I did my evening peek into the "real news network" that is Twitter, I came across this:

A brief search down my timeline revealed what some considered to be a "joke" sent from the official account of Federal Student AID (an office of the U.S. Dept. of Education that provides grants, loans, and work-study funds for college) that reads: "If this is you, you better fill out your FAFSA: fafsa.gov", followed by an edited screen capture from the movie "Bridesmaids" that says "Help me. I'm poor" under Kristen Wiig's character:

The post was retweeted more than 1400 times and favorited over 700 times on Twitter before it was deleted. As of 11PM CT, it's still listed as a photo in their Photo Album on their Facebook Page (Update: They deleted it sometime after midnight, but we've included a screen capture of it at the bottom of this post). The best tweet I saw came from Lauren D. Thomas (Engineering Education Researcher/PhD/Practitioner. STEM Ed #GameChanger):

Others on Twitter displayed their unhappiness with this official social media outlet of a federal agency too via the #AskFAFSA hashtag:

You can follow the #AskFAFSA hashtag on Twitter to see other's reactions and the FAFSA response (which hasn't come as of midnight ET tonight): https://twitter.com/hashtag/AskFAFSA?src=hash

The last official tweet before FAFSA's deleted poverty mocking tweet encourages users to interact with them via the #AskFAFSA hashtag. Should this story pick up tomorrow, under the bright day's sun and "Hump Day Hubbub" the folks over at Federal Student Aid may be in for more than they bargained for! Currently, they're advertising an #AskFAFSA Office Hours at 5PM on June 25th, and I'd encourage everyone offended by their tweet to #AskFAFSA why they think it's okay to make fun of the poor?!

Whomever is behind this "let's make fun of poor people" campaign needs to be held accountable, and since I'm a concerned taxpayer, I want answers and I'm going to go see if I can find some by contacting FAFSA directly. As a former federal employee and tax payer, I'm angered at the government's lackadaisical social media policy, if one exists, and the recklessness with which they allow their employees to tweet on their behalf. Making fun of the poor is not funny, and it especially shouldn't come from government employees, acting in an official capacity on the taxpayer's dime!

As a Social Media Specialist, this also makes me shake my head in disgust because it highlights an issue that many organizational leaders just don't get (until it's too late, since many prefer to be REACTIVE, rather than PROACTIVE), and that is: HIRE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL TO MANAGE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA! And yes, in this day and age where "everyone has a smartphone" and a Facebook account, some will mockingly suggest that "anyone can manage your social media", but we see, in times like this, as well as with other failures like United Airline's recent flub with sending an X-rated photo to its followers, that not just anyone can or should be in charge of your social media marketing!

I like to use the analogy that putting someone in charge of your social media because they're "young" (based on the presumption that they "get technology" simply because they are young), is the equivalent of putting a newly minted 16 year old driver behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler truck! Yes, they've been taught to drive, but they're not ready to handing an 18-wheeler, and when you use social media on behalf of a BUSINESS, you're dealing with a TRUCK and not a MiniCooper! There's more at stake and more on the line for organizations and businesses, and as such, they need to be more proactive to protect their name and their brand from senseless acts of recklessness like this FAFSA poverty mock, which can be easily avoided with the proper Social Media Policy in place and a Social Media Marketing Plan.

Now, I'm going to do my best to get in touch with some folks at Federal Student Aid, and for those that want more information about FAFSA (Federal Student Aid) (a performance-based organization in charge of awarding approximately $137 billion dollars of your tax money), here are some key folks in charge:

James W. Runcie is the Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid, and he works in UCP (Union Center Plaza), Room 112G1, 830 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. It looks like his phone number is: 202-377-3003 and his email address is: james.runcie@ed.gov.
The Internet tells me that Nicole Callahan is the "Digital Engagement Strategist – U.S. Department of Education's office of Federal Student Aid". She write's for the "Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Education", and her LinkedIn profile says she interned with Federal Student Aid for a year before becoming their "Digital Engagement Strategist" 3 years ago. She's also on Twitter: @NACallahan, and it looks like her email address is: Nicole.Callahan@ed.gov.

So to recap: Don't mock the least vulnerable among us while trying to be pithy on the web!

Thanks,

Kindra Cotton, Social Media Specialist

Note: At 11:54PM CT FAFSA posted an apology tweet and later deleted the image from their Facebook album (though you can see a screen capture of it below). This isn't good enough for me. I'd like to see their Social Media Policy, and learn about their department's training for employees that manage and monitor these accounts to make sure this doesn't happen again! As a taxpayer, I have the right to request this information. I'll report back later with what I find!

The Social Media Planning Process (The Workshop)

10/04/2011 by sss4success 7 Comments

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011 for those in the Nashville, TN area, I will be giving a workshop on: The Social Media Planning Process: How to Use Social Media to Build Your Brand from 5:30 – 6:45PM at the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office on 50 Vantage Way in Nashville, TN 37228.

During this workshop, I’ll talk about how to map out a Social Media Marketing Plan that fits squarely within the overall marketing plan of a company. Through highlighting how social media outlets can be used to drive traffic to websites and blogs, generate interested new and return customers, this workshop aims to outline the process by which a company builds its brand recognition among the users who frequent various online social communities.

The workshop is free and you can register to attend here: http://www.minoritybusinesscenter.com/MedWeek/medweek_registration

Where are you in your social media planning process?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

Still wondering who I am? Here’s a Brief Bio:

Kindra C. Cotton, Serial Entrepreneur, Technology & Social Media Specialist, Certified Search Engine Marketer, and Jill of All Trades (and a Master of Two), channels her energies into her small business consulting enterprises specializing in brand marketing, market research, and strategic information consultancy. A transplanted Nashvillian with years of expertise with the Internet and web-based technologies, she channels her passion for entrepreneurship, information technology, and social media into being an excellent resource for online marketers and people looking to promote their brand on the web as Examiner.com’s National Online Marketing Examiner. Her flagship brand “SSS for Success” specializes in preparing small and medium-sized organizations to take advantage of the free and low-cost marketing avenues that exist in the online arena. She recently became a Certified Search Engine Marketer and in her spare time (what little there is), she will soon venture into the Career Services field as a Federal Employment Career Transition Coach.