I was reading yet another piece on the data out that Facebook edge seems to favor live manual posts over on SociaMediaToday
My comment from them was rejected by the labyrinth of logins on that site (likely my fault), so I’m posting it here.
Their article and the other comments are good, but I think this best sums up what I think is the real issue
This study bothers me.
I believe that the extra work of logging in a a page at the right time of day, posting a link with a good graphic, editing the default title and description and adding though provoking questions to encourage discussion would be the key to success.
But what part of that overall program I just described is due to which software you used to post?
Could it be that the 3rd part posts do a lousy job of all of these factors. Has Facebook admitted that it’s giving a lower score just because the post was sent through the API?
I know when I’m reading a news feed, the style of the post, along with the content, make a huge different in what gets read, commented on and clicked. I’m biased by my personal experience, but in years of reading thousands of posts, I can’t recall using the source as a primary flag for quality EVER.
The differences between apps could easily be explained by the way they format posts to the API. I know that it’s a very few sites that allow me to share something on my page with edits and photos, for instance.
And then there are the skewed numbers of content quality. Since most marketers are dumping autoposts onto pages and most engaging status updates and posts are done by hand, it would seem to reason that clicks are better from the live user.
In the example here, the two post look very different. It’s NOT the source, it’s the content
Marketing, promotion and business today are easier than ever. Tools can help people. Metaphors abound, but “social media as a weapon” feels odd to me.
You start by listening. You can look at a complaint, a sarcastic comment or an off based remark as an annoyance, but I’m personally thankful for every real engagement. Bots (both software and people who post like they were a bot) are in the way, but real people writing are a blessing and I’m grateful.
Today on EmprieAvenue, I got shareholder mail (a private message sent only to players who invested in a stock by that stock’s owner) with a very long pitch that ended up mostly whining about abuse to their system).
Readers responded politely and then got this reprimand:
We sincerely apologize if you misinterpret our business overview.We will used your opinion,feedback and suggestion to improve our company organization strategy in our upcoming board meeting.We have an open door policy feel free to share your idea with us.
The people writing the replies were shareholders. That means they have
Spent the time and effort to be identified as real humans to play the game
Picked the stock and invested (it’s a stock market game)
Read the shareholder mail
Spent a couple minutes more to write a response
My reaction before reading the shareholder replies was to either delete the message. In my experience, they aren’t there to learn, they’ll just get mad and move on.
After reading the replies, I wanted to punish the player. Since that not the way I roll, I’m keeping the stock (connection) to watch and see what happens and writing this post without mentioning names. That’s how I roll
Do You Use Social Media as a Weapon?
You know that marketing today must include listening and engaging with your customers/prospects/vendors/network/shareholders. When you do engage, make sure it’s done as if the real person reading and responding is your best friend (use “mother” “sister” or “lover” here is you please.. I use “child” as I’ve learned that nothing my children do should ever make me angry).
Getting this down will allow you to attract the people you are looking for, without looking for them. I call this marketing philosophy LISTEN AND LOVE. There’s no reason you need consider any marketing too, and especially social media, as a weapon.
Social media is a term we like to use today to talk about the revolution in the way we run our businesses and our lives. I can’t say when the fad of calling it social media will end, but I can tell you that the principles and profitable strategies we talk about in Profitable Social Media are not going to change.
I know this, because they were around before anything called social media or the Internet.
Lately I’ve been researching the game called EmpireAvenue wherein a stock market simulation allows you to buy and sell the stock of people and web sites. (I’ll have more on this soon). While there, I met Erich Shanholtzer and we became friends on Facebook.
Rather than just collect friends to send notices to, I’ve learned that a profitable relationship begins with getting to know people. So I quickly scrolled down his wall. There I noticed this video:
Serendipity comes from as little as a note of music
I realized I had not heard any Billy Preston for quite some time and while I was anxious to move on to my next chore, I figured I could spare a minute to hear some music
So glad I did.
As soon as I heard a few bars from the song, I remembered the feeling of listening to the keyboard work of Billy Preston and was inspired to LIKE the video, add share it with my Facebook friends. While I was at it, I clicked to share the video link with Twitter followers where I started three conversation with people I hadn’t talked to in a while.
Moved by the words:
“Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. You gotta have something, if you want to be with me”
I started thinking how “something” can be as little as sharing a song.
I went further to listen to some other Billy Preston songs on YouTube, and contemplated how I could use them in this blog post…
But That’s Not The Real Story
I’ve been putting off several creative projects for a variety of reasons (excuses) and one of the items that fell through the cracks was blog posts. Well, since I got to jumping with the beat of Billy Preston, I’ve finished three of those projects and created two other blog posts.
I knew I would get “something” from listening to Billy Preston within a few seconds. I can thank Eric for taking the few seconds needed to share this video and will remember him for the gift he gave me.
I don’t know if I’ll ever do business with Eric. I can’t tell you how well I’ll do for the projects I’ve moved forward because of this change or if I’ll touch anyone with this blog post.
And that’s OK.
Every great idea, new business revenue, sale, relationship or adventure starts with the inception of an idea. Today, it’s easier than ever to touch others and be the inspiration they are looking for. If one moment in 100 like this brings results, you’ll have a very good ROI (return on investment).
You can focus on the areas where you feel the best chance for profit and likely will find things that work better than Billy Preston. You may never know where the inception of serendipity comes from but I can promise you it won’t happen unless you are willing to try things that aren’t guaranteed to work right away.
How You Can Profit Today
Think about the people you work with. Your prospects, suppliers, co-workers and clients. What can you do today that will help them?
It can be as simple as an uplifting phrase shared, a smile as you pass by or a thank you… or it can be anything that will help them get what they want.
You know people want more than whatever you are selling. So here’s the trick. The less you think about helping them buy your product, the more likely they’ll be to feel favorable when it comes time to do something for you. Cialdini called it the Law of Reciprocity. I say it’s just the golden rule.
Do unto other as you would have them do unto you
Sure, you have to make a living and close the deal. Just remember that other people have needs that aren’t fulfilled from buying from you. Help them in little ways to get whatever they want, and you’ll always get more of what you want.
Social media technology at it’s best is a collection of tools to help you serve your customers better.
We talk a lot about listening to customers and engaging them wherever they want as opposed to making them come to you on your web site or in your store.
Tesco literally did this by taking the whole store to busy commuters in Korea.
Tesco takes social media beyond conversation and get mores sales
You have started listening to your customers. I’m sure they are telling you how they’d like to shop.
What are you doing to go above and beyond to meet your customers needs?
Twitter is undoubtedly part of the social media giants that can bring the success of any company, no matter how big or small in size. Twitter relies on such a simplistic mechanism, yet it is so powerful that it can move mountains. The degree of social media involvement that Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook trigger 24/7 is remarkable. Folks are not solely sharing celebrity gossip pages or links with funny cat videos. Understood the power of sharing and lost objects, pets, or even persons are now hot Twitter topics. Tweeting about anything and anyone, following the latest news and ideas and choosing from a sea of millions of alternatives is what makes Twitter so special. The fact that companies can make full use of Twitter to better market their products/services/brand adds more value to the platform. Below you will find a series of useful ideas on how to make your business more visible, more followed, and, ultimately, more successful.
Understand What Twitter Is All About
I have debated the topic of Twitter and its uses a great number of times so far. But the ever-changing social media environment is forcing me to constantly add new elements to the general definition of Twitter. Namely, add brand new benefits for using Twitter a certain way. The
very basic things you will need to remember in relation to properly using Twitter are to get actively involved in conversations and retweet, post relevant information only, don’t tweet every 5 minutes or so, avoid spamming and do follow others. Direct company promotion is to be avoided also. Use guides or video tutorials related to the products or services you are trying to sell and tweet about the respective guide or video tutorial. Don’t forget to import all of your Hotmail, Gmail, and address book contacts – the more, the merrier.
Complete Your Twitter Profile
Make sure you also fill in the optional fields for a complete profile, besides the mandatory fields, and do not forget about mentioning the URL of your website or blog. If you have used the proper branding strategies for your company – name, logo etc – it is time to customize your Twitter account with it.
Create A Strong Followers’ Database
Once your profile is completed, you must work on building a large database of followers. Use the special add-ons all website builders and blog building tools are now offering for free and add the “Follow me on Twitter” button. Use the link as part of your online signature, on your business card, when involved in forum discussions, or as an important element of your website. Use your company’s blog to post new things and encourage readers to follow you on Twitter. Use specialized Twitter directories to find more followers and follow your friends’ followers, so they can follow you. Make full use of the keyword-based search features so that you can come across folks you might be interested in following.
If you have a bingo-oriented business, tweet a link to a Cosmik Casino review online provided by a reputable site like Australia-Casino so you can win over your followers’ trust. First read the review yourself and tweet about the bonus offer, selection of games, or customer support services provided by the fellows at Cosmik Casino as the main highlights.
What started out as a game that didn’t interest me much has morphed into a useful networking tool for business. It’s like Declan Dunn says about pivots (watch his video) the key to success is not what you thought you should do, but what works.
The pivot for Empire Avenue came when they listened to there users and adapted. Watch the Scobleizer video to see where they have been, where they are going, and how you can profit.
Robert Scoble at Empire Avenue
Bonus points for seeing pivot points for your own business.. share your thoughts below
The world is coming to us all in real time now.. We still value great content, a thoughtful post, an entertaining video or a quiet conversation with friends.. but we get so much none stop 24/7 content, the value of curating and quick help is accelerating
This is one of the 15 trends. Watch the slide show here for more:
Google Add Their LIKE Button.. the +1
Likeonomics is the trend to watch. People want to share, and they want to do it quickly.
Google moves towards instant mini-recommendations with the +1 button
Are you letting your readers and customers share easily?
