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Social Media Week 2013 has officially wrapped up here in Chicago and I'm happy to say I survived, barely!! It's these conferences and idea sharing sessions that inspire me and get me re-invigorated. I met some wonderful people and I have to say that these people are not just colleagues, but friends! As I reflect back on the week, I wanted to share some statistics...
Everyone can harness the amazing capabilities of social media sites like Twitter to strengthen a business. Let’s look at the top Twitter trends from last year. And... Just when you thought you were done reading 2012 re-caps, here we are with another! Lauren Leto, the creator of the website Texts From Last Night, once said, “Twitter provides us with a wonderful platform to discuss/confront societal problems. We trend Justin Bieber instead.” It’s funny – unavoidably, spirit-crushingly true, but funny nonetheless. The truth is that mass communication tools have always been very powerful. Yet they have probably always been wasted on spreading trivial news and gossip. The telephone changed the world, connecting people across vast distances … so they could exchange recipes or gossip about extramarital affairs. If you look back at human history, you likely can find that letters delivered by horseback, hieroglyphics, and maybe cave paintings have been misused by someone to tell someone else something that was unimportant.
Social media “is what it is,” as my father liked to say (about pretty much anything). It’s up to each one of us – and yes, that includes you – to harness its amazing capabilities into something useful. Socialty can help you make the most out of Twitter, and many other social media services. We help clients leverage social media into something that works for you and works to strengthen your business.
Let’s take a look at the top Twitter trends from last year.
Among the famous people who started their own Twitter accounts in 2012 are soccer legend Pele (@pele), rock icon Neil Young (@neilyoung) and Pope Benedict XVI (@pontifex). According to ABC News, on December 10th the Pope had 608 thousand followers, and that was before his account’s first tweet. One month later, 1.4 million and counting.
Twitter has 140 million active users, and 1 billion tweets are sent about every 60 hours.
The most retweeted message of 2012 was from Barack Obama, who sent “Four more years.” and a picture of his wife hugging him. This low-key celebration of his re-election as President of the United States was retweeted over 800 thousand times and favorited by 300 thousand users. A distant second was pop singer Justin Bieber’s heartfelt message “RIP Avalanna. i love you” when a 6-year-old fan he had befriended died of brain cancer. The message had 224 thousand retweets.
ABC News listed several “Conversations of the Year,” topics that drove messaging through the roof in 2012. These include the aforementioned U.S. national elections, the Summer Olympics in London, and the February 11th death of singer Whitney Houston.
Other important moments for the Twitter service in 2012 involved the boundaries of human life on our planet, and the exploration of another. Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking skydive from the edge of space was one of Twitter’s “Conversations of the Year,” according to ABC News. Other notable tweets that were viewed by millions included live images of Hurricane Sandy – tweeted to Earth from astronauts aboard the International Space Station, live updates of the NASA mission to Mars as Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted from the shuttle’s command center as the Curiosity rover touched down on the Red Planet, and a tweet by film director and part-time adventurer James Cameron – sent from over 35 thousand feet under the ocean during a dive to bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Another cool look back at the top trends on Twitter in 2012 was published by the blog at HootSuite. (HootSuite is a Canadian social media management system that helps users to manage multiple social media accounts.)
HootSuite pointed out that 2012 on Twitter was all about passion, patriotism and battles, with the Summer Olympics and the U.S. elections as its two main examples. I think we all read some heated and grouchy if not downright mean messages. According to HootSuite, election Tweets peaked at over 320 thousand per minute, as the blogger asks us “Should the traditional saying, ‘no politics at the dinner table’ apply to Twitter as well?”
But HootSuite also noted that events like Hurricane Sandy, in which people are afraid or even helpless in the face of disaster or tragedy, show that Twitter and other social media can be a source of support, info and news. “In the aftermath of Sandy’s massive destruction, social became a channel for the world to help and send warm thoughts to those left in the dark,” the blog said.
I think we all should remember Twitter in 2012 for being a way people deal with and make it through life’s difficulties, just like in years past and during important global events. (The Arab Spring Uprisings leap to mind.) In 2012 we saw widespread power outages in and around New York City and other northeastern metropolitan areas – and we also saw simple gestures of kindness and solidarity like store owners stringing together “power strips” and giving free electricity access to passersby. The iPhone, Android smartphones and other “smart” devices proved their value to many, as we saw thousands of people who otherwise had no way to contact far away friends and family, using social media as much as they used simple phone calls as a lifeline. In 2012 we again saw Twitter used as a way for ordinary citizens to communicate with authority figures. Small-town mayors and other civil servants monitored Twitter and responded to questions, complaints, and even the occasional pleas for help, with the touch of a few buttons or a few taps on a touch-screen monitor.
Twitter in 2012 was also a major source of information for consumers. Tech products, like the Apple iPhone and iPad, drove major spikes in tweet traffic as tech experts and clueless “newbies” alike talked back and forth about upcoming items, when they’d be released and whether or not they were worth buying. Likewise, corporations continued to learn that a fan-base on Twitter can turn from a powerful help into a harmful critic if social media managers aren’t careful. Blogger Seth Fiegerman at Mashable compiled “11 Biggest Social Media Disasters of 2012” – among them:
So with the old year behind us and 2013 well underway, we at Socialty hope you’ll remember to the highlights and lowlights of 2012 from Twitter and other social media platforms. And if you haven’t already, contact us to provide you with top-of-the-line social media services for your business. We provide high-quality content and account management, so in 12 months when you look back at 2013 you can say “I’m glad I had Socialty in 2013 to help keep our business growing!”
Sources for “Twitter Trends and Tragedies of 2012” were:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/12/top-twitter-trends-of-2012/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-trends-2012/
http://mashable.com/2012/11/25/social-media-business-disasters-2012/
Keywords: Twitter, social media, 2012, HootSuite, business, ABC News, Socialty Inc., Hurricane Sandy
On November 14th, Pinterest announced a potentially game-changing addition to the three-year-old photo sharing social website. Businesses are now able to register accounts that have been designed with features for businesses, instead of for individual users. Companies that already have a Pinterest account can easily convert it into a new business account. “Thousands of businesses have become part of our community, giving great ideas, content and inspiration to people on Pinterest,” wrote Product Manager Cat Lee on Pinterest’s official blog. “Whether it’s Anthropologie sharing awesome clothes, Whole Foods sharing tasty recipes, the Smithsonian sharing fascinating collections, or Amazon making products easy to pin, many of us have been inspired on Pinterest by businesses. We want to help more businesses provide great content on Pinterest and make it easy to pin from their websites.”
If you’re unfamiliar with Pinterest, try to imagine what would happen if you gave an old-fashioned bulletin board with “SHARE ALL YOUR GOOD IDEAS!” written on it to Martha Stewart, then locked her inside an empty room. According to one study by Experian, Pinterest had 104 million visits in March, ranking it behind only Facebook and Twitter as the third most popular social media site. Time magazine had called it one of the “50 Best Websites of 2011,” but one of its drawbacks was a lack of functionality for business owners. Sure, visiting Pinterest had become an integral part of the day for many Facebook users and iPhone owners, but for those who wanted to harness its social media popularity as a marketing and promotional tool, it was less than ideal.
Now a business can link to its official website so it’s listed on its Pinterest profile. For example, K-Swiss can now verify that its Pinterest page is company-operated and linked to http://www.kswiss.com/ . A company can also add buttons on its own web pages to make it easier for visitors to “pin” items on Pinterest or follow their feeds on Pinterest.
Pinterest users (or “pinners”) have been praising the addition of business accounts. The move has been received as both an example of listening to user requests and as a shrewd tactic to keep growth strong for the social media channel. Other social media sites have differentiated between people and institutional users. In 2007, Facebook introduced pages for corporations, schools and sports teams that others could “like.”
The benefits of creating this social media presence for your business are numerous. First of all, it’s neither expensive nor very difficult. Second, now you can register pretty much any unusual business name (such as Se7entyse7en – and yes, I just made that one up) instead of just a first and last name combination. Third, more businesses using Pinterest means more content created, repinned and shared. This increases the user base and that increases the number of people your small business can subsequently reach!
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Another cool feature was launched recently. On November 10th Pinterest co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann e-mailed pinners worldwide to announce that a user can now create up to three “secret boards.” Items pinned to a secret board can be repinned to public boards, but the repin won’t link back to the secret board. Got that? As a simple example, a Pinterest user can now create a secret board to share pictures or designs in-house with co-workers, allowing easy communication with the rest of a project team. In many cases, this could make sharing parts of a project more simple than typing out e-mails and making sure all the right co-worker addresses are included.
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tags: Pinterest, social media, business websites, idea sharing, Cat Lee, Ben Silbermann
What will you do with your iPhone 3, 3G or 4? The new iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order on October 7 and the first shipments will be delivered on October 12. What will you do with your "old" iPhone? There are several options available to those who need to have the newest phone next week. Several major retailers have implemented trade-in programs for customers to take advantage of... For consistency's sake, I looked up what the trade in value for a 16GB iPhone 4 with "Normal" wear and tear. I've highlighted a few options below that I feel are "best bets"....
Major Retailers:
Target - depending on the condition, they will give you "up to $200 per item" in the form of a Target Gift Card.
WalMart - Last month I read in their circular that they would give you a new iPhone 4 for $150 when you traded in your older model iPhone. Now, they are offering cash for your trade in... WalMart has partnered with Gazelle.com to offer you cash or a gift card for your trade in. The WalMart site offered me $186 for the iPhone. I could take payment as WalMart Store Credit or cash.
Verizon Wireless - Verizon will take your AT&T iPhone or Verizon iPhone. They offered the best price by far... $280 for the iPhone. But, of course you have to sign a 2 year contract with Verizon to get that price.
Online Retailers:
Amazon.com - on Amazon you can trade in your phone for "store" credit. They offered $248.50 for "good" condition iPhone. Not too shabby. They also offer free shipping for your phone. Once they receive the phone, you will receive the credit.
Gazelle.com - they offered $186 with options for payment in the form of an Amazon.com gift card, check or PayPal.
ReCellular.com - offered $193, slightly better than Gazelle, they will pay shipping to their office and once the item is received they will send you a check.
Ebay.com - With Ebay you can set your own price and you will probably get more money than with electronics trade-in programs. But there is a chance that your phone won't sell, as well as, describing your phone inaccurately to your buyer which will result in negative feedback and buyer issues.
Craigslist.com - perhaps the purest form of making a sell on the internet these days. Free to post your ad, you can set your price as you see fit and then proceed with the sale on the terms set between you and the buyer.
With so many options available on the internet and down your street it's easy to offset the cost of a new phone and a possible break in contract fees. Though, these options may seem tempting, don't forget that "word of mouth" is also a viable option with the reward of bringing you the most money. Happy Shopping, kids!! :)
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