Why I’ve disconnected Twitter from Facebook

I’ve been doing some thinking and planning for my twitter feed and feel it’s time to say goodbye to its partnership with my Facebook status. Since I’ve been on both Facebook and Twitter the two have been linked which was great for the time it was connected. I was able to kill two birds with one stone and reach two different audiences with one tweet. What’s wrong with that you ask?

Well that’s just it. They are two different audiences and I’ve seen a pattern of what gets retweeted on Twitter and what causes conversation on my Facebook profile. Seldom does the same get tweet get equal attention on Facebook and Twitter.

Here is my reasoning for the disconnect:

Continue Reading

Facebook vs Twitter

There’s nothing like a good info graphic, huh? Here’s one for Facebook and Twitter side by side.

How do you use Facebook and Twitter?

social influence marketing helps ads win

It’s no surprise that VW’s “The Force” is one of the top-ranked spots from this year’s super bowl (aka #brandbowl).

But what did they do that other’s didn’t? They released this spot on Facebook and YouTube a few days before the big game.

“Doesn’t that ruin the surprise?” You ask. Not really. It allows the spot to gain momentum before it goes live and creates even more buzz. Instead of saying, “Oh, did you see that VW ad with the Darth Vader kid?” it became, “OMG, you HAVE to see the ad from VW about the Darth Vader kid… you’ll love it.” See the difference?

It’s called Social Influence Marketing and it happens best when it happens organically, meaning, a marketing department isn’t shoving it down my throat telling me to tell my friends about it.

Doritos was really the early adopter here. A few years ago they opened up a competion for viewers to create and submit a commerical that would air on the super bowl. And their ads, through widely viewed on social media platforms before the game have ranked in the top 5 group each year.

Gone are the days where these super spots are kept under wraps and very hush-hush. Let it go and watch it spread!

Did any of you see any spots early this year? If so, where?

how to promote your SM presence offline

Not sure how to tell customers at your brick-and-mortar stores that you’re also on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare? Take a look at these examples at the Flickr group, Signs of Social Media, a gallery of signs that point customers online.

This is a screenshot of the back cover from the latest Crate and Barrel catalog. Note the two signs of social media in the bottom right-hand corner.

It’s amazing how social media is now a part of normal, everyday life. Marketing folks call this “online/offline integration.”

It looks a bit flashy, but it’s TGIFridays in Time Square so they’re on brand.

Greeting folks as they enter Dillard’s in Cincinnati (Glenway/Western Hills)

at Coffee Emporium in downtown Cincinnati

Interesting to see how Oreo pushes people to their Facebook page to engage with the brand. Note it says TELL US vs. FOLLOW US. Subtle but important.

HT: PR Daily

catastrophe is a strong word…

If you’re not following @BPGlobalPR, then you’re missing out on some great tweets. When I first saw the account (and believed it to be the official twitter handle for the company) I was surprised at how well BP was taking the enormity of the situation. Tweets like:

and

caught my attention right away. “Wow, that’s a gutsy move on their part” I thought. And for a day or so, I was impressed with the coverage. Here was an oil giant accepting responsibility for their actions, but also making us laugh about it. Still though, it was gutsy and I appreciated that.

Then I found it was a fake account and it all made more sense. The fake site is gaining traction as it has over five times more followers and counting than the real @BP_America account.

And what’s coming from the @BP_America account? Nothing but dull corporate jargon without a glimmer of personality. That’s what attracted me to the fake one: personality.

People connect with people more than they do faceless, nameless entities and corporations. It’s 2010, y’all, and social media has been around long enough that companies should start getting this! Of COURSE @BPGlobalPR is getting more attention. Sure it’s irreverent, but he has the attention because the guy sitting on the other end knows how to engage an audience.

And what about BP? They should be doing a better job at connecting with their people. The fake guy created his own social media campaign called #BPcares and is giving away “Free BPcares t-shirts for only $25 to cover the shipping.” I doubt it’s real, but a GREAT idea!! C’mon, BP. Not only do you have a mess in the Gulf to clean up, but now you’ve allowed some socially savvy tweeter to smear oil on your image as well. You’ve got some catching up to do.

My all-time favorite so far:

And some other tweets from @BPGlobalPR:

foursquare: why you should be playing

Foursquare is a location based service, meaning the application is aware of where on Earth you are located and the business around you.  As you poke around town, you are able to “check in” to the places you go.  Check in at the library.  Check in at the supermarket.  Check in at the movie theater.  Everywhere you check in, you get to see who else is around, and if you choose, you can send a shout out to friends.  You can even have Foursquare hooked up to your Twitter and/or Facebook accounts and post status updates to those services as you go about your adventures.

When you check in to the same place enough times (more than anyone else) you then become the Mayor of that location. It’s a pretty big deal and brings on the competition. For example: my coworker, @JessicaRMurray, forever was the mayor of CoLab – the place we both work. It only yesterday that I “ousted” her as “The Mayor of CoLab” and took the title and crown for myself. I also whipped up a nice “Mayor’s Office” sign and put it on the door to my office.

Jessica, seeing that she’s been ousted as the mayor, checks in and steals the title back… and takes with her my “Mayor’s Office” placard that I just printed out. It’s now on her desk. I’ll get it back… it’s only a matter of time (and a few more check ins).

Continue Reading

tweeting for the doves… a debrief

Last night I had the incredible experience of tweeting live for the Dove Awards under their name, @GMCtv. I blew it up.

I was set up in the press room with 60+ media outlets including reporters, camera crews and TV networks. Artists would be introduced to us and then take the platform for pictures and questions. I was able to tweet from my desktop using Tweetdeck allowing me to track everyone’s @replies as well as keyword searches for “#DoveAwards” and “GMA Awards” so I could see what everyone was talking about. In other words: I could see (in real time) when anyone in the Twitterverse used the words “#DoveAwards” or “GMA Awards.” It meant that I could introduce myself (as @GMCtv) and engage them. Most of those people were in the audience and sending out TwitPics of their view of the stage.

That I have the 3GS iPhone meant I could be mobile and have a greater impact covering behind-the-scenes pictures and even a Twitvid of TobyMac’s (@therealTobyMac) dancers on their “down time.” Fans loved it.

I made it a point to engage the GMCtv audience. I asked them questions and wanted to see if anyone had a prediction for an upcoming category.

I was also sure to do a fair share of @replies and ReTweeting (RT).

Being ReTweeted by a company like GMC can be a big deal for people. [It was a big deal for me when EXPRESS (@ExpressLisaG) and Nordstrom (@Nordstrom) both @replied me in the same week.] That kind of interaction only strengthens brand loyalty.

I also tweeted the winners, of course. I was sure to stay on top of this as to be the first one to tweet it.

How is your business using Twitter or another form of social media to strengthen your brand/company? It’s not going away anytime soon and if you haven’t embraced it, then you need to. I’m actually looking to move into a social media role like this full time so if you have a company that’s in need, please contact me!

All in all, it was a great night. I’m thankful for the opportunity and the exposure it created both for GMC and for myself.

But seriously… I want to do this full time so get in touch with me today.

the new dork

My, my how the tables have turned…

social media in plain english

The same group that brought us “Twitter in Plain English” now have a video for social media! They do a GREAT job of breaking down what social media is & how it’s effecting big businesses today. Hopefully this clears up any questions as to what all the heck we’re all talking about.

5 brands that “get” social media

As we battle a global recession, corporations are looking for new ways to sell their products and engage their consumers. Many have turned to the Internet, with Social Media in particular, to market their goods. Let’s take a look at 5 companies that have done a phenomenal job of taking advantage of social media platforms.

Continue Reading