Month: January 2013

Facebook and Twitter are at war for your voice

microphone, talk, messaging, voice, recordingWith the latest mobile update, Facebook now allows you to record video within the app, as well as send voice recordings through the messaging function. This could be in response to Twitter’s Vine app (which allows you to record up to 6 second video clips and post to Twitter, but is currently dealing with the inevitable porn problem) or at least explains why Facebook recently blocked the app from accessing Facebook to find friends. This war for your attention, and now your voice, is far from over between the two social media platforms. Expect to see more from both, especially in the mobile front, to garner more of your attention and time. Below is an article from Geek Wire with some more information:


Clipped from: www.geekwire.com (share this clip)

Have you started using Vine to record and post video to Twitter? Do you think you’ll use the new voice function in your Facebook messages? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading. Now go get your social on!

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What Facebook’s Graph Search Announcement Means to Your Small Business Page

Search within Facebook with Search Graph
Search within Facebook with Search Graph

Remember those long lost ‘Likes’? Y’know, the ones from people who Edgerank decided really didn’t want to receive your message? Well, Facebook’s newest announcement of Graph Search could help get back their attention.

Chances are, a person has clicked ‘Like’ on your page because they had a good experience, they saw that a friend did, you had a giveaway, or ran an ad. Graph Search will allow users to search all content in Facebook (that’s public or would have been viewable to them under normal circumstances) and use specific keywords to find information they need. So let’s say, for example, that you own an auto mechanic shop. If someone’s car breaks down, word of mouth is king. They hop on Facebook Graph Search, type in “Auto Mechanics near me that my friends like” and will find places that their friends have had good experiences with. This means a few things:

  1. It’s all the more important to keep people from unliking your page, even if they don’t necessarily interact with it (in other words, create quality content and don’t spam your page by posting so often that people get fed up and unclick ‘Like’)
  2. You need to reevaluate your page’s description, industry setting and relevant keywords to make sure everything is labeled properly for what will likely be called Facebook Graph SEO.

This announcement arriving in the first month of the New Year is a perfect opportunity for you to take another look at your page. See if you need to revamp your social media presence on Facebook. Look at your category, your keywords and your business description to make sure they all say what you need them to say in order to be found. Here’a an article from Forbes to further read up on Facebook’s announcement.

Facebook, announcement, search, graph, SEO, social media
Click to read full Forbes article

Thanks for reading. Now go get your social on!

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Is Privacy the Cost of Convenience?

Privacy, convenience, direct mail, direct marketingAfter the recent outcry from users when Instagram changed their Terms of Service, I started thinking a little more about privacy and how much we’re willing to give up to use some of these social media platforms. I don’t operate under any delusions that there isn’t some sort of cost inherent with using these free social and online services. They are, after all, going into these start-up ventures to make money from their service, one way or the other. I try to refrain from knee-jerk reactions anymore, especially with as quickly as misinformation can spread.

Recently, a piece of direct mail showed up in my mailbox. It was for OutboxAustin.com (It’s actually just Outbox, but targeted to acquiring Austin residents). The tagline on the piece proudly stated: “This could be the last piece of junkmail you ever receive!” Needless to say, I was intrigued. Could this be like that program that allows you to unsubscribe from all the junk mail you receive in your email inbox, but in real life? I decided to look into it a little. What I found was pretty surprising:

So what do you think about this method of convenience? Is this something you’d be willing to do, or have you already given Outbox a try? If you’re a direct marketer, how does do you feel about this type of program? I’d love to hear your thoughts below, or in the comments section of the YouTube video.

Thanks for reading. Now go get your social on!

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