Posts Tagged ‘website’
Social Media Goes to Washington
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Wouldn’t it be cool to live in the times when government was simple? When you knew all the issues that were out there and you could put in your two cents. That was like 200 years ago but those were the days. Now, in these fast-paced modern times, I have no idea what my representatives are voting for in my name. But I can guarantee that politicians that I’ve helped put in office have voted for bills that would make me cringe. This isn’t something I’ll be able to control anytime soon (until I’m 35 and eligible to be the next Barack).
But there’s hope! The YouCut program was introduced a couple of weeks ago on Eric Cantor’s website. Each week the site gives you a choice of five porky government programs to cut and opens it up for voting by text or web. At the end of the week the votes are tallied and the winner is proposed to be cut before the House of Representatives. In its first week 280,000 Americans voted to cut an initiative that scales back welfare requirements that would have saved 2.5 billion dollars. The cut failed to pass with a vote of 177-240.
Regardless of your political persuasion you have to admit that this is pretty cool. I’d love it if more representatives gave their constituencies a say in the issues. Eric Cantor and his fiscally conservative posse are blazing trails and hopefully we’ll see more politicians jumping on social politics bandwagon soon.
http://www.republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/
Bake (AKA Embed) Your Tweets and Eat Them Too
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Last week, Twitter released a new “hack” feature (http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/) that allows tweets to be embedded in websites, blog posts, and so forth using html. No more screen grabs, no more cropping, no more image uploads.
Here’s what a few people are saying on Twitter, using the new feature of course:
http://twitter.com/adamwc/statuses/13383678914
Hey – check it out – I can embed Tweets now using Twitter’s Blackbird Pie. Awesome. http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/ #fbless than a minute ago via Tweetie
Adam WC
adamwc
http://twitter.com/luigimontanez/statuses/13386076622
Cool idea, but incredibly long embed code: http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/less than a minute ago via web
Luigi Montanez
LuigiMontanez
More important than your embed method of choice is how businesses can refer to and use tweets to complement their relationship building and branding efforts. What people say about brands is more important than what brands say about themselves, and thus embedding positive and even critical tweets can add value and create opportunities for genuine engagement.
If Twitter saw value in promoting its new feature, which it doesn’t need to, the company could do a Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com/), find tweets that capture positive feedback like the former tweet above, and embed in a blog post to highlight what people have to say. Again, how people perceive Twitter and its features is more important than how Twitter perceives itself.
Embedding tweets voicing concern like the latter one above can (be selective and think it through) add value as well. For example, Twitter could capture tweets that critique the new feature (e.g. how it can be improved etc.), embed them in a blog post, and let their readers know that they’ll be addressing these and making updates accordingly. This would show that Twitter is listening, wants your feedback, and isn’t going to ignore it even if somewhat critical.
By embedding both positive and critical tweets when and where appropriate, companies can highlight positive perceptions of their product / service and likewise show that they’re addressing concerns head on.
Facebook’s Legitimacy Problems: Are You Who We Thought You Were?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
A recent post outlined steps Facebook is taking in requiring page owners to prove their connections with the brands they represent on the ever-growing social networking site. What does this mean for agencies? What are the short-term and long-term impacts? How will this affect your brand? Let’s take a look.
Prove It
Facebook essentially is providing page owners three ways to verify that they in fact have rights to develop and maintain a brand page and they can be found here:
- Add a badge or Fan Box widget to your Website – This is simple, really and can be done by sending a bit of code to whoever is code monkeying your site. It also provides a great focal point for driving traffic to your Fan Page.
- Add an official e-mail address to your personal Facebook account that can be used to verify your affiliation with the brand (this can also be that of an authorized outside entity like PR, marketing, advertising agency, etc.) – This is easy if you’re a recognized agency, but a little harder if your roles are mostly behind the scenes.
- Add another admin who has a legit e-mail address – This is probably the easiest thing to do. Simply add your client contact to the admins of the page, giving you instant legitimacy.
The Agency
For agencies that are building and maintaining Fan Pages for brands in the Facebook environment, this could be a bit of a sticking point as they have to work out, with their client, the level of visibility they want to have as to who is actually doing the legwork. However, in most cases, a client contact is already (or should be) and admin of the page so they can not only lend their legitimate e-mail address, but also their watchful eye to the account.
The Short Term
In the short term, proving the authenticity of these pages is going to create a bit of extra work, but the short-term rewards greatly outweigh the time needed to get your stamp of approval (is there actually a stamp of approval?). Like with Twitter, brands have always been able to make a case for deleting unauthorized accounts based on copyright law, but now Facebook is taking that a step further and actually making it easier to drive out those pages which might be representing brands in a less-than-authentic fashion.
By simply claiming your brand pages and legitimizing them, you’re essentially eliminating those other pages and, in some cases, Facebook may fold those pages’ fans into your fan base, giving them a legitimate source of interaction on Facebook— and you a broader fan base— in one fell swoop.
The Long Term
Long term, this seems like a strategy by Facebook to not only cut down on clutter and misinformation within the Facebook environment, but also a move toward offering brands added benefits for operating within Facebook. Don’t be surprised if these Facebook Fan Pages start developing multiple levels of functionality and complexity based on dollars spent on Facebook Advertising and direct buys. The team at Facebook is smart enough to make a move when they see an opportunity like this.
Unanswered Questions
While this is still a new(ish) issue, Facebook needs to provide a bit more information around the topic of what this actually means for brands. Will verified pages show up higher in search results, regardless of fan base and searchability? What’s the lag time between reporting a brand page and action being taken to remove that page? What are the criteria for moving fans from a page that might not be verified to the verified Fan Page?
Hopefully we’ll have answers to those, as well as the mounting pile of questions that will undoubtedly come out of this shift.
Non-Profits We Like: Technology Access Foundation
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009Yesterday morning, the SCG team attended the 8th annual fundraising breakfast for one of our favorite non-profits, the Technology Access Foundation. TAF is an organization that was founded with a mission “to give children of color the tools to be inventors and creators of technology.” TAF exists side by side with educational resources that are already in place, and work to connect technological resources and education to those that need it most.
Aside from this breakfast serving as a way for donors to get to better understand the services that TAF provides, it also gave us a chance to listen to and meet some former TAF students and hear their success stories firsthand. There were several great speeches, including one memorable enough to serve as the introduction to a TAF-focused editorial in The Seattle Times.
The Technology Access Foundation is a wonderful organization, one that we couldn’t be prouder to be associated with. With educational budgets being slashed left and right, it’s good to know that there are groups like this dedicated to provide those resources to students, resources that otherwise might not be available. That’s also why it’s so important for the community to help them out.
Make sure you check out the Technology Access Foundation’s website to learn more about how you can help.
Partners
Monday, March 16th, 2009About Us
Our Team | Press | Our Philosophy | Partners | Associations | Jobs
At Spring Creek Group, we are proud to partner with a variety of technology and marketing services companies which provide complementary tools, creative and development capabilities, and channel expertise necessary to drive maximum impact in the social media channel for our clients. We invite you to learn more about our partners by clicking through to their websites below.
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Hot Off the Digital Press:
www.springcreekgroup.com goes live
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
If you’re reading this post, you probably have noticed there’s something different about the Spring Creek Group site. Perhaps the fact that you can see all recent Spring Creek Twitter feeds– not to mention this blog– on the SCG homepage, gave it away. Or maybe it was the large hand and marker circles in the middle of the screen, or our revamped logo that did it.
No matter what your clue was, Spring Creek Group would like to officially announce that our new site is up and running. We felt it was time for a www.springcreekgroup.com makeover, and with that came a new look and feel, as well as improved features and content.
Now you can instantly see all recent activity including feeds and blogs right on the homepage, as well as view current SCG news and upcoming events and browse through archived blog posts dating back to more than a year ago.
By implementing some of these features into your own site, a small business can significantly benefit from social media. If you’re already using social media channels, be sure they are included on your website and easily accessible for new users to join and current followers to keep updated with all the happenings of your business. And of course you can always contact us for more social media marketing guidance.
SCG’s goal was to create a site that functions as an example of social media, as well as provides an in-depth explanation of what we do and the unique services we provide including Brand Analysis & Measurement, Social Media Marketing Strategy & Planning, and Social Media Channel Outreach & Engagement Services.
So feel free to comment and let us know what you think about our new digs.
Skittles Tastes the Social Media Rainbow
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Ok, Skittles. So you’ve successfully gotten online users to spend an inordinate amount of time in the past few days talking about Skittles. The interest of fruit-flavored candy lovers, as well as that of various social media mavens has officially been piqued, and all eyes are now focused intently on the conversation surrounding your brand. Some have even started calling your new campaign the “end of the homepage (as we know it).”
The best laid plans of candy makers and social media marketers couldn’t possibly go awry, right?
Hey, We Can Quit Anytime We Want To.
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Let’s get this straight. We would never, ever advocate that you use this. Spring Creek Group is in no way suggesting that you even think about doing anything that would keep you from religiously accessing social media sites throughout your work day.
However, we do just like the fact that sites like keepmeout.com exist. “Hey, if you’re addicted to visiting a certain site, then just visit this site and it will prevent you from going to those other sites.” Get yourself off the website sauce by using other websites to do it.
We have a sneaking suspicion that if that above premise was somehow any more meta, the entire Internet would implode.
As the Social Media Guy: I want my website to go viral. How do I do that?
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008A:
Viral is a term that’s easily misused: it can’t be planned, and it can’t be predicted. it can only be hoped for. Besides, a site won’t go “viral,” only content can do that. Be careful not to confuse compelling content for a sticky website.
Oh, and your website will not be getting you the traffic you covet. Your content will. So let’s concentrate on that. What you want is a lot of traffic, and fast. For that, you need to do something unique, memorable, and sharable. Easy, right? Of course it is!
Here are ten surefire ways to attract a lot of online attention:
1.
Conceive a baby with someone famous, and talk about it to anyone who’ll listen. If you can do this, odds are you need a publicist, not just a social media plan, and she’ll handle your online brand for you. (Federline)
2.
Position very young puppies and kittens in front of your webcam (replace them frequently, you don’t want any fuzzy animals older than 8 weeks). (Shiba Inus)
3.
Do something hilarious involving a video game and/or a paintball gun.(Penny Arcade)
4.
Write lyrics referencing a current event that fit perfectly with the melody of a 1980s top ten hit, then sing your song badly and post the video. (Chocolate Rain, et al)
5.
Leak company documents referring to impending layoffs, and use really cruel language to describe the PR you’re going to unleash on the day of the mass-exodus. (Carat)
6.
Teach an infant to swear. Post the video. (Anonymous parents and/or Wil Ferrell)
7.
Give people something they really need, but didn’t even know was possible. Go back to school if necessary. (Nate Silver)
8.
Be the most interesting guy in your industry—it helps to be good looking, but not so good looking that you’re intimidating. (there are as many examples as there are industries)
9.
Perform an extraordinary and anonymous act of heroism or charity, then decline interviews until three days after the event. (Secret Santas, subway heroes)
10.
Take a picture of something freaky, like this possibly demonic child. Never leave your house without your camera.
(see flickr)
Have a Q for us? Shoot it over to askus@springcreekgroup.com
Ask the Social Media Guy: Explain Twitter
Friday, November 28th, 2008Q:
What the heck am I supposed to do on Twitter?
A:
Answer the question, “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. That would be the obvious reply, but I can tell you’re looking for a little more than that.
Start out by posting a few things: links to things you find interesting or relevant (use tinyurl.com). Make sure your profile is complete, and definitely include a link in your bio so others can get an idea of who you are. Once you’ve set up the basics, start following people you find interesting, or who’d you’d like to keep in touch with.
Then talk to them. They might help you find your next spouse, job, favorite pizza place, or BFF. You can even scoop the traditional media on breaking news stories—use twitter search and look up #mumbai to see Twitter own CNN.
Basically, it’s about talking to people. In the social media world, that’s sort of the point.
There are as many takes on twittering as there are people using the service. Here are a few things that actual twits (not an insult) have to add about using twitter:
“I use it to keep in touch with some of my favorite people and some industry and other folks who have interesting things to say.”
“To tell jokes that would otherwise go untold. To connect with my peers. To connect with my fans.”
“I see a lot of people self promote with websites and links to their blogs.”
“I’m using it to take over the world. That’s not going so well.”
“I use it to connect with customers. To thank the happy people and try to help the angry ones.”
Before you hop on the bandwagon, just remember that social media applications are like college classes in three ways:
1: You only get out of them what you put into them.
2: You can skip a few and still make the grade.
3: If you skip all of them, you fail.
Have a Q for us? Shoot it over to askus@springcreekgroup.com
