10 Tips for Adding Value by Showing Initiative by Andy Robinson | #SoulcialMe

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By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Andy Robinson

In these tough times, it is absolutely critical you continue to demonstrate your value to your employer, to your clients and to your colleagues on a daily basis. Adding value is THE buzz-word for “safe-guarding” your career and propelling yourself to the top of your profession.

Showing initiative is a MUST DO in demonstrating your value at work. Initiative correlates strongly with personal achievement and professional development; it is the act of taking personal responsibility for your growth, and it is a clear sign of your capacity to develop as a leader. So, what are you waiting for? Take action today; don’t wait to be asked — be proactive. Consider the following ideas for lighting the fire of initiative in your daily work life:

• Always be alert for ways to make something work better. Make the suggestion.  Volunteer to take ownership for getting it done.
• Take it upon yourself be the first to adopt and implement the newest company policy.
• Stay alert for ideas to simplify processes and find new and better ways of doing things. Proactively suggest those improvement ideas. Be the example for implementing those processes.
• Stay alert for ways to save money and reduce costs. “Raise your hand” to communicate those suggestions as quickly as possible.
• Reach out to colleagues and team members who need help.
• Be the first to volunteer for those tough projects and assignments.
• Always think ahead, preempt likely obstacles with well-thought-out plans that take those obstacles into consideration.
• Provide, in advance, the answers to the questions you know are going to be asked. “Think like your boss/manager” and consider all deliverables from their perspective before you submit them. Always review your work from the elevation of “30,000 feet.”
• Always do your homework; always be prepared. Read the material in advance, research the subject matter in advance, dig in and immerse yourself in the topic at hand
• Deal with problems immediately; take action and be decisive. Get it done, and get it behind you as quickly as possible.

Make it happen! Be a role model for showing initiative; demonstrate your capacity as a leader.  Make the choice to lead with action and initiative; your value will soar.

Did you enjoy this article? Read more articles by this expert here.

Andy Robinson: Executive Career Coach, Career Success Radio Show Host, Personal Branding Strategist, Consultant, Speaker. I help my clients love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success. I am a 15 year executive coaching veteran and work with coaching clients nationwide. Previous experience includes over 10 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a consulting director and human resources specialist. Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com, Twitter: www.AndyOnTwitter.com and visit my Blog Site at www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com.

The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.

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5 Pinterest Security Issues You Should Know About | #SoulcialMe

Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing social networks of the past year, and has attracted many fans who love to share their world in visual ways. Alas, with its growing popularity, also comes its growing potential as a scam platform, where spammers supposedly make more than $1,000 a day. It’s not only scams that you have to beware of, though.

Like any other growing platform, Pinterest has its threats, security holes, etc. The main difference from Facebook or Twitter seems to be the naivety  of its users. This not not to say that Pinterest is populated only by a certain kind of users who are naïve; rather, it’s due to the fact that this is a new network, and many of us have yet to encounter any spam or scams on it, a fact which makes us feel safer than on other social networks.

This article was not written to scare you or make you stop using Pinterest – Pinterest is still as safe and fun to use as ever – it’s just here to educate you about the potential threats you may encounter on Pinterest, so you’re able to continue using it and enjoying it just like before.

Scam Pins

While Pinterest seems like a haven from the well-known AMAZING WEIGHT-LOSS DIET and FREE $100 gift card spams, it’s actually not. While these scams are rarer than on other social networks, several have been reported over the past few months. These scam pins take the form of a regular pin, usually promising something people might want, such as a gift card, a diet, etc.

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Just like on Facebook, clicking the pin will redirect you to a third party website, where you will be asked to repin the scam pin, fill in a survey providing personal details, install malware, or all of the above. These pins can contain any image, from a famous company logo to a cute puppy, and read something along the lines of:

WOW! An amazing new weight loss product sponsored by Pinterest! It worked for me and I didnt even change my diet! Here is where I got it from [LINK]

Or

[BRAND] is giving away free giftcards to all Pinterest users! Visit [LINK] to get yours

These pins can also include multiple tags of random users, and you might find yourself tagged in one of these posts without having anything to do with it.

This is not to say that all gift cards on Pinterest are scams, but pay close attention to the URL these pins lead to before clicking on them. If the URL doesn’t seem like anything official to you, don’t click it and don’t repin it. If the URL is shortened, you can use an expander such as Long URL to check it out first.

Collaborator Hijacking

This one can potentially be much more malicious than scam pins. If you’re not a big brand or have many followers, you’re probably safe from this specific type of hijacking, however, you should still be aware of it

As you probably know, Pinterest allows for collaboration on its boards. All you have to do in order to add someone to your board is follow at least one of his boards and then invite him to collaborate on the board from the “Edit board” screen. The person you invite doesn’t have to be following you.

When someone accepts this invitation, the new board appears on their Pinterest profile, and is pretty much out of their control at that point. Many people don’t know that when they are offered to collaborate on a board, the board actually appears on their own profile as well.

This situation used to be worse, as collaborators could be added without their consent, and has happened on prominent accounts such as Barack Obama’s and Starbucks. When a person adds such an account as a “collaborator”, he can start pinning inappropriate content on the board, which appears on the collaborators profile. While these hijacks occurred adding someone to a board did not require their explicit approval, it’s still something to pay attention to.

To stop it, all you have to do is edit the board and remove yourself from the collaborators list.

Fake Accounts

Fake accounts are a problem on every social network, but like many other threats on Pinterest, we tend to expect them less here. These can be especially dangerous when combined with the previous threat: a well-known name has just invited you to collaborate on a board. You happily accept, only to find out it was a fake account and you’ve compromised your own profile.

Fake profiles can be advertised as such, like this one for Michelle Obama, but can also be completely vague, such as this one for Mark Zuckerberg. Is it real? Might be, but no one really knows for sure, so when you have some dealings with a famous name on Pinterest, take this possibility into account, and don’t assume anything. Pinterest doesn’t have verified accounts.

Another aspect of Fake accounts is accounts used for spam: these fake accounts can be used to spread spam, and also to mass-follow users and thus flood their inbox with notifications. This personally happened to me on Twitter, and seems to be happening on Pinterest as well.

Android App (Or Lack Of One)

Android is the most popular mobile OS in the world right now, and yet, at the time of this writing, there is still no official Pinterest app for Android. I repeat, there is NO official Pinterest app. As you can imagine, the lack of such a desired app is like a broken window calling to a thief, and there have been several fake apps which appeared in Google Play for a little while before their real nature was discovered.

The problem with these fake apps is not only that they’re fake, they can also access your data, pollute your phone with spam, and more. The official app is rumored to be coming out soon, but until then, beware of what you install, and watch for official news of the official app. Up until then, it’s all fakes.

No Personal Boards

This is not really a security threat, but it is something people tend to forget. In general, social networks make us forget ourselves, and more importantly, forget that the Internet is a public place, no matter what privacy we feel we might have.

On Facebook, we can set it up so only friends see our posts (although they can still be shared by them), but on Pinterest there is no such option yet. What you pin is public, and can be repinned by anyone, even people who don’t follow you at all.

One way to keep some sort of privacy is to hide your Pinterest profile from search engines, but even if you do that, don’t forget the public nature of your pins, and keep private content off Pinterest.

Bottom Line

Pinterest is a wonderful place, and as long as you keep an eye out for these Pinterest security issues, you can and should continue using it safely. Just like with any other social network, don’t forget what Pinterest is – a social network. Treat it as such, and you’re good to go.

Did you encounter any of these threats on Pinterest? Did you witness or hear about a threat we missed? Share it all in the comments.

Image credit: Attention sign image via Shutterstock

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Social Media - Achieving Kingly Facebook Engagement: The Six Secrets of Superbrands : MarketingProfs Article | #SoulcialMe

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Facebook has just passed the milestone of a billion active users per month. So for brands, the oldest question in the social media book has become even more pressing: What's the best way to access and engage this super-present audience?

As Tonia Ries notes at the Realtime Report, Wildfire conducted an analysis of 10,000 Facebook social marketing campaigns, isolating the top-performing 10% of brands. About 17% of fans share campaign news with friends and family, but "Superbrands" get 39% of fans to share.

How can you emulate the Superbrands? Here are Wildfire's six key strategies for achieving higher engagement with a Facebook campaign:

Run multiple engagement applications. Constantly provide a variety of engagement paths, and cool things to do, on your social pages.

Seize opportunities to stimulate actions with clear CTAs. Ask people to Like, share, or comment. Always make it clear what you want them to do.

Include great images wherever possible. Compelling images help you stand out in news feeds and make your timeline more fun to skim.

Make your interactions seasonally relevant. Content can become obsolete overnight! Make sure to tie fresh copy to events and breaking news.

Mix up campaign types and consistently create new offers. Important point: The marketing campaigns most engaged in by users are not necessarily the same ones that are most heavily shared, Ries notes.

Expand your social community across multiple platforms. The world's most talked about brands aren't limited to a network; they diversify.

Want more? Download the full report for free.

The Po!nt: Social can still feel like alchemy, but there's indeed a method to this ongoing madness. The key is to keep things interesting and visually engaging while making your expectations clear for your fans. Happy socializing!

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Social Media - Three Creative Ways to Boost Response on Facebook : MarketingProfs Article | #SoulcialMe

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As we mentioned last time, B2B marketers are becoming more socially adept. As a result, tips continue to emerge about what's working best to engage users at the major social sites.

John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing recently shared his insights about three tactics boosting response for him at Facebook.

Feeling creative? With your next post, you might want to:

Use an image for your update. Forget the blah, blah, blah. Upload a photo as your next status update! Then add a little descriptive copy and a link to your blog post (which can go into detail about your big announcement) in the "say something about the photo" box, Jantsch suggests. "I notice that when I do this I get … more views and more engagement," he says.

Use a tab for a call to action. The space to the right of the About box will display four images (tabs) of your current pages or apps. The good news is you can create your own images in those spaces! Why not include a call to action in one of them? For instance, "if you want to send someone to a page to grab a free eBook, you can use an image to create the call to action," he advises.

Schedule your posts. According to Jantsch, scheduling posts is no longer a professional no-no, and it might even get you more TLC at Facebook. He reports that his scheduled posts are getting seen by greater numbers. Why? Perhaps Facebook favors direct posts over those posted by third-party tools. "I know off hand that my direct content gets 30-50% more views then content from Buffer," he notes.

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How to Get More Followers on Twitter. Grow Your Twitter Network. | via VIC Consulting | #SoulcialMe

Get more Followers for your Twitter account. Grow your Twitter Network Naturally.

Here I will give few tips of how organic/naturally increase number of your Twitter followers. If you are simply looking to increase the number of followers, not real readers you can use some automatic tools for that.
If you want to grow the number of readers, quality followers, the steps bellow are designed for that:

• Come up with short and good Twitter name
• Make a good avatar.
• Write up a good bio.
• Tweet well and tweet often.
• Ask people to retweet you.
• Search for tweets with keywords related to your topics of interest.
• Use hashtags.
• Put up "Follow me on Twitter" links on your blog, social networking profiles, wikiHow user page, email signatures, etc.
• Follow people who follow people who are like you.
• Make an effort to Keep Your Followers on Twitter.

Come up with short and good name

Since your Twitter name is part of Twitter search, make sure it includes the most important keywords, explaining what your Twitter users is all about. Currently Twitter allows up to 20 characters, try to utilize them all.

Make a good avatar

The avatar is first thing your twitter visitors will be looking into. Make extremely creative Twitter avatar, make it eye catching and interesting, as well as presenting who you are.

Write up a good bio

Extend here your Twitter name, write in more details about who you are, what are your interests and what you will be tweeting about. When you write your BIO use following rules:
1) Utilize max allowed characters. Currently you can put up to 160 characters.
2) Do not repeat your name.
3) Try to use as much as possible different keywords that people may use while searching content like yours.

Tweet well and tweet often

Try to Tweet constantly, at least several times a day. Write no\ice short messages, not just "Hi", "Hello", "what's up?". Re-Tweet, reply to others tweets.

Ask people to retweet you

If you can of course, ask your followers to retweet you. That way, their followers will see your tweets and some will also follow you at some point.

Search for tweets with keywords related to your topics of interest

Leverage Twitter search to find other users posting similar tweets to your. Follow them and there is good chance they will follow you back.

Use hashtags

Use hastags (#) in your tweets. Don't put hash tags for every words, as it will be very hard to read your tweets. Put hashtags on main keywords in your tweets. It will help others to find your tweets and your user.

Put up "Follow me on Twitter" links on your blog, social networking profiles, wikiHow user page, email signatures, etc

This is self explanatory. Put follow me button on your website or blog, put follow me link in your email signature, forums and other social networks.

Follow people who follow people who are like you

Search for other users based on your own keywords. Floow these users and there is good chance they will follow you back.

Make an effort to Keep Your Followers on Twitter

Try to be in touch with your followers, send them DMs, retweet their tweets, or reply on their tweets.

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5 Unique Ways to Promote Your Brand Using Personalized Products & Gifts | iBrandStudio | #SoulcialMe

This is a guest post by Chris Wise, if you want to guest post on this blog, please contact us.

Branding is the most challenging task that every business man will come across. Today, a wide range of personalized products are available in the market. Promotional items, like pen, cards, umbrella, coffee mug, magnets, and bags can be effectively used for brand name promotion.

Given below are the five unique ways by using personalized products and gifts for branding promotion and market your business.

1. Customer Appreciation

Image courtesy 123RF Stock Photos

One of the most effective uses of personalized products is to help your customer retention efforts by showing a little appreciation. Most companies send generic holiday cards and even branded items like pens and keychains – but how well do these outdated and commonplace tactics really work in our constantly evolving marketplace?

Smart businesses will get ahead by taking the concept a step further…

Instead of sending the same holiday card to each customer – personalized each holiday card for each customer! And not the old fashioned way…do it with imagery!

2. Branding

Branding is another common use for personalized products. But as you saw from the last example, we’re going to take this one a step further…

The whole purpose of branding is to create a memorable experience for your customer in order to be remembered down the road. The only way to achieve this is to think outside of the box!

3. Link Building

Most businesses with websites realize the importance of ranking high in the search engines. That being said, most businesses also realize the importance of having links to rank high in the search engines.

In order to earn quality links you either have to create compelling, high quality content, have a very creative marketing campaign, or a very unique pitch when requesting links.

Most internet marketers will send generic link request emails. But you’re smarter than that! Instead try sending branded and personalized items (*shock*) through the mail! You can send a thoughtful hand written note and create a personalized label to send with an item like mints, candy, or even a chocolate bar! It doesn’t take a genius to realize it will help you stand out – and inevitably lead to better results.

4. PR With Contests & Giveaways

PR is one of the most effective marketing tactics in both the short and long run. PR helps gain brand recognition, build backlinks, and foster relationships between your company and your consumers (and the media outlets themselves!)

A great strategy to earn some good press is offering contests and product giveaways to the public. You can easily use personalized products to do this!

The trick is to be unique! A great example of this concept can be found with last year’s Tweet Wrap campaign.

This campaign was hugely successful – earning tons of press and new social media fans. Plus just think about all of the shocked faces from people who received tweet wrapped gifts. I’ll bet they will remember it for many years to come…

5. Conversion Rate Optimization

Image courtesy 123RF Stock Photos

Conversion rate optimization can often provide the highest ROI of any marketing tactic. Personalized products and gifts can help in every step of the process!

The first step to increasing you conversion rate: getting feedback. You can use customized gifts as an incentive for customers to provide you with honest, actionable tips to improve your shopping experience. Offering something as simple as a photo print or wall cling (which are relatively inexpensive to produce and ship) is all it takes.

Personalized gifts can also be used as an up-sell – while increasing your conversion rate at the same time. As a simple example – why do you think Apple allows you to personalized your IPODs? They make more money (even though it is free) because you are more likely to purchase knowing you can make it your own. It helps to create a more personal connection between consumers and a product.

Get Creative – start using personalized products to help your branding efforts and better market your business today!

Do you have unique ideas or examples of your own? Share your ideas with everyone in the comments.

About the Author!

Chris Wise is head of online marketing for the Expressionables family of retail sites – specializing in everything from Bar Mitzvah invitations to corporate holiday gifts.

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Amazing!! This article I found goes out to my friend Meach. We were just on the phone the other morning talking about how important it is to have a "hook" when marketing or promoting your brand. Something that makes your product or service stand out as well as bring the customers back because of the uniqueness of delivery, imagination and attention to detail.

I will most definite reference this article when dealing with my clients. Conversion and customer retention should be of the utmost importance to the bottom line of any company.

Where is the Best Place to Network? | Business 2 Community #SoucialMe

There’s no doubt that social media has had a profound impact on how businesses market themselves. Just about everyone has a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Google account now, and businesses are following suit.

Social media is an effective and affordable way for a business to reach out to a lot of people and stay connected with them.

However, one valid criticism of social media and dependence on the Internet in general is that people could start to lose their personal social skills and the value of networking face to face.

As people spend more of their time online using social media, browsing websites and shopping online and less time with people, what happens to the human connection?

Bringing back a human connection

The truth is that in many ways in-person networking can actually enhance social media and online networking.

When someone can put a face -not just a photo -to a name, the connection will be much stronger and more authentic.

Blindly friending everyone in the virtual world then takes a back seat to connecting with someone you’ve met personally and with whom you share a genuine connection.

These social networking connections will be given precedence over less personal connections. They’re also more likely to lead to sales and ongoing, mutually beneficial professional relationships.

Why is face-to-face communication so significant? Needless to say, much more information is exchanged when people are meeting in person.

However, much of it is non-verbal. From facial expressions and body language to their tone of voice and even how they dress, these nonverbal cues can communicate a lot about a person.

All of this leads to your level of comfort (or discomfort) felt with someone, and all of this information influences the future of your relationship.

Offline Networking

Offline networking can take many forms. You can attend organized networking events and professional groups, go to Meetups and attend conferences and conventions.

You don’t have to concern yourself with promoting your brand at a tradeshow or convention, particularly if you have a booth or tent prominently featuring your logo.

You want people to remember your name and keep track of your business card, not to just think of you as a rep for your company.

You can even make impromptu connections while out in public running your errands or sipping a latte in a coffee shop. These social events and interactions can ultimately help your social media campaigns as well as improve your brand’s image both online and offline.

Getting back into in-person networking can seem daunting at first, especially if you’ve become heavily reliant on social media to the exclusion of meeting with people in person.

If this is the case, ease back into it gradually. Start with people you already have a rapport with, and don’t meet with too many people at once. Be organic and go with the flow. Let things unfold naturally, and above all, be yourself. Be genuine and authentic, and present yourself and your business in the most accurate light possible.

Blending social media networking with in-person networking can be a powerful marketing solution, and each method can enhance the other.

What it boils down to is that it is not an either-or situation; both social media and face-to-face networking have distinct value and advantages. Each method of marketing and making connections is highly useful and often a blend of both is the most effective solution.

Author: Felicia Baratz-Savage     Felicia Baratz-Savage RSS Feed

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This article originally appeared on Brandwatch and has been republished with permission.

Find out how to syndicate your content with Business 2 Community.

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have two Facebook Pages for the same thing. Can I merge them? #SoulcialMeTips

Yes, you can merge duplicate Pages so long as they represent the same thing. Please note you can only merge the Page with fewer likes into the one with more likes. To do so:

1. Go to the Page with the most likes. This will be the one you'll keep.
2. From the top of your Page, click Edit Page 
3. Select Update Info
4. From the left sidebar, select Resources.
5. Click the Merge duplicate Pages link. This link will only appear if you admin two Pages with similar names.
6. A dialogue will show Pages you admin that qualify to be merged. Select the Page(s) you wish to merge. If you're merging Pages with a location, they must have the same address information.

Merging Pages combines all your likes and check-ins, but all other content from the Page with fewer likes, such as wall posts and photos, will be permanently deleted. The Page with fewer likes will be removed from Facebook and you will not be able to unmerge it.

Top 10 Things to Avoid on Pinterest ~ Geeky Stuffs #SoulcialMe

Pinterest is the new social network in town and is growing quickly. Be a part of the fun, but don’t be a pain! There are a few do’s and don’ts if you want to really be a part of the community online.

Pinterest has grown massively recently going from something that no one had heard of the becoming the third most popular social network in its own right. It has attracted millions and everyone is now pinning their photos and images for their followers to see. The virtual pin board is used for many different reasons; some just posting random photos to keep up with their friends, some even to plan their weddings! There are plenty of great pin boards to browse for inspiration and ideas, but there are some things that are becoming the things that shouldn’t be done and that regular users don’t want to see…

Top 10 Things You Should Never Do On Pinterest

Credit where Credit is Due!

If you are looking to post an image to your board, for your wedding for example, of a flower arrangement; link it back to the person who has done this and not just the place where you found the picture, i.e. Google. Linking to the original source is only fair and it means that others can really benefit from your board.

Incorrect Links Are Not Welcome

If you are looking for free advertising then do it properly and link from relevant images. Putting your blog or site link on any random images is misleading and, although many be beneficial to you, is annoying to others. Link to relevant content or you will see those followers disappear quickly!

If you want someone to click on your image then make sure you give them a bit of detail as to what it’s about. A proper, clear caption can be beneficial if you are using your Pinterest pin board for traffic and followers want communication, not advertising.

Pinterest is Fun, Don’t Overdo It

If your pin board is started for one intention, like to plan your wedding or to show your talent, then stick to this and don’t get too crazy! The site can be addictive but your followers will be more inclined to stick with your journey if your content is relevant. If you are a business or looking for traffic to your blog then this is an important point to follow.

Syncing Your Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook Account Can Be Annoying

When you consider this, also consider if the people you are sharing with are going to find your posts relevant to the cause and are going to be interested in what you are sharing. You can keep up with all of your social networks anyway without being irrelevant to your followers and friends of different social networks.

Also Check :

The Complete Guide to Pinterest

Why You Should Avoid Pinterest

Don't Ignore the Interest of Your Followers

Social networking in this way is a different level of communication; try to keep a bit of the old fashioned communication there as well. Acknowledge comments and others' attempts; interact and find things you might not have otherwise.

Don't Be Disrespectful to Fellow Pinteresters

The idea behind the network is for users to share what they like; insulting others and their board's is a big no no. If they like it, then leave them be. If you don't, then don't follow them.

Don't Dismiss Objectionable Content

Pinterest users want to enjoy their experience and sometimes it is necessary to report a pin. If you come across content that is offensive or objectionable, then report it and don't leave it for someone else to find.

Don’t Be a Complainer

Everyone has problems, but don’t be one of the ones who air their laundry all over the web. Complaining to a certain extent is fine, but don’t go too crazy and start posting images and videos showing the depression of you because that is not what your followers are there for. They are not there to hear negative rants…

Also Check :

Facebook vs Pinterest (Infographic)

HOW TO: Find the Original Source of an Image on Pinterest or Any Website

Don’t Pretend to be More than You Are

You don’t have to be an expert to use these sites so don’t like or try otherwise. Be honest to yourself and don’t try and portray your pins as anything more because you won’t get credit for it.

Lastly, Keep it Relevant.

Don’t share images and info that is part of a private joke, for example. Keep it real and share things that every one of your followers can enjoy and understand. There is no logic in asking your followers to check on the different prices to find the best SIM only deals here if they are interested in painting and photography.

Pinterest is new and fun, so keep it real so you can enjoy it and so your followers can too.

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Social Networks Are Not All Created Equal - The Social Ballot #SoulcialMe

With the growing trend in social media, there has been a sharp spike in the number of social networks available. Many of us have multiple social profiles, and utilize a variety of social networks, each for a different reason.

Take Pinterest, for example. Pinterest recently exploded in popularity, transforming the way in which we plan events, keep track of trends, and advertise our products. And while the majority of Pinterest users are women, who likely have at least one board devoted to fashion finds, adorable animals, or whimsical weddings, there is the male counterpart.

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So which social network takes home the gold? Well, it depends what you’re looking for. Ignite Social Media recently released an infographic comparing social media platforms, looking at statistics about gender, demographics, interests etc.

Some key findings:

• The overall number of men using social media is the same as the overall number of women using social media, with the male/female ratio evenly split at 50/50.
• Pinterest hosts the highest number of women users, followed by Habbo, IMVU, and Flixster. Surprised?
• Wealthier users tend to populate social networks like LinkedIn, Yelp, and Quora.

What’s hot

1. Twitter
2. Tumblr
3. LinkedIn
4. Pinterest
5. Reddit

What’s not

1. Taringa (wait, what?!)
2. Digg
3. Bebo
4. Friendster
5. MySpace 

Take a look over the 2012 findings and share with us your thoughts. Any of the findings surprise you? What’s your favorite social network?

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Tags: Ignite Social Media, infographic, Pinterest, Social Media, social network, Twitter

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Google (GOOG) Rages Ahead In Social Ads With Wildfire Buy | iStockAnalyst.com #SoulcialMe

(By Mani) Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG : 641.33, 12.58) has its extended its foothold in social media advertising by acquiring Wildfire, which helps firms deploy marketing campaigns on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB : 21.14, 1.08).

The deal comes as the proliferation of social media, and an increased demand by consumers to engage with brands across multiple social channels is driving chief marketing officers (CMOs) to look for an integrated social marketing platform. These platforms helps them to publish their ads and marketing campaigns on social networking sites but also helps in monitoring their campaigns.

The four-year old Wildfire powers social media marketing for over 16,000 businesses, including 30 of the top 50 global brands. Selected as the two-time winner of Facebook's fbFund, Wildfire now offers a complete Social Marketing Suite.

In early 2012, it became the first social media marketing company to have a software platform that integrates directly with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn (NASDAQ:LNKD : 108.76, 11.12).

The acquisition is timely for Google as businesses around the world are embracing social media to share information and forge stronger relationships with their fans and customers.

Google could integrate Wildfire's social presence to complement all marketing campaigns in search, display, video, mobile, offline ads and more. In other words, Google could Wildfire's technology to boost targeted ads in Google Search, Google Plus and YouTube, while completing its acquisition of DoubleClick.

On the strategic perspective, the deal makes sense for Google as it generates about 90 percent of its revenue from advertisements. Google makes most of its money from keyword advertising that is shown based on the type of search a user conducts. Advertisers on Google bid for keywords to display their advertisements on the Google search page.

Google AdWords allow advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network through cost-per-click – a key metric for investors' focus.

The pricing of keywords, the inventory of keywords available, and the frequency of user search impact how much money Google makes on search.

If Google manages to club Wildfire with its social platform Google+, the acquisition should help the search giant to boost its targeted ads and increase revenues for the company's search platform, thereby making Wildfire as another revenue generating machine for Google.

Google should be able to reap the above benefits of the deal pretty quickly as it integrated Google+ with the Google search engine earlier this year. This means that if a person in a user's circle has +1'ed a search result, the same would shown as one of the top results in new searches.

Meanwhile, the current advertising environment also favors the economics of the deal. Advertisers are cutting ad dollars from Facebook and Microsoft Bing, and increasing the advertisement spend in Google search. In a tough macro environment, advertisers are cutting advertisement dollars in experimental category and increasing the advertisement spend in Google search.

The search giant will continue to benefit from a strong secular shift towards more accountable advertising spending, which should help insulate the company from the economic downturn. Google's long-term fundamentals continue to remain strong with YouTube, Android, Chrome and Google Analytics continue to gain customer traction.

As a result, the Wildfire deal has the potential of not only generating revenues on Google+, but also would improve the Search product.

via istockanalyst.com

Success Is Motion - Putting Motion Back Into Success | 4 Things You Shouldn't Do To Have More Time #SoulcialMe

4 Things You Shouldn’t Do To Have More Time.

One of the biggest complaints that I see on a daily basis is, “I don’t have time to do this or that.”  Here’s the problem with most of these claims.  Fact is, most people do have the time to do these things.  Fact is, that if you don’t have time to do essential things like: spend time with family, cook dinner, workout, then you’re probably doing to much of something else.

Don’t try to Multitask – This is something that a lot of people don’t seem to get.  Why businesses put an emphasis on this, I have no idea.  You’d think those educated people would have more sense, but I guess not.  Truth is, Multitasking doesn’t work. In fact, when you try to multitask, you’re actually cutting down on your Quality Production.

Trust me, I know from experience.  If you’re trying to write a blog post for example and you’ve got Facebook open, you’re going to get distracted.  Now all of a sudden that 10 minute blog post, turned into a 30 minute blog post.  Then by the end of the day, you don’t feel like you’ve got much done.  Focus on one thing at a time.

Don’t Sit for Too Long – Instead of spending hours away reading that Novel or watching TV, try cutting back on your hours.  Limit TV and Novel reading for one hour.  At least for a little while. Do this for a week and you’ll be surprised how much more time you have.

Don’t forget to Cook when you can – Here is another issue that people claim they don’t have time for.  Cooking.  If you have time to cook three nights a week, then try cooking extra.  It doesn’t take that much longer to cook an extra meal or two.  Throw in an extra box of Spaghetti, an extra scoop of rice and two cans of beans, an extra box of Macaroni, or even cook a few extra Eggs and put them in a plastic container for Breakfast. Don’t forget the sausage.

It’s a lot easier than people think to cook real food.  On top of that, you save a trip to McDonald’s or Burger King, which is bad for your health anyway.  You’re even more than likely saving some extra cash by buying in bulk so you can cook those extra meals.  Nothing says you can’t have variety and extra at the same time.  Mix it up.

Don’t wait until the last Minute – This should be a common sense thing, but it has to be said.  Far to often, people will 10 – 15 things to do and wait until the end of the day to go to the Bank.  Knowing that most Banks close at 4pm? Does that make sense?  I mean, shouldn’t you do the Banking business first?  That way while you’re at the Bank, you can make sure you have the required funds for shopping?  People need to prioritize their list.  Do the time sensitive things first. Pay the Bills, go to the Bank, make that Delivery.  Then do your shopping and running around that you need.

There you have it, 4 Things You Shouldn’t Do To Have More Time.  I’m sure you can probably come up with some other things, let me know in the comments below.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve spent too long writing and editing this post.  I’m off to do something for an hour.  It’s time to be more productive and have more time for other things.

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via successismotion.com

I am guilty of doing these things. I also have a tendency to procrastinate when I don't understand or something tends to be too hard. I am working on it; I recognize my weaknesses and will be adamantly working on them.

How to Use Social Media to leverage your conference | Conference Wag #SoulcialMe

For event directors, the advent of social media has leveled the playing field. Effective distribution and promotion are no longer just for those who can afford expensive media buys. Social networks allow event attendees to become virtual promoters.

Even better, social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are virtually free! Simply put, social media is great news for event holders.

It’s helpful to remember that events are inherently social. It’s natural for people to tell their friends about events they love: Social media hardly invented word-of-mouth. What it does offer is game-changing acceleration, plus metrics for what’s working. 

So just how much are those event shares on Facebook and Twitter worth? In October 2010, Eventbrite released a Social Commerce report that put a dollar value on shares for the first time. We discovered that on average, the Dollars Per Share (DPS) of an event on Facebook is $2.53. This means that a share on Facebook generates $2.53 in ticket sales and, in addition, 11 visits back to the event page.

In the festival space, the news was even better. Eventbrite found that when an attendee shares, for example, a Wine/Food/Beer event on Facebook, it generates more than $5.50 in ticket sales.

Looking at additional social networks, Eventbrite discovered that a share on Twitter equals $0.43, a share on LinkedIn equals $0.90, and a share through our ”email friends” application equals $2.34.

Getting Started with Social Media

According to Alexa.com, five of the top 10 most visited sites in the United States are social networking sites. These sites have caused a sea shift in the way people purchase. And when used correctly, they’ll have a direct impact on the success of your event.

However, these sites don’t do all the work themselves. Just opening a Twitter account for your event isn’t going to get it done. It’s critical that you first understand them and decide how to deploy them.

So, what are your basic objectives? Before deciding how to use social media, you first must determine what your goals are. For example, you can leverage social media to achieve any or all of the following objectives:

• Sell out your event

• Increase awareness for your event and brand

• Gain sponsors and donors

• Establish yourself as an expert in your specific field

Check out Web sites like quantcast.com. Here you can search any Web site and discover demographic information about the traffic they receive, such as age, geographic location, income and interests. This information should be in mind before you make any marketing decision. It will help you understand where your future attendees spend time online and how to deliver correct messages to them.

 

This is part 1 of 3 in our Event Organizers: Social Media series. Tune back into Conference Hound next Monday for Part 2: How to Use Effectively Use Facebook and Twitter to Promote Your Event. 

via conferencehound.com

Top MBA Programs Embrace Social Media But Aren't Tracking Applications Resulting From It According to New Study by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth #SoulcialMe

While only 16% use Mobile Apps, they are rated one of the most effective tools second only to Facebook

San Jose, CA/Dartmouth, MA (PRWEB) June 19, 2012

Top MBA programs are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and more in their quest to recruit the best students possible. Only 1 in 3 however, are using tracking methods that tell them how many applicants result from early contact with the program's social media efforts. This was among the key findings of the latest study conducted by Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D., Senior Fellow & Co-Research Chair of the Society for New Communications Research and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and co-author Stephanie L. Jacobsen.

The new report is the outcome of a statistically valid study of the 2012 US News Top MBA Programs. The study examined these programs to quantify their adoption of social media tools and technologies. It also looked at what they considered to be effective and how their investment in social media would look in the next year.

Key Highlights:

• All 70 schools studied are currently using at least one social media platform or tool to market their MBA program. The top three tools used by MBA programs are Facebook (100%), Twitter (96%) and LinkedIn (87%), used primarily for alumni relations. Three quarters of the schools maintain an MBA blog. Some programs reported using Flickr (30%), Google (16%), mobile apps (14%), and Foursquare (13%).

While only 16% of schools are using downloadable mobile app's, these are rated among the most effective tools studied.

65% of schools using social media to market their MBA programs do not track the number of perspective students using social media who in turn complete applications.

41% of these top MBA programs describe social media as playing a critical or major role in their MBA marketing efforts. 42% have no written policy governing the use of social media for their program and 29% do not use any monitoring tool to track buzz or conversations about their program.

Most MBA programs studied plan to increase their investment in social media in the next year (82%) and every school agrees that social media is worth the investment they make in it. Less than half of the schools, however (44%), feel social media cuts the cost of traditional advertising or marketing for their programs.

94% report recruitment is the number one goal of their social media efforts, yet the top 4 measures of effectiveness do not include tracking prospective applicants.

"It is interesting that the #1 goal for using social media in top MBA programs is recruitment, but the most popular measures of effectiveness are friends/followers, hits and comments rather than resultant applications," stated Barnes.

Jacobsen added, "While fans, followers and hits are among the most common measures used to assess effectiveness of social media programs, these measurements will not accurately calculate how many prospective applicants apply to a school prior to using their social media. Other tools such as a "how did you hear about us" on the application, as well as software packages allow schools to measure if social media is actually improving recruitment efforts."

A full copy of the new research report as well as an infographic summary can be downloaded at: www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/

Additionally, Barnes and Jacobsen will publish a paper based on the findings in an upcoming issue of the Society for New Communications Research's Journal of New Communications Research.

About the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

To facilitate the economic development of the region by providing an affordable, high-quality economic alternative to meeting business needs for research, training, and consulting in any and all aspects of Marketing. The Center for Marketing Research is associated with and maintains a close relationship with the Chambers of Commerce within southeastern Massachusetts. This unique relationship provides the Center with an effective business networking capability. For more information, visit www.umassd.edu/cmr/.

About the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)

The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) research and education foundation and think tank focused on the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society. For more information, visit http://sncr.org.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/MBA-programs-study/prweb9607945.htm

via sfgate.com

HootSuite Hits 4M Users, Lets Them Manage LinkedIn Company Pages For Free #SoulcialMe

Boosting connectivity between its social media dashboard and one of the world’s most popular professional online networks, HootSuite has announced it now offers free management of LinkedIn Company Pages, also hitting the 4 million global user mark.

HootSuite has boasted Company Pages, Group and Profile support via its beta program but required users to sign up for a HootSuite Enterprise account. This provided unlimited access to analytics, profiles and a number of premium features.

However, from today, HootSuite has dropped that requirement for more than 160 million LinkedIn users but also the 79 of the Fortune 100 companies that use its online tool, hoping to spur interaction with the 2 million+ Company Pages already set up on the professional social network.

In terms of users, HootSuite has doubled its userbase in just under a year. The company announced in July 2011 that it had hit the 2 million user milestone, doubling signups in 7 months. We noted at the time that signups were likely to have been helped by its decision to adopt a Freemium model, crafting package tiers to provide an extensive range of tools to both consumers and businesses – keeping it free for 95% of its users.

HootSuite added a million more users in the following six months, hitting three million signups in January 2012. The company announced that its 3 million users had sent over 600 million messages from 6 million social profiles, thanks to the ability to manage multiple accounts from the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Foursquare, MySpace, WordPress and Mixi.

As with any of HootSuite’s supported services, users can authenticate their LinkedIn login to bring up a full list of LinkedIn Profiles, Groups and Company Pages associated with their account.

[Image Credit: HootSuite]

via thenextweb.com

Facebook is still king in 126 countries –except China and Russia | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere #SoulcialMe

Facebook continues to dominate the worldwide social network scene and is now tops in 126 of 137 countries worldwide, a social media strategist said over the weekend.

Vincenzo Cosenza updated his "world map" based on a combination of Alexa and Google Trends for Websites traffic data, tech site The Next Web said.

Citing the traffic data examined by Cosenza, The Next Web said Facebook is tops in 126 out of the 137 countries that were analyzed.

"Europe is the largest continent on Facebook with 232 million users, while North America has 222 million and the whole of Asia boasts 219 million users," it said.

However, social networks other than Facebook remain tops elsewhere in the world.

It said VKontakte and Odnoklassniki remain strong in Russian-speaking countries.

PC Magazine said that in China, where Facebook is banned in most areas, QZone is the most popular social network, with 560 million users.

Second in China is Tencent Weibo with 337 million, and Sina Weibo with 334 million.

In Iran, state censorship also makes it difficult for users to access Facebook.

Zing is Vietnam’s most popular social network while Cloob is preferred over Facebook in Iran, and Drauglem is tops in Latvia.

On the other hand, it said LinkedIn, Badoo and Twitter are jostling for the distinction of being second most dominant social network in various European countries, the United States, Brazil, China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Japan.

"If we take a look over Facebook's shoulders we can see the battle for the second position between Twitter and LinkedIn or, especially in Europe, between Badoo and Twitter," PC Magazine quoted Cosenza as saying.

2011 scene

In 2011, PC Mag said Facebook held the dominant position in 119 out of 134 countries analyzed.

On the other hand, it said the map does not include statistics for Google's social network Google+.

Back in January, Google CEO Larry Page said Google+ had 90 million users. By April, Page said that about 170 million people had "upgraded" to the social network without really explaining what that meant. — TJD, GMA News

via gmanetwork.com