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Humanising your startup through social media – Christopher McCann

May 27, 2011 By 1 Comment

 

This is the first post in a series of technology start-up related posts that will deliver real insight in to the start-up game. We hope you enjoy the read…

Traditional business practices are now becoming extinct and where companies previously sat behind a walled corporate face they now have to present a human personal touch if they want to survive. That has certainly been one of the biggest lessons I have learned in the last year of running a startup, Dizeo – a safe social networking service for children. We started out with a traditional corporate face and it didn’t work – we didn’t gain a rapport with our users and we didn’t create advocates. We changed. We became a human company and put a lot of time into user engagement on a one-to-one level. How did we do this? Largely through social media. This article will explore our initial traditional approach, how and why we changed, and simple methods that will allow your company to do the same. Although I eventually wound up Dizeo I am really proud of the humanised approach we moved to and it is one I am now applying to my next startup (as of yet unnamed).

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Filed Under: Digital Marketing, Local Focus, Social Media Marketing, Start-ups, Technology, Twitter Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Overcoming Social Media Anxiety in Older Web Users – Jennifer Clayton

May 25, 2011 By 6 Comments

 

The age of web users is rising. In 1994, the average user was a fresh faced 26-year-old. Today they are 38, with the beginnings of wrinkles and ‘silver highlights’.

Statistics show that older users are embracing social media. Last year, 42% of internet users over 50 used social networks, but on the ground usage makes the figures less rosy.

My web development company hold a ‘social networking for business’ workshop for older clients. Many are members of a social network, but few can name its advanced features or how to use it beyond contacting friends.

The social web doesn't have to scare 'retro' users (credit MOMA Sao Paulo)

How social media can enhance their professional life remains a mystery to older users.  Our morning workshop is often filled with bewilderment and frustration.

An interest in social media is not the same as confident networking, and the trend-obsessed world of social media can alienate older users.

Why should you Care?

This ambivalence of older people towards social media is more than a problem for web developers. Our whole economy is being damaged by their exclusion.

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Filed Under: Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing Tagged With:

New music video uses QR Codes to offer interactive experience [VIDEO]

May 23, 2011 By 6 Comments

 

American hip-hop rising star, Shin-B has released a video that uses a number of QR Codes to offer an interactive element to the viewing experience. Take a look at the video below, and read our interview with video producer, DuNo Tran

 

Tell us a little about yourself and your involvement in the video?

I’m an aspiring film director living out in Los Angeles. I didn’t go to film school, but I believe you can achieve anything with drive and passion. Yeah, it sounds cliche but that’s the truth. My goal is to impact and change the world in some way; creatively and positively. I directed, shot, edited, and produced the Shin-B – “Get Up and Go” music video.

What was the thinking behind using QR codes in the video?

I saw how cool the codes were when you are able to scan it, and then I thought why not put that in a video. So I believe I made the first interactive online video using the QR codes. The codes in the video are scannable with smart phones. If you want to know how to scan the codes, we have a quick instructional video.

Was the artist keen on the idea from the start?

One day the artist, Shin-B, wanted to a music video and the idea came to me on that same day.

Users need to pause the video on order to scan the codes, do you think this will put them off?

Pausing the video to scan the codes will not put them off when we announce that video contains free prizes if you scan the right code!

What do you see as the best uses of QR codes?

I wouldn’t say the QR barcodes be best used online but it is very neat out in the real world. I wouldn’t be surprise one day you see it in a huge billboard.

Thanks to DuNo for his answers!

So what do you think of the use of QR Codes in video content? Did you take the time to scan the codes on Shin-Bs? Let us know in the comment below!

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Filed Under: Digital Marketing, Interviews Tagged With: , ,

Social Media – Are You Still Struggling to Break Down the Barriers? [POLL]

May 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

Since the dawn of social media time (well at least ‘mass adoption’) people within businesses across the globe have struggled to persuade the powers that be of the potential value of using the social media channel for business purposes. Is this becoming easier as more and more social media success stories come to light or are directors still twitchy at the the thought of entering the social space? If you have taken on the task of convincing the people at the top, please fill in the quick poll below…

[polldaddy poll=5049744]

If you answered ‘no’ please tell us the main issues you are facing in the comments section of this post.

Thanks for taking the time to answer, stay tuned for the outcome of the poll.

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Filed Under: Social Media Marketing

How did Eurovision 2011 Unfold on Twitter? [INFOGRAPHIC]

May 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

 

The Eurovision song contest is the spreadable yeast extract of all singing competitions. Those that do like it certainly go the whole distance of committing to the cause of EuroPop. Eurovision parties, drinking games and sweepstakes are just some of the rituals that accompany the competition.

Another recent addition to the habit of humankind is tweeting along to television events. Some say it is the death of real conversation and others believe it breathes new life into television and adds a layer of interactivity.

Eurovision is a great event to monitor social media conversations around because of the sheer volume of chatter and the timeline of the broadcast from build-up, performance, reaction through to voting closing and the results coming through. Using Alterian SM2 <www.socialmedia.alterian.com> and some help from our Insights team, we have this piece of research to share.

Great Eurovision stats. Click to expand.

We decided to take a look at the social chatter around all 25 entries and see which of the above stages saw the most conversation take place. This is also illustrated in the infographic too. Let us examine what this actually means. What insight and value can we gain from the social data?

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Filed Under: Consumer Opinion, Digital Marketing, Twitter Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Quick Interview – Olivia Solon from wired.co.uk

May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Social Penguin Blog team are huge fans of Wired magazine and have been enjoying the well-informed tones of Online News Editor, Olivia Solon on the popular wired.co.uk podcasts. We took the opportunity to run a few questions past Olivia about her dream role at Wired. Read on for her answers…

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Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: ,

Facebook – Professional ‘Friend’ or Foe? by Euan Black

May 11, 2011 By 4 Comments

 

It’s interesting to see how people use their various social networking accounts. I primarily use Twitter and LinkedIn as a ‘grown-up’, professional platform, through which I network and promote my interests and skills.

Facebook’s a completely different kettle of fish. It’s somewhere I don’t like to be seen by professional acquaintances. There’s nothing particularly shocking on my profile, a few embarrassing photos is as bad as it gets, but I still don’t want colleagues/contacts to see them.

However, having invested heavily over the past year in making their website more (professional) user friendly, the time has come for me to explore the realms of Facebook as a professional tool, and not just a social one.

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Filed Under: Guest Blogging, Personal Brand Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How Beneficial is Bad Press on Social Media? – Marcus Taylor

May 3, 2011 By 5 Comments

Over the past few years there have been many near monumental social media cock-ups from well-known brands who have been caught red handed doing all sorts of bad stuff – sometimes innocently, sometimes ignorantly, and sometimes deliberately. But the question I ask my self is – does the bad press caused by poor social media etiquette actually affect these brand’s bottom lines?

Bad press got you down?

Did an offensive tweet from Vodafone improve their reputation?

Take Vodafone for example, whose Twitter account was essentially ‘fraped’ (someone posted an offensive message on Vodafone’s Twitter accountthinking Twitter was logged into a personal account) – it may have come across as incredibly negative and unprofessional, yet due to the disaster being handled very well by Vodafone, it produced millions of impressions and mentions of the Vodafone brand on popular blogs as well as generating heaps of links to the Vodafone website. At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine a single accidental offensive tweet having an impact on your buying decision when choosing a phone.Take another example – when DiscountVouchers.com launched their Pakistan Flood infographic, which was clearly distasteful and quite inappropriate but got them a lot of attention in the blogosphere. They were originally criticised for the lack of acknowledgment of the charities involved in supporting the flood victims.

In my opinion, the key lesson to learn from both of these examples is that it’s all about how you handle the aftermath of a social media disaster. In Vodafone’s case, they turned bad press into good press by using the opportunity to come across as a transparent brand who admitted that they make mistakes. The overall perception that this produced was that Vodafone are human – they make mistakes, they listen to their customers, and they understand the importance of their reputation and relationships online.

In the case of Discount Vouchers, they responded to the bad press by acknowledging the charity and adding a donation link to help support the Pakistan flood victims. Although this didn’t entirely solve their reputation crisis, it certainly came across as a positive gesture and reduced further negative online discussions about them.

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Filed Under: Consumer Opinion, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , , ,