Why Timeline is Your Friend

Of all the people I interact with on a daily basis who ask me countless questions about social media, blogs, and internet marketing, the most recent rant came from my mom of all people. She went off on the phone for 20 minutes telling me how she won't use Facebook once it changes over, she doesn't understand it, nor does she have the time to learn it.
I was slightly overwhelmed by her comments, wondering, "if I can't explain this effectively to my own mother, how on earth will I explain it to clients?"
My first anecdote is that no one likes change! Millions of people now use Facebook as a main form of communication. It has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, and given us a more connected world. You can take that for what you will, but in this it has changed our marketing techniques drastically, even over the last six months.
Recent studies have shown that the new "timeline" has increased brand engagement by 46%. The small study done by the SEO company, Simply Measured, showed drops in status update engagement but higher interest in video and photos. This clearly has to do with the way timeline has been designed, making visual outlets a priority over text.
So mom, I'm really sorry Facebook is changing, but it's amazing news for companies looking to up their social media presence. Not so amazing for those of us who get little ego boosts every time someone hits the "like" button on our statuses. Maybe this is good news in the "friend" department. Your real friends will actually *gasp* pick up a phone and call you to find out what you have been up to instead of stalking your Facebook page.    

Really We Just Want To Be Poked!

Social media is my life. I'm always on the lookout for the hottest trends, the newest developments, and what people are buzzing about. It is after all, my job to reach the masses with information. There's no better way to learn than by figuring out "what the people want."

I recently had a very personal experience with social media that I felt pertinent to share. My grandmother passed away. I had just flown back to California from Boston, after visiting over a vacation. I was home for not even a week, and I had to fly back East. When I got the, news (via old fashioned telephone) at about 2 AM EST (around 11 PM California time), I don't need to describe the obvious emotions that were going through me at the time, but I was close to my grandmother and no matter where I was, it was hard.  

 In my grandmother's 88 years, I'm not sure she could have imagined people getting news out faster in a tiny box on a screen, than a newspaper or telephone. Hers was a generation that kept to themselves, and would have never thought to advertise their every thought, emotion and activity for the world to see. But, I put a post on my Facebook page dedicated to my grandmother, informing my "friends" of her passing and left my computer open all day. As comments came in with people offering their condolences, I felt so much comfort and peace. Even people who didn’t know my grandmother understood the relationship between grandparent and grandchild and for me that meant something.   

When someone passes away people usually don't know what to do, and offer, "Let me know if you need anything." The only thing I needed, being 3,000 miles away, was to feel connected. I imagined what the experience would have been like without all the technology that is at my fingertips, even 20 years ago when cell phones were rare and wireless internet seemed like it was a concept for The Jetsons.

Although it sounds incredibly sappy, getting "instant" sympathy smoothed my experience of grief, and made it easier to do what I needed to do to fly home.

While social media can be tricky, it might flood us with too much information, it has become a tool of everyday life that, when used correctly, enhances our human experience in bringing us closer together.    

Googling Yourself Just Got Cooler

Google + is projected to hit over the 100 million user mark tonight. It still seems no one is posting anything or doing much more than hitting the "connect" button on Google +, but maybe this milestone will help it find its place in the social media world.
 Google recently introduced "Search + Your World." This is a merging search and social media. It only works when you're logged into your Google account while searching, and is very similar to the Bing feature Facebook has with their search. It allows you to search within your circles. It seems to be taking "sharing" to a whole other level. It also only brings privacy concerns to a head and Google + may very well have a niche, but its way off target in trying to do what has already been done.  

Many contest that Facebook to be just a fad that will soon pass, I disagree. More than any other platform, Facebook in itself is a marketing machine that all other social media outlets rival, and will need to catch up to. Although new timeline features are leaving some confused and annoyed, since Facebook's early days as a college Freshman, the phrase "Did you see on Facebook" has only become more prevalent in my daily life.

New social media platforms being introduced, such as "Pintrest," show that society has become click happy, and wants everything at their fingertips. We want to share our every thought, opinion, and invention, hoping it will be uncovered, noticed, or at least "liked." The question is Google + the platform of choice to do it?    

Social Media Overload?

Social media is a part of everyday life. There isn't a time in a restaurant, mall, or sidewalk that the words "I saw on Facebook" or "Let me tweet that" aren't uttered. The entertainment industry has taken social media and ran with it. It's changed the way we think and do everything. Still, Facebook feeds are overwhelming at times. Are we really paying attention to all the glitz and glam attached to every Facebook post? Our eyes are so flooded with information when we log in, it's doubtful that we are even processing the full impact of the information we're being sent.
So what is the best way to gain a genuine audience? Targeted "blasts" could be useful, but like the basis of all advertising, it needs to catch people's eyes. This is not an easy thing to do in 140 characters. Posting at your main audience's peak use times is key as well as providing snippets of information that leads to something bigger ie. a blog or website. The conclusion- We are no where near the point that relying soely on social media makes sense. It's just another tool to help reach audiences in a more innovative way.