social media – Page 5 – Tehama Group Communications

February 13, 2013March 17, 2017

All About Klout

I am addicted to social networking analytics and I’m not exactly sure why. I was never particularly fond of mathematics in school and I can remember celebrating the day I walked out of my last math class in sophomore year, vowing never to take another one again. But something is different about looking at the numbers associated with online engagement. There’s something hidden in those mounds of data and numbers and “likes” and “shares.” There’s money.

Now, if there’s money to be made, then obviously it’s at least a littleinteresting, right? But there’s more to it than that. For me, analytics provide you with your digital footprint. They are like the ripples in the water that form after you throw a rock into a puddle or a lake. These numbers provide you with an insightful look at your social presence and your digital influence.

So naturally, being a social networking analytics junkie, when I heard about a website calledKlout–that takes social networking data from all of your different accounts and spits out a “Klout score” ranking your overall influence, I was intrigued.

Initially, the concept begs an interesting question: Does a Klout score actually mean anything? To be able to answer this question, and it’s one ofmuch debate, it is important to understand how Klout arrives at your score in the first place.

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Klout attempts to measure your influence by considering things such as following count, posts, engagement, retweets, reshares, comments and friend count. It also looks at the type of people you tend to follow and retweet as well as the number of your direct mentions.

But how reliable is the score you’re provided with? Well, as it turns out, it is still too early to say. Although most marketers agree that Klout does measure your social influence to a certain degree, they are often quick to point out that there are still too many variables that can fog up the data.

Whatever the case, that still hasn’t stopped companies from taking the Klout score seriously. UK startupFrostbox originally opened up the company to investors…so long as your Klout score was above 60. The idea was that social media gurus with high influence and great social engagement would help to promote the company. It’s so crazy it just might work.
In the end, whether or not the Klout score is 100 percent correct is irrelevant if companies are beginning to take the score seriously. If you’re serious about your analytics and want to see your influence, Klout is a great way to go and their proprietary algorithms are only improving as time goes on.

It never hurts to start raising that score; you never know when it might be part of yourjob description, or maybe even part of your grade if you ever find yourself in thisclass!

November 29, 2012March 14, 2013

How Social Media is Changing Holiday Shopping Forever

By Kylie Munoz, Account Executive

Move over traditional television ads. Consumers now have a new form of inspiration and direction for holiday shopping–social media.

Social media is playing a bigger role in how consumers purchase gifts for friends and family during the holiday season, a new study by ConsumerSearch.com has found.

When it comes to shopping inspiration, the survey found that 64 percent of respondents depend on advertisements, emails, and retailer websites. And 62 percent count on social media, including user reviews and online wish lists, as well as a variety of content on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

What’s even more interesting, but maybe not shocking, is that only 17 percent of respondents said they prefer to research and shop in stores as opposed to researching and shopping online.

“Retailers have begun using social media more to reach shoppers with deals and information and we can expect this trend to become even more popular over the next few years,” said Carey Rossi, editor-in-chief of ConsumerSearch.com.

If you’re looking for gift ideas, Pinterest, not Facebook, is where you should look, another recent study conducted by BizRateInsights.com has found.

A total of 70 percent of online consumers go to Pinterest to get inspiration on what to buy, while only 17 percent visit Facebook for the same purposes.

Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook team have become aware of this pinning frenzy and have recently launched a new test feature for a few select retailers, such as Pottery Barn and Victoria’s Secret. The ‘Collections’ feature is similar to Pinterest in that you can ‘collect’ or ‘want’ items from the retailers they have listed. These items are then saved to a user’s ‘Wishlist’ on their Facebook timeline.

So whether you’re looking at a retailer’s website, tweeting, ‘liking’ or pinning, you’re sure to find great gift ideas for loved ones this holiday season with much thanks to social media.

Happy shopping!

November 7, 2012March 14, 2013

How to Put Your Phone Down When You’re a Social Media Addict

By Amber Whiteside, Social Media Director

Surprise, surprise.

I tend to have a problem setting my phone down. When managing different social media accounts, checking emails and updating my own personal sites, it seems impossible to shut off that little black thing buzzing every second.

Even on vacation, I cannot help but upload that Instagram photo of my toes in the sand, or check in at a new restaurant I discovered. It seems I can never escape my phone.

When a teacher asks students to shut off their phones, I think in my head, “Do you know who I am? How can I possibly shut myself off from the online world? It’s my job!”

However, everyone needs a break. I have attempted to teach myself how to put the phone down, so that you may learn as well.

1. Admit you have a problem

Yes, this is bizarre and alludes to other “first steps” of addiction programs, but it’s very difficult to fix a problem if you can’t admit there is one. Even the famous Pomeranian named Boo has his version of a “digital detox.” If you want to see his cuter version on how to step away from your computer or phone, by all means take a look. I can’t blame you. He is one of the world’s cutest dogs.

2. Pick a time for escape

To help myself with this process, I told myself that I couldn’t go on the Internet for an hour a day. I found myself filling that time with more productivity. Instead of staring at your phone, go on a walk, do homework or go out with friends. It was a lot easier to write this blog when I had that hour without the buzzing of my phone in the background.

3. Shut off your phone when you go to sleep at night

Yes, I admit, this was a difficult one. I use my phone for an alarm clock and with a long distance relationship, why on earth would I let my phone be off all night? However, studies show computers and cellphones can interrupt your sleeping patterns. That bright screen you are staring at can wear you down and negatively impact the start of your next day. Buy an alarm clock and get some sleep. Remember there was a time when we did survive without screens lying next to us.

4. Spend time in the moment

My roommates yell at me if I am staring down at my phone when we are out at dinner. As much as I want to defend myself, it is rude when people ignore your conversation to look at their phone. Remember that personal connections are more important than online-socializing. Spend your time riding the rollercoasters at an amusement park, not uploading pictures along the way.

Social media addiction is becoming an actual problem today. According to an infographic on social media addiction, refraining from retweeting on Twitter is more difficult than refraining from consuming alcohol or smoking. So make sure to give yourself a break. Those notifications, comments and emails will still be there.

November 2, 2012March 14, 2013

#HurricaneSandy Shows the Power of Social Media

By Mandie Niklowitz, Online Communications Director

As I’m typing this from my computer in sunny California, it’s easy to forget that Hurricane Sandy has been wreaking havoc on the East Coast all week. But all it takes is one quick look at my Twitter or Instagram to be reminded of what the East Coast has been going through.

Sandy’s wrath began Monday, causing destruction from North Carolina to Maine and creating a social media frenzy.

#Sandy was the number one trending topic on Twitter Monday with more than 4 million mentions.

On Facebook’s Talk Meter, which measures conversations about specific events, Sandy scored an 8.34 making it the second-most popular topic of the year. Some of the most popular terms being used on Facebook were, “We’re OK,” “damage,” and “power.” There was also a Facebook group created for Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts where users could share ways to help those in need and give each other words of support.

As of Wednesday, there were almost 1 million pictures posted on Instagram with the hashtags, #Sandy and #HurricaneSandy.

Sandy isn’t the first major news event to be covered by social media. When Hurricane Isaac hit earlier this year, similar Facebook groups and Twitter hashtags were created.

However, many believe Sandy is what will move Instagram to the big leagues with Twitter and Facebook. The mobile photo application, which was bought by Facebook for $1 billion earlier this year, has become the main destination for Hurricane Sandy photos.

During the height of the storm, Instagram users were uploading 10 pictures per second with the hashtag #Sandy.

CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, told Forbes Magazine, “I think this demonstrates how Instagram is quickly becoming a useful tool to see the world as it happens–especially for important world events like this.”

I agree with Systrom, in today’s information-filled world, we pick and choose what we want to read. More than once I’ve found myself scrolling through Twitter or Facebook and not even reading half of the posts.

Instagram gives you a picture and a caption. There’s no extra fluff or fillers, yet scrolling through the #Sandy feed on Instagram says so much more than the same feed on Twitter.

It has always been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and after seeing the aftermath of Sandy posted on Instagram, I couldn’t agree more.

For a full collection of Hurricane Sandy Instagram photos, visit Instacane.com, or if you would like to help with relief efforts, please visit RedCross.org.

October 1, 2012March 14, 2013

How to use Pinterest for PR

By Christopher Tavolazzi, Editorial Assistant

People love Pinterest.

Pinterest combines life planning, self expression, and a visual escape into a cohesive online community. I love firing up my home page and scrolling through all the images, sometimes finding a picture of a cute seal right next to a hilarious captioned photo of the NFL replacement refs.

Pinterest’s self described mission is to connect everyone in the world through the things they’re interested in. Shareable content is king, and it seems to be working.

An article in TechCrunch states that Pinterest is the fastest ever to break the 10 million user mark, doing so in two years. Traffic to the site increased 4000 percent in 2011 to 11.7 unique users, and now the site has almost 15 million users. That’s a lot of eyes.

So how can PR professionals capitalize on the fifth most popular social media site in the world?

First, get an account. Do it right now. I’ll wait.

Signed up? Good. Familiarize yourself with what the site and how it works.

The payoff: referral traffic.

As people share your content, you’ll get increasing free exposure from people interested in your product or organization. Obviously, this is great and pretty exciting, but how exactly do you do this?

Blogger Brian Solis says to think of content as “social objects” in his Sept. 24 blog. He advises us to produce content with optimized shareability and resonance, in an effort to get your audience’s attention.

In a sea of pins, you want your image to stand out from the rest.

Aim to release content compelling enough to make this happen. Make sure your image immediately captures attention and interest. Try to release content on a schedule in order to keep your base interested. You want people to want to share your stuff, of course, and people re-pin what they like, what makes them laugh, and what makes them say “woah.”

Social media moves fast, with one viral video or cool image giving way to the next shiny thing within hours.

Solis also draws a comparison to Back to the Future III, when Marty McFly is trying to get a train to reach 88 mph, but regular wood only gets the train moving so fast. Doc Brown engineers special logs that-when thrown in at certain intervals-allow the train to reach a higher speed.

Use this scene as a model for your Pinterest campaign. Have something that whizzes through the social media scene getting re-pinned, shared, and tweeted like crazy. Then, when it dies out, release your next batch of content and watch the fire ignite all over again.

Just make sure your log will catch with ease.