Size Means Nothing If No One Sees It!

I see a lot of posts on Facebook pages patting themselves on the back for reaching milestone followers: 100, 1,000, 10,000, etc. When I first look at a Facebook page, I don't look at how many likes, but the number next to it. I want to see how many are talking about a page. What exactly does that mean? Well, here's how Facebook describes it:

People Talking About This: Number of people who have created a story about your page. Story is created when someone likes page; posts to wall; likes, comments, or shares page post; answers a question; mentions page; tags page in a photo; checks in at location or recommends.

Basically the point is this: A million people can like a page, but if no one is sharing or talking about the content, it doesn't matter. 

 Now don't get me wrong. Likes are a good thing, and they will increase stats- temporarily. It gives the page potential when people are interacting.  The more likes, the more people see content. If only 10 people like a page, then sure, if 5 are talking about it, that's a great percentage! Yes, having people like the page is very important.

Think about your News Feed for a minute. What are the things you see when scrolling? You see a mixture of posts from your friends, pages you follow, the same photo shared 10 times. What else? You see what friends comment on. You see what statuses friends like. You also see what PAGES friends like, as well as comments on pages. I've found many a page to like because of someone else liking it. 

Businesses- if you want more people to see your page, you have to create the content to make interaction possible. Sometimes a few "likes" are all you need to get that ball rolling. Encourage interaction. Ask questions, have a "call to action" in the post. People love photos and video. Links are less likely to be seen. Don't slam your page with posts, either. If you start going over 5 or 6 in a day, people might not like that in their feed. Then again, it all depends on your business and what you are posting.

It's important to know your audience. As you see, some pages have more talking about them than likes!

Casual Users- A simple "like" can go a long way. If you believe in a business, or want to support one, all you have to do is like a status occasionally. Leave a quick comment. Share something they have posted. You all ready know it doesn't take any time to do it. Now you also know that you could be helping that business increase their presence, and in turn helping them grow and become successful.

PS- all the pages here in my examples are great pages, and should be given a look- and a like. Look them up!

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs! 

5 Positive Things About Social Media

Who knew that a little website helping students at a University stay connected would become what we know as Facebook today? Or that the stream of consciousness known as Twitter would not only let us know what you are having for lunch, but keep people aware of what is happening when their entire country is falling apart?

It's no secret at all that I absolutely love social media. You don't make it part of your business if you don't like it! I see the value in it, personally and professionally. Recently there have been some negative things circulating about the social media world, and being online in general. Some I have all ready addressed on this blog, and some are earmarked for later. At times it feels like an uphill battle dealing with knee-jerk reactions to every single bad thing that happens via social media. So, that being said, I'm going to give you 5 positive things about social media, on the personal side, and the business side. These are some of the reasons I love social media!

Personal:

1. I can keep in touch with my family, spread out all over the country, and they can keep in touch with me. Any time we want. Day or night. Time zones do not matter!
2. Information. I love politics, news, and information in general. I also love telling others about it. Sharing this information has never been easier with social media. Learning information from others is also a plus.
3. Living vicariously through others. My brother is an avid traveler. I am not, but I love watching his adventures unfold when he posts photos, status updates or blog entries.
4. It takes a village. Once a friend's daughter posted some scary stuff on her Facebook page. Red-flag stuff. Immediately three of us started messaging to see if anyone had contacted the parent yet about this. It turns out the child was just playing an attention card, but what I take away from that is how quickly we came together to figure out what to do, should it have been a real emergency.
5. Silliness. I love the memes, music videos, check-ins, and everything else that you never even thought to share with others BI (before internet). It makes the world seems smaller, and I feel that's a good thing.

Business:

1. Everyone is using social media in one form or another, and they are looking for your business.
2. You can communicate and engage with customers or clients at any time day or night, not just during business hours. Again, time zones do not matter! If you are doing it right, they will see what you're posting.
3. Social media is the greatest opportunity to show customers that you care about them, and not just getting their business.
4. Social media draws traffic to your blog and website.
5. All of these social media sites are available for free!

There are many more positives to social media, but this is a good start. This is a way of life now, and I don't see it dying off any time soon. It's better to embrace it, understand it, and use it to your advantage than fear it. Happy socializing!

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs! 

How Does Satirical News Cross A Line?

I am one of the millions of people who are sucked into the Academy Awards each year. Thanks to social media, they have become even more fun to watch, since with social media you are never alone watching them. Naturally, everyone has an opinion, and Twitter, Facebook, and a couple glasses of wine always give us the courage to really say what we think. I think most of the conversations were disagreements! For some reason it's always more fun to argue than agree, especially about creative topics.

Even with my watchful eye, I follow way too many people and hashtags to catch everything that goes by. However, that is what retweets are for. Not everything slides under the radar on the internet for very long. This is how the satire-news site The Onion got into a little hot water Sunday night.

For those who are not familiar (and even those of you who are), I would like to repeat: The Onion is a satirical news site. It's fake, and most of the time, pretty tasteless. So how could a well-known satire site that always tries to up the shock factor possibly get in trouble? Well, by this tweet. Warning, it's definitely "R" rated and not for work. Or children. Or those who are offended easily (who also probably do not read the Onion).

My first reaction was the same as everyone else. Too far! You don't say that about a 9 year old! The nerve! Where's the decency? Apparently the entire world (i.e. Twitter) wanted the offending tweeter's head on a pike. It is definitely a fine line between a parody and just being an offensive jerk. It caused so much controversy that The Onion actually had to issue an apology.

That's what made me rethink the entire thing. The Onion, satirical news site, apologized for doing what they do on a daily basis. Here's a sampling of headlines from their website:

*While I'm Glad I Won, I Personally Believe Abraham Lincoln Deserved To Die ("written" by Daniel Day-Lewis)
*Sonny Bono Foundation Prevents At-Risk Youths From Skiing Into Trees
*In Focus: Parents Of Suicide Victim Saw It Coming A Mile Away
*Oscars Fashion Report: Kathryn Bigelow Stuns On Red Carpet Wearing Blood-Soaked Rags Osama Bin Laden Was Killed In

Now, granted I am more tolerant than most when it comes to language. I personally don't believe that there is bad language, only appropriate places to use certain language. I tend to be colorful with my language, but you certainly aren't going to hear it in a client meeting or at a conference. If MSNBC had tweeted the same thing as the Onion? Probably not the best of ideas. It's not their normal policy, so yes there should be action taken (I'm not even mentioning all of the radio hosts out there that work for major news outlets who routinely offend on a daily basis, and never have to worry about losing their job). But the Onion? Honestly, I don't feel an apology was necessary. It's what they do. That's the point.

I was on Twitter following along while watching the Oscars, and I didn't even know this happened until the next day when I read the post from Social Media Today. That leads me to think that unless you were completely glued to Twitter and caught the re-tweet, a lot of people didn't see it either. It certainly wasn't a story the local 10pm news talked about. I think this was made out to be a bigger deal than it needed to be.

There is a lesson in this though. A reminder that what you say online stays there. Once you hit "send", it can't be undone. For those of us who do not run satirical websites that borderline on vulgar, it's good to remember that as you're typing status updates.

I'd love to know what you think, not just about this, but about appropriate use of language in different contexts. Comment below, or over on the Facebook page!

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs! 

Girl Scout cookie season still limiting young entrepreneurs

I love seeing how organizations use social media in their daily interactions. Most of the time it's positive, informative, and engaging. Every now and then I shake my head and want a direct line to whoever is in charge so I can beg to let me help them. I feel this way with the Girl Scouts.

My older daughter was in Girl Scouts (GS) for five years. I think. Maybe six? I don't know, it's all a sugar-induced cookie blur. Back when she was first involved, marketing via social media was just taking off. I don't think GS even had a Facebook page, much less a Twitter account. Parents were still fearful of the online world, so online selling was not happening. I remember tweeting about cookie booths to hopefully drive some extra sales our way, and my daughter would send an email to family letting them know she was selling. At the booths, the most frustrating thing to me was only taking cash and checks. With so many avenues open to take people's money, why wasn't GS getting on board?

Jump to a couple of years ago. Brands by now are now extremely relevant online, and GS moved forward with the times. They even opened up online ordering via individual websites for the girls. However, you could still only order. They still did not take credit card payments, and you couldn't use other resources for payment like PayPal. Honestly, it wasn't a terrible system. Most cookie sales come from people in the town you live in. You still have to deliver the boxes of cookies, so you can be paid in person when you deliver. If you get a lot of orders from out of state, that makes it more difficult to deliver, because now you have a shipping charge, etc. It's just a hassle that GS hasn't worked out yet. This year I'm told they are taking credit card payments at cookie booths- which is a big step forward. I am one of those people who almost never has cash on her, so I would definitely be more likely to buy cookies!

There is still a side of GS cookie season that a lot of people do not realize, and that is donations. GS troops always send boxes of cookies to troops overseas, as well as to shelters and fire/police stations in their area. It's the troop care packages which brings me to the point of this post- because this week a scout did a big no-no while talking about this very thing online. The 11-year-old was part of a Twitter Chat, and was telling everyone about their project for sending cookies to troops, and also gave a link to a PayPal account for donations. It was informative, and a great business strategy. So great in fact that a mom from her own troop ratted her out to the higher-ups, which prompted a public twitter-scolding by GS (see the link for the whole scoop).

In fairness, no, she could not have a PayPal account. It's not one of their allowed methods of payment. I'm not going to dive into the personal stuff about tattling. Some GS troops are way more competitive than others. What bothers me is the thinking that the way to teach girls about business is simply to sell door-to-door and in front of stores. Yes, they have made strides, but it's a disservice to limit how people can pay. When you limit how people can pay, you limit the creativity in how the girls can sell cookies. Why bother chatting online about troop donations if the only way they can donate is to mail a check? Are you going to mail a check to some stranger? Is that Scout's parents really going to want to give their address out online? I think not.

I understand wanting to teach girls how to handle money. It's important, definitely. It's important to teach them how to build confidence in themselves too, which is why they encourage door-to-door and store front selling. But let's be honest. I have Girl Scouts in my neighborhood, no one has come by to sell to me. How many of you have taken the order form to work, or have been approached not by the child, but by the parent wanting sales? We also promote online for our children who are too young to have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, as well as for those who do have their own social media accounts. The majority of the selling by the girls seem to come from cookie booths.

Trust me, this isn't a critique of Girl Scouts. I love GS and their Girl Power message. Although my daughter needed to leave the troop for time-organizational reasons, the years she spent as a scout are invaluable, and will serve her well for the rest of her life. My critique is in their old-business way of thinking. They have made progress with online promoting, website ordering (but not payment) and now allowing credit card payment. There is even an app to find cookies! These methods do help cookie addicts buyers find their cookies, but I feel they are still holding girls back by not fully embracing methods of payment. So much more creativity and forward-thinking can be encouraged in these girls, if the Girl Scouts would just forward their own a little faster than they have been.

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs! 

Don't get the social media blues

I'm a big advocate of social media (have I shocked you with that sentence?). I love it so much I made it part of my business! I'm always a little put-off when someone says they are not on at least one social media site. I cried tears of joy when a good friend finally set up her Facebook account over the weekend. In a world of smart phones and tablets, it truly is a faster way to stay connected than even making a phone call nowadays.

Last week yet another study about social media and emotional health surfaced. I always enjoy reading these studies. Naturally, I read every study with my cool hipster-skeptic glasses on. You always need to know where a study comes from, how many were involved, what questions were asked, etc, etc. Studies are good to get a very basic idea of how people are thinking. This latest study says that reading Facebook updates can make you depressed and envious. You know, because according to Facebook everyone has absolutely perfect, happy lives. Why don't you?

(Never mind just a couple of weeks ago a study emerged stating that you feel less lonely when you post to Facebook.) Sorry- one study at a time, Dani!

From the article: "Witnessing friends' vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers."

"The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most."

What is everyone envious of? Apparently how everyone is out having a good time, has an awesome family, travels, gets more "likes" and posts on their wall on birthdays, and looks so much more amazing than they do. And you? You are just sitting at home reading their updates, loser.

Seriously.

After some more contemplation, I definitely could see in myself where this has been true. I catch myself falling victim to the green monster at times when scrolling the news feed. It happens even to the most rational of people (I would like to think I am a fairly rational person, at least 70% of the time). It's a completely normal reaction, when all you see is the good.  I'll type that again- all you see is the good. No one is going to post that they have just had another fight with their significant other, snap a picture of their angry face and put it on Instagram (and if you do, please stop). You're looking at the awesome photo of the family having the best vacation ever at Disneyland. What you didn't see is that it took 10 minutes of wrangling to get that shot, and then immediately after the youngest child threw up on a sibling.

This is the key to conquering the social media blues. People are going to post mostly the good things that happen, then tell (and show) you how amazing it is. The study also states people post even MORE happy statuses, in an effort to make their lives seem more amazing than they really are! It turns into a subconscious competition of status updates. Humans are strange beings.

Keep in mind that the lives you are reading about are not 100% perfect 100% of the time. You are only getting a small percentage of a person's life via Facebook updates. Status updates are more like status brags. You are only seeing what that person wants you to see. If you still feel that envy, try and figure out why. Do you see your friends getting together all the time, and you fume about why they are not including you? Try giving them a call and make your own plans with them. Maybe your envy over someone's vacation photos is just the universe telling you it's time to plan your own getaway.

Be happy, and be smart about social media. If you are smart about social media on the personal side, it will ensure that you are smart about social media on the business side.

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs! 

Be smart about Yelp

As I was making my social media rounds a couple of days ago, I came across an interesting post in the Phoenix New Times' Chow Bella section. They asked several valley restaurant owners what they think of Yelp Reviews. I wasn't surprised to find that most of the chefs asked were either indifferent or didn't like them. I get it. No one likes to have their work criticized, and chefs are in their own league. I think food reviews are even more difficult, because for some reason people really take their food seriously. It's not just about the food either- dining out is an experience, and the one place where everyone wants to be catered to exclusively. Admit it- you could care less if it's 7pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant is packed. That server should behave and treat you like there is one server per table. You finished your salad 5 minutes ago, so your meal should have been on the table 3 minutes ago!

Thus where the Yelp world gets sticky. Yelp is another social interaction site. You check-in to show your circle of followers where you are and what you're doing. You friend people (and they you) for the same reason. On their mobile app you can now "like" and "comment" on your friend's check-ins. You write your reviews, and people can click and find it useful, cool, or funny. I look at Yelp as more of a mini-blogging site for reviews. I also use Yelp rather than Foursquare, because Yelp let's you leave reviews and not just tips about a place.

I use Yelp all the time to find places, as well as find out about a company or restaurant before deciding to try something out. The problem is, you can't simply read the average of stars and make a snap decision. You actually need to read through the reviews. I think this one of the reasons some chefs do not take Yelp seriously. It's way too easy to leave a one-star review because you only had 4 ice cubes in your drink instead of 5. Or because you love a burger with extra cheese and dripping in grease, you give that place 5 stars. When I visited New York a couple of years ago, I checked in at the Staten Island Ferry. When I looked over the reviews, one of them was 1-star, and all it said was "I hate Staten Island." Okie dokie. There is also a fair share of "padding" that can happen. Restaurants have been in trouble for having their employees leave amazing reviews. Owners have also gone a little crazy on the site too when they see a review they don't agree with.

So take 5 minutes (or less) and read through reviews before you decide on going somewhere. Obviously if a vegetarian doesn't like a restaurant because there aren't enough choices for them, and give a place 2 stars, I (as a carnivore) might still check it out. If several reviews talk about how messy the place is and the smell of garbage in the air, well I might avoid it.

Chefs and other business-owners, don't ignore Yelp. Sure, it's a hodge-podge of people and when you combine a free site with humans who can hide behind a user name, you will get idiots here and there. But some of us actually take our reviewing seriously, and want to either promote the hell out of you, or help make you better if there is something wrong. Interact with us too- we're more likely to come back and try you again if you tell us you're improving or changing what could be a problem.

With great power comes great responsibility, and Yelp can be a pretty powerful social media tool.  Not only do you have to be smart about writing your reviews, you have to be smart about reading them too.

You never know what will happen...

Why, it's Josh Temple of House Crashers!
Why is he at our TechPhx meeting?

Today began our 2013 TechPhx season! We had a lovely kickoff brunch at Paradise Bakery in Tempe Marketplace, and had a good group of interested (and interesting!) people turn out. This year I am co-leading the (un) conference with the marvelous Perri Collins, and I couldn't be happier. Her spunk and go-get'em attitude will not only help keep ME on track, but we always have a great time together too! I was also very happy to see many old and new faces turn up. It's going to be an exciting year of planning! Follow the TechPhx Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up on all the latest happenings. There is also plenty of opportunity to get involved! Meetings will be every third Saturday of the month from here on out.

We ended up outside by the fire pit for the majority of the meeting- it was just too busy inside! There's a big sign of commitment- braving this unusual cold weather! Afterwards a few of us were still standing outside chatting, and a camera crew walked by. Then they were striking up conversation. Turns out the crew of the DIY series "House Crashers" is in Tempe looking for a lucky home to crash and redecorate. He was super nice, and we got to plug TechPhx while the cameras were rolling! Of course, who knows if any of that makes it into the final cut, but it never hurts!

It was a fun and crazy morning. Sometimes the unexpected is a good thing, and now some of us have a nice memory from the morning. You never know what the day will bring!