Ethics and Policies with Social Media

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The first amendment is typically the most memorable and is one of the reasons that the country was founded. Freedom of speech has long been a staple of American life. With the development of social media, freedom of the press and freedom of speech has become an issue on a much grander scale. Social media allows millions of people to interact and share with one another within seconds. Social media is an important resource, but it must be managed properly.
 
The first amendment is one of the most used policies on social media sites. Most social media sites are careful to allow their users to own their own speech, posts and pictures, while still reserving the ability to monitor and control any use that is against company policies. Since harassment is an ethical issue of social media, most sites that host user pages and connections try to cut down on the possibility of harassment through their site. This is offered with users having the ability to flag comments deemed inappropriate. User privacy policies and settings for the site can allow social media follower to decide who to allow access to their materials.
 
Another big issue with social media sites is the use of copyright or patented software. On various websites across the web, users may share music and software that is licensed only for the person who has purchased the software. This is an ethical and legal issue, as many software developers and artists have sued to get sites shut down over inappropriate use of copyright material.
 
Company social media policies are also an issue for those who run businesses and those who are employees. Many businesses have social media clauses for employees and require their workforce to comply with certain standards of social media use. These policies are used to protect the reputation of a company. Companies must be careful to comply within the bounds of the first amendment with these standards, so that they are both ethical and legal. Company social media policies are enforceable but they should not cross the line of privacy infringement of employees.
 
 
Sources: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/technology/employers-social-media-policies-come-under-regulatory-scrutiny.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/tag/social-media

Social Media Management Tools

A man (or woman) is only as good as the tools they have – as the old adage says. For example, you can try to build a house with a hammer and a few nails but it will take you a LONG time and realistically be near impossible. Even if you do manage to build something, it will lack the potential it could have had with the proper tools. The builder (you) would also be understandably exhausted and surely not want to continue building more houses.


Likewise, when it comes to social media this principle rings true. Managing social media is something that can be rather time consuming, especially if you do not know the correct tools to use. There are dozens of tools which this task could be utilized. This article, however, will focus on discussing some of the top rated tools that social media managers use to make sure that they are always in the loop about what is going on with the accounts they are managing.
 
Cyfe

Cyfe is a tool that is referred to by many social media managers as the “All-In-One-Tool.” It allows them to keep tabs on social media, marketing, analytics, sales, support, infrastructure, and so much more. Not to mention that to get started with Cyfe it is 100% free. With this tool you are going to be able to save numerous hours each and every day.
 
Cloze

Cloze is another free tool that simplifies a social media manager’s job. This tool is an aggregation and curation tool combined into one. You can follow new people from the dashboard, respond to the mentions, and even re-tweet your followers. It has more targeted settings so you can see who is influential in your niche as well as filter out what took place on which day if you have to take a day off from social media.
 
SproutSocial

SproutSocial is one of the paid social media tools that is definitely worth the investment. This tool is ideal for social media managers who have to manage multiple accounts. You are able to manage your brand from the dashboard including conversations, publish and schedule content across numerous social networks, and measure your process with their detailed report and analysis system. Not to mention the fact that the reports are professional and contain all of the information that your client is going to want to see. So, you save hours each week by eliminating having to put your weekly reports together.
 
Some other social media management tools which could be used, include: HootSuite, Sendible, Viralheat, Jugnoo, AngoraPulse, and many others.
 
I would love to hear what tools you are using, or know about, and how they differ. What do you recommend as the best tool(s) overall in managing your social media, especially in the context of a business, and why?
 
 
Sources
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/24-must-have-social-media-marketing-tools/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225587

Thoughts: Applebee's Waitress Fired Over Godly Customer Comment

This controversial story took a wrong turn when it should have been blown off to begin with. Although not directly done for reasons of media exposure or fifteen minutes of fame, this may just cause a bit of lost revenue to Applebee's. It does not help their marketing as a brand to fire someone over something so silly that really just got out of hand entirely. It also does not help them to openly charge an 18-percent gratuity to each party in a large party. If they are all separate bills, each customer is separate, at least that is how it is seen in the mind of a customer.
 
As for the waitress, if it were myself in that situation, fighting for my job back would not be an option. I would not want to work for a company that was as unprofessional as that. There are plenty more establishments to seek out employment in. You want to work for a place that values you as an employee and as a person. This tends to show that she was just a number and was not valued. After all, it was not even her that posted the photo of the receipt. There were no names mentioned and no identifying information. The only people that would have known who this was, were the server and the people in that dinner party.
 
At the risk of adding religion and controversy into the mix I forewarn you that I share openly my own religious beliefs…and that is what they are “my own!” The "self-proclaimed minister' did act inappropriately. Perhaps she thought that her actions were justified at the time, but no, it was inappropriate for her to voice her opinion in that manner. As a bystander in the situation you have to ask 'What is she giving God 10-percent of'? That is the unanswered question. If she were as godly as she claimed to be, she would not have let frustration or anger take over her mind that day. She would have let it pass and kept her thought to herself. She also could have spoken politely to the manager instead of causing this ruckus. Although self-proclaiming yourself as clergy does not mean that you are that Holy, her attitude in the situation and body language in her interviews leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Not only is this very poor marketing and poor media exposure for Applebee's, their actions just make the situation worse. Failing to comment on the situation makes them look guilty, and does not make consumers want to go to their establishment. When consumers see a brand ignoring a problem it looks bad on that brand and is poor marketing. Sales are likely to go down and the overall morale of the diners and staff will be a bit muddled. All of the advertising in the world for great specials may not help them right now. This story is everywhere and is giving them negative attention. Applebee's is a huge brand, they will bounce back from this setback, and it will not take long but how people view them as a company has already been damaged. There are millions of people that eat at Applebee's every year. Most will find this to be something stupid that should not have happened in the first place and it will not change their view of the company. Those with morals will likely see that how this waitress was treated is wrong and uncalled for. Two wrongs do not make a right and firing her over something so petty is ridiculous. The moral here is, think before you speak, or write, in this case. Social media is used by the entire world, you never know when something you do or say is going to end up blown out of proportion by someone blowing off some steam, and with social media it can spread FASTER than wildfire.
 
 
Source Links
http://fox2now.com/2013/01/31/web-world-i-give-god-10-receipt-goes-viral/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567225/applebees-waitress-fired-for-posting-customer-comment-online/

Social Media Platforms Take the Internet by Storm

In today's internet related society, social media platforms have taken the world by storm. But social networking has been around for much longer than most people think. It all began with bulletin board systems (BBS), online meeting places that allowed users to communicate with each other. But of course, social media has come a long way since then.
 
We now have the ability to make low cost phone calls, and video calls over the internet using Skype; the ability to upload, edit, and share photographs with Instagram and Flickr; the ability to 'pin' images and content to share with our friends and family via Pinterest; make, upload, and share videos via YouTube; and so much more.
 
In fact, there are so many different types of platforms that many have become much more than simply social media. For example, Linkedin and Google + are both platforms that many businesses and professionals use to help promote, and increase their client base, and to keep in touch with other professionals. Foursquare is a location based platform primarily used on mobile devices that can help you find fantastic places to visit. Then there is Second Life, a huge virtual world where you can create your own person (avatar) and live a life that you choose, or a life that you couldn't live in real life, all while interacting closely with other avatars.
 
There is also Ustream, a social platform where you can broadcast live video and watch events all while chatting to other users. Another platform that has taken the internet by storm is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that anybody can contribute to.
 
Of course, we mustn't forget the two giant social media platforms; Facebook and Twitter -- both allow you to keep in touch with family and friends while posting thoughts, pictures, videos and much more. An article about social platforms would not be complete without mentioning MySpace, although it has lost the popularity that it once had. Recently, however, Myspace was sold for $35 million dollars, which Justin Timberlake was a major investor (at an undisclosed amount). After this purchase it has been redesigned and is now geared toward musicians. By creating a target niche they may have an opportunity to come back on top.
 
All in all, there are dozens of social media platforms at your disposal...but the question I pose is how many should one be a part of? Thoughts?
 
 
Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1739601,00.html
http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/skype
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/30/myspace-internet

Blogging and Social Media

Marketing: Blogging & Social Media Combined
New companies/organizations have to get the word out about their services/products somehow. The best way to market in today’s society is to implement blogging and social media to insure that your business is getting the maximum amount of exposure.
 
Why Companies Cannot Just Post On Their Blog
Having a company blog is something that is very important yet at the same time it cannot be your only form of marketing. In order to make sure that you are always attracting new customers it is important to implement social media marketing into your marketing plan as well.
 
Anyone can write a viral blog post. However, the post is not going to go viral unless it is spread around. The best way to attract potential customers to your blog during this age in time is to go about doing so via social media. Some of the more popular social media networks are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. However, joining other social networks can be beneficial as well, if you have the time to do so.
 
Why Does Social Media Increase My Company’s Exposure?
Social media is a great marketing tool because you are literally able to expose your brand to millions of users each day. Not to mention the fact that if you are giving your audience something that is genuinely useful or interesting they are going to share it with their audience and the chain of marketing will be continued numerous times. However, to make sure that your marketing efforts do not go to waste you are actually going to have to connect with your social media audience. This means you are going to have to interact with them online in a timely manner and even share some of their relevant posts/statuses from time to time so they will be inclined to do the same for you.
 
Basically, if you combine blogging and social media together in an appropriate way your marketing plan is going to be bullet proof and bring you a lot of success.

Sources:
http://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-social-media-marketing
http://socialmediatoday.com/tara-hornor/1154256/tips-better-maximizing-your-reach-content-marketing

Quantitate my Qualities & Qualitate my Quantity

What does that title even mean? In short: RESEARCH! Now to some, “research” seems like a boring, daunting, and just plain uninteresting word, let alone task. It doesn't have to be! There are two types of research (quantitative and qualitative) and when done together you gain the most valuable insights. If you are using social media marketing then you may or may not know that you can track both quantitative and qualitative data. However, it can be very difficult to track both.
 
Depending upon what is important to you in your social media goals when starting out; you should either concentrate on qualitative data of trending and buzz around your brand, or quantitative data of numbers and facts generated from your marketing. Your goals are what should determine which path to take.
 

Qualitative Data

Qualitative research is the more "fun" out of the two. This is the type of research most often undertaken by large companies who depend upon a stellar reputation to make and sustain customers. Companies who use qualitative research want to know the honest opinion about their brand and use this information to correct and maintain their image. They use customer feedback and surveys to track the type of buzz they are receiving.
 

Quantitative Data

While tracking qualitative data may be fun, the reality is that businesses are driven by the bottom line. By using hard facts such as graphs, tables, and metrics, you can track what is working and what isn’t. Numbers can tell you a lot about the success of a campaign or new release compared to other time periods. If you have any questions about what works or doesn’t work, all you have to look at is the quantitative data to give you those answers. The buzz may be great on a new product, but until you see the cold hard facts and numbers, then it isn’t truly a success. There are some interesting ways to measure quantitative data in social media. A great example is Twitter and Klout. Klout measures diversity, reach, and velocity of Twitter. These are cold hard numbers that can measure the effectiveness of a user.
 
If you are able to reach a median with measuring the appropriate qualitative data and quantitative data, then you will have a great idea of your level of success in social media. As a company or organization who wants to be competent in social media be sure you are able to measure these factors to get the best "bang for your buck"

• Growth of fans, followers, friends
• Frequency of mentions
• Engagement
• Influencers
• Reach

Now...go out a search!!!
 
 
Sources:
http://argylesocial.com/blog/2010/12/01/qualitative-vs-quantitative-measurement-in-social-media-marketing.html
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/social-media-analytics-twitter-quantitative-qualitative-analysis

SWOT Away The Competition

Now you may be thinking “this dude is a fool…he can’t even spell SWAT right!” In this particular case I am not swatting away the competition as you would do to a fly (however exciting that may be), and I am definitely not talking about a group of policemen who are trained to deal with violent and dangerous situations (thank you Webster’s for that definition).

I am however referencing a S.W.O.T. Analysis, the strategic planning method created by management consultant Albert S. Humphrey. In just about any venture, whether business, sports, finding a great place to eat, or even dating – you will want to analyze the competition. A S.W.O.T. Analysis is one such way of doing this. SWOT Matrices come in various form and fashion, but what is most important is the content.

I could ramble on about exactly what this is and how it is used, but instead I will focus on how this handy dandy tool can be used in social media (if you want to know what just do a quick Google). As soon as you define what your objective or goal is you can use this tool to figure out which factors impact that goal.

Strengths and Weaknesses are Internal Influences; 
Opportunities and Threats are External.

eMentorMarketing discusses how important it is to understand your strengths when creating a social media marketing strategy. Areas of strength may include:

• Large Market Reach
• Great Customer Service
• An Engaging Community
• You Are the “Go-to” Person
• Your Customers are Open to Future Offers

All of these strengths tie into the overall importance of having a clean, overall objective in what you are trying to accomplish. No matter what the content ends up being, it is important to ask yourself “Self…do my strengths match up with the desired end results I want?” As you begin to assess all areas of a SWOT Analysis you can see where you need to most work and where you have a competitive advantage.

Despite what you think your advantage may be, Channel Ship suggests that strengths can also be weaknesses. For example, “being very personal.” If you do not have the right people at the helm of creating your social media content, it could become a liability rather than a strength. How do you make sure you are not committing social media suicide? You get a plan…and I suggest starting with a SWOT Analysis THEN make your plan.

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish”