The Big Stick and Social Media

The largest corporation in the U.S. that has offices in all 50 states and employees about 2.65 million people. This corporation provides products and services to about 310.3 million people, the United States Federal Government. The federal government is one of the best corporations as all levels of government have started using social media to reach its market and engage its audience and even fight bad guys.

All For It

Allaboutadvocacy.com The government has become a social media machine giving multiple blogs, viral videos, even photos and tweets about up and coming bills, legislation, and all things politics. USA.gov's website has a portion of links to this social media sources for both federal, state, and local level governments. Even the military has joined the fight with Facebook pages for different military groups and missions. The social media wave has hit the government hard as they are realizing that they must stick with social media to be able to reach many of their constituents and younger voters.

Tweeting For The Masses

NASA's Twitter Page

We have seen how effective tweeting and promotion through twitter can be for large corporations, small businesses, and even non-profits. But twitter has become a whole new world with mayor's office of NYC and NASA joining twitter to post updates and information about things they are working on (Information Week-Government).

"With these new channels, the city will be able to get New Yorkers the information they need in the way they want to get it," Bloomberg said.

 NASA has become one of the most popular pages on twitter along with that of the U.S Marines. The Obama Administration has also taken a interesting take on tweets as they have used Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to reach the masses through a program called Town hall @ The White House, this interesting program allows users to ask questions, give suggestions, and chat about updates in the Presidency. The video below demonstrate what the program is trying to achieve. 

Townhall, YouTube.com

Combating Crime Through Social Media

Finally the U.S government has begun to use sifting software to look at Twitter and Facebook pages that have the possibly for crime and even terrorist attacks. The Department of Defense and the Office of National Intelligence are behind this project in the hopes that it will continue to make our country safer. The program focuses on groups rather than individuals. The hope is that the program will filter enough to show what is possible threat to the nation and what is free speech.

"It really ought to be the golden age of intelligence collection in that you've got people falling all over themselves trying to express who they are," said Ross Stapleton-Gray, a former CIA analyst.

Seems that social media like Facebook and Twitter have larger purposes than just for individuals but as we have seen can promote all sizes of business as well as improve your government and make our nation safer.  

It Ain't Optional for These Guys

Delwarefirst.com

There purpose and management is quite different from a normal business or corporation, but it does not mean that social media cannot work for them. Social media cannot be optional for non-profits, currently 84% of non-profits use social media to improve their fundraiser and outreach methods according to a recent study. The study continued to say that only 39% of organizations are using social media for the primary purpose of fundraising. As well it was recorded that most organizations experience success with social media and little dissatisfaction with this type of marketing.

"Nonprofits approaching social media strategically -- setting goals and objectives and then measuring results against them -- are the most satisfied," said Krista Endsley, senior vice president and general manager for Nonprofit Solutions at Sage. "You really do get what you measure. Knowing where social media fits within an organization's overall mission, and having goals and objectives in place, will take that organization much further than sporadic social media activity."

It's all in the videos

Kony 2012 - Invisible Children

The best way that non-profits can make effective use of social media is to target the correct audience, create a story that causes change or action, and try to get others to get involved through donation or volunteering. A great way to create this process is to make a story that target's the viewers heart through videos. Online videos have start with one viewer and are passed on through the population very quickly. If the video has the ability to affect change than it will become viral very quickly. A great example of a video that caused major change was the KONY 2012 video. With over 88 million views this video sets the example for other effective social media videos. With the help of Google which has created a new non-profit system where views can donate straight through online videos.

"Undoubtedly, social media has transformed how nonprofits communicate and engage with their constituents and supporters," said Endsley. "Americans spend more time using social media than any other activity online. No matter an organization's mission, establishing a social media presence online is critical to both expanding awareness and reach and engaging constituents."

Making your Message Count

http://www.dreamgrow.com

The Nonprofit Quarterly published an article recently that walked organizations through how to make Twitter mean the most to their purpose. They gave the same steps as with making viral videos. First, you must connect - start by joining these sites then target your audience - so your message reaches those that it truly impacts. Thirdly, be consistent - post consistently and make sure your messages agree with each other and support the organization's goal. Lastly, keep it interested - engage your audience and allow for feedback or discussion, this will help cause your audience to take action.

Takes Time
Success will not come over night, but nonprofits must continue to fight to get their message and voice head as the American public continues to move online and turn to social media.

Slow to Accept Social Media in the Business World

It is no lie that many corporations and companies that have decided to use social media to target their audience, get their name out there, or even promote their products but there companies that are saying no way to social media. These corporations have come out straight with it says that social media gives way to "reputational risks" and "requires too much time and energy" to maintain a less but serious account.

The Industry That Will Not Give In


I find this no surprise that only 19% of this industry has started the use of YouTube and blogs. Banking has always been on of the most conservative industry in business. In a recent New York Times article called "Banks Slow to Embrace Social Media", speaks to a Ms.Lloyd of Standard Chartered Private Bank, which uses all forms of social media to connect and communicate with its customers. Ms. Lloyd stated,

"“One thing that has become clear since we began to use social media: Customers now take it for granted that they can communicate with their bank through social channels. This is how it should be and we will continue to speak to customers through the channels that they are active on.”

 The article as well states that the banking industry may have started the move to social media as 42 of 50 banks surveyed have Twitter accounts, but only 26 of those banks had recently posted updates to these accounts. This problem of getting banks with the times goes beyond social media as many of them still using basic Web site formats and giving little tools to its customers.

smedio.com

The Top Dogs' Refusal 

Socialmediatoday.com

Social media has presented its self to society so quickly that it became like a viral YouTube video, it was everywhere overnight. The banking industry has resisted its infectious nature but so has one other big business player, the Fortune 500 top companies. These companies do have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and YouTube channels but they have maintained one condition through the whole process. Social media will not be their focus, and they will continue to maintain the original trustworthy classical norm. These top companies like Wal-mart and Frannie Mac have social media but have less than a 1,000 followers to support them. This discovery have found in the a recent study done by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research, the study served up a very true look at the lack of social media in F500 companies.

"There is also evidence of change in the adoption of these tools by industry and a clear sign from some companies that these are not part of their communications strategy."

Even with all the benefits to social media, these large corporations have opted out of these communication strategies to stick to the once again just like the banking industry, original standard format.

International Trend

Digital Workplace Blog

It is not hard to argue with the fact that most of the world's largest corporations come from within the United States but a recent Canadian study shows that even outside of the large corporations that social media is not catching as it was first thought. The Canadian research study states that corporations do have the accounts but are rarely posting content, engaging their customers or listeners, and do not know how to act through these new communication tools. Social media has revolutionized how we communicate among our friends and family, we took steps to integrate it into the workplace with good amounts of success. But it still seems that we are going to continue struggle till we fully recognize the power of social media at the large corporation level and among the most conservative industries.

Small Business Find Strength in Social Media

Running A Small Business Inc.

My last post spoke of the not so nice side of social media for business, but it was bought to my attention in The Entrepreneur's Daily Dose article that social media is live and well with little downsides in the realm of small businesses. The article notes that some of America's fastest growing companies (small businesses) host twice as many blogs, and 71 percent use Facebook as well as 59 percent use their Twitter on a regular basis. Social media has made its presence known but it is no longer just for the big guns, now the little guys want in on the action too.

Making It Easy

1.  IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE: As small businesses, there target audience is a small group based on their product, location, and demographics there advertising through social media should be the same. Social media is helpful in the sense that it helps to target the correct audience but still allows audiences outside of your typical customer to view your company possibly causing increase in word of mouth or sharing. 
2. PICK THE SOCIAL MEDIA RIGHT FOR YOUR COMPANY: Today, there are tons of social media websites with all different emphasis or focuses. The small business should assess where they are going to find there target audience, the format of the website, and how they will use this tool for their benefit.

Social Media Examiner

3. MANAGE IT: Once the page, website, and blog is created the small company needs to remember to keep it up to date with new information and posts about business or new products. By keeping it updated it will generate interest and keep your viewers wanting more. 

4. WORK YOUR AUDIENCE: Through posting and updates you will discover your correct audience, and keep their audience. Or even get them to spread word to their friends. The more interested you can keep your audience, the more message will spread. Engage them with discussion, feedback, suggestions, or even criticism. Anything will help them feel involved in the process and apart of the company. Making your audience feel cared about will help to create their feeling of having a stake in the company. 

Risks of Not Getting InvolvedWriter for Forbes Magazine, Kym McNicholas warns small businesses they do not take advantage of social media  that they will lose their customers.

 "If you don’t engage in the conversation, you risk losing your customers."

Social media has become a inter-graded part of business and advertising if companies opt out of being apart of this new culture, they are taking huge risks as this becoming one of the main ways of communication, connection to customers and stakeholders.

The New "K" Word

Klout.com

Along with new words like tweet, tumble, and pinterest comes klout. Klout is a free measurement of influence. Hessie Jones of the Vancouver Sun defines the word as

"Klout has a pretty sophisticated algorithm to define an individual social media influence score."

This service helps small business to see the true impacts of their social media ventures and its effects on both their customers and stakeholders. The whole point of social media is to create interest, or an impact by monitoring these companies have the chance of bettering their services and products, as well as being more effective and efficient helping to save money.

The Dark Side of Social Media and Business

Technology has advanced in the past years to improve business relations as I have touched on in many other of my posts, but with these advancements come some negatives. These negatives are range from the small things like corporations need for more education to large issues about ethical decisions of workers' usage of social media. As time progresses these issues are predicted to continue to worsen unless action is taken.

Consequences of Social Media

Entrepreneur's Daily Dose

In a recent Smart Plant article touched on five issues that faced by corporations using social media. These five issues included social media threatening to overtake paid searches, the line between individual employee's tweets become corporate property, the need for social network training within business, and how to reach the correct audience with a message through social mediums like Facebook or Twitter. Because of these issues many corporations have decided to put the brakes on social media campaigns.

Hitting The Brakes
Many traditional corporations have focused on the traditional marketing strategy of the five "Ps": Product, Price, Place, Promotion and the most important to social media, Participation. Large Fortune 500 corporations are finding that

"Inherently risk averse and overly protective of their market positioning, corporate leaders have far too many lawyers and others spinning cautionary tales laden with drastic potential outcomes as a result of directly engaging their customers and prospects in full view of one another." 

This was a comment made by Daily Dose writer, Mikal E. Belicove in a Entrepeneur article called Why Big Corporations Are Putting The Brakes On Social Media. The article cites a report from the Center of Marketing  Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth which showed the slowing of social media growth within large Fortune 500 companies. The report states that only a bit more than half of these corporations are using social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Public Can Be the Biggest Enemy

Heidi Cohen.com

Through social media, the public has the ability to voice opinion as well has the chance to cause a corporate crisis. Marketing expert, Heidi Cohen published an article on her website titled When Social Media Goes Bad, that gave incites to how stakeholders like customers can start uproar in corporations that use social media outlets. She cites that corporations can't control or own the conversations as they are free and open to public as they can voice their own issues or opinions. Through this freedom, public cannot be stopped in expressing personal opinions therefore it becomes a problem for corporations to wait to respond to an issue or wait for it to disappear. Cohen also says that many corporations have hidden behind an avatar or medium which will just make the issue worse. She as well advises corporations to not use social media to get their response message out because as in so many cases it will be mocked or turn into an viral humor.

Is It Really That Bad?
Looking at these consequences and risks of using social media for corporations shows both sides to the story. If social media is not used effectively these consequences can be avoided with some action and effort, otherwise it is eventually that crisis or issues will occur. Bill Laberis, a social media and business lecturer agrees that Facebook and Twitter will only causes corporations issues, but he does argue websites like LinkedIn benefit because of the different formatting. Well whether it is any of social media mediums only corporates, stakeholders, and the public is decide its effectiveness.

LinkedIn Vs. Twitter: Battle of Corporate Social Networks

There is Facebook for your friends, family, and former high school classmates. There is Pinterest for all your crafting, dreaming, and cooking ideas. And then finally Twitter for all the updates or opinions you have on line. But now there is a new social media giant coming to town called LinkedIn. This networking community has been active since 2003 and now boasts over 150 million subscribers that use the website to network, post resumes, and look at new job opportunities. 

The More Serious Networking Site

A recent Washington Post article talked to the young entrepreneurs/CEOs about how their companies have used social media websites to better their business. The founder of Beat the GMAT stated this about LinkedIn, 

"We consider LinkedIn to be more of a serious, professional social network.  Thus, we tend to have a more formal style of writing updates on this service.  Generally, we don’t think that LinkedIn members come to the site for social purposes — they want to receive updates that are meaningful for their careers and/or education.  So keeping this in mind, we try to frame our updates in ways that are relevant to careers and education."

Socialmedialandscape.com

The founder goes on to comments how this companies use other websites such as Facebook or Twitter for more " irreverent,  fun, or controversial." So it seems answer the question that their is a social media website for every corporations' message or needs. I found this interesting in the fact as it agrees with the idea raised in the textbook about social shaping theory. Baym points out on page 45 that social shaping is "interrelated nodes in constantly changing sociotechnnical networks, which constitute the forms and uses of technology differently in different times ans places for different groups." LinkedIn has made its the serious networking career website because that is its users' purpose for it. They have shaped LinkedIn. 

Entrepreneurs of Ourselves

LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman,  in a CBS interview said that we all must begin to realize the potential these social media websites can do not only for our corporations but our own personal brands/image. 

He also said, ""One of the things I realized after some number of years of doing LinkedIn was that the world has changed in a way that we all need to be the entrepreneurs of ourselves, the CEO of ourselves. That's because of globalization, that's because of acceleration. That's because of competition, change by technology and industries. So the question is how do you adapt to the modern world? And the key people who adapt are entrepreneurs. So, we all need to be the entrepreneurs of ourselves."

So whether you like Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, or want try something new like LinkedIn; the message is the same all social media is making an impact on corporations' messaging and our own personal entrepreneurship. 

Sidebar Dollars: Facebook Ads for Corporations

There is only one website in the world that boasts over 400 million users. Facebook. This single website hosts a social networking phenomena which has become gold to advertising agencies and corporations with its invention of the sidebar. This single strip of space on the webpage can add to a companies customer based and profit margin in under 1 inch of space and less than 50 words. So how does this simple concept work?

How To Do It

DuctTapeMarketing.com

John Jantsch, lays it all out for corporations in 5 simple steps; target, attract and engage, budget, test, and finally analyze. These 5 simple steps can be achieved through Facebook Ad Manager. The service helps you create the ad, select your demographic to market to, run it and show you "Insights." Insights is another program inside of Ad Manager that manages your viewership and the quality of your ad. 


Money to Be Earned
This simple and effective way of advertising raises about $5 billion dollars in revenue for companies and is expected to rise to about $10 billion dollars according to a 2012 article. 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is quoting saying about his company's ability for continuous growth in profits, "We don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services."

Changing the Face of Advertising

It not hard to argue that there is has been changes in the way the world's companies now advertise its products. As I know for myself and my own generation that we are addicted and attached to social networking. We love when we can find people and information fast and easy, which means our advertising needs to be the same way. Fast and Easy.

The CEO of Arc Worldwide noted that they have to follow the trend of "shifting their focus to what connects with people and away from the medium that we’re going to use."

A Trend That Is Here To Stay

A few weeks back, I wrote a post about how corporations have begun to use Twitter to start trending and updating their customers on their products. These idea was revolutionary in the market of public relations, now it seems that social media advertising like the Facebook sidebar ads is doing the same thing to the world of advertising. As with any new revolutionary trend, it will take time for the world to join including the advertising and corporations. But it could not be called successful unless the new trend lasted long enough to become an dominant part of modern culture and society.  It seems that Facebook has already established that it will be around for the long run, as well will the new sidebar advertising.

Facebook Advertising