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rachelzunder-blog · 11 years

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Maintaining Your Reputation on Social Media

As students at the outsets of our careers, reputation management is integral, and it can be difficult to stand out...

In fact, online reputation management for anyone is integral. As you put yourself out there through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you are broadcasting information that is often available for anyone to see. One’s professional image can be hugely impacted by a negative post or tweet, with implications greater than just simply your Facebook friends having negative thoughts about you.

As students entering the workforce, we must be mindful that many employers look to social media as a screener in the hiring process. So, what you say online can directly affect aspects of your life outside of the computer screen. There are programs available to social media users such as Reputation.com, and Reputation Changer that promise to hide negative information about its customers in the social sphere. These services also help to put your online profiles at the top of search results in order to further boost your personal brand. Many of these companies charge a great deal for their services, ranging from as little as $399 a year, to a whopping $5,000 annually. Depending on the user, these may or may not be worth the cost. I would imagine that for students, these services are out of the question.

It is not necessary to turn to these types of services in order to maintain your personal brand and reputation online. Rather, there are few simple tips that are helpful for students and non-students alike to maintain the levels of information that are made available in cyber space.

1. Search Yourself

It is always a good idea to Google your name to see what is being said about you, and what you are saying online. It is important to do a search and image query – you do not want any drunken pictures surfacing for employers to see (though they should not be online in the first place). Setting up Google Alerts with your name in quotes will help you to receive updates when information is made available about you online. This helpful daily reminder keeps your social media reputation top-of-mind.

2. Buy your Domain Name

This is an option that can cost just a few dollars a year to operate, allowing users to sign up for many different domains. Patrick Ambron, CEO and cofounder of BrandYourself says, “the more you get, the better,” though one is often enough. Your site may have some relevant information about you as a personal brand, as well as a platform to share your resume and cover letter. Employers will understand you a little bit better as a person, and not just as an applicant number. Picking up a domain name also ensures that if an employer is searching my name, he/she will definitely be directed to my site, and not another Rachel Zunder (there is one, and we are related!)

3. Put All Your Content in One Place

With the availability of sites like Tumblr and WordPress, this is now possible! You can also “apply” your domain name to this site, which means whoever goes to rachelzunder.com, will be linked directly to my Tumblr page. This is helpful because as a user, you can ensure that employers and others viewing your content see what is relevant, and see that you are active in social media. In controlling the content in this way, you are ensuring that you are constantly putting your best foot forward, and therefore managing your personal brand effectively.

4. Join Social Networks

It is important for students to ensure that they join many social media networks, especially now. Employers are becoming more and more interested in our ability to navigate social media tools so that we can apply them effectively into their businesses. Having social media on a resume today, and the ability to speak to different monitoring tools and platforms is a huge asset to employers, and really sets you apart. I recently had an interview for a digital advertising agency and mentioned Klout, Kred, and PeerIndex as some of the tools I am using to monitor my influence, and the interviewer was impressed.

It is also important that your profiles on each of these networks be filled out properly so that potential employers can learn as much as they can about you and are not left wondering after leaving your page. Refreshing your content on sites like Pinterest and Youtube (more creative sites) on a regular basis will also show your engagement and interest in social media.

5. Optimize Your Presence On These Sites

It is important that you fill out these sites in as much detail as possible, especially on a platform like LinkedIn where so much of your professional information is laid out for an employer to see and evaluate. By customizing the URL, your page will stand out much more to employers, and will be much more likely to be remembered at a later date. Including this link on a business card is a simple way to provide someone with this link. For example, a long URL with symbols and letters will not stand out to an employer, but if you link them to a customized URL, it is much more likely that they will remember to check out your page.

Ensuring that you link the viewer to other social media sites will also make your online presence stronger, building your personal social network within the viewer’s mind.

6. Keep Private Things Private; While Assuming Nothing is Truly Private

While you should not be posting inappropriate content to your social media pages in the first place, you can combat a negative viewer-impression by establishing privacy settings for your social media pages that you wish to remain private. However, this is something that should not be too heavily relied on because of privacy settings constantly changing. As a rule, I suggest you leave the beer-chugging pictures on your desktop or camera, and not posted online where anyone can take a look.

Another alternative is to set up two Facebook profile; one for outsiders that emphasizes your educational and professional background, and another for your close circle of friends. Despite this, it would not be difficult for one of these outsiders to locate your “secret” account and find out the real you. Just keep it offline.

In the event that unflattering content does come up and there is no way to remove it, bury it with positive content. Emphasize the good, and lure employers away from the bad.

References

Lokitis, Sarah. "Three Ways to Manage Your Social Media Reputation". Social Media Examiner. July 4, 2012.

Adams, Susan. "6 Steps to Managing Your Online Reputation". Forbes Online. March 14, 2013

#MKM815 #Google #Facebook #Google Alerts #Domain #Social Networks #Optimization #Privacy #Liz Lemon

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rachelzunder-blog · 11 years

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Can You Keep Up? The Importance of Social Mention Tools to Brands, and Individuals

With the advent of social media, there are more ways to connect now than ever before. Many different conversations may be taking place across all of your social networks, and it is important to keep up-to-date with what is being said, where, and when. Social mention tools like Google Alerts, Sprout Social, Mention, SocialMention, Viralheat, Trackur, Radian 6, and Sysomos are all at our fingertips, helping us to monitor what is being said about our personal brands, companies, and even our competition. The aforementioned tools help their users to monitor their social media platforms, ranging form the most basic types of alerts, to much more heavily detailed dashboards.

No matter the scope, these sites are all helpful in monitoring our social media platforms.

Google Alerts

From the makers of the easy-to-use search engine comes another innovation in social media, and it’s completely free! This site is very straightforward – likely to be favoured by a novice users. Google Alerts sends its users updates on a regular basis based on something they have previously searched for on the platform. The frequency of these emails is dependant on the availability of the users’ search results. Each user might not get an email relating to their search result every day, for example, but they will be informed when something new and relevant is posted. These notifications serve to match their users’ previous search queries, providing a brief synopsis tailored to the individual. Google Alerts allows users’ results to appear on their RSS feeds, and also allows them to filter results out of the search for which they have little interest. Each user’s alerts are separated into news, blog, and web results, allowing the individual to navigate their desired results in order to determine what is most relevant to them. The customization aspect of this site is something that will be important to many users who either want to be informed about their search results on every platform possible, or if they only want to see results from a particular site.

Some helpful query advice from Google Alerts:

The more specific your search terms are, the more relevant your results will be

Put quotes around a single word to match that word exactly as you typed it

Using a minus sign (-) in front of words that you want to exclude from your search results will help to provide you with the results YOU want

Put your full name in quotes to receive email alerts when you are mentioned online – monitor your personal brand!!

Sprout Social

This platform is more of a comprehensive online dashboard than Google Alerts’ email alerts. The site affords its users with many more functions to allow users to manage their social media presence. Sprout Social allows users to connect their different feeds in one convenient location. Sprout Social also allows users to measure their online platforms with analytics - recording your social media activity, and better managing all of your online efforts. Users may also publish information to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn using the site, and may coordinate the frequency of their posts through Sprout. This platform is so comprehensive, so it requires a monthly fee to use. After the 3-day free trial is over, 3 different pricing packages are available to users.

The “Standard” low-end account costs $39 per user/month, and allows its users to manage up to 10 profiles. This package includes an all-in-one social inbox, real-time brand monitoring, advanced publishing features, social CRM tools, comprehensive reporting tools, and complimentary training and support.

The “Deluxe” mid-range account costs $59 per user/month, and allows its users to manage up to 20 profiles. This package includes all the standard plan features, plus complete publishing and engagement, helpdesk integration, deluxe reporting package, Google analytics integration, and complimentary training and support.

The most advanced account; “Premium” costs $99 per user/month, and allows users to manage up to 50 profiles. This package includes all standard and deluxe features, plus ViralPost send time optimization, premium reporting package, custom branding interface, and complimentary training and support.

Each plan includes personal accounts for paid team members, allowing employees of brands on Sprout Social to monitor their social media presence as well as the brand’s. None of these packages requires a credit card for activation, encouraging customers to start up an account and begin the 30-day free trial of Sprout Social. The packages’ benefits to its users entirely depend on the type of user, and the social media platforms they are currently active on. This will help a user or company to determine which plan is right for them so that get the best experience and most information out of Sprout as possible. While the standard plan might be a great solution for an individual or small company, the deluxe and premium plans might be a better option for a larger company or for an individual who needs to analyze their many social media plans in greater detail.

Mention

This site allows users to track updates from among each of their social media platforms, news sites, web pages, and blogs in real-time. Mention is extremely accessible to its many users because it can be downloaded to a Smartphone or to a Google Chrome app. This comprehensive dashboard allows users to sort all online mentions according to platform or users’ determined priority. This site allows users to determine how they are seen online – alerts may be set up for your company, your brand, and your competitor. Mention, like Sprout Social, is such a comprehensive platform, so it requires a monthly fee from its users.

The “Free Plan” gives its users access to 3 alerts, 500 mentions per month, and a one-month history. The “Pro Plan” costs $19.99 per month, but allows its users to experience a 30-day free trial. This plan includes unlimited alerts, 50,000 mentions per month, unlimited history, access to your statistics, and data export tools. Finally, the “Team Plan” costs $99.95 per month, and includes the same features as the “Pro Plan,” but also allows for Multi user activation. The Free plan is a good option for a novice user without a tremendous social media presence. However, I believe that the integration of the Pro plan is best suited to most users, at a low price relative to Sprout. The team plan is a good option for businesses to monitor social media presence, allowing its employees the opportunity to use Mention to monitor their own social media platforms as well as the business’s.

Social Mention

This platform is very similar to Google Alerts – a free, easy-to-use tool that provides users with alerts specifying what other online-users are saying about you and/or your company in real-time. However, this site provides users with a more advanced set of analytical tools relating to searches like reach, passion, strength, and sentiment. Social Mention also provides its users with a “point-in-time social media search and analysis service, daily social media alerts, and a third-party API.” This tool is very comprehensive, and monitors 80+ social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, which you can receive via email, or through your RSS, feed (like Google Alerts.)

Viralheat

Viralheat assists users in monitoring an unlimited number of mentions, in a simple way. Its analytics dashboard and user interface make managing multiple accounts simple for users and brands alike, allowing Viralheat users to effectively engage with their audiences. Currently, the platform is being used by approximately 12,000 brands that each subscribes to a plan that ranges from free to $99 per month. Viralheat has recently introduced what they call “Smart Stream,” which provides users with “a unified stream that provides them with a one-column overview of all their social media stream. It also allows these users to create filters that they can base on keywords, social networks and sentiment. Users can post directly from the app and also schedule messages for a later time” (Lardinois). Viralheat allows its users to monitor their activity on major social networks like Twitter, Facebook Pinterest, and LinkedIn, allowing users to receive the information most relevant to them in a time-sensitive manner. Effective February 5, 2013, users can also publish content from Viralheat directly to their personal Facebook accounts, allowing for further integration of social media sites. Like Sprout Social, Mention, and Social Mention, Viralheat allows users to track multiple keywords and receive data in real-time, which is integral in marketing and in maintaining one’s personal brand.

Trackur

As soon as you open up their website, Trackur lets users know that they “specialize in affordable social media monitoring software & measurement tools, with an easy set up, and accurate results.” (They used the oxford comma, so they’re already winners in my books!) Trackur prides itself on providing its customers with an easy-to-use interface that presents all of the relevant information needed to monitor and measure social media trends, while analyzing social media mentions for your brand, client, and company. Trackur is constantly working for its users to save them valuable time and energy, scanning hundreds of web pages like news, blogs, and forums. If the search results match any of the keywords that a user has specified on Trackur as being important, they are notified. This is very similar to Google Alerts, though the customization aspect and advanced scanning capabilities are highly sophisticated.

Trackur is different from the other platforms discussed because they have a level of customization that is extremely important to their users – branding. Users have the opportunity to add their own logo, company, and domain name to their profile page on Trackur. This creates one of the most unique and customizable social media monitoring tools on the market, which is something that is exciting for companies looking to increase their social media presence, monitor their brand, and increase awareness for their own personal brand. Like most of the other platforms, Trackur offers a free plan as a trial for its users. The cost is also reasonable after the trial ends – starting at only $27 per month.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Formerly Radian 6)

Marketing Cloud acknowledges that they do not want their customers to miss any important conversations online, and they have presented a solution. This platform collects data from social media in real-time from more than 400 million sources. Despite this massive hub of information they have created, Marketing Cloud adds about five million new sources every week, making up a historical database that includes more than 55 billion posts dating back to 2008. They are constantly “listening” to conversations happening on major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn to ensure each user receives the most informative of monitoring services. Marketing Cloud, unlike some of the other platforms discussed, is primarily used for business. This platform “enables organizations to become Socially Engaged Enterprises, with the power to understand and gain insights about social media through metrics, measurement, sentiment, and analytics reporting” (Salesforce Marketing Cloud). The differentiating point about Marketing Cloud is that it offers its users helpful tips and advice, as well as media guidelines, best practices, and case studies from other organizations in the industry.

Marketing Cloud is the only unified social media monitoring suite that helps “your organization create compelling social presences, amplify your content, track campaign ROI, and ultimately drive real business results” (Salesforce Marketing Cloud). Marketing Cloud is most interested in helping brands turn insights into action, while they are extremely focused on customer relationship management as well. None of the other sites discussed have spoken so in-depth about the businesses that they are able to help, making Marketing Cloud that much more appealing to those who wish to use an interface solely for business. Despite its many benefits, it comes at quite a steep price, starting at a hefty $600 per month.

Sysomos

This social media-monitoring site is an in-depth platform that analyzes social networks worldwide. It looks at sentiment, demographics, influences, historical analysis, as well as intelligent reporting. Its highly sophisticated and comprehensive dashboard provides users with real-time monitoring that collects relevant data found within all online conversations in order to gain insights for the users and the brand. Sysomos, like the other platforms discussed, allows users to manage all of their social profiles like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn in order to provide its users with a broad scope of their outreach throughout all social media platforms. Because of the global nature of this platform, it allows users to experience a broader set of analytics than may be found elsewhere. Like Marketing Cloud, Sysomos offers its users social CRM to engage with key influencers, provide customer support, find new sales leads, and keep track of their teams. This site is excellent for businesses because of the insights gained with regards to customer satisfaction and the monitoring of other competitive brands on a global scale.

Sysomos offers its users two different product offerings: Media Analysis Platform, or MAP (Business Intelligence for Social Media,) and Heartbeat (Monitoring and Measurement.) MAP is Sysomos’ flagship product, which offers its users the ability to analyze and subsequently understand their social media conversations. This product delivers insights and intelligence about those conversations, why they are occurring, and who is engaged with them. Heartbeat is a cost-effective, and real-time monitoring and measurement tool. Heartbeat seeks to constantly update social media conversations using a variety of user-friendly and intuitive graphics to convey this message to its users. This product is a good way to organize these conversations, and it also manages workflow, facilitates collaboration, and gives its users a way to engage with key influencers. Depending on the size and scope of the business in question, I believe that both are useful tools, and would be greatly beneficial independently, or if used together. In this way, I believe that this site can be extremely beneficial for brands to understand the magnitude of their reach on a global scale, in a number of ways.

Costs and Time Involved

Companies utilizing these sites must keep the costs in mind when first deciding whether or not to use these sites, and then which platform to use. Each platform has varying levels of detail associated with it, and the price goes up depending on how comprehensive the interface may be. As a brand, you must determine the best course of action for your company. Whether or not you need something as detailed as Sysomos or Marketing Cloud will depend on the size and scope of your company. A free site like Google Alerts or Mention might suffice, depending on your company’s needs. The cost of labour has some bearing on the decision each user will make as well. The intensity and broadness of these sites cause users to spend large amounts of time navigating the site, and analyzing results. Depending on the size of the company, the employer might have to bring in employees specifically to monitor these platforms, and that employee would require a salary (an additional cost to the company, past the initial monthly fee required by the site). If an existing employee has been made responsible for monitoring these sites, they will be taken away from other important work, causing the business to lose money. Perhaps someone else might have to be brought in to pick up the slack, or the employee himself will have to work late hours in order to accomplish the monitoring of these sites, as well as completing his daily duties – all incurring additional costs in the form of salary for the company. I believe that the benefits outweigh the costs, and that these sites have proven to be extremely useful for brands and independent users alike.

Social Media Monitoring Benefits Your Business!

The social media monitoring platforms mentioned are all beneficial for businesses to use, with some being more relevant than others. Google Alerts is a good basic site for novices, which allows users to be informed of trends in the marketplace, or what is going on in the industry among your competitors with very little effort involved for the user. I believe that a number of tools should be used simultaneously in order to understand the broad scope of your own business/brand, as well as the competition’s. For business, I believe that Sysomos and Salesforce Marketing Cloud are the most influential because they has the broadest scope, and provide users with access to a number of variables to better understand their brand. By measuring business and customers in one independent site, brands have the best opportunity for sales growth and a more widespread message online. The customizable aspect of Trackur might be appealing to users as well, offering them a unique site tailored to their brand, while also providing them with a state-of-the-art interface for monitoring their many social media platforms.

These social media platforms provide companies with the ability to gain further insight into the industry and competition, while also maintaining a hold of their customers. Both individuals and brands need to be aware of what is being said about them on social media, so no matter which site you choose, you must not overlook the importance of these sites, as they are all extremely valuable in their own ways. Today, social media is more important than ever before, and these sites are integral in maintaining your brand’s image, and to become aware of the presence your brand has in the social sphere.

References

Mention

"About". Social Mention

"Frequently Asked Questions". Social Mention

"Help". Google Alerts

Sprout Social

"Comprehensive Features for Social Business". Sprout Social

"Pricing". Sprout Social

"About Sprout". Sprout Social

"Viralheat Pros & Cons". Top Ten Reviews.

Lardinois, Frederic. "Social Media Marketing Suite Viralheat Redesigns, Adds New Analytics Dashboard, Targeted Publishing And Smart Stream". Tech Crunch. Feb. 5, 2013.

"All You Need to Know About Trackur". Trackur

"Why Trackur?". Trackur

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Bale, Kim & Lasica, J.D. Top 20 Social Media Monitoring Vendors for Business. SocialMediaBiz.com

Sysomos

"Pricing". Sysomos

"Products". Sysomos

#MKM815 #Google Alerts #Sprout Social #SocialMention #Mention #Trackur #Sysomos #Viralheat #Salesforce Marketing Cloud #Radian 6 #Social Media Monitoring #Platform #Glogal #Business #Brand #Personal Brand

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rachelzunder-blog · 11 years

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Measuring your Social Influence: Klout, Kred, and PeerIndex Defined

With so many forms of social media available to users and businesses worldwide, credibility is important to both viewers and users alike. As individuals maintaining our own personal brands, we connect with influencers in our communities to achieve a level of awareness that would not otherwise be possible. We must increase our credibility in the social sphere while simultaneously promoting ourselves, with the connections that we make increasing the credibility of our names. Klout, Kred, and PeerIndex set out to measure social activity – and in doing so, users’ credibility online.

Klout

This site measures your social influence and activity based on the social media platforms that you link to your Klout account. Klout observes your activity using hundreds of variables from the social media sites you are a member of, while also calculating who is viewing your profile pages, and whether it is being shared – how, when, and where. Based on these findings, Klout assigns each user a “Klout score” between 1 and 100, with 100 denoting the highest level of influence. This number is not set in stone, rather it fluctuates based on activity within social media or lack thereof. Your Klout is measured in terms of “true reach” and “amplification,” considering how many other users either respond to or re-send your content.

On its homepage, Klout offers users a section called “Pulse,” which provides a concise overview of newsworthy influencers within online communities. The “Moments” section is probably the most relevant to the average user, as it includes a section made up of your posts on different social media platforms that are influential – i.e., they garnered views, retweets, favourites, likes, etc. These are posts that got the attention of the viewer and caused them to somehow engage with the content that you have posted. Klout offers incentives to its users called “Perks,” which are rewards based on your Klout score in the form of deals or gifts from various brands.

Kred

Kred is different from Klout in that it measures your online presence in terms of influence and outreach, rather than hundreds of independent variables like Klout does. Kred identifies the makeup of these scores, and how the points have been distributed based on your activity, while Klout does not break down their points system in a meaningful way. Influence is the ability to “inspire action,” and is scored on a 1,000-point scale. While Klout takes all of your social activity into account, Kred is concerned only with you presence on Twitter and Facebook. To be granted an influence score on Kred, retweets, replies, mentions, and follows are monitored on Twitter. Similarly, interactions on your Facebook wall and your activity on others’ walls, along with posts, mentions, likes, shares, and event interactions are monitored as well.

Your outreach score is generated after Kred has monitored your level of engagement with others, while helping them to spread them message. Outreach scores on Twitter are calculated by monitoring your retweets, replies, and mentions of other users. Outreach on Facebook is determined by your interactions on your own wall and the walls of others who have accounts with Kred. Where Klout and PeerIndex both measure your social influence across many available platforms, a “Kred score” stems from activity on your Twitter and Facebook pages alone.

Kred’s homepage or “dashboard” shows its users statistics used to monitor one’s score increases, and also gives you the option to send Kred to other users in your network to increase their scores in certain areas. This function can be used for friends in your networks, or for a brand that you follow and are integrated from your Twitter/Facebook to your dashboard. It’s always recommended that you connect with brands or influential people to increase your social outreach, and maintain your own personal brand while elevating theirs.

Kred also places its users into “communities” based on your influence scores, and the content you post to Twitter and/or Facebook. This is another opportunity for your influence score to go up – you can influence others within your own Kred community and beyond. The site focuses on identifying influential people within these two (often most frequently used) platforms, creating a score that is most relevant to an average user who might not use some other sites that Klout monitors.

PeerIndex

Similarly to Klout, PeerIndex measures your online presence all over the social sphere, and the “ripple effect of your online voice,” showing other users what you are talking about most and are most passionate about. To understand its users, PeerIndex looks at your presence on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn (awarding its users a score out of 100, similarly to Klout). The goal of this social media measurement site is to determine the “speed and quantity by which users spot, share (and thus endorse) content on any specific topic.” In doing so, PeerIndex determines the level of authority its users have in a given area by tracking the interactions that other authoritative users have with you. PeerIndex uses a reward system with its users like Klout does. They offer deals based on the users’ determined scores as incentive to remain active and insightful in social media. For these reasons, PeerIndex can be invaluable to marketers trying to define their personal brands, or to large companies. This affords the users the credibility needed to build long-lasting relationships with other marketers and consumers.

Are These Legitimate Tools to Measure Social Influence?

Because the nature of these sites it to track what you’re talking about, who you’re talking to, and all of your social media interactions, I think that they are legitimate tools to measure social influence. Each of the three sites has their merits, with some more distinct than others. The fact that Kred tracks both your interactions with others on Facebook and Twitter as well as their interactions with your content really generates the most well-rounded influence score of all. The fact that it only looks at 2 social media sites can be limiting, however, they are the 2 more popular sites for users, allowing Kred to provide them with an accurate measurement of their social influence (solely looking at the most frequently used sites). Kred’s integration with other users promotes the idea at its core – influence. Users within your network have the opportunity to influence your Kred score, further cementing, increasing, and encouraging the idea of interaction online. Kred also is helpful because it breaks down the points for different influences, where Klout and PeerIndex do not, which detracts from the scores you are awarded there. In order to increase these scores, you do not know what needs to be addressed or changed, where with Kred it is made clear to you and prompts you to become a more active member of social media.

Increase Your Klout Score - Get Busy!

Currently, my Klout score is sitting at 59 points – my personal 90-day high, up from my original score of 55 three weeks ago. In order to further increase this number, I should continue to create and share meaningful content through social media, which will also increase the chance I have for interactions with other users (which will increase both of our Kred scores as well!) In doing so, I will also increase my credibility in the social media world, and have the opportunity to further connect with influencers while cultivating my network. I should also ensure that I connect with other networks, build and enhance my online communities, and engage with influencers online – at which point I can start an online discussion. I would not consider this “gaming the system” since having a higher Klout score means that you have to become more active participant in social media. If you are looking to increase your scores, you are likely trying to become more active – the promise of a higher score acts as enticement. While taking the time to increase your Klout score is beneficial to your personal brand as a marketer, social media is time-consuming.

Do These Scores Impact Your Business?

When taking the time to increase your social media presence, or that of your company, the amount of time it will take should be factored into the decision making process. Promoting activity on social media will take you away from other work-related duties, potentially costing you and your company valuable time. Taking you away from work may cost your company money, as you will have to make alternate arrangements to finish your work at a later time – whether that means you staying late, or another employee being brought into fulfill work-related duties. Depending on how involved you would like to become in social media, you might consider hiring someone to maintain your online presence in social media and influence scores– also costing you money.

The scores achieved through these platforms can help marketers who might be looking for influencers or endorsements to promote their businesses. Marketers can find users with high scores who are active on social media – such as celebrities on Twitter and Facebook – and can see how they are communicating with their followers, determining whether they are a good fit for the company in question. If a campaign is developed with this high-scoring individual in mind as an ambassador, it is likely that the message will be spread effectively through social media.

These influencers’ scores should be used as indicators of the potential success of the brand or campaign. Businesses must understand that using social influence measures can be risky in this way. You can’t bet the whole farm on mere potential for success. Especially with social media, a post, tweet, or tumble is available to the masses instantaneously. An unhappy influencer might reach thousands of people with a negative message about your brand.

Social media and individuals’ presence online is ever changing, so a high influence score today could plummet with little warning. Basing a business decision on so much instability can have huge payoffs but requires careful planning.

References:

"Kred Scoring Guide". Kred.

"Frequently Asked Questions". PeerIndex.

"How the Klout Score is Calculated". Klout.

Lee, Aaron. "6 Unofficial Ways to Increase Your Klout Score". Ask Aaron Lee.

Jacobsson Purewal, Sarah. "How to Increase Your Klout Score". May 1, 2012. PCWorld.

Silverman, Rosa. "PeerIndex: Trading Social Media Influence for Discounts". Feb. 27, 2013. The Telegraph.

Schonfeld, Erick. "you Might Have Klout, But What's Your Kred?". Sept. 29, 2011. Tech Crunch.

#MKM815 #Kred #Klout #PeerIndex #Marketers #Brand #Consumer #Social Media #Social Influence #Networking #Twitter #Facebook #LinkedIn #Google+

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rachelzunder-blog · 11 years

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Pinterest: Captivating Consumers

Through the evolution of social media, businesses have a larger arsenal than ever of creative and dynamic ways to connect with consumers online.

Pinterest has evolved over recent years, creating a platform on which consumers can connect with friends, other users, and brands by searching through “pinned” images – making Pinterest the 3rd most popular social network in the US in terms of traffic. Brands in particular can use the medium to create a loyal following among consumers by sharing images - creating a visual representation of the brand’s personality.

Pin, and Re-Pin!

On Pinterest, brands are able to share original photos, and repin other users’ images to demonstrate their personality most effectively. The page can then be neatly organized into different boards, categorizing products, services, locations, and other inspirational photos they associate themselves with. This allows the consumer to navigate the page effectively, allowing or a meaningful connection to be made through the social media platform. As a viewer, if you like what you see, you have the option of “repinning” the brand’s photo to further develop your own personal brand on Pinterest, further associating yourself with the brand in question. Pinterest’s simplicity and ease of sharing increases the brand’s chances of reaching the consumer and resonating with them.

Reach a Large Audience, Visually!

Currently, Pinterest is “retaining and engaging users as much as 2-3 times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in their history.” Through the evolution of this easy-to-use site, brands on Pinterest are having greater success in engaging consumers. To achieve “qualified followings,” brands on Pinterest must think about what their audience values, and what they love. Once that idea is formed, the brands must curate great content to captivate their audiences and keep them engaged – the essence of Pinterest for businesses. These brands can also get their pins into category streams in order to reach a larger audience, encouraging repins and more eyeballs on the shared content itself, generating awareness for the brand.

Benefits Outweigh the Costs

While Pinterest can be an excellent source for quality information for consumers, brands must keep the costs involved in mind as well. Pinterest is time consuming.

Those responsible for a brand’s Pinterest account must keep the viewing habits of the consumer in mind when they are updating their pins and boards on the page. Consumers often reach content through the aforementioned category streams, and other algorithms on the site. The employees responsible for maintaining the site must spend a great deal of time understanding their consumers needs and habits online, and then curating and generating content to best reach them. Before getting started, make sure that Pinterest is a good investment of time and money for your brand and the consumers you are hoping to inspire.

Because it can be so time consuming and labour intensive, it might cost your business more to pay an employee to pin than to tumble – but the rewards are too great to ignore!

Now it’s time to get pinning!

References:

Stinson Ross, Michelle. “#SocialChat Discusses Pinterest Marketing with Jennifer Cariro.” Search Engine Journal. Feb. 8, 2013. http://www.searchenginejournal.com/soicalchat-discusses-pinterest-marketing-with-jennifer-cario/58079/

Hussain, Anum. “The Ultimate Guide to Measuring Your Pinterest Marketing Success.” HubSpot. March 13, 2013. http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34262/The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Measuring-Your-Pinterest-Marketing-Success.aspx

Stiles, Charmon. “Pinterest Stats You Want to Know for Inbound Marketing.” Tempo Creative. Dec. 18, 2012. http://blog.tempocreative.com/blog/bid/247243/Pinterest-stats-you-want-to-know-for-inbound-marketing

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