Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
Does exactly what it says on the tin; just the posts that relate to the above...
Do I need a mobile strategy?
Why mobile?
The way we use the web is changing. Gone are the days of a fixed PC where you went to ‘surf’ the web for an hour or so after you’d popped the kids to bed. Instead, we are now able to view the web almost whenever and wherever we want utilising a whole host of devices available to the modern web user; Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, PlayBook… and so the list goes on.
Mobile usage stats
The stats below are taken from Boagworld, the blog of web strategist Paul Boag (March 2011), and from a post by David Hillis on CMS wire (Feb 2011).
- There are over 5 billion mobile phone subscribers throughout the world (73% of the population!) and of this figure, over 1 billion use smartphones
- Projections forecast that mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage by 2014
- 50% of all local searches are executed on a mobile device
- On average, we spend 2.7 hours per day on our mobile devices
- More than 200 million Facebook users use Facebook for mobile and they are more active than desktop users
- 40% of all Twitter traffic is mobile (circa 60 million interactions per day)
- Over 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices every single day
- Over 10 billion iPhone Apps have been downloaded
- Mobile data consumption has risen 400% over the last 2 years
- The younger generation send an average of 3,400 text messages per month
Blimey! It’s pretty obvious that mobile internet usage is on the up and some leading industry figures report that it is growing ten times faster than the world wide web ever did!
To quote Paul Boag:
“The figure that grabs my attention the most (and should yours) is that the number of people accessing the web via mobile devices will surpass the number accessing via desktop users by 2014. That is only 3 years! Time to sort out your mobile strategy now.”
I like words, but show me pictures…
The infographic from Microsoft Tag below is a great representation of current mobile usage (early 2011) that illustrates why it commands respect and needs to be taken seriously by everyone and not just digital marketers.
Do these stats blow your mind, like they do mine?
Do you have a mobile strategy? Do you think you need one?
Let us know what you think below.
The use of social media in the hotel industry
We’ve seen a huge growth in how social media is being used in the hotel industry. So much so that the vast majority of luxury, boutique hotels across the world now have a blog, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube Channel, thousands of Twitter followers and a Flickr photostream! Hotels are increasingly embracing social media as a means to effectively reach potential customers and develop relationships.
It is therefore no surprise to see that many of the hip, New York hotels are increasingly adopting social media as part of their overall marketing strategy. One of my personal favorites is The Standard Hotel in Manhattan that are actively harnessing the potential power these tools offer to promote their businesses and develop relationships with their customers.
What I love most about what The Standard are doing is their unique, personal approach to a traditional blog. Standard Culture is a great demonstration of how great, informative content can be used to engage customers.
Do you want to know where you can dress up like a pirate and have a chic sushi dinner? Stan will tell you.
A hotel concierge with a Twitter feed can make the difference between an average stay and an amazing ‘must go back’ experience. Instead of stopping off at the concierge desk to ask questions on where to go, guests could ask questions before they get to the hotel, from their rooms, or while they’re out exploring. They would also have easy access to the questions other guests asked and past recommendations.
On a recent visit to New York, I was not only able to obtain the best possible hotel rates for our holiday (thanks @HotelGansevoort) but also picked up a heap of advice and recommendations prior to even leaving the UK. With the help of Yelp, Twitter and Facebook I was able to research where I was going, decide which restaurant to visit for my wife’s birthday and find out what events were happening in the city that we were doing. Yes, I could have easily spent time searching on Google or visited the NYC tourist website, but I was after local suggestions from people that actually live and work there.
My advice for anyone planning getaways this summer is make the most of these social channels before you go. If nothing else you may get an upgrade!
We would love to hear your stories from holidays this summer, if you’ve had a good (or bad) experience please let us know using the comments feature below.
If The Wurzels did social media…
Showering with the Wurzels
I often have strange thoughts when in the shower. This morning was no exception. I found myself singing The Wurzels’ classic hit ‘Combine Harvester (brand new key)’. I sing a lot in the shower, but have no idea why the Wurzels entered my tired morning mind. Anyhow, this got me thinking that the catchy chorus hook to the song was a stereotypical Facebook status update. Then I started to apply the chorus to many social media platforms… please don’t ask how my mind works, especially in the morning. The results:
‘I’ve got a brand new combine harvester and I’ll give you the key.’
‘I want a brand new combine harvester. Please can you help me?’
Foursquare
‘I’m at this brand new combine harvester showroom to collect the key’
‘I’m good at driving brand new combine harvesters, you can trust me.’
Quora
‘Why am I obsessed with brand new combine harvesters? Please explain to me.’
Flickr
‘Look at my pics of brand new combine harvesters. Good, I hope you agree?’
YouTube
‘Watch vid of brand new combine harvester. It is great, you’ll see.’
Any more you can think of?
It’s #miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiixdmas!
Christmas bash with a 21st Century twist?
Mixd to stage social networking event in lieu of the traditional office Christmas party
Harrogate digital agency Mixd will dump the traditional office party this year and instead opt for a seasonal celebration shaped entirely via the social networking channels Twitter and Facebook. Dubbed ‘#Mixdmas’, the event will take place in Harrogate on Thursday.
The concept is simple
At 3pm Mixd will launch #Mixdmas with a Tweet to all the agency’s followers. The Mixd social network will respond with suggestions via Twitter as to where the team should go and what they should do, using the hashtag #mixdmas.
For instance:
- ‘@mixd Head to Hales Bar #mixdmas’;
- ‘@mixd Ask the barmaid for a kiss under the mistletoe #mixdmas’;
- ‘@mixd Have a round of Jagermeisters #mixdmas’; or
- ‘@mixd Skip to the Blues Bar, eat a pickled egg and have a Tequila. #mixdmas’.
The event will unfold purely as a result of input from the social network communicated entirely via Twitter and Facebook – with the Mixd team ‘checking in’ at each new location using Foursquare. At some point during the event the social network may be invited to join the event in person for a beverage via a ‘Flash mob’ invite issued by the Mixd team.
If involvement from the social audience is high, Mixd may ask the audience to vote on two possible scenarios, with the suggestion receiving the highest number of retweets and Facebook ‘likes’ being the winner.
Phil Shackleton, Digital Director at Mixd says…
“We’ve all been on loads of traditional Christmas parties and thought it was time for something more unexpected. Mixdmas will develop entirely from the imagination of our followers – no doubt there’ll be a few mischievous suggestions but we will of course only enact those that are within Harrogate, are not offensive and are of course legal!”
Play your part
Get social with Mixd this Christmas!
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Quick glossary of terms
A social networking website founded in 2004.
Flash mob
A large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an act for a brief time, and then disperse. (The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organised via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.)
Foursquare
A location based social networking website founded in 2009.
Hashtag
A tag embedded in a message posted on the Twitter microblogging service, consisting of a word within the message prefixed with a hash sign. (Hashtags are a community-driven convention for adding additional context to tweets. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. Hashtags were developed as a means to create ‘groupings’ on Twitter, without having to change the basic service.)
Microblog
A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller, in both actual size and aggregate file size. (A microblog entry could consist of nothing but a short sentence fragment, an image or an embedded video.)
Retweet (verb)
To repost another user’s message on the social networking website Twitter.
Tweet (noun)
Entry posted on the social networking website Twitter.
Tweet (verb)
To post an update on the social networking website Twitter.
A social networking website based on microblogging founded in 2006.
Email is dead. Long live Facebook email.
Monday’s ‘Project Titan’ announcement by Facebook founder and gaffer Mark Zuckerberg was essentially decreeing the end for conventional email, with him saying that for the next web generation, email is too slow and formal. Of course, this announcement was made as Facebook launched its latest offering, a next generation online messaging service; new Facebook Messages!
How will the new Facebook Messages work?
There are 3 core principles to the system:
- The system will bring together Facebook Email (and old Facebook Messages?), Facebook Chat and SMS text messages, allowing people to communicate seamlessly irrespective of the method they choose to use.
- Full conversation history will be viewed together on one screen, whether Email, Chat or SMS; from the very first interaction to the most recent!
- The ‘social inbox’ will get rid of the chaff before it gets to you; only displaying your key contacts’ messages. In Zuckerberg’s words “You will only be able to see messages that really matter to you”.
Apparently, messages from unknown senders and bulk email will go in to another folder, brilliantly titled ‘Other’. Furthermore, advanced filters will ensure you never even know about that SPAM guff.
Who can use the new Facebook Messages?
At this time, the bit-by-bit roll-out means that you can access the system by invitation only and it is envisaged that the full roll-out will take several months. Every single one of the 500 million+ Facebook users will, in time, be given an @facebook.com email address (hang on, isn’t email dead?), if they want one, to make communicating with the system better.
Future developments
In the future, Zuckerberg says that he hopes that the system will fully integrate with other email clients (won’t they be 6 feet under?) and not just Facebook email addresses.
Key questions
- With all the privacy issues associated with Facebook, will new Facebook Messages sit behind a robust and industry leading privacy policy?
- Will Facebook try to monetise the new product by introducing an advertising model into the system?
- Isn’t this just Google Wave, in a different guise?
- Will Facebook take over the world?
What do you think? What do you know?
We’d love to know what you think or what you’ve heard about this new system. Are you one of the lucky invitees? Please do let us know.
The Queen on Facebook. Are you friends with Liz?
A staggering 40,000 people rushed to ‘like’ the Queen’s new Facebook page in the first hour after it was launched, which goes some way to show the popularity of the social network Facebook and how social media has become part of our everyday lives. I really think it’s great the Monarchy has embraced social media head on and plans to use the page to provide a hi-tech version of the traditional Court Circular, detailing the daily engagements of members of the Royal Family and allowing users to comment on the arrangements. Of course, it’s not the first social network it has joined; the official @BritishMonarchy account on Twitter already has 70,148 followers and there is also TheRoyalChannel on YouTube!
How could joining social networks benefit the Monarchy?
Facebook has become a global internet phenomenon since it was started by Harvard undergraduate Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and is certainly something that isn’t going to go away. I think the huge benefit to The British Monarchy is that it is now pushing content out to a new, younger generation. Engaging and talking to the general public in a way in which many feel comfortable is only a good thing!
What problems may arise as a result of The British Monarchy joining Facebook and other social networks?
One of the many benefits of social networks – such as Facebook and Twitter – is they give individuals a voice to be heard. It has been widely reported how users of Twitter have been able to use the power of social media to get a complaint resolved or simply get a point of view across. (Owing to this, many organisations use Twitter to operate dedicated customer care feeds.) With this in mind, the fact that The British Monarchy is on Facebook is going to attract both good and bad publicity. Despite over 150,000 people ‘liking’ The British Monarchy Facebook page since its inception, many anti-monarchist comments have appeared on the discussion threads of the page. It is thought that the saboteurs ‘liked’ The British Monarchy page only so that they could access the discussion area and therefore post their abusive messages. Harm can be kept to a minimum with careful comment monitoring, moderation and responses, and surely the benefits will outweigh the negatives.
What’s your view? Should The British Monarchy be using social networks and what strategies should it adopt?