Everything listed under: Social Media

Last week, two great articles were written on the topic of Twitter and political campaigning in the United States.The first was written by The Washington's Post Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) and was titled, "Twitter becomes a key real-time tool for campaigns." The piece begins with a scene from a recent press release with President Obama in which he encouraged Americans multiple time to use Twitter as a tool for...

I remember my mom as very a loyal Avon customer. Winters in our home found an ample supply not of ChapStick® but of Avon’s “Care Deeply” brand of lip balm. When the doorbell rang, a sales agent dropped off orders. It was simple, it was effective. It was a loyalty intact for 50 years. Today...

Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is making waves this week, and it’s not for his policy or legislative efforts: It’s for being terrible at Twitter. This is a timely moment for such a person to make news with bad social media habits, as recent research has delved deeper into the equation of what, exactly, accounts for Twitter influence. A few months ago, in a post entitled How to Not be Annoying on Twitter, I wrote about research out of MIT...

I’m sure many of you have seen the viral video telling the story of Caine Monroy—a 9-year-old boy who built an arcade out of cardboard and other scraps found around his father’s auto parts shop (if not, check it out here). Certainly, the story is heart-warming, but it also is another great testament to the power of social media. Caine’s Arcade shares many of the features of other successful start-ups...

On a typical weekday, I tend to wake up in a grumpy mood that gradually gets better throughout the day (via coffee). To my surprise, recent research reveals that the rest of the world feels differently. Researchers are now using data from Twitter to extrapolate how Twitter users feel collectively...

We’ve all heard the standard pre-show plea to “please silence your cell phones”—and experienced the ensuing annoyance when the guy at the end of the row can’t figure out how to turn off the ringer when it sounds mid-performance. Then, of course, there’s the January 2009 incident  in which Patty LuPone went ballistic on an audience when she caught someone using their cell phone during her performance in Gypsy...

I stumbled across this interesting infographic from MDG Advertising that compares and contrasts search marketing and social media. While there are many differences between search marketing and social media, they certainly both have their clear benefits in an organization's marketing. By definition search marketing is the process of gaining traffic from search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo...

What started as the little network that could has metamorphosed, seemingly overnight, into The Next Big Social Media Platform and, unsurprisingly, this year’s darling at SXSW (an annual interactive festival in Austin, TX that functions as Mecca to the tech set). Pinterest, which allows users to “pin” online images and organize them according to themes or “boards,” enjoyed initial popularity among mommy bloggers, crafters and food pornographers...

In Billy Crystal’s Academy Awards opening montage, teen pop star Justin Bieber made a cameo (hanging out a vintage car during a “Midnight in Paris” spoof, no less) explaining to Crystal, “I’m here to get you the 18-24 demographic.” Ha ha, you funny writers! But it’s not entirely a laughing matter. This year—due in part to the fact that the year’s front-running film wasn’t exactly a mainstream blockbuster—ABC had to work hard to...

Posted by Vanessa Champlin, Senior Vice President This week marks another important learning for brands looking to leverage social media channels.  For those who haven’t heard the story, on Tuesday a 56 year old man celebrating his birthday posted on Red Lobster's Facebook page that he wanted a free meal for his "b-day present."  According to the story, the gentlemen was sent a $5 dollar coupon but went on to note that chains like iHop and Red Robin offer free food or meals for birth...

First let me clarify that the guy writing this post does not consider himself a member of our grassroots team here at global. However, as each campaign we work on goes by, the line between the digital team and the grassroots team is becoming more and more blurred. The reality is social media and grassroots are just words that both had the same end game when you are talking about advocacy: spur up conversation...

What Jeremy Lin has done for the Knicks is nothing short of a miracle. The Knicks are relevant again. He has revitalized the entire organization, increasing profits and turning the Knicks into a playoff caliber team. Since Linsanity began, Knicks ticket prices have gone up by 27 percent, traffic to the official Knicks website has skyrocketed, Lin’s jersey has...

Leave it to nerds at MIT to quantify the elements of an annoying (or awesome) tweet. Actually, the research published in January by Paul André of Carnegie Mellon, Michael Bernstein of MIT and Kurt Luther of Georgia Tech is a fascinating analysis demonstrating just how useful Twitter can be—and how useless it can seem when used incorrectly...

Just 4 years ago, Giant fans were celebrating the infamous catch by David Tyree which led to the eventual game winning touchdown from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress. Then, Twitter barely existed, Facebook had less than 100 million users and Google was just Google minus the plus sign. Today, Facebook has soared to more than 845 million users and Twitter has become a major force in sports and media worlds...

Posted by Bo Muchoki, Research Associate As I experience the ups and downs of the job search process, which is a job in itself, potential employers often hit me with the classic interview question: What’s your biggest weakness?More often than not, I tell them that my biggest challenge is staying current with all of the changes that are revolutionizing public relations. Indeed the new PR professional’s most significant obstacle to success is getting up to speed with these changes and the new skil...

While watching TV with a friend the other night, I realized that she was paying more attention to her iPhone than to the TV. Her focused expression led me to ask if she was dealing with a late-night work issue (the horror!), but it was something far more fascinating: “Pinterest,” she explained. Her response is indicative of what social media forecasters have already predicted; that some emerging platforms are going to take center ...

Stumbled across this interesting infographic from Craig Newmark, the Craig of Craigslist, which looks at how the nation’s 50 largest nonprofits handle social media. Did you know 92 percent of these nonprofits have at least one social media button on their homepages, and the most popular of those buttons is one for Facebook? And the non-profit with the most fans?

Twitter made headlines again this week when the NW Daily Marker reported on a succession of tweets made by legislative staffers in Congressman Rick Larson’s office. As the NW Daily Marker puts it: Though the tweets were made (and are continuing to be made) from personal – not official congressional – accounts, the messages describe on-the-job drinking, frivolous misuse of office time and resources, and contain public insults aimed at the boss...

As the holiday season is in full swing, many warnings from authorities have been issued reminding shoppers about the risks of shopping online, using credit and debit cards and tweeting, “checking-in” and making Facebook statuses about their shopping. Social media can increase the risk of identity theft, according to Consumer Reports Magazine. It can also let a criminal know your whereabouts, putting yourself or your home and possessions in danger...

Over one year ago, Twitter launched ads known as “Promoted Tweets”, “Promoted Trends” and “Promoted Accounts” in the U.S. and the U.K., and just over a month ago launched the Japanese version. This feature allows advertisers to reach the audience on Twitter in hopes of increasing revenue...

Who would you hire: the person with frumpy head shots on their Facebook with interests in studying and decent qualifications or the person with more impressive experience and photos from college parties and bars? Young professionals and job seekers are often told to delete their Facebook pages and to hide or remove pictures of drinking and partying...

Melinda Gates posed this very question on her blog, Impatient Optimists, Monday. She notes that in beginning with the Twitter Race to 1 million followers, Malaria No More raised nearly 100,000 mosquito nets and that US perception of malaria as a serious global health problem has raised from 28% in 2006 to 50 percent today. However, I would not credit that just to social media...

For as long as schools have been allowing students to utilize the Internet, they have also been blocking certain Web sites on the school’s network. Recently, there has been outcry by many students and teachers against the blocking of social media sites. The American Association of School Librarians held the first ever Banned Websites Awareness Day on Wednesday, September 28th. Schools block many parts of the Internet from students to protect them from...

In a world that is saturated with information, organizations have less time to grab the attention of their target audience. Gamification – think Foursquare badges and Farmville – has been a successful way to get noticed and engage users. Some groups use gamification to attract customer loyalty and brand ambassadors, while others create something purely for entertainment factor (Angry Birds, anyone?)...

One of the interesting roles I play at k-global is to help client's who are advocating an issue better understand social media's place in the communications' plan. Most of the times I could say almost anything at one of these meetings and would be met with shaking heads of agreement. Why?

A little less than a month ago, our resident expert @SweetTeaNPearls took over the social media platform for our Beauty Changes Lives client. Kicking off during the MTV video music awards, our fashion commentary and quirky ideas quickly tripled our Twitter followers and doubled our Facebook fans...

A few years ago there was an interesting study by Dodds and Watts in the Harvard Business Review about how “Social Epidemics” occur where recommendations for a product or service can be advertised and enhanced through conversations with friends and colleagues. The study found that if three friends recommended a product or brand to a person, in most cases, it had no influence. However, when a forth recommendation occurred they became “infected” and spread the word for that product...

The release of Guiding Principles of Digital Measurement, an initiative that will define and standardize online metrics, was announced last week by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) and the 4 A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies). Expect to see recommended solutions and an implementation plan by the end of summer!

Facebook LIKES are an interesting metrics. Most clients want them and most "social media" consultants tell you they are not important. I tend to agree with both...

There are numerous ways to leverage social media for your next event. The key is to plan early and promote your tools as part of your pre-, during and post-event activities. Here are a few ideas to get you started...

Everyday people are finding unique opportunities in the social media arena to promote their brand, sell products, gather support and engage with their audience. Social media is still very much the wild, wild west of communication. One hundred and forty characters could turn into a viral blessing or a corporate "oops" in a matter of minutes - just ask Kenneth Cole.