How Brands Can Find Their Way Into To The Mummysphere.


Unless you’ve been working under a rock for the last four years, you’d know what a mummy blogger is. And you would know how important they can prove to be for your PR campaigns (unless you work for Caterpillar, Burton or Carling). No two mummies are the same, so understanding what makes that mummy ticks helps. But overall, apply a certain etiquette and you will be successful. You just need to keep your ears open, come clean and participate in the conversation. Pretending you do (ie, saying you love a blog without having read it ) won’t get you very far.

Cyber Mummy

CyberMummy

To connect with this blog arena, you can also do worse than looking at Cybermummy. The mumsphere will be paralysed on the 3rd of July when bloggers and companies meet to talk about…stuff (blogging, bad PRs, good PRs, SEO, being a mummy, being a blogger, etc). Only bloggers with a £100 ticket can attend but companies can look at various ways of participating in the conversation. One very advisable and cost effective way of doing this would be to sponsor a mummy to be your representative (see FAQ). You just need to pay for their ticket and expenses and they could help you out with insights and by promoting your brand. In that case, just ensure you find a blogger that actually likes your brand, because they won’t be talking up your brand when you’re not around if that is the case!

There are many other sponsor opportunities available, so just send an email to sian@cybermummy.com or reach her on 07894 575 070.

About The Author

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavier Izaguirre joined Social Media Library in November 2009 working as part of the Research Team. Prior to joining Social Media Library, Xavier completed a Masters Degree in Marketing and Communications at Westminster University, London. An active user of Social Media platforms, Xavier is very passionate about new trends in communication and Social Media Marketing contributing towards a number of online campaigns within the Educational Sector.

Follow Xavier on Twitter at @Xavi_izaguirre


Social Media Tips and Tricks, Xavi Izaguirre


Report From IWEXPO. How Facebook Changes The Rules Of Advertising.


So yesterday at the #iwexpo (Internet World 2010) I had to decide between having lunch or making it to Steven Haines’ keynote aka The Facebook Gig.

Facebook Advertising

Facebook Advertising

After two hours of queuing and starvation I made it and could listen to Steven’s lowdown on how advertisers can engage with their audiences via the Facebook platform. These are the ideas I took away.

1. Forget what you know of advertising. As Steven himself made clear in NMA a couple of months ago, banners and interruption don’t work. Facebook ads are integrated in the user experience with a chameleonic design and “social actions” to not stand out. Go have a play around here.

2. Facebook ads are targeted to bits. Steven mentioned the Johnny Depp case study. An advertiser could target 400 women in the UK with a penchant for Johnny Depp. With the advent of the Like button and Facebook integration, it’s only a matter of time before they have our tastes and hobbies down to excruciating detail. That way advertisers can target effectively and users are not bothered with “Acai Berry” and “Solve your Debt” ads, unless they need/want/like those.

3. (This is mine). Make sure your brand has an earned presence on Facebook too and that you offer something special in the “social actions” of the ads. Take care of the page so it looks good and involve your stakeholders in dialogue, giveaways, samples, prizes, valuable content, etc.

Facebook changes the rules of both Advertising and PR and is here to stay, so start forgetting all you know. If you want to chat with us about Facebook Marketing, email hello@socialmedialibrary.co.uk. We know our likes, pages, comments and bidding and are happy to help.

About The Author

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavier Izaguirre joined Social Media Library in November 2009 working as part of the Research Team. Prior to joining Social Media Library, Xavier completed a Masters Degree in Marketing and Communications at Westminster University, London. An active user of Social Media platforms, Xavier is very passionate about new trends in communication and Social Media Marketing contributing towards a number of online campaigns within the Educational Sector.

Follow Xavier on Twitter at @Xavi_izaguirre


Social Media News, Social Media Tips and Tricks, Xavi Izaguirre


A Sealed F8? How The Facebook Conference Points The Way To The Future Of The Internet


Yesterday, I watched the F8 livestreamed from Facebook and I can say that all the fuzz and buzz was well justified.

I only can say that Facebook and to a lesser extent, Twitter are going to eat the Internet. As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg put it, “we’re moving towards a web that is social by default”, meaning that we’re moving towards a web that is Facebook by default.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook is going to work on based on using the Open graph, which Zuckerberg calls “personally, and semantically, a set of meaningful connections between people and things,” and social plugins. With these plugins (the most famous being the Like button) you will be able to see what friends have liked or commented on in any article on any site you visit. Also, if you are on Facebook, you will be able to see what off-facebook articles people are reading and commenting on. This is such a turn-on for publishers that I can predict a massively growing trend of magazines, papers and blogs adopting the plugins in the next months. And what if you are a brand? Well, it’s going to be pretty hard to argue that you don’t need to blog about your product, isn’t it?

Likewise,Twitter have released a few apps that allow you to follow tweeps and tweet from any website that installs @anywhere. They want you to see all content online through “Twitter eyes” and make Twitter the epicentre of news diffusion and virality. Let’s see how it goes.

With these new apps both Facebook and Twitter have strung a lot of chords with publishers, since they have shown how users are far more likely to trust a source that friends have approved first. Bret Taylor, ex-CEO of Friendfeed has come up with the Magic Number 5 concept, which shows a dramatic increase of interactivity once you see 5 of your friends engaged onto a site. Having a few trustworthy faces associated with your content using these social plugins will only skyrocket your interactivity and engagement level, so don’t miss out on this.

With a late evening conversation with an SML colleague two sobering questions popped. Are we going to lose our leaders? Will everyone only read and engage with what other people have previously?

In my opinion this social proof and tipping point has always existed. One sees movies that other friends watch, read books that someone has recommended. It’s the spirit of WOM gone mad. Some people are quality leaders and rarely rely on people because they are ahead of the game. These people will always exist. Also, we have to bear in mind that there are areas in which we’re experts and others where we’re novice. Such is life. And now the web is more like life.

The other question is good quality content will find it easier to spread, won’t it? Definitely.

One can argue that Page Rank is the human interpretation made maths formula. The more links to your page, the more prominent your pages will be. However, not everyone owns a site. And also, links can be bought, they can swapped for favours. Add to this all the canonical URLs and keyword strategy and you get a whole lot of obscure science. SEO. And SEO is doomed if, like in a democracy, all votes count the same.

Things will spread based only on how many people like it, all people equally counted. Good content will spread based on its content and engagement levels.

So… are you ready to engage?

About The Author

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavier Izaguirre joined Social Media Library in November 2009 working as part of the Research Team. Prior to joining Social Media Library, Xavier completed a Masters Degree in Marketing and Communications at Westminster University, London. An active user of Social Media platforms, Xavier is very passionate about new trends in communication and Social Media Marketing contributing towards a number of online campaigns within the Educational Sector.

Follow Xavier on Twitter at @Xavi_izaguirre


Social Media News, Xavi Izaguirre


The Facebook Like Button. What’s Not To Like?


This week has proven that the Social Media Universe can still shatter at the sound of a new widget.

The “Like” button on Facebook, that small tab at the end of every article that allows you to give the thumbs up, is currently making big news. Apparently it all stems from the fact that people click this button really often and “twice as much as the Become a Fan” button, according to Facebook. Overall this button has become very recognisable and, pun intended, likeable.

Facebook: All You Need Is Like

Facebook: All You Need Is Like

You can “Like” anything online: good for Facebook, marketers and users.
This would be why Facebook has taken the plunge and started working on allowing publishers to have a Like button as part of Facebook’s Open Graph API project. This would set off people “liking” articles and send them out to the Facebook platform (back to the garden) with varied consequences. For Facebook, it gives further insight of user behaviour and improves the usability of the site by bringing quality articles within the garden (articles that your friends like are more likeable for you). For publishers and bloggers like yours truly, it maximizes exposure and engagement opportunities. It also democratises the online publishing industry making the success of an online publication more based on quality content (content that people want to share) than on the money you may have to spend on an SEO consultant and/or paid-for links. It is also good for users, since Facebook may become more enjoyable and varied and other sites would start to behave more like facebook pages.

You can “like” brands: good for Facebook, possibly good for marketers and meaningless for users.
The next piece of news was leaked yesterday. Facebook has issued a letter to some page owners using the “Become a fan” advertising scheme to let them know that “Fan” and “Become a fan” will soon be phased out and replaced by “Like”. This is good news for page owners who, in theory, would get double the clicks. Maybe the wording reflects better the reality where one may not be a fan of a company like Subway but may very well like it. This also will provide better consistency across the page where you like your friend’s comment on My David Cameron poster, the new picture of a workmate drinking a yard of ale and an article on how to save money in the supermarket.

As long as this helps brands to relax and embark on a more playful attitude about their products and services we all should be happy. However, one can argue that if all brands get twice as many fans, is that an improvement? It’s true that you can communicate with more people, but in a more competitive and noisy fashion. As always, true engagement beyond “fans”, “connections, “followers” is what matters, so never obsess over sheer numbers ( I know, it’s hard!).

About The Author

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavier Izaguirre joined Social Media Library in November 2009 working as part of the Research Team. Prior to joining Social Media Library, Xavier completed a Masters Degree in Marketing and Communications at Westminster University, London. An active user of Social Media platforms, Xavier is very passionate about new trends in communication and Social Media Marketing contributing towards a number of online campaigns within the Educational Sector.

Follow Xavier on Twitter at @Xavi_izaguirre


Social Media News, Social Media Tips and Tricks, Xavi Izaguirre


Two Clashing Trends: Niche Social Networking vs Mainstream Social Networking


I remember a couple of years when the promising trend in social networks was to go niche. Why would anybody join a vague, vast community like Facebook where you don’t share common interests with anyone? To talk to your friends? We have email already. It made sense when Facebook hadn’t tipped, in its pre-50 million users stage, so off I went to join chef social networks, electronic music networks and marketing networks. The things I care about.

Now the technology makes it even easier to go niche. I have set up a community in one of my websites, Combat London, where you can join, upload a picture, talk to people, make friends and share your tips and ideas on how to survive in London. I developed it in less than an hour, with the Mingle plugin, a side kick to Buddypress, the so promising community layer for your WordPress site. Awesome.

Buddypress

Buddypress

Buddypress and Mingle have got a massive buzz surrounding them and my developer geeky side couldn’t hold his breath while I was bringing the community platform to my site.

But let’s face it. How many loyalty cards do you have in your wallet? More than one? I doubt it. Likewise I would hazard a guess that you are only in one or two social networks. Social Media pros have up to 10 accounts because it’s pretty much our job, but consumers don’t need to remember another password, login to another site everyday and update their profiles regularly.

The more our attention span shrinks, the more adventurous marketers (guilty as charged) give building standalone communities a go.

But there is only one social network you should care about. If you are in the B2B and/or media, forget Facebook and go for Twitter first. If you’re a B2C brand, pimp your Facebook page and when you’re satisfied, try to connect with a given segment through Twitter. Are you in the hospitality business? Try LBS or Qype. Go where your audience is. Do not tick boxes. I can’t stress this enough. This is my marketer side talking now.

Does this mean Buddypress is doomed? Not at all. 20 minutes is enough to set up a commuity on your site. No money, no hassle. If you’re happy with the fact that only the most die-hard, happy customer will join, then go for it and if you know the Pareto rule you would agree with me that you need to track down these advocates sooner rather than later. Think of Sorg and Jedrzejewski, the creators of the Coca Cola facebook page. You need to woo these people.

Social Networking

Social Networking

In a nutshell, prioritise and go where your audience is already.  Having a productive facebook page is a full time job of its own, as is a productive, ROI-rich Twitter. And yes,  you can have a play with Buddypress in your blog, but do your Facebook homework first.

About The Author

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavi Izaguirre

Xavier Izaguirre joined Social Media Library in November 2009 working as part of the Research Team. Prior to joining Social Media Library, Xavier completed a Masters Degree in Marketing and Communications at Westminster University, London. An active user of Social Media platforms, Xavier is very passionate about new trends in communication and Social Media Marketing contributing towards a number of online campaigns within the Educational Sector.

Follow Xavier on Twitter at @Xavi_izaguirre


Social Media News, Xavi Izaguirre


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