Strategic Social Media test 2

5 things to consider before posting an image:

#1. Do you understand the term fair use? Just because you provide attribution and/or a link back to the original doesn't mean you're free and clear. Fair use has nothing to do with attribution. That's an issue related to plagiarism, which is different from copyright. #2. Why are you using the image? If it is "...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research..." you're on the right track (fair use). #3. Have you transformed the image? If the new work which incorporates the copyrighted image is a "transformative work" - what you created no longer resembles the original - there is a greater likelihood of finding an exception to copyright infringement. #4. How much of the image are you using? If you're using a thumbnail and linking to the original location, there is a greater likelihood of finding fair use than if you just post the original image. #5. Are you willing to risk your site being taken down, getting a cease and desist/bill/DMCA or being sued? The DMCA gives the copyright owner powerful options.

Marketing with Photo Sharing Sites

1. Determine the target market. 2. Select the photos to upload. 3. Use photos to demonstrate knowledge, involve users, not to sell. 4. Market the content. 5. Secure permissions.

Best Practices in Marketing through Photo Sharing

1. Determine your brand story and your target market and corresponding objectives and metrics. 2. Benchmark against others in your brand category. 3. Optimize your content by not posting the same content the same way on every site. 4. Realize that the customer is the center of your efforts. 5. Don't just display products; show products in context of how they are used. 6. For sharing your own photos, use images that express your brand's personality. 7. Use each major platform to its best advantage. 8. Find and develop your brand influencers. 9. Above all, measure and respond.

Twitter- Best practices

1. Self-Promote Cautiously Focus on relationships first. 2. Choose Optimal Tweet Times Post updates when followers are also updating 3. Respond to Questions Quickly respond to customers' questions. 4. Gather Feedback Ask for opinions or product reviews directly. 5. Provide Unique Value

Benefits of Marketing with Online Photos and Other Images

1. Showcase the product. 2. Reinforce the brand message. 3. Drive web traffic. 4. Create awareness and encourage sharing. 5. Leverage opportunities to market with low costs.

Building Your Personal Brand through Photo Sharing

1. Tie your photo sharing strategy into your professional goal. 2. Keep the pictures linked to your professional brand, but have fun. 3. Focus on engagement. 4. Be sure not to overshare.

Video marketing (Youtube facts)

1. YouTube has more than 1 billion users. 2. The number of hours people are watching on YouTube each month is up 50% year over year. 3. 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. 4. Half of YouTube views are on mobile devices. 5. More than a million advertisers are using Google ad platforms, the majority of which are small businesses. 6. GlobalWebIndex added that in April 2015, despite competition from Facebook and Twitter, more Internet users visited YouTube. 7. Google added that Millenials are twice as likely to be focusing on the content while watching video on a mobile screen than while watching TV. Mobile is the first screen for millennials, not the second or third screen

Q&A marketing

A Q&A site lets people pose questions and receive answers back from anyone willing and (hopefully) knowledgeable enough to reply. Most Q&A sites can also provide fast answers by looking up questions that have already been asked. Q&A sites are not an appropriate place to promote a product (unless, by some amazing coincidence, the marketed product happens to be the answer to someone's question). Instead, members gain a reputation for providing detailed and useful answers. A natural way to demonstrate thought leadership and build trust. Q&A sites can help build links to a personal profile or product page, drawing more attention from the target audience.

Quora

A combination of professional networking and an advice service, Quora presents unique opportunities for a social media marketer. Brands cannot be directly involved, but they may find a way to be indirectly involved as did President Obama, who, in his effort to promote health care insurance, became a Verified Profile on Quora so he could answer health care questions there. Upon joining, users are encouraged to follow areas and people of interest. Establish areas of expertise by answering questions and posting news. 83% of top 100 brands had at least one discussion thread there.

Online discussions

A discussion board is typically organized into groups based on topics of interest These are made up of forums, which arrange posts and replies about a specific subject in an indented hierarchical fashion (a thread) so that users can follow the flow, and see the chronological order of posts. A moderator monitors and facilitates discussions, enforcing discussion board policies and rules. If users engage in abusive exchanges (flaming), or post inappropriate material, the moderator acts as an arbitrator to settle disputes and remove disallowed content.

Social News and News Aggregation Sites

A social news site lets users submit links to news stories, etc. to be ranked and displayed, but sites differ in how they rank and display them. Reddit and Newsvine organize content based on readers' votes, the most popular on the front page. Slashdot and Fark use human editors to determine which articles show up on the front page. Most social news sites also provide the means for readers to discuss and comment on articles. These sites appear to be fundamentally altering the way news is consumed. Readers are taking control of the news they view.

Advantages of webinars

Advantages of Webinars: Webinars may gather a large audience (500+) without the need to travel Ideal for training sessions or information sharing The audience can ask questions and get immediate answers. Email addresses provided by Webinar participants can later be used to send targeted messages. Prior to webinar registration, lead qualification messages can be asked.

s-commerce social buying bookmarking

As social media evolves, many other sites are incorporating the concept. (See Next Table) As social bookmarking becomes more popular, various social media sites have attempted to find ways to monetize their traffic. Social commerce or "s-ecommerce" is ecommerce that incorporates selling within social networks. Pinterest introduced buyable pins for specific retailers which allow users to purchase products from pins without leaving the site (see Figure). Facebook added a buy button (see Figure) Twitter has a blue Buy Now bar.

Marketing with microblogging

Because of its versatility, Twitter can assist in almost any marketing goal: Increasing brand awareness Connecting with customers Providing support Distributing information Identify influential people with common interests Create valuable relationships The principles learned here can be applied to other microblogging platforms

Best practices for Appealing video content

Best Practices for Video Marketing 1. Match the production techniques to the intent of the video. 2. Design and produce videos for mobile - first and always. 3. Design and produce videos for the platforms on which they are to appear. 4. Post your videos on multiple platforms and on your own website. 5. Optimize your videos to be found in search. 6. Encourage viewers to share your videos. 7. Finally, a don't! Don't make a sales video.

Benefits of blogging

Blogging has several unique advantages: Communicating with (Potential) Customers Blogs reward thoughtful posts and fully developed ideas. This makes blogs valuable in a broad variety of industries; every business has expertise to share. Word-of-Mouth Marketing WOM marketing may be more than twice as effective as traditional marketing Blogging facilitates WOM marketing by: Making messages portable and easy to share Creating new topics, like mini-press releases, for discussion Providing a center for conversation re comments & replies

Marketing benefits of online videos

Building Brand Awareness Some brands have an obvious link with stories and other content that can make compelling video. Red Bull has created such a link between its energy drink and extreme sports. Skiers may watch its double pipe or snowboarding series If consumers like racing, Red Bull offers everything from motocross to Indycars. The events and videos get a great deal of press attention, extending the brand reach. And there are some product videos thrown into the mix. Showcasing the Product Demonstrating how to use a product has several benefits as a video marketing strategy: Viewers with no experience with the product may watch, be impressed, and consider making a purchase. Such videos may also assist those who have already bought the product, leading to favorable online reviews and video sharing. Ex: Home Depot produces a wide variety of product use videos (see Figure) Do-it-yourself consumers make up 60% of the industry's sales, but they do not have the technical expertise needed. The videos and in-store workshops on subjects of interest to that store's customers proved to be very effective.

Creating and sharing Podcasts

Choose a Format Presentation: Record a live monologue or give a simple talk on a subject. Q&A: A question-and-answer session can be set up with one or more people to give the listener more information Co-hosted: When co-hosted a podcast becomes an on-demand talk radio show. Conversation should be kept organic and as unscripted as possible, but the speakers should choreograph their format and approach to avoid problems. Podcast Content Three different possibilities: Instructional Informative Entertainment

Creating content marketing

Company strategy>Brand story>Content>Communication Channels>Measurement and Feedback

Content Marketing

Content marketing as a strategy has three major components: 1. The creation of the content based upon target audiences and personas 2. The dissemination of the content through appropriate channels to achieve marketing objectives 3. The measurement of the success of the content through the analysis of results

Future of Discussion Boards, Social News, Social Bookmarking, and Q&A Sites

Discussion Boards In their original form, they are in decline. But in broader sense, they have become a mainstay of many sites. Online gamers love to discuss gaming and their own play. Some companies find discussion boards a great source of product innovation. Most online retail sites include them for posting consumer opinions and receiving company feedback. Social News Sites They continue to gain over traditional news media. Key findings from the Pew State of the News Media report for 2015: 39% of digital news sites get more of their traffic from mobile than from desktops; mobile users remain on the site longer. Traditional newspapers continue to struggle, & cable news showed a significant decline in prime-time viewing. Viewership is up for evening network news and for early evening and early morning local TV news. Downloads of podcasts were up a whopping 41%. Digital news ad revenue growing, but not for traditional brands. 63% of respondents get news from Twitter & Facebook.

Creating content marketing

Don't be afraid to be too specific! 1. Strategy - strategy is key to any social media or content marketing effort. Strategy must be the key in developing strong content. 2. Format - a single piece of content can be deployed across many types. Email works well for entrepreneurs and small businesses, white papers for B2B, and so on. 3. Content type - Different types of content work well for different businesses. Quizzes work well for B2C and testimonials for B2B. 4. Platform - Content distribution platforms can be overpaid, earned, or owned media, that is, over the company's website, over a social network, or through an advertising platform. 5. Metrics - metrics help the marketer understand who is reading the content, when, the reach of the content, and other useful information. 6. Goals - Content should support the business and brand strategy. If you want more people to view your content, that objective is brand awareness. An engagement objective involves having people interact with content on the web and create their own content around a brand. 7. Sharing Triggers - What marketers do to encourage sharing; marketers use emotional and other triggers to create responses in the audience (although consumers do not like it if they believe they are obviously being manipulated). Funny and disgusting work as triggers for sharing videos. 8. Checklist - Before deploying, use a checklist ensuring that content is optimized for search, to support the firm's goals, and other factors.

Marketing benefits of online videos

Engaging Viewers Video can create a strong connection to consumers Videos are particularly good for storytelling, and enjoyable to most viewers. Video stimuli more appealing than dry text or a podcast The more senses that are involved in gathering information, the more engaging the process becomes. Viewers become more vested in content when a human face is attached to it. Communication studies estimate that 50% - 80% of meaning is conveyed through body language; a well-made video deepens the communication experience. Large Audiences A serious disadvantage of online of print ads is that they require the viewer to read them. People are reading less, watching TV & screens more. Marketers "follow the eyeballs" and the eyeballs of all age groups are on video. Young consumers 18-34 watch more video than older age groups. Studies now show a noticeable shift to video among older age groups 50 and older The video audience is large and demographically diverse.

U.S Social networks and penetrations 2016

Facebook 157.1 million users, 48% of the populations Instagram 77.6 million users, 24% of the population Twitter 53.1 million users, 16.5% of the populations Pinterest 47.1 million users, 14.6 % of the population Tumblr is the lowest Instagram users as of 2017- 98.9 million users,30.3% of the population 2018-106 million, 32.2%, 7.4% change rate

Consumers of videos

Figures (next pages) show that an increasing amount of time is spent viewing videos: As time-shifted TV On the internet On mobile devices Mobile and time-shifted video are the trends marketers must accommodate. Google, owner of YouTube, asserts that U.S. consumers who view branded video content on smartphones are "significantly more likely to watch, share, and feel personally connected to ads and branded video content than their counterparts watching on desktop or TV are." Shoppers like to use smartphones for information while shopping; some prefer it to store employees

How to create appealing videos

Follow the AEIOU rule: Authentic Use real people in actual locations. Home Depot video channels provide good examples. Online viewers sometimes see high production values as a sign of slick professional marketing, and may be more skeptical of the content. Many viral videos are recorded using a webcam. Viewers will not only forgive, but will often reward a "homemade" feel because the content seems more believable. Entertaining People want enjoyable, fun content. Red Bull is a master at creating videos that engage viewers with all kinds of sports; the emphasis is on sports, not the energy drink. If a video is viewed millions of times because it is crammed with thrilling action, the brand will be carried along even if its mentioned very briefly. Entertaining videos make news, are shared on social networks, and can spawn imitations and spinoffs, expanding the brand's influence.

Microblogging

For marketing, two main purposes: convey information begin a discussion Book Twitter Power 2.0 describes 6 types of tweets: 1. Classic: "This is what I'm Doing Now." 2. Opinion: "This is What I'm thinking Now." 3. Mission Accomplished: "This is What I've Just Done." 4. Entertainment: "I'm Making You Laugh Now." 5. Question: "Can You Help Me Do Something Now?" 6. Picture: "Look at What I've Been Doing."

Major changes in news sites

Major changes in news sites: (cont.) BuzzFeed & Upworthy are hybrid forms of social news. Buzzfeed has emerged as a unique tool for marketers, saying it is "redefining online advertising with its social, content-driven publishing technology." Buzzfeed also partnered with President Obama to create a humorous video of the president taking selfies and doodling on paper, (See Next Figure) to remind people that the deadline for enrolling in health insurance was approaching. On social news sites the payoff is incredible for stories that become popular, but - Thousands of stories languish in obscurity with few upvotes and little traffic.

Marketing benefits of online videos

Generating Business Leads Conventional B2B wisdom suggests that business videos are good for demonstrating products and to help build trust in the brand and product. Research shows that videos also work to sell products. Videos convert leads to sales at a lower cost than other lead generation activities like expensive trade shows. A 2014 Aberdeen Group study (see Figure next page) shows the effect of video in B2B lead generation. To make a B2B video, be clear about your marketing objective - A sales lead? A purchase? A video should be no longer than 3 minutes. Leading Video Platforms Marketers post their branded videos on multiple platforms including their own websites. Table 8.1 shows the largest platforms, making it clear that marketing videos compete for attention. In addition, Facebook allows videos on both posts and Facebook Pay per Click (PPC) ads. Advertisers like Facebook ads because they generate more viewer interaction than videos on other platforms. Snapchat users share over 700 million "ephemeral" photos and videos each day; viewable for 10 seconds. Twitter's Vine only accepts 15-second videos.

How to create appealing videos

Intimate Its part of human nature to follow stories. A video that tells a story is more appealing, and creates a connection with the viewer. Dove launched the "Real Beauty" social media campaign with personal and compelling videos designed to bolster the self-esteem of tweens, teens, and young women. This FB campaign increased their number of fans by 75% in 3 months. Burger King's Whopper Freakout campaign (customers were secretly filmed when they were told the Whopper was discontinued) created a huge response for the firm. Offbeat and Unusual Videos that challenge a taboo or seem otherwise strange and unlikely can be highly popular; most viral videos feature these qualities. Relatively few videos are viewed in their entirety (see Figure 8.6). Desktop viewing completion rate was 20%. Smartphone viewing completion rate was 10%. Location, mood and content matter. Viewers most receptive in public places. A mood of excitement increased receptivity.

Optimize your online brand through blogging (For Students)

Lesson #1. Find your niche. Lesson #2. Reserve your niche. Lesson #3. Create meaningful blog content for your audience. Lesson #4. Observe good formatting rules. Lesson #6. (sic) Blog regularly. Lesson # 7. Promote your blog. Lesson #8. Respond to your audience. Lesson # 9. Use metrics to refine the approach.

Building a personal brand on twitter

Lesson #1: Create a complete profile. Lesson #2: Follow in your area. Lesson #3: Create lists around your interests. Lesson #4: Create a follow strategy. Lesson #5: Post at least three times a day.

Personal Branding through Online Discussion, News and Bookmarking

Lesson #1: Engage in professional discussions related to your career interests. Lesson #2: Be careful of participating in discussions on controversial topics. Lesson #3: Your username will be associated with your post and you can't control the comments of others. Lesson #4: Your bookmarks on your registered accounts are available for others to see. Lesson #5: Properly attribute the source of any content that you pin to your Pinterest or other bookmarking account. Lesson #5: Properly attribute the source of any content that you pin to your Pinterest or other bookmarking account. Lesson #6: Follow the rules of the bookmarking site. Lesson #7: Show your expertise by using content curation.

Major changes in news sites

Major changes in news sites: Fark, 1997- a humorous view of the news; Digg, 2004 - the first to introduce voting on articles; In 2010, a major site redesign and policy changes caused a crash in site traffic from which it has never fully recovered. No longer a social news site; now a news aggregator Reddit, 2005 - Top scoring articles appear on the front page Their discussion boards (subreddits) and content criticized for misogynistic or racist themes, so shut down; viewer backlash. In 2010, launched new website, Upvoted; readers will not be able to post content, vote or make comments on stories (next figure). BuzzFeed & Upworthy are hybrid forms of social news.

Creating and promoting a blog

Setting Up a Blog A starter blog can be created on WordPress, Blogger or other free sites These are hosted blogs run on another company's website and server; a suffix at the end of the URL indicates which service is hosting the blog. A business can self-host a blog on its website The difficult parts of blogging are creating a compelling, relevant subject for the blog, writing effectively, and improving content over time. For students, Google's Blogger is easy, with analytics. Promoting a Blog One way to increase readership is to request an email sign-up; create a list of readers who receive content on a regular basis (Ex: Huffington Post).

Social bookmarking is a way for people to store, organize, search manage "bookmarks" of web pages.

Most services allow users to organize them by tags, single word descriptors that categorize the bookmark. Users can search social bookmarking sites using the descriptor to find content and bookmark that content within their own accounts. Social bookmarking is also called folksonomy, collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging. Social Bookmarking Sites List contains a list of sits that accept external content based on the rules of each site. Entries are verified, & so designated if pop-ups or sponsored sites

Twitter following

Twitter is set up so that users only receive tweets from people they are following. If a profile has no followers, no one will see its tweets. One strategy: follow others in the hope that they follow back (ex: follow 50,000, get 8,000 back.) But new rules block users from following more than 2,000 profiles unless they are followed by about 2,000. Most of the users who follow back will be mass marketers and spammers, and will not read the tweets. Equal Ratio Strategy: keep profile's following and follower counts close to equal. But slow to get off the ground May take weeks or months to gather even a hundred followers unless the brand is already well-known. Targeted Follow Strategy: search for & follow 50-150 profiles with similar interests and ideas or those that already have members of the target audience following them.

Marketing with podcasts

Podcasting requires a strong commitment to creating content tailored to marketing goals. Podcasts can bring in independent revenue Recruit paid sponsors to advertise the product Offer fee-based content (requires superior content) But don't begin with monetizing; with so many free podcasts, may be difficult to get subscribers For a successful podcast, see Mugglecast and its competitor PotterCast

Producing Podcast

Producing Podcasts Choose an articulate moderator Find a moderator with minimal verbal static (um, ah, etc) Create talking points, not scripts Presented in a relaxed, conversational manner Brevity Determine content first, length second; don't extend Avoid overediting Too much editing can make the podcast sound choppy Include music A brief clip of music at the beginning is professional

Blogging- 6 pillars and how blogs are different

Publishable-cheap and easy to set up; free Findable-can be found with search engines Social- conversations about mutual interests Viral- can spread information faster than news Syndicatable- viewers can easily subscribe Linkable- blogs can link to each other

B2B Video marketing

Re B2B video marketing: In 2010 Forbes found senior executives watching more video, more often, sharing with colleagues, and taking action based on video content. In 2014, Digital Sherpa said that 75% of executives watch business videos at least once a week. For B2B video marketing, remember: Video can be especially useful for the small business that needs awareness and reach, but lacks a large budget. Executives are people, too! The growth of video viewing in the general population makes a strong case for growth in the business community.

Preparing for Webinars

Risks and dangers of Webinar: No way to gauge audience reaction; no feedback. No chance to rerecord if speaker is stumped or misspeaks. Time spent preparing will be very well spent. Decide in advance whether questions will be answered as they arise, or at the end. Prevent interruptions; avoid background noise. Start on time; answer questions concisely. Avoid selling overtly during the webinar.

Best practices for blogging, podcasting or videosharing

Rule #1: Use catchy titles. Rule #2: Update frequently. Rule #3: Keep content focused. Rule #4: Invite comments. Rule #5: Promote the Blog, Streaming Video, Podcast, or Webinar. Rule #6. Engage with others. Rule #7. Avoid negativity. Rule #8. Stand by the content. Rule #9: Cross promote. Rule #10. Archive the content. Rule # 11. Use metrics.

Video sharing

Secondary Sharing This occurs when fans, friends, customers or early viewers begin spreading the video within their own social circles; if those people enjoy the video, they will pass it along to their other contacts. The majority of online videos that fail to spread within the first forty-eight hours never become popular. Lay the groundwork for secondary sharing earlier: Interact with other content creators, especially opinion leaders. Some firms use contests or incentives (Example: Doritos). Even a free burrito can allow a firm to leverage user-generated videos; offering to share content created by outsiders makes those people more likely to reciprocate by sharing firm content. Tertiary Sharing Tertiary sharing is when content is spread on the Internet by people who likely do not know or have connections with the original video's creator; viral videos are found at this stage. Study: Facebook accounted for 81% of shares Pinterest at 7% Twitter with 6% No other channel accounted for as much as 2%. Make sure the video has a descriptive & memorable title for reference. Consider having different titles, tags, or keywords on each online video-sharing website.

How to create engaging video content

Sharing Online Videos While some content is so creative, funny or engaging that it spreads organically, not all online video producers are so fortunate. Schaefer: people share content for three basic reasons: 1. As an act of altruism, to help or to share information 2. To express their own identity 3. Because they have an emotional connection with the brand People share for intrinsic and emotional reasons, but businesses are trying to get people to share for economic reasons. Also, sharing occurs in several stages: primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary Sharing Primary sharing is the simplest step, as it can be done by just one person. A video must be posted online, often on several different video-sharing sites so that more people have the opportunity to find and watch it. Even if it is posted on several sites, consider funneling all link traffic through the most popular portal (YouTube) or wherever the target audience is concentrated, so that the video will be ranked higher by search engines. Posting a blog entry to refer to the video is also helpful; the post may be picked up and further distributed by syndication services and shared by other bloggers.

Best Practices for Online Discussions on All Platforms

Stick to the topic Search before posting Use good grammar and capitalization No feeding the trolls Do not post repetitively (or double-post)

Streaming and Podcast

Streaming video is a live video broadcast shared over the Internet. Marketers are incorporating streaming into their social media plans as apps (Periscope, Meerkat) have allowed easy sharing of video streams. Best suited to live, interactive content Viewers can comment on the video and what is happening in the moment. Streaming is best done when shared online and when other forms of social media are also used to interact. Legal issues include possible video piracy, but the benefits for marketers are clear. Marketing Through Podcasting Podcasts are media files distributed via subscription on the Internet. "A podcast is a digital audio or video file that is episodic, downloadable, and program-driven, mainly with a host and/or theme; and convenient, usually via an automated feed with computer software." Journal of Information Technology & Politics A podcast may contain only audio or audio and video (vodcasts); they can be consumed: 1. Played directly off the website on a computer 2. Downloaded to a computer and listened to offline 3. Downloaded to portable MP3 players for listening offline

Viral videos

The first viral video, "Numa Numa:" was posted on December 4, 2004, before YouTube, which was introduced in February, 2005 showed a 19-year old lip-syncing to a song from a Moldavian pop group popular at the time Gillette's "Old Spice Guy" video: Aired during Super Bowl 2010 Was wildly successful, but took years of research Whether a video goes viral is in large part a matter of luck.

Blog History

The history of blogs is relatively short. 1994- Justin Hall, student at Swarthmore College, began writing about video games and consoles. 1997- the word weblog (combination of "web" and "log") was created, eventually shortened to blog. On the old DOS operating system for the PC, the command .log would bring up a diary format, date and time stamped, for recording thoughts and filing them. 1999- LiveJournal and Blogger were launched 2015- Over 400 million people/month read blogs on WordPress alone; a huge audience

Twitter clickthrough rate

The way websites tell users to follow on Twitter has a dramatic effect on the clickthrough rate: "I'm on Twitter" produces a click-through rate of 4.7%. "Follow me on Twitter" increased resulted in 7.31%. "You should follow me on Twitter: 10.09% Providing a link in the phrase "You should follow me on Twitter here" yielded a clickthrough rate of 12.81%.

Evolution of online discussions

Traditional discussion boards have declined in popularity over recent years (the iVillage demise). Although some predict that they will see a revival in popularity, but at the end of 2015, not so.

Targeted follow strategy

To increase the chances of being followed back, consider sending a mention (hashtag #NowFollowing or similar) to inform the person about gaining a follower. The Mention feature makes directed messages simple: a tweet with "@[name]" will be viewable on the @Mention section of that person's home page, signaling that you are worth following back. Strike up a dialogue when appropriate and begin developing relationships. In Twitter's "suggested People" feature, users see lists of similar accounts and suggested people to follow based on which profiles they view and follow, leading to related profiles. Stage 2: choosing which to follow back. Early on, with less than 500-1,000 followers, follow back nearly everyone; later, can be more selective. Targeted following best for marketing objectives, but not the fastest way of gaining Twitter followers.

Evolution of online discussions

Twitter Chats are sponsored by an organization during a specific time period during which people use a hashtag to comment on topics or answer questions. Hootsuite recommends that chats be curated using a platform such as Storify. Hootsuite hosts #HootChat info sessions In higher education, use of discussion boards is growing, especially for online classes. Online learning management systems such as Blackboard have built in discussion features

Good content alone is not enough to reach the top of social news sites.

Vote up submissions by other users with similar interests, and they may return the favor. Users who submit only their own content are quickly identified as spammers and ignored. Even if an article becomes popular, not all of the viewers will consider purchasing a product. By providing space for discussion by a wide reader base, social news can draw comments and input. Many conversations occur on social news sites which cannot be found elsewhere.

Webinars or podcast?

Webinars or podcasts? May emphasize one medium more than the other The choice may reflect available technology and resources (podcasts are less expensive). Webinars valuable for learning or collaboration But require planning and coordination beforehand Podcasts less interactive, but have continuing accessibility because downloaded. A natural fit for opinion, information, entertainment Some firms use both, some one or the other

Webinars

Webinars resemble a conference or seminar. Conducted live over the Web; interactive To attend, the listener calls a phone number or listens live on a computer's speakers by accessing the webinar through the Internet. Webinars are typically B2B marketing activities. Webinars sometimes contain a visual aspect: a slide show presentation or live-stream video; the material may also be streamed. Most last 1-2 hours. How to Set Up a Webinar Easy to set up and run; several free to low-cost webinar sites available; to choose which, consider: The number of attendees The visual content The frequency with which the webinar is held If there will be visual content, need a website to host the webinar rather than using a conference call system Depending on frequency of the webinar, better to pay monthly subscription fee or a one-time webinar fee? Create a webinar outline of the main points, schedule the event, and promote.

Anyone can be a publisher

With the tools available on the web, anyone can become a publisher at minimal cost. Today, a website can be created in less than an hour with no expert coding knowledge using Weebly, Wix, WordPress, or other web-development tools; editing websites is easier. Online space has changed from a read web where people go primarily to read, to a read-write web, where it is possible not only to read, but to create content. Users can interact with the content. Content Clutter There are millions of blogs, websites and podcasts. There is such a proliferation of content online that even the highest-quality material has difficulty standing out and building an audience. Some blogs have many readers, while many blogs have almost no readers. (See Figure 7.3.) Most companies consider their blogs as part of their business strategy; consumers increasingly look to blogs to make business decisions.