Social Media News of the Week: October 3, 2011

In honor of Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

Facebook started this week off with even more changes but ones that I find super exciting. They have added three new metrics to their Insights analytics tool that allow administrators to see their brand page reach more effectively. If you’re an admin of any company page, the new Insights are up today and you can see some of the numbers right below your total number of friends on the left hand side of the page.

Facebook will also be rolling out the new Timeline sometime next week and the ability to translate posts from all around the world. And that’s not all! Facebook will roll out a new expandable ad option at an advertising conference next week that would make the ads you’re see appear more like recommendations from your friends than an actual ad!

Wednesday brought sadness to the entire world when Apple founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, lost his battle with cancer. Social media sites went crazy with thoughts, prayers and memorials dedicated to a true visionary. Google, Facebook and Disney were just a few of the huge names that honored  Jobs Wednesday and Thursday. There are many ways for you to send your words of mourning and honor about Steve Jobs, but here are some great images courtesy of Mashable of notes in front of the Apple stores.

One final but very exciting social media update is that LinkedIn has finally made it possible for businesses to post updates in a similar format to Facebook. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for a while now and personally think this will do wonders for business pages on the social network. Thanks LinkedIn!

Social Media News of the Week: September 12, 2011

Last week was jam-packed with unveilings from social media giants. From Twitter to Facebook, many new tools and features were shared with users this week.

After much anticipation, Twitter finally revealed their analytics product on September 13. This feature allows publishers to track how many links and tweets are shared, information which was previously only available to advertisers. Also abuzz in the Twitter world is a new advertising feature, which allows brands to inject advertisements into the timelines of “non-followers”. This will be of great value to advertisers, especially since Twitter just announced that it has more than 100 million monthly active users around the world.

Over at Facebook, some changes are in order as well. This week, in an attempt to compete with Google +, Facebook revealed a new look for its “Friend List”. The new design allows users to have greater control over what they share and with whom they share it. Another feature that Facebook promoted this week was subscribing to profiles as opposed to “friending” people. By subscribing to a user’s profile, your newsfeed will show their public status updates and you can decide how much of these updates you would like to receive. This is yet another change in response to Google+.

Do you think changes made to Facebook will keep them more popular than Google+?

Social Media News of the Week: August 29, 2011

Last week was all about the crazy weather and with hurricane Irene still causing damage along the East Coast over the weekend it was still being talked about Monday. Twitter was all a buzz about the storm and someone even created a hurricane Irene Twitter account.

In my opinion the storm that caused the most disasters was this years MTV Video  Music Awards that aired Sunday night. The invitation to attend has to say “Attire: Customes Only” because the outfits were out of control. Lady Gaga came as a man, Beyonce announced her pregnancy and Niki Minaj wore a mask while carry stuffed animals on a chain all night!

It took me a few days to recover from the stupidity that the music industry has turned into and turn my attention to something way more important, football. Thursday was the start of the college football season and I’m patiently (ok not so patiently) waiting for my teams first game tomorrow! The NFL is making a techy move by replacing their playbooks with iPads. I’m sure this will move into college football sooner than later.

Football might be my big plans for the long Labor Day (end of summer) weekend but All Facebook can tell you what everyone else is doing this holiday! We want to hear what your big plans are!

Social Media News of the Week: August 22, 2011

There were two topics this week that you could not escape: crazy weather on the East Coast and Steve Jobs.

Monday afternoon it became apparent that Hurricane Irene would pick up speed and hit the East Coast by today

and tomorrow. My Tweetdeck was flooded with talk of the hurricane hitting Charleston and the damage it could cause. The amazing part of this was that I received more up to date information via Twitter than on the news.

Tuesday brought on more insane weather with the Virginia earthquake that people said they felt in South Carolina AND Indiana. Twitter went insane with talk about the earthquake! Social media for disaster and weather preparedness is really growing and it’s obvious why (blog to come on this next week).

The entire technology world felt an earthquake on Wednesday when Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO due to his health. I personally can’t watch a movie, listen to music, check my email or read a book without thinking about his impact my life and I wish him the best!

Busy week!

Social Media News of the Week: August 15, 2011

Let’s start with Foursquare rolling out tons of updates this week! The check-in giant launched Tip Lists, which allows users to compile tips into a category such as Dining, Entertainment and Bars. Your friends or brand followers can then subscribe to a list and make it their To Do list. We started our first Tip List for a client this week and we really like it.

This week, Foursquare also gave venues the option to create events for users to check-in to. This update is a long time coming and the gang here at Step Ahead has wanted this update for some time now, so we are happy campers! Both updates are awesome but their most talked about update this week is The White House joining the location-based service!

For any of you getting ready for a weekend date, you have to see this hilarious video from Mashable about social media ruining a relationship! If that video just scared you out of your date, don’t worry you can still watch “The Big Lebowski” with them via Facebook! If you do muster up the courage to meet your date face to face, take this advice: If your date leaves you waiting and you’re embarrassed sitting alone, just pretend to text or call someone! Every other young adult does it, so why shouldn’t you?! Have a great weekend!

Social Media News of the Week: August 1, 2011

The week started out with everyone discussing the debt ceiling and this held true for social media as well. Several Twitter hashtags popped up showing the country’s financial frustration, the most popular being #f***youWhiteHouse (we censor on this blog J). President Obama asked all citizens to turn to Twitter and tweet Republican lawmakers to #compromise. This campaign may have backfired a tad since he lost more than 36,000 followers in the process. I’m not sure if it had more to do with people feeling pressure or the fact that in four hours he released some 100 tweets asking people to tweet their GOP representatives.

If this wasn’t enough, Newt Gingrich has been accused of buying most of his Twitter followers. I hate to say this because I love that social media has become such an important part of our lives and politicians are embracing the platform, but COME ON people. There are important issues to address and to me these issues are definitely NOT fake followers and hashtag campaigns.

Enough ranting from me (what do I know, haha) and on to some fun stuff! Twitter has trashed their old version, Foursquare has introduced do-it-yourself business pages and Google+ is sending out their first business page invites today.

Just one last thing: Yesterday we had a food truck in front of our Charleston office and the food was amazing! I now know that they are so huge right now and are all over the social media scene. So blessed that we will have them twice a month from now on!

Lyn Featured in “Get a Handle on Guerrilla Marketing”

Our very own Lyn Mettler was quoted in MSN’s Business on Main, an online community for small businesses. In the article “Get a Handle on Guerrilla Marketing,” Lyn discussed how social media can be a great tool for guerrilla marketing. See what she had to say.

Step Ahead Takes Facebook Step by Step in Charleston Seminar

Convinced your business needs to be on Facebook but not sure HOW to accomplish that? Or, do you have a business Facebook page but you’ve been stuck with only 20 “likers” since you started the page a year ago? Let us walk you through the start up and management, step by step. No convincing you WHY you should use Facebook, we just want to focus on the HOW.

After hosting a broad Charleston Social Media Step by Step seminar this spring, we got lots of requests to spend more time on specific tools, so we’re starting with the king: Facebook!

In two half-day sessions this month, Aug. & Aug. 23, you’ll learn everything from the basics of page set-up and posting etiquette to more advanced information like page customization, Facebook analytics and all about apps. You can attend one or both sessions based on your comfort level in the social media platform! We’re also offering several 30-minute one-on-one sessions after the seminar for those who would like more personal attention.

We love talking about social media and these seminars give us a chance to share some of our Step Ahead secrets to success when it comes to social media management. Seats are limited so make sure to sign up soon! Both sessions will be hosted at the Charleston Digital Corridor Flagship downtown Charleston at East Bay and Calhoun.

Click here to sign up and for complete details. Hope to see you there!

Social Media News of Week: July 18, 2011

I’m feeling crazy today and excited for the weekend so my recap is going to be full of fun updates!

1.For those of you (like me) who grew up watching classic 90’s TV shows like All That, Hey Dude!, Double Dare and Salute Your Shorts, you’re going to freak out when I tell you they are all coming back

Nickelodeon is bringing back these classic programs and many more to their TeenNick channel.                    Although I’m not a teen anymore, I will have no problem tuning in to that channel frequently. My DVR is about to be packed with Legends of the Hidden Temple and GUTS — can’t wait! Vote for your favorite shows here!

2. Rebecca Black the “genius” behind the song “Friday” has come out with her follow up video titled “My Moment” Perfect name, don’t you think? Tell me your thoughts on the video and be sure to check out all the parodies while on YouTube

3. Finally, if you’ve ever read one of my blogs, looked at my Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare you would know I LOVE FOOD and I’m already on the food truck bandwagon like so many others. Tonight there’s a food tuck here in Charleston and I’m thrilled to check out the homemade fruit pops and then Taco Boy truck! In honor of this obsession, check out this great article from Mashable on innovated social media campaigns for food trucks!

Social Media News of the Week: July 4, 2011

This short holiday week was full of announcements! Facebook unveiled video chat powered by Skype! That’s a great idea for Facebook, because now you are able to increase your communication with friends all over without ever leaving the social network. Company pages can’t communicate with their “likers” yet but it’s just a matter of time before that’s an option and I’m sure video ads will be in the future as well!

What you might not know or remember is that MySpace released Skype-powered calls many moons ago in 2007! It’s funny how things don’t seem as cool when someone other than Facebook does them. In this case, many people just think Tom and MySpace were ahead of their time, considering Skype didn’t have the video option quite yet.

Google also released their Facebook competitor, Google+, and it’s getting rave reviews from early adopters and the social media glitterati! Here are 10 testimonials from those who are already registered courtesy of Mashable. We’re giving it a go here at Step Ahead and will have a blog next week detailing our thoughts.

I’m leaving you this week with a few questions: Did anyone follow Obama’s Twitter Town Hall? If so, what were your thoughts? Did anyone else religiously follow the TV show “The Voice” like I did? If you did, then you won’t be surprised that they snagged the title of “most social TV show in June”!

Final question: Who misses 4th of July already? I certainly do mainly because I love fireworks. If you love them like I do, here are a few great Twitter images from Independence Day!

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