It’s time for the last #MMSocialReport of 2016! It has been a crazy but monumental year for social media — in both good ways and bad. In this week’s report: a review of some of the most important social media milestones of 2016, the podcast popularity boom that led to audio-only Facebook Live broadcasts, Snapchat’s newest craze, Twitter’s new 360-degree Periscope live streams, and an insightful analysis of the year’s fake news problem including why you won’t find it on LinkedIn.
In this week’s #MMSocialReport, the world will find out the real truth – are you following your loyal Instagram followers? If not, you’re about to get caught red-handed with Instagram’s latest update, Nielsen takes on the power of social media and begins to crunch real-time data from Facebook and Instagram, and Facebook takes a stand against hate speech. All this, and more in this week’s roundup!
With every widely televised event like the Super Bowl comes a barrage of live tweets taking over your feed. We’re all watching the same thing, yet we feel the need to tell each other about it, too.
But that’s exactly the fun of it – live-tweeting a TV show or award show or sporting event lets you share an experience with people around the country (or world), and it can be pretty enjoyable to read everyone’s opinions and witty remarks.
That is, until The Brands come in. People on social media know when they’re being sold to and we finicky millennials don’t like it, so what marketers have to do is be creative when jumping in to popular conversations. Be part of the conversation, if you insist, rather than trying to dominate it. And don’t be all bold about it, OKAY? But there is a fine line between creativity and simply trying too hard.
Welcome to Twitter, the world’s top short-form social media platform! With over 100,000 users signing up daily, you’re not alone, so don’t be afraid. The “rules” seem tough to learn, and posting may appear to be daunting, but Twitter is fun and welcoming — we promise. But 44% of users sign up for an account and then never tweet. We’re here to fix that. Here are some rules and basic etiquette that every new Twitter user should know:
Between holiday shopping and making vacation plans, your mind has probably been in a million different directions this past week. If social media news has been the last of your thoughts, no worries! We’ve rounded up a few useful posts you may have missed, covering news and new features from your favorite apps.
Remember our all encompassing, sightly mind-blowing round-up of who to follow on Twitter in Boston? If not, we highly suggest clicking HERE to see who made the cut, and then clicking HERE to subscribe to that list on Twitter.
Don’t worry, we won’t say the word “click” again.
Well, since the birth of that list, we’ve reached out to our Twitter pros in hopes that they’d break off a piece of their social media wisdom. Below you’ll find the results: a magnificent cornucopia of tips, advice, and general online community wizardry, all available at your disposal.
So go ahead — read up and tweet out. Because when it comes to Twitter, it’s totally awesome to follow, but it’s totally awesomer to lead.
Oh, and that promise about no more clicking? We take it back. CLICK AWAY!
In 2014, it isn’t weird to have Internet friends… so why not have Internet parties?
That’s actually a thing on Twitter. Not to be confused with a tweetup (an in-person meet up with fellow tweeps), a Twitter party is a virtual “party” hosted in real-time on the Twitter platform, most commonly by a company or influencer to build brand awareness. Many are even moderated by an expert panelist. Given a particular topic, a hashtag is determined and announced prior to the event’s scheduled date/time.
For example, @ResourcefulMom mediated a discussion with @Entenmanns on National Donut Day, using donut giveaways as an incentive while spreading awareness about their donuts and the brand’s charitable efforts toward Salvation Army.
Question 8: How do you prefer to enjoy donuts? Quick breakfast treat? Afternoon snack? #EntenmannsDonuts
— Amy Lupold Bair (@ResourcefulMom) June 6, 2014
Seems cool, yes? And simple. And harmlessly beneficial. HOWEVER… When brands involve contests and/or giveaways in their Twitter parties (which is pretty often), they may possibly be directly or indirectly violating the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s rules when using the social platform to promote their brand(s)/product(s).
Nate Brown of @middlesexlounge has a lot to do. He’s the face and voice of one of Boston’s hottest bars and lounges that features regular live music and performances – so how does one juggle all of that and not sound like a robot? It’s no easy task, but Brown didn’t make our “Who to Follow” list for nothing! We asked for some advice.
1. Have social media be a part of someone’s job. not an afterthought or addendum to someone’s job. If its a marketing person, it should be one of the main duties.
2. Engage people, even if it’s a Foursquare check-in or you’re hashtagged and not directly communicated with, reply or retweet.
3. Cut down on links. More links away from Twitter make it a pain in the ass, and not all links are worth it clicking away for.
4. Give as much info as possible in 140 characters. Is it an event? Offer the time, date, cover fee, type of music/ artist, etc.
5. Have something worth reading. If you read your own tweets as if they were from a completely unknown account, would you follow that account?
MC Slim JB may sound like the name of your newest favorite Boston-based rapper, but in reality, he’s so much cooler than that. The local restaurant critic writes reviews for the Improper Bostonian and plenty other publications, all the while happily tweeting about food, Boston, and more. And if you were wondering, no, he is NOT the cat in his Twitter avatar. Find more Food & Drink Twitter accounts at our list of Who to Follow in Boston!
1. Find a niche and stick to it. Probably 85% of my comments relate to Boston food and drink, with a sprinkling of national food/drink stuff thrown in. That’s why people follow me.
2. Credit your sources, ideally with their Twitter handles. It’s not nice to pirate ideas. Nobody expects you to come up with original content all the time; they follow you because they take some interest in what you find interesting. So point them to cool, funny, interesting stuff besides your own; just tell people where you found it.
3. Go easy with the Tweeting of photos of what you’re eating. That dish might indeed be awesome, but if you’re like me, your smartphone-based photo of it is probably pretty pitiful, and maybe not doing the chef or restaurant such a great favor.
4. Be wary of reporting rumors, especially restaurant closings. False rumors can hurt a business and its workers. Better to be scooped than to get the facts wrong. Nobody cares if you got the news out first, anyway.
5. If you’re going to lob a dart at somebody in the industry for their self-aggrandizement, dumb restaurant name, horrifying marketing campaign, or shady business practices, consider using satire over sanctimony. For most readers, it’s more fun to see a scoundrel or ninny ridiculed than scolded.
They say “attitude is everything,” which means that John Romard (aka @BostonAttitude) is everything Boston. Follow his account for tweets about “Living, Working, Playing in Boston!!” BA’s on our “General Boston” Twitter list for Who To Follow on Twitter in Boston, because, well, if you live in Boston, you better be following him!
Here are @BostonAttitude’s tweeting tips:
1. Pick something you know about to talk about.
2. Be consistent with the content in your posts. I tweet about Boston and major events. I try to keep my content honest, accurate and current.
3. Have fun and work with others, it’s not competition.
4. Never give up or get discouraged. You don’t build a following overnight.