Social Media Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Wellons Communications

Taylor Swift: Always In The Spotlight

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Wellons team

Taylor Swift is everywhere. She’s won countless music awards, her songs play on almost all radio stations and her photos can be found online and in magazines. Clearly, she’s hard to miss.

Now it seems that Swift keeps getting into disagreements with other fellow musicians, such as Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, although her feud with the former is ongoing.

So what’s the big deal? Why do people keeping “picking” on Swift? Are these musicians really jealous of her and her achievements? Or is there something underneath all the flustering?

Could it all be due to a typical Hollywood hoax, to stir up public attention for these artists?

No information has been found to support such a theory, but the constant “hate” Swift gets seems somewhat intentional and timed.

For example, recently Nicki Minaj posted a tweet in which it was very apparent she was talking about Taylor Swift. Katy Perry decided to quickly jump in with a tweet to not so subtly offend Swift. Swift then responded by sending a tweet of her own basically denouncing Minaj for what she said. Minaj again tweeted a response to Swift saying that she wasn’t actually talking about Taylor and that she was still in her good graces, and Swift did the same. All in the same day.

These ladies all have PR teams who monitor everything they wear, say or do, so wouldn’t these professionals stop them whenever these stars post controversial tweets or photos?

Or is it all part of the plan?

Every time a celebrity gets into a feud with another celebrity, it always becomes news. These “feuds” garner public attention, as well as admirers. Everyone loves a good show, and these situations provide just that: a good show!

If this were true, their PR teams show that they know what “sells”. They know how to get the public’s attention and keep it. This is an important skill for any PR professional. These artists’ PR teams know who they are targeting and will give them exactly what they want. Likewise, in other types of PR, it is also crucial that professionals know their target audiences and give them what they like, in the manner that want it, i.e. social media to reach millennials and younger generations.

Donald Trump: Promoting his Brand

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Wellons team

We’re all aware of the media circus surrounding Donald Trump these past few weeks. It seems that every day Trump makes yet another statement offending a specific group or person, such as those towards illegal immigrants and John McCain. Just yesterday he read aloud Republican presidential opponent, Senator Lindsey Graham’s private cell phone number. Traditional PR would condemn such practices, especially when a prospective candidate is trying to make a name for himself in the political arena; however, according to several political polls such as the Washington Post-ABC News polls, he is currently the GOP frontrunner.

People Love A Good Show

As a part of a good PR strategy, one must be able to attain and keep the public’s attention. No doubt Trump is doing that. His controversial statements seem to occur more and more frequently as time moves forward, ensuring that he is in the news constantly. All this attention is contributing to his early support.

Donald Trump is a business man. He knows how to market his products and services well. He knows how to promote his brand. He has been able to keep himself in the public spotlight for many years, which is no small feat.

And while the Trump route is not the recommended path, it seems to be working for him for the moment.

The real question is will Trump’s recognition as a prospective political candidate for 2016 continue to increase? Or has he peaked in popularity?

New Facebook Videos Will Generate Ad Revenue

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Wellons team

Four million users a day watch videos on Facebook. The social media site now wants to cash in and more aggressively compete with Google Inc.’s YouTube.

Facebook announced a revenue sharing model this week similar to YouTube’s where they will share ad revenue with video creators in a move, according to the Wall Street Journal, designed to attract more polished content and more ads. If successful, Facebook is a more daunting threat to the Google owned online video site.

While many people are mesmerized by family moments and funny animal stories, the Titans of digital media clearly see your videos as a strong revenue stream. Interesting fact to note: smart phones are the source of 65% of all video views on Facebook.

For more details on the changing landscape of what you’re seeing online go to Fortune.

Tracking the Invisible – Analytics for Social Media Images

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Wellons team

Social media has become increasingly more image-based. This fact can be attributed to why platforms like Instagram and Vine are increasingly on the rise. Here are some quick stats:

According to 2014 research published on eMarketer, photos accounted for 75% of content posted by Facebook pages worldwide.
Photos and images are also the most engaging type of content on Facebook, with 87% interaction from fans.
For Twitter, adding a photo URL to your tweet can boost retweets by 35%.

Knowing this is great for content marketers. However, for those attempting to track mentions from followers and engage their brand in the conversation, this is a challenge.

How do you find a great post to “regram” on Instagram if no one tags or adds a #YourBrandHere to their post? How do you respond to customers on Twitter who don’t include your handle? How do you respond to Facebook users who don’t post directly to your page? How do you track the analytics to show your boss that social media is worth the time?

Nearly 85% of posts that contain a logo contain either no text or no text that is relevant to your brand, according to Brian Kim, director of product management for ad-tech startup GumGum.

If the visual elements going on social media largely elude the tracking and analytics brands use to keep tabs on what people are saying, how can we give an accurate picture to our clients about what’s being said about them?

Our recommendations:

Enter the new social media analytics platform, Mantii. This platform is an offshoot of GumGum. Mantii looks for all or part of brand logos contained in social media posts, whether they mention the brand in text or not.

Another method is to track your own images being shared through a reverse Google Image search. Google’s search by image can easily give you the information you need about your own pictures being shared by others.

A final method is to use the platform Curalate. Curalate applies image-recognition algorithms to social media platforms, much like Mantii. However, this platform is officially recognized by Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.

Have you used, or plan to use any of these platforms? Or are you using a different platform to track your images? Let us know in the comments.

ICYMI – Social Media Platforms Widening Advertising Options

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Wellons team

Instagram introduces carousel ads, Pinterest expanding promoted pins

In case social media advertising and marketing wasn’t complicated enough, more platforms are expanding their promoted content offerings. Instagram and Pinterest are both expanding their promoted content services, and they are both making their advertisement options unique.

Instagram:

Earlier this month, Instagram introduced their new idea for promoted content: “Carousel Ads.”

Carousel ads give brands using promoted content advertising more flexibility in telling their stories. Viewers of these ads will be able to swipe left to see additional images and link to a website of the brands choice. Instagram says that this will “bring the potential of multi-page print campaigns to mobile phones.”

The new kind of ad will allow advertisers to be more creative. For example, a fashion company could deconstruct the individual pieces in a “look” and link to where potential customers could by them.

Click-through links give advertisers another way to drive traffic to their website and drive sales.

Pinterest:

Our Pinterest home-feeds have become flooded with Promoted Pins.

As of the first of this year, Promoted Pins became widely available to advertisers. These pins are paid for by advertisers and appear in the dashboard of users that match the advertisers’ brand’s interests and relevant search results. Much like Facebook, Pinterest allows you to target your promoted pins and uses analytics so advertisers can see how their campaign is going.

Now, Pinterest claims that Promoted Pins perform just as well and sometimes better than organic pins, and that brands across all industries saw results. But if your consumer base is anything like this blogger, they will have nixed most of the “Pins Based on Your Wedding/Food/Style Board” pins in no time flat.

Time will only tell how well Promoted Pins does and whether it’s worth investing in. In the meantime, we’ll be watching for more research.

On a related note, Pinterest said that their Auction-based Promoted Pins (CPC), or cost-per-click model is seeing impressive results for their beta users. However, they’re not quite through working out the kinks, and it’s not ready for mass use.

So if you didn’t have enough on your plate with Facebook’s ever-changing algorithms and advertising options, we’ve just added two more to your list. Do you think these options are viable for your business? How do you plan on keeping up with different social media platforms?

The Dress, swords and truths about viral promises

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Wellons team

First of all, let me state my position: the dress is white and gold. My daughter insists the dress is blue and black – but I’m convinced otherwise.

The dress is the latest viral sensation – it was the talk of my office and even hit my sport talk radio station. What goes viral in digital media is anybody’s guess. And anyone who tells you they know for sure what it takes for something to go viral is telling stories.

Did you think 16 hours ago the color of dress would be Internet and social media buzz? Be wary of promises and big guarantees from marketing gurus and digital media experts.

With the media – whether traditional press or social – nothing is a certainty. Anyone who has worked for a city editor or news director knows that.

This week a story took off for Ripley Entertainment about a pregnant sword swallower who will perform in Dallas as the National Sword Swallower Day February 28. A nifty graphic helps tell the story.

Unusual stories, such as sticking a steel blade down your throat, have a good chance of catching an editors’ eye. But what is considered newsworthy or buzz-worthy is always changing and always fickle –again just look at the dress.

Maybe it is blue and black. Never mind, I am sticking to my position: the dress is white and gold.

“There is a permanent record today and it is called the Internet”

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Wellons team

Privacy is a commodity. In today’s world dominated by the Internet, anything and everything can be posted instantaneously and shared with millions in mere seconds. David from “David After Dentist” would agree. However, privacy concerns are no laughing matter. Vigilance should be taken to ensure that the next breaking news scandal that hits the front page of Yahoo does not revolve around you, which is why we’re shaking our heads at Mitt Romney this week.

After secretly recorded comments from a private Boca Raton fundraiser leaked of Mitt Romney saying that 47% of Americans are victims dependent on the government, we can’t help but wonder why the aspiring President would vocally disparage almost half of his country. Here’s a tip for you Mitt Romney: if you are running for President, everything you say and do WILL be held against you in the court of public opinion, thanks to the Internet. The video was leaked to the press, and now everyone from Jon Stewart to Diane Sawyer is spreading the remarks to their audiences; meanwhile the Mitt Romney campaign has spun its gears to full-on damage control.

Another unfortunate recent example of the royal lack of privacy today comes from an Italian magazine publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton. The Duchess of Cambridge was simply enjoying a sunbathing session on a secluded French chateau getaway when a paparazzi photographer captured the scene. Now, the British royal family is taking the matter to court with hopes to stop further publications from printing the photos, but you can’t take back what has already been done. Amazing what a zoom lens and internet connection can do to the public image of a Princess.

Even the common person is not immune to the repercussions of online activity. Everything that you post, from Facebook cover photos to the latest Tweet about what you had for dinner, becomes fair game when you click “publish.” Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and lawyer for high-profile defendants, says that young people nowadays don’t seem to value privacy. “They put stuff on Facebook that 15 years from now will prevent them from getting the jobs they want,” he said. “They don’t understand that they are mortgaging their future for a quick laugh from a friend.”

And that’s nothing to laugh about.

Mac users steer to more expensive hotels on Orbitz

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Wellons team

Many Mac users are fanatical about their computer and are willing to pay extra to own the brand.

Those same Mac users apparently also like to spend a little more on hotel rooms. The online travel agency Orbitz says Mac users spend as much as 30 percent more than PC users on the average hotel booking. The Wall Street Journal reports that the online travel service is showing Mac users more expensive properties.

Orbitz is experimenting with showing different hotel offers to Mac and PC visitors. The move is raising eyebrows and attracting front-page attention. The online travel agency is following a growing trend using predictive analytics to target potential buyers. Orbitz is quick to point out that both Mac and PC users can still rank hotels by price if they wish.

Companies used to just track what websites were being looked at, now they are tracking what computing system are being use.

Budget conscious Mac users should be cautious. Orbitz is likely to begin using the same algorithms to show rental cars and airline flights.

For PC users – especially those with broken hinges on their three-year-old laptop – expect to see more budget-friendly options on the front page of your online travel agency.