Facebook is notorious for changing its facade every now and then. However, the realization comes sooner that each step taken promises something better. For example, the latest design on Facebook is an attempt to make Facebook an exceptional experience on mobiles. While there is a certain section of users who resist and disapprove of the new look, the majority has been wise to support the platform.

That said, Facebook is not the only social media platform that allows change. Google Plus is another that has come far. Joining the league is Reddit. It’s surprising; however it is a fact that there was a huge jump in the site experienced in its unique visitors last month. The total number that the unique visitor slot held last month touched a whopping 71 million. As Reddit continues to grow, the need for modifying its structure that can cope with user experience is felt even more.

With Multi-reddits, the platform tried to up its performance. The Multi-reddits are Reddits way of introducing customization on the platform. Moreover, they are extremely use-friendly. Also known as subreddits, Multi-reddits are nothing but a way of grouping individual forums that are found on Reddit. Now even multi-reddits have become a passé. The focus is on moving customization to organized customization. The entire process is supposedly about to witness an overhaul. Much like what Facebook did with its ‘appearance’, Reddit too is preparing to face a facelift. There will soon by an altogether different way of showcasing the multi-reddits. Streamlining of the processes is due too. The new changes are focused on making Reddit more ‘Tablet’ and ‘Mobile’ friendly. Like every time, the Reddit community has reacted quite negatively to the change. That, however, isn’t an indicator of failure. Let’s wait and watch what the new Reddit has got!

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Word of Mouth marketing has stuck around since ages. No one knows when and how it originated, but every time you hear your mom spread the word around about how delicious her new recipe has turned out to be, you get reminded of the marketing technique. The only difference between WOM then and WOM now is that the medium of spreading the word has changed.

A few years back your mom would talk about her new recipe during kitty parties. Now, she talks about them via Facebook, Twitter, and Google Hangouts. How very interesting, isn’t it? Does it mean that social media marketing is nothing but WOM with the V for virtual replacing the W for word? As far as the following similarities are concerned, yes; however, not entirely:

• What to Talk About : Every social media marketer, just like a WOM pro, will think of something about the  product/service to talk about. For example, if your mom is talking about her recent recipe, she won’t just talk about how well it turned out. She will also give little details like whether the recipe is a snack, a dessert, or a drink. An added advantage that social media gives her is to pin up the picture of her recipe and feel like a chef!

• Who To Talk With :Believe it or not, but your mom knows all the secrets to becoming the talk of the town. She knows the foodies amongst her friends. Yes, even at the times when WOM was hotter than SMM, she would know whom to target with her food delights. Now that she has the World Wide Web and Social Media platforms to her aid, she targets ‘groups’ and ‘likers’ like a boss!

• Who Will Talk About Us/The Product/The Service : Every marketer knows the originating point of gossips. They also know who nourishes and cherishes talking about ‘the latest’. WOM pros and Social Media Marketers are great with figuring out the target audience and early adopters too. You’ll never find yourself tensed about finding their way to the right audience.

• Why Would Anyone Talk About (Us/Me/Service/Product)

Well, this is something that both WOM and SMM professionals are always caught up thinking about. It’s their work after all. They have to understand the nature of the object that they are marketing. Only then will they be able to make the best out of WOM and social.

Last but not the least, the key to WOM and social is all about putting the communication across in the right manner, leaving no scope for misunderstandings.

Image Courtesy: edudemic.com

Here is a fact – and that too, a statistically proven one – “70% of consumers trust recommendations from their friends and family, a whopping 92% trust the opinions posted by other consumers online”, publishes Forbes. I am surprised, aren’t you? But those who have been there done that, would literally be laughing it off. The pros know that out of those 92% that the real users trust, 60% is a trap. Those 60% make the world go round, at least the virtual one. Those 60% comprise the force that work towards creating or belittling a firm’s online reputation.

What’s the Deal? How Online Reputation Management Happens

In its simplest, ORM is just like competition. You pull someone down to get to the top. In a way its economic – just like the free of the economy, on the basis of certain factors, a winner emerges from absolutely nowhere. And if you still haven’t got it, think PR.

ORM is all about pushing the bad stuff about your company down and inflating the good stuff in the virtual world. It’s just like saying that you scored total 7.7 GPA in your annual, pushing down the fact that you scored a D in Economics (guess what no one really knows how much you scored in which subject). You passed with a distinction and that’s what you should leverage on.

With ORM it is all about getting your content and information on the first page of Google. Solely that can earn you a good amount of organic traffic. Plus, no one is going to read what is being written about you on the third page of Google, unless it’s SEOed too well. However, what most people know is how to positively promote. Only a handful of them are able to cut through the negative hype being created.

Why ORM is Important?

It is believed that just like dreams, if you don’t control your brand online, someone else will. Let us quickly look at how online reputation management helps you with. There are basically four things that ORM helps you with: enhancing search results, enriching snippets, personalizing search, and boosting universal search.

The stakeholders of ORM comprise consumers, business partners, marketers, journalists, coworkers and last but not the least, your personal contacts. If done correctly, ORM can be the key to the success of your business.

No one knows when and how Pinterest became a social media site for the fair and the homely( not literally). Probably it had something to do with the marketing and product positioning, but it’s kind of difficult to understand the kind of stereotype that surrounds Pinterest. Men don’t want to be associated with something that has everything to do with pictures and posters. They don’t want to be a part of the kitty party planners and home decors. But isn’t that exactly why Pinterest was created – so that men don’t have to be a part of the girlie rigmaroles. There is, however, a reason to argue that that Pinterest is a gender neutral social media platform. You just have to be creative enough to find your place, five of which are listed as follows:

1. Memes: For those who don’t know what memes are – ‘y u no Google memes’. Surprising one of the top most searched queries on the Internet pertains to these funny little one lines. From hilarious to sarcastic, memes are Pinterest classics, for guys to flaunt their collection unabashedly.
2. Motivation: You don’t really have to be a sucker for sib stories, but motivational pins sell well on the platform. They will get you a lot of fan following, especially from the opposite sex. Even if it is just about the impression, your motivational pins will not fail to do the trick.
3. Gaming: Let’s face it; games work like a magnet on any guy. Even at 40, you’ll see them happily speeding their car in a video game and beating anyone who tries to temper with them. Pinterest is a great platform to search and organize the games that you wish to get your hands on. Put in some extra effort and you might get a whole bunch of buddies to play with via Pinterest.
4. Food: Needless to say, food cannot be categorized on the basis of gender. For the men who love to treat their taste buds and try classic cuisines every now and then, Pinterest is a delectable platform.

Once you are there, pinning-up interesting ideas and jokes on boards, it will be an experience worth changing your mind, or at least your opinions.

Image Courtesy : wordpress.com

Webinars may seldom be charming. However, they are the most widely recognized application of business to virtual space. The ball got rolling with globalization driving internet and social media towards business virtualization.

Professionals work online, train online, and worry more about online reputation management than about the relations that they share with their colleagues. Within all this, webinars consume a significant and vital space. Let’s face it though; they are boring and unbearable to the extent of torturing. Moreover, they seem like a one way ‘forced’ conversation. Since they are obviously ultimately boring they don’t have a great success rate. How do you turn the tables then, and make them one of the best ways to capture audience interest? Here are a few tips:

Bring Out the Blog: Pre webinar blog posts often give people a fine idea about what the webinar would entail. They work like an energizer and motivator.  Keep the blog crisp and concise. Don’t give out the details here. The blog will serve as a guide or a manual to evoke participation in the webinar.

Focus on Industry Updates: A webinar without current industry updates is like stale bread. You can’t make anything out of it. Facts and figures are important; and so are trends. Even if there is nothing interesting to talk about, the way you present the numbers can make the whole difference. Invite people to comment on the trends and talk about what they think about progress. Ask them if they see progress happening, or otherwise.

Understand Audience Behaviour: People are likely to pay attention to other social media platforms, happily chatting their time away if they encounter even a bit of boredom during a webinar. Analyzing and understanding audience behaviour and reaction is a way of predicting feedback. Mock webinars can help you get more accurate results.

As the adage goes – first impressions are the last impressions – so is the case with webinars too. A welcome slide for the webinar should hook the audience. Your half the job is done there and then, is it? No! You need to proceed in an equally engaging manner to make your webinar a hit.

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It was just a year ago that Facebook introduced Facebook Timeline as a brand new concept. It was a concept that people either did not understand at all or misunderstood to a large extent. Now that most accept and admire the Timeline for its utility and beauty, Facebook is up to introducing a new change.

The focus is on making your profile visually more appealing. You might revolt against the change though, for it is difficult to accept all formats, designs and structures that Facebook introduces. However, you can’t deny that you are desperate to know the reason why what is being done, is being done. It’s time again, to brace yourself up for another face-lift brought to you by none other than Facebook. Here are a few things that the new Facebook brings for you:

The New News Feed

Facebook as a social media platform is moving towards becoming truly digital and smart. An important aspect of the new design is on the News Feed. The improved version of the News Feed is going to be more like a newspaper. Everything will be arranged and sorted in a chronological manner. On the basis of the posts and articles that you have liked before, Facebook will suggest trending topics that might be of interest to you. It was in 2011 that Facebook started working on News Tweaks. Finally, it has come up with a better strategy.

Bigger and Better

Facebook is trying to bring a bigger and better visual experience to its users. The maps, the photos, the images – everything that is a part of visual appeal will be bigger in size. The central focus, however, will be on pictures, videos and other creatives. Here is a piece of good news for those who wish that nothing about the cover image changes – Facebook has not made any change to the format of the cover photo feature.

Graph Search Header

Those who are wondering about the recently introduced graph search should be happy to know that the new Facebook will allow its users to use the Graph Search option.

Conclusion

Are looks everything to the new Facebook design, you might ask. The answer to your question is definitely a ‘No’. With its new design Facebook wishes to prepare for a large mobile market that lies ahead. Are you game for the change?

Image courtesy encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

It’s an alluring development – the onset of a social network. Just a decade or so back, the homosapien race was merely social. Today, it is one that is actively networked. Definitely, the progress is rational. However, like behavioural psychology would point out, there are a few who limit their social interactions.

Take the quiz to know some fun facts about your social networking persona! 

A. How Often Do You Check Your Facebook Account?

1. That’s the only place I am reachable 24*7
2. Every morning, afternoon and evening
3. Maybe once a week
4. I don’t have a Facebook account. Does it surprise you?

B. How many social media platforms are you registered with?

1. Almost every that I’ve StumbledUpon
2. At least those that my friends are on
3. Just the one or two popular ones
4. The ones that promise a career

C. What’s a hash tag for you?

1. It’s my key to trend on Twitter
2. I see something like that on Facebook when friends mention a one-liner
3. It’s a symbol on the phone that I sometimes use
4. I don’t know, may be it stands for Number, as in #1

D. What’s your Favourite Facebook activity?

1. I just like the activities on Facebook, each and every one
2. A few like Criminal Case and Chatting
3. Updating my profile and Uploading pics
4. I think it’s all a waste of time

Result time

If you chose most 1s ..you are the Social Monkey – Having a merry time on every branch of social media, with a bunch of crazy chums

If you chose most 2s…you are the Web Hawk – Like a referee you’d rather watch than participate

If you chose most 3s…you are the Net Pet – Happy to hang around for a bit to have a good time

If you chose most 4s…you are Social Hermit – Living aloof, never in a rush to catch up

And please do post your results in the comments box below!

(Image courtesy encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com)

Colours – They remind you of two things – the joyous festival of holi; and, the uninterrupted, essential variety of life. Take for example social media. There is absolutely no dearth of variety in the purpose and usage of these platforms. You have the red queen Pinterest, Blue bird Twitter, a blue and white journal Facebook, and many more ways of keeping entertained. Social Media indeed is motley of interesting ideas to draw from. Each platform, however, has a USP. The confluence of connectivity with social media is an interesting development that the Internet has witnessed.

The world today enjoys many facets of this platform. There are innumerable social media platforms waiting to be explored. Not just that – there is a lot that you can do with and on each of those platforms. Even though you are doing a number of things on social media, there are a number of activities that you can take up of which you don’t even have an inkling of idea about. Finding a job, learning a language, chatting, dating, keeping in touch – all can be done through a single social media platform. Here are some variants of is worldwide usage:

• From Black Churches to Everyday businesses, every organization makes use of social media in a manner that suits them. Have you ever heard about a court room trial being tweeted about? That’s what Courier-Post did once.
• Another important aspect of social media is that it thrives on change. Since technology is the base of every social media activity, a small change in technology can open a number of avenues in the periphery of social media.
• Varied social media platforms are suitable for laptops and desktops. With the invention of smart phones, using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest on phone has become feasible.

While the four main slices of the social media pie can be divided into video updates, test updates, photo updates, and content updates, there are many other things that social media has made possible.  Think Farmville for example; apart from the fun and enjoyment that it provides, the game teaches a lot of farming. With social media, be a little creative and a lot creative, to realize all the facets of the platforms.

Image courtesy seelevel.com

P.S. this is not to say that Google isn’t already leading.

A lot is expected from Google in 2013. With Facebook changing its search strategy it is expected that Google with unveil its new tactics as well. Till that happens (if it really has to) let us look at what the markets contemplate:

1. An Unbeatable Google+ - Even though Google+ is well developed and has a number of uses, n one has really bothered to use it till date. Add-ons and upgrades are expected in Google+ this year and so is a better marketing strategy. For those who don’t know Google + is already considered far better than Facebook in certain categories. In 2013 users want to be the cream of social media. Maybe till date Google + has not been able to make a mark because it is trying to capture an audience that has.
2. Google Growth - In 2012 Google grew both in size and in operations. In 2013 it has to keep up to its expansion plans. The industry expects Google to own the companies that it acquired in the year gone by.
3. Better Awareness about Google+ - It’s sad that a remarkable innovation like Google+ is going waste because no one understands its purpose clearly. It’s not just a social networking site; it’s a social backplane service. The larger goal is to connect the data from all around the world and not just the people. The smaller agenda is to enhance information sharing.
4. Android 5.0 - The world wants a better android in 2013 and wants Google to beat the rest in coming up with the change. To stop the world from turning away from the Android fever Google will have to innovate in time.

The Internet is a pretty place to delve in. And 2013 will bring many more interesting features to keep busy with the net. Industry trends point out that there is a bigger and better on the cards. Will it be Google all the way in 2013?

Image courtesy hresources1.news.com.au

Gone are the days when communication was said to be effective if it qualified to the 7 C’s parameters viz. completeness, conciseness, clarity, concreteness, courtesy, and correctness. In marketing essence, communication needs to leave an impression. Speaking particularly about the content writing industry, communication is much more than interaction (and the way your do it); it is about reader psychology.

We list the new parameters of communications as follows:

• Affability: We would like to mention again that we mention the rules of communication in this blog strictly with respect to writing. So, the affability rule is applicable here because, believe it or not, the user gets to know your interest levels in the subject by the way your write. Now by affability we do not mean that you use smileys wherever possible, but make intelligent use of humor and niceness wherever you can.
• Awareness: The purpose of the content should be to “make aware”. Remember, people are looking for new events, findings and freshness (Even if it is about the same old thing).Make them aware about the new and they are likely to keeping on your site for more interesting information.
• Assumptions: Assuming and anticipating the audience is critical to writing. Moreover, it is only when you perceive a particular target market for your work that you will be able to write as per their preferences. It is a golden rule of writing and communication: to write as they like!
• Attitude: Every work of writing has an attitude, which gives it a personality. Positive or negative, apprehensive or confident, casual or friendly, these are only a few examples of the attitudes of communication.

Having listed the various parameters of communication we also need to make readers aware that writing this list is not inclusive. The scope of communication cannot be summed in a few points; and, they are just measures for ensuring quality.

Image courtesy designcontest.com