There are many trending topics happening this week.  I could discuss this year’s best Super Bowl ad.  The return of Ferris Bueller – hands down, am I right?  Seriously... I think I’ll just watch FBDO for the 1,000^th time on Sunday instead of the Super Bowl.  Why aren’t my days off half as glamorous as that one?  Must be the car…

Anyways, today I’ll be talking about Infographics.  Infographics are everywhere.  Just go on Mashable and every other entry contains an Infographic.  There are Infographics about what people look up on Facebook, how we use Twitter, the economy, the election…there are even infographics about infographics...lots of them

Wouldn’t all this information be better presented in a list?  I know you’d love that Dave….

Some people just love Infographics.... here's what Blue Wheel Media says about them:

"Infographics have the ability to transform a boring collection of statistics, facts and figures, into a stunning masterpiece that you won't be able to keep to yourself.  Upon finding a great infographic, the reader is overcome with a thrill of discovery - almost like an adrenaline rush, triggering desire to share."

So if this is true, how can you apply this latest trend to your business and have the biggest impact with your documents?  If I had any design talent, I would create my own infographic with pie charts, symbols, squiggly lines and shiny colours, but I’ll just have to do a list

People respond to visuals – so don’t be too texty.

Keep it short

People are busy, we have lots of things to do and we get distracted easily.  So if you want us to read your quarterly sales report, keep it short…because after page 1, I’ll be bouncing over to YouTube or checking out Perez Hilton.

And it the same vein:

Keep it simple

Avoid jargon, fancy abbreviations or acronyms.  Don’t use 4 words when 1 would suffice.  Forget complicated – use simple, direct, easy-to-understand words that every single one of your audience will get.  No one wants to feel condescended to when reading that ubiquitous sales pitch. Indubitably!

Don’t just dress it up, back it up

See what I did there? Very tongue in cheek (if I do say so myself). 

This blog is a combination rant,commentary and airing of grievances all in one. As part of my daily research to keep up-to-date with all things social, digital and PR, I go through a bookmarked list of blogs that feature the latest posts related to said areas of interest. I then check my Twitter lists to see what the important people are Tweeting about. Since Twitter is a great sharing platform I figure any worthwhile stories, blogs and articles will eventually be tweeted. 

And I must report that I have noticed an annoying trend. Let me know if you see it:

• 5 Tips for First Time Managers
• 5 Ways Social Media is like a Networking Event 
• 5 Facts You Didn't Know About Facebook Edge Rank
• 7 Reasons Every Job Seeker Should Have a Blog
• 11 Things That Annoy Journalists and Bloggers

Apple made an announcement yesterday, the first since the passing of Steve Jobs, rolling out their latest initiative ‘iBooks’ the digital textbook.

Job’s, a college drop out, dreamed up this idea early in his career but was always cynical of the educational market’s participation. He believed there had to be a better option than the often outdated textbook in every classroom. “Textbooks were just waiting to be transformed,” said Jobs “Not only were they dull and sometimes outdated, they were heavy (just ask any seventh-
grader with a backpack full of them).”

This will certainly revolutionize the way students learn, both young and old. Virtual textbooks will allow for ever-changingdiversity in learning materials and new avenues for those with unique learning styles.

Can you imagine a textbook that changes as the world changes, brilliant!

Connie Burke

I thought for my inaugural blog post as the newest Account Manager at Infinity Communications, I’d talk about something that I find absolutely fascinating, especially in light of some recent events that happened this weekend: #trending.

#trending might sound a little complex but not to worry, it really isn’t.  It simply means that many people are talking about a given topic through Twitter at a greater rate than other topics, so the topic becomes singled out…and trends. 

Twitter has changed the communication landscape.  People can get breaking news the second it happens, as long as they are on Twitter.   Nobody has to wait for it to be reported in that evening’s news broadcast or in tomorrow’s newspaper (I can’t even imagine waiting that long to get news anymore).  Everything is instant.  Then people talk about it and then more people will talk about it and before you know it, the topic is now trending.

These days, trending is now a goal.  I get inundated with twitter messages asking me to retweet something to get it trending.  Sometimes I participate, most times I don’t.  To me, it’s the same thing as spam.  Once in my news feed, there was a message about a girl who had passed away and her wish was to become a trending topic, so pls RT! – hashtag sad.  Obviously they didn’t read the rules about Trending Topics from Twitter’s Help Centre:

This past weekend, we had two big trending topics in the Twitter-verse, #tebow and #BlueIvy.

#tebow was trending in a big way this weekend after Tim Tebow’s and the Denver Bronco’s game-winning OT performance in Sunday’s NFL game.  Twitter exploded with everyone talking about this game…to the point that it made records.  It became the 2^nd highest Tweet Per Second topic ever with 9,420 tweets going out each second about Tebow and the game.  That is over 565,000 tweets per minute! 

(FYI the highest Tweet per second topic was ‘Castle in the Sky’, a Japanese anime movie that had 25,088 tweets per second… I can’t even wrap my head around how many tweets per minute that is – over 1.5 million!)

Now Tebow has become a bit of a social media phenomenon, with his touchdown stance of kneeling to thank God becoming a trend in itself.  All you need to do is google #tebowing and you can see all the websites, the blogs, the YouTube videos, the t-shirts and all the photos uploaded with Instagram of people copying the stance.

#BlueIvy... In case you haven’t heard, Beyonce and Jay-Z became parents this weekend!  Beyonce gave birth to her daughter and named her Blue Ivy Carter.  It’s worth noting that when Beyonce announced her pregnancy, she placed third in the Tweet Per Second record books with 8,868 tweets per second on the topic, so it’s well established that Beyonce has a powerful brand and a heavy following. 

Within seconds of the birth announcement, #BlueIvy was trending and with that came all of the critiques and conspiracy theories about the baby’s name.…in the past 48 hours since she was born, several more trending topics have emerged: #B.I.C., #Glory – after the song Jay-Z released commemorating the birth, #whatIwouldnameBeyoncesbaby.  This baby is already famous and she’s only two days old!

Now it’s all in good fun talking about the latest pop-culture topics in social media, but what does this mean for your business?

Well first of all, if your business isn’t already set up on Twitter, DO IT NOW!!  Get your voice out there, connect with people and start conversations with your target demographic and key players in your industry! 

Get people talking about your business by posting relevant, engaging content and interacting with your followers.  Talk about your business' products and services, promotions, calls to action.  Keep your eye out for the negative and do your best to diffuse any situation and turn your foes into fans.

REMEMBER– be strategic and careful with the messaging that you post.  As easily as positive messages can go viral and trend like #tebow and #BlueIvy, the not-so-positive messages can trend just as fast and just as much.  And the last thing you want is to be associated with a controversial, trending message.

Leverage the power of your brand and your followers will become your advocates and ambassadors.  Odds are you won’t see trending numbers like #tebow and #BlueIvy are getting, but positive word of mouth will only drive your business forward.  So get out there and get #trending!

Alana Seale

Happy New Year! 

I know, I'm only 4 days late but hey- it's been a while. I should have probably finished this series before the holidays but things just got crazy busy here (crazy is good)and the blog got put on the back burner. But alas! I have returned to finish this mini series: Cutting Through The Clutter. Here's a quick recap of what we discussed in the previous posts:

• Of all the social networking sites out there, less than 5% really matter to your business
• That 5% of the pie is also important to 95% of your competitors
• Your 5% varies on your industry, location and culture- so make sure you get it right
• Bottom line: everyone's putting all their eggs into the same basket
• The goal: cut through the clutter and rise above your competitors to reach your audience

      

Dave Siekanowicz

In my previous post we established the nature of this ‘weird devil’ known by many names but living under the umbrella term of “Social Media”. Our attempt at managing the digital strategies that go into a successful social media plan concluded with something that looked like an evil math equation (yes, yes- I know, ALL math is evil; but this equation is super evil!): Over 1000 “known” SMS+ less than 1% matter to your business+ that 1% also matters to 95% of your competitors= high risk of getting lost in the clutter.

In hopes of cutting through everyone else’s clutter (because of course your business is the only one that matters), it’s crucial that you manage your 1% at 100% capacity. But wait, where is YOUR 1% located? It’s easy to hop on the popularity bandwagon and do what everyone else is doing, but what if that’s not what’s best for your business? Sure Facebook is important to most businesses, but if you’re located anywhere in Brazil or India then forget about Facebook and focus on Orkut. This Google owned platform has exploded in Brazil since 2004, where it is now the top social networking website. What better way to reach your Brazilian audience then by switching to a Social Media platform they have embraced?

No biggie, after all you are located in Canada right? So you should go ahead and put all your effort on Twitter, but wait- your business is a restaurant. Well if you’re a restaurant then you will find that your 1% should focus on Yelp! Yelp, is a food/restaurant review social media website that encourages user generated content. Your customers can post reviews, highlight favourite menu items, post videos or pictures of the food and most importantly connect with other foodies via a platform that is popular in the foodie community.

One more? Alright, your business is a high-quality boutique film production studio interested in showcasing the highest standards of video to an exclusive community that can appreciate the work, effort and quality you put into every project. You had the bright idea of putting up your vides on MySpace, STOP- oh I jest, no one uses MySpace anymore. You had the idea of uploading your videos to YouTube, alright that’s pretty good- or maybe not. How about Vimeo? Vimeo is a video based social media platform that has less ads than YouTube, features higher viewing quality, nicer branding/graphics and most importantly has a community of passionate film makers who feel they are too good for YouTube. Boom- there’s audience. Vimeo it is.

The moral of the blog- to maximize your 1% don’t necessarily go running with the wolves. Instead find out which pack your audience is running with and go there (wow that’s a terrible analogy). Sorry about the length of this one, join me next time for Cutting Through The Clutter: You’re Supposed to be Social, SAY SOMETHING!

Dave Siekanowicz  

I recently heard someone begin a presentation on social media and the importance of social networking to a prominent group of business individuals with these words, "There are over 1000 social networking sites out there". Insert furrowing brow coupled with a classic case of face palm.... HERE. Social media is a bit of a weird devil with its own set of rules and exceptions. I feel that if I was to ever write a book on social media and business over 3/4 of every page would be footnotes with explanations and exemptions. Well, I doubt I'll get around to writing a book so why not address some concerns I have in a mini-blog series entitled, Cutting Through The Clutter. 

Firstly, there are more than 1000 social media websites (I'm combining networking based sites and new media sharing sites in this statistic). Wikipedia (arguably one form of social media) has put together a large lists but cites that it's not exhaustive, rather limited to notable, well-known sites. Yet despite this list of "well-known" sites, I would bet money that any individual reading this blog can only name about 5 of the listed sites and has probably actively used less than 5. This is one of those footnote sections that highlights how unique the world of social media is. Follow me here for a second:

Let's say there are a 1000 social media sites out there, yet only the top 3 really matter to your business. Naturally you would think wow, that's better- now I only have to focus on 3 and not remaining 997. Sure- you and 95% of your competitors; because you see the only 3 sites that matter to you, also matter to everyone else.  So now you have to leverage these 3 social media sites in a way that let's you cut through the millions of competitors who are fighting for your audience. You are essentially a needle in a haystack- unless you have a strategic plan and consistent method of implementation you will remain that needle, and nothing more. That's where we come in ;). Shoot us an email and we'll see what we can do. 

That's long enough for now, join me next time for part 2 of Cutting Through The Clutter: Wait, where am I supposed to be?

Dave Siekanowicz

Seeing as we are a full service communications agency, we often put ourselves in a position where we assess the key messages and different branding strategies our clients use at face value. How would a potential customer feel about the colour of your logo? The phrasing of your mission statement? Or even your display picture on Twitter? Often, said clients spend so much time being saturated in branding habits they have developed that they fail to make room for different interpretations. You see, we can fix that. Sometimes this means being blunt and breaking your heart by telling you that, "Bob's Awesome Palace of Drinks and Fun Times" is a terrible name for a martini lounge...

Names! There's one for you. I apologize but there are just so many terrible and misleading company names out there. If you're a company trying to rise above the competition, your name would be a good place to start. One of the most important lessons I learned in my first year communications course during my undergrad was "We all judge the book by its cover". If the only exposure some of your potential clients have is a 4 second drive by; your logo, ad or storefront will be the deal braker! No one will give [insert any type of business] a chance if their first impression is terrible. When was the last time you thought, "Oh, well that logo looks terrible, the colours are bad, the message in awkward but heck- I'll buy that shirt because there might be more to it." Never!

This post was inspired by some signage I saw on my walk in this morning. 'Sinful Pleasures', my first thought: "Wow, this is an odd place for a sex shop..."only it wasn't a sex shop, it was a catering company. Really? Not only would I have never know that if I didn't walk closer to read the small print, but now that I know it's a catering company I have no desire to order food from them. I mean it could be great food, but why take the risk when Chef Antonio's Full Service Catering is just down the street? So please, ask people what they think about your name, branding and colour scheme. Or better yet, ask a professional!

Put it this way: if you're a Day Care but your name has people assume you're a Military Boot Camp...Houston, we've got a problem.

Dave Siekanowicz

I found out today that when I was born, I was the 4,966,726,224th person alive on Earth and the 79,850,753,624 th person to have lived since history began.

Soon after, a sense of insignificance settled in. Regardless, it is amazing to think that in the next few weeks the world's population will hit 7 billion.

What's your number? www.bbc.co.uk

Connie Burke

As some of you may already know, Facebook is en route to deploying "Timeline", a new update which digitally maps a users' entire online history. When you click to see a friend's profile you will be able to experience their unique Facebook story. From the day they joined Facebook, through graduation and work changes, different relationship statuses, 'likes' and all the new friends they added along the way. This new feature will also allow Facebook to collect more targeted information about their members for advertisers (ka-ching). That's how business works. But what if it comes at the cost of your privacy?

The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll revealed that 28% of daily Facebook users are "very concerned" about the new privacy concerns that have come about as a result of Timeline. Match that with another 35% of weekly users who have expressed the same level of concern. Keep in mind with 800-million users these are HUGE numbers. On top of that you have another statistic which claims that 56% of Facebook users don't like the changes (over 400 million people if you haven't been keeping track). 

With these stats it's safe to say that Facebook users (especially the more active ones) have given the Timeline idea and new changes a big 'dislike'-pardon the pun. So what now? As a company that serves 800 million users do you go forth with changes that will benefit your business, your customers (advertisers) and push further development of your platform at the cost of approval? Or do you understand that your entire business model is based on users and your goal should always be to cater to them first? What happens if your members begin to drop off? So far the pattern with changes in Facebook has been more like this: Facebook changes+ members complain-Facebook does little to nothing based on member feedback= everyone forgets and moves on.

The weeks to come will reveal just how much of an effect the high disapproval rating will have on Facebook's plan to go ahead with Timeline. A battle between the company that provides the medium and the creators/members who fill that medium with content. 

 (Image courtesy of Mashable)

 Dave Siekanowicz