I'm Just Sayin'

I'm Just Sayin'

#trending: the rise of infographics

Alana Seale - Friday, February 03, 2012

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.

Using visuals to explain your position is a great way to draw people into your content. They draw the eye in and are a great tool to get people to finish reading something than pages and pages full of heavy text. Colours, graphics and different fonts can turn a dry subject into something really interesting to your audience.

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

Graphics, charts and colours can make your document visually appealing, but unless you have the facts to back your content, you are wasting everyone’s time.

So to have the maximum impact with your documents, your reports, your fact sheets, the key is to compliment rich content with stunning visuals, not to mask it. Better get trending!

Alana Seale

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3 Reasons I Hate Blog Posts that Feature Lists and # Reasons

Dave Siekanowicz - Wednesday, January 25, 2012

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

Numbered Lists! The most frequent post titles read like the cover

of a Cosmo Magazine! I don't believe that everything we discuss

and share can be summed up in a list of points or steps. Since when

did everything become so black and white? Especially in the world

of new media! Those "4 Steps to Gaining more Followers on Twitter"

can become passe, annoying and outdated methods a week from now. On the other hand who says it takes 4 steps? Is there no 5th step, is there no way to take it down to 3 steps? Cheeses Murphy- what about those who have a 1 step method that gains them more followers than anyone else (having the name Justin Bieber usually helps with this).

So, what are we to say then? Is it the chicken, or the egg? Have we begun to expect a quick fix via a list of steps and procedure to the problems in the world of professional communications? Or is this step listing method the holy grail, the special sauce, the ancient Mayan paradigm that actually holds the answers to all our communication problems? Maybe numbers just intrigue us in a way words cannot; must be that shiny toy syndrome.

You may notice that I did not actually list 3 reasons as my title suggested- my point being it doesn't matter. It's fun to read said blogs and they are oh-so-easy to Tweet out to our followers, but we must remember that the numbers can change from day to day [correction- they do change day to day]. Just when you thought there are only 11 things that annoy journalists and bloggers you may be surprised to find out you subconsciously posses the hidden "12th thing".

Dave Siekanowicz

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#trending

Alana Seale - Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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

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Cutting Through The Clutter Part 2: Wait, where am I supposed to be?

Dave Siekanowicz - Thursday, December 01, 2011

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

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Facebook Killed the Myspace Star: The Demise of Internet Celebrity?

Dave Siekanowicz - Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Recently I read about Myspace downsizing their staff (again) to help manage operational expenses. Seems like things have been tough for the social networking giant of yesteryear. Their recent attempts of allowing users to link their Myspace profiles with Facebook profiles reveal their desperate appeal to work with the king of social networking they can no longer compete with. With all these changes and losses we have to remember that it's not only the company that suffers, but also the end user. The few Myspace faithful, some of whom own their careers to Myspace. Do you remember them? The "Myspace Celebrities"?

What a unique phenomenon; regular individuals who for some reason hit it big and grew in their self generated and operated popularity all thanks to a social networking site. The Mickey Avalons, Tila Tequilas and Steve's Peeps (to name a few I remember from years ago); who had millions of friends, millions of profile views and were able to sell cds, t-shirts and earn money via appearances- all for being the most popular people on Myspace. They were featured on countless TV talk shows, in numerous articles and even prime time television interviews earning them the status of (some minor sort of) celebrity in the real world. These were the kings and queens of Myspace. But as the website's millions of users made the shift to Facebook, our Myspace Celebrities slowly faded into oblivion along with Myspace. Theirs was a dependant relationship: the celebs needed Myspace for fame as much as Myspace needed their celebs to generate user interest and promote the website.

It is interesting to reflect on how these individuals would have never become (somewhat) famous on Facebook. Myspace provided a unique platform that helped them create a celebrity persona and distribute it to the greatest amount of people. Facebook, while asking that a user's profile reflect their true identity, has too many privacy restrictions and an interface that is too limited in control (html, css, all that fun coding stuff). So with the impending death of Myspace (sorry but I call them like I see them), I must question what will become of the short lives of the Myspace Celebrities? Will they become a completely obsolete blur of the past, or will a new social network rise to fame and give them their platform? Will internet celebrities ever exist again? Youtube stars do fit in a similar genre. Regardless of their uncertain future, I for one easily credit Facebook with the destruction of their short lived internet fame.

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"You Can't Always Trust Facebook"- Martin Luther King Jr.

Dave Siekanowicz - Thursday, May 05, 2011

It's quite amazing to see the validity-free power Facebook users can experience and exercise on a daily basis as they share, message and post just about everything and anything they want. I can list myself as having attended Harvard, or check in somewhere I'm not with people who aren't with me while updating my status to any ridiculous activity my mind chooses. While this can all be fun and games, the end results can generate some less than credible information (or just pure lies).

A few days ago, following the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, a popular Martin Luther King Jr. 'quote'* began circulating on Twitter and Facebook, "I mourn the loss of a thousand precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." Sounds nice enough right? The problem: it's made up! It wasn't a malicious invention designed to tarnish the words of Dr. King, but rather a mix up. On Monday a Facebook user named Jessica wrote the aforementioned statement and proceeded to follow it with a quote from Dr. King. A few of her friends liked it so much they decided to repost and retweet it, assuming the entire posting was a quote from the great MLK. Within hours Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with a newly popularized MLK quote.

Of course the people at Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Post noticed that something was off and after some research were able to bring the story forth and set the record straight. Now it's not a terrible mistake, but it is a mistake that reveals the power of Facebook and Twitter. Social media can now help legitimize and spread information at rates faster than any other service. This is why this story is so particularly interesting: it could have only worked with Facebook. The quote would have never been as widely received if it would have been shared using email, Myspace, YouTube, texting or the countless other forms of new media.

The lesson here: situations such as this reveal the unequivocal power and speed with which Facebook and Twitter can spread information and messages. They could very well be the most effective tools you have at your disposal. But the question is, are you using them correctly? Or could you use a helping hand to guarantee improved results?

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#Happy Birthday in the world of @Social Media

Rachael Carswell - Thursday, April 28, 2011

I must credit the inspiration behind this blogpost to our very own Leanne who is celebrating her birthday today: Happy Birthday Leanne!

The impact of the internet of celebrations, rituals and ceremonies is not all that new. It feels like birthday e-cards have been around for at least 15 years and since then not much has improved. That is until social media helped take something as simple as "Happy Birthday" to the next level. Whether you're on a student budget or have money to spend, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube now offer more ways to wish happiness on the day of your friend's birth than ever before.

Sure you have your stereotypical wall post, tweet, video, fan page or private message, and those are all great. But what happens when social media decides to *really take it to the next level? We now live in a world where you don't have to spend money to buy real gifts or cards for your special someone. You now have the option to spend money on a non-existing virtual gift! Yay! Why buy something when you can buy nothing?

Facebook has their own Gift Buying network, where for a few dollars you can send a rose, a puppy or a bunch of balloons in an attempt to extend your warmest wishes. Since then we have seen a rise in third party applications which allow you to buy and send mini virtual dancing clowns, rabbits or whatever you please. But virtual gifts are nothing compare to virtual parties! For a fair price this application will allow you and a few friends to celebrate that special day by chatting, playing games and killing time together in community right on Facebook regardless of your physical location. But what birthday "gift" tops all of these? Well, how about taking out an ad wishing your friend a Happy Birthday? Using Facebook ads you can create an ad of warm wishes and target it towards all your friends and that special birthday celebrator.

Regardless of how you chose to express your birthday wishes there seems to be a divide between the free (I would argue sane*) method of a wall post or tweet and the excessive sending or creating of a virtual 'nothing'. I beg to ask why, but I feel that spending the money is what justifies the gift; it's what reflects your extra effort in wanting to be different and go the extra mile.

Words of wisdom- instead of spending money on a virtual gift why not head over to World Vision and buy the gift of food or medicine to those who desperately need it in the name of your birthday friend. There's an idea that will topple every virtual teddy bear Facebook has to offer*

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Social Media Zone - Episode 21!

Rachael Carswell - Monday, April 11, 2011

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Facebook Ads and Hitting that Target Market

Rachael Carswell - Friday, January 21, 2011

This week was a busy week for Facebook campaigning. Online strategies for multiple clients resulted in requiring some Facebooks Ads to hit a wider audience.

Facebook has done a very good job of allowing users to tailor their advertisements in order to hit the exact people they want. It begins with location - country, province/state and age, then follows on to demographics - age and sex, and then goes on to what is, in my opinion, one of the most important features - likes and interests. Here is the section where you can really get specific. Facebook allows you to define the users you want to reach by outlining other pages, groups and even job titles that they have included on their profiles. For example, if a Facebook ad was for cupcakes, the business could have their ad appear on the sidebar of user profiles that have liked 'baking', 'Food Network', 'dining' etc. This way we KNOW that they like eating and food! What a great way to reach a specific audience.

Facebook is a different social medium in the sense that outreach, for pages, is difficult. Pages cannot contact people and say "JOIN OUR PAGE!". They can rely on their friends joining and then suggesting to their friends, but the initial outreach phase depends on people finding you. Their are multiple ways you can make sure that people know you have a Facebook page, but a great way to actively reach out is through Facebook Ads. Budgeting is also simple. It charges by 'pay per click', so businesses can set a reasonable budget so that the ad stops running when this number is maxed out. My suggestion here is give it a go! It doesn't take a long term commitment or a large check, and the results will surprise you.

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