Erik Qualman's Blog, page 541

The Social Media Success of Red Nose Day

Walker Sands Communications - There’s no doubt that last night’s star-studded Red Nose Day benefit made headlines, as well as huge strides in fundraising for children in poverty. Social media was a significant element of the campaign. Using Wayin to measure the social media statistics, in the last 24 hours:

Of the 46,324 authors talking about Red Nose Day in the last 24 hours, 40% were male and 60% female.

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California, New York and Florida were the leaders in the Red Nose Day social media conversations.


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In the last 48 hours 57,903 authors posted 81,543 times about Red Nose Day. The visualization points out the trend throughout this period.

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In the last 24 hours 46,212 authors posted 64,767 times about Red Nose Day. The visualization indicates the time with the highest engagement.


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The top terms used with the keywords Red Nose Day include happy, video, and #MakeMLaugh


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Credit to Walker Sands Communication and Wayin
Graphics from Wayin
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Nailing the Right Career

You’re looking for a career, maybe it’s when you’re ready to join the workforce as a young adult, or maybe you’re looking for a career change after working already.

Have you considered becoming a nail technician?

The beauty industry is going strong; people want to look their best and will pay for it. It’s a great time to become involved in this field, and with more people spending time on their appearance, becoming a nail technician may be just the right move.

But you’ve got some questions before you jump in … see if this will help….

How do I get started?

You will need to take classes from an accredited nail school or cosmetology school.

You usually need a high school diploma or GED. After completing the training, you take your state’s licensing exam and when you pass, you’re all set.

You can also check out some social media pages to find out information here – like cosmetology schools and licensing information.

Try following some nail sites as well, for inspiration. There is beautiful nail art all over social media.

As the following article asks, just “how much money does a nail technician make?” depends on your location and what type of salon you’re working in.

Experience also plays a part in your salary.

However, the average salary ranges between about $16,000 and $30,000 and that does not include tips, which make up a large part of the income of nail technicians.

Benefits of Being a Nail Technician

People like this field as the hours are usually flexible, you can work almost anywhere and there’s a high level of client satisfaction.

People also like making other people feel good, and it brings satisfaction to not only to the client, but also to the technician.

Where Do Nail Technicians Work?

More and more nail salons are popping up as independent businesses.

You could work in one of these, or in a salon that does more than just nails.

It’s also a great career if you want to start your own business and own your own salon.

Some nail technicians work out of their homes, but you need to look into additional licensing for this. Again, social media can help you find the right position when you’re ready.

How Do I Let People Know I’m Working?

Use social media!

Whether you are independent or working out of a salon, social media should play an important part in your career.

Let your Instagram followers, Facebook friends and Twitter followers know where you are, what your specialties are and any specials you or your salon may have. You can bring a lot of business in with social media, and you should be using it to your advantage.

Pursuing a career as a nail technician may be just the thing for you. With flexible hours, client interaction and a good boost from tips, it can work.

Give some shout outs on your social media, and you may have a great client base before you know it.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Google’s Project Fi Invites To Reach Everyone By Mid-Summer

TECHCRUNCH - Project Fi, Google’s recently announced plans to offer its own wireless cellular service, appears to have a lot of demand – or at least, that’s what an email sent out to potential customers seems to imply. The email informs those who previously registered their interest in trying out the new service that, due to the  number of requests Google has received, it will likely take until mid-summer before invites make their way to everyone.

Given that it’s nearly June, that’s not as far away as it sounds, of course. And that doesn’t mean that no one will receive an invite ahead of this “mid-summer” timeframe – after all, Google’s Project Fi’s website indicates that a small number of invites are distributed each week to those who’ve signed up. In fact, according to the email, several of Project Fi’s first customers have already been given access to the network. So far, Google says the early feedback has been positive.

Instead, what the email means that the Project Fi invites will not be distributed in their entirety for several weeks to come.

Google’s email also indicates that potential customers will soon have a way to track their invite’s status. The company says it will soon release a tool that will allow for this in the weeks ahead.

Image for TechCrunch

The service, in case you missed the earlier reports, is a contract-free MVNO that runs on top of Sprint and T-Mobile’s cellular networks. Initially, subscribers must own a Nexus 6 smartphone to access Google’s network. The phone will also use a special Project Fi SIM card, which allows the device to connect to 4G LTE networks in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Plans start at $20 per month for unlimited talk and text, plus Wi-Fi tethering (to use the phone as a hotspot). Then you will pay $10 per GB of data used – e.g. $10 for 1 GB, $20 for 2 GB, etc.

What potentially makes the network appealing outside of its contract-free nature and easy-to-understand cost structure is that you’ll receive credit for your unused data at the end of the month. So, for example, if you pay $30 for 3 GB but only use half of that, you’ll receive $15 back.

The service is also tied into Google Hangouts, allowing you to place calls from your phone number on any Hangouts-enabled tablet or laptop in addition to your phone.

Article by Sarah Perez for TechCrunch

 

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7 Tools for Social Media Management, You’ll Love to Use Every Day

This post was originally published on the Twitter Counter blog

Even if managing social media is your full time job, juggling different tasks throughout the day can be a challenge. From content curation to posting and analyzing your performance, it is important to keep your social media management simple and effective.

Luckily, there’s a bunch of tools out there to help you simplify your social media management save lots of time every day. Take a look at seven of my most favorite tools of daily quick and effective social media management.

Content curation

Feedly

Feedly is basically a news aggregator that can pull any RSS feed. You can completely personalize your experience and add all your favorite news sources and blogs into a stream so that every day you can immediately find great articles in your niche to share. Feedly also shows the number of shares for each piece which is a great way to quickly grasp the social media buzz around a topic.

Swayy

Swayy lies in between content curation and content scheduling so it’s a perfect time savior. All you need to do is login with your Twitter account to get content recommendations based on your interests and the content your community finds interesting. This means that you always have relevant content suggestions to choose from, which can save you a ton of time when looking for things to post on social media.

Canva

By now social media science has proven that this is what people love to retweet. And luckily, you don’t always need have professional design skills to put together engaging images for social media.

My absolute favorite tool is Canva because it’s insanely easy to use and you can have an amazing result in less than 5 minutes. Canva is offers pre-built templates for social media posts so no need to worry about resizing. Once you pick the template, the rest is basically just dragging and dropping. You can choose to upload your own visuals and build something from scratch or choose something from Canva’s amazing graphics and use customize it to fit your style.

Posting and scheduling

Buffer

Buffer is a great app for scheduling your content, especially if you’re managing many different social media channels. What’s even more time saving about Buffer is that you can quickly schedule content from anywhere on the web using their browser plugin. Oh and did you know that you can also sschedule tweets using your Buffer account via Twitter Counter? Just start thinking what you’re gonna do with all this extra time in your hands.

Tailwind

Tailwind is a must-use tool for Pinterest and it’s a great help of you are kickstarting your presence on the medium just like we do. Tailwind is great for scheduling pins and repins, easily pinning content from other sources as well finding content to pin through their pin suggestions.

Analysis and Monitoring

Tweetdeck

TweetDeck is sort of a wildcard tool as you can also schedule tweets but its real power lies in Twitter monitoring. Tweetdeck is basically a dashboard where you can keep track of your account’s interactions, monitor hashtags and keywords, making it faster and easier to reply to comments and engage in Twitter conversations.

Twitter Counter

When you’re on a tight schedule you need to get as many insights as possible without having to spend your whole day crunching numbers. From a quick overview of your account’s follower growth, engagement rate and most successful content to an insightful report of all the important metrics, it can all be done in just a click.  Take a look for yourself.

Now over to you! Which tools are you using every day for managing social media? Leave your comment right below and let us know.

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Google Reveals the Problem With Password Security Questions

ABC – Google analyzed hundreds of millions of password security questions and answers, revealing how startlingly easy it is for would-be hackers to get into someone else’s account.

Case in point: What’s your favorite food?

Using one guess, an attacker has a 19.7 percent chance of guessing an English speaking user loves pizza, according to Google’s findings, which looked at hundreds of millions of questions and answers for account recovery claims.

While the questions are meant to provide an extra layer of security, Google found easy-to-guess answers were a problem around the world.

With ten guesses, an attacker would have a near one in four chance of guessing the name of an Arabic speaker’s first teacher. Ten guesses gave cyber criminals a 21 percent chance of guessing the middle name of a Spanish speaker’s father.

South Korean users were most vulnerable with the question “What is your city of birth?” With ten guesses, attackers would have a 39 percent chance of getting into a person’s account.

While the study shows how alarmingly easy it is to crack a person’s password security questions, Google said the solution shouldn’t be to add more questions.

Google’s security researchers instead recommend users make sure their account recovery information is current by going through a security checkup. Adding a phone number or back-up email address can help circumvent the issue of someone trying to penetrate your account via the secret questions.

Article by Alyssa Newcomb for ABC

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How is Social Media Used in Business Globally?

The incredible reach of social media throughout the world is probably not one of the aspects of the internet’s development you would have thought of ten years ago. The rise and rise of the mobile phone industry, leading to smartphones and now tablets, means you can keep in contact with whomever you want, whenever you want and wherever you are.

It’s not surprising, then, that the business world has embraced social media even though it wasn’t initially designed for businesses to use. Businesses realize that they have the opportunity to connect and communicate with you.

Image source: pixabay.com

Building trust

Rather than just post information on products and services, businesses want to build up a relationship with customers, and it’s a useful strategy. If, for example, you follow a business on Twitter, instead of bombarding you with advertising and low prices, they could post something more personal or relating to a charity they support. By engaging your interest and not smothering you with ads, they have a better chance of striking up that relationship, and you may be more likely to become a customer or client.

 

Global influence

Many businesses have global interests, and they can harness the power of social media to get their messages across to those they might not otherwise reach. Strategies here, such as using Facebook to connect with people, need to be carefully thought through before being implemented. Different countries use different social media platforms, for example, and cultures are different too. Sound research should ensure that, as far as possible, businesses put out a positive, friendly image.

 

International politics

Social media was a major player during the so-called Arab Spring, where thousands of people in countries such as Egypt and Libya used platforms such as YouTube and Twitter to communicate with each other and the outside world to inform about developments and send pictures and videos of what was happening, frequently live. For telecommunications companies, the instant access to rolling news, when often they were unable to have reporters on the ground, proved invaluable.

 

Afghanistan – a case study

The Middle East has been plagued by turmoil in many places for many years, not least Afghanistan. You may not have heard about Ehsanollah Bayat, but he established the country’s major mobile telephone network, Afghan Wireless, and has thus enabled many millions of Afghans to be connected to their friends and relatives as well as business associates. It covers every province, and has been a key enabler in business development and the establishment of new industries.

 

Being available

Thanks to social media, businesses effectively never close. They can contact you at any time, and you can choose to access information from them at any time. This can be especially useful for global businesses as they can tailor their messages to specific time zones and respond quickly to orders and requests.

 

Surfing social media

Successful businesses are ones that can adapt quickly to new opportunities, and by using social media outlets to connect to millions of potential customers and clients, they open up new opportunities for the future.

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Spotify Unveils New Features For Runners, Including Songs That Change Based On Your Tempo

TechCrunch – Spotify’s press event today wasn’t just about adding video and other content types. The company also revealed that it’s adding new features to improve the experience for anyone who listens to the app during their runs.

To do that, Chief Product Officer Gustav Söderström said Spotify will now use the sensors on your phone to detect the pace at which you’re running. Then, when you hit the running man button in Spotify, the app uses your tempo to select the right tracks. And if you want to change the tempo, Söderström said, “We’ll find the right music for that, again and again and again.”

Image from TechCrunch

Even more impressive, he said Spotify is working with musicians (including Tiesto, who made a brief appearance at the event) to create specific tracks for running. After all, he noted that when his team talked to runners, they said that when the right song comes on, it makes them “feel like a hero.” But that effect only lasts for about a minute and a half, and then wears off — at least until the next song comes along.

So Söderström wondered why that high couldn’t last for the entire run. To achieve that, these new tracks will actually adjust mid-song. This isn’t “simple beat stretching,” he said: “The composition itself seems to rearrange to fit your current pace.” Spotify has created six of these “experiences” so far, and he said “each of them have their special characteristics.”

All of these features, Söderström said, were developed in consultation with runners and fitness experts. And yes, that means actually going on lots of runs, which is why he bragged, “I likely have the most fit product and design team by now.”

The company also announced partnerships with Nike and RunKeeper to integrate the new Spotify running experience later this year.

Article by Anthony Ha for TechCrunch

 

Thumbnail from Shutterstock

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Invest in Content: Not just your Own

Content takes many shapes and forms these days. It can exist in as small as a tweet, to a Snapchat video, to website copy, to a whitepaper. Every brand has different formats and types that work best for them and their audiences in order to reach their marketing and business objectives. However, does a brand always have to invest in creating content themselves? Not necessarily.

Content sourcing for supplemental content is smart and it’s to a brand’s advantage when done well. But what type of supplemental content is right for your brand? That’s the answer you need to determine based on the following criteria:

Gain new audiences

Rather than using paid social or paid media to target new audiences, it helps to find different ways to reach those audiences. For example, partner with other brands/publishers or influencers in the categorical space to create content.

Partner with a Brand/Publisher – These days there are so many content houses ruling the content space. They are creating content every minute of every hour in every category – from NY Times to Mashable to Techcrunch to Refinery29 to Vogue. And they have the eyeballs already. These publishing houses are partnering with brands to create content in order to allow access to their audiences – for a cost of course. The difference is, it’s more natural to read an article in Refinery29 that was done through a partnership than check out a banner ad. People are more willing to share this article with their friends and family, too.


Partner with Influencers – From the bloggers like Cupcakes and Cashmere to the YouTube stars like Jacklyn Hill to many more…influencers are all around us. They can be bloggers, video stars, journalists, food Instagrammers, or a reputable advocate who has a large voice on Twitter. They aren’t one size fits all, and it takes time to find the right one for your brand (or the right ones). The key is to work with the influencer from discovery through execution. You want to ensure they understand your brand, your product/service, and what your objective is. But be sure that you don’t keep the reigns too tight. Let the influencer keep their voice and allow them to create the content in a way that is going to resonate with their audiences.

Create different content formats

Sometimes your brand doesn’t have the resources or talent to create a type of content – such as Vine videos. Why waste the effort when you can outsource to an expert who can do it much faster…and better. There are three ways to go about this.

One) Have the expert use their name as the creator and let it be in their voice/tone/way. That way you can also gain new audiences and a new format for your brand.

Two) Let them ghost-create the content for your brand in your brand’s voice/tone so you have more content in your arsenal.

Three) Co-create it so you have it in your tone/voice but also in a way that allows the creator’s name/voice to be shown. And in this case you both can distribute/promote it.

Content…is costly. But it shouldn’t always have to be done by your brand in-house. The best part is when you do co-create and/or create supplemental content through third party resources you create an advantage for your brand.  An advantage of being cutting edge and innovative.

 

 

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Mexico’s Social Media Trends

The number of internet users in Mexico grew more than 150% from 2006 to 2013. With President Enrique Peña Nieto announcing that his target of 100,000 free internet hotspots is set to be surpassed by the end of this year, we take a look at what this means for Mexico’s growth on social media.

Time spent online

The average time spent using the internet each day is five hours and 22 minutes, with more than half of that (three hours, ten minutes) spent through mobile devices. Social media dominates time Mexicans spend online, at three hours and 46 minutes.

96% of all millennials are active on at least one social media channel. Comprising a little more than half of all internet users in the country, smartphone penetration has reached only 57% of Millennials, meaning desktop-based is still very much alive.

Facebook is favorite

Mexico is one of the most active countries in the world on Twitter, more than doubling the number of users in the UK to 12 million. However Facebook is by far most popular social media channel, with an estimated 38 million users and 95.6% of internet users stating it is their preferred form of social media.

Social and e-commerce

At present, the Mexican market is dominated by travel ticket sales, which are purchased by almost two thirds (64%) of all online consumers. It also benefits greatly from the neighboring US, as half of Mexican online shoppers use foreign websites. It is out of this relationship that the US company Walmart has been able to capitalize on the Mexican market, being part of more than 90% of the physical item orders made online.

Social media may also prove to be the key to boosting Mexican e-commerce. If domestic brands can improve their in-country online offering, they could start to cultivate a social following that will ensure repeated purchases. By offering exclusive productions or promotions to social media followers, brands can take advantage of a country that is booming in terms of social users, and on the verge of e-commerce breakthrough.

You can find more information about internet usage in Mexico via Search Laboratory’s  ”internet usage infographic”

 

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Buy Into Social Media When House Hunting

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Everyone has a different list when house hunting.

Some want new and clean and modern, others love the charm and history of older homes.

However, older homes come with a price, and it’s not just in the upfront cost. You’ll often uncover defects or other surprises you weren’t expecting.

Don’t let that deter you, though, if your wish is an older home. They are quite beautiful and have charm that usually cannot be replicated.

Use Social Media

When house hunting, you can turn to social media via:

• Blogs – A number of blogs offer thorough information on old houses. You can find information on purchasing, inspections, repairs, and renovations. Blogs are a good source because not only do you get expert advice, you also can find real feedback from the comment sections. It’s a good way to see what really works and what isn’t so feasible.

• Twitter – When you have a concern or interest, hashtag it on Twitter. You can find sources that you may have not known about, from expert advice to the DIY’er. You may come across a new favorite blog or website.

• Facebook – Don’t neglect your own Facebook feed. You never what friend you may have who’s had some experience with buying an older home. It’s a great way to get a conversational feed going.

• Pinterest – Pinterest isn’t only for planning parties. You can get some great ideas for renovations and what your old house can be. If nothing else, you’ll gain some great inspiration. Again, you may also find some new great blogs and other expert sources.

As the following article looks at, when you are searching social media, you probably want to know some common defects found in older homes.

Here are some of the more common ones to get you started:

• Lead paint – This is always a concern with older homes. If the house was built after 1978, you should be fine, but before that, it was common to use paint with lead in it, which is hazardous. You’ll want to have the paint tested, and really consider if it’s worth it to invest in a home with lead paint. It can be a costly undertaking to have it removed.

• Foundation and structural concerns – Simply because the house has been there longer, it’s had more time to settle. Often these problems are workable, but sometimes it causes so much strain on the home, that it can lead to big issues. You can have it checked out before purchasing and decide from there.

• Appliances – You may think you don’t have to redo a kitchen, but can just add new appliances. Think again, they often don’t fit and that can lead to an expensive remodel that you may not have been anticipating.

Older homes have character that is often hard to find in newer homes. They also have some defects that are hard to get around.

Just make sure you read up on the pros and cons and have a good, thorough inspection.

Also put social media to use to help you narrow down your house wishlist.

You don’t want any surprises once you’ve purchased the house.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of radnatt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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