Social Media Consultant Gold Coast Australia - Social Ignition Social Media Specialist

Have We Lost the Ability to Be Quiet? 3AW Radio Segment

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:25:50 +0000

This post appeared originally over at TracyWhitelaw.com, our CEO’s blog. Thought it was worth sharing here also.

Social media speaker segment on 3AW radio

Today I chatted with the lovely Peter Maher on 3AW Melbourne radio in his Drive with Peter Maher show (hoping to put the audio up soon). The topic was whether increasing computer/mobile phone/social media use is merely a way to mask our misery. The topic arose from a great article written by Pico Iver, entitled “The Joy of Quiet”. In it, Iver discusses how the continual enslaught of technology has actually become a burden to many people and they now pay good money to ‘escape’ for a while. As you can imagine, my opinion was quite different.

You can turn off your computer

One of the main points I tried to make during the interview was that it is possible to switch technology off. Yes, there are some who are addicted and use it too much, just like those who are addicted to TV, or dancing, or skating, or drinking, or whatever else. The point is however that yes, technology is easier to access now and much more widely available and it’s also expected more that you’re online, BUT, you can still switch off that computer or phone. Nobody is holding a gun to your head telling you to check Facebook. Ultimately, as with anything in life, it’s all about balance.

It’s not about technology, it’s about relationships

Humans have an innate desire for the most part to connect, to communicate and to build relationships. Social media, or computers, mobiles phones, iPads, whatever your choice of technology is, doesn’t create that, it simply makes it easier to facilitate. So, for me, social media is more about relationships than technology. The technology will always change, but the human instinct to connect will always remain. So, is this continual ‘on-ness’, this continual connectedness, merely a way to mask our misery? No. Misery will exist wherever it’s allowed to. Social media isn’t a place to mask misery, it’s a place to learn, to share, to connect, to laugh, to cry, to be human…. to be ‘social’.

Do you think social media is about hiding your misery?

So what do you think? Do you think social media is about hiding your misery? Is is stripping you of your ability to find peace and quiet in an always connected world, or do you just go and seek your solitude when you need it, as people have always done throughout history?

Top Five Reasons Why Companies Aren’t Using Social Media

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:24:33 +0000

Reasons why companies aren’t using social media

I’ve worked with a number of organisations in my time. These organisations have been of varying sizes, from those with over 9,000 employees, to those with just one. What I’ve found is that regardless of the size of the company, there are generally the same concerns about using social media. Ultimately, these have become so common, that the answers are becoming cliched, but I’ll share them here anyway.

Risk Management and Social Media

One of the first concerns is “what about the risk involved?”. Yes, there is risk in using social media, but this risk is no bigger than any other risk at your company. Social media is just communication and relationships. Every company has a relationship and some form of communication with their customers, this is no different. What seems to scare people most though about social media is the immediacy and longevity of it in the public sphere. What I would say to this is; understand it, ensure yourself or your employee who is representing you can be trusted on there and always ensure you have governance and guidelines in place to protect yourself. At the risk of pulling out one of those social media cliches, “it is more risky not to be involved in social media than it is to be involved in it”. Your customers are talking about you online now. Would you rather be involved in the conversation and have the chance to influence it or pretend it isn’t there and never truly know the damage it does?

Resourcing and Social Media

Another common reason why companies don’t use social media is that they are concerned about the resourcing aspect of maintaining the sites long term. My response to this is that social media marketing is not a short-term solution, but rather a long-term communication plan for your company. Don’t go into it half-heartedly, expecting to easily disappear if it’s not working out for you. It should be something that forms an integral part of your communications strategy, and as such, it requires an experienced resource to manage it. Many companies still rely on interns or marketing officers to handle their social media. Their reasons for doing so are wide and varied and in some instances, justified, however, if you can afford to add a social media strategist or manager to your team, do it. Social media requires someone who understands the space well, not just for personal use, but for business use also. Don’t write it off as something that anyone in your team can manage. You need someone who understands the space, can influence key stakeholders and can represent your company well online. If you can’t afford to hire someone, teach yourself as much as you can about social media by using it often and absorbing the culture. It needn’t take up all of your time, in fact, it can be quite manageable, especially when you’re starting out. So, learn the best tools to save you time and engage often.

Nothing to Say with Social Media

Another common concern for companies getting started in social media is that they have ‘nothing to say’ on there. Everyone has something to say. If you’re a small local business, or a large global organisation, you have something to say about your company. Whether it’s special deals, events, news, employee opinions or any number of topics, everyone has something to say. Think of social media like a party; Facebook is the pub where you meet your friends and family, Twitter is a cocktail party where you’re getting to know new people and mingling and LinkedIn is a corporate conference where you’re talking about business. The same conversations you’d have here, you can have for your business, but always keep it professional yet informal. If you run out of things to say, use the 50/25/25 rule.

Customers Aren’t Using Social Media

Something that organisations often say to me is “our customers aren’t using social media”. Firstly, that’s simply not true and secondly, that’s simply not true. Your customers and potential customers are using these sites, it’s just a matter of finding out where they are. With the over 55’s being the fastest growing Facebook user group and the mid 30’s being the biggest users of Twitter, social networks aren’t just for teenagers and geeks. Your customers will be using social networks to stay in touch with their friends and family and this is where you can find them. The easiest thing to do is to start to listen out for your brand in online spaces. Set up a really easy listening station (see How to Grow Bigger Ears in 10 Minutes by Chris Brogan) and start to figure out where your customers are most active. Think about potential customers too, after all, you want to ensure you’re chatting to them also.

Don’t Understand Social Media

Social media can seem scary at first, but when you start using it, you’ll quickly realise that it’s pretty easy to use. A lot of companies are just scared and worried that they don’t understand social media so they are better ignoring it. You’re not, trust me. Ignoring social media is like ignoring email or websites. Years ago, the smart companies started getting their websites up quickly and understood the advantage of having an online presence. Social media is really no different. People almost expect companies to have social media sites now and the only way you’ll learn to understand it is to use it. If it helps, bring in an expert to get you up and running initially, then start to take the reigns yourself. Either way, don’t leave it until it’s too late.

Companies and Social Media

A recent survey stated that the majority of Fortune 500 companies were using social media and many of them were best practice examples of how to use it. This isn’t a coincidence. Companies need to use social media now to connect and engage with their customers and potential customers. If you’re one of the people using the excuses above, let’s move past it and start to see the amazing benefits of using social media. If you’re still struggling, contact me. I can help alleviate any concerns you’ve got with some solid examples of businesses who were in exactly the same situation as you and who are now loving their social media use. Can you think of any other reasons why companies aren’t using social media?

Facebook Teams with Ticketmaster to Tag Seats

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:30:20 +0000

Want to know where your friends are seated at a gig? Now you can with Facebook.

Have you ever been booking seats for a gig and wondered if any of your friends were going? How about that ex you want to avoid, but you haven’t removed from Facebook yet? Whatever your motivation, most of us are keen to find out which friend is going to the gig and where they’re sitting. Ticketmaster has teamed up with Facebook to offer this very option to people who buy tickets to over 300 of their venues, with more venues being added in the future.

Choose you exact seats, right next to your friends

For those of you who regularly use Ticketmaster to buy gig tickets, you’ll be familiar with the interactive map they use to let you look at seats. Generally, Ticketmaster will determine the “best available” seats, however you can now customise your ticket search and see where your friends have already bought. All of this is possible simply by connecting with Facebook while you’re looking for tickets, and checking out where friends have tagged their seats.

Who's sitting where - Facebook on Ticketmaster

Connect on Facebook and Choose your seat through Ticketmaster

When you’re logged in and looking for your seats, the interactive seating plan will flag the seats where you friends are sitting. To see which of your friends are there, simply scroll over and a window will pop up showing you which friend has already bought their seat. The coolest part of this is that you can then click on seats next to your friend, avoid them completely, or choose seats where you can simply wave over to them during the gig. When you purchase your tickets, you can then go on to tag your friends on certain seats. They’ll then get an alert from Facebook to let them know you’ve done this and they can decide if they want to make this public knowledge or remove the tag.

Tag your seat - Facebook and Ticketmaster

Sharing your Seat Information on your Facebook Wall

As with most Facebook applications, the whole point is to encourage connections, sharing and awareness amongst your friends and family. When you tag yourself on the seat you’ve purchased, a post will be generated on your wall which says “Check out my seats”. From there, friends can like, comment, buy tickets and generally be aware of the event and your attendance. For this reason, it’s marketing gold and it won’t be surprising if it’s rolled out across further venues and ticket sellers.

Tag your friends - Facebook and Ticketmaster

Would you tag your seat on Facebook?

So what do you think of being able to tag your seats at gigs and find out where your friends are sitting? Would you tag your seat as you purchased them or do you feel that it’s taking things a step too far?

Nielsen: Social Media Report Q3 2011 Shows Asians and Pacific Islanders Love Social Media

admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:12:22 +0000

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions at Work in Social Media Report?

A new Nielsen: Social Media Report Q3 2011, suggests that the most active race/ethnicity in the social media community are Asian and Pacific Islanders. The report is based on data from May 2011 and suggests that the most likely individual to use social media is a female, aged between 18-34, of Asian or Pacific Islander decent, with a Bachelor Degree education. What do you make of these findings? Do you think they’re representative of the community you interact with online?

Explaining the Findings Using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

A way of explaining the findings from the Nielsen: Social Media Report, could be to turn to Hofstede and his values of cultural dimensions. In particular, the dimension of individualism vs collectivism seems relevant to this finding. With Asia and Pacific Island countries scoring high on collectivism, does this partly explain the innate desire to connect with friends, family and extended networks? Social media is by nature about relationships, not technology or tools, but connectivity and community. The high use of social media in these societies appear to mirror the need to embrace community and to share intimate details of daily life. In collectivist societies, members tend to act as lifelong members of a specific group, embracing their shared culture and experiences. Social media acts as a conduit to easily allow this to occur, thus being a preferred means of online use by these ethnic groups.

How do you explain the Nielsen Social Media Report Findings on Ethnic Groups?

Do you have any other suggestions that might explain the high use of social media by Asian and Pacific Island communities? Could it be easy access to technology? Perhaps it is isolation in part? Although Hofestede’s Cultural Dimension’s partly explain it, there may be many socio-economic reasons for the high use of social media in these groups. How would you explain it?

Cupakes and Connections – Social Media for Women – NEW EVENT!

admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:53:24 +0000

Beginners Guide to Facebook for Business Workshop on the Gold Coast

It’s time for another Cupcakes and Connections workshop on 10th September at 10am! Our last event sold out, in fact, we actually sold more tickets than we thought we could fit! It was a great success and people are already lining up for the next one.

So, if you’re looking for a more hands on social media experience without the commitment, why not come along and meet some other ladies in the same situation.

This is our Beginners Guide to Facebook for Business where you’ll learn:

How to set up a Facebook Business Page
How to comment on others pages as your business
How to add strategic likes to your Facebook page
How to use a landing tab to increase engagement and likes (we’ll even design it for you for free on the day)
How to add links, videos, images and posts to your Facebook business page

As well as this, you’ll get networking opportunities, one-on-one training, question and answer time, coffee and cupcakes!

Cupcakes and Connections is about the hands-on experience. We won’t talk at you, letting you go away confused, trying to figure things out alone. We will hand-hold you through the steps and even provide the computer if you don’t have one to use. Check out what some of our event attendees said about the last event.

This is the best, most informal way to learn about social media through practical training in a relaxed community environment. You’ll get to meet other women in the same situation and it’s a brilliant networking experience also. Our cupcakes are sponsored by another woman owned local business, Hungry Designs and we provide Nespresso, tea or soft drinks. So what are you waiting for? For $50 you get social media hands-on training, morning tea, networking opportunities and more! Contact Tracy now for further information or click on the buy now button to secure your spot.

Social Media Workshop, Cupcakes, Laughter and Networking

admin — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 06:43:53 +0000

Social media training and workshop on the Gold Coast – Cupcakes and Connections

Today we had the joy of teaching a lovely bunch of ladies a little bit more about Facebook. We held our Cupcakes and Connections morning and it was an absolute blast! With a total of 11 willing learners, it was fun to be able to share some tips and tricks on how to help Facebook work for your business. We could easily have spent much longer talking, learning and networking, but we managed to get through a lot and had some fantastic feedback.

What Did Our Attendees Learn Today?

We covered a lot of ground today and because there was such a mixed bag of abilities, we had to get through as much as possible. Some of the learnings we know our attendees got today were:

Creation of landing pages on Facebook and why they’re important
Extra likes on their Facebook pages so that they can gain their vanity URL
How to create a Facebook page from scratch
Tips on promotion of their Facebook page, such as adding to their email signature, using on their business cards, adding to their website
How to fix their privacy settings on their private account
How to use the ’switch’ button to use their Facebook page as their business
Adding strategic ‘likes’ to their page so that they are building awareness of their business and also how to highlight which ‘likes’ show up on their page

As you can see we managed to cover off a lot of great Facebook page tips and tricks and there were still plenty more questions that we could have answered. Everyone had a great time and there was some fantastic networking opportunities with people able to hand out their business cards and make online and offline connections with women in similar business situations to them. Here’s just a few comments from the ladies this morning.

“Thanks guys, great morning!” – Karen-Anne | Coupon21

“The whole session was fantastic. Thank u so much” – Fiona | The Self-Raising Kitchen

“Had a fantastic morning, thanks so much for everything!” – Sharon | Busy Bookwork

What Did Social Ignition Learn Today?

For the Social Ignition team, which is basically myself (Tracy), Angela and on special kitchen duties today, my mum, the biggest learning for us was that we need to have a smaller number of ladies at each event and that we need to focus more on a specific topic. The beast that is Facebook could easily have kept everyone here day and night, so we’re now incorporating into upcoming events much more specific topics, so that those coming along are all at the same level.

We also want to ensure that we can give as much one-on-one time to everyone who comes along, so will be adopting a new model, with a maximum of 6 people at each event, but with events being repeated twice, two weeks apart, in case someone misses one. We’ll also be adding in much more Q&A time so that people get the chance to really ask what’s important to them. The whole point of these events is to let you network, help you understand more about social media, give you hands on opportunities to use it and ask for help, and of course to do all this in a relaxed, friendly environment with coffee and cupcakes.

Upcoming Social Media Events and Workshops

With so many ladies asking us today when the next event was, we’re already planning it. The next event will be another Facebook Business Pages for Beginners morning, which will be on the 27th August. However, for those that are ready to move on to the next stage of their Facebook use, the event coming up on the 10th September might be of more interest. That event is a Facebook Scheduling and Reporting workshop, which will focus on setting up scheduling tools for Facebook and also on how to interpret statistics, demographics and info from Facebook Insights. These are crucial tools for anyone using Facebook for business, as there’s no point putting up content and not having any idea as to whether it’s working or not. Further information will be up soon about each of the events, as well as it also living on our Facebook events tab.

Social Media Training on the Gold Coast/Brisbane

So, if you’re looking for social media training, on the Gold Coast, which is relaxed, informal, hands-on workshop style, get your booking in for Cupcakes and Connections now. These events sell out fast and we limit the numbers. Don’t be left wishing you’d come along. Remember, there’s always a leader and a follower…. which are you?

A minute in the life of the London Riots hashtag (#londonriots)

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:37:05 +0000

Social media and the London Riots – #londonriots hashtag monitoring

Here at Social Ignition HQ, we are watching in shock and disgust at some of the images and news coming out of the UK in relation to the London riots. As any good social media user would do, we’ve been following the flow of information on Twitter using Tweetdeck and it is almost impossible to keep up-to-date. We decided to film just one minute in the life of the #londonriots hashtag and the results are quite terrifying. There is so much information, it’s moving too quick to see.

Using some cool online tools, we had a look at some measurements of the flow of information. Best estimate show that in the last 24 hours, there have been around 200 million impressions of the #londonriots hashtag on Twitter. The sheer volume of information being shared is incredible and hopefully it’s being used by UK authorities to get a clearer picture of what’s happening.

The latest surge seems to be the ‘name and shame’ approach where people are filming others looting, thieving, fighting and more and putting their details on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. It’s a scary time for a lot of people in the UK, but once again social media has shown how essential it is in a crisis.

So, continue watching, as we all are to see what happens in London and the rest of the UK next. Hopefully people stay safe, no doubt Twitter will be the first to tell us when something happens.