ASTAR TECHNOLOGY - Social Media Marketing

Social Branding – Be Complete and Consistent

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:59:30 +0000

“The issues with branding and consistency could be explained by the lack of real strategic thought on social media practices. The rush to ‘keep up with the Jones’s’ and reach a wealth of potential consumers has presented inconsistencies in brand messages. The one thing that brands were trying to overcome from the growing quantity of uncontrolable consumer generated content.”

A PhD in Social Media

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:52:39 +0000

“I recently met an old friend who I hadn’t seen in about five years. He was asking what I was doing and seemed impressed about my doctoral pursuit. When he asked about the topic and I said social media, he laughed. When I asked why he was laughing he said, so you sit on Twitter and Facebook all day. He didn’t seem to believe me that social media was much more dynamic and complex than Facebook and Twitter. “

Klout’s +K Button Lets You Find Topical Experts Across Social Media

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:47:04 +0000

Klout’s +K Button Lets You Find Topical Experts Across Social Media

Try To Get a Date Wherever the Inspiration Strikes You

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:40:42 +0000

Idea-driven dating site HowAboutWe has launched a location-based dating app thats more about planning than hooking up.When we hear location-based dating app, we think of services like Grindr and MeetMoi that allow like-minded folks to meet up on the fly. HowAboutWes app [iTunes link] is a bit different. Available Thursday for iOS devices, this new mobile dating app is all about finding and planning dates based on location.For those who have not heard of HowAboutWe, its an online dating site — once New York-only, now national — that lets users propose unique date activities, making the experience more about meeting up and doing cool things than scrolling through pics and profiles.The app taps into location to make that process even simpler. The best date ideas come to you when youre out and about, and we wanted to give people a chance to post and respond to dates from the real world, where they are, says co-founder Brian Schechter. Parks, cafes, museums, bars the city is full of date spots and with the app you can find great dates and ask people out based on where you are.So heres how it works: Say youre at an awesome restaurant with a friend, but youd rather be there with some handsome dude in the near future. Log into the app, click Post and describe the date youre yearning for (Dinner accompanied by an intense discussion of Naked Lunch). Click Suggest a Nearby Spot and the app taps into Foursquares API to provide you with a list of nearby locations.You can also toggle over to Dates to check out Nearby Dates proposed by other people, thereby connecting with folks who dig the same locales as you. And, of course, you can also scroll through profiles, filtering potential suitors by age, education, etc, as well as update your own profile in-app. Naturally, you can message other users in-app as well. (Oddly, members have to pay to message other members on the website, but will be able to message for free in-app.)All in all, the app is a pretty slick experience, actually a bit preferable to the web version. The ease of planning a date with accurate location and information is really the kicker here (fewer chances of misspellings and instances of Oh, I meant the OTHER laundromat/coffee shop). Also, its much easier (and more fun) to flick through profiles on your mobile device than it is on your laptop score, something else to do in the elevator, aside from checking Twitter for @replies again.Other dating sites, such as OKCupid, have well-built mobile apps, but they lack the location aspect, and those that do feature that technology are often lets face it a little more focused on the hookup.What do you think of this mobile dating app? Would you give it a go?Image courtesy of Flickr, MeaganMore About: howaboutwe, iphone, online dating, startupFor more Mobile coverage:Follow Mashable Mobile on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Mobile channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

YouTube Adds Creative Commons Content to Video Editor

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:48:18 +0000

If youre in need of B-roll for your next YouTube opus, youre in luck. YouTube is adding tons of Creative Commons content to its video editor. (The new feature goes live today at noon ET.)YouTubes editor tool, which launched last year, has been steadily adding features to make the process of creating videos fuller, says YouTube Product Manager Jason Toff.You can access more than 10,000 videos (from C-SPAN, PublicResource.org, Voice of America, Al Jazeera and others) via the CC tab on the editor. You can also tag your own content as Creative Commons, so that other users can incorporate it into their videos.All content can be used and remixed at will (for commercial use as well), as long as its attributed. Links to the original CC videos will be listed underneath the video that theyre included in.Toff believes that this addition will help YouTubers get even more creative with their content in a manner that protects the rights of all content creators (obviously, you can only mark your own content as Creative Commons, and anyone who tries to circumvent that rule will be subject to YouTubes copyright protection services).Photo courtesy of Flickr, Evelyn ProimosMore About: creative commons, video, youtube, youtube-video-editorFor more Video coverage:Follow Mashable Video on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Video channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

4 Ways Video Conferencing Can Benefit Small Businesses

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:40:40 +0000

June Bower is vice president in Cisco’s online collaboration software group. Find out more at webex.com.More and more small companies and individuals are adopting video conferencing and collaboration platforms as a way to stay connected. As working from home becomes more common and prices for videoconferencing come down, the compelling reasons for utilizing video communications technology are starting to pile up. Web meetings are not just a good way to connect a far-flung team. They also cut costs, boost productivity and more.Here are four potential benefits that self-employed professionals and small- to medium-sized companies can realize by utilizing web conferencing. 1. Saving MoneyTravel costs are becoming increasingly prohibitive. With a video link, however, you can maintain quality relationships with clients and stay in touch with colleagues on a regular basis. Yes, there are initial upfront costs, but return on investment is usually swift. This way, you can save your travel budget for a few high profile, important face-to-face dates each year.In addition to cost-savings, taking meetings online can also help reduce your firm’s carbon footprint. In fact, a recent study suggests that driving one hour for a meeting uses the same electrical power as 1,000 hours of web conferencing. Thats both good for the environment and your wallet. 2. Connecting Disparate EmployeesStudies show that nearly 80% of Americans say theyd like to telecommute. Retaining valuable employees who relocate or need to work from home a few days a week saves on office space, costly recruiting and retraining. This is particularly important for small firms that rely on the expertise of a handful of critical staffers who have long-time customer relationships and institutional knowledge.With web conferencing, telecommuters and remote employees stay on track and can add insights into day-to-day operations and new policies. You also wont be limited by geography when finding new hires.Further, video conferencing software can connect teams in different offices. Instead of waiting for a quarterly get-together, you and your team can make decisions in real time via web conference. You can talk, display materials, demo new products or services and get immediate feedback in a video conference. 3. Maintaining Personal Connections“A picture is worth a thousand words” may be a tired cliche, but it proves particularly true when it comes to cementing relationships. In contrast to a conference call, a live, online video meeting allows participants to see your facial expressions and body language. This can help make meetings feel more personal and familiar.Web conferencing software usually also allows you to tape and archive important meetings, key strategy sessions and standard training modules that may be useful for new hires. This library of stored information forms a strong base of information as well as a record of company milestones. In addition to cost-savings, these archived materials can be used for on-boarding remote hires in a way that feels more personal than a dry, text-based manual. 4. Improving Work-Life BalanceExcessive travel can quickly burn out employees unused to tough hours on the road. As a small business owner or consultant, its important to make sure you dont burn out either. Eliminating, or at least reducing, the need for frequent travel takes a great deal of stress off key staffers that you can’t afford to lose — not to mention yourself.When you do have to be out on the road, teleconferencing can keep you connected more reliably. Bad weather or unforeseen circumstances can leave consultants and business owners stranded on the way to meetings, but web conferencing circumvents the headaches of canceled flights, long drives, or testy weather.Image courtesy of Flickr, Truthout.orgMore About: gadgets, List, Lists, online meeting, tech, telecommute, web conference, web conferencingFor more Business Marketing coverage:Follow Mashable Business Marketing on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Business Marketing channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

Will Groupon Really Boost Your Local Business?

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:18:46 +0000

Groupon has been hailed as the new miracle advertising tool. It has also been accused of being a ruthless corporate giant, preying on the ignorance of small businesses.
Since its inception in November 2008, Groupon (think social media meets coupons) has transformed the way local businesses promote their products and services.
How does it work?
First, you agree to become a featured business on their network. You then reduce your product or service price by 50% or more. Groupon promotes the deal and gets new customers through your doors. For every deal, Groupon gets between 30% and 60% of your drastically reduced price.
What? You only get half of your discount price? Thats right. But its worth it when 800 new customers come storming in for your product. Or is it?
At 58% discount, this restaurant is giving away food for exposure.
There are dozens of businesses that have been all but ruined from their Groupon deals. Like any decision in business, its easy to get swept away by trends and promises of future earnings. Now heres a little secret – Groupon is not for everyone.
Small and large businesses alike have felt the keen sting of a Groupon feature gone wrong. Its up to you, as the business owner, to make the right choices for your business.
This means carefully weighing the pros and cons before leaping headfirst into what could be a raging failure.
You need to decide whether Groupon makes sense for your business. Then you need to learn how to use it properly.
Seeing Groupon Through a Marketing Jam-Jar
If giving Groupon 50% of your already discounted price doesnt raise some red flags, then you need to start seeing it through the eyes of a marketer. Marketers dont like giving money away.
They calculate the repercussions of their actions long before they commit to something new.
Your Groupon deal could change your business. It could dismantle your loyal customer base. It could lead to the degeneration of your brand identity.
Weighing the negatives means actively looking for them. Unfortunately for Jesse, owner of Posies Bakery and Café, she didnt see it coming. Her Groupons made her lose money to the point where she could hardly afford her expenses.
Groupon sold so many coupons her bakery nearly went under.
For 3 months, Jesse watched as Groupons rolled in – eating up all of her profits. At the time, her only intention was to get more customers through the door.
The moral of the story? Ask yourself these tough questions first.

Are you willing to replace your customer base with one-time-only coupon holders for the entire time theyre valid?
Are you willing to trade in loyal customers for customers who are loyal to Groupon, and will probably hunt for the next deal once yours is over?
Are you willing to sacrifice some brand loyalty for mass promotion?

If all youre after is exposure, then Groupon is a viable option. If youre expecting a massive boost in profits – first, tally up the most successful outcome of your deal with Groupon. The figures may shock you!
Tip #1: Limit the length of your Groupon promotion. Take note of what the Groupon sales rep has to say, and haggle for the best deal possible.
Addicted to Groupon Success
Youve decided its worth the risk – and your Groupons were a huge success! This is great as long as youre running deals, but what happens when they stop? If you use Groupon too many times, you might lose a lot of money.
The eager coupon holder, leads to loss of profits. Image source: iStockPhoto
Essentially, youre creating an army of customers who only buy from you because youre cheap. Your customer base will dissipate as soon as you give up on the coupon system. Plus your brand perception will change. The discounted product or service will not sell as well at its normal price.
Dont get stuck in the Groupon addiction cycle. If your Groupons are that successful, your business will expand in a few short months. You might not be able to sustain the sales boom without more and more coupon discounts. As the deals fall away, you could be stuck in a situation where you have even less business than before.
Tip #2: Use Groupon to get people through the door. Entice them with some specials of your own. Focus on the upsell, on turning these one-off customers into repeat business.
Groupon in Context
Many businesses are still trying to recover from the economic recession. They cut their prices down to barely earn a profit from their sales. Competition based on price is an unhealthy way to grow your business. Yes, there are many advantages of an excellent Groupon promotion, but it has no real long-term returns.
The problem is that struggling small businesses see Groupon as their marketing savior. They dont take into account the fact that they will have to work harder for less money, or order more stock to sell for next to nothing.
Groupon says that many people dont claim their purchased coupon, which leaves more profit for the business owner. Be aware that the larger your product or service, the fewer peo

I’d hire a social media expert, and maybe you should, too

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:37:10 +0000

Social media experts have been under assault lately. I guess my previous post on the topic didn’t have much influence.

FaceNiff Makes it Easy to Hack Facebook From Android Smartphones

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:29:19 +0000

FaceNiff is an Android application that lets users sniff and intercept web session profiles over Wi-Fi networks, stealing other users credentials from services such as Facebook, Twitter and others.The app requires root access on the users Android smartphone, but other than that its fairly simple to use, which makes it perhaps even more dangerous than Firesheep, a Firefox extension that lets users hijack Facebook and Twitter sessions over Wi-Fi networks. FaceNiff also works on WPA-encrypted Wi-Fi networks, which Firesheep doesnt support.While were not suggesting that any of our readers should use the app to hack someones account (it might even be illegal depending where you live), the sheer fact that such an app exists and is very easy to use means that you should be extra cautious when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.Recently, we wrote about the necessity of using HTTPS, which offers a fair degree of protection against attacks such as those from FaceNiff and FireSheep. If you still havent switched to HTTPS connection on all your favorite web services which support it (both Facebook and Twitter have the option), we recommend you do so right now.Besides Facebook and Twitter, the latest version of FaceNiff also works with YouTube, Amazon and Polish social network Nasza-Klasa.[FaceNiff via Engadget]More About: android, facebook, FaceNiff, hack, hacking, smartphone, wi-fi, WirelessFor more Tech Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad

Socialisting: A New Way to Find Your Dream Job (or Apartment)

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:28:40 +0000

Socialisting: A New Way to Find Your Dream Job (or Apartment)