Falling On Deaf Ears: Facebook and Google+ Battle It Out

Are Marketer’s @ the Mercy of More Social Media Mediums?

The introduction of Google + has forced Facebook to make some major changes. We will see if both can compete together, or who will eventually rise to the top. It certainly puts pressure on marketers to discover new ways to introduce new content. It’s good to expand one’s knowledge and reach, but not at the expense of the business will suffer or devote resources to the wrong channels. Businesses will be competing for attention of audiences on Facebook and Google+ as they navigate new waters. It’s not about following trends, but finding the RIGHT FIT for you and your audience. It’s about incorporating some fundamental best practices, but at the same time adding the human element to the experience.

“Curse you, Facebook! Just when I think I’ve figured out how to use the features on here, you go and change everything again…arrgghh.” – Comments by Keri Singer’s Facebook Friend

“At least give us the option of having the old feed. I HATE the new layout. Might be moving to Google+.” – Comments by Facebook profile Amanda Lee Brock.

Since its start, Facebook has been offering new options and they are having security issues around profiles. Today’s new launch includes different new options for your “News Feed” and last week was the “Subscribe” feature. As the service expands and competition arises, more companies need to be nimble. Facebook and Google + must constantly better examine their approach. They must give the right guidance to customers and attempt to be more authentic with their communications. Yet, we still find people getting annoyed with Facebook and distrust the changes with other social media services.

Similar to any personal relationship: It’s about listening, learning and building trust online with your audience. Otherwise, there is a chance people could leave you looking for something better.

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: What’s All This Tech Talk?

BIRDS OF A FEATHER WILL FLOCK TOGETHER

Follow the Tweety Bird, Right?

I’m open-minded to using new advancements in technology and communicating with others through different channels. I understand this @Me, @You, @WeAreAwesome, @ListenToMe, @MyBrand, @WhoAreYou on Twitter and now appearing everywhere. I wonder how did this shorthand “tech talk” evolve and what does it mean to the future of communication?

"Copy and study this list of text messaging spelling words. We will have a test tomorrow."

The social media ninjas and mavens equate Twitter to a conversation between others at a party. Yet, more people at business events are communicating with one another picking up their phone to make a Twitter statement rather than walking over to carry on a conversation. In some strange way by attending an event with a room full of people sharing a similar hashtag creates a safe environment to connect to the panel and/or the audience. I appreciate the opportunity to read different viewpoints from others sharing their thoughts on Twitter. Although it surprises me that some are still too shy to approach one another in a real face-to-face conversation. For others, the mobile medium is just the thing to make the introduction easier to break the ice and say hello.

BRB, LOL, RT, bit.ly, ow.ly, #hashtag, ^KS

Do you ever wonder who chooses the characters that are adopted by many to speak with one another on Twitter? Why is this language appearing in other everyday conversations that it has become acceptable? As people increase the use of Smartphones, texting, Twitter and so forth, English is starting to become a second language as a set of digital words takes on new form.

Over the years, prestigious awards have been given to authors that have been recognized for their talents and their extraordinary use of the English language. During this day and age, we praise others for the most ‘LIKES’ and ‘Followers’ that have crafted their characters and content in a way to gain recognition. We edit our comments keeping things concise because time is precious to capture one’s attention. The popular search-engines start to highlight these commonly used terms and comments at the top of its rankings that others start to copy the style. As more people use new technology and the “talking trends” become mainstream, it’s all right to abbreviate in other areas of communication.

CRM, ABAP, GAAP, MoMA, OSHA

In business, employees use a set of acceptable acronyms instead of certain words to communicate with their colleagues and their audience. They even have an acronym finder online to help one understand the latest terminology! The ability for one to grasp new terms is important to comprehend, communicate, and keep on top of new business trends and product enhancements. Who determines this acceptable language of acronyms? Is it a group of high-level executives that make these terms formally accepted by employees and later funnels down to the marketing collateral and communications?

A New Language

In today’s society, we are obsessed with expressing our point-of-view with one stroke of a button limited to 140 characters. Some people write condensed statements such as ‘u’ instead of  writing ‘you’. In some cases, people have focused too much on their Facebook status/Twitter updates that they have neglected other forms of communication using proper structure and complete sentences.

Twitter Gibber

At one time, tweets such as “RT @kerisays, Twitter worth $3.7 billion http://tcrn.ch/hizxcZ! Twitter birds will flock, talk and tweet tonight at Boston’s #MegaTweetUp. See you there,” didn’t have much meaning to most. Today, it’s a common use of symbols and words understood by followers. The frequent use of email, text, Twitter, and Facebook updates have caused people to accept this new form of speech for everyday conversations. The introduction of Twitter created a new language and set of rules, as well as new businesses that have sprung up for people to tweet, ReTweet, post, and abbreviate their conversations.

Although it’s sometimes hard to define all these digital words and abbreviations as they’re constantly changing, it’s also interesting to learn how people seek new ways to be accepted by others, connect and communicate.

I hope in the near future we don’t start saying  “@Command = Hi, how are you?, @Command = Good, how are you?”

Don’t forget the human element and BE REAL. Remember when writing to someone, or speaking with your audience to connect through meaningful and memorable statements. Don’t just follow what seems to be the trend and believe it will help you to attract others. Adopting new styles of communication is fine in the right context, but we should not promote the poor usage of the English language with abbreviations and “tech talk” in other ways when corresponding with people.

Put Your Best Face Forward

The Face of the Year – Is YOU!

Mark Zuckerberg must be proud showing off his face to the world as the Person of the Year for 2010 in the new Time magazine cover. At the end of the day, people young and old want to be recognized, express themselves, be acknowledged for their ideas and thoughts, connect with friends, or ask others their opinions. Each appeases to one’s emotions, concerns, and make us feel welcomed by the crowd. In the beginning, as depicted in the movie The Social Network, the growth of Facebook was due to college students that craved a connection to be part of an exclusive community. Who’s the face of the year? It would have to be YOU and how advertisers and brands increased their tactics this past year to appeal to you and your connections on Facebook.

For many brands and advertisers trying to appeal to Generation Y using Facebook, a recent study concludes they are failing in their approach. The Nielsen Norman Group put together a research report to address College Students on the Web focused on Generation Y’s interests and uses of social media. As quoted in MediaPost’s article Social Networks No Place For Marketing To College Crowd, “While it’s no surprise that organizations targeting college students try to reach them on the web, they’re mistaken if they think the best path is through social networking sites,” noted Jakob Nielsen, principal of Nielsen Norman. Students find it easier to accomplish what they seek using search-engines, rather than turning to social media sites for the answers. “Sites like Facebook are simply not the first place that college students think to visit to get information about organizations,” states Nielsen.

College students enjoy chatting with friends and family on social sites sharing new discoveries and/or pictures, but the results of the research suggests that Gen Y is not keen with clicking on certain links from advertisers, or brands to Share This, without a clear understanding what he/she will gain from making a specific connection. The belief by most marketers is if college students are using Facebook, then they want to seek out our brand to connect. Right? Is that really the case for Gen Y, or for others? Many people fear they will be “taken advantage” by marketers. Some complain that it doesn’t make sense to pay attention to the information being shared, or perhaps others may ‘Like,’ ‘Follow,’ or ‘Share This’ for a short-lived promotional offer. A good marketer, or community manager should ask if the information is relevant to the audience, and what drives the audience to take action in the long-term to share his/her interests or thoughts with others?

Every Breath You Take,
Every Move You Make,
I’ll Be Watching You!

As consumers become more savvy with the web and the popularity of smartphones expands, there is also an increase in how personal identifiable information is collected and shared with connections, companies and/or advertisers. Is it to improve the user experience and offer better customer service? Or, do some customers think the information tracking their every move online and now off-line, could be threatening his/her privacy, security, or could create some other potential risk? Recently, the government intervened a Do Not Track proposal directed to advertisers. Additionally, companies such as Facebook have created outrage with new innovations to their products that turned off audiences for fear his/her information was shared with strangers or advertisers for financial gain.

MediaPost’s article, Dramatic Rise In College Students Tweaking Facebook Privacy Settings, highlights a study by social media researchers Danah Boyd and Eszter Hargittai suggesting, “virtually all of the respondents (98%) had changed their privacy settings at least once, while more than half had done so at least four times.” The aspect of controlling one’s privacy and the amount of information made public on social sites and mobile applications continues to be raised.

Scan This, Share This, Facebook Us, Tweet Me – Is it Too Much?

As people mature from one stage of life into another, marketers and technical developers must keep in mind with new product offerings and promotions issues around tracking, consumer rights, as well as privacy a concern to customers and new government regulations. People may want to change information that was once made public in college to being private. This could have implications for one to have immediate access to these control measures, as well as it could impact a shift in one’s business model to earn money. As changes continue to occur with social media tools and other mobile applications evolve in the marketplace, the check-in could potentially check-out, unless the proper education and long-term value is brought to the attention of the audience.

Nielsen’s findings elaborated on ways for marketers to adjust their approach to ‘Share This’ or ‘Like’ that when connecting with college students:

1. “Feedback from my friends is always close.” Give an opportunity for others to receive feedback from friends on areas such as purchasing decisions. Instead of ‘Share This’ explicitly say, “What do your friends think?” Look at what the audiences continues to bring up in their conversations using social media and provide them with the answers. Or, create a larger forum for people to come together on a particular topic.
2. “If I can’t find what I am looking for fast, look somewhere else.” Gen Y like others are fickle when finding something online fast. Ease-of-navigation, limit the amount of clicks to get where one needs to go, and implement clean design that helps to make the discovery process more efficient and enjoyable to find what one seeks.
3. “There are companies that are honest, and those that will try to trick you.” People want valuable information, good resources, and ways to connect with others. However, one doesn’t want to provide his/her information at the expense that it could later turn into an open invitation for marketers to be bothersome. This could make one feel threatened that he/she maybe held captive to future promotional campaigns that offer too much clutter of content. People realize that some marketers require too much information that isn’t necessary at the initial stage of interaction with a product or service offering.

Social media will continue to thrive, change and be a cool place for the college crowd, as well as others to connect. Stay away from surprising the audience, as Zuckerberg learned quickly from the people and the media backlash against Facebook with its new product launches, privacy controls and speculation on new tactics used to monetize the site. Be sure to follow digital best practices to examine the design and provide useful content and resources. It’s important to be upfront with audiences that helps to build trust and empower them to take action to building more valuable connections.