Social Media Latest

Twitter gives Lists a boost

For some time I’ve wondered and been a little irritated why it wasn’t possible to add more than 500 users to a Twitter list. When creating a list of Cheltenham Twitter users it meant creating more than one Twitter List eg Cheltenham Tweeters 1 and 2 making creation and use of Lists messy.

So it’s great news that Twitter have announced that a Twitter List can now contain 5000 accounts. Furthermore, an individual is no longer limited to creating 20 Lists and can have as many as 1000.

Twitter Lists are great at helping organise people and information into whatever categories you choose and they can public or private. With this expansion I suggest that you revisit any existing Lists and update them to take advantage of the changes. For example, rather than being forced to view several Lists of up to 500 members to obtain information around a topic, you can now just view one.

If you haven’t yet used Lists then check they are well worth investigating.  Here’s how to create and add someone to a List:

1) Select the head and shoulders icon for profile of the person you wish to add to your List
2) Select the drop down menu
3) Then select ‘Add or remove from lists’
4) You can then create a new list or select a tick box to add the person to one of your existing Twitter Lists

Read my previous blog post from February 2013 containing 5 great tips on using Twitter lists.

I’ve often thought that Twitter Lists were under utilised so perhaps these improvements will give Lists a popularity boost.

Learn how to use Twitter Lists at my regular Advanced Twitter for Business workshops in Cheltenham.

Do you use Twitter Lists? Let me know in the Comments below.

Facebook introduce Verified Pages and Profiles

Facebook has launched its own version of Verified accounts following the lead of Twitter who introduced their verified status in 2009. Verified Facebook Pages and Profiles are indicated with a circular blue badge containing a white check mark that looks like the Nike swoosh logo. Twitter’s verified symbol is very similar with a lighter blue. The badge is displayed on the Page, Profile and in search results.

Facebook made the announced as follows, “Verified Pages will help people find the authentic accounts of celebrities and other high-profile people and businesses on Facebook. This update is rolling out to profiles as well.”

Having the Verified badge demonstrates to Facebook users that the Page or Profile they are viewing is the genuine brand or high profile person and not a fake or parody account.

There is a certain amount of kudos attached to having a Verified account on Twitter and the same will probably be true on Facebook as well. This is mainly because display of the badge is entirely at the discretion of the social network; you can’t request to be Verified.

The recent introduction of the Follower feature indicates that Facebook (like Twitter) is keen to become a source of news and information, so having verified news source Pages eg Sky News Arabia and journalists (Verified Profiles are coming soon) makes sense.

Collect email addresses direct from Twitter

Twitter have announced an exciting new addition to their ‘cards’ which will enable people to sign up to email lists directly over Twitter from within a tweet. Twitter cards is the name given to the multimedia you sometimes see in expanded tweets on Twitter.com and mobile apps.

The Lead Generation Card will help a business collect leads, expand the number of subscribers to their newsletter and encourage people to submit their details to obtain special offers.

Here’s an example of what the new card will look like from the Twitter Ads Blog:

What’s exciting about this development is that it makes it very easy for the Twitter user to submit their information as their name, email, and Twitter username are automatically populated in the card. All the user has to do is select ‘Submit’. How cool is that?

Long, complex processes are a barrier to obtain sign-ups so making it this easy will encourage potential clients to engage with brands.

Unsurprisingly, the feature won’t be free and will be included in Promoted Tweets; part of Twitter Ads - read more here. It’s currently only available to a few selected Twitter partners but will be rolled out to the Twitter Ads dashboard for small businesses soon. If you’re interested sign up for Twitter Ads here.

Lead Generation Cards need to connected to one of Twitter’s approved CRM or email platform such as Salesforce or MailChimp.

If you need help in setting up Twitter Ads or Cards please get in touch.

Slingshot into your shopping basket from Facebook

Innovative new service Slingshot allows online shoppers to add items to well known shopping baskets directly from Facebook. For example, if you’re on the Heineken Facebook Page you can buy a beer with just one click.

‘Slingshot’ #Heineken from our fridge straight to your online shopping basket ready for the bank holiday weekend facebook.com/heineken/app_5…

— Heineken UK(@Heineken_UK) May 2, 2013

The next time you go into your shopping basket the beer will have been added. Simple.

Slingshot works with major online e-commerce sites such as ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Boots. The Slingshot button can also be added to your own website or even a YouTube video.

On Facebook Page, Slingshot is implemented on a tab and as the Slingshot button doesn’t take up much space it can easily be incorporated into any branding or design. Another example is Gü Puds.

Having its own page means a unique web address that can be promoted directly on the Facebook Page’s Timeline, on a website or in an email newsletter.

Slingshot enables shoppers to buy from websites on the internet where they are spending their time eg Facebook. They’re no longer restricted to having to visit an online shop so Slingshot is likely to generate a lot of impulse purchases.

To make the process as easy as possible, there’s no need for shoppers to sign up for a Slingshot account as the customer’s login credentials for the online shop eg Tesco.com are used.  The connection with the online shop only has to be made the first time Slingshot is used.

Shopping on Facebook has not perhaps been as successful as brands have anticipated. With Slingshot easy and fun could it provide the boost that makes social shopping take off?

If you’re interested in implementing Slingshot on your Facebook Page, YouTube video or website please get in touch for a quote.

Would you consider implementing Slingshot on your Facebook Page? Would you use as an online shopper? Let me know in the Comments below.

Social Media Passions [Infographic]

Click here the Infographic below if you wish to view an enlarged version.

Facebook to launch Video Ads?

It’s rumoured that Facebook are going to launch 15 second Video Ads which will automatically play in your News Feed. They will be muted by default but users will be able to turn sound on if they wish. This suggests that Facebook are very conscious that autoplay video ads with sound could irritate and turn off users but without sound will they be attractive to brands?

Facebook is under increasing pressure from investors to deliver revenues that justify its share price and the launch of Video Ads would no doubt be attractive the the many brands that currently advertise on TV and YouTube. LinkedIn are the only other social network to offer video ads although these appear on the side bar and not directly in the News Feed (Home Page). It’s worth noting that hugely popular Google Adwords don’t contain videos or even images.

Video Ads would join the large array the existing portfolio of Facebook Ad formats:

Marketplace Ads
These are the Ads that you see on the right hand sidebar of Facebook and are similar in nature to Google Adwords.

Sponsored Stories
Sponsored stories are based on the activity of Friends. For example, if one of your Fans likes a Post on your Facebook Page their name and photo can be displayed to their Friends.

Facebook Offers
Facebook Offers allow businesses to promote a special deal or discount. When users claim an offer their Friends will be notified in their News Feeds.

Promoted Posts
Regular posts can be promoted directly from a Facebook Page (or Profile). This means that Page Posts will appear in more News Feeds than they would normally. They are purchased at a pre-set price rather than a pay-per-click basis.

Promoted Page Likes
Launched in April 2013, they are setup from the Admin Panel and attract new Likes to a Facebook Page. Like Promoted posts they are purchased at a pre-set price.

What do you think of Facebook Video Ads? Would they be attractive to you as a business or would they annoy you as a user?

LinkedIn Today updated

LinkedIn Today has been updated and now provides new ways for readers to tailor content to their requirements and interests.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that LinkedIn has been positioning itself as a source of news and information over the past year and this latest change is in line with their strategy of becoming a serious media company.

Four tabs now appear on LinkedIn Today – Your News, Influencer Posts, All Influencers and All Channels. LinkedIn members can now select 5 channels (previously called Topics) and 5 influencers that they wish to follow. Content from the chosen channels are published on the default Your News tab with posts from your selected Influencers displayed under the Influencer Posts tab. Members can use the remaining two tabs to view All Influencers and All Channels.

This approach provides tighter customisation than previously, where an algorithm was used to display personalised content. From each new tab it’s easy to follow new Channels and Influencers with buttons placed throughout the content. You can also visit an individual channel to view all its subject matter and you can Unfollow from there too. On the right hand side a navigation menu is provided to the other Channels and your selected channels are marked with a tick.

The new LinkedIn Today is a great source of current news, insights and content that you can Like, Comment on and Share with your professional network.

Kevin Gu, an associate product manager at LinkedIn says, “By following channels you will have access to timely and relevant professional news and insights that can help you stay one step ahead and be in the know on what’s trending in your professional network.”

Change your Facebook Page name (even with more than 200 Likes)

With such a great news service from the likes of Mashable and The Next Web it’s not often that I publish an exclusive but here’s a minor piece of Facebook news that it seems no-one else has picked up on.

Up until now, if you wanted to change the name of your Facebook Page and you have more than 200 Likes it could be very difficult. In fact, Facebook Help states “You can’t currently change the name of a Page with 200 or more likes.”

The good news is that you can now put in a request to Facebook via the Admin Panel and if permission is granted, you can change the name of your Page no matter how many Likes you have.

The process for changing your Facebook Page name is as follows:

1. Go to your Admin Panel
2. Select Edit Page then Update Public Info
3. In the Basic Info section go to Name about half way down the Page
4. If less than 200 Likes change Edit the name in the Name field
5. If more than 200 Likes select the Request Change link
6. Check the ‘I understand the formatting guidelines for my Page’s new name’ box
7. Select the appropriate option under ‘Your Page name currently represents’
8. Check the ‘I would still like to change my Page name. I have documentation to demonstrate this change’ box
9. Enter ‘Your Desired Page Name’
10. Enter the reason for the name change from the drop down
11. Upload appropriate documentation such as a utility bill or phone bill.

Facebook will then let you know if your request has been approved; hopefully within a few days. If you have any questions on your Facebook Page please use the Ask a Question flyout on the left.

Twitter takes two steps to improve security

It’s been a long time coming and it’s action that I’ve been hoping for some time – Twitter is introducing two-step authentication which will reduce the chances of accounts being hacked. With the recent hacking of the @AP account which falsely reported explosions in The White House causing injuries to Barack Obama and the ever increasing amount of Twitter SPAM the improvement in security is very much needed.

Two-step security should can prevent a hacker from accessing an account and it’s a system already in use by Google – find out more – and Facebook where the system is named login approvals – more on this.

When logging in from a new device, the system requires two steps. Users have to enter a password as the first step and a randomly generated code then has to be entered on the new device, typically via a text message or smartphone application, as a second step. It’s likely that the new system will be rolled out in the next few weeks.

Given that Twitter user names are public, a hacker only needs to obtain the password to gain access to an account so this extra level of security is much needed. The lack of an administrator feature for corporate Twitter accounts further increases the risk of hacking, as often the same password is held by many employees. Let’s hope that Twitter develops the ability to have multiple admins on an account in the not too distant future too.

Will you opt-in to two factor authentication once it’s launched? Let me know in the comments below.

LinkedIn now has mentions

It’s great how the main social networks ‘borrow’ each others features which is good news for members who benefit from increased or improved functionality. Facebook and Google+ do this on a regular basis with cover photos and automatic upload of photos two examples of features appearing on one network quickly followed by appearance on another. It’s rumoured that Facebook will soon be launching hashtags. Originally a Twitter idea, hashtags already feature on Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

LinkedIn have just borrowed another idea that of the main social networks first appeared on Twitter; mentions. Also labelled mentions on LinkedIn, you can just type a person’s or a company’s name to mention them or put an @ symbol in front of the name to prompt suggestions – just like Facebook.

Mentions enable you to have conversations with people because when used people can see who it talking about them and instantly respond. They help conversations flow and are one of the reasons that Twitter is more conversational than Facebook.

Below is a Slide Show in which LinkedIn explain how their new mentions work. It’s interesting to note that if you share an update to Twitter. the mentioned person’s Twitter name is published seamlessly. Note that this will only work if the person mentioned has added their Twitter handle to their profile.

LinkedIn started rolling out mentions to English speaking countries on 4 April so if you don’t yet have the new feature you should do soon.

I’m running a LinkedIn workshop in Cheltenham on Wednesday 24 April if you’d like to learn about making the most of LinkedIn. Alternatively, you can use the Ask a Question flyout on the right.

UPDATE on 27 April 2013: Looks like LinkedIn mentions are not being rolled out in the UK as I can now use them on my profile.

How are you going to use the new LinkedIn Comments feature? Let me know in the Comments below.