Ship My Pants: Kmart's Saving Grace?

Four days ago, Kmart released their new commercial online, before it even went to television.  As of today, it has gone viral, with close to 6,000,000 views.  Why is this video so great?  It's hilarious!

The video goes on about how people can "ship their pants", insinuating another similar phrase.  Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I03UmJbK0lA

So, as you can see, the video has a great twist that gets you not only paying attention, but laughing as well.  The buzz on Facebook and Twitter are continually growing.  #Shipmypants is trending on Twitter.  So, will this help Kmart?  I'm sure this will generate lots of attention for Kmart and their business, but will it get people into their store?  I know I love a great commercial as much as the next person, but that doesn't get me to buy their products.  Of course, who knows where this will lead Kmart.  This might be their first string of remarketing tactics.  All I know is they sure know how to make a great commercial.

What is Facebook Graph Search?

Although this search feature has been around for months, it is still somewhat of a mystery to most users.  What is it?  How do you get it?  What is the purpose?  Is my information safe?

As of now, Facebook is running a trial version of the graph search to select people in the US.  There is also a waiting list to get the graph search.  So, since it's so limited, how do you know your information is safe?

Well, according to the Facebook privacy information, most of your information is kept from random people finding it, as long as you have your settings correct.  However, everything seems to be hidden pretty well, so it is advisable to go through and change everything you possibly can if you wish to keep your information, pictures, likes, etc from other people who you do not know seeing it.  While this feature may be nice and an entirely new way to search, it is even more important now to ensure that your information stays out of the wrong hands.

However, there is much good that comes with this search.  For instance, if you want to search for people in the San Francisco area that are interested in culinary art and photography, you can easily search Facebook's database of information and find them.  While this search will definitely benefit all users, I can see the real benefit in the eyes of a businessmen.  Now, you could potentially find your target customers in a simple search feature, without having to target a large number of individuals.  This technique, if handled correctly, could allow you to get your business information to your key customers and help build your business accordingly.

While this seems like a great tool, I think anyone who is nervous about what information they have out on the web should take caution.  It does not take much for someone to search (say a current/potential employer) and find those one drunken night photos you posted.  Again, it all comes back to making sure you keep a professional brand at all times, personal or professional.  You never know who is looking for you!

Twitter Music-Coming Soon

The new Twitter music website is live, promoting the future launch of the music service on Twitter.  When a user attempts to sign in from the link above, they are directed to an app called Trending Music Web, not allowing them to access the actual website yet.  

On April 11, Twitter announced their purchase of a music company called We Are Hunted.  This company is a music discovery site that lets people listen to their choice artists, as well as showing them new artists as well.  

Some celebrities and other influential people on Twitter are getting to try the new music feature out.  People like Blake Shelton and Ryan Seacrest apparently got the feature early and got to test it out.  This has not only helped get the word out to key influencers, but helped create buzz about an app that no one seems to know exactly when will be released.  

What are your thoughts on this new app?  Do you think people will give up other music sites like iTunes and Spotify now?

Is There Life After Social Media?

On Thursday, Google announced the launch of their Inactive Account Manager, the program that will handle all your Google accounts in the event of your death.  Basically, this program allows you to set a period of inactivity (three, six, nine, or twelve months) before they take you count and delete it or pass it on to a designated friend/family member.  Of course, in case you are just inactive, Google will send you an email or text to remind you before they take action.  However, in the more than likely event that you are deceased, they will then make sure to take care of your account for you.

Twitter and Facebook also have similar policies, but their biggest difference is that they do not let users set up preferences for a situation like this.  Rather, family or friends must contact these companies and request that the information is either taken down or profiles must be made into memorial pages.

So, does Google have an upper hand in this department?  Or is this a bit over the top?  Well, if you ask me, I think it's good to have settings that Google can go in and just remove your profiles.  This seems to make the most sense, rather than making a friend or family member try and contact a huge company and fight them to make them take down your profile.  I know of many instances where family members have not done this, and news feeds are constantly blown up by people posting on their facebook pages.  I think it's okay if people want to commemorate someone that has passed, but the last thing I want to see in my news feed after someone passes away is a constant reminder that they are gone.  Maybe all other social media companies can take a tip from Google and establish some settings like this into their accounts as well.

LinkMe-The Newest Way to Get Connected

According to an article by Mashable, there is a new gadget being introduced in the tech world to help keep individuals informed of texts, social media updates, emails, and more, all by the flick of a wrist.

Okay, so maybe it's not quite that simple.  However, the gadget is pretty inventive.  Basically, it's a digital band you wear around your wrist that alerts you of texts, social media, ad other updates you program it to inform you of, without having to get out your phone and disrupt a meeting or class.  It is enabled by Bluetooth, working with your phone to help update you no matter what situation you are in.

Along with alerting you of new messages, LinkMe wristbands can be customized in a few different ways.  One way is to determine how many characters you would like the band to display at a time. Another feature is the ability to add special denotations for different contacts.  A possible future feature, should the inventor get enough funds, would be to incorporate a vibration feature as well, much like any cell phone you would use today.

Currently, this device is located on Kickstarter, a website that allows inventors to raise money from anyone who will back them up and help them start their business.  As of today, they have raised 1/3 of their $100,000 goal, with 25 days left to go.

Think this is a cool idea?  Well, me too. The possibilities of this bracelet are endless.  These inventors claim that this bracelet could not only send social media/text updates, but safety information, company information, and many other options.  The only idea that I'm not sold on?  The fact that it would be any less distracting than a cell phone.  Granted, you can read the messages without having to go through your phone, but I can't get the idea of everyone sitting in a client meeting and having bracelets lighting up with notifications.  Still, it's a great idea, and good way to keep everything organized in one little bracelet.

Surprising Facts About Social Media

For this post, I was looking to do something a little different.  Yes, these may be what some people refer to as "fun facts", but I think they are more than that.  I am a strong believer in the fact that social media has a significant impact on a business and their sales, as well as brand awareness and reputation.  Therefore, I set out to find some of the most interesting facts possible to prove this point.  Here's my top five facts about social media that prove it's impact in the business world and why you should get involved in it!

1.  There are over 1 billion users on Facebook. That's about 1/7 of the entire population. That's a lot of potential followers and influencers.

2.  Time spent on each social media outlet per month is surprising.  What better way to get people involved than through one of these great social media forums?

3. Think only young people are on social media? Not true!  As of 2012, 62% of adults worldwide use social media ( The Social Skinny).

4. On average, every twitter user has 126 followers (The Social Skinny).  What does this mean for you?  If even just five people retweet something from your business, that is potentially seen by at least 630 people.  The best part of this statistic?  It's FREE advertising and brand mentions, all by people that are influencers in their followers, which make them more likely to increase your sales.

5. Using images on Facebook is important.  If you want more interaction, on average, Facebook images increase likes by 53%.

Top Five Tips for Optimizing SEO in Social Media

Many companies nowadays have a social media presence.  Whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogger, or any other social media platform, it's important to be involved in today's world.  However, many companies do not utilize these tools to their full potential.  One of the biggest keys to success has to do with SEO, Search Engine Optimization.  This is a fancy term used to describe the process of making your site more visible on the web.  In order to allow customers and potential employees to find out about you, SEO is key.

Not sure how to use all the millions of tools out there for SEO or just plain confused?  Well, there's always a company you can hire for SEO, a great idea when the industry is constantly changing and updating.  However, if you want to try it out on your own or simply want to learn a little bit more, here are my top five tips on SEO optimization and how to utilize it in social media.

Top Five Tips for Optimizing SEO in Social Media

1. Use keywords!!!!

This is by far the most important thing you could do to improve your website content.  By using keywords, Google can better rank your information for search engine results and therefore get your name up higher in the organic results listings (the search results that aren't ads).  There are many tools out there to use, but a personal favorite of mine would be the keyword tool in Google Adwords.  It takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you figure out how to navigate throughout Adwords, you will find it much easier to use.  All you need to do is set up an account (you don't have to put a monetary amount in if you are not interested in running ads), create a campaign if required, then go to Tools and Analysis and click on Keyword Tool.  With this tool, you can search for keywords relevant to your company, and find out what items are popular and successful.

If this is too complicated for you, there are tools out there like SEOmoz that allow you to pay a subscription fee and find keywords in a similar fashion as above.

Whatever you choose to use, make sure that you use something!  By not using keyword optimization, your information will be lost in the abyss of the web, never to be found by potential customers.

2. Link, and link often!

Google uses the amount of links on your site as a tool to measure relevance.  The key to this is to have relevant and working links.  If you add in "filler" links, Google will not miss it.  Moral of the story? Make sure to use relevant links that your followers will want to click on to improve your search rankings.

3.  Utilize title tags and meta descriptions.

This sounds like a no-brainer right?  Well, it's easily forgotten.  By writing descriptive and optimized meta descriptions, people searching for your information can find you easier.  Along with that, unique and relevant title tags help boost your SEO ratings as well.

4. Pick a relevant and unique twitter handle.

Again, sounds obvious right?  If you don't pick a handle (the #company that represents your page) that is relevant to your information, it will be hard to gather followers and get non-customers who may not know about you gather any information.  For instance, if I am looking to find influential people in the world of social media, I am going to search for certain key words.  If a social media expert has a handle like #mynameischris, I will more than likely not stumble upon them. So, find a twitter handle that is relevant to your company and make sure to focus your content around that!

5. Be involved!

The biggest mistake in social media today is companies that do not constantly engage with their followers.  A company that rarely posts on social media is not going to be seen as an influential body in their field, making their likelihood of being found in search results very low.  Whether it's posting on a regular basis or responding to comments by customers, it is important to be involved. Yes, this may mean having someone constantly monitoring your social media accounts, but it is worth it.  Customers want to be interacted with, and impressions are everything.  If someone complains, it is best to address it quickly.  The same goes for positive comments.  Interaction and involvement is key to success!