It's Open - Social Media Strategy Consultancy

by Justin Hunt

The late Douglas Adams had some entertaining insights into how we react to
new technologies (ie TV, phone, cinema, radio, printing, the wheel and so
on):

1 Everything that is already in the world when you are born is just normal

2 Anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is
incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career
out of it

3 Anything that gets invented after you are thirty is against the natural
order of things and the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it
until it has been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out
to be alright really.

Sounds familiar?

by Justin Hunt

Social media used to mean setting up a Facebook or Twitter presence. To an extent, it still does. However, social media and the value it provides to businesses and organisations is fundamentally shifting.

Social media is becoming ‘social production’. Social media is providing platforms for different modes of production which offer businesses and organisations the opportunity to reinvent themselves.

Social media technologies provide the powerful tools for businesses and organisations to collaborate with customers and key stakeholders to create, produce, distribute and support new products and services.

We are already seeing examples of these new modes of production emerging as forward looking companies seek the possibilities that social media tools offers to be innovative.

Starbucks and Procter and Gamble are already taking advantage of these new modes of production and new era companies are emerging such as Threadless and Local Motors.

The potential for these new modes of production to be introduced into the world of science can be seen through Galaxy Zoo and already the ‘open science’ or ‘networked science’ movement is gaining momentum.

These new modes of production present opportunities for companies to change the way they work and become more innovative for future growth and success.

It is the dominant social media networks who are already putting these principles into practice. For example, YouTube provides a compelling platform for people to create videos for public consumption. Wikipedia is also a well known example of how people are prepared to collaborate online to create, distribute and share knowledge.

The key business questions will become: ‘How can we, as a business, act as a platorm and how can we create and produce value in collaboration with our key stakeholders using social media technologies?’

In order for these new modes of production to emerge, there needs to be a change in mindsets. Social collaboration and production is a state of mind which demands different principles and values if it is to be successfully applied in this networked information economy.

For example, organisations and businesses which are more open will find it easier to collaborate and produce new services and products with their key stakeholders than those organisations which are more closed. The open organisations and businesses will be able to identify potential assets and be able to connect to them more easily to produce new value in this social network age. Social media is not just a communications channel, it is a different mode of production, distribution and exchange.

by ItsOpen

We’re constantly bombarded with tips and tricks for how to create the best Facebook campaign. But sometimes, it’s nice to have a common-sense, straight-forward approach that outlines the basics.

This infographic below, the Anatomy of a Killer Facebook Ad Campaign takes you through all the steps of setting up a successful Facebook Ad Campaign. There is an element of bias here, AES Connect which created the infographic is a Facebook app developer. But, it’s still worth checking out.

The checklist at the bottom detailing all the things you need to do is handy, and the stats about Facebook and its influence on a users’ shopping habits makes for interesting reading.

Do you have a Facebook campaign planned out? Or do you go with the flow?

by ItsOpen

Even those who aren’t particularly social media savvy will probably have read an article about Pinterest at some point in 2012. It’s incredibly popular – hitting 10 million U.S monthly unique visitors faster than any independent site in history. Users (mainly women, with only 3% being men) love it for squirreling away all those pretty things that don’t quite justify a full blog post. Brands and blogs love it because it’s a fantastic tool for referral traffic. In fact, it brings it brings in more traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

We could go on and on about the benefits of Pinterest. Or, we could show you the infographic below containing all the information you need to know about Pinterest.

So, we did just that.

by ItsOpen

Back in June 2011, Google launched its social media network: Google+. Nearly eight months on and it’s still struggling to compete against Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

While there’s no doubt that it’s got some interesting features, it seems Google is yet to find its target market – or retain all those who originally created an account.

Google has even been accused of being vague about the details of user engagement and the statistics.

Now however, it seems like the company might have a new strategy. Google bought the popular online photo editing tool Picnik back in March 2010. Recently Picnik announced it will be closing in April – to the despair of thousands of users (in particular, judging by a quick Twitter search, bloggers who don’t have access to Photoshop).

At the moment, it looks like Google will only continue to offer some of the Picnik services on its own photo editing services in Google+.

Buying up a popular online service only to close it to all but Google+ users is not something that’s likely to endear Google to its customers. Let’s hope it doesn’t make a habit of it!

I use Picnik a lot, for editing and creating montages and galleries, so I’ll certainly miss it. In the meantime I’ll be using Aviary, Pixlr and Fotoflexer.

How do you feel about Google’s strategy for Google+?

by ItsOpen

Image via Wikipedia

One of the hardest times to have a social media presence is during a PR disaster. The Carnival Cruise Corp. has recently learnt this lesson after the grounding of the cruise shop Costa Concordia in which 32 people died.

Bizarrely though, the company refused to address the disaster for several days, instead promoting updates on its latest deals and trips on the official Facebook and Twitter feeds.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, six days after the accident, the company released the following statements:

On Facebook:

“Out of respect for all those affected by the recent events surrounding our sister line, Costa cruises, we are going to take a bit of a break from posting on our social channels.”

On @MickyArison’s account, CEO of Carnival:

“I won’t be as active on Twitter for the next while. Helping our @costacruises team manage this crisis is my priority right now. Thnx”

Leaving Twitter and Facebook at such a crucial time not only leaves the brand open to plenty of criticism, but it also gives the impression they’re not coping particularly well. Yet again, a brand misunderstands that social media is about communication – not broadcasting. Therefore, you have to listen to your fans as well as inform them (even if you don’t want to hear what they have to say).

Had Carnival stuck around, released a statement and dealt with the majority of points mentioned on the page, they may have gained some sympathy and respect. The tactic they chose smacks of a child covering their ears and singing “lalala I can’t hear you!”

by ItsOpen

Carrotmob Tees (Photo credit: Charleston's TheDigitel)

One of the best things to come out of social media is the number of start-ups using it to do good. CarrotMob is one such start-up. If you’re interested in shopping somewhere other than a supermarket, with a retailer that considers the ethical and eco impact of their business, then you’ll like CarrotMob.

CarrotMob is a concept that approaches businesses and encourages them to commit to a more eco-friendly way of working. If a business agrees, they have to submit a deal. The agreement might be something like, “If 500 members of CarrotMob turn up and buy something, we’ll commit to spending 50% of the revenue on more eco-friendly machinery.”

So, users are encouraged to buycott rather than boycott. A far more positive move all round.

by ItsOpen

Image via CrunchBase

When Whitney Houston died recently, how did you hear about it? Chances are, you found out through Facebook or Twitter. Word of mouth on social media sites moves much faster than news providers can keep up with, particularly as the latter have to take the time to authenticate the story.

A new tool hopes to help journalist authenticate content much faster, using Twitter. Seriously Rapid Source Review filters through Twitter to give reliable sources with reports, images and videos. Each tweeter will be assessed and given a credibility score based on context clues, with an approximate 89% precision score.

While it’s still in the development stages, there’s clearly a lot of potential here for newspapers, news sites and 24-hour channels like Sky News and BBC News.

You can see more about this tool in the video below.

Source: Mashable

by ItsOpen

Every time Facebook launches a new feature, layout or look, a group of users voice a negative opinion about it. Inevitable really, not everyone likes change. The level of anger is quite surprisingly though, considering it’s a free service that people don’t have to use. But it does go to prove how ingrained the social network is in our day-to-day lives.

This time, users have complained about the news ticker on the right, Top Stories section at the top and profiles being replaced by Timelines. The move to the new layout was announced months ago, and Facebook has taken longer to implement it across the board than it usually does – possibly because the team were aware of a slight backlash.

Not all the users who are discontented with the new look are adopting the all talk no action option. A group of users have got together to create a Chrome extension that promises to take Facebook users back to the good old days before news tickers and the Facebook feed order.

Facebook Classic is free to use and easy to install. You can find it in the Chrome Web Store.

by ItsOpen

Thought the touch screen technology seen in films like Minority Report was far away in the future? I think even the creators behind that film would be surprised by how fast technology has caught up. Tablets and touch screen phones are now commonplace. So, what next?

A new video from Gorilla Glass manufacturer Corning shows exactly what they’ve got planned for the short-term and long-term future. By the looks of things, touch screen technology could change everything from our choice of wardrobe and drive to work, to education in schools and augmented reality.

It’s a fascinating watch. Take a look.