DigitalLifeLovesLikes

Mind The Time Gap! Q: How do you find the right amount of time...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:53:00 -0400

Mind The Time Gap!

Q: How do you find the right amount of time for social media?

Michael Brenner, VP of SAP Global Marketing and the Managing Editor for the SAP, has some excellent insights into why you need to make time for social media investments.

First of all, if you are in marketing, communications or in the business of retaining or attracting new customers, you have an obligation to invest time in digital dialogue. And that means going beyond just consuming content: sharing or liking other people’s Pinterest memes or holiday photos.

It’s important to make time to actively create content

Brenner stresses the importance of becoming a content creator. Taking time to use social media tools to contribute to your work portfolio and establish your online reputation as active. Becoming more active will go a long way to improve your business and widen your reputation as an expert.

Make how you spend your time on the Internet a priority

Designate pockets of time in the day when you will definitely tweet, update Facebook, pin and craft blog posts. There are many online tools you can use to help organize time more efficiently. Use tools like Hootsuite to schedule tweets during the day. Create a blog content calendar in Google Docs to plan when and what you are posting week to week. Establish what time of day you check LinkedIn Home for the latest developments from peers and colleagues.

Here are Michael Brenner’s top tips for making time for social media:

Schedule a daily time commitment to your top social media platforms

Use your passion to drive your content and build followers

Help and share with others; keep the karma wheel turning

For Michael Brenner’s full story, please visit link below.

Thanks to Michael and Forbes for sharing this useful content!

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013/04/03/how-do-you-find-the-time-for-social-media/

Image: random Internet find :)

I'm all about the blend!

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:30:00 -0400

I'm all about the blend! :

I’m so happy employment experts are moving the expression work-life balance to the trash bin.

Great story in Toronto’s Globe and Mail on work-life and blending here:

“The term ‘work-life balance’ implies an equal amount of one and then the other; a separation. Boomers are obsessed with finding work-life balance and, as a result, many prefer to disconnect completely from work when they’re not in the office.

Used to working anywhere, everywhere and any time of day or night on their laptops, tablets and smartphones, millennials won’t be satisfied to just punch in and sit at a desk from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. That’s so 20th century.”

Instagram hashtags need to calm down I propose that 3-6...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:41:59 -0400

Instagram hashtags need to calm down

I propose that 3-6 hashtags are sufficient. Concentrate on key words.

Thanks to ilovecharts.tumblr.com for another enlightening image to share.

A to Y of Modern Reading for Millennials Have been thinking a...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 21:47:00 -0400

A to Y of Modern Reading for Millennials

Have been thinking a lot about reading lately. How it is trickier to find time to read paper books or actually newspapers these days (speaking personally). It is so much easier to get caught up on the news browsing Twitter and media posts I follow on Facebook. I also tend to read the news on my mobile while getting around the city on TTC. Just make it easy for me — my eyeballs are on overload.

News Flash! Millennials apparently like to read like their grandparents

Yes, regardless of what electronic device millennials (Gen Y) are using to read with, they prefer old fashion styles of presentation — that is they like to read columns of text in a plain easy to read format.

Go figure. One would assume young digital savvy punks would love fancy flashy multi-media text experiences. Something to keep in mind when revamping websites or creating apps aimed at Gen Y.

Keep it simple, these Y-kids are old skool in their reading preferences

To find out more about reading trends across other age groups please click link below. Thanks to The Atlantic for this insightful data and source material!

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/how-do-millennials-like-to-read-the-news-very-much-like-their-grandparents/266126/

"The greater part of progress is the desire to progress."

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 21:05:00 -0400

“The greater part of progress is the desire to progress.”

- Seneca

A MUST WATCH! Thank-you Antonio Banderas.

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:01:58 -0500

A MUST WATCH!

Thank-you Antonio Banderas.

Happy International Women’s Day! #IWD2013

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:55:15 -0500

Happy International Women’s Day! #IWD2013

A Social Media Manager Must Read! Your brand Facebook page...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:38:42 -0500

A Social Media Manager Must Read!

Your brand Facebook page could be breaking the rules…. big time!!!

The penalty for breaking the rules…..banishment from the realm of Facebook business pages. SRSLY!

Don’t panic – read this: http://www.marketinggum.com/what-you-cannot-do-on-facebook-page-admins-read-these-rules/

Thanks to marketinggum.com for this valuable information :)

Meow! Cat Trumps Iron! I grew up with the old school version of...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:30:26 -0500

source: http://news.uk.msn.com/blog

source: http://www.roblox.com

source: http://cdn.geeknation.com/Blogs/02_2013/monopoly_cat_2.jpg

Meow! Cat Trumps Iron!

I grew up with the old school version of Monopoly, and if there had been a cat game piece back in those days, it would have been my first pick.

Kudos to Hasbro Canada Corp., for crowdsourcing the cat — letting their community of Facebook fans vote for what they wanted to see replace the tired old iron game piece.

Do kids (and many adults) these days even know what an iron is? Bah! I don’t think so.

Brilliant social media move on the part of Hasbro Canada.

The new game set, featuring the cat, should be available by end of 2013.

Enjoy the pics :)

Hilarious! So true. Image via …..

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:53:15 -0500

Hilarious! So true.

Image via …..

Alec Baldwin’s voice could sooth a crying baby

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:19:00 -0500

Alec Baldwin’s voice could sooth a crying baby:

Was recently asked what my favourite podcast is…hands down actor Alec Baldwin’s interview program, Here’s The Thing. That man’s voice!

Guest highlights would definitely include Baldwin’s conversations with Billy Joel, Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Chris Rock, Robert Osborne, and Renée Fleming.

This show is a must listen!

Follow the show on Twitter @heresthething

For compulsive self-trackers! Currently reading Nora...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:17:37 -0500

For compulsive self-trackers!

Currently reading Nora Young’s book The Virtual Self: How our digital lives are altering the world around us.

I highly recommend this book if you work with social media or have anxiety about privacy issues.

Check out Q & A on macleans.ca with Nora, host of the CBC radio program Spark.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/06/07/the-virtual-self-cbcs-nora-young-talks-about-her-new-book/

Yup, this meme says it all!

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:01:08 -0500

Yup, this meme says it all!

Social Media Marketing Basic Factoid! Don’t make...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 20:52:00 -0500

Social Media Marketing Basic Factoid!

Don’t make conversation on your business social media platforms…. HAVE conversations!

image via Pinterest - unknown source :(

29 Ways to Stay Creative #Infographic* These are all great...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 20:47:20 -0500

29 Ways to Stay Creative #Infographic*

These are all great ideas to motivate and energize!

Try one :)

* image via Pinterest - by Ed Hall.

Photo

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:49:34 -0500

Photo

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:59:11 -0500

Is Stating the Obvious Over? I think that depends. When...

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 23:07:23 -0500

Is Stating the Obvious Over?

I think that depends.

When pitching to the media, it’s most important that the first few sentences of a pitch don’t make the audience zone out. Or worse, press delete.

There are PR professionals who argue meaningless throwaway phrases like “for immediate release” and “media advisory” are redundant. Potentially boring; causing a journalist’s eyes to glaze over.

I recently read an email pitch that lead with: “Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this request.” And I immediately thought I was in for a bore. For a start, it didn’t compel me much to continue reading. Dullsville! A classic example of an attention span killer.

In public relations it is still relevant to state if a release is under embargo or if the pitch is exclusive. These are important determiners to point out to media early on in a pitch.

The story that got me thinking about ‘what to say’ and ‘what not to say’ in a pitch and/or advisory is here: http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/81f8c716-bb0f-484b-ae0b-3b779b506df3.aspx The comments section is the best; readers debating it out!

Takeaways:

If you start to hit the snooze button on your own work in the first few lines, then don’t expect it to be an eye-opener with anyone else.
Stating the obvious is often essential, but don’t let boring verbiage slow the reader down.

PR Imperative! Fail to prepare, prepare for omnishambles! FYI...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:03:37 -0500

PR Imperative!

Fail to prepare, prepare for omnishambles!

FYI > Oxford University Press has crowned the word — defined as “a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations” — its top term of 2012.

Let’s see you use this original (and slightly ridiculous) new word in a sentence, LOL!

Source doc: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/omnishambles-gif-named-words-of-the-year-by-oxford-university-press-1.1036238#ixzz2CAQEEygd

Best Practices Rules! Stumbled across this story online –...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:01:07 -0500

Best Practices Rules!

Stumbled across this story online – Social Media Etiquette for Journalists – and gave it a once over. Right away I thought the term ‘etiquette’ wasn’t really the most appropriate. Better would have been the term ‘best practices’ or ‘engagement guidelines.’ As the post had solid tips, why not open them up for community managers, bloggers, online consumer service representatives – all those who post content or comment online basically.

Here’s a quick summary of best practices anyone can use online:

Don’t just spit out facts and headlines, put some personality into it. It’s okay to have an opinion – as long as the tone of your tweet/blog post has been discussed with a manager or social media consultant. Avoid being too controversial. One solution is vetting tweets and comments with a trusted team member before going live.

Review the company/brand social media policy. Many businesses have social media and/or brand guidelines - - make it a point to read up on expectations. Management or HR should establish a list of empowering best practices for staff, rather than a list of negative rules. Don’t discourage a potential social media brand ambassador from being your Twitter star!

With crowdsourcing still hot, have clear principals about using third party photos/images. First, contact the person who image shared; ask them to verify the image origins. Make sure it is legit. Then ask for permission to use, and make sure to credit ownership and/or source. Management would do well to create a standard practice for appropriating user generated content.

This is good advice for anyone who creates content online, not just the media. And these days it seems like just about anyone can call themselves media ;P

Source document: http://mashable.com/2012/09/26/social-media-etiquette-journalists/