Social Solutions

When did the executives of the world hold the meeting to inform LinkedIn that they needed help communicating? Obviously, there was a meeting because the newest AI feature does exactly that…provides the words, the when and the automatic messaging for its users making networking easier and presumably more effective.

Today’s Social Solutions Show with Ken Herron and Carol McManus will weigh in on the newest advances and add our own take on the when, where and why. Moving on, we’ll update you on Snapchat’s new World Lenses. Video advertising is the new norm and you will be seeing more of it in your Twitter stream.

If you’re a fan of Instagram, then private collections might be a feature worth exploring. And if that’s not enough, then tune in to learn how native advertising is the hot new (old) advertising. And if you really want to stand out from the competition, they pay attention to Pasted.

We all know that social media leaves fewer and fewer places to hide from our mistakes, and when we don’t learn from past failures, the impact compounds itself. Poorly managed customer service, specifically on social media, is not a new controversy surrounding United Airlines, but this time, they went too far.

That’s how we’ll open today’s Social Solutions Show. Get ready for Ken Herron’s and Carol McManus’s take on this topic along with LinkedIn’s new desktop experience (have you read Who Moved My Cheese?), as well as introduce you to Instagram Direct.

You may not think you need them – or can afford them – but what is the real implication behind the new Periscope custom hearts? And if you want some simple, practical advice on modern marketing and customer responsiveness, then it’s all about dialogue.

With Easter only a week away, everyone is thinking about eggs – including Twitter – but in their case, they decided to permanently do away with the egg as a default option for user who don’t take the time to upload their own image. Will this separate the men from the boys? Who knows, but that along with another change in how they count 140 characters all seem to be in an effort to clean up the riff-raff and encourage users to engage more often.

Facebook profiles and pages can now livestream 360-degree video but it comes with a price and perhaps even questionable benefit to the majority of business marketers. In addition, Facebook how has Personal Fundraisers and Donate Buttons. Are they competing with GoFundMe and Kickstarter or is this a new innovative option?

With Ken Herron back from his world travels we had to talk about analytics and happily Periscope obliged by introducing a new activity tab and a more robust analytics dashboard. Wishing you had more sticks? In this case, it’s Instagram that stepped up offering new stickers to go along with Instagram stories.

Ken will share his travel report which includes a lesson on ‘it’s never too late’ – in this case to join LinkedIn. And we’re thrilled to have returning guest Ben Forta on the latest Adobe Spark Post update.

If Copycat tactics are the highest form of flattery, then Snapchat should be blushing. But that blush probably doesn’t represent happiness as much as a boiling anger over the continued scraping of their once unique features. The latest to introduce their version of Stories is their enemy number one – Facebook! With Facebook Stories, the argument for a more connected community is diluted.

The world of social media and digital tools marches forward and with every new initiative marketers are challenged with the decision of what delicacy to taste and what should be discarded from their plate. Herein lies the challenge with marketing – we all have limitations on our budgets so when dollars are allocated for something, then something old needs to take a back seat.

Today’s Social Solutions Show is all about choices and latest introductions with a skeptical eye toward the future of marketing. Here are some common trends that are emerging to help you decide how and where to spend your money:

f you recall, there was huge excitement in the tech world between 1995 and 2001 in the era known as the Dotcom Bubble. But then came the crash and many shattered dreams as well as empty bank accounts. Watching what is happening less than a week after Snap’s IPO may well be an echo back to that era. We’re not a finance show, but the strength and sustainability of social media sites has direct impact on us as business owners and marketers.

That’s where we will start today’s Social Solutions Show. But this topic goes deeper. Ask yourself: How much money will I spend on advertising online? Where will I allocate those dollars? What results should I be getting? And then add one more question to the mix: Which sites are likely to grow and innovate ensuring their longer-term success?

In an effort to make Pinterest even more viable to the masses, you can now search for new Pins by searching any image on any website! Very smart on their part but potentially costly to you if you snag photos that require purchase from stock photography sites. Twitter Moments has added a new Analytics tool which is expected to boost usage of this cool feature. If you’re not using it yet, give it a whirl – you will definitely stand out to your network.

And while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we suspect that Snapchat is wishing that Instagram would a bit less imitating. The latest is geostickers to go with your Stories. There are a few limitations right now but it dilutes another feature on Snapchat.

We’re back from our mid-winter break and tons of great (and not so great) things have been happening in the social media digital world. Let’s start with LinkedIn. Okay, we can agree it was time for facelift but why on earth copy Facebook? Perhaps that wasn’t the plan but it is certainly the outcome and according to many social channels, the reaction is not good.

We love to talk about video and Bravo to Instagram for being the first to really stretch the envelope on what you can do in a single post. Try sharing up to 10 pictures and videos! This is not an invitation to bombard your audience with every bad picture sitting on your smart phone, but (done correctly) a boon to marketers.

Periscope finally closed the back door to groups. Starting immediately only creators of groups can add and remove members or change the title of the group. Silly mistake but many groups were compromised because non-creators were wreaking havoc.

Here’s a good question: Do you know what the Von Restorff Effect is? Well, we will share the answer on today’s Social Solutions Show. And if you stick with us, we will also share the five C’s of effective social media as published by Buzz Sumo.

We’ve been talking for some time now about the enormous value of the Pinterest Buy button, but they are working on a project that will totally upend retail as we know it today. Can you imagine being able to see an image on Pinterest, tap on it, and be immediately directed to where you can buy it? It’s coming!

Facebook is serious about video – in ways that even Facebook never imagined. For starters, bringing sound to videos in your News Feed – no more silent movies! And what about the possibility of a Facebook Video App for TV? It’s coming!

What else can you expect in this Social Solutions Show? We’ll share new research on optimizing performance of videos on social media. And do you know the latest consumer trends and what you need to do to stay in front of your customers?

Our friends at Google Maps have added a really compelling feature. You can now create lists of destinations to share with others. We’ll share our thoughts on how this simple option can be used by different businesses.

For a long time, you have heard us say to avoid polarizing topics on social media lest your business risk alienating half of your potential market. Topics typically include gun control, religion, abortion, and of course, politics. But these are new times and maybe the rules have changed. Especially if what is happening in politics is impacting your clients and in turn, your business.

Less polarizing but equally exciting is the world of sports and of course, with the Super Bowl VI now a memory, we can reflect on the social media winners and losers as well as the lessons learned from the hashjackers who tweeted away while waiting for Tom Brady to show up (which he did in style!).

It was only a matter of time before YouTube joined the live stream party and it will soon be open to all Tubers. We will share the best practices that have emerged for live-streaming – it’s an easy check list that any small business can apply. And when you are live streaming should that phone be held vertically or horizontally? The debate between cinematic pros and every day users may rage on, but the social networks have finally succumbed to ordinary habits of users.

The beautiful thing about the Super Bowl is that you don’t have to have $5 million to spend on a 30-second ad. But you must be ready to take advantage of the action through social media and become part of the conversation. We’ll share tips on how to play and what traps to avoid.

Have we talked about video recently? The evidence continues to stream in supporting the use of video in your online marketing. Whether you prefer Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat or any other popular platform, this is without question the best way to get the attention of your intended target. But you probably won’t be using video for every single post so that leave visual content. But the bar has been raised. You can no longer use any old image. It must be compelling and attention-grabbing.

Do you lost sleep over when you should post for optimum engagement? Well, you’re not alone, but the truth lies in your own habits and the audience you connect with. It will be impacted by your industry, your location, when users are online and other factors but the answers are at your fingertips.

Still struggling with Snapchat or maybe you’re just avoiding it completely. Well, get your head out of the sand and polish off your best stories. It’s easier than you think and tremendously effective.

We’ll round out the show with some tools you may have overlooked in the past or haven’t even heard of yet. Check out Awario, Mention, Brand24, Hootsuite, and Buzzsumo. You won’t be sorry.