20 quick fire tips for using images in your social media marketing

    

  

Recently we held our monthly New Media Breakfasts, in 29 Glasgow and Tigerlily Edinburgh to discuss the power of images and how the can be used in your social media marketing strategy. 

Images have always played a huge role in social media, and with the rising user numbers on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, their popularity has increased greatly. 

Because images are so prominent in the way we communicate today, whether it be with family, friends or clients, it's important that you know how to use them properly.  At the end of the recent presentations we offered 20 quickfire tips for using images in your social media marketing, we thought it might be useful to share these on the blog. 

1. Think Square
The branding you're working with may not always suit the square format that most platforms use for profile pictures. It's best to come up with a square version so that it's much easier and clearer to see, especially when used in the small square icon image on many social media platforms. See John Dick & Son's Facebook page. 

2. Work with animals and children
Posting photos of animals and children always get fantastic engagement, and have a positive effect on people. Here is the first day that Buzz came to the fatBuzz office, just look at the engagement we achieved on this picture!

3. Get up close
When using images on eCommerce sites or platforms promoting your products such as clothing, make sure you have high quality close up shots, so whoever's viewing your product can get a good feel for the quality of the product. See how John Smedley have done this here. You'd be unlikely to pay £120 for a shirt if you weren't sure about the material, but there close up images let you see it up close.

4. Go behind the scenes
People love to see what's going on behind the scenes, because let's face it, everyone's a little nosey! Often, behind the scenes images at an event get more engagement that the official pictures of the event.

5. Be charitable
If you're doing work with charity be sure to document it. Not only are you showing that you're giving back, but you're also raising awareness of the charity. Too see an example of this, have a look at John Dick & Son at Here Come The Girls - Princess Royal Trust for Carers 2011.

6. Office life
Similar to the point we made about going behind the scenes, people love to see what's happening behind the brand. Sharing pictures of what's happening in the office is a way of humanising the organisation.  See what's happening at the fatBuzz office here. 

7. Road trips
Turn a boring road trip into an engaging adventure. We recently posted a short AudioBoo podcast to iTunes, Facebook and Twitter from the car.  We asked people to guess our destination with the help of a few pictures posted on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #RoadTrip.  We managed to engage in online conversation with almost 30 different people - turning a 3 hour journey into something productive by letting people know what we were up to. 

8. Don't underestimate the 'selfie'
Every customer or client can take or share a selfie. In fact, 51% of the UK population have already done it according to a recent survey!  Try to incentivise them to take a selfie that includes your product, premises or event.

9. Utilise the technology
Hashtags are important for driving social media engagement, and are the main method of search on platforms like Intsagram, Twitter and Pinterest. So make sure you are using the correct hashtags so that you can widen your audience.

10. Before and after
Before and after pictures are a fantastic way to promote a service that you offer. Whether it be interior design, personal training or a cosmetic product, people love to the see the before shot and the finished article. Lustre Pure Light have utilised before and after images very well. You can view them here. 

11. Use the tools of your trade
Spectrum Service Solutions has a fairly large cleaning division and they generate engagement through a fantasy love affair using a Henry Hoover who has been swept off his feet by a Hetty Hoover - explore their Facebook page to see what they've done. 

12. Product comparisons 
If you have multiple products to offer, post a photo of them and ask people to choose which they prefer. Excel Vending use these images very well, and have event used these images for market research. To view them click here.  

13. Cover all bases

Make sure you are uploading your images to as many platforms as possible to get the most coverage. It's not all about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Have you considered YouTube, Vimeo or Animoto? Below is a video of how the The Beardmore Hotel and Conference Centre used their photo album to create a video on Animoto then embed it via Vimeo to their web site. 

14. Make your branding interactive
Utilise your branding to major events happening around the world. We have our logo, known as 'Vince', prepared for all the major events happening like the World Cup, Wimbledon, Valentine's Day, Christmas and so on. You can see what he's been up to on our Facebook page. 

15. Certificates and awards
Are you successful? Let people know! Share the success of your awards and accreditations, and make sure your audience knows how good you are. 

16. Think Big 
Many people are under the impression that images need to be reduced in size to up load to social media sites. Images of 1600px wide will upload, and view full size, on Facebook. 

17. Your events or those you attend
Share pictures of the events you are holding or are attending. Show people you are active in the industry and are always looking to build your knowledge. 

18. It's about engaging content. 
You're not trying to win the National Geographic's Gold Medal Award for Photography. Don't think that you need the best quality images to post on social media. Many of the images you see on your news feed will have most likely come from a phone - it's about content! 

19. Talk about your clients
Let your audience know what your clients are up to. Share their success stories, birthdays, anniversaries, new mascots. Many companies are afraid to reveal who they work with, but in reality it's pretty much impossible to stop them finding out anyway. So, seize the initiative and show your clients that you're prod to work for them.

Below are some screen shots of images we have used to talk about our clients, usually when we are in their offices, or when we come across their products.

20. Become transparent
Don't be afraid to inject some fun, expose your personality, and deliver transparency. 

We hope this post triggers some inspiration for you and helps you to create some more engagement for your business.  If it does, please tell us about it, we like to know when we've helped to put someone in the picture!

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A Social Referendum?

    

  

As you are no doubt fully aware, 2014 is a mammoth year for Scotland, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles, and of course, the Independence Referendum to be held in September.

In this blog post, Account Manager Graeme Geddes, takes a look at how social media might play a role in the run-up to the referendum and how effectively both camps are using social media.

The indy referendum, as many are calling it, will be, no matter the result, a pivotal moment not just in Scotland’s history, and not even just Britain’s history, but across the world.

The ramifications of the result will be felt far and wide, with the likes of the Catalans watching closely as they continue their campaign for independence from Spain.

With so much riding on the vote and with the whole world watching to see its outcome, it’s no surprise that both camps, Yes Scotland and Better Together, are using every means possible to broadcast and justify their position.

As you all know, a substantial part of what we do at fatBuzz involves social media so it would be folly for us not to look at the social media campaigns being undertaken by both camps, and how big a role social media can play in the run-up to the big day - especially with the vote open to 16 and 17 year olds.

As we say to all our clients, social media isn’t a substitute for ‘traditional’ marketing, it’s an addition to it - and both Yes Scotland and Better Together are using offline mediums to portray their messages as well as online and broadcast.

A while ago I came across a discussion on the BBC News website between Joe Twyman, director of political and social research at Yougov, and Dr Mark Shephard from the University of Strathclyde. In the discussion both men gave their opinion on the role social media will play in the vote.

From the outset of the discussion Twyman gives the opinion that the idea of social media playing a big role in the vote is “overplayed”.

He believes the Yes Scotland campaign is the more active of the two camps via social media but is then quick to state that they’re behind in the polls, suggesting it’s having little impact on the campaign.

He also adds that if you were to ask people where they get their information on politics and public affairs they say the likes of “television, radio, newspapers, and social media falls some way behind that”, but does concede that it’s good for mobilising people.

However, Dr Shephard isn’t so quick to dismiss the power of social media, citing an incident during the Irish presidential election where a tweet during a television debate arguably cost a candidate.

He then continued to say that through reading the BBC’s Have Your Say’s discussion threads he’s found individuals who’ve said “they are being affected by the material they are reading” suggesting there’s room for social media in the vote.

But let’s not take their word for it, let’s look at the respective Facebook and Twitter accounts for both camps.

At time of writing Yes Scotland had a larger social community than that of Better Together with 149,435 Facebook likes as opposed to 119,597.

And this is a trend that continued over on Twitter too with Yes Scotland amassing 40,737 followers, way more followers than its counterparts who had 22,397 followers.

It would be naive to think that an evaluation on this topic can be done just by looking at the figures which I’ve touched upon, but it’s a good starting point.

From contacting those behind both respective online campaigns it’s clear the school of thought is social media’s here to stay in politics, and that it’s seen as a powerful and influential medium.

However the scale to which this is believed was apparent to me until I contacted Rob Shorthouse, Director of Communications at Better Together. He said:

“Social media is another powerful way of getting information to undecided voters. This is not restricted to just the new 16&17 year olds who will be voting in September - or indeed younger voters more generally. With the number of accounts of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and so on registered in Scotland, it is clear that a proper social media strategy will enable you to speak to people of all ages.

“We take this very seriously. We work with the digital team who advised President Obama in 2008 and 2012. We work very hard to make sure that we have a steady flow of interesting, appropriate content for all of our social media feeds.”

And Rob’s passion and outlook on the importance of social media in the run-up to the referendum is something Yes Scotland's Head of Digital, Stewart Kirkpatrick echoed:

“As we take Yes Scotland's positive independence message to each and every household, community and organisation in Scotland, social media will continue to play a pivotal role in what is the largest grass roots movement Scotland has ever seen.

“There is a wealth of information on the benefits of a Yes vote on our website and we welcome online interactions from those wanting to learn more about independence.

“We know from our own polling that the more people are informed about independence, the more likely they are to vote Yes. Social media provides us with vital access to inform major sections of Scotland's voters.”

It’s clear to see, from both sides of the argument, that there’s a real belief that social media harnesses the potential to be very powerful and useful, not only for this vote, but for many elections to come.

It’s worth bearing in mind that whether we want it or not social media WILL play a part in this vote. Why? Because those in charge want it to be and unless they suddenly shut their social media accounts down that’s how it’ll stay.

One observation I’ve made is that both camps seem to focus on the other. They seem to want to be negative about their opponent rather than positive about themselves, but no one really wants to read negative status updates on their timeline, that’s not really what social media’s all about.

Perhaps if there were a change in the way these groups used social media they’d see a difference in their numbers and engagement.

Let’s not forget that this isn’t the first time social media has been present during a political vote. Remember Barack Obama’s first Presidential election campaign?

Back in 2008 Obama embarked upon on his journey to the White House which saw him beat John McCain in the process, and a large part of that journey involved making great use of social media. It was seen as the first ‘social campaign’.

Obama identified that many young voters were disinterested in politics, and targeted social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and even running an advert in a computer game as a means to connect with them. Using this strategy saw a larger turnout amongst young Americans and is seen as a massive factor in his victory.

But let’s look at politics on a wider scale and not just elections, social media is and will continue to be influential. Most MPs and MSPs have Twitter accounts and the likes of Newsnight, Politics Now and even Prime Ministers Questions have hashtags all aimed at encouraging engagement and broadcasting thoughts and opinions via social media.

If you ask me, social media WILL play a part in the indy vote, I just don’t know how big a role it’ll play. One thing’s for sure I’ll be hashtagging and tweeting come the 18th of September!

What do you think? Do you agree with me, or is social media just not up to the job of playing a part in the biggest day in modern Scotland? I’d love to hear your opinion, get in touch with me and tell me at graeme@fatbuzz.com.

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Southwest Airlines Flying High On Social Media

    

  

We’re forever telling clients, and prospective clients, about the power of social media and the impact it can have on your business.

In the same week we saw an American airline making the news for all the WRONG reasons, we’ve seen another hit the headlines for the RIGHT ones.

During meetings we regularly say to clients to try and get into the mindset of taking photos and videos in the workplace. When generating content for the likes of Facebook and Twitter, something as simple as a birthday can make for great, engaging content.

Then there are times where we see something which does more than just engage with the public, it also acts (inadvertently) as a sales message.

A video posted to YouTube of a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines falls perfectly into this category.

We’ve all been there, sitting on the plane waiting patiently, either excited about the holiday we’re about to embark on, or shattered from the one we’ve just enjoyed, for the pilot to get us all up in the air.

This is the time where our safety information is, usually mundanely, recited to us. Couple this with our state of excitement or tiredness, and it’s pretty common for us to miss or ignore the safety info. Not on a Southwest flight!

The attendant, whose name at the time or writing is still unknown, turned this ‘chore’ into a comedy routine. And while she spouted gag after gag, a colleague was ready smartphone in hand, to capture it all on video. Exactly what we tell our clients to do.

We’ve posted the video at the bottom of this post, so not to ruin it for you we won’t touch on every joke, but her routine included lines such as: “Position your seatbelt tight, low and across your hips, like my grandmother wears her support bra”, and “If we do make you that nervous in the next hour and half you're more than welcome to step outside. We don't discriminate at Southwest, we have a special smoking area just for you.” Brilliant.

So what makes this content good for Southwest Airlines? Just look at the plethora of positive comments about both the attendant and the airline underneath the video on YouTube, with one even saying “I should start flying with Southwest.”

This is just one example of how powerful social media, and a bit of imagination, can be for your brand. So what are you waiting for; go get your smartphone and capture all those great moments in your office.

Who knows, our next blog post may just feature you and your great social media marketing offering.

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Sometimes social media platforms can make you look silly...

    

  

Recently we presented to a client about making the most of LinkedIn's functionality and the various features they should be using on the platform. This week some of that information is completely redundant; LinkedIn is making a change to the company pages having announced the Products and Services tab is to disappear on the 14th April. 

So there we were demonstrating the fatBuzz LinkedIn Products and Services tab with a complete list of services, healthy impressions and some good recommendations only to discover it is being dropped later this month. Read more from LinkedIn here...

The problem with social media marketing is knowing where to concentrate your efforts and we've long said the hub of your social media marketing activity should be on a platform that you own and control. There are many tools and platforms out there that will help extend the reach of your message but you should take whatever steps you can to 'future proof' your investment by syndicating content to them rather than creating the content on them.

The changes to LinkedIn means we will lose the recommendations we have on the Products and Services tabs; LinkedIn say we can recover them by copying them to our own document before the 14th April - not really a great result!  

The advice from LinkedIn is to use Showcase Pages in future. Showcase pages are intended to extend your presence on LinkedIn by featuring specific aspects of your business, they are intended for long-term engagement rather than to promote short-term events or campaigns. Read more about LinkedIn Showcase Pages here... 

To promote short-term campaigns you should use Company Updates. You can post and share items like company news, promotions, relevant industry articles, SlideShare presentations, and Vimeo and YouTube videos. Read more about Company Updates here...

The topic of the April New Media Breakfasts is "Choosing the right tools" where we will be looking at how to decide which tools are best suited to your goals; as part of this we will be looking at what you can do to limit the impact of sudden changes to social media platforms and the functionality they offer. You can find out more about the New Media Breakfast presentations here...

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Work Experience Student Shows Hunger for Success

    

  

For the past four days, the fatBuzz team have been privileged to have Lex Moore, a fifteen year old pupil from Wellington School, in the office on work experience.

From social media marketing and video production, to web design and development, Lex has been involved in every aspect of the business.

But rather than us telling you what she’s been up to, we thought we would let Lex do the honour.

On the Tuesday when I arrived here, I spent the morning learning about what fatBuzz does and spent time delving further into social media.

After this, I began to write a blog post about a subject I personally like a lot called The Hunger Games. I wrote two separate articles, one about my favourite character, and the other about why I love The Hunger Games so much. (You can read Lex's blog posts HERE). 

It was interesting and I had fun testing myself on how to write in a way suited to the Internet. I enjoyed the writing aspect a lot.

On the Wednesday while I was here, I had the opportunity to go with Malcolm to film a piece of footage for a company and see how the system works. Later in the day, I set up my own blog using WordPress and was able to personalise it by choosing my own theme.

I also looked over coding using CodeAcademy which helped me learn about coding after I had only touched on it at school.

After lunch I also had a look at Photoshop and was able to edit a header for my blog with David. I learned how to use some simple aspects of Photoshop as I had never used it before.

On Thursday, I went over the blog posts I had written two days previously and edited them quickly to fit my blog.

After this I filmed a couple of videos, one being about my time here at fatBuzz, which you can view above. I edited the video after which was fun, and gave me a view on some editing skills and how to make a video look good.

After adding music and photos into the video we uploaded it to Vimeo. Later on in the day, Joanna and I put my previously written posts onto my blog and added hyperlinks for each post.

We then added my video I recorded about The Hunger Games into my second post. After learning this, WordPress seemed a lot easier to use, and I will definitely be continuing with my blog.

We certainly hope Lex will be continuing with her blog, because she is a terrific writer with undoubted ability. We have no doubt that she is well on her way to achieving her dreams of being a writer or journalist.

You never know, she might even end up working right here at fatBuzz...

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So, who were this year’s social media winners and losers?

    

  

For those who were unable to attend Friday's New Media Breakfast at 29 Private Members Club, you missed a hugely interesting, and at times extremely humorous event.

The topic of Friday's breakfast, 'Social Media Winners and Losers', was to look at a broad range of successful (and less successful) social media campaigns and explore what we can learn from them.

In front of a healthy crowd, complete with a welcome number of new faces, Gordon started off proceedings with Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches campaign.

Dove decided to conduct a 'compelling social experiment that explores how women view their own beauty in contrast to what others see'. The resulting video, which you can view below, has, thus far, amassed over 56 million on views on YouTube.

As one of our attendees, Thea Newcombe said, this emotive campaign was definitely a social media winner.

As well as Dove, Gordon focused his attention on Asos’s brilliant #DenimPairs campaign.
Essentially, this live, interactive Twitter campaign encouraged people to tweet in two numbers, and if they matched up the pictures on the cards, they could win their perfect pair of jeans

As the video below explains, Asos trended worldwide after just 11 minutes, and then for the duration of the competition. 5,971 tweets used the hashtag during the 32 minutes that the activity ran, with 2,362 unique users.

Of course, we haven’t got the time, or space, to fit all of Gordon’s presentation into one blog post, but here are some highlights (or perhaps lowlights?) of this year’s social media losers.

After British Gas announced a £120 increase to annual energy bills, some wisecrack in the marketing department decided it would be a good idea to launch a question and answer session on Twitter.

Unsurprisingly, the questions, some of which you can see below, weren’t quite what British Gas was expecting.

The biggest laugh of the morning came when Gordon discussed Conservative MP Gavin Barwell’s Twitter gaffe.

The Croydon Central MP was left red-faced after a plan to expose Labour for making money off a ‘date Arab girls’ link backfired and revealed it was actually a targeted advert for his computer!

Of course, these are just a select few of Friday’s winners and losers. Gordon also discussed IRN-BRU’s ‘fanny’ advert (which was launched by a randomly selected follower with just 329 followers), Tennent’s Lager’s SelfTie campaign, Tesco's 'hit the hay' storm, and Belvedere's questionable advert.

As always, we hope you enjoyed Friday’s breakfast, and hope that you can adapt some of these examples and make it work for your business.

Remember, as Gordon explained, we can learn as much from the social media losers as we can from the winners, and identify what not to do.

Do you have a social media success story that you would like to share with us? Or is there a particular social media failure that we didn't touch on?

If so, leave a comment on the blog, or get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter.

If you want to come along to the November New Media Breakfast, and receive some Christmas tips from Craig McGill, you can click HERE to find out more.

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Sgt. Social Media - Is social media becoming an effective tool in law enforcement?

At fatBuzz, not only do we like to keep tabs on the world of social media and all things digital, we also keep a close eye on the news.

Recently, we've noticed the digital world and news world are coming ever closer to each other, and at times, becoming intertwined.

In this blog post, Social Media Account Manager, Cameron, discusses how social media is becoming an effective tool in law enforcement.

Remember the ‘Peru Two’; the two girls who got caught trying to smuggle 25kg (£1.5 million) worth of cocaine out of Peru? If not, don’t worry, there’s a blog we wrote about them HERE.

In their statements, the girls tell how they were working in Ibiza and did not meet until they were 'kidnapped at gunpoint' and forced to go to Majorca, however photos uploaded to Instagram allegedly showed the two of them sunning themselves in Ibiza together.

This most likely had a large impact on the case and, who knows, may have just resulted in the two pleading guilty to the charges. However, the ‘Peru Two’ aren't the only ‘bad guys’ who have been incriminated through social media.

In recent news, Rihanna's activity on Twitter and Instagram led to three arrests by Thai police. Her images and tweets from her visit to Phuket led to two people being arrested for illegal wildlife touting, while the other was charged with obscenity and operating a venue without a permit.

Heck, even Snapchat is being used by officials in certain cases. When you send a ‘Snap’ it is held on a Google-cloud server until the snap is opened, and once opened, it ‘disappears’ off of the server.

Micah Schaffer, the Head of Trust and Safety for Snapchat said: “Since May 2013, about a dozen of the search warrants we've received have resulted in us producing unopened Snaps to law enforcement. That’s out of 350 million Snaps sent every day.”

So, why are authorities increasingly using social media as a means to capture criminals? Well, it’s pretty obvious, isn't it?

Facebook users upload 350 million photos each day, Twitter users post a combined 500 million tweets per day, while Instagram’s 150 million + users upload 55 million photos every day!

This plethora of content, allied with our generation’s inclination to document every aspect of their lives online, potentially offers authorities an incredible and seemingly endless database of information about even the most intricate details of people.

But is it any surprise? As you can see from this blog post, social media is now being used for different markets, industries and institutions.

Undoubtedly, whether it is marketing or law enforcement, the power of social media is on the rise.

Do you agree with Cameron's views? Do you think that social media is becoming an effective tool in law enforcement? Let us know by either commenting on the blog post, or by getting in touch on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Five iPhone Apps To Consider

With Apple being on the media quite a lot just now, with new operating systems and new products, Social Media Account Manager, Graeme, thought he’d write about what he believes are the top five apps for your iPhone.

I was on my honeymoon when iOS7 was released, and due to having very limited access to wifi in Mexico, I had to wait until I was home to update my software.

Once I’d moved pictures and videos onto a laptop to free-up the necessary space iOS7 required, I was good to go.

Once the download and installment was complete, I was delighted; it’s almost like I’ve got a new phone.

Judging by what I’ve seen on the likes of Facebook and Twitter, I’m not alone in the pleasure iOS7 has brought apple customers.

And as the weeks have went on since the release of the new operating system, people have been drip-feeding tips and hints for ‘hidden’ functions on the system.

So, since the iPhone is the talk of the steamie just now, I thought I’d go through, what I believe, are the top five apps available for the phone.

Here are my top five apps for the iPhone:

1. Shazam

This music tagging app started out as a phone service (dial 2580 - which you can still do). Hear a song that you like while you’re out somewhere, but don’t know what it’s called or who it’s by? Just Shazam it!

When the song you want to tag is playing, simply open the app, touch the Shazam logo, and hold your phone to the speaker.

The app should tag it, tell you what it’s called and who it’s by. It even gives you the option to buy it from iTunes. Super app!

2. Twitter

By far my favourite social media platform, Twitter is great for learning celebrity gossip, arranging days/nights out with friends, and increasingly, I’ve found it a great source for news content.

With most journalists now having a Twitter account, you often find that they’ll tweet the news before official broadcasters report it.

Also, in the beginning, when I first started using the service, I found it a great way to find out who was who in the industry I wanted to work in; a great tool for making contacts in specific industries.

3. Instagram

If you're into photography in any way, this is thee app if you. A great way to capture moments, and share them with your online community, Instagram can be both fun and artistic.

Although primarily a mobile app, there's a desktop version where pictures can be viewed, although not taken.

A picture speaks a thousand words. People are more likely to look at a photograph than they are to read a bunch of text, so this platform can be used as a great we to update you community with what you’re doing.

And of course, there’s the ability to add filters, borders and share your creations onto various platforms, making it truly social. A great app.

4. Football SC (Sky Sports Score Centre)

I’m a man who loves his football, so this is a MUST for me. I won’t tell you which team I support, but with them not being on the TV that much these days (big clue there), this is sometimes the best way to keep abreast of how they’re doing.

But there’s more; the app give you access to real-time scores for many leagues in many countries, also providing league tables so you can see where your team’s latest result has left them in the table.

Essential for those who can't make it to the match!

5. BBC News

I like my news, so this is a must-have app for me. The BBC News app is pretty good, although not great. There’s quite a lot of choice on the app, but I’d like to see some more options available on it, like there is on the actual BBC News website.

Having said that, content is updated fairly regularly, and it comes packed with images and videos you can watch.

Moreover, there’s the ability to stream the BBC News channel, live, from inside the app, which is a nice touch.

Remember, these are only five apps, and there are are many more I wasn’t able to mention.

Some of you may also be surprised by some absences in my top five, the most notable being Facebook - it would definitely be in my top 10.

So, do you like my top five? Do you think my choices are nonsense? Is your top five better? What is it; I’d love to know? Email me your top five iPhone apps, listing why they’re in your top five, to graeme@fatbuzz.com. In addition, you can also find me on Twitter, @Geddes16, so you can let me know there too - and don't forget to follow me while you're at it!

You can also let us know on the fatBuzz Facebook and Twitter pages, so get 'liking' and 'following', and have your say.

Also, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, @Geddes16.

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The Peru Two - A Social Media Downfall?

At fatBuzz, we like to keep an eye on what’s happening, not only in the world of social media, but also the world in general. And when the two combine, it’s something that really gets us talking.

Just this weekend, it was reported that alleged Ibiza 'drug mule' Melissa Reid is set to plead guilty after striking a deal that could see her walk free from prison in less than three years.

Reid, along with Michaella McCollum Connolly, was facing up to 25 years' imprisonment after being caught with £1.5 million worth of cocaine in their suitcases at Lima International Airport.

In this blog post, social media account manager, Graeme Geddes, looks at how big a part social media has played in the girls' downfall.

'Having read news reports and watched bulletins on the television of the 'Peru Two', I believe that central to the case being built by the police in Peru are a series of photographs.

'The girls, Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, claim that they met for the first time in Peru, however images of the two together in bikinis would suggest they were, in fact, together in Ibiza.

'With it being winter in Peru just now, would the girls really have been wearing so little clothing?

'Not only that, yet more pictures have emerged. Among these photographs is one of a Nokia mobile phone with the caption 'Wongamaker' on Instagram.

'That particular photo went up before she left her home in Scotland to work on party island Ibiza, so how are the authorities discovering these images? Social media, of course.

'The Peruvian police have been able to simply and effortlessly trawl through a host of images taken by both Reid and McCollum Connolly, which have all be posted on the girls’ personal Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

'And going on what has been widely reported by the media thus far, it would appear these images are going to play an instrumental part in this case.

'Will this be the first time we have really witnessed social media form a huge part of a high profile court case?

'As more of us use social media, we are all beginning to log everything we do, even minor, inconspicuous (at the time) things.

'Not only that, we are increasingly adding locations to our Instagram pictures, our tweets, and our Facebook statuses.

'Everytime we post a picture, even if it is of our dinner, we’ve leaving a trail of virtual breadcrumbs; perhaps this is something we should all bear in mind and be more wary of?

'Unfortunately for the ‘Peru Two’, this is something they didn’t think of when they were out partying in Ibiza, and it could very well be their downfall if it can be proved their stories are false.

'This is a story that will undoubtedly keep evolving over the coming weeks and months, and one which we will continue to keep a close eye on.'

What are your thoughts on how social media could be logging your every move? And do you have concerns about the privacy offered on social network sites?

Just leave a comment below or get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter - we would love to hear your thoughts.

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Who’s the most powerful figure in social media? YOU ARE!

    

  

Earlier this week, MediaGuardian 100, ‘a snapshot of media power today’ broke with tradition to list ‘you’ as the most powerful media figure - highlighting the growing power of the digital consumer.

This year’s choice reflects the extent to which the individual has become empowered in the online age, and it got us thinking in the fatBuzz office - which, we imagine, was exactly as MediaGuardian intended.

Just how empowered are consumers online? And how can businesses benefit from this new-found power?

The MediaGuardian 100 chose two particular elements to encapsulate the power of the people; the fact that ‘everyone can be a broadcaster-publisher in the digital era’ and the fact that the digital economy in the UK is driven by consumers. ‘Both as the audience and creators of content, it's all about people power' the judges explain.

‘People power’ is not exactly a new phenomenon. In fact, the very premise of people power has been an important part of business and marketing for generations.

However, we must agree with the MediaGuardian. You (yes, you) are becoming increasingly powerful - and you are increasingly using social media to wield that power.

You have orchestrated revolutions. You have influenced election campaigns. And now more than ever, you are flexing your virtual muscles and using social media to complain, demand change, and where possible, influence business attitudes.

In fact, a recent survey by NewVoiceMedia found that a third of consumers will use channels including Twitter and Facebook to complain about poor customer service.

And as some of us marketing-type folks will be aware - a social voice (especially aggrieved voices with a bone to pick) can be very loud.

So, how can businesses and marketers embrace ‘people power’? How can we benefit from ‘you’ - the most powerful media figure in the world?

Find social influencers
Spend some time finding the people in your industry with real influence. The people who not only have lots of followers, but who create real engagement. If you engage with them, they can become your biggest brand ambassadors.

Brand ambassadors
Encourage your community to promote your brand or organisation to others, and become your biggest brand advocates. Remember, our consumers and customers are becoming increasingly influential.

Exemplary Customer Service
Handle customer service successfully and publicly. You’ll not only build brand loyalty, but also turn your harshest critics into your most vocal supporters.

Create content of interest to your community
We’ve said it a million times, but it’s no less important now than when we first said it. Write content that your community will find interesting; content which they will want to share with their community.

Monitor, Monitor, Monitor
Use platforms such as Hootsuite and TweetDeck to monitor mentions of your brand, and use search terms to find potential discussions and enquiries.

Crowdsource
If you are looking for answers, assistance, or opinions, who better to ask than your community? This can not only benefit your business, but also cement the relationship between you and your customer.

What are your thoughts on MediaGuardian's choice of the digital consumer as the most powerful figure in the media?

And do you have any other ways in which businesses and marketers can benefit from these newly empowered consumers?

Let us know by commenting on this blog, or by getting in touch on Facebook or Twitter

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Another New Face at fatBuzz

Our client list is ever expanding which meant we were on the lookout for a new web developer - and we have found the guy who fitted the bill!

We would like to introduce you to our newest member of the fatBuzz team - Web Developer, Stuart.

Stuart recently graduated from The University of the West of Scotland with an honours degree in Web and Mobile Development.

He has been designing websites since 2001 and started freelance work in January 2008, but fatBuzz is his first full time position since leaving university.

Stuart specialises in creating usable professional websites using the latest W3C web standards guidelines and best practice accessibility, resulting in semantic and SEO friendly XHTML and CSS.

Stuart brings a wide range of other skills to the fatBuzz web team including; graphic design, information design, XHTML/CSS/PHP, and usability standards.

In his spare time, you'll catch Stuart out fishing down in Dumfries and Galloway or playing his PlayStation.

To find out how Stuart can create a user friendly and aesthetically engaging design, whilst ensuring you have a prominent presence on the web - drop him an email on stuart@fatbuzz.com.

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Wimbledon Making a Racket in the Social Media World

Fans flocked to SW19 yesterday for the first day of Wimbledon, and as usual, there were plenty of serves, shocks and strawberries - but at fatBuzz, we're more excited by the activities on line rather than on court!

Although the competition is only in its second day, we have been thoroughly impressed by Wimbeldon's commitment to social media this year.

From Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google+ (yes, even Google+), Wimbledon has got a visible presence across multiple platforms - and so far - they're really making a racket in the social media world. 

For the purposes of this blog post, we're going to focus on Facebook, Twitter and the brand new iPad app, The Championships, Wimbledon 2013, but before we do so, we had to mention the dedicated Social Media page on the Wimbledon website.

On this page, you can view featured hashtags, video and radio clips and slideshows, as well as its latest Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds. There is also a blog and live blog, where you can keep up to date with the latest news and results, as well as see behind-the-scenes.

Facebook

At the time of writing this blog post, there are 1, 206, 018 likes on Facebook, and we're sure that figure will increase dramatically throughout the next two weeks - so what features and functionality have encouraged over 1 million people to 'Like' the Wimbledon page?

Aside from general pictures, videos and status updates, there are three separate custom iframe tabs; Our Tweets, where you can view the Wimbledon Twitter feed, Instagram #wimbledon, where you can view the latest Instagram feed, and Our Videos, where you can, of course, watch the latest videos.

There are also daily polls to engage the community, and we have noticed that a new event is being created every single day, where people are directed to the website to buy tickets. Clever.

One relatively new Facebook feature which Wimbledon is effectively using is the hashtag functionality. No prizes for guessing that the most used hashtag on the Wimbledon Facebook page is, of course, #Wimbledon.

Twitter

As of today, Wimbledon currently has 581, 840 Twitter followers, and although this is substantially less than the 1, 206, 018 likes on Facebook, there certainly seems to be a lot of engagement.

In addition to creating hashtags on a daily basis to engage their users in topical conversation (e.g. #Wimbledon, #tennis, and #SW19) one of the most interesting aspects of Wimbledon's Twitter output is Twitter's 'Magic Mirror'.

First used at The Oscars earlier this year, the mirror, which will be placed where only players can access it, will give tennis fans the chance to see behind-the-scenes photos at SW19. Once the photo has been taken, the images will automatically be posted on Wimbledon's official Twitter account, accompanied by the hashtags #TwitterMirror and #Wimbledon.

iPad App

Last, but certainly not least, is Wimbledon's brand-new iPad app, which is available from iTunes.

The app, The Championships, Wimbledon 2013, allows users to navigate around the grounds via a photographic map, zooming in on specific courts to get updates on the state of play.

The app also provides live scores, results and stats, draws and play schedules, profiles of players, live radio, and a live video show with interviews, highlights and features on the tournament.

Other features of the app include live time lapse images from the grounds, favourite player performance alerts, fan feedback, and much more.

With so many different ways of connecting and sharing your experience of Wimbledon, be it at home or at SWG3, we think they are most definitely social media ready - and we're already looking forward to seeing what tricks they have up their sleeves in the coming weeks.

Do you think the the use of social media will enhance your experience of Wimbledon? Is there anything else social media related that has impressed you this year at Wimbledon? Let us know over the next couple of weeks on Facebook and Twitter, or of course, you can also leave a comment on the blog.

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