The following video, “Social Media Revolution,” does an excellent job of capturing why social media is such a force for businesses today and why companies should take notice. Social media is changing the way advertisers, marketers, public relations professionals and businesses reach their target audiences. The research and predictions outlined here provide a persuasive argument for using social media strategically as part of your outreach efforts.
What are your thoughts about this video? What do you think of social media and the latest trends? How will social media affect your life in the future?
Twitter is in the news every day. In public relations, we’ve been discussing Twitter for some time now. However, more and more people are joining Twitter and everyone seems to be talking about it now. One of my friends asked me to write out reasons why she should join Twitter. In doing so, I decided to write a blog post about why just about anybody should consider Tweeting on Twitter.
Basically, no matter what your interests are, there are people on Twitter talking about it.
You probably know at least one person on Twitter, you can be updated on his or her thoughts (I’m BostonKate feel free to follow me!)
You can stay up to date with your industry. No matter what your profession, there are people on Twitter talking about it. I follow other PR professionals to see what they are talking about and end up reading blogs/articles that I normally wouldn’t see.
Sports fans are on Twitter, and you can enjoy constant updates about your favorite teams. BC Eagles have updates via Twitter, as do the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots.
You can ask for advice once you have a network. I recently asked where I can find cheap flights and got at least six responses.
The new Facebook design is up and my initial impression is positive. Facebook is taking Twitter head-on with the introduction of real-time updates, but Facebook continues to offer more powerful and convenient information-sharing capabilities than Twitter does. Most important from a personal standpoint, Facebook now allows me to filter out Tweets that some of my friends automatically route to Facebook via the Facebook Twitter application and other methods.
Why do I want to filter out Tweets from Facebook? 1) Because they are in nearly all cases redundant and 2) Twitter and Facebook are different mediums.
Being someone’s Facebook “friend” generally connotes a level of connectedness and intimacy that surpasses the average Twitter relationship. More personal data is usually exposed on Facebook and people are generally more discriminating when choosing to follow someone (or be followed) on Facebook. If I follow you on Facebook, it’s almost certain that I also follow you on Twitter. But the opposite isn’t true.
If you and I are connected on Facebook, in all likelihood I’ve already seen your Tweets on Twitter. When you post them again on Facebook you become a member of the Department of Redundancy Department.
The message should fit the medium. Television broadcasters don’t merely read the newspaper in front of a video camera because television and print each offer their own separate and unique opportunities of expression. Likewise, Twitter and Facebook have their own distinctive attributes. To take advantage of these differences and out of respect for your readers, the content should be tailored for each.
Now, thanks to the new Facebook redesign, I can filter out Tweets that also appear on Facebook — so I’ll see them in just one place instead of two. If you’re one of those people who’s broadcasting the same content across both websites, then the few folks on Facebook who don’t also follow you on Twitter will continue to be able to receive your Tweets via Facebook, my Facebook page won’t be clogged with your redundant Tweets, and we can all still be friends!
