Tag: facebook

Short & Sweet Wins on Facebook

By Guest On April 1, 2014 In Best Practices, Facebook with 2 Comments

I shared a great blog post from Buffer the other day that talked about the ideal length for everything online.  The post says research shows that the ideal length for a Facebook post is 80 characters or less. Eighty characters or less?! Not even Twitter makes us omit so many words.

I decided to take a look at some brands in the space to see if this holds true. All were chosen randomly. I analyzed their last 20 posts (photos only for consistency) to see if they tend to follow this golden character rule, and if it pays off.

continue reading »

A Look at How Teams Handled Selection Sunday on Facebook

By Guest On March 17, 2014 In Facebook, Lessons Learned

Selection Sunday is a holiday for the basketball faithful… a day where fates are found out and the bracket is born.  With all the chatter and excitement surrounding selections, the day is an opportunity for programs to leverage exposure on social media.  Any program, large or small, should take advantage of the chatter.

I took a look at the Facebook Pages of all the teams in the tournament and was surprised to find that not everyone took advantage and posted on Selection Sunday (though most did).  Of the schools that did post that evening on Facebook, these are the ones that stood out:

continue reading »

Four Takeaways from Pew’s 2013 Social Media Update

By Guest On January 6, 2014 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

aiga_symbol_signs_clip_art_16701Pew Research recently came out with their Social Media Update for 2013. Research is wonderful, but what’s more important are the takeaways and stories you can piece together from it all.

I’ve spent some time with Pew’s latest numbers and thought I would share my four biggest takeaways.  There is nothing groundbreaking here, but I thought the reminders are still worth sharing.

Please Note:  They sampled 1,801 US adults, age 18 and older.

No. 1- Facebook is still king.

71% of online adults are now Facebook users (Pew).

Despite all the recent chatter about Facebook, statistics like this show over and over again that Facebook is still king. While I do agree that younger demographics are also engaging on other platforms (and probably more), we can’t ignore these statistics.

We also need to keep in mind that not everyone is experiencing the same Facebook fatigue as we (social media managers) are. It’s still important to cater to the platform and think about paying to play for bigger reach.

continue reading »

Is the Social Media Manager Dead?

By Guest On October 16, 2013 In Social Media with 3 Comments

photo-16A few weeks ago an article spread like wildfire in the Twittersphere declaring the “the social media manager is dead”.  I couldn’t disagree more.  The social media manager isn’t dead; the role is just evolving and maturing.  This shouldn’t be a surprise considering social media is an industry that is still relatively new and one that is always changing.

Here’s why I think the article was misleading / wrong:

1.  Social media needs a centralized person.
Every brand needs a centralized point of contact to oversee the overall social media strategy and ensure all the pieces of the puzzle work together to tell a cohesive brand story. The worst thing a brand can do is have a fragmented social media strategy.  You need a social media brand keeper. Period.

Additionally, social media is a lot to keep up with. I’ve been in roles before where social media was just a component of my job, and honestly, I couldn’t keep up with the industry.  If social media is a priority for an organization, they need to have someone who is staying up to date on the latest trends and educating the staff. 

continue reading »

How Can I Create a Rockin’ Social Media Calendar?

By Guest On September 24, 2013 In Digital, Social Media, Twitter with 1 Comment

Creating a social media calendar makes the life of a social media / community manager so much easier. Yes, it takes a little grunt work in the beginning, but if you can bear and grin it you’ll find your workload to be a little bit more manageable.

I still think social media calendars are often undervalued. If we start them, we need to finish them. If we build them, we need to use them. If we use them, we need to evaluate them. It’s work that’s worth it.

If you’re going to take the time to create a social media calendar, you want to make sure you’re maximizing its value. Below are my tips for creating a great one:

continue reading »