By Vin Clancy

Envy,

That’s what a lot of you feel when you look at brands and influencers who generate huge amounts of traffic and sales from social media.

Don’t worry, I get it too. Now a lot of these people are either: extremely talented, have a lot of money for ads, or have grinded their way to the top of the newsfeed.
And I have the utmost respect for the vast majority of them. But saying that, there is another reason why these people/brands reached the summit of their game.

It’s because they got there first. Speed is the most valuable asset to have in this game and striking fast and hard is ideally  the way to go about things. Over the past year, a lot of people have asked me what the next big social platform is going to be.

Here are 7 of my predictions in regards to the future of social media. [Read more…]

By Kurt Long, CEO and founder, FairWarning, Inc.

According to CNBC, Facebook sent a doctor on a secret mission to ask hospitals to share patient data. Facebook was also in talks with top hospitals and other medical groups regarding a proposal to match patient data with their user data.

The stated intention was to “help the hospitals figure out which patients might need special care or treatment.” Facebook stated that the project is on hiatus so it can focus on “doing a better job of protecting people’s data.”

But that clearly hasn’t been a priority for the data giant. For Facebook’s 2 billion users, many of whom are now outraged, the real issue isn’t just how Facebook plans to protect its users but how data is used in the United States – and who the data actually belongs to.

In this climate of heightened awareness, healthcare organizations need to put customers first by making privacy and security of data actionable priorities. In the digital age, the new currency is trust. It’s hard to come by these days, so any organization that can distinguish itself as a source of trust will have no trouble attracting business. [Read more…]

By Kim Bassett

Use of social media is a part of our everyday lives and is a widely accepted form of communication for the average American. With familiarity and frequency of use brings more opportunities for misuse. According to a study done by On Device Research, a market analyst firm, 1 in 10 young job seekers have lost a job opportunity because of their social media profiles.

The greatest faux pas or errors will happen when people grow too comfortable and/or confident in the social media environment. I’m seeing this happen more and more on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. We are letting our guards down and have a false sense of security when posting.

Much of the time our posts are harmless, but occasionally something major can go awry if and when the one-off post is seen by the wrong person. Particularly if that post is not inline with your employer or prospective employer’s social media rules and guidelines.



[Read more…]

By Alla Bogdan

You work hard on your blog content. You try to provide value, write in an engaging voice, and include killer images so people will enjoy every minute of reading your posts. Social Triggers tells us that most of the 164 million blogs on the internet, most get less than 1,000 visitors every month. The problem is, it’s not an “if you build it they will come” type of situation. In order to get traffic to your blog, you have to drive it there. Social media is a great way to do that. Let’s look at how.

By Nick Hernandez

By now every physician should be aware of the benefits that can be bestowed upon their practice as a result of social media. Indeed many practices are engaging in one or more social media platforms on a regular basis. Moreover, staff members are most definitely active in social media, and probably use it while at work.

Physicians and practice managers must be smart about training employees on what they should and should not share online. Staff in your practice could incur liability on behalf of your practice as a result of their comments on social media. Because of the confidentiality rules in HIPAA, staff training is important. You should constantly remind employees that they are representatives of the practice.

You should also have some sort of social media policy in place. Here are a few key items your policy should include:

1. Guidelines and expectations. Your policy should set clear expectations for how team members (as representatives of your practice) must conduct themselves online.

Your policy should clearly state that there will be no posting of protected health information (PHI) and that employees are not allowed to use social media in work areas near patients. Be specific in training your employees and inform them to avoid identifying patients in any way on social media — this includes names, unique characteristics, etc.

Some practices do not allow employees use social media for personal reasons on work time. While that is fine as a policy, it does not circumvent the need to appropriately train your staff. Moreover, it can be hard to police. [Read more…]

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing is necessary, but it can be awfully dry. B2B marketers tend to take a more traditional advertising approach, and though they understand that web marketing and social media marketing are important to their plans, they don’t always approach it the right way. They can deliver

one-size-fits all messaging that fails to engage social users in the way a B2C marketer can. They might miss some of the nuances involved with social media marketers that B2C marketers seem to instinctively understand. In short, B2B marketers could learn a lot from B2C marketers, especially when it comes to social media. Here are 5 lessons we think they can learn.

As a busy executive, you are always seeking the best productivity tools to help you—and your team—improve your strategy and efficiency. Similarly, you should also consider using social media productivity tools to work smarter and become more efficient. Whether you are managing just one social media account or trying to juggle several, it’s becoming difficult to keep up.

Fortunately, there are many social media tools that can help you maintain and manage your social media activity. Below is a round-up of six social media tools you can use to optimize your time and achieve better results.

PromoRepublic

PromoRepublic is a social media marketing platform for everyday use that can help you gain more customers from social media networks. Its platform allows you to find and post great content to your social media accounts.

Its library is jam-packed with customizable templates of ready-made posts. Best of all, their templates are handcrafted by agency-level professionals.

Combining ease of use, co-marketing channels, technology-based content suggestions and templates, PromoRepublic provides an affordable service for first-time marketers and pros alike.

Not only does it contain hundreds of templates and an easy-to-use graphics editor, but it also has a Calendar of Content Ideas. You’ll never run oout of ideas of what to post. [Read more…]

By Scott Steinberg

Social networks are one of today’s most popular forms of online communication, as utilized daily by billions of users worldwide. But they’re also among the most public and visible of digital forums – and one in which it’s increasingly important that we comport ourselves well, and treat others with dignity and respect, as we now share them with friends, family, and coworkers the globe over.

Want to enjoy a safer and more positive online experience?

All it takes to get the most from these magnificent technologies is just a little more mindfulness and forethought, as we discovered while researching new book Netiquette Essentials: New Rules for Minding Your Manners in a Digital World. Following, you’ll find several hints and tips that can help you lead, succeed and communicate more effectively via high-tech channels, and put your best foot forward online. [Read more…]

The Social Revolution’s impact on the business and even the political world cannot be over-estimated. Like the meteor that likely precipitated the end of the dinosaurs, Social is the catalyst in an extinction event–and business as we know it has changed forever.

In the brand new book A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive, Ted Coiné and Mark Babbitt offer an eye-opening look at fundamental and powerful changes the social collaboration era has set in motion. With compelling stories and dozens of concrete examples the two social media masters share how:

• Customers now have the power–just watch what happens as more realize it!
• The days of pretending are over — With increased transparency, businesses must be more ethical.
• Command-and-control leadership is antiquated – It is now so inefficient, it is a liability.
• Nimble and small is the new competitive advantage –few corporations are capable of the agility required by evolving marketplaces.
•  Recruiting is now a two-way proposition   Job seekers are able to peer behind the corporate curtain and decide whether they want to work within.
• Customer relationships matter more than ever — Relationship and community-building is how customers and brand ambassadors are won–and retained.
• Engagement on all channels is required — Engagement–with partners, employees, and customers–is not a luxury; it is a requirement.

A World Gone Social takes a close look at companies who are demonstrating enlightened business practices and doing Social right–and some that are not.  Their book describes the many lessons to be learned from their experiences.

Among the amazing insights contained in the book is one piece of advice where they recommend how to objectively assess the fitness of a company’s culture and social presence. It is titled The Social Sanity Checklist. Take it yourself!  Here it is:

[Read more…]

By Lyndsi Stafford

We get it, you’re busy.

You’re a business owner, attempting the proverbial hat trick. You know, the one where you are the founder, manager, HR director, IT technician and on occasion, the janitor.

Where does day-to-day social media marketing come into play? It doesn’t.

That’s why I am here to provide eight ways on how to enhance your business presence online in under five minutes. Because five minutes is really all you have. 

1.    Keep Your Social Media Profiles Consistent

If you are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, it is very important to ensure all your channels have a consistent look and feel, as well as messaging. 

Your one line bio on Instagram should match the same one line bio on Twitter. Therefore, people have a clear understand of what you do.  Additionally, you don’t see Coca Cola running around with a variety of logos. They spend millions to make sure you can recognize their logo, whether you’re in Nightmute, Arkansas or Placenia, Belize. (Yes, both those places actually exist.)

While you may not have the marketing budget of Coca Cola, you can look like them by having consistent branding on your website and social media channels.

2.    “Just Keep Posting, Just Keep Posting” – Digital Dory

This is a tricky one, yet very important. When people start following the awesome posts and blogs on your social media pages, they expect to see them on a consistent basis. We really encourage posting on a daily basis, if not weekly.  I can already hear you saying, “when does someone have time for this…”

One word: Hootsuite. Platforms like Hootsuite or Sproutsocial allow you to schedule posts ahead of time. Therefore, on Sunday night you can schedule out everything you wish to publish throughout the week. Then continue to check your pages for comments and questions throughout the week.  [Read more…]