On this week's episode of Social Media Meltdown, Joe and I are talking about the effectiveness of companies advertising on Facebook... and social media advertising in general. This whole topic came to be since GM recently announced that they would be pulling out of Facebook for advertising (a $10 million investment). Watch the show and let us know what you think!
Today Apple announced the time, date, and location for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference.
This year WWDC will run from June 11 to June 15 in San Francisco, with the all-important keynote taking place on June 11 at 10:00am PT. Historically WWDC is known for the announcement of iOS and OS X software updates but it is also known for the dramatic unveiling of Apple hardware products.
Some of the more noteworthy previous Apple announcements made at WWDC:
2003: iLife
2005: Intel Transition
2006: Mac Pro
2008: App Store
2009: Unibody Macbook
2010: iPhone 4
What do you think Apple will unveil this year? Will the announcements be more software heavy or hardware heavy? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Facebook Share in Slump - Shares of Facebook were down 11 percent in trading on Monday, well below the company’s offering price and again raising questions about its lofty valuation.
Facebook Tests New Timeline Design -Yes, it's that time again... the time where we have to listen to FB friends complain about changes to their profile.
Facebook, Zuckerberg, Morgan Stanley Sued Over IPO - Shareholders have sued Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the company’s bungled IPO, charging they hid bearish forecasts prior to going public, according to a report. dun dun dun
Facebook Camera - Facebook launches a camera app... an ode to Instagram.
I have a strange affinity for the font Helvetica since I saw the documentary Helvetica: The Film a few years back.
I try and incorporate the font into as much as my design work as possible but, as a mediocre designer, I understand certain fonts fit certain designs but I am always drawn to things created with Helvetica. So here is my ode to Helvetica...
Although nothing is official yet and everything is purely speculation, here are a list of all my favorite iPhone 5 rumors and concepts:
A better camera, bigger screen, and sans home button (via unwir3d)
Metal back made of a lightweight metal, possibly aluminum, there have also been rumors of Liquidmetal, a futuristic substance that’s as easy to mold, lightweight like plastic, but as strong as aluminum (via DMA Central).
Tear drop shape? An already thinner iPhone will taper as it nears the bottom (via digitaltrends).
Redesigned look - As the concept images above say, we're guaranteed a redesigned lookfor the newest iPhone model.
Larger screen - This one is almost guaranteed, along with an edge to edge screen. The common rumor is that we should see a increase to a 4 inch screen.
Near-field communication (NFC) - This technology has been rumored for some time now. It would allow users to make payments iwth their handset just like they do now with credit cards. Some Androids already have NFC but NFC adoption is still low and could be years away from gaining in popularity. Would Apple waste their time with this? Or could it be Apple that will bring NFC to the mainstream?
4G connectivity - Another long-standing rumor. But who knows? In the past, Apple has been slow to connectivity changes. Afterall, Apple did wait a full year to jump on the 3G bandwagon. There's a greater possibility Apple will wait until carriers have opened more 4G networks.
Liquidmetal - Several rumors state that several components of the iPhone 5 will be made out of a super-strong metal alloy called Liquidmetal that are extremely lightweight.
Additional carriers - iPhones have been about exclusivity but will they branch out to include other carries? Perhaps Tmobile due to its large 4G network?
What other rumors have you heard? Which are your favorites? And which can't you live without?
Here's some quick tricks of the trade for getting retweeted on Twitter!
Ditch the egg! Your audience wants to feel connected with you on a personal level and put a name (Twitter handle) with a face. Make your avatar a picture of your smiling face, no one takes the default egg picture seriously!
Add a bio to your Twitter profile so, again, your audience can connect on a personal level.
Add a link to your Facebook, blog, website or any other online presence you have on the internet. This will successfully get you some cross-traffic.
Don't be a stalker.
Be conversational.
Know your audience.
Know the lingo. Look up basic Twitter how-to guides to brush up on the language.
Know the tools. Once again, basic Twitter how-to guides will give you the run down.
Include links to useful resources.
Always shorten links by using a URL shortener like bit.ly.
Leave room for them to retweet by leaving at least 10 remaining characters.
Add variety to your tweets. Don't always tweet the same sources (there are other tech resources besides Mashable).
Add comments to things you are retweeting. Do you agree or disagree? Let your audience know.
Read content before posting. If you're tweeting a blog, read it first to make sure it fits with your subject.
Always give credit.
Be interesting.
Be yourself.
Inspire your audience.
Entertain your audience.
Educate our audience.
Provide value! Your audience always wants to know what's in it for them. How can they benefit by following you. What do you have to offer them?
Be persistent, not repetitive. If there's a point you want to get across, don't post the same exact thing over and over. Use your creativity to write different tweets.
Tone matters.
Have a personality. Even professional tweets can have life!
Don't just tweet about yourself.
Don't complain.
No profanity! Who wants to retweet profanity?
Be relevant! Old news never gets retweets.
Offer variety. Even if you tweet on one subject (Fashion) there's still a variety of topics (purses, shoes, color palettes, culture, etc).
Ask questions.
Share other people tweets by retweeting them. Nice tweeters will return the favor!
Use hashtags as subjects to increase your tweet's ability to get picked up in Twitter searches.
Ask for a retweet. There's no shame in asking!
Try tweeting at different times of the day to see what your audience responds to best.
A spokesman for the U.S. automaker confirmed, saying that GM's marketing executives had determined that Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers. According to the Journal, GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick said the auto maker, "is definitely reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although the content is effective and important.”
According to new figures by WordStream, Facebook ranks incredibly low as far as click-through rates (CTR) go. The average CTR for an online ad is just 0.1 per cent. Google has an above average CTR, standing at 0.4 per cent. Facebook, however, has a lowly CTR of 0.051 per cent.
So what does this mean?
Is Facebook an effective medium for advertising? If a big brand like GM with a wide audience range can't hack it, will Facebook advertising continue to gain success?
I almost fear that this very public display of GM's dissatisfaction with Facebook ads will cause other companies to re-evaluate their ROI and possible follow suit and abandon ship.
What do you think? I'm interested in hearing your opinion on this topic. Could this be Facebook downfall--or at least it's biggest flop to date? What can Facebook do to entice users to click and interact with the online ads?
Join the discussion! Leave thought thoughts in the comments below!
Viddy, the video sharing app launched in 2011, has reached 26 million users recently and has been valued at $200 million. Could this be the next mobile social media craze?
This social, videography mobile app is used to beautify and share every day moments in the form of 15-second video clips, or "viddys." The app then lets you edit, filter and socially share the clips with your network. Sound familiar? Viddy is creepily similar to the still-shot editing and sharing with Instagram. It's so similar to Instagram, in fact, that it is currently exclusive to iOS devices only (at least until Facebook wants to buy it for $1 billion).
I have heard Viddy popping up in tech news here and there but until I read the report that it had over 26 million users, I had never taken it seriously. But should I be? Should the social media and mobile communities be taking it seriously?
I'm downloading the app as I type to do a formal review and test drive. But in the meantime, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Are you already a Viddy user? Does it provide a valuable service and experience to the social media community? Also I'll do a Follow4Follow on Viddy since I don't think many people in my current networks use it! So leave me your username below.
Tell me what you think and stay tuned for my Viddy update and review!
* To be alerted of future Viddy reviews and to stay up-to-date with all katelynshelby content, become a member!
This week on Social Media Meltdown we're reaching out to all those ex-students that graduated from college this week that have no employment prospects on the horizon. Contrary to common belief, social media is the best, easiest and fastest way to find employment and get your career on the fast track.
Join us at 7:00pm EST here or at www.livestream.com/speedyf40 to watch and participate in our live broadcast!
The Avengers hits theaters tomorrow, May 4, (or tonight if you're a wild party animal that is attending a midnight premiere) and if
the movie wasn't already big enough, now you can become a superhero with its new augmented reality mobile app!
Super Hero AR, the mobile app, is both a mobile game and an interactive in-store experience for the user. The game lets you act as a Marvel super hero and fight enemies overlaid on top of your real world. You could literally fight crime in the comfort of your own home, office or bathroom. You start your journey as Hawkeye but if you wanted to act as one of the more well-known and awesome heroes, you will need to visit your local participating Walmart. With 3500 participating stores, this is a genius "pull" strategy for sales.
Once you visit Walmart you can use your smartphone to scan QR codes on the numerous Avengers placards around the store using the Super Hero AR app. While scanning the codes you'll come across some fun surprises--like standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Iron Man himself. The augmented reality technology used in this app is remarkable and (almost) life like! You can take photos of yourself with the characters and share instantly with your online social network.
This Marvel / Walmart mashup is bound to be a success for all parties involved, including the mainstreaming of augmented reality (which really gets me excited)! In my opinion this is one of more innovative and interactive marketing ploys I've seen for franchise in a long time! The obvious goal for Walmart is to move their vast inventory of Avengers merchandise.
The mobile app is free and readily available for both Apple and Android based phones.
Marvel is no stranger to augmented reality, either. It launched Marvel AR last month, an app that lets readers scan print comics to access hidden extras.
Mashable announced today its third annual Social Media Day will be held this year on Saturday, June 30!
Launched in 2010, Mashable's Social Media Day was a way to recognize the digital revolution happening right before our eyes. Whether its reporting about new online networks on Mashable or listening to inspiring stories from our readers, we’ve seen how this increasingly connected world is quickly changing lives across the globe — and our community agrees.
In 2010, there were more than 600 Meetups in 90 countries. That more than doubled in 2011 when there were more than 1,400 Meetups with thousands of attendees worldwide. Nine cities and one U.S. state have declared Social Media Day an official holiday.
