Some news sources are wondering if Twitter is the most effective news platform in the 21st century. What do you think?
Comment and tell us how you use Twitter. What news sites do you follow? Do they help you know what’s going on?
RT: Breaking News
Yes, this is a blog specifically about social media marketing, but I want to take a moment to again look at the critical, yet underappreciated, role of social media in reporting breaking news.
Since major tragedies like 9/11, the Miracle on the Hudson, the Boston Marathon Bombing, instant communication has been keeping people safer. Less than an hour ago, I was sitting in my Charlotte, NC dorm room just wasting time and I saw a series of retweets from my local news station from my hometown about a helicopter crash near the Space Needle in Seattle, WA. I quickly started following the story as new details were added and a progression of pictures documented the unfolding events. Within five minutes, I went from learning that a helicopter crashed near the Space Needle to knowing that a KOMO News helicopter crashed on top of two cars (one red, one blue) in a fireball where only the tail section of the chopper remained and two deaths were reported…and details are still coming in.
Learning so much about an event in such little time reminded me of how perfect Twitter is for breaking news and journalism in general. The whole point of journalism is concise communication of important timely events, and Twitter’s immediacy and necessary brevity is a perfect medium to share news. A tweet is just enough to catch your attention, give an update, and provide a way to learn more.
The viral nature of Twitter provides so much potential for news to gain momentum. Within a few minutes of the crash, information began appearing on the Twitter feeds of NorthWest Cable News, KUOW radio, NBC Nightly News, CBS Denver, The Seattle Times, Poynter, the Seattle Police Department, the New York Times, and even the NTSB. What other medium could reach such a large audience in such a short amount of time?
So, as our prayers go out to Bill Strothman (yes, I found the late photographer’s name on Twitter) and the KOMO News family, remember the power of Twitter in informing the public and keeping people around the world safe.
More information about the role of Twitter in journalism:
- Hashtags help journalists find relevant tweets and reach more people – The Buttry Diary
- Hashtags in the news – The Hashtracker Blog
- Twitter as News-wire – Twitter Blog
- Is Twitter the news outlet for the 21st century? – ABC News
Social Media in Moments of Tragedy April 15, 2013
Though many were killed or injured when the bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon this afternoon, many more people may have been injured had it not been for social media.
Safety organizations (@NEIncidents) and the Boston Police Department (@Boston_Police) lit the social media fire warning citizens of the danger and asking witnesses to send more information. Ordinary citizens answered the call and took to Facebook and Twitter to warn their friends to steer clear of the scene and rally support for the victims.
This critical information could not possibly have been shared on such a large scale had it not been for the extensive presence of social media in today’s world.
Read the full article:
How the Boston Marathon tragedy revealed the best side of social media.
While this blog may not be designed to discuss the role of social media in combating terrorism or consoling victims of tragedy, it is still worth noting how social media has evolved as an information-sharing outlet that could potentially save lives.
Our prayers go out to the victims and their families in this time of tragedy and grief. God bless.
“O Lord, I am torn up with grief. I know you are there, but I cannot see past my sorrow and tears. Be with me, Lord… guide me through these dark days and bring your light to my life, so that I may see your goodness, even in my mourning.”
–Maureen Pratt
Say What?!? A Guide to Social Terminology
With social media constantly changing, it can be hard to keep up with the terminology for so many different sites. But fear not, for I have scoured the web for confusing, but important, words you’ll need to know if you’re going to become a social media master.
Like– to show support of a page, picture, or other content.
Status– can be equated to a post; where you write about something that happened to you
Fan– similar to subscribing to a page; more involved than a “like”
Page– similar to a mini-website; businesses and organizations create a page containing basic information with links to content providing more information
Group- a collection of friends you can directly communicate with as a group; often small organizations or school graduation classes create these to quickly update members on recent events or event information; similar to forming a guided chatroom
Friend– someone you connect with on Facebook who has confirmed your friend request
Friending- act of sending a friend request to someone. A person does not become your friend until they accept your friend request
Notification- list of your friends’ recent activity; cliffnotes version of news feed
Timeline- your profile page containing all things you post, like, and friend in chronological order; this feature used to called your wall before all content was organized by chronological order; friends can comment or post on your timeline
News feed– constantly updating stream of posts and updates from your friends and pages you like that appears on your home page
Poke- informal connection with friends; can be likened to saying “hi” to someone you meet face to face; you friend will see it on her news feed, but her friends cannot see it
Comment- can be equated to a reply; a response to a post
Direct Message- similar to e-mail; a message can be sent to one or several friends, but all message recipients can see all replies
Tweet- similar to a status on Facebook; something you post about something that happened to you
Follow- similar to sending a friend request on Facebook; following allows a person’s tweets to appear on your home page
Follower- similar to receiving a friend request; you have followers when other people choose to follow you and allow your tweets to appear on their home page
Trending- when a particular hashtag is commonly used and thus becomes popular
Handle- can be equated a to person’s username; (i.e. @susansmith or @heyimjane456)
Hashtag (#)– a tag used on the social network Twitter as a way to annotate a message. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a “#.” Example: #yourhashtag. Hashtags are commonly used to show that a tweet, a Twitter message, is related to an event or conference, online or offline.¹
Retweet (RT)– when someone on Twitter sees your message and decides to re-share it with his/her followers. A retweet button allows them to quickly resend the message with attribution to the original sharer’s name.¹
Reply (@)– the @ symbol, followed by a person’s Twitter handle, allows you to directly reply to a person’s tweet or include them in your own tweet (i.e. @QueensUniv)
Double Tap– equivalent of liking an image; represented by a heart
Hashtag (#)– see Twitter definition
Popular page– equivalent of trending on Twitter
YouTube
Viral– an overnight sensation on YouTube; often viral videos are funny or depict an amazing event; viral marketing is a huge way for company’s with small advertising budgets and lots of creativity to make a name for themselves; see viral marketing
Channel– similar to a profile on Facebook; where users post videos and establish playlists
Playlist– a series of related videos posted by a user
Figure 1
Miscellaneous
Meme- a digital image that becomes viral; often hum0rous (i.e. Figure 1)
Webinar- a seminar held over the Internet; often educational and held in a series
Live Stream– posting a video online as the action is taking place in real time
The Twitter you may not know. But should.
Jeffrey Gitomer may say he’s not an expert, but with over 60,000 followers, he certainly has some great advice for how to use Twitter to increase your sales.
“I am amazed at how few sales professionals and sales leaders are not taking advantage of Twitter. It’s a resource, it’s a broadcast medium, it’s a vital recognition tool, it’s a reputation builder, and it’s free.”
In this article published by midlandsbiz, Gitomer gives 3.5 things a business can do to get more value out of Twitter, ways to know if your Twitter outreach is failing, and major DOs and DON’Ts for effective Twitter promotion.
The Twitter you may not know. But should. | MidlandsBiz.
To see some of Jeffrey Gitomer’s value-packed tweets, follow him! @gitomer
Which Pope Would You “Follow?” March 11, 2013
Pope and Twitter don’t sound like they would go together, but social media just might prove to be a game-changer in the search for a new pope.
This article discusses the growing role of social media in the Catholic Church in terms of communication with believers and promotion of Church image.
Conclave 2013: Electing a Pope in a Social Media World – ABC News.
YouTube Media Craze January 29, 2013
YouTube is for so much more than just music videos and annoying oranges; they can be valuable tools for businesses on a budget.
Next to Google, YouTube is the most searched website on the Internet. When people want to learn something new, watch movies, or just waste some time, they turn to the video-sharing site. As with any popular social media network, smart business owners are taking advantage of this tool to reach audiences that may otherwise be out of reach.
Unlike some other social media sites, YouTube is famous for producing viral material. When something goes viral, everyone knows about it. It is all over social media, TV, and even the news. Video catches an audience’s attention more easily than any other media. Often, this viral material is unexpected, and it can have some amazing effects.
Examples of Unexpected Viral Marketing
- Mythbusters Viral Hour- Giant Lego Ball
This episode of the popular Discovery Channel show, Mythbusters, tests whether the viral video of a giant Lego ball rolling around San Francisco could actually happen. Millions of bricks later, the myth was “busted,” but The LEGO Group gained great (and free!) publicity and a dramatic increase in sales. - Diet Coke and Mentos Fountain
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, the creators of this video (originally posted on EepyBird.com) were just having fun and had no intention of generating sales of Diet Coke or Mentos, but that is exactly what they did. The video went viral and everyone wanted to make their own fountains. Mythbusters even tested several myths related to the chemical reaction between the two products. Mentos seized the opportunity and pushed the phenomenon even further. They temporarily redesigned their homepage to reflect the new attention, added a scientific explanation of the reaction to the FAQs on their site, and held a contest for people to post videos of their own soda fountains. As a result, over 150 videos were submitted and there are over 5,300 video search results for “Mentos and Coke” (notice that the original video name was Coke and Mentos). Coca-Cola was a bit more reluctant to join the craze, and they missed out on an amazing opportunity. Read more at SiteLogicMarketing.com. - “Friday” by Rebecca Black
Though the quality of the music is much debated, it is clear that Rebecca Black owes her career to her YouTube hit. Black was a virtual unknown before her “TGIF-Themed” song became the most watched video on YouTube in 2011. Since then, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber recorded covers of her song, Katie Perry performed with Black, and she won Best Web Star at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards. - “Somebody I Used to Know” cover by Walk Off the Earth on Ellen
Since their hit, Walk Off the Earth has been approached by several music labels and has created several more videos and singles. In an interview shortly after the media craze, the band discusses how social media, and particularly YouTube, allowed them to create a name for themselves and make a living playing music.
In the first two cases, companies gained some amazing, unexpected (and free!) advertising as their products became the center of a YouTube sensation, while unknown artists Rebecca Black and Walk Off the Earth became household names. YouTube’s amazing popularity and pass-along value have made it a critical resource for businesses to reach millions of people.
However, that huge audience can cause problems for unobservant businesses. Some of the most popular and viral videos are parodies and criticisms of companies and famous individuals, and often companies are unaware of the negative words associated with them. For example, search “Walmart” on YouTube and see what results you get. Most of them are very critical and damaging of Walmart’s image. Some of the first search results are clips from the documentary, “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices,” which highlights several problems with the company including dissatisfied workers and environmental pollution caused by Walmart’s negligence–not exactly what Walmart wants people to see.
Even with YouTube’s notoriety for creating over-night sensations, not every video can reach five million views. So, if viral marketing doesn’t always work, how can YouTube help a business or organization? The White House YouTube channel is a great example of how digital video can be used to build a positive image. The White House provides several playlists including stories from behind the scenes, weekly addresses from President Obama, a series of remembrances of 9/11, and specific issues such as the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform.
What makes the White House channel so much of a success compared to Walmart?
- Quantity Media presence is very similar to market share. Of all the information and media available (market) only a percentage of that is owned or produced by the company (share). Companies should strive to produce more positive material than there is negative material already floating around the Web. This is strictly a probability approach: of all the possible media you can find, companies want you to have a greater chance of finding something positive they produced. To test this, I conducted a very informal experiment to show how important this market share theory is. I typed “Walmart” and “White House” into the YouTube search box and of the 20 results, I calculated the percentage of how many videos or playlists were produced by the organization. The results were very interesting.
- Interesting Content Take a look at what videos Walmart and the White House post on their channel. The majority of Walmart’s videos are television ads and employees reading customer letters. This content is not particularly conducive to presenting the voice of the company or helping viewers gain an understanding of “who” Walmart is. Honestly, if people want to see a Walmart ad, they will turn on the TV; they won’t search for an ad on YouTube. YouTube serves as a tool to publish content the public will not see everyday; companies have the benefit of publicly publishing content that, for the viewer, feels exclusive. Even though the life of the President is extremely public with reports of his actions appearing on national news and in newspapers, the White House still manages to post content the news media doesn’t share. The channel has a video of the inauguration from behind the scenes, a special on the history behind using numerous pens to sign legislation, and even a clip of the President shooting a marshmallow cannon in one of the hallways during a science fair. All of these videos reveal the character of the White House which the public will not see anywhere else but the White House YouTube Channel.
Additional Resources
Social Media’s Impact on the Restaurant Industry December 26, 2012
The first half of this story on CBS Sunday Morning reveals the impact social media has made on the restaurant industry. Chef Puck tells reporter Lee Cowan that everyone has become a “foodie” thanks to cooking shows and, in particular, Twitter and Instagram. People love to share what they eat, and social media gives them a community of other food lovers with whom to share their obsession. This network of flavor-conscious customers keeps chefs honest and on their toes, because now, each review goes farther than ever before.
Importance of Online Presence December 11, 2012
How important do you think an online presence is to a business? Take this poll to see why businesses need to get their name out there.
Why Social Media?
Today, I found a video on YouTube detailing facts and statistics concerning social media use in regards to business. The statistics show a rapid increase in consumer reliance on information obtained on the Internet and social media, in particular. More people are relying on consumer-generated information and a company’s online presence to make decisions about what products and services are best. This shows how important a social media presence is to businesses, regardless of size.
The video asks an important question for businesses: Will consumers find you, or your competition first? If you want customers to find you, you have to make yourself easy to find. Social media is an inexpensive and relatively easy way to do that.
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