Category Archives: Social Media

Social Media – When should you Tweet or post in Facebook?

Social Media, Web,

One of the important decisions that will impact the optimum utilisation of social media marketing for firms(or even in personal lives) is the “timing” of the tweets, posts, etc. In an article in Fast Company, Belle Beth Cooper, shares some very interesting insights. The study covers Facebook, Twitter and email newsletter. But unfortunately, LinkedIn was not part of the study(At our company, we use only LinkedIn and email newsletters, and I personally am not convinced about the effectiveness of FB or Twitter for our B2B services).

In one of the studies, the respondents were asked about engagement levels and the following was the result.

(Source: Argyle Social)

The difference in engagement in B2B and B2C settings for Twitter and Facebook clearly varied.

The article also has several other insights like – when do people engage most with social media? Early mornings? Lunch time? Evenings? Weekdays? Weekends? Here is one more interesting chart.

If you are a practitioner of social media marketing or are just curious, you find this article very useful. Read on here.

3.6 and Twenty Thirteen

Social Media, Technology

Yesterday, I updated my website to the latest WordPress version for the first time in 4 years.I started blogging using WordPress in 2009, but when I started, I had no idea what WordPress was. My friend Sudev Rajah purchased the domain on my behalf and hosted it in his server. He guided me how to login and how to start posting blogs. I did not know anything about WordPress themes or how to install them at that time.

But things changed after I started my own firm. For a start-up, having a very good website and generating traffic and leads through the website is today the easiest and most cost-effective way to build a brand. It was only after I started working on my own company websites with a bunch of young friends that I started to understand this fascinating world of websites. It also helped that I took up the responsibility of revamping the website of a Toastmasters Club that I am part of. (Interestingly, that website went on to win the best website award among 15 odd contestants in an annual conference of a Division.)

Coming back to the updated website, the latest version is 3.6 and is called “Oscar”in honor of the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. The theme has also been upgraded to the new “Twenty Thirteen“. The official WordPress blog about the new updates can be found here.

If you are one of those who wanted to have a website for themselves, but never really got around building one, you should try out the new theme. It is quite easy to use. As I was figuring out how best I can use the new theme, I came across some good resource in the form of a YouTube video. Watch it below and you will get a step-by-step advice on how to do it.

Why is LinkedIn the most popular social media platform for Fortune 500 CEOs?

Social Media, Technology, , , ,

Only 32% of the F500 CEOs have some form of social media presence(LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+). Of these, LinkedIn is not only the most popular(140 CEOs are on LinkedIn), but also added more number of CEOs to its list compared to the previous year. This is based on the annual study by CEO.com and DOMO. The picture below is self-explanatory.

This prompted a very interesting question from a friend and industry colleague – “28% of Fortune 500 CEOs have ‘presence’ on LinkedIn. But, why shun other social media platforms (Tw, FB, G+ etc.)? “

My take on this was “Serious business discussions, professional networking and idea sharing happen mostly in LinkedIn. Facebook is strictly for personal networking(at least for me). Twitter is too noisy, and it is very difficult to cut through the clutter. G+ is promising(and it has been that way for some time), but does not have critical mass.. For me, LinkedIn wins hands down when it comes to work related stuff. Perhaps most CEOs feel the same?”.

The report had this to say about LinkedIn “The way CEOs are using LinkedIn is changing, and that is partl ydue to the “Influencer” program on LinkedIn Today, which has CEOs lining up to be seen as part of this prestigious club of experts. Here are four Fortune 500 CEOs who rank as LinkedIn Influencers – Meg Whitman, Jamie Dimon, Jeff Immelt, John Donahoe. “

Which social media platform do you prefer?

PS: The study can be downloaded here.

Search Engine Optimization – A History

Social Media, Technology, Web,

Having worked in a highly web-oriented company before I ventured on my own, I had heard a lot about SEO and how to build a brand and generate leads through SEO. I have always been sceptical about the long term sustainability of using SEO without having good content. (Seth Godin’s blog on the problems with SEO is here). Irrespective of my scepticism, it was quite interesting to go through the History of CEO, as presented by HubSpot. It confirms what my take on SEO is – it is all about content.

The presentation by HubSpot is given below.

PechaKucha 20X20

Social Media,

The first time I heard about PechaKucha 20x 20 was during the annual conference of Toastmasters District 82 – Ovation 2013. There were 3 presentations and I found each one of them interesting. The beauty of PechaKucha is that each presenter can present 20 slides, each for 20 seconds for a total of 400 seconds or 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The slides are timed, so each slide will make way for the next after 20 minutes. More details of it can be found here.

What really surprised me was that PechaKucha Nights(PKN) have spread virally and are happening in more than 600 cities around the world. In an interview with smartplanet.com, Mark Dytham, Co-founder of PKN shares the history behind PKN and the reason for its popularity. He makes an interesting statement that ”There’s nothing social about Facebook or Twitter”, because there is hardly any social physical interaction in these online media. He believes ” that the next phase of the internet will focus on digital to physical interactions. Already, startups that use online networks to connect people in the physical, such as Airbnb and Taskrabbit, are doing increasingly well. As a presentation format that connects disparate groups all over the world, PechaKucha is something of a precursor to this.”

Read more about PKN and Mark’s ideas here.