Key Social Media Methods To boost Your Business

Kiev, Ukraine - August 26, 2013 - A collection of well-known social media brands printed on paper and placed on plastic signs. Include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram and Tumblr logos.

Welcome to the world of online marketing where connecting with an audience is key to making a profit. There are numerous forms of promotion you can look into for boosting the profile of your business. But we think one of the key forms of marketing you should definitely be using is social media. By using social media, you’ll be able to connect with your customers and hopefully find your target consumer. Social networks allow unique possibilities for marketing that are simply unavailable through other methods. There are a number of different social networks that are perfect for marketing your business. On this post, we’re going to have a look at a few of them. We can examine their importance as well as their unique advantages.

Twitter

Twitter is a place where you can update your followers with new information about your business. Or, if your startup isn’t open yet you can let people know when you will be entering the market. By doing this, you can build up support and interest in your company. It’s a fantastic way to expand an already established customer base as well. Online, you have the possibility to use the resources at your finger tips and Twitter is certainly one of them. But now, you have other ways you can use Twitter. For instance, you can share content across this network as well as pictures and videos. By doing this, you can catch the interest of clients in unique ways. As well as that you can retweet other businesses in your industry. By doing that, you may gain the attention of customers who previously used your competition. It’s a brilliant way to catch your competitors off guard.

Instagram

One of the fastest forms of business marketing online is the sharing of images. That’s why Instagram is proving to be an increasingly popular tool for business owners. It’s a great opportunity to show your customers the people behind your marketing and create an interesting campaign. You can even use Instagram to set-up ads online. It’s easy to learn how to create Instagram ads. By doing this, you can run a campaign that helps not only you but any advertisers you might be working with. This type of dual promotion could be tremendously beneficial for your business. When using sharing networks such as instagram, don’t forget to hashtag content. Statistically, adding hashtags to content leads to more shares.

Snapchat

Lastly, it’s important to understand that the face of online marketing and social media is changing. In the past, Facebook and Twitter used to be the key players. These are still important platforms, but they are being overshadowed by new ideas. Specifically, the chance for business owners to share live content with their customers and clients. Businesses have already seen degrees of success with this idea using networking devices like Snapchat. By creating a story on Snapchat, you can mould a unique marketing strategy that updates in real time. Doing this, you are sure to win new clients and keep the interest of already invested customers.

Facebook Improves App Permissions, Introduces Anonymous Logins

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19 Social Media Facts That Every Marketer Should Know (Video with cover)

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Palestinian Hacker Posts To Mark Zuckerberg’s Wall, Won’t Get $500 Reward

Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Hack

(image: dailymail.co.uk)

The world’s biggest social network has a long standing policy of giving people who find and report security vulnerabilities in their network with a $500 bounty. There is a process set up where “white hat” hackers and other users can turn in their findings. Once the security team investigates and finds the breach, Facebook gives the reporter $500. That’s not going to be the case for Palestinian “security specialist” Khalil Shreateh.

The Daily Mail reports that Shreateh discovered a vulnerability in Facbeook that allowed anyone to post a message on the Facebook wall of any other user regardless of that user’s privacy settings. While it’s not as bad as hacking someone’s account and posting as that person, it could leave more high profile Facebook users, and even regular Facbeook users feeling vulnerable. Unlike LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter, many people turn to Facebook for family communications and other networking with people they actually know.

When Shreateh discovered this breach, he reported it. Unfortunately either the Facbeook security team didn’t feel it was a worthy breach, or they just felt like ignoring it. Facebook eventually told him it wasn’t a bug.

So, Shreateh found a friend of Mark Zuckerberg’s, fellow Harvard alum Sarah Goodin. Goodin and Shreateh have no connection whatsoever, yet Shreateh was able to post on her wall.

When this still wasn’t good enough Shreateh used the same trick and posted on Zuckerberg’s wall.

‘Sorry for breaking your privacy,’ he wrote in a post to Zuckerberg. ‘I had no other choice…after all the reports I sent to Facebook team.’

That post was immediately removed, and Facebook security experts patched up the vulnerability that Shreateh had originally reported, hoping to earn the $500.

In a Hacker News post, Facebook Security Team member Matt Jones posted that the bug had been fixed. He also explained why Shreateh wouldn’t receive the bounty.

‘In order to qualify for a payout you must “make a good faith effort to avoid privacy violations” and “use a test account instead of a real account when investigating bugs,”’ Jones wrote.

Facebook said that Shreateh violated the privacy of both Goodin and Zuckerberg. Jones was quick to point out that Shreateh could receive the bounty for reporting future bugs.

Facebook Acquires Pittsburgh Speech Recognition And Translation Startup

On Monday morning Tom Stocky, Director of Product Management at Facebook, announced that the social networking giant had acquired Mobile Technologies, the Pittsburgh startup behind the app Jibbigo.

Jibbigo is an app with the kind of technology you’d think the NSA would be after. The app allows you to record someone talking in a foreign language and translates the voice snippet for you in both text and spoken word in the language selected. This is the kind of technology that everyone has wished they had at one time or another. You know, you’re riding the subway and you hear a loud argument in another language? Jibbigo is perfect for that.

Now obviously Facebook is going to use this technology for translating and speech recognition, but its specific uses have yet to be announced. What Stocky did say, by Facebook post of course, was “I’m excited to announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Mobile Technologies, a company with an amazing team that’s behind some of the world’s leading speech recognition and machine translation technology.”

Facebook already integrates Bing’s translation technology into news feeds and posts. Anthony Sarvas at ITProPortal speculates that they could use the technology for improving their mobile ad network and expanding a mobile ad campaigns reach.

The Pittsburgh-based team will relocate to Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters. Terms of the deal were, of course, not disclosed.

“With this deal we will welcome some of the industry’s most talented people to our engineering teams in Menlo Park, California,” Stocky said in the Facebook post.

Find out more about Jibbigo here.

Nevada Startup SocialMatic Bringing Instagram To Life With Polaroid

I guess someone forgot to tell the founders of Las Vegas startup SocialMatic that bringing Instagram to life was done over 50 years ago with the first Polaroid. Of course the technology needs an update and a digital camera with an Instagram style face, some filters and Polaroid prints may just do the trick.

For now the company has entered into a binding agreement with C&A licensing an authorized Polaroid licensee and the same one that licenses the Polaroid One Step SX-70 image and likeness to Instagram.

Currently SocialMatic only has some really good mockups but they reportedly plan on bringing a product to market by 2014.

(photo: socialmatic)

“We are so proud to work together with C & A and Polaroid, giants of digital photography.” – said Mr. Antonio De Rosa, CEO of Socialmatic. “It ‘s been a long and difficult negotiation but we were strongly motivated to reach an agreement to create a small revolution in digital photography. This mix of Hardware and Software, together with our brand new photo social network will fill the gap between virtuality and reality.”

While the licensing deal has been struck with Polaroid it’s unclear whether they will need to do any licensing with Facebook, the owners of Instagram. The mockups look like one gigantic Instagram without the word Instagram on it.

One place where it may get a little hairy is the fact that Socialmatic plans to use the hardware to share pictures on their own photo based social network.

Would you buy an actual “Instagram Camera” tell us in comments below.

Former Facebook Chief Invests In Nashville Startup Streamweaver

Nashville startup, Streamweaver launched in September. The company offers a new, more socially integrated video experience.

According to TechCrunch, Streamweaver has actually found a way to make video more social. This is achieved by not only sharing videos with friends, and tagging video recordings, but in playback StreamWeaver allows for split screen. This way friends at the same event can watch their friends videos in a more complete, multiscreen display.

Early on Streamweaver was able to raise $2.6 million dollars locally from Tennessee Community Ventures and Mountain Group Capital according to the Tennessean. Both firms are part of the TNInvestco program.

Now they’ve raised a $1.3 million dollar Series A round that was led by former Facebook Privacy head Chris Kelly. Kelly joined the social giant in 2005 when there were only about 25 employees. He left in 2010 and began investing in startups. Kelly also recently invested in video startup GoDigital that produces documentaries.

“As mobile users, we all love to share content and connect with others on the go … and I’ve seen a lot of social startups,” Kelly told TechCrunch, “but Streamweaver is making a difference in how we collaborate with each other and collectively create interactive content.”

You can tryout Streamweaver here

Facebook Passwords Protected In California And Illinois

Last March one of the hottest issues involving privacy and security online was in regard to employers. One of the biggest stories was about a correctional officer in Maryland named Robert Collins who had been laid off from his job in 2010. Unlike many lay-offs Collins was actually asked to come back into work, however before he could do that there was one stipulation. Collins needed to give up, not just his Facebook user id, but his password as well.

Collins had been out of work for a while and needed the money so he had no choice but to give up his Facebook login credentials.He said that the employer wanted to make sure he wasn’t into any “gang activity” (because gangs are planning their activities on Facebook and all).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) quickly got involved in Collins case and many others that were popping up across the country. Some employers were making Facebook and other social media credentials a stipulation of employment and others were making it a stipulation of continued employment.

Maryland lawmakers quickly rushed a piece of legislation that outlaws employers from seeking employee or prospective employee’s login credentials for any personal service.

Now California and Illinois have both jumped on the login protection bandwagon, and rightfully so. New laws in both states, that went into effect January 1st 2013, makes it illegal for employers to demand access to their workers protected Facebook accounts. The laws passed in both states protect employees privacy and passwords for many different social networks and not just Facebook.

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Merry Christmas Instagram: Facebook’s Mobile Photo App Hit With Class Action Lawsuit

While millions of people across the world were preparing for Christmas and undoubtedly filling their Instagram feeds with pictures of carolers, cooking, food, presents and of course Santa Claus, A woman from San Diego, Lucy Funes, and the law firm of Finklestein & Krinsk launched a class action lawsuit against the photo giant.

Instagram quickly found themselves under fire from irate users. Even some of their more infamous users like Kim Kardashian said they would quit using the service. National Geographic had taken down their Instagram feed. All of this stemming from a change in Instagram’s Terms of Service (TOS). You know those long legaleeze pages that you just automatically agree to so that you can start using an app.

In the originally changed TOS Instagram had basically said that they could use your photos for whatever they want without compensation. They also said they may choose to advertise alongside your photos, they didn’t have to tell you and you wouldn’t make any money from it. Of course, whether or not you agree with these terms, no one forces you to use their product. All the while, if you do, you’re making an agreement to abide by their terms.

Nevertheless, Instagram founder and CEO Kevin Systrom went ahead and back pedaled on the parts pertaining to copyright and using a users photos. The language about advertising remained in place.

Funes, most likely started the ball rolling for her class action lawsuit before Systrom apologized and changed the terms of service again, however the suit was filed. The lawsuit says customers who don’t agree with Instagram’s terms can cancel their profile but forfeit the rights to photos they previously shared on the service.

“In short, Instagram declares that ‘possession is nine-tenths of the law and if you don’t like it, you can’t stop us,'” the lawsuit says.

Instagram catapulted to fame over the last few years. They were acquired by Facebook in early 2012 for what was believed to be a cash/stock deal worth $1 billion dollars at the time it was announced. Because of Facebook’s decline in stock valuation the deal is only worth about $715 million dollars now.

With the long holiday weekend it’s hard to tell if Funes will still push forward with the lawsuit since the new TOS language doesn’t lay claim to a users photos the way it previously did. We’ll hopefully find out more shortly.

The holidays are a big time for Instagram. They may see a little downtrend this year partially caused by users unsure of what’s happening with the Terms of Service and also because their sharing via Twitter went through a major overhaul earlier this month.

Linkage:

Source: Yahoo/Reuters

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Facebook’s Sandberg And Google’s Schmidt Being Considered For Cabinet Position?

Now that the votes have been counted and Barack Obama has been elected to a second term as President Of The United States, his administration is preparing to shuffle the cabinet around.

While many are expecting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to step down from her post to run for President in 2016, another post that needs to be filled immediately is Secretary of The Treasury. Politico reported on Thursday that while Obama has had a very stable cabinet in his first term, almost the entire cabinet could be replaced in this second term.

Rumors have been running rampant about Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. There’s been wide spread speculation that President Obama has been looking at Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt for the Treasury position going back to July of 2011.

While insiders feel that White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew is a shoe in for the post at Treasury, counselor to the President Pete Rouse has been vetting Fortune 500 CEO’s for the Treasury position for the past few months.

This time around, Eric Schmidt is on the short list of possibilities as is Facebook CFO Sheryl Sandberg. Sandberg once served as Treasury Chief of Staff under Larry Summers and according to Politico, “Obama clearly likes her”.

One of Mitt Romney’s strengths in the 2012 election was his experience running big business at Bain Capital. It seems that Obama may give the nod to Sandberg or Schmidt, both of whom have the experience running major Fortune 500 companies, that could be pivotal over the next 4 years in building our economy back up.

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Denver Startup: Plink Teams Up With Tango Card

Seattle startup TangoCard continues to make news. Just last week we reported that Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, had participated in a $1.8M round of funding for TangoCard through his Innovation Endeavors investment arm.

Today loyalty and rewards startup Plink has announced a partnership with TangoCard that will take their 35,000 merchant rewards network from Facebook credits, to a plethora of great opportunities for redemption. Now in addition to earning Facebook credits that can be used for hundreds of Facebook apps and games, customers in the Plink reward network can also earn credit towards top merchants like Amazon,Home Depot, Target,iTunes,The Gap, Nike and many more.

“Our members have asked for more choices and we’re excited to expand the innovative ways they can earn rewards for eating and shopping offline,” Peter Vogel, Plink’s co-founder and President said in a statement. “Plink’s goal is to bridge the gap between online consumers and their offline purchases and partnering with Tango Card makes that vision more rewarding for our current members and attractive to new ones. We still believe in Facebook and Facebook credits; we wanted to increase our reach and exposure.”

Tango will also handle all of the work involved in the gift card part of the program.

“Plink and Tango Card are rethinking how consumers want to earn and use rewards,” David Leeds, CEO and founder of Tango Card said in a prepared statement. “Tango Card carefully curates digital rewards to deliver a complete program in a card. This approach allows Plink to focus on their core business: creating an innovative online-to-offline loyalty program. We are huge fans of what Plink is doing and are delighted that Plink selected our easy SDK [software development kit] to integrate the Tango Card.”

“We were looking for new ways to advertise all over the Internet and through Facebook, not just to people that are playing games on Facebook,” Vogel added. “We had seen Tango out in the marketplace. They have a lot of the biggest and most popular brands that our members want. Tango Card provides our members with a one-stop stop shop with an easy entry point. Tango also has a mobile application that enables our members to pick the [electronic] card they want on the go. It’s a very appealing model. For us, it’s all about choice.”

Just last week Tango received a $1.8 million dollar series A round. They said at that time they would use the fund for expansion, hiring more developers and expanding their proprietary software applications. Obviously they are moving quickly toward that goal.

Linkage

For more information on Plink visit this link

For more information on TangoCard visit this link

Source: Press Release via Loyalty360

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Vancouver Startup: CrowdFanatic Creating A Group Engagement Platform For Facebook INTERVIEW

A Vancouver startup called CrowdFanatic has just recently launched, what they are calling a “game changing” group connectivity layer on Facbeook. It’s actually a pretty innovative idea, and now with the Facebook App store, more people will be able to find it and connect their groups.

Facebook does a great job of one to one connections. What they’ve been missing through the years is the chance for groups to connect with groups. For instance a Harry Potter fan group could challenge a Hunger Games group. Or a Kyle Bush fan group could connect with a Dale Earnhardt fan group and challenge each other.

What’s even better is other ideas that can spark on CrowdFanatic’s layer. For instance, a cheerleading group in California could collaborate, and or challenge a cheer leading group from Connecticut. The possibilities are endless, and after talking with the founders of CrowdFanatic, the biggest question is why hasn’t Facebook or someone else stepped up to do this until now? Well it’s here thanks to CrowdFanatic.

Check out our interview below the break
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[Opinion] The Facebook Phone And What You’ll Actually See

This article is based on theories in which I’ve presented to people before certain sites took what was an idea and called it their own. I’m basing a couple of the features/products within based on speculation and possible rumors in which have happened in the past and ones we’ll surely hear in the close future when it comes to the Mythical Facebook Phone…

Facebook Preparing For Mobile Hardware Battle?

Reports are coming hot and heavy this Memorial Day weekend, that Facebook is reinvigorating it’s “Facebook Phone”. Business Insider and the New York Times are staying on top of the story.

According to SAI (sourced to the New York Times) Mark Zuckerberg is personally vetting engineers to join the Facebook team. According to reports he has several iPhone engineers and even an iPad engineer making the shift from Cupertino to Menlo Park.

Zuckerberg has been apparently asking all kinds of tough questions of his new Facebook Phonre recruits, including what chips are in the iPhone.

Potential investors were reportedly concerned about Facebook’s mobile presence when Zuckerberg took Facebook on their pre-IPOD road show.

There is no time frame for the reported release of the Facebook Phone. The device has been rumored for the past three years.

Last year Facebook endorsed two HTC Android devices, the HTC Salsa and the HTC Cha Cha. Both devices featured deep Facebook integration including a dedicated Facebook button on the front of both phones. Despite the social network having over 800 million members, the HTC Salsa and HTC Cha Cha were just marginal selling phones.

The HTC Cha Cha debuted in the US on AT&T. Despite having heavy Facebook integration and even being the sponsor phone for a reunited Blink 182 tour, the Status didn’t even last a quarter.

So why do they think they’ll have better success? Well one piece of the puzzle is an app store. Facebook already had some heavy hitters developing apps for the Facebook platform. Zynga was even able to grow large enough to go public based on the success of their Facebook social games.

Zynga and Facebook have been working hand in hand together now for years. Zynga may be waiting for the offices Facebook phone before releasing mobile versions of their blockbuster hits FarmVille and CityVille.

Facebook’s mobile apps are consistently top five in all other app stores. They just recently release the Facebook camera app which provides deep integration with Facebook, and the ability to post up to 30 photos at a time to Facebook. The Facebook camera may explain the reasoning behind the purchase of Instagram and Light Box