Tag: gigcoin

Looking Back on Social Media’s Highlights 2012

I love the quiet moments of reflecting on the development of social media and for that matter, the whole Internet. The birds-eye-view of history in the making.

My new article, 4 Social Media Highlights of 2012 is on GigCoin’s blog, where I invite you to read a few of the things that most stood out.

In every passing year, the rapid proliferation of social media, never ceases to amaze me. 2012, was certainly no different.

I enjoy writing every article I write but in particular, I’ve grown a particular fondness for the highlights of the year post and predictions for the coming year.

I love the quiet moments of reflection. The recognition of the development of social media and for that matter, the whole Internet.  The birds-eye-view of history in the making.

My new article, 4 Social Media Highlights of 2012 is on GigCoin’s blog, where I invite you to read a few of the things that most stood out:

  • Crowdfunding and crowdsourcing reached new heights
  • Social Media became more mobile
  • The brand’s social media experience moved beyond FaceBook and Twitter
  • Infographics became a more adopted and valued way to communicate marketing messages

I invite you to join in the conversation on  GigCoin’s blog and Facebook page.

social media highlights of 2012

Facebook Tips: Hot Topic of the Week

Everywhere I turned this week, people were talking about changes with Facebook Pages.

Everywhere I turned this week, people were talking about changes with Facebook Pages. As a result, I wrote a new post for GigCoin, How to: Make your Facebook Updates Seen in a Post-Promoted Page World. Read the full article.

Rana Shahbaz, wrote a great post this week, 10 Tips to Increase the Facebook Business Page Reach from Top Experts. Thank you, Rana, for including my comments in this piece with such a distinguished group of contributors. Read the full article.

Posts and Other Summer Musings

The summer has been good so far! I’ve been busy blogging, connecting with new and familiar folks as sources for some of my posts, and when not working enjoying the long hours of sunlight and hot (sometimes muggy) New England days.

Probably most noticeable for me this summer is that I’ve been doing a lot of summer reading–both fiction and non-fiction. And for the most part, enjoying most of the books I’ve read. And even plowing through to the end of the ones that may not exactly hold my interest.

Two new posts which I’ve had the pleasure to write and contribute to this past week was one that was published on Social Media Examiner, 22 Top Blog Tools Loved by the Pros :

and the other, Innovation + Creativity = Great Experiences for Businesses on Instagram, published on GigCoin.

Hope your summer is going well! And that you’re enjoying some good down time, too,  hopefully peeling yourself away from being online. A goal which to be perfectly honest, I’m still working on–but I am a little better!

An Online Community Management Book (Really for Smarties!)

The For Dummies book series has been around awhile now and while some may have considered them to be light-weights in terms of content, they are usually very comprehensive guides on many different topics. This past week I read and wrote about Deb Ng’s book, Online Community Management for Dummies, for GigCoin’s blog.

The book is a compendium of tips for anyone (brand and individual) who is looking for ways to manage their presences on multiple social-networking platforms. It’s an excellent book, well-worth your time to read and implement the suggestions.

The author, Deb Ng,  has worked in the field and is currently the Community Manager for BlogWorld whose conference takes place in NYC next week.

You can check out the full post on GigCoin!

26 Tips: My Latest A-Z Social Media Guide & Other News

I’m pleased to have my 14th article on Social Media Examiner (SME) today!  If you’ve found your way here as a result of seeing the post on SME, welcome and thank you for visiting.

By Way of Background:
My first post was published on SME back on October 27, 2010 and since that time I’ve written a series of 26 tips, A-Z guides about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,blogs, lead generation, video, customer service, images, mobile apps, google+, pinterest, gamification, and now, location-based marketing.

I’ve been writing about social media for the past five years and have seen tremendous advances in that time. It’s always a challenge to keep up, but there’s something incredibly gratifying about continuing to learn something that feels very much like a moving target.

I also write regularly for GigCoin and you can check-out my latest post, How To: Extend Your Blogging Reach.

Other News:
This past week, I’ve also had the honor of being selected as a finalist in a short memoir contest on Biographile for my essay, Who Among Us. The contest is still going on and if you’re so inclined you can read the piece and vote for me by selecting the Facebook “like” widget on the page.

Non-fiction writing and memoir in particular has had a special place in my heart the past number of years, and I’m thrilled to have received recognition for this piece which is in memory of and a tribute to the ten women of the Tuesday, Writing for Wellness Group at Facing Cancer Together, who I had the distinct pleasure to know and write with.

I remember them.

Pinterest and Brands: How They Work Together

In a new post published today on GigCoin, I had an opportunity to reach out to a number of brands via HARO who have created presences on Pinterest to find out what has made the platform a good place for them to be. The post also includes a Q&A with Kelly Lieberman who has spent considerable time taking a look at brands and Pinterest.

Check out the full post on GigCoin.

Restaurants and Contests

This week I researched and wrote about restaurants and contests for a post for Gigcoin’s blog. Our goal for the post was to demonstrate some successful, unique and clever contests.

I put a query out on Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and through the query we heard from a number of businesses around the United States. We selected four to profile in the post: Ling and Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, The Bistro Group, and Mia’s Pizza and Eats.

I was very impressed with the creativity of each of these contests and it really drove home the point that businesses need to be strategic with their social media approaches.

You can read the post on GigCoin’s blog.

Reflections on my post, Tips for Designing a Successful Facebook Content Strategy

I’ve been blogging for a number of years now but have to say that the post, “Tips for Designing a Successful Facebook Content Strategy” from a research standpoint, had to be one of the most enjoyable and interesting processes I’ve had as a blogger.

I felt a little like Woodward & Bernstein (okay, I said “a little”) as they uncovered Watergate. This had an odd feeling of almost Facegate kind of conspiracy to it.

I’ve been blogging for a number of years now but have to say that the post, “Tips for Designing a Successful Facebook Content Strategy” from a research standpoint, had to be one of the most enjoyable and interesting processes I’ve had as a blogger.

As you’ll read in the full post on GigCoin’s blog, I had started out with an intention of researching third party APIs for auto-posting to your Facebook fan page. But after reading a post by Josh Constine on Inside Facebook, the post took a very different turn.

I felt a little like Woodward & Bernstein (okay, I said “a little”) as they uncovered Watergate. This had an odd feeling of a Facegate kind of conspiracy to it.

Then, I had the great fortune of being in contact with some excellent Facebook experts and receiving their tips, including Mari Smith, social media thought leader and author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day. Mari pushed out the post to her “peeps” yesterday and the post is being read even more widely now.

The viral nature of posts is something that intrigues me a lot!

Recent blog posts

Oops, I haven’t updated my own blog now in a few weeks! Guess I’ve been busy researching and writing (and snapping photos on my iPhone, applying filters and sharing on Instagram)!

What have I been up to? Well, continuing in my tradition of 26 Tips, A-Z Guides, my seventh post in the series, 26 Tips for Adding Customer Service to Your Social Media Strategy, was published on Social Media Examiner on June 1st.

This past month, I’ve also had four additional posts published on GigCoin’s blog on a variety of social media topics: optimizing video on YouTube, lead generation, viral effect of video ads, creating new business opportunities.

What have you been working on?

New Blog Posts: Mac Apps & Monitoring Competitors’ Social Media

This past week I’ve had two new blog posts published: 1) 30+ Design Apps on the Mac App Store on WebDesigner Depot and 2) 15 Ways to Monitor Your Competitors’ Use of Social Media to Gain Social Intelligence on GigCoin.

Click on the images to read the full story.