Facebook To Remove Trending News Section

Facebook has plans to remove the Trending News section of the platform. After reading their blog post, we learned that the use of that portion of the site was extremely low. The reason it is shocking to us is that we use that section multiple times per day as we work to glean knowledge about what content/news people are interested in consuming.

Facebook does have plans to adapt the platform to the way that their data suggest that people like to use Facebook. So, we will have to see if they are making the right decision. In all sincerity, it probably is a good decision for the masses, but for those that work in marketing and PR….it was pretty convenient.

Here is the link to see all of the details about the change.

Leave us a comment to tell us what you think about the change. How often do you look at the trending topics?

NonProfits are Leaving Money on The Table if they Do Not Embrace Social Media

The non-profit community is constantly working hard to do the greatest good for people all over the world. Many of us have worked and are currently volunteering with non-profits in our spare time. Unfortunately, the large corporations are not donating to non-profits like they used to. Our non-profits are having to get creative in their fundraising efforts, the grants they apply for, and how they communicate to their key stakeholders. Non-profits that continue to stray away from social media are leaving money on the table.

There are many reasons why social media does not rise to the top in many non-profit organizations. Some include the fact that leadership and those that are decision makers still do not see the value in social media, there is not an immediate return on the investment of time that it takes to manage social media channels, and it is not what has been done before.

But, instead of harping on why it is not happening. We need to focus on why it should happen and how it can happen (even in the small organizations with no budget).

Executive teams tend to like data. So, here are a few data points:

  1. It was reported that approximately 8 million different viewers visited CDC’s site in a single day following the upload of their first video on YouTube on April 30, 2009.
  2. Research based on consumer surveys has shown that individuals are more likely to seek services from and recommend to others an organization that they recognize as having a strong web presence (McCaughey, Baumgardner, Gaudes, LaRochelle, Wu & Raichura, (2014); Govette, 2014). Social media drives people to your website and keeps your brand top of mind.
  3. Utilizing social media applications for fund development allows organizations to capitalize on social network effect, social proof, peer pressure, and impulse donations (Saxton, 2013; Axelrad, 2015).

Beyond the data, there is a lot more to the story of why social media is right for nonprofits. Basic communication strategy will guide you in saying that you need to communicate with your patrons where they are at. This may be Facebook, Instagram, or even SnapChat depending on the audience that you would like to reach. The beautiful thing about social media is that one can create a strategy that reaches each of these audiences and measure that against the goals that you have for growth. For example, an organization that may help senior citizens has a variety of audiences that it must reach to have significant growth outside of their current circle. This organization needs to reach funders, caregivers, those in the health care profession that may recommend them, and the family of that senior. Understanding your target audience is going to help when looking at boosting a social media strategy.

Social media is all about building relationships with patrons. These are the individuals that will become brand ambassadors, they may remain or become funders, they may even have an influential role on politicians that affect the nature of work done by an organization. Showing the world what is done within a nonprofit via social media helps the nonprofit to tell its’ own story. It allows the nonprofit to showcase what is being done with monies received. When people know that an organization is doing right by their donations, they tend to want to give more.

Many organizations will conduct an end of the year giving campaign. This is the time when nonprofits encourage people during the holidays to give to their organization. The problem is that all the nonprofits are doing this at the same time. The key is to share your organization’s brand story throughout the year so that people feel they know their donation will go into an organization that is properly lifting up the individuals that they have promised to serve. The traditional means of communicating with your audience do not have to completely disappear. Social media is just an additional tool in that tool box to reach your audience.

More data:

  1. Facebook – 1.94 billion monthly active users as of March 31, 2017
  2. Instagram now has over 700 million users, and 250 million users use Instagram Stories every day. In total, Instagram’s added more than 200 million users to its platform in under a year, with 100 million of the newcomers signing on between December and the end of April.
  3. Twitter – 328 million monthly active users as of last count, making Twitter the ninth largest social network in the world.
  4. Snapchat – 158 million people are using Snapchat every day, and on average, open the app 18 times a day, according to Snap Inc.’s initial public offering prospectus.

We always advise nonprofit executives to look at the other organizations that they want to aspire to as it relates to fundraising. Look at their social media efforts vs their traditional communication efforts. The first step in getting an executive team to embrace social media is to show them the data. The numbers do not lie. The audience is there and they are waiting to hear your story.

Many times, it is the youngest/newest member of a nonprofit organization that is attempting to shift the tide when it comes to a nonprofit embracing social media fully. This is difficult because now a senior member of an organization must trust a junior member of the organization that has not been around so long. Our hope is that these two passionate individuals can at least meet in the middle. The experience of the executive team is invaluable, but blending that with the new communication tools that our junior team members may know more about can only help to take our nonprofit organizations to new heights.

Stay tuned to more in this series from Selsi Enterprises. We are taking a close look at how we can get more nonprofits to embrace and utilize social media in a greater capacity to grow their organizations.

 

Reference:

Appleby, Morgan. Nonprofit Organizations and the Utilization of Social Media: Maximizing and Measuring Return of Investment (2016)  http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=spnhareview

Testing The New Periscope Embed

We always love to see updates from Periscope as they work to compete with Facebook Live. The embed feature is one that I could not wait to try out. There is so much potential for repurposing content with this update. What I love best is that it’s very easy to do even from my iPad!

4 Reasons Why the Pokèmon Go Craze is GREAT for Entrepreneurs 

People have been found playing PokemonGo in the delivery room.

App developers around the world are sure to be in awe of the Pokèmon Go craze that has excited people around the globe. No one could have predicted the volume of interest in a gaming app even if they had the best predictive data of all time. The game has nostalgia, challenge, and a little bit of new technology all rolled in to one. This seems to be a winning combination!Here are some recent facts about the game:

  1. Initial release date was July 6, 2016.
  2. The game was developed between a partnership with Nintendo and Niantic.
  3. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokémon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in ten languages, and made seventeen feature films over the past two decades.
  4. Pokèmon actually means Pocket Monster.
  5. In less than a week after its release, Pokémon GO is reportedly bigger than Tinder in the US.
  6. According to SimilarWeb the Usage Time of Pokémon GO is taking up a lot of its user’s time. On July 8th, the app was being used an average of 43 minutes, 23 seconds a day. This is higher than other popular apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger.
  7. In less than a week, Pokèmon Go has had 6 million mentions on Twitter. (Adweek)
  8. According to Spreadfast, the most popular cities for the game are Culver City, Calif.; Houston; Chicago; San Antonio; and Manhattan were the buzziest locations, according to the company.
  9. Several brands have been caught tweeting about the game. Check out tweets from Southwest Airlines, KFC France, Sprint, Walmart captured in the article from Adweek.
  10. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokemon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in 10 languages, and made 17 feature films over the last 20 years. Time will tell how Pokemon Go matches up to those numbers. (Pocket-Lint)

If you are confused on how to play and the terminology being used, Pocket-Lint has the best write up I have seen to date. Spend a few minutes here to get a better understanding.

If you are an entrepreneur, here is why you should pay attention to this phenomenon:

  1. Follow The Eyeballs – As Gary Vaynerchuck says, you have to figure out how to Day Trade Attention and at this moment, the world is paying attention to this game at the moment. This is one of the best news jacking opportunities that a business owner can jump on at the moment. Remember to add the hashtag #PokèmonGo to your post.
  2. Promote!  Promote! Promote! – You can create a promotion around the Pokèmon brand and get awesome reach without having to pay to boost your post. Many are advertising the fact that they have a Pokèmon stop near their business.  The discounts that they are giving to patrons are extremely creative and a lot of fun. This type of promotion is a great way to introduce yourself to a new audience.
  3. Market Research – The Pokèmon craze gives you a sense of what those around the globe are finding interesting.  Game play, nostalgia, mobile, getting outside, learning about a variety of landmarks, and the list could go on and on. Take note of how you could apply this to your business. Do you have an app that you are creating? Can you incorporate some of these elements in to your app? Can you add some sort of game play to a promotion that you are running? Now is the time to think out of the box and capitalize on this new platform that is only going to grow.
  4. Stand Out From The Crowd – Pokèmon Go is one of the first virtual reality mobile games that have been successfully created. This is the first of many more to come. To date, we are already seeing some copy cat apps trying to ride the wave. If you feel something in your gut, go for it.  Pokèmon Go actually started from employees at Google working on their side project.  Ultimately, Google decided to let them go because they thought that it would be better for the growth of their company to be a stand alone.  As they say, the rest is history.

Pokèmon Go is actually celebrating 20 years.  Be sure that you check out their celebratory website and post your favorite memories from Pokèmon over the years using the hashtag #Pokemon20.

Take a look at this video from The Verge that will really take you back through the Pokemon history.

Entrepreneurs Think Tank Launches on Periscope

Entrepreneurs Think Tank BannerPeriscope has presented many benefits to those that take advantage of the power of live streaming. From humanitarian work to increasing profits, we now have the ability to take our efforts globally. Recently, the team at Selsi Enterprises was discussing how great it would be to bring entrepreneurs together on a regular basis to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of entrepreneurship.

We presented the idea to Parachute TV on Periscope and a few months later, we got the green light to bring the show to life.  Our first show went great and the numbers were great for our first time on their channel. We had a quiet audience in the background, but hope to bring our audiences in to the discussion. The mission of the show is for entrepreneurs to help other entrepreneurs reach their full potential.

We did a lot to prepare for the show from checking the lighting to prepping the guest. We also did a little prepromotion for the show. Prepromotion is one of this most important task to do when launching an effort like this one.  Your followers may not realize what you have planned and may miss being there for the live broadcast.

I am not going to spoil the content that you are going to see in the video, but feel free to comment about additional information that you would have asked our guest. These seasoned entrepreneurs are open to sharing all that they have learned along the way.

Thank you to our friends at Sis and Moon’s for letting us come in to their space.  Follow Sis an Moon’s on all social media platforms from their website www.sisandmoons.com.

Scope Day Atlanta is coming – Jan 23

Scope Day Atlanta Jan 23, 2016

You may have heard that Selsi Enterprises is putting together an event titled Scope Day Atlanta. This event will be the first of its kind for any city to participate in around the world.  This is an event that will take place on Periscope and will highlight all of the great elements of the city of Atlanta and surrounding areas.

Scope Day was founded by a gentleman in Taiwan named Mike Lin. In a matter of 30 days, he pulled off a Scope Day that allowed people to travel around the world via their mobile devices on the app Periscope.

Here are some details about what took place on the original Scope Day:

  • Take a look at that scopes that were captured using the hashtag #ScopeDay via our partner Katch.
  • Here is a look at the press release that went out for Scope Day.
  • Recent press coverage – Australia and Adweek

The potential for Atlanta to be on a world stage with this effort is huge! This event will garner the attention of people globally and introduce them to a piece of Atlanta that they may not have seen.  From athletes to authors, the broadcasters in this event will be amazing.

If you are live streaming and you live in Atlanta, be sure to join our Facebook group titled Atlanta Live Streamers.

Stay tuned for additional details on Scope Day Atlanta.

 

The BUY Button is Active on Pinterest

pinterest1

OMG, the BUY button is in full effect on Pinterest Now!  This can be a game changer for small and mid size brands. This gives smaller brands the ability to play along right beside the larger, more well known brands. Take a look at their introductory video:

Leave comments below once you have had an opportunity to try this out. We are looking at the payment options and comments that consumers are making about the new feature. We will be sure to update you on our findings.  We also have a scheduled Periscope coming up about this topic.

Enlight Can Boost Your Visual Storytelling Tremendously

Enlight-Announcement-FBDuring the month of May, we are reviewing apps that can assist in business productivity.  Enlight is one of the first apps that we decided to dive in to because visual storytelling is so important to incorporate in to your communication strategy. Visual content in social media is even more important now than it was even a few years back.  Millions of dollars are still spent on billboards, commercials, and print ads that no one is paying attention to anymore. People skip ads, tune out billboards, and do not pick up the newspaper as much as they used to.

“Nothing like Enlight exists on the market. In addition to upgraded versions of existing tools, Enlight offers new features that, until now, were only seen on desktop editing software, if at all.”  said Zeev Farbman, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightricks.

As a small business owner or the director of a corporate communication department for a Fortune 500 company, it is vital to get your message in front of your target audience at the right time in their preferred method of communication. Developing ways to make your messaging visual can set you apart from your competition and help you actually catch the attention of individuals that need to hear your message, know that your brand exist, or be informed about what is going on within the organization.

Enlight can help even the novice take their images to the next level.  The tools are explained very well in the tour that they have set up within the app. We do think that you have to have some knowledge surrounding photo editing tool terms in order to hit the ground running with the app.  This should not deter the person that is not familiar with the terms. This individual should just

Here are the highlights of our review:

  • Enlight is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photo & Video category for $3.99.
  • This is perfect for the novice interested in improving the quality of their images.
  • The user interface is very easy on the eyes and makes the experience enjoyable.
  • We did not experience a lot of crashing with this app.

Live Tweeting During the Super Bowl

Super-Bowl-2014

We will be live tweeting as we watch the Super Bowl commercials.  Join us! We will see if anyone else comes up with an Oreo moment again this year.

Photo Credit: http://www.mactrast.com/2014/01/rumor-apple-planning-run-commercial-super-bowl/

Social Media Strategy Audit

Many times we see that companies get involved in the world of social media without any real direction.  A business owner feels good being able to say that their company has a presence on all social media platforms. The problem is if you do not have a strategy behind what you are doing; it can simply result in a lot of wasted time with no real gain in the business bottom line. We see companies every day that post in social media, but tend to feel that social media is not providing them with any results.  It is not a weakness of social media as much as it is a weakness in the strategy behind the post.

Our advice, step back and either do your own social media audit or hire a consultant that can give you great data about your social media campaign.  We would say leave it to the experts (shameless plug coming). Let a company like Selsi Enterprises dissect your current plan and give you some sound techniques to move forward with your efforts on social media.

A good social media strategy audit takes about 2 months to conduct. This audit typically compares what you are doing in the social media sphere to what your competitors are doing. This audit should also take a look at what you are doing versus where your customers are and what they may prefer in the way of social communication. Finally, you should end up with recommendations that can be measured over time.

Once small business owners conduct a social media audit, it is amazing how they see the results start to stack up versus the time before they had a specific strategy. What keeps most business owners from hiring a consultant to perform this audit is a concern surrounding the cost. A business owner should look at this as an investment in business growth.  This is a short term expense that can lead to a long term gain.  As I have polled consultants in 2012 on what they charge for their social media strategy audits, I have seen a range in terms of prices, services, and guarantees.  For a quality audit, the price range is 5K to 8K. Typically a consultant will allow a business owner to break this expense up into multiple payments over the 2 month timeframe. It really depends on the consultant!