Category Archives: Social Media

3 Social Media Lessons You Can Learn From Jay-Z

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Jay-ZThere are brands that get social media, and then there are brands that GET social media – and Jay-Z is in that unique (and very small) latter group.

The artist just announced a partnership with Samsung in which he will give his new album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” to 1 million users of Samsung Galaxy smartphones on July 4, three days before the album’s official release date. And by the way, this will all be on Samsung’s dime. Reports state that Samsung paid $5 for each album – or $5 million for this exclusive offer to just its Galaxy customers. The album will appear on these users’ phones through a special “Magna Carta Holy Grail” app.

As Jay-Z once rapped, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” – and this is a perfect example of his savvy. Here are three things we can all learn from Jay-Z when it comes to online brand launches and knowing how to play the social game:

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Weekly Reads – Facebook Joins the Hashtag Party

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We’ve been hearing rumblings that Facebook was planning on utilizing the hashtag functionality across their platforms sometime soon and it became reality this week when it was officially announced and activated. Not to be outdone, Twitter and Yelp also announced some new, intriguing updates.

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Taco Bell and the Need For a Social Media Policy

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Taco Bell - Old logoFrom rats in a NYC restaurant to claims about not having actual meat in their beef and, now, employees licking taco shells, Taco Bell has weathered its share of social media storms. They are certainly not alone among high-profile targets that have to think about “when” rather than “if” social media will provide a vehicle for a large-scale public relations nightmare.

At GroundFloor Media, we often talk about how customers, employees and other key audiences are now not only content consumers, but how they are also content publishers. The latest incident at Taco Bell, in particular, highlights how employees – often a brand’s best ambassadors – can derail a company’s image in a matter of seconds.

How can brands protect themselves? While there is no fail-safe answer, putting simple, easy-to-understand social media policies in place and ensuring that employees understand them are two important (I’d argue imperative) steps for any company to take.

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Weekly Reads – The Power of the Right Visual

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We all know pictures are the backbone of strong social media content, but it can be easy to forget just how powerful images can be. This week’s theme is perfectly illustrated by some of the ways Taco Bell has been in the news lately, for both positive and negative reasons.

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Amy’s Baking Company: Social Media Lessons Beyond the Obvious

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There are social media crises, and then there are “what on Earth are they thinking” scenarios. What we’ve seen play out with Amy’s Baking Company is clearly the latter. If you’re unfamiliar, one of the latest (and almost unfathomable) social media flubs played out this way:

  • The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based bakery appeared on the reality show “Kitchen Nightmares” (good start, right?)
  • The husband/wife ownership team was so difficult to deal with that Kitchen Nightmares decided to quit working with Amy’s Bakery
  • Social media comments began flooding in on the bakery’s Facebook page, and worse, Reddit (otherwise known as “the Internet’s Front Page”)
  • The owners of Amy’s Bakery began responding to all of the negative posts, mostly in all-caps, and often with foul language (i.e., “I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE. YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD”) Read more after the jump…

Video: The Social Media Habits of Denver, Colorado

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We talked a lot lately about our social media habits here at GFM and we recently wondered how our feelings on the medium compare to the Denver community at large. We’re lucky to have an office nestled right in the middle of Downtown Denver, affording us the opportunity to take to the streets to get a “pulse” on what Denverites are thinking on a variety of topics.

And what was the latest question we had on our minds that implored us to approach lunch-goers on a recent sunny afternoon in Denver? Social media uses and preferences. Check out our latest video blog and you’ll find out some surprising social media quirks from the new friends we met on our stroll through downtown. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to compare our man on the street interviews to our recent post analyzing the social media habits of a typical GFMer.

One resounding takeaway we learned from our time stopping strangers? Whether they’re right or not, people don’t feel like they’re addicted to social media. But I bet if you took it away from them for an extended period of time, those feelings might quickly change…

Weekly Reads – Social Media Platform Updates and Tips

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This week we bring you plenty of “news you can use” related to social media platform updates and tools to consider when brainstorming new campaigns to leverage user generated content (like consumer photos on Instagram). For our video aficionados out there, you won’t want to miss Mashable’s breakdown of the benefits of Vimeo over YouTube—the runner up to the video juggernaut.

And because we all love to have fun around here at GFM, we want to make sure you know about the new browser game, Google Roll It—Google’s 2013 take on the classic game of skeeball. Just promise us you’ll give it a whirl after your deadlines are met!

Read more after the jump…

Weekly Reads – Quick Tips for the Over-Scheduled Social Media Manager

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Memorial Day Weekend always appears right around the time we need it most. For the last few months, we’ve been in hyperactive mode at GFM with tons of fantastic client projects, new business activity, agency strategy sessions and team member celebrations (Weddings! Babies! Travel!). And undoubtedly, you’ve been in the same boat.

In times like these, it’s good to have some simple strategies in your back pocket to keep your social media fresh (think of it as spring cleaning for your platforms). We’ve pulled a few lists of quick tips that will help keep your communities thriving while you manage the hundreds of other happenings in your professional and personal life. And most importantly, we hope you can enjoy some much-needed offline time this Memorial Day weekend!

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Social Media & Mobile Device Habits at GFM

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I can answer the question, “what one thing would you take with you in a fire,” with certainty. About a year ago my husband and I were staying at a hotel when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. We leaped out of bed and prepared to join the other guests streaming down the hall to the exits. But before we left the room I rummaged through my purse and grabbed my iPhone.

Yes, my iPhone. I didn’t bother with my wallet, ID or anything else. In a fire we now know that I would take my iPhone. Frightening? Maybe, but my husband wasn’t surprised in the least.

So I decided to have some Friday fun with the GFM employees as well and sent out an internal survey to learn a little more about everyone’s social media and mobile device usage habits. Our secrets are exposed below.

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Weekly Reads – The Ever-Evolving World of Social Media

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We’re a bit all over the board with our reads this week, and there doesn’t seem to be a consistent theme other than this: the world of marketing via social media is continually evolving. From this week’s Google+ redesign to the steady push toward increased mobile use, communicating with your communities is an ever-changing task. It can be overwhelming, but try to avoid the “Bright, Shiny Object Syndrome” and think strategically about how your audiences are using each platform and each new bell and whistle.

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