8 years experiences in digital, with the past 5 being focused on both SEO and then Social Media marketing; Member of the IAB Social Media Council; Active blogger and commentator;
10 sure fire ways brands can annoy fans and followers
When you work with brands using channels like Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis, you become very familiar with some of the pitfalls companies can fall into - and what results they seem to generate.
I've never been one of those people who likes to kick-up a stink when a brand makes a mistake but I like to keep a close eye on what trends seem to annoy customers most, if only to learn from them for the future.
As well as my own experience, I decided to do a bit of amateur research this week. I asked people to reveal what they find most annoying about brand behaviour on social media platforms, with a particular focus on Facebook and Twitter. Below is the culmination of that research.
Changing Twitter usernames painlessly: four top tips
As somebody who regularly has to deal with a multitude of Twitter accounts, both personal and client-based, I often come across confusion when it comes to the thorny issue of naming your @account.
Aside from the obvious branding issues, one of the biggest stumbling blocks can be the issue of trademark, copyrights and the often-complicated problem of who has a "right" to use any particular name.
Does your Facebook campaign break the rules?
In the world of social media marketing there are some great examples of really innovative campaigns - and plenty of lazy copy-cats too. But in our clamour to measure, incentivise and prove that all-important ROI metric, are marketers putting their clients brands at risk by breaking Facebook (or other sites) terms and conditions?
Charity begins on Twitter: tips for charities and supporters
Twitter has become the marketing tool of choice for the discerning charity these days - just think of a well known charity and I can almost guarantee you they'll be on Twitter. This trend has lead to some great case studies in how to use Twitter effectively, as well as a few well publicised clangers too.
What can charities who are just starting out on the long road to Tweetadise learn from these case studies? How can charity supporters do their bit to help out? Hopefully, this blog might give you a few pointers...
The rocky road ahead for Facebook Places
As a big fan of location-based applications (I'm currently 'checking in' at various locations on five different apps...!) I have of course been watching the launch and subsequent spread of Facebook Places with great interest.
Now that the first batch of dust has had a chance to settle, I wanted to look in a bit more detail at some of the hurdles 'Places' may face in the coming months, if past experience is to be believed.
Online privacy has never been guaranteed: why so surprised?
I've been following the debate recently caused by Facebook's latest change to their privacy policy, which seems to have got everyone talking about just how much privacy people should expect when they're 'living' in a social world.
Whilst I agree that people need to be clear on exactly which bits of their information is being shared and which is private, I don't think this is worth the furore that it's currently causing. Here's why...
When social media attacks: learn from others' mistakes
As a social media marketeer, I'm very aware of how tricky it can sometimes be to prove the value of social media to a brand, particularly a brand with a self-deprecating view of their public perception.
I lose count of the ways I've heard a brand tell me 'Not everyone can be 'the Meerkat' or sexy like Nike', which in some ways is true, but that shouldn't put you off.
What should make a brand nervous is the prospect of getting it wrong, as in the examples I've gathered together for you here...
Social Media: fad or revolution?
This video by Erik Qualman of Search Engine Watch presents statistics that are so alluring that it must leave the viewer wondering why some even consider social media to be a fad.
Facebook and Bebo UK users compared
As a bit of a statistical nerd, I like to keep an eye on the latest statistics on social network usage. Anybody who reads the Tamar blog will know that I regularly report on how Facebook in particular is growing, but until recently I had very little to compare it against.
Finding accurate and up-to-date information on MySpace is nye-on impossible (unless I'm missing a trick?) and Bebo proved fairly hard to find as well. We've all heard that Bebo is supposed to be the social network of choice for kids, and Facebook proves much more popular for the older generation, but do the numbers back this up?
Search arrogance can easily backfire
In these days of digital goodness, I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing more and more brands using the phrase: 'search for us online...' in their ad campaigns. But this strategy has failed many, many times, so why do brands take the risk?
A quick scout around the digital media press, and obviously the obligatory question posted on Twitter, revealed many examples of brands using search in ads:
