Learn When to Disconnect from Social Media

According to the Social Media Report 2012 by Nielsen, American's spend over 520 billion minutes online, either through their mobile device or computers.

This has increased 21% in one year. Mobile app usage alone increased 120% in one year. These numbers are staggering considering we probably look like drones over our technology usage day in and day out.

The Social Media Report 2012 by Nielsen

While I love the benefits and opportunities that social media offers, such as networking and marketing, it is incredibly important to know when you just have to shut it off.

Time is Money

Source: http://www.robertbcairns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/time-is-money.png

Time is money and investors usually only have the latter. As a starting business owner, you have the time, so use it to focus on a business plan that is worthy of investors’ time. If you do, you may just get the money you need to launch your business.

In a previous post discussing business plans, I focused on two experts in this particular field of business. While they shared in some commonalities, they had different outlooks on the need, or lack of, of a business plan. In the process of creating my own personal business plan, I used I used advice given by both of these experts.

Business Plan or No Business Plan? That is the Question. Dr. Steve Gedeon vs. Chuck Blakeman

In discussing business plans with “experts” that have been successful in the creation of businesses, I wanted to highlight two contrasting opinions that could serve a young entrepreneur well for future planning.

The Experts

Source: www.siferyerson.com

First, let’s introduce Dr. Steve Gedeon. Here’s the rundown of why he is considered an “expert” in the field of business planning:

·      1^st place prizewinner of the 3E Learning Award for his workshop Investment Negotiation

·      Professor in Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Ted Rogers School of Management

·      Expert in business plans – both writer and reviewer

·      Motivational Speaker and Coach

·      Venture Capitalist

·      MS and PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

I could have continued with his list, but for the sake of time, you can just visit his accomplishments at his educator’s page. 

Source: si0,twimg.com

The second expert we will observe is Chuck Blakeman. Here’s a brief overview of why he was chosen:

·      Internationally acclaimed business speaker

·      Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, CNNMoney.com, NYTimes.com, and various other business blogs and online magazines

·      Founded and owns the Crankset Group, which works with businesses owners

·      Started and built seven successful businesses in 25 years in U.S. and internationally

Social Media Work Flow [Infographic]

Stay relational in a digital world

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Source: http://www.nielsen.com/

It is easy to be consumed in social media, since it has become the norm in the United States. According to the Nielsen Social Media Report, Americans spend over 2 billion hours on social media per month. 

 

As a society, we are spending more time in the digital world than the real world. 

 

Let’s face it, unless you live under a rock (or are Amish) there’s no real way to avoid social media interaction in the digital world (if you’re reading this, you’ve made my point). Even those that have tried to avoid it for so many years have succumbed to its addictive nature.

Print media uses social media

Source: http://www.mphpl.org/newSite/newspapers/index.html

Despite the decline of sales over the past decade, print media (e.g. magazines and newspapers) has found ways to engage subscribers and readers using social media.

While it is naturally easier to use and incorporate social media with online publications, more and more publishing companies are using it to enhance print publications.

Social Media Legal Woes

With the amazing growth of social networking and social media, it’s only natural that there be legal implications resulting from the millions of users that participate in it daily.

For millions of users to be on any given platform, such as Facebook and Twitter, those numbers ring loudly with advertisers and affiliate partners. They want your attention, especially if they can gear their advertisements towards the specific demographic they want.

As a result of the bottom line, the privacy policies from these social networks has changed to include the distribution of personal information to affiliates and advertisers. This hasn’t gone without notice from the general public.

Here are just three legal controversies that have taken place in the social media world in the last year:

1) Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC vs. Commonwealth of Massachusetts

December 2012, Morgan Stanley was sued by a Massachusetts regulator for “violating the terms of a 2003 settlement that involved 10 brokerage firms being penalized for allowing investment bankers to influence research functions during the dotcom bubble,” as covered in Forbes. This occurred after Facebook went public in May of 2012 and “stocks falling flat shortly after” (Schaefer, ¶1).  

With Wall Street banks informing only certain clients and not all investors of their views on the growth outlook for Facebook, those investors that were left out of the loop complained and sued.

Also sued were Facebook and its executives. BBC reported on the same issue in a broader view in this clip:

 

First of all, with Facebook being the largest social media network with the most amount of users, it’s 95% guaranteed that most social media legal controversies will include them in some way, shape or form. As big as they are and as much control as they have, they will forever have their legal team busy in lawsuits.

As an avid user of Facebook, I understand that it’s a business, but in essence what they sell is our information and what our hobbies are to advertisers (I find that a little disturbing, but hey, I’m using it for free).

With that being said, this lawsuit was completely merited. The stock market is very tricky and can lead to huge legal implications if not used fairly and with best practices. What Morgan Stanley and Facebook did towards their investors was unethical, to say the least. That much was clear, which is why Morgan Stanley paid the $5 million fine to settle the charges. Steve Schaefer reported that even though Morgan Stanley paid the fine, they did so “without admitting or denying wrongdoing” (¶2). I guess this is one of those gray areas in life that money hungry people always seem to cross.

2) Facebook vs. Document Security Systems (DSS)

Here we go again with Facebook…real shocker! In this lawsuit, Facebook is being sued for patent infringement. Forbes contributor, Richard Finger stated, “The science behind these patents suggests that it facilitates the storing, retrieving, and sharing of documents” (¶2). In a press release quoted by Forbes read: “[These] innovations cover the manner in which users and application developers on the Facebook platform make connections between ‘objects, photos, people, events, and pages’ – which is the very essence of Facebook’s business” (Finger, ¶2).

All in all, the main way that Facebook has generated income has been through a stolen intellectual property taken from DSS and they want to make sure Facebook pays for it. It is estimated that Facebook could pay over $300 million for this over the next few years. The hearing for this case will be in July 2013 (Finger, ¶5).

This isn’t Facebook’s first run-in with stealing. The attorney’s hired by DSS are the same that got a jury to convict Facebook of patent infringement against Leader Technologies.

It’s time for Facebook to play fair! Hopefully DSS will get their earnings for the IP of the science behind the main income generated for Facebook. You would think a company as large and innovative as Facebook would create their own IP and patents instead of taking it from others.

3) Instagram Privacy Policy

  

Now this is more of a legal controversy than it is a legal case. This happened just last month and uproar ensued from users everywhere (including myself). Facebook purchased Instagram for a billion dollars, and that alone made users uncomfortable (ok, so I tried doing one without Facebook, but it just didn’t happen). Especially for addicted users of Instagram (definitely talking about myself), when the new privacy policy came out, we were very disappointed. 

Why? Check out this excerpt from one of my favorite social media blogs, Social Mouths: 

I guess for a billion dollars, they need to try to make their investment back somehow, so why not just sell all the rights of our users away and make a ton of money doing it? Unfortunately for us, unlike Facebook and Twitter, with Instagram, there’s no “opt-out”. As Will Oremus wrote in Everyone Is Ignoring the Much Bigger Problems With Instagram's New Privacy Policy, it’s a “take it or leave it” situation (¶3).

I tried uploading other apps similar to Instagram, some with even better filters, but unfortunately, none came close. So, instead of being radical and shutting down my Instagram account, I’ve continued uploading images with the awesome filters and realized this is one battle we won’t win.

References:
Finger, R. (2012, October 15). Just Another Lawsuit Against Facebook.....Maybe Not. Forbes. Retrieved February 6, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardfinger/2012/10/15/just-another-lawsuit-against-facebook-maybe-not/

Oremus, W. (2012, December 19).  Everyone Is Ignoring the Much Bigger Problems With Instagram's New Privacy Policy. Slate. Retrieved February 6, 2013 from http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/12/19/instagram_privacy_everyone_s_ignoring_the_real_problems_with_its_terms_of.html   

Schaefer, S. (2012, December 17). Morgan Stanley Hit With $5 Million Fine Over Facebook IPO. Forbes. Retrieved February 6, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2012/12/17/morgan-stanley-hit-with-5-million-fine-over-facebook-ipo-by-massachusetts/ 

Generating the right leads

In my last post, I briefly discussed building an audience in social media using the online platform of the web to our advantage. Within those points I mentioned, the first was “Be specific in your marketing efforts.” This can make all the difference in the world.    

So once you have chosen your marketing strategy and have launched into the social networking within your demographic and target market, how do you generate more leads?

Building an Audience

When starting up a business, there are so many factors to consider, but the most important will be “How do I make money?” People don’t start up businesses to lose money and work hard with no compensation. Everyone who starts a business does so either because they want to do something they love and make money doing it, or they found a need they can fill and make money filling it.

Either way…it’s to make money. How do you make money? 

Get connected in the industry!

 

Social marketing and networking is critical for all businesses, but this is especially true for new ones. For those professionals making a living focused on helping their own business or other businesses succeed with their online presence, joining a professional industry organization can really help push them to the next level.

“SEMPO is the largest nonprofit trade organization in the world serving the search and digital marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it.”

Creating a buzz using Social Media

Inspired by a reader's comment on a previous post, I decided to write about how to create buzz as a business in social media.

So where do you start?

Integration of Social Media in Event Planning

Courtesy of http://ahleventsblog.com/

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Event planning in the entertainment industry can cover anything from concerts, private galas, VIP parties, award presentations and after parties. Throughout the years, event planning in the entertainment industry has moved towards depending largely on technology.

It is now commonplace to find technology integrated in event planning through:

·      Lighting and digital lighting boards for moving lights

·      Sound (digital boards have overtaken analog)

·      Digital photography

·      Concept and design for event (created digitally)

·      Planning software

·      Online ticket sales