Before you embark on a Google+ strategy, take a look at these helpful tools and widgets for one of the fastest growing social networks.

Generally, he’s the sort of fellow you want to listen to. Unfortunately for their brand, Samy and Amy Bouzaglos did not. Quite the contrary, actually: after a number of very public breakdowns from the two on national TV(and some very unfortunate revelations about , an enraged Ramsay walked out, claiming he could not help either of the owners because they were, simply put, “incapable of listening.” All in all, it  smacked of the beginnings of a brand disaster- particularly when people began taking to their criticisms of the organization to the Facebook page.

The mature, intelligent thing would have been to apologize for the inappropriate behavior, candidly admit that they were in the wrong, and walk away. By this point, I’m assuming you all know that this isn’t the route they took. Instead of approaching the whole situation from a reasoned standpoint, the two of them went on a hateful, rage-filled tirade against their detractors. Their comments ran the gamut from arrogant (blindly saying they’ll stand strong against the “haters and sinners”) to the insulting (calling people stupid and claiming they do not know good food), to the downright bizarre (“WE’RE NOT CRAZY YOU’RE THE CRAZY ONES!”).

In short, it was one of the most spectacular, over-the-top Facebook meltdowns I’ve ever seen, and it only got worse and worse as news of the situation moved from Facebook to Yelp and Reddit. Eventually, they seemed to realize their mistake. However, rather than owning up to it, they simply opened up a new Facebook page, trying to dissociate themselves from the fiasco in the worst way possible:

“Obviously,” their message began; “our Facebook, YELP, Twitter and Website have been hacked. We are working with the local authorities as well as the FBI computer crimes unit to ensure this does not happen again. We did not post those horrible things. Thank you Amy & Samy.”

Uh huh.

At first glance, it’s pretty clear what one can learn from Amy and Samy. This whole affair reads like a laundry list of what not to do in order to secure a positive brand reputation. They insulted a known expert and acted out unrepentantly on live television. They insulted their users on a number of occasions, behaving in a manner that was both arrogant and wholly unprofessional, and to top it all off , they told a bald-faced lie instead of owning up to their behavior.

In short, they did almost everything they possibly could to break their brand.

Yet they wound up shooting up from 2,800 followers to 51,500. How could this be? How could one of the most spectacular, childish brand meltdowns in Facebook history possibly make their brand more known, more popular? Here, I think, is where the true insight in this whole fiasco lies: I would argue that this proves once and for all that followers are not necessarily representative of social media success; follower numbers and likes are inherently useless without proper context. After all, how many of those new fans simply joined to watch a train-wreck in progress? How many of them actually represent loyal, happy customers?

Moreover, how many of those people actually intend to eat at the bakery?

Amy’s Baking Company Boutique and Bistro is one of those organizations that simply doesn’t understand social media (or customer relations, for that matter). Although their behavior should never be emulated in any way, shape or form, they nevertheless serve as an interesting (and amusing) case study in what occurs when you take poor brand management, mix it with an emotional breakdown and then toss the whole catastrophe onto the Internet.  It proves that, at the end of the day; some people aren’t made for the age of social media.

Something tells me Samy and Amy are among them.

Via Buzzfeed, ZDnet

Ever wondered about the secret behind successful video marketingl? WOMMA has been kind enough to let GSMI share one of their interviews between Jacob Hurwith of WOMMA and Amanda Farrell, VP of Sales at Unruly Media about the “secret sauce” of getting a video to go viral. Check it out and hopefully we’ll be watching your video soon!

It is no secret how popular videos have become over the years. Text and still images are simply not enough anymore. People need action. People need to see the emotion. Nonetheless, the secret science to go viral is no easy task.

We wondered. So, we made one. And now we want to share it.

By collecting social media statistics from some of the main social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube – and comparing the numbers, you can view a snapshot of what is happening in each outlet and determine if you should optimize your presence in that space. These stats can also help with providing an understanding of your goals for each outlet and some of the more effective strategies that will produce the needed results.

To help you visualize, we’ve taken the guesswork out of finding the statistics, and compiled them in a tidy, convenient infographic, perfect for sharing.  Take a look, and check out the information.

Here is an overview of some of the interesting stats we pulled together:

• Facebook has the largest amount of users with 1.06 billion, but YouTube is following closely with one billion
• Facebook has over 1.13 trillion likes and YouTube has one trillion video views
• Instragram has twice as many users than Pinterest and a collection of over 4 billion photos
• Each day, SM users like 2.7 billion things, tweet 400 million times, post 40 million photos, and upload 8 years of video
• Facebook employs the most with 4,619 employees and Instagram only had about 13 when it was purchased from Facebook

These stats are just some of the data we can collect about the social media outlets and actions of users (an infographic of all the stats would require days of scrolling!).

Have you found other outlet stats that have been useful when planning, implementing, and/or managing your social media campaigns? If so, please share them in the comments below and be sure to link to any useful sites that help with researching the information.

Oh, and share…and join us at the next Social Media Strategies Summit in NYC on June 12-13, 2013!

Some months ago, I spoke of several best-practices necessary for success in the wide world of YouTube. Today, I’d like to revisit that topic, and add a few more points to the list.

Collaborate

I’ve said before that you aren’t entirely isolated on YouTube, and that your marketing efforts need not be a solo effort. I’d like to expand on this idea somewhat: chances are pretty good that unless you’re running with one of the most niche organizations in existence, there are already quite a few well-established individuals on YouTube who address topics related to your brand – maybe they’re even fans of yours- to say nothing of the wide array of marketing professionals who’ve likely already got a foothold on the social media site. Talk to these people. Collaborate with them. See if you can set up cross-promotions with them.

Find a Voice

As on any other social network, you’re going to want to demonstrate to your followers that there’s a human side behind the gears and cranks of your campaign. You want to let the people you’re playing with know that you’re actually a real person. More than that, you want to give your brand a personality, instill it with a sort of vitality that people can relate to. Basically, it’s the same sort of thing you’d be doing on Twitter, only you’ll have to convey this personality through your videos.

Think About The Culture

In designing your YouTube campaign – and the videos that you’ll be posting – consider the larger aspects of YouTube culture. What demographic are you trying to reach? What sort of online culture are they embroiled in? What will they recognize and relate to? This is where market research comes in – if you know what style of video has resonated with your fans in the past, you’ll know what style of video you should be posting on your page.

That said, I’d caution strongly against trying to use memes for advertising. More often than not, your efforts are just going to come across as hollow, awkward, and empty.

Mix and Match

Just as you shouldn’t constrain yourself exclusively to one platform, you should also avoid restricting yourself to one ‘type’ of video or content. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a bit until you find your niche. Remember, experimentation is extremely important in any social advertising venture. Plus, including a varied collection of content will give you a chance to attract more subscribers and hold the interest of the subscribers you do have that much longer.

Try Closed Captions

Closed captions don’t just serve to help your subscribers understand what you’re mumbling at the camera – they can actually work wonders for the visibility of your videos and the channel you’re posting them on. Plus, in the event that someone who doesn’t speak English is watching your video, they can use YouTube’s built-in translation option to switch the captions over to their native tongue.

Oh, one thing, though? Don’t try to SEO-optimize your captions.

Keep Things Looking Good

In addition to putting out regular, creative content, you’ll need to extend a bit of creativity to your YouTube page, as well. Be sure that you fill out your entire profile, figure out a page layout that works well for you and add a few snazzy graphical touches to the channel. Further, you need to make sure you’ve got a top-notch avatar. First impressions are everything, and there’ll be a fairly large camp who are simply going to turn the other way if your avatar is ugly and your channel unprofessional. Keep this in mind.

Build Playlists

Eventually, as your library of content grows, you’ll want to seek out some means of organizing everything. Arranging your videos into playlists will assist your subscribers in finding which of your content has value to them. Further, creating ‘series’ playlists will make your videos likelier to appear in the “related videos” or “suggestions” field of one another, allowing you to use your more popular content to drive views for your less trafficked stuff.

Don’t Forget the Call to Action

Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, make sure you include a call to action in every one of your videos – either in the description or right at the beginning of the piece. You want to make sure you’re steering fans in the direction you want them to go, after all. At the very least, you should include links to follow your organization on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other social networks their on, as well as information about your brand’s website.

Try Video Responses

It’s not really enough to be active on your own page – you should also be posting video responses on both your own videos and the videos of other users – so long as you’ve something relevant to say. This serves two purposes: first, it gets more content out there and in front of users, making your channel (and the rest of your videos) more visible if you’re posting them elsewhere. Second, it fosters discussion and engagement among subscribers.

Add Annotations

Annotations can be a great – and creative- means of adding additional functionality to your videos, allowing viewers to look at related content, subscribe to your videos, and perform a wide variety of other actions. Don’t underestimate the value that can be gained from using them. Just don’t go overboard – the focus should be on your video, not a massive array of annotations.

John Kerry First Secretary of State to Hold a Google Hangout

John Kerry made history today by becoming the first Secretary of State to take part in a Google Hangout.

Sharing the hangout session with the former senator was Sarah Hill, a digital storyteller for the Veterans United Network, Corrie Fraiser, founder of a social good consultancy firm, Adolfo Garcia, a 20-year U.S. marine who’s twice been deployed to Afghanistan, Emily McKhann, co-founder of mom blogger network The Motherhood, and Andrew White, president of Comptus Inc.

According to Mashable, Kerry set up the hangout to “discuss his view of the United States’ role in global affairs and take questions on American engagement with foreign countries.”

Did you ‘hang’ out with Kerry this morning? Do you think Google Hangout is a good place for these type of discussions or not? Discuss.

Amazon Joining the Smartphone Game

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Amazon is jumping in on the smartphone race and has two phones in the works, one of which will have a state-of-the-art 3D screen. It is rumored that the 3D phone would come with special glasses and can sense users eye movements and motions.

Amazon has not made an official comment about any future devices, smartphone or otherwise.

What do you think of a 3D phone? Awesome or excessive? Let me know your thoughts.

Long List of Requests to Unlock iPhones

Law enforcement officials around the country are all turning to Apple to help them unlock seized iPhones with passcodes. According to Cnet.com, the police demand is so high that Apple has had to create a waiting list to get through all the requests.

The wait list is so long it has caused up to seven-week delays in some cases. According to the article, Apple can bypass an individual’s security lock to get important data and hand it over to authorities.

What do you think is a good solution to this issue?

Regardless of how skilled an advertiser happens to be, their efforts can always be enriched through the use of the right application or platform. Marketing tools can simplify your job considerably, while unlocking new means of advertising and connecting with the end user. Truth be told, in many ways whether or not you’re using the proper toolkit can make or break a social campaign.

Today, I’d like to take a look at some of the most highly-recommended tools on the market. While it may not enable you to definitively choose between the vast number of applications that are out there, it’ll certainly help. Let’s get started, shall we?

Viral Unlock

I’ve touched on this before, but placing premium content behind a “like-wall” of sorts can work wonders for user engagement and brand exposure (so long as whatever you’ve got behind the wall has any sort of value to the consumer). Now, given how common a feature this is, it should come as no surprise to you that there exists a host of “like to unlock” apps already present on the market – Viral Unlock is probably among the best. It’s cheap to license, easy to use and install, and features integration with WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and Google +.

SlideShare

Truth be told, SlideShare is actually more of a sharing platform than a marketing tool. That doesn’t make it any less valuable for a marketing professional, however. Given that we’re living in an increasingly visual society, the visually-oriented nature of the slide-sharing service is a powerful tool for social media distribution. Not only that, there are some very real, very valuable insights you can gain from browsing the site, which now sees over 60 million monthly users.

SproutSocial

Another very powerful addition to your repertoire is SproutSocial, a powerful user engagement and management platform designed with social media in mind. It allows you to effortlessly aggregate statistics and details about your social campaign, at which point those statistics can be easily transformed into beautiful progress reports. The ability to schedule content and integrate Google Reader are also very nice touches.

Cloze

Cloze, though currently in beta, is nevertheless an extremely powerful tool which allows you to view the activity of people in your network, arranged by date. These activities are arranged in a sort of ‘checklist’ format, which allows you to check off those folks to whom you’ve already responded. In addition, you can prioritize users who feel are most vital to interact with; all replies can be made from directly within the platform. Basically, it allows you to filter out all the noise that tends to cloud social communication channels and focus on what’s important.

Cyfe

I’ve always maintained that monitoring is 9/10 of the law in any social marketing campaign. After all, if you don’t know what’s going on, you can’t measure it, and if you can’t measure it, you can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong (or right, for that matter). Cyfe is a platform specially designed to help you monitor the oft-fragmented, wildly divergent information flowing out of your social sites. It provides you with more visibility than most any other tool on the market, and equips you with search tools and metrics that typically are only available to tool/platform administrators. Even better; Cyfe features integration support for Customer Relations Management, email marketing, and blog data.

It may be one of the new kids on the block, but it’s undeniably powerful in spite of it.

GaggleAmp

Getting the rest of your organization – outside the marketing department – to participate in your social media efforts can often be an exercise in futility. GaggleAmp attempts to address this concern, allowing the staff of an organization to automate the sharing of content. It’s also incredibly easy to use – organizations simply sign up for the service, create a group known as a “Gaggle,” then invites its employees to join. At that point, those employees authorize their networks, and decide what content they want to share and what they don’t.

The app also tracks user activity, and includes a ‘points’ system to track and reward those employees who share content most frequently. For larger businesses, this essentially unlocks a whole army of previously untapped brand advocates, and even smaller businesses might find a great deal of value in using the service.

Buffer

Smart Passive Income Blog Pat Flynn describes Buffer as being “to social media marketers what a wand is to Harry Potter.”  On the surface, Buffer’s really not all that terribly impressive: it’s merely a scheduling app, allowing you to set up your posts ahead of time and maintain a consistent presence on all your social accounts. That’s nothing new – the ability to schedule posts ahead of time is one of the most important aspects of social advertising.

What distinguishes Buffer – aside from its simple interface – is the team behind it, which is friendly, responsive, helpful, and constantly seeking out ways to make their application better. Not only that, it’s a multi-platform offering, which serves to sweeten the deal even further.

CrowdBooster

How do you know when you should respond to your fans or followers? What’s the best time to post new content? Further, how can you tell which of your followers are the most influential – and hence puzzle out who you should prioritize in your responses?

CrowdBooster can answer all those questions for you. The platform analyzes and displays the reach of your top posts, fan growth, and top fans. It displays for you the Klout scores of each of your followers, and lets you track the progress of your social efforts. Last, but certainly not least, it provides a whole host of recommendations and suggestions as to who you should speak to and when you should post. Not bad, right?

Lithium

Another powerful community application; Lithium allows helps brands to connect with their consumers in a very deep way. It’s designed, from the ground-up, to help marketers influence both users and associates to participate in brand advocacy. Even better, it’s extremely easy to use – even a layman with little to know technical knowledge is capable of leveraging it. One additional function – an excellent one for collaboration, at that – is the ability to create a private moderation area where marketers can discuss the finer points of their social campaign.

These are far from the only tools on the market, nor are they guaranteed to work for everyone. As I’ve said, a veritable cornucopia of platforms, tools, and services exist to help marketers along with their social efforts. Which ones you use – which ones hold value – depends on your organization. This list merely provides you with a starting point, a springboard from which you can explore further options and ideas.

Via Social Media Examiner