Social Media Analytics

Crowdbooster - the free tool basically tells you how and who to target your message to. It gives you target recommendations, insights about your messaging as well as who is following you and how much your audience is growing. If volume is your goal, this tool is a great way to track your online followers.

Viralheat - This free tool gives you real-time sentiment analysis on thousands of topics. This includes data on influencers, both advocates and detractors. If you need up to the minute data and want to track the mood on an hourly or daily basis, this is the tool to use. It also boasts some high-profile cliental, such as Microsoft, HP, Coca-Cola, NHL and more, which gives it some legitimacy.

Tweetstats - is just for Twitter, as you can guess by the name. But I like it because it puts into graph form the data of any Twitter user based on your tweeting timeline, your most interesting tweets, how many tweets and replies you have. If you're looking for data on one person, it's a great way to see how you're trending in the Twitter-verse, and how you may augment your tweets in the future to garner a greater following or reaction.

Jamie Hubley, Rick Mercer and the Social Web

We all know about the tragic loss of Jamie Hubley, the 15 year old Ottawa student who recently killed himself in part because he was bullied for being gay. In this case, I want to focus more on how social media naturally helped raise the issues of bullying and homophobia without any sort of real strategy.. which in a sense is the ultimate strategy.

When news of Jamie’s death spread, he suddenly became a hit online. His homemade YouTube videos of him singing to Lady Gaga and other artists were immediately downloaded and shared with thousands online. This helped to paint a real portrait of him and it was something traditional news media could point to in order to keep his story real and alive. He became a real person, not just a name.

Jamie’s online presence, including his blog, raised his notoriety enough that he became known to many across Canada, including high profile people like federal politicians, newspaper columnists and comedian Rick Mercer. Anti-homophobia and anti-bullying videos were made and uploaded in his honour, including by members of the Conservative government. This took these issues to a higher level, gave it greater importance on a national stage (whether or not the Tories actually do something is another issue!) But when Rick Mercer this week ranted about Jamie and bullying in his weekly show, the rant soon went viral. And that is the ultimate achievement, whether on purpose or not. Rick’s rant was popping up on Facebook, Twitter, in newspapers and online communities. People were finally talking about real solutions to this epidemic problem with teenagers.  

So while the fallout to this story was not necessarily a planned strategy, the online reaction shows just how powerful the social web can be as a vehicle for discussion and change when influencers use it and engage with others. And that is something to keep in mind when working on any strategy – sometimes it’s how you respond to another issue that makes all the difference.

QR codes – Part 2

In an earlier post I mentioned how I had a hard time coming across QR codes, or was never in the right position to take advantage of them (ie. On a crowded subway). But I came across a clever use of the QR code this week that really got me thinking.

Normally, I read newspapers online. But on Saturdays, I get my newspaper delivered and enjoy the age-old task of reading it at the table over breakfast. This week, I noticed something different. There on the front page of the Insight section, in the middle of an article on Somalia, was a QR code linking the reader to footage of the Somalia story. Brilliant. I quickly grabbed my iphone and tried it out. If you’re not able to read a paper online, or watch TV news, you can still watch some key footage from your phone. This is a great way to not only incorporate all the different mediums, but to also perhaps give newspapers a necessary boost to stay relevant and alive.

Also, an interesting read in the Globe and Mail on the usefulness of QR codes.

Community Management

It’s hard to manage a community if there is no real community to begin with. And this seems to be the case for the TTC. As a frequently frustrated transit rider, I decided to check out TTC’s presence on the social web. After all, there are posters on subways advertising how the TTC is on Facebook, Twitter and has a mobile app. Perfect! That’s what you need when you’re in transit and only have your smartphone or tablet to refer to. Here’s what I found:

Facebook – only 2,155 likes. For a city that boasts more than a million transit riders a day, this number is beyond dismal.  Clearly not enough people are checking in or are even aware that this page exists. What it consists of is mostly service status announcements – the same that can be found on the TTC’s Twitter feed. There were a few people who posted comments – mostly about lost articles or slow service. The TTC did respond to each post positively, giving proper follow-up information... there just weren’t that many posts to manage or worry about. There were, however, a lot of useful photos of the fleets and services the TTC offers, but you have to dig for them.

Twitter – There are 20,900 followers and the TTC is only following 137. Another dismal set of numbers showing the TTC is not actively engaging its audience. Again, the tweets are the latest announcements about service delays and disruptions. This is helpful, sure.. but that’s all it is. Nobody was commenting or tweeting back.  There was no attempt to use the feed as a way to start a conversation, or to mention anything other than delays. The TTC is missing a huge opportunity here.

So what does this mean? As we’ve been learning, it takes more than simply having  a presence on the social web to have any sort of impact. The TTC is a perfect example of how many corporations are missing the mark when it comes to community management.

What does work?

This: Because I am a Girl Canada. Not only do they have a strong, interactive website up to date with the latest news, articles, videos and photos of the campaign, the organization has a strong presence and following on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Facebook -  47,801 likes.  The page is filled with posts from both the organization and girls and women. Mostly its people sharing articles and commenting back and forth. There are so many responses and conversations between people that the community almost manages itself... all the agency has to do is provide some food for thought and the members take care of the rest.

Twitter – not as many followers, only 3832, but the organization follows almost as many, about 2957. This is a great example of the symbiotic relationship that is needed to succeed with social media - there’s a lot of discussion and interaction within the community. Twitter becomes a place to foster a relationship of equal footing rather than a soapbox.

Both transit and human rights are important issues that should be promoted and discussed online. But in the end it’s the execution not the medium itself that guarantees successful communication.

Checking in with FourSquare

I have to admit, I was reluctant to do this exercise. I don't like the idea of people tracking where I am. If I want people to know where I am, I'll tell them, not announce it to the world. But after discussing this app in class, I can see some of the merits to using Foursquare, particularly from a marketing standpoint.

The biggest hurdle to using Foursquare was me: I kept forgetting to 'check in' places. Often when I'd remember, I be somewhere outside - like the dog park, and was always surprised to see that yes, you can 'check in' to parks and outdoor places. It was also surprising to see that I was never the first person to do so, even though the places I checked into were never 'busy' with people on Foursquare. So, it didn't take me long to gain badges and points - I'm just a day away from becoming mayor of my neighbourhood park!

The same could also be said about me and the QR reader - I had to remind myself to use it. I mostly found QR squares on posters in the subway and usually while I was struggling to find a place to hold onto while inside a crowded car. So it was never the best time to use it. I went for a walk in my neighbourhood to see how many posters I could find with the QR square and couldn't find any. I suspect this technology still needs more time to become more pervasive... but I'm still curious to learn more about  it and will keep looking!