Facebook's Graph Search tops this week's buzz list, followed at a close second by CDZA's latest Fresh Prince video (watch... and learn). In campaigns, we've got VSP and fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg's #PintoGiveandGet (remember Pinterest? It's still hot). And you'll love this week's featured tool, Dropify—not to mention the tons of useful, how-to social media information packed in this issue.
Skim and learn!
One graph to rule them all. Facebook's launching a super-sophisticated search tool that lets you trawl your "social graph" for content and people by topic, location, and friendship. US users will get it first. Here's the complete skinny from Ben Parr. Prepare for a new level of friend- and brand-stalking:
CDZA, hitmakers of online musical experiments, are rising in the buzz ranks thanks to "Fresh Prince: Google Translated":
What's amazing about CDZA is its ability to latch onto something our culture just knows (all the words to Fresh Prince) and use it to ride the social wave. CDZA's raison d'être is to get people more interested in the idea of orchestras, which we tend to associate with "high culture," "old," and "boring." CDZA's players are all conservatory trained, professional working musicians... and here they are, insidiously using that talent to produce contagious and incredibly snackable social network candy. Want more? Check out a history of lyrics that aren't lyrics, its debut video, or pianists in Paris.
Taking downloads social. Today in tools you'll love, Dropify lets you embed files for fans to download on Facebook, and ensures they look pretty in newsfeeds. Use it for everything from mixtapes to e-books! Try it free, and if you get a little too upload-happy, subscriptions range from $9 to $99.
#PinToGiveAndGet. Pinterest remains a fashion darling, and it can also serve a higher purpose. The proof: in partnership with VSP, Diane Von Furstenberg is donating eyecare to the needy in exchange for repins from her #PintoGiveandGet board.
BrightTALK's tips for shining in social. Nothing educates more painlessly than someone else's experience, and BrightTALK lays out its best B2B social media advice. In addition to useful tips for beginners, it's packed with details and graphs to help make the most of your online presence. For example, when's the best time to schedule a webinar? Or let's get more basic: what networks should you target in the first place? Examine the demographic info (from Pew), and consider...
Building your social media dream team. InstantShift has step-by-step tips on how to staff a social team. It also describes what skills they should have (strong product knowledge, good listening ears, and a positive attitude are a start), and what roles need filling.
The Social Customer Engagement Index 2012. Social Media Today's produced an engagement index for 2012. We gave it a cursory peek for you: an executive summary compares the impact of branded communities with that of Facebook and Twitter. It also describes the challenges marketers face in managing resources (44-48% consider this the toughest part of the job). You'll also find case studies from Jason Duty of Dell, Laurie Meacham of JetBlue, and Laurie Brooks of LL Bean... to name a few. Think of it as homework, and remember what the rewards are for doing social right: fewer customer support resources expended, greater client fidelity, priceless insights for service evolution, and stronger brand awareness.
Twitter: that much more marketer-friendly. Twitter's expanded its Certified Products program to include various services that help marketers use it more effectively. Lucky new certifieds include Shoutlet, Spredfast, and Sprout Social, all of them Twitter presence-management tools for businesses; Adobe Social, which helps marketers tie value to Tweets; Percolate and Rallyverse, which help brands write more engaging Tweets; and Sysomos, Simply Measured, and Visible Technologies, Twitter analytics providers. Maximize your Twitter prowess by checking these guys out; it should help to know you've got Twitter's blessing.
Why text when you can socialize? The just-launched Digisocial lets you spread mobile messages equipped with voice and images. If you're into text-based marketing, its success could lead to myriad opportunities to capture recipients' attention.
How users use phones. BI Intelligence released a study that highlights what people actually do on their phones all day long. To wit: smartphone owners spend 127 minutes per day in mobile apps, longer than they spend browsing the Web. Games are first-place time vampires, with social networking in second place. To ensure mobile success, pull an "Instagram" and create a mobile-native experience that leads in your category.
