The Social Path

Amazing content isn't always created or curated. It's also discovered.

Most people seem to think that great online content is generated by two kinds of people: creators and curators.

Creators are the artists, entrepreneurs, humorists, essayists, musicians and podcasters who live to make new things. Curators use their time and talents to sift through all these creations to find the pieces truly worth sharing amid the Web’s mountains of mediocrity.

These two roles account for the vast majority of popular Web fodder, but there’s a third form of creativity that’s often overlooked when it comes to making great digital content: discovery.

The idea that “everything is on the Internet” is a myth, and a widespread one at that. Every day, cultural archaeologists are uncovering amazing finds from the “real” world and digitizing them for future generations. This week, I even got to enjoy the feeling of being one of those people.

In December, I ran across the photo at the top of this post when it was shared by a friend on Facebook. The photo had a strong emotional impact on me, and, surprised I had never seen it, I immediately wanted to know the details.

When I went to Google, I found something truly odd on Google: almost nothing. The photo had been shared many times, but no one seemed to know the story behind the shot, other than the name of the photographer and the newspaper where it was originally published.

When I get an itch to find something, I can’t stop until I’ve found it. I emailed the newspaper’s editors, who were very helpful but admitted they couldn’t remember when the photo was taken or where it might be found in their microfilm archives. 

I kept digging in my (limited) spare time over the coming weeks and, thanks to a blessed research librarian and several other generous souls, I tracked down all the details and even the photographer himself.

If you’re interested, you can read the whole story over at Poynter.org, where my writeup was posted earlier this week. The reactions have been fantastic, and I have to admit it’s been one of the more rewarding personal projects I’ve tackled in a while.

But why is it rewarding? I didn’t create the photo, and I’m not the first to share it online. However, the story behind it was something that hadn’t been told. There’s a singular joy in realizing that you’ve actually added to the digital sum of human knowledge.

The lesson I’m trying to share isn’t that you need to go take on obsessive reporting projects. It’s more important that you simply think of discovery as a key part of your approach to digital content and social media.

We can’t all create the next great or hilarious thing, and few of us have the time to be curators of the global information fire hose. But any of us can shut down the browser, get out in the world and explore. Sometimes the things most worth finding can’t be Googled. Yet.

David Griner is the VP/Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

How to cure your iPhone's Facebook infection.

The recent iOS6 update for iPhones has sparked its fair share of consternation from users, but most of the discussion has been about the new Apple Maps as an underwhelming replacement for Google Maps.

Personally, I've been far more annoyed with how the Facebook app has "integrated" into my daily tasks, like sending emails to coworkers or checking my calendar. Emails to longtime colleagues suddenly default to Facebook.com email addresses, and tons of random, unsolicited Facebook events are popping up in my phone calendar, making it hard to find the "real" meetings I'm supposed to be in.

If you've faced similar frustrations, I wanted to share a few quick steps to fixing the problem. These likely seem obvious to some of you, but hey, if it helps a few of you avoid the annoyance, I've done my part.

Step 1: Upgrading and syncing

If you've already upgraded your device to iOS6, you likely noticed that the process triggered a prompt asking if you wanted Facebook to have access to some of your built-in apps, like Contacts and Calendar. It's an all-or-nothing consent, but as I'll explain below, you can opt out of certain portions after accepting the change.

To be clear, the Facebook integration is a nice feature overall. I like being able to share photos directly from my photo gallery without having to pull up the Facebook app, for example. But that's not to say every aspect is worth having.

Step 2: Consider evicting Facebook from your Contacts

For me, the biggest annoyance with the marriage of Facebook into my iPhone has been the way my longtime contacts are now listed by their "Facebook email address." Recently, Facebook replaced your preferred email address with a facebook.com account, and few users bothered to change it back.

That means that when I try to email a colleague or friend, my iPhone suddenly defaults to Facebook.com addresses rather than their work or personal account. I don't mind having their Facebook.com emails on hand, but I'll likely never use it as a first pick for contacting someone.

To turn off Facebook contact integration, go into your iPhone's Settings, then select Facebook and unselect Contacts.

I continued to have a few lingering issues with recipient emails defaulting to Facebook.com addresses, but this is easily remedied on a case-by-case basis by selecting the blue arrow to the right of a contact's email address (when it pops up as the default) and clicking "Remove From Recents."

Step 3: Want to cut Facebook events from your Calendar?

I'm not big on Facebook events. I attend, at best, one each month or two. So having Facebook events dumped into my iPhone Calendar (especially events I haven't RSVP'd to), was an annoyance.

To be fair, I've never liked the iPhone's daily Calendar interface, which gives you only the tiniest window in which to scroll through the day's upcoming meetings. But having Facebook events cluttered in there just made it worse.

Luckily, it's just as easy to remove them by deselecting "Calendar" in the Settings > Facebook tab of your iPhone.

Step 4: Don't let your friends (and Siri) prank you

One more subtle issue to be aware of is that iPhones with the voice-activated Siri interface — the 4S and 5, specifically — have a default setting that allows you to use Siri while your phone is locked. With the new Facebook integration, that means friends can pick up your locked phone and post to Facebook for you. That could get ugly, so I'd strongly recommend going into Settings > General > Passcode Lock and deselecting Siri as an app that can be accessed while the phone is locked.

(Hat tip for the Siri advice to cnet, which has a nice overall writeup on the Facebook integration.)

Hopefully this helps a few of you unclutter your newly upgraded phone. What about you? Do you have any tips on ways to make the daily experience of iOS6 a bit smoother or more efficient? We'd love to hear them in the comments.

David Griner is the VP/Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

Photo credit: Andres Rueda on Flickr.

How Facebook comments can make you more attractive.

I don't need Facebook to tell me that my longtime friend Jenny, shown above, is gorgeous and fascinating. But apparently it doesn't hurt.

A new study from the University of Missouri has found that positive comments posted on your Facebook profile photo can act as "social cues" that make you seem more attractive "physically, socially, and professionally" to those viewing the photo.

Here's how the university summarized the findings:

Facebook users whose profile photos include social cues, additional information about the user, and many positive comments on their profile photos are viewed much more socially and physically attractive than users who have fewer social cues and negative comments on their profile photos.

In other words, people think you're hotter when they see other people calling you hot. But it also helps if the photo shows you doing something that's specific to your personality and passions.

This study sparked a lot of debate today in the halls of Luckie, where we wondered what exactly these findings say about us. Are our opinions so easily persuaded that we can't even decide how we feel about someone's appearance unless someone tells us how to feel?

Personally, I take a more optimistic approach. I think this shows that we judge people not just on their looks, but also on their character. When you see positive comments from friends on someone's photo, it shows that their friends truly care about them. Yes, it's an endorsement, but it's the best kind of endorsement, the kind that's made from the heart with no expectation of anything in return.

Here's more information from the University of Missouri on how the study was performed and what it means for Facebook users who want to give a strong first impression online:

Five ways to ensure your Facebook page survives staff transitions.

How secure is your business's Facebook page? No, I don’t mean secure from password hackers or spammers. I mean how secure is the future of your page from staff fluctuations and the inevitable revolving door of administrators?

Case in point: This week, we’ve been helping one of our clients salvage a Facebook page that essentially seemed to vanish into thin air. It’s one of several they manage nationwide, and while the exact details are still unclear, it appears to have disappeared shortly after the exit of an employee who was its only administrator.

I can’t tell you much more, but I can tell you this: You don’t want to lose access to your Facebook page. It’s not like being locked out of your house. It's like coming home to find your house has been relocated to the bottom of the ocean.

In this case, Facebook has proven quite helpful, but the experience has gotten us thinking about some safeguards that businesses can put in place to help ensure a smooth transition through almost any internal shifts and shenanigans:

Should you pull your advertising from Facebook?

General Motors is pulling $10 million in Facebook advertising, but does that mean you should follow suit? Is this one of those defining “abandon ship!” moments?

Before I answer, let me first propose that we’re asking the wrong question. It’s not about “Should I stop advertising on Facebook?” The real question is, “Should I be advertising on Facebook in the first place?”

Here at Luckie & Company, we’ve generated literally billions of ad impressions for clients on Facebook, typically at a miniscule cost compared to other media options. And what we’ve consistently seen is that Facebook ads are incredibly effective — with a few caveats. Namely, your brand has to be committed to both Facebook and creative flexibility.

General Motors is citing poor sales-related ad performance as the reason to pull its money from Facebook, and I’m sure that’s true. But those of us who deal with Facebook ad campaigns every day quickly found ourselves wondering if GM was really trying hard enough.

By audience size alone, it’s clear that General Motors has struggled to keep up with its peers, especially at the global level. Let’s look at some numbers for comparison

 

Automakers | Facebook Likes

BMW: 9,914,313

Hyundai Worldwide: 2,430,572

Honda: 2,057,104

Kia Worldwide: 1,925,231

Ford: 1,502,385

Volkswagen USA: 1,169,401

Toyota USA: 935,990

Volvo: 415,784

General Motors: 378,491

Chrysler: 298,765

Fiat: 289,134

Renault: 239,127

 

Auto Sub-Brands | Facebook Likes

Mercedes-Benz (Daimler): 7,319,676

Audi USA (Volkswagen): 5,215,038

Mini (BMW): 2,969,017

Chevrolet (GM): 1,215,242

Cadillac (GM): 1,167,853

GMC (GM): 660,359

Land Rover (Tata): 386,392

Buick (GM): 411,908

Smart (Daimler): 283,079

Acura (Honda): 173,020

 

What these comparisons show us is that GM has been a respectable player in the Facebook marketing space, but clearly not a leader. The automaker admitted as much when it fired its social media ad agency in December (read more here), after which the agency complained that GM never understood the value of social media as place to build brand instead of just racking up sales.

So let’s get back to the real question: Should YOU pull your ads from Facebook? Or maybe kill that big campaign you had in the works?

Probably not.

Facebook ads remain tremendously effective (compared to the alternatives) at driving awareness and audience growth within Facebook. True, Facebook is saturating a bit, making it tougher for brands in lots of ways. More businesses are competing for limited ad space, and consumers are becoming jaded by the tedious and unexciting ads they see stripped down the side of each page.

Looking at the numbers

I had our agency's Facebook ad guru, Keith Browder, crunch some comparison numbers to see if Facebook is really losing its punch as an ad forum. Here’s what he found:

Comparing a Facebook campaign we’re running now to a similar one we ran this time last year, we’ve seen the click-through rate (CTR) rise from .04% in 2011 to .07% in 2012. Those numbers might sound low, but with the staggering number of ad impressions Facebook generates, it’s really not bad at all.

And while this case study sounds like good news for Facebook, it probably says more about our agency's ability to tweak creative and improve our targeting to yield better results.

Things are a bit less rosy on two other fronts: cost per Like and cost per thousand impressions (CPM). There, we saw the cost of new Likes rise from $1.30 each in 2011 to a number that hovers between $1.48 (for Sponsored Stories) and $2.75 for display ad units.

The nice thing about Facebook is that we can, at any time, adjust the current campaign to bring our costs down and increase our effectiveness. That’s a time-consuming process that requires experience and expertise, but it’s the only way to ensure your Facebook campaigns are consistently effective.

Apples, Oranges, Google and Facebook

Many pundits are using GM’s exit from Facebook as a reason to compare Facebook ads side-by-side with Google’s ad options. But any social media savvy marketer know that this is a real apples-and-oranges debate.

Google has a myriad of ad options ranging from search and mobile to YouTube pre-rolls and Google+ Circle targeting. Facebook, on the other hand, has Facebook ads, which have notoriously (and intentionally) few bells and whistles. Facebook has never wanted to be seen as primarily an ad platform, though Wall Street investors are sure to disagree once the stock goes public.

So in summary, if Facebook is important to your business, by all means keep advertising on Facebook. But keep some of these tips in mind:

• Facebook ads can’t be your only growth strategy. Ensure that your business’ page is being promoted on your products, in stores, on traditional ads or anywhere else you can reach your audience. And sure, try some Google search ads and see how they perform as a driver to Facebook, not just your home page.

 • Be flexible. If your Facebook ads aren’t working, try something else. Change your targeting. Change your creative. Kill the ads that aren’t working and enhance the ones that are. Are you wasting money on audience-growth ads that hit existing fans? Are your thumbnail images cluttered and confusing? Are your headlines saying anything worth acting on? Be hard on yourself and set aside the time to treat your campaigns with professional diligence and creativity.

• Keep people within Facebook. The best ad units offered by Facebook are those that generate Likes, not click-throughs. So focus on Sponsored Stories, Like ads and display ads that explain the benefits of becoming a fan. It’s worth experimenting with Facebook advertising as a driver to your website, but I doubt you’ll find it to be the best option. Instead, focus on building and engaging your audience, then producing content that fans the flames.

And remember, no ad medium is ineffective by nature. Dismissing an entire outlet, whether it’s Facebook or radio or rich media, is just a cop-out. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish, then find the right tools for the job. From this perspective, the recent ad flap may say more about General Motors than it does about Facebook.

David Griner is the VP/Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

Photo credit: H Aoki on Flickr.

Before you "pin" or "highlight" on Facebook Timeline, ask yourself these questions.

The integration of Facebook Timeline brought a slew of new goodies that may not have come across your radar yet.

One of these tools is the ability to “Pin to Top” of the page or “Highlight” a post within a page, but the bigger question, more than just the simple mechanics of clicking a pencil or star, is how to decide which content deserves this gold standard of your fans' of attention.

When considering what to do with certain media or posts, it’s important to think about the original purpose for which the content was created as well as the audience that it was created for. You wouldn’t want a work safety video highlighted on your page, but an ad campaign that showcased a new product line would be a perfect fit.  And you wouldn’t pin a policy or frequently asked questions to the top of your page every week; that content can be better placed on the About page.

Ask yourselves these questions before deciding to “Pin to Top” or “Highlight”:

Job seekers, stop writing about yourself and start writing about your industry.

“I am passionate about social media.” I’ve seen this line in dozens of cover letters, resumes and LinkedIn profiles that I’ve reviewed in recent weeks as we try to fill an opening for a social media planner.

But often, I find myself doubting that the candidates really mean it.

Why? Because when I take the time to read their blogs, their Twitter feeds and their Pinterest boards, I find musings on everything BUT social media. They talk about their opinions of movies, celebrities, politics, fashion, sports and music. They talk about what they’re buying, watching, hoping, eating, drinking and regretting.

But what they don’t write about is the industry they claim to be “passionate” about joining. And that leaves me with the impression that these candidates are looking for a paycheck, not a career.

Fear not: Facebook Fan Gating is back.

When Facebook recently rolled out the new Timeline look for brands, many social media professionals noticed a subtle and terrifying shift: "Fan Gating" no longer seemed to work.

As you probably know, Fan Gating or Like Gating is the tactic of requiring a Facebook user to Like a brand page before using an application or accessing exclusive content. It is one of the most proven and effective fan-growth tools for Facebook pages, especially those investing in high-quality apps.

Our initial testing of Timeline pages found a serious problem was suddenly hobbling fan-gated tabs. Once you clicked Like, the page remained the same. The only way to "unlock" the exclusive content was to manually refresh the page.

Other than asking visitors to "hit refresh at the top of your browser," there didn't appear to be many solutions. 

But all that appears to be behind us. Facebook has quietly rolled out a return of proper Fan Gating in recent days, and our tests this afternoon showed them all working quite well (even legacy applications that were live before the TImeline switch).

If you're still experiencing Fan Gating problems, definitely let us know in the comments. For now, we're cautiously optimistic that this excellent tool for fan growth is back.

I should note that we still no longer have "Default Landing Tabs," which allowed your new Facebook visitors to see a Fan Gate instead of your wall. Facebook now sends every visitor to your Timeline, but that's OK. You can still use advertising and posts with links to drive viewers directly to your Fan Gated application.

Are there any other problems or quirks you've uncovered with Facebook Timeline for brands?

David Griner is the VP/Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

Photo credit: Bonnie Natko on Flickr.

Facebook Timeline: 10 changes your business should prepare for.

This morning, Facebook announced a dramatic and long-awaited chance for business pages: the Timeline format. Social media marketers who are excited for the switch can jump to the new look right now, otherwise you'll be forced to change when Timeline becomes mandatory on March 30.

While the most obvious change is the sprawlingly wide new "cover photo," there's more to the media-rich pages than just a swank new header image. There are some exciting - and frustrating - details that Facebook admins need to keep in mind as they prepare for the switch.

Luckily, it's easy to get started by clicking the "Preview" button at the top of your page and setting up your Timeline in a private environment. Then you can simply hit "Publish now" whenever you're ready.

So why wait? We've been playing with it all day on our agency page, and we've put together this checklist to help your business embrace Timeline today:

What I learned from my social media hiatus. | Guest post by Javacia Harris Bowser

Today, we're excited to be joined by Javacia Harris Bowser, a blogger and founder of the Birmingham, Ala., women's writing group See Jane Write. Javacia shares the lessons she learned from taking a three-week break from social media.

Each January my pastor encourages all his parishioners to fast something for 21 days in an effort to grow closer to God. Many church leaders totally abstain from food for three weeks, while some members fast certain types of food (such as sugary treats) or give up something like television. I decided to give up social media.

I wrote and scheduled “See You Later” posts for my two blogs and alerted Facebook friends and Twitter followers that I was taking a social media sabbatical. I also gave up Foursquare (at the risk of losing all my hard-earned mayorships) and Pinterest. This fast also meant I wasn’t allowed to read any of my favorite blogs either, as that is honestly how I spend much of my free time.

When I started the fast a part of me wondered if I would reach the end of the 21 days and realize that I no longer wanted social media in my life. I admit that when I announced my hiatus I felt this strange sense of relief. For three weeks I wouldn’t have to worry about updating my blogs or feel compelled to check Twitter every hour to make sure I wasn’t missing a link to some life-changing article.

But that feeling quickly dissipated. Social media makes everyday life better. Seriously. Foursquare turns a dreaded visit to the grocery store into an exciting game as I battle local residents to be crowned as mayor of the places I frequent around town. I’m an English teacher and, therefore, spend hours grading very bad essays, but those moments aren’t as torturous when I can take occasional breaks to browse my favorite blogs. And while some people “veg out” after a long day at work by flipping through channels, I’m not much of a TV person and I would much rather relax by clicking through beautiful photographs on Pinterest.

Coincidentally, despite my hiatus I found myself talking about social media more than ever during my fast. While teaching Fahrenheit 451 to my students we spent most days discussing the pervasiveness of technology and the role social networking sites play in their lives. When the electricity went out in my apartment one evening my husband and I found ourselves having a conversation by candlelight about Twitter. (How romantic!) And speaking of Twitter, when storms hit the Birmingham area before dawn one Monday morning I felt lost without being able to track tornadoes through my favorite meteorologist’s tweets. The thought never crossed my mind to just turn on the television. (I told you I’m not a TV person.)

I did realize, however, that I need to make some changes regarding my social media behavior. First, I need to rekindle my love for blogging. That sense of relief I felt at the beginning of my fast was triggered because somewhere along the way blogging has stopped being fun. I need to fix that. I don’t want blogging to feel like a job, especially since I’m not getting paid to do it.

Second, I need to stop letting social media make me a bad friend. When I wrote about my return to social media on my blogs I decided to craft the post as a love letter because I realized that I’m just like the girl who ditches her friends for the new man in her life. I’m always so busy trying to update my blogs and read all the interesting articles being posted on Twitter that I don’t make time to have real conversations with my friends. And I use Facebook as a crutch. I figure, "I know that this friend is pregnant and that friend got a new job because I checked their status updates. No need to call them; I’m all caught up, right?" Wrong.

And finally, I have to make time for myself, to read books that have nothing to do with becoming a better blogger and, yes, perhaps even watch television. There has to be some reason so many people are into that thing.

Javacia Harris Bowser is founding editor of GeorgiaMae.com and she also blogs for The Writeous Babe Project. She can be reached via email or follow @writeousbabe on Twitter.

Photo credit: Leo Reynolds on Flickr