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Facebook Leaks Shadow Profiles

After last week’s Facebook security breach which leaked contact information for approximately six million users, many are outraged. The leaking of confidential data seems to be just a small part of this story. What has people furious is Facebook’s collection of data that you didn’t even know they had – your “shadow profile.”

What’s a shadow profile anyway?

By now, you probably know—and have accepted—that Facebook tracks certain data about you. But the social networking giant may also have information that you’ve never shared with it before like your phone number and additional email addresses for example. This information is now included in your shadow profile.

Through Facebook features such as “Find Friends,” which grants access to address books, the network sifts through contacts listed in your friend’s phone to make it easy to find people on Facebook. When a friend does this, Facebook saves information about you including your phone number and email address. Continue reading “Facebook Leaks Shadow Profiles”

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Instragram Incorporates Video

Instagram revealed this week that it will be rolling out video to its users. As noted in a blog post:

Over the past two and a half years, Instagram has become a community where you can capture and share the world’s moments simply and beautifully. Some moments, however, need more than a static image to come to life. Until now those stories have been missing from Instagram.

instagramvideoThe new video feature comes with thirteen filters which allow you to change the colors and feel of each video. The addition of video seems like a natural fit for Instagram, which focuses on everything visual. Businesses will now be able to share more interactive, behind-the-scenes moments and users are sure to download fun videos to share with their friends in short, 15 second clips.

With online video accounting for 50% of mobile traffic, it’s no wonder that social networks are jumping on the video train – and this number is predicted to grow to 55% by 2016. For businesses, this can mean huge marketing opportunity, especially when you factor in that 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.

What kind of impact will video have on Instagram? When Vine was introduced to Twitter, it didn’t seem like as natural of a fit. I predict video being more widely accepted on Instagram.

How will you use video in your Instagram strategy? Let us know!

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#Facebook Rolls Out Hashtags – How Can Your Business Take Advantage?

facebookhashtagFacebook has taken a page out of the Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest book and has introduced searchable hashtags to its platform. If you aren’t familiar with hashatags, they allow users to put the “#” symbol in front of a word or phrase in order to categorize it and make it easier for users of similar interests to find. The goal: to drive more engagement and conversation within the platform… and, of course, there is probably a revenue model in there for the social network.

Continue reading “#Facebook Rolls Out Hashtags – How Can Your Business Take Advantage?”

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Skittles Gets Interactive With Figurines

skittlesSkittles has a new ad out and it lets you smash grandma’s precious figurines. Let me rewind. The ad starts with grandma bringing a glass of water to what is presumably her grandson, Tommy. On the same table is a pink horse figurine who speaks in a British accent and tells Tommy to smash him for Skittles to come out. Of course, the grandson smashes the horse and enjoys a pile of the delicious treats. I have to admit, in every Skittles commercial the sound of the candy pouring onto the ground makes my mouth water. Does anyone else have a sudden craving for Skittles? Continue reading “Skittles Gets Interactive With Figurines”

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An Employee Licks a Stack of Tacos – How Should Taco Bell Respond?

You do what you can to make sure your brand is portrayed in a positive light. But when an employee photographs himself doing something he shouldn’t while on the job—and then shares via social media—there’s no “undo” button.

The latest Taco Bell controversy has raised flags and made most of us think twice before eating at the fast food restaurant chain. If you haven’t heard about it yet, this photo of a Taco Bell employee licking a stack of taco shells has gone viral:

TacoBell

Continue reading “An Employee Licks a Stack of Tacos – How Should Taco Bell Respond?”

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3 Tips to Keep Your Content Marketing and Social Media Strategy on Track

Social media and content marketing go together like peanut butter and jelly – they’re just better together. We spend loads of time and energy creating content that is valuable to our readers. So how do we ensure this content gets into the right hands? Social media can be a perfect solution.

Once you have content to share, it’s important to use this as efficiently and effectively as possible. What are the results? Better SEO, higher brand engagement, and increased brand awareness to name a few.

Here are some tips to stay on the right track with social media and content marketing:

  • Have a plan – this includes an editorial calendar for all content, a plan to execute your social media strategy, and a goal of what you’d like to accomplish.
  • Interact – social media is a perfect place to connect with others. Start a conversation, offer valuable content, create a poll, run a contest and make sure almost all of your social media posts encourage engagement. When you share your content, try to do so in a way that speaks to your audience, not at them.
  • Analyze – the only way to find out if your strategy is effective, and that’s to analyze. Not sure where to start? Try these 5 free tools. If something isn’t working, take a look at the quality of both your content and your social media strategy, modify and try again.

Need some more guidance when it comes to content marketing and social media? Contact the Content Boost team.

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Teens Starting Mass Exodus from Facebook, What this Means for Your Business

I recently read an article about how teens are increasingly leaving Facebook. Aside from the un-cool factor of their parents (and even grandparents) being on it, teens have also stated that it is becoming too much of a popularity contest and taking up too much time.

Explains 14-year-old Casey Schwartz in the article: “I’ll wake up in the morning and go on Facebook just … because. It’s not like I want to or I don’t. I just go on it. I’m, like, forced to. I don’t know why. I need to. Facebook takes up my whole life.”

Is it just a matter of time before Facebook becomes the new MySpace and begins to quickly plummet, or can Facebook regain its cool-factor?

Continue reading “Teens Starting Mass Exodus from Facebook, What this Means for Your Business”

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A “Pin” Says A Thousand Words

When Pinterest exploded onto the scene a few short years ago, users instantly became hooked – I know I did. I submitted my request to join and eagerly waited for the confirmation to hit my inbox. I was, and still am, easily sucked into the site for longer periods of time than I’d like to admit.

The premise of the site is quite simple: you “pin” images you like from other sites —from tablets to wedding dresses to sporting equipment—to have a central location of items you want to revisit for later use. You can also re-pin images that other users have posted and follow other users. So why has the site seen so much popularity and growth over the last few years?

Pinterest Continue reading “A “Pin” Says A Thousand Words”

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Kitchen Nightmares Restaurant’s Colossal Meltdown – How NOT to Do Social

Everything you shouldn’t do when executing your social media strategy can be exemplified in one not-so-pretty package: Amy’s Baking Company.

Capture9In case you missed it, Amy’s Baking Company made quite the impression on viewers when the restaurant appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s reality TV show Kitchen Nightmares. The husband- wife duo, Samy and Amy tell Ramsay—no more than five minutes after arriving—that “There are a lot of online bullies and haters and bloggers. We stand up to them and I think we are the only ones that ever have as restaurant owners. They come and try to attack us and say horrible things that are not true because they are used to eating processed wood chips.” A baffled Ramsey later learns there is much more to the story. This was the first restaurant he has given up on before the “rehabilitation” phase which includes suggestions on how to improve the restaurant’s food, wait staff and bottom line.

Continue reading “Kitchen Nightmares Restaurant’s Colossal Meltdown – How NOT to Do Social”

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Don’t Be the Pushy Salesman

You’ve experienced it a hundred times before – you walk into a store and are immediately bombarded by a slew of salespeople asking questions about what you’re looking for and directing you to their current promotion. Like most people, I want to immediately walk out.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ve probably experienced helpful sales staff. They let you take a minute to look around and settle in before approaching you and answer your questions not because they’re looking for a sale, but because they genuinely want to educate you about a product. I don’t know about you, but those are the brands I recommend to others and return to again and again.

Continue reading “Don’t Be the Pushy Salesman”