SME TV Archives - Social Media Explorer https://socialmediaexplorer.com/category/social-media-tv-show/ Exploring the World of Social Media from the Inside Out Fri, 23 Oct 2020 11:35:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Secure your smart TV with a VPN https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/secure-your-smart-tv-with-a-vpn/ Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:34:00 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=37911 Nothing beats having a smart TV in your home. Besides the obvious picture quality, you...

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Nothing beats having a smart TV in your home. Besides the obvious picture quality, you enjoy Internet connectivity, gaming, and access to a larger number of channels. If you’re like other households, you’ve already upgraded to a smart TV. Generally speaking, Samsung TVs are the better choice because they provide versatility and can be found at a discounted price. As opposed to other devices, a smart TV has features that can be used on a daily basis. 

Do you need a VPN for a smart TV? Quite possibly

When setting up a smart TV, it’s not enough to plug everything in. You must use a VPN to make it as secure as possible. You see, Internet-based devices are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, as well as security exploits. The VPN software re-routs your connection via an alternative server before it accesses online apps or websites. What happens is that you’re assigned a new IP address and the data is encrypted. Therefore, make sure that your connection is secure and watch out for potential hacking behavior. 

You won’t have access to all the media content you want to enjoy because most of it is geo-restricted. Install the VPN on your Samsung smart TV and get access to the desired catalogs. You can watch TV shows and movies on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, and so on. not only will your IP address be concealed, but also your Internet speed will be maximized. If you like experimenting with different server locations, a VPN is a must. You’ll bypass geo-blocking and access your favorite content whether you’re in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, China, and so on. 

Setting up a VPN on your smart TV  

We won’t talk about the best VPNs for smart TVs, but instead explain how you can connect your smart TV to a VPN. If you have a Samsung TV, you need to know that the device isn’t compatible with a VPN because it runs on Tizen OS, which means that the VPN will be configured on your router or set to enable a Wi-Fi hotspot via the computer. The gadget will work with the Smart DNS service without impacting speeds. Another option would be to connect the smart TV to a shared Windows VPN. All you have to do is to go to the connection menu, choose properties, and enable other network users to connect via the computer’s Internet connection. 

Finding the best VPN service takes some time, so be patient. The biggest mistake you can make is using a free VPN with your Samsung smart TV. You don’t have to spend a dime to use the service, but you’re compromising your security. The vast majority of free VPNs contain malware, which is related to advertising. However, this isn’t the biggest concern. Someone may be tracking your online activity and sell it to the highest bidder. If you use a free VPN service, you can’t use streaming services such as Netflix. It may work, but it’s highly unlikely that it will.

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Are Single Sign on Social Logins Safe? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/are-single-sign-on-social-logins-safe/ Wed, 20 May 2020 11:26:00 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=37121 A Social login is a single sign-on process where existing information from social networking sites...

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A Social login is a single sign-on process where existing information from social networking sites such as Facebook are used to register on a 3rd party website.

Here are the steps to login using Social Login:

1. A user accesses the portal of a third party website asking to register.

2. The third-party website asks the user to register by either creating a unique username and password or use his/her Facebook login to sign in instead. The website then presents a Facebook widget that is complete with the Facebook logo right on its portal. The user then uses this widget to sign in and register.

3. By using that Facebook widget to sign in, the user saves time and effort of having to create a username and password that must be unique to that website. Instead the website will let that user enter by using his Facebook credentials. More often than not the user agrees to use his Facebook credentials for the reason of convenience. He then inputs his username and password onto the widget for verification.

4. Next, Facebook authenticates and verifies the credentials of the user. Once it is verified, Facebook accepts the login creds and communicates to the 3rd party website that the applying user is legitimate and true.

5. The 3rd party website acknowledges as it verifies with Facebook, and eventually authenticates the users login. The website then processes the registration of the user and approves it

6. The user is now a registered member of the website, and can now access the portal using only his Facebook username and password.

Convenient, isn’t it? But is it safe?

Is it Safe to Use Social logins?

Whenever we sign up for a new account on a website, we, as users, tend to want to have it easier (who doesn’t anyway). We try to speed up the process of registering by reusing old passwords or even using passwords that we currently use for other sites. Mostly we end up with one password that we punch in all across the sites that we access.

Not really a secure option.

We all know that, if you have only one password that you use to access all of the sites that you are a member of, it’ll take just one security breach for your other accounts to be potentially compromised. Apparently, Facebook came up with an idea to solve this problem and created a service that lets it act as a password manager.

In a social login situation Facebook supposedly takes care of your security while providing the convenience of just having one password to access almost all of the sites that you visit. Therefore, Facebook essentially acts like your password manager managing for you, for free. Not really.

At any point that you use your social login, you are essentially allowing Facebook to share marketing information to that site that you want to register to. Although to be fair, there are certain protocols that they follow to keep your personal information private, and it’s just some aspects that they share with the 3rd party website.

Information that might be shared is behavior tracking for personalized ads and customized content. This is in reference to the Cambridge Analytica Issue. Basically, you as the user surrender some information about yourself to the 3rd party website that will be provided by Facebook. To some people giving up information about their buying habits, may sound like a fair trade for convenience and some level of security.

This is the reason they agree to use social logins instead. As for some, it is a concern.

According to loginradius.com, in 2016 (the latest available data) over 90% of users use social login to avoid the tedious registration process that most websites require, and there has been no update since. So far, reported Facebook security breaches did not include reports of social logins being used to breach other websites too. A possible unwanted domino effect.

Pros of Social Logins

Faster registration process

No more having to repeatedly input passwords that don’t match or are too weak. All you have to do is punch in your social login user name and your password, done. Quick and easy.

No more forgetting passwords because of too many passwords to remember 

Social logins are generally recognized as more secure than your standard email password logins. 

Since big companies like Facebook care a lot about their cybersecurity they spend unlimited funds to maintain the safety of their accounts.

Cons of Social Logins

If by some rare event that your social login is breached, so does all of your other accounts. 

• Information sharing about you is being done since you agree to use the social login option. 

And they don’t have to inform you every time they do it.

Privacy

Admittedly, security is very much an issue, social networks are not nearly as secure as they try to look like. Obviously, it’s more of a privacy thing. Are you willing to let big tech companies share data about your general preferences? Or What apps you might be using? What you do in those apps, and how long you use those apps? It’s not really clear how the host company shares your information, but yes it’s the trade-off.

So, Should I Be Using Social Logins?

Given that it has been in use for a number of years now since its first offering, we can say that in terms of security there is some layer of protection involved. Apparently, the larger concern lies in the question of privacy. Overall, it all boils down to whether you’re comfortable with being targeted by customized ads, only because they know what your preferences are. It’s a little bit of your privacy in exchange for an easier time and some peace of mind.

Either way, the choice is yours to make.

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How To Make Videos Like A Pro https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/how-to-make-videos-like-a-pro/ Mon, 05 Aug 2019 17:45:11 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=35235 YouTube has over a billion users and is still growing. People watch a variety of...

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YouTube has over a billion users and is still growing. People watch a variety of videos on YouTube every single day. There are many YouTube channels that are raking in a lot of money. It is very easy to create a channel but the difference between a good video channel and others is the professionalism that can be seen in them. If your video looks as if it is made by an amateur then the chances are the video will not be seen much, people will not talk about it. Though there have been instances of amateur videos going viral, it will not happen always. If you want people to talk about your videos and share it then it has to look professional. Making a professional video is easy nowadays with many tools available. So let’s jump in and learn how to make professional videos:

Planning and creating the video:

The first step is to plan the video. Firstly you should know why you are creating the video. There are many types of videos such as the ones that are aimed at teaching something, most ‘How To’ videos fall in this category. Another option is to make videos that you believe will go viral. You want more likes and shares and you want people to talk about it. Once you have decided the reason to create the video, everything else will fall into place easily.

Put your thoughts on paper. Write down what you believe your target audience would like. Plan your script based on that. Write down the budget that you have for the video. Ensure that you do not go over the budget. Get the actors, set the stage and equipment and record the video.

Editing the video:

Creating the video is the easy part; the difficult thing to do is the editing. You have a lot of information in video format and you need to edit it to make it compelling for the viewer. You should be prepared to remove unnecessary content, never use content just for the sake of it. If your video is crisp and concise it will have a better impact, rather than a lengthier one.

Importance of a good intro:

A good introduction is very important as it essentially hooks you and makes you want to view the video fully. Many people however, overdo this part. A viewer who comes to view the video after looking at your video title would generally wish to directly dive into the main part of the video. He or she would not like a long drawn intro which does not speak about the relevant subject. Hence, ideally you should have a good intro but it should be short and let the viewer view the main content easily. People have short attention span; they will just close the video and move to some other video if the intro is lengthy. That does not mean that intros do not play a part, a good intro can have a big impact on the viewer. Nowadays there are many websites that provide an intro maker. You can use these websites to create the perfect intros which will have maximum impact.

Build your brand with a neat logo:

Your video should prominently display your logo. If you want to build a brand then you should have a neat logo. You can get your logos designed by experts or better still you can create logos on your own. There are many websites where you can create a logo design. Create a wonderful logo and make sure that it is everywhere in the video right from the intro. Logos have good recall value, once your logo is embedded in the minds of people, they will be able to relate to it easily. For example, the Nike logo is embedded in our minds and the check mark immediately conjures up images of Nike shoes.

Why templates should not be avoided:

Although your videos need to be unique, it does not mean that you should not use a given template. A template is actually a starting point for your video; you can format it to suit your requirements. Many successful videos use the same templates in a different way. If you are making a video which has a slide show, then templates can be very useful. There are many websites which provide slideshow makers, so use them.

Common mistakes to avoid while making videos:

The most common mistake is to have poor audio, always make sure that the audio is good because people tend to move to another video if the audio is not good. If you have a slideshow and if there is no voiceover but music, then make sure that the video is not too loud. Too loud music or music that does not complement the video will make the viewers click on the next video.

Another common mistake is to create content according to the trend. Many people create videos based on the videos trending. It is a good option for the short term but in the long run when you need to stand out from the crowd, you should show that you are different from others. Original content will add value to your brand too. Never infringe on another person’s copyright.

I recently went to a seminar where a self-proclaimed expert was telling the audience ways to appear on top of YouTube results. His common refrain was that you should do what others are doing. His mantra was copy the Title, Description, Keywords etc., from the top rated video in your niche. Though it has some value, it will not always provide the required results. For example, if the top video in your niche is something called, “The Diet that made me lose 10 pounds in a week” and you created the same title, others in the niche also created the same title, you would have literally hundreds of videos with the same title and they all will be competing for the same top spot. What are your chances of topping the niche in this scenario, it is literally very less. However, if you made some changes to the title, if you created a unique description and if your keywords also included other keywords that people would normally search for, your chances of reaching the top increases. So never blindly follow the leader in your niche, use your creativity and come up with new ideas to grow. However, most people do not use their creativity and like to copy others to succeed and this is where they fail.

Some people keep adding tons of videos on their channels but they do not get subscribers or views. I happened to meet one such YouTuber who had a lot of videos on his channel but views were in the hundreds or lesser. The reason his channel was not getting views was because of the recurring theme and because they were of low quality. His argument was that he would get a lot of subscribers on his channel based on volume. He felt that if 100 people subscribed to his channel from one of his videos and if he uploaded 1000 videos he would have 100,000 subscribers. It broke my heart to tell him that it does not work that way. People subscribe only when they are happy with the video and want to view videos by the maker again. They also tell others only when they like a video. A video goes viral because people who see it love it and want their friends and family to enjoy it too. After making him understand this I told him that creating one quality video using a good video maker will get you more subscribers than making hundreds of below par videos. After a month he called me to tell me that one of his videos about gaming was topping YouTube and he had hundreds of thousands of subscribers. So do not keep making videos just for the sake of it, add videos to your channel regularly but make sure that they are good quality videos that provide value to the viewer.

To be successful on YouTube you need to build your social media presence too. Social media is all interlinked, someone liking a video on YouTube posts it on their timeline in Twitter, which is then shared by someone else on their Facebook wall and it appears on your Whatsapp group and so forth. This incredible power of social media needs to be harnessed by all video creators. Most creators take time to create the video, create the title, the description, the keywords etc., but forget to create a social media profile for the channel. You should create accounts in all the top social media websites. Once you have the accounts ready in social media websites, make it a point to add the links to your social media accounts in the description box of your video. A clickable link to your Twitter or Facebook account will enable viewers of the video to connect to you personally. They can tell you what they liked or disliked, you can ask what they want to view next and create videos based on personal feedback, the options are many. The operative part in the sentence above is clickable link because people do not have time to copy and paste your links in the browser, they just have time to click.

A very common mistake that most video creators do is to not have a subscribe button at the end of the video. One of my friends had a very successful video that was watched by many, in fact, it went viral and there were millions of views but the number of people who subscribed to his channel was negligible when compared to the number of views. After doing a little research we found that he was not asking the viewers to subscribe to his channel. If you see successful videos you will find that all of them have a subscribe button embedded in their videos. Some have them throughout the video, while some show them at the start and at the end. Sub-consciously we are trained to accede to such requests and when we see the subscribe button at the end we tend to subscribe. The main goal of creating videos is to have good subscriber base and if you do not state it clearly, you will not get them. Remember that if you want to be an influencer you need subscribers. A good influencer makes good money too and you need not worry about monetizing your videos with Google ads etc.

Another mistake that amateurs do is that they often overact. Behave like a professional and act accordingly, do not try to be like others, do not try to copy their acting style, create your own style. Even while giving voice overs do not try to sound like a celebrity, sound like you normally would, it will have a better impact.

Many people make the mistake of not updating their skills. To continue making professional videos, you need to work on the craft of video making. You need to read books about the craft. If you learn a lot about video making, it will be easy when it comes to setting the right lighting, camera angles etc.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we can state that creating a video like a professional is easy because you can get all the tools needed easily. Do a proper research of your requirements, do not follow others, create your own unique style, take help when needed, collaborate with professionals to make it better, in short do whatever you have to do to succeed. Remember success will not come to you in a day or for that matter in a week or even a month, it may take months or even a year or two but if you steadily create professional videos and build your image as an influencer in your niche, you will find success.

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What does YouTube Red mean for the future of social subscriptions? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/what-does-youtube-red-mean-for-the-future-of-social-subscriptions/ Fri, 23 Oct 2015 18:43:03 +0000 https://socialmediaexplorer.com/?p=36449 Video streaming giant YouTube is now offering a paid subscription service, Red, which could influence...

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Video streaming giant YouTube is now offering a paid subscription service, Red, which could influence other social media platforms to adopt a similar feature.

YouTube has been a staple of online video viewing since its introduction in 2005. Bought by Google in 2006, the platform has remained profitable thanks to advertising opportunities—and free for its more than one billion active users. Considering the ever-growing library of content available on the platform, a few seconds of ad-watching is a price most users are happy to pay.

Now, YouTube is offering an option for viewers who can’t stand the advertisements any longer. Its subscription service Red is available for Android devices (at $9.99 per month) and iOS devices (at $12.99 per month). With this service, users can watch as many videos as they want as often as they want without ever having to watch ads in the meantime. Other bonus features of the services include the ability to continue playing videos in the background while working on other apps, as well as saving videos locally for offline or future viewing. This will admittedly hurt advertisers who are looking to create both free and paid content for YouTube.

In the future, there may also be Red-exclusive video submissions. YouTube has repeatedly hinted that it is interested in procuring content from its most popular creators, and now it appears that these procured shows and videos will make their debut only for subscribers of Red.

Currently, the service is available only in the United States, but YouTube plans to introduce the service globally next year. New users can sign up for a one-month free trial to evaluate the service before subscribing on a month-to-month basis. The service will also apply to all of YouTube’s individual apps, including YouTube Music.

Another Netflix?

There’s no shortage of paid subscription video streaming apps. Netflix currently has more than 33.3 million paid subscribers (and growing), and its closest competitors Amazon Prime and Hulu have millions of paid users on their own. On the surface, YouTube’s decision to offer a more content-driven paid streaming service could be construed as an effort to put it more in line with these industry leaders.

However, there’s something different about YouTube; Netflix, Hulu, and similar apps are all focused on bringing users professionally created material, essentially making them entertainment apps. And while YouTube certainly has significant entertainment value, it is primarily classified as a social app. Users leverage the platform to create and share their own material, engage with other creators and users, and ultimately build and contribute to communities. Despite its potential use as an exclusive entertainment app, it’s a social media app first and foremost.

Applying to other social apps

The best question to ask now is, will other social media apps pick up on YouTube’s idea and apply it to their own user bases? Snapchat, another social app, recently made headlines when it offered a paid feature to its previously cost-free app. Instead of letting snaps fade away and die their natural death, users can choose to “replay” them using a limited number of credits, buying three more credits for $0.99. It’s possible that Snapchat could one day introduce a special subscription service that allows a guaranteed number of replays for its highest-paying users every month in exchange for a monthly fee.

As pressure starts growing for social media companies to make more money and users grow exhausted of advertising, it’s reasonable to suspect we’ll see more subscription services like these. Undoubtedly, free options for social users will continue to exist, but these paid options could become the new norm for practically any app available, including major players like Facebook and Twitter. Advertisers may soon need to find alternatives for direct audience communication online.

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Is Hiring The Key To Social Success? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/digital-marketing/is-hiring-the-key-to-social-success/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/digital-marketing/is-hiring-the-key-to-social-success/#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:00:24 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=16456 Jason Falls and Scott Stratten discuss how to produce awesome in your business with hiring the right staff being a critical decision point. Stratten will speak at Explore Portland Nov. 15-16.

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Few people know Scott Stratten, he of @Unmarketing fame and author of a book by that name and the new Book of Business Awesome, has a background in human resources. When you learn that, you typically, do a double take and think, “Wha?” But it’s true.

Scott and I caught up last week to talk about his upcoming keynote at Explore Portland (ticket form below) and wound up diving into a discussion about the feasibility of hiring being critical to your success as a social business and in social media marketing. In short, you can’t force awesome from unawesome employees. So hiring is a step in the process. Jump into the video and hear what Scott has to say:

Scott will be our Keynote of Awesomeness at Explore Portland on Nov. 15-16 and you should come! Social Media Explorer readers get $200 off the ticket price by using the Promotional Code ILOVESME in the ticket form below. The event is chock full of awesome content. Michael Brito, Jay Baer, Nichole Kelly, Zena Weist, Hunter Boyle, DJ Waldow, Tom Webster, Tamsen Webster, Ian Lurie and much more will bring their expertise to bear for you there. Register now and join us for two days of Awesomeness!

So what do you think? Can you train awesome or is it something you have to hire for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Beyond The Buzzword Of Social Business https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/beyond-the-buzzword-of-social-business/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/beyond-the-buzzword-of-social-business/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:00:30 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=16008 Jason Falls interviews social business expert Michael Brito about the evolution of social business as a term and a practice.

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My tome on “social business” being a bullshit term raised more than a few eyebrows a few weeks ago. One set that certainly shot up when he read it were those of Michael Brito. The senior vice-president and resident Silicon Valley maven for Edelman Digital is, after all, author of the book Smart Business – Social Business. The concept is one he leads many of Edelman’s clients through. He and it are a couple of reasons Edelman sits atop of the world of it-getting agencies out there.

It just so happens that Brito is one of our keynote speakers at the upcoming Explore Orange County Oct. 18-19 in Orange, Calif. He’ll be talking about going beyond social business … the buzzword. So I thought it appropriate to dive into the subject a bit with him and give him the chance to respond to my claim that the term is B.S.

Michael is super smart and will bring the A-game for Explore Orange County. We want  you to be there, too. The two-day event is at Gothic Moon Studios in Orange, Calif., on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 18-19 (Yes … three weeks from now!). Get your tickets by purchasing below or by finding out more about our topics and speakers — R/GA’s Peter Kim, former Facebook executive Joseph Heinl, Expion’s Zena Weist, mobile expert Tim Hayden and more — at GoToExplore.co.

The two-day event, incredible content, breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception is $450, but if you’re a member of a professional organization (IABC, PRSA, AMA or similar), ask if they have a discount code for you and save big! Learn more about the speakers, their topics and more at the Explore Orange County registration page!

Or register here (If you use the code ILOVESME in the form below, you’ll get $200 off the ticket price!):

Explore is a conference event series from Social Media Explorer and presented by Expion and Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Learn more and sign up for email updates for the city nearest you at GoToExplore.co.

Note: Video music from “M.I.A.” by Digby. Used with permission. Find Digby’s “Falling Up” CD at iTunes.

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Are Enterprise Companies Cheating Local? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/are-enterprise-companies-cheating-local/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/are-enterprise-companies-cheating-local/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:00:58 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=15887 Jason Falls drills Expion's Zena Weist on implementing social media across the enterprise, including asking the question, "aren't we just helping big companies fake local?"

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When I sat down to chat with Zena Weist of Expion last week, we were going to talk about operationalizing social across the enterprise, transforming enterprise companies into social businesses — especially in franchise and multiple location scenarios and more. Zena is great to talk to about social marketing and social business. She has the unique perspective of having worked on the brand side, agency side and now the vendor side with Expion, a social media management solution.

But as we started to talk, I asked the question, “Are the tools and strategies we’re presenting to enterprise companies helping them cheat local?” I think you’ll find her answer and the discussion pretty interesting. Zena will be talking, along with Expion’s Kevin Magee, at Explore Orange County Oct. 18-19. See more information below the video to get your ticket (and watch the video for a special discount code!)

You won’t want to miss the business insights Zena has to give at Explore Orange County presented by Linked Orange County. She’ll be speaking there, along with an all-star lineup that includes SME Digital’s Nichole Kelly, R/GA business transformation lead Peter Kim, Kred CEO Andrew Grill, Smart Business, Social Business author Michael Brito, allen+gerritsen strategist Tamsen Webster, former Facebook executive Joseph Heinl, Edison Research’s Tom Webster and more. Yes, I’ll also be speaking, as well as hosting along with Linked Orange County’s Bryan Elliott. The event will also feature a number of excellent software providers and companies to help you navigate the waters of digital marketing. They’ll bring their knowledge to share as well as their products. This is a must-attend event, so register now!

The two-day event, incredible content, breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception is $450, but if you’re a member of a professional organization (IABC, PRSA, AMA or similar), ask if they have a discount code for you and save big! Learn more about the speakers, their topics and more at the Explore Orange County registration page!

Or register here:

Explore is a five-city conference event series from Social Media Explorer and presented by Expion and Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Learn more and sign up for email updates for the city nearest you at GoToExplore.co.

Note: Video music from “M.I.A.” by Digby. Used with permission. Find Digby’s “Falling Up” CD at iTunes.

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What Is Your Company Struggling With In Social Media? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/what-is-your-company-struggling-with-in-social-media/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/what-is-your-company-struggling-with-in-social-media/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:00:59 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=14793 Jason Falls interviews Erika Brookes of Oracle-Vitrue about the challenges of social media marketing among clients and brands in today's market.

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If every person and brand out there was sailing smoothly with social media marketing, we’d have no reason for conferences and events, blogs and books. Every company has challenges to social media marketing success, some internal, some external. When marketers look to solve these problems, they often look to software first. But software is only part of the solutions.

I caught up with Erika Brookes from Oracle-Vitrue last week to chat about some of the challenges her clients are seeing in the social space and how they’re solving them. Oracle-Vitrue is a sponsor of Explore Minneapolis coming next week (Aug. 16-17) to the DoubleTree by Hilton Park Place. They’ll be there, along with other great sponsors and software companies and an all-star lineup of speakers to help you think deeply and differently about everything from content marketing to measurement and analytics and beyond. You can register below the video, but let’s dive in and see what Erika had to share:

You won’t want to miss the business insights we have to offer at Explore Minneapolis. I’ll be speaking, along with an all-star lineup that includes SME Digital’s Nichole Kelly, The Now Revolution co-author Jay Baer, Edison Research’s Tom Webster, Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman and more. The event will also feature a number of excellent software providers and companies like Oracle-Vitrue to help you navigate the waters of digital marketing. They’ll bring their knowledge to share as well as their products. This is a must-attend event, so register now!

The two-day event, incredible content, breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception is $450, but if you’re a member of a professional organization (IABC, PRSA, AMA or similar), ask if they have a discount code for you and save big! Learn more about the speakers, their topics and more at the Explore Minneapolis registration page!

Or register here:

Explore is a five-city conference event series from Social Media Explorer and presented by Expion and Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Learn more and sign up for email updates for the city nearest you at GoToExplore.co.

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Understanding Social Business And How To Become One https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/understanding-social-business-and-how-to-become-one/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/understanding-social-business-and-how-to-become-one/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=14797 Jason Falls interviews Jennifer Kane about the concept of social business and how yours can evolve to one.

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If “social business” hasn’t become a solid entry in Buzzword Bingo games yet, it soon will. Seems that more and more people are upholding the term as the utopian goal of all socially adept companies. Yet few people can easily define what the term means, much less know how to help a business become one.

Jennifer Kane spends a fair amount of time not only thinking about the evolution of social businesses, but works with clients to help them achieve measures of becoming one. She’ll be talking about the Seven Deadly Sins of Social Business at Explore Minneapolis next week (Register Below) so I caught up with her last week to chat about the term, what it means and how we can achieve it.


You won’t want to miss the business insights Jennifer has to give at Explore Minneapolis. She’ll be speaking there, along with an all-star lineup that includes SME Digital’s Nichole Kelly, The Now Revolution co-author Jay Baer, Edison Research’s Tom Webster, Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman and more. Yes, I’ll also be speaking, as well as hosting. The event will also feature a number of excellent software providers and companies to help you navigate the waters of digital marketing. They’ll bring their knowledge to share as well as their products. This is a must-attend event, so register now!

The two-day event, incredible content, breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception is $450, but if you’re a member of a professional organization (IABC, PRSA, AMA or similar), ask if they have a discount code for you and save big! Learn more about the speakers, their topics and more at the Explore Minneapolis registration page!

Or register here:

Explore is a five-city conference event series from Social Media Explorer and presented by Expion and Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Learn more and sign up for email updates for the city nearest you at GoToExplore.co.

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Should Your Packaging Explain Your Product? https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/should-your-packaging-explain-your-product/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/should-your-packaging-explain-your-product/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:43 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=10932 A gift turns out to be an example of (perhaps) poor product packaging design as Jason Falls has no clue what the product is.

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Product packaging is certainly not a frequent topic we cover here on Social Media Explorer, but I received a gift recently that, frankly, I couldn’t figure out, even after I opened it. Oddly, after I went to their website, I was able to ascertain what the product was, but only through context clues and assumptions. I still can’t figure out what this product actually is or does in some sort of official way from the brand.

The item, which came in a box that simply said, “Power Balance Performance Technology,” (I would tell you what the product was but again, I don’t know) appears to be some sort of necklace. I assume, because of the indication that professional athletes use it, that it’s one of those golf bracelet type magnetic alignment thingamabobs that’s supposed to make you Lebron James overnight or something. But I can’t confirm that.

Even the company’s website is written in such a vague way that all I can identify this item as is a, “silicone pendant.” Nothing on the site explains what the silicone pendant does. The closest it comes is by saying, “… these pendants were designed with performance in mind. Complete with two Power Balance holograms, you get the same functionality as all Power Balance products.” No where did I find what those same functions were.

Here’s the video so you can see the package for yourself:

So what do you think? Are only “it-getters” going to buy this? Does it need a product description somewhere? It was given to me as a gift. Why would I use it if I have no clue what it does or does not do. I’m confused, but am I missing something? Would you agree the packaging is flawed? The website? Interested in your thoughts.

Have You Registered For Explore Dallas-Fort Worth?

Don’t miss a day of intensive learning with some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the digital marketing and social media marketing space. Copyblogger’s Brian Clark, Edison Research’s Tom Webster, Edelman Digital’s Zena Weist and more headline one of the leading digital and social media marketing events of 2012, February 17 in Dallas, Texas! DON’T WAIT TO REGISTER! The first 100 to do so get an incredible discount! Reserve your seat today!

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Win Free Stuff Tomorrow With The SME Holiday Extravaganza https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/win-free-stuff-tomorrow-with-the-sme-holiday-extravaganza/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-tv-show/win-free-stuff-tomorrow-with-the-sme-holiday-extravaganza/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:00:01 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=10586 Jason Falls is hosing an open topic webinar Friday with free prizes for those that ask questions. Enjoy!

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To celebrate the holiday season, I’ve decided to host a webinar called the Exploring Social Media Holiday Open Topic, Free Stuff Extravaganza. It’s tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. It’ll be open topic, so you can ask me, or any of the other folks who happen by the call … I’ve heard rumors that DJ Waldow, Tom Webster and perhaps some others might make it … anything you’d like to ask. If I don’t have an answer, I promise to make one up that will suffice. Heh.

Anyone who asks a question that we use, or anyone who asks a question via voice (so call in or use your headsets and microphone to be able to talk to us) will get a free gift for the holiday. Social Media Explorer will provide the shipping. We’ve got a wad of books, iPad/Tablet cases, gadgets and other such nonsense that we’ve collected over the year (products people wanted us to review, etc.) and don’t want them to go to waste, so you get dibs!

Here’s a video that includes some of the loot:

Jump over and register for the webinar and spend an hour of your Friday kicked back having some fun. I should be able to turn on the webinar camera so you can see the broadcast. I might even sing a few carols … who knows.

See you tomorrow!

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Inspiring The World With $10 And A Laptop https://socialmediaexplorer.com/digital-marketing/greg-hartle/ https://socialmediaexplorer.com/digital-marketing/greg-hartle/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 10:00:41 +0000 http://socialmediaexp.wpengine.com/?p=8230 Greg Hartle is an amazing guy. He had it all, lost it all, almost died,...

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Greg Hartle is an amazing guy. He had it all, lost it all, almost died, got healthy, gained it all back and then decided to do something strange to most of us: Gave it all up. He’s currently touring the country, starting with nothing but $10 and his laptop, eschewing previous networks and financial resources, depending upon his own ingenuity, creativity and the generosity of others, to show that it doesn’t take having friends or money to create something amazing.

Because his mission is really to use his own entrepreneurial knowledge and experience to share with and inspire others, it was easy to pick Greg as a runner-up recipient of one of our passes to last week’s BlogWorld & New Media Expo in New York. Little did I know, Greg not only came to the show, but essentially manned the Exploring Social Media booth with me and Jess Ostroff most of the time we were there.

At one point, I joked that he’d been named ESM’s Sr. VP for Somethingorother since he was right there pitching our social media marketing question-and-answer site and learning community to booth visitors.

But Greg’s story, not our little fun at BlogWorld, is what you need to hear. So, I turned on the camera and we talked about his big idea and hope for the project.

Keep an eye out for Greg as he dots around the country. Follow his lessons and interviews on his blog. Go see him when he visits places. Talk to him. Get inspired. And give the guy a lift (literally or financially) if you can. I’m convinced it’s people like Greg that change the world. If you don’t believe me just watch him.

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