The Latest Twitter Changes

Posted on May 23, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

If you’re a brand or individual using Twitter, listen up! This major social media platform has made recent changes and developments that will impact you and the overall network functionality. Don’t have time to skim through your constantly-updating Twitter feed but still want to find out about the latest happenings with your followers? Worry no more folks, because Twitter will be delivering weekly e-mails to you regarding the most interesting news and items you may have missed from your connections.

Another interesting change that Twitter has recently undergone is a new “tailored suggestions” feature. This feature is is based on a user’s recent visits to websites that integrate Twitter buttons. Tailored suggestions provides more details about the information Twitter collects from its users and how to improve the overall network. Don’t want your browsing habits tracked? In your preferences, simply turn on the “Do Not Track” (or “DNT”) setting, which stops the collection of information used for tailored suggestions. Want to tweet on the go? Download the latest Twitter app for your mobile phone here at Twitter.com/download.

What do you think of the latest changes to Twitter? What will these changes mean for businesses with Twitter accounts and branding? Tweet your thoughts to @TRA360 and let us know!

Measuring ROI and Viral Social Video Content

Posted on May 17, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

Have you ever thought about what social media success means? Is it a successful Twitter campaign? Is it a certain amount of likes a Facebook business page receives? Yesterday, Social Media Today’s CEO, Robin Carey, presented a webinar on social video content and how marketers can better understand ROI (return on investment). Guest speaker and author of “Social TV”, Mike Proulx, spoke on the convergence from television to social media and how marketers should monitor digital television. Social media success can come in many different forms, but measuring that success is key to determining ROI.

One of Proulx’s main points to understanding viral social media, was to find a way for relevant people or brands in your industry read or watch your content, and find it interesting enough to spread across multiple platforms. By providing custom content to a specific demographic that is human and relatable, more web media coverage will be generated.Piggybacking on this concept is the idea of web video content and how this type of content is more accessible to consume and create. Today, American businesses are catching on, and quickly. Over 54% of North American companies plan on spending more on video content this year. One extreme example are the highly anticipated Super Bowl commercials. Humans play a role in distributing content that brands and marketers are producing through their computers and mobile devices because they find the content amusing, relevant, interesting or funny.

Furthermore, what is a successful social media campaign, video or non-video, without an accurate measurement of marketing success? First, understanding the types of measurements to show ROI on content marketing is crucial. The idea of not all media impressions are created equal is a major factor to consider when eyeballing the number of hits on your video or social media page. Yes, the number of views measures content consumption, but paying attention to strictly numbers will not fully measure your social media success because who is viewing your page, socializing your content, and taking action to share with others are the hits that really count.

How do you measure social success and ROI for your marketing initiatives? Let us know by commenting below or tweet to us @TRA360!

“Generation C” and What To Do About It?

Posted on May 9, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

What to do about the takeover of Generation C?

It’s hard to deny that social media has become a way of life these days. Individuals, brands, and now even some grandparents are using various social networks to connect to friends, family and consumers. Times are changing and along with this change brings a new generation of people to influence society. Brian Solis, the author of “Generation C…And What To Do About It” discusses the rise of this new generation, also known as “GenerationC”, and what is happening, digitally, around the globe as a result of this generation.

Businesses, marketers, social media strategists and PR professionals across the world have been pondering the same question for years: what is the formula for social media success? Solis raises the question what do successful customer relationships and experiences look like in terms of social media? Before becoming “successful”, a company must define what success is and how it will be measured. When creating a social media strategy plan, many businesses tend to skip this step or are unsure of how to define success. Not sure where to begin in creating a social media presence? Here are several ways:

Branding– create and define your own brand. By targeting specific demographics and creating an image for your company, social media will come easy.
Developing a social media strategy– No two companies are the same so why should their social media strategies be? Some companies need blogs, while others require Facebook pages. Assess your company’s social media needs and act accordingly.
Investing in your community– if you believe in your business and social media strategy, so will others!

Stay tuned for a follow-up post about GenerationC: the future of social media and which is more valuable: social media or traditional media?

HootSuite Solution Partner Portal Phase 1: Getting Started

Posted on May 3, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

TRA360 will be testing out HootSuite Pro for the month of May!

TRA360 has been using the basic (and free) version of HootSuite for about 18 months to regulate our social media channels. We have recently become one of HootSuite’s newest partners. As participants in the HootSuite Pro Solution Partner Program we will be testing the HootSuite “Pro” version for the next 30 days and keeping our readers up-to-date with our impressions; specifically, regarding the regulatory affairs and technical communications industries. For those of you who have yet to check out our past post about the company, HootSuite is a leading social media management system that enables organizations and businesses to reach ROI for their social media and digital campaigns. TRA360 intends to explore how using HootSuite can help our customers who are engaged in social media to reach their business goals.

Furthermore, we are especially interested in how professionals in Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Operations, and Communications professionals in the life sciences and other regulated industries might benefit from using HootSuite Pro. Disclaimer: Our opinions about HootSuite Pro are strictly our own.

Before diving into the deep end headfirst, I wanted to highlight the additional features HootSuite Pro offers for just $5.99 per month:

Collaboration – HootSuite Pro makes it easy to collaborate! With additional features such as adding up to 15 team members per account and message assignments, you won’t have a difficult time optimizing your team’s workflow.
Analytics – Although the basic (and free) version of HootSuite already offers users quick reports, HootSuite Pro offers users social analytic reporting points. More on this next week.
Support – Having technical problems and in need of support? No problem! Pro users are entitled to a help desk to assist with their technology needs.
Social Storage – Social storage allows Pro users access to HootSuite archives which have 100 tweets included.
Engagement – With access to unlimited social profiles, vanity URLs, Facebook and Twitter searches, Klout scores and an app directory, HootSuite Pro’s engagement features allow users to be fully engaged in their social media outlets 24/7.
Features – Other features that Pro offers are “influences scores” and the “opt out of ads” feature. No more clutter!

Want to try Pro? Check it out for yourself here!

We look forward to sharing our experiences using HootSuite Pro with you over the next thirty days and will be writing a blog post per week about our experiences (four total). Stay tuned for the “First Impressions” post coming next week!