What You Need to Know About the New Facebook Algorithm

Facebook recently announced that it will be rolling out a new algorithm, and it has gotten brands and businesses alike abuzz with worry about what these changes mean for them. The reality is that your newsfeed will favour content from your friends, family, and groups over business pages, which really, is what Facebook was originally all about. 

Yes, unfortunately your organic reach will probably drop. The good news? These changes forces brands to up their content game. We've been preaching quality over quantity for years, and that earning engagement online is like winning the Stanley Cup of social media, and platforms are finally getting on board. 

How can your brand stand out with these changes?

·      Comments = King

The new algorithm favours authentic engagement above everything else. Not only should you be taking the time to comment on others posts, but you should focus your posts on asking thought provoking questions and encouraging engagement as well.

What not to do: Increasing engagement does not mean bugging your audience to comment on every. single. post. You wouldn’t do this in real life, so don’t do it online either.

·      Now is the time to give Facebook Live a try

The keyword here is live. According to Mark Zuckerberg “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook – in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.”

What not to do: Of coure this isn’t a catchall; use Facebook live when appropriate but don’t overkill it with irrelevant topics. Does your breakfast really need to be shared on Facebook live? Probably not.

·      Personal branding is where it’s at

Think outside the box of your business page. Use your personal account to build relationships and reach people. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s pretty much expected that you eat, breathe, and live your business, so why not spark conversations with your network about ideas or hear their suggestions?

What not to do: There’s a fine line between promoting your biz and spamming. Building relationships does not mean talking about your biz 24/7; it’s about nurturing your current connections through a wide range of personal and professional conversations. 

·      Be a good listener

Listening skills are going to be even more important with these changes. The only way to have an accurate pulse on who your audience actually is, is to listen to them. Take the time to hear what they care about, what they’re talking about, and where they spend their time online.

What not to do: Don’t forget to listen to your competitors too. You probably share an audience, so if they aren’t talking about you, they just might be talking about them.

Facebook returning to it’s roots means that your brand should as well. Think back on the classic building blocks of relationships and communications – creating trust, two-way conversations, and transparency. 

Social media doesn't replace real relationships; it merely provides a medium to further them. The key here is to treat your online relationships the same as you would if you were face to face, and by the sounds of it, this new algorithm will reward real relationships accordingly and help cut out the fake news. 

What do you think of these changes? Do you have any concerns?

How Instagram Stories are kicking Snapchat’s Butt

The new Instagram Stories feature hit the social media scene on August 2nd and has been making more of a splash than anyone expected. Instagram stories are photos or videos where you can add text that only appear for a period of 24 hours.

Among my own personal network, I’ve noticed a surprisingly consistent decline in Snapchat usage ever since Instagram stories launched. Gone are all the stories from my friends and family, stories of the few celebrities I follow are seem to be the skeletons of what remains.

This could also be attributed to the unfortunate timing of launching an anime inspired filter that many thought to be racist and caused multiple brands like Buffer to jump ship from Snapchat. This was the perfect moment for Instagram to creep up and steal the spotlight, while many users were already questioning Snapchat’s values. Although Snapchat removed the filter and made a statement ensuring it wouldn't be put back into rotation, the damage was already done and the opportunity created. 

Here’s how Instagram seized it:

• Going after growth

One of the main reasons Instagram stories are successful is because they aren’t trying to covert current Snapchat users (even though they may successfully do just that), rather they are going after the ones who haven’t jumped on the Snap bandwagon yet. They aren’t trying to diminish or take over the app and it’s current following, but tackle it’s opportunity for growth. This TechCrunch article does a great job of explaining how they are using the “good enough” strategy, stating that "The real target for Instagram Stories, though, are all the people who've been curious about Snapchat's fun creation tools and format, but either tried and abandoned it, or wrote it off as just for teens or too much work to adopt"

• One platform

Instagram stories offer the added benefit of being embedded right into Instagram, allowing you to have both features (short term stories and long term photo posting) in just one app. In a world where a new “it” app is popping up every day, and storage space on our cell phones is a constant struggle, this is huge. We already have so many apps to keep up with on a daily basis, adding stories to an app you’re already using anyways simplifies your life, and who would say no to some simplifying? Not me, that’s for sure!

Instagram CEO even openly admitted "They (Snapchat) deserve all the credit. This isn't about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it."

• The numbers

I’ve read multiple articles about how Instagram stories are booming, but I always like to test the theories for myself for multiple reasons: 

1) Many of the articles are based out of the US and don’t take into account a Canadian market, 

and 

2) they usually use large companies as examples for statistics and numbers, which isn’t overly pertinent or accurate when it comes to small business and/or personal branding.

On average, my Snapchat stories get between 20-40 views. I would attribute this to many factors, how many friends I have, time of day, content, etc. My very first Instagram story received over 90 views within the first few hours. I’ve been on Snapchat for months, but have been on Instagram for years. It only makes sense to take advantage of the platform you’ve invested more time into building your brand and audience on.

Facebook owned Instagram clearly had timing on their side, but also had strategy to back it up to ensure success.

Have you used Instagram stories yet? Which social media platform do you think will win the battle to share our stories?

5 Social Media Faux Pas & How to Fix Them

Here at Bowda the name of our game is social media. Over the years, our team has spent a lot of time online, and have come across a lot of witty Tweets, interesting Instagram posts, and fascinating Facebook pages. That being said, we are no stranger to the less than wonderful posts being shared every day. What makes them less favourable? We’ve collected a list of the most frustrating faux pas we’ve encountered, and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Automated Messages

This faux pas applies mainly to Twitter, but should be taken into account with all platforms. While we agree that thanking a new follower for their support, either through a direct message or a tweet, is a good idea, please avoid sending an (obviously) automated message. The point behind messaging a new follower is to establish an, albeit small, relationship with them, and thank them for noticing you online. However silly this may sound, going unnoticed on Twitter is never good for a new business, so you always want to demonstrate your appreciation. That being said, the entire meaning behind your message is lost when you’ve used a program to generate a very unnatural response to recently acquired followers. In some cases, it can even lead to being un-followed, if the individual suspects you may be a spam account (which do exist, by the way, and are incredibly irritating to have on your feed). Also, using these auto-mated responses as a marketing tool to advertise your services, or increase your followers, isspam, and will always be treated as such (i.e. blocking, deleting, un-following). Twitter is a fantastic way to connect with strangers all over the world, but your efforts have to be genuine (just like they would be in person).

Bottom line: If you choose to send a thank you to your newest followers, always send a personal message. 

DO: “Hey @BowdaPR, thanks for following! We look forward to learning about how to improve our presence on social media!”

DON’T: “Hey, thanks for following. Sign-up for our newsletter here/buy my cool product/give me money.”

2. Overuse, or incorrect use, of the infamous #hashtag.

Since the beginning of Twitter, the use of the #hashtag has been heavily debated. It is one of the more major learning curves that comes with creating your Twitter account, and most have figured out how to use them on a trail-and-error basis. It is now 2015; Twitter was created in 2006. If you still aren’t sure how to use the hashtag, listen up! There is nothing that demonstrates amateur hour better than misusing #hashtags.

I realize you may be making funny faces at the computer by this point. “There is no purpose to a hashtag, they’re for fun” is, perhaps, one reason behind your distorted brow. Although creating a hashtag can be fun and seemingly useless, there is a method to the madness. A hashtag, essentially, places your tweet in a list of other tweets that share the same hashtag. This can work to your advantage if you decide to share something that is “trending”, where others may see. By using a hashtag, it allows others to see your content who may not have been following you before, and then choose to because you are so wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational.

Now, you’re probably thinking “If hashtags are so great, I’m going to use them all the time! In all my tweets! Only hashtags, no words!” This is where the problem lies. Although this may seem like a great idea, it really isn’t. You only have 140 characters to demonstrate how wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational you are, so don’t waste them on lengthy sentences that become too difficult to read without spaces. The longer your hashtag, the less likely someone else has used it before, therefore stripping the hashtag of its purpose. At Bowda, we have a golden rule of no more than three hashtags, and make sure they are short and sweet. The more concise you are, the easier it is for someone to re-tweet/quote you to their followers. And why wouldn’t they want to, since you’re so wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational?

Bottom Line: Do not use more than three hashtags. Do your research- make sure they are concise, and preferably exist already. 

DO: “We all need a little extra pick-me-up on our Mondays. #MondayMotivation”

DON’T: “Click this link for more information on #climatechange #globalwarming #renewableenergy #letsworktogethertosaveourplanetbeforeitexplodes

3. Abbreviate, but never use lingo.

OMG, LOL, LMAO, ROTFLMAO, IDK, SMH – what on earth am I saying? Exactly!

Even though it is tempting to use MSN language, with a limitation of 140 characters, it is never a good idea. You have no idea who your Tweets are being read by, and the last thing you want to inspire is confusion amongst your followers. Being clear and concise are two absolute musts when tweeting, and as funny as these lingo terms can be, they are anything but clear. SMH? I had to open up a new window, and resort to urban dictionary to solve that one (it means “shake my head” if you didn’t already know!).

Abbreviations are acceptable (i.e. B.C. instead of British Columbia, ‘&’ instead of ‘and’, TGIF instead of thank god it’s Friday), but try to only use the most obvious ones.

Avoiding lingo also assures you avoid sounding ignorant (remember, you’re really wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational and want to remain being seen that way). Nothing takes away from an inspirational quote or a thought-provoking article quite like “omg lololol” following immediately after.

Bottom Line: Minimize your character count without compromising your message. 

DO: “Learn why BC has become the smartest & most environmentally friendly province”

DON’T: “omg look at dis pic à I h8 this s0o much! #smh #idk

4. Improper Grammar

This faux pas results in a lot of head-banging against a wall for some people. It would be really great if the individuals out there who still use “your” instead of “you’re” and “one” instead of “won” would be stripped of their right to access social media platforms, but sadly, this is not the case.

If you are one of these people, I am SMH at you! (Just kidding – there is no judgement here at Bowda. We understand that grammar mishaps happen to even the strictest grammar nerd, thank goodness for that edit button!)

However – and this is a big however – there is no excuse for the use of improper grammar and spelling on your Tweets and/or other social media posts. Nearly all, if not ALL, technological devices that provide us with the ability to post on such platforms come equipped with spellcheck. Please use this tool on a daily basis, and always pay attention to those red/green/blue squiggly lines (you know, the ones that appear every time you try to spell necessary? Or maybe that’s just me) that indicate you have chosen an incorrect letter arrangement. Other times, you have spelled the word correctly, but used the wrong form (i.e. your – you’re, they’re – their – there, whole – hole, lose-loose and I could go on and on and on...); this, my friends, is unacceptable. Thousands of people are on Twitter every day, and they are all presented with the freedom to follow, and un-follow, whomever they please. The followers that you have worked so hard to attain, you need to KEEP them. The best way to do that? Never fail to show them how wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational you are with every single post. People may choose to write you off, and assume what you have to say, or the services you wish to provide, or the messages you want to share, or not worthwhile if they can’t trust you to pay attention to basic grammar rules. The internet can be a cruel place amigos; we just want to help you master your way through it.

Bottom Line: Always triple check your tweets, Instagram captions, and Facebook posts. As we say at Bowda  “spell-check yourself, before you wreck yourself”.

DO: “At Bowda, we represent an environment based on peace and love, and always admire your feedback”.

DON’T: “At Bowda, we represent an environment based on piece and love. and always admir you’re feedback”.

5. Don’t forget that social media is a two-way conversation.

This one is extremely important. Never forget that social media is best used as a conversational tool. Engaging your followers encourages them to continue to follow and support you. Nobody likes to see companies that choose to fill their feed with advertisements or self-proclamations about how great they are. If someone tweets at you, tweet back! When you choose to post something, always encourage a conversation. Never be afraid to ask your audience their opinions. People love to talk, and if you allow your social media page to be a place for them to do it, your number of followers will increase faster than my cat runs after a bag of Temptations treats.

Twitter chats exist for this very reason; both celebrities and companies do it frequently. This concept allows people to ask questions they may have about your company, or comment on ideas that your company represents. Twitter Q&As are always very popular (occurring more with celebrities, authors, talk-show hosts, etc.). Live-tweeting is also done frequently nowadays, which consists of individuals informing people of the details of an event that is happening, that they may not be able to attend. Either way, it’s all good press when you encourage your followers to reach out to you.

Bottom Line: Always engage ALL your followers, and encourage a conversation. 

DO: “At Bowda, we believe Twitter & Instagram are the most successful platforms; what do you think? #socialmedia”

DON’T: “At Bowda we’re so great.”

“At Bowda, we offer services to run your social media and blog accounts for you. Let us do it. We’re great!!”

At the end of the day, we want to commend you for all your efforts to remain relevant on social media and expand your brand on platforms you may be unfamiliar with. If you think conquering social media is easy, you’re most likely not doing it correctly. At Bowda, we believe practice makes perfect, and hope that you take these constructive criticisms as encouragement going forward. After all, what would the world do without your wise/hilarious/savvy/inspirational self?

Branding in the Digital World: Thinking beyond logos & color palletes

Last night we had the pleasure of attending our first Ottawa Search & Digital Marketing Meetup. We're not technically digital marketers, but as PR practitioners we need to at least know a little bit about a lot of different things. As the host, Stephen McGill, so graciously recollected, the way we worded it was that "we are in public relations, but have a soft spot for branding."

Ever hear someone speak and internally freak out (or jump for joy) because you feel like they are reading your mind? That's what we experienced last night. Although we do have lots of love for branding, we never really considered ourselves experts per se, but had some ideas about how we think things should work, and every point McGill made validated our way of thinking.  Walking out of the event, I felt inspired, validated and kind of a like a savvy superhero; excited/ready to tackle any branding issue a client can throw at me.

McGill was an engaged speaker, quick with a pun on pop culture and clearly a subject matter expert in his field. Even his PowerPoint had spectacular branding, and let's face it, that's hard to accomplish with PowerPoint. The icing on the cake was that he reiterated almost every point with an appropriate quote. We may have a soft spot for branding, but we are hopeless suckers for a good quote.

Without further ado, here are what we found to be the four main takeaways:

1)    Considering how on trend branding is these days, there aren't many people who really understand it and know what they are talking about.
     
Branding is the new black. Everyone and their sister are apparently branding experts these days, and at first glance it may be difficult to differentiate between the two. A branding expert should understand that it isn't only about the logo and color palette, although that does play a major part. Many people play it up because its the "fun part", but really, a good logo is a necessary building block that's followed by a very long list of elements that contribute to successful branding.

2)    Branding is about the experience, how you make people feel.
     
Although the digital age is redefining every industry, this could mean that the platforms we use for branding change, but the concept beyond it doesn't necessarily. Branding always has been, and always will be, about connecting with the people and the experience they have with your brand.

Let's throw in a quote for good measure: "You cannot NOT have a user experience." Lou Carbone

3)    Branding and marketing are not synonymous.
       

More brilliant quotes demonstrating this perfectly:

"Brands are built on what people are saying about you, not what you're saying about yourself." Guy Kawasaki

and

"Your brand is what people say about you when youre not in the room." Jeff Bezos

This is precisely why branding and public relations are so interconnected and important. Branding is basically your reputation and how the public views you, public relations is about relationship and reputation management. Coincidence? I think not. Marketing is telling people how to view your brand, whether they actually view it in that desired light is a whole another ball game. This is where branding steps in.

4)    Branding = morals.

Have you ever heard of a brand promise? If you haven't, you should. Every great brand needs to have a brand promise that communicates to their audience what they are about. This promise tells the public what they can expect from this brand, and it is crucial to never break this brand promise. If you can't get behind your own brand's promise, why should other people?

 

Huge thank you to Stephen McGill of McGill Buckley, The Code Factory and WebFuel for the venue, fotos and great event.

What else would you add to our list? What does branding mean to you and your business?
     

Facebook Turns 10

As far as social mediums go, Facebook has always been a leader in a league of its own.  On their 10th birthday today, they are showing us all that they clearly have no intention whatsoever of losing that title. Instead of simply basking in the birthday bliss, they are doing some of the giving themselves. Mark and the team made videos of the top moments of your Facebook account over the past decade, or however long you've been a member. Want to check out yours? Head over to www.facebook.com/lookback for a trip down memory lane.

It also tells you just exactly how long you have been addicted and connected to the social network (7 years for us). Facebook, it seems, is one of those defining moments of a generation. Or at least our generations. Kids being born as of late are going to practically walk out of the womb with an account, but for us older folks it's one of those milestones that you will always remember exactly where you were when you first were introduced to "The Facebook".  I was living in Quebec City at the time, and was attending CEGEP (Quebec's version of college), when a friend of mine came to visit from Halifax. She was attending university there. She came over and after we got all caught up she asked if she could use to the computer to "check her Facebook".  At this point it was only offered exclusively to university students (CEGEP didn't fall under that category), and I had no sweet clue what she was talking about. I had never heard of this type of book, let alone seen it with my very own eyes.

Since then, Facebook has become not only an integral part of our day to day lives, but our businesses as well. Even though they are turning a decade old today, they are showing us that they still got it and are not going anywhere anytime soon. The promotion of the personal videos was PR done very well, and allows users to actively participate and engage in the occasion. Usually birthdays are all about you (or your brand), but Facebook turned the tables on us once again, and made it all about you and your Facebook experience. They have successfully made you as equally excited about your own personal journey, as well as seeing it through Facebook's eyes.

Bravo Facebook, and happy birthday. Here's to many, many more.

Tell us about your first time. When did you first hear about, or join Facebook?

PR for Startups: Why & How You Should Be Doing Things Differently

PR is a crucial element to any type of business, but especially so to startups. It will make or break your success and it is important to keep in mind that you should be doing your PR differently than the brands you see on TV. They already have an established reputation and name, and you are trying to achieve that, so mimicking what they are doing in their stages of success won't work for you and your business. Your PR efforts need to be entrepreneurially tailored to your startup. 

Here are five tips for you and your emerging brand:

1. You're not Google or Apple, yet. 

A lot of startups expect huge media hits right away, and to put it bluntly...that's not going to happen. We get it, it's your baby and you are so close to it and so proud of it, of course you think the whole world should share your sentiments. And if you do your PR right, they will one day. It's ok to aim high and dream big, thats what essentially makes you an entrepreneur. You're a doer, a dreamer, you've got a fire lit under your butt and want to make stuff happen and that's what we love about you. But on the PR and publicity side, things don't move so fast and at this stage in your business (almost) any publicity is good publicity. 

2. You need to have a designated PR person. 

Too many entrepreneurs make the mistake of attempting to wear too many hats. Just because you can wear all the hats doesn't mean you should. This is true for any business, but especially for entrepreneurs. Your startup is essentially your baby and this can result in you being too close to it to be able to accurately pitch/explain it to other people. You don't want to have to deal with worrying about your next media hit or rejection, how people are perceiving your brand, etc. You are too close to your project and that's exactly where you should be.  Think of it this way, if you were applying for a job you wouldn't send your mom in for your interview, would you? Of course she thinks you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, she made you. You submit a resume, a carefully curated accumulation of your accomplishments that is (should be) factual. Think of your PR person as your living, breathing resume. 

3. Be very, very careful. 

Right now you are attempting to build your brand, so this is a kind of double edged sword. It's amazing because you have the opportunity to create and project any image that you want for your business, but if you don't predetermine what you want to put out there, then you leave the opinion up to the public who may or may not understand your business. No business should suffer a major slip up, but if, heaven forbid, it happens to Apple yes it will be tragic, but they have their already established reputation to fall back on. People will think "Yea Apple screwed up, but they are still an innovative leader in the technology industry." Your company doesn't yet have the luxury of having a recognized name/brand. These early stages will determine the future of your name, so approach them cautiously and be prepared. 

4. You're important too. 

Remember that it's not just about your company, your image is also important. You are the face of the company, and many times with startups their teams are usually small or nonexistent, so the public and the media will most likely be turning to you for interviews, information and more. In today's world of social media and cyberspace it is virtually impossible to avoid transparency. When people look up your brand they will look you up too. On Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, LinkedIn, everywhere. Small businesses have that personal connection and everyone will not only want to know about your company, but about you. Be active on social media and try to ensure that that your actions/thoughts are in line with those of your brand. 

5. Do this. 

Exactly what we are doing right now. Blog. Create content. Post pics. You need to give people material to learn about your company and actively putting out content will help you know your audience and converse with them. It's great to retweet this and share that, but don't limit yourself to merely sharing other's content. Create your own and get people talking about you. 

What PR tips would you add to our list for startups and entrepreneurs?