Archives for September 2015
Facebook Launches M, its Version of Siri
Mobile search just got a little easier for a few hundred Bay Area residents selected to test Facebook’s new intelligent personal assistant, M.
Much like Siri and similar virtual assistants, Facebook M helps users answer questions and complete tasks.
Unlike its predecessors, M is able to actually complete tasks for the user. Rather than merely suggesting nearby restaurants, M can book reservations as well. M is powered by artificial intelligence and uses natural language to interact with the user, but it has a secret weapon: a team of actual people who ensure all tasks are completed.
Facebook M is integrated in Facebook Messenger, a standalone application that allows users to share messages, photos and videos with their Facebook friends. It is separate from their Facebook 
profiles, which is accessed from the original app.
Facebook wants to become the tool for mobile discovery; however, they are at a disadvantage because users need to both have a Facebook account and have downloaded the application to use M. Users only need a web browser or smartphone to use Google, and the appropriate smartphone to use Siri/Now/Cortana.
What does this mean for marketing?
Facebook Messenger has integrated more business-friendly features lately, recently allows businesses to use messenger to connect with customers via Facebook Messenger for Business. Businesses can use Messenger to send notifications to customers about the status of their order, allowing the customer to respond with follow up questions.
Because M is able to complete transactions on a customer’s behalf, companies will need to adapt for customers who discover and purchase using Messenger. Facebook currently supplies the human support team for M, but more customer service resources may be devoted to working with them or the application as service grows. This could lead to a customer service/content marketing hybrid to create the kind of fun AI interactions that made Siri such a novelty.
M’s arrival signals the growing trend of personalized interactions. Brands have been working with social media to create rich, engaging content and build interactions with their customers, but M and Facebook Messenger for Business take it to the next level. Rather than having a social media discussion with customers before and after purchase, the brand can insert itself in the purchasing process. It hearkens back to the old days when customers worked with sales staff, but with the convenience of online shopping.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Self-Awareness for Entrepreneurs: Lessons Dr. Wayne Dyer Taught Me
“We can only give away to others, what we have inside of ourselves,” – Dr. Wayne Dyer.
Dr. Wayne Dyer passed away last week. For many entrepreneurs, his lessons and energy had a profound influence on their lives. For the last three years, I experienced a self-awareness and development journey. Dr. Wayne Dyer was one of the experts that leaned on to learn about self-awareness and development. His books, movies, and seminars are designed to help individuals understand themselves and to use that awareness to become more connected with the life purpose, family, and society. Self-awareness provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to reflect, identify, craft, and monitor the lives that they want to live – spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, and socially.
Self-Awareness Matters. Self-awareness is a lifelong process. Awareness may seem relatively straightforward; however, it is one of the toughest operations to begin, yet easiest when mastered.
Dr. Wayne Dyer identifies the importance of understanding one’s emotions, attitudes, and beliefs toward oneself, others, and life. The ability to sit, reflect, and accept one’s position on his or herself is a sobering experience. It can surface lots of emotions – positive and negative feelings toward our internal and external perspectives. How one feels on the inside matters. Self-awareness is the journey to understanding those feelings. For example, Dr. Wayne Dyer shared a conversation with a teenager that was at one of his seminars.
Dr. Dyer: “Let us assume that the orange isn't an orange, but it is you. And someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, says something that offends you. And out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, fear.Why? The answer our young friend has told us is because that is what is on the inside.”
Dr. Dyer: “If I were to squeeze an orange, what would come out?”
Teenager: “Juice, of course.”
Dr. Dyer: “Do you think apple juice would come out of it?”
Teenager: “No!”
Dr. Dyer: “What about grapefruit juice?”
Teenager: “No!”
Dr. Dyer: “What would come out of it?”
Teenager: “Orange juice, of course.”
Dr. Dyer: “ Why? When you squeeze an orange does orange juice come out?”
Teenager: “Well, it’s an orange that’s what’s inside.”
Dr. Dyer: “Let us assume that the orange isn't an orange, but it is you. And someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, says something that offends you. And out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, fear.Why? The answer our young friend has told us is because that is what is on the inside.”
The point made in the above-referenced collaboration is simple: how we feel inside is reflects outwardly. Learning and practicing the art of self-awareness can help to identify those feelings. The analysis of those feelings can help one become more aware of how those beliefs impact short and long-term activities, interactions, and relationships.
The shift of perspectives and understanding can awaken how things look on the inside and outside. Which ultimately influences the vision and impact of many areas of life, including business, relationships, and self-love.
Self-Awareness is a part of emotional intelligence. The ability to understand how one feels is paramount to every situation and encounter. It can the feelings within you that inspire you to pursue your goals of becoming an entrepreneur. Likewise, it can be those same feelings that are your biggest barriers to becoming an entrepreneur. These feelings can also be the same feelings that come out in tough situations that all entrepreneurs face. Those tight situations can make or break you, and really, if we take the lesson from the “orange” it is what is inside that makes or breaks someone, not the situation. Therefore, understanding and mastering one’s self-awareness is paramount. Doing something with that awareness to create an emotional intelligence strategy can help entrepreneurs work on themeless to better work on their businesses and relationships. So that when external factors get shaky, the internal “juices” that shine are those that are positive. That is of course with the assumption that one strives to be happy, at peace, and radiate love in situations versus fear, shame, or hatred. The journey of self-awareness is enlightening. It provides the individual with the ability to identify and analyze feelings. Then use that information to understand why those feelings are the way they are and if the feeling are what one wants. The shift of perspectives and understanding can awaken how things look on the inside and outside. Which ultimately influences the vision and impact of many areas of life, including business, relationships, and self-love.
So, I thank Dr. Wayne Dyer for his life-changing teachings and his ability to help so many people throughout the world. His teachings changed my internal and external world. His teachings helped individuals, including myself, start the self-awareness journey. Then, through analysis. I was able to reprogram my emotions, which completely transformed my life. What is on the inside matters and learning more about those emotions is critical for entrepreneurs internally and externally to build the best relationships with oneself, clients, partners, and communities. These relationships are the core to starting and sustaining entrepreneurial, spiritual, emotional, physical, financial and social successes.
by Katie Doseck, PhD MBA
Chief Visionary and Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve | Viral Solutions LLC
Copyright 2015 by Viral Solutions LLC
Katie Doseck, PhD MBA | Chief Visionary & Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve. I catapulted my experience with extensive education, trainings, and personal coaching; earning a PhD in Organizational Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management, MBA in Organizational Leadership, and BA in Law & Liberal Arts. Subject Matter Expert (SME) areas: Human Resource Management, Employment Law, Organizational Change, Change Management, Resource Planning, Strategic Planning, Talent Management, Selling & Sales Management, Training & Development, Decision Making Models, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Motivation. Dr. Doseck is based out of Logan, Utah.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
How is Snapchat Changing the Way People Use Social Media?
Snapchat offers a unique opportunity to connect through brief, relatable encounters that can help forge an emotional connection between customers and your brand.
While some social media is used to convey important information, Snapchat prioritizes the ephemeral and encourages organic and unique content.
MAHATHIR MOHD YASIN / Shutterstock.comEnjoy fast and fun mobile conversation! Snap a photo or a video, add a caption, and send it to a friend. They'll view it, laugh, and then the Snap disappears from …
What is Snapchat?
Snapchat allows users to send photos that disappear after ten seconds or less, allowing users to share moments with others in real time. Yes, it sounds like something designed to share scandalous photos, but over 100 million users worldwide are using it to connect with friends by sharing their day. While there is etiquette about what’s too mundane to share on other sites, glimpses into a daily commute and videos of pets are welcome here.
One fascinating feature is the daily “stories,” featuring cities and events worldwide. Snapchat users are able to watch user-generated content in featured cities, from Los Angeles to Mecca. Users can also upload their moments while attending events like the Kentucky Derby and the Running of the Bulls, or while celebrating occasions like Pride and Christmas.
How are brands using Snapchat?
Brands began using the feature by creating their own Snapchat accounts, offering unique content to users who added the brand as a friend. For example, Major League Baseball teams have
accounts featuring players and behind-the-scenes looks during games.
Snapchat launched Snapchat Discover in January 2015 bringing users content curated by media outlets. There are currently twelve brands spanning a variety of content creators, including CNN, Cosmopolitan and National Geographic. This content is longer than ten seconds but still short and conveys interesting and relevant content quickly.
Brands have recently become more immersed, paying to appear to new users through featured stories or short advertisements between featured content. Universal Pictures promoted two of its summer films with graphics users could add to their snap, one featuring the minions and the other featuring the iconic “Straight Outta Compton” logo.
How can my brand use Snapchat?
Your Snapchat content should be unique from content posted on other platforms. It should offer your customers brief glimpses into aspects of the company you think they’d enjoy, whether it’s production, a peek at new product or what life at the company is like. You could also hold contests encouraging users to share how they use their product with you.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
How Will Content Marketing Evolve as We Get Closer to 2016?
Content marketing has become less about trying to reach everyone all the time, and more about crafting engaging content and creating meaningful connections. As we head toward a new year, content will become even more focused, strategic and most importantly, high quality.
What should your content marketing team plan for in 2016?
1) Multimedia will be critical across platforms
Add pictures, video, even polls and quizzes to your web pages, social media and applications in order to attract users’ attention and maximize your search ranking potential. Video content has become a priority, as videos are now more likely to receive a first page search ranking than text. Media increases the amount of time users spend on your page, optimizing engagement possibilities and boosting site analytics.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
2) Data and analytics will drive content creation
With web data and analytics becoming increasingly accessible, brands can compose a more complete profile of their target audience. Google Analytics can reveal information like when users access your site, which devices they’re using and how they found you. Social media analytics, like those provided by Facebook, can tell you which content audiences found most engaging. Use this information to create content suited for your audience’s interests.
3) Mobile optimization
Your audience will soon be more likely to discover your content via mobile than desktop. Almost half of all online shopping occurs on smartphones and tablets now, and almost half of social media use is mobile. Google’s recent decision to prioritize sites that are mobile-friendly should be enough of a reason to rethink your mobile design.
4) Plug your content into the latest stories, trends and memes
Content marketers need a war room dedicated to searching across platforms; or rather, applications feeding content in real time. Use stories that are currently trending to engage with your audience by offering insight and facilitating discussion. New platforms like Snapchat and Vimeo allow brands to join the conversation with timely, custom content capitalizing on popular memes.
5) Tailor your message tightly for your specific audience
All of these trends support the larger movement toward content marketing that is personalized to brand and audience. The standard SEO formula of plugging in keywords in a webpage is being replaced by semantic SEO, which focuses more on the user’s intention than what the user actually typed. Search will become more of a discovery, so by understanding more about who you want to find you, you can create content the user will enjoy.
To stay up to date with content marketing trends, work with our team at Viral Solutions.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Tips for Using Social Media to Rebrand Your Company
Company rebrands can be an exciting growth opportunity and provide a lot of information on what a company wants to be for its customers.
Rebranding digital content spreads the message about your company’s new direction quickly.
While a website redesign can be a lengthy process, updating social media is a relatively quick way to convey your company’s rebrand.
1) Secure Your Brand Name and Identity
Secure the name of your company across social media platforms, including website URLs. Even if your company isn’t ready to prioritize some of the less common platforms yet, it’s important to secure the names as quickly as possible. Names should be consistent to make it easier for customers to find you, so the URL should be the same as the Twitter handle and the Snapchat nickname.
A few notes on updating your current accounts:
• Facebook does not allow you to change your username (Facebook.com/username) more than once, so think carefully about whether you want to change the name or create a new page.
• Twitter is easy to change, assuming the handle is not already taken
• YouTube does not allow you to change your user name, although you can change your display name and your URL
• LinkedIn company pages can only be changed by contacting LinkedIn support
2) Keep branding consistent across platforms
During the rebrand you likely discussed what you want your customers to feel about your company. Visual branding feeds this goal. Your new logo should be the profile picture for all of your accounts. Description fields vary across platforms, but they should convey roughly the same message. Colors and images should match your digital and physical promotional materials where applicable. Plan to update all social media simultaneously, or risk confusing users following you on multiple platforms.
3) Use social media to spread the message about the rebrand
Use multimedia – like a video or an info-graphic – to explain why your company is rebranding. Be clear about what this change means for the end user; don’t bore them with internal details. Social media will help you reach your audience quickly, and give you immediate feedback, but don’t forget to inform through other outlets like the website or a press release.
Get in touch with the Viral Solutions team today for more tips for using social media for your rebrand!
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC