Twitter

BioIsChanged.com shows social network actions speak louder than words

One of the sad things about Twitter becoming part of the establishment is the homogeneous and self-aware behaviour it has bred among us. 

Compared to the early days, everyone’s sharing ‘engaging links’ and ‘thought leadership’ and they know what the etiquette is.

Many of the glimpses into people’s true nature that used to shine through are filtered in favour of the familiar, sanitised ‘Twitter voice’.

However, every now and then, a new tool pops up that reveals some of that natural behaviour beneath the surface again.

My current favourite of these is BioIsChanged (another Product Hunt find) and does one simple thing: Notifies you when anyone you follow tweaks their Twitter bio.

Lost My Name: How funding from Dragon’s Den boosted an ecommerce brand

If you’ve ever seen the BBC TV show Dragon’s Den, you’ll know that most entrepreneurs come away with zero investment or end up giving away more of their company than they had initially hoped.

However the founders of Lost My Name came away with £100,000 of investment for just 4% equity.

Lost My Name is a personalised children’s book with two different versions – The Little Boy Who Lost His Name and The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name.

The animals and creatures that the child meets on their journey correspond to the letters that spell their name.

So a girl called Jess might meet a jester, an elf, a snail and a sheep.

The brand’s website allows users to preview the entire book by entering the name and gender of a child, which has proven to be a popular tool for prospective buyers.

We spoke to co-founder Asi Sharabi to find out more about the company and how the appearance on Dragon’s Den has impacted their fortunes…

Eight of the best social campaigns from July 2014

It’s been another busy month in the world of social media, with several great new campaigns launched and big developments afoot in Zuckerberg’s domain.

Alongside trialling a new ‘buy’ button, Facebook announced second-quarter revenue of $2.91bn, an increase of 61%. Not bad.

And what of these campaigns? Well I’ve detailed several of them below, so go ahead and give them a read.

But just before you do, please note that these examples do not include any information on ROI. I’ve chosen them purely because I find them to be innovative, interesting, or inspiring.

Thanks, you may continue… (or check out these social campaigns from June.)

Twitter’s analytics update: good news for data-driven marketers

Those of you with a Twitter advertising account may have noticed that their analytics system has had an update this week, and I’ve already seen several posts talking about the impact this will have on social marketing.  

I thought it was worth checking out the changes and seeing if they will in fact lead to a social data revolution…

Six customer service lessons for @British_Airways

In the past month I had a bad experience with British Airways.

In short, I left my iPad on a plane and it took six days for them to find it and charge me for its safe return.

This post is more about the way BA handled my issues both online and offline and how there are a lot of flaws in its customer service and social media management.

I’ll write about my experience as objectively as possible while still providing actionable tips.

Eight of the best social campaigns from June 2014

Another month has passed, so it’s time for us to round up some of the more noteworthy social campaigns we’ve seen in June.

This time around we’ve got examples from Coors Light, Wilkinson Sword, Porsche, Paddy Power, Burberry and Spec Savers.

And if this isn’t enough for you then check out my round ups from back in April and May…

How to setup Twitter Cards for a WordPress blog

Twitter Cards are a must-have for bloggers as they are a simple way of increasing visibility and clicks. 

Most Twitter users will be familiar with the Summary Cards, which give the reader a preview of the content before they click through to your website. The added visual impact is far more persuasive than simply including a link.

Twitter Cards also come with their own analytics platform which shows impressions, clicks, retweets and app downloads, depending on which cards you’re using.

Adding Summary Cards is a simple process for WordPress bloggers, but one which I’ve taken the time to document below.

This guide involves the use of WordPress plugins, the use of which we’ve discussed in previous posts.

Why the noise about agile marketing?

The advent of mobile technologies and an ever-increasing number of customer touchpoints have had a drastic impact on how businesses interact with their customers.

Marketers no longer have the luxury of spending months working on a single campaign or project, and must instead innovate and respond quickly to evolving customer needs.

As a result, many businesses have adopted the concept of agility that’s more commonly associated with software development. This allows them to place a greater focus on the consumer and revenue goals rather than sticking rigidly to a pre-defined marketing plan.

This is a strategy that’s discussed in the new Econsultancy Top 100 Digital Agencies Report, and one that I’ll investigate in further detail in this article.

10 charities with inspirational Twitter header images

Social media is a very powerful tool for charities and NGOs as people naturally like to share their support for good causes.

It’s also an easy way for supporters to share fundraising initiatives and raise extra money.

We’ve previously blogged about five charities with excellent Twitter feeds as well as our own tips for how these organisations can improve their social presence, and now I thought it would be useful to highlight the ways in which charities are making the most of Twitter’s new header images.

There appears to be a trend among charitable organisations and NGOs to use the header as a way of promoting various causes and campaigns, which leads to the images becoming clogged up with text and phone numbers.

Personally I’m dubious that many people are going to spend time reading an appeal within the header image, so it’s perhaps better to opt for an impactful visual instead. A picture is worth 1,000 words after all. 

So with that in mind, here are 10 examples of charities and NGOs with inspirational header images…

10 gorgeous examples of social media creative for Twitter

Twitter is a great medium for creativity. Just ask our own social media manager Matt Owen.

One useful tactic is embedding an image, which allow brands to grab extra space in their followers’ feeds.

You won’t have failed to notice that Twitter automatically previews a small part of embedded images, but you may not have realised that some brands are much better at making the most of this opportunity than others.

I’ve previously blogged 10 brands hijacking Twitter feeds with creative preview images, and now I’m back with more useful examples.

Not all of them fit perfectly into the preview window, which is a neat way of essentially using an embedded image as a display ad, but they are all eye-catching and worthy of praise.

So, here they are then, 16 tweets that will hopefully inspire your own social efforts…

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