Can Facebook Break Our Google Habit?

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Can Facebook Disrupt The Google Habit? (Search Engine Watch)

With Facebook’s widely covered announcement this past week of the introduction of Graph Search, many are asking whether or not this new brand of search has the ability to both gain traction among users and disrupt the current "Google habit." Habits are hard to break. Online habits are no different. That hardwired habit is an influential source of Google’s search-related staying power. Google’s value proposition is utility. The next layer of utility in search extends beyond information to incorporating social elements. With Graph Search, Facebook begins with a very strong social signal but less utility from a pure informational standpoint. Google is like brushing your teeth. Similarly, people who visit Facebook do it very frequently. Ultimately, a new search habit will only arise if Graph Search can deliver at the intersection of high utility and high frequency. The upper right quadrant is certainly something to drive for, and it will require greater emphasis on the utility dimension if Facebook hopes to leverage its strength on the frequency dimension. Read >>

Why A Social Media Policy Is Important For Your Business (Acquire Social Fans)
We all saw what happened to HMV last week. As events highlighted recently in the media have shown, unguided or irresponsible social media usage can have vast ramifications for organizations that do not have effective policies in place. A social media policy can be an organization’s first line of defense in mitigating risk for both the employer and the employee. A well-written social media policy can:

• Provide employees with guidelines for communicating
• Provide clarity around the organization’s values and culture
• Set expectations beginning at the point of employee induction
• Allow the company to allocate the responsibility for content control and approval
• Reduce lost time and productivity spent dealing with unauthorized usage
• Reduce risk and legal exposure for the business

By providing clear guidelines and parameters to your employees, you will be able to ensure that your organization’s brand is enhanced and that your reputation is not inadvertently damaged by comments placed online by an employee. Read >>

The Anatomy Of A Facebook Break (Pew Internet & American Life Project via Forbes)
A new study, Coming and Going On Facebook, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 61 percent of Facebook users have taken a "voluntary break" from the service for several weeks or more, and 20 percent of the online adults who don’t use Facebook said they did once but quit.

Other important findings are that 27 percent of Facebook users say they plan to spend less time using the service in the coming year while only 3 percent say they plan to spend more time. Read >>

Why Your Business Sucks At Social Media (Sendible Insights)
Business that isn't utilizing social media is a business that is doomed. The problem is not that businesses aren’t getting on board the bus. The problem is most can’t find a good seat and don’t even know where the bus is going. Here are a few things that your business really stinks at when it comes to the new way of marketing:

1. You talk way too much
2. You use it when you feel like it
3. You don’t know which social media sites to use
4. You’re hoping instead of measuring
5. You’re not using Google+

Get with the program. Read >>

Brand Marketers Miss Social Media Influencers (readwrite social)
The latest findings from Technorati Media's 2013 Digital Influence Report suggest that for everything the media spends across social platforms, the most desired influencers aren't being reached. Only 11 percent of corporate social media budgets are devoted to advertising on blogs and influencer sites. But fully 86 percent of the influencers these corporate brands are trying to reach are using blogs as their primary publishing platform.

So what's the reason for the disconnect? The report suggests that brand marketers are using comScore/Nielsen to identify influencers, but given their niche and size, a lot of influencers are underrepresented in such metric services. Read >>

Ways To Discover Valuable Social Media Content (Social Media Examiner)
It’s all about becoming a valuable resource. When you can dig up great articles your audience is interested in you’ll become more respected and your content will be widely shared. Here’s where to find valuable content:

1. Watch larger news sites
2. Watch news aggregators
3. Pay attention to popular posts
4. Have go-to sources to share
5. Use Google Reader and Google Alerts
6. Look for funny posts
7. Create your own images
8. Monitor your stats

Hopefully this gives you a running start to find valuable content that your audience will love and engage with. Read >>

Key Social Media Measurement Frameworks And Metrics (MediaZo via Dr4Ward)
Check out key measurements and metrics when it comes to your social media. Read >>