Is Facebook Good For The World?

 

Has Facebook Lost Its Way?

Let’s start by giving Facebook credit for its attempt to combat disinformation. But has it done enough? The answer, increasingly, seems to be no. Facebook’s own staff, who have historically been positive about the platform’s impact, are now raising questions about the application’s broader social influence.

According to Buzzfeed, Facebook’s semiannual “Pulse Survey”, taken by nearly 50,000 employees in October, showed workers were losing faith that the company was improving the world. Only 51% of respondents said they believed that Facebook had a positive influence on the world.

Facebook on the wrong side of history

Facebook engineer Ashok Chandwaney quit the company over its failure to address concerns around racism, disinformation and incitements to violence. Other senior Facebook staff left the company over morality concerns and the direction the company is taking. Facebook can be a forum to do good, yet many believe that Facebook has no real interest in cracking down on dangerous and divisive hate speech because it sparks debate and interaction. Engagement is what keeps people coming back, though anger spills over into real-world incendiary incidents.

QAnon: Facebook missed an opportunity to do the right thing

QAnon is a dangerous group of conspiracy peddlers who found a home on Facebook in 2016, and there are millions of members and followers. Experts had long been warning Facebook about the group, yet only last month did they finally take down these pages. There were countless warnings, yet it took four years before Facebook finally acted on this. 

Many recall Zuckerberg’s speech to Georgetown University in October 2019

In this speech, Zuckerberg essentially capitulated, explaining that he was not responsible for monitoring what people were posting on the Facebook platform. “I believe in giving people a voice . . . with all of our individual voices and perspectives, we can bring the world closer together.” Sorry Mark. Incendiary rhetoric and disinformation aren’t bringing the world closer together. They’re tearing the world apart. Engagement seems to drive all major decisions at Facebook, with little regard for values such as honesty, authenticity and contributing to the greater good. Let’s not forget the endless data problems that seem to plague Facebook.

It’s difficult to conclude that Zuckerberg is motivated by anything other than profits. Congress has made lame efforts to regulate these big tech companies. In the case of Facebook, without penalties from enforcement, we’ll have more empty platitudes. In a better time, this might not be necessary. 

We’ve written about Mark Zuckerberg’s cozying up to Donald Trump

Zuckerberg clearly has no interest in being hauled in front of Congress again for long hours of testimony. If forging a relationship with Trump was a path to circumvent that, he was happy to take it. We’re now ushering in a new administration, and our social media companies may be in for more accountability. 

Marketing 2021

Everyone right now seems to be in the process of updating his/her website, including me! This is the perfect time to develop new marketing strategies or start working on a new site. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. Writers and content marketing specialists.

COVID Downtime: A New Website For an Old Client

I’ve been working with a client for nearly ten years, and we’ve taken his old website about as far as it will go. It was built in an ancient program, and we converted it to WordPress eight-plus years ago. There have been a few other Hail Marys along the way. 

Every year we think that this will be “The Year”

Every year we think we’ll be able to build a new website. But we keep getting bumped. The recession killed us. A couple of years ago we came in last behind a monster of an increase in workers comp insurance. Every business owner gets this. This year started out with a bang, but COVID has put a damper on all of our marketing initiatives. Yet we’re actually starting to work on a new website. I’m managing my expectations, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to start the new year with a sleek new site.

WordPress brought our site into the 21^st century and made it more accessible

These conversions can work, but the site has remained cantankerous with more than its share of workarounds. My client’s an electrical contractor, so we’ve kept the site updated with fresh contentand images as much as possible. We schedule photoshoots of new projects, and we generally show both before and after images. But it’s challenging. 

Contractors can show off their beautiful cabinets and hardwood floors, their new kitchens and baths. But an electrical contractor? Much more difficult. How do you showcase the wizardry of completely retrofitting the wiring for an older home to accommodate today’s electronics-crazed users so they won’t electrocute themselves? In the early days of LED lighting, I used to point out the unique undercounter or recessed lighting, but now LED is routine.

Look for WordPress themes that are SEO friendly

We’ve selected a WordPress theme that will give us a lot of exposure—today’s themes provide promo modules to highlight company features and/or events as users scroll down the page. They extend the homepage where you can use your keywords. There is a lot of SEO value in these themes. We’re writing case studies of residential and a commercial projects for which we also have good images. We’re rethinking navigation and paying attention to page speed—especially image size. We’ve removed a few old projects that are dated. 

• Images. Those great big graphics that are 5000 pixels? Easily resize to 2000 or less. I generally aim for around 1200. 
• Sliders. Use Less. Or useless. Research shows that people don’t stick around to watch your homepage slide show. Choose one great primary image. Swap it out when you want a change.
• Compress large images with Tinypng. 

My client’s site is 20 years old

I don’t know anyone right now who isn’t in the process of updating his/her website, including me! If COVID’s given you some downtime, this might be the time to start working on a new site. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing specialists.

TikTok Steps Up to Protect Users from Body-Shaming

I’ve been fascinated by TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app for which I am so not their demographic. In its relatively short life span TikTok has spurred controversy. In February, the Pentagon banned soldiers from downloading the app. And if you’re not paying attention, TikTok has become a flash point in rising U.S.-China tensions. U.S. politicians worry that parent company ByteDance would hand over American users’ data to Beijing or use the app to influence the 165 million Americans who have downloaded it. 

But here’s what got my attention: TikTok is stepping up

We see countless examples of irresponsible activity and abuse on our social channels. So this is an excellent example of corporate social responsibility, of one Chinese company championing an important cause. 

A recent report from The New York Times suggests that more than a third of TikTok’s U.S. users are aged 14 or younger–an extremely impressionable audience. The TikTok application has filters and editing tools, so users can dramatically alter the videos of themselves that they’re posting. That means their audience may be seeing dramatically enhanced and unrealistic images. And these are what impressionable young women will be comparing themselves to.

TikTok has taken a stand against body shaming

So get this: In the midst of a bitter election, a pandemic and a masked president rushing off to Walter Reed, TikTok has announced that it’s taking new steps to ensure that it’s protecting users from body-shaming and self-esteem issues. It’s placing bans on weight-loss ads and identifying new tools to connect users to professional services that assist with weight issues. Somebody at TikTok understands that food issues can be potentially life threatening. That for too many young women, self-esteem is tied to how they look. To being thin.  

TikTok has updated its ad policies

TikTok is now banning all ads for fasting apps and weight-loss supplements. There are restrictions on ads that “promote a harmful or negative body image” and ads that make exaggerated claims about diet and weight-loss products. 

New policies include:

• Weight management products that can only reach users age 18+.
• Stronger restrictions on weight loss and implied weight loss claims.
• Limiting irresponsible claims made by products that promote weight loss management or control.

Granted, some of these regulations are going to be difficult to implement and will require human interaction. So get this: TikTok is apparently adding 25,000 new staff in the U.S., many of whom may be dedicated to enforcing this new policy. 

Who will win the TikTok sweepstakes? 

Oracle is leading the bid to buy a stake in TikTok. They’re hashing out the deal, which Trump has tentatively endorsed, but resistors include the Chinese government. No one expects this to be confirmed before the November election.

A good time to be thinking about a website

I don’t know anyone right now who isn’t in the process of updating his/her website, including me! If COVID’s given you some downtime, this might be the time to start working on a new site. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing specialists.

Big Changes Coming to iPhone Operating System

 

iPhone: Expect sweeping system updates

iPhone users: Get ready for one of their biggest updates ever. Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 14, will be released this fall. Depending on your comfort level, this is either a cause for celebration or deep mourning. I just read through an impressive list of enhancements, and while I suspect that the geekier among us can’t wait to get their hands on the new phone, this may not be so exciting for those with more modest needs–those who simply want to pick up their phones and make a call. 

Be forewarned: The Home screen will be redesigned

This is always a little disorienting, regardless of the benefits, and there will be a learning curve. 

• Artificial intelligence (AI) has played an important role in the new functionality.
• Siri got a whole lot smarter, answering a greater range of questions, now sending audio messages. Apple increased the number of languages that Siri understands, and you can now ask Siri to translate words, phrases, and sentences in more than 65 language pairs. Great if we ever get to travel again. 
• Widgets have been totally redesigned to give you more information at a glance — and now you can add them to your Home Screen. Choose from different sizes and arrange to your liking.
• Look for fun, new Memoji styles and stickers. New age options, face coverings, more than 20 new hair and headwear styles.
• Artificial intelligence teams with the Siri Suggestions widget to surface suggested actions based on your usage patterns. If you listen to a podcast at 8am every morning, you might see the Podcasts widget at that time. 
• Digital car keys lets users unlock or start their car with an iPhone or Apple Watch. Next year, with the U1 chip, the car keys will let us unlock our cars without taking our iPhone out of our pockets or handbags. 
• Look forward to the world’s fastest mobile browser—Safari is apparently 2x faster than Android’s Chrome. 
• App junkies are going to love this one. App Library is a great new feature that displays all of your apps in an easily accessible list that’s similar to that on the Apple Watch. Love this—if you swipe to the end of the App Library view, every app is automatically organized by category: Utilities, Productivity, Education, Creativity, Reference and Reading, Social, Health and Fitness, Lifestyle, Games, etc. 

How to update: iOS14 is in beta right now

It’s rolling out this fall. Update the same way you do system updates now—generally overnight. When available, Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates. 

What to do with inevitable usability questions?

The Apple website is helpful. Key in a questions and get an answer with helpful screenshots. Those who are very brave will muster up the courage to go to their local Genius Bar. But that’s only for the bravest among us. 

A new season

The perfect time to be rethinking your marketing for the COVID era. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing specialists. 

The days when social media refused to monitor content in support of free speech finally may be over. It took the emergence of a batsh*t-crazy conspiracy-theory group, QAnon, for this policy to emerge. 

So who are these people?

Founded four years ago, pro-Trump QAnon believers think the world was run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who were plotting against Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring. I know. That’s a lot to take in. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon supporter from Georgia, won a Republican primary and could be on her way to Washington. I watched a brief interview with Ms. Greene after she won the primary. She was outraged that Muslims were moving into their neighborhoods, and she couldn’t wait to get to Washington to “beat Nancy Pelosi!” Not sure what Ms. Greene has in mind, but I’ll put my money on Pelosi.

Facebook now is restricting 1,950 groups and 440 pages and more than 10,000 Instagram accounts related to QAnon. “We have seen growing movements that have celebrated violent acts; they have weapons and suggest they will use them, or have individual followers with patterns of violent behavior. One QAnon supporter wanted to “take out Joe Biden”. When she was arrested, police found dozens of knives in her car. 

Social media and social responsibility

Social is limiting QAnon and other groups that promote violence. As groups like QAnon have revealed how these sites can become vehicles for abuse, social media has taken responsibility for the content on their platforms. 

• Twitter is removing thousands of QAnon accounts and is blocking trends and key phrases related to QAnon from appearing in its search and Trending Topics section. 
• Reddit has banned some of its forums for QAnon content.
• TikTok has banned several QAnon-related hashtags, and it monitors hate speech that violates guidelines.
• YouTube has taken down tens of thousands of Q-related videos and terminated hundreds of Q-related channels. 
• Facebook has taken down other group pages that represent violence, including Antifa and other militia movements.

What is all of this about? 

Conspiracy theorists are nothing new, and according to Donald Trump, “I’ve heard these are people that love our country, and they like me.” He doesn’t seem to get that these groups are really dangerous. 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech executives have been meeting regularly to discuss ways to stop their platforms from being used to spread misinformation about the vote, and are even considering a “kill switch” to shut off all political ads after election day.

A new, emerging message of change, inclusion and decency

The recent Democratic Convention shared an upbeat message of good will and decency. Of experienced, hardworking people taking responsibility and being accountable. Of getting things done. A new spirit of hope is emerging, of working together for change. Valerie Jarrett, a former Obama advisor, described it as a potential new theme: Building Back Better. It means everyone’s being accountable, and that now includes big tech and our social media sites. 

Content marketing with Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

PPC Advertising: Raising Your Quality Score

For one of my clients, we’ve developed animated explainer videos that we’re using for YouTube advertising. For each video, I’ve created a corresponding landing page that lives on our website. This page is only accessible to those who watch our ads/videos and click on the call to action. It’s been running for a little more than a month; we’ve closely identified our audience, our cost-per-click (CPC) is around $2.25, and we’re getting a nice increase in site traffic and calls. I’m carefully monitoring and tracking this effort, and we’re raising our quality score. 

What is a Quality Score and why does it matter? 

Landing pages are often a potential customer’s first interaction with a brand, and they set the stage for an ongoing relationship. Quality Score is an approximation of your keywords’ and ads’ relevance to your target audience. It’s usually represented as a number from 1-10. Search engines and social media platforms use this metric to decide which ads to show and how much to charge for each click or impression. 

Google ads pioneered Quality Score in their ad rank algorithm to reward those advertisers with relevant ads with a lower CPC. Most PPC platforms use this formula to determine where your ads appear. CPC Bid x Quality Score = Ad Rank.

Quality Score Guidelines

• Landing page experience: Is your ad’s landing page relevant to visitors’ intent, helping them accomplish their objectives quickly and transparently?
• Ad click-through rate (CTR)/Engagement: Are your ads clicked as often as competing ads?
• Ad relevance: Do your ads align with your audiences’ interests and intent?
• Post-click conversion rate: Are visitors likely to convert or take meaningful action after clicking your ad?
• Recency: Are your ads recently published or updated regularly?

God only knows what goes on with algorithms, but landing pages are one part of the of the PPC campaign process over which we do have control. We can provide relevant content, fast loading time and make sure our sites look great across all devices. 

Quality Score across platforms

Savvy PPC advertisers understand the nuance of each platform and customize their campaigns for the best results. 

• Google. Google Ads’ emphasize the overall user experience. Your landing pages must be relevant to keywords and ads that your visitors clicked on, but it’s just as important to that your landing page loads quickly, is secure, and looks great on all screens. 
• Facebook. Quality is measured using feedback on your ads and the post-click experience. Your ad is ranked against ads that competed for the same audience, ads that have the same optimization goal and your expected conversion rate.
• Twitter. There’s no mention of landing pages. Most of Twitter ads’ conversions happen within their platform in the form of likes, retweets, content engagement and follows.

Algorithms are opaque, so it can be difficult to know what’s working or not. Strive for clean, simple messaging that’s visually pleasing. A call to action that’s accessible. Monitor your ad and check frequently. 

PPC Advertising: Raising Your Quality Score. Talk to Top of Mind Marketing about your content program, including online advertising and PPC campaigns. Get it right and make it work for you

Facebook, Trump and Free Speech: Who’s Winning?

Remember the early days of social media when we were all trying to figure out what this new medium was all about, and how it was relevant to our lives? Flash forward 16 years and social is documenting our moves and moods, helping drive change. And now, in the midst of a pandemic, a nationwide civil uprising and the reelection campaign of the most unpopular president anyone can remember, users are calling on their social media sites to do even more. They want them to monitor and sanction hate speech.

Big brands are now boycotting Facebook and taking their advertising dollars elsewhere

These are the guys with big advertising budgets—Unilever, Hershey’s, Eddie Bauer, Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, Microsoft and more. Facebook insists they’re already spending billions on deleting posts that could be perceived as hateful. 

But there’s something insidious going on here

CEO Mark Zuckerberg suited up, prepped and spent two days being grilled by Congress a few years ago. This was after the 2016 election when Facebook was being interrogated over data privacy issues. As the largest social media platform with $2.6B monthly active users, it’s first in line for scrutiny. Facebook was fined $5B for data breaches and the company has no interest in any more fines, oversight or regulation. 

It’s not your imagination

Zuckerberg has been seen looking pretty chummy with the President. For the majority of Americans who oppose Trump, this is alarming. A reason to boycott the platform.

The Zuckerbergs recently had a private dinner at the White House with the Trump family. Trump and Zuckerberg both like people who can be useful to them. According to Roger McNamee, an early Facebook investor and now a fierce critic, “Mark’s deal with Trump is highly utilitarian. It’s basically about getting free rein and protection from regulation. Trump needs Facebook’s thumb on the scale to win this election.” So Facebook refuses to monitor Trump’s hate speech, and Trump stops dragging Zuckerberg in front of Congress to testify. 

Zuckerberg falls back on the right of free speech

Zuckerberg has skillfully ridden the high-stakes rollercoaster ride that is the politics of Donald Trump. “I don’t think it’s right for a private company to censor politicians or the news in a democracy,” he said in the address at Georgetown University on Oct. 17. “We don’t do this to help politicians, but because we think people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying.” His strategy seems to be working. Trump has been notably softer on Facebook than on his social media brethren.

Something to watch for

If Biden wins, Facebook is out of step with Democratic ideals. Jesse Lehrich, the co-founder of Accountable Tech, a nonprofit group pushing Facebook to tighten controls on its platform, describes their relationship as a tacit nonaggression pact. “Trump can rage at Big Tech and Mark can say he’s disgusted by Trump’s posts, but the status quo serves both of their interests,” Mr. Lehrich said. It’s the kind of relationship we all want.

Top of Mind Marketing: Staying on top of social and marketing issues. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and internet marketing specialists.

LinkedIn has published a new marketing guide for what they’re calling “times of uncertainty”. This “new normal” conversation is getting tiresome, but a few stats caught my attention: 

• Last year, 54% of B2B businesses planned on hosting more events. 
• We’re now six months into this disaster of a year; 78% of these businesses now are expecting budget increases for online content. 
• For 52% of marketers, shifting priorities has been their biggest challenge. They’ve switched from those expensive and difficult-to-quantify events and are investing their marketing dollars in content marketing. 

Shifting strategies; being nimble is key

While many of us have continued working through the lockdown, others have been furloughed, idle, bored, spending even more time online. 

Let’s stop whining about COVID and get to work

This disease is going to be part of our lives for a while, so make sure you and your family are doing everything you can to stay safe, and let’s get to work. 

A strong content marketing strategy is a long-term plan to drive business growth

Content marketing involves publishing relevant content in a variety of forms on the channels where your audience spends the most time. 

• You don’t need to be pushing out huge volumes of text every week. 
• Instead, think strategically. Create a single theme—a product or service. It could be your team—a highly trained and informed group of people who can’t wait to solve thorny problems.
• Use this message in different ways to add value. It can be turned into a case study, a video, an animated explainer video, a blog, a white paper, an ebook. It can drive your newsletters. 
• It may be time to embrace online advertising/pay-per-click (PPC). Carefully managed and monitored, this can be an important lead-generation strategy. PPC works if you work it. 

What’s good messaging?

I always like this description: A good blog, article or post isn’t about you. It should be something that helps people do their jobs. A tip, a workaround, a new application that’s a productivity enhancer. If you can find ways to help your audience recover, you’re in a stronger position to attract, engage and convert new customers in the process. Customer service has never been more important. Going the extra mile for your clients is a very good investment and never goes out of style. 

We kicked off the year with high expectations

None of us could have imagined that 2020 would turn into a year of such stunning challenges. An election year, a pandemic, a tanking economy and a global uprising over racial injustice. It’s a consequence of the economic disparity that is fundamental to so many of our social problems. People are losing family members and their jobs with diminished opportunities on the horizon. 

Now is the time to feature humanity, generosity and humor in your messaging. Try to reach people on an emotional level, demonstrating compassion.

Get back in the game

If you need help developing or implementing your content marketing program, contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Time To Include Online Advertising In Your Marketing Plan?

Ten years ago, people began making big predictions about video and its potential to change the way we were marketing our products. Fast forward to today and video has become a staple—accessible and affordable, a tool that helps attract audiences, explain products, and communicate with both internal and external clients. 

Videos contribute to search engine optimization (SEO), helping you show up in search. And YouTube, owned by Google, is the world’s second most-used search engine. Just as Google online advertising (PPC) has become a huge business, so has YouTube’s. 

Developing a video advertising campaign on YouTube 

I’m working with a client to develop a series of ten-12 animated explainer videos. For each of these videos, I’m writing a script, and we’ll have our videographer develop these videos. We’re using both explainer videos and white-board videos. Because our subject matter can be complex, the video explainer concept is ideal for breaking down complicated thoughts into easily understand ideas in a few frames. 

Identify a strong call to action 

When people see our explainer videos on YouTube, we want them to click on the call to action button, then hit the coordinated landing page on our website. While we’d like a sale, this is not realistic. None of us buys on the first pass. We shop around, check prices, quality and reviews. Our team is realistic about this and we know that we’re building a relationship. Ours is a long-term effort. Conversion for us means signing up for our monthly newsletter. This is how we will measure ROI and the success of our campaign. 

We’ll also be using Google Analytics 

Our Google Analytics report will show what kind of traffic we’re getting from our YouTube channels. We should be seeing increased traffic to our site—even if users do not sign up for our newsletter. As with any purchase, we hope that those users come back again and make a purchase. That’s what the sales cycle is all about. 

Creating a landing page in Unbounce

I’m using an app called Unbounce that is very easy to use and has a variety of templates from which to choose. While the landing page needs to be specific to each video, we can use the same design and swap out the text and images for each video. 

A critical part of our campaign will be identifying keywords and keyword groups

For any PPC campaign, identifying keywords and keyword phrases is fundamental to the process. We must also identify our YouTube audience. With more than 30 million YouTube channels, we need to identify those channels where we think our ideal clients will most likely be hanging out. 

Continue to monitor and adjust

PPC advertising works. Google rakes in more than $100M/day. Many are using this channel successfully, but each campaign needs to be monitored and adjusted. A carefully matched ad and landing page will help your campaign succeed.

Are you considering online/PPC advertising for your business but need some help?

 Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts. 

COVID, Chaos and Your Marketing Plan

If you developed a marketing plan for 2020, there’s a good chance you’re revising it right now

One of my clients is a small Oakland construction company. They started out the year with some terrific new commercial projects in their pipeline. In March, COVID brought these projects to a screeching halt. While the company started back to work a week ago, some of those projects have stalled indefinitely. Now we’re refocusing, looking for smaller projects that we can turn around quickly to generate cash flow. Our target is homeowners converting spare rooms, garages and attics into home offices to meet the demands of the new virtual workforce. 

Another client is a complete sucker for ad salespeople

He’s a really busy guy, and getting on his calendar is a challenge. But somehow these ad folks not only get through to him, but they convince him that their exclusive deals, reaching thousands of households in his upscale demographic, are exactly how he should be spending his marketing dollars. These great deals are generally one-time offers and a complete waste of money. 

This is why you need a marketing plan: One-off spends are really bad ideas

Whether it’s a print ad, pay-per-click (PPC) or direct mail, you need to be in this for the long haul. It’s relationship-building. If you’re doing PPC advertising on Facebook, Google or YouTube, you need to monitor your ads and make adjustments. Think carefully about how you define conversion. You need to able to track the effectiveness of your advertising. If it’s successful, include it in next year’s marketing budget, if not, cut your losses and move on. And my client? We’ve successfully circumvented these one-off ad spends because they weren’t in the marketing plan! 

Smart business owners create detailed marketing plans, budgets and timelines every year so they know how much they’re spending, who’s responsible for executing each tactic. A plan will help identify your audience and the ROI of your marketing dollars. Even small businesses with limited budgets should be tracking their spend—and that includes pro-bono donations. A few hundred dollars here and there—these add up. Think instead about cause marketing—supporting one cause and becoming known for this. Team with another company to extend your resources. 

In its simplest form, a marketing plan is a blueprint for your communication activities

A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines strategies, tactics, activities, costs and projected results over a period of time. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet or it can be detailed in a CRM system. It can include attachments. It’s the marketing actions you take to achieve the objectives that meet profit goals. It includes your website, newsletters, online marketing, new collateral development, branding, networking, etc. It’s a working document that changes as the economy and other external factors affect your business.

How is your business adapting to the COVID-altered economy? 

Let’s talk about a marketing plan and tactics that will help you identify and meet new objectives. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts. Stay safe!