In order to do that, it’s important to understand what kind of campaigns take off and why.

People are spending about 135 minutes per day on social media. It’s time to capitalize on that information and come up with some strategies that are sure to get likes and shares for your posts. 

Read on to learn about the best social media campaigns from last year.

Wendy’s vs. McDonald’s

You may have seen burger chain, Wendy’s, trolling fast food super giant McDonald’s on Twitter last year. It was funny, amusing and an excellent lesson in how to go viral on social media. 

Why?

Because what’s better than watching two huge corporations who sell similar products engage in a public battle? It makes them seem like people and not only that, we get to be spectators in a match of insults online. 

We’re also rooting for Wendy’s, even though they seem to be the aggressor.

The chain went for the jugular, question McDonald’s use of frozen foods and making fun of broken soft serve machines, but all with good humor and wit. 

Wendy’s, by comparison, is a much smaller chain, with fewer stores nationwide and lower numbers. They have always been in the shadow of McDonald’s so when they appeared to be brave by “stepping up” to their biggest competitor, people responded positively and took notice.  

This kind of social media strategy makes them relatable and humanizes the brand, giving it a personality it didn’t have before and which McDonald’s still lacks.

It also got them seen in a meaningful way online, likely attracting new customers and urging people to try Wendy’s if they had yet to.  

#Puberme 

The #Puberme campaign went viral as a way to raise money and awareness for Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane last year. 

Started by Nick Kroll, it urged celebrities to share embarrassing, awkward photos from their adolescence. Once celebrities with large followings started posting old photos of themselves, people quickly became intrigued and the campaign took off. 

Who wouldn’t want to see a beautiful movie star with braces, acne and a bad haircut?

It gave people a small window into stars’ lives before they were famous and at the same time urged people to donate money and participate themselves. 

We’ve also learned that people won’t shy away from an opportunity to share more about themselves if others are doing it as well.

So, people were quick to participate in the #puberme campaign and asked their followers to do the same, however large or small their following. 

Kraft Competition

Take one of the biggest food corporations in the U.S. and the biggest sporting event of the year, put them together with a promise of being seen by millions and you have yourself a viral campaign. 

Kraft promised to feature “regular people” in their Super Bowl commercial who had filmed themselves with their friends or family, watching the game from home. 

After a few celebrities and famous athletes posted to their social media about the challenge, it quickly went viral with people hoping for their 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame. 

Learn From the Best Social Media Campaigns

Now that you have an understanding of a few of the best social media campaigns from last year, you can focus on what made them work and how you can emulate their approach to go viral yourself. 

Be sure to check out the rest of our site for more social media and SEO tips! 

But with the average smartphone user using only 9 different apps a day, encouraging users to actually use your app is an entirely different challenge.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If you understand your audience, you can generate growth. This is why social media is one of the most important places to market your app to your audience.

Don’t know where to start? Then let’s run through 8 actionable tips for marketing an app through social media today.

Consider a Paid Ads Campaign

One of the more typical methods of advertising your app is through a traditional paid ads campaign. The only difference is the type of ads you’re paying for.

Sponsored ads through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram give you access to millions of potential new users. If you’re offering smartphone ads, these ads can lead them to install your app straight from app stores.

The great thing about a campaign like this is that you can target your audience specifically. You can target by various attributes, such as age group, gender, nationality or interests.

This can stop you wasting your ad budget if you avoid showing your ads to users who don’t form part of your target audience.

Run Ads with Influencers

In the age of the millennial, influencers rule the social media landscape. They have an audience themselves of many thousands, or even millions, looking to follow exactly what they say or do.

This makes influencers a natural ally to recruit for your social media campaign. A survey by Twitter found that around 40% of users made a decision on a purchase thanks to an influencer.

For real engagement, however, you’re going to find the best influencers using Instagram. With long written captions, and high-quality video and images, influencers can upsell your ad to their captive audience.

You can target influencers directly, or use marketing agencies to make contact.

Create Video, Viral Content

Viral content isn’t easy to create. If it was, every company would be doing it! 

Video content offers the best chance for your app to go viral, as it demonstrates what the app does which, if it’s a good product, will help convince users to use it.

Why do you want it to go viral? Because it’s a free, organic way to build your number of users. Your number of downloads will explode upwards if it goes viral.

And how will it go viral, we hear you ask? Thanks to the magic, once again, of social media sharing. 

The best way to build video content that your target audience will want to share is by understanding what they like.

Don’t target your audience correctly? Your video won’t be worth the money you spent having it created. That’s why it’s on our list of the 5 main digital marketing mistakes you should look to avoid.

Offer User Incentives to Share and Play Your App

There’s no reason why you can’t offer your users a little incentive to download or share your app. You can do this through social media directly.

Run ad campaigns that offer discounts to users on the product you’re offering or by giving freebies. 

Does your app offer in-app purchases, for instance? Give your users free credit if they share your app over their social media profiles or if they install it from a social media ad they’ve seen elsewhere.

Referral systems like this can bring users to your app with a good return on investment.

Engage and Interact with Your Users on Social Media

Your social media strategy for your app shouldn’t only be about offering ads telling your users to download your app. You need to engage and interact with your users if you want them to stick around.

Speak with your customers via the major social media platforms. If your users have questions or feedback, answer their concerns.

Building goodwill like this might take up a bit of time, but it can also generate results if your users then leave positive feedback. For other potential users, they can see that the app is under constant development, with a team that cares.

As a bonus, if your social media page is active, social signals like these can have an impact on your app website’s SEO. 

Generate Press Releases with Shareable Content

Your app is like any other product you might be launching in other, more traditional formats. 

If you were releasing a new washing machine, you’d want the relevant PR outlets to notice. You’d want to make it easy for that PR machine to get into action.

Your press release for your app is no different. So, build a release kit that can help you advertise your app. Include a summary of what your app actually does to start with.

Include screenshots, video content, as well as information on yourself. Don’t forget app logos and banners to help writers include them in any articles they write.

The main part of your press release will be a written statement explaining why you’re advertising your app, and what you’re trying to do. It’s designed to sell your app — so make sure you explain why every use should be installing it.

Run Contests and Competitions

Want to generate some additional interest?

Running competitions or a contest for your user base could do that, as it encourages users to do something in return for a reward. 

Think out of the box with this one by encouraging users to share content relating to your app. If you’re advertising a game, a leaderboard for users could encourage more users to play your game.

If it generates further interest, by adding more users or increasing recognition of your brand, it’s worth the investment.

Respond to Feedback Positively

We all like to think we’re important to the companies we deal with. As the developer or publisher of your app, your users will be feeling the same.

That’s why you should respond to feedback with a positive attitude, even if the feedback is negative. Responding to feedback can help your users feel appreciated, and generate goodwill along the way.

Goodwill can lead to more positive reviews. They may not like something, but it may make your app more popular in the long run.

Of course, if your users aren’t happy with your app in some way, you need to make changes. A major part of the mobile app development lifecycle is developing your app over time with user feedback.

Social media marketing tips like these may take up your time, but when new users search for your app and see ignored concerns, they’ll be less likely to download.

Marketing an App Doesn’t Have to Be a Struggle

Just because you created an app, it doesn’t mean people are going to play it. That’s why you need a strategy for marketing an app through social media.

With good content and the right level of social engagement, you can have the chance to build a loyal audience for your app.

Engage with your audience every opportunity you get. Run contests, incentivize your users to share your app, and respond to your user’s feedback. If your users feel involved, and they like your work, you’ll hopefully see your audience grow.

Want to learn more about how to optimize your social media marketing strategy? Then check out our social media articles for advice on what to try next.

Scammers will go to great lengths to steal your information, make money or deceitfully advertise. They’ll send phishing emails to steal passwords or unleash viruses on computers to hijack Web browsers. Scamming victims on the Internet doesn’t even have to be that arduous, especially since scammers can rely on your emotions and good intentions to deceive you.

In early 2014, CNN reported on a story about a photo of a smiling 7-year-old girl without hair posing in her cheerleading uniform. The photo was posted to Facebook and asked for “likes” as messages of support and prayers for her to beat cancer. In reality, the picture was almost six years old and never once posted to Facebook. The girl’s family had no clue it was even stolen from their Photobucket account and used for that purpose. The family, along with everyone who liked or shared the picture, were victims of like-farming — acquiring “likes” for fraudulent Facebook photos, posts and pages. Deceptive Facebook posts and pages garnering mass “likes” and shares are direct threats designed to spread a malware virus or collect personal information. Once scammers have your personalized data, such as location or age, they can use it to target a more dangerous attack like identity theft.

Like-Farming

Like-farming works by sharing viral content that’s fallacious and likely to receive hundreds of thousands of “likes” and shares. The more “likes” and shares a page receives, the higher its value and social visibility.

“It’s a way to trick Facebook’s algorithm,” describes CNN. Scott Kleinberg, a Chicago Tribune contributor, calls the liking scam a “sharing trap” — when people are manipulated into liking an emotionally gripping fake post as a scamming technique.

For example, a scammer may create a page dedicated to inspirational quotes and gain a large following. Then the scammer can strip the popular page to spread a virus, phish or advertise. The new page can be used to sell products or it can be sold to a black market website that now has access to your newsfeed. A scammer can also use the page as a way to spam users to click on links to spammy sweepstakes or giveaways. Information you provide by entering a fake contest could then be used for credit card or bank fraud.

Clickjacking

The threat of viral scammers and exploiting the Facebook “like” button hasn’t just recently shocked social networking. In 2010, scammers took advantage of the “like” button’s Javascript to create clickjacking exploits. Clickjacking tricks a user into clicking on a concealed link or revealing confidential information by accessing and performing actions on a hidden page. A user who clicks on the link implemented with the “like” button basically spreads pages virally throughout the site, explains The Guardian. Clickjacking, a browser-based attack, includes targeted links and catchy display text. Attracted to a sensationalized headline, the user will follow the link to a page that entices visitors to “click here!” After clicking on the page, an invisible iframe with a Facebook “like” button launches, and the link spreads. The “like” button embedded on an iframe enables the clickjacking attack to easily go viral as its exposure grows from newsfeed to newsfeed.

Best Practices for Prevention

Awareness is the first step to protect yourself. “Like” and share on Facebook vigilantly. If something sounds too good to be true or is obviously intended to monopolize on your emotions, it’s a red flag (e.g. an unbelievable trip giveaway or a picture of an abused animal at a pet shelter). Observe low-quality posts keenly, and don’t be afraid to report suspicious posts to Facebook as well. Securing your online activity and information with anti-virus security and even identity theft protection also provides extra assurance. Identity theft protection company LifeLock’s Facebook page offers valuable security information, from preventing identity theft consumer fraud to changing passwords because of the Heartbleed bug. Plus, if you are an AOL member, you can sign up for free LifeLock protection. Our Intego Mac Security Facebook page is another good resource for staying up-to-date on WindowsXP vulnerabilities and security risk mitigation.

If you want sustained growth, you need to have an employee who is active and engaged with followers on behalf of your brand. Even largely successful companies like Apple struggle with top level-strategies and brand perception. Being an effective CEO comes with its share of challenges, and social media strategy is no exception. By tracking your stock, you can start to determine if your social media efforts are providing a sufficient return.

The following six ways can help you grow your company’s stock on social media.

Take Advantage of Hashtags

On most social platforms, you can include multiple hashtags with your posts. Always include some relevant generic tags like #onlinesale, as well as branded tags that people can search for if they want posts from your company. Not only will creating quality tags help potential customers find and learn about your company, but they’ll also follow you in the future, which can lead to substantial brand growth. The best brands know this and create promotions around hashtags. People will then see and search for these tags in the future.

Spread the Word About Your Coupons

Users of social networks always want to share amazing offers. If you’re offering great coupons, followers will share them with their friends who will, in turn, keep sharing them. An example of this in action was the Thresher coupon debacle of 2006. Thresher released a 40 percent off coupons on wine and champagne that went viral on social media sites just before Christmas and led to more than $800,000 in sales, as well as many new customers and followers.

Run a Contest on Pinterest

Image via Flickr by mkhmarketing

When you post content on most social media sites, it has a fairly short lifespan. Pinterest is interesting in that content can continue to be re-pinned and viewed for months or years. If you can get a picture spread widely through Pinterest, you’ll increase your customer base and brand recognition for years to come.

Run a contest on Pinterest that gives everyone who re-pins one of your pictures a small coupon and a chance to win a bigger prize. One company you may have heard of that utilizes Pinterest for marketing is a little chain called Starbucks, which has run Pinterest contests in the past.

Offer Free Shipping

If you want to get the word out about your latest products or sales, there’s nothing people like more than free things, shipping being a great example. In Dan Ariely’s groundbreaking book Predictably Irrational, he explains that people get more excited over getting a small thing for free than saving a larger amount off the price. Free is a magic word when it comes to enticing social sharing and exploding your sales.

Use Social Media to Gather Leads

Image via Flickr by mkhmarketing

Running a giveaway or contest is a great way to generate buzz around your business, but you need to maximize your return on your investment. One of the best ways to do this is to share the contest on social media, but link the consumer to a page requiring a sign-up in order to enter the contest. They get a free chance at winning something, and you get a new potential customer for your business.

Always Include Pictures

Attracting shares of your content is always a key factor in social media campaign success. Pictures are the most shared content form on any social platform. Include a high-quality picture along with the message you want to get out in order to reach new customers. If you have a product that lends itself well to professional looking pictures, include them.

There are companies of all sizes that are struggling to grow their stocks effectively on social media. However, there are also a small minority of companies that know how to use social media to grow their customer base and presence by using the methods described above and have reaped the rewards.

If I can find the video I’ll be sure to put it up, because I’m sure it will trend and go viral!

Update: I found the video on YouTube! Share this if you think it’s hilarious.

Here’s the Erin Andrews / Ryan Sherman Interview:

Richard Sherman: Well I’m the best corner in the game. And when you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree thats what the results are going to be. Don’t you ever talk about me.

Erin Andrews: Who was talking about you?

Richard Sherman: Crabtree, don’t you ever open your mouth about the best or I’m going to shut it real quick.

This {disgusting} viral video shows a toddler recorded by two adults as they swear at him just to hear him mimic their words.  The toddler throws over a chair, waives his middle finger, and repeats everything they say to him as the parents laugh and joke about it.

“Now while we didn’t see anything in this video that is blatantly ‘illegal,’ ” the union wrote, “we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint.”

@joshuagates You don’t get free shirts? SYFY really doesn’t like you, do they?

— Klein Maetschke (@kleinmaetschke) December 12, 2013

#DestinationTruth t-shirt: $9.99. #HamburgerEarmuffs: $13.99. Who’s laughing now, @Amazon?

— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) December 12, 2013

Amazon: We’re happy to resend your order. ME: Sorry, I can’t hear you through all the lettuce and cheese. #HamburgerEarmuffs

— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) December 12, 2013

ME: I’m having a salad for lunch. HAMBURGER EARMUFFS: Shhhhh. pic.twitter.com/SebUdH5XsO

— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) December 12, 2013

Oh, just steamin’ my buns. #HamburgerEarmuffs pic.twitter.com/YKJoqjSBfC

— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) December 13, 2013

I was hoping to sleep in today, but it looks like somebody is wide awake. #HamburgerEarmuffs pic.twitter.com/LvbhMW7nxg

— Josh Gates (@joshuagates) December 13, 2013

A cat nicknamed “Waffles the Terrible” has gone viral.  The cat’s owner gave him this nickname because the cat is always failing at something.  This time, he uploaded a video of the orange cat failing to jump from a car to a roof in the snow.  He scrambles for a second, regains balance, then epically fails with his leap of faith.  The video clip has been viewed over 400,000 times.

In an interview with GQ, Robertson called gay people “homosexual offenders” and seemed to equate gay sex with bestiality. He also said that he “never” saw blacks mistreated in the pre-civil rights era. “No one was singing the blues,” he said.

The comments were quickly condemned by GLAAD and the NAACP. On Wednesday, A&E said it was “extremely disappointed” by Robertson’s remarks and put him on an indefinite hiatus from the show

What do you think?  Did Phil cross the line with his comments?  This is the reason why his story went viral, because there are so many opinions on the subject.  Some are saying, good for him for speaking his beliefs, then others say he is disgusting and has no right spewing out his opinions on homosexuality.

Meet Tippy, the new internet sensation- at least for today.  Tippy is not your normal squirrel.  He has a strange fainting problem where he periodically faints for reasons unknown.  The internet of course is trying to diagnose this fellows problem.  Someone recorded this squirrel, posted it on YouTube, and now it’s the next viral animal to  dominate the internet.

Some of the comments from YouTube user’s are quite hilarious:

Why Does Tippy The Squirrel Faint? (possible reasons curated from the internet)

1.  Nuts overdose
2.  Narcoleptic
3. Drunk Squirrel (there’s a bar across the street)
4. maybe he’s dying
5. allergic to nuts
6. ear infection. “Vertigo”
7. pure shock at finding something in the grass.. He’s Over excited
8. he’s been poisoned
9. “metabolic bone disease”
10. neurologic disorder
11.  Could be rabies causing it to lose coordination
12. power-napping
13. Looks like orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure when upright)
14.  squirrels can get DRUNK by eating mullberries

Taking a “birds eye view” to a whole new level – A bird (a Sea Eagle) in Australia stole a video camera that was being used to record activities of crocodiles and now it’s extraordinary journey is a viral sensation.  The camera didn’t stop recording and continued to operate for his flight of 70 miles across northwest Australia.

The word was first used in 2002 when it appeared in online forum of Australia. The evolution has begun as niche social media tag into a mainstream term to be used very frequently during the last year. The research has revealed that the frequency of this word in English literature has dramatically increased in last year. Some resources report the rate of increase to be around 17000%.

Over the years, word of the year awards has been given by Oxford Dictionary to reveal the inventiveness of English speakers concerning social, political or technological impact. This trend has taken special attention since 2004 when frequency of words has been observed in various niches of literature. In 2004, it was “chav”, in 2008, “credit crunch” took the award and last year was lime-lighted by “omnishambles”.

Selfie has been defined by Oxford Dictionary as “a photograph as one has taken of oneself, typically by a mobile handset, webcam or iPad and uploaded to social media”. The increase in frequency of this word was found out during the research carried out by Oxford dictionary to collect 150 million currently used words throughout the web.

This word has gained so much attention this year aided by pictures for example the picture with one of the pope with teenagers that went viral. As we go deep into the reason of its frequent use, we come to know that this word is mostly used in media and social forums. It was announced as early as 2004 on Flickr as hashtag. But it didn’t receive much attention at that time. Now during the previous year, it clean swept all the other popular words due to its use in main social media articles.

Mike Tyson is the star in Foot Locker’s latest viral commercial.  Tyson returns the piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear that he bit off during their 1997 title fight, the scene that’s engraved in almost everyone’s head.

“I’m sorry, Evander,” a repentant Tyson says to Holyfield, before handing the fellow former heavyweight champion a small box.

 “It’s your ear.”

Sixteen years later, Tyson and Holyfield bury the hatchet and even hug it out.

“I kept that in formaldehyde.”

The two hug it out and make up after he returns the ear.

Well, this is an awkward answer to a question on Family Feud. The contestant answers a simple question about Zombies and her answer leaves the other team laughing out loud in disbelief and the internet wondering what she was thinking.  Shortly after the video went viral YouTube took it down, however some keep popping up, so the one I found below seems to be working at the moment.

“So many people just sit around and mope after being burgled — I thought it would be a good idea to leave them a note in case they come back or see it online,” she said, according to the Telegraph.

“People seem to think it is brilliant and have said it’s admirable how we’ve coped with the burglary while keeping a smile on our faces,” she added.

When asked for confirmation that the white hunk is indeed a McRib, McDonald’s provided this statement:

“There are few things more legendary at McDonald’s than the McRib. It is a boneless, seasoned pork patty on a bun with slivered onions, two dill pickle slices and plenty of our sweet, smoky, barbecue style sauce. One reason our customers love the McRib is its fun and wonderful shape. Just like a burger patty is formed to be round and flat, we form the iconic McRib in the shape of traditional ribs. We then flash freeze the patty to seal in flavor and freshness, just like you freeze meat in your own freezer, before going to our restaurants. The McRib is also known for its iconic taste, which is why we use a quality cut of pork – pork shoulder – to give our McRib lovers a thicker, meatier McRib experience.”

Over the past few days there has been a viral riddle circulating the internet called “the Great Giraffe Challenge”.  The Facebook Giraffe Riddle has been an internet phenomenon, leading some to think the riddle may be linked to a virus by hackers who want to steal Facebook accounts.  The riddle goes like this:

“3:00am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors, it’s your parents and they are here for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?”

Those who can’t solve it are asked to change their profile pictures to an image of a giraffe and keep it that way for three days.

Feel free to try and answer the riddle and understand that it’s not really a hoax and it’s safe to change your profile picture to a giraffe.  Now when you see all of your friends facebook profile pictures changed to giraffes you know why.

She ultimately cursed on the establishment’s employees, calling them names that only made the matter worse. The workers, however, dealt with her in a very professional way and her intention of making the store look bad suddenly backfired on her. Her attitude and approach to the Dunkin’ Donuts employees caused an uproar from internet users who saw her video and gave her a lot of negative feedback instead of supporting her cause.

Moreover, Dunkin’ Donuts stated that they are proud to have them as employees and they will be recognized for their effort in guaranteeing customer satisfaction as well as being compliant with the company’s policy. Ms. Chapman did not expect that to happen and she took down her Facebook page after the feedback that was given to her had risen. Her video went viral on the internet due to the fact that there were a lot of people who were appalled by her lack of respect to others.

Neither her degree in education nor her boyfriend, whom she claims she is currently engaged to, can save her from the angry mob that she has clearly offended with her racist rants. It is always important to remember that the motto “the customer is always right” does not have to be taken to extremes. People are not tolerant of such things and she should learn from this mistake.

It’s a little strange, but they may be onto something viral.  It may be funny to post one of these up in an office or dorm room.  I’ll bet a lot of students would want one of these to show off how many friends they have, because after all, it will display 551 random friends (I guess they needed that 1 extra friend to make the poster complete) .  If you don’t have that many, your friends will be repeated on the print.  When you jump onto your website and browse around you’ll notice some sense of humor, like the last question on their FAQ page:

Is 40 lbs. too heavy for a dog?

Although that certainly is a frequently asked question, it has nothing to do with posters, so we do not feel qualified to answer. But wait, let us google that for you.

Ok, enough about the website, what kind of printing is available for your Facebook Friend’s Wall Posters?

Facebook Wall Poster

All of your Facebook friends printed in one place. On your real world wall. Perfect for your dorm or any room that needs more friends.  You can get this one printed in a large 22″ x 34″ sheet with free shipping.

Facebook Locker Poster

Get a Facebook wall poster for your locker in a standard 10″ x 58″ size.  You can also cut the poster if necessary. .  (I think this would only work if you haven’t reached highschool yet. )

Custom Facebook Wall Poster

Let them know what type of custom solution you are looking for and they may be able to make it for you.  Like a cool tradeshow Facebook poster or banner?

I know it may sound outrageous and their stock images look like they’re from 1990 but there’s a chance that these poster’s may catch on, I think in part because they are so silly people may want them as a joke.  What do you think, will posters for your Facebook friends stick with anyone?

The video starts off:  Old Man- “look at the monkey”.   Old lady- “Did it capture? Why did it… I put it on capture.”

A little later he tells her to drop her dress a little so he can see her on the video feed!

Viral Sweet Elderly Couple Video

I just received an update on some of my clients that have a Google Places listing. This is basically a Google Maps profile that promotes their business in Google anytime someone searches for their type of business from a desktop computer, laptop, or mobile phone. The person types in the search phrase, and the local business is presented in the Google Maps section.

Anyway, one client in particular (just so happens to be a plastic surgeon in Houston, Texas), has already received over 1000 hits to his Google Places listing this month. That pretty amazing since his profile will only show when someone local (within metro Houston) searches for his type of business (which means he is connecting with high quality prospects who are searching for what he offers).

But what I think he is missing terribly is a Facebook business page for his practice. A Facebook business page would allow him to continually update people who are “Fans” on his Facebook page with testimonials from clients, photos, promotions that are happen, etc… all of which could be shared in real time, and all of which could be viral marketed across Facebook to potentially thousands of people.

The Ultimate Local Business Marketing Strategy

So this has me thinking about what could quite possibly be the ultimate local business marketing strategy.

And that is:

1) A Google Places profile for your business

Within your Google Places business profile you now have the ability to use what’s called “Tags”.

Tags allow you to enhance your local listing with post updates, your website, promotions, etc… all of which add more relevant content to your Places profile and thus making it more authoritative – which ultimately means you’ll get more exposure and traffic from people searching for what your business offers.

2) A Facebook business page

As I’ve already mentioned about a Facebook business page, you can instantly update your “Fans” via Facebook about new promotions, specials, etc… and they can then react or respond to your update which would then viral market that update to potentially thousands of people.

So anyway, I’m starting to think that the ultimate local business marketing strategy is made up of having a Google Places profile and a Facebook business page – and then staying active in building the audience within both of these platforms.

You can read testimonials from businesses that claim Google Places has become their primary advertising platform – likewise with Facebook business pages.

So imagine putting both of these platforms to work simultaneously?

What are your thoughts?

You can watch the full length video of the UFC 115 fight between Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin below.

Finally, the full length fight video of the UFC 115 fight between Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin is hitting the web in embeddable form. That’s now allowing people like me to share the full length fight with you (see below).

It honestly didn’t take long for Rich Franklin to knock out Chuck Liddell. Liddell was knocked out in the first round. However, as you watch the fight below, you’ll notice that at the time Liddell is knocked out, it appears that Liddell has the advantage and Franklin is hurt. However, Franklin was able to sneek in an upper cut that caught Liddell squarely on the chin and that was enough to knock him out cold.

Regardless of whether the hit was lucky, circumstantial, or otherwise, the point here is that Liddell got knocked out cold by Franklin and the KO goes to Rich Franklin, and unfortunately the loss goes to Chuck Liddell.

Will Chuck Liddell Fight in the UFC again?

Some people are speculating that Chuck Liddell fought his last fight in the octagon in UFC 115. Getting knocked out cold by Rich Franklin might have just been enough for the legend, Chuck Liddell, to hang up the UFC gloves.

I would have to say though that Liddell looked strong during the fight. He gave a couple of brutal kicks to Franklin during the first round. One of the nasty kicks may have actually broke some of Rich Franklin’s ribs as Franklin was clearly in pain after the fight.

So what do you think?

Do you think that UFC 115 was Chuck Liddell’s last fight in the UFC octagon?

Justin Bieber Lashes Out AT Twitter, Greyson Chance Appears

Justin Bieber is not pleased whatsoever with Twitter’s new algorithm update that ultimately blocked him from showing in the Twitter Trends list. Bieber has dominated the Twitter trending list for weeks – perhaps even months – and spoke out against the via… you guessed it – Twitter!

Here’s what Justin Bieber had to say about Twitter’s new algorithm update:

“I heard you changed your system to stop my fans from making trending topics?? Really?? Where is the love??” Bieber tweeted to @twitter on Saturday, the service’s official Twitter handle, according to MSNBC.com.

On May 14th, Twitter announced that a new update to the Twitter Trending algorithm has been implemented, and instantly – just like that – the reign of Justin Bieber on Twitter Trends came to an end.

Did Twitter update their algorithm specifically to stop people like Justin Bieber to dominate the list for so long? Not according to Twitter:  “It is important to note that this new algorithm does not “block” any topics from trending.”

Bieber Out – Greyson In

To add insult to injury, no sooner did Justin Bieber get booted from the Twitter trending list did another young up and coming star emerge on the very same list – Greyson Chance!

Greyson Michael Chance is the 6th grader who’s YouTube video has gone viral and ultimately ended up landing a gig on Ellen.

Most of the day yesterday – Saturday – the word “Greyson” was trending on Twtter.

Man… that must have made Justin Bieber pretty upset.

Greyson Chance’s video of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” has gone viral. Google, Twitter and Yahoo are going ballistic with the sixth-grader’s YouTube video that has rocked the internet this week. Watch out Justin Beiber, you’ve got some pretty hot competition to worry about!

With over 13 million hits on YouTube in less than 3 weeks, over 15 million upload views and more than 102,000 subscribers, Greyson Michael Chance is going straight to the top. That’s if Ellen Degeneres and Lady Gaga have anything to say about it, and they’ve had plenty to say about it! In fact, Lady Gaga herself called the Ellen Show while Greyson Chance was being interviewed. The famous pop-star was tickled that Chance sang her hit song “Paparazzi” saying, “I was so excited that you covered Paparazzi,” Gaga said. “You’re so sweet and so talented, and everyone loves you so much.”

Check Out Greyson Chance’s YouTube Video Here

If you haven’t heard by now, Greyson Michael Chance is a sixth-grader from Oklahoma who performed Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at a school talent show in Oklahoma City. His teacher and students absolutely adore him, and of course they’re thrilled that Greyson put Oklahoma’s Cheyenne Middle School on the Google Map.

Greyson’s teacher, Kelly Cheek claims, “He’s the talk of Cheyenne Middle School. It’s been insane. Our phones have been ringing off the hook. The kids are so excited, we can hardly get them to do anything but talk about Greyson.”

You can find Greyson’s Music at greyson97’s YouTube Channel. Looks like he’s already got himself some professional promotion going on at YouTube.

Lady Gaga told Greyson, “Keep following your dreams and work really hard and stay away from girls and be focused!”

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If you are among the many people already complaining on Facebook and other social media, you may have gone to your local Dunkin Donuts for your FREE iced coffee only to find that your store is not participating.  Here are some complaints I’ve seen already:

“talk about false advertising, or at least misleading, dunkin should be ashamed”

“We were told in Boston that Massachusetts wasn’t participating free ice coffee day. I always go to Dunkin Donuts, but I think it’s time to start giving Honey Dew my business.”

“Is this a viral marketing scam to get us into the stores, find out there is NO free iced coffee today so 90% of us will buy something anyway? Maynard, Concord, Acton MA locations had no idea what I was talking about when I went in”

And the complaints keep pouring in. So here’s the scoop: the promotion is only happening in select markets across the country.

• Baltimore, MD
• Charlottesville, VA
• Cleveland, OH
• Harrisonburg, VA
• Norfolk, VA
• Washington, DC
• Youngstown, OH
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Richmond, VA
• Roanoke, VA
• Salisbury, MD
• Philadelphia, PA
• Phoenix, AZ

So if you are in one of those areas, you may want to call before you head in to enjoy your iced coffee on the house. Otherwise, you may find yourself walking out empty-handed…or paying $.99 for that free cup of coffee you had your heart set on!

I’ll have to give to Saturday Night Live here lately, they have really made some great selections as hosts and have been driving massive viewers to the late night show, and also filling out the audience seats at the show in New York City.

Recently, Saturday Night Live really took a bold step by having Justin Bieber on the show. Although Justin Bieber was not hosting the show that night, his presence in the skits was unprecedented and clearly drove high levels of viewers to the show.

Just like Justin Bieber’s high profile appearance, last night Saturday Night Live had a host on that was really part of a greater movement of social networking power than it was anything else.

Betty White was the host of Saturday Night Live last night and she credits the appearance as nothing more than the amazing work of Facebook, and the Betty White to host SNL Facebook Fan Page.

During her monologue at the opening of Saturday Night Live, Betty White gave credit to Facebook and said that honestly, she had never heard of the social networking site. However, after she learned more about Facebook she ultimately declared that “Facebook is a huge waste of time!” – and then the audience broke out into laughter.

Betty White On Saturday Night Live (Video)

Just in case you haven’t seen the video yet from NBC, here is Betty White’s opening monologue from last night on Saturday Night Live:

Betty White SNL, “Facebook Is A Huge Waste of Time” (Video)

Watch Betty White opening monologue video below

After months and months of campaigning from the Betty White SNL Facebook Fan Page, the dream of the Facebook fans finally come true last night. Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live last night to the much of the world’s enjoyment – especially those that have worked tirelessly on Facebook.

Here’s a recap of what Betty White opened up with when she took the stage at Saturday Night Live:

“I really have to thank Facebook… I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. I would never say the people on it are losers, but that’s only because I’m polite. People say ‘But Betty, Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends.’ Well at my age, if I wanna connect with old friends, I need a Ouija Board. Needless to say, we didn’t have Facebook when I was growing up. We had phonebook, but you wouldn’t waste an afternoon with it.”

Miley Cyrus Can’t Be Tamed Video (watch the video below)

After being premiered yesterday at 7PM est, the Miley Cyrus Can’t Be Tamed video was not available on the web until earlier today.

Watch Can’t Be Tamed below:

However, once the Can’t Be Tamed video hit the web, it didn’t take long for the viral affect to hold and the video started to spread like wildfire. Originally, the video (from my understanding anyway) was found on MTV.com, but then other sites started to pick it up.

Anyway, below you watch the full length video of Miley Cyrus’ Can’t Be Tamed:

This is definitely a step in a totally different directly for Miley Cyrus. No longer is she the Hannah Montana that everyone, including kids, came to love and adore.

According to MTV.com, in an interview with Ryan Seacrest that ran after the video’s debut, Cyrus said the video wasn’t about her new attitude, but about putting a story to the rebellious track. A museum curator introduces “a creature so rare it was believed to be extinct” to a crowd of posh attendees, announcing that “in captivity for the first time, the rarest creature on Earth, Avis Cyrus.”

What do you think?

So what do you think about Miley Cyrus and her new Can’t Be Tamed video?

Are you glad that Miley Cyrus has moved on from her Hannah Montana days?

After just one week, the Facebook ‘like’ button has already been added to over 50,000 sites and the number is growing.  Many developers and site owners are enthusiastic about the opportunity to integrate with Facebook and take advantage of its 400 million active users.  Using Facebook’s web-wide “Like” button in conjunction with their “Open Graph” allows websites to drive traffic from Facebook’s to their corporate sites.

The button also provides a major opportunity for viral exposure as anyone that “likes” a site gets an update posted on their profile for their networks and friends to see.  An additional benefit to developers, site owners, and web surfers using the button is that anyone logged into Facebook can get a more customized search experience as Facebook searches will show sites your friends like.  There is still debate over privacy issues and Facebook has been known to test the waters there.

Given Facebook’s tools are only about a week old and already gaining a ton of traction, people are starting to ask if this like button is going to take over the importance of links in search.  Facebook calls the like button a form of “social links” explaining that they are actually better than links because of their relation to specific users. If this like button really takes off it presents a huge competitor for Google’s search as it challenges the entire basis of their algorithms.  Essentially, Google indexed the web for its users and now Facebook is showing that it can get its users to index the web for them with their “like” button.   So will “liking” replace the importance of linking from an SEO standpoint? Will social media optimization (SMO) become the new SEO?

For more articles on SMO and Liking as the New Linking please visit The Social-Capitalist or better yet, “Like” the Social Capitalist on Facebook!

Sources:

Pete Cashmore on CNN Tech

Facebook Stats

Remove Koobface Worm with Malwarebytes Virus Removal

I wrote earlier about the new nasty malware worm that has invaded Facebook called Koobface.  And it’s not just Facebook that’s being infected – MySpace, Twitter, and most other web 2.0 sites have come face to face with Koobface.

If your computer has been infected by the Koobface virus, I want to show you the best, most efficient way to remove the Koobface worm from your computer.

Remove Koobface with the FREE Malwarebytes Program

I have found Malwarebytes to be the single most affective anti spyware, malware, and malicious worm removal program available on the market.  Best part about Malwarebytes is that is 100% FREE!

The power of Malwarebytes goes far beyond just dealing with Koobface.  There has yet to be a viral, malware, or any other infection on a computer that I’ve had to deal with that Malwarebytes has not been able to remove.

So here’s how to kill the Koobface work with Malwarebytes:

1) Download Malwarebytes to your computer (click here to download).

You’ll be taken to the CNET site where you simply click the “Download Now” link.

2) Once you clicked “Download Now”, you will be asked to save the file to your computer.  I recommend you just save it to your desktop for easy access.

This is an executable (.exe) file that you are downloading, which means once it’s downloaded, you’ll need to execute it (install it).

3) Now that you’ve downloaded the .exe file (named “mbam-setup.exe), you need to go ahead and open (or double click the .exe file, depending on what browser you are using), and this will now install the Malwarebytes software onto your computer.

Don’t worry, this program is 100% safe and you can remove it once you are finished.  However, I recommend you keep it on your computer for future use – because you never know when you need to remove a virus.

4) Go through the process of downloading and installing Malwarebytes onto your computer.  You’ll be taken through various screens where you’ll have to accept terms, click “next”, etc…

You’ll know you’ve successfully installed Malwarebytes when you are finally presented with a dashboard that looks like this:

5)  Selecting the right scan option:

The default selection under the Select a scanning option…. is “Perform full scan”.

There have been very few instances where I’ve had to perform a full scan to remove problems from my computer.

So I recommend clicking the “Perform quick scan” option first to see if that removes the Koobface worm.

6) Now go ahead and click “scan”

If you’ve selected the “Perform quick scan” option, then your computer will scan for about 3 – 5 minutes.

If you’ve selected “Perform full scan”, then your computer will scan for about an hour or so.

7) As your computer is scanning, you’ll see in red letters the number of viruses that have been found.

This is called “Objects infected: XX”

You need to just let Malwarebytes continue its scan until it finishes.

8)  Completing the removal of Koobface

Once Malwarebytes is finished scanning, you’ll be presented with a message that says “Scan has completed”.

Click “OK”

Next, you want to click the option called “Show Results” (lower right hand corner).

Once you click “Show Results”, you’ll now be looking at a list of all infected objects found on your computer.

Make sure all of the objects have a checkmark > then click “Remove Selected”

You’ll be presented with a Notepad document showing you the results of your scan.  You can save that if you like – I never do….

9)  Restart Your Computer

Finally, once you’ve completed all the steps above, all you need to do is restart your computer.

And that’s it!

As I mentioned earlier, you can go ahead and remove Malwarebytes from your computer.  However, I would recommend keeping it around for the next time you have any issues with a computer virus.

Also, if you find that the “Quick scan” didn’t work, then go ahead and perform the “Full scan”.  The “Full scan” will definitely remove any and all issues you’re having with your computer – but in most cases, is not necessary.

Once you’ve removed the infected objects, you have successfully removed Koobface from your computer.

Again, Malwarebytes can be used for almost any malware, computer virus, or worm that has infected your computer and almost 100% of the time, your computer will be fixed and back to normal.

Let me know if you have any problems using Malwarebytes in the comments below.