Protect your Social Media accounts from phishing.
This article from Mashable discusses the newest phishing attack making the rounds on Twitter.
With metric tools and applications that require logging in to connect with Twitter, it’s increasingly difficult to judge which links are beneficial and which are hacks. A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. If it doesn’t specifically tell you the purpose of the link, don’t click it.
Vague descriptions like “Is this you?” or “Have you seen this picture” or “Have you tried this?” are meant to stir up curiousity and entice you to click. Resist the urge.
2. If you can’t verify the sender, don’t click.
This is a personal rule of mine. I realize this is controversial as many auto-messages send you to Facebook, blogs, or other interesting websites. If you do click a link from one of these, you shouldn’t have to re-enter your Twitter account information, so don’t do it.
3. If you didn’t seek it out, don’t enter your information.
If you’re setting up an account on Hootsuite or attempting to measure some Twitter metrics with one of the many free programs out there, you will need to enter your Twitter account information. However, you usually seek out these types of programs. If you didn’t seek out a program that pops up or sends you a DM wanting your account information, don’t give it to them.
This You????: Yet Another Phishing Attack
In the last couple of weeks, Twitter users have been the target of several large-scale phishing attacks, and according to security experts over at Sophos, the latest one is no different.
The attack spreads via messages with the text “This you????” followed by a link that sends the user to a fake Twitter (
) login page. Don’t fall for the trick. If you enter your credentials there, you’re not actually logging into Twitter, you’re just sending your username and password to the attacker.
If you suspect you’ve fallen victim of this attack, you should change your Twitter password immediately. Check out a video demonstration of the attack (created by Sophos) below.
SMS Featured on Fox 35 News in Orlando!
Here is Social Media Solutions’ Lauren Candito on Fox Orlando 35 News talking about how Facebook can enhance your business!!
Developing an Effective User Experience
Here is a great post by Cindy Royal on developing an effective user experience.
A few months ago, I wrote an article entitled “Making Media Social: News as User Experience”. I talked about the online trend, driven by social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, of users having the growing expectation of participation on the Web. Users want to be able to upload photos, comment on posts or videos and interact with graphics. They want to make connections with others who share the same interests. Some news organizations are experimenting in developing unique and meaningful user experiences that can satisfy these new user requirements, while others are just beginning to consider a foray into this area. While innovation is key, and there are no firm rules, I thought it might be helpful to discuss some considerations and questions that may help guide the process of developing user experiences that will be perceived as valuable by your users.
Know your audience. Gather data about online users, local issues and concerns, and pay attention to comments on articles or blogs. Is there an issue of local interest or of broader significance that has a specific local angle? Read other local online publications and pay attention to trends on social media sites. Engage your Twitter followers with questions about potential projects. Play to your competencies/expertise. Focus on the types of projects in which your organization has excelled in the past. Do you have a reporting competency in local politics or crime? Are you in a geography in which entertainment or sports coverage (like Los Angeles or Las Vegas) has become part of your core operation. Do you have access to unique data sources or archived material, and do you have the resources to maintain and update that data, if necessary? Leverage existing tools. Have other parts of your organization or external organizations developed a similar project? What can you learn, borrow or purchase from that organization? Can you leverage an external platform, like Twitter, and engage existing applications or develop new ones with their open-source application programming interface (API)? Or do you need to develop the platform in house? Acquire or develop programming expertise. An organization must consider the skills necessary to accomplish an interactive project. Do those skills exist in-house? Can they be developed or will your organization need to hire or contract with new resources? Research in the types of technologies used to host will be necessary (for example, is there a platform like Pluck, used by USA Today that adds social media features to their publishing system, available for purchase?) Will employees need to be trained or hired in Web framework technologies like Django or Ruby on Rails in order to develop online interactives? What other perspectives will these employees need to understand in order to develop projects that are both compelling stories and technology tools? Consider how will the user interact with the project. Navigation, design and usability will be key to the success of any online presentation. Will it be simple, like The New York Times WordTrain, that requires the user to input a limited number of items, or will it be more a immersive experience that might require more complex instructions, step-by-step guides or special media players? Are these requirements appropriate to your audience and topic? Use design techniques that will improve the use of the site, including meaningful layout, usage of white space, complementary and contrasting colors and branding, if appropriate. Finally, how will users with sense impairments have access to the materials? An appreciation of accessibility standards will be necessary in engaging as wide an audience as possible. Usability testing should be a standard part of any online project. Be creative. Encourage creativity amongst your ranks. Have brainstorming sessions or allow employees to peruse the Web seeking ideas and inspiration. Look at competitors sites to see the types of projects they are developing, and broaden your definition of competitor to include relevant social media sites, blogs and other technology services. Consider projects that might not initially seem standard on a news Web site, like the Washington Post project “On Being”, a video project that provides a quirky, yet poignant take on the fascinating and diverse individuals in their market. Give employees the license to experiment but be ready to accept failure, as long as it is done quickly and cheaply. An experiment using Twitter to crowdsource a story that is unsuccessful may only cost the time of one or few employees, and the learning that comes from such an experience can easily offset the investment. But, a several thousand dollar expenditure in new equipment and resources that spans several months or years and ultimately fails is not acceptable or is rarely necessary, given the proliferation of free or relatively inexpensive tools and services available online. News organizations need to understand that an active user is a desirable user and can create significant value for the organization. Social networking trends not only create a sense of urgency for news media to adopt these features, but provides an indication of where competitive endeavors might be emerging. As the news industry struggles to remain relevant and profitable in an online society, it may find solutions and avoid pitfalls by looking at innovative social media companies and the activities of their users. At the heart is a user base that remains engaged and interested in participation. How news organizations interpret this phenomenon may be the salvation of the journalism.
Social Media Guide for Politicians
Social Media is an evolutionary development that has transformed the way that individuals, organizations and political campaigns are able to communicate. The 2008 US elections were a defining moment for the use of social media in politics. As opposed to previous decades where the primary methods of human contact included in-person dialogue, phone calls, and (in recent years) email, individuals are now able to connect with one another in a viral way. untitled1The world has seen a U.S. President underdog nominee overtake the competition and ultimately win the Presidency by utilizing these new media channels, and now everybody wants to learn how to use social media to boost the success of their campaign.
What must be remembered, however, is that candidates need platforms, personalities, financing, timing, and hard work to pull off a successful run, and in the end, a campaign is a campaign, and new media tools are just that – tools. Tools that if used properly, can provide a candidate with a formidable weapon in their arsenal, but if used incorrectly, they can create a crisis for a candidate’s campaign within minutes of posting.
Fail or succeed, the choice belongs to the campaign teams who are devising their candidate’s strategy. With proper planning & education, social media can be one of the most powerful campaign tools a candidate has. What will your choice be?
If you would like our free guide to integrating social media into your political campaign, please click the icon below.
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The Top 10 Reasons to Monitor Your Brand in Social Media
The Top 10 Reasons to Monitor Your Brand in Social Media - provided by Radian6.
1. The Compliment
Compliments can come in many forms. They can be congratulations messages about a recent award. Or a customer raving about the experience they just had with your product or with customer service. Social media compliments are the online equivalent of references or testimonials, and they deserve your attention. Create a Delicious account or use another social bookmarking utility to save all of these compliments. Include them on your website or your collateral. Potential clients looking for reassurance on a purchase decision will love to see what others think of your company and products.
2. The Complaint
Watch for posts complaining about your products or services, company, and staff. Catching something early means getting a chance to respond and demonstrate your problem solving abilities. A posted complaint may also draw out other similar customer experiences, which provides an opportunity to reach out to them as well. And who knows, impressing customer with great customer service may generate some positive posts about how you resolved the problems.
3. The Expressed Need
The best way to watch for expressed needs is to look for keywords often used to describe those needs. People make known what they are doing and often ask the general public for advice when they are about to make a purchase. Both of these situations provide an opportunity to reach out with an offer of assistance, information, or even a free demo. A
social media poster often appreciates that a company representative is listening and does not mind an offer of assistance expecially if it’s done in a helpful, friendly way.
4. The Competitor
If you are watching your industry and relevant keywords, you will probably be the first to know when a new competitor appears on the scene or when their name is mentioned. This kind of intellgence can highlight opportunities to reach out to potential customers who are trying out a competitor or dissatisfied with a competitor’s product or service. You may also discover which industry players are advocates for competitive brands, giving you the opportunity to reach out and gauge their interest in your capabilities. Competitors will also often talk about subjects they are strategically interested in. Being able to stay on top of those discussions allows you to anticipate future moves.
5. The Crowd
Topics will often pop up online that draw huge crowds. There is a lot to be learned from these discussions, especially when they have the potential to affect your brand. Following the swarms can give you a better understanding of current sentiment about a certain topic, and uncover topics that you may need to keep tabs on. Tracking a topic’s viral nature and
how long it generates buzz can give you an idea of its relative importance, and opportunities to join the conversation at its peak.
6. The Influencer
Influencers within a space can carry a lot of weight. They gain their power from how frequently they post on a topic, the number of people who link to their posts, the number of people gathering to comment and how engaged visitors to their posts become. An influencer’s audience helps spread opinions on a brand faster, and those opinions can have greater
impact. Often an influencer’s post appears prominently in a topic’s Google search results where even more potential customers will see it. Knowing who these influencers are and understanding their opinions of your brands can help you connect with them as advocates, or to understand why they currently hold a negative view.
7. The ROI
There has been a lot of buzz lately on how to successful measure online marketing and outreach campaigns. Much of the focus has centered around the topic of engagement. While a universal engagement metric has yet to be agreed upon there are still a number of effective ways to measure engagement and ROI in general. Track the mentions of a brand in user-generated content before, during and after a campaign. Isolate positive words associated with a particular brand and gauge the number of times they were used over a period of time. Alternatively, you could sort all posts mentioning a particular brand or topic by number of comments or views to uncover the top 50 discussions where engagement was the highest.
8. The Crisis
Discussions happening in social media can serve as an early warning system. By using advanced tools, you can observe new words - especially negative ones - appearing more frequently around your brands, and guide you to the posts where they appear. Tracking these “crisis”words over time can also help gauge the effectiveness of any outreach campaigns
designed to address the underlying issues.
9. The Audit
A brand is the sum of all conversations and is no longer completely controlled by the company. By analyzing social media, a corporation or agency can score a brand’s overall user sentiment, determine which words are commonly associated with it, understand which competitors rank closest in buzz or online mentions, uncover brand advocates, and rank which social media channels contain the most active discussion. By isolating which sites are discussing your brand or a competitor’s brand, an audit can also help pinpoint possible ad placement opportunities for reaching the most valuable and engaged audiences.
10. The Thread
With so many social media channels, conversations often become splintered. A discussion can start on one site and quick leap into another making it rather difficult to follow. Following discussions using associated keywords can help bridge the thread across all types of social media, connecting the conversation for easy analysis. Your customers, prospects and peers are discussing your brand, your industry and your competitors right now in social media: with or without you. Listen, pinpoint the buzz and participate in the conversation.
The power to define and control a brand is shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities.
Are you ready? Social Media Solutions works with brands to deliver an unparalleled combination of strategy, creativity and technology to produce solutions with measurable results for our clients. 
Who We Are
Social Media Solutions is a social media marketing agency, located in sunny Orlando, FL.
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