Author Archives: Todd Hyten

03.22.10
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Admit It: You Check Twitter And Facebook In Bed

So eMarketer passes along some interesting data on social media usage collected by consumer electronics site Retrevo.According to Retrevo, 27 percent of people younger than 25 years old check Facebook or Twitter “sometimes when I wake up in the night” (the number for older than 25 is 20 percent!). And for those who say they check Facebook or Twitter “as soon as” they wake up in the morning: 32 percent of users younger than 25; 21 percent of users older than 25.

File under: Obsess much? Of course … ah … One of my client’s accounts I check in the kitchen while the coffee is brewing (lol). So I’m one to talk.

03.16.10
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Now THIS Is How To Do A Viral Ad: Heineken Soccer Ad

Found the fodder for this post on Mahsable: Earlier this month I ranted a bit at Goviral about their monthly ranking of “viral” ads that increasingly seemed to be just TV ads posted on YouTube. I still stand by my opinion that a nationwide TV ad posted on YouTube isn’t a “viral” ad. And just to show that my opinion isn’t because I have something against beer companies, check out the video below.

Heineken fooled/tricked/cajoled a bunch of soccer fans to attend a phony night of classical music and poetry … then after torturing the unfortunate football-mad “victims” with an evening of insipid poetry, they finally let them watch the game in the middle of the concert — sponsored by Heineken of course. Brilliant, brilliant. And the video of the swindle got picked up and repeated virally to tens of millions.

That’s how you do a viral ad for a beer company. You don’t just post your lame Superbowl commercial on YouTube.

03.09.10
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New Local Biz Using Twitter? Follow Other Local Businesses As A First Step

Are you an SMB or local business using Twitter? Then here’s a secret … Shh … Come closer … closer: People can tell when your visitors are all fake. Really.

How? Let’s say you are a local business tied to a town or city neighborhood in say, Texas. Don’t you think it would be a little suspicious if someone looks at your followers and finds out 90% of them have no location noted. And the few who do are from … Birmingham, UK.

OK, if I just freaked you out because you think I’m talking about your Twitter account, don’t worry, I’m not. It’s just an example. But, it’s an “example” I’ve seen literally dozens (hundreds?) of times.

So here’s a tip: If you’re a local and small-to-medium business, one of the first things you’ll want to do is gravitate to other local businesses on Twitter. Why?

  • Primarily because it’s fun. You’ll find out a lot about your business neighbors and make friends.
  • See what other local businesses Tweet about. You’ll quickly discover ones you like and get ideas.
  • Most local businesses on Twitter are polite – expect many to follow you back.
  • Stay informed. Sometimes what’s important to local businesses isn’t headline news, but it matters to your peers!

These are just a few good reasons. Backing all these ideas up is the point I made in the beginning: there is just something suspicious and a bit odd about not finding other local followers on a local site. Is your first follower someone without an image, location or any updates in 3 months? Ditch ’em! You’ll gain more trust with visitors who may become customers if you look (and are) more local.