Originally posted on November 3, 2011

Do recent changes to Google and Facebook affect political and marketing communicators? Potentially a lot, so let’s take the sites in turn. First Google, which announced today that it’s making major changes to its search algorithms to update its main search index more frequently. Also, results pages for many queries will feature more recent content (including breaking news) over information that might have grown stale.

Overall, this change in emphasis is potentially really useful for users, particularly if Google can follow through on the idea of separating searches for evergreen content (“learning from Obama online campaign PDF“) from those for ephemeral content and recent news (“Herman Cain harassment suit“). One implication for political communicators: this emphasis on the new and the now gives us even more reason to jump on news stories quickly, since Google’s main search function should have a better chance of highlighting relevant recent content. Crank up those blogs and rapid response machines, kids: catch a news wave, and your words might spread far and wide.

Next Facebook, which revamped itself yet again back in September. As Farhad Manjoo points out in Slate today, Facebook’s latest changes emphasize recent content in users’ news feeds over posts from people you might actually like (i.e., friends with whom you’ve interacted with regularly). I’d also argue that the “improvements” appear to be featuring visual content over written, because my feed is now cluttered with photos posted by people I barely know. Manjoo’s article focuses on how the new feed emphasis is leading certain LOLCats-style word/picture combos to go viral, which may be useful for some advocacy and electoral campaigns to know, but it also suggests that our substantive content is LESS likely to get noticed now than before. Great!

Facebook’s solution is to have you “subscribe” to feeds and to set the amount of information you receive from them. Next up for political communicators: begging followers to “subscribe” and to become bosum buddies rather than distant acquaintances. Once again, it’s time to wonder how much it’s worth paying for advertising to get new supporters to “like” your page, potential email list members though they may be. Perhaps the company’s new marketing bootcamps will bring us around to their way of thinking — or else.

Cross-posted from the Adfero Group blog

With the quick popularity of Google+ (G+), many social media gurus are proclaiming the slow but sure downfall of Facebook. To that, I say one thing: not going to happen. Here’s why:

1. Too little, too late

In a very rare and embarrassing moment (and for what feels like the first time), Google made a really big deal about a really bad product. Google Buzz was a complete failure on multiple fronts. From privacy lawsuits to simply bad aesthetics, Google’s seemingly invincible persona suffered a breach in its armor with a subpar product that was clearly a reactive idea in contrast to their usual forward-thinking, proactive approach – and people noticed. The best team in the league showed a weakness, other teams capitalized on it, and now they’re playing catch up, with Facebook remaining the “face” (pun intended) and authority on social networking.

2. Live by minimal, die by minimal

One of the biggest praises for G+ so far has been its clean, minimal design. On the flip side of that, Google plans to continue to add features, bells, whistles, and widgets. Yet for some reason, the public seems to think that they can request more functionality without any impact to the layout. Facebook has suffered from the same symptoms with the addition of chat windows, friend lists, and important vs. unimportant news feed posts. The difference is users, myself included, have already established Facebook as a part of our everyday lives. So even when new features were added that we don’t like, we were stuck. With Google+, users have absolutely no reason to defect from Facebook when the difference between the two isn’t all that drastic.

3. It’s not how the real world works

Google+ is about circles. You put your going-out buddies in a circle so you can share embarassing drinking snapshots. You put your coworkers in a separate circle so they can’t see anything but industry-related sharing. All your circles are comprised of people you know, and the people you don’t know get their own circle… with whom you never share… ever. There’s only one problem with this social architecture: the world is one BIG circle.

One of my biggest praises of Facebook is the way it sparks conversations. Let’s say a girl you went to college with posts a status saying “I need a new allergy medicine…” and you comment with a suggestion. Shortly after, another girl whom you’ve never met or heard of before, leaves a comment informing you that she used to used that medicine but there was a news story about it not being safe. Now there’s an informational dialogue going on between you and someone you’ve never met. Next week, you both end up commenting on that mutual friend’s status again. And again.  At this point, you might as well friend her, right? A few months later, your new Facebook friend is visiting your mutual friend for the weekend and suggests you all go out for drinks. A new thread has been added to your social network similarly to the way it would have if the same conversation came up in a bar.

The way Google+ presents itself will make it very hard to expand social networks. Sooner or later, that will get old and they will have to think of something else. However, that “something else” will take away from the heavily praised white space, generating more criticism. That, along with us assuming, of course, that Facebook hasn’t already implemented it renders G+, again, as a follower – not a leader.

12 Common Mistakes on Brands’ Facebook Pages (PR Daily)
Steer clear of these (very) common pitfalls and you won’t have to worry about losing fans.

With 800 million active users, Facebook has earned the title of most popular social network around the globe. At the f8 conference a few weeks ago, CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg announced some big changes, the latest in the site’s constant evolution. It’s hard for a lot of users to adjust to the new features and, for organizations using Facebook in advocacy efforts, it may seem like things are changing just as they were getting the hang of things. Despite the growing pains, Facebook is a valuable tool that can raise awareness and inspire action.  

Here are a few rules to live by:

1.       A Few Can Activate Many

Engagement, not number of fans, is key. On average, every time someone shares a link to your organization’s website on Facebook, two to five people will visit it. In any online campaign, it’s imperative to utilize social context. People care about what their friends are doing and are heavily influenced by actions. If you can show Facebook users that their friends “liked” or engaged with your page, chances are high that you can get them involved, too.  
So, now the question is, how? 

 
• Use Facebook Questions. Asking your fans a question leads to viral exposure. If you ask a question, it will appear on your fans’ newsfeed. If they answer or follow that question, their friends can also see the activity. This is also a good way to get direct feedback from your fans. 
• Use Facebook to live stream your events or town halls. Free tools like UStream allow you to broadcast your event to all of your fans. Also, if you use event materials to let people know they can tune in on your Facebook page, you are likely to get more fans.
•  Make everything you can an event.  All of your organization’s events should be shared on Facebook. You should also use this tool for virtual events or calls to action (i.e. “Call your congressman by noon today!”).  Again, this allows your fans’ friends to see their action, making them more likely to join in.

 2.       Don’t Be Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

Facebook encourages open communication, something that may seem daunting to organizations because it can indicate a lack of control. If you want to successfully use Facebook as a tool, you have to put some time into engaging with your fans, monitoring your page, and moderating the comments. That being said, most press is good press.

 
• Post a clear comment policy on your page info, and stick to it.
• Don’t delete comments just because they’re negative.  Even negative comments make it more likely for people to see your page. Supporters will defend against these negative comments and drive traffic to the topic.
• Be active. When people know that someone is actively monitoring and responding to comments, they tend to be nicer.

 3.       Be Human

If you let your fans and activists get to know a little bit about the people behind your mission, you give them a way to connect.  When people are more connected to the page, they view it as a legitimate source of information, and will be more inspired and inclined to take action.

 
• It’s great to post a story or anecdote about your staff that’s not strictly related to your organization. Show the personalities behind the work you do.
• If you have a good relationship with your fans, you can raise money without even asking for it
• If you’re posting more than press releases, you can provoke interesting conversation on your site, giving it a lot more personality.

Facebook is evolving, and so should your organization. In your advocacy campaign, be innovative and embrace these tools as a way to reach a wider audience.

Facebook’s New PAC Shows DC’s Innovative and Risk-Taking Methods Are Spreading to Silicon Valley (TechPresident)
According to Micah Sifry, Facebook’s creation of a Political Action Committee indicates that large campaign contributions and ‘intensive lobbying’ are becoming the norm for tech giants.

You’re the Entire Social Media Marketing Team. Now What? (PR Daily)
PR Daily has created a 6-step list of “must-dos” to maximize your online branding efforts, particularly useful if you’re on a tight budget.

Single Voice Sinks Coast Guard’s Rule (Roll Call)
The Coast Guard recently reversed a rule on life jacket use solely because of a letter it received from a concerned citizen (who, incidentally, is not a lobbyist.)

Troy Davis’ Death Row Case in Georgia Goes Global (USA Today)
In a joint effort to prevent the execution of Troy Davis, the NAACP, Amnesty International and the grasroots organization Change.org “are flooding Twitter with several tweets a minute, signing online petitions and, starting today, planning to rally around the country.”

A Few Details About the Upcoming Twitter Analytics (MediaBistro)
Measuring your social media impact is more important now than ever: here are some tips on what to expect from Twitter’s new tool.

6 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools (PR Daily)
Want to track your social media stats but don’t have much cash? PR Daily has some great solutions.