Social Media Tips 1 - Some LinkedIn Pros and Cons

Pros Professional information. Of all the social networks, LinkedIn is the most focussed on professional interests.	Cons Smaller Audience. Although LinkedIn has a huge user base, it is still not as popular as Facebook or Twitter.
Aids offline networking. After a networking events you can add people you've met on LinkedIn, reinforcing the relationship. Some people even have LinkedIn details on their business cards.	Lacks a personal touch. Online 'introductions' lack the depth of a personal meeting, and some people may prefer not to be put in touch without having met first.
Creates a forum for expertise. Taking part in LinkedIn discussions is a good way to demonstrate individual expertise.	Not as suitable for B2C/leisure&lifestyle As a more formal/professional environment, users are less susceptible to marketing and advertising concerning leisure time products and services.
Highly targeted professional advertising. People on LinkedIn are already in work mode so it's more acceptable to advertise B2B products. Adverts can be targeted by age, gender, seniority, job title and even company.	Not as fun! No farmville to see here people...move along now. As the most professional of the networks, LinkedIn lacks appeal for those who want  entertainment.
Competitor Intelligence Despite a general tightening of employee social media policies sensitive information can sometimes be gathered from CV's on LinkedIn.	Charge for some services  Some 'extra' services such as Jobseeker Premium, ask for a subscription fee.
Analytics Company page admins get data on visitors by industry, title, function and company, page views over time, clicks on jobs, clicks on employee Profiles, and clicks on job "Apply" buttons.

HTC - leading with an Edge?

You may not be surprised to find that I'm still deliberating over which mobile phone handset to get next. My HTC hero is lovely, but after 2.5 years it's dying a slow death, and the hunt is on for a replacement.

Of course, there is the great iPhone vs Android debate I had a few posts ago, and thought I might finally be leaning towards apple...but a part of me doesn't want to give up on android just yet. I'm proud to have been an early adopter and have a certain amount of brand loyalty for the geeky underdog. 

So before I make any hasty decisions, I'm just going to hang out for new releases announced at the February Mobile World Congress. A little digging around has unearthed rumours about quad core processors and I found this on techleash.com:

The first high-end smartphone to be announced by HTC at Mobile World Congress is going to be dubbed Edge. Among the HTC Edge’s features analysts suggest a 1.5 GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 4.7 inch touch-screen and an 8 mega-pixel camera.

HTC Zeta is supposed to be the second release that HTC will present this year to the market. Some analysts suggest that due to the leap in performance compared to HTC Edge, Zeta cannot be unveiled at the same event and a later release would be more reasonable. HTC Zeta is expected to feature a 2.5 GHz quad core processor, 1 GB of RAM and 32 GB storage space, a 4.5 inch touch-screen and an 8 mega-pixel camera.

Not sure I can hold out for the Zeta but the Edge already sounds like a giant leap from the antiquated Hero and I so I looked into it a bit further:

• No micro SD slot (but 32g on board memory)
• 1080p HD camcorder
• Additional 720p front facing cam
• NFC (near field communication) capacity (TBC)
• It's PRETTY: 

Altogether now...oooooh! Put it in your diaries people 27th February 2012 the Edge is revealed at the MWC, and android may be firmly back on my list.

When to tweet and post - are you missing your market?

Social media marketing is still a dark art. Some do it well, some do it badly, and some are opposed to the very idea. For those trying to hone their social media marketing technique, there is a lot of guidance out there on what to tweet and post. What there hasn't been much focus on is when to do so.

The infographic below from Argyle Social got me thinking...

According to their research, B2C Facebook campaigns get better engagement at the weekends. When you think about it, that's not surprising - the majority of consumers are at work themselves during the week, no?

Does this mean Facebook marketing needs to embrace the weekends? Just as retail has seen the opportunities in staying open at the weekend, should marketers be tweeting and facebooking their way into a Tuesday-Sunday working week? If that's when the audience is most receptive, then perhaps they should.

But we need to be careful abut generalising. Does this apply to all sectors, not just retail? Should recruiters, for example, try to market new positions online at the weekend? This strategy might not apply here, as people are perhaps not thinking in a work mindset and would show less interest. Also, from a recruiting perspective, is it a case of quality over quantity? The people who are responding at the weekend are perhaps more conscientious workers. Would you put someone forward for a job if they were on Facebook replying to an advert at 10am on a workday? 

Additionally, the B2B data shown above may not be as straightforward as it seems. Many people have different work and personal accounts, and who is to say that the same individual that B2B's are trying to sell to during the working week, isn't more receptive from a personal account at the weekend?

Analysing when to post is great, but only if you're very clear on your target market and what they will be doing at that time. You need to ensure the audience is there, willing to engage, and engaging in the right capacity. This may mean not only adopting weekend and evening posting, but also adopting a different strategy for posts and tweets published at this time, compared to those posted during the working week.