The Social Penguin Blog

My 6 Essential Apps for Life

Mike McGrail — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:14:05 +0000

Ok, when I say life, I mean the kind of life I lead. A life that includes lots of marketing, content and a never ending supply of information. Hopefully you find this list useful. Please do feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. Tweetbot Platform - iPhone/iPad It has taken me a long time to find a Twitter app that I really, really like. Then I found Tweetbot. I love it because it looks damn good but also uses touchscreen tech in a clever and genuinely helpful manner. Once you learn the various gestures, you'll be zipping around your Twitter world faster than a trending topic. One thing that it does not let you do is schedule tweets, this would be a handy addition, but I believe it is something to do with server calls. Whatever they are. All in all a fantastic app that enhances the Twitter experience no end and very rarely breaks. Reeder Platform - iPhone/iPad I don't care what anyone says, RSS is still a brilliant way of getting your daily fix of blog posts delivered straight to your devices. I've been using Reeder for years and am likely to keep doingRead more

18 Million UK Consumers Have Used Social Media for Customer Service [STATS]

Mike McGrail — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:28:55 +0000

Well, its been some week for UK Twitter stats and that looks set to continue with the news that more than a third of UK consumers have engaged with a brand/business/whatever via social media. That's 36%. Pretty staggering actually. The raw facts: This figure has doubled since since August 2011 40% of people feel that social media improves customer service 68% of those who engaged with a business via social media feel it has 'helped them find their voice' 65% feel it is a better way to deal with companies than call centres It's not just youngsters either, more than a quarter of the 55+ age group that responded have used social media for customer service Time to Face Facts Consumers are now expecting to be able to communicate with you via social media. You really need to consider it as part of your customer service options. Only fools rush in though. Check out our Social Media customer service posts. Are you using social media platforms for customer service for your business? Has it improved customer relations? If you aren't using it, what's holding you back? Do tell in the comments section below! (Thanks to Econsultancy Blog for the data for this post) Mike Read more

Twitter Reveals Latest UK Usage Statistics

Mike McGrail — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:00:24 +0000

The social web is awash today with facts and figures related to the usage of Twitter in the UK after Media Guardian released their handy report. In typical Penguin fashion, we'll cut to the chase and hit ya'll with the facts.

Twitter now has 10 million active users in the UK 80% of those access Twitter via mobile devices - this is high when compared with the global average of 55% The UK is 4th in the world in terms of users, behind the USA, Brazil and Japan In general, 60% of users have contributed content to the network. By comparison, only 1% of YouTube users have ever uploaded a video. Not a great comparison as it takes a lot more work to create/upload a video versus adding an image to a tweet 383 million account had been created worldwide up to the beginning of 2012, with about 1/3 of those based in the USA

So there you go, more stats for your armoury...

Mike McGrail

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Friday Freak Out – LinkedIn Groups That Suck

Mike McGrail — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:30:16 +0000

I'm a member of 15 groups on LinkedIn. How many of those groups are worth spending any time in? One. Yes that's uno, une, один and ett. LinkedIn brings together clever (and some not so clever) people from across industries, sectors and even geographical boundaries - this should lead to groups been full of great conversation and debate. Why Is That One Group Worth Your Time? The group I refer to is worth my while for a few simple reasons: 1 - It is full of people who are genuinely looking for interesting conversation. 2 - It is full of people who are truly helpful and eager to learn. 3 - The managers of the group take an active role in conversations, but also rule the group with an iron fist. What Makes a Group Suck? Again, pretty simple: 1 - If a group is full of people only looking to sell their services/snake oil it's going to be as enjoyable as week in jail. A really nasty jail. 2 - Bad groups are full of spammers - it's the responsibility of the group owners (and group members) to flush out any spammers. The great group I am referring to is particularly good at this. 3 - TheRead more

Why Students Must be Creating Their Own Content

Mike McGrail — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:30:52 +0000

Earlier today, I went back to my old University (Edinburgh Napier) to deliver a lecture. As I was sitting waiting to start, I realised how different the life of a marketing student must be now. I graduated in 2005 in to a world that was yet to see the impact and wide adoption of social media. From University I found myself in a number of roles, really getting my teeth in to social media in 2008. I made it my aim to learn as much as I could about the channel and it now represents a huge part of my skills and experience. You could say that I was in a fortunate position as I was in the right place at the right time. If I was a student today, I'd be striving to make the biggest possible impact online, way before I was graduating. Why You Need to Be a Content Master The CV is dead. A strong statement, however if I was looking to hire someone for a marketing position, their CV would be way down on my list of priorities. The first thing I would do is search for their name on Google. What am I looking for? AtRead more

How to Deal With Online Reviews

Rob Zaleski — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:43:06 +0000

Let's face it, online reviews are a staple now. Often times, if you Google a storefront business, apartment rental company, or service industry company, the first page is bound to turn up review results. Be it from Google Places, Yelp, Apartment Ratings or others, people are taking the recommendations of others to judge your business. What previously would have been only local word of mouth is now quite possibly the first thing prospective customers will see representing your business. If someone searches "Your business name reviews," it is highly likely that the reviews will even show up before your own website's listing in the results, depending on the depth of your SEO. If you fall into the category of a company that has a customer base of raving fans, this will certainly only help you. If you are a company that has inadvertently provided poor experiences to some very vocal customers, this could potentially stave off new customers, even if those few instances do not reflect the typical experience of your customers. So what do you do? You make your presence known and join in that conversation! Let's talk tips on responding to online reviews. The slow, painful decline fromRead more

Is Amen The Future of Consumer Opinion Gathering? (Apps)

Mike McGrail — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:05:15 +0000

Take a look at Twitter at any given moment and you will see vast amounts of people sharing their opinions on everything from the latest celeb gossip, to the pizza they've just eaten. This is all well and good, but it can be hard to pull this opinion together and also to gauge the reaction from others to said opinion. Well, a new iPhone app called Amen may well be the answer. Amen works on a very simple premise - it allows you to give an opinion on anything and share it with other Amen users and of course, key social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Once an opinion has been posted, the community can then 'Amen' (endorse) the opinion or give it a big fat 'Hell No!' if they believe the opinion to be wrong. If the user contests the opinion, they can also suggest an alternative. Looking Good! The mechanics of this application are very simple and this is augmented by a pretty sexy (yes, I said sexy!) interface: The app will search for possible for entries for each of the sections you have to fill in, however, if it doesn't find anything, you canRead more

The Truth About Peer Recommendations

Jenni Maley — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:28:10 +0000

If you have been getting friendly with the likes of Klout Perks, Yelp and BzzAgent then you’ve likely noticed that there is some serious swag you can get your hands on these days (and I don’t just mean landing a job). But is this just internet’s way of saying “I Love You” or is there a less touching force at play? BzzAgent describes their process as the chance to try "cool new products, share deals with friends and influence top brands." But actually it's your network that is being influence by your promotional efforts, not the brand. Facebook has made a pretty good business from your influence with their "Sponsored Stories" advertising program. Your Facebook activity and corresponding influence is a hot commodity. But as most of us have heard at this point, if you're not paying for the product then you are the product! And that is certainly true with the content you publish online. Free is good, right? Privacy issues aside, if you're being rewarded with a free product or service then surely it's you're the one getting the most benefit out of the transaction, right? Sadly no. Peer recommendations are the most effective form ofRead more

Can Weathermob Use the Crowd to Deliver Accurate Weather Forecasts? (Apps)

Mike McGrail — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:30:25 +0000

Weathermob is a new weather forecasting application for iOS. Doesn't sound particularly ground breaking does it? Well, Weathermob is different - it wants you to be the weatherman/woman. The app allows you to create a weather report while on the go, meaning you can let other users know the situation within your geo-location at any time. Why would you bother, I hear you ask? For a start, the app is beautiful to look at and it is actually good fun. It is also pretty social, you set up your profile and people can follow (including people within your immediate locale) and comment on your reports. Simple Interface Creating a report is very easy, using an interface not unlike a slot machine roller...

You can also add custom text to your report, a photo and even a video. Once you have compiled your report, it looks like this (assuming you've added a photo).

Pretty huh? Not Just About the Crowd

Anything that is crowd-sourced depends on people's attention being maintained and a constant flow of updates. My thoughts are that the long term viability of this app will depend on the success of the social side of the experience andRead more

5 Social Media Objections and How to Beat Them

Mike McGrail — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:52 +0000

This post first appeared on my slot over on the great Sprout Insights blog. Have you ever tried to convince a business owner, or someone in a senior position at your company/employer about the merits of using social media as part of a marketing and communications mix? If the answer to that question is yes, I can bet that you came up against one of the objections below! Being able to counteract those objections is a great weapon to have in the quest for social media adoption - this post will help. 1 - 'I don't want to open up our business to negativity' Ah, that old chestnut! A business should be committed to delivering the best possible experience and service to its customers. Yes, actively using social media platforms may well give people the opportunity to tell you about a less than flattering issue, however, wouldn't you rather know about that issue? From experience, I know that many modern consumers won't bother to make a complaint via 'traditional' routes such as telephone or email - they want to be able to make a quick connection via Twitter, Facebook etc. Give them the tools to be able to do that.Read more