Top Story: Google Zeitgeist: What Mattered in 2011

As is tradition, Google Zeitgeist has released its annual list of top terms that people were searching for in 2011. Though there are still a couple weeks left to go in the year, the results seem to be pretty much set– even with the recent news of Kim Jong Il’s death. After all, YouTube sensation Rebecca Black has snagged the top spot in fastest-rising search overall, as well as in fastest-rising search in entertainment and fastest-rising search in people.

Surprised? Well, you probably shouldn’t be. This actually makes sense, considering absolutely nobody was searching Google for Rebecca Black until she came out with the much-talked-about YouTube video for her song, “Friday.” And then, her name was suddenly being spread everywhere, and because nobody knew who she was, people started searching for her on Google like crazy. If you’re wondering why there aren’t more political figures on both the overall searched list and the people searched list, we can only hope it’s because the public already has a knowledge about who those people are. Rebecca Black and Pippa Middleton? We were clueless about… Until we search for them on Google.

In other interesting social media search news, Pinterest landed #4 on the list for fastest-rising searches in the United States. We have a feeling the social photo sharing website is only going to continue to grow as a search term in 2012.

The complete top 10 fastest-rising searches on Google for 2011- Global:

#1- Rebecca Black
#2- Google+
#3- Ryan Dunn
#4 Casey Anthony
#5- Battlefield 3
#6- iPhone 5
#7- Adele
#8- The Japanese characters for the Fukushima plant evacuated after the earthquake
#9- Steve Jobs
#10- iPad2

What will 2012 bring? Well, judging from this year’s list, we’ll likely see a couple more Apple products, perhaps another Google product, and maybe even an Internet sensation who has yet to be born.

 

Under the Radar: Brands Could be Better at Customer Engagement

According to an analysis conducted by Mr. Youth, brands are only responding to half of brand page posts (it’s actually a bit more than half – 61% responses on Twitter,  55% responses on Facebook).

We can understand why a brand wouldn’t respond to 100% of posts on their social channels.  For larger brands that receive thousands of interactions every day, it may not be feasible.  Also, for all brands, some posts don’t necessarily deserve response from a brand – things that are irrelevant to your brand (regardless of sentiment) might not warrant response.  There are a lot of people out there in cyberspace, it’s safe to assume that more than a few of them are posting aimlessly.  But, these two categories don’t seem to account for this huge number of non-responses – there are a lot of brands that are just not engaging with their fans in a consistent manner.

So, why is this a bad thing?  Because of the huge opportunity that brands are are missing out on.  The same study reported that 80% of consumers who received a response to their post made a purchase as the results of the interactions.  And while a well thought out and thorough response is sometimes helpful and extra-fulfilling for the customer, it is not always that complicated.  A simple – “thanks for the feedback,” or “tell us more about your experience,” can be just enough to make your fan base feel heard.

 

 

Tool of the Week: Path – Inspiration for Facebook Timeline?

Path is somewhat of an enigma in the social media world. When it launched in November of 2010 it was billed as the opposite of Twitter because it had a 50 friend limit. The idea was to build meaningful relationships with a small group, instead of small relationships with big groups. Path allows people to follow their friends ‘paths’ (get it?), which to me looks suspiciously like what Facebook just rolled out with Timeline. Facebook’s Web based experience even has the same format as Path, with photos and updates following a line down the center of the screen. Path also has a single photo that is on the top of your ‘path’ – again, sound familiar?

What really differentiates Path from other networks though is the beautiful user experience on the app. It has set the standard for social network mobile experiences. The seamless scrolling of the clock as you move down the path, and pop up for actions like checking in, photos and more is also beautifully done.

Path also offers a unique combination of action items at once. Instead of checking in to where you are, what you are listening to or who you are with, you can easily do all at once. Sharing music has become my favorite feature though, because Path allows others to easily listen to what you are within the app. Another feature unique to Path is other users can rate/comment on your posts by clicking one of 5 emoticons

Overall Path does not seem like a network that is going to break into the mainstream with hundreds of millions of users, but it is a beautiful piece of mobile development to behold, and a fun app to use when sharing what you are doing to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and other places.

 

 

 

Around the Hub: Professor Ochocinco & The Power of Twitter

Emerson College’s Social Media Marketing class has made a number of splashes in the past – often becoming a trending topic during their classes. But Professor David Gerzof and his students put on a true display of the power of Twitter by barraging Chad Ochocinco with hundreds of tweets in hopes of getting him into the class. Even after the Patriots wide-out agreed, many were skeptical he would show. True to his word, Ochocinco reserved the entire restaurant at All Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Sq. and bought the whole class dinner while they talked social media!

A star of VH1’s Basketball Wives Evelyn Lozado (and Ochocinco’s fiancé) also came along to talk about how she uses social media to promote her upcoming book as well as the show. Between the engaged couple there was some serious Twitter star power in attendance.

After the ‘class’ students were very impressed with what Ochocinco had to tell them about branding themselves on a medium like Twitter. In the past his social media antics have earned him a lot of press, stunts like taking 85 Twitter followers out to dinner, getting a ride from the airport from a follower, and taking to social media to find a fan roommate.

Chad Ochocinco has demonstrated like no other high profile celebrity that Twitter (and social media) can be used to really mix it your with your fans. Responding is one thing – but taking them out to dinner or teaching their class can endear them forever.