The ability to pan and zoom large photos within Google Plus was announced yesterday by Googler Dave Cohen via a post on his Google Plus account.

Dave Cohen’s Official Announcement

This change offers a distinct advantage to artists and photographers who want to share hi-res images in a social network. Facebook, the primary competitor (though that term is debatable) offers image sharing in a compressed format, preventing detailed images from being enjoyed in their full glory.

The zoom feature is used on the desktop version of the site by using the mouse wheel or trackpad to zoom in and out. A traditional click-and-drag method is used to pan photos.

Google is not the only social site to make changes to its photo sharing and viewing policies lately. You may remember the Instagram v. Twitter sharing kerfluffle or the Facebook Camera launch in 2012. It is clear in a visual world the optimization of images for social sharing is becoming vital. So, will this new feature incentivize you to share on Google Plus? Only time will tell.

The post Google Plus Adds New Photo Features appeared first on Clix.

Google converted Places to Google Plus Local, integrated Pages and Local listings, launched Zagat reviews, created Communities, and expanded the reach of brand pages. As a Local search specialist, I’m prepared to leave 2012 behind and find out what changes await in 2013. Before I do, however, there’s one last exciting change to make note of this year.

Google Pages Can Now Comment On Posts:

Google announced today that brand pages within Google Plus are now able to freely comment on posts outside of their circles. This greatly expands the reach of brands, allowing them to interact with those who do not already connect with them.

Previously, brand pages were only able to communicate with users who already “circled” them. There are both positive and negative aspects to the change, and small businesses should approach this new skill with great caution. Communicating with customers who have not sought you out runs the risk of turning them off with seemingly aggressive marketing behavior. In this sense, businesses must interact in the interest of a greater conversation, not just blindly pushing their own products or services.

The added reach, however, will make it easier to expand outside of a limited realm. Unlike social media giants Facebook and Twitter, Google Plus does not offer advertising space, making it difficult to get infront of new eyes. Now, brands have the ability to places themselves in a conversation.

Google made the following statement to The Next Web regarding the changes to the sharing capabilities:

“We’re always experimenting with new ways to make the social experience more organic. As such, Pages are now able to comment freely on posts of interest to them. We think this provides a better sharing experience for pages and profiles alike. For example, if someone praises their favorite bakery on Google+, that baker could now say thank you to that customer, right in the stream. Or if someone posts about a customer service issue, that business could reply directly, providing a better user experience.”

It is clear that Google has no intention of slowing its Social Media climb in the future.

The post The Times They Are A-Changin’ (For Google Local) appeared first on Clix.

The three most significant Instagram headlines of 2012 are:

• Facebook Acquisition
• Twitter War
• Privacy Policy

Facebook Acquires Instagram for $1 Billion:

In April, Facebook purchased the photo sharing platform for a mere $1 billion. The purchase brought the mobile platform and its staff of a mere 9 employees under the Facebook umbrella. At the time, Mark Zuckerberg declared that the sharing capabilities of Instagram would not be limited by Facebook, and users would retain the ability to follow users who were not necessarily their “friends”. Sharing, too, would remain available on other platforms outside Facebook (i.e. Twitter).

The Instagram team seemed stoked about the new developments, sharing on the site’s blog:

“We’re psyched to be joining Facebook and are excited to build a better Instagram for everyone.”

When Facebook Camera launched the following month, there was speculation the social media giant would kill off Instagram to make way for its own application, in spite of assurances from Instagram that it would not happen. This turned out to be false, and both apps are available for download today.

Instagram Wages War With Twitter:

On December 9, Twitter announced via its blog that Instagram had disabled photo integration with Twitter. While users can still share Instagram links on the site, the images can not be previewed on Twitter. That means when I shared a TwitPic photo on my Twitter account:

And tweeting an Instagram photo gives you this:

Followed by a trip to Instagram.com:

While the change isn’t the end of the world, it does remove a level of convenience that existed with the previous method. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom maintained that the company would always remain integrated with Twitter.

In a statement to Mashable, Sysytom announced,

“A handful of months ago, we supported Twitter cards because we had a minimal web presence. We’ve since launched several improvements to our website that allow users to directly engage with Instagram content through likes, comments, hashtags and now we believe the best experience is for us to link back to where the content lives.”

December 10, Twitter announced on its blog the ability for users to add filters and edit photos from directly within the app, without relying on Instagram. The upcoming filters were first reported in November, and are now available when tweeting photos directly from Twitter.

The back-and-forth “improvements” and changes will continue to develop into 2013, as Instagram claims it continues to evolve in the interests of the best user experience.

Instagram Publishes New Privacy Policy:

If the average user has heard anything about Instagram this year, it is most likely the updates to the Privacy Policy that will take affect in January 2013.

Language in the updated policy implied that the site and its owner, Facebook, would be allowed access to a users information, photos, and data without compensation for purposes including advertising. Backlash was swift and loud, with users preparing to delete their accounts and wondering how to remove all of their photos from the site permanently. Some were less than concerned.

The updates coincide perfectly with Twitter upgrades and a revamped Flickr, giving users plenty of options if they decide to jump the Instagram ship.

Instagram quickly took to its blog to defend the intentions of the policy and assure users that their complaints were heard. Asserting that the sale and use of users photos for advertising purposes was never part of the plan, the company vowed to remove the language from the policy before it is implemented on January 16.

Moving Forward in 2013:

After a year of controversy and putting out fires, Instagram can hope to start 2013 with a clean slate. Assuming, of course, the world doesn’t end tomorrow.

The post Instagram Faces Challenges And Changes In 2012 appeared first on Clix.

With this update, when you click on this it will show you places near by that your friends have rated, recommended, checked-in to, or liked. The results that you see will be ranked by the recommendations, check-ins and likes. Your network will act as the filter for this, at least for the time being.

How is this different than before? When you previously clicked on Nearby, it showed you places that your friends had recently checked in at, but thats really it. It will still show you that, but it will also show you various other businesses “nearby” that have been recommended or liked by your network of friends. Of course, only those businesses that have a Facebook Page will be listed – which is just another reason why its so crucial for your company or business to be active on social media sites.

Not only will the update show you businesses and places that your friends have visited and liked, but it also will give you the capability to search by location and/or category (restaurants, shoe stores, hotels etc). Results that appear will be ranked by the number of star ratings, recommendations, likes and check-ins. Since most people are on their Facebook app anyways when out and about, this makes the Nearby tool much more effective and helpful to those looking for specific places.

The app will be updated this afternoon, and I cant wait to start trying it. We all knew and expected Facebook to eventually join the search conversation, and I’m sure this is just the very beginning for them, as they test out the waters.

I’m sure the Nearby feature will become more and more complex as it gathers more data from their Facebook users. I would imagine them letting businesses pay to be on the top of the listings you search for as time goes on, much like Google’s pay per click.

I personally think that this new feature will be very beneficial. Its always nice to be recommended to go try a restaurant by a friend, because you know that it will most likely be a good experience. And now, you can just browse all of the locations near by that your friends and family like and recommend, hopefully making decisions a lot easier!

The post Facebook Introduces Local Search Tool appeared first on Clix.

Secret Boards allow users to pin items that they don’t necessarily want to share with the world. This could be anything from gift ideas to behind the scenes party planning efforts. Pins to Secret Boards are only viewable by the creator and any collaborators, and do not appear anywhere else on the site.

To start using Secret Boards, visit the Boards section of your profile page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a new section for Secret Boards.

You can also create a Secret Board by selecting the Add + tab in the menu bar. Select Create A Board. In the board information, switch the Secret tab to “on”.

Once you have created the board, you can start adding pins. For the purposes of testing the new feature, I decided to start making a list of Christmas gifts I need to buy.

*If my family is reading this, these are not your actual gifts, sorry!

In the descriptions of the pins I added who the gift was meant for and whether or not I had made the purchase. This is much easier to maintain than a piece of notebook paper with ideas scratched off as I made purchases, and will be especially helpful if you (like me) plan to do the majority of your holiday shopping online this year.

The limit on Secret Boards begs the question, if I delete a Secret Board or decide to make it public, will I receive a new board to replace it? The answer is yes. After I complete my Christmas shopping for 2012, I can delete my board and start planning ahead for 2013!

Secret Boards could prove to be advantageous for business owners incorporating social media as well. For example, a kitchen design company could use a Secret Board to share design ideas and collaborate with a client without using email. This keeps all of the images in a single location, and eliminates the need to open files every time you need to view a photo.

Secret Boards can also be used within a company to share ideas and inspiration for new products or pitches.

What do you think- will you use Secret Boards in your social media strategies? Let us know in the comments!

The post Pinterest Adds New Feature, Secret Boards, In Time For Holiday Shopping appeared first on Clix.

The tweet was swiftly deleted, but but many of the brands 25,000 followers had more than enough time to see the post and retweet to their own followers. Obama’s grandmother passed away in November 2008, just before her grandson was elected President.

This latest social media management mistake made me think about other times in recent memory when posting for a brand accidentally or in bad taste has resulted in negative backlash. The cause of the tweet, degree of offense, and response make these seven social media #fails cautionary tales for brands and social media employees.

Insensitive Posting:

Insensitive posting on behalf of a person or brand can negatively impact both their own image and that of any companies they represent. In the case of public personalities, personal twitter feeds aren’t really personal and jokes meant for friends can be shared with the world. These four learned the hard way:

     1. Gilbert Gottrried

In March 2011, as Japan struggled to recover from a devastating Tsunami, comedian Gilbert Gottfried responded with jokes on Twitter. The series of tweets landed the voice of the Aflac duck in the hot seat, and he was swiftly fired. Poorly timed and intended to be offensive, Gottfried’s tweets came as no surprise to those who love the comedian. In this case, the social media failure may almost be directed to Aflac, despite the fact that Gottfried was using a personal account.

Selecting a spokesperson gives them the power to influence your brand message with their personal tweets. In this case, Aflac should have expected that Gottfried would not toe the line.

     2. Roger Ebert

In June 2011, “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn and a passenger were killed in a car accident after Dunn posted photos of the two drinking on Twitter. The following morning Roger Ebert’s response drew fire from the “Jackass” stars and fans alike, accusing him of insensitivity and lack of respect for Dunn. Ebert, who is notorious for offensive opinions, later discovered that his Facebook page had been removed for violating Facebook’s Terms of Use. Speculating that he had been targeted by fans of the “Jackass” series. Rather than apologize for his tweet or remove it, Ebert took to his blog to explain his side of the story.

Toxicology reports later revealed that Dunn’s blood alcohol level was at .196, double the legal limit in Pennsylvania, and he was driving at speeds between 132-140 mph at the time of the accident.

     3. Ashton Kutcher

     4. Kenneth Cole

Mismanaged Accounts:

Managing a brand account is not possible for every company owner to manage personally; however, hiring a social media company or choosing an in-house team to manage your social media is not to be taken lightly, as these companies learned.

     1. Red Cross

Passing the keys to social media accounts can be dangerous, as the Red Cross learned in February 2011. An employee accidentally crossed their accounts while learning to use Hootsuite. The Red Cross swiftly responded by removing the tweet and responding in good humor.

This case of crisis management done right earned the Red Cross kudos from the Twitter community, and even sparked an influx of donations. Their blog explains the mistake, and thanks supporters for their increased donations.

2. Chrysler

While the Red Cross was remarkably understanding, Chrysler and its social media company, New Media Strategies, were certainly less forgiving of the employee who confused a personal handle with Chrysler’s account after a stressful morning commute. The tweet in March 2011 was directly contradicting Chrysler’s focus on promoting Detroit at the time. Chrysler responded by firing New Media Strategies and sharing a blog to clarify the situation. New Media Strategies in turn fired the employee responsible for the tweet.

The response to this situation gained negative publicity for Chrysler not only for the tweet, but for allegedly demanding the firing of the employee and claiming to promote Detroit while selecting Eminem to star in their Superbowl ad. Chrysler is a cautionary tale for any social media manager- you could pay for a single tweet with your job.

3. Celeb Boutique

One of the more recent social media outrages was sparked when Celeb Boutique attempted to hijack the #Aurora trending topic in the wake of the Aurora movie theatre shooting in July 2012. The social media company behind the handle had not checked the reason for the trend before making a joke to promote a product.

Celeb Boutique responded with a series of tweets explaining that they use an outsourced company who was unaware of the shootings. This explanation did not stop boycott groups from forming in protest.

Lessons Learned:

Assuming responsibility for a brand’s social media is not to be taken lightly. Always proofread, double check your accounts, and do your research before posting. Brands should understand that mistakes happen, and the result has more to do with your response than the tweet itself.

The post Social Media #Fails: Lessons For Brands appeared first on Clix.

“On average, less than 1% of Likes on any given Page will be removed, providing they and their affiliates have been abiding by our terms.”

The news is welcomed by legitimate brand managers and social media marketers, who will find it a relief that those engaging in less-than-honorable tactics will feel repercussions. While the larger companies can afford to lose thousands of followers without making a dent in their revenue (Texas HoldEm Poker lost over 103,000 fans- less than one half of one percent of all fans) smaller businesses and start up companies can not afford to see such fluctuations.

Among the top 20 brands on Facebook, all but 4 have lost Likes in the last 24 hours, with only Facebook For Every Phone, Facebook, YouTube, and Coca-Cola remaining immune to the slaughter. In those cases, the positive metric does not necessarily indicate that no Likes were lost, but rather that the number of Likes gained was greater.

Data courtesy of PageData.

The elimination of fake Likes is important for brands to consider when selecting a social media company to manage their online presence. While it is tempting to see a massive influx of Likes initially, it is crucial to remember that true, organic growth takes time. Hoping for a quick fix in this case may get you much less than you bargained for long-term.

This once again stresses a point that we at Clix share with out clients- choosing to engage in social marketing and SEO are long-term solutions. The audience must be carefully cultivated and the brand loyalty genuine. Like Facebook, potential customers can spot a fake profile, and your reputation will not be improved in their eyes. The key is to remain constant and cater to the real needs of your real followers. This should keep you too busy to spend time looking for fake Likes.

The post Facebook Fake Out appeared first on Clix.

As a social media company, we believe it’s crucial to stay involved in all of the latest developments in technology and sharing, so naturally this latest development caught our attention.

What’s The Big Deal?

According to the Apple Store’s description:

“With Camera, you can share photos on Facebook faster than ever, and see what friends are up to in a feed of nothing but their photos.

–Post a bunch of photos at once

–See friends’ latest photos in one place

–Play with crops and filters

–Tag friends, add captions and say where you are

–See photos from different apps”

But isn’t that what Instagram already offers? The difference is in the style of sharing and the quality of the product. Instagram gained popularity as the first in its field to really take the concept of making ordinary mobile photos look professional, and Facebook Camera plays on essentially the same concept.

The Sharing Style: Friends Vs. Followers

Instagram gives users the option of selecting to post public or private profiles. A public profile in this sense is much like the style used for Twitter. Users have the option of “following” others who they think post good content. There is not an approval process, and just because User A follows User B, User B does not necessarily have to follow User A. It means that you can follow anyone you want with a public profile, not just those with whom you share personal connections.

Facebook Camera, on the other hand, operates in the traditional Facebook “friend” format. Two users who have mutually accepted a friendship on the social network will show up in each other’s respective feeds. This means that the content you access will be limited to those you are already connected to. You’ll see the same photos that appear in your newsfeed already, but with a more stylized appearance.

Bonus: Instagram allows users to connect their social networks and share to all simultaneously. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and Foursquare are all connection options. Do you know what that means? Instagram is already sharing on your Facebook account if you want it to.  Two birds with one metaphorical stone, if you will.

Quality: Filtering Out The Good From The Bad

Instagram gives users 18 basic filters to apply, along with blurring and border options. The names are relatively creative, and the editing quality dramatic. The filters and blur options add an artistic quality to the service aside from just improving the image.

Facebook Camera has 15 filters. That’s about it. The filters primarily highlight different elements of the image and focus on lighting. A quick breeze through the line of filters makes it obvious that the focus is improving the basic, visual quality without the artistic element.

And The Winner Is…

Facebook clearly comes out on top. No, not Facebook Camera: the company itself. Owning both Instagram and Facebook Camera means that the social network has purchased its greatest competition and now has the ability to control its promotion. Facebook can choose to promote both platforms simultaneously, singularly, or scrap one of the apps all together. It seems that Instagram has the stronger case for surviving such elimination.

It’s far too likely that Facebook Camera will go the way of Google Video after the acquisition of YouTube and disappear quietly into the night.

The post Facebook Camera- An Instagram Challenger? appeared first on Clix.

How would the social media department ever take over for HR, well I was thinking about this the other day and the answer is relatively simple.  LinkedIn and Skype can turn any company small or big, into a player on the global market.  Companies can go after the exact employee they want and then do an online face to face interview within a couple of hours or days depending on everyone’s schedule.  LinkedIn has over 160 million members, and professionals are joining the network at a rate of 2 per second.  That’s 170,000 professionals every 24 hours joining a professional network.

These people joining are from every industry and many times are the best in their industry.  Other times they are new college graduates looking for a fresh start in their respective industry.   Still today 50% of people say they were hired from a personal connection and through networking.  We need to look at LinkedIn as a personal connection at a distance.  One cool feature of LinkedIn is it will tell you how many degrees of separation you are from that person.  You can almost always find someone who knows that person, and get a personal reference right away.

As of January of 2012 Skype had 31 Million users, but of course I simply used Skype as an example.  The interview could be conducted on several different platforms, such as Google+, or even face time on an iPhone or iPad.  This gives the social media department the ability to overstep the HR department, creating a one-to-one personal connection with virtually anyone.  Again this will give basically any business the ability to operate nationally or globally.

Maybe I am wrong and we will always need an HR department and I was just having a moment thinking how cool it would be for social media to take over another part of the world.  But, I do think there is something to be said for the power of LinkedIn when it comes to finding new talent and even new business.  It is personal connections and networking 2.0, but added together with a platform like Skype, I do believe some really great things could happen.

The post Could LinkedIn plus Skype Mean no More HR Department? appeared first on Clix.

Overloading the Audience:

There is a balance that must be achieved by companies who do not want to drive away audience members as a result of SEO efforts. The number of posts per day a brand submits to social sites such as Facebook and Twitter can affect how the audience interacts with the brand. Facebook is primarily a friend sharing social tool. Users who “like” brand pages are showing support for the brand, but unlikely to want to see posts lining up in news feeds multiple times each day. Users who feel their feed is being overrun will unlike a brand or hide brand content. Neither of these reactions is ideal.

Twitter is a different avenue and allows brands more freedom to post multiple times per day. As a result of the constant flow of tweets and the likelihood that users review their entire Twitter feeds, it is a good idea to repost content to capture more users. Those who saw it the first time probably won’t see it the second time: it’s the nature of the media.

Knowing your audience and their level of engagement can help regulate the number of posts a brand projects. If users are participating actively multiple times per day, providing more content is suitable. If users are engaged in the morning and ignoring evening posts it would be advisable to remove evening posting schedules.

Reducing Content Quality:

Content is King in the world of SEO and social media. Users want to see that their time and support of a brand has not been wasted. Providing good content is a key element of developing an active social audience and improving search engine rankings. Over-optimization can cause the quality to decrease and disengage the audience. Overloading content with keywords and improper grammar is a red flag to the audience. No one wants to support a brand that doesn’t understand spellcheck or the basics of writing.

Obvious Marketing Efforts:

Obvious marketing efforts are one of the fastest ways to drive away an audience. The primary culprit in this avenue is currently the social media darling, Pinterest. As brands look for a way to incorporate Pinterest for SEO efforts many are too clearly promoting product sales and driving away potential follows and pins. Users view social media as a conversational haven, not a place where marketers will target them. It is up to the brands to be smart and develop keywords and captions that don’t appear to be sales pitches.

Over-optimization is a problem in the current social media climate. Finding the balance between engaging an audience and driving them away is tricky and should not be taken lightly. As a St. Louis SEO company, we know it is up to the brands to understand the population and its reaction to advertising and promotional posts. Accounting for the wants and needs of the audience can prevent over-optimization and keep your conversation relevant.

The post Is Over-Optimization Killing Your Social Potential? appeared first on Clix.