Today I’m going to talk about social media in our every day life with the focus on the positive points it brings us!��Before we start a little quiz to see how socially devoted everyone here is: Who’s on Facebook? / Who’s on Instagram? / Who’s on Twitter? / Who’s on Pinterest? Maybe saying we’re all addicts is a bit exagerated or we might underestimate how ‘present’ social media is in our daily lifes!
Social Media: The Figures
5,8 million users
2,5 million users
1 million users
The World Belgium
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Globally Facebook has more than 1,4 billion monthly active users. In Belgium there are almost 6 million people active on Facebook, there are 2,5 million Belgian LinkedIn Profiles and 1 million Twitter accounts.
Social Media: The Figures
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Why are we on Social Media? According to a lof people it’s for ‘social’ reasons like staying in touch, sharing, networking, meeting new people, …��Source: GlobalWebIndex
Social Shift influenced by IT
2005
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Who knows where these pictures were taken?��The first one was taken in Vatican City in 2005 when they announced the new pope, Pope Benedict the 16th. The second one was taken when they announced his successor Pope Francis.�These 2 pictures clarify the rise of social media: it goes hand in hand with the rise & popularity of mobile devices. Everything we experience we can now easily share via pictures or video, and we do so on a daily basis.�
You can run, but you can’t hide
2005
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And even if you say that you don’t want have anything to do with social media, you won’t be able to ignore it. Nowadays it’s everywhere. On TV social media offers a second screen, and enables interaction.�Think of tv shows like So You Think You can Dance, The Voice, Belgium’s Got Talent, … they often use a Twitter wall and the host runs through some of the reactions out there. Social Media offers realtime, live interaction which is way cooler than texting.
You can run, but you can’t hide
2005
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And also magazines jump on the social media band wagon integrating tweets, instagram pictures, quotes, and so on. Also for them it’s a way to interact with their readers, and next to that it’s probably also a research channel!
Social Media is everywhere
2005
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And even the Oscars go ‘social’. This group-selfietweet from talkshow host Ellen was retweeted more than 2 million times immediately after she posted it. Before this ‘scened’ tweet, the one of Barack Obama after his re-election just saying “Four more years had the retweet” record. I say scened tweet cause Ellen was taking pictures for Samsung; she also tweeted a blurry one from herself on the stage, before she took this one that went viral. The tv advertising costs in US are huge, so for Samsung this deal was probably a bargain but it’s also an example of how our ‘offline’ experiences are changing because of what we can do online.
We share our Food … on Social Media
2005
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Who here takes pictures of food or drinks? Bart, don’t forget to raise your hand ;-)
Some Restaurants & Bars go against this
2005
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Some restaurants & bars deliberately go against this trend. Some because they think their guests should spend qualitytime, others because they just don’t want to spend money on offering WiFi, or they might be scared for negative reactions (which they will get anyway)….
But ‘where’ was this shared?
2005
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…but whatever there reason is. Where was this picture shared…. Right: on social media!
Others use it to their advantage
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Smart companies & people use it to their advantage. I really love this example that I discovered at a Social Media Conference! It’s a doctor, Karim, who has an Instagram account but who doesn’t use it to post his own pictures. No he uses it to help his patients that want to loose weight. His concept is very easy: he asks his patients for their Instagram account, and when they take food pictures that are healthy he will like those pictures. When they post pictures of unhealthy food he won’t like them so they know they are not doing a great job and need to get back on track!
Social Media can help good causes…
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The Ice Bucket Challenge, Pink Ribbon, Everyone Against Cancer… these are only a few of campaigns that can reach more people thanks to social media and hopefully generate more money for charity.
… or turn us into sensation seekers
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Unfortunately this is not the only example; in China there was a man who was flying for the very first time. The plane was still on the ground when he wanted to get out of the plane. Instead of warning one of the flight attendants when he was panicking the other people on board just started to film the guy with their smartphones…
It can also empower us against Companies…
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Yup, even I have already complained about and to companies on social media…. Who else here has already used social media to complain about bad service or a bad product?
It can also empower us against Companies…
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Well this man went a bit further than just complaining. He paid a few 1000 dollars to show his tweet to all the followers of British Airways, at that time more than 300.000! Unfortunately for British Airways they waited a few days to react, and this went viral in the media and their reputation and image was badly damaged because of this incident. This example is from 2013 but we don’t have to go back in time to find examples close to us, and you don’t need to pay to be heard!
It can also empower us against Companies…
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A woman wanted to warm up the bottle for her 2 months old baby in a restaurant in Leuven and she discovered on her bill that they charged her 50 cents for doing so… But things like these don’t stay on Twitter.
It can also empower us against Companies…
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They become news, and this isn’t surprising since a huge group of Twitter users are journalists
…or turn us into Ambassadors!
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So ok social media gives us power to stand up for proper service, but it can also turn us into ambassadors when we do receive excellent service!
…or turn us into Ambassadors!
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And when businesses walk the extra mile of foresee a surprise & delight, we shout it out! I’m still talking about this example and it happened to me in 2011, can you imagine what an impact a small attention can have on your relationship with a company?
It personalizes our online experience
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Two weeks ago you visited a hotel website but you didn’t book it. Now you’re seeing an ad for that same hotel but at a discount rate on Facebook. Congratulations, you’ve been retargeted!�Advertisers can add for example a Facebook pixel on their website and that way they can show relevant content to a relevant audience. Why should they show you an ad if you just booked? No it’s much more interesting to show an ad to someone who checked the website but hasn’t been back for a few weeks.
It personalizes our online experience
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This might feel a bit like big brother, but on the other hand the offers that we see are offers we might really be interested in: KBC for example targeted some tweets related to the superprestige to followers of Sven Nys, that way you’re pretty sure you’re sending it to people that have an interest in cyclocross instead of annoying all of your followers.
I prefer to look at the bright side!
10 Ways Social Media has
shaped our lives for the better!
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I often hear a negative story about social media, and I must admit that I can understand but I also want to defend social media cause I love it so much. Social media will never replace any face-to-face contact. I will never stop going out to meet my friends & family in real life. In my opinion social media enriches my life because it makes it possible to stay in touch & interact on a regular basis with a lot of people.
#1 - We are informed about the Political Landscape
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In April 2014 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted by armed Islamic militants. Sadly enough shortly after the kidnapping almost nobody was talking about this. When the Vice President of the World Bank for Africa gave a speech in which he asked the Nigerian government to help with the quote "Bring Back Our Girls" his call was echoed by twitterers in Nigeria who launched the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls that went viral is gone and more nd was used more than a million times. Both ordinary people and celebrities such as the First Lady of the US drew pictures of themselves holding a sign with the hashtag on. The Nigerian government could therefore no longer ignored what happened and were forced to accept international aid. There are a lot of countries where what you see on television unfortunately doesn’t match reality, and to some extent social media can fight against censorship.
#2 - We care about social justice
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A columnist in ELLE recently wrote about her criticism on the “I’m No Angel” lingerie-campaign form Lane Bryant… On one side she says that skinny models on the catwalk are unhealthy, on the other side she thinks that this campaign is a bridge to far and that these are just women with overweight who should do something about it instead of being celebrated. If she would look like that she would rather die… Very harsh words, but thanks to social media there’s room for counter opinions and dialogue about sensitive topics like this and about even more sensitive topics. We are informed about what’s going on, and with countless outlets to express our opinions via social media, through our personal profiles as well as anonymously, we are flooded with opportunity to develop and articulate opinions.
#3 – It stimulates an “Entrepreneurial Spirit”
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When it comes to getting the life we’ve always wanted, we have learned that it’s not out there waiting for us on a silver platter. If we want the life we’ve always dreamed of, we have to create it, and in today’s economy, we often have to do this on our own. It isn’t enough anymore to get your degree and expect to get a job. The job market isn’t exactly booming, and we have a tough time competing against other applicants. And thus, more people have taken it upon themselves to create the jobs they want and often social media is integrated, either to boost their business, or to get noticed, or… Especially for women it’s very important => work from home etc
#4 – The World is getting smaller
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Social media gives us the possibility to be in touch with people from cultures all over the world. The world is getting smaller through our digital interconnectivity. A while ago I had a skype call with global company Pawshake: one of their Belgian Founders lives in California, and he wanted to have a chat with me and their Community Manager Ally who is based in Australia. Thanks to social media solutions this is perfectly possible!
#4 – The World is getting smaller
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Thanks to Social Media we feel connected with people we didn’t even meet IN REAL LIFE.
#5 – We can keep in touch
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A brief scan through my Facebook News Feed provides me with updates on the lives of people from secondary and high school with whom I long ago lost contact.�But sometimes there are even cooler stories than finding back your old school mates: http://fusion.net/story/29850/how-long-lost-sisters-found-each-other-online-25-years-later/ Play 2nd movie (full screen!)
#6 – We prioritize Health & Fitness
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Yes, I know that our culture is becoming increasingly obese. However when I check my Instagram feed I see lots of pictures of healthy food and sporty people. In that sense I think Social media encourages and motivates to choose for a healthier lifestyle. It’s like watching commercials while sitting in front of tv => when I see a commercial about a drink I suddenly want to go to the fridge and get myself something. And luckily I have the same feeling when I check my Instagram feed: when I see people doing sport I think, mmm I should also get some exercise
#7 – Social Media is our additional Memory
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Social Media really is our additional memory. I think we would forget a lot of birthdays if Facebook wouldn’t remind us.
#7 – Social Media is our additional Memory
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A few years ago my handbag & laptop bag were stolen in Barcelona. What I missed most where the pictures from my grand parents in my wallet, and secondly the notes from the meeting that I had there. If someone would now steal my belongings I wouldn’t cry so much as I did then. All my files are stored on Dropbox, and the pictures that mean most to me are posted on my social media channels. And social media helps us in so many ways, also business wise. I know some people that used to write on a business card when they met, where, how etc. Now with a simple click you can store these kind of details in LinkedIn so that only you can see them, but you can access them from wherever you want! �A small tip when adding people to your network: personalize your invite. Especially when you didn’t meet them in person, it’s always nice to know why someone wants to add you, and I must admit I often ignore invites�from people that I don’t know and use the standard phrase.
#8 – Quicker response from (most) Companies
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I hate it when I have to call a company, especially if it’s the kind where you really have to listen carefully to hear all the 9 menu options… Oh damn which option should I choose? And when you finally know which number to select you get music… The music might be horrible, but even when it’s good music every 1 minute at least you’ll hear “all our operators are currently busy, we will help you as soon as possible”, so you go crazy and when you finally get someone on the line it often happens that the connection is lost…probably by accident
#8 – Quicker response from (most) Companies
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On social media it’s so much easier. The threshold is so much lower than picking up your phone. You quickly send a message from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. Mostly it’s a public message, everybody is watching so the company wants to show off and help you as quickly as possible and a lot of companies really do a good job and offer great customer service and I’m sure that in the future this will still improve. Coolblue is one of my favourite examples, I shop there often and they really practice what they preach!
#8 – Quicker response from (most) Companies
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In January they started experimenting with WhatsApp for Customer Service; and this is something that more and more business will integrate in their customer care strategy, and especially the ones that you have to ask questions that can be sensitive or very personal.
#9 – Better Customer Experiences
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Social media allows us to share moments that are special to us, and companies have seen the benefits of this: when you share a great hotel experience this means buzz going on about their hotel brand on social media so companies are doing their best to give us better experiences and to create special moments for us that we want to share. For our webshop it’s the same => I’m an online shopper myself so when I know I’m going to receive a package and I hear the doorbell I already get a happy feeling and jump for the door. It’s that moment of excitement that a webshop needs to make extra special => when people open the box we try to surprise them so it’s not just their order that they get but they really feel that they get a personal service. We don’t need to check our bpost track & trace system to see if our orders are delivered, we know as soon as they are delivered thanks to the messages we receive via social media
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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Time is precious, and maybe sometimes we spend too much time on social media, but I’m also convinced that it can help us save time as well…
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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Here’s my top 3:��One of my all-time favourite apps is definitely Flipboard. First of all it allows you to integrate all your social media channels in one app: you can link your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+, SoundCloud, YouTube and some other channels. But you can take it a step further, for example if you are using Twitter Lists and for example have a Twitter List containing only people from Travel Industry you can integrate that list as well. Next to that you can also integrate topics in your overview like Design, and so on.��So that’s part 1 on how I use it, but part 2 is that when I open for example my Twitter account from Flipboard and I start flipping through tweets I can flip some of the tweets to magazines that I created myself and which you see on the second screenshot. So if I come across an interesting social media case example I’ll flip it to that magazine. So in the end you create magazine for yourself to easily find back relevant stuff, but you can also make them public, people can subscribe to your magazines and so on.
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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Also in my top 3 is If This Then That
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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I use it for example in combination with my Misfit watch which is a smartwatch linked to my iPhone. My sleep is tracked and I use IFTTT to daily send me a report about my sleep via email: how many hours did I sleep, did I sleep in pieces or was it a restfull sleep and so on, same for exercise: I’ve set my self a goal being a specific number of steps per day => if by a certain time I didn’t reach that goal yet IFTTT will send me an alert so I know I’ll need to walk the dog to get some extra steps. If you check you’ll see that there are a lot of social media apps that can be controlled via IFTTT, I’m pretty sure that social media stimulates the making of these kind of great tools that help us!
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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And last but not least: a social media channel which I perceive as a tool: Pinterest! Pinterest allows you to create boards on which you can pin pictures related to a certain topic. You can also invite someone to pin along on your board like I did for this specific board. It’s called “light dishes” and I pin on it together with a friend. Now what’s the big advantage… in the past I had to print recipes and put them in a book, or I kept excel-files etc but with Pinterest when you pin a picture for example from a weight watchers webpage with a recipe on it your life becomes so much easier => you just go to your board and you select a recipe by clicking on the picture and you’ll be redirected to the original weightwatchers website with tadaaaaaaaaaa the recipe. So tablet next to me in the kitchen and I can start cooking. But you can use it for many other reasons as well… let’s have a look
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate work & life
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You can also use it to create a wishlisht => very convenient for your birthdays, my mother always wants to know what I like to have but I like to be surprised so this is the perfect compromise. You can even send the link to people who don’t have a pinterest account, they will still be able to see it and when they click on it they will also know where to buy it ;-)
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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On my professional So Buzzy Pinterest account I have to other nice boards that help me => a lot of people ask me which social media books I can recommend, and to avoid having to look up my list everytime I’ve created 2 boards: one with social media books I’ve read & approved and another one with my social media books wishlist so that when I go on holiday I know which book I can still buy and take with me.
#10 – It generates Tools to facilitate Work & Life
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And also companies are seeing the benefits in using it. A while ago Four Seasons launched “Pin-Pack-Go”: a Pinterest service to let guests connect with local experts of this luxury hotel group. �You could create a moodboard with what is important to you on a holiday and tag the hotel of your choice. A local Four Seasons export would than check your moodboard and would create a personalized recommendation based on your board for your stay, not only related to the hotel but also with a lot of tips of what you could do outside your hotel.�
Social Media is playing a great role in our Lives!
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So that were the 10 ways social media has shaped our lives for the better. It’s playing a great role in our daily lives, and though there are 2 sides on every story I could never go back to living without social media. Can you?��
Bedankt voor jullie aandacht!
Thanks for listening!
@KelWouters: tweets in NL about Dogs, Cats & Media
