Posts Tagged ‘social networks’

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Is Business Social Networking a bunch of hooey?

Monday, February 1st, 2010

If you are a member of business oriented online Social Networking groups, and you should be, you might become convinced that business social networking is a bunch of hooey. 

Hooey: noun – silly or worthless talk, writing, ideas, etc.; nonsense; bunk: as in… That’s a lot of hooey and you know it!

Understand that SocNets are a subset of Social Media including websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.  SocNets are different in purpose from Blogs or content sharing websites like YouTube, Flickr, and Squidoo or from bookmarking sites, etc. SocNet group participation is for connecting with people with similar interests and building relationships, not for direct sales activities.

For example, LinkedIn is one of the prime business social networking websites. It is organized around an endless number of Groups that are each devoted to a specific category or area of business interest.  Each Group has a discussion section and news area to post topics of interest to the group.

But in many Groups, 80% of the discussion and news postings are thinly disguised advertisements. These quasi-ad posts will have an interesting headline, but the body of the post contains a couple of self-serving statements followed by a link to the author’s business website. Click on the link and you are taken to a sales oriented landing page.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.  That is a bunch of hooey from the viewer’s perspective.  People scanning SocNet posts are interested in discussions, useful news, or exchanging job information. In B2B SocNets, viewers may be in the market for something, but if yes are mostly at the ‘becoming aware or doing research ‘ top or middle areas in the sales funnel, but seldom in the ‘ready to buy’ bottom of the funnel.

It’s like going to a Chamber event to ‘network’. My experience is that most participants attending networking events are there to socialize with friends or to try to immediately sell something to ‘prospects’. They certainly are not there to buy something. So the room is filled with friendly chat or sellers and few if any buyers.

The typical networking ‘seller’ meets, in their mind, a ‘prospect’ and quickly regurgitates an elevator speech hopeful that they will snag a sale.  The other person only hears blah, blah, blah while waiting their turn to unload their elevator speech. Of course the ‘buy from me now before you get to know me’ approach seldom works.

SocNets are often used in a similar manner with poor results. Check out the comments count for quasi-ad SocNet posts and they are usually zero. Sure, some folks might click on the web page link in the post, but I suspect the frequency is about the same as responses to hated SPAM email messages.

One suggestion for live networking events is to introduce yourself and quickly ask the other party what they do rather than launching into a spiel about how wonderful and fascinating YOU are. Make the discussion about them by asking questions to show you are paying attention. 9 times out of 10 when they are done, they will ask you what you do and pay better attention. And don’t do a general sales spiel – use what you learned about them to suggest specific areas where you might be able to add value for them.  Above all, be patient, its like dating and you just met!

There is also a right and wrong way to use biz SocNets.  Unfortunately many people use them as an extension of their conventional mass marketing methods hoping to catch a quick sale.  It is better to start by asking for information or help on some topic.  Then look for responses that offer a chance to build relationships by reciprocating with info of value to the responder and group at large.

Or add value by looking for posts that are asking for info or advice in an area of your expertise.  Provide answers without immediate expectations for business results – build your expert status by creating credibility in the relationship.

SocNets should be used to collaborate, find solutions, and connect & communicate with people with similar or complimentary interests.  Get to know each other, add value, and earn each other’s trust. Business results will follow and that’s no hooey.

Contact me for coaching – we’ve been there and done that.

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Your Social Media ‘phone’ is ringing… are you answering it?

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Regardless of your political position, I am going to use the recent Massachusetts Senate election as a teachable moment opportunity regarding Social Media.

What would happen to your business if when your phone rang  you never answered it or recorded the messages? Disaster, right? Social Media channels are sending messages to or about your company each day, are you answering or recording the messages?  Are you respecting the value of listening and engaging with your customers? Hold that thought and keep reading…

Some political commentators on a Sunday Meet the Press type TV show, I think correctly, said that the politicians in power incorrectly interpreted the meaning of the 2008 US elections. And they disregarded public input about legislation that they received in considerable volume from many sources during 2009. These miscalculations are having an affect in recent special elections.

One commentator stated that there is a communication issue – the problem is that elected officials did not communicate their message effectively.  Another commentator disagreed and offered this opinion:  Communication is the issue, but communications involves talking and listening.  Politicians are used to telling an apathetic public what they are going to do but usually don’t have to seriously deal with the listening part of the communication equation.  

That is where communications broke down. It wasn’t that elected officials weren’t telling their story effectively or uttering enough ‘magic words’ to convince the public about legislation, it was at their peril that they weren’t listening to what the public was really saying. The majority of the public was saying we understand, but we don’t want your product in its current configuration.

You can’t make your products or policies more popular or better by just lecturing to your audiences while ignoring feedback or filtering feedback by listening only to positive comments from your inner circle of friends.  

So what does this have to do with Social Media? Just like politicians need to pay attention to their constituents, business managers need to pay attention to their customers. This is especially true now because the Internet makes unlimited information available and it has changed forever the way people mass communicate.

Control of information and communication has always been key to political and commercial power. Whoever controls the ‘microphone’ usually has the edge in a debate.  Traditionally commercial communication was mostly one way, not two way. Companies were in control of information and the conversation.

In the past companies talked at their customers, not with their customers other than via an occasional poll or focus group study. Ads and announcements were sent out to the marketplace through traditional media outlets, but little could come back from the marketplace inward because there were no easy pathways.  Company management, like politicians, did a lot of talking but not much listening even if they wanted to because before the Internet, there wasn’t a good source of feedback.   Via Social Media, customers now have a ‘microphone’ of their own.

Constituents of elected officials found their voice via email, town hall meetings, tea parties, online forums, etc.  And customers of companies now have a loudspeaker connected to the world via Social Media. Business managers need to listen or their companies could be voted out of existence by customers like politicians are being voted out of office.

Some random thoughts:

  1. There is an old saying that was never so true as in today’s realities… We have two ears and one mouth for a reason – we should listen twice as much as we talk.
  2. The customer is always right – you can’t fight that. It is crucial that you know what the customer wants; they are telling you in Social Media portals.
  3. You can ignore what people are saying to or about your business, but that doesn’t make the talk go away; ignoring the discussion frustrates your customers and lets the discussion go its own way without any influence from you.

Are you in the Social Media communication loop or are you letting Social Media ‘ring’ without pickup?  Like politicians, some companies ‘get it’, many do not.  You must be active in Social Media out of self defense at the minimum. Ignore it at your peril.  There are archived posts on this very subject.  Contact me if you need to begin listening to your customers and need help.

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Digital Marketing Tip – what’s the big picture here?

Monday, January 11th, 2010

big_picture

I think it is time to stand back from the details found in the prior 75 Internet Marketing posts in this  blog and look at the big picture – get grounded in the basics.

A business or organization can accomplish three primary things online:

  1. Actionable Outcomes: sales, leads, subscriptions, etc
  2. Branding / Reputation Management
  3. Communicating / Networking: internal & external

There are five pathways available to accomplish the above sales &  marketing goals:

  1. Build a website. A website technically consists of a content management system (CMS) wrapped in a graphics design that aligns with your brand and design requirements. But the real value of a website is its content (your message) via text, images, charts, graphs, audio, & video. Your website is its content and content is your website.
  2. Utilize Search Marketing. If you build it (a website) they will not come; at least not in sufficient numbers. To secure a flow of targeted traffic the gold standard is Search Marketing consisting of Search Engine Optimization (SEO i.e. organic traffic) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising links to your site.
  3. Engage in Social Media Marketing. The era of Web 2.0 (user generated content) is no longer an experimental marketing zone. Social networking has evolved into a must-go arena for public relations, interactive communications, networking, branding and reputation management. Plus going social provides search engine ranking benefits; opportunities for targeted advertising; and word of mouth lead generation.
  4. Conduct Email Marketing. Email is a low cost method of relationship management and up-selling with existing clients. Or with the right email system and opt-in list, productive lead generation can be accomplished.
  5. Use Display Ads (banner ads).   Display ads can be placed in some SocNet portals, within individual websites (like a local news site) or published selectively within a national network of high traffic websites. Network banner ad placement can be targeted geographically, contextually, demographically, and using a tactic called re-marketing, a display ad can follow visitors from your website to their visits on related websites within the ad network.

While a website is necessary, it is not sufficient to maximize business results in the Internet world; a mix of the above five tactics is necessary for business web success.

People’s eyes and ears are spending more & more time online and ad spending has followed that trend. The digital revolution has caused a redistribution of marketing budgets away from traditional print and broadcast media over to digital media.  

  • Marketing in old media talks at people; marketing in digital media talks with people.
  • Old marketing consists of businesses telling their customers; new marketing is about businesses listening to customers. 
  • Old marketing is all about buying attention; new marketing is more about earning attention.
  • Old marketing was mostly disruptive within the delivery media; digital marketing is mostly non-disruptive within the delivery media. 
  • In old media, advertiser claims can’t be checked within the delivery media; with new media fact checking is easy via independent user reviews, ratings, endorsements, critiques, and even videos about products.
  • Most old media is not with you 24/7 (Yellow Pages, TV, newspaper, etc); new media can be accessed anywhere there is an Internet connection with a mobile device – smart phone or netbook for example. 

The big picture is clear. Digital Marketing offers compelling business benefits that shouldn’t be ignored. If you haven’t got started, get going. If you are engaged in Digital Marketing, there is always room for improvement. Either way, if you need help, I’m available.

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Digial Media Tip – social chatter damage control

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Digital Social Chatter Damage Control –  

The prior post talked about Social Media self-defense, but what if bad things still happen? Check my earlier post: ‘Be Like George Bailey’ and ‘SocNets, is there a problem’ (view the archived webinar in that post – great stuff) and read below for suggestions.

Is this your Social Media disaster plan?

Is this your Social Media disaster plan?

It has been said that “if a customer has a positive experience with a company, they’ll tell 3 people. But if they have a negative experience, they’ll tell 10”. There’s no doubt that negative feedback can spread like wildfire. That’s why it is essential you have a digital crisis management strategy prepared in case social damage control is needed.  Here are 5 ways to get started.

1) Monitor At All Times – Be sure to monitor your brand daily. In the previous blog post, I talked about how to monitor your brand using free social monitoring tools. Take advantage of them. You need to know what people are saying about your brand in order to react. See the prior post for suggestions.

2) Respond Immediately – Communication is key. If you choose to ignore what customers are saying about you, they will start to question your company. Wherever there is a lack of response or an information void, they will often fill those gaps with their own thoughts and opinions, which could potentially hurt your brand. You can’t just ignore the social chatter. Respond to issues quickly, even if your answer is “We’re looking into it”.

3) Keep Your Messaging Consistent – One negative conversation could potentially lead to other discussions around similar issues. Therefore, as you respond to the negative feedback, it is vital that your messaging is consistent every time. The last thing you want to do is dispute your credibility by sending mixed messages.

4) Educate Your Employees – As mentioned earlier, your employees must understand that company loyalty extends to all forms of communication, both inside and outside the workplace. Therefore, you must ensure that they understand your corporate positioning on the issues that arise. If your positioning changes, inform your employees prior to informing the public.

5) Establish a Corporate-wide “Digital Crisis Strategy” – If your company has  a PR firm managing your brand, then tap into their expertise for advice. Otherwise, here are some tips:

Appoint a “social damage control person or team” – Select one or a few trusted employees who would be willing to work round the clock (if necessary) to manage any social media issues.

Listen to your audience’s response to your response – This will help you strategize your next action step. Your audience will make it clear if more explanation is needed.

Update frequently – Social damage control is more than just saying “We’re looking into it”. Keep your audience updated on the matter until it is resolved.

Reach out to your brand ambassadors – If necessary, it might be a good idea to ask a few of your loyal customers to respond to an issue. This often offers more credibility than just giving a response from your company. However, be sure their messages are truly authentic and that they too are consistent with your company’s messaging.

Use a Digital Media Professional to help with damage control if your self defense tactics or damage reaction capability is insufficient.  I’m available!

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Digital Media Press Releases – the 7 steps

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

pr2One of Social Media’s uses is in managing public relations and brand building.   This post is the second in a series about the use of online Press Releases (PR).

Below are the 7 basic steps for Launching a Social Media PR Campaign

 

  1. Define your main PR points. When beginning a social media PR campaign, the best place to start is to define the details – aim for brevity. Incorporate the most important details and any clear “calls-to-action” while avoiding inclusion of non-critical information that would be better suited for your company website or blog.
  2. Draft a press release. In later posts, you will find PR templates that you can follow when drafting your social media press release. Use an experienced PR copy writer.
  3. Make your PR social. Don’t forget to include “social components” in your press release in order to ensure that it gets maximum reach on the social portals. Future posts will include checklists with the top social media components to include in your PR campaign.
  4. Once your PR has been approved by all necessary parties, it’s time to distribute it to the media. Start with tying to get your PR into newspapers, business magazines, community publications, and  TV/Radio.  After that frustrating effort, hit the online audience by submitting your release to several free PR distribution websites.  At the end of this PR series you will find a list of free PR distribution websites.
  5. In parallel with #4, share your PR with your online community. The key phrase here is “online community”. In order to run an effective social media PR campaign, you must first have developed an online community. You must already have a history of activity within SocNets for the best opportunity to have your news story spread within the social portals such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. And post the release on your website, company blog, and bookmark it on the social bookmarking sites. 
  6. Pass the message on. Social media is viral, so encourage your online community to share your PR with their online following and connections. It also doesn’t hurt for your staff and other parties involved in the news item (like a charity you are sponsoring the event for, or the agency honoring you with an award, etc) to share the message with their online following.
  7. Follow up. The great thing about social media is it allows you to communicate in real-time and monitor results. So keep your online audience aware of the latest updates of your news item and see how well the message is spreading. Follow up, gather their feedback, and comment back.

If you feel you don’t have the time or expertise to accomplish the above, my company, WSI, would be happy to help you build an online community, supply professional copy writing services, and manage your online PR campaign so you can focus on what matters most to you – your business!  Drop me a message by clicking on the post title line to open a message box at the bottom of this post.

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Digital Media Press Releases – yes you can

Monday, December 21st, 2009

When I come across useful articles about Social Media Marketing I will link them in this blog. Below are two such articles. 

Using Social Media Strategically  &  Small Businesses Step Up Online

One of Social Media’s uses is in managing public relations and brand building.   Consider Press Releases for example…

prA Press Release (PR) is commonly used to spread the word when a company has something significant to announce like launching a new product / service or sponsoring a charity event.  PR is one of the most cost effective forms of marketing & brand management – IF you can get the annoucement published.

Newspapers, magazines, and TV/Radio are the traditional PR outlets. Large companies with big announcements usually can get their PR published. But small and medium sized companies often can’t get past the ‘Business News Editor’ who is the gate-keeper for PR publications.  Have you ever tried to get a PR published locally or nationally? OK, good luck with that. Editors display fickleness, fussiness, and favouritism when dolling out limited PR print space or broadcast time.

With the emergence of digital media, publishing your PR to manage your brand’s reputation is no longer dependant on editors at print & broadcast companies.  Now you are in control! You can distribute your PR message directly to your ‘public’ in forums, blogs, social network portals, press release portals, etc. You control PR publication that can then go viral which you need to monitor.

An online press release can increase your search rankings, can spike website traffic, attract public interest in your brand, and stimulate new business inquiries. PR provides a competitive advantage over competitors who are not utilizing PR effectively.

Conducting PR in Your Local, Regional, or National Community Helps You…

  • Create a positive impression with your audiences
  • Increase brand recognition and visibility in your market
  • Generate third party endorsement for your product / services
  • Create more credibility than traditional advertising
  • Enhance your company status in your community
      
    The most common newsworthy items that would merit a PR campaign are: events, launches, partnerships, recognitions / awards, and charitable involvement.

This is the first in a series of posts about online press releases. In the following posts you will find the information, tools, checklists, and free online distribution channels needed to run successful social media PR campaigns.

Social media press releases can be DIY managed by companies of all sizes and types.  But not all companies have the time, resources, or know-how to successfully implement social media strategies. If your company is one of them, then put your social media strategy in the hands of a certified professional – click on the this blog post title line to open a message box at the bottom of the post where you can send me a message to learn more.

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Digital Marketing Tip – the Social Media revolution is here

Friday, December 18th, 2009

If you have been following my last ten posts you are aware , at least at a top level, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to use the the most popular Social Media channels for business purposes. And along with the main-stream SocNet channels there are niche channels too numerous to mention.

socnet-revolution

This video , from the author of the book Socialnomics, reinforces ‘why’ Social Media Marketing is critical to the business world and how it affects you personally. The Social Media revolution is here.  Joining the revolution offers business advantages and ignoring it has business consequences.

Along with the ‘how’ info in recent posts, another consideration is understanding best practices and avoiding possible business calamity when you jump into Social Media. Companies entering the SocNet world need to create employee policies and be aware of possible legal issues. 

And what do you do if disaster strikes your brand within the Social Media world? Remember, you do not control content about your biz  posted by others, not even content from your own employees . If negative information gets into the SocNet world it is difficult to ‘put the toothpaste back in the tube’ so to speak.  Review my ‘be like George Bailey’ post for insights and recommendations.

My company, WSI, offered a recent webinar presented by Lee Plave, Co-founding partner of Plave Koch PLC, on the topic “Social Media: Best Practices and avoiding Calamity”.  The webinar is archived for viewing.

View the webinar here

Business owners & managers who want to utilize Social Media  Marketing have two implementation paths to choose from.  You can either ‘insource’ or ‘outsource’ all or part of SocNet activites. If you have followed my blog, you can not help but conclude that Digital Marketing / Social Media is a diverse, ever changing world with many complexities that take time to master . 

The question you should ask yourself is if you want to use precious internal resources on a specialtized, knowledge based marketing methodolgy or outsource so you can use your resources to manage your core competency activities? 

Of course my opinion is you should find a trusted expert Digital Marketing service provider who will partner with you to accomplish you business imperatives  within the Digital Media world.  That view, of course, can be considered self-serving. But it is none the less true for most small & medium sized businesses.

If you want to learn more about my company’s Digital Marketing services, email me or put a note in the comments box (click on the blog post Title line and a comment box will open up at the bottom of the post).

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Digital Marketing Tip – Social Media why and how #7: LinkedIn

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Before reading this post, scan the preceding six Social Media Why & How posts that include a high level overview of Social Media business success factors. This LinkedIn post continues the series outlining top-level characteristics of the most important Social business channels. Note that SocNet Channels offer a complex array of services and capabilities with many administrative set-up & utilization details that are beyond the scope of this post. 

linkedin_logo

LinkedIn is one of the top five channels listed in our Internet experts’ SocNet business utilization poll.  It is a very important channel for those in professional service businesses and contractors. It is popular with recession affected folks from corporations and financial companies and in use by all industry types.

LinkedIn Description –
LinkedIn is a hard-core business-oriented social networking site.  LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 making it a senior citizen in the SocNet world.  It is mainly used for networking by professionals and corporate types. In late 2009  LinkedIn had over 50 million registered users from more than 200 countries and territories. About 50% of members are from the USA and 20% from Europe. Membership is catching on around the world. It started with venture capital and reached ad revenue profitability in 2006.

The point of the site is for registered users to create and maintain a detailed personal profile, similar to a mini-resume, shared with a mutually agreed to list of other trusted business acquaintances for the purpose of sharing business information, sharing expertise, recruiting, or securing a job.  The people in your list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a current site user or not) to become a connection.

In sumamry, LinkedIn is about building a network of Connections and improved personal productivity via help from your network when you need it.

Here is a video to learn more about LinkedIn
Or learn about SocNets in plain English

Publication Methods –
It all happens within the LinkedIn website and via receiving standard & optional email messages that announce things like new discussions (posts to a group), your Connections’ list updates or profile changes, or invitations for actions like new connection offers.

Member’s list of connections is the core function of LinkedIn via a sort of Kevin Bacon-ish ‘six degree-of-separation’ concept.  Contact networks are built up starting with a user’s direct connections.  The people on your list have a list of Connections and those become connected to you as  second-degree connections and those second-degree people have their own list of connections who become connected to you as third-degree connections. This web of primary, secondary, and tertiary connections can be used to gain an introduction to someone through a common acquaintance in this mash-up of networked connections.  Your network is used to find jobs, people and business opportunities.

Groups are a big part of LinkedIn. Groups permit users to establish new business relationships by joining geographic based , alumni, industry, or professional organizations. Group membership is subject to approval by the group’s founder or designated administrator. LinkedIn groups can be created for any subject and by any member of LinkedIn.

Employers are using LinkedIn extensively for posting jobs within relevant groups. Or they are searching for potential candidates with a relevant profile who may or may not have indicated an interest in new opportunities. Job seekers can review the profile of personnel managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.

The community Q&A section gets a lot of traffic and is a good place to research business topics and get free answers or advice.
 
Authorship and Target Audience –
LinkedIn has the oldest demographic of the major SocNets with a median age of around 40

Message Types –

  • LinkedIn is a global professional’s networking system that delivers local results
  • The Q&A section (asking & responding) gets a lot of action and is frequented by members looking to aggressively expand their influence and connections 
  • One on one conversation is more the norm than broadcasting for multi-user discussions
  • There are message exchanges about biz info, job hunting, job posting, business news, people search, and trends

Message Preferences –

  • Factual content is a must – bogus profile info will get you kicked off of lists and groups and false posting content is quickly sorted out thus destroying a reputation
  • Strictly business
  • Little gossip or advocacy type discussions
  • Many groups prohibit selling or marketing posts – they demand staying narrowly focused on the group’s core purpose
  • A diverse variety of professional network messaging groups have emerged from its roots as a hangout for IT types

Time Commitment –
Usage determines time consumption.  Casual monitoring and infrequent interaction is common, but for business utilization , promotions, or job hunting you might be engaged several hours per day for periods of time.

Business Benefits –

  • Find high quality jobs
  • Find high quality candidates for jobs
  • Gain an introduction to someone of interest or value to you or your company
  • Can position you or your business as a subject authority and thought leader
  • Frequent use will build your brand
  • Great for business research
  • Placement of banner ads
  • Expand networks and relationships – therefore helps sales in the long run as sales are about relationships
  • Can develop traffic back to your website or other marketing campaigns

Miscellaneous considerations –
LinkedIn is a great connector of businesses and business people of all types. Participation in the Q&A section keeps you on the radar screen, but you must be very active or off the screen you will go.  One worthwhile goal is to build your credentials as an expert about your core competencies – but you can’t fake it, LinkedIn has a lot of very sharp users who can sort out wanna-bes from the real thing. The return on effort is relatively high compared to some other SocNet activities – its all about providing high value added business content to your groups and providing many good connections via you list of associates.

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Digital Marketing Tip – Social Media why and how #6: Twitter

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Before reading this post, scan the preceding five Social Media Why & How posts that include a high level overview of Social Media business success factors. This Twitter post continues the series outlining top-level characteristics of the most important Social business channels. Note that SocNet Channels offer a complex array of services and capabilities with many administrative set-up & utilization details that are beyond the scope of this post, but some reference links are provided. 

twitter_logo

Twitter placed 4th in our Internet experts’ business utilization poll.  It is a general purpose ‘mini-blog’ communication tool consisting of short messages sent via the Internet known as ‘tweets’.  It started as a networking tool for personal use and has been successfully adapted for business use.

Twitter Description –
Twitter is an online portal where continual updates of your personal or business activities are posted known as tweets.  Personal tweets are aimed at ‘followers’ like friends, family, co-workers, or the general public who wish to stay connected with you through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? It’s all about you. Users are either followers or following. You reach your followers with posts you send or you receive posts from those you are following.
 
Twitter has evolved to become a popular channel for businesses to communicate with their most important audience (i.e.: their customer base).  Twitter’s inherent nature as a real-time news feed; its ever growing population (currently about 24 million/month USA users); and its low cost of use (it’s free – only cost is time) makes it an interesting business tool. 

Twitter began in 2006 from an idea by board members at the podcasting company Odeo to use SMS service to communicate to small groups. The scope expanded from that humble start. Funding so far has come from venture capitalists. Observers are concerned Twitter’s long term viability is limited by lack of revenue streams. Twitter is researching various ways to monetize, but to date no definitive plans have been revealed.

Publication Method –

Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS), or external applications. While the service itself costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or by default allow open access. Twitter has been described as like a Web-based Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client with functionality that has been provided via a variety of proprietary software platforms as Twitter matured.

References: If you want details from the source on how-to Twitter, visit here. For an audio/visual explanation of Twitter, visit here.  And Twitter Search allows finding all open access tweets on a topic of interest or what are called high tweet level ‘trends’ within Twitter - very useful – learn more here.

Authorship and Target Audience –
The median age of Twitter users is 31 with growth in all age groups. 

Message Types –

  • Messages are limited to 140 characters which has its routes in SMS messaging limitations. This results in the use of the kind of shorthand notation and slang commonly used in SMS messages like ‘lol’ for laugh out loud.
  • Personal messages and those from celebrities, political figures and the like are about you, the author: where am I / what’s happening / what’s next / etc
  • Business messages can be similar to personal notes and often include offers, links to web pages, coupon codes, etc
  • Rumor trafficking is common
  • Pictures are out
  • Announcements are common
  • Basically anything you can imagine from the trivial to the monumental is broadcast

Message Preferences –

  • Best to have a 1 to 1 ratio of following to being followed
  • Spammers are distained and called out to Twitter for removal
  • Hard selling is ignored, but soft selling with valuable offers does work
  • The more posts the better to satisfy your follower’s curiosity
  • Repeat posting are a must to be reliably seen
  • Followers are finicky about who they are loyal to and will drop off if not feed frequent info

Time Commitment –

  • Each tweet doesn’t take much time – literally seconds – but a high volume of tweets is needed to be effective. Twitter can cumulatively consume hours per day. For business utilization you must commit to it, not play at it.
  • Rapid fire postings are common – like being at a party where everyone talks, but few listen
  • If a business tweet relies on links to content and offers, time needs to be budgeted to prepare that material

Business Benefits –

  • Customer service / Answer questions
  • Offers, discounts, coupons, specials
  • Promote events
  • Announcements of any type
  • Public relations and news
  • Advertising of new products
  • Thought leadership and knowledge sharing
  • Market research / Polling
  • Brand building / Loyalty
  • Keep track of what people are saying about your biz via Twitter Search
  • Build trust, networks, & relationships
  • Real time quick communications ability
  • Can drive traffic to your website or special purpose landing page

Miscellaneous considerations –
The Twitter Channel is one where single postings can go unnoticed or be ignored and where infrequent postings will discourage followers. You must often repeat posting to make sure your followers ‘pick up’. And you must provide a regular flow of tweets to be a player. The Twitter channel doesn’t take much time to use each time, but frequent postings can be considered disruptive to your schedule unless Twitter has become a part of your marketing mix – a habit.  Like other SocNet channels, resources must be allocated for effective business utilization, either as new resources or more usually as a reallocation from ineffective traditional marketing methods.

The next post will be about LinkedIn

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Digital Marketing Tip – Social Media why and how #5: YouTube

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Before reading this post, scan the preceding four Social Media Why & How posts that include a high level overview of Social Media business success factors. This YouTube post continues the series outlining top-level characteristics of the most important Social business channels. Note that SocNet Channels offer a complex array of services and capabilities with many administrative set-up & utilization details that are beyond the scope of this post. 

youtube_logo

YouTube placed 3rd in our Internet Marketing  experts’ business utilization poll.  It works extremely well in the education field.  It is a valuable supporting tool for any marketplace where visualization & audio would aid the communication process which is to say almost any marketplace. For situations within some markets, a video is not only the best marketing tool but perhaps the only viable communication tool. WARNING: YouTube is one of my favorite subjects so this post runs on a little longer than most.

YouTube Description –
YouTube is the leader in online video – the go-to destination to watch and share original content videos via the Web. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com viewable within YouTube’s website or within your website, blog, or a user’s mobile devices and email.  People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about hobbies & interests, see how-to product demonstrations, and discover the quirky and unusual.  YouTube has empowered everyone to become a producer / director / actor on a world stage.

YouTube is the best deal on the Internet. Videos are free to view by anyone and free to upload by registered users who can store & publish unlimited videos despite the relatively high cost associated with storage & delivery. YouTube was formed by former PayPal employees in 2005 with funding from venture capitalists. It grew like wild fire and YouTube was sold to Google in 2006.  Google has not yet implemented monetization methods and gets just about as much press for its lack of YouTube money-making as it does for all its accolades. But Google has experimented with different ideas and speculation is they will find a way to monetize without ruining the service.

YouTube provides search capability within its website to find videos on topics  of interest. This capability has propelled YouTube to become the second most used search entity ahead of Yahoo and all other search engines except Google Search.

Publication Method –

  • YouTube uses Adobe Flash Player technology to deliver videos.
  • YouTube Handbook: Everything you need to know about watching and producing videos for YouTube.
  • Videos can be viewed within the YouTube website portal; embedded code can be placed within websites, blogs, or email for viewing (please refer to how do I embed videos on my website or blog? ); or you can simply provide a link to a YouTube website video page to view that video.
  • YouTube accepts videos uploaded in most formats, including .AVI, .MKV, .MOV, .MP4, DivX, .FLV, and .OGG. These include video codecs such as MPEG-4, MPEG, and .WMV. It also supports 3GP, allowing videos to be uploaded from legacy mobile phones.
  • Many newer video cameras provide a PC USB connection and software upload tools that make the process of uploading videos to SocNets simple and fast.

Authorship and Target Audience –
Average age of a YouTube user is 36, but YouTube appeals to almost everyone as most people are audio/visual learners and fascinated by motion to one degree or another. 

Message Types –

  • Videos are limited to 2 GB and 10 minutes in length. But the average length is closer to 2 minutes to align with viewer attention spans.
  • You can create your own YouTube Channel
  • Videos can be indexed by Search Engines if accurate alternate text descriptions are provided by the author
  • All video content and any comments are carefully monitored by YouTube and moderated
  • ADVERTISING VIDEOS are PERMITTED – but to get viewers to watch ‘ads’usually requires novelty, humor, or offers.

Message Preferences –

  • Videos do not need to be ‘professional quality’, just fresh and interesting to be successful
  • How-to (educational)
  • Entertainment
  • Candid shots of current events
  • Advocacy / politics / causes / etc
  • Use only original content or you may be violating copyright laws and creating some headaches for yourself
  • Authors delight in public distribution, love ratings & comments, and encourage channel subscriptions

Time Commitment –
Active use of YouTube is one of the most time consuming Social Marketing activities.  An active YouTube Channel will require 2 to 4 hours per day to manage plus the time it takes to create videos.  But you can just manage ideas, strategy and so forth and outsource video creation, admin details ,and implementation.

Business Benefits – Wow, where do I begin?  Biz use of YouTube is only limited by your imagination.

  • With Google’s ownership and video popularity, YouTube videos have a big influence on web page rankings. Videos are even given stand alone ranking within Search Engines.
  • Store your company videos on YouTube rather than take up space on your own servers and avoid providing bandwidth for playing.
  • You can build a loyal following to an interesting ‘My Company YouTube Channel’ .
  • Terrific at driving traffic to your website
  • Promote special offers and events
  • Provide access anywhere to all-about & how-to demos for products and services. 1 in 8 viewers of product videos end up buying the product.
  • Occasionally a video will go viral (millions of viewers)
  • Some YouTube channels develop gotta-see-it fans. For example, the video series “Will it blend” by Blendtec has been watched by millions who even make requests for the next video. The idea is if the blender can blend an iPhone etc without breaking, then it will work and last a long time with foodstuffs. View here: http://www.blendtec.com/willitblend/   See how this works? I just gave Blendtec free advertising.
  • People tend to search for a specific video in YouTube and end up watching several per visit. (How many Blendtec videos did you watch?)
  • Business utilization just requires a plan and some creativty.

Miscellaneous considerations –
With YouTube you can start with a modest effort and goals. But the process can grow to be a monster after you get rolling and establish your own Channel.  You will quickly learn if your marketplace responds to your use of video marketing. If it does you have a happy problem on your hands – how to keep the monster fed to grow your business. If that happens to you or you need help to get started, companies like mine are here to handle the load.

The next post will be about Twitter.

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Digital Marketing Tip – Social Media why and how #4: Facebook

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Before reading this post, take the time to review the last three Social Media Why & How posts that includes a high level overview of Social Media business success factors. This Facebook post continues a series of posts outlining the important characteristics of the top Social business channels. SocNet channels offer a complex array of services and capabilities thus details about set-up and utilization are beyond the scope of this post. 

Facebook is the #2 Social Biz channel

Behind blogs, Facebook is considered the overall #2 Social Media business channel and is especially useful for vertical markets like retail, travel/tourism, wellness/fitness, and non-profit organizations.

Facebook Description –
Facebook is a social networking service that connects friends, colleagues, or just people who have similar interests or backgrounds. It was started at Harvard by students as a network for students but has evolved far beyond that purpose via open enrolment.  It provides a sophisticated network platform for groups of any type.  It currently has about 350 million users worldwide and is growing rapidly. Facebook is “in” as a well accepted social channel. For Facebook users, it surpasses email usage for online communications - learn more.

And learn about SocNets in plain English

Publication Method –
Facebook is a privately owned website portal offering a global Social Network channel. Services are free – register and jump in. Growth has been financed by entrepreneur investors plus revenue currently generated from advertising such as banner ads funneled exclusively via Microsoft’s advertising inventory. 

Authorship and Target Audience –
Average age of a Facebook user is 26, but the fastest growing demographic is users 26+ years old.  Users create profiles, join existing groups, and can start new groups.  Communications are conducted in a variety of ways such as entries on your ‘Facebook wall’, creating polls, and interactions within your membership groups. 

Although usage is growing with all age groups, Facebook is still a mainstay of the college crowd. learn more here

Message Types –

  • Frequent user updates – what’s new
  • Pictures & some videos to keep things happy
  • Polls
  • Games, games, games – users are getting hooked on Facebook accessed games such as “FarmVille,” the most popular game on Facebook with about 70 million active users, including on average 27 million who daily tend their virtual crops and maybe milk digital cows – go figure!

Message Preferences –

  • Users don’t well tolerate selling of any kind within entries; business users can interact and add value (like with blogs) but shouldn’t hype their business
  • Direct biz promotion is best accomplished  via contextually targeted banner ads

Time Commitment –

  • Facebook provides higher than average interactivity which requires more attention and maintenance by business users
  • Best results are achieved with daily maintenance; business users should budget 2 to 4 hours per day after things get rolling

Business Benefits – Individuals and organizations are able to leverage Facebook in a wide variety of ways.

  • Easily reach target audiences based on factors like: age, gender, location, interests, schools, companies, activities, etc, etc
  • Facebook profiles can be indexed by search engines providing a source for organic search results
  • Display ads to people who have engaged with your Facebook page in their newsfeeds; your ‘friends’ are instantly notified with new feeds
  • Branding and reputation management
  • Customer engagement and retention
  • Drive traffic to your website
  • Lead generation and new customer nurturing & acquisition

Miscellaneous considerations –
Social Networks offer powerful new marketing channels that have been embraced by some organizations and ignored by others. If you jump in, Facebook becomes an effective marketing tool, but it won’t work on auto-pilot – you must allocate resources. Facebook effectiveness can be achieved with a higher than average tolerance to infrequent usage, but will work as a business tool incredibly well if it is utilized and maintained daily.

The next post will be about YouTube.

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Digital Marketing Tip – Social Media why & how #3: blogs

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Before reading this posting, I suggest you review the last two Social Media Why & How posts that provided a high level overview of business utilization success factors for Social Media. This post begins a series of posts outlining the characteristics of the top Social channels starting with blogs.  Blogs are ranked #1 or #2 in effectiveness for 75% of the vertical markets listed in my ‘why & how #2’ post.

Blogs and WordPress

Blog Description (blog is a shortened name for ‘web log’) –
A type of website with pages containing a regular series of commentary authored by an expert on a related group of topics for readers interested in those topics.  This post is within my Digital Marketing blog for example.

Publication Methods –
Authors can blog from within their website using blog engine software. Or authors can blog from within a blog services provider’s website like Yovia (my blog). There are many blog publication providers – Google “blog sites”. Either way, needed blog technology revolves around a content management & organization system using a tool like WordPress, a messaging system, and subscription systems.

Authorship and Target Audience –
Average age of a blog author is 36.  Average age of blog reader is 38. Bloggers come from all walks of life with a myriad of interests.  Blogging is very mainstream – well known and highly utilized.

Message Type –

  • Blogs contain regular commentary on subjects within the author’s areas of expertise or areas of interest.
  • Commentary should provide valuable and interesting information, not advertising copy.
  • Sometimes readers turn to blog authors to obtain professional services, but selling shouldn’t be the blog’s focus.
  • Blog postings are typically listed in chronological order (most recent first). 
  • Content is usually a mix of the author’s commentary with supporting graphics and links to related videos or reference material.

Readership message preferences –

  • Readers prefer a consistent source of compelling, engaging, or entertaining material that stays on topic.
  • Posts should be user friendly: concise, easily scanned, and searchable. 
  • Readers like to participate via user comments capability.  Most blogs include author moderated user comments. (Click on the title line of any of my blog posts and a comments box will open at the bottom of the post)
  • Blogs should include subscription options like RSS feeds and/or easy connection to Social Networking portals.

Time Commitment –
Authors should budget at least 2 hours per day to create commentary and manage messages.

Business Benefits for Authors –

  • Blogging can create an “expert status’ for the author.
  • Businesses can engage readers, prospects , and customers to answer their questions or respond to comments.
  • Learn what others think about your blog subject matter.
  • Search Engines reward higher organic ranking to websites with frequent fresh content such as within blogs.
  • By providing links, authors can increase traffic to specific, relevant areas within their website.

Miscellaneous Considerations –
Business subject Blogs, much like Twitter posts, can be a monster for the author to maintain. The monster requires regular feedings to sustain it. But a blog requires higher quantity per feeding than Twitter. Readers subscribe to blogs only as long as they are happy with the monster as a regular source of information that readers find valuable. The monster’s content must stay topic focused on how-to information, tips, and advice.

The next post will be about Facebook.

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