Oct 16 2008

Social Media Myths and Reality

October 16, 2008 – 11:30 am

myths I came across this blog post by Jason Baer of Convince and Convert and thought it was a great piece that deserved some additional attention (apparently so did 50+ other people as evidenced in the comments section).

Jason lists six fallacies of social media and explains as to why they are false. There are good and bad points to his arguments, and I’d like to delve further into his analysis.

(Picture Credit: NIDA)

1. Social Media is Inexpensive

Social media tools are inexpensive. They are generally open source and shareable. Monitoring is free (unless you use a professional tool). I agree that engaging in effective social media campaigns is extremely time consuming (and therein lies the cost). Factor in hours of research, diving into communities, participating, commenting, reading, reading, and more reading.

To ease the pain, consultants and agencies embracing social media as a tactic to add to their overall PR and marketing counsel should develop strategies and clear tactics. Develop clear metrics to determine viable and influential sources. Work hard, work smart, work strategically. Over time, you will identify methods of searching and pulling out the best information for your client or company’s goals, while saving valuable time and endless hours searching through infinite web content.

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(Picture Credit: Gaping Void)

2. Social Media is Fast

Social media IS fast. It takes mere seconds for a blog post to go up about your company or client, for comments and responses and conversations to take place about your brand. Without effectively monitoring and participating in relevant communities, it’s very easy for things to quickly get out of hand (especially in a situation with an unhappy customer or other crisis).

Getting yourself out there is fast. It’s the follow-up and overall social network engagement that is slow. However, if you have the right research in place from the start and know exactly what people you need to contact for your client or company’s business goals; it can go a lot faster. Spending time reading and contributing to 100 social networks and blogs where only 20-50 of them may be extremely relevant is time consuming. Focusing on just those 20-50 and hitting them hard makes a lot more sense.

3. Social Media is “Viral Marketing”

Social media, at the core, is viral. It allows for interactive conversation. Blog posts, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Utterli…all these sites provide easy ways for your content to be shared and discussed.

Whether it’s a blog post or a video, the first thing to remember is that viral material starts with great content. If the content is clever AND meaningful, it will spread like wildfire. However, just because something is socialized and has gone “viral” does not mean it will necessarily have the desired outcome. Take Sarah Silverman’s “The Great Schelp” video. Viral, yes. Results, eh.

4. Social Media results can’t be measured

Social media can be measured. Like any metric the ROI is determined by the relation to the company or client’s goals. Is it sales? Is it media coverage? Is it brand reputation or recognition?

Let’s take reputation management for example. A company that is seeing multiple online conversation from unhappy customers through a high percentage of negative blog posts, Twitter updates, and message board comments has a problem. After a few months of addressing those issues directly, participating in conversations, offering customer service support, and providing value to those communities…the negative discussions decrease. That’s a social media campaign result every company would like to see. Just ask Comcast or Dell.

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(Picture Credit: Ignite Social Media)

5. Social Media is optional

Chances are your company or client is being discussed online. But, before deciding to engage in a social media campaign simply because of that fact, consider your audience. Your audience may be online, but that does not mean they are on Facebook, on Twitter, or commenting on message boards and blogs.

It’s more important to make establishing an online brand and persona part of your business plan, a necessary part. As Andrea mentioned yesterday, a web presence is a must for any business. It’s time to stop thinking about whether or not to go online. Instead, start considering what is already being said online about your company or client. Take that knowledge and manage your online brand, whether you choose to use social media tools or not.

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(Picture Credit: Minnesota Parents Know)

6. Social media is hard

Without the correct research, clear goals and strategy in mind, social media is hard and overwhelmingly complex. However, it’s not hard when you erase all the technical jargon and consider that the main benefit of engaging in social media comes down to the “humanization” factor of your company or client.

Social media is an extension of community involvement. It involves seeking out community members that share your interests and passions. It’s about talking to them, learning from them, getting to know them. It’s about connecting with them and joining together for a common cause. It’s about sharing your view with others, and listening to theirs.

The only difference between those ideas for community involvement and social media, is that these conversations and connections are taking place online. Participation and authenticity in personal relationships is easy to translate online if you change the way you think about it. There goes the neighborhood.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Larissa Fair | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (11)

Buzz Meter: QikCom

October 16, 2008 – 9:30 am

qikcom_logo QikCom is a free business communication tool that combines micro-blogging and an online store to purchase work-related applications. The Austin-based start-up company launched the QikCom beta last week and the website is already compared to sites such as Twitter.

QikCom offers:

  • Micro-blogging home tab: You can send updates to your co-workers, review what the people you’re following micro-blogged, save micro-blogs and messages sent.
  • People tab: You can create an organizational chart of your company and delegate administrators. Look at the people you’re following and search for others.
  • Tags
  • TabStore: Currently offers To-Do lists, a Competition tab to monitor your competitors through an aggregated news feed, and a Frequent Numbers tab to help manage your frequent flier numbers and hotel rewards numbers.
  • Custom design options.
  • Administrators can invite users with non-company email addresses.
  • Free security layers including SSL through Verisign, company email verification and advanced IP range settings.

Buzz Meter Ranking: 4 out of 4 Buzz Bees

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Positive: Although QikCom is essentially another micro-blogging site, its TabStore is reason enough for people to try this tool. Geared towards enterprises, employees learn how to communicate with their fellow colleagues in 140 characters. Other cool features include the ability to manage all your rewards numbers in the Frequent Flier tab and search other company networks/people using the People tab. QikCom provides a free platform for companies to start engaging in social media.

Negative: QikCom’s TabStore is still being developed, even though they currently have three tab offerings. In a playing field with other top micro-blogging competitors such as Twitter, Yammer, and Present.ly, it’s hard to persuade people to switch or even try new things.

Conclusion: Modeled after the Apple App Store, it’s no wonder QikCom reminds me of an iPhone. An iPhone’s main purpose is for users to place call and receive calls from friends and colleagues. QikCom provides businesses easier ways to communicate (via micro-blogging) beyond the phone. Both the iPhone and QikCom stores offer applications and tabs for a better user experience. Based on my comparisons, if the iPhone is the hotness of the cellular device market, QikCom will become one of the top micro-blogging tools for enterprises.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Marinel Mones | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (2)
Oct 15 2008

Showing Personality is Great, But Sharing Too Much Information Isn’t

October 15, 2008 – 8:30 am

A few days ago a friend who recently launched a new   business asked about the importance of creating an online presence. She’d been doing well in her local town based on word-of-mouth alone, but wanted to ramp-up her marketing efforts.  I replied, somewhat cavalierly, that if her business didn’t have an online calling card of some sort, it may as well not exist. This is not entirely true, of course, but the point I was trying to emphasize was that today’s online footprint is the equivalent of yesterday’s requisite Yellow Pages listing.

She completely understood and while eager to jump right in, was somewhat concerned about the “how.” As the founder and head of her company, she felt that she was one of its main evangelists  — and her enthusiasm for her work certainly shined through. She’d heard the terms “transparency” and “authenticity” being thrown around, and was trying to figure out how to present her personality online in such a way that it advanced her business goals. She was asking all the right questions and, as a result, she’ll be successful when her site launches.

But I wasn’t entirely surprised that she was struggling with striking the right balance between online sharing and not revealing too much — even some social media and communications professionals frequently confuse authenticity and transparency with letting it all hang out online. No wonder clients are confused!

No, I’m not going to provide links to questionable online behavior – calling people out publicly is not my style (although it does seem to be an unofficial sport among some members of the online community, who take enjoyment in other people’s mistakes and feel it’s their duty to embarrass the heck out of them) – but spend just a few minutes online, or even conduct a relevant keyterm search, and you’ll find a plethora of examples that will make you cringe. So, for example, while talking about your latest vacation is ok, oversharing in excruciating detail about the effects of the local diet on your digestive system probably isn’t.

Showing personality doesn’t mean being myopic about your online behavior and how it will be evaluated and received, but neither does it mean people should be so fearful of criticism that they become cardboard cutouts of themselves. Stand for something! But don’t let it all hang out!

What are some of your favorite examples of how to show personality the right way?

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Andrea Weckerle | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)
Oct 14 2008

Attitude and Actions

October 14, 2008 – 3:03 pm

Much to do about the economic times. Rumors of layoffs at the big agencies are percolating in the DC area. Accounts are starting to get cut. Many folks are waiting for the other shoe to drop. But this fear creates more issues than one can imagine, and in some cases can be a self fulfilling prophecy.

I remember the last recession, we had so many telecom clients it required my agency at that time to lay off people in four or five different waves. It was like someone dropped a bomb in the office. Those of us left were shell-shocked, but we pulled out of it.

Though we were disturbed, we kept focused and continued to work. In fact, we worked smarter, focusing our actions on intelligent activities that would make our time valuable.

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“Twin” Greg Verdino (right) and I demonstrate positive attitudes. Earlier that day the stock market crashed.

The big secret was that by getting results we felt better about our own futures and contributions. Attitude — feelings — followed action. Feelings and attitudes, while very powerful, are not facts. Business facts and results get determined by actions. Therefore, in a time like this with headlines like these, it’s even more important to keep moving forward.

In an email to my team this week, I wrote:

This kind of fear can be contagious. Empathy and sympathy are obvious reactions, but we need to guard ourselves from letting this fear into our hearts. We cannot afford it… we need to focus on taking small, actionable steps in the right direction. These right steps will keep our minds focused, deliver results, and maintain positive attitudes.

It’s easy to get fancy with theory and wild campaigns in a time like this, but really survival success is based on executing on the little things. Basic fundamentals make the difference.

Another key aspect of success lies in eliminating busy work, and focusing on actions that deliver meaningful results. Anyone can fill a time sheet with junk, but sooner or later it comes back to the results. And if the results are lacking in a down economy, it’s likely they will be called into question sooner rather than later. That’s why making sure actions are geared towards producing results is even more important now.

For example, if you are a sales executive does it make sense to worry about the next generation brochure or a new contact manager right now? Should you be reinventing the sales PPT template? Or would it make more sense to make some phone calls, attend an events, and schedule meetings with old clients?

Just an old tip for this recession: Mood follows action.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Geoff Livingston | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (2)

Personal Brand Value or Bust

October 14, 2008 – 9:00 am

The wagons are circling. Every agency, corporation, publication and social campaign is amending its Q4 and 2009 game plan. New value propositions are taking shape in recession’s dim light. Editorial calendars and ads are being nipped, tucked.

A fine time to consider your own ROI. Social PR practitioners (all employees), like our corporate bodies, need to earn our keep. While the economy hangs in limbo, call an early Auld Lang Syne to anything less than a clearly defined personal value proposition.

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“A personal brand is your reputation. Pure and Simple,” so says Ross Kimbarovsky of crowdSPRING. It’s the culmination of online and offline digital escapades. The outcome of which – ideas, creativity, connections and energy – builds social capital (a.k.a. your brand equity). Your brand equity is leased by your company.

More than reputation, your personal value proposition channels your identity and personality into a meaningful, measurable value. The reason your company will want to keep you.

Consider the same factors for an enterprise’s strategic value prop, with a personal twist. This should be easy – social media is by and large a Downfall Darling.

  • What is the unmet need of your target market (the company)?
  • How are you different from “competitors”?
  • Why and how does your performance successfully increase leads and operation efficiency?
  • How are you going to build your market share (value) among your target segments (boss, peers, direct reports).

Ultimately, your personal value proposition is what you do in tangible business results. Jeremy Epstein put together some starting KPIs for personal brand value. Shonali Burke (guestblogging for Kami Huyse) reminds us that ROI is about more than impressions.

Scarcity drives innovation, and competition. Don’t let your value proposition go slip sliding away.

[Image credit: Mac(3)]

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Qui Diaz | Posted in PR Industry Trends | Tagged , | Comments (3)

Goodness Gracious, Great Blogs of Fire!

October 14, 2008 – 8:20 am

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Does the foundation of relying on traditional media releases work in the Internet age? Josh Korr of Publishing 2.0, along with other social media knowledge leaders like Matt Thompson and Jeff Jarvis, don’t think it does. Josh says, “…The Internet’s depth and variety have made newspapers’ pool of wire sources look increasingly shallow.” He continues, “The longer newsrooms ignore this amazing universe of content, the less relevant they are for readers.” What today’s wire needs is to aggregate links for the web’s top content. Creating the “web’s newswire, version 1.0” is Josh’s initiative.

As the demand for news accelerates, we question how corporations can get more connected? Kami Huyse of Communication Overtones offers five great tips. For example, corporations must “listen and respond in real time” and collaborate “to bypass antiquated bureaucracy.” There are a lot of tools that can help corporations develop these Kami’s five competencies and improve their messages. “The bottom line,” Kami says, “is that the needs of the communication should drive the use of the tools, and not the other way around.”

Kyle of Kylelacy.com says, “The biggest hurdle in explaining social media is the issue of weighing the benefits against the time spent on social media platforms.” In the first of five posts focusing on social media’s benefit for small businesses, Kyle says that prioritizing is important – “Find four to five social media platforms that cater to what you are wanting to accomplish.” He also says to plan, stay active in your communities, and execute by joining the conversation.

With limited time, how do you manage all of your social networks? An insightful post on Louisgray.com suggests that the mobile world is helping to, “bridge the gap between ‘following friends’ and ‘real life friends.’” Louis also anticipates a unification of multiple social networks under one umbrella network, and expects to see users “blur your online persona with that you use at the office or at home.”

Jennifer Laycock offers great thoughts on how social media benefits companies during a recession on Search Engine Guide. With a creative chart, Jennifer shows you how your small business can “weather the economic storm.” Jennifer says that those companies that get in the social media game first will generate the greatest rewards. With consumers spending less, and companies doing more to understand their customers, they will use social media to meet in the middle.

Small business owners wear many hats. Additional work to an already hectic regiment is not typically welcomed. But, according to Jim Bensen, social media simultaneously “Can help [small business owners] market, improve our operations, build loyal customers, attract new sales, and better collaborate with our peers.” Jim’s post offers great insight into how social media can help small businesses mine company information, develop professional relationships, manage their reputation, and build a community. Check out details on Evolving Web.

Small business owner and want to get a better grasp of social media? Connie Benson of Solutions Are Power highlights a free event in Atlanta, Georgia on Oct 21 which will do just that. Registration is required, but the event’s sponsor (and our client), Network Solutions, is footing the bill. According to Bensen, “featured experts will share innovative and practical insights about how they have successfully used the power of social networking to increase their online presence.”

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Nelson | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (1)
Oct 13 2008

Media Responsibility in a Time of Crisis

October 13, 2008 – 1:13 am
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The media’s sensational coverage of the current financial crisis has exacerbated the situation, creating widespread public fear. As mentioned on Friday’s post about the recession’s impact on our sector, no better story typifies this than CNN’s outlandish interpretation of a poll as depicted in this story, “Poll: 60% say depression ‘likely.’” Capitalizing even further, CNN ran an associated video this weekend about safe jobs in their forecasted nuclear winter.

But as the Washington Post reported on Saturday, the sensational headlines were widespread last week. The word crisis was mentioned in headlines 92 times. Fear was used 21 times, and meltdown 15 times. The Post went so far as to question what doomsday words like Bubble and Crash actually mean.

As the Inquisitr points out, while the media may be calling for the end of the world, this is not 1929. No one is jumping out windows. It was great to see the Washington Post take a step back and question the media’s coverage.

Frankly, this will be a serious correction. But the world will not end. After Wall Street stops its self-flagellation, there will be repercussions, much of which is unclear. If the media was doing a better job reporting this story, the facts would be easier to grasp.

No one really trusts the media anymore, and last week’s hysterics were just another reason not to believe. Rather than running side by side with Wall Street in a panic stricken freak out, the media should act more professionally. Fear-mongering does not represent a professional effort… Unless you write horror movie scripts!

As we move into the layoff phase of the downturn, the media owes it to the public to do more than pour gasoline on everyone’s fears. It’s time for journalists to be responsible and get back to checking facts, and educate the public about the actual economics of the financial crisis and resulting job market. Maybe then the public can intelligently approach the new market conditions, as opposed to simply reacting.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Geoff Livingston | Posted in Digital Marketing, PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (11)
Oct 10 2008

Recession Brass Tacks

October 10, 2008 – 1:26 am

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It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see posts titled "The Role of Ethical Brands in a Down Economy," "The Four Social Media Questions You Must Answer During an Economic Downturn," "In A Down Economy, Tomorrow’s Leaders Are Born Today," "Will Social Media Help PR Weather the Storm," and "25 Ways Social Media Prepares You for a Social Media Downturn." All of these respected marketers have the recession in mind (image by collective nouns).

There were some great insights in these articles, most of which I liked Todd Defren’s statistical based analysis showing online marketing will be the bright spot in communications. I disagreed w/ some of Chris Brogan’s 25 ways (though I love Chris), but mostly because no one knows how social media functions and works in a recession. I think reliance on brass tacks, on hard core value building and ROI is what matters now.

What is clear: This new media world will see an even stronger focus from corporate as big ad spends get cut and marketers seek guerilla oriented tactics. But things will change, and online communicators are going to be forced to act differently.  

I’ve been through one of these before, in the telecom industry which suffered an industry specific depression from 2000-2. During that time I actually excelled and grew a book of business, keeping more than a dozen of my fellows employed. So while I will be deploying social media for the first time in a  recession, I’ve got a few experiences that are guiding my thoughts during this particular time:

Here are five ways I anticipate this recession will affect us:

1) ROI must become the song. If you can’t measure or you think page impressions represents an accurate measurement for marketing communications initiatives, mail it in. No company will engage in that anymore. Integration with calls to action must be used to produce tangible results.

2) Similarly, social media consultants will be forced to produce or they will bomb. Now more than ever it’s about ROI, not Facebook friends.  

3) Independent, positive thinkers will do better. They will not be susceptible to media driven BS and fear mongering. Consider this ridiculous CCN story that liberally uses poll terms to claim 60% of Americans say depression is likely. Talk about tabloid journalism. Yet, these stories can inspire panic and that is the great challenge.

Rich Becker makes a good point, "When economic times seem tough, you tend to want to work with those who seem largely unaffected." In his post, he was speaking about the newspaper industry, but it may as well be your company. Executives and individuals will need to wield a sober, pragmatic approach to the market, and provide actionable ways to grow their business. More than anything people and cultures that win will be the positive ones with real value to offer their employers, their clients and the world in general.

4) It’s time for millenials to grow up in the workplace. This is Gen Y’s first recession, and to date they have shown heavy demands for senior executive access and mentorship, lifestyle choices, collaboration, high salaries, plush bennies, transitory career paths, and steady, significant pay increases. More than anything it has been incumbent on employers to attract and retain them with these many cultural aspects. Well, the coin has flipped.  In tough times, it’s incumbent on the employee to prove value, not the employer. I sense that many over-privileged divas are heading for a rude awakening.

5) More noise.  As companies abandon traditional, costly tactics and crowd the marketplace with their new social media initiatives we will likely see a new nightmare of corporate crud. Social media initiatives must offer immediate, clear strong value to communities, or they will click and flee. Substance is paramount! Tolerance for BS gimmicks will evaporate. Last recession, a similar noise level occurred with email marketing, that time’s cheap marketing elixir.

A Time of Pain

Regardless of how social media fares as a sub sector, I believe from a societal perspective that this will be a widespread recession that will take a good long time to get better.  Poor fiduciary lending has affected our entire financial industry and in ways that we’ve not seen in modern times before under the Federal Reserve. This will impact all businesses and all sectors, from credit to actual sales. My prayers and thoughts are with those who will be affected.

Further, more than any economic downturn in my life, this will hurt the lower middle income and low income classes.  Consider the impact high heating costs, transportation costs, lost jobs from construction, cut state spending, etc., will make on blue collar America.

There will be great challenges ahead that supersede "making money," and I encourage readers to think about what we can do to help as individuals. It is a time for charity, a time for helping brothers and sisters regardless of race, creed, class, religion. Economic pain affects all, and no American should go hungry.

Related posts:

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Geoff Livingston | Posted in Digital Marketing, PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , | Comments (15)

Keeping a Cool Head and Maintaining Employee Morale During Tough Economic Times

October 10, 2008 – 12:28 am

It doesn’t really matter where you are these days, the downturn in the economy is dominating conversations all over the place. And instead of everyone assessing the somber economic situation calmly, the talk among people often feeds upon itself, leading to even more panic.

While everyone understands that businesses need to remain viable in order to retain their employees, and that there are very capable people in all industry sectors who will lose their jobs, focusing too heavily on those facts can cripple existing staff to the point where their work productivity is negatively impacted.

Protecting and perhaps even boosting employee morale should therefore be one of a company’s main priorities, and must be initiated by strong and courageous leadership. After all, it is known that even is these challenging economic times, “individuals do not leave companies – they leave poor managers. Organizational mis-management contributes to negative morale.”

A myriad of suggestions about maintaining employee morale exist. Thoughts on Training Time suggests several tips, among them focusing on the positive since, “if all you’re talking about is how bad things are, that’s all your employees will be thinking about.”

Another interesting suggestion for protecting morale is prohibiting office gossip about salaries and terminations. Employees should have sufficient knowledge to be dealing with the facts themselves. And Entrepreneur.com cites an Employee Hold’em study that states that the vast majority of employees would happily remain at their current positions, even if it were for less income, if they felt they were receiving appropriate recognition and could achieve work-life balance.

Quite apropos given the current economic climate, meanwhile, is the article on “How To Boost Employee Morale On A Budget,” which lists such empowering suggestions as giving individuals the opportunity to determine how to best fulfill their work responsibilities. Offering a valuable prize, perhaps in the form of a sizable one-time bonus, to the best performer for achievement of a particular goal, is yet another effective way of both motivating and recognizing employees.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Andrea Weckerle | Posted in PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , | Comments (7)
Oct 9 2008

Buzz Meter: bloglovin’

October 9, 2008 – 9:30 am

bloglovin’ is a new RSS feed for blog readers and the English version of the Swedish Blogkoll. The five member team created this site to notify readers when a new post is written by their favorite blogger. Readers have the choice to receive email updates once a day, every time a new post is published, or choose not to receive any emails at all.

Users get to search and add blogs immediately after signing up. Each blog listed shows how many members are following the blog. bloglovin’ lets users categorize their favorite blogs into different genres, upload your own blog to the list and save your favorite posts. The Muffin, a toolbar located at the bottom of the browser, allows users to read all the blogs they follow without having to open new windows or frames.

For the mechanics of bloglovin’, check out their video:

Buzz Meter Ranking: 3 out of 4 Buzz Bees

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Positive: With a simple sign-up process, it’s no wonder bloglovin’ had over 1,000 people sign up after the first week of its release. Searching for blogs is simple. I like how bloglovin’ even shows a picture of the site next to the blog name. The Muffin is brilliant! I enjoy the easy navigation of jumping from blog to blog without having a new window or tab opened in my browser.

Negative: I found duplicates of popular blogs when I started subscribing to the feed. Make sure you select the correct blog you want to follow if there are multiples! The blog is currently more fashion-focused and might drive people from using the tool.

Conclusion: bloglovin’ sets itself apart from other blog RSS readers because of the Muffin. For example, Google Reader only provides the content of the blog. bloglovin’ takes the reader to the blog and the Muffin lets users navigate from the actual blog to another blog all in same the browser window. You have to try bloglovin’ for yourself!

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Marinel Mones | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (4)