One doesn’t tend to think of social media as being dangerous per se, but it doesn’t hurt to think in terms of safety anyway.  As Brian Olson points out in his blog post, Future Shock-Shock Absorbing, part of using social media means being prepared to “deal with unexpected situations.”

Here are seven tips for avoiding trouble, shared during a conversation about Legal & Copyright Considerations for Social Media Marketing, presented by Jim Thomas, and hosted by Social Marketing for Business:

1. Draw well-defined lines

There is some danger when a personal profile doesn’t accurately describe its owner. A good way to prevent it is to manage and maintain your own personal profiles.  Don’t forget to go back from time to time and read them, ensuring they haven’t become stagnant or outdated.

Alan Case, a member of the Social Marketing Group cited LinkedIn as a good example where it is imperative that your personal profile contain current, comprehensive and correct information.  Further, Alan suggested paying attention to the distinctions between your profiles on personal pages and on business pages.

2. Connect and combine your media

Don’t use your media in silos and risk isolating your engagement initiatives. Group member, Linda Mooney, responded to a Facebook friend’s invitation to sign up for her blog and receive an art print in exchange. Linda not only received a print, but she also received a collage made of other works by the same artist, as well as coupons.

Linda pointed out how this artist maximized her marketing by connecting her Facebook page to her blog and then combined her print advertising by mailing directly to her well-targeted market.

3. Provide value

Alyx Reese, who manages social media for Roof Brokers Inc., is working to grow their Twitter following.  While businesses often damage their reputation by using social media to self-promote, Alyx is attracting attention by adding value to her community. She searches for news items and advice that she knows her customers and potential customers will find useful.  Then, she’s “re-tweeting like crazy.”

Alyx is thrilled every time she receives notification of a new follower on Twitter. She says the real measure of success, though, is increased activity on the company’s Better Business Bureau listing and on their website.

4. Measure your success

One of our newer members, Phil Clemens, pointed out that Pinterest just launched a new analytics tool.   If you’re not tracking progress, you could spend a lot of time spinning your wheels. Measuring ROI in social media is challenging, so new tools like this are always welcome.

5. Emphasize your message

By bringing our attention to Pinterest Launches Free Analytics Tool, a meeting handout, Phil also demonstrated the importance of not letting your message get lost in the shuffle.  Adding emphasis can be done by directing attention and reiterating.

6. Share, don’t steal

Luke Holzmann, spokesperson for the YouTube tips group, warned against downloading from someone else’s channel and then uploading to your own. “This will get you into hot water,” he said. Instead, if you want to share someone’s video content, link to it (on YouTube, for example) or embed it in your blog post.  This ensures proper credit and attribution.

7. Attribution before assertion

Our group’s videographer, Brian Olson of Conversation Starters, stepped from behind the video camera to share this pearl of wisdom that is generally directed toward journalists, but can also apply to many social media users.  “Attribution before assertion” not only gives proper credit, but also helps the audience from being distracted or confused.

Photo by maxthedog67 on flickr

I’ve written before about the Social Marketing For Business Meetup I love so much. At every monthly meeting, attendees – usually around 65 to 100 people – break into “quick tip groups” to discuss and come up with one quick tip about a social media channel or technique.  Here’s a rundown of the tips that were shared at the February Meetup – a sampler of sorts.

YouTube

Presented by Forrest Bassett, the advice from this breakout discussion about putting video on YouTube is to “keep it short.” Viewers have a relatively short attention span – about 90 seconds according to this short (1:56) video explaining optimal video length.

In this video, Dan Safkow also suggests that you cover only one topic per video; and, he explains why.   A suggestion from the quick tip group is to break your videos into parts; e.g. Part I, Part II, etc. (more…)

I find it very satisfying when someone in my social network “likes” one of my comments, or better yet, comments on a post. It’s a sign that I’ve achieved one of my goals for using social media; I’ve engaged a reader.

Anyone who is creating content for a social site is likely doing it to gain recognition in some form or fashion. Whether creating content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, your blog, or any of the hundreds of other social channels, you’re probably striving to “engage” your audience. Easier said than done.

There are some basic rules of engagement for creating a strategy and building a robust and vibrant social network. The rules are purposely general and need to be customized by each content creator depending on their unique objectives for their social media strategy.

My own Social Media Action Plan for 2013 includes an objective of engaging. As I contemplate what that means exactly, I realize that “engaging my network” is the result I’m after, but it’s not a result I can expect without some effort. (more…)

Social Marketing for Business, a Denver monthly Meetup, recently hosted a conversation about “Creating a Social Media Marketing Action Plan.”  Our moderator, Mike Hanbery, started us off by asking who among the 60 or so businesses represented at this Meetup had a written social media plan.  Less than 10% raised their hands.

The ensuing conversation prompted our thinking and revealed some great ideas about how to approach the task of creating a written social media plan.  Highlights can be viewed in this video.  Some of the ideas that made it into my own notes include:

Use the right tools

You can’t know which of the social media tools to use if you don’t know what each of the tools is used for.  Luke Holzmann says that figuring this out is a great starting point for creating a social media plan.  As the conversation continues, though, we find that choosing and using the right tool can be done differently by different people. (more…)

As a social media manager, I’m constantly trying to help people efficiently work with the various social media and networking tools. But keeping up with the changes on Facebook has become a full-time job.

I should love Facebook for this I suppose, because it puts my services in high demand. It’s my job to know what the changes are and how to work with them. I should not only be able to demonstrate the new features, but also help people make adjustments in their processes when features they’re used to using have disappeared (see examples, below).

I hate Facebook for this too, though, because I like to demonstrate how to use social media tools on video.  But with the pace of change on Facebook, the videos become obsolete almost before I finish recording them. I now post a disclaimer in the video descriptions reminding people that Facebook is constantly undergoing changes. (You can leave requests for current, customized video demos on the 3D Communications Facebook Page.)

I’m not criticizing. After all, we’re all still figuring out the best ways to use social media tools, and Facebook has every right to make changes in their quest for perfection. Facebook isn’t the only popular social networking platform that makes changes. Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube have all rolled out their share of changes. After a bit of time, I adjust to the changes and even truly appreciate most of them. Today, though, I’m just venting my frustration with Facebook.

Stuff that has disappeared from Facebook

1. The “Link” link on the status update on the personal Facebook profile is gone (still available on business Facebook Pages, though). I noticed this when someone asked me how to choose the thumbnail that appears when you post a link on your status update. Here’s a graphic of what I discovered.
2. I used to be able to work on my business Facebook page and choose “Use Facebook as Debi” and then post a comment as me rather than as my business. However, today I discovered that I can no longer do that. I can still click “Use Facebook as Debi,” but when I click in the comment box, my business logo shows up. Maybe it’s a glitch; maybe not. Who knows? Further, I can’t post a personal comment on any of the pages on which I’ve been assigned as an administrator. I don’t “like!”
3. I used to be able to post a status update from my personal Facebook and tag a business page (i.e., use the @ symbol in front of the Page name causing it to become a hyperlink to that Page). The update would then appear on that Page’s Wall and/or Newsfeed. But, that doesn’t seem to be happening anymore. So much for letting a Page you want to support know you’re sending them a little social love!

I will do my best to help people deal with the changes. Can you help me with any of the three things that are challenging me today?

Photo credit: Ben Heine

The question about the ROI (return on investment) of Social Media comes up all the time; the answers are numerous, varied and often vague.  An approach discussed recently among my Social Marketing for Businesses MeetUp group suggested that before calculating the R (return), it makes good sense to analyze the I (investment).

Anyone with any experience using social media, knows that your investment is not hard dollars. In fact, many social media tools are virtually free.  Your investment, however,  is time; and your time is valuable.  Therefore, managing the time spent on social media is critical in the ROI equation.

Social Media in 20 Minutes a Day

Start out by committing to a set amount of time each day or week that you can realistically afford to spend on social media.  Then, create a checklist of the tasks you need to accomplish within that set amount of time.  Here is an example – Social Media in 20 Minutes a Day.  You might be willing to invest an hour a day in social media. Or, you might decide that all you can afford is 20 minutes a week.  A checklist like this can be customized depending on your situation and your expectations for social media.

The trick to making a checklist like this work is to exercise discipline.  It’s easy to get distracted and lured into an unintended direction. (We’ve all done it!)  To help you avoid this:

1. Keep a printed copy of your checklist on your desk, in clear sight.
2. Set the timer on your phone.
3. Commit to getting through the checklist before the timer goes off.
4. Reward yourself each time you successfully complete your list.

Social Media Doesn’t Have To Be All Work

Even if you’re using social media for business, it doesn’t have to be all work.  Make it fun by rewarding yourself for accomplishing your checklist within the allotted time.  You’ll be less likely to give in to distractions if you know you’ll be rewarded  later with 15 minutes to go check out your best friend’s photos on Facebook, or go back to the YouTube video one of your college friends sent you on Twitter.

Social media is a wonderful playground.  It is, after all, SOCIAL media. So, we should allow ourselves to socialize and share with our family and friends.

While you’re working, though, and trying to manage the ROI of social media for your business, stay focused on your business objectives . . . and keep an eye on the clock!

Photo by Anna Hendy

In conversations with other social media enthusiasts I often hear it predicted that the term “social media” will eventually become just “media.” While I believe this to be true, I, for one, want to hang on to this more descriptive term, at least for the time being. Here’s the reason why:

I work with small businesses that are ready to embrace social media as a business tool. Most of them, however, are doing it because they feel they have to. That’s it. Their objective for using social media goes no deeper than that. I’m then faced with the challenge of getting them to think through their rationale. That process usually reveals the fact that they don’t really understand social media . . . in fact, most aren’t even using social media as a consumer. They simply want to jump in and start using it as a business.

Traditional methods fail in new media

The first thing most businesses want to do is use new media – emerging media – social media – as a channel to deliver traditional marketing messages that are formed using traditional marketing methods. That’s when I enter the scene and begin chanting the mantra, “It’s SOCIAL media, not SALES media.”

I can’t take full credit for that snappy little chant. Unfortunately, though, I can’t give credit to the rightful person, either. My own understanding of social media has developed over the years with the help of brilliant minds like Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, Brian Solis, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Jay Baer. I can’t remember where I read, “It’s SOCIAL media, not SALES media” [my emphasis]; but when I did, it resonated so clearly with me that I found myself saying it in my sleep. I’m still having difficulty getting it to resonate with owners of small businesses, though; especially if they don’t have even a fundamental understanding of what social media is.

First, use social media as a consumer

Since adding social media strategy services to my consulting practice two years ago, I have revised my requirements for taking on new clients interested in using social media as a business tool. Now, before I discuss helping a business enter the social media environment, the business owner must already be using social media as a consumer. For example, they must have a personal Facebook profile, be tweeting from a personal account, and regularly view or upload YouTube videos. If they don’t have this experience, I’m happy to guide them and get them familiar with how us consumers use social media.

Social rules apply to social networks

My rationale for this approach is that social media platforms are designed for social interaction. Social rules apply. Social networks are a lot like social events, and those who arrived early have set the pace, theme and mood within their communities. Jumping in and disrupting the atmosphere with inappropriate behavior (i.e., spam, marketing messages, selfish blabber) will get you ousted.

Business owners need to see how this works. They need to respect the social network for what it is – a social setting. If they don’t, they’ll know how it feels to be a social outcast.

Photo by bonkedproducer on flickr

Using social media as a business tool is best approached as a process rather than a strategy. However, you want your social media to be strategy-driven. In other words, you want to have a plan for managing your social media, aimed at a specific objective. To get started, be able to articulate a singular, well-defined reason for using social media – at least for the first three to six months. You can add more objectives later, but right out of the chute, it’s best to focus your efforts on one purpose.

Reasons for using social media

There are hundreds of reasons for using social media. Here are just a few:

• Engaging and energizing your current customer base
• Gaining visibility among potential new customers
• Reducing the expense of more costly, less effective traditional methods of marketing
• Establishing yourself as an expert in your field
• Being a resource of valuable information to your customers and potential customers

Don’t be tempted to target more than one objective. Fortunately, there is lots of overlap between objectives and you will likely achieve more than one at a time. But concentrate on only one for starters, and see where that takes you.

Identifying the right objective

The challenge, of course, is deciding on that first objective. One way you can do that is to look at your existing business strategy. One of the tools I use is the Components of Existing Business Strategy worksheet. It lists some common business functions that could benefit from the use of social media.

Go through the worksheet and think about each of the functions listed. You may have formal strategies for some of them; but even if you don’t, you certainly have some kind of plan or process for functions such as public relations, sales, and/or HR activities.  Customer Service is one example of a business function that can be enhanced by social media.

Once you’ve chosen a few functions that are relevant to your operations, think about the current costs associated with those functions. That factor may help you decide where you want to start making cost-saving adjustments by implementing social media tools.

At the end of the exercise, you should be able to define your social media objective in one simple sentence. Then, paste that into your timeline and get to work building the rest of the process that you’ll use to leverage the power of social media.

Let me know if you find this worksheet helpful in defining your singular objective for using social media. Better yet, share your objective in the comment section on this blog post. Thanks!

Working with small businesses that are trying to figure out how to use social media to their advantage, I am repeatedly asked about ROI.  Everyone wants to know how using social media is going to help them do business and generate sales.  To this I say, “It’s not about making money, but about creating value.”

Of course, I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand that we’re all in business to make money.  However, there seems to be a misconception that social media was created and designed to give marketers an easy answer to generating sales.  This is when I want to scream, “Hey, it’s called SOCIAL media, not MARKETING media.”

But businesses and marketers still want to criticize social media channels, saying that there seems to be an awful lot of talking but not very many people listening.

(more…)

What does listening have to do with being heard? Everything!  In today’s communication environment where social media channels are teeming with conversations, it’s hard to get a word in edge-wise.  It’s hard to get noticed even when you have something important to say.

Contributing valuable content is only part of the answer.  Generally, you know what you want to say and who wants to hear it.  But according to my favorite 6W’s method,  your strategy could be strengthened by also asking how, when, where and why.  You can get some very good answers by listening.  Here are five tips for listening well: (more…)