This post is by Heidi Cohen, president of Riverside Marketing Strategies.
As social media continue to mature, marketers and business executives who have stayed on the sidelines in hopes of safer options are feeling pressured to jump into the pool. The challenge becomes how to do so effectively without drowning in a public relations crisis.
First, survey the pool to get a sense of where your potential community members are and what they expect from you.
Then, dip your toe in the social media waters by selecting one major platform as a starting point. To help you decide which network, here are the pros and cons of the top five social media options. (read more…)
This post is by Heidi Cohen, president of Riverside Marketing Strategies.
Are you part of the social media silent majority? Do you hesitate to participate — either as an individual or as the manager of an organization who reads and observes what’s happening in the social media sphere? Do you want to break out of your social media shell? If so, here are 10 suggestions that you may remember from high school to help you ease into social media participation.
- Pick your playground. Decide how you want to position yourself on the social media platforms you wish to participate in. Do you want to keep your professional and personal lives separate? Position yourself for where you want to be.
- Wear the uniform. Stake out your name on various social media platforms. If you have a common name, consider how you will distinguish yourself. How will you brand yourself on social media?
Franchisers that aren’t using social media as part of their business strategy need to change their perspective, Ken Colburn, president of Data Doctors Franchise Systems, told attendees of the “Beyond Facebook: Reaching Your Unique Audience Where They Live Online” Tuesday at the IFA 2011 Annual Convention.
The convention’s second standing-room-only session on social media showed that franchisers are interested in learning, but many are still slow to come on board. “I’ve talked to you about this for four years now, and this is still something you’re pushing this over into the corner,” Colburn said.
The key to demystifying social media is to view it as a communications tool just like the other communications tools everyone is already comfortable using, such as e-mail and telephones, explained Colburn and his fellow panelists BJ Emerson, vice president of technology for Tasti D-Lite, and Jon Carlston, vice president of social development for Process Peak. (read more…)
More than a third of all tweets are sent by people visiting Twitter’s default Web client. Which is too bad, because Twitter, as a website, is by far the least effective way to use Twitter as a network.
But even though just about any third-party client will provide you with a better way to use Twitter, picking the client that’s right for you can be daunting. Should you install a client or use one that runs in your browser? Which features are really necessary? Should you pay for any of these services?
I typically prefer browser-based clients because I think its easier to move between browser windows than separate programs, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an installed client with a really great feature set just for that. The best client for you is the one that fits your workflow — if you really need to be able to schedule tweets to be effective and a client doesn’t give you that option, then it’s the wrong service for you, even if everyone else loves it. (read more…)
Arguably the hardest part of leveraging the power of social media is generating an initial swell of activity. Every day, we read fantastic case studies of companies who tap their biggest fans to help generate quality word-of-mouth. While there’s no question that customers are one of the most effective assets in social-media marketing, companies of all shapes and sizes often overlook their built-in social network: their employees.
A recent Forrester study indicates that tech-savvy employees who are equipped with information are more likely to advocate on their company’s behalf. Consequently, it is the responsibility of today’s marketer to arm their colleagues with the tools and messages to enable word-of-mouth. In today’s competitive environment, every social-media campaign needs a spark. Your employees, the very folks who build, sell and manage your products every day, are perhaps the most suited to kick-start your campaign. Here are a few ways to empower your employees to get your word-of-mouth moving. (read more…)
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