Is Twitter Just a Big Popularity Contest?

When looking at your Twitter account how many of your followers/following do you really know? Sure, we follow people because they follow us and vice a versa…but why? What makes people choose to follow you? If you look at many “popular” (not celebrities) users do you notice any trends? Maybe they have great content, interesting jobs or informative blogs….but how often do you honestly take the time to read the tweets of the people your following. It seems as though people look at numbers rather then content. When deciding whether or not to follow someone do you look at how many followers they have or what they are tweeting?

I’m guilty of following people based on numbers. If they have so many followers then they must be important…right?

This question came to mind when thinking about high school and how being popular is so important. Is Twitter the modern day popularity contest? In high school, your looking for your niche and a group of friends (followers) who fit in with that niche. Twitter embodies this same ideal. You set up your account and then hope to find some relevancy. Some users are more “popular” than you so in your efforts to be like them you become a follower…

Once again let’s take this back to your high school days….were you a follower or a leader? Don’t worry about fitting into someone else’s niche. Instead define/redefine your own. Gain friends (followers) the old fashioned way by being nice and being your own person.

What do you think?

Should we have a Twitter prom among our followers to determine who the King and Queen are? (Just kidding) My point is that Twitter isn’t high school. So don’t take it personal when you lose followers. Don’t take it personal when people won’t follow you back.  Maybe your content isn’t relevant to them. You want to have followers who share your interests and who will actually read what your posting. Don’t just be a number among many be someone to follow. Likewise, follow the people who matter to you. We all should be more content driven rather then defining relevancy through the amount of “friends” someone has.

Are Traditional Coupons Dead?

Consumers are getting more and more technologically savvy. Threatening the practice of getting and using coupons in the traditional way.  According DMNEWS Newspaper subscriptions have declined by 9% in the past year, which means that consumers must be getting their coupons through other sources.  We are not only getting our news from other sources, but are we, as consumers taking advantage of online coupons and deals?

The obvious answer is yes, of course. All traditional channels for information are in question. Marketers understand that consumers are doing a majority of their shopping online. Therefore, marketing efforts are pointing toward online users.

This got me questioning the value of print media in today’s world. If we as culture no longer go to traditional sources for coupons, news, weather etc then what is the future for those traditional forms? Newspaper subscription has gone down, which is ultimately a sign of a shifting trend.

So, are the use traditional coupons near extinction? Let’s say that for now, no. Eventually, I’d say yes. As the the Baby Boomer generation moves along with the Millennial generation in going online the traditional sources are going by the wayside. Coupon cutting and clipping are relevant in an uncertain economy but it’s much better done online. Many companies are also delivering coupons straight to the consumers phones via e-mail, text, social media and other smart phone applications. Like every change big or small the shift from print to digital won’t be a quick process. Who knows, maybe we’ll all miss lazy Sunday afternoons with a pair of scissors and a newspaper and resist another modern change.

Leaping Headfirst into Social Media

I recently read a post Going Overboard With Social Media by Brad Ruggles. Throughout the blog I kept trying to form my own  opinion on whether or not I agreed or disagree. Instead I found that reluctantly fall in between with no strong yes or no. I can’t say that people or businesses should always use social media but I can’t say they shouldn’t ever either.

headfirst

I do agree that you should look before you leap, don’t merely assume it’s right for you because “everyone” else is doing it. Yes, our culture is obsessed with social media. Our culture loves surrounding itself with new technologies, instant gratifications, easy communication, and fast money. All of these attributes social media boasts upon. My greatest concern for businesses is that people try and do too much at one time. If social media is the way you want to go then have a plan and tread lightly. You don’t wake up one day and run the Boston marathon without training. Same concept applies here. Come up with a strategy, plan your time accordingly and don’t expect instant results (you wouldn’t expect to run 26 miles after a day of training). Social media is evolving and introducing new features all the time. Take it in slowly and choose what will work best for you.

The only major disagreement I had with the post was the advice of not doing it at all. Now, I do think that people just jumping in without any knowledge about social media are just confusing themselves. However, everyone should look into how social media can be utilized. Sometimes you have to try before you just opt-out. Especially, with the phenomenon that social media has become. It may be best to try it first then decide to put your efforts elsewhere. Not doing it at all always leaves the curious “what if” but do realize that’s really not for everyone.

And remember that the best thing you could do with social media is to integrate it in your overall marketing strategy.

Experts at Your Fingertips – The Value of Social Q&A

Bryan Povlinski is a recent IU graduate and currently works as an Online Marketing Specialist at ecommerce fulfillment provider Fifth Gear.  He is part of the Orr Fellowship program in Indianapolis, and you can find his blog about online tools at www.bryanpovlinski.com

Let’s say you’re in your weekly team meeting planning your next big initiative. The team decides that you need a Facebook page specifically for this new campaign.  Since you’re pretty savvy with social media you decide to take on this part of the project and build the page yourself.  You walk out of the meeting excited to get started, and eager to make a major contribution to the campaign.  You get down to business and start adding your company information and all the basic components of a Facebook Page.  You have some great ideas about how you want it to look, with custom design, interactive apps, etc.  Then you realize that this might be a little bit more work than you first thought.  Facebook has it’s own markup language (FBML) that you would use just like you would use HTML to build a web page – but inside of Facebook.  The logical next step would be to search Google for some resources on FBML so you can try to get the hang of it yourself.  Chances are with something so new you’re going to get stuck at some point.  Then you have a couple options:

A. Keep plugging away trying to figure it out yourself

B. Find someone in the office to help you

C. Inform your team that you aren’t able to complete the project

That may not be a 100% comprehensive list (you could find a friend who could help you out, outsource the project to a site like Elance or oDesk, pay a freelancer, etc), but let’s talk about a new option that’s made possible through social media.  Wouldn’t it be great to pose your question to a network of experts that are actively looking to help out and share their expertise?  With tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Aardvark you can expect quick, high quality responses to questions you ask.  Your experience may vary and you won’t always get the perfect answer, but the cost (free) and the time it takes to submit a question makes it well worth a shot.  There are many services that offer question and answers, but the three that I’ve found most useful are:

1. LinkedIn

Out of all the services I’ve used I’ve had the best experience with LinkedIn Answers.  This is where you can get the most detailed with your questions because it’s likely going to be seen only by people with the specific expertise you need.  LinkedIn makes it very easy to subscribe, by RSS feed, to categories of questions.  So if you’re an SEO expert, you can subscribe to that particular feed and browse through the incoming questions about SEO.  If you think about it, that’s a great way for experts or consultants to get new business – help others who are looking for advice on their subject for free.  Recently I had a technical issue that I needed help with, and I turned to LinkedIn.  I needed to convert an XML feed to a CSV file and was hoping to find a free tool that would do that without any development work.  Within an hour I had 2 responses, and eventually had 6 responses.  I even followed up with one of the guys that provided an answer so that I could clarify the solution he gave me.  My problem was solved, and I didn’t have to worry about trying to download questionable software programs that came up when I searched “XML to CSV” on Google.  Some even think that LinkedIn can revolutionize networking, and I tend to agree because it can connect you with people you likely would have never met.

2. Twitter

In my experience it’s difficult to get as detailed on Twitter as you might be able to on LinkedIn with your questions.  Anyone looking to help you has only 140 characters for a response (unless you decide to exchange email addresses) and that’s rarely enough for a detailed response.  Twitter has great search capabilities, and desktop programs like Tweetdeck and Seesmic have made it easy to monitor tweets on a particular topic.  So if you’re a WordPress developer you better have a saved Twitter search on the term “WordPress” because your competitors will beat you to opportunities if you don’t.  People like Chris Brogan swear by using Twitter for answers, and with over 100,000 followers it’s no wonder that he gets a flood of answers immediately when he asks a question.  In my experience, Twitter is best for things like recommendations.  What’s the best Android app for music?  What’s a good book to read on entrepreneurial finance?  Those can be answered in 140 characters, and they’re easy for people in your network and people searching on a keyword to answer quickly.  For a great play-by-play analysis of using Twitter for answers check out Don Schindler’s post.

I didn’t mention Facebook in here, but it can definitely be a great source of help as well – if you connect with business colleagues.  On the other networks there are people you don’t know actively searching for questions that they can help with.  In my experience that isn’t the case with Facebook.  I’m a recent college graduate and the majority of my friends on Facebook are my friends from college and high school.  If I need help with something at work, I have only a handful of friends that work in marketing/technology so it’s not necessarily the best place for me to ask questions.  If you have a lot of friends in the same industry on Facebook it might be a completely different experience for you so it’s definitely worth trying out.

Why Small Businesses Fail at Social Media

What is the most important step in implementing a social media strategy for your business? The first step? The second step?

Listening and then responding.

What most businesses fail to realize (those who start using social media without a plan or any type of integration) is that the social media sphere would rather be listened to first and communicated with… second.

The consumer is now in control of the conversation. We are in control of how we respond, interact, and praise/degrade every brand underneath the sun.

Businesses who jump into the conversation and broadcast a message but fail to interact are failing miserably at the art of communication within social media. It is important to realize the potential of what David Armano calls micro-interactions where you the brand are responding only after you have listened to what your customers are communicating.

Remember to always listen before speaking… respond when necessary and add a little flavor into the mix. Get to know the people you are interacting with.. only then will you realize the full potential of viral growth through social media.

5 Social Media Tips for Small Business

Today’s guest post is by Beth Hrusch, Senior Editor at Interact Media, a business blog writing service that teaches writing tips and best practices.

A recent study by Employers indicates that over half of small businesses believe in social media as an important marketing tool.  Yet, only 16% of those polled use their social media accounts to communicate directly with customers.  So, what are they actually doing with social media?  The average small business uses it to promote, much in the same way they use ads, direct mail and other forms of traditional marketing.

Social media for business promotion is fine.  But, the real leverage comes through engagement with people who are interested in you.  Your fans and followers are the real catalyst for your success with social media, so keeping in touch with them is critical.

Why?  Social media, much like content marketing, is all about building customer relationships.  In fact, businesses can take their cue from the origins of social media as a primarily “social” tool.  Sites such as Twitter and Facebook were really designed to help people communicate with each other, share resources and stay in touch.  Businesses can do the exact same thing with their customers, using the same sites.

Using social media sites to engage with current and potential customers takes a commitment of time. However, the tools are already built in, so you can simply think of your company account as another way to connect with your target market, just as you would with friends, colleagues and relatives.  Here are 5 tips for building the relationships that lead to sales:

1. Listen- There are a lot of conversations going on out there.  Some of them may be about your company, your industry or other topics that affect you.  Take the time to listen to what is being said before deciding how to respond or add to it.  You’ll learn more about what is important to your target market when you put your ear to the ground.

2. Participate- By becoming part of these conversations, you show that you’re interested in what people have to say.  This is also your opportunity to show how much you know about your topic, which helps to establish your authority.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, encourage debate and even stir up a little controversy now and then.  It gets people talking and gives you more information you can use to connect with them.

3. Add value- Your comments should always add something of value to the conversation.  If you’re too self-promoting or don’t add any useful information, both you and your company will lose credibility.  Think of your efforts as conversation rather than as a push for sales.

4. Evaluate your goals- At some point, preferably at the beginning but also along the way, you should think about your objectives.  What you trying to achieve with your social media efforts?  Some businesses want to increase brand awareness, others are more interested in what their competitors are up to.  Honing in on your primary goals will save you time and energy in the long run.

5. Look at the big picture- Think of social media as a community rather than a place to sell your products and services.   People on these sites, just like the Internet in general, are not necessarily looking to buy something.  Most of the time, they want information they can use, and they want to connect with the sources of that information.  Make sure your efforts keep this in mind.  Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re here to talk to people, invite them to join you, offer them your expertise, etc.  Design each individual post to make an overall impression that, over time, reflects your business objectives.

So, if you’re thinking about using social media to promote your business, or already are, remember to put some time into customer engagement!  It’s the best way to get those friends and followers to convert into customers.

When Should You Engage As a Business in Social Media?

The marketing and technology world is on fire with this new form of communication: social media. And yes… I did mean to say new. Many in the corporate and small business world have yet to set foot into this new communication platform. This is hard for many social media advocates to grasp. How could the business world not be ENTIRELY tuned in to the growing social avalanche that is happening in their front yard?

In truth… social media is not really in their front yard at all… more like an alley down the street… waiting to be swept up by an avalanche of customer opinion and buying patterns. We are talking about a flood gate collecting a force that will… soon… explode.

We are still in the infancy of social media adoption across a wide spread of the globe.

This is in no way degrading the idea that the tools of social media will not be a main form of communication in the years to come… we are just not there yet.

We (the business world) are going to see a significant change in how consumers buy and communicate with brands in the years to come. We will see a wide-spread use of social media tools in both the Internet and mobile environments.

So what should the business world do when debating the use of social media for communication and lead generation?

Take it from the words of Jay Baer at Convince and Convert:

“Social media is about fundamentally changing the dynamic between brands and their customers. From master and servant, to peer to peer.”

Now is the time to educate on how to effectively use the tools. Do not listen to a social media expert when they tell you that you MUST be using the tools. You must be educating on how to best use the tools and how they are applicable to your growth as a company.  PERIOD.

Yes… there will come a time when the Internet will unleash the flood gates of 60 even 70 percent of the globe… one unified community of customers, products, services, and brands…

The question is… will you be ready when your front yard is flooded… or not?

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20 Ways to Build Trust and Leads in Social Media

In the new economy there is one major truth that stands above the rest. Trust equals revenue. If you are a small to mid-sized business it is the amount of trust you can build between clients that strengthens your brand.

With trust comes happy clients and with happy clients come referrals. Trust is a fundamental block of building business. Marketing is built under the assumption that stories can create an emotional bond between a consumer and a brand… a client and a service. Can you tell a story… create a service and en experience that builds trust?

Social media can help you build that trust.

1. Content

Content is the number one way you can build trust with potential clients. By creating meaningful and thought provoking content you are building a bridge to later sell that person on your services. Talk about what you do on a daily basis. When I  say you.. it means you are writing and communicating stories that happen to you on a daily basis.

2. Tell A Story

The stories surrounding your company are the only thing that creates differences between the competition. It is extremely important that you allow for your clients to tell your story for you. The people who love what you do… and the people you serve… are the best people to tell the story of your company. Forget about mission statement and vision statements… ASK your clients.

3. Transparency

This can also pertain to content or how you use a specific social network. Be human. The people who are interested in your thoughts and suggestions want to know about you as a person. They could care less about a sale you are having or the amount of money you can cut off their bottom line. They want to know how you helped LARRY the plumber or Susan the account.

4. Picture of Your Day

When you are using social networks make sure you put up pictures of your daily life. If you have a cell phone with a camera takes some pictures of your daily routine and share them with your connections. Just don’t over do it. We can only look at so many professional business or glamor shots in a day.

5. Picture of You

Use your real picture. I don’t know how many times I have said this. Don’t use your logo. There is only one exception to this rule. If you are using Twitter for your business and personal (see my company @Brandswag for an example). Also, do not use a glamor shot from the 1908s. We ALL know you are lying… the only person you are trying to fool… is yourself.

6. Saying Thank You

If somebody helps you share information or decideds to retweet a post.. make sure you thank that person. They are helping you spread the word… they are your online evangelists.. If you miss a thank you.. don’t let it kill you.. but try to make the most of the people that help you out.

7. Do Not Auto-DM on Twitter

See my post… I hate Twitter Auto-DM

8. No Hard Selling

I don’t care about your enewsletter or the new lotion you are selling. Also, just because I reply to a tweet or a message does not mean you can message me back and sell your wares. Social media is a long sell process. You are developing content in order to gain an order of trust with people in your area of influence. We are now experiencing a relationship driven economy… get on the train.

9. Time is Important

Remember that you are building relationships.. do not trust the people that tell you to add 1023920 friends and make $10,000 a month. It is a load of crap. Build your following slowly… create relationships in an online environment that can be transferred offline.

10. Criticism is Important

You will be criticized. It is a truth of open communication. Take it with stride and respond. If you are debated… make sure you debate back. Stand up for what you believe and you will gain trust with the people who are listening…. and watching.

11. Have fun

Good Lord… is it that hard? You have the ability to connect with thousands… and thousands… and thousands of people from every nationality… and life experience. Just imagine your ability to expand your knowledge base and learn?!

One thought: If you are not enjoying and having fun with what you do… quit… go find something else.

12. Send a Handwritten Note

People are thanked and communicated with on a daily basis through social media. If I need someone to thank… I usually send them a message or an email. It is very rare that I will get a thank you card in the mail from someone on social media. Talk about building trust and setting yourself apart!

13. Guest Post on Another Blog

There are times when you can write different posts for other blogs in order to reach a new audience.  It can help you build trust and brand awareness if your content is shared on other sites other than your own blog. This shows other people believe in your content.

14. Send Out Random Surveys to Your Clients and Readers

There are plenty of sites that have services for survey design and distribution. It is important that you ask your readers and clients to contribute to the business planning process through social media. It is important that you know what they are thinking… you also want them to understand you care.

15. Be Aware of Your Search Engine Rankings

If a client or potential client is researching social media and your name is ranked for the search terms… you are building trust. Check out Slingshot SEO if you are wanting some help in the world of search engine marketing.

16. Comment on Other Blogs

Comments on blogs and websites allow for your name and ideas to be spread at a faster pace. This is old news in terms of marketing on the Internet… it is known around the world that if you post comments… you will receive more traffic. Post 1-2 a week on your favorite blog.

17. Get Involved in Your Community and Share on Social

Community development and participation is key when building a business. It is the community whether online or offline that drives business for every small business owner. Get involved in your community and share your involvement on social media. This could mean that you share a picture of attending a fundraising event on Twitter or Facebook. You can also get involved with Causes via Facebook.

18. Be Responsive in Your Social Media Use

From the Science of Building Trust in Social Media post from Mashable:

Olson finds that when only text is available, participants judge trustworthiness based on how quickly others respond. So, for instance, it is better to respond to a long Facebook message “acknowledging” that you received the message, rather than to wait until there’s time to send a more thorough first message. Wait too long and you are likely to be labeled “unhelpful,” along with a host of other expletive-filled attributions the mind will happily construct.

It is important to remember that being responsive is huge. When a problem is happening on social media… it is happening.. NOW.

19. Do Not Over-share Your Content

We want to know what you are doing but we REALLY don’t what to know what you are doing…. does that make sense? There is only so much content you can share on a daily basis. Unfortunately there are no true laws (or rules) that apply to each social networking site. In my book Twitter Marketing for Dummies, I write about the 4-1-1 rule… for every six pieces of content you share (4 should be from other people, 1 should be your content, 1 should be content from your industry).

20. Be Findable

It is important that your social profiles and your accounts are findable whe

I Was Just Exposed on Facebook

Peter Preksto is a co-founder of image-recognition company Alta Data Solutions, Inc.

My business is pretty esoteric–we scrape petrified information off of paper or microfiche at super high speed and make it machine readable, useful for lawsuits and electronic benefits claims, among other things. Our customers are a relatively small number of service bureaus that process billions of such documents per year. I hadn’t thought of my use of social media as a marketing tool because we’re not really expecting to grow through word of mouth but by providing more functionality and speed at a lower cost to those who care about such things. My peers are in their 50′s and 60′s. Most of us started on mainframes, helped invent document-processing technology on intervening platforms, and have ended up in the cloud. In 1983, we first started inter-office chatting to each other using a utility in Novell Netware, and we mostly haven’t shut up online since. Twitter ultimately didn’t pass muster except as a novelty, but Facebook was a natural adoption. We tend to clamp our privacy down perhaps more than our younger colleagues, but we’re using and like the service a lot.

I’ve long believed that you cannot conceal who you really are if you use Facebook regularly–people can really get your number by looking through your books, music, quotations, links, videos, smart-ass remarks, notes of sympathy, whatever. In this big country, you stay closer to friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, and folks who you might otherwise have let drift (and a few who have come drifting back against the tide). If you work it, you stand exposed.

A couple days ago, I was friended by a really important business colleague, president of one of the big service bureaus whom we serve. While we don’t need to network to grow, if you screw up in our small community, it has a big impact. He joked on the phone about my Facebook content, saying it was really “out there,” lots of “personality,” very “young at heart.” I froze. At that moment, I realized the double-edge sword of Facebook. Even if you practice a policy of avoiding writing about politics, religion, creationism, diet, immunization and handguns (and boy don’t we all have opinions we’d love to share on those!), you still stand exposed–in a way even Rotary didn’t do to you in the old style of networking.

I seriously considered un-friending all of my business colleagues and leaving it strictly social and family. Fortunately, I probed the guy a few days later, joked about his comments, and found out that I had it backwards–what he saw, he liked, and it brought us closer together–Facebook shortened the learning curve he would have climbed to learn who he’s dealing with.

A life on Facebook is no place to hide. So maybe letting whoever the heck it is that you’ve turned out to be shine through that medium might be good for business–even if you’re not using it exactly as the pros would suggest for viral growth.

Speaking of pros, many thanks and much respect to Kyle Lacy and Brandon Coon for the company they’re building, and thanks for sharing so generously their insights and experience in their blogs.

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Making Social Media Work for the Alcohol Industry

I had a great time over at Monarch Beverage yesterday with a ton of different breweries and individuals in the alcohol industry. We were talking about social media… plain and simple. How does the alcohol industry utilize social media to drive interaction as well as purchases… or foot traffic?

Our main focus throughout the entire presentation was focusing on the story. I read an excerpt from Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in A Thousand Years:

If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.

I know that is sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you as a business owner but the truth of the matter is simply this… you have to tell a story to gain the attention of any individual on the face of the planet. You have to tell a story worth reading and more importantly… worth sharing.

Before you venture out into the world of social media… plan your story.

Here is the presentation: