Is Outsourcing Social Media Okay?

I have been debating for many moons on the topic of outsourcing your use of social media. I will be completely honest with you… I have not come to a conclusion. We have been through the process of completing projects for clients where we supported all the content creation and “fed” all of the social networks. The goal was to create a mass interest in a specific topic. There were some that worked but the majority of them failed. It was hard to look at a failing project that used the tools I loved so much.

What went wrong?

In the majority of the failed projects it was the issue of emotional empowerment behind a message. It was hard for an outsourced contractor to take the view of the actually company. It was hard for us to replicate the ideas and aspirations of another company without being intimately involved in the daily routine. This ultimately led to the creation of education and training materials to be used internally by corporations.

Implementing a successful social media strategy is inherently connected to the daily routine. Take Zappos for example: by empowering employees to tweet about their daily routine and add in information about the company… they found extreme success by creating a HUMAN identity (more about that later).

I am not going to sit here and condemn the act of ghost blogging. I can look at numerous examples where ghost blogging has worked to some extent. If you can find a company that intimately understands your emotional tie between your company, products, message, and services it may be an easy fit.  I do, however, condemn the act of ghost Twittering (more on that later).

In reality, the best social media communication is done by owners and employees. If you love what you do it shouldn’t be hard to scream to the heavens about your daily routine.

It is all tied to education. Educate yourself and your team on how to use the tools effectively and productively. If education and training are done the right way (with a great strategy)… you will see an increase in brand awareness and customer support without having to spend thousands of marketing dollars on outsourced implementation.

Although, it doesn’t hurt to have support it is important that YOU have a vested interest in the promotion.

What do you think? Is social media outsourcing a viable strategy?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Welcome to the Network Era – An Essay by Scott Davis (800ceoread.com)
• Can You Relate to The Net Generation? (hilarytopper.com)
• Only 8% of Advertisers Deem Twitter an Effective Promo Tool (marketingvox.com)
• Best Buy seeks marketer with at least 250 followers on Twitter (brandstrategy.wordpress.com)

Use YOUR Ideas When Writing a Blog. Period.

It is true… sometimes you get in a rut when debating on what you should write on your blog. The depressing thought-police come crashing through your door and stop any hint of creative musing… just because they can. How do you push yourself out of the mind block and towards creative thinking/writing?

When I personally find myself in a rut I tend to retreat to my Google Reader to find inspiration from other writers in my specific industry. It helps when there are hundreds of people writing about the same topic and feeding off each other to create content.

But that is where it stops or it should stop.

There are plenty of blogs out there that credit an author by linking to their post… but then continue to copy the content and paste it directly into the post. Be very careful when using content from another blog. Is there a right way to credit a writer and still build off their ideas while creating your own? Of course!

Linking

If you are building off of another writer’s idea be very sure that you link the title of their post in your content. By linking to their blog posts it gives the author the ability to visit your blog and comment on your idea. This is a great way to create a environment of co-collaboration. An even better thing to do is to email the author and let them know you are writing about their post.

Paraphrasing

It is okay to paraphrase an author’s work as long as you are giving them credit for the idea. This does not mean you can copy and paste their ENTIRE post inside of your blog. This does not give any credit and it just means you are lacking in the area of original thought.

Quoting

If you enjoyed a sentence or two from a blog post it is okay to quote that author if it supports your post. Be sure that you give them credit for the post and put the quote in italics.

This just happens to be a few personal ideas I have been building over the past year while writing. There have been times when I have made the mistake of borrowing a little more content than necessary and for that I apologize. The important thing to remember is judge the amount of content you are borrowing. Would you enjoy it if another blog borrowed that much content from your post?

There are many authors who could care less if you borrowed their content for a post but like mom always said, “Kyle. Better safe than sorry.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• What is worth it? (retailsmart.com.au)
• Dealing with Uninspiration (thewriterbabeseries.com)
• Create and share custom feed bundles in Google Reader (en.onsoftware.com)
• Blogging magazine articles (blogs.reuters.com)

I Do Not Use Correct Punctuation. So What?

I have had a couple of conversations over the past week or so pertaining to my use of correct (or lack of) punctuation in my blog posts. There are many that have lectured me over the correct use of punctuation and grammar when writing my blog… (there it goes) simply because of my so-called lack of professionalism.

To that I say… (there it is again) So what?

There is a method to my madness and I have felt the sudden urge to try and explain myself to the masses that may not appreciate my writing technique. I would like to call this technique: the pause affect.  Notice… look closely… I used the word affect instead of effect. There is reasoning behind the use of the word that we will discuss later.

I write as though I am speaking to a group or an individual. I tend to use three periods to show a pause in my mode of speaking or an influx of emotion pertaining to a specific topic or thought. The three periods exemplify the art of a pause when speaking… because it shows a pause in a person’s thought process.

I may not use correct puntuation but isn’t the value in the overall content provided? Did the post or article help you in your quest to alleviate a certain pain in your business? We try not to judge a book by the cover and the same concept applies to blog writing. Is the content valuable?

I use the pause affect to show emotion in my posts. If you were to talk to me on the street… I pretty much speak the same way as I write.

Remember…

Content is king and if the point is being portrayed with pause and affect… isn’t there still substance?

What do you think?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Symbolizing Tips (teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com)
• Better writing: Rhythm (billbennettnz.wordpress.com)
• Your Fourth Grade Teacher is Not Here (seattlepi.com)
• The Lie of Correct Grammar in Blogging (kylelacy.com)

The Brains Behind Social Influence Marketing

If you are running a social media company or  thinking about implementing some type of social media strategy into your business… there is no better company to track than Razorfish. They recently released a report called Fluent which examines the possibilites of using social media influencers (like Chris Brogan and Douglas Karr) to market a product or service. The definition of social influence marketing is as follows:

Social influence marketing is about employing social media as part of the entire lifecycle of a marketing campaign, even beyond the campaign.

There is also a deeper understanding to the concept of social influence marketing (SIM). The idea that marketing has turned away from the company and now is in control of the customer (or at least soon will be) is the basis of SIM. How do you create a market when in reality… in the not-to-distant future… marketing campaigns may not exist. How do you empower certain evangelists to spread the word about your product or service and seem absolutely genuine at the same time?

Razorfish is leading the way in deciding the right form to tackle social media as part of a marketing process. I would encourage you to read the report and experience the world of social influence marketing.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fluent, the Social Influence Marketing Report (socialmediatoday.com)
• Only 33% of Us Trust Our “Online” Friends; Barely More Than Trust in Banner Ads! (myventurepad.com)
• The New Marketing Career (slideshare.net)
• Social Media is Valuable but Broken. We Need to Work Together. (via Google Reader) (kylelacy.com)

All That Matters Is Your Story

We are experiencing a change in the world of customer communication. It is no longer the company that is controlling the brand management but the consumer. Forget the concept of social media… we have been witnessing this transition for the past decade… and since the inception of the Internet as a worthwhile tool for communication.

Customers are now talking about you at a staggering pace using sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIN… and the list goes on. I was watching TV today and taking note of the increasinly terrible advertising that is taking place on the cable networks. I began to realize that I (along with millions of others) are no longer making buying decisions based on traditional advertising. You can take the definition of traditional advertising any way you want but in my terms it means old ways of doing business.

A great book to read from the Heath brothers is Made to Stick which talks about the concept of creating a story to push your company into the next decade of communication. I have read, reread, and read again the excellent points made throughout the book and began to realize one thing… if you do not create a story that your customers can retell you will lose market share steadily over the next couple of years.

We might not be seeing a steady decline because social media and the Internet is still bleeding edge when it comes to market penetration in a global sense. My question is simply this: What happens when we do reach the peak of market penetration for social media? What happens when your customers ARE using the tool and using it effectively? What do you do when you reach the point? Are you ready for the onslaught? Is your communications department familiarizing themselves with the tools?

All that matters is your story. You are going to be creating a story based on a marketing process but we might come to the point where it doesn’t matter what you want your story to be… your customers are going to create a story anyway. Experience is the key to the future of marketing and customer communication. They (your customer) are going to be talking NOT about your sales or PR release but how they personally experienced your product or service.

Are you preparing yourself for the new age of communication?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Who Are You Targeting on Social Media? (kylelacy.com)
• Create A Page For Your Business On Facebook (slideshare.net)
• Data on Social Media Use (socialmediatoday.com)
• Online Social Networks Empower Older People (jonggunlee.tistory.com)

The 3 E’s of Social Media: Embrace Educate and Empower

I had the pleasure of talking to the Indianapolis Public Relations Society yesterday about the evolution of technology. The concept of the presentation is to shed light on the ever-changing landscape of communication. How is technology changing the way we communicate? How are WE (as communication experts) transitioning into the new age? Are we allowing for a paradigm shift?

The people attending the presentation are stoic figures in the public relations community in Indianapolis and while talking with them I realized three important principles to implementing social media into your organization.

Embracing. Educating. Empowering.

Embracing: The first step in implementing a social media strategy for your business is to embrace the concept of communication in the online environment. It is simple. It means you recognize the change that is transforming the way millions of people communicate on a daily basis. As a brand, you are embracing social media as a way to create a marketing message and tell a story to thousands of potential clients. You do not need to be particulary comfortable with the notion of open communication but you DO need to understand the concept of implement a strategy into your business.

Educating: Once you have embraced the concept of using social media as a communication platform.. it is important to educate yourself and your staff in the philosophy and practical use of the platforms. Whether you are debating on using tools like Twitter or Facebook it is important to educate yourself in the simple and complex workings of the social media world.

The first step in education? Listening. Listen to what people are saying on the Internet about your company, product, or industry. By listening to the masses you will be able to adapt yourself to the world of online communication.  There are also great seminars and learning environments to immerse yourself into.. every city has them… search and you will find.

Empowering: After embracing the tool and educating yourself (and your team) on strategy and usage it is time to empower the actual implementation of a social media strategy. This could mean with money, time, and other resources. Use the strategy plan you have written (or had written from an outside firm) and empower your team to use the tools.

Remeber that pig headed discipline always wins out in the long run. Empower yourself to have the discipline to stick with the strategy you have crated whether it surrounds blogging or a use of a social network.

This is just the start to great journey that is unfolding in front of us. Use the Internet to communicate (both internally and externally). I think you could be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

Related articles by Zemanta

• If the White House can do it… (nylady.edublogs.org)
• The growth of twitter (with analysts) (thecustomercollective.com)
• Social Media Resistance (othersidegroup.com)
• A Brief Introduction to The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web (techipedia.com)

Iggy Pintado’s Connection Generation Review

Many of you may be connected to Iggy Pintado on Twitter: @iggypintado. He is a brilliant marketer, genius at generational marketing, and ex-IBM executive out of Australia. If you are not following him… take a second and do it. You will not regret the decision.

Iggy was kind enough to send me his book, Connection Generation, to read and contemplate. I must admit… I have had the book for a couple of months and just had the time to sit down and read it from front to back. It is awesome. I really did enjoy reading about the different levels of communication from a generational standpoint. There is going (it is happening now) a huge shift in the way people communicate over the next decade. Iggy’s book helps break down the ideas and trends that may be hurting/helping the way WE communicate in the future.

I love how Iggy breaks a part the idea of the Passive Connector.

“Passives have an understanding of communication and connection applications but choose not to prioritize them in practice as part of their day-to-day regiments. They possess a very theoretical view of the word “connection,” manifested in their frame of reference as being more CONCEPTUAL interpretation. They visualize connection as a puzzle… a connect the dots.”

The book help me pinpoint some of the ways I am communicate my overall marketing message to different individuals in the professional environment. I didn’t quite realize (to my fault) that each person has a different level of understanding when it comes to the idea of connecting.

That is just a small snippet of what I found valuable in the book. I am already starting to apply some of the ideas from the book to the way we sell, talk, and promote social media to potential clients.

Go to the website and read about the book. You will not regret it and I recommend it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 100 Thoughts on Marketing (conversationagent.com)
• Social Networking Ramblings – Mars Needs Guitars : Earn Extra … (jonggunlee.tistory.com)
• A round up of Twitter stats – 3/4 joined Jan to May 2009, 60%+ in US (socialmediatoday.com)

Are You Vomiting Ideas Through Social Media?

I know. I know. This is probably not the best title to read early in the morning. For that matter, it is probably not the best post title to read any time of the day.

When writing your blog, participating in social media, or just communicating (period) it is important to remember that your readers and participants are consuming your data. There is plenty of regurgitation happening on the Internet… an idea is started on one end of the world and re-written hundreds of times. Where does the original content come from? Is there really such a thing as original content? Yes, there is and it happens from the personal realm.

Many would argue that there is no such thing as a new idea. We all write and read marketing, accounting, financing, and business content that has been hacked a part and repurposed countless times… so where does original content come from? Your personal experience.

Remember to write about what you learn on a daily basis in your business. How do YOU help your clients and customers? How did “Mary” feel about your product? How did an individual experience your thought leadership? How are you building trust?

We are all trying to produce content that people will read and share. The most original content you can create is through your personal experience. Write about what you learn, know, and experience and we will love you for it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• My Top five Social media Traffic Generators. (futurebells.com)
• Social Networking and Technical Communicators | On the Write Road (jonggunlee.tistory.com)
• Who Gives a Hoot About Twitter? (thecustomercollective.com)
• What Is a Blog? (successful-blog.com)

B2B Social Media Marketing with Blogging

What is the one thing that comes up time and time again in our educational sessions at Brandswag? B2B use of social media. I have heard plenty of reasons why social media could not… should not.. be used to sell the B2B world.

What do many B2B companies do right now for marketing? Direct Mail? Newspaper Advertising? E-Newsletters? Many of the outbound forms of marketing still work for B2B sales but blogging (in my mind) has taken a mainstream stance when building trust and thought-leadership in a specific industry.

There is some truth to the thought that content can build trust between individuals. Many of us look at B2B marketing as fundamentally different from B2C marketing. Honestly….. there is hardly any difference. We are selling to people. Business to business based companies are still selling to people. The CEO of a distribution company is still a person despite the fact he deals with companies instead of individual.

As a B2B company remember to start a blog that contains content, daily interactions, client thoughts/opinions and industry news. Your purpose is to create an informational powerhouse that keeps people reading…

And involved them in your story… your brand… your legacy.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Advertising & Sales Promotional Strategies In Rural Market (slideshare.net)
• Social Media isn’t Replacing Marketing Folks… (socialmediatoday.com)
• Direct Marketing In A Social Media World (marketingpilgrim.com)
• E-Book: It’s Not About You Anymore (myventurepad.com)

Using Social Media to Sell Yourself

Daryl Mather has a great post about frictionless selling over at the Consulting Pulse. It was such a great article and I wanted to take the concept of frictionless selling and apply it to social media marketing and blogging. It is extremely important to understand the concept of frictionless selling. To say the least:

Frictionless Selling surrounds the understand that the least amount of barriers between a person and a purchase… the better.

This means that you should not have massive forms to fill out in order to sign up for a newsletter. This means that it is better to have your phone number than a contact form (this can be debated).

Frition based selling has no place in social media. The speed of conversation and the amount of personality needed to elicit some type of purchasing pattern cannot be screwed up by a massive form or a huge blog posts.

Remember to tell stories when writing your content. Be passionate about what you love and what you do (hopefully, two of the same). Remember to give people an easy way to get in contact with you. The will love you for it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The 3 Business Blog Strategies (wordsellinc.com)
• The Zen of Social Media (myventurepad.com)
• Creating and managing an online community (specialdee.wordpress.com)
• Social Networking or Social Notworking? (myventurepad.com)