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)

15 Ways to Promote Your Blog Offline

The website is changing. The simple fact that individuals are wanting, craving, and needing updated content is generating a ton of traffic to one thing on your website : your blog. We know of multiple ways to promote your individual or company blog online but what about offline? The following is a list of 15 ways to promote your blog in a “traditional” sense. Some of the tips are a little outrageous but ya know what… we are all outrageous in some way… That is business, baby!

1. Put your blog address on your business card. If you have a personal bog (like mine: www.kylelacy.com) or even if you have a business blog off of your current website (example: getbrandswag.com/blog). Single out your blog on your business card.

2. Talk about you blog with every breath you take.. every move you make. This does not mean you overpower and drown people with your blog thought and opinions. This DOES mean that you talk about your blog when the time presents itself. If somebody is asking your opinion on a certain topic… give them your ideas and point them towards your blog.

3. Stick em up! Stickers for promotion. I have seen multiple bloggers and Internet-preneurs have stickers designed and printed that promoted their blog. If you have a catchy URL or tagline (example: Sometimes it is better to be socially creative) it might be a good idea to produce some stickers and hand them out.

4. Traditional Networking Rocks. Find a Chamber or a Rainmakers. If you are a small business owner, sales manager, or account manager… you are more than likely already involved in a traditional networking event. Hand out your business cards, pass out your stickers, and talk your blog up! People want to read content that helps them with a pain point in their lives. Help them out and they will be forever grateful!

5. Hire a Dominos or Liberty Tax Guy/Girl. We have all seen them holding a promotion sign and dancing on the side of the road. I have had my fair share of almost running them off the road by accident but out of all honesty, it could be a great way to promote your blog. There is one benefit to hiring a roadside promotional person… they are hardcore!

6. Ninja Attack on Display Computers. This idea comes from Future of Blog. If you find yourself in a Best Buy or any store that may have display computers… jump on the computer and surf to your blog and walk away. Now, this is not going to push any valuable traffic to your blog (who knows) but it was a funny idea.

7. Write an article for a magazine. There are plenty of local magazines around your area. Find the magazine that caters to your demographic and write articles for submission. This will help in your ability to gain traction with a knowledge hungry public.

8. Expensive Traditional Marketing. It pains me to write this portion of the tips but the ideas can still be used to promote a blog. Buy traditional marketing. Traditional marketing could be anything from radio, TV, billboard, or yellow page advertisements. I wouldn’t mind seeing my blog on a billboard but honestly, you have to REALLY justify the cost.

9. Sponsor a fund raising event. Find an event or not-for-profit that you can sponsor as a writer or blogger. This will help in your promotion to the community. One tip: Make sure you believe in the community based sponsorship before you buy.

10. Attend Conferences and Conventions. This idea could be delegated to an individual inside the company or yourself… it is all dependent on your time and ability to commit to different conferences. The same concept applies to offline networking groups applies to attending the conferences and conventions in your industry. Your online relationships are SO much stronger if you connect in the offline environment.

11. Get a vehicle wrap going on your car. We have all seen the massive car wraps. If you are wanting to REALLY promote your blog… get a car wrap but to be honest… I wouldn’t recommend it.

12. Write a Press Release and Include Your Blog. There are individuals better at writing about promotion through the use of public relation tactics but it is still a viable option to promoting your blog.

13. Attend a TweetUp. You are probably already using Twitter and if you are not… you probably should be. Twitter users usually have different networking events where different users can meet each other in a specific geographic location. Attend a TweetUP and give more face time with the people you communicate with online.

14. T-shirt It Up. This tip comes directly from @baldeagle on Twitter. Put quotes from your blog on a t-shirt. Make sure that you wear them around as much as possible. This may seem a little egotistical but come on… most of us are… at least a little bit.

15. Create a brochure with your top post. Many of us are in agreement when we talk about the power of an integrated marketing approach when it comes to promotion. Create a brochure that is catered directly to your blog. Take the best and top read post from your blog and transfer it to the print material. Be sure that you hand your blog-chure out whenever you have the chance. This could be extremely valuable at speaking engagement. I have printed blog posts out in order to hand them to event attendees.

Should a CEO Use Social Media?

Well.. this is an important question to ask. This is even more important to consider if you are a CEO. There has been quite a bit of chatter in the social media world pertaining to a CEO’s use of social media. Should the overall leader in a company be involved in the online communication strategy being implemented by employees or an outside firm? There are many cases when the answer is YES and a few where the answer can be a resounding no.

The answer should be yes if you are a CEO of a company that is developing a unique (trust based) relationship with the customers or your product or service. This concept can be contained in the B2B and B2C world.

If you are running a small business where you (as the CEO) are the main source of business development it is important for your prescence to be known in the world of the Internet. The best start for a small business CEO? Blogging, of course. As a small business, you are building a reputation based on YOUR interactions with individuals. If you are not implementing (at the very least) a blog.. you may be missing out on a huge opportunity to influence potential buyers.

Now, there could be a case where social media should not be implemented by a CEO. I have been debating with myself on the abilities of a Fortune 500 to 100 CEO implementing such social strategies… and frankly… sometimes there is way to much on the plate of a corporate leader to implement personal social media. Blogs can be excused from this topic because there are plenty of corporate CEOs using blogs to communicate but there is only so much time in the day.

In the long run, as a CEO, you should evaluate where you can best represent the company. If you have a VP of Communications that is much better suited to run the social media of a company… by all means.. let the best lead.

However, you will find an increase in the trust behind your brand on behalf of your customers when you are communicating to them on a daily basis.

Related articles by Zemanta

• When is outsourcing social media okay and when is it not (socialmediatoday.com)
• How Social Media Can Help Your Business? | Social Media Online (jonggunlee.tistory.com)
• Fill Your Pipeline by Refining Your Referral Requests (myventurepad.com)
• Joan Stewart’s Applesauce: Her Secret to Success? | Web 2.0 … (jonggunlee.tistory.com)

Your Website is Your Social Media Hub

Our web-developer extraordinaire and overall genius at Brandswag, Stephen Coley, wrote in his post yesterday about the importance of centralizing your overall social media communication strategy. Stephen is a genius at php and has been building websites  for the company since March and I couldn’t agree with him more.

When you are building your online strategy.. please.. make sure that you are driving traffic to one source. We are developing content to reach a wider audience than ever deemed possible in the world of marketing and public relations. For this very reason it is important to have a centralized hub. This pertains to B2B and B2C strategies. Great content develops readers and followers.. which in turn.. develops trust and thought-leadership.

Now, this may not deem necessary for some early adopters. There may come a time when the entire social media world will be decentralized and a new form of strategy will develop… but until then.. spend time developing your hub (your website). Put deep thought into the content you are creating and then setup the necessary tools to drive readers to your connection point.

I welcome disagreement on this topic but this is what I have seen from multiple sources, our own work, and current clients.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Truth and Two-Way Communication: Using Social Media for PR (kylelacy.com)
• PR Does Not Stand for Press Release: Equalizing Spikes and Valleys (socialmediatoday.com)
• B2C Versus B2B – Is There Really Any Difference? (myventurepad.com)
• Social Media for B2B is a Game Changer (myventurepad.com)
• B2B Social Media Marketing with Blogging (kylelacy.com)

The Failing Marketing and PR World

I am becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of blog writing by public relations, marketing, and advertising firms in the city of Indianapolis and abroad. The simple fact that a communications company is not in-tune with the changing landscape of the consumer driven world is troubling… to say the least.

If there are any industries that should be on the forefront of social media and blogging it is the public relations and marketing worlds. YOU are the communications arm for major brands both large and small. YOU are driving them out of business because of your lack of knowledge pertaining to the changing world.

If you do not believe in social media as a valuable device for communication (two-way communication)… I am concerned for your company health and your clients bottom line. You may be riding the fair wave of strictly using traditional marketing and media buys… Don’t get me wrong… it is still extremely valuable to use and implement but only when integrated with new techniques.

But what happens when 6 to 12 months down the road… when you realize that you did not change in the right direction… What happens when you are surpassed by smaller, more agile firms and your market share is ripped away because of one thing..

THEY realized it was important to talk to single consumers instead of a HUGE demographic mix. They realized it was important to communicate instead of blasting messages over the airwaves.

It is important to understand that social media will be new medium of communication. It may be a new concept but in the next year it is going to revolutionize the way we communicate. Are you searching for the truth? Are you watching the trends?

Most are not.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Has Web 2.0 Made You Happier? [part II] (conversationagent.com)
• Why Banks Should Listen to Social Media (kylelacy.com)
• Market Recovery Will Only Accelerate Marketing Trends (newcommbiz.com)
• Internet Strategy Forum Summit Interview: Katherine Durham (lockergnome.com)

Authenticity is Life. The Rest is Just Details.

How do you creat great content that is alluring to the general public and your potential clients? The simple answer would be keyword rich content and industry news. Oh yes, keyword rich writing. We all love it.

There is something deeper that tends to push one blog past the other in terms of the public attention deficit disorder: Authenticity.

Authenticity should be one of the driving focusing of your blog, your use of social networking tools, and your business. We are now in a customer centric world where people want to deal with… you guessed it… people.

Staying authentic with your content means you do not sound like the back of a brochure. It means you do not sound like the news anchor on the Fox Business Channel droning away about the pitfalls of capitalism.

It means..What does it mean?

Telling stories.

Creating visual memories of how you have helped clients. Telling the story of starting the business and being honest about the mistakes you made “growing up.” It means giving your personal opinion on activities happening in the market.

I think I speak for everyone when I say… we want to hear from YOU not your industry.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Facebook ‘harms children’s brains’ (guardian.co.uk)
• Do You Trust Google’s Keyword Tool? (seroundtable.com)
• 76% of SEMs Don’t Fully Trust Google’s Keyword Tool (seroundtable.com)
• TwitterWall – build your own twitter wall (twi5.com)

The Value of Thought Leadership for Your Business

Is thought leadership valuable for a small business? That is the question that is being asked around the blogosphere as of late. Is it important for an owner, sales director, or a sole proprietor to be involved and have their “head” into the concept of thought leadership?

Well. I would say yes but what is the definition of a thought leader?

Thought leader is a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets)

Now, I don’t have a clue what a “thinklet” is but there is the definition of thought leader from wikipedia. Does this strike you as something important for your business? Instead of thinking of a thought leader as a single individual why not view your entire company as a massive thought leader?

Using social media can help you develop and nurture your (company) thought leadership by sharing ideas, view points, and opinions on events in your industry. By developing trust you are developing thought leadership. Last time I checked… trust potentially can lead to a long term sale.

By constantly producing content that is genuine, up-to-date, thoughtful, and insightful you can develop a leadership base that will follow your lead.

What do you think happens when one of your readers runs into a pain point in their business that you talk about on a daily basis… lead generation at its best.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Thought Leadership Ain’t What It Used to Be (thecustomercollective.com)
• Thought Leadership Webinar February 10 (deswalsh.com)
• Thought Leadership is Not Enough (socialmediatoday.com)
• Give the People What They Want: Thought Leadership and Lead Gen (funnelholic.com)

Expose Yourself. I Dare You.

“The lesson is, we all need to expose ourselves to the winds of change. We need to expose ourselves to our customers, both the ones who are staying with us as well as those that we may lose by sticking to the past.” -Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel

I have a question for you… What is one of the largest public relations and customer communication problems facing companies?

I can help you out… it is ignorance and the decision to simply not listen. This concept can stem from every corner of a corporation or a small business. The CEO chooses not to listen because they simple do not know or a small business owner decides to ignore the ever changing world of customer communication.

We are experiencing a shift in how customers relate to brands. You can no longer hide behind a massive white paper, public relations firm, or marketing campaign.

The time is now. Expose yourself. Take the dive into the world of online communication. Start a corporate blog. Start a twitter campaign for a product. Get your customer service department trained in the ways of social media.

Can you feel the winds of change blowing through your window? Or did you decide to yank it close…?

Only to experience it being shattered.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Could Patents and Greed Sink Silicon Valley? (lockergnome.com)
• Intel’s Grove: Something foul in Silicon Valley (news.cnet.com)
• Top Ten Reasons Why Your Content Marketing Strategy Fails (conversationagent.com)
• Ron Strauss On Knowledge Sharing As A B2B Strategy (marketing.blogtanker.com)

10 Reasons You Should Not Be On Social Media

I have been researching, reading, and listening for awhile now to the small business world in regards to social media and blogging. There are plenty of business owners and professionals in the world who accept social media as a new form of communications… and plenty who do not.

I decided to write a small guide for business owners to gauge whether or not they should be in social media.

10 Reasons You Should Not Be on Social Media As a Business

1. You would rather not change your business model of communication. You are content with direct mail and email marketing. You are right, they will be around in 5 years.

2. The only computer you have in your office is the black and green screen MAC.

3. You purchased a dial-up modem to “save money.”

4. You are still struggling with the reply and forward functions in e-mail.

5.  You are convinced that the only people using social media are college kids and pot smokers.

6.  You feel that the newspaper is still a valuable form of advertising.

7. You designed your logo in powerpoint or publisher and all brochures were designed in the same programs.

8. When asked about time commitment you whine about an extra 30 mins a day to grow your business.

9.  Your website was designed pre-2005 and has not been updated.

10. You find that building “trust” in a marketplace is a waste of time.

If you fit any of the following criteria… do me a favor and stay off social media.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Enduring Newspaper: Advertisers still bullish on print (financialpost.com)
• Social Media Ad Buy Standards Released (marketingpilgrim.com)
• How powerful is your social media? (christopherspenn.com)
• The One Way to Be Successful at Social Media (kylelacy.com)
• What is the first question you often get asked about your business? (insights-group.com)

Ranked #183 of Top 200 Social Media Blogs

Sometimes you just need a little pick me up. I received it last night when I got word I was listed as number 183 of 200 top social media blogs on the Internet. You have to look under the top 100 to download the 200 list. Still makes me feel good though. ha.

Shameless self-promotion isn’t so bad if you do it less than promoting others. Kind of funny after my post this morning.

Here is the link to the list: Top 200 Social Media Blogs