Twitter Beats FoxNews.com: Bayh for VP!
I am sitting here in Paradise Cafe and I get a TWEET alert from a friend, Brad Ward. His tweet process is below.
I went to fox news to verify the TWEET. Fox didn’t have anything listed at all. Twitter beat Fox News. AWESOME! Talk about the power of social media.
This should be a lesson to everyone about the merits of checking sources. Apparently we had a prank pulled on us. Well, so much for that.
Duct Tape Marketing Missed: Part 2
Okay. So.
Blogging can sometimes be a humbling experience. I wrote a post yesterday about John Janstch post, If You’re Not Participating in Social Media. I am not going to link to my post.. just scroll down. Long story short, I went off on John for throwing out numbers instead of talking about writing authenticity and using a corporate blog as a communication tool rather than a social tool. John commented on the post:
A couple points of clarification – selling to “older” employees are your words, not mine – I simply said to folks who were not convinced social media made sense for an organization. Second, I agree with your point completely and have written about it often – so, in that context what I was saying was use the data to convince people that it’s worth developing a strategy around.
Okay, I will be honest. I felt a little bad. I decided to go back and research the Duct Tape Marketing Blog,to find examples of where John talks about being authentic in the social media/blogging world.
He has many posts talking about authenticity, “humanness”, and the importance of strategy/clear objectives in blogging.
Here are the excerpts:
Engagement Without Volume Is A Lot of Work
John: What matters always, always is the completion of meaningful long term strategic objectives. So, the discussion of who’s blog readers are more engaged or if 500 hyper engaged readers is better than 50,000 kinda engaged readers somehow starts sounding a bit like the discussion of the best college football team every year. Until there’s a playoff, and everyone has the same goal, the discussion is silly.
The Ultimate Social Marketing Question
John: When planning your social marketing strategies, tools and tactics the ultimate question you must ask is this – “What do I want the relationship with my customer to look and feel like?”
7 Ways To Get More Blog Comments
John: Show some humanness – No matter what your blog topic is readers like to know that the author is a human being. It’s okay to let that show and to add personal thoughts. Only you can determine how far to go with this, but I know that your readers will connect the more they know your story.
John caters more toward the small business market when it comes to blogging and online marketing ideas but his ideas can still resonate at the corporate level. Believe me, they resonate.
Duct Tape Marketing Misses On Corporate Blogging
I read the Duct Tape Marketing blog every once in awhile. It resides in my Google Reader, updating ever so often, giving me small tidbits of information. I usually get some good pointers from John Jantsch. Today he wrote about a new Universal McCann Wave3 research into social media citing it as a great example to help employees sell social media to their “older” (John did not say that. It was me) employers.
Here are the points of reference:
- 73% of online users read a blog
- 57% join a social network
- 45% have started a blog
- 83% have viewed a video online
- 39% subscribe to RSS Feeds
- 36% think more positively about companies that have blog
John uses the research to give advocates of social media key points to throw out at corporate board meetings. “I don’t think we should be doing the whole blogging thing.” “Well, check out these stats from Universal McCann Wave3! We should do it.”
In my humble opinion this is completely the wrong approach. There is a reason why 73% of people read blogs. They want authentic information from individuals and companies. Can you truly create authentic communication when the only reason a corporate culture decides to blog is because of a stat?
“OMG. People are reading blogs and joining social media? We should be a part of that social media stuff! Wait. Bright shiny object. Where?”
Strategy. Strategy. Strategy. Don’t do something because it is the new best thing! Do it because you have a planned approach. Do it because you want to communicate in a REAL way with your clients. Do it because it is a part of a communication PLAN.
If you jump into social media with a fractured plan, you will get a fractured response. Everyone needs to be on board, from top to bottom. It need to be from the mail room student to the CEO.
Socially Creative Corporate? When is the Right Time?
(major hat tip to my blogging mentor Douglas Karr for his post: When Should a Company Dive into Social Media?)
There is a massive argumentative and substantially humorous conversation circling the steel and glass of corporate culture.
1. When should we jump into social media? Loaded question.
2. Should the CEO have a blog? Should upper management have a blog? Maybe even the peons? Yes. Yes. Yes.
3. Should the blog be Internal or External or BOTH!? This is all dependent on your strategy.
4. How do we combine a work tool with a social tool? I would read up on Best Buy’s Blue Shirt Nation.
5. Should Sharepoint be used as a social media tool? HELL NO. Do you have a paper towel? I just threw up on myself.
6. How do we manage and protect proprietary information on social media platforms? You can’t. Unless you control the social media platform (refer to question 4).
There are, of course, hundreds of questions that follow the simple ones listed above. The biggest problem corporate America has with Social Media is not necessarily managing and building of the platform (up for debate if IT gets a hold of it) it is the beginning. How do we get into Social Media? What is the best way to enter the information flow? should it be a corporate strategy or a marketing strategy?
Doulgas Karr does a great job at answering this question in his post:
I advise that social media and blogging are not a marketing strategy, they’re a corporate strategy. It’s not simply putting yourself out on the market to jump on the latest band wagon and consumers will flock to you. Social media takes time, a strategy and the right resources (both tools and people).
As one of the leading GENIUSES behind Corporate Social Media, Douglas knows what he is talking about. Both Douglas and I have written extensively about being Authentic when writing a blog or getting involved in a social media community.
From Doug: You must involve all the leaders in your company – those who own the strategy of the corporation.
Strategy and Marketing should go hand-in-hand when debating whether to enter the social media world. This message is not only catered to corporations it should also be the focus for small businesses. Do not throw yourself into social media (whether blogging or networking) if you do not have a sound strategy. Without a social media plan/goals your productivity will plummet! You will be inundated with thousands of pieces of information and overwhelmed.
Strategy. Content. Participation. Authenticity.
Social media can be a fragile world, an extremely narrow path, proceed with care.
Most of all, HAVE FUN! This isn’t a corporate board meeting with Fiji water bottles. This is the information highway BABY! Take your time, hit it hard, and reap the benefits of open-communication!
I HATE BLOGGER Comment Functions.
Maybe I am just a complete moron but I HATE HATE HATE trying to post a comment to a Blogger account. What happened to the days of just posting a comment? Why do I need to have a Google/Blogger account or an OpenID account.
I wanted to give some love to someone who linked to my post about outsourcing your Blog writing. It posted my comment with a really old Blogger account I haven’t used in 2 years! When trying to change my ID it asked for a google or blogger account. What if I don’t have a Blogger or Google Account? What if I don’t want to use damn OPENID (refer to this post about my thoughts on OpenID).
I did get to post my comment on the blog but it links to a blog that has ONE post from two years ago.
WHEW. That is what I needed. A little “airing” out.
Hey Sergey Brin! Could we get a better comment function on blogger? Maybe? You would think Google could invest a couple of hours in figuring this out.
Anyway. Have a great day!
Why have I been neglecting Friendfeed!?
I started using FriendFeed around 2 months ago. For around a month it turned into an all out obsession! I remember spending four hours constantly updating my feed until 3am. I would like to think I was discovered by Louis Gray through FriendFeed and I started making some great connections in the social media fanatics circle.
Recently I have dropped off using FriendFeed. I though about it tonight while working in Starbucks. I ask myself, “why have I not been posting on the feed?”
There are a couple of reasons that could be playing into my lack of FriendFeed usage,
1. I was burned out on the information overload of constant use for a month. This doesn’t say much for someone who calls themselves a social media fanatic.
2. Business has really picked up in the last few months. Bringing on employees in two locations and trying to learn how to manage people has taken my time down to nil.
3. I don’t receive updates via email other than a feed recount. I am inundated daily from other networks on updated and friend additions.
All of the above could be contributing to my lack of use but I haven’t quite put my finger on it. I need to make a more conscious effort to spend more time on FriendFeed. I love the platform and find it extremely useful when it comes to information and blogging content.
This is my apology to FriendFeed. I will use you more. I will. I swear. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, please tell me how you overcame your lack of use.
The Life of a Social Media Advocate. Part 1
Corvida from SheGeeks had an interesting post titled, “Why Are “We” More Willing Than The Mainstream?” The post is a brief breakdown of her thoughts on why the mainstream world is less inclined to dive into social media. She lays out three reasons: Interests, Time, and Productivity. I wanted to add a fourth level to the mix: Ego (social recognition).
Every person on this planet has some type of social need. Most of us have a desire to be recognized. Recognition could mean a lot of things. Recognition from your spouse. Recognition from your boss. Recognition from your peers. It is not a shameful thing to say you want a fair share of ego boost. You want your “balloon” filled but not POPPED.
The mainstream world (non-social media users) get their egocentric needs filled in other means. Instead of trying to get noticed by Scoble, they are trying to push to the Chamber of Commerce.
Why do we do what we do?
Interest: We love the concept built around technology and social media.
Time: Some of us do it for a living. We try to spend as much time as possible online.
Productivity: Are we really? haha
Ego: The social recognition of being a “thought-leader.”
Online Social Networking. Impersonal?
Why do we tend to shorten experiences? Why, as a society, do we keep inventing new ways to make things faster, harder, stronger, and compiled. Information flying this way and that, overloading everyone from the iPOD Millennial to the AM Radio Baby Boomer (sorry stereotyping is a spiritual gift of mine). Technology has managed to help our society do more in less time. But (hat tip to Seth Godin on this one) the “do more in less time” philosophy has taken the personality out of every day encounter. Seth makes a brilliant example in his post, Old Marketing with New Tools:
Cost and speed pressure means that when you get your car serviced, it’s unlikely you’ll be greeted by the mechanic himself, wiping his hands on a greasy rag, telling you exactly what he did to your car. Instead, you’ll get a difficult to decipher printout.
In some cases, new technology has taken out the face to face interaction with the business to the client. BUT we have seen an increase in social interaction (both online and off) in the realm of social media.
I overheard a gentleman talking about a social network (whether Facebook or LinkedIn it doesn’t matter). He was making reference to social networking on the Internet as impersonal and stupid.
First off, I about flipped out of my chair and set him on fire. I understand that online social networking is not for everyone but the least someone can do is recognize the fact that it has VALUE. I turned around thinking I would be face-to-face with a twenty-something year old. Unfortunately he looked around 50 with his real age probably being closer to 35.
The simple fact that a gentleman/business owner was implying that social networking was impersonal is completely ridiculous. If you do it right.
The right way to make social networking work for you is two fold.
1. Join a social network (preferably a geographically local network). In order to know and be productive in the different social networks refer to my post: How To Be Productive in Social Media.
2. Use the social network to meet members of that specific network off-line.
Combine face-to-face networking with your online social networking experience. I use Smaller Indiana to meet new business owners/creative individuals in the Indianapolis community. This does not replace my off-line business networking with groups like Rainmakers but it does add value in meeting people who usually do not attend networking events.
The combination of off-line and online social networking is a powerful tool you can utilize for YOUR business. Try it out. Spend a few minutes on a local network and set up a meeting. If it doesn’t work. TRY AGAIN. If that doesn’t work. Third times s charm?
Also, if you ever hear an older gentleman degrading social media, please call me. I’ll bring the blow torch. You bring the gasoline.
Session 2: Blog Indiana: Erik Deckers
My thoughts are italicized.
Second session of the blogINDIANA conference is a writing class with fellow Smoosier and blogger, Erik Deckers.
His Simple Rules for Writing Well
1. Use small words.
2. Use short words.
3. Do not overwrite. “You do not have to put for more information click here.”
4. Omit needless words:
Utilize=Use
5. Revise and Rewrite
Write in stream of through and then edit and repost. Make sure you edit your blog post at least once. If you are a blogger, you are a writer. If you want to be a writer you need to edit.
In the spirit of being a prick, I am not going to edit this post. 
6. Get rid of adjectives and adverbs.
7. Know your audience.
Other Tips to Improve Your Writing:
1. Start with the end first.
2. Open with a short, clear sentence.
3. Put the recommendation/conclusion next. (Interesting thought)
4. Active voice should be used; avoid passive voice.
Good session with Erik! It is always difficult for me as a blogger to remember the proper prose? Is that the right term? I guess not.
It can be extremely hard to remember proper English when you write in a stream of thought. Is it unique to write straight from the head? Are we focusing to much on aesthetics and getting away from interesting content?
It is always pleasure to listen to Erik.
