There are some things in life and business that don’t need a long introduction or fancy brand story before cutting to the chase. This blog post is one of them. This week I received an email from a self proclaimed “social media expert.” I’ve been subscribed to her email list for quite some time. To [...]
Tweet this, retweet this, check out this blog post, click here, act now, subscribe for free updates, watch this, share this, like me, follow me, act now. Whoa! There sure isn’t a shortage of folks telling us what to do in the social world.
From bloggers, internet marketing experts, social media gurus, social rockstars, twitterati, to a-listers someone has something that is going to rock your world with a click, like, follow and tweet.
So you have a Facebook business page. You may have had it for months or even years. Or for you it might be a new shiny object you just started playing with.
Many have big hopes and dreams when it comes to social media and Facebook business pages. They dream of a blue and white platform that is going to solve all of their business problems. They dream of being the most popular kid on the block. You know the one. The one who has all the likes, comments and highest edge rank.
With all this tech evolution it is important we not lose sight of why you are spending time on social in the first place!
As I wasted my night away in social slacker land with all my fellow slacker geeks I was amazed at how many people are simply losing their mind. I guess I am so close to all of it that I forget how many business leaders, entrepreneurs and consumers are still learning.
I saw everything from spammy Facebook, Pinterest & LinkedIn pages to a landing page that guaranteed me a first page Google ranking.
It is human nature to want to connect, feel needed, be acknowledged, be understood, appreciated for what we accomplish and contribute to our small circles and ecosystem as a whole. It’s no wonder that social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have taken off as a force to be reckoned with.
What are the successful social networks doing better than other networks? Why do people gravitate to one social network over the other? What makes them stick around?
Anybody who blogs can remember your first post, second post and the empowerment you experienced. The empowerment I felt after leaving behind a career of fifteen years in the corporate world to pursue my dreams as an entrepreneur and being free to write about what I wanted to write about was beyond words. I remember getting those little butterflies as I hit send and would wait to see if anyone read those early posts. I still remember the first nice man who commented on my blog.
As we spend time with businesses large and small, there is one common theme. They all know they want the the social spaghetti. The advanced businesses know they need to use a fork versus the spoon. However, when it comes to the art of what to do when and how much they struggle.
What is a social business really? Can we point to even one business, any business and state “yes, that organization is the perfect example of a social business!”?
What would you do if I told you that the only way to become a social business in 2012 is to not do social media? There is a big difference between “doing social media” and “becoming a social business”. There are plenty of self proclaimed social media gurus and experts ready to tell and sell [...]
Wow, what a great year 2011 was for the social ecosystem. It’s amazing how much the understanding of what it takes to be a social businesses have evolved yet we still have so far to go.
Anyone who knows me know I am a data junkie. The desire to measure impact and ROI runs deep in my bones. I can’t avoid it.
As I prepare for the new year ahead I am deep in analytics to understand what went right, what could have been better. There is so much to learn from analyzing how readers interact with and share our content.
A new network, tool or feature launches on a social network and we all flock to it. Business leaders attend social media class after social media class searching for the social media “guru” who will once and for all be able to show them the magic answer to social media ROI. I don’t think I [...]
When was the last time a big national brand made you feel special via the social waves? Are we starting to lose the hope we once had in social media of humanizing brands? The hope of the brand coming out from behind the logo and showing they care and want to connect with real people? The possibility of them actually demonstrating their brand promise via social media versus just plaster the words on their Facebook page?
Are some brands falling prey to traditional mass marketing methods that are simply masked with a coat of new paint in red and marked with a K+ and called social media? Are some fooling themselves into thinking they are engaging by leveraging only automated tweets, retweets, and direct messages?
I am a geek at heart, a lover of data, analytics, measurement, and ability to provide and measure real return on investment. When Klout launched I was one of their first fans. It was exciting to see something that could possibly help us finally begin to start measuring and justifying the hours we spent on the social networks.
If you have been any part of the active social ecosystem the past few weeks it’s hard to miss the noise about the Klout algorithm changes and the backlash that followed.
Many businesses feel like they are the last to get online. They decide they want to “do social” and all of a sudden it becomes an emergency.Often times the CEO or other executive attends a one off social media training event such as a class for LinkedIn or Facebook and next thing you know all corporate business priorities are put on hold. Within days there is now only one priority and that is “doing social.” Nobody really knows why other than that executive management said it’s the priority.
When building an online persona and brand usually we start with the most basic aspects including over arching brand, logo, colors, core messages etc. All of these are foundational to success. We develop our plan, develop our platform, create and launch our brand presence, integrate social with our business goals and start the social media engagement. However, after a few months goes by we realize nobody is buying from us. Nobody is opting in to our email lists. What has happened? Why don’t they want to further engage with our brand? Do they not trust us? Do they not think that we could bring them value?
Social media is not a band-aid for a broken business. Focusing only on Twitter followers, Facebook likes and influence metrics is unlikely to help you meet your business goals.
Integrating social media within the DNA of your business is the only route to success. Does it take more time? Yes. Does it take more work? Yes. Is the end result better? Hopefully yes.
We all know the story, the problems, the laughter, the tears, and even the drama of becoming a social business. Those that have attempted, are working toward or have succeeded know it’s about much more than a tweet or a Facebook page. We must get in the head of our communities, audience, partners, and more. We must learn how we can best connect the dots of technology and conversation. It’s both art and science. It’s both communication and function.
So we’re kicking off a fun experiment. This is the first in a series of an interactive social business video series where you get to be the director!
The interactive video series is titled “The Days of Our Social Biz!”
If you have been online Twitter or Facebook this week it would be hard to miss the chatter on Klout and their new algorithm. We are not social puppets. We must refuse to behave like puppets for any score. We are not defined as a human being by our Klout or any other score. What you do in the lives of others offline is what matters. Social media is simply a way for us to impact business and lives. It’s how we use it and what we use it for that will determine our influence. Our influence in reality is not measured by +Ks, topic lists or other.
Wrong game, right field or right game, wrong field? Many businesses are showing up to the game but they’re on the wrong field. They also have the wrong attire and mindset. It’s not about a quick win or dunk in the basket with 500 likes and a Klout score of 70. It’s about building relationships, fostering a community, inspiring people to connect with your brand by helping them achieve their goals and objectives.
Approximately 80% of small businesses fail within the first year. How many of the people you know who have started a business have truly succeeded? How many of them put on a happy face yet are still at every networking meeting looking for business?
Humans are creatures of habits. Often times our behaviors are predictable. Old habits are hard to break, good or bad. Why would we expect social media to be any different? Why should we expect that just because marketers can now connect with anyone across they world in a simple 140 character tweet that they will by default do it any different than the days of email spam, direct mail and traditional broadcast marketing advertising.
Recent Comments