Social Media Buzz: The False Perception of Social Business Success

social media buzz false perception success

It’s easy to get caught up in the social buzz. We love real-time engagement and the simple fact we can get a tweet, reply or retweet within seconds when we’re having a gloomy day or simply need an ego boost. Klout, Peer Index & Kred influence scores, tweets, retweets, likes, comments, shares, pins, Diggs, Google [...]

Is Your Content Worthy of a Like, Share, Pin, Retweet, Google +1?

content marketing share worthy

How many hours have you spent adding buttons, gadgets and widgets to your new blog or website? You research the right tools, share buttons, share bars, analytic tracking tools and more. You install them with a hope and a prayer that someone somewhere is going to use them. However, unfortunately many business leaders find they don’t get used. The share buttons sit on their site with the lonely zero or default +1. Chances are your pocket book or wallet might be feeling a little lonely too.

Can You Name 3 Reasons I Should Give a Rip About Your Facebook Business Page?

like me on facebook please

Can you name three reasons why someone should like your Facebook business page? You are not required to answer it now. I want you to think about it, and come back and answer it within the next week. If you can not clearly articulate three reasons someone should like your page, then I can guarantee the chances of you seeing any real business benefit from Facebook short or long term is minimal.

21 Tips to Balance Social Media Addiction, Tweets, Life and Real Work!

social media addiction balance life work

Tonight I had great plans for a productive Sunday evening. We spent the first part of the evening at Crossing Church for a rockin’ worship and message, sweet treat at Baskin Robins and then headed home and put kids to bed. It was just me, the laptop and hubby with the remote.

As I settled in for a few minutes on #BlogChat, the big plans of a productive night on social media inclusive of a new blog post slipped away into never never, never tweet land.

Are You Ignoring the Social Inspiration People Metrics?

social media inspire audiences

It’s easy to get side tracked by all the geekdom in social. From looks (impressions) to likes, follows, retweets, influence scores, views, demographics, insights, conversions and the list goes on.

Underneath all of the bits, bytes, and likes we can’t forget why we like social media in the first place. Social networks connect human beings. They provide a way for us to better communicate, share information, learn, grow, and help others do the same.

24 Tips to get the CEO & Corner Office to Say Yes to Social Media!

ceo social media training tips

So your company is great offline, your clients love you. Your partners love you. You have brand evangelists and a long list of customer testimonials.

However, you have just one problem. It is becoming increasingly difficult to engage, inspire and connect with your network of customers, partners, evangelists as you did in the old days. People seem more busy than usual. They are carrying around a smart phone, talking with one another in 140 character tweets.

Quit Blaming Facebook Timeline Changes & Fix Your Own Marketing Problems!

facebook timeline changes not your problem

It is not news that Facebook just launched a big round of changes, yet again. One change is getting a lot of attention, which is the death of the Facebook default landing tab.

I have heard tons of complaints on the removal of the tab. I’ve heard online marketers say the death of the Facebook tab is the death of their online marketing strategy? What? Seriously folks?

CEO Social Mindset: 25 Tips for a Healthy Social Business Mindset

social ceo mindset

Attitude and mindset are often the key to success in life. With the right mindset you can learn new things, take on mountains, lead teams to success and accomplish more than you ever dreamed possible.

Becoming a social business is no easy task. It’s going to take smart thinking, dedication, teamwork, integration, getting real with the skeletons in the closet, and a “can do” attitude. The social ecosystem is still evolving and accepting that change is the only real guarantee is a good first step. If you are seeking benefit from social media but are having a difficult time in finding such, you might want to spend a day deep in thought and looking in the mirror versus a day of analyzing Facebook insights and Google Analytics.

150 Over Used, Conflicting but Sometimes Still Useful Social Media Tips

social media less talk more action

Tweet this way. No actually tweet that way. Don’t talk to much. Talk or you are not engaging. Treat me like a human being. Don’t ignore me. Share your best stuff. Invite me to your Facebook page. Don’t spam me. Don’t tell me what you ate for lunch.

My oh my… no wonder the newbies get confused. As I read more and more blog posts recently it is becoming apparent how many conflicting words of advice are being given by everyone blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and Google plussing. We could spend days just sorting thru what the actual truth is and what will help our business.

The Only Guarantee in Social Business is Change

social business change guarantee

Think back five, four, three, two and even one year ago. How different was your business? How different did you communicate with your clients, partners, service providers, and employees? A year ago were you still saying social media was just a fad? Five years ago were you one of the folks stating the internet was [...]

15 Reasons Random Acts of Marketing & Social Media (RAMs) Don’t Work!

random acts of marketing social media rams

There you sit in the executive conference room watching everyone nod their heads about the latest idea from the new executive on the block. He or she has a new idea that is going to “save the company.” It could be anything from a random LinkedIn group, social media campaign, planned “go viral” video” or who knows what.

The sad thing is nobody in the conference room has the guts to state the obvious… that there is no budget, time, or resources to implement the new random act of marketing or social media with any level of success.

So, everyone in the conference room nods their heads, takes notes and smiles as if they are excited about the project. Under their breath they are thinking “how on earth am I going to get this #$@$%@ thing done!??

Social Media Consultant Gone Bad… Real Bad!

Social Media Consultant Gone Bad Real Bad

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 [...]

Social Media Tools & Tech – 15 Tips to Not Lose Your Mind!

social media sanity

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.

The Definition of Social Business?

defining social business

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!”?

The Only Way to Become a Social Business in 2012

facebook timeline business page cover guidelines

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 [...]

Social Business: It’s NOT About the Next BIG Thing!

Not the next best thing

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 [...]

Walgreens Case Study – Humanizing Social Business

humanizing social business

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?

Slow Down to Speed Up – 10 Tips for Social Business Success

social business slow down to speed up

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.

Social Trust Factor: 10 Tips to Establish Credibility

social trust factor

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?