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----
---- Or stuff that couldn't or didn't make it into my February 2012 157Live article on using social media as a marketing tool...In no particular order...
(1)
Don't
neglect the obvious: housekeeping. Finish your profile. That means
upload a
profile picture, a description, link to your website, etc. .. You with
the default egg on Twitter, I'm talking to you. Not taking the time to
do this is quite often considered the sign of a spammer.
(2) Have you
seen those bumper stickers that say "Don't Be A @#$*?"
Well, don't. If another local business follows you or "likes" you (and
they're not the local drug dealer or strip club); return the favor.
It's good karma. It's local businesses supporting each other. They'll
also be more inclined to share and re-post your updates to their
followers. Similarly, keep your eye out for any individuals liking or
following you that might have something interesting to say and share or
are enthusiastic supporters of your brand. Note: learning and taking advantage of organizational tools available to you
helps to keep things under control (see #3). IE the "list" feature on Twitter
allows you to separate accounts you're following into
individually-viewable categories.
(3)...But you don't have to follow or like everyone. It keeps your feeds
more manageable and you from looking like a friend-hoarder. Though, personally,
I
think unless you're Rolling Stone or of that ilk, it looks, well,
arrogant to have 8,000 followers and be following only 8 yourself.
That said, keep out the riffraff -- yes, more housekeeping. Especially
so
for Twitter, weed out the spammers and "adult content" profiles. Be on
guard for outside sales pitches (vitamins! designer handbags!) posted
as comments to Facebook and blog pages. Resist the temptation to use
"auto follow" features and be a
good netizen, "report as spam" when you can. Tools such as Twit Cleaner
can help you weed out and unfollow suspect Twitter followers as well as
analyze your own behavior -- and provide suggestions for improvement.
(4) Say "thank you." If someone shares your link or retweets you,
common courtesy says "say
thank you" and consider following back. You can also do valued and
interesting followers a good turn on Twitter by recognizing them on "Follow Friday." It can be hard to always follow, friend or thank but, whenever you can or appropriate, try to acknowledge it when someone helps amplify your
message. Social media involves reciprocity and sharing, not ceaselessly talking about yourself at people, as commonly believed.
Numbers 2 through 4, along with responding to comments and questions is
called "engagement." It's what makes social media social and a two-way
street. It's what makes it different from other mediums. So
lather/rinse/repeat ...!
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(Grumpy) Thoughts
on Social Media "Experts"...
---- ...Do you ever get the feeling that all
anyone needs to consider themselves knowledgable about social media, as
a marketing tool, is to be (a)
under the age of 30 and (b) able to set up
a Facebook page? It's like, "whoo-hoo! Here's something else I can bill
or give presentations about!" And on the other side of the table are
folks hoping that social media is code for Free Marketing. "Whoo-ho!
The days of having to pay for it are ov-er. Tell me more, Social Media
Consultant! And say, you're pretty fresh-faced, you must know all about
this computer stuff!" Well, I'm
not a consultant (and by socio-cultural standards, I'm also pretty old)
so I will feel free to rain on your cheerios. First off, potential
customers need to know you exist before they can "Find You On
Facebook," jackass. Besides, if a visitor is forced to "find" you via
Facebook's search, there's a good chance they won't without a hassle.
Quite often a slew of community (and other) pages will come up before
yours, requiring the user to click on 'More Results.' Overnight [free]
viral success generally just
doesn't happen for the dry cleaner located in Small Town America. And
spam, excuse me, email marketing is an iffy, iffy proposition.
Especially when there already
was
so damn
much of it. -- Even before you and your buddies hit that seminar with
the free breakfast. As for the rest of you peddling this oil, here's
why I
question any advice coming from *you (especially
the kind requiring a retainer). Because
you haven't posted any
updates to your own account(s) in ages. Aside from irregular spikes in
activity, usually when it's obvious you're getting social media jesus. Because
you let
bizarre or potentially damaging postings on your own pages linger
unadressed for a really long time. Because your idea
of dialoguing (ew, I can't believe I used "dialoguing") is to toss a
topic out there and then not contribute further to the conversation.
And certainly nothing in which you take a stand -- which would not only
be interesting but also tell me a bit about who you are and what you
know...Because
you "liked" your own items -- I mean, really? That's like signing your
own yearbook. Because
your
Twitter followers all seem to be your own employees, many of whom
haven't tweeted a twit. Or have profile pictures. Or profiles. Because
you're using some bs content provider, churning out tweet after tweet
of national and international news. Because you have no
discernible voice or personality (or, uh, brand) beyond that of
"neutered." Because it's almost painfully
obvious that you're following some kind of how-to. Because
you don't practice and believe in what you preach. You were quick to
abandon your accounts, suggesting social networking really is a gimmick
that's a pain to keep up and novelty that's quick to wear off.
If I were a little less lazy, I
would follow my own advice so I could
charge others for it. It's actually pretty good. Off to eat some
cheese now.
*The
"you,"
gentle reader, is a composite taken from various sources encountered
during my online travels. If YOU feel a twinge, go examine your feeds.
And can I just say I'm waiting with bated breath for the day these
people all get into SEO (*waves hands around*). Saints preseve us.
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Work That Doesn't Work Here
---- I admit
it; I ranted about the Johnstown Area Regional Industries "Hard Work
Still Works Here" campaign, created pro-bono by 'burgh agency Elisco, without seeing a spot in its entirety. But the other day I
saw a print ad which set me off (again) and then sent me to the JARI site to view both the spots. I was reminded of the
beginning of that old Tom Selleck movie, An Innocent Man, which Roger
Ebert likened to an airline commercial. I've heard this campaign
described as designed to both boost morale (patronizing and gratuitous) and promote
the local workforce (to
whom? since it's running only in media in and on the
edges of its own DMA, at best!!! -- if it's to local
employers, I'm again confused as to whom the Murthatown Chorus Line is
relating and why). I know: the media was free. As for the
morale-boosting part, I'm sure there's more than one local worker with
tired feet, looking at the suited and khaki-ed up upper management
represented therein, recalling -- among other things -- how far behind
the national average we're lagging in wages and saying, "thanks,
a**hole." I've got a morale tip, sirs and madames, if not featuring
them, at least try looking The Workers in the collective eye and
thanking THEM directly...Instead of speaking to some audience I can't
identify, unless, of course, Messrs. Big and Wig are just talking to each
other. More of this endemic self-congratulatory stuff. Whichever
the strategy, they both fail. Either Elisco purely and blatantly gave
the rustics a charity sleep-walk or, maybe, it was all just part of a
more subversive statement (like an Emperor's New Clothes reference in
microprint)...
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