Aldebaran Associates
Social Media Buzz
Our Social Media Buzz series is written by leading innovators who are tuned in and tapped into the pulse of what's happening in this cutting edge fast moving field
July 2010 Edition
The Right Tool for The Job
by Robyn Cobb
Let’s suppose for a moment that we are builders, who follow the latest trends. We learn of a new saw. And news reports, bloggers, the home improvement stores, and shows are all clamoring about this saw. We decide we have to get this saw; it’s going to “revolutionize” our business. This supposed saw, will allow us to cut corners, and can do many things more than just simply cut wood. So…we meet and decide that although we are not trained carpenters, we can use saw ourselves to build the entire house. Our shiny new toy is the answer to everything. We are so excited about our new shiny object, we decide to go over to the building site and just start building without any plans. And after a day or so, when things do not go the way the media promised, or the way we expected we abandon the saw casting it aside forever.
By now you are probably thinking: a) I have lost my mind, b) this is far too extreme. However in essence this is the way many businesses approach social media. It is the shiny new tool that is not integrated into the marketing toolbox, rather it becomes the toolbox. Many businesses choosing this approach have the shiny new tool, but no plan on how to use it, safety guidelines, or even training. And quite frankly, it should be no surprise when their efforts do not deliver in the way they had hoped.
There is no denying social media is the shiny new tool for many businesses, yet it should not be the only tool in the toolbox. As you start to consider adding social media to your marketing mix here are a few things you might want to consider:
1) Just as you would not build a house without a blueprint, you need a strategy for your social media.
2) Social media is the right tool for the right job. A shiny powerful saw is the right tool for cutting different types of materials, but it is not the right tool for laying concrete.
3) Social media is more like a socket wrench you need the right fitting to tighten the nuts and bolts. It’s important you what medium (Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc) is right for your intended audience.
4) Patience, just as building a house takes time and patience so does building a smart social media campaign.
5) Finally, with the right strategy, tools, people and training you can build anything.
As marketers, I believe we are also builders; it’s just the end product that is different. And to that end, just as a home builder carefully chooses their strategy, tools, and team, we should be just as intentional about how we approach social media. Social media is the shiny tool but we should not forget our other tools. Our job is to deliver the right message, in the right time, to the right people, and I would add, via the right medium. So embrace the new shiny tool, learn all you can about it and use it wisely, but do not forsake your other tools as that could prove costly and disappointing for you and your customers.
Robyn Cobb, a marketing visionary with more than 15 years experience, is a proven leader in corporate and personal branding, marketing strategy and the visioneering of creative strategies and programs that deliver immediate results. Robyn is an avid proponent of social media, she believes that new media and social networks are critical elements in building the strategy to develop irresistible brands, engaging with community, and creating online relationships.
Meet Robyn at her Blog Chasing Goodness
May 2010 Edition
Social Media is Really Social Business
by Brandon Sutton
Most everyone is aware of the field of Social Media by now, whether or not they truly realize what it is or not. You can hardly turn on a television or see an ad without some reference to the popular social channels popping up. But in my opinion, the field of social media is still vastly misunderstood and underutilized by brands and other organizations of all kinds. Specifically, social media tends to be looked at as tool to be used by the Marketing, PR, or in some cases the Customer Service departments without truly understanding its potential to benefit the business as a whole.
The majority of branded pages, accounts, etc. are treated as just another (largely) one-way broadcast channel. I see this all the time in my research for clients. I do a good bit of competitive analysis for my clients, and it is by far the exception, not the rule when I run across a brand or organization that truly ‘gets it’ and engages beyond just blasting out messages to their fans, followers, likes, etc. Beyond the marketing implications of this approach however are other key opportunities that get missed. I believe that in order for companies, brands, etc. to step into the new world dominated by social sharing and customer feedback, the entire organization should become social. What do I mean by this? I mean that instead of just looking at social media as an outbound communication channel, it must be looked at as one of the threads that run throughout the organization. This requires a significant cultural shift in order to truly adapt to this new reality.
One aspect of this is with internal social networking that enables staff members in every department to collaborate, share insights, learn more about the organization, etc. This might involve private micro-blogging tools such as Yammer, Socialtext and others, intranets with collaborative tools and areas for employee input, and other methods for internal sharing. The tools are not as important as the strategic use of them. Equally as important is encouraging the whole team to participate in social media, not just the Marketing department. How often do we read about companies that ban sites like Facebook and Twitter from the workplace? Far too often in my opinion. Allowing the team to jump in and participate in the spaces where the customers are already congregating is a natural fit and encouraging this behavior can have tremendous benefits to the organization that far outweigh the risks of lost productivity.
With the recent moves by Facebook and their Open Graph initiative, there can be no doubt that the world is becoming more social, not less. And fast! I’m fond of saying that ‘we can’t put the genie back in the bottle,’ so companies and their employees must learn to adapt to this new business reality or be left in the dust. This doesn’t mean that it should be a free-for-all online during work hours, and common sense must come into play in order to keep the organization on track, but these aspects can be dealt with without an overly heavy-handed approach. It’s up to each company to come up with solutions that work for its specific situation, but in the end, the trend towards more social sharing seems unstoppable.
If you’re one of the many individuals in the job market today, think about how you can provide value to your next employer through your participation in social media. Do you like the idea of collaborating across departments in a large organization, or do you like working in a more structured environment with clear directives and reporting matrices? Are you the type that would walk up to the CEO after a company meeting and share your thoughts, or would you keep them to yourself, or maybe channel them to your direct supervisor afterward? Rest assured that prospective employers are checking you out on the social web to get an idea of who you are and how you present yourself and communicate online. What do you want them to see? Do you want to show that you’re a team player that likes sharing information with your networks, or are you more comfortable flying below the radar? Regardless of which side of this you land on, these are questions that I believe we should all be asking ourselves if we are going to be successful in our careers. Knowing how the company you are applying with views this topic is important to know ahead of time so you know what type of culture you’re joining.
For hiring managers, does your company want to incorporate more social activity and embrace this type of thinking across the organization? Does management believe that insights can come from anyone on the team, and do they encourage collaboration amongst staff from every department? Are they ready to open up and have this conversation out in full view with the public? If so, think about the implications that your hiring decisions will make on the ability of the company to lead in this area. Remember that those who are graduating now or who have graduated in recent years have grown up with ‘social’ being default. These individuals are the future leaders that will be steering the ship in the years to come, and they are used to open communication and social sharing as part of their daily lives. If you want to attract strong talent amongst this generation, think about how the company’s approach with social media and social business overall will affect your ability to get the most energetic and excited individuals onboard.
The genie isn’t going back in the bottle. It’s time to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Where do you stand?
Brandon Sutton – Social Media Consultant
April 2010 Edition
Does Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?
by Amy Chorew
It’s 10 o’clock Monday morning – do you know where your company’s reputation is? As sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook become intertwined with business uses, companies need to establish guidelines and best practices.
Whether we want to admit it or not, companies are learning that social networking, used properly, can be an effective business tool. We know by experience that having your sales associates involved in the community can enhance your company’s reputation and bring in more business. We are now embracing the concept that our sales associates can blog, tweet, and participate in forums and social sites and also increase business — so long as it’s done right.
But how do you monitor the conversation? You need a social media policy that explicitly lays out what is and isn’t permissible, both on the company’s network and outside of it. This is so important if sales associates present themselves as representatives of the company.
How to get started
Consider creating a task force with people in your company who understand policy and procedures and others who are responsibly using social media. Together they can create a company platform. As always, before you can develop a policy, you need to define the company’s overall attitude toward social networking. A well executed social media strategy helps consumers and company associates follow an online dialogue protocol that shows promise of a successful outcome for consumers in any service or product transactions. Create a statement that reflects the company’s mission statement and commitment to the consumer.
Do you know what your people are doing on the web?
- Do you have a checklist to monitor their web presence to make sure they are incompliance with the Code of Ethics and your company brand?
Copyright Dos and Don’ts
- Do you recommend that they only use photos, music, graphics that they have permission to use
- Only use royalty free images from sites like www.istockphoto.com or www.Flickr.com.
- Do not copy someone else’s content and put in on your site.
Logos and Company Names –
- Who has the authority to start an Online Group using a Registered Trade Name?
Blogs and Q & A Platforms – Are they generating leads in the discussion thread, or are you putting your company at risk?
- Associates should not disparage or make negative comments about other individuals or entities in related field.
- The blog of an associate should not be used as a medium to criticize, comment or assess any competition.
Social Media Tools To Monitor and Maintain Reputation Management Controls
Educate your associates and sales force in the correct use of tools to avoid problems and pitfalls and engage consumers in a fashion that will BUILD and ENHANCE a company’s reputation online.
Remember to always reward responsible interaction on line. If you can show examples of online fires doused, as well as positive examples of building reputation online your company associates will be better informed.
Management needs to learn how to use tools to MONITOR their online presence.
Start by using some of the free tools. Top of my list are Google Alerts.
Set up alerts based on your companies name, principals names, etc. These alerts will send you an email every time one of your search words is found by the search engines.
Visit http://www.google.com/alerts , put in your search terms. You can set up as many as you like. When Google finds your terms they are delivered via email into your inbox.
Here is a great Ebook about Google Alerts. Download it here:www.amychorew.com/handout. It is called “Google Alert Primer: 50 Tips, Techniques & Workarounds.
It covers:
- Setting up Google Alerts
- Single Word Search
- Multiple Word Search
- Matching complete words in a URL
- Searching for inbound and outbound links
- Searching for URLS in Blogs
This ebook is written by Adam Green is the CEO of AlertRank.com, an online blog relationship management application. He blogs at AlertRank.com/MrGoogleAlerts. Please feel free to contact Adam with any questions or comments you might have about this eBook. His email address is Adam@AlertRank.com.
Amy Chorew is a national real estate trainer highly experienced at helping managers and agents maximize the infinite opportunities that technology offers them. Her knowledge of the industry and the latest technologies available along with her unique ability to translate it all into easy to understand language make her a consistently top-rated trainer throughout the country. Her expertise in the area of Social Networking and the tremendous impact it is having on the industry has given agents and brokers the tools to move from traditional marketing to Web 2.0. Amy is Director of Learning for SMMInstitute.com who have classes to teach agents and brokers how to use Social Media ethically and responsibly.
You can reach her at amy@amychorew.com, or (860) 325-0101 or visit her blog at www.amychorew.com. Her technology coaching series is available at www.thetechbyte.com and the SMMI courses available at www.smminstitute.com