Do You FEAR Social Media?

In the spirit of this scary season of Halloween holidays – let’s focus on fears. What is holding your firm back in modern trends of social networking? What is behind these fears, and what are you doing to change them?

In collaboration with my favorite branding & marketing expert Josh Miles, we pose questions you should be asking yourself. (Check out more information at: MILES DESIGN)

FEARS in Social Media: What is plaguing your firm?

Q1: What is the most challenging “fear” of social media that your firm has worked through? How did you overcome that fear?

Q2: Why is the idea of marketing in “real-time” via social media so scary for professional services firms? What is behind that fear?

Q3: Which common fear holds your firm back from a great social presence: the fear negativity, change, or focusing on the wrong things?

Q4: Have you ever received negative feedback from a client or prospect regarding social media activity by you or your firm? Are you afraid you will?

Let’s explore these scary situations, face some fears – and collaborate to change.

Following our tweetchat, check back for more information about these common fears!

Confessions of a “Type A” Blogger: Be a Go-Giver, Not a Go-Getter

~ Article Featured on {grow} Blog and Social Media Today. ~

A perpetual ‘go-getter’ by nature, when I jumped into the Social Media scene it was a calculated attack.  I was on a serious mission: amass followers, craft clever content, lead the industry, innovate online communities, be the first to promote emerging trends.

Then, I read “The Go-Giver” – which forever changed my attitude as a Social Media strategist. And that’s saying something.

This ‘little story about a powerful business idea’ offers volumes of knowledge – that can help YOU become more Social Media savvy. Like me, you may have lofty goals for domination in your online communities. You might be looking to become an outstanding voice, an influential thought leader, a Social Media master.

Take a big step back. What did I learn from this powerful story? Becoming a ‘go-giver’ and applying the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success to my Social Media strategy. Changing my focus from getting to giving….well, that changed my success rate too.

How To: Become A Go-Giver (And Social Media Savvy)

As readers journey with Joe, the quintessential ‘go-getter’ in this business parody, our standard of success is completely redefined. This book puts a topsy-turvy spin on most advice (and intrinsic motivators) of strategic professionals!  Applying the 5 laws of a ‘go-giver’ to your Social Media strategy will develop the approach you need to succeed.

1. The Law of Value: your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.  Help others get linked, promoted, retweeted, liked, mentioned, followed, engaged, connected – do it MORE than you expect in return! In the competitive Social Media community focus on the more you give, not the more you get.
2. The Law of Compensation: your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.  Have a service minded mentality in your Social Media strategy. Guest blog for others, promote tweets, mention and follow thers, link to good content – and do it often! Serving others, and doing it well, provides the biggest payoff.
3. The  Law of Influence: your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. Go way beyond the old adage ‘treat others how you want to be treated’ -  this attitude requires you to treat others BETTER than you want to be  treated! If you are genuine in promoting and engaging with others,  eventually you will see the rewards of your influence.
4. The Law of Authenticity: the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.   Be confident. Be bold. Approach industry leaders. Maintain your voice.  Have FUN! Offering up yourself in an authentic fashion makes you more likeable. Try it out, and offer the best possible you in Social Media space – others will respect your genuine approach.
5. The Law of Receptivity: the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.Your give-give-give approach won’t be for nothing! Keep engaged and be engaging; you will find the opportunities and rewards are exponential. Be open to receiving. Practice humility always, but take credit. Watch as your traffic and influence in Social Media increases.

Becoming a ‘go-giver’ changed my approach and attitude! Is the payoff immediate? Not really. In the beginning I seemed to be giving a lot and getting a little. Yet being a ‘go-giver’ in Social Media has allowed me to form much stronger relationships – a collection of people and companies that are willing to repay favors. Others that now invest valuable time, and want to help me succeed! My influence in Social Media is growing in an authentic, genuine way. Exponentially.

Find your voice and presence in Social Media, by learning to serve others first. Track how your efforts are paying off, and enjoy the rewards of being a ‘go-giver’. Like me. Then savor the success of being Social Media savvy!

More info? 44taryn@gmail.com | @Taryn44
BLOG: SoMeffect

The Tweet Life: 10+ Twitter Tools You Need

Ahhhhh, The Tweet Life. If you are participating on Twitter, aren’t you interested to know more about your tweet success? I recently wrote a piece about Feeling Twitter-pated or Twitter-hated? to help people find their ‘twitter flair.’  However, that article didn’t focus on the tools and tricks that can help you maximize your efforts on twitter.

So what can you do to evaluate your tweets? See who is following you (and more importantly unfollowing you)? Make tweets easier? Time your tweets? And more….?

These tasks seem daunting – YET – there are many applications out there to easily track & trend your tweet success! Monitoring, measuring and maximizing your tweet life will pay off.

The Tweet Life: 10+ Twitter Tools You Need

1. DASHBOARD:  Most of us know about Tweetdeck and Hootsuite applications – a must have if you are on Twitter! Depending on your preferences, either platform is beneficial. These ‘social media dashboards’ allow you to list, query, add columns and integrate multiple accounts (and add other social utilities).
2. AMPLIFY:  Find how far your tweet amplifies using Tweetreach. Search for a url, Twitter name, phrase or hashtag – to show how many users you reached, for the last 50 tweets on your topic.
3. TIMING:  Time your tweets (you can even participate when you are offline). Simply use applications like Twittimer, which allow for scheduled tweets, anytime.
4. MEASURE:  Grade your tweet profile with TweetGrader. With this tool you to check the power of your twitter profile compared to millions of other users that have been graded.
5. COMMUNITY:  Create a twitter club, using tools like Twubs to follow the conversation. This application allows you to search on a hashtag for what is trending, and who is involved.
6. MONITOR:  Evaluate who is UNfollowing you with WhoUnfollowedMe or FriendorFollow. You can investigate who unfollowed you recently as well as other Twitter users that are not following you back. Or use Qwitter to receive an email message when someone unfollows you!
7. TREND:  Search tweets in real time using TweetGrid. Using up to 10 topics at a time, you can create a grid of the trending topics you search.
8. GROW:  Add to your follower base by using WeFollow or JustTweetIt. Simply use a keyword to find Twitter users following the same topics, and list yourself too.
9. LOCALIZE:  Find local tweeps with the tool NearbyTweets. Search who is nearby, and tweeting about the same topics as you.
10. PURGE:  Get rid of Twitter users you are following, that aren’t active, using Twitoria. Check how long it has been since other users last tweeted.

The best part? These applications are all free! Using these Twitter tools will enhance your presence on Twitter. Most take only minutes to master, and will maximize “The Tweet Life” you are living.

More info? 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44
BLOG: SoMeffect

The Social Media ‘Cool Club’ – What’s Your Online Influence?

Article Featured on Social Media Today

Are you using social media? Then pay attention! Your online INFLUENCE is already being scored – whether you like it or not. If you have used Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, Google+, YouTube, Photo Sharing….you are playing in this game
of online influence. Right now.

I call it the Social Media ‘Cool Club’ – a significant movement of scoring and ranking your activity online. How well you INFLUENCE others (see Disclaimer at the end).

Why should you care?! Well, a few reasons.

1. SAVVY SOCIALIZER – aren’t you curious? If you are posting, tweeting, blogging, sharing don’t you want to know how well your message amplifies and how many others it reaches? How you stack up in comparison to others? It is intriguing (and addicting).
2. REAP REWARDS – you can unlock rewards, receive free samples & coupons, and be the first to use fancy new apps. I kid you not, free and first just because of how well your influence scores.
3. BUSINESS TRENDS – you become more credible, get more interviews, have a better impression on colleagues and clients. Companies are starting to pay attention to these scores, for hiring and teaming decisions.

So, how is your influence being SCORED? Let’s look at three main measures:

1. Klout – the ‘cool club’ starts at Over-40! Klout is the most integrated scoring system of your influence (incorporates the most platforms into their measurement). Having a score of 40+ out of 100 indicates minimum influence of a ‘networker’ or a ‘specialist.’ Klout claims to measure how many people you influence, how much, and how many people they influence.
2. PeerIndex – measures your social capital, through your activity, audience and authority. This score measures each of these components individually, then creates a composite score for your ranking. This is a sophisticated system, yet lacks including multiple platforms. The median score is 19 out of 100, so don’t be discouraged!
3. TweetGrader – focuses on your tweeting reach, comparing the power of your Twitter profile to others in social media. Your score will reflect a total out of 100, and provides useful tools as well as your latest tweet cloud. It will also rank your Twitter status, out of the 10+ million users!

Whether you like it or not – you are already a Social Media INFLUENCER! This trend is growing, and you can earn some fun rewards, perks and reputation along the way. As you integrate more platforms into your daily social media usage, make sure you are periodically checking your SCORES…. If you aren’t paying attention, someone else is! Enjoy your experience joining the Social Media ‘Cool Club.’

Disclaimer: Succeeding in this ‘Cool Club’ – should it be your main focus? NO. Simply striving to increase your score isn’t the answer! These measures can help with your Social Media strategy! Learn how to enrich relationships. Create more creative (and shareable) content. Influence others more often and better. THAT is the key. The scores should just be a reflection of the influence you are already making.

More info? 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44
BLOG: SoMeffect

Top 10 Tips: Target Your Niche in Social Media

As you participate in the Social Media revolution, you will find it important to focus on the quality of your audience. Having thousands of followers or fans might not mean much – unless you are targeting your specific niche in Social Media.

But with millions of users trying to do the same thing, how is this possible?

Top 10 Tips: Target Your Niche in Social Media

There’s power in the niche. Finding the core of your targeted audience will yield higher rewards and payoff. The following tips will help you target your niche audience:

1. Followers: number one: find the followers that are key to your market. (On Twitter, see who is using hashtags most often. On Facebook, you might have to friend some people in your industry. On LinkedIn, participate in industry groups. Etc.)
2. Following: follow people key in your niche market – many times they follow/friend you back
   
3. Tagging: most platforms allow you tags or categories for querying – choose them wisely!
4. Associate: connect to industry associations in your niche, and interact  with them
5. Links: make links in your online community cyclical (keep audience in your social media)
6. Engage: find ways to engage with leaders already in your niche market
7. Innovate: do something different (yet applicable) to your target audience to stand out
8. Participate: in online discussions that are pertinent to your niche market
9. Respond: to content your clients and colleagues are posting
10. Publish: get published online with trade journals and magazines in your niche market

These tips are just the beginning of how to better target your niche audience in Social Media. Finding an audience that is highly relative is key – and then it is critical to engage with them! The masses of followers and friends might not get you the traction you need. Be calculated in the activity and relationships in your Social Media program and the results will be exponential.

More info? SoMeffect@gmail.com or @SoMeffect | 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44
BLOG: SoMeffect

Let’s Get Social: 3 Big Factors Why Your Company Should

Social media has proven success in the larger, retail driven market of business-to-consumer (B2C). How does that translate to your company, do you even need to be involved in social media space? If you participate, how do you manage a social media program and get the best return on investment (ROI)? Social media is no longer a new technology, and poor presence leaves your company behind. But remember – social media is still ONE tool in your overall marketing strategy, not THE tool.

Let’s face it. Investing in anything new for your company – you want to know about the RESULTS. And the behaviors of your clients. I put together a “Social Media Stats” graph, to demonstrate a few of these metrics. Then….we can talk about the “Big 3 Factors” behind the need for Social Media (below).

SOCIAL MEDIA STATS:

The key behind all these statistics is most likely your clients and colleagues are already using social media….and so are your competitors.

BIG 3 FACTORS:These are “the Big 3″ reasons I would use to convince companies that Social Media is important. And here to stay.

1. TREND: Concept of “sharing” is changing. Goooooodbyyyyyyeeeee email! The use of email for sharing isn’t as practical:  one-to-one email VS. one-to-many in Social Media. The fastest growing age group of Social Media usage is, believe it or not, the 55+ group. So needless to say email will someday be a thing of the past. And online content stays dynamic (live) which is better than stagnant with email.
2. VALUE: Social Media is cheap and easy. Or more politically correct, cost effective and efficient. You can easily target niche audiences and build traffic in your industry. Smart strategy can equal a huge payoff for smaller companies, and give you a distinct voice. Information is easily shared and magnified in social space.
3. IMPACT: Use and growth is exponential. Five years ago, did we Tweet? Was Facebook size equal to that of the 3rd largest country in the world? I don’t think so. Capitalizing on a growing phase in human interaction is key. And adoption of Social Media will help both your internal and external audiences learn about your company.

Use this Social Media revolution to make your company stand out! Don’t be afraid to give it a try. Studies show more and more reason to get involved, “GET SOCIAL.”

More info? SoMeffect@gmail.com or @SoMeffect | 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44
BLOG: SoMeffect

“What’s in a Name?” 7 Social Media Tips (via Shakespeare)

The classic tale of Romeo & Juliet, that we have all heard, can teach us something about Social Media today.

“What’s in a name?” This one short statement encapsulates the central struggle and tragedy of the play. Because of their family battles, the Montagues (Romeo) and Capulets (Juliet) are destined to be forever enemies. Despite efforts to reject their family name and vows….the pair are lost forever.

Sigh.

What can we learn from this tragedy, to apply to Social Media? The name you pick sticks with you forever. I repeat, sticks with you forever. Much like Romeo & Juliet, as hard as we try the name we choose is difficult (if not impossible) to get rid of.

This is a classic case of an inescapable identity in BRANDING.

Before you establish your identity on Social Media and choose your name:

1. Check to see what usernames are available in multiple platforms
2. Reserve your usernames in multiple platforms
3. Keep a consistent syntax (ie Taryn4 or Taryn44)
4. Pick a username that is short
5. Use consistent branding sites such as Gravatar
6. Establish accounts with consistent email
7. Verify company or individual usernames are legal/unique

Social Media itself is smart. You can’t really escape your user name, handle, moniker, vanity URL or other identifying information once you choose it! Much like Romeo & Juliet, the only way to escape your name is to sometimes lose it entirely.

How To: Make Your Facebook Fierce

Business presence on Facebook isn’t unique anymore. Pages are becoming as common as websites.

However, not many of them are done well.

Earlier this year the “Facebook for Business” tutorial was released. This will only get you so far!

Making your Facebook page FIERCE:  Simple tips & tricks for newbies that are pretty painless! Adding plug-ins & applications will help you generate better content and sync your Facebook page with the rest of your online community. Implementing design features will add interest and the elusive “wow” factor for visitors.

Companies like Involver will provide customized social marketing components. This site is easy to use and the apps are easily implemented. Yes, some will cost you, but basic features are free.

If you want an interesting and dynamic “Welcome” page, check out Pagemodo. With easy templates that can be customized for your business, linking this application is a breeze.

Ever wondered how to get that unique Permalink for your page? This is called a Vanity URL – which you are able to customize after you have 25 followers on your page.

Integrating Twitter feeds into your page can be done a few ways. Involver offers a tweets for pages, and Facebook has a Twitter application.

Blogs are important to engage your Facebook followers at a deeper level. Applications like Typepad and NetworkedBlogs are useful for blog sharing and blog posting.

Networking tools in Facebook such as BranchOut are likened to an internal LinkedIn page.

Whatever you use, make sure that you dress up your business Facebook page so that you stand out from the crowd! Creating a consistent presence online will help navigate your followers to your fancy Facebook page….and beyond.

More info? SoMeffect@gmail.com or @SoMeffect | 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44

Social Media Stopwatch: How much time should your B2B company spend?

As a Social Media campaign manager (for a small B2B firm in a specific niche industry), I get asked this looming Question – and I get asked it a lot. The first time someone questioned how long I spend on Social Media….it actually provoked an interest to gather further insight.

“They” say that there are minimum efforts to participate in Social Media space. “I” like to think there is a sensible breakdown. Let’s call it my Social Media Stopwatch.

Using these guidelines – well my case study at least – might help you plan and evaluate the time your company is expending in this social networking revolution.

**Remember – the goals of your Social Media program determine your success. The focus of this specific campaign for the small B2B firm: targeted followers, strong branding, and impact specific to this industry niche!

Social Media Stopwatch: The Big 5 Platforms

For the sake of time, this list will include the “Big 5″ platforms dominating Social Media today. I am talking socially engaging sites here:  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, Google+. NO – I am not overlooking all the applications, tools, add-ons, photo/video sharing, etc. – just not enough time for one blog.

And let’s keep it in perspective. My “Social Media Stopwatch” is for a small business looking for moderately engaging participation. The efforts expended for Social Media were intended to enhance the firm’s marketing plan – NOT replace it. Managing the online communities for even a company this size and with these goals takes a concerted effort and careful expertise.

As you move down each of these mediums, it becomes more intensive to find followers. Well, at least the RIGHT followers. But here is insight to the start-up and daily time expended:

1. Facebook: Initial start-up 2-3 hours. Daily interactions 1 hour.
2. Twitter: Initial start-up 30 minutes. Daily interactions 1 hour.
3. LinkedIn: Initial start-up 1 hour. Daily interactions 30 minutes.
4. Blogs: Initial start-up 3-6 hours. Weekly interactions 1-2 hours.
5. Google+: Initial start up 1 hour. Daily postings 1 hour?

If you are savvy like me, you will utilize dashboards and cross-reference your content over each of these channels (get the most out of your effort)! The key is that your results directly correlate to your efforts. Spending 1-2 hours a day will suffice. Spending more will breed success!

What are the results of this effort? Keep in mind that the goal was targeted Social Media engagement with a specific industry audience.

1. Facebook: 152+ followers. 50+ industry pages following. Average 30,000+ impressions/month.
2. Twitter: 570+ followers targeted in the industry, 33 listings. Average 3% retweet rate.
3. LinkedIn: 30+ followers. Recruit top talent. Linked to dozens of industry companies/groups/forums.
4. Blogs: Starting a blog (in progress), metrics to come.
5. Google+: When Google+ releases company pages, positioned to respond!

Using the “Social Media Stopwatch” – this case example of a small B2B company – demonstrates the effort expended compared to quantified results. However, the impact beyond these facts & figures is palpable: direct feedback and branding have increased exponentially. This is just ONE example of ROI on the time spent for a small B2B firm in Social Media, but it might help in your future planning.

More info? SoMeffect@gmail.com or @SoMeffect | 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44

Social Media Savvy? The 5 P’s of a Perfect Program.

So you are connecting your B2B company with this Social Media revolution. You may have been an innovator or early adapter – or perhaps you are still cautiously implementing a Social Media program into your business strategy.

This article isn’t going to convince you WHY to use Social Media, but rather HOW to best use it.

Create your Perfect Program with your plan, position, platform, people and performance.

The 5 P’s of a Perfect Program -
Social Media Success:

PLAN:  Social Media Strategy
Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance. So, before you venture out, create accounts and starting posting – take a big step back and think about your strategy. Then, put it on paper. Or perhaps you need to reevaluate your plan that is already underway!

• Establish goals (recruiting, training, client interaction, PR, branding, education, culture, etc.)
• Integrate social media strategy piece with your business plan
• Establish a content strategy based on your goals
• Budget for both time and resources
• Set a timeline for frequency of messages
• Implement HR policies and procedures
• Partner with your IT department
• Communicate your plan and engage your internal audience!

POSITION:  What’s Your Point?
One of the best parts (and biggest challenges) in Social Media is crafting a clever (and memorable) message. So, what is your point? What are you trying to convey? Finding your voice will help you differentiate and dominate.

• Differentiate your content
• Become the expert in your industry
• Link, link, link!
• Get involved with group discussions
• Value before self-promotion
• Research what others are doing
• Talk about what you are already doing
• How personal do you get?
• Is there such as thing as sensitive information?

PLATFORMS:  Tools and Tactics
Over 350 mediums for sharing online – how do you have the time for all that?! Make sure you are learning which platforms are best suited for your strategy. The Big 4 (5 with the new Google+ platform) are most utilized because of their impact and influence online. Finding tools to expedite your posts and content will help!

• Understand key social platforms and their purposes – with an integrated approach
• The Big 4: Facebook (500M), Twitter (200M), LinkedIn (100M), Blogs – and Google+
• 350+ mediums for ‘sharing’ online!
• Resource libraries (Wikipedia, etc.) exponential growth in use, high accuracy of content
• Photo and video sharing phenomenon (YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr, etc.)
• Others: Tumblr (3^rd party), Foursquare (location), etc.
• Tools for managing multiple platforms (Tweetdeck, HootSuite, etc.)
• Link shorteners and trackers (bitly, owly, deckly, etc.)
• Tagging (@), hashtags (#), and other key tools

PEOPLE:  Internal and External Audiences
Once you have a strategy and Social Media functionality figured out, what is next? Engaging your audiences. And yes, this includes both external and internal. You could have crafted the best message, but if no one is listening and responding you are missing half the battle.

• Who dictates your content (internal audience)?
• Who posts content, how many voices?
• Give incentives for posting good content
• Have a watchdog that monitors content
• Utilize training forums so your content is well thought out
• Who is your external audience?
• Grow your external audience
• Retain your external audience
• Interaction with People vs. Companies
• Small company can have a much bigger voice!

PERFORMANCE:  Return On Investment?
Monitoring and measuring ROI for your Social Media efforts can seem daunting. Frankly, sometimes it is hard to quantify. The biggest key is to ensure you are measuring against the goals of your Social Media campaign. If you are looking to brand your business or recruit great talent, your metrics may be different.

• Utilize analytics already built into the platforms
• Use measurement tools available online
  (google analytics, ominiture, postrank, sentiment metrics)
• Monitoring vs. Measurement, there is a difference
• Report, report, report
• Track and improve your SEO
• Integrate your Social Media ROI with other business metrics
• Tracking the intangible parts of ROI (feedback)
• What are YOU learning in social media space?!

So is there really a “Perfect Program” in Social Media? Depends. What are your goals versus your successes? How much are you learning? Do your customers and colleagues engage with you in a new way? Then perhaps you are finding your Social Media Success.

More info? SoMeffect@gmail.com or @SoMeffect | 44taryn@gmail.com or @Taryn44