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Social Media: how to not mess up

The last time I posted, I talked about what can happen when social media goes wrong. After painting an unsettling picture of what social media can do to your company, I neglected to give you some guideline to keep your social media engagement from going off the rails.

Based on the stats, it looks like a lot of companies have online marketing campaigns that could do better:

• Only 3 of the 10 most popular Facebook pages are about companies.
• Only 1 of the 10 most followed Twitter profiles is a company – and that’s Twitter itself! (this excludes, of course, celebrities)
• Over 80% of companies with Facebook pages also resort to buying ad space on the Facebook sidebar.

When you add up these facts, they tell an interesting story: despite all of the fanfare around social media communications, companies are falling back into the habit of one-way advertising and talking AT their customers – not WITH them.

Give some consistent, quality effort to your social media presence, and before too long your brand will have an active, happy online community.

Here are some basic principles to live by:

1. Responsiveness. When someone talks about your brand, talks to your brand, or mentions your brand name – respond sincerely and promptly. When consumers are talking about events (positive or otherwise), get involved by talking about it too.
2. Persona. Don’t be fake. If a message has to be edited and approved at 3 corporate levels, it will lose its authenticity. Such messages are easily detectable in the world of the internet. Employees who are interacting with consumers online should write in a way that lets their personality, and the company’s personality, shine through.
3. Details. The devil may be in the details, but details make all the difference in social media. Talk about what the president is doing at this precise moment; how many coffees the execs consume in a typical day; ask what people use your product with; you get the idea. Keep it conversational.

And one thing not to do:

1. Promote yourself. Counterintuitive? Maybe, but shameless self-promotion and blasting of corporate messages will cause your targets to unfollow, block and delete your brand. Instead, try talking and listening to your followers. Give their voices a chance to be heard, respond sincerely, and interact. Your brand’s target markets will be buzzing about you in no time.

Coming soon: some really creative social media strategies, used to promote real companies!

Tags: social media education, social media marketing ideas, using new media

When Social Media Goes Wrong

Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian, from the Flickr Creative Commons.

We are constantly being told that social media is the new way of the world. It’s easy to see why: Twitter has enough users to fill a small country – and Facebook has more users than the population of the United States. No wonder companies are entering the world of social media marketing so enthusiastically.

However, there is a catch: is it really working? Without an online marketing vision that is cohesive with the essence of social media, your company could be left with a stagnant Facebook page at best – and a horde of angry online consumers, at worst.

Consider the following:

Motrin Moms

Awhile back, Motrin released a controversial online video featuring moms who carry their babies all the time (for the full story, click here). Across the social media universe, infuriated moms voiced their thoughts about the video and Motrin. On Twitter, the fiasco was amplified by the use of the #MotrinMoms hashtag. Motrin’s weak response, including a lack of social media presence on Twitter and Facebook, made the public relations nightmare even worse.

Ford vs. The Ranger Station

Ford nearly committed social media suicide when its legal department threatened to sue a website selling unauthorized merchandise with Ford’s logo. The problem was, this website was a huge advocate of the Ford brand, and had a loyal, vocal following. Before Ford initiated legal action, a social media specialist helped both sides settle their differences. Had legal action been taken, it is likely the ensuing social media fallout would have damaged Ford’s reputation considerably.

What can be learned from these mishaps? Well, what you say or do online does not belong only to you – it can be propagated by anyone who cares to do so. This is why social media is such a powerful tool.

The moral of the story is to suspend your disbelief and approach social media as proactively as possible, and armed with a sound strategy.

What will you say if a customer has a bad experience with your customer service and lets it be known – all over your facebook page?
What will you do if you find a group of product evangelists has made a bunch of videos about your product, ripping off your logo, slogans other marketing assets?
How prepared are you to respond to the feedback that is happening around your brand, all over the internet?

With a sound strategy, you will be set to answer these questions before any of these situations occur – if they do occur at all.
If I can leave you with one thought in mind for handling your brand image online, it is this: respond, respond, and respond some more. By talking with the source of your publicity, you will forge a stronger alliance with your customer base online.

-Alex

Tags: internet marketing strategy, monitor social media, social media power, social media today

Twitter 202 – Now that it’s a new year…

… It’s time to wake up, shake off any End-of-Holiday Denial, and plug your brain back into its USB port.

If you’re anything like me, you gave your social media accounts a break over the holidays.  … no?  Oh well.  One day, I too will take my addiction devotion a step further.  But I digress.   2009 was the year the world learned Twitter 101.  We collectively passed that course – most people know what Twitter is and how it works.  So, welcome to your new class:  Twitter 202.

This year, twitter will only continue to grow as people become increasingly savvy about how to use it – for both socializing and business.  As such, everyone could use a few tips to keep ahead of the curve.  Here are some that I use myself:

Befriend Connectors. Connectors are Twitterers who spend a lot of time engaging in conversation.  You can tell them by looking at their profile:

- Tweets a lot – both on and off their usual topics

- Sends Re-tweets that are worth your time

- Engages in legitimate conversations (as opposed to blasting out links)

- Takes the time to make small talk with these people

If they like you, they will make your words heard to their legions of followers.

Choose your links wisely. Link to stuff your audience will like – it’s that simple.  Even if you use Twitter as a promotional tool, link to your own page judiciously.  You’ll only get so many chances before you’re on everyone’s ‘lameperson/spammo’ lists.  Conversely, how would you like to be on a list entitled ‘interestingpeepz’ or ‘coolcauses’?  That’s much better for business.

Get the #wurd out. Hashtags and keywords can help you find people interested in what you have to say.  Search for a keyword or hashtag, browse through the results, pick a user you like and strike up a conversation.  Odds are, you’ll end up following each other.

Build a storyline. If you want to engage your followers a little more, tweet in order.  This can be done in a couple of ways.  You can pre-write something you want to share and post it in parts.  You can also, in a less disruptive way, tweet about the same topic over a certain number of posts, in an order that makes sense.  Try referencing previous posts if they’re interesting and worth your followers’ time.

As the new year unfolds, there will be some of us who continue to tweet at random, spew links, spam, and otherwise bore the rest of us to tears with their Tweets.  However, as the world grows more aware of Twitter’s potential I predict that we will collectively tweet more coherently and intelligently.  Agree?  Maybe you’ve got some more tips and tricks to share.  Post here, or join our conversation on twitter.

Happy [belated] new year!

Alex

Tags: Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Twitter