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Marijean

Dec 29
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My Top 10 Social Media Posts of 2010

By Social Media

2010 was a great year for social media inspiration, with no shortage of great topics to address and questions to answer. Here are the top ten posts from this blog throughout the year:

  1. Time vs. Newsweek and the Demise of the English Language in which I freak out over the misuse of peak (peek!).
  2. Twitter: Why We Care What you Had for Breakfast I recognize that there are people who still don’t “get” Twitter (while only an estimated 8 percent of the population uses it, 100 percent knows what it is — this validated by the “Mom Index” which is determined by my mom saying “I know what that is.”)  I hope this post helps people in business understand why Twitter is an important communication tool.
  3. How NOT to use LinkedIn: Three D’oh!s from a Real-Life Example In social media consulting, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about LinkedIn, taking it for granted that people know how to use one of the first business social networking tools. It is only when someone steps so far out of line that it becomes necessary to outline the offense and make sure others don’t repeat it.
  4. Five Steps BHG Real Estate III Should Take Right Now I enjoy these social media case study opportunities that pop overnight and result in people sending me links and asking me to provide my thoughts on the situation. This one was pretty shocking and I think it’s been so popular because the lessons are applicable to any crisis or communications faux pas that any company (or representative) unfortunately might make.
  5. Five Ways to Avoid a Social Media Spanking I don’t know if the term “spanking” led to additional traffic on this page, but no matter — this is helpful advice for anyone posting content on behalf of a company.
  6. But Honestly Monica, Five Things Cooks Source Should Do Right Now The Cooks Source debacle was classic — probably the best foot-in-mouth social media episode of the year. Pretty much everyone wrote about it; I couldn’t resist throwing in my two cents.
  7. 10 Things to do on Your Facebook Fan Page I’ll admit it — I think I wrote this post more for me than for you — it’s something I get asked regularly and rather than repeating myself, I share the link to this post often. Of course there’s MORE you can do on a fan page . . . and this might lead to a Part Two post in the future.
  8. Charlottesville Car Dealerships and Social Media: A Study of Four Automotive Brands This began a series of reviewing service providers in my community and their use of social media.
  9. Ambassador You: An Employee’s Role in Social Media Also the topic of a presentation I’ve given to networking groups in several locations, the Ambassador You concept continues to be relevant and valued by businesses and marketing professionals.
  10. We’re Not Really Friends: Six Ways to Balance the Personal and Professional on the Social Web The “how do you separate the personal and the professional” question is one of the most frequently asked during my speaking gigs. This post helps explain my approach.

Thank you to all of you for a great first year of blogging about social media on Change the Conversation — keep reading in 2011 and feel free to let me know if you have any questions, case studies for me to review or would like me to come speak to your company or organization.

Dec 28
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Charlottesville Salons and Social Media

By Social Media

I would like the works: haircut, color, keratin treatment. I’m living frugally (after all, it was just Christmas and I have recently started a new business) and looking for special offers from local salons. So where do I go? To the social web to find my friends’ favorite salons and stylists, online specials and social communities to get an idea of which salons have the best reputations.

My friend Jen swears by Moxie and her personal stylist Richard the Hair God. I sort-of feel like any salon that calls itself a hair and body lounge might be a tad pretentious. A review of the salon’s website led to a buried mention of its Facebook presence (which is a profile, not a page, one of my pet peeves). Even though the approach is all wrong, the salon seems to have a lot of “friends” and lists in a status update the specials for the month.

The next salon I found with a social presence is Salon Cielo and Spa.  To my great relief, they have a Facebook page (not a profile) and even a Twitter account. Unfortunately the two cross post and are 100 percent redundant (a lazy approach to social web integration). The salon is part of a chain with multiple locations in four states so there’s really no reason to not have a more robust approach to web marketing.

Bristles is another popular local salon — many of my friends seem to like it, judging by their Facebook page. I can’t visit their website, however, since my virus protection software has flagged it as a risk (hey Bristles — something’s up with your site — you might want to check that out.) They have also been voted Favorite Hair Salon in Charlottesville for 13 years — that’s a good sign. I can’t tell what prices are, however, and no specials are evident on the Facebook page, so I’m less inclined to follow up with them.

What about you? How do you find a hair salon/stylist or another service in your community? Do you take your search to the social web?

Dec 22
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Begin by Being Personal

By Social Media

“Whatever anything else is, it oughta begin by being personal.”  — Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelley in You’ve Got Mail.

It’s a charming little romantic comedy and if you haven’t seen it, you should. You’ve Got Mail was on TV and so I was drawn in long enough to see the last quarter or so of the movie.

The line above comes in response to Tom Hanks’ character, the guy who is owner of a big box book store, whose company forced the closure of Meg Ryan’s characters little Shop Around the Corner, an independent bookstore. Hanks tells her that it was just business, that it wasn’t personal.

I’ve always found it interesting that people go out of their way to separate business and personal, as if when we show up for work, we’re no longer human beings, just employee-bots focused on business and business alone.

I would like to think the culture of social media is changing that. It is in my circles and I believe it is happening at the community level in many places. Individuals are starting to turn the corner as well, realizing that making business personal is a way to create and grow relationships — and those relationships lead to increased business.

The distinction I think people have trouble with is making interaction personal without becoming overly familiar, or introducing what should remain private. It is possible to be professional yet create interaction that focuses on customers as individuals — that, and interacting as a person, not merely a representative of a company — is what makes it personal.

What do you think? Has business become personal for you?

Dec 21
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Businesses: Why I Won’t Be Your Friend on Facebook

By Communications

It happened again just a moment ago. A local restaurant sent me a friend request on Facebook. This, one of dozens I’ve ignored, put me right over the edge.

Friends celebrate your birthday. Friends check up on you when you’re sick. Friends call you and invite you to go out.

It’s one of my pet peeves, I guess, people deciding their business needs to be on Facebook but, because they haven’t taken the time to learn how to do it right, they’re setting up profiles and sending friend requests to everyone in the community.

I will “like” your Facebook page but I WILL NOT BE YOUR FRIEND (and let’s face it, you’re not going to be mine, either.)

You’re Doing it Wrong!

In case you’re one of these offenders, realize this: if you are using Facebook as the representative of a business (I mostly see restaurants doing this) then what you want to do is set up an official business page. You will do this from YOUR profile — the one you set up with your name as a human being.

Profiles are for humans.

Pages are for businesses.

If you’re accepting friend requests from businesses you’re not doing them any favors – they will be limited by having a Facebook profile instead of a page. So turn them down, and if you have an extra second or two, let them know that what they want is a PAGE, not a profile.

Dec 20
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The Fish! Philosophy and a Book Giveaway

By Social Media

Fish!
A few jobs ago, I worked for a great company that was trying very hard to improve itself. While there, I was part of the management team and was introduced to a concept called the Fish! Philosophy.

I love Fish! and have tried to use the ideas and the training I received in every workplace I’ve had ever since. I always thought, if I ever have my own company, that’s what I’m going to use to keep my team and me focused and enjoying our work.

To celebrate a new beginning and the launch of Jaggers Communications, I want to share Fish! with you.

There are four principles of the Fish! Philosophy:

  1. Play
  2. Make Their Day
  3. Be Present
  4. Choose Your Attitude

It seems very simple but it takes effort to really put this philosophy into action. There’s a wonderful little book I’d like to share with you so you can consider taking Fish! to your workplace, too.

In the comments, tell me about something you’ve learned on the job that made a big difference in how you work.

On December 23, at midnight, the contest will end.  I will use a random number generator to choose one winner of the Fish! Philosophy book. (Winner will be announced December 24, 2010, Christmas Eve.)


Update:  Our winner (determined by random number generator based on comments below) is Soccer Mom! Congratulations!

Thank you to all of you for the comments and Merry Christmas!