Category

Communications

Oct 18
Love0

Social Media Lesson #14: Mind Your Web Site

By Communications

See this?

 

 

 

 

This is a screenshot of “Client D”‘s web site when viewed in Chrome. The site looks the same way when viewed on a smartphone.

In fact, “Client D”‘s web site only looked “right” in Internet Explorer . . . and the worst of it was . . . the client didn’t even know this.

Today’s social media assignment is simple — but what it reveals may not be. Look at your website in a variety of browsers, in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome . . . and on a smartphone or two. Do you like what you see? Is it useful? Is it WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CUSTOMERS TO SEE?

The great news is that “Client D” will be launching a brand, new fabulous web site in just a few days . . .

It’s important. Mind your web site.

 

Oct 17
Love0

How to Manage Social Media in Five Steps: The Who, What, When, Where, Why

By Communications, Social Media

I’ll admit it; I am a decent time manager. I’ve also been a bit of a control freak, managing whole aspects of social campaigns (i.e. doing all the work myself instead of delegating it). With the amount of work it really takes to manage social media for a business and, in my case, numerous businesses, holding it all in my greedy little hands simply isn’t possible. Having a plan to manage it, using tools to make it efficient and delegating roles to others are the keys to making it all work.

A lot of businesses get stuck on this point — the lack of a plan to follow results in failed, frustrated efforts — but what is a plan? And how is it managed?

How to Manage Social Media in Five Steps

It’s not easy, but it IS simple:

  1. Discuss and decide WHY you’re using social media for your business. Is it to inspire loyalty, attract new customers or to pay attention to what existing customers are saying about you and your industry. (All of the above is a perfectly acceptable answer.)
  2. Decide WHAT tools you’re going to use.
  3. Determine WHO will be responsible for developing content.
  4. Schedule the content that needs to be developed and designate WHO will make sure it happens and WHERE the content will be shared (Twitter? LinkedIn? StumbleUpon?)
  5. Create goals and schedule WHEN you will look at, analyze and report the analytics and your progress toward your goals.
What do you think? Does this framework solve any issues for you? 
Oct 12
Love0

Marketing Jargon: What does Word-of-Mouth Mean in the Digital Age?

By Communications, Social Media

When I ask businesses how new customers find them I have always heard the answer “word-of-mouth.” It’s still the most commonly cited method for customers newly discovering

I'm a Connector; I talk, and talk, and talk

products or services. What has changed, however is that word-of-mouth is really “person to person” communication.

Word-of-mouth still happens in person, of course, but even more often, and with vastly more people, person to person marketing is occurring via social platforms.

Do you Know Who the Connectors Are? How about the Mavens?

In his very famous book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell defined what he calls “connectors” —  the people who “link us up with the world … people with a special gift for bringing the world together” and “mavens” —  the people who “link us up with the world … people with a special gift for bringing the world together.”

The way that word-of-mouth marketing works in person is even more important to pay important to when considering social platforms.

As a business, when you look at your Facebook fans or your Twitter followers, can you identify the connectors? How about the mavens? How will you tap into the power that those “mouths” represent to your business to make strides toward your business goals?

Oct 03
Love0

Social Media: Not 24/7, Not even for Me

By Communications, Social Media
[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/cvillemegan/status/120107323485196288″]

Poor Megan! I really felt bad when I read this tweet, because I am the last person to encourage anyone to be a workaholic!

I believe in balance; I believe in unplugging (yes I do!) and most of all, I believe in planning ahead.

I don’t work much on the weekends. Sometimes I sneak a little bit in, mostly reading and writing blog posts, but for the most part, I relax. I bake pies. I spend in-person time with friends and family. I shop. I go to the gym for inordinate amounts of time.

So it makes me sad that I left the impression with all that I do, that I must work seven days a week, when that just isn’t the case. I do stay connected using my smartphone, but even that gets set aside for large chunks of time over the weekend and even in the evening. I try to plan ahead. My goal is to publish a new blog post five times a week. That means if it’s not done by Friday, I may be writing on the weekend. If not, then Monday morning has an extra heap of work. I am a solo practitioner (with freelance team members to support client work). The marketing, management and engagement of this company rests on my shoulders, so I use scheduling, management tools and experience to help me stay ahead of it, without getting overwhelmed.

I write every day, even if that content isn’t published on the same day. I put everything on my Outlook calendar which syncs up with my Google calendar so my family is informed of my commitments. I even schedule time to work on certain projects, to help stay organized. Lately, my time at the gym is going on the calendar, too. If it’s planned, it’s much more likely to happen.

So no, Megan, you don’t need to work on the weekends, but you do need to schedule everything, to plan ahead and to use technology to support the work you do, by keeping your appearance online consistent and constant. Now go take some time off and tell your boss I said so.