Category

Social Media

Mar 29
Love0

I am Jo Jo the Idiot Circus Boy.

By Communications, Social Media

For anyone who may not know, Jaggers Communications is a small business. Marijean and Rusty are very busy organizing our plans for clients and doing the actual work along with Amy while my job is to bring in the business. I am out there talking with prospective clients on an almost daily basis. We have a pretty good idea of who we work well for (mid-sized companies looking to increase their bottom line by engaging new customers and building loyalty with existing customers through the social networks).

The idea is that we like to work with companies who are also the right fit for us (often science based or educational businesses, but always forward thinking with goals in mind). I have clear idea of who I should be talking to, but I’m also interested in working with clients who I find interesting (fashion, restaurants, fitness, wine). And so, like a lot of sales, I mean, business development people, I get all excited when a prospect that I’m interested in throws me a bone and lets me talk with them. Cut to a very famous scene from Tommy Boy . . .

 

Sometimes I am Jo Jo the Idiot Circus Boy. But I’ve found out that my nerdy obsession with social media and marketing campaigns works out when the companies are also excited, when they are ready. But not all companies that I talk to are ready.

Here are some signs that eventhough your company likes the idea of starting a social media campaign/brand positioning/crisis communications plan/basically any PR initiative, you aren’t really ready:

1. Your boss is not onboard. I can’t tell you how often I see this. The marketing team wants to launch a blog where they can speak directly to clients and share product stories. The boss thinks “surfing the web is a waste of time.”

2. Your company is you and an intern. I want to give you a hug and say that in a few years when you have a bigger staff and a larger budget, we will totally work together. But I don’t want to take all your money. But I will absolutely let you know when Marijean has the next seminar because it will be useful to you.

3. You don’t see the need. Although it boggles the mind, I occasionally run into companies who are so ok with their profits that they feel like they’re fine where they are. Crazy, isn’t it? And we’re all a little jealous.

When these situations come up, I hand over my card and say something cheesy like, I look forward to being a resource should an opportunity arise. But actually, I mean it because we aren’t going anywhere and companies are ever changing and growing. So, I guess I really do hope to work with them in the future.

How about you? Had any Tommy Boy moments lately?

Mar 27
Love0

Breakfast at Beer Run: Thinking about Social Engagement, Timing and the Right Questions

By Social Media

I’m having breakfast at Beer Run today, something I do with frequency. It’s a best kept secret, in my book. (OK, I guess not so much now that I just blabbed it here.) I like the energy here, the quiet in the morning, the really good breakfast menu (build your own!), the ability to be here when deliveries of super special craft beers arrive and the always consistent wifi. It’s odd, I know, to work from, what is MOSTLY a bar, but in the morning, it’s the ideal location.

Because I’m a regular here at all times of day (*cough*) I’m greeted warmly and often with my beverage of choice (dictated, of course, by the time of day I arrive). Yes, I am drinking a cup of coffee right now. Since the staff knows what I do professionally, sometimes we talk business — either theirs or mine.

This morning we’re talking a bit about questions we ask online to engage our communities. Sometimes, you can post a status update or a question and it just takes off like wildfire. There are comments and “likes” galore and everyone has to chime in. Topic is key, but timing is an important element. You have to be on the right platform at the right time, i.e., when everyone else is there and eager to engage.

When the heck is that?!

It’s really different for every community. Case in point, I’m at a beer joint in the morning! The engaged community is present around 5pm, not now. Paying attention to the trends in your business, the footsteps, either literal or virtual, and when they increase and decrease is important. Reviewing the referring platforms that deliver fans to your doorstep and posting there — also important.

I’m ruminating on the best way to post a personal question across my social platforms and the best time to do so (it’s not business; it’s personal, so even trickier to figure out). So stay tuned, if you’re into that sort of thing, because in my world, personal and professional blur one to the other.

Mar 21
Love0

Maintaining a Social Presence as a News Professional

By Media, Social Media

 I had the great pleasure of returning to my old stomping grounds at the Newsplex, today. For more than a year I was the social media correspondent and blogging segment guest on-air on CBS-19. Great fun, that, but my time on TV has been very limited in the last couple of years.

In addition to being included with the “talent,” (ha!) I did some consulting behind-the-scenes to help the news and sales staff with their social strategy. I returned this week, to both provide a refresher and update for the more seasoned staff members and social media orientation for the new folks.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/schuttedan/status/182560714345549826″]

News professionals, whether in broadcast or print, all seem to have the same issues:

  1. Creating definition and separation between their personal and professional personas and online lives.
  2. A lack of comfort in sharing what’s personal (not private) online.
  3. How blogging, generally thought of as a venue for opinion, can be done as an objective journalist.
  4. How to deal with the really nasty and downright rude comments left by viewers/readers.

A couple of approaches shared today include the concept that there is a CLEAR difference between what is considered private and being personal (and personable) online. Never mistake one for the other. Your comfort level in engaging online is important — watch how someone else you admire conducts themselves online and let that be a guide to your own behavior.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/carterjohnson/status/182483092517294081″]

Blogging as a journalist is commonplace. If you’re telling the story behind the story, you’re providing another perspective for the audience. It should enhance the experience, not replace it. Bloggers do not have to share opinions (being a blogger and being opinionated are only coincidentally common). Bloggers are, like journalists, expected to tell the truth. What would happen if a journalist who blogged didn’t blog about their beat or the news they cover, but blogged about their life as a journalist, or their personal interests?

Whoa, right?

Trolls, or the nasty mean people who leave anonymous (or even named, public) comments on blogs, websites and Facebook pages, are really awful. No one likes to read that kind of unfiltered, sometimes WAY over the top criticism. It’s hard to simply thank them for their feedback and walk away. Establish a policy (as the Newsplex has done) that you will delete obscene and inappropriate comments. Make sure you’re showing up and entering the conversation regularly. Turns out that even trolls are more polite when they know you’re in the room.

I encouraged the team members to keep an eye on their Klout scores and set some personal goals for influence and engagement. I think it’s great to see a local news team so genuinely interested in professional development and community engagement.

You can find the Twitter handles of all the on-air staff as well as News, Weather and Sports on the group’s website.

 

Mar 15
Love0

You Can Pry My Facebook Password From My Cold, Dead Hands

By Media, Social Media

There was an amazing article posted last week that reported a new and highly disturbing trend. Here is a recap. Apparently, more and more employers, college admissions offices, and even sports coaches are under the mistaken impression that they have the right to request or even demand login and password information to potential employees or applicants’ Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube accounts so they can browse them for potentially damaging information contained in posts.

I’m sorry, but I think that’s completely, totally, heinously inappropriate. Not only is it a serious invasion of privacy, highly presumptuous, rude, obnoxious, patronizing and potentially illegal, but it probably won’t work. Any player, student, or applicant worth having will probably run away from these opportunities because they will see this amazing privacy breach for what it is, a serious overreach. In other cases, they will simply conceal their true identity with dummy accounts designed to retain the privacy we all know is our right. Others will simply close their accounts, if the job is serious enough.

My problem is that I don’t think anyone should have to choose between employment, education, sports, and privacy. Last time I checked, it was an inalienable right. I can see certain industries, like national security or defense, requesting accounts to be closed or suspended, but I cannot advocate requiring actual access to personal account information as a condition of anything valid or legitimate, ever, nor can I condone forced friendship for “monitoring purposes.” What happens in the public area is fair game. Scrutinize all you want any thing I post for public consumption. But my friends, my data, my private time outside of areas I agree to share are just that–MINE. You can pry them from my cold dead hands. If you dare.

Thoughts?