Category

Social Media

Oct 12
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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 11
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Thoughts on Rewarding Fans

By Social Media

A couple of weeks ago I felt like sending someone flowers. More specifically, I wanted to reach out and surprise one of my Twitter followers by making their day a bit brighter in a

The FTD Golden Autumn Bouquet

memorable way.

I tweeted that I was going to send a follower flowers and had a couple of people jokingly say they wouldn’t mind being recipients, so I picked one and ordered a bouquet.

I was kind of excited, waiting for the day that the flowers would arrive; looking forward to seeing a tweet or a Facebook update noting the surprise.

I like surprising people in gentle ways, mostly with pie, but this time, flowers just seemed like the right way to go.

It has gotten me thinking a lot about how we reward fans; how our clients recognize the relationships with the most loyal, the most ardent supporters of their businesses.

So this week my challenge to my clients and to you, business people following this blog, is to think of a way to make the day of someone who believes in you and in your business. Let me know how you’re going to do it — and I promise, giving is just as fun as receiving.

 

Oct 05
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How to Create a Good LinkedIn Summary: Six Great Examples

By Social Media

A follower from the field asked for some direction in creating a “good” summary for his LinkedIn profile. I was stunned at how long it took me to cull some great examples from the wealth of crap out there. Seriously people; don’t you care what people see about you online?

I tried to mix it up a bit, people in industries other than my own and both men and women. Take a look at the few I pulled; I’m curious to know your thoughts. A few were (as you’ll see below) written in third person which is NOT my preference.

From Jay Baer:

Jay Baer is a social media strategist, author and speaker and President of consultancy Convince & Convert.

Founder of five companies, he’s worked with over 700 brands since 1994, including 26 of the Fortune 1000.

His Convince & Convert blog is ranked among the world’s top marketing resources. He’s the co-author of the new book The Now Revolution: 7 Moves to Transform Your Business with Speed, Smarts & Social Media. He’s on Twitter as @jaybaer

From Tom Blue:

Tom Blue is an innovator, entrepreneur, blogger, life-long student of marketing and sales, and on occasion – a teacher of these subjects. Professionally, he is dedicated to assisting businesses in achieving growth through new initiatives and the design and execution of innovative marketing and business development programs.

He began his career in the marketing agency arena, playing a leadership role with Virginia-based database marketing firm Response Marketing Group and transitioned into the entrepreneurial realm in the mid-90s. He has since been instrumental in the launch of several new ventures related to healthcare, marketing, and technology.

A frequent speaker on the subjects of online and traditional marketing, business development, and new product launches, Tom has appeared on the Fox Morning Show, ABC News, CNet Live Radio, The New York Times, Industry Standard, WebProNews, Wired, and numerous other news programs and publications in connection with his work.

From Elizabeth Keserauskis:

A seasoned marketing strategist and communicator, my goal is to keep a steady stream (ok, fire hose blast!) of new business and marketing challenges in front of me. Though the bulk of my experience is in higher education, I have worked with B2B and B2C companies in a wide variety of fields.

Kevin Kurzendoerfer:

My passion as a leader is to develop teams and create systems that empower organizations to the highest level of performance.

Most recently, my enthusiasm has taken me into the online retail sector where the power of reliable systems, passionate leadership, and a data-driven approach translates into creating a business that supplies high-quality, local food to thousands of customers.

From Amber Capron:

I love helping nonprofit organizations build partnerships and obtain funding so that they can carry out their mission and make a difference.

I understand the reality of working with nonprofits and the financial challenges that they face. I have insight into Virginia’s fundraising landscape, gained through my work as campaign manager and finance director for local, state and federal campaigns, and at statewide and national nonprofits. I also have experience developing and implementing communications strategies for multiple projects, with diverse audiences, including donors, members, subscribers, board members and industry stakeholders.

And perhaps my favorite, ever, from Dave Donohue:

Busy launching a company currently in stealth mode.

Any nominations for great summaries? Or really significantly terrible ones? (those are always fun to see, too).

Oct 04
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Social Media: it’s not the Devil

By Social Media

Yesterday, I spoke to a group of business people about integrating social media tactics into business communications. One of the attendees expressed frustration because there are still members of her organization’s leadership that believe that “social media is the devil” and even, “this internet thing is a fad.”

It made me think of Dana Carvey as The Church Lady.

It also made me remember that when the telephone was invented people feared it. That electricity had to be an invention of the devil since it was associated with fire. Technophobia followed technology and our fear of loss of privacy has been closely associated with the concerns people have raised about social networking sites like Facebook.

If that’s really how some people feel, then by all means they should not use the technology; they should steer clear of the Internet and conduct all business in person.

Sometimes people don’t like what I have to say in social media presentations; on the issue of privacy and hacking: no, we’re not immune and no, there’s no 100% guarantee of security online. It’s the truth, though, and while the Internet is not evil and social media sites are nothing more than communications methods, it’s true that there are “bad people” in the world. Be smart, be safe, guard your private information by not sharing it online and using strong passwords and changing them often. It’s not all under our control, but for what is, manage it well.

 

Oct 03
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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.