Twitter's just launched business pages and a new mobile look. Facebook relaunched a few months ago, with some much needed privacy features. Every day a new "social" platform pops up with promises of connecting you to your audience, your network and the great wealth out there just waiting to be had.
And here you are, juggling every single aspect of your business from acquisitions and logistics to customer service and marketing. How on earth can you keep up with the pace?
Here are three daily to-dos to keep you walking side by side with the fast pace of Social Media:
Research
Take 5 minutes every day to read the headlines in your industry...and another 5 to read about recent changes in Social Media.
Twitter's video takes 1 minute 49 seconds to watch. Watch it. That still leaves you with over 3 minutes to scan the headlines from your top business sources.
Trial
Obviously, not every new system or platform that comes across your desk is going to be right for you. Twice a week - or three times, if you're having a slow week, sign up for a trial. Use the platform, check the scores, see if that system has any value to you. Shelly Kramer points out, in her article about the new Twitter business pages that many Twitter users never go to Twitter's page at all. Perhaps building a business page there is not that high priority for you.
Don't worry that some blogger said it was the best new platform of the year - they may have a vested interest, or they may simply have different needs than you do. Know whether you're looking for a tool to give you the 10,000 mile perspective or leads to opinion leaders in your town before you make time to sign up for a trial. Consider the time it'll take to develop a profile. Can you do it quickly, or will it mean weeks of meetings with your "web guy"? Each new platform that pops up, take a moment to decide what time you're willing to invest.
Try out the service for a week. At the end of that week, if you can't think of a single reason to use it again, delete your account, then move on. Don't worry if the Social Media news is full of that system, it's not for you.
If you love that system, let people know. Share your insight with you peers. Become an advocate for a system that works for you.
Integrate
When you've found that system that really resonates, tell the company. Offer to beta-test new features. Let the company know you're out there advocating.
Integrate that platform into your day, so it's just another five minutes while you have your morning coffee. Check the dashboard, integrate the information into your day. Decide what works for you, and discard the rest.
You don't start running 20 miles a day - don't try to keep up with every single change in Social Media. When you take a few moments every day to Research - Trial - Integrate, the fast pace of Social Media won't be intimidating. You won't be "keeping up," you'll be walking side-by-side with the tools you need.
Showing posts with label Tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tools. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Confession Time: I Don't Take Google+ Seriously
I don't take Google+ seriously.
I've been using "Social Media" since the days of Bulletin Board Systems, when I had a Panasonic Senior "portable" computer (that weighed 18 pounds and had a thermal printer on the ass end) and had to take my phone offline to pretend to have a drink and a chat online with a friend who lived ten minutes away. So, whenever a new social platform opens up, I'm glad to take it for a spin, click the buttons and kick the tires. And, after serious consideration, I just cannot take Google+ seriously.
Circles Aren't All That (much less a bag of chips)
Circles seem like an exciting and revolutionary idea, but if you have ever created a mailing list, it's really not. Even on Facebook, you could always just message a few friends and share something with them. It wasn't hard. Circles are useful, if you have passion around three or four separate areas and don't want them mixing. I'm not a big fan of segmenting my conversations. Segmentation isn't privacy, either.
When Circles first showed up, there was a lot of conversation about good Circle taxonomy. I thought about it at length and came up with the following Circle names:
- People Who Think They Are My Friends
- People Who Want Me To Listen To Them Talk
- People Who Want To Hear Me Talk
- People I Follow on Google+
In reality, I have only one Circle, called "Following." Because that is what I do - I follow you because I want to read what you have to say...it doesn't matter to me which of the many topics I'm interested in that you write or share info about. In fact - I'd prefer to get a nicely varied mix of different kinds of information on different things, because otherwise, it'll all start to sound the same. I like variety. If you want to follow me and put me in a bucket, fine. I post and share on multiple topics, so you're as likely to get Social Media articles mixed in with Comic/Manga news, British Archaeology and Physics.
The Main Topic Discussed on Google+ is...Google+
This morning I open my feed and no less than half of the conversation is about how good, bad, indifferent, useful, useless, growing, dying Google+ is. At least Facebook is mature enough as a platform to only have this kind of navel-staring happen with particularly obnoxious updates. This morning's headline was trumpeting Google+'s failure to retain users. I wasn't surprised because the true power of a new social platform is access to a new audience. Google+ lacks this because:
The Audience on Google+ is People You Already Know
The early adopters of Google+ were Social Media wonks, who naturally want to poke and prod any new system...and folks fleeing from Facebook because their Mom was on it. These people were likely to be in your network already, if you were on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora or any number of platforms. I know of exactly one person who found a whole new community there - and it wasn't organically grown on Google+, it migrated there from...you guessed it, Facebook.
Last, and quite possibly the biggest factor I have in not taking Google+ seriously is...
It's Google. They have long ago shown that "Don't Be Evil" has no meaning to them, and they track, trace, follow and measure our behavior. This is better than Facebook why? Google sells our information and stares back at us, unblinkingly, completely unable to see any irony.
Why am I confessing this all of a sudden? Because this morning I came to a sudden, shocking conclusion.
Here is the avatar I use for almost every single social media platform I'm on:
This painting was done by talented artist Mari Kurisato based on a photo of me. She takes commissions and her art makes great site avatars. If you're looking for an exciting, unique way to make an impression, I recommend her work highly.
And here is the avatar I have on Google+:
This is the avatar I've had on my Gmail account since I began using it. These are my two favorite anime characters.
And, that's about how seriously I take Google+.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Measure Twice, Post Once
When developing a Social Media Strategy, it's absolutely critical to know a few things before you begin:
Who Are You Talking To?
What Are You Trying to Say to Them?
What Do You Want Them to Do?
Before you try to answer any of these questions, think about where you're getting you data from. Are you out there listening to your audience, measuring your market and do you know how your strategy is supporting your business objectives? To do this, you must measure twice, so you only have to post once.
There are any number of free and proprietary social listening and measuring tools. They change so quickly that any list will almost immediately become obsolete the moment I hit "publish" on this article. Here are a few of the tools I use to track influence, sentiment, response and engagement:
SocialMention - Social Mention tracks your keywords (company name, personal name, tagline) across the social internet. It tracks passion, sentiment, strength and reach, which gives you a good idea of what kinds of responses you're getting and from whom.
Klout - According to their description, Klout measures the likelihood of response to you. Higher scores mean that any given post/status will engender response, sharing or action. Unfortunately, many people are using Klout scores as a measure of expertise or elite status. Avoid this, as it indicates a lack of understanding about Klout. Klout has also spawned what Animenewsdotbiz has coined as "Credibility hobo." This would be asking users for shares, +1 on Google and other assistance for upping your score. "Brother can you spare a +K?"
Topsy will give you a overall picture of your activity online. It's doesn't dig deep into analysis, but if you want to see a quick overview of your activity - and any activity engendered by it - Topsy is a good tool.
And as I posted previously, I'm finding Crowdbooster to be a very useful tool to get a visual impression of the popularity and response to any given post.
Of course, any savvy company should have a Google Alert and Twitter Search set up to see what people are saying about them.
Now that you know who is listening to you, acting on your links, sharing and responding, and what they are saying about you, you can answer the above questions appropriately. You will know who you are talking to, when they respond, and to what. You can see what language works and which kinds of posts get the most response on your platforms.
Listen and measure before you post for the most effective use of Social Media.
Who Are You Talking To?
What Are You Trying to Say to Them?
What Do You Want Them to Do?
Before you try to answer any of these questions, think about where you're getting you data from. Are you out there listening to your audience, measuring your market and do you know how your strategy is supporting your business objectives? To do this, you must measure twice, so you only have to post once.
There are any number of free and proprietary social listening and measuring tools. They change so quickly that any list will almost immediately become obsolete the moment I hit "publish" on this article. Here are a few of the tools I use to track influence, sentiment, response and engagement:
SocialMention - Social Mention tracks your keywords (company name, personal name, tagline) across the social internet. It tracks passion, sentiment, strength and reach, which gives you a good idea of what kinds of responses you're getting and from whom.
Klout - According to their description, Klout measures the likelihood of response to you. Higher scores mean that any given post/status will engender response, sharing or action. Unfortunately, many people are using Klout scores as a measure of expertise or elite status. Avoid this, as it indicates a lack of understanding about Klout. Klout has also spawned what Animenewsdotbiz has coined as "Credibility hobo." This would be asking users for shares, +1 on Google and other assistance for upping your score. "Brother can you spare a +K?"
Topsy will give you a overall picture of your activity online. It's doesn't dig deep into analysis, but if you want to see a quick overview of your activity - and any activity engendered by it - Topsy is a good tool.
And as I posted previously, I'm finding Crowdbooster to be a very useful tool to get a visual impression of the popularity and response to any given post.
Of course, any savvy company should have a Google Alert and Twitter Search set up to see what people are saying about them.
Now that you know who is listening to you, acting on your links, sharing and responding, and what they are saying about you, you can answer the above questions appropriately. You will know who you are talking to, when they respond, and to what. You can see what language works and which kinds of posts get the most response on your platforms.
Listen and measure before you post for the most effective use of Social Media.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Facebook's Social Media Makeover - The Good and the Bad and the Not So Ugly
How often do you redecorate your living room? Once a decade? Maybe a little more? The reasons why you don't are self-evident - makeovers cost money, they are a pain, they take up time.
It's not hard to imagine, although we are not those people, that there are people who constantly tweak and move their furniture to give the room a new look, to keep it fresh and exciting.
Now imagine if those people were your parents. Every time you drop by, they seem to have moved stuff around. Sometimes you like the changes better than others, but it does make things hard to find - and it unsetttles you. This is the real problem of course - it's not that you don't like the new furniture, it's just that these are your parents and they aren't supposed to change!
Welcome to Facebook, the comfy chair of Social Media. Facebook is Social Media your Mom can use. You smile at it, you use it, but you don't respect it because, well, your Mom can use it. Even so, when Facebook switches the furniture around, it's unsettling.
Today we'll cover a very few points of some good and bad things Facebook did with their site switcheroo and the one or two things that are most up for debate as "that goddamn" feature.
The BAD
1) They changed our settings, again.
This is tantamount to your parents changing the lock, leaving the new key under the mat with a note that they've given a bunch of other people the keys, too, so if you're in the shower and hear noise, it's probably just one of those other people. Wait, what?
Facebook has an appalling habit of "helping" you with your notifications and privacy settings. This time they turned all notifications OFF, except the ones that they turned ON.
How to Handle This: Don't wait for Facebook to change - make it a habit of visiting your Notifications, Privacy and App settings every three months. Clean out Apps you don't know, don't use, don't want. Make sure the Privacy is set the way you want it, that you can share with the people you want. Turn off or on notifications. Do this as a regular course of matter, so you remain in as much control of your account as possible.
2) They rolled all the changes out all at once.
Go back to the your parent's house metaphor. When they get a new chair, it's a nice change. If they had the entire house stripped and redecorated, it would be jarring. And, yes, the Facebook makeover was jarring.
How to Handle This: Don't Panic. Take a look at the popups and read them, so you know what you're looking at. Find a Social Media person on Facebook such as myself, (yes, I know I don't have an account name, all the sensible versions of my name were taken and I would just rather have a random character set that EricaFriedman1897. That sounds horribly AOL to me) or Christine Pilch who can talk you through fixing and changing settings.
The last and worst Bad thing is an ongoing problem with Facebook.
3) They made changes to our accounts without our permission.
Facebook does this continually and for me, it's the single biggest problem with Facebook security and privacy. I did not want to make Lists, so they made them for me! Um, no, see, I did not want to make any Lists. (See Below for more Lists comments.)
How to Handle This: Tell Facebook. We all must make it clear that, while we understand change is inevitable, we would very much prefer to be asked if we want a new feature, rather than having it thrust upon us. Some parents never change their living rooms, ever. And that's really all right. Our Mom's Facebook and ours don't have to look the same.
The Good
Now for the one really Good thing they did.
1) The biggest and best new thing they did was force Business Pages to let people post on their Wall, even if they have not "Liked" the page. There truly was nothing more galling than having to "like" a page before telling them they suck.
The (Not-So) Ugly
This leaves us with some of the new features, which are liked and disliked in equal measure.
Lists
Lists are an attempt to be more like Google+. This is misguided thinking. Facebook's market is you and your Mom. Not immersed Social Media users who are going to have a number of profiles on sites around the Internet. For most Facebook users, sharing with friends and family is one and the same.
I also call into question the premise that Segmentation = Privacy. Keeping your Friends in separate rooms is not the same thing as Privacy.
Worse, they did a terrible job of it. (^_^); My Family List had my wife's niece on it, but not my wife. Or any of my immediate family.
How to Handle This: Luckily Lists are easily removable. Scroll to the left of the List name until you see the pencil icon. Click "Hide." (I find, however, that my Lists have reappeared this AM, despite removing them yesterday. That could be very annoying.) Once Lists were removed, I found my Feed returning to a format I was more comfortable with.
The Update Ticker
I like this, although this wins as the number one "Turn this damn thing off!" that I see in comments. In the right sidebar, the top now is a ticker of comments by friends or on friends' posts.
How to Handle This: Lifehacker has posted an article on how to kill the Update ticker.
Scrolling Top Toolbar
A colleague of mine and long-time friend, Bonnie Wasilewski, pointed out the neat new feature of the top Toolbar scrolling down the page with you. Now you don't have to scroll back to the top to see notifications or get back to your home. I hadn't even noticed this, until she pointed it out, but dang! it's useful!
How to Handle This: Use it. No matter where you are on the site, you'll see what's going on in your world, without having to jump up and down the page.
Subscribe Button
For those of us with public lives, this is a welcome feature. Now people can read our posts, without us having to "Friend" them.
You can read status updates, see links and feel part of the life of your favorite celebrities and thinkiner, without having the right to communicate with them. Think of Subscribe like reading a newspaper in your home used to be. You get to read, but there's no real way to comment in real-time.
How to Handle This: Each post you make can be marked Friends, Public or Custom. You default to Friends, but if you don't mind your Subscribers reading something, mark it Public.
Conclusion
The biggest problem in all these changes is Facebook's misunderstanding of their audience. In their desperate attempt to stay relevant and cutting edge, they are losing people from both edges of their usage curve.
People who wanted Google+-like features are already on Google+. I see many comments to the effect that people are "done" with Facebook and can be found exclusively at G+ now. (This is an issue I want to write about at length later, because in Social Media, you can't take your ball and go home.)
On the other end of the curve, are Mom and Pop users who really only wanted to see their kids and grandkids and share some pictures. The new changes will alienate and confuse these people, and over-complicate the site needlessly for them.
In the end, when the kerfuffle has settled, and everyone has gotten used to the Good, Bad and Ugly of the new format, Facebook will change it all around again. (Update: Facebook has already announced more changes to come, starting off with Facebook Timelines. Stay tuned!)
This is what happens when Facebook changes its layout - The Oatmeal
It's not hard to imagine, although we are not those people, that there are people who constantly tweak and move their furniture to give the room a new look, to keep it fresh and exciting.
Now imagine if those people were your parents. Every time you drop by, they seem to have moved stuff around. Sometimes you like the changes better than others, but it does make things hard to find - and it unsetttles you. This is the real problem of course - it's not that you don't like the new furniture, it's just that these are your parents and they aren't supposed to change!
Welcome to Facebook, the comfy chair of Social Media. Facebook is Social Media your Mom can use. You smile at it, you use it, but you don't respect it because, well, your Mom can use it. Even so, when Facebook switches the furniture around, it's unsettling.
Today we'll cover a very few points of some good and bad things Facebook did with their site switcheroo and the one or two things that are most up for debate as "that goddamn" feature.
The BAD
1) They changed our settings, again.
This is tantamount to your parents changing the lock, leaving the new key under the mat with a note that they've given a bunch of other people the keys, too, so if you're in the shower and hear noise, it's probably just one of those other people. Wait, what?
Facebook has an appalling habit of "helping" you with your notifications and privacy settings. This time they turned all notifications OFF, except the ones that they turned ON.
How to Handle This: Don't wait for Facebook to change - make it a habit of visiting your Notifications, Privacy and App settings every three months. Clean out Apps you don't know, don't use, don't want. Make sure the Privacy is set the way you want it, that you can share with the people you want. Turn off or on notifications. Do this as a regular course of matter, so you remain in as much control of your account as possible.
2) They rolled all the changes out all at once.
Go back to the your parent's house metaphor. When they get a new chair, it's a nice change. If they had the entire house stripped and redecorated, it would be jarring. And, yes, the Facebook makeover was jarring.
How to Handle This: Don't Panic. Take a look at the popups and read them, so you know what you're looking at. Find a Social Media person on Facebook such as myself, (yes, I know I don't have an account name, all the sensible versions of my name were taken and I would just rather have a random character set that EricaFriedman1897. That sounds horribly AOL to me) or Christine Pilch who can talk you through fixing and changing settings.
The last and worst Bad thing is an ongoing problem with Facebook.
3) They made changes to our accounts without our permission.
Facebook does this continually and for me, it's the single biggest problem with Facebook security and privacy. I did not want to make Lists, so they made them for me! Um, no, see, I did not want to make any Lists. (See Below for more Lists comments.)
How to Handle This: Tell Facebook. We all must make it clear that, while we understand change is inevitable, we would very much prefer to be asked if we want a new feature, rather than having it thrust upon us. Some parents never change their living rooms, ever. And that's really all right. Our Mom's Facebook and ours don't have to look the same.
The Good
Now for the one really Good thing they did.
1) The biggest and best new thing they did was force Business Pages to let people post on their Wall, even if they have not "Liked" the page. There truly was nothing more galling than having to "like" a page before telling them they suck.
The (Not-So) Ugly
This leaves us with some of the new features, which are liked and disliked in equal measure.
Lists
Lists are an attempt to be more like Google+. This is misguided thinking. Facebook's market is you and your Mom. Not immersed Social Media users who are going to have a number of profiles on sites around the Internet. For most Facebook users, sharing with friends and family is one and the same.
I also call into question the premise that Segmentation = Privacy. Keeping your Friends in separate rooms is not the same thing as Privacy.
Worse, they did a terrible job of it. (^_^); My Family List had my wife's niece on it, but not my wife. Or any of my immediate family.
How to Handle This: Luckily Lists are easily removable. Scroll to the left of the List name until you see the pencil icon. Click "Hide." (I find, however, that my Lists have reappeared this AM, despite removing them yesterday. That could be very annoying.) Once Lists were removed, I found my Feed returning to a format I was more comfortable with.
The Update Ticker
I like this, although this wins as the number one "Turn this damn thing off!" that I see in comments. In the right sidebar, the top now is a ticker of comments by friends or on friends' posts.
How to Handle This: Lifehacker has posted an article on how to kill the Update ticker.
Scrolling Top Toolbar
A colleague of mine and long-time friend, Bonnie Wasilewski, pointed out the neat new feature of the top Toolbar scrolling down the page with you. Now you don't have to scroll back to the top to see notifications or get back to your home. I hadn't even noticed this, until she pointed it out, but dang! it's useful!
How to Handle This: Use it. No matter where you are on the site, you'll see what's going on in your world, without having to jump up and down the page.
Subscribe Button
For those of us with public lives, this is a welcome feature. Now people can read our posts, without us having to "Friend" them.
You can read status updates, see links and feel part of the life of your favorite celebrities and thinkiner, without having the right to communicate with them. Think of Subscribe like reading a newspaper in your home used to be. You get to read, but there's no real way to comment in real-time.
How to Handle This: Each post you make can be marked Friends, Public or Custom. You default to Friends, but if you don't mind your Subscribers reading something, mark it Public.
Conclusion
The biggest problem in all these changes is Facebook's misunderstanding of their audience. In their desperate attempt to stay relevant and cutting edge, they are losing people from both edges of their usage curve.
People who wanted Google+-like features are already on Google+. I see many comments to the effect that people are "done" with Facebook and can be found exclusively at G+ now. (This is an issue I want to write about at length later, because in Social Media, you can't take your ball and go home.)
On the other end of the curve, are Mom and Pop users who really only wanted to see their kids and grandkids and share some pictures. The new changes will alienate and confuse these people, and over-complicate the site needlessly for them.
In the end, when the kerfuffle has settled, and everyone has gotten used to the Good, Bad and Ugly of the new format, Facebook will change it all around again. (Update: Facebook has already announced more changes to come, starting off with Facebook Timelines. Stay tuned!)
This is what happens when Facebook changes its layout - The Oatmeal
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Fallacy of Social Timing and the Wisdom of the Crowdbooster
If you read any smart Social Media guidelines available, one of the absolute most common pieces of advice you'll see is to be mindful of the timing of your statuses and tweets. "Put them out there when they are most likely to be seen!" is the seemingly obvious advice from all quarters. There's a science of social timing that is both absolutely correct....and completely, utterly worthless.
I've been using Crowdbooster.com to get a clean visual image of the impact my Tweets and Facebook posts have in their spaces. Here's an example:
This chart shows me which tweets were most replied to, retweeted and which got the most impressions. Crowdbooster also will suggest new influencers that have followed me, and suggest I interact with them, or which Tweets I should share on Facebook, since they were popular on Twitter (not always the best advice, either, but that's another post.)
Overall, I'm really happy with Crowdbooster, more so than many other measuring tools I've used. If you'd like an invite, ask in the comments and I'd be glad to share what I can.
But the wisdom of the Crowd fails in regards to timing. Not because it's wrong - but because it misses the point. And so do most articles that discuss the importance of timing in Social Media.
This seems like a very reasonable suggestion - and it is, honestly, I get great feedback when I post on Twitter around 7AM, 10AM and 2PM. So where's the fallacy? The fallacy is in thinking that this time is important for me to post. The reality is - this is when I spend time interacting, posting and replying almost every single day. So, of *course* that is when I will have developed an audience, who will read, retweet, reply, share, etc.
The fallacy is in assuming that the times you should post are being driven by some external wind that you have no control of, and all you can do is hang on and get your posts out there. This is obviously not true. If you run a branding workshop every Monday at 9AM Pacific Time (as @Brandingexpert Rob Frankel does every week,) then after a few weeks, you can imagine that Crowdbooster would tell you that running that workshop at 9AM Pacific Time every week is the best time to do it.
Forget Social Timing, Create your own schedule. Create your audience and your market. Take control of your time and don't let the wisdom of the crowd - or the Crowdbooster - tell you when you "should" be on social media.
I've been using Crowdbooster.com to get a clean visual image of the impact my Tweets and Facebook posts have in their spaces. Here's an example:
This chart shows me which tweets were most replied to, retweeted and which got the most impressions. Crowdbooster also will suggest new influencers that have followed me, and suggest I interact with them, or which Tweets I should share on Facebook, since they were popular on Twitter (not always the best advice, either, but that's another post.)
Overall, I'm really happy with Crowdbooster, more so than many other measuring tools I've used. If you'd like an invite, ask in the comments and I'd be glad to share what I can.
But the wisdom of the Crowd fails in regards to timing. Not because it's wrong - but because it misses the point. And so do most articles that discuss the importance of timing in Social Media.
This seems like a very reasonable suggestion - and it is, honestly, I get great feedback when I post on Twitter around 7AM, 10AM and 2PM. So where's the fallacy? The fallacy is in thinking that this time is important for me to post. The reality is - this is when I spend time interacting, posting and replying almost every single day. So, of *course* that is when I will have developed an audience, who will read, retweet, reply, share, etc.
The fallacy is in assuming that the times you should post are being driven by some external wind that you have no control of, and all you can do is hang on and get your posts out there. This is obviously not true. If you run a branding workshop every Monday at 9AM Pacific Time (as @Brandingexpert Rob Frankel does every week,) then after a few weeks, you can imagine that Crowdbooster would tell you that running that workshop at 9AM Pacific Time every week is the best time to do it.
Forget Social Timing, Create your own schedule. Create your audience and your market. Take control of your time and don't let the wisdom of the crowd - or the Crowdbooster - tell you when you "should" be on social media.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Social Media Ranking - Popularity Polls or Tools to Take Control of Your Social Media?
I had an epiphany this week. I was speaking with someone on EmpireAvenue, a new platform that reflects your Social Media Influence as a "stock price." EA tracks your Social Media activities on other platforms, as well as EmpireAvenue itself, scores you on the individual platforms and assigns you a rising or falling overall "stock price" score.
This is gamification of Social Media in a nutshell, and I was having a hard time really seeing the overall value, even as I was participating (and my "stock" is steadily rising, just so you don't assume that it's sour grapes! ^_^)
Klout is another overall scoring system. It tracks your interactions on certain Social Media platforms, just as EmpireAvenue does, but it presents the data in one overall score, breaking it out by amplification, reach, scope and the like. It does not provide you with separate scores for each of your platforms, just the one overall score.
It's very tempting - and very easy - to use the absolute scores as measurements of overall value. After all, on Klout I am a "Thought Leader." That should account for something, shouldn't it? But it was the separate scores on Empire Avenue that made me realize I was not really taking a holistic look at my use of Social Media. Sure, I had a Flickr and LinkedIn account, but was I using them to my advantage? Was I focusing my energies more exclusively on Twitter and neglecting my Facebook Fan page? What was the meaning of me being on Quora (which is not tracked)? Was I just scattering my energy, without focus or purpose?
Klout and EmpireAvenue each track different platforms and they weigh each platform differently. A blog post here might mean more to one score than the other. The score is not the point. The meaning behind my actions is the point. The lazy might point to a SM score as a fast way of deciding whether a person is worth their time or money, but for those of us using Social Media on a regular basis, our scores are a great way to see where we need to expand our efforts, tie our communities together and create our whole image out of a series of disparate pieces. It's up to us to understand the meaning behind these apparent popularity rankings and make the changes that will grow our sphere of influence in the healthiest way.
Social Media scores can be more than just a popularity rank - it's up to us to use them as effective measurement tools to understand our impact in our networks.
(Thanks to DDALES for helping me to see the light!)
This is gamification of Social Media in a nutshell, and I was having a hard time really seeing the overall value, even as I was participating (and my "stock" is steadily rising, just so you don't assume that it's sour grapes! ^_^)
Klout is another overall scoring system. It tracks your interactions on certain Social Media platforms, just as EmpireAvenue does, but it presents the data in one overall score, breaking it out by amplification, reach, scope and the like. It does not provide you with separate scores for each of your platforms, just the one overall score.
It's very tempting - and very easy - to use the absolute scores as measurements of overall value. After all, on Klout I am a "Thought Leader." That should account for something, shouldn't it? But it was the separate scores on Empire Avenue that made me realize I was not really taking a holistic look at my use of Social Media. Sure, I had a Flickr and LinkedIn account, but was I using them to my advantage? Was I focusing my energies more exclusively on Twitter and neglecting my Facebook Fan page? What was the meaning of me being on Quora (which is not tracked)? Was I just scattering my energy, without focus or purpose?
Klout and EmpireAvenue each track different platforms and they weigh each platform differently. A blog post here might mean more to one score than the other. The score is not the point. The meaning behind my actions is the point. The lazy might point to a SM score as a fast way of deciding whether a person is worth their time or money, but for those of us using Social Media on a regular basis, our scores are a great way to see where we need to expand our efforts, tie our communities together and create our whole image out of a series of disparate pieces. It's up to us to understand the meaning behind these apparent popularity rankings and make the changes that will grow our sphere of influence in the healthiest way.
Social Media scores can be more than just a popularity rank - it's up to us to use them as effective measurement tools to understand our impact in our networks.
(Thanks to DDALES for helping me to see the light!)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Currencies of Social Media; Social Media as Currency
It's been said many times that the two currencies of business are Time and Money. In order to succeed at business, at least one of these two will have to be spent. This is true for successful use of Social Media for your business, as well. In reality, Your time is worth more than money. Money can be replaced, time spent can never be regained.
But, Social Media is changing as rapidly as the needs of the audience. There are more currencies than just Time or Money being used. Not all of these currencies have real-world applicability, but many do. Let's take a look at the currencies of the Social Media landscape right now.
Expertise - Sites such as Quora and LinkedIn and any of the spaces on which you communicate with your customers are built on the currency of Expertise. People have questions - you have answers. Good answers are rewarded with cognitive authority and future trust. Indications of this on LinkedIn are "Best Answers," on Quora your status rises physically. In your own spaces, you build a reputation for being someone to do business with. You gain the trust of your customers and, with the proper tools, they will share their feelings with their peers.
Expertise is a strong currency in Social Media, with rising real-world value.
Entertainment/Interest - Social Media platforms like Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal use the currency of Entertainment or Interest. What are you doing? Is it interesting? Can you provide links, photos or statuses that entertain your "friends?" The nature of entertainment on these sites is going to be set by the tone of the account - a political awareness account or charity will have a different tone, but the currency remains entertainment and intertest. Your friends and followers want you to keep them informed and aware. They want to know that you are paying attention to them.
Entertainment/Interest is an unstable currency, expect a lot of ups and downs as fads change needs.
Information/Communication - Platforms such as Twitter and your own Blog or website are based on the Twin currencies of Information and Communication. These two currencies are inextricably linked. Your really can't buy into one without the other. Once you begin Communicating with people, Information is shared between you. The value of that Information is for you to decide - conversation with a best friend about nothing over dinner may in fact have more value to you than an important meeting at work. Likewise any discussion about your business may be of high value to you, but less to the other person. Or, you may discuss an "irrelevant" topic that brings you and the other person more closely together. These currencies are critical, but personal.
Information/Communication are slow-growth currencies that gain in value steadily over time.
Physical Presence - Like Time, your actual physical presence is limited by the laws of physics. You only have one you. You can only be in one place at a time. Foursquare, Gowalla, GetGlue and review sites bank on the fact that YOU are the most valuable thing to you. Your physical presence, your efforts, your time are combined into one currency which they use to measure your worth to a business.
Physical Presence is a currency that is undervalued by traders. Is your time/self really worth a badge or a sticker?
Social Media Use - The newest currency in Social Media is...Social Media itself. Sites like Klout measure your worth relative to other Social Media users. With the current interest in gamification of Social Media, it's no surprise that a Social Media platform that transforms Social media use into virtual currency now exists. The problem with these is that for many people, there is a tendency to forget the use of Social Media for purposes of sharing information, communicating with people and being entertained, for the sake of amassing virtual status. Like the many individuals and businesses who spent a lot of time doing the same on Second Life, they may find that the use of Social Media itself as currency leaves them with very little value in the real world.
Social Media Use is a very weak currency.
For small- and medium-sized business owners, trading on their own reputation - when it provides real-life value - is a good use of precious resources. Avoid sacrificing real value for virtual currency and you'll keep your Social Media on track for growth.
But, Social Media is changing as rapidly as the needs of the audience. There are more currencies than just Time or Money being used. Not all of these currencies have real-world applicability, but many do. Let's take a look at the currencies of the Social Media landscape right now.
Expertise - Sites such as Quora and LinkedIn and any of the spaces on which you communicate with your customers are built on the currency of Expertise. People have questions - you have answers. Good answers are rewarded with cognitive authority and future trust. Indications of this on LinkedIn are "Best Answers," on Quora your status rises physically. In your own spaces, you build a reputation for being someone to do business with. You gain the trust of your customers and, with the proper tools, they will share their feelings with their peers.
Expertise is a strong currency in Social Media, with rising real-world value.
Entertainment/Interest - Social Media platforms like Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal use the currency of Entertainment or Interest. What are you doing? Is it interesting? Can you provide links, photos or statuses that entertain your "friends?" The nature of entertainment on these sites is going to be set by the tone of the account - a political awareness account or charity will have a different tone, but the currency remains entertainment and intertest. Your friends and followers want you to keep them informed and aware. They want to know that you are paying attention to them.
Entertainment/Interest is an unstable currency, expect a lot of ups and downs as fads change needs.
Information/Communication - Platforms such as Twitter and your own Blog or website are based on the Twin currencies of Information and Communication. These two currencies are inextricably linked. Your really can't buy into one without the other. Once you begin Communicating with people, Information is shared between you. The value of that Information is for you to decide - conversation with a best friend about nothing over dinner may in fact have more value to you than an important meeting at work. Likewise any discussion about your business may be of high value to you, but less to the other person. Or, you may discuss an "irrelevant" topic that brings you and the other person more closely together. These currencies are critical, but personal.
Information/Communication are slow-growth currencies that gain in value steadily over time.
Physical Presence - Like Time, your actual physical presence is limited by the laws of physics. You only have one you. You can only be in one place at a time. Foursquare, Gowalla, GetGlue and review sites bank on the fact that YOU are the most valuable thing to you. Your physical presence, your efforts, your time are combined into one currency which they use to measure your worth to a business.
Physical Presence is a currency that is undervalued by traders. Is your time/self really worth a badge or a sticker?
Social Media Use - The newest currency in Social Media is...Social Media itself. Sites like Klout measure your worth relative to other Social Media users. With the current interest in gamification of Social Media, it's no surprise that a Social Media platform that transforms Social media use into virtual currency now exists. The problem with these is that for many people, there is a tendency to forget the use of Social Media for purposes of sharing information, communicating with people and being entertained, for the sake of amassing virtual status. Like the many individuals and businesses who spent a lot of time doing the same on Second Life, they may find that the use of Social Media itself as currency leaves them with very little value in the real world.
Social Media Use is a very weak currency.
For small- and medium-sized business owners, trading on their own reputation - when it provides real-life value - is a good use of precious resources. Avoid sacrificing real value for virtual currency and you'll keep your Social Media on track for growth.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Pounding In Nails That Stick Out: Gamification and the Intersection of Social Media and Business
Good group dynamics is a miraculous and amazing thing. In the best of times, it appears that the entire group has had one idea simultaneously and each person can bring their skills to bear to make the project happen. It's as if one has somehow stepped into a Mickey Rooney movie and every kid is pitching in to put on the show.
Group dynamics online can work that way. A dedicated group of people can bring their skills to create just about anything, from an online community to a new paradigm of charity donations. But, often when you enter that community - especially if you are a latecomer - you find that group dynamics work according to unwritten rules, and often seem to adhere to the old Japanese adage of a harmonious society - pound in the nail that sticks out.
Think for a moment about the kinds of communities that build up on MMORPGS (Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games) like World of Warcraft. Individual achievement is recognized and rewarded, but groups can and do turn on their own members if one player exceeds the rest significantly. "We're all in this together, so don't get ahead of yourself" is the unwritten rule in group play. In real life, there are plenty of people who can't feel happy for those who succeed where they don't - the online world is no different. Of course it isn't - people don't change, only the technology does. So, where a nail sticks out in an online community, you have to expect that there will be people who want to pound it back in.
Which brings me to Quora.
I want to say upfront - I love Quora.
Quora is a Question and Answer forum that has a user base with high computer and business literacy, which sets it apart from more mainstream Q&A platforms like Yahoo Answers or LinkedIn Answers. Also unlike these two platforms, Quora maintains a relatively high standard for both questions and answers. Q&As are expected to be well-written, intelligent and conversation-forwarding.
Quora also has integrated several features that allow other users to upgrade, support and downgrade your status on the system.
Other users can (and do) suggest edits for your answers - and they can manipulate your standing within the platform by up- or down-voting your answers. Users can tag your questions to help promote them - or to indicate that you are asking the question based on an assumption that others might not have. For instance, if I ask you, "Which is the Best Chocolate EVER, Godiva or Lindt?" I am assuming that either one or the other is the best chocolate ever. A better question is, "What chocolate do you consider the best chocolate EVER?" (In case you care, the best chocolate ever, IMHO, is from a company called Li-Lac in NYC.)
In effect, Quora has turned the kind of information-sharing reference librarians have engaged in for ages into a game. You receive status for well-answered and well-asked questions. These virtual pats on the head manipulate your status on the platform in real time. A person with many up-votes automatically jumps to the top of a list of answers, based on past expertise and reputation.
For the best article I've read on participation on Quora, read this post, Welcome to Quora, Do Yourself a Favor & Slow Down by Lucretia Pruitt.
What I wanted to talk about today is what happens when you start to receive status on a community like Quora.
Quora is a republic. The leaders are Citizens #1, as indicated by laurels awarded by their fellow citizens in the form of up-votes. And, as happens in such groups, some citizens forget that the point of the Republic is to maintain a high quality of life for everyone...they become focused on pulling those top Citizens down from their pedestal. This is also part of human nature.
As soon as a person starts gaining status on Quora, they might find that they encounter more, rather than less, down-voting. Truly influential people are targeted by cliques of users determined to undermine their status. The higher one rises...the more effort there is to pound them back down as a reward for sticking out.
Google is about to launch +1 as a new feature. Consumers will be able to affect companies' status in search returns with this tool. In effect, this adds a more public leveling up or down to the sharing function of Facebook's ubiquitous "like" button. People can "share" your business with the world - they can also up-vote you. It doesn't take a genius to see that action committees/cliques/private armies will be formed to manipulate this.
Facebook, Google and Quora are hardly the only companies to "gamify" the intersection of Social Media and business. Foursquare and Crunchyroll offer achievement badges for participation, Get Glue offers stickers and t-shirts, even my other blog offers badges of honor. Gamification is here to stay. Gamification turns your business into a citizen in a republic.
Gamification of business and information means that gaming etiquette reigns.
Individual achievement is rewarded....but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep one eye looking behind you at all times.
Nails that stick out too far are liable to be pounded back in.
Group dynamics online can work that way. A dedicated group of people can bring their skills to create just about anything, from an online community to a new paradigm of charity donations. But, often when you enter that community - especially if you are a latecomer - you find that group dynamics work according to unwritten rules, and often seem to adhere to the old Japanese adage of a harmonious society - pound in the nail that sticks out.
Think for a moment about the kinds of communities that build up on MMORPGS (Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games) like World of Warcraft. Individual achievement is recognized and rewarded, but groups can and do turn on their own members if one player exceeds the rest significantly. "We're all in this together, so don't get ahead of yourself" is the unwritten rule in group play. In real life, there are plenty of people who can't feel happy for those who succeed where they don't - the online world is no different. Of course it isn't - people don't change, only the technology does. So, where a nail sticks out in an online community, you have to expect that there will be people who want to pound it back in.
Which brings me to Quora.
I want to say upfront - I love Quora.
Quora is a Question and Answer forum that has a user base with high computer and business literacy, which sets it apart from more mainstream Q&A platforms like Yahoo Answers or LinkedIn Answers. Also unlike these two platforms, Quora maintains a relatively high standard for both questions and answers. Q&As are expected to be well-written, intelligent and conversation-forwarding.
Quora also has integrated several features that allow other users to upgrade, support and downgrade your status on the system.
Other users can (and do) suggest edits for your answers - and they can manipulate your standing within the platform by up- or down-voting your answers. Users can tag your questions to help promote them - or to indicate that you are asking the question based on an assumption that others might not have. For instance, if I ask you, "Which is the Best Chocolate EVER, Godiva or Lindt?" I am assuming that either one or the other is the best chocolate ever. A better question is, "What chocolate do you consider the best chocolate EVER?" (In case you care, the best chocolate ever, IMHO, is from a company called Li-Lac in NYC.)
In effect, Quora has turned the kind of information-sharing reference librarians have engaged in for ages into a game. You receive status for well-answered and well-asked questions. These virtual pats on the head manipulate your status on the platform in real time. A person with many up-votes automatically jumps to the top of a list of answers, based on past expertise and reputation.
For the best article I've read on participation on Quora, read this post, Welcome to Quora, Do Yourself a Favor & Slow Down by Lucretia Pruitt.
What I wanted to talk about today is what happens when you start to receive status on a community like Quora.
Quora is a republic. The leaders are Citizens #1, as indicated by laurels awarded by their fellow citizens in the form of up-votes. And, as happens in such groups, some citizens forget that the point of the Republic is to maintain a high quality of life for everyone...they become focused on pulling those top Citizens down from their pedestal. This is also part of human nature.
As soon as a person starts gaining status on Quora, they might find that they encounter more, rather than less, down-voting. Truly influential people are targeted by cliques of users determined to undermine their status. The higher one rises...the more effort there is to pound them back down as a reward for sticking out.
Google is about to launch +1 as a new feature. Consumers will be able to affect companies' status in search returns with this tool. In effect, this adds a more public leveling up or down to the sharing function of Facebook's ubiquitous "like" button. People can "share" your business with the world - they can also up-vote you. It doesn't take a genius to see that action committees/cliques/private armies will be formed to manipulate this.
Facebook, Google and Quora are hardly the only companies to "gamify" the intersection of Social Media and business. Foursquare and Crunchyroll offer achievement badges for participation, Get Glue offers stickers and t-shirts, even my other blog offers badges of honor. Gamification is here to stay. Gamification turns your business into a citizen in a republic.
Gamification of business and information means that gaming etiquette reigns.
Individual achievement is rewarded....but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep one eye looking behind you at all times.
Nails that stick out too far are liable to be pounded back in.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Corporate Social Media Policy: Much More Than "Be Authentic"
Now that more companies are getting involved with Social Media, there is a need for Corporate Policies that address the internal and external landscape of Social Media use. It's one thing to represent your business online - it's entirely another when your employees are representing it for you.
Most available guidelines, like this free article from Shift Communications, Corporate Social Media Policy: Top 10 Guidelines, address the main points of using Social Media - be authentic, relevant and real.
But any business that has more than two layers of management is going to have additional needs for a policy on Social Media use. Especially if that company is in an externally regulated field like finance or healthcare.
So, after the Top 10 Guidelines, what does a Corporate Policy have to address?
Internal Vs External Social Media
Internal social media are blogs, forums, and wikis located on the company intranet or located externally, but restricted to members of the company, like Ning or Yammer groups. External corporate Social Media can be blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or other profiles for corporate communications to the public.
Separate these two concepts and determine who is authorized to use which - and for what purposes. The company intranet blog, discussion group or wiki might be available to anyone, to facilitate sharing of ideas and experiences. Only certain people should have access to externally facing Social Media. These people should receive clear direction on what those media are to be used for, and how they are to be used. For instance, your policy might state plainly deciding that the Corporate Twitter account is not responsible for customer service, but the separately manned Company_Cares Twitter account is.
Employee use of Internal Social Media may be monitored - this also needs to be stated in your policy. And, if that monitoring will go beyond "appropriate use" to "we're including this info at your next performance review," that also needs to be made clear so employees aren't blindsided.
Employee Identification
If your Corporate Policy allows employees to represent your company, the policy should address how employees should identify and when they NEED to identify as an employee during use of Social Media.
For instance, a person responding to a question that is well within their scope might be told to identify with a hashtag for Twitter. A great example of this was #IworkatNovartis, which was being used by Novartis employees who responded to questions through Social Media.
Even in personal use of Social Media, an employee of your company might need to identify, so that there are no questions of inappropriate information sharing.
External Regulation
In heavily regulated industries, all communications by employees can be considered discoverable. This includes "private" communication, like email. Your corporate policy needs to state what external regulatory bodies might be watching and what employees can and cannot discuss on official and private use of Social Media. This should be in addition to any other specific training your company provides about internal and external communication and document retention.
Lose the "Least You Can Do" Mentality
Corporate Policies need to also go beyond the "least you can do to be safe" mentality and ask employees to consistently present the best, most responsive, most authentic face possible to the public. Covering the company's ass should not be the main focus of Social Media or Social Media policy.
Allowing each employee the freedom to engage in Social Media on behalf of the company and providing clear guidelines to let them know what is an effective and meaningful use of Social Media will give your company many touchpoints to your audience and your market. With a well-written policy, relevant, authentic and real is well within your scope.
Most available guidelines, like this free article from Shift Communications, Corporate Social Media Policy: Top 10 Guidelines, address the main points of using Social Media - be authentic, relevant and real.
But any business that has more than two layers of management is going to have additional needs for a policy on Social Media use. Especially if that company is in an externally regulated field like finance or healthcare.
So, after the Top 10 Guidelines, what does a Corporate Policy have to address?
Internal Vs External Social Media
Internal social media are blogs, forums, and wikis located on the company intranet or located externally, but restricted to members of the company, like Ning or Yammer groups. External corporate Social Media can be blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or other profiles for corporate communications to the public.
Separate these two concepts and determine who is authorized to use which - and for what purposes. The company intranet blog, discussion group or wiki might be available to anyone, to facilitate sharing of ideas and experiences. Only certain people should have access to externally facing Social Media. These people should receive clear direction on what those media are to be used for, and how they are to be used. For instance, your policy might state plainly deciding that the Corporate Twitter account is not responsible for customer service, but the separately manned Company_Cares Twitter account is.
Employee use of Internal Social Media may be monitored - this also needs to be stated in your policy. And, if that monitoring will go beyond "appropriate use" to "we're including this info at your next performance review," that also needs to be made clear so employees aren't blindsided.
Employee Identification
If your Corporate Policy allows employees to represent your company, the policy should address how employees should identify and when they NEED to identify as an employee during use of Social Media.
For instance, a person responding to a question that is well within their scope might be told to identify with a hashtag for Twitter. A great example of this was #IworkatNovartis, which was being used by Novartis employees who responded to questions through Social Media.
Even in personal use of Social Media, an employee of your company might need to identify, so that there are no questions of inappropriate information sharing.
External Regulation
In heavily regulated industries, all communications by employees can be considered discoverable. This includes "private" communication, like email. Your corporate policy needs to state what external regulatory bodies might be watching and what employees can and cannot discuss on official and private use of Social Media. This should be in addition to any other specific training your company provides about internal and external communication and document retention.
Lose the "Least You Can Do" Mentality
Corporate Policies need to also go beyond the "least you can do to be safe" mentality and ask employees to consistently present the best, most responsive, most authentic face possible to the public. Covering the company's ass should not be the main focus of Social Media or Social Media policy.
Allowing each employee the freedom to engage in Social Media on behalf of the company and providing clear guidelines to let them know what is an effective and meaningful use of Social Media will give your company many touchpoints to your audience and your market. With a well-written policy, relevant, authentic and real is well within your scope.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Twitter is not Facebook is not Email is not FourSquare
Remember that birthday? You had friends over for a party, but your parents also invited a few family members, with the result that grandma told that story about you to your school friends and the next day you had the nickname "Monkey Boy?" I'm joking of course. Today we're talking about the awkwardness that occurs when you mix and match your networks.
Whether you are a company trying to grasp how to use Social Media, or you are an individual balancing you time with friends, colleagues and clients, it's important to remember that networks often don't (and shouldn't) mix.
Fellow blogger Sean Gaffney and I were discussing a company we both follow. This was on a day when the company had some fairly big news. They had clearly sent out press releases, because industry news sites were buzzing. But on Twitter? The last post had been almost a week ago, and it was one of those "hey, which of our products do you like best?" kind of tweets.
Which prompted Sean to comment, "Yes, Press releases are good, but really, Twitter is not meant to be composed of your 'buddies' the way Facebook is. You don't friend a company to be their pal. Or if you do, you aren't worth it."
Twitter is not Facebook. Nor is Facebook a Press Release. LinkedIn is not your Mailing List, Foursquare is personal, not public.
Here's a few ways companies mis-use the most popular Social Networking platforms:
Twitter - Twitter is not, as Sean points out, the same as a press release, nor is it a bulletin board for your press releases. Twitter is a place where people who follow you expect a mix of news, conversation, customer service and insight. The best Twitter accounts supply all this and mix in a good dollop of contests and fun things on top. Making everything you say pithy and retweetable may not be possible, but keeping yourself open for communications is. Don't become the company ticker, unless you don't care about the people who take time to follow you on Twitter.
Facebook - I've said it before, Facebook is easy. Too easy. Facebook gives you a false sense of engagement when your "Fans" have only to click a button to show how much they "like" you, your news, your newest promotional campaign or product. Even if they are your friends, are you really reaching folks on Facebook? "Likes" are the least effective way to tell. Do your fans/friends respond when you post - if not many, there's a good chance that a large number of those "fans" have hidden your posts. Do they see your page as a place to hold a conversation, or jump in with a comment? Or is it all about you, you, you? Facebook can become a mirror filled with nothing but yourself quite easily. Be careful that you're not adding to the delusion of popularity.
Email - Email is a privileged position. You have personal access to your audience. You have time and space to attract their interest. This is your best opportunity to make your point. How many emails do you delete a day? Why? Think about how many ways email marketing fails to be relevant to you. When you have a chance to send that message - make it count.
FourSquare - Publicly posting Foursquare check-ins is the equivalent of having an intimate conversation with a romantic partner in public. It's all well and good for you and your customer, but those of us who remain uninvolved in that relationship are left feeling awkward, maybe embarrassed. Nuzzling your partner in public is not necessarily the right way to show what a great lover you are and having people check in with you for freebies and discounts doesn't really express how great you are to do business with.
LinkedIn - LinkedIn was designed as a professional networking space. Unless your business is truly Business to Business, the chances of you finding your audience, much less your market, on LinkedIn is small. These are your peers, perhaps your vendors or contractors - not your audience. Treat the people there as you might coworkers, or prospective clients. But don't assume that every Answer is an open invitation for a pitch.
Each platform you choose is different - each network you build is different. It's not impossible to mix and match, but being aware when you're doing so. Treating your Facebook Fans like they are your email list, or your Twitter followers like they are your "Fans," is likely to cause conflict and defection.
Enjoy time with your relatives and enjoy time with your friends, but think carefully before you invite them to the same party.
Whether you are a company trying to grasp how to use Social Media, or you are an individual balancing you time with friends, colleagues and clients, it's important to remember that networks often don't (and shouldn't) mix.
Fellow blogger Sean Gaffney and I were discussing a company we both follow. This was on a day when the company had some fairly big news. They had clearly sent out press releases, because industry news sites were buzzing. But on Twitter? The last post had been almost a week ago, and it was one of those "hey, which of our products do you like best?" kind of tweets.
Which prompted Sean to comment, "Yes, Press releases are good, but really, Twitter is not meant to be composed of your 'buddies' the way Facebook is. You don't friend a company to be their pal. Or if you do, you aren't worth it."
Twitter is not Facebook. Nor is Facebook a Press Release. LinkedIn is not your Mailing List, Foursquare is personal, not public.
Here's a few ways companies mis-use the most popular Social Networking platforms:
Twitter - Twitter is not, as Sean points out, the same as a press release, nor is it a bulletin board for your press releases. Twitter is a place where people who follow you expect a mix of news, conversation, customer service and insight. The best Twitter accounts supply all this and mix in a good dollop of contests and fun things on top. Making everything you say pithy and retweetable may not be possible, but keeping yourself open for communications is. Don't become the company ticker, unless you don't care about the people who take time to follow you on Twitter.
Facebook - I've said it before, Facebook is easy. Too easy. Facebook gives you a false sense of engagement when your "Fans" have only to click a button to show how much they "like" you, your news, your newest promotional campaign or product. Even if they are your friends, are you really reaching folks on Facebook? "Likes" are the least effective way to tell. Do your fans/friends respond when you post - if not many, there's a good chance that a large number of those "fans" have hidden your posts. Do they see your page as a place to hold a conversation, or jump in with a comment? Or is it all about you, you, you? Facebook can become a mirror filled with nothing but yourself quite easily. Be careful that you're not adding to the delusion of popularity.
Email - Email is a privileged position. You have personal access to your audience. You have time and space to attract their interest. This is your best opportunity to make your point. How many emails do you delete a day? Why? Think about how many ways email marketing fails to be relevant to you. When you have a chance to send that message - make it count.
FourSquare - Publicly posting Foursquare check-ins is the equivalent of having an intimate conversation with a romantic partner in public. It's all well and good for you and your customer, but those of us who remain uninvolved in that relationship are left feeling awkward, maybe embarrassed. Nuzzling your partner in public is not necessarily the right way to show what a great lover you are and having people check in with you for freebies and discounts doesn't really express how great you are to do business with.
LinkedIn - LinkedIn was designed as a professional networking space. Unless your business is truly Business to Business, the chances of you finding your audience, much less your market, on LinkedIn is small. These are your peers, perhaps your vendors or contractors - not your audience. Treat the people there as you might coworkers, or prospective clients. But don't assume that every Answer is an open invitation for a pitch.
Each platform you choose is different - each network you build is different. It's not impossible to mix and match, but being aware when you're doing so. Treating your Facebook Fans like they are your email list, or your Twitter followers like they are your "Fans," is likely to cause conflict and defection.
Enjoy time with your relatives and enjoy time with your friends, but think carefully before you invite them to the same party.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Social Will Template - In Case of Emergency
Recently, an online acquaintance of mine died suddenly. It occurred to me at that time, that those of us who have multiple online presences haven't yet dealt with what to do with them when we pass away.
So, I've created a template for what I'm referring to as a "Social Will" - a document that will designate a representative to close, delete, or leave active all your social media and online profiles. It's not yet a legal document, but it's a REALLY good idea to have someone who can tell your online acquaintances what happened and close/delete accounts you'd rather not have lingering around.
Here's the bare bones template for a Social Will - customize it as you like. I hope it starts a trend of making us consider our online lives as significant a part of ourselves as our real world lives.
****
Social Will
I, (your name) being of sound mind and body, on (date), do hereby make my wishes known for the disposition of my online profiles in the case of my death.
Contacts
In case of emergency that includes hospitalization or death, I ask that my legal representatives or survivors please contact the following people and ask them to spread the word to their respective communities (specify communities if you need/want)
Primary Contact Name
email:
phone:
other contact info
Secondary Contact Name:
email:
phone:
other contact info
Designation of Social Will Executor and Duties:
I hereby name (contact) my Social Will executor and ask that s/he contact the following sites to take the actions I have outlined.
Profiles
Here are a list of my online profiles and what I wish for each if I am deceased:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
(repeat as necessary)
Your Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
Witness 1
Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
Witness 2
Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
So, I've created a template for what I'm referring to as a "Social Will" - a document that will designate a representative to close, delete, or leave active all your social media and online profiles. It's not yet a legal document, but it's a REALLY good idea to have someone who can tell your online acquaintances what happened and close/delete accounts you'd rather not have lingering around.
Here's the bare bones template for a Social Will - customize it as you like. I hope it starts a trend of making us consider our online lives as significant a part of ourselves as our real world lives.
****
Social Will
I, (your name) being of sound mind and body, on (date), do hereby make my wishes known for the disposition of my online profiles in the case of my death.
Contacts
In case of emergency that includes hospitalization or death, I ask that my legal representatives or survivors please contact the following people and ask them to spread the word to their respective communities (specify communities if you need/want)
Primary Contact Name
email:
phone:
other contact info
Secondary Contact Name:
email:
phone:
other contact info
Designation of Social Will Executor and Duties:
I hereby name (contact) my Social Will executor and ask that s/he contact the following sites to take the actions I have outlined.
Profiles
Here are a list of my online profiles and what I wish for each if I am deceased:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
Site Name
Your Profile Name - Action you chose for profile (Close, Delete, Leave Open)
User name:
Password:
(repeat as necessary)
Your Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
Witness 1
Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
Witness 2
Name
______________________________
Signature (Date)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Google Buzz, Social Media Spork
I gotta be honest here - I eat my spaghetti and meatballs on separate plates. I don't like it when people dribble their Twitter conversations into my Facebook Feed. I won't buy my cable, computer and phone access from one company. And I don't like Sporks.
There are people who want one tool to do everything. They carry around multipurpose tools the size of a loaf of bread and are all chuffed when that 5/8" sprocket is just what is needed. Those people are always looking to automate their way to Social Media fame, because hey, what does it matter that their audience is composed of folks who like three different things about their business - it's all about their convenience.
Google wants to be your only tool. It's not enough to offer excellent search and email. No, they know better than you that you want *one* place that will do everything.
Only...I don't. Google's offering me a spork when I want a spoon, a fork and a knife. Specialized tools for specialized jobs. Perhaps this comes from my quarter century working as a researcher. You don't look up pipeline data on a humanities database. You use the right tool for the job.
If you want it all under one roof, clearly, Google's got you covered. But for those of us who prefer to talk to different networks differently, or use specialized tools that are good for what they are supposed to be used for...well, let's just say that Bing's looking better and better these days to me.
Dear Google, congratulations on your new Spork. I hope it goes better than Wave.
There are people who want one tool to do everything. They carry around multipurpose tools the size of a loaf of bread and are all chuffed when that 5/8" sprocket is just what is needed. Those people are always looking to automate their way to Social Media fame, because hey, what does it matter that their audience is composed of folks who like three different things about their business - it's all about their convenience.
Google wants to be your only tool. It's not enough to offer excellent search and email. No, they know better than you that you want *one* place that will do everything.
Only...I don't. Google's offering me a spork when I want a spoon, a fork and a knife. Specialized tools for specialized jobs. Perhaps this comes from my quarter century working as a researcher. You don't look up pipeline data on a humanities database. You use the right tool for the job.
If you want it all under one roof, clearly, Google's got you covered. But for those of us who prefer to talk to different networks differently, or use specialized tools that are good for what they are supposed to be used for...well, let's just say that Bing's looking better and better these days to me.
Dear Google, congratulations on your new Spork. I hope it goes better than Wave.
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