Social Media

Influencer. It’s almost become a buzzword similar to “guru” or “ninja.” But let’s not forget that the true meaning of “influencer,” isn’t a title, but rather someone that makes an impact on the digital space.

So what makes up an influencer? Users have a lot to do with it.

1. There’s no mathematical equation for influence, but if you take a look at the number of followers and those who they are following, they can tell you something. Those people with a high number of followers, but a low number for people they are following generally shows they have something important and engaging to say – and people take them seriously.
2. Regular updates about the topic they are an influencer of shows that they are legit. However, make sure you’re taking a look at the dates of content they are posting. Are they from previous months, years, etc? Many people time their posts to automatically populate on social media sites. When they run out of content, they start circulating old posts. This doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re talking about, but it could mean they aren’t as embedded in the topic as you think.
3. What they update is also very important. If the person claiming to be an influencer rarely posts any updates with unique content, take a look at their work and see if they are really just made up of follow-bots. Also note, that little term “unique content.” If it’s pointless cat articles found on Buzzfeed, and they aren’t specializing on what makes us nostalgic for the ‘90s, maybe question if they are really what they claim to be.
4. Credibility can be found in a number of ways: user generated praise, support and retweets from other thought leaders or influencers, or publication on news sites and books commenting on their specialty.
5. Twitter verification. That little blue check mark gives you an idea of whether the person is legitimate or not. Twitter does the influencer check for you, so if they have it, no need to check out steps 1-4.

If someone claims to be an influencer, they probably are a little behind the times. Good questions to ask yourself are: Do I care about what they are sharing? Is their content relevant and interesting?

If yes to both, stick around and feel free to be influenced.

Ten years ago, MySpace was founded and social media began taking over the web. What started off as a simple profile adding “friends” into your network, turned into a networking phenomenon that is growing exponentially a decade later.

How is social media changing your world?

1. Brands rely on consumers rather than advertising. You can share your likes and dislikes about brands, companies, restaurants, etc. and influence consumers on where to spend their money. Yelp is one of the most popular social media applications and user reviews, rather than advertising, bring in consumers.
2. Users can help you solve a problem. What do you do when your car needs new brakes? Ask your Twitter
   
   followers who is the best mechanic in your area? This is what we used to use the phonebook for: figuring out what company or person can solve our problems.
3. We learn news as it happens. Instead of waiting for a morning paper or the evening news, we are finding out what’s happening when it happens. Whether the death of a celebrity or the presidential election, we are kept up-to-date with what’s happening in our world. When I need my news, I go to Twitter or Facebook to get it.
4. Sharing ideas (and other things). Social media is all about sharing; whether it’s what you’re creating or what you’re eating, people will share it with the world. When was the last time you told someone what the color of your drink was? Oh yeah, last time you Instagrammed it.
5. We can reach out to anyone. It’s completely possible to have conversations with your favorite celebrities or CEOs. Thought leaders have hit the social media ground running and are often replying or answering inquiries from fans and followers. These people are no longer inaccessible. You can reach out to them as easy as sending a tweet.
6. We are always learning from each other. Even though there is plenty of fluff on the internet (really, how many more pictures of your cat do I need to see?) there is also a vast pool of knowledge we can glean from not only friends, but thought leaders and influencers as well. Sites like creativeLIVE that take online education and make it social are just one of the many ways people can learn and share new content and ideas.

What have you learned from social media? How has it affected your life or your traditional networking or media consumption?

In October 2012, Twitter acquired the video sharing application Vine, and the short, six-second videos are becoming a popular way to share content on social media.

The iOS application (not yet on Android) lets iPhone and iPad users to record and embed videos to Twitter and share on other social media sites. Users can check out the best videos on the app by looking at the Editor’s Picks (generally awesome) and what’s Popular Now. But with only six seconds to showcase the content, what’s the best way to use Vine?

– Hashtag your videos to show up in “Explore.” When you login to Vine, there is an option to explore other videos submitted by users. Collections like “#favthings,” “#vineportraits,” and “#pets,” are searchable categorized by their tags, but users can search tags, much like Twitter, to find out what’s popular.

– Make sure you don’t mind sharing with the world. As there is no private option for Vine videos, they are viewable by anyone that has the Vine app, or views them on Facebook and Twitter.

– Most people take multiple shots by pressing on the screen to record. However, it’s possible to record all six seconds in one shot by swiping across the screen.

–  Embedding videos isn’t just limited to Twitter. Much like YouTube videos, you can pop your Vine into an iFrame just about anywhere. Check out a tutorial here.

– Some of the coolest videos are ones that use Vine for stop-motion animation. Use Vine to take quick, still videos and use it to tell a story. Some of the best ones use LEGO bricks – watch them here.

I’d love to see how you’re using Vine! Tweet me a video and I’ll post the best ones on my blog.

I sucked at blogging for the past few months. There I said it. I have been so overwhelmed with writing a book and working with clients that I just let it slide. In addition, I found myself tweeting my thoughts, where I should have blogged them. One of those thoughts was how companies can use social media in their B2B efforts to improve communication. So, I took those thoughts and put them into list form, because people like lists. Comments suggest that my advice on how to find a unified communications provider that works for your business might have been helpful. So, I will try and dedicate more time in the future in order to offer further insight!

– Share lots of photos, and ask your fans to share photos on your different networks. Facebook’s photos are some of the most powerful tools out there.

-Be strategic and pay attention to signal vs. noise. There is nothing worse to a consumer than having businesses shout at them.

-Create content that can go mainstream (outside your industry bubble) and monitor which posts attract the most “Likes” and feedback.

-Share your industry’s articles and blog posts on your social networks. Like, if your company is relocating to another part of the country or even abroad, you can share that information on social media. These roles usually result in redundancies. As a result, you could also share your thoughts on the subject of your company norms. You can even share a guide to making redundancies in the form of blog posts for those who don’t know about such things.

-Write your updates/posts to have a call to action – give the user something to do after they are finished reading. Ask questions that do not have a simple answer like “Yes” or “No.”

-Use tagging strategically when you can. Try to engage businesses by their location and even language as well. Oh and don’t forget the mobile users.

-Make sure to let your company show its human side and show the diversity and uniqueness of your team.

-Share exclusive and simple behind-the-scenes information.

-Make it easy to share your calls to action and offer incentives.

-Note your post frequency and timing. Find out what time they do best.

-Know your audience well, and when you make a mistake, quickly own up, do right by your audience and fix the problem.

-Integrate your website broadly with Facebook Connect.

-Find the resources to respond to your fans’ questions and inquiries.

-Make sure to hold real-world events.

-Try to always respond to comments. Yes, even the negative ones.

-Find synergy with other organizations and entities, and then work together to promote each other’s content so that everyone benefits.

What are some of tips and tricks you use in your B2B marketing?

Last week, I was one of the lucky few to have the new Facebook Messaging/email system feature activated on my profile. And before you ask — No, I do not have any invites to give away. It came with only 2 and somehow they got wrangled away from me already. This will be a very slow roll out to Facebook’s 550 million+ users, so plan on waiting.

How do you know it’s activated? First, an alert will show up on the left hand sign of your screen. It will be a box letting you know about this new feature (wish I had grabbed a screenshot). It’s actually fairly easy to tell after the alert is gone though. By going into the Messages area like normal, you  can now see at the top that you  have a Facebook email address with a green check mark next to it. All systems go so far.

Your email address is your personalized profile url. My profile url is http://www.facebook.com/davepeck, so my email is davepeck@facebook.com. If you forget, go back to the Messages screen, and its still up there for you to review.

That, however, is the end of the any thing remotely user-friendly with this system.

I tested out a couple of emails both outbound and inbound and this is what I’ve come up with so far: It’s not a Gmail killer. Not yet anyway.

There’s still quite a bit that needs to be done before this can actually resemble an email system. So, okay, wow I now I have a facebook email address, but if Facebook is going to make an email system shouldn’t it actually have some of the features that an email system has?

Okay, okay, I know…it’s Facebook Messaging. But whatever – they’ve given me an email address, so now I expect that it comes with a few key email features.

What it does have

• A cool @Facebook.com address
• Ability to add attachment
• Ability to sync attachments with Microsoft

Missing Feature #1 – No inbox

No, seriously, there’s no inbox. Incoming emails don’t even get placed in the main Messages folder. You have to first go to Messages, then go to “Other.” Other.

Missing Feature #2 – No threading

What’s threading? It’s keeping all related messages together in the same conversation. In general email, a message and a response typically will stay in the same place somewhere in the mailbox. In general email, you may have a copy in your Sent Mail folder, and then the new response in your Inbox. However, that new response will usually show the sent message being replied to somewhere else in that email (usually below the response). Not so in Facebook Messaging. When an email is sent to a Facebook address, that message will show up in the “Other” box. When a response is created to that initial email, the response is placed in the Messages folder and doesn’t reference the original email at all. What makes things worse is that when the response does show up in Messages, it gets clustered with any actual internal Facebook messages that you may have had with that person even if unrelated in content.

Missing Feature #3 – No contact folder

The key to Facebook Messaging is that its supposed to keep users inside of Facebook, utilizing all of Facebook’s feature. According to Facebook, if you’re emailing with someone, then you should be connected to them because Facebook is all about connecting with the people you know.

This is really apparent in the glaring absence of a contact folder.

With nowhere to store email addresses and contact information for people, the only way to really remember how to get ahold of someone through Facebook (whether sending a Facebook email or traditional message) is to do the legacy process…start typing in a name or email address and letting Facebook automatically populate who you’re connected to already. If you’re not already connected, then it lets you continue to write the email address and send your email. However, it’s not going to let you store that email address. Essentially, Facebook is saying, “Hey Facebook User A, you can send this email to Person B but since they are not on Facebook or using this email address on Facebook, we’re not going to let you store their contact information. Why don’t you connect with them through Facebook instead so that we can continue to help you build and maintain your network?”

Bottom Line

Facebook is trying to get the message out that the network can be used for more than just the posting of family pictures or a night out on the town. By adopting all of Facebook’s features, it can be easily used for the development of both a personal and professional network. Giving all users a Facebook email address will help for people to be able to easily figure out where to send emails, but a user can’t just use a Facebook email and expect it to work out of the box. The user needs to actively network with both personal and professional connections, utilize Facebook Lists to separate different demographics and then maximize privacy settings so that user updates are targeted to the correct people. Facebook is very much a system that needs to used as a whole and not piece-meal — by maintaining that this new system is “Facebook Messaging” and not “email,” the company is reinforcing this need.

Let’s think about why people are so into social networking sites, or to ask a better question why are people into social activities at all? They’re doing two things. They are expanding the group of people they know, and they are…drumroll please… having fun! No one wants to go to an event to be bored. They can do that at home. They go somewhere to have fun. Social networking sites are no different.

Even Linkedin, the so-called Professional networking site, is recognizing the need for more entertainment value with its features. They’re now allowing blog and Twitter feeds to connect your other social media profiles and they’re expanding their group discussion platforms for more interaction. Will Linkedin ever have games like Farmville? Doubtful. Maybe we’ll see a cubicle puzzle or a flash paper toss game (doubtful), but for the most part they keep it pretty professional, and rightfully so.

My point is most people, the target audience of marketers, aren’t on these websites to be marketed to. Most people use social networking as a means of escape. They frequent these sites to sit back and let their brain rest for a few minutes. But in the process they are still that same person they are at work and they still have the same interests.  Maybe they’ll stumble across some cleverly designed marketing and might take a produce or service for a ride.

So here’s how to get past that “I don’t want to buy your stuff” wall that most people on social media sites put up.

Think of your social media activity like a party, and then compare that to how you handle your social media marketing right now. Most marketers just throw out their links every time they post a tweet, status update, group discussion topic, video, etc. How would this come across at a party?

Imagine someone just running around screaming at people about themselves and the products they sell. How would that come across? Would anyone want to talk to that person? Probably not. They’d get snubbed.

Now think of how an event networking veteran does their thing at parties and networking events. What does this person do to “work the room?” They strike up conversations. They talk to several different people. They share their stories. They offer assistance. They hand out freebies. THEN, after a relationship has been established, they do their elevator speech about what it is they do and how they can help. Or they ask their prospect to take the next step in their sales funnel. Sign up for my blog, newsletter, free trial, whatever.

Make sense? Are you starting to get the picture?

The same thing goes for social media marketing. The psychology of people is no different online than it is offline. On social media platforms make connections through DMs, wall posts, @mentions, group discussions, fan page messaging, etc. Hand out gifts that you know people want through these same distribution channels. Grow relationships this way before you start selling and you’ll be much more effective.

On top of getting more leads, you’ll also probably make some friends along the way who you can then leverage to help you get the word out about future deals, and vice versa. You’ll grow a partner network online, which can be a very powerful thing.

So take a step back and start viewing your social media marketing like a party. Even though some people use social media for marketing and marketing only, be smart about it. No one wants to talk to the person who is obviously just there to peddle their wares.

by Cody B Wheeler of cbwheeler.com
@CodyBWheeler

So you want to get traffic to your website you say? You want to be an online rockstar?  You want to build your brand online? You want to be the next Ijustine or Chris Brogan?

Well let me tell you a secret.. its easy. You just need to use the right tools and tricks. Let me share with you some of the free, simple and easy ways to do it. These are things I try to do whenever possible.  I will do this in list form, as people like lists!

-Setup a Flick Account and post photos of things your doing.

-Post to your Youtube account

-Setup a Linkedin account and write a bio about who you are and what you are doing.

-Setup a Twitter Account and network with people in your industry/field, as well as those looking for information on it.

-Use Google Reader and share items

-Leave comments on others blogs. How else are you going to become part of a community?

-Create a personal website to be your single point of resource. Have all these are social networking sites link to it.

-Be Honest when your wrong. Trust me, I make mistakes a lot, when they are pointed out to me, I share this on my networks

-Thank people in your community when they Retweet, Share, Repost, Pass on, Plurk, etc something you have said or created

-Make your personal website easy to use and easy to pass the information on.. i.e install widgets like Tweetmeme, Facebook Like, and Sharethis

-Do you know who your competition is? What they are doing? Go check them out

-Have a Facebook Fanpage

-Use the same username/handle everywhere you can. Grab it whenever a new social networking site comes up

-Have a web presence everywhere you can.

-Use a  site like Ping.fm to post to multiple sites

-Yes you should have a page on MySpace.. it can not hurt.

-Have you looked at FourSquare and Gowalla to find a way to use them? Geolocation is hot right now!

-Make sure to add your website to Google, Yahoo and Bing.  It makes it easier for people to find you.

-Install Google Analytics.

-Use Google Analytics…see how people are finding your site. What are the keywords they are using?

-Write updates/posts that are relevant to your brand, using the keywords you to associate with your brand.

-Google yourself..see what comes up in search. An ego search can be a good thing sometimes.

-Submit your site to Technorati

-Submit your posts to Stumbleupon

-Yes people still use Digg.. again it can not hurt

-Customize your Twitter background to stand out

-Do not always “Shout Out” what you are doing. It is called “Social Networking” be social. Interact with others, ask questions, and comment back. Do not just talk about yourself.. you will fail.

-Go to Meetups, Tweetups, conferences, mixers..whatever you want to call them. All of the above is great, but you can not beat real life face time! Check out sites like Meetup and Upcoming for events

These are just some off the top of my head.. what are some of your tips and tricks?

Shopping online, in the scheme of things, it is a pretty new experience.   Most people prefer to go to the store, walk the aisles and find what they are looking for. They want to be able to touch, feel and play with what they are about to buy. Not me, I am happy to just go to my computer and find what I am looking for using my web browser.

This week my family needed a new dishwasher and my wife and I could not find time to make it out to get one.  So, we decided to do the whole thing online with Sears. I have to say, Sears could not have made it any easier. They seem to have the perfect mix of traditional and online interactions.  Let me share with you some of the “High Points & Low Points” of dealing with Sears. I will do it in list form, as people like lists!

– When placing the order online with Sears I was able to pay a percent with Paypal, Gift Cards, a coupon and debit card. Yes I paid in one transaction with 4 different payments combined!

– I had a question, I clicked on the “Live Chat” and had someone answer a question about the item.

– There was a rebate available for the dishwasher. Their systems flagged it for me. Then after the purchase they sent me an email that had a hyperlink to it. I was able to complete the form, print and mail it all within minutes.

-I never got a confirmation call about when the dishwasher was going to be delivered. I decided to stay home to wait. Being the calm cool person I am I tweeted:

Sears quickly replied:

Then I posted:

I must say.. I was impressed. They responded to my tweet within 10 minutes and I got a calls in the same amount of time! Amazing, great save! They did great!

– The dishwasher was installed last night and it does not fit. Story of my life.  I called Sears this morning and alerted them to the issue.  An employee named Chris stayed on the phone with my wife and I for about 20 minutes and helped us find one that fit. He was great. After placing the order I got another call from Edwin. He stated his goal was to make sure everything is handled properly. He will be the single point of contact for the removal of the first dishwasher and the replacement of second dishwasher! He gave me his direct line, his hours, etc.

-Then I go a direct message via Twitter from @MySears…it said:

..hmmmm an automated DM.. not good.

As of this post, I am waiting for the second  dishwasher, Ill let you know how the rest of it goes.

Overall, I have to say my experience with Sears has been really good.  I really like the fact they have found a good mix of using tools like Paypal, Twitter, emails and  traditional live person customer service.

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I’m a bad blogger

There I said it, I will say it again. I am a bad blogger.

It has been several weeks since I have posted a new update.  Excuses? Sure I have lots. I have been working on several projects like:

–Touching Home

This amazing movie based on the true story of Logan & Noah Miller, staring Ed Harris opens this Friday!

Yes, I just did a plug. I am allowed to do that once in a while.

Im going to get back on track and post weekly. I can do it.. right? What should I be blogging about?

All kinds of things. Lets see there is..hold on. Better yet, let me share it with you in a list. People like lists.

1. How to engage your community

2.Using Geolocation in your business

3. Do you need a blog anymore?

4. My favorite non-social media blogs

5. How to covert your online community into brand advocates

6. Do you need a Facebook Fanpage?

7. Why schools should use school media

8. Online communities: Your probably part of  one and don’t even know it

9. How MySpace went wrong

10. Is Podcasting over?

11. Do you really need to be on Twitter?

Okay the list can go on and on.. what would you like to see a blog post on?

Is there something in particular?

Help a guy out.

Another year down.. it seems to me as we get older the years just move faster. I swear I was 16 years old just last week. Well, I know I act like I am a kid still. I will grow up soon, I promise.

I want to take a moment to look back at some of the top Social Media moments for this past year. Instead of you reading what I think, let us take a look at what you guys think are the top moments. I reached out to my community for their opinions. Let me share their responses and thoughts in list form. As well, people like lists.

–Lisa Whelan, Business development, strategy & marketing consultant: It’s been a great year in social media. These are a few of my favorite moments… The results of the 3rd annual research study conducted by UMASS Dartmouth researchers on the use of Social Media within the Inc. 500. They found “social media matters and is here to stay,” with 91% of respondents using at least one social media tool (versus 77% of respondents in 2008 and 43% saying that social media was a “very important” part of their marketing/business strategy. Dell announcing that directly attributed $3 Million in revenue generation to its use of Twitter between June 07 and June 09. Motorola’s release of the CLIQ with MOTOBLUR was interesting. It highlighted the growing convergence between Mobile and social media and provided a new way for consumers to easily access their social networks from a mobile device straight out of the box.

-Tamela Coval, SR Vp Business Development at Rentwiki.com: For those of us who never cease to be amazed by the “truth is stranger than fiction” idiom, it’s a toss-up between…
When Ashton Kutcher became the first ever to roll over the “1 Million Twitter Follower”mark. OR   When John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston broke up because he was addicted to Twitter.You can ROTFL or roll your eyes over these stories, but they made history, social statements regarding our culture (or lack of it) and influence how we all live work and play.

–Spencer Helm, SEM Specialist at Amplify Interactive: The Iranian elections proved Twitter and Social Media could be a force for change and valuable information aside from what your favorite celebrity is doing, or suggestions from your friends.

–Kevin Lockett, Founder at HireJam: Key moment of the year, bar none was Michael Jackson’s death on Twitter. I’m a MJ fan and I was saddened that he died, but to me, that was the day Twitter (and TMZ) became a force for not just social media types, but non social media types worldwide. Information was coming so fast and furious that people on Twitter were dispensing the news faster than professional news outlet. I was able o send my MJ Tiwitter info to non social media friends MJ info via text, emails, and my Web.20 friends on Facebook and MySpace. That day in June is one that I will never forget, but it is also a day that I realized the true power of social media.

-Lous D. LoPresti ll, Strategic Consulting: The utilization of twitter’s platform by the Iranian protestors was and is PARAMOUNT to everything else. Coverage of a pop-star’s death pales in comparison.

–Margie Clayman, Director of Development at Clayman Advertising: I agree, the use of Twitter during the Iranian protests was really an astounding preview of what the world could be like perhaps a mere few months or years from now.

–Adam Metz, Principal Metz Consulting: The ROI moment: When Salesforce launched the Chatter program, which allows brands to discretely track outcomes on a customer-to-customer level for large scale-social customer management implementations.

What do you think the top moment for Social Media was in 2009?