I’m planning a Twitter workshop for some of my BabyBoomer friends, who are finally getting the idea that Twitter isn’t going away — and maybe they ought to jump aboard sooner rather than later.
There’s a whole lot of confusion out there: note the “Digital Divide” that Janis Johnson and I discussed in my last post Social Media has a PR problem.
How often do I tweet?
When do I tweet?
What do I tweet — business? personal?
HELP!
And, of course, the “help” abounds all over the Internet. I like my two posts
A recent “tutorial” brought to my attention by my student and colleague Zahid Lilani was a video featuring Social Media Thought Leader Chris Brogan discussing Social Media 101
In the last few minutes devoted entirely to Twitter, Chris describes his own Tweeting strategy:
He promotes other people’s stuff 12 times for every once he does his own.
He replies to Everyone [I think he says more than 80% of his Tweets are replies.]
Chris called Twitter “His Serendipity Engine” through which he’s met scores of people he’d never have met any other way.
NOTE: Super Tech Geek Robert Scoble said yesterday that Chris does Twitter wrong simply because he talks so much about other things and other people, and Robert wanted to read more about Chris.
But my post has had a “secret” agenda, which is now going to be revealed:
I wanted to mix personal with business.
So here are the latest photos of my “Buckeye Family”:
Brian, Karen, Tyler
After all, People prefer to do business with People — when they have the chance.
Twitter is like my personal bookstore, but so is most of Web 2.0
photos by Howard Blum
Sharing is one of the amazing benefits of Web 2.0, so it’s no wonder that Twitter is so important to me — both as a source and a repository. Here are some of the articles I read and Tweeted and Re-Tweeted this week:
Quick Tips worth repeating over and over [until people get them ingrained]: (a) Identify goals; (b) Share personality; (c) Engage, don’t shill; (d) Use Facebook data Here are some article highlights:
Be where your customers — and prospective customers — hang out.
Nope, even traditional media admits social media is NOT a fad. Local bloggers are being paid for page views. Viral nature of social media is fountain for success. Social media provides 2-way communication. Social media will be your local marketing tool
Facebook & Google win social network marketing race
“In the future, the Web you know will be based on the Web that knows you.”
“Social Media has simply become an unstoppable force.”
“Making special offers based on known behaviors and connections, will be automated.”
Future marketing outreach: “Maybe you’ll also reach out to one of the baker’s dozen’s worth of active baking-related groups on Facebook.”
Robert Scoble interview with POSTEROUS for the “GEEKY-ER” among you:
Top Geek-Thought-Leader Robert Scoble posted a video interview with the two creators of Posterous, a platform on which anyone can post content via email. Steve Rubel stopped publishing his highly regarded marketing communication blog Micropersuasion in favor of a Posterous stream. Video is 17 minutes long and features Robert’s questions for Posterous founders: Sachin Agarwal and Garry Tan. Highlights:
Purpose is to provide a simple, clean platform for rich media and mobile application.
Only four full-time engineers do all the work.
To serve 1.8 billion people who don’t want the hassle of a traditional blog
Future business model to offer Premium features — far in the future.
Feeling left out because everyone’s buzzing about Twitter Lists . . . and you’re not?
Reminds me of how one of my good friends has had two dinner parties at her home in the last few weeks, and I wasn’t invited to either. But she did ask me for this weekend, so maybe there’s hope for all of us.
Fresh from a 30-minute webinar on Twitter Lists by Hubspot, I have decided to weigh in with my own . . .
List on Twitter Lists:
1. First off, Twitter Lists is a brand new social media/Twitter feature, so by the time we learn all there is to know, many aspects will change. And that’s OK. Really. Getting your feet wet in the evolving new technology makes it so much easier to capitalize on the opportunities you will find along the way — this is ESPECIALLY TRUE for businesses who’ve feared jumping onto the social media bandwagon.
a. COROLLARY: That means that the rest of this “List” may — or may not — be useful tomorrow/next week/next month . . .
2. Twitter is like a fire hydrant, according to the webinar, so Twitter Lists are like hoses, according to me.
b. COROLLARY: You can focus your Twitter streams and increase your Reach.
3. Webinar’s HOW-TO: (a) Follow the Lists of people you respect; (b) Create some of your own by going to your Follower list; and (c) Promote your lists via widget, FB, FF, and Twitter itself.
c. COROLLARY: Check out more lists on Listorious and add yours to this directory
4. Instead of number of Twitter Followers to measure your popularity, the new gauge will be how many Lists you are on.
d. COROLLARY: Using either of these analytics is “interesting” — to use the term many English teachers write when we can’t think of something positive to say about a student’s paper/thesis.
5. You can not [now] SPAM the people on a Twitter List
e. COROLLARY: A critical component to Success with Social Media Marketing [SMM} is to personalize relationships and service. Automatic anything is so un-SMM.
6. Teachers can make Twitter Lists for individual courses for in-class or homework discussions
f. I won’t have to use TweetChat which was giving us some trouble when students replied directly to other students, e.g., these discussions sometimes did not appear in the stream.
Posts re: Twitter Lists from the blogosphere:
7. Four clever uses for lists: includes creating mini-communities where every listee follows the list and uses hashtags for discussions.
“For those cast adrift in a sea of content, good news: A “curation” economy is beginning to take shape, tweet by tweet, list by list.”
10. Robert Scoble:
“Twitter Lists are for people crazy about tech news. Techmeme is for lazy people who want all their news in 10 minutes? Heheh. Very fun!” in response to a comment on his post “Techmeme vs Twitter Lists“
— BTW, Scoble is the ONLY “listee” on Steve Rubel’s “List/faves”
Time to “get off the couch” and start LISTING — or at least reading about them. It really is “All about the Buzz”
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My friend and colleague Zahid Lilani recently posted links to eight articles he’d found interesting. So I thought I’d do the same — and get through some of my emails at the same time. If you read any of the suggested articles, please feel free to comment below — that “tip” is also recommended in a few of these articles.
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Social Media success depends on more than developing an online presence. Taylor Ellwood offers five tips on how to “Network” and Build Community using social media. Basically he suggests (1) Comment on peoples’ tweets and posts; (2) Pay attention to what people need; (3) Post personal info, but be careful that you talk about things that would promote interaction; (4) Try to connect people with one another; (5) Treat people as people, more than just prospective clients.
Deleting Duplicates: Are you bothered by seeing the same Tweet Twice? Twitter is doing something about that, but some people are upset because they schedule the same tweet to be broadcast 3 different times during the day. Sorry, but you’ll have to make a small change and that will be enough to “delete the delete.”
Technorati Update: The name “Technorati” was one I’d heard early on as The Blog Directory. Apparently the site has not updated its offerings until lately — and the changes will no doubt affect the Blogosphere. Read this article if you want to familiarize with what’s happening with this Big Name.
How-to Plan an Event on Facebook: Many of my friends and prospective clients want to know how to use Facebook Fanpages for their businesses. Here is a Step-by-Step guide to broadcasting news about an event on Facebook. Who doesn’t like Step-by-Step guides?
For Techies – Resources to build Apps: To be honest, this article is a bit over my head, but some readers may be thinking of building applications for FOUR of the most popular SM sites, i.e. Facebook, Flckr, Google Maps, and Twitter. Interesting reading [and stats] even for some of less tech-types.
Make money blogging?: Final reading selection of the day is a Roadmap to Turn Blogging into Your Business. Read Darren Rowse’s [Problogger] Roadmap after his wife told him “You have six months to make blogging full-time.”
Five incredibly talented and deeply entrenched social media THOUGHT LEADERS fielded questions about “How to get the word out” and win more business now that there’s so much FREE stuff out there.
THE VENUE: Grand Hyatt in San Francisco
THE SPONSOR: San Francisco chapter of the American Marketing Association
THE “WHY”: To discuss whether or not today’s marketing and PR “sucks,” and, if so, What To Do About It.
What would you do if you had a great product in a niche and zero dollars in marketing?
What would you now do if you now had $10,000 in marketing? How would you put it to use?
What is the role of agencies in today’s environment? Should companies simply do their own marketing?
Headlines from the discussion:
PR NEEDS A NEW NAME
NO TRUST IS OBSTACLE FOR PR & ADVERTISING
CROWDSOURCING IS THE NEW INFLUENCER
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO BE
BECOME AN EXPERT IN A UNIQUE NICHE
“TRUTH IN MARKETING”: [Who’d a thunk?]
EVERYONE IN YOUR COMPANY WILL BE FINDABLE
BE YOUR OWN MOUTHPIECE
PR AGENCIES ARE PASSÈ
Selected clips from the discussion
Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray
“For marketing on a shoestring: Tap into personal network for word of mouth. Leverage the people who are your biggest fans.”
Seesmic founder: Loic Le Meur
“The problem with old styles of marketing is No Trust. What I trust are my friends telling me about products they like.”
“Twenty years ago there were 20 influencers. Today there are 6,000.”
“When you engage with customers on Twitter, you can learn what problems need to be resolved.”
“Social Media Marketing: Find the fight people in the right places and offer the right message.”
Steve Patrizi and Renee Blodgett round out the panel of experts
“Online Social Media: No difference between personal and professional.”
“Professionally distributed news releases may only be necessary with major launches.”
“Break out of old marketing by teaching your people to LISTEN and then to RESPOND.”
“The speed of innovation is directly related to the speed at which we are sharing information.”
“Rules are different for social media platforms: MySpace is like your neighborhood bar. Facebook is the backyard BBQ. LinkedIn is your office. You’ll need to act accordingly.”
WHAT DID THE ATTENDEES HAVE TO SAY?
Mark Evans, SFAMA President
Marketing is going through a revolution. The SFAMA is here to embrace this change and help bring together all the moving parts. — Mark
Julia Francis - Ubiquity PR, Wendy Fisher - Moxie Mtkg, Sharon Lee - Shamiko Design, Kelly Connelly - Kelly Connelly Design
MARKETING AND PR “SUCK”? — People will always need them, suck or not. It depends on the approach for them “not to suck”: Change the name of PR to a more friendly and real term like SOCIAL CONNECT, for instance. — Sharon
Bill Bralye
After listening to the panel, I want to devote more time identifying best practices used by companies that are effectively widening their marketing tactics by adding social media to the mix. — Bill
Deb Kockos
I can tell you that most people do not spend their day online exposed to ads or blogs about certain products. Most of the world doesn’t even know what Web 2.0 means. When referencing a conversation on LinkedIn during a recent presentation, the audience looked at me like I was nuts. No one even knew about LinkedIn. We’re definitely in the early adopter stage here. — Deb
John Meyer - UC Berkeley, Laura Dantes - Engagement Strategies
We do need to filter the Hype and remember basic marketing principles. As Renee put it, “What is the problem we are trying to solve?” Focus on strategy, messaging, and reaching the right stakeholder groups using multiple channels. I don’t believe the zero budget Twitter solution is sustainable. — Laura
Cory O'Brien
Marketing and PR don’t suck. They’re just changing rapidly, and the companies that can’t keep up with the changing environment are using marketing and PR methods that “suck.” Social media has closed the gap between the company and the consumer, and there’s a level of speed, honesty, and transparency that is required to play in this field that many companies are not yet comfortable with. — Cory
FOR THOSE WHO’D LIKE TO VIEW GUY’S QUESTIONS AND THE PANEL RESPONSES AND DISCUSSION:
Can’t get enough of thought leaders in panel discussions? Here’s my report on Steve Rubel, Michael Brito, Richard Brewer-Hay, and Angela LoSasso discussing “Beyond the Hype: Roadmap for Social Media”
To Be or Not to Be . . . ahead of the social media curve
Sharing is the Name of the Game
. . . that’s a Big Reason why “we” blog AND why books get written and read.
Several people recently have asked What I’m reading, and I have to smile . . . laugh, in fact.
The answer is EVERYTHING! Everything I can find to help me “catch up.”
Sometimes it is hard to realize that MOST OF THE WORLD is still in the dark about the power and value of Social Media – especially when I see online, in traditional media, and from the speakers we’ve brought to class that there are so many Experts out there.
Answers:
#1: I check Twitter for blog and article suggestions, and I read them and copy for future reference. In fact, I plan to review some of the best ones for future posts.
#2: Every day my email box is filled with articles from the blogs I’ve subscribed to — as well as group discussions — and I read as many of them as I can.
#3: I go to my local library and look at all the books cataloged 006.7. To name a few of the memorable ones I’ve read: The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, Blogging for Dummies, Corporate Blogging by John Cass, and What No One Ever Tells you about Blogging and Podcasting edited by Ted Demopoulos.
#4: Open books around me now that I’m taking turns with: (a) Putting the Public Back in Public Relations by Brian Solis, (b) Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, (c) The Google Story by David Vise, (d) WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, and (e) Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.
All of that is why I’ve been getting up at 5 a.m. and some of my SM friends/colleagues are getting up even earlier.
NOTE TO STUDENTS: We’re not even being tested on this . . . or are we?
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. . . and Twitter is for Dummies, and Friendfeed, well, that’s way over the top!
Just how is one supposed to counter . . . and even live with . . . people who just don’t “get it” i.e., that the world has changed dramatically?
“Everything never changes. Something has changed and it impacts everything else.”[Quoting John Naisbitt in Robert Scoble’s Naked Conversation]
SOCIAL MEDIA impacts everything . . . now and in our future. So back to my original question, What do we say to anyone — particularly from my BabyBoomer generation and older? How do we share our enormous excitement about the possibilities for the world, for our friends and family, and for ourselves as individuals?
Personally, I believe I have a distinct advantage when it comes to answering the question, mainly because just three months ago, I was telling a friend that his use of Facebook three hours a day was a huge waste of his life.
What has happened to me?
First off, I have remembered that Open Minded-ness is key to Critical Thinking and as such I needed to check out the BUZZ before categorically dismissing a phenomenon that has captured the attention of millions in one way or another: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube, and countless numbers of blogs.
What helped me most was Twitter, which surprisingly still is a mystery to so many people I talk with — but, of course, not to the vast majority of people who will read this blog post.
I’m not a cellphone texter, so that particular use of Twitter didn’t seem relevant. Initially I wondered if this great new technology could be molded into a teaching tool, i.e., to force my students to write something of substance in only 140 characters. The essence of good writing is clarity and conciseness.
Playing with Twitter
While I liked developing that “writing with Twitter” idea, however, I began playing with Twitter, i.e., following people, reading their updates, posting some of my own — especially “retweeting,” re-posting a particularly good update. Most of all, though, I was reading on a daily basis just what all this social media was about and the great benefits it has to offer.
And now I’m hooked.
In a nutshell, social media is allowing us all to share our research and our thoughts and, yes, our products/services with a community of like-minded individuals whose lives can be enriched by being connected to us through the Internet.
Like most knowledge, the more you learn, the more you realize there is so much more “out there” and that’s the primary reason for this blog — to help me learn more and to answer the question, “Why Social Media is NOT a waste of our time.”
Please let me know about any conversations you’ve had when people have told you that blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are all “a waste of time.”
And those valuable ties are growing deeper and wider . . . as we TWEET and BLOG and “FRIENDFEED“
According to CrunchBase, “Robert Scoble is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author. He is best known for his popular blog, Scobleizer which came to prominence during his tenure as a technical evangelist at Microsoft.
According to my Public Relations students at San Francisco State, who were able to engage with him firsthand when he spoke with us Thursday, April 28, he is a true visionary who is leading the exploration of the Social Media Universe.
Here are some of the student comments after Robert’s visit:
Mita Mahida: “The more stories are repeated, the more this world becomes important. In order to be noticed, you have to be able to create a buzz in your niche market and be able to start conversations because the new form of advertising is engagement.”
Jeanette Barlow: “I feel that Robert’s main point was to help us feel better about graduating in a recession — not to try so hard to understand the past, but rather to be incorporated into the future. We are in the White Pages, but we need to think about how to get to the Yellow Pages.”
Theresa Rix: “Robert was a wakeup call. It was mind-blowing that he uses six computer screens, has 90,000 followers on Twitter, and has maxed out on Facebook Friends. He also told us about another blogger who attends every event around the world to build his brand. I have to wonder, What is to come? If this is what it takes to be on top in the social media hierarchy, we need to find new solutions to stay connected to each other. For myself, I can’t imagine building my entire life on the internet without actually meeting and inspiring people IRI. Are we pushing social media in the wrong direction?”
Ann Marie Pawlicki: “Being a blogger with your status, how do you deal with false information that comes your way and how do you facilitate what you validate as important enough to be on your site, knowing perfectly well of the misleading possibilities that are ever so present in the cyberworld?”
Chris Gleason: “A blog is the foundation — or home — for a writer. It is a place for followers of one’s Twitter account to get the full story.” -pictured in video
Alvin Lee: “Until Robert’s discussion, I was unaware of FriendFeed, which is fascinating because of its real-time platform. What amazed me was how many people were commenting and aggregated every second; the cascading comments were surreal to watch. One important utility of FriendFeed is how reoccurring posts jump back to the top of the real-time feed. This feature makes it easy for someone to identify important or newsbreaking topics.”
Krista McClellan: “The most important idea I gathered was the concept of filters. Robert made it very clear that we should all be focusing on creating filters on our FaceBook, FriendFeed, and Twitter accounts. And that prospective employers would like to see how we organize all this information. He also emphasized the importance of engaging in a niche where we had a real interest and where we could build network, knowledge and reputation within that market.
James Armfield: “The ability to network can be the key success factor to channeling news and information through the virtual world. After a credible network has been established, then one’s quality of engagement with others in the social media world will bring exponential growth to your current network and lead to a greater network of information.”
In closing this post, I’d like to leave you with a John Naisbitt quote Robert used in his 2006 book co-authored with Shel Israel, Naked Conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers:
“Everything never changes.
Something has changed and it impacts everything else.”
[Disclaimer: That video above was my first “sad” attempt at using the Flip camera. “I am always doing that which I do not know how to do in order to learn to do it.”]
All the latest and greatest tools mean nothing — if you aren’t listening
I read several great blogs today — and would still be reading — if I didn’t want to share my own understanding of one important topic:
Effective social media marketing — aka REAL CONVERSATION — cannot happen without someone to LISTEN.
Let’s get personal for a moment.
Stop and think about the last time you thought you were having a conversation with a friend or significant other . . . and words later, the other person said something that clearly showed you she wasn’t really listening – no how, no way.
Frustrating, maddening, really.
Want to listen?
Stop Talking . . . both aloud
. . . and in your head
So now step ahead to someone in a business setting who says he or she wants to be of service, and you say, “Great, here’s what I want” and then that person just keeps on talking — and keeps on ignoring you.
Frustrating, maddening, really.
Businesses today want employees with Great Communication Skills. But many times they don’t even consider Listening to be one of the most important communication skills. Too bad. Without these critical skills, “the best laid plans of mice and men . . .” are all for naught.
In my Business Communication class, we actually have a few lessons on Active Listening. In addition to a great videotape where participants engage in activities like (a) continuing dialogues with the last words spoken and (b) carrying on conversations without using the word I, we discuss some important tips for becoming an Active Listener.
Some of these include the following:
1. STOP TALKING: Forget about what you want to get across and focus on the person speaking to you.
2. KEEP AN OPEN MIND:One sign of a critical thinker is being able to remain objective so that you neither hear what you want to hear nor dismiss the remarks of someone because you don’t like him.
3. LISTEN BETWEEN THE LINES: I love this one. As a former reporter, I got used to hearing propaganda; you really need to dig deep sometimes. Additionally, in our global society, the words of one culture may have different meanings than we are used to.
4.HOLD YOUR FIRE:This is a particular problem in a classroom where some people are always feeling the need to take the stage. You can’t listen to someone else when you are preparing your next lines.
5. PROVIDE FEEDBACK:This is KEY in business communication. It shows your degree of understanding of a problem or situation. This is the stimulus for the back-and-forth conversations that build relationships and communities.
So your job now is to Provide Some Feedback.
I know I’ve left out dozens of other Good Listening Tips. Have at me. I’m listening.
Feeling left out because everyone’s buzzing about Twitter Lists . . . and you’re not?
— if you aren’t listening