Category Archives: Social Networking

Who are you talking to?

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Anyone know who Travis Bickle is? Back in 1976, an actor you may have heard of, was still trying to carve out a name for himself in Hollywood. He was in a movie called Taxi Driver, In this one memorable scene, Bickle is looking into a mirror at himself, imagining a confrontation which would give him a chance to draw his gun. He says the following line:

You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to? You talkin’ to me? Well I’m the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?

So my question to you, who are you talking to? When you write your blog, who are you writing for? Are you talking at them? or to them? Who is them? Someone had written recently that you don’t have a successful blog unless it’s loaded with trackbacks and comments. I bet to differ, but I do think it’s important that you are writing with purpose and conviction. That’s what makes a blog successful. But one other important aspect of blogging, is the ability to listen and the ability to focus.

Here is your thought for Monday. take a step back and figure out what is the message and the theme of your blog. When you do get traffic, what brings them to you? And how can you get them back again. What is your unique value proposition? it should be, listening first and talking second. I’m not saying your blog is wrong, I’m saying, be more succinct in the theme. BE CLEAR There’s nothing wrong with randomness, but if I want random, I can find that anywhere. This is especially true if you’re first starting out as well. Know why you want to blog. Here’s a good primer on how to blog ,for the uninitiated.

BTW, Travis Bickle was played by Robert DeNiro, but you knew that right?

 

 

5 posts not about you and your social MEdia self

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I’m so sick of reading about the bad.  Actually I blame it on Shel Israel and his morning Twitter report on the sorry state of things. But Shel is just reporting it, it’s not his fault. So I’ve got 5 items for you to do some thinking on.  See if you can figure out the theme here.

Scott Monty drives a point home that all social media people on the inside looking out need to know, It’s not about you!

David Armano explains why giving begets giving prompted by Chris Anderson

Seth Godin explains why spreading yourself too thin aint’ a good thing.

The Kolbe A™ Index/Instinct Test: IQ tests tell you what you can do. Personality tests tell you what you want to do… the Kolbe A™ Index measures what you WILL or WON’T do. Check it out.

The rise of social media has made us all influencers and with that responsibility comes the notion that you can make a difference as long as you continue to give and not take.

See what the theme is? Social media and conversations are really not about you and what your needs are, they are about the other person or the community as a whole that you are a part of. Do what you do with the other person in mind for a day and see what happens. or better yet instead of trying to be some person everywhere, try concentrating on being some one in one place.

What can social media do for reputation management?

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Alot has been written about online reputation management of late, and recently I was asked by a company to explain to them what I had done in regards to reputation management. So I’ve decided to recount what I did and what were the results.

 

About 18 months ago Emerson Directs’ web presence was no more than a brochure-ware site with no more than 3 pages of cursory content with zero traffic and zero web presence. all of its business was by word of mouth and referral. The only web presence was of SERP’s of information on an FTC settlement and consumer affairs reports on some bad customer service that occurred over 6 years ago.

 

Realizing that this had to have and was having a negative impact on the company and its ability to go out and get new business, I decided to do a few things. In short order, 1) I decided to create a new website, 2) a Social Media Optimization strategy wrapped around creating a number of social media pages devoted to the company-specifically the company name, 3) a blog site devoted to pushing out a more positive and leader like image for the company, 4) a robust social networking campaign 5) a Twitter persona in which I knew and hoped that people would go from the tweet to the blog site or to the website based on the quality of the tweet and lastly 6) be more visible and authentic with current and potential clients.

 

By creating the blog, it was another way of creating more content as well as another web site devoted to the Emerson Direct brand. As of today, The blog averages more than 10,000 visits per month, connects with clients, potential clients, and the casual reader, and has received numerous accolades. All of which were not my goal going on. They include ranking in the Adage power 150 The Power 150 is a ranking of the top 900 English-language media and marketing blogs in the world. The site is also ranked #23 of the Junta 42 which ranks the top 42 content marketing blogs. It’s also ranked oddly enough in the UK for top marketing blogs. It’s also part of the Big List of SEO blogs compiled by Lee Odden of Top Rank Blog. The indirect result of all of this, is people go from the blog to the website. The indirect direct result has been the creation of my personal brand as well, which has been cool and also very humbling since that was never my goal.

 

The residual effect of this effort has been tremendous in 1) driving traffic to a new site we built as well as 2) creating more opportunity for the company as well as 3) driving down the negative websites and 4) managing our website and companies’ online reputation in a more positive and proactive fashion and 5) I’ve become the de facto spokesperson for the reputation management campaign that Emerson Direct  undertook, as well as a champion for all things social media related and 6) Their phone has been ringing and 7) I’ve made some great new friends and contacts and 8. I’ve learned a ton and  9) respect so many others in the space now.

 

In regards to other forms of social media, I’d also created company related personas at nearly all of the top social networking sites, and even some of the lesser ones. I would venture that the total number was close to or had been 50. Some of those sites included YouTube, Delicious, Stumbleupon, Disqus, Propeller, Friendfeed and Twitter. All good viable ways of sharing content and changing a bruised reputation. Delicious is a prime example of my social media book marking efforts, in which I have over 600 bookmarks. That might not seem like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things it is.

 

I’ve toned all of this down now, as I’ve been able to dial it back, tweak it, and develop a happy medium with a consistent social media presence in the places where it’s most effective. Plus the time suck was killing me.

One note:  I also created a number of filters in Google Alerts, Summize  and Backtype that keep and kept me abreast of anything that was said or written about me, the brand, the company, or any of the products that they were marketing, which I highly recommend.

 

 

 

 

The culmination of these social media and reputation management efforts has been, to put it mildly, extraordinary. Not a day goes by where they do not see some type of positive ripple effect both professionally and or for me personally from these efforts. 

The interesting thing about this whole exercise has been, and some people might not realize this, the tremendous amount of effort and work required to maintain and do all of this. The payoff though has been well worth it. I also think it’s important to note, that you cannot afford not to be doing some variation of the above. What do you think? What more could I have done? Did I miss anything?

 

 

10 Social Media, SEO, and Marketing questions/thoughts I had in Church.

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So I’m sitting in church and they’re passing around the collection plate. At which point I started thinking that clearly the church is hurting too because the little baskets are really flying down the aisles. Given that church is a great place to take stock of all things in ones life, I grabbed my smartphone and jotted down the following thoughts and questions.

  • Social media measurement and its associated metrics will change with the changing of external markets and it’s influencers.
  • As the economy changes, so do the rules of engaging the consumer and marketing to that consumer. They have to. They must.
  • Will or should social media engagement be measured differently in tough economic times? Yes?
  • Should or will the tone of marketing and social media marketing change?
  • Do peoples expectations of social media change during economic woes? No. because they haven’t set any precedents yet.
  • Do we change benchmarking for social media? My thoughts are we would have to, since there is zero empirical data to go off of.
  • How important does social media optimization and SEO now become? I think it’s huge.
  • If times were different would some social media startups have a fighting chance? or do they now have an even better chance of surviving? Which is it?
  • Will social nets thrive now or in the next 24 months given the current state?
  • Their success will be determined by what? The same metrics? Or can startups afford to be measureed by engagement only?

So I was still feverishly texting these into my notes section of my phone well after the collections had been taken.  At which point, I looked up and saw that I was getting some nasty looks from the following: the people in the pew to my right,  the people directly to the left of me, my wife, an usher, and my kids, who thought I was playing Bejeweled.

That’s ok though, because If I’m thinking of these things,  maybe marketers, social media marketers, start-ups and even GOD might be too! Though divine intervention as a variable into any metric is a given, right?

You have no idea how much you know

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I was on the phone yesterday with a student from Columbia U who is doing her Masters thesis on a certain aspect of social media. We were on the phone because we exchanged a bunch of emails and she felt that maybe a call was in order. After 45 minutes of talking about all aspects of social media we were done. I hung up and I thought to myself; “Wow, did all of that just come out of me?”

Let me sum up what I chatted about.

  • I told her people like Scoble and Chris Brogan had devotional followings yet were different in nature and focus.
  • I mentioned that people like Brian Solis offer an interesting take on the landscape that is the ever-evolving moving target of social media.
  • I mentioned that she should check out Naked Conversations as a primer on what the blogging scene is all about and where it came from and where it’s going.
  • We talked about how Twitter is a great way to connect with Rock Stars, A-listers and thought leaders, but can still pull people into your circle that you have no reason why they are there.
  • I told her she should check out Danah Boyd and some of her work on Social media, teens and class divisions
  • We talked about why people do not contribute right away in social networks, though they have joined a community; and that it could be they’re just not completely comfortable yet.
  • As well, different demographics have different comfort levels in embracing new media.
  • We talked about communities and how individuals and brands operate within those communities.
  • I abused the words authentic, transparent, and “real”.
  • I’m pretty sure I did not take a breath.
  • I stressed that Chris Brogan is walking the line that separates saturation and Scoble like status.
  • I told her that Seesmic would be a good way to connect with people in regards to some of her social network questions
  • I’m pretty sure I mentioned David Armano
  • We talked about the goal of brand participators in communites and the challenges they face in trying to connect with their users and customers
  • I forgot to tell her which of my favorite blogs would help her in her research, so here’s the shortlist.

———————–

  • Brian Solis– Brian is very giving with his thoughts and observations on social media and PR,
  • Valeria Maltoni– If you want deep, thought provoking takes on all things social and beyond, I highly suggest you add her blog to your list 
  • Adam Cohen-Adam is a new add to my list but I enjoy his take and the variety of his posts
  • Ari Herzog-good writer, good take and his posts are timely.
  • Peter Kim-I’ve been probably been giving Peter too many props lately but man his stuff is so insightful.

So after all that, I sat there and started thinking. My first thought was that earlier in the day, I was explaining social media to a bunch of people in a doctors office. The first question out of their mouth was to ask if it was like an online dating site. Ouch.

Having my little chuckle to myself, my next thought was about what I just verbally spewed out to the grad student from Columbia, who by the way, didn’t know as much as I expected. This gave me pause to ponder what do I know? Was it alot? A little? 

Well, maybe I do know a little about some things but… I do know this. The people that I deal with, and talk with, and share with, and laugh with, everyday in my communities, know a lot. ALOT.  And everyone else outside of these circles or spheres that I float in, just might not. And that’s pretty cool. So I wanna thank you for letting me be a part of that.

19 things you should know about your world

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  1. Did you know that China has over 253,000,000 internet users which amounts to about 17% of the world’s users?
  2. Did you know that China will eventually become the #1 English speaking country in the world? Or that
  3. The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQ’s …is greater than the total population of North America.  In India, it’s the top 28%.  Translation for teachers:  they have more honors kids than we have kids. 
  4. There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on Google each month.  Which speaks to a post I did about tech trends.
  5. The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years.  For students starting a four-year technical or college degree, this means that…half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.  It is predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010.
  6. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs . . By the age of 38
  7. Predictions are that by 2013 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computation capability of the human brain.
  8. According to the U.S. Department of Labor . . .1 out of 4 workers today is working for a company they have been employed by for less than one year
  9. More than 1 out of 2 are working for a company they have worked for for less than five years.
  10. According to former Secretary of Education Richard Riley . . The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
  11. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist .
  12. The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration.(Luxembourg just passed us.)
  13. 1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met
  14. The average MySpace page is visited 30 times a day.
  15. The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the population of the planet
  16. More than 3,000 new books are published . .
  17. It’s estimated that 40 exabytes (that’s 4.0 x 1019) of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year
  18. The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years
  19. 47 million laptops were shipped worldwide last year

 

Many thanks to  Karl Fisch  and Scott Mcleod  who compiled alot of this data, which in the end, really gives you a sense of how very large this world is and how very small you are.  

 

 

 The only constant in life is change. Don’t be static.

My Twinfluence

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Came across this post about Twinfluence from Beth Kanter via Social Media Today. What is your Twinfluence? Mine make sense to a certain degree, but check it out.

 

It’s Blog Action Day 08 and I have a story to tell.

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It’s blog action day so let me tell you a story.

A long time ago, before I so gloriously stumbled into the internet, and all things tech related, I was on my own in a big city in the Northeast. I had lost my job and was fresh out of college, and relied on public transit to get around town. Since I was fresh out of school, I did not have a lot experience, and so it was tough getting a “real job”. Money dried up quick, so did credit and anything I had saved. One thing lead to another and very quickly, I found myself having a hard time surviving. I had a landlord who understood and thus let me go rent and utilities free, during this time. What made this time even more worse than it already was if that’s possible, was that it was in the middle of the winter. It was indeed, one of the darkest of times for me. I was young, healthy,  poor and I was more than anything, hungry. Me. Poor and hungry. Wow.

I did have a roof over my head but that was it. I had no way to get around because I didn’t have a car, and I had no money for bus fare. So anywhere I had to go, required me to get a good hour to 2 hour jump. Finding any work close by was impossible. There was none. Every day was spent looking for a job, any job.

Things were coming to a head. One night, after spending the whole day in the city,  I walked into a convenience store. I had not eaten in over 2 days.  I had to eat and I made a decision. I stole food.  I didn’t steal the food for fun, I stole but for the simple fact that I HAD to. I stole an apple and some cheese, maybe some other things, I can’t remember.

I went back to that store a few more times after that, and repeated it. Same drill every time. Oh and there was also a manager at Burger King, where all the homeless people hung out, who would give out burgers and fries some time and she always made sure I got some. I was this far removed from being homeless and hungry. I don’t think you realize what’s that like! I didn’t have a mental illness, I  just had too many factors at the time working against me and it kept me down.

How do you think others might feel right now who are stuggling with poverty?

It was about survival for me. I hated myself for doing it and I had zero self esteem and felt totally defeated from doing it. Down, out, humiliated but resolute to not let this go on, were my initial thoughts. My other thoughts were, If this is how I am, then what can it be like for others who have families, no shelter, no job and no options?

For me hunger was a motivating factor to make an effort every day to get A job. Even if I had to walk 2 hours in each direction to get there. At that point, one cannot be too choosey about work of any kind, and I was finally able to get a job where they actually fronted me some money so that I could get back and forth from work.

From that subsequent job, I was able to slowly pull out of the funk, the despair, the hunger, and the realization that I was not that far removed from others, who I might have, at one time in my life,  stupidly questioned, “why they couldn’t get their shit together”. Pure ignorance on my part.

It’s a humble thing to know that you can’t afford to eat and I’m also sure that a lot of people just need a break just like I got. But then again, maybe what people might need, or want, is simply a warm meal. Have you ever taken then time to think about that?

Times might suck right now, but you can make a difference Today.

Quit talking about Social Media and Go Make Some Money!

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Ok so by now we all know the hows and whats of social media and social media marketing. At least, we better.  Hell, I’ve written a books worth of articles myself on the subject. And lately we’re all writing about how to use social media in a down economy. Or whether social media can survive the meltdown. Or how to use social media to deal with the crappy economy. It seems everyone has their take on what to do. Scoble says we should listen. 

 The Buzz Bin says keep a cool head and keep morale up. We can even go to extremes and ask Will the Recession Spell the End of Web 2.0? or we can go to the opposite end of the spectrum and be forthright and ask whether you would tell your employees and customers how bad it is?  Don’t get me wrong, those all are great and relevant posts, but we gotta move on.  So let’s take this to the next level.

Seriously, you do not have to look far to read another article about how one can use social media to improve their marketing, or how bad it is out there. Between the two, We get it. It’s in our face all day every day. But now, it’s time to get serious.

Scenario one:  I’m a big company and I don’t have time to be pitched and I don’t have time for social media marketing initiatives to ramp up, but I’m willing to try them. What can your social media marketing campaign, Mr. Agency/Marketer/In house CMO do for me right now? What can we roll out that will show immediate results?

Scenario two: I’m a marketer/agency. I now do not have the luxury of educating you Mr. Big Company on what social media is and how it can benefit your company- I now have to show you direct ROI with a timeline that is reasonable and cost effective. What’s your plan? And do you trust me? Because my ass is now on the line.

So wutcha gonna do? Do you have a plan? Playtime is over.

Even our “friends” over at Forrester have said, “quit dippin the toes and invest only in programs that can deliver on measurable metrics.”

So what are the programs? Do you even know? You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Page views and traffic aint gonna pay the bills. Talk to me. Do you have a plan? Which of these below can make you or your client money?

Twitter Patter

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Ok I admit it. Twitter matters to me. My 300+ peeps that follow me and vice versa, are starting to take on  the characteristics of a community where you can depend on certain personalities to talk about the things that they are passionate about. . Yes, this community still has the people that will give you TMI on the little nuances of their lives, but somehow even that isn’t so bad. My community is a diverse group from all walks of life that I enjoy exchanging thoughts links rants and raves with.

Thanks to Tweetdeck which though I consider a bandwidth hog, I can manage and filter my community with simple ease. It takes a mili-second to see what people are talking about and because it’s a very targeted group of people talking about all things that are markting, PR and social media related, the content that we share amongst each other is usually pretty strong.

Peter Kim brought up some great points recently in which he explains the value of Twitter to him, as well as some of the splinter sites he likes, that are devoted to making his Twitter experience more powerful.  Last night I was thinking about this:

When and how could you have in the past, connected with so many great minds and thought leaders on such an immediate real time level?

Therein is the true value of Twitter. Connect and converse not only with your peers but people that make a difference in your professional life? Are you kidding me? How can you not realize the value in that? Even the biggest of skeptics has to see that, and not the baseline, entry level, tag line that is wrapped around Twitter-“What are you doing?”

There are some rules of engagement that one should follow though, and to that I have to give a shout out to Beth Harte and her “Why should i follow you post” I’d suggest checking it out. And then follow it up with Michael Brito’s Twitter Manifesto post which is a nice dovetail from Beth’s.

Twitter is a great tool as long as you understand the value and the context in which it can be used; and or abused.  However, as is the great self policing aspect of most online communities, the abusers or the poseurs usually don’t last very long. Consider them similar to the travelling carnies. They usually are in town for the weekend and then you won’t see them again. Missing teeth and all…

Just remember: Value begets value.  So If you are going to Tweet or you’re going to participate, then try and avoid the mundane and the banal. We can get that anywhere. But you should be using Twitter for the following reasons, which I am going to scrape from Todd Defrens blog post on why PR people need to be in Twitter:

  • Personal branding
  • Knowledge
  • Relationships

Wow, talk about value adds! And Twitter is freakin FREE! Are you kidding me? Listen, if you’re reading this, then chances are very high that you already know about Twitter. That’s cool. But maybe what you take away from this post is that there is a “way” to use Twitter right, and I hope you “get” that more than anything else. Oh and you can follow me here,   http://www.twitter.com/@marc_meyer

I know I might be beating a dead horse here, but I’m going to throw Common Crafts Twitter Video back up.