I recently caught up with IBM’s Vice President of Social Business Evangelism, Sandy Carter. Her latest book is called Get Bold: Using Social Media to Create a New Type of Social Business. In this role, she is responsible for helping to set the direction for IBM’s Social Business initiative. In 2011, Women in Technology inducted Ms. Carter into their Hall of Fame for the impact she had on the social media and Social Business marketplace. You can read her blog or follow her on Twitter @sandy_carter. In this interview, Sandy talks about what social business is, how to build a social strategy, measuring a successful campaign, and more.
Monthly Archives: October 2011
Facebook FAIL: Missteps and Shortcomings Revealed [INFOGRAPHIC]
Facebook’s gone through some profound changes lately, which is exciting to us, but leaves others in a profound state of anger and frustration. Like it or not, all is not perfect with the world’s largest social network, and here’s an infographic by a company that’s more than happy to point out Facebook’s shortcomings.
via Facebook FAIL: Missteps and Shortcomings Revealed [INFOGRAPHIC].
Reflections of a Newsosaur: Engagement: The new digital metric
Everyone knows you have to measure things correctly to manage a business well. But the converse of this axiom is that you can get into a lot of trouble if you measure the wrong things.
Unfortunately, this has happened in the newspaper industry with respect to the digital media. Now, it has got to stop.
In a misguided effort to apply the historically successful print business model to the digital media, publishers have spent nearly two decades trying to assemble the biggest audiences they can on their websites and, of late, their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.
via Reflections of a Newsosaur: Engagement: The new digital metric.
The Great Twitter Purge of 2011 Or Why I Have Decided To Unfollow Everyone & Start Over
The time has finally come. I think I always knew that I’d have to do some sort of Twitter house cleaning, but based on my last blog post, and some folks like Michael Hyatt and the mighty Chris Brogan who have pioneered by braving the backlash, I think I’m ready for a purge myself. So starting today, I begin unfollowing everyone on Twitter with the help of SocialOomph.
The Do’s And Don’ts Of Infographic Design
Infographics are visual representations of information, or “data viz” as the cool kids call it these days. The term “data viz” comes from “data visualization,” which implies that sets of data will be displayed in a unique way that can be seen, rather than read. This visualization should not be left up to interpretation, it should instead be designed in a way that provides a universal conclusion for all viewers. In the simplest terms, infographics are not too different than the charts and graphs that programs like Excel have been spitting out for years.
via The Do’s And Don’ts Of Infographic Design – Smashing Magazine.
HootSuite Integrates LinkedIn Company Pages & Groups
In short, LinkedIn is quickly coming into its own in the social networking realm — and social media managers need to stay on top of it. With the new HootSuite features, they can send company status updates and start group discussions around their content. For companies using LinkedIn for HR marketing and recruiting, it’s an opportunity to post job openings and share professional expertise as well.
This is just the beginning of the two services’ budding partnership. LinkedIn has named HootSuite one of its four charter members in its new Certified Developer Program, a network of developers designated to help marketers, agencies and companies use LinkedIn to connect with their audiences. Needless to say, there’s more LinkedIn functionality on the way for HootSuite.
Social Media Statistics & Facts 2011
14 epic social media fails | Econsultancy
Whether you’re a small business with a solitary Twitter account, a mid sized agency using the latest monitoring tools, or a huge corporation with a multi-million dollar Facebook campaign , at some point, we all will make mistakes playing the social media game.
Just hope that you don’t crap out by making mistakes as big as the following…
14 ways to use Twitter to attract journalists | Articles
I spent 10 years as a reporter in the BT (Before Twitter) era. Now as a social media strategist and public relations professional, I’ve found Twitter to be my primary and most successful method of building and maintaining relationships with reporters. It’s brought my clients and I tens of thousands of dollars in free press coverage.
One public relations agency I work with even grew out of a connection made on Twitter. And that’s perhaps the main reason I advise every public relations professional to become a regular. Just like real life, you communicate with a large circle of professionals, but the bulk of the benefits come from just a handful of clients or connections you make over months and years.
I consider Twitter the tool that delivers tangible value in great gulps, so long as you commit to it for a year.
Skeptical? Here’s how I use it:
via 14 ways to use Twitter to attract journalists | Articles.
Social Media is a Waste of Time | Inc.com
If you are like most small businesses, you and your team are stretched thin. If you even have a team. All day long you are servicing customers, delivering products, managing finances and doing whatever it takes to keep your business up and running. The last thing you need is to waste time. But for many small businesses, that’s exactly what they are doing when it comes to marketing with social media.
The typical small business Facebook page is a ghost town. It might have some pictures of the business, a few posts about an event six months ago, and a handful of followers who joined when the page launched. On Twitter, there might be a couple posts a month and none of them are related to any customer question. The same is true for Foursquare. Groupon is like going to the casino: there’s a good chance you’ll come home with empty pockets.
It’s hard to resist the promise of marketing in social media. It’s personal, efficient, and it is growing at a remarkable rate. Your customers spend most of their media time on these sites and they are discussing product experiences and researching purchase decisions. But that doesn’t mean that every business should drop everything and start a Facebook page or a Twitter account. This isn’t like buying an ad in the newspaper or the Yellow Pages; You don’t just set it up and walk away.
To make the most of your social media marketing, you need to have a plan. Social media is about having an ongoing conversation with your customers, not droning on about your business while they ignore you. You have to put in the time to cultivate your existing customers and attract new ones. Yes, this will take a little more time and thought, but that’s why it works. If you “set it and forget it,” you are wasting your time. Guaranteed.
Here are six steps to make sure you don’t waste time in social media: