Websmith Group | Web Application and Software Development, Strategy and Consulting » Social Media

Cool vs Common Sense: Are we sharing too much of the wrong information

Kishau Rogers — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:27:23 +0000

It goes without saying that the internet has revolutionized the way we meet and stay in touch people and has transformed the way we find, use and share knowledge. According to Nielsen, at least 2/3 of the global population visits social networks. It seems that each day a new social media service is launched specifically to allow you to share more information publicly.

Social media are services and tools that allow you to share information, distribute media and converse with others online.

Blippy: Cool vs. Common Sense

There is something about a new social media site that encourages people to easily share things about their lives online that they wouldn’t consider sharing with perfect strangers on the streets. Or their neighbors. It’s as if the ‘think twice before sharing’ trigger doesn’t exist while interacting online. The coolness factor always seems to trump the common sense factor. For example, Blippy is a social media service that was created as a “fun and easy way to see and discuss what everyone is buying.” People that use the service have stated that it’s a great way to discover what your friends are buying. Imagine this scenario in real life:

A friend: So what did you buy today?
You: Why?

Yeah, the conversation would end there. In real life, this question would only be asked if your friend wanted information about a specific product that you may have mentioned during your real life conversations. For individuals that share this information publicly, imagine the same conversation with a perfect stranger:

A stranger: So what did you buy today?
You: Who are you?

Foursquare: Cool vs. Common Sense

I believe that some find the idea of a service that can automatically notify your friends of your purchases cool enough that the question “Why?” or “Would I do this in real life” is never considered or answered. Another example is Foursquare. I understand the business uses of Foursquare (particularly related to event & conference attendance), however I have to admit that the value of using the service for personal/social use escapes me. Using the same scenario, imagine having this conversations in real life:

Your Friend: Where are you?
You: I’m at Starbucks.
<15 minutes later>
Your Friend: Where are you now?
You: Why?

Or alternatively:

You: I’m at Starbucks.
Your Friend: That’s nice.
You: I’m at work.
Your Friend: Cool. Call me when you get home.
You: I’m at the gym.
Your friend: That’s great. Call me when you get home.
You: I’m back at Starbucks
Your friend: Twice in one day? After leaving the gym? Call me when you get home.

You get the point. If you’re similar to the average social network user, you may have 120+ “friends”. If each of your 120 friends decided to notify you when they made a move in real life, at some point the stream of information becomes noisy and you won’t notice or care when something really important happens.

Are we sharing too much … of the wrong information

I don’t care if a friend visits Starbucks twice a day, but I do care if an old friend is attending the same conference. I don’t care if a friend or someone in my professional network visits Target, but I do want to know if they’ve recently published an article, launched a product or received recognition. I’m sure many have found great uses for the services mentioned, however I often wonder if we’re sharing too much of the wrong information. Let me know what you think!

Source: Article Originally posted on Kishau.com

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Kishau Rogers

Kishau Rogers is the President and Founder of Websmith Group, a web application development company. Her mission is to connect businesses with the information and technologies necessary to meet their goals EFFECTIVELY. Kishau Rogers holds a Computer Science Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over sixteen years of experience, which includes web, application and database development. Kishau also speaks, blogs, and writes articles to educate organizations and entrepreneurs on resources and best practices for ensuring effective, dynamic and innovation web solutions.

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Claim.io: Protecting your brand on social media networks

Kishau Rogers — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:44:46 +0000

Many companies have begun to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy. Regarding online brand protection, prior to the rapid evolution of social media networks, businesses were mostly concerned with claiming their preferred domain name. Currently, one of the concerns that business owners face is how to protect and claim their brand across the hundreds (if not thousands) of social media services. In April, I had an opportunity to speak with Sara Czyzewicz from Claim.io. Sara is the Co-Founder of Olive Interactive, LLC. Claim.io, an Olive Interactive product, allows you to claim your name and protect your brand on 300 social media networks. Here is the transcript & audio of our conversation.

Audio/Podcast

Transcript

Kishau: I’m really pleased that you were available to give us more information about your product. Tell us more about ClaimIO? Is it a service? Is it a product?

Sara: Absolutely. Claim.io is a service of Olive Interactive, which basically secures your brand or your name across 300 of the top social media and social networking sites. So basically, we register your vanity URL and username as well as upload initial content for your brand.

Kishau: You’ve said that this is a product of Olive Interactive. Could you tell us more about your company?

Sara: Sure Olive Interactive is an LLC formed in 2008. Myself and Aaron Calenburg are the two current core co-founders. We initially meet and formed this business in Bolder, CO and we have since moved it to headquarter in Providence, RI.

Kishau: Regarding the service Claim.io, many businesses are trimming their budgets and most business owners have two questions when approaching new services: “How much does it cost” and “How does this help me meet my business goals”. Can you provide more information regarding the value for using Claim.io.

Sara: Sure Absolutely, Claim.io is like the social media of domain registration. 10+ years ago it was important to get your name.com, now it’s really important to get your socialmediaURL/yourname; that’s in the URL and claim that username and especially important because if someone claims it before you its really difficult to get it back, if you can even do so. So the prices, you can claim 100, 150, or 300 social networking sites and those go for $129, $179, and $329 respectively.

Kishau: This is a fixed price point? So those are your packages 100, 150, 300 (social networks)?

Sara: Exactly.

Kishau: How exactly does the process work? How do you sign up?

Sara: You go to Claim.io and you enter your basic personal or business/company information as well as a profile bio. There’s a short bio and a long bio. Depending on what the social media site allows, we’ll use one or the other, as well as a link to your main website, and a photo of yourself or a logo of your business.

Kishau: What’s your turnaround time?

Sara: Takes about 5-7 business days for the 300 services; so for the 150 or 100 [packages], a little less.

Kishau: When businesses sign up, what do they need to have completed and available in order for you to get this done for them?

Sara: Essentially their profile information which is basically your name and birthday. We will only use that personal information if it’s absolutely necessary for sign up for those sites. Also, the link back to your website, and the logo of your business, as well as a short and long bio of what your business is or who you are personally will be uploaded on these sites.

Kishau: You mentioned an extended bio, do you simply register the username for the price you quoted, are you actually creating a profile on each service?

Sara: Many of these sites allow a photo and a link to your website which is great for SEO, and not only are we claiming that vanity URL and that username but we are establishing you on that site so once they go to socialmediasite.com/yourcompanyname they can actually get a brief overview of who you are, your logo and link back to your site.

Kishau: And what happens if your first choice username is not available?

Sara: We actually check up to four usernames. So we check your 1^st and if that’s not available we’ll check your 2^nd; if that’s not available, we’ll check your 3^rd and then your 4^th choice. And then once your order is complete, you get a report saying ‘such-n-such’ usernames were registered on these sites, on those sites etc. So if any of them were unavailable, then you’ll see that in your report. If you have any brand name that you want to try to get on another social site which is already registered then you know which ones to go after.

Kishau: How does your company ensure the usernames requested does not violate an existing trademark and how do you protect businesses from identity theft and squatters?

Sara: We do a sufficient amount of research on our clients as they come in to ensure that they actually represent or own the brand that they are claiming. Additionally, it’s very clear in our Terms Of Use that identity squanders will not be accepted or tolerated at all.

Kishau: There are so many social media services available; you’ve mentioned 300 that your company offers. How did you decide which social media services to include and what are your plans in the future for including new services as they launch?

Sara: So our list of 300 is actually changing on weekly basis almost because it uses social media usage statistics collected from Olive Interactive’s initial product VanityID which basically tracks which social networks are being utilized and which ones are the most popular currently.

Kishau: My last question, just to give our readers a better sense of how they can use your service in their businesses, can you provide some examples of some of the industries that you’ve served?

Sara: Absolutely, we’ve registered friends and usernames for DJ’s and sports teams and individual marketing professionals and lawyers who are representing a company that’s protecting their trademark and it’s all over the board. Anybody who really has a name or a company name worth protecting.

Kishau: I appreciate you providing this information. This does seem like a very valuable service for businesses. I would like you to indicate again how exactly they can get started with your service by providing the domain name, spelling it out, and how to sign up.

Sara: To sign-up, you can go to Claim.io and if you have any questions or just want to say hi, my email is sara@claim.io

Kishau: Thanks a lot Sara! We really appreciate your time and thank you for providing more information.

Many thanks to Sara Czyzewicz, co-founder of Claim.io, for the opportunity to learn more about the service. Visit http://www.claim.io to learn more about their current packages. Also, please note in the comments section if you have used Claim.io or plan to use the service in the near future. ~Kishau Rogers

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Kishau Rogers

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Happy 5th Anniversary to the First YouTube video

Kishau Rogers — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:41:00 +0000

Today marks the 5th Anniversary of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube. The video features YouTube Co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo (uploaded on April 23, 2005). By October 2006, Google had purchased YouTube for around 1.65 billion. Not bad. Not bad at all.

YouTube Stats

1+ billion views a day
Every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.
More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all 3 major US networks created in 60 years.
More page views every day than the primetime audience of all three networks combined.
51% of Youtube users go to YouTube weekly or more often, and 52 percent of 18-34 year-olds share videos often with friends and colleagues.
YouTube’s user base is broad at age 18-55.

Impressive.

This is where it started.

Most Viewed Video

As of April 2010, Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is the most viewed video of all time.

Followed by “Charlie Bit My Finger”.

What would we do without YouTube?

Kishau Rogers

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Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 20 – Dec 26)

Kishau Rogers — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:36:13 +0000

While you were out Christmas shopping, traveling and trying to stab, cut and bite your way into your children’s new toys, content creators were pushing out new tips & resources. Today, you’re probably exhausted, possibly injured or in a food coma. While you recover, take some time to think about your plans for your business during 2010. Also take some time to read the top (IMHO) resources, found during the week of Dec 20. I believe that each provides valuable, accurate and timely information regarding enhancing your business, website, blog and/or social media presence.

TIP: Realizing that there are only 24 hours in a day and a significant portion of that is used for work, eating, sleeping and working off the 15 pounds you’ve gained since Thanksgiving, you may wish to create a “To Read” bookmark folder in your favorite internet browser, then save (bookmark) the following links into that folder. Once you’ve read the article, you can print & save your favorite articles, then delete the item from the “To Read” bookmark folder. This will help you manage your list of articles “To Read”.

On Blogging:

1. On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas by Jonathan Morrow (CopyBlogger)
2. “The ‘It Factor’ – How to Get It as a Blogger” by Darren Rowse (ProBlogger)
3. “If I Were a Realtor” by Chris Brogan (ChrisBrogan.com) * NOTE: if you’re in real estate, the tips provided in this post should be seriously considered. IMO. *

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Kishau Rogers

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Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 13 – Dec 19)

Kishau Rogers — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:52:42 +0000

Here are a few resources that I believe provide valuable, accurate and timely information for developing your business, website, blog and/or social media presence. I’ve included resources from well known sources, as well as a few less popular sources. In 2010, be sure to diversify your online resource library by supporting your smaller, less known blogs & websites.

TIP: Realizing that there are only 24 hours in a day and a significant portion of that is used for work, eating, sleeping, drinking coffee, and Christmas shopping you may wish to create a “To Read” bookmark folder in your favorite internet browser, then save (bookmark) the following links into that folder. Once you’ve read the article, you can print & save your favorite articles, then delete the item from the “To Read” bookmark folder. This will help you manage your list of articles “To Read”.

On Web Development, Business Development, & Marketing:

1. “50 Ways to Foster a Culture of Innovation” by Mitch Ditkoff and Val Vadeboncoeur (Idea Champions)
2. “Be Your Own Publicist” by Tamara Monosoff (Entrepreneur.com)
3. “Interaction with Consumers is a Must for Businesses” by Scot Duke (MrBusinessGolf)
4. (eBook) “What Matter’s Now” Conceived by Seth Godin
5. “The Web’s Most Illogical Arguments” by Robert Strohmeyer (PC World)

On Blogging:

1. “13 Types of Posts that Always Get Lots of Comments” by Darren Rowse (ProBlogger)
2. “5 Reasons Why You Should Comment on Blog Posts” by Misty Belardo (BitRebels.com)
3. “The End Of Hand Crafted Content” by Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)
4. PODCAST: “CobWEBs Daily Edition: TechCrunch, content & retweets stacked like McDonald fries” (includes a response to the TechCrunch article above) by Sean P Aune (SeanPAune.com)

On Social Media:

1. “6 Ways Zappos Uses Twitter To Increase Sales” by Jeff Bullas (JeffBullas.com)
2. “Social Media Forces Businesses To Go Two Way” by Willis Wee (Penn Olson)
3. CONFERENCE NOTES: “Communities, Word of Mouth, Real Time at #leweb: what else!” by Patrick Attallah (Media’Zbiz)
4. “Get More Friends, Followers, Hits, and Readers Using Google Sidewiki” by Damond Nollan (DamondNollan.com)

On Graphic Design, Art & Photography (Inspiration):

1. “40 Inspiring 404 Error Pages” by WPSmash (WPSmash.com)
2. “100 Outstanding and Inspirational Infrared Photos” by WebDesignerDepot (WebDesignerDepot.com)
3. “Daily Inspiration #383″ – Inspiring Images provided by Fabio Sasso (Abduzeedo)
4. “50 Typography Logos With Letters (They’re Good, Too)” by Wes Wilson (BrandStack)

Kishau Rogers

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Introducing Blippy (Subtitled: It’s Silly Season)

Kishau Rogers — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:01:27 +0000

I’ve recently learned about a new social media network that allows you to share your credit card purchases with your family, friends or strangers. My initial reaction was … Um, Why?

The service is called Blippy. It’s currently in beta, but it has already been labeled “The Twitter for Credit Card Purchases”. To use the service, you connect one of your credit cards with your Blippy account. Then, each time you make a purchase using that card, your friends and/or network of strangers will see what you purchased and where you made the purchase. Sounds fancy. And stupid. And noisy. And potentially dangerous.

I’m sure some social media ‘guru’ will identify a higher purpose for this service, but I can’t. And I tried. Even if I assumed that most people wouldn’t share their purchasing history with perfect strangers, I still can’t find the value in passively (automatically) sharing your purchases in real-time detail, to anyone. If I called my Mom and told her about every purchase I made, she would block my number. And I would do the same. If the purchase is notable, I tend to phone, text or email the people that would be interested (a very short list of people). Imagine all of your friends, coworkers, clients and a few random strangers walking up to you on the street and saying “I just purchased a $3.96 latte at Starbucks.” At some point you’ll respond “So what!” or “You’re at Starbucks again?”.

Imagine a world where everyone is sharing every single detail of their day, simply because innovations in technology allow them to do so (i.e. for kicks and giggles)? The more noise created, the harder it is for you, as an entrepreneur, to get your message through the tsunami of irrelevant data and noise. Now more than ever, it is important for entrepreneurs and business owners to provide authentic engagement and value to your target audience. Before you share any information on a social network, particularly for business purposes, ask yourself:

1. Is this something I think my audience will want to know?
2. Is distributing this information important to meeting my business goal(s) or mission?

If the answer is no to both questions, think twice about sharing.

Source: Introducing a Twitter for Credit Card Purchases (New York Times)

Kishau Rogers

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Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 6 – Dec 12)

Kishau Rogers — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:26:26 +0000

There’s so much valuable information and personal stories online that can help you in enhancing your website, business, and blog. I believe that business development and effective website development go hand in hand, so this week I’ve included a few business development, leadership and marketing resources.

Check out my favorite articles, found during the week of Dec 6. I believe that each provide valuable, accurate and timely information regarding enhancing your business, blog and/or social media presence.

TIP: Realizing that there are only 24 hours in a day and a significant portion of that is used for work, eating, sleeping and drinking coffee, you may wish to create a “To Read” bookmark folder in your favorite internet browser, then save (bookmark) the following links into that folder. Once you’ve read the article, you can print & save your favorite articles, then delete the item from the “To Read” bookmark folder. This will help you manage your list of articles “To Read”.

On Business Development, Leadership & Marketing:

1. “Three Ways to Keep Your Ego in Check” by John Baldoni (Harvard Business Publishing)
2. “We Should All Get It Wrong Like Apple” By Jonathan Weber (The Big Money … from Slate)
3. “Why Free Trial Offers Aren’t Always the Best Choice” by Howard J. Sewell (Connect Direct Inc.)

On Blogging:

1. “Ghost blogging: Just don’t do it” by Neville Hobson (NevilleHobson.com)
2. Panel Notes: “Ghost Blogging, Tweeting, Content Production – Ethical? Does It Matter?” Posted by Susan Esparza (Bruce Clay, Inc)
3. “A Screamingly Effective Blog Disclosure Policy: How (and Why) To Get One” by Kelly Diels (Problogger)

On Social Media:

1. “5 Ways to Get More from LinkedIn in 2010″ written by Kristin Burnham (CIO)
2. “Are Your Facebook Fans Truly Engaged?” By Valeria Maltoni (Conversation Agent)
3. “10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010″ by Ravit Lichtenberg from Ustrategy.com (ReadWriteWeb)

Kishau Rogers

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Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Nov 29 – Dec 5)

Kishau Rogers — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:21:56 +0000

There are a plethora of web development articles & tips available on the internet (by plethora I mean an overwhelming amount). Here are a few resources that I believe provide valuable, accurate and timely information regarding enhancing your web site, blog and/or social media presence.

TIP: Realizing that there are only 24 hours in a day and a significant portion of that is used for work, eating and sleeping, you may wish to create a “To Read” bookmark folder in your favorite internet browser, then save (bookmark) the following links into that folder. Once you’ve read the article, you can print & save your favorite articles, then delete the item from the “To Read” bookmark folder. This will help you manage your list of articles “To Read”.

On Website Development & Enhancement:

1. “What Aristotle tells us about writing for the web” by Architela (Architela Blog)
2. “What makes a website successful? It might not be what you expect!” by Paul Boag (24 Ways)
3. “Social Shopping: Putting the Emotion Back in E-Commerce” by Brynn Evans (ReadWriteWeb)

On Blogging:

1. “7 Questions to Ask On Your Blog to Get More Reader Engagement” by Darren Rowse (ProBlogger) *Note: If you have a blog, you should be subscribed to Problogger already. That is all. *
2. “Top 5 Blogging Misconceptions” by Bob Bessette (Daily Blog Tips)
3. “WordPress 2.9 – 5 Features that takes your Blog to Next Level” by Ashish Sinha (Pluggd)

On Social Media:

1. “Here’s Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter” written by Dan Zarrella (Copyblogger)
2. “10 Video Tips For Making Better Facebook Fan Pages” written by Niall Harbison (Simply Zesty)
3. “A List of Social Media Marketing Examples” by Peter Kim (Being Peter Kim)

Kishau Rogers

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5 Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About #RVA

Kishau Rogers — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:03:03 +0000

Introduction to the Connect Locally Series

Many businesses are using social media tools such as Facebook to promote their business and connect with potential customers. Perhaps you are one of those businesses. In your goal of taking your business to the next level (worldwide and beyond), don’t forget to connect and support your local businesses and community organizations. This is important for a number of reasons, including the following:

To Identify potential partnerships with local organizations.
To Share information and resources relevant to members of your community.
To Support your community businesses and organizations. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, Small local businesses are the largest employers in the U.S. and employ just over half of U.S. workers.
To Gain more local exposure by becoming an active member of your business community. You can be one of a million businesses selling widgets nationwide or one in ten well known Widget sellers in your community.
To Learn of local events and potential sponsorship opportunities for your business.

There are many other reasons, from both a consumer and business standpoint, to ensure that you’re connecting online with your local businesses. Periodically, I will highlight my favorite local (Richmond, VA) Facebook and Twitter pages. I encourage you to do the same for your area either on your own site(s) or in the comments area. Feel free to share your list of Favorite Local businesses on Facebook for your area. Even if you’re not located in the Richmond, VA area, study the following pages for tips & ideas on using social media to engage your community.

FEATURING … Five Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About

1. MEDIA - RVA Magazine

RVA Magazine offers a unique perspective on life in Richmond, VA. You won’t find run-of-the-mill content here. The bio states that they are “a local, independent publication in Richmond, VA. Our humble little rag puts out 5,000 copies a month with a 100% pickup rate, usually within the first seven days.”
URL: http://www.facebook.com/RVAMAG

2. FOR THE CONNOISSEUR - Wine and Beer Westpark

If you’re a fan of beer and wine, you definitely want to follow Wine and Beer Westpark. They keep it simple. It’s all about beer and wine. I love the fact that they seem to have a loyal local following and very engaged readership on Facebook. They are also very active in terms of events hosted at their location. They’ve incorporated the use of media, specifically photos, very well on their Facebook page.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/WineandBeerWestpark

3. THE ARTS - Richmond Center Stage

Everyone is excited about the opening of Richmond CenterStage, the region’s new performing arts complex located in the heart of downtown Richmond. Find some downtime and visit the center. This is important in ensuring that the Richmond CenterStage can continue to bring the best talent to the area, as well as for ongoing economic development in the downtown area. The CenterStage’s Facebook page includes awesome photos of the venue, as well as updated information on upcoming activities.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/richmondcenterstage

4. COMMUNITY PAGE – Downtown Shortpump

OK, as a resident of this community, perhaps I’m a bit biased. But this page lives up to its mission which states “We are the number one source for news, events, and more in the Far West End of Richmond, Virginia.” Trevor Dickerson, Founder & Managing Editor, has done a stellar job in creating a community Facebook page that serves its members. The content is focused. They’ve included the use of media well, specifically video and photos. This is the page where I obtain news about my community that doesn’t make the local television news. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are clearly stated on the information tab. If you’re not a community resident, take a note of how you can create tightly focused content for your audience.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/downtownshortpump

5. SMALL/FAMILY BUSINESS - Pino’s Pizza Italian Family Restaurant

Everything from the page profile picture to the messages on the wall demonstrates why this establishment has been open in Richmond since 1984. Even if you don’t like pizza, you can learn from a bit from their Facebook page. If you have customers, this is how you want your page to look. The wall is filled with testimonials of satisfied customers, new & old.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Richmond/Pinos-Pizza-Italian-Family-Restaurant-Richmond-VA/177966967952?v=wall&ref=search

Kishau Rogers

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RESEARCH: What are the most popular social media tools used by businesses?

Kishau Rogers — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:27:44 +0000

If you plan to use social media tools to promote your business and connect with your target audience, you may be interested in knowing the most popular social media tools used by businesses. Equations Research has published their “2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report” which provides valuable information regarding social media usage for businesses. Their research findings include the top social media tools by company size.

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with less than 50 employees

1. Facebook Page – 89%
2. Online Videos – 68%
3. Facebook Group – 58%
4. Twitter – 53%
5. Blogs – 53%

TABLE: Social Media Tools Used By Company Size (Brands)

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with 50 to 500 employees

1. Facebook Page – 60%
2. Twitter – 56%
3. Online Video – 52%
4. Facebook Group – 44%
5. Blogs – 36%

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with more than 500 employees

1. Twitter – 73%
2. Facebook Page – 67%
3. Online Video – 65%
4. Blogs – 65%
5. Facebook Group – 56%

The study found than companies were actively using an average of 5 to 7 social media tools.

So, How should I Interpret this?

If you have not considered using social media tools to enhance your marketing efforts, you should note that over two-thirds of businesses are. Therefore, it is a strategy that at least should be considered.
Also, it is interesting to note that the top 5 tools are the same for small, mid size and large companies: Facebook, Twitter, Online Video and Blogs. This should not determine the tool that you choose to use, but the popular distribution channels are worth noting.
You will need to consider your target audience prior to selecting a tool. It would be ineffective to use Facebook as a distribution channel if most of your target audience prefers Twitter.
In creating a social media strategy, reference the data available in research findings and case studies. Use this information to create a social media strategy that goes beyond experimentation.

Note: The study referenced in this article is only one of many credible research studies available. The sample size and study methodology is provided in the full report. If you’re interested in downloading the complete study, visit http://www.equationresearch.com/, then click on the 2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report image located in the right sidebar.

Kishau Rogers

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Information Overload: Using social media to share information

Kishau Rogers — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:12:57 +0000

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about information overload, particularly from the perspective of one who receives a lot information daily (actually hourly). I’m sure many people can relate, particularly those with an email account, at least one social media account and a phone. Then, I began to think of information overload from the perspective of one who shares information via social media or other channels. This post focuses on how information overload affects your ability to effectively use social media to inform and connect with your target audience.

Information Overload: A symptom of the high-tech age, which is too much for one human being to absorb in an expanding world of people and technology. It comes from all sources including TV, newspapers, magazines as well as wanted and unwanted regular e-mail and faxes. It has been exacerbated enormously because of the formidable number of results obtained from web search engines.

THE PROBLEM
Many people, myself included, are becoming frustrated with the volume of information pushed into their email inbox, voice mailbox, fax machine, twitter stream, facebook feed, cell phones, rss readers and the list goes on and on and on. People are searching for strategies for managing information and for tuning out any information that is unoriginal, overwhelming or of little value to them; this includes ignoring, unsubscribing, unfollowing, defriending and flat out deleting.

THE SOLUTION
Understanding information overload will help you in determining how to best connect with your target audience and how to ensure that your information is valuable and makes ‘the cut’ when they have “HAD ENOUGH!” and decide to reduce the noise. This can also improve your ability to effectively communicate with your target audience. You should understand:
1. the potential reaction your target audience may experience when you push information into their inboxes, twitter streams or other social media feeds.
2. the volume of information available on the same topic.
3. the value of the information to your target audience.

THE STRATEGY
Be sensitive to your audience by determining the following before ‘pushing’ information:
1. Is this important to my audience? (determining value)
2. Is this the best method for distributing this information to my audience? (selecting tools: Twitter, Blogs, Email etc.)
3. How does this information differ from other resources on the same topic? (ensuring originality)
4. Have I repeated this information before? When? Where? How many times? (reducing clutter)

Kishau Rogers

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Twitter for Grown Folks

Kishau Rogers — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:07:42 +0000

An information (or informational) cascade occurs when people observe the actions of others and then make the same choice that the others have made, independently of their own private information signals. Because it is usually sensible to do what other people are doing, the phenomenon is assumed to be the result of rational choice. Nevertheless, information cascades can sometimes lead to arbitrary or even erroneous decisions.

Standing Out from the Crowd

THE RULES

If you’ve used Twitter for longer than one day, you’ll quickly discover that there are unwritten rules and etiquette for using the tool. This is specific to those using Twitter for business. What are those rules you ask? Well … it depends on who you ask. There are rules for:

1.    How to find & select followers.
2.    How to tweet.
3.    How much to tweet.
4.    How to Retweet.
5.    How much to Retweet.
6.    How/When to send a direct message.
7.    How to welcome to new followers.
8.    How not to welcome new followers.
9.    If you should even welcome new followers.
10.    When to respond to @replies.
11.    When not to respond to @replies.
12.    Respond to @replies by @replying or via direct message.
13.    When to automate.
14.    When not to automate.
15.    How to determine the maximum number of manageable followers.
16.    How often to tweet to be considered active.
17.    How often to tweet to be considered worrisome.
18.    What is considered ‘spammy’.
19.    What is considered ‘not spammy’
20.    Who is exempt from following ‘spammy’ rules.

Seems like a lot to learn, right?

YOUR RULES

I wouldn’t waste my time adhering to a set of rules that change rapidly and are greatly dependant on the opinions of a small group. Everyone is using the tool differently and for varying purposes. Everyone has their own set of irritations and pet peeves. Therefore your strategy for using the tool should be specific to your own goals & objectives. If you’re serious about using to the tool long term, focus on:

1.    Defining your priorities & goals.
2.    Learning how to effectively use to tool to meet your goals.
3.    Engaging and connecting with your “followers” in a real way.

fol•low•er
n.
1. One who subscribes to the teachings or methods of another; an adherent: a follower of Gandhi.
2. A servant; a subordinate.
3. A fan; an enthusiast.
4. One that imitates or copies another: A successful marketing campaign will have many followers.

Twitter uses the term “follower” to describe the activity of subscribing to another’s Twitter stream. It doesn’t mean that you have to BE a follower while using Twitter.

Avoid “group-think”. Make your own rules. If you’ve defined your priorities & goals for using the tool, you’ll know if your strategy is working for you. You can use others to learn ideas for new & creative ways to use Twitter, but don’t allow the rules set by gurus, experts, or the masses to cripple your use of the tool.

Don’t want to follow anyone that doesn’t follow you back? Great! Make that YOUR rule and stick to it. As long as it works for you, it’s all good with me.
Don’t want to follow anyone that sends automated direct messages (DMs). Fine with me. Connect with the folks that don’t send the auto DMs.
Prefer to automate your use of the tool? Go for it. If you lose masses of followers because of it, you can revisit that decision later. Otherwise, perhaps you’ll find masses of Twitterers that don’t mind automated messages. Win. Win.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Aim for the win-win. The next time a debate or rule setting session arises on Twitter, ignore it and ask yourself:

1.    What are MY priorities & goals?
2.    Is this tool still an effective method for meeting my goals?
3.    Am I engaging and connecting with my “followers” in a real way? If not, what am I doing wrong?

If you made it through high school, you can make it on Twitter.

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Kishau Rogers

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Make It Real! Using Social Media for Business

Kishau Rogers — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:05:10 +0000

Growing a Real Professional Network Using Social Media

If you’re using social media tools for professional networking and to promote your business, strive to make real connections. Do this by connecting with people that have the same objectives and a desire to have your online communications evolve into a real connection.

Advantages

A few advantages to using social media tools for networking are:

It allows you to connect with much more people than the average attendance at a local networking event.
It allows you to evaluate people and their business activities in a way that in-person networking does not allow. You can immediately view their bio, review their web pages and blogs and even Google them if you have time.
It provides a system for automatically organizing your connections. You don’t need to CardScan or type in the information from the stack of cards you would obtain from an in-person networking event.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages are actually the same as the advantages.

It allows you to connect with much more people than the average attendance at a local networking event. As your number of connections increase, you will find that it’s almost impossible to connect with everyone on your list. You could lose the opportunity to make a valuable connection because you simply don’t have the time to review everyone’s bio, blog and web page. You have to work too.
It allows you to evaluate people and their business activities in a way that in-person networking does not allow. You can immediately view their bio, review their web pages and blogs and even Google them if you have time. This is an advantage and a disadvantage. Some of the connections that you make offline may not have “made the cut” if you had a chance to review their bio, blog and web page. Due to the volume of potential connections that people can make on the internet, most people have developed some hard standards (sometimes subconsciously) for determining when to make a connection. Standards such as the quality of your web page, how often you post to your blog, if there are typos in your bio, your bio photo and how many other connections you’ve made. And if you’re new ‘on the scene’, you have to pass an initiation phase that proves that you’re not a spammer. This is usually accomplished by enlisting the support of friends, family members and former coworkers. God help you if you don’t have friends, family members and coworkers to get you started (sarcasm alert).
It provides a system for automatically organizing your connections. This is an advantage and disadvantage because while it saves you time, it awakens the ego. Unless you’re a robot, human nature will prevail and you’ll start to play the numbers game. This is the game where you monitor your connection numbers like your blood pressure and cholesterol scores. Always trying to ensure that you appear “well connected”. The data is right there in front of you and each time you log in, the system will remind you of where you fall on the lame scale. Connections entered locally, on your PC, aren’t compared and measured against someone else’s Outlook database. Connections maintained online are analyzed and evaluated to death and you get to witness the final verdict.

The Problem

Avoid falling pray to the disadvantages mentioned above. This could lead to an over inflated “network” that is essentially filled with a bunch of folks that don’t know you from a can of paint. And some of them don’t even want to know you; your job in their eyes is to stay on their list (so their numbers don’t decrease) and to not start any trouble.

Phony “connections” are simply not effective for professional networking.

Let’s take a moment to be honest and clear, people use social networking tools such as LinkedIn for a reason … not simply for kicks and giggles.

If you plan to use social media tools to promote your business or to build/enhance professional relationships and you have thousands of connections, but you haven’t made it past the introductory phase or don’t feel comfortable emailing them a simple greeting or announcement, you have not made a connection at all. You’ve simple padded your numbers with phony connections that are potentially meaningless. If you’re growing your professional network and promoting your business, what good is there in having 3,000 LinkedIn connections if you’re ignored or tagged as a spammer the moment you send them a message?

The Solution

Be honest about your intentions, find others with similar objectives and reduce your connections down to something that is real and meaningful to get an accurate picture of your network. A good rule of thumb is to send a friendly greeting (“Hello!”) and an open ended question (“What’s going on with you?”) to anyone that you choose to “connect” with on sites such as LinkedIn. UPDATE: Be sure to personalize your initial message so that the receive will know that you actually wrote the message. Also, when you receive a response, respond to it. Many “spammers” use auto responders to automatically send similar messages; you will want to ensure that you stand out from that pack. This message is an attempt to find a common thread and to express your objective to further the conversation. If within a reasonable amount of time, you don’t receive a response, you have my permission to delete them.

Make It Real!

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Kishau Rogers

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Kill The Noise – Managing Your Social Networking Time

Kishau Rogers — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:22:54 +0000

Managing Your Social Networking Time

It’s a scientific fact that time (seems to) move faster while on the internet. If you plan to use social media tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for business, develop a plan for managing your time so that your productivity does not suffer.

1. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

First, you should identify well defined goals for each social media tool that you plan to use. Knowing what you’d like to get out of each tool will help you determine the scope of your interactions and how much daily/weekly time is necessary to accomplish your goal. Here’s an example:

LinkedIn Goals – professional networking, online database of current and past clients and coworkers, sharing ideas/best practices with others in my industry
Twitter Goals – professional networking via mini-blogging, sharing brief ideas or instant updates
Facebook Goals – personal/social networking, keeping in contact with friends, family and professionals that I wish to connect with on a social level.

2. TIME MANAGEMENT 101

Identify available periods of time (daily or weekly) to dedicate to social networking. Having specific time periods for using the tools reduces the chances of “time passing by” while online. Also, keeping a social networking schedule allows your “friends” and contacts to predict when you’re most likely to be online and available for “social networking”. If you’ve dedicated this time as social networking time, you will be able to effectively focus on your interactions. It’s nearly impossible (and not effective) to perform other duties while communicating with people online.

3. SCHEDULE YOUR DOWNTIME

You should also identify the time periods where you are not “connected”. If you utilize mobile tools to “stay connected” or other tools that alert you when you’ve received a new message or a new “friend” request, identify a time window to turn these tools & alerts OFF. If the tool is turned off, you won’t be tempted to respond to it right away. You may also want to consider if you need to be notified immediately when something happens online. If you have dedicated times for logging in, you’ll learn about the new request as soon as you reconnect. If you have made a genuine connection with someone on a social networking site, they should have another method for contacting you if an immediate response is needed.

4. MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

When you are using social networking tools, be sure to use your time wisely. If your goal is to keep in contact with family & friends via Facebook, don’t spend your “Facebook time” playing WordTwist games … ok, sometimes a game (or 5) of WordTwist is necessary to decompress (and for other very important reasons), but be sure that you use some of this time to actually check in with your family & friends.

If you plan to use LinkedIn to share ideas with other professionals in your industry, make sure that you use some of your LinkedIn time responding to the questions in the Q&A section or discussing topics in industry specific groups (i.e. don’t spend each hour trying to boost your number of LinkedIn connections. If you never connect with the people on your existing contact list, boosting the numbers will not serve as the best strategy for building an EFFECTIVE network).

5. LEAVE THE HOUSE

Finally, you will become a much more interesting person to “connect” with online, if you go outside and do something other than work and online social networking. Be sure that a great portion of your downtime is spent doing something that you truly enjoy, then share your experiences with your network.

Have fun!

Was this helpful? If so, remember to “Like” and/or Retweet this article. Also, remember to Subscribe to Websmith Group via Email or Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or RSS!

Kishau Rogers

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How B2B Marketers Can Get Started With Social Media (Hubspot)

Kishau Rogers — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:54:14 +0000

How B2B Marketers Can Get Started With Social Media Presented by Hubspot

Kishau Rogers

Website - Twitter - More Posts

Websmith Group | Web Application and Software Development, Strategy and Consulting » Social Media

Cool vs Common Sense: Are we sharing too much of the wrong information

Blippy: Cool vs. Common Sense

Foursquare: Cool vs. Common Sense

Are we sharing too much … of the wrong information

Claim.io: Protecting your brand on social media networks

Audio/Podcast

Transcript

Happy 5th Anniversary to the First YouTube video

YouTube Stats

This is where it started.

Most Viewed Video

Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 20 – Dec 26)

On Personal & Business Development:

On Website Development & Enhancement:

On Social Media:

On Blogging:

Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 13 – Dec 19)

On Web Development, Business Development, & Marketing:

On Blogging:

On Social Media:

On Graphic Design, Art & Photography (Inspiration):

Introducing Blippy (Subtitled: It’s Silly Season)

Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Dec 6 – Dec 12)

On Business Development, Leadership & Marketing:

On Blogging:

On Social Media:

Weekly Roundup: Website and Social Media Resources (Nov 29 – Dec 5)

On Website Development & Enhancement:

On Blogging:

On Social Media:

5 Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About #RVA

Introduction to the Connect Locally Series

FEATURING … Five Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About

RESEARCH: What are the most popular social media tools used by businesses?

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with less than 50 employees

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with 50 to 500 employees

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with more than 500 employees

So, How should I Interpret this?

Information Overload: Using social media to share information

Twitter for Grown Folks

THE RULES

YOUR RULES

THE BOTTOM LINE

Make It Real! Using Social Media for Business

Advantages

Disadvantages

The Problem

The Solution

Make It Real!

Kill The Noise – Managing Your Social Networking Time

1. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

2. TIME MANAGEMENT 101

3. SCHEDULE YOUR DOWNTIME

4. MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

5. LEAVE THE HOUSE

Have fun!

How B2B Marketers Can Get Started With Social Media (Hubspot)