Social Media Implementation Article in the BC AMA Magazine
Following is an excerpt of an article I wrote for the BC Chapter of the AMA (You can download the entire magazine and read the full article here)
Great conversations in the offline world are about listening, providing insight, empathy, and at times the right measure of humor. The same goes for online tools. In using a tool like Twitter here are some tips on being engaging:
• Fill out your profile completely with a current photo, link to your personal blog or site, and use the entire 140 characters provided for your bio. Hiding who you are or not providing your company information can create a barrier to trust or engagement.
• Update regularly, for most active Twitter users that’s 8 to 15 times per day. Key principle: don’t update unless it adds value, solves a problem, inspires or entertains your target market.
• Share useful links to sites other than yours. Also pass on and share (know as retweeting on Twitter) useful information from other Twitter users. This will strengthen your relationship with them and increase the chances of them sharing your messages.
• Use social search to monitor what people are saying about your company or your industry. http://search.twitter.com can give you by-the-minute opportunities to engage people who are talking about your brand. You can instantly solve a problem or correct a situation as it happens.
• Vary your message and the frequency so that you appear human and not robotic. Your updates should be a combination of personal messages, corporate updates, answering questions, commenting on other people’s great tweets, and links to valuable information.
• If you sound like everyone else you’re not a brand or a leader. Create engaging content and unique conversations. This is vital to building a brand and solidifying client relationships.
Great use of Twitter and other social mediums and networks is 90% listening and contribution and 10% marketing and messaging. While that seems like a bad marketing ratio we can go back to what John C. Maxwell said about leadership “It’s 90% connection and 10% content.”
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Video – Social Media Etiquette
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette
Video – Make Social Media Part of What You Do
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Video – Why Blogging is Critical to Your Social Media Strategy
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson Video on Why Blogging is Critical:
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Picking the Wrong Profession by @FredShadian
You see this in the business world all of the time whether someone is selling cars, insurance, real estate, or electronic equipment. They try really hard to become successful. They read all the motivational books and they go to all the personal development seminars yet, no matter how hard they try, they just can’t seem to become successful in their chosen field.
Simply put, it’s just not their calling. You have to be 100 percent congruent with what it is you are promoting, selling and marketing. Whether you are an athlete promoting your talent or a marketer promoting your product you need to be excited enough to get up early and stay up late. Your chosen profession must be in harmony with your calling in life. Your success will be your destiny.
@FredShadian
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Some of My Favorite Vancouver Twitter and Blogging Friends
Being online and making connections is fun. We all love to see out Twitter, blog, and video following increase. For me though, it’s events like this Tweetup that was organized by Capones that make it all real for me. Meeting people you are connected to online seems to slow things down temporarily and really help build trust and intimacy.
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Another Way to Support the Vancouver Food Bank for #blogathon 09
My friend Trevor Wallace decided to not do a cash donation and donate food directly at a Vancouver Food Bank collection box. If you believe in the cause and would prefer to do that fantastic. Send me a pic like Trevor did and I will put it up on the site. My son also brought some cans, macaroni and cheese, and pasta from his Mom’s house too, guess we’ll be doing a delivery tomorrow too.
Thanks Trevor!
Trevor Wallace with his food donation
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Developing a Social Media Policy and Guidelines
In our book Sociable! Stephen Jagger and I talk about the importance of having a set of guiding principles and policies for your organization as you enter the social media space. We developed one for ourselves and the other people that are involved in Sociable! with us. Following is a direct excerpt out of our book of our social media policy and guidelines we call the Sociable! Code of Engagement:
#1) Treat every action as if it will be recorded for eternity.
Almost everything we say online is recorded, logged and backed up somewhere. In every restaurant, bar or conference room there’s dozens of people with mobile video, photo, and blogging apps that capture our behavior in an instant and broadcast it to the world instantly and permanently. You really can’t delete a bad blog post, a rude response. Be careful what you say, blog, tweet and do, because the impact can be permanent.
#2) Talk about what you know.
Being Sociable! is about being a thought leader, and contributor to community and being authentic and transparent. People rely on us for advice and guidance. Stating opinion as fact can hurt our reputation and it may even harm the person taking our advice. If we’re wrong, or inaccurate we can expect to be called out on it and even embarrassed in the social media space by other bloggers or community members. Always be learning, studying and fact checking in the area which you aspire to lead in, and don’t exaggerate or fabricate your knowledge or the facts.
#3) Get Engaged.
Don’t broadcast, connect. Being Sociable! is about listening, connecting, contributing. Engagement is how we make other people feel, it’s also about the lasting impact that we have on them and their success. To be Sociable! you must monitor, listen to and actively answer and communicate with the individuals in the community in a personable customized and relevant way.
#4) Give credit where credit is due
If you hear a great quote from someone, an interesting hypothesis or learn a new business process make sure you give him or her the credit. Just because something is not protected under copyright does not mean we can re-purpose it without giving credit. A quick link back to their site, a mention of them at your seminar or in your video only takes seconds. What it does though is build the trust of everyone watching, they know you’re in this for more than just personal gain and will be Sociable! with you as well.
#5) No Spam
Never send generic messages to people who have given you permission to connect. If they have added you as a connection in a social network, realize that this is not to be taken lightly. Only send information or communicate in a way that is adding value, every time. Avoid auto messages, auto blog links, or auto anything that makes people feel like a number and not a valued contact.
#6) Know when to Zip it
Be conscious of private or confidential information that has been trusted to you. This means don’t post it anywhere on the web. It also means don’t talk about it in public, someone else could hear or record you and post it online for the world to see. Know the difference between fact, opinion and slander and always err on the side of being legally diligent. In other words don’t post anything that could result in an unwanted court appearance.
#7) This is not a video game
Some people see social media as a video game. A game where you collect names and followers like a some sort of digital trophy case. This game is getting old fast. The real measure of someone who is legitimately Sociable! is impact and action. Focus on quality or relationships with people you are connected with. Focus on people doing something when they get to your blog, not how many people visit it. Think in the term of profits made, impact created or actions caused by your Sociable! activity.
#8) Be open to all feedback
The days of corporate white washing are over, so is having a dual life, everyone now knows what your up to in this digital world that lacks privacy. People are going to go after you online on your personal blog, our corporate blog or blast you with a video or a comment on a social network. When this happens, don’t hide and don’t delete their comments or the errors you have made. Engage instead. Customer complaints are branding opportunities and sometimes our critics are actually bold allies trying to set us straight. With criticism it’s important to respond strategically not emotionally and to set the record straight with a correction, the facts, or good old fashion customer service and apologies.
#9) Digital rights
We make our living from the great ideas, content and creative works we create, market and produce. Being Sociable! means our brand is one of integrity, authenticity and transparency. We need to respect others copyright and creative works just like we would want them to do for us. Always ask permission or give attribution to other people’s creations that you use, cite, or include in your work. Every photo, video, quote or audio clip we use must be posted by us and distributed in a way that respects others’ work and it’s digital integrity.
#10) Be Sociable!
Being Sociable! also means not taking our self or our brand too seriously. In order to be a true Sociable! thought leader you must have fun, be passionate and contribute to the success of your clients, peers, family and community as a whole. Most importantly we continually strive to “get real” by taking our online connections and meet them individually or as a community through events like Meetups, Tweetups, and community functions. We do this to deepen and expand relationships. Without strong Sociable! relationships we’re just another marketer or sales person pitching something.
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Register for book tour and early release information on the the book here:
Momentum – Guest Blog Entry by Fred Shadian
This guest blog entry is by Fred Shadian (on twitter @fredshadian) my very best friend and mentor:
Momentum is a progression of movements that are created just like an ocean wave. You can become part of the flow of momentum and be caught by the wave and ride it to create the momentum that you desire in any aspect of your life.
The key to creating momentum, in reality, is to recognize the extraordinary movement in your life or in your organization and to take small steps each and every day towards your desired outcome. Determine where you are at and where you are going and stay focused, using your time and talent, until you feel totally congruent with your desire.
My martial arts instructor, Sensei David Harris, would always share with me the importance of daily activities towards a desired goal. If, for any reason, you feel that you are at a plateau you can continue your level of progression by reading a book on the subject that you are pursuing, or you can watch a video on the related subject, maybe you can attend a seminar or you could mentally rehearse your desired outcome for your success.
It is important is to do something, regardless of how small or how large. By taking action daily you create the motion towards your desired achievement.
Stay focused on the end result, be realistic in your approach, and take a step-by-step progression that leads you to your ultimate goal.
There is a Hawaiian saying: “When the surf is high, go surfing and when the water is calm, wax your board.”
Timing is of the essence when riding the wave of momentum. If you hop on too early, you might crash. If you hop on too late, you miss the wave. By timing the wave correctly, you enjoy the ride all the way to the beach.
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Why? #why
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
This podcast is about the question: Why?
This is an important question.
It’s the most important question.
Why?
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Becoming and Influencing Thought Leaders
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Ronald Lee of Man Meets Woman Happy Sexy You and Vancouver Social Board sponsored this post for the blogathon for the Vancouver Food Bank.
The topic Ronald chose was: What It Takes and/or How to Become a Thought Leader?
This is a great question, have a listen to this podcast to hear about becoming and influencing thought leaders.
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Speaking and Training
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