7 Steps to Building a Social Business
I have been a little too busy over the past 3 months. 20 seminars and training sessions, a half-dozen new clients for our social media agency and of course family time! I have a number of new podcasts in the que for you over the next 60 days but I thought I would re-ignite my blogging efforts by sharing a new video I just posted called “7 Steps to building a Social Business.” Also you can also check out our Socialized! Agency Blog for new and breaking news on the social media space. Enjoy!
Also Consider Gannon University Online MBA Programs as another way to build success in the business world. Before you get social a business foundation really helps.
5 Social Media Lessons From Wizard World Comic Con
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At Socialized! our Social Media Agency we have had some incredible opportunities over the past year to work with brands such as the Ford Dealers Association of BC and Alberta, the Certified Management Accounts, CGA BC, CGA Canada and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. However…even producing the week long event “Social Media Week Vancouver” did not prepare us for the passionate, loyal and often opinionated fans at Wizard World Comic Cons. This is a relatively new adventure for us but this podcast reviews 5 social media lessons I have learned (or re-learned) so far:
5 Lessons (Listen to the podcast for a full explanation):
- Tapping into a Tribe is much better than building one
- When people know you’re listening they talk, share, tweet, like and follow
- Amplify the moment
- Run contests to find influencers
- Partner to expand influence
Here are some of the links and resources mentioned in the podcast:
Wizard World Comic Con Sites and Resources
- Wizard World Event and News Site
- Wizard World Comic Con Blog
- Wizard World Facebook Page
- Wizard World on Twitter
Social Media Monitoring:
Socialized! Social Media Agency
- Socialized! Blog
- Socialized! Team on Twitter
- Shane Gibson – Chief Social Officer on Twitter
- Tris Hussey – Chief Geek and Pixel Washer on Twitter
- Anthony Caridi – President on Twitter
Social Media Marketing for Hotels and Resorts
Social media use by hotels for their marketing, service and branding initiatives is growing rapidly. Today a tweet posted by a customer from a hotel front lobby can reach more people than an ad in Air Canada’s in flight magazine. In addition to this we have all witnessed the havoc that a Twitter influencer can have on a brand after the broadcast their disdain for the bad service they have received to their 20,000 followers.
Social Media Tools and Networks are a significant force that is growing. We cannot afford to avoid using them. The truth is in the numbers:
•Facebook: 800 Million People
•Linkedin: 100 Million Professionals representing every company on the Fortune 500
•Twitter: 250 million status updates per day and Twitter search is now the second most used search engine on the planet
•Youtube: 2 Billion Views Per Day
A recent study released by AirPlus International Travel on business travelers has a also cited a significant spike in social media use and stated the following:
“83 percent of respondents indicated they participate in social media sites this year, as compared to 77 percent last year. When delving into specific platforms, LinkedIn users, which held virtually steady in 2009 (58 percent) and 2010 (59 percent), jumped to 74 percent this year. Facebook also grew from a low of 45 percent in 2009 to 55 percent in 2010 and to 62 percent this year.” – Travelpulse.com
This all adds up to one important conclusion. It’s not a question of whether or not your customer uses social media or social networks. The question is are you fully prepared to profit from it?
Progressive marketers such as the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas have seen the rise of the social customer and have responded proactively. Using the industry leading social media influence ranking index Klout.com the Palms will upgrade and roll-out the red carpet for big influencers. They also provide some basic perks for those of us that are social regardless if we rank high – a thank-you for connecting with them socially. Palms calls it their “Klout Klub.”
Before using social media we need to understand some core principles:
#1) Social Media messaging is not produced solely by a marketing team.
Expand marketing roles to everyone possible, taking the number of marketing messages and multiplying them significantly online. In addition to this realize that any customer facing staff need to be well versed in your Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare promotions. Nothing is worse than investing in a brilliant online marketing campaign that your front office doesn’t deliver on.
#2) Provide social media training to all staff.
More important than training on the tools is training on the principles of using the tools. There is a specific etiquette to engaging people in each of the major networks.
#3) Have a social media policy and process that outlines how to engage customers online, and how to deal with influencers in-person.
This should include guidance on how to deal with negativity, social events, and clients. Important note: If your guidelines are too stringent and you take the fun out of Twitter or blogging don’t be surprised if your efforts fall flat.
#4) Listen and Engage in Real-time
Social media is about listening, community, adding value and entertaining people. It’s about a dialogue. It is a two-way communications medium. “Talking at” people or “blasting updates” is not true engagement and it’s not good for your brand either. The biggest opportunity in social media in in the “now.” It’s about instantly engaging the influencer who has announced to Twitter that they are in your lobby, or thanking the person who took the time to check-in on Foursquare while attending a conference at your hotel. That instant feedback and dialogue is what builds brands and lets the customer you care on a very personal level.
#5) Get Local
Every hotel group should have a Twitter and Facebook account but I don’t believe that you should stop at a nationally operated profiles. Go the next step and empower your front line marketing and sales teams to engage with customers on a local level using Twitter, Facebook and any other platforms your customers use. This will give you an advantage over marketing generalists that have not gone hyper-local with their social media efforts.
This blog post was adapted from an article written for the Cdn Hotels Marketing & Sales Executives.
Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years. He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down. When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. (http://socialized.me)
How to Build a Massive Online Identity – Interview with Patrick Schwerdtfeger
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Today’s podcast is an interview with Patrick Schwerdtfeger author of the new book “Marketing Shortcuts for the Self-Employed” (2011, Wiley) and a regular speaker for Bloomberg TV.
We talked about how you can take one blog post and repurpose it in at least seven different ways. Patrick shared with us a few simple tips, that can build a MASSIVE online identity while working less than most of our competitors competitors.
We also covered some important social media how-to’s:
1. Five places to get great content ideas.
2. Seven ways to repurpose your content online.
3. The reality behind blogs, content and getting found online.
4. The three-part “winning formula” for social media success.
For more information on Patrick’s book and a free gift visit http://www.80shortcuts.com/gifts
Social Media Week Vancouver Registration Get Involved!
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Today’s podcast is a little different than most. It outlines the upcoming Social Media Week in Vancouver that my team and I at Socialized! are putting together (with some massive help from our community, sponsors and our advisory board). I will posting a full text outline of this as well on the Social Media Week Vancouver blog shortly. In the meantime, have a listen and if you’re anywhere near Vancouver we would really like to have you attend, sponsor or even speak.
The Seven Sins of Social Media Citizens
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This podcast was one I was apprehensive to post. I’m not angel — but I thought I would share this perspective — possibly as a social media penance. Here’s a quick list.
The Seven Sins of Social Media Citizens
- Entertaining Rumor
- Forgetting Where You Started
- Joining Community Solely for Personal Growth
- Disengaged Once We Are Launched
- Repurposing Without Credit
- Using Your Voice to Bully Other Opinions
- Building Blockades Offline (Being a two-faced Tweeter)
I have broke most of these rules (it was a learning process) and they were hard lessons. Hopefully this podcast will help you shorten your learning curve. Did I miss anything?
The Origins and Evolution of Social Media Consultants (Podcast and InfoGraphic)
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No this is not a post ranting about social media experts and who does or doesn’t qualify to teach and implement strategy. Today’s podcast was inspired by a sketch I did recently, attempting to map out the origins of the now burgeoning social media consulting industry. We all come from different places and have different strengths. Check out the cryptic drawing below and listen to this podcast. What are your thoughts? Did I miss anything? (Click on image to see larger one on Flickr)
Senior Executives and Social Media Phobia
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Today’s podcast is on social media phobia and why senior executives are afraid to embrace the use of social media in their organizations. Many have expressed to me the harm that can come from being social. What they don’t realize are the risks of being left out of the conversation. Have a listen and let me know what your thoughts are on this?
36 Social Media, Leadership and Life Tips in 140 Characters or Fewer
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Today’s blog post and social media podcast is a collection of 36 Tweets I have posted online over the past two weeks relating to social media, leadership and marketing. I have recorded an in-depth explanation (beyond the 140 characters) in my podcast. Have a listen, have a read and add your own in the comments below.
- Social Media Fact: @Banff_Squirrel has more Twitter followers than most marketing experts.
- Social Media Tip: Content is not King [or Queen
] Connection rapport and trust are today’s currencies. - Social Media Tip: build the community, contribute to others success, be authentic and people will line up to help you as well.
- Social Media Tip: treat likes, followers, and connections on any network like gold. Those are votes of trust and confidence.
- Social Media Tip: Contrast keeps the conversation fresh. Vary your update and blog formats. Use multiple media to engage.
- Any social media activity that involves deception, trademark or copyright infringement isn’t guerrilla marketing. It’s lazy marketing.
- Social Media Tip: it’s not old versus new media — it’s about integrating the right media for the right market.
- Social Media Tip: In the “Thank-you Economy” don’t outsource or automate your thank-you’s.
- Social Media Tip: People will read your Tweets and blog posts in the context of their goals and needs. See through their eyes.
- Social Media Tip: Social media marketing is not a fad. BUT social media consultants now need deeper business knowledge.
- Social Media Tip: Blogging is not dead, but recycling content and cut-and-paste mentalities are getting old.
- Social Media Tip: social media strategy needs to be in-line with your business culture and integrated with your business processes.
- Social Media Tip: Having a Twitter account is like having a telephone. It’s just a tool. How are you going to use it to win?
- Social Media Tip: Being an early adopter is not enough. You need to evolve with your market and the tools to stay relevant.
- Social Media Tip: Your rules of engagement will be in context with your goals and your target market’s culture/etiquette.
- Social Media Tip: Activity doesn’t equal profitability. Activity that builds relationships = mindshare = walletshare. Build relationships.
- Want to increase the number of people that follow you back on Twitter? Try taking an interest in them. Marketing is a conversation.
- Social Media Tip: All of the engagement and trust you have built evaporates when your community finds out you outsource your conversations.
- Social Media Tip: You can go it alone, brave the storms and reach great heights by yourself. BUT half the joy is in bringing people with you
- Social Media Tip: hiring the wrong social media help can be worse than not doing it. Be prepared. Assess them & where you are starting from
- Leadership Tip: You don’t need to make someone else irrelevant to raise your profile. In fact you’re usually only hurting your brand.
- Remember it’s not a about blogging, Twitter, Facebook or the next great thing. It’s how you use it. Wisdom comes from mistakes. Experiment.
- Social Media Tip: You are never too popular to be humble. In fact no matter who you are eventually the web will humble you
- Being on a path of integrity isn’t a one time choice. It’s a lifetime of commitment and daily decisions.
- Social Media Tip: Use hootsuite to flag DM’s from other people in Twitter for future follow-up. They can often get buried.
- Social Media Tip: Subscribe to your twitter searches as RSS feeds in your feed reader so that you only have to do the search once…ever.
- Social Media Trend: Community building skills are becoming more important than pitching or selling.
- Good things come to those wait — but they’re usually the things left behind by those who hustle. Giddy up!
- Social media monitoring is vital. The opportunity is in engaging at the right time with the right person on the right topic.
- Leadership Tip: You can never lose by investing in good people. Err on the side of generosity. It will pay in efficiency and loyalty.
- Social Media Tip: Educate and equip all staff to be social… it provides less headache and greater ROI than policing them.
- Social Media Tip: The longer you try to contain social media use to one department the further behind you will be from the marketplace.
- Good publicity is about doing the right thing and getting the word out. Integrity is about doing the right thing when no one is looking.
- Social Media Tip: If you are more aware of the community gossip than you are of the community needs then you’re going the wrong direction.
- Social Media Tip: Stop seeking recognition from the cool kids… instead strive to be significant to the/your community
- Social Media Tip: The more open we are with other people the more willing they are to share with us.
Social Media Podcast: How to get above the noise
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Today’s social media podcast is on “How to get above the noise.” With over a billion people Tweeting, posting to Facebook and blogging about everything imaginable you have a lot of competition for mind share within your target market.
Today I will talk about three things that will help you rise above the crowd:
- Consistency
- Niche and Nano-marketing
- Connecting (Connection is King. Content is secondary)
This is day 5 of my 30 day podcasting challenge. I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next 30 days. If you would like to contribute as a guest on the show e-mail me shane@socialized.me. Otherwise a comment, tweet or Facebook share would be greatly appreciated.
Jessica Northey on Authenticity Social Media and Radio
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Today’s podcast is an interview with @JessicaNorthey, a very sociable social media strategist with a background in broadcast media specializing in helping radio stations and music artists use social media efficiently. Update: She also happens to be ranked as the #1 Most Influential Woman on Twitter by Twitter Grader. We recently exchanged a few tweets on authenticity in social media and after looking at the great work Jessica is doing I asked her to do an interview.
Here’s an excerpt from her bio:
Jessica Northey, SocialMediologist
(Social=Friendly, Media=Form of Communication, Ology=Study Of)
Tucson Native Jessica Northey is taking over Country Music and Radio one Tweet at a time. Specializing in, using Social Media when you ARE the brand, breaking new artists and strategic use of Social Media for Broadcasting; her optimization techniques are being implemented at top stations across the nation, and her writings/methods instructional material for various programs from Real Estate to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
She is a Social Media, Broadcasting, Country and Music Blogger/Writer, Nationally Recognized Speaker, On-Air Personality, Daily Columnist for AllAccess.com, the web’s largest radio and music industry community, who owns Social Media boutique firm Finger Candy Media, LLC.
Having a personal network of over 140,000 followers and a second order influence of over 4 million she is consistently ranked in the top 100 most influential people on Twitter (in the world) according to TwitterGrader.com and in the October Issue of Fast Company Magazine was shown as one of the most influential people on Social Media ranking at 109.
This is day 3 of my 30 day podcasting challenge. I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next 30 days. If you would like to contribute as a guest on the show e-mail me shane@socialized.me. Otherwise a comment, tweet or Facebook share would be greatly appreciated.
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