Entries Tagged 'social networking' ↓

We don’t talk any more.

That’s what people are saying.

Today we communicate through email, text, Facebook, Twitter etc. The art of conversation is dying.

Is it really that bad?

Have advances in technology, and in particular social media, begun to change the way society interacts?

For some social media is killing conversation and personal interaction; for others social media is opening up new channels of communication and giving opportunities never before offered.

Which camp are you in?

It’s advances in things such as Wi-Fi that have really revolutionised our work and social lives. Now you can tweet, Facebook and blog practically anywhere which is changing the way we work.

I came across this entertaining and thought provoking post by David Murton on Convince and Convert – Is Wi-Fi Making You Anti Social? It’s well worth a read and addresses the way in which greater connectivity has made social media on the move easier and takes a look at how it could change society.

What are your thoughts?

Sally Ormond – Copywriter, blogger and social media addict

Do you need a parachute when you jump out of a plane?

Every business, if they engage in social media, needs a policy in place.

The social media channels you use are a direct line to your consumers (and competitors). Everything happens in real time – as soon as you hit send your message or tweet goes out to potentially thousands of people.

Get your message wrong and you could find yourself in serious hot water.

The implementation of a social media policy will help protect your company by:

• Ensuring you can avoid PR nightmares
• Making sure all your employees know what you expect of them
• Keeping you out of legal hot water
• Protecting confidential or sensitive information about your company

You must decide what your company’s line will be in the case of defamatory comments being made about it.

How will you react to positive comments?

Who will be monitoring your social media activity and who will be engaging with your followers?

Social media is an excellent tool for businesses to use but, especially for larger companies, it can be a potential mine field so you must ensure you have a social media policy in place before you begin to dabble.

Before you go any further check out this useful post on Mashable – 10 Must Haves For You Social Media Policy.

Engage and enjoy social media, but make sure everyone knows what they’re doing.

A beginner’s guide to social media interaction

Social media – does it strike fear into your heart?

Do you suddenly experience hot flushes when someone asks if you’re on Twitter or Facebook?

Do you have the blankest of all blank moments when it comes to starting your blog?

You’re not alone. Those that ‘get’ social media make it look effortless and will wow you with their success stories. Those that don’t ‘get’ social media will tell you it’s a complete waste of time.

One of the biggest hurdles a social media newbie will experience is working out what they’re going to say, when they’re going to say it, and how to interact with other people.

I have put together a few tips to help you on your way and to demystify some aspects of social media.

How should I look on social media?

Once you’ve set you account up, you should upload your avatar.  Some people upload company logos, others don’t upload anything and just use one of the platform’s generic images.

First off, use a photo of yourself and not your company logo, especially if you’re a sole trader. People like to know who they are interacting with. If your company is a partnership or larger organisation, try adding a photo of the person that tweets on your Twitter home page.

Use a good photo (not something that’s grainy or hard to make out), and a recent one. That way you’ll avoid the embarrassing moment when you meet face to face and you’re unrecognisable.

How do I follow people?

As you know Twitter is a social media platform where you gather ‘followers’.

If you want to control who follows you, you can protect your tweets so people have to ‘apply’ to follow you. The only problem with that is that you come across as being very secretive and unapproachable and therefore may actually put people off interacting with you.

One thing I’m often asked is what if you don’t want someone following you? Well you can block them if you want but the main thing to remember is that you don’t have to follow them back if you don’t want to.

The most important thing about Twitter is that you follow people you want to follow and that you interact with your followers. Very few people will check out who’s following you first before they decide whether they want to or not. A following decision is usually based on:

• Who you are?
• What you have to say?
• Are in an industry relevant to them?
• Are your tweets interesting?

One of the great things about Twitter is that it makes people accessible – people you wouldn’t normally have contact with. But don’t worry if not everyone follows you back. Celebrities for example don’t always return your follow.

As for whether it’s the done thing to follow your competition, why not? They’ll follow you and you can learn a lot about them from their tweets. Most people enjoy interacting with people in the same industry. As a freelance copywriter I follow a number of fellow scribes and enjoy interacting with them, exchanging stories and tips for best practice.

What should I say?

The first thing to remember is that social media channels are social – they’re not paid for advertising space which you can constantly promote your business through. If you do, you’ll become very lonely very quickly because people will get fed up with your constant spam.

Comment on other people’s tweets/posts/blogs and promote them to others if you find them interesting.  If someone shares your content by retweeting, thank them but don’t retweet their praise and then thank them – that’s bad form.

If you want to retweet something (or blog about someone else’s work), make sure you credit the original source. Also if someone does retweet your content, comment on your blog or post something on your Facebook page, thank them.

What else do I need to know?

When inserting links in your blogs, tweets or Facebook updates, make sure you always disclose whether they are affiliate links, or a link that you’ll benefit from in some way – be honest.

In the same way, if you’re writing about a client or using them within a case study etc., make sure you mention them and link back to them.

I get the interaction stuff now, but how can I promote my business too?

Blatant and constant self-promotion will be frowned upon, but that’s not to say you can’t promote your business.

Giving great information and sharing with others will show you as someone who is knowledgeable, approachable and an all round good egg.

If you have special offers you want to promote, tweet about them but not constantly.  And balance your own promotional tweets with plugs for other people.

Plus if you want to encourage people to retweet your stuff, make sure you leave room for them to do so. Tweeting something that’s 139 characters long doesn’t make retweeting very easy.

The final aspect I want to cover is the use of direct tweets and direct messages on Facebook. Promotions made this way are really annoying because you are targeting people specifically – it’s a bit like having a doormat full of junk mail all day long.

Go forth and socialise

If you’re not already on social media, do it. It’s not scary, it doesn’t have to take over your life and it can be great fun and a great source of new business too.

Using Facebook (I’m at freelance copywriting) and Twitter (@sallyormond) have been great for my business and they can be for yours too.

Feel free to follow me and ask for any pointers, I’ll be happy to help you get to grips with the wonderful world that is social media.

Social media and social networking sites appear to be taking over the world at the moment.

Practically everyone seems to be Tweeting, Facebooking, LinkedIn-ing so how do you keep on top of everything? Is there room for another new site?

Let’s look at the first point – How do you keep on top of everything?

Firstly, if you tried to be active on every social networking site out there you’d soon end up in a padded room.

The trick with social media is finding out which applications work for you and your business. Don’t sign up to everything just because ‘everyone else’ seems to be doing it.

Do your research – what do you want to achieve from social media? Once you’ve worked that out, find out which one(s) is the best match for your needs.

Next up – Is there room for another site?

With the recent emergence of Quora it would appear a the answer to that is a resounding “yes”.

Unlike other sites, Quora is based on a question and answer format. Like Twitter you have followers and can follow questions that are specific to your industry and expertise. It is an opportunity to respond to other users and pass on your knowledge or post a question to which you need an answer.

Hub Spot Blog has recently published a very useful post to help anyone looking to dabble in the waters of Quora to see if it’s for them. Entitled A Marketer’s Guide to Quora it’s well worth a read and will explain how you can use Quora to help your own business and online marketing activities.

As a relative newcomer, I had initially set up my profile and started following questions in my areas of expertise such as copywriting. But now, thanks to those wonderful people at Hub Spot, I have discovered how I can use Quora to help me and others.

Thanks guys!

Social media can be useful for every part of your business.

It’s not and should not be used solely as a tool for self-promotion. If you do that you’ll be about as popular as a skunk in a broken lift.

In the good old days the only way customers could get in touch with you was by phone or letter. If they were disgruntled they would moan to their friends about your service and products and you’d probably be none the wiser.

But now, they won’t just talk to their friends. Social media has given them an incredibly loud voice so if they’re unhappy about something, it won’t be long before the whole world knows about it.

How to use social media to your advantage

Monitoring social media channels can help practically every part of your business.

People love to talk and if you listen carefully you can learn a lot about their habits, their likes, their dislikes and their needs.

1. Sales

So let’s take a look at how social media can help your sales department.

The ideal time to sell to someone is when they’re ready to buy. But that’s not easy. Say you were a local electrical retailer and were looking to push a new line of washing machines. Monitoring social media channels will help you identify people who are asking advice about which washing machine to buy or those who are moaning because theirs has just broken etc.

By responding, making contact and offering advice puts you in the right place at the right time – when they’re ready to buy.

2. Marketing

Can it help with marketing?

Oh yes. Listening to your target market will give you an idea of whether what you’re saying and what they think are aligned. Do your marketing materials answer the questions they raise? Are you speaking the same language as them?

Many companies have the odd idea that they have to speak in a language all of their own. Their words have to sound impressive and convoluted – they think that’s what their customers will be impressed by.

Wrong. Customers want straight talking. If you’re a window cleaner call yourself that rather than a vision technician.

3. Customer service

As for customer service, that one speaks for itself.  I’ve already mentioned how useful social media is for disgruntled customers so make sure you’re listening. If someone has received bad service, make contact straight away and put it right.

This rapid response shows you as a company that cares about its customers. So you could turn a bad situation to your advantage.

4. Development

You’ve probably got your R&D boffins locked away somewhere trying to come up with ways to improve your products.

But surely it’s your customers you should be listening to?

Social media channels will let you eaves drop on their conversations about what they would really like your products to do. You can even ask them directly to do a bit of customer research.

5. Human resources

Yes, social media can even help your HR department.

How?

Well social media users have profiles showing their skills and experience. You can search for specific talent that your company needs. You can even see what connections they have. Head hunting has never been so easy.

So as you can see, social media can help practically every aspect of your business. These online channels are a direct link between you and your customers so use them.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter, blogger and social media addict.