Still Kicking!

It’s been awhile since my last post, but various forms of life have taken my focus away from blogging.  In any event, I’m trying to get back to it.  While I gather some information, let me know what you’ve seen out there in social media that has gotten your interest.  Particularly my nonprofit followers, what have you seen out there that has worked in the industry?  I’d love to hear from you!

The Importance of Social Media Policy

The best social media strategy in the world can be quickly derailed by weak or non-existent policy.  In fact, it can derail an entire company.  Think that’s a little harsh?  Just ask the brass at Domino’s.

Haven’t heard about the Domino’s debacle?  Here’s a quick rundown.  Last April, some Domino’s employees at a location in North Carolina had the great idea make a video of themselves preparing food in what can be  gently described as a ‘not so sanitary manner’.  They put the videos on YouTube and they spread like wild fire.  What happened next is well documented and is an amazing case study in righting a wrong.  A simple Google search will fetch you the information, so I won’t go too far into it here.  But, what almost crippled Domino’s wasn’t the fact that these clowns did what they did, it was the fact that Domino’s had no policy or procedure in place to either deal with the fallout or respond to it in an efficient way.

So, if you are a business or nonprofit who is getting started with a social media plan, you must take the time to discuss policy and best practice within your organization before you dive in.  Why?  Once you are out there in the world of social media, the potential exists for your employees or business partners to speak on your behalf.  If things turn negative, you need to know how you will deal with them.

You also need to make crystal clear to your employees what type of behavior is expected of them online.  Whether they or you like it or not, your employees act as a voice for your company on social media.  When they fill out their Facebook profile and list XYZ Company as their employer, their thoughts and views can be seen as the thoughts and views of XYZ Company.  Obviously, you can’t stop them from doing what they do on their own time, but policy gives you a level of separation from them when things go wrong.  Domino’s didn’t have that, and they were harshly criticized for it.

Things to think about when it comes to policy:

• Who can and can’t officially add content to the organization’s “official” profiles?

• What level of accountability do your employees have for behavior on personal social media outlets?

• How will your organization respond to negative criticism?  Will it be on the fly, or will a committee address each instance?

• Who speaks for the organization in person, if clients, business partners, or the press question your social media activity?

• Who assesses the appropriateness of content?  Again, on the fly or by committee?

All this, and more, must be on paper and made clear within your organization before activity begins.  A good policy can protect the company and answer many questions that are bound to come up from stakeholders and other internal and external parties.  It’s a must as a first step, and is exactly where my company is right now.

Have experience with social media policy?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

How To Work Twitter: Part 4

When it comes to basic Twitter functionality, the list is the last of the main features I need to cover in this ‘How To’ series.  So, let’s dive right into it.

What is a list?  In my own words, the list is Twitter’s answer to Facebook groups.  If you’re not familiar with Facebook yet, then you can consider a list to be, quite simply, a way to organize your followers.  Why create lists?  Well, say you manage the Twitter account for your nonprofit or small business and you follow 300 other people.  Some are coworkers or volunteers, some are donors, some are sponsors, some are business partners, and some are just regular followers.  Lists provide you with an excellent way to organize who you follow.

When you start to follow lots of people, it can get hard to keep up with every single Tweet that gets sent out.  Lists can quickly and efficiently assist you with catching up.  Maybe you need an idea for a fund raiser or new product promotion.  Quickly browse the list or lists that contain your business partners or competition.  Maybe their content can inspire you.  Need to hire an employee or find a volunteer?  Check out the Tweets of the people on your volunteer or customers list.  Maybe you can find a lead.  Bottom line, lists help you make sense of the cacophony of tweeting that occurs when you start to follow lots of people.

OK…so how do you create a list?  On the right side of your home page, you’ll see a ‘New List’ link on your tool bar, right under the ‘Lists’ heading (how novel!).  Click that and a pop-up appears.  Name your list, explain it if you wish, and make it public or private.  I suggest public, because lists are good tools for your followers to find the people you value…it’s all about networking.  Create your lists and start adding.  The easiest way to add someone to a list is by locating them on your ‘Followers’ page (just tap the word ‘followers’ under the number of followers you have, shown on your home page.  You’ll see a little list icon next to that cog icon we talked about.  The drop down will allow you to add this person to the list (or lists) that you already created.  When you want to take a look at the lists you’ve created, just click the name of the list you want to see.  It will be located on the right side under ‘Lists’ after you create it.  What you’ll see here is a feed made up of the people you put on the list, in chronological order.  The more people on the list, the busier it will be.

It’s that easy.  Along with the value you gain from organizing your followers, you’ll find some value in how happy people are to be listed.  Quite often, you’ll get a ‘thank you’ mention or direct message.  And, quite often, you’ll get added to a list in return.  If you want to take a look at the lists you’ve been added to, click the ‘listed’ number next to ‘following’ and ‘followers’ on the right side if your home page.

Has this ‘How To’ series helped?  Leave me some feedback if you’d like to read explanations of Facebook or  YouTube in this format.

Finding Success On Twitter

Having had some nice responses to my blog by way of my LinkedIn activity, I decided to spend the last two days trying to wrap my head around the world of Twitter.

As I explained before, getting yourself, your blog, or your business noticed using LinkedIn is as easy as joining a group and adding some good content to a new or ongoing discussion. LinkedIn undoubtedly has more to offer, which intend to figure out soon. But, for now, I think I have the hang of it.

Twitter was another story.  Before this week, I had found around 60 people to follow and had in the neighborhood of 30 people following me.  I had one or two people mention me in their tweets and had one re-tweet.  To say the least, I wasn’t making an impact.  So I put the pedal to the metal and found  more people to follow who were talking about my subject matter, especially those who were blogging about it, too.  If I learned something from their blog, I thanked them using the ‘@’ functionality.  Many times they added me, some of them even listed me.  Success!  This drove traffic to my blog, which brought on some very nice feedback.  Like I said before, if I was a business I’d have the potential to monetize these relationships as customers (or even donors as a non-profit).  I doubled my following in two days, and now show up on 5 lists.  Not bad for a few hours worth of hustle.

Here is a rundown of some other tips I picked up along the way:

• As I said before, acknowledge everyone you follow or who follows you in some way.  Mention them in a tweet by thanking them for the content they shared, re-tweet their link to a blog or article, or direct message them to let them know you appreciate the attention.  These actions set off a chain reaction of new contacts.

• Download a program like TweetDeck.  This type of program automatically shortens the links you post, so you can get the most out of your 140 characters.  It also has some instant message pop-up functionality so you don’t miss anything.  You can also index your feed, your mentions, re-tweets, and direct messages on one screen in real time.  Great tool for multi-asking.

• Look for people who are having live discussions about a topic you are interested in.  The leader usually will announce the discussion and will give the hashtag.  This is a great way to share your content with people out of your following in real time.  They can be tough to find, but they are out there.

• Scour all of the tweets you can find and write down the hashtags you see being used to relate to your business or blog topic. The next time you have a tweet about your topic, use those hashtags and you’ll be directing your message to the people who might be interested.

I’m sure I only scratched the surface.  As I learn more, I’ll be sure to share.  If you’re reading this, and you have a tip to add, please do so!

Thanks for reading.

Committing to Social Media is Key

Now that I’m in full swing, I’m seeing some fantastic things in the way of response to my project. Over 150 people have visited my blog since I moved to WordPress and some 150 more have viewed my pages on Tumblr. Sure, some are duplicates, but the fact remains that anything you write can and will have an audience. If I was selling a product, I might have over 300 potential customers and maybe a nice boost in business.

But, for the last few days views and visits are down to just about zero per day. I have not posted any new content since last week. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you’re not posting new and interesting content, then people aren’t going to pay attention to you. On that we can agree.

But, I’m discovering a very important lesson here, and I know for a fact that some companies out there are ignoring it.  The lesson is:  If you aren’t 100% committed to a strong social media campaign, then you’re not going to get the return you seek. I don’t care if you’re a for-profit, a non-profit, or an informational blog – you can’t dabble in social media when you feel like it and expect results.  Common sense, right?  Sure it is.  But, when you’re a small business or a non-profit, social media may shake to the bottom of your priorities list.  Your blog, your Facebook fan page, your Twitter feed, and your LinkedIn activity can lose momentum fast if you’re not staying on the radar of your audience.

The current conversation the communications and marketing team at my company is having is all about allocating resources.  Who can we commit to social media and how best will the bet used.  This is a big part of the strategy that smaller for- and non-profits must have and must get right, or a great deal of time and potential could get lost in the shuffle.