Our Twitter podcast marathon takes us to Langley today, where realtor Teri-Lyn Conrad is using Twitter to stay connected. Teri loves Twitter and is a true advocate of social media. Listen to our conversation to hear how Twittering has benefited her, both from a business and social perspective.
[audio:http://www.out-smarts.com/podcast27.mp3]
Podcast: Download
Coldplay is arguably the biggest band in the world right now. They have embraced social media and are being highly effective in using it. Here’s how:
Their website is very highly visually appealing, strong and effective – at the core of every successful social media campaign is a great site or blog to send people to.
They are using the right forums – Coldplay are active in Twitter, MySpace , Facebook and YouTube but I couldn’t find them on LinkedIn (for obvious reasons). There’s no point trying to be active in every single forum, pick those your audience is using on focus on using them effectively.
They add value - this weekend’s free download of “LeftRightLeftRightLeft”was really smart. Not only did they add value and make people feel like they care but they also collected millions of email addresses (over 3.5 million at last Tweet) in the process giving them even more direct contact with fans. Always look to give the gift of information (or in this case music) and add value for your audience – make them feel good.
Transparency – after a poor start on Twitter (they got lots of flack in the UK for having a PR person Twittering for them) their posts now seem to be somewhat personalized - mainly by Guy. But its hard to tell whether he’s really the real Guy…. One criticism – they could try to be more social and interact with their community rather than simply posting. On Twitter as with an social media forum its important to be who you say you are.
Inclusive rather than exclusive – unlike many celebrities on Twitter who only follow celebrities back, Coldplay are actually following a few thousand fans.
So if you are thinking about using social media, take a look at Coldplay and learn a thing or two from them. And you might want to download the music when you are at it, its well worth a listen.
Adding Value
In the right forums
Its been another trying day for Google users with slow gmail connections, problems with searches, analytics and lots of #googlefail posts on Twitter.
For the second time this year the Internet dominater has frustrated its users. In February Google was panned because Gmail failed for several hours leaving users stranded with no way to access email. At the time the company said it was because of an error at one of its European server centres.
Out-Smarts is a virtual company, we rely on online tools and services like Google to run our business. When Gmail goes down our productivity is effected and we are just one example. How many other companies worldwide are affected in this way and how much does this down time costs? Lots of dosh I would sat.
This time, Google says it was a traffic routing error. Here is the response taken directly from their blog:
Imagine if you were trying to fly from New York to San Francisco, but your plane was routed through an airport in Asia. And a bunch of other planes were sent that way too, so your flight was backed up and your journey took much longer than expected. That’s basically what happened to some of our users today for about an hour, starting at 7:48 am Pacific time.
An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our web traffic through Asia, which created a traffic jam. As a result, about 14% of our users experienced slow services or even interruptions. We’ve been working hard to make our services ultrafast and “always on,” so it’s especially embarrassing when a glitch like this one happens. We’re very sorry that it happened, and you can be sure that we’ll be working even harder to make sure that a similar problem won’t happen again. All planes are back on schedule now.
I can only say that if I was flying from New York to San Fran and the flight I was on ended up routing through Hong Kong, I would wonder what kind of crazy, screwed up airline I was flying with and I would choose never to fly with them again. With Google I don’t really have that choice. What’s more, at least when my airline makes a mistake they usually (not always but usually) offer some kind of compensation. Google only offers a rather pathetic analogy. Thanks Google.
Apparently all is hunky dory again and its business as usual with Google search now. Which is just as well because the Google cam is in the area and I want to check out the new view.
More on the subject:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/164904/google_says_outage_caused_by_traffic_routing_error.html
http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/05/14/google-disruption-sets-web-users-atwitter/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10240875-93.html
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/its_down_the_day_google_stood_still.php
Its been a year since our last podcast with Todd Sieling of Corvus Consulting. Back then I was new to this podcasting lark and collected almost 2 hours of material complete with lots of groovy background noise thanks to a certain coffee shop ( it took me almost a week to edit down!).
This time our podcast is much more easy on your ears and it even has some humor (its geeky but its humor nonetheless). Todd talks about what he’s been up to since last spring, the demise of Magnolia, SXSW and why he hates the term “social media”. Enjoy.
[audio:http://www.out-smarts.com/podcast24.mp3]
Podcast: Download
Its social media crazy season in Vancouver and the surrounding areas with several different events happening back to back over the next few days.
Tomorrow, join us at the SMEI Social Media Roadshow (I’ll be moderating a panel with mega guest speakers including Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss 604), Rob Duncan (BCIT), Chris Breikss (6s Marketing), Jordan Willms (Sumolabs).
On Friday is the Dare to Thrive Conference out in Coquitlam where I will be holding a workshop on how to use social media effectively for business social media.
And last but not least on Monday is the Crave Business SHOP Symposium 09, a one day conference where, this time, I will be on a panel of social media experts discussing the virtues of social networking – moderated by the lovely Debbie Collins of SOYA and joined by Stephen Jagger of Reachd, Michael Kim of Grapevyn and Alexandra Samuel of Social Signal.
With any luck you can come to one or all of these events and learn how you can use social media effectively to benefit your business.
With the current poor economic outlook and job losses mounting, this is an ideal time to polish your personal brand to prepare yourself just in case the unthinkablehappens.
Using social media is an ideal way to build your personal brand, to expand and reinforce your network but there are risks that you should be aware of. Here are 10 tips that will help you take advantage of social media to build your brand safely:
1. When networking on Facebook or other social forums always use the privacy controls to limit access to your information (usually you can find these by clicking on “account”).
2. Use Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks to make people aware of what you do or want to do.
3. Google yourself to see what’s being said about you and do the Granny test on the results – if Granny wouldn’t approve then perhaps the content isn’t appropriate to enhance your business profile.
4. Don’t put up any photos, videos or images that compromise your image.
5. Portray yourself professionally as appropriate to your industry in all forums.
6. Be true to who you are: transparency leads to trust – if you have a good reputation people are more likely to do business with you.
7. Remember that you have a valid and unique opinion. Don’t be afraid to voice it.
8. Always be respectful of others, its okay to disagree but be polite about it.
9. If you are young and looking for a job be aware that a party boy or girl image may seem cool to your peers but it won’t help you get a job or grow you professional network.
10. On-line networking is a vital tool for anyone trying to build a career but don’t get sidetracked or sucked in. Avoid this by scheduling time for on-line networking and sticking to it.
11. Don’t make friends with everyone and anyone. Be selective. It will help you manage the volume of information and will also expose you to less risk.
Louise Desmarais of Mud Creative posted a great blog article about online press releases. Its a very informative review of PRWeb so I thought I would share it with you. You should check out her new souped up social media ready website while you are at it.
Why I like to use PRWeb for online press releases
I’ve been a fan of the press release distribution service, PRWeb, for several years now. The service has always been first rate. It’s easy to use and I can reach a real person by phone whenever I need to.
PRWeb releases hit top sites like Google News and Yahoo News – the #1-ranked online news site – as well as industry-specific websites and blogs. Depending on the level of service purchased, you can choose to issue your release to a number of specific industry and regional newsfeeds. At the top level, your release will be distributed to the Associated Press top-circulation daily newspapers.
Like many of us in this business, PRWeb has had to evolve with the changing landscape of the Internet. Now you can add images, PDFs, videos and podcasts to create the multimedia release. To capture the attention of the social media crowd, you can link it to your Twitter account and add Technorati tags for the blogging community.
Then there are the reporting functions of PRWeb. Want to know how well your release did? You’ll get a PDF report that indicates:
* The number of headline impressions
* The number of full page reads
* Percentage of visits by country
* Top 20 search terms used to find your release
* Comparisons of releases for your organization
* At the top level, your report will actually show you what city in the world your release readers are coming from
1.Twitterfeed – lets you set up auto links so that when you blog or update your site you automatically Twitter with a link to the post.
2.Tweetdeck - see all your Twitter info in one handy dashboard.
3.Twitter Counter – tracks and analyzes your followers.
4.TwitterSnooze – very handy if you want to take a break from those who over Tweet. And we like the tartan background on the site.
5.Tweetchat – handy for following #tag topics. Remember to follow @hashtags so your #’s can be tracked too.
6.Tweetlater - schedule Tweets, manage responses and more.
7.TinyURL – makes links shorter.
8.Tweetburner – makes them shorter and lets you track links too.
9.Hoot suite – the ultimate Twitter toolbox.
10. And last but not least Twitter’s very own search.
I was full of good intention to liveblog tonight’s Canadian Women in Communications event at BCIT tonight but the connection failed so here is the “almost” live blog of the event. There were six sessions taking place in the room. Unfortunately given the time constraints I could only attend 4 so I have tried to catch the essence of each.
1. Blogging – Telus Senior Communication Business Partner Deborah Chatterton discussed the benefits to giving employees their own publishing platform.
First you should determine if social media is right for your company. What is it all about? Its about engaging your target audience in conversation with you. In the past you pushed information out now you get info back.
Types of social media:
Social Media Considerations:
Blogging – Deborah points out that ghost writing a blog is unethical and that a sales or marketing pitch is a no no. You should keep the tone of voice real and hone in on actual experiences rather than trying to invent blog stories.
To find out if your company ready for social media culture – ask if they are you willing to give up control.
Q Why would you do it? A – The world is changing, people are retiring, knowledge pool is shrinking. Millenials are using this already, its a way of life for them and they are the next generation of new hires. This is going to happen anyway. You have no control over it. This is an opportunity to: shape the conversation; demonstrate thought leadership; strengthen relationships; make executives more approachable. Studies back up that social media actually increases productivity.
You have to have a strategy as to who will blog, what they will blog about, how often and whether you will allow comments.
Telus is not externally blogging.
Risks of blogging include: slander, bad behaviour – but these things happen in real life anyway.
Issues include: privacy, security, ethics, respectful workplace, insider trading. To mitigate risk: – you should post guidelines before you start – its very important to have a policy. Check out Sun MicroSystem’s policy for a great example.
Good social media examples:
To learn more:
2. Podcasting – CBC Radio 3 Senior Producer Andrea Gin provided insight into podcasting:
Andrea gave an introduction to podcasting and her work with podcasts at CBC. They have on average 100,000 downloads per week and are the most listened to radio podcast in Canada
Q Is it simple?
Anyone can be a podcaster. All you need is:
Before you start podcasting, Andrea recommended that you think about what you have to offer – what is your niche and why would people want to listen? Also consider how people will access your podcasts. You can offer them as downloads on your website or register in iTunes. You can use images anywhere in the chapter or section of the podcast.
Q Do you edit it or broadcast live? A – It is usually edited and posted rather than live.
Q How do you make money? CBC doesn’t have ads but is more about content and supporting Canadian artists? Other companies have sponsors or use as a marketing tool.
Podcasting is different from radio in that people can listen to it anywhere they want when they want. With a radio show you miss it you miss it. Its also much more interactive than radio, lots of people comment and contribute.
Q.Can you download to your Blackberry – A – You should be able to but it will depend on how much memory you have.
CBC Shows also appear on Web Radio and Siruis Satellite.
CBC Audience expanded worldwide thanks to podcasting – lots Canadian expats around the world tune in.
Q Do you use webtrends to track this? A -Mainly Google Analytics and an in house tool
Q – Podcasting vision has it changed over the 5 years since you’ve been doing? A – Yes at the start we treated it like radio now its more of a cycle: your listener gets involved and interacts/contributes.
CBC doesn’t launch a podcast till they have 5 or 6 shows under their belt.
Tips:
What kind of software do you use to edit? Adobe Audition
How long are your podcasts? We try not to go over an hour and a half. An hour is about as much as people can tolerate.
Stuff you should know is a good podcast from howstuffworks.com focused on answering questions like how long can you go with out food or water.
3. Online Market Research – Angus Reid Strategies Executive Vice President, Monique Morden, discussed proprietary online panels and communities for
cost effectively reaching the voice of customer.
Angus Reid provides research services – they are a full service company providing the soup to nuts. Vision Critical is a software company (AngusReid are their power users and parent company), its a nice marriage of the companies. Angus Reid has taken research online and has opened up a whole new world. They are all across NA and have small and large companies as clients.
Research used to be done on the phone now its all online. Some people don’t even have a phone particularly in the younger demographics so phone research results are skewed and you don’t know who are you reaching when you do phone research. (No call doesn’t apply to researchers.) Online is becoming such a great communication tool – research is another form of communication.
How do you do online research? Now you show the ad (or whatever your subject matter) and ask about it before you had to just describe it and ask questions to get feedback.
Types of research companies:
Sample (the people to be surveyed) Sources:
Angus Reid has a full serve service where they design the survey and bring in the survey group. They have people they work with who form the survey group.
Validity of online research: Canada has highest internet penetration (about 86%). 55 years plus demographic is the fastest growing. Angus Reid did polling for elections and were the most accurate of any of the pollsters all done online.
Comes down to quality of questions and who you survey.
Angus Reid works with a group of panelists – they know about their panelists: if they have diabetes, age, kids etc etc so you don’t have to ask every time. They use only online polling because people tend to be more honest online – its less embarrassing and they tend to be more comfortable giving info online. They use open ended questions/comparisons to validate information. Usually panelists are surveyed once per week payment and have a small renumeration incentive of 1-4 dollars per survey. Online qualitative research is possible now: a group of people can have a conversation.
5. Webnames.ca COO Cybele Negris covered website and security pointers.
Domain Name Strategy – What domain name:
Depends on budget where you are – you should get at the minimum .com and .ca -
Companies should have both – webnames.com was taken by someone else and he set up in competition to them. Protect your trademark/brand.
Canadians like to deal with Canadians. We ordered $5b worth of goods onlkine in 2005 – 63% from Canadian ventures.
Domains:
Domain Tips:
Tips For Using Email Effectively
Tips Online Privacy and Security:
1. Understand your prospective customer: who they are, why they buy, when and so on – do they buy on-line or use the Internet to research product information – are the using social media and if so which tools?
2. Your company – what resources are in place or will be made available. Also consider existing web presence, company culture, mission, goals and policies.
3. Competition – check out what your competition is doing on line, track blog and RSS feeds that mention them as well as comments on their products or service from users. Also consider the actions of similar companies operating in different jurisdictions.
4. The market – is your market place experiencing and up turn / down turn or is it in a state of flux? These will all impact the approach you take.
5. Integration with your overall marketing and advertising strategy is imperative. Each must complement and support the other by conveying the same brand image and messages.
6. If you don’t have web savvy resources in house then don’t worry – get guidance from people who do this (like us 
).
7. Positioning – find out where you stand in the web rankings in comparison to others in your field.
8. Traffic – who visits your site right now, how often and how long do they stay.
9. Pricing – if your offering is considered “prestige” then your web strategy will be different than if your its aimed at the masses.
10. Consider all tools at your disposal to promote your web presence and don’t forget to consider newer technologies such as wikis, social networks and microblogs for effective online marketing.
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