Posts Tagged: Social Networks
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, October 26th, 2009
1. Be yourself – don’t try to create a persona that doesn’t reflect the real you. It will come back to haunt you.
2. Be selective about who you add. You don’t need to add each and every person who asks.
3. Don’t try to network on every online forum. Instead choose those that fit your audience or goals and work to build those.
4. Build your network online as you grow your real world network. When you meet someone new in the real world add them on social networks.
5. If you do plan to have a presence in as many networks as you can then consider using a tool to mass submit status updates to all.
6. If you interact with others on blogs or forums look for them and add them to your network.
7. You are in control of how much or as little info you want to post. Don’t feel pressured to add stuff that you’re not comfortable with.
8. Do the “Granny Test” before you post – ask yourself if your grandmother would approve, if the answer is yes then get posting.
9. Get to know and use the privacy controls if this is a concern for you.
10. Remember to link back to your site, blog or other profiles at every opportunity to give friends the chance to find you in other forums.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 07th, 2009
I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from people responding to the buzz about social media. In the last week I have been asked:
I am on Twitter now what do I post about?
I have a LinkedIn profile what should I put on there?
What is business Facebook?
I am getting the sense that lots of people are jumping on the social media band wagon because its the hot thing to do right now especially given the economic environment.
Don’t get me wrong, its great that social media is becoming mainstream but I am concerned that rather than taking a step back and considering what their goals are from using these tools, who they are trying to reach and what resources they can commit to doing so, people are blindly setting up profiles all over the place without really understanding how to use these profiles to benefit their business at a strategic level. They risk wasting time and effort not to mention putting their credibility on the line.
Consider this:
There are hundreds of social networks, millions of blogs and even more users worldwide. What you post stays there forever. These technologies are not toys, they are tools and like any other tools you need to understand what you want to do with them and what you are trying to achieve.
What people should be asking is: “what is our social media strategy?”. Take a step back, think about your corporate goals and who you are trying to reach. Do some competitive intelligence to see how others in your industry are using these tools. Think about where online you are most likely to find your target audience and then consider your internal resources. Sounds familiar? It should if you have ever put together a marketing plan.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, April 01st, 2009
Practically every second email I get these days mentions the importance of networking both online and in person. Who am I to argue: without networking, its hard to make the connections you need to build your business or get the word out.
One aspect of networking that is often overlooked is the value of cross pollenation between online and in person networks. Social networks offer a great tool to allow you to maintain your networks and keep in touch with people you meet at all those networking events you attend or to connect with people in advance of real world events.
One of the best ways to build your social networking presence (especially when you are just getting started) is by looking for the low hanging fruit, and by that I mean the people you’ve already met or have a relationship with. Search for colleagues, friends and business partners in these forums, add them and watch your social networks grow. When you attend presentations, search for the presenter in these online forums and make contact with them as well as people you meet at the event.
When I started my career in sales and marketing before the advent of social networks, it was drummed into me how important it was to keep a record of all of the contacts I had made and to regularly call them or email them to maintain the relationship, and this remains true today. Initially, this was easy as I only had a handful of contacts but as this grew, maintaining my contacts became a time consuming, boring, dreaded chore. These days, thanks to social networks, I am in constant contact with my circles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Biznik. The tedious task of maintaining my network has become fun and doesn’t take up much time at all.
Today, the rolodex (or the Fillofax – do you remember those?) which was vital to good business networking as recently as a decade or so ago has gone the way of the typewriter or the dodo and thank goodness for that. When I see one of these, it becomes an object to reminisce over and to rejoice at its passing. I am glad they are gone: maintaining my contacts through the appropriate social networks is much more effective thanks very much.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 05th, 2009
I get asked the question “what is social media?” all the time. It came up today during our teleseminar with Sue Clement from Success Coaching and I thought I would follow up in this forum to answer the question for a wider audience.
Social Media, according to wikipedia, “are primarily Internet – and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information”. The words sharing and discussing information are key. Social media tools are all those tools online or on your phone that let you post information and get feedback, or interact with your others in that forum.
Social media tools include: blogs, podcast, videopodcasts or vlogs, and social networks. Basically any tools that you can use online that allow you to interact, collaborate or get social. In business, which of these tools you use will depend on what you are trying to achieve, who your customers are, your corporate brand and resources.
Social media are simply tools that can be used to extend your reach, to grow your network, to drive traffic, to increase brand awareness and to build business. These days they are a vital component of any company’s marketing arsenal because they are more targeted, less expensive and more versatile than traditional marketing methods.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, March 04th, 2009
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.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, January 29th, 2009
In a recent edition of Information Week Canada, there appears an article called “What if social networking doesn’t take off?”. It is written by Robert Parkins who, thanks to a quick Google, is also editorial Director of Canadian Government Executive Magazine, isn’t on Twitter, nor could I find him on Facebook (unless he’s grown a beard and moved to Santa Barbara but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong).
On reading his article, I commented about it on Twitter and @shawnpisio asked the obvious: “Was it written in 2003 or something”.
Sadly it was not. Robert’s article cites a survey done by Synovate in Sept 2008, that asks the question “do you know what social networking is”. The result: 58% of people surveyed in 17 countries across the world did not.
I was actually surprised that 48% did know. My mother who is approaching 70 is on Facebook but if you were to ask her what a “social network” was, she probably wouldn’t have a clue as to what you were talking about. Perhaps the issue here is in the wording of the Synovate question.
In the article Parkins suggests a reluctance to embrace Web 2.0 as the cause of this apparent ignorance. Excuse me Mr Parkins but 150 million people on Facebook and 180 million worldwide blogs can’t all be wrong. Perhaps its a reluctance within a certain (ahem) age demographic (my mother accepted).
According to Parkin’s, the tide is already turning on 2.0, especially in his area of expertise: government.
One need only take a look south at the recent success of Barack Obama’s campaign to see how far from true this is. Obama harnessed social networks effectively to build awareness of his campaign and reach and motivate people who otherwise wouldn’t have voted. His first blog post as president was posted shortly after his inauguration. Hardly the use one would expect to see of a dying medium.
He’s right in one area though it remains to be seen how the public sector will harness web 2.0 effectively but a survey that found that 58% of respondents didn’t know what social networks were doesn’t mean they should ignore the phenomenon altogether.
Far from the tide turning on web 2.0, the crest of the wave isn’t even upon us yet. Many traditionalists like Parkin have yet to be convinced and with many similar naysayers out there, this implies a huge opportunity from people just waiting to be convinced!
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, October 21st, 2008
I had the honor tonight to present to Third Tuesday in Vancouver. The subject was “Overcoming the challenges of marketing new media to traditional decision makers” and the topic certainly stimulated conversation.
Here are the ten objections to new media that I come across most often and discussed tonight. To find out how to counter these, check out the Hummingbird604 blog – Raul kindly liveblogged the event and did a great job encapsulating. Thanks to all involved.
1. We already use social media
2. Its only for snotty nosed kids
3. Our audience isn’t there yet
4. It a flash in the pan
5. Loosing Control of Your Brand
6. Privacy concerns
7. Too Much Fluff
8. No Time
9. Traditional media is best
10. What is the ROI
Ssssh don’t tell too many people but Miss604 brought along Canucks tickets for Saturday’s game – she was raffling them to raise money for the foodbank and I think you might still be able to enter on her blog.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, July 18th, 2008
These days developing relationships online is as important to growing your business or reputation as networking in the real world. The Internet is a great way to expand your horizons and get to know new and influential contacts.
1. Don’t try to network in every Internet networking hub out there. Choose those where you get the biggest impact (i.e. those that your existing contacts already use, those that reflect your target audience, or those most applicable to your niche). The most popular are LinkedIn (Professional Network), Facebook (fastest growing), MySpace but there are many networks that are industry or job specific too so take time to check them out.
2. Leverage existing on-line networks to grow new ones. I recently used my MySpace profile to promote my Twitter account and add more contacts in that forum
3. Promote your activity in your chosen forums by including it in business cards, profiles and on your website.
4. Use widgets. Most of the social networks allow you to widgetize a link to your profile. Add this to your site, blog etc and include widgets for other networks in your networking profiles.
5. Always remember to be professional in these forums – ask the Granny question and make sure your content is appropriate to your professional standing.
6. When you meet new contacts in the real world find then on-line and add them to your networks.
7. Trawl the friends of your friends and contacts and add those you know or those gurus in your business.
8. Don’t spread yourself over to many networks or allow them to suck up your time. Schedule it into your day.
9. Join groups. Facebook and LinkedIn both offer groups. Join applicable ones and gain access to more people in your field.
10. Participate in the right forums.
11. Ask questions and use your status to attract news contacts.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, May 15th, 2008
The topic of discussion at the International Internet Marketing Association meeting last night was “Facebook Your Business”. Three panelist brought their own perspective on Facebook from a business perspective.
The first speaker was Maureen McCartney from Citizens Bank of Canada. She talked about how her organisation used Facebook to advertise during RRSP season. Citizens Bank was one of the first banks to do so and they were able to generate buzz as a result. Click through rates for their campaigns however were dismal – the highest being .13% – (which seems to be the norm with Facebook) but given the very small investment in comparison to traditional advertising, the campaign was deemed a success.
The second speaker was Michael Ferguson from Kinzin, the company that developed one of Facebook’s most succesful apps “Are you Normal” (incidentally I am 40% normal or slightly abnormal as the case maybe). His off the wall presentation took a step back to look at how our culture is changing and embracing social media technologies. He pointed out that to stand out in the crowd of Facebook applications you have to stand out from the rest of the wallpaper. He coined the term Facebook jewellery to describe your profile or page picture and pointed out that it has to stand out if you want to attract attention or grow business on Facebook.
And finally, Phillip Jeffrey of UBC talked the crowd through the Facebook set up process, discussing the security capabilities and privacy issues. He pointed out that a Facebook page is to a business what a profile would be to an individual and provided an invaluable introduction to the medium aimed at new users.
Facebook is rapidly being adopted by all age groups and Canada has one of the fastest adoption rates for the social network. Here at Out-Smarts we use Facebook extensively for business development:
1. To advertise to a very targeted niche at a very low cost.
2. To spread awareness of what Out-Smarts does via our Facebook page and application.
3. To build our business network with industry peers.
4. For branding – our logo appears on each fan and friend page.
5. To drive traffic to the website and blog.
6. To maintain awareness.
The concensus among the IIMA panelists: your company should get on Facebook as soon as possible.
Written by Mhairi Petrovic, January 17th, 2008
According to our local rag the Vancouver Sun, Facebook – the popular social network, has seen a decline in it’s growth rate recently. Hardly surprising given the phenomenal traffic statistics the site was enjoying last year. Before all you professionals abandon ship consider this: Nexopia – aimed at the teeny crowd – is the fastest growing site on the Internet in terms of ranking. Could it be that the younger set are heading elsewhere as their elders infiltrate the Facebook world.
Sounds like great news to me – let the teenies go off and enjoy inane drivel like “write your crush on a note” or “find out who you will marry” (their terms not mine!) and leave Facebook to the grown ups and professionals looking to use social networks effectively and productively.
