Tag Archives: facebook

Mar26

We are in the land of “New is Better”

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We are in the land of “New is Better”

Sometimes it feels as though we are in the land of “New is Better” – we are a consumer society… looking for the next new thing.

A good example is Pinterest.com - this social site caught people’s imagination like wildfire, and why?  Not only was it “new” it was visual.  And a picture is worth a thousand words, right? WHat is Pinterest?  Basically it is a web-based application that allows you to create “boards” like bulletin boards in real life, with themes, and share images/pictures/videos that you find from around the internet with people who choose to “follow” you.  It allows you to tweet or connect to Facebook in order to publicize your “Boards”.  You can see my Pinterest boards by clicking here (it is a link inviting you to join to see my boards).

And as soon as it caught on, we (the collective we) started looking for ways to make best use of this new social media tool.  There is a whole panoply of resources that seemingly sprung up, spontaneously, out of nowhere addressing the many ways to market your business or wares using Pinterest.com.

But like any new tool, you should take a look at how much you can benefit versus how much effort you will be putting in.

One of the grand challenges that we all face is carving out regular time to manage and attend to the variety of tools we have at our fingertips.  Facebook pages, Google+, Twitter, Posterous, Friend Feed, and Pinterest – to name a few, are only as successful as the effort that is applied to them.  The investment of time, and sometimes money, requires planning and discipline.

I have seen many folks throw up their hands and declare that -fill in the blank- social media doesn’t work for them, after only a minimal effort.

There are few free lunches.  You have to carve the time out or assign someone to do it, or invest in one of the many applications out there to do it for you.  Time or money or both.

But take heart, if you do expend the effort, you will get your name out there, and your service or product.  Marketing is not necessarily about the dollars brought in, but in the awareness of your business that is heightened by the effort.

Good luck, and please comment with your experiences!

 

Feb22

Resistance is Futile

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Resistance is Futile

The title of this post is the oft-quoted phrase from Star Trek, and it is also an appropriate mantra for dealing with change. Whether we like it or not, we live in turbulent times with a great deal of change facing us daily.  I see in those around me and even in myself, a weariness with this aspect of modern life.  For example, I’m a big LinkedIn fan, and often tout its virtues to others,but a friend recently responded to my encouragement to set up a profile, “I just don’t want to have to learn something new.”  I understand his feelings.  I’m having to face that issue with my own attitude toward Facebook, which I use with trepidation because it feels so very automated.  I feel like I’m not “in control” of a tool that is supposed to serve me, and I know I’ll need to spend some of my precious time learning more in order to feel comfortable with it. 

But the purpose of life is not always to be in control.  That would be an impossible goal, wouldn’t it?  As human beings we definitely need to impose a degree of structure upon our lives, but rigid control actually works against us.  We need some balance between the logical, analytical, scheduled times and the creative, freedom-loving, playful times.  As a person with a natural resistance to change, I’ve had to come up with some new attitudes to encourage myself to “roll with it” and adapt to new things.  I hope sharing these ideas will be helpful to you when change is staring you in the face and you’re wondering whether to dig in your heels and resist, run screaming in the opposite direction, or smile while accepting it gracefully.

1.  Change is not inherently bad.  It’s hard to know when something new comes along if it will be bad or good.  The truth is, it will be both.  To those who did radio dramatization, TV was a bad thing.  To Apple, the PC was a bad thing.  But radio has evolved and so has Apple.  The changes from competitors moved them in new directions, and those new directions made them better and stronger.  So when I’m faced with change, I make a concerted effort to remain neutral rather than negative, and to think of the change as something that will make me stronger in the long run.  (Okay, I’ll acknowledge that the short run might be hell…..but keep your eye on the long term good.)

2.  Change is inevitable.  We have limited amounts of energy, and fighting a change that we have no control over is a waste of energy.  If management is upgrading your computer, adding a new CRM, or altering work processes, you may have no choice but to accept the changes gracefully.  Here’s the plus side:  new pathways will develop in your brain as you learn and make those changes.  You are exercising your brain and that is good for you!  You don’t want to have a hidebound, crusty, creaky old brain, do you?  And speaking of exercising the brain, check out Lumosity.  It’s an amazing and scientifically-researched way to play games and improve your brainpower at the same time.

3. Change is filled with opportunity.  What we see now in the marketing world shows us this.  There are opportunities due to the internet, social media, economic changes, and demographics that can lead us in exciting new directions.  I feel like an explorer, and that is exciting.  Every day brings something new to consider.  If you view yourself as a life-long learner, this makes every day an educational opportunity.  And yes, even though change brings problems – problems are opportunities to provide solutions, services, and training on how to overcome them.

My last observation on change is that it prevents stagnation.  I truly believe that we’re either moving forward or losing ground.  Stagnant water is stale and foul-smelling and full of bacteria.  Change, and the forward movement it brings, keeps us as individuals and as a society, fresh.  As Benjamin Franklin said:  “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

Feb13

Fact or Fiction

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Fact or Fiction

All too often in life, our gullibility is played on.  We know better but we want to believe.

In business, this can happen in a deal that is taking too long to finalize or in an email asking you to forward it so someone or something can be helped.

In both cases, your gut tells you one thing…but you want to believe that the deal will happen, and that Microsoft can really mysteriously track your email and send a dollar to help the someone or something (they can’t by the way).

First, always trust your gut.  If it seems too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true.

Second, follow NCIS Jethro Gibbs Rule #3: Don’t believe what you’re told. Double check.

The business you are trying to close a deal with – how is their Dunn and Bradstreet ?  What do their clients say about them?  Did you talk with their accounting people?  Are you sure you are dealing with a decision maker? Did you get clear expectations set of the time frame for a decision up front?

In the case of emails asking for help or declaring some, until now, obscure “fact” about something you care about – double check on Snopes.

What is Snopes?  According to wikipedia :

Snopes.com – officially the Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a web site
discussing urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other
stories of uncertain or questionable origin. It is a well known resource
for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture,
receiving 300,000 visits a day.

I go to www.snopes.com immediately when I get an email or a Facebook posting asking for support, forwarding, sharing or which states something so unbelievable, that I doubt.

Whether I am trying to determine the probability of business, or the veracity of a potential urban legend, I trust my gut.

Make it a great week!

Mar4

Why Social Media is Like Building a Mayan Pyramid

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Why Social Media is Like Building a Mayan Pyramid
Many years ago, my friend Dar and I went on a vacation to Mexico.  Part of the fun included a tour of Tumul and Xumal guided by an octagenarian named Senior Pinkie (really!). Senior Pinkie had been doing the tour for nearly 60 years at that point and had heard everything from “Chariot of the Gods” to the “X-Files” and set about to explain that the great “mystery” of how the ancients were able to create such amazing and long-lasting structures.
His delivery was good-humored and emphatic.  “How did they do these things? How did they build these temples, ports, pyramids?” He asked us all on the bus, with a twinkle in his eye… “They thought, they planned, they set their goals and then the people worked to those goals. How did they do it?? They worked HARD.  20% did the planning, 80% did the labor. All that you see here, the port, the buildings, these were built without television, without alien invasions, without supernatural powers, these were built by people doing work! HARD work, yes, but they knew they would be accomplishing SOMETHING, they were motivated, yes! Not by whips, but by the community. They built these things for themselves and their families. THAT is the great secret. WORK. ”

In terms of using social media, people who are not familiar with Twitter, or MySpace, or Facebook, let alone blogs or any of the myriad of social tools out there -  believe there is some magic in how others are able to make good use of these tools.  Perhaps some secret society of indoctrination has the special key to using these things effectively, or maybe it is some mutant or alien race who created these tools to torment the average person with tantalizing promises of media exposure and clients flocking to websites in droves.

The actual answer is that like the Mayans of old, the way to build a social media structure that will last and be successful requires a strategy, a plan, and then the discipline to work that plan, on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.  And like the amazing structures or old, a strong social media plan takes time to build up.  Unless you stumble on the “It subject” of the moment, you will need to grow slowly, and work at it.  This doesn’t mean you cannot capitalize on the momentum of whatever is popular at the moment, just remember that it will be fleeting, while what you are slowly building, will last longer.  And when you look back at the distance you have covered, the clients you have won, you may chuckle as others ask you what your secret is…

Posted via email from Natalia’s Other Blog

Feb4

Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites

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Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites
Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites
Copyright (c) 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
BrandSplat
http://www.Brandsplat.com/

One of the most amazing features about the Web is that it allows many people to take advantage of features they did not originate. Livejournal, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and each of the many other Social Media sites were proposed and implemented with a relatively small cadre of people, yet thousands of businesses are finding ways to use these sites for promotion and improvement every day. These sites allow for communication with the nearly captive audience that is any business’ dream.

Of course as is the case with any innovative process many businesses jump in to Social Media Marketing without understanding the problems at hand, and find themselves ignored or scorned for seeming to be incompetent. In some cases this is a failure of research, while in others it is a case of forgetting that these audiences are indeed people with complex opinions and attitudes. Combine these traits with the mass communication capability of the Internet, and you have equal potential for word of mouth fame or disaster.

Before jumping into SMM, every business needs to consider the core options available to them and see just which ones truly suit the organization and its needs. The leadership must consider the objective of their business and the audience that will facilitate this objective. Then they should consider not just which Social Media sites this audience frequents, but how to reach them in a way that makes them care. To that end, what follows is a short review of some Social Media sites and a comparison of their roles to highlight these issues.

Twitter

Twitter is Social Media at its barest; short messages are sent out to anyone following the account, usually consisting of no more than a brief comment or a short URL. US President Barack Obama relied heavily on Twitter during his successful White House bid, using it to promote rallies and campaign meetings. The very brevity of Twitter gives it some of its most unexpected strength. After all, what could be more mysterious than a message reading ‘Tyler Park, 9:30 pm, bring chips and sunglasses’? Sunglasses at night? Chips? It immediately gets the mind racing with questions and interest.

Yet in a classic example illustrating that audiences are not simply feedback devices, but actual people, consider the gone-wrong story of the Republican Party in Connecticut. In an effort to satire some of their opponents, the party set up 33 fake Twitter accounts impersonating state Democrats! Twitter shut down the accounts citing terms of service clauses against impersonating other individuals. The move raised a number of ethical questions and is a classic example that users should always ask if ‘can’ necessarily means ‘should.’

Facebook and Myspace

The title of this section indicates a common perception in the media that these competing services are offering essentially the same product. In a sense this is true, as both offer users a chance to join groups, manage and customize a profile, and use a variety of applications for entertainment or business. They represent the more involved tier of Social Media, combining aspects of blogging and websites for easy access.

However the facts show that perceptions can be misleading. Facebook only allows for plain text customization, whereas Myspace allows users to customize with HTML and CSS. While this may not sound like the greatest of distinctions it does make Facebook more accessible to the ‘casual’ user of Social media, while Myspace by default becomes the realm of those more interested in website design. If your business’ aim is to recruit potential designers, this distinction alone tells you where to focus your efforts.

Digg and Reddit

These sites and others like them are in essence an Internet popularity contest. Users submit content, and other users vote on whether they find it interesting. The theory of use here is that these sites can be used as a benchmark for public opinion, based on a reading of what is popular at any given time. Except it isn’t always that simple. Digg has faced criticism that the site’s owners have a great deal of direct influence on which stories make it to the front page, which does call into question whether it actually represents public opinion.

Not the Final Word, Just a Thought

Above we mentioned the curious case of Republicans attempting a bit of satire and finding themselves called on ethical questions. Another fact to consider is the irony vote. It is not unknown or even uncommon for Internet hobbyists to vote en masse for an irrelevant news story just to see if they can make it popular as a jest. For example, the infamous and popular social site 4chan seemingly organized massive, worldwide boycotts of the Church of Scientology because it could.

Working with a professional social media marketing agency can help ensure that your online efforts are focused on the right sites, with the right message, to the right audience for maximum ROI.

Above all, the lesson that must be learned is that the Internet is not a static collection of people waiting to obey the input of  various broadcasters. Each audience is composed of many distinct and individual users, many of whom are intelligent, critical thinkers with opinions and ideas of their own. If your campaign treats them as a switch to be thrown, it will fail, period. If you want your campaign to succeed, treat these audiences with respect and develop a campaign that communicates with rather than at them.

———————————————————————
Enzo F. Cesario is an online brand management specialist
and co-founder of Brandsplat, a social media company that
uses blogs, articles, videos and social media to drive
traffic to your site. For the free Brandcasting Report
go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at
http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

Posted via email from Natalia’s Other Blog

Oct2

Reaching out – A Best Practice of Networkers

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Reaching out – A Best Practice of Networkers

One of the things I try to maintain is “reaching out” to my friends, and colleagues.  It is something that is not just a great tool for business, it is a requirement to maintain relationships in this high tech – high diversity – far spread society!

Some of the folks  who “reach out” to me, do so in the form of forwarding massively long emails (long because everyone else has forwarded them, and not bothered to cut out the long addressee list)… but still, I recognize that it is the fact that the person thought of me that is the important portion of that.  Side note: This is a source for spammers to scrape addresses – so one should strip out the addresses and footers/signatures when forwarding if you can, and you think of it. And when forwarding, it can also be construed as spam, so be careful.

Others use the various services that allow you to forward an article from a site, to share… or let’s you clip an article which can be shared with followers like socialmedian.

Still others actually do it in “snail mail” – sending me articles of interest.  I admit that I still enjoy receiving actual hard copy paper mail…. LOL.

I tend to do all three and love the ability to share online articles – both to my Facebook Page and to individuals I think might be interested.  The key is to let people know you are thinking of them,  know them well enough to know that the item is of interest or entertaining to them, and opens the door to further communication.   (There is also an article on the WhoDoYouKnowAt blog about this today…not bad.)

I even love the connectivity of Twitter! It is a great way to reach out into the vast beyond and see what you get back! Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Whatever way you “reach out” do it with relevance and value, and you will find that the connections become of increasing value to you! You never know what opportunities, information, or entertainment will come your way simply because you thought of someone and let them know.

Aug6

Another day in Tech Paradise

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Another day in Tech Paradise

Twitter….down again…. Facebook also seems to be having server issues.
Oh no – its the end of the world as we know it… or maybe it is just another Thursday in Tech  Paradise.

Even the least technical of my circle of friends will pace and froth at the mouth (metaphorically of course) when the internet sites they depend on are not available, or heaven forbid, hacked.  We rely on this media more than previous generations relied on Newspapers and Radio.  We rely on it more than Television.  And we are in denial about how much we rely on technology.  Because if we had to admit how much we don’t know about how it all works, we might have some responsibility in learning more and becoming more actively involved in the utilitarian aspect of the internet and its ancillary services…oh, yeah, can I get an “Amen Brother”!

Jun23

Looking for work

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Looking for work

Several friends and acquaintances are looking for work at the moment.  And because I have staffing experience and hiring manager experience, they have been asking me for advice.  There are all the standard bits of advice that everyone in the industry (and out of it) gives; but I was surprised that some folks are unaware of a few tidbits that I will share here:

  1. Google your name before you send out your resume and really check out what comes up!  You may discover that there are many folks with your name out there – be aware of who they are and what they do – so you are not caught unawares if a Recruiter asks you about a subject that seems to be a non sequitor, chances are they are trying to figure out if you are that (insert your name) who skydived in a youtube video or not… You will be surprised at how much “surface” level research is done through googling, and how many folks are mistaken for someone else.  At least if you have looked already, and if the Recruiter or Hiring Manager says “tell me about your skydiving video” you can chuckle and explain that it isn’t you, but someone else with your name.  This is good, because you demonstrate you are aware of your web presence and that you are comfortable with the fact that someone tried to check on you.
  2. If you have a Facebook or Myspace page, edit your comments and pictures before sending out your resume. I know, I know, that is your “personal” space, but believe me – Recruiters and Hiring Managers will go and look to see what they can find out about you (and if anyone they know, knows you).  Rather than having to explain something that is iffy or unprofessional or just embarassing – remove it.
  3. Update your Linkedin page and if you don’t have one, set one up.  Many HR folks will check a resume against the Linkedin.com profile and if there are mismatches, or questionable items – use it to screen the resume out.  Likewise, some HR departments will screen a resume out that doesn’t have a Linkedin.com account – dependent upon your career area.  If you are in Technology, Sales, or Management – you should have a Linkedin.com profile.  And it should be up to date.
  4. The absolutely best way to get a job is through a referral from someone you know, who knows someone in the Company you are trying to get a job in.  This requires work – and let’s face it – finding a job is a job all by itself.  The job seeker should be actively researching where they are most likely to find a job that matches their skills and/or career goals, and networking to see who they know who can get them through all the standard resume filtering that happens.

I hope this was helpful to you if you are looking for work.  Let me know – leave a comment!

Jan25

The old dog that teaches itself new tricks

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The old dog that teaches itself new tricks

Being at the tail-end of the Boomer generation, I become ever more surprised at the number of my peers (the technical as well as ”non-technical” ones) who are quickly becoming, well, downright stodgy. These are the people who have computers but do not have a Facebook or Myspace page…answer their emails about once a week or less, and complain that their kids and grandkids know more about the computer than they do. They also complain that they are no longer getting promoted, or able to figure out what their younger co-workers are talking about.

These are not unintelligent folks… they are in professions that are not dynamically involved in networking, or at least in positions that they perceive to be “not networking oriented”…and when they lose their job, through attrition or economics or because they don’t “fit” anymore…they are at a loss.   Why is this happening?

Aside from the social divisions, there are self-imposed divisions within any culture.  The self-imposed divisions are the hardest to overcome.  People who make an effort to stay on top of what is going on in the world at large, not just the news, but what people are doing, how they are doing it, how new jobs are coming into being – those are the people who are teaching themselves “new tricks” and are able to be adaptive and “embrace changes”.

Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school.  Technology, whether you like it or not, is continuing to evolve and if you can’t keep up you will not stay marketable.  If you aren’t sure where to begin, start with Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies ; then go open your Facebook or Myspace account and findout who you know that is there… you’ll be surprised.   I stay in touch with many of my Godkids more frequently through my Myspace and Facebook pages than I do on the phone, email, or snailmail.  Although I was surpised to have to explain just what “snailmail”* was to my 16 year old godson – *snailmail is paper mail sent by regular post.

If you work for a living and you don’t have a Linkedin.com account – why not.  It is the main US career-oriented site out there.  The one place where your “resume” being out there doesn’t instigate retaliation by a boss who thinks you are actively looking… this “open networking” is important for you should you ever need to find a job.  Remember the old adage “It isn’t what you know, it is who you know“. It isn’t strictly correct, of course, you do have to have skills and experience, but you also need an introduction to the people you want to work with.

Recently a friend of mine was interviewing for a position she really was excited about…she was represented through a recruiter who went AWOL for a few days. During that few days, the company was trying to reach the recruiter to set up the second/decision making interview.  She lost out on the job, and she was very understanding of the recruiter that had a family emergency and was AWOL.  She is still on unemployment and hoping that she can find a job before she winds up having to move in with friends.  She still doesn’t have a Linkedin profile.  She does have Myspace and Facebook, but doesn’t ever use them to network.

My unspoken thoughts (she is my friend and I was comiserating with her) were:

  • Why didn’t the company have your direct contact info and why didn’t you have theirs?
  • Didn’t you send a thank-you for the first interview, another opportunity to get your contact info to them?
  • Why didn’t anyone else in the Recruiter’s office handle this for him?

When I asked her, gently, why she didn’t follow-up directly with the company, she was horrified at me… in her mind, the recruiter was representing her, and she would have been rude and inapproprate to contact the employer directly.

In my mind, once the introduction is made, it is as much my responsibility (since I am the one who wants the job) to communicate as it is the recruiter’s.  The recruiter works for the employer, not for me.  And I know that the recruiter will be compensated based on my placement – and has “skin in the game”, but I would not let that prevent me from trying to get the job if I really wanted it.  And unless the recruiter specifically asks me not to contact the person I interviewed with at the company, then I see nothing wrong with it.

This is an example of “old dog” behaviors that have not evolved with the technology.  In the coming year, and in the current economy, unless you are able to teach yourself new ways of doing even the most basic things, like saying “thank you” after an interview, you will be behind the curve.

I am going to go check my email now…and tweet some folks.  And after I make another pot of coffee, I may clip and share some news on Social Median.  Check it all out…
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