Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’

This morning I had the privilege of being a guest on Lyn Mettler’s show:  Social Media Tips for Entrepreneurs.

She kicked off the call with her review of a newer tool:  Foursquare.  Here’s an excerpt from her blog on the tool:

Could FourSquare be the next social media darling for business? Could Twitter possibly be de-throned? We think so. FourSquare is a location-based application that you run on your smart phone that allows users to “check-in” when they are out and about. Headed to Publix? Check-in. Out with the guys at the neighborhood pub? Check-in. It definitely…read more here:  Get FourSquare and Get Busy.

I have to admit, at first, I wasn’t too keen on publicizing my every movement, as if I had a tracking device on me, but I can see the merit of it in some instances.  Just wondering, all you “foursquare” users, what has been your experience?  Do you like it?  Is it worth it?  Take a poll here.

I’ll weigh in after 10 days of trying it!

If you are reading this post, no doubt you are wondering about measurement, metrics and how to track and measure your activity while social networking.  Here is one spin on it that might be compelling.

ROI – Return on Influence

If you’ve not come across the term already, you might be somewhat surprised by the twist in the tail. Here you were expecting ROI to talk about Return on Investment, and what do you get? Return on Influence? What is that anyways? And why should you care?

Good questions. Let’s take them one by one.

What is Return on Influence?

Well, we have already established elsewhere what social media is. Connecting and sharing is at the heart of social media. So, what happens when you connect and share? Look all around you. People all over the web are talking about the latest gizmos and the latest developments. Millions are tuning in to these conversations. It’s what Google is all about. When you Google a term, search for information and take a decision based on that information, you have just put into action what Return on Influence is. Somebody shares their experiences with you and influences you to take a particular action. If you are convinced, you follow their lead.
When you take this into the world of small and big businesses, the reach of this influence is – to put it simply – overwhelming!

I mean, imagine if you were selling a product and your clients in Japan were unhappy with it, and instead of telling you about it, they were discussing your weaknesses all over the internet. Your sales would be squished and you wouldn’t even know what hit you!

That is why it is worth your while to BE the one who influences the thought process. People are talking about your product. You have two choices. A) Allow them to talk and become a victim of that talk (if they’re talking nice, you have an advantage) or B) Take charge of that conversation and become a part of it.

When you do the latter, you begin to influence others in that conversation. It’s what Blendtec did with their ‘Will it Blend’ campaign.

Will it blend?

The campaign kicked off with a video of the founder of the company blending some interesting stuff. The marketing director at Blendtec, George Wright says, “We put them (videos) on willitblend.com. No body knew willitblend.com and they didn’t know our name on YouTube. So we passed it on to all of our employees, customers and friends and told them to pass it on if they liked it. From the day we did that, literally one week later the videos had five million views.” Phew! Imagine 5 million views.

Now THAT is Return on Influence!

When people like you or your product, they watch or listen, they spread the word – and before you know it, you have more publicity than you could get with a $5 million ad campaign! In one smart move, Blendtec grew from a product no one knew about to a recognized brand. This brand has registered a 700% growth in sales and is now the leading maker of blenders, in the domestic and international markets.

That is Return on Influence.

If you notice, Return on Influence does not make you a million dollars directly because your are mobilizing the masses to speak for you, promote and drive traffic for you.  There are lots of tangible ways to track and monitor that activity and you should invest in them, so are FREE and some are paid.  Here are five tools:

So, you cannot really measure ROI in solid financial terms. But, the return is there, and though soft, it can propel you into the top league in your bracket. Return on Influence is very much real though quite intangible.

You know it’s there, you see it influencing your sales but you cannot put a finger on it. That is why, it’s important to start with strategy so you know clearly what your metrics are, then you’ll be able to measure ROI.  This is still very significant for your business development, and why you simply cannot afford to overlook it.

How can ROI help Small businesses?

Return on Influence is recognition of the fact that consumers and producers can influence each other, and together they can influence an entire community of consumers.

ROI does not subscribe to the “conventional” measurement of success through quantifiable numbers. Instead, it relies on personal interaction to get success from influence. For example the 80/20 rules says that you get 80% of your results from 20% of your effort.  The same is true within your social communities.  You may find that the majority of your traffic is generated by a few loyal followers who are major influencers themselves.

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ONN - Ohio and Company

Good morning!

So jazzed that we were privileged to be featured on the Ohio News Network with Eve Mueller and Wade Meyer (Inviting Conversations).

The focus of the segment was to highlight what social networking “newbies” could do to ensure success.  Here are a few tips I’d like to add:

Tips for getting started with Social Networking:

1. Start with the end in mind – strategy has to come first.  Maps to success with social networking should fit into your existing marketing plans.
2. Determine how much time, bandwidth and skill you have and what you’ll have to augment with an expert, staff or a retained partner.
3. Research and commit to being social.
4. Listen, listen, and listen some more – you may have a lot to say, but being active and quiet in social networking can tell you a lot about your target audience and your community.

More tips here in this interview with Eve and Wade…

the book…

So Now What Do I Do?  An Entrepreneurs

Book by Author, Tiffany Odutoye

Guide to Getting to the Next Step with Social Media - get a copy today!

Tiffany, this book is easy to read, informative, and concise.  You give great up front reasons for “why” to do it.  You provide great tools.  I’m surprised you packed so much into such a small book! – Patrick Keegan, Biz360

Consider this:
An Argos worker was fired because he said that he ‘can’t wait to leave because it’s Sh**’ working for Argos.

A grocery chain in Ottawa fired several of its employees following negative comments on Facebook.

Even this:
Some Ontario schools have suspended their students after they found ‘offensive’ posts on Facebook about these schools!

What am I trying to say? You could lose your job or your school admission for something you write on social networking sites like Facebook. Seriously.

People are being penalized for what they are posting. Many are being denied jobs, dismissed from work and disciplined because of comments they have carelessly left lying around on social networking sites.

Why should you care?

Employers and hiring firms are increasingly using social networking websites like Facebook to check out potential employees and keep tabs on current employees. In the current social and political situation, you just cannot have anything working against you or diluting your prospects, least of all something like your Facebook profile.

Here are some ways in which you can protect your Facebook profile from the prying eyes of your boss.

Your Privacy setting:

A teacher in Charlotte, NC, was dismissed from work due to her profile on Facebook. Under her hobbies, she stated ‘drinking’ and ‘teaching chitlins in the Ghetto of Charlotte’. The teacher left her profile and her page open to public view. Keep in mind, this particular school is attended by minority students and is located in a low income neighborhood.

Who is viewing your profile at Facebook? Are you sure that these are people you have allowed access to?

If you go to the “Settings” page on Facebook and click on your ‘Profile’, you might see that more people than you have imagined are actually viewing what you have put up. You may have only a couple of friends, but what about your network?

If your profile is jam-packed with drunken quotes or if the pictures you posted are risqué, the first thing you do is limit access to the information. Make it viewable to friends only.

You do not want potential or current employers going through what you’ve put up.   Because they do check you out.

According to various surveys and reports, a good percentage of employers are checking Facebook before, after or during the recruitment process.

You don’t want to lose your job just because you were a little careless with your Facebook profile, do you?

Your content:

According to onrec.com, the top ten turn-offs for employers who go through profiles on Facebook include:
- Indecent language, vulgar jokes, unacceptable pictures
- Any evidence of substance abuse
- Criminal activity
- Fanatical views
- Membership to silly groups
- Bad mouthing of former employers or places of work

Interestingly, prospective employers do not stop with checking out a candidate’s profile. They also use what you’ve posted to find out more about your communication skills, general attitude and qualifications. So, if you’re really not what you claim to be, chances are, you’ve left traces of your lies in your conversation with others.

When your profile is subject to such minute inspection, do you need more reason to clean up your profile?

You can give your profile a swanky new look easily:
Get rid of silly quotes, inane or extreme views and distancing yourself from bigoted or pointless memberships.

Don’t forget to add some of your favorite books in addition to music and films. Employers love it when you appear well-read and profound.

Check closely for typos. Do not go for too much internet lingo. These might seem unimportant to you but your potential employers appreciate it if you can write ‘You’ instead of ‘U’ and stop using internet short forms.

Next, go through your photos – every single one of ‘em. Untag those that you do not want. That way, anyone snooping around cannot find that picture of yours.

- Remove pictures that look unflattering.
- Get rid of those where you’re doing something you shouldn’t.
- In case your friends have put in unflattering comments, remove those pictures too.

Your network:

Who’s on it? If your colleagues are a part of your network, be careful. Your boss might be friends with one of your colleagues.

Your posts:

You cannot always limit the people who see what you are writing. So, it makes sense to post the right stuff. Meaning, you don’t really want to shout to half the world that you’re thinking of throwing a sick leave so you can party at your neighbor’s house!

It’s not enough that the content on your own network is good, you must also take care while posting on someone else’s wall. Don’t throw out comments that you don’t want to be associated with.

Even though you delete content, it could remain on servers and be available on search engines. When such information gets into the wrong hands, it can cause major hiccups in decisions regarding a job, an admission or a promotion.

WARNING: Never post while you’re at work. The time of your post is plain to see. Ask yourself this: what will happen if your boss finds out you were updating your account while you were supposed to be working?

Why should you be so careful? The Police, hiring agencies, companies and schools are monitoring profiles at Facebook, MySpace and other such sites to uncover ‘improper’ content. What you write is a window to your private world. It’s like maintaining an ongoing virtual diary. How’s that for a thought?

User naivete combined with security gaps can ultimately lead to serious irreparable damage to your life.

Resource box:
1) Facebook can ruin your life
2) Employee uses racial slur in Facebook profile: Can you fire her?
3) Personal branding in the age of Google