Explore, Evaluate and Engage

We’ve already talked about first making sure social media is an appropriate tactic to support your marketing, communications and branding strategies.  Creating a Twitter or Facebook page because it makes you look young and cool is hardly a strategic decision.  As Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0 notes, “the single biggest mistake people make is that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they fail to invest time in learning about what’s in their best interests.”  First, you’ll want to explore what people are saying about your brand in the social space, evaluate how open your company is to criticism and whether you have the resources to manage the page, then engage with people in a way that’s transparent and adds value to others.

Consistent Communication

Consistency is king in social media.  Everything from your “About” or “Bio” section to what messages you post should be consistent with other communication, and you should engage on a regular basis (without posting too often).  Multiple personalities from one source don’t work well in social media.  Creating a “social media voice” that provides consistency in style and tone will allow your brand to communicate consistently across various platforms.  It’s important to consult multiple departments of your business (not just marketing) to help create it, too.  The voice should be consistent with your corporate culture, within the legal guidelines of your company and the social media space, and appropriate for the audience you’re trying to reach.

Give a Little, Get a Lot

Don’t just allow fans, friends and followers to talk to you online.  Engage with them in two-way dialogue and allow them to help shape your brand.  If you’re going to be on multiple social media platforms, give people unique content on each.  Once you have a presence, you’ll want to decide how you’ll measure success.  How do you do that?  That we’ll save for another post …

A major fundraising milestone was set this past week, as the American Red Cross Mobile Giving Campaign for Haiti has raised more than $21 million in text-based donations in less than one week. A landmark campaign, not only because of its creative use of America’s growing obsession with text messaging, but also because the organization used its established presence on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to kick-off the fundraising effort, which quickly “went viral.”

To help the victims of Haiti's recent earthquake, you can make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross by texting the word “HAITI” to 90999.

As our hyper-connected society becomes more comfortable communicating through devices and social networks than via phone or face-to-face interactions, this social media/technology campaign makes it easy for consumers to become donors by breaking down common barriers to participation. It uses a format that Americans are closely familiar with, and requests a relatively reasonable donation (a comfortable $10 for those still feeling the effects of the recession) without having to pick-up the phone or find an Internet connection.

As NST’s Director of Social Media Teresa Siles mentioned in a News and Smart Talk blog post in July:

“Digital trends expert Steve Rubel has said, “An entire generation is growing up that will never dial a 1-800 number to reach customer care.”

And while Rubel’s comments focused on customer service, the same concept can be applied to picking up a phone, or logging on to a computer to make a donation.

Kudos to the American Red Cross, who despite being a nearly 130 year-old institution, has kept up with America’s changing habits to execute one of the most successful social media fundraising campaigns for a nonprofit organization in recent history. The Red Cross’ success has already spurred some imitators, and is sure to inspire nonprofit fundraisers throughout the country to start incorporating more technology and social media as fundraising tools.

Will it work for every nonprofit organization? No. But it’s a great testament to the power of blending social media and technology, and understanding the barriers to getting your key audiences to take action to help those in need.

Facebook has begun implementing its new privacy policy changes, and there are a lot of people who aren’t too pleased about them.  Groups like EPIC, a public interest privacy group, are filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, stating that the “changes violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook’s own representations.” Some argue the new changes actually encourage users to share more information than they previously had.  Let’s examine…

The most controversial change, mentioned by Brad Stone of the New York Times, is that a Facebook user’s photo, gender, geographic region, list of friends and pages they’re a fan of are now open and available to the entire Web public.  That’s true, based on Facebook’s recommendations, but you can actually uncheck the “Show my sex in my profile” box and can leave your “Current City” blank (or lie about it, which is apparently what Facebook’s director of corporate communications suggests).  While Facebook’s Web site says “there have been misleading rumors recently about Facebook indexing all your information on Google,” people searching your name (or brand) on Google will now see a basic set of information.

Is a site with 260 billion page views per month finally succumbing to marketers’ and financiers’ demands, and pulling one over on its users to help monetize on its success?  The answer, in my opinion, is “kind of.”  While this move certainly makes it easier to gather information about users and helps Facebook get indexed on large search engines (which helps increase page views, which helps increase the value of the company, etc.), the privacy changes are straightforward and have been well documented.  Facebook announced that it would have a new model for privacy controls back in July, gave everyone on the network a notice, its founder sent an “open letter” to all of its users, created a Privacy Center and initiated a huge outreach campaign to regulators, privacy advocates and the press.  In other words, it was not done in secret.

Ultimately, most people don’t come to Facebook to hide – they come to “connect and share” – as the company’s tagline suggests.  If anyone thought Facebook would be the tool that made their relationships more private or personal, they were misguided from the start.  For the most part, Facebook is a place to update people about what’s going on, and post edited photos and carefully crafted messages you know others will read (not as catchy, but unfortunately true).  So, for those with personal profiles – don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your best friend, mom, current employer or future employer to view.  For managers of brands – pay attention to what information is public, make sure all content is well written, and know that your competitors are watching what you post.  For everyone – take a close look at your page’s privacy settings and control who can view your profile.

The changing media landscape.  We’re all grappling with it these days, from consumers looking for trusted sources of information to content producers (old school outlets to the bright shiny object outlets) to brands, marketers and the PR gang alike looking to engage consumers.

There isn’t a magic pill or bullet, other than the realization the game has changed and staying on the sidelines won’t just make benchwarmers of us, hoping for a call from the coach to rush the field and show our mettle – it will just make us obsolete.

“If you want to stay relevant, you need to be there,” said Rob Hopwood, Internet content producer and social media specialist at SignOnSanDiego, at our inaugural San Diego Social Media Symposium when talking about how The San Diego Union-Tribune is delving deeper into social media. (Full disclosure, The U-T and SignOn are a client.)

Being there, Hopwood points out, involves exploring the full gamut of social media tools at our disposal, not just throwing up a Facebook or Twitter page.  He, and just about every panelist, drove home the clear message that social media is more than the creation and execution of a couple hip, in-the-now shiny objects and more about investing the time in identifying where your consumers are in the social media spectrum and listening to what they’re saying and want from your brand.

And that’s precisely where most fail – not just in social media, but also in communicating and marketing to consumers, period.  Consumers have too powerful of a voice to be ignored, and the days of only spewing pre-fab messages to them are not waning, they’re dead.

Even old-school journalists are starting to do the same.  In frequent sidebars and small talk with consumer and industry reporters, we’re finding journalists are getting more deeply involved in social media.  They’re spending the time learning what their readers, viewers and listeners want from them, and taking that knowledge back to their editors and producers with compelling arguments on what stories to tell.  They’re using Web analytics to measure their traction, and they’re building their own individual brands while serving the over-arching brand of their employer.  They’re not waiting for their execs to figure out how to monetize the use of Web and social media content, but instead proving the value of these tools (and creating personal job security).  They’re being relevant by being there – listening, experimenting, learning.

The more often old-school journalists strap up in this new playing field, the more balance we’ll see in news reported in social media outlets, and that will only protect their relevancy.  SDSU Professor Tim Wulfemeyer, another panelist, quips that while bloggers and citizen journalists spout off with little verified information, the “legacy media” – as he calls it – will continue to have the wherewithal to vet and verify, even in the age of using social media to reach people.  He also notes that the new FTC guidelines on disclosure will even the playing field – “Like legacy media, social media is all about credibility,” he said.

And that credibility comes with listening to your audience and building a relevant experience that is meaningful to them.

For more insight from the symposium, read “It’s About Genuine Consumer Experiences,” check out the panelist videos and peruse the tweets.

Facebook has more than 250 million users. That’s nearly double the amount of Mariah Carey albums sold worldwide to date, but who’s counting? Those with purchasing power – ages 35 and up – represent the fastest-growing demographic, so many executives are now realizing (after ignoring it for years) that it’s time to build their company’s presence on Facebook. Here are some tips that will help get you started:

Get a vanity URL

Having a Facebook Vanity URL allows you to protect your company’s brand. It also makes promoting your company, and the page, much easier (Facebook.com/RedBull instead of Facebook.com/6884207243… you get the point).

Add content and get engaged

The “if you build it, they will come” philosophy does not apply on Facebook. You need to give people a reason to be your fan. Add photos and videos, post regularly and encourage discussion. Once you’re trained on social media interaction, respond to posts quickly, authentically and transparently, and try not to take yourself too seriously.

Don’t neglect other networks

Don’t assume consumers know your company is also on Twitter and MySpace, or that they’re going to take the time to find it. Make it easy for them to connect with your company on other networks by including buttons on the side of your Facebook page or on your landing page.

Embed content into your Web site

Facebook Fan Boxes now let you embed the latest activity from your page onto your company’s Web site with ease. This will make consumers who visit your Web site aware that you have a presence on Facebook, and will give them a snapshot of how other Facebook users are interacting with your company.

There are some excellent Facebook page examples out there already – look at Target, Coca-Cola and Red Bull for inspiration.

Remember, though, strategy still applies – you need to identify if this is an appropriate tactic to support your company’s marketing strategy, assess how open your company is to criticism and determine if you have the resources to monitor, promote and build the site.

If you have any questions about how to create a Facebook page or how to add functionality to an existing page, please let us know – we’d be happy to help. Stay tuned for another post on specific tools you can use to optimize your page…

With all the social media platforms available, what approach will work best for your company and your brand?

Our suggestion?  Do your research.

Nuffer, Smith, Tucker hosts a reoccurring social media workshop for small business owners through SCORE San Diego.  The next workshop will be on Tuesday, August 18 at National University in Carlsbad.  Nuffer, Smith, Tucker President Bill Trumpfheller and Social Media Director Teresa Siles lead the Internet Marketing 303 – Social Media for Small Businesses workshop and provide insight about how social media can help small businesses, why companies should engage in social media, and the best platforms for small businesses.

Anyone can become involved in social media but your company needs a strategy for how to use the different platforms to attract new customers and to engage with your current clients. Bill and Teresa use small business case studies as examples of the right way to reach out to your consumers on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.  You will learn the pros and cons of being online and, based on the information that Bill and Teresa provide, can determine whether your business is ready to engage in social media

Avoiding social media doesn’t mean that people aren’t talking about your company – it just means you are not participating in the discussion.  You need to know what is being said – even if, as Teresa suggested in a previous blog, you are just listening for now.  But once you decide to engage, be sure you have a strategy – so start doing your research now.

For more information about the Social Media for Small Businesses workshop, contact SCORE San Diego at 619/557-7272 or visit their Web site: www.score-sandiego.org.

For even more information about the social media workshop, check out the following interviews we have done with the local San Diego media:

Bill Trumpfheller and SCORE San Diego president Monty Dickinson discuss the social media workshop with George Chamberlin on KOGO’s Money in the Morning.

Teresa Siles and Monty Dickinson talk about the social media workshop on San Diego’s CW 6 morning news program.

The San Diego News Network covered the first social media workshop held on July 31.

The online world has been all atwitter (pun intended) over Facebook’s recent announcement that this Saturday, June 13 at 12:01 a.m. EST they’ll be allowing users to choose vanity URLs and usernames for profile and fan pages, but what does this mean for marketers, brand managers and us PR folks?

While there’s going to be a hefty amount of traffic to Facebook before the sun rises on Saturday, it’s definitely not going to be a replay of the domain name grabs we saw in the late 1990s. Facebook is putting systems in place to combat any would-be “squatters” from snatching up a trademarked brand’s URL (although there’s lots of chatter about how slow they were on the uptake for this one, considering Twitter and MySpace have been doing this for a long time already). So what do you or your e-communications team need to do? Here’s the break down.

What’s changing?
Previously, Facebook URLs have been convoluted (ex. www.facebook.com/.php?id=987654321), whereas now usernames will appear in the URL (ex. www.facebook.com/vitaminwater). The vanity URLs are not only easier to share, but are also more memorable and offer ways for marketers to further engage their audiences by pushing them to their fan pages that can contain more interactive features and help foster an ongoing relationship over a longer period of time versus pushing consumers to the company’s Web page.

What do I need to do?
If your brand has a fan page that had at least 1,000 fans prior to May 31, review Facebook’s initial announcement and the FAQ section of the Web site to determine the specifics of what usernames are applicable, and work with your Facebook administrator to choose a username and register the URL early on June 13 (I’m sure extra caffeine would be much appreciated). But be careful when registering the URL in the wee hours of the morning. A misspelling could be costly, as revisions or transfers aren’t allowed once the username/URL is registered.

Whether or not you have a Facebook page that fits the above requirements, anyone with a trademarked brand should register a trademark with Facebook to help prevent any infringement on their trademark.

Additionally, all trademark holders should be monitoring for improper use of their trademark come Monday, June 15. Facebook has also created a mechanism to report any usernames that infringe upon a company’s trademark.

For more information about vanity URLs for companies that have new Facebook pages, or didn’t meet the 1,000 fan requirement, check out this recent article from Mashable’s Jennifer Van Grove.

So, regardless of whether you’ll be feverishly awaiting 12:01 a.m. this Saturday morning, or if you’ll be watching the mad dash from a distance, be prepared to see more marketers, advertisers and PR folks using Facebook URLs in their outreach.