Tag Archives: social media

Social Media For Business: Time to Set Some Rules

People are often surprised that my position exists in a dental company. I am the Social Media Strategist for a company with over 300 supported dental offices. That’s right dentists! Why on earth do dentists need social media? How does a large company use social media? The obvious answer would be for marketing. But the truth is, we use it for much more than that. Research shows that 94% of corporations use social media. Companies use it for customer service, public relations, and even recruiting. Unlike traditional media, social media is a living breathing evolving set of tools that allow people to communicate with each other and with the world.

You know the stats – Facebook has over 1 billion active users, Twitter has 500 million users and Google+ 343 million active users. LinkedIn has 200 million users. There are more channels than that and the numbers are staggering.

So even if you aren’t active on social media, someone close to you is…

Are your employees Hacktivists? Or merely ranting on social?
photo credit: david_shankbone via photopin cc

When another person rants on Facebook about a horrible experience with your company, social media can amplify that message. When one person tweets about a great experience with your company, social media can amplify that message too! That is the power of Social Media.

Social media touches nearly every part of our lives these days. People use it daily whether using their desktops or laptops, or their mobile devices. People use it anytime and everywhere. That is why, some employers worried about productivity, simply block access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, on computers on the company network. This, however, does not stop workers from accessing social media through their smartphones.

What’s a company to do?

THE ANSWER: CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

There is very little you can do to stop people from using social on their phones or in their personal time, so rather than coming up with a 50 page handbook, it would be best to come up with a one to two page summary that gives your organization a view of what they should and could be doing online.

Your social media policy should:

Be tailored for your organization. No one size fits all because each organization has different needs, uses and risks.

Apply Common Sense. Don’t restrict your employees’ social media activity. Stress that the use of social media at work is a PRIVILEGE, and with that privilege comes responsibility.

Be specific about what is or is not permitted. List consequences if policy is violated. Note: Policy should not be TOO BROAD (you cannot, for example, prohibit employees from posting pictures of the company, store brand or product. You cannot say, you are prohibited from depicting the brand in any way etc)

The policy should comply with and be implemented in accordance with local requirements, including privacy laws (Understand the law – like copyright, privacy, slander, libel, provisions of NLRA (national labor relations act)
Remember, having a dedicated and well communicated social media policy will help guide employees in their use of social media in the workplace. Set expectations from the get go; communicate that social media should not affect their overall productivity.

Social Media Consultants Share Their Predictions and Resolutions for 2013

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We all make ‘em and usually break ‘em but like it or not, new year’s resolutions and articles that talk about them are a staple of well, the new year. Last year I wrote 5 Social Media Resolutions for 2012, and for 2013, I have but one major resolution: that is, to use my so-called influence to help others. That’s right! I will use social media for good – in other words:
• I will re-tweet only positive thoughts, valuable insights and great tips;
• I will NOT like anything derogatory or insulting, even when and perhaps especially if they are disguised as a joke;
• I will use my social media connections to help connect people looking for work, or a business partner or artistic collaborator;
• I will promote worthy events and causes;
• And at the heart of it all, I will remember that behind most status updates, tweets, Instagrams, blog posts and pins, there are real people, fellow human beings or at least, that is my hope.

This year, I asked some of my social media friends what their resolutions and predictions were for 2013. Here are their answers:

Trevor Clinard, Social Media Consultant, shares his personal resolution: “To create a slightly off-color podcast I would want to listen to… and comment or participate more on others’ platforms. Don’t just produce, but read, consume, and pay it forward… plus drink more water.” He predicts that in 2013, “email will still be #1 as it always has been. Consumers and especially businesses will move futher away from Facebook products and establish themselves on niche networks that attract their demographics. Many are tired of the unreliable relationship Facebook seems to have with…well everyone. Also, there might be a surge in a new player that has been dormant in the scene so far, it will just take a few key movers and shakers to fall in love with Google+ to make it take off even more.”

“For the last several months I’ve been helping with the production of a weekly 30-minute google hangout focused on WordPress. I think at this point we’ve demonstrated that it can work. So my resolution for 2013 is to leverage Google Hangouts more as a way to have influence, connect with larger audiences, and create one more channel for new content creation,” shares Chris Lema, an author, blogger, public speaker and software engineering executive. He adds “I think 2013, in terms of both social media and software, is going to be the year of integration. Small and large businesses alike will be “done” with the swivel chair approach to tracking customer communication – from using a “social” solution for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, to a “communication” solution like email. Instead, they’re going to demand an integration that allows them to see the entire set of touch points and historical communication in one solution. Several players are approaching a solution and I think we’ll see the finalists emerge in 2013.”

Meanwhile, Oscar Gonzalez, web, tech and social media consultant at OC Web Pro and Oscar’s Tech, resolves to “be more consistent and focused on how I approach social media when it comes to business.” He predicts that: “We’ll see more saturation and burnout in big sites like Facebook, while other sites will hit mainstream and we’ll see an increased adoption by non-tech types and it will be based on context and mobile devices.”

Rachel Thompson, bestselling author, social media and book marketing consultant responds thus: “My social media resolution for 2013? That’s a dangerous question to someone who makes part of their living using social media! I have seven streams at this point (including four for author promotion), so it’s not an option for me to do LESS; so my goal is to use applications that help further with time management, allowing me more time for writing.” One predictions she has is that “Visual mediums (like YouTube of course, but also Pinterest and Instagram) will continue to grow larger than ever.”

And last but not least, Marieke Hensel, who runs digital marketing agency Branding Personality, says she aims “ To have more meaningful conversations with people (in 2013). I would like to deepen and better connect with people. I want to share my value to the world. Helping people where I can.” As for predictions, Marieke has a few – “First, “hat more people will jump in to text messaging for their business. And second,” she adds, “that people will finally get more serious about tracking their social media efforts. Third, Facebook will do more crazy stuff in 2013 that will flip out companies and make people angry. And finally, fourth, people will definitely flock more to Google+. In 2006, when Facebook just opened up for everyone, not many people were super excited about Facebook. The trendsetters were there, using the platform. The same is happening to Google+, the people will come. Google will hire smarter people and people will figure out how to get great value out of the system, I think with the Google Communities, Google definitely turned a corner!”

Thank you for reading all the way through till the end, here’s to another year in social media. Looks like I’ll be seeing more people on Google+. What are YOUR predictions and resolutions?

TV Goes Social

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In another life, I’d be a couch potato. Seriously. I do enjoy television. These days, with no time to watch television shows when they are actually aired, the DVR is my best friend. I also like that I can look up a hashtag on Twitter or check a show’s Facebook page to see what I missed or to check out what’s coming up. Despite naysayers warnings, social media has only served to enhance my viewing experience, not replace it.

Here is a list of 4 TV shows using social media to engage with its audience:

1. Fringe on Fox Saved by Twitter Hashtags
On its last season, Fringe has consistently used Twitter hashtags to engage its audience. This sci-fi TV series created by by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci premiered on the Fox in 2008. It stars Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham),Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop), and John Noble (Walter Bishop), as members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation “Fringe Division” team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security. It is called that because “fringe” science refers to unexplained occurrences much like The X-Files before it. Now they are in a battle to save mankind from “The Observers.” The action is gripping, but the human drama and philosophical aspects even more captivating.

Here’s how Fringe uses twitter to engage its fans. As with many shows on the Fox network, a hashtag accompanies each episode allowing fans to comment, tweet, discuss the show. Hashtags like #turningpoint and #followthetapes give clues to the Fringe shows without giving too much away. What’s cool is, for a fan like me, who misses an episode, I can simply search up the hashtag and find out what I missed. For non-fans, trending hashtags could entice them to watch a show they otherwise would never have heard of.

Follow @fringeonFox on Twitter, and if you are a sci-fi TV fan (or come on, an old Dawson’s Creek fan, admit it), you will not be disappointed. FRINGE will probably go down in history as the TV show saved by Twitter hashtags. Read Social TV Digest’s post about that here.

2. New Girl Rewards Fans on Social Media

New Girl starring the so-called adorkable Zooey Deschanel @zooeydeschanel is somewhat new but has instantly gained a TV following with its strategic use of social media to create not just a new sitcom but a phenomenon. If by phenomenon you mean, over 244,000 Twitter followers and 1.9 million Facebook fans, over a relatively short period of time. It helps that the show is truly hilarious and has such a gifted cast (My personal favorite? Max Greenfield as Schmidt, @iamgreenfield on Twitter)

New girl has used twitter hashtags like #trueamerican and #mcmouse to grow its audience. The hashtags, released before an episode airs, are related to events happening in the storyline. In addition, followers have access to exclusive content like behind-the-scenes photos and videos. But perhaps one of the best features of its fan engagement is awarding one new follower with “Fan of the Week” status which is includes a shout out during the live television broadcast!

Follow @newgirlonFox on Twitter.

3. Pretty Little Liars Engages Fans on Various Platforms

If there were an award for the show that was most engaged on social media, it would have to go to Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. Pretty Little Liars (#PLL @abcfpll on Twitter) is based on Sara Shepard’s young adult-novel series about 4 friends, namely Spencer Hastings (played by Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell).

According to Bluefin Labs, Pretty Little Liars received the most comments on Twitter for a cable drama during its season 3 premiere. The ABC family series’ June 5 season premiere racked up a record 534,000 tweets during airtime. 100,000 of them were posted in the first five minutes, and it peaked at about 34,000 tweets per minute.

Like the other shows, specific hashtags air during the actual show. One of the things, that makes #PLL different is that the cast and creators actively engage online. Cast members, like Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson and Keegan Allen, are encouraged to reach out to fans via social media including Twitter and Instagram. It also helps that the show’s core audience is social savvy.

From @LucyHale89s Instagram Feed – a behind the scenes look at the Halloween episode with guest Adam Lambert

4. The Voice Connects with a Social Media Correspondent

Finally, there is The Voice. Or should we say #thevoice that uses hashtags and Twitter to get fans to communicate not just with the judges but with the contestants as well. While the banter on the show by the judges especially Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) and Adam Levine (@adamlevine) is fun, their Twitter conversations are even more entertaining!

Comments appear in a letterbox during the show, kind of like pop-up videos on VH-1. Which leads us to… yes, Christina Millian the live social media correspondent of the show. Like a VH-1 or MTV VJ from back in the day, Christina appears in between segments to call on fans to sound off via Twitter; she also fields questions for contestants from fans. She live-tweets the show as well via @cmillianofficial, her own account with 610,051 followers as of this writing.

Follow @NBCTheVoice on Twitter

Surely there are more television shows that are using social media channels to engage their audiences but these are the shows currently on my DVR. More than being able to connect with my favorite show and its cast, what I love about social media, is being part of the communal experience of watching TV – albeit late and on my own time. There is still that sense of community that exists when one is able to discuss a show’s episode and hypothesize about its meaning, with a fellow fan halfway around the world.

Book Review: “I Don’t Know” by Jason Ewart

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Twitter has been a boon to my social life. Over the last few years, I have met the most amazing people online and offline. The thing is, you can really make a connection if you engage enough and from place of authenticity. Yes, I know that’s one of those buzzwords they throw out there, but I’m afraid it’s the truth.

So there’s this guy Jason Ewart, who lives Down Under – he’s one of those people I’ve met “virtually.” He seems genuine and truly makes a connection with those he engages with – I feel like we’ve known each other for ages. But that’s the digital age for you, I guess, it has been ages in Twitter years. So when he kindly asked me over Twitter of course, to take a look at his new book, “I Don’t Know,” I gladly obliged.

In a nutshell, the book is about…possibility. In this collection, Jason shares what he calls “quips, quotes and quality insights” gathered during his running adventures. In his previous book “Overcoming Obesity and Debt,” Ewart inspired with his personal story of how he overcame those two major challenges with weight and money. This time, he inspires once again, with lessons gleaned from running.

So in a way it is about running, but not just that…

I don’t run but I really should. I admire runners – they just put one foot in front of the other and go. There is no exercise equipment involved, no fancy requirements, just two feet and the open road.

The book “I Don’t Know” may seem at first to be about running and accepting that life is uncertain, but more precisely, the book is about life and possibility. Like the Nike slogan, you can “Just Do It” but first, writes Ewart, you have to find out WHY in order to find the HOW. Life is hard… but you can get through it, one step at a time.

www.idontknowbook.com

Gangnam Flash Mob at Knott’s Scary Farm 40th Haunt

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, surely you’ve heard the infectious K-pop single by Korean musician Psy. With its catchy tune and rhythm and it’s humorous video and distinctive dance moves, Gangnam Style is definitely THE hit of the late summer of 2012, inspiring numerous memes and flash mobs around the world — including this latest performance by some of Orange County’s social media movers and shakers led by Ted Nguyen @tednguyen and the Veturis sisters @rochelleveturis @haleyveturis @chelseyveturis during opening weekend of Knott’s Scary Farm.

Lessons from the Pinterest Lunch and Learn

Connect, Teach and Share at OC Social Media Summit Today

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The 1st Orange County Social Media Summit is taking place today, Friday, May 18th, 2012 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. Nearly 600 people are expected to attend the day-long event focused on Social Media. Topics covered feature everything from blogging, to making videos to posting tweets and Facebook updates.

I caught up with one of the organizers of the event, Rochelle Veturis Coles @rochelleveturis and asked her a few questions:

MT: What made you decide to organize the Social Media Summit?
RVC: “We wanted to give some of our wonderful social media friends the opportunity to share their skills and talents with the community – because they do it so well, and so effortlessly. I learn a lot from the people on stage, and thought it was time to share them with the world.”

MT: Who are the people behind the OCSMS?
RVC: “My sister @HaleyVeturis and I are the volunteer co-producers of the event. Headliner @TedNguyen is not only speaking, but co-hosting and leading the social good and media relations efforts, as well. The Saddleback Church Communications team has been a huge help and support with the graphics, signage, multi-media components and production of the event. Irvine-based ProGroup donated printing of the programs and the Step and Repeat. Our wonderful keynotes have served as an advisory board – and all speakers, spotlights, and panelists, have been gracious enough to help promote. It’s been a team effort, and we appreciate and thank each and every individual who has contributed to making this occasion an all out success.”

MT: What ONE thing do you want attendees to leave knowing?
RVC: “They can do this. They are special, loved, and unique. There is no one like them and tapping into that uniqueness is going to set them free in the socialmediasphere. If they need help, they can contact anyone on stage – we love new media and are passionate about seeing others “get it,” and succeed.”

Follow along on Twitter hashtag #ocsms. Or catch the LIVE WEBCAST here.

Beth Aldrich Book Tour: Powered by Mom Bloggers and Social Media

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One of the coolest things about technology is being able to meet interesting and creative people and being able to collaborate on projects, without even having to meet face to face. Some months ago, an author, Beth Aldrich put out a call via Social Moms, about wanting to partner with bloggers who could help her with a book tour she was planning to conduct across the country. Being a lover of books and excuses to party, I emailed to say I could host a book signing in Orange County. Originally, the call was for the LA -area, but I felt that her book, “Real Moms Love to Eat,” was something that OC moms could relate to and support. Before long, we had organized the shindig in January via emails (and one solitary phone call) — it was to be held at Paradise Perks Cafe in Irvine, and Kristin Ausk of Meringue Bakeshop had agreed to provide some of her famous Pushcakes for the event.

Bound by books and cupcakes, and yes, this was taken with an iPhone (thank you technology!)

The book signing and presentation was a success. (You may see pictures of the Paradise Perks event on Facebook.)

For Beth’s promotional book tour, social media plays a big part. After the event, I asked the author about this matter.

Q. Your book tour is a little different and totally powered by social media and mom bloggers (mostly), how did this idea come about?

A: “My colleague and I were trying to come up with a way to get the word out about the book to women who would benefit most from reading it and we came up with the idea of sharing it with mom bloggers. I knew that if mom bloggers liked my book, moms everywhere probably would too. I was so happy to read all of the feedback from the bloggers and was so pleased to partner with socialmoms.com because they have such a wonderful community of moms.“

Q. Describe your book tour.

A. “I launched the book tour in NYC with a national media tour of 16 cities and a book signing in Brooklyn, NY. then, I toured around my own city of Chicago for a couple of weeks before coming to the west coast for signings and media appearances. I’ve tried to create a tour with the sponsorship money that I raised,thanks to Bare by Solo, Dreamfields Pasta and Flatout Bread, that would give me a variety of events, such as luncheons, bookstore signings, cupcake shop signings and even smoothie classes at exercise studios. I liked the idea of having food and treats at all of my events, so moms could feel comfortable noshing while I read excerpts from my book. I selected tour cities where I had friends and family or media appearances lined up, for the first three months of my tour and plan on touring extensively throughout the midwest, closer to home, after March. “

Q. What social media channels are you using to power your book tour, book sales and on a larger scale your campaign for healthy eating?

A. “I TWEET every day. I also try to update on FB as much as I can. But, like most moms over 30; I truly appreciate the good old email. I email friends and family and call in favors and ask them to share the news of my book. I also write for a variety of online sites and am always looking for ways to get write ups on online websites so share my book link and blog. It’s baby steps, but moms like to help each other and I love to share info about other moms on my blog, too.”

Q. What’s next for you?

A. “I really want to spend time with my 3 sons. Time flies by so quickly and I feel like I’ve given the book a good kick-start and am hoping to just catch up on sleep and relax for a few months. Book tours are SO exhausting; who knew?! Be careful what you wish for ”

To find out more about Beth Aldrich, visit www.realmomslovetoeat.com Her book “Real Moms Love to Eat: How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose Weight and Feel Fabulous” is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.