Category 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.

Spring Style Mixer: Affordable Women’s Fashion from DownEast Basics

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Recently, I was invited to attend the Spring Style Mixer for Downeast Basics, a clothing store at the Irvine Spectrum. The mixer gathered together a select group of bloggers for an evening of shopping. I had never visited the shop but I had friends who were raving about the place so I checked it out. Social media shopping mixers are always neat because looking at women’s fashion and shopping amongst friends is always fun.

Shelby of ocmomblog.com and I with Kara Noel of elislids.com photobombing in the background.

DownEast was founded in 1991, and is a privately held company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a lot like other fast-fashion stores with affordable clothing, that offer a mix of trendy items and clasic staples. According to a DownEast Basics representative, their ideal customer is “any woman who appreciates boutique style designs but wants it on a bargain basement budget!”

Kara Noel and I try out some hair accessories.

Of course, bargain prices don’t mean poor quality. In fact, I was impressed by the quality of the clothing. I was told that they get in new styles on a monthly basis to keep their inventory fresh. They have some basic items that I thought were awesome (Hello, wonder t-shirt line – it’s got spandex much like spanx, a friend to women like me who need the extra help, if you know what I mean.)

Wonder Tees and more at DownEast Basics in Irvine

Swimsuit for DownEast Basics Spring 2013 Collection. Photo courtesy of DownEast Basics.

Finally, you gotta love a store that connects with its customers via social media. Let me say, DE is all over it. They are on www.facebook.com/DownEastBasics, www.twitter.com/DownEastBasics, Pinterest: @DownEastBasics and Instagram: @DownEastBasics. You can also shop online at DownEast Basics online.

They are holding a Spring Styles Contest on Pinterest that ends on March 5th. One lucky winner will win a $500 shopping spree.

Pin It to Win It with DownEast Basics

3 Social Media Tips for Next Year’s Grammy’s

Social Media Tips for Doctors and Dentists

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You’ve probably heard that Mark Zuckerberg’s father is a dentist. It’s true. Dr. Edward Zuckerberg is a dentist in Westchester, New York. In a 2011 article on Salon.com, he shared that he uses he uses Facebook to promote his dental practice and spends about an hour a day on the site. As a medical practitioner, whether you are a dentist or chiropractor, shouldn’t be using social media channels too?

Photo courtesy of Deadstar via photopin.com

Yes. Doctors and dentists should and can use social media because that’s where patients and potential patients are. Of course, there are both potential positive outcomes and pitfalls to doctor-patient relationships when using social media and that’s why your involvement must be cautious and considered.

How can doctors and dentists use social media, you ask? Well… first, it can be used as part of the marketing mix and second, it can be used as a tool to enhance customer service. You can use social media to:

Connect with Patients
Reach out to potential patients
Create brand awareness

Remember any online marketing efforts must compliment offline marketing efforts. Just because you are active on your Facebook page doesn’t mean you should give up getting involved in your local community events.

Image courtesy of Matt Hamm via PhotoPin

Here are some useful Social Media Tips for dentists and doctors:
Develop a social media policy. Here are two articles about Best Practices for developing Social Media Policies from Social Media Today and Social Media.Biz

Stay professional. Remember, just like in real life, watch what you say in public. If it isn’t something you’d say in person, don’t post it.

Determine what level of personal information you want to share. It’s good for patients to see the human side of their healthcare providers, but do you really want them to know that you went partying last night?

Be mindful of HIPAA regulations. Do not post any medical information about patients, do not dispense specific medical advice or make any diagnoses online.

Feel free to answer general patient questions. Social media can be a powerful tool to help patients get the care they need.

Finally, use common sense.

CREDITS

Doctor Image. Photo Credit: deadstar 2.1 via photopin cc

Illustration. Photo credit: Matt Hamm via photopin cc

Social Media Recruiting

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?