Category Archives: PRetty Social

Why “surprise and delight” is still a tried and true tactic in social media

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If you’ve worked in any capacity of marketing, PR or advertising, you’ve probably heard, used or implemented the phrase and practice of “surprise and delight.” Whenever social media really took off (from a business perspective), giving your customers free stuff was THE thing to do. And today, as social media grows up and evolves, it’s still a great thing to do, to a point. If you work in the retail/consumer space, surprise and delight is still a tried and true tactic to implement in your overall social strategy. Here’s why (in my opinion).

The other week, I was scrolling down my Instagram feed (per usual), when I saw Pretzel Crisps posted a photo montage with a beer koozie with one of my favorite phrases on it, “These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty.” (For those of you who live under a rock, it’s from Seinfeld.) First, that’s super smart of Pretzel Crisps for putting that on their packaging. Marketing brilliance, if you ask me. I casually commented on the photo and asked where I could find that gem of a koozie. Much to my surprise, I was greeted by a friendly email in my inbox a couple hours later from a woman from the company asking me for my address so they could send me one. Talk about making my day! The next week, my day was made yet again when I got a package on my front doorstep with about six koozies and six bags of Pretzel Crisps (in assorted flavors). Score! I immediately took to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to share with my networks my awesome swag.

So why’d it work?
Pretzel Crisps saw that I genuinely liked the product, wasn’t trying to “get” anything from them, and have a decent social following. So, why not? They didn’t ask me to do anything either, which I think is great. I wouldn’t have minded a note with the package with any calls to action to follow them or post about them, but I did it anyway because that’s what I do for a living and love to share personal stories from brands I experience. Pretzel Crisps showed me they are listening and wanted to reward me for being a fan. Now I am stocked with delicious product. (Jalepeno is my new fave.) And it’s not a (sometimes worthless) Klout Perk that half my Twitter friends got, too. It’s targeted to me individually. Klout Perks are just blasted out to an audience in hopes of making people feel “influencial.” It’s not genuine in my opinion. Surprise and delight is.

Some other prime examples of surprise and delight

Taco Bell (source: Post Advertising)

No explanation needed here. Mad props to that high schooler for being awfully clever and Taco Bell for knowing who its target niche is and obliging. I basically love everything Taco Bell does in all of its touch-points – packaging, TV, digital, in-store, etc.

Aetna (source: Likeable Media)

aetna

A man battling advanced colon cancer used Twitter to debate with the CEO of his insurance company, Aetna. He was facing potential medical bankruptcy. To his surprise, Aetna’s CEO responded to address the issue and agreed to pay the medical costs. Now, we can’t all just pay for someone’s medical bills, but the CEO took to Twitter to make things right. It’s not often the CEO of a major company like Aetna casually tweets with his or her customer or user-base. This example showed they are listening and value their customers.

There’s a fine line between surprise and delight, and buying off your customers
Remember on Full House when DJ got mad at Uncle Jesse and he bought her a drum set to make up for it? (Yep, I just referenced Full House.) Well, DJ was pretty pumped but wise Mr. Danny Tanner stepped in and reminded Jesse that “buying” DJ’s love wouldn’t work every time he messed up. They needed to talk it out (which happened on every single episode of that show) and get to the root of the problem. The same thing applies to surprise and delight in social. Think about the “real life” aspect of it. How many times have you been out to dinner and something went horribly wrong and the manager stepped in and offered a free dessert or took something off the bill? That works with some, but really, they need to get to the root of the problem. If the pizza was cold, they need to cook their food longer. If the server took 45 minutes to wait on you, they probably need to up their staff or go through some more training. So, if a consumer complains on social media, instead of just shipping them a free box of something, ask them what you can do to make it right, and follow up to let them know the issue was resolved. Some people are free-stuff-loving, coupon mongrels (thanks for nothing, Extreme Couponing), but others are legitimate consumers not looking for free stuff, but quality service and/or products. Making it right goes way further than a free coupon in the long run, and that’s how you’ll keep those people and turn them into brand advocates. Oh and if all else fails, you can show up at their door and give them a hug like the Tanners would (although that could cause a restraining order…)

Final thoughts
Surprise and delight doesn’t need to happen when something bad happens, either. I personally am a bigger fan of companies rewarding customers for just hanging out and interacting with their pages rather than trying to fix a problem (like Taco Bell). If you marry surprise and delight with active listening when there is an issue and letting your fan base know you will make it right, things should run pretty smoothly on your page(s). So keep on innovating in this space, but also stick to the good old fashioned roots of surprise and delight since it still goes a long way (says the now loyal Pretzel Crisps fan). Oh and it doesn’t have to be giving away free stuff either. It could be as simple as acknowledging a fan in a tweet or post. I STILL get excited thinking about when Target tweeted to me two years ago. I’m not kidding. #TargetFanGirl

Do you agree or think this tactic is SO 2010?

How to: Get Google Authorship with Social Media Pittsburgh and Lunametrics

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Last night, I attended my first Social Media Pittsburgh event. Social Media Pittsburgh is an informal group of Pittsburgh’s social media professionals. They aim to share best practices and local knowledge through their monthly speaker series. Before I get into my overview of last night’s discussion, I must say that I took home with me a few pieces of valuable knowledge that I can actually apply. So important when you sign up for a professional development event.

The evening’s discussion was led by Dan Wilkerson of Lunametrics, a Pittsburgh-based company and Google Certified Partner. They bring the complete digital experience to your brand using innovations in Google Analytics, SEO, PPC and Social Media. Dan is Lunametrics’ social media project manager and I instantly knew he was going to give a great presentation from his opening “about me” slide (click the image for a larger view):

Dan Wilkerson

Genius.

On to the presentation: 
Dan spoke about something I had never heard of before, Google Authorship. On my little blog, I had never thought about that before, but now I’m on a mission to become an author. Why? It can increase click-throughs on your pages by 30-150%! So what’s authorship? Let it be known you don’t have to be “techy” to do this. Actually, it’s a really great tool for all writers on the web. (Copyblogger just wrote about this subject the other day.) It makes you more searchable, more visible, and more authentic. It’s a little easier than the the old school tactic of commenting on other blogs to hopefully drive traffic back to yours (although that still works and it’s still important to share the love). Anyways, according to Copyblogger, “authorship is the method to display authorship information in search results for the content you create.” Basically, it makes you stand out in search. There are a few simple steps to achieving authorship, and all it takes is having a profile on a little thing called Google+. (Sneaky, Google, I see what you’re doing there :) ). So what do I mean “standing out?” Let’s compare. First, a writer without authorship (unfortunately, me, until I set up my page in a bit):

non_authorship

This is a post I wrote last month. Yes, it says deannaferrari.com, but there’s no byline, no image. Basically, there’s no authenticity about it. Now, let’s see what a blog post would look like WITH Google authorship (image from Copyblogger):

Now we know it’s written by Brian Clark. He’s got 41,911 connections in his Google+ circles, I last visited his page in January, and oh look — his image! You can even see more articles written by Brian. See the difference? If Brian and I wrote a post on the same subject, I bet you’d click on his post in the search results, right? I just blew my own mind.

To set up your own Google Authorship, just be sure you’re signed up for Google+, log in, and then visit https://plus.google.com/authorship. (The only tricky part is you need to enter a little bit of code in there. If you don’t know basic HTML, see a developer near you for help).

Dan went into more detail on this process, including how to measure your efforts through Google analytics. I’m also going to be learning more about Google analytics in the coming weeks since I need to up my analytical game. Lunametrics puts on fantastic training sessions about learning Google analytics, and you can also check out Conversion University.

Social media is a HUGE world. Many different industries tackle it — from the marketing side of it, to the content, to the measurement. Social Media Pittsburgh understands this, and is putting on events monthly to discuss all there is to know about this broad and ever-changing, fast-paced landscape. For ten bucks, you can learn something new each month (FREE for students!!) and network with other professionals in the process. It’s an incredible resource and I plan on checking out many more!

You can follow Social Media PGH on Twitter and like them on Facebook for more information on future events. (The next event is April 17 and will discuss building social media relationships). They also post relevant and insightful articles on their social media platforms.

Thanks to Social Media Pittsburgh for allowing me to check out last night’s session and blog about it!

Your career, visualized: How to use images to amplify the job search

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pinterest_imagePinterest. Instagram. Tumblr. These sites have been taking over the Internet in the last year or so. From wedding planning to fashion to interesting architecture and everything in between, all of us have been telling the stories of things we love via visuals. I’ve always been a visual learner. I took notes in school and now in the working world (despite the presentation being available afterward) so I could see the words on paper. And I learn better by doing something rather than simply being instructed. That’s why I love visual blogs like Brit + Co. and The Beauty Department that really give a how-to by way of photos. And I’m constantly inspired by my friends on Instagram and Pinterest to recreate a smoothie recipe or outfit idea. Which brought me to thinking about my professional life. Sure, I read articles, attend webinars and conferences, network, and participate in industry organizations. All of which help me grow and learn. But there’s just something about seeing great work or words that really inspire me. The same goes for the job search. You can apply to 100 jobs, but what’s your goal? What are your passions? And how can those help your career?

From the sites listed above, following are a few simple ways to have visuals help you in the job search (and current job motivation) process.

Tumble into action
Tumblr is perfect for quick bursts of inspiration.  Do a search for “career” tags, and you instantly see interview tips, motivational quotes, and others in your shoes just blogging about their experiences. You can even see what’s happening in your town in terms of networking events. One of my favorite accounts is the NYC PR Girls page. Just follow the tags that you’re interested in (type of industry, city, what type of accounts you’d like to work on, etc.) and you’ll be on your way to immediate encouragement. (It’s also a great way to network.)

Pin to motivation
I’m basically planning my entire wedding (thanks, secret boards!) on Pinterest, but I also started another secret board for all things work-related as a PR pro. Basically, when I see an article that I think my clients could be in (or at least benefit from), I pin it to my board. Yes, I bookmark these articles too, but re-visiting this board from time-to-time helps me see these stories rather bookmarking and forgetting, and I am reminded of what it is and what I’m trying to accomplish, as well as give me ideas for future pitching. Looking for a job? Pin images of people in action to help motivate you. No, not stock imagery of men in suits shaking hands, but people in the industry you look up to. Think Jack Dorsey, Marissa Mayer or even those you see in your local business pub’s “40 under 40.” They can even be fictitious characters (I’m a big fan of Mary in The Mary Tyler Moore Show).  

Instagram to insta-gain
Yes, Instagram is full of cats, food and nail art. However, it allows you to connect with those near and far in a fun way. Think about where you want to work. Let’s take an ad agency in your local area, for example. Are they on Instagram as a company? Follow and start liking. On a smaller scale, find folks who work there and follow them as well (easier to find if you find them on Twitter first). Start following and liking images that pique your interest. Just don’t “like” everything – you don’t want to be a stalker. You can find common connections (such as love for a sports team) and even see where they hang out and what networking events and conferences they attend. If they attend a monthly event, you know they’ll be there so you can attend and meet other professionals, too (again, just don’t be creepy!). And, like on Tumblr and Pinterest, Instagram can help motivate you when you see others in action (I’m a big fan of what Amy Jo Martin and Sarah Evans are bringing to the table).

Sure, Pinterest can’t write you a resume and Instagram can’t land you an interview, but sometimes we go through the motions of the job search so much, we forget what we’re passionate about and what we’re looking for. The same goes for our day-to-day work. So, before you begin your search (or improving your current situation), write down what you want, start looking for images and visuals that represent that, and you’ll spark a new motivation you may have been lacking before. Just like looking at a picture of someone buff in a bathing suit may motivate you to lose a few pounds before summer, looking at a logo of where you want to work (or the people who work there) can give you that extra bit of oomph you need to amplify the process and shake things up.

This post is part of HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out). HAPPO is a movement that seeks to use social media to leverage relationships and help connect those seeking a job in the PR industry with employers. It’s led by co-founders Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon. Follow the #HAPPO hashtag on Twitter.

Follow me on Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram.

Live-Pinning: On-point or pointless?

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Hi my name’s Deanna and I’m a Pinterestaholic.

I know I’m not alone in my addiction. Only 6 months ago, Pinterest was at the 11.7 unique monthly users mark. I can only imagine what it is now.

Brands have definitely taken note of this, and are popping up all over the Pinterestsphere to pin and interact with their fans in the space, since for a lot of brands, that’s where their fans are spending a lot of their time online. A lot of brands are using the platform really well. My personal favorite? Chobani. Not only do they subtly yet effectively integrate their product into pins, but they inject their branding wonderfully – a humorous and fun personality of “Nothing But Good.” Example: The Board “You So Crafty.” They also have a whole Pinterest board devoted to Instagram, called “Insta-piration.” A great way to blend social networks.

As more and more brands join Pinterest, I’m noticing what has happened with Twitter and Facebook – how do they differentiate themselves and stand out? How do they stay fresh and relevant? The answer for some: “live-pinning.” Years back when Twitter was taking off, live-tweeting was really popular to make followers feel like they were really “there” to engage and follow along with certain events. The practice is still alive and thriving today. Just follow a hashtag and you can follow the live tweets.

One of the first brands to live-pin was Oscar de la Renta live-pinning their bridal fashion show back in the spring of 2012. I loved the innovation, since this practice hadn’t really been done yet. But, was it a success?

Looking back at the board of their live pins, it seems they received a lot of re-pins and likes on their new bridal collection. Why? I don’t think it was necessarily for the LIVE aspect, but for the fact that it was bridal. Search your own Pinterest network feed right now, and its infiltrated with bridal pins. Brides-to-be (and girls who aren’t even engaged) are pinning away to plan their weddings. It fits the demographic of who’s pinning on Pinterest. Even if you can’t afford it, it can inspire your gown, which Pinterest is all about. Inspiration.

Verdict: Live-pin is a win.

Then in June, a particular pin caught my eye from Better Homes and Gardens, which caused me to question it:

After the event that weekend, I evaluated the situation. In addition to their board that they live-pinned to, they live-tweeted:

Great to see them live-tweeting, too. And using photos. However, they were also live-tweeting just commentary from the event without photos, which is great for a quick description about the event without being forced to include a photo:

I think Better Homes and Gardens does an awesome job on Pinterest. So many great boards on-point with what Pinterest is all about – inspiring visuals. But the Chill & Grill live-pins fell flat to me. The pins did not garner much engagement with fans. A few likes and re-pins, but to me, if they would have stuck with Twitter, it would have been more effective. That’s because there are visuals AND text-only to live-tweet about. A great combination to watch and interact with, and easy to follow along with the #chillandgrill hashtag.

Pins of food with recipes would have worked really well with the content being pinned on Pinterest, but then there were photos of some of the BHG editors. With all due respect to these editors, I personally don’t want to pin them casually posing for a photo. If I’m pinning a picture of a person, it’s either iconic, or it’s because I love something about what they’re wearing, their makeup or hairdo, etc. An editor just posing for an event picture? Not pin-worthy.

Verdict: Live-pin is a flop.

My final example comes from other magazine sources. I’m seeing some of these pages live-pinning breaking celeb news. Miley Cyrus got a new tattoo? The pin doesn’t show it, but is an image of her linking over to the story. I don’t think many would pin that. However, if it were a picture of the tattoo itself, that might get some pin love from tattoo fans inspired by her ink. Here’s an example from InStyle:

I get that they are promoting an article and website traffic, but again, why would I pin this image of Lea Michelle? I’d rather pin images of her actual finished photos from the shoot than behind the scenes. Take a look at the pins on Pinterest, and the images are polished and beautiful. I don’t want the guy in the photo shown above in my pin! I want just Lea looking gorgeous.

Pinterest isn’t necessarily about right.this.second. As I said, it’s about inspiration and ideas. I can pin something that was posted a year ago because I find it useful or inspiring, not because it’s in the now. If I need breaking news or live information, I will go to Twitter or a website to get what I need. Then I can decide if I want to pin something from that.

The verdict overall? I think the live aspect should be left to Twitter (especially since Twitter can allow images), and Pinterest can be after the fact. Even if the live-pinning is relevant to your followers, capture the most engaging images at the event, then decide what to pin later. I bet you’ll get more results that way.

So what do you think – am I missing something? Live-pinning: On-point or pointless?

A lesson in (lack of) marketing integration with Toys R Us

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I’m usually not one to sit online and complain about things. Or use my blog or Twitter page to bash brands. I work with a lot of brands and sometimes, brands make mistakes. But last night I had a learning experience as both a marketer AND a customer that I just have to share. And this is more of a lesson than a complaint or bash. Let’s back up…

Toys R Us. 8 p.m. on December 20. That alone is enough to make me run for the hills. But I had little kid shopping to do, which usually brings me to this store around this time of year. What kid wouldn’t want a Christmas present from Toys R Us? Anyways, I was at the register ready to check out when I told the associate I had a Google Offer (I snagged a great $10 for $20 offer last week in my gmail knowing I’d be at that store in the near future). I gave the associate my phone with the barcode to scan. It didn’t work. He looked perplexed. He tried again and scratched his head. I asked him to try again and maybe ask for help. So he called for another person to come over. Another woman came over and basically just told me it wasn’t going to work. Fail #1. I had bought my offer fair and square. I was redeeming it within the allotted time frame. She told me to call 1-800-Toys R Us to get a gift card. Oh joy. A Toys R Us gift card. Just what I want AFTER my shopping is done. I usually have little patience for this type of thing but I politely paid full price and left the store. Since I had a-ways to drive home, I decided to call the 800-number immediately and tell them the story. So I was directed to customer service and told the lady on the phone about what happened. I then had to describe what a Google Offer is, exactly. Now I’m starting to shake my head.

“I think I’ve heard of that,” she said. “Oh, good,” I thought. “‘I think’ is exactly what I want to hear.” Sarcasm. So she goes and talks to her supervisor. At this point I am thinking they will refund me or give me the gift card I don’t want. But no, wait for what happened next…

“Ma’am, I talked with my supervisor and we’ve only heard of this one other time. We believe you got scammed.”

At this point, my heart sunk for a moment. I once had a run-in with a debit card thief in 2005 when I first tried Ebay. Memories were brought back of this. But then I quickly snapped back to reality and realized that this woman had no idea what she was talking about. Scammed? I was completely flabbergasted. I received this offer from GOOGLE, then downloaded the app on my ANDROID, the Google operating system. No way was it a “scam.”

“You’ll have to call your credit card company and have them refund you.”

So what did I do? Call my credit card company? Nope. I just hung up and then looked at Twitter. I found Toys R Us’ official, verified account. And alas, ten or so tweets down saw this:

Oh yeah. That looks like a scam to me. Sarcasm again. Fail #2.

At this point, I thought about finding the CMO of Toys R Us’ email address so I could email him or her directly. A nice, “Heads up, buddy, but half your company has no idea you’re running a deal,” would have sufficed.

But with this new information I learned from Twitter, I decided to call customer service back. I spoke with a different woman who put me on hold for 12 minutes. At minute 13 I hung up and called back because I have no patience for hold music. So after speaking with my THIRD customer service woman, I again had to explain what a Google Offer was. “Think of it like a Groupon,” I said. Then she called Google “Groogle.” Oy vey. Finally, she directed me to the online department, where I was connected to the most friendly southern woman ever. She affectionately referred to me as “honey” and “darling.” Which if you are a southern woman, I gladly appreciate.

When I told Southern Gal my story, she sounded completely embarrassed. When I asked her if she knew what a Google Offer was, she knew right away. “The 10 for 20 offer?” she asked. Exactly.

I leveled with her. I said that I had a baby gift to buy for a friend’s baby shower next month, and she’s registered at Babies R Us, so I would try again. This time online. She said online was probably the best way and if I had trouble, to call back the online department. I’m sure if I had nothing to buy she would have helped me get my money back. It’s only $10. But this is all about the principle.

So what’s the moral of the story? Two words: Integration and Communication.

Social is great. It’s such a nice tool to be able to speak with your audience directly, and get actionable feedback and insights. And do some pretty fun and cool stuff to boot. However, if you have brick and mortar stores, it would be wise to bridge the gap between the online and offline employees. If you launch a great offer right before Christmas, you should make your employees in- store aware and be able to scan a mobile phone. You should also make your customer service folks answering phones aware of how to fix the problem if there is one. It’s the same thing as having a Facebook or other social deal or promotion. If you’re a retail giant like Toys R Us, make sure that all channels are aware and educated before launch. Do a lunch and learn. Or at least a company-wide email. Social and online marketing budgets are growing and growing each year. Only having a small portion of your company aware of online initiatives is grounds for customer frustration. The same goes for educating your online employees of things happening offline and in store. They go hand-in-hand, and if they work together, can be a great thing.

Social Media for Event Planners and Vendors: 8 Tactics You Can Use

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Last night, I had the opportunity to keynote an International Special Events Society (ISES) Pittsburgh chapter event at the New Hazlett Theater in the north side of Pittsburgh. The presentation included 8 social media tactics event planners and vendors can use to increase their overall reach and visibility online. One thing to stress is that if you’re new to social, to try one tactic first, then move on to the others. Trying all at once could be overwhelming and not effective. Try what works for you and your business and you may be surprised. Also, everyone should do tactic 1, as having a plan and overall strategy is key to making it work. Once  you have that goal, then it’s time to get tactical. Here’s the presentation:

Questions? Email me.

So you landed a social media job…now what?

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I frequently write about the job searching process, and tips for students and young professionals. Job searching is hard and long (that’s what she said).

But what happens when you get that job? You’re in the door. You’re sitting at your cube (or office). Now it’s time to knock your company’s socks off. Social media jobs are a hot commodity these days, and popping up all over the place. My position as social business specialist is the first of its kind at my agency. So there has been quite a lot of navigating, and quite a big learning curve (for my company AND me). I can’t really have a social-specific mentor with 10 years in the field, because no social media pro has been around that long. We’re all figuring it out. But since I’ve been doing the social thing for a few years now (in PR roles prior, now primarily social), here is some advice I have learned along the way that I can pass along. Disclosure: My career has been in the agency world, so it’s all I know. But, agency people like myself are versatile for any organization, so this can apply to more than agency pros.

Tip #1: Carve out time each day to read, learn, tweet, skim, and take it all in
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I don’t have time for social media.” I get it. It takes time. And some days, I can barely come up for air juggling six projects at once, let alone crawl the internet for tweet-worthy content. But each day, I am out there. I don’t go one day without going on social media (except of course a lot of weekends…girlfriend needs a break). Granted, I get PAID to peruse social media, but my job is not to tweet, necessarily. I am in meetings, strategy sessions, building out social plans and calendars, managing social monitoring and reporting as well as overall social projects, and keeping my clients happy. But I carve that time out each day to learn. Almost every day I find an important tweet that helps me in some way. Perhaps I bookmark it for later, or use it in a Powerpoint presentation, or email my team or client, or actually apply it right then and there to work. If you keep up with the right network, it’s worth it. So maybe you spend your first half hour in the office in social. Or, you wake up and grab your coffee, and scroll your Facebook news feed, RSS reader, Twitter and LinkedIn news on your cell. Not to mention, the internet = free resources.

Tip #2: Share, share, share
Being a social media manager (and the like), you are constantly getting asked social questions. I recently tweeted a tip that helps me tremendously. Every time you reply to a social question via email, cc or bcc yourself. Then, create an “FAQ” folder in your email, and move those emails there. Next time you’re asked that question, you can copy/paste. BOOM.

But that’s the reactive sharing…what about proactive? People love to be in the know. So, when I get a really good piece of information (i.e. Facebook changed some setting/layout/policy for the 14309549058 time), I send it out to either my team or entire agency. I am getting in the habit of sending something out agency-wide at least once a month. I also signed up for a series of webinars by Facebook Marketing that I shared with other disciplines in the social space at work, and I plan on setting up a room for them that we can all gather and learn together, rather than at our desks. Double learning, FTW! And be quick — social moves so fast that you need to be ahead. I hate reading something that I saw on Twitter five days ago. So, share it. Just don’t over-share. No one likes constant emails with just links to articles that most likely aren’t moving your business forward.

Tip #3: Learn the overall marketing and/or PR objectives of your business
This one may seem like a no-brainer to some, but social needs a strategy behind it. Many people get on a certain network for the sake of being on it, and don’t stop to think about strategy. This has been a frequent conversation lately at work, and it’s something so important. But first — what’s the overall marketing strategy? Most likely, there’s a business plan for this fiscal year. Get a copy of it. Learn what it is. And for the next plan, be a part of those meetings. Then take that plan, and apply it to social. Maybe garnering Facebook likes is your goal. Or maybe it’s activating your fans. It would be so nice to directly correlate sales to social, but if you can’t do that exactly, set something that you can measure. Or use the insights you gather from social for your brand’s overall operations. You could make some changes internally that will resonate with fans externally.

Baking social media cupcakes help

Tip #4: Make some contacts
We all would love to have a Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and/or YouTube contact. Someone you can shoot an email off to and get an answer straight from the horse’s mouth. Unfortunately, when you’re using a free service, these people are hard to come by. So there’s two options here. 1) Spend money on advertising. Sad but true. You throw dollar signs at Facebook, and they will be more likely to talk to you. I don’t blame them. That’s how they are so profitable. But not everyone necessarily WANTS to advertise on Facebook (or other social networks). Or, not everyone has the budget to do so. We all want to be on the Facebook “client council,” but we all can’t be. So that brings me to our second option: 2) Make contacts the old fashioned way: organically via social. Do some Google searches, and you can find employees of Google, Facebook, Twitter and the like all on social media. You can add them on Google+, subscribe to their public Facebook updates, and follow them on Twitter. Once you find and add them, please, don’t be creepy! Or annoying. Don’t respond or like every.single.post they make. Or don’t send them annoying @replies or DMs. Get to know them first. Engage in casual conversation. Find common interests. Let them talk to you. Then you can politely inquire if they wouldn’t mind you emailing them about a question you have. It’s like a good PR pro making a connection with a journalist. Be patient, do it naturally, then you’ll have your contact.

Bonus tip: This tactic works well to find other social media managers on social. I follow lots of them on Twitter, and find it interesting what they’re tweeting about, and what their brand is doing to move the social needle. I just add them to my ongoing Twitter list.

Tip#5: Make friends with other disciplines
I have a whole crew of developers and designers I work with. And they are super smart. They make stuff actually WORK. It’s been a definite learning curve moving from PR to interactive, and there have been a lot of times where my coworkers shake their heads when I ask them a simple question. Or they tell me about a wonderful tool named Google. Har har. But I work with them so they make things like a simple Facebook tab simply awesome. Or there’s the broadcast team, who is teaching me all about what types of video files we have and which are approved for internet use. And then how to properly upload them online. Who knew so much went into it? I’ve been taking the time to listen and learn from these people. Because all my great ideas cannot happen if I don’t have the brains of these people behind me.

Tip#6: Try it, then try again
I could go on and on about social and all the tips I’ve learned along the way. But if I give out anymore free advice, you’re gonna have to pay me ;) . But my last tip might be my most important: try. I like to bring all kinds of ideas to the table in social. There is no right or wrong answer in the space. There’s lots of good and bad, but this is your room to try. And here you have to educate your bosses, coworkers and clients. They aren’t going to give you money to do something they are unsure of, so continue to seek out case studies and statistics, blog posts and other brand examples, so you have examples to back you up. Try new things. Look at what other brands are doing and put your own spin on it. You’re never going to get anywhere unless you keep trying.

How not to suck at LinkedIn

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Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests on LinkedIn of people indicating I am a friend.

With social, we refer to people as friends (think: Facebook) often. It’s pretty normal. But when it comes to LinkedIn, the professional social networking site, do we really want to connect with friends? Perhaps. But if we don’t, why are people calling me friend?

Let’s back up.

LinkedIn is a funny thing. When talking “social strategy,” or just social in general, it’s one of the usual suspects brought up, along with Facebook and Twitter. And, most professionals are on it. But are these professionals using it efficiently? Is there value? And, should you REALLY send your tweets there? Let’s take a closer look on how to use this social network from a professional  standpoint, and how not to suck while doing it.

I distinctly remember when I joined LinkedIn. It was 2006, the year I graduated from college, and my friend Jaime told me about it. I had interviewed with her, and she was mentoring me in the job search. LinkedIn has been around for awhile, but in 2006, it wasn’t exactly social, except in the connections aspect. Not until groups and status updates and comments started did it really become a bonafide social network.

So today in 2011, I am connected with nearly 300 people, and am a member of about 20 groups. Honestly, I don’t think I *should* be connected with 300 people. Most of the time, I accept requests, but recently, I’ve taken a deeper look at LinkedIn connections:

Be effective in your requests
The people who have indicated I am a “friend,” typically use the the canned/provided message: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Two things wrong about this: 1) Nine times out of 10, this person is not my “friend,” per se, but a Twitter contact or someone trying to network. LinkedIn IS limiting in that you can only invite people in certain ways, like coworker, classmate, have done business together; and sometimes, “friend” is the only way to connect, since the only other option of “other” requires the person’s email address. If you absolutely have to use friend, put some tailored messaging into the request. When Kevin Dugan spoke at a PRSA Pittsburgh event two years ago, I remember him saying that simply customizing a request to connect makes all the difference, which brings me to point number two on this. Instead of using LinkedIn’s generic message, write your own. Something like “This is [name]. We met at [place]. We’re connected on Twitter, my name is [@name]. Would love to connect on here as well” can make or break a request. Or putting a disclaimer like, “Sorry to indicate you as a friend, but there were no other options.” If I have a frame of reference when connecting, I am more likely to remember you, and accept the request.

Other tips:

Update your status
There are so many status updates we need to remember to update, but if you want to keep up that professional presence, LinkedIn is it. It’s a place to share your latest blog post, company news, personal news such as a mention on a news site or blog, or just a really good article you found to share with your professional network. You don’t need to update daily, but getting in there once a week breathes activity into your profile. Plus, it has a mobile app, so it’s easy to do on the go.

Post professional content only
I see a LOT of connections sending their tweets to LinkedIn and vice versa. This can be time-saving in terms of updating your status, but it can be harmful. Do you really want that tweet where you said something was “douchey” to be seen by that CEO your connected with? Didn’t think so. There’s a place for everything, but LinkedIn isn’t it. Unless you work for someecards.

Be social
The real purpose of a social network is exactly that, to be SOCIAL. So, instead of having static copy and leaving it at that, talk! Join groups, and aim to start or comment on one discussion per week. You’d be amazed at the value of information being spread in different groups that are tailored to your interest. The groups you really find value in, subscribe to their feed. You can get the feeds up to the minute, daily, or once a week, then comment or participate accordingly. You’d also be surprised at the people you can meet and connect with to further your reach and recommendations. The latest group I’m following is Managing & Measuring Social Media by oneforty.

Use your connections
I’m not connected to 300 people for nothing. View your connections on a regular basis, comment/like their status updates, and see where people are moving to and from. You really can get a pulse on your industry this way. Plus, as a great rule to live by: the best time to build your network is when you don’t need one. You never know what could happen tomorrow job-wise.

Populate your profile
Won an award recently? Quoted on Mashable? Update that profile! We don’t remain stagnant in our careers, and neither should our resumes and LinkedIn profiles. An updated resume and profile doesn’t mean you’re looking for a job, necessarily. In fact, it could draw new connections in your life as leads for growing business (new clients for your agency, for example), or side projects like freelancing.

So, those are my tips. For more, check out the article Fast Company just did on 5 LinkedIn Tips You Didn’t Know.

What else would you say? Get out there…and don’t suck!

Social media loser: Wheat Thins

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There’s a lot of brands I talk about who I think are doing a great job in the social space. My post about “The Big 3″ has some of those examples.

There’s also some brands I like to talk about who are not doing a good job. Why? Well, as part of my job I research a lot of companies doing social right and wrong to learn from them. I like to affectionately refer to these brands as “Social Media Losers.”

This post I’d like to dedicate to a new loser: Wheat Thins. I’ve always been just ehh about Wheat Thins. They’re pretty good, nothing to write home about. But, this isn’t about the product itself. This is about the brand’s new ad campaign “Crunch is Calling.” Have you seen it? Take a look:

OK, so this is not a novel idea. First of all, Domino’s has been doing pretty much the exact same thing. Also, integrating people’s tweets into your ads isn’t cutting edge so much, either. Remember in 2009 when Trident took out a full page ad in USA Today of people’s tweets? That was pretty cool at the time.

So I’m being a little unfair. Advertising doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. It just has to sell your product. So then I got to know just who Wheat Thins is trying to market to. What I came up with? Teenage boys. Really, Wheat Thins? I mean, I suppose teenage boys will eat just about anything. But I don’t think Wheat Thins is really top of mind for them. I’m guessing they enjoy the likes of Taco Bell, Dorito’s, Mountain Dew, and other similar products. Yeah I am being stereotypical but shouldn’t marketers be? Don’t believe they are marketing to them? Take a look at some of their tweets. Also, I took a look down the page of the boy in their commercial, a teenage boy it looks like. I leave you with some of his tweets. He’s pretty deep:

Bottom line, I’m confused.