Peter Lang - Giving California Social Media Strategies

I strongly feel a client should represent true transparency by doing their own social media content. My desire for honesty and transparency compels me to feel it’s irrational to have another company posting content for another business. If we truly value and embrace that which is social media then we should value the act of being oneself and gaining the trust of others.

To clarify, I’m speaking more to the entrepreneurs and small businesses but my words also fit larger corporations.

Now lets forget corporations and focus on small businesses. How much do you want to give up? We outsource so many processes that we become static. By outsourcing we disconnect ourselves and our business from the evolution of technology.

Social media is different. It’s dynamic and constantly evolving. By not learning the theory and applying it, your company will be at the whim of the snake oil salesman. Oh, and they will know more about this arena and charge you for it.

Outsourcing to “experts” is risky and there are no guarantees.

For some, outsourcing is a necessity. Not everyone can fully embrace the call-to-action copy, and customer engagement with charisma and charm.

“What translates in face-to-face charm is inflection of voice, giant white smiles, and lots of showmanship which does not necessarily translate into content through social media.”

If you’re programmed to close the deal then social media will not be an easy conversion for you. This doesn’t mean your should throw your hands up and surrender. Get some coaching, bring in a tested consultant preferably one that comes with references, and the ability to convey this environment to you.

What outsourcing translates to is a lack of business growth.

My passion for transparency and honesty tells me that posting social media content for another business is a conflict of interest. After all, the power of social media resides in the ability to be oneself and gain the trust of others.

It goes back to the simplest business notion. “People want to do business with you, a face, a person who can answer their questions.”

Are you a DIY or do you outsource social media, and has either improved your business?

For more Social Media coverage, follow Peter Lang on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

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DIY Fundraising Site – Great for Non-profits

peterlang — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Crowdrise, a social good website that gives individuals and organizations the tools to organize grassroots activism campaigns and raise funds for their causes.

Visit the site and you’ll be greeted with an invitation to “start your own fundraiser.”

http://www.crowdrise.com/

(via Mashable Summit)

Watch live streaming video from mashable at livestream.com

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Facebook Pages Manual

peterlang — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:18:17 +0000

Facebook has made an effort to supply guides and informative packets for it’s business users. Their most resent series of official guides provide some great tips for Facebook Page owners.

These guides are not only a great reference but they allow you to take your Page to the next level.

The Facebook Pages Manual provides step-by-step instructions to create a basic Facebook Page.

You should download and share!

Facebook Pages Manual

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Best Practices Facebook – 4 Questions All Businesses Have About Facebook

peterlang — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:13:38 +0000

At every event, presentation, and workshop I’m asked a plethora of questions. Eventually the questions boil down to the four below. Here is a breakdown of best practices and standard procedures that will display your professionalism and ultimately aide in the success of your Fan Page.

1. How often should I and or the business post?

Post Frequently but remember that people who “Like” and are passionate about your brand, are probably not wanting their Facebook News Feed flooded with updates at the top of every hour. Keep in mind that a user’s News Feed is live and real time information and is used the majority of time as a personal environment.

Posts are more effective during the week when people are typically checking Facebook (in the morning, just before or after lunch and in the evening). Have a posting schedule just like you would for other media.

Post frequency can also differ depending on the industry your brand is a part of. For example, a news brand may post more often than a restaurant. The users are expecting more posts from a news organization than their restaurant which makes more post acceptable to the user.

2. What type of content should I post?

Types of posts – Not only do multi-media (text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity) content forms posts present engaging content, they also create discovery components that help content become viral. Here is where the Facebook “share” function is so valuable. The link is automatically included on every wall post using the Facebook “links” app. Facebook’s video, audio and image posts lets users share with friends via news feeds and notifications, which helps create WOM so they keep coming back.

3. Long URLs look bad and unprofessional, what should I do?

Short URL – URL shorteners are Internet tools that shorten longer URL links. These shorteners will accommodate character space, are more aesthetically pleasing, and the professional standard online. These shorteners also allow brands to track the analytics of a link. Analytics like: how many times the link has been clicked and redirected, and where the link is being shared. Quite a lot of online services offer to shorten your URL for free but I would question their creditability and accuracy.

4. How do I build an audience?

Building an Audience

· Driving traffic to your page is the key to Facebook success. Facebook offers “Facebook ads” that can increase the amount of people to your page thus increasing the likelihood they will connect with your page. When using Facebook ads, promote the Fan Page not a website. When people “Like” your page you will be able to have an ongoing dialog and be able to share more content. Promoting Facebook exclusive offers is another way to attract users to your page. Each environment requires a specific interaction style, make sure you’re not just duplicating your tweets.

· If applicable, cross-promote with other associated official fan pages to give credibility to your page. For example, if you have an official company page and have offerings to other pages, make sure you link them to their main page for user reference and vice-versa. That way, users who are connected to one page have the opportunity to see the other pages and connect with it too.

Page Information

· Fill out your page information with as much detail as possible within the Info tab and the blurb box underneath the profile image. In the blurb box don’t just write your business’ mission, write purpose of the page and how are you will engage your supporters and bring them value. Page info helps users find your page when conducting a Facebook search for your company.

· Focus the brand’s social presence by limiting the number of pages. Too many separate company pages can lead to over-fragmentation, which can be confusing for users trying to find accurate information.

Engagement

· Updates should ideally be posted when most people are checking their Facebook accounts. Posts are more effective during the week when people are typically checking Facebook (first thing in the morning before 9am, just before or after lunch and in the evening).

· Brands should set a goal to post 2-3 times a day to keep content fresh on their wall. A brand who posts occasionally will have outdated content which will not encourage users to return to a page. A brand who posts too much may annoy their audience, which may result in their social connections opting out of your company’s updates.

· Posts should solicit as much engagement as possible. The preferred way to engage your audience is by asking questions (not open ended questions), sharing relevant content that the audience will want to comment on and share. Fan comments are more desirable than “likes” because they show more of a time investment from the audience. Also when a fan comments, it gets broadcasted to their friends through their news feeds.

· Remember, users are on your page to interact with your brand, so try to respond to user comments and wall posts in a timely fashion. Fans will appreciate the attention and might tell their friends about the experience.

· Moderate fan posts and comments for obscenity and spam as defined in your company’s social media policy. Moderation is extremely important as it will allow for a safe environment for all ages. Of course, some brands will accept various levels of language depending on their brand personality.

· As mentioned above, it’s crucial to use a branded URL shortener to give your links trustworthiness and guarantee that the link will redirect to an applicable page. Another benefit of using branded URL shorteners is that they protect against making your links analytics public. Tip – If you add a “+” to the end of any bit.ly link, the analytics become public.

· Social media is a more informal landscape than traditional media; the brand communication should reflect that and be more personal. Please balance promotional offers with conversation. Users expect a two-way communication — don’t simply use social media as a push medium for promotions.

- @peterlang

For more Social Media coverage, follow Peter Lang on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

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Local Companies are Starting to get it. Fresno

peterlang — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:35:51 +0000

Local companies should take advantage of the valuable details shared by the customer who are Foursquare users. I’m excited to see Fresno is getting into the grove.

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How to Brand and Market Yourself Creatively [video]

peterlang — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:28:50 +0000

Instead of waiting around for a job opening in advertising Alec Brownstein decided in a bold and impossibly creative move, to spend six dollars and came up with this idea:

Thank you Pedro for sharing.

For more Social Media coverage, follow Peter Lang on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

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What we can learn from Dropbox!

peterlang — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:23:38 +0000

Drew Houston, Co-Founder and CEO of Dropbox, is very humble as he shares his lessons learned while building Dropbox into a wonderful success.

I highly recommend this video and slides.

Dropbox Startup Lessons Learned

View more presentations.

A Twitter Mystery

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Tools and Resources for Social Media Success

peterlang — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:58:20 +0000

Short Informative post.

Enjoy!

Resources

Please share with me your favorite tools and resources, or the steps you use to develop your own.

For more Social Media coverage, follow Peter Lang on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

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Social Media Marketing Case Study – Heineken Italy

peterlang — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:31:29 +0000

Even though the ultimate goal is always to increase sales, however in this case, the primary goal must have been to "expand the (potential) buyer’s experience". In sponsorship terms this is known as ‘activation’ of a sponsorship.

You may call it a brand investment were Heineken invests in its sponsorship to create brand affinity among consumers. They do this by creating a positive experience around the consumers’ main passion: football (soccer).

The only item missing was Heineken giving away the product at the theatre.

Great Campaign.

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