Social Media Webinars and Workshops – Which One(s) Should I Attend?

March 9, 2010 in Communications, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Technology, emarketing, social media, twitter by gtaylor | 1 comment

Regardless if you are just beginning your social media journey or have been blazing trails of your own, by now, you should have had the opportunity to participate in a webinar, or workshop, focusing on social media.  There are companies that present the basics to you, while others provide a more in depth explanation of specific ways social media can change the way you market to your customers.  For newbie’s, the information presented may be helpful, but how do you ensure you don’t waste your time?

As a social media strategist, I have attended my fair share of webinars and workshops, and have found only a few of them helpful and interesting.

Half of them are about the social media basics, defining social media, or using the big five (blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube) for your business.  The other half may have a speaker that has been successful in using social media and want to share their success stories with everyone.

Here’s a few tips on choosing a webinar or workshop that will benefit you or your company:

Research the organizing company

You don’t buy a TV without shopping around.  If you’re going to invest your time into attending a ‘How to Use Social Media’ workshop, look to see how the presenting company uses social media.  It’s easy to find out how long a company has been using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and creating blog content.  As Google continues to integrate social media into their search results, a company’s social media presence will be more noticeable.

Search for hashtags

Most organizer’s promote their event with a hashtag (#).  The hashtag makes it easy for not only the organizing company to see what people may be saying about their event, but also makes it easy for people to see what others may have thought about the webinar/workshop.

Crowdsource

If you don’t ask questions, you’ll always be in the dark. Maybe some of your followers on Twitter or connections on Facebook attended a previous webinar/workshop given by the same company.  Ask them what they though or if the information was useful. Usually, you’ll get an unbiased answer.  If you really know your followers, you’ll value their information.

Review previous transcripts or presentations

Most webinars are archived for viewing at a later time.  Quickly skim through the podcast or slideshow.  Skimming through podcast make take a little more time than looking at slides but spending ten minutes of your time to avoid wasting 90 minutes is understandable.

Follow your instinct

If you’ve researched the company’s social media efforts, crowdsourced information, searched for hashtags, listened to the podcast or reviewed slides and you’re still unsure, rely on your gut feeling. Your time is valuable.  Besides, you know your social media skill level better than anyone else.

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How Social Media Saved SeaWorld

March 8, 2010 in Business by gtaylor | 1 comment

SeaWorld’s recent tragedy allowed the power of social media to be tested. On a daily basis, thousands of people tweet about social media in one way or another, and companies use social media as part of their marketing communications.  PR is no different. Among the social media negativity are your loyal defenders.  Using social media as their ammunition, your brand loyalists can come to your rescue in a crisis situation.

Soon after SeaWorld Orlando’s recent tragedy occurred, the news became an instant trending topic on Twitter. As quick as the world was responding to the news, Sea World had to respond immediately.

First, SeaWorld responded with a tweet and wall post on their Facebook page officially announcing the attack, and SeaWorld’s CEO, Jim Atchison, posted a blog about investigating the situation.

Second, SeaWorld suspended their Shamu Twitter account and directed everyone to their main Twitter account which continues to be updated.

Third, the press conference Atchison held was streamed live on their blog.

All blog posts were left open for comments. Although receiving a lot of negative comments on their blog and Facebook fan page, SeaWorld loyalists, left their kind sentiments, answered questions directed at SeaWorld and offered condolences to the trainer’s family.

The customer relationships SeaWorld has been building for years has turned park visitors into brand loyalists and social media has made those brand loyalists more important.

SeaWorld’s response is an excellent example of how social media is an element of public relations even when it comes to crisis communications.

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How Well do You Know Your Twitter Followers?

March 5, 2010 in Business by gtaylor | 2 comments

Seeing your follower count increase on Twitter gives you a jolt of confidence. You feel you are doing something right and tweeting content that people find interesting enough to either comment or retweet your content to their followers.  You followers are your Twitter team which you are constantly nurturing to have the ideal network.  However, with 700+ followers, it’s impossible to see every tweet and respond to everyone.

If you use Twitter enough, you will start to notice the people in your network who actively engage in conversations, retweet messages, and which people only tweet links.

Here are five reasons why knowing your followers contributes to your Twitter success:

Curation

Tools like Twaitter allow you to schedule and send tweets to select recipients. Organizing your followers into certain lists is a great way to weed through a massive following pool and get the right message to the right person.  Tweeting a link to a blog post on creatively designed ads will receive a better response rate from graphic designers and marketing executives than it would nurses.  Organizing your followers also helps when seeking information on certain topics.

Referrals

Your followers have an internet and personal network of their own.  If you are having some technical trouble with your blog, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Chances are many of your followers are bloggers too.  We’ve all come across some technical bumps in the road before, and people are always waiting for a chance to show their expertise or point you in the right direction if needed. Take note of the people who respond.  The next time you have a question, a simple direct message, or email, will be sufficient.

Business Development

Twitter does produce leads.  Twitter is also a great way to stay in touch with those newfound leads.  Be sure to use Twitter for quick messages that would make a short email.  People view multiple direct messages, about the same subject, as annoying. Promoting your business too much is a turn off, but consistent, friendly communication builds relationships.  If you can schedule a new business meeting with a lead you received from Twitter, the meeting will feel more relaxed, because the ice was broken on Twitter.

Spreading the word

Twitter is a great way to get your message out to a large number of people.  An interesting statistic Tweepi displays, is the number of retweets each of your followers send.  Users with a high retweet count means, your message is more likely to be retweeted by them than your other followers.  Social media is the way information is shared, and your followers that like to retweet messages do just that.

LinkedIn Connections

Posting your LinkedIn status to Twitter and vice versa proves that social media is for b-to-b.  Research how many of your followers added the #In hashtag to their tweets and ask your LinkedIn connections to follow you on Twitter.  People aren’t going to follow your LinkedIn status updates like they do your tweets, but making the connection on Twitter avoids joining a group unrelated to your specialty or having to claim they are a “friend” just to add them as a connection on LinkedIn.

Getting to know your followers doesn’t take much time since people tweet more information than they think.  Gaining some insight on your followers can do wonders for your Twitter strategy and has the potential to bring in some new business.

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Will Social Media Eventually Overpower Email?

March 4, 2010 in Business, Communications, Facebook, Technology, email, emarketing, iPhone, internet marketing, social media by gtaylor | 2 comments

After coming back to the office after a lunch meeting, a tweet mentioning @SmileyHanchulak stated how the meeting went. Not only did I see that, but the 600+ followers the company has saw it too.  Even though business cards were exchanged, social media was the medium used to display their satisfaction and gratitude.

When email became the preferred method of communication, the US Postal Service cringed and the term ’snail mail’ was born.  Now, with social media quickly becoming the preferred method of communication, will the use of email eventually decrease?

Many may disagree, but social media increases the use of email.

Think about the contests on Twitter, Facebook and blogs.  Most of them require either an email address or want you to send them an email with a certain subject to register. Twitter allows you to send direct messages but they have the same 140 character limit as a regular tweet. Facebook direct messages allow unlimited typing, but who wants to login their Facebook account every time to read a long message?

Having the ability to receive email in the palm of your hand is why smartphones like the iPod, BlackBerry, and Android exist. Sure people love the apps, but the instant communication is what people really want.

Email is viewed as a formal way of communicating. Although your company has a Twitter account, the chance that you are going to send a proposal to a major corporation in 50 direct messages is slim.

Social media is similar to “water cooler” conversation.  The short, instant messages on social media are short, and have the potential to be “overheard” by someone else. and if anything needs to be discussed later email addresses will be exchanged.

Twitter may send 50 million tweets a day, but how many outgoing emails does Google, Yahoo or MSN process on a daily basis?

Social media is great for instant two-way communication, and sites like Twitter allows you to reach out and follow whoever you want.  Email is great for personal two-way communication and the only people able to contact you are those who you have shared your email address with.

Will social overpower email?  My sources say no, but social media will definitely reshape the way email is used.

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Will Social Media Exist Forever?

March 3, 2010 in Communications, Facebook, Marketing, Technology, blogging, emarketing, internet marketing, social media, twitter by gtaylor | No comments

In 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone, people probably weren’t convinced that this new invention would even work.  Now, telephones may have evolved into pocket-size devices that do more things than Inspector Gadget could shake his hat at, but the initial concept is the same, two-way communication.

When polling if Twitter was going to be around forever, 45% of the respondents felt it would be around another two or three years, 23% felt either it will be around for another year, or outlast Facebook, and only 10% of poll respondents felt it will be around forever. With the multiple social media networks available to use, and as countless networks are being developed as I type, will social media be a means of communication forever?

Two-way communication fuels social media.  Twitter and Facebook have completely changed how consumers receive information.  We want real-time updates and the social media networks of today provide just that.

Individuals and businesses have included social media use in their daily routines, and some companies have made their Facebook page their main website or use social media as a part of their customer service department.

One key factor of social media’s immortality is the unlimitied opportunity for constant innovation since brand loyalty doesn’t exist.

Millions of MySpace users switched to Facebook due to increasing popularity and the itch to try something new.  Music artists held onto using MySpace as long they could but their fan base had moved onto something new. In less than two years, MySpace had been dethroned by Facebook as the top social media network in the U.S. and had to lay off 30% of their workforce.

Will social media last forever? It’s possible.

The only threat to social media’s existence is the FCC.  As of right now, the only guidelines on social media are the terms and conditions of each network. Realistically, social media is in an extensive beta phase.  What happens next is still up in the air.

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