Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Consultant,
and Tech Geek at Heart

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How to Spice up Your Social Media Strategy in 2011

December 15, 2010

This is a guest post by Jennifer Mattern.

Is your company’s social media strategy really working? Could it stand for some improvement? Whether you feel that you’ve maxed out the potential of your current social media efforts or you feel like nothing you do is really helping, it’s time to step up your game.

Now is the perfect time to make changes for the New Year. So why not spice up your social media strategy and make it work even harder for you? Here are five ways you can do just that.

Get Real

Having a company presence in social media is all well and good but it isn’t enough. Your company doesn’t have a personality. You do. Your staff members do. Your customers certainly do. If you really want your customers or other target audience to get (and stay) involved with your business through social media, get real. Show them that there are real people, and real personalities, behind the corporate façade.

Most people don’t just want to talk to a brand image. They want to feel like they’re talking to real people. More importantly, they want to know real people are listening. If you can’t be the public face of your business personally, find someone who can. You might find your audience more willing to pay attention and get involved.

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Why Most People Fail in Social Media

October 13, 2010

Tools are a wonderful part of today’s information age, but if you’re going to use “social networks” or that thing we call “social media,” it’s important to remember the common denominator: the social. Without an understanding of your community and an understanding of the influencers, you’re destined for failure. There’s no question about it.

Networking is the key component for social media success

Social networks become popular because of the people using them. Social media “experts” recommend Twitter and Facebook because they know there’s a critical mass there to reach a desired audience. Of course, there are other sites, but these individuals know one thing: that there are people there who are willing to listen, just as long as you are willing to make a true effort to interact. You need to work to see results.

Even experts do not always understand this critical fact.

George, a representative of a UK social media agency, emailed me last month to tell me to check out his company’s blog. He also made the request that I link to his site with “social media agency [companyname]” if I ever like what I see.

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11 Common Mistakes That People Make With Their Personal Brands

October 7, 2010

This is a guest post from James Adams.

People often brand themselves as an expert in a field or an authority on a topic, but are careless with the way they present themselves, calling into question their expertise, and injecting doubt into the minds of potential customers. Here you will find 11 common mistakes that people make with their personal brands and suggestions that will help you avoid them.

Inconsistent Behavior

Customers tend to value consistency. That’s why Coca Cola strives to produce its products so that they taste exactly the same no matter where they are made or sold. Similarly, you should be consistent in your thoughts and opinions as you present them. If you are supporting one product today, try to avoid turning against that product tomorrow, barring any unforeseen or unknown information. If you change your opinions or positions too often, customers will begin to question your credentials, something that will have a devastating impact on your personal brand. Define your thought patterns and opinions so that your brand is always consistent.

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What You Can Learn About Social Media Marketing from TLC

September 15, 2010

Because a Flickr photo and tweet I posted eventually was responded to, I debated posting this altogether. However, the lack of follow-through was unsettling enough that I am publishing this post.

The first week of September was difficult for American cable network TLC. There was a hostage situation at the parent company, Discovery Communications, on the first of the month. The three hostages are fortunately safe, and business resumed as usual for Discovery Communications staffers.

Around that time, though, I noticed that TLC was promoting Foursquare as Facebook within their TV programs. On multiple occasions, I noticed an overlay during their episodes that encouraged users to follow them on Foursquare with a link to a Facebook.com address.

I posted to Flickr and tried my best to bring it to their attention. And I waited.

Five days later, their Twitter account remained silent. I elected instead to go to their Facebook account with the hopes that perhaps my luck would be better there. I was wrong.

First, their default landing tab featured an inactive promotion (which has since been pulled after I wrote yet another tweet that pointed to a Flickr screenshot of the ended promotion). I would not have been surprised if it had been inactive for quite some time.

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3 Golden Business Rules for Social Media Engagement

August 25, 2010

If you’re doing social media for your business, there’s nothing better than to do it right. Many companies partake in this “shiny toy syndrome” and do it all without a plan or strategy in place. Worse, many don’t really understand what to do once they start. They hear about tools, put forth a miserable effort, and are either too busy or just lazy.

With social media, an abundance of resources are at your fingertips. However, without a successful plan and any adequate preparation, your social media efforts will fail. Here are three dos and don’ts you should think about before you move forward.

Don’t self promote.

Okay, so this should be obvious, but there are so many businesses that don’t get it. On a particular forum I am active on (yes, I still use them!), I noticed someone asking for advice. A response came from a business owner who had the perfect answer on her website and directed the original poster to the website for a detailed reply. Sadly, this person’s post was pulled by the strict moderators on that forum; the post was purely self-promotional and nothing but. When I reviewed the poster’s account, I understood why. I noticed that she had done the same thing on other discussions on the same forum over a period of several months and all of them were pulled!

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