Exploring the Impact of Social Media
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Whether you plan to use social media for better PR outreach, marketing, or just listening to what customers have to say, the social media tools you use can play an important role in your business. What’s equally important is who uses those tools in your company’s name. Should you handle social media profiles yourself, or should you turn to a professional who can help you develop a solid social media strategy? [click to continue…]
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Social media can be effective both for personal and business networking (and even for marketing). But there are so many social media sites and tools that it can also sometimes feel overwhelming. They key to getting the most out of social media without wanting to throw in the towel is to find the right social media time split. [click to continue…]
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Photo Credit: horiavarlan on Flickr
In kindergarten, we were taught to raise our hands if we have a question. We had to wait our turn to be called on to ask our question. As adults, we turn to the search engines such as ask.com and Google for answers to our questions. They provide us with answers through algorithms that determine what websites provide the best information related to the questions we ask. [click to continue…]
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There are many articles floating around out there discussing a move from search engine optimization (SEO) to social media optimization (SMO) when it comes to Internet marketing. Personally, I don’t buy that there has to be any such move. In fact, social media and SEO seem to have more in common than they have differences. And those similarities are often their most important elements.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways SEO and social media are similar, and why you should still consider both in your Internet marketing plan. Here are five similarities I see between SEO and social media: [click to continue…]
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You’ve heard about “influencers” right? That’s a big buzz word especially in the blogosphere these days (and it has been for a couple of years). What exactly is an influential blogger though? Do those lists of the most influential blogs or biggest influencers really mean much?
Honestly, they don’t. Why? Because sadly too many people confuse “influence” with basic popularity. Is there anything wrong with having a popular blog or being a popular personality in your niche or industry? No. Of course not. But being popular doesn’t mean you necessarily have a comparable amount of influence within that niche. Let’s explore both popularity and influence, and talk about why you really need to understand the difference. While we’ll look specifically at bloggers, the same can be true of those on Twitter, social networks, or who are active in any other area of social media. [click to continue…]
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Uh oh. I used that little taboo term in social media, didn’t I? “Control.” Companies want some level of control but customers don’t want to be controlled. That’s understandable. What leaves me scratching my head though is when I see so-called social media experts telling business owners and executives that they should just let it go — that their customers control their image online now. So. Not. True.
Here’s a dose of a reality for you (because who couldn’t use a wee bit of that?). YOU control your image online. YOU control your image across the social media landscape. The only way others control your, or your company’s, image online is if you become complacent and just sit back and let them. You’re not that foolish though, are you?
How Important is it to Control Your Image Online?
It doesn’t really matter if we’re talking about online or off. Your image is important. Your company’s image is important. It’s how your audience or market sees you. It determines what they think of you. It influences their trust in your company. It sways purchase decisions. Yes. Your image is important.
You don't have to let go and just hope for the best. (Credit: BigStockPhoto.com)
You can’t afford to trust that image development or management to the social mob. You can’t build a marketing plan around what they may or may not say or do. You can’t set goals or focus on your company’s mission when you’re always worried about the “what if.” What if people post negative reviews on social networks? What if people don’t blog about us favorably? What if? What if? What if? … Who cares?
Okay, okay. You should care. I’ll give you that. But you shouldn’t mistake the ability to participate in conversations for control over your company’s image. Think of it this way — all of your customers, readers, or whoever your target audience consists of are like this big conversational sea. It might be calm one day and you might hit rough waters the next. But either way, you’re always at the helm. You have the ability to steer or influence the image your company portrays. [click to continue…]
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The honor of your presence is requested at the latest social (media) event of the season: the premiere of the new Social Implications blog.
Who: The Social Implications staff
What: The launch of Social Implications
When: Right now
Where: SocialImplications.com
Why: Because for all of the how-tos and “Look at me! Look at me!” behavior in the social media world, there’s not nearly enough information about the real business and personal implications of doing social media “right” or “wrong” — SocialImplications.com will focus as much on what not to do as what you can do to use social media effectively.
RSVP — Okay. You’re actually too late to RSVP. But you managed to find your way here anyway, so kick back and enjoy.
By the way, this event is BYOB — bring your own brain. You won’t find the sheep mentality here at Social Implications, with every tool and tactic pushed on you just because “everyone else is doing it.” This party is for a slightly more refined crowd — those willing and able to think for themselves, using the social media information and discussions we offer to make their own decisions about what’s best for their business or their personal situation.
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Why Spamming Social Media Won’t Get You Very Far
By Jennifer Mattern on April 5, 2010
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Spam. Eww. Who wants it, right? Unfortunately spam isn’t confined to email inboxes. It’s rampant in the world of social media. These days spam comes in all shapes and sizes, from entire blogs that are spam to itty bitty tweet spam. If you’re serious about using social media marketing to promote your business, you can’t afford to be labeled a social media spammer.
That “spammer” label can be a hard thing to shake. The thing is, you might earn the title completely unintentionally. What you consider innocent might be viewed very differently by the people you’re trying to reach through your social media marketing efforts. [click to continue…]
comment spam, foursquare, link spam, myspace, social media, social media spam, spam, tweet spam, Twitter, twitter spam
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