Since I am reading the book "Groundswell" by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff I thought I would highlight some of the material that I have found to be important and interesting. I also highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn more about social media.
What is the Groundswell you might be asking? The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather from traditional institutions like corporations. One of the first steps in creating a social media strategy is to LISTEN. Listen to what's being said about you/your company online. There are several ways of doing this. You can do Google Alerts on your company (and your competitors), search on Twitter & other social networks, etc. Being involved with social media you can "step into" the conversation that is already taking place about your company/product or service.
When getting started in social media and seeing which aspects of it would be helpful to you the Groundswell book recommends a four-step planning process called the POST method to help you get started. It can help you create a systematic approach to your plan. P=people-what are your custommers ready for? O=objectives-What do you want to accomplish. S=strategy-How do you want your relationships to change with customers? T=Technology-in this step you can pick the right technologies that woudl be a good fit for your company. For more information visit http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2007/12/the-post-method.html.
You can also consider your Customer's Social Technographics profile by visiting http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html.
Even though some of the technologies mentioned in this book will change, the basics of setting a strategy in place and being aware of your end goal in mind is very important.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Making Social Media Headway at Work
I am proud to announce the LinkedIn group I started for my company reached 1,200 members in six months. I know it's not all about quantity but I think that number can help demonstrate to my company that Social Media is something to really put some thought into with our marketing plan and when developing a strategy to engage with our members and prospective members.
Today I also sent out my very first tweet for my company and started researching companies/people to follow. The tweet included a link to an article my director of communications wrote about social media as she is a newbie and just learning it. She's more of a newbie than me but I love her openess to dabbling into learning more about it. It was fun when I found one of the CEO's from our member company who is now a regular tweeter.
I'm thrilled I was able to talk my VP & events director into considering having an event for 300 people on social media this fall versus the spring or later. The task given to me...find the sponsor(s) and panelists and we can start planning it. If I can find sponsors soon, the event could be in September or October. I think October is more ideal. How kewl would it be to exceed our normal attendance of 200-300 people at our monthly breakfast events to something like 400+ people? I would love it and that's my goal!
I think I can do it too, especially by offering discounts for people who retwee (RT) the event announcement and coming up with a fun contest. Stay tuned, more fun to come. I also find it funny now how much I don't listen to the radio because my mind is focused on all that I've been learning regarding social media and thinking about fun & creative ways to apply this to my company. Woow...12:40am. Need to go to sleep so I can dream more about social media....zzzz
Today I also sent out my very first tweet for my company and started researching companies/people to follow. The tweet included a link to an article my director of communications wrote about social media as she is a newbie and just learning it. She's more of a newbie than me but I love her openess to dabbling into learning more about it. It was fun when I found one of the CEO's from our member company who is now a regular tweeter.
I'm thrilled I was able to talk my VP & events director into considering having an event for 300 people on social media this fall versus the spring or later. The task given to me...find the sponsor(s) and panelists and we can start planning it. If I can find sponsors soon, the event could be in September or October. I think October is more ideal. How kewl would it be to exceed our normal attendance of 200-300 people at our monthly breakfast events to something like 400+ people? I would love it and that's my goal!
I think I can do it too, especially by offering discounts for people who retwee (RT) the event announcement and coming up with a fun contest. Stay tuned, more fun to come. I also find it funny now how much I don't listen to the radio because my mind is focused on all that I've been learning regarding social media and thinking about fun & creative ways to apply this to my company. Woow...12:40am. Need to go to sleep so I can dream more about social media....zzzz
Little sleep for social newbie
Are you a social newbie who is getting little sleep because your mind is racing 24/7 after learning all of this new information from webinars, social media classes/events? Are you like me attending about 3 events a month on social media?
Here I am up once again until about 12:30 in the morning finishing up a night of researching many sites from my Twitter account to visiting mashable.com to typing in key words to learn more. Social media is everywhere and it's so exciting as I feel I'm a little bit ahead of fellow co-workers, friends, people I meet, etc. I love to share my knowledge and what I've been learning. So much fun!
One reason why I'm also getting little sleep is I'm constantly thinking about ways to integrate social media into the company I work for. I love the support from my director who can see my passion/enthusiasm and knows one reason I want to learn this stuff is I really think it can help with lead generation (my job is sales) plus has an incredible reach worldwide through all of the marketing channels.
Here I am up once again until about 12:30 in the morning finishing up a night of researching many sites from my Twitter account to visiting mashable.com to typing in key words to learn more. Social media is everywhere and it's so exciting as I feel I'm a little bit ahead of fellow co-workers, friends, people I meet, etc. I love to share my knowledge and what I've been learning. So much fun!
One reason why I'm also getting little sleep is I'm constantly thinking about ways to integrate social media into the company I work for. I love the support from my director who can see my passion/enthusiasm and knows one reason I want to learn this stuff is I really think it can help with lead generation (my job is sales) plus has an incredible reach worldwide through all of the marketing channels.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Three things I learned from the Cool Twitter Conference
I am very happy I attended the full day "Cool Twitter Conference" and was able to expand my knowledge learning from 16 speakers. Plus I ran into some people I knew which is always fun. Here are three of the things I learned.
1. The Power of ReTweeting (RT): Share articles, resources, and tweets by ReTweeting them. Place the letters "RT" "@" "original senders name" and then the "tweet". For example I just read, "Twitter for Beginners: 5 Steps for Beginner Tweeters http://bit.ly/do322". I would RT this by putting RT@mashable in front of it and Tweeting it out. When you write Tweets, leave 20 charachters so if someone wants to RT what you wrote, they'll have room to do so.
2. No hard selling: Have your strategy in place and decide if your role will be feedback focused or leverage marketing tactics. Prior to this I thought I would be advertising all of my companies events and doing more selling but have learned it needs to be a softer sell and I should mention an article that might cover something that will be talked about at that event with a link to it. This is a place to be seen as more of person versus a static company and you can share resources, articles, offer fun awards, view updates and just join in on global conversations.
3. Sponsorships: It stuck with me to make sure you tell your sponsors where you'll be listing them in New Media as that is a huge draw to them. I made sure I went back & told our events director the next day. Great point as sponsorships are harder to get in this economy, but people know that Social Media travels fast & is so viral.
My website tip of the day...be sure as a newbie to visit www.mashable.com to sign up for their RSS feed or daily emails. Mashable is the Social Media Guide/internet blog that writes about Twitter, You Tube, Facebook, My Space, Google & start ups. I spent an hour or two on it today learning a lot of great information after being very impressed by Jennifer Van Grove after hearing her speak for a second time this month. If you want to learn Social Media, be in the know of this website and use it.
Interesting facts: Twitter started in March 2006 and has 25 million users.
1. The Power of ReTweeting (RT): Share articles, resources, and tweets by ReTweeting them. Place the letters "RT" "@" "original senders name" and then the "tweet". For example I just read, "Twitter for Beginners: 5 Steps for Beginner Tweeters http://bit.ly/do322". I would RT this by putting RT@mashable in front of it and Tweeting it out. When you write Tweets, leave 20 charachters so if someone wants to RT what you wrote, they'll have room to do so.
2. No hard selling: Have your strategy in place and decide if your role will be feedback focused or leverage marketing tactics. Prior to this I thought I would be advertising all of my companies events and doing more selling but have learned it needs to be a softer sell and I should mention an article that might cover something that will be talked about at that event with a link to it. This is a place to be seen as more of person versus a static company and you can share resources, articles, offer fun awards, view updates and just join in on global conversations.
3. Sponsorships: It stuck with me to make sure you tell your sponsors where you'll be listing them in New Media as that is a huge draw to them. I made sure I went back & told our events director the next day. Great point as sponsorships are harder to get in this economy, but people know that Social Media travels fast & is so viral.
My website tip of the day...be sure as a newbie to visit www.mashable.com to sign up for their RSS feed or daily emails. Mashable is the Social Media Guide/internet blog that writes about Twitter, You Tube, Facebook, My Space, Google & start ups. I spent an hour or two on it today learning a lot of great information after being very impressed by Jennifer Van Grove after hearing her speak for a second time this month. If you want to learn Social Media, be in the know of this website and use it.
Interesting facts: Twitter started in March 2006 and has 25 million users.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Why Twitter?
For the past 3-4 months I've known I need to learn Twitter and then sell my company on the idea of us starting to Tweet. Twitter is an excellent way to communicate to the members of our company quick little updates on upcoming events, news stories in our industry, giving more exposure to our members by tweeting about their companies successes with a link to learn more.
I am on my way to spend a full day learning about Twitter at the www.cooltwitterconferences.com. I am looking forward to hearing from the variety of speakers, meeting other attendees with similar interests and furthering my collection of examples on why my company and others need to take advantage of Twitter. I'll share with you some things that I learn.
I am on my way to spend a full day learning about Twitter at the www.cooltwitterconferences.com. I am looking forward to hearing from the variety of speakers, meeting other attendees with similar interests and furthering my collection of examples on why my company and others need to take advantage of Twitter. I'll share with you some things that I learn.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Social Media Conversations
Every day I hear or read the word Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Flickr, etc. And a couple of times a week I learn about another organization that is putting on an event or webinar around Social Media. The ones I've attended are always very well attended. Want to put on an event and be guaranteed people will come? Have an event on Social Media. Just be sure to make sure it's a great one or they'll "tweet","blog" or tell friends on Facebook what their thoughts are.
As I work to participate more heavily with these conversations and get "on the curve," my plan is to continue with my Marketing Via New Media class that I'm enrolled in for the Summer, watch 11 webinars over the next five weeks through www.magicuniversityu.com, and attend an all day conference tomorrow on Twitter (www.cooltwitterconferences.com). After learning all of this information this Summer, my plan is to present a social media strategy to my company in hopes of implementing one this September. Why? I want my company to be right there with me on the curve. With me as the driver, of course.
As I work to participate more heavily with these conversations and get "on the curve," my plan is to continue with my Marketing Via New Media class that I'm enrolled in for the Summer, watch 11 webinars over the next five weeks through www.magicuniversityu.com, and attend an all day conference tomorrow on Twitter (www.cooltwitterconferences.com). After learning all of this information this Summer, my plan is to present a social media strategy to my company in hopes of implementing one this September. Why? I want my company to be right there with me on the curve. With me as the driver, of course.
Want to get on the "curve?"
New to Social Media? You're not alone. There are millions of other newbies out there just like us. Many don't realize how behind the curve they already are. My goal is to start by just "getting on the curve"...with the target of getting ahead of the curve.
Every day I am learning so many new things about Social Media and come across great examples, resources and articles. I've decided to start this blog to share my experiences as I go from being a newbie to a savy social media expert. Are you ready to ride this journey with me?
I have a few friends, family members and co-workers that I keep sharing tidbits of information with. Now, everyone can just come to my blog to see what I'm learning. This is going to be fun!
Every day I am learning so many new things about Social Media and come across great examples, resources and articles. I've decided to start this blog to share my experiences as I go from being a newbie to a savy social media expert. Are you ready to ride this journey with me?
I have a few friends, family members and co-workers that I keep sharing tidbits of information with. Now, everyone can just come to my blog to see what I'm learning. This is going to be fun!
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