MGM’s new Twitter promotion “Get Rewarded for Your Sins” invites people to “tweet their sins” to #mgmsin. The tweets are displayed on the promotion website, asking viewers to judge the sins as forgivable or unforgivable. In addition, the Twitter feed of sins will be projected onto buildings in Los Angeles at night.
A winner is chosen every day for 30 days, and awarded a free night at the MGM Grand, which is great, because you might just need that free night when you get kicked out of the house.
To me, this is troubling on a few levels. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a brilliant concept, but it’s brilliant in that it plays on the inadequacies of human judgment.
Social Media is NOT Private
First, it perpetuates the notion that status updates, regardless of medium, are private. Most people tend to believe that only their friends or networks can see their updates, if they stop and think about it at all. Tweeting one’s sins can lead to a pile of trouble, especially if one does not stop to think that your network will also be seeing this message.
Updates Last a Very, Very Long Time
Second, your network will see this message (Repeated for emphasis). Unless you create an all new account with no followers, someone you know will see your tweeted sin. And it doesn’t have to be live – it can reside on your twitter page and in your feed. Anyone can see it anytime. If you have no problem airing your “sins” on twitter, and the people that follow you have no problem with that, then by all means, this is for you.
Third, the examples that are given on the website provide a unique insight as to what this promotion is looking for. One example is about having a sex dream about a co-worker, the other is about having an affair with a woman in another city. It’s implied that there are some sins that are more sensational (sex) and those are the ones that they want to see. Are those tweets that you would feel comfortable tweeting to your network?
TMI
The potential for hearing “too much information” is great for this kind of campaign. There are too many people that have no filter for this type of contest. This brings me to the marketing brilliance of this campaign. Its brilliance relies on the lack of judgment in people.
Who Pays?
If you were to tweet something and it causes problem in the workplace, or at home, or in the worst case, makes the news. The person who tweeted the sin will get the brunt of the judgment and consequence. MGM Grand will get free publicity on the back of any explosive or career-ending fallout.
Brilliance & Risk
And that’s the marketing brilliance of the campaign. No fault, just exposure. No risk for MGM Grand. The ones that express their sins without thought of consequence are the ones taking the risk.
As a marketer, I’m intrigued by this campaign, but I am apprehensive because of the collateral damage to other people’s lives this could cause.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
This article originally appeared at Search Engine Guide, where Jennifer serves as Editor-in-Chief.
In the world of small business and social media, we’re seeing a massive migration to company Facebook Pages. It’s no wonder, they offer amazing functionality at practically no cost and they give businesses a chance to connect with the more than 300 million people who have already flocked to Facebook. There’s amazing viral potential involved with Facebook pages and it provides companies an easy way to reap the benefits of photos, videos, discussion forums, micro-blogging and pretty much every other form of social media in one neat little package.
But there’s a problem.
They’re NOT easy to set up.
Those of us in the industry might scoff at that statement. After all, you just head over to Facebook, start a page, slap a logo on it and get going. Sure, if all you want is yet another brochure for your site on the web. If you’re actually looking to take advantage of the features Facebook offers, it’s a whole other story. In fact, I spent a few hours last weekend watching a pretty web savvy friend get to the point of nearly throwing his laptop out the window in frustration as he tried to set up a Facebook page for his web site. (I’m betting more than a few readers can relate.) I went online to do some hunting to find him a step by step guide and was amazed at how many posts skimmed over the actual process with “set up your page, then…” before getting to any meat.
So in the spirit of my Twitter start-up guide, let’s do this again on the Facebook front.
Why Facebook? Why Now?
If you thought Facebook was just a way to share photos and life updates with friends and family, you haven’t looked very deeply into the largest social networking site this side of 2008. In fact, Facebook now owns nearly 60% of the market share for social networking sites and it continues to grow at an astonishing rate. (In other words, if you’ve yet to be inundated with friend requests from old classmates…just wait, it’s coming.)
I’ve been warning my small business audiences for years against jumping on the latest social media bandwagon, cautioning them to wait until a service reaches a saturation point that makes their involvement worth the time and effort it takes to be there. Facebook definitely fits the ticket. There are more than 300 million Facebook users as of the writing of this article…that’s roughly the population of the United States.
Need a little more perspective?
You know all that buzz you hear about Twitter?
Facebook has roughly 30 times the market share Twitter does. Yep…for every person you hear about that uses Twitter, there are 30 using Facebook. (Let that sink in for a minute.)
It’s also got loads more functionality and far more ways to communicate with your audience. Why limit your outreach efforts to 140 character snippets when you can incorporate multi-media, discussion groups, applications, games and almost anything else you can dream up?
That’s not even mentioning the fact that Facebook Pages are indexed by Google and can be a great way to capture yet another first page search result for your small business. In a time where online reputation management is key, the value in that extra search listing alone makes it worth the effort for most companies.
Ok, You’ve Sold Me…But What’s a Facebook Page?
Facebook doesn’t let businesses set up personal profiles. If you register for Facebook, it has to be YOU registering. A single human being who might like to share their life and connect with others. Businesses? They get relegated down the hall to the world of “pages”. Now this might be confusing to you if you’re used to referring to your personal profile as your “Facebook page.” See Facebook, in their infinite quest to make the heads of usability experts explode, decided to name the presence a company/web site/organization builds on Facebook a “page.” Clear as mud, eh?
That’s not a bad thing mind you.
Facebook’s Page option allows you to create a presence for your business, web site, product or whatever and then promote it to the community. Facebook pages let you gather “fans” rather than “friends” and gives you the ability to send them updates, engage them in discussions and perhaps handiest of all, examine user analytics and data just like you can for your web site.
Since Facebook has an API they’ve released to developers, the potentials for a fan page are virtually endless. Companies on a tight budget will be limited by what applications have already been developed by the community, but even then, there’s functionality aplenty just waiting for you to tap into it. For now, let’s focus on getting you set up with a presence.
Yoo Hoo! Facebook Page Creation Link…Where are You?
You’d think if Facebook wanted companies to flock to the network creating Facebook pages, they’d make it easy for them to do so. You’d be wrong. What they actually do is hide the Create a page link in a variety of different places on the chance you might eventually stumble across one. Of course even if you do, that’s not to say you’ll ever remember where you found it. (Not to mention the fact that someone else will likely find it a totally different way…and the different ways you enter determine the path you take to set up the page…it’s all very Alice in Wonderland of them.)
Ironically, it’s easiest to find the create a Facebook page link if you aren’t even logged in to the site. Hit the home page without being logged in and it sits there plain as day on the front page.
If you’re already an active Facebook member and your cookies dump you right into the system, it’s a bit more difficult.
Two surefire ways to find the link?
1. Sign in to Facebook, scroll to the very bottom of the page and look for the link that says “Advertising.”
Once you reach the advertising page, look along the top of the page and locate the link that says “Pages.”
At this point, you’ll have the option of learning more about Facebook Pages from Facebook or of jumping right into the process. If you want to jump right into the process, look for the green “Create a Page” button on the top right.
2. Sign in to Facebook and visit an existing Facebook page. Scroll to the bottom and left for the tiny link at the bottom left that says “Create a Page.”
Ok, Let’s Get Started!
Yes, yes, I know that was a lot of work just to get to where you can even start setting up a page, but so it goes. Your first decision is to figure out how you want to classify yourself. If you are a local business with a physical presence, you’ll want to look through the drop down options and find the one that best fits you. If you’re a business, organization or web site with a national or international presence, you’ll want to look through the “Brand, Product or Organization” options. If you’re looking to create a Facebook Page for yourself because you’re one of those famous types (artist, public official, etc…) go with the last option.
The example site I’m using here is Life in a Tent, a new camping blog I’ve set up to test some new social media marketing outlets. That means I selected the second option and chose “website” from the drop down.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be taken to the bones of your new Facebook page. Yes, it’s pretty bleak and boring. It’s up to you to add some personality to the mix.
To do this, you need to look at the list of links right under the big image of a grey question mark. There you’ll find a link that reads “Edit Page.” Click on this link and you’ll be taken to your admin page.
The first thing you’ll want to do is click on the little blue edit icon (blue box with what looks like a pen in it) that appears over to the right in the box called “Settings.” You’ll see a pop up window. Select Edit.
This will pop up the window that let’s you create your most basic settings.
You’ll need to assign your country and any age restrictions. This is also the page where you decide if you want your page to show as live or not. If you’re just getting started, leave this set to “Unpublished.” Once you’ve got your page the way you want it, you can quickly go back and turn on access for the world.
Next you’ll need to return to the admin page and select the “Wall” option.
This is where you start to have some options and need to start making some decisions. For instance, you can set it so your wall displays only posts you’ve made yourself or you can open it up to include the posts from your fans. While I understand the temptation to retain control and publish only your own comments, it’s important to remember you’re setting up a Facebook page for the sake of building community and communicating with your target audience. Unless you’ve got a good reason not to, it’s a good idea to go ahead and set the default view to include posts by you and by fans.
You also get to set the default landing page for people coming onto the page. Most companies leave this set to “wall” but there are some good reasons to consider changing it. If you’re building a Facebook page with a heavy focus on conversations and community building, you may want to push people straight to the discussions page. If you’re a travel destination or a food site or something else very visual, you may want to push them straight to the photos page.
You also have the ability to decide how much publishing power you want to give your fans. Decide if you want to let them post their own photos, videos and links. And remember, if you turn this feature on, you will need to have someone keeping an eye on things to make sure nothing inappropriate is being posted.
Now that you’ve got this section set, hit save and head back to the admin page. Your next step is to click on the edit button for Facebook Mobile.
This area of the admin panel lets you create the ability to interact with your Facebook page via mobile phone. Granted, with most smart phones, you can just pull a Facebook app in and interact with the site that way, but depending on the purpose and scale of your Facebook page, it can be a handy addition to your toolbox. This step by step process only takes a minute or so…
Once you set this up, you can publish status updates to your Facebook page from your phone using SMS. This is handy if you aren’t near a computer or can’t pick up an Internet connection on your phone.
Once you’ve got the basics set up, you’re ready to go back and add some personality to your page. To do this, you’ll need to go back to your default Facebook page again.
Scroll your mouse over to the grey question mark image and look for the little blue editing icon to show up again. When it does, click on it and select the appropriate option for uploading a photo or image to use as your avatar.
While you don’t have to upload a perfect square to use as your profile picture, it’s important to remember Facebook will create a mini avatar for your posts off of what you upload. Use a rectangle and you may end up with an off center or less than ideal mini avatar. To keep it simple, it’s best to try and upload a logo that works well when it’s shrunk down.
Once you’ve got your profile picture in place, look for the “Information” box on in the left hand column and click that edit button. This will pop up windows allowing you to mark the year your business/org/site was founded. You’ll also have the chance to add in a link to your web site along with a company overview, mission statement and information about any products or services you offer.
Finally, you’ll notice yet another box in the left hand column that says “Write something about…” Think of this as a little tag line for your site or a mini-profile for your business. Editing it is easy. Just click on the box, type your text in, then click off the box again. It will save your entry.
That’s it! You’ve got yourself a starter presence on Facebook!
Now you just need to start using it. That said, while I understand the temptation to rush to Twitter or email and send an announcement out to the world about your new Facebook page, I’d caution you to be patient. There’s no sense inviting people to an open house when all you’ve done is unlock the front door and lay down a welcome mat. You still need to learn how to leverage Facebook’s tools to create something people will find valuable.
In the next post, we’ll take a look at the default Facebook Page applications and how you can leverage them to create a more interesting and interactive experience for your visitors.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
Velleity is a word that has dropped out of the general vocabulary, unfortunately. I am attempting to bring it back, as it has more relevance now than ever.
Velleity is a desire to see something done, but not enough desire to make it happen. Wow!
Reporting v Analyzing
In my analytics training classes I ask the attendees about their analytics reporting routine. Sometimes I make fun of the in-house analyst that has to report numbers like unique visitors, hits and sessions. Then, they spend the rest of the month justifying why that number was higher or lower than the prior month. Unfortunately, as I make that statement I see too many heads nodding in agreement. I feel for those people who are locked in a never ending cycle of velleity. Companies that understand that analytics can be valuable, but not enough to change their culture, provide the analyst with the tools they need, or provide them with the freedom to make changes that will improve the profits of the company itself.
These are what I call “Caveman Analytics.”
Unfortunately, too many businesses are trapped into thinking that big numbers are impressive. Big numbers = big business, right? But what do you do with those numbers? How does that affect your strategy?
Questioning the Strategy
As soon as someone starts asking questions, the house of straw blows away. Simply reporting numbers is not an analytics strategy, and it certainly will not lead to any amount of website improvement. And yes, I do know of some companies that include “Hits” in their monthly reporting. (If that is you, reporting hits, stop. Hits are not a count of any relevance for your marketing. It’s just a big number.)
Questioning As a Strategy
Questions are the foundation for our learning. They expose motivations and require explanations. Many corporations and businesses are famous for encouraging the heads-down, lock-step agreement survival tactics. Asking questions is not popular, nor is it encouraged. Asking questions is perceived as rebellion, rather than progress. In the 60’s the radicals told us to question authority. Now that they are in authority, the last thing they want is to be questioned.
Neil Postman speaks about the importance of questioning, saying “question-asking is the most significant tool human beings have.” Even more important that software, servers and summaries, questions are an analysts’ primary tool. Postman even suggested that the reason why we don’t teach the ability to question in schools, is because eventually the students will question the teacher. Questions are subversive, but they result in people finding answers.
Questions – The Cure for Velleity
Velleity is what keeps companies locked in this mindset of reporting useless numbers. Desiring, even expecting to someday have an epiphany of change, but not willing to change the mindset or the culture of locked-in reporting to achieve it. Nor are they willing to ask the hard questions in order to uncover what must be done.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
When it comes to blogging, I find myself on both sides of the coin. Here at SiteLogic, we heavily advocate blogging for business as a great customer service/link/traffic resource. We also know how valuable it can be to have an influential blogger talk about your company or product.
On the flip side, I am also a hobby blogger with a decent following and increasing influence in my niche.
Even if it’s positive, don’t talk about us
On my hobby blog, I frequently write about my experiences as a volunteer with a local non-profit organization. I believe wholeheartedly in what we do and the benefits of our service, and my goal in sharing my stories is to spread the word. I want people to know this service is out there for their family members or as a volunteer outlet. And I’ve had great responses from my readers.
Until the organization discovered my site and asked me to stop talking about them.
While they appreciated that I said good things about them, they were worried that they could be hurt. And they were especially concerned that, heaven forbid, I had used their organization’s name. Somehow, all that great stuff I said was going to come back and bite them.
I’ll certainly respect their wishes, but I’m disappointed that their views of the internet, blogs, and online marketing are so misinformed. Even if someone is giving you negative press, it’s a bad idea to ask them to stop. It only feeds the fire. But why get in the way of someone who talks glowingly about you?
The single PR spokesperson is out
I studied public relations in college, and one of the points the professors drilled into our heads was that an organization needs ONE spokesperson. That ONE spokesperson knows the company and its core message, and is adept at handling media and other people invested in the organization. The idea was to avoid conflicting messages that would reflect badly.
And years ago, it worked. But now, people no longer trust ONE representative advocating a unified, and perceived inauthentic, company marketing spiel.
Hail the unintended spokesperson
With the advent of the internet, everyone with a connection now has a voice. If someone loves—or hates –your product or service, they can talk about it and have lots of people listen. When they feel strongly enough to write about it, especially positively, they are staking their reputation on you. When their reviews prove trustworthy, other people start to listen.
Your customers are reading reviews and blogs and forums and making their decision to buy based on what other customers say. They aren’t making decisions based on your corporate about page or how great you say your customer service is. They are listening to online “friends,” many of whom they’ve never met but have come to trust. Sometimes these influencers are customers, sometimes they’re employees, sometimes they are just brand evangelists. They are men and women of all ages, backgrounds, careers, education, and interests. And they have a lot more to do with how you are perceived than you do.
Embrace those who want to talk about you
Countless organizations have embraced their “unintended spokespeople.” And plenty haven’t, doing themselves and their most loyal customers a great disservice.
Jared of Subway fame is a classic example of embracing an unintended spokesperson. He lost over 240 pounds eating turkey and veggie Subway sandwiches, talked about his experience, became a brand evangelist, and then was brought on as the official Subway guy. When Subway discovered him and the story he was sharing, they encouraged it wholeheartedly. Jared had a great experience with this company and talked about it before he ever appeared in a commercial, which is what makes him so trustworthy. Subway didn’t respond by saying “How dare you use the phrase Subway Diet! Our marketing director didn’t endorse that.” No, Subway went out on a limb and provided more outlets and actually paid Jared to keep talking.
If you find people blogging about how great you are, find ways to encourage them.
Send them samples of new products, give them a free membership, offer whatever service you can that will show your appreciation (and give them reason to talk about you even more).
Ask their opinions on your customer service, marketing campaign, whatever you think might interest them and their readers.
Give them exclusive information, interviews, or breaking stories.
If nothing else, at least say thank you!
These are just a few ideas of ways to appreciate your unintended spokespeople and to encourage them to keep talking. Keep in mind, though, that your focus should always be providing value to them and their readers. The positive efforts you make will spread like wildfire online and will help your bottom line more than any on or offline marketing campaign. Poor handling will spread even faster.
While the old adage “any kind of press is good press,” doesn’t necessarily ring true with the internet, good internet press is the best kind of marketing you can get. And even better, it doesn’t cost you a thing beyond being willing to give up a little control.
I attended the Small Business Marketing Unleashed conference at the beginning of this week fully expecting to learn a whole lot of good internet marketing information from a great group of speakers. And I did. However, I wasn’t expecting to become part of a warm, welcoming, and helpful community that extends beyond the two-day conference. But I did.
The Unleashed conference was all about community both in the sessions and the networking.
I was able to network with almost all of the other attendees and build lasting relationships with many of them.
The speakers emphasized building and marketing websites focused on the visitor, rather than the search engines.
Real-live handshakes, face-to-face conversations, and more than a few tweets
One of the pros of the internet is that we can easily connect with people all over the world. On the flip side, the con is that we spend more and more time online with virtual friends—and less time face to face. Working in the internet marketing industry naturally allows for a widely distributed client and colleague base, many of whom we never see. So I loved Unleashed because I finally got to meet many virtual friends and colleagues in person.
The crew behind Small Business Marketing Unleashed—Jennifer Laycock, Robert Clough, Rachel Phillips, and Vickie Evans of Search Engine Guide and Small Business Brief—were brilliant in starting off the conference with a speed networking and charity event. (Think speed dating with three minutes and business cards and no evaluations.) By “forcing” all of us to talk to each other, any speaker/attendee cliques that could have potentially formed were broken up from the start. Pushing us out of our comfort zones to meet new people on that first night made it a whole lot easier to do so throughout the rest of the conference.
Internet marketers shared knowledge with business owners.
Speakers befriended attendees.
Neighbors asked and answered each other’s questions during sessions.
Previously total strangers hung out talking about the industry and life in general until the wee hours of the morning.
My Twitter tweet rate quadrupled at least as we are continuing the conversations now that we’ve returned to our homes all over the country.
As a result, I came away from the conference with a head full of knowledge and a contact list full of friends and resources willing to share ideas and input. And a whole lot of new friends.
Information-packed sessions with a focus on people I was looking forward to Unleashed because it was a smaller conference (purposely) yet offered some of the best professionals in the industry as speakers. I knew the sessions would go into each topic in-depth and send me home armed with practical applications. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Sessions that stood out included:
Intro: SEO Success Pyramid by Matt McGee
During the overview session, Jennifer Laycock, Wendy Piersall, Matt Bailey, and Matt McGee set the tone for the rest of the conference. Jennifer made the excellent point that “search engines are like Pinocchio. They just want to be a real boy.” She meant that search engines continually try to think more and more like real people. Build and market websites geared focused on your visitors, and you will be successful in the search engines. This theme was carried on throughout the conference.
Matt McGee shared his SEO Success Pyramid, a great concept he recently developed to guide the SEO process. The pyramid has five levels:
The foundation: has nothing do with your website. The foundation is about preparing yourself for success by ensuring that you have a unique product, good customer service, etc.
The first steps: preparing your website for success. This includes design, usability, analytics, etc.
Nuts and Bolts: improving on your website with content, crawlability, and contextual links.
Reaching out: getting involved on other sites.
What its all about: gaining trust.
I loved this concept because it’s the same thing we preach at SiteLogic: SEO is about so much more than putting keywords in appropriate places. It’s about selling something people want, building a website that is easy to use, focusing your visitor on your goal, and building a good reputation that will have longevity. Download Matt McGee’s SEO Success Pyramid for free.
Website Architecture with Stoney deGeyter
Stoney broke his presentation into three main topics:
Domain and URL structure
Page and document structure
Link structure.
Stoney emphasized that the most important thing to keep in mind when building or maintaining a website is “Don’t make them think.” Make navigating and using your site as obvious and as easy as possible. If visitors can’t figure it out, they’ll just leave.
The session was filled with good technical information without being confusing to those who come from a marketing background. This laundry list of items of which to be aware is essential for any marketer or business owner who wants their website to be effective for visitors and search engines.
Building a Community with Wendy Piersall Wendy shared methods for successfully building a community around your website. She said the most important thing to remember is WIIFM, or “What’s In It For Me?” This is the question visitors will ask themselves when they come to your website. If you answer that question well, they’ll stick around. Always remember to focus first on your visitor, and last on your own ideas.
Blogging For Business with Mack Collier
Mack, a regular contributor to Search Engine Guide and blogging expert, provided some great information in his speaking debut. As did many of the other speakers, he emphasized the importance of focusing on your visitors above all else. Mack’s elements of a great blog include:
content
posting schedule
comments
sidebar elements
Mack strongly recommends including a picture of you and a brief bio of you on your blog. Allowing visitors to really know who you are adds to your credibility and personality and encourages them to stick around.
He also noted that blogs are great for targeting long-tail keywords.
Keywords and Content with Heather Lloyd-Martin
Seeing as Heather practically invented the concept and has a witty, energetic speaking style, she was a no-brainer to lead this session and workshop. I appreciated her focus on writing copy that focuses on the visitor and helps them to understand and navigate your site. Heather strongly emphasized that people’s decision to purchase stems from an emotional connection. She also explained that shoppers are willing to pay more if they relate to your company. Building that relationship and trust is where small businesses can really shine. Thus, it’s essential to create that emotion through your website’s copy.
Heather’s power placements for primary keywords are:
Headlines
Subheads
Benefits statement based on keyphrases
Links and anchor text
Link Building with Debra Mastaler
Debra is the queen of link building, and I was really looking forward to the opportunity to learn the secrets of the trade from her. Between the day one session and day two workshop, she blew through a ton of great information. While my brain felt a little fried at the end, I walked away with a solid understanding of how to run a link building campaign and knew exactly how to get started. At the workshop, Debra provided a “blueprint” for link building with the best methods for getting started. They include:
searching for authority sites
directory submissions
article directories and content sites
press and media links
utility linking
social buzz
Viral Marketing with Jennifer Laycock I attended the viral marketing and link building workshops back to back, and came away completely inundated with great information. If you needed to know what viral marketing is, how to plan and run a campaign, and how to choose the tactics that are best for your organization, you would have been completely prepared after Jennifer’s workshop. She talked about:
the benefits and pitfalls of viral marketing
creating the idea
tips for creating and running a campaign
types of campaigns with pros, cons, and examples
identifying influencers
and pitching bloggers
She so well prepared us in her presentation, no one even had to ask questions!
Off and running across the internet
We are all now back home and off and running with new and improved internet marketing campaigns and tactics. Needless to say, if you weren’t at Small Business Marketing Unleashed this week, you will not want to miss out on it next year! You can expect to come away with a plan for how to best market your website online and greatly improve your organization.
The New Speed of Mass Communication
The past few conferences and events that I have attended witnessed the party-crashing technology of Twitter. If you are new to Twitter and not sure what it is, or haven’t even heard about it, here is the best way to describe it: imagine seeing all of your friend’s Instant Message conversations with each other and you – and being displayed to the world. It’s a new way of communication that is transforming communications and the speed at which news, articles, happenings and events are passed.
What’s Twitter?
If you donlt know what twitter is, then I strongly suggest that you go through these resources. There are some very practical advice for using Twitter for Journalism, Marketing, PR, and Word-of-Mouth. This article is going to focus on the observations of twitter from a speaker’s perspective.
Jennifer Laycock’s Series on Twitter – One of the best for understanding the technology and the applications for “the rest of us”. From Twits to Tweeple, Why I Embraced Twitter and You Should Too
Twittering: A Speaker’s ViewPoint
As a conference speaker, I use the non-verbal communication of the crowd to determine if people are with me or not. Good amounts of my presentations are ad-lib and can go in vastly different directions depending upon how responsive the classroom or crowd is to me. Using that feedback is very valuable. In the past few presentations, people have been using Twitter via their laptop, cell phone, or iPhone. What is happening is that people are responding real-time to a speaker or presenter as a session is happening.
The Twitterbyte
My personal response is divided. While I enjoy the feedback and can go and review the “tweets” that happened during the session, it was very eye-opening to see what information gets twittered by session attendees. This made my realized that no longer can I focus simply on providing sound-bites for bloggers; I have to review my presentation to find the “twitterable” content.
Interestingly, the twitters by attendees fell into a few different categories. By order of my observation:
1. Off-handed and ad-libbed comments
2. Answers to questions posed during the session
3. Bullet points from the slides
4. Things that happened – (my Madden-style drawing stylus burned up in a session)
Speaker/Presenter Concerns
Interestingly many quotes from my presentation were put out on Twitter, but what was concerning is that the attribution I made to another author or blogger did not get published. The quote was published on twitter because I said it, but I was quoting someone else.
This happened at the Small Business Unleashed Conference this week, when I quoted Avinash Kaushik’s blog post about Analytics being 90% the person and 10% the software. What was twittered was, “Matt says analytics is 90% the person and 10% the program.” That type of attribution makes me shudder, as I quote people often, and I always try to include attribution in my PowerPoint slides or verbally. Neither the verbal nor the PowerPoint attribution didn’t make it into Twitter – maybe because of the character limitation.
I attribute as much as possible, as many times someone has said it better and simpler than I ever could. As a speaker it bothers me that many quotes and information can now be taken out of context on twitter, when they were properly attributed in the session.
Planning Twitterbytes
Now I feel the need to “Twitter-fy” my presentations and prepare for the inevitable Twittering of my sessions by planning “Twitterbytes”, along with the ‘sound bites’ for bloggers and note-takers. That means keeping more control of my ad-lib comments, knowing they could easily be twittered. Also, questions asked during a presentation get people’s attention, which makes it twitterable; and many times the person who asks the question will Twitter the answer. You may be surprised at what people latch onto and tell others. Be ready to give an answer or potential explanation for what was twittered. However, when the session is over, so are the tweets – as a speakers, you only get to see the feedback afterwards.
Other observations
One of the first ways that I saw Twitter coming of age was from the SWSX conference. During an interview of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg, Twitter came alive with people criticizing the interviewer, who was becoming the focus of the interview. The crowd turned on the interviewer and I was able to view a live status report from hundreds of “tweeters” attending the interview at SWSX.
Mack Collier provided some additional observations from SWSX. One session moderator twittered during the session asking if there was content that was not being covered in the session that attendees would like to hear. She was able to take the twitter responses and shape the questions to the presenters in order to follow the request of the crowd.
Twitterbyte
It’s the dawning of a new age, where information is condensed into the 140 character Twitterbyte and transmitted to hundreds, maybe thousands of people in seconds. And the sound bite, which was known for its stunning lack of context and depth, which transformed the video age (most recognized in the realm of politics) is now looking surprisingly detailed.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
I recently came back from an extended trip to England, where my wife and I spent some time in Northern England with Mike Grehan. Mike is incredibly passionate about living in Newcastle, and should be knighted as an evangelist for Northeastern England. Visiting Mike’s pub was probably the most enjoyable experience I had. Not in the least of which was the glorious fish ‘n chips and sticky pudding. It was one of the best meals I had that week.
The people are very proud of their city and their way of life, of which I admit a profound jealousy. I think we let life get to busy for us here in America, and we typically feel out of control. We lose touch with those that live across the street, or on our block, and we long for simpler lives, but can’t find the time to make it happen.
The English pub is nothing as it is imagined in the States. Many of my observations about the pub were remarkably similar to the concept of Social Media. Of course, this could just be the nerd in me, contrasting every “real” experience with online behavior.
1. No TV’s, no juke boxes.
The typical distractions are removed. I loved that there were no barstools. As Mike explained, “in the US, I have to get my drink over some guy’s head.”
Observation: You can hear the conversation without the pounding of music or the distraction of sports on the television. It’s focused on developing a relaxed atmosphere for conversation.
2. Focus on conversation
Areas of chairs and table were scattered about, depending on what type of visit you were making (drinking, drinking+ eating, or sitting). However, I immediately noticed that there were no barstools. We got the large over-stuffed chairs next to the fire. We intended to stay for a while and have some great conversation. Later we moved to a larger table for dinner, but the conversation kept going.
Observation: There is more emphasis on leaving the bar and sitting with people. You can still get drunk if you want, but you’ll be having fun with everyone else while you do it.
3. Sense of Ownership
Mike kept saying, “my pub.” Mike’s son, Joe, explained the three priorities in life: “football, the pub, the wife. In that order.” The pub is a local meeting house and is located near your home. Everyone who lives near it calls it “their pub.” What’s interesting is we also passed by his brother’s pub and his mother’s pub. Everyone knows where THEIR pub is.
Observation: Ownership is vital to a sense of community. Unless you feel a sense of pride in what is being built and a sense of participation in the success, then you don’t have a true investment in the community.
4. Sense of Belonging
You belong because you live nearby. Everyone knows each other, and you can meet your neighbors at the pub. Because it’s the pub from your area, you care about it and want to be a part of the success.
Observation: Similar to the sense of ownership, the sense of belonging. It is a vital part of the community and everyone is welcome. Even is you choose to site near the fire and read the newspaper, you still belong. You are still part of the conversation.
5. Sense of Priority
See #3. Even though football is higher than the pub in priority, very few pubs offered televisions. I was surprised that the local football team was in a very important match that night, but they did not have it on television, there were no televisions available. I know it drove Joe nuts, but his friend kept texting him the score.
Observation: Even the priority of football in Newcastle didn’t supersede the priority of the pub. It didn’t replace the conversation of the community pub, even though it was of vital importance. There was a place to go if you wanted to watch the match, but it wasn’t being watched at the pub.
6. Sense of Community
Conversation with your friends is to be valued. If everyone knows who you are, then you are accountable. You have to be friendly. Mike pointed out the history of the pub as coming from the concept of Public Houses, where homes were opened up to the community for socializing. They grew into the pub, where the concept of community and socializing is lived out today.
Observation: If you want to get something out of the community, you have to contribute. Those that contribute the most are rewarded the most.
7. Old stuff is Cool
Sometimes, you don’t need technology. The best times are with people, and technology only keeps us unsatisfied. Taking time away to invest with people, rather than pursuing “what’s next” is very rewarding and fulfilling to one’s soul. We went to the Durham Cathedral, completed in 1096. It’s old. I haven’t felt a sense of awe like that for a very long time… I think we get so caught up in the “new” that we forget that there is still quality to be found in the “old”.
Observation: I was struck that conversation with people is what lasts. Friends that I made on forums ten years ago are still friends today. The forum helped to develop conversations both on a public and private level. Meeting people afterwards in “real life” simply cemented those friendships. You don’t build relationships like that by gaming Digg.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
Networking is the best way to grow your contacts, your business, build sales and relationships. I’ve found that the more pervasive social networking tools are online; they still reflect the primary essence of personal networking. I have met countless people online, yet when we are able to finally meet face-to-face, it changes the relationship and deepens it. There is a shared commonality at first, but then a friendship ensues.
Networking Breakfasts
I’ve been a member of many breakfast networking groups, which I’ve always enjoyed. Meeting new people and visiting with acquaintances has always been an enjoyable draw to attend those meetings. It is also something that I miss, being so digitally driven these days. Nothing can really take the place of face-to-face interaction.
Back to the point . . . . One of the networking meetings that I attended opened every week with the introduction that we “do business with those that we like, know and trust.” That is the essence of networking and building a network of people. These are also three things that can’t be faked easily. It was easy to spot the people that came to the networking meetings expecting a quick sale. They would usually attend for about 3-4 meetings, but then quietly left. The potential of quick sales was not there, only the investment of time into other people. Networking isn’t a quick fix for sales; it is an investment in getting to know other people.
Another easy spot in the networking game is the “what can you do for me?” person. They realize that they quick sale may not happen, but you can’t talk to them without feeling as though they are sizing you up all of the time. With very little genuine interest in you, the conversation focuses on them. They like to keep score, and expect much from others.
Relationship First
John makes an excellent first point of networking best practices:
It’s never about the sale, it’s always about the relationship – build first by giving
Regardless of the social media website, widget, or campaign, building relationships always proves to provide longer-lasting results. It also makes a big difference as to who invites you to join new networks, as many people hold higher levels of trust and like-ability. People are more likely to take a recommended action when you have proven yourself to be trustworthy, like-able and knowledgeable.
Investments in People
Taking the time to simply talk with people is an invaluable investment that has far-reaching results. Many times, I’ve been able to visit with a networking group that I haven’t attended in years, but still experience a warm reception. That only happens when it’s about the people and not the business.
Business has to take a back seat when building relationships. Honest conversation and care is genuinely felt by others, and it is something not commonly experienced on a daily basis. A good networking group discusses more than business, but business happens naturally.
How do we take this Online?
Well, there is the question. How do we take networking online?
Listen. The best advice is simply to search and listen at first. Find your market and sit back and listen to the conversation first. Don’t be “that guy” and jump into a conversation that you know nothing about. Listen first.
Give. Contribute something of value. advice or additional support. Your first foray into a new network should never be a pitch. Rather, it should be helpful information that benefits the group, forum, discussion, whatever.
Build. Build your reputation. Build your credibility. This is the time to establish yourself as a knowledgeable asset to the community. The more you contribute and help others, your estimation will increase. The help you provide will pay off down the line as an investment in your character.
Respond. When the time is right, someone will ask you for a direct opinion. Or, something that may arise that will provide the perfect situation for you to assert your knowledge and prove an opportunity to “sell” yourself. However, the difference now is that you are a person and not a (gasp) “marketer”.
Educate. Don’t sell. if you have followed the prior steps with patience, you can have the credibility to educate rather than sell, which always provides an opportunity to show yourself as an expert in your field. Educating is much more powerful than selling, and when it is done in the best interest of the community, it is welcomed.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
I am a child of the 80’s. Play some New Order, Yes, or Van Halen and you’ve got my attention. And yes, I’ll even admit that I like the power ballads, especially from Journey. I mean, really, who didn’t grow up in the 80’s and slow dance to “Open Arms?” That song was standard homecoming and prom material. Well, couple my love of 80’s music and internet marketing and this has to be one of the best stories to come out of the age of YouTube. Hattip to ClassicVinylRecord.com
The Story
The Zoo was a rock band in the Philippines that liked to upload video of their performances to YouTube. They have a solid following in the Philippines and most of their videos are from their performances at the Hard rock café in Makati. They are very well known for their covers of well-known rock songs from the 80’s and 90’s. Their lead singer, Arnel Pineda garnered a lot of the attention because of his clear tone and amazing voice.
Here is Arnel and The Zoo performing one of my favorite Journey songs, “Faithfully.” Give it a listen, you’ll see what I mean,
Did you know Journey was hiring?
Now, here is the amazing part of the story. Halfway around the world original Journey founder, Neil Schon, was trolling videos of bands on YouTube one night and finds this video. He contacted the band through YouTube, convinced them he was for real, and in short time auditioned to become the front man for Journey. It didn’t take much convincing, and he was announced on December 5th 2007.
Now Journey fans, and even those that with a passing familiarity, know Steve Perry was “the voice.” Replacing him bordered on sacrilege. However, after hearing Arnel, I am fully convinced this guy can handle the job.
So, here is your new Journey frontman, Arnel Pineda. From cover band to frontman, all via YouTube, plus some amazing vocal talent.
Is YouTube the new Broadway?
The marketing aspect of this has to be respected. YouTube has been the conduit to many contacts, contracts and discoveries. Apple’s use of a fan’s self-created commercial for the iPod Touch was one of the first YouTube sucess stories. Instead of suing the fan base, Apple realized that the user base were becoming passionate evangelists for the product and it was better to promote the evangelists than shut them down with lawyers. What better way to help people go to the next level of being a fan of the company?
Marketing via YouTube
YouTube has enabled a whole new form of discovery for artists. Singers, filmmakers, actors, designers, animators, and on and on. The new pathway to becoming discovered is much shorter and much more broad. The abilities to reach more people and distuguish yourself is easier than ever. However, the stakes are also much higher. Because the access is so easy for anyone to upload themselves, the competition has increased. There are more people uploading than ever before and creating consumer-generated video.
This is the difference that this story highlights. Even among the thousands of videos of people singing Journey songs, this is the one that got noticed. Why? because the kid has scary talent and a voice that is almost (dare I say) better than Steve Perry. He had a product that got noticed. It was better, stronger, and “stickier” than the competition.
The secret to success
Even though the access is greater, the competition will also be greater, and no amount of additional visibility on the web helps an average product. Products that kick ass and are the ones that get noticed.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
There has been a proliferation of articles about using social media and how marketers see this as a vast new land of opportunity. Unfortunately, the majority of stories also feature how marketers fail miserably at establishing trust in these social media spaces, and most of that has to do with the attitude of the advertisers.
Too many times, marketer’s feel as through social media has been created for their benefit, when in reality it is a group of people with similar interests who joined into a community. A community where marketers are free to participate, but not free to overtly sell, that isn’t part of the social contract.
Users in these communities are looking for participation and contribution. And no – advertising your product and dropping links are not considered participation. Contribution is in the form of thoughts, opinions, and discussion.
Bottom line, social media networks are looking to hold hands, and not jump into bed on the first date. Marketers need to cool their jets and learn a little foreplay, otherwise, rejection is painful. To be viewed as a consumer is a little disconcerting for these contributors, and many feel just as violated, as if they were a ‘piece of meat.’
Facebook’s slap in the face
Facebook’s Beacon advertising program was the latest singles bar casualty. In promising free love for advertisers, Mark Zuckerburg forgot that romance is important. People were not using Facebook in order to give him a $15 Billion dollar valuation, they were using it to connect with friends and define themselves to the world. They didn’t want to be treated as whores for advertisers, and they spoke up vehemently. Beacon will now be a shadow of its intended purpose. All because marketers believed that consumers were there for their pleasure.
Thus, the tragic problem with marketers comes to the surface when they try social media. So many of them believe they only have to make a quick stop into the singles bar and then on to bed. However, consumers only want to hold hands.
Can We Hold Hands First?
Social Media was not created for marketing. Social Media existed before the modern internet and even preceded websites. Social Media is a creation of users for themselves to meet and connect, to think otherwise is foolish. No social media network was created for the express purpose of marketing (except for Webkinz, but that’s another story).
The image is reinforced of an overbearing bad date that cares about nothing more than getting into bed, when the consumer wants to talk and be heard. Many advertisers feign listening, some stomp off in disappointment, others are willing to become involved, maybe even commit to a long-term relationship.
But that is how marketers show themselves in many social media settings – concerned only with getting their message across. Rarely do they listening to any of the discussions or familiarize themselves with the intricacies of the social scene.
Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
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Matt Bailey is the owner and founder of SiteLogic and has over a decade in the web marketing industry. He focuses on consulting and training to help companies take control of their websites and marketing strategies.
I’ve been warning my small business audiences for years against jumping on the latest social media bandwagon, cautioning them to wait until a service reaches a saturation point that makes their involvement worth the time and effort it takes to be there. Facebook definitely fits the ticket. There are more than 300 million Facebook users as of the writing of this article…that’s roughly the population of the United States. 
