Social Media Buzz

PROpenMic: Social Network for PR Students, Faculty and Pros

 
Just found a great social network for students, faculty and PR pros who want to network online. It's PROpenMic: http://www.propenmic.org

Facebook Your Brand Now

 
The power of Facebook's reach is gaining momentum and brands that understand the shifting changes will reap the benefits. Those that don't, risk becoming ignored or worse, obsolete.  Dallas Lawrence, the Chair of the Social and Digital Media Practice at Levick Strategic Communications, says:

"Facebook was the most visited site on the web for the week ending on March 13, 2010, surpassing even Google in week-long stats for the first time in history, according to Hitwise. The shift in user habits and audience targeting is palpable and it provides marketers, brand managers, issue advocates, and political campaigns today with an age old choice: Adapt and change or face irrelevance and extinction......" 

"To thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace, corporate communicators must understand that the shift now underway is just as powerful as the one that transformed Google into the modern Yellow Pages and turned a Silicon Valley start-up into a $200 billion everyday necessity."  

Read more here: Why Your Brand Needs to Be on Facebook Now

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach

Should You Use Your Real Name or a Brand Name on Twitter?

 
Should you use your real name on Twitter or a brand name?  The trend has been leaning towards using your real name, but that's not always a good idea if you have a strong brand name that suits you better.

Here's why: I follow Ken Robert on Twitter as @MildlyCreative and recently his friend Charlie Gilkey advised him to change his handle on Twitter to his real name. After just a day Ken changed it back. Why? Because it felt wrong and just didn't fit him as well as @MildlyCreative does. It describes what he does so much better than his real name. It's his brand and he's sticking to it.

Another example is my friend, Barbara Winter, who goes by @joblessmuse on Twitter. Barbara is the best-selling author of How to Make a Living without a Job. Her name is well-known, but her Twitter handle of @joblessmuse is so much more effective, since it too focuses on who she is and what she does.

So think carefully about the name you use on Twitter and other social media sites especially if you're in business for yourself. Make sure it's the best indicator of your business and your brand.

Remember: The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. ~ Chinese Proverb

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach

Using a Flowchart to Understand the Value of Social Media

OK, so I'm a geeky gal. I love flowcharts. They help you visualize and understand complicated processes like how to determine the real value of social media. For example, here's a cool flowchart created by Debra Askanase of the Community Organizer 2.0 blog that illustrates just that.

Social Media Value Flow Chart

Debra explains: 

When developing a social media strategy, I keep in mind these three questions:

1.  How will the brand/program/organization deliver exceptional value and engagement to stakeholders through social media?
2.  How will social media encourage brand/program/organizational loyalty?
3. Will the strategy support business/organizational goals to produce intended results? (increased volume  or type of sales, clients, participants, more volunteers, etc.) Read more: Social Media Flowcharts

Are you addicted to Twitter and Facebook?

 Do you check your Twitter and Facebook account first thing in the morning and last thing at night? Do you spend more than an hour a day on social media sites? If you do, does this mean you're addicted?  Not necessarily. But it is interesting to view the statistics about how people are using social media in their daily lives and how it's changed how they get their news and information. Case in point:

"The latest Retrevo Gadgetology study asked social media users questions such as when, where, and how much time they spend on sites and services like FaceBook and Twitter. We were not surprised to learn how many people appear to be, shall we say, obsessed with checking in with their social media circles throughout the day and even the night." Read more: Is Social Media a New Addiction?

How to Use Facebook and Twitter to Jumpstart Your Job Hunt

 
The competition for jobs in this economy is fiercer then ever. College graduates, boomers and others are all vying for the same jobs. A good example of this was a story in my local paper about the upcoming opening of a new Sprouts Farmers Market. The store was looking to hire 75 people in full- and part-time positions and the announcement brought out a least a 1,000 applicants from all walks of life, most with no direct retail experience. Scores of job seekers vie for 75 positions.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the chances of getting one of these jobs is small. The odds are stacked against you in this American Idol like mass job audition.

So what can you do to increase your odds of finding a job and to avoid competing directly with scores of other job seekers for just one position? You can turn to the power of social media and use Facebook and Twitter to showcase your skills and reach out to potential employers and others who can help you in your job search. People want to help you, but they need to know what you can do and what you're looking for before they can do that. Most jobs are found through referrals and using social networking sites can dramatically increase your circle of contacts and move you closer to your goal.

So here's some tips on how to get started:

If you don't already have a Facebook and Twitter account, set them up right away. Be sure you use a good professional photo in your profiles and then spend some time to craft a short bio statement for Twitter that showcases your skills and lets people know what kind of job or freelance work you're looking for. On Facebook you can use the extended profile information to build an online resume. You should also set up your own Fan Page on Facebook to extend your reach, since fan pages are viewable by everyone and also show up quickly in Google.

Then start to follow people you know and other people in your industry. Start networking with the community and engaging with your friends and followers in conversation. You just never know who might help you find a job.

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach

If you have questions or know of another good resource for using social media in the job hunt, please post them in the comments.

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Here's some more ideas on how to use social media in your job search:

Find a Job Using Twitter, Facebook and Social Media Sites

How to Use Facebook to Help You Get a Job

Using Twitter and Facebook to Find a Job

Twitter Yourself a Job

Boomers can find jobs using Facebook and Twitter

Twitter: What You Need to Know and How to Use Twitter to Find a Job

Using Twitter for Job Search

Share Your Facebook Fan Page

 
Do you use a Facebook Fan Page to promote your business, cause or non-profit? If you do, please post a description and a link to it in the comments so we can see what you're doing.

If not, what's stopping you?

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach

Linda's Social Media Goodies for 3/18/10

 
Here's a quick list of some of the social media goodies I found for you this week.

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
Get our Social Media Tip of the Week

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HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Twitter #Hashtags http://ow.ly/1l7G2

Another great resource from @andymatic - WordPress Cheatsheet http://ow.ly/1lr6D

5 Ways to Use Social Media for Things You Are Already Doing http://ow.ly/1ndxo

The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines http://ow.ly/1noQ7

Tips for the Reluctant Facebooker - Social Media Buzz http://ow.ly/1mUUu

Getting Started with Social Media Marketing - Social Media Buzz http://ow.ly/1l9jX

5 Creative Ways To Use Your Twitter Favorites  http://ow.ly/1nPd7

Tips for the Reluctant Facebooker

Some of my friends are afraid of getting on Facebook. They either think it's a huge waste of time or dangerous or both. Nothing I can say seems to change their minds. So that's why I was so happy to see this post by Julie Devaney of Hubspot.com, writing about her mom's experience with Facebook. Julie says:  

"My Mom is in her late 50s and recently got a Facebook account. An admitted skeptic, she previously didn’t see the value or purpose of  “doing Facebook.”  She thought it was a kid thing -- something too technically complicated and too socially intrusive for moms in their late 50s.

That was until this past Christmas, when my Mom’s inbox saw more holiday greetings than her mailbox.  Many of the expected annual family letters and pictures from her childhood and college friends came in the form of emails, with links to blogs and Flickr accounts, and “Happy New Year” signatures ending with lines like, “check out my Facebook page for pictures of my son’s wedding.”

It was a bittersweet change for my Mom to have the good news of the past year living in her laptop rather than hanging on her door frame on familiar holiday stationary for all to see.  Yet, she now saw the value in having her very own Facebook account." 

Julie then goes on to share her 5 great tips for Facebook First-Timers, which takes some of the mystery out of getting started. I'm going to share it with my friends and see if I can convince them to jump into the social media waters and get their feet wet!

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach

Getting Started with Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing can be extremely effective, but many people are put off by all the overwhelming choices on how to implement it for their own business or non-profit organization.

The best way to get started is to pick one place to start and expand from there. If you are not involved in social media at all, I'd recommend Twitter as a starting point. Here's a short video with some Twitter Beginner Tips that will help you get started.

And if you're not sure what to tweet once you have your Twitter account set up, here's some Quick Tips for Overcoming Twitter's Block.

The when you're ready to take the next step, check out Chris Brogan's excellent post on 50 ways you can implement a social media marketing campaign.

You don't need to do everything on the list, just pick and choose the ones that resonate with you and then track your results.

Linda Locke
Social Media Coach