If you’ve already taken the leap of faith into the daunting, scary world of social media, then you will know that not only is it a very busy environment, but that it can suck a LOT of time out of your busy day. Not only do you need to think of something engaging to say, but you need to figure out the best way to get your message out to as many people as possible. All the while, making sure you don’t bombard your audience with 50+ updates a day.

Whether it’s to discuss industry news, some great new tool or technique you’ve discovered, or even to liveblog at a press conference or tradeshow you’re attending, the world of social media continues to offer a fantastic way to connect with your audience. That audience can consist of existing customers or subscribers who are eager to hear what you have to say, but it can also be those sitting on the fence wondering if they should take that incredibly important ‘next step’.

When I say next step, I am talking the conversion of interest to engagement. That could mean your Facebook page receiving a new fan, your Twitter account receiving a new follower or a retweet, but at the end of the day, your ultimate goal is a sales lead. This is what everyone hopes to achieve from social media, but it’s how they manage, interact and engage with their audience that determines if it will pay off in the end.

With so many avenues with which to reach out to customers, it can be difficult to choose which to use. There are the staples: Facebook, Twitter and to a lesser extent LinkedIn and Foursquare. But there are others that may appeal to your demographic. For instance, if you are in the entertainment industry, Myspace or Stumbleupon might be worth looking at. If you are in the news or media industries, aggregation sites such as Reddit or Digg would be highly beneficial. The point is, there is something for everyone, but not everything will work. Stick with the basics first and branch out as you see fit.

Management

So… you’re social media campaign is now underway. You’ve got a few blog ideas ready to go and have a handful of Facebook fans and Twitter followers (so what if most of them are colleagues and friends at this point). Now what? Litter their walls with non-stop information? Sure, unless you want them to actually read and share your posts.

Scheduling, or at least timing your posts strategically will help ensure you get the most eyeballs for the buck. Late Friday afternoon is statistically the busiest period of the week, but you can’t always hold your breath until then. To start, sticking to 2 or 3 Facebook updates per day will suffice, and the same goes for Twitter updates. You want to display to your audience that your identity has a heartbeat, but isn’t going into shock.

Once you get into a rhythm, you might become overwhelmed with the number of screens open, and go cross eyed looking at statistics from a handful of different sources. This is where social media management tools come in handy. There are a handful of them available, and range from free, to ad supported, to freemium, to enterprise level.

• Tweetdeck.
  A fantastic desktop application tool (and Google Chrome App) that allows for the posting of Facebook (Profile and Page), Twitter (multiple accounts),  LinkedIn and Myspace status updates, and even Foursquare geo-location updates. The ability to integrate with Bit.ly (for shortening URLs and tracking interactions) and to schedule updates for future, timed posts is also available and is very easy to implement. It is also available for nearly every mobile device.
• Hootsuite A very robust web-based management tool, mainly web based (with a mobile app). Highly customizable stream views, and built in monitoring/tracking with custom reports.
• Seesmic
  Very similar to Tweetdeck, featuring web, desktop and mobile based management, it streamlines the social media implementation process. Depending on your UI preference, you may prefer this over Tweetdeck.

Tracking and ROI

After all of that hard work, it would be great to see how effective it’s been. Tracking, analytics and ROI measurement will be able to provide this. Making sure the tools necessary have been installed and are correctly tracking all available data is the first and most important step.

• Facebook Insights
  Enabled by default, Facebook’s Insights provide analytics and the data necessary to display the interactions between you and your Facebook page audience. Accounts are FREE (obviously).
• Tweetmeme
  Allowing users to quickly retweet your articles, blog posts or site content is possible by integrating the Tweetmeme button into your site. Most popular CMS systems have a Tweetmeme plugin available.
• Bit.ly
  The ability to track how many times a link you’ve shared is valuable, especially to gauge the clickthrough rate and effectiveness. Services such as Bit.ly also shorten a link, to make it easy to share and so it won’t take up as much real estate in the notoriously small Twitter update window. Example : http://bit.ly/iAYUzM links directly to this article. *ahem* Feel free to share! Also, bit.ly accounts are FREE.
• Sproutsocial
  A feature rich web based tracking tool. Integrate your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and Foursquare account into one centralized system for very easy to view reports and statistics. The ability to manage multiple accounts is very handy as well. Accounts start at $9/month with a 30 day free trial.

Check out our other related articles :

• How to run a social media campaign in 4 hours a week
• No time for social media? Think again.
• How to build your social network.

It seems that whenever we are talking with new clients about the many, many benefits of social media, the biggest complaint we receive from EVERY one of them is “When am I supposed to find the time to update all that stuff?”

It’s as if we’re telling them they have to change professions and become writers!

Writing is definitely an essential aspect of social media (think about it : Blog posts, Facebook updates, Twitter… tweets, etc.) but it doesn’t have to be time consuming, or difficult. Here are a few tips to help you maintain a regular schedule :

1. Write A Blog Post once a week.
   Keep things casual. Don’t talk about yourself, instead, talk about the industry or recent relevant news and events. Also, if you already have a weekly or monthly newsletter, convert it into HTML, and boom…. you have a blog post.
   (Average time : 1.5-2.5 hours)

2. Promote Blog Post with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
   Using a service such as Bit.Ly, you can track viewer engagement with a link to your blog post, or virtually any other link you include in your Twitter post or Facebook post. Include a brief message describing what people should expect to see, and you’re off!
   (Average time : 0.5 hours)

3. Engage with community in any way you find relevant to your business.
   • Are you a retailer? Foursquare, Yelp, Gowalla, Wagjag, or Groupon would be very beneficial.
   • Are you B2B?  Connect with potential customers through LinkedIn or Meetup.
   • Are you a service provider? Answer some questions over at Quora, Getsatisfaction, or the hundreds of other support blogs & forums.

   (Average time : 1 hour or… as much time as you can spare)

4. Are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare too difficult to manage?
   Use an application like Tweetdeck. Bam… Problem solved.
   (Setup time : 5 minutes!)

Now, not just anyone can write social media content, as the writing process is much more effective when it acts as an extension of the client themselves. Who better to discuss their product or service, than the very individual who live and breathes the company message and objectives. Your SEO provider is there every step of the way to guide you through the process and make it as streamlined as possible.

Is no one reading your blog? No one following your Twitter account or Facebook page? You can’t wait for them to come to you. Go after your audience, and prove to them that you have something they want, or better yet, need.

Please view our other related posts :

• Get Your Social Media Under Control!
• No Time For Social Media? Think Again.

“What is the point of Twitter?” – I have been asked this question more that any other over the past couple of years, and I have never had a quick, straightforward answer.

Ask me what the point of Facebook is, and I’ll tell you (in a nutshell) that it’s a way to connect with your family, friends and colleagues in a more personal, relaxed, but at the same time, a more socially connected way.

Twitter, on the other hand… is a very different tool.

The short answer could be “It’s a tool to quickly get your short, concise message to thousands of people”. The long answer is a lot more complicated.

Not only is Bing and Google including Twitter posts (i.e. Tweets. Which I STILL hate saying) in their search results, but the integration of Twitter into nearly every device on the planet doesn’t hurt either. Just try to turn on your cellphone, Xbox, or set top box without having instant access to Twitter. With its never-ending integration, and growing advertisement revenue ($150 million predicted for 2011), Twitter it seems is here to stay.

Pros

• Broadcast your message instantly
  Get your message (no matter what it is) out to the world instantly. Even if you have no Twitter “followers” your message may strike a chord with some Twitter searches. Which leads us to…
• Get up to the second news
  Quite often, you will hear about news stories breaking, or originating on Twitter minutes, or even hours before major news firms catch wind of them. Some web users rely on Twitter alone for their daily news, and it’s no surprise why.
• Spreading the word is literally a lick-of-a-button.
  Through the use of what is called ‘Retweeting’ a user can simply click a button and the message is instantly broadcast to their followers. They can add their own quip, or simply rebroadcast the message in its entirety.

Cons

• Spam, spam, spam
  Depending on what you are seeking (stand up comics, celebrities, search engine marketing, c++ programming, etc.), you may start out overwhelmed at how much great content is available out there. However, after a few weeks, you may find that users are repeating themselves, trying to sell a service you have no interest in, or are just plain… boring. A regularly scheduled ‘culling’ of Twitter accounts is always a healthy, and calming process.
• More spam!
  Is your nephew telling everyone what he ate for lunch…. again? This time, complete with pictures? Well, it sounds like you’re doing it wrong. Make a private list and toss him in there. A page full of family members’ culinary choices will turn you off Twitter VERY fast.
• Thinking it will replace the web.
  With only 140 characters at your disposal, your message on Twitter can only say so much. Thankfully, an average 25% of tweets have website links in them, providing the extra content you might need. This number is not expected to change, as the web provides a platform that no other can provide (as of  January, 2011 anyways!).
• Learning Curve.
  Still showing your baby boomer parents how to attach a photo to their email? Good luck explaining Twitter to them. The learning curve (while not insurmountable) is definitely something to think about if you’re co-workers, family members or friends are of the less tech-savvy variety.

One of the most common complaint from our clients is that they simply don’t have the time to maintain their corporate blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, moderate comments, search for new followers/fans and many of the other tasks associated with social media.

Who can blame them!?  It’s a lot of work.

My advice to them is generally of the kind, yet constructive variety. Something like this : “You need to try to put aside 2 hours a week, or 20 minutes a day to spend exclusively on your social media efforts. Put away your blackberry, turn off the radio/tv, and concentrate.”

What I would like to say, in a much more blunt manner, is along the lines of : “Suck it up! Do it, or you might as well hand your competitors the business because you obviously don’t want it.” Of course, it hasn’t come to that, and I hope it never will.

This diligent work, regardless of how many other tasks might be on the go, is what it takes to penetrate the market and capture the attention of potential customers. Frequency, relevance, and most importantly, captivation are what it takes to engage viewers and keep them coming back for more.

If a company cannot dedicate an individual to managing and maintaining their social media efforts (preferably in marketing or sales), then outsourcing the efforts is the only option. This option still doesn’t get them off the hook entirely though. Who is going to write the blog posts, or reply to a potentially angry commenter?

Only YOU know your business, and it’s up to you to back up your claims and your product.

Social Media is a highly interactive method of marketing, and unless you are on top of it at all times, you will find yourself left far behind with a mountain to climb instead of a mole hill.

Social Media is really nothing new. It’s been around as long as there has been something to sell, that’s needed someone to sell it.

Engaging with potential customers and giving them what they want, is much better than simply standing on a cliff yelling down at them, “Buy This! Buy This!”.

So where does television come in? Well, you may not have noticed, but for the many years that you were glued to your tv set watching The Cosby Show or Seinfeld re-runs, you were in fact watching hours upon hours of advertisements. These advertisements were not just thrown into the commercial breaks willy nilly. Market research was conducted, and in a way, aspects of social media were implemented to decide which ads would be shown during which shows, and at what times.

However, over the past few months, many people have slowly started to focus more on alternate means of receiving entertainment, which could mean big problems for television advertisers. This does however, offer huge potential for online, connected social media campaigns. The ability to tell friends what you are watching on your new device, or what you thought of last night’s episode of The Office while sitting on your couch, could give advertisers an incredible amount of data to use in order to deliver relevant, quality ads to viewers.

The alternatives I’m talking about are mainly comprised of what have been dubbed ‘set top boxes’, ‘video boxes’, ‘home media players’, etc. Everyone has no doubt heard of one or more of the devices, some of which are available, some have been announced and are releasing this year. They include, but are not limited to :

Apple TV

This is Apple’s take on online rentals, for your TV. Linking up to Netflix and iTunes is certainly a major plus for many, but with no internal storage, you are limited to renting or streaming. Also, Apple has a tendency for limiting what you are allowed to do with their devices, so unless you are willing to modify the box to accommodate your needs, you might want to look elsewhere. You can however, expect quality hardware and a user-friendly interface.

Boxee Box

The Boxee Box is a physical implentation of their long running media playback software, Boxee. Heavily integrated with the internet, it pulls information down for your media, and links up with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social networking accounts. Its interface has proven to be a hit, as well as its compatibility with a range of video/audio formats.

Google TV

Not too much is known about Google TV yet, however the platform has an incredible amount of potential. In a similar fashion to their mobile OS – Android, Google is opting to integrate their software into hardware developed by other companies. The Logitech Revue will debut later this year, which will be powered by Google TV. Google has become a household name now, so it may ride that momentum into a lot of living rooms.

Believe it or not, the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3

It’s been a long time since gaming machines were used purely for video games. Internet connectivity, media playback, social network integration, and even web browsing (on the PS3) allow users to gulp up as much entertainment as they can on just one device, and allow social media campaigns to engage an entirely new, specific type of audience.

Others include : TiVO Premiere, Roku, WD Live Plus, etc.

Search engines and SEO in general are changing on what seems like a daily basis. Algorithms are constantly being tweaked, and what worked like a charm 2 months ago, may be falling flat today. This presents an interesting mix of excitement and stress for most marketing companies, and I won’t lie… we are not exempt.

While I could talk all day long about what could help in the short or long term for a website’s online performance, it might be easier to list what NOT to do. We spend a lot of time researching, analyzing and scouring the web, and we’ve seen some questionable things, so here it goes…

What NOT to do with your website

• Make a site entirely comprised of Flash. Search engines don’t need to find your website.
• Rely on Javascript for all links. You should make it as hard as possible for a search engine to crawl your website.
• Ignore social media completely.  Facebook? LinkedIn? Pfft, they’re just fads.
• Stick with newspaper ads instead of a highly targeted PPC campaign. Proven results don’t mean anything.
• Keep content the same…… forever. Why do other companies waste time writing fresh content all the time?  So what if they are constantly ranking higher?
• Ignore analytics. You don’t need to know where visitors come from, or who is converting to a sales lead. That’s where those expensive newspaper ads come in handy…. right?
• If you DO end up optimizing your website, just do it once. 6 months later everything should hopefully be the same anyways.

Once the <sarcasm> HTML tag has been created, this entire list would surely be contained in it, so my apologies.  Also, sorry about the <sarcasm> joke.

Anyways, this is just scratching the service of BAD choices. It was a lot of fun to write surprisingly, so I will definitely be doing it again. In the meantime, have a look at some of our other related articles :

- SEO Rule #3 – It’s Never Too Late To Promote
- SEO Rule #2 – Focus On Website Goals
- SEO Rule #1 – Content Is King

One of the latest trends in online social activity has been the explosion of location-based search.  Whether it’s through Google search, Foursquare, Yelp, or the myriad other services available through a quick query to your mobile phone’s built-in GPS, tracking a user’s location is proving to be beneficial for both users and businesses.

Security and Privacy

The biggest fear of location based marketing is not a big surprise. Personal data, including the chance of an individual’s location being publicly spread, is highly sensitive and is still a very difficult roadblock for many online businesses to overcome.

A level of paranoia still exists for many people who still believe that “Big Brother” is watching them, and it’s sometimes difficult to prove them otherwise. (See the very highly publicized PleaseRobMe.com) What I try to suggest to these naysayers, is that companies want to know as much about their customers as they can, but they do not necessarily concern themselves with each individual’s activities.

In fact, the largest of all social networking websites, Facebook, is in the process of implementing a service which allows its users to enter their location into their status updates. This could be a boon for businesses as their locations may show up in searches and other friend feeds. Facebook has seen its share of bad press lately though, with a variety of privacy related issues, so this is an update that must be handled carefully.

Imagine searching for ‘Running Shoes’ in your mobile browser, only to be directed to the 5 nearest running shoe stores?

There are other websites, with questionable business models, such as Blippy, who have had some very unfortunate experiences. It’s a service where users can log their credit card purchases and share them with the world.  Why anyone would want to this is beyond me, but… to each his own. User’s credit card numbers were showing up in search results, with obviously detrimental results.

The Benefits

The biggest benefit of location features for users, at least for the near future, is mobile search. Imagine searching for ‘Running Shoes’ in your mobile browser, only to be directed to the 5 nearest running shoe stores? This effect can even be seen on your desktop or laptop browser, with your location being pulled through your IP address.

If carefully executed, location focused activities could create a substantial increase for local businesses. A fantastic example of this, taken from Report On Business magazine, involved an individual searching for a Christmas tree, using the search term ‘Christmas tree, palo alto”.  He was immediately instructed to go to the local Boy Scouts office, who were selling Christmas trees, showing up as  the #1 website in Google’s search results. The Boy Scouts hadn’t spent a penny on billboards or advertising, but due to a mobile location-based search, they were able to reach a customer who was looking for a specific product.

This is one of the millions of stories that have, and will be told in the months and years to come, as the possibilities for retailers and geographically targeted businesses are endless.

Some location based tools include :

• Foursquare
• Gowalla
• Blippy
• Facebook, Twitter and Google have some form of location based marketing either in the works, or in practice, with MANY more to come.

Whenever Google makes a change, no matter how small, it’s a big deal. Ok, maybe a bit more to us, the people who work with it nearly all day, but still… when they change a portion of their algorithm, which happens frequently, it can have huge ripple effects.

Arguably their largest update in a while, codenamed Caffeine, has been in the works for quite a long time.  Matt Cutts (the unofficial face of Google, at least in my eyes) recently mentioned Google would be slowly rolling out the Caffeine update during the coming weeks.

Today we noticed something interesting when we accessed Google.com in IE. Aside from the subtle graphic changes, it seemed…. different.

We figured it could just be small usability changes.  That was, until we brought up a search results page.

Location based search has been a huge focus for Google, as well as social networking behemoth, Facebook. Could this be a huge step in that direction? Is this indeed an indication that Caffeine is around the corner? We’ll have to wait and see.

Note : This was tested in Internet Explorer 8.

One of the biggest social media concerns of every client is the management of the tools they use. Since the majority of work is performed by the client (blog posts, twitter posts, facebook page updates, etc.) it can all be a bit overwhelming.

It can take up to a few hours to write a good blog post, so you won’t want to spend another hour updating Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other tools manually, especially if you don’t need to.

There are a few tools available for making your life a lot easier, one of which, is called Tweetdeck. We use it extensively, and it has made updating a snap. You can link multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and LinkedIn accounts, allowing for one message to be broadcast across all networks simultaneously.

Tweetdeck

You can leave comments, manage your followers, create and manage Twitter lists, and more. We don’t officially endorse Tweetdeck in any way, but since the tool is so useful, why not spread the word? Download Tweetdeck here, for PC, Mac, Linux or iPhone.

As for blogs, there’s a great tool called Networked Blogs (which you will notice on this very page!). It publishes your blog on Facebook automatically, while allowing others to find it via Facebook search. We love it and it takes yet another unnecessary step out of our social media routine.

Are there other tools you use instead?  Or do you think there’s a better way to manage social media?  Let us know in the comments!

The world of online social media has exploded during the last few years, with good reason. People can connect with hundreds of thousands of others to discuss and share nearly anything. Whether it’s used to spread the word about a great new promotion or product, to inform customers of some relevant industry news, or if it’s to simply share a funny image you found while browsing, social media allows for a type of connection with customers and visitors in a way that traditional marketing cannot match.

The tools have become more user friendly and robust, allowing anyone with something to say, to have their message heard. Below you will find a list of some of the benefits of using these social media tools and which ones may not appeal to your business model. Have a look, think we’re missing something, let us know!

Blog

Examples : WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr

Pros

• Unlimited space to work with. (No 140 character limit here!)
• Ability to offer feature-rich content, such as video, flash, images, etc.
• Will work on anyone’s web browser and most mobile devices.
• Most blogs offer RSS feeds which can be used in RSS Readers, to populate other websites with content, etc.

Cons

• You’ll look at the clock and wonder where the last 2 hours went.
• Writers block exists, even when writing for a blog. Trust me.
• Some HTML knowledge is a must, especially if you want to add any advanced functionality.
• Set a schedule for your posts, because you will need to regularly update.

Facebook

Website : www.Facebook.com

Pros

• 400 million users.  ‘Nuff said.
• Word-of-mouth is the most effective form of advertising, and is a very large component of Facebook, with its ‘fan’ and sharing system.
• Ability to connect with potential customers on a more personal level, through the Discussion Boards, Wall and Comments.
• Integration of Facebook with a blog or website is becoming easier and easier.

Cons

• Frequent moderation is required.
• Don’t disappear for a few weeks, or you might find everyone else has as well.
• While not incredibly important, having a solid friend base will help grow your presence quickly, at least at first.

Twitter

Website : www.Twitter.com

Pros

• Updating your Twitter status from nearly any device imaginable makes it incredibly versatile.
• Analytic tools allow for very robust tracking.
• Integration with Facebook, among hundreds of other websites and tools.
• Nearly instant updates to your ‘Followers’.

Cons

• Limit of only 140 characters, which can be restrictive, especially when including URL’s.
• Fine line between not updating enough and being annoyingly persistent.
• Still regarded as a more tech-savvy tool.

Social Bookmarking

Examples : Digg, Stumbleupon, Fark, Delicious, Reddit, MANY more

Pros

• Potential to reach thousands of viewers instantly, and more through sharing. (Liking, Digging, etc.)
• Certain websites, such as Su.pr (via Stumbleupon) offer their own analytic tools allowing for more detailed information than other analytic packages.

Cons

• Potential time wasters. Spending 5 minutes ‘stumbling’ can turn into 30, VERY easily.
• There are well over 300 similar websites, linking to every one of them can obviously be very time consuming.
• Time spent keeping track of accounts, posts and comments can also add up, fast.
• Links can get overlooked easily.  Make sure you post with an interesting title, and in a relevant subject (if available).
• Unless your website or link can handle it, an influx of thousands of visitors can bring down a server.  This is a nice problem to have though!

LinkedIn

Pros

• The audience is very focused towards business.
• Ability to network with other local industry professionals.

Cons

• It’s very easy for your message to come across as spam. Keep conversation light.

Try it out, you are only denying yourself the potential for something great if you don’t.