A while ago I was invited to speak to a group of financial professionals from FEI about using social media as a way to build a network of trust. I told the group I’d be successful if, by the end of the session, they understood why their personal brand is so important, how it impacts building a network of trust, and (per my usual schtick), 5 practical, tactical ways for them to start building a network of trust through social media using tools like Linkedin and Twitter.
My friend Jack is looking for new career opportunities. Jack noticed his friend Larry had endorsed Moe, a senior leader at a company he’s trying to get into. Jack asked Larry to tell him about Moe, figuring if he knew him well enough to endorse him, he’d know him well enough to offer a warm intro.
“Who’s Moe?” Larry replied.
“You endorsed him on LinkedIn!” said Jack.
“Oh. Him. I don’t know really know him.” Larry said. “And I just clicked that stuff to get rid of it on the screen.”
This is a true story. While the names have been changed out of respect for my still-employed-friend, it also sums up the core problem everyone seems to have with LinkedIn Endorsements. They take zero effort. They’re a hit-and-run social interaction. While it’s easy to blame LinkedIn for making this feature too easy to use, as my friend Tim Burrows says so well, “A social platform is no better or worse than the people that use it. And more importantly, how they use it.”
The real issue I see is that improper use of this feature creates more noise than value. That said, I believe there are six ways we can all improve LinkedIn Endorsements so they’re more authentic and real for everyone.
[Read more...]
Embarrassing, #FAIL-worthy tweets from corporate accounts is nothing new. When it does happen, media coverage and case studies ensue. Smart brands respond appropriately. Others make the situation worse. The municipality I live in has become the latest victim of the tweet-gone-bad phenomenon. In this case, an offensive, obscene message was tweeted from the corporate account. It’s possible the account was hacked. It’s more likely this was accidental, and the person responsible thought they were updating their personal account. What made this message so offensive is that the tweet criticized city residents and their inability to handle snow – during the biggest snowstorm we’ve seen in years.
This situation gives those of us who aren’t suffering through a real-time PR nightmare a chance to reflect on four basic ways to protect our own organizations from being tomorrow’s social media case-study. [Read more...]
Measuring social media marketing is pretty easy- provided you look at one Facebook page, one Twitter profile, or one blog at a time. What’s not easy is reporting on all your social marketing efforts in a meaningful, consolidated way that senior executives appreciate and understand. Likes, shares, downloads, views…while each are valuable measures in their own right, have you ever wondered what happens when you combine them to create actionable insights and results?
Enter Popluence – a practical, tactical social marketing scorecard that you can download and use.
TheSocialWhat.com provides practical, tactical advice to organizations looking to leveraging social media in business.
It's written and curated by Joel Marans. He's a creative technologist, a digital marketer and a visual raconteur. He's also a husband, a daddy, and a geek. More about Joel.
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