Why social media makes sense for companies

SASKATOON —In the course of a week I talk to a lot of people about social media, most of them corporate types. Often they are keen to use social media for some legitimate business purpose, but they don’t have the arguments or the confidence to convince others of its worth. Making a business case and overcoming objections is part of corporate life. Here are the most common objections I encounter and some possible rebuttals.

1. Our audience isn’t on social media

Variations on this one include social media is only for kids, institutional investors don’t use social media and we don’t sell to consumers so we don’t need to be on there.

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

First of all, statistically speaking almost everyone in North America is on or getting on social networks of one sort or another. Facebook is at or above 500 million users, Twitter has 100 million users, LinkedIn has 75 million users and YouTube is the second-biggest search engine in the world.

Canadian firm Zinc Research reported last year that 80 per cent of Canadians are on the Internet and about 70 per cent of them are on a social network.

Brunswick Research published study results last November indicating 47 per cent of institutional investors read blogs to get investment ideas and research.

Dominic Jones of IRWebReport.com wrote last month: “Fully 20 per cent of institutional investors and sell-side analysts surveyed by the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) and communications firm Financial & Corporate Relations (FCR) said that information accessed through social media channels had influenced their investment decisions.”

In August the Vancouver Sun quoted stats from Ottawa digital public affairs strategist Mark Blevis pegging MP use of Twitter in the 20 per cent range.

Even if your company doesn’t sell a consumer product, you still sell ideas. Hello? Digital lobbying anyone?

Since the concept of “everyone” is big enough to include your target, I think it’s fair to say you can find who you need to interact with somewhere on the social web, regardless of who you are after.

2. I don’t have time or resources to deal with social media

Good communicators follow the audience. This objection sounds only slightly reasonable because the medium is new. Imagine if someone said to you, “I don’t have time for this phone thing?” It’s ludicrous. A communicator’s goal is to reach the right people with the right messages at the right frequency and at the lowest cost per thousand.

So if they’re on social media and that’s cheaper than a TV ad or your annual report, including this channel is the responsible thing to do. That doesn’t mean you have all the resources you need now, but you can make the case. It’s budget season right now in many corporations. Set aside $60,000 (hint, steal it from that lame video no one was going to watch) and get it going in 2011.

3. People will say mean things about us

They already are, and being silent won’t make that untrue. Provide some balance and an alternative viewpoint or you are conceding defeat to your opponents. Why roll over?

4. IT says it’s a security risk

Like lawyers, some IT managers would prefer you do nothing so as to be risk-free. Don’t open attachments, don’t go to websites, don’t use a thumb drive, never use Wi-Fi, and on and on. Their job is to batten down the hatches and keep the storm outside. Your job is to interact with the outside world.

More progressive IT managers will help you, even encourage you, to use technology, including social media, to achieve business objectives while mitigating risk. Nowadays, if your firewall blocks Facebook, it likely blocks all Facebook-enabled websites, which is rapidly becoming all websites.

It tends to annoy the CEOs when they can’t even get to major news sites, which is what happened to a client of mine. Work with IT to gain access to the tools you need — don’t let the tail wag the dog.

There are always lots of excuses to not do new things. Hopefully the above gives you a few ideas on what to say so you can do new things. When I see Pepsi take $24 million out of the Super Bowl and put it into social media campaigns such as Pepsi Refresh, I think, there’s a company that knows how to maximize impressions, do good and save money all in one shot.

Next year you, too, could be a budget hero with social media, if you start to make the case right now.

By Doug Lacombe, For Postmedia News November 3, 2010

Social media becomes a key method for getting messages out

Oct 03, 2010 (The Leader-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- For as long as there have been elections, candidates have sought followers.

But in this fall's campaign people running for elected office are seeking a new breed of followers -- those who track the candidates' Facebook and Twitter posts.

"There's no question that the use of social media is important to the life of a campaign and a candidate today," said Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "You run for dogcatcher today, and you use social media. There's no going back." The emergence of social media is a rare point of nonpartisan agreement, as state Republican Party spokesman Andrew Welhouse also stressed the rising importance of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr in modern campaigns.

"It's gotten to the point where if you don't have a presence on social media, you're the odd man out," Welhouse said.

Campaign officials describe social media as a fast, a cheap and an effective new way to get a candidate's message out, to recruit volunteers or even to raise money.

It's the latest in a remarkable series of changes in which candidates have gone from delivering speeches from the backs of trains on whistle-stop tours to typing tweets of 140 characters or less on their mobile phones.

But the more things appear to change in politics, campaign officials say, the more they remain the same.

"The method is different, but the intent is the same: You want to get your message out to voters," Welhouse said.

Making a connection The same questions countless parents have asked their children about all the time they devote to social media also should be applied to politics: What do you get out of it? What's the big attraction? The answer to both questions revolves around finding a new, extremely popular way of connecting with voters, some of whom can't even be reached in traditional ways such as with calls to land-line telephones.

That realization has prompted 3rd Congressional District candidate and GOP state Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse to make frequent posts on Facebook and Twitter during his attempt to unseat seven-term U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, a La Crosse Democrat.

"Dan believes that in today's fast-paced world it is important to reach voters where they are -- and they are on Facebook," said Brian Chatwin, Kapanke's campaign manager.

Zielinski agreed, noting that Democrats recently told supporters via Facebook about an appearance by Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker at UW-Madison.

"We put it on Facebook two hours before the event and got two dozen people there to protest," Zielinski said. "We didn't even have to make phone calls. They just saw it on Facebook. It's a way of mobilizing a population that uses Facebook all the time." Part of the attraction is about style.

"Social media allows us to update and interact with supporters and friends across western Wisconsin in a way that is fun and easy for them," said Kind campaign spokeswoman Leah Hunter. "Through social media outlets, supporters and others who are interested in Ron and his work can easily find information, view event photos and videos, ask questions, comment on activities, and interact with Ron and the campaign in a variety of ways." All the interactive elements available among social media outlets allow supporters to find their own personal way to get involved in the campaign, Hunter said.

"We find that the larger variety of information they have access to, the more involved they get, and the more likely they are to get others involved as well," she added.

Following a leader Perhaps the most eager of these new social media campaigners in northwestern Wisconsin is Sean Duffy, the Republican former Ashland County district attorney who is running against Democratic state Sen. Julie Lassa of Stevens Point in the 7th Congressional District, the seat held for 41 years by the retiring Democrat Dave Obey of Wausau.

With 6,673 fans of his campaign Facebook page and 11,593 Twitter followers, Duffy is on the leading edge -- at least regionally -- of the trend toward social media campaigning.

"People like to follow him, they like to know what he's doing, they like to know what he's saying," campaign spokeswoman Wendy Riemann said.

Last week Duffy released his latest campaign ad to his Facebook "friends" before it aired on TV, giving them the sense of having a degree of exclusive access to the campaign.

"My Facebook friends have been so incredibly supportive and encouraging throughout this race that I wanted to give them the very first look at my new campaign ad that will go on the air tomorrow," Duffy said in a news release.

The new ad already has received more than 24,000 views on YouTube.

Riemann said one of the reasons Duffy has been so successful in building his social media following -- which includes many folks from outside the district -- is that he posts personal information and videos, giving followers a look at the person behind the candidate.

"They see him, and it's like he's talking directly to them," Riemann said. "People love it." Lassa also has an active presence on Facebook, with 1,195 fans, although she hasn't relied on Twitter nearly as much as Duffy.

"Julie's running a grass-roots campaign to shake up Washington across all kinds of different mediums," said Rick Fromberg, Lassa's campaign manager. "Facebook is just one other vehicle by which people can learn about her plans and find out where she is, who she's talking to and what she's doing." Fromberg suggested Duffy, a cast member of the MTV reality show "The Real World: Boston," which aired in 1997, might be more focused on keeping up with other celebrities on Twitter than on telling voters where he stands on the issues.

"The best way to persuade an undecided voter is still to talk to them at their door or on the telephone," Fromberg said. "That way people know who they're talking to and they have an opportunity to have a real conversation about what they care about." Along those lines, some campaign officials acknowledged that limitations on the length of Twitter and Facebook posts could lead to the dumbing down of candidate communication and a new generation of opponents crying, "Where's the beef?" Fromberg, for instance, charged that Duffy's campaign has been defined by brevity and a lack of detailed positions on issues.

"Unfortunately, it seems like Sean Duffy has applied that Twitter 140-character rule to every aspect of his campaign," Fromberg quipped.

Riemann countered that Duffy has been talking with substance about any and every issue in person, at events and on social networks far longer than Lassa, who entered the race in May after Obey announced his retirement.

"I'm not surprised Sen. Lassa has far fewer Facebook friends and Twitter followers compared to Sean, since her campaign spends all their time creating negative attack ads," Riemann said.

While the popularity of using social media in campaigns may indicate that attention spans are growing shorter, the GOP's Welhouse said, they still represent more tools to reach voters.

"If Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are just a new way of getting people connected to campaigns, then I don't see how that's a bad thing. It's an evolution," Welhouse said, pointing out that Twitter wasn't even a part of the state Senate campaign he worked on two years ago.

Terry Moulton, the Chippewa Falls Republican challenging one-term incumbent Democrat Pat Kreitlow of Chippewa Falls in the 23rd Senate District, also has built an impressive Facebook following. With nearly 750 people who have elected to "like" his campaign Facebook page, Moulton is one of the leaders among regional legislative candidates.

"A lot of people follow it, more than you might realize," said Kimber Liedl, Moulton's campaign manager. "It's becoming more and more popular, even among middle-aged people, and thus is something that campaigns are embracing." Old rules still apply Even the biggest fans of using social media acknowledge that these new tools can't replace the traditional pillars of political campaigns: knocking on doors, talking with voters, organizing volunteers, holding fundraisers, putting up yard signs, advertising and encouraging supporters to vote.

"Facebook and Twitter are great ways to stay in touch with voters, but they don't replace direct voter contact," Riemann said. "You still have to shake hands and go door to door." Most important of all, Zielinski emphasized, is having a strong message.

"If you're not doing a good job of messaging, you can have all the bells and whistles in the world, and it won't do any good," he said.

Whether candidates walk door to door or let their fingers do the walking over a keyboard, campaign methods matter less than results.

"Winning elections is the ultimate goal," Zielinski said.

While some studies have shown that the candidate with the most social networking followers won this fall's primaries in almost every case nationwide, Wisconsin analysts aren't convinced the connection will prove that direct in the general election.

"I have yet to see the candidate who wins an election because he has more Twitter followers than his opponent," Welhouse said. "But maybe this will be the first election where part of the research people do before deciding who to vote for will be to call up each candidate's Twitter page and see what they're saying." Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com.

Social Media Campaigns With a month to go before the fall election, here is a snapshot of how some west-central Wisconsin candidates are faring in their campaigns to win supporters on the social media website Facebook. (I) denotes incumbent.


U.S. House 3rd District Ron Kind (I), La Crosse, Democrat, 2,193 Facebook friends.

Dan Kapanke, La Crosse, Republican, 1,234 Facebook friends.

7th District Sean Duffy, Ashland, Republican, 6,673 Facebook friends.

Julie Lassa, Stevens Point, Democrat, 1,195 Facebook friends.

State Senate District 23 Terry Moulton, Chippewa Falls, Republican, 738 Facebook friends.

Pat Kreitlow (I), Chippewa Falls, Democrat, 217 Facebook friends.

District 31 Ed Thompson, Tomah, Republican, 870 Facebook friends.

Kathleen Vinehout (I), Alma, Democrat, 175 Facebook friends.

State Assembly District 67 Tom Larson, Colfax, Republican, 76 Facebook friends.

CW King, Chippewa Falls, Democrat, nine Facebook friends.

District 68 Kristen Dexter (I), Eau Claire, Democrat, 185 Facebook friends.

Kathy Bernier, Chippewa Falls, Republican, seven Facebook friends.

District 93 Jeff Smith (I), Eau Claire, Democrat, 216 Facebook friends.

Warren Petryk, Eleva, Republican, 54 Facebook friends.

Social networking 'could boost profits'

Since the advent of the internet and online shopping, engaging with customers is not necessarily a face to face affair - but one expert has claimed Facebook and Twitter could provide the missing link.

Social media consultant Jason Falls said businesses could expect "enhanced awareness, positive sentiment, preference to buy and more that results from the positive interactions [consumers] have with your employees."

He added that it is not matter of letting staff loose on the internet - but one of encouraging their interaction with the industry and potential clients without pushing a hard sell.

These comments come after figures released from Clearswift show that 28 per cent of employees are already expected to use such websites for work purposes.

The same report claimed many companies - over 60 per cent - are using these methods to secure their place in the market by establishing a constant online presence.

Mr Falls pointed out that strict policies and guidelines should be published to ensure the company is represented in a favourable light on social media pages.

Author: Paul Burn

Social media: Is it important?

How important is social media when marketing your small business? CBC News' Diane Buckner recently tackled that subject in her article, Social marketing: Is all that tweeting, facebooking and blogging worth it?

Buckner asks, "considering the heavy workloads so many small business owners carry, is it worth the time and energy required to figure out an effective way to use social media?"

We put the question to our small business bloggers to see how they use social media to spread awareness about their business and how important the strategy is for them.

Kerry Butt and Meg Watson

Let's talk about social media, for a second. The internet is blowing my mind these days. Before the store opened we made sure to start a Facebook page and blog to stir up some hype. Before we even opened, 400 people had joined our Facebook page and requested that we put certain items on hold for them. As soon as a new shipment comes in, I always update Facebook with pictures and sometimes within an hour someone will come in asking for said product because they saw it on our page.

We have a budget of minus-zero for advertising, so the internet is really our only option and we're taking advantage of it. I don't think our store would be as successful without the population's Facebook addiction. In fact, as I write this, my Facebook page is open on another tab and The Sartorialist blog is beside it.

Follow The Future of Frances Watson on Facebook

Neil Jain

What I love about social media is two things: (1) It can level the playing field between me and a large business, and (2) I can rapidly communicate a timely, consistent message to our followers and interact with them. We've had a social media presence from the outset and we utilize Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Sprouter and blogs. Although we don't use these tools every day since they require a time investment, we try to send out information that is useful.

We're still working on our overall marketing strategy including social media but I feel that having an online presence has helped our brand to build credibility and awareness, especially among industry peers and other entrepreneurs. We're still far from using these tools to their full potential including, most importantly, for sales, customer service and as a value-add for our (potential) clients.

Follow Neil on Twitter @moneylifeskills

Shawn Konopinsky

There is no question in my mind that social media is worth the time and effort - assuming it is done right. Social media tools undoubtedly offer an easy way to communicate with a broad reach. What we have seen is that with that comes a tendency to use social media as a soapbox. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but from a professional perspective there is so much more potential if just a little more effort goes into it.

We still have to fight the urge to tweet about things just to get the word out. When we tweet about a recent project we had completed or a client we were going to see we found there to be crickets in the twitter-sphere - no response. What we found is that people aren't as interested in hearing what we have done recently, as they are about things that they can use in their jobs and life. When we provide insights into problems we had and how we solved them, or shared resources and tools that made our lives easier, we found ourselves engaged in a conversation with people. Some of these folks were very influential as far as social media reach goes. The result was that more and more people were sharing or re-tweeting what we had posted, reaching an exponentially greater number of people than we could reach with our 200 followers. Taking a leadership role by sharing something that people can use, or that they care about, builds trust, interest, and a larger following.

Here are some helpful social media posting rules that we follow:

* 90-10 Rule: 90 per cent of what you post should be helpful and benefit your network, while 10 per cent of what you post should directly benefit you.
* Join conversations and talk to people: Targeting messages at people is a sure way to start a dialogue. That also means that followers of the people you are conversing with are more likely to follow you as well.
* Use hashtags and keywords: Advanced users of social media have lists set up where they are following keywords and hashtags (#example). Make your posts visible to people not following you by using the appropriate hashtags.
* Say thanks: When someone says something nice or re-tweets your tweet, say "thank you." People will be more likely to follow you and RT you if you are polite.

Re-posted: Doug Mochrie M.O Social Media

September 29, 2010 3:33 PM
Source: Your Voice

Making the Most of Your Social Media Content

In a recent analysis of social media use by large and small corporations across several sectors we found that less than twenty percent have buttons showing where else they have content. And many of them don't carry a consistent branding and message through their blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.

If you are not yet vigorously active on Facebook, take another look at what they are up to: depending on whose stats you believe Facebook is either right behind Google nipping at its heels or has already surpassed them in terms of traffic.



And according to WSJ.com they are about to take another leap forward. Their new ‘Like' button is already appearing on sites like Scribd.com. The idea is that other sites will include this button that users can click on to signal their interest in a piece of content and that approval shows up on his or her Facebook page, with a link back to the site. No wonder sites eager for more traffic and better search visibility are rushing to display the button. More than 70 partners have signed up to embed “Like” buttons or other customization widgets on their sites, including ticketing site Fandango.com and CNN.com.

“Facebook is growing up fast and Google had better be on its toes,” says Paul Gillin in his latest newsletter. “Services that choose to partner with Facebook will benefit from immediately adding content from Facebook's 400 million-plus members with minimal effort. They'll also enjoy easier cross-enrollment with the social network.”

Since Facebook is getting so many visitors and driving so much traffic back and forth to websites, it's time to take another look at your Facebook page. What experience are you offering once people get to your page? Why should they become a fan?

Simply putting up a page and not ‘pimping' it as much as you can means you are leaving opportunities on the table. With the new features available, you can have a robust presence that cross-pollinates with your other online content. The Social Media Examiner page is a great example.

Engage

The point of social media is to build relationships and have conversations. You can't do that unless you engage with your followers and fans. It's obvious why an individual would want to do this, but why should a business or an organization do it? More than half of Facebook fans said they are more likely to make a purchase from a brand they follow and 67% of Twitter followers reported the same.

Social Media Audit

If you feel that your social media efforts are not producing stellar results, analyze the activity on your social sites. Just pushing content out is not the way to go. Duplicating that content across all platforms with no human interaction won't get you the results you are after. At the Society for New Communication Research Fellows' meeting at the NewComm Forum this week there was much discussion on this subject. Every company has to be a publisher today in addition to their core business.

April 22, 2010 by Sally Falkow

Online retailers 'could shift to social media advertising'

Internet retailers who send parcels to customers are set to abandon online advertising in favour of social media, it has been suggested.

There has already been a huge shift to embracing social media, with Facebook and Twitter already attracting many brands, said Tim Gibbon, co-founder and editor of the Social Media Portal.

"Some brands are wisely beginning to integrate their social media, online and traditional advertising so that their approach is more seamless," he commented.

"They strive to reach in on their [customers'] level, with areas where they are more relaxed and more likely to resonate with the brand."

Social media is seen as less intrusive and annoying than many other forms of online advertising, Mr Gibbon added.

The use of social media sites will help bring about a "display revolution", Benjamin Faes, Europe, Middle East and Africa head YouTube and display at Google, said at the ad:tech conference, according to a report by the Telegraph.

Re-posted: Doug Mochrie M.O Social Media

Author: Paul Burn
Published on: Wed, 29th Sep, 2010
Source: www.news.myhermes.co.uk/online-retailers-could-shift-to-social-media-advertising-800090227.news

Social media set to become everyday tool, says expert

There is a 'very real possibility' that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will become essential everyday tools, it has been suggested.

Jennifer L Jacobson, a social media author and director of public relations at Retrevo.com, said that the recent 'explosion' of Facebook adopters shows that social networking is set to become more and more popular.

The expert said that future generations will view such networks as a standard utility like the telephone/cellphone.

'I believe social media adoption will continue to grow, but that these specific areas will be where the largest hurdle lies - in getting those who know about social media to want to engage at a deeper level and increase the frequency with which they use it,' she said.

The comments follow the publication of a BCS report, entitled Why IT Makes You Happy, which showed that social networking and instant messaging provide internet users with the biggest uplift in the 'life satisfaction' among those who have recently been online.

Re-posted: Doug Mochrie M.O Social Media

Source: BCS - Chartered Institute of IT 29/09/2010