Eureka! They Get It! Do you?

Posted on 04. Sep, 2008 by

Clients often task us with creating a social marketing plan for them and then executing the tactics.  Easier said than done in some cases.  As this evolving marketing discipline is explored by brands, it is essential to keep up-to-date and keep your plan fresh.

Peter Kim has blogged about brands that are exploring social marketing – and doing it well.  It is a great way to see what is out there, how it is being used, and to determine what might be a good fit for your company.

What’s working for your brand?

Nicole

I'm a Tweeter, He's a Tweeter… Wouldn't you like to Twitter too?

Posted on 15. Aug, 2008 by

Time and time again I am asked about Twitter: do I use it? What is it good for? Isn’t it a waste of time? How do you make it work for work?

When Twitter first came about I was skeptical. Why would anyone want to know what I am doing? Who am I?! Well, it has been confirmed – I am apparently “somebody” to 45 46 116 (and counting!) people (and probably to my mom and dad but they do not Twitter)!

Here are some of my answers to the Twitter questions:

Do I use it?
YES! I use it every day. I tweet at work about what I am doing and at home about regular run of the mill kinds of things.

What is it good for?
All kinds of things. For keeping up with friends, for sure. It is so much more though! I “follow” editors, writers, news makers, social media experts and many other professionals in addition to some friends. This allows me to watch trends, stay on the cusp of what is going on in social media circles and possibly network a bit.

Is Twitter a waste of time?
Like anything, time management is key! Yes, you can get lost in watching for updates, but you can always go back and review the history of your peeps tweets. I do not consider it a waste of time if you are

  1. Learning
  2. Connecting/networking

How do you make it work for work?
There are a couple of helpful applications and tools that I use to make Twitter “work” for me.

Twhirl – a desktop approach to Twitter. Twirl runs in the background while you work and then alerts you when messages from the people you are following are posted. It is easy to use and has yet to mess with my Mac – so I give it a thumbs up!

Twitter Search – What are people talking about? Are you looking for what the buzz is on a certain product or company? This is the perfect tool! In this case I searched my client Small Dog Electronics and found that a few people were tweeting it up!!!

Twellow – a type of Twitter “yellow pages”, Twellow allows you to search by industry, job function and more. It is a great way to look for people you might be interested in following. In my case, I would look for editors, writers and journalists.

Figuring out how to make Twitter work within your profession is valuable if you think that global networking has some merit.

 

Nicole (you can follow my tweets on Twitter @pmgcreative)

 

PS. For those of you thinking, “Good grief! We need to put together a social media plan and get results fast!” There is no real way to do this. It is viral. And by that I mean it relies on your brand evangelists to go out there and talk you up. Word of Mouth. This takes time. And part of that relies on how good your product/event/widget is.

Better start now!

Social Networking Spam?

Posted on 08. Aug, 2008 by

As the global community figures out how to best use all of the social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., etc., etc), marketers are trying out different methods to reach customers and other prospects through these mediums.

From time to time discussion begins on if tactic executed by a salesperson or marketer is considered spam or misuse of these mediums.  Here you will find one discussion regarding a Twitter communication.

What is your take?

We often “pitch” and Twitter about client news and happenings as well as post regarding blog updates, etc on Facebook.  Does this make PMG a spammer?  What are your thoughts?

Nicole

What is with all of this social networking?

Posted on 28. May, 2008 by

I was a guest panelist last week at the Vermont Business EXPO on social networking and how to make it work for your business.  I was privileged to present alongside some of Vermont’s experts on technology including:

·      Elaine Young, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Program Director of e-Business Management and        Marketing, Champlain College

·      Ted Adler, Founder and President, Union Street Media

·      Dave Winslow, President and CEO, EpikOne

·      Dan Cypress, Realtor, end user for business and personal use. 

I am a huge advocate of networking – both virtually and in person.  Sure, social networking cannot achieve what traditional networking would –when you look at it, emails cannot beat out old-fashioned phone calls when working with clients, vendors or tying to close that important sale.

But, when you are working with Gen Y, or marketing to them it is unavoidable.  In fact, many companies do not ask for references anymore, they just check your recommendations on LinkedIn.  And as marketers are setting up company pages on Facebook and other social networks that allow businesses to have a presence, it is becoming increasingly important for key management to setup a personal profiles as well.

Is it necessary for you or your business to embrace this social networking fad? Well, I once thought email was a fad  - and now, fortunately or unfortunately, am one of the most hyper-connected people I know (it is the nature of my business).  Needless to say, PMG has its own Facebook page and I have embraced many social networking sites for both reconnecting with old friends and building the PMG brand.

My biggest tip? Protect your contacts.  It is ok not to “friend” or connect with someone.  Your contacts are yours – and should be treated as you would your old fashioned rolodex… treat those relationships with care.  

Here is a great video that Elaine featured at the panel, which gives a good overview of what social networking is.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc&hl=en&rel=0]

Is it right for you?  Well, you can’t know if you don’t try – and since it is free (except your time), give it a whirl.  Let me know what works and what does not.

Bonne chance!

Nicole Ravlin