It's an art, with no right or wrong formula, so just go with it....

Social Media is a marketing channel, with the potential to create a viral* campaign. Social media allows you the ability to engage your audience (and potential customers) in valuable conversations about your company, product/service, brand, and upcoming promotion and/or event.

The social media marketing umbrella includes:

• Social networking sites/ online communities
• Blogs
• Online forums/ discussion boards
• Review sites
• Video and photo sharing sites

For effective social media marketing you want to be anywhere** (online) that enables and engages you with your audience.

Social media can increase your web presences, drive traffic to your website, expand brand awareness, generate exposure, and provide SEO benefits.

Social media has no tangible ROI, per se, but it can and does offer:

• Brand management
• CRM
• Product development
• Reputation management
• Customer interaction, feedback and support
• Community building
• SEO

Effective social media marketing can result in brand equity and loyalty that ultimately can affect sales and revenue. It may not be as direct as a salesperson closing a deal but WOM from a trusted friend of colleague is more of a seller than a salesperson's selling pitch.

*Please note that "going viral" is not an end-result goal to have with any Internet marketing campaign. Marketers are not the ones to determine if something will go viral, your audience and users do.
**With all marketing initiatives, you need to start with an objective first, and then decide which method and strategy to use to approach the goal at hand. Not all social media platforms are going to be as effective if the online community is not the niche market you are looking to engage with.

Mixing Personal with Professional

Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to social media and how to use it effectively in the professional setting. Many people still don’t get it, and most think it’s a fad and can’t be taken seriously when conducting business. Similar to billboards, radio and television, social media platforms are just another outlet to get your message out there. Social media is the new media and many “gurus” state different rules to follow for effective social media marketing. One thing they all have in common is that the objective of a social media marketing strategy is to get online and LISTEN. Funny, because that tip is similar to what women have wanted men to do forever - JUST LISTEN!

Most people advise you to just start using social media, join any and every group and start engaging and connecting with people, mostly because it’s a free medium. Honestly, that’s not a great idea. Like any strategy you must start with your objective. What is it you’re looking to achieve? Who is your target audience? Research, develop your message, and then join. Not all social media platforms hold the same value with what your objective may be. Not all target audiences are enrolled in every platform, granted 73 percent of Americans say they use the internet, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report.

Blending Brands

Merging your personal “brand” and professional “brand” when it comes to social media is not a good idea. You take a risk similar to when a corporation uses a celebrity to endorse a product. Humans make mistakes. For instance, when a celebrity is endorsing a product and their image becomes tainted due to a recent arrest or illegal activity the product’s organization usually drops them pretty fast. Personal image can cross contaminated into your professional brand’s equity. Your personal brand should not be your professional brand, unless you’re trying to be famous for having no talent (i.e. Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, etc.). If you are trying to position yourself as an expertise in a particular field, that is still your professional brand as a person. You must learn and know how to keep that message consistent when doing so. How you conduct yourself in person should reflect in cyberspace. Although this is a very gray area and many will argue for blending your brands.
Strong recommendation is when using social media have your organization be its own entity on the social media platforms you utilize.

For example, if you’ve decided that Facebook is the platform you need to be on to engage with your target audience; create a fan or group page with your company’s brand name and message. Don’t use your personal Facebook page to get your company’s message out there. Keep the focus away from your personal “brand”. Joining the group or becoming a fan of your company’s page is encouraged to drive others to the page. But mixing the two is never a good idea.

Tweet this....

For those of you that do not know The Power of Twitter:

Twitter is a micro-blogging service and social network that allows users to post up to 140 characters per Tweet. According a report by Complete there are approximately 3.5 million unique monthly visitors to Twitter (http://siteanalytics.compete.com/twitter.com/?metric=uv). As of March 2008 total Twitter users was 1+million (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/29/end-of-speculation-the-real-twitter-usage-numbers/). Similar to that of text-messaging or instant messaging, questions and answers are updated instanteously allowing followers on Twitter to receive information almost before anyone else knows about it.

Case in point:

While attending a meet-up of The Boston Area Internet Marketing and Advertising Group back in July 2008, guest speaker Zach Hofer-Shall, independent Social Media consultant discussed the use and benefit of corporate blogging. During his lecture he mentioned that he knew about the July 2008 California earthquake seven minutes before it hit the news, because of Twitter.

An article from the 60Second Marketer on September 22, 2008 reported that one of the followers of 60SecondTwitter sent a Tweet alert in regards to a suspicious looking piece of luggage at JFK. She checked on CNN and MSN and had seen no other mention of it at the time. Another 60SecondTwitter follower stated that the Twitter commnity is also ahead of the online versions of the NY Times and MSNBC (http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2008/09/22/twitter-reports-news-faster-than-cnn-msn-nytimes-msnbc/ ).

Twitter has also helped get an American man out of an Egyptian jail in April 2008.

Twitter has helped build brand loyalty and increase traffic to company websites and blogs. Zappos and Comcast are the top two corporate brands that are most referenced in regards to Twitter success case studies. In the cases of Zappos and Comcast Twitter is used for brand monitoring, customer service, and reputation management.

Tweeters can have their Twitter page ranked using Twitterank, a Page Rank for Twitter uses. It uses ''back references'' to determine how valuable of a ''tweeter'' you are in Twitterverse (http://new.twitterank.com/).

Twitter language and definitions

l Twitter — noun. mirco-blogging site at Twitter.com
l Tweet — verb. act of sending a message via Twitter (one who tweets is a Tweeter)
l Re-tweet — verb. to repost another Tweeters tweet via your own twitter page (Tweeters often re-tweet)
l Tweeters — noun. people who have a Twitter account and Tweet
l Tweeps — noun. people who Tweet
l Twitterverse — noun. The world of Twitter
l Twitterville — noun. Twitter.com community
l Tweople — noun. People who Twitter

Learn something new everyday....

Via an email chain this afternoon, I found out what the 12 Days of Christmas and a Partridge in a Pear Tree stand for and wanted to pass it along.

"From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember."

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas!

Brighton, Massachusetts is a great college city minutes from Boston. The amount of restaurants and bars in Brighton make it a great destination when you are looking for Boston fun, but without having to pay those high Boston prices. Parking is free on the street at night and if you live close it’s about a $10 cab ride, at least from our apartment it is.
The past two Saturdays we’ve found ourselves at The Green Briar located on Washington Street in Brighton. It’s a quaint little Irish pub with good fun and live entertainment on the weekends. I never got the name of the band that played Saturday night, but they were really good. And my friend was pleasantly surprised to find out they served Magner’s Irish Cider.
According to their website http://greenbriarpub.com/greenbriarpub/ there’s traditional Irish Seissun on Mondays, Prime Time Trivia on Tuesdays, and College Quiz night on Wednesdays.
After last call there we all hopped a cab and headed to the Last Drop to finish off our night of drinking then someone mistakenly mentioned IHOP and we all ended up there and ran out of money………………..until next weekend!

Twitter language and definitions

Good Day,

I am working on a campaign and my driving focus is the Twitter push for an organization that is aware that Twitter exists, but currently does not participate.

Please let me know what other Twitter slang I am missing to include in my editorial to the newbies. Comments and feedback GREATLY APPRECIATED.

• Twitter — noun. mirco-blogging site at Twitter.com


• Tweet — verb. act of sending a message via Twitter (one who tweets is a Tweeter)


• Re-tweet — verb. to repost another Tweeters tweet via your own twitter page (Tweeters often re-tweet)


• Tweeters — noun. people who have a Twitter account


• Twitterverse — noun. The world of Twitter

For those who don't know: The Power of Twitter

The Power of Twitter

''Facebook is for connecting with people you used to know and Twitter is for connecting with people you should know.'' -overhead at Bloggers Meet-up October 2008

Twitter is a micro-blogging service and social network that allows users to post up to 140 characters per Tweet. Twitter was launched in July 2006 and has since become a very influential tool in social marketing. Posts can be made via web, text messages or instant messages. According to Complete there are approximately 3.5 million unique monthly visitors to Twitter (http://siteanalytics.compete.com/twitter.com/?metric=uv). As of March 2008 total Twitter users was 1+million (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/29/end-of-speculation-the-real-twitter-usage-numbers/).

Twitter has helped build brand loyalty and increase traffic to company websites. Zappos and Comcast are the top two corporate brands that are most referenced in regards to Twitter success stories. Twitter has also helped get an American man out of an Egyptian jail in April 2008.

While attending a meet-up of The Boston Area Internet Marketing and Advertising Group back in July 2008, guest speaker Zach Hofer-Shall, independent Social Media consultant discussed the use and benefit of corporate blogging. During his lecture he mentioned that he knew about the July 2008 California earthquake seven minutes before it hit the news, because of Twitter.
An article from the 60second Marketer on September 22, 2008 reported that one of the followers of 60SecondTwitter sent a Tweet alert in regards to a suspicious looking piece of luggage at JFK. She checked on CNN and MSN and had seen no other mention of it at the time. Another 60SecondTwitter follower stated that the Twitter commnity is also ahead of the online versions of the NY Times and MSNBC (http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2008/09/22/twitter-reports-news-faster-than-cnn-msn-nytimes-msnbc/ ).

Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers posted on his blog on May 4, 2008 ''12 Reasons to Start Twittering'' (http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2008/05/12-reasons-to-s.html).

1. It will enable you to experience social networking first-hand.
2. It will make you a better writer.
3. It will help you stay connected to people you care about.
4. It will help you see a new side of your friends.
5. It will introduce you to new friends.
6. It is faster than text-messaging.
7. It will make you think about your life.
8. It will help you keep up with what people are talking about.
9. It can create traffic for your blog or Website.
10. It requires a very small investment.
11. It can help build your personal “brand.”
12. It is fun! Twitter is just plain entertaining.

I only agree with 9 out of his 12 reasons. I disagree with numbers 2, 3, and 4. It does not make you a better writer. It makes you a quicker-typer and a better slang-artist, but far from great writing.
Twitter does allow you to experience social networking first-hand and it is faster than text-messaging if not the same. It also has a profound influence on creating traffic to your website.
Tweets are limited to 140 characters, therefore many Tweets are right to the point and aggregate to other sites and blogs.

(Smart) Corporations on Twitter:

(http://blog.fluentsimplicity.com/2008/04/07/connecting-with-customers-twitter/)

MediaReuters http://twitter.com/reuters

CNN http://twitter.com/cnnbrk

BBC (Off-site List) http://menti.net/?p=17

NY Times http://twitter.com/nytimes (The NYT also offers other sections in twitter)

WHP (CBS-affiliate) http://twitter.com/whptv

Wired News http://twitter.com/wired

NPR http://twitter.com/nprnews

ZDNet http://twitter.com/zdnett

Conde Nast Portfolio http://twitter.com/Portfolio

CNET News http://twitter.com/CNETNews

Revision3 http://twitter.com/revision3

Times OnLine http://twitter.com/TimesWorldNews

CBC News http://twitter.com/cbcnews

Orlando Sentinel http://twitter.com/orlandosentinel

Airlines/Travel

Carnival Cruise Lines http://twitter.com/CarnivalCruise

Delta http://twitter.com/deltaairlines

Jetblue http://twitter.com/JetBlue

Southwest Airlines http://twitter.com/SouthwestAir

Mahalo Travel http://twitter.com/mahalotravel

Retailers

Dell Outler http://twitter.com/DellOutlet

Direct2Dell http://twitter.com/Direct2Dell

Direct2Dell (China): http://twitter.com/Direct2Dell_CN

Studio Dell http://twitter.com/StudioDell

WOOT: http://twitter.com/woot

Apple: http://twitter.com/appleinc (

Questionable)Amazon.com Deals: http://twitter.com/amazondeals

Zappos http://twitter.com/zappos

Buy.com http://twitter.com/Buy_com (Questionable)

Professional Services

Forrester http://twitter.com/forrester

Deacons http://twitter.com/Deacons (*** A Law Firm!)

PerkettPR http://twitter.com/PerkettPR

Q1Labs http://twitter.com/Q1Labs

SaaS

Mzinga http://twitter.com/mzinga

Education

Career Development Office, McGill University http://twitter.com/cdolaw

Norwich University http://twitter.com/NorwichNews

Manufacturing

GM http://twitter.com/GMblogs

Ford http://twitter.com/FoMoCoNA ***Questionable

Government

LAFD http://twitter.com/LAFD

Franklin, MA PD http://twitter.com/franklinpolice (Needs more updates)

Austin, TX PD http://twitter.com/AustinPD (Why lock updates?)

Social/Blogs

Techmeme http://twitter.com/Techmeme

Mashable http://twitter.com/mashable

Engadget http://twitter.com/engadget

Technorati http://twitter.com/technorati

SocialText http://twitter.com/socialtext

Kyolo http://twitter.com/kyolo

Food/Specialty Products

M&Ms http://twitter.com/msgreen

Authors/Artists/Musicians/Etc

Henry Rollins http://twitter.com/henryrollins

Matthew Modine http://twitter.com/matthewmodine

Tweeters can have their Twitter page ranked using Twitterank, a Page Rank for Twitter uses. It uses ''back references'' to determine how valuable of a ''tweeter'' you are in Twitterverse (http://new.twitterank.com/).

The only real way to gain a better understanding of Twitter is to join; login, create an account and start Tweeting.....