Category: Marketing

  • Being There is Not a Strategy

    I had a great opportunity to run a working session at PodCamp NH 2010 this weekend on social media strategy. I presented a few slides for a framework, and then an excellent discussion followed. Being There is Not a Strategy Four people volunteered to talk about their goals so we could work on them together.…

  • Rule #3: Be The Gatekeeper

    When you’re engaging with anyone online, rule #3 is “Be The Gatekeeper” You should never be a roadblock. Give customers a clear path. Just being there isn’t enough. Communication has to go both ways. You now have access to incredible feedback you used to have to pay a lot of money for. Lead customers to…

  • Followers vs. Community

    Rich Millington, on his FeverBee – The Online Community Guide blog shared two posts recently about a following vs. community: Why Most Organizations Shouldn’t Try To Create An Online Community and Clarity – What’s a Community? A Following = an audience that interacts with you A Community = an audience that interacts with each other…

  • What I want in a Social CRM (for me)

    I’m on a quest to find a Social CRM to help me keep my people information at my fingertips. Here’s how I currently try to track everything: Address Book (2,000+ entries) My address book is an extension of my brian.  I’ve been using it for keeping track of people I’ve met for years now.  It’s…

  • Rule #2: Address The Need

    When you’re engaging with anyone online, rule #2 is “Address The Need”. Everyone needs something.  We listen, we may even understand what we’re being asked — but it that what they really need?  If you’re engaging online, make sure you’re actually addressing the need. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently after a discussion…

  • Rule#1: Be Real

    When you’re engaging with anyone online, rule #1 is “Be Real”. The world is full of bots (both human and digital.)  Your customers are people, it’s ok to be a person t00. Be a face, not a name (or logo) Don’t just broadcast, have a conversation Be open and honest Be Yourself!

  • Who does your incentive program benefit and is it clear?

    Some of you know I have a bit of a Starbucks addiction. (I’m even the mayor of several Starbucks on Foursquare). I was never a fan of paying to join member rewards programs, but last year I talked myself into buying the Starbucks Gold card.  By swiping the card at the register with each purchase,…

  • Facebook, enforcing like-ability, inspiring confusion?

    I logged onto the Facebook Page I manage earlier today to find this message. That message made sense to me, but I made the mistake of clicking “Learn more“.  It put me on a 7 section, 30 question FAQ.  I went for the “Liking” a Page section, hoping I was in the right place. Why…

  • Social media: swarm vs. strategy?

    So you’ve listened and maybe engaged in social media, now what? It’s important to be there since the conversations are already happening, but have you integrated that work into your overall strategy?  I was on a call Friday with a PR firm talking about social media strategy.  When I think about what many of us…

  • When is it ok to ignore a comment, tweet, etc?

    There’s a ton of advice out there that you ignore social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) at your own peril.  I’m having a difficult time finding best practices on when you may need to use ignoring as an approach — or is it something you should never do? I’d love to know how you feel…