Eight Great Social Media Reads
Out of all of the thinking, blogging, tweeting, posting, and speaking on the subject, here are some of the most practical – and thought-provoking articles on the topic. 1) When users defect:...
View ArticleWhat’s your 365?
January 11, 2006 holds a special significance. Over a decade before that date I had put the Toronto Star online, as well as completed substantive work with the Globe and Mail and several major book...
View Article17 Ways to Great Social Engagement
Have you ever been disappointed with the engagement level of your blog? Have you decided that this year something “better happen”, to make it all worthwhile? If so, you’re not alone. Here are 17...
View ArticleViewpoint: Social Media – Going Out of Business
Before Social Media really took off, the number of tools for engaging stakeholders online was very, very small. You could create a bulletin board on your site. An interactive calculator. A...
View ArticleSocial Media Planning Calendar
How do you organize your Social Media activities? Most people have a system – whiteboards, excel documents, Google Calendar, or often, scraps of paper. Unfortunately, none of these are particularly...
View ArticleScenario Planning: Social Response Strategy
What do you do when you are disappointed with a product or service that you have purchased? Most people turn to the web: a quick check on Google solves many problems. And a few choice words on...
View ArticleSocial Relevance: Improving Your Signal-to-Noise Ratio
No one cares about you – they care about how you can solve their problems. Write for your readers. These two expressions epitomize the most important marketing (and social media) concept: relevance....
View ArticleSocial Over-Indulgence
Social Media is here. It’s everywhere. In fact, the absence of it sends a signal that the sponsoring organization is completely disconnected, un-hip, and behind the times. Unfortunately, this zeal to...
View ArticleTwitter Strategy, Take Two
Are you one of the millions who remain mystified about Twitter? While I’ve written about this before (Twitter Strategies), I thought it might be worthwhile to boil it down again, but from a different...
View ArticleBack-Stories, Lessons, Ali, and Hymie
Perhaps you know an Ali or a Hymie. Ali is just finishing his degree in biology. Hymie is 92, and sits on a stool in a restaurant all day, watching people come and go. Both Ali and Hymie share two...
View ArticleWhen Sharing is not a Good Idea
If you have spent any time on Facebook (and now, sadly, LinkedIn), you may have been the victim of over-sharing. You are subjected to pointless, and often narcissistic postings, often from people and...
View ArticleProtecting your Digital Cargo
Every organization owns intellectual property: in fact, this recorded knowledge is often key evidence of expertise, capability, and fit. So if it is that valuable, how do you protect it from being...
View ArticleTime for a Twitter Wall?
Have you ever been responsible for a meeting and a conference, and you’ve thought to yourself – or you’ve been told – that it is time that your meeting incorporates Twitter? Or the young keener in...
View ArticleTime for a Twitter Wall? (Part Two)
Looking for the fine print on successfully using Twitter at your event? Here is Part two: [Read part one] 1) Choose a hashtag: Choosing a unique hashtag is critical; if you choose one that another...
View ArticleFour Steps from Social Strategy to Successful Sales
With all of the focus on social media strategy, wouldn’t it be nice to actually use social media to grow sales? Not improve awareness, develop the brand, help with marketing, or “continue the...
View ArticleSelling Products using Social Media
Forget likes, shares, retweets, and comments: how can you use Social Media to actually sell products? (Here’s a post on selling services.) To do so effectively means understanding two key concepts:...
View ArticleLipstick on a Pig: Is this the new Social Media?
You may be one of those unlucky individuals who cannot “do” any social media at work. Not because you don’t know how, or don’t want to, but because your workplace policy prevents you from doing so. Or...
View ArticleViewpoint: The End of Social Media
Here’s a bold prediction: The End of Social Media. Yes, despite the success of the Twitter IPO, and before that, Facebook’s public offering, social media is quickly moving to its end. Consider the...
View ArticleBuilt for it
Why are some things easier to do, and others so hard? Yes, knowledge is important – but this can be improved through training. Yes, attitude is crucial: if you don’t enjoy doing something, there is...
View ArticleTwitter Strategy, Take Three
“Blogs are like articles that people can comment on. YouTube is like TV, but with voting.” But what about Twitter? Many leaders are not yet convinced that Twitter makes sense to them. (Or that...
View ArticleTesting the Social Conversation
Have you ever put your social influence to the test? Or said another way, do others find you half as interesting as you do yourself? If you’re not sure, here are seven ideas that might spur some...
View ArticleSeven Reasons to Skip Social Media
If you read anything, anywhere about marketing, sales, customer service, recruiting, IT, or executive leadership, you can’t help but notice that Social Media seems to have become mandatory – full stop....
View ArticleAn Optimal Twitter Schedule
After participating in a recent panel discussion, I was approached by David Shlagbaum, a senior partner in a downtown law firm. He reminded me of a lunch we shared, where he had asked me how often he...
View ArticleSocial Media Slimming Down: Costly or Gone
There is no question that LinkedIn is one of the most powerful networking platforms around. It connects, credentializes, and recruits. It provides a glimpse into the professional lives of those we...
View Article20 Year Internet Anniversary
What were you doing on the Internet 20 years ago, circa 1993/1994? At that time, there were only between 200 and 2000 websites, depending on how you counted. Most people had no idea what the web was...
View Article17 Ways to Reduce Engagement
Is Engagement at the center of your social media strategy? Likely yes. But is it possible that you are working at cross-purposes, spending time and resources on negative activities that actually...
View ArticleLinkedIn Groups: to join or not?
“You have been invited to be part of the LinkedIn group ABCDE.” With millions of groups available and more created every day, it is tempting to join – but should you? There is nothing wrong with a gut...
View ArticleReal World or Digital
Despite the near ubiquity of Social Media, you can’t say hello to your Starbucks barista there. You can’t see your team’s body language during a meeting. You can’t celebrate with friends and family...
View ArticleSocial Media: Buy or Rent?
What do houses, cars, and Social Media all have in common? For one thing, they all share a primary question: Buy or Rent. Buy a house, or look for a rental? Buy a car, or lease it? And should we...
View ArticleGrowing Social Legs: Event-powered Communities
I recently had the opportunity to briefly meet Lixin Fan, director of the film, I Am Here, at TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival. A documentary film maker, he described the challenge of...
View ArticleFour Tests for Auditioning your Posts
Have you ever considered whether you should comment on a post that mentions you or your organization? As a leader, have you ever been concerned that someone in your organization might choose to respond...
View ArticleThree Social Strategies
Most organizations invest in their social footprint. They start with a strategy, then execute it, monitor it, and if they are good, they feed these results back into the strategy. A feedback loop is...
View ArticleSocial ROI: Connecting Community to Commitment
Do you have a creeping feeling that you will never get an adequate return on your Social Media investment? If so, you’re probably right. To improve Social ROI requires three key ingredients: the first...
View ArticleFinding the Social Media Tipping Point
How do you know the “right” amount of Social Media? Too little Social Media is like spitting into the wind: no traction and no impact. It also leads to discouragement: if the efforts are not making a...
View ArticleLinkedIn Connection Policies
Must you be everyone’s friend? Or perhaps from a practical perspective, must you accept everyone’s LinkedIn connection request? The answer for most people, and for many reasons, is a resounding no....
View ArticleBuilding Downstream Capacity
Have you ever heard the expression “you’re only as strong as your friends?” No where is this more true than with digital marketing, and particularly with Social Media. Too achieve a particular...
View ArticleBuilding engagement and community
Engagement and community both seem to be the ultimate goals for those involved in the Social Media game. Yet building it seems shrouded in mystery; ask many successful community managers, and it is a...
View ArticleBuilding a collaborative culture: seven internal social media tactics
With so much focus on public social media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc), many are now questioning how these same social media concepts might be used within the organization. The fact is that...
View ArticleIdentifying and reducing Facebook risks
While many people enjoy Facebook for personal use (connections to family and friends, posting photos, playing games), does it really have a role in business? Whether the answer is yes or no, one thing...
View Article23 Reasons to Skip Social Media
There are many reasons why an investment in Social Media makes sense, but precious little about why it may not. After advising on digital strategy and online engagement for over 23 years, here are 23...
View ArticleInstant Messaging: Channel of Choice?
When you reach out to your members, clients, suppliers, regulators, or other stakeholders, how do you do it? In the olden days it was the telex. Today, we choose between courier, the postal service,...
View ArticleSocial Media Mistakes: Back to First Principles
With all of the fancy tools and sophisticated strategies, sometimes we forget how easy it is to make a mistake – and not of the typographical variety. From time to time, it is a good practice to go...
View ArticleReputation Rescue
Have you ever been in a situation where your personal reputation has been called into question online? Or your organization’s brand is under attack from a special interest group, and it is emerging...
View ArticleDigital Efficiency and Findability: Anchors and Outposts
Where do you call your social home? Likely it includes LinkedIn and Facebook. Perhaps YouTube and Twitter. But what about Instagram, Pinterest, Vimeo and Flickr? Or, the 500+ other social networks that...
View ArticleViewpoint: The End of Twitter?
Here’s a not-so-bold prediction: Twitter is in its death throes. It won’t be around in just a few short years. And when this happens, there will be no shortage of pundits who: “saw it all coming”, or...
View ArticleFacebook as a Leadership Tool – You Be the Judge
For many individuals, Facebook is a way to connect with friends, family, and just possibly, play a few games. For professional marketers, Facebook is a way to grow the brand, nurture a community of...
View ArticleLinkedIn Connection Policy
Do you accept every LinkedIn connection request that comes your way? Or are you somewhat selective? More importantly, is there an overall approach that can help you make this decision in a somewhat...
View ArticleEyeballs and Friends: A Social Media Crash?
What do eyeballs and friends have in common with each other? Except for the fact that your friends have eyeballs, not much. Or do they? Let’s go back to the year 1999, the time the unshakeable belief...
View ArticleCustomer Service: Automated, Templated, or Customized
Many organizations struggle with setting up a social media (or email) response strategy. How do you trust front line staff to answer properly, if they don’t know the policies? How do you have a...
View ArticleChecklist: 20 Top News Sharing Ideas
When there is important news, how do you share it? At the 30,000 foot level, the answer is simple: send an email and put it on Social Media. When it comes to execution, however, many organizations...
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