Mike’s Points

If your company or clients only advertise, opportunities are missed.

If only media relations or just any other type of public relations, opportunities are missed.

If only direct mail, opportunities are missed.

If only SEO or SEM, opportunities are missed.

If only Twitter, opportunities are missed.

If only, Facebook, opportunities are missed.

If only blog, opportunities are missed.

Okay, by now you get the picture.

While my communications career has had its focus, I’ve never been a one-size-fits-all type of person. In the same way, companies should not limit themselves — budget permitting — to one communications approach.

Each communications vehicle can play off another. For example:

In advertise, beat your chest. Brag. Boast.

For media relations, educate your audience about what your ads brag about, show real-world examples, and prove to your media contacts how/why it’s news.

Then, try to combine your editorial targets with your media schedule to get more opportunity to make more and varying impressions on readers in each issue.

Take social media as another example:

If you have a Facebook Page, great. Provide value. Encourage discussion. Get feedback. Do a little self-promotion.

Complement that Facebook effort with a Twitter account to seek out those who might be interested in being part of your Facebook Page community. Facebook Pages are limited in self-promotion because Facebook’s platform is focused on individuals. That’s why you have people suggesting Pages, and companies starting off with a Profile; and later moving to a Page — asking their friends to take still another step and become fans.

But, with Twitter, you can be proactive by searching for tweeple tweeting about your terms, and then following them, engaging them and directing them to your Facebook Page.

Sure, there’s more people using Facebook than Twitter, but I’m talking about just one tactic for reaching out to prospective community members, rather than relying on your personal network or being passive.

The main point is, don’t become so narrow focused on one tactic or the latest trend. Take a look at your core needs, objectives, goals and then develop a plan — an integrated plan — of strategies and tools that will give you the best opportunity to achieve those needs, objectives and goals.

-Mike

If you’re looking for a fresh look on marketing communication program, let me know. I’d be more than happy to brainstorm with you.

*One of my main tenants in marketing communications is, go where the fish are. That is, it’s easier to develop and retain customers if you go to the places, the sites, etc., where they are then it is to try to get them to change their habits and come to you. So, if advertising is not one of the best ways to reach your marketplace — don’t advertise. If your prospects and customers are not online (that’s becoming more rare each day) — minimize your time online.

Your marketing communications approach needs to targeted around the needs of your prospects, customers and influencers, and, of course, your budget.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/certified_su/ / CC BY 2.0

Questions are great. With questions — the right questions — you can communicate your opinion while also seeking input. Of course, if you’re conducting legit market research, you don’t want leading questions.

But, if you’re in an online or social media community manager-type role, questions are a great way to obtain community input and feedback while giving the individuals in your community the opportunity to be heard and make an impact.

I’ve said all along that, in social media, you need to buy into others’ ego and that inherent need we all have to feel important. If operated correctly, an online community allows just that — while still accomplishing marketing objectives.

While all social media is about community, there are, of course, more community-focused platforms than others: Twitter, Facebook, and discussion boards* to name a few. If you’re a business or association, your followers and fans usually have some connection to you, and have accepted the marketing side of your involvement on these platforms. So, a little promotion is expected — but don’t over do it.

Below are 10 questions a business or organization can ask to give individuals in your community a voice while obtaining valuable feedback — and spurring positive branding as well. These are general and should be customize to your particular business, product, service, offering or whatever you’re trying to sell. Please add any other types of questions or feedback you have in the comments.

1. Invite community members to submit a design using your product/service/logo/etc., and then periodically use a submission for your profile or account icon. It’s a great way to see how community members visualize your brand and what they associate it with.
2. What tips do you have to share with other community members — could be tied to Brand XYZ or in general? This type of question is good if you have a cleaning product, weight-managment product, or other item where people can share their expertise on a topic wrapped around your market focus.
3. What do like best about Brand XYZ?
4. What is your favorite flavor, type, variety, meal, etc.
5. When was your first experience with Brand XYZ? How or why did you first learn of us?
6. What are suggestions do you have for improving Brand XYZ, i.e., add or get new location, flavor, design, color, functionality, etc.?
7. What could we do to get you to visit or buy more of Brand XYZ? Of course, price is always a main consideration but other than price, what? If price is the only consideration, feel free to say so.
8. When do you use or visit Brand XYZ? Does your use tie in to a particular time of day, when you first awake or are working on something late at night, when you are celebrating something, etc.?
9. What memories do you have tied to Brand XYZ?
10. Is there anyone associated with Brand XYZ — an employee or even another community member — that you’d like to give a shout-out to, helped you, made an impact, etc.

Of course, these are general questions and, as I said above, should be customized to your product, service, organization or whatever you are trying to market.

For other online community resources, I encourage you check out and follow:

• Connie Bensen, well-known community strategist who current works at Alterian-Techrigy
• Amber Naslund, who is director of community for Radian6
• Mashable’s 10 Rules for Increasing Community Engagement
• Chris Brogan’s Essential Skills for a Community Manager

Thank you!

-Mike

*On many discussion boards, unless you started it, there are limitations to the level of promotion you have. Some boards have threads dedicated for company news and such. For most threads, you have to be more generic to engage the community, but it’s still possible.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelinlibrarian/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

In the relatively short life of work-related and Internet-related software, and the even shorter life of social media, we’ve seen countless products rise to the top — only to be replaced a short time later by something else.

There was Word Perfect…now (and for a while) there’s Word.

There were WebRings…now there’s blogrolls.

We’ve come to accept that the latest new social media site and tool likely may not last long.

But, what about Facebook?

At the October 2009 Social Media Breakfast-Toledo, Curve Detroit’s Charlie Wollborg said that Facebook has staying power because of its “nesting” services. We post family photos and videos. We stay connected with friends and family. We’re not going to leave that behind.

However, I’ve always had a bit of concern over the business-related uses of Facebook. With its servers generally closed to Google, Yahoo!, Bing and other search engines, the only way I saw reaching members and gauging success was through apps and contests. And, I wasn’t alone in that view of Facebook being not business-friendly.

So I am glad to see several recent developments.

One is an opening up of Facebook to search, highlighted by Google’s recent announcements, via Inside Facebook:

This specifically means that any brand, famous individual or other Page owner who shares status updates or media like videos or photos from their Page will get this content showing up in real-time Google search results, which could increase SEO traffic for Facebook Pages.

You also can view AdAge’s story for details.

Combine the search engine news with a study about college students’ preference for Facebook, and you can easily see long-term success for Facebook.

Anderson suggests that this decrease in blogging and discussion-board visits may be because Facebook is quickly becoming more of a communications hub than a social networking site. He noted that its increasing variety of applications, functionality and flexibility enables it to deliver “one-stop shopping” in the otherwise fragmented digital space.

While Facebook may some day fade off into the sunset, it’s the shining star for now.

Point to Ponder: While Facebook may be here to stay and be tempting to use it for your business — with 350 million members worldwide — don’t rush to Facebook. Only start a Page, Group or Cause if enough of your customers and prospects are there, and if it suits your overall marketing objectives. Having a Facebook presence likely will benefit you, but just be sure it’s right for you and you know what to expect. Set objectives! I developed a simple how-to for creating a Facebook Page that you might find helpful.

Thank you.

-Mike

(The post headline is supposed to be said in the voice of a newspaper boy selling newspapers at a downtown corner. Sarcastically, of course.)

Last month, I tweeted:

Creating in social media is easy. It’s the maintaining that requires know-how, patience & time.

And, for the most part, that’s true. Social media technologies are cheap at worst; free at best. While there is value in the know-how in the creation of social media activities like a blog, a Twitter account, etc., the process often is not complicated.

So, during the past few days, I created a four-step process to create a Facebook Page. I have a few more thoughts on the social media creation v maintenance issue at my latest Toledo Social Media Examiner article.

If you want to see and download my “How to Create a Facebook Page for Your Business / Organization,” you can click on over to the Toledo Social Media Examiner article or see the file at my DocStoc account.

Of course, any feedback on the how-to will definitely be appreciated. Anything left out? How can it be better?
-Mike

Okay, if you’re an individual, naked launches are okay. I mean, just go already and do it. No planning really required.

But, if you’re a business or a similar organization, naked launches are not needed. Planning and work are required.

I define naked launches as a business or organization starting/publishing a blog, Facebook Page, YouTube channel, Twitter profile, etc., in name only. No or very little content, or solid thought as to what the heck to do with it.

I’ve seen many companies and organizations publish Facebook Pages with little more than their name, URL and logo.

Before moving on, let me say that I understand the need of businesses to protect from name squatters. Okay, save your name even if you have no plans for it — but then state your corporate ID/brand protection intentions so it is clear, and visitors know that it’s not a dead account or that you don’t know what to do with it.

So, what can you do to prevent naked launches? Here’s some help with select popular social media tools:

Twitter: First, be sure your audience (customers, prospects, influencers, etc.) are using Twitter or that you expect they will in the soon enough future.  Because Twitter is so fluid, you don’t need a detailed plan. You do need to have a plan for the types of information you will tweet. Sure, some will be broadcast, but most should be informational — adding value to the legions you hope full follow you.

Also, track key terms around your product, industry, audience, etc., so you can respond to those who have a similar interest. This will help grow your followers and help you find new people to follow. Also, be sure to fully fill out your Twitter profile. See Ford for a solid corporate example. The Toledo Museum of Art has a solid one, too.

Corp/Organizational blog: A lot of planning needs to go into a corporate or organizational blog: Decide why you should, and who you want to reach; who will blog; design (so that it mirrors your corporate look); your blogroll; and objectives to measure to gauge effectiveness.

Also, prior to launch have a couple posts done and published — one an introduction to state why you started the blog, and then a first real one. You must also have an editorial calendar or schedule of posts for the next upcoming time period. If you plan to blog daily, have the first two weeks planned and posts pretty much done; if you plan twice-a-week posts, have the first 3-4 weeks of posts in mind and started; if weekly, have the first month’s worth or more planned. And, then keep up the schedule so content stays regular.

Facebook Page*: Before publishing a Facebook Page for your organization, be sure you complete the pertinent tabs: Information on your company others will want to know; Photos of interest — and more than just your logo; Links to not only your organization but also that your fans would find helpful and of interest; and details on any Events you may have coming in the near term. For Discussions, you don’t have to start any off the bat — though it’d be nice — you should prepare a list of topics to initiate in the coming weeks and months. This is similar to the planning you should do for a blog. Having regular discussion topics will help keep the Page fresh and engage your Fans. If there are no or very few replies, switch to another form of engagement on the Page.

AND, please refrain or control your organization, communications agency and others with a vested interest from fanning your page right off the bat. Those are tainted and don’t come off as being real fans. Most other fans may not know it, but those who do will look sadly upon you. I’m not saying employees and your agency’s personnel should never do it, but when they do at first and months later, they still make up a sizeable portion of your Page, it doesn’t look favorable upon the company.

YouTube: Yes, most companies will simply upload commercials. Guess that’s okay. IF you can do other videos — like from a news conference, how-to, a commnunity volunteer effort you’re involved in, etc., — please do. YouTube offers a lot of customization for your channel to ensure it matches your corporate colors and look. Take advantage of it — before launch. When you do launch, have at least a couple videos ready. Also, keep on the look out for other channels to subscrbe to — could be customers, vendors, prospects, other organizations of interest and that could provide value to your own subscribers. A couple good examples of YT profiles include Pickens Plan (good tie to branding, but would like to see some comments — or haven’t there been any?) and Domino’s (not as strong in corp branding but plenty of positive and negative comments allowed and many non-corp favorites).

If you have other social media tools that should not be naked upon corporate launch, please share your ideas in the comments.

Take care, and thank you for reading.
-Mike

*In most business cases, you’ll want a Facebook Page, not a Group. To decide the best for you, see a post a Mashable and at Inside Facebook. AND, if you’re an organization, business, etc., DO NOT create a Facebook Profile — it’s not allowed. See the 4th question in the FB Help Section.