social media

Is Social Media More Trouble Than it’s Worth?

September 8, 2011 By Jon 10 Comments

In business there have always been people trying to get something for nothing. If you’re a consultant you probably know what I mean. The “Hey, can I buy your lunch?” which is just another way of saying: “Can I pick your brain for the cost of lunch instead of your regular consulting fee?”

On the social web there’s plenty of valuable, professional help and information out there for free.

As a content marketing strategy, it’s often in your interests to make some of your knowledge and skills available for free online. As any online marketer will tell you, it can be a great way of showing what you can do, who you are, and generating genuine interest in your business.

As the social web matures it seems to me that just being a friendly business online is an open invitation to ask for a free consultation, free advice.

In the last year I’ve been asked to:

go through a stack of Excel files by a PR agency to pin point the weakness in a campaign for a pharmaceutical corporation “because it might be of interest to you”
review at least five business websites and give “a few tips on how to incorporate social media”
provide feedback for a major, massive British brand about how they’re using social media.

From the outset the person who contacted me signaled that they were just looking for a bit of free and friendly advice. Because social media is social, right? [Read more...]

Filed Under: social media Tagged With: content marketing, marketing, social media

72 Percent of Teens Haven’t Heard of Google+

August 24, 2011 By Jon 17 Comments

An impromptu survey of the college students I’m working with this year, following on from the successes of last year’s group, revelled that an astounding 72 percent of them had never heard of Google+.

Just one student – who also happens to be building an Android app for his final year project â€“ actually had an account.

The figure for Twitter wasn’t much better. A measly 16 percent had a Twitter account.

So much for millennials being the social media generation !!!

“What’s the Point?” Dr Buscall?

When I presented Twitter to them and showed them how it worked I was met with blank looks and questions about its value.

“It seems so random!” I was told.

It was only when I started to show them how Twitter can be used in crisis management or lead generation that they began to warm up.

Only two students had an active blog, and one of those was the app developer! Two had abandoned their blogs and one wasn’t sure how to get started. [Read more...]

Filed Under: social media Tagged With: crisis management, goggle+, social media, twitter

Is Facebook’s Wall Necessary?

August 22, 2011 By Jon 28 Comments

Ssomething came up today that stopped me dead in my tracks. A company I know has decided to kill the Wall on its fledgling Facebook page.

They’ve decided to go instead with piping the latest news from their website into the FB Page via RSS.

Is This Unsocial?

I can understand the reluctance of the company to keep the Wall silent given the nature of the business â€“ I can’t go into specifics here â€“ but surely they’re missing the point of Facebook; that it’s a social media channel for engagement, and not (just) broadcasting.

Sure, I can buy the line that some people will simply find them on Facebook first and choose to follow their RSS-piped news there because it’s convenient and all in one place with their other “friends”. After all, people spend more time on Facebook than anything else other than Google.

Still, isn’t there a risk though that by playing by old school rules on a new school platform you risk alienating your audience? Or at the very least turning them off because you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing on Facebook? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: facebook, FB Pages, marketing strategy, online marketing, social media

Are You Too Visible on Social Media?

August 19, 2011 By Jon 10 Comments

Following on and developing the social media theme from last week’s show, this week I look at social media and the question of visibility.

It’s also a response to this week’s earlier blog post on Google+.

Bottom line: Do you really need to be on Google+ at all?

[Right click to download]

If you like this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: google, online presence, social media, visibility

Admit it! You’re Terrified of Google+

August 17, 2011 By Jon 27 Comments

Right now it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re confused and rather scared. Just when you were getting to grips with Facebook and maybe Twitter, suddenly along comes Google+.

In the month or so that I’ve been on Google+ I’ve been watching it grow from a gentle breeze to a rumble of thunder, partly with fascination but also horror.

Horror, because I haven’t quite figured out its point of differentiation yet.

To begin with it felt like a Facebook clone but now it’s more like the bastard cousin of Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and Skype. And I don’t get it.

Are Your Struggling Too?

So as a business user what do you make of it all ?

Are you on Google+ yet with a defined purpose in mind or are you just looking around, there because you’re afraid the next Pbig thing might pass you by.

I can see that like Twitter and Facebook it’s all very nice and dandy for engaging, connecting, ~~wasting time~~ and getting your thoughts and ideas noticed by others. But doesn’t Twitter do that? And, besides, a lot of my connections from Twitter are now doubling up on Google+ too. So where do I follow them? Where do we connect?

I’d be anxious about losing track of people across the holy trinity of social media sites â€“ Facebook, Twitter and Google+ â€“ if it wasn’t for the fact I’m trying to finish a business kit I’m planning to launch during the fall.

Perhaps I’d get more out of Google+, understand it better, if it was on HootSuite: another stream to follow, another account to post to direct to just like all the rest.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: social media Tagged With: facebook, friendfeed, google, social media, twitter