I’ve only been on Twitter for a few months, but already I feel I have a great sense of how people and brands should be using the service. For me, the easiest thing is to model yourself after @chrisbrogan or @guykawasaki. They are very smart, offer plenty of content/links/info and are not boring. They are professional, transparent and come across as nice guys. This should be no different if you are a large corporation.
Ogilvy PR has developed a Twitter best practices of sorts, highlighting the best do’s and don’ts to being a successful Twitterer.
Here’s a little taste:
DO be dedicated to Twitter. Chris Brogan recommends having more than one employee on Twitter so ensure an ongoing presence. (@BaskinRobbins could have continued to grow their presence on Twitter, but instead lasted only 1 month)
DON’T use Twitter to tell your everyday tasks, make sure your Tweets are resourceful, entertaining and/or valuable to your followers
I wouldn’t say anything on this post is anything ground breaking, but it is definitely a good collection of practices to keep in mind, and would be a great guide for the new user/social media dud. Be sure to follow me on Twitter! @brandonzeman
You’ll find this bit of news all over the web; Google is implementing search suggestion over the next week or so. What you may not find all over the web are SEO tips for maximizing traffic from these suggestions. Fear not, friends. SEOBook is ahead of the game on this one, and lays out what other features Google is implementing, the effect they will have on search, and what YOU can do to stay optimized.
Finally learned how to take screenshots from my iPhone. I’m always curious to see what apps people are running or what sites make it to their home pages. I won’t do an ‘app review’ because that’s been done a million times already. Instead, I will just share my new found excitement and let you see what I’m working with!
Ben Parr of Mashable writes a very exciting post today for those who currently have and hope to find a job in social media, myself included. Ben discusses the current popular status of social media jobs, and his outlook for the near future. Ben writes:
“Even if the title changes, the role of the social media marketer or manager is not going anywhere. Building community, reaching out to potential customers, building stronger relationships, creating buzz – they are fundamental goals to every company. So long as people use social media to share their thoughts and their complaints, the need for people to fill social media jobs will continue to grow.”
This is good news. For one, it validates that social media as a whole is very valuable to marketers, and will figure to be increasingly prevelant as more of us social media junkies get hired and do our trade. Social media should continue to grow despite the weak economy and fact that many companies are slashing marketing spending. Why? Most social media opportunities are free, or very inexpensive. Even hiring just one coordinator to run your blogs and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook is much more cost effective at establishing relationships with consumers than blowing tens of thousands of dollars on a local cable spot, for example.
Additionally, consumers are much more price sensitive today and look to the internet for price saving information. Social media has the opportunity to inform consumers of sales and discounts via microblogging updates,(see Dell’s Outlet on Twitter) and keep loyal customers involved through blogs and social networking sites. Add the fact that people are staying at home more due to high gas prices, consumers will be spending more time online-which means more face time with your brand.
Note: Parr’s post provides a link to a Jeremiah Owyang post that is an unbelieveable resource of social media professionals and the companies that employ them. Jeremiah also has some pretty good links for job seekers and employers looking to connect; see them here.
I subscribe to J.Crew’s emails, and often receive offers and discounts which I tend to trash immediately- I NEVER spend enough to actually apply the discounts. Today, however, I received something much different. It was an apology from J.Crew Chairman and CEO Millard Drexler, and President Tracy Gardner. Apparently, the retailer has been having some issues with customers ordering online and via phone.
I have differing opinions about the apology. At first glance, I thought how rare it is to see a sincere apology from a retailer, let alone a large company. I commended J.Crew for caring about customer experiences and making an honest effort to retain their business.
But as I’ve thought about it a little further, I’m not completely sold. I didn’t experience any problems or issues because I didn’t purchase from them online or over the phone. Should I be apologize to? Probably not. Admitting fault is always right, but J.Crew would have been far better served using their data to apologize to those actually affected by their ‘issues.’ Also, I question just how sincere the apology is; it is not written in the “you view” whatsoever, and simply makes excuses why issues occurred. It also leaves the customer very left out- what problems led to the issues? What ‘enhancements’ are being made that will improve customer experiences? J.Crew had an opportunity to be transparent with consumers and deepen existing relationships by offering more insight and perhaps better incentives to remain loyal customers. Instead, they went with a half-hearted email apology. Hopefully they know their customers better than I do.
I’ve had this theme for a little bit now, and I’ve finally taken the time to do something with the change in colors option. Each color now has a nifty themed header! Feel free to check them all out, and stick with the one that makes you feel best today. I plan on rotating headers in and out every few weeks- be sure to keep an eye out for new designs!
I’m a pretty big fan of Facebook- not so much the company itself, but more so the interactions I have with my friends on the site. I don’t really have a ton of applications, and it was even a stretch for me adding Bumper Stickers, although I enjoy them now. That said, I’m sure you can think of someone who is really obsessed with FBook, has an obscene amount of apps and is a self-professed Facebook Creeper.
This video, taken from Current, cracks my shit up. It really plays into how obsessed people are/can get with Facebook, and puts it in a very entertaining form. Enjoy.
