Blogs. 

Maybe it’s the name that caused me to disregard them at first.  “Blog” is awfully close to “glob,” after all.  Maybe it’s because anyone can start one, on any topic (or no topic) on a whim.  Whatever it was, it took me a long while to take blogs seriously.  Yet at every turn, blogs were taking root, becoming more and more viable in the mix of communications. 

Eventually, the cream rises to the top in the blogging universe.   While there’ll always be ‘globs’ out there, great blogs have secured notable followings thanks to their quality of content, great writing and interactivity.  I finally logged on and tuned in to the fact that blogs were real, important and here to stay (heck, I’ve joined ‘em!).

Blogs are undeniably part of the communications mix.  When creating PR campaigns today, I include blogs on the media list.  As a matter of fact, while my traditional media lists continue to dwindle, my new media lists—anchored by blogs—keep growing and morphing, taking a stronger place of prominence in my PR efforts.

This can be great news for small businesses, in which relationships are everything.  Blogs are often entities unto themselves, not bogged down by stringent editorial constraints or blighted by the need to feature news from advertisers.  Blogs are commonly very niched, and their readerships are loyal, personal and vocal.  This is true even when a blog is affiliated with a traditional media outlet.

Here are some key points I will cover this week. 

• Your customers are reading blogs; you need to read them, too.
  
• Blogs are viable opportunities for advertising.
  
• Blogs must be included in your media lists for PR activities.
  
• Even if you never become a blogger, you can have a voice in the blogging universe.
  
• You can build real relationships with real people online, and increased sales is the wonderful residual.
  

Log back on Tuesday and Wednesday as I round out this topic with some ‘apply-now’ tips that will help take your small biz to the big time!

THANKS!

I thought 2009 was going to be painfully quiet.  Back in November, a few clients decreed they were shutting off the marketing waterworks for the year.  They immediately tightened the valve on all spending and capped the pipes on big ticket items.  They ixnayed everything from trade show participation to new product launches and pulled back on ongoing PR campaigns and trade advertising.

Yet January came around, and the tap was still dripping—steadily.  By mid-January, there was a full stream of marketing activity from clients who’d otherwise decreed ’09 would be bone dry.  No, they didn’t resurrect any projects that had been capped.  So what did they spend on?

Websites and videos-for-web—across the board!

My first quarter was chock full of website projects—new sites, as well as additions and updates to existing ones.  And there were a couple times I couldn’t have been busier with video productions.  Companies want their sites to be alive with video, animation and motion.

Ultimately, it wasn’t that there was no money for marketing this year; it was that there was only money for sure things, for future-focused alternatives that were more certain investments.  My clients are still (wisely) spending on their websites and videos to go on those sites. 

Certainly, there’s plenty of news to support this strategy.  Across the board, we’re gravitating more and more to the Internet for information, and we’re attuned to the splash and dazzle of video to convey that information.

Just last Thursday, we learned new research organized by the Nielsen Company clocks our daily ‘screen time’ at a record 8.5 hours.  Adults are face to face with screens (from TVs to computers to GPS units to cellphones) over 8 hours daily.  With news like that, it’s safe to say for my client base, the days of 20,000-brochure print runs are all but gone, as people grow more accustomed to logging on to web pages than flipping through real one to get information. 

This news comes on the heels of reports from Aberdeen and Forrester documenting notable planned increases in spending for social media for notable marketers and “best-in-class” companies.  While social media spending is still small relatively speaking, it is important to see where companies are willing to increase expenditures at all these days.  Online presences are undeniably important, and decision makers are willing to increase their investment accordingly.

What does this mean for small biz?  The playing field is more level online and is certainly worth investing in for the promotion of your business.  It's not just about affordability.  It's about reach, presence and connection.  It's about the present and the future.  Spending on your web presence is spending wisely, as the potential pay-off is great.

A penny for your thoughts! 

Please share with me what you seen in terms of 1st quarter spending for '09.  Any surprises?  Seen anything like I've just reported here?  I'd love to hear what's going on in your corner of the wide world.  Email me at irene@socialmediaconnection.com anytime!

More tomorrow...

In my day job (a.k.a., my “pay job!”), I’m a copywriting, strategic planning, tactic implementing PR and marketing consultant.  Just this morning, I finished up some copy for a promo piece for a holding company, in which I was charged to convey the contrast of the company’s global knowledge and market-centric perspective , in a single paragraph. 

A self-acknowledged “Word Nerd,”  I love assignments like that.  I love having to encapsulate grand thoughts in 50 words or less.  I’ve built a fun career on my ability to collect lumbering piles of (seemingly) disjointed information and synthesize them into useful, pertinent messages.  And when a message I helped create actually reaches somebody and motivates response, I couldn’t be more pleased.

As I wrote that copy today, it occurred to me that “Small Biz Big Time” is yet another chance for me to synthesize lots of information into practical, applicable messages.  That’s why I’m already loving this platform and the wonderful purpose of it.  I’m making it my mission to whittle through the inundating clutter and glut of information to carve out news-you-can-use and ideas-you-can-apply. 

You are busy; let me help illuminate the pertinent messages for you!

To that end, I’m trying to put some skin on the whole topic of “social media for business.”  In other words, I’m focused on giving real life examples that personalize the  often cerebral and elusive discussions floating around on the Internet. 

I’ve already got two Small Biz Big Time episodes in the video editing suite, each one featuring a small business person using social media in very relatable (yet very different) ways.  Trust me, I know your time is valuable, so please be assured; each episode will be well worth the 5 to 7 minutes you’ll spend watching. 

Additionally, I’ve got even more great stories in the queue to pursue...stories of real people working in an array of industries (i.e. a B&B operator, an attorney, a teddy bear designer), all using social media to grow their businesses.  I’m so excited to tell these stories!

...And speaking of “synthesizing information”...

I’ve created my own “Alltop” page.  Alltop is a service that helps collect and organize information on “all topics” throughout the web.  Visit my page to find a vast collection of small business news, from respected blogs and magazines throughout the Web.

Small Biz Big Time’s Alltop Page!
http://my.alltop.com/smallbizbigtime

Happy Friday!

Follow me on Twitter!

Connect with me on LinkedIn!

 

In case you’re new to this whole “social media” thing, let me introduce you to a basic tenet.  “Markets are conversations.”  (You can thank a fellow named Doc Searles and his many proselytizers for that simply encapsulated truth). 

If you live online at all, you know we’re not merely recipients of information; we are the publishers, the idea generators, the authors, the messengers.  We get a voice and a choice online!

That sounds very empowering, but as I addressed a couple days ago in “Got a Hang Up About Blogging?”, there are droves of business people who simply aren’t inclined to write or put themselves ‘out there’ on a regular basis, let alone sit in front of their computers for extended lengths of time.  Perhaps I’m describing you.  You take in plenty of info online, and you understand there’s value in being part of the conversation.  But you’re locked down, wondering what you should say and when or where to say it.

So you’re clearly not ready to commit to a blog.  Why not commit to comment? 

Consider utilizing comments as a means of joining the conversation.  Comments are a low pressure means of sharing your own perspectives and creating an online presence.  Trust me, for bloggers and journalists who’ve committed to creating content online,  comments are assurance that people are reading and reacting.  And we all have a deep need to be heard. 


Comment sincerely.
OK...the PR girl in me demands I start with this pointer, and the truth behind it extends beyond this blog’s topic to anything I will ever attempt to illuminate for you.  Please, only comment—only speak up and draw attention to yourself—from a place of sincerity.  Only comment when what you’ve read or seen genuinely evokes a response. 

Do not narrow the art of commenting down to be so tactical that it becomes abundantly clear you’re only reason for saying something is shameless self-promotion.  It’s counterproductive to draw attention to yourself, then have nothing of substance to contribute.  A comment is not a classified ad!

Comment early. 
If you truly want to be part of a conversation, you don’t sit in the back of the room, outside the core circle of discussion.  Get in the mix, front and center!  If you’re inspired to comment, do your best to speak up early.  Being the first in what becomes a long trail of comments, you’ll find other people may be led to respond to you as much as the article.

Comment regularly.
Once you start reading with the intent to join in conversation, you’ll likely hone in on a set of media outlets, specific bloggers and journalists that you really connect with.  Obviously, if you’re a regular reader, you likely could become a regular commenter.  By responding—with sincerity!—on a regular basis, you’re not just conversing.  You’re building community.

Comment purposefully.
In commenting, don’t regurgitate what the author’s already made plain, and don’t use confuse a comment with a critique. Comments can be a way to thank the author for starting a conversation, for offering a personal anecdote or sharing further information or insight. 

Comment confidently.
Write in such a way that you’ll be confident putting your name on what you’ve written.  From accurate spelling and grammar to well-substantiated thoughts, you should only leave comments for which you’ll gladly identify yourself.

Comment openly.
Always identify yourself. If you’ve contributed something worthwhile to the conversation, you’ve earned the opportunity to mention who you are and what company you represent.  As a matter of fact, if people have appreciate the quality of your comments, they will want to know whence you came.

I welcome your comments, of course!  Look for more buzz on small biz tomorrow...  

Follow me on Twitter!

Connect with me on LinkedIn!

The writing may be on the wall posting for direct mail, according to two recent industry reports.  The ’08 stats are in, and they undeniably reveal that marketers are rapidly and notably turning away from direct mail.

For the first time since direct mail records started in 1945, direct mail volume and, thus, spending dropped in 2008.  And the drop was significant.  A white paper released by the Winterberry Group documents a 2.9% decrease in direct mail spending last year, while Mintel Comperemedia’s ’08 study reveals a 12.1% decrease in volume across “leading vertical industries.” 

The Winterberry Group projects this falling trend will continue another 8 - 9% in 2009.

For decades, marketers have found direct mail effective.  They must’ve known direct mail works to continue to send it in increasing volumes since 1945, in spite of our collective complaints about “junk mail.”  Clearly, ’08 brought new and unique challenges in terms of rising costs and the evolving economic crisis, motivating marketers to pull back on direct mail.

Of course, It’s logical to presume that this rampant decrease in direct mail volume and spending means efforts are being diverted to more cost-effective digital alternatives.  The Winterberry survey reports increases in e-mail campaigns and search optimization.

As a marketing and PR consultant by trade, I can certainly confirm these stats as accurate in my corner of the world.  My clients, all of whom are proceeding with caution in 2009, are still investing in their websites, e-blasts and online tactics.  There’s rarely a mention of a direct mail campaign, save for an invitation or two prior to major events.  Even then, the direct mail is done in supplement to the primary, digital campaign (rather than vice versa as was formerly the common tactic).

For small businesses looking to go big time, the evolution to online opens many opportunities.  The playing field can be much more level online, as digital promotional campaigns prove to be cost-effective (no more fretting over postage rate hikes and rising printing costs!), very targeted and immediately altered based on response.

And for business owners who artfully couple these ever-emerging direct, electronic promotions with use of social media, it’s full steam ahead! 

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/smallbizbigtime.
Link with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/irenewriter.

And look for more small biz buzz tomorrow!

So...by trade you’re a dry cleaner.  You know about garment cleaning/care/preservation, alterations and tailoring, small business operations and customer service.  Yet as the economy chips away from even your most loyal customers’ willingness to spend on clothing care, you realize it’s time to up the ante in terms of self promotion.

You’re in the monthly coupon clipper and still spend on some Yellow Page presence (print and online).  The store front has new signage.  You still get decent word-of-mouth.  And you even have a web page up, a simple site with downloadable coupons. 

Yet now you’re being told that you—a dry cleaner!—should start blogging to attract customers. 

You’re not a writer.  Other than scribbling your name on checks, you can’t recall the last time you put words to page.  And the computer?  Forget about it!  You’re more at ease behind the counter than in front of the keyboard.  Yet you know you need to do something to stand out as an expert, jar your customers’ interest and ultimately inspire response.

First of all, it’s fair to openly state that blogging is not for every business person.  However, the reason for not blogging should never be “I have nothing to say.”  You should know your business, industry, practices, techniques and your market well enough to always have information and opinions on it. 

Reasons for not blogging may be lack of time or genuine lack of interest.  Also, you should never blog until you can explain how the effort will help build your business.  You’ve got to be able to articulate the potential ROI, or the blogging endeavor will lead nowhere.

Presuming, you—the dry cleaner!—are interested enough to spare time and effort on blogging, and you can express that a blog will position you as an expert, give your business a relatable personality and be used as a tool to create presence with potential customers on the web through social networks, you’re ready to blog. 

Of course, there’s that pesky “I hate writing” thing.  No problem!  Here are a few tips to help you blog without having to write very much.

Pictures are worth thousands of words
Tell the story of your dry cleaning and alterations expertise through photos.  Keep a digital camera by the counter and grab before and after shots of garments you’ve brought back to life.  Caption the photos with simple phrases about what you did to make the difference.

You can even photograph topic-specific services.  Snap pictures of a wedding gown throughout the process of being preserved.  Give us an insider’s look at the elusive fur storage area. 

Think big and small for your photo stories.  That wedding gown you preserved may hold numerous post-worthy blogs.  Beyond the bigger story of gown preservation, you could address storage methods, show images of beading being repaired, and so on.  You could throw in some fun stats on the photo captions, i.e. “We’ve preserved over 70 gowns in the last 5 years.”

Say “What They Said”
The web is a borderless universe of potential content.  Perhaps you happen upon some well spoken dry cleaning information in another blog.  If you’re a member of an association for your industry, there may be a website to which you can refer for content. 

You can quote and link back to other articles, for which other authors have done the heavy lifting.  Throw in your own introductory and summary messages to give the blog posting your special touch.  In the world of web content, most bloggers are more than happy for the acknowledgement.  Plagiarism is never acceptable, but quoting, links and trackbacks are common and typically welcome.

Go for quality not quantity
Blog at a pace that works for you.  If you steamroll into blogging, you’ll likely burn out fast.  Though the web loves fresh content, I advise it’s better to go with one great entry every other week...or even once a month...than to blurt out weak content every day.  Remember, the effort never ends at the blog posting; you need a system of disseminating and sharing your blog content with your customers.  That’s a tall order to fulfill on a daily basis, especially for small business owners.  Dip your toe in the water, get a feel for how this will work for you and ease into the pool; a hasty splash in the deep end may leave your blog all wet.

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/smallbizbigtime.
Link with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/irenewriter.

And look for more small biz buzz tomorrow!

I recently interviewed a business owner for an upcoming edition of “Small Biz Big Time.”  A successful designer/builder who’s been in the industry for years, he’s presently experiencing something unusual:  bouts of non-activity and a phone that rings only intermittently.  The economy is directly impacting his volume of work; existing clients are holding off, and potential clients rarely emerge.

So what does a fellow who’s used to a cacophony of hammering, drilling, ringing cell phones and work crew banter do with the quiet?  Well, this particular fellow is finally getting acquainted with his computer keyboard and the world of conversations he can access via a few points and clicks. 

He’s heard much about Twitter, blogging and the like, but was previously not motivated to explore these things because word-of-mouth referrals kept coming in steadily.  Thankfully, this business owner is attuned to the reality that the altered flow of referrals today may not be seasonal.  Even when the economic conditions turn, the way consumers get information and connect with potential service providers may not.  Social networking has taken root, and savvy entrepreneurs are signing on to make sure they’re not left out of the conversation.

Here are three smart moves this business person’s made in this slow time.

1.  Site inspection
Finally, he’s gotten his website in order.  He’s long acknowledged the need for a site update, to better convey his company’s message.  Yet he’d previously been too busy on work sites to worry about his website.  Now, he’s diverted his energies into getting the site where it needs to be going forward, “getting the site up to code” so to speak.

2.  Hammering out a blogging strategy
In updating his web site, he made the commitment to a blog.  He’s included a link to his soon-to-start blog on the site’s navigation, so there’s no sidestepping the need to keep fresh content up.   And while he prepare to launch this new activity, he’s identified some good blogs for inspiration.  He’s reading, observing, reviewing—assessing ‘properties’ and getting acquainted with the landscape.

3.  Taking a DIY approach
While he’d previously planned to contract out all his online activities, he now has time to test out a few tools himself.  Though an outside firm was already involved on his website, he’s opted to set up his blog (a Wordpress link from his main site) as a DIY project.  He’s even tackled a basic web page design for an ancillary site, in order to learn some of the lingo and meet a need in a cost-effective way.  When business picks up down the road, he may delegate these tasks again, yet for now, he’s gaining hands-on understanding and appreciation for how these tools work.

Knowing his business’ feast-or-famine nature, he’s already addressing the need to engage any social networking and online marketing tools in a manageable way.  He’s got an eye for design and a knack for fixing and building, but he’s much more at ease using those skills out on a job site and not at a computer.  He’s looking and listening first to see what’s going to fit his business best.  Better to build a bungalow that you can afford to furnish versus a mansion you’ll never be able to upkeep or decorate to scale. 

Here’s a good article he may benefit from reading as he grapples with fitting all this into his daily work.  http://tinyurl.com/awuajd - Time Management in the Age of Social Meda

Look for this interview coming soon to “Small Biz Big Time!” 
Thanks,
Irene

Follow me on Twitter - @smallbizbigtime

Back when Total Quality Management was first coming on the scene for American businesses, it was the Quality Manager's job to learn how to do it, how it applied to the company's business and then teach the rest of the company what to do so they could implement the new technology and contribute to the bottom line. Today, TQM is built into most successful organizations at all levels and there may be no single person with the title Quality Manager. Back then, however, as the technology was being adopted, the Quality Manager typically reported directly to the chief executive officer of the company. Why? Because it was most important that the executive suite fully understand the things that were going to transform their company into a more profitable entity and that they be directly involved in the adoption of the new technology to help the Quality Manager with the strategic insight necessary to direct the effort in the most successful ways possible.

Sound familiar? In order for social media to make the greatest impact possible to improve the future of an organization, it must be endorsed and understood fully from the top down. Those responsible for bringing this new technology to an organization will have to report to the top to make sure there are no surprises and that the most benefit possible can be garnered from it. This is especially crucial because of the lightning speed at which this new technology moves. It's easy to do a lot of good quickly using social media, but doing it wrong is noticed just as quickly.

So where does your company's Social Media Manager report? Is it time for the top brass to help that person make the decisions about how your company is going to... Join the Conversation?

Some thirty plus years ago, US manufacturing companies began to wake up to the realization that they needed to get serious about quality. Foreign and domestic competition who understood the power of Total Quality Management were eating their lunch. Businesses had to learn about quality management and quality improvement techniques and learn fast. So what did they do? They established a position called "Quality Manager." They gave this person the mission of learning about TQM, applying it to their own business and then teaching the rest of the organization what they learned so it could be implemented quickly and successfully across the organization. This strategy worked and many businesses rapidly adopted the new techniques to improve quality and reduce costs, thereby increasing both market share and the bottom line.

Sound familiar? Today, modern businesses are in exactly the same position with regard to Social Media as they were with regard to TQM all those years ago. They know it's out there and that it's potentially very important. But they don't know what it really can do for them, how to use it properly and how to stay out of trouble with it. It's time for companies to recognize the enormous opportunity and potential of using social media to contribute to the bottom line.

Early adopters of TQM had the edge and early adopters of SM will, too. So who's your company's Social Media manager? Is it time for you to get one and... Join the Conversation?

Was the telephone a fad?  The TV?  E-mail?  Suffice to say, social media isn’t going anywhere either. 

Even as its form and function evolves daily (making the evolution from rotary dial to touch-screen iPhone seem like an eternity by comparison), the root system of social media is growing deeper into our daily human interactions.  It’s already an essential part of our communication.

In my day job as a marketing and PR consultant, I see companies in varied degrees of acceptance of social media.  The dial goes from Unaware to Disregard to Dabble to Embrace. 

For anyone online reading this blog, it’s probably hard to fathom a business owner is genuinely unaware of social networks and their impact on business.  Thanks to my regular duty down in the trenches, I actually understand how that happens.  I find it’s often successful people who are busy enough in the status quo to not presently need or heed the buzz about social media.  Frankly, as I inform some of these “Unawares” of social media, they are immediately inspired to turn the dial to “Dabble” or “Embrace,” because they’re focused on winning long term.

The most concerning notch on that dial is “Disregard.”  And trust me, I see too much of that in my business—the accomplished deflectors who presume the rules needn’t apply to them or their companies.  That is truly ‘extinction thinkin’. 

Here are three reasons why it’s not an option for businesses to leave the dial on Disregard, if they want to succeed long term.

1. People are conducting regular communications via social networks instead of by personal email.
Customers/consumers are evolving in they way the interact and acquire information.  A Nielsen Online research report noted that “member communities” are visited by 67% of Internet users around the globe.  Some predict the future hold the demise of traditional emailing, as the world population increases messaging within social networks.

2. People are spending more and more time in social networks while online.
The report also noted that one minute of every eleven minutes spent online is spent within a social network.  In Britain, the study revealed it’s one in every six minutes.  Suffice to say, social networks are increasingly were people are connecting more and more.

3. This isn’t just for kids!  35 - 49 year olds represented social networking’s biggest growth last year.
Many who set the dial on “Disregard” contend social networking is for ‘tweens and teenie-boppers.  That’s simply not so, according to this research.

Where’s your dial set?  Let’s work together to adjust the knob and take small biz to the big time!  See you tomorrow...

Thanks!!
--Irene

Follow me on Twitter - www.twitter.com/smallbizbigtime

Twitter is an online conversation.  Nothing's more important in Twitter usage than good strategy for tweeting, retweeting and listening.  That being said, I know some Twitter newbies out there who're just "moving in" to their Twitter page and are prone to care about branding, image and aesthetics.  So, here are few tips to put some personality into your profile page  Twitter's design capabilities aren't vast, but you do have some options to incorporate your style.

Start by selecting or creating an image for your background.  If you create the graphic for your background image, bear in mind that you have very little white space to work with.  I created a background with a vertically oriented design no more than 1.5" in width, so that nothing would get lost behind the Twitter page's fixed items.

Here's a 1-2-3 for getting the look set-up.

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!  Let's tweet up soon... 

Compose yourself!  Here are five more key tips—plus one to grow on—about business e-mails. 

5.  Use good grammar to stay in good graces.
I’m not your high school English teacher, so this is not my attempt a preemptive “tsk, tsk, tsk.”  It’s simply a reminder that you’ll better represent yourself, your company—your brand—when you use proper grammar and spelling.

6.  Close it out kindly.
Round out your e-mails with some kind of concluding thought orsign off.  If you use a standard signature at the end messages, do not embed your sign off     in the signature, as there will be many occasions when you’ll need to customize your conclusion.  

7.  Create useful subject lines.
Think of subject lines as labels, kind of like what you’d place on work files or saved documents.  Accurately state the subject or purpose of your e-mail to not only help your recipient be prepared for the message to come, but to then properly file or access it for future use. 

8.  Give “To” its due; copy that for “Cc” and “Bcc.”
Fill in the “To,” “Cc” and “Bcc” fields last before sending e-mails to avoid the trigger-happy misfire..  There’s comfort in giving yourself enough time to review your message,     re-check spelling and be certain about who should receive it. 

9.  Be wise with replies.
In an evolution of point #7, be cautious in replying to messages.  Carefully observe the recipients of the message and decide if your reply should be “Reply all” or “Reply     to sender” (or reply to ‘some,’ in which case you should delete names accordingly). 

10.  Keep the chain.
When replying to a single message or a multiple message exchange, keep previous messages below your current reply (though it helps to add a few spaces after your sign-off to create a visual breather in the ‘conversation’).  The full chain of content within the body of the e-mail is a good reference.  If the message becomes ridiculously long, start anew. 

11.  Remember, e-mails are conversations.
Don’t shy away from showing personality in your messages.  The occasional anecdote, a well-placed exclamation point, use of contractions and conversational words helps keep all this electronic communicating more, well, human. 

You are your e-mails.

In this virtual workaday world, you constantly represent yourself by e-mail.  Every e-mail is a conversation that casts an impression of yourself for the message recipient.  Suffice to say, it’s essential to write e-mails with deliberate tone and well-crafted content. 

1.  Establish your e-mail voice.
There’s much talk these days about the need to brand yourself, particularly in the professional realm.  So, write naturally and be consistent in self representation.  Establish a rhythm and tone for your e-mails that reflects your ‘voice’—your business style and personality. 

2.  Begin with the body of the email.
When starting a new e-mail, write the body text before inserting the “To” or “Subject” information.  Going in this order ensures you won’t hit “send” prematurely—before spell checking and rereading for accuracy.  Also, you’ll be certain of message content and able to create a more useful subject line.

3.  Use a salutation.
You wouldn’t answer the phone by launching into a full sentence; neither should you start an e-mail so abruptly.  Select a casual greeting to add a personal touch to a new email exchange. 
If going back and forth in an extended e-mail exchange, skip the salutation. (However, I often use some kind of greeting if there’s been a lag between replies, or I feel the exchange could use a personal touch.  E-mail is a conversation, after all!)

4.  Keep your message brief and your topics to a minimum.
In a world of IMs, texts and tweets, attention spans are devolving.  I have several clients who never read past the second sentence of a three-sentence message. (I’d say “you know who you are,” but I’ve already lost them!!) 

Presume your recipient won’t read anything that requires scrolling.  Bold or underline key information.  And If there’s no avoiding a long e-mail, forewarn of message length in your first paragraph or even in the subject line. 

More biz e-mail etiquette tips coming soon!...

Seems like everybody's chirping about Twitter these days.  There's enough media flutter, every birdy in business wants to join the chorus. (Don't worry; I'll never charge extra for puns!)

Before you set up a Twitter account and start pecking at potential customers, it's best to strategize your flight plan.

Twitter is all about conversation; it's not about direct selling.  This unique micro-blog forum is best used for purposeful-though-quick connections and information & idea trading.  With only 140 characters to express yourself, you’ve got to choose words wisely!  

I recently met a manager of a local retail business who'd heard much of wing-flapping about Twitter and presumed it’d be a means to sniper-shot sell in his market.  After I made it clear that he shouldn’t treat Twitter like a streaming classified ad and emphasized that he commit to using it for relationship-building, here's how I advised him to get started.

1.  Be yourself.
Sign up as “you.”  You’re more likely to make positive, fruitful connections when using your own name and persona than you ever would by a business name.  There are some exceptions to this rule (look for info on that in a future blog), but for the most part, people would rather interact with “Bill” than they would “Bill’s Used Cars & Body Shop.”

 2. Go for quality over quantity.
When you first sign up, you’ll see you can follow just about anybody—and vice versa.  Be aware that if you ‘follow’ someone, their feeds will show up on your home page all the time.  Why follow someone you’re not genuinely interested in?  Spare yourself time by following only those of relevance to you.

3.  Follow the leaders.
Seek out leaders in your industry, in your community, etc.  Follow them to learn about trends, happenings and relevant issues and to become part of topical conversations.  You can find the leaders by searching key words or finding a leader and following who he or she is following.

4.  Be a listener with your communities (aka - your customer groups).
Follow people within your existing and potential customer groups, and begin your Twitter interaction by listening/observing the banter and nature of postings.  They should be easy to find, as birds of feather do flock together!  Once you’re in the flock, don’t dive bomb the conversation with self-serving selling messages.  

5.  Become a resource.
Look at Twitter as a chance to give to your online community.  If you see a question floating around, find and post an answer.  If you hear of useful information for your community or read a great article you think some folks would appreciate, post a link.  

Strategize your flight pattern, earn your place at the Twitter feeder, and you’ll find your flock.

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Web 2.0 is no longer just for teenagers.

Social networking has clearly reached a tipping point. Sites like MySpace and Facebook boast hundreds of millions of members. Barack Obama's presidential victory demonstrated that platforms like YouTube and Twitter could transform electoral politics. Yet in corporations where such tools have been expected to bring profound transformations, there has been strong resistance to change.

Many corporate executives either dismiss social networking as a time-wasting distraction or regard it as a risk management problem. Much of their fear has focused on potential risks like security breaches and data privacy

Web 2.0 evangelists, on the other hand, argue that social software can be used to boost productivity. They say it can facilitate an open-ended corporate culture that values transparency, collaboration and innovation. Most important, it can be an effective way to build a customer-centric organization that not only communicates authentically but also listens to customers and learns from that interaction.

In the current stormy economy, as companies look for new ways to market their products and engage their customers, chief executive officers are finally looking more and more at how social networking tools can extend their brands, create corporate cultures based on listening and learning, and establish their own leadership profiles.

Nonetheless, big brands, generally speaking, haven't successfully tapped the potential of social media; they tend to regard Web 2.0 platforms as just another way to push out short-term marketing campaigns. They fail to grasp that the new media require new ways of doing business. Old ways need to be tossed out.

One highly successful example of Web 2.0 branding is Blendtec's YouTube video campaign "Will It Blend?" The video series features Blendtec's CEO, Tom Dickson, comically attempting to blend all manner of objects in one of his company's appliances. Thanks to the series' viral effects, the company's blender sales have quintupled.

The Blendtec videos cost virtually nothing to produce and distribute, but it is doubtful that TV commercials costing many times more would have produced the same results. That may explain why publicity-conscious CEOs are finally breaking away from the old mass-media approach of a Donald Trump or a Richard Branson to increasingly use videos and podcasts to extend their personal brands.

As more and more businesses migrate to the use of social media the proverbial question of legal risk raises its ugly head. Legal concerns of uncontrolled employee participation, disclosure of private corporate information and related matters causes corporate legal departments to raise concerns about controlling communications in public forums.

According to Lauren Gelman, associate director of the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, it’s all about control. “Employers aren’t happy that employees have this new ability to speak about the workplace and about their employers to the world,” said Gelman. “No longer do the public relations departments have the sole avenue of communication as to what the company message is.”

Subsequently we’re seeing the appearance of new corporate policies relative to use of “social technology” on company time and specifically as it relates to using social media to achieve specific corporate objectives. According to The Blog Council’s research, 64 (12.8%) of the Fortune 500 are blogging. Open the link below to see their table which lists these companies, a sampling of their blogs, and links to Fortune 500 business blog reviews. You can discuss this wiki on Twitter at the Tweetworks Group Fortune500BusinessBlogs. John Cass is currently the volunteer community organizer for the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki.

Which Risk Are The Greatest?

Having a corporate policy concerning use of social media is a means to mitigating legal risk however not understanding and managing the related factors can actually create more risk not covered in a corporate policy. There are several factors that influence the ultimate risk of a transparent world fueled by social technology. These factors include:

1. Corporate culture: Improving corporate culture is an ongoing process largely influenced by communications. If the current culture breeds distrust between management and employees social media can help a transformation or it can create further distrust. Management positions, actions, and communications relative to the use of social media will be the guide for the employees to determine whether the initiatives are truly “social” or another attempt to control employee opinions through spin. Trust is a sensitive issue.
2. Educational Resources: Opening up your company to use of the multitude of social technologies without providing educational resources can be very dangerous. Using social technology is both an art and a science. Like any new technology using it effectively is a learning curve for all participants. The faster people learn the quicker the organization will realize optimal benefits. The landscape of social technology, its uses, new developments and best practices is an ongoing process which requires monitoring and communicating to those who will be participating.
3. Message & Method Alignment: Traditional marketing methods and messages need to be in alignment or your organization will be ridiculed by the blogosphere. Don’t say or do one thing without the other saying and doing the same. The market of conversations looks for consistency in message and methods. Pushing a message verse engaging the market in a conversation can hurt your reputation and recovery takes time.
4. Defining Strategic Objectives: It is important that businesses define the strategic objectives for using social media. Not having measurable objectives that relate, directly as well as indirectly, to specific business objectives will create the risk of wasting time, energy and money which reduces business optimization and shareholder value.
5. Plan, Do, Check & Act: Having a corporate policy to mitigate legal liabilities is only part of the requirements of successfully using social media. Designing and executing a plan covering items 1-4 above plus incorporating measures to monitor impacts and being prepared to adjust your plan periodically reduces the ultimate risk of poor performance and negative reactions by your market.

So business leaders and their legal departments must go beyond simply creating a “corporate policy about the use of social media” and consider the “systemic risk” of not having the knowledge or resources to effectively manage all the “risk factors”. Which risk is greater? The legal issues or those outlined in 1 – 5 above?  Stating the rules is one thing but not understanding the spirit of the rule is another.

What say you?

PS: We’ve just completed a white paper titled “An Assessment of Social Media Policies & Practices”. If you’d like a copy go to our store

A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically showing large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible in the top designated market areas. In 1964 the negative impact of the over-proliferation of signage was abundantly evident in Houston, Texas, and motivated Lady Bird Johnson to ask her husband to create a law. At the same time the outdoor advertising industry itself was becoming keenly aware that the existence of too many signs, some literally one in front of the other, was bad for business.

Currently, four states—Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine—have prohibited billboards.

Do Billboards Belong on the Conversational Highway?

The social web is a highway of conversations. Brands want their billboards on high traffic highways of relevant conversations. Consumers behavior is clearly showing a distaste for “old billboards thrown in the middle of their conversations.” This is becoming more and more evident with the reduced click-through rates for what has been labeled as “social advertising”. The old advertising methods are being rejected and replaced by an older method that is more human and it’s called a conversation.

Marketers must learn that the best way to get consumer attention is to enable customers to brag about their experience with your brand. The relationships that drive the quality of experience are upstream. Every brand has a system of production, distribution, sales & marketing and customer service. Production is collaboration with suppliers and employees. Distribution is a relationship with channel partners. Sales & marketing is a relational process with markets and customer service is an after the sale relational experience. Everything a business does is relational.

While much is being discussed about “how” brands can effectively engage in conversations, a more important yet complex discussion needs to focus on “how” brands could create exceptional customer experiences in which the customer would share with others. The quality of an organizations product or service is directly correlated to the quality of relations which produce the product/service experience with the end customer.

If management cannot foster healthy internal relations, than it is folly to expect healthy customer relations. The old game of slick marketing messages and entertaining ads do not reflect the true customer experience with the product or service. Running ads on blogs and social networks will not capture consumer attention. When a consumer wants to “shop” for something the process usually starts with a referral from a “friend” or a conversation with someone who has experienced your brand. The “friend”, given the reach of the social web, is likely to be an employee, supplier or existing customer.

The social web and all its transparency is not turning up the heat on marketing and advertising methods rather the heat is turning on management. Management may in fact include senior people within the marketing and advertising departments. However unless the organization has a progressive leader, old management methods of the past will only reinforce old marketing and advertising methods that simply will not work in the new economy.

The web presents a new “system” that is ever evolving and creating new dynamics and new rules to old games. The irony of the evolving “system” of the web is that it is largely influenced by the preferences and privileges of people having conversations about everything, everyone and the experiences with anything. The new markets are creating new rules to old games. The new rules are people centric and value driven. The Socialutions lie not within the system of technology rather of the relational system of “people and values”.

Get it? The conversational billboards are loud, bright, connected and extremely the people read them. What will or are the people saying about your business? Check the social billboards and you’ll find out.

One last thing.  Whether you have a corporate social media policy or not your employees are free to converse with anyone.