Facebook – Page 3 – @DanaMNelson

October 8, 2010

Are You Willing?

I was watching a video of Scott Stratten or @unmarketing as you may know him on twitter. He wrote the book “Unmarketing- Stop Marketing and Start Engaging” He is now on a book tour, really going out into the world and not only engaging with his over 66k followers. But he is doing more than that. He is taking a stand. He is like this wild, radical Canadian man on a mission to change the way people market. Why?

(Hint: cuz what your doing is not working, it is annoying and not making you any money off me cuz I am tired of this BS you try to sell me all the time.)

He is taking a stand because he, as a human being wants what we all want. He wants to be heard, he wants to be paid attention to, and he wants you to treat him with respect and kindness, as you do business with him. He is pointing out some really obvious facts. He is sharing real life stories of how hard it was. (I love the one where he took 30 days and lived twitter. Tweeted 7000 tweets in 30 days. After those 30 days he had 10,000 followers. )

He rants on people not wanting to take the time to put in the work to create 7,000 tweets, who moan that “tweezer” does not work for them. Then he said it. That moment where if you were in a Baptist church you would stand to your feet and proclaim AMEN! He said:

Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

I said yes! When I teach classes people always ask me “how much time…” I hate that question. At first I assumed that it was because I was in denial about my addiction, and just did not like being called out on it. Then I started answering in a very professional way: “That’s not a fair question.” I followed it with- but this is what I do.

When Scott said that “Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!” I realized it. I do take a lot of time to build relationships online. I do still play responsibly and work hard to get my offline responsibilities done. –I may work harder and longer, but I just do it, because to me, to my business, the time is well spent.

So if you are not seeing results by auto scheduling your tweets, or running a great promotion, or give away, if you’re still focusing on the media of the term Social Media- forget the push!

Try to find ways to really connect. Listen *Comment* Help* Show you care. The time you spend caring about the people will be time well spent that will change you.

Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

Are you willing to take the time to make this relationship work?

August 17, 2010

Ditch the Traditional Media?

Traditional media has definitely taken a turn in a different direction. More and more people are using online resources instead of looking to traditional media for everything in their lives from news to entertainment. So does that mean companies should ditch traditional media altogether?

Scott Wise owner and CEO of Scotty’s Brewhouse did just that:

“A year and a half ago, when the economy crashed, we were looking for ways to cut costs without laying employees off. At the same time social media was really taking off, so we eliminated every single piece of outside advertising, no print, no radio, no other types of traditional media, and shifted our focus to e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. In the past, we would spend about $250,000 each year in football ads, newspaper, and radio during Christmas time to promote gift cards. We eliminated all of that.”

But is this what’s right for you? Social media is not about a broadcast message. It’s about listening. It’s about communicating with your customers. Scotty does that very well. He mentions in his guest blog post on the Chamber INsider that he does not utilize a secondary company or ghost blogger to do social media for him. It’s really him. After all, you and your employees know your company and brand the best. Why would your customer want to put a comment card in your comment box that a subcontractor is going to read? How would they know that the awesome employee they were praising or the defective widget they were complaining about would get the message?

Scotty has found a way to utilize social media in several very effective ways. In addition to using it to broadcast his message about specials and what’s going on in his store, he also uses it to communicate and listen to customers, both good and bad. Then he takes the bad and makes the necessary changes to make them right (and does it right now!). He’s really listening. He uses it for market research and to vent. It’s really Scotty.

With that said, I do not believe traditional media is totally dead. Combined with a well-designed social media plan, it can make a large impact on the value of your business. If you are considering re-allocating your advertising budget, and spending less on traditional media, the phonebook could be the first item to go. Replace the phonebook costs with social media training, updated graphics and logos, and better signage on your brick-and-mortar. Put your advertising and branding where your customer’s eyes are looking, and leave no stone unturned.

Some of the hottest forms of advertising and corporate branding are vehicle graphics and wraps. If you are going with more new media advertising and want to find a way to get the word out, why not put it on all your delivery vehicles “follow me” and your twitter handle or Facebook URL? Find a way to combine new and old.

But don’t treat new media like traditional media… if you do, you will fail.

August 12, 2010

The Story of Sparkles

I recently went to a conference and met a very interesting lady. She had bling on her glasses and bling on her shirt. She was a very energetic person and I liked her instantly. With the large amount of people that I was meeting I was having a difficult time remembering names, so I called her

She owns Embroidme Baltimore, and at her shop. They make customized “bling” apparel.

We had several conversations about how that process takes place and I was instantly fascinated. But what I really liked was her ability to be who she was always. She let her character and personality shine even with her choice of clothing, eyewear, footwear, and handbags.

I encourage people with social media to be who they are.

Sometimes people tell me they keep two Facebook profiles. One profile for family and friends and one profile for business associates. Often find this is not a good practice, as the person who is truly good at networking and building relationships in the community, and within their businesses find that the line of who is their friend, and who is a business acquaintance is very often blurry. Just have one and be who you are.

I was very delighted to receive a package in the mail yesterday.

I opened it, standing next to my mother-in-law. When she saw the contents she instantly said, oh. Is that from Sparkles?

Her ability to be herself on an off-line carried over into my conversations on and off-line to the point that my mother-in-law knew exactly who my package was from without looking at the name.

No matter what your business or what you’re selling. The bottom line is you have to sell you first. To do that, you want people to recognize your name in association with a particular character trait, feeling, emotion, product, or ____. (You fill in the blank. )

As you make your next status update ask yourself:

What does this statement picture or link say about me?

Thank you Allison… Now I don’t have to wait till I am a Billionaire.

“Every time I close my eyes,

I see my name in shining lights”

June 29, 2010

Saying Goodbye to a Hero

First let me say, this is baseball. “You win some you lose some.” That phrase is usually reserved to the game play itself. Today I want to use it to talk about the loss of a player.

Second let me say that what I am saying here is simply my perspective as an Otters fan and as a proud mother.

This year we became members of the Otters Booster Club. As part of that membership, we attended the pre-game picnic where we were introduced to the team and staff of the Evansville Otters. At that picnic the host families sat with their new players. Some of the players did not have families yet, and a few had families that could not attend due to work. We were fortunate enough to have several players sit at our table. They laughed and played with my children like they had been best buddies forever.

Over his short season, my children developed a respect for one of those players: #25 Carlos Romero. In the exhibition game he made an astonishing catch. The kids beamed, proud to know such a player. After the game, they held to tradition and ran the bases. They skipped the rest of the team and ran straight for him.

We could not be a host family this year due to space issues, but we “adopted him.” We took him to eat dinner one day before a road trip. He graciously listened to my children yammer on and on. He answered all the questions. He was kind a courteous and respectful to everyone we encountered.

More than that he was a team advocate. He encouraged the wait staff to come watch the team, talked up the history of the ball park and was proud to be an Otter.

My boys looked up to him, more as a person than a player, but as both. They insisted that we go to Sam’s to get him snacks for the road. They packed a few goodie bags with enough supplies to last him the trip, if rationed well. When we gave them to him, he looked in the bags and said “Oh good there is enough for me to share.”

During that away game two major things happened. #1 Carlos broke a bat. #2 Carlos almost broke his hand. He came home on the injured list.

That first game back we came to the field, hand drawn get well bag in hand. He said to Eric (my 6 year old) “I brought you something too!” He went into the dugout and came out with a bat all taped up. It was the bat that he broke. He had taped it up and brought it home for Eric. He signed it for him and he went into the stands beaming.

The day after Carlos came off the injured list, he was released from the team. We all cried. This is by far not the first player we have watched go. Some we knew were the right decision, some we wondered about and figured that the trade must have been worth it. This is the first time I have really asked “why?”

I am a social media strategist. I help companies build brand advocates. I help with customer service and PR, I help with that and much more under the guise of social media. I usually encourage people start building brand advocates from within.

So here is my take on Carlos.

From what we saw of him during his time with the Evansville Otters, he appeared to be a good player. Due to circumstances he was not really given the opportunity to showcase his ability.

But that aside, he is a heck of a brand advocate. He loves what he does, and it shows. He loved working for the Otters, and he told the world through his facebook, and through his interactions with the community, on and off the field.

When we went to the bank, my son would see the Otters schedule and would tell anyone within earshot how great the Otters were and all about the “best player, my friend, #25 Carlos Romero.”

In talking to him about what was next for the outfielder, he was determined to continue playing ball.

Because he was a brand advocate for the Otters, he created other brand advocates. That is a priceless value to any team. He loves baseball; he loves kids; he loves community. Add to that my opinion that he is a good player, and you have a good package deal.

I can’t do much for him right now. I offered money. He was not as concerned with money (Even though I knew he was struggling to buy his ticket home.) He was concerned about some kids he had coached, and promised more play time / lessons. He is truly a gentleman with character.

So here is what I can do: If you believe in “America’s Game” please repost, retweet, share, digg, or whatever. Help me share the news that there is a player for hire that will be more than an asset to any team.

Carlos Bats/Throws: L/L HT:5’10” WT: 190
A full information sheet can be found here if you are interested in his stats.

May 20, 2010

First Impressions – Changes in FB Policy, Again

Yesterday, Facebook abruptly changed its Facebook fan page policy. In summary, you will not be able to have a custom landing tab for your fan page, unless you have 10k fans or the page administrator works with their ads, account manager. If you suspect that that means you will have to pay to have a custom landing page if you have less than 10,000 followers, you are probably correct.

This change was announced, quietly by Facebook with an apology that no mention was made of it sooner. If you do not already have an ads account representative, you can submit a form which looks like this:

Notice the budget amounts listed. It does appear that Facebook is looking to monetize the growing trend of businesses using fan pages.

A lot of people are really upset about this change, in particular Twitter chatter and blogs from businesses that sell the service of making customized Facebook tabs. My perspective is different.

When asked, I would provide custom landing pages. However, it is not my sole business model. I did not actively promote custom landing pages as a way to gain fans.

So I am responding, not out of fear for the future of my business, and not out of the stress of dealing with past clients who may now be upset.

Personally, I’m not really upset by this change. Actually, I’m still very grateful for Facebook and what it has done to change the way that we as businesses communicate with our peers, our vendors and our clients. That has not changed.

If you have strong, engaging content on a regular basis, that shows people that you are listening, are responding, and that you care. Your business page will then get you more fans overall than a flashy well-done graphic that you paid a lot of money for people to see as their first impression.

So to you, small businesses, medium businesses, and large companies that are new to Facebook., not yet at your 10k mark: Remember that every post you make is potentially now a first impression.

Make sure you approach your Facebook strategy with this in mind.

Hint: if you post content that is informative, educational and engaging, people will willingly share this information on their own . They will be a brand advocate for you as they share your content on their pages.

Which is your ultimate goal: to have the most fans? Or is it to have the most fans who love and are actively involved in sharing your content?

May 3, 2010

Facebook Attacks: Prevention & Recovery

Yesterday we noticed a large number of people having their Facebook accounts hacked. This was caused by their clicking on a link to a video sent to them by a trusted friend.

What they didn’t know or understand was that their friend had already been hacked. The friend did not knowingly send out or post this video.

So far it appears that this particular hack only affects Facebook, and is just posting a link to the video on your friend’s walls. (The video is graphic in nature. This is another reason that children under 13 years old should not be allowed on FB.) Not all Facebook hacks are this way; most are much more malicious.

Most of the time Facebook hacks send out links to videos or pictures that are actually links to a place where a virus can be downloaded to your computer. If you find yourself in the situation, there are a number of things that you can do to help restore your account and your credibility within your community of friends.

Before I discuss that, however, I would like to discuss some practical preventative measures so that you do not find yourself in this situation

Be sure that you change your password frequently

Do not use the same password for all of your social media accounts
Make sure your password is a strong password
Limit the amount of third party applications that you allow to share information
If you utilize a third-party application such as Hootsuite, or TweetDeck, make sure that you regularly change that password as well
Make sure that your virus protection on your computer is up to date, and run frequently
Be sure you run additional programs for malware and spyware on a regular basis
Make sure you have an IT person in your contact list before your computer is hit with a virus

Why that last line? Once your computer has been infected with a virus, often times, programs that you use for prevention and detection are not enough to remove a virus from your computer. Many of them have now evolved to the point that they disable those programs. If that happens, you have to remove your hard drive and place it in a secondary machine in order to remove the viruses. Most people do not have the resources in which to perform this task. This is not a service that you want to look for when you’re in a crisis situation. Also, I highly recommend computer maintenance on a regular basis. Just as with a person’s health, there are a number of things that you can do on a regular basis to ensure that you are less likely to get a virus.

If you don’t currently have an IT professional in your contact list, we recommend Nomad Technology Group.

Listed below are instructions posted by Mary Biever in response to yesterday’s attack:

What You Can do to Prevent and Restore Your Account and Credibility

Prevention (for all users):
A. Go to account, account settings, and password and change your password. Logout and log back in.
B. Go to account, account settings, and account security and click the check box. This will notify you when a new computer accesses your account. (This step is open on some FB accounts and not others; I think it is a new feature.)
C. If you use Hootsuite or other such products, update your password for Facebook on them.
D. Post as a status: “Do not click on any Optical Illusions Link. If you see it, the person posting has been hacked.” Contact them ASAP and tell them. Also contact the people whose walls had the video posted on it and tell them.

If the Optical Illusions Link appears on your wall:
E. Hover on right hand corner and click “Remove.” Remove the link. Do not click on it.
F. Go through steps A through D.

If you get hacked:
G. Do step A pronto.
H. Go to Account, Privacy Settings, Post by me. Click on the drop down arrow and select custom. Set your custom feed to show “only me.” Then, temporarily, your wall will be unavailable.
I. Use this time to try to discern via news feeds where the link was posted.
J. If you are able to remove the link from your friends’ walls, do so (see step E). If not, contact your friends whose walls were hit personally (via telephone) and explain what happened – explain to them how to remove the link. You will need to scan your friends’ walls to look for the post. (Hint – talk to a trusted friend with multiple mutual friends of yours. Ask them to check their news feed.)
K. When you are comfortable problem has been contained, return settings on step H to what you had before.
L. Follow steps B through D.

Finally, the best defense is a good offense. If you are using Facebook as a way to engage your customers and encourage your employees to do the same, don’t let attacks like this deter your efforts. If you know how to use Facebook well, you can prevent hack attacks like this and handle them if they do happen.