Category: Social Media

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It’s Showtime – Rock the Crowd!!

In a recent blog by David Huffman,  It’s Showtime and It’s Not ALL about Musicianship ,  he described candidly his musical abilities in such a way that made you believe his musical talents will not be winning him a Grammy- this year. Instead, he focused on his ability to handle a crowd. He was quick to point out that you do need to work on your instruments and songwriting, but begged his readers: “do not discount your ability to rock a party.  It really is a skill that some of the best musicians will never master. “

Let’s apply this to social media. I don’t care if you’re selling beans or real estate. If you’re in B2B or B2C, this applies to everyone using social media for business or personal branding.

He went on to question that even if you can play your notes perfectly can you:

  • choose a song that matches the crowds current flow.
  • handle that heckler standing up front flipping you off.
  • recognize when the crowd is ready for more.  Or when they’re done.
  • understand the value of a very well placed cover song.

 

I would ask, can you:

  • engage in conversations
  • take criticism and or complaints and deal with them publicly, rather than shoving them under the rug and deleting comments
  • add value to the local community 
  • understand the value of giving credit to other people

 

I always encourage people to learn about the social media platforms, and to watch and learn from other people. But I also encourage them to jump in there and try, especially where Twitter is concerned. Dave comments about musicians who are held back because of their perceived or real lack of skills on their instrument.

I see this in social media too. People don’t think they quite get it; they don’t feel like they totally understand every aspect. So they either ignore it, or they only watch. It is almost like they are intimidated.

Just as Dave has seen people with lackluster talents turn the show “into  a rockin’ good time,“ I have seen people jump right in who don’t quite get all the aspects, ins and outs  of social media. I have watched them build relationships, have conversations, and build their business and brands with immense success.

“So please don’t underestimate yourself based off your musical prowess, “ …or your ability to re-tweet, at mention or share.  

“Just continue to work on your weaknesses and play to your strengths – duck your head down and buckle up for the long haul.

Do that and you’ll be alright.  I promise ya.”

Dave will be one of three people on a panel discussion at this month’s social media club. Be sure to check him out!

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It's Showtime – Rock the Crowd!!

In a recent blog by David Huffman,  It’s Showtime and It’s Not ALL about Musicianship ,  he described candidly his musical abilities in such a way that made you believe his musical talents will not be winning him a Grammy- this year. Instead, he focused on his ability to handle a crowd. He was quick to point out that you do need to work on your instruments and songwriting, but begged his readers: “do not discount your ability to rock a party.  It really is a skill that some of the best musicians will never master. “

Let’s apply this to social media. I don’t care if you’re selling beans or real estate. If you’re in B2B or B2C, this applies to everyone using social media for business or personal branding.

He went on to question that even if you can play your notes perfectly can you:

  • choose a song that matches the crowds current flow.
  • handle that heckler standing up front flipping you off.
  • recognize when the crowd is ready for more.  Or when they’re done.
  • understand the value of a very well placed cover song.

 

I would ask, can you:

  • engage in conversations
  • take criticism and or complaints and deal with them publicly, rather than shoving them under the rug and deleting comments
  • add value to the local community 
  • understand the value of giving credit to other people

 

I always encourage people to learn about the social media platforms, and to watch and learn from other people. But I also encourage them to jump in there and try, especially where Twitter is concerned. Dave comments about musicians who are held back because of their perceived or real lack of skills on their instrument.

I see this in social media too. People don’t think they quite get it; they don’t feel like they totally understand every aspect. So they either ignore it, or they only watch. It is almost like they are intimidated.

Just as Dave has seen people with lackluster talents turn the show “into  a rockin’ good time,“ I have seen people jump right in who don’t quite get all the aspects, ins and outs  of social media. I have watched them build relationships, have conversations, and build their business and brands with immense success.

“So please don’t underestimate yourself based off your musical prowess, “ …or your ability to re-tweet, at mention or share.  

“Just continue to work on your weaknesses and play to your strengths – duck your head down and buckle up for the long haul.

Do that and you’ll be alright.  I promise ya.”

Dave will be one of three people on a panel discussion at this month’s social media club. Be sure to check him out!

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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?

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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.

Posted on

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.

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The Social Media Gardener

It’s that time of year again.  Everywhere you look, you see temporary parking lot greenhouses filled with racks and racks of flowers. At Lowe’s, Home Depot, Schnuck’s and Ace Hardware, there are beautiful, bold, right, vibrant colors, just begging you to take some home!

As a rule of thumb for our little boot of Indiana, annuals shouldn’t be planted before Mother’s Day. Every year, I fall for it. I am tempted. Not only to buy these flowers prematurely, but to also buy more than I should. You see, annuals will not return next year. It is that simple. I’ve thrown my money away on short-term plants that are already blooming well before they should be, well before I should be planting them.

 However, I have begun to shift my gardening strategy from a short-term to a long-term perspective. Lately, I have been cutting back on the number of annuals that I plant. Instead, I will wait until the Master Gardener Plant Sale in May.  I then reallocate funds I normally spend on annuals, to buy more interesting and unique perennial varieties not available in local stores.  A perennial will come back next year and those succeeding, bigger, stronger and more beautiful. So I have not wasted my money, time and effort on one-season, annual plants.  I have instead invested in my landscape, gaining not only satisfaction and enjoyment, but also increasing my home’s financial value.  Note, I’m still tempted, and I do still buy a few annuals each spring to quickly add color. 

 Some years back, I purchased both a lilac bush and a wisteria vine. I was told both of these were very young and may not bloom for several years. Already a master gardener, I went home and researched  the soil, water, and sun recommendations for both of these plants.  After reading up on them, and after talking to several other people, I have to admit I was intimidated by these plants. I bought them because I knew that, in a few years, both would have stunning color, and provide a major display in my already vibrant yard. I really wanted them to bloom right away, like my annuals but I knew that in the long run, if I planted them in ideal conditions and tended to them, these plants would bring joy for a lifetime.

 Likewise with social media (SoMe). There are definitely some SoMe methods for quick “return on investment” that require little effort and little knowledge. As you can pay people to plant your annual beds, you can also pay up-front for generic services, and invest no time in their development.  However, in the long run, these quick, impersonal, quirky campaigns will not build the satisfying, long-lasting personal, business and financial rewards that depend on, and build upon, relationships. 

 Rather, you can develop a strategic campaign that is most reflective of yourself, your business and its mission. A strategic social media presence is well thought out, well researched and well executed.  It includes a variety of engagements, value and information. It pays long-term dividends that grow each year.  Your business beds will not be planted with Social Media annuals, gone when the subscription runs out.  They will instead build each year, synergistic with previous investments, to provide sustained competitive advantage.  SoMe is a beautiful thing, if tended with TLC!

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Valiant Defined…

debbieV

Wife of one
Mother of three
Grandmother of seven
She is:
• caring by nature– after all, she has a degree in nursing
• a business owner
• a good neighbor
• a caregiver
• a protector
• a friend  to many

This woman is many things to many people.  As I have become acquainted with her over the last few months, I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. She’s often appeared with a plate of cookies to make me feel better.  I have watched her life unfold and I am amazed at the extent to which she’s involved in, actively giving and outreaching to the community, personally and professionally.

She is a caring neighbor, weekly driving her elderly neighbor to the hairdresser, the grocery store and other places she needs to go.

She is a caring sister to her brother who is experiencing severe health challenges.

At the end of the day, she should be utterly exhausted.

However, from her social media posts and in talking to her, you would never know it. She is happy for the opportunity to care for new grandchildren. She is happy to be entertaining family on a Sunday. She is happy to drive that elderly neighbor to the salon. Her medical background helps her to act as her brother’s champion. She’s glad to go to work. She treats her employees as family, honors them and lifts them up verbally and in writing. Most importantly, she does this publicly on social media.

She could so easily think,  “pity me; look at all have to do; look at all of my burdens”. But she doesn’t see it that way. She doesn’t dread work, because she truly loves the people with whom she works, and this shows.

Valiant, is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, as “strong, courageous, to be of worth, marked by or carried out with courage or determination.”

That pretty much describes this woman, my friend, Debbie Valiant.

Debbie and her Husband Walter own AmeriStamp SignARama. They were given the Integrity Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau and are  finalists for the 2010 Small Business of the Year Award  From The Evansville Chamber.

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Stop Worrying About Eyeballs &Start Caring About People

I had the privilege to see Steve Radick twice during his visit to Indiana, when he spoke at USI’s “The Impact of Social Media of Communications”  

Below are some of the nuggets I pulled from the keynote address:   

 (And video of the entire presentation is below the nuggets)   

  • Be aware of your personal brand 100% of the time. Physical or online.
  • @garyvee– told me “Be you 100% of the time.” :: Don’t have 2 profiles.  Be comfortable with who you are.  Be self aware.
  • Relationships matter.
  • Be good to people.
  • I can teach you twitter, I can’t teach you basic communication principles.
  • No excuses. You had the opportunity to do it, and you didn’t.
  • If you’re a bad person. Get good or get offline.
  • Stop throwing your business card at me!
  • Twitter is a valid communications medium. The white house uses it….
  • For 100s of hundreds of people have fought to have a voice. Now you can start a blog, and you’re not taking a part of it. You have a say in how your brand is represented, and you’re not using it! (SoMe)
  • Advertising is not about eyeballs. It never should have been about eyeballs. It is about doing something. It is about engagement.
  • “but twitter is not a creditable source. “ No but the person who wrote it is.
  • The lines of PR and customer service are merging. You have to become a company the treats its customers and employees w/ respect.
  • Stop worrying about eyeballs and start caring about people. 
  • Ask for forgiveness not permission.

[viddler id=1694f94c&w=437&h=370]

Posted on

Stop Worrying About Eyeballs &Start Caring About People

I had the privilege to see Steve Radick twice during his visit to Indiana, when he spoke at USI’s “The Impact of Social Media of Communications”  

Below are some of the nuggets I pulled from the keynote address:   

 (And video of the entire presentation is below the nuggets)   

  • Be aware of your personal brand 100% of the time. Physical or online.
  • @garyvee– told me “Be you 100% of the time.” :: Don’t have 2 profiles.  Be comfortable with who you are.  Be self aware.
  • Relationships matter.
  • Be good to people.
  • I can teach you twitter, I can’t teach you basic communication principles.
  • No excuses. You had the opportunity to do it, and you didn’t.
  • If you’re a bad person. Get good or get offline.
  • Stop throwing your business card at me!
  • Twitter is a valid communications medium. The white house uses it….
  • For 100s of hundreds of people have fought to have a voice. Now you can start a blog, and you’re not taking a part of it. You have a say in how your brand is represented, and you’re not using it! (SoMe)
  • Advertising is not about eyeballs. It never should have been about eyeballs. It is about doing something. It is about engagement.
  • “but twitter is not a creditable source. “ No but the person who wrote it is.
  • The lines of PR and customer service are merging. You have to become a company the treats its customers and employees w/ respect.
  • Stop worrying about eyeballs and start caring about people. 
  • Ask for forgiveness not permission.

[viddler id=1694f94c&w=437&h=370]

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Are you taking your social media seriously?

 If your just “playing with it” for your business, you’re playing with FIRE!  You have to realize a few things about social media and the business world.

You’re out there and people are talking about you

  I have business owners and sales reps tell me all the time, I don’t want to get involved in that stuff, like it is some illegal activity.  But, truth is, they ARE involved.  Customers and staff alike are on some form of social media AND they either refer to or claim an association with their business…YOUR business.  They are talking about your business and representing your business. Do you know what they are saying? Can you thank them and commend them, or can you defend your honor and deflect harsh words? You can’t if you continue to deny the fact that you’re  involved in social media.

You need a Social Media Goal

If you have a facebook page, a twitter account, a youtube, and/or a linkedin page, and you don’t have a plan and a goal, you’re wondering aimlessly in the desert. You might be fine for awhile but you need to have a clear sence of direction.  This is the New Year.  Instead of resolutions, set clear defined goals for your business social media presence.

You really NEED a Social Media Policy

If you choose to remain “uninvolved” in social media and you have any employees, you need to, at the very least, have a social media policy, and maintain some means of monitoring them.  (You need to know what they are saying and doing while representing your business.) You need this if you choose to be an active participant too.  No matter what you do with social media in 2010 a social media policy is a MUST!

Social Media is a powerful tool that can be use to make a marked difference in both your business profitability, and your brand reputation, but it is a double edged sword. So all of  you without a social media policy or goal: good luck with your tightrope walk, over fire, while eating a sword!