social-media Archives - Page 12 of 38

3 Traits Winning Social Media Teams Bring to the Tools

November 1, 2010 by Liz

Hard Work Isn’t the Same as Great Work

Pick a passionate team at random people, tell them your vision, and hand them the best materials and power tools. Then ask them to build the new building where you’ll meet your customers. Does that make sense to you?

The passion of random people and the best tools aren’t enough to create a team to build that vision for me or for you. Key to a winning team lies in what those passionate people bring to the tools. For a quality building to be strong, functional, and efficient, the randomness of people who are passionate about building with a passel of fabulous tools won’t build anything useful if they don’t bring something more than passion to the tools.

It’s true in any team endeavor that the tools don’t deliver the great results, the people do.
Great people can build amazing things even with less than the most powerful tools.

3 Traits Winning Social Media Teams Bring to the Tools

A winning social media team is more than people who are passionate about the tools. Look at the teams who are working and you’ll find they have outstanding traits in common that fuel the ways and whys of how they choose and use social media tools.

Brand Identity and Values – The Who — Winning social media teams are anything but random people in a group. Even at the lowest levels, they are leaders who know how to think in service to their customers and as a true ambassador of a brand. This comes as much from who they and from how they’ve been brought into the team. They’re people who share the same values and higher cause of the business and they’ve learned how to their values align with and enhance the core value proposition of the team, the business and the brand.
Purpose and Focus — The What – Winning social media teams have focus on goals that serve those values and that value proposition. They can easily in few words what their purpose and how it fits the higher cause of the business and how it serves a brand and it’s customers. Bringing customers closer and finding meaningful ways to learn from them, serve them, and connect them to other great customers, employees and great resources is what a winning social media team is about. They way they use the tools underscore the vallues and enhance the value proposition.
Bias Toward Action — The When – Winning social media teams pay attention so that they can be there when something needs their personal touch. They respond quickly yet within the values of their brand. Their bias toward action is timed to make things faster and easier for the customers … and all of them see communication as their responsibility — no matter their specific role. They listen, learn, and contribute when the conversation is going on … not hours later after the conversation has moved, changed, or lost it’s audience.

So what about the where AND the how?

You’ll find winning teams choose their tools they use and to be where their customers are and to use the tools their customers already use. In other words …

Winning social medias teams configure their strategy rather than trying to reconfigure their customers.

What qualities drive the winning social media teams you know?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Why B-2-B Is B-2-C … And Social Media is Biz Dev!

October 4, 2010 by Liz

What Do Business Customers Want?

I sneaked into publishing through the back door, first I freelanced. Then I worked for a contractor who built products for bigger publishers. It was definitely a b-2-b business. I was all about serving my customers. I was also clueless about how to do it.

I thought my customers were the clients who paid me.

It wasn’t until I became a publisher hiring other contractors that I realized how off my thinking had been. I’d been looking a short-sighted wrong direction.

Why B-2-B Is B-2-C … And Social Media is Biz Dev!

The business to business model (B-2-B) isn’t that hard to understand if you think a few seconds about it. What do business people want most? They want to grow their businesses. They want to know what successful people in their jobs at other businesses are doing to be successful. We can bring that to them in two simple ways:

We can use social media tools to connect them to other people who do what they do. Social media tools are fabulous for starting and building deep networking relationships. Great social media strategists are fluent at making those relationships happen.
We can use social media tools to build occasions online and offline where they can learn about companies like theirs who are growing. Webinars, seminars, teleconferences about business development, integrated marketing, reaching out to customers in new and more relational ways can be key to helping our clients’ business thrive and grow.

What I didn’t get then is that if we stop with thinking of our client as our customer we leave them to do all of thinking about how their customer might respond to what we suggest, offer, and recommend. But if we look through our customers to the people they serve we become their partner in business development.
We grow our own business by aligning our goals to help them grow theirs.

Do you know how to serve your customers’ customers? Do you think B-2-B and B-2-C at the same time and turn social media marketing into business development?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Social Media & Blogging: Panel Discussion (Part 2)

September 1, 2010 by teresa

A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

Iâm Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors to help manage their online book promotion. As part of my job I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!). I am here to offer a weekly post about one book author I am working with and one book I have put on my reading list.

I am mixing things up (again! – you can read part 1 of panel discussion on blogging and social media) for my weekly blog post at Successful Blog. I thought I would ask a few of the authors I have highlighted to offer their strategies and tips regarding blogging and social media.

Panel Discussion about Blogging and Social Media

The panel consists of the following people:

Himanshu Jhamb thrives on challenges in Software Project Management and has successfully led global teams in industries ranging from Telecommunications to eCommerce. Himanshu is Senior Project Manager for Atypon Systems and co-founder of Active Garage, where he frequently writes about Projects and Project Management. He is also the co-author of #PROJECTMANAGEMENTtweet with Guy Ralfe.

Delandy Kirk, Ph.D., SPHR is a Professor of Management with 27 years experience in teaching Employment Law, Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Managing Diversity, and Operations Management. She has conducted teaching workshops at numerous academic conferences and schools including Columbia University, Duke University, University of Washington, University of Arkansas-Ft Smith, Graceland University, and Metropolitan Community College. She was the featured expert for the Chronicle of Higher Educationâs online chat on classroom management on September 15, 2004, and has earned the prestigious Drake University Board of Governorâs âExcellence in Teachingâ Award. Her book, Taking Back the Classroom: Tips for the College Professor on Becoming a More Effective Teacher, was re-released by Tiberius Publications in October 2008.

Janet Fouts is a social media coach, teacher and speaker. She helps individuals and corporations understand how to use social media tools and work efficiently in this emerging field, and conducts in house and virtual training sessions on social media tools and strategy.
Janet has been working with small businesses to develop their on-line presence and working with online community for 13 years. She is partner in the award winning web design and development firm Tatu Digital Media. She freely shares her knowledge on several social media platforms including her blog at JanetFouts.com. She is the author of Social Media Success and co-author of Social Media Non-Profit Tweetby publisher Happy About.

Tim Tostaa partner at Luce Forward, is recognized as one of Californiaâs leading land use and environmental attorneys. He also is a cancer survivor, a seasoned hospice volunteer, an evocative lecturer and writer, and a certified Integral Coach, guiding executives in the legal profession and the business community to live purposeful, balanced, thriving lives.
Tim is the author of #DEATHtweet and the highly acclaimed lecture series, âLessons for the Living,â and the emotionally compelling hospice writings, âPutting Things in Perspective â Stories from a Hospice Volunteer.â Tim has a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law and a BA from Princeton University. His Twitter handle is @TTosta.

Let’s Start the Discussion

How long have you been blogging?

Himanshu – 18 months

Janet – I’ve been blogging since 1996. Back then they weren’t blogs of course but hand coded pages. We basically modified guest book scripts and had to build a new page for every post. We were THRILLED when Blogger came out!

Delaney – 4 and Â½ years

Tim – I started blogging in earnest in the Spring of this year at CoachingCounsel.com/blog. Although I am a full-time practicing Land Use and Environmental attorney, I became a certified Integral Coach about 18 months ago. I launched the CoachingCounsel.com website concurrent with the publication of my book #DEATHtweet â A Well Lived Life Through 140 Perspectives on Death and Its Teachings.

What subjects do you cover with your blog?

Himanshu -Project Management & Leadership

Janet – I blog on a lot of topics on my blogs. the principal blogs are on social media but I also blog on wine, food, local news and events and green technology and the environment.

Delaney – Teaching tips for college professors including classroom management and the use of educational technology as a pedagogical tool.

Tim– I came upon Integral Coaching from my own work with a coach, as well as my experience as a hospice volunteer at San Franciscoâs Laguna Honda Hospital, where I serve the Cityâs indigent population at the end of life. The hospice experience also led to the authoring of #DEATHtweet. At its core, I blog to help people to relieve their suffering. Topics have included discovering your lifeâs purpose, leading a balanced life, finding happiness, finding awareness through meditation and the like. I blog at least twice a week. I provide exercises and practices to assist people on their journeys of inquiry. I use references to literature, poetry, music and the arts to engage my readers.

Why do you blog?

Himanshu – Whenever I notice something that will provide VALUE to others when faced with similar situations, I blog. Blogging on project management is for readers to GAIN from my mistakes and experience in Project Management (I share these also in the form of tweets in the book)

Janet – Because I’ve got a lot of opinions and I like to teach and communicate with other people on these various topics. I LOVE the whole idea of community online.

Delaney – I enjoy mentoring other instructors and sharing what I have learned in my 28 years of teaching.

Tim – Blogging reminds me of how we used to engage one another through written correspondence. In blogging, I convey information with informality and an open heart, making it easy for my message to be truly heard. Blogging allows me to get relatively immediate feedback on whether or not my messages are making a connection with my readers. To the extent that I receive feedback, I adjust my posts to more meaningfully serve my readers.

What is the one blogging tip you have to share with others?

Himanshu – Be Authentic. Do not blog for the sake of blogging. The blog post needs to be VALUABLE to others. For instance, my blog (www.activegarage.com) is positioned around VALUE to the reader … because all Authors are hand-picked accomplished practitioners of business.
Do not self-promote yourself in your blogs. That, in fact, is one of the requirements we make off new authors, when they begin writing on Active garage.

Janet – Think about your audience. What do they want to talk about? You can get a good idea of what they want by looking at the comments and what posts are most popular, but you can also just ASK. Why are they here? What do they want to talk about?

Be opinionated. That’s where the conversation part comes in.Â

Don’t forget to leave room for discussion. If you say all there is to say you don’t leave room for anybody else’s opinion.Â

Delaney – Donât give up because you feel you are talking to yourself. There will be many people who will read your blog and never comment. That doesnât mean they arenât interested or benefiting from your expertise. I will sometimes get an email from someone asking me a question and always they start off by telling me they have been reading my blog for years.

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Tim – Know your overall intention for your blog, but hold that intention lightly. I generally know the direction of the posts that I will create for many months in advance. But I am flexible in taking a new direction, if an opportunity arises. I have a map. But, I know itâs not the territory.
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When I write a blog post, I usually either dictate it to tape for transcription or use voice transcription software. Those technologies keep my posts conversational. I find that when I write at the keyboard, my âeditor/criticâ always rests on my shoulder, blocking the relaxed, informal tone I want to convey.

How long have you been using social media (twitter, facebook, linkedin) for your business?

Himanshu -18 months

Janet – I built my first online community in 1994. Twitter and Facebook and what people now call social media? 2-3 years.

Delaney – Twitter and Facebook for over two years; Linkedin even longer I think.

Tim – I have been on Linkedin for almost two years. I use Linkedin to bring awareness to my law practice. Facebook, which I have been using for about the same time, is more informal but contains most of my coaching content. I have established a separate Facebook page for the book, #DEATHtweet. Twitter is my vehicle for communicating about my book #DEATHtweet and other books currently in the works.

When it comes to social media— do you prefer one platform over the others? (Faceook, Twitter or LinkedIn)

Himanshu – This is a very generic question. Each social media platform is different – it all depends on the criteria of comparison. For example, Facebook is more personal than twitter and requires a higher degree of trust whereas twitter has a larger reach than facebook. LinkedIn is more suited towards professionals in jobs.

Janet -Twitter is my favorite because it’s so rich in information. I also get most of my business from Twitter or my blog. I rank pretty high in Google for “Social Media Coach” and I’ve worked hard to keep that brand alive with social media.

Delaney – I really like Twitter. Itâs a great way to build a network of professionals to share information, tips, links to articles, etc. I met Teresa Morrow through Twitter and have recommended her services to several new and aspiring authors I know.

Tim – Each social media platform offers its own distinct advantages. Linkedin serves my law practice well because it is more of a broadcast mechanism. Facebook, with its interactivity, is well suited for the coaching. Twitter inspired the #THINKaha! brand for Happy About Books. #DEATHtweet is a book in that series. My book was âdesignedâ for tweeting.

What is one social media tip you have to share with others?

Himanshu – Again, be authentic. The more authentically you share, the more social-media love you will get back.

Remember… Give first… and you will get, then.

Janet – Every day pick a different connection or two and reach out to them. How can you help them? Read what they’re writing about and talk to them.
NEVER send automated DM’s. It’s just bad practice.
Start with 1-2 networks or tools at a time. If you try to learn them all at once you will flail around until you drown, exhausted.Â
Join SocialMediaCoachingCenter.com and read Social Media Success!
Social media is all about the other guy. It’s not about you. Find ways to help other people and they will reciprocate.

Delaney – Be patient. You donât create a network overnight. Think of it as a cocktail party-you wouldnât go to a social event and immediately try to sell your product to someone you just met. Instead take your time, get to know others with similar interests, share information, and build trust and credibility.

Tim –
Each social media platform offers you a different way to present yourself. The culture of the platform shapes your audience and your message. Figure out the rules of each game to determine how that platform best serves you and use it accordingly.
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Use of social media requires some study and a certain degree of discipline. But in order to be effective, you have to find a way to make it fun. Otherwise, you will make yourself crazy. I even take social media âvacationsâ periodically to recharge my engines, gather new ideas and seek inspiration. Sure, people will miss you. But coming back with fresh content reconnects you very quickly.

Thank you Himanshu, Delaney, Janet and Tim for contributing your valuable ideas and tips for the readers!

So, now it is your turn…share your answers to these questions about blogging and social media.

The Declaration of Social Media Business Interdepence

July 5, 2010 by Liz

Forgive Me Thomas Jefferson …
but we do share the same birthday.

On the Internet, July 4, 2010

The Declaration of Social Business Interdependence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for people to band together, to connect, and to assume among the powers of the market, the innovative, competitive, and collaborative marketplace to which the Laws of Economics and of Human Behavior entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of all — customers, vendors, clients, coworkers, partners, competitors, consultants, C-suite executives, family members, friends (excepting the unethical, the liars, thieves, and gamers of the system) requires that we should declare the causes which impel us to the do business.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that life online and offline are both real life, that each is endowed with certain unalienable connectivity, that among these are conversations, relationships, transactions, and the pursuit of bandwidth to build dreams into realities.

–That social networks are instituted among creators, curators, crowds of fans, leaders, listeners, thinkers, and caretakers deriving their just powers from the consent of the community.

–That whenever any business, any site or any platform of interaction, any relationship becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to abandon or to abolish it. They may lay a new foundation on like values and organizing its powers that protect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence dictates that long established platforms should not be changed for light and transient causes — with the result of exporting information and friendships into chaotic ubiquity; and accordingly experience hath shewn, that people are more likely suffer bad code and crashing sites, than to change their social networking habits and passwords.

But when the possibility of abuses, misuses and usurpations — particularly of personal information, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off what might harm their reputation and their future security.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the social web, solemnly publish and declare,

That these social networks are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent (excepting those offering extraordinary paid content).
That we will navigate the social web with appropriate caution tempering our transparency, rising to the belief that TMI can be not only dangerous to personal identity, but a passive invasion of others’ privacy.
We throw down, block, and abolish all content thieves, spammers, scrapers and people who hijack our Twitter streams to try to sell things as soon as they meet us.
We shun people who get to know us for the purpose of exploiting our networks.
We ignore Twitter breakdowns and glitches at our pleasure and make no promise to continue to do so.
We distrust people who say they know social media, but have no online presence and no social networking profiles.
We curse bad links and outages that interfere with getting our work done so that we might spend time with our families.
We will never forget that no amount of talking or attention getting will help a product or service that is woefully lacking. Social media cannot fix bad hires, faulty product, or other failings..
We commit to being social offline and online in equal and equivalent measures to build trust through predictability.
We protect each other when we see something happening that could cause a fail. We will not take pleasure or participate in huge social media bashing sparked by bad advertising, bad employee behavior, or human error. Discussion will not require beating a horse that is dead already or fueling a fire unnecessarily.
We refer business to the people most qualified in our networks by value of their intelligence, competence, integrity, and interpersonal skills, not by value of their number of followers or their friendship.
We strive to grow our businesses, our relationships, and our personal awareness so that we might have more to offer. That growing and knowing will allow us to align our goals with strategic partners to build stronger business, relationships and communities.
We do not click links or open attachments from people we do not know … ever.
We recognize the value of our cooperative, respectful, authentic interactions with like-minded people and value every tweet, comment, blog post, and that we share as we build our businesses and rebuild the economy of the world interdependently. .

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other time of our Lives, participation in our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

We declare our interdepedence as people who work on the web.

—–
We’re not starting a revolution. It’s already started.

What will you declare?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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The Declaration of Independence

We Interrupt Regular Blogging for Steve’s Shorts

SEO, CRO, Social Media, Horses and Water by Steve Plunkett.

Hard Work Isn’t the Same as Great Work

3 Traits Winning Social Media Teams Bring to the Tools

What Do Business Customers Want?

Why B-2-B Is B-2-C … And Social Media is Biz Dev!

A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

Panel Discussion about Blogging and Social Media

Let’s Start the Discussion

Forgive Me Thomas Jefferson … but we do share the same birthday.

On the Internet, July 4, 2010

The Declaration of Social Business Interdependence

SEO, CRO, Social Media, Horses and Water
by Steve Plunkett.

Forgive Me Thomas Jefferson …
but we do share the same birthday.