Posts Tagged ‘facebook’

Au Contraire, it can lead to improved productivity and branding.

First and foremost, let’s get one thing clear about Social Media. It is not just a tool, or a tactic or even a strategy. It is simply a channel for having online conversations. Depending on if you know and intend to use it purposefully or not, it can increase productivity… or not. There are two kinds of stances organizations that do not believe in the power of Social Media take when it comes to using Facebook or Twitter, at work.

1. Employees will be distracted. They’ll spend too much time on these sites and it will be an impediment to the actual work. So, they should not have access to these at work.
2. Social Media is not useful at all. I don’t want to know when someone is going grocery shopping or cleaning his car.

The issue with the first stance is simply not about social media. It is about ethics. Just like you shouldn’t be browsing the internet for 7 hours a day in your 8 hour workday and you shouldn’t be chatting on the phone about your favorite football team with your buddy for the better part of your workday, you shouldn’t be using the different social media channels for extended periods of time. Blocking the websites wouldn’t do a lot of good if the people in your organization are looking to spend the majority of their working hours elsewhere. You might want to look at “Why are they distracted”? more than “What distracts them”?

The issue with the second stance is simply ignorance and a fixed way of thinking about social media. There are some Social Media Rockstars who have branded themselves impeccably using the various social media channels. It does not mean they have never got subjected to online conversations about grocery shopping from other folks. It simply means they have been participating and contributing to the social media space purposefully and with an open mind. They do not allow themselves to be led by popular opinion. They are in the department of changing the popular opinion… or even being a source of a new one! There is a reason why companies like CNN, BestBuy, Dell and JetBlue continue using Twitter and the reason is simply that were ready to experiment and they’ve found a way to make it work for whatever it is that they are after. Contrary to popular belief, these companies not only use Twitter as a channel to market their offers but also to have online conversations with their customers which, mind you, involves listening to the customer’s concerns and then engaging with them by taking action to best take care of them.

Regardless of your organization’s stance on Social Media, Social Media is here to stay. It’s not any different from any new practice or technology that is invented. About 30 years ago or so, with the advent of computers, we got a real taste of what machines can do from a small microchip. About 20 years ago or so, we got a taste of what connectivity means with the advent of the internet. Perhaps it’s time for organizations to give up their rigidity on Social Media and leap into this new decade with a sense of exploration and genuine intrigue to see what conversing online means with the advent of this dangerous opportunity (Social Media).

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This article was contributed by Himanshu Jhamb, co-founder of Active Garage and co-author of the upcoming book "ProjectManagementTweets". You can follow Himanshu on Twitter at himjhamb.

Tagged as: active garage, best buy, Branding, cnn, Dell, employees, facebook, himanshu jhamb, jetblue, organization, Productivity, Social Media, Social media rockstars, Twitter

We’re all bombarded with thousands of messages each day – personally and professionally. Maybe it’s because of new media like Twitter, LinkedIn or FaceBook. Maybe it’s the internet in general.  Whatever the cause, the effect is the same. The volume of marketing messages is overwhelming to most Americans. In fact, 60 percent have signed up for the do-not-call registry; 33 percent have installed Web pop-up blockers, and nine percent have signed on to a do-not-e-mail list (and 40 percent may want to). So the question is: “How do you break through in this environment?”  One answer: Branding.

Everyone has a different definition of branding – everything from your logo, your message, to your visions and personality.  Each of these is correct in a way.  My definition (just so we’re clear) is that a brand is a promise; a promise of authenticity and value and sets our expectations about the product or service we associate with the brand.

That’s all well and good, but here’s the real question:  What’s the point of having a catchy slogan if it doesn’t strengthen or support your business? Why invest in PR if it doesn’t translate into increased awareness and recognition? Why go to trade shows if they don’t produce high-quality leads? Branding, or a promise to your customers, is a way to differentiate yourself in a crowded market so your company can sell more stuff.  Short and simple.

Independently, without a coherent brand strategy, these tactics do little to attract customers and drive revenue. However, as part of an integrated brand and marketing strategy, these and other tactics are the foundation that will deliver results for your business. Sounds simple, right? Well, often the simplest things are the hardest to do.

Here are three things you can do today to make sure your brand is doing it’s job – helping your company sell more stuff.

1. Look at your website: Is your brand consistently applied on your website?  Do you use the same logo, or do you have multiple logos scattered about the place?  What about your messaging, are you delivering similar yet different messages and confusing your customers?
2. Ask 10 people what they think: You want to know what they think your brand stands for.  Hopefully you get similar responses, and hopefully they are right on target.  If not, well, you have more work to do.
3. Step out of the box: Life doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  Step outside your company and look at what’s going on around you.  Is your brand relevant in today’s market?  Are you linking with current events and trends?

Marketing should get people’s attention, and convince them to consider your company’s products or services over the competition. An integrated brand including strategy, messages, visual identity, and other marketing tactics extends the impact of your marketing investments. You can more efficiently and effectively improve awareness, produce leads and ultimately drive revenue. After all, isn’t that the point?

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This article is contributed by Laura Lowell, Author of the Amazon bestseller ’42 Rules of Marketing’ and the upcoming ‘42 Rules to Build Your Brand and Your Business’. You can follow her on twitter at @42_rules.

Tagged as: 42 Rules, active garage, authentic, brand strategy, Branding, brands, commitment, expectations, facebook, laura lowell, linkedin, product, promise, service, Strategy, tactics, Twitter

As human beings, we are always in a game in our lives. We have characters who play different roles in our lives. There are jobs we are doing to earn money (points). There are times we WIN and times we LOSE. There are rules for the game of life – try not showing up for work to understand this point. And there is start and end.

These games keep us entertained, challenged and engaged. Every time we are too comfortable, we need to change the game to keep ourselves going. Imagine! sitting in your living room, changing channels on the TV, you are restless and then suddenly a friend comes in and takes you for a game of basketball – suddenly he changed the game you’re in… and what’s better! You find yourself enjoying the new game you’re in.

This is the underlying foundation of why Gaming is so popular on social networks like facebook, myspace and bebo. Your friends keep pushing the bar of the game you are in and you enjoy the time spent with them. You can form guilds and communities with your friends and discover new friends who have similar interests to accomplish big milestones. Many games give you the choice to pick an Avatar that speaks to your favorite fantasy character. Most importantly, the fun is in planning and coordinating with your friends… and of course, Winning!

It is clear that the intent of gaming and social media is to bring SOCIAL back into the game.

Here are the trends that show how social networks are integrating with games.

1. Play Games on Facebook:

Looking for a new game to play? Discover games on Facebook — Tetris, Bowling, Scrabble and more. Games: Better with friends.

2. Twitter and Facebook on XBOX 360

Social Media and Live gaming on Xbox

So, let the games BEGIN…

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Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth.

Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world.

You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, bebo, bowling, deepika bajaj, facebook, friends, gaming, invincibelle, marketing, media, multiplayer, myspace, play with friends, playing, role playing, scrabble, social gaming, Social Media, tetris, Twitter, xbox 360

The social media call today is to get online and participate. Over the last year a day hasn’t gone by without someone mentioning a new contact through a social network site or some new statistic about the presence and reach of social media networks, but more often of late we are hearing more news of misfortune surrounding social media.

This is not unexpected as this is a common characteristic of social groups. It has gone on for centuries and is to some degree the cause of wars and organized crime – where there’s a large group that appears to have something relative to another it produces an opportunity to exploit. In social media this has manifested itself in Identity Theft and Brand Damage (topic of next post)

Identity theft seems to be rampant today and rather intimidating. An article in the Daily Mail quotes a large UK insurance company Legal & General as warning that insurance premiums may rise if household members utilize social media sites.

This is on the back of the claim that criminals are preying within these network sites for opportunities such as burglaries, personal account details and identity theft. What appears to be an innocent use of your ability to broadcast everything from your thoughts through twitter, photos on Flickr and everything about yourself on facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or such sites, can potentially provide key information to criminals to utilize against you.

What this means is that we have to be conscious about how we configure our accounts on these sites and responsible with what information is shared through which channels.

Here is some edited advice published by Robert Siciliano on bloggernews

Before you post anything online, think about what a criminal could do with that data. Don’t post specific details about yourself such as address, date of birth, kids’ names, pets’ names, phone numbers, or any account numbers or financial information of any kind. This information can often be used to retrieve passwords and help get fraudulent access to personal accounts. Do not tell the world you are going on vacation! This is an open invitation to any would be burglar. Remember posting pictures of your vacation while on vacation is much the same as writing that you are on holiday. If you’re a “partier” and like to imbibe, informing the world that you just smoked a joint is not only one of the worst things you could do for your career, it also makes all your friends guilty by association. Before posting pictures or videos, consider what a criminal or potential employer might see. Could they be used against you in any way? If you let your kids use social media, you must monitor every aspect of their Internet activities. Pick up McAfee’s Family Protection software and take control of your childrens’ Internet use. Take advantage of privacy settings and lock down your profile, so that only those who you approve can view everything. Get a credit freeze. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief. Invest in identity theft protection and prevention services such as Intelius. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.

Remember that it is not only criminals that are potentially scouting you out! Today it does not take a lot of effort to perform searches on individuals. Posting something that may be illegal or unsavory can just as easily be picked up by a prospective future employer, client or worse used against you in court!

Social media is built on trusting relationships. It is this trust that is manipulated to exploit your situation and information. As aptly demonstrated in Himanshu Jhamb’s article Social Media: A Dangerous Opportunity, this does not need to be intimidating and there are many things we can do to protect ourselves. We just need to be aware how these tools can be utilized and act responsibly to protect ourselves from criminals or others carrying hidden agendas.

Don’t be intimidated, enjoy your social media experience!

This article was contributed by Guy Ralfe, co-founder of Active Garage and co-author of the upcoming book "ProjectManagementTweets". You can follow Guy on Twitter at gralfe.

Tagged as: active garage, Branding, data security, facebook, flickr, http://activegarage.com, Identity, identity theft, linkedin, Personal Identity, security, Social Media, technology, Twitter

Nowadays, the web is full of success stories on Social Media. Indeed, the arrival (and the acceptance) of Social Media has opened the gates to many opportunities: enabling individuals and communities to brand themselves being perhaps one of the biggest. However, as is the case with every opportunity, it has the potential downside, too. The downside, if not paid attention to, can turn this opportunity on its head into a “dangerous” one.

Here are two fundamental questions that you must strive to answer, before you can turn any new tool into an opportunity for yourself.

1. What is my purpose of using it?
2. How do I use it effectively to get the outcome that I am after?

Take, for example, using a knife for the first time. You need to have a concern of cutting/chopping something before even thinking about using it. Without that, you are simply wasting your time (might I add, dangerously) if you’re running around with it. Then, you need to learn how to use it effectively – if you don’t, it is equally dangerous as you might end up slicing and dicing your fingers (didn’t mean to go to this extreme… but, you get the point!) instead of what you intended to use it for.

Social Media can be like a knife. You need to know what is your purpose behind using it first because, if you do not have a clear purpose, then you’ll end up squandering away the other opportunities in your life that you could have availed in the time you’re spending dabbling with Social Media.

You also need to learn to use it effectively… without that, you are playing with a dangerous tool.

I recently read a great CNN post on How Social Media can hurt your career… and though I loved the examples the author shared in there (some of them were downright scary), I felt the title of the post would’ve better served the content had it been “How you can hurt your career through Social Media” instead of “How Social Media can hurt your career“. You see, there is a subtle difference if I say it like that because the conversation you have with yourself on Social Media after reading the former title is on the lines of “Oh! I better learn how to use this properly” instead of “Oh! Social Media is too dangerous… I better stop using it”, which is what comes forth after reading the latter. Yes, there is a very subtle difference between the two but clearly, the former opens the possibilities of “getting better” at it and the latter closes the possibilities by instilling an unfounded fear in the reader.

Getting good at leveraging the opportunity that Social Media is, is a skill that beckons to be learnt and exploited to the maximum potential. For this is how your level of engagement will start reaping you the maximum returns… and you can be assured that you are playing on the “Safe” side of this dangerous opportunity!

This article was contributed by Himanshu Jhamb, co-founder of Active Garage and co-author of the upcoming book "ProjectManagementTweets". You can follow Himanshu on Twitter at himjhamb.

Tagged as: cnn, cnn.com, dangerous opportunity, engagement, facebook, flickr, linkedin, opportunity, Social Media, Twitter, youtube

Everyone does not view social media with the same lens. Different people have different stands about social media. For some people it’s a nuisance and for others it’s their life.

I have grouped the kinds of relationships people have to social media in seven categories. You may be able to identify yourself in one of them or somewhere in between. You will notice that the investment you make and the returns you get are directly influenced by the approach you take.

As you can see, only in the last two kinds of relationships can you expect reasonable ROI from social media.

So, here are the seven kinds of relationship in detail:

1. Despise

You hate social media and social networking. You might even think it’s a nuisance. You think it’s artificial and you just keep thinking about the old days when people could really meet and talk. This new kind of building relationships seems so fake to you. Some of you may think that this is a fad that’s going to go away sooner than later. So why bother?

None of you in belonging to this category have any plans for participating in the social media. Some of you may question the intelligence of others who are participating in social media. Obviously, you can’t expect to see any returns from social media with this attitude.

2. Distant

You don’t hate social media but you don’t love it either. You are standing at a distance and watching all the action. You are sometimes amused, sometimes surprised and sometimes shocked with what’s happening there. When you read a success story you are encouraged to begin your journey but you stop yourself saying that you may not be ready to make that BIG commitment of time, energy and mindshare into this without being fully clear about the return on that investment.

Some of you in this category may be afraid that you might abandon the ship prematurely if you are not fully equipped before you start. Whatever be the reason to keep the distance, you can’t expect any returns from social media with this stand.

3. Dream

You are more open to participating in social media but the right time has not come in yet. You know what you will do when you finally start engaging in social media. In your mind, you have a grand plan but the time to execute has not come yet. Even here, your ROI from social media is not much for you as the marketplace rarely places a premium on people’s dreams. Dreams are important but action is even more important.

4. Deal

You are someone that had no choice but to jump into social media. Someone posted about you or your company on a blog. Someone tweeted about you or your company on Twitter. You are now forced to respond, especially if you feel the article or tweet was not backed with facts. You jump into the social media to set the record straight. This is a reactive approach rather than a proactive approach. However, you can still benefit from dealing with the situation on social media. People appreciate that there is human touch from the company. You might decide to engage proactively from now on or you might again go back to the sidelines and come back whenever there is a need.

5.  Dabble

You are definitely on the social media side of the fence. You are experimenting on various tools, techniques and tactics albeit without a clear strategy. You act as if the latest tools that surfaced were the missing piece in the puzzle. You embrace new tools with vigor but you don’t follow through with the same vigor as new tools in the marketplace continue to distract you.

While you may not get a long-term return using this approach you do see some benefit as you start making and building relationships on the web.

6. Dedicated

You are committed to participate and engage in social media. You are active on various networks, ask and answer questions and do everything to engage with community. People know you as not only competent in your domain but also as a “nice and helpful” person and probably will reciprocate back when you are in need. You are on the path to building long term relationships that matter.

This is where you start seeing serious returns from social media.

7. Dance

This is social media mastery at display. You know what it takes to “dance” in the social media. You not only help – you ensure that your help is “valuable.” You not only give away stuff but you ensure that what you are giving away is “SIGNFICANT.” Whether it is an article, eBook or a tweet, when you talk people listen and they are thankful that you are there in social media and you are accessible. You change lives via social media and make things happen.

Your returns from social media skyrocket with this stand.

If you are not engaged in social media, I urge you to start engaging with the view to “dance” someday. That’s where all the magic is.

Rajesh Setty is an entrepreneur, author and speaker based in Silicon Valley. He maintains another blog called Life Beyond Code and tweets as @UpbeatNow

Tagged as: active garage, engage, facebook, flickr, linkedin, Rajesh Setty, relationships, Return on Investment, ROI, significant help, Social Media, Twitter, youtube

Social media is not for the weak of heart. It requires a certain level of risk taking and willingness to experiment. The success of social media is based on contribution, connections and community. There is no one way to identify what tools within social media are relevant to your business objectives. This has not stopped companies and individuals to adapt to these tools and some have successfully harnessed the raw power of social media. No doubt, there are many people and companies who are still resisting this new social phenomenon. Like it OR not – this is here to stay.

I have spoken to many people in different organizations and some have shared with me their concerns of using social media.

Here are a few that I want to share with you all:

1. We can’t have a Youtube video. If the advertisement on RHS of the video is of adult content, it will dilute our brand.

2. We can’t open up Facebook to our employees since we are a Financial services company and have to protect client information.

3.  We really are interested but don’t know the best practices around what works and what doesn’t work.

These are all valid concerns. Just recently, an article in the wired blog mentioned that Military may ban Twitter, Facebook as security ‘Headaches’.

And yet there are other companies who have transcended to leverage social media in a compelling and effective manner. In my previous post, I committed to sharing some stories of companies who are using social media in a creative and innovative manner.

Here are a few stories:

How EMC used social media to recruit, re-brand and rebuild.

COOL factor: Held a series of highly effective recruiting fairs in Second Life, a 3D virtual world,  that showed EMC the undeniable power of social platforms for business.

ROI: EMC’s employment brand operation has a zero spend budget. The number of followers on EMC Careers Twitter channel and Facebook are growing. There is a spike in the number of resumes per job opening. Therefore, ROI is positive.

JetBlue’s ” All You Can Jet” Promo shows Power and Peril of Free Media Channels.

COOL factor: A unique JetBlue promotion called, yes, “All You Can Jet” offering people a $599 ticket for unlimited travel between Sept. 8 through Oct. 8 to 57 cities where JetBlue flies. Main promotional components appear to have been a release over PR Newswire and a tweet sent out by JetBlue at around noon that day.

ROI: Total PR buzz of the effort at 31 million search results and 10 million blog posts in seven hours.

I believe that we live in a new world where we are all connected. We can  leverage these connections to create new possibilities. Truly, there has never been a time when things changed so dynamically. This does not mean that traditional media is dead. It is a great resource for mass distribution – like selling a book, launching a product or a career. The idea that your competitor has more connections and has the ability to hurt your business has driven companies to adapt social media. I believe it is the new Socioeconomy (study of the relationship between economic activity and social life) – a shift more profound than the launch of an automobile or the cell phone.

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, all you can jet, Branding, budget, deepika bajaj, EMC, facebook, invincibelle, jetblue, promotion, recruiting, Social Media, socioeconomy, Strategy, Twitter, www.deepikabajaj.com, www.invincibelle.com

Social Media is empowering businesses and individuals to get found in cyberspace. Traditionally, marketeers relied on tools such as
newspapers, print media, radio and television – PUSH strategy in marketing, where there is little demand for the product or service until it is pushed out to the consumer. This was expensive marketing. Many companies like P&G, Merck and Home Depot used these tools to reach out to the masses, in hope that a fraction of that population will gravitate to their message.

There is a paradigm shift now and many companies are leveraging the internet to reach a targeted set of audience. Social media tools such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are being leveraged to spread a targeted message to reach relevant audience. This is more like a PULL strategy in marketing, where a customer requests a product or service (by following you on Twitter or becoming a fan of your product or service on Facebook).

The objective is to get found by people who care about what you have to offer. It requires a creative approach and leverage to spread the word using social media. Your website visitors can find what they are looking for and that increases the opportunity to do business development for your company or find customers, exponentially. Social media provides metrics, is scalable and is a lot of fun. It is the new way to drive traffic to your website and market your products or services.

To be found and leverage social media, sign up on facebook, twitter, linkedin and flickr - if you haven’t already. There is an entropy of the marketing messages in the cyberspace. If you are innovative and creative, you can build strong relationships online, network with people in your industry, build a community and an identity. You do this offline when you go to industry events, send snail mail and make customer calls. This is limited by geography and available customer databases. Social media is your opportunity to discover customers worldwide, connect with people who you did not know existed and get found or discovered across cultures and national boundaries.

In my next post, I will share some companies have built competency in listening online and how they used social media for branding. So, stay tuned…

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Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle.

Tagged as: active garage, deepika bajaj, Entrepreneurship, facebook, flickr, invincibelle, linkedin, marketing, Pull strategy, Push strategy, sales, Sales and Marketing, Social Media, Twitter

It is important to understand what is going on here. There is a real shift underway. Building your brand through traditional tools and trends need a closer look. Are they making you vulnerable? Are they making you a stronger business?

Speed of change is HIGH. Advertising has been moving online and is becoming less effective. The payouts of online advertisement are declining. It is harder to justify marketing budgets and ROI for online advertising.

Here are some current trends:

Trend #1 Balance of Power
There has been a big power shift and today consumer has unparalleled power.

Trend #2 Emerging Marketing opportunity
More intimate customer relationship marketing is possible.

Trend #3 New Technique to build brand identity
You can shape your brand identity through response to social market. Transperancy and humility are rewarded. Authenticity is identity.

Every marketeer is now struggling with the following questions:

Should we be on FB?
Do we start a blog?
Do we offer everything for free?
Why aren’t we tweeting?

There are a lot of people who know what is social media BUT are not sure how to use it. Social Media is focused on the long tail so it is customized for easy adaptation by consumers. For marketeers to use it effectively, they need to demonstrate leadership in using social media. They need to develop social leadership strategy that delivers desired outcome and meets their business objectives.

All day I read articles, blogs, case studies about brands that tried something — usually — missed the boat, and are now enjoying the not always positive feedback we are all so ready to give. But then again, every once and a while a company comes along and really hits the nail on the head.

The Nature Conservancy leverages Facebook and Digg for cause marketing: How TNC raised nearly $75,000 through Facebook Causes and a partnership with Lil Green Patch, a popular Facebook application. The group has also built significant brand awareness through the social news site Digg! (As reported by Jonathon Colman of TNC, September 29, 2008).

So why bother with social media?

I meet with a lot of companies, and almost always I am asked to “give an example of how a company has increased their bottom-line with social media.” Well, now, in addition to my usual spiel of stats, graphs, etc., I can also hand case studies. What it comes down to is any company can find success with a social media strategy; they just need to have the right goal in place. They need to understand where their audience is hanging out, and get in there with a good story … start passing it around. The rest usually takes care of itself.

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Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle.

Tagged as: advertisement, blog, budget, deepika bajaj, facebook, Identity, invincibelle, Leadership, marketing, online advertisement, Return on Investment, ROI, Social Media, Twitter, www.deepikabajaj.com, www.invincibelle.com