Avoiding Bad SEO: How Do I Series

Have you come across instances of SEO [search engine optimization] that you just weren't comfortable with? Or that didn't read right on a website? The instances I've come across lately inspired this latest article in the How Do I social media marketing series: Avoiding Bad SEO.

You can read it by clicking on this link:

How Do I Avoid Bad SEO Techniques

If, after reading that, you need some additional SEO inspiration, check out this other post titled: The Business of SEO: Get Found.

What examples of bad SEO techniques have you come across in your web travels? What bothered you about them? What advice would you give business owners for avoiding them?

Let me know in the comments.

Thanks,

C.B.

Want to Get Started with Social Media? Ten Tips...

I mentioned in Content Talks Business Blog on SimpleMarketingNow.com that I was revisiting my How Do I? series and creating from it several Tip Sheets and Guides.

I'm here today to share with you the very first of those Tip Sheets: the Top 10 Tips for Getting Started in Social Media.

Intrigued? I hope so!

You can download the tip sheet by clicking on this link which will take you to the landing page for this document. Simply enter your email and you can download the document.

Doing so also means that you'll be able to download the newly created full guide for getting started with social media once you've digested the Top 10 Tips...

I welcome your feedback and hope you'll enjoy these newly created resources.

Please do share your feedback in the comments.

Please do feel free to share this link with others who might be interested.

Best,

C.B.

How To Manage Your Online Reputation

Just in time for my New Jersey Chapter of the American Marketing Association presentation on Managing Your Reputation in a Social World, here are my suggestions on how to manage your online reputation in a post written for the Content Marketing Institute.

It's titled 6 Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation and starts out as follows:

"Whether you manage a brand, a business or yourself, your online reputation matters, particularly if you’re serious about creating a meaningful content strategy for engaging with potential customers."

In the post, I encourage readers to use themselves as an example as they go about exploring how to manage their reputation online. I know of no better way to validate, test, probe and understand the results that I find. In so doing, the insights have more meaning. I can intuitively interpret what I see and extrapolate the process for my company or brand.

These are the recommendations that I've included in 6 Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation:

• Monitor Your Google Search Results

• Develop Digital Profiles

• Listen Intensely

• Set Expectations

• Evaluate Your Website

• Plan For the Worst

Each section includes details, tips and examples to help make each way to manage your online reputation more relevant to you and your business.

I'd love to  hear your reactions and experiences. What would you add to the list? What have you found valuable in managing your online reputation?

Let me know here or please comment on my original post, 6 Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation.


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Facebook Fan Page Guidelines or House Rules

What about Facebook guidelines or house rules? How prevalent are they and what are some good examples?

Having explored the matter from a LinkedIn perspective in LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules of Engagement, I was interested in turning to Facebook.

My favorite Facebook House Rules example comes from the Intel Facebook Fan Page [hat tip to the wonderful Ekaterina Walter who shared her Facebook experiences in a MarketingProfs pro seminar titled Growing Your Fan Base and Engaging Effectively on Facebook.

Although relatively few Facebook Fan pages include guidelines or house rules [e.g., Urban Outfitters, Zappos, Amazon, IKEA - among others - do not], I found examples more easily than I did searching for them in LinkedIn Groups. Possibly because legal teams are involved in initially creating these brand presences on Facebook Fan pages?

At first, I thought that Nestle had no rules posted. But, then, I came across a note on Nestle's Facebook Policy. These House Rules from Converse All Star have to be the simplest guidelines ever! Are they enough in your opinion?

I'll share with you in more detail these three Facebook Fan page guidelines: Intel, Coca-Cola's House Rules [featured on a dedicated page] and those of the U.S. Army, referred to as "Public Transit".

Intel's Facebook Fan Page House Rules

Welcome to Intel’s Facebook page. We’re glad you are here.

This page provides a place to discuss the Intel brand, our family of products, initiatives, services and breaking news. The following guidelines are designed to help provide a quality environment for our fans. Please take a minute to read them and keep them in mind whenever you participate.

By using or accessing this page, you agree to comply with Facebook’s Terms and Conditions. While we are excited to hear from everyone, it is important to note that postings by fans to Intel’s Facebook page do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Intel, nor does Intel confirm their accuracy.

We understand that technology is a subject many of you are passionate about – a passion we share. We welcome all questions and commentary, including constructive feedback. We don’t take decisions on moderating posts lightly. But we do expect that participants post content and commentary that is both relevant and respectful to this community as a whole. Intel reserves the right to remove any posts that don’t adhere to our guidelines and to block anyone who violates them repeatedly. Specifically, we do not tolerate these kinds of posts:

• Abusive, harassing, stalking, threatening or attacking others
• Defamatory, offensive, obscene, vulgar or depicting violence
• Hateful in language targeting race/ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality or political beliefs
• Fraudulent, deceptive, misleading or unlawful
• Trolling or deliberate disruption of discussion
• Violations of any intellectual property rights
• Spamming in nature
• Uploading files that contain viruses or programs that could damage the operation of other people’s computers
• Commercial solicitation or solicitation of donations
• Link baiting (embedding a link in your post to draw traffic to your own site)

If you have a customer service issue, we recommend going to http://www.intel.com/go/supportcommunity for the fastest path to resolution.

Coca-Cola's Facebook Fan Page House Rules

This is your Fan Page and we encourage you to leave comments, photos, videos, and links here. However, we will review all comments and will remove any that are inappropriate or offensive. We will leave what you share that relates to the subjects covered on this Page. Please understand that comments posted to this Page do not represent the opinions of The Coca-Cola Company.

Coca-Cola Facebook Terms of Use
The Coca-Cola® Facebook page is intended to provide a place for fans of Coca-Cola® to discuss Coca-Cola® beverages and promotions. All comments, visuals, videos and other type of material posted by fans on this site ("User Content") do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideals of The Coca-Cola Company ("TCCC"), its employees or affiliates. TCCC (a) does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statement or product claims made here, (b) is not responsible for any User Content on this site, and (c) does not endorse any opinions expressed on this fan page.

All users must comply with Facebook's Terms of Use and TCCC's Terms of Use for the Coca-Cola Facebook Page. TCCC does not monitor every posting of User Content on the Coca-Cola Facebook Page. TCCC expects, however, that users will not post any materials that fall into any of the following categories and may have removed any materials that:

• Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
• Publish, post, distribute or disseminate any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, misleading or unlawful material or information.
• Upload or attach files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
• Upload or attach files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer.
• Delete any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any file that is uploaded.
• Falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.

The U.S. Army's Facebook Fan Page House Rules

Welcome to the U.S. Army's Official page on Facebook, where you will find the most recent news stories, videos and photos that are distributed by the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief of Public Affairs.

If you're looking for the official source of information about the U.S. Army please visit our homepage at http://www.army.mil/.

On Facebook, we hope you'll join us here and check out our profiles on: Flickr, Twitter and You Tube and the Army's official blog, ArmyLive.

While this is an open forum, it's also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here. Posts will be removed if they violate the guidelines listed below.

- No graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone or any organization.

- No solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency.

- No copyrighted or trademarked images or graphics. Imagery should be owned by the user.

- No comments or photos that suggest or encourage illegal activity.

- No documents of any kind should be posted on this page.

You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.

Also, the appearance of external links on this site does not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.

For more information, visit the DoD Social Media user agreement. 


Three examples from three large organizations. Certainly, much more detailed than the Converse example. Considering, though, that these are House Rules and the message serious, the tone is relatively conversational making the rules of engagement easy to understand and setting expectations for those wanting to interact with the Facebook Fan Page.

What is your take on these Facebook Fan Page Guidelines or House Rules? What would you add? What would you do differently?

[I've just updated the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York House Rules.  Feedback welcome!]

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LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules of Engagement

Have you given thought to your LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules of Engagement? It's an important question, and yet one that many group owners, managers and moderators haven't addressed.

Recently, Tricia Pompo from Ceramic Tile and Stone Consultants, Inc. - whom I got to meet in person at Coverings - emailed me about LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules.  Here is her message: 

Christine,

I wonder if I can pick your brain a little? In your presentation and in our conversations you’ve said that “rules” should be created for those of us that have a group on Linkedin. For the life of me, I cannot find any examples! Is it just that not too many groups are actually making rules, or are they hiding somewhere in their page where I cannot see them? I looked under all the groups of which we are members and there aren’t any. Can you send me an example?

Thanks so much.

My model for LinkedIn Group moderation, interaction and guidelines is HIMSS, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which has successfully grown a LinkedIn Group to over 40,000 members by nurturing interaction, carefully moderating and consistently communicating its guidelines. [For more perspective, read my post HIMSS, Social Media & Heathcare IT Community.]

When I read Tricia's email, I immediately went to the HIMSS group and found their guidelines. But, then I became curious and decided to check out more of the groups I belong to in search of LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules. And I had difficulty!

Many LinkedIn Groups aren't that vibrant and others, too self-promotional. The ones that shine are ones where the group owner actively moderates, invites conversation and encourages the sharing of true value with members.

Regardless, I expected to trip over more examples of LinkedIn Group Rules and Guidelines to share with Tricia.

What has been your experience? Which LinkedIn Groups do you consider most vibrant and what are their guidelines? How are those guidelines and rules of engagement communicated?

Here are two examples:

Lead Change LinkedIn Group:

The purpose of this group is to connect and discuss character-based leadership. You will notice that self-promotion is generally ignored. People in this community connect and share openly about leadership, but if all you do is talk about yourself, people will lose interest quickly. Promoting other groups or services that don't have to do with leadership development will cause us to move your discussions to the Promotions area, or ban you altogether.

HIMSS Group Rules of Engagement

Please read the following rules of engagement before posting. They are designed to ensure the HIMSS Group remains professional, vibrant, and useful for all group members. Since there are gray areas for such rules, HIMSS Group moderators reserve the right to interpret the rules of engagement so the group can successfully lead change in the health IT and management systems field through knowledge sharing and communications. Although, HIMSS staff moderates the group, members are encouraged to help the moderators in this process by reading and following the Rules of Engagement, flagging inappropriate content and inform a moderator of spam and inappropriate content.

RULE #1: All discussions and shared links must clearly relate to the health IT and management systems field.

RULE # 2: Discussions should advance the professional development of health IT and management systems professionals.

RULE #3: Discussions must clearly invite member response and participation. When posting discussions or sharing links, pose questions to garner quality conversations.

RULE #4: Discussion items must be self-contained. While articles, blogs or other reputable health IT and management systems sources may support a good discussion, these resources cannot substitute a discussion.

RULE #5: Be professional, kind, polite and respectful of other members.

RULE #6: Promotions of products and services (even when free) are not allowed.

RULE #7: Job posts are not allowed. This includes messages that advertise job opportunities; recruit candidates; feature resumes and applications, or that self-promote one’s availability for positions. If you are in the process of seeking a new position or looking to hire a new candidate, visit HIMSS JobMine at http://www.himss.org/jobmine.

RULE #8: Spam messages and postings are prohibited. Spam includes:

• Sending multiple unsolicited messages to group members. Substantiated complaints will result in the spammer being removed and blocked from the group.

• Posting the same discussion repeatedly in order to promote a product, service or company.

• Posting commercial comments in discussions when such comments have nothing to do with the discussion.

• Posting comments in one’s own discussion for the sole purpose of making it go to the top of discussions.

RULE #9: General invitations to connect are not allowed in the discussions forum.

RULE #10: BREAKING THESE RULES OR ANY OF LINKEDIN TERMS OF USE MAY LEAD TO MEMBER REMOVAL. Members who break the HIMSS Group Rules of Engagement or the LinkedIn Users Agreement, may receive a reminder or may be removed and/or blocked without additional notice.

Thanks, Tricia, for the question.

For those of you with LinkedIn Group Guidelines and Rules experience, what would you add to these examples? What other examples have you come across?

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How Do I Increase My Followers?

A question that comes up frequently is "How do I increase my followers or fans or subscribers?"

Several people asked that question during my MarketingProfs online seminar on How to Manage Your Reputation in a Social World as well as during my Coverings 2011 presentations.

The easy answer is that you can increase the number of followers, fans and subscribers by engaging with them. Say thank you; get to know them; acknowledge them; be respectful; offer them content that addresses questions they have about your product or service. Imagine if your fans, followers and subscribers came by your office, store or home. Wouldn't you greet them and invite them in for conversation? It's the same online.

At the same time, I caution against 'get rich quick' schemes that guarantee you 1000s of followers and fans overnight. The result of such a strategy may be good for your ego, but it will not deliver quality of interaction, the possibility of building credibility online and the opportunity to establish long term business relationships over the long haul.  It will, however, offer you considerable spam and irrelevant messages. Much better to build your base of fans, followers and subscribers consistently over time as a result of exchanging value and meaning.

Given the relevance of the topic, I thought it would be valuable to share with you other perspectives on how to increase your followers, fans and subscribers.

Social Media Examiner has just published 17 Ways to Grow Your Blog From Top Bloggers which includes perspectives from some of the best bloggers around on How To Grow Your Blog:

Mitch Joel recommends being active in other communities first.
Michael Brandvold says to write about what you love,
Mark Schaefer suggests writing insanely great content.
Mark Robertson recommends that you answer questions for your audience.
Danny Brown says to offer real value.
Mike McGrail recommends that you be there for your readers.
Deb Ng says to say something new.
Gini Dietrich states make your readers feel good.
Fransisco Rosales suggests respecting your audience.
Stanford Smith says to focus on evergreen content.
Tom Webster recommends that you know your goals and stick to them.
Lee Odden urges that you deliver as promised.
Jay Dolan states that you should give each reader opportunities to interact with you.
Jason Keath says to ask for subscriptions at the end of  your article.
Mack Collier recommends placing your subscriber box at the top.
Ricardo Bueno urges that you offer a benefit.
Kristi Hines recommends letting people follow you in the way they prefer.

Do you detect a theme?

As it relates to Twitter, you may enjoy The Drew Blog and 7 Crazy Ways to Increase Your Followers on Twitter. My favorite? "Bribe them with prizes." That is sure to deliver deep loyalty! And, assuming that a Charlie Sheen type follower base is the ideal target market for your business, you might learn something from How Charlie Sheen Got 1 Million Twitter Followers in 24 Hours (and what we can learn from it)...  The most critical lesson in my mind is that you produce engaging content which means that you need to be paying attention to what matters to your followers...

As it relates to Facebook, this article titled Promote Your Business With Facebook - Effective Strategies will offer you good ideas.

What have you found most effective for increasing your fans, followers and subscribers?


Thanks for reading. If you liked this post, please consider subscribing!

How Do I : Twitter Chat?

How Do I Do a Twitter Chat?

Have you heard yet about Twitter Chats? They take place on Twitter, on a recurring basis - e.g., often weekly although there are a few exceptions, on the same day and time of the week and address a set subject area.  Although the theme will vary from chat to chat, if you are participating in a travel-related chat [e.g., #TNI - travelers night in], participants will have some connection to travel; if it's a horse chat [#horsechat], it will have something equine to it.

Each Twitter Chat is identified by a hashtag [e.g., #] and the name of the chat.  When you participate in a chat, you create a search [via http://search.twitter.com or with a new search column in Tweetdeck] on the specific hashtag that identifies the Twitter Chat you want to participate in. As a result, you filter for Tweets related to that event. When the chat is over, you close the search.

Other tools are available, too, for keeping track of Twitter Chats. You'll find some listed in the Additional Twitter Chat Resources listed below. I've tried a few and keep coming back to my Tweetdeck search column. It's simpler...

This week, I participated in a MarketingProfs sponsored chat about location-based marketing identified as #Profschat. Many more take place every week. As of 12/16/10, this Twitter Chat spreadsheet lists 263 chats on a multitude of subjects. I guarantee you will find one relevant to you; once you do, simply 'show up' on Twitter on the specified date and time and prepared to track the relevant hashtag.

What I love most about Twitter Chats is that you automatically share a common interest with those participating - otherwise you wouldn't be taking part in the chat. As a result, you encounter people whom you will want to follow on Twitter. And vice versa. You also discover unexpected benefits as Beth Kantor describes in this post Twitter Chat as Pre-Survey for a Training.

Twitter Chats can be wild!  Mack Collier's Sunday night #blogchat sets new records every chat for number of participants and tweets issued. Here is Mack's description of #blogchat with details.  Others may be more structured with questions asked at regular intervals.

In terms of participation, you may decide to simply watch and learn the first time. Or, you may just dive in and ask questions. Each chat has its own personality. This post from Lisa Barone titled How to Participate in a Twitter Chat? offers good advice.

Sharon Mostyn from Motherhood, Marketing, and Medical Mayhem moderates #SMChat on Wednesdays from 1-2pm EST. She has also hosted #TNI [mentioned above - see Twitter Chats - Fantastic for Insights and Visibility]. Sharon knows the ins and outs of Twitter Chats.  I caught up with her in May 2010 at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2010 in Boston and asked her about Twitter Chat best practices.

Here is what she detailed for me:

• Create a 'framing' post where you explain the purpose of the Twitter Chat and list the questions to be discussed. Sharon suggests 4 to 5 questions per topic.
• During the Twitter Chat, be prepared to ask one question approximately every 10 minutes. Mix open questions with agree/disagree questions.
• Start with introductions: ask everyone participating to introduce him/herself and state why each is taking part in the Twitter Chat.
• At the end of the chat, wrap up, say thanks. Be sure to thank all those who retweet during the Twitter Chat.
• Last step: post a recap with transcript of all the Tweets [using Wthashtag].

Thank you, Sharon!

I recommend that you try a Twitter Chat out. I think you'll be surprised at how vibrant the experience is and how much you learn.

Please, let me know how it goes and what you would add to this post to make it more helpful.

Additional Resources on Twitter Chats:

10 Steps to Creating a Successful Twitter Chat from Mack Collier
Twitter Marketing Tips: Twitter Chats and 8  Marketing & PR Chats To Follow from Lee Odden
4 Steps to Launching a Successful Twitter Chat from Steve Woodruff
13 Twitter chats every PR pro should follow from Petya Georgieva
Twitter tweet chats on the examining table: #HCSM [Healthcare Communications Social Media]
3 Reasons To Join a Tweet-chat from Patrick Barbanes - added 12/19/10

Wordle "How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

How Do I Make The Most of LinkedIn?

With all of these LinkedIn resources that I've put together, it's definitely time to group them together and share with you in How Do I? Make the Most of LinkedIn.

As I come across other interesting LinkedIn resources, I'll be sure to add them to this post.

Here goes How Do I Make the Most of LinkedIn?

Most recently I took part in a fascinating conversation with Bernie Borges which became a podcast titled 8 Content Marketing Tips For LinkedIn. I think you'll enjoy both the podcast and Bernie's show notes.

The TalkFloor Social Media Marketing Interview Series with Dave Foster continues, this time all about LinkedIn and in three parts!

• In Part I, we introduced LinkedIn and examined features of LinkedIn.
• In part II, we explored advanced LinkedIn features such as Groups, Answers, Events and Search.
• Part III addressed LinkedIn Business Successes on TalkFloor Social Media Marketing Interview Series.

Finally, I just came across this post LinkedIn Marketing: 5 Reasons B-to-B Companies Can't Ignore It which includes some valuable LinkedIn recommendations.

Added 12/8/2010:
Notes on the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York Making Your LinkedIn Profile Pop: CBSAC/NY Social Media Event

From Hubspot Blog:
LinkedIn's Little Secret: It's a Great Lead-Gen Tool
5 Tips for Creating, Promoting and Managing a LinkedIn Group

Added 12/9/10: Why LinkedIn is the Social Network That Will Never Die from AdAge
Added 12/22/10: How To Add Video To Your LinkedIn Profile - A Reel Tutorial 

That's the lowdown on LinkedIn so far.

If you come across other LinkedIn resources you consider helpful, would you let me know? I'll add them here.

Also, I'd love to hear about your LinkedIn success stories.

How Do I Do Twitter?

The recently completed series of interviews done with TalkFloor's Dave Foster about Twitter belongs in the How Do I? social media marketing series.

After all, all three parts go into great detail about Twitter itself, how to make sense of it, how to use the tools, and how to apply Twitter for use in business.

Here, then, are links to the three parts.

Part I: #TalkFloor Series on Social Media addresses What is Twitter and Why Should I Care?

Part II: #TalkFloor Series: Twitter & Social Media explains How To Get Started With Twitter.

Part III: #TalkFloor Series: Advanced Twitter discusses how to become a Twitter power-user.


Included in each section you'll find recorded interviews and detailed notes with links.


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

How Do I? Prepare For Social Feedback

For a while now, I've been thinking about social feedback -- i.e., customer feedback in a social world [for more background, see Social Media Club North Jersey: Customer Feedback In a Social World]. Yes, it can be scary and possibly even unpleasant. But feedback is gold. It indicates that someone is paying attention and cares enough about you to take precious time and communicate with you. That effort, though, comes with expectations about your response. How best to prepare yourself, then?

How Do I Prepare For Social Feedback?

The best starting point, in my mind, is to strip away all of the distracting technology angles.  Focus simply on your customers or readers and determine what it is that you want to accomplish with them? Do you intend to sell them something? Educate them? Build a relationship? Exchange ideas?

Next, think about all of the channels you have available for communicating with your audience: telephone, email, website, social channels, in-person: what kinds of conversations are already taking place [sales, problem resolution, education, relationship-building, ...]? Are you consistent in your customer messages across those channels and those conversations?  Consistency is critical because the channels themselves are irrelevant to your audience.  Regardless of how, customers expect to reach you, they expect you to acknowledge and that you will interact consistently.

This is where guidelines are invaluable [see How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?], internally to reach consensus across functions, roles, locations, etc. on how to respond, the frequency of response, and the consistency of response, as well as externally so your audience knows what to expect from you.

But, what about worst case scenarios? Have you thought through them? What if one were to happen? How would your respond?

PR News in Take a Public Relations Crisis by the Horns from the 1/11/10 newsletter says that "avoidance is no longer an option" and recommends the following steps which are as relevant offline as they are online:

1. "Own it": be proactive with your news.
2. "Act quickly, but tread carefully"
3. Be simple, consistent and honest in the message you communicate.
4. If you have news to communicate, better to get it out [reinforces step #1: own it].
5. Don't avoid those who are critical of you. "Not allowing access only allows for additional animosity and potential false reporting."

The Zen Way to Deal with Negative Commentary Online from Liz Strauss' Successful and Outstanding Blog offers valuable advice for responding to online negative comments: do so "publicly, honestly and as quickly as possible. Don't ever think about creating an alias... you will get caught and it will cause more damage to your reputation."

The author, Shama Kabani, suggests checking the facts and offering to resolve issues at a high level.  "Becoming an active part of the conversation that is already taking place among your customers, employees, prospects, and competitors is the best way to prevent negative comments from taking over your online reputation."

Note her comments about establishing a policy; they echo Penalty Cards in Social Media Communities' recommendation to have "a policy that is viewable by the public."  The policy requires that you have considered various outcomes and making it public means that you are transparent about how you do business - and increasingly critical business expectation.

Speaking of expectations, Denise Zimmerman makes several valuable points in When to Respond to Negative Buzz. First, about reviews.  They are valuable for your business and provide you with invaluable feedback.  Second, about expectations.  She says "...but then you've got Twitter and Facebook.  They have grown exponentially in scope and in speed.  The additional element is that there is an expectation from the customer that you're going to respond..."

I touch on expectations in Social Media Club North Jersey: Customer Feedback in a Social World; here are a few more I received in response to that post on June 2nd:

KseniaCoffman
   @CBWhittemore RE: response via SM -> Within 1 biz day if it's an SM company (biz related to SM); 2 days to never if others :-)

agardina
  @CBWhittemore Great post! Really surprised at some of the responses - a few hours? The person on SM might not have your answer that fast.  

ggert
@CBWhittemore interesting to me that I recently started complaining LOUDLY about @USAirways and have rcvd 0 response in 144 hours  

[and none as of 6/8/10. Not impressive.]
 
Customers expect a response. If they don't get it, they have reason to resort to more public forums to force a response.  The lesson: be listening, be paying attention and be ready to respond consistently. The social feedback you receive is rich and conducive to insightful conversation, but you must be prepared and willing to welcome it.

Given that many of us are entering into unchartered territory when we engage socially, it's important to remember that, despite being part of sometimes large corporate entities, when we engage socially we do so as individuals wanting to interact with other individuals.  Mistakes happen. Yet, if we remember that we're 'all in this together', we have the opportunity to learn from mistakes and strengthen relationships. Here's a great example: Boeing as described in The Right Way to Make Your Social-Media Mea Culpa which reminds us that:

1. One is many: A conversation with one unhappy [or happy] customer can easily become a conversation with many.
2. Engage immediately.
3. Be honest and take responsibility.
4. Lose the corporate-speak.
5. Put a face on it.
6. Let the fans talk.
7. Learn from it.

Finally, read Seven Things Your Organization Must Do Because of Social Media. The examples - Greenpeace vs. Nestle and Dave Carroll vs. Airlines - are classics.  The lessons even moreso:

1. You must be proactive.
2. You must improve customer support.
3. You must listen.
4. You must participate.
5. You must respond.
6. You must move faster.
7. You must realize every employee is a marketer.

Social feedback enables interaction with people.  Are you prepared? What would you add?

Check out other posts in the How Do I? series.

Social Media Club North Jersey: 5/25/10 Customer Feedback Event

Have you marked your calendars? Have you purchased your tickets? I'm talking Social Media Club North Jersey on 5/25/10 for an event you do NOT want to miss! It's titled “I love you. I hate you. Customer feedback in a social world.” I'm leading the discussion about the dynamics of engaging with customers via social networks.

Here's a link to the press release: How To Manage Social Reputation.

Here are the nitty gritty details on Customer Feedback In a Social World:

+ Date: Tuesday May 25, 2010
+ Time: 8am to 10am
+ Location: Houlihan's in Secaucus

Most important, here is a link to the EventBrite site so you can register to attend “I love you. I hate you. Customer feedback in a social world.” Click on it! You might even still be eligible for the Early Bird special!

To get you thinking about customer feedback in a social world [and there have been some terrific articles circulating, most recently from AdAge re: Boeing and The Right Way to Make Your Social-Media Mea Culpa -hat tip to Toby Bloomberg], here's a link to How Do I? Deal With Negative Comments...

I bet you have other interesting ones to share that you've either experienced personally or encountered. Some that come to mind include [from BRITE '10] Dave Carroll and United Breaks Guitars and Nestle and, from Coverings '10, The Main House which dealt with negative traveler reviews thanks to a groundswell of fan support - hat tip to Veronika Miller at Modenus.

Will you be there? Click on this link to register.

I can't wait to see you!

"How Do I?" - The Social Media Marketing Series

Do you have questions about applying social media marketing to your business? You've come to the right place! This "How Do I?" series is based on questions that have come up in conversation, during presentations and in one-on-one consulting sessions.

If you don't see your question covered here, please let me know. Send me an email at cbwhittemore [at] gmail [dot] com or leave a comment on this post.

As other questions arise and I add posts to the "How Do I?" social media marketing series, I'll include a link here.

How Do I Evaluate A Blog?

How Do I Make Social Media Relevant To Categories Like Flooring?

How Do I Create Content?

How Do I Start With Social Media?

How Do I Listen With Social Media?

How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?

How Do I Craft a Blog Welcome Post?

How Do I Deal With Negative Comments?

How Do I Prepare For Social Feedback? added 6/8/10

A Practical Twitter Primer
How Do I Do Twitter? added 7/1/10
How Do I Twitter Chat? added 12/16/10

How Do I Make the Most of LinkedIn? added 11/19/10
LinkedIn Group Guidelines or Rules of Engagement added 4/20/11

Facebook Fan Page Guidelines or House Rules added 4/28/11

How Do I Increase My Followers? added 3/24/11
How Do I Get More Business? 13 Tips added 7/7/11

How Do I Avoid Bad SEO Techniques? added 8/8/11

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to Simple Marketing Blog via email updates or RSS.

Thank you for reading and contributing!

Best,

C.B.

How Do I Deal With Negative Comments?

So, what about Negative Comments? How Do I deal with them?

A question that comes up frequently during social media discussions is "what about negative comments?"

Not a big surprise when the perception is that, by allowing comments, feedback, ratings & interaction, you open the floodgates and will be sure to drown in negative feedback...

Now, although negative comments happen, they happen less frequently than you think. And, when they do, they aren't necessarily all bad.

You see, your willingness to consider different perspectives makes your social presence and content much more believable. Furthermore, showing acceptance of different opinions communicates that you are open to constructive exchanges.

Consider these two perspectives on negative comments:

The Positive Side of Negative Product Reviews reports that "...web sites with negative reviews have higher conversions than web sites without them." Furthermore, negative feedback can help guide product development and "using those negative reviews shows your customers your listening, and it helps you to create better consumer products and better marketing messages."

8 reasons why negative comments are good for your blog lists the following:
+ You can be wrong. + Criticized posts are... popular posts. + Negative comments on your blog show that you respect your readers and their thoughts. + Negative comments can create a debate. + Negative comments don't devalue your blog. + Negative comments are... content. + Only the unknown aren't criticized.

[My most negative comment "Sorry Pumpkin" turned into a very popular post about LabCorp and Customer Service.]

During a recent presentation [see Urban Outfitters: Be Where Your Customers Are], Urban Outfitters made the point that people are already talking about you. Wouldn't you rather hear what they are saying and have a chance to participate in that conversation? You might actually learn from the experience and improve your business or offering. After all, those conversations are the equivalent of research sessions with your most passionate customers...

At the heart of social media is a willingness to enter into conversation and exchange perspectives with customers, readers, fans and followers [see Three Years of Social Media - Lessons Learned.] Done with respect, there's more to gain than lose.

That said, it's critically important to set guidelines and establish policies so you are ready to respond and able to do so consistently and respectfully. [See How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?] Policies help you determine what customers can expect from you in your responses and what you expect from customers in how they provide you with feedback.

Urban Outfitters reminded us that their social channels are no different from their other customer channels. They have processes in place to deal with complaints and returns regardless of the venue. They are also committed to listening, acknowledging and interacting with the customers, fans, followers and readers who form their community.

Nonetheless, there have been plenty of ugly stories in the news about negative comments. Many are downright scary and highlight how quickly conversation tone can change, something CoPilot Live's Devon Valenti discovered. Several recent fiascos inspired these next few articles which include lessons and suggestions to take into consideration as you become immersed in digital social interaction

5 Lessons from Social Media PR Disasters suggests:
1. Not getting defensive [as Nestle did].
2. Closely watching social networks for complaints as Southwest did in February 2010 when Kevin Smith tweeted his complaints.
3. Using common sense when interacting with your customers [e.g, Toyota Matrix's 'Your Other You' with prank stalking].
4. 'Be vigilant of how how employees use social media' inspired by the 2009 Domino YouTube.
5. Being sure not to insult a cohesive community [e.g., Motrin Moms]

In CRISIS PLANNING: Prepare Your Company For Social Media Attacks Jeremiah Owyang discusses more extreme organized social attacks and how to be prepared. He mentions needing to have a community strategy, delegating interaction with the community to a seasoned professional - rather than a newbie or intern - to closely monitor and interact with members.

If you remember in HIMSS, Social Media & Healthcare IT Community, HIMSS actively manages its LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter communities.

I like this article on Seven Ways Hospitals Can Address Facebook Criticism by Jenn Riggle. In addition to having a social media policy, Jenn recommends transparency, a disclaimer policy, monitoring the conversations, being quick and concise, deleting inappropriate comments [to that I add, as it relates to blogs, be sure to moderate comments especially given how spam has grown], turn negative comments into "teaching moments", but at the same time be ready to take a conversation offline for resolution.

Defeating the Dark Side of Social Networking emphasizes how important it is to pay attention to what's being said online and to respond quickly.

AdAge in Can One Bad Tweet Taint Your Brand Forever? [registration required] urges not necessarily responding to every criticism. Better to consider the following factors before taking action:
- How credible is the source?
- How influential is the forum?
- How common is the complaint likely to be?
- How serious is the complaint?
- How likely is my response to make things worse?
- How important is my issue to my brand's consumers?

Tap the Power of Customer Feedback by Carolyn Hall reminds us how much business value we can gain from customer insights. What better way is there than through social media tools to connect with potential and actual customers and obtain feedback on products and services - even if the feedback is negative!

Better, then, to have a presence on social sites rather than ignore them so you can explore, experiment, listen, engage and be ready. Better to build you customer community gradually and consistently over time so you truly develop meaningful relationships with members. And, then, if you do launch a social campaign that isn't quite as successful as you hoped or that gets out of control, your community can help keep your message relevant.

Do you agree? How do you deal with negative comments? Do you have a policy in place? How have you integrated your off and online presence so both are consistent?


Image credit: Wordle How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

How Do I Craft a Blog Welcome Post?

How would you go about crafting a Welcome post for your blog?

To craft your Welcome post, I'm assuming you've done some preliminary homework and established your social media guidelines. If not, then go to How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?

At this point, I try to 'feel' the space I intend to create with my blog. Is it a living room? More of a kitchen table, a backyard BBQ grill? Or, perhaps a cozy fireside chat? Note that these are all places where conversation takes place.

Start, then, with a greeting. If your blog [or other social media marketing platform] is to be a conversational setting or virtual third place for gathering, then how might you greet or welcome visitors? What should newcomers know about? What about those who have been coming for a while? How do you get the two groups to interact?

Describe how the concept for your blog came about. Was it the result of a conversation? An Aha moment? What was the impetus for wanting to create a social media beachhead and commit to it and to the conversation that you hope develops?

Next, offer a 'tour' of your space. Will others be contributing or is this your sole space? What topics will you address? How do they relate to the overall purpose or vision for your blog? Do you anticipate any recurring series ideas? Expect things to evolve over time, but think about how you are adding value to your audience.

You should definitely address the 'fine print' or your social media policy or guidelines and set expectations for behavior. If you prefer not to include this in your Welcome post, definitely make it your second post. It's critically important to address how will you interact, what's on topic and off-topic, whether any topics are confidential, will you moderate comments, would you rather have specific customer issues addressed elsewhere, and how do your social media platforms relate to those existing customer service platforms... For ideas, read through How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?

To put you in the right framework for welcoming visitors, readers and future community members, I suggest that you read Jason Falls post titled How To Become Your Customer's Valentine. There, he explores how social media has brought humanity back to marketing - something that your welcome message should convey. He reminds us how important listening, honesty, trust, consistency and freshness are, urging us to:

1. Expect less, get more
2. Give incentives and rewards
3. Have daily briefings
4. Implement change
5. Keep costs low, benefits high

Welcome to the marvelous world that social media marketing has brought back to our customers and us!

What would you add to this post and to your Welcome Post?


Image credit: Wordle How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

How Do I Start With Social Media Guidelines?

Social Media Guidelines or Policy: How Do I Start?

You're ready to get started with social media marketing. You've gone through intense soul searching and decided that engaging with existing and potential customers and sharing valuable, relevant content with them on an ongoing basis is the way to go. An important next step, particularly for a corporate or business blog, is developing social media policy or guidelines.

An Overview of Social Media Guidelines & Policies

Why? Because they force you to think about scenarios and let you anticipate responses. They allow you to set expectations for behavior and interaction - not too dissimilar from the rules your parents established when you were a kid.

Social media policy and guidelines fall into two camps:
+ internal guidelines
+ external or comment policy

Internal social media guidelines mean that everyone in your organization will understand what can be discussed in a public forum and what can't, and how to behave in such a forum: transparently, responsibly and consistently.

They are particularly relevant to large organizations where many may engage in industry conversations. In my Solutia days, I had to review and renew the employee code of conduct on a yearly basis. Although social media wasn't specifically mentioned, I understood completely what the communication boundaries consisted of. If I had questions, I knew who to ask and I understood the consequences.

From an external perspective, it's important to let your readers know what to expect on your social media site: what kind of discussion will you encourage, how you handle comments [are they moderated?], what about product complaints or transactional issues, whether your response will be timely...

I equate this to welcoming someone into your home or store or classroom, offering an overview of where things are and explaining a few rules [i.e., please leave your shoes as the door; here is the lay of the land; please don't interact with the students...].

Crafting Social Media Guidelines

What I find helpful at this stage is absorbing how other organizations have approached social media guidelines and policy. Not all of what they include may be relevant to me, but their guidelines may remind me of a point I missed or encourage me to address an area I had glossed over.

Here, then, are resources/ideas relating to internal and external social media policies.

+ Diva Marketing's Toby Bloomberg has assembled a marvelous list of social media policy examples. These are real examples from real companies. Note the variety of approaches, but also the commonalities.

+ I love this Mashable article about 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy. It includes a video clip of Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy, explaining how increased transparency and trust provide value to customers. The means to this: the tools of social media. The post also includes a sample internal social media policy.

Some examples of social media comment policies:

+ Nuts About Southwest
+ Intel Blogs
+ Two I have written: Simple Marketing Blog and the Carpetology Blog

What would you add? Are there other examples you've come across? How did your social media guidelines help you anticipate certain scenarios?


Additional Information:
I wrote an article for the MProfs DailyFix titled "Which Comes First: the Policy or the Blog?" which refers to a few more examples.

Added 3/16/10: just came across PolicyTool for Social Media. If you give it a try, let me know what you think.

Added 5/31/10: How to Write a Social Media Policy from Inc.com.

Added 6/1/10: Policy guidelines For Mayo Clinic Employees

Added 2/2/11: Why You Need a Social Media Policy


Image credit: Wordle "How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

How Do I Listen With Social Media?

How Do I Listen With Social Media?

Listening comes up repeatedly in social media marketing. You see, the tools of social media don't really work if you don't listen. Or, at least, they may work in a traditional and not very social way. In which case, social media marketing isn't really taking palce. So listening is critical.

Think about it.

Markets Are Conversations.

If markets are conversations - rather than one-way monologues - then you must consider what the other party has to say. You may put forth your perspective, but you must then listen to the response and be ready and willing to come up with a solution or improvement and definitely an acknowledgment. That give and take is what leads to engaging with readers, visitors and customers and eventually forming a community. It is what leads to developing trust and credibility.

I consider listening hugely under appreciated, particularly in traditional marketing. We might listen at arm's length via a focus group, but not up-close-and-socially.

Luckily, it isn't difficult to start to listen to the conversations. And, it isn't that scary either!

Social Media Listening Tools

Start with the most basic and flexible tool available: Google alerts - which, surprisingly, many traditional marketers don't know about. Set up alerts for your name, your company, your brand names, your competitor names, subjects and topics that interest you... It costs nothing.

Definitely explore terms and subjects of interest at a search window first so you can validate that you are getting the kinds of results that interest you. And, then, refine. I like to start with Google Search; then I create my alerts, monitor my results over a few days, and refine them.

Interestingly, Google has just added real-time search integrated into search results pages. It's particularly relevant [and noticeable] for very hot trending topics like Tiger Woods in December 2009... What that means is that you'll see relevant Twitter results appear in your search results. One-stop listening.

Where you aware that you can search in Facebook? Try it. You'll definitely find it interesting and you may be surprised by what you find.

Don't forget YouTube, the world's No. 2 search engine.

Finally, Twitter. You don't have to have a Twitter account to search Twitter. But, if you do have an account, you may find this post on Listening To Customers With Twitter helpful. In addition to always having a search window available, I keep a permanent browser tab open for Twitter Search.

Social Media Listening Guidelines

Simple Marketing Starts With Listening. It leads to insights. You want to tread carefully, though, as you enter into the world of those you want to listen to. Social media interaction is often described as the equivalent of entering into a living room or a kitchen where conversations are in progress. You can't just barge in and take over.

Definitely read through these 16 Social Media Tips Relating To Listening.

As Sharon Mostyn commented on How Do I Start With Social Media?:

"... Listen/read first. Don't try to join in on a social media conversation until you've spent some time learning how others are using that conversation (learn the "slang") otherwise you could jeopardize your future standing with the community that you are trying to reach."

That means that you should definitely listen with social media. But, do so respectfully, intensely, authentically, open-mindedly, creatively and simply. Beware of too much baggage [e.g., you might find this post about Listening To Women Customers helpful]; it might prevent you from hearing the obvious.

Other Social Media Listening Tools

Don't forget about using online survey tools, generating discussion on your blog, participating in forums, and simply asking questions and listening to the responses.

Are you ready to listen with social media? What do you find works best for you? And what insights have you uncovered?


Image credit: Wordle "How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

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How Do I Start With Social Media?

How Do I Start With Social Media?

This question comes up all the time. And, no wonder. There's plenty of hype and buzz out there about social media, social media tools and social media marketing. Everyone's bringing it up. Even newscasters refer you to Twitter to keep up with late breaking developments. It's confusing to say the least.

Where to start?

I like to start by putting social media marketing into perspective. You see, we sometime forget this, but markets are conversations - a statement from the 1999 book called The Cluetrain Manifesto. Through conversation, buyers and sellers exchange information; they have the opportunity to develop trust and build credibility. Conversations set the stage for loyal communities based on shared experiences and stories.

Conversations take place between people, not between brands or companies. Not too different from how business used to be conducted before the days of mass markets, as Jonathan Salem Baskin reminded us in 10 Ideas to Refocus Branding.

Conversations are intrinsically social.

The tools of social media - e.g, Blogs, Twitter, Wikipedia, Flickr, Amazon reviews, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube... - facilitate these intrinsically social conversations. These tools are easy to use, mostly free, and they bring back conversation, interaction over common interests, and the sharing of value through relevant content.

The tools aren't going away. They may morph, but the principles remain and affect us all. They enable us to strengthen connection, build trust and develop authenticity. They are certainly critical to establishing a digital presence.

Getting Started.

Getting started is about taking small, thoughtful steps, say 15 to 20 minutes per day. Thoughtful in that you want to step back and consider how on target your efforts were after each short session. That allows you to recalibrate and avoid getting sucked into the fire hose of information.

You need to start, though, and be consistent about your explorations.

Although Twitter tends to capture most people's fancy [I get more questions about Twitter during presentations, than about any other social media tool.], I strongly suggest that you start by exploring blogs.

Why blogs?

Blogs are user friendly.
Through blogs, you will uncover thought leadership as well as leads to other resources.
Blogs represent home base for other activities taking place on Twitter or Facebook, for example.
Blogs will help with making sense out of Twitter.

How to go about finding blogs worth exploring?

Start with a topic that interests you or relevant industry terms. Maybe it's "marketing to women" or "simple marketing". You may refine your terms as you discover more.

Google
Google Blog Search
AllTop
Technorati
BlogPulse
Google Alerts - for the terms you find most relevant [including brand and competitor names]
Ice Rocket

Be sure to pay attention to the resources listed in blog sidebars. They will be sources to other links and blogs worth exploring.

Once you find blogs of note [you might want to review How Do I Evaluate A Blog?], subscribe to them. Most blogs will offer you two options: RSS [i.e., Really Simple Syndication that you read through a feed reader] or email updates.

As you start to explore, you will discover communities around related blog topics, and ideas worth sharing with customers, peers and friends. And possibly even worth commenting on!

Are you ready to get started with social media? What do you find works best for you? And what other questions do you have?


Image credit: Wordle "How Do I" by C.B. Whittemore

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