Social Networking in the 1600s

There was an article in The New York Times last week about Social Networking in the 1600s. The article addresses the concern that some people have about today’s social media networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. According to the article, websites like Facebook and Twitter will cost our economy about $650 billion every year.

 

Not only are they costly to keep running, but they, the social media websites, seem to have an effect on our attention spans and tests scores negatively. This is not the first time that social networking has gained a bad reputation.

 

Back in the 1600s, the idea of coffeehouses was imported from Arab. Coffeehouses were a place where people would go to discuss an array of thing including pamphlets, news-sheets, and catch up on gossip.

 

 At the time, an Oxford academic, Anthony Wood blamed the decline in the drive to learn on the coffeehouses, but many great things occurred because of the coffeehouses as well. Isaac Newton had an argument with fellow scientist that prompted him to write the “Principia Mathematica.” Also, everyone, no matter who you were status wise, was able to have conversations with each other.

 

The coffeehouses were something like an "in person Facebook". It is simply something that has changed over time like hand written letters have changed into emails, and how I am writing this blog instead of standing up on a soap box. On the contrary to the beginning of the article, today’s or the old age’s social networking has not put a damper on our learning, it has more to do with the drive of a particular person.

 

What is truly amazing is how things may evolve, but they do not become extinct. Who knew that Facebook existed in a different form hundreds of years ago? Cool, right?

 

This is definitely history repeating itself.

Klout Score???

Do you know what a Klout Score is?  Before today, I had no idea.

Klout measures influence online!

According to the Klout website, “Our friendships and professional connections have moved online, making influence measurable for the first time in history. When you recommend, share, and create content you impact others. Your Klout Score measures that influence on a scale of 1 to 100.”

So what is our score?

A really low 11.35.  According to the website “You need to engage more with others or be more active to gain influence .”  Guess I need to work on this a little!

What is your score?

No Post Today

I am in Cherry Hill at a Fred Pryor Seminar. No surprise here, it is all about Social Media Marketing!  I will be back on Monday with lots of information for all of you!

Have a great weekend!

Social Media- Recap

We have come to the end of our social media tour here.  I didn’t start out with a plan for this, but I think it came together really nicely.  I hope you all found it helpful!!

Just to refresh:

Part 1- Social Media in Animation.  Some short videos with very basic explanations on the most popular sites.

Part 2- Social Media Revolution.  A video showing how important social media has become and how quickly you can impact your audience.

Part 3- ABCs of Social Media.  Rules/goals for your social media plan.

Part 4- Do’s and Do Not’s of Social Media.  These lists can help you adjust your plan to get the best results out of your efforts.

Feel free to share this with your customers, followers, readers, etc.

So now the most important questions…  Do you tweet?  Are you on Facebook?  Do you have a blog?

I hope you answered yes to all of those questions!

Social Media- Part Four

This is the last stop on my social media tour.  I hope you have all found these posts helpful!

For my last social media post, I thought I would share the Do’s and Do Not’s of a successful social media campaign

Do:

1. Establish your policy.
2. Try something unexpected.
3. Give away valuable content (thoughts, messages, etc.)
4. Expect to invest resources.
5. Engage consistently (example- I post to this blog every Monday, Wednesday and Friday without fail.)
6. Learn from others and adopt their best practices.
7. Know your goals and be able to measure them.

Don’t:

1. Focus on selling.
2. Begin a campaign without a plan.
3. Broadcast your message.  Be prepared to interact with your followers.
4. Measure success by numbers- If I thought a successful blog was based on followers, I would fail.  This blog has only 4 “followers” according to Google.  According to my counters, over 60 people a week read this.  But the best success is having someone tell me that they love to read this!
5. Overreact to negative comments.
6. Expect overnight success.  (My first post was in November of 2007.  This has taken a long time to get here.)
7. Be afraid to try something different.

These lists make it very easy to go forward with your social media plan.  First and most important, make a plan.   Then, stick to a routine.  Finally, always interact on a regular basis.  I think this is something we can all do.

Did you find this list helpful?  Do you follow these guidelines already?

**Note- This list came from my seminar handouts and is the property of Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center.

ABC’s of Social Media- Part Three

This is the third part of my social media lesson. 
I am borrowing (stealing) this from Social Fresh.  You can see the full article here. 
I see these more as rules or goals, that you should follow in all parts of your social media plan.  Do you agree?

Here are the ABC’s of social media

A: Authenticity – Be authentic
B: Brevity – 140 character state of mind
C: Community – It is more about the “we” than the “me”
D: Disclosure – Make you intentions clear
E: Engagement – Interactions should be relationship builders
F: Fun – Relax, It isn’t rocket surgery
G: Give – Sow and you shall reap
H: Helpful- It has never been easier to help. The web removes constraints
I: Influence – It moves people to action
J: Just – Fairness and honesty are the best policy
K: Kindness – The “golden rule” rules social media
L: Listen – Be attentive to what others are saying
M: Measure – You cannot improve what you don’t measure
N: Niche – Find the right people
O: Observe – Keep watch and learn what is happening in your industry
P: Participate – This is the first rule of social media
Q: Quality – Be helpful, entertaining, and informative
R: Real -Time – Instant feedback and communication
S: Share – Generosity is a currency
T: Trust- It is the fuel of influence
U: Ubiquity – You can connect everywhere 24/7
V: Value – Create useful relevant content
W: Work – Consistent and persistent effort
X: X-Ray – Transparency is applauded
Y: You – Your voice matters
Z: Zoetic – Social media is the living web
I am not sure that I understand all of this (what is Zoetic) but it is short and sweet and to the point!
Does this help you?

Social Media, Part Deux

For everyone who said social media is a fad or not important or that it would fade away, you need to watch this video.  It really puts the whole thing into perspective.

It is really hard to believe that “If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest”.  That is truly shocking.

Are you on Twitter?  Facebook?  I am so happy to say that A Royal Flush is!  You can view our twitter page at twitter.com/aroyalflush and our Facebook page here.

It is all FREE, so why wouldn’t you do it?

Social Media in Animation

I mentioned in previous posts that I was attending a Social Media seminar last week.  Frankly, I (and most of the people there) were overwhelmed by how much information they dumped on me in just a couple of hours.

I will pat myself on the back and say that I know a lot of it to begin with but it was still A LOT of information in one day! 

The host of the seminar showed us a couple of videos that really break down social media (like Twitter, Facebook, etc) and make it really easy to understand.  After watching those videos, things became a lot clearer.  So I thought I would share some of them with you!

So for social media lesson #1, here are those videos:

Social Media

Twitter

Blogs

These videos were all done by Lee LeFever.   I really like how he breaks everything down into really simple terms and the pictures help too (visual learner here).  He has a lot more videos on YouTube or you can visit his website Common Craft.

Are you really confused about Social Media?  Is it easier to understand now?

Still Putting Together My Thoughts

I am still putting together all my thoughts and notes from Friday’s seminar but I have lots of information for all of you!

Are you trying to add more social media to your company’s marketing plan?  If so, what questions do you have?

I can’t wait to hear them!

Social Media

You may have noticed that, as a company, we put a lot of emphasis on social media.  I am constantly reading books and going to seminars to keep up with all that is going on around us. 

To help me out, I have signed up for a Social Media Seminar in NYC on April 1st.  It is being held by National Seminars Training and here is their description of the program:

Social Media Has Taken the World by Storm. Will You Get Left in the Dust?

You don’t have to go far to know that social media is the buzzword du jour. In fact, it’s being hailed as the one-stop resource for making your marketing dreams come true. Sure — if you can slog through all the “expert articles,” researching blogs and meeting with expensive consultants, or even attending “one-hour training sessions” from a variety of vendors. Who has time for that?

The truth is, you know how powerful and effective social media can be — you don’t need the nightly news or a best-selling book to embrace its potential. You need answers to your questions. You need a little less stress and a lot more ideas. That’s where this workshop comes in.

Get Strategies for Planning, Executing & Measuring Social Media Marketing
If you think about social media and your head swims, you aren’t alone. Coming up with an effective way to incorporate social media into your organization’s success can be overwhelming. This workshop takes you through the ins and outs of social media marketing.

When Customers Can Literally Turn You On and Off — You Can’t Take Chances
In this high-tech marketing era, you have to go where your customers are. This workshop takes the hard work off your hands with cutting-edge ideas and real-world solutions. You’ll learn the right way to get your campaign up and running — without going through expensive, time consuming trial and error. Enroll today and get the information you need to put social media to work for you.

Take the Guesswork Out of Social Media Marketing ...
There are hundreds of ways businesses use social media to enhance their business success.

• One small-business owner uses Twitter to announce his flavor of the day.
• A food vendor uses Twitter to tell his ‘followers’ where they can find him each day.
• Restaurants, retail shops, and clubs use Facebook to offer specials and discounts to their ‘fans.’
• Sales professionals use LinkedIn to generate new, highly qualified leads.

In short, customers search Web pages, user groups, online communities, and blogs for information on the products and services they want and need — YOUR products and services.

Organizations large and small, local and global, not-for-profit and for profit are using social media to promote their products ... boost revenue ... generate leads ... enhance customer service ... increase loyalty ... and much more.

When it comes to social media marketing ... the world is your oyster. The question is what can social media marketing do for you? We’ll show you here.

If you are interested in joining me, you can sign up on their website, www.nationalseminarstraining.com. 

I hope to see you there!