Tag Archives: Online Community

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5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Implementing a Social Media Strategy

by: Jamey Brown

In my head it goes: goal setting – brainstorm – idea pool – checks and balances – strategy – tactics – finished plan. This has been my process for developing strategy plans thus far. Everyone’s strategy development is different, but the overarching themes can be applicable to all. Oh yeah, and strategy (since I see it everywhere and no real description attached) is the high level plan(s) that’s built to achieve certain, pre-determined goals. Tactics are the executional steps that help achieve the overarching goals of the strategy. So, before you make the jump to executional, think of these five questions while you are developing your overarching strategic plan.

1. What are my goals? Short term? And long term?

It’s all pointless if you are not striving to hit certain goals you’ve set. There needs to a be a concise list of short term, immediate goals you want to knock out, and then a concise list of the big, 6 month-ish goals you want to achieve over time. Determining goals is the very first step.

2. Will I need 1 overarching strategy? Or several?

Sometimes, multiple strategies are needed if the client you are working with is a large one and has multiple large goals to achieve on a more corporate branding level. That and the fact that they could have a campaign that seeks to accomplish two very different things. Do I recommend them implementing a bipolar campaign? No. But sometimes several strategies are needed to accomplish different sets of goals.

3. What tactics do I need in place to fulfill the goals of my strategy?

VERY IMPORTANT. These are the mechanical pieces that keep the big machine running. You need actionable steps that say, “this is how you are going to actually do it on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis.”

4. Is my strategy fulfilling BOTH my long term and short term goals?

Always go back and double check yourself. Asking this question forces you to keep your goals on your mind at all times. Sometimes “creativity” can blind people’s strategic thinking and “cool” can take a front seat very fast. DON’T let this happen. Goals are always #1! Let cool and creativity come naturally.

5. What is the lifespan (timeline) of this strategy? 

Simple. How long will this plan be in place? Again, determine how long you think it will take to accomplish the long term goals at hand and build a strategy that reflects that timeline. It could be three months; it could be one year. Give yourself checkpoints along the way.

What are some other steps you implement before developing a new social media strategy plan? 

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“The Hard Is What Makes It Great”

by: Jamey Brown

 

The life of a Community Manager, Strategist or Director is a hard one. One that sometimes has weeks where you want to pull out your hair, click “hang up” on a conference call and power off all devices. These weeks entail late nights, constant writing, and organizational skills that some think don’t even exist.

But when it’s all said and done, and you’ve put in the time and the hard work, watch this clip after each of these weeks. Make it a ritual. Exhale, because these weeks are the hard weeks. The ones that separate the good from great. And as you exhale, know that you conquered the hard, you achieved Community Manager greatness. Because in the end, if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.

 

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3 Reasons Why Facebook “Communities” Are Better Than “Fan Clubs”

by: Jamey Brown

In the past few days, I have noticed the conversations taking place online at SXSW. Let me be clear, I’m not in Austin, but I’ve have been tracking conversations on Twitter, Facebook and my catalog of blogs. I have noticed the same words and ideas coming from these conversations and that is “how do we all grow our communities?” But then the conversation ends on that note. I’ve been left hanging on the second 50% of this method of “growing communities.” Where did it go? Where’s the next half of what’s supposed to be said? What I mean by that second half is “who’s joining your community?” This is more important to me, by far. I’d rather have 500 dedicated contributors who converse with each other and the brand than 1,000 fans who just sit there, not activated. With that in mind, here are three reasons why Facebook “communities” (no worries, we’ll get to Google+ in the next entry!) are more valuable than Facebook “fan clubs.”

1. Connection: yeah yeah, I know you’ve heard it, but you’ve heard it because it’s true. Fan clubs don’t build connections. Communities build connections. How? When you become part of a community (both offline and online) you become transparent. The community feel enables you to let your guard down a little bit and open up with genuine thought, creativity and respect. When this happens, the connection airwaves are 100% open. You just can’t beat that value.

2. Word-Of-Mouth: this is all the good stuff that comes after you have a successful community. Or, it can be all of the negative chatter. But for now, let’s look at the positive effects. When an online community is thriving, and a brand is at the center of conversation, fans (yes, real people) are conversing with one another about not only the brand, but other topics that have surfaced within in each comment thread. Fan clubs, if there is any chatter going on period, tend to only stick to promotional dialogue. “That’s so awesome!” type language. And don’t get me wrong, that’s not a bad thing to hear, but you want more than just that same hollow comment reverberated in your community.

3. Friendship: remember this? In the beginning… Facebook was created help people find like-minded friends. That fan number is actually made up of people with brains and points of views. What are communities made up of? Exactly! When you scroll down a Facebook business page’s wall, see how many people are conversing with each other. Trust me, it exists. I’ve seen communities (and not just on Facebook) where people are asking others “what time they are going to a specific event” or “are they there at the event?” If you are on a page of interest and you see this type of conversation flowing then I’d suggest clicking “like.”

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An Ode to Community Managers

by: Jamey Brown

You’re a creator. A curator. A communicator.

You’re an editor. A director. A writer.

You’re an analyst. An interpreter. An advertiser.

You’re a sun up to sun down (and then some) worker. A “not leaving till it’s done” researcher.

You’re an orchestrator . A leader. A helper.

You’re a contributor. But most importantly, a listener.

You’re a doer. An observer. A specialist.

You’re a linker. A connector. A seeker.

You’re a Community Manager 

Congrats on being awesome 

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Social Marketing Isn’t Branding

by: Jamey Brown

Social media is a touchpoint for marketing; it is not marketing, nor is it branding. Rinse that and repeat. So many people throw a hail mary with social media expecting it to be this saving grace that brings their brand or organization back to life (if it even needs it in the first place). Social media is an extension for your brand’s image and voice. Don’t ever ever ever try and brand yourself with social media. Your voice and message will fail because people will immediately detect your brand’s incoherent and inconsistent voice. Believe me, I have seen startups think social is the key to success and then their brand falls flat. Why? Because there was no brand in place prior to.

When I tell people social media is a touchpoint for brands, organizations etc. I sometimes get bug-eyed looks accompanied with “wait, isn’t that what you do for a living? What exactly do you do with your days if it just a touchpoint?” Well buckaroo, that little touchpoint is actually massive. There are infinite ideas, strategies and tactics that go into socializing a brand. And those tactics will not only fill up your day but swallow it whole.

Understand that branding and social are two very different things – think of them as peanut butter and jelly. Let social bring our your branding and allow it to flourish and gain reach, engagement and word of mouth. Just remember to make the divide between these two…always.

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Likes vs. Comments vs. Shares

by: Jamey Brown

We all want em! As soon as our beloved content goes up we wait on those numbers to skyrocket. But what do the likes, comments and shares mean? Alright, so someone shared content you posted, so what? Does one have higher value than the other (if you’re a Community Manager feel free to shake your head yes now)? Below are likes, comments and shares broken out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Likes

- The original form of engagement for Facebook.

- Likes are the “ok, well at least I got that” app of Facebook.

- Sadly, they don’t hold as much value as they once did.

Comments

- These are always welcome and definitely pivotal in Facebook marketing.

- They let a brand see what their market is thinking, a test group if you will.

- They also allow a brand to keep a finger on their community’s pulse. Word of advice: don’t take your finger off…

Shares

- The most important button on Facebook.

- Promotes virality (yes, this is now a word because Facebook said so), thus allowing content to go viral

- Sharing is caring; if you ask your community to share content they will probably do it, but only if you have been keeping that finger on the pulse. Oh yeah, use CTA’s sparingly. Too many call to actions and your community will see it as spam and not do it anymore. You don’t want this tactic to lose its zing!

The next time you push out content, either for yourself or the brand you manage, remember what your community is thinking when they are clicking these buttons. And if you think of it prior to publishing then you might see some more success with overall engagement.

What kind of engagement does your content produce? 

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4 Things To Remember When Promoting Posts On Facebook

by: Jamey Brown

So how does content really get out there for users to see? There are the basic strategies and tactics, but it never hurts to put some ad dollars behind solid content. That being said, promoted posts are a content marketer’s dream. I am currently running multiple promoted posts campaigns for a client and so far (knock on wood) the numbers are coming out great. Below are 4 things to remember every time you run a promoted post campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Include Links: always always always have this content driving traffic to a certain destination. You’re putting money behind, make it worth the expense! Along with including applicable links in the content, make sure to track these links on the back end. I use bit.ly for all of my link statistics. You can also incorporate promo codes within the copy to make clicking the link more attractive to users.

2. Target Correctly: bottom line, if you don’t target well you WILL be the victim of a spam invasion. I have seen it happen and trust me, it isn’t pretty. Be precise in your targeting because the more precise you are, typically, the better your numbers will be. This is not the case every time, but if you are seeking out a specific group of people to engage with (and trying to get them to purchase something) then you need to zero in on them.

3. Set The Appropriate Budget: the bigger your Facebook community is, the bigger your ad spend options are going to be. The higher the spend, the bigger the reach. The more you invest, the more engagement you will receive, thus resulting in a growing community and more traffic being driven to your digital destination.

4. Oh Yeah, The Content Has To Be Good: Warning! If the content is bad, promoted posts will only help so much. Put yourself in your market’s place and say, “would I click this?” When you pass this test, then click “promote.”

Promoting posts is a real game changer for brand pages because it is a guaranteed way to market good content to the exact people who need to see it. In fact, I would not be surprised to see traditional Facebook ads to start slowly fading out. Why? Well, promoted post advertising is all the gravy of a traditional Facebook ad, but with engagement applications attached to it and it is placed in a news feed as opposed to the side panel (aka the no man’s land of mouse cursors). So the next time you are launching an ad campaign, give promoted posts a thought and watch the results roll in.

Why Social Media Customer Service is a GameChanger: A Zappos.com Study
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Why Social Media Customer Service is a GameChanger: A Zappos.com Study

by: Jamey Brown

Long title, huh? Well, there’s a reason I included “Social Media Customer Service” as opposed to “Customer Service” standing alone. But I’ll get to that in a bit. The holidays are a time of family, friends, yada yada yada, but what happens when those shoes don’t come on time? Or that playhouse that will take you a week to build incorrectly gets double charged on your account? How do these holiday debacles genuinely get resolved…and with a smile on the customer’s face? It’s hard, but it can be done.

So I had sidelined my Christmas shopping day after day after day..whoops. Who doesn’t, right? I knew what I was ordering though (baby converse shoes for my niece) and knew I would be going straight to Zappos to knock it out in about five minutes. I went to the Zappos link my sister had given me and nothing. Got an always friendly “Internal Error” message. So I immediately went to the Zappos brand page and said “I need help!” Below is the customer service magic that ensued…

 

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My initial cry for help

 

 

 

 

 

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Their response, plus another community member chiming in with some holiday cheer

 

 

 

 

 

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Them actually helping me with real info, not company lines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My mind blown + them being awesome + another question from me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Boom, them hitting back with more real help – please note that this is not fake help

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Holiday high-fives all around

 

 

 

The next time you have a customer problem with a brand, go to them and let them know. Don’t bitch repetitively because nothing gets accomplished with that mindset on either end. Trust me, not all Community Managers respond to you dropping a hundred F-bombs. Come as a customer who is on an honest search for a solution. If you take this attitude, then a solution can typically be reached. Not always, but most of the time.

And the reason I chose “Social Media Customer Service” over just “Customer Service” is because this is the number one line of brand communication today. It’s not hard, when you call a customer service line you are only one on one. But when you take to the social airwaves (in a respectful and mature manner), your inquiry is seen my hundreds of thousands – it’s hard to throw company lines at that.

Have you had any social media customer service blunders recently? If so, how did they turn out?   

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Social Media A-Z

 

by: Jamey Brown

With the 2012 marketing season soon to wind down, we are all gearing up for 2013. Here are some questions that should be on every good marketer’s mind: What are new strategies? How can we execute? What is our budget? To help you find the answers, take a look at the social media glossary below – think of it as a concise guide to refer to when you are planning out your 2013 social media marketing plan.

Attention – always pay attention to everyone in your online community. Remember, those fans and followers are real people.

Blog – no matter what field you are in, you should have a blog that reflects your brand or organization; this will build readership among other thought leaders in your field.

Community – this is what social media is all about. Social networks are simply online communities. Engagement, discussion and respect are top priority within these communities.

Delete – don’t do it! Unless there is graphic content that must be removed, do not delete what your community is saying. It negates transparency. If you host a community where profanity or hateful comments abound, then post a “house rules” disclaimer stating you will remove certain kinds of comments. This will protect you from angered fans.

Engagement – do it! Always. By actively engaging with their communities, brands build zealots and open lines of communications – this leads to great word of mouth. We all like the good chatter. It’s a great way to thank those who support your brand.

Facebook – Once the mothership, but with many other platforms such as Twitter and Pinterest gaining traction, it is not seen as the head of social networks anymore.

Google+ – I firmly believe that Google+ is essential in today’s social media marketing plan for brands. Three words, S-E-O!

Help – always be willing to lend a helping hand as a brand. Fans and followers use social to get answers, be there for them.

Instagram – one of the most popular social networks. Why? Multimedia always wins, especially filtered multimedia. Visual content is key and Instagram is an easy way to make your photos even better.  Great visuals +  branding = a social win.

Jabber – don’t unintelligibly ramble on. It’s a turn off and will make people want to leave your community. Keep it short and to the point.

Klout – Albeit a little faulted in many experts’ opinions, it still helps identify who is influential with-in defined categories. Don’t invest too much in the actual numbers though.

Listen – one of the most important practices in social media. Listen first, speak later. No one likes the person who only talks about themselves at the party, and you can gain key insights to your fan base.

Myspace – oh snap! I said it. It’s coming back. Don’t believe me? See here.

Network – what it’s all about.

Optimize – stay on top. Make sure all of your channels, sites and marketing plans are up to date and as functional as possible. Cross promote your properties as well. Make it easy for fans to find you.

Pinterest – the new business pages are here. Get crackin!

Quiet – don’t go quiet. When a brand goes away so does all of the word-of-mouth (well, at least the good kind…). Your once dedicated fans will not be happy campers. If you have gone silent then start posting again as soon as possible, no excuses, just do it!

Reach – strive to have a big reach with your brand message, but don’t sacrifice community engagement for bigger reach.

Statistics – always always always measure your data. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t where you’ve been. We recommend spending a little here to get the full picture. There are lots of affordable tools out there. Invest in social and you will get more out of your efforts.

Twitter – many call it the most important social network. Twitter is essential. Think of it as the salsa dance of social media.

Unfollow – go through and unfollow people you do not interact with on Twitter, as well as inactive users, spammers and egg-heads. Value conversation and connections over your ‘followers’ count.

Visuals – multimedia is king. Try and include still visuals and motion picture in your content strategy. Be wary though, a video that is too long is dangerous.

Websites- where you probably invested a lot of money at one time. Although the party is no longer on your website, you should make sure it is functional, attractive and has links to all of your social platforms.

XXX – don’t incorporate inappropriate content. Graphic images and/or language is the number one way to make your community go rotten.

YouTube – can’t leave this out. Gotta have my ‘GangnamStyle‘ network!

Zealots – what every brand strives for. Your community should be filled with zealots who are passionate about your brand. Where do you think all the good word-of-mouth comes from?

Bonus:

Transparency – be transparent and open with your fans and followers. Allow them to be part of the brand. This builds dedication, something that helps everyone.

What’s your favorite letter of the social media alphabet? What did we miss? 

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How Red Bull is Doing It Right [FACEBOOK]

by: Jamey Brown 

It’s simple. Red Bull dominates the multimedia scene. They are a brand transcended because of it. So…why?

1. Visual content: content is king. Always. Red Bull capitalizes on this by pushing out the most extreme, eye-popping visuals online. Professional and intriguing visual content = more engagement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Copywriting That Matches the Brand: Every brand should have a unique, human voice – a personality. Red Bull attaches wording to its multimedia content that punts images and video content further down the field. Their writing inspires fans’ lifestyles and inspires them to engage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Maximum Interactivity: Red Bull’s brand page is a hub for all things: visual content, jobs, television, events and games. A user can land here and not only engage with others in the community, but engage with the various apps for an extended amount of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you think Red Bull is doing it right? If not, why?