I know this is a question several of us struggle with. What is the difference between strategies and tactics? This link and the example it gives helped clear that question up and also did it by using social media. The strategy is the plan of action to achieve the goal or specific objectives. The tactics is the task involved in implementing the strategy. The use of social media in campaigns are usually used as tactics but as the author of this article says that they really are strategies and the tactics are what is posted on the social media sites like brochures, response to comments, daily updates and links for more information.
Breann
(^That’s not the name of this article’s title, I just thought it was the funniest one on the list!)
Okay, so this article from a B2C (Business to Community) site I found outlines “5 Simple Tips to Improve Your Social Media Marketing.” They weren’t kidding when they said simple. A lot of these I’d hope communications professionals would already consider or know, however I never think it’s bad to relearn the basics or rehash what could be assumed “rudimentary.” That’s how gaps in knowledge come about!
1. Don’t be an egghead. You know the sickened, gray, egg-shaped “face” social media platforms default for your profile picture if you fail to upload one? Yeah, avoid those. Not only is it unpersonalized, but it screams sketch.
2. Back off the sales pitch. Resist that urge to cram ad content and messaging down your audience’s throat. No one likes to be force fed anything!
3. Know your schedule. Create routine. Without consistent posts, content can fall between the cracks of that dreaded social media abyss.
4. Say thank you. Like in life, use your manners. DUH. …(was that rude?)
5. Use your blog. Your blog is your “content engine.” Incorporate that content into your social media by quoting, hyperlinking, etc.
6. Don’t post in a vacuum. Integrate social media content with the rest of your content. Even if it’s as small as adding icons and links to printed material, making everything mesh and come full circle is very important.
7. I’m adding this one. At the end of the article, I realized there were definitely six steps, not five as the title clearly stated. So I’m adding this seventh tip: If you’re publishing something online, always proofread it once yourself. Then have someone else proofread it.
As PR people, it’s pretty safe to say, if numbers are involved in any way, at any level, (even counting 1-5), you might want to double-check your math!
-Tandy
MAY 11. DISNEY. MAY 11. DISNEY. MAY 11. DISNEY.
…DISNEY, DISNEY, DISNEY, DISNEY………. 🙂
Rapunzel, front and center! 🙂
The Internet has changed relationships of any and all kinds. How they form, evolve, end…social media in particular. Romantic relationships have been most effected by the explosion of technology in recent years. Dating sites are making up a good majority of relationships and marriages of today.
According to this article, social media has been acting as a third wheel when it comes to dating relationships. An estimated 1/3 of dating couples share usernames and passwords for social media sites with their significant others, giving social media unparalleled access to our most intimate moments and relationships.
This blending of digital romance with “real life” romance is extreme. According to a survey, 63 percent of people say they unfriend or block ex-partners on social media sites. Additionally, half of those people surveyed say they untag themselves in pictures with exes.
Nearly 80 percent of couples have posted their “relationship status” on social media sites, while both partners in the relationship frequently scan and survey the other’s sites.
While the article doesn’t talk about it, I feel the integration of digital influence into “real life” is hugely impactful on relationships too. Constant texting, Facebook messaging, notification checking and tweeting, I would argue, does a lot to disrupt any relationship (especially a romantic one). No one likes speaking to someone who has his or her face buried in a cell phone.
Awkward, or just the new normal, social media has certainly wedged its way into “real life” relationships—romantic ones especially.
Tandy
I found this neat flow chart, on how to deal with a crisis through social media. Every company should have a pre-written draft, of what they are going to do if a social media crisis occurs (such as being accused of poisoning your customers).
Neat!
~Ian
I thought this blog fits perfect since we are currently creating social media plans. Now that social media has become part of everyones lives it is important to make sure every company has a plan in place on how they will handle situations that occur because of social media. The article says it best: “While employees can be your perfect brand advocates and evangelists, they can also burn your reputation when they lose control on social media networks.” This includes posting comments about your company or if they post a picture of your employees drunk at the company Christmas party. While the companies employees are the perfect people to advocate what the company is trying to do, they can just as fast destroy its reputation.
Top 10 Questions Your Social Media Policy Should Answer
- What are the goals of your social media policy?
- How will you update your policy and reinforce it?
- What information about your business can employees share?
- Which social networks will you maintain a presence on?
- How will you monitor conversations about your brand on social channels? Who will monitor these conversations?
- How will you maintain a consistent social tone and style across these networks?
- Will you encourage employees to participate in social media as a representative of your brand?
- How will you respond to consumers who communicate with your brand through social channels? Who will respond on your brand’s behalf?
- Who is authorized to proactively post on your brand’s behalf? Does this authorization account for different regions and teams?
- What constitutes a social media “crisis” for your business? What is your process for handling a post that could be categorized as a crisis?
Breann
If the past year has taught us anything about reputation management in the social age, it’s that the past year has not taught us anything.
Although this Mashable article is more than a year old, its content is still very relevant and true of the social media world today. It outlines six tips for winning the favor of public opinion in the midst of harrowing crises:
1. Start with the basics—even if your organization does not have a Twitter account, establish a handle your organization would use to communicate in the event a crisis occurs
2. Traditional media uses Twitter—it’s important to note that although your organization may not be using Twitter, reporters are! The media uses Twitter as a big resource, so it does matter what tweets are revealing about your organization
3. Fight for the Headline—the same goest for Twitter as for print: headlines matter! Make it count and keep the count of words used to a minimum!
4. Video rules—Videos. They’re a big deal and a seriously powerful resource. Ask yourself: if a crisis occurred on Friday, how long would it take us to shoot, edit and tweet a video response?
5. Beware of squatters—be wary of cyber users lurking on your trademarks or misusing your brand/overall organizational identity.
6. Don’t be afraid to advertise—don’t shy away from sponsored content! Promoted tweets shouldn’t be considered a bad thing.
It’s a twister! It’s a twister!
-Tandy
This site has an 8 step list on how to manage your site during a crisis. I think it basically covers the situation effectively.
Know What Is and What Is Not a Crisis
1. Acknowledge
2. Fight Social Media Fire With Social Media Water
–If the crisis initiated on Facebook, respond first on Facebook.
3. Be Sorry
-Mike Tyson, Bill Clinton, Exxon, Tylenol, and a rogue’s gallery of corporate and individual miscreants and near do wells.
5. Build a Pressure Relief Valve
Why?
If you do not proactively provide a pressure relief valve, complainants will create their own, giving you no recourse or control whatsoever.
6. Know When to Take it Offline
–Do not get in an online tit for tat, ever (and certainly not in a crisis scenario). Keyboards embolden us all, and sometimes the best course of action is to offer your phone number or email address, and encourage the troll to contact you that way.
8. Learn Your Lessons
Duh
I didn’t list them all, but the link is there.
~Ian
I really liked this article because it has a nifty little slideshow in it! Makes things easier!
Also it had some great points:
3. Be sorry and mean it- Might sound like common sense but some companies don’t really get that yet..
4. Create a Crisis FAQ- It’s basically the opening statement to a press conference.
Remember the rule of 3. Never send a third response because that’s an argument.
-Grace
Companies need to be mindful that one bad experience can be told to masses of people. Social media allows consumers to spread messages and reviews quickly around the world.
The site I found encourages businesses to use social media to keep customers and the general public up to date during a crisis. It encourages the company to respond to customers with more than just the basic update put out daily or hourly. The company should respond directly to comments either with a message or a way to contact them privately. The company should have someone always watching the social media sites to keep it updated. Customers like to see that the company cares and responds directly to them. By responding it gives a voice to the company and shows that it cares about the customers.
By clicking this link you will find why and how social media should be used during a crisis and before a crisis. There are examples from Toyota and how it used it during a crisis.
Breann
I found two links that I think are awesome by themselves, but can be used in conjunction for even better data results and information. This first one is a link on how too simply track your social media ROI. It lists 5 tips
1. Coupons and Offers
2. Call Tracking Phone Numbers
3. Conversion Measurement
4. Google Analytics
5. Look at Overall Results and Then Work Backwards
And then, after you have tracked your ROI, it’s time to get some more hard data. Thats when this next site comes into play. This site gives tips and advice on how to easily calculate social media related ROI’s.
1. Define KPIs for Social Media
2. Use Data to Make Informed Decisions
3. Leverage Social Data to Drive Content Marketing
4. Leveraging Social Relationships
5. Use Social Sources to Learn More About Your Audiences
~Ian
B-Jig 