Posts tagged as:

Social Networking

Does a Top Profile on LinkedIn Mean Anything?

by Daria Steigman on February 13, 2013

Invisible -- Steel Structure with Eye CutoutsTwenty million people received a flattering e-mail from LinkedIn the other day telling them they had one of the most viewed profiles in 2012 (either Top 5 percent or Top 10 percent). Hurrah, you’re special. Pat yourself on the back.  Tweet it out again. Are we done yet?

Well played, LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has been getting a lot of attention for its marketing strategy. But no one’s focused on the bigger question: Does profile visibility translate into business results?

It’s not about visibility; it’s about achieving business results.

There are a lot of ways to gain visibility. Be active in LinkedIn Groups. Start a group and regularly e-mail participants. Answer lots of questions (until LinkedIn eliminated its Q&A feature). Post status updates regularly. “Like” or comment on status updates. Share status updates. Be a LION.

We know it’s important to use LinkedIn. And being findable is important. But is there strategic value in being highly visible (and is working toward that goal a good use of your time)? I’d love to see a study that looks at this.

Photo by Abode of Chaos (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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Finding Your Community Engagement Sweet Spot

by Daria Steigman on February 4, 2013

LEGO Vikings on a Sea JourneyOne colleague is frustrated because the forums on her membership site are getting little traction. She’s set up “pull” options for people to get e-mail alerts to new conversations. She’s posted notices to her LinkedIn group. She’s reminded people at in-person meetings. But there’s little activity.

Another colleague is frustrated because the discussions for another membership site have migrated from the online forums (where they got little traction) to a members-only Facebook group. The problem is she’s not on Facebook.

There’s no secret sauce for success.

Finding your engagement sweet spot requires a lot of trial and error.

In the first example, people aren’t joining this network for access to online forums. They’re joining to connect, in person, with other like-minded entrepreneurs. There’s no critical mass of members and no compelling reason to post questions to a discussion thread. In fact, I can think of three groups I’d go to first for the same kinds of conversations that she hopes will happen on her site. And that’s just me.

Before you send out notices, you have to give me a reason to log in. And to log in the next time too.

In the second example, the community initially formed online. It’s made up of people who are social network savvy. They’re already using Twitter, and Facebook, and probably at least one or two other social networks as well. So it makes sense that members want to have conversations where they’re already hanging out.

You can’t make everyone happy, and you could go crazy trying.

I’m sorry for the woman who’s not on Facebook. Yes, she’s being left out of conversations happening there. But that’s her choice. It doesn’t mean setting up a way for people to connect on Facebook was a mistake. In fact, judging from the robust discussions, it’s been quite successful.

Most networks don’t strike lightening in a bottle. Google+ has millions of members, but it wasn’t until Google enabled groups that I found any real value in spending time there. Whether your online community is made up of a handful of Nationals fans or half a million brand enthusiasts, your engagement sweet spot is going to depend on where your audience is and what they’re looking for from you.

Photo by pasukaru76 (Flickr)

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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The Problem with Instant Gratification

by Daria Steigman on December 13, 2012

Child bored by a giant loud speaker.We’ve all seen it: the person who’s talking at you while scanning the room looking for someone more important. But who’s “more important” anyway?

The intern in the cubicle might be president someday. Or work at your dream-job company. Or have a tie to your best prospect.

Or maybe they just have an interesting story to tell.

You want a network that’s both deep and wide.

The problem with instant gratification is that while you’re thinking “she’s just a consultant,” “he’s job hunting,” or “she’s really young,” the savvy business person is listening, being helpful, and connecting with people one by one.

Photo by Woodley Wonderworks (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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5 Digital Trends to Watch

by Daria Steigman on April 11, 2011

digital, social media, Independent Thinking, Steigman Communications llcIf Steve Rubel is right, there are some fascinating digital trends to plan for in 2011.

During a recent MarketingProfs Webinar, Rubel highlighted 11 digital trends, including location-based services, thought leadership, and social media schizophrenia (e.g., information overload). From his list, here are five that stand out:

  1. Attentionomics, or the concept that it’s not enough to reach people (e.g., eyeballs or numbers)–you have to grab their attention to drive behavior. A couple ways to do this: using visualizations and creating digital embassies within your social networks.
  2. Digital Curation, which Rubel concisely defined as “separating the art from the junk.” This is a big one for me, because right now we’re focusing on aggregation far more than curation (think paper.li and similar “auto”-curation tools).
  3. Integration Economy, or the concept that the way we communicate will demand that people collaborate more across an organization. I’ve been talking about shattering silos for a long time, so I hope Rubel’s right about this one.
  4. Ubiquitous Social Computing, or what Rubel said involves “optimizing for mobility, not just mobile.” A couple ways to do this: designing for multiple platforms and thinking about integrating social sharing into your products.
  5. Transmedia Storytelling, which is the concept that technology is changing the way stories are told (think Avatar, Toy Story). Rubel said that “narrative is no longer a whole,” and that we must think instead about “connecting the dots.”

What stands out for you? And what trends would you add to the list?

Photo by Phillie Casablanca (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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10 Social Tools to Help Your Business

by Daria Steigman on March 7, 2011

Social Tools, Social Media, Independent Thinking, Steigman Communications, llcWe talk a lot about the “big 5″ social media platforms (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr).  But the conversation universe is a much bigger place, and there are other platforms, channels, and tools that just might make sense for your business too.

Here are 10 of them (thanks to a terrific closing session at the Frederick New Media and Technology Conference on February 24 that featured 10 speakers, three minutes each, talking about 10 less-well-known social tech tools):

  1. BuddyPress. Beth Schillaci said that this “social networking in a box” open-source WordPress add-on lets you build a community within your own space (e.g., where you have control and own your data). Suggested uses, said Schillaci, include a safe space for a student community and an in-house (employee) community that you can tuck behind a firewall.
  2. Tumblr. Jessica Hibbard called the microblogging site “an elegant solution” for curating content. She said it is an easy way to post content as diverse as video, photos, and chat scripts. Hibbard said business uses include showcasing your thought leadership by creating a central location for industry news (LL Bean does this) or as a way to connect with your community. There’s even an “ask me anything” button.
  3. Meetup. Kelly Beach said that you need to give to your community before you can start selling, and a Meetup group is one way to do this. She also pointed out that, with 250,000 meetups monthly, it’s a great way to connect with like-minded people in your community.
  4. SlideShare. See my 4 tips for using SlideShare.
  5. Quora. Lisa Byrne said that the fledging Q&A site is great way to both be helpful to your community and to ask for help. She said one way to use Quora is to ask questions that will help you deliver a better service or build a better product. (See here for my early take on Quora.)
  6. HootSuite. Like TweetDeck, Hootsuite is another popular Twitter client designed to make social media monitoring and engagement easier. Sandy Sponaugle said that Hootsuite supports several multimedia sites and recently rolled out a new analytics tool.
  7. 3D Visualization. Darian Robbins talked about using Google Earth to layer information to create a 3D representation about your business. Can you say cool?
  8. Open Source E-Commerce Systems. Nick Damoulakis talked about six good e-commerce products. UberCart and WP e-commerce both work with WordPress. His favorite: Magento, which he termed a “mini-Amazon.com” (lots of functionality, but it’s not plug and play).
  9. HTML5. Jon-Mikel Bailey said that HTML5 is all about user experience. He said that the code is easier to develop and maintain, and that it gives you lots of options (including chat features and better form management). This is developer geek chic. While the rest of us don’t have to know how to do it, it helps if we know what can be done.
  10. Google Instant. Jeannine Morber said that Google is moving increasingly toward valuing relevance in search. She said that the biggest implication is that content is and will continue to be the most important and relevant element of your Web site.

What’s your favorite “outlier” social platform or tool?

Photo by tuppus (Flickr).

Have you grabbed a free copy of Your Social Media Checklist? Download it today to get 9 tips for being findable and attracting the right customers for your business.

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