>Repost of the 10 Commandements of Social Media – Made Possible and Cost-Effective WIth the Help of a Social Media Specialist

>This list came to my inbox this morning –

The one commandment of social media: have a go
Posted: 10 Jun 2009 04:26 AM PDT
Image by horizontal.integration via Flickr

A post from Lon Safko on the Fast Company blog today talks about The 10 Commandments of Social Media. The advice is good and serves as a great starting point for individuals, brands or any organisation looking to use social media. Safko’s ‘Commandments’ are:

Thou Shalt Blog (like crazy).
Thou Shalt Create Profiles (everywhere).
Thou Shalt Upload Photos (lots of them).
Thou Shalt Upload Videos (all you can find).
Thou Shalt Podcast (often).
Thou Shalt Set Alerts (immediately).
Thou Shalt Comment (on a multitude of blogs).
Thou Shalt Get Connected (with everyone).
Thou Shalt Explore Social Media (30 minutes per week).
Thou Shalt Be Creative (go forth and create creatively)!

For the rest of the article see here: http://blog.freshnetworks.com/2009/06/the-one-commandment-of-social-media-have-a-go/.

Now, having read this article, I began thinking about my own clients and potential clients (love that growing list of pending proposals) and the first topic that comes up in just about every single conversation I have with them upon first contact.

Most companies simply do not have the staff or the time to implement and maintain their own social media campaign. Each of the elements mentioned in the 10 Commandments above takes time, maybe not more than minutes each in some cases, but added up, you’re looking at several hours a week that will need to be allotted to one aspect of your marketing campaign.

For companies that are decreasing staff sizes, decreasing overtime hours and looking for every way possible to cut back, this is becoming more difficult.

To further complicate time management issues, any social media campaign has one important characteristic that a print or traditional marketing campaign does not have – it’s alive. Now, I don’t mean that you have to feed and water it, per se, but you do have to be in constant search of the latest tools, tips, tricks and programs available consistently stay ahead of the your competition and keep you ROI high and your overhead costs low for these vital and powerful marketing tools. In other words, you have to keep your social media plan FRESH.

Shameless plug: WriteMinded, LLC has had significant successes using the most current, targeted and effective social media tools for our clients.

Any marketer knows that it’s not just what you say in your marketing that matters, it’s WHEN you say it. (Yes, timing really can be everything). I have found myself overwhelmed by both the simplicity and usefulness of social media in enhancing my clients web marketing and online PR campaigns. Social media can be targeted for just about every niche market and has the ability to connect companies directly and quickly with potential clients that need their products and services.

With the immediate access of Social Media, you can tell your customers about that sale or special event, as soon as you complete the writeup in your office. No need to wait for a publication deadline, no need to plan out marketing ads months in advance. This is social marketing, right now, to your target market. There is nothing more powerful, on the market right now anyway, than that.

Get your company on the forefront of the marketing game – contact WriteMinded, LLC today to get the jump on your competition and make your company the BUZZ!

Want an idea of what we can do for your company? Check out the Social Media Portion of our Portfolio.

>Frustrated with Facebook Marketing?

>An interesting article found its way into my inbox today and I just had to chat a bit about it. The discussion covers the increasing irritation that social media users on Facebook are apparently experiencing when being asked to become fans of business pages on the site.

Matt Rhodes of the FreshNetworks Blog gets his stats from an IAB report. Although I do agree with Rhodes that Facebook is primarily a personal site, I don’t agree that it is “difficult” to use for marketing purposes.

Just about every one of my social media clients has one or multiple Fan pages attached to their personal Facebook profiles. I’ve found them to be powerful tools to use for marketing, especially when marketing to a niche group.

Now, Rhodes does concede that most of the people who were unhappy about the business side of Facebook were being targeted by marketing that “wasn’t relevant to them” or simply had too many requests at once. Well, duh.

In marketing, there is always a fine line to walk between a successful campaign and becoming that over-caffeinated, 4AM infomercial that says everything with an exclamation point. Or, worse yet, that telemarketer that keeps calling your house at supper time even after you’ve poiltely, or not so politely, told them to beat it.

Like any other media vehicle, social networks provide a new avenue on which to find new contacts and customers. You can successfully increase awareness about your product or service, and eventually, increase your business. The same rules apply to this marketing plan as all others – KISS, and Know Your Market.

‘Nuff said.

Wanna read the article? Check out this link:http://blog.freshnetworks.com/2009/04/people-are-fed-up-of-joining-brand-pages-on-facebook/

Have a comment? I’m curious to see how people are viewing the current social media craze, if they think it’s overload or if it works.

Let me know how you feel about social media and marketing.

Maybe you want to get your business to become the BUZZ online using a personalized blend of Social Media, SEO and Online Marketing and PR??? Contact WriteMinded, LLC today!

>The Old, The New and Social Media

>Came across a great article about Twitter today via Adage.com. The discussion takes up the comparison of the recent trend of Social Media being applied to corporate marketing strategies and the ability to actually succeed in the application.

http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=136559

As a social media marketer, I have had to let go a lot of the traditional marketing practices I used when creating print marketing materials. Twitter in particular makes it challenging to maintain a consistent brand view based on traditional methods, in 140 characters or less. Yes kids, 140 CHARACTERS, not WORDS. This media vehicle lies at the heart of a difficult transition for many tradtionally trained marketers, from print marketing concepts to web marketing applications.

No longer does the old verbiage and round table marketing meetings apply. Web marketing has to appeal to an audience that is less patient, more fickle and easier to distract that print. You have to get to the heart of the point almost immediately, meaning your slogan AND your HOOK are one and the same in many cases.

Personally, I love the challenge of it. Some of the old-school types find this type of marketing to be childish and flamboyant. They’re right. Twitter makes it impossible to add another word, or even another space, for that matter, to get your phrasing “just so.” You have to be succinct and Have a Point To Make and make quickly. It’s not always the prettiest of ad lines, but when you can “direct message” any of your followers with the information with a click of your mouse, it is an invaluable tool in the right hands.

The article also suggests not putting all your eggs in on social media basket and I agree with this practical view on the tools. Like any marketing plan, you need to diversify between all the options that exist to get the word out to as many of your target market as possible. But like all web-related tools. social media is ALWAYS changing, adding on, dropping off, and evolving with the technology that exists today. This presents another difficulty faced by tradtional marketers, who knew their vendors, publications and media vehicles by heart.

A good social media specialist will keep up on all of the current tools, their application and ROI and will understand how best to apply them to each of their client’s web marketing. There is no cookie-cutter web marketing plan for all businesses, but with a little attention on available media tools and a focus on the needs, audience and goals of each specific business, social media can be a powerful and inexpensive way to increase your web conversion rates, boost your brand awareness and build your bottom line.

Are You Ready? To launch your business into the social media network? Call Writeminded, LLC today to get started!