Never Ever Forget To Chat Loyally

N = news: The first thing you should do in the morning is consume some news. Whether you watch TV while getting ready, or breeze through a printed newspaper, you can only become a better conversationalist (and more interesting person overall) if you know something about the current world around you. Intake some news, even if it’s just a clip or two from your favorite celebrity gossip site.

E = email: Let’s face it, you have to read your email. In your email, you are beginning your social interaction for the day. You are actively communicating in a two way format. Remember that news you read? Well, go ahead and shoot a note to an editor or producer to round that out for the day. (This will be easy for those of us that have RSS sent to email with some topics we actively participate in.) Your email likely contains some interesting newsletters, updates, and the like that give you fodder for the day, even if it’s generating a casual “OMG my day is looking horrible” tweet.

F = facebook (or social network of choice:) It’s wise to check in on Facebook in the AM in order to send some “happy birthday” love to your friends and those you want to build a deeper connection with. It’s also a good way to see what’s going on in other people’s lives (especially those in earlier time zones) so you can interact in an authentic way and build deeper connections.

T = twitter: It’s a good idea to do a quick check on Twitter in the morning to see what is going on in your circle of influence. A “good morning” isn’t necessary, but just so you know, in some European countries they find it rude not to bid your followers and good morning and goodnight. This will also give you a quick glance of any trending topics and may just give you some good fodder to share when you return your morning calls, etc.

C = comment marketing: This is the part of social media that most miss. (And the part that companies tend to pay us to manage for them.) Set up RSS feeds, or pick some favorite sites (news, blogs, thought leaders, etc.) and actually participate in the conversation. Leave your comments. Don’t steal the thunder of the author. And be social. If you have something to say, speak up.

L = linkedIn: I think it’s a good idea to check in (at some point during the day) at least once on LinkedIn. You should pay attention to any updates from those in your network, answer some questions (without pushing your wares too heavily,) and see if you maybe have a new connection to chat with.

So there you go. Not an exact science (or math,) but a good way to manage what seems to be a deluge of social interaction required on top of phone calls, blogposts, and text messages. Oh, and don’t forget: you also use your location based services (Gowalla, 4Square) and tweet on the fly all day long when you are stuck in a line, stuck in traffic, or stuck listening to something that is boring…Best of luck!

Amanda Vega: Hi, great to meet you.  What do you do?
Her: I am helping people find their path to millions. Here’s a brochure (shove at me.) Hope to see you there. What do you do?
AV: I run a international social media and PR firm.
Her: Oh! Social Media! I’m actually starting a social media company next week!
AV: Of COURSE you are. Everyone is these days..
Her: Well, there’s enough business for everyone. My friends lost their jobs and started a social media company and they are doing really well, so I figured it can’t be that hard, so I’m setting up Twitter and stuff this weekend and launching next week.
AV: Ugh. (And yes, an open look of disdain – I have no filter) Well, best of luck to you. Yes, there are enough clients for everyone. Actually, given the lack of understanding of the different levels of social engagement, you will likely have 10 clients by Friday if  you price it at like $500 a month.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about entrepreneurship.  And I do agree that there is plenty of work at all levels in the field. What bothers me is seeing the same blurring of lines and lack of understanding of how much actual knowledge and thought goes into running a legitimate business, and truly managing social media properly for clients. The same thing happened in the early days of web design after the world finally caught on that the internet was indeed valuable, and it also happened to the SEO experts out there in the past 7 years. Everyday we see ads and hear radio commercials about how “we can manage your social media for $200/month…” that make us all cringe. While these companies likely provide some value at the very initial stages of social media, they certainly don’t have the concept of the complexity of real social interaction that leads to real business results.

What many miss is the fact that thoughtful communication and interaction tied to a brand takes a TON of hours and planning and messaging. Those of us in the space that take social to the next level have intricate methodologies and workflow systems that require a ton of investment both monetarily and in human capital. It’s not as easy as setting up profiles and putting them on auto-pilot. True social interaction on a daily basis is intense and eats a ton of hours – thus driving costs to an appropriate (though still too low in my opinion when compared to traditional media) mark. Not to mention, running a company in and of itself in the true fashion requires time, money, and those blasted taxes.

So to all of my brethren social media competitors, friends, colleagues, and partners who like us are hammering away for clients in deep messaging, REAL way – shout out about your frustration of the “anyone can set up a social media company” and share your stories. I know you have them….

Banks have already begun assessing their risks in regards to this subject, and also the theme of security has been at the forefront of bank agendas. Being proactive in the new economy regarding any internal or external risks can only benefit an institution in the long run. With the web being wide open to risk, it is important to evaluate all policies and procedures to have a clear understanding of what each bank considers comfortable risk. For example, there are very real and serious threats to any institutional website including, trojans, worms, phishing and other attacks targeted specifically at the users of these sites. Bank employees need strict corporate policy to adhere to and detailed descriptions of what is proper behavior. It may be a best practice policy to block an employee’s use of any online portal that is a threat to an institution’s security.

I bought the iPad for one reason: to ensure that I get my daily cardio done. No, seriously – that’s why I bought it. A good friend of mine and I decided to embark on a sort of adventure in fitness. The theory: we both HAVE to check email and do our social media comment marketing daily, so if we could also get some cardio in at the same time, would we actually stick to our fitness plan. The way I see it, if I had an easier way to thoughtfully and easily dig into my email while on a machine, I wouldn’t have an excuse not to get it done. My iPhone was too small and heavy to really write long emails, and a laptop set up wasn’t possible because of the arms on my elliptical trainer at home. So, we challenged each other to test if the iPad was an answer to this.

The results: yes. So far, I, Amanda Vega have been able to complete cardio while also working pretty easily with my iPad. You can read more about this adventure on our blog IHateCardio.com.

Anyway, so for what MY purposes were, the iPad rocks. As for the rest, I’m not sure that for a power user/buyer like myself, the iPad replaces anything I already have. For instance, while I love the way faster turning of pages in books on the iPad (I’m a speed reader,) I do not like the backlit technology over the liquid page technology of the Kindle. My eyes were more tired for sure reading on the iPad. Additionally, I found way less available books, and the ones I had purchased on my Kindle to then test drive on the iPad cost almost double on iPad.

Secondly, the connectivity is a bit challenging. When I was at the airport I attempted to connect to the wifi and download my email prior to my flight. It was a no go. I was sad. And to test whether it was the iPad or the wifi, I pulled out my MacAir and connected quickly and easily. An answer to this was brought to my attention by another user of the iPad who had tethered his phone to his iPad to get his connection. But, do you really want to have to do that?

As for my apps and the like, they work seamlessly and just like my iPhone. My experience with Words is certainly more fun – though my friend Akira Hirai is still beating me over and over.

I did download a movie using Netflix and also participated in a webinar with my iPad in the first week -both went really well. The vivid color and big screen was really great.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed that a case didn’t come with the iPad like it did with my Kindle.

And the biggest praise I have of the iPad is the battery life. After two hours of use with multiple apps and songs and the like, I still had over 90% batter left. For all of you that are iPhone users, you know how shocking this was. If only my iPhone could last this long.

My husband thinks that the iPad will work well for him in traveling. He doesn’t juggle too many documents and gets about 1,000 less emails a day than I do. So for that type of user that doesn’t already have a great traveling laptop, the iPad may be a great solution.

But for me overall, while I love my new toy, I can’t say that it changed my world, or made me more productive professionally. It did, however, make me get my cardio done almost everyday!

Anyone else have thoughts?

One simple word……REVENUE

Typical areas of interest:

Counterfeit product marketing or sales
–product
–coupons
–manuals
Unauthorized agents/sales posing as representatives
Traffic Diversion Schemes and SEO
Document Leakage
Reputation
False Endorsement claims
Identity theft

For consumer products it has been estimated that there is a 1 trillion dollars in the market annually or 10% of GDP of purchased goods that are illegal counterfeit. Let’s put that in terms of your revenue. If 10% a company with a 3.5 billion dollar revenue stream was being stolen by counterfeit activities ($350,000,000), don’t you think management would much prefer to have that stream of revenue go to the company or shareholders?

Some may think that traffic diversion may not cost the company anything, but if you take into account your conversion ratios of how many customers come to your site and actually purchase goods or services, you can relate that back to a revenue number as well.

– Average monthly online visitors to your site 50,000
– Average monthly visitors diverted 10%, 5000
– Conversion rate to offending sites 1.5%
– Average monthly customers lost (5000) * (.015) = 75
– Annual loss of 900 customers
– Value/Customer $125
– Total cost of online diversion to competition $112.5K
If $112,500 in cash was missing, would you investigate?

These are just a couple of examples of how you can quantify the cost of ignoring the risks around social media. Start evaluating your company based on where you have seen your name in social media and what types of products or services you offer. How easily would they be subject to any of the above scams for diverting your companies cash?

1. Data Security – Is the company and internal data vulnerable? Companies must ensure that any software applications that have been developed are secure. Good practice is to have a periodical and consistent review process of the operational security measures to ensure data is safe and secure.

2. Regulatory Climate – All companies must keep abreast of the regulations that affect their type of industry and business. If a company grows too fast without putting the proper compliance standards in place, there is then a reactive, time consuming process to fix mistakes within day-to-day company operations. It is best to take a proactive approach and become an expert in the regulatory changes that affect your industry.

3. Understanding the Human Element – All companies have an interest to protect their brand and confidential, proprietary information. If there is no clear employee conduct code, then there can be room for gray areas when it comes to conduct. With the growth of social media, it is imperative that the use of online mediums is monitored and policy is in place. Employees need to understand with social media comes responsibility, and the policies put in place are there to protect all participants and company integrity.

These are just a few examples of why taking compliance seriously needs to be a priority for any company wanting longevity in the marketplace.

In light of the FTC changes to their guidelines, we have seen an uptick in client inquiries regarding advertising messages and questions about how to stay compliant. Mostly our clients in the medical arena and financial areas are unsure of what they can say especially when it comes to social media. The FTC will continue to send out warning letters to any company that violates the new guidelines. If changes requested are not made, then companies can expect to receive a fine from the regulators. LifeLock is just an example of how companies now have to change their advertising, marketing and social media policies in order to stay compliant. Our company continues to help navigate our clients towards compliant marketing and advertising. Understanding what the regulators are looking for is key.

But on the other hand, we certainly are a snitty bunch with overinflated egos and attitude problems.

Hang out on Twitter for a few hours after you’ve (thankfully) gained more than a few followers and you will begin to see the true community that drives this micro-blogging site and makes it truly hum.  It’s like an electronic high school really – with the differences in class and caste, and the behaviors and uses of Twitter vary with each subgroup. Oddly enough, most of the “social media experts” that write books on the subject (read: get paid to speak, not to actually have ever managed social media for a client) tend to spend most of their tweets sharing quotes and news stories.  The celebrities are split into two groups: ones that say really mundane things that we adore like reading People Magazine and the ones that attempt to use it as a platform for social change (yet don’t follow anyone back.) Most of the companies on Twitter are talking at you in a way that is basically an advertising bastardization of this social tool. The “professionals” seem to think that passing along news articles all day long is the sole use of Twitter – and sadly most of them are about 3 hour behind everyone else.  The MLM crowds spam you constantly and create one or two fake “real tweets” between spam to fool people. (Who? I’m not sure.)

And then there are the nerds.

The nerds (I use the term fondly,) are the ones that I believe are the real social wizards. They are the “social media experts” more so than the aforementioned authors. Many of them log more hours than anyone else on Twitter. A great many of them are doing valuable client work, creating the tools we use in social media every day, and forging this industry. They connect all hours of the day and handle multiple streams of consciousness and conversation at any given time while juggling work (we hope.) And they all consider themselves the rulers of Planet Twitter.  Often times, you see them fighting for title of king much like beauty queens – tearing everyone down in their path publicly (while acting under the guise of being “helpful”) in order to make themselves stand out and seem more crown worthy.

Pay attention. You’ll see tweets like “take your chatter to direct message” or “why are you telling me what you ate for breakfast?” You will find instances of people publicly ridiculing someone for not using a URL shortener, cursing, sharing promotions, and tweeting while drunk. And they aren’t just shouting their opinion, they are frequently adding to their beating words like “you can’t do that” or “you aren’t supposed to do that” or “you’re using Twitter wrong.”

The reality is that there isn’t really a wrong or right way to use Twitter. We all have our opinions on the subject. (I personally believe that if you aren’t having any two-way conversation on Twitter, then you aren’t being social and therefore likely not optimizing the tools power.)  But those that hang out the most control the reality – and they want you to know so. There’s no official rule book, use book, or directive from Twitter (like there is on Facebook with regard to Fan pages, etc.) telling you what to do with the tool. It’s the reason most major media still have no clue about the sub communities and what really happens with active Twitter users (yet they all have accounts now so they can talk at us – occasionally.)

I believe some of the angry banter is the cyber equivalent to heckling, and some of it is truly arrogant overstepping from some that somehow think there are official rules of engagement and that they are assigned to police the tool. I see a lot of it coming from people that in ‘real’ life would never speak up to anyone. I also see a lot of it come from people that in my own opinion aren’t very adept in social – on or offline. But at the end of the day – it’s the collective crowd of active users that do create and manage the community, which includes the bylaws and social etiquette rules. It’s the beauty of social media, really. But, the next time someone tells you that you’re using Twitter wrong, remind them that they aren’t the ruler of your world (or of Twitter) and to back off. (Or, shove them in a locker.)

There are a lot of boiler plate policies and procedures out there, but every company is it’s own customized entity.  To begin, you need to determine to what extent your company is participating in social media, both internally and externally and your key risk factors.  Some thoughts on typical key risk factors are reputation, financial, liability etc.  External participation is probably the easiest to see and evaluate and may give you the biggest bang for your buck so to say, because your external information is hopefully comprised of both employee correspondence and external evaluations such as financial analysts, newspapers, and customers.  I say hopefully, because if you are not finding employee correspondence, then either you aren’t looking hard enough or your employee demographics may not be prone to communications via social media and this could be a problem in itself.

Here are some easy steps to see what your external participation is:

Google your Company
Google your industry
Set up key word searches on Google on all sorts of media
Set up key word searches in Twitter
Go to sites like Yahoo Finance and read through the blog posts

Log as much information as you can over a period of time.  A good time do this if you are publically traded might be a quarter or year end, or a recent release of new products as well as time that there is a minimal amount of activity happening.

Categorize the information you are seeing into employee correspondence (financial, personal, liability, reputation) external evaluations using the same categories you used for your internal.  Each of your categories need to be evaluated on a risk basis of likelihood and impact.  Likelihood is to be defined as the probability that the event will occur and impact is the amount it would impact your risks financially, professionally, and the speed of onset.  As these increase so does your risk.

Ok, now that your eyes have glazed over with confusion, I will let you consider what I have written to absorb it all.  We’ll talk about internal social media analysis strategy soon, but I think we are off to a great start!

Here we are in the 21st century.  We monitor our trading, we monitor our friends, we get real time information (or as real time as we can), yet big brother is still trying to hold us back.  Why is it that so many of corporate america can’t seem to catch up to the trends?  Are they going to miss out on the best and brightest because of their hesitation?  Seems to me that every time a new technology starts to take roots the people who should be embracing it tend to dismiss or defend against why we shouldn’t have or use the new technology.  I know information directors that don’t have computers at home and believe it or not there are still executives that have all their email correspondence printed for them and they dictate or write the responses for their administrative assistance (I know, seems like a cliché from 9 to 5 with Dolly Parton).  Ok, so lets get down to brass knuckles, why is it that adaptation comes so easy to some and so hard to others?  It’s a risk perception whether it be personally or professionally.  People innately evaluate the cost benefit to themselves and or their company.  

On a personal level the risks are minimal to the population.  If I were to get hacked my identity might get stolen and I would be in a world of hurt, and may even face some public retribution, but overall the impact would be isolated. Even so, some people choose not to assume this risk and choose not to participate in social media which is an individual preference.  Now let’s talk about corporate risk.  Many people would argue that the number one risk associated to social media is reputation.  The thought is that if you allow your employees to access these sites, it could pose a reputational risk that you are unable to address.  Funny, when I write reviews about a company or service I receive it isn’t as though I work for that company, rather I received their service.  I would say that the inability to receive or view that feedback could lead to more negative connotations vs. the ability to receive that information and prepare an appropriate response.   Another difficulty to companies limiting their employees is the lack of control of those employees when away from the office.   This is why I argue that the number one risk associated to social media is ignoring it.  The lack of accepting social media as a successful form of communication could really hurt your company through lack of your participation in the conversation. And believe me, the conversation is already going.  

Another interesting standpoint to social media is the freedom of the information.  When people post public information, it is very difficult to remove it from every source possible on the internet.  This allows people and companies to view their information without any risk of invasion of privacy because most the sites with the exception of Facebook are open communities.  There are all sorts of tools that you can use to monitor traffic as it pertains to your company, brand, and even industry.  If you haven’t already started, just set up some google alerts to see what is being circulated about your company.    

Other risks associated to social media are the liability risks and enterprise security risk which each have their own subcategories such as personal information, financial information, legal liabilities, network risk etc.  These are the risks that any company has regardless of their stated participation level or acceptance of social media.  Someone somewhere in your employee population is participating, therefore your company is as well.  Guilty by association.  The best way to address these risks is to address the population with training and policy.  Note that training was first on my list because of the trust factor that seems to be imbedded with all users of the internet, people need to understand the risks associated — how many times have you clicked a link that you didn’t really know where it was going to send you?  Most employees don’t understand that clicking that link is risky business.