Will I be using the new Facebook Messages – well of course (but I caveat that with the latter part of my post). To have all social comms centrally held in one place is without doubt very compelling – to be able to send SMS via Facebook could be useful, attaching external docs – yep that’s something I would use considering I’m planning a wedding. I use Facebook more than any other channel to communicate to my core group of friends so I can only see this as a positive …

I’ve noticed a few social media campaigns recently (one involving a Pizza party and an X Factor non-winner, the other a package of chips, a pop superstar and some funky augmented reality) that have left me a little perplexed, mainly because of the complexity of what they were expecting their users to do – uploading photos, creating films, throwing parities, playing fancy dress…the list is endless . Maybe I should be taking more time to appreciate some of these strategies but I have limited time, just like the next person, …

Building on my last blog post the Social Media Policy – not just for the big players I felt it was worth sharing some pointers on what should be included if you are drafting this document on behalf of your business or client.
Not one for the bottom drawer
Remember that you want your policy to empower the reader to embrace social media rather than scare them off. This means ensuring that there is no complicated, technical jargon (if this needs to be included then make sure there is a glossary …

Ok – so I obviously missed the boat first time round with YouTube’s Search Stories Video Director but this is fun and further emphasises the importance of solid SEO in how you/ your company are perceived (yep – I know mine is pretty poor and am trying to work on it). Fun stuff aside, it provides a useful tool to show clients how they are currently performing in Google and therefore provides the opportunity to demonstrate how certain influential sites/social networks impact on results. Oh, and you have your choice …

Let’s move on from saying we need objectives, benchmarks and KPI’s for social media activity – the reality is we know this has to happen and hopefully, by now, our clients understand this too. We also know that to get to a realistic and actionable benchmark, we should have been measuring the activity we have been running, what’s worked, what hasn’t – what got our audience really excited and what was ignored. The truth is we have the technology to do this (time to get down and dirty with analytics …

Ad:Tech 2010 and mobile was definitely an area that screamed ‘come and listen to what I have to say’. Not only were there numerous agencies showcasing their expertise but the mobile marketing seminars were packed to the rafters – standing room only in most cases. So was there anything that was presented this year in mobile that I was particularly bowled over by? In all honesty, probably not – the same buzz words were being wielded about (geo-location, incentivisation even QR) BUT what does make you sit and take notice …

Horray – now do you believe Twitter is a viable communications channel? Not only do the new developments make Twitter.com more inviting, they open up new opportunities for brands to create a personality for themselves which is not just inferred through the tone of their tweets. It’s the larger icon, the images and video – all housed in one destination. ‘A Facebook feed’ I hear you cry! Yes, there’s no doubt, but what’s interesting is when individuals pull in brand content to the right hand column of the their own …

As social media professionals we know; when evaluating the success of an online community, it should all be about the level of engagement and not about the number of ‘Likes’ and/or followers – but the truth is, that rightly or wrongly numbers matter.

This is the first thing clients see when they are searching for a benchmark of success, the first indication of what they would naturally infer as popularity and the first thumbs up of a community that seems to be well run – people have said ‘yes’ …

So you are getting excited about your social media strategy, you have your creative execution standing by and are ready to start counting fans and followers.  Being a small to medium sized business you may not have thought about a Social Media Policy. That’s something only for large corporations and agencies, not you, right?  Wrong.
Before I hear a collective virtual *sigh*, a social media policy is essential for any business who wants to get online – no matter how small. This is because in using online platforms to communicate you …

Don’t create channels of communication for the sake of it – it’s a drain on time and energy. It amazes me that some businesses and organisations still take the ‘we must be everywhere’ approach when this can actually lead them to be less efficient whilst building a confusing digital footprint. Think about how your audience uses different social networks and then decide whether, and in what way, you can really add value by being in those spaces.
Some things to think about:
Facebook as a newsfeed..?

If your intention is not to engage …