Social Commentary: Social Media, Online Marketing, Podcasting, and Your Business
Social Media, Online Marketing, and You
Many people have asked me while I’ve been covering tours, press conferences and other events how I type so fast and get so much out. Well, here’s one of tricks of the trade, and another reason why I believe the iPad2 is the ultimate mobile blogging/journalism tool.
After all, the size of the iPad makes many people feel like its “not truly a mobile device” or “it’s too large to use in the field.” Au contraire, I say:
There’s no doubt that tablets, especially the iPad, have changed the face of computing. I don’t know if it’ll be the Apple iPad, or another future device, but it’s extremely clear that the computer for the 99% is going to be a simpler, easier to use device.
One of the criticisms of the tablet is that it’s not a content creation device. Well, over the past few months, I’ve found that supposition to be completely incorrect, especially with the coming of the iPad 2. Sure, the video camera on it isn’t the best ever – but it is sure functional. And some might feel that not having a real keyboard is a deal breaker. But that can be quickly remedied – and honestly, I’ve found that if you just trust it you can get very excellent results off of it (in fact, I’ve posted many pieces of content with it, never touching a “real” keyboard). One of the things I’ve learned is that it’s not always about the quality, but what you have on hand, and the iPad helps you become a mobile reporting maven if you let it.
In my travels, I’ve live-blogged, live-tweeted, shot, edited, then uploaded videos on a tour bus, on a boat, and on the street – all off of the iPad 2. But, it doesn’t come out of the box with the functionality you need. For the purposes of this post, we’ll focus on blogging and video creation.
First off, forget the official WordPress app. It’s from all appearances made for nerds, not writers. Get Blogsy. It has so many bundled-in features, and most of all, it gives you supreme control over formatting and the ability to post to different platforms. You edit your text, properly format pictures, access your media library, and without as much of the nerdy coding subtext. Yes, you can have that control if you want it, but writers need to write, not be bothered with the fiddly bits. Here’s a few key points:
iMovie for the iPad 2 is surprisingly powerful. I love watching people light up when I show them how to edit everything from sideshows to voiceovers to news packages. I remember the days not ten years ago where you needed insanely expensive equipment that made loud (albeit satisfying) noises as the tapes whirred and clunked to make edits happen. A few words to the wise are important, though.
Both Blogsy and iMovie have YouTube support. It has been my personal experience that if you want something to really travel, despite the higher visual quality of services like Vimeo, YouTube is where the big community is and that’s where you need to be. If you find the comments too vapid, you can turn them off; however, remember, comments many times drive additional views and you can take the initiative and moderate them.
So there’s a few tips on the iPad 2 as a blogging and video creation tool. What techniques/apps/etc. have you found in your experience?
Postscript: Turns out a major update is coming very soon for Blogsy (thanks to them reaching out and spreading the word). I’ll be sure to grab it as soon as it comes out and give you the skinny.
With a headline like that, you might think I’m going to tell some salacious tale of scandal, where your team is having completely inappropriate conversations and tearing your brand down left and right.
But I’m not. Because in general, they’re not.
The problem, however, is just as critical, if not worse. It’s apathy.
Take a look. Is your communications team leading a double online life? It’s a strong sign your strategy and content isn’t really strong enough and that you don’t have buy in from your team.
Dear Chief marketing/PR/head muckety muck of all things digital, before you go mandating they turn off their second accounts, please take a moment and listen. It’s not their fault. This is hard medicine, but the reason is probably because your content isn’t worth sharing yet. If someone’s heart is behind something, they’re willing to stand behind their work personally. You’re not in the sweet spot yet.
The bar of your content should be high – because in general, people tune out pure marketing messages in social media. They generally don’t go to Facebook to interact with ads, they go to interact with people. With all of this talk that digital and social are supposed to be different, I rarely see that “different” talk put into practice.
For instance, although people may “like” your page on Facebook, the reality is EdgeRank (their system for showing posts to users) can be really difficult to bust through and get visible. Facebook is generally non-linear and algorithmically curated content. In short, just because you posted the update, it doesn’t mean all of your fans (or even a majority) are seeing it. You need to create content that is “likable” to folks for it to start appearing (even if they hit most recent news, Facebook curates that and brands usually lose out in that curation).
The best way to break through that challenge is to be compelling, so that people in diverse yet somewhat connected social circles actually enjoy your stuff and share it themselves. Facebook knows it’s pretty easy to get a ton of junk “likes” to fan pages – so they’ve made it more than just about the raw numbers of “likes” your page has.
But if your own team has personal followers or friends, and then you end up making them (through mandate or content that is mundane) have some rarely used secondary account to fulfill the quota, you’re just eviscerating your efficacy, because those secondary accounts do not have the pull or interest that their “actual” accounts do.
Your team should be excited and proud enough about your content, many times content they created, to occasionally share without prompting or mandate. Additionally, you can’t ever expect them to blast their stream constantly and keep authenticity. The public can tell when there’s no soul – if the people involved are simply punching a clock – and that mandated share doesn’t really accomplish anything other than making that Tweet or Facebook Like button number go up one notch. If it’s forced, it’ll much less likely be the firestarter that jumps it ten or twenty.
So do a quick gutcheck. Review if you’re making content for yourself – or are you making it for the people you want to engage? Because when I’m doing reviews of things that aren’t working, the sad truth is that what’s being put out just isn’t good enough or it’s completely targeted wrong.
Many times music applies to life in other ways.. and here, I quote Stevie Wonder, “Just because a record has a groove don’t make it in the groove.”
There was a time when one could, to some degree, ignore the power of the people who use online tools. Now, it seems, there is more power in them than ever. In recent weeks, that power has helped grease the wheels to overthrow an Egyptian government. Locally, it’s funded an oft-discussed statue of Robocop, which has opened a passionate Pandora’s box of feelings on both sides of the issue here.
Things are different now. This small group of influencers (for instance, in the case of Egypt, only 5 million of their 80 million population use Facebook) have outsized power because they’re willing to be vocal. There are visible doers, as I would call them, around the world.
“If you ever doubted the power of the people on Twitter, don’t. You could end up with a revolution or a big ‘ol statue in your backyard.” – A status update of mine
In some ways, our president, Barack Obama, was the bellwether for this change. His election out of virtual political obscurity and against long initial odds was due to the fact he was able to capture interest and, in some ways most importantly, harness the monetary power of his online supporters.
In short, if you’re an advocate of anything (be it a brand, a presidential candidate, a cause, a musical sound) you have to be listening to and participating in the conversation happening (what we might call “engaged”) or your desires may well be ignored. There is simply no choice because the pendulum of power is quickly moving in that direction.
Personally, in the case of Robocop, I don’t like the symbolism. But I do think the marketing was brilliant. Many people didn’t like what Barack Obama stands for, but they sure are taking his success strategies to heart. This post isn’t meant as a debate about the merits of the causes themselves; this is about how they were effective and how YOU can be effective in your endeavors using the tools at hand.
1) Keep it simple. People like to rally around things they can quickly grasp and understand. Ask your mom. If she gets what you’re trying to do, you have a shot.
2) Be authentic and funny. Like the Red Cross recently showed, even an accidental tweet about getting drunk after work can turn into positivity. Your listeners stay engaged.
3) Be involved with the community before you need it. This is one of the most key parts. It’s almost impossible to voice criticism, answer it, drive action, or much of anything, if you’re starting cold. It’s hard to garner respect when you’re showing up late to the discussion.
4) Make the tools a part of your life. However you use Twitter or Facebook, make it a part of your life. There’s not a “wrong” or “right” way; just ways that accomplish certain goals better. It’s different strokes for different folks. Some use Twitter and Facebook as a news feed that lets them keep up with things of interest; some are more conversational, and others use it as a platform to share their ideas.
5) Shine the spotlight on others. There always needs to be an element of people getting recognition; this concept is ancient. As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “It is clear to me that men will die for ribbons.” Nothing has changed since then, except the less dying and more tweeting part. 
I’m finding a consistent issue. Public relations folks sending press releases or pitches to bloggers, digital news organizations, or others, that don’t even include links. Out of 100 items I see, 80+ will not have links. And this is by PR firms that frankly, should know better.
Most times, people want to help you. But I can guarantee your pitch, dear PR person, will be thrown in the trash or ignored unless you include links to relevant material. I have watched in multiple situations over the past few months otherwise good stories get chucked because it’s just too much work.
With so many things coming at once, the first revision of cuts goes to all the people who have made the story difficult to put together. And social media coverage? Provide no links and you can completely forget about it. That works in real time.
Do you have an event? Have a place where you have all the information online, and even better, a place to sign up. A product reveal? Bloggers need to be able to easily get pictures of the thing.
The good news is that there is ZERO reasonable excuse to not do this. There’s free and cheap services – even some that integrate with email services like Constant Contact (disclosure – a PDM partner) that offer automatic archiving if you sent your press release via email. A press release isn’t the preferred link (a link in context to your site or blog is better) but it’s a start.
Let’s think about this logically. How is someone supposed to tweet, Facebook, etc. without a link to somewhere? They’re going to have to create all the content themselves. And that realistically just doesn’t happen very often. You’re making a for a much higher bar to get coverage or noticed.
Not to mention, even when writing their own material, journalists and bloggers want links to refer to. The links give their post credibility online, and obviously, some traffic to your site (not to mention, the easier you make the job, the better you’ll do).
So get more coverage for your clients – and look better yourself. Put links in your communications.
I may add some suggestions, but I’d love to hear yours on ways folks can reinforce their press releases and communications with links, knowing that at times they might not even have access to their company website for changes (a real challenge in many more businesses than you may think).
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