Social Media

Introducing Social CRM Insider

Over at Jugnoo, our goal is to help educate business?owners?on the social web, and really help them both understand and improve their visibilty on it.

Part of our approach is to offer resources that will act as a go-to for news, best practices, tips and awareness?for all the various parts that make up today’s business scene.

Recently, we launched the first salvo in this in the form of Social CRM Insider.

A blog dedicated to the increasingly important area of customer relationship management in the social media space, Social CRM Insider will show why this is such a key part of any company’s strategy, especially online. From the About Page:

Every week, we?ll share our insights, best practices, case studies and more on how to run an effective customer relationship program in the social media landscape, and build brand loyalty around your business in the process.
We?ll strip away the guesswork and provide you with real-world examples of who?s doing it right, and how you can adapt these methods to your own business. And we?ll do it in a way that you can understand ? no industry jargon or buzzwords here.
Social media has always been about the relationship to the sale for business owners and their customers. Consumers have known this for a while; now it?s time for you to understand better too.

To help us with our goal, we’ve employed awesome social media and business blogger Joey Strawn as our blogger-in-residence and, while I’m biased, he’s already knocking the content out of the park, with a great amount of interest and feedback coming in.

As I mentioned at the start, we’re just beginning to ramp up our activities, and the Social CRM Insider is something we’re really looking forward to grow as we help businesses understand this space we play in.

I’d love for you to check?the Social CRM Insider blog?out when you have time, and if you have any kind of customer-centric needs for your own business, blog, store or more, you might just find it’s the ideal new blog to subscribe to.

Cheers!

Social Media Shitdiots and Hijacking the Toronto Police #RIDE Hashtag on Twitter

Over on Twitter, Toronto police are using the #RIDE hashtag to counter drunk driving this holiday period. Standing for Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere, #RIDE aims to educate against drunk driving, and offer alternatives from the Toronto police on getting home safely.

You’d think it’s a great use of Twitter, and an important topic to be aware of, especially at this time of year.

And it would be – except for the shitdiots that have hijacked the #RIDE hashtag and begun tweeting locations of the random breathalyzer checks so drunk drivers can avoid them.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit – as someone who’s lost an uncle to a drunk driver and saw a friend suffer severe brain damage after being dragged 300 yards by a drunk driver, I’m very biased on this topic.

To me, there’s no excuse for drinking and?driving – you either cab home, or don’t drink. Or, if you absolutely must drink, stay within the legal limits as set out by the law – they’re there for a reason.

However, all bias aside, tweeting the locations of #RIDE checkpoints makes you one of?the biggest assholes in the history of assholes.

Unless you’ve seen the damage a drunk driver can do, you have no idea how much devastation that “one more drink” can wreak on peoples’ lives.?And the?ironic part is that usually the drunk driver walks away without any injury…

The reason?used by some of the Twitter users, like Trevor Algar?and Justin Tutay,?is they want police to “stop abusing their powers.”?Here’s the thing, though – stopping drunks from getting behind the wheel and destroying a family is not abusing police powers.

If you want to talk about abuse of power, talk about kids getting pepper sprayed for peaceful protests. Or racial profiling. Or over-reacting to G20 protests.

That’s abuse of police power – not saving lives from stopping idiots getting behind a wheel.

So, to the Twitter users that are using the #RIDE hashtag to warn drivers of spot check locations – go ahead, warn them. Be that shitdiot that forces a mother to explain to her children why their father won’t be coming home.

Just don’t expect my sympathy when you become the victim of a drunk driver yourself. Because that’s the kind of karma you deserve.

Three Things I Would Have Done Differently If I Started Blogging Today

The following post is an excerpt from my chapter in Danny Iny’s new book, Engagement From Scratch: How Super Community Builders Create a Loyal Audience and How You Can Do the Same.

It features lessons in community building and content marketing from the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, Mitch Joel, Kristi Hines, Gini Dietrich and many more. A review of the book will appear later this week.

I Would Have Posted Less Frequently

I started off writing a blog post a day (and sometimes I posted more than once on the same day). Sometimes this made me publish stuff that, in hindsight, could have (should have) been better.

In the middle of 2011, I made a conscious decision to post less frequently, and really ask questions of things in the stuff I wrote about. It made me a better blogger, and resulted in the ensuing comments going through the roof.

I Would Have Been More Honest

Let me rephrase that: I would not have been afraid to speak more honestly. There were times early on when I wouldn’t have said anything negative about certain people, since I (incorrectly) thought they were right. Turns out we all get blinded by vacuous respect. When I realized this, and began writing openly about bad practices and calling out bullshit, it once again raised the level of engagement through the roof, as others were clearly thinking the same thing. Be honest, and you’ll have engagement.

I Wouldn’t Be So Closed Off

One of the things many bloggers complain about is that social sites like Twitter and Facebook have seen comment numbers decrease, as conversations about a post shift there, as opposed to taking part on the blog. Heck, I even wrote a post about Twitter killing blog comments! But that’s missing the point – engagement comes in all shapes and sizes, and while your blog may be the most desired place for discussion, true engagement allows the discussion to expand in all directions.

If I was to do anything differently, it’d be to get active on Facebook sooner (and now Google+). Because, ironically, I’ve tended to find that the more willing I am to converse away from my blog, the more likely people are to click through and read more of my stuff. And that’s a win-win for everyone.

Engagement From Scratch: How Super Community Builders Create a Loyal Audience and How You Can Do the Same is available now. 50% of all profits from book sales go to support the teaching of entrepreneurship.

Introducing Social Media to Your Business

Fact ? too many businesses still need to wake up and realize that social media is not ?one of these Internet fads? that will disappear.

Fact ? because of this mindset, too many businesses are potentially missing out on extra business that could mean the difference between staying afloat and going under. So why the problem?

One of the main reasons is that businesses ? whether it?s the CEO, top-tier management or otherwise ? are looking at social media as an individual medium, much like PR or marketing.

This is where the cracks start to appear. Social media benefits companies the most when it?s used as?part?of an?integrated?campaign.

Social media is also perfect for reaching out and connecting with your audience, as opposed to just selling them something. Sure, you?re still selling your brand or product ? but this time, it?s in an ?encouraging to ask questions? approach instead of ?this is us and you?ll like it? one.

Accepting that social media needs to be approached as an integrated strategy rather than a standalone campaign is the first step businesses need to take. After that, the job gets a little bit easier.

Define Your Audience

Just like any market or product, social media is made up of different audiences. As a business owner, you wouldn?t launch a new product onto a more traditional marketplace without some in-depth market research first ? don?t ignore this on social media.

Knowing your audience is key to succeeding in business social media. You need to know if your audience are participants or promoters. Why the need to differentiate? Simple –

Participants?are social media users that may use numerous social media sites and applications, but don?t really ?take part? in the medium. They?re like the visitors to your business website that may purchase something and then interact with you no further. There?s nothing wrong with this ? but as a method of expanding your brand, you may need to look elsewhere.

Promoters?are the users that like to share information ? whether it?s recommending something via Twitter or their blog, if they come across something they like they will pass that information on. This is where your use of social media can help build your name. Just remember that social media works both ways. Don?t try and cheat the system ? give back just as much (more, even) as you receive.

Have a Clear and Defined Goal

Another area where businesses are failing to adapt social media to their needs is that they don?t have a clear goal on what they want to achieve. Many hear the phrase ?social media? and immediately feel they need to be a part of this buzz, jump straight in without any forward thinking, and are then disappointed with the (lack of) results.

Ask yourself who you want to connect with and why, and then research the areas of social media that are most relevant to your needs. Demographics are one of the key points of knowledge for any campaign ? make sure you know where your demographics are playing online. A?social map?can help here.

Again, though, don?t try and play the system ? cheaters will soon be found out, and your brand can suffer irreparable damage if seen as merely a self-promotional company on social media.

Tools of the Trade

Once you have your audience and your goal set out, you need to use the tools that will help you the most. There are numerous available, and this is where building your social media connections can help, by advising what ones they use and what results they achieve.

Some of the best free examples of business tools include?Monitter?(which allows you a view on Twitter discussions of keywords);?Google Alerts?(giving you insight into what?s being said about you); and?Social Mention?(letting you gauge social reactions and reach to your topic or keywords and allowing you to jump in on conversations elsewhere).

Getting into social media shouldn?t be a hard decision for businesses to make ? it?s either right for you or it isn?t. Social media is a long-term strategy, not? a short-term fire sale.

Understand that, and you begin to understand social media.

Image:?fredcavazza