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Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

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Applying Your Dating Etiquette to Social Media

In Social Media on 02/03/2010 at 12:52 pm

By Irina Skaya

Prior to diving into the Facebook and Twittersphere social media networks, marketers must have a strategy (goals) in the space as well as be prepared to communicate with, and listen to their fans or followers on a daily basis.  The more I think about how to best describe social network monitoring and management, the more I think how similar social media communications etiquette is to dating etiquette.  I recently stumbled upon, “Dating Etiquette and Rules to Follow” on Topdatingtips.com.  Below is a list with top five dating rules that can be as easily applied to social media in order to win over the hearts of your customers.

  • Dating should always be fun, and it’s as much your responsibility as it is your partner’s to ensure that it is. Just like dating, social media is about engaging potential consumers in conversations and building relationships with them.  And of course, social media is a dialogue, not a monologue, so the brand must actively participate in the online conversation associated with it.
  • Always show up for a date, unless you’ve given notice and let the other person know you have to cancel. Standing someone up is not acceptable. Often times, brands say, “It’s only one person who complained.  If this becomes an issue where we receive numerous complaints, then we will address it.  Otherwise, let’s just not ignite the fire.”  I am not saying a brand must respond to all of the comments fans/followers post—some are just better left alone, especially if the person seems like the type to pick a fight.  The best advice I can give is all brands must have an escalation policy in order to have set rules and guidelines about how to respond in various, “What if…” scenarios.  Nonetheless, I strongly believe that each fan/follower is equally important, and the brand must pay attention to all of its fans.
  • Always be on time, and never keep your date waiting. So now that you have an escalation policy and know when and how to respond, be sure that you post your comments in a timely manner.  Whether the fan/follower has posted a question, a compliment or a complaint, the brand should respond as quickly as possible, almost instantaneously.
  • Dress well.  In this day and age, there is absolutely no excuse for looking shabby. Dress your page up; first impressions are everything.  Customize the channel with a branded skin, logo, profile photo, etc. Put your brand “in clothing” that is unique to its character, meaning include interesting and engaging functionalities, such as games, coupons, photos, videos, etc.
  • Be a good listener, and don’t talk your date to death. Don’t just broadcast promotions and self-served information about the brand.  Listen to what your customers are interested in, learn more about them, and focus your conversations on their interests.

Follow these five tips to win over your date and your fans/followers!

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Reporting In 140 characters In The Time of Disaster

In Digital Media, Human Rights, Social Media on 02/02/2010 at 5:13 am

By Irina Skaya

“Twitter saves lives,” – said Ann Curry, news anchor on NBC’s Today morning program.

In my last blog, I discussed how critical social media has been in gathering news information about the Haiti disaster, and how it has changed the way we learn and consume information.  Today, the first day of Social Media Week, I attended a “Social Media and Haiti Disaster” panel discussion at The New York Times, made up of Ann Curry (@anncurry), Robert Mackey, NYTimes Reporter (@robertmackey), Erik Parker, Journalist (@theparkerreport), Andrew Rasiej, Political and Social Entrepreneur (@rasiej), and Jason Cone, Communications Director at Doctors Without Borders. As a follow up to my last blog, I’d like to discuss how microblogging has revolutionized the way journalists report stories during a catastrophe, and how Twitter has played a crucial role in the Haiti relief efforts, and influenced others to aid this poverty-stricken country during the recession in our own country.

Key Takeways

  • Twitter is the best way to update information on-the-go when electricity is limited and the Internet connection is weak – Contrary to his counterparts, Erik Parker used Twitter to inform the rest of the world of the devastation in Haiti.  Other reporters on the ground were filing stories on their laptops, only to later to find out that the Internet was down. Moreover, when Erik’s professional camera ran out of battery, he used his iPhone to record video footage of the immediate consequences following the 7.0 earthquake.
  • Twitter teaches people the power of information – Microbloggers are empowered to share information, but sometimes they can cross the line by publishing graphic images of the devastation that editors of professional publications would never chose to run.
  • In the rise of online citizen journalism, verification of shared information is more important than ever – Journalists used geo-targeting Twitter tools to verify the people who said were in Haiti were really there.
  • “It’s a no brainer that Twitter is a way to help people and positively influence others” – said Ann Curry.  Thousands of people used Twitter to communicate information about the disaster and help Haiti in form of tweeting about the much-needed medical supplies, raising money, and finding the missing loved ones.
  • Social media is a great way to keep the Haitian people’s story alive even after the media coverage dies down.

For full coverage of the event, search hashtag #smwnythaiti.

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How Is Social Media Helping Haiti After the Earthquake

In Digital Media, Human Rights, Social Media on 01/14/2010 at 7:38 pm

By Irina Skaya

In the early 1900s, we relied on radio to transmit news such as the Titanic catastrophe; in the 1930s, we tuned into CBS to watch TV’s first coverage of a presidential election, and in the 1990s, we began to consume media more rapidly and more globally via the Internet. Last year, millions witnessed the presidential election of President Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president via live streams on social networks sites such as Facebook. Despite how our media consumption has vastly changed, it was the media networks that disseminated the news to the people. The earthquake in Haiti, with the exception of the Iranian and Moldavian Twitter revolutions is the first global catastrophic event that has truly shifted the way we consume news, placing citizen journalists in the epicenter of the journalism.

With many of the major communication lines down, media outlets, from television to newspapers, relied on user-generated content, including blogs, tweets, Facebook status updates, and YouTube videos to inform the public of the tragic event, emphasizing the importance and the power of social media today. According to Facebook, there have been 1,500 status updates per minute containing the word “Haiti” since the earthquake, with many desperately searching for relatives, uploading their photos on Facebook.  The Facebook group called “EARTHQUAKE HAITI” has drawn more than 100,000 members since going up on Wednesday and dozens are being added by the second. The group’s Wall is acting as a real-time wire service with messages that range from cries for help from within Haiti to donation offers and information gathering websites.

Twazzup.com reports that there have been 5,176 tweets containing words, “Help Haiti” and hashtags “#Haiti” on Twitter. Yesterday evening, 218 quake iReports from Haiti were sent to CNN. As a result, CNN’s iReport had 1.4 million page views, a 240% increase over an September-October benchmark; the usual traffic is between 200,000 and 400,000 page views per day.  Mobile has also played a key role in the Haiti quake, raising $3 million just for Red Cross alone via text messages.

For real-time Haiti coverage from citizen journalists follow the following tweeps:

http://twitter.com/fredodupoux
http://twitter.com/RAMhaiti
http://twitter.com/yatalley
http://twitter.com/zabelbok

To donate $10 to the Red Cross for Earthquake relief in Haiti, text Haiti to 90999. I just did!

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The Bottom Line on Facebook and Twitter

In Digital Media, Social Media on 12/14/2009 at 4:54 am

By Irina Skaya

Last week, I wrote a blog on 10 best practices for managing branded Facebook fan pages.  Since, I also wrote Twitter do’s and don’ts that include crisis and time management tips. I’ve written both for a presentation for my social media team at Horizon Media, which was extremely well-received.  In fact, the feedback I’ve received has inspired me to share this presentation on Slideshare.net.  The same day I posted it to Twitter, the Slideshare team has featured it on their homepage.  Take a look at it yourself, and if you like it as well, nominate it for the Slideshare Zeitgeist 2009!

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10 Best Practices for Managing Your Brand’s Facebook Fan Page

In Social Media on 12/08/2009 at 2:52 am

By Irina Skaya

Facebook was among the hundred words of the Top Marketing Buzz Words of 2008.  Many brands have been on Facebook for a couple of years now, but only a handful are successful in this social platform, meaning only a few have active fans who engage with the fan page on a regular basis.  Some marketers approach my agency to help them build brand awareness and customer loyalty on Facebook, while others already have a presence in the world’s largest social network, but are not sure how to acquire more fans or engage existing fans.  Based on my experience with managing our clients’ Facebook fan pages, I’ve developed the following ten best practices for Facebook fan page management:

  1. Dedicate a social media manager to monitor the page several times a day, in order to remove any comments that illustrate abusive, obscene, or defamatory language. Develop a crisis management plan in order to respond to inflammatory comments in a timely manner.
  2. Determine the brand voice of the page and integrate fans’ wall posts with the brands’ posts in order to encourage conversation between fans and foster a community.
  3. Include a legal disclaimer on the fan page that encourages fans to respect other community members and refrain from using abusive, obscene, or defamatory language.  Examples: www.facebook.com/dove, www.facebook.com/halls
  4. Comment on fan posts rather than just drop a post, a link, or a picture periodically on the page is crucial in order to add value to the posts with additional information and foster conversations.
  5. Integrate other web properties and Facebook applications in order to enable fans to do more and spread the message about your brand.  Examples include fan page badges, applications to the brand’s blog, Twitter handle, etc.  (See www.facebook.com/cocacola)
  6. Leverage company celebrities/spokespeople to communicate with fans, speak on behalf of the brand about the brand, and its unique selling proposition. If the CEO has a corporate video blog, it can be integrated into the Facebook fan page.  Examples: www.facebook.com/yobabyyogurt
  7. Provide fans with incentives, including coupons, product locator application, tips, new product announcements, news, and other resource information.  Offering an informational resource allows a brand to target a new demographic, outside of those that already know and love the business. Examples: http://www.facebook.com/herbalessences; http://facebook.com/internationaldelight; http://facebook.com/redmango.
  8. Pay attention to the Facebook insights in order to understand which posts are truly motivating your fans to interact.
  9. Make your fans feel special. Reward fans for participating, let them know you are watching and foster further engagement.  Make a fan of the week, allowing fans to badge their page and site with something that clearly marks them as an extended member of the brand family.  Example: http://www.facebook.com/dunkindonuts
  10. Don’t assume your Twitter audiences are your Facebook fans, too. You will have a healthy minority who are on Twitter, but the community that participates on Facebook trends to be different than those on Twitter.

Do you have any best practices for managing brand Facebook Fan Pages or successful case studies? Feel free to share them here!

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Developing A Social Media Strategy That Rocks

In How-to's, Social Media on 10/24/2009 at 5:21 pm

By Irina Skaya

I write a lot of new business proposals for our clients who are interested in entering the social media space. With social networks and blogs being fourth most popular online activities online, including beating personal email and Facebook being the fourth most populated place in the world if it was a country, it’s hard not to be excited about dipping your toe in the waters of social media. But before you immerse yourself in social media, you must ask yourself, “Do I have enough resources, including the right staff who understands social media, interesting and compelling content, time, and dollars? Am I ready to handle constructive and sometimes destructive criticism? How will I measure results?” The worst thing a marketer can do is jump into the social media space, acquire thousands of fans, and abandon the space, leaving fans angry and disappointed. So how do you avoid doing that? First, you must establish a successful social media strategy.

Yesterday, I attended a New York Women in Communications Inc. (NYWICI) presentation on “How Brands Are Leveraging Social Media” by 360i where Sarah Hofstetter, Senior VP of Emerging Media & Client Strategy spoke about how a brand can build a game-winning social media strategy. Here is a quick check-list before you start building your strategy.

  • Does it meet your marketing objectives? Back to the marketing basics, define your goals–increase brand awareness, build brand loyalty, drive sales, reach new customers, etc. As Sarah Hofstetter says, “Going viral is not a marketing objective!”
  • Does it use our social media arsenal?
  • What is the value exchange between consumer and brand? What will you as a brand offer the consumers? Value exchange can be conversation, access, utility, entertainment, or social currency.
  • Does it follow social media best practices?

Download the 360i presentation at http://bit.ly/43fU5s.

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Is Social Media a Fad or Is It Here to Stay?

In Social Media on 08/24/2009 at 12:25 pm

By Irina Skaya

You know the feeling of rediscovering your old the pinch-too-small Manolo Blahnik pumps in your decades-old closet or the taste of a favorite, mouth-watering cheesecake u haven’t had in years since you last went on sugar-free dietary protest? Well, I had this very feeling and taste when I found my social studies teacher from 8th grade on Facebook. She was my favorite teacher who although taught me a lot about our forefathers and the future—about life. I never thought in a million of years that Facebook would make me cry.

We all know that a strong emotional connect with the consumers define winning brands.  I often hear marketers say how Facebook and other social networks are just a fad. The reality is these marketers just don’t get it. Social networks and social media as a whole are not going anywhere. Why not? Because social networks have impacted our personal lives including the way we communite with our friends and family,  transformed the way we absorb news, music, games, and movies, changed how we fight against social causes, and more.

Don’t believe me?  Take a look at this remarkable video that shows the power of social media and that it’s here to stay.

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