Your future depends on social media
Jim Keenan’s blog is called A Sales Guy. I keep coming back to his May post titled “Online Presence — Asset of the Future: Why Your Social Graph Will Be Worth as Much as Your Home.” Actually, he does suggest your house could be worth more. (Thought: If the real estate market ever recovers!). Jim writes, more as a futurist than salesman:
“In the not to distant future, a baseline online social presence will be required for the most common of life’s exercises, like getting a job. In the future, if you don’t have some semblance of an online presence you won’t even be considered for the job. If employers, or recruiters can’t learn about you online, through your social graph, they won’t be interested. I expect online vetting of dates, baby sitters, potential employees, etc. will only increase. Having an online social presence will be the required price to play.”
Jim paints a future in which failure or success correlates to your reach or influence through social media. It doesn’t sound all that far-fetched to me. Look at the success already of people such as Guy Kawasaki or Chris Brogan in recognizing the power of social media. Where would they be without social media?
Jim suggests “investing” now in your social capital. I completely agree. Unlike Wall Street, this is one market that requires your investment. Otherwise, what will your future look like?
The ‘70-20-10′ Twitter strategy
Stumbled upon a post by Angela Maiers, an eLearning professional in Des Moines, Iowa. She describes her Twitter Engagement Formula, her “guideline for entering the Twittersphere with purpose and intention.” She calls it her “70-20-10 rule.” Regarding tweets, she writes:
• 70% should be sharing quality content from others
• 20% should be conversation/collaboration with others
• 10% can be chit-chat, trivial details of your life.
Everyone has different reasons for using Twitter, especially those using the communications tool for business. However, these numbers come pretty close for just about everyone.
Notice how self-promotion doesn’t enter the mix? “Engage with purpose and intention, and Twitter success will follow!” Angela writes.
Great advice, Angela.
As a promoter, I solemnly swear …
Danny Finn, Director of Internet Marketing for 10e20, has come up with a humorous — but frighteningly accurate — list of “The 6 Types of Annoying Social Media Promoters.”
As a guest columnist today on Search Engine Land, Finn describes (my short summary in parenthesis):
• The Impersonal Users. (They seek your response without getting to know you.)
• The Crazed Cross Promoters. (They besiege you with multiple social platforms … at the same time.)
• The One Way Streeters. (Self-absorbed people who don’t understand there’s a reason someone isn’t responding to them)
• The Always An Emergency Users. (Every tweet includes PLS RETWEET, whether important or not.)
• The Convenient Users. (Users who only post when they want something.)
• The Total Spammers. (You know who they are.)
Danny, allow me to add a quick seventh:
• The Pitcher. (The marketer who can’t resist promoting themselves in commenting on anything.)
Sadly, I’m sure I can come up with many more. For now, let’s just promise that we’re not going to use any of these techniques.
No matter how you spell it, have a plan
Recently, I’ve been researching several marketing firms and analysts for their thoughts on how brands can connect with their customers through social media. To keep their suggestions simple and memorable, some of them have even used acronyms for their steps to build social capital. A few examples:
• Joel Davis of Britain’s agency:2 writes about KUDOS. A brand should be Knowledgeable and Useful, Desirable, Open and Shareable in its efforts.
• John Sheridan of the Canadian firm SocialMedia404 says a successful strategy must include OASIS — Objectives, Audience, Strategy, Implementation and Sustainment.
• Forrester Research’s Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff wrote in last year’s influential book “Groundswell” about the POST framework for finding the proper social strategy — People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology.
All of these strategists are excellent sources of information if you’re jumping into social media. No matter how you spell it, though, their writings make it clear. You must have a plan. More details to come.
Social media can help worthy causes
If I had a dollar for every time I heard this excuse.
I met a dynamic Georgia legislator at a luncheon who explained she did fund-raising for a worthy cause after the state cut its funding for the program. She said she worked hard to raise $25,000. Naturally, I asked if she had used Twitter or any other social media to spread the word about the program’s need for help.
Her response? She was “too busy” to mess with social networking. She didn’t want to read about what folks are eating for lunch. She finally got on Facebook, she said, after a family member harassed her.
I told her I’ll bet she could have raised more money if she had used Twitter appropriately. Not just for a sales pitch, but to educate donors about the program’s merits.
The legislator immediately asked for my card. Whether she contacts me is not important. However, local non-profits and services hit hard by the economy must learn that fund-raising has changed and social networking cannot be overlooked in any strategy.
