Are LinkedIn Groups relevant any more?
One thing many social media consultants will tell clients is that LinkedIn Groups are important for business people to establish themselves as thought leaders or experts in their business. For starters, they’ll say: Get on LinkedIn, join a Group and start a discussion topic. They’ll show you the little trick where you write a question and than add “Comment here or join the discussion on my blog …”
There was a time when that tactic might have driven significant traffic to your Web site. Or posing a question might have actually led to a good discussion.
There may be some Groups on LinkedIn where quality discussion takes place. However, those places are few and far between. Many people tell me they no longer open e-mails from the Groups. I’m about to join them.
What’s happened? LinkedIn Groups have mostly been hijacked by self-promoters whose idea of “discussion” is to endlessly promote their “free” seminars, blogs, products and themselves. My interest, naturally, has been social media, but there is very little “discussion” in those groups. There are plenty of people, though, who want to “help” me with their pitches, which they have the gall to present as discussion.
This morning, I received an e-mail from someone obviously involved in setting up a Group, inviting me to their “free” teleseminar. The e-mail subject line said it was an “announcement” from the Group. They said to hurry, seats are filling up fast. Impressive, since just recently this same individual was spamming me with another free session, and the seats were going quickly. I have serious ethical issues with an e-mail coming from a Group with an individual using the Group name to tout his business. Where is LinkedIn on this?
Another problem with LinkedIn Groups is that it’s hard to find true discussions that are all that informative. I can only speak for social media topics, but I can tell you most of the talk there is behind the curve. I find much more valuable — and current — information on Twitter or elsewhere. Yes, there are tons of spammers on Twitter, but I have the flexibility to unfollow or block users if need be.
Sorry, LinkedIn, no disrespect. I still think there is great potential for businesses in using the social networking site to grow connections and get introductions. They’ve established clear guidelines in that section of LinkedIn and crack down on people who violate the rules. (I also still think the Advanced Search feature is a goldmine of business intelligence.) However, I can no longer recommend that business people join Groups unless their business is a rare case where the self-promoters haven’t already poisoned the atmosphere.
Small businesses and professionals, what do you think? Are LinkedIn Groups relevant any more? Do any help you in your business?
How to survive a snark attack
I made a decision not to sign up for Friday’s New Media Atlanta conference at the Georgia Tech Research Institute because I didn’t think I could give up the whole day. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Friday morning that I could watch it — for free — via live streaming while getting some work done.
The workshop was mostly what I expected. There were some very good presenters — and others less so — and an excellent talk by Chris Brogan, the prominent author/blogger/tweeter who served as the main speaker of the conference. There’s no way to put on a session as large as this one and please everyone, especially when having to appeal to so many people with different levels of social media experience.
However, there were two big surprises. First, someone decided to open up a conversation about the conference on BackNoise, a site which enables people to hold a running conversation and remain anonymous (the only identity being the IP address of the moment.) BackNoise advertises itself as being in “version 2.0, now with more snark…”
Unlike Twitter, which at least provides the accountability of a name and possible photo, BackNoise encourages snarking. And a cadre of folks pushed it past the limit. Some incredibly derogatory (and personal) comments were made about some of the presenters. And the pack turned on one of its own, attacking by name one woman well-known in Atlanta social media circles for her cutting, but always clever, remarks. Then others came to her defense.
The presenters were all following this sideshow circus and I felt sorry for many of them. Then came the second surprise. Brogan, when it came time for him to speak, put up BackNoise on the screen, with live commentary following his every word. He occasionally turned to read a funny comment from a snarker. And what happened? The tone decidedly changed. The sniping sometimes turned into real discussion behind his back.
Why? Well, Brogan is everything an effective marketer should be. He’s genuine, from his blue jeans to the profanity he can use when making a point. He’s funny. He’s passionate about what he does.
More important, though, he’s open and listens to people. Even the snarkers. I doubt there are too many professional speakers with the nerve to give the snarkers a seat at the table.
I thoroughly enjoyed Brogan’s presentation, even though he didn’t cover any ground he hadn’t covered before. What I enjoyed more, though, was seeing someone in action who practices what he preaches on social media — openness, engagement, caring and, most important, listening. That’s how to survive a snark attack.
Social businesses must stay active
I’ve learned a valuable lesson about how vital it is to keep your Web site, blog and social media profiles up to date.
I’ve spent nearly two weeks almost totally away from doing my own blogging, tweeting or updating statuses on social media. I’ve been working on other people’s social profiles and other projects. As a result, I neglected my own social profile, and, today, to my dismay, I’m seeing the price.
There are countless people who share my name in the world, let alone the metro Atlanta area, many of whom have been online for years. For me, maintaining a visible Google presence has always taken work. As a small-business owner, I’m dependent upon this blog and social media to keep my search credentials as strong as possible.
Since I’ve been active blogging and using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, at least two of those pages have always made the first results page in a search for me. Google loves active bloggers and social media users. Today, all four of those sites have dropped way back in the search results.
Thankfully, I do have a Google profile page, which I encourage everyone to create. If potential clients Google my name, they can still find me anchored at the bottom of the first search results page, with a thumbnail photo.
Lesson learned? Follow the advice I give others. Make time to stay active if you blog or use social media. Otherwise, your online reputation — and business potential — can slip.
Look out, social media friends/fans/followers/connections, you’re going to be hearing from me with a vengeance.
Atlanta 10: How not to use social media
I’ve just stopped following 10 prominent Atlanta area social media/PR/marketing folks on Twitter. Why? Because two to three months after following them, they still hadn’t returned the favor and followed back. Understand, this is not about me; these people aren’t following too many others, either.
One of the basic rules of Twitter: People follow you and unless they’re a spammer or posting objectionable content, you generally follow back. Author and social media superstar Chris Brogan understands this concept. He has more than 98,000 followers, yet he follows more than 93,000 of them. Despite a hectic schedule with a best-selling book and constant public appearances (including a couple this fall in the ATL), he still values relationships and engages with his followers. My guess is that the 5,000 he’s not following fall into the spam/wacko category.
Let’s look a closer look at the Atlanta 10. These are people who publicly preach the virtues of using Twitter and other social media to engage with others or to achieve business success. But what wisdom are they sharing? We learn where they’re speaking, what workshops they’re offering and get repeated tweets with the same links to the same tired tips on their Web sites. Unlike Brogan, their follower lists are much larger than their following lists. What does that tell you? That they want you to care about what they have to say (and sell) but obviously they don’t really care what you think.
No thanks.
I know plenty of people who don’t like the clutter that comes from following a lot of people on Twitter. I know people with private lists. That’s certainly their call. However, the standards should be different for social media professionals. They know — and teach — the rules of the game. The Atlanta 10 just chooses to ignore them.
When social media misfires
Today, we’ll focus on just two of the more recent misfires by social media practicioners and the lessons they teach.
The first one is pretty darned obvious. According to Mashable, the Danish government’s tourism agency, VisitDenmark, produced a video hoax in which a woman claimed to be looking for a tourist who was the father of her child, conceived in a drunken one-night stand. Danish media learned the “mother” was actually an actress. The video, which reportedly had more than 800,000 page views on YouTube, has since been pulled. However, at this writing it can still be seen here.
Apparently, someone associated with VisitDenmark took rapper Kanye West’s approach to marketing, thinking bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. And, just as Kanye is taking some serious lumps for his outrageous behavior Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Danish agency has stirred up a firestorm of outrage.
What were they thinking? We’ll leave Kanye to music fans. For VisitDenmark, a simple question: You’ve got a beautiful country. How does a stunt like this boost tourism?
Second, Honda is getting pounded on its Facebook page for the new Crosstour vehicle’s design. It was bad enough that users were critical. Then, a well-meaning Honda product planning manager took it upon himself to comment he liked the design and would buy the vehicle in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, he never said where he worked, according to Autoblog. Facebook users figured out where he worked, and carnage ensued. Honda, to its credit, let the barrage continue, but it reportedly deleted the employee’s comment, saying he did not speak for the company.
The lessons for Honda include: 1) Make sure your employees understand the company’s social media policies. 2) If it’s clear that you’ve got a PR problem on your hands, jump in early and engage with your critics and learn from them. Perhaps Fans of the Crosstour page have some valid ideas that Honda can use to make the next vehicle a better product.
If you’re a company using social media, set standards for your employees or marketing firm. And, for crying out loud, don’t let anyone misrepresent your company.
