Social Media Still a Poor Substitute for True Business Networking

There’s the Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin world and there is face-to-face world. Sometimes it’s difficult to recall that some of the most important business relationships are made in person – on the golf course, after a seminar, over a meal or through an in-person introduction.

As Patty Azzarrello points out in her article, Facebook is Fine, But Here are 10 ways to Network in the Real World , social media still can’t compare to the real thing. Like her, I used to wonder: how do people good at networking get that way?  Did someone teach them, or were they born with the talent to glad-hand and make it look as if they cared more about you than they did about getting your business?

My first exposure to networking came long ago, when groups with names like “wealth-builders” and “success networks” made the networking groups I tried out seem MLM just by nature of their monikers.  Not a social butterfly to begin with, I had to learn some rules of the game: (1) Grab some food first or it may be gone before you know it. (2) Get a drink of some kind to occupy one of your hands so that you don’t look like a dork (3) It’s okay to approach three people conversing casually, but when two looked steeped in discussion, wait for a break before you walk up (5) Take LOTS of business cards but don’t shove them at people and, (6) Treat someone else’s business card with respect. Never set it down on the buffet table to fill your plate. You could forget it there and that person just might be behind you in line.

Because it all seemed so contrived, I didn’t stay long in those groups.  Elevator speeches, speed networking, conversations with people whose businesses held no interest for me – it all just seemed either out of my comfort zone or a waste of my time and money.  But even though those groups may not have represented the model of networking suited to my personality, I realize now I should have given them more of a chance. I should have frequented the meetings more, extended myself to the members more and taken the time to get to know people. Why? Because I realize now that networking is more about making friends first. Doing business together someday is actually the icing on the cake.

So I finally get it.  I realize now that all I need to do is relax, be myself and make friends and if I earn the respect of people in my group, the rest will follow in “build it and they will come” fashion.  Why did I ever think this was all so difficult?  I guess it was all in my head.

Source By: Forbes

14 things every social media policy must have

 

I am not an attorney. I don't even play one on TV. (Though I did really want to go to law school so I could be a sports agent, but that's neither here nor there.)

I am a communications professional who spends a lot of time online, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that you need a social media policy.

I spend a significant amount of time on the road speaking to business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and I've discovered that a minority have policies.

You have an employee handbook. Your employees know how to answer the phone, what to put in their email signatures, even what to wear to trade shows. But you haven't told them how to behave online.

The legal ramifications

Peter Fischer, an attorney at Stokes Roberts & Wagner, says it's best to have a policy with a signature line where employees put their John Hancock.

In accordance with National Labor Relations Board laws, he recommends the following:

1. Employers cannot restrict anyone from commenting on his or her work life.
2. Employers can make sure employees sign confidentiality provisions.
3. Employees can't lie.

There aren't clear-cut laws (yet) on what employees can or can't say—or how employers react—on social networks.

That said, if a group of employees complain about a policy or procedure on their personal Facebook pages, the NLRB allows it. But if a single employee posts something harmful to the company, the employer has more rights.

For instance, a few weeks ago a young lady tweeted that she hated her job and her boss. The CEO of the company saw the tweet and tweeted back: "That's good because you no longer work here."

The social media policy

It's not as scary as it seems. Your social media policy doesn't need to be drawn out and overly legal. It can be an addendum to your employee handbook.

It should include the following:

1. Be transparent. State where you work. If you're distributing content for a client, make it clear.

2. Don't lie. Don't misrepresent your company, customers, or competitors.

3. Be meaningful and respectful. Don't spam or argue.

4. Use common sense and common courtesy. If in doubt, don't post.

5. Stick to your areas of expertise.

6. Offer insight and wisdom, but don't provide any confidential information.

7. Don't swear.

8. Be polite. Don't be antagonistic.

9. Don't comment on any legal matters or litigation.

10. If the topic is one of crisis, do not comment.

11. Google has a long memory. Be smart about what you post.

12. Don't post about your competition unless you have written consent from them.

13 . If you use social media on behalf of clients, please double check that you post updates from the correct account.

14. Don't be stupid.

Source By: RAGAN.COM

China blocks New York Times website after story on leader's family wealth

 
Chinese authorities blocked access to the English and 
Chinese websites of The New York Times on Friday, 
October 26, 2012. 

Chinese authorities on Friday blocked access inside the country to the English and Chinese websites of The New York Times after they published an article reporting that family members of Premier Wen Jiabao had amassed a fortune worth billions of dollars.

Citing corporate and regulatory records, The Times said it had pieced together evidence showing that Wen's relatives have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion, often hiding their names "behind layers of partnerships and investment vehicles involving friends, work colleagues and business partners."

Source By: CNN

 

No social media for retail banks

A new report from technology arm of market analyst firm Datamonitor shows that almost two-third of retail banks across the world have no plans in place to use social media in any way.

Most retail banks do not view social media as an important tool to engage with customers, putting them in a dangerous position, said Ovum in a statement. Ovum is part of Datamonitor group.

Source By: Times Of India

Social media, a platform for debate

 

With a large section of the internet accessing population connected to various social media online, it seems like the social media is here to stay. Hence, with people's participation through social media increasing, the medium has given people a platform for debate and discourse.
In this context, speakers at the seminar on 'Social media and its role in democracy' felt citizens need to use social media effectively as a tool for participation in democracy.

Source By: Times Of India

Article Writing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

This article will guide you through the main reasons you should be using article writing as part of your SEO efforts to gain backlinks and link popularity, or in other words, turning content into link s and traffic. Getting targeted traffic is a direct result of this process. This will apply to both new and existing sites, and I am covering here what to do when writing articles.

Write only about what you know well:
You should focus on known topics that pertain to your target market. As your articles are informative, you can submit them to article directories and websites accepting new content and articles that publish similar ones to what yours is about. You can get strong referrals from articles that were submitted using article databases. Keep writing 2-3 articles weekly, making sure they are getting submitted at similar rates.

Article partitioning and printable versions:
Splitting articles into parts is a great way to make a subject easier to digest by topics and having your visitors follow them by series. It does also help when you take an article for review and you add your comments in different color or bold them. Printable versions are an important addition to the original format of your articles, highly appreciated by users, and does not fall into duplicate content penalties at all.

The power of links and your article:
Use linking within your article to expand information sources or further detail topics. Reference pages, news sources, forums, bog posts, are example of resources you can offer and the user can choose to follow if needed. Now, it is equally important that your links are well defined and easy to spot by using standards when possible.

Apply SEO principles to your article:
It is important to create titles and headings that relate to what the article is about. Also, try to keep the article length to no more than 500 words, written with simple language, and providing clear and useful information. Always impart concrete knowledge to your readers. You should focus on the most important points in the topic, outlining the key areas of it. To do this, you can use headings, bold type and lists, like in the case of this particular article.
There is a lot more to article writing, but every situation is different, and for every website, the application of concepts discussed in these areas are different as well.

Source By: http://www.websitedesigningbangalore.org/blog/?p=255

The 4-Step Social Media Content Strategy

At the recent Dreamforce 2012 conference, sponsored by Salesforce, Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor Company, said, “Content is the currency of social." What Monty was saying is that successful social media marketing involves creating content that engages consumers, stimulates dialogue, and evokes a response.
In this article I outline four steps to create an effective social media content marketing strategy.

• Content Focus
• Content Type
• Posting Frequency
• Content Calendar

1. Determine Content Focus

Content needs to have a focus in terms of the topics you plan to cover and the tone it will take. Here are some pointers for determining that focus.

• Stimulate engagement. It could be educational, entertaining, inspirational, or promotional. Likely it should contain elements of all four.
• Demonstrate knowledge and thought leadership. One way to garner trust is by establishing yourself or your company as an expert.
• Consistent with the mission and culture of your business. You don't want content that is out of step with your company's character, image, and personality — it would come across as not authentic.

A commonly accepted practice is to use the 70/20/10 rule.

• 70 percent of content should focus on your customers' interests and needs. This can be accomplished through how-to tips, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to helpful resources. Ask yourself, "Would I find this content helpful?" If the answer is yes, then it's probable others will too.
• 20 percent of content should be "OPC" — other people's content. That mandates a willingness to allow user-generated content on social channels you manage, such as a Facebook page. This gives your customers a sense of ownership in the conversation and serves to foster trust.
• 10 percent of content should be promotional. If you are willing to focus 90 percent of your content on others, then, hopefully, no one will complain when 1/10th of it calls attention to your products and services.

2. Determine Content Type

Depending on the channel, social media content can take many forms: blog posts, tweets, status updates, contests, quizzes, poll questions, infographics, videos, and photos.
Due Pinterest and Instagram, social media has become increasingly visual. So the use of video and photo images should be a major consideration. Not only does it appeal to different learning styles, but photos and video make it easier for customers and prospects to get a feel for who you are and what you do.

3. Determine Posting Frequency

After you have decided on the content's focus and type, determine how often you can post updates. Here are a couple of tips.

• Post at the optimal time. By this I mean post on the days and times when you are most likely to receive responses in the form of Likes, comments and shares. Many retailers find that posting between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. works best. Edge Rank Checker is a tool that can help you determine the best times to post on Facebook. Also, use Facebook Insights and Google Analytics to determine optimum posting times.
• Put important points first. Express your core message within the first 90 characters, as longer messages might be truncated.

4. Create a Content Calendar

Once you know the focus and types of content you want to produce, and determine the posting frequency, the next step is to develop a calendar to schedule your posts. Calendars can be created on a weekly or monthly basis.
Content calendars can be developed using a spreadsheet. But I prefer a social media management application, for three reasons.

• Such applications serve as the single source for content creation and scheduling.
• They automate the process of content distribution and syndication to social networks.
• They make it easier to administer and manage social media channels and engagement activities, such as responding to comments, identifying new fans and followers, and monitoring conversations about your business and its products.

I recommend the following social media management applications.

• Sprout Social
• Hootsuite
• Postling
• Vertical Response
• Buffer

Content is Still King

Engaging content can serve your business in a variety of ways. It can:

• Set you apart from your competition;
• Help establish you as an expert, and a thought leader;
• Keep your business top of mind with consumers;
• Provide the leverage needed to keep your customers coming back time after time.

Think of yourself not only as an ecommerce merchant, but a "media mogul," as well. Make content the focus of your social media marketing activity. It will likely translate into increased profits.

Source By: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3756-The-4-Step-Social-Media-Content-Strategy