A few weeks ago, I was asked to share some of my thoughts with iMedia Connection on common mistakes marketers make with Social Media and when it’s time for a Social Media Makeover.
Here is a re-post of that article and a few tell-tale signs your brand is missing a social media marketing opportunity.
The full article from iMedia Connection can be found here.
Article Highlights:
Brands often mistakenly plan social campaigns for the same window of time as they would an online advertising campaign
An intern should not be tasked with managing all of your social media efforts
Brands shouldn’t strip content off of blogs and communities just so they can promote it on their own websites
Common misconceptions and pitfalls
In the year of the social media revolution, we’ve seen many brands, organizations, and individuals jump in and make a concerted effort to expand their presences online and establish their social media footprints. Some of these brands have done a great job and really understand the importance of social media in getting people aware and engaged — while others are latching on to the newest trend and, perhaps, going through the motions to keep up with the Joneses.
Among the more than 3 million businesses creating Facebook pages and groups — not to mention millions of special-interest and community-driven blogs, up to 70 percent of which blog about brands — many have failed to connect the dots in terms of how to use these platforms effectively. Many brands fail to leverage social spaces to drive awareness and engagement among their customers and fans. They simply aren’t having conversations about their brands in the places their audiences share most.
For anyone who has ever wanted more information on Social Media and its impact on how we consume and share content, here are some favorite videos from Socialnomics that just might amaze you.
Social Media Revolution
Social Media ROI
Kudos to Socialnomics for gathering such comprehensive information!
As a follow-up to my last article titled: HISPANICS: The Majority Minority and Its Influence in Social Media, I would like to give a closer look at one of the Hispanic profiles I introduced as an example of influential Hispanic people in the digital space, and who has been able to recruit a solid fan base from the bottom up. In an exclusive interview with Matt Reyes the founder of Twitteros, we will get a chance to learn more about his role as a successful Latino influencer in the online world. Let’s begin!
Have you ever heard of Twitteros?
According to Matt Reyes, the term Twitteros is a Spanish adjective that means, “Twitter user”.
Matt is the founder of Twitteros, a social media community hub for Latinos that Twitter, based on the Ning platform that launched in late 2008. The community hosts profiles, music, photos, blogs, forums, and other features.
As he explains: “The whole idea of Twitteros is to connect all Latinos that Twitter. We have so much to say and so much to learn from each other, and this group will only connect us even more!”
In my 1:1 chat with Matt Reyes, he was very open to share with us more about Twitteros and his role as an influencer in the market, so influential that the 2010 US Census partnered with him and his social network to encourage Hispanics to be counted and share the importance of taking part in the act.
While my life continues to get busier and busier each day, I am faced with the challenge of how to manage the increasing activity. Each day, I juggle work, healthy living, and my personal life with varying degrees of success. Work/life balance has always been important to me but it is amazing how fast one or the other can take over if you aren’t careful.
Not helping this situation at all is the constant lure of new social media websites and iPhone applications that seem to launch each week. For example, a few months ago I started to see posts from friends that were done through FourSquare. I pride myself on being an early adopter of new technology and have been the first in line to buy a new device or sign up for a new service more than once. In this case, I was a bit conflicted - I already spend a ton of time on Facebook and Twitter, both online and on my iPhone, so how would I be able to add another application into my life without upsetting my current balance?
With some hesitation, I jumped in and signed up for a FourSquare account after asking a friend of mine what he thought of the application. In no time at all, I was checking in here and there several times a day and sharing the updates with friends. I was primarily able to do this because FourSquare allowed me to sign up using Facebook Connect. so I didn’t have to create a whole separate account. I was then able to Tweet and post my status to Facebook, reducing my need to sign into those two services separately to do customized updates. So while I am now accessing a 3rd application on a regular basis, it feels like I am netting out with the same level of diversion.
As a friend pointed out to me recently, one of the subjects that is starting to get as much press as sports lately (Tiger Woods & Olympics aside) is the national Census, which will determine how rapidly has the U.S. Hispanic population grown in the last ten years, as according to the last census, Hispanics made up 15% of the total US population.
Currently there are over 46 million people of Hispanic origin or descent in the U.S., and is estimated that by the time 2010 census is completed this number will surpass the 50 million mark, making it the fastest growing and largest minority group in the United States. This majority minority is quite evident in urban centers of various states like: Florida, New York, California, Texas and New Mexico; for instance, in Los Angeles County, Hispanics make up the largest ethnic group.
The growth on this minority is not only evident on its total numbers among the US population, but its online penetration and presence has also increased tremendously within the last decade.
According to eMarketer there are currently over 26 million Hispanics using the Internet everyday, and that number is growing just as fast as the total number of people within this minority, and by the end of 2012, it is estimated that there will be nearly 30 million Hispanics on the Web.
A few weeks ago, I was asked by Lisa Lacy on behalf of ClickZ why MTV’s Jersey Shore has become so popular through social media and conditions for the “perfect storm”.
The show’s basic premise is similar to over 20 preceding seasons in MTV’s Real World franchise, yet Snooki, Vinny and the rest of the gang have reached an unprecedented level of cultural saturation. According to Nielsen, 1.4 million viewers tuned in to the premiere on December 4. And numbers have steadily risen since then, culminating in 3.6 million viewers tuning in on January 14.
That’s thanks in part to MTV’s efforts to harness organic buzz and create branded content. The company has launched a Twitter integration, exclusive online videos, and is preparing new features such as a character generator and an iPhone app.
How we interact with our customers has changed a great deal over the last century and a half and is morphing even more rapidly than ever before.
Once upon a time, if your customers had an issue with your products or services, they would hop on their horse and gallop to the local store and speak to someone face to face. This very personal interaction would encourage the business to work closely with the customer to resolve the issue or face the possibility of that person telling the whole town how bad the store is.
Then along came the telephone and businesses had to establish call centers to stay connected to their patrons. The customers now had a choice - visit a physical location for help or just pick up the phone from the comfort of their own home. While this new era of options was a positive development overall, it gave some companies the option to hide from their customers behind a menu system and switchboard. They no longer had to look a customer in the eye and tell them that they couldn’t help them with their issue. However, the customer still had the option to tell their friends about their bad experience so the risk to the business of not assisting their customers was still relatively high. The only difference is that those conversations would happen one-to-one in person or during a phone chat so the risk of a lot of people finding out about poor service was relatively low.
Most people who follow me on Facebook and Twitter have come to realize that I’m not shy about expressing my opinion about AT&T Wireless’ lack of coverage and poor service in my city and neighborhood—which just so happens to be Los Angeles, California.
For the last two years, I have had little to no coverage in my home and other areas of Los Angeles, often getting the “Searching” or “No Signal” notice on my phone. Last time I checked, LA is the second largest city in the US, which makes me wonder why one of the biggest wireless providers isn’t delivering in one of our nation’s biggest cities.
My neighbors and friends, equally frustrated with the lack of service, have also tried everything to voice their opinions—ranging from calling AT&T, to going to their stores, which ironically, had no signal inside the store (aka the store on Beverly and La Cienega). One of my friends even carries a newspaper ad in his back pocket showing AT&T’s claims for excellent coverage in LA. None of these efforts proved to be worthwhile.
Making matters worse are the endless Luke Wilson commercials touting AT&T’s fantastic coverage. Don’t mock me Luke Wilson. I doubt you’ve spent endless hours on the phone with AT&T trying to get the service that you paid for.
Pitching journalists and bloggers for placements in a social media world requires keeping up with the ever-changing rules of engagement.
I’ve collected nuggets of wisdom along my PR career and put together a set of tips and guidelines to help you avoid a deleted press release and score that coveted placement.
TWITTER/FACEBOOK
While I believe the ideal way to build a relationship with a journalist is through a meet and greet, it can be tough given busy schedules. Twitter and Facebook are great platforms to learn a writer’s beat, personality, channel/contact preference, subjects they’re interested in covering, and their deadline dates. Most of the journalists I’ve worked with prefer email pitches. I use Twitter and Facebook as a way to get to know a reporter so that when a client comes along that might be relevant to the journalist, I can help make a meaningful and authentic connection.
BLOGGERS
Pitching bloggers is different than pitching journalists. They aren’t paid to write about something specific at a certain time and aren’t under any obligation to cover your brand. They care more about what is of interest to their readers. Giveaways, contests, photos, and exclusive content all provide incentive for bloggers to feature your product or brand because it in turn engages their audience.
Last week Roger Avary, Oscar winner and co-scribe of Pulp Fiction, was removed from a work furlough program and transferred to a California jail just days after using his Twitter account to share private information about his cellmate.
The Ventura County’s sheriff’s department said he was transferred due to security reasons and not for his Twitter updates.
An interesting insight into the inner sanctums of America’s prison system or yet another incident demonstrating the freedoms celebrities are allowed that others are not?
Losing the ability to communicate with others is one of the fundamental liberties one is denied once they’ve been put behind bars. We’ve all heard it – “one phone call.”
When will it become – one email, last text message, or final tweet? What will inmates be allowed in this changing digital landscape? With blackberries and mobile Internet, what’s stopping someone from emailing the “rat” in a crime scandal just before he or she gets thrown behind bars?
I’ll be curious to see what rules the law will enforce or whom they’ll make an example out of. I have a sneaky suspicion that person is not going to be an Academy Award winner.
In August, Avary pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated following a fatal crash last year.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to share some of my thoughts with iMedia Connection on common mistakes marketers make with Social Media and when it’s time for a Social Media Makeover.
As a follow-up to my last article titled: 
While my life continues to get busier and busier each day, I am faced with the challenge of how to manage the increasing activity. Each day, I juggle work, healthy living, and my personal life with varying degrees of success. Work/life balance has always been important to me but it is amazing how fast one or the other can take over if you aren’t careful.
When actor 
How we interact with our customers has changed a great deal over the last century and a half and is morphing even more rapidly than ever before.
Most people who follow me on 
Pitching journalists and bloggers for placements in a social media world requires keeping up with the ever-changing rules of engagement.
Last week