tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25772645315877064022024-03-19T09:27:14.308+00:00Advanced Social/Media ServicesDigital marketing services for small and medium enterprises, based in Dublin, Ireland.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-29468740392956795242019-11-14T11:20:00.000+00:002020-01-10T11:04:34.705+00:005 Dumbest Social Media Mistakes Businesses Make Every Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqpGeJqMktojO5HYEm-CqnHjSz6CR1rVcUM9aMWBE1XGGFGz7DPKL8JNQIqAt2-lTitjwhxAe5-x1IGWl-I75C4Rs9NDaJGvFamXbMfCe8ZPkdjAHYXplowWD4KXP1HRaX2UVKDfswGPj/s1600/five_aday_256.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqpGeJqMktojO5HYEm-CqnHjSz6CR1rVcUM9aMWBE1XGGFGz7DPKL8JNQIqAt2-lTitjwhxAe5-x1IGWl-I75C4Rs9NDaJGvFamXbMfCe8ZPkdjAHYXplowWD4KXP1HRaX2UVKDfswGPj/s1600/five_aday_256.png" /></a></div>
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1. The no strategy mistake. Some dumb idiots shoot out posts and Tweets without having commercial goals, without segmenting their market, and without understanding the buying process for what they sell.<br />
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2. The same dumb idiots don't invest in good content. Your content strategy will be as thin as air if you don't invest in it.<br />
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3. Dumb idiots aren't unique, either. People with imagination and great writing skills, who can write different, new posts, are needed, badly. If you can write a stunning post, do it. If you can't, please don't bore us with faded copies of the worst post we read in 2010.<br />
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4. Those same dumb idiots don't get social. At all. For God's sake, there's no point in having a Twitter feed and Facebook page if you don't respond to people who contact you that way. 7 days a week too. Wake up. M-F 9 to 5 will die. Your customers are online 24/7. Can you not at least be there 12/24?<br />
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5. And they don't ask customers anything and don't adapt to their needs. If you are targeting a group, get their views, find out what they want, and deliver it. How hard is that? You should know what's trending in each segment, and what value you can deliver for free, too.<br />
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Don't expect miracles, either and don't get conned into promising them, This stuff works, but it's based on building a reputation, delivering value, and nurturing the leads you accumulate through your email and blog sign up systems. With that in mind, please use the button on the right to follow us.<br />
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There's lots more posts like this coming. Stay tuned.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-36407897550195658842019-06-20T05:29:00.000+01:002020-01-10T11:04:57.094+00:00Supercharging social media with storytelling techniques: Raising the StakesRaising the stakes is a classic technique for raising interest in a story. If you make things important for the characters, make it a life or death situation or, more realistically, make what will happen have an impact on people lives, then more people will be interested in your writing.<br />
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But can we use this technique in social media?<br />
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Yes, we can. We are not all involved in saving lives or ground breaking research, but you can find ways to raise the stakes in everyday situations too. Here are some examples:<br />
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1. If you're a cake company you can post/Tweet about an anonymous client who bought a cake for a birthday celebration with a new boyfriend.<br />
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2. If you sell wine you can post/Tweet about the anonymous client who bought 20 bottles, which you recommended, for the engagement party of his only daughter.<br />
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3. If you're a bank, you can post/Tweet about an anonymous and unidentifiable client who was helped expand by a loan to cover an order for a new client, which was negotiated in 48hrs.<br />
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4. If you're an artist you can post/Tweet about how you try to capture beauty or reality in each painting you create.<br />
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5. If you're a shoe designer you can post/Tweet about how your shoes make your customers feel confident and gorgeous.<br />
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In each case the stakes are about more important things than the world is about to end, they are about our family, our business, our urge to create, and the importance of feeling confident.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-69766256904844093562017-08-19T05:48:00.000+01:002017-11-27T15:41:25.110+00:00Supercharging social media with storytelling techniques: Characterization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBuXELAf7l5s1NmhbSCG3YM4NgRQUpTGXYLtYfAFPOec1uKqs5C5sJuHPo8jMtGHSb96STHZKA6O_TCoPWsjtoE1IbAtsoZjEk4L5zNp_LcJfvSy5EDdRbqGrMXTyqbjoeRtzXqcorAev/s1600/7Pillars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBuXELAf7l5s1NmhbSCG3YM4NgRQUpTGXYLtYfAFPOec1uKqs5C5sJuHPo8jMtGHSb96STHZKA6O_TCoPWsjtoE1IbAtsoZjEk4L5zNp_LcJfvSy5EDdRbqGrMXTyqbjoeRtzXqcorAev/s1600/7Pillars.jpg" /></a></div>
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Another storytelling technique you can use to build social media engagement is <b>characterization.</b><br />
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Characterization builds empathy between the reader and your post or feed/series of posts. But how do you do that?<br />
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Characterization is built by revealing personal details. It's in the advice to "be personal", but we can expand on that idea to give real depth to a personal or business brand. You can give your brand a character. You can reveal its struggles, its growth pains, its strengths.<br />
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The keys to fast characterization are markers:<br />
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Where are you based, how old are you, who are your members, what do you do, how do you enjoy life, what do you value, what do you wear?<br />
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These are just seven markers of a character. Think about how you can use yours to give your posts character and supercharge engagement with your followers.<br />
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Don't forget to follow this blog on the right. There are a lot more posts coming like this.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-83975201486079187112017-07-15T07:22:00.000+01:002017-11-27T15:41:47.230+00:00The Social Media Puzzle: Piece #2 How can you use social media to build customer loyalty?<br />
Here are five ways you can use social media to build customer loyalty:<br />
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Improve your product or service by listening to
negative sentiment or suggestions posted on all relevant social media
channels. People who say negative things or post about you will mostly
have something valid to say. Why not listen to them, examine their issue,
and fix them as soon as possible? A responsive firm fixes things. Most customers are aware that some things take time to fix too. As
long as they know something is genuinely being done many people will
accept the situation until then.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Ask people to recommend or retweet or re post
something from you. People talk about "net promoter scores" as a
key metric for understanding customer loyalty, but the percentage who are
willing to take action to recommend or retweet should be a more reliable
figure, as it’s not about stating your intentions, it’s about actions. You may say you will promote a service, but not actually do it. I
suggest actions speak louder than words.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Offer updates & special offers to people who
sign up to receive posts or Tweets. By making people feel part of a
community in some way you will increase engagement and loyalty. Highly
engaged customers become advocates too. A high percentage of them will
recommend you to others. Your Facebook page can provide special offers and
your Twitter & Pinterest feed can too. You can also make these offers and updates
local by getting each of your branches or divisions to take part in
this campaign, so that customers are building relationships with the
nearest branch.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">You can track if customers achieve their objectives
using your product or service using social media. You can do this buy
asking them direct questions, via surveys, and by monitoring any posts
they create on the subject. This is being proactively interested in how
your customers get on with your service. You may only be able to do this
with a select group of customers, but the lessons learned should be
applicable to all similar customers. Achieving objectives is a critical
issue to remaining loyal and placing the maximum amount of business with
you. If you are afraid to ask hard questions then your business
will eventually have big problems.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Communicate the benefits of your product or
service, not the technical features. This is an old adage salespeople use.
Sell the sizzle not the stake. It’s true for social media too. Don’t focus
on how to get button A to perform service B. Tell people how service B
will benefit them. Then tell them how to get it to work.</li>
</ol>
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My <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank">guide to social media</a> is available from Amazon<span style="line-height: normal;">. Enjoy!</span></div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-80470887457354400072016-06-11T13:00:00.000+01:002017-11-27T15:42:09.922+00:00The Social Media Puzzle: Piece #3 Can you apply the Socratic method to social media?<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">The goal of this blog is to stimulate thinking about social media. I believe the Socratic method is an interesting tool for communication. It must therefore have applications in social media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's my thoughts about using the Socratic method in social media:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Take a stance of skeptical ignorance. Enquire about others views on a subject.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Be conversational, but keep probing assumptions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Require definition of terms. This is where conversations often go wrong. Ask what people mean by X.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Use experience. Refer to your own experiences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Draw implications & consequences. Talk about what will happen if X occurs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who proposed asking questions to test people's assumptions as a way to debate the truth of an assumption and to stimulate thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Getting someone to see the problems with their assumptions was one of it's goals. It is one of the methods used in education to get engagement from reluctant learners and to test critical thinking skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For detailed info on Socratic method, as used in education and philosophy see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My </span><a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" target="_blank">guide to social media</a> is available on Amazon. Enjoy!<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-31310160374312485902016-05-07T10:09:00.000+01:002017-11-27T15:42:26.018+00:00How to Learn Digital Marketing OnlineI have been appointed Head of the College of Digital Marketing. Here's a short animation of our mission.<br />
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If you want to attend any of these courses - in person or online - and learn how to market yourself or your organisation with this software <a href="http://www.citycolleges.ie/wp/college-digital-marketing/" target="_blank">click here.</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw_VZbnSq1e2xuUhKf95xWGJFIr3p3d-DwswllyERU8IxNTA963cEuPqf8lKrzYYKFUWHV307HOQSxU_qNsMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-13088878995156508412016-04-04T14:13:00.000+01:002017-11-27T15:42:45.314+00:00The Social Media Puzzle: Piece #1 What are your goals?Social media can be viewed as a series of puzzles.<br />
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When you first start in social media it seems that everyone knows what you don't. The mysteries of social media are revealed slowly as you browse and experiment and learn. This series of posts will explore some important pieces of the social media puzzle, of relevance whether you're new to social media or an old hand.<br />
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The 1st puzzle I'd like to explore is, what are your goals for social media? The reason this comes 1st, for me, is because how you answer this will affect every social media action that you take.<br />
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If your goal is simply to increase sales of your paintings or widgets or nuclear reactors then there will be a series of steps you need to take to build relationships with people who might be interested in what you are selling.<br />
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This will however be rather a restrictive use of social media. It would be like installing a telephone in your offices and only using it for sales calls.<br />
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Every aspect of your business can be impacted positively by social media, if you let it. Human Resources, purchasing, accounts, shareholder relationships, PR, marketing, sales, service and R&D can all use social media tools to connect with people, listen and communicate.<br />
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You can use social media as a creative tool too, to allow you to express whatever you want; your love of fly fishing or photography or ball room dancing. And you can use social media to build relationships widely.<br />
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So when you are thinking about goals for social media, think about the other sides of this puzzle piece, think about the hidden layers that social media can bring.<br />
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This is the 1st in a new series of posts. In the series I will explore various hidden and puzzling aspects of social media.<br />
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Your thoughts, comments and reactions will be gratefully received.<br />
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To support this site - over 100 free posts so far on social media for you to explore - please buy one of my novels, <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheIstanbulPuzzle" target="_blank">The Istanbul Puzzle </a>or <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheJerusalemPuzzle" target="_blank">The Jerusalem Puzzle</a> or <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" target="_blank">my guide to social media</a>. And enjoy!Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-92174606240761226602015-03-17T09:36:00.000+00:002015-10-18T06:09:26.650+01:00Twitter changes! 5 Suggestions for adding picture posts to brighten Twitter up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q7T65CoZtg1CF476kkRG4ej8Bpeu3MsEFtgPbUMW1DJBBd0rOkYBROEHGV4PqDDfrB_gqi6RPpKTspVmIBYgbKFa1KSa5AKcBmbE5Old0GQUIlGSi6Ovo84QHIDO6nCK_-5zh6wRpOZz/s1600/2013-10-28_1650.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q7T65CoZtg1CF476kkRG4ej8Bpeu3MsEFtgPbUMW1DJBBd0rOkYBROEHGV4PqDDfrB_gqi6RPpKTspVmIBYgbKFa1KSa5AKcBmbE5Old0GQUIlGSi6Ovo84QHIDO6nCK_-5zh6wRpOZz/s1600/2013-10-28_1650.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ok, this is not about eyes. This post is about livening your Tweets up with images. You may have noticed that Twitter is displaying images and videos in Tweets to make the stream more like Tumblr and Facebook, with images streaming down where people attached them.</div>
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This change is aimed at making Twitter more visual. Tweets with images get retweeted and commented a lot more. This also helps Twitter compete with social media sites where there are a lot of images and video links.</div>
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There are a lot of new opportunities presented by this change. I am experimenting with adding pics to one in three of my Tweets. These, I hope, are relevant and interesting. The jury is out as to how they will be perceived by my followers, over 250,000 now on my different Twitter accounts, but I also believe this is an opportunity for compelling visual story telling about your offering. </div>
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Thinking visually means we have to find good content that you own the rights to - I paid for the above image earlier this month at Videoblocks - and thinking about how to select images that relate to our posts. Some subjects will be easy to find images for. Others will not.</div>
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Here are some suggestions for adding images:</div>
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1. Take more pictures of what's around you, your office, your desk, your colleagues, your output, your city.</div>
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2. Make changes to images using Ifranview or Paint.net at getpaint.net. They are both free, but the paint.net program allows you to add layers easily.</div>
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3. Make friends or buy services from photographers and animators and artists. Value their work. This will be good thing for everyone who is visually minded.</div>
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4. Consider creating your own videos using the Vine app on your phone, wideo.com for free animations or Animoto.com for edited videos. All these services are free.</div>
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5. Create visual story boards about your products or services. Take multiple pictures of the process you go through to create what you do. Then post the images.</div>
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This is a revolutionary change to Twitter. It will force us to make our Tweets more interesting. That's all good, in my opinion. If you have any other suggestions for adding visual content please comment below. Or simply let me know what you think about this change to your Twitter stream.</div>
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Thanks for following too. Please click the link above to get my occasional posts on social media developments. </div>
<br />Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-51553561662491098462015-02-18T07:38:00.000+00:002015-10-18T06:09:52.023+01:00Newsjacking Post #2 - Using Google AlertsI <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/2012/10/newsjacking-social-media.html" target="_blank">posted a </a>previously on the basic concept of newjacking, inserting you or your company into a story breaking on the internet.<br />
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I got my highest number of hits in a day on my blog, over 500, the day I posted the second comment on a major story that was relevant to what I do; writing popular fiction and assisting people with social media.<br />
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I was reviewing this process in the last few days, as I spend time every morning checking major newspaper/media sites looking for stories I can comment or post about. And then I had an idea, why don't I set up a <a href="http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en" target="_blank">Google Alert</a> for the major subject areas that I would be competent to insert comments on or post about in my own blog?<br />
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So I did that. I now have ten Google Alerts set up and I don't have to spend a lot of time searching through news sites. And I'm finding stories all over the world I can comment on. And best of all it's free! Thank you, Google.<br />
<br />
To support this site - over 100 free posts so far on social media for you to explore - please buy one of my novels, <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheIstanbulPuzzle" target="_blank">The Istanbul Puzzle </a>or <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheJerusalemPuzzle" target="_blank">The Jerusalem Puzzle</a> or <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" target="_blank">my guide to social media</a>. And enjoy!<br />
<br />
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSVkL5ganQcdpEN83_fqg6jn3tdFf3ugFJnIU8bOBNHDo4ctoneLQ" /> </div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-73225113954837293902015-01-14T05:56:00.000+00:002015-10-18T06:10:28.914+01:007 Alternative Rules of Innovation<br />
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1. Think coalitions, new working teams. Choose home workers, part time workers, others based on talent, drive and results.<br />
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2. Become resilient through local funding first, investment in people, support networks.<br />
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3. Your greatest innovators may not even work for you, they may be your customers, your suppliers or your support network.<br />
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4. If you are a dinosaur, learn to dance. Don't wait. Don't be afraid of looking stupid. Otherwise you'll end up on the sidelines while the rest are at a party.<br />
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5. Offer clear value. Make it obvious.<br />
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6. Invest in your education. Do courses. Do them online, offline or inline. But do them.<br />
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7. Listen to your talent. Top down decision making is stone age thinking. Experiment with ideas.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-79500066429634369772014-06-20T04:44:00.000+01:002014-07-03T07:46:35.014+01:00Twitter Session LengthHow long do you think people spend on Twitter in a session, that is when they open Twitter and look at the list of Tweets in front of them?<br />
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I reckon it's less than 5 minutes each time. I spend about 3 minutes, but I do check Twitter maybe 10 times a day.<br />
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Please respond to these questions in the comments below to share your experience.<br />
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The questions are:<br />
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1. How long do you spend on a single session on Twitter, on average?<br />
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2. How many times a day do you check Twitter?<br />
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<br />Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-22068044829889774892014-06-12T08:30:00.000+01:002014-07-03T07:48:19.578+01:003 Big Social Media Mistakes Many Businesses are MakingThe social media industry is as new as the automobile industry was a hundred years ago. We don't have rules of the social-media road, a social-media tax or rear view social-media mirrors yet.<br />
<br />
But they are all coming.<br />
<br />
While we wait for them here are 3 big mistakes many business people are making in relation to social media.<br />
<br />
1. Ignoring it. All this means is that intrepid individuals will start doing it without permission. Do you even know how many of your staff are doing semi-official tweeting or blogging or Facebooking for you? Social media is coming and you can't stop it.<br />
<br />
2. Not aligning your social media goals with the goals of your business. The goal of social media is not to get more followers. This is similar to people who think the business goal of having a car is the ability to drive around. Sure there are people who want to do that, but a business needs to align social media to its business goals.<br />
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3. Thinking it's just a marketing and PR thing. Human resources, purchasing, the canteen, investment analysts and R&D can all benefit from the research, communications and feedback service that social media is. Don't leave it all to marketeers. Every division can use social media.<br />
<br />
It is likely that many business people, (the Ostriches) when confronted with the Tsunami of change that social media represents will simply opt for ignoring it in the hope that it will pass them by.<br />
<br />
The are wrong. Better firms will achieve competitive advantage by using social media. This is already happening. And when the rest understand what they might lose they will follow. After the Ostriches are removed. Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-10661308579644621972014-05-22T09:28:00.000+01:002014-07-03T07:53:01.970+01:00A Proven Social Media Engagement Strategy<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Engagement is about building relationships. It’s also about
the quality of relationships you have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://myweddingsite.ie/images/image/engagement-gift1.png" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The basics of engagement are responding to people,
being real, being human, and not taking it all too seriously. If you think
about engagement in any social situation, listening as well as talking, telling
anecdotes, little secrets, having fun, those are the same things you can also do
in social media to drive engagement there too. Social media is still a part of
our world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Social media is as complex as the world we inhabit.
Whatever you like to do, whatever your business is, wherever you live, with
almost no exceptions, there will be a specialist social media site catering for
your interests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you don’t believe me look up your interests
combined with your city or nearest town in Google or another big search engine.
You will find a lot of sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Birds of a feather flock together, is a well known
phrase. It leads all diamond merchants to a certain street in a certain city,
all world class wrestlers to the Olympics and all followers of Game of Thrones
to its fan sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It would seem obvious then, that if you are selling
books, wrestlers outfits or Game of Thrones merchandise that you will stay
in regular touch with and participate in the communities that are growing up
around each niche interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are all more likely to follow people who have the
same interests as us. I like to follow other writers on LinkedIn and Goodreads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will find that others who are like you in their
interest or beliefs will be more likely to follow you or be part of your
community. And I’m not saying that you must stick exclusively to your own
group. I do think we should all be open to mixing with people of widely
different interest. All I am saying is that when you are looking for engagement
it is a good idea to look among people who have similar interests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;">Some people wonder how to increase their numbers on
Twitter. Twitter is designed as a social network where you follow people and
people follow you back. A percentage of the people you follow will always follow
you back. If they don’t follow you back within a few days you are within your
rights to unfollow them. If they don’t want to see your Tweets then it is
reasonable that you stop seeing theirs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you are a celebrity or have a relationship with
masses of people or you’re a big brand, you should get follows by simply
letting people know what your Twitter name (handle) is. For the rest of us,
following people and posting interesting Tweets are the main ways to increase
your followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The number of people you follow each day depends on
how much time you want to spend on Twitter and how many followers you have now.
I recommend following small numbers each day (20-50), and unfollowing regularly
people who don’t follow you back. You will be able to follow more people later
on, as the number of people who follow you increases over the number you are
following. I can follow 50 people in 30 seconds, so this is not time consuming
stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Facebook it’s all about knowing people first, for personal
profiles. People consider is bad form to try and friend them on Facebook if
they don’t know you. This is the opposite to Twitter, where people who don’t
know you are almost always happy for you to follow them. You can Like “pages”
on Facebook however, as these are the public messages of the people or
organisations who create them. Pages are not personal profiles. You can create your
own “page” for any project, work, role or cause you want and detail the
progress of the project through posts about that subject. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Great successes have been achieved on Facebook by
people who create useful pages or groups where people can post their experiences
with challenging life situations, diseases, and provide practical support services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With Facebook and Twitter it’s all about what you give
back to your community too. If you want to improve engagement you can, for
instance, think about the classic social support services around what you do.
Is there a way to build a community page or group on some aspect of this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On LinkedIn and Google+ there are groups and hangouts
you can participate in too. The more time you spend on all these sites the more you
will get back from them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%;">The majority of my engagement is still on Twitter,
where I get immediate worldwide feedback on a minute by minute basis to my
posts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your social media engagement strategy will depend on your specific situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you want to learn about the 5 Free Social Media services that work for writers and a lot of other people, <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/2012/11/the-five-free-tools-of-social-media.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you want someone to manage your social media for you email me now: lpobryan@gmail.com </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thanks for coming by. Your comments are truly appreciated. But anonymous ones won't get posted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">To support this site - over 100 free posts so far on social media for you to explore - please buy one of my novels, </span><a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheIstanbulPuzzle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;" target="_blank">The Istanbul Puzzle </a><span style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">or </span><a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheJerusalemPuzzle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;" target="_blank">The Jerusalem Puzzle</a><span style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;"> or </span><a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;" target="_blank">my guide to social media</a><span style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">. And enjoy!</span></span></div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-11596330482966241572014-05-15T06:34:00.000+01:002014-06-12T10:02:14.674+01:00Building a Loyal Following<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN2blJWKK5BuurRNHMFyOwK04rQTdPaJXTH04zU2BYAkP64dhm3eeKe7KhrcdcCfsYd18Ih7RbtlV1GmLELGiPOFwGGtg7xpbHbj1R7KIl195m0rBDBQvWlinb6FUTuzoLm93qhubfbmE/s1600/measure-success.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRN2blJWKK5BuurRNHMFyOwK04rQTdPaJXTH04zU2BYAkP64dhm3eeKe7KhrcdcCfsYd18Ih7RbtlV1GmLELGiPOFwGGtg7xpbHbj1R7KIl195m0rBDBQvWlinb6FUTuzoLm93qhubfbmE/s1600/measure-success.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here are three classic methods for building a loyal following, whether it be on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever:<br />
<br />
1. Provide something of value. Are you an expert? Can you share some of your expertise? Are you funny? Are you talented? Find something you can deliver. Find your purpose.<br />
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2. Build trust. Trust is built through reliability, honesty, respect. Do you treat your followers with respect? Are you honest and reliable in your responses?<br />
<br />
3. Providing something new. The new-kid-on-the-block phenomena allows everyone with something to say to get some limelight. The challenge is to maintain the innovations. Keep delivering new things and your audience will be loyal and it will grow.<br />
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What do you think builds a loyal following?Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-26382901292622938932014-05-05T05:14:00.000+01:002014-05-08T06:06:30.488+01:005 lessons from Social Media success stories- Updated<br />
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<span lang="EN-IE">Social media is the automobile industry and the telephone business of
the 21<sup>st</sup> century combined. The people and organisations who learn
how to use the power of social media will benefit and the people who want to
stay shackled to yesterday's technology will slowly fade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">Over 50% of the top firms on Wall Street are investing to make social media an integral part of their business. Firms as divergent as Dell ($3 million in revenue attributable directly to Twitter posts), Jet Blue (over a million followers mainly for customer service issues), and IBM (50k in Alumni network on Facebook - just one example of success), are using social media as a core part of what they do.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE">These are only some of the many examples of effective use of social media. In reviewing these case studies some common themes emerged:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">1. The grassroots and the top of these organisations are involved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">2. They have clear guidelines, then they let people get on with it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">3. They learn from mistakes & successes.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">4. They empowered widespread participation. They trust employees.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">5. They experimented creatively, with Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Wiki's, libraries and more.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE">If your organisation doesn't get it all yet, maybe you will be the one to inspire them.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-IE"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="line-height: normal;">To support this site - almost 100 free posts so far on social media for you to explore - please buy one of my novels, </span><a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheIstanbulPuzzle" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank">The Istanbul Puzzle </a><span style="line-height: normal;">or </span><a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheJerusalemPuzzle" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank">The Jerusalem Puzzle</a><span style="line-height: normal;"> or </span><a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank">my guide to social media</a><span style="line-height: normal;">. And enjoy!</span></span></div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-53666564102588224272014-04-22T03:56:00.000+01:002014-04-24T07:12:22.359+01:00Supercharging social media with storytelling techniques: #5 Show, don't tellShow, don't tell, is one of the most important things a writer has to do, to build a story people will want to read.<br />
<br />
Instead of saying the main character is a good man, we are urged to show him taking an old lady across the street, helping children, saving people's lives.<br />
<br />
But how can you do that in social media?<br />
<br />
The first way is through case studies, the classic business way to show the impact of what you do rather than simply say it. A case study will focus on a real life example of someone using your product or service.<br />
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The second way, if your social media is more personal, is for you to give examples of what is happening in your own life, describing how you tapped your fingers on the table as you waited to hear news of a big sale, rather than saying you were nervous.<br />
<br />
The third way is to add depth to the showing by providing additional detail. If you won that big sale you might say you jumped higher than you ever had before the moment the news came in.<br />
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Showing, not telling, is a critical part of storytelling. If you are looking to build social media engagement it is one of the techniques you can use to supercharge your output.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-42634440227449745502014-04-09T08:46:00.000+01:002014-04-09T08:47:24.308+01:00Twitter & Gmail changes are on the way!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_INqCG95wY1CJhP8-1iXUYX9ZK1Z1fjstBe6wL0pTBd_jXCdu-QgIwHrV94Q6_bIOxxnyIPzQg2O4GVYOhr6mv1m3c7ZXzSGVHEuHAG8O8PWssboKQk0SN44CYR0VSKmn2MxZMPNsUDeR/s1600/Twitter2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_INqCG95wY1CJhP8-1iXUYX9ZK1Z1fjstBe6wL0pTBd_jXCdu-QgIwHrV94Q6_bIOxxnyIPzQg2O4GVYOhr6mv1m3c7ZXzSGVHEuHAG8O8PWssboKQk0SN44CYR0VSKmn2MxZMPNsUDeR/s1600/Twitter2014.png" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Does this look like a Facebook profile? It does to me, but no, this is a new Twitter profile featuring bigger profile pictures, customisable headers. We will also, by the end of this month, be able to pin Tweets, which are important to who we are, near the top of our profiles.<br />
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Popular Tweets will also appear bigger & we will be able to filter Tweets with pics & replies, indicating whether we want to see these or not.<br />
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<br />
Facebook is being challenged by Twitter. That's what it looks like to me.<br />
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Google, after the relative failure of Google+, is also changing. The Promotions tabs in our Gmail accounts will soon look like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJlbCNzVmQ-Z2fwxaAtRlo4BIvpzPt3kpNtr5fDIzkWw5G1H9h5xNpv6RD1sXITwtMdZwf6iPLgQ-AI9vNXRsR98VFyVKPRksWW79RH17xV-YhSDCzmnYyA5TJsHW7kxrZR2ZQuCDwZfG/s1600/Gmail2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJlbCNzVmQ-Z2fwxaAtRlo4BIvpzPt3kpNtr5fDIzkWw5G1H9h5xNpv6RD1sXITwtMdZwf6iPLgQ-AI9vNXRsR98VFyVKPRksWW79RH17xV-YhSDCzmnYyA5TJsHW7kxrZR2ZQuCDwZfG/s1600/Gmail2014.png" height="187" width="320" /></a></div>
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This looks a bit like Pinterest. It certainly is a classier way to display promotion emails we receive. One thing it does mean though is that if you are sending promotion type emails, make sure you have a representative image included.</div>
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<p:colorscheme colors="#ffffff,#000000,#808080,#000000,#00cc99,#3333cc,#ccccff,#b2b2b2">
</p:colorscheme>Featured image for the new grid must be at least 580px x 400px. The thumbnail logos are pulled from a brand’s verified Google+ page. This layout should be in place for us all by the Summer. No confirmed date has been given yet by Google.<br />
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If you want to stay up to date on the big changes in online marketing make sure you follow this blog by putting your email address in the box above right. You can unsubscribe any time.<br />
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Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-65582229151133232882014-04-04T05:42:00.000+01:002014-04-09T08:46:50.368+01:00The Tipping Point StrategyThe music business gets social media. Lady GaGa had 49 million Facebook followers in 2013 and Rihanna 50 million. Rihanna is the second most popular music star on Facebook behind Eminem.<br />
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In the last few months of 2013 Rihana's label, Universal, used a tipping point strategy to leverage her followers in the run up to the launch of her new album and single.<br />
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Followers were encouraged to visit a new site, post content and like a new page and go on missions. Only when a certain number of likes had been achieved were rewards released. Rewards included song lyrics, a release date, cover image and videos This strategy has been used before, but it hit the jackpot this time. They achieved:<br />
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+ Over a 100,000 Tweets a day during launch month<br />
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+ 420 million Facebook wall posts<br />
<br />
+ Triple platinum success for her single and a No 3 debut for her album.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-14915317926660125162014-03-27T07:30:00.000+00:002014-03-27T07:42:58.601+00:004 Key Arguments for Using Social Media - Updated<br />
<h1>
</h1>
<h1 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">To get noticed. It’s all right if you want to
stay unknown, if you want to stick to the old ways, but if you want to get noticed these days social media is a great way to do
it. Getting noticed is important for all types of people. In the past it was ok
to hide away and not talk, you were forgiven. These days people expect it of
you. Stand up, get noticed, be strong!</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">It will allow you to
connect with customers, partners, employees and all the other groups who you
work or play with. Social media is a communications tool. It’s a some to many
tool. The telephone was a one to one personal communications tool. TV and radio
are about communications by a select few to many. Social media is a low cost
communications tool where you can reach out to groups of varying sizes and send
them all a message or just one.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">It’s a positive step to take. By taking action on
social media you are sending a positive message. There are many groups who will
appreciate this positive message. People under 29 are mostly on social media
already so whether they are customers, employees or other partners they will be
encouraged that you are getting engaged with social media.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">4. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">It’s good for your
well being to be more open and communicative. In the old days, and for some
sections of society this is still true, secrecy and cover up were the order of
the day. I agree that many traditional things are good; family, culture and
sport are just three, but we have found out, all over the world, that secrecy
and cover up can be used by criminals who steal, corrupt political life or
abuse children. Being open is symbolic, for me, of a rejection of all those people who
did those evil things. </span></span></h1>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHGiv4r4z3VAVNY5cr5IJaKx8GyOOeKUVKpcT30LgcIgK4t70c-yCT5D6OX_0lmFsg8NaDYYY7tfKU4ZONWmtpiyCz-MZtTBXXm-EqgpqC5xsTG21ZC3n5il42tQj04I7Ntd4Ct4akPkg/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Key arguments for using social media" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHGiv4r4z3VAVNY5cr5IJaKx8GyOOeKUVKpcT30LgcIgK4t70c-yCT5D6OX_0lmFsg8NaDYYY7tfKU4ZONWmtpiyCz-MZtTBXXm-EqgpqC5xsTG21ZC3n5il42tQj04I7Ntd4Ct4akPkg/s400/photo+(8).JPG" height="300" title="" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">My son, Martello Tower, Dublin, Ireland, near where I live</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 32px;"><br /></span></div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-11663621473692490962014-03-14T06:11:00.000+00:002014-03-14T08:39:02.597+00:00Supercharging social media with storytelling techniques: #2 Mass Empathy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdxeUI-V9qjngVTq_FRdRdb94ryyY7RWU85GmNiyr-jjcK0PelEdf726in_17HyS_dy2GpXFudz4wAHFcl5Uty2yaxq2-BGc9swAh2axzrNqZnLqpkAVpq-_bpg_dE6vtmgy6MZtM9ZBv/s1600/2014-01-23_0704.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdxeUI-V9qjngVTq_FRdRdb94ryyY7RWU85GmNiyr-jjcK0PelEdf726in_17HyS_dy2GpXFudz4wAHFcl5Uty2yaxq2-BGc9swAh2axzrNqZnLqpkAVpq-_bpg_dE6vtmgy6MZtM9ZBv/s1600/2014-01-23_0704.png" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Another tool for creating engagement and a sense of involvement in your posts is empathy - mass empathy.<br />
<br />
Empathy is compassion or rapport. In storytelling terms it is the ability to place your readers in the shoes of your characters. So how do you do that in a social media post? Here are some things to consider:<br />
<br />
1. Speak from the heart. Talk about the personal and human impact of what you do.<br />
<br />
2. Use personal stories, names if you can.<br />
<br />
3. Talk about the emotional and physical impact of what you do on others.<br />
<br />
4. Explain how it impacts, don't simply name the feelings.<br />
<br />
5. Explain the impact of clean water, how it feels on your tongue. Don't just say it's clean.<br />
<br />
Empathy will be engendered when people can see themselves in the position of a user of your product or service. If you have described this in personal terms, with descriptions of the real impact of what you do, then you are more likely to engender empathy in your posts.<br />
<br />
To buy my guide, Social Media is Dynamite, <a href="http://viewbook.at/socialmedia" target="_blank">click here</a>.Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-14325680129102647002014-03-10T08:55:00.000+00:002014-03-10T11:33:00.707+00:005 Ways to Create Lead-Generating Written Content<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In any type of marketing, lead
generation is basically defined as the practice of gauging interest
in your business’s products or services. This is typically done
through building lists via email, a subscriber base, fans/followers,
or even phone numbers. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When using social media sites like Facebook to
generate leads, the only thing that really changes are the amount of
tools and tactics available at your disposal.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, through all the different apps
and widgets to help you suck up emails like a giant tornado, it’s
actually the tried and true practice of content writing that can help
you the most. If you can construct compelling content, any promotion
you run is going to be much more successful.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let’s have a look at a few solid ways
to create written content that will help you generate leads.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo2o5tdJlv80Cpvf3wUno1aarKm4uPMwfAsUgEZLTGIi2xmuQmcOHNRo0WVMmu9J-s182gQ-oEw6K8mB_odOfdKjFJfFYv6JpMfo7dEy2OpnEKyS1lRLRcr2Zo7W4a1nnZPq0e5DnOSXB/s1600/Simon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo2o5tdJlv80Cpvf3wUno1aarKm4uPMwfAsUgEZLTGIi2xmuQmcOHNRo0WVMmu9J-s182gQ-oEw6K8mB_odOfdKjFJfFYv6JpMfo7dEy2OpnEKyS1lRLRcr2Zo7W4a1nnZPq0e5DnOSXB/s1600/Simon1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>The Top 5 Tips for
Creating Written Content that Generates Leads</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>1: Draw Attention to Your Topic </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Let’s view this as the ultimate
starting point: People see your content for the first time, with no
idea whatsoever about who you are, what you do, etc. How do you go
from first timer to graduating someone with one piece of written
content? The answer: You don’t. The idea here is to draw attention
to the topic, not to convert people. You’re never going to do the
latter with a piece of content, but you can achieve the former.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Remember that this is the very top of
the funnel, thus it’s much wider and more encompassing. What your
aim should be here is to ultimately get people interested in what
you’re offering them. You can accomplish drawing attention by:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sticking specifically to the
defined market; i.e. addressing a problem for people who are looking
for a solution</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Asking a unique, intriguing
question</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Using wordplay and alliteration to
draw interest</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Keeping things short and pithy –
to the point with a bit of flare</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Focusing on proper spelling and
grammar
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Avoiding run-on sentences, long
words, unnecessary punctuation, and bold, all-caps print with
numerous exclamation points (you’ve seen it before, and it’s a
turn-off)</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Remembering that the idea is to
get people to simply look at the content for now, not to give you
their credit card number</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is the initial step in a process
for writing lead-generating content, so don’t sigh and walk away in
frustration. The first step here is to ultimately figure out how to
use your language to get people to read on. Take a look around at
popular brands and promotions and read their teasers for a better
idea.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>2: Make it Brand-Specific </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now that Joe and Jane Average have
stopped on your content and have started reading it, they need to
know more. This is another area where less is going to be more, but
it’s also an area where a knack for smooth writing is going to pay
dividends. What you’re aiming for here is to introduce your brand
to the public at large. Tell people who you are, what you’re about,
and instill a sense of trust in people so that they’re comfortable
following through with your eventual call to action.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A great tip to remember here is that
your content introducing the lead-generating mechanism (a promotion,
a poll, a quiz, etc) doesn’t have to be the final piece of content.
In other words, a post that introduces or mentions the promotion can
link to it; it doesn’t have to be constructed like one of those
run-on-forever, excessively long weight-loss sales pages. The most
important step here, however, is to put your brand out there.
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Try using simple words like “we”
and “our” to get the brand feeling across</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Use your brand’s name</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Make people feel comfortable when
reading</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Raise awareness for your business
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Show consistency in your content
and across different platforms</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There’s no secret hiding under a
random rock by an oak tree. Great writing is about keeping things
clean, interesting, succinct, and intriguing readers. Putting your
brand into it simply gives a face to the words. “Our cola is
America’s favorite” doesn’t have the same ring as “Coca Cola
is America’s favorite soft drink.” Branding.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>3: Emphasize the Incentive</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now that readers are interested in what
you have to say and know who’s saying it, it’s time to give them
a reason to follow through with the action. More than likely, the
post they’re reading is going to lead them to some sort of sign-up
mechanism in order to get them into the funnel. This is where the
actual leads come from. People need to give you their email addresses
or some other form of contact. Your writing to this point hasn’t
been to sell them on becoming a lead; it’s simply been to keep them
around and to inform them about what you’re offering and who you
are.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To get people to actually become leads,
you’ll need to toss in some incentive. However, writing does play a
crucial role here. Every business from Alaska to Zimbabwe is offering
discounts and BOGOs and other incentives. It’s how you sell the
incentive that makes a difference. As Jonah Hill might shout when
losing a fight, “Use your words!”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Here’s how you can use your words to
emphasize the incentive:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Put emphasis on how limited the
offer is: Days, number of people, etc</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Make any free gift shine by
touting its positives</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Show some enthusiasm in what
you’re offering</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Stick with one or two sentences</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cut out the fluffy adjectives
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Emphasize the benefits to the
customers, but don’t lie</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>4: Summarize and Share</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Remember here that these tips are for
your content in general, from status updates and quick posts to the
actual text of the promotion page. So you’re looking to take some
style tips to use for every piece of written content, not simply a
single long post hoping to get leads. With that said, it’s now time
to think about advertising your promotion. And in any piece of
content that’s linking to the actual promotion, you want to keep
things short, and you want to emphasize sharing.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Try a spin on these two examples to
help you get the idea:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Our new product, the XYZ3000,
is satisfying customers from every corner of the globe. For a
limited time, we’re offering a huge discount to the first 200
people to share this post.”</div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Want to know more about how
Business X can change your life? Click here and see.”</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As you can see, these are very simple
sentences but they still touch on all the key points discussed thus
far. It’s content that has a brand feel, that emphasizes the
incentive, that’s succinct and easy to read, that encourages
sharing, and it makes it clear that the reader must follow through.
So rather than having an incredibly long post that attempts to
convert, these are just interest-grabbing quips that lead to the
actual promotion (which may be an app or a landing page that you
construct).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>5: Hire a Helping Hand</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Depending on the venue, your methods of
advertising are going to differ. From Twitter, for example, you’ll
want to employ the use of effective hashtags in order to find a
broader audience. On a site like Facebook, however, you’ll really
need more of a helping hand by way of paid advertising. This is where
Promoted Posts and Sponsored Stories come in handy.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Practically speaking, ten new customers
are most likely more than enough to cover any type of investment you
make. Imagine getting fifty new customers, half of those being repeat
customers, and hundreds of other leads that may eventually become
customers. Needless to say, investing is smart. What you want to
invest in here is an ad-management app that will help you target the
right demographics with your content. This also gives you a great
opportunity to test different combinations of text on markets to see
which ad is the most effective.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The best part about advertising on
Facebook is that you’re not boxed in with conventional ads. You can
advertise an entire post if you want, breathing new life into
something that was already popular.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By sparking a reader’s curiosity,
introducing your brand, emphasizing the incentive, and leading them
to a distinct location with a clearly defined goal in mind, you can
transform a wide range of readers into leads. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Once they’re in the
funnel, you’ll need other weapons to transform them into customers.
But in terms of getting them in, some good content goes a long way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Post written by: </b>Simon Campbell,
a writer from a facebook ad campaign tool – <a href="http://www.qwaya.com" rel="nofollow">Qwaya</a>.
He loves to write different topics about social media and
participates in some communities and forums. If you have more social
media marketing questions, feel free to ask <a href="https://twitter.com/SimonXCampbell">Simon
on Twitter</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkieblues/">sparkieblues</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-40141434078544368412014-02-23T09:26:00.000+00:002014-02-27T08:11:28.693+00:00Supercharging social media with storytelling techniques: #3 TensionCreating tension, the need to read on, to find out what happens next, is a technique that social media posters can use to build engagement with their followers.<br />
<br />
I'm not suggesting that each post should have a cliff hanger, but I am encouraging awareness of how storytelling techniques can be used in a corporate or other general social media environment. When you see news posts about what the iPhone 5 or iPad 6 may have when it comes out you are being teased by foreshadowing, a long established technique for building tension in stories.<br />
<br />
Most people will not only look out for further posts in the story of what is to come from Apple, they are also more likely to become engaged with the sites that deliver those teasing posts.<br />
<br />
Foreshadowing is only one technique for building tension. Dropping opposite types in the same room does it too. So does anticipation of an award or a disaster. So does a looming major change, a surprise announcement, a rescue story or a mystery. There are others too. Think about what engages you when you watch a movie.<br />
<br />
You may only use one of these techniques because of your situation, but it is important to be aware that you can build engagement in many ways. Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-81327596963634916872014-02-13T14:52:00.000+00:002014-02-27T08:09:19.050+00:00Zuckerberg's Law - 6 ways it could affect youMark Zuckerberg stated in 2008 that every two years or so (like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law" target="_blank">Moore's Law</a> for computing power) double the amount of information will be shared on social media as the year before.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYZK4-VKWTgb-ffcmal5NJgx8AlMy0PvDUUIYh4J6AOYinox2mfFgeH5yRmTb8UfQf-tUFIBV4RDpAx77obxYW0ITFSiyIhwZOGug7yxEOktYiw0e2ZMRN7n-Pm61S0TbJjF2hmk3D8W4/s1600/2013-05-16_1438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Zuckerberg's Law" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYZK4-VKWTgb-ffcmal5NJgx8AlMy0PvDUUIYh4J6AOYinox2mfFgeH5yRmTb8UfQf-tUFIBV4RDpAx77obxYW0ITFSiyIhwZOGug7yxEOktYiw0e2ZMRN7n-Pm61S0TbJjF2hmk3D8W4/s320/2013-05-16_1438.jpg" height="93" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
While that may seem impossible I'm <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672296/mark-zuckerberg-might-be-right-about-the-moores-law-of-sharing" target="_blank">not the only one</a> to think that something like this will happen. But what will that mean for most businesses?<br />
<br />
Here's the reality of how this could affect you in the next few years:<br />
<br />
* SEO and old style websites are likely be less and less relevant. Social sharing will drive site visits and the social sites will become the place more time is spent on. Social is already more popular on the web than pornography.<br />
<br />
* TV, radio and newspapers will also be less relevant, as people spend more and more time on these social sites.<br />
<br />
* Advertisers will take up real estate on your social feeds. And they will get cleverer. Ads will become engagement snares.<br />
<br />
* Out bound selling will transition into content creation for inbound prospect attraction sites.<br />
<br />
* Organisations of all types will evolve to adopt social media in HR. induction, training, on the job help, staff management, customer servicing, social activities, product development, sales and alumni networks. <br />
<br />
* Your social life from finding a partner to creating an event will become a truly social media supported activity.<br />
<br />
Not everyone of us or every organisation will be affected in the same way. Some will resist. A digital-less underclass will find themselves cut off from society.<br />
<br />
How will you cope? If you need advice on anything in this post email me now: lob@yourasms.com<br />
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Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-80048136662738372232014-02-02T06:29:00.000+00:002014-02-27T08:07:29.764+00:00A Custom Online Marketing Plan for Your Business <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Would you benefit from an expert online marketing plan, with a money back guarantee?</b><br />
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My <b>guide to social media</b> was published in 2013. Buyers raved about it and it rose to a top position in the digital marketing charts.<br />
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<i>"This seems to be the best or only one of its kind."</i> one reviewer said. You can <a href="http://viewbook.at/socialmedia" target="_blank">buy it here</a>.<br />
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I also teach a <b>Diploma Course at City Colleges in Dublin</b>, which is available <a href="http://www.citycolleges.ie/wp/college-digital-marketing/" target="_blank">online here</a>. I teach online marketing in other places too.</div>
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I advise small and large companies how to improve their online marketing. But instead of you having to pay for a book or a course, why not have <b>an online marketing plan created just for you</b>?</div>
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The plan will have seven elements:</div>
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1. <b>Objectives.</b> What are your objectives? <br />
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2. <b>Who.</b> Who will create the plan & who will carry it out? <br />
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3. <b>Resources.</b> What resources do you have available to allocate to the plan? <br />
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4. <b>Integration.</b> How will you integrate social media with other support, marketing or communication strategies & tactics in your organisation? <br />
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5. <b>Governance.</b> What rules or guidance will you put in place? <br />
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6. <b>Content.</b> How will content be generated? <br />
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7. <b>Monitoring.</b> How will you monitor and manage the results?<br />
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The plan will be created based on a <b>questionnaire and personal telephone/Skype interview</b>. The goal of the plan will be to <b>help your business succeed</b>.</div>
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I spent <b>twenty five years</b> in sales before becoming an online marketing consultant. I was a sales director of an international software company and achieved numerous inhouse awards for selling. If you want a plan that will help you succeed email me now:<b> lob@yourasms.com</b></div>
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I provide a 90 day <b>money back guarantee too</b>. If you are not happy with your plan within 90 days you can have your money back in full. I am a registered business in Ireland and I stand behind this guarantee. Your payment will be held in an online account and not be touched until 90 days has passed.</div>
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It is critical that you don't let this online marketing opportunity pass. <b>Don't make that mistake.</b></div>
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<b>What will it cost to get get an alternative view on what you could be doing from an expert?</b></div>
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Don't delay. Email now <a href="mailto:lob@yourasms.com">lob@yourasms.com</a>. That's Your Advanced Social Media Services.</div>
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One client had this to say about my service: </div>
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<i>"Faced with a bewildering number of choices: blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., it can be difficult to put together an effective marketing campaign. Laurence provided the expert guidance and support I needed to make the right choices and just the right level of pressure to keep me focussed."</i><br />
JJ Toner <a href="http://www.jjtoner.net/">http://www.jjtoner.net/</a><br />
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Another had this to say:</div>
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<i>"Although I'd engaged with Twitter and flirted with Facebook, this has focussed my efforts on the things that are really effective. It's an ongoing process, there's plenty of scope for improvement on my part, but blog visits have risen sharply from a few a day to 50-100. The improvements suggested to my blog and website are being implemented and are increasing sales."</i>DJ Harrison <a href="http://djharrison99.blogspot.co.uk/">http://djharrison99.blogspot.co.uk/</a><br />
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Thanks for your time.</div>
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<b>Laurence O'Bryan</b></div>
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<b>Founder</b></div>
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<b>Advanced Social Media Services</b></div>
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<b>5 Dame Lane</b></div>
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<b>Dublin 2</b></div>
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<b>Ireland</b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.yourasms.com/">www.yourasms.com</a></b></div>
Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577264531587706402.post-76836376868772265032014-01-19T08:44:00.000+00:002014-01-19T16:04:53.046+00:00Newsjacking & Social Media UpdatedWhat is newsjacking?<br />
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<img alt="Hi-Jacking Hotspot Sign: Close-up of a highway road sign reading HI-JACKING HOTSPOT located near Witbank, South Africa. A little roughly captured, but I didn't exactly want to stick around too long for reasons apparent on the sign." src="http://a.rgbimg.com/cache1sXPYc/users/s/so/somadjinn/600/nFb8eBq.jpg" height="213" width="320" /><br />
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Newsjacking is inserting yourself or your organisation into a story that is being covered in the media. You do this by commenting prominently on the story online or by providing a link to a relevant post on your blog or web site.<br />
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Examples of this include a marketing expert suggesting a marketing plan for Occupy Wall Street, a software company president talking about a major industry takeover and inserting his own company into subsequent media stories because of the relevance of his comments and the London Fire Brigade offering Kate Winslett training after she was involved in a fire on Richard Branson's private retreat in the British Virgin Islands.<br />
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The purpose of newsjacking is to get people to click on your link, to get traffic to your site and gain visibility.<br />
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And it works.<br />
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The rules of newsjacking are that you have to insert yourself quickly into the story, coming late means the story had played out, that you have to have something relevant to say, and that you post or web site supports what you say.<br />
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The PR industry is changing. No longer is it good enough to simply push out press releases to friendly journalists and hope they will cover your story. Now you have to find a real link between something happening in the media or in the world and whatever you are promoting.<br />
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Social media is the glue that binds all this together. It's where you contact journalists covering the story and refer them to your blog post and where you inform people that you have a post and a real connection to the media article.<br />
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My highest spike in blog viewers came when I made a relevant post on the UK Guardian book page and on the New York Times in one day. That day I got over 500 views. My comment was one of the first on that page, I had something relevant to say and the comment had a link in it to my blog.<br />
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Old fashioned PR isn't entirely dead, but it's changing fast.<br />
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To support this site - over 60 free posts so far on social media for you to explore - please buy one of my novels, <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheIstanbulPuzzle" target="_blank">The Istanbul Puzzle </a>or <a href="http://www.viewbook.at/TheJerusalemPuzzle" target="_blank">The Jerusalem Puzzle</a> or <a href="http://socialmediaisdynamite.blogspot.ie/p/order-social-media-is-dynamite.html" target="_blank">my guide to social media</a>. And enjoy!Laurencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741987831863130975noreply@blogger.com7