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5 Easy Ways To Get Off The Social Media Sidelines TODAY

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 26, 2008
in Kickstarts, New Marketing and social media
. 0 Comments

They say that speed kills, but I’m sure that being stagnant and not getting anything done has been the death of more good ideas than I care to think about. Let’s get this Social Media wagon train rolling. Here’s 5 ways to start getting things done, today.

1. See what people are saying about you already.
This one’s easy. Odds are, people are probably talking about you already and it’s just up to you to see what they’re saying. Fortunately, there are a lot of great (and free) tools out there to monitor the chatter on the internet. Start with Google Blog Search, Twitter Search (formerly Summize), and Technorati.

2. Comment on blog posts.
Now that you’ve found all these wonderful conversations already in play, it’s time to make like Joe Jaffe and join those conversations. Take a look at what people are saying, and if you feel like you can add something to the discussion, go for it. Just make sure to identify yourself as a representative of your brand or company, and don’t come off sounding like a press release.

3. Set up a profile on a social network.
Go to Facebook. Create a profile for your company or brand. Put the relevant facts and contact info on there. Respond to people who reach out to you. Simple.

4. Subscribe to some feeds with a RSS Reader.
First things first, set up and account with Google Reader or Bloglines (or many other tools out there). Then, using the tools listed above, find some blogs that you think you’d like to read on a regular basis. Look for the big orange “subscribe” button (like my circular one) and follow the instructions to add them into your reader. This way all the content comes to you, making it easy to stay on top of the conversations that matter.

5. Set up a Twitter account.
Neal Stewart once said “I try to post at least one…update per day because I believe that there should be at least one thing we want to tell our consumers per day.”

If you don’t know what twitter is, you can check out it’s wikipedia entry here. Once you’ve got a decent handle on it, check out these awesome posts from a lot of smart people on how to use Twitter effectively. It’s quick, easy, and a lot of fun.

So there’s my five. What did I miss?

My Life 2.0

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 24, 2008
in Life and etc.
. 2 Comments

It’s been quite a wild time lately.

If you’ve been following my tweets, then you already got the news that I got laid off last week. If not… well, then you just got the news that I got laid off last week.

Either way, it means that there are some big changes ahead.

The first of which is my location. In a few weeks I’ll be packing up the car and moving down to Charleston, South Carolina. I love Philadelphia, but I’m ready for a change and Charleston looks like just the place for me.

When it comes to this whole “working” thing, ideally I’d like to do social media projects full time and am really intrigued by the idea of doing freelance consulting. With that being said, if any of you (client or agency side) have any projects that could benefit from my skill set, let me know. You can reach me here via twitter or send me an email.

These are exciting times, and I’m looking forward to see what’s coming around the bend.

Electronic Arts, Tiger Woods, and Jesus

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 21, 2008
in Products and Web 2.0
. 3 Comments

No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke. It’s a great story involving two of my favorite things, gaming and marketing, and could teach us all a thing or two. Here’s the details.

A little while back, a user named Levinator25 posted a video from the EA game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. The video depicted a glitch in which Tiger Woods hit a miraculous shot, dubbed “The Jesus Shot” …from the middle of a pond. Most companies would either A)be completely unaware of this video’s existence, or B)do absolutely nothing about it. Not EA, and with Tiger Woods himself, here’s their response.

Glitch? What glitch?

Well played EA. Class dismissed.

originally found on Joystiq

If You Say “Leverage” You Might Get Punched In The Face

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 20, 2008
in Bad Marketing, Web 2.0 and social media
. 10 Comments

A lot of times, one of the first things you hear when social media is brought up in a business setting is “How can we leverage this to reach our customers (read: sell more stuff)?” And a lot of times, it makes me want to punch whoever said that right in the face. It’s a strong reaction I know, but hey, you have to let the punishment fit the crime.

Greg Verdino once said that hearing the word “viral” makes him want to throw up. Clearly I have a similar, albeit slightly more aggressive, response to the word “leverage” when used anywhere near “social media”.

Why this hulk-smash attitude you might ask? Well, what bothers me so much is that so many people are in such a hurry to leverage/monetize/utilize/monopolize/bastardize social media, that they don’t even stop to understand it first. And along with this goldrush mentality, comes a lot of people who are doing things really wrong.

In fact, the aforementioned Verdino likens it to putting lipstick on a pig. His main point is that maybe you should figure out social media before you work on social media marketing. I mean, honestly, did you run TV spots before you owned a set and watched a few shows? Probably not. Don’t let this be any different.

The good news is that it’s not hard to get into the space and learn the tools and tactics. I know it might seem daunting, but don’t worry. You can (and should) take it slow. Start with (my version of) the basics. People like Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel, Joe Jaffe, David Armano, Jason Falls, Valeria Maltoni, and Geoff Livingston are great resources. And people like Neal Stewart at Flying Dog, Scott Monty at Ford, and Frank Eliason at Comcast are already doing great work with social media.

The key thing here is that you need to be a participant. Get in on the ground floor. Crawl before you can walk. Be the tortoise not the hare. Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. (Wow, one more metaphor and I might have passed out)

Either way, I still have faith that with patience and practice, we’ll all get a handle on this “social media” thing. But seriously, if I hear “leverage”, you still better duck and cover.

Weekend Hootenanny

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 10, 2008
in ANM, Links and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Hey Gang. Just wanted to take a quick second to say thank you for taking the time to stop by and check this out. I really do appreciate it. Now on to the fun!

Social Media on Alltop!
Alltop, confirmation that I kick ass
I’m really excited about this. Late last week I was chosen by the good people over at Alltop to be a part of their Social Media section. I’m pretty honored to be in such esteemed company. They’re the big guns, people.



Age of Conversation 2!

So pumped for the new AOC! Hopefully you’ll all rush like wild-people to pick up a copy when it comes out. And then immediately hit up my chapter entitled “i>I”. Check out the new cover by David Armano. Head here for the details.



Some posts to blow your mind.
Some of the best from this past week

-Help Us, Help You - Marketing In Traffic by Brian Branca
-Stuff that i learned on tour: workplace culture. - Darryl Ohrt at Brand Flakes For Breakfast
-Hate to tell you, but Web 1.0 was social too. - by “The Verdino”
-If You Can’t Beat Them, Be Them? - by David Armano
-Introducing The Conversation Prism - by Brian Solis
-Kids Still Love TV. (Ice cream too) - by Alan Wolk at The Toad School

A Definitive Explanation of Social Media

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 3, 2008
in Web 2.0 and social media
. 30 Comments

If you want Wikipedia’s definition of Social Media, you can find it here.

I like the definition and I think it’s accurate, if slightly long winded. But if someone asked me what social media is, personally I’d reply with “Social Media is any new web tool or technology that connects people.”

I’ve been thinking about it a little more and essentially, all social media can be broken down into 3 simple categories.

Social Media

Socially Created Content
A lot of what comes to mind when people think “social media” is really just the Socially Created Content piece. This includes things like blogs, podcasts, Flickr or Picasa, YouTube, and Wikipedia. Essentially anything where the main focus is content creation. This is one of the fastest growing parts of social media, primarily because of the shrinking the barriers to entry. You can start a blog that showcases your vacation pics on Flickr and links to your channel on YouTube in less than half an hour. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Socially Highlighted Content
The second major part of social media is Socially Highlighted Content. SHC works because when people find something truly great out there on the internet, they think “Wow I really like this! I think everyone should check this out.” Sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Yahoo! Buzz, Mixx, and many others, serve as a showcase/portal for content that people believe the community will find value in. If you’re looking for the consensus best of the web, check here first.

Social Networks
Along with Socially Created Content, Social Networks are the other half of what people think of regarding social media. By now, everyone has heard of Facebook, LinkedIn, and (unfortunately) MySpace. These networks, among many others, allow you to create profiles and connect with peers, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers to form a network of “linked” individuals. Social Networks have become the Rolodex or little black book of today’s generation, and represent an unparalleled way to stay connected.

The In-Between
Obviously not everything falls neatly into those three categories, hence my beautiful illustration (watch out Armano). There’s a lot of overlap, and a lot of sites that represent the intersection of two or even all three pieces. For example, a microblogging site like Twitter sits at the intersection of Socially Created Content and Social Networking, it’s the perfect blend of both. The same goes for Squidoo for Socially Created Content and Socially Highlighted Content and Google Reader’s share function for Social Networking and Socially Highlighted content.

But that’s Just my take on it.
Think I’m wrong? Don’t like the categories or found something that doesn’t fit? Let me know. I’d love to hear your feedback on this. It just wouldn’t be social without you.

Buckshot

Published
by
Matt
on Jul 16, 2008
in New Marketing
. 2 Comments

At this point I’m sure the difference between strategy and tactics is pretty clear.

What’s not clear to a lot of people (apparently) is that just any bunch of tactics is not a strategy either.

Think of it like a shotgun full of buckshot. Sure all the pellets are roughly the same size/shape and are flying in the same direction, and yes they have roughly the same goal (to wreck house on whatever is in it’s way). But that’s as far as it goes. No single pellet knows what any of the others are doing, none of the pellets ever work together or support each other. No pellet learns from the others or alters course based on what another has done.

So yeah, on the surface it might look like they’re going get the job done, but it really amounts to nothing more than getting the square peg through the round hole with just brute force.

Of Bubbles and Double-Edged Swords

Published
by
Matt
on Jul 14, 2008
in New Marketing and Web 2.0
. 4 Comments

Alan Wolk, The Big TT, is on a roll. Today he put a great post together on the “tiny bubbles” that we all seem to live in. He points out that while most of us are on the front edge when it comes to social media, new marketing, and web 2.0, the majority of internet users (and your target marketing probably falls in this range) really aren’t.

I completely agree that we need to be aware of more than just what exists in our little space, and anything less would be a disservice to our readers, peers, clients, and profession. However, for New Marketers and Web Futurists such as ourselves, our position can truly be a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, we have to know where the mass is. And that might be checking out MySpace for the first time, or even just trying to get a handle on the Amazon recommendation/review engine. There’s no room for internet snobbery (of which I’m admitted guilty of sometimes) or elitism. If part of your job is to know your market, then you have to understand their online habits, even if they’re “soooo 2005″.

But that’s only half the equation. While we have to understand where the mass is, we can’t really be there. For many of us, it’s our responsibility to know what’s coming down the pike. We need to be on the bleeding edge, and it’s up to us to figure out how (and if) these new technologies can help us grow and connect to the market we’re after.

In the end, it’s this delicate balancing act of next and now that really defines the new marketer or web pioneer. It’s easy to catch a case of Bright and Shiny Object Syndrome and always be in search of The Next Best Thing, but if you spend all your time on that, you run the risk of being completely irrelevant to just the people you’re trying to reach.