Brick and Click

June 5th Social Media and Online Presence Workshop - last call!

 

I'm hosting a social media/online presence workshop this Saturday, June 5th, at Iron Bridge Restaurant and Wine Company in Warrenton, VA, from 11a-3pm.  We'll be in the reserved Stone Cellar at Iron Bridge ... quite the cool venue ... and quite the fabulous food to be enjoyed as well.  If you would like to get up to speed on anything and everything having to do with the Social Web ... from Facebook to Twitter to Linkedin to blogs to the mobile space and so on ... this workshop will offer a lot of bang for modest buck. Aimed at business owners and business professionals, this hands-on workshop has limited seating, so call or email right away to reserve your seat.  Details on my Facebook Page. 

Fee:  $125 (includes meal and refreshments)
Email: jeff@brickandclick.com
Call:  540.729.2742

What Facebook needs - check that - HAS to do to make Pages more biz friendly

Facebook Pages are all the rage, and rightly so. In addition to 450 million-plus users, there are millions of businesses and organizations utiliziing Pages to connect with people on Facebook. And despite all of the recent rage about privacy moves by the world's largest social network, I believe strongly that Pages have far more upside than downside.  But I also want to spotlight what I feel are several key changes Facebook should implement to make Pages more effective and business friendly.

First of all, Page admins should be able to change the 'names' of Pages, the same way you can change Group names. Currently, if you set up a Page, you are stuck with the name you choose. It's ridiculous that admins lack the simple ability to adjust Page names. Case in point: I am advising a company that has hundreds of franchises across the U.S.  If part of the strategy is to advise franchises to adjust their Page names so they conform to uniform search/location and company standards, that company is out of luck. Once a Page name is chosen, it is set in stone, and cannot be altered. 

Second, Page admins should be able to change 'categories'. The average person has no idea that when choosing a category for a business/organization Page, their Info tab/page is set in stone. When I first set up a Business Page, I followed standard, logical steps.  Those logical steps could lead you to choose a Page category that has an Info tab/page with a 'Public Transit' information option that has nothing to do with your business. And once chosen, there's no turning back. Especially once you get a sizeable group of people who 'like' your Page. At that point, if you're only option is to delete the Page and start over, it's an idiotic option.

Third, Page admins should have a second or third chance when claiming 'Usernames'.  Currently, if you claim a Page Username, you have one shot, and one shot only. If you make a mistake, or decide later you should adjust that important URL, you're out of luck. Ridiculous.  Twitter allows you to change you @username at will, as long as it's available. This should be the same option on Facebook. 

Fourthly, Page admins should be able to send direct messages to anyone 'liking' that Page, in the same manner as messages sent by Groups.  Currently, Page admins are only allowed to send 'updates' that are sent to a very hard to locate messages folder in each followers profile. There's no valid reason for Facebook to deny Page admins the cabability to send 'visibile' and impactful direct messages to everyone connected to that Page. If Facebook is worried about 'spam' or 'too many direct messages' ... that problem can be taken care of by users.  If a business sends too many direct messages, I can simply 'unlike' that Page. My choice. And it should be the Page's choice to send direct and meaningful messages to people who have "chosen to connect with that page".

These are a handful of meaningful changes that would incite shouts of glee from Page owners/admins.  I am tired of Facebook making changes that cause a "what the ??" reaction from users/admins.  Put these changes into play, and Facebook will be on the road to serving the people who make Facebook money, Page owners/admins. 

Your thoughts are welcome.

Linkedin, 60 million members strong, turns 7 today

In typical fashion, I was first alerted to today being Linkedin's 7th birthday by a quick check to my Google Reader, where I noticed a blog post by Mashable, which referenced a tweet from Linkedin Sr Director of Corporate Communications Kay Luo, who re-tweeted another Linkedin employee, who was apparently the first to reference May 5th, 2003 as the starting point for the business networking platform.

It's always interesting to see what a popular platform looked like on day one, and thanks to this image from Flickr (linked to via Ms Kuo's tweet), we can see Linedin version 1.0:

 

Now, let's compare to May 5, 2010, with a screen shot from my homepage:

 

Linkedin's come a long way.  According to Kuo's Linkedin public profile, it has grown from 50 employees and 8 million members when she joined the team in 2006, to 500 employees and more than 60 million members today.  Interestingly, Linkedin, while not the highest profile social media site, has been around longer than Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), Youtube (2005) and Myspace (August 2003). One thing is for sure, Linkedin owns the pure business niche, and is a revenue generating machine, pulling cash from three main streams:  premium subscriptions, corporate solutions and ads. Since it's not a publicly traded company, Linkedin's revenue figures are not available. But it's been profitable since 2007, and rumors of a billion dollar buyout began some two years ago.  What does that make it worth today?  Who knows. But I know this: as the ultimate digital rolodex and resume, it's a must for any business professional to have a presence on Linkedin.

You can find me on Linkedin here (linkedin.com/in/jeffcrites).  If you want to connect, use the email jeff@brickandclick.com and the category 'other'. 

Using video to expand the reach of your Facebook Page

It's one of those little, oft forgotten features that can have significant impact over time.  If you load video to your Facebook Page, when someone who has not yet 'Liked' your Page watches that video (perhaps it's shared by someone or seen by a first time visitor), he/she will see a 'Like this Page' option at the top of the video:

 

You won't see this on any Page you already 'Like' or are an Admin of.  It's only visible to those who have yet to Like a Page. I 'un-Liked' the U.S. Army Safety Center Page to capture a screen shot of this viral feature, then promptly 're-Liked' the Page.

The bottom line:  anyone utilizing Facebook Pages for business or organizational purposes should be thinking about creating interesting video content for those Pages.  If that video is passed around, it will include an invitation for people to connect with your Pages.

Tonight's a big night for one of my clients

 

One of my newest clients is Clockwork Home Services, parent company for three leading home services franchises:  Mister Sparky - "America's On-Time Electrician", Benjamin Franklin Plumbing - "The Punctual Plumber", and One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning - "Always on Time Or You Don't Pay a Dime". The three brands combined boast nearly 600 franchises across the U.S. 

If you're a fan of, or watch, TV's Celebrity Apprentice, you know that each episode involves a major brand in a marketing project that pits the two celebrity teams against each other.  Tonight's episode, at 8CT/9ET on NBC, challenges the contestants to create 30 second radio commercials for each of the three Clockwork brands.  This is exciting on multiple levels to me.  Obviously I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a client like Clockwork.  I also have a 13 year radio background, am deeply immersed in marketing, and love shows like this that challenge you to create a 'brand solution'.  This is the first time the home services industry has been featured on Celebrity Apprentice, so that's pretty cool as well.

If you watch tonight's show, and I hope you do, let me know what you think - especially the commercials created for the brands - via post comments.   If you'd like to connect with these brands on Twitter or Facebook (please welcome them, as they are fairly new to social media), see links below.  And lest I forget, there's a sweepstakes you can enter that's tied to the show and these three sponsors.  Click here  to enter the Trump Time is Money Sweepstakes for a chance to win $100,000.  

Mister Sparky

• Twitter
• Facebook

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

• Twitter
• Facebook

One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning

• Twitter
• Facebook

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FYI:  In case you're not aware, Bret Michaels, competior on Celebrity Apprentice and famous for being lead singer of the band Poison, had a massive stroke on Thursday, April 22, and has been in critical condition since. Here's an update on his condition, as of May 1st.  Tonight's episode of the Apprentice was filmed months before he suffered his unfortunate stroke.

Social Media and Online Presence Workshop June 5th (date change)

Social Media is exploding in popularity, for personal and business use. It can be exciting, and also very overwhelming for the average person who wants to navigate online waters to build a trusted network and digital presence to promote a business or help advance a career.

Brick and Click is presenting a Social Media and Online Presence Workshop on Saturday, June 5th (was May 29th), from 11am to 3pm at Iron Bridge Restaurant and Wine Company in Old Town Warrenton, VA.  This workshop, presented by Jeff Crites, will offer a detailed yet easy to comprehend overview of social media tools and trends to help you decide the right path and strategy for your particular situation.

If you're new to social media, this four hour immersion will bring you up to speed. If you know your way around Facebook and other platforms, but want to take things to the next level, youll also find this hands-on workshop time well invested.  If you havent been to Iron Bridge or its special Stone Cellar room, youre in for a treat. The workshop fee includes lunch, which is sure to blow your tastebuds away.

Details via the Brick and Click Facebook Page Event, and also via the web-based version of my email newsletter.

Hope to see you there!

How 'digital snowflakes' stick to friends and fans on Facebook

When I'm trying to explain the magical effect social media can have on business marketing or organizational communication (an Army command or installation for instance) ... I like to use the term 'digital snowflakes'.  Each time you post a message on your Facebook personal, group or fan page, you're dropping a digital snowflake into the news stream of each person connected to you. It doesn't mean each thing you share will be seen, but it does mean that over time, some of your messages will 'stick'. 

Consistency and quality of content are key.  There's nothing worse than a dead Facebook Page, where the last update was weeks ago. You have to make it snow enough so those who want to hear from you ... will hear from you.  And you have to refrain from hitting your fans or friends with a blizzard of messages that make them 'hide' you, or worse, unfriend or un-fan you. There's a balance.

So my encouragement is to make it snow each day. Keep dropping those unique flakes into the daily lives of people who have chosen to connect with you.  And make sure to respond to their messages as well. Over time, your snowflakes of conversation will start to stick and make an impression.  Hopefully, it's an impresion that will boost your bottom line. 

Facebook Scams Alert: Remember the one rule that rules them all

Update (April 9):  this blog post was referenced, and I was quoted, in an article that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle ... MacWorld ... PCWorld ... ITWorld ... and NetworkWorld

If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is (too good to be true). Please remember that when you see an invitation passed around, asking you to become a fan of a (fake) page on Facebook that claims you'll receive a high-dollar gift certificate from IKEA, Whole Foods, Best Buy or any number of other big name brands.  

I first noticed this disturbing trend when the fake IKEA page popped up from the sewer. Red flags left and right. A thousand clams to first ten thousand people to become fans??? So IKEA is ponying up ten million to get its first ten thousand fans?  Does that make economic/marketing sense?  Hardly.  Think people.  Put on your common sense caps before pulling the social media 'gimmie' trigger.  I think IKEA may have fallen prey first because they don't yet have a robust Fan Page on Facebook. I did a quick search and found one page claiming to be the 'official U.S. IKEA page', and it had about 70,000 fans. So I can see where some unfortunates might fall for this sleight of hand.

But the latest entries to this trend - and it always becomes a scam bandwagon - are Whole Foods and Best Buy imposters.  Here's a blog post from AllFacebook about the fake Whole Foods giveaway Fan Page. And All Facebook's original source was a CNET article (Whole Foods working to curb Facebook-based scam). From CNET:

The scam has been spreading virally through Facebook via "fan pages" with names like "Whole Foods Market Free $500 Gift Card Limited - first 12,000 fans only" and "Whole Foods FREE $500 Gift Card! Only Available for 36 hours!" The fan page asks Facebook users to add it as a fan, thus pushing awareness of the page through those users' Facebook networks, and then asks them to fill out a credit assessment and other forms that request personal information. The scam then uses a form of malware to crash users' computers and the information they have entered is left vulnerable.

Whole Foods is recommending, rightly so, that users follow the Facebook Security fan page and report suspected scams when they see them.  I will be doing that as soon as I finish typing this post. The latest scam I spotted involves Best Buy. How do I know it's a scam?  For one, the official Best Buy Fan Page (facebook.com/bestbuy) has some 1.1 milliion fans. Why would Best Buy start a different fan page, inviting the first "20,000 fans to receive a $1,000 gift card".  First 20,000 fans of what, a new 'first 20,000 fans' fan page?? Makes absolutely zero sense, since Best Buy would run any giveaway from its official and massively popular fan page ... and therefore violates the one rule that rules them all: if it looks too good to be true ->  on Facebook, please report it to the FBook Security Page, and DO NOT become a fan or share information with such sites. 

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Update (7pm ET)

In case you're not convinced the Best Buy (fake) Fan Page offer is trully fake ... this is from a spokesperson from Bestbuy, via Twitter (@Twelpforce)

 

The viral marketing potential of books and magazines on the iPad

I was talking about the iPad with a work colleague the other day.  We were chewing over the possibilities, especially for the publishing/media industry.  And something occurred to me, beyond the endless multi-media capabilities that ebooks and magazines will have as they're adapted for the iPad and similar devices. This evolution in the way we will consume media ... will also revolutionize the way media products can be marketed.

It's hard to miss all of the 'Facbook Connect' and 'Tweet This' choices now offered when reading articles and blog posts, or watching videos. Now, apply that same capability to a book that will be revamped for the iPad. At the end of the book, instead of just simply offering a hyper link to the author's and publisher's websites, you could be offered an immediate opportunity to become a Facebook Fan ... 'share' how much you love the book with your Facebook Friends ... 'Tweet' to your connections on Twitter a bit.ly link with info about the book (including a link to Amazon to purchase a hardback or other version) and so on. 

The possibilities to 'digitally connect' with consumers who've just consumed your book or magazine edition are endless. There's no way you can do this as easily and efficiently with a print edition of a book or magazine.  You have to hope a reader decides to boot up their laptop and visits your website, Fan page, Twitter account, etc ... or signs up to your email newsletter.  It's far more efficient, and will be far more effective, to offer an immediate opportunity to connect via your preferred digital platform, when you don't have to leave the device you just consumed the product. Picture a Facebook Fan Box right there on the last page of a book, along with author information, an embedded Twitter widget, link to Amazon and so on. Book and magazine (newspaper?? still have my doubts) publishers could (should) enjoy an explosion in viral marketing and digitally connected fans when those fans are consuming via iPads and similar devices. Publishers are wrestling with the best ways to make books 'three demensional' now that the iPad's arrival is imminent. Those same publishers better be thinking how to make it a seamless and simple action and choice for readers to connect, stay connected (future books, hello!), spread the love via social media word of mouth, and make impulse purchases (like a checkout line at the supermarket, with all of that tempting gum and chocolate).

I'll use my wife's children's picture book as an example, I Love You More Than Rainbows.  It's available in a Kindle version, but its vibrant images would be far more explosive on an iPad.  And as much as an interactive experience would be wonderful for kids and parents alike (birds flying out of trees, questions that would pop up if you scroll over an animal, etc), having a rich digital page at the end with invitations to connect, purchase more, tell others, would be exponentially better than any current marketing capability:  "I hope you enjoyed this book!  If you did, please become a Fan on Facebook ... and by clicking here you can share your love of this book with your Friends on Facebook (or Twitter), or sign up for the email newsletter.  If you'd like to purchase this book as a gift, click here ... or print off this coupon ..."

Savvy publishers ... are you thinking this through yet?  

Social Media 'Velocity': understanding how (and how fast) content moves

I thought about cooking up an actual formula, like F=MA (force = mass X acceleration, the only thing I remember from physics), but I'll pass for now. Formula for what you ask?  Well, it's like this.

Social media content (comments, links, photos, etc) is constantly moving.  Now, I don't just mean the act of being passed from person to person (Facebook = Share This / Twitter = Retweet). This isn't about the viral nature of social media so much as it is about the way stuff we post 'moves' across a person's field of vision. Stay with me.

Say you post a message on your personal or business Facebook Wall ('what's on your mind').  It not only appears on your Wall, but more importantly, is pushed to the News Feed of everyone you're 'friends' with, or everyone who's a 'fan' of your Page.  Now, the news on all of those News Feeds moves at different speeds. When you glance at your personal News Feed, you notice content - from people and businesses - moves downstream, in conveyor belt fashion.  As new content appears, older content slowly (or quickly) moves further from your field of vision. This, in a nutshell, is the 'velocity of social media', and it's directly relative to the number of connections a person has.  If someone has 600 Facebook friends and is a fan of 85 Pages, new messages might appear every minute or two (experiencial guess). If someone has 85 friends and is a fan of 15 Pages, content will stick in their field of vision for a longer period of time.

Why does this matter?  Well, if you're a business operating a Fan Page, then you need to put yourself in the social media shoes of fans, understanding the way content - and those that share it - behaves.  Your message might be noticed, initially, by a only a modest percentage of your total fan count.  If your content is interesting, then it may be shared again by some of that initial group (which is a main goal in social media).

The factors that determine how many people see your message in their News Feeds include velocity, time of day/day of week the content is shared, how often you communicate, and random 'X' factors such as 'frequency' (how often a person checks Facebook), 'curiosity' (some love to know what people and businesses are saying, others could care less) and 'quality'.  I can't emphasize quality enough, since that's something you can control.  If you consistently post so-so stuff, Fans will start to treat your content like junk mail.  Content is still king, but you also need to start understanding the dynamics of how content moves now ... so your content has a decent shot at being consumed, shared, and responded to.

I want to explore this concept more ... the way content moves ... in the comment section of this post (your comments are coveted!), and in additional posts.  Twitter is another monster, deserving of its own post, since content there can move in the blink of an eye.  It's not as simple as a business having a formula that says "the number of friends a person has, combined with the number of Pages he/she is a fan of, Plus the average number of times that person checks his/her Facebook News Feed each day/hour = the Velocity of social media ... and therefore you should do X,Y,Z".  It's not about a mathematical silver bullet. What I'm trying to say is yes, numbers matter. Coke, with 5 million Facebook Fans, can reach out and touch tens ... hundreds of thousands, with one simple post. But since the key word in social media is 'social', each of those 'numbers' is a person ... each matters, each behaves differently, and each is a potential brand ambassador.  Treat them equally fantastic, because you never know who might have an impact on your business (positive or negative).

Web Two-Point-You

(This is an article I wrote for the December issue of Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine, a wonderful local magazine covering my quaint Virginia hometown, produced by Piedmont Press and Graphics.  If you arrived here after reading the article ... please leave your thoughts in the comment section ... especially how you think social media could be used to improve Warrenton, or any hometown/community.  And if you're not experienced with social media, share if you plan on diving into Web Two-Point-You waters any time soon)

Question:  do you know what Web 2.0 is all about?  If your first thought is “when did we leave the first Web?” then please read on.  And if you consider yourself a savvy surfer of digital waters, please read on as well, because at the end of this article I’m going to invite you to share your thoughts about what I’ve said.  That invitation, in part, is what Web 2.0 is all about.

I’ve been asked numerous times to offer up a definition of Web 2.0, and I usually begin by telling people that there are as many different answers as people you ask, like clowns spilling out of a Volkswagen Beetle.  But this is the way I see what has taken place over the past six or so years.

Web 1.0 (1990s through about 2003) was pretty much a one-way street.  You went to a website and consumed information or purchased something.  It became far easier to search for that new or vacation home, make your own investment decisions (ETrade), or sell those ‘valuables’ you had in storage (hello eBay).

Web 2.0 is a two-way street, where new tools enable you to interact, connect, contribute, and respond.  Web 2.0 is about participation. You don’t just consume, you produce.  You are in control, deciding which restaurants to praise or punish (reviews on Yelp), which videos to share with friends (who hasn’t seen Susan Boyle?), when to comment in a blog post, or whether to begin blogging yourself.

The explosion of Social Media is a natural progression of Web 2.0. Going to Wikepedia (makes sense, since the popular user-generated encyclopedia is a prime example of Web 2.0 collaboration), social media is defined as “media designed to be disseminated through social interaction” …  “transforming broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many)”.  In 2006, when it first appeared on Wikipedia, social media was defined as a term “used to describe media which are formed mainly by the public as a group, in a social way, rather than media produced by journalists, editors and media conglomerates”.

The term ‘citizen journalist’ arrived on the scene over the past few years, with camera and video-equipped smartphones giving anyone the ability to instantly publish images or video or text to the web.  The first image captured in the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’, when that plane crash- landed in New York, was an iPhone picture taken by a passenger on a ferry that was first to arrive on the scene.  That image was pushed out and passed around via social media tools to millions of people within hours (and used by the major TV and Cable news networks as well).  

A simple adjustment can make a big difference on your Facebook Page

I run across a lot of Facebook Pages that when first landing on the 'Wall', you see a choice to view comments by the Page, or by Fans.  And the default setting shows Page comments only.  Many, when first setting up Pages, don't realize they can choose 'Posts by Page and Fans', which is shown in the screenshot below on the Brick and Click Facebook Page.  And while I don't have tons of 'Fan comments' yet ... I know it's important to show the complete conversation, not just me blathering away.  If you have a Facebook Page, make sure you choose the setting in the image below.  When you do, you might suddenly discover a conversation that was happening behind your Page's back.  Oh, and let Fans post links, images and even videos.  Don't be afraid.  This is a two-way street, so let it ride.

 

Nice that Typepad has added a 'Quick Compose' feature to this blogging platform. Knowing that it can be challenging to compose robust blog posts, I can now share short insights and thoughts via this 'microblogging' (Twitter-esque) feature. Nice! It's all about finding ways to make communicating simple.

Having a Facebook Page and/or Twitter account is not enough. Knowing what to do with them is what counts

This might be my shortest blog post ever, which is fine by me. 

You're a small business, or a brand of any size.  You have a Facebook Fan Page, an email newsletter and a blog.  Perhaps you're dabbling with Twitter as well, so you're feeling all 'social media groovy' and Web two-point.ooey now.  BUT .... (the inevitable but) to use a football analogy:

You can have a dynamite quarterback, running back and wide receiver, but if your play calling sucks ... if your team is NOT in synch ... then you get the picture.  You can have all the great tools in place, but as head coach of your business, it's up to you to coordinate all of this great talent to win.  

Simple question:  Are your social media and Web 2.0 efforts/tools working in harmony ... producing the conversations, lasting connections and customer illumination you need to increase your bottom line?  In other words, are you winning the social media game, or just showing up?  If you're not, not sure, or even if you are sure (because you might be wrong), give me a ring.

Don't let a customer connection pass you by

The very first thing I do when I visit any business, aside from the business I am there for (grabbing coffee, food, etc), is check to see how they are promoting themselves.  If I'm at the checkout with coffee and delicious pastry in hand, I'm sure to be scanning around to look for signs or business cards or other materials that encourage me to offer feedback, check out the website, become a fan on Facebook, etc.  More often than not I come away thinking "they just don't get it". 

If you're a brick and mortar business loved by numerous customers, you simply must do everything in your power to 'digitally connect' with each customer before they walk out the door.  This can apply to online-only businesses as well.  If someone walks out (or clicks away) a happy customer and they haven't a clue that you have a Facebook Fan Page or Twitter account or e-mail newsletter or online suggestion box (do you have these must-haves?), then you are blowing your chance to stay digitally connected to that customer. 

Once you're connected, all it takes is a simple nudge ... a fleeting glance at a picture you posted on Facebook ... a tweet about some yummy bakery creation ... or a freshly penned (old schol term, eh?) and informative email newsletter, and a consumer is reminded about a place he or she loves.  And that little reminder is all it might take to push that person to visit your business one extra time each week or month.  And if you do the math, it adds up pretty quickly.

Permission marketing is the best kind. Are you giving people the ability to connect with you?