Just as regularly as I get depressed in winter, I am finding myself feeling burnt-out on all things social media for the second summer in a row. Last June I blogged about how I just wasn't feeling like blogging, tweeting, "engaging"--the whole social media shebang--and wondered if it had anything to do with the nice weather. Here we are again and summer has only just begun yet I'm finding myself feeling the same way--just kind of drained and tired of keeping up with all this stuff.
Facebook is about to change privacy settings again--great, so another thing to get up to speed on. I now have four Twitter accounts to stay on top of (only one personal; the other three are for work). Two Facebook pages to manage...not counting my personal profile. Two blogs, although the "fun" one is basically on life support because it just requires more creative energy than I have to keep up two blogs. And about to start a new work one...
Yawn.
The good news is that, when I wrote that post last June I talked about how I had 60 subscribers. A year has passed and now I have 273. Clearly putting in the effort pays off with social media. It would just be nice if it wasn't such a 24/7 endeavor.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
What Your Facebook Page is Worth...To Vitrue
Social media people love them some grading tools--you know, the kind that show you what your Twinfluence or Twitter grade are, or how popular your blog is, or even how good your Foursquare "mojo" is.
So naturally they're all going crazy for Vitrue's "Social Page Evaluator" which allegedly reveals how much a Facebook page is worth. Of course I was curious to see what value the tool assigned to the Facebook Page I manage, so I plugged in the url. According to Vitrue, the Page's main failing is in the Short URL category. This is what the evaluator says about short urls:
Um, since when is the use of short urls is one of the determining factors of a Facebook Page's success? And using bit.ly lets people see your brand's traffic so you should be spending money on a branded url shortner? Hm, wonder if Vitrue is in the business of selling branded urls? (in case you don't want to watch that video, the answer is yes; branded short urls are one of the main selling features of their product).
So basically, the Vitrue Social Page Evaluator is nothing more than an advertisement for their Social Relationship Manager.
a) Who cares whether people can see how many people are clicking on your links (as Vitrue warns can be done if you use bit.ly) and
b) Why does nobody question this whole "tool" disguised as a clever ad for why you need Vitrue's product? Instead, people are gleefully pointing others to this awesome tool that lets you determine the value of your Facebook page! Ok, actually, at least one person does recognize the BS factor of this tool, but most people blindly promote this calculator as if it's not just an ad for Vitrue's product and actually provides a result of some value. Including Mashable, which is disappointing.
So naturally they're all going crazy for Vitrue's "Social Page Evaluator" which allegedly reveals how much a Facebook page is worth. Of course I was curious to see what value the tool assigned to the Facebook Page I manage, so I plugged in the url. According to Vitrue, the Page's main failing is in the Short URL category. This is what the evaluator says about short urls:
URLs should be short and easy to type. Making them that way increases the chance that a visitor will click on them. However, public URL shorteners don't include your brand in the URL, and some services like bit.ly allow the general public to see your brand's traffic!
Um, since when is the use of short urls is one of the determining factors of a Facebook Page's success? And using bit.ly lets people see your brand's traffic so you should be spending money on a branded url shortner? Hm, wonder if Vitrue is in the business of selling branded urls? (in case you don't want to watch that video, the answer is yes; branded short urls are one of the main selling features of their product).
So basically, the Vitrue Social Page Evaluator is nothing more than an advertisement for their Social Relationship Manager.
a) Who cares whether people can see how many people are clicking on your links (as Vitrue warns can be done if you use bit.ly) and
b) Why does nobody question this whole "tool" disguised as a clever ad for why you need Vitrue's product? Instead, people are gleefully pointing others to this awesome tool that lets you determine the value of your Facebook page! Ok, actually, at least one person does recognize the BS factor of this tool, but most people blindly promote this calculator as if it's not just an ad for Vitrue's product and actually provides a result of some value. Including Mashable, which is disappointing.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Contests & Giveaways--Good Idea or Legal Problem?
Everybody likes to win stuff, right? Brands must think so because a cornerstone of social media marketing seems to be the contest: blog giveaways and Facebook contests, in particular. Especially in mom blogging, giveaways seem to be a great idea: brands get the magical juju that being mentioned by a bonifide mom blogger brings--for free--and bloggers get to trade a prize for page views, followers and retweets. Everyone wins, right?
Actually, wrong. Because while bloggers benignly offer "extra entries" if you retweet or subscribe or in some other way promote their blog, they're actually breaking the law. A lottery is defined as having "all three of the following elements: chance, a prize and consideration." Consideration is defined as "anything that requires a participant to expend a monetary amount or significant effort to participate"; however, in the eyes of some states, "any benefit to the promoter is consideration." Certainly an argument could be made that retweets, followers and/or subscribers are beneficial to bloggers, since those are what their value to brands are made of.
How about those Facebook contests big brands like Toyota are spending big bucks on? Bet they don't realize they're also breaking the law by requiring entrants to "like" Toyota Sienna to enter. Funny, they don't disclose that in the official rules, but there it is on the entry page: "Only users who "Like" Toyota Sienna are eligible to enter"
I think a case could be made that requiring an entrant to "like" your brand in order to enter falls under the category of consideration. After all, hasn't the case been made that a Facebook Fan (now "liker") has a cash value?
All I know is that lawyers cost a lot--does the potential ROI of that contest or giveaway take into account possible legal actions against you or your brand for conducting an illegal lottery? (And if anyone decides to sue Toyota for this contest, I want in on your winnings!)
Actually, wrong. Because while bloggers benignly offer "extra entries" if you retweet or subscribe or in some other way promote their blog, they're actually breaking the law. A lottery is defined as having "all three of the following elements: chance, a prize and consideration." Consideration is defined as "anything that requires a participant to expend a monetary amount or significant effort to participate"; however, in the eyes of some states, "any benefit to the promoter is consideration." Certainly an argument could be made that retweets, followers and/or subscribers are beneficial to bloggers, since those are what their value to brands are made of.
How about those Facebook contests big brands like Toyota are spending big bucks on? Bet they don't realize they're also breaking the law by requiring entrants to "like" Toyota Sienna to enter. Funny, they don't disclose that in the official rules, but there it is on the entry page: "Only users who "Like" Toyota Sienna are eligible to enter"
I think a case could be made that requiring an entrant to "like" your brand in order to enter falls under the category of consideration. After all, hasn't the case been made that a Facebook Fan (now "liker") has a cash value?
All I know is that lawyers cost a lot--does the potential ROI of that contest or giveaway take into account possible legal actions against you or your brand for conducting an illegal lottery? (And if anyone decides to sue Toyota for this contest, I want in on your winnings!)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Should You Quit Your Job if the Boss Doesn't "Get" Social Media
The title of this post caught my eye: Is C-suite rejection of social media reason for you to quit?
I actually did quit my job pretty much for this exact reason. If you know me or follow this blog you'll recall I left my job last fall, due in large part to the frustration of being one of the only social media Kool-aid drinkers on staff. You'll also recall that after 3 weeks I realized I'd made a mistake and asked for my job back.
Being a "change agent" isn't fun and it sure isn't easy. Being the one--or one of few--social media believers in a sea of people who would love nothing better than to see this social media "fad" fade into obscurity once and for all, for lack of a better word, sucks. At best your ideas are ignored; at worst, you're subjected to hostile comments from coworkers who don't like that you're pushing for a change in the "way we've always done it."
But should you quit? Maybe. But maybe it's worth sticking it out. Each person has their own level of tolerance and patience--maybe you have it in you to be the person to take your organization to the next level.
Need inspiration? Or a reminder that you're not the only one struggling with this same problem?
Your turn--do you have any words of wisdom to add? How do you know when it's worth it to stick it out versus not worth your time or effort?
I actually did quit my job pretty much for this exact reason. If you know me or follow this blog you'll recall I left my job last fall, due in large part to the frustration of being one of the only social media Kool-aid drinkers on staff. You'll also recall that after 3 weeks I realized I'd made a mistake and asked for my job back.
Being a "change agent" isn't fun and it sure isn't easy. Being the one--or one of few--social media believers in a sea of people who would love nothing better than to see this social media "fad" fade into obscurity once and for all, for lack of a better word, sucks. At best your ideas are ignored; at worst, you're subjected to hostile comments from coworkers who don't like that you're pushing for a change in the "way we've always done it."
But should you quit? Maybe. But maybe it's worth sticking it out. Each person has their own level of tolerance and patience--maybe you have it in you to be the person to take your organization to the next level.
Need inspiration? Or a reminder that you're not the only one struggling with this same problem?
Your turn--do you have any words of wisdom to add? How do you know when it's worth it to stick it out versus not worth your time or effort?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
How Far is Too Far to Bend Over for Social Media?
Maybe I just have a hard heart but the following exchange just makes me tired. Long story short: a blogger wrote about how his 8 year-old son who LOVES drawing airplanes sent a drawing and a letter to Boeing, asking them if they'd like to build his plane for real. The kid received a form letter from Boeing written in corporate-speak. The dad was torn about whether or not to show the kid the letter. Fair enough.
Then the dad blogged about how the entire world was apparently affronted by this horrible treatment of a little boy's dreams. The result was news coverage, an invitation for the kid to host a "design your own airplane show" and a public apology from Boeing to the boy, his dad and the world for this inhumane gaffe:
Because, you know, Boeing staff and execs have nothing better to do than sit around and craft special responses to kids who send in drawings.
I don't know which part of this offends me most: the "kids are so fragile and deserve to be treated like royalty" message this whole thing screams, the weirdly blown out of proportion response from Boeing, how something stupid like this somehow merits national media coverage, or the fact that this is apparently an example of how companies are expected to behave now that people can complain in public forums. Seriously? This is what companies are supposed to be spending time, effort and money on in the name of "social media monitoring"?
Don't get me wrong--it's not like I don't do my share of complaining about stuff online, and it's also not like I don't get that brands are hypervigilant about triaging complaints made by "influentials." I guess I really just don't think Boeing did anything horrible by not getting down at eye level and smiling into the 8 year-old's face while handing him a balloon and, instead, sent him the same form letter they send every person who sends a picture of a plane they think Boeing should design. That's just life.
Then the dad blogged about how the entire world was apparently affronted by this horrible treatment of a little boy's dreams. The result was news coverage, an invitation for the kid to host a "design your own airplane show" and a public apology from Boeing to the boy, his dad and the world for this inhumane gaffe:
The letter Mr. Winsor posted is, as he said, a required response. For kids, we can do better. We'll work on it. @BoeingAirplanes
The Boeing Company
BoeingCorporate
Because, you know, Boeing staff and execs have nothing better to do than sit around and craft special responses to kids who send in drawings.
I don't know which part of this offends me most: the "kids are so fragile and deserve to be treated like royalty" message this whole thing screams, the weirdly blown out of proportion response from Boeing, how something stupid like this somehow merits national media coverage, or the fact that this is apparently an example of how companies are expected to behave now that people can complain in public forums. Seriously? This is what companies are supposed to be spending time, effort and money on in the name of "social media monitoring"?
Don't get me wrong--it's not like I don't do my share of complaining about stuff online, and it's also not like I don't get that brands are hypervigilant about triaging complaints made by "influentials." I guess I really just don't think Boeing did anything horrible by not getting down at eye level and smiling into the 8 year-old's face while handing him a balloon and, instead, sent him the same form letter they send every person who sends a picture of a plane they think Boeing should design. That's just life.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Association Social Media Staffing
It's Friday night and I REALLY should be doing something other than blogging...but I happened to leaf through the Association Buyers' Guide (can't link to it b/c it's not online yet--if it's posted I'll come back and update with link) to an article called "WatsNxt4Tech?" According to the article "Today's top trend in association technology? Hands down, it's social media." This supports one of the main findings of NTEN's 2010 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report that I blogged about the other day: "one-half of organizations indicate that they will increase employee staffing related to commercial social networks in the coming 12 months."
The article goes on to talk about the importance of hiring the right kind of person to ensure the success of their social media endeavors, and how "more times than not, associations' social media attempts leave visitors searching for real value" because "many organizations simply plopped the community manager role onto a communications person's already-full plate and hoped for the best."
Here's the thing: if, as the article asserts "we've fully entered the time of mass adoption [of social media], and the key to success is hiring someone with the right skills and experience to drive an associations' social media and online community initiatives...where are the salary benchmarks associations need to attract and keep qualified candidates?
I've blogged about this issue so often that if you Google "social media salaries" or "social media manager salary", my posts appear in the top 3 results. Yes, I am known to obsess over certain issues...and this is one of them.
Here's the thing: when new association jobs are created, the salaries are determined by benchmarking the position against similar positions in the association world. Right now, ASAE does not have any benchmarks for social media/community management jobs. Benchmarks do exist: read my other posts about the various social media and community management salary surveys that have been conducted over the past 2 years. However, association social media salaries don't even come CLOSE to the average salary reported in those surveys. Or, I should say, MY salary and the few other salaries I know of other association social media professionals don't come close.
I'll get to the point so we can all go on with our Friday evenings: ASAE, PLEASE put your money where your mouth is. Yes, social media is a growing trend, one associations can no longer ignore and need to start staffing for. PLEASE develop some kind of salary benchmarks for the position. If you don't, associations will continue to want to pay coordinator-level salaries and expect director-level strategy, continuous learning as social media changes on an almost daily basis, and much more than a 9-5 commitment to real-time social media monitoring and responsiveness.
Ok, I am stepping away from the keyboard now...
The article goes on to talk about the importance of hiring the right kind of person to ensure the success of their social media endeavors, and how "more times than not, associations' social media attempts leave visitors searching for real value" because "many organizations simply plopped the community manager role onto a communications person's already-full plate and hoped for the best."
Here's the thing: if, as the article asserts "we've fully entered the time of mass adoption [of social media], and the key to success is hiring someone with the right skills and experience to drive an associations' social media and online community initiatives...where are the salary benchmarks associations need to attract and keep qualified candidates?
I've blogged about this issue so often that if you Google "social media salaries" or "social media manager salary", my posts appear in the top 3 results. Yes, I am known to obsess over certain issues...and this is one of them.
Here's the thing: when new association jobs are created, the salaries are determined by benchmarking the position against similar positions in the association world. Right now, ASAE does not have any benchmarks for social media/community management jobs. Benchmarks do exist: read my other posts about the various social media and community management salary surveys that have been conducted over the past 2 years. However, association social media salaries don't even come CLOSE to the average salary reported in those surveys. Or, I should say, MY salary and the few other salaries I know of other association social media professionals don't come close.
I'll get to the point so we can all go on with our Friday evenings: ASAE, PLEASE put your money where your mouth is. Yes, social media is a growing trend, one associations can no longer ignore and need to start staffing for. PLEASE develop some kind of salary benchmarks for the position. If you don't, associations will continue to want to pay coordinator-level salaries and expect director-level strategy, continuous learning as social media changes on an almost daily basis, and much more than a 9-5 commitment to real-time social media monitoring and responsiveness.
Ok, I am stepping away from the keyboard now...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
How to Embed a Tweet in a Blog Post
I saw this on Kami Huyse's blog, Communication Overtones, and had to give it a try.
Here are her instructions for embedding a tweet in your blog:
Step-by-Step Instructions for Inserting an Embeddable Tweet:
I don't love how this looks with the frame of background around the tweet, but it's easier than snagging screenshots, saving them, then uploading them into a blog post.
Here are her instructions for embedding a tweet in your blog:
Step-by-Step Instructions for Inserting an Embeddable Tweet:
- Choose the Tweet you want to use on the Web by clicking on its timestamp
- Copy the unique URL for the Tweet
- Go to the Blackberry Pie tool on Twitter’s Media Site
- Paste the URL in the box under the Blackberry Pie Header
- Click “Bake It”
- Once the code is generated, it is pretty long, copy and open your blogging platform.
- Go to the HTML view and past the code
- Write something intelligent, witty or otherwise interesting around the quote
- Tweet the person that you quoted to let them know that you did
- See? It is easy as pie – Blackberry Pie!
Um, how did my blog go from having 1 "liker" (me) to 24 likers all the sudden? I just noticed that.
maggielmcg
maggielmcg
I don't love how this looks with the frame of background around the tweet, but it's easier than snagging screenshots, saving them, then uploading them into a blog post.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Social Media Staffing, Malaise and Drama
I'm having writer's block this week for some reason, but am also having blogging withdrawals. So I need to post something. In no particular order here are some things I would blog about but can't get past a few half-baked sentences so will just stick with links/random comments:
- Yesterday I was reading NTEN's 2010 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report and was drawn to one particular finding in the executive summary: "one-half of organizations indicate that they will increase employee staffing related to commercial social networks in the coming 12 months." I sure hope this means that ASAE plans to provide some sort of salary benchmark for social media positions sometime soon, because you know I'm still stuck on that whole issue.
- In that same vein (sort of) I loved this post about what to do when you lose your social media enthusiasm.
- Again, in that same vein, I also loved this open letter to companies planning online communities. All the organizations who, according to NTEN's survey, are planning on staffing up their online community efforts need to read this post before they hire. Points to pay particular attention to:
- Make sure your community manager is empowered. You won’t have a successful online community if your community manager has to get approval for any comment or post they make within the community.
- You need to be willing and able to change as a company – if your online community is successful you’ll have access to a huge amount of information and feedback. You’ll get to know your customers intimately – make sure you change in response to what you’re learning, otherwise the whole exercise is pointless.
- Building an online community signals your commitment to becoming far more customer focused. If you’re unwilling to change, if you’re unwilling to be more open, if you’re unwilling to be more ‘human’, then an online community probably isn’t for you.
- Not really related to the same issues but interesting nonetheless: lots of drama in the blog ad world this week. Bloggers suing Blogher ad network for breach of contract; Blogher ads claiming the blogger's claims against them are false; Federated Media's employees trolling around using nasty/laughable nicknames. Makes me glad I stopped running ads on my blog.
- Harvard Law Review calls FTC Blogger Guidelines unconstitutional. Really?
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