Image - NY Tix

As we head into the final days of the 2009 calendar year, all of us – in some way, shape, or form – will set some sort of resolution for the New Year.  Many of these resolutions will be broken, like giving up boozing, smoking, working at a dead end job or going back to school, but that doesn’t mean that they are meritless. This year could be considered the year that social media entered the mainstream, so here are some suggestions that can be worked on by individuals and brands.

For Businesses

Despite the notion that sites like Twitter and Facebook were built for nerds who have no social skills and live in their parents’ basements, these networks hold a ton of value for companies. They are an untapped resource for marketers – a wild west, if you will – in which everyone is looking to place a stake and monetize. On the flip side, for PR, Brand and Customer Service folks, they are an opportunity to extend an olive branch and embrace your community. With that said, there needs to be a synergy between communication and sales and companies must have a well constructed social media road map to achieve true success in 2010.  Here are a few ways to ring in the New Year right:

• Care – This one word may sound simple and easy to digest, it hasn’t been for the most part. Sit back and listen instead of putting on a dog and pony show about caring about your customers.  The conversations are going on with or without you – for free. Why not consider what is being said about you? These platforms offer real-time focus groups that can tell you what is going on with your brand and how to improve it. Opening up and admitting that your company is not perfect all of the time, shows a human side and will often build up brand ambassadors.
• ‘Tis Better to Give than Receive – As previously mentioned, social media is one ongoing conversation. With that in mind show your constituents that you care. This is as easy as retweeting one of their posts, commenting on a blog or just answering one of their questions.
• It’s not going away – Remember blogs? Weren’t they a fad that was going away? Learn from history and get involved before it is too late and you’re playing catch up. It is OK to take baby steps, no one is perfect and even the best in the industry have had some hiccups.
• It’s not email –The CAN-SPAM Act does not apply to the realm of social media, but that doesn’t mean you should blast out a sale or deal every five minutes. Think of the realm of social media as a big cocktail party with no cover charge. Do you really want to be the guy who is just there to hawk their wares? Didn’t think so.  The best way to keep your customers engaged in the conversation is to interact with them and utilize a soft sell.

For Individuals or Personal Brands

Perhaps the second largest phenomenon in 2009 aside from social media was the emergence of the personal brand. While this notion may have seemed crazy in the beginning of 2009, it made more and more sense as the breadcrumbs left on social sites and blogs led to personal followings and groups. The internet has provided endless ways for everyone to promote their own brand and we should take better advantage of them.

• Drop the Labels – Take a look at the Chris Brogans, Jason Falls’ and Brian Solis’ of the social media space and their profiles. Notice that the words expert, maven, guru, and ninja are not present, despite their expertise and massive followings. Why is it in your profile? With the New Year coming in a matter of days, log into your account and delete this waste of character space. No one will hold it against you. Whether your clients bought into the hype that you were selling or if they haven’t yet, wouldn’t it look more professional to replace those clichés with something like Social Media Practitioner or Social Media Consultant? Tags are useless unless you can back them up. Forget about your ninja skills and come up with your own thoughts.
• Sharing is Caring – Much like the business mention above (giving over receiving), it is important to interact
  

  Image - IHasAHotDog

  with your community. No one likes a braggart. For every link that you blast out redirecting to your content, pass along four or five links from people in your community. Like a brand over selling, over promoting yourself will lead to you being on the outside looking in. Interact, build conversations and help your community when you can. It’s about the people and the shared knowledge not just you.

• Break the Flying V – Remember the original Mighty Ducks movie where Emilio Estevez’ team broke into the flying V (like ducks) to take home the win? Well forget that. Ducks stay in their formation to make their flight as easy as possible. They all fall into place year after year. Don’t do this. You’re an individual so it’s good to buck the trend and disagree, if you will, with the status quo. For example, if you are engaged in a community, forum or group it is OK to chime in with your opinion if you disagree with a post or comment. This isn’t a license to be rude or combative.  Be respectful and you’ll gain respect.

While these might seem like common sense changes to make over the course of the year, it will be interesting to see how our online presence and actions are altered in 2010. Personally, I am going to try to carry over the Christmas theme throughout the year by giving more than I receive while expanding my online portfolio. What will you be doing differently?

Image - NY Tix

As we head into the final days of the 2009 calendar year, all of us – in some way, shape, or form – will set some sort of resolution for the New Year.  Many of these resolutions will be broken, like giving up boozing, smoking, working at a dead end job or going back to school, but that doesn’t mean that they are meritless. This year could be considered the year that social media entered the mainstream, so here are some suggestions that can be worked on by individuals and brands.

For Businesses

Despite the notion that sites like Twitter and Facebook were built for nerds who have no social skills and live in their parents’ basements, these networks hold a ton of value for companies. They are an untapped resource for marketers – a wild west, if you will – in which everyone is looking to place a stake and monetize. On the flip side, for PR, Brand and Customer Service folks, they are an opportunity to extend an olive branch and embrace your community. With that said, there needs to be a synergy between communication and sales and companies must have a well constructed social media road map to achieve true success in 2010.  Here are a few ways to ring in the New Year right:

• Care – This one word may sound simple and easy to digest, it hasn’t been for the most part. Sit back and listen instead of putting on a dog and pony show about caring about your customers.  The conversations are going on with or without you – for free. Why not consider what is being said about you? These platforms offer real-time focus groups that can tell you what is going on with your brand and how to improve it. Opening up and admitting that your company is not perfect all of the time, shows a human side and will often build up brand ambassadors.
• ‘Tis Better to Give than Receive – As previously mentioned, social media is one ongoing conversation. With that in mind show your constituents that you care. This is as easy as retweeting one of their posts, commenting on a blog or just answering one of their questions.
• It’s not going away – Remember blogs? Weren’t they a fad that was going away? Learn from history and get involved before it is too late and you’re playing catch up. It is OK to take baby steps, no one is perfect and even the best in the industry have had some hiccups.
• It’s not email –The CAN-SPAM Act does not apply to the realm of social media, but that doesn’t mean you should blast out a sale or deal every five minutes. Think of the realm of social media as a big cocktail party with no cover charge. Do you really want to be the guy who is just there to hawk their wares? Didn’t think so.  The best way to keep your customers engaged in the conversation is to interact with them and utilize a soft sell.

For Individuals or Personal Brands

Perhaps the second largest phenomenon in 2009 aside from social media was the emergence of the personal brand. While this notion may have seemed crazy in the beginning of 2009, it made more and more sense as the breadcrumbs left on social sites and blogs led to personal followings and groups. The internet has provided endless ways for everyone to promote their own brand and we should take better advantage of them.

• Drop the Labels – Take a look at the Chris Brogans, Jason Falls’ and Brian Solis’ of the social media space and their profiles. Notice that the words expert, maven, guru, and ninja are not present, despite their expertise and massive followings. Why is it in your profile? With the New Year coming in a matter of days, log into your account and delete this waste of character space. No one will hold it against you. Whether your clients bought into the hype that you were selling or if they haven’t yet, wouldn’t it look more professional to replace those clichés with something like Social Media Practitioner or Social Media Consultant? Tags are useless unless you can back them up. Forget about your ninja skills and come up with your own thoughts.
• Sharing is Caring – Much like the business mention above (giving over receiving), it is important to interact
  

  Image - IHasAHotDog

  with your community. No one likes a braggart. For every link that you blast out redirecting to your content, pass along four or five links from people in your community. Like a brand over selling, over promoting yourself will lead to you being on the outside looking in. Interact, build conversations and help your community when you can. It’s about the people and the shared knowledge not just you.

• Break the Flying V – Remember the original Mighty Ducks movie where Emilio Estevez’ team broke into the flying V (like ducks) to take home the win? Well forget that. Ducks stay in their formation to make their flight as easy as possible. They all fall into place year after year. Don’t do this. You’re an individual so it’s good to buck the trend and disagree, if you will, with the status quo. For example, if you are engaged in a community, forum or group it is OK to chime in with your opinion if you disagree with a post or comment. This isn’t a license to be rude or combative.  Be respectful and you’ll gain respect.

While these might seem like common sense changes to make over the course of the year, it will be interesting to see how our online presence and actions are altered in 2010. Personally, I am going to try to carry over the Christmas theme throughout the year by giving more than I receive while expanding my online portfolio. What will you be doing differently?

Image - NY Tix

As we head into the final days of the 2009 calendar year, all of us – in some way, shape, or form – will set some sort of resolution for the New Year.  Many of these resolutions will be broken, like giving up boozing, smoking, working at a dead end job or going back to school, but that doesn’t mean that they are meritless. This year could be considered the year that social media entered the mainstream, so here are some suggestions that can be worked on by individuals and brands.

For Businesses

Despite the notion that sites like Twitter and Facebook were built for nerds who have no social skills and live in their parents’ basements, these networks hold a ton of value for companies. They are an untapped resource for marketers – a wild west, if you will – in which everyone is looking to place a stake and monetize. On the flip side, for PR, Brand and Customer Service folks, they are an opportunity to extend an olive branch and embrace your community. With that said, there needs to be a synergy between communication and sales and companies must have a well constructed social media road map to achieve true success in 2010.  Here are a few ways to ring in the New Year right:

• Care – This one word may sound simple and easy to digest, it hasn’t been for the most part. Sit back and listen instead of putting on a dog and pony show about caring about your customers.  The conversations are going on with or without you – for free. Why not consider what is being said about you? These platforms offer real-time focus groups that can tell you what is going on with your brand and how to improve it. Opening up and admitting that your company is not perfect all of the time, shows a human side and will often build up brand ambassadors.
• ‘Tis Better to Give than Receive – As previously mentioned, social media is one ongoing conversation. With that in mind show your constituents that you care. This is as easy as retweeting one of their posts, commenting on a blog or just answering one of their questions.
• It’s not going away – Remember blogs? Weren’t they a fad that was going away? Learn from history and get involved before it is too late and you’re playing catch up. It is OK to take baby steps, no one is perfect and even the best in the industry have had some hiccups.
• It’s not email –The CAN-SPAM Act does not apply to the realm of social media, but that doesn’t mean you should blast out a sale or deal every five minutes. Think of the realm of social media as a big cocktail party with no cover charge. Do you really want to be the guy who is just there to hawk their wares? Didn’t think so.  The best way to keep your customers engaged in the conversation is to interact with them and utilize a soft sell.

For Individuals or Personal Brands

Perhaps the second largest phenomenon in 2009 aside from social media was the emergence of the personal brand. While this notion may have seemed crazy in the beginning of 2009, it made more and more sense as the breadcrumbs left on social sites and blogs led to personal followings and groups. The internet has provided endless ways for everyone to promote their own brand and we should take better advantage of them.

• Drop the Labels – Take a look at the Chris Brogans, Jason Falls’ and Brian Solis’ of the social media space and their profiles. Notice that the words expert, maven, guru, and ninja are not present, despite their expertise and massive followings. Why is it in your profile? With the New Year coming in a matter of days, log into your account and delete this waste of character space. No one will hold it against you. Whether your clients bought into the hype that you were selling or if they haven’t yet, wouldn’t it look more professional to replace those clichés with something like Social Media Practitioner or Social Media Consultant? Tags are useless unless you can back them up. Forget about your ninja skills and come up with your own thoughts.
• Sharing is Caring – Much like the business mention above (giving over receiving), it is important to interact
  

  Image - IHasAHotDog

  with your community. No one likes a braggart. For every link that you blast out redirecting to your content, pass along four or five links from people in your community. Like a brand over selling, over promoting yourself will lead to you being on the outside looking in. Interact, build conversations and help your community when you can. It’s about the people and the shared knowledge not just you.

• Break the Flying V – Remember the original Mighty Ducks movie where Emilio Estevez’ team broke into the flying V (like ducks) to take home the win? Well forget that. Ducks stay in their formation to make their flight as easy as possible. They all fall into place year after year. Don’t do this. You’re an individual so it’s good to buck the trend and disagree, if you will, with the status quo. For example, if you are engaged in a community, forum or group it is OK to chime in with your opinion if you disagree with a post or comment. This isn’t a license to be rude or combative.  Be respectful and you’ll gain respect.

While these might seem like common sense changes to make over the course of the year, it will be interesting to see how our online presence and actions are altered in 2010. Personally, I am going to try to carry over the Christmas theme throughout the year by giving more than I receive while expanding my online portfolio. What will you be doing differently?

Image - NY Tix

As we head into the final days of the 2009 calendar year, all of us – in some way, shape, or form – will set some sort of resolution for the New Year.  Many of these resolutions will be broken, like giving up boozing, smoking, working at a dead end job or going back to school, but that doesn’t mean that they are meritless. This year could be considered the year that social media entered the mainstream, so here are some suggestions that can be worked on by individuals and brands.

For Businesses

Despite the notion that sites like Twitter and Facebook were built for nerds who have no social skills and live in their parents’ basements, these networks hold a ton of value for companies. They are an untapped resource for marketers – a wild west, if you will – in which everyone is looking to place a stake and monetize. On the flip side, for PR, Brand and Customer Service folks, they are an opportunity to extend an olive branch and embrace your community. With that said, there needs to be a synergy between communication and sales and companies must have a well constructed social media road map to achieve true success in 2010.  Here are a few ways to ring in the New Year right:

• Care – This one word may sound simple and easy to digest, it hasn’t been for the most part. Sit back and listen instead of putting on a dog and pony show about caring about your customers.  The conversations are going on with or without you – for free. Why not consider what is being said about you? These platforms offer real-time focus groups that can tell you what is going on with your brand and how to improve it. Opening up and admitting that your company is not perfect all of the time, shows a human side and will often build up brand ambassadors.
• ‘Tis Better to Give than Receive – As previously mentioned, social media is one ongoing conversation. With that in mind show your constituents that you care. This is as easy as retweeting one of their posts, commenting on a blog or just answering one of their questions.
• It’s not going away – Remember blogs? Weren’t they a fad that was going away? Learn from history and get involved before it is too late and you’re playing catch up. It is OK to take baby steps, no one is perfect and even the best in the industry have had some hiccups.
• It’s not email –The CAN-SPAM Act does not apply to the realm of social media, but that doesn’t mean you should blast out a sale or deal every five minutes. Think of the realm of social media as a big cocktail party with no cover charge. Do you really want to be the guy who is just there to hawk their wares? Didn’t think so.  The best way to keep your customers engaged in the conversation is to interact with them and utilize a soft sell.

For Individuals or Personal Brands

Perhaps the second largest phenomenon in 2009 aside from social media was the emergence of the personal brand. While this notion may have seemed crazy in the beginning of 2009, it made more and more sense as the breadcrumbs left on social sites and blogs led to personal followings and groups. The internet has provided endless ways for everyone to promote their own brand and we should take better advantage of them.

• Drop the Labels – Take a look at the Chris Brogans, Jason Falls’ and Brian Solis’ of the social media space and their profiles. Notice that the words expert, maven, guru, and ninja are not present, despite their expertise and massive followings. Why is it in your profile? With the New Year coming in a matter of days, log into your account and delete this waste of character space. No one will hold it against you. Whether your clients bought into the hype that you were selling or if they haven’t yet, wouldn’t it look more professional to replace those clichés with something like Social Media Practitioner or Social Media Consultant? Tags are useless unless you can back them up. Forget about your ninja skills and come up with your own thoughts.
• Sharing is Caring – Much like the business mention above (giving over receiving), it is important to interact
  

  Image - IHasAHotDog

  with your community. No one likes a braggart. For every link that you blast out redirecting to your content, pass along four or five links from people in your community. Like a brand over selling, over promoting yourself will lead to you being on the outside looking in. Interact, build conversations and help your community when you can. It’s about the people and the shared knowledge not just you.

• Break the Flying V – Remember the original Mighty Ducks movie where Emilio Estevez’ team broke into the flying V (like ducks) to take home the win? Well forget that. Ducks stay in their formation to make their flight as easy as possible. They all fall into place year after year. Don’t do this. You’re an individual so it’s good to buck the trend and disagree, if you will, with the status quo. For example, if you are engaged in a community, forum or group it is OK to chime in with your opinion if you disagree with a post or comment. This isn’t a license to be rude or combative.  Be respectful and you’ll gain respect.

While these might seem like common sense changes to make over the course of the year, it will be interesting to see how our online presence and actions are altered in 2010. Personally, I am going to try to carry over the Christmas theme throughout the year by giving more than I receive while expanding my online portfolio. What will you be doing differently?