Magic Satchel, Inc. » internet demographics

Social Media: You have to jump in even if you don’t understand it

Kim — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:10:17 +0000

I know everyone is tired of the “what is social media” question, but I found this article to be a great quick-and-dirty argument for embracing social media as it happens. It really nails down how the internet became an essential part of business (apparently sometime in late 1997) and concrete examples of how companies jumped in or got left behind.

It’s not just about having a site, or even having a good site- what you say and how you interact with clients, customers and other businesses always, consistently- that is what now defines your brand. Before we had cameras, image wasn’t as important. Now that the Internet is what it is, it’s crucial to manage the perception of you, your brand and your company, or someone else will end up doing it for you.

It may seem like a lot more work (though it really doesn’t have to be) but it’s really amazing how many levels you can reach people on with the widespread usage of social media.

In a test run by BazaarVoice, Rubbermaid discovered that adding customer reviews to their website increased sales and decreased returns of their products. Skeptics said sales of low-rated products would crater. What actually happened is that sales of low-rated products increased. When shoppers were questioned, they explained that when they read why someone else maligned the product, often they disagreed or didn’t care about that particular problem. If the price was right, it was worth buying anyway.

Why you have to engage in social media, even if you don’t want to.

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But I Don’t Have Time For (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…)

Kim — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:12:40 +0000

One of the most interesting and valuable-to-me blogs I read is The Fluent Self. Authored by a woman named Havi and her promiscuous duck, this blog provides great intellectual and business insights in such a way that it feels like your best friend is gently but honestly nudging you in the right direction.

This particular post on what happens when you dismiss social networking is an excellent read. When you’re using social media to network, there are always people who chime in and knock your efforts. But anyone who has met their favorite client or landed a great project that way isn’t usually so skeptical. The fact remains that much of our networking and social business efforts have moved, for better or worse, to cyberspace.

Havi breaks down the efficiency of working social media into your marketing and networking strategy, and even details some distinctions a newbie might not pick up on, such as the near impossibility of keeping a Facebook profile business-worthy. (Unless you plan on denying friend requests from classmates and relatives, it’s probably best to file Facebook under “just mainly for fun.”) Also addressed is the seemingly universal phenomenon of “I’m on LinkedIn, now what?” with the caveat of knowing someone who uses it a lot. Lastly, it’s a great post to re-read when you feel like you’re having too much fun with social media.

Sayeth Havi:

Let’s see then. So as far as I can tell your other options are:

Spend half an hour a day leaving smart, insightful comments on other people’s blogs. No, wait. That actually takes longer.

Spend three hours a week crafting careful, deliberate, strategic letters to other bloggers trying to convince them to let you guest post there. And then another few hours writing said guest posts. No, wait. That actually takes longer.

Go to two live networking events each week. Let’s see, each thing is probably at least two hours, plus another hour to get there and find parking.
Plus another hour to shower and decide what the hell you’re going to wear. Plus another hour to transfer the contact information from people’s business cards into your [whatever you use for that]. Hmmmm. 8-10 hours a week. I’m going to go out on a limb and say: that actually takes longer.

And there’s no guarantee that any of those people you meet will end up reading your blog or leaving comments or buying stuff from you, so it’s not only a large investment of your time and energy, it’s also a huge risk.

But I get it. Not everyone has five minutes to hang out and goof off online.

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Web 2.0 & Your Company

Kim — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:33:33 +0000

Instead of sending online shoppers coupons or information about sales, executives and employees at Henderson, Nev.-based Zappos.com regularly tweet about what happens to them at the airport, the fact that they eat marshmallows in between phone calls and the state of the economy.

This article in the New York Times is so informational, I can barely summarize it without re-posting it in its entirety. The most valuable points make the case for overcoming your concerns about social media (like that line from When Harry Met Sally- “it’s out there!“) with the indisputable value of a direct connection with clients, customers and networks.

“You can buy the same shirts at Zappos as at somewhere else. The product almost becomes less important; it becomes about the business.”

via Web 2.0 tools can foster growth in hard times – NYTimes.com.

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My Edict on Twitter Sins

Kim — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:28:46 +0000

So, I’ve been active on Twitter for an entire 50 days now. What’s that in Twitter years? And being the old Twitter salt I now am, I am entitled to list my top Twitter pet peeves. So here they are, not in any order of importance.

Excessively Retweeting Yourself: “In case you missed it.” I didn’t miss it, I ignored it the last seven times because it was boring.
Want To Know…?: Yes, I do before I open the link- you have a whopping 140 characters. Use them! I’m tired of being sent to real estate investment sites masked as something newsworthy.
Leetspeek grammar: Maybe it’s because I’m rapidly approaching 30, but my professional opinion of you drops significantly if you spell “you” as “u.”
Auto-anything: The usefulness and core premise of Twitter is greatly diminished by bots. If you don’t have the time to say it, I don’t have the time to read it. Automated anything is Twitter cheating!
Disembodied Chest Avatars: Your userpic is about 25% the size of a matchbook. Even if I wanted to check out your pecs (which I don’t) this is hardly the best medium. This is Twitter, not Hot or Not.
Secrets and Lies: I’ve seen many a tweet promising to unlock the secret of social media, Twitter, blogging, finding graphics and getting the perfect latte. Guess how many of these Tweets contained actual useful information? Zero. And besides, once you say it on Twitter it’s not a secret anymore, so quit it.
You’re Not Who You Quote: One or two inspirational quotes are fine. Culling all your content from Wikiquote? Not so much.
Dry Tweeting: In order for you not to put me to sleep in 140 characters or less, I want some dynamic content. Just as irritating as the constant updaters with little thought behind their tweets are the Twitter cold fish- it’s just as boring to only talk business on Twitter as it is in real life. Personality is important in this format- don’t be afraid to tweet something besides links to your blog or your site. Contribute!

This post would not be complete without including the “fail whale.”

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The Comprehensive Guide for the Twitter Newbie

Kim — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:07:47 +0000

What exactly *is* Twitter? And why do I need to use it?

I get this question from clients a lot. The other part of the Twitter question seems rooted in misconception. No wants to read you liveblogging your lunch! Until not too long ago, I was one of the people that didn’t really “get” Twitter.

Then I transitioned to virtual business. All of my fellow Virtual Assistants lauded Twitter for its abilities to connect you with people relevant to all areas of your business. I still didn’t really get it. Are potential clients interested in my lunch?

Then I started Tweeting. It was awkward at first- I wondered if my re-tweets looked funny, or if my links were interesting. It’s like all of the apprehension when you first blog, but Twitter-sized portions.

Twitter is the kind of thing you have to just jump into to really understand. Like many web-based trends, the benefits become apparent pretty quickly, and Tweeting gets easier when you build a relevant base of following/followers.

I came across this fantastic piece from the Wall Street Journal on Twitter. It covers a lot of the basics tenets of optimizing your Twitter energy. If you don’t feel like reading the piece, these were the points I found most impactful.

But I have to admit I didn’t understand the appeal of Twitter when I joined, at the prodding of friends, in November. One answer that explains its popularity: It’s not about chatting with your friends — it’s about promoting yourself.

I’d say it’s almost more accurate to say you’re cross-promoting. Twitter gives you ample opportunity to build professional relationships that are mutually beneficial.

So I asked a few colleagues for their Twitter addresses and began following them. I also searched their public lists of followers and who they followed.

This is a great tip- it sounds obvious, but use the “Find People” function and search.twitter.com. Look for people you know, public figures you admire, trade organizations. This is where a lot of your Twitter content will stem from.

I discovered that a better way to get followers was to tweet. Every time I tweeted, I got a surge of followers.

A thousand times yes- Twitter only really works for you if you’re participating.

To understand the medium, I studied others’ tweets. Former Time magazine writer Ana Marie Cox’s tweets are a poetic mix of moments like this: “Afternoon walk. Beautiful day, I now see.”

Another good way to get going is reading the Tweets of those you admire. While you may have a different Twitter style, it’s the best way to get familiar with the <140 concept.

The article goes on to link to a blog post by the much-followed Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Hsieh makes a great case for how Twitter can be used to strengthen your message and your brand- but an even better example is his Twitter feed.

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Welcome to the age of Gigonomics

Kim — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:14:43 +0000

Interesting piece on Web Worker Daily on how smart talent is adapting hard and fast to the changing economy and career trajectory they inevitably face. This post dubs the phenomenon “Giganomics.”

Most of the web workers I know tend to be college educated people with reasonably good incomes, and I suspect that most of the people described in the group above are web workers. Many web workers, and I include myself in this group, would never have become freelancers or otherwise left traditional jobs to telecommute from home without the rise of ubiquitous online technology. Fifteen years ago, many of the careers that web workers now enjoy didn’t even exist or would not have been possible given the technology available prior to the early to mid-1990s. While some early versions of the technologies we now take for granted existed back then, the adoption was still very low. Many companies weren’t online at all, and email was used by some people, but not everyone.

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Via Twitter, why being a WAHM is bad

Kim — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:19:29 +0000

I see this a lot, in real life and online. There’s a local hair salon with a ridiculous name. I won’t mention it for obvious reasons, but every time I pass it, I think about how silly the name is. That, and their “Grand Opening” sign was misspelled and displayed for months.

While I was skimming the local paper last week, I came across the salon’s half page ad. Half of the half page ad was devoted to explaining the business name- I’m guessing they get that question a lot. Valuable ad space-paid for ad space- that could be talking up the business was instead devoted to something completely unrelated to what the business will do for you. Customers don’t care about your business name, your kids, or much outside the value and service you being to them. Which brings me to this video.

Virtual Assistants are, in my unscientific observations, largely female. Many proudly boast of being work-at-home moms, or WAHMs. Being able to juggle a life and a successful business is noteworthy, but not to your clients. If anything, it communicates to them that your priority may not be their business. And that is bad, bad, bad.

So before you go tagging and boxing yourself, take a look at this clip and really think about your message. Is it relevant to the service or product you offer? I’m really, really into the guacamole from Chipotle. I could eat it daily, on almost everything savory I eat. However, nowhere in my marketing materials do I mention guacamole.

Scott Stratten on Why Being a WAHM is Bad for Business from Jessica Knows on Vimeo.

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Memes 101: The Internet’s 99 Greatest Hits

Kim — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:23:49 +0000

Via Time.com, a list of 99 pop-culture reference points since the internet became memetic. Just in case someone, somewhere is still Rick Rolling anyone.

Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You’re a Loser or Old or Something. (Warning: links may contain some off-color language, questionable humor, and seriously poor aesthetic judgment.)

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Twitter for Newbies: Tweep It Out!

Kim — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:52:37 +0000

I will admit it- even as an early adopter, I was slow to “get” Twitter. My account sat dormant and silent for months, and when I came across Twitter-related news, I kind of glazed over. But fellow VAs (thankfully) kept banging on about it, and I started knocking around on the site- and it’s been an amazing tool for finding people and information.

Twitter is weird that way. You really have to participate to get a feeling for what it’s about. But the no-holds-barred, quick and dirty interface is amazing once you get it going. The article linked and quoted below is a very good introduction to getting your tweet on, and I especially liked this bit about how businesses large and small are using it to connect with and amplify their customer base:

On- and off-line businesses are posting tweets related to sales, promotions, products, customer service and more. Retailer Twitter Aggregator (www.noturnonred.com/twitter) displays recent tweets from big retailers. Communication is light, oftentimes promoting a sale, offering instant customer service and random banter between followers. Some recent entries?

TheHomeDepot replied to a customer post: “@marqueart saw your tweet about your backyard project. That’s awesome — doing all the work yourself? Share a tweetpic when ur done?”

7_Eleven to followers: “Good Morning Tweeps! With snow through most of the nation, it’s a good day for a hot chocolate!”

GemAffair.com (gemaffair) posts multiple tweets per day, CEO Michael Jansma said.

“We wanted to use Twitter to get to know our customers and to give them an opportunity for them to know us. GEMaffair.com is more than just an e-commerce retail store; it’s like a neighborhood jewelry store. We love to interact with people, and since we’re on the Internet, Twitter affords us that opportunity,” said Jansma.

Jansma said GemAffair.com posts about news stories, deals of the day, trivia, links to sales, replies to customer questions and even holds Twitter-exclusive contests.

“We ask that entrants retweet (RT) … our message … and send it out through their network,” he said. “Every entry gets written down, and at the contest’s end, we randomly select a winner. Winners have received everything from diamond pendants to ruby heart necklace and earring sets.”

Jansma and his crew like the community feel of Twitter. Boyle, Manassy and Porter would agree.

“We follow their blips, and after enough, we get to know that person,” Jansma said of Twitter-ers. “I think that’s why Twitter has exploded. It’s a platform that can be used in a huge variety of ways — for news, for retail, for friends, for students, for mothers, for teens, for everyone. And with each little 140-character message that passes through our home page, we learn more about who is in our community.”

via Tracking the Twitter trend | Cover Story.

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Cool Brain Tricks: Synaesthesia

Kim — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:23:32 +0000

Although fairly few people are truly synaesthetic, I found this video blog* on CNN to be really interesting. While most of us (myself included) can’t identify with the complexity of synaesthesia, it’s still pretty cool when a scent triggers a memory or vice versa.

I personally avoid most video stories, but I find the CNN iReports to be pretty interesting. This one in particular is very well narrated and engaging.

*Opens to a video player.

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