Tag: Paul Segreto

Ten Commandments of Social Media

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Lon Scafko, author of The Social Media Bible, and keynote speaker for the upcoming Franchise Social Media Summit, wrote an article some time back for Fast Company magazine where he discussed the Ten Commandments of Social Media. These commandments are an excellent guideline to developing a social media marketing strategy, and for future reference.

ten_commandments_large_web-copyCommandment 1. Thou Shalt Blog (like crazy)

Blog. Please. That’s the first priority. Set up a blog, a personal blog, a business blog. It’s easier than you think. Use an existing blogging site such as Blogger.com or GoingOn.com or install your own branded blogging site right on your own server by using WordPress. And, WordPress is free.

Commandment 2. Thou Shalt Create Profiles (everywhere)

Create your profiles; do it now before someone else takes them. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. That’s called cyber squatting. So get out there. Use Open Social to make filling in your profiles as easy as a click of a button.

Commandment 3. Thou Shalt Upload Photos (lots of them)

Upload photographs. You’ve got them. Don’t upload the one with you with a lampshade on your head…counterproductive; but other photographs? Absolutely. Customers want to see and participate. You want to give people a face to go with your company.

Commandment 4. Thou Shalt Upload Videos (all you can find)

Videos. You all have got videos. I don’t care whether it’s training videos or customer videos, grab your video camera and go interview some of your customers. What’s better than seeing your customer’s smiley face on your Web site? And it doesn’t cost anything.

Commandment 5. Thou Shalt Podcast (often)

Podcast. If you’re too cheap to get a camera, use the free audio software that’s in your computer. That’s what I did. I created 48 audio podcasts. If you take the podcasts I did for my book and played them back-to-back, they run 24 continuous hours of interviews. You can do that. It’s free. It just takes time.

Commandment 6. Thou Shalt Set Alerts (immediately)

Set alerts. People are talking about you. You probably need to know what they are saying and you want to participate.

Commandment 7. Thou Shalt Comment (on a multitude of blogs)

Comment. Commenting is like going to a cocktail party. You wouldn’t walk into a networking event, walk up to a group of people talking, and tell them your name and what you do in your business. That would be rude and unacceptable. Listen first. Read the blogs and add comments. You can be controversial, that’s okay. But participate. Get involved.

Commandment 8. Thou Shalt Get Connected (with everyone)

Get LinkedIn. Put it in your email that you have a LinkedIn account, you have a Facebook account, and that you have a Twitter account. Make it a part of your heading on your letterhead, because that’s how you propagate. That’s how you sell it.

Commandment 9. Thou Shalt Explore Social Media (30 minutes per week)

Explore social media. Give me thirty minutes a week, that’s all I’m asking. Friday morning grab your coffee, lock yourself in your office, and give me thirty minutes. Just Google something. I promise you within the first 30 days you will be excited. You’ll be as excited as I am. You will get excited because of the ROI.

Commandment 10. Thou Shalt Be Creative (go forth and create creatively)

And the most important commandment is creativity. That’s all. It’s just creativity and having fun. But you know what, that’s what your customers want. They want to see transparency. They want to see authenticity. They want to see you having fun. They want to be able to relate and communicate.

* Previously posted on franchisEssentials June 2010 and June 2011


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Hello? Are We Communicating?

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The following is a guest post by David Muray. David is a marketing and a digital communications strategist. He carries extensive experience in social media, online community management, product development, and any project that requires creative out of the box solutions.

A member of iDetroit, David founded the Social Media Club chapter of Detroit, and is one of the co-chairs for FutureMidwest, the region’s largest technology and knowledge conference. He has also been featured in David Meerman Scott’s blog, Web Ink Now; and his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR.

David’s passion is in helping others. He enjoys sharing how businesses can learn the true value of the digital landscape, which is relationships; and how job seekers can use social media to find employment.

Do You Really Communicate, or Do You Just Tweet?
Originally posted on The Way of the Murr blog, March 5, 2011

Do you try to connect, or do you just broadcast?

Are you creating content, or are you just blogging?

Do you tell or show someone what you like, or do you just hit the button?

Are you sharing, or are you yelling?

Are you helping, or are you telling someone what to do?

Do you share your passion, or do you simply share your products?

Are you really excited, or are you just bragging?

Did you write a resource, or did you just write a book?

Do you have think tanks, or do you just put on a conference?

Do you help educate, or do you just like to speak?

Are you a leader, or are you a rock star?

Are you bringing value, or are you just interested in the party?

Do you truly interact and engage, or are you simply showing up?

Are you showing up, or are you just checking in?

Do you share your accomplishments, or are you simply collecting badges?

Do you read, or do you just bookmark?

Do you feel, or do you think?

Do you have things to do, or are you just busy?

Are you here right now, or are you thinking about two hours from now?

Are you creating something others can participate with, or are you just building something?

Are you adding constructive criticism, or are you just complaining?

Are you critiquing, or are you jealous?

Are you in the business to innovate, or are you just making money?

Do you include creativity in your bottom line, or is it just revenue?

Do you create functionality, or do you just create apps?

Do you have an experience, or do you just have a brand?

Do you listen, or do you simply monitor?

Are you looking to create relationships, or are you simply looking for leads?

Do you lead, or do you manage?

Do you manage, or do you constrict?

Do you listen to people’s ideas, or do you just tell them what to do?

Are you excited, or are you scared?

Is it just about ROI, or is it also about communicating?

The ones who communicate the best, will win.

Does your business or organization truly communicate? Do you really strive to connect? Are you honestly trying to help solve a problem?

I hope so, because if you are only concerned with charts, graphs, numbers, and how well you are doing, you’ll be obsolete.

We won’t need you. We’ll create our own solutions, and we’ll do this by truly communicating with others.

Do you communicate, or… ?

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Social Media Policies & Procedures – What’s to Debate?

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I agree local opportunities within social media are huge and I project it will continue to expand and improve as more tools and technology are introduced. Just think, it wasn’t all that long ago we didn’t even know about Foursquare and now it’s growing like crazy!

And, yes, franchisors should not “manhandle” social media and content marketing as some have dictated, but it is vitally important to have very detailed social media policies and procedures so that everyone within an organization participating in social media is afforded the opportunity to be as active as they so desire. That being said, their activity must be in line with the guidelines that are determined to be in the best interests of the brand. After all, utilizing the brand within social media should be deemed no different than using the brand name on signage or in traditional marketing. Ultimately, it is the brand’s trademark and use of the same, in any manner, still must comply with the franchisor’s authorization to use the same.

Social media should not be considered one-size-fits-all. Instead, a strategy must be developed in line with the goals and objectives for utilizing social media and all that goes along with the strategy including resources available to execute the plan, identifying targets and where they congregate and communicate, the types of social media that may be best suited for sharing information and in some cases calls for action, and of course, how the results are to be analyzed and quantified.

For instance, from a very simplistic point of view, how would anyone propose a chain of 500 franchise locations each be active on Twitter considering there are limitations on characters in the profile name? It’s one thing for each location to have an individual presence on Facebook by using the brand name along with a geographic acronym of sorts (XYZ Finest Pizza – North Hollywood, CA). But, how could the same be accomplished within Twitter especially to maintain consistency in the brand name? In this case I would recommend a corporate Twitter account for the brand only. In other situations, each location having a Twitter account may be feasible. But even then, that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate. Only proper strategy development will make that determination.

Certainly, mapping out the strategy and overall web presence, then planning out the role social media will play is the correct course of action. and will make implementing a social media policy must easier. Not to mention providing defined reasons for specific parts of the policies and procedures that can be used to “convince” franchisees to abide by the policies and procedures as opposed to unsubstantiated reasons which may cause franchisees to feel they’re in a “demand” situation. Convince rather than demand always wins out!

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Social Media in Franchise Organizations: Who’s Responsible?

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I work with many franchise groups in developing and implementing social media strategies. Right now, there’ s a pretty equal split in franchisors handling all social media activities and franchisees participating in the activities. This includes financial and operational activities and responsibilities.

Personally, I believe franchisors should embrace and participate in social media from a brand standpoint. They should develop a basic social media presence and manage it accordingly. Of course, they should be responsible for related costs as well.

As for the franchisees, I believe they should have a presence as well, but with the franchisor’s guidance, training and direction to maintain brand consistency in appearance and message. As for day-to-day activity, franchisees should be responsible for their own posts, which of course, will be complemented by posts on franchisor’s site. Franchisees should also be responsible for the costs involved in day-to-day activity just as they are for marketing activities.

The most effective programs I’m working with include a very detailed, comprehensive social media training program for franchisees. Many franchisors are now incorporating the same into their initial franchisee training. The training provides know-how, basic understanding and the information necessary to move forward in social media effectively and efficiently.

The problem I have found with the franchisor taking on all responsibility, financial and operational, is that franchisees never really realize the effort, nor the results. And, they never truly understand what social media is and they never fully appreciate the benefits of social media. Programs in these scenarios are certain to fail.

Social Media, with involvement and responsibility at all levels of a franchise organization, should provide multiple benefits including creating brand awareness in new markets and improving brand awareness in established markets, generating consumer interest in the brand and building franchise candidate interest in the concept, driving business to franchise locations and generating leads for franchise development, providing firm base for due diligence efforts by both consumers and candidates, enhance marketing efforts through integration of social media activity with traditional marketing to consumers and candidates alike, and develop a foundation for transparent and honest communications and information sharing throughout the franchise organization.

With proper planning and diligence, social media can be a very effective tool for franchise organizations and will be a stepping stone to embracing more and more social media as it continues to expand and develop. Done haphazardly and off-the-cuff, it can be very frustrating and disappointing and as such, will be considered a failure and a waste of time.

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Do You Hate That You Love Facebook?

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I recently asked the question, “Do You Hate That You Love Facebook?” in the general Q & A section of LinkedIn, and as anticipated, received many responses. Some were quite interesting. A few confirmed the love-hate relationship. Others expressed love for personal use, but hate for business purposes. And some focused on the dependency of having to check Facebook, almost incessantly. I thought it would be fun to share some of the responses here. Upon reading the same, please feel free to share your thoughts.

This response was from a Senior Vice President who stated, “The only thing I hate is that FB is addictive! I spend way too much time blogging about nothing & the not important things in my life, as well as making comments on others’ profiles than I should. Years ago, we spent time outside – now we are glued to our computers. I am off on vacation tomorrow for the weekend – and decided not to take my computer along. Since I am not a Blackberry or iPhone user – it’ll be a real test…”

A Business Development Manager added, “No emotional attachment to Facebook or whatsoever..just another online tool to connect with friends and family overseas and former classmates…. nice to check out the apps once in a while and add some amusement in reading funny statuses from people..and sometimes expressing myself too…just a tool but not something I can’t live without :)”

An entrepreneur and self-professed non-executive stated, “Sometimes i am confused as to exactly why i love it / like it and other times i hate that i cant work out why i am using it….Every now and again i realise that there are moments when i love it (its a nugget of insight or a lost connection)”

A Virtual Assistant posted one of the longer responses… “I like that I like Facebook. I actually don’t love it. I keep a Facebook page and a Facebook Fan Page for business. The issues some have mentioned can be easily remedied using the many available features on FB now…segmenting friends into lists, setting up a Fan page with using the FBML app that truly represents your business, connecting it to LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Facebook is a very valuable tool for driving traffic to your business web site or blog. It is so flexible, now, though you have filter and segment it so that you only see what you want to see and share what you want to share to who you want to share it with. There is no need to ever be bothered with comments, posts, etc. that are not relevant for you.”

A retired manager exclaimed, “Facebook has very little utility any more for me, particularly for business. It is compromising its security with frivolous features that defy focus, foster meaningless exchanges and updates every time someone breaks a fingernail. Other than for close family contacts, pictures of the cute kids in my relationship and staying in touch with family, it is annoying beyond belief. My address book is shrinking to a bare minimum.”

A Plilanthropic Advisor pronounced, “I love that I love Facebook! I just don’t use it for anything related to business or e-commerce. I’m a serial contact purger – if we haven’t talked in person or on the phone or by email in the past year, I purge that person from my friend list until that happens. Try to keep it to 100 friends or less that I’m actively in touch with. Simply purge out the people who have annoying updates and that seems pretty rare right now. Love the updates, love the humor, love the photos that my friends post and love staying connected to people and groups that I like.”

A Lead Business Analyst responded, “I like that I hate it as I bailed out.. too much serial status updaters with useless information – such as “I cooked pot roast for dinner” and too many people I hardly knew in high school acting like we were best friends.”

And this, from a Chief Marketing Strategist, “As Marketing platforms, can we hate unlogical Reality TV shows? As Marketing platforms, do we still use yellow pages, neighborhood brochures etc? If above questions makes us think, then we can’t hate Facebook. No matter how useful or useless, no matter how simple of complex, no matter how time consuming or efficient, if a platform has 550 million users, 2/3rd people, 14 and above as part of it, one of the top traffic generators to your website (when you see analytics for referral site), marketing personal or business operator for sure need to be serious about it. Now how to optimize and utilize these numbers to our benefit, is what differentiates between the “Yes” or “No” of this answer. Having said that, I’m no Facebook fan, neither I have been able to optimize it fully for my business yet, but for sure we are getting more and more out of it every day.”

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Social Media Metrics: Not Yet a Science!

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In continuing to simplify Social Media, let’s take a peek at Social Media metrics, or better yet, how to figure out if it’s working effectively for YOU and your franchise organization!

If, the net result of online activity adds up to effective social media engagement, then, what is the monetary value of a visit, comment, link or friend? Well, the ONLY honest answer is, “it depends.” Only YOU know how much these interactions matter to your brand, and how they relate to YOUR goals and objectives.

Measuring Social Media is not yet a science. Nor, is it rocket science! But, we can break it down to five key factors, Attention, Participation, Authority, Influence, and what I like to call the “X-Factor,” Sentiment.

Attention – The amount of traffic to your content for a given period of time.  Similar to the standard web metrics of site visits and page/video views.

Participation – The extent to which users engage with your content in a channel.  Think blog comments, Facebook wall posts, YouTube ratings, or widget interactions.

Authority – The inbound links to your content – like trackbacks & inbound links to a blog post or sites linking to a YouTube video.

Social Media Authority
Influence – The size of the user base subscribed to your content. Subscribers for blogs, feed or email
Followers on Twitter or Friendfeed. Fans of your Facebook page.

Sentiment, the “X-Factor” – The spirit driving user participation, because it really matters!

brand passion

Yesterday, we noted some specific goals that are typically listed in discussions with franchise executives about venturing into Social Media and determining exactly what they would like to accomplish. This list includes:

Create or improve brand awareness
Increase business at unit level
Create or improve interest in franchise opportunity
Generate qualified franchise sales leads
Improve franchise sales efficiency
Improve communications throughout franchise system
Locally, regionally or nationally

But, as your Social Media program is moving along, don’t lose site of the not so obvious results that are often mixed in with the obvious results.

System-wide revenue – obvious
Customer satisfaction – not so obvious
Corporate profitability – obvious
System-wide stability – not so obvious
Franchise development – obvious
Vendor / Supplier reaction – not so obvious

I look forward to your questions and comments.

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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An Hour a Day with The Big Three Social Networks

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I often hear many individuals state they don’t have enough time in a day for social media. Well, I know we can all squeeze in an hour of social media work somewhere, but the key is to do it efficiently to accomplish doing it effectively.

Just like eating an elephant, take one bite at a time. Never try to do too much at one time. And, try to make all your social media activity relevant and in line with your goals and objectives for entering social media in the first place. Once you’re past the development stage of setting up accounts at the Big Three social networks, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, including establishing “complete” profiles, dedicate 15 minutes to each network which I recommend doing so at the beginning of the day. Total time spent – 45 minutes.

Check previous days’ activity, making sure to use each networks “notifications” features effectively. Respond to direct comments and requests accordingly. Check discussions and respond as necessary, review other individuals’ responses, always keeping an eye open for new contacts. Post a discussion, status statement as appropriate Again, keep your goals and objectives in mind. Last, post a few tidbits of information through links to items of interest to your target group. Hey, I hate to beat dead horse here, but make sure everything you do is in line with your goals and objectives for being involved in social media in the first place.

Establish Google Alerts so you know what is being said about you or your brand throughout the day. As you check your email, whether by computer or mobile device, take a glance at any alerts that have come through, and only immediately address negative comments. Then, at the end of your day, take five minutes to review each of the three networks activity, respond only to activity that is very pertinent or urgent, and mentally prepare for your next morning’s activity. This will give you some time to think about discussion responses, etc. Total time spent – 15 minutes.

Shortcuts and Tools Help!

As for posting links to tidbits of information, as you progress through the day, keep an eye open for information through newsletters you subscribe to and in reading news online. When you find something of relevance, bookmark it for later in the day. Use tiny urls to convert long links to manageable links and to accommodate 140 characters within Twitter. Learn how to use key tools such as Facebook applications that convert your Facebook activity to Twitter activity, and applications that enable you to post in advance throughout the week.

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Starting your social media program with the “Big Three”

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Once your social media strategy has been developed, the resources have been committed and everyone is on board, it’s time to put the plan into action. Just like when you first started to read and count, you began with the “Big Three” of A-B-C and 1-2-3. Well, in social media, we’ll start with the Big Three of L-F-T, otherwise known as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Here are some very simple activity highlights that should help you along:

LinkedIn

Develop company LinkedIn profile
Each LinkedIn group has a discussion feature
Start out responding & answering questions
Earn the right to post questions / discussions
Be proactive in LinkedIn Q & A forum

Facebook

Create Facebook page for your brand
Frequently post items of interest & links
Routinely post information about your concept
Utilize photos, videos & blogs

Twitter

Post links that “touch” your franchise concept
Post links to your concept’s website and blogs
Post links to press releases, events and appearances
Search and follow celebrities for causes to align with
Research followers’ profile and follow significant individuals
Search and follow individuals and companies within ideal franchise profile
Post general items of interest and importance to your concept and franchise customers

As you progress in your social media efforts, follow the list below to enhance the foundation you’ve established with your activity:

Develop and promote a company blog
Develop and promote webinars
Post photos on Flickr
Post videos on YouTube
Explore niche social networks
Explore internet radio
Tag, Tag, Tag, wherever possible
Link to social networking sites
Integrate efforts with traditional strategies

Simple enough, right?

I look forward to your questions and comments…

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of Social Media within a Franchise Organization

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So, you may be thinking that it’s about time you and your franchise organization jumped into the social media pool. Of course, it’s not too late! Throughout the day, we will take a shot at simplifying social media with the hope that all phobias and concerns will be put to rest and venturing into the social media pool will be a piece of cake. So, here we go!

Recently, we addressed developing a social media plan of action around our simple Social Media e-IDEA. Well, let’s simplify that even further and get you to do a little homework beforehand. Your assignment is to answer the key questions of Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? to make certain you’re heading in the right direction.

wwwwwhWho? (Identify your targets)

Know your ideal franchisee profile
Know your targets

What? (Manage the conversation)

Determine and integrate social media responsibilities within current job function or position
Identify and train “voices” of the company and brand
Develop social media guidelines for the entire franchise system including negative response protocol

When? (Plan accordingly)

Review previous day’s activity
Determine today’s objectives
Determine corresponding activities
Divide the day accordingly
Be certain to monitor alerts
Use social media tools wisely
Encourage regular participation
Prepare for evenings & weekends
Key: Quality over Quantity

Where? (Locate your targets)

Know where your targets “listen and speak”

Why? (Some possible goals and objectives are listed)

Create or improve brand awareness
Increase business at unit level
Create or improve interest in franchise opportunity
Generate qualified franchise sales leads
Improve franchise sales efficiency
Improve communications throughout franchise system
Locally, regionally or nationally

How? (Making it happen)

Determine specific goals and objectives
Focus all marketing efforts
Know what’s going on at all times

*This post was originally published on this site March 2011


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