Turbo Social Media Marketing » Social Networking | Turbo Social Media Marketing

What Types of Social Media Messages Should I Be Publishing?

Tom Sullivan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:55:53 +0000

By now most medium to large businesses have a social media presence. An assortment of small businesses are also using social media. While this is a good sign, the problem is that “having a social media presence” and “using social media” doesn’t necessarily translate into success.

The goal of any business using social media should be to grow the brand presence, engage the new audience and monetize these new Fans & Followers. So how exactly do you do that?

The key here is engagement. More specifically, getting consumers to engage with your business via social media. A 2011 study by Chief Marketer revealed that when deciding on whether to engage with companies or brands via social media, users look to several key types of interactions, but primarily, consumers will engage so that they can receive free products, discounts or coupons.

As you can see, consumers will also engage with businesses so they can receive product information or answers to a question or concern. Many consumers also like the ability to give feedback about a company’s products or services. In some cases, businesses can even rely on their Fans to help develop a new product, technology, or even care out a task. This is a newer phenomenon known as crowd sourcing.

So does this mean that you should simply post your promotions or discounts on your social networks? NO! Despite what statistics have shown, even with discounts and coupons, consumers will get tired of the same, boring messaging. In fact, according to interactive marketing provider Exact Target, the third biggest reason (38%) for consumers “unliking” a business was “the content became repetitive or boring over time.”

What was the number one reason people “unliked” a page? “They post too much,” said 44% of people surveyed. This response leads me to my next point: do not over-post or “spam” your Fans! Once a day is more than enough. More than likely you’ll find a sweet spot of about 3-7 messages per week.

So if you’re not just posting promotions then what else should you post about? Talk about anything that will strike up a conversation: the weather, the weekend, the Holiday coming up, etc. More importantly, provide feedback in the form of tips, advice and education to your Fans about industry-related questions consumers might have. One easy way to do this is to link to your blog.

Another idea is to ask your Fans for their feedback. If you’re think about running a special, or you’re looking to combine products or services, or you’re just looking for new ideas, ask your Fans. Their feedback is valuable, and the could even provide new ideas for your business.

Finally, make it fun to be a Fan! Offer sweepstakes and contests that will get Fans excited to check your page every day.

If you have any questions about getting established on social media or developing a strategy then contact Turbo Social Media, or give us a call at 877-673-7096 x2.

Most Annoying People on Facebook

Tom Sullivan — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:24:02 +0000

Don’t get too excited, I’m not going to reference individuals in this post. Instead I’d like to bring up the most annoying types of people on Facebook. While most places you go to in life require some sort of etiquette, the online world is often a place that people go to speak freely and with relative anonymity. Well, on Facebook there is obviously no anonymity, but people still speak freely (or tag freely or update freely).

Here’s are a few different types of annoying Facebook users (keep in mind when I say “Guy” I’m referring to both men & women):

1) The Check in Everywhere Guy: There’s nothing wrong with checking in once and a while, but when you’re doing it every time you go somewhere outside of your home it’s a little much. Also, a little tip, don’t announce you upcoming vacation dates, it’s an invitation for you to get robbed!

2) The “Re-post This” Guy: You don’t need to tell us to re-post your message. If it were that important we would re-post it on our own.

3) The ‘Tag Everyone’ Guy: This guy likes to get wild with tagging others in photos, even unflattering one’s, and even people who are in the background. If people are sneezing, eating, coughing or doing anything but smiling & looking at the camera, don’t tag them.

4) The Farmville Invite Guy: Not all of us play Facebook games, so it’s a little annoying to have to repeated requests to play Farmville, Mafia World or Zombie Lane. Perhaps more annoying than the invite is the update on your game. I don’t care that you’ve nursed your baby calf back to health!

5) The Facebook Drama Guy: Ok, if you want to remember a lost family member, friend or even animal on the day they past away years ago, I get that. However, no one wants to hear about your relationship troubles, career problems, how you hate your boss, or why you are in a very dark place. That’s why there are psychologists!

6) The Post to Elicit a Response Guy: You know who they are, they say things like, “OMG, I can’t believe that just happened!” Obviously their vagueness is meant to elicit responses such as “OMG, what happened?” and “R U ok? Txt me”…You’ll often notice that Facebook Drama Guy is also Post to Elicit Response Guy.

7) The Nonstop Poster Guy: Last but certainly not least. I don’t need to know what you ate for breakfast, what you did at the gym, how many cups of coffee you drank, or why your mood constantly changes throughout the day. Also, another tip, don’t like your own status update. We know you like what you posted or you wouldn’t have posted it!

Feel free to add to the list…

What is the best time of day to post to Facebook?

Tom Sullivan — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:26:20 +0000

Let’s assume you’ve built your Fan page up and you have an abundance of Fans and “likes.” You now have an audience to speak to and interact with. So what’s the best time of day, or even the best day of the week, to put out a message?

Any message that you post to your Fans will appear in their news feed. If a Fan has many friends or “likes” a lot of other businesses then it’s likely that their news feed will be much more active and current. Therefore, as a business, it’s ideal to try to reach out to your Fans right before they log on so that your message is “freshest” and appears near the top of their news feed.

According to social media consultant Dan Zarella, weekends are much more popular than weekdays for sharing posts. His reasonings are that many companies block Facebook at work, and most people don’t need to use Facebook for their work. Makes sense.

Based on this assumption it is probably best to post your messages in the evening, when people are off of work. Of course, if you’re a company that serves all of the US then you have a 3 hour time difference in when you post, so you’d probably want to post at 8pm EST or later (when west coast people are getting off work).

The bottom line is that you need to know your audience. What type of people are they? Mostly male, female or a good mix? Where do they live? As you learn more about them you can make better decisions on when to post your messages on Facebook. If you have a really “techy” audience that’s young, or many college-aged Fans, then you’ll probably want to post during the day, because studies show that teenagers and young adults check their Facebook pages many times throughout the day.

If you have any questions about posting on Facebook, or you simply want to learn more about getting a business presence established on Facebook, then contact Turbo Social Media today, or call 877-673-7096 x708.

Social Media is Not Just Limited to Facebook!

Tom Sullivan — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:41:55 +0000

It seems like somewhere along the way people began to simply equate “social media” with Facebook. It makes sense given that Facebook is the largest social network online, but it overlooks the meaning of the term “social media.” Social media is a broad term that refers to the use of web-based or internet-based applications that allow for the creation and exchange of user-generated content. This means everything from blogs and forums to text message marketing to review sites to social networks.

The purpose of this article is to discuss how social media can help every business, regardless of whether they’re using Facebook or not. Obviously the first thing you need to research is where your target market is, and where they are looking for answers to their questions. One notable network that has proven the most valuable for connecting with executives is LinkedIn. There are two key ways to connect with people on LinkedIn, without having any prior relationship with them. The first is to join an established group. The second is to get involved in LinkedIn advertising. The latter is a new feature of LinkedIn, but like Facebook, allows you to selectively target who sees your ads.

If you are a cosmetic physician then you want to go where your patients might be. Unfortunately, your potential patients likely do not have Facebook or LinkedIn profiles that express their desire for or interest in plastic surgery, so advertising on these networks is fruitless. Instead, focus on user-generated forums such as Real Self and Make Me Heal. This is where patients go to ask questions when they’re in the research phase.

If you are a freelance copywriter looking for work then there are several networks that you should look into. The first is Craigslist. Typically companies looking for a consultant, independent contractor or part-time freelancer will use the “gigs” section of Craigslist to post what they need. Another option would be Elance. The only problem with Elance is that you will likely be competing with many foreigners who will do the job for much less than you. Fortunately, if you’re a copywriter this is a good thing, as your writing should be more advanced than a foreigner’s.

Facebook may be the right social network for specific professionals to focus on. If you are a photographer, then Facebook would be a great network to put up ads. Why? Because you can specifically target and advertise to the types of clients that you want to find. Most photographers want clients that they can establish a relationship with. This means shooting photos of their engagement, then their wedding, then their pregnancy, and eventually the birth of their children. Not only does Facebook allow you to target geographically, but you can also target by relationship status. Since almost every 18-35 year old engaged woman has announced this status on Facebook, so if you’re a photographer you should market to them!

Obviosuly I can’t give an example for where every professional should turn to in order to find their ideal partners or clients, but no matter what your area of expertise is, you can find where your potential clients are looking. When all else fails, do a search on Google for your profession followed by “reviews.” If, for instance, you are a general contractor you’ll see this brings up Angieslist. If you’re a dentist this brings up DoctorOogle, among others. If you’re a chiropractor this brings up ChiroHub, among others. Get listed in these directories and review sites.

If you’re looking to connect with potential clients, find partners, and increase your businesses’ exposure online, Facebook may not be the best place for you to be spending your time (at least to start). Instead focus on review sites, forums, blogs and directories where your target market is researching and asking questions. Focus on websites where visitors are making comments. These are the types of social media sites that you need to be involved with.

If you have any questions about how you can grow your business online contact Turbo Social Media today or call 877-673-7096 x708.

Using Social Media to Find a Job

Tom Sullivan — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:39:50 +0000

With unemployment lingering at about 9%, the team at Turbo thought it would be helpful to discuss some of the best ways for job seekers to find employers who might be looking for their talents. Just like businesses use social media for branding and promotions, so can you. In this case we’re talking about self branding and self promotion. Here are several sites that can help you get your name out…

1) LinkedIn: By far the best website for job seekers. Make sure that you take the time to completely fill out your profile (including your photo and detailed descriptions about your previous job experience and accomplishments). Also, make sure you optimize your profile. What I mean by “optimize” is use keywords related to your job experience in the headline and description of your profile. For example, “medical device sales rep” or “software database engineering expert.” I would also add your location as well, for example “Chicago website graphic designer.”

LinkedIn also has a premium service for job seekers. It’s $29.99 per month and it allows users to contact recruiters and hiring managers directly with InMail messages, save profiles and organize your job search with Profile Organizer, get introduced to inside sources at companies, and much more. If you don’t have the budget for this you’ll notice that with just a basic profile you’ll see a box that says “Jobs You May Be Interested In.” LinkedIn is targeting jobs for you based on your profile.

2) Blogging, Facebook, Twitter: I decided to combine these three into one because by themselves I don’t think they’re enough (or equivalent to any other networks mentioned in this article). The first step is to set up a blog about yourself. You can do this pretty easily with WordPress and Blogger. Also, while I recommend the self-hosted version of WordPress (.org), the hosted version is easier to set up and there is no monthly hosting fee. Once you have a blog in place you’ll want to write articles about your skill set, your goals, and why you’re the best at what you do.

Once you’ve started to blog you’ll want to set up Facebook and Twitter. If you already have a Facebook profile, but it’s full of your college drinking buddies’ inappropriate comments, then create a new professional profile. Do the same for Twitter and then set up your blog to automatically update both networks. On Facebook you can also use the “Marketplace” to look for posted jobs. Facebook allows you to message the person who posted the job listing . For Twitter, you’ll want to make use of the hash tag (#) in searches for #jobs, and more specifically, jobs that you’re looking for: #softwareengineerjob. Also make sure your Twitter messages include links to your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, and blog.

3) Jobster: This is an up-and-coming network that deserves to talked about more. Users can upload their video resume, showcase links to their website (or blog), add their picture, and “tag” their skills. You can also search for open positions, find out who posted the job, and add that person to your network and connect with them individually.

4) Plaxo with Simply Hired: This is a network that is similar to LinkedIn in that it allows you to create a profile and add a steam of updates from your other networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. The biggest benefit to Plaxo is that it keeps track of your location and where your contacts live. Since Plaxo is integrated with Simply Hired, a job aggregator that searches thousands of job sites and companies and aggregates them in a single location for you, you can search for jobs locally more efficiently.

This is just a simplified list. There are many others to look into, including Craiglist, Xing, MyWorkster, JobFox, VisualCV, Ecademy, and YorZ. Also, consider joining a Meet Up group in your area. They’re typically informal networking meetings that don’t require any membership or affiliation with an actual company. This in-person networking, combined with a strong presence online, will drastically improve the visibility of your talents to recruiters, hiring managers, or people who have connections to businesses that are seeking new employees.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can use social media to help land a job then fill out this form and we’ll get back to you.

Why Social Media Use Hurts Chances of an NFL season in 2011-12

Tom Sullivan — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:33:21 +0000

While most of my articles focus on internet news, marketing tips and social media tools, I thought I’d spend some time discussing the dynamics of America’s favorite pastime (sorry Baseball) and social media. More specifically, how the growing use of social media could hinder the ability of the players union to unite against the ownership of the NFL, agree on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and ultimately, prevent the 2011-12 season from being “locked out.” What better time to discuss this than one week before the biggest sporting event on the planet: the Super Bowl!

For those of you who aren’t up to date on the imminent danger of a lockout in the 2011-12 NFL season, let me bring you up to speed. The NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is a contract between the employers (owners) and the union (players) that stipulates wages, working hours, training, health, safety and so forth. The current agreement runs through the 2010 season, and it expires on March 4. If there is new no agreement in place by this date then players will lose many of their benefits programs, such as 401Ks, player annuities, severance pay and performance-based pay. Just to put this into perspective, in 2009 the total league-wide contribution to these benefits was over $325 million.

2010 was considered the “Final League Year” for the soon-to-expire CBA. With this designation there was no salary cap this past season, and there were more significant restrictions on player free agency. There are a plethora of free agent terms and stipulations that I won’t delve into in the article, but the bottom line is, if there is no new CBA in place after March 4, 2011 there will be no NFL season in 2011-12. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, has offered to cut his salary to $1 next year if that happens. Unfortunately, not only does that offer mean nothing to fans (he’s been making $10+ million a year), it also does nothing to further the negotiations between the players union and the owners. Thanks for the gesture Roger!

So where does social media come in?

Even the most casual of fans recognize names like Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens because of their TV shows. They are both very active in social media as well, particularly Twitter (Ochocinco has over 1.5 million Followers and T.O. has nearly a million). Social media has made NFL players like these more accessible, and more importantly, it makes their thoughts and feelings more accessible. One player who has used Twitter to discuss his displeasure with the progress of the new CBA is New York Jets’ cornerback Antonio Cromartie. He unleashed this tweet earlier this week: “They [the NFL] got their guys acting like a–holes. So they just need to get their s– together and just get it done” (referring to the new CBA negotiations). On camera, he later referred to the head union rep as an “a–hole.”

Keep in mind that Cromartie has no involvement with the players union (I don’t think they’d want him to be involved). He’s not even an alternate player rep. Yet he’s bashing the very people who represent him and the very people who are working to prevent a lockout. He received some harsh words from Ray Lewis and Darnell Docket, as well as Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (who is his teams’ 2nd alternate union representative). Hasselbeck tweeted this in response to Cromatie’s comments: “Somebody ask Cromartie if he knows what CBA stood for.” This then prompted another response from “Cro” saying that he’d “bash Hasselbeck’s face in.” Nice.

Cromartie’s stance is simple: just get the deal done. Whether you side with him or not on his stance you cannot deny that the bickering between players on social media forums, like Twitter, is only damaging the players’ solidarity and leverage with the owners. Because baseball players were untied back in 1994 they were able to avoid a substantial lockout (although they did lose about half of a season). Still, it was perhaps the greatest show of union solidarity in modern sports history. There was no Twitter back then.

With a lockout looming the players need to be untied. The owners have all the leverage, and bickering on Twitter or through the media is only hurting the players’ solidarity. Players need to understand that their actions on social media, while well intentioned (and humorous), are not helping their cause. We’re living in a new world now with social media, and just as job seekers need to “clean up” their Facebook page to make themselves employable, NFL players need to think before they tweet (or they may soon be unemployed).

Several NFL analysts and reporters are predicting that the lockout will go into the 2011-12 season. If that happens the players (who make millions) will hurt more than the owners (who make billions).

Facebook’s new messaging system set to rival Google

Tom Sullivan — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:00:31 +0000

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday that Facebook would be rolling out a new, “next generation messaging system.” The system will not only incorporate email, but also instant message and text. The move is one of many that Facebook has planned, or is currently planning, to rival Google’s marketshare of people’s attention online.

The new system will work similarly to Gmail, in that both email and instant messages sent will appear in your inbox. However, Facebook will allow you to rank all messages by how important the sender is to the Facebook user. The main reason for the move into email is because Zuckerberg believes that “email is too slow.” Currently, Yahoo and AOL are both looking to introduce a new email platform that will incorporate instant messages and SMS, similar to what Facebook is rolling out. Google is intently watching Facebook, but has yet to announce any counter moves.

Of course, Facebook’s past raises security questions about this new platform. With so much private information being sent between Facebook users and non-users alike, one has to wonder how this growing behemoth will use this information. Only time will tell, but for now, it’s ok to be a bit skeptical.

Facebook Now Offering Local Deals

Tom Sullivan — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:11:43 +0000

Facebook has announced today that it is now offering a new service: Local Deals is an application that can be found on the Facebook iPhone app that let’s you find deals at local businesses. Currently this service is only available on the newly updated iPhone app, but Android users can access deals via touch.facebook.com.

Facebook Places itself is not new. In fact, it has grown dramatically over the last few months, hurting companies like Foursquare and Gowalla (two different location-based websites). Facebook allows users to “check in” at a given location using Facebook Places. Now you can utilize Facebook Places to find deals.

How is works:
Using the Facebook iPhone app users check in using Places, then look for the yellow icon next to the business listing. All you have to do is click on the deal to claim it, and simply show it to the cashier to claim your deal. Once you’ve selected the deal it will publish to your news feed so that all your friends can see the same deal. Not bad for exposure.

Deals are similar to the coupons you’ll find on Google local business listings; however, your business gets the added benefit of being published on users’ news feeds so that their friends can also see the deal. Again, it’s worth repeating that this not much different than what Foursquare offers, except that Facebook is now trying to beat them at their game, which they’ll likely do in no time.

Social Media Spam & How to Avoid It

Tom Sullivan — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:48:39 +0000

If you’re like me you hate junk mail, spam emails and telemarketers. Their tactics are comparable to throwing darts at a dart board, blindfolded, as fast as you can. They’re simply trying to send as many messages (darts) out as possible in the hopes that one of them will hit the bull’s-eye (generate a lead or sale). These type of blind dart throwers are now becoming more and more prevalent on social networking websites, and it’s really annoying. Don’t fret though, because there are ways to battle spammers:

1) Monitor you blog comments: spammers love to leave comments on blogs because they think they’re being slick by linking to their websites. If you use WordPress, Joomla, or any other CMS, make sure that you have a plugin to control spammers on your blog.

2) “Unfriend” a Facebook spammer: This is something I see all too often, especially with events. The organizer (who you’re “Friends” with sends out an update every day on Facebook. It’s beyond annoying. Here’s what you do: kindly ask them to stop sending you these vent updates. If they continue, then “unfriend” them. Problem solved.

3) Monitor your Fan page wall: Fortunately Facebook gives you the freedom to edit permissions for people who’d like to comment on your Fan page. If you’ve experienced unwanted posts on your Fan page wall then I recommend disallowing any posts from Fans, except for comments to your posts.

Recent reports by SpamTitan Technologies, the maker of spam and web filtering software, announced that despite reports about the rise in phishing (the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive info online) on social networking sites, its perceived threat to businesses is marginal compared to traditional spam techniques (on websites like HSBC, eBay and PayPal, which account for more than 52% of all phishing attacks, according to the report).

While Facebook and Twitter are still relatively low on the totem pole of websites at risk for phishing attacks, there are still a number of spammers out there who might not be looking to steal your identity, but are definitely looking to bombard you with overly promotional junk.

If you have any recommendations or best practices for dealing with social networking spam, please drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.

What should your business tweet about?

Tom Sullivan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:32:06 +0000

I’ve encountered a common question when consulting with my clients: what the heck do I tweet about? If you’re relatively new to social media you’ve probably asked yourself this very question. You can even apply this same questioning to Facebook wall posts.

Assuming you have the audience, or are growing the audience (of Fans and Followers), then the key is putting out the right messages. Here are some basic ideas for “stuff to Tweet about“:

1) Blog posts: If you have a consistent blogging strategy then take advantage of that and set up a feed for your blog posts to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. This can be done through Feedburner, Social Oomph, Twitter Feed or Hootesuite, to name a few. You can also re-purpose old blog posts and link to them from Twitter and Facebook.

2) Tips: Consider tweeting out a tip of the day to your Followers. Tweet about tips, tools, strategies and advice that you know as an expert in your field, but your Followers may not know. They will begin to see you as more of an authority figure in your industry.

3) Questions: Consider discussing a struggle or challenge that you or your Followers have had, and then pose an open-ended question as to what solutions or conclusions your Followers have discovered about this issue. This is a great way to gather feedback from your target market and really learn more about what they want to know and what they are struggling with.

4) Quotes: Famous quotes can be refreshing and inspiring. It’s never a bad idea to tweet out a famous quote now and again.

5) Mentions or Retweets: If you have a new client or a colleague who does something special for you consider giving them a mention. A thank you goes a long way, especially on Twitter. Retweets are also nice to utilize, as you can not only repeat a tweet that you like, but you can also give credit to the person who originally tweeted it.

As you can see, there are plenty of things to tweet about. Remember, unless you’re a famous athlete or celebrity, no one cares what you ate for lunch or where you went shopping. You cannot monetize the power of Twitter if this is your strategy. You need to take the time to learn about your Followers (and Fans) and use Twitter to establish your credibility, increase your visibility, and build relationships.

If you know of other popular things to tweet about feel free to leave us a comment.