Tag Archives: Social Intelligence

Everybody’s a Twitter expert (well, maybe)

 

Everyone’s jumping on Twitter these days with links to blogs offering advice about how business owners can use the platform to greatly increase profits.

Read them and you’ll know how many Tweets to post each day. Well, maybe you will. Some say three, others say six are better.

There are supporters of posting between 8 to 10 a.m. ET (a little early for anyone living west of Kansas), while others say 1 to 3 p.m. ET is the sweet spot. Longer or shorter tweets? They each have their supporters.  Is a single hash tag enough? Are four too many?

All this points out what I’m learning from running three Twitter accounts and helping out on another — there are no one-size-fits-all solutions.  Every business, every industry is different.

One tweet I read recently really hit home. A woman complained about an online job posting for marketing position that required a minimum of 10 years of social media experience. I assume that job will go unfilled for the next few years. Ten years ago there was no Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram or other major social media platform.

Anyone involved in social media is still a pioneer. Run from anyone who tells you he or she knows exactly what will work for your business. Instead be ready to work with someone willing to experiment and take reasonable chances to find the program that works best for you.

There is no doubt social media can be a huge PR and marketing boost. So go ahead and read these ‘experts.’ There is a little something to be learned from each blog — including this one.

Of course, that’s just my humble opinion.

– JD

Twitter: @jdaum

 

Elusive Media and the Twit Pitches

I’ve been working on a small campaign pitching media in the New York area this week.  Normally, New York isn’t exactly my favorite market to pitch because everyone seems especially in a hurry to rush you off the phone and will promptly tell you so.   Anyone who has ever worked in public relations knows the frustration of unanswered email pitches and dodged phone calls.

I’ve had a well-known-expert in the field tell me to stick to a well-crafted email pitch and leave the Twitter pitches alone.  Well, as they say…variety is the spice of life.  This week I got frustrated and decided to Tweet the reporters I had been trying to reach.  To my surprise, three of the five people I reached out to responded to me within minutes.  I used a casual yet informative approach-all within 140 characters.  There really isn’t an official guide to the Twitter pitch, but I can say, any links you have that can take them back to the press release/photo/video etc… are the best, especially when you’re working with limited characters.

So what’s the moral of the story?  Try it!  Tweet your pitches.  What’s the worst that can happen besides getting no response? Come on, we’re all used to that by now.  Tell me, what experiences have you had with Twit pitching?

follow me @SaraAlsia

Social Media is like Herpes… It’s Forever

Herpes. A virus that comes in various categories, with random flare-ups that once infected, remains in the body for life. Social media can be like a case of herpes with random flare-ups of blush-worthy posts, groups and photos that you wish would just go AWAY.

Flare-ups of embarrassing social media posts can happen to individuals and companies when they least expect or want it. And while deleting a post or profile, like in the case of Roger Ebert, may temporarily relieve the pain, the rest of the social world may not be so quick to forget.

You can run, but you can't hide...

Facebook data is retrievable up to seven years after publishing, with the help of Social Intelligence, a company for employers that vets potential employee’s social media sites. In a recent article Mat Honan, of Gizmodo ran a social background test on himself using the FTC approved company and didn’t pass. Turns out seven years of flare-ups might be enough to keep you from getting hired.

Companies like Kenneth Cole, the Red Cross and most recently Entenmann’s, have each experienced their share of flaming red outbreaks, leaving scars on their online reputations.

While social media posts may seem fun and insignificant at times, if there is something distasteful or controversial to be taken out of the post you better bet someone will find it. Just like herpes, it will go viral no matter how many times you delete the tweet, post or photo. Somehow it will remain infected in the social sphere waiting for an opportunity for another outbreak.

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