A Five Step Checklist For Establishing Social Media Presence

If you’re starting your own business or are in charge of marketing efforts for an established organization, you’re probably more than aware of the importance and cost-effectiveness of “social media marketing.” I place quotes around that phrase because marketing in social media really isn’t marketing in the traditional sense. It’s about building relationships, creating value and being a contributing member of the industry you’re in.

Blah, blah, blah. If you read tech blogs or follow any of the “SM specialists” who Tweet about this stuff 24/7, you’ve heard these statements ad nauseam.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not the truth. And until companies start to embrace these values, it will continue to be repeated if only to be hammered into heads. For the new company, there are certain checklist points that I feel are not only expected but required:

1.) Establish an active presence on Twitter and Facebook

Create a Twitter profile and a Facebook Page for your organization. If possible, try and keep the profile names as simple and consistent to your brand as possible. For example, for RedCandle Research, we have the following:

Main: www.redcandleresearch.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/redcandleresearch
Twitter: www.twitter.com/redcandlelight (@redcandle – taken; @redcandleresearch – too long)

For my band, Festizio, we had to accommodate for unavailable usernames as well:

Main: www.festizio.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/festizio
Twitter: www.twitter.com/festizioband (@festizio – taken)
MySpace: www.myspace.com/festizioband
YouTube: www.youtube.com/festizioband

Once you’ve got that covered, you can explore the more industry specific platforms that may appeal to your sharing your message (YouTube for videos, Flickr for photos, ReverbNation for music, etc.). But get Twitter and Facebook covered first. It’s where everyone is and, thus, it’s where you need to be.

2.) Realize that different platforms are different mediums and have different audiences

Online communities are not all the same, and each require a different voice and posting style than another. Twitter is more friendly for periodic posts of short ideas throughout the day, and the platform makes it easier for these posts to be shared via Retweets or organized by hashtags. Facebook enables embedded multimedia posting, making it easier for the reader to see what you’re sharing (video, image, etc.) without having to visit an external link. But for both platforms, it’s important to resist over sharing, as you would risk annoying the customers that follow you.

3.) Start a blog and share your ideas in depth

When thoughts must jump from 140 character posts into more detailed analysis, it’s time to write a blog post. This is your opportunity to show that you have insightful ideas to contribute. It’s your opportunity to prove your expertise to those within your industry. Where a company website might be cold with product info, a blog allows you to humanize your business. You show that there is a thinking human with (hopefully) a warm beating heart in your chest.

4.) Connect with others in your industry

When your presence is set and you’re ready to explore, look for other voices in your industry. Using free tools like Technorati or TweepSearch, you can find blogs and Twitter users by readership levels. For a more detailed analysis on who’s talking and what they’re saying, you could also work with an online analytics reporting firm like us. Wink, wink.

5.) Be interesting or, at the very least, be useful

No one likes to be bored to death.

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(Image via Toothpaste For Dinner)

Twestival SF – A Great Event For A Great Cause

Twestival is a shining example of tapping into a vibrant community for the purposes of making a difference. Occurring last night in multiple cities around the world, the collective event donates 100% of the money they make to a notable cause. This year, Twestival supports Concern, a humanitarian organization that helps those living in extreme poverty.

San Francisco Twestival featured great music from Stroke 9 and Sioux City Kid. Notable Twitterati, that you may or may not care about, were out in full force. Overall, it was a great event held for a fantastic cause.

Great job, Krystyl!

Great job, Twestival Team!

Texas: The New China?

The debate over what to include in Texas history books rages on. People seem to want to break this down into a Republican VS Democrat thing, which it certainly is. But the heart of the matter is really an “experts vs everyone else” debate. Considering the prominence of sites like Wikipedia, this is an issue that should be near to everyone’s heart. Should the school board’s authority supercede that of historians and educators? Should the “wisdom of crowds” matter more than actual wisdom?

Both sides claim that they want more critical thinking, but really what they want is to decide who makes it into the history books and how they’re portrayed. But let’s say a student wants to actually think critically and do a little research on their own. Is it safe to say that if Thomas Jefferson is removed from Texas history books, the school library will also be gutted of any references to the man? It seems unlikely, but if they did, that student could turn to the internet. Will that student be able to use a school computer for his or her educational journey? Let’s take a look at Texas Ed. Code Ann. §§ 32.201 to -202, Texas Govt. Code Ann. § 441.1385 which:

Prohibits a public school or public library that provides a computer used for Internet access from eligibility for a Texas Infrastructure Fund loan or grant unless the school or library adopts an Internet safety policy protecting children from access to obscene materials.

Is Thomas Jefferson obscene? Who gets to make that decision, someone who’s studied the man or people who, for some reason, believe he is a dangerous communist?