Sign up to The Write Fit newsletter on the Typeset website

BLOG

Social Media: Where nice guys finish first

How much more social media advice can you take? In a recent post about Social Media Day at the Savvy B2B Marketing blog, each of the Savvy Sisters shared personal lessons. As their name implies, these people are dedicated practitioners with a big whack of collective expertise. The post resonated with me due to their practical insights. Here are some lessons of my own.

In the Savvy post, Stephanie Tilton spoke about generosity as being an important aspect of social media behaviour. Taking Stephanie's observation a step further, I've discovered being nice is also a terrific tactic. While it may not seem logical, the biggest gains come from generously sharing information and being pleasant about it. Initially it was difficult to give intellectual property away and endorse competitors but it didn't take long before more was coming back than I was giving out.

What does being nice mean?
Think about traditional good manners and how you can apply them to your virtual relationships. In short, make sure you:

  • Thank every person who shares your content or mentions your name.
  • Answer every comment posted on your blog.
  • Ask permission to use all or part of someone else's content in your own content.
  • When your content appears somewhere else, help promote it through your own channels.
  • Recognise great content. Tweet or share it with your network regardless of who created it.
  • Always cite references.
  • Always give attribution for any creative content including photographs, images, cartoons and videos.
  • Don't hesitate to send an email or handwritten note when someone has given you a helpful suggestion or useful advice.

What's in it for you?
I'm always surprised when the authors of a blog don't weigh in on their own comment section. Even blogging rockstars like Mitch Joel and Chris Brogan participate in the discussions taking place on their blogs. Why? Because the goodwill it builds is worth far more than the time it takes. Abandoning your posts smacks of arrogance. The whole point of social media is to build healthy, active networks. When people are ignored they quickly lose interest and you acquire a reputation for being arrogant. It's not just blog posts, either. Every facet of your social media activity works better with genuine involvement.

The Take-Away
Fostering a successful social media presence requires more than content strategy and distribution activity. It's vital you actively participate with your network. Old-fashioned good manners are rewarded with better relationships, more referrals, wider reach and improved authority. It's been my experience the benefits of reciprocal behaviour have a greater ability to drive business through your door than guarding your information and avoiding your competitors. Say please. Say thank you. Share your stuff. You'll be glad you did.

What other social media good manners do you use?

Subscribe
Subscribe here to have new posts from the Global Copywriting Blog delivered by email.

Image Credit: first place by EvelynGiggles, on Flickr

Us and Them: Why Marketing Strategy Matters

I'm delighted to introduce Bambi Gordon from The Woo as the first guest blogger at Global Copywriting. Dedicated to B2B and small business marketing, she's one of those irritatingly talented people who can simplify complex problems and cut to the heart of an issue. You'll want to check out her series of super helpful FREE lunchtime webinars at The Brew. Lastly, make sure you follow Bambi on Twitter – @DoTheWoo. She's one of my all-time favourite tweeps, as much for her sense of humour as her marketing acumen.

In this post, Bambi argues content marketing is nothing until you have a sound marketing strategy to back it up. Over to Bambi:

Have you noticed despite the current tally of humans on this planet – 6,775,235,741 give or take a few hundred thousand at last count – there are only two sorts of people in the world?

Let me show you.

  • WikiLeaks Those who are for. And those who are against.[*]Social Media Some people `get it' and think it's an invaluable networking tool, bringing us closer together and changing the dynamic of consumerism.

    And others can't turn the computer on.[*]"Two and a Half Men" There are those who find it amusing. And the rest of us who run screaming from the room even when a promo comes on.

You get the idea.

The Great Divide of Marketing
It's no surprise when it comes to marketing there are also two distinct groups – those who believe in setting strategy and those who leap straight into `doing' things.

The vast majority fall into the second group, which equals a lot of people who are wasting a huge pile of marketing moolah.

Have a look at the marketing tactics around you. Can you remember a really worthy TV ad, or billboard, or blog? Do you actually remember the brand concerned? What was the call to action? Did it change your behaviour as a result? There is a good chance all that wasted marketing activity was instigated by folk who hadn't set a marketing strategy in the first place.

Online promotion, advertising, even Content Marketing is tactical. And tactics without strategy are totally hit or miss. They may or may not get traction. They might but probably won't deliver a return on investment.

Setting your strategy is all about asking questions about your customers.

  • Who are they?
  • What do they want?
  • What does your product or service need to deliver to satisfy their needs?
  • What is the personality or brand value you can convey that they will find appealing?

Once you have answered these questions you can select the tactics that put the right message in front of the right people, positioning your brand within the mind of your potential customers (Yes in their mind, not in the marketplace).

So, where does Content Marketing fit in to that strategy? It doesn't. Nor does advertising. Or social media. Or promotions. Or direct mail.

Starting a blog, developing a white paper, investing in a case study, and producing videos are the communication tactics that you have at your disposal to execute your strategy – the activities that make up your marketing plan, that you constantly tweak, fine tune, and improve upon as you build your business and generate results.

Do you believe in Strategy? Or do you jump straight into the tactics?

Are you one of us, or one of them?

When it comes to marketing, especially Content Marketing, you need to have a foot in both camps.

What do you think?

Subscribe
Subscribe here to have new posts from the Global Copywriting Blog delivered by email.

Twitter for Business: 10 Tweet Ideas for Novices

"I've got a Twitter account for my business but I don't know what to say." Does that describe you? How about, "I'm afraid I'd do something wrong and hurt my business"? Twitter seems to garner the most attention of the social media tools and cause the most anxiety. For the Twitter novice, figuring out how to use those 140 characters for the benefit of their business can seem daunting.

In an excellent post at FasTake , Yacine Baroudi makes an astute observation.

" In my experience and despite its incredible power in channelling information and connecting people, Twitter is for novices one of the most difficult social networks to approach. You can almost bet on the possible reaction following the explanation of the benefits of Twitter: instant addiction or flat rejection. Facebook, beyond its sheer mastodon size, is `pretty': plenty of picture, avatars, movies and all around pleasant experience to anyone looking to idly be taken from a link to another without much effort, it's like watching TV. In comparison, Twitter is like reading a book, it takes effort but, so they say, is more beneficial to one's brain. Most people will always choose the easy way."

He's right on three points:

  • Twitter is a great way to distribute information about your company
  • It's an excellent place to network
  • It can be difficult to know what to do

More than anything, Twitter is about communicating. You've probably heard people say Twitter is like a cocktail party. I don't know about you, but I don't find cocktail parties that appealing. Personally, I think it's more like a business conference. If you start to think about it in this way, you'll know exactly what to expect and what you want to do. Use your Twitter account to

  • Learn new things
  • Meet the influential people in your field
  • Eavesdrop on your competitors
  • Spend a little bit of time talking about what you're doing

Getting Started
Starting a Twitter account for your professional life doesn't have to be difficult. A simple plan will help you to formulate what you want to say. After a couple weeks, you'll know intuitively what to do.

1) Set up Google Alerts for the key words and phrases you use in your business. Every day you will get an email listing about 20 items from the internet relating to those keywords. Share the articles you find most interesting on Twitter.

2) Find the Twitter accounts for the leaders in your field. Browse their tweets and retweet anything you find useful. Consider looking for international experts; they may have a different view to what is being said where you live.

3) Ask questions as a way of doing research. Open ended questions work best. I'm always surprised at the information that comes back to me.

4) Tweet information about your local community including festivals, exhibitions and even road closures.

5) Every day, put out one or two tweets with a link to your website. Promote a blog, advertise a special or mention a product. More than a couple mentions will give you the reputation of self promotion so be sure you're providing useful content.

6) Reply to other tweets and add your own comment. In other words, enter a conversation someone has already started.

7) Tweet something of general interest such as a funny cartoon, a great photo, or local news.

8) Retweet an article out of your local newspaper. If it relates to your business, all the better.

9) Send out one tweet showing support or empathy. If someone says they're having a bad day, commiserate. If someone is celebrating, congratulate them. With only 140 characters, just a word or two is all you need.

10) Give a recommendation or endorsement. If you have a favourite restaurant, a great barber, or know of someplace doing a good job with customer service, tweet them up.

The Take-Away
If you send 10 tweets a day, you'll be on the path to Twitter success for your business. Sending one tweet from each of these 10 suggestions will guide you while you find your own Twitter rhythm. Make sure you reply to every single tweet directed at you. Whatever you do – and this is important – don't schedule tweets or use auto responders. Behave like you would at a business conference and you won't be a novice for long.
What other things could you tweet about from a business account?

Subscribe here to have new posts from the Global Copywriting Blog delivered by email.
Related posts:

*Image courtesy of Jeff Turner (respres) at www.flickr.com.

The New “Must Have” in Your Content Marketing Mix

One of the keys to a successful content marketing strategy is injecting variety into your content. People absorb information differently. Some people like to read. Others prefer video. Traditional marketing focusing on the written word eliminates the visual learner, people who remember information presented through images. One piece of content is gaining wide influence because it appeals to everyone: the infographic.

What is an infographic?

At its best, an infographic describes complex information or statistics using attractive images displayed on a single screen or page. Infographics require strong graphic design skills and concise copywriting to communicate your message. The strong visual aspect makes them excellent candidates for sharing on social media. They're wildly popular in all industries and fast becoming the `must have' for anyone with a serious content marketing program.

Base One recently launched a terrific example called Appetite for Content. Using two burgers as the visual, Base One distilled the information contained in their Buyersphere Report to show how the demand for content has grown between 2010 and 2011. In a testament to their growing popularity, Base One developed a series of infographics to support the data in their report.

I love this approach. While content marketers long ago cottoned on to the importance of an executive summary, Base One has taken it a step further. By providing a fun, memorable way to absorb research findings, they've repurposed expensive content and widened their audience. I suspect we'll see a lot more research and studies explained through infographics in the future. I hope we do.

What makes a good infographic?
Make no mistake, creating a good infographic requires a talented graphic designer. Like any content, it should inform and engage. You'll need to provide information your readers want to consume. You'll also need to cite references to gain credibility for the information contained. While it may be tempting to create a visual image, it's essential the image is more than a pretty picture.

Other examples of great infographics

  • Flowtown blog A pioneer in infographics, the Flowtown blog consistently cranks out great content in visually pleasing packages.[*]Infographics A website dedicated to infographics, the portfolio lists excellent examples segmented into a variety of formats.[*]Daily Infographic – Every day, Daily Infographic spends "countless hours searching the internet for the most interesting, visually stimulating, mind blowing infographics" and creates a new post with their findings. It's a fun blog.

The Take-Away
Think about where you can use infographics in your content marketing efforts. Consider releasing statistical data via an infographic poster. Review your old content and repurpose the information into a visual image. Collaborate with your graphic designer on ways you can present your information to appeal to visual learners. You might be surprised how easily the ideas start flowing once you start.

Do you have a favourite infographic? Share it with us.

Subscribe
Subscribe here to have new posts from the Global Copywriting Blog delivered by email.

12 Ways You Can Help a Blogger Out

You probably already know I'm a big fan of blogging. Next to public speaking, my blog is the most effective marketing activity I undertake. I remind myself of this when faced with a blank page or a busy week and I still haven't posted anything. A recent report published by Hubspot reinforced my high opinion of the blog. Their research reported in the Marketing Data Box reveals marketers believe the blog is great value with more than half the companies surveyed reporting the blog is "below average cost" for generating leads. Blogging trumps social media, SEO and PPC (pay per click) in the cost game.

Maintaining a regular blogging schedule is indisputably tough. If you're like me, your blog is something you do in addition to a full-time job. Most business bloggers are dedicating a lot of time and effort without much positive reinforcement especially in the beginning. Inspired by the idea behind SourceBottle and Help a Reporter Out (HARO), I've been thinking about how to help a blogger out (HABO). Based on my own experience, here are 12 things you can do to support your favourite blogger.

1. Comment Every blogger remembers their first legitimate comment. I don't know ANY blogger that doesn't appreciate receiving a thoughtful note on a post. The best bloggers will use your comment to extend the discussion and, quite likely, go looking for your blog so they can return the favour.

2. Proofread In an era where `getting it done' is often the driving force for a busy blogger, errors inevitably creep into copy. Offering to proof a post is one way to receive undying gratitude.

3. Report errors — The great thing about digital publishing is you can easily fix mistakes. If you see an error in a post, let the writer know with an email or direct mail message. I've never met a blogger that wasn't appreciative when notified about a spelling or grammatical error.

4. Vote It only takes a moment to click on a `Like', `Thumbs Up', `Digg' or `Vote' button. Be generous with your praise.

5. Post to Facebook If you've read something that resonates put it on your Facebook page or post it on your wall. Make sure to tag the writer so they know when people are saying good things about them.

6. Share a feed The blogosphere is one huge place and it's impossible to know everything going on. If you see a blog you think would benefit from syndication on a specific website, let the blogger know. We're all looking for ways to extend our reach and some of the most effective places I've registered my RSS feed have come from recommendations of readers.

7. Guest post Even the most prolific bloggers can use a break. If you think you can add to the subject matter of a particular blog, offer to guest post. You might be surprised at how quickly your offer is taken up.

8. RT It's an easy thing to retweet someone's post. Just do it.

9. Provide an image— I'm one of those writers who can crank out copy with no problem but lose the plot trying to find a good photo for a post. One of the nicest things that can happen is when someone points you to a link with good images on the topic you write about.

10. Link out If you're a blogger, don't hesitate to link to a post of another blogger. The blogging rockstars get links all the time but plenty of good content is being written by people unknown to the masses.

11. Subscribe Bloggers often deliver blog posts by email. If you've read a good post, support the blogger by subscribing to the blog.

12. Brainstorm headlines Headlines are the bane of many writers, me included. Helping a blogger come up with a catchy headline can greatly improve the overall readership of a post.

A blog is one of the best ways to reach a wide audience at a reasonable price. Still, it's harder than it looks and requires more than a fair bit of dedication and `stick-to-it-tiveness'. You can help this hardworking bunch of marketers without much effort on your part. If you do, be prepared to be on the receiving end of undying gratitude and a healthy dose of reciprocal good will. It's a rare blogger than won't respond in kind.

How do you support your favourite bloggers?

Subscribe
Subscribe here to have new posts from the Global Copywriting Blog delivered by email.