Are you a small business owner looking for ways to grow your business? Are you looking to attract more leads to your business, or have heard about Social Media Marketing, and now want to try it?

As a small business owner you face many challenges – limited capital, minimal support staff and having too much to do in what seems like very little time. So, how do you grow your small business without heavy investment in marketing and advertising? Answer – through the use of technology. Web 2.0 provides you with various tools and techniques that help you to generate leads and increase the exposure of your home-based business. Social media is one such tool. Here’s all you need to know as a small business owner to begin increasing revenues using social media.

What is Social Media?

Social Media is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, GooglePlus, and MySpace.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is using the above mentioned platforms to reach a new audience of consumers and create product brand awareness. By spreading word of a product from user to user, Social Media Marketing strives to gain greater legitimacy for a message because it is shared between trusted “friends.”

Which Social Media Channels are most popular?

Studies show that Facebook & Twitter are most popular social media channels followed closely by YouTube and LinkedIn, GooglePlus.

Why should Social Media Marketing Interest me?

If you think this kind of Marketing is not for you, think again. These platforms offer a large bundle of benefits to small business owners. Here are some reasons why you should consider using Social Media for your business.

Exposure: As a small business owner you rely largely on network marketing to channel leads to your business – which, in turn relies on your interaction with people. This is the core notion of what Social Media is! But Social Media offers virtually unlimited opportunities to interact with people – millions of them! With this interesting form of marketing, your business is no longer limited to local leads; you will find leads coming in from a diversified geographic market!

Zero-cost: While other marketing media would be expensive, this type of marketing is relatively free, or requires negligible monetary investment. It’s a great low-cost way to get your message across.

Improved web presence: Being on popular social media platforms strengthens your web presence. The more people talk about you on Facebook or Twitter, the greater are the chances of your business being found on relevant web searches such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing.

Direct contact with prospects: These platforms put you in touch with your customers directly. You can have one-on-one contact with them, know what they really want.

Go viral: Such marketing offers you the opportunity to go viral with your marketing. Think about this. You put up a video about your business on YouTube. 10 people like it, and five of them share it with their friends, who in-turn share it with 20 more people. This is known as “viral marketing,” and it can be a very effective method to increase your lead generation.

What is a Social Media “game plan” and why should you have one?

A social media game plan is a process consisting of a few simple steps that can help you achieve your social media marketing objectives. The social media arena is large and you can get lost in it if you don’t play by the rules. There’s a lot of competition and you have to have a clear plan if you want to stand out of the crowd and get noticed.

Your ideal Social Media game plan

A typical game plan for your business should consist of these four steps

• Build your network
• Propagate your presence
• Stay connected
• Monitor

Step 1 – build your network: The first step is to search for and add those users to your network whom you think fall into your target audience segment. When placing a request to add users to your network, it is always better to accompany such requests with a personalized message. You can also look for and join groups that pertain to your line of business. For example, if you are a business selling Health drinks and other health-related products, you could join groups where topics such as nutrition, diet or health are discussed. Such groups provide you audience for the products you have to offer. However, when in a group, do remember to ADD VALUE. Answer questions that you are equipped to answer, actively participate in discussions, be subtle and don’t aggressively “push” your products.

Step 2-propagate: The next step is to announce your Social Media presence. You can do this by adding links to your social media pages on your website, e-mail signature line or newsletter, if you have one. You are out there with your business-announce it!

Step 3-stay connected:The third step is to stay connected with your fans and group members. Social media marketing initiative is easy to start, but requires effort to maintain. And like many networking efforts, results are usually not immediate. Acquire permission from group members and others on your network to send e-mails. You can then e-mail relevant content to people on your network. The key here is to send RELEVANT, VALUE ADDING content-not an advertisement of your products/services. If you are a health-drink selling company who is also a part of the diet and nutrition group, you can send links such as ’10 Best Anti-Oxidant Rich Fruits’ and then perhaps add an image and some information about your product, encouraging people to get in touch with you if they’re interested. This approach will be better-received than just sending the prospects an e-mail flyer totally dedicated to your product.

Dos and Don’ts

While social networking is all about human interaction and cannot be strait-jacketed, here are some tips that will come in handy.

What you should do?

Add value to your contacts: Always add value to your contacts. Always! Provide them useful information, tips and other interesting facts that they can use. For example, Jane, a home-based business owner sells health drinks and weight loss products. So, it makes sense for her to provide her audience with interesting articles on the topic of weight loss.

Be consistent in your online participation: It is not a one-time effort. It is about building a relationship… and relationships take time. Be consistent in your social media communication. Have an interesting tweet/post/update at least every day. In some few cases, multiple postings a day are even better-but don’t forget rule#1-add value. Your posts shouldn’t sound like pointless ramblings or advertisements of your product/service.

Pay attention to what’s being discussed: If you have joined a forum or a group, actively participate in relevant discussions. Use your specific, professional knowledge to help others. Contribute to add depth and dimension to a discussion.

Conversation is the key: As mentioned before, social media marketing thrives on relationships. To build a strong relationship with your prospects, you need to engage in a conversation with them. Maintain a 2-way communication between you and your audience. Take genuine interest in what they have to say and follow up on comments or observations that are made.

Thoroughly know the subject you are talking about: Position yourself as an expert on these platforms. But be sure that you know what you’re talking about. Research if you aren’t sure of something. Mistakes on these platforms spread quickly and damage the reputation of your business.

Personalize your interaction: It’s advisable to personalize your interaction with your audience. Inquire about an event or occasion posted on a Wall, such as a recent trip, or “like” their vacation pictures on Facebook.

Portray your individuality: The biggest advantage small business owners have over large corporations is the fact that they are much smaller and haven’t lost that real-person feel. Let your audience know the person behind the business. Make sure your interactions include a personal side!

Respond to your customers’ grievances ASAP: Did you know that 88% of customers say unanswered complaints on social media sites deter them from doing repeat business? And deleting customer complaints is even worse! So make sure you resolve your customer’s complaints on social media platforms immediately. Even if you can’t resolve them, at least respond so that they know they’re being heard. Acknowledge everything.

Mention your Social Media presence: Advertise your profiles. Always provide links to your social media profile in your website, blog, e-mails and even print materials. For websites and blogs, it’s best to add Facebook and twitter widgets which provide a live feed of what’s happening on your Facebook/twitter page, right there on your website or blog. Provide incentives or value adding information such as whitepapers or articles in order to encourage people to follow you on social media sites!

Monitor & moderate: Monitor your social media presence. Find out where your name’s coming up online and in what context it has been used. A Google alert is the simplest way to do this, though there are many free tools available online to monitor your web presence. Also stay in-control of your social media pages. Read what others are putting up on your page and respond promptly.

Syndicate your Social Media content: Content creation takes time. So why not make the most of the content you have? Post your content on all popular social media sites and don’t hesitate to re-use them. Turn a blog post into a link and put it on Facebook. Convert it into a video and add to YouTube and Facebook or turn it into a presentation and put it up on SlideShare. The aim is to get maximum exposure for your content.

What you should not do?

DON’T overtly push your products/services: Social media is a platform

where you build relationships, to create value. It’s NOT an advertising venue. Your audience

will shun you if all you talk about is the stuff you sell. Think about it, would you talk to your family

and friends about the products you sell all the time? Of course not! Then don’t treat your

social media audience any differently.

DON’T spam your contacts with pointless updates: OK, so now you added two new products to your line-up. While it’s great to share the news, don’t spam your contacts with ads. Put up a link to the new range of products; monitor who is interested and share information on a need-to-know basis.

DON’T have grammar and spelling errors in your posts: You are a small business out to create an impression. Don’t spoil it through spelling and grammatical errors. Use spelling/grammar checking tools, but never rely solely on them. Proofread your posts before putting them up online. If spelling or grammar is not your strong suit, have someone else proofread your work before it goes out

DON’T fail to respond to requests for help in your area of expertise: If you are a part of a group or forum, seize every opportunity to display your expertise. Don’t be a wallflower-actively participate in discussions.

DON’T let your profile get stale: Make sure your profile is frequently updated and that you offer something new. One mistake many small business owners make is creating social media profiles and then forgetting about them. Your social media efforts have to be on-going to bear results.

DON’T get distracted: There’s a lot of distraction available online-especially on social media channels that can make you lose track of your productive hours online. Games, quizzes, forums and live-chats-while these can be interesting tools to attract prospect interest, focus on your goals. Otherwise you’ll find yourself investing too much time and energy into activities that offer no returns to your business.

Don’t Be Corrupted By Social Media Slang

What is Social Media Slang? Slang are informal words and language not associated with the standard/common language we use in society.

Social Media Slang is picked up mainly from communicating in Social Media. When communicating within Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter, you are often presented a short amount of space to relay information to convey to the other user involved.

Shortcuts, Abbreviations and L337 Speak are often concocted from the quick and short communication avenues.

Early Social Media Slang

Before Twitter and Facebook wall posts and status updates there was AOL and chat rooms with instant messaging.

AOL is known for the grand daddy of Internet slang creation and was the start of the early trendsetter of rapid short communication shortcuts. L33t Speak and Acronyms were heavily used back in the AOL days.

L337 Speak had AOL users writing words like:

// 0 n3 Y = Money

MiCrOsoFt = Microsoft

4 replaces A, 3 replaces E, 7 replaces T 1 replaces L, and $ replaces S, 13 replaces B are just a few more examples. L337 speak is still widely used in Video Games still.

Acronyms or the “Text Talk” is very popular still too. Some examples are below

U = You 2 = Too TTYL = Talk to you later LOL = Laughing out loud 4 = For R = Are O= OH

Corruption of the English Language

With chat rooms and instant messaging slowing losing traffic and more and more users are Texting and using Social Networks now to communicate, Internet Slang now has transformed to Social Media Slang.

These are English Teacher’s worst nightmares. These shortcut slang talk can corrupt your Business and Education.

Just because its easy to do to just “slang talk” or “text talk”, try to still practice good communication and not fall victim of Social Media Slang. You don’t want to write a proposal for a client that has this below:

“Hello wut do u want 2 do today? plz let me know, k, ttyl”

This of course is very unprofessional and can be detrimental to your etiquette. Although this seems like commons sense more and more professionals are caught with “Social Media Slang”

Just like with your personal profiles, keep your online etiquette very professional as well and don’t fall to the corruption of shortcuts and slang.

One thing to do on social media is to write content for your posts. Posts are what keep your social media active and your audience engaged. However, it’s imperative that you have a strategy so that you can get the most out of your social media interactions.

Understand Your Customers

You need to know who your target audience is so that you can recognize what type of posts will get more traction with them. For example, some audience members will be insulted by certain types of comedy. Others will respond very well to it. Know who they are so that your posts can be targeted.

Watch Your Competition

It’s always a good idea to check out what your competition is doing in regard to social media posts. Don’t just copy what they are doing. Instead, observe whether or not the competition is getting a result or not from their actions, and note how you can do it better or differently.

Know the Goal of the Post

What action do you want your customers to take when they read the post? Do you want them to click through to read more? Do you want them to like, follow and share? You need to be clear about what you want them to do in order to get action.

Add a Relevant Image

People respond best to relevant images on social media. You can make memes and infographic using free software like Canva.com for your social media posts. A nice image, watermarked with a relevant quote will do wonders.

Write Content that Gets Attention

When you share a meme or a blog post or other type of post write content about it, and what you want your readers to do about it.

Ask Your Audience to Share

Never forget to ask your audience to share your posts. You can also invite them to take memes and infographics off your website to share. Just set up a new page that lists all the watermarked images that your audience can share.

Respond to Comments

Don’t just ignore the interaction that is happening on your social media pages. Always respond, and add comments to the discussion. Answer questions, and be kind. Even if someone is rude, don’t respond rudely. If you have to, delete the rude comment and let it go.

Writing social media posts that get a discussion going and inspire people to share and interact is an art. You’ll need to try different tactics to see what works with your particular audience. But, be sure to always have a call to action on the post so that your audience knows what to do.

As an author, you’re likely looking for as much visibility for you and your book(s) as possible. There are countless ways to achieve your outcome. One is with press releases aka media releases.

Yet, many authors never consider adding media releases into their marketing mix.

If you’re not using the power of media releases in your marketing, you may be missing lots of opportunity.

Paid vs FREE

There are many ways to get traction for your efforts. There are free services you can distribute to, but their reach may be minimal.

There are plenty of paid services that will get you lots of traction, but if you’re on a budget, this may not be the way to go.

With my last book launch, I got great results from PRWeb. My releases were picked up by thousands of outlets. However, there is a cost for the service.

This can be cost prohibitive for anyone on a budget, but the reach may be worth reconsidering your budget restrictions.

What’s Your Time Worth?

The first thing to determine is what your time is worth. If you have more time than money, manually distributing your releases may be your best bet.

However, if you have a budget, using services that get your release on the newswire are a great option.

The fastest way to get your media release out on the wire is to use a service like PRWeb. There are also industry specific services that can get you in front of the right media in record time.

A quick Google search will bring up services in a variety of industries.

You can search on virtually any industry to see what’s available.

Before jumping into paying for distribution, do your due diligence. Check with others in that industry to determine if the investment is worth is.

Local Media

If you plan to do local book signings, your local media can be the way to go.

Local media includes:

• Daily newspapers

• Weekly publications

• Monthly magazines

• Radio stations

• Television

When sending media releases to local media, you need to send in a timely fashion. Weekends are usually not the best time to send out your information.

How to Send Your Release

In days past, you had to fax or snail mail your information. Today, you can often post directly to the website of the media outlet.

Avoid sending your press release in an email blast. Authors mistakenly believe that sending their press release to the greatest number of people possible-journalists and non-journalists alike-is the best way to increase the likelihood that they will get “picked up” by the media. This is not true.

It’s better to send to a smaller number of very targeted people rather than blasting a bunch of people who could care less about what you are doing.

You can also distribute to groups on social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Twitter is another viable source to post information about your book.

Writing The Release

The bottom line is this; media releases do work and need to be a part of your overall marketing plan.

Take time to write media releases in order to get more visibility for your books.

When we stand and force, through contrivances of our own, the view of another toward our message, our communication, we are said to be hailing. It is to announce that we seek the attention of the Other, that we are asking, if not demanding, that they pay immediate efforts to comprehend what it is we are saying. For the critical philosopher, Louis Althusser, the action of the hail works well as a tool of analysis in the context of communication research. That is to say, Althusser’s conceptual framework provides a language through which we can identify and define the influence the mass media exerts over the public.

In Althusser’s thinking, hegemonic ideology plays through, and is in fact mechanized by, the messages of the mass media. That is to say, if ideologies exist in the very apparatuses and practices of the cultural institutions of the dominant forces (the State), then in a laissez faire capitalist society these institutions must include the progenitors and disseminators of the messages of mass media. For example, we increasingly see the power of the media to shape messages of popularity, of the arts, and of war. Through the use of the mass media, individuals do not realize their subjection; rather, they believe they are participating in ritual practices (such as voting in national elections for presidents, or on American Idol for singers) in order to be a person who acts according to their ideas. Rather than some sort of static idea set that the dominant proscribes for the subjected to think and believe, ideology is a very dynamic process that is constantly reproducing and reconstituting in actual practice. Althusser refers to this change mechanism as interpellation.

As it is informed by the practice of the mass media, advertising is a perfect vehicle for the interpretation of the process. For Althusser, interpolation begins with hailing–a heralding to join in on the proposition at hand. For advertising, this could be the promise of the product as it implies to imbue the purchaser with special and socially acceptable qualities–beautiful skin, envy of others, safety for family, etc. Upon these propositions, the hail of the advertisement works to recruit subjects into its dominant system. The mass media message calls out, hails, to the viewer and as attention is gathered and solidified, subjectifies the viewer through their total acceptance of the ideological proposition, and in doing so interpolates them into the ideological system. Ultimately, successfully interpolated subjects do not realize their subjection, only that they have freely chosen to become part and parcel of the dominant ideology.

That is not to say there is no resistance. Those so hailed may choose to follow the ideology, or they may choose to be oppositional to its messages; that is, to become radical or rebellious. However, in doing so, they must often face consequences for their resistance. Althusser points out that adherents to alternative or oppositional ideologies are “punished” through mainstream societal ridicule or ostracism. It is interesting, therefore, how popular mass media increasingly is producing narratives that impart the “beauty” of the radical voice. Indeed, in films such as V is for Vendetta, the hero saves the world through his rebellion against a dominant force supported by a popular media culture.

Ultimately, Althusser uses these definitions and interpretations to bring forth a philosophy that allows for mechanisms of cultural power, and the projection of force when such power is used in a mass mediated environment. These are the forces that exist so ubiquitously today, and the hailing forces of interpolation for which modern subjectification must be cautioned.

In the new digital world, businesses are discovering platforms that offer them a whole new way of marketing products. This includes the ability to find audiences that fit the exact demographic that is needed to sell the service. There are now many networking platforms available on the internet that can be used to market a business. It has now been found that social networking sites such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter enhance the sales of a company. In this piece we will take a look at the most popular social networking sites that are currently available and will outline the pros and cons for each site when using them for business marketing.

Facebook

Facebook is currently the most popular social networking platform and can be used to connect between friends and family as well as business clients. It can also be used to find brands and topics of interest, thanks to its focus on the ability to post media and data that can appeal to others within a network. It is also one of the most popular platforms and has the highest number of users.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn a similar site to Facebook, but focuses on a business orientated network. It is a great place to network with other business sectors that deal in the same set of services. However, it is one of the more professional networking sites and will not appeal to the wider audience.

Twitter

Twitter is another social platform that has benefits that Facebook lacks. Twitter is more focused than Facebook and is designed for smaller, less formal posts. This is an advantage as it focuses information and makes it more digestible by its audience.

Google+

Google+ is a relatively new platform and has yet to show its full potential as an effective website for business marketing. However, as the platform becomes more popular, the ability to use it as an effective tool when marketing is increasing.

YouTube

YouTube is a platform that allows users to upload videos. However, it is the second most popular social networking site, after Facebook. Video content is a powerful tool for businesses. Whether it becomes viral or is simply listed on Google, the visual medium is very effective in attracting customers.

Pinterest And Instagram

Pinterest and Instagram are two more networking sites that focus their media output in imagery. This is great for businesses that with to show their products and services via images. These networking sites are simple and effective and allow followers to comment on images and re-blog them on their own profile.

It is usually best to pick one networking platform and to stick to that one. Although Facebook is one of the most popular networks, it may not be the best for a business. It can be worth checking what your main competitors are using as their networking platform, as this will give you a good idea of where you may find individuals that will buy into your service and purchase your products.

Nothing you can do will prevent your video tapes from wearing out.Most VHS tapes wear out somewhere after only 10-15 years even if you don’t watch them.

If you are interested in learning about converting VHS to digital camcorder media, first know that the process is really not all that difficult. Even if you are not exactly a pro with electronics and things like that, you can still do this all on your own, with this helpful advice.

Equipment Needed For Converting VHS To Digital Camcorder Media

The first thing you are going to have to do is gather together the pieces of equipment that are going to be necessary for you to convert your VHS tapes to digital version. This includes a VCR or analog camcorder, digital camcorder, computer with suggested minimum requirements: Pentium 4 or equivalent, 512M memory, 20G disk space, video editing software, a DVD burner and blank DVD media.

Now that you have all of the necessary equipment you are ready to get started and start converting VHS to digital camcorder media. You are going to need to make the connections now and so first you want to determine the video and audio inputs on your digital camcorder. Find out where they are so that you are aware and keep in mind that you may have to open a compartment somewhere on the camcorder to get to these inputs. Now you want to examine your VCR for outputs, and if you do not have an S-video output then you are going to have to use the composite connection.

Perform The Conversion

Now you are all set up and are going to actually perform the conversion. You need to turn on the computer, digital camcorder and the VCR, and start the video editing software on the computer. Your computer may have an auto-play mode and so wait to see if the software starts up on its own before attempting to start it yourself.

If the video editing software recognizes the camcorder device that is connected to it, which it should then you can move on and check your resolution for the video capture. As long as there is enough space on the computer for the length of the software you want to convert, you will be fine and can move on to the next step.

Next in the process of converting VHS to digital camcorder media involves you rewind the VHS tape, and then you want to hit the play button on the VCD and the record button on the video editing software. This will complete the process of converting VHS to digital camcorder media and you can now do this to all your VHS tapes and make them digital.

I hope you have gotten some good ideas from this article and that you are able to use them.

For More Info On How to Convert VHS to Other Digital Media, Visit:

How I like newspapers! I still remember the first time I leafed through a newspaper that someone had left at my grandfather’s house, it was full of stuff. But eventually I learned to read critically. I believe that now, more than ever, it’s necessary to debate the connection between information and democracy. Even in a digital world, the newspapers are indispensable guides to politics and to the news of one or another cultural movement in society. The media are a pulpit that can be used for good or evil. The problem today is that both commercialism on the rise and political bias have eroded journalistic professionalism. That’s tragic yet realistic State of the Media 2020.

In fact, it is next to impossible to find free debate in the mainstream mass media. Surely, editorialists need not repress or disguise their perspectives, but reporters are not asked to give opinions on things. But what do we see? They are encouraged by their bosses to do precisely that. When they do poorly their jobs – I think this is the case – the damage spreads further than they can see. Because they reach a large number of persons and because their subject matter in essence is the evaluation and appraisal of social good and evil. For evaluating political culture, they get their facts wrong and bring stories that typically hurt the truth. This is how the mainstream media twists the truth. But who cares? We are living in a post-truth era, after all.

The mainstream media is misleading; it should give expression to viewpoints with which it differs. Few people plough through the paper from cover to cover, but editorialists put their perspective in headlines, leads, and data. So which concepts and ideas are “in”? It is rare to find in the media the most panoramic perspective we could see if we dip into the papers published decades ago, in part because today they restrict “both sides” to the narrow consensus of left-thinking commissars. They did not notice people’s sorrows in their eager interest in something else. There certainly have been more responsible editorial columns and broadcastings spots in newspapers, radios, and television years ago.

Above all, the “dissident” opinions are filtered out or at best treated as bullshit (pardon my French). Open communication and frank debate, based on open source of news, are increasing becoming a threat to big corporations and political parties. The tendency is being confirmed, in a somewhat embarrassing way, when you think of the daily attacks mainstream media do on conservative politics in countries like USA, Brazil, or Argentina. There’s lot of news coming out of our mainstream media these days and much of it has notoriously the tendency of refusing to recognize the conservative Christian politicians’ good qualities. The media present us with a distorted view of reality.

We aspire for more meaningful democracy. We need more independent segments of the press. That makes the concepts of cultural intelligence and moral commitment all the more interesting.

‘Digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’

What differentiates the ‘digital native’ generation, who grew up with the Internet from those who didn’t?

Typically, many older workers, or ‘digital immigrants’, talk about their comfort zone. They find comfort in a hierarchical, command and control management structure. They are good communicators, who like to think, plan and do – in that order. They favour a top-down approach and generally like to play safe. Many of our senior managers fit into the digital immigrant generation.

Digital natives, on the other hand, prefer a guiding and nurturing environment. They do not want instructions handed down from on-high. They are great communicators and great networkers. But they do it differently. Digital tools and social media are like extensions of themselves. This emerging generation thinks acts and communicates quickly. They like engagement and like to try things out. They harness their team’s collective experience and skills in order to find solutions. It’s all about communicating. Many of the people now joining the workforce are digital natives.

The old way and the new?

The old way uses intranets or websites as static sites. Staff can search and find, but have limited ability to contribute. The new way is interactive and collaborative and uses social media such as Social networks (e.g. Facebook), Blogs, Discussion Forums and Wikis. Social media tools definitely add value to employee communications. They can help build relationships, increase collaboration, improve productivity, reduce silos, and build engagement. They also offer an excellent means to share ideas and gather qualitative feedback. So why is social media sometimes so hard to implement as an internal communications tool? Communicators understand the power of social media but their senior managers, who are often digital immigrants, remain wary and unconvinced. Are these the arguments that you are hearing?

‘It’s not a priority”

A CIO magazine’s study,Top Technology Priorities found that even IT professionals don’t consider Web 2.0 a priority. They’re focused on network consolidation, outsourcing, CRM, and security. This would seem to back up management’s assertion that Intranet 2.0 needs to take a back seat.

The response

Point out that Web 2.0 tools are already commonplace. Innovative companies are already leveraging the power of these tools. Many social media tools are easy and relatively cheap to implement. They don’t need to compete with major IT plans.

Don’t make sweeping claims when you are proposing social media tools. Managers don’t want to hear about social media democratizing the organization. They want to know how business goals will be supported. So use language the CEO will understand and focus on concrete goals where possible.

Spot opportunities and start with small simple projects. Provide evidence of success before proposing a wider implementation.

Do your homework. Support your proposal for a wider implementation with case studies. IBM, Sun Microsystems and the hundreds of other Fortune 500 companies are already successfully wielding these tools.

Tips

Choose web 2.0 channels that have been specifically designed for employee communication. Use low cost communications channels that are quick and easy to implement and manage. Use a platform that is easy for IT to implement and has little need for ongoing IT support. Choose a platform that allows access rights to be targeted to specific staff groups. Ensure centralised reporting allows you to easily quantify the value of the web 2.0 channels and demonstrate their strategic communications value to senior managers.

Try a free trial or low cost pilot to test concepts out prior to a more comprehensive commitment to social media as an internal communications channel.

“We don’t have the time, money or resources”

Management quite rightly recognizes that communicators are already overworked. They might also voice concerns about the cost of the tools and the lack of support resources.

The response

Explain tools that assist internal communications assist you. As for the tools being hungry on money and resources, explain that generally these tools are relatively inexpensive and require little time to set up. Rather then worrying about the return on investment in financial terms the focus should be on what can be gained from making them available. To keep costs down, lease a Web 2.0 solution. This allows you to leverage developments based on learning from other organisations. Study less and do more:

• Start the dialogue and keep listening to the comments
• Spot opportunities in the business where social media could provide a good fit
• Start small and simple and use an iterative process
• Predict concerns and solve problems early
• Create an army of evangelists

Tips

Choose web 2.0 channels that have been built only for employee communications purposes, they are not a ‘one size fits all’ solution with a confusing array of set-up options.

Use a solution that is authenticated back to employees computers which means it is very secure but staff also do not need to remember a user name and password. Just one click and staff are able to participate.

Select a user friendly, intuitive solution that allows staff to participate with little or no training. Use a low cost solution that can fit within existing employee communications budgets. Utilise free trials to test out small deployments and evolve the use of staff social media channels based on staff feedback and learning. Increases in productivity facilitated by improved information flow can easily cost justify the use of social media for employee communications. For example, an interactive Helpdesk channel provides effective real time support channels for staff by allowing them to ask questions in interactive online helpdesks. This means that answers can be made available almost immediately and become part of an evolving searchable repository of knowledge. It doesn’t suit our culture

“These tools aren’t a fit with our culture. It’s not the way we do business…”

The response

Do you have a young, tech-savvy workforce in an organisation with a flat structure, or is the structure hierarchical with predominantly older workers who may feel uncomfortable with new technology.

It is important to recognise your culture, and to work out what will work and what won’t. It is true social media fits better where the culture is democratic and open, rather than hierarchical and paternal. However, even conservative companies are finding increasing numbers of digital natives joining their ranks. Collaboration and team work are here to stay. Knowledge-sharing enables the whole company to benefit from an individual’s expertise, and ensures that this knowledge doesn’t exit the organisation when the individual leaves.

Explain that providing additional channels for sharing information does not equate to loss of control or a decline in standards. It should lead to increased productivity and innovation. It may be helpful to encourage knowledge-sharing and collaboration by assisting executives to lead by example. You could also workout a system of rewards for champion bloggers and networkers.

Tips

Select a platform with a range of moderation options. Simply select the setting required for a specific employee blog, staff discussion forum or online helpdesk. Even the most risk adverse managers should feel comfortable with a communications channel that requires every post and comment moderated.

If possible set up moderators to receive desktop alerts notifying them of the need to approve content so that approval (or not) can be fast and seamless.

In time, as managers become more comfortable with the social media as an employee communications tool, it may be appropriate to reset the moderation level to only anonymous posts and comments or even to switch moderation off altogether.

For organizations that are really adverse to social media, why not consider an electronic magazine fomat that permits ‘user generated’ content.

This will enable you to distribute ‘safe discussion’ directly to the employee’s computer screen.

“It will open a can of worms”

“Employees will say inappropriate things. People will complain, or insult management. Bad language will appear on comments…”

Management may express concerns that the ‘rumour mill’ will take over, or that staff will spend all day complaining. Management may also be concerned that knowledge-sharing via staff forums or blogs sets a dangerous precedent. This informant is ‘unofficial’ as no-one has authorised it.

The response

Gossip and staff complaints were around long before Web 2.0 came on the scene. If social media channels do throw up unpleasant surprises, you have at least identified that there are issues which you can address, rather than having a seething undercurrent. Where engagement is low and/or guidelines and policy are not stated, staff may not know how else to communicate worries or causes of dissatisfaction.

Define what social media tools can be used for as part of your strategy and communicate the policy. For example, some companies allow comments to go live without being filtered, whereas others insist that comments go through the editor. Some organizations allow anonymous posts while others don’t. Some even have a forum entitled ‘Rumour Mill’ to flush concerns and gossip out into the open to be addressed.

Not all information needs to be official. Tacit knowledge is still shared around the water cooler, or sent via a memo or email. It may never be captured in a form that can be shared. Management agree that this is a huge disadvantage when knowledgeable staff leave, taking their ‘unofficial’ knowledge with them. Online tools, on the other hand, capture this know-how. Your staff will easily recognize the distinction between opinion and authoritative content.

Tips

Specify a ‘Code of Conduct’ clearly at the top of each page view. Implement a range of moderation levels which allow you to monitor and approve posts if required. For example, moderators could be set to receive a desktop alert when an anonymous post or comment is made.

Use multiple interactive channels. Setting up a specific, moderated helpdesk, for example, around an organisational change, can help keep inappropriate content out of other staff discussion forums. ‘Risky’ discussions, where sentiment might be negative, can be targeted securely to only those affected. This means that negativity does not need to ‘infect’ the rest of the organisation.

“It’s too risky, too uncontrolled”

Management may equate loss of formality with a decline in standards. The idea that staff can write what they want runs counter to the command-and-control structure of many organisations. Considerable time, effort, and money go into crafting a strong brand image. CEOs may fear that the company’s image will suffer if they make it easy for staff to say anything they want about the organization or their colleagues and managers. They may also worry about leaks to outside world.

The response

Just because communication is taking place online doesn’t mean that professionalism and respect will be forgotten. Most staff already know that inappropriate use of email is not acceptable, and will transfer this knowledge automatically to social media tools.

Don’t forget that Management have legitimate concerns about the need to keep some information confidential. You can offset Management’s fear of losing control by implementing appropriate security measures and guidelines for these channels, just as you do with email and Internet use. There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to setting the policy. You know your organisation and whatever works best for your organisation is the best way to go. IBM’s solution was to create a wiki and to get its staff to create the policy themselves.

The fact that blogs and online discussion are visible is more likely to deter inappropriate comments.

Tips

Choose social media channels that have been built specifically for secure employee communication. Use a solution with a Client applet that resides on staff computers. Only staff who have the applet and have been targeted with access rights can view these channels. This means that the risk of leaks to the outside world is dramatically reduced.

Code of conduct and moderation options mean that if it possible to keep a close eye on conversations that are considered high risk.

Desktop alerts can inform moderators when new content is added to blogs, forums, Q&A spots and staff helpdesks. This can allow moderators to check that information is correct and amend posts if necessary.

The story and history of Social Media

The history of social media is an important milestone for business and websites. Social networking may seem like a fairly new marvel on the Internet with Twitter and Facebook being the two most popular, but in reality, social is not and never was just devised of these two platforms. In fact, Facebook and Twitter were rolled out nearly thirty years after social started on the Internet. It’s true that it was not until 2004 and 2006 when Facebook and Twitter kicked off that social media started to change the world and the way that people communicate online, but the truth is that social media started with email, usenet, the world wide web, blogs and AOL instant messenger. The history of the Internet is the history of social networking.

Social Media History

The phenomena of social networking blossomed in 1994 with the creation of Geocities, which allowed its users to setup websites modeled after certain urban areas. At that time, more than 1,500 web servers were online in 1994 and people were referring to the Internet as the Information Superhighway.

• In 1971, a government organization called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) sent the first email.
• In 1980, Usenet worldwide distributed Internet discussion system was launched and with it, thousands flocked to the message boards to discuss music, science, literature and sports.

These two events signal the dawn of social networking.

What do people do with social media?

• Posting and sharing
• Reading and viewing
• Linking and commenting
• Interacting with brands
• Interacting with fan pages
• Playing games
• Chatting and messaging

What is social?

• It’s huge. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populated in the world, behind only China and India.
• The amount of video uploaded to YouTube every minute is more than 24 hours (double from the year prior).
• The number of YouTube videos viewed per day is over 2 billion (double from the year prior).
• The number of images hosted on Flickr is over 4 billion (that is 13 times more than the Library of Congress).
• The number of companies using LinkedIn to find and attract employees is 95%.
• The number of marriages last year between people who met through social media is 1 in 6, which is twice as many people who met in bars, clubs and other social events.
• The average number of tweets per day on Twitter is over 27 million (that is 8 time more than the year prior)..

Who is social?

More than half of the human race is under the age of 30. So if you want to a sense of where the world’s media habits are headed, it makes sense to watch what kids are doing.

Reaching customers

Social media is the best way to reach your most influential customers, and the only way to reach your most cynical ones. Social media is the crack cocaine of the Internet. We want it, we need it, and we go through withdraw when we don’t have it.

The future of business and social

Social media is a way of thinking. It’s not about sales or ads or click-through rates. It’s about pursuing relationships and fostering communities of consumers. Businesses that wish to grow need to rethink their entire business marketing process. Social requires businesses to make plans because with social, customers are in the center and they are in control.

Level the playing field

Social media is dramatically leveling the playing field and connecting us like never before. So, forget your brand. You don’t own it. You can spend all sorts of time and money trying to manufacture public opinion, but ultimately it’s up to the public.

Social media is redefining everything.

• How we work
• How we play
• How we learn
• How we share
• How we discover
• How we create
• How we complain
• How we celebrate
• How we mourn
• How we applaud
• How we influence
• How we collaborate
• How we investigate
• How we evaluate

The rules of social media are basically the same as media.

1. Listen
2. Engage
3. Be real
4. Be respectful
5. Have fun

Home on the Internet

Social media is the ongoing conversation of the planet. It’s the source of news, and more often that not, social is the home on the Internet. It’s the home page and the place where most people spend time on the Internet. Social media is the mainstream. It moves the media mouthpiece and constantly distributes to the hands of the public.

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