2014 social media marketing trends (video)

This great three-minute video by Engage Target Media highlights some key areas to watch out for in 2014. In summary:

1. You must have a social media presence and integrate the strategy into your marketing plan.
2. Watch out for Google+. Its user base is growing, and Google+ pages have higher SEO rankings.
3. Create content that focuses on images and videos, because it is more likely to engage your audience than text alone.
4. Expect an increased use of micro-videos, like Vine and Instagram, in small-business marketing.
5. LinkedIn’s Influencers Platform will allow for greater content curation and sharing, boosting LinkedIn’s share on the market.

While social media should no longer be new to a business strategy, it needs to be fully integrated into a company’s communications, marketing or public relations plans. As that happens, you need to start thinking about measurable goals and ways to track your success on social media. Ultimately, this means that social media may not be the free medium it used to be. While there are many social media monitoring an analytics tools on the market, many come at a cost when you want to receive substantive data.

Keep this in mind as you plan your budget for 2015 and beyond. Some of my favorite social media monitoring and analytics tools right now are HootSuite, Twitonomy and Followerwonk.

Giving my first webinar (Adobe Connect 101)

Image courtesy of http://all-free-download.com.

Having participated in dozens of webinars over the years, I felt that delivering information in real-time via the Web was left for a few select experts. There was a certain mystique to having face-to-face or voice-to-voice interaction over computers that I thought was beyond my technical expertise.

So, when I was required by my grad school course to deliver a webinar presentation via Adobe Connect, I was a bit apprehensive. Knowing my grade depended on it, however, I sucked it up, signed up for a test session, and realized there really wasn’t much to fear.

I’m sure other applications offer similar functionality, but here is a summary of my experience with Adobe Connect. 

On the upside, it has an intuitive interface. After one brief test session, I felt comfortable with using the platform in its basic settings. I was able to upload my PowerPoint slides easily, as well as a headshot so listeners could identify who was talking to them. If I had wanted to, I could have turned on my webcam, but felt that enabling that function would have distracted from the content I was sharing.

Another plus was that the tool encourages participant interaction. The program allows participants to type questions in a chat-like function, allowing you to interact with your audience in real-time. Participants also could turn on their microphones to verbalize questions, if they wanted to. 

One downside I experienced was due to the setup I was accessing, not the product itself. Because I used Adobe Connect through my university’s account, the constraints with that setup didn’t allow me to preload my presentation, which meant participants had to sit and watch me scroll through my computer’s files to upload the presentation. Those steps were a bit awkward and detracted from the professional appearance I wanted to convey. That issue, however, should not be a problem for those who have full access to Adobe Connect.

One other drawback was primarily the result of my inexperience with the platform. I wanted to show a video to the audience, but because I hadn’t had a chance to practice with my final presentation, I wasn’t confident enough to embed it in my presentation or move away from my PowerPoint slides to my browser to show it. From watching the presentations of others in my class, this should not be a difficult task, but I preferred, instead, to share the link with my audience at the end of my presentation.

Overall, I was very satisfied using Adobe Connect and pleased that conducting a webinar wasn’t as scary as it seemed. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to try it!

Boosting employee morale: The secret’s in the talk

What’s the key to having happy, engaged employees? According to a recent Accountemps survey, it’s all about communication. In fact, one-third of HR professionals surveyed named lack of open communication as the leading contributor to low employee morale.

Not a shocking finding, in my view. Most of us who have worked in an office probably can attest to feeling unhappy and disengaged when we feel out of the loop, even if it’s unintentional or for a short time.

But what can we do about it? In an age of increasing electronic communication, it’s a constant battle just to stay on top of email. Is there a way to communicate smarter?

Social networking may provide an answer. While it won’t change a boss who shares information only on a need-to-know basis, an internal social network can help break down company silos and enhance communication between work groups.

I work in an organization that just started using Yammer, a private social network that allows you to collaborate and connect with your co-workers. Whether you work in a company of 10 people or 10,000, it can be an effective communication tool for your organization.

After a few months of use, here are my top five benefits of Yammer:

1.    It’s easy to use – The layout is very similar to Facebook, where you set up a profile and can share information about yourself.

2.    It’s private – Only people with your company email address can join your network.

3.    You can share what you want and determine who sees it – From updates and events to videos, polls or praise, you can share information with everyone in your organization, or select people or groups.  

4.    It brings together people who may not work in the same location – The mobile apps are easy to download and keep people in the field up-to-speed.

5.    It’s free! (There are paid upgrades, but you can get a lot out of the free version.)

A number of companies have found success using Yammer to change how they do business and re-engage employees, including Air Canada, Northwind Hotels, LexisNexis and Jamba Juice. Maybe you can relate to their stories. By facilitating information-sharing, Yammer can help build company culture and increase employee morale.

In the end, however, a communication tool as only as strong as the commitment of those who use it, so if you’re thinking about getting started on Yammer, you may want to read this article about the best way to use the tool: Top 5 Things You Can Do to Make Your Network a Success.

References:

1. “Build an internal social network that fosters employee collaboration.” Ragan Training, November 2013, accessed February 21, 2014, http://ragantraining.com/video/build-internal-social-network-fosters-employee-collaboration.
2. Facebook. “CEO of Northwind Hotels shares a story of enterprise collaboration.” Facebook.com. https://www.facebook.com/IdeaCage/posts/370983013032317 (accessed February 21, 2014).
3. “Lack of communication main source of low employee morale.” Canadian HR Reporter, October 22, 2013, accessed February 21, 2014, http://www.hrreporter.com/articleview/19165-lack-of-communication-main-source-of-low-employee-morale-survey.
4. Rouse, Kathleen, “Top 5 Things You Can Do to Make Your Network a Success,” Yammer.com, August 7, 2013, accessed February 21, 2014, https://about.yammer.com/yammer-blog/top-5-network-success/.
5. Yammer. “Billy’s Yammer Moment: Contributing to the Business in Unexpected Ways.” Yammer.com. https://about.yammer.com/yammer-blog/billys-yammer-moment-contributing-business-unexpected-ways/ (accessed February 21, 2014).
   —, “Home page.” Yammer.com. https://www.yammer.com/?return_home=true (accessed February 21, 2014).
   —, “Shawna’s Yammer Moment: Accelerating Her Career at Jamba Juice.” Yammer.com. https://about.yammer.com/yammer-blog/shawnas-yammer-moment-accelerating-career-jamba-juice/ (accessed February 21, 2014).

5 tips for writing a good blog post

A quick Google search will land you hundreds of articles with tips on how to write a good blog post. Some say the sweet spot is about 500 words; others encourage writing as long as you want, depending on your goals and audience; and some even offer a formula for determining the ideal length. And then there’s the frequency – do you post multiple times a day, or a few times a week or month?

Ultimately, the answers to these questions and more boil down to your goals and your audience. Here are my top five tips for writing a good blog post:

1. Know your audience and write for them. Before putting your eager little fingers to the keyboard, think for a minute about who you’re writing for. What’s in it for them? Is your goal the same as their goal? If you want readers to keep coming back for more, you need to make sure you’re reaching them. Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications says to “practice refrigerator journalism,” which means you need to write content so compelling your readers will want to print it out and post it on their refrigerators.
2. Write a captivating title. This is your shot to get your readers’ attention. Don’t blow it with boring copy. Numbered lists and tips are one way to attract readers, because people like to skim online articles. Or, use alliteration. You may want to start with a basic headline that explains what the post is about, but then rework it to capture the concept with a title that generates an image in your reader’s head. Then ask yourself, “Would I want to read this?”
3. Use an engaging graphic. Along with a great title, an appealing graphic can grab a potential reader’s interest just long enough to hook them in. Memes, gifs and infographics are a few ways to illustrate your blog post (check out this awesome article that explains these terms – and how to pronounce them!). But make sure the image relevant. You don’t want to mislead your audience into thinking they will learn about one thing, when in fact, it’s another.
4. Think about the takeaway. What do you want your readers to walk away with after reading your post? Was the point to teach, inspire action, motivate, cause a chuckle or something else? Did you accomplish that goal? 
5. Edit. Print out your post. Read it out loud to yourself. Could it be tighter? Delete some words. Are there any spelling or grammatical errors? Correct them. Reexamine your title – is it catchy enough? If not, rewrite it.

Those are my top tips – what are some of yours?

References:

1. Chowning, Kyle, “How to Calculate the Ideal Blog Post Length,” KyleChowning.com, August 22, 2013, accessed February 15, 2014, http://kylechowning.com/how-to-calculate-the-ideal-blog-post-length/.
2. Eridon, Corey, “A Simple Formula for Writing Kick-Ass Titles,” HubSpot, October 11, 2013, accessed February 15, 2014, http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/a-simple-formula-for-writing-kick-ass-titles-ht.
3. Eridon, Corey, “How Long Should Your Blog Posts Be? [FAQs],” HubSpot, November 7, 2013, accessed February 15, 2014, http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-long-should-your-blog-posts-be-faq.
4. Gold, Tracy, “Content Strategy: 9 Secrets for Awesome Blog Post Titles,” Content Marketing Institute, January 23, 2013, accessed February 15, 2014, http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/01/content-strategy-best-blog-post-titles/.
5. Gunelius, Susan, “Blog Posting Frequency Overview,” About.com, accessed February 15, 2014, http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/qt/BlogPostingFreq.htm.
6. Gunelius, Susan, “The Secrets of Blog Post Length,” About.com, accessed February 15, 2014, http://weblogs.about.com/od/writingablog/qt/The-Secrets-Of-Blog-Post-Length.htm.
7. Newbold, Curtis, “The 5 Best Ways to Capture an Audience’s Attention,” The Visual Communication Guy, September 30, 2013, accessed February 15, 2014, http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2013/09/30/the-5-best-ways-to-capture-an-audiences-attention/.
8. Pulizzi, Joe, “What’s the Right Frequency for Blog Posts?” Content Marketing Institute, May 6, 2011, accessed February 15, 2014, http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/05/whats-the-right-frequency-for-blog-posts/.
9. Stout, Dustin, “Online Image Terminology: Photos and Gifs and Memes, Oh My!” dustn.tv, January 23, 2014, accessed February 15, 2014, http:// dustn.tv/online-image-terminology/.
10. Strong, Frank, “Interview: Mark Ragan on Brand Journalism and Refrigerator Journalism,” Vocus.com, June 7, 2012, accessed February 15, 2014, http://www.vocus.com/blog/mark-ragan-refrigerator-journalism/.