Linking all your social networking profiles is just bad practice. Please don’t do this. I enjoy checking into Foursquare, but I realize that my Twitter followers don’t necessarily care that I’m still the mayor at Bruegger’s Bagels. Don’t link every check-in to Twitter, much less LinkedIn. In the same sense, every tweet shouldn’t automatically be sent to LinkedIn.

And now, LinkedIn has apparently heard the many complaints and has made an adjustment. I was glad to receive this notification from them today…

“Dear Scott,

At LinkedIn, we want to provide a simple and efficient experience for members like you. So from time to time, we take a look at our set of features to evaluate how they’re being used by our members. Part of this process sometimes means we decide to eliminate a feature, so we can better invest those resources in building more great LinkedIn products.

Recently, it was decided that the Tweets application, a LinkedIn feature that you’ve used at some point, will no longer be supported as of January 31, 2012. Starting on that date, you will no longer be able to post recent tweets in a module on your profile or view recent tweets in a separate module on the home page. However, you can still display tweets on your profile by binding your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts and then tweeting with an #in hashtag.

Thank you for your continued support of LinkedIn. If you have additional questions please visit our Help Center.”

This is great because it eliminates useless tweets from LinkedIn feeds. If your tweet merits exposure on LinkedIn, simply include the hashtag, #in. Please, please, please….only include the hashtag if you feel like the tweet will be interesting to LinkedIn users. Think business, professional, informative, helpful…not playful, whimsical or silly.

And by the way, I do think it’s OK to link your Facebook page posts to Twitter, as long as you check Twitter often for replies and RT’s.

Is your head spinning from all this social media linking info? Give me a call with your question at 336-331-2185.

Contact me to learn more.

Following quality people on Twitter is just as important as having quality people follow back. And always remember, just like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Don’t set up the profile, follow 100 people and wait to get followed back. Probably not gonna happen.

Who NOT To Follow

Don’t follow someone who hasn’t tweeted in several months. The chances are they’re not very active and won’t be of interest to you. If you’re so inclined, go ahead and follow. But, check back after awhile and if they haven’t followed back or tweeted…un-follow them.

Also, before you follow someone, check their tweets. Are they actually engaging people on Twitter, or are they just pushing out information? If there’s no conversation, they probably won’t be interested in you…even if they do follow back. They don’t get it. They’re not communicating with their audience. Many times these people have linked their Facebook posts to Twitter, so they’re not technically “on Twitter.” Traditional media is notorious for this.

Every newspaper, radio and TV station tweets about EVERY robbery, car accident, arrest, stabbing, etc. and it drives me nuts. This is not what most people want to see when they come to Twitter.

Quality or Quantity?

My suggestion is go after a quality audience, but also work hard to grow the number of followers. The goal is to get the audience as large as possible with quality tweeters. You may have to work harder if you’re only looking for people within a specific geographic region. But, don’t give up. Keep using the search tool and look for your target. They’re out there, but you have to go find them!

You can’t read a book and think you have what it takes to become a consultant. Opinion and theory are great, but no match for years of experience and a proven track record of execution and success.

Having said all that…here are a few tips on how to tell if the person calling on you truly knows their stuff.

A snake oil salesperson…

1 - Tweets about themselves and what THEY are doing…constantly.
2 – Uses automated programs like “Top Followed” to grow their list of followers.
3 – Does not re-tweet others and isn’t involved in conversations on Twitter.
3 - Has a Facebook page containing posts with no links, has only been live for a month and only has 20 fans.
4 – Doesn’t have many followers on Twitter. Probably less than 500, or so and doesn’t have a robust FB page.
5 – Doesn’t have a blog on their website, or they haven’t posted on their blog in 2 months.
6 - Can’t provide success stories, testimonials or share any case studies of their work.

The snake oil salesperson is out there and on the prowl. Don’t get led down the primrose path. Do a little homework and make a good call. Work with a consultant who has a proven track record of success and can back it up.

For more information, or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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According to a recent media study conducted by the Council for Research Excellence, advertisers need to keep traditional media in their marketing mix…for now.

While it’s true, there is phenomenal growth online with the explosion of Social Media…overall reach is still dominated by broadcast television with radio coming in second. The most notable development in this research is that the web has surpassed newspapers and magazines as the third best way to reach the masses with your message.

The study produced numbers based on the following key “advertising-based” media platforms:

• Television had the highest reach & daily usage among users (95.3%)
• Broadcast radio (77.3%)
• Web/Internet [excluding use of email] (63.7%)
• Newspapers (34.6%)
• Magazines (26.5%)

The print medium is dying. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it. It’s not going to die today, but it’s hard to believe that it will be around in its current form ten years from now. Real growth amongst these platforms is only happening on the internet and the difference here is with engagement.

Think of engagement this way. Can you email a TV spot to a friend? No, but you can send a YouTube video link to your buddy via email or share it through Facebook and other forms of Social Media.

Did the newspaper ask your permission to send you that load of inserts in the Sunday paper? (Tell the truth…do you really look at every one of those?) No, they didn’t ask. But if you follow the independent, local furniture store on Twitter…you’ve given them permission to communicate with you.

Therefore, as an advertiser, the audience on your blog, fans of your Facebook page and followers on Twitter are incredibly valuable to you.  They want your marketing message. Don’t just spam them with discounts, etc. Engage them socially.

So, yes….traditional media still has the reach. Keep it in your mix. But, spend the time and make the effort to build a loyal audience online. The landscape will continue to change. Everybody’s getting in the boat. Don’t get left on the beach.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

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Most people don’t like change. And these changes caused quite an uproar amongst users, even to the point that users were fighting with each other about whether or not the changes were good. I must admit, I joined the debate.

Tickers, Timelines and Top Stories

Personally, I really like all the changes, except one…top stories. There are some pros and cons to this one.

Basically, Facebook picks which status updates/posts should be your “top stories” based on the relationship, number of people who like it, etc. and puts those at the top in the news feed. Most would argue they would rather see ALL of their friend’s updates, as well as updates from the pages they’ve liked, chronologically. That’s certainly how I feel.

What does this do to marketers who have worked so hard to grow their audiences and cultivate communities on their Facebook pages? The jury is still out, but I see some issues.

Pros and Cons

The bad thing: This means the likelihood of their audience seeing their posts will go down. In fact, I can see in the analytics where site traffic from Facebook has already started to decrease.

The good thing: Marketers who count on their business pages for website traffic and customer interaction will now have to work much harder to generate relevant, interesting, sharable content. Better content means more people will “like” it and be more likely to share that content with their friends.

Where Should We Focus?

The biggest takeaway for me in regards to the explosion of Google+ and the significant changes/updates to Facebook is the fact that regardless of social media evolution, everything always comes back to your website. Social media will continue to change and develop, as it should. Your website should also  improve on a regular basis, but IT should be your top priority…not mastering social media marketing. Your website is Base Camp. It’s a platform that YOU can control. The visitors generated from Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. should land on a website that doesn’t look like its straight out of 2004. Basically, it’s very important that your website doesn’t suck.

Make sure your website is at the top of its game. It needs to be visually appealing, have modern architecture, be search engine friendly (do the keyword research) and social media friendly, incorporating all the latest widgets and buttons that make for easy sharing. Your website should have a blog integrated within the site, not separate. It should also have analytics installed and you should be posting on the blog regularly, if not often.

Roll With The Changes

Don’t freak out when Facebook makes changes. This wasn’t the first and won’t be the last time they do. Also, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Get active on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. and get familiar with Google+. But, most importantly…have a website that stands out amongst your competitors. Make “Base Camp” your top priority and then put the icing on the cake with an awesome social marketing campaign.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or to learn more.

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1 – Retweet your followers: If one of your followers posts something you think is funny or interesting…retweet it for them. They’ll most likely see that and thank you…exposing your content to more people. Remember, Twitter’s not just about you.

2 – Post articles from other writers: Whatever your passion is…write about it on your blog. But also, post articles from other sources with similar content. This lets your followers know that you’re genuine about your passion and not just looking to push your own message out to them.

3 – Answer questions: Monitor your community and try to answer your followers’ questions. If you don’t know the answer to one…maybe someone else does. Find out and respond. This helps build your reputation and credibility, which can lead to more followers and the likelihood that your posts will get retweeted…hence, extending the reach of your message.

For more information, or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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It would be very easy to come up with more than 5 reasons why your business should be utilizing social media.

Here are 5 significant reasons to consider…

1 – Establish yourself as an expert – Blog about your business and share tips and advice to help you stand apart as the expert in your field. Share those blog posts on your Facebook page and Twitter profile and your audience will come to you with questions.

2 – Word of Mouth – Your potential customers are talking to their friends and family about their purchases. If your fans and follwers trust you they’ll tell others…increasing the chances they’ll buy from you.

3 – Build Relationships – The audience you develop through social media will be more loyal and feel more connected to your business. Communicate with them on a personal level and some may become ambassadors or even evangelists for your business.

4 – Increase Website Traffic – Once you develop a sizable audience and begin posting links to products, pages, blog posts, etc. you should see an increase in traffic to your site. Measure the analytics closely and record the metrics on a monthly basis.

5 – Search Engine Optimization – Google indexes content on Facebook pages, Twitter profiles and other social sites. This creates links back to your site, which should increase your search engine rankings and bring you more business!

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

Visit: DicksonInteractive.com

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You’re excited about trying some Social Media Marketing. You’ve got your Facebook page and Twitter profile ready to go and you can’t wait for all those hot new leads to come pouring in.

Whoa….hold on there just one minute. If your website is screaming 2003 it’s time to go back to the basics and fix your foundation first.

Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before launching your Social Media Marketing campaign.

1 - Is my website visually appealing? - Do the colors, layout and images look like a nice, new Web 2.o site…or is it plain, rigid and templated? Are there scrolling marquees? Do you have multiple navigations? Are there little pieces of clip art that flash and float around? …There’s your sign.

2 - Is my website set up to “convert”? – Is there a prominent phone number in the top right corner? Do you have a simple contact form on every page of the site? How easy have you made it for users to contact you? Remember, they may land on any page of your site based on their search results. Can they easily get in touch with you from every page?

3 – How well does my site come up in the search engines? – If you’re “Joe’s Crab Shack in Myrtle Beach”…does your site appear in the organic results when someone searches for “seafood in Myrtle Beach”? What other keywords or search terms do you think users would type in when searching for a business like yours? Check all those out also.

4 – Do I have enough content on my site? – Is there robust, relevant content on every page of your website? I’m not talking about a 700 word mini-novel. You need a couple of specific, well-written paragraphs that incorporate those keywords and search terms the search engines will be looking for. (Contact Me to learn more about making sure your website is coded properly for the search engines.)

5 – Do I have analytics installed on my website? - Before starting any kind of internet marketing campaign you have to make sure you’re able to measure results. Google Analytics is free and easy to install on your site. This way you’ll know how many people are coming to the site, what they’re doing while they are there, how they left, where they came from and how they found you. Analytics are imperitive.

Granted, there are tons of other issues and questions we could cover here. However, if you get these basics down your site will be more effective. We can drive tons of traffic to the website, but if it’s not visually appealing, set up to convert and easy to use…we’re wasting our time.

Remember also, fixing your website is probably one of the most cost-effective marketing solutions to your multiple business challenges. Fix your foundation first. Then, build your dream house.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or to learn more.

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Here’s the thing…opinion and theory are great, but no match for years of experience and a proven track record of execution and success. This is why you should do your homework before investing in a workshop that could potentially send your brain into a tailspin.

Sure, you can read books and blogs, go to workshops and learn the knowledge. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to deliver the goods. It takes real time experience to develop the ability to execute effectively.

Hiring a consultant takes the burden off you, the business owner or director of marketing….and puts it on them. You need to find someone you can strategize and plan with. You also need to hire someone you can trust…someone who can provide references and has proven the ability to navigate the maze of Social Media with measured results.

Hire someone who understands content development, websites, search engines and analytics. Many times these areas are overlooked and without the proper foundation, your Social Media marketing campaign will fail.

Sure, I participate in Social Media workshops as a speaker and coach on a regular basis. However, the people I particpate with are folks who also have the experience, knowledge and street cred to back it up. Their hands are dirty too.

Make the right decision and hire the right person. You have a business to run and other issues to deal with. Concentrate on what you do best. Let the consultant do what they do best.

And if you think this blog post was written to persuade you to hire me and others like me….you had better believe it.

For more information or to get help with your social media strategy, CONTACT US!

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Well, here we are in June of 2011 and location-based social networks and QR Codes are all the rage. Everyone’s talking about Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and now, Facebook Places. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are all considered mainstream and imperative in terms of marketing.

However, it is obvious that many, if not most, businesses have yet to venture into the simplest and arguably the most effective type of social marketing…blogging.

Blogging is nothing new. Blogs date back to 1997, took off in 1999 and were considered mainstream by 2004.

It’s 2011 and your company hasn’t started blogging. Why is that? Are you afraid of what someone might post on your blog? Here’s the deal…people are going to talk about your company, whether it’s on your blog or in the grocery store. Perhaps you don’t see the importance and you’re not completely sold on blogging for business.

A recent study by eMarketer shows a strong increase in companies entering the blogosphere. Their study predicts that 43% of companies will be blogging by 2012.

Here’s a short list of 5 reasons why your company should be actively blogging:

1 - Blogging gives you the opportunity to establish yourself as the expert in your industry or field. Are you a local fitness center or gym? Your blog should contain posts and information on why someone should join your fitness center, as opposed to your competition. You never want to downgrade your competition on your blog. Rather, focus on what your fitness center has to offer and emphasize all the positive attributes of your facility and staff.

2 – Blogging gives your current and potential customers a platform to ask questions and communicate with your business. This adds credibility and can increase customer loyalty. Monitoring your blog closely, answering questions and replying to comments will promote trust and transparency.

3 – Search engines love fresh content. If you don’t add new content to your website on a regular basis the search engines have nothing new to crawl and distribute. Integrating a blog into your site makes it easy to post fresh information on a regular basis for the search engines to find.

4 – A blog is another chance to issue a press release, announce an event, launch a new product or make an important announcement. Blogging is marketing. What are you marketing? Your business!

5 – Your blog serves as what I call your “content distribution source.” With every blog post you publish, you can take that article, create profiles on dozens of other social platforms and post. Not only will this generate more traffic to your blog and website, but you’re also creating links, which will aid in search engine optimization.

Maximizing your blogging efforts will take time, but it’s worth it. Post often, include important keywords for your business/industry and engage with your audience. In my opinion, this should be the first step in creating a powerful social media presence and personality for your company or business.

To learn how we can help, CONTACT US!

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