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!

Connect on:

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.

Connect on:

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.

Connect on:

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

Connect on:

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!

Connect on:

The question is, “Are you being careful with what you post?” There are some legendary stories out there of people who have totally dissed their bosses on Facebook, only to discover that the boss was actually watching. Not smart.

Here’s a list of things you can do to stay safe and not run the risk of being incredibly embarrassed…or fired, some of which are pretty much common sense.

1 – Don’t post any comments or status updates that may bring your company/employer into disrepute.
2 - Don’t use social networks in any way to attack or abuse colleagues or competitors.
3 – Don’t post direct references to any business-related activities regarding your company/employer.
4 – Don’t post personal stuff during work hours. Do that away from the office.
5 – Only post positive work-related comments and information.

Remember, posts are time-stamped, so if you call in sick and decide to post a picture of yourself having lunch with your friends or shopping at the mall….you’re only asking for trouble.

Be careful out there. The boss might be watching!

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

Connect on:

While the internet changed the way consumers shop for products, social media is also having a profound effect on the way consumers research and plan purchases.

Wesbites like InsiderPages.com, Epinions.com and Yelp.com give people access to consumer reviews, which empowers them with information they need before they decide to go to a restaurant, for instance.

But, with social media…people can have actual discussions online before they purchase.

Case in point…below is a brief conversation on Facebook where someone is interested in potentially switching from cable to DirecTV. This is an actual thread pulled straight from Facebook. The names have been changed to protect the innocent…

JOE: TWC wants mo’ money but since the converter box came in the door our cable has been icky. May look into #DirectTV.

Diane
I’m feeling the same way

Sam 
Don’t do Dish Network. We did that and it never worked in the rain.

Mary
I love DirecTV … we got it this summer after TWC made me mad one too many times. Before you sign up, let me or someone else with DirecTV know — they have a promotion right now where both people get $10 off a month for 10 months if you give them my (or someone else’s) account number when signing up. The DVR functionality alone was worth it — and we pay a lot less each month and will even after it goes up after the first year.

Jane
We are considering moving away from TWC. This input from others is helpful.

Sam
How does DirecTV work during wind, rain and storms? Does it stay on? I know folks who have had issues with it.

Danny
Heavy rain and forget it, no tv. Still, I really like the info button – esp for movies – tells the actors, director, yr made, and synopsis.

Danny
Joe, I can give you a $100 coupon, if you want to go w/ Directv

Chris
DirecTV is good — we’ve had it for a few months now. It’s only had brief blips of non-service in bad rain/storms. (knock wood!) Plus I really like their customer service.

Matt
We switched last month and love it so far. No major problems so far even in the rain. Wife doesn’t love the dish in the back yard, but it’s not that bad.

Mary
Even with a really heavy storm a couple months ago, we had no blips or loss of TV, which used to happen at the drop of a hat with TWC!

Sam
wow…i’m sold…..joe – directv owes you!

So, here’s the takeaway…

If you’re a business owner and you haven’t gotten started with social media marketing, then it’s time to take the plunge. Scared of opening yourself up online? Scared some people may talk about you? Well, guess what…they’re talking about you anyway…whether it’s on Facebook or in the grocery store.

Why not take the new media seriously and learn how to monitor your reputation and use these tools to your advantage? Not to mention it will change your entire perception of how you should be marketing your business.

To learn more, CONTACT US.

Visit: DicksonInteractive.com

Connect on:

- We sell septic tanks? Who would want to follow that?
- Our customers don’t use social media.
- Our company is in a highly regulated industry.
- We don’t have time for social media.
- We don’t want to know what people are saying about us online.
- We tried it once and had no ROI.

The list could go on and on. For B2B, the answers to these questions just aren’t that simple. However, at this point the risk of not participating is far more dangerous than taking a step back and approaching social media with a strategic plan of attack.

Here are three basic components you should have in your plan:

1 – Position your company/brand as the expert: Start a business blog and keep it updated on a regular basis. Not only will this aid in search engine optimization, it also gives you a strong source of content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Communicating your expertise sets you apart from your competitors and demonstrates leadership within your industry.

2 – Connect with your audience: Chances are the people you need to reach are out there and motivated to engage with you on different social media platforms. By connecting, you’re projecting transparency and giving your audience the ability to communicate with you on a more personal level. This helps build loyalty and respect.

3 – Manage your brand: Online reputation management. Look it up. You have to claim your identity online and take control of the content associated with your company or organization. Social media gives you the opportunity to monitor and engage negative feedback, as well as express appreciation for the positive feedback…thus, building your brand.

Share compelling content, engage your audience and monitor/respond to the chatter. These are the basics that can lead to a positive and powerful online presence for your company or organization. Combine this with an effective search engine optimization campaign and you can take a closer look at whether or not you should spend all that money on every trade show on the calendar.

To learn how we can help, CONTACT US!

Connect on:

OK…admit it. One of your Facebook friends posts entirely too many times each day and you’ve made the difficult decision to either hide that person’s updates…or de-friend them completely.

Hopefully you just chose to hide them. I will confess…I have done this.

As marketers, that tells us that our “fans” and “members” don’t want to be bombarded every day with 4 or 5 posts and updates from us on Facebook. They want relevant, important and useful information that they can use and pass on to their friends…maybe once a day…depending on the size of your community. 

However, on Twitter…things are different. Twitter is a micro-blog with short, quick bursts of information. Users are accustomed to getting “tweets” from the people they’re following several times a day…if not more.

So, here’s my perspective. As a business or organization, if you link Twitter to Facebook…meaning everything you post on Twitter automatically shows up on Facebook…you could be causing people to “un-fan” your page or leave your group. Remember, your goal is for people within your communities to take your posts and share them with others.

Twitter and Facebook are two separate and very different experiences. While Facebook is a more of a personal engagement, Twitter is more business-like and wide open. You should treat them as such and limit your posts on Facebook, but increase your frequency on Twitter. I hope that makes sense.

Other social media experts (hint: there is no such thing) might disagree with me on this and that’s fine. I’m merely sharing my perspective based on experiences I’ve had developing communities for my clients.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Connect on:
   

By: Scott Dickson

When asked if they’re utilizing the power of social media and relationship marketing, many business-owners and CMO’s will reply, “Of course! We have an awesome Facebook page and we’re getting started on Twitter.”

Well, that’s great. But, setting up a Facebook page and linking your posts to a Twitter profile doesn’t mean you’re “on Twitter.” It means you’re doing it wrong.

In my opinion, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket by relying too heavily on Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is a huge piece of the puzzle. But, if you’re not executing effectively AND not implementing other social media platforms, you’re missing opportunities to engage your potential audience.

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine on the planet. If you do a search for your company, will it appear in the search results? Better yet, if you own a restaurant in Charlotte, do you have a video tagged appropriately that shows up in a YouTube search for “restaurants in Charlotte”?

If you’re business to business, you must be on LinkedIn, right? Are you a wedding photographer with pictures saturated and tagged on Flickr? If you’re a movie theater you must be using Foursquare to reward your mayor and other customers checking in. And how about Twitter? Are you engaged? Do you really know what it means to be engaged on Twitter, or are you just pushing out content?

Are you utilizing the power of social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Propeller, Stumbleupon, etc.?  Have you claimed your blog at Technorati? Do you even have a blog? Is your website set up to convert visitors into potential customers?

Is your head spinning?

Chances are pretty good you’ve watched this video ad nauseum. But, it does drive home the point that there are other platforms to pay attention to.

So, yes…Facebook is gigantic and amazing.  You’d be crazy not to work very hard to have a commanding presence there. However, you shouldn’t stop at Facebook.

Take the time and do the research on the other opportunities…or, you can always just contact me!

A shameless plug, no doubt. But, hey…it is my blog.

Connect on: