Communication in the Digital Age
Companies don’t get social media – ain’t it the truth. Social media is still relegated to a ‘function’ within a ‘division’ at many organizations, a somewhat mysterious bothersome marketing function that defies quantification.
The potential for social media to transform an organization, at minimal cost, is huge. It takes a different way of thinking, and a strategy – two things lacking in many social media programs. The skill set to merge social media with PR and marketing does not exist – and there is opportunity. Social media has become over saturated and stale (like Facebook’s IPO?). What’s the next wave?
Steve Nicholls gets it right and offers some guidance in Why Most Companies Fail at Social Media — Understanding the Three C’s. The three C’s are Content, Context, Conditions. An excerpt:
They view social media solely based on Facebook or Twitter Content, which they believe is just a marketing, PR and website function. But to be truly successful, social media needs to be implemented at the senior level and trickle down into the DNA of the entire organization as a core competence…. Having a holistic approach will maximize opportunities, eliminate risk and overcome the main obstacles which are, believe it or not, usually people problems, and not technological problems.
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Thanks to the creative maniacs in Chicago http://tastytrade.com
We’re all scrambling to understand the layout and functionality of the new Facebook pages before they become mandatory by March 30. A summary of some of the bigger changes.
Cover photo.
Facebook regs prohibit any sort of promotion, urls, or product descriptions in the new 851 x 315 cover photo. Cover photos are meant to be strictly visual, with little or no text. Examples of how some big (and small) brands are handling this:
http://www.facebook.com/cocacola
http://www.facebook.com/nytimes
http://www.facebook.com/livestrong
http://www.facebook.com/gudmestadyoga
Milestones.
There is now a Milestone feature that allows you to post News that is significant and can make Facebook operate more like a website that users return to. What might an appropriate milestone?A new product
Pin to Top.
This option is available on each post – it allows you to “pin” a post to the top of your page, and it will remain there for 7 days. See http://www.facebook.com/livestrong the “Open For Fighting” post that has been pinned to the top left side of their page. This is good when running contests or for upcoming events.
Messages.
Did you notice the Messages Icon on the top of the page. People who have grievances can message the 
Admin rather than sending an email. Brands are beginning to use this for Customer Service. As customers get more used to this it could be a way to direct interactions to get them off the page.
Negative comments.
You can now view and approve comments before they are posted. We can hide comments once they have been dealt with. The comment would still be on the users timeline but not visible on your company Facebook page. On the “About” page or an Facebook App (they used to be called “Tabs”) users can be directed to send a “Message” if they have a question or Customer Service issue.
Seeking guidance in the brave new world of public relations in the Internet age? InfluenceWave can help.
In the past couple of days I have fielded phone calls and emails from Google and Facebook about our Google Place page and Facebook company page. They want to verify information and be certain that we own these digital properties. I dig the attention and admire the diligence.
Why is this so unusual? These are specific inquiries by actual humans who know what they are talking about. I know that Google is out to build up its place pages since they often come up tops in searches, and Facebook is going through major changes with its company pages but this effort must take enormous resources.
Facebook is about to super charge its advertising, that’s what it’s really about for them (a $100 Google ad Words giveaway ended yesterday). And Google is Google – they own the rest of the digital world not owned by Facebook.
LinkedIn, another public company with pressure to grow, grow, grow, the third piece of the air/water/fire triangle of social media, is also heavily promoting user engagement to pump up ad values.
This sudden attention tells me I need to update our Google Places page and Facebook page.
When does this bubble burst?
