Social Media Content Marketing

The best way to keep momentum in your company's social media efforts is to become a social media nutritionist and change the way you're consuming content. "Eat many small meals throughout the day" is the mantra of many a nutritionist when teaching clients on how to keep their metabolism going.  Your body is like a locomotive gaining momentum and energy from the frequent small feedings. Social media I will tell you works the same way. I've written about the importance of regular blogging, press releases, tweets but creating relevant content on a regular schedule isn't easy. It's not that we're lazy, it's that -- OK - we are lazy, or busy, or just fresh out of ideas. But that's unacceptable. The reason these lapses occur is because most  people write only when things need to be written and postpone it as long as possible ( remember college term papers?) But for those of us who make a living through writing know that writer...

New England. Seattle. What a game that was! Yes I said was . No, this article wasn't posted a week early. It's in fact timed perfectly because it's not about the big game, it's about the social media game around scheduled events. Good luck getting your post noticed nonetheless your message received next Monday morning. The Web will be overflowing with Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagrams, blogs, and commentary on the successes, failures, bad calls, and great plays of Super Bowl 49 ( Sorry. English Major here. I don't do Roman Numerals ). But today, rather than my words getting lost in a sea of Monday morning social media mayhem, you're reading this Super Bowl themed article. I've got your attention and you'll listen to what I've got to offer. Touchdown, and the extra point is good. First rule in social media event strategy is say it first . You can run the risk of saying the wrong thing, but that can be avoided if you've got t...

Facebook revealed this week that it will be tagging news items from " The Onion " as satire as it has received many complaints from members confused the style of humor. This announcement comes just days after Facebook's decision to begin charging a $9.99 monthly subscription fee for  membership beginning in September for its satire-challenged members. OK. The part about the social networking king charging was satire about satire. But Facebook, like many free websites are not joking about looking for innovative ways to monetize. And it's been a tough road to hoe and t he road just installed toll booths . But I always know a short cut. I make a large majority of purchases online, so I don't begrudge any website trying to monetize its efforts. But when you start off as free, it's difficult not to mention risky to start charging for your intangible services. Their remuneration is paid in data. Our information currency. But security issues and pr...

As I pointed out in Part One , social media marketing is still figuring itself out, so finding the right person to be your social media manager is no easy task. Simply charging the youngest person in the company to handle such an increasingly vital and visual role just does not make sense. Just consider how today I walked into my local Verizon store to ask some questions for my elderly parents. "Hi. Do you have phones designed specifically for senior citizens?," I asked the young Verizon employee. "Is this for you?," she replied. I paused for a few moments until the Frankenstein veins on the side of my head stopped throbbing, then replied: "What's your cancellation policy?" What we've all learned very quickly is that social media is akin to preparing blow fish, or the Japanese sushi known as "fugu". Prepared correctly and you'll be treated to one of the most delicious meals you have ever had. Prepar...

One of the challenges all organizations face today concerning its social media campaign is not so much how to to do it, but selecting the right manager to run it? Tapping the right person, persons, or company to lead the social media charge is unlike filling spots in other departments. So some of the tried and true processes you've used for years are about to backfire and can do damage quickly. At this point, whether you run your own business or are the CEO of a multinational, you know a little about social media. Maybe even a lot. And if you're like most leaders, you really don't want to know more about it, but you know it makes good business sense that you do . Your job is to make sure the person in charge knows it inside and out. The problem is that the medium, its tools and its best practices, changes pretty much daily. Keep in mind that social media employees are not only doing their job, they are schooling themselves on how to do their job. The changes are con...

Sorry. Did you believe that headline?  It's called clickbait. Don't feel bad if you were misled. Unfortunately, we have all fallen prey to these social media bear traps. Several of these fallacious posts bombard us each day on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the like. So suffice it to say, there won't be any panaceas in here to change your life, no earth shaking news, no online marketing solution that will make you gobs and gobs of money utilizing social media. There won't even be a No. 3. These kinds of sensationalist posts are the latest trend to hit the Inter-webs and what I've dubbed tabloid social media. The subject is usually about some amazing act of kindness or feat, by a dog, baby, or an elderly or physically impaired person. It's really no different from what the media has done for years. They promise something that will tug at your heart strings, give you belly laughs, or change your life.  All high claims that rarely deliver.  And fewer ironi...

Have you made a post, shared a photo, or commented on one of your social networks that you later regretted? If you answered, "no," then you're doing it wrong. It means you're not posting enough. We all have regrets in life, and I'm willing to bet it's more what you haven't done than did. If you're in social media, you've got to be in all the way. Not that there's anything wrong with reserving comments. I think there are many people who post far too much -- or more to the point, far too much uninteresting junk. No one's ever gone to a comedy show and complained "He was great, but he made me laugh too much." Like wearing yoga pants, everyone has the right to post, not everyone should . However, if you answered "yes" to the question, then congratulations are in order. Not for your poor choices, but for your decision to take chances and recognize your mistakes. Most successful people do both. When I post, I do ...

If your marketing department hasn't gotten the results you expected from your social networking by now, it probably never will. It's not their fault. It's just the wrong channel. I'm a digital marketing consultant who spend his days as a social media strategist, write a syndicated column on social media, have authored social media best practices eBooks, and by some standards, am a pioneer in social media. And I consider myself a social media student as you can't be much of an expert on what's been around for such a short time. So it always puzzles me when a client reaches a frustration level with the results, or rather the lack thereof, that they are achieving from their efforts. They'll say: "I've got my Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages up. And I'm paying some kid to write content and post and tweet and blog and...I'm not seeing anything."  Sound familiar? Measuring ROI on social media certainly is possible though since there...

Like most of you, my resolutions this year involve healthy self-improvements. Starting with food: I will try to eat less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff. I don't believe in cutting things out cold turkey (even if it is leftover with plenty of stuffing) but rather, cutting down. I seem to work better that way.  By the way, that's a photo of my breakfast this morning, pancakes, syrup, biscuits, bacon. Sorry, I forgot to mention, unlike you, my resolution begins tomorrow. It's the one advantage of having a birthday today. (Please remain seated as envy green is not a becoming color on you.) In short, I get to procrastinate my diet one more day. Even as it applies to social media. What? You don't do resolutions? Don't need a diet? Great! But everyone needs a social media diet for healthier communications. And like me, you get the extra day or four as it were and can start Monday. That's because no one's around. A mid-week start of the New Year is...

I'm not trying to spit in anybody's facebook, but you can spend all the time, resources, and tweet equity you want on a social media campaign but if your sales team isn't on board, your efforts will be compromised and results will be social mediocre. There has been a shift created by social media and the sales process greater than the valuation of Bitcoin or any stock. I have found that great salespeople share some common traits -- desire to change is usually not one of them.  Marketers love change; salespeople often loathe it and understandably so. Once you analyze the market, find a process, establish a routine, and identify pain points and value adds that works, you stick with them. New opportunities are great, so if it's a new product or flavor of ice cream they can sell it all day. But if it's a change to the menu, they'll balk. Social media is more than a new flavor, and it's more than the cherry on top; it's a whole new course. And that...

Last night while watching baseball, it hit me. The idea for my column, not the ball. I'm so spontaneous I just then decided to write about my spontaneity. Like how I recently moved across the country. I purchased the tickets on a Monday, arrived the next day 2,300 miles West. I had been living in the same apartment for seven years. But right before I moved, something wonderful happened. I reached to flick on the bedroom light switch and it was gone. Not from the wall, but from my memory. My subconscious chose to delete that bit of information from my RAM to make room as it would soon be as obsolete as a floppy disk with Netscape Navigator. And that was the first of my cerebral cleansing with no juicing required. Each day I purged more and more from the mailman's name to -- well see? I already forgot what else I forgot. Social media marketers strive to flip that light switch on permanently so they are always top of mind. Better, strive to get your posts...

"Social media" this!  #blahblahblah. Mark it on your calendar. By this time next year, I predict social media will be gone. And not just from my life.  Have you been reading all those stories having to do with social media fatigue?  There's been a plethora of personal accounts of people swearing off sharing, demonizing their digital dillydallying, repenting from the sins of all things posted. But anything with this much hype is bound to get backlash. Our society tends to demonize anything that gets too popular.   But this is not one of those bashing articles. I'm here to tell you social media is not an evil religious cult -- though I bet Satan hates those requests for Candy Crush Saga as much as the next guy.   Nor do I believe social media is addictive like nicotine. Like Mark Twain and smoking, I think quitting Facebook is easy, I've done it a thousand times -- I learned the first time I quit Facebook though, that wasn't the right approach. H...

"It's true. I didn't read this. I didn't even bother to read the title before I shared it. In fact, you've already read more of the article than I ever will. That's because many Twitter retweets are done digitally through robots.  Or maybe a service found the phrase "social media" and it "Liked" it under my Facebook profile. I wonder if the author named the article what he did to prove a point?" He did.  Last week, I was checking statistics to see who had retweeted my last article on wanting social media to be less narcissistic . (The irony of that last statement is not lost on me, but I digress.) The great thing about Facebook, Twitter and other social networks is that nearly everything can be tracked and traced. I was pleased to see marketers, other business professionals, as well as plain ol' regular folks, had liked the article enough to share it with others.  But as I continued perusing the list, I spotted a ton of ph...

  What is Zen and the Art of Social Media Sushi? Patience, grasshopper.  Put down your Facebook and Twitter posting software for a moment and I will explain. Famous, recognizable people can be seen all over Los Angeles. In the neighborhood I live, I recognize one every day. But when I walk into my favorite Japanese restaurant for a quick bite, you would think Elvis had entered the building -- when he was alive, I mean.  Few writers are so recognizable that they fall into celebrity status -- and I am certainly not one of those. Nor are writers often big spenders -- not exactly the highest paying profession in the world. But tonight the chef came out of the kitchen just to shake my hand. The new hostess and server introduced themselves. The manager bowed. And last night I just walked by and the owner waived wildly when he saw me. There seems to be are as many Japanese restaurants in L.A. as there are celebrities, but to my Japanese restaurant, I am royalty. A true c...

You. That one word was my first new Facebook status in months. No explanation. No follow up. Just the word, "you." At first, mostly everyone glazed over it and passed it by. Then a few people followed it up with jokes and snarky comments. Yet, I held back a reply. Until one of my young, terminally analytical, left-brained friends (you know the type: the ones so gifted mentally that illogical statements or off-beat humor often short-circuit their Beautiful Minds?) just couldn't take it anymore, and had to ask. So I told her. I have a friend with whom I have grown close. They have recently looked to me for relationship advice. They are going through a particularly tough time and were making some bold moves to help the situation. I wanted them to know that I was there for them I was thinking about them.  But then I realized how I really had that sentiment for most of the people I communicate with through social media. I've written a few eBooks and a blog ab...

Facebook has made another move into mobile with its Facebook Home app. Use it and the default start page for your Android cell phone provides instant access to photos, comments and chats. Talk about in your face, book. As a rule, the easier to access it is to access, the more people want to use it. Meanwhile, LinkedIn introduced “mentions" making it more like business Facebook, Google added new Google+ tweaks, and Twitter has released Vine video. No longer clearly defined, a Forbes article speculates on social media's colliding worlds, while its technology article this week questions some social media big wigs for their predictions for Facebook Home's and its potential influence. The objective seems to be to turn us all into Faceborgs. But in my world, Facebook has peaked and everyone I know uses it less and less. Easier access will not help that. Indeed, the lines between social networks are more than starting to blur. But more notable is how Wor...

Unlike the Ten Commandments, social media postings should not be carved in stone. Speaking of tablets, (the stone ones, not the "electronic babysitter" ones that retail for $399) we social media marketers need to think of ourselves as bricklayers when posting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like using randomness as our guide. You see, good bricklayers naturally "mix it up" to avoid unwanted patterns.  And they best work when we do it in house. Case in point. I never eat the same breakfast two days in a row, or take the same route to work, have regular scheduled meetings, or exercise times at the gym on the same day at the same time. Whatever the opposite of a creature of habit is, is who I am. Granted, this "charming" trait has driven any and all the highly-structured, organized women in my personal life out the door faster than common sense and logic runs from Florida politics. Yet, being consistently inconsistent serves ...

It seems everyone I've spoken with this season has experienced a mega cold this New Year. If you haven't gotten yours, don't worry it probably got lost in the holiday mail but I'm sure it's on its way. I haven't had a cold in a few years but I wasn't so lucky a few weeks ago as I'm just getting over one that lasted a whopping three weeks — lasting this long mostly because of my air travel from New York to Florida which the airlines might as well rename the Influenza Express. Having a Holiday cold isn't usually worrisome but it is almost always rather annoying. Like the visiting in-laws, you know it's going to leave soon but that doesn't make it less miserable or easier to put up with. But when a cold lasts weeks instead of days it can bring down both your defenses and your spirit. It's times like these that you can use words of encouragement and I found mine in the most unlikely of places: wrapped around my cough drops....

My Google home page looks significantly different than yours does today. When you signed in,  you saw the standard Google logo. When I did, I was greeted with something quite different. No, I didn't customize it -- Google did it's own customization for me. You see it's my birthday today and Google customized it's home page logo with a new birthday logo for me (OK for everyone celebrating a birthday today). Rather than the red, blue and yellow Google font, I'm looking at cakes, pies, torts, all adorned with icing and lit candles shaped into the Google logo. My own Google Birthday doodle. There aren't many benefits of having the first workday of the year as a birthday. Scratch that. There are no benefits. None. Zero. The world's biggest party leaves everyone with the same New Year's resolution: no more partying. Not to mention if people somehow do remember it chances are your gift will be a regift and most assuredly wrapped in Christmas paper. So tr...

When the ball dropped in Times Square at the stroke of midnight, so did the axe on love relationships around the world. Though two years ago an ex girlfriend chose December 7th (Pearl Harbor Day) to "drop the bomb" on me (more appropriately I suppose,) New Year's Eve remains the leader of National Get Dumped Day around the world. It's obvious why. People want to start the New Year fresh and unencumbered. My best friend is making it a bit of a tradition dumping a boyfriend on the last two New Year's Eve. Not surprisingly, the first post I saw as I signed onto Facebook while drinking my morning coffee was a friend in Asia who just went from "in a relationship" to "single." And by the time I finished the sip another from France messaged me the same on chat. She couldn't decide between the two men in her life so instead dumped them both. Ironically rather than sadness, I feel envious. Almost to the point where I feel like p...