Now it has become a practice for the people to search for a brand which they want to purchase on offline and online.  Whenever I want to purchase a certain item I always refer Google to get  the exact specs and the  brands that are being presently marketed.  Recently when I wanted  to purchased a laptop I searched a number of Sri Lanka sites to get the names of the companies who are marketing the particular brand which I wanted to buy.  This helped me find the company which marketed the exact brand I preferred to purchase and I must say I really succeeded in buying one to my satisfaction.

In Sri Lanka online business is not a big hassle because only few companies provide online service.  Also I would  like to point out that very rarely customers in our country search for information o n online.  In order to promote a brand it is always important to get the opinion of the customers regarding the product which they have purchased online or offline.  Although it is difficult for an organization to have a track on offline purchases word of mouth,  it is easy to have a track on online buzz about the brand.  It is possible to get the views of the customers through online but there is also danger in same as well.  For e.g. if there are more negative results posted by unsatisfied customers regarding a particular brand, the company tends to lose 70% of the business made online.  In order to overcome this, the company should have a proper strategy to manage the online reputation.

As a marketing manager of a company you will be happy to view positive comments regarding the products marketed by your company, but at the same time you will be very much disappointed when negative results in Google search results.  If you come across a situation like this, you can implement the following tactics in order to overcome this problem and in the long term this will give you good results.

1 – If you have a site try creating some of the subdomain to get listed in the search results. Make sure you do some link building activities in order to increase the popularity of the sub domains. Remember search engines will list only two URL from your domain.

2 – Create other domains that  represents your brand name. Eg- If your brand name is genuine.com then think of registering other domain pointers like genuine.net, genuine.org, genuine.info and add some valuable content.

If the .com site is transactional then .info to tell something about your brand such as new releases , new features, press room, corporate information etc.

3 – Create blogs and optimize it related to your brand name. According to my experience a well written wordpress.com blog is well picked up by the search engines. Eg- genuine.wordpress.com. Add some good content and update it regularly. So once the search engines identified your blog as a useful one it will show  up  your brand keyword. You also can try the same for blogger.

After creating blogs representing your brand name now submit it to blog communities. Blogged.com, mybloglog.com, blogcatalog.com are some of the good communities where  you can submit. Make sure you create the usernames represent the brand name.

Eg – http://www.blogged.com/profile/yourbrandname

4 – Try creating social networking profile to represent your name. Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, Dailymotion are some of the good sites. Try to avoid using nicknames instead use your brand name.

5 – Create company profiles in Linkdin, which will also highly valued content by search engines. Don’t you have a company profile in Linkdin, What you can do is create an employee profile and then add your company name. Once one entry is added you can see a page created for your brand. In Naymz you can also claim your company identity.

6 – Create a sample site in Webnode. It is a free web site creation tool but high search engine friendly. The inbuilt options give you the way to set up site maps, optimize the site. You can have some related content in the site and have some bookmarking.

7 – If there are blog, forum sites contains your negative comments, request them nicely to remove the posts. Just explain them the situation that you are in. In general sites wont remove those because it can be a breach of independent opinion. But you can have a try.

8 – If you see some good result in the second page try to get those pages up by doing some optimization activities.

9 – Do press leases and find out good PR sites to distribute it. These will be crawled quickly and get listed.

10 – If you can create widgets use widgetbox.com to create and submit. This will be also get listed quickly in search results.

11- Do some bookmarking as well

Just do the above by having an action plan. It will get you positive results after few months and you will realize most of the negative results gone down. For your brand keywords if the search results are not competitive then your job will be more easy. You can see the results very quickly.

I have been a marketeer for  8+ years now and have seen many changes in technology of  marketing in that time, but none with as much impact as social media.  I was there for the start of email marketing, Web Analytics/metrics and SEO.  I use to create “brochure sites” and then measure the hits to the websites…. Oh how things are moving… and moving quickly.

So why is there so much hype around social media?

Having used social media in business for the last 2 years I, like many marketeers, am still exploring the full extent of its potential.  I have worked my way through trial and ERROR to learn and understand what works for the companies who employ me and what doesn’t.  I have come up with some pretty simple, yet effective strategies that I will pass on in future posts. I am by no means an expert, yet thanks to social media we seem to have 1000’s of people who consider themselves to be just that.

Here is a a real life example of how Social media has changed the way I market, as well as the way I look at companies for future employment.

I know of a company that delivers Microsoft IT Training.  It promised that within a few weeks you could have a dream job in IT.  The target audience  was anyone unemployed, who wanted to change careers, or who wanted to work in IT (A very large consumer market).

Now before I start I want to make it clear that this can happen, and has happened…. but only to a very small few of exceptional and hard working individuals; the average person would take much longer.  This course had a drop out rate of over 80% but this was never marketed of course.

I believe this company came from the “marketing of yesteryear philosophy”.

“Let’s create collateral that looks great, has poweful messages, let’s use sales people who can sell ice to Eskimos, and lets create a NEED for it”. For this company,  a new website, SEO, ATL advertising, and  email campaigns provided warm leads for the sales team….  This company did really well.  Leads increased, sales increased, profits increased  so the owners were very happy.

However the customers were not.  They were sold a dream, but did not read all of the small print (not that there really was any)….

Imagine images of young happy people looking to the sunny blue skies and the customer is thinking “this could be me”…. That’s what was promised, but not what was delivered.

This company got the marketing and sales spot on, yet failed on delivering its product and the support of its customers. The customers cries fell on deaf ears so with no one to turn to, where do you think they went?,,, the internet and forums…..  (Twitter was just taking off, lucky for them).  The customers started posting their displeasure and lack of support on IT forums and they were heard far and wide.  What little reputation the company had was taking a slating.

Members of these forums picked up on this and when questions were asked by  new people researching “getting into IT”, members passed on what they heard or pointed them to old posts. (Social media)

I have now heard than 18 months later the company is really struggling, the sales team has halved and the regional office has now closed. I spoke to a salesmen still there and he mentioned that the leads have slowed down greatly over the past year.  This salesperson mentioned that the drop out rate from the intial lead to closing the sale had increased significantly and when speaking to these leads many were scared off by what they had read online after researching.

Has social media had anything to do with the company’s demise?

Yes – because thanks to Social Media we all have a voice and a lot of unhappy customers made their voice heard.  The Forums that these grievances landed on were some of the largest and most well respected forums in the industry and that meant that a) it was viewed by many and b) at the time it ranked high in Google (sometimes higher than the company).  All the promises on the website and advertising (brand identity) could not undo the damage that was posted on these forums.

No – because at the end of the day the company was too short sighted and just thought of profit (in the short term).  The real demise was not delivering on the promises offered and then not supporting the students when they needed it.  The owners of the company knew what was happening but chose to ignore it because profits were growing.

What have I learned from watching this company not listening?

• Social media is a powerful communication tool and it does give the voice back to the customer.
• Don’t use smoke and mirrors in marketing because in the long run it will be found out. – I still struggle conveying this to a lot of C level professional as they are still stuck in the marketing of yesteryear.  They don’t understand that thanks to social media, the power of the customer voice is far stronger than it ever was.  Remember the old saying we only talk about our bad experiences…. look at how big the listening audience is now.
• Transparency is key
• I use to only research a company’s products and services when looking for a new job.  I now research their online reputation as well.
• I want to work for a company that delivers on the promise it markets.

Here are a few changes that I have made with the way I market for the companies who employ me.

Old Marketing Philosophy

• Create an image, brand identity – use smoke and mirrors or whatever you can to make people aware of it
• Create the right message and people will want it
• We know what the customer wants, they just don’t know it yet
• We say what the brand is

New Marketing Philosophy

• Its all about the product and/or service, not the smoke and mirrors.
• Listen to the customer, they know what they want.
• Let them market the product for you. If they have a great idea, then it could be good for all
• Use what you have learned by listening and make changes, adjustments to what you have.
• Be Transparent and honest
• The consumer says what the brand is

Has anyone else had similar experiences and learnt valuable lessons thanks to Social Media?

I had my last NCT presentation in school on Monday. 

‘How to Manage Reputation Online?’

It dawned upon me much that many of us, including myself, didn’t bother much about our online activities, which includes Twitter, Blogs and Facebook before we learn about NCT. Maybe because we always have the perception that social networking sites are just between ME and MY FRIENDS. And that it’s my private social life, who would care and be bothered about ME?

Well, that statement might stand if it’s 10 years ago, when:

1. The biggest television in my house was a 32-inch analog set

2. I was still using a dial-up, 56k narrowband Internet connection

3. I was still backing up files on 3 1/2 inch floppy disks. (there were boxes of them lying around the study room). (there were boxes of them lying around the study room)

4. My mum’s IBM laptop weighed like a ROCK

5. I did not own an i-Pod, or any MP3 player. Only trays of CDs and a bulky CD player.

6. I did not have a blog, an RSS feed, a Twitter and Facebook account, or even Gmail account that I highly depend on today.

But Today, there is close to NO PRIVACY in every aspects of the Internet. There might be Someone, Somewhere, watching every move you make online.

Reputation As Business

A small firm’s good reputation is one of its most important assets. With a good reputation for its employment, you will see potential employees flocking to your door, and in times when competition is fierce and many skills are in short supply, that can make the difference between your firms’ survival and its demise.

And with good reputation for its product and services, you will see a repeat in purchase and increase in sales due to positive word of mouth. Consumers are also more willing to spend on your company’s product/services despite being more expensive than your competitors. That’s how much more your good reputation is worth.

Reputation As Individual

It takes a great deal of responsibility and maturity to survive in this electronic age. It is very important for employees to take care of their reputations online for both present and future employers. Your employer could be tracking you online, judging your virtual life.

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

1. Avoid posting obscene or suggestive pictures of yourself.

2. Be careful with choice of words used in your online activities, this reflects what kind of person you maybe.

3. Avoid mentioning names, esp your superiors. This might let your future employers have the impression that, ‘if you can do it to HIM, you can do it to ME TOO.’

With all the tracking tool these days, digging out your past and present is only a CLICK away.

Your Reputation lies in your Hands.

Overland Park, KS (EMG) – November 17, 2009. When a series of events brought about the opportunity for Paul Evans to relocate Evans Media Group, a boutique advertising and social media agency to the Midwest from its original location just outside New York City, Evans and his partner wasted no time. “Over the years, business had brought me to Kansas City many times and I had always been intrigued by this center of culture and diversity in the heartland” said Evans from his Overland Park, KS office.

“My partner was originally from Missouri, although meeting and dealing with her, one would assume she hailed from Madison Avenue in New York, the heart of the agency business”, he quipped. “But between her urgings and my growing love of the KC metro, we took the plunge and moved our entire operation”.

The nature of the business at Evans Media Group had been in a state of change anyway said EMG Managing Partner and CTO, Sara Paxton. “The move from a more traditional media agency to one that focused more on the social aspects of marketing had been underway for some time at EMG. The sheer virtuality of our clients and our agency were becoming more apparent every day. While our closeness to New York City and our 300 year old farm house office was attractive to us personally, our physical location was diminishing in importance as our client base became more mobile and less brick and mortar”, she said.

The agency focuses primarily on smaller businesses, although both partners have worked for multi-national corporate entities, they are sworn to help grow small business and as a founding principle, believe that America runs on small business. President and CMO Evans explains, “We try to provide small business with all the tools and opportunity available to big business but at a fraction of what it would normally cost to access those contrivances. With social media at the forefront and traditional media experience providing the historical skill set, EMG clients can leverage the best of both worlds.

EMG clients range from manufacturing and web development, to mail order distributors and food and beverage purveyors, luxury day spas, high end magazine publishers and a division of Kraft Foods, but as Paxton underscores, “We are extremely fluid … changing and morphing into what our clients need us to be as the tides of social media shift and look different from week to week”. Evans adds, “As an example of how the landscape changes offer greater opportunity, we now offer something that is so new I don’t think anybody else is doing it yet … live managed social media updating from an event or happening.

Managed being the operative word here … this is not a group of text-fervent fans, but an actual, planned and managed effort directed at disseminating branded messaging in real time, targeting fans and followers that are not at the event”.

Recently an annual charity boxing event was updated with text, images and streaming video to Facebook and twitter, live by a team from Evans Media Group from ring-side. The resulting push generated a unprecedented flow of activity and brand awareness for the event and contributing sponsors. Like a radio station live-remote, gone web 2.0!

This kind of think-on-your-feet functionality, coupled with solid public relations and marketing practice is what sets Evans Media Group apart in the agency world. “Yes, said Evans, “We’re quite a bit different from most traditional, or even social media agencies … we are a little off the wall, willing to try anything new, based in traditional marketing, but with a full grasp on the new”.

As their website proclaims, Evans Media Group, Kansas City’s Social Media Agency uses a combination of Research, Media Relations, Publicity, and Social Marketing Communications to promote clients to the widest possible segment of the public and business communities. They still believe that the most significant person in an agency/client relationship is the client. That may be an old fashioned set of principles in a new aged world, but according to Evans and Paxton, it’s what makes their clients happy to see them when they walk through their door.

Says Paxton, “We can be your local resource to kick start a stagnant social media marketing campaign across the top social networks, like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. But we still talk to businesses every day that have yet to venture over to the social media side … and that’s okay too. We specialize in launching social media efforts where no prior presence, experience or online reputation has been established”.

Evans concurs, “If a business is not sure what they are looking for, or how much they should invest in social media, or any advertising for that matter … just give Evans Media Group a call and we will perform a no charge on-site analysis of what it will take to get the Twitterverse abuzz about you, your business and your brand.

For more information or to contact Evans Media Group, go to their website at Evansmediagroup.com

Murdoch has created a lot of storm recently talking about how consumers will have to pay for content.  In this Sunday’s Observer, there was yet more discussion about how even in the good old days of printed newspapers, customers never paid the full price anyway – so why does Murdoch think they will now! And then later in the week, the editor of the Times shed more light on how he expects readers to pay for the digital edition of the Times.  Good luck to them. Now, the founder of Digg, is suggesting that news aggregation sites have a contribution to make.  So it’s definitely all still up in the air, in terms of how it’s all going to work financially.

In the meantime, it’s goodnight to another printed publication, 25 year old Media Week but welcome to it’s new online presence..let’s hope they can make it pay.

So in this revolutionary world we currently live, the winners will be the ones able and prepared to change their business model and make it work financially.

Sue Grant

And here I thought the awesome Mike Cutlip had disappeared from our Realtor circle.  I guess he can still write great article from a warmer climate, I must say I am a little jealous, but psyched to see more great advice. Mike has written another great article about managing your online presence.

Massachusetts REALTOR Technology News.

Mike is right on with his mention of keeping your ear to the ground to find out what is being said about you. In our industry our reputations are paramount, people are trusting us with their largest assets, not to mention so much of their personal lives that get intwined in the transactions that we work on. If someone has something to say, we want them to say it, right?? Or maybe we would like them to say it to us directly sometimes, but in our new world of transparency we need to be able to respond to negativity. That means we need to know about it!

Take a look at the links that Mike provides, and set them up, it only takes a few minutes. There are a few others that can help you stay tuned in, but start with these.

If you have a daily routine that includes opening your emails, checking your websites for leads that may have slipped through the emails,  add going to tour reader every morning to start I use Google reader, because I like my google account, but there are others you can check them out by from PCMAG this is a great article that shows you your options, if you aren’t already using a reader

Best Free Software of 2009 RSS Readers

any ways as always, do something even if it is just clicking on one of these options and trying it out, it is worth the effort, and will make your life a bunch easier in the long run!!

Have a great Day,

Charity

Danone: “Wir checken aus Interesse, nicht zur Kontrolle”
Claudia Hartwich, Personalchefin bei Danone, spricht im Interview mit W&V über Online-Reputation, potentielle Bewerber und die Balance zwischen Interesse und Vorabkontrolle.

Tags: Online-Reputation, Bewerber, Interesse, Danone

Wissenswerte Bremen: Über die Herausforderungen des Social Web für den Wissenschaftsjournalismus
Nachschlag von Marc Scheloske mit seinen Eindrücken von der Wissenswerte Bremen rund um die Frage der Herausforderungen für den Wissenschaftsjournalismus, die sich durch das Social Web auftun.

Tags: Social Media, Wissenschaftsjournalismus/, Veränderungen, Überlegungen

Twitter-Listen: Die neuen Felsen in der Online Brandung
Ed Wohlfahrt über die Bedeutung der neu eingeführten Twitterlisten und ihrer tatsächlichen Aussagekraft über eingeordnete Twitteruser in Relation zur Followerzahl.

Tags: Twitter, Social Web, Bedeutung

Die letzten Tage ist einiges an erwähnenswerten Beiträgen liegen geblieben. Also schiebe ich das alles eben jetzt nach…

Krisen-PR bei der deutsche Wikipedia

Welcher Artikel wird aufgenommen, was wird gelöscht und wieso? Die Diskussionen über diese Frage laufen seit einer gefühlten Ewigkeit und vor kurzem schwappten die Emotionen mehr als hoch. Grund genug für den Wikimedia e.V. vergangene Woche eine Krisen-PK auszurufen.

Tags: Krisen-PR, Wikipedia, Social Web

Warum hat Web2.0 keine Zukunft …

Bernd Schmitz, Dozent für Multimedia an der Rheinischen Fachhochschule Köln und Leiter Hochschulmarketing des Bayer Konzern, hat sich dieser Überlegung angenommen und kommt zu dem Schluss, dass der Begriff “Web2.0″ bald von “Social Media” abgelöst werden wird.

Tags: Web2.0, Social Media, Überlegungen, Begrifflichkeiten

Online-Reputation: Macht der Masse

Immer mehr Firmen sehen sich mit Attacken aus dem Internet konfrontiert. Doch die Pflege des Rufs überfordert die meisten, wie Alexis Schatz in einem sehr ausführlichen Beitrag festhält.

Tags: Online-Reputation, Monitoring, Issue Management, Social Web, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

Vorteile nutzen: 38 Gründe für einen Online Newsroom oder eine Social Media Plattform

Nach diesem Beitrag hat mediaquell nochmals zum Thema Online Newsromm nachgelegt und zeigt einige gute Gründe für dieses mediale Nice-To-Have.

Tags: Social Media, Newsroom, Online, Unternehmenskommunikation

Ford’s Social Media Strategy – From Zero to 60

Wie Ford mit Social Media agiert, zeigt dieser Beitrag.

Tags: Social Media, Strategien, Ford, Online-PR

Unternehmen kommunizieren zu konservativ

Keine allzu neue Erkenntnis, die das Handelsblatt präsentiert, aber bei den gezeigten Beispielen trotzdem einen Blick wert.

Tags: Unternehmenskommunikation, Online-PR, Dialog

The 80 best guerrilla marketing ideas I’ve ever seen

Achtzig Mal Guerrilla Marketing par excellence (via FerdinandvR)

Tags: Guerrilla Marketing, Anschauungsmaterial

Neue Akteure: Verändert Social Media den Wissenschaftsjournalismus?

Auf der Wissenswerte09 ist Marc Scheloske mittels Prezi-Präsentation der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich der Wissenschaftsjournalismus durch Social Media eine Veränderung erfährt.

Tags: Social Media, Wissenschaftsjournalismus, Veränderungen, Überlegungen

NZZ-BLogs: Der Kluge twittert im Zuge

Die Schweizer Bahn Betriebe (SBB) kamen zu Twitter wie die Jungfrau zum Kinde, da sich nicht autorisierte Privattwitterer um einen ganz speziellen Service kümmern – ein Service, der bestens angenommen und wohlwollend registriert wird.

Tags: Twitter, Dialog, Social Media, Kundenservice, SBB

O fideles mihi, exaudientes gaudebitis! In cyberspatio requiem brevem inveni ampliusque dicere metuo ne felicitas mea mutet. Sed debeo haec explicare propter fidem curamque vestram. Consponsata, lux, mea tota vita mihi rediit. Soror eius scribens in interneto me defendit. Nescio etiam eos qui in me aggressi sunt sed non consultatio est. Soror passeris dixit in blogo, quod dicitur meum (false!), verba mendaces esse. Dixit me amplissimum amorem habere in consponsatam meam nihilque affectus in eam ostendisse. Vero non potest de sensibus meis loqui sed autem amici mei in blogo multa scripserunt. Dixerunt me fidelem ad meam muliebrem esse. Demonstraverunt me nihil nisi fidelitatem atque castitatem tenere. Explicaverunt me numquam etiam faciem alicuius feminae nisi eius spectavisse. Passer mihi haec legit atque ad domum nostrum rediit. Amicos confidit et exclamavit se semper me credidisse amoravisseque. Iamiamque debeo negotium invenire ut meam lucem alam! Ergo quid possum nunc facere?

Scams are prevalent on the internet in many forms, some are not obvious and some should at least arouse a red alert. With the increase  in Social Media use and the growing use of tools and web sites to connect with other people for social and personal reasons, it can be easy to drop your guard as you seek to reach out to make connections, on line friends and use the internet to increase your business.

It is said online scams and fraud is now greater than the international illegal drug trade. From politicians, to the lonely, people buying and selling every thing from small items, cars, houses are being scammed big time.

In this  three part documentary by ABC News on what has become known as the infamous 419 Scams. The Nigerian Criminal Code  Section 419 makes it illegal to obtain money under false pretences. Millions of Americans, Europeans, Kiwis are being targeted by scammers from Nigeria where a population of 20 million lives on an average income of $1.00 per week. Billions of dollars/euros are being made by con-men in Nigerian internet cafes with very few being arrested or suffering any consequences.

Nigerian scam is a huge problem in Britain and most in NZ have probably seen the inbound emails. Fake lottery jackpots, hardluck stories, money making opportunities are just some of the scams.

In The Tweet Twins “From Hands Up to Hands On” Social media workshop we show how Social Media can help you establish your reputation, creditability so others think you are not a scammer, rip off merchant or fraudester or some unknown person of little worth knowing. Remember that sucessful business is all about who you know not what you know.

As you use Social Media tools and platforms for business be open but be cautious as well. Here are a few tips.

• Never publish your real birth date.
• You do not / should not reveal every personal detail
• Consider using Google / Yahoo mail. Do not use your main business email for every SM activity. Use it with discretion.
• Use Linkedin or Plaxo to verify the person and to see who they are connected to, endorsed by and their credentials match.
• The less you can identify about people online the less you should be forth coming.
• You do not need to be a friend to everyone online or everyone who emails you or sends you an invite. Remember you are judged by whom you are associated and known to …use it to your advantage.
• Try to keep personal and business profiles, friends separate in  your various profile. For example decide if your Blog is a blog for business use, professional use, or will focus on personal interests.
• Do not write you email address in the normal format. But write as tweettwins [at] g mail [dot] com This helps to prevent harvesting software to collect your email address.
• If you use online sites to meet that special lady or man never use your real name and do not disclose your company name etc. Be cautious about what photos you display.
• Consider putting a watermark on any photos you upload. Scammers, or business may take and use your photo without you knowing.
• Read the fine print. You may loose the rights to images and content if you upload to a given web site.
• Emotion can overcome logic,

Typical scam email inquiry. “hello seller. i am Barbara.am interested in your guitar and i will like to buy it. i would like u to tell me the present condition of the Guitars i would not mind sending u a cashier cheque through my shipper i would like u to give me your full name and address and phone number okay hope to hear from u soon bye.”

Sometimes a genuine email may arrive that could easily be dismissed as a scam or unimportant email due to the lack of contact details, free email account or brevity of information.  Looks can be misleading and in my business activities I often receive email inquiries from around the world and in one recent case was from the second largest newspaper in the Caribbean asking after one of our products.  Using tools and processes we were able to verify the email was genuine and that the inquiry request matched what that company might be considered to be interested in. This can be important as it might be a competitor seeking your data or pricing information. Endeavor to establish who you are communicating with. The impratnce of this increases when the potential sale could be in the order of $1,000’s.

On this site here there is a range of good tips and links to videos on scam activities. Trust your instincts.

HDMI Cable Scam and Rip off alert.

Also here is a scam that is probably happening in every electronic entertainment shop in NZ and the world selling home entertainment gear and some of NZ’s largest appliance retailers are leading the way.  Have you seen the adverts and and range of HDMI cables  for sale ranging from $20 – $600.  You do not need the  expensive cables. For the average 2m HDMI cable never pay more than $100 and if you pay that amount you have definitely been ripped off BIG TIME.

Kevin’s company ICE AV was one of the first companies selling HDMI cables back in 2004 and during this time we actually went to one of the major cable factories in China who manufacture all the iPod cables, Belkin and many other famous names to understand the quality standard, design and manufacturing process. There are 100 steps (workers on the assembly line) to create a HDMI cable! An HDMI cable is a real work of science and not just a few pieces of copper strands. The longer the cable the more science at play. The gold plated aspect is pretty to look at but will not make your picture better even under a microscope.  If you are looking to buy an HDMI cable feel free to contact Kevin.

Posted by Kevin Andreassend Co-Founder of the Tweet Twins
http://www.simdeck.com http://www.iqrite.com http://www.digitaldaytime.com

Hallo Zusammen,

ja ich gehöre zu den Web 2.0 Exhibitionisten. Nunja, ich versuche jedoch die privaten Details weitestgehend nicht zu veröffentlichen. Wobei ich in meinem wer-kennt-wen Profil schon recht viel von mir Preis gebe. Allerdings kann ich dort selbst bestimmen, wer diese Angaben auch einsehen darf.

Heute habe ich eine “Serie” bei Youtube entdeckt, welche sich mit dem Thema Datenschutz und unseren gemachten Angaben Netz befasst. Es regt zum Nachdenken und zum sensibleren Umgang mit unseren Daten an. Hier geht es zum Video. Es hat mich dazu veranlasst diesen Blogeintrag zu schreiben.

Die meisten Angaben über mich im Netz beziehen sich meist auf berufliche Dinge. Dies ist auch gut so. Selbst mit diesem Blog versuche ich unter den Themengebieten gefunden zu werden, welche mich auch beruflich interessieren. Haben Sie selbst schon mal Ihren Namen gegooglet? Finden sich peinliche Fotos oder gar negative Äußerungen in Foren über Sie? Oder sind Sie vielleicht gar nicht zu finden?

Was treibt uns an, so viel über uns im Internet zu veröffentlichen? Reichen uns die echten sozialen Kontakte nicht mehr? Benötigen wir heutzutage die Vernetzung? Beschränken sich Dialoge neuerdings auf Chats, Communitys, Instant Messenger und Blogs? Werden wir unsere gesprochen Sprache verlernen? Oder ist das Web 2.0 nur eine Ergänzung…?!

Wenn ich mir selbst diese Fragen stelle, finde ich keine richtige Antwort.

Ich für meinen Teil nutze wer-kennt-wen beispielsweise um mit meinen Freundin schneller und einfacher in Kontakt zu bleiben. Aber warum veröffentliche ich auch Urlaubsfotos? Wahrscheinlich weil ich meine Freunde daran teilhaben lassen möchte. Ich könnte Ihnen die Urlaubsfotos auch bei mir im Wohnzimmer zeigen. Aber das ist wohl nicht mehr zeitgemäß?!

Jedenfalls müssen wir uns dessen bewusst sein, dass alles was wir im Internet veröffentlichen sehr lange zu finden sein wird und jederzeit mit uns in Verbindung gebracht werden kann. Versuchen Sie ein wenig Ihre Privatsphäre zu wahren und / oder Ihre Online-Reputation (zu Deutsch: Ihren “Ruf”) selbst positiv zu beeinflussen.

This is an especially relevant business coaching article and newsletter for Career at Home Moms (CAHMs) transitioning back into the workforce, building and recovering personal reputation, and managing sometimes conflicting online and offline perspectives of your past and present experience.

In his October 2009 Newsletter, James Bowles, Washington DC’s leading Executive Business Coach and career transition consultant, outlines the facets of your personal “brand” and reputation – that stand to scrutiny when you’re not around. What do people say about you when you aren’t around? Or more importantly, what does your boss, current (or future) client, or other key stakeholders and partners say about you when you aren’t around? For example, in a compensation review meeting (when promotions to key positions are being discussed) or simply when your work and additional opportunities to hire (or fire) you are being considered?

The things that people say about you when you are not around is usually called your reputation. A better way to think about it is that it’s your personal “brand” – and this is one of the biggest factors in your ultimate success on the job, with clients and around your community. Here’s the good news: for the most part, YOU completely control it! Here’s the challenge – to control it appropriately, you may need some essential business coaching, to learn some essential facets of personal brand marketing, reputation management and talent management (a.k.a. “human resource management”).

Three things make up your brand – your skills (i.e. what you know), your experience (i.e. what you’ve done well), and your attitude (i.e. how you act). These are the things that others remember and discuss when the conversation becomes about you, without you. However, having a great brand may not be enough by itself – like any developing brand, marketing yourself is required. Key stakeholders need to know your skills, experiences, and attitudes…so check around. Who needs to know, who do you need to influence? It’s wise to make your brand known to everyone, but it’s crucial to know who will be making the decisions you care about. Also, it’s important to know who influences the decision makers.

Once you know them make a list – then determine the following:

• Have they heard of you?
• Do they know you?
• Have they seen your work?
• Have they been positively impacted by your work?
• Do they know what you want to do?

Work through this list, thinking of how you can have an impact on the decision makers. Turn the answer to these questions to “yes, absolutely!”. Find ways to work on projects that they care about, or be on teams that work on their projects. The key thing here is that the relationship needs to be give-and-take. Do something positive for them to establish your brand, and maybe they will respond by helping you down the road. Quite literally, the most powerful force for successful career change and accomplishment for executives and business leaders is active personal marketing and partnership with stakeholders to obtain feedback, reflect, and act upon it.

This sort of internal “reputation brand marketing and management” is essential in your career, especially if you’re seeking a career change or in fact re-entering the workforce from a layoff, as a Mom returning to work, or establishing new independent career goals. If in fact your career change results, like so many of these do actually do, in reliance on decision makers and stakeholders you don’t actually know (for example future clients or employers learning about you on the Internet), your personal brand and reputation management actions require a degree of Internet Information Marketing and Management skills. This is to ensure you come across the way you desire when people search for you, or your services, on the Internet, in social media channels, or through business and information directories.

For more information regarding DC Business Coaching, Executive Leadership Training, and HR Talent Management, contact James Bowles, Washington DC Executive Coach and HR Consulting. For more information regarding Personal Online Marketing and Reputation Management, contact KME Internet Marketing.

Continue reading about “The Word on the Street (About You)”…

It’s as important today as your customer service reputation, your professional and work reputation … If you aren’t aware of the recent increase of social media by all business segments – small to medium sized business, corporations, and individuals in addition to your customers … simply Google “social media” and you will be inundated with information related to this topic. Take a look at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 and you’ll be a little more educated on the subject than you were before!

Are you using any tools to monitor current “mentions” of your company, your brand, and news in your industry? If you aren’t using the Twitter Search, Google Alerts, and Facebook’s real time search engine, you are missing a great opportunity to manage your brand with vital information, Twitter’s Searching functionality allows you see what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Check this out here: http://search.twitter.com/ Google Alerts, which have been around for years now are either email alerts or RSS feeds that you control the frequency of based on your needs. A Gmail account is required for this, but that is free for the asking. Set up your alerts here: http://www.google.com/alerts Facebook’s real time search engine was launched at about the same time that they acquired Friend Feed. http://friendfeed.com Facebook’s new search engine results are based on each keywords entered and returns results from People, Pages, Groups, Apps, Events, Web Results and even posts on Facebook. See what is being said about you on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/search/

Still lost?
Don’t try to be everything in your business. Focus on the areas of expertise and enlist help from outside sources in the segments of your business that you are less knowledgeable. In this case, seek out an expert in the field of social media and internet marketing and enlist their services. Feel free to request a rate card from Evans Media Group!

Sara Paxton
Social Media Maven & CTO, Evans Media Group
sara@evansmediagroup.com
203-400-0428
http://twitter.com/evansmediagroup

http://www.evansmediagroup.com

Vous trouverez dans ce billet, comme chaque Vendredi, notre sélection d’articles de blogs pour la semaine 44. Une dominance des outils et plateformes sociales.

Citation de la semaine : “Les deux choses les plus importantes n’apparaissent pas au bilan de l’entreprise : sa Réputation et ses Hommes”. Henri Ford.

Bonne lecture

FR : article en français / US : article en anglais

E-Reputation / Personal Branding / Corporate Branding

Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace : L’e-réputation de l’Alsace économique évaluée (FR) :  L’article aborde la méthode poursuivie pour étudier l’image en ligne de “l’Alsace économique”. L’article présente aussi les recommandations de BlueBoat. Intéressant.

Suivre sa e-réputation et être à l’écoute du Buzz avec Hotgrinds (FR) : nouvel outil de monitoring de l’image en ligne. Intéressant.

La CIA veillera sur Twitter, MySpace et compagnie – Media & Pub (FR) : Visible Technologies se renforce et étend son expertise. Desormais, d’autres langues seront pris en compte dont le français. Internautes français, désormais vous êtes certains d’être lus aux USA. Intéressant.

Médias Sociaux

M6, Canal+, Morandini… tous piégés par un fake sur Jean Sarkozy ! (FR) : Réfléchir à deux fois avant de relayer une vidéo. Intéressant.

Bing prend de l’avance sur Google dans le monitoring de réputation | Monitoring et réseaux sociaux (FR) :  La bataille est engagée entre Google et Bing pour afficher les Tweets et les Statuts Facebook. Intéressant.

Grafitter: Vous ne twitterez plus n’importe quoi après! (FR): Outil de profilage des Tweets. Intéressant.

L’analyse des réseaux sociaux et les communautés (FR) : article qui analyse la structure des réseaux sociaux et leurs forces motrices, aborde aussi l’étude des communautés et les acteurs influents. Intéressant.

Les tendances du web – La collectivité numérique (FR) :  Les 5 tendances du Web en 2009 par Read Write Web. Intéressant.

Quelques outils pour visualiser les réseaux sociaux (FR) : 3 outils pour explorer les réseaux sociaux. Intéressant.

UK : Twitter coûte 1,5 milliard d’euros aux entreprises (FR) : no comment. Intéressant.

Quand le web tue…pour rire « La Plume d’Aliocha (FR) : quand le buzz se transforme en règlement de compte amical entre amis. Intéressant.

Des visiteurs moins nombreux mais plus fidèles depuis les réseaux sociaux (FR) : Étude intéressante sur les espaces de lecteurs fidèles. En première position : FaceBook. Intéressant.

Outils et plateformes sociales

Klout : Klout mesure les thèmes influents à travers le web pour déterminer par la suite les personnes influentes.

TuneIn : TuneIn permet d’établir un tableau de bord des flux d’informations Twitter.

TweetPocket : client Twitter.

Aki-aki : réseau social sur mobile. Compte 350 000 membres à ce jour. En savoir plus

iZoka : Plateforme sociale dotée d’outils qui permettent aux particuliers et aux entreprises de créer un réseau social et de collaborer.

Scribd : Site social pour partager ses lectures courantes et favorites.

Free Social Icons From IconShock : Une poignée d’icônes pour embellir son site ou son blog.

Monitter : Outil de surveillance des tweets.

YUDU : Librairie collaborative en ligne. Comprend également l’option d’achat.

CalTweet : Outil de promotion d’événements via Facebook et Twitter.

Tweepi : Outil de gestion des followers (suiveurs). Pour s’assurer de la qualité des followers.

TubeRadio : Youtube de la musique.

Manolosanctis : “une maison d’édition de bande dessinée dont la direction éditoriale est partagée avec les internautes” – Plateforme sociale de partage et de diffusion de BD, mangas et autres supports dessinés.

MeetUp :  Réseau social qui permet de créer des communautés locales à objectifs divers. La finalité étant d’aboutir à des rencontres réelles autour de centre d’intérêts communs.

Rayogram : Lire la presse autrement. Interface élégante pour lire 5 journaux en même temps. A découvrir.

Vidéos

Viral Video – The Fun Theory

Chicken, Chicken..Chicken

You can’t avoid social and online media for a small business these days. The LA Times has an article on how social media, in particular, Facebook, has helped a small business:

“Each day on the website, Sprinkles announces a secret word, such as “ganache,” or “bunny,” or “tropical,” or “love,” and the first 25 or 50 people to show up at any of its five stores and whisper that word get a free cupcake.”

An article in the New York Times talks about online reputation for small businesses.

“Local review sites are reshaping the world of small business by becoming the new Yellow Pages, one-stop platforms where customers can find a business — and also see independent critiques of its performance.”

So, I wanted to share some of the links I’d come across that help small business with online and social media:

• How do I create a Facebook fan page for my business?
• Social media mistakes small business owners should avoid
• The plans of other Small Businesses
• Social Media for the Little Guy

It’s also worth checking out Gavin’s Servant of Chaos blog.

Personal Branding im Netz: Online-Schreckgespenst?
Karsten Fuellhaas mit einer sehr guten Übersicht zu den Themen Online-Reputation, Rollenverständnis im Web und “Visitenkarten in Person von Mitarbeitern”.

Tags: Online-Reputation, Reputation, Social Media, Rollenverständnis, Branding, User Generated Content, Word of Mouth

Sean Parker’s Web 2.0 Summit Presentation
Interessante Einsichten in den Web2.0-Markt (via @csommer)

Tags: Web2.0, Analyse, Präsentation

Abschlussarbeit Journalismus: Twitter – das neue Instrument der PR?
Jennifer Kopf, ihres Zeichens Fernstudiumsabsolventin zur Fachjournalistin an der Freien Journalistenschule Berlin, befragte Susanne Franke für ihre Abschlussarbeit zum Thema Twitter als PR-Instrument – und Franke antwortete.

Tags: Twitter, Online-PR, Tools, Interview, Unternehmenskommunikation

If you have–do you know what is coming up in the top results? Hopefully it’s not anything that can potentially damage your online reputation. If at least a few of the top hits are links that belong to you, then good for you. You have your online reputation under control. But if there are some questionable links that pop up (even if they don’t belong to you), you now need to work overtime to get those links bumped down to the third or fourth page. But how do you even begin this process?

Forbes.com breaks down how to protect your online reputation into five simple steps. Amanda Berlin mentions that signing up for social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will help to boost your online reputation because those sites tend to rank highly in search engine results. Next, you don’t have to google yourself constantly–Google will do it for you. You can set up Google Alerts to keep track of where your name comes up in searches–and have them sent to your e-mail daily, weekly, or as often as Google finds them.

You can also make a Google Profile, which lets you choose certain links that you would like to be associated with your name (this will also allow your name to rank higher in google searches). Another good thing to do is create your own domain name and make everything on that page is something that promotes your online reputation. As for your Facebook page–don’t put anything up there that you wouldn’t want your parents (or future employers) to see.

Bob Sullivan, the blogger behind MSNBC’s The Red Tape Chronicles, gives his two cents on Facebook privacy:

“Heaven forbid you decide to run for Congress 20 years from now… I know many of you believe that you have nothing to hide, and the idea that your children might some day see your Facebook pagedoesn’t (currently) bother you at all. But here’s the problem with any privacy-related choice: it’s usually impossible to assess tomorrow’s consequences today. Or, to be blunt, you just never know what might come back and bite you in the butt.”

Taylor Buley’s article, “When Social Media Bites,” shows us two eye-opening statistics from a CareerBuilder.com survey–45% of employers use social media to research job candidates, and 35% of them found reasons not to hire someone based on something they discovered on their online profiles. That being said, if you’re willing to put risqué content about yourself for nearly all to see on the web (personally, I’m not), at least make yourself aware of how to use Facebook’s privacy settings to your advantage, or people besides you and friends will end up stumbling across it, and it can hurt you in the future. Also, take caution with who you allow to be your friend–or you could end up like this guy.

JAKO, Sony, Warner und Universal als Majorlabels sowie Jack Wolfskin: Sie alle haben in den letzten Wochen Bekanntschaft mit dem bei Abmahnungen gar nicht mehr so ruhigem Web2.0 gemacht – und dennoch keiner hat von den Fehlern des anderen gelernt. Doch der Reihe nach.

Anfang September geriet Sportartikelhersteller JAKO in die Kritik, weil man mit Trainer Baade einen Blogger abmahnte, der sich laut Ansicht des JAKO-Rechtsbeistandes in einer nicht zu akzeptierenden, markenschädigenden Art und Weise über die Produkte des Unternehmens ausließ. Die eingesandte Abmahnung in Höhe von knapp EUR 1.100,- wurde allerdings nicht wortlos geschluckt, sondern publik, und die Blogosphäre stellte sich hinter einen der ihren.
Besonders bitter für JAKO: nicht nur sportdesinteressierte Blogger wurden auf den Fall aufmerksam, sondern auch Fußballfans der von JAKO ausgestatteten Vereine wie Eintracht Frankfurt nahmen das Vorgehen kritisch auf, ehe die Medien das Thema ebenfalls aufgriffen. Das Image und die Online-Reputation des Unternehmens waren und sind selbst jetzt, eineinhalb Monate später, stark ramponiert, beschäftigen sich doch vier der ersten zehn Suchergebnisse (Google) mit dem Vorfall (u.a. auch das Handelsblatt). Die angestrebte außergerichtliche Einigung fand da kaum mehr Beachtung.

Knappe drei Wochen später der nächste Fall von “falschem Umgang mit Social Media- und Web2.0-Nutzern”, diesmal durch die Majorlabels Sony, Warner und Universal. Hier wurden mehrere Blogbetreiber direkt abgemahnt, weil sie auf ein Mixtape verlinkten, das seit mehreren Jahren im Vorfeld des Splash!-Festivals veröffentlicht wird, nun aber zu einer unrechtmäßigen Vervielfältigung der bei den Labels unter Vertrag stehenden Künstler und ihrer Lieder beitragen würde. Weitere rechtliche Schritte stehen noch aus, doch auch hier wurde Kritik bezüglich der Vorgehensweisen laut, da nur kleinere, nicht sofort zahlungsfähige Weblogbetreiber abgemahnt wurden, währenddessen man beim Musiksender MTV, der ebenfalls auf besagtes Mixtape verlinkte, nichts von einer Abmahnung wusste.

Und nun Outdoorbekleidungsproduzent Jack Wolfskin, der mit Abmahnungen gegen eine handvoll Nutzer der Bastel-Plattform DaWanda vorging, die ihre selbstgemachten Produkte mit Tatzenmotiven versahen, die in den Augen der Markenrechtsbeauftragten des Global Players eine zu große Ähnlichkeit mit dem eigenen Logo hatten. In diesem Fall war das Vorgehen von Jack Wolfskin, die seit jeher sehr rabiat die eigene Marke zu schützen versuchen (so wird u.a. auch die Berliner Zeitung taz regelmäßig wegen der ab und an im Logo verwendeten Tatze abgemahnt, obwohl man diese noch vor Jack Wolfskin als Symbol nutzte, aber nicht markenrechtlich schützen ließ), in seiner Konsequenz aber weit über das Ziel hinaus schießend, da man von Seiten DaWandas sehr wohl versuchte den gestellten Aufforderungen nachzukommen, indem man umgehend beanstandete Artikel aus dem Shopangebot entfernte. Das man dennoch abmahnte, löste erst recht einen Sturm der Entrüstung in der Blogos- und Twittersphäre aus. Und so war das Kind schon längst in den Brunnen gefallen, als das die stark kritisierte Stellungnahme des Unternehmens die Sache hätte besser machen können.

In allen drei Fällen zeigt sich, dass die (meisten) großen Firmen (noch) nicht in der Lage sind gerade in kritischen Situationen mit ihren Kunden und Zielgruppen im Web2.0 derart umzugehen, als das es nicht zu einem direktem Imageschaden führen könnte. Denn anstatt auf die betroffenen User zuzugehen, wird eine Abmahnung vorausgeschickt, die für die meisten Abgemahnten nur schwerlich auf Anhieb zu bezahlen ist und somit auf einen abschreckenden Effekt bauen soll, um derartige Verstöße nie wieder vorkommen zu lassen. Das Problem an der Sache: Im Gegensatz zu früher, als einzelne Bastler für sich alleine standen, sind die meisten heute untereinander vernetzt und bilden bei jedem juristischen “Fehltritt” eine große, nicht zu unterschätzende Gruppe an verärgerten bis verprellten Kunden, die ihrem Unmut Luft machen können.

Vielmehr geht David nun regelmäßig gegen Goliath in die Offensive und baut auf den starken Zusammenhalt, der zwischen Bloggern im Allgemeinen herrscht, und so werden aus vielen leisen Stimmen in der Summe eine große, die von einem betroffenen Unternehmen kaum überhört werden kann (und sollte).

Und so war es kein Wunder, dass auch hier die großen Medien auf den Fall aufmerksam wurden und Jack Wolfskin einen Imageverlust hinnehmen muss (so beschäftigen sich vier der ersten sieben Suchtreffer bei Google mit der Abmahnfalle, in der die Idsteiner nun stecken, und auch der Wikipedia-Eintrag wurde entsprechend überarbeitet).

Eine Lektion, die die meisten Kommunikationsabteilungen der im Web agierenden Unternehmen noch lernen muss, ist neben einem (tief) bei den Nutzern und Käufern verankertem Social Media-Monitoring auch der richtige und zeitnahe Umgang mit deren negativer Kritik oder Handeln, der in jedem Fall weg vom reflexartigen Verfassen eines Abmahnschreibens zielen sollte. So sollte bei Hinweisen auf Problemen der durch Social Media stark vereinfachte Weg zum Dialog auch wahrgenommen werden, um früh intervenieren oder Unklarheiten friedlich aus der Welt schaffen zu können.

Doch um das zu erreichen, müssen Unternehmen wie JAKO oder eben Jack Wolfskin zum einen aus ihrer eigenen Schwerfälligkeit erwachen, in der sie auf Grund ihrer Größe stecken (und hier zählt auch eine Verkürzung und Absprache der internen Kommunikationswege zwischen den Abteilungen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Firmenrecht), und zum anderen anfangen auch außerhalb ihrer eigenen Branche einen Blick dafür zu entwickeln, wo andere Fehler im Social Web gemacht haben, um daraus lernen zu können.

Denn das man sich im Taunus eine Menge negativer Publicity hätte ersparen können, wenn man sich den Fall JAKOs näher angesehen und seine Schlüsse für derlei kritische Situationen im Umgang mit den Endverbrauchern gezogen hätte, steht wohl außer Frage.

Tags: Imageschaden, Unternehmenskommunikation, Krisen-PR, JAKO, Jack Wolfskin, Abmahnung, Web2.0, Blogs, Twitter, Dialog, Monitoring, Social Media, Online-Reputation, Rechtsstreitigkeiten

We watch personal makeovers on television frequently. There is a housewife that has spent all her time and energy raising her children and has let her appearance go. Or someone that had a bad hair experience and need a makeover (or correction). There are grandmothers that have devoted their lives to raising their kids and their kid’s children and yet never took the time to have a simple manicure.

Yes, makeovers are astonishing to watch on television and on some cable channels we can now watch business makeovers as the reality show world grows. A once dying business can be completely regenerated with the expertise of someone with today’s visionary trends and update that failing company into a booming business.

This is also true virtually! If you don’t have a positive, energizing, engaging and inviting presence online, who will be calling you? Who will be using your services? Who will be dating you?

Have you taken the time to consider a virtual makeover? Are you out of job, applying to college or even looking for a soul mate? Today there is more to your physical appearance and your paper resume; it can be about what Search Engines are saying about you.

Recently CareerBuilder shared these numbers:

•11% of employers plan to start using social networking sites for employment screening.
•Of the 45% of employers who conduct online searches of job candidates, 29% use Facebook, 26% use LinkedIn, 21% use MySpace, 11% search blogs, and 7% use Twitter.
•18% of employers said they found content on social networking sites that encouraged them to hire the candidate, while 35% of employers found content that caused them not to hire the candidate.
 

Take the time to read my previous article on improving your Internet Image. Let it be your own keystrokes that tell the World Wide Web who you are.

Have you discovered you need an online makeover or even need a boost to your virtual image? Are you unsure about using the Internet? Not computer savvy? You may want to consider an online reputation service. Although there are many to choose from now, my experiences are with ReputationDefender who is one of the pioneers of these types of services. They offer different packages to meet your individual needs.

The last thing you want to do is ignore your online presence in today’s ever expanding Internet world.

 For more information: October is National Cyber Safety Awareness Month . I also recommend my recent book, Google Bomb which shares my story of Internet Defamation and how I almost lost my organization from a ruined online reputation.  My experiences can help you learn from my mistakes.

Also on Examiner.com

Der Einsatz sogenannter sozialer Medien in Unternehmen ist aktueller denn je. Dienste wie Twitter, Facebook oder YouTube verzeichnen immer größere User-Zahlen. Auch die klassischen Medien berichten verstärkt über die neuen Kanäle und tragen zum Aufschwung der Anwendungen bei. Kein Wunder also, dass das MMK Personalberatung Blog eine Blogparade zum Thema Social Media gestartet hat. Da wir als PR-Agentur sowohl selbst in Social Media aktiv sind, als auch unsere Kunden in Fragen der Nutzung beraten, liegt dieser Beitrag zur Blog-Parade auf der Hand.

Im folgenden Artikel werden einerseits die auf dem Blog aufgeworfen Fragen beantwortet und dazu ein Einblick in die tägliche Arbeit mit den sozialen Medien im Internet gegeben. Andererseits wird an dieser Stelle auch die immer öfter gestellte Frage beantwortet, ob die Nutzung der Medien des Web-2.0 nur ein Hype ist oder, ob sich diese Medien langfristig durchsetzen werden.

Gut vernetzt mit XING
Die Mitarbeiter unserer PR-Agentur sind auf vielen Social-Media-Anwendungen aktiv. Dazu verfügt Walter Visuelle PR über verschiedene Agentur-Accounts, auf denen sich das Unternehmen selbst präsentiert. Ein Profil im Business-Netzwerk XING gehört mittlerweile für alle Kollegen zum Pflichtprogramm. Dort lassen sich bequem Kontakte verwalten, einfach neue Geschäftsbeziehungen knüpfen und zielgenau Veranstaltungen bewerben. Zusätzlich empfiehlt es sich, in den Foren der zahlreichen Gruppen aktiv zu sein. Hier erfahre ich Neuigkeiten und interessante Informationen und kann mich gleichzeitig selbst präsentieren und als Experte für ein bestimmtes Thema positionieren. Mit dem eigenen Profil lässt sich so effektiv die Online-Reputation managen. Der wohl wichtigste Mehrwert ist allerdings der direkte Kontakt zu meinen Kunden, Partnern und Interessenten. Der einfache und schnelle Draht zu meinen Kontakten macht XING für mich zu dem CRM-Tool des Web-2.0.

Informationen zwitschern
Zweifellos einer der größten Trends der letzten Zeit ist der Microblogging-Dienst Twitter. Hier sind wir als PR-Agentur (@VisuellePR) vertreten. Zusätzlich pflege ich einen privaten Account (@denyo13), der sich aber auch hauptsächlich um berufliche Themen wie Pressearbeit, Medienlandschaft und Online-Kommunikation dreht. Twitter ist das Echtzeit-Informations-Tool Nummer 1 für mich geworden. Nirgends erfahre ich in so kurzer Zeit so viele wichtige und interessante Informationen wie über Twitter. In seiner Schnelligkeit ist der Kanal jeder Tagespresse und Online-Redaktion überlegen. Das schöne daran: Twitter ist keine Einbahnstraße. Ich kann direkt mit den anderen Usern diskutieren, weitere Details teilen und die Neuigkeiten bewerten und einordnen. Das ist der wohl größte Vorteil all dieser neuen sozialen Medien; sie bieten einen Rückkanal.

Themen-Setting mittels Corporate-Blog
Das erleben wir auch verstärkt auf diesem unseren Corporate-Blog. Leser kommentieren unsere Posts, nehmen Themen auf und schreiben dazu eigene Beiträge auf ihren Blogs. Das freie Produzieren und Publizieren von Content ermöglicht es jedem Internet-User, aktiv Themen zu besetzen und bekannt zu machen. Blogger genießen in der Internet-Gemeinde eine hohe Glaubwürdigkeit und Akzeptanz. Daher sind Weblogs mittlerweile zu einer Art Leitmedium geworden und bestimmen Meinungen und Trends mit. Mit unserem Blog besetzen wir das Thema Visuelle PR, also die Visualisierung von PR-Botschaften. So bieten wir dem in den klassischen Fach-Medien sehr stiefmütterlich behandelten Thema eine einzigartige Plattform.

Hingucker produzieren
Apropos Visualisierung – wir nutzen immer stärker Bewegtbilder in unserer eigenen Kommunikation, aber auch bei unseren Kunden. Videos gehören zu den meist genutzten Elementen im Internet. Nicht umsonst zählen Seiten wie YouTube und Sevenload zu den Gewinnern des Web-2.0. Aber auch immer mehr Online-Redaktionen und B2B-Portale setzen redaktionelle Beiträge in Form von Bewegtbild ein. Die Aufmerksamkeit für ein Video ist deutlich höher als für Textbeiträge oder einfache Fotos. Dazu lassen sich die Inhalte leicht verbreiten. Egal, ob auf der Webseite, im Blog oder auf dem eigenen YouTube-Channel, die Botschaften lassen sich einfach einbinden und die Aufmerksamkeit deutlich steigern. Als PR-Agentur haben wir einen eigenen Channel auf YouTube. Dazu bietet unser Video-Blog statementportal.de Video-Statements von Experten zu vielen verschiedenen Fachthemen, die Redaktionen frei für ihre Arbeit verwenden können.

Ressourcen planen
Das Engagement in Social Media ist zeitaufwendig. Schließlich handelt es sich hierbei nicht um punktuelle oder einmalige Aktionen, sondern unser Einsatz ist regelmäßig und kontinuierlich. Der Twitter-Account will täglich mit nützlichen Infos gefüttert werden, auf XING müssen Nachrichten und Kontaktanfragen bearbeitet werden und die Leser freuen sich schon auf den nächsten Blog-Eintrag. So wenden wir pro Woche sehr viel Zeit auf, um die Kanäle mit Content zu füllen. Allerdings ist diese Zeit sehr gut investiert.

Soziale Interaktion
Die abschließende Frage auf dem MK-Personalberatung-Blog lautet: Was bedeutet Social Media für Sie? Die sozialen Medien sind keine bloßen Werkzeuge, über die eine weitere Kampagne oder Marketing-Botschaft verbreitet werden soll. Social Media ist vielmehr die einfache Vernetzung mit Menschen im digitalen Raum. Das bedeutet die soziale Interaktion in Form von Informationsaustausch, Diskussion, Bewertung und Kollaboration steht im Mittelpunkt. Man führt Dialoge und kommt mit Menschen in Kontakt, die man im „normalen“ Leben nicht getroffen hätte. Davon profitiert auch das Business. Social Media ist ein Katalysator, oder besser gesagt ein Verstärker für die eigene Kommunikation. Durch die Vernetzung der verschiedenen Profile und Accounts entsteht zudem eine Online-Identität, welche die eigene Marke prägt.

Hype, Trend oder Dauerbrenner?
Häufig werde ich gefragt, wie den Social Media einzuschätzen sei. Ist es nur ein kurzer Hype, ein Trend der kommt und wieder geht? Oder wird die Nutzung dieser Kanäle dauerhafter Bestandteil unserer Kommunikation? Für mich persönlich ist es bereits letzteres. Kein Tag ohne Social Media, beruflich wie privat. Ich gehöre zur der Gruppe der sogenannten Digital Natives, der Generation also, die mit dem Siegeszug des Internet groß geworden sind. Sicherlich sind in dieser Altersgruppe der Zugang und der Umgang mit diesem Medium eine Selbstverständlichkeit. Mehr noch, Social Media verdrängt andere Medien. Der Konsum gedruckter Medien geht zurück. Das Fernsehen wird parallel zum Surfen eingeschaltet. Radio wird über das Internet gehört. Kurz gesagt, das Internet ist Kommunikations- und Informationsmedium Nummer 1 und wird seine Stellung ausbauen. Dieser Zug rollt bereits und nimmt immer schneller Fahrt auf. Social Media ist kein Hype mehr – Social Media hat sich etabliert.

Oh come on! I know you can relate!

This was an image that I reblogged some time this week. I just made a Tumblr account last week and as much as I hate spammers, I think  I have become one myself.

I have a total of ten different online accounts–Facebook,  Twitter,  Plurk, Blogger,  YouTube,  Friendster, two Multiply (personal and that of LMS) accounts, WordPress (of course!), and the latest addition yet already “overly used” account **drum rolls** Tumblr.

Don’t ask me about my email address because I have four–two in Gmail, and another two in Ymail. For instant messaging, I also do Skype, Chikka, and Yahoo Messenger, of course.

All these basically have the same features–profile customization, security or privacy settings, networking, photo and video uploading, and the search box. Some are simply better than the rest.

1. Facebook

Facebook

Unlike Friendster, Facebook implements a better privacy feature. Also, it is easier to decide whether to confirm or ignore a contact invite because you can readily see if you have any mutual friend/s. In Friendster, it’s necessary to open first the profile of that person trying to add you as contact.

Others may not like this restricting feature of Facebook but actually, it’s what I like most about this SNS. I think the purpose behind this is that what Facebook wants is that people share an online experience with people that they already knew–whether it’s a close friend or a friend of a friend.

The applications such as the quizzes, trivia, quote finders, and games are equally interesting and fun. Currently, aside from trying to maintain a spot in the Topblogs top 20, I’ve also been trying to increase my rank in Cafe World.

For someone who wants everything colorful, I think what’s lacking in Facebook is that you can’t customize your profile. Not that it’s a bad thing for Facebook because with the variety of applications that they offer, having a uniform layout and setup is an advantage for them.

2. Friendster

Friendster

My Friendster account is 5 years old (and I wouldn’t have known this fact if I hadn’t checked my Friendster profile saying I was a member since July 2004.) This was my first SNS account.

I used to like Friendster because it was where everyone was. We just changed residence then and I lost my SIM card so this was the only means for me to be in touch with my elementary friends.  It’s funny thinking about those times when I would ask people to make me a “testi” and in return, I’ll make one for them too. HAHAHA

Now, all I do with Friendster is to check the upcoming birthdays. For this reason, Friendster is most reliable because everyone I know has a Friendster account, be it active or inactive.

Despite the evident change in people’s taste or interest (which I think is the reason behind the shift or transfer of the audience to other SNS), I don’t think Friendster is dying. I know a lot of pre-teens who are still signing onto their Friendster accounts, actively answering surveys in the Bulletin, leaving testimonials of course, and changing their shoutouts and layouts every now and then. However, Friendster is not thriving either because the new and improved Friendster is actually a make-up of bits of ideas from other SNS like Facebook and Twitter.

3. Plurk

Plurk

Of all my SNS accounts, Plurk was something I joined to due to the bandwagon.  The higher your karma points is, the more flexible and interesting Plurk becomes because new features becomes available for your use. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that trying to achieve Plurk Nirvana was that tedious. What makes Plurk unique is that it makes you curious “what’s new?” everytime you advance to a higher level of karma points. As time progresses, “what’s new?” becomes “what now?”. Once a plurker achieved the highest possible karma points, what can Plurk still offer?

Three things I love most about Plurk are: (a) the emoticons, especially the dancing bananas; (b) the verb change feature (is, likes, thinks, wishes, etc.); and (c) the “mark all as read” option because sometimes, you just can’t read all those plurks and comment on each. What I usually do is I choose the interesting ones and mark all the others as read. HAHA

However, when it’s the same thing over and over again, you can’t help but lose interest. The appeal through aesthetics doesn’t really last, at least for someone like me. Unlike Facebook which always has something new to offer, Plurk before and now is as ease.

While trying to search which came first between Plurk and Twitter, I saw this article that explains the origin of “Plurk” as a term.

• People + Lurk = Plurk
• Play + Work: Play-Work.
• Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, Karma
• Verb potential: “Oh I googled this -> Oh I plurked it”

Source:http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/plurk_unique_or_just_another_t.php

4. Multiply

LMS Multiply

Multiply (personal)

I had my Multiply account back in Freshman years. So yes, that was the only time I started blogging. Aside from its blog feature, I also like it that I can label my contacts based on my relationship with them because it makes choosing or selecting the readers and viewers of my blogs, photos, and videos easier.

I don’t upload much photos then because unlike Friendster where I can select all the photos at once before I click the Upload button, Multiply requires you to click those pictures one at a time. Now, Multiply (just like Friendster) redesigned their system, but then again, it wasn’t all that unique. Still I must say that Multiply TODAY is better. They now have a chat feature. Also, the current set-up is easier to operate. The Multiply Autouploader really uploads automatically. HAHA. It made photo and video uploading effortless.

5. Blogger

Blogger

Unlike other children who hesitates to tell stories to their parents, I was always like reporting what happened to me from the time I left the house until the time I got home. I was just too talkative. My dad told me to maintain a journal when I was in grade school. He didn’t say the reason but probably because he got tired of listening to me. Anyway,  I think that was the time when I lessened the storytelling habit. I will just leave my diary besides my bed and if they’re curious what happened to my day, they’re free to read it.

Of course, things changed when I grew up and matured. My journal is now locked in a very secret place not even a rodent can find. HAHA. I just made a Blogger account last last month, and my blog posts are already thrice the number of my commblogs I posted. This Blogger account serves as my online diary.

Blogger’s features are light; it is easy to use and it’s very simple. My Blogger account used to be open for public to view but when we talked about online reputation, I realized that not all my posts may be self-redeeming in the eyes of other people; and of course, I wouldn’t want my future employers to see that. HAHA

6. Twitter

Twitter

I was first a Plurker before a Twitterer. The way I describe Twitter before was “parang Plurk lang.” However, judging by the number of plurk counts and tweets I’ve made, I’m enjoying Twitter more.

Despite Plurk’s etymology, I must say that people lurking is more of a Twitter feature. Also, Twitter is proven to be more useful as it is being used as a platform for news updates, advertising, marketing and promotion by other companies and sometimes, people such as celebrities and bloggers.

Re-tweet (RT) and hashtags are  Twitter’s unique features. I’ve observed this during the height of Typhoon Ondoy’s attack. With re-tweet, it’s much easier to spread the news without owning it. For hashtags, all I have to do is to type #Ondoy on the search box above trending topics and all tweets regarding Ondoy fill the screen.

#Ondoy search results

Another thing that I like about Twitter is that same as Facebook, I can update my status using the first-person point-of-view. In Plurk, most of the time, it’s the third person because of the use of some qualifiers.

There are also a lot of Twitter applications that allows me to tweet even when I’m not on the Twitter Web page. I’ve used Tweetdeck before. Now, I’m using Twhirl, which is basically like Tweetdeck, only made more organized and not space consuming. The only difference is that it’s specific to Twitter, unlike Tweetdeck which allows you to update even your Facebook status.

There are only two problems I see on Twitter: (a) you only get to build relationship with those whom you follow and follows you in return. For celebrities whom you follow, or for strangers who follow you, it’s a one-way, linear communication; and (b) it;s hard to maintain or follow the conversation because comments are to be made as separate tweets. Retweeting the ‘tweet’ that you would like to comment on is not really an option since there is a 140-characters limit (just like Plurk), unless of course your comments are basically “HAHA” or “LOL” or “Agree!.”

7. Tumblr

Tumblr

Tumblr is the recent addition to my online accounts. If Plurk has “karma points”, Tumblr has “tumblarity.” If Twitter has “retweet,” Tumblr has “reblog.”

Reblog allows you to easily copy content from other Tumblr users, but of course, credit is given to the original user who uploaded or found the content. Unlike all the other online accounts I have, Tumblr does not allow photo or blog comments so a comment or interpretation of a photoblog may be done through reblogging.

Tumblr basically has the same features as a blog. You can make a blog post, upload photos and videos, and place links. Following Tumblr postings is as easy as following a blog in Blogger. Liking a post is just the same as liking an update in Facebook, only with different icons.

What sets Tumblr apart from the others is that it’s somehow concentrated on the artistic side of people. What’s even nicer is that the more I encounter creative Tumblr posts–whether it’s a picture of a cookie or a Photoshopped image–the more inspired  I strive to become creative myself.

—

If you think I haven’t been updating all these accounts, you’re wrong. #7 in my 2009 New Year’s Resolution says that I have to “regularly update all online accounts.” Actually, even if this is not in my resolution,  nothing would have changed. I didn’t even know I had that in my NYR until last week when I sorted out some files in my desktop.

Also, updating each of those online accounts is not very stressful and confusing at all due to some applications that allow you to post status updates in only one account, and it will be automatically posted in some of your other accounts. For this, I’m using Plurk. If I simply want to greet everyone “good morning,” I will just have to post that to my Plurk page and it will be copied to my Facebook and Twitter page. This helps build consistency over ones thoughts online. But of course, Plurk allows its users to toggle this option. I just have to include !TW at the end of my plurk if I don’t want it to appear in my Twitter page; !FB is the code for Facebook.

—

Bottom-line:

So what really is the joy of having 10 online accounts (not that I’m encouraging anyone to be online as much as I do)??? Maybe it’s the limitless possibilities for human interaction.

With all those accounts, I get to reestablish relationships in a whole new environment, and the fact that whatever it is that’s happening online continues offline doesn’t make these relationships virtual (i.e. of course if we will not count the relationship I have with the celebrities I follow in Twitter.) at all.

The ability to publish content, whether it’s a must-know information or just ranting, without restriction is actually just a plus factor for me. The other bonus features of course will be the various applications that make the online experience easier and more fun.

]]> http://entrepreneurbizplans.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/are-your-customers-secretly-talking-behind-your-back/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:27:48 +0000 Blogmaster http://entrepreneurbizplans.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/are-your-customers-secretly-talking-behind-your-back/

You may cater to the customer. (You probably do, or you wouldn’t be profitable.) But what the customer might be saying behind your back may be the most important — and constructive — feedback you could receive. And here’s how to find it…(read more)

Your customers are talking about you — and the whole world is listening.

Local review sites are reshaping the world of small business by becoming the new Yellow Pages, one-stop platforms where customers can find a business — and also see independent critiques of its performance.

How do you manage your reputation when everybody is a critic?

For some business owners, this is a terrifying prospect that seems more like mob rule than the wisdom of crowds. Negative reviews can hang an albatross around your neck if they appear prominently in search results. Happily, there is a big upside: referrals from happy clients are traditionally the best source of new business — and online forums are powerful word-of-mouth. The review process has been democratized.

But managing your online reputation requires a whole new skill set, including monitoring the online conversation and engaging with customers and the tech-savvy to promote yourself in the best channels. These skills are becoming essential for mainstream businesses. According to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation, 84 percent of Americans say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. (Still not convinced? Tell us why.)

“Social media for business now is life or death,” said Dan Simons, a restaurateur in the Washington area who closely monitors these forums. “You could open a business and do everything right, but if you’re unaware of these social media you will perish. Social media can take a business and put a bullet in it.”

Monitor

Customers are abuzz with opinions — the only question is whether that buzzing reaches your ears. The first step is to tune in.

Do a vanity search of your business name and see what comes up. Are you easy to find? What is the first impression? Do you have a Web page and blog, and are they kept up do date? Is your business reviewed in online forums or blogs?

Try to see your business through the eyes of a customer. Indeed, customers increasingly shop with their browser. One study by the Yellow Pages Association and comScore found that local search for businesses, products and services grew 58 percent last year and reached 15.7 billion searches, more than a tenth of overall search traffic.

Study local search sites like Yelp, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local. Forums for customer feedback have sprung up everywhere —_Google Maps, Amazon, Angie’s List, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, Epinions and a myriad of online communities and niche sites.

“Know who the influencers are,” said Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Service and an expert on consumer-generated media. “There are going to be some megaphones that matter more than others.”

Build systems to stay on top of this online buzz. A Google alert can automatically inform you when your business is mentioned in a review, blog or online publication. Some review sites have features that automatically send e-mail alerts to business owners when a review is posted.

Twitter is becoming an increasingly popular microblogging platform for businesses and customers and you can keep track of what is being said about your company with tools like search.twitter.com, TweetDeck, or Twendz .

Manage

Once you’ve tuned into the online conversation, the tricky part is managing it.

Claim your listing on the local search sites. Many of these listings are free (although some sites offer premium services only to advertisers). The more detailed your profile, the more readily your business will appear in search results.

Responding to reviews is a delicate act of customer relations. A snarky review may make your blood boil — if so, step away from the keyboard and calm down until you can respond graciously.

“Hands down, when I’ve seen a conflict, it’s usually because the business owner is enraged, furious or personally hurt,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive and co-founder of Yelp. “Give yourself some time to cool off and engage in a respectful, courteous manner.”

You don’t need to respond to every review, especially if the overall consensus is positive. A negative review, however, demands special attention. Some business owners post public responses to apologize and try to win back the customer. Some privately message the reviewer.

Even hostile critics sometimes are mollified by a polite response from the merchant. “They are so disarmed,” said Mr. Simons, one of the owners of Founding Farmers restaurant in Washington. “I’ve had people immediately go back in and edit what they wrote.”

Jeff Diamond, co-owner of Farmstead Cheeses and Wines, with stores in Oakland and Alameda, Calif., responds to every review on Yelp — and he’s had more than 100. In one case, a reviewer complained that the person behind the counter was rude. Mr. Diamond sent a private message to the customer, apologized and asked for details. It turned out the employee who helped this customer was hard of hearing. By the end of the exchange, this onetime critic had joined the store’s wine club. He has since become a loyal customer.

“The most important thing is not to argue with your customer,” Mr. Diamond said. “It’s to listen to your customer. Try to put yourself in the customer’s place.”

Another no-no is posting false reviews. Don’t write fake reviews to puff up your business or trash a competitor. Businesses have been publicly exposed for shilling and suffered major embarrassment. Earlier this month, authorities said the cosmetic surgery clinic Lifestyle Lift would pay $300,000 in civil penalties after an investigation by the New York State attorney general’s office found that employees had posed as plastic surgery patients to write glowing reviews of their own business — a bogus grass-roots movement known as “astroturfing.”