Facebook Top Ten Fan Motivations

Social media (and Facebook in particular) is ALL about relationship. So if you want a consumer's "Like" or love (and consequently their patronage) you MUST provide value and take time to cultivate a conversation. It's the old adage "WIIFM" (What's In It For Me)? So, listen to your customers and respond with engaging and relevant content.

Based on a report from CoTweet & ExactTarget, as published in the book Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen:

1. To receive discounts and promos
2. To show support for brand to friends
3. To get a "freebie" (e.g. free samples, coupons)
4. To stay informed about company activities
5. For updates on future projects
6. For updates on upcoming sales
7. Just for fun
8. To get access to exclusive content
9. To learn more about the company
10. For education about company topics

Dave notes that "it's essential to develop (a) value proposition and then integrate it into your communications with customers and prospects" (p. 55). I totally agree.  And if you want more tips on succeeding in Social Media, then Dave Kerpen's book "Likeable" is a must read. 

Note: This is not a paid endorsement, just my own opinion

2011 Excellence in Interactive Marketing Award: DFWIMA Scholarship

I was honored last night to accept a $2000 scholarship award from the DFWIMA (Dallas-Ft Worth Interactive Marketing Association) as part of their 2011 Excellence in Interactive Marketing awards. The EIMA awards dinner was held Tuesday, April 19th at the Dallas Museum of Art. It was a fun, engaging event put on by a wonderful group of interactive marketing and advertising professionals. 

The scholarship program is new to the DFWIMA this year. The $10,000 award fund was established by DFWIMA members to support the study of interactive marketing at DFW area universities. Outstanding students were recognized from Southern Methodist University (that's me!), Texas Christian University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of North Texas. Many thanks to the DFWIMA for this scholarship and to the SMU faculty for their nomination. 

The evening's industry awards recognized outstanding work in the field of interactive marketing in 2010. Click Here, Inc. won the "Best of Show" award for its Go RVing campaign, and also took home the most awards. The reception featured caricature artists, an open bar, and live music by a jazz trio. Following the dinner and awards presentation, an after party sponsored by Meebo was held at Seventeen Seventeen restaurant. 

View the official press release here: 2011 EIMA Awards Announcement, or my agency's blog post on the honor at Launch Agency DFWIMA 2011 Blogpost. 

Managing your online identity: The SAFE Method

Most people today have online profiles and connections, and share their ideas and experiences online with others. Online activity blurs the line between private and public communication, and between personal and professional. So in today’s digital age I have found it important to consider my presence and identity in online spaces. I have created a simple acronym which represents four basic steps you can take to manage your online identity:

·       “S”= Search & Sort – Discover what’s “out there” regarding your name and identity. Conduct a search for your name using a popular search engine or media aggregator. Search your name on popular social networks as well, to double-check your privacy filters and determine what information is public.

·       “A” = Analyze – Determine whether or not the results you have found match your personal and work objectives. Do you have content published that is unflattering or misleading? Is there another person of the same name that is overshadowing or potentially skewing your online presence?

·       “F” = Focus – Utilize social media tools and applications to help you manage your online content. Consider separating your personal and professional content, either by establishing separate profiles or at minimum by selectively filtering and publishing based on channel (e.g. "personal" content for Facebook, "professional" for LinkedIn). Publish online content with a purpose, so it moves you toward your objectives.

·       “E” = Engage – Build your online presence and reputation by contributing to blogs, forums, and white papers. Share interesting links and articles with others. Utilize industry webinars, online conferences, and virtual events to learn and build your professional network. 

      Popular Facebook author Mari Smith recently wrote a related article regarding personal and professional Facebook profiles/pages at: Click here for Mari Smith blog article. 

     Mashable also had a related article last year in regard to cleaning up your online social identity at: Cleaning up Your Social Media Identity.

     What do you think of my SAFE method to assess your online/social identity? Search your name in popular search engines and media aggregators and let me know of your experience with this process. I look forward to your comments and feedback! 

Taming the Social Media Beast: Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of this series, I reviewed my top site recommendations for news, research, and training in the social media sphere. However, I understand that it's easy to get buried under the avalanche of information streaming in on any given day. If you want to stay on top of industry news & research, as well as manage the "buzz" that occurs around your company or product, you must consider setting up a system to manage that information flow. What follows here is an overview of the system I personally use, which takes me about a half hour each day. Best of all, It's completely FREE! Depending on your industry and area of expertise, your learning style, and personality you may find some tweaking of this system necessary before it works for you. I encourage you to read on and then adjust this as necessary to fit your own needs.

1. Use Google Reader to set up RSS feeds of your favorite content (Time Est: 10 minutes). This is a FREE service that you can use to create your own personalized information hub (a custom online newsfeed). Be careful here, however, to limit this service to your most vital sources. If you have multiple sources that update daily (or multiple times per day) your newsfeed could become overwhelming. Stick to just your top few and then add on as you become accustomed to checking your Reader daily. Feel free to "clear the deck" at anytime if you get behind and want to start afresh by simply clicking the option to "Mark all as Read". This custom feed could include some of the sources I mentioned in Part 1 of my series, as well as online magazine sites, cartoons, Flickr or Digg feeds, and more. I recommend you dedicate a Reader account just to manage your industry/company information. Take a tour of Google Reader Here.   

2. Set up and scan Google Alerts for company/product "buzz" (Time Est: 2-5 minutes). Again, this is a FREE Google service! Just enter your search terms and select how often you'd like to receive updates. Then, when people mention your keywords (industry terms, company or brand name, products, whatever you indicate) Google will send an alert to your inbox. You can read and respond once per day or as the Alerts happen. I recommend doing it in the morning as part of this daily organization system. Check out Google Alerts Here.

3. Use a dashboard platform such as TweetDeck or HootSuite to manage and post to your social profiles (Time Est: 5 minutes). Personally, I set up a FREE TweetDeck account and have it linked to my Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles so I can see streaming updates from all my social networks in one place. You can also choose to post updates to one particular feed, or to any/all profiles at once. You can leave TweetDeck (or HootSuite) open as a background application as you work, but I prefer to check mine once or twice per day and then log-off in between so I'm not derailed by all the constant updates to my newsfeeds. 

4. Check your email account(s) for pertinent updates and research briefs (Time Est: 5-10 minutes).Avoid the temptation here to begin answering all your work emails! First, just scan your subject lines/senders and read or file any research data or industry information you may have need for later. Then you can delete those messages to de-clutter your box before you dive into your work day! Personally, I maintain a freeDropbox account and have a few research folders set-up there for incoming research reports. That way, they're accessible no matter what device I'm using (I have Dropbox installed on both my home and work laptops as well as my cell phone) and they're easy to retrieve by category when I'm digging for research insights. 

Don't even have a half hour daily? When I'm pressed for time or just want to "drive" more of the experience myself, my minimum routine is to check the headlines at Mashable.com and de-clutter my email Inbox.  Have a different routine that works for you, please comment and let me know! FYI: I am not sponsored by any of the services noted above, and have not received any money or goods to endorse them. 

One final word: If you want to monitor your social presence or identity in more depth, next up is an article about that very topic with sources that will go deeper than simple Google Alerts. 

Taming the Social Media Beast: Part 1 of 2

There is a mountain of information published online daily, and sifting through it all can be overwhelming for even the most dedicated and savvy person. So, where do you turn for industry news? How do you stay current on the latest technology and trends? Whom do you trust for relevant and actionable training? And how do you review your news & data in a quick and efficient way? These are important questions for any student, business person, marketer, or advertiser in today's online world. I'll share my go-to resources with you in this first entry of "Taming the Social Media Beast". Next, Part 2 of this series will cover my personal process for reading, organizing, and analyzing key news and data each day (in under a half hour)!

Personally, I've found that I must strike a balance between relying on trusted sources and seeking out new voices. So I've compiled a core list of industry leaders and publications whom I trust to aggregate news and research and/or create relevant original content that will add to my knowledge and skill-set. I turn to this list on a daily basis to stay up-to-date.  Then, I also periodically check industry white papers, presentations, research reports and such for new and interesting authors to monitor for inclusion in that list. 

So, without further ado here is my (unranked) go-to list of Top Social Media Sources for news, research, and training: 

• Mashable.com - Pete Cashmore and the staff at Mashable.com are literally the hub for all things social and digital. The website has a wealth of free guides, infographics, tutorials and more in addition to their constant stream of relevant industry news and reviews of the latest technology and tools.  Mashable Homepage
• Social Media Examiner.com - Michael Stelzner leads a group of over 50 regular contributors to this excellent free online magazine. The site focuses on providing comprehensive articles and videos on how businesses may use leading social media tools for growth and optimization. Social Media Examiner Homepage
• Advertising Age - The latest marketing and advertising industry news, columns, and white papers from Ad Age. Lots of free content, but I'd say that a subscription is a must. Ad Age Homepage
• MediaPost - Free online membership to all sorts of news, directories, publications, events, classifieds and more for media, marketing, and advertising professionals. MediaPost Homepage
• Social Media Today - A website blogger board comprised of leading thinkers on social media strategy, news, tools, and more. Social Media Today specializes in building B2B communities and developing content assets. See their About page for more info on their services outside the blog collection. Social Media Today Homepage
• Pew Internet Research - The Pew Internet & American Life Project is one of seven ongoing efforts of the Pew Research Center. There's a wealth of free information here related to the social impact of the internet, including updated statistics and inforgraphics, reports, and datasets. Pew Internet Project Homepage
• Forrester Research- A leading independent research firm on marketing, IT, and technology. A limited number of free research reports are available. I have particularly found use in their Consumer Technographics data. To tap into the bulk of their available research content (by category, industry, or topic) check out their subscription services. Forrester Research Homepage
• Altimeter - This research-based advisory firm is home to two of my favorite industry leaders: Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang. Altimeter specializes in four areas: Leadership & Management, Customer Strategy, Enterprise Strategy, and Innovation & Design. Consulting services are available within those areas. Charlene was a Principal Analyst at Forrester and has contributed regularly to their reports. I highly recommend her books: Groundswell Book   and Open Leadership.   I recommend beginning with the Altimeter blog posts and Media Room to check out the recent content. Altimeter Media Room Page
• Chris Brogan.com - My introduction to Chris Brogan began with his book co-written with Julien Smith on trust: Trust Agents - Where to Buy . Chris is an industry leader in new media marketing, and his blog was ranked #3 of AdAge's Power 150 recently. Check out his website for all kinds of compelling analysis, tips, and reviews. Chris Brogan Homepage  
• Hubspot - Hubspot is an inbound-marketing company which excels at providing useful internet marketing tools and resources. There are all sorts of free tools and material available on lead generation, blogging, email marketing, and more. They even offer an Inbound Marketing University self-paced certification program. Check out their stuff at Hubspot.com Resource Page

Ten other Social Media and Research notables worth bookmarking:

• Harvard Business Review
• Edelman's Trust Barometer 
• Fast Company 
• Jay Baer's Convince & Convert Blog 
• Brian Solis 
• Social Net Daily 
• Nielsen 
• Lithium Products, Services, and Resources 
• Marketo Resources 
• Fuel Lines by Michael Gass 

Most of these sites have a variety of channel offerings: website, blogs, email updates, Twitter feeds, RSS, etc. Choose whatever method works for you. More on how I organize my own in-flow of information in Part Two of this blog series. 

I know there are many more sources out there, so if you have a favorite you'd like to mention please do so! I'm always on the hunt for data and insights, so I welcome any comments and additions. Please also consider following me on Twitter as abcwatson or connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Fall Semester 2010 Wrap-Up

Friday, October 29, 2010:

Just a few projects remaining and this semester is done! I can hardly believe it. I have at least one more agency visit coming up (Slingshot) for Media Directed Studies, plus research for a white paper on Social Media ROI (Return on Investment) in collaboration with Dr. Steve Edwards and Babar Bhatti, founder of Mutual Mind (a social media analysis platform). I also have a Communication Audit paper to complete with a partner for our Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship class. We've selected Compassion International as our focus, which I'm familiar with and passionate about since I sponsor a child in India through the organization. And finally, a paid Facebook advertising campaign to run on the Gina Cooper Worship Project and one last presentation re: our social media work for that project to end Creating and Managing Interactive Content class. Everything will be completed by the first week of December, so only 5 five weeks and counting to complete all the projects and papers. Thankfully, no final exams this time around.

Tomorrow we'll be carving pumpkins with the kids. Sunday we'll be trick-or-treating as a family of pirates for Halloween. Just going around our neighborhood this year, no party to attend. Should be fun, I know the kids are amped up for it. Definitely will post some pics of us in our costumes!

Till then,

Alexandra Watson

Follow me on Twitter @abcwatson, or find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alexandra.watson or on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/4alexandrawatson

One-to-one networking musings from SMU ExxonMobil Lecture on Advertising & Social Responsibility

Thursday October 28, 2010

I've just returned home from SMU, where I attended a series of events this evening on Advertising & Social Responsibility. Kudos to Dr. Patty Alvey, her assistant Lisa Langford, and the others in the Temerlin Advertising Institute and Meadows School of the Arts at SMU for such a classy and seamless event! And I'm not just saying that because I go to school there (okay, and work in the office). I had the pleasure & privilege of attending a private dinner in the Meadows museum, followed by a cocktail reception in the Owen Fine Arts Center, then a Lecture panel on the evening's topic, and finally a dessert reception in the OFAC lobby. The panel discussion featured Peggy Conlon of The Ad Council, Jim Datri of the AAF, and Nancy Hill of the AAAA. It's was wonderful to listen to these representatives of key advertising organizations speak about the importance of socially responsible advertising and cause marketing. My favorite quote of the evening was from Jim Datri, who said "it's okay to make money and do good". Yep, our economy depends on advertising to bridge the gap between supply and demand. Profit with a purpose is, in my opinion, a great thing. After all, who doesn't want to make a difference in this world and live for a purpose larger than themselves? If we can combine that with work, with commerce, that I think is a winning combination for all.

From another angle, I had a couple great conversations with industry people at the event. That was exciting, and also a relief. I'm definitely NOT an extrovert at heart, so mingling and "networking" at these sorts of events is not in my comfort zone. But, I went into it with a few things in mind tonight: 1) I'm required to attend, so best to make the most of it, 2) I'm not the host or the guest of honor, so I'm not expected to "work the room", and 3) I'm studying non-traditional media anyway, so in that context a few one-to-one great conversations are more valuable than a mass of shorter, lower-quality ones. Interactive advertising is all about ENGAGEMENT and ONE-TO-ONE messaging, right? So, it's much more appropriate (not to mention socially and politically correct) for me to connect in authentic conversation with one or two people than to stand on the cocktail table and shout out my resume to the room! So with those things in mind, I relaxed and had an enjoyable and productive time. Wonderful talks with Jim from Slingshot and Jon & Cale from Canonball.

Can't believe I'll be graduating in just over 6 months! Looking forward to joining the advertising workforce here in Dallas (and doing socially responsible work of course).