Twitter through a fresh set of eyes
Nov 22nd
I’ve been very fortunate in that my book The Tao of Twitter
It was fun seeing Twitter again through the fresh eyes of these students. Here are excerpts from some of the student papers as they experienced Twitter for the first time. I also wanted to help them out by giving them some link love to their own student blogs so check ‘em out!
Ren Yi – “Mark Schaefer uses conversational tones and easy reading format to write the book, which makes it very easy to read, especially for someone whose first language is not English, just like me. In fact, I am very inspired by the book since I was not a big fan of social media before I took this social media class. I am definitely amazed by how business can be done and how professional relationships can be formed over Twitter and I hope I will accomplish those later. But now, the most important thing for me is to have a good start on the Twitter journey.
“The reason I wasn’t a big fan of social media is because I think the information on there is too personal and all about some random stuff. It never came to my attention that we should intentionally manage our accounts toward the professional direction. Now everything seems clear to me and that I should really post on a variety of topics which interest me and engage with people by reading and responding to other people’s posts.”
Morgan Neal – “I am mostly a self-taught Twitter user and the only part I have not used at all is the list feature of Twitter. I am still finding it daunting to even begin the list process. However, Tao of Twitter’s step-by-step guide and helpful hints on how to effectively use lists to boost followers and credibility as a “tweeter.” I am challenging myself to learn how to utilize this feature to provide more meaningful content to my followers.
“The part I enjoyed most was how Mark shows how his connections formed through social media and then how those connections built more connections that led to a job in Paris. Who knew?
“Although I still probably include too many personal tidbits, with The Tao of Twitter to go back to and reference I will be able to more effectively use it to network for my future career.”
Maggie Wallace – “I have been a regular user of Twitter for over three years now. However, it wasn’t until I read The Tao of Twitter that I realized the power and influence a person or a brand can gain by using Twitter.
“There were two particular phrases that stuck out to me: “Authentic Helpfulness and Meaningful Content.” While yes, a brand can use Twitter to gain followers, they will not see any return on their influence unless they use that account to connect with others on a personal level. Even simply “retweeting” a follower makes them feel more special and more connected to you.
“The anecdotes of authentic helpfulness Mark uses throughout the book are truly inspiring. Making one genuine connection through Twitter can cause a snowball effect and create strong personal and professional connections.”
Lauren Mackey — “The Tao of Twitter opened my eyes to something I had thought about, but was never able to put into words — The real purpose of Twitter. This helped me discover the reason why Twitter has become such a big part of my day — it is unlike any other platform in that users share constant, easy to read content with each other and connect with people all over the world.”
Meg Foster – “I will admit it: I have had trouble keeping up with my Twitter account. I always seem to be on Facebook, and Twitter is just something for me to pass the time while in line or some other event that requires waiting. I read the witty things other people have to say and I enjoy checking up on the news. But as far as my personal tweets go, I believe I have less than 50. And that includes the responses I have made to other people. I have trouble composing a tweet. Let me rephrase, I have trouble composing a tweet that other people care about.
“Although I may not be very good at it now, I believe that reading The Tao of Twitter was a huge step forward into the Twitter world. I feel that now that I have Schaefer’s insights, I will be more likely to use them in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully, these tips will help me feel more comfortable so that I am able to get my message out among all the clutter.”
Ashley Harris – “The Tao of Twitter changed my mentality and thought process. Now when I am on Twitter, I think about every message before I tweet it because I know that there could be a brand or company viewing me as a possible consumer or candidate. Therefore, watching what I tweet and tweeting valuable information can possibly benefit me and a potential company in my future.
“This has completely transformed my view about social media and how to use it to benefit myself as a potential employee to organizations in the future.”
Matthew Busby – “It took me a while to get into the Twitter scene because, like most people, I did not see the benefits of it. I was completely wrong. The main thing that I can take away from this book is that how different my mind set is about Twitter for my future career. I need to stop thinking like a college student and I need to begin to understand that what I follow and who follows me actually does matter.
“Since reading this book, I began to follow people who I deem important in the social media and advertising world. The main thing I have noticed is that those major companies and influencers will actually follow me back. I am able to see them and they are able to see me. These followers have also told me that my blog could be beneficial to my career if I keep it up. They are actually reading my content and the best part about it is that I am getting feedback from people who never knew I existed.”
Shannon Drew – “While reading The Tao of Twitter, I experienced a lot of “a-ha” moments. I had created a Twitter account about a year before I read the book and I never understood the appeal. When I sat down to read the book, I finally got it. Twitter is an excellent medium to connect with others from around the world. As short as 140 characters seems, Mark taught me that a tweet can convey so much meaning.
“Reading The Tao of Twitter is the reason I have immersed myself in this medium. I now understand the benefits I can receive from Twitter, and know that I have to put in some work in order to receive them!”
(Many thanks to Dr. Courtney Childers of The University of Tennessee for the assist with this article!)
Why your social media plan needs gurus and storytellers
Nov 21st
By Srinivas Rao, Contributing {grow} Columnist
A few weeks ago Laura Click wrote a really interesting post questioning “who really is a social media expert?“ I’ve never been a big fan of the term and the self-proclaimed ninjas, rockstars, and gurus cause the social web to seem like a giant pyramid scheme. But Laura’s post hit on a key point that organizations and individuals should consider:
“Yes, the “gurus” may have a keen understanding of the tools or know-how to build large networks for themselves, but many don’t know how social media fits into an overall marketing strategy or how to tie their efforts to real results.”
I’m a storyteller, not a strategist
Anytime I get on the phone with a business who wants to hire me to do some social media work and they ask me about, analysis, measurement tools and anything that has to do with numbers I tell them “I’m an Indian person who is lousy at math. Contrary to popular belief we’re not all good with numbers.” My strength is the ability to tell great stories, and create content. Does that mean I’m useless? Absolutely not … and it’s because there is a digital divide emerging.
The Digital Divide
In the digital divide I see two distinctly different and valuable groups. The first group consists of people who really understand how social media fits into an overall marketing strategy (but may lack the storytelling/creative abilities). The second group consists of content creators who may not have the analytical business background but can masterfully deliver an experience that makes people hang on their every word. I think the future lies is in connecting these two groups.
Look to “Gurus” for guidance not gospel
You shouldn’t follow anybody’s advice to the letter. Formulas are designed to manufacture the same thing over and and over again. Following a social media formula or playbook is a recipe for mediocrity.
You could eat the same cereal Seth Godin eats for breakfast, drink the same coffee, and do your writing on the same computer, and you’ll never be Seth Godin. This is because you’re not Seth. Look to the experts for guidance, not gospel.
There’s a difference between tribe members and cult members. Cult members never question anything and follow advice blindly. They drink the “Kool-aid.” Tribe members support the leaders but are also capable of thinking on their own. They bring new ideas and insights into the tribe.
Hire a Strategist and a Storyteller
The person who wrote the movie script is not responsible for putting together the trailer, spreading the word online, and the driving ticket sales. The job of the screenwriter is to do what he or she does best, write an amazing script. The job of the director is to translate that script into an amazing story. Nobody would call Steven Spielberg and say “hey, do you mind sitting down and analyzing the ROI of our social media efforts on this film?”
Most corporate blogs are awful while many personal blogs (written by us starving artists) are amazing. The solution to this problem is obvious. Marry the two. Hire a strategist and a storyteller. Bring in a seasoned marketer who really gets how to tie social media to an overall marketing strategy. Then hire somebody who understands how to tell a story without making an audience want to gouge their eyes out.
I think that key to getting value from blogs and other social media properties is combining strategy and good storytelling. Right now most organizations are only focused on the strategy, and if they happened to be good at storytelling that’s probably what is setting them apart.
Individuals have a voice like never before and if organizations want to reap the benefits of these voices, then let them tell their stories. Free your story-tellers from the red tape that turns corporate blogs into digital graveyards. If brands can learn to embrace the amazing storytellers on the social web and connect them to an overall marketing strategy, I believe the value of an organization’s social media efforts will increase dramatically.
Agree?
Srinivas Rao writes about the things you should have learned in school, but never did and his the host-co founder of BlogcastFM. You can follow him on twitter @skooloflife
This is why I am not reading or tweeting your blog post
Nov 20th
Do you want to increase the readership of your blog by 400% in just one easy step?
Lean in close now as I share this blogging secret: “Stop writing sucky headlines.”
In today’s world, you simply MUST craft a descriptive, accurate, catchy and “tweet-able” headline. I know this aspect of blogging has been written about before so I am mystified as to why it remains such an obstacle to so many bloggers.
If you don’t have a headline that grabs me by the throat in a nano-second you have lost me, and most other people too.
I swiped a couple headlines from my blog reader to illustrate both good and bad examples of blog headlines. Maybe one of them is yours? Here are real blog headlines that were so bad I could not bear to click:
“False Hope” — The headline is smug. The writer assumes the post is so epic that they don’t even have to indicate what it is about. Unless you’re Malcolm Gladwell, I’m probably not going to read this.
“Your Video Presence” — This has the potential to be an interesting topic but the headline is too generic. It doesn’t tell me enough about the angle of the article to force me to take the next action. I’m a busy guy. Sell me baby.
“What’s in a Word?” — I don’t know and I won’t find out either. It’s clever but not descriptive enough to capture my attention.
“A Walk in the Cloud, Part 2″ — Cloud computing is an interesting topic but a “series” generally does not work for a blog. When I see this headline, I think “Well I missed Part 1 so I should probably skip this.” It’s like walking in during the middle of a movie.
“Monday Inspiration” — This could be a great article but it’s a lazy headline. Unless I am a regular reader and already interested in you as a person, this is probably not enough information for me to click through.
“Want to grow your revenue? Check out B2B Marketing Sales Leads, a sales lead generation program” Ewwww. You’re trying to sell me something. Yuck. Do this a second time and you’ll get deleted from the blog reader. No check that. I’ve already deleted you.
“New Yelp feature turns photos into online menus and we also compare tablet VS smartphones usage stats” This is an interesting headline but it’s too long. At 100 characters, it’s too long to tweet once you get the sender’s name in there. And remember, if it gets RT’d, that adds more characters. So keep headlines short enough to encourage social sharing.
Now, here are some great headlines from the pros:
How some people are using Triberr to kill blogging By The JackB — This headline promises a fresh angle on a hot technology. It indicates that people are mis-using Triberr to hurt something near and dear to me. I want to read this.
5 Lessons From the Best Example of Content Marketing Ever By Jay Baer — For my money Jay is one of the best headline writers in the business. And he knows a number in a headline is gold. Probably increases “sharing potential” by 30%. Eight of my 10 most popular blog posts have a number in the headline and that goes for most other bloggers too.
What is sharing on Facebook worth in cold hard cash? By Jeff Bullas — Jeff is a master blogger who understands how to write a headline. He never fails to grab you and his content keeps you there. Combining “Facebook” with “cold hard cash” is a winner.
Five Tips to Navigate Sandy’s Stress and Sensory Overload By Judy Martin — We recently wrote about how capitalizing on the Hurricane Sandy tragedy was a bad idea. But here’s another take. Judy writes a post that is timely, appropriate, and HELPFUL in a time of need.
Did technology kill curiosity? By Christian Hollingsworth — Christian is a masterful headline writer. In this example, he takes a simple question that might be on his mind, and the mind of others, and riffs on an answer. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Transmedia Writing By Geoff Livingston — Is it possible to get an idea across in just two words? Geoff did it. “Transmedia” writing promises to explore a fresh concept and it made me click. Bravo.
So here is the Schaefer Ever-So-Useful List of Best Blog Post Headline Practices:
- Make it “tweetable short.”
- It should be descriptive and accurate. Don’t EVER mislead readers.
- Make it creative enough to stand out in a crowded blog reader.
- Numbered lists work well.
- Grab me with something I have never seen before.
- Make sure the “value proposition” offers something helpful.
- Use descriptive and unusual verbs and adjectives.
- Don’t make your headline an after-thought. It’s the most critical part of the post.
Illustration: This is a very famous headline announcing the wrong presidential election result, held up by the true victor Harry Truman.
Seven strategies to stay ahead of overwhelming social media change
Nov 18th
Can we have an honest conversation among friends?
Trying to keep up with social media is overwhelming!
Little wonder. We are living in the middle of an unprecedented frenzy of change.
When was the last time there was an innovation in television that impacted the way we marketed? 1975 – cable TV, and now, arguably, the move toward asynchronous viewing on mobile devices. If you do a lot of print advertising, the fundamentals have been the same since the advent of the printing press in 1450!
But social media? Not only do the social media platforms shift every day, the rules of engagement are changing constantly, too. Can anybody on earth keep up with the real and rumored changes just to Facebook’s EdgeRank formula?
What we considered best practices six months ago are passe’ today. Yes, social media is overwhelming, especially when there is pressure to master every new platform that comes along.
But as a professional marketer, you must keep up. How is this possible? Here are seven ideas to help you stay calm and carry on.
Master the marketing fundamentals. The most effective coping mechanism for me has been having deep experience in marketing fundamentals. Yes, the platforms keep changing, but the basics of marketing and consumer behavior don’t. So if you can view technological change through the lens of marketing fundamentals, you can more easily weed out the stuff that just isn’t going to make it. If you’re serious about a career in social media marketing, focus on learning the “marketing” part.
Form a support group. You can’t possibly keep up with everything and neither can your friends. But together, you can make a dent in it. I have a few trusted friends who are more techy or more SEO-y than me. Together we can help each other by discussing the latest trends over lunch once a month. This gives me just enough juice to be at least be conversant in a topic.
Consider a focus area. This is a hard thing to think about, but maybe you CAN’T keep up with everything and you need to focus on specialties. I’m starting to see consultants specialize in LinkedIn, Facebook, and video marketing and that’s probably a smart idea because you have a chance to be an expert in at least one thing. I am struggling with this first, because I teach survey college courses so I have to know something about everything. And frankly, I am having a hard time focusing because I don’t want to miss anything. Everything is interesting to me.
Go where your customers are. Look, maybe it’s time to give up on Path or even (gasp) Google+ and simply stay on top of the platforms relevant to your customers.
Give yourself a time limit. Are you reading social media blog posts in bed? Maybe it’s time for a self-imposed time limit to force yourself to focus and prioritize.
Eliminate engagement guilt. Here is a hard lesson I have had to come to terms with: The more successful you are, the less ability you have to engage with your fans and followers. I hate that. But if I tried to maintain the level of engagement I had even a year ago I would not just be overwhelmed, I would be insane. As your tribe builds, you simply have to adjust and come to grips that with the fact that you have a life beyond social media. Some thing are going to slip through the cracks. Allow that to be OK.
The curation answer … or not. Now an obvious idea to keep up with social media trends is to go to a highly-respected curated source of content on key social media developments. Here’s the problem (and a business opportunity). This does not exist, at least not any place that meets my needs. Mashable? Too much crap. Social Media Examiner? An excellent site but too much of a focus on “how-to” posts.
Where do you guys go for your one-stop shopping for a manageable amount of social media tech and business highlights? Besides {grow} of course? (wink) How are you coping with the amount of change in this field?
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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