Marketing Talk

36 ways to use social media for social good

When I was still a pretty little kid, the big Live Aid fundraiser happened. I didn’t really understand a whole lot about this place called Ethiopia, but I understood the pictures of the little kids, about my age, with distended bellies, vacant eyes, covered in flies. Rock band, rock band, rock band, starving children. Rock band, rock band, rock band, starving children. I sat there and started to get antsy. Sure, I could have figured out that donating money would have been doing something, but it felt like I needed to do more. My big answer was to start making those tiny little potholders on the plastic loom in an attempt to make blankets for those kids.

As you might imagine, that effort didn’t get very far.

That antsy feeling has stayed with me my whole life, at least so far. When I see someone in pain, I figure, well, might as well try to make it better. When I see a catastrophe, I’m hungry to help. And then suddenly this whole social media thing came along, and I thought, My GOD! We all have the ability to better the world, right here at our fingertips.

Our voices can span the globe at the speed of light.

Talking about using social media for social good is almost becoming a cliche. I don’t want that to happen though. I don’t want this concept to get watered down. I don’t want you to lose sight of what we can do with this amazing gift we have. So here are some ideas on how you can use social media to improve the world. Some ways are big, some ways are little, but every little bit helps.

1. Post what has motivated you to exercise to help motivate others

2. Post helpful, nutritious recipes

3. When you see a bulletin about a missing animal, share it.

4. When you see a bulletin about a missing child, share it.

5. When you see someone is feeling down, try to make them smile.

6. Find a charitable hashtag, follow it, and share it.

7. Retweet efforts to raise funds for not-for-profit organizations.

8. Retweet information that will inspire people to act.

9. Right blog posts answering tricky questions.

10. Answer a question for someone who is brand new to the online world.

11. Congratulate someone on a job well done.

12. Help someone else who is trying to do good.

13. Help someone else, period.

14. Write about how you overcame a major obstacle. It will offer guidance to someone else.

15. Go out of your way to talk to someone who has no followers on Twitter.

16. Share calls to action that you see charitable organizations broadcasting.

17. Start your own Facebook “cause”

18. Use your blog to highlight people who are doing social good.

19. Encourage those who are working hard to benefit others.

20. Defend someone who is being attacked.

21. Offer a kind word to someone who is being bullied.

22. Start your own online fundraising effort.

23. Share powerful photographs to get the point across that help is needed.

24. Share videos from people experiencing the worst life has to offer to motivate action.

25. Come up with solutions and toss them out to your networks without fear.

26. Donate your voice to someone who doesn’t have one, like animals, infants, or the mortally ill.

27. Raise awareness about issues people may not know about.

28. Start your own online project using video, photos, written content…all of the above.

29. Make it personal.

30. Consider the whole online world your own backyard.

31. Keep an eye on children and teens using social media.

32. Stifle harmful talk.

33. Open your mind to new ways of thinking – millions of perspectives are at your fingertips.

34. Offer hope however you can, whenever you can.

35. Create a group or a community around a cause or issue.

36. Believe that all of these things make a difference.

You might roll your eyes at some of these things. Helping someone on Twitter can make the world a better place? Sure. Why not? Any time we can lend a hand, we are improving the world for that person, right? And maybe, inspired by your act of kindness, they’ll be more inspired to lend a hand to someone else in some other way. You just never know what will be the difference-maker in someone’s life.

You have a voice. You have power. Anyone who has an online account has those things. The question is how you are going to use them.

Image by Horton Group. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/hortongrou

You know you’re addicted to social media if…

by Margie Clayman

For some reason, addiction has been on my mind lately. *Scratches head* Now why is that…oh right, because I’ve been watching Breaking Bad and Dexter in my free time. That could be it. Anywho, so I’ve been watching the world of social media (as a distant observer, of course) and I’ve noticed a few behaviors that are just too bizarre not to comment on. I do have to warn you that while it may seem like i know about some of these behaviors, that’s just a coincidence, ok? I’m not guilty of any of these. And neither are you. Now that we’ve got that settled, you know you’re addicted to social media if…

You use the phrase social media. Nobody knows this phrase unless they are addicts. It’s jargon, dude. Total jargon. There’s a reason The Social Network wasn’t called The Social Media.

You sleep with your smart phone on and beside you. Many people I know turn their phones off at night. They keep them in other parts of their abodes. They are not social media addicts. After all, how can you wake up at 2 AM to check Twitter if your phone is clear over in the kitchen? It’s much tougher that way. So I’ve heard.

You feel oddly compelled to share photos of what you are eating. A lot of people who are, let’s say, Social Media prohibitionists dismiss Social Media addicts by saying all they do is talk about what they ate for dinner. This is in fact not true. The number of pictures I see every day of what people are eating is astounding, and it’s everywhere – Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter…why do we, I meant, addicts, do that? Did you take pictures of your meals before Al Gore discovered the internet?

You get flummoxed when someone says something like “The Tweeter” or “That twit thing.” Like any addict, Social Media addicts are very protective of their drug of choice. It’s not the Twitter. Just Twitter. Thank you very much. Or so an addict might say, I’ve heard.

You feel “viral” is a great thing. Aliens are going to be so confused when they study Social Media addicts. You wanted to go viral? That’s just gross. Narsty, even. Yuck.

You talk on Social Media platforms about how much you hate Social Media. This is the ultimate addict behavior, right? “Oh, I hate that drug, but I need it, man.” This is how the Social Media addict talks about Twitter and Facebook and Google Plus and Quora and…what’s that new one again? No no, the one from 5 minutes ago.

You are pretty sure your life would lose all meaning if you stopped using Social Media. You feel like maybe you lived before you had a blog, but you can’t be sure. It must not have been much of a life because you can barely remember it. What did you do with all of that time? How did you make it through a meal without tweeting? And taking pictures of your food?

You announce you are taking a Social Media hiatus, then sneak in and thank the people who say they’ll miss you. I’ve never seen this happen. I’ve only heard rumors.

You start using Twitter hashtags in your regular communications. You know you’ve done, I meant, seen people do this, right? #Justsayin

The Google Plus app for iPhone really. ticks. you. off. If you are addicted to Social Media, the fact that you can’t tag people using the G+ iPhone app may really frustrate you. You might say things like, “What is the point of having an app if you don’t get the full functionality?” Uh, I read about this on a website once. That’s how I know people say things like that.

Big news is just a chance to raise your Klout score. If you’re addicted to Social Media, you may monitor the news solely so you can be the one who breaks it to your network. You are the anchorman (or woman) of your Twitter or Facebook community. And boy do you get retweeted when you share big news.

You get giddy because you have tweeted with most of the authors in the Barnes & Noble business section. This may or may not cause your family and friends to disassociate with you. Addictive behavior, let’s face it, can be humiliating! So I’ve heard…

I’m sure I missed a few signs. Maybe you could add your field observations here. Together, we can help identify Social Media addicts and get them on the road to recovery. For now, I’m off to go to my favorite restaurant. They make great food that just photographs so well with my Iphone…

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Shine4Him8

Are you co-signing on crap?

by Margie Clayman

So something interesting happened just now. I was skimming through Google Plus, trying to figure out the value – trying to convince myself that there was more than broadcasting going on. So, let’s see. Cat rave. Cat with hat on. Cats hugging. Cats with hats on hugging and raving. And then a Gary Vaynerchuk video. Huh. Well that’s interesting. The particular person who shared this video previewed it by saying, “Why marketers are destroying social media.” That got me riled up. I was already writing my hate mail to Gary Vee, but I thought I would listen to his argument first.

Now, I didn’t play the video backwards, and maybe that was my mistake, but I didn’t hear the word “marketing” or “marketers” at all.

There is something deliciously ironic about this. It’s that kind of irony that you just long for in life – not the kind of irony that Alanis Morisette sang about in the 90s. Because, see, one of the things Gary Vee *does* talk about is that a lot of people in the online world are tweeting stuff out cuz they want to sound important or smart (or both). They’re not really paying attention to what they are saying or retweeting. They just want to get attention, and they end up looking like idiots (except picture this in not-safe-for-work Gary Vee language). So here we have this person saying, “Oh, listen to Gary Vee talk about how marketers are ruining social media,” and really, the kind of shenanigans the sharer is up to – that’s what the speech is really about. Kind of a V8 moment, right? Bonk on the head!

The Myth of Give To Get

by Margie Clayman

When I first started doing this whole Social Media thang, as it were, I had a lot of ideas in my head. I wouldn’t say that was particularly my fault. My brain was, well, I don’t want to say it was manure mixed with soil, but the grounds were very fertile for seeds of ideas and concepts. There were many many farmers who came up to me and said, “Hey, look, it is a new person, and her brain is ready to be planted with rows and rows of my ideas! I meant, best practices! Yes!” And so, ideas were planted in my head, and they started to bloom and grow. In a twist that only the makers of Inception could have conceptualized and made into a B-grade movie, these ideas became so engrained in how I did things that I thought they were MY ideas. I’m waiting for you still, Leo DiCaprio.

Now, I speak as if I am a grizzled veteran, but in fact I have only been at this game for about a year.5. Yes, in baby years I’m 18 months old, just teething and learning that I can stuff either my entire foot or my entire fist into my mouth. These are very exciting times.

Ehem.

Let’s Talk About Facebook Pages

by Margie Clayman

When you think about marketing on Facebook or business on Facebook, the “page” is what seems to come to mind most quickly. The page sort of epitomizes everything social media was supposed to do for companies. You can see your customers (and prospects), which enables you to put a face to a name and get to know them. The page allows you to integrate images and videos, which are great ways of keeping people interested, if not entranced. You can give news directly to the people connected to your page, and you can use the internal Facebook ads system to drive your target audience to your page. You can even see insights that will tell you how people are using your page and when they’re using your page.

What could go wrong?

Well, as it turns out, creating an interesting and worthwhile Facebook page is more art than science, just like most other things in the online world. I saw a page once where the administrator of the page kept posting product photos and then “liking” the photos. Yikes. That’s a party I don’t want to be invited to.

During my torrid love/hate, hot/cold relationship with Facebook, I’ve come to a few conclusions about pages for companies or brands. Here are some of my thoughts.

If people don’t know you, they won’t like your page or won’t stick around long

One common mistake I see in the business world is that companies think that they can create a fan page and all of a sudden people will start flocking in. If you’re Coke, that could be entirely true. If your Batty Sheen Car Fluid, maybe not so much. People are already battling a lot of noise on Facebook, and that’s just from people they call friends or family. To “like” your page means there has to be some interest for them. Starting a page and praying to the Zucky gods will not help you. Nor will inviting your mom, your 17 cousins, and your 20 friends from high school. They want to support you, but they’re probably not your target customers. What you need to do is either create a cause related to your product that people can get behind or work on transporting your existing “fans” from other places over to your page. There are lots of great ways to do this, and there are lots of black hat ways to do this. One interesting tactic I’ve seen is a print ad campaign that actually drove traffic to a Facebook page rather than a website. Pretty snazzy, huh?

“Like” is not synonymous with “I wish to buy from you now.”

It’s easy to convince yourself that a person who clicks “like” on your page will also spend money with you. However, just like “like” does not mean “I want to marry you,” “like” in Facebook world doesn’t mean, “I wish to buy your full line of products.” For more on this factor, visit Jay Baer’s post that shows that most people who like a page do not expect to be bombarded with marketing messages.

There is no one rule that will work for everyone

Finally, I’ve learned that you need to figure out what the fans of your page actually want from you. Some fan bases want you to be really personable and happy. Other people just want the information that they expect you to provide, and if you have a smiley face there more power to you. On our 12most.com Facebook page, most of our content is represented by a feed of our posts. It seems that people are just fine with that. But if you try to shove a lot of content into a different kind of page, you’d probably get a lot of blow-back, right? So you need to experiment, listen for feedback, and adjust your strategy as you go.

This is all very big picture, fluffy, maybe not entirely helpful stuff. I know. I kinda figured you’d say, “Great, now we know what Margie thinks. And that helps us how?” So, I also want to link you to this post by my friend Tommy Walker, which pretty much explains everything you could want to know about how to start a Facebook page and make it work. You can watch the video or read the transcripts.

What are your thoughts about Facebook fan pages? What have your experiences been? Let’s talk about it!

Image by Asif Akbar. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/asifthebes

Let’s Talk About Keeping Kids Safe on Facebook

by Margie Clayman

My biggest fear in the online world has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the safety of children. I think that on Facebook in particular, it’s really easy to do things that could have alarming consequences because everything seems so safe there on the surface. You can lock down your content, you’re talking to your friends and family for the most part…what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, as we have seen over the last couple of years particularly, a lot can go wrong, especially for kids and young adults who are trying to figure out that whole pesky “life” thing – both online and offline.

Now, I want to say two things. First, I am not saying that children should be tethered to their parents and prevented from exploring the online world. Second, what I will present here are worst case scenarios. However, I feel it’s important to occasionally sound the alarm and just say, “Hey, are we thinking about this?” There’s a particular reason I worry about that, too.

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