I was going through my 23,321 emails this morning and noting all of my new Twitter followers.  I clicked on one out of sheer curiosity simply because he had the term SEO (search engine optimization) in his ‘screen name’. The guy had over 3,000 twitter followers and has only had the twitter account for less than a month.  He has tweeted a grand total of 11 times.  Out of even deeper curiosity, I clicked his followers list to see who was following him: Nearly every one of his twitter followers was a multi level marketer, a realtor, or a spammer of some other sort. So, congrats to him for building such a following, he now has 3,000+ spammers following his every move with permission granted to leave spam all over his Twitter profile. Needless to say, I won’t be following him back.

When it comes to social media and branding your company online, pay attention to who you are following: follow leaders in your industry, follow pioneers and inventors, follow your successful clients and prospects, follow the people who matter. The more targeted people you follow and engage, the more targeted people you will get to follow you back enabling you to converse with them and build a mutually beneficial online and possibly offline relationship.

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Found this great QUICK video from Seth Godin this morning and it really hit home.  When it comes to social media networking or even off-line networking, simply handing out business cards and collecting followers on Twitter, Facebook etc. is pointless if you aren’t contributing….

There has been a lot of talk lately about social media and the potential negative impact it can have on business.  The blogosphere has been speculating on how much time social media costs companies, worrying about privacy issues, secret secret company data being disseminated all over the net and IT concerns about hacks etc., through many social media online venues. In my last blog I addressed some social media pros for your business, in this blog, Im going to play negative nelly and discuss some cons for businesses and social media:

Employees Spend more time on Facebook tending to their mafia wars and sorority sisters then they do actual work.
This is becoming a huge concern, HOWEVER, I witnessed a lady sitting at a desk today for about 1.5 hours playing an intense game of solitaire on her PC while she didn’t think anyone was watching….. Social media can indeed be a time waster and burn through company money quicker than crap through a goose, BUT, as I mentioned in my earlier post, harnessing the power of your employees online activities by branding your company and being social with your actual customers could save you thousands in other areas.

IT Concerns with Hackers & Social Media Sites.
I spoke at a tradeshow last week and a gentleman stood up and asked how to combat hackers via Facebook etc., because his IT guy read an article in GeekWeekly stating that if you click links from people you don’t know in Facebook, they can gain control of your whole network and ruin your day…. Newsflash here: Clicking any link from a stranger is a risk, whether it’s on Google, Twitter, Sesame Street, etc. Granted, social media outlets have some tightening up to do, but, as long as there are hackers, there will be exploits everywhere. Best protection here: Use Common Sense. Don’t be a clicker.

My Employees Might Say Mean Stuff About Me.
Yup, that’s inevitable. There truly is ONE in every crowd, and in many instances, plenty more than one.  As long as your employees have Internet access, whether it’s via their work issued PC or their Smart Phone that can launch the Space Shuttle, they will be online saying stuff. How you deal with that ‘stuff’ is mission critical. How you deal with your employees and lay down the lay with a social media policy is mission critical. But, here’s the harsh cold reality: If you fire them for saying mean things about you online, they will immediately leave your office and continue to say mean things about you. If people have an axe to grind they will.

Everything is a risk. Running a web site is a risk, eating that Chinese food from that joint that’s close to the humane society is a risk, marketing your company to the masses is truly a risk, taking risks that are calculated and planned is just smart business.

Not sure if social media is right for your business? Give me a call to discuss. I also offer in business seminars and presentations on using social media effectively and with purpose.  Call me at 407-830-4550 in Orlando or toll free: 866-998-6886. Be sure to visit my web site to learn more about social media: http://www.ontargetwebsolutions.com

I’ve been fortunate to speak at several local tradeshows / seminars about Social Media lately, and one of the most common questions I get from businesses during my presentation is “How do I keep my company safe with Social Media?”

This is a VERY legitimate question as companies are starting to block access internally to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter due to hacking attempts and mostly, due to employee inefficiency.  A gentleman made a crack during my last presentation that he FIRES each employee he catches online. So, employers, business owners are seeing social media as a colossal waste of time as opposed to an opportunity to grow their corporate brand online: here’s a few opportunities I see that could be a positive to implementing a social media campaign for your business and could quite possibly save you money and improve efficiency.

1.) Expand customer service.
What if each one of your customer service team knew how to use Twitter to monitor issues / questions regarding your brand / products or services? Addressing customer service needs promptly online as opposed to answering phone calls all day could dramatically improve overall efficiency and leave the client / prospect feeling like they were special. You are being proactive by GOING directly to the problem and addressing it rapidly.

2.) Expand Your Marketing Message.
What if each one of your marketing team members could rapidly deploy NEW product announcements to a very targeted audience, OR test market a particular product rapidly to a very targeted demographic? Twitter and / or Facebook can be good tools to rapidly get a pulse on potential buyers. Twitter and Facebook can be a great tool to build a buzz about an upcoming product launch or tradeshow, etc.

3.) Spread Your Corporate News Rapidly.
What if your public relations team could get your press releases disseminated rapidly and into the hands that matter using Twitter, online press release services, facebook, etc.  Believe it or not, people get their news quicker from Twitter then they do on CNN.com.

I think business owners need to realize that if your employees aren’t on social media at work, they are on social media at home.  They will talk about work, they will talk about the company: why not harness that power and grow an army out of your staff to grow your online presence and improve your presence online?

There are of course many dangers lurking with social media and corporate usage, I’ll address those in my next post.

A friend forwarded this video to me this morning: I think it says it all about the fundamental shift in the way that we communicate in both life and in business: Social media is truly here to stay, businesses that don’t embrace this revolution may not be here for long:

Be careful what you post on your Facebook or Twitter wall….

Consider Bob.  Bob is in debt up to his eyeballs.  He owes everyone and their brother money, he owes the credit card companies, he owes his credit union, he owes his mortgage company, heck he even owes Cousin Ralphie for that thing with the guy and the rabbit AND he keeps asking his boss for a big fat raise. Bob loves the finer things in life…. Lavish dinners, the latest Apple Products, a nice cigar now and again, weekend getaways, fine wines and whiskey. Bob also loves bragging about all of his purchases on his facebook wall:

Example:
“Bob Smith just spent the night at the Gaylord Palms, ate dinner at the Ritz Carlton, visited Disney, drank a pint of Johnnie Walker Red, smoked a case of Cubans, went to the clubs, tipped the doorman a few bills, bought Trixie a new diamond necklace, and visited the Apple store to pick up a new AppleTV and wants his Boss to know that I think he is a doofus.”

What Bob doesn’t know is that everyone of those bill collectors are paying attention.  They read Bob’s Facebook posts. They are annoyed that Bob hasn’t ponied up or taken any of their harassing phone calls. Even more fun, Bob’s boss is a friend of Bob on facebook and sees all of his posts, so while Bob is whining for a raise, Bob’s boss can see why. Bob’s bill collectors and Bob’s boss are building quite a case against Bob and could use it against him to collect debt or even fire Bob. Bob could be in trouble.

When you post your compelling wall updates on Twitter and / or Facebook please note the following: People are watching, listening, paying attention, taking screen shots and will use it ALL against you.  A bit of common sense goes a long way, a bit of self control can help you keep your job, can help you not irritate your bill collectors, could help you not instigate cousin Ralphie.  Just remember to use discretion and be aware that people are watching.

Be sure to catch me tomorrow, January 28, 2010 on The Daily Buzz (Nationwide) at 6:15 as I discuss social media with Mitch English and the dangers of inappropriate self disclosure!