23Feb 2010 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways to Succeed in Social Media, Part Six

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube
6. Leverage a number of channels. It’s one thing to tweet a few times a week, write a blog post once a month and update your profile on LinkedIn if you happen to land a new job. But it’s quite another to be active on a handful of social media channels on a daily basis. That's right, the most accomplished social media mavens don’t occasionally go online. They practically live online. Instead of checking email and voice mail, they’re responding to a steady, endless stream of comments, questions and requests from their friends, fans and followers. Instead of sitting in meetings all day, they’re sitting in front of a variety of screens, tap, tap, tapping away in the name of meaningful engagement with their constituencies. Instead of working nine to five,…
Read More
16Feb 2010 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways to Succeed in Social Media, Part Five

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube
5. Work as a team. While most social media programs have a single champion at the helm, the best among them have a crew to provide support. Never mind the extraordinary demands of the job on almost a 24/7/365 basis. From project management to PR, customer service to marketing, creative to analytics, there are simply too many different skills required for one person alone to be successful on the grid on behalf of a big brand. As I wrote in a previous blog post (Social Media is a Team Sport, Not a Solo Act)…  An exceptional writer with a strong body of knowledge, a charismatic personality and a boatload of enthusiasm can make a huge social splash – don’t get me wrong. But to sustain an effective strategy for an indefinite period of time requires…
Read More
09Feb 2010 by Bob Cargill

How Agencies Handle Transparency in Social Media

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube
In case you missed it, John Cass and Toby Bloomberg pulled together an exhaustive joint post recently on how agencies, consultants and freelancers handle the notion of transparency when using social media on behalf of their clients. They reached out to dozens of their colleagues in the industry (myself included), asking them how they dealt with this issue while not only providing social media content for their clients, but in many cases posting that content for them as well. I applaud John and Toby for spearheading this initiative. It was a considerable undertaking on their part, the result being a diverse range of opinions from those on the cutting edge of social media, a body of work of great value to the industry. In my opinion, if a brand doesn't have the capabilities in-house, it makes perfect sense to outsource its social media…
Read More
03Feb 2010 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways to Succeed in Social Media, Part Four

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, YouTube
4. Stand for your brand. As much as you need to be yourself in social media, it’s even more important to be a positive, well-suited reflection of the organization you represent. So before you blog, tweet or record that YouTube video, take pause and ask yourself if you're actually capable of embodying the very best characteristics associated with your brand. Even if you’re your own boss, you may find it more than just a little challenging to come across as a trustworthy, authoritative and engaging spokesperson. The truth is that some of the most successful social media practitioners are those with extraordinarily good people skills. They’re evangelists, diplomats and envoys, folks who live and breathe the topics and issues bandied about among their respective business circles. Their strong sense of corporate identity is eclipsed only by their personal character and integrity. In the best interests of their constituents…
Read More