Friday, April 17, 2009

Take 2

It's time for the next episode of Minnesocia ...and I need your help! I'd like this piece to turn into a quick video update of everything you need to know about what's happening with social media in and around Minnesota. To do that, I'll need to get some tips from you. So, if you come across any great Tweeters in the TC's, know of a St. Cloud business that is rockin' on Facebook, have a YouTube video from the Duluth Harbor Area in mind ...send them to me at justin@warehousemediaservice.com or @warehousemedia!

And now, here's Minnesocia, Episode 2:

Friday, April 10, 2009

Minnesocia ...or perhaps another name

Time for fun with video cameras! Just for the heck of it, I decided to put a little video together about some of the more popular topics (Twitter users know them as "hashtags") floating around the Twitterverse in the past week. Keep in mind, this is the FIRST ATTEMPT at something. But I would like to see it grow with your help. So, please, have a look, then let me know what you'd like to see in the next episode of Minnesocia. And it doesn't have to be on Twitter ...Facebook, Digg, random Web sites, whatever you've been looking at on line, please let me know! Also, if you can think of a better name than Minnesocia, I'm open to suggestions on that, too!560 340

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Good News! (If you're willing to earn your advertising)

The idea that expensive ad buys could become a thing of the past is welcome relief to some and no doubt horrifying to others, depending on what it is you do for a living. Before reading further, you have to check out this insightful post from Advertising Age.

As with most things involving multi- and social media, this should be viewed as an opportunity. Any organization with the time and willingness to interact with their audience ...in an authentic and meaningful way ...can then use those relationships to promote their products and messages to that audience.

But it does take time. If you haven't already, now is when you should open your Twitter account, begin an effective presence on Facebook, get some good videos up on YouTube ...start letting your customers and/or members know you care about them, by talking with them on a regular basis.

So who is doing this and doing this well? If you're on Twitter (and you should be!), check out the following tweeters for good examples of effective two-way communication: @comcastcares @zappos @HRBlock

Yes, those companies are still spreading their messages, but more importantly, they're catering to the questions and topics submitted by their customers and thereby building trust with those customers. Once that trust is there, you can then use the tools like Twitter and Facebook to mount inexpensive (Facebook and Twitter are free) and highly effective ad campaigns.

In a sense, it's nothing more than good ol' fashion customer service with a 21st-century technological twist ...that opens the door to nearly-free advertising.

Monday, April 6, 2009

New position: Social Media Manager

So how about a random-thought blog post to get things rolling late on a Monday morning...

Let's start with a question: How many people are thinking of hiring/have already hired a Social Media Manager? We're talking about a person who's job is part cowboy driving the cattle ...with the cattle being every member of the public who's interested in and/or commenting on your organization or product on the Internet ...and part facilitator, making sure those talking about your org have the correct information and are getting their questions answered.

A goal of any good social media strategy is forming an on-going, two-way relationship with your audience. For any organization with more than 1,000 members (customers, employees, students, etc.), I'd think managing those relationships would at least be a part-time job. Sooooo ...do you have such a duty in your office?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

It's hard to argue with comedian Louis CK's view that we are all extremely spoiled when it comes to the wonders of modern technology. And who can blame us? We've been trained to expect the amazing as routine.

Human beings adapt, for better or for worse, to their surroundings. There are plenty of studies that suggest everyone maintains a similar level of relative happiness and that buying more stuff or owning the newest gadget only gives a temporary rush and then we very quickly settle back to our original state of happiness. Same things goes for technology ...we take things like iPod technology for granted. Never mind the fact that iPod technology allows us to carry a library of data on a piece of metal and plastic the size of a piece of gum ...we've come to expect iPods to work and when they don't, we're flabbergasted.

But never mind the happiness aspect of it all ...having the newest iPhone app, being part of the most recent social media community, constantly sitting on the cutting edge of communication technology ...those things are not just cool, but can help a business or organization get a leg up in an ever-changing world of communication. Which is why some of us do need those things to work ...and why it's important to keep a proper perspective when they don't.

Last night, while battling GoDaddy and Dreamweaver simultaneously to set up warehousemediaservice.com I flew into a rage similar to those encountered by the users of this new, and fictitious, product from Sony. (WARNING! ...that last link has explicit content ...and is extremely funny) Just after my obscenity-laden outburst, my wife and I watched that video from The Onion and had a good laugh. Then, got back to work, went through one more obscenity-laden outburst, and eventually completed the task.

Long story short, the job got done and would have been done with or without the outbursts. Which is why I'm going to try and remember that everything is amazing and I should be happy to have all this technology to help me do my job.