Catgory: Social Media

A Reminder from #Fight4MSU

By Guest On October 25, 2013 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

It all started with this one tweet….

Seems pretty innocent, right? I think it’s great that Mississippi State was trying to harness the power of social media to rally fans during a Thursday night showdown. I like their idea. Fan-generated content is a great way to get fans engaged. Everyone likes showing up on the video board and feeling like they’re a part of something.

It didn’t take long after MSU’s tweet for their hashtag to get hijacked though. People started having a field day. Why? Because of one simple word in their tweet…

ALL.

When MSU promised that ALL tweets were going to appear on the video board (whether they were or not), trolls saw it as the perfect opportunity to interject into the conversation. This is an easy mistake to make. I can put myself in their shoes and empathize. Still, it’s an important and simple reminder for us all:

Craft your tweets with care.

One word, one misspelling, one mistake, etc. can derail your message. #Fight4MSU might have been hijacked even without the word “all”, but it’s better to play it on the safe side. You never want to setup fans, trolls, and the Twitter world for the perfect hijack. Craft your tweets wisely. See if they can be taken out of context. Read, re-read and re-read.

My last disclaimer is this: If you’re planning a major campaign around a hashtag (where you can’t control the conversation), please have some kind of backup plan in case things don’t go as you expected.

Is the Social Media Manager Dead?

By Guest On October 16, 2013 In Social Media with 3 Comments

photo-16A few weeks ago an article spread like wildfire in the Twittersphere declaring the “the social media manager is dead”.  I couldn’t disagree more.  The social media manager isn’t dead; the role is just evolving and maturing.  This shouldn’t be a surprise considering social media is an industry that is still relatively new and one that is always changing.

Here’s why I think the article was misleading / wrong:

1.  Social media needs a centralized person.
Every brand needs a centralized point of contact to oversee the overall social media strategy and ensure all the pieces of the puzzle work together to tell a cohesive brand story. The worst thing a brand can do is have a fragmented social media strategy.  You need a social media brand keeper. Period.

Additionally, social media is a lot to keep up with. I’ve been in roles before where social media was just a component of my job, and honestly, I couldn’t keep up with the industry.  If social media is a priority for an organization, they need to have someone who is staying up to date on the latest trends and educating the staff. 

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How Can I Create a Rockin’ Social Media Calendar?

By Guest On September 24, 2013 In Digital, Social Media, Twitter with 1 Comment

Creating a social media calendar makes the life of a social media / community manager so much easier. Yes, it takes a little grunt work in the beginning, but if you can bear and grin it you’ll find your workload to be a little bit more manageable.

I still think social media calendars are often undervalued. If we start them, we need to finish them. If we build them, we need to use them. If we use them, we need to evaluate them. It’s work that’s worth it.

If you’re going to take the time to create a social media calendar, you want to make sure you’re maximizing its value. Below are my tips for creating a great one:

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A Heart-to-Heart

By Guest On September 11, 2015 In Lessons Learned, Social Media

Dear Social Media Mangers,

Let’s have a heart-to-heart about today (September 11). I get it. We’re in an industry where our work is extremely public and any mistakes we make are mistakes made in front of thousands, possibly millions of other people.  We’re scrutinized when there’s a typo, told we need to learn where spellcheck is and anything and everything can be taken out of context. And, there’s no erasing it.

But this is the work we’ve decided to embark on. We know that one simple tweet can have a negative ripple effect- not just on you, your team or department- but also on the entire brand.

So while I get it, I have a plea to you and me and all of us in the industry. Please treat the platforms we’ve been given with a little more tender, loving care. A simple, thoughtful message is okay; product placement, logos everywhere, self-promotion & tackiness is not. Even more, companies need to learn the power of silence. Brands don’t need to stretch their relevance and interject into every conversation. On days like today, it’s up to us to put away our social media hats and focus on being genuine and human. Today is not about adding noise to the conversation, being relevant or about the number of likes. The message should be about the voice of your employees… real, genuine and heartfelt.

I know we’re all human, and yes, mistakes happen. But I’m begging you, let’s be a little more thoughtful with the power we’ve been given.  The more we make the platforms about us, the less we’ll get in return. Let’s get back to what social media is all about. That’s a real, genuine connection with the consumer… it’s not about you.

Jessica­

Tackling Social Media Myths

By Guest On September 8, 2013 In Facebook, Lessons Learned, Social Media, Twitter

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The social media industry is full of misconceptions. For anyone who works in the business, addressing the myths and misconceptions is often the hardest part of our jobs. Below are nine of the biggest myths I think are worth tackling. Be sure to share yours with me, too!

Myth #1- Social media is free.

Signing up for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the likes does not cost a dime, we all know that. If you want to do social media the right way though, you need content and manpower behind it. Great photos, graphics and videos do not come without a cost.

If social media is a priority, then you have to put the right resources behind it to generate the content that compels to your consumer. Remember, good content will carry a large load of your social media success.

Myth #2- You just need five minutes everyday.

Social media is about building relationships, understanding your consumers and molding your messages to make them meaningful to your audience.  This, my friends, cannot be done in five minutes. Scheduling any ‘ole tweet once a day, even if you have a million followers, is not social media success.

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