Link to the podcast, as I can’t get their embed code to work.
Thanks for having me on Mark!
National Lacrosse League Makes Sports League and Social Media History
Posted on February 13, 2012 // Leave a Comment
As reported on ESPN, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) have made sports league and social media history with a cool jersey enhancement. Each player replaced the name on the back of their jersey with their Twitter handle. I think this is awesome.
ESPN reports that the team did get approval from the NLL before making the jersey change. Here’s the NLL’s story on the game, which didn’t mention the jersey change much save for the opening line. Here’s a better story from the Toronto Star. Looks like the jerseys were auctioned off for the American Cancer Society, raising over $13,000.
I wish this had been my idea!
Social Media Explained With Donuts
Posted on February 6, 2012 // 3 Comments
I know there are various versions of this floating around the web. I like this one because:
1. It involves donuts.
2. It includes newer sites like Pinterest and Instagram
3. The G+ one is funny and unfortunately true (I’m still rooting for you Google+!)
Source: Three Ships Media. I originally received it via a Falk Harrison coworker’s email.
How Not To Use Social Media To Promote Your Brand
Posted on January 4, 2012 // 14 Comments
It sucks that I am still able to write a blog post like this in 2012! Here’s some recent social media engagement from Vinos Finos Cafe in Raleigh, NC:
After @Nick314 brought this to my attention, we tweeted back and forth a bit about it, including a few others in our conversation. Scott Stratten (@Unmarketing) called it a train wreck and a perfect example of how not to tweet. After this discussion, in which Vinos Finos Cafe was included, and in which we were kind but direct as to how we felt about their inappropriate social media effort, I received this tweet from Vinos:
And you can see I responded. Will it ever end?
It Would Be Difficult To Make This Much Worse
Posted on December 14, 2011 // 3 Comments
Dear Small Business Owner: Social Media Does Not Generate Overnight Results
Posted on August 4, 2011 // 9 Comments
Read this awesome article from Neal Schaffer of Windmill Networking. What he calls an oxymoron I will call “unrealistic expectations.” Small business social media marketing is broken (or nonexistent), and the reason is that small business owners (along with a majority of medium-sized business owners, large business owners, corporations, not-for-profits and NGOs, governmental agencies, etc) think social is the next great marketing platform. No. Take your marketing hat off.
Small businesses have less money to spend on marketing, on their awareness and visibility strategy, but they need those dollars to have an oversized effect on their bottom line. NOW. Small businesses just have less wiggle room than large corporations. Eventually, when the small business owner realizes that it will require their time and heart to make this work, social lands at the bottom of the totem pole, right below doing the books for the month. That is not where it belongs.
I know social media consultants that will promise results in three months, a certain number of followers, and the like. It’s completely foolish, but it gets them the job. Then you’re delivering rubbish on rubbish. I love Neal’s article because it is brutally honest. I try to be equally as honest with clients, possibly to my detriment. Social is not a quick-fix. It’s not a way to move a bunch of old product today. It’s just not like that. Once you have a committed group of followers, it can be used in such a way. But not at first.
Neal also points out that Social Media ROI goes beyond a simple metric or two. Done correctly, it’s going to positively affect your entire organization. Think of it this way: we seek more than money at our jobs. We seek camaraderie and fulfillment. What are the kinds of things companies do to keep employees happy and engaged? Summer softball? An amazing off-site training session? A worthwhile company-wide charitable endeavor? Yes, things like that. Then the company uses social media to share photography and stories from those events and many more, and we all feel just a little more like a family. And I stay instead of quitting. Steven Hawking will start calculating the ROI on my decision right away.