BOSHspeaks-Target Your Messages-Know Your Audience
What social media users need to understand is that each social media channel attracts a unique audience, who will choose to communicate in a particular way, using various tools to carry on a web conversation.
I know that I am not the only person frustrated by senders who don’t understand how to properly use a social media dashboard tool.
This post was inspired by those who send pre-programmed auto-tweets!
If you’re not familiar, these are the short messages that appear in your various news feeds from friends or connections that use Twitter. They are further identified by the little blue bird (Tweetdeck) or owl (Hoot Suite), that sits to the left of visible fragmented sentences with unusual symbols between words.
SAMPLE:
[RT sum @BOSHnewmediaCom find au2-tweet #messages @FB annoying http://ow.ly/7Crye]
These posts are initiated from the registered user of the Twitter account and are auto-programmed through a social media dashboard. A dashboard can manage several accounts, allowing the user to load and automatically send messages to number of social media channels, such as Linked In and Facebook, at a scheduled time or in real time.
If you are using a social media (SM) dashboard, you likely understand what I am talking about.
The rest of you are probably scratching your heads over misspelled words, abbreviations and # or @ symbols that sometimes dominate your message stream. They often arrive in frequent batches and carry little meaning or conversation value at the receiving end of the chosen social media site (aside from Twitter).
A SM dashboard is designed to improve communication, engagement and measurement.
Those who send frequent one-way messages to multiple social media sites, in dialogue that is not understood by the receiver, use it incorrectly.
When you text, chat or use instant messaging (IM) you use abbreviated versions of words and quick response characters that can save you time and are easily translated by the receiver. That’s if, the receiver can comprehend the chat language.
If you are a Twitter user, you deliver one way messages in 140 characters or less, making reference to others by using the @ (at) symbol or by joining group conversation using a # (hash-tag) symbol. Often an abbreviated reference link is added to encourage a click.
This explicit style of conversation is unique to Twitter.
Each of the hundreds of social media channels contains their own digital dialect.
It is necessary to learn how to communicate effectively online in a variety of formats.
Facebook users are highly conversational in nature, and can carry on multiple exchanges at one time, using several methods including chat, wall posts, sharing and notes. A greater opportunity for distribution and banter, using multimedia platforms that include images and video, exists on this social networking site.
Seldom, on Facebook, do conversations take place in short form or “code”.
Linked In provides a means to engage with business connections and groups, so that users can join, converse and immerse themselves in forums, events, discussions, and more in-depth conversation. The dialogue here is more sophisticated, taking place amongst an educated audience.
Now, I’m not saying that I prefer one social media channel to another for connecting or conversing. I use a variety of social media tools and encourage my clients to do the same.
But one must understand that each social media channel has its own unique purpose and is designed to attract and address a particular audience.
If you are using any of the many available channels, know who is your audience and whom, in particular, you are conversing with.
Learn how to use the right method of delivery so that you can best relate and deliver a meaningful message, in a language they can understand.
If your friends on Facebook are not using Twitter, they will be confused by your constant stream of meaningless tweets in their news feed and quickly become frustrated that you have little desire to address their individual needs or conversation with your pre-programmed one-way digital dialogue.
Auto-sends may be viewed as impersonal and offensive, especially to those 
who don’t recognize your chosen Internet language.
It’s the quality of messages and conversation that builds online relationships.
Manage your messages and mind your social manners by striving for two-way conversation with your active participants. Know your audience and address appropriately to engage them, interact and enhance conversation.
That’s the “social” part of social media!
Are you targeting your audience with your messages?
How do you feel about auto-programmed tweets appearing in your news feed?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Nov 26th, 2011. 
Last week, Google announced that it would begin encrypting search queries by default for some searches on Google.com. This means that search marketers will not be able to receive some of the referral data that they are used to receiving. As expected, they are not happy.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Oct 28th, 2011.
Since the launch of Google+, the so-called “social media wars” have been raging, with Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ adding new features and updates on a regular basis to build and maintain a robust user base. With the launch of Google+, privacy and content control created a lot of buzz and interest for the site. This week, Facebook is adding several few new privacy features of its own – though there is debate over whether this is in direct response to the launch of Google+. Right now, Facebook says the changes are “coming soon,” so keep your eye out for them this week. Here’s a rundown of these new features – and what they mean for Facebook profile users, as well as some insights on how some of these updates may affect businesses using Facebook for online marketing.
Inline Profile Controls: The main emphasis of the new updates centers on making managing privacy and sharing settings on Facebook easier by adding controls directly to your profile rather than forcing you to navigate through multiple pages. Now, you’ll be able to designate the privacy on any content on your profile, like your photo albums, with one click, right from the relevant page.
Simplified Settings Page: Along with the on-page privacy control updates, Facebook is simplifying its settings page, moving some to these inline controls and replacing or removing others.
Inline Post Controls: Facebook is making the ability to control who sees specific posts more obvious by emphasizing inline content controls on individual status updates. You will see an icon along with a label next to the “Post” button on status updates, very similar to Google+’s emphasis on sharing content to specific circles.
According to Facebook: “This dropdown menu will be expanding over time to include smaller groups of people you may want to share with, like co-workers, Friend Lists you’ve created, and Groups you’re a member of. These will make it easy to quickly select exactly the audience you want for any post.”
Further, Facebook is changing the option to share with “Everyone” to “Public” to more explicitly enforce that status updates posted to “Public” will be available to anyone on the Internet. You can learn more about these sharing options from Facebook’s.
Status Update Privacy Editing: In the past, when you shared a status update on Facebook, if you didn’t want certain people to see it later, you had to delete the post. With these new features, you’ll be able to edit the visibility of a post after you share it using the inline controls.
Expanded Tagging Options: Previously, you had to be a friend with someone or like a business page to tag them in content. Going forward, you’ll be able to tag anyone on Facebook – which means anyone will be able to tag you, too. Users who are tagged by non-friends will be able to approve or reject the tag before it appears on their profile. This feature may be a visibility boost for businesses using Facebook, but it will also create more need for monitoring, as both fans and potential “foes” of your business will be able to tag brands in status updates, pictures, and videos, making it a potentially powerful tool for reputation management.
Approval on Photo Tags: You’ll now have the ability to approve or reject Facebook photo tags that other people add in photos of you – before the tag is visible to other Facebook users. You’ll also have more options regarding tag and content control, including removing it from your profile, removing the tag, messaging the content owner, requesting content removal, and blocking the content owner.
Location Tagging: You will be able to add your location to anything, wherever you are – even if you’re not on a mobile device. This has potential to be a boost for businesses using Facebook for marketing, as users will be able to designate specific locations in posts without using a smart phone.
View Profile As: Did you know that you can see what your profile looks like to another Facebook user? That way, you can check your privacy settings to make sure your profile is displaying correctly based on different permissions and privacy controls. With the new features, you’ll be able to perform this task straight from a “View Profile As” button on your profile itself rather than navigating multiple settings pages.
Overall, these changes signal that Facebook is taking privacy concerns seriously and is interested in building a more user-friendly platform, especially now that Google+ has begun building buzz with powerful privacy features from the start and lots of potential for local marketing. That means for businesses wanting to reach consumers online, Facebook is still an important place to have an active, dynamic presence.
What do you think about these new Facebook privacy settings? Will this change how you use Facebook? Is this a blow to Google+, which generated lots of buzz around its content sharing control options? Share your thoughts about these new Facebook features in a comment!
About Tiffany Monhollon
As the lead blogger for ReachCast, Tiffany shares practical tips and insights on optimizing your business web presence. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 23rd, 2011.
Facebook recently released a new page called Facebook for Business that offers advice for companies looking to find success on the social platform. It serves as a resource of information that includes tips related to advertising, Page strategies, and more.
Although Facebook did not release any new business features or elements as part of the new resource, Mari Smith, a social media expert, speaker, and author, told us that it still served as a valuable place for businesses, especially those new to Facebook, to go for information. She believes that Facebook is dedicated to businesses and that it will continue to expand its offerings for businesses of all sizes.
In terms of advice, she said that businesses should follow tech blogs and journalists to keep up with the latest news regarding the platform. Specifically, she advises brands to utilize Facebook to quickly get messages out and to get speedy feedback from consumers.
Is your business taking advantage of the value of Facebook?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 16th, 2011.
In the last few weeks, Google Plus, the company’s latest launch into the social media space, has generated a lot of buzz, and it may be the fastest-growing social network ever, with recent reports claiming the project may already have 10 million users. Currently in beta, Google Plus has been the company’s most successful venture in the social space, after many different social projects it has launched to mixed results. So, what is Google Plus, and why does it matter for local businesses? Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know:
What is Google+?
Google Plus is a social network, with similarities to Twitter and Facebook, but some interesting differences as well. The site is based around the idea of offering users some control over who they share information with through a feature called “Circles.”Essentially, a circle is a group of people you define and curate, designed specifically for sharing information. The site also features “Huddles,” which are group chats, “Hangouts,” which are group video chats, and “Sparks,” which are streams of content from around the Web based on topics you’re interested in.
Instead of having a wall like on Facebook, the primary user experience is through viewing feeds of information, similar to Twitter or the Facebook news feed. But what’s unique about Google Plus is that you can view one feed of everyone you’ve added to a circle under the “home” view, select to view unique streams of information based on the circles you’ve created, or view a feed called “incoming” for people who have added you to a circle that you haven’t added to one of your own. Your posts aren’t limited to a short character length, and you can edit a post once you’ve shared it. Like a Facebook wall, you can comment on people’s posts and interact with other people, and if they’ve posted publicly, you can comment on someone’s post even if they didn’t share it directly with you.
Google Plus integrates the +1 feature that the company launched last month, which has similarity to a Facebook “like,” except that it doesn’t actually share the content on your Google Plus profile. For example, you can +1 a comment or a post on Google+, just like you can +1 a website or blog post that has added the +1 button.
http://www.youtube.com/v/xwnJ5Bl4kLI?hl=en&fs=1
Read our overview of Google Plus, walk through a Google Plus demo or learn more at the Google YouTube channel’s Google Plus Playlist.
Who’s on Google+?
The project is currently in beta, and you currently need to receive an invite to get a profile. If you want to join in, try asking someone you know who has an account to send you an invite or ask your Twitter or Facebook connections.
Officially, Google Plus is currently just for personal profiles, meaning that businesses can’t set up their own profile yet. But, Google is launching a business page pilot soon, and they will work with a few hundred big brands and local businesses in the project, and will officially launch business pages later in the year. If you’re interested in being considered for the pilot, you can fill out a request form, though Google has already received thousands of applications and said they will close the form submissions at some point. Google also noted it will be shutting down business profiles that are not part of the pilot, so if you want to get involved in Google+, it’s best to just set up a personal profile so you can experience the site for yourself.
What Can Businesses do on Google+?
Just because businesses in general can’t have an official Google Plus Page yet doesn’t mean you can’t use Google Plus for your business! Here are a few ways you as a business owner can use your own Google Plus profile for your business and learn the rules of engagement on this new social site so you’ll be ready to use the business pages when they officially launch.
Connecting – Because of the Circles function, Google Plus is a great place to connect with different groups of people online, including people in your industry and community. Creating circles that help you share and connect with different types of groups is a great way to use Google Plus to boost your visibility and grow your personal brand as a local business owner. You can also use the Huddle and Hangouts features as a digital networking platform, by sharing messages or creating video chats with associates, mentors, or peers.
Linking – As a business owner, building your own personal profile and linking to your business’s website, review pages, and social sites across the web is a great way to get your business presence started in Google Plus and to create more inbound links to your sites. Make sure to list your business name in your own personal Google+ profile under the “About” section. You can share about your company in a variety of places on your Google Plus profiles, such as the introduction, bragging rights ( for example, XYZ Spa Named Relaxation Spot of the Year), occupation, and employment sections. If your profile is public, people will be able to discover links to the different elements of your business’s web presence through your personal Google Plus profile.
Sharing – Google+ is a great place to share content. So, sharing blog post links, specials and deals, and other information about your business, community, or industry can help you interact with other like-minded business owners and help you learn and promote your expertise.
The Future of Google+ and Local Business
As the user base expands and official business pages launch, Google+ is set to be an important tool for local online marketing. Google recently ended its contract with Twitter to source its real-time search, and it’s likely Google+ will become the company’s source for real-time search data. There is potential for the social network to impact search discovery and SEO, especially since public posts on Google+ are available to search engines. Google Plus may also be an important tool for reputation management, especially if they integrate Google Places Pages with Google Plus Business Pages, as many
expect will happen.
The bottom line is that Google is an important player in the digital space, and as Google Plus continues to evolve, now is a great time to get involved as a local business owner. Have you joined Google Plus yet? What are your initial thoughts? What features or tools do you hope they’ll add as they begin to work with businesses on the site? Leave your thoughts in a comment!
Author: Tiffany Monhollon writes about social media, marketing, and local business success as the lead blogger for ReachCast, a service that helps local business owners develop their web presence.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 7th, 2011.
