Why? Poorly written social media policies restrict, deter and deaden social media engagement–the exact opposite of what businesses want.

However, great social media policies support, protect and empower high-quality engagement. It is about empowerment and trust.

As Beth Kanter writes, “Trust is cheaper than control.”

This article will explain how social media policies differ from other policies and give you 10 tips to help create an effective social media policy.

Why Social Media Policies?

Social media policies are different. In most policies and procedures, we document what staff should do in certain situations: “If this happens, do that.” For social media, there is no way to know exactly what situations may arise – or in many cases – how staff should best handle them. Each social media network and each relationship is unique and the social media environment changes daily.

The risks are uncertain. The courts are in the process of interpreting laws in regards to social media. Until that interpretation process is mature – and this will take years – organizations operate without definitive guidance. Issues that may arise include: employee and/or client confidentiality, labor relations issues, brand jacking, miscommunication, spamming, etc.

Given an uncertain environment and unclear risks, how do we move forward?

There are hundreds of sample social media policies on the Internet. If you are looking for a starting point, you will surely find ideas here and here.

However, in order to create policies that work – really work – we must first lay the groundwork.

Here are 10 strategies you can implement today.

#1: Gather Your Team

A social media policy cannot be written by one person alone. It must be unique to your organization and ideally should include input from many different people with a variety of skill sets.

A team approach ensures that key areas of risk are managed properly and that any future challenges that may arise are handled appropriately.

Besides the staff directly involved in social media, potential team members might include: CEO, HR director, IT director, marketing/development director, program/department director, a social media–savvy lawyer and at least one digital native.

Don’t worry, not every member of this team needs to be aware of the intimate details of your social media activities. Think of it this way: if a crisis should occur, what information does your team need to have (about the social media and legal landscapes as well as your organization and values) in order to respond appropriately on social media?

Who needs to be on your social media team? Image source: iStockPhoto.

#2: Focus on Creating Culture

Social media is organic. It changes every day. Bureaucratic policies aren’t likely to be successful. Instead, we want a culture of innovation, idea-sharing, problem-solving and creativity. There is a direct link between internal organizational culture and policies. In fact, the policies we write shape our culture.

As you write your policies, include processes that reinforce a culture of evaluation and learning. Here are some questions to consider:

• Who is on your social media team?
• How often do they meet?
• How are problems/challenges handled and by whom?
• How do you document group learning?
• How will we evaluate our successes and learn from our failures?

In your policies, you can acknowledge the social media cultural values of transparency, consistency, connection, creativity and promptness. With these values in mind, build processes that emphasize training, support and evaluation.

If the concept of social media culture is new to you, check out the 26 Promising Social Media Stats for Small Businesses. It offers a great overview of the social media landscape and why it affects businesses.

#3: Consider Legal Ramifications, Including the National Labor Relations Review Board (NLRB)

Many of the court cases coming out about social media are labor relations issues. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was enacted primarily to protect employees’ rights to organize.

Traditionally, employee organizing took place in person or over the phone. With the advent of social media, it also takes place online. It doesn’t matter if employees are unionized or not; they have the right to discuss conditions of employment with fellow employees.

This means that even a casual conversation on Facebook about working conditions may be protected under the NLRA. Each situation is different, but the bottom line is this: be very careful about telling employees what they can and cannot do on their own personal social media sites. This language can quickly backfire.

In August 2011, the NLRB issued a memo regarding 14 of these cases. This memo provided explanations of the cases as well as the reasoning behind the decisions made. I highly recommend that employers read this memo and share it with everyone on the social media team.

Memo dated 8/18/11 from the National Labor Relations Review Board.

#4: Separate Overall Policies from Site-Specific Guidelines

The social media landscape changes every day. If your policies are narrowly focused on a specific social media site, they will be out of date pretty quickly. In general, the policy should focus on the big picture: who does what (roles and responsibilities), a general overview of how they can/can’t do it (legal compliance and branding, for example) and why we do it at all (purpose and values).

Separate written guidelines can be created to record the nitty-gritty specifics of a certain social media site. These guidelines help tremendously in the case of staff turnover. The process of drafting guidelines also helps staff to better understand and explain what they are doing and how.

#5: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

It’s likely that you already have many internal policies in place that apply to social media activities. This includes policies about privacy, photo consents, Internet usage, cell phone usage and many others.

You can reference these policies in your social media policies, taking special note of any differences in application that may be necessary with social media.

For example, your cell phone usage policy may not currently discuss the use of photos from cell phone cameras. Thanks to geotagging, photos taken by cell phones almost universally contain digital coding which betrays your exact location on the date and time of the photo. If you upload a photo taken by a cell phone camera to your social media sites, you might be giving away more information than necessary.

A social media policy might take this into consideration by requiring staff to use software to strip the photos of geotagging information before the photos may be posted.

Many of your existing policies are applicable to social media. Image source: iStockPhoto.

#6: Include External Regulations

Most legal regulations (including HIPAA, FERPA, fair employment, etc.) are in effect online as well as offline. Use the social media policies to remind employees that these regulations must be adhered to. Where possible, give explicit examples of what types of behavior are not acceptable.

P.S.: This is a good time to think through your corporate compliance training. Social media is affecting just about every aspect of our lives and businesses. If your training on privacy, confidentiality, branding, etc., don’t currently discuss social media, it’s time to include it.

#7: Create Two Policies

It is considered a best practice to have two social media policies: one for employees using social media for their job and one for employees using social media in their personal lives.

The first policy, focusing on job-related activities, should cover everything we’ve been discussing here: defining your team, articulating roles and responsibilities, branding guidelines, and becoming clear about what internal and external policies must be complied with.

The second policy, focusing on employees using social media in their personal lives, should give employees information about what they can and cannot say about your company on their personal site.

Some organizations – including military organizations and health care – will want to be very specific about what employees are not allowed to share online.

For example, trade secrets, client information and even employee whereabouts might be kept strictly confidential. Other organizations will want to encourage employees to act as brand ambassadors. Some even go so far as to provide guidance as to how to talk about the company online. However you’d like your employees to discuss (or not discuss) your company online, give them guidance.

Two words of caution: 1) It is dangerous to require employees to use their own personal social media accounts to connect with your company online. They may choose to do so, but let that be their choice. The last thing any manager wants is to learn more about an employee’s private life than he/she needs to know. 2) Before you write the policy, reread tip #3 and the memo from the National Labor Relations Review Board. It may save you a lot of headache down the road.

#8: Emphasize Education

The boundaries between our personal and professional lives are blurring. Most employees haven’t fully realized the challenges that may develop as a result of decreased privacy. The old saying was, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Today, a more accurate statement is, “What happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook.”

As I read the court cases that come out about social media, it seems to me that many of the cases arise out of ignorance, not malice, on the part of the employee. Many employees haven’t fully thought through the consequences of their cyber-behavior. By providing cyber-safety education to their staff, employers are preventing problems before they start.

Just as you have two policies, one for job-related activities and one for employees using social media in their personal life, employee education can also take two tracks:

• Provide job-related training to staff engaged in social media on the organization’s behalf. Ongoing, regular training helps keep your organization current and gives staff an opportunity to network with others in the field.
• Educate all staff on Internet safety. This education might include how to protect ourselves from cyber-crime and how to establish and protect our online reputation.

When it comes to responsible cyber-behavior, employers have a unique opportunity to educate rather than mandate. This commitment demonstrates respect for the employees. Employees feel valued, trusted and inspired. Everyone benefits.

#9: Ask a Lawyer to Review the Policy

Legal advice is critical. It is easy to misstep, especially in the areas of labor relations. Make sure you ask a lawyer who has experience in the area – your tax attorney friend won’t be of much help.

Legal review can be expensive; however, a lawsuit would be exponentially more costly.

#10: Don’t Let it Collect Dust

The cyber-environment changes frequently. Social media policies should be reviewed at least every six months. Let everyone on the team review the policy separately and then together.

Ask yourselves, is this still relevant? Does this help us do our jobs? How has the social media environment changed recently? Are there any legal updates that apply?

Social media policies are not the most exciting part of social media; however, if they are developed well, they can support, empower and engage staff as they in turn engage your clients.

Mark your calendars to review your policies in 6 months. Image source: iStockPhoto.

What are your thoughts? What is your best advice for a company writing a social media policy? Please leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Images from iStockPhoto.

Getting your updates to appear in the coveted news feed is more challenging than ever.

I don’t have answers as to how the elusive Facebook algorithm works.

What I do have are some suggestions on how to ensure that your page posts are being seen by your fans to give your page the maximum visibility.

#1: Train Your Audience to Watch for Your Content

You want to make sure you are delivering good content so that your audience won’t want to miss a thing. The best way to do this is to work toward building super fans. Use these Facebook marketing strategies.

When you are delivering good content, interacting and building a community, your fans will come to your page on their own when they haven’t seen your posts. Be consistent with your posts (i.e., posting every day at 10 am, for example). Then your fans will know when they are missing something and come seek you out.

Your fans will come find you if you are delivering good content.

But then what? You can’t expect your audience always to come to you. That’s why you must take the next step.

#2: Educate Your Audience to Highlight Your Stories in Their News Feed

The good news is that Facebook pages are showing up in the news feed. People have a choice when viewing posts to highlight the story. When someone highlights a story, it indicates to Facebook that the person wants to see more stories like that one.

When a story has been highlighted, there is a little blue triangle in the upper-left corner of the story. Facebook typically chooses which stories to highlight based on past interactions, so getting more engagement (post likes, comments and shares) can also help indicate to Facebook that your page posts are important to a user.

The blue triangle in the upper-left corner indicates a highlighted story.

You can encourage highlighting by telling your audience to highlight your post so that they continue to see your posts. You won’t get any statistics about how many people actually do highlight your post, but you may get instant feedback and a better chance of showing up in the news feed!

Educate your fans on how they can keep getting your posts.

Notice how you can highlight a story by clicking on the blue arrow in the upper-right corner of a post that has not been highlighted.

To highlight a story, click the blue arrow in the upper-right corner.

Highlighting a story may be a good start to increasing your visibility, but there are other steps you can take to ensure it.

#3: Tell Your Audience to Create a Favorite Pages List

Again, make sure your audience knows that pages aren’t showing up in the news feed as often. If you are delivering good content and building relationships, your audience will want to stay in contact with you.

A way to ensure that people always see your posts is to have your fans put your page on a special “favorite pages” list. You will have to educate your audience how to create this list (sharing this post with them would be an easy way to accomplish this goal!).

The easiest way to create the favorite pages list is to follow these steps:

1. Go to your Lists on the left sidebar of your home page and click More.
2. Click Create a List in the upper-right corner.
   

   Create your new list.

3. Enter the name of your list in the pop-up box (you can call it “Favorite Pages” or “Tech Pages” or whatever makes sense for the pages that you will be adding to this list). Click Create.
4. On the right side, you can type in the names of the pages you want to add in the search box. But the easiest way is to click the drop-down menu Manage List and select Add/Remove Friends.
   

   Select Add/Remove Friends.

5. All of your friends are now showing in the pop-up box, but in order to see pages as well, you need to select Pages from the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of the pop-up box. Now you can easily select the pages you wantto be on this list.
   

   Find the pages you want to add to the list by selecting Pages.

After you have created your list, all you have to do to see all of your favorite page updates is to click on the Favorite Page list (or whatever you titled your list) on the left sidebar under the Lists heading. You can also make this a Favorite item so it’s always showing at the top of your left sidebar as shown in this screenshot.

Add your list to your favorites so you can access it with just one click.

To add a list to your favorites, navigate to your lists by clicking More next to the lists on the left sidebar and navigating to the list name. Click on the pencil icon and then select Add to Favorites.

Select Add to Favorites.

#4: Leverage the Facebook Subscribe Button

Because personal profile posts are being shown more in the news feed, you may want to start using your personal profile more for business. Facebook terms state that you aren’t supposed to “use your personal profile for commercial gain” as shown under their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, point #4.  But you can talk about your business! Direct people to your blog posts, give helpful tips and talk about what events you are participating in.

If you are worried about privacy, the Facebook privacy settings have gotten better so you can control who sees each update. Your customers want to connect with you personally on Facebook (not just via your Facebook page) and the Subscribe button will give them that personal connection.

If you are the face of your company, or are networking and connecting with people, leverage the Subscribe button by enabling it. Find out more about the Subscribe button in our post here.

Mari Smith recently included similar posts on her Facebook page and her Facebook timeline. Her post to her personal profile got almost 4 times as much engagement (comments, shares and likes). To be fair, she does have almost twice as many subscribers (113,000) as fans (60,628) but that in itself is amazing as she has had her Facebook page up for years but her Subscribe button open for less than a year.

Mari's post on her fan page.

Mari's similar post on her personal profile got almost 4 times as much interaction.

One other powerful part of the Subscribe button is that Facebook is giving suggestions of whom to subscribe to within Facebook. Navigate around and you will see these suggestions in the upper-left corner of certain pages. Yet another way you can gain exposure with a new audience!

Facebook suggests "People To Subscribe To."

I hope these four suggestions give you some new ideas on how to gain visibility for your business with both your Facebook page and by adding your Facebook profile into your marketing strategy.

How about you? What do you think about the decreased exposure of Facebook page posts? Have you found your interaction has gone down or stayed about the same? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

This article will tell you what you need to know to create a privacy policy for your website.

Why a Privacy Policy?

As online professionals and entrepreneurs, you know that collecting information on visitors to your (or your client’s) website can help tailor goods and services. It offers insight that previously could only be gathered through expensive research. Today, though, data collection can be easy and inexpensive.

But with this type of information, businesses face a daunting task of protecting the data and telling visitors and/or consumers what will be done with the information. Regardless of whether site visitors read the terms and conditions, companies can’t overlook the creation of policies that set out how such information will be used.

Example of a well-placed privacy policy and descriptive link. Disney Muppets website.

Interestingly, except for regulated industries, there is no federal law requiring an online business to have a privacy policy. More importantly, no company has ever been sued for not having a privacy policy. But, for those businesses located in California or those that do business in California (many online companies!), there is a California state law requiring the posting of a privacy policy.

As professionals in the online world, often we’re expected to know all of the rules and regulations when it comes to what a company can and cannot collect or do with the information that is collected. Marketing wants to collect certain information and use it as a competitive advantage, but the company as a whole may want to convey a different sense of privacy, which creates internal conflict.

Privacy and personal data collection are areas where consulting with legal counsel may be necessary if your industry is regulated or if you want to be very aggressive with the data collected. The collection methods also need to be confirmed with the IT professionals who create the back-end tools.

In addition, following the policy set forth is imperative so there is no risk of sanctions. This is why having a policy custom-tailored will always be better than using a stock policy or cutting and pasting from what you find on the Internet.

The Elephant in the Room

It wouldn’t be a complete discussion about online privacy without mentioning Facebook and the recent ruling by the FTC that the social network deceived consumers by telling them their information was private when in fact the data was exploited beyond what was agreed.

While Facebook was not fined, the settlement is quite strict and obligates Facebook to undergo third-party reviews for 20 years.

Sometimes young companies learn the hard way. Facebook.com

For a platform that relies on users sharing information, Facebook turned a blind eye to the disparity between what they agreed to do and what, in fact, they did. But consumers are very savvy and complaints ignored by the company were taken to the FTC.

The social network faced the potential for millions of dollars in fines. Ultimately, though, that may have been a lesser punishment than what was agreed upon because of the length of monitoring.

Unlike for most companies, users of Facebook are highly involved and very vocal. Even though the company is still in its infancy, this big stumble was likely a wake-up call. Not just for the social network, but also for the online business community as a whole. Consumer deception is becoming a bigger concern, and Internet users are savvier with each passing day.

Creating a Great Privacy Policy

When you think of the policies and disclosures that belong on websites, it should come as no surprise that big companies have them drafted by a team of lawyers. If you’ve ever read them, you’d agree.

However, when it comes to a privacy policy, sometimes the best thing to do is write it out yourself first. You know best what you’re doing with the information. When it’s done, run it past an attorney.

What to Include in a Privacy Policy

First, and foremost, write it in plain English (or if your primary language is something else, then that language). Determine what information you would be gathering—email, cookies, subscription information, credit card, login, gender, age, etc.—and make sure there is a legitimate reason for collection. And once you have all this information, identify what you are doing with it.

Next comes putting it together—all it takes is 8 easy steps to an awesome privacy policy!

1. Write in language that is easy to read and understand.
2. Explain what information will be collected and whether it will be identifying or anonymous. If it’s both, say so.
3. Without getting into lengthy detail, explain how it’s collected (such as search terms, sign-up, log files, clicked links, cookies).
4. If you’ll share information with affiliated, partner or other sites, be clear about this. Most people are concerned with who else is getting their information.
5. Simply state that if compelled by law to disclose, then you’ll comply with such orders.
6. Give readers the option of verifying, correcting, changing or removing personal registration information. I suggest having a separate email for this purpose so you know exactly the nature of this communication.
7. Provide a way for people to opt out of future communication. If someone wants to be removed, make it easy. Having a “privacy policy email” allows for these types of communications to be routed for easy handling.
8. State that the policy will be updated periodically and how you will communicate such changes.

Conclusion

Putting up a sign may work for your garden, but not for your online business. Image: freedigitalphotos.net

Privacy policies are often not given the attention they deserve. Many companies churn them out, not realizing their true importance. While not everyone will read the policy, it’s these types of policies that say a lot about what the company stands for and what it wants to achieve. Information is key to future growth. It provides insight that can’t be replicated in other ways.

Most companies don’t have the resources or reputation that the largest social networking site has, and being singled out for deceptive practices could easily crush them.

Success tomorrow depends on not just doing the right thing today, but doing it every day. Most of us want our information kept secure. And our most valuable asset—our customers, users and community members—do too.

What do you think? Have you written a policy for your business? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

* This article does not specifically address policies regarding children under 13. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) will be addressed in a future treatment.

Disclosure: While Sara Hawkins is an attorney, this article is for informational purposes only and is not to be considered legal advice.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are you wondering how to add social media to your email communications?

Email and social media marketing go together like Batman and Robin.

They both can be effective on their own; however, when combined, their (super) powers can save the city and exceed your marketing goals.

Is Email Dead?

In this article I’ll show you how to combine email marketing with your social media efforts.

In a recent StrongMail survey, ”More than two-thirds of business leaders (68%) say they plan to integrate social media with their email marketing efforts in 2012″ (as reported by MarketingProfs on December 12, 2011).

As a guy who lives, breathes, eats and sometimes dreams email marketing, I was thrilled to see email getting some mainstream love.

You may be thinking, “Hey, isn’t email dead?”

Think again. I mean, sure, there are certainly case studies of companies forgoing email and replacing it with social media. I’d argue that these are exceptions, certainly not the norm.

This blog post and infographic on the value of email by SmarterTools will quickly dispel the “email is dead” myth.

Need one more proof point that email is not dead? How many times have you checked your email this week? Today? Since you started reading this blog post? Okay. Now that we are all in agreement, let’s continue.

9 Ways to Integrate Email Marketing and Social Media

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand the distinction between social sharing and connecting:

• Social Sharing: This is when a marketer includes an option for the subscriber to share the entire email or a specific content block with their social network(s).
• Social Connection: This is what we tend to see most often—asking your email subscribers to like your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter, subscribe to your YouTube channel, etc.

Below are 9 ways to integrate email marketing and social media for maximum effectiveness. One thing to note: I consider “old-school” social networks like blogs and SMS (texting) to be social media.

#1: Include Social Icons in Emails

While this may sound like an obvious one, it’s important to include social icons in your email campaigns. To be clear, I’m not talking about slapping a tiny Facebook or Twitter icon somewhere at the bottom of an email. Nope. Say it loud. Say it proud. Like the Huffington Post Media Brief.

A good example is this email header from the Huffington Post Media Brief.

#2: Ask Email Subscribers to Share and Connect

Sometimes just including social icons is not enough. Remember: While many subscribers recognize the Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn icons, not all know what action you want them to take when they see them in an email. Don’t be afraid to tell them! See how WineAnthology shares.

In this example from Wine Anthology, they invite their subscribers to share the email.

Of course, if it fits with your company image/brand, you can also use a bit of humor like BustedTees does here.

Busted Tees asked their subscribers to "stalk" them on their social networks.

#3: Send a Dedicated Email Campaign

There are times when including some links or buttons—asking your subscribers to socially connect or share with their network—is not clear enough. If you are not having much success, try sending an email that is dedicated to a particular social network like Copyblogger does here.

In this example, Copyblogger tells subscribers why they should follow them on Twitter.

#4: Provide Incentive

As mentioned in #3, if you want someone to connect with you on other social networks, sometimes you need to provide an incentive—tell me what’s in it for me!

I really like what Hydro Flask did in this email below, asking email subscribers to invite their friends to like them on Facebook. Notice the incentive that benefited everyone—”the more you like, the more you save.”

"The more you like, the more you save" email campaign from Hydro Flask.

However, your incentive does not have to be financial. You can also try what Chris Penn did here in his email newsletter. (Note: red box is mine.) He offered two subscribers a chance to be featured in his next email—the one who shared the most and the one who generated the most click-throughs.

Give your subscribers a reason to connect, a reason to share.

#5: Promote Email Sign-up Via Social Networks

If you have a strong following on a particular social network, don’t hesitate to ask for new email subscribers via that channel. See what C.C. Chapman did in this tweet.

Ask for your Twitter followers to opt into your email newsletter.

You can also promote your email sign-up page on Facebook, as Cruise Deals did in this example.

The key here is cross-promotion—leverage each channel to promote the other.

#6: Include “Retweet This!” Snippet in Email

Another great way to cross-pollinate email marketing and social media is to highlight a particular tweet in your email campaign. MarketingProfs is one company that does this in many of their emails.

Check out this example below from a recent email. What I like about featuring a particular tweet is that it fits nicely with the “share your community’s stuff” mantra.

MarketingProfs features a tweet from their community that is relevant to their audience via a "Retweet this" block.

#7: Build an Email Opt-In Form on Facebook

Facebook allows you to embed an email sign-up form as one of your apps. Take advantage of this great opportunity to encourage your Facebook fans to opt into your email list.

Here is a great example from the Park City Mountain Resort’s Facebook page.

Park City Mountain Resort makes it easy to sign up for their email list via a form on Facebook.

I also really like this December Holiday Promotion from Crocs on their Facebook page. Notice how they also provide an SMS option. More on that in #8.

Notice how Crocs simplifies the email opt-in form on Facebook. They also provide a text-to-subscribe option.

Note: Many ESPs provide this email opt-in on Facebook functionality. MailChimp (an ESP) details their Facebook sign-up app in this blog post.

#8: Don’t Forget SMS (text)

One of my favorite (creative) cross-promotion techniques is from Southwest Airlines. The next time you fly SWA, be sure to look at your cocktail napkin. I snapped this picture of mine a while back, but I’m pretty sure they are still doing it.

Notice how you can text your email address to a unique number to opt into their email campaigns. Cool, huh?

#9: Promote Email Marketing on Your Blog

One often-overlooked integration option is using your blog to mention, link to and ask for new email subscribers.

Chris Brogan does this occasionally in his blog posts. (Note: the red box/text is mine.)

If you have a strong network of blog readers/subscribers, take advantage of it!

Conclusion

So there you have it. Batman. Robin. Email. Social. It’s time to start using email marketing to power social media and social media to power email marketing.

What do you think? Have you come across examples of companies effectively integrating the two channels? Have you found success? Do you have other tactics to add to the list? If so, please share in the comments box below!

Many people either love or hate YouTube’s platform facelift.

Whatever your preference, in this article I’m going to outline some of the best ways to optimize the new YouTube layout.

Frankly, YouTube’s new design is turning out to be a step in the right direction.

YouTube has managed to add a layer of user experience and brand factor, which are only getting better. This evolution will soon prove highly beneficial to YouTube channel owners.

YouTube's social home page power.

Here are 5 tweaks you can make to improve branding on your YouTube Channel.

#1: Add Your Custom URLs in the Newly Placed Description Area

This option is now at the top on the right of your video. Talk about brand power. Previously, only partners could take advantage of this prime channel real estate.

However, you don’t have to be a partner to place your URL links in plain sight to the right of the video. Before, your links were drowning below the fold (scroll down) to the left. Now your channel description area is to the right of the video above the fold. That means a higher potential click-through rate to your outside sites.

Plus you can add your social media links in the description area, such as Facebook, Twitter and now Google+.

Brand juice for non-partner channels.

#2: Add Overlays to ALL of Your Videos

This is a huge opportunity! Most people don’t know about this feature. YouTube promotions are a vastly under-used resource for traffic generation (98 of AdAge‘s Top 100 advertisers can’t be wrong).

Previous YouTube guidelines required you to promote your videos in order to take advantage of YouTube’s self-branded overlays.

However, YouTube has changed that requirement. You don’t need to have a running and approved promotion for a specific video to take advantage of overlays.

Now you can simply create the promoted video, pause the campaign and still have the power of the branded overlay.

Create a custom ad for your overlay.

#3: Prevent Other Ads from Showing on Your Video

In order to keep all other ads from showing up on your featured video player, check the box that says, “Prevent ads from showing in my videos on this page.”

This is of course useful and necessary once you add your own branded and clickable overlay to your featured video.

Also, if you opt to have your newest video as the featured video, then you’ll only have to make this selection once and it will apply to all of your featured videos. Simply click on the Edit button found directly over the featured video.

Click the Edit button above your featured video.

From there, you can edit the information. Check the "Prevent ads from showing in my videos on this page."

While you’re here, I would also suggest making sure the auto-play option is also checked to have your featured video start playing right away when visitors come to your channel. (This is the only way your overlay will actually show right away.)

#4: Check “Always Take Subscribed Users to the Feed Tab”

It allows your existing subscribers to see your latest videos and the comments you make on other channels and videos (as well as any updates that you mention). The “Feed” tab not only brings your subscribers that much closer to seeing your channel comments, but they’re more likely to dive in and start commenting themselves to keep up with the conversations.

This can be found in the Edit Channel feature.

Click the Edit Channel button to begin editing your channel.

From there, go in and click the “Info and Settings” tab, which will show you where you can check the “Always take subscribed users to the feed tab.”

Once in Info and Settings, check the "Always take subscribed users to the feed tab."

The Goal Here Is Engagement

YouTube is a social network site (many of us forget that). That being said, treating your YouTube Channel as your traffic filter to your external links can only work well if there’s solid engagement on the channel page itself.

From the Feed tab, you can choose to click through to comments only or channel activity.

For instance, if you’re trying to build engagement within YouTube, commenting on other YouTube channels is a great way to get them to come back to yours.

Ask questions. Engage in thoughtful conversation.

Nostalgia Sets in for the Old Layout

As far as the new layout goes, channel commenting is one of the only features that seem a bit lacking from the user experience and engagement point of view. You can still comment; and actually, I like where the comment is structured on the channel (the top to the right of the video).

After leaving a channel post, you can view your post as well as others' posts.

But it is more of a “submit your comment” box and not a place where you can read the comments that are coming through the channel. (In this regard, I prefer the old layout.)

In fact, the only way to see the comments is from either the feed section or after you’ve submitted a comment.

With the new design layout, new users coming to your channel can certainly watch a series of videos with a more fluid user experience than before. However, from the channel page, the only way to read existing interaction on the channel is by going to the Feed tab and clicking through to “comments only.” (Seems counterintuitive to the flow that YouTube has fine-tuned.)

#5: Prioritize Your Favorite Channels on your Home Page Using the Pinned Subscribers Feature

The recent home page changes mean big things for YouTube. Social is what’s on their mind—and the home page, having more personalization, reflects that.

• The channels you’re subscribed to are in list form under your profile on the left.
• The middle column shows all the activity of those whom you’ve subscribed to.
• And the Pinned feature allows you to take your top 10 YouTube users and have their information fed to you first.

Home page secrets.

So How is this Powerful?

The benefit is that you can scan the activity of those YouTube channels within your same niche to discern if their patterns on YouTube are successful or not. I don’t have to look too far to know what someone I subscribe to is doing. It’s right there in front of me. Not only that person’s upload patterns, but also the frequency of his/her communication—video commenting and channel subscribing—ultimately, how he/she is using YouTube socially to establish relationships.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WlRpHChQpE

Closing Thoughts

YouTube will not stop with their changes. They’ll continue to make the platform more social user–based. That, coupled with their push for more original content, may mean that they are not yet out of the social race. They might not win this year. But if you think about Google+ integrating fully with YouTube, you can definitely see a powerhouse to be reckoned with.

What do you think? How do you feel about the changes to YouTube—both from the marketer’s and the viewer’s points of view? Please leave your questions and comments below.

Together, social media channels and your website should work seamlessly to promote your online brand.

However, if you’re like most businesses, you’re probably missing out on potential interactions, impressions and ultimately sales.

In this article, I’ll dive into a quick how-to guide to ensure your business website and social media platforms are working together to maximize your online exposure.

I’ve included examples from small- to medium-sized businesses that specialize in a whole host of fields to illustrate that you don’t have to be one of the big players to take advantage of these simple tips.

#1: Include Visible Social Media Buttons

This seems like a no-brainer, but double-check. Best practices suggest that social media buttons be displayed on the top, bottom or along the side of your home page. Links or buttons that remain in your navigation as the user moves from page to page are optimal.

To ensure that users don’t exit your web page altogether, you may want to create the buttons or links so that they open your social media pages in new windows.

Also, do not feel obligated to link out to all social media channels you’ve created or dabbled in. If you’re fonder of Twitter and have completely abandoned your Facebook page, there’s no reason to link to any outlet that is not being actively managed. In fact, linking out to inactive channels can ultimately cause more harm than good.

There are several ways in which to display your buttons or links and none of them are wrong. In this case, it is more of a design preference focused on how the user will be interacting with the site.

Below are some examples of ways in which websites have successfully displayed their social media outlet(s).

Big and bold button catches your eye.

This eCommerce site specializing in alternatives to dog and horse supplements only links out to Facebook and chooses to do so in a big and bold manner.

Subtle buttons suit some sites well.

This farm credit services business subtly displays their social media buttons at the bottom of their page.

Front-and-center buttons ensure visibility.

This artist decides to feature his along the top.

#2: Integrate Social Where it Makes Sense

If you use social media to keep your customers or clients apprised of your recent happenings and are actively managing your outlets on a daily or bi-weekly basis, it might be wise to showcase your Twitter feed or Facebook posts directly on your website.

Linking out or displaying inactive social media channels will only cripple your online efforts. If you choose to go this route, it is important that you maintain your presence.

Below are two examples of how vastly different businesses (a web design firm and an online gift card site) have integrated their social media feeds into their websites.

On this site, tweets are visible along the right-hand side throughout the website. Tweets vary from deals and contests to interactions with followers and customer service responses.

On this B2B site, recent tweets are found at the bottom of the homepage and are mostly comprised of industry-related blogs, recent events and projects in which they've participated.

These businesses vary significantly in what they do and the way they make use of social media, but both have found a logical method of incorporating social media into their sites.

#3: Include Up-to-Date Buttons

Social media changes fast—dare we say in real time? So if you added your buttons a year ago, they are probably palling around with the dinosaurs. Facebook fans morphed into Likes, group pages died, +1 is spanking new and LinkedIn improved significantly. Do research to find the most current social media terminology so you don’t get caught mumbling about “The Facebook” and “The Twitter.”

Social Media Examiner stays up to date.

In order to maintain credibility within this ever-changing realm, it is important to stay with the times. However, staying up to date with your terminology does not mean that you need to jump on every platform that springs up. It is important to be tactful with your social media choices and do your research before blindly forging into unknown territory.

#4: Include Share Buttons

If you sell a product or run a full-fledged eCommerce site and you haven’t added share buttons to your product pages, you are missing out on a whole host of potential social impressions.

Share buttons should enable website-goers to seamlessly share or recommend a product.

If you find yourself hard up for a broad solution for this, check out AddThis or ShareThis. Both provide efficient and easy-to-use solutions for social media sharing across eCommerce sites with the added benefit of analytics to see how the content is getting shared.

As illustrated below, these buttons are easy to see.

The easier you make it for customers to share your product, the better.

Similar to eCommerce sites, if you have resources, articles, a blog or other valuable content on your site, you should attempt to make it as simple as possible for readers to share it with others. Social media share buttons should be displayed somewhere easy to see. Nicholas Creative does a decent job with this, as seen on their blog below.

If you enjoy an article, you won't want to keep it to yourself.

#5: Use Analytics

Pay attention to the way in which individuals are using your social media buttons by tapping into Google Analytics. How many people are actually clicking on your outbound social media links?

An easy way to explore this is by setting up Event Tracking in Google Analytics. If you’re unfamiliar with Event Tracking, Google provides a step-by-step guide on how to incorporate the correct codes into your site.

Google Analytics allows you to track the number of individuals who click on outbound links by setting up Event Tracking.

If you find that few individuals explore your social media outlets once landing on your page, perhaps your social media buttons aren’t in a convenient location. It’s always best to have actual numbers to back up your choices.

#6: Pay Attention to Terms and Conditions

This goes hand in hand with staying up to date and knowledgeable, but I continue to see major brands using social media in ways that violate platforms’ terms and conditions.

You cannot use Google+ for contest entries, a personal Facebook page shouldn’t be used to operate a brand and there are certain rules to adhere to when running a promotion on Facebook.

The way you use social media reflects on your website, as well as your brand as a whole. If you’ve accidentally violated some terms and conditions in the past, delete those pages and do not link out to them even in the interim.

I'm not sure what Pita Pit is doing with this personal Facebook page or if it was created by an unaffiliated party. Whatever the case may be, steer clear of using a personal page as a brand page.

#7: Don’t Over-Do It

You want to make sure that compelling information is easily shareable, but littering social media share buttons all over your webpage isn’t the way to go. Before adding share buttons to a page, ask yourself, “Is there information here that people would find worth sharing?”

If you find yourself on your “About Us” page and don’t see any added value to website-goers being able to share your administrative assistant’s contact information, then forgoing buttons in this instance is totally acceptable.

#8: Stay Knowledgeable

Don’t get it twisted. With the changing social media landscape and array of rollouts these days, it is easy to confuse social media features. Keep in mind:

• You won’t be directing individuals to your Facebook page by installing a Facebook “Like” button on a specific website page. Instead, you are allowing individuals to “Like”/share the information, content or product that is found on that specific website page. There is no correlation between Liking a specific website page and directing users to “Like” your branded Facebook page.
• Similarly, directing individuals to your Google+ brand page is different than adding a +1 button to a page. At this time, there is no correlation between the two.

As illustrated below on this pool supplies website, social media pages and social media share buttons can be found on the same page. Verbs such as “Tweet” and “Share” often help distinguish between share buttons and social media pages.

Be sure you know the difference.

#9: Use Social Media Insights Alongside Google Analytics

Many types of software allow you to see your social media insights alongside your web analytics in order to pick up on trends and to better understand the successes or failures of campaigns.

SproutSocial allows users to compare web analytics and social media reporting information from specific timeframes side by side. Being able to see the way in which your social media and website analytics relate proves useful in establishing goals, measuring successes and identifying areas in which you can improve.

Here's an example of the correlation between website traffic and a social media campaign via a SproutSocial report.

There you have it—a quick-and-dirty guide on immediate steps you can take to make your social media and business website play nice.

Do you have any tips or things to avoid at all costs? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Looking for some ideas to simplify your content creation process?

What follows are 26 tips, from A-Z, to help you create optimal blog posts every time you sit down to write.

#1: Anatomically Correct

A blog post contains several areas that require our attention and care. Pamela Seiple refers to six parts of the anatomy of a lead-generating blog post:

• Eye-catching title
• In-text links to landing pages
• Sidebar/banner calls to action
• Social sharing buttons
• Call to action at the bottom
• Relevancy—making sure the post is relevant from top to bottom

Parts of the blog anatomy.

Example of more anatomical parts to include in your blog posts.

#2: Blogging Platform

By knowing the ins and outs of your blogging platform, you’ll ensure that your posts look as good as they can. Take the time to master the visual editor (or raw HTML, if you prefer) so that you know how to format a post, insert an image and embed a video or podcast.

Whether you’re working in platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr or Posterous, it’s good to stay up to date on the features and new versions.

If you’re not comfortable with the more technical aspects of blogging, try to find someone who can be a resource for you to answer questions as they arise.

WordPress' editor where you can toggle between visual and HTML editing functions.

#3: Categories

Whether your new blog post is a stand-alone article or part of a series you’re writing, it should fit into your blog categories as well as your overall corporate content strategy. Meaning that you want to stay on topic and have your posts fit into the categories you’ve established.

For example, HubSpot has nine categories on their blog. Posts are written to fit in with each of these categories. Writing about category topics such as analytics, blogging, email marketing, HubSpot TV, etc., allows both readers and writers to stay focused on what they can expect to see on HubSpot’s blog.

When you choose your categories, ask yourself, do they make sense, and do they fit into the objectives of my business? Having clearly defined blog categories will help you continue generating meaningful content and topics for your blog.

Write posts that fit into your categories.

#4: Description

Most search engines will use a maximum of 160 characters for your post description on their results pages. If you don’t create a meta-description (defined as a “…concise summary of your page’s content”), a search engine will often take the first 160 characters it finds on your page instead.

Note too, that when you create a meta-description that is fewer than 160 characters, you’ll see the full description in the search engine. Otherwise it will be cut off.

An example of a meta-description created within the All-In-One SEO Pack plugin in WordPress.

An example of how a post's description appears in Google search results with and without the meta-description.

#5: Editorial Calendar

Bloggers find editorial calendars helpful for scheduling and organizing topics for posts. Some people use their calendars to track more elaborate details.

Michele Linn suggests using specific tabs in a spreadsheet to track info for each post such as: post date, author, tentative title, keywords, categories, tags, call to action and status. She says “By tracking more than topic and date it will help to make sure the key elements you need for SEO, digital optimization and conversion are accounted for.”

Download a sample editorial calendar worksheet.

An example of a template for a master editorial calendar as shown by Michele Linn.

#6: Fine-Tune and Revise

Like other forms of writing, a blog post is rarely completed in one draft. Many writers find it helpful to take a post through several revisions and fine-tune the post as you go along. Check grammar, spelling and punctuation, and make certain that all of your links are working.

#7: Guidelines for Writing for Search Engines

By following a few tips and best practices, you can increase the chance that your blog post will be found by search engines—by Google in particular.

The State University of New York at Plattsburgh offers these helpful writing tips:

• Google likes text
• Google likes formatting
• Google likes freshness
• Google likes accessibility
• Google likes outbound hyperlinks
• Googlebot isn’t psychic, so remember to link your pages
• Google likes you to tell it where you are
• Google likes experts

#8: Headings

Joost de Valk offers some good suggestions regarding blog headings. He writes, “The heading structure of your pages is one of the very important aspects of on-page SEO. It defines which parts of your content are important, and how they’re interconnected. Because they have different goals, a single post needs another heading structure than your blog’s homepage or your category archives.”

He offers five basic principles about heading structure:

• The most important heading on the page should be the H1
• There is usually only one H1 on any page
• Subheadings should be H2s, sub-subheadings should be H3s, etc.
• Each heading should contain valuable keywords; if not, it’s a wasted heading
• For longer pieces of content, a heading is what helps a reader skip to the parts that he/she finds interesting

Headings should contain valuable keywords.

#9: Images

Blog posts are made up of more than words and headings.

Judy Dunn recommends five ways the right photo can increase readership and blog views:

• Convey the overall feeling or emotion of your post
• Illustrate a metaphor or analogy that is part of your main idea
• Evoke surprise or curiosity
• Complement your headline
• Make your reader smile

Judy points out too that readers are visual learners and images can help people take in and retain information better.

#10: Journalistic Approach

Bloggers can learn a lot from traditional journalists and the ways that they approach their news stories.

Mickie Kennedy offers five things that bloggers can learn from journalists:

• Get your facts straight
• Trust has to be earned
• Give credit to your sources
• The inverted pyramid works (basic overview in first paragraph and then delve into more details in subsequent paragraphs)
• Editing and proofreading are essential

As shown on Wikipedia.org

#11: Killer SEO and Blog Design

Cyrus Shepard makes an important case for having a beautiful blog. He says, “…the overall design of your site is the first thing visitors see and it significantly influences bounce rate, page views and conversions.”

Cyrus suggests that certain elements on the page will add to a blog’s success:

• Search box
• RSS feed
• Breadcrumbs (helping users navigate),
• Flat site architecture by minimizing the number of clicks it takes to reach your content
• Images
• Keep your best content above the fold
• Link to your best content
• Don’t overdo links
• Watch ad space
• Encourage comments
• Add sharing buttons
• Test the blog for speed
• Check your blog in different browsers
• Pick a powerhouse blogging platform (e.g., WordPress, Posterous, Tumblr)

For a resource that will help remind you of these killer SEO suggestions, check out Cyrus’ infographic, Blog Design for Killer Search Engine Optimization.

#12: Lists

Lists have become a very popular type of blog post.

Nate Riggs offers three types for bloggers to consider: brief, detailed and hybrid lists.

The brief list has little description but can entice readers to bookmark the post to use the list as a resource down the road or to share it across their own networks.

In a detailed list, each bullet is a complete thought and serves as a good way to communicate complex information.

The hybrid list combines the elements of short and detailed lists, often with descriptive narratives or explanations in paragraphs between the actual lists.

Nate’s post has a lot of useful information about lists as a powerful content marketing tactic and is a good example of a hybrid list.

#13: Metrics for Blogging

Magdalena Georgieva identifies five metrics to keep an eye on to know how your blogging is going: visitors, leads, subscribers, inbound links and social media shares.

As Magdalena says, “Measure the performance of your business blog regularly to identify weaknesses in the content you’re producing, what topics your audience truly cares about, and what blogging tactics work for you.”

When you find topics and approaches that work particularly well, try to replicate those efforts and be willing to let go of features that aren’t performing well. Magdalena recommends looking at your five most successful blog posts and asking, “What do they have in common?”

#14: Names, Titles and Bio

Not only are readers interested in the content in your blog post, they also want to know who wrote the post and their role at your organization.

Sometimes you’ll come across a thoroughly researched and well-written post only to find an attribution of “admin.” Even if the blog is only written by you and you’re the administrator of the blog, be sure to include your name, title and a way for readers to contact you.

#15: Original vs. Curated Content

The type of post you write can contain completely original content or can consist of content that you’ve curated.

Pamela Seiple addresses the issue of curated content and makes an important point when she says, “There’s a misconception among marketers that curated content is lazy and unoriginal, but we think it’s the complete opposite. It takes time and careful evaluation to create quality curated content and the result is oftentimes a very valuable piece of content that helps people seeking information on a given topic to cut through the clutter on the web and save time.”

The 26 tips series here on Social Media Examiner is an example of curated posts, pulling in the expertise of others who have written on the topic. As a curator of this kind of post, I love the journey of the research and find it especially rewarding to see the content pulled together in a way that hadn’t been previously available. Curated posts can be incredibly gratifying!

#16: Publish and Promote

Kristi Hines speaks about the publishing and promoting stages of creating a successful blog post. Kristi says that one thing you want to do during the publishing stage is to ensure that your post has some kind of call to action. “Think about what you want people to do once they’ve read the post….”

Promoting a blog post can involve a fair amount of thought and strategy, as you’ll see from Kristi’s approach. She has a different plan in place for “averagely awesome posts, awesome posts and killer awesome posts.”

What differs for the three types of posts is how many social networks she shares the posts with, whether she includes the post in her writing portfolio and whether it’s included in her custom RSS feed or utilizes blog commenting promotion and direct messaging partners in social media to see if they’ll help spread the word.

Kristi describes promotion as taking from a few minutes to a few hours, and recommends taking the time to build a good foundation before you expect to execute a successful blog promotion.

#17: Questions

What are you going to write about post after post, week after week, year after year? Sometimes thinking about content for your blog can seem daunting.

Lee Odden offers a great piece of advice: “One particularly effective way to get content ideas for blogging comes from reviewing web analytics for the kinds of questions people type into search engines like Google or Bing that deliver visitors.”

In one example, Lee said that he noticed that numerous visitors each month were typing in the question “What does a community manger do?” and search engines were sending them to one of his posts about that topic. He used it as an opportunity to explore other related questions about social community managers and providing content in the form of answers.

What questions are your web visitors asking before they arrive on your pages? How can you maximize your content to answer readers’ questions?

#18: Research

Well-researched blog posts can differentiate your content from your competitors’. Being known as a go-to source in your industry will help make your blog stand out. Where do you go to research posts?

I find that utilizing a variety of sources helps me gather the information I’m seeking.

For example, while I can often find a lot of useful content via web-based searches, sometimes there’s nothing like a visit to the library or a bookstore where I often will discover a helpful book on the shelf that I wouldn’t have known existed if I hadn’t been standing there physically eyeballing them.

Oli Gardner makes a good case for using social media research for your blog posts. He suggests ten social media research strategies:

• StumbleUpon
• Infographics
• Twitter real-time searches
• Facebook events
• Experts who are using LinkedIn
• Uncovering quotes with Delicious
• Letting users tell you within the comments section of your blog and others
• Creating roundup mega-lists with Delicious and StumbleUpon
• Apps on Facebook
• Delicious and Google Marketplace
• YouTube and the UrbanDictionary

#19: Stand Out

When you’ve been blogging in a competitive marketplace for a while, chances are good that you’ll see other bloggers writing on topics similar to yours. It doesn’t mean that you have to stay away from the topic completely; rather you can use it as an opportunity to see what worked and didn’t work in their post and write yours in a way that will help you to stand out in the topic area.

By reading the comments on similar blog posts, you will get a great view of what questions and thoughts people had after reading the post and you can take a slightly different angle by making sure you cover those areas in your article.

#20: Title

How important is the title of your blog post? Simply put, very important!

Brian Clark writes that the title is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader.

He says, “Without a headline or post title that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.

But a headline can do more than simply grab attention. A great headline can also communicate a full message to its intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.”

An example of an eye-catching title from copyblogger.com.

#21: User-Centered Content

Possibly one of the worst mistakes a blog post can make is missing the mark of its readers, forgetting who they are and their needs and interests.

Georgy Cohen goes as far as to say that content can serve as customer service and that to be helpful, content should be user-focused (asking what our users’ problems and priorities are), communicated clearly and presented in succinct language.

#22: Valuable Content

In the perfect blogging world, creating valuable content would be at the top of every blogger’s list for their post objectives.

While our definitions about valuable content may vary, Ahava Leibtag has created a very helpful step-by-step checklist that reminds us to ask five questions:

• Can the user find the content
• Can the user read the content
• Can the user understand the content
• Will the user want to take action
• Will the user share the content

She suggests:

• Findable content includes: an H1 tag; at least two H2 tags; metadata including title, descriptors and keywords; links to other related content; alt tags for images.
• Readable content includes: an inverted-pyramid writing style, chunking, bullets, numbered lists, following the style guide.
• Understandable content includes: an appropriate content type (text, video), indication that you considered the users’ persona, context, respect for the users’ reading level, articulating an old idea in a new way.
• Actionable content includes: a call to action, a place to comment, an invitation to share, links to related content, a direct summary of what to do.
• Shareable content includes: something to provoke an emotional response, a reason to share, a request to share, an easy way to share, personalization.

Download the checklist for future reference.

Ahava Leibtag's Valuable Content Checklist.

#23: Word Count

How many words should you have in your blog post? Some blogs have set parameters for optimal length and put a value on whether a post is short or long.

Corey Eridon has an interesting perspective on word count and suggests that focusing on blog word count might not be as important as you think it is. “Some topics take 100 words to explain, some take 1,000, and that’s okay.”

Corey suggests that writers focus instead on whether posts are optimized for mobile, use effective formatting, communicate in a clear manner and that outlining the points you want to cover may ultimately be a better use of your time and energy.

If you’re restricted to shorter posts by the parameters set up in advance for your blog, then you could also follow Corey’s advice to link to longer-form content you’ve developed around the topic.

Bottom line: Don’t let the quantity of words dictate the quality of your post.

#24: (E)xcerpt

On the heels of our discussion about blog word count, a shorter blog post can also be an excerpt or summary of what readers will find in your longer-form content—e.g., eBook or white paper—but it needn’t be restricted to words.

You can also use an excerpt of the transcript or a brief description to demonstrate what information the users will learn if they watch your video or listen to your podcast.

Mike Stelzner provides great excerpts from his expert interviews on Social Media Examiner.

#25: Your Story

Readers like to get to know how writers tick and often appreciate hearing a few personal details and insights from the person who has taken them on a journey through a post. While business blogs shouldn’t be thought of as personal journal entries, you can tell your readers a little bit about how you operate.

For example, I stated above that writing curated posts like the 26 tips series here on Social Media Examiner is one of my favorite types of posts to write. (Truth be told, curated posts are also some of my favorite types to read.)

In the description of “research” above, I also shared how research is one of my favorite parts of blogging and how I enjoy researching both online and offline by doing the footwork of visiting libraries and bookstores in search of materials.

What parts of yourself are you willing and able to share with your readers?

#26: Zone for Writing

Ideas for blog posts come at all times—when you’re driving in your car, sitting at your desk, and yes, even in the middle of the night!

Chances are good though that the actual writing of the post will happen in multiple drafts and revisions, and depending on how you work, it may take place over a period of days.

What can be helpful is to create a time and place where you can get into the zone for writing and allow yourself to go with it, with as few interruptions as possible.

What do you think? How do you keep your blog posts consistent and dynamic? What tips would you add? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

As we enter the golden age of social media, companies can no longer afford the luxury of tightly scripted, top-down messaging (e.g., “We’re the best! Take our word for it.”).

Nor can a company simply opt out and remain silent (as epitomized in Northwestern Mutual’s “The Quiet Company” ad campaign of years past).

As social media channels have increased, so has the need to communicate effortlessly and simultaneously. Just as presidential candidates now face the constant scrutiny of a 24-hour news cycle, companies are being called on to respond in real time across multiple media platforms. This is not a time for hesitation.

To market effectively, companies need a consistent, compelling brand voice—one that doesn’t pause, mumble or clam up. Here are five ways to share your message comfortably and confidently.

#1: Determine your brand personality

The majority of small businesses grow organically, adding clients and services over time. As they evolve, they gain a reputation for how they conduct business. Taking the time to identify your company’s personality traits, the reasons customers come to you, is pivotal to determining your brand voice. Are you serious and professional? Edgy and innovative? Funny and informal?

Need a good exercise? Compare your company brand to a type of car, a hotel chain, a CEO, etc., to see which one best represents you. Are you more Richard Branson or Bill Gates? Are you a Land Rover or a Prius? Ritz Carlton or Motel 6? Define your character and you’ll speak with greater conviction.

#2: Identify your true audience

As any comedian will tell you, the same material plays differently to different rooms. Make sure you know your audience, one that’s receptive to your message and congruent with your brand.

For example, if you are a B2B company, LinkedIn and Google+ will prove a more fertile ground than tweeting out your professional service offerings to random followers. Rather than a shotgun approach, align your brand and commit your resources to those communities that will respond to your message.

Join industry-specific subgroups and forums. Participate by offering thoughtful responses in your area of expertise. And while it’s important to measure your brand’s Klout score, it means little if you’re speaking to the wrong crowd. To find out more about your tribe, check out valuable demographic information available through Facebook Insights.

Klout offers one way to measure your brand's reach and impact.

#3: Develop a consistent tone

With branding, consistency is king, so be sure to convey a familiar style of messaging when you communicate. There’s no single right or wrong way to speak, as long as it’s congruent.

The online e-newsletter company, MailChimp, has a fun, campy feel no matter what they write. From tweets such as, “You’re most welcome, human friend. Eep eep!” to a tongue-in-cheek “Pioneers in banana technology,” they are comfortable with their informal tone.

MailChimp's home page features their playful mascot demonstrating their fun style of communication.

Woot! offers witty commentary about their deal of the day, rather than stale product information. So no matter what style of communication you choose, stay with it.

Woot!'s tongue-in-cheek product descriptions keep consumers amused (and shopping!).

Don’t speak authoritatively on your company Facebook page, post Gandhi quotes on Twitter and then upload hilarious office pranks on YouTube. Multi-personality disorder will not sit well with potential customers.

If several staff members contribute to your social media, make sure they understand your brand personality (see step #1) and write from that point of view.

Woot!'s snarky voice speaks to their brand of humor.

#4: Timing is everything

Knowing when to speak is often crucial to establishing a credible brand voice in the market. Jumping in too soon or waiting too long can make you appear hasty or out-of-touch.

Set Google alerts on key subject matter in your industry so that you can remain informed, knowledgeable and ready to offer insights and commentary when appropriate.

Google Alerts takes seconds to set up and can be customized for weekly or daily delivery, straight to your email.

Google Alerts provide easy, top-line reading to keep you informed and up-to-date on industry trends and developments.

Having material will also allow you to participate regularly, while avoiding the pitfall of under- or overcommunication. (Nothing like a torrent of tweets to turn off followers.)

Timely contributions demonstrate that the proverbial “lights are on” and someone is at home in your business. If your last blog post or update is six months old, that speaks volumes.

If your only post looks like this, you'll give the impression that you have stage fright.

On the flip side, with pressure mounting to “get out there” and participate in social media, it’s easy to feel compelled to say something… anything… just to prove you are using all the tools available. Avoid appearing inept by gaining a sense of the conversation and reading through comments and feedback before rushing in.

#5: Practice makes perfect

Hesitation stems from lack of confidence. And nothing builds confidence faster and better than practice. Fortunately, the web provides ample opportunity to perfect your brand voice. Start with your company blog (You have one, right?) and build a library of helpful articles showcasing your expertise.

These gems can be repurposed and submitted to various article directories to further amplify your message. Reach out to online publications and blog sites as a contributing author. Pepper in a few good tweets, Facebook updates and LinkedIn contributions, and you have the makings of a recognized voice in your industry.

Knowing your brand personality and audience, speaking consistently at the right time and honing your message will improve your brand voice and strengthen your identity. By following these five simple guidelines, you’ll feel more at ease communicating to a growing audience. In the end, you’ll be writing your own words, while speaking your customers’ language.

What do you think? How steady is your brand voice? Has social media affected what you say and how you say it? If so, share your experiences in the comments box below.

This article will explain why Google+ should be considered and show you how to get started.

Why Google+?

Google+ has quickly become a rival social network to Facebook.

People who like Google+ say they like the clean, non-cluttered presentation of their information. They like how easy Google makes it to protect their privacy. (It may not be any less invasive than Facebook, but at least Google makes it seem easy to get back all of your information.)

Google+ has had a growth rate much faster than that of Facebook or Twitter. More importantly, where Facebook and Twitter try to get you to be on their site, many millions of people are already on Google’s sites: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader and YouTube to name a few.

Google is rolling out a navigation system across these products that subtly and effectively promotes Google+. The next time you go to Google, even the Google home page, look for the black bar at the top. Then look in the upper-left corner and you’ll see a button that says “You+.” That’s where you get started on Google+.

Once you’re started, Google+ is literally in your face. If you use a tool like Gmail, you’ll see a red notifications box alerting you to any update to your posts or posts you’ve interacted with! It’s really easy to check them without even leaving the page.

As if that weren’t enough, Google’s search is now using the +1 button (the Google+ version of a Facebook “Like”) to help influence its search results. You’ll see more and more blogs now adding Google+ “+1″ buttons to the existing Facebook and Twitter buttons.

Here are six easy steps to get you started on the right foot.

#1: Sign up

As Maria said in The Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the very beginning.” You need to register for a Google+ profile. But that’s pretty easy, especially if you’re already using Gmail. (You are using Gmail, right?)

Even if you're not yet using Gmail, signing up is fairly quick and simple.

#2: Upload avatars

As with any social network, one of the very first things you want to do is get rid of the default profile image by adding some of your own images. It’s best to add pictures of yourself, not logos of your business. You can create a business page later; right now you’re creating a personal profile.

Make sure your profile picture looks good as a square.

Because your profile picture will mostly be seen as a tiny 32 x 32 pixel image, it’s best to use your face. Also, be sure to use an image that looks good as a square.

Bonus tip: Upload more than one profile image.

Google+ is filled with cool animation designs, and one of them happens on your profile. If you have more than one profile picture, each time you click on the image, it will flip to the next one. This is a little-known feature, but looks pretty cool in action.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7W84d7Grw

#3: Include interesting information in your bio

Google is first and foremost a search engine, so it helps to fill out your “about” page as completely as possible. Google will use this to help other people connect with you on Google+ and in other Google searches.

If you already have fleshed out your Google+ profile, this section will be pre-filled for you. But take a look at it to see if this represents you the way you want it to.

Bonus tip #1: Use Wordle to check your profile.

Here is an easy way to see if your profile is presenting you the way you want it to. Copy all of the text in your “about” section and paste it into the box at Wordle. If the words look like what you want to present, you’re all set!

An example of my "about" text transformed by Wordle.net.

Bonus tip #2: A useful glitch in your profile.

The next time you’re on Google+, try hovering over people’s names. Do you notice how some people have lots of text describing what they do and some have very little?

Google+ pulls that text from the "employer name" field in your employment history marked "current."

If you just want your company name to show, you need to do nothing. But try experimenting. (For an example of a lot of text, hover over the profile picture at https://plus.google.com/113554137555104994520/posts. Rob decided to put all of his work experience in the “company” field marked “current.”)

#4: Fill up your links

While you’re editing your “about” page, be sure to pay attention to the “other profiles” section. Here is a list of some links to consider including:

• Links to other social media networks
• Links to your business sites
• Links to special pages on your website

Feel free to include odd links in your profile, as long as they fit the image you're trying to project on your profile.

#5: Look for interesting people

If you’re not following people, Google+ can be a boring, barren wasteland. So start circling all sorts of people who seem interesting. The search field in Google+ keeps getting better. Here are some ways to find interesting folk:

• Search for people with the same occupation
• Search for people interested in the same cause communities
• Search for people with the same hobbies

A search on the word "geek" brings up people and pages that fit. And it shows posts using the word "geek" in them.

Bonus tip: Search for shared circles.

A quick way to find lots of interesting people is to import other people’s circles. As people share circles, you can incorporate those circles into your existing circles or into a new separate circle.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCEOn8yna1E

But you might be waiting a long time to see a “shared circle” show up in your stream. To jumpstart this, simply search on the term “shared a circle with you.” This pulls up the shared circles. You can add a term to narrow those shared circles to ones you find interesting.

This search for "shared a circle with you" shows the most recently shared circle was a circle of bacon lovers!

#6: Play around

Nothing helps you get started better than spending some time on Google+. In addition to following people, be sure to +1 their posts and comment on them. Try resharing posts to specific circles of people. Experiment with hangouts.

Play with the type of posts they share on Google+. Some people are simply reposting their blog links. Others are finding Google+ to be a phenomenal tool for sharing pictures and videos.

In a recent discussion on experimenting with different types of posts, Wendy, director of social strategy for the American Red Cross, said she was “trying out a ‘no links to RedCross.org or posts specifically promoting Red Cross campaigns’ approach on the Red Cross Google+ brand page. We’ll see how it goes! I think it’s important to offer something different on each platform.”

Play around with it and see what works for you.

Give Yourself a Head Start

Anything worth learning takes time. And Google+ is definitely worth learning. So give yourself some time. Using these 6 steps will definitely shorten your learning curve!

After you’ve gotten familiar with Google+ as a person, then repeat the process in making a Google+ page for your business!

What do you think? What other “getting started” steps would you include? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

You know it’s important to measure your social media marketing performance, and the new Facebook Insights will make this easier for you.

Locating Facebook Insights

First things first—where do you find these metrics? They are accessed on the left sidebar underneath your profile picture by clicking on the Insights link.

Click Insights to see more options: Likes, Reach and Talking About This.

We aren’t going to cover every term, definition and nuance in this post because that would be a small book. Most of the terms have a “?” nearby that you can click on to get the definition.

You can also read more in this useful Facebook Insights Guide: http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/creative/insights/page-insights-guide.pdf (Note that this guide has graphs and charts that aren’t actually shown, or some are shown slightly differently than in the guide. Facebook may have changed the way they are displaying the data but most of it is relevant.)

We will cover how to interpret the best metrics to help you decipher what is going right and wrong on your page.

#1: Main Insights

First click on Main Insights and you see a graph of the activity for the last month.

The most important part of the main section is the different ways you can view the individual posts.

When you click on the individual columns, you will sort the posts by descending value in the column.

• Reach is the number of unique users who saw your post.
• Engaged Users is the number of unique people who have clicked on your post.
• Talking About This is the number of people who have Liked, commented on or shared your post, or responded to the question or event.
• Virality is the “Talking About This” number divided by the “Reach” number.

The most important of these columns are Engaged Users and Virality.

Watch what types of posts are getting the best engagement.

You will also know what type of post you’re viewing by the icon next to the post.

• Green quotations: Status update
• Film: Video
• Note with a pin: A link or an application that posted on your behalf.
• Square that looks like an outline of a person in a picture: Pictures

In the above graphic, when we sorted by Engaged Users, we can see that the top three posts are all photos. So we know that if we want to focus on getting more engaged users, we should post pictures. See what types of posts are working for you by sorting the columns.

#2: Reach

When you dive into the Reach section, you first see a chart of demographics of people who have seen any content about your page within the last week.

Below that are the How You Reach People graphs. The one on the right shows the Unique Users by Frequency in a rolling one-week time frame.

The statistic to watch here is the number of people you are reaching more frequently. This is your core audience.

Monitor how many times people are seeing your content each week.

If you are not reaching people multiple times with your posts, you may have to adjust your strategy. Experiment with posting more often, focusing on getting more engagement so that your post comes up more in your fans’ news feed. You may need to do something more involved like running a contest or Facebook ad to reconnect with your audience.

The next graph shows Page Views and Unique Visitors and below this graph is one of the most interesting areas of Insights, the External Referrers.

Watch where people are coming from. If the only external referrer is Google, you need to get the word out about your page. Guest post on websites and blogs and use your page address in the bio.

In the example below, the Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies fan page was mentioned in a review post on Social Media Examiner. Find ways to work your Facebook page address in multiple areas across the web.

Monitor which tabs people are looking at and how people are finding your page.

#3: Likes

The next area of metrics is the Likes area. This area breaks out your fans by demographics, which can be useful for future ad campaigns. The area to watch in this section is the Where Your Likes Came From graph.

Watch the spikes of Likes and Unlikes to correlate what you are doing right and wrong on those days.

In this particular page’s graph, we can go back and track the posts on the wall to see what happened during the spikes.

On November 18, eight photos were posted within a fairly close time period, which may have caused the Unlikes. On December 2 and December 6, a highly shared recipe (on this food-based page) combined with an open-ended question that resulted in big participation on both days may have been the cause for the spikes in Likes. Pay attention to what’s working.

#4: People Talking About This

The People Talking About This number is publicly displayed on the left sidebar under the number of Likes. This figure is a great measure of actual engagement.

The "talking about this" number is publicly displayed on every Facebook page.

It includes all the following activities that happen on your page over a one-week rolling period:

• Liking a page
• Posting to a page’s wall
• Liking, commenting on or sharing a page post (or other content on a page, like photos, videos or albums)
• Answering a question posted
• RSVPing to an event
• Mentioning a page in a post
• Phototagging a page
• Liking or sharing a check-in deal
• Checking in at a place (if your page has a place merged with it)

The best part of this statistic is that you can see it on any page—meaning it’s public information! Now you can tell if a page is interacting with people. Big fan numbers don’t mean that the page is healthy. The People Talking About This statistic is the one to watch. Watch your competitors’ numbers to monitor what is working for them. For an accurate picture, take the People Talking About This number and divide it by the total number of fans. Healthy pages have percentages between 1% and 5% (or more for great interaction).

The graphs on the actual People Talking About This page within Insights aren’t as interesting as the overview on the main page. Watch trends in your numbers. See in this graph how the People Talking About This number was trending downward.

In the next figure, the admins of the page took some drastic measures by asking people to click Like on a post on December 7 to increase the “People Talking About This” number. You can see the jump in the numbers reflected in the graph. If people aren’t interacting with your page, you will drop out of the news feed.

Sometimes you need to change tactics to get interaction.

The new Facebook Insights has improved how you can track the health of your page and you can immediately see when you need to make some adjustments to your strategy. Try new things, monitor what’s working and what isn’t, and take your Facebook page to the next level!

I hope this gives you some great ideas on how to use the new Facebook Insights to monitor and grow your audience.

What do you think?  What metrics are you using to help your Facebook strategy? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.