Posts Tagged ‘social media’

I love sharing information, including technology trends, social media How To’s, breaking and local business news, and information on advocacy groups. On Twitter, I’ll share 5-10 items per day, sometimes in a rapid fire method. On Facebook I’ll “Like” or “Share” several posts a day. Multiply these activities by the number of Twitter and Facebook users and you have an unprecedented amount of sharing and re-sharing.

So why limit the scope of your message? Let it run wild!

Here are five tips to help you set your message free.

Give Your Email Legs

Ok, so you spent two weeks working with a team to create the perfect email message. Maybe you’re about to launch a new product, announce a new conference, drive donors to your non-profit site, or share your latest video creation.

There are three important items to add to your email deployment checklist:

1. Do you have an online version of your email with a link to that page on the email? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a juicy email that I want to share with the world and struggled or have been unable to find the online version. If I don’t have a link, I can can’t share it with my online network. What a missed opportunity.
   
   If you do have an online version, please think clearly before deciding to host that content on the email management tool’s site. Do you want to drive content to Constant Contact’s site or to your site, for example?
2. Do you have a Twitter or Facebook share feature on your email? This makes sharing one step easier. With the click of a button, your message can flow to two of the most supercharged sharing sites in the world.
3. Is it easy to forward the email to a friend? Some email messages have nifty “Forward to a Friend” features that make it easy to share content. I rarely use this feature but there are some people who like it, especially if it is from an authority site like a news agency or major publication. If the email is breaking news or highly relevant to your personal or business contacts then this could help your message take off.

This Kodak email has an online version and ways for users to subscribe to Facebook and Twitter. The email could be enhanced with actual tweet buttons that automatically format the Twitter and Facebook messages, so posting is only one click away.

Let’s look at this from a numbers perspective. If you send out your email message to your permission-based list of 10,000 contacts and you don’t add any sharing features, then your message is limited to the number of recipients plus the number of times your email is forwarded to other contacts. Let’s be generous and say that 100 of the emails were forwarded to contacts. That’s a reach of 10,100.

If you add a link to your online content and have a Facebook and Twitter share then the numbers shift. Your initial contacts receive the message and can then re-post the message to their followers via Twitter or Friends on Facebook. If I tweet about an item, the message is instantly available to over 8,400 followers! That’s almost double the reach from ONE contact. Factor in retweets and other people sharing and the reach can get to 100,000 very quickly.

From your Website to the World

1. Add a Tweet button and Facebook Share and/or Like feature to your Web pages and blog posts. Yes, this is the same tip as for your email messaging but it’s important to give your site/blog readers a way to share content with their networks Clear a path.
2. Do you have a compelling image on your web page or blog post? A good photo or graphic will catch a persons attention and make it more share worthy. On Facebook, the image will show up as a thumbnail picture. Your Facebook friends will be much more likely to Like the post and to re-share it.
   
   Note: if you don’t select a photo to go with your page/post and someone “Facebooks it” then they will either get a selection of random image options (icons from your sidebar or unrelated content) or they won’t have any option.

(Link to The Spice Spoon blog.)

Review

We just reviewed how to clear a path for your important messages. If your message is clear, relevant, and timely then these tips can help your message spread like wildfire.

Do you have any other design tips to help your messages spread?

Photo Credit: Vestman on Flickr – License

Raul Porto is CEO of Porto’s Bakery, the largest retail bakery in the United States. Porto rarely does public speaking engagements so it was a treat to hear his presentation at the Latino Entrepreneur + Social Media Forum.

After listening to Porto, you definitely get the sense that he loves what he does. He talks about growing a business using instinct, observation, and some more “traditional” techniques.

Kevin Pollak (@kevinPollak on Twitter) made me bust up laughing at how he played the interviewee in this bit..oh, wait, it was really supposed to be an interview?

Alan Weinkrantz (@alanweinkrantz on Twitter) plays the “straight man” in this interview snippet at the 140 Conference in Hollywood. The 140 Conference is a unique collection of Twitter related presenters (“characters”) who present on an eclectic set of topics – everything from online psychics to personal online stories to global social media campaigns by major networks.

You can catch Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show here.

I had a great time, met tons of online friends, and enjoyed this interview.

Do you have any favorite 140 Conference moments?

When I heard Beth Kanter and Allison Fine had created a book for non-profits,The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change, I had to pick up a copy. I’ve been following Beth on Twitter (@kanter) for a year and a half and had the opportunity to chat with her at the Twitterville launch party a year ago.

The Networked Nonprofit does an excellent job explaining the “What?” behind social media for non-profits. What is social media? How does it apply to non-profits and what is the larger picture?

It’s easy to get caught up in the technology and tools aspect of social networking. The Networked Nonprofit lays out an easy to understand view of the Web 2.0 environment without forcing readers to jump over technological jargon barriers.

Social media is all about networking, something non-profits understand very well. The book builds off of that familiar concept and uses it as a scaffold to approach topics like online engagement, transparency, and crowdsourcing.

I strongly believe that The Networked Nonprofit belongs on the nightstand of every non-profit manager and anyone looking to support non-profits.

You can order a copy or a set of The Networked Nonprofits books via Amazon (affiliate link below).

Photo Credit: Noah Sussman – License

Is social media a way to capitalize on our ability to connect and empathize with all humans or does it feed narcissism, materialism, violence, and aggression?

After being extremely connected to social networking sites for over two years, I’ve seen both.

My mother taught me a saying, (in Spanish called a “dicho”) that goes “Dime con quien andas y te digo quien eres.” This literally translates to “Tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are.”

If our brain fires every time we see someone else go through a specific set of emotions, then it would matter who we’re around and how they respond to things. If we are around nasty and brutish people, then that is what we’ll experience.

I’ve had the honor of being connected to some amazingly positive people on sites like Twitter and that has helped keep me sane over the past two years.

This British Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) video examines the concept of an empathic society.

What do you think, is the video overly optimistic or is narcissism more powerful then the need for connection and empathy?

Thanks to Neil Kramer (@Neilochka) for posting a link to this video on Twitter.

Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) is the largest organization of Social Media Professionals of Hispanic Origin. LATISM announced the finalists (see below) for the first annual LATISM California Awards.

The winners will be selected by an online vote, which begins September 9, 2010 at 6PM Pacific Time and ends Friday, September 17th, 6PM Pacific Time.

The award winners will be announced at the Latino 2 Conference in Los Angeles on September 18, 2010.

>>Your vote is your voice – VOTE NOW

>>Register for the Latino 2.0 Conference in Los Angeles (Sept. 18th, 2010)

This is an extraordinary group of people, companies, non-profits and agencies. We look forward to honoring all the finalists in L.A. on September 18th as we kick off an event series aimed at engaging the best minds in Latino communications throughout the entire state.

- Giovanni Rodriguez, vice chair of events and programs for LATISM and co-producer of Latino2

I’m proud to have been nominated for the Best CA Latino Blogger category. – Jesse Luna

LATISM Annual California Award Finalists for 2010

Best CA Latino Blogger
Angel Magaña
Brian Solis
Jesse Luna (jesseluna.com)
Jose Huitron
Jose Villa

Best CA Latina Blogger
Ana L. Flores
Irene Martinez-Audet
Jennifer Vides
Monique Frausto
Nancy Marmolejo

Best CA Latino Tweep
Angel Magaña
Brian Solis
Jorge Amaro
Jose Huitron
Jose Villa

Best CA Latina Tweep
Irene Martinez-Audet
Jennifer Vides
Laura Gomez
Liz Cerezo
Saray Hill

Best Latino(a) Social Network Leader in CA
Ana Lydia Ochoa
Antonio Altamirano
Brian Solis
Monique Frausto
Nancy Marmolejo

Best Company Using Social Media to Reach Latinos in CA
Apple
Kaiser Permanente
La Opinión
LatinEyes.tv
Microsoft

Best CA Not-for-Profit Using Social Media to Engage Latinos
Brave New Foundation
Comunidad Para Baja California
Compton United Soccer Club
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
National Council for La Raza (NCLR)

Best CA Interactive Agency Using Social Media to Reach Latinos
Acento
Axis
Mediatrope
Sensis Agency
Zuno Studios

Best CA Advertising Agency Using Social Media to Reach Latinos
alPunto Advertising
McCann Worldgroup
Sensis Agency
vrtccom
Viva Visibility

Best CA PR Agency Using Social Media to Reach Latinos
Axis
Edelman Digital
Dialogo PR
RLPR
VPE Public Relations