Social Media Marketing: 5 easy steps

Although I have been deeply ensconced in politics for the last 22 months and have barely dipped my toe in the social media pool, I was recently given the opportunity to dive right back in when I was asked the following question via Linkedin:

Q: I am currently designing a social media marketing strategy for my firm and was wondering if you had any reading (books or article) recommendations.

Rather than point this person in a generic direction by suggesting one or two obvious resources, I decided to spend some time revisiting some of the more helpful resources I’d used in the past. Doing this assisted me in coming up with a template of “TO DO” items that I’m posting here for others who are launching social media marketing strategies and are wondering where to begin. My response (with a few changes to make this approach more accessible for multiple industries) is below:

A: Many aspects of a social media branding and marketing strategy can be implemented without cost. It’s actually more of an investment of time and knowing how to differentiate among multiple approaches and tools to determine the best fit for your company. It reminds me of the concept of ‘satisficing’ in which the user recognizes that there are far too many choices to consider and, instead, accepts that s/he will make a decision based on what is yielded during a finite period of research and process of elimination.

While books and articles can be helpful, they are static and can become obsolete overnight. So, below are some resources that are more dynamic and should remain relevant for awhile:

1. View the Socialnomics video to set the tone.

2. Research marketing and branding strategies on the following sites. Bookmark them and check often for updates:
Mashable
Social Media Today
The Small Company Blog
Ragan

3. If you’re on Twitter, follow me (@emilypresents) and subscribe to the following lists (or once you’re following me, just pick and choose whom you want to follow from the lists):
-”Social Media Marketing”
-”Brand/PR”
-”Social Media Metrics”

4. Get tips from the professionals:
LA Online Media
The PR Professional
Personal Branding Blog
Strike Team

5. Connect with social media experts in your area. There are many groups on Linkedin that you can join to get tips from local experts and learn about networking events in your area.

Good luck and remember to pay it forward by sharing what you’ve learned with others!

How Public Safety Agencies Can Use Social Media to Engage Their Employees

The Los Angeles Fire Department is a pioneer among public safety agencies and emergency responders in the usage of social media.  The Department’s initial social media efforts began in 2005 and have since garnered recognition nationwide. LAFD’s presence is spread across multiple social media channels including Twitter, Facebook (look up the group “Los Angeles FD), YouTube, Blogspot and BlogTalkRadio. We owe a debt of gratitude to our Department’s Public Safety Officers (PSOs) for their foresightedness and continued attention to the evolution of social media tools. They regularly connect with the communities we serve and do so not only by providing a steady stream of important information, but also by engaging in two-way conversations on-line, posing and answering questions, offering encouragement and solace, and recognizing the heroic efforts of everyday people.

In 2008, I established the Department’s Workforce Excellence Unit which employs techniques to foster increased employee engagement.  Among our tools to reach employees are various internal social media platforms.

I will be sharing some of what I’ve learned at The Social Media In Law Enforcement Conference (SMILECON).  My workshop “Social Media for Internal Relations” will be delivered at the LAwS Academy on April 7th, the opening day of the conference.  I plan to focus on how public safety agencies can:

1) Effectively communicate with employees through social media channels; and

2) Prepare employees to embrace the roles of supporting the Department’s social media strategy and representing the Department positively through their usage of social media.

Discussions of effective social media usage focus mostly on the private sector and relationships with potential and existing customers.   Return on Investment (ROI) measurement indicators include brand recognition, customer loyalty, purchases, and revenue generated.  Public safety agencies well-versed in social media welcomed Mashable.com’s recent post “6 Ways Law Enforcement Uses Social Media to Fight Crime” which featured examples of successful public safety outreach efforts.  In this arena, ROI could be measured through increased levels of trust and awareness, tips provided, crimes solved, and arrests made.

What, then, would be some appropriate ROI indicators for social media strategies directed at employees?  In general terms, they could be tied to the following areas:

• Employee identification with and embodiment of the agency’s guiding principles (e.g. mission, vision, core values, service statements)
• Employee awareness of new policies and initiatives
• Communication from the workforce of suggestions for increased effectiveness, enhanced productivity, and cost savings
• Reputation of the agency as characterized by current employees

By reviewing just these four areas, it becomes clear what some components of an internal social media strategy might be:

• Clear communication of an agency’s guiding principles and expectations of associated behaviors and outcomes
• Regular and frequent updates on initiatives and policies that affect the workforce
• Opportunities for employees to provide input/feedback and to receive timely responses
• Climate surveys to gauge employee satisfaction, morale, and trust levels

Although internal relations may not garner the attention that external relations do, they merit more care than we may be accustomed to giving them.   Employees of public safety agencies truly are our industry’s greatest asset because their trust and respect for one another, their higher-ups, and the public they serve are the keys to exceptional service.

I hope you’ll join me in Washington, D.C. April 7-9 at SMILECON!

Cell Phones Are A Public Speaker’s Dream!

Last night, I was part of a panel of leadership development and executive coaching experts at a forum sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA). My fellow panelists, Marc Emmer, Ken Shelton, Kathleen Stinnett, and Jack Zenger are distinguished veterans of the coaching profession and – in their midst – I was most definitely the ingenue. I learned a tremendous amount from their presentations, which focused mostly on leadership development in the private sector.

My presentation “Coaching for Leadership in A Command Structure” could only scratch the surface of what it’s like to be a civilian designing and delivering leadership development programs in paramilitary settings.  And although my experience in command-and-control environments certainly set me apart from the other panelists, the move that really identified me as the Gen X-er was my energetic exhortation to attendees to “please turn ON your cell phones.”

It was a move I had learned from Do Something CEO Nancy Lublin, who shared in the October 2009 issue of Fast Company something she regretted not doing last year at a fundraising event:

Make your own paparazzi. At most events, they tell you to turn your cell phones off. Next year, I’ll ask the crowd to turn them on. Then they can take photos, tweet, upload clips, and update their Facebook statuses.

This returns the phone to its original role as a valuable communication device rather than an annoying nuisance during one’s presentation.  Smartphones can push information out in a way that transcends time and space.

You see, the tweet (and its offspring the re-tweet)  ensure that a speaker’s words and ideas live on long beyond her presentation and far beyond the four walls that contain her. And tweets take on a life of their own because they are crafted not by the speaker, but by audience members who decide which points are most relevant and interesting to themselves and their followers.  And if they add their own thoughts…so much the better!

I encourage those who are interested in learning more about presenting in the Twitter and Facebook age to visit Olivia Mitchell’s blog where she provides such invaluable gems as:

To ensure that your key points are tweeted, craft them into tweetbites — short sentences ready-made for tweeting. Both PowerPoint and Keynote have add-ins so that you can schedule your tweet to be posted at the same time as you click on a specific slide.

To my fellow presenters: don’t be afraid of the Twitter backchannel…learn how to use it to your advantage!  And to future audience members: turn on your smartphones and tweet away…I’m @emilypresents!

Worse devastation: Chile or Haiti?

The 8.8  magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on February 27th is estimated to be  250-350x stronger than the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck Haiti on January 12th. Yet the death toll (thus far)in Haiti is 100x that of Chile!

The reasons, as eloquently laid out by Henry Fountain, may surprise you. 

http://ow.ly/1dBoT

Social Entrepreneur search widget!

For those who missed the announcement in mid-February, there’s now a way to research, connect with, and invest in social entrepreneurs based upon cause, location, etc.

You can get more info at:  http://ow.ly/1d0hP

Happy searching – and hopefully – funding!

!deation Conference Apr 5-7 2010

The inaugural !deation Conference Apr 5-6 in Long Beach, CA focuses on
non-profits as they relate to humanitarian care. http://ow.ly/1cE2J

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Go to www.mypersonality.info to see your personality type and to find out more about MBTI.  To take the official Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, go to http://www.myersbriggs.org