| design58 | social media consultancy | huddersfield, west yorkshire, uk

Social Profiles in Print

This study is simple not scientific factual and surprising, based on The Guardian newspapers  Saturday Weekend Magazine.

Each issue holding 30 -40 pages of full and double page advertising spreads from a total of 80-96 pages. Aware that social media is part of everyday life there is little evidence in these pages.

The Following data has been taken from the Weekend Magazine on 14, 21, 28 May and 04, 11, 18 June.

The following details are specific to the publication of June 11.

Within the publication from June 11 out of the 30 major advertisers five had no Twitter presence and two were without Facebook presence.  The only evidence in the magazine of any social media presence was one Facebook  logo, one more than the June 18 publication.

Interesting to see a full page Starbucks advert without any suggestion of Facebook presence, 23,240,501 Likes on http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks.  The ad is seen in the following image from June 11, repeated on June 18 without the offer and again without evidence that they are active on Facebook.

In support of The Guardian Newspaper they provide a valuable online resource at http://www.guardian.co.uk .

Why aren’t there more logos in print with direction enabling engaging activity with the reader?  The audience is there waiting, businesses are engaging with their audiences online and learning more about themselves from this. Are the rest really waiting to see if it works?

If you do see any representation of any social networks in  print or on the streets in  shop windows, bars, bus or billboard ads. Please take a photo and post them on http://www.facebook.com/design58 we want to see who’s actively integrating what they do onine and offline whether multi nationals or sole traders.

We all have the opportunity to utilise the internet, lets share positive use and encourage more.

Using Twitter….

This post was originally added to a Linked In discussion, where someone simply asked for a little advice on using twitter effectively.

As with any network online or offline there needs to be a strategy and schedule to make the time used most effective. As with Linked In and Facebook and other social media online platforms there is a definite importance in being able to target your connected community and target audience through various search methods. This can then cut down time wasted just throwing out blanket messages by giving the ability to reach those who have an interest in your products and services.

To help define your targeting use Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts for daily or real-time email alerts when your specific keyword is mentioned. Aligned with this you should also use http://www.hootesuite.com http://www.tweetdeck.com to again get real time updates on keyword searches. Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com does what it says effectively where http://tweetreach.com can show how tweets and #tags are being followed. Those are some applications for making Twitter effective there are and will be more made constantly, best to keep it sustainable and effective within your schedule..

Never sell or constantly direct people back to your website with discounts, deals and offers. By being informative a twitter profile can be a resource rather than an interrupting source of spam marketing. Being informative and knowledgeable about your industry area will build trust and loyalty from followers who will then share your name within their networks.

Be personable and real not corporate and grey, Twitter provides a fantastic opportunity to communicate rather than promote. Understanding your network, audience, clients, and customers is vital and this is a perfect platform to do this. Helping a business provide what this following actually need rather than what is assumed to be needed this is a result of direct contact. Through this direct contact a business should be flexible to change and develop in line with the relevant needs.

Engaging with a network, community or target audience is the base of any social networking on or offline to build relationships that are long term not simply focused on a short term financial gain. Many people get annoyed with certain Twitter users being overactive it is quite simple to unfollow. It’s even easier to get into conversations on Twitter with real people in real time this builds relationships and the connectivity required to develop the trust and loyalty suggested above.

Never automate responses to adding followers this is the same as the faceless request on Linked In an automated thanks is corporate and grey and lacks personality. A personal Direct Message shows care and thought for the person at the other end. Also automated Tweets may save time but they also mean you aren’t there to answer in real time too, it’s a decision you have to make but don’t feel by not being there you are missing out.

Develop a schedule that provides time in chunks throughout a day when you are there doing specific things. These can change depending on time to include posting information, listening to followers, retweeting, replying and searching for specific followers. This can be done in 10 or 20 minutes chunks evenly through a day. Through experience you will find when is the best time to do these specific activities on Twitter depending on your followers and their online activity.

All these suggestions are the basics of any communication using effective technology to connect and talk with people. Although these people are part of a business they provide real contact for a customer or client. People don’t buy what you do but why you do it, when engaging and showing empathy you gain trust. It’s far easier to be genuine and authentic than fraudulent.

I have made contacts and clients through Twitter for myself and my clients. It may happen immediately but more likely it will take time to develop these relationships, be patient.

Sharing a little more conversation

We all want word of mouth referrals whether they come from online sources or offline, I personally ignore emails unless from known sources. It’s quite evident that many people have effective online networks [better than many businesses] and so these networks can share information a lot more effectively than previously.

As we move on less and less searching will happen specifically through Google [or other search engines at the front end]. Instead we will begin to have information fed on the keywords or alerts we request. How many people would even think of using the yellow pages to find a plumber but would ask friends, family, colleagues, contacts, followers? The list can be added to where relevant and with regard to whose opinion you trust and feel loyal to, trust and loyalty are very important factors in building the reputation of a business.

Whilst building reputations there is still the opportunity to link word of mouth to previous work and contacts, a recent client of mine found by being more active on Linked In he was back in contact with people he had known for 20 years. Conversations can start around familiarities, whether new or old businesses nobody should be selling products or services through any platform. Instead I would advise simply being informative about your knowledge, skills and experiences within your industry. By doing this contacts, followers or friends get to know you as a resource not a source of interruptions, discounts and deals.

There are many ways to search specifically for what we want, by building a connected community online we are able to spread the awareness of what we know and do globally. I have been doing this since 1982 simply promoting interaction, participation and viewing audience analysis based on engaging with people and developing long term relationships. By taking time to listen to those we want to connect to we are better placed to understand their needs, bringing this to conversation shows them that we respect their views too.

The important factor in everything linked to these thoughts is people not technology, by building the correct mind set to communicate effectively to the people important to your business those relationships will build whether online or offline. It is vital that it doesn’t become one or the other but working together strategically for the business to develop, always providing an approachable and personable opportunity for conversation.

Social media local, global but definitely personal.

Do you ever pop next door for a cup of sugar or to borrow a memory stick or spare mouse? I have shared two of those items and had them returned within the past 18 months, the item I didn’t share maybe my neighbour got in a car and drove to buy who knows.  The relevance of community is important both online and offline and never should the two be separated.

With social media predictions for 2011 disappearing it’s worth looking now at what’s important not to you but your customer, client or contact.  The next big thing can be sorted out by those working on it naturally not those desperate to find it, when it comes along you can and will use it though. Adding value and awareness to your network or community by delivering a personal service doesn’t mean you will be glued to your keyboard 24/7 but it does mean you will have a stronger community because you listen.

Twitter is seen to deliver the parts of conversation we once had over the garden fence not too long and not too short but not needing to be whole sagas, people enjoy and need to communicate with each other.  In society today we are often on our own and this is where technology adds the benefit of being effective in connecting us to the people we want to talk to.

Communicating and talking doesn’t just mean telling everyone you walked the dog or came through the door, we never used to do that when we met people in the street by saying ‘I just came off the train and here I am in front of you.’  So why do it now, why not use the technology that’s available to add conversations where a few years ago it wasn’t possible or where you had to send a fax, letter or make a phone call.

Social media is changing the way we communicate simply through the technology we use, the most important aspect of communication has and will always be people.  Don’t be convinced by someone that they can re-market talking they can simply give you the tips and techniques to make it effective.

Through Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and many other online platforms we have the opportunity to reach communities and networks to engage with future and existing customers.  This doesn’t mean the end of print; it does mean you can spend less on printed marketing as you are better able to define who you may want to send printed information to.  This could be local or global, why should a small independent retail shop in a small town simply sell to the public of that town?  They can do this for the benefit of the people within the town but also for those outside travelling distance they can provide a global sales service. The Ecommerce may actually underwrite the retail outlet and make it possible to provide both.

This positive approach to independent retailing may not save every business but it is something that many businesses should look at.  It also delivers the importance of a personal service whether that’s answering a mention on Twitter, responding to a comment on Facebook or simply delivering something through the postal network that was purchased online.

The people we are connected with on a daily basis are all in some way or another going to be online within the day, by building a strategy with a schedule and policy for social media we can all engage and strengthen the relationships we already have by using the technology available.  It takes patience but relationships are not as easy as simply clicking connect, follow or like. Always remember its people that are important not numbers or technology, because those people you engage with will engage with other people.

Pecha Kucha – Huddersfield 13.01.11

This slideshow was first seen at a Pecha Kucha night in Huddersfield 13 January 2011, to find out more about Pecha Kucha visit www.pecha-kucha.org . The basic guidelines are for presentations with 20 slides each lasting 20 seconds, 6 minutes 40 seconds in total for each presenter.

This is about a Mail Art project which I curated between 1988 and 1991, not too much more to add to that other than I asked people to send me one blade or more, of grass.  Personally I believe interaction and participation is far more important than explanation.

01 Grass – more than just a collection but a connection

02 Started in Central Park NYC, but really Brighton England.  My request for ‘a present of a piece of NYC turf’ was forgotten.

03 Meanwhile, I was heavily involved in Mail Art and it was time to start a project of my own.

04 Grass from the ground one blade or more was my opening sentence to mail artists between 1988 and 1991.
Creative interpretation and participation was all that was necessary no rules.

05 Shozo Shimamoto was one of the first to reply.

06 Some people went a little further and provided evidence of origin.

07 This sample was exciting not for the ‘Riot Area’ grass but the contact with Ben Ponton a member of Soviet France makers of experimental industrial music and artwork who I had followed throughout the 1980’s.

08 Dried and bagged the grass wasn’t always green why should it be that would constitute a rule.

09 X marks the spot of the cell which this person wrote many, many letters to me from Sing Sing Prison.  The grass was secondary to this and many other relationships that grew through my request.

10 Le Peintre Nato a French artist who is totally true to himself.

11 Creative inspiration and involvement varied and was inspiring, from contact with The KGB to meeting, visiting and regularly exhibiting in a New York gallery to simply meeting real people across the world.

12 And still always good to know where the grass had specifically been picked.

13 Grass and Jack Kerouac – perfect.

14 D F Busky’s own pet in the post, just for me.

15 A friend travelled to Japan brought this sample back and was disappointed not to get a sample from Hiroshima.

16 This was one of the last submissions to the project at a time of much change and growth in Eastern Europe.

17 A never ending supply of creativity was shown over the three years, often making me smile as I opened my post sat on the beach in Brighton.

18 Dobrica was a very active mail artist who I collaborated with many times through his fanzine, not the best of time in his country either which was seen in the work he produced.

19 More than once the changes in Europe were echoed in the project here a postcard of a hole in the Berlin Wall with grass from another hole in the wall.

20 Three years 329 samples 46 countries, exhibited in my home, covered by radio, television and national newspapers. More importantly though relationships started then, continue today and I continue to connect show and share creatively online and offline with people through ‘platform58’.

Mark Longbottom