Social Media Manager

One of the nicest things about innovation is that it creates new job opportunities. The boom of social media confirms that trend. Social media has opened the doors to a new full range of job opportunities. One of them, is the Social Media Manager.

I read an article that highlights five essential skills a Social Media Manager should have:

1. You understand technology, but you love people.
2. You possess intellectual and emotional curiousity.
3. You're thoughtful, not impulsive or reactive.
4. You think strategically (and communicate the strategy).
5. You are an ensemble player, not a diva.

If you want to read the full post, click HERE.

Do you unfriend a lot?

And the word of the year according to the New Oxford American Dictionary is.... unfriend!

What does unfriend mean?... this is the official defintion:
Unfriend - verb - To remove someone as a "friend" on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Example: "I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight."

So, do you unfriend a lot?

To read full post click HERE.

Top 5 social media books

The other day, I came across a post on the website Mashable that mentions the top 5 must-read social media publications. The names are:

- Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
- The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt
- Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel
- Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck
- The New Community Rules by Tamar Weinberg

Has anyone read any of these books? which of these books would you suggest to read?

To read the full post click HERE.

Traditional search and social media

BusinessWeek published an interesting article about the way Google and Bing are thinking to incorporate social media information into their search results. This new interest relies on the potential economic dividends the two giants can get from placing their ads in the most appropiate places.

To read the full article click HERE.

The client is still right

Freedom is probably one of the reasons why Internet is so fascinating to all of us. We are free to search, access, share and generate content and information in an incredible variety of ways. When it comes to the Web, however, freedom has been constantly challenged by economic interests, legal norms, conventionalism, moral principles, and plain fear. From the music industry freaking out about Napster to the Iranian government freaking out about tweets, it seems that someone will always worry about the form freedom adopts in the cyberspace.

Online freedom has come in different flavors. The latest and tastiest one being social media. The Web 2.0 revolution has empowered people in such a way that individuals have now in their hands a perfect tool to make a significant impact on practically anything. Word of mouth has proven to be an effective instrument to generate action and companies are increasingly following online conversations to improve their business strategies.

Not everyone is happy about that in the corporate world though. For many CEOs and top level executives, reaching out to social media in order to promote their products and brands has been dominated by fear and skepticism. At the center of that attitude lives the perception that regular, normal people are unable to produce high-quality branding. For the first time in many years, the client apparently is not always right.

Fortunately, the last statement may be valid only for some businesses. More than ever before, the client is still right and social media is here to challenge corporate conventionalism. Visionary businesses will take advantage of the infinite possibilities that social media offers. Conventional ones, out of fear of losing control of "something," will keep doing business as usual. That, of course, does not mean that traditional businesses are doomed to fail and visionary businesses are supposed to make profits every time they venture into social media.

The truth is that social media, as an expression of online freedom, offers the potential to shape the world from the bottom. We, the people, are finally able to challenge everything and there is nothing conventionalism can do about it. A wise business should try to remember that the client is still right.

Friendly social media guide for small businesses

I don't know for how long this document has been running in the cyberspace but today I discovered Dell's Social Media for Small Businesses guide on Facebook. Apart from being an easy-to-read manual (you can actually download the whole thing), this guide is divided into different sections that provide real case scenarios of companies that have taken advantage of social media to promote their own businesses.

To take a look at the guide, click HERE.

Social media bubble?

Despite all the excitement about social media, some people think that social media offers the potential of a meltdown similar to the one experienced by the the dot.com industry eight years ago.

In an article published in Media Life, Paul Benjou writes the following:

"Social networking sites are about people communicating with one another and sharing information. It's not a format that's suited for ad messages. In that environment, advertising becomes social interference, in some ways akin to eavesdropping, and it has the potential to backfire".

To read the full article click HERE.

Should social media drive traffic to your site?

I came across two opinions about social media that are quite different.

The first one goes like this:

"The point of using social media as part of a marketing or PR strategy for a small business is to drive traffic and generate sales." Peter Shankman, founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, a boutique marketing and PR strategy firm in New York City. Read full article HERE.

The second one goes like this:

"Facebook marketing is not about driving traffic to your web site. Keep Facebook users on Facebook." Online Marketing blog. Read full article HERE.

So, my question is this: Should social media drive traffic to your site or not?

Twitter for businesses

The popular Twitter has become a very useful tool for companies to promote their ideas and products. Check out the Twitter 101 section of the site to have a look at best practices and case studies of the way Twitter is being used by companies.

Click HERE to visit Twitter 101.

Three useful and easy social media ideas

I read an interesting article by Alexandra Samuel that offers three useful suggestions for companies that are skeptical or afraid of getting deeply involved into a social media campaign. The three suggestions are:

1. Add a suggestion box into your website
"What is it: Invite your customers, supporters or employees to submit their ideas and suggestions for new products, services or improvements".

2. Create a widget for your company
"What is it: Create an interactive badge your customers or supporters can place on their Facebook pages or blogs".

3. Promote your company's special deals on the cyberspace
"What is it: Create an online presence that lets people know about a special, time-limited offer".

To read the full article click HERE.

A short social media business example

Today, I read a short but useful post written by Massimo Paolini from the Examiner.com. He provides a short scenario which exemplifies the way a small business can promote its activities using social media tools. Check it out:

"Let's say you have a hair salon in Willow Glen. First, you'll want to create your own fan page on Facebook. Post pictures of your store and staff there. On your Twitter account, you can send out "tweets" about specials and new stylists or products. Advertise on Craigslist, and make sure your website is bookmarked on del.icio.us. Add more pictures on Flickr especially if your stylists are creating unique styles--and ask customers to post reviews on Yelp."

Click HERE to read the full post.