Level Headed Advice (Authors head not pictured)

As the director of marketing for FFWD Brands, I spend a lot of time discussing digital marketing strategies with  business owners and marketers. As of late, many of their questions turn back to social media. Namely, should I use it for my business, how do I use it, and how much does it cost? The answers however are a little more complicated. After a brief stutter, I typically launch into a stream of conscious monologue that goes something like: “…well, that depends on your particular niche, your audience, products and services, B2B, or direct to consumer, whether you’re a start-up or a large organization.” Then I say “Oh and by the way, how do you want to use it? Generating leads? Brand management? Customer service?” At this point I realize my questions are trailing off into silence on the other line. I talk fast to begin with, so I can appreciate what it must be like on the other line while I fire a stream of questions and answers in the same breath. So let me try to clarify a few things about this social media stuff.

The Hype:

The tremendous growth that Facebook and Twitter have experienced over the last 18 months is nothing short of phenomenal. Along with that success has been this tidal wave of media-fueled hype about this new opportunity to engage your audience. The opportunity is obvious, but how you approach and engage them is a bit of a gray area. Of course, nobody wants to be left behind, so everyone is starting a Facebook page. What, you don’t have one? This mentality has caused a great deal of panic and knee-jerk spending by otherwise level-headed business owners. I’m here to tell you the instinct to get involved is a good one, but your level of involvement ought to be measured and well planned.

Should My Business Start A Facebook and/or Twitter Page?

The short answer is yes. There are an abundance of social media tools out there; some specifically developed for business (LinkedIn), and others for specific niche industries (Fashion: http://trendmill.com/). Each social media site has a a unique function, so you’ll want to learn more about the top players first before deciding whether or not to engage. A fellow marketer has posted the following breakdown of the social media landscape. Once you get your head around the landscape, search for competitors who may already be using the one or more of these sites. While we are still in the hyped-up period of social media discovery and early adoption, it’s not going away any time soon. Businesses across virtually all industries have found success utilizing social media. Do some research and start getting acclimated to this exciting new marketing channel.

Understand the Social Dynamics:

Understand your audience, establish the tone of your voice and approach with caution. Imagine that you are walking into a room filled with your clients and potential prospects. Are you going to stand in the middle of the room on a table and shout advertising messages over everyone? No you wouldn’t, that would make you look nuts. Consumers are tired of being hammered with messages and doing so on a social media site is absolutely faux pas. This is a social situation and all the rules of face-to-face interaction apply. Approach with caution and strike up a conversation with one person, or a small group of people. That may be as simple as wishing someone happy birthday on Facebook, where many people display this information as well as their likes and dislikes. Keep in mind that not everyone enjoys socializing, especially when someone they don’t know starts the conversation. In fact the majority of your audience can be classified as observers. So identify those who are active and engage them as a peer, not as a salesman. Others will join the conversation if they feel comfortable doing so, but don’t force the conversation.

Prepare and Engage Effectively:

It’s ill-advised to launch into a social media campaign without clear objectives, a defined set of rules for employees, and worse yet, not knowing your core audience. So you have a bit of home work to do before engaging. The first and most important thing you can do is simply listen. Find a competitor or a company in a parallel industry who is already utilizing social media and begin observing the interactions and audience behavior. If you haven’t already compiled scores of demographic data about your audience, there is no better time to begin defining who they are, what they like, where they are located and what drives their purchase decisions, among other things.

I mentioned defining a set of rules for employees. It’s important that any employee who engages your audience have the best interest of the organization and audience in mind. There are a number of do’s and dont’s to consider. Take a look at this sample social media policy for employees.

Clearly define your objectives. You can actually accomplish a lot with social media, and establishing what that is will drive your strategy for engagement. For instance:

• Increase brand awareness
• Manage and build your reputation online 
• Demonstrate willingness to meet consumers needs 
• Improve search engine rankings 
• Increase relevant visitor traffic
• Increase leads and sales

It’s not a Silver Bullet, But an Arrow in the Quiver:

As exciting and hyped up as social media may be at present, it is still just one more marketing channel. The potential to produce leads and opportunities through Facebook and Twitter is real, but I would not suggest moving resources away from another productive channel to accommodate your social media campaign. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, Youtube…these sites should be looked at as extensions of your current marketing strategy and another arrow in your quiver.

Consider how your other marketing campaigns can feed each other to achieve a common goal. Use your website to drive visitors to your Facebook page, but make sure your FB page drives people to a point of conversion back on your main domain or a special landing page built just for Facebook fans. If you already manage a blog, be sure to set up your RSS feed to automatically update your Facebook and Twitter pages whenever you post new content. If it’s engaging enough, your fans will click back to your blog and find more resources to meet their needs. How about your email campaign? How could you promote your Facebook presence and generate more fans? Marketing channels need not compete. So don’t get so wrapped up in your social media campaign that you lose sight of the campaigns that already work and have for years.

Drive Users to a Point of Conversion:

Marketing tools like Facebook and Twitter is a means to an end. And that end is Conversion. The goal is not necessarily to have more Facebook fans than your competition. It’s about developing an audience made up of your ideal clients & prospects, and putting the infrastructure and process in place to move them from you Facebook page to your point of conversion. A conversion could be defined as a prospect making a purchase online, completing a form, picking up the phone or downloading a whitepaper. The point of conversion is the page you have optimized to achieve the desired result. Like any other marketing channel, the means justify the ends.

Growing Up With Social Media:

A small minority of companies are beginning to utilize social media effectively and achieving a defined set of business objectives as a result. As for the rest of us, we have to put in the time and effort to cultivate our presence. Only then will we begin to see measurable results.

Social media marketing is a new and exciting frontier. That being said, we know this medium will continue to evolve into the foreseeable future. Social media websites will come and go, which means our strategies will ebb and flow with the tides. But now is a great time to embrace social media. Mis-steps are inevitable, but learning from your mistakes (better yet, the mistakes of your competition), and committing resources to this channel will pay dividends in the future.

Your Feedback:

The knowledge of the group is always greater than that of the individual, so let’s tap into that. Are you using Facebook or Twitter (or other social media site) to market your business? And if so, what lessons have you learned from the school of hard knocks?

Ryan Goodin is Director of Marketing for FFWD Brands. Ryan has over 12 years experience developing and executing digital marketing strategies for small and mid-size businesses, across a variety of industries.

A key component to virtually any digital marketing campaign is maintaining a company blog. Follow these simple steps and launch your company into an exciting new realm. And while this article defines 5 great reasons to get blogging, the merits go far beyond the following.

Reason #1: Deeper Company Insight
Your .com (.net or .org) website is what I like to call the suit-and-tie face of your organization. It should come across as the most professional and well-polished of you web properties. On the other hand, a blog presents an opportunity to provide deeper insight into the products, personnel and inner-workings of your organization. This is your chance to let your hair down, if not just a little bit. Providing deeper insight for your clients and prospects is a means of humanizing an otherwise faceless corporate entity. Consumers are overwhelmed with advertisements, email and brand messages…and frankly, I’m sick of the noise myself.  Developing a relationship with your audience is a great way to stand out amongst the competition.

Reason #2: Social Media and Automatic Message Syndication
When it boils down to it, marketing is all about hitting a large audience with a targeted message to create awareness. Most blogging software has an RSS feed that allows you to syndicate blog posts directly to your various social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. So every time you post on your blog, presto…your post automatically shows up across your network with a link back to your blog. Incidentally, your social media strategy should always focus on conversion. Great, you have 4,000 fans…but now what do you do with them? Turn that funnel upside down and drive those fans back to a point of conversion. And hopefully your blog suits that purpose! Check out Hootsuite.com. This is one of the services we use to syndicate an RSS feed across multiple social networks.

Reason #3: Search Engine Optimization
Static content = lousy search placement. Google (and all search engines) want to see that your content is regularly updated. If the content changes frequently, the site becomes a breathing organism that feeds the never-ending consumer demand for information. Likewise, look at every new page of your website/blog as a doorway into your business. The more doors you put out there, the more traffic you’ll drive. Content is king, true. But I would revise that statement slightly by saying the RIGHT content is king. Focus on developing blog posts based on specific keyword phrases your audience will find appealing. We use WordPress blogs exclusively because of their search-friendly structure and add-on capabilities. We’re particularly fond of the All-In-One SEO Pack plugin because it allows us to create a unique and focused page title, description and keyword tags.

Reason #4: Demonstrate Subject Matter Expertise
The need to demonstrate expertise in your area of business is equally important to personalizing the consumers experience with your brand. When each new blog post adds value, the consumer has a reason to come back for more. The is your opportunity to build credibility beyond that of your competition and demonstrate that you have the best interest of the consumer in mind.

Reason #5: Feedback and User Generated Content
Another feature of most blogging software is the ability for visitors to comment on your posts. Typically you have the option to turn comments off, or moderate them for appropriateness before making comments live. Other sites that value ALL opinions leave commenting open to all guests. Whichever works best for you, user feedback offers all kinds of insight into consumer attitudes and beliefs. Use this information to tailor your products/services and address the needs of your audience more effectively. User generated content is exactly what it sounds like; content that you don’t have to spend any time creating! And all of this content is indexed with the search engines. UGC has it’s pros and cons, but manage it effectively and you’ll benefit in the long run.

Ok, so what have I missed? How has blogging effected your business?

Take a look at the sample social media policy below (modified from the original version created by eWay). It’s important that any employees who engage your audience on a social media site understand the do’s and dont’s of the medium. This policy is only a sample and should be modified to meet your specific needs.

Social Media Policy for Employees

(COMPANY) Social Media Policy
These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees for all forms of social media including, but not limited to: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and/or other social media sites and tools. These rules also apply to any comments you may leave on others’ blogs or Facebook pages, edits to wikis, responses to tweets, postings on message boards/forums, opinions on online polls or any product/services you might author.

While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect everyone who participates to follow these simple but important guidelines. Please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and maintains a consistent brand message.

Even if you don’t choose to officially participate, please be mindful that your behavior at all times reflects on (COMPANY) as a whole. Do not write or post anything that might reflect negatively on (COMPANY).

1. Be mindful of confidential information
2. Always be honest and use your best judgment in all situations
3. Avoid plagiarism at all costs
4. Document all sources and give credit where credit is due
5. Be professional in all situations, especially when accepting criticism
6. Be authentic – include your real name, company name and title on all profiles and when commenting on business issues on other websites
7. Consider the audience and community. Each community has different rules (spoken and unspoken) for engaging in conversations. Listen before you leap, learn the rules, then start participating
8. Participate, don’t promote. Bring value to your readers, watchers and followers. Give to get
   Write about what you know
9. When in doubt, ask for help/clarification
10. Seek approval before commenting on any articles that portray (COMPANY) in a negative light

For those looking to explore the possibilities of paid advertising on Facebook, you have your work cut out for you. However, recent changes at Facebook have possibly opened up a window of opportunity for advertisers looking to augment their CPC strategy. Coupled with the recent change to Facebook fan pages (instead of becoming a fan, now you simply “Like” a business page), successful Facebook advertisers are seeing higher click-thrus more converting than ever before. This seemingly small semantic change amounts to higher click-thrus and conversions because quite simply, it’s feels like less of a commitment.

The Conversion Occurs When A Visitor “Likes” You

FB advertisers who are sending clickers to their web page or wall are missing the opportunity created by this semantic shift. The bottom line is, you want your audience to “Like” your fan page so your updates begin to appear regularly on their wall. If you send a visitor to your wall or your website, there is a greater likelihood they will browse-and-abandon. Remember, your intention should be to draw them into your inner circle and capture those Fans. Once a visitor becomes a fan…excuse me, LIKES your page, every message you post moving forward will appear on their wall. Those “Likes” are the equivalent of (if not greater than) the value of an email address. Once you have it, let the drip marketing campaign begin!

Create A Custom Landing Page

Visitors who are not yet fans of your page can be driven to a landing page of your own design. From this point, use your imagination on how to incentivize a visitor to Like your page. “Exclusive offers for FB fans only! But first you must become a fan…click the “Like” button above!”

Ad Development

The bottom line is the more ads you test, the more effective your campaign will be. Finding the handful of ads that appeals most to your audience will obviously yield more clicks. But did you know it will also reduce your cost-per-click? That’s true! In your ads, you have to ask your visitor to like your ad. “Click the like button to show some support!” It’s also extremely important to rotate your ads. Any ad left in place too long will see a dropping return.

Campaign Setup

Their advertising interface is extremely easy to use, and requires very little technology comprehension. This should be highly attractive to those looking to spread their wings in the world on PPC. Furthermore, their segmentation abilities are amazing; not only can you target based on age, location, and gender, but you target consumers based on religion, sexual orientation, and relationship status. Even more amazing is their ability to create search parameters within users profile to advertise (e.g. “target anyone who lists Tool as their favorite band and Watership Down as their favorite book”). If you choose a larger campaign, you create a plethora of ultra-targeted ads in a sort of micro-segmentation.

The Catch:

While the technology is great, a Facebook PPC campaign is a hands-on job. For those considering creating 1 ad and sending it down the river, I wouldn’t count on substantial results. Also, like any PPC campaign, it’s easy to let the cost of ads get away from you. Of course you can set a budget, but you have to pay attention to your cost-per-click.

The Takeaway:
If you want to test content in a limited fashion, or have a high-end product that doesn’t require widespread response, the segmentation abilities of Facebook ads are great. This is especially true for those who are not technologically savvy. If you want to run a larger PPC campaign, many other opportunities exist that will give you better ROI. Remember, even if the segmentation ability isn’t there, if only interested people are clicking on your ads, you are still reaching your target audience.

Your Thoughts:

So, what experience do you have with Facebook advertising? Was it worth it?

So what’s the deal with the rumored Twitter Business Center?  This new Twitter application is being used by a select few companies already, but it is still making its rounds to other small and large businesses.

There are a few changes that businesses using Twitter will begin to notice once they receive an invite for the business center.  The first major change is being able to add a verified badge next to your account.  Okay, cool, but what does that mean?  If you are currently using Twitter you might have already seen accounts with a blue bubble with a check mark inside of it.  Usually these accounts are for celebrities who (have other people) tweet about their oh-so-interesting activities throughout the day.  The verified account assures their followers that this account is legit and not one some stalker fan created in his basement.  Businesses who are worried about duplicate accounts being made and phony tweets being sent out that do not represent their company are now put to ease.

Another new addition will involve the direct messages (DMs).  Before, in order to send a DM, there had to be a mutual following from the sender and recipient of the DM.  Now, they have changed it to an opportunity for the consumers to directly communicate to a company in instances when they do not wish to reveal personal information such as account numbers, phone numbers, names, or anything else you do not want the Twitter world to see.  This will be a great opportunity for companies to address any customer service related problems without exposing their customer’s inquiries to the rest of the world.  The company has to turn on this setting, so they do have the option to not allow DMs from those they are not following.

The Twitter Business Center will also allow a setting for multiple users to be contributors to a business account.  If a company has multiple people tweeting for them and monitoring the account, there will now be a setting to add these contributors to the account so that they all can participate with the conversations.

Do you think that this is going to dramatically change the business world on Twitter?  And if so, how?  Twitter Business Center… coming to a business Twitter user near you!

Cindy “likes” Lost.  Joe “likes” the NFL.  Have you seen similar postings in your Facebook newsfeed?  From popular TV shows to the most bizarre fan pages, you can pretty much “like” anything now, and it doesn’t stop at Facebook.

The recently changed fan page option is now used as a “like” button and can be seen on virtually every website that is linked into Facebook.  So is this small change in wording really going to change social networking?

Oh yes it will.

Sign into your Pandora account and you will instantly see a difference.  Once you create a station that you want to listen to, you will be informed of your Facebook friends that “like” this artist or similar music too.  Creepy and invasive, or interesting and useful?  Individual users may think that this new “like” button is going to lead to invasion of privacy, but this revolution benefits marketers as well as the consumers.

By taking the information that you willingly provide to Facebook, marketers are now able to access the general population’s interests in products, services, music, articles, movies, activities, etc.  Advertisements, suggestions, and recommendations will now be directed to a more specific audience; that’s you.  Have you ever logged into your Amazon account and the first page suggests items for you?  The “like” button will soon be able to collect your preferences and suggest items based on the data companies have received from Facebook.

A company who has an online presence, (which is basically everyone) really likes this new application.  They are able to instantly view how many people have an interest in their brand, and the best part is for FREE!  Just one week after the “like” button was announced, 50,000 websites jumped on board and had this button available to click.  When you “like” something, you are instantly showing the rest of your Facebook friends your preferences.  This is a huge benefit for companies who are participating in this movement because this activity is now displayed for others to see, and then hopefully “like” it as well.  Benefits of viral marketing are obvious with the “like” button.

With all of the 400 million users currently on Facebook, these “like” activities can be easily spread from one network of people to the next in no time.  Brand awareness of a company could potentially increase within a matter of minutes.  How could a company pass this kind of opportunity up?

Facebook is always looking for new outlets to expand on and this “like” button has the potential to bring marketing to a whole new level.  Whether you like it or not, this new concept is going to take personal information provided on Facebook and use it to generate a world of connectedness between the consumers and brands.  So how do you feel about this move to the “like” button?  Have you noticed significant changes?  Where do you think it will take social media next?

Small business owners are integral to the economic recovery of our country. Over 75% of all private sector jobs are at companies with fewer than 500 employees. While small business owners have unique challenges when it comes to marketing and promoting their products and services, social marketing is the simplest and most effective way to engage customers.

Although, despite consumers flocking online by the millions, a substantial number of small businesses have yet to fully embrace the opportunities that social media presents to them, citing confusion over measurable return on investment and fear of negative feedback. It is because of these very real fears that it’s crucial to have a well executed social marketing campaign and to work with a marketing firm you can trust.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective to-market strategies is to work with a firm that offers social media packages; essentially a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account, and some content, all for a set price. Packages are a great first step for businesses because they contain the guidance and expertise that a marketing company offers for a reasonable fee, and are a turnkey process. Once a business establishes a social presence, it becomes much more clear to a business owner why it is very important to be highly visible on the social internet.

A good social media strategy contains two key elements:

A blog. Build a blog using WordPress. Blogging is absolutely necessary in your social strategy, and WordPress is the industry leading software platform to do it with.  If you can’t write, find someone that can.  If you can’t find anyone, get copywriting help from a trusted marketing firm.  You should post relevant articles, video, imagery, and responses to your blog at least 2-3 times per week, but once a week is an absolute minimum.

A Social Media Presence. You need accounts at (at least) the two major social networks, Twitter and Facebook, although a LinkedIn account wouldn’t hurt either.  Once you establish your social presence, you should be able to connect with your customers and add some sort of value to their lives. Even if it’s as simple as telling someone ‘happy birthday’, chances are that a person that has had positive interaction with your brand will more likely become a customer than a person who hasn’t ever heard of you. Wanna hear something really crazy? It is likely that there are already people talking about your brand online right now! And as traditional media becomes less effective in connecting with, and engaging, customers, it makes sense for funds to be redirected into social media and, importantly, having control of your brands social media ecosystem and the ability to track, measure, and respond to it.

Social Media Marketing can be confusing and, at times, downright scary! It is really easy to randomly toss some content on Facebook and think that it will cause a flurry of activity, but that is not the case. A well planned social media campaign starts with a sound foundation. Social media marketing packages, under the guidance of an experienced marketing firm, are a great way to enter the digital marketing realm without the risk of spending too much money or alienating your would-be followers.

FFWD Brands provides starter and advanced social media marketing packages, as well as tailor-made marketing solutions, for a wide variety of industries. Give us a call today @ 877-339-3123

Google Buzz has been portrayed as a misfit in the realm of social sharing, and for good reason, all of the major social networks have allowed users to share links and media for years.

What makes Google Buzz
a noteworthy tool for social marketers is it’s ability to penetrate directly into one’s Gmail inbox. Buzz exists inside of Gmail, for now, and that is both great and terrible for the social marketer.

On one hand, the ability to instantly reach people inside their in-boxes (and not as an email, but as a whole new notification) will work wonders to lower bounce-backs, unread messages, and other elements of email marketing where a user has to open an email message before they can see it’s contents. That is where the beauty of buzz shines through, it’s a tweet, essentially, that comes to your inbox, whether you care enough about a brand to read it or not, you have to read it, it’s right in front of you!

On the other hand, a user is much more likely to totally hate your brand if you barrage them with messages or promotions and continuously offer low value buzzes (is that the plural of buzz?) It is a much more personal vehicle for communication then say twitter. On Twitter, you have to choose to read your timeline, whereas with buzz, every time one gets a new email, one also sees new buzzes.

Google Buzz is optimized for the mobile web, with iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and WAP versions available now. Geotagging isn’t new, but coupled with the visibility of buzzes, business could offer location-based promotions, as well as other geomarketing techniques, effortlessly.

Google Buzz is also free, which is very attractive if only for the simple fact that email isn’t. Email is also highly regulated and often cumbersome. Don’t get me wrong, email marketing is here to stay, but so is social marketing.

When brands find the sweet spot between email and buzz, they have a winning strategy that cuts costs, increases ROI, and engages audiences efficiently. Google Buzz is quickly becoming a part of every business’s social marketing strategy.

Want to market your business on Google Buzz? Contact FFWDBrands today.

Follow Mike Damian on twitter: @appleuzer

More and more companies are starting to realize Twitter’s full potential. Here are a few effective examples of connecting with your audience and creating a return on engagement through the use of two-way communications on twitter.

1. Share Your Expertise To Create Credibility And Position Your Brand As A Figurehead

When twitter first gained mainstream popularity, there were only a handful of people on the network (hell it didn’t even have any vowels at that point, it was called twttr). Early adopters, like Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) and Gary Vaynerchuck (@garyvee), figureheads in their respective industries, became twitter celebrities seemingly overnight. Thru the use of re-tweets, highlighting other experts tweets, and various other forms of engagement, they have built a large, targeted, passionate twitter base that exponentially propels their brands every time they tweet.

2. Identify And Engage Leads In Friendly Ways

Any small business owner can tell you that the quickest way to lose a prospective client is to strong-arm him/her into a sale. The same holds true online. Twitter is a conversation platform, not a direct marketing vehicle. It is much more effective to follow and engage in conversation and let sales happen organically then to shove hard sells down someone’s throat. Auto DM’s are a great way to annoy your followers too, so make sure that all communication between your brand and your followers is friendly, informative, and adds value to their life.

3. 100% Transparency

Re-tweet every bit of praise, but also re-tweet complaints. Twitter users, including social media users in general, tend to be more educated and outspoken than the traditional customer. It is in your brands best interest to honestly and openly discuss complaints, as well as resolutions, out loud. By accepting customer complaints in the open, other consumers can see what kind of company you really are. Twitter allows you to respond quickly and turn a bad situation into a great one. Communicate effectively with each of your clients and ask for their honest opinion. Make your goals public to compel you to reach them.

4. Interact With Your Competition

Twitter is a public platform. This allows you to effortlessly read about your competitors successes, complaints, mistakes, and philosophy. You can also follow experts, leaders, politicians, and other figureheads on twitter and gain a much better understanding of your industries ecosystems.

5. Run Twitter-Only Promotions For Goods And Services

Everybody likes winning something for nothing, and this is especially true online. Incentivize your audience with promotions, contests, and other engaging activities that will not only connect them back to your brand but create the opportunity for word of mouth referrals, which, just like in real life, are the most effective forms of advertising.

Follow Mike Damian on Twitter: @appleuzer

Determine Your Organizational Goals: Align your social media strategy with your organizational goals. Maybe you want to augment membership sales by 15 % each quarter? Boost ticket sales by 30 %? Increase online donations by 20 %? Your goals should be specific and provide measurable metrics.

Create a Buyer Persona: Author David Scott Merman recommends that nonprofits build a buyer persona profile for each group they’ll target.  A buyer persona is short biography of a typical donor. It includes information on the donor’s background, daily activities, media preferences, and solutions to their problems. The buyer persona will help you make informed decisions regarding content and how to effectively deliver your message.

Think Like a Publisher: Now you need to start thinking like a publisher. Publishers create content with their audience in mind. This is not the time or the place to drone on about your mission or vision. This is an opportunity to create authentic content that resonates with your audience.

Create an Editorial Team and Calendar: Organize a team to brainstorm content ideas. Remember, there are no right and wrong answers in a brainstorm. Don’t let the realities of budgeting or staffing hold you back. You can deal with realities later. Think blogs, video, podcasts, email newsletters, white papers, etc. While you may connect with a portion of your target audience on your blog, you may be missing an opportunity to connect with those who hate blogs but love video. Different strokes for different folks.

Appoint a Social Media Czar: In order for your campaign to succeed, appoint someone (not an intern) to manage the campaign. The czar should activate and enable the entire organization to take part in the social media campaign. Everyone has something valuable to add. Your czar should commit to becoming a permanent learner as the field of social media continually evolves introducing new technology and platforms.

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