Notes on my social networking strategy

I use a handful of social networks for different purposes. In many cases, I know people on more than one network. I will accept a “friend” invitation on any network with very few exceptions. When I can spot a spammer, a get-rich-quick scheme, or inappropriate content like racism or sexism, I’ll decline and occasionally block (depending on the network).

LinkedIn is the serious social network (and some would debate that it isn’t a full blown social network) for business networking and career development. It is  the most difficult place to add new connections, and the least dynamic and engaging of any of the networks I use. I have made some useful connections there, and find it useful enough to maintain, but it’s not a destination for me.

Facebook is awesome for communicating with people I know from “the real world,” like current and former co-workers, and people who attended the same high school or university. Facebook also acts as an extended bio/profile to Twitter. I often add someone on Facebook that I met on Twitter so that I can learn a little more about them.

Twitter gives me the most utility. I call it the Automat of the Internet. I have also heard it called a “pointer site,” meaning that so much of its value comes from links to outside content. (It has to with a 140-character limit). I use it as a social network; chat; IM; an intelligent, moderated news feed; and a career and business development site.

If I have a “strategy,” it’s to connect with interesting people, sometimes of similar interests, but it’s also personally rewarding to get to know people I would never have the opportunity and privilege of meeting anywhere else. Twitter, with its simplicity and openness, is the best place for this. A perfect example is Bing Futch, a mountain dulcimer player and collector of folk instruments, who I met through Twitter. Here’s a bit from Bing’s bio:

“He began playing Appalachian mountain dulcimer at Knott’s Berry Farm theme park in 1985, working at a Ghost Town shop for Bud & Donna Ford. In 1986, Futch founded Christian techno-punk band Crazed Bunnyz, a trio that grew popular in the international underground college radio scene.”

How cool is that?

Like most people, my social networking habits are driven by my perceptions of the etiquette and purpose of a particular network; my objectives; and who I am talking to. I won’t go off on a rant here about “the correct way” to use a social network because these discussions are too limiting and too bombastic. The correct way, as long as you don’t seriously offend too many people and/or break the law or violate the network’s Terms of Service (TOS), is whatever way works for you. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a self-appointed (and probably incompetent) expert.

Beyond the big three, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, my social network use starts to fall off. I really like Goodreads for finding out what people are reading, and I had a lengthy romance with Blip.fm, but we’re not seeing each other right now. I’m also on Plaxo because friends invited me. I’m on about 20 microblogging/lifestreaming whatever you want to call them services like Iminta, Onaswarm, Plurk, Fire Eagle, Brightkite, etc., because I wrote a client brief on these services and joined every one I could find when I was doing the research.

I occasionally post links on Twitter asking people to add me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Goodreads. I’ve probably been unfollowed for doing this but that’s OK. I first got the idea from Rajan G. Ramchandani, who posted the update “May I invite you to befriend me?” with a link to his Facebook profile. I thought this was the classiest, kindest request, and while I could never match it, I can aspire to do so.

Which brings me to the social networking full court press (SNFCP), the title of this post. The SNFCP is a strategy wherein someone adds someone on one social network, and then several others, all in rapid succession. Since I invented the name, I can invent the rules. In order to be a certified SNFCP, it must involve at least two additional invites in a 24-hour period. I have been on the receiving end of this strategy and I don’t mind it at all. I have also used it with certain people I felt I might be getting to know well. For me, it usually starts with a connection on Twitter with invites to Facebook and LinkedIn. I have only had it backfire once, when someone added me on Twitter and I added them on Facebook, only to be rebuffed with a Twitter direct message: “I appreciate your invite but I keep my Twitter and my Facebook separate.” I can respect that.

Your strategy, if you have one, could be very different from mine. Mine is organic, meaning it just formed itself as I used social networks, rather than being something I planned. This is the first time I tried to define it and doing so isn’t easy (and maybe isn’t necessary.)

When you get a moment, links to all my social networks are on my blog sidebar. Click freely!

So what’s your strategy, or do you think it’s better not to have one?

Tags: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Blip.fm, Plaxo, microblogging, lifestreaming, Iminta, Onaswarm, Plurk, Fire Eagle, Brightkite

I’ve been trying to get a handle on the demographics for Facebook and MySpace to help a client decide which best fits his target audience. This has not been easy.

This chart from iStrategyLabs, was published October 22, 2007, and, according to the company, comes directly from Facebook Ads.

This chart indicates that the largest demographic is 18 to 24 with nearly 62%, and the 35+ segment commands less than 5% or less than 1 million users. (I believe the three categories at the bottom of the chart are supposed to read “Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll.”)

The following chart from comScore indicates the largest Facebook segment is 35+, with 10,412 million “visitors.”

While the chart is for May 2007, it is the most recent I can find on their site for this particular statistic.

The difference between the two charts may be terminology, but I’m not sure that can account for the disparity. The comScore chart says “visitors,” which could mean multiple visits by the same member, whereas iStrategy/Facebook says “users” which sounds like registered users. Also, the iStrategy chart is U.S. only and the comScore appears to be worldwide.

I contacted Facebook and asked them to explain the difference, and they responded “As you select your targeting criteria for your ads, we will display the approximate number of users that your targeting encompasses. Please keep in mind that this estimate is not exact and that your ad may not be shown to every one of these users depending on what other ads are available to show.”

I have yet to try this, but will be curious to see how it tracks to either of these sets of figures.

Tags: Facebook, iStrategy Labs, Facebook Ads, comScore, demographics

Based on my observations of dozens of large companies who have ventured out onto Twitter in one way or another, here are my seven rules for establishing a corporate presence on Twitter. These seven rules will help a company start off on the right foot and gain credibility and consumer loyalty on Twitter.

On social networks in general, and on Twitter in particular, it’s sometimes difficult to tell who is an authorized company representative and who has just snagged a cool Twitter ID and Photoshopped a convincing Twitter background graphic.

Trust is the currency of social media. Without it, social media is worthless as a tool with which to engage customers. You may have read recently that ExxonMobilCorp on Twitter, turned out not to be an authorized representative of the company. (Jeremiah Owyang broke the story.) This is not the first revelation of Twitter identity theft, and Twitter, while having a clause in its terms of service protecting companies against people who co-opt their name and brand, does not actively police this unless approached by a company with a complaint.

These “rules” are intended to guide the legitimate company in building trust with consumers, and that includes assuring them that they are dealing with an authorized company representative. The world of social media is so new to most consumers, that companies are obligated to give them a little extra help in making these kinds of judgments.

1) Create a Twitter profile that helps people verify your legitimacy

Dozens of purported celebrities and companies on Twitter have turned out to be bogus. Link your Twitter profile to your company web site to give consumers a place to go if they have questions. Use your company logo as your “avatar” (profile picture), and use it in the background for your Twitter home page.

2) Let consumers know who they are talking to

Explain why you are on Twitter and who is responsible for your company’s presence there. Consumers want to talk to a “real person,” and not a bot. Harpers Magazine does a masterful job of this, especially given the limited number of characters available in a Twitter profile:

Comcast also does a fantastic job here. Other companies use their company name in the Twitter handle, such as jetBlue and Popeyes Chicken, but do not identify who is responsible for the account. In the case of jetBlue, it’s Morgan Johnston of jetBlue corporate communications and his staff. Popeyes Chicken on the other hand, identifies its Twitter spokesperson only as an employee in his mid-40s in the company’s IT organization. This information is not disclosed in either Twitter profile. I contacted each organization and asked who staffed their account.

3) Empower your Twitter representative to make a difference

There are many different models by which a company can engage with consumers on Twitter. Principally, these rules apply to companies that create Twitter accounts that are intended to serve in an almost traditional way as a vehicle for one or more company spokespeople. Companies that follow this model include jetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Popeyes Chicken and Comcast.

Comcast is a great example of a company representative who is empowered to help consumers. Comcast’s Twitter account is managed by Frank Eliason, Comcast’s congenial, helpful digital care manager. He actually gives technical support and advice via Twitter, and can dispatch technicians to help consumers. I’ve tweeted with him occasionally and he has a very pleasant personality and a good sense of humor. (Comcast has received national attention for its presence on Twitter.)

Another strategy for corporate spokespeople on Twitter is what could be called the “executive microblog.” When I started writing this set of “rules,” I wasn’t thinking about this type of corporate presence on Twitter, but it is worth mentioning.

Many senior executives use Twitter to chat with consumers, share their thinking, and answer general questions about the company’s strategy. They may be acting as spokespeople for the company or as individuals. It is difficult to tell sometimes.

For example, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, and Loic Lemeur of Seesmic, have Twitter accounts. Tony uses overt Zappos branding and clearly identifies himself as CEO of the company, while Loic does not identify himself as CEO of Seesmic, and links to his personal blog. Seesmic does have several corporate Twitter accounts with Seesmic branding. I do not know Loic, but these choices indicate to me that he chooses to be Loic Lemeur on Twitter and not a fulltime spokesperson for Seesmic. This is not a criticism of Loic or Seesmic, just an observation.

Obviously, CEOs are empowered on Twitter. Tony has launched several Zappos promotions form his Twitter account, giving away prizes like trips to Las Vegas.

4) Protect consumer information

This is a relatively new concern as companies like Comcast provide actual customer support on Twitter. Company spokespeople on Twitter should insist that consumers do not publicly share private information, and use more secure methods of transmitting personal data, like phone numbers and account numbers, for the purpose of customer support.

I mentioned previously that Frank Eliason does a great job with Comcast’s Twitter account, and he is very consistent in suggesting that consumers send him private information by direct message (private Twitter messaging), so that this information is not exposed in the Twitter public timeline. It’s a small thing, but it’s smart.

I am sure additional privacy issues will come up as more businesses see Twitter as a serious customer support tool.

5) Include your social media affiliations on your corporate web site news page

I think every company that uses Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media/social networks for corporate communications of any kind should include a list of company social media affiliations on the news page of the company web site. This would allow consumers, journalists and bloggers to quickly verify whether they are talking to an official company spokesperson.

6) Be human, and have a sense of humor

I’ve enjoyed chatting with company spokespeople on Twitter. Popeyes Chicken and Comcast have both been fun to talk to. I had a lengthy and fascinating email conversation with Morgan from jetBlue (he knows social media), and exchanged direct messages with Tony from Zappos when a competitor charged the company with misappropriating some store photos. Popeyes Chicken made some great “nuggets” jokes (come on, you know what I mean), but tapered off on that. In every case, being able to talk to a real person, even a few characters at a time, “softened” the company and made me feel both sympathy and appreciation.

7) Turn control over to “regular” employees

One thing I’ve found interesting is that non-management, frontline customer service/customer relations folks generally aren’t representing companies on Twitter, nor are rank and file media relations staff. Some companies, like Dell, do have a visible presence of non-management people on Twitter, and Comcast is using real support people, but these are the exceptions. It’s early days still, and it seems most companies are being cautious and having more senior people handle their company’s Twitter account. Ultimately, it would be nice to see customer relations and media relations people staffing these corporate accounts on Twitter. It will prove Twitter’s viability as a legitimate way to engage with customers, and it makes more sense from a business standpoint.

And I’m not by any means advocating the corporatization of social media. There are many ways to use any form of social media, and on Twitter, some of the most powerful voices are those of executives like Tony Hsieh and Loic Lemeur. But there is also room for day-to-day business applications of Twitter, and these will need to be managed affordably and at the right level in the organization.

I’m sure there are plenty of things I’ve missed in regards to establishing a corporate presence on Twitter. These seven rules are the ones I feel most strongly about, so I hope you find them useful, and if you have other suggestions, please let me know!

Tags: Comcast, comcastcares, loic lemeur, tony hsieh, zappos, seesmic, twitter, southwest, airlines, Exxon Mobil, exxonmobilcorp, harpers magazine, paul ford, popeyes chicken, morgan Johnston, jetblue, frank eliason

On the table in my doctor’s office were just two magazines, Sports Illustrated, and Country Living. I have almost zero interest in sports, but for a brief moment I wondered what the doctor might think if he came into the room and found me reading about antique garden urns.

This is the quandary faced every day by social networkers as they create and manage their online profiles and list their favorite books. I don’t know that it’s possible to approach these activities in a way that reflects who you really are. Many of us certainly must ask ourselves: What kind of impression will I make with these choices? How will people evaluate me?

Thirty years ago encyclopedias were popular. You could put 15 leather bound volumes in an oak bookcase and impress your friends with how important education is in your home. Back then we would have called this “putting on airs.” Today it is called “building your own personal brand.”

I got to thinking about this yesterday as I participated in some interesting Twitter conversations speculating on whether you could actually learn anything from what books a person had on their online bookshelf on Facebook’s Visual Bookshelf, Good Reads, BooksIRead, and so on.

What’s on your bookshelf? Are there books there that you didn’t actually read, or that you didn’t like? I admit that I am a book snob in general, and my bookshelf reflects this, but it’s not online artifice because it is a reflection of what I actually do read.

Tags: iread, good reads, online bookshelf, facebook

In the past week I have become aware of a number of, how do I describe them, unusual Web 2.0 services/sites.

The first is ZobZee, an amazing new service that skips APIs, keyboards, SMS, RSS, and even the USPS to allow users to directly connect their sizable intellects with their social networks.

This evening, the irrepressible Stephen Streight pointed me to two more entries in the race to be the ultimate Web 2.0 destination, The dullest blog in the world, and Zombo, where “everything is possible.”

I hope you’ll take a look at these revolutionary new entries into the world of Web 2.0 innovation. It’s good to know that the “industry,” or whatever the heck we are, has a sense of humor because many of us take ourselves WAY too seriously.

Update: Morton Fox let me know about the mother of all aggregators, FriendFeedFeed.

If you know of other sites/services with a similar value proposition, please add leave a comment and add them below.

Tags: Zombo, ZobZee, dullest blog in the world