Kamigo Marketing - Social Media and Networking

Facebook Network versus Groups: What's the Difference?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:12:00 -0400

"What's the difference between a network and a group on Facebook?" This is a question that I have been asked often at introductory training workshops. The confusion is understandable because both allow you to connect to people. Groups were once utilized as a place to create a business, brand or product page. Once Facebook launched the Pages product; an advertising strategy that is experiencing some decent success, groups have taken a back seat in the business category. A network is a group of people that could currently work together attends school together or live near each other or could have done any of these in the past. When you join a network you get access to the Facebook profiles of the network's members and access to the groups, events and listings within that network. All this, of course, depends on the level of privacy of the members, but for the most part you have all access. A group may be within that network to connect people that may have common interests. If you participate in a group you can comment on the discussion board, write on the group's wall or invite friend to join the group. Groups can by closed requiring the administrator's approval to join or can even be an invite only group. You could think of it as a private club within the network. For example, if you were part of your College alumni network and within that network was a fraternity group which you were a brother of that group could allow only members of the fraternity to be part of the group. The network is the whole apple while the group could be just a seed inside the apple. How have you used networks or groups? Have you created your own group?

A Useful Tool - Twitter Advanced Search

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:48:00 -0400

I finally spent a little time today researching the ability of Twitter Advanced Search tool to find information on a variety of topics. The tool is useful to find information about what is currently being discussed. This is useful when trying to find real-time information about a specific topic or event. The other aspects I like with the way the tool works is if I want to find information from a specific Twitter user from a user within a radius of a certain location I can search that way. For example, I want to find out Twitter users within 500 miles from my location are saying about Social Media conferences. I simply put in the specifics within each criteria for the Boolean search and within less than 7 seconds I can quickly scan what is being talked about and from whom and click on the links for more details. It is definitely a useful tool for your business and your personal life. Give it a try if you haven't yet. If you have, share with my other readers how you have used the tool.

Don't Get Hung Up on Twitter

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:05:00 -0400

Check out this report titled "An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World" developed by the folks at Sysomos Inc. I found the data on the followers interesting. If your one that gets hung up on not having 20,000 followers, don't worry. And if you think you need to Tweet all the time...you don't. This report shows that Twitter is young in its usage versus its adoption rate. What do you think?

A Matter of Managing and Balancing Time

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:10:00 -0400

It is a matter of managing and balancing time. Yesterday, I was at the New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility Spring Conference in Concord, New Hampshire and during a lunch breakout session I participated in the discussion of Social Networking and more specifically on-line social networking. A common concern among the 9 of us was the potential for the time drain on already tapped resources. I certainly can relate to this concern and at times find myself overwhelmed with this form of networking on top of everything else. The discussion got me to thinking about the time drain and my analytical thinking mind decided to run a little analysis. The three tools of social networking that were discussed around the table were Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook as the most common tools used in the group. I don't recall anyone at the table using all three tools. As most of you know, I currently utilize Linkedin and Twitter and I'm growing my network truly organically rather than with genetically modified sources. I looked at the last 5 months of my traditional networking (conferences, events and meetings) activities and compared them with my social networking time. I went through my calendar and determined the number of traditional networking opportunities I have gone to year to date. I estimated how many total people were at each of those events based on my memory and how many one-on-one conversations I had at the events. I calculated my total time and assigned a dollar value of this time, including travel and event costs. Estimated Total People = 1250 Estimate Total Conversations = 218 Total Costs = $6,760 Based on these estimates it means that each one-on-one conversation I had cost me about $31 per conversation. In my opinion, an excellent value and opportunity to meet great people. Next, I looked at my Twitter and Linkedin profiles and my organically growing network and the estimated time I spent each week networking on in these avenues. Estimated Total People = 518,687 Estimate Total Conversations = 198 Total Costs = $9375 Based on these estimates it means that each on-line conversation I had cost me about $47 per conversation. Again, I think an excellent value and opportunity to connect with great people. I have to admit, I was actually surprised at the results because I thought the on-line tools would reap much more of a lower cost. All of my traditional networking to date has been local so that is one reason for the lower cost. I would not give up either ways to network because each adds value in different ways. The on-line has given me the opportunity to connect with people I would not have met before. The traditional way of networking is how I have grown some of my best on-line connections first. Both include learning opportunities just in different mediums. We are social beings to begin with and that will not change. For business both are necessary and one form will not replace the other. Like everything else it is a matter of managing and balancing time. Thanks for reading

What Does a Cop, a Camera and a Power Line Have in Common?

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:02:00 -0400
What does a cop, a camera and a power line have in common? Answer: Twitter I just returned from the second social media breakfast NH (#SMBNH) event that Leslie Poston (@geechee_girl) of Uptown Uncorked has organized. The meeting was held at Rick's Pond View Restaurant in Kingston which is owned by Rick Korn. Presenters for this meeting offered us a glimpse into how their organizations are using Social Media and especially Twitter to communicate to their customers. John Daley of the Boston Police Department (@Boston_Police) informed the group how social media has enabled the department to swiftly let their followers know of road closings, how it has enabled followers to let them know of emergency situations and how using text messaging has helped the police with investigations into possible public safety situations. John shared his future vision for using Twitter with some type of integration with 9-1-1. Of course, this is pending both technological and legal aspects that need to be resolved. He foresees using Twitter as an early warning system. Much media and many, many blogs have told the story about PSNH's use of Twitter during the December 2008 power outage crisis in NH. Martin Murray, the spokesperson for PSNH (@psnh), shared how his followers skyrocketed during the outage. PSNH reported outage status on Twitter live and found it a much more valuable tool than the previous process of uploading a PDF on their website. After a follower suggested to Murray that PSNH share the outage information in simple text format on their website the suggestion was adopted. Martin shared his vision to move this social media tool into the Customer Service team as another means of communicating power outages. This way the customer can either call in to report an outage or send a tweet and visa-versa allowing PSNH to notify customers using multiple media mechanisms. Daly and Murray made an interesting comment that they entered the Twitter world without a strategy. It may not have been written down, but they certainly did have one in mind - to reach out and communicate to their customers. The third presentation was by Bill Rogers (@BaldGuyClimate) and Melissa Paly of Now or Never Media. Bill and Melissa are capturing regional stories of businesses and people who are working on solutions to climate change. They capture the stories using both professional and iphone cameras then upload the videos on the website for viewers to enjoy and learn. The next SMBNH will be in Manchester and the topic will be Education. Hope to see you there, in the mean time catch me on Twitter. Thanks for reading

Facebook for Business?

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:36:00 -0400
I am often asked why I don't use Facebook for my business. I have several reasons everything from their original application use to their terms of service. Recently, Anita Campbell wrote an interesting article that I suggest you take a minute to read, especially if you are using Facebook for promoting your business. Read it here. Let me know your thoughts about being a Digital Sharecropper.

Twitter is Evolving

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:06:00 -0400
I have mentioned before in past entries that I think Linkedin and Twitter are the two most critical social networking sites for businesses and business people today. LinkedIn's niche is for business people, therefore, it is a much greater targeted site than Facebook for meeting other people in your field or industry or target market. Twitter started as a way to quickly catch up and tell friends what is going on in your life, but it has evolved beyond that as a way for people and businesses to expand their brand. I think we are just starting to see the real beginning of Twitter and this will become the solution of choice for communication and networking with people IF the folks at Twitter start an expansion of applications, features and robust security. Tomorrow I'll be speaking at the Women's Business Center Breakfast Table on this subject and more.

Timber Frame Celebration and Twitter

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:39:00 -0400
My friend is having a barn/yoga studio built at her home and invited friends and family to celebrate in a centuries old tradition among timber frame house carpenters to celebrate the finishing of the timer frame of a new barn, house or studio. The completion of the frame is signified by the ridge pole being slid into place. Then a small evergreen tree is joyfully affixed to the gable end at the top of the rafters and the air is filled with music. The ceremony is an honoring of the tree beings whose sacrifice made the building possible. It is also a celebration of gratitude that no lives were lost in the framing process and for cleansing the space and blessing the new building. The celebration is taking place today and I am unable to make it, but she forwarded a picture to me with her smiling timber frame carpenters Josh, Michael and Cliff. When I looked at the picture of the beams all connected and thought about the hard work and how I watched the building process evolve I couldn't help but think about my process evolving on Twitter. I know, sometimes my warped mind is too business focused. I thought I would share the picture with you and took some liberties with the picture to list seven reasons why a business person should get on Twitter. 1. Building - You will build relationships with other business people either in or out of your field or industry. 2. New Friends - You will begin to make new friends as you start to make posts and connect with people. 3. Branding - You will find it will help build your personal brand as well as your business brand. 4. Finding - It is a tool for finding new information and news as you read the posts of those you are following. 5. Connecting - This is the core of Twitter in bite sized pieces. 6. Asking - Here is another source of asking questions and getting helpful assistance from people you may not have had access to before. 7. Sharing - I have already found it a great tool for sharing information about my business and me or other news and facts that I think my followers would enjoy. The best way to start if you haven't yet is just to get over to Twitter and sign up then take it in steps and evolve and don't forget to celebrate.

Still Considering LinkedIn

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:00:00 -0400
For those that may still be considering whether LinkedIn is for you, there is interesting demographic information and news about LinkedIn over at TechCrunch.

Do You Need to Join the Conversation? Yes, No or Maybe.

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:29:00 -0400
There are many Social Networking groups. These groups can bog you down and distract your daily plans if you don't manage them properly. I decided after finishing the book Groundswell: winning in a world transformed by social technologies that I would take a look at a few groups. My focus when evaluating them is to determine how they may help you grow your business. But first, a few comments about the book. It is geared to those who work in mid to large companies that may be feeling the need to enter the Social Media world. It has very good case studies and basic steps to move from little to no Social Media to joining the conversation whether it be internally or externally. The strongest point it makes is that Social Media is "about person-to-person" activity, not technology and software. It is valuable if you don't know about social media or are trying to convince yourself or someone you work for that it is a necessity. It is a quick read too. So, here is my snap shot view on three Social Networking groups. Facebook - If your business is a B2C it will help you find out what others are saying about the products or services you have. You can meet people and dialogue with those who may become your customers someday. A word of warning don't join just to start promoting your business - that is not what it is about. MySpace - If your business sells to a younger audience (a high percentage of members) you can use this as a research tool to find out what they are thinking, saying and using. LinkedIn - This is geared to people in the business world. If you are a B2B or a B2C this will allow you to connect to other business people, reconnect with former colleagues, join specific network groups within LinkedIn, ask and answer questions in your field of expertise. Of the three I determined my strategy would be to join LinkedIn and focus my networking time there. Since then I have reconnected with former colleagues, strengthened my networking with people I have met in person and joined specific groups in my field and target market. In further posts I will discuss other Social Networking and Media tools. For now, I am interested in hearing from you what groups you have joined and have they helped you at all? What do you like and dislike about them? How do you manage your time when using them?

The Use of Foul ~~Fowl~~ Language to Capture Attention.

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:13:00 -0400
The use of foul ~~fowl~~ language to capture attention is unoriginal and more... Marta Kagan ~~Kaplan~~ has a good presentation on Social Media, but I don't think it is necessary to use the "F" word. I think it is a crutch. The information in the presentation is valuable, the presentation is clear, and she really seems like she is trying to help people. So, why use the word? To capture individual attention is the only reason I can think it is used in this specific case. And she has captured attention. But, what if she used non violent communication instead. Non violent communication works on the principles of: "Imagine connecting with the human spirit, in each person, in any situation. Imagine interacting with others in a way that allows everyone's needs to be equally valued. Imagine creating organizations and life-serving systems responsive to our needs and the needs of our environment." According to Harvard Professor Dr. Pinker, the use of swears "elicited negative emotions" as Lincoln Kim writes in his blog post. What would the presentation be like if she simply did not use the word? I think the needs of the readers are still met. Go through the presentation and read it with and without the foul ~~fowl~~ word. Do you sense a difference in the way you interpret the information? Finally, would you use foul ~~fowl~~ language in your marketing materials? I would love to hear why or why not. Thanks.

Kamigo Marketing - Social Media and Networking

Facebook Network versus Groups: What's the Difference?

A Useful Tool - Twitter Advanced Search

Don't Get Hung Up on Twitter

A Matter of Managing and Balancing Time

What Does a Cop, a Camera and a Power Line Have in Common?

Facebook for Business?

Twitter is Evolving

Timber Frame Celebration and Twitter

Still Considering LinkedIn

Do You Need to Join the Conversation? Yes, No or Maybe.

The Use of Foul Fowl Language to Capture Attention.