LOL/PR/SOS! Is Social Media Helping or Hurting Your Business?
Don’t you just hate when you make a comment in LinkedIn or Facebook and the author doesn’t bother to respond? Have you noticed how dry and boring it is when you see an article to review but the person posting apparently hasn’t taken the time to read it? What are your pet peeves in social media. Please share so I can use them in our next Communicate BIZ Roundtable in Hampton Roads.
How would you rate your social media?
- Using the company’s key messages to build the brand online
- Being authentic and weaving in the personality of the company
- Using a variety of communications techniques including photos and video
- Building credibility and perception of your company with subject matter experts
- Developing engaging content and strategically creating excitement with questions, games, trivia and more
And…are you making a point to help others in some way?
This month’s Communicate BIZ Roundtable is going to explore how well you are maintaining your brand’s reputation on social media. It’s not only what you do but what you don’t do which has an impact. Find out how you and your company can maximize use of new leads and build relationships with techniques, good content, and much more.
When: Wednesday, February 22nd, 8:15 to 9:45
Location: Towne Bank, 1312 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake
Presenter: Susan Long-Molnar, President of Managing Communications Consulting, a marketing and PR professional with 27 years experience in this market.
Fee: $15 includes continental breakfast (SMPS members, Hampton Roads Chamber members, and AdvantaCoach Marketing Power Lunch Chapter Members are $10) You may pay by check or credit card.
Pre-registration Required: Call Susan Long-Molnar, 757-513-8633
8:15-9:05-Networking and Introductions
9:05-9:20 What is important to fans and contacts? How will they react to what we do and not do? What content will most impact our reputation favorably?
9:20-9:30 Application—group investigation of social media communications
9:30-9:45 Getting company buy-in; Setting social media goals and Q/A
And you will receive…
? Handouts of actionable improvements for your LinkedIn pages
? Tips for how to engage EVERYONE in the success of the strategic plan
? List of attendees and contact information for future relationship building
? 15 minute complimentary phone meeting to analyze one of your pages with you.
Communicate BIZ Roundtable is a monthly seminar series for small business owners and professionals responsible for marketing, PR, sales and internal communications within their companies. We want you in the room if you are responsible for increasing revenue and/or engaging others to bring success to your organization in 2012! Monthly sessions will be facilitated by Susan Long-Molnar, President of Managing Communications Consulting , who will often be partnering with another expert on the topic.
Is Your Marketing Strategic Plan for 2012 Truly Strategic?
So you have a strategic marketing plan. Is it actionable right now? If you are working on your plan, really would like more outside input, and have your business in southeastern Virginia, this session will help you. Susan Long-Molnar, President of Managing Communications Consulting, and guest presenter, Susan Kirkpatrick, copreneur of AdvantaCoach LLC (also the exclusive Independent Business Advisor for Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle for Southeast Virginia) will lead your through information you can use to improve your marketing strategic planning.
When: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 8:15-9:45
Location: Towne Bank, Hilltop, 984 First Colonial Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Fee: $15 includes continental breakfast (SMPS members, Hampton Roads Chamber members, and AdvantaCoach Marketing Power Lunch Chapter Members are $10)
Preregistration Required: Call Susan Long-Molnar, 757-513-8633 or respond to this e-mail.
8:15-9:05-Networking and Introductions
9:05-9:20 Analyzing Your Business Goals and Asking the Right Questions for Growth in Your Organization led by Susan Kirkpatrick
9:20-9:35 Auditing your Strategic Plan for Multi-channel strategies, results, and measurement, and managing progress
9:35-9:45 Additional Q&A overall
And you will receive…
• Samples of strategic marketing plan formats and articles to take for your reference
• Tips for how to engage EVERYONE in the success of the strategic plan
• List of attendees and contact information for future relationship building
• Chance to win a Dan Kennedy book…..
• Complimentary audit of your strategic marketing plan by Managing Communications Consulting with a one hour meeting to review the recommendations
• Free ticket to the AdvantaCoach Marketing Power Lunch
Communicate BIZ Roundtable is a monthly seminar series for small business owners and professionals responsible for marketing, PR, sales and internal communications within their companies. We want you in the room if you are responsible for increasing revenue and/or engaging others to bring success to your organization in 2012! Monthly sessions will be facilitated by Susan Long-Molnar, President of Managing Communications Consulting , who will often be partnering with another expert on the topic.
The Joy of Podcasting
By James Applebach, PR Associate
There are many options for communicating with audiences today. We can keep in contact with customers on websites such as Facebook and Twitter which provide up to the minute updates with the newest thing our brand has to offer and help to develop social relationships. These are quick and easy ways to send and receive information.
However, one thing these tools do not provide is a channel to catch and keep someone’s attention for an extended period of time. We’re always concerned with ‘cutting through the noise’ in the over saturated media market. Rather than being the loudest or the brightest, you can entice your audience to come to you by becoming a source of entertainment.
To do that most effectively follow these guidelines: Be Likeable – Podcasts can be fun, and people want to listen to something that will make them feel good. You will not get listeners if your podcast is too dry, or too heavily focused on a product or service. People respond to good humor and humility.
Also, your host or hosts should be upbeat, funny, authentic, and people who sound like they know what they’re talking about. Production values such as music, good sound quality and a well planned script can also add an air of professionalism to your show. More on this later.
Don’t come on too strong – Mention your company only once or twice during the podcast (perhaps once at the beginning and once at the end). Your podcast shouldn’t be about you, but about your audience. What do they want to know? How can you use your knowledge to fill that niche?
Don’t use jargon – It’s important that your audience knows what you are talking about. If they don’t, they will surely get frustrated and turn you off.
Here is an example of a format a health Insurer could use:
After an audio brand and music interlude, the hosts should introduce the show with a recurring theme, such as the health tip of the day, and proceed with news on a current issue (such as heart disease). The hosts would then provide information to the listener about measures to prevent this issue from affecting their lives by promoting health guides, their website, and any other resources they can offer for further information. The host could then close the show by reminding the listeners of the company sponsored 5k that’s coming up.
This is a brief description of how a podcast might go. In my next blog, I will discuss how to create a podcast and distribute it to the masses.
“Shut-up! No way?! I can’t believe it!”
Filed under: Bits and Tips, Marketing Communications
By Alisa Crider, PR Associate, Managing Communications
Wow! How could a word that used to mean “to stop talking” now mean “Please – tell more!” It’s easy to blame the obvious – the media. Those who have seen the popular American teen comedy film, Mean Girls, are familiar with “the plastics,” the A-list girl clique who are the queen bees of their high school. You might recall Regina (Rachel McAdams) asking Cady (Lindsay Lohan) who had just moved from Africa, “So you’ve actually never been to a real school before? Shut up! Shut up!” Cady responds back in confusion, “I didn’t say anything.” Although this may be a comical exaggeration, this scene is not too far off from today’s high school setting.
Stacy London the fashion expert on What Not to Wear says “Shut-up” all the time in a similar manner. Her use of the word seems to define shock or serve as a substitute to the phrase “Oh my gosh!” My favorite reference however, is in the 2011 Golden Globe winner for Best Comedy, “The Kids are Alright.” Paul (VB native, Mark Ruffalo) plays the birth father and has a tendency to sub “Shut the front door” for a more inappropriate phrase.
On a different note, “Shut Up” is also a song by the American hip hop band The Black Eyed Peas. The 2003 single is on their album Elephunk. It’s basically the battle of the sexes put into song with the chorus consisting of the lines “shut up, just shut up shut up”. In this case, the word is used repeatedly to get a point across. Funny how a word that used to be frowned upon, is now being sung by 12-year-olds on a daily basis.
So when did the connotation of this word shift and become so casual and “fetch”? It’s hard to point fingers at an individual who coined this term; however, I think it is easy to say it was born out of the millennial generation – people born between 1982 and 2000, ages 10 to 28.
There are several characteristics of millennials that contribute to this assumption. First of all, they are the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media. It’s hard to find a person in this age group who doesn’t own an Ipod or have a Facebook account. In fact, many prefer chatting online to talking on the phone. IM-ing (Instant Message) is the preferred communication tool and is where people show off their knowledge of acronyms, like “DEGT”: “don’t even go there,” or “IDTS”: “I don’t think so.” Millennials are technology savvy because they have no real memory of life without computers, cell phones, or digital music.
Typical Millennial tends to be extremely competitive, confident and optimistic. This contradicts the fact that Millennials also appear to be the most stressed-out generation in history. They seem to require constant encouragement to thrive and are not too humble to make this known. Most are social bumble bees and crave attention and recognition. This explains why most teens strive for the A-list and don’t typically fall short. They devour the popular lingo that echoes through the high school halls because everyone knows “Shut-up!” is much sassier than “No way!”
There is a time and a place for everything, and the workplace is not somewhere the word “shut-up” should be used under any context. Some people may feel it depends on the work environment of the business where they are employed. I personally would not use that language with my boss, but I see other people do. Even if the word is not used in its original context, and is instead used by its millennial definition, I still find it unnecessary and inappropriate. It is slang and has no effective use in the workplace.
“Shut-up” is now a word with multiple meanings, and it may take a while for all the generations to understand its new meaning.
Can you believe an entire blog was devoted to such a trivial subject?…Shut-up!
MCC Pro: What does ASAP mean? Are we communicating it effectively to our employees?
by Alisa Crider, PR Associate
ASAP – what does it really mean? According to Dilbert’s comic strip it means “A Stupid Acting Person,” but if you ask the Dr. Seuss’ character Horton, from Horton Hears a Who, it “probably” means “act swiftly, awesome pachyderm.” However, “As Soon As Practical”, “After September, April Possibly” and “As Slow As Possible” are some playful, yet slang, pop culture meanings of the acronym. To the rock and roll fans it is the abbreviation for “Adrian Smith and Project,” a progressive rock band created by guitarist and vocalist Adrian Smith of the English band Iron Maiden. Although that “rocks” for some, I think it’s OK to assume that most people in the business world think the acronym ASAP means “As Soon As Possible.”
Believe it or not, there are hundreds of non-slang definitions for ASAP from various categories including: Information Technology (IT), Military & Government, Science & Medicine, Organizations, Schools, etc., and Business & Finance. For example, to the Navy it means survival – “Advanced Survivability Assessment Program”, which is a naval ship design, but to the Army it means trouble – “Army Substance Abuse Program. It’s the Automated Standard Application for Payment to the US Treasury Department and Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel to NASA. In the UK, it’s the “Association of Social Alarms Providers” and in Slovakia it means “Aeronautical Services and Procedures”.
Most commonly in our business communications, the acronym is used to express the importance of some act. It has higher priority than anything else and will be done in a short period of time. If this act is not done, it typically results in bad consequences that every employee wants to avoid if they like their job.
Besides working for Managing Communications Consulting, I also work at a law firm and as one should know, you can’t mess with the law! I was given an assignment that had to be done ASAP. I had not been working there long and had never been given an assignment with such apparent urgency. A check needed to be signed by the lawyer who wasn’t in the office. After obtaining his signature at a restaurant nearby, I then had a 30-minute drive to the court house to make the crucial deadline. If I drove really fast and didn’t catch any lights, I may have made it to my scheduled dentist appointment. Well, I had to reschedule. It’s funny how priorities can change when you are told something has to be done ASAP. It’s an acronym that brings stress and anxiety to me yet at the same time its exuberating because you know you have an important challenge ahead.
I think ASAP should be used sparingly. When bosses overuse the acronym it tends to lose its urgency. A boss that uses the term sparingly is more likely to get the desired result in a timely fashion.
Anyway, I seem to like the other definitions better. Remember… Always Say A Prayer…or is it Always Stop and Pray?
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