Social Media is like teen sex.
Everyone wants to do it.
Nobody knows how.
When it's finally done,
there is surprise it's not better.
Tweeted by
Avinish Kaushik
Analytics Evangelist, Google
Check out the array of communications
services we offer at www.annesweeneypr.com
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GET SOCIAL!
Let us make the Social Media introductions!
Anne Sweeney Public
Relations can set up your
Facebook or Twitter pages.
We'll create great copy and graphics, and provide news and information that wins fans and followers,and drives sales.
Some of the Facebook
sites we've created for our clients:
 British Antique Dealers'Association FairBritain's premier national antiques fair, held in London from March 17-23.
www.bada-antiques-fair.co.ukOrientations Enchantments from the East Silk and silver from Southeast Asiawww.orientationsinstyle.com. World Wings International, Inc.  The philanthropic organization of former Pan Am flight attendants.www.worldwingsinternational.org.Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center 
A Four Diamond Hotel & Conference Center, just outside of Richmond, Virginia.
www.wyndhamvirginiacrossings.com
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Address Your
Group
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Anne Sweeney is available for speaking engagements to groups and for individual consultation on effective business communications.
Some of the  we're into....
-Living In Spin
Media Interview Skills
-Worst Case Scenario
Crisis Management
-The Inn Thing
PR for Hoteliers
-The Doctor Is In
Marketing Your Medical
Practice
- Where the Silk Road Stopped
The Cambodian Silk Industry After Pol Pot
We also offer
The Write Stuff, a seminar in better business writing that can be geared to individuals or groups of employees.
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Call 732-329-6629
or e-mail Anne at
[email protected]
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is published by
Anne Sweeney
Public Relations
3261 Cypress Court
Monmouth Junction
NJ 08852
For media information contact ASPR at
tel
732-329-6629
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SPECIAL SOCIAL MEDIA EDITION
February, 2010
Love It or Loathe It -
Social Media Is Here to Stay
On January 13, 2010, any thoughts that texting and Social Media are passing fads, suitable only for tekkies and teenagers, were put to rest. That was the day that a company called mGive raised 1.2 million for Haiti Earthquake relief in a 24-hour period. All donors had to do was punch in a code on their cell phones and $10 was added to their cell phone bill and sent to the Red Cross. The news was passed via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail.
Social Media is here to stay. It's growing, it's working, it's evolving. Social Media has marketed millions of products, including the current President of the United States. It serves as a debating forum for issues, distributes news, opinion, gossip, music, film and pornography. It reaches people with emergency warnings, movie times and baseball scores. It's launched a billion baby pictures and embarrassed a generation of college kids who woke up with a hangover having posted T and/or A on their Facebook or MySpace pages.
 Even Pope Benedict XVI has a Facebook page with 87,000 fans, although His Holiness seems to have fallen into the trap of failing to keep it updated.
And now, your Facebook business pages appear on GOOGLE search engines, providing infinite opportunities for exposure - good and bad.
Yet there is still huge resistance to Social Media, from people who simply don't want to know about it, hate it, fear it, join it and then never post anything or never post anything remotely interesting or useful. There are people who want to have it for their business but don't know how to use it.
Then there are those who want a Facebook and/or Twitter page - ANY kind of Facebook and Twitter page and they want it NOW, this minute, with no clue as to how to set it up, much less make it an effective marketing tool and a source of information.
The Internet is littered with the remains of these pages that have been left to die of neglect but will float through cyberspace forever, an eternal reproach to your technical and marketing skills.
But by far the biggest misconception is that once your business is on Facebook and/or Twitter, it will do the job your web site should be doing, more easily and cheaply. Social Media cannot take the place of a well-planned and current web site. Social Media has a number of functions but a major one is to drive traffic to your web page. You have very little space to make your point on Facebook - even less on Twitter. You need to provide a link to your web site where the potential customer can find more information. Failure to do that means lost customers and worse, irritated ones.
Getting a Grip on Social Media
Bowing to the inevitable, we  set out to slay the Social Media monster and to learn how to use it effectively. We attended seminars, did research and then set up several Twitter and Facebook pages for ourselves and our clients. We reached out to other PR pros via LinkedIn and got invaluable feedback. We looked at hundreds of Facebook and Twitter pages. We resisted pressure to go live before we were ready. We found that everyone was confused and frustrated and that no one knew it all.
It was time-consuming, frustrating and the road was blocked with countless technical glitches, especially on Twitter. Formats changed, applications reproduced faster than the Octomom, search engines died, posts disappeared and some followers turned out to be porn stars masquerading as political commentators - but then, how could we tell? Customer service is non-existent on Facebook and Twitter - if you can't figure it out from the Help page, you're on your own. Getting a grip on Social Media came to mean getting our hands around the neck of the Twitter bird, causing him to tweet his last.
Did we become experts? No. There is so much to Social Media, so many sites and so many changes and challenges - we've barely scratched the surface. But we learned a lot and produced some Facebook and Twitter pages that are drawing fans and followers and presenting our clients in a positive, professional way. We are keeping those fans and followers by providing useful, interesting information that they can use. We are providing links to clients' web sites and to related travel, business, restaurant and retail sites. On our pages you'll find links to news stories, state tourism offices, chambers of commerce, food and wine sites, antiques experts, business publications, bridal sites, and other related Facebook and Twitter pages.
Every day we get new ideas and see new possibilities for Social Media. And every day, we find some kind of glitch or some aspect of Social Media to be wary of. There's lots to learn, and lots to share.
 You'll find us on Facebook under Anne Sweeney Public Relations. For regular news of our travel, retail, restaurant and business accounts, become a fan!
 Follow us on Twitter - AnneSweeneyPR.
 We're on the web at
www.annesweeneypr.com
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WHAT WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR -
And this just covers Facebook and Twitter....
Facebook and Twitter do not replace your web site. They support it. Social media posts are teasers - meant to drive the reader to your web site for more information and, we hope, make a purchase. If the site isn't updated, and/or the link does not go to the specific page covering the product or event you are promoting, the prospective customer will be off to another site.
 Provide useful information. Your pages should include current information your customers can use. For example, If you are promoting a destination, hotel, etc. post a link to the local airport's web site during the holidays so guests can learn about check in times, delays, new regulations, parking, etc.
Promote discussion.It's called Social Media because it's a conversation. Encourage fans to post comments and questions - it's a great way to take the pulse of your market.
 But don't promote your products too aggressively. Putting every product you sell on your Facebook page is a common mistake. It takes time to build an audience and your credibility. Which brings us to our next point...
Be Patient. Don't let the inevitable frustrations of Social Media deter you. Learn all you can, post consistently, monitor your page and keep your web site current.
Use good photos. The photo album feature on Facebook lets you use 200 photos per album. You can set these photos up for readers to view and to upload to illustrate your posts. Be sure they are captioned correctly.
Below, clockwise: Boardroom at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center, antique jewelery at the BADA Antiques & Fine Art Fair, 1950s ad for Pan Am's new Rainbow Service - we never called it "Coach."
 
 Use a Profile Picture. Those creepy silhouettes send a negative message - you can't be bothered, you're hiding something, you don't take this media seriously. For personal accounts you can have fun with old photos, caricatures, pictures of your pets. Some people change their photos regularly. For a business page or for LinkedIn, the professional networking site, we recommend a professional headshot.
Brevity is the soul of Social Media. Keep it simple. casual and concise.
Cross post. You can link your Facebook page with your Twitter page - no need to post a message twice.
 Provide Facebook and Twitter buttons on your web site to link with your pages. Link your posts to your web site wherever appropriate and be sure that the information is current.
Monitor and update your pages at least once a week. Fans or followers may post questions or comments and this is an opportunity to reinforce your marketing message, answer questions and most important, learn what your customers are thinking.
Be There or Beware. Some business owners, managers, and officers in organizations don't support their own Social Media pages. They don't even look at them, much less become fans or followers. This is part of your business strategy and it deserves your attention.
Don't Diss-dain Social Media.
Understandably, people worry about their privacy, lack of technical skills and the fact that Social Media can be a huge time suck. You may have started a Facebook or Twitter account and been put off by poking, retweeting, dumb quizzes and inane or insane posts from people you don't know or wish you didn't. But some people get very defensive, even hostile on this subject. Being involved in Social Media is a choice but it doesn't pay to alienate others with negative comments or logos that say something like "No, I'm Not on #@*& Facebook!"
Choose your page administrator carefully.The task of creating and maintaining a social media page is too often given to the unwilling or the unqualified. This is the image of your business and it should not be entrusted to someone who doesn't understand that business or how Social Media marketing works. Be sure you know how to get into your pages to make changes. Hell hath no fury like a disgruntled employee with your Facebook password.
 Teach your children well. We assume that most readers of Spin are past the point of posting compromising photos or using obscene language on Social Media. Your teenage kids may not be. Impress upon them that while life is short, the Internet is forever. That racy picture can be downloaded and distributed by somebody ten time zones away or discovered by a prospective employer or college admissions officer.
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