socialmedia-canada.com

Working as an independent contractor has a lot of perks. Especially in a place like Vancouver, BC.
You get to make your own hours which means that you can hit up YYoga at any time during the day or go for a hike with friends in Deep Cove whenever you like. You have easy access to world-class restaurants and galleries and, without having to clock in, you can be sure to avoid the crowds.
But it’s not all workouts and martinis (or craft beer), there’s a lot of stuff that comes with the whole “Independent contractor” moniker that lots of newbies don’t know they don’t know.
First of all, you have to be incredibly organized with your time. If you’re not, you run the risk of disappointing your clients or worse, not making enough money to stay in business.
There are lots of sites on “the google” that will tell you how much to charge for your services but not many that will be upfront about what it really takes to be a successful online marketing professional. So here’s a list to get you started. (this is, by no means, a comprehensive template for starting your own contracting business but rather a couple of tips and things to consider before you do.)

I love being a contractor. I love the freedom it provides and the crazy creativity that comes from being able to step out of a structured environment to think. If you need structure, it may not be for you but if you are the type that thrives on expanding the traditional notions of work, you may just love it.

When Social Media Canada first opened it’s doors in 2010 there were no companies standing in line to sign up for a social media strategy. In fact, most Vancouver, BC companies had very little understanding of social media as a means to promote their brand and build their business.

We set out to inform people that the 500 million users on Facebook could not only be leveraged to improve the bottom line but that there is a unique marketing method required to properly engage in social media and that ignoring it will lead to failure.

Over the last 18 months we’ve had many clients. We’ve had real estate agents, health care clinics, retail stores and online retail operations and most arrived knowing a lot about traditional marketing and little about social media marketing.

Slowly the trend toward authenticity and social responsibility is growing among companies who do business online. Those organizations who are finding success (defined in which ever way you would like to define it) have quickly learned that building relationships based on trust and a true desire to provide visitors to the site with value, is the cornerstone to a good online presence.

Throughout this website you’ll find many articles on the necessity to engage the C-level execs in any online campaign. The best way to convince them they need to be involved is to explain that if they are not able to adequately champion their own company, who else can? Only a CEO who hates what he does is incapable to saying why he does it.

This is going to be a short post. Social Media Canada has moved to a new level in the social media strategic planning game and, as such, we’re not able to publish as much great content.

That said, you won’t find any re-printed articles on this site (unless they’re really relevant) We have always written our own content and will continue to do so, as time permits.

For now, there are a ton of articles on how to be authentic here. How to engage an experienced social media expert to help you come up with a strategy for success here. How to redefine ROI (return on investment) for the Web 2.0 generation here. And a lot of other useful, current articles on how you can use a well-thought-out social media campaign to provide value and garner business.

Keep an eye out here and on our relationships page for  some cool case studies and success stories.

Oh, and don’t forget Social Media Week comes to Vancouver September 19-23!

Which companies have the most successful Social Media campaigns?

Who bleeds their brand online and off and stays true to their business model?

Is it the company that has delegated their Social Media to an intern or an admin assistant? Umm, guess again.

I can’t iterate the value of planning enough. No one, no one serious that is, starts a business without a business plan. A roadmap of where they are at the start and where they hope to be in specific, measurable time frames. Successful companies refer back to their plan, adapt it, grow it, massage it and worship at it’s feet because it keeps them goal-oriented and on-track.

Why should a Social Media campaign be any different?

It shouldn’t. The very first thing any organization should do is sit down and map out their specific, measurable goals.

The following exercise can help you, and your clients, work through a process to set any Social Media campaign up for successful execution.

1. I have always found it helpful to sit down with the c-level executives and discuss what it is about their company they love. What’s the story of the brand? That “story” should be authentic and include why these people do what they do. Do they love it? If they do, your job is a lot easier.

2. Define expectations. What does the client hope to gain from Social Media? Brand awareness? More business? A stronger reputation?

3. Where’s the value? This is probably the most important question to ask because if you (or your client) are not providing something of value to the world, what on earth are they doing? Most executives should be able to tell you what their contribution to the greater good is. Sometimes this question takes them by surprise so make sure you get an authentic answer, even if you have to wait for it.

4. Define how you will measure success. This relates back to #2, defining expectations. If you’re creating a Social Media strategy for a client they are going to want to have some specific measurables to which they can hold you if it doesn’t work out.

I have always found it helpful to attach some of the measurables to the level of participation from the company. No matter how great you are online, there has to be a level of commitment from your client to successfully promote their brand. Whether that comes in the form of engagement or utilizing their contacts or content, you have to insist on involvement from the client if you want to be successful.

(I’m sure there are people out there who will disagree with this point but it has been my experience that if the execs aren’t turned on by what they do, no one else will be either. Authenticity among company leaders is the very best tool for success.)

5. Make sure you know where the customers are. It’s not going to do much good to promote skateboards on a wedding forum. TED conversations is a great place to engage people as they have such an incredibly wide range of subjects. Make sure you know who the audience is and where they hangout online.

6. Speak in the vernacular of the demographic you are trying to engage. Or…dude, shred up the page with some sick vids of skaters and boarders. Whomever you’re speaking to, make sure you speak their language.

7. If you don’t write well find someone who does. Crappy writing is the opposite of providing valuable content and it won’t take long before your audience drifts away. And don’t underpay someone to crank out rhetoric or re-mix something they’ve found online. There are lots of great writers out there who can put together amazing copy that you can use to attract both your audience and the search spiders. They know what they’re doing, so use them.

Once you’ve gone through these steps you should have a solid notion of what kind of a campaign you’d like to run and how you’e execute it. It’s not a ton of prep work but it will make all the difference in the end when you’re “winning” (thanks Charlie) the popularity contest that is Social Media.

As social media strategists and specialists we spend a great deal of our time speaking to people about the benefits of social media in today’s terms. We talk about return on investment (ad infinitum), engagement, authenticity, transparency, 2 way communication, social media vs marketing etc.

Very soon that conversation is going to evolve and it’s going to do it in the blink of an eye. It’s happening already.

The new arm of social media is social commerce and you can bet your donkey (insert synonym here) that if you’re not addressing social commerce now you are doing your clients a disservice.

For years we’ve all been going on and on about the power of the internet to reach people. Recently this awesome social media phenomenon has caused us all to get a glimpse at that power first-hand. When you look at examples of how “the little guy” has taken on huge corporations and won through the use of social media like youtube, you start to see just how powerful this tool is.

Take Dave Carroll for example. Dave is a musician and a pretty good one. While on a flight from Halifax to Nebraska with a stop at Chicago’s O’Hare, Dave noticed the baggage handlers were tossing his Taylor guitar around. Let’s just say Dave was pissed. So much so, after receiving no satisfaction from customer “service”, that he wrote a song. A song that has received international acclaim and over 10 million hits!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!

Because of stories like this, every single social media service is trying to figure out a way to capture these 10 million eyeballs and sell them something. We’re calling that Social Commerce now. It’s the new black.

The trick is that all those marketing people with “20 years experience” have to forget everything they know about marketing. They have to forget to try to sell something and have to learn how to engage someone. (See what I did there? I went from a “thing” to a “one”. If you’re starting to see a pattern, whew!)

I was watching Erik Qualman recently. He’s a pretty smart guy and he’s a few steps ahead of the rest of us when it comes to this social commerce stuff.  He points out that we, as humans, have our hierarchy of needs (he didn’t make that up, it’s a real thing 😉 Survival, Security and Socialization top the list.

We’re social. 78% of us will believe the recommendation of a friend. We’d rather have our friends do the market research and just tell us what the best product is. (maybe we’re also a bit lazy?) Anyway, having a pal tell us what they love about a product or service holds infinitely more weight than a billboard.

I’m sure you’ve seen the little QR Code symbols on everything lately. In some cases you can scan that code with your smart phone and see how many of your friends bought that product and what they think of it. Think of it as targeted (to your friends) market research. How cool is that?

It’s great. There’s no question. However, businesses who decide to use this technology have to be pretty dang sure that they have a firm grip on their brand both online and off.

Social media strategists and specialists are going to have be very careful in how they introduce social commerce to their clients. As with social media, there are tons of ways to mess it up. (ask United airlines)

So while social commerce is coming, and coming at break-neck speed, don’t fall into the frenzy that has given social media some bad press. This is where strategic thinking, research and an iron-clad grip on the value proposition of the company and their customer service is going to be key.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be researching some of the best, and worst, social commerce engagement examples. Stay tuned!

It may be an unfortunate commentary on society that including words like “moron” and “idiot” in the title of a post garner considerably more traffic than words like “success” and “charity” but it is a fact. Using controversial images works well too!

In the several articles I have submitted to Social Media Today I have found varying degrees of success. While my articles all provide constructive, useful information for anyone in the business of social media or anyone thinking about launching a campaign, I have found that the #1 way to get my articles read is to be somewhat controversial in the headline.

So, in the interest of continuing to provide value to the people that read my posts I offer you the top 5 ways to get your articles read.

First off I want to illustrate my point about headlines. The following are the articles I’ve submitted to SMT in the order they were submitted.

How Social Media Will Save the Human Race (941 reads – my first article submission)

She said “I think Facebook is just stupid” (2141 reads)

Hey Big Business! You’re About to Lose Your Market Share! (427 reads 🙁

Can a Multinational Company Succeed in Social Media (1,774 reads)

Social Media ROI for Idiots (19,876 reads!!!!!) FIRST CONTROVERSIAL TITLE.

Social Media Means Certain Death to the Greed is Good Paradigm (2816 reads)

How a Homeless Guy Named Patrick Taught Me About Social Media (3711 reads)

It’s Not Your CEO’s Fault He’s a Social Media Moron (12,735!) 2ND CONTROVERSIAL TITLE.

#1: The best way to attract people to read your work is to have a controversial title. Inserting words like “moron” and “idiot” seem to spark people’s curiosity and show that you write in the vernacular of your audience.

Often considered the father of modern marketing and advertising, David Olgilvy was quoted as saying: “I don’t know the rules of grammar…If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

That point works for both the title and the body of the article. Write like you speak and people will want to read your work. Which brings us to…

#2: Once someone has clicked on your article you have to be able to deliver the goods. If gathering clicks is your only goal then the title is fine (lame but fine) but if you really and truly want to provide people with something of value make sure you do so in your article.

A couple of really great ways to do this is to provide links to external information where they can find out more. i.e. I hyper-linked readers of this article to David Olgilvy because, as marketers, they may be interested in him.

The easier it is you make for someone to find information the more valuable you are to them.

Part of #2 is knowing your demographic. Who are you writing for? Is it the C-level execs? The marketing department? The Administrative Assistant? The small business owner? All of these require a different strategy so make sure you know who you want to read your work before you decide how you’re going to present it.

#3: Be authentic. If you’re writing for this site chances are you’re doing so to increase business to your own website or to garner some online attention for your brand. If you are able to provide value while doing that don’t lie about your motives. If you think that your own site can provide even more, useful info then link to it. There’s no shame in giving away good knowledge for the benefit of others. If you reach 200 people and one becomes a client that’s 1 more than you had yesterday and you may have helped 199 others.

#4: Don’t poach. (or, be honest) Look, if you come across an article online or in a magazine that you really think will help others make sure you give credit where it’s due. You could likely get away with passing things off as your own but why? How would that further your business or your reputation? However, if you find something sharable and interesting and you para-phrase it and promote the original post or article you look like a rock star!

#5: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS PROVIDE VALUE. If you’ve read any of my other posts this is the thing I iterate and reiterate. You have to think about your audience and what they want to learn. When in doubt ask yourself if what you’re about to say will provide value to the reader. If the answer is no do a bit of research and find out how you can value-add to it. If you can’t find a way, ditch it for something else.

Once you create a name for yourself as someone who knows their stuff the views will follow.

Good luck with your writing. I’m happy to comment or read what you’ve done and offer advice or if you have something to add to these 5 points I’d love to have you do so. You can read this and all of my Social Media articles on my site Social Media Canada. (a shameless plug for my own company 🙂

Almost everyone in business has heard the name Ivan Boesky. The character of Gordon Gecko in Wall Street was loosely based on him and his Greed is Good philosophy of business and life.

There’s no arguing that Boesky was good at what he did. He was that guy who’d go in and take over failing companies, fire everyone, re-structure then sell at enormous profit. There was very little room for emotion or even humanity in the actions of his company. 

He was one of the first businessmen to attain celebrity status as he preached his Greed is Good mantra to generations of business students all eager to lap up anything that would give them that killer edge.

There are still people in business today who live by this philosophy. They believe that chasing down the almighty buck is the American dream and shouldn’t be trifled with. 

Hey, how’s that workin’ out for you Don Blankenship, CEO at Massey Energy?

Lucky for us there is a new business model in town. One that considers Boesky’s 20 year old attitude to be not only antiquated but actually contrary to our nature as human beings.

In his book, Born to Be Good, social scientist Dacher Keltner has researched just what the Greed is Good paradigm has done to generations of people. How we have been raised to believe that attaining that competitive edge by disregarding the needs of our fellow man (woman) would ultimately lead to success.

Instead Keltner suggest that a “meaningful life” is akin to a successful life and that our lives cannot have meaning without some part of us thinking of the greater good. 

Ok, now that the groundwork is there I’ll let you in on how Keltner’s book and some Darwin-ist philosophy have come together to create a new business model that will make Boesky-type success look so reprehensible that no one in their right mind would seek it out. 

Here’s how it all comes together. According to Keltner, if you want to be successful in business and in life, you will need to stop thinking about “what’s in it for me?” and start thinking about “what can I do for you?”. In serving the greater good you will develop an authenticity that is missing from the greed model. Your customers will trust you to steer them in the right direction. You will create a stronger bond that will, in turn, create a larger return customer base. 

So where does Darwin come in? Keltner contends that most historians and social scientists have missed a major point that Darwin brought to light; we, as humans, are ultimately sympathetic beings. We want to help others and, when we do, we feel good. We feel fulfilled, we feel successful and appreciative and are…wait for it…HAPPY.

I know it sounds a bit hippy-esque but anyone that says they don’t want to be happy is lying. No one wants to be miserable and happy people do more for society.  

The great thing about social media and its application is that in order to play in the social media sandbox one must leave the greed is good idea behind. No one cares how great you say your company is. No one cares how many cars you sold. The “toot your own horn” era is over, at least in the online space.

If your site is not providing value to your visitors, authentic value, then you are not going to keep them there or get them back. But your competition will. You can bet on it. 

As consumers continue to use the internet for their number one source of information, authenticity and accountability will be held in the highest regard. Making sure your social media game plan encompasses that will be the difference between a successful campaign and a lame one like, I dunno, BP?

The Social Media Canada site is dedicated to helping people figure out what they need to create a social media strategy. All of the elements are there, for free, for anyone. The result of giving away this information is a consistently increasing client-base. 

It was pointed out to me, by a reader, that while many of my articles strongly advocate getting buy in from the entire company for any social media campaign, I have yet to explain how that might be done.

Well, this article is about to change all that!

Anyone who has done any research on putting together a social media strategy knows that, without top-down engagement, the campaign is quite likely to be fraught with pitfalls.

In established, larger companies, there is often a culture that doesn’t make a lot of room for change. “We’ve done it this way for years and it works well, why change now?” It is this attitude that can break a social media campaign before it even begins. The world is changing at break-neck speed and failure to adapt is going to keep companies with that philosophy out of the loop.

So, how do you get the CEO on down to champion social media? I want to say “it’s easy, just show them the ROI.” but that’s not really the case. ROI, in a traditional sense, is much easier to accept. i.e. We spend $X on this ad and our revenues increase by $Y amount. With social media it’s gaged differently, but have no fear, I have a nifty chart that will help you explain how ROI in this game works.

The most important aspect of getting the exec team to buy in to the social media philosophy is to get them psyched about it. There are a number of ways to do that depending on the sort of company you’re dealing with.

The first thing you’ll need is a detailed plan. Executives love a plan! The plan needs to include how much it will cost as well as what the company has to gain from the strategy.

There are many reasons why C-level (CEO, CCO, CIO etc) executives don’t want to be part of social media; no time, fear of offending someone etc. However, if you can show the executives, in your strategy, that you can address these issues satisfactorily then you have won half the battle.

While creating the plan you also have to ask yourself “Can my CEO engage authentically?” Some can’t. Some C-level execs are just too wound up to think about the end user. That happens. If that’s the case you’ll have to work out a way that he/she can communicate with your client/customer in consistent, small doses. Small enough that the sentiment is true.

It may cost some brownie points but sometimes a gentle reminder to the heads of the company about company philosophy and core values is all it takes to get those execs to remember why they do what they do in the first place.

If social media is about humanizing the brand, the C-levels must be…well…human. If they cannot, or will not, engage with the client or customer then you probably have a problem. An executive team that has forgotten about providing value is one that will likely not see the value of social media.

If reminding them about the brand doesn’t work you can always try to point out the competitive edge social media gives any company. Perhaps pointing out successes a rival has had with particular social media engagement will work.

“Look at X company! Holy cow, that’s a message from the CEO on Facebook! And look at all the comments. Wow!” Most executives are in the position they’re in because they are very competitive. Use that to your advantage!

Ultimately the onus will be on whoever is the social media champion. If it’s the marketing department then they better do a great deal of research on the C-level execs to make sure they are able to approach them in a way that will make buy in a no brainer. Remember that humanizing the brand means using the humans behind the brand. Find the humanity in the exec team and find a way to leverage that to engage the clients and customers.

1. What’s the company’s track record?
2. What products does it sell?
3. How does it back up claims it makes about its product?
4. Is the product competitively priced?
5. Is it likely to appeal to a large customer base?
6. What up-front investment do you have to make to join the plan?
7. Are you committed to making a minimum level of sales each month?
8. Will you be required to recruit new distributors to be successful in the plan?

I would add to this list that it’s a good idea to determine the sort of company you’ll be working with as well. Companies that make grandiose claims about massive income potential with very little work are quite likely, quite frankly, baloney.

Due to the nature of online selling the parent company has little control over claims made by distributors or promoters. So, if you “really” want to learn about the company you should head over to their official site. Read the information put out by the actual company itself. If they are authentic, they will not have a home page splashed with claims like “make millions online in 5 days”.

I think though that the best advice anyone could give about MLM’s and selling a product online is to use your noggin. That’s right! In your head you must have a feeling whether something is legitimate or not. If you go against your better judgement and enter into something that your head tells you (and your research tells you) is shady then you really have only yourself to blame.

There really is no way to make a ton of money in only a month online. There are lots of claims that it’s possible but those people that are making great money have been setting up systems for many months. I have no doubt that some of them make what they claim. I do, however, doubt they do so in their first month of working online.

Learning the business of a home-based, online career is not easy but it is possible. There is a lot to learn and you need to give yourself the time to learn it.

Ivana Taylor, CEO of Third Force has put together a list of the top 10 books about Social Media any small business owner should review.

I’ve re-printed most of her article here and you can visit her website for more information <a href=”http://www.strategystew.com/”>here</a>

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of social media books out there.  So how is a many-hat-wearing business owner supposed to know which ones to read?   Here is a list of the 10 social media books that small business owners can read to get the most bang for their social media investment of time and money.

About the List

Putting together this list was challenging because there are so many wonderful books to choose from.  Ultimately it came down to creating a mix of books that was targeted to small business owners and that will help us build our brands  and grow our businesses.  These books run the gamut from those that strive to give you an overview and strategic context for the social media trend — to more detailed how-to books that will help you apply social media in your everyday marketing tactics.

Overall, the intention of this list is to provide a spectrum of information that will leave you feeling better, smarter and faster when it comes to social media.

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Whenever a CEO or small business owner comes to me and says “I’m not sure I understand the business value of social media,”  I tell them to read this book first.  Groundswell is written by a team of researchers from Forrester Research.  These people have done more research on social media for this book (and continue to empirically study social media and document it) than you or I will do in a lifetime.

Because this book was written in 2008 when social media was still “new” to even the professionals, it explains social media in a way that all of us can understand and relate to.  Groundswell will give you a framework and a context within which to place new learning.  It is well written, easy to read and full of research data that you can trust.

The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the Worldby David Kirkpatrick

If you’re a business history buff who enjoyed the “Pirates of Silicon Valley” movie about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates – then you will also enjoy The Facebook Effect.  It was written by a journalist who has interwoven his interviews with Mark Zuckerberg and the key players who turned a school hobby/project into the realization of Zuckerberg’s vision to change the world by connecting people.

This isn’t necessarily a book about how to use social media, but it will take you behind the scenes of several social networking sites and how they succeeded and failed.  It’s great business reading in general.

The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media by Paul Chaney

If you’re fed up because the time and money you’ve already invested in traditional marketing like advertising or direct mail isn’t paying off, or you’re frustrated because you see the world of marketing changing and you’re not sure how to maximize the technology for business objectives, then this book is for you.

While it won’t show you detailed nuts and bolts of how to start a blog or how to use Twitter, it will help you to start plotting your next move.

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko and David K. Brake

When a book has the word “Bible” attached to the subject and in the title, you automatically assume that it has everything you’ll need to get through life as it concerns that topic.  And that’s exactly what you’ll find here.

This book covers some history and background, as well as tools and strategies that you can use to grow your business with social media.

The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg

Let’s say you are now “sold” on the idea that using social media as part of your marketing strategy is probably a good thing.  Yet, despite all the books out there, you’re still not sure exactly what to do or where to do it or how to do it – beyond establishing a basic profile or a presence.  

The New Community Rules is your next step.  This book will give you the specifics you’re looking for.  It covers a number of niche social sites you may not be as familiar with, and includes short success case studies.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, But Were Afraid to Ask… by Hilary JM Topper MPA

There is something very appealing about a short, pocket-sized book with the title “Everything you ever wanted to know.”  This book gives you short, succinct descriptions and tips on many of the most useful social media applications.

Newbies will love its short, easy-to-grasp style; intermediates will find applications they may not have thought of using before; and advanced users will find a few gems and recommend it to their friends who are just starting out.

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trustby Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

By now you’ve noticed that the social media revolution requires a new and different way of thinking.  This makes Trust Agents the perfect book to read next.  It’s written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and endorsed by Seth Godin — all trusted marketing minds whose work has stood the test of time.

This is an easy read and will get you squarely in the social media mind-set.  One warning: You may not agree with what you read.  You may not like it.  But understand this:  It’s how the technology is impacting people and small business.  Embrace it.

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves by Adam L. Penenberg

You’re almost a pro now (after reading the 7 books above)!

Have you ever wondered what it is about some concepts, ideas or applications that makes them go viral?  Viral Loop has the answer.

This is another business history book that proves that viral marketing has been with us for ages and not just since the advent of the “Forward” button on our e-mail.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk

The key to really making a social media strategy work is passion and authenticity.  If you’re wondering how you can harness your passion for your business to hit the big time using social media, “Crush it!” will be a fun read for you.

This book will help you understand that in order to be successful, you have to look at everything in your business as potential content.  It’s a case study of a traditional wine business and its transformation into a modern, social media marketing driven enterprise whose CEO used his passion for unpretentious-ness as an asset.

Wild West 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier by Michael Fertik  and David Thompson

Perhaps the best reason (and one not often talked about) to get your business actively using social media is reputation management. The question every small business owner needs to ask him- or herself is, “Do I want to manage my online reputation or do I want to leave it to chance?”

This book will show you how reputations are created, controlled and managed