Social Media: Government is “Getting It”

30Jun09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I’ll be honest. I try not to let my politics mingle with my business. I don’t always agree with the what politicians say or do, but I do pay attention to how they convey their messages. Social media has created a fascinating new way for politicians and government agencies to deliver information to the public… and it’s working.

The Obama campaign changed the way candidates distribute their messages and raise money. Today BarackObama.com, President Obama’s “fan site,” continues to use social media marketing to get their message out… well…everywhere. There is a continual stream of information being pushed out through the blog and a link to Obama on every social network known to man. They also use video to great effect on the homepage to drive their message. And they make it very easy to make a donation.

On Inauguration Day, another important but overlooked changing of the guard took place in the nation’s capital. At 12:00PM EST, the White House website transitioned from the Bush administration to the Obama administration. Since then, the website has used a compelling combination of video, blogging and social networking to help inform the public about legislation, world events and government news. For me, the most interesting concept is the White House on Twitter, where White House news is distributed to its followers.

While the President is leading the way, Republicans are putting forth an impressive effort with GOP.gov. The GOP website conveys its message through a variety of videos, both on the homepage and YouTube. Like the White House, the GOP publishes podcasts on iTunes to spread their news in yet another dynamic format.

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m excited to see government finally embrace social media. Over the years, politicians and government agencies were reluctant to trust new information media such as Facebook and Twitter. But now, with social media gaining in popularity and citizen journalism at an all-time high, it can no longer be ignored.

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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Should You Ask for Referrals from Your Clients?

19Jun09

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Should you ask for referrals from your clients? For some professional services providers this is not even a question they consider. Conventional wisdom from the popular business press demands that you ask all your clients on a regular basis. To not do so would be akin to marketing malpractice.

One of my partners recently circulated an e-newsletter article by Michael Katz that raised a relevant argument to the contrary. He likened asking your professional services clients for referrals to asking someone to set you up with their sister — uncomfortable, pushey and even “a bit creepy.”

Katz makes a great point. For many professional services providers the relationship is one of trust, confidentiality, and even discretion. To ask your client for a referral under those conditions seems to show a fundamental insensitivity to your client’s feelings. Other colleagues around our office countered that one does not need to ask for a list of names and addresses of possible new clients to encourage the referral process.

Our recent study of professional services buyers sheds some light on the topic. Most referrals (about 60%) are made in response to a friend or colleague asking for a referral (for example, “Do you know of a good IT firm?”). The remaining referrals (about 40%) are made by a satisfied client bringing it up in the context of a discussion (such as “You should hire a professional facilitator for your planning session. I’ll give you the name of the person we used. She was fabulous.”). What about referrals driven by a request from the professional service provider themselves? Almost nonexistent.

Whether you ask for referrals really depends on your circumstances. Asking for a referral is all about you. In certain situations it can come across as selfish — even damage a good relationship for very little gain. In other client relationships, however, establishing a mutual referral partnership can be a great benefit to all involved.

My opinion? If you aren’t comfortable asking for a referral, it’s probably not a smart move.


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BusinessWeek.com: CEOs Who Use Twitter

19Jun09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

BusinessWeek.com has published a wonderfully eye-opening slide show entitled “CEOs Who Use Twitter“. While I wasn’t surprised that CEOs are using Twitter (I follow several myself), I discovered that this was a follow-up article to another published back in August 2008. The original 2008 article reported that only 18 prominent CEOs were using Twitter (while I’m sure there were more, BusinessWeek.com profiled 18).

Now, just nine months later, the website is featuring 50 CEO profiles including Jay Adelson, Digg CEO, Richard Branson, Virgin Group Chairman and George Colony, Forrester Research CEO. What I find interesting about these profiles is that they not only provide Twitter statistics for each executive, but also reveal how Twitter helps them improve their business. While many CEOs use Twitter to communicate with their customers and keep up on industry news, Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Alltop.com uses Twitter strictly for broadcasting (and has been criticized for this on many occasions.) “Twitter for me is a broadcasting tool. It’s not a “social medium” at all.”

BusinessWeek.com also included a great article, “Social Media Beachcombing: Survival of the Twittest?“, which analyzes creative ways in which social media is being used by companies and suggests which technologies may stand the test of time.

It will be interesting to see whether BusinessWeek.com chooses to run a follow-up article in a year or two to analyze Twitter’s true impact on CEOs and business. For now, I’m glad to see that executives are tweeting with the rest of us.

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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The Facebook vs. MySpace Smackdown: Should You Care?

08Jun09

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Nielsen-Online  just released their latest report on the year over year growth in social media site usage. From my perspective the biggest point was the overall increase in social media usage. They reported an 83% increase in total time spent on these sites from April 2008 to April 2009. The big winners, in terms of sheer popularity, are Facebook, with a 699% jump to 13 billion minutes. MySpace, the second most popular site was actually down by 31% (I believe this highlights the fickle nature of the whole space). Other big winners are Twitter with a 3700% increase and a respectable 69% jump in usage by LinkedIn.

So what does all this mean for professional services marketers? In my view there are two implications. First, the social media space continues to rack up impressive growth. Your clients are migrating there over time. Second, it seems to me that services with the strongest business application, such as Linkedin, FaceBook and Twitter, are holding their own. I’m concluding that social media is likely to shift from an interesting experiment to a must-use category, much like websites did over a decade ago. While I don’t believe the technology is there yet, I continue to be impressed by the business opportunities that come our way via social media channels.


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Facebook Profiles – How Much Info is Too Much?

08Jun09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

Recently I’ve had many discussions about creating a professional presence on Facebook. What information should we share with clients, colleagues and other business acquaintances? This is a very personal decision, but in general there are two schools of thought: 1) those who choose to share some of their personal lives with their professional colleagues, and 2) those who choose to keep things strictly business.

Participating in social media is about being genuine and transparent — exposing your human side. So I tend to share some of my personal life with my professional contacts. I feel that it gives people insights into me as a person, building trust and allowing us to work together better. Could this personal information turn someone off? That’s always possible. But in the long run, would I want to do business with someone who doesn’t really like me?

I do use an internal filter and try to use my better judgment when posting personal items to Facebook. I treat it like my office. I might share what I did over the weekend, but I keep any truly personal details to myself. I also don’t “befriend” anyone I don’t know or anyone whom I wouldn’t want to know about my personal life. 

Facebook provides a variety of privacy settings – be sure to use them. They will help you manage what your users can and can’t see and help you better maintain appropriate relationships within Facebook.

As an executive, it’s okay to reveal your human side. Just use common sense about what you share.

 

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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