Twitter | Michael Reynolds

January 21, 2010 By Michael Reynolds 3 Comments

Stop shouting from behind your logo

It seems like more and more businesses are starting to use online tools to market and communicate their messages. Social media is new and shiny and companies are eager to find more ways to broadcast commercials using Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. However, it frustrates me to see that so many businesses are still applying marketing 1.0 tactics to web 2.0 tools.

Traditional marketing utilizes techniques that broadcast a message to the masses. Make a commercial, buy some airtime, and shout at your viewers for 30 seconds in hopes that the message sticks. Buy a billboard, paint it with your logo, and capture as many eyeballs as possible. Now that social media has opened up new channels of communication, business owners and marketers are eagerly applying the same tactics to new mediums and then wondering why it’s not working.

Facebook? Sure… let’s put a company logo in place of the profile photo, insert the company name, and splatter commercials all over the news feed. No one really knows who works there. Twitter? Great… let’s just use a single Twitter account for the company and shove all communication through it without letting anyone get to know the employees.

What businesses are consistently failing to understand is that people are craving contact with actual people. Social media is a space for humans to communicate, not faceless logos. Rather than hiding behind your logo and keeping your employees a secret, empower everyone to exist online as a person. The CEO should be blogging and signing his name to his postings. The marketing director should actively talk to people on Twitter as a real person. Employees should be encouraged to connect with clients and associates on Facebook as themselves. Your team should be empowered to manage their own LinkedIn profiles as people.

Setting up a company Twitter account with your logo on it is a good thing. However, the messages distributed through this account should be redistributed through personal accounts because this is where real conversations happen. A Facebook fan page for the company is the right anchor point for publishing information. However, it’s the personal profiles that should share the content with their networks. This is where conversation happens.

This is an age of personal contact and human stories. Successful companies need to embrace the shift in customer expectations and blend corporate branding with personal branding. If asked what their most valuable assets are, most companies would quickly respond with “our people!” If that’s true, let them show their faces to the world and to your customers. If you are creating a positive environment and hiring the right people, your employees should be proud to represent your organization.

Remember, people want to do business with people they like and trust. Let your people show their faces. Stop shouting from behind your logo and instead have a real conversation with your customers.

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, branding, facebook, Marketing, social media, twitter

January 20, 2010 By Michael Reynolds 2 Comments

I’m tired of social media

Gasp! There, I said it. I have a suspicion that others are thinking it, too. At this particular moment I am tired of social media. I have taken a few days to focus on other things and it has been great. I didn’t post anything to Twitter for a few days, I didn’t spend much time on Facebook, and I didn’t read any blogs.

Instead, I did some writing, worked on my book, did some strategic planning for my business, and had some very productive meetings with my team and my networking circles.

I think many times I am guilty of getting caught up in the fast-paced, “new and shiny” appeal of social tools and I get a little carried away in thinking that if I don’t engage in social networks all the time, then I will be missing out on something. Well, as it turns out, there is a world outside of Facebook. Who knew?

So am I actually tired of social media? Not really. Rather I acknowledge that I need to remind myself that social media is simply an evolution in how we communicate. It’s not a replacement for traditional marketing. It’s not a replacement for phone calls or meetings. It’s not a replacement for human contact. We need to look for ways to enhance our communication with social tools. If engaging on a social network adds value to my relationships, then it makes sense. If it distracts me from my goals, then it doesn’t make sense.

You know what else? Simply admitting my burn-out on social media helped me reevaluate how I engage with my networks and actually recharged my interest in jumping back in.

Social media will continue to be a part of my lifestyle. I will continue to learn, develop relationships, educate, and generate leads using social media. However, I will also get better at finding balance in my activities.

Oh look… Twitter is back up. Gotta go!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, facebook, indianapolis, linkedin, Marketing, michael reynolds, social media, twitter

December 18, 2009 By Michael Reynolds Leave a Comment

5 emerging marketing tools you need to start paying attention to

As 2009 wraps up and we look toward the new year, it’s nice to re-evaluate plans for the upcoming year and use the holiday downtime to focus on some initiatives for 2010. I know that the holidays are a great time for vacations but it can also be a great time to work on high-level strategic items, such as business plans, marketing strategies, and processes. It’s also a good time to make some personal commitments about what you will do differently to build your business.

Here are 5 marketing tools that are becoming more relevant all the time. I would encourage you to take a serious look at these tools and decide for yourself if they can help you grow your business.

1. Blogging. Though blogging is not new, it is still uncomfortable to most people. Nobody wants to take the time to blog on a consistent basis and no one knows what to write about. Well, that may be true but at the same time, nobody wants to take out the trash, either, but it must be done if we want to run a tidy business (or household). Blogging is a fantastic way to improve search engine rankings as well as build authority. It gives you a platform for producing re-usable content, visibility, and expertise. It helps build trust with your audience and also is a great personal development vehicle. If you prefer not to write, consider a ghost blogger.

2. Twitter. Out of the big three (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), Twitter is still the social network that is the scariest and strangest to most people. I encourage you to do whatever you can to get over it. Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool for communication, lead generation, and research. I see referral opportunities almost every day on Twitter that most businesses aren’t even aware of. Pick up a copy of Kyle Lacy’s “Twitter for Dummies” book or attend a SpinWeb Twitter Seminar to learn how to get started. Just don’t be scared. You can grow your business with Twitter.

3. SlideShare. I love SlideShare and I think it is an under-appreciated gem in social media. SlideShare allows you to post your presentations online and share them with others. It also allows you to create a profile to give more information about yourself, and it also allows you to capture leads from viewers. Posting your presentations online is a fantastic way to build your platform of content and authority. Many of my speaking engagements have been facilitated by my use of SlideShare to clearly publish my presentation content.

4. GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar. Going a step further than SlideShare, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar allow you to give live demos and presentations to people anywhere in the world on an almost unlimited scale by sharing your screen with your audience. Though I prefer in-person presentations, when it’s not possible or practical to travel these tools allow you to remove geography from the equation and present your content to a huge audience from varied locations. This allows you to build your authority, reach new prospects, and capture qualified leads. It also allows your sales team to deliver rich web-based demos to anyone in the world. If you become comfortable hosting web meetings and webinars, you will open up a whole new opportunity for marketing your business.

5. Your website. Ok, so business websites are not as new as some of the other tools listed here but I have to include it because I am constantly surprised at how often organizations neglect their own websites. Your website is your primary information portal and should be an investment that supports your marketing efforts and goals. It should be well-designed, well-planned, and should have the right tools in place for your organization and your audience. An outdated, poorly-designed, or poorly-managed website is absolutely unacceptable in 2010. Make the investment in a great website.

Make 2010 a year of positive change and new ideas. Step out of your comfort zone and build your business with some tools and methods and you may not have tried before. If you have any other tools that you would like to suggest, please feel free to leave a comment here. I would love to hear what you think.

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, Design, facebook, indiana, indianapolis, linkedin, Marketing, speaking, spinweb, twitter, website

December 2, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 5 Comments

Why consider ghost blogging?

You’ve probably heard all the buzz about blogging by now. As you may have heard, blogging can help build visibility for you and your company through improved search engine rankings and distributed content. Blogging also helps add an element of transparency to your business because it allows your customers to learn more about the people behind the services you offer. Finally, blogging gives you a strong content platform to distribute via multiple channels, including social networks.

Blogging sounds like a great idea, right? However, what if you don’t have time to blog or you are not inclined to be a writer? This is where ghost blogging may be a good fit.

Ghost blogging is a service in which a company or individual writes blog entries on behalf of someone else. For example, let’s say Acme Corporation is interested in ranking better on search engines, as well as publishing industry articles that build credibility in the marketplace. Acme Corporation does not employ professional writers and no one on staff has time to become a great blogger. In this case, Acme Corporation might hire another company to write scheduled blogs on behalf of Acme. These blogs might be published as the CEO, Marketing Director, or a VP. The ghost blogger will do a brief phone interview with one of more Acme representatives in order to gather topics and outlines, and then write blog entries based on those notes.

This may seem inauthentic at first, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Rather than painstakingly trying to craft articles that communicate the proper message, Acme executives can now speak freely and comfortably during the ghost blog interview and know that their words will be crafted properly in the written form. Additionally, a good ghost blogger will structure content in such a way that important keywords and phrases are included in order to assist in better search rankings for Acme.

Most ghost bloggers will do a monthly or semi-monthly interview that produces about four blogs per month. Ghost blogging is a great way to build a content platform and improve search engine rankings. Additionally, it gives you great content to distribute on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. This helps strengthen your brand and authority.

So how do you know if ghost blogging is right for you? If you don’t have professional writers on staff, you want better visibility on search engines and social media, and you want to build a reputation of expertise in your industry, ghost blogging may be a great fit for you.

Filed Under: Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, facebook, linkedin, Marketing, seo, twitter, website

November 30, 2009 By Michael Reynolds Leave a Comment

Web 2.0 Expo in New York

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York. My session went very well and we got excellent feedback but I also had a wonderful time attending the other presentations and learning from other speakers.

The first session that really piqued my interest was “The Elephant in the Room: Social Media ROI.” It was an interesting session and the presenter did a really good job of keeping the concepts simple and productive, like reminding us that ROI is simply “(Profit – Investment) / Investment” – a concept that we sometimes over-complicate as marketers. I was a little disappointed that the presenter ran out of time because he kept answering questions from the audience rather than finishing his outline.

The next session that I really enjoyed was “Business and Community in the Facebook Era” by Clara Shih. Clara was an outstanding presenter who was very competent and had a smooth and articulate delivery. The subject matter was also more conceptual in nature, rather than technical, which made it easy for the audience to adapt the concepts to individual businesses.

From an entertainment standpoint, the highlight of the conference was “There’s a #Hashtag for That,” a Keynote by Baratunde Thurston. This presentation was absolutely hilarious and very insightful at the same time, covering creative uses for hashtags on Twitter. I’m normally not a fan of using foul language in presentations but he was so good that I was able to enjoy it anyway. Be sure to watch the video.

The last presentation that I enjoyed was “Effective Twitter for Business,” by Sarah Milstein. Sarah was a great presenter and the session was full of solid material but it was a bit more on the beginning level for my taste. It was nice validation, however, for my own Twitter presentations.

The next day was spent preparing and presenting my session, “Social Media – Secret Weapon for SEO.” I presented with John Limbocker and was sponsored by Verio. John, Janine, and everyone I worked with at Verio were fantastic and the session was a great success.

I learned a few other neat tricks, like the fact that you can place a plus sign at the end of any bit.ly URL to see its click-thru stats – even if it’s not your link. Pretty cool!

The Web 2.0 Expo was a great experience and I not only learned some great marketing and technology tips, but also gained a lot of new insights into speaking and presenting and have enjoyed polishing my own presentations as a result. I encourage everyone to take the time to attend conferences like this to continue to push your skills and knowledge to the next level. I will be able to serve my clients and my constituents better as a result of this continuous learning. I look forward to next year’s Web 2.0 Expo!

Filed Under: Design, Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: Design, facebook, Marketing, michael reynolds, new york, ny, social media, speaking, twitter, verio, website

November 17, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 1 Comment

Credit union website design tips

In today’s market, credit unions are enjoying renewed popularity among consumers due to their membership-driven policies, personal service, and local community ties. Many people are drawn to these features of their local credit unions and are starting with research on the web.

For this reason, progressive credit unions must capture the attention of these researchers with a compelling online story via a modern corporate website.

Great design. This should be obvious but many credit unions still utilize outdated websites with poor design and awkward usability which hurts their credibility. Prospective customers are making decisions about where to put their money. They need to feel trust and a strong design is necessary to communicate brand integrity. Credit unions should focus on a clean, crisp design that stays very content-driven.

Social media. Today’s consumers are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and they sometimes read blogs. Smart credit unions will take advantage of this by creating special promotions for “fans” or “followers” on these networks in order to build a list of permission-based constituents. Each presence on a social network links back to the appropriate content piece on the credit union website.

Blogging. Every credit union website should feature a blog. Educational blogging helps build authority and places the credit union in a position of “trusted advisor” to its customers which opens the door to up-selling additional products. Blogging also boosts search engine rankings.

Up-to-date rates. When consumers are researching your credit union online, makes it easy for them to find rates. Keep in mind that your rates do not have to be the best. If you post your rates clearly and your competition keeps it a secret, you will create more trust in prospective customers because you are giving them an easy path to information, which increases their comfort level.

Online registration for seminars/webinars. Being very member-focused, credit unions are in a great position to offer educational seminars to their customers. Make it easy for people to sign up for these events via your website. Also consider conducting webinars to allow your customers and prospective customers to learn valuable financial information by participating from their computers over the Internet.

Usability. Credit union websites should pay strict heed to common usability norms. Navigation should be in logical places, nav items should use common naming conventions, and sectional or sub-navs should be well-structured. Since credit unions typically have so much content to publish, card sorting exercises should be used to determine the most logical structure to present to users. Over and over, most organizations are finding that “About Us” and “Contact Us” are the two most popular nave items that website visitors click on. Don’t deviate from common conventions like these.

Professional content. The underlying foundation of all these other tools is content. On the web, content must be clear, concise, and logical. Follow the inverted pyramid rule and keep it simple. Make sure your content is written by a professional to ensure that website visitors feel a sense of trust and credibility as they research your credit union.

As member-focused financial organizations that value education and community, credit unions are in a unique position to connect with customers using web tools like never before.

Filed Under: Design Tagged With: banking, branding, communication, cooperative banking, corporate websites, credit union, credit union online, credit unions, Design, facebook, financial institutions, linkedin, local credit union, online stories, progressive credit union, smart credit union, structure, twitter, usability, web design, website, website designs

October 14, 2009 By Michael Reynolds Leave a Comment

Personal Branding with Social Media

You may be familiar with branding as it relates to companies and organizations. A company’s brand is the essence that should affect everything it does. How often, however, do we pay attention to our personal brands?

Yes, a person has a brand. Anyone who works, communicates, or participates in society at any level has a personal brand. Your personal brand is made up of a number of different factors and it influences how you are perceived by others.

Job-seekers should pay especially close attention to their personal branding as it can have significant impact on how successful they are.

Traditionally, personal branding was affected by communication style and appearance. Today, however, social media and online communication has made it possible to strengthen personal branding to a greater extent. The way someone presents himself or herself online can make a big difference in how that person is perceived before any personal contact is made. For this reason, it’s important to manage your personal brand online. What are some ways to do this?

Acquire a clear, professional head shot photo. Use the same photo on all of your profiles. This gives a strong first impression and strengthens your personal brand in multiple places.

Complete your profiles on social networks. If your LinkedIn profile stays stuck at 80% complete, it looks like you don’t care. Many companies don’t want a resume anymore – they want to see your LinkedIn profile. Don’t shortchange yourself.

Collect LinkedIn recommendations. A profile with no recommendations is a red flag which means that person does not do much networking. Reach out to people and recommend others so they will return the favor. A good list of quality recommendations strengthens your personal brand by showing that others value your work.

Polish your writing style. Few things damage a personal brand more than poor writing. If you don’t write well, do some research or take a class and learn to write in a clear, articulate fashion. This will help as you blog, write your own bios, and communicate in general with others.

Create and post presentations on SlideShare. Even if you don’t do any speaking right away, go ahead and put some slide decks together to have them ready. This positions you as an authority in your field which may lead to speaking engagements. Be sure to link to your presentations from LinkedIn using the built-in SlideShare application.

Link your profiles together. Be sure that it’s easy to find you on various networks. Your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles should link to your blog. Your blog should link to all your profiles. Link together as much as you can.

Articulate your goals. When someone asks you how they can help you (whether online or offline), be sure to have a clear, consistent answer. Understand who your target customer is, the type of job you want, or just who you want to meet. Be able to deliver your message in 30 seconds or less. Post your goals in your bio on social networks.

Blog. This can be a difficult thing for some because writing does not come naturally for everyone. However, even a blog that is updated once a month can make a difference. Blog about your perspectives on your profession, your area of expertise, or offer educational content. This helps others get to know you better.

Communicate and distribute content via Twitter. Twitter is a great tool for sharing your content with others and having concise conversations. Balance your Twitter activity between posting your own content and engaging in conversations with others. Don’t forget to re-tweet information from others that you find interesting. What you re-tweet says a lot about you.

This may seem like a lot of work at first, but your personal brand is important. It can affect your communication, your work, and your success. Take care of it and utilize social media to strengthen it.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: branding, facebook, linkedin, social media, twitter

September 29, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 4 Comments

Are you a social media zombie?

What’s a social media zombie? It’s a term I affectionately use for someone who has profiles on social networks but uses them at about 10% capacity. Here are some ways to determine whether you are a social media zombie:

You have a LinkedIn profile but less than 10 connections
Your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter profile has no photo
You have a Twitter account with only one update that says “Trying out Twitter”
You reply to LinkedIn messages 6 weeks late with the apologetic message “sorry, I should check this more often”
You blog once every 6 months
Your LinkedIn profile is at 80% completion and has been for months
You never comment on anyone else’s content
You have a Facebook profile but your profile photo is a tree, nature scene, or your cat
Your LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter status has not been updated in weeks
You never share links or articles
You don’t answer questions because you don’t know they have been asked

Though I am obviously poking a little bit of fun here, the point I am making is that it’s not enough to just “be” on these networks. You only start to get value from social media when you contribute. Joining a network does not mean that you will magically start making connections and growing your business. You must provide value to your community. This can include:

Blog about topics in your area of expertise
Complete your LinkedIn profile and make connections with people you meet in real life
Share interesting content on Facebook
Make introductions for other people
Post photos
Post videos
Publish your blog post via Twitter
Ask questions
Answer questions

The same rules apply in social media as in real-world networking. Give first before expecting to get. Remember, people want to do business with people. They are more likely to want to do business with interesting people. Lack of participation = uninteresting.

Don’t be a social media zombie. Go contribute something!

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, facebook, linkedin, social media, twitter

June 15, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 1 Comment

Overcoming Social Media Paranoia

I’ve been having some great conversations lately with people who ask me about social media. Some of my favorite conversations start with the other party saying something to the effect of “Facebook is creepy… I don’t want everyone knowing what I’m doing.” These are great conversations because I have the opportunity to (hopefully) clear up some misconceptions about social media.

“I don’t want everyone knowing what I’m doing.”

This is typically objection #1. For some reason, some people think that joining Facebook (or Twitter, etc.) automatically means that everything they do will magically be broadcast the whole world and privacy will disappear. Not so. Social networks let you control what is distributed. Do you constantly call or email people with all your private life details? No… and it’s no different in social media. You decide what gets posted.

“I don’t want my personal information (address, photos, etc.) posted online for everyone to see.”

When you decorate your house, do you hang your family photos on the exterior walls for everyone to see? Do you make copies of your house key for everyone in your neigborhood and hand them out at the July 4th cookout? No? Then follow the same rules on your social networks. Facebook, for example, lets you selectively show and hide photos and albums so that only certain groups of people can see them. You also have control over what people see and who you allow into your network.

“I don’t care what my friends had for breakfast.”

I usually hear this objection when talking about Twitter. While it’s true that some people will tell you all the mundane things going on throughout the day, including what they had for breakfast, there is a simple solution to this: don’t follow them. Keep in mind that you are in control. You can choose to follow people who interest you. If you want to see quality content, then follow people and organizations that offer content that interests you.

After a few minutes of conversation, I am usually able to clear up some of the misconceptions around social media. I enjoy this because I feel very strongly that when used correctly, this new generation of online tools has the potential to enhance our qualities of life and help business grow.

What are you scared of?

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: facebook, linkedin, Marketing, social media, twitter

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