Jennifer Jacobson

Tweet & Be Tweeted!

siyam — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:35:23 +0000

I’m not referring to bird watching. I’m referring to Twitter.com, a website that makes it easy to write short updates from your phone or computer about what you are “doing right now.” Sure, there are some on Twitter who constantly update their accounts with, what they’re eating, what they’re wearing, what they’re buying, who they’re talking to, and every conceivable detail of their lives. However, for a business owner, Twitter is a great place to inform and educate your customers and potential customers on business related updates. For example, if your restaurant just came out with a new and exciting dish, Twitter is a great place to tell people about it.

Since Twitter only allows 140 characters in a “tweet” and no pictures, your message has to be short and to the point. WIth a Twitter “mini blog” it’s easy to make the time to involve yourself in social media, even if it’s only once a day. Remember to include your twitter URL in your outbound email signature, business cards, website, and anywhere you mention your business email address. Keep your Twitter page active and explore the neighborhood. Follow people and be followed.

Speaking of That, You Can Follow My Tweets at:

http://twitter.com/jcommunication

Blogging for Mere Mortals - how you can blog your best blog

siyam — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:47:43 +0000

There are certain times in a person’s life where they remember exactly where they were, exactly what they were doing, and they can put themselves there like it was yesterday. These events trigger flashbulb memories in the brain. Some of the most famous in American history could be the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For others it was the attacks on the World Trade Center. Sometimes these events are happy, like when your spouse proposed, or when your child was born. For others they can be as simple as the iPhone coming out.

My Point: blog about what matters to you. Why? Because life is short. We’re not alligators… we won’t live for hundreds of years. (Without major advances in modern science, that is). You just never know what will happen, so make the most out of every single day… and for that matter, out of every single blog entry. I don’t mean that you have to write the great American Novel in each blog entry and sit with a box of tissue and a mug of tea, contemplating existence every time you post or update your social media page. But I do suggest taking yourself seriously, and really thinking about what you want to talk to people about. That’s all a blog really is… talking to people.

5 Ways To “Keep it Real” With Your Blog In 2009:

1. Keep your entries relatively short. (Unless you’re really on a roll)

2. Add a picture whenever you can. Make sure you own the rights to it or have permission, or at least credit the site the picture is from.

3. Stay on target. Blog no less than every other week.

4. Blogging is not a chore. It is a joy… and if it’s not, find a way to spice it up. We all need dangling carrots.

5. Don’t stress. Blogs can be fun. Make it something you would like to read.

The Power of Blogging Current Events (Like Macworld)

siyam — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:46:47 +0000

Let’s talk about harnessing the power of current events with the goal of attracting publicity. Social media is a perfect medium for such publicity and a well tagged blog can bring your business just the right readers and clientele.

A current event can be just about anything that you’ve heard about in recent media. This week it’s Macworld. (Notice how I drop that seamlessly into the blog). The older current events include the recession. A newer one is the inbound president Barack Obama (be specific). Try and select a story that has a good angel for your business. Example: The recession is putting a lot of companies out of business. Your Hook: Your finical planning business is booming, and you’re helping people avoid bankruptcy. Larger Trend: Of the research you’ve collected, 70% of people find financial planning helpful when there is a recession. Your businesses is helping people and you’re also hiring. This makes for a good local story and a larger trend story.

To Do:

1. Look specific for a current event.

2. Look for your businesses’ hook (What are you doing to address this event/issue).

3. Look at the larger trend (Why should a larger audience really care? How does this effect them?).

4. Build your story. (Be specific, include details about your company, the event, your company’s history, track record, and outcomes).

5. Put it in a blog, press release, and social media space.

6. Tag it well. Example: recession, Your Business Name, Your Name, famous people’s names involved in the event, the issue, companies affected by the event, location, larger issues related to the event.

BrightTalk Web Summit Features 42 Rules

siyam — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:47:55 +0000

It’s time again, for another fast, fun, and informative BrightTalk web summit. This is a great chance for you to get insider advice delivered directly to your computer. You can view the webinar live, or afterword, and even embed the presentations into your own blogs. *which by now, I hope you all have… if you still have questions, email me: jcommunication@mac.com

Laura Lowell, author of 42 Rules of Marketing and I are co-presenting in our webinar:

Let Your Customers do the Talking: 7 Tips for Conversational Marketing

9:00 am PST November 24 (Monday)

About Our Webinar: “Word of mouth” referrals and new business prospects are the best way to promote yourself and your business. Learn ways to take your customers’ positive comments and turn them into marketing gold through social media channels, as Laura and Jennifer share their vast knowledge and best practices. Attendance is free, and all are welcome.

Click Here to sign up for BrightTalk and register for the webinar. Send this link to friends and co-workers who you think will be interested.

Or copy and paste into your browser window:

http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/1515/attend

Click Here to read more about the summit on Market Watch.

Find a Social media Platform That Works for You

siyam — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:18:01 +0000

Being new to the social media world can be scary. First you set up your social media profile, and then you start uploading media, blogging, or chatting with others. Then, once you start telling people about your social media presence, they tell you they use another platform that you’ve never heard of. When you listen to the news, in the car on the way to work, you hear an interview with the CEO of a new social media platform. (If you live in the Silicon Valley, you probably know some of them). And worst of all, perhaps, when your kids come home from school, or when your nephew comes home for the holidays, you realize they’re using a social media service you’ve never heard of.

You are not alone. The trick is to find a social media platform that you understand, and that works for you… then stick to your guns… and use that platform. If your daughter is back from college, telling you how amazing Twitter is, and that she’s been “Tweeting” at her friends all day… this is normal. Do not worry about jumping out of your current social media platform to adopt someone else’s. If you have only one or two social media platforms that you use, that’s fine, just make sure you use them and keep them interesting.

Tips to keep in mind:

Find a social media platform that you understand and feel comfortable updating on your own (or with minimal help)
Make sure your platform has your business’ target market actively viewing it
Update your social media platform with interesting and even educational tips, thoughts, pictures, and stories about your business. (Ask yourself, “if I were my customer, would I take the time to look at this? Would I visit it again next week?”)
Tell your in-store customers where to find you on that social media platform
Make sure your social media platform is not a “fly by night dot com” that will loose funding next quarter and disappear, taking your content with it. (Read the “about us” section of the social media platform and also look for news clippings on it, to learn more).
Back up your blog. Be sure to copy and paste your blog entries into a stable text editor on your computer, like Word, or TextEdit. Save this in a file as a personal back up. This way, if the Social Media platform’s servers magically fail one day, you can recreated your blog a lot easier than trying to remember everything.

It Came from the Patch!

siyam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:09:06 +0000

42 Rules of Social Media for Business Special Edition

Halloween Horrors

When I think of my childhood, I fondly remember my troop of 15 cabbage patch kids (and their “almost patch” spinoffs). One of them was a Rice Patty doll from China, and another was an upbeat “CPK” doll that wore urban clothing and featured shiny crimped hair.

I never thought of playing with a Jimmy Carter, or a Ronald Regan doll. I never dreamed of a Margaret Thatcher doll of my own, but perhaps I was missing something. Hop on to eBay today and you might be lucky enough to see the 2008 Presidential Election Cabbage Patch dolls. (They’re being auctioned off for charity with Sarah Palin in the lead as far as price is concerned).

What does this mean? When we walk into a Toys-R-Us store today, just about everything is branded, from Friends Special Edition Scrabble, to Hannah Montana Pink Sing-Along Guitars, and don’t get me started on the boys vs girls color schemes. I guess I just never thought I’d see the day when Cabbage Patch Kids morphed into not-quite-snugly looking presidential candidates.

This brings me to a point about social media notice the flawless segue

Social Media needs to be interesting!

Keep your social media page and or blog fresh and up-to-date. Sometimes this means surfing the web for fun things to write about. Sometimes it means posting “behind the scenes” pictures of your business to keep customers interested in your work… and sometimes it means trolling some very scary places and finding some very scary Halloween blog fodder like Donald Trump as a Cabbage Patch Kid… because what kid doesn’t need one of those?

Woot.Com & Some of the Best Web Copy Online

siyam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:44:06 +0000

Finding your voice in Social Media can be tricky. It requires a lot of planning, brainstorming, and deciding what your viewers most want to see from your business. For those of you who “Woot!” you’ve already seen the power of creative, well written web copy, but for those of you who haven’t, allow me to introduce you to some of the most well written copy on the web. I don’t suggest that everyone write like this, but do take notes. Woot! is writing for its audience, and as an instant “QVC meets eBay” without the auction style site, they’ve nailed their style. (And yes, they sell products all the time… so it IS addicting).

Woot! Sample Product Intro for their HP Pavilion Phenom-9100 computer with BluRay and TV tuner:

In Every Dream Home

When he came through the back door, the kitchen was quiet and empty. He thought maybe she wasn’t home. But he found her, sitting at the dining room table, in silence. A cigarette burned in the ashtray next to her, sending grey curls of smoke up toward the ceiling. At first, she didn’t even look at him. Then: “You’re back.”

“I’m back,” he sighed.

“Did you forget something?”

“No. I’m coming home.”

She stared into his eyes. “I don’t know why. We’ve said all we have to say. You know how I feel. I know how you feel. Unless you’ve changed your mind about buying that new PC.”

“I haven’t. But-”

“But nothing. You know I think we should buy a Blu-Ray player instead. That hasn’t changed. It won’t change.”

“I know.”

She looked away. “So what are you doing here?”

“We… we can have both.”

“We’ve already discussed this. We don’t have the money to buy a computer and a Blu-Ray player.”

“What if they’re the same thing?”

Her eyes locked on his. “If you’re playing with me, I swear to God – if this is a joke…”

“It’s not a joke. The HP Pavilion S3430F is not a joke. It’s real. The Phenom-9100 1.8Ghz processor, the TV tuner card, the 500GB hard drive, and yes, the Blu-Ray drive – all real.”

“So… we can have it all?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes.”

She was up, going to him, finding the space between his arms.

“Let’s never fight again,” she sobbed. “Never let me go.”

“I won’t,” he assured her. “I won’t.” As they entwined in the darkening dining room, their bodies fitting together in all the familiar ways, just one thought distracted him: Now I just have to make sure she never finds out I’ve been sleeping with her sister.

Spruce Up Your Blog - Timley Blogging Tips

siyam — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:52:19 +0000

Blog as you would like to be blogged to. When you are blogging, remember your audience, and try to write about what you think they will be interested in.

1. Consider the season and think about how it relates to your business’s services

(example: “42 Rules of Social Media for Business” makes a holiday great gift for the co-worker/marketer/communications expert who has everything. and it’s available in eBook for those “go green” die-hards in your life.) - See, it isn’t that hard when you get creative.

2. Consider what is happening in current events as they relate to your business. What are your customers likely to want to read about when it comes to current events and how can you blog that to your advantage?

(example: Don’t just put lipstick on the pig… get a new pig and by pig I mean social media platform. If your social media platform isn’t working for your business… get a new one. This, and 41 other useful rules are avaliable in the new book “42 Rules of Social Media for Business”)

3. Consider your personal story and write your blog entries as short, helpful insights. When possible, add an appropriate personal story to keep it interesting.

(example: Social Media for Business Rule: “There is no spoon,” and there is no social media platform. For those of you phsy-fi fans, The Matrix and all of it’s related films are now available on BluRay. This is truly a movie trilogy meant to be seen within the same week. The Star Wars movies can have years, maybe decades, between them. LOTR can have a couple months depending on WETA’s production schedule and the actors who are commuting between studios from the Matrix set, and as for Spider Man… I don’t think I’e even seen the end of the second one. Ah, but the Matrix is a film I didn’t quite get until I saw it in one setting, with the Animatrix and the “making of.” Now, I get it. I feel a connection to the deep psychological underpinnings of connecting the mind, spirit, and body and the consequences of not “listening” to one’s-self. When one is in tune with everything, there is no spoon, there is only self and self is an extension of everything. In a practical application, one can theorize that there is no social media platform… there is only you. You are the social media platform. Do not fight it. Be it. You are the One.)

Social Media Communication Dynamics

siyam — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:27:02 +0000

How is it different than other media?

I want you all to think about the first time you remember talking to someone who was on a cell phone. If you called this person from your home, while they were driving, chances are, you were probably more focused on the conversation than they were. Does this make a difference in the kind of conversation you had?

Yes, because where you are in an exact point in time is the context of the conversation and can not be recreated. While others in the future, may try to understand that exact context, they can only get so close to understanding the full context of the conversation.

Now, I want you to consider the nature of social media communication and think about how that affects what is being said and how it is being interpreted. It is instant. When you post something on an online forum, or leave a comment on a web video, others can read it, and (depending on the internet & server speed) it’s almost instant. In generations past, communicating to others involved other methods, which were slower, and often allowed the sender to more closely consider the messages they wanted to send.

What is Social Media?

siyam — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:26:13 +0000

Traditional media, like radio, television, film, newspapers, and even books are considered “push media.” This means that a gatekeeper, editor, producer, or organization decides on a topic or story, creates a specific media package and pushes that information to an audience. In today’s world mainstream media is owned by a small handful of mega-corporations, and while there appears to be a variety of topics, viewpoints, and stories available, the lack of diverse ownership leaves audiences with a limited selection of choices that does not represent the true diversity of society.

The internet, however, allows people to openly share, without having to go through the traditional channels of editing and filtering. If you live in a country that protects your internet privacy you are one of the privileged world citizens that can explore a level of communication previously unknown to mankind. Instant, and often portable, communication means the internet is always evolving. For example, let’s say you had a bad experience at a restaurant chain, and the headwaiter refused to listen to your complaint. You could write the owner an email post a negative entry to an restaurant review site, review the restaurant on Yelp, and IM your local newspaper’s restruant critic from your cell phone, before the meal ever ended.

Not too long ago, this would have been unheard of. These new advancements in communication technology mean that you want to treat your customers well and tend to your online presence regularly. Set up a schedule and, depending on the type of business you run, post a blog entry or update your social media page anywhere from weekly to monthly.

Social media enables communication between people, via a social networking platform. Through this, people share pictures, stories, shout-outs, videos, music, and other information. Social media is “social” because it fosters multifaceted communication between users and communities.