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Social Media: Getting Started

by Jimmy Marks

Many companies worry about their involvement with social media (or lack thereof). We've talked about social media before, but we've never really given a list of "getting started" instructions. Hopefully, this will help your business get its feet wet. 

STEP 1: Sign up, Get going

No more of this "will we, won't we?" business. Get moving! Start turning out those blog posts, recording messages from the CEO to upload to YouTube, twittering, facebooking, emailing...whatever fits your member's tastes. Don't know what members are interested in? Hit them with a quick survey to sharpen your focus. 

More importantly, make this new communication channel someone's job. Make them track results and feedback. Stay on top of it. 

Best Practice - Set a bar and meet it. What do you WANT out of Social Media? Before you get going with anything, read this from thefinancialbrand.com about ROI and social media. 

STEP 2: Learn to Share

If you are running a blog or sending out a monthly email newsletter, you can make individual stories or pages shareable via the major social networks. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and most other networks provide links that, when set up properly, allow readers to share your content via their own account. Most blogging services provide a widget for sharing this information around. If you are a DigitalMailer ARB user, we can get you set up with the proper links and icons for sharing. 

You've probably seen buttons such as these before. When readers/members/users click these buttons, they're sharing your content and information with other people. Encourage them! 

Best Practice - Worried you don't have enough followers after a week? Don't. Building out this new way of talking to members and customers can take time. Read the CU Soapbox article "Follow-and-Friend Freeze Out" to give yourself and your organization a realistic idea of a "healthy" follower count.

STEP 3: Refine and Realign

Don't get comfy, social media trends and usage are changing day to day. Know which methods and messages are working and which aren't. Keep an eye on your stats and your referrals and make note of which method/network is giving you the best response.

Best Practice - Don't just talk, listen. If you have followers or friends eager to speak with you, address them and meet the need. You'll find that you can help users and members in a way that's simple, light and smart. You may also pick up new members and customers as a result. 

Some final food for thought:

Take a look at this video on "socialnomics". VERY thought provoking. 

Who's Buyin', Who's Lyin', Who's Dyin'?

by Ron Daly 

After ten years providing email delivery and online services, I have a little experience with what draws people to open an email or visit a website. Where that experience shifts is when it comes to social media and referrals. Over the past year or so, there's been plenty to read about whether or not social media is "good" for your business. Can you run/boost a business using social media? 

Bob Serling of Power 8 Marketing seems to think it's possible, but it requires a stronger knowledge of your audience. From his blog post:

There are a lot of ways to identify people who are actual buyers, but it takes a lot more leg work, and usually more money to do this properly. That’s why the promise of the next “free magic bullet” traffic system is bound to fail too. Because there just isn’t any free and easy way to generate qualified leads in your sleep. If there was, we’d all have a different color Ferrari for each day of the week.

I think Bob's point is well spoken - just because you're blogging, tweeting, facebooking, youtubing, etc. doesn't mean you're going to burn up the Internet with site traffic and new visitors. And even if you do draw a million people to your business' website, how many are in market and qualified? It's a tough nut to crack for b-to-c companies, but for b-to-b it's a lot harder. Fewer people are involved in a b-to-c buying proposition and you can appeal to people on a gratification level that's not quite the same in b-to-b. But no matter who you're selling to, getting them to buy online in a single visit is a rarity. 

Where is "The Fold"?

by Greg Crandell

Back when newspapers were as simple as "Really Simple" syndication got, being "above the fold" or "below the fold" was something that mattered to editors and advertisers. Being above the fold means better visibility and a greater likelihood of response and recognition. While fewer folks are reading papers these days, ads and articles that are above the fold are still regarded as more important and more desirable. 

This concept has translated to web design to some degree. It's led most folks who design websites to post all the "good content" just under the site header, or anywhere within the bounds of the "first scroll". More and more these days, web designers and usability experts are questioning whether or not "the fold" exists on the web. 

This article from Clockwork Active Media Systems starts shooting some holes in the conventional wisdom. Better information architecture, says the article, is much more important than where things are relative to the fold. Some resources from the article that might be helpful to your design team/web managers: 

• http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ - this link will show you browser sizes and percentages, indicating how many people have their browser windows open to a specific size. How many people, on average, are seeing your actionable content? Do they have any way to contact you? Do they see content worth seeing within a specific size range? Type in your own URL at the top to use the overlay.
• http://www.thereisnopagefold.com/ - Get used to websites such as these - with URLs being easier to register these days, "single serving" websites like this will become more prevalent. Have only ONE thing to say? You need a single serving site, just like this one. If this is a little technologically advanced for you, let me give you a hint: scroll down. The folks behind the "There is no page fold" movement want to get away from this above/below fold mindset. If users see anything interesting on your website, they'll scroll; if they don't, they'll bolt. Simple, right? 

I'm not an expert on where people look/how they behave online, but I will say that I'm more inclined to read through a page that's linked to me. If I've got a few minutes and I need to find something on a given website, I'll browse around and hunt for the information I want. Going back to the design argument, if something is clearly defined or demonstrated on a website, scrolling to find it won't bother you. Better to have information that's easy to understand than information that's easy to find, but better still to have both. 

How Big Is The Internet? A Visual Guide

by Jimmy Marks

Came across this diagram of "A day in the Internet", a visual representation of all the information that gets processed, added, and moved through the Internet every day.

The diagram is 500 pixels wide and 1600 or so pixels long, so putting it here is tough, but here's a clip of it that links to the full image. 

A lot of interesting information shared here. Some thoughts this generated for me: 

- We get one Guyana's-worth of new Facebook users every day. Theoretically, everyone could connect with anyone else. I just wonder why there aren't as many people "follow-spamming" me there as on Twitter. Maybe it's because Facebook has actions other than type/follow/unfollow?

- We send enough data across the mobile phone carrier infrastructure every day to fill 1.7 million blu-ray discs? That's bananas. I'm starting to wonder if, in the next few years, you'll be able to call phones "phones" anymore. They're just tiny computers these days, getting your email, playing games, taking pictures - calls are one slice of a great big functionality pie.

- Rob once remarked that there was "signal to noise ratio" to consider when reading/digesting information online. Sometimes it's helpful and interesting, sometimes it's a list of things someone ate for breakfast. If each day, bloggers write the equivalent of 19 years of newspaper - the New York Times, no less - how much of that is recycled? Or worth the time it takes to read?

Hopefully, this is some food for thought for you, too! Talk to us about it in the comments section.

 (image, story from Gizmodo)

The Decoy, The Bait, and the Smarter Twitter User

by Jimmy Marks

Growing up in a rural community, you get used to hunting and fishing terms and techniques. Two such techniques I've seen used to great success are decoys and bait. 

The decoy is a preferred method of staying out of the sight of waterfowl. Lulling them into a false sense of safety with fake ducks or geese and getting them to draw closer so you can fire is a skill that many successful hunters learn early. Bait, obviously, is a key part of the fishing equation - without tempting bait, it's tough to draw a fish's attention. While these methods are important to hunters, they're even more important to Spammers. Regrettably, they're just as effective online as they are in the outdoors.

A number of credit union and finance Twitter accounts have been compromised lately. Our own Twitter account, twitter.com/DMI_CUSoapbox, received a number of direct messages from our followers/friends imploring us to click links and enter our personal information. Thankfully, we ignored most of these links and paid attention to the Twitter explosion that followed.

"Accounts hacked!" followers exclaimed. 

"Do NOT click the link," others noted. 

And from one or two Twitter accounts being compromised came three or four. And from all that hubbub came a stinging reminder: 

SPAM will always be around to ruin the party. 

The White Whale of Online Search - How to make it easier

by Jimmy Marks

I'm here today to confess something about the Internet. I've already admitted the Internet is eating me by taking up more of my non-work time and invading my world more and more each day. The thing that still throws me is the sheer size of the beast itself. 

According to a survey from April 2009, there are around 232 million websites online. Our websites - the home site for the company and both outsider blogs - make up about 500 pages. I gave up trying to find out how many exact web PAGES there are online, but the Wayback Machine holds the records of 160 billion pages. Our 500 out of 160 billion means we're occupying .00005 % of the Internet. Wow. That ain't much. And part of my job is trying to get our site(s) noticed at that size. *Gulp*.

Not to fear - I resolved when I started this job a year ago that I'd bring our search results up and drive our loss-rates down. Our overall traffic and bounce-rates have improved, but our results could always be better. Search engine optimization and higher search returns for everything within my domain (pun intended) have become my white whale. I have the means and the knowledge to make it work for me, it's just a matter of making smart changes in the way Google and other search engines find and account for my sites. I've vowed that, in the coming months, I'm going to slay this whale...or die trying.

Hit 'em where they live

Part of boosting your search traffic is knowing how Google looks at your pages. If you sign up for Google's webmaster tools, you can start verifying your site right away and finding out what Google sees when it peeks in on your day-to-day operation. Some big things to consider that Google can expose:

Onward and Upward!

by Ron Daly 

"If we can put a man on the moon..." 

After celebrating the fortieth anniversary of doing the one thing that makes it seem like we can do anything, some worthwhile moments of note from around the web: 

Disney doing research on web banner receptiveness

(from the NY Times, via Gizmodo)

Disney, the mega-media conglomerate that owns ABC, Walt Disney World, and ESPN (to name a few) is doing some of the most complex and thorough investigation of the effectiveness of, and attention paid to, banner advertisements. Their goal is to say with some level of certainty which banner ads work the best - full page, pre-content movies, small button ads, etc. 

From the article:   

The tools are advanced: in addition to tracking eye movement, Dr. Varan and his 14-member team use heart-rate monitors, skin temperature readings and facial expressions (probes are attached to facial muscles) to reach conclusions.

Wow...that's some impressive technology and expense. Hopefully, we'll be able to see what Disney's results are (somehow)

Ban the book! Then bring it back!

(via AllThingsD.com)

Go to a bookstore. Buy a book. Take it home. You have the book. Now what happens when someone comes in and takes out of your hands. 

It might not happen with a paper book, but with a Kindle? It just did. 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has recently apologized for a rash of deletions that occurred when Kindle users downloaded the works of George Orwell. When users downloaded Animal Farm and 1984, they suddenly found both books gone from their portable reading devices. Amazon has officially apologized for removing the books from people's Kindles, but aren't willing to say it won't happen again. 

Remote deposits just keep getting more so. 

(via the CU Journal)

WVUFCU is now offering a special iPhone app called iDeposit, which allows members to scan a check they wish to deposit with their iPhone and deposit said check in their account (click here for the full article). How many more credit unions (or banks) will be using this in the near future? Only time will tell, but WVUFCU seems very happy with their early successes. We'll keep you posted!

Throwing salt all over "Snail Mail"

(via the Washington Post)

The postal service is still fading. With further losses, billions fewer pieces of mail per year, and further talk of Saturday delivery disappearing altogether to stem losses, bitter feelings are beginning to emerge. 

How do you feel about the disappearance of regular mail? What is the maximum amount of postage you'd pay to send a standard letter? We want to hear from you. 

Onward and upward! If you have a technological innovation you'd like to highlight, contact us. 

Sorry, Twitter - Rob's Just Not That Into You.

by Ron Daly 

Believe it or not, this blog will be one year old this month. One of our first posts came from COO/CIO Rob Banker, who was extolling the virtues of Twitter (click here to read). He signed up for an account and started Tweeting. 

And then, one day, he disappeared. 

Apparently, he wasn't the only one. It seems Twitter is having trouble keeping users. According to eMarketer, Twitter only retains about 40% of new users/followers (click here). To get further insight as to why Rob walked away from the popular mini-blogging site, we asked him some questions about his exodus from Twitter and social media altogether. 

So, why aren't you on Twitter anymore?

Simple... Signal to noise ratio. And this was before the mainstream explosion on Twitter. I was following a few dozen Twitter feeds of people in tech and a few other industries as well as a few friends. The quality of information wasn't worth the time. I don't fault the writers so much, 140 characters isn't enough to say anything particularly useful. Unless you're writing haiku.

What do you think of the mainstreaming of Twitter (and social media in general)?

Feels like 1995 all over again. Everyone had to have a homepage. They didn't know why, but they had to have it. I fell for it too. I spent a week long vacation creating a website. There's seven days I can't get back. It was a good education, but ultimately the site served no value for the company. It was just too soon. Being an early adopter isn't necessarily a good thing.

UPDATE - Not saying we're ahead of the curve, BUT...

by Jimmy Marks

A few days ago, Greg and I posted this story about the difference between social media comprehension and...well, what's going on nowadays. My Internet Friend (boy, THAT'S a depressing phrase) Ron Shevlin stopped by to talk about what the role of social media is and whether or not you can "vet" a social media expert. Or whether or not one exists. 

Well, Ron sent me a link to a MarketingSherpa article which shows that most organizations think that, with no social media experience, marketers are still somewhat knowledgeable about social media techniques. 

A copy of their chart: 

Chart: How Knowledgeable Are Marketers With No Social Media Experience?  

MarketingSherpa seems to have summed things up very well:

This was confirmed in MarketingSherpa's Social Media Marketing and PR study where we found that the "lack of knowledgeable staff" was the most significant barrier to social media adoption. When making the initial jump into social media, many organizations start by delegating responsibility to the first staff person they find with a profile on Facebook or LinkedIn since very few people have any level of practical experience in this new strategy. The result is usually a marketing program pre-destined to failure. [Click here for the full article from MarketingSherpa]

Exposure does not equal experience. Just keep that in mind. 

Separating the Businesses from the Bots: What Social Media REALLY Means

by Greg Crandell and Jimmy Marks

If you're a CEO of a major credit union/business/non-profit, you're probably wondering

a) Do I make so much money that people are going to start picketing me at my house?
b) Am I really worth all that money if I'm wasting my time reading this blog all day?

and, most importantly: 

c) When are all these little DORKS going to stop pestering me about Web 2.0 and Social Media?!?

A and B, we can't help you. C, we know. 

We have already talked at length about how business professionals are sick and tired of hearing about Social Media (click here to read). So they hire these people...usually whippersnappers like Jimmy*...to sign them up for the holy triumverate of bad Web 2.0 decisions: 

1. A do-nothing Facebook page that has no actionable links or content
2. A Twitter account that pats itself on the back 
3. A YouTube channel with two videos which are poorly produced 

*Jimmy's Note: Being young has NOTHING to do with being good at social media. If young people were any good at managing content online and being good at representing a cause, they'd never get in trouble for having pictures of themselves smoking marijuana on their MySpace. Vet your online content managers/web specialists with the same jaundiced eye you'd use in selecting an accountant.