Month: April 2012

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2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

A person holding a smartphone with social media icons on the screen
The Big Picture - Social Media Marketing
The Big Picture - Social Media Marketing

How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses

Want to learn about the latest trends in social media? Want to know how experienced businesses are doing it right?

Michael Stelzner, Founder of Social Media Examiner, has just released the 2012 report on the results of his fourth annual social media marketing study. He taps into 3800 marketers and shares their experiences and insights – the who, what, when and why of social media marketing.

Michael has invited me to share this information with you – completely free. You’ll learn, in 42 pages packed with data and charts (over 70 charts!), what online marketers are doing, and what they plan to do online.

Major Findings of the Study

Michael summarizes the key points below. Thank you, Mr. Stelzner!

  • Marketers still place high value on social media: A significant 83% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business.
  • Measurement and targeting are top areas marketers want to master: Forty percent of all social media marketers want to know how to measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and find customers and prospects.
  • Video marketing holds the top spot for future plans: A significant 76% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2012.
  • Marketers seek to learn more about Google+: While only 40% of marketers are using Google+, 70% of marketers want to learn more about it and 67% plan on increasing Google+ activities.
  • Top three benefits of social media marketing: The number-one benefit of social media marketing is generating more business exposure (reported 85% of marketers), followed by increasing traffic (69%) and providing marketplace insight (65%).
  • Top five social media networks/tools for marketers: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and YouTube were the top five social media tools used by marketers, in that order.
  • Social media marketing still takes a lot of time: The majority of marketers (59%) are using social media for 6 hours or more each week, and a third (33%) invest 11 or more hours weekly.
  • Social media outsourcing underutilized: Only 30% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing, only a slight increase from 28% in 2011.

You can find the original page for the report here:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-industry-report-2012/

We’d love to hear your feedback on this. What do YOU think?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in late April 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

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The CFC: Leveraging National Volunteer Week – April 15-21, 2012

A volunteer fundsraising

In the 7 Keys to CFC Success, Key #3 is “Use all 12 months of the Year.” By the time you get to the actual CFC solicitation period in the fall, you’ll need to have already planted the seeds of awareness in the minds of your current and potential new donors.

Communication and marketing professionals will tell you that a person needs to have had at least seven “touches” (meaning any type of communication, including letters, ads, conversations, etc.) with an organization before they will act — whether to donate, volunteer, or make a purchase.

One program that provides multiple communication possibilities for many non-profits is the “National Volunteer Week” program that is sponsored by the Points of Light Institute. It began in 1974 and has grown significantly over the years, and the Points of Light network now includes more than 70,000 organizations.

The Institute provides many free resources to non-profits about the many aspects of National Volunteer week, including a free resource guide … that is available at: Resource Guide

As stated in that guide:
National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, 2012 is about inspiring, recognizing
and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their
communities. … you can leverage this brief window of national opportunity
to advance your individual cause and promote volunteer commitment in
your community.

I added the emphasis (bold-face) to the above to help you understand how important it is for your non-profit to benefit from this type of opportunity. This is just one example of the types of leverage available to non-profits, but it’s an extremely important one – don’t let it slip through your fingers !!

Volunteer Appreciation – Events

Many non-profits hold their own volunteer recognition efforts during the month of April, and as they are recognizing their program volunteers, it’s a very easy and simple step to add recognition of your own fundraising volunteers, as well as of the federal employees who are CFC volunteers each fall. The most basic tenet of all successful fundraising is to say “Thank you,” but many non-profits do not take advantage of all the opportunities to publicly thank all of their supporters.

Volunteer Appreciation – Press Releases and other Media

In addition to live events for recognizing volunteers, one of the important tools that non-profits should use are the Internet based media release sites. You have a compelling story to tell, (or else you wouldn’t exist), use the fact that because of the visibility of National Volunteer week, many media outlets are looking for stories to tell about non-profits in their community.

In addition to thanking the volunteers, and certainly if your organization has one or more “Volunteers of the Year” they will appreciate the coverage. Be sure to thank your fundraising volunteers … and the CFC campaign volunteers.

One of the important success tips in using Internet based press release services is to use accurate keywords for your organization, and you can end up being surprised by which media outlets are interested in your story.

In 2011, the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park (a community park in Fairfax County, VA) thanked their supporters as part of National Volunteer Week, and mentioned some of their upcoming programs. A few days later a reporter from the Voice of America called.

No one would have predicted that result, and it shows how media has changed — use the right keywords for your organization, and the media will find you. You no longer have to find them.

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During his 25-year career in the Federal sector, Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach, served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions, contact … Bill Huddleston
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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

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Flinging Mud with SEO

Two-employees-using-their-laptop-to-search-for-work-tasks

Taking damage from searches for your own key terms

Politicians are no strangers to controversy, but as we become more and more immersed in the digital world, regular citizens are gaining the power to cause serious reputation management issues for these seemingly lofty figures. The following quote, from a MediaPost article by Derek Gordon, highlights some rising online troubles for Presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney:

…each has a certain search engine problem. Santorum’s is very well known and is the result of a years-long effort by gay rights activists to define the word “santorum” as a byproduct of certain sexual activities. (Rick Santorum has long been a vocal opponent of marriage equality for gay people, and even went so far as to compare homosexual marriage to bestiality.) The website responsible for the redefinition of “santorum,” spreadingsantorum.com, currently ranks in the number three slot on Google.

 

Romney now has a similar problem, thanks to the debut of SpreadingRomney.com in mid-January. It has jumped to page 1 of Google search results in just a few week’s time, which even industry veterans like Danny Sullivan find remarkable. The “romney” definition relates to the story of how Governor Romney once strapped the family dog to the roof of the car for a road trip to Canada, which made the dog sick and caused it to develop a nasty case of diarrhea while still on top of the car. (To be fair, the dog was in a dog crate; Romney didn’t literally strap his dog to the top of the car. The New York Times columnist Gail Collins has, in particular, not let the story die.)

In a political race that is still dominated by the largely conservative voting population, these pages place huge, unavoidable spotlights on issues that the candidates would love nothing more than to be buried at this stage in the race.

Keep in mind, SpreadingRomney.com is owned, operated, and promoted by ONE person. The two crisis management lessons to be taken from this are:

  1. Dominate search results for your terms. There is no excuse for Santorum and Romney to have not pushed these results off the front page, they have the money, they can get the manpower.
  2. In today’s world of e-reporting and Internet-dominated news, ticking off the wrong person can have grave consequences.

Your reputation is your most valuable asset, protect it online and off!

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Exotic Project Management Software

Businessman studying project details pinned to a white board

Guest post from Alexander Mitnikov.

Where does a typical software vendor come from? IT-companies from the USA, the UK, Canada, India and Germany have a substantial representation in the market. However, in search for a suitable project management tool for instance one might bump into some extraordinary countries. Serbian business tool, software from Denmark, Latvian startup – these are the word combinations that rarely bother our hearing and even when they do chances are that you are not likely to put your faith in such vendors due various reasons like fear of a scam or general watchfulness towards something new and unfamiliar. Consequently, less popular IT-companies are compelled to come up with outstanding features to get their share of customers. The purpose of this article is to illustrate what practical advantages some exotic software vendors have to offer by giving several concrete examples.

Podio ( https://company.podio.com/project-management-software ) is an all-inclusive project management and web collaboration tool from Denmark that supplies its users with an overwhelming amount of features: projects, tasks, milestones, calendar, meetings, discussions, file-sharing, email integration, reporting, budget control, CRM and many more. Mentioning a tool that it does not encompass is quite a challenge. However, that’s not the biggest advantage of Podio. Comprehensive functionality is undoubtedly a plus, but Podio goes even further and grants a full-scale mobile access to its services. Podio App Store offers hundreds of free applications for business that can be either obtained separately or in special packs depending on the functionality you need. The applications are available on Android and iPhone. Everything from business development and community management to human resources and marketing is at your disposal. Clear and reasonable pricing plans ($8 per an employee per month) is one more reason to pay attention to a vendor from Denmark. The company is backed by the Nordic-based venture capital investor Sunstone Capital, which makes it a trustworthy partner.

ActiveCollab ( http://www.activecollab.com/) is another full-fledged project management/collaboration product. It was developed by a Serbian company named A51 d.o.o. The toolset of activeCollab has every right to be called outstanding. It includes all the necessary features to keep track of your projects, collaborate with your team and partners, save time as well as the ability to integrate the product with other services according to your specific needs. What makes activeCollab trustworthy and more functional at the same time is its deployment solution. The tool can be installed on your own server, thus it gives you more freedom than you get with SaaS solution e.g. you are not limited by the amount of users, projects or storage space for your documents. Availability of the source code of the product is another factor that verifies the company’s status and its serious intentions to establish a long-term partnership with its customers. ActiveCollab offers two types of perpetual licenses for $499 and $249 that differ in the amount of features supplied. A free demo version is also available which makes Serbian product an attractive offer for modern businesses.

TeamLab ( http://www.teamlab.com/ ) is last but not least on our list (no pun intended). A promising Latvian startup also has something to brag about, namely online services for various businesses. Among those are project management, community building, CRM, calendar, reports on user activity and workload, internal chat, wiki etc. Just like its Serbian rival (or in this context soul mate) TeamLab developers decided to lay their cards on the table and provide access to its source code to promote openness and reliability. The product is also available in SaaS version for those who prefer ready-to-use services hosted by professionals. TeamLab’s gimmick is undoubtedly its document management feature. Presentations, images, spreadsheets can be uploaded and added to a particular task or project. Users are enabled to create, share, import and what’s more important – edit documents online. The recent introduction of the first full-fledged HTML5-based word processor leaves no doubt that the company is planning to keep on developing in this realm. The only thing you are charged for is additional services that include either 20 or 50 GB of extra storage space and advanced files upload for $19 or $49 per month respectively.

To sum up, modern software market’s geography has expanded dramatically. With all due respect for software vendors who have already established a good reputation, sometimes developers from the countries that can be easily called dwarfs of the industry have a lot more to offer. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to shift our focus dramatically towards the newcomers of the market. Our goal as consumers is to take into account as many options as possible no matter where they are from. This in turn will intensify market competition inevitably increasing the quality of the products represented. What can be more motivating than that?

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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Alexander Mitnikov is a freelance translator interested in modern business and technology trends. His passion is software that helps entrepreneurs and freelancers like himself enhance their working process to the full. He is currently working as a marketer at Ascensio System SIA.

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Feedback: Employee Want To Know How They’re Doing

Feedback: Employee Want To Know How They’re Doing

Research shows that most employees want feedback – they want to know how they’re doing – but many managers are doing a poor job of giving it to them. Why is that?

Here are some reasons why managers avoid providing performance feedback:

1. Lack of know-how.
Providing employees with honest and useful performance feedback is not so easy. It requires insight, skill, and maturity that many supervisors lack.

2. An orientation toward evaluation rather than development.
Many managers incorrectly assume that their job is to judge rather than to help employees improve.

3. Fear of retribution.
Supervisors worry that if they provide negative feedback, their employees will lose their motivation, argue with them, or try to retaliate against them in some way.

4. False belief: “It’s not my job.”
Many mistakenly think that their job is only to meet production and expense goals, not to develop employees. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So how can you as a supervisor, team leader or manager do a better job?
Here are five tips to become more competent and confident in giving feedback.

1. Catch people in the act.
Feedback is most effective when it is given immediately following a behavior.

2. Focus on behavior, not traits.
Feedback should be a discussion of specifically-observed behavior rather than an evaluation of employee’s personality. For example, it is much more effective to say, “you did a great job proofreading the report yesterday and catching those typos” than it is to say, “you have very good attention to detail.”

3. Do it regularly not once a year.
In order to be effective, performance feedback needs to be conducted throughout the year so that you can monitor and recognize progress.

4.Conduct coaching discussions, not lectures.
Supervisors should talk about the behavior they have observed, but also ask employees for their views of areas where improvements can be made.

Supervision Success Tip:

Your role should be as a coach not judge. Concentrate on shaping and motivating people’s behavior instead of grading it. The time for evaluation is during performance reviews not coaching sessions. Also see Employee Coaching: Three Madeleine To Make It Work and Employee Coaching: Get The Results You Want

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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    Office Politics: Love Or Hate! It’s Here To Stay

    Group-of-male-managers-discussing-their-managerial-problems-in-a-meeting

    “There’s too much wrangling and maneuvering going on. Joe really knows how to get on his boss’s good side. I hate this politicking….I just want to do my job.”

    These are things I hear in my career management and development programs. Are these the types of comments you might make as well?

    Whether you hate it, admire it, practice it or avoid it, office politics is a fact of life in any organization. And, like it or not, it’s something that you need to understand and play to an extent to be successful no matter what business or organization you work for.

    “Office politics” are the strategies that people use to gain advantage personally or for a cause they support. The term often has a negative connotation because some people use it to seek advantage at the expense of others. Good “office politics”, on the other hand, helps you to promote yourself and your cause in a fair and appropriate way.

    Why It’s Important

    If you deny the bad politics that may be going on around you and avoid dealing with them, you may needlessly suffer whilst others take unfair advantage. And if you avoid practicing good politics, you miss the opportunities to further your own interests and those of your team and your cause.

    Making Politics Work FOR You

    To deal effectively with office politics and use it yourself in a positive way, you must first to accept the reality of it. Second you need to be a good observer. Third you then use the information you gathered to build strong networks and to start practicing influencing which is the proper name for good politics. Here are strategies to get you started.

    1. Re-Map the Organization Chart
    Office politics often circumvent the formal organization chart. Sit back and watch for a while and then re-map the organization chart in terms of political power.

    • Who are the real influencers?
    • Who is the “go to guy” when things need to get done?
    • Who champions or mentors others?
    • Who is “the brains behind the organization”?

    2. Understand the Informal Network
    Once you know who’s who in the organization, you have a good idea of where the power and influence lay. Now you have to understand the social networks.

    • Who gets along with whom?
    • Who eats together? Works out together? Commutes together?
    • Are there groups or cliques that have formed?
    • What is the basis or commonality for the groups or cliques ?

    3. Build Relationships
    Now that you know how the existing relationships work, you need to build your own social network accordingly.

    • Do not be afraid of politically powerful people in the organization. Get to know them.
    • Ensure you have relationships in all directions (peers, bosses, executives)
    • Start to build relationships with those who are “in the know.”
    • Be a part of multiple networks. This way you can keep your finger on the pulse of the organization.

    Office politics are a fact of life. Positive or negative politics happens. If you don’t participate in the political game, you risk not having a say in what happens to you and perhaps your team. This allows people with less experience, skill or knowledge to influence decisions being made around you and about you.

    Career Success Tip:

    Realize that political savvy brings personal power. And as a career building tool, personal power is a key strategy for success. Skilled influencers are not overtly political; they are seen as competent professional and leaders who play the political game fairly and effectively. Also see Power is Not a Bad Word – Influencing Your Boss – Influencing How to Be taken Seriously.

    Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

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    When I Forgot the Meaning of Philanthropy

    In giving you receive

    Recently, during a meeting at our Church, I talked to Alice, our pastoral associate, about my wife Joyce and I offering to give a special major contribution for a program she heads.

    Alice is in charge of a group who regularly review the cases of fellow parishioners in desperate need of money to pay overdue bills for household utilities, rent, mortgage, medical expenses, and other critical needs.

    I have a long history of assessing and evaluating the financial “sustainability” of non-profit organizations and know it to be one of the key factors that grant-making organizations and donors use in deciding whether or not to contribute.

    While most solicitations of donors are made without the presentation of spreadsheets and statements, we know that numbers usually do count, and that at the very least we better be ready to produce them when requested.

    Thus, I found myself carrying forth those lessons learned from my non-profit evaluation experience when I began asking Alice questions at length about the designated recipients of our proposed donation.

    I probed the “worthiness” of those in need of the generosity of our gift. I asked:
    • What degree of research goes into the amounts requested?
    • How sure is the church that the beneficiaries will use the money for the purpose for which
    it is given?
    • Will the recipients do their best to get on their feet so that further assistance isn’t needed?

    In the middle of my questioning, I suddenly stopped and began to silently ask myself:
    • Had I completely forgotten what philanthropy is?
    • Where had my belief in charity gone?
    • Had I lost my understanding of the humanitarian intent of my gift by encumbering it with
    strings of implied “accountability?”
    • Was I making units of measurement more important than an act of compassion?

    As I struggled with those thoughts I realized that something even worse was in danger of happening. I was inadvertently dismissing and diminishing the good work that Alice and her committee were doing to address the very issues I was laboring over.

    Shortly after arriving home from Church, a thought came, no doubt inspired from that sacred setting where I talked to Alice. I remembered what the apostle Paul wrote: “God loves a cheerful giver,” and that reconnected me to what our gift was really about.

    I had been completely unaware that my searching, and to a degree intrusive, questioning of Alice was the reverse of the thoughts and actions of a cheerful giver.

    My concerns were too much about my desire to know who was getting the money, how much they were getting, and whether they really deserve it. I had momentarily lost my understanding of the spirit of giving. I had become a “grim giver.”

    I realize taking the “cheerful-giver” attitude too far can cause us to overlook the rational path we usually want our money to travel. But, there are times when we do not need to fret about our “return on investment.” There are times when we don’t need to wrap our giving in hard logic.

    For me, this was one of those times. Temporarily, I had forgotten, that our parishioners’ desperate need to receive was the perfect balance for my need to give.
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    If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at Tony@raise-funds.com. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com

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    If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

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    Enter Your Own Ground

    This past weekend I attended a retreat at Yogaville, south of Charlottesville VA. It was fabulous. We had time to slow down, take yoga classes, eat healthy, sleep, and walk in the woods. Best of all for me was the meditation in the LOTUS shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the spiritual principle: ‘Truth is One, Paths are Many’.

    LOTUS shrine at Yogaville

    Focal Point

    The focal point of the retreat was to enter our own ground. Through yoga and chanting we were able to leave the door of our mind, enter the gates of our heart, and rest in the pools of pure consciousness. Aaahhhh…..

    From this still point place, awareness expanded, heart opened, mind stilled. Aaauuummmmmm
    And then a thought arises, and another, then the monkey mind goes wild. Where was that still point I was just sitting in a minute ago??
    Aaauuummmm peace, stillness…..
    And then another train of thought comes into the station, blowing its whistle loudly disturbing my calm and clarity. Darn it!
    Notice that judgment…… yes I’m pissed…..Awareness…….I was thinking about work next week.
    Aaaaauuuuuuummmmm breathing, awareness, thought, observation
    Breathing in – breathing out; in –breath, out-breath …

    And so it went throughout the weekend. Clarity, calm, monkey mind chatter, to-do lists, website revisions, peace, stillness, future planning, workshops to prepare, schedules to keep, when is dinner?
    Aaaauuuuummmmmm… notice the beautiful flowering trees – the dogwoods and redbuds. Look at those gorgeous azaleas. Wow aren’t they stunning?

    Stillness Every Day

    Finally after two days, the last afternoon I felt calm. No thoughts, just silence. I wanted to walk in silence the whole way from the LOTUS shrine to the dining hall for the final meal. I wasn’t even thinking of what food I would eat. Only pure awareness of the beautiful spring day.

    Of course I don’t need to go to an Ashram for this experience. I can notice my breath as I’m talking on the phone, I can breathe deeply in a meeting, I can be aware of my thoughts as I am driving my car. All day can be my retreat, if I am in that place of awareness.

    Change happens, work piles up, calls come in, calendars get full. Yet it is all breath, all awareness, all consciousness of being in a physical body. We are here. Now. Breathe.

    Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

    *******

    For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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    Visit Linda’s website- www.lindajferguson.com for information about her coaching work, keynote presentations, seminars, and books.

    Now available!! Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” – Click here to order.

    Click this link to order Linda’s 10th Anniversary edition of “Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service”.

    Linda has a Fan Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindaJFerguson “Like” this page if you want to get notices of these blog posts and other updates of Linda’s work.

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    Steps To Become A Technical Writer

    A smiling lady sitting on a sofa while working using a laptop

    If you are currently employed:

    • begin to write even if it is about a simple process or procedure that you perform daily.
    • write about your job and what the requirements are for that position.
    • write about all your daily tasks and how long it takes to perform the job.

    This is a good way to see if you really would like to become a Technical Writer because when you begin to write about your functions, you might see that it is not an easy task.

    To improve your skills, take classes to develop or improve:

    • your writing and grammar skills, as documents have to be clear, precise, and error-free.
    • your communication skills for not only conveying instructions within documents, but for also improving your understanding and listening skills.

    To search out writing opportunities, you could:

    • begin by reviewing a list of potential jobs and their requirements. Find and focus on those companies that interest you and see what types of documents they produce, review their style of writing, and see if you can be of help to them. Also, consider other writing opportunities and see if you can begin to work as an intern.
    • look into communication as well as presentation positions as these also involve a lot of writing. From that experience, you can then call yourself a Technical Communicator. Also look into analysis, coordinator, translator, and training positions as they all involve communication and writing skills.
    • also look into freelancing positions to make sure you would enjoy being a Technical Writer. These positions are good to work in because you will experience what it is like to have to stick to set deadlines and simultaneously be flexible enough to adjust to changing requirements. In other words, it will show you how adaptable you are
    • become a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in a particular field by taking classes for any technical skills that really interest you, and write about it
    • start off in a writing group to meet others and network. With today’s social media advantages, join groups on and off line and communicate\meet up with others.

    The skills for a successful technical writing career are similar to those for success in any career. Be focused, logical, organized creative, persistent, know the product, and apply the new platinum rule ‘treat others the way they would like to be treated’. If you do not get along with your clients, users, or SMEs then you won’t be successful. Make sure you understand each other and that you are all on the same page especially when beginning a new project.