Johannes Gutenberg has been described as an engineer, a scholar, and an entrepreneur.  I believe it was those three driving characteristics that fueled his desire to create something that was unique, brilliant in design and that added value to his community.

The revolutionary creation of movable type provided the method by which a mass communication would take place.  Scholars argue that it was the Gutenberg’s press that ushered in the Renaissance era, an era that at the core was a cultural shift and a resurgence of learning.  Had Gutenberg created the original Wordpress?

Interesting enough is the fact that the single letters were assembled in a rectangular box and then placed in what some historians believe was a press influenced by the wine presses in the German region where Gutenberg lived.

Without trying to make too much of a correlation to the communication era we are living in now and the communication revolution of the 14^th century, is it possible that we might be in a Gutenberg moment?  Over the last 500 hundred years, we have gone from a one-to-one form of communication to a one-to-many form of distribution of information to now a mass-to-mass distribution of information driven by individuals.

Have we stumbled upon this moment not realizing the significance? Have we, by adding 140 characters to tiny rectangles linking to world changing events, unknowingly participated in a cultural shift once again? Have we rearranged the letters and symbols in such a way that a new mobile type has dawned?

Speaking from my own experience, I would have to answer, yes!  I have been engulfed by this social wave and experienced the passion of learning new things based on the timeless categories of relationships, life, and purpose.

Every day I find new blogs, updates on Facebook, tweets on Twitter, pictures on Flickr and videos on YouTube all making unique expressions, some beautiful in design and each adding value to a global community.

Are you tired of hearing about Twitter this Facebook that YouTube whatever? There is so much talk about social media right now.  Most people are just trying to figure out what it is, why do it, and how will it benefit them to join the conversation.  It’s not just the public talking; it’s employees who are talking too. They’re talking about their experiences while they’re at work! Hate, love, sucks, are common sentiments that fly tweet after tweet.  These updates/tweets are signs telling us that staff members don’t feel as though they have a place to talk, vent, or express how they feel about their role in the organization.

How can a company create social space for coworkers? Is it possible to create a place where employees feel as though they have a voice that will be heard?  Is it possible to cultivate an environment where frank discussions can take place without turning into total chaos? Yes.

One company that has ventured out in internal social networking waters is Bestbuy.  Bestbuy has an internal website where employees can login and talk about things that make work better or worse.  It’s called BlueNation.  The success of BlueNation is that it is supported by senior management and provides space for voices of the 1000s of BestBuy employees across the country.  BestBuy understands that people want to feel connected to the success of something larger than themselves.

Is it possible for a small business with less than 50 employees to have the same kind of web 2.0 internal communications without spending $250,000? Yes, the tools are emerging! Yammer is a tool that is available for as little as $5 per month per user.  Here are a few screen shots to give you an idea of what Yammer can do to improve your company’s communication, interaction, and efficiency.

Social Community for Business

Yammer is a simple way for employees to connect and share by posting messages. As employee participation grows, Yammer becomes a corporate social network, discussion board, and knowledge base all rolled into one easy-to-use interface.

Create and Organizational Chart

Social Community for Businesses Yammer

Organizational Chart

Social Community for Small Businesses

Create Discussion Boards

Social Community for Small Businesses

Expandable Applications

Social Community for Small Businesses

For more information on Yammer visit their website for free download

The first time I was exposed to Texas Hold’em was in the late 90s. I remember watching the movie Rounders with Matt Damon; instantly, I was hooked on both. I enjoy playing Texas Hold’em for entertainment. I have it on my iPod and on my Facebook page. Zynga’s Texas Hold’em is the number one game application on Facebook. Players play with virtual money in casinos from Boston to Barcelona. Zynga understands that it’s not just about playing the game, it’s about where you play and who you play with that adds excitement.

Zynga Texas Holdem for Facebook

One of the things I like about watching The World Series of Poker on ESPN is the player hand percentage of winning. Although those percentages can change with the flip of one card, knowing the percentages is a strategy many players employ.

Right now Social Media is a fluid and daily changing river of digital channels. New start-ups are entering the social wars every day. Knowing which ones will make it to the river can be a risky bet. One of the ace of spades in social bookmarking  is StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon was founded in 2001 and was purchased by eBay in May 2007, until April 2009, when two of the founders, backed by investors, bought it back.

In June of 2009, StumbleUpon showed its cards introducing Su.pr a powerful URL Shorten tool. With combined Twitter and Facebook integration, Su.pr providers quick bookmarking that can be linked to Twitter accounts and/or Facebook accounts to let others know what sites you have stumbled upon. The ability to schedule updates as well as a simple dashboard to track the clicks per update allows Su.pr users to know what tweets are most popular. It’s like knowing the percentages for the winning social poker hand.

Social Web Tool Su.pr

“Su.pr’s analytics are similar to those that fellow UR shortening service bit.ly provides, except that Su.pr is connected to website discovery service Stumbleupon, which gives each link an extra distribution push. Links can be voted upon by the StumbleUpon community (which the platform estimates as 8 million users), and if it becomes popular the link can become viral. For StumbleUpon, Su.pr is a way to seed the service with links people are already pushing out to their real-time streams.” TechCrunch July 8, 2009

Stacking Social Web Tools Twitter and Facebook

The traditional business to customer model has been altered dramatically over the last 18 months due to emerging social technologies (Video).  One-way communicating and shotgun media blasts are being ignored and blocked by audiences in every market segment.  From XM Radio, iTunes, Hulu, TiVo, RSS Readers and On-Demand Programming, the consumer has taken over the channels and the remote control.  Businesses are faced with the challenge of how to reach their target audience.  It is the “reach” perspective that is blinding their ability to adapt to the evolution of the new customer demands.

Corporate brainstorming sessions centered on the question, how we “reach” new customers is a complete waste of time, energy and resources.  The new question is:  How can we “meet” our consumers in their environment to learn how they think, feel and use our products or services?  The new business strategy of “social customer engagement” is the core of SocialCRM.

Over the last couple of decades, focus groups were the cutting edge method of learning how customers think and feel about a company’s products or services.  The setup of focus groups was wrong from the start.  With two-way mirrors and a third party facilitator, organizations sat on the other side in a dimly lit room hiding from their customers.  Under the guise of wanting honest comments, were they simply afraid to face the good, the bad and the ugly about how people felt about their product?  Corporate culture had handicapped companies abilities to have an honest conversation with people.

Regardless of the corporate culture impairment, the public is talking about their experiences with a company or their products.  They talk through text messages, 140 character status updates and tweets.  Companies like BestBuy, Comcast and JetBlue are just a few companies who are braving the Social Media waters and finding a sea of information.  Not only are they listening to what is being said by using social technology, but they are responding and acting on those status updates and tweets.  These progressive organizations are learning the new rules of SocialCRM.

Rcently there was a SocialCRM conference in Boston attended by several hundred people while an even larger group attended the event through streaming video and instant chat.  Representatives from large companies and social technologies formed a panel to discuss the impacts of Social Media and social customer engagement strategies. CLICK HERE to view a thread of the comments from that event.

So how does your business get started with SocialCRM through customer engagement strategies?

Search – Do a Google search on your company or product name.  Look for forums, groups or blogs where community participation is already being used by your customers.

Listen – Don’t jump into the conversation and try to defend your product. Don’t try to explain why you are right and they are wrong.

Respond – Ask questions to gain further clarity of comments or complaints.

Act – Make contact with those who are positive influencers of your brand and find out how to empower them to continue their advocacy of your brand.

Repeat – Search, Listen, Respond, Act

The Rules have changed, the new SocialCRM

Today I was asked to write an article for Social850.com discussing the topic of Facebook pages for Tallahassee small businesses.  The topic centered around Fan Pages vs. Group Pages.

In March of 2009, Facebook made a few changes to the structure of their site impacting the differences between Fan Pages and Group Pages.  The core change was how people can suggest or promote their pages.  I hope this post helps to define when to use a Fan Page versus a Group Page.

FAN Pages:

Indexed by Google – Fan Pages are indexed by Google providing SEO benefits for any business looking to grow their digital footprint.

Adding Applications – Fan Pages allow the use of adding Applications or widgets that can enhance the user interaction with Fans and a Business.  A complete list of applications can be found in the Facebook Application Directory.

Strategic Updates – Fan Page updates can be sent by age, gender and location by text with hyperlinks included.

Homepage Streaming Messages – Fan Page updates will show as notifications on a fan’s homepage, but also will display as a status update in the friend stream on the homepage.

Facebook Insights – Internal Facebook system providing metrics for number of fans, unique visitors, number of reviews and total interactions.

Suggest to Friends – This new feature allows Fans to send a message to friends to suggest becoming a Fan.  This was a key feature change in March making Fan pages more viral.

Group Pages:

Group participation – Group pages can be Open, Closed, or Secret offering various levels of participation.

Bulk Invitations – Group pages can send bulk emails to friends inviting to become a member.

Threaded Conversations – Group pages offer conversations in a threaded format providing for a more organized process of publishing information about certain topics or issues.

Officers – Groups pages allow the addition of offices which can be a measure of goodwill or just for community building fun.

Not indexed by search engines.

No Applications can be used to enhance page.

Summary

Facebook Pages are primarily used to promote businesses, non-profits, celebrities and artists to Facebook users.  Facebook states that “only the official representative of an artist, business, or brand may create a Facebook Page.” In other words, Pages are intended to be an “official” web page for your organization on Facebook.

Facebook Groups can be created by anyone interested in promoting and organizing people around a specific interests or cause. All members of a group have the ability to contribute content that appears on the Group’s wall – photos, videos, discussion threads.

If you have already created a Group page and want to create a Fan page, it’s not too late.  In fact, you can send a bulk message to your Group to let them know and urge them to become a Fan! Before you make your Fan page, here is an article on The Five Elements of a Sucessful Facebook Fan Page.

Facebook Fan Page for Tallahassee Small Business using Social Media

“Craigslist, the “free classifieds” site that offers community advertising in 570 markets worldwide but charges only for a tiny percentage of its ads, will generate $100 million in revenue in 2009, the AIM Group / Classified Intelligence estimated today. That’s an increase of more than 23 percent from Craigslist’s estimated revenue of $81 million in 2008, making clear that the company continues to grow significantly while many classified advertising publishers are reporting year-over-year drops of 50 percent or more in certain categories.” by Peter M Zollman of AIMGroup

Despite the controversy surrounding Craigslist sections called “Casual Encounters” and “Erotic Services,” the fact remains that Craigslist is a peer to peer community driven web portal.  Created in 1995 by founder Craig Newmark, Craigslist has more than 20 billion page views per month and projected revenue of $100 million this year.

I think it is ironic that the Business (for sale) category is less than one inch to the right from the Casual Encounters category.  Craigslist defies all the rules of ecommerce when it comes to website design:  no banner ads; no Google Ad Sense; no big banana buttons that scream, click here.  So why is it so successful? I believe one of the central reasons for its success is the constantly updated content created by Craigslist users.

Automotive, Jobs and Real Estate are some of the top categories with large volumes of inventory.  As a Tallahassee small business digital media consultant, I have worked with automotive and real estate companies who have listed inventory and/or properties on Tallahassee Craigslist.  One of my clients who owns several rental properties has leased a property in less than one hour on Craigslist.  Another client lists their automotive inventory priced below $12,000, and receives multiple calls per day.

Similar to its cousin Ebay, the success in listing on Craigslist is photos, descriptions and multiple points of contact.  I have seen listing after listing with no pictures, poor descriptions and no phone or email listed.  Putting a link to your business website or blog is another “best practice” and allows for good web traffic tracking through tools like Google Analytics.

Tallahassee businesses posting job listings are reporting over 300 to 500 responses per listing! If you are looking to hire and are looking for a low cost alternative, Craigslist is a great resource.  Taking the time to write a good job listing, including detailed job description, educational requirements and skills needed will help reduce the number of unqualified applicants.

If you haven’t started listing your products or services on Craigslist, your competitor probably has.  One tool for monitoring Craigslist is CL Desktop.  CL Desktop is an application built on Adobe AIR.  This tool is a very well designed tool for searching and tracking listings by topic.  CL Desktop is a free application to download from Adobe AIR Marketplace.

Craigslist Social Media Monitoring Tool

Every year the Chamber recognizes small businesses for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the community at its annual Small Business Excellence Awards program.  This year’s winner of the Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees is Confidential Shredding & Recycling.

“Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc. is the premier mobile document shredding service which values client’s privacy and time.  Our mobile unit is equipped with a hydraulic lift system, which instantly feeds your confidential materials directly into the shredder.  With this state of the art equipment, our bonded professionals are able to shred your sensitive materials, hands free.  The shredding process may be viewed on our security surveillance camera system.  Clients’ are then provided with a Certificate of Destruction.” csrshredding.com

CSR gets it. Do a Google search for Confidential Shredding & Recycling in Tallahassee and you will find many reasons why they are deservedly the winner.  Take one look at their digital footprint and the evidence is clear: Social Media is an essential component of their marketing strategy.

Winner Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees:

Website: Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc.

Facebook Fan Page for Confidential Shredding & Recycling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CSRShredding

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/confidentialshredding

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/confidentialshredding

Trusteria.com: http://www.trusteria.com/csrshredding/contact

Blogger: http://csrshredding.blogspot.com

What makes CSR a winner in my book is not just the fact that they have tackled Social Media head on, but that they are very involved in the Tallahassee community.  Within the same Google search, one can see CSR’s involvement with the Tallahassee Red Cross, Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful and the Children’s Home Society.

Congratulations Confidential Shredding & Recycling! I am a big fan and a follower.

Best wishes and prosperity to you and your staff!

#1 Tallahassee Small Business Leveraging Social Media

If the phrase “information is the new currency” was used to describe the emergence of technology in the late ’90s, then “social media is the new debit card” is the phrase for business 2010.    I use my debit card for just about every transaction.  Large or small it really doesn’t matter.  My bank doesn’t charge me a minimum fee for using it (although some places do).  Annoying! At the end of the day I can look at my online banking statement and see a real-time activity journal.  My weekly journal consists of visits to coffee shops, lunch expenditures, along with trips to Publix, Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart.  Anytime a transaction is made and I use my debit card, a record is created.  By looking at my online bank statements, one might be able to glean how I feel about spending money at the places I frequent during the week.

A similar assessment might be taken in regards to activities and conversations within social media.  Thousands and thousands of updates about experiences at coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores are posted everyday.  Each of those updates/comments are recorded and posted on blogs, walls and message boards.  These digital logs are a new kind of online account statement.  Each update is an informational transaction.  The insight that could be learned by these digital statements could result in valuable assessments for a company that was paying attention.

Recently, I was preparing a Social Media proposal for a new client who requested case studies to be included in the documentation.  I came across hundreds of studies.  Surprisingly, this kind of market research has been circulating since 2005.  Everyday the conversation of how do businesses engage in social media arises, to which I reply, it’s never too late to join the conversation.  I always recommend listening and observing as a starting point.

If you are in charge of marketing at your company or you are the owner of a small business and need more convincing that Social Media is a viable means to grow your business, I am including some of the case study websites that I have found extremely helpful in attempting to reconcile the online statements of social media.

Case Studies

35 Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action

Word Of Mouth Marketing Association – Comprehensive Case Study Library

Groundswell by Forrester Research – 65 Corporate examples and 25 full case studies

Social Media Statements Tallahassee

You’ve got to love David Letterman, right.  When Letterman speaks people listen.  I think he could easily become a social media mogul.  His insight to the future of social media and technology places him on target with Biz Stone and Bill Gates.  Well maybe NOT, but this little skit from him is hilarious!  Great warm up to the Tallahassee tweetup tonight! Enjoy.

Tallahassee Tweetup Warmup

Are you an eavesdropper? When you are out in public places do you listen to the conversations going on around you? Whether you are sitting in a coffee shop, having ale at your favorite pub or sitting in coach flying to LA, the question will come around, what do you do? You answer. If you’re a banker, lawyer, school teacher, you explain where and what you do. Something triggers that question. Maybe you’re wearing a uniform, a company branded shirt, reading your industry related magazine; something generates the question. Maybe you’re talking with a colleague about your new product line, an intriguing project, or upcoming company event; it’s the conversation that perks the attention of the person next to you. Did you ask them to listen to your conversation? No. Are you in a public space? Yes. Is it a social environment? Yes.

Social media is like conversations in a global coffee shop. If you are on Facebook or on Twitter, you are listening in on the conversation. Has someone on Facebook or Twitter ever helped you find a store, locate a bank or given you technical advice? Have you returned the favor? Did you send them a thank you note? Did you stay in contact with that person? Why not? Why wouldn’t you look to pay it forward?

Imagine if you could listen to the conversations that are about what you are interested in while turning down the volume on all the other unrelated voices. Current estimates show Twitter alone has 14 to 19 million users, and that number is growing every day. That is a bunch of conversations! The ability to chime in to just one topic is a powerful capability. Harnessing that information can provide valuable insight to companies and individuals. Tools like Tweetdeck and Seesmic are free applications that will allow you to key in on multiple topics and feed the results right to your desktop.

Search is probably the fastest growing segment of web technology today. Look at the huge success of Google; everyone is searching for something. Not everyone who searches is lost. With so many people looking, now is the time to invest in becoming an expert guide in your field of service or product line. Don’t try to be the one size fits all solution. The niche guides are the winners in this game. How do you know if you qualify as an expert? One benchmark is 10,000 hours of experience. Check out Malcolm Gladwell’s recent book Outliers for more on the 10,000 hour benchmark.

As a business in today’s digital media landscape, it is essential to have your ears open. If you haven’t dedicated a portion of your time and resources to social media, please consider it. Every Fortune 500 company spends at least 20% of its resources on research and development. Take three 15 minute breaks in your day and follow a conversation or two on Twitter. I recommend taking notes along the way. After a week of following conversations, compile a report of your findings and present that to your manager/owner. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. There is a global conversation about your business. Are you listening?

Art of listening in Social Media