Tag Archives: Twitter

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[Link] Get the most out of your sites with HootSuite

Posted on May 27, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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A lot of JuggleMedia clients are set up to manage a Facebook Page, Twitter account and some add blogs and other sites. Using a tool like HootSuite can really take your social media to that next level, tracking your links, posts and how many people click on a certain topic.

Check out this short list of awesome features that HootSuite can handle for you:

1. Track statistics

2. Schedule updates (I personally don’t recommend doing this but once in a blue moon. It could really hurt your brand. We can talk about it)

3. Monitor your Brand

4. Add multiple people to your accounts

5. Manage multiple Twitter, Facebook and blog accounts

6. Take all this information mobile with a sweet app iPhone app

Check out this really superb article about HootSuite brought to you by American Express Open. Then, give us a call and we’ll drop by to help you set it all up! We really stand by this tool and how awesome it really is!

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If you build it… no guarantee they’ll come

Posted on May 13, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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If you build a sweet Facebook page (or have us build one for you), it doesn’t necessarily qualify you as a social media marketer. One of the best things about some of these social media platforms is the fact that it lets you know how many people are connected to your particular page. This can also be one of the worst things if you don’t manage it right.

At JuggleMedia, we have worked with clients that are really gung-ho about this “social media thing.” These are the ones that usually invest a little time and energy into their platforms daily and therefore have people that follow their information.

You see, much like the graphic, you are joining a web of people that are already online and using these platforms. Sure, organically you are going to have certain people that “like” your Facebook page or “follow” you on Twitter, but what’s your strategy for getting more “likes?” AH-HA! That was a trick question! The real question is how are you going to use your social platforms to get more customers. “Likes” are good. Customers and money are much, much better.

So here’s the first step (after talking to us of course), build the platforms and thing of ways to connect with people across the social web. For some people this is a very hard thing to thing about. It can take time and dare-I-say money to connect with people. Using tools like Facebook Ads to simply show that you have a page can be very effective but at the same time waste a lot of money if not used appropriately. As of this writing (May 13, 2010 at 11:08- yes the time does matter) there are over 488,000 people on Facebook within 50 miles of Wichita, KS. That number fluctuates hourly as accounts are added and deleted (much more added than deleted) each and every single day.

So I encourage you to think of social media platforms as more of a tool than an objective. You can’t just build a page and think you’ll get thousands of people flocking to it. Actually integrating it into your communications platform can be very beneficial.

Need help? Call us.

Happy social media-ing…whatever that means.

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Social success can take time. Use wisely!

Posted on May 12, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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Yesterday, I was privileged to have a meeting with a client 90-days after we started revamping their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace pages. That’s a long time in the social media world, but they are very happy about the foundation that we’ve built for their long-term success.

What I want to tell you is that success in social media isn’t an overnight thing. Sure, Conan O’Brien can have a Twitter following of 100,000+ overnight, but his Twitter handle is piggybacking off of his big name, something smaller businesses can’t compete with. That’s okay.

So how does one build a strong foundation? Well, let me give you two freebees. One, you’ve got to have a plan and two, you have to start in the right place. Vague, I know, but really, really important.

At JuggleMedia, we sit down with businesses and create their long-term goals. Why are you using these channels? Which channels are you using? Have you considered “x”? What about “d”? It’s our job to make sure a business owner or communicator doesn’t “stress” about the foundational building process.

The second tip is to start in the right place. Taking a day and saying “I’m just going to join every social media platform out there” is essentially a waste of a perfectly good day. First, you could create the wrong type of page, too many platforms and then you either get shut down by the owner or worse yet, have added 5 hours to your workday. Successful social media communications BLEND within the day, not dominate it.

Look at social media as a long-term component of your communications strategy. If you don’t have a strategy, think about one and write out some goals. We’ll encourage you to do the same.

Call us if you need any help. (316.747.9266) We’ll drop on by.

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[Video]- Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)

Posted on May 6, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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From Eric Qualman (@equalman) and his book Socialnomics. Amazing video with updated statistics. Check it out!

Stats from Video:

  1. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old
  2. 96% of them have joined a social network
  3. Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.
  4. Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
  5. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
  6. Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…
  7. Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year
  8. iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
  9. We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it.”
  10. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest ahead of the United States and only behind China and India
  11. Yet, QQ and Renren dominate China
  12. 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction
  13. 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; % of these using LinkedIn 95%
  14. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
  15. Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres (combined) have more Twitter followers than the  populations of Ireland, Norway, or Panama.  Note I have adjusted the language here after someone pointed out the way it is phrased in the video was difficult to determine if it was combined.
  16. 50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?
  17. Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé – some universities have stopped distributing e-mail accounts
  18. Instead they are distributing: eReaders + iPads + Tablets
  19. What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…
  20. The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
  21. While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
  22. Wikipedia has over 15 million articles…studies show it’s more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica…78% of these articles are non-English
  23. There are over 200,000,000 Blogs
  24. Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth
  25. If you were paid a $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you would earn $156.23 per hour
  26. 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
  27. 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands
  28. Do you like what they are saying about your brand? You better.
  29. People care more about how their social graph ranks products and services  than how Google ranks them
  30. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
  31. Only 14% trust advertisements
  32. Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
  33. 90% of people that can TiVo ads do
  34. Kindle eBooks Outsold Paper Books on Christmas
  35. 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation
  36. 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
  37. We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
  38. We will non longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
  39. Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
  40. Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like Mad Men Listening first, selling second
  41. The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
  42. Bonus: comScore indicates that Russia has the most engage social media audience with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month – Vkontakte.ru is the #1 social network
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Wichita biz need social media boost!

Posted on April 2, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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This morning, I had the privilege to be in a room with some outstanding local minds concerning social media within Wichita. Today’s Wichita Business Journal Business Pulse Poll asked if social media is an important part to a company’s marketing plan. An astonishing 38% of the 308 businesses that took part in the survey said not at all.

Why?

Here’s the honest truth about social media. Ready? Here goes. It. Is. Here. And. Not. Going. Away. Start. Using. Immediately!

There’s something in the air concerning social media for local businesses. In Wichita, sepcifically, there are people that sit back and say “we are behind the trends” and “I’ll be important a year from now.” Being conservative in business is one thing. Not recognizing an important aspect of your overall business communication is another. 

I applaud local companies like Cox Communications on their Twitter efforts and Butler Community College on their abilities to interact across multiple streams. But how does a local business owner take notice of this all-to-important new technology? How do we make them notice the importance?

Here are some steps local business owners should take:

1. Talk to a local communications, public relations or advertising professional (like me) about social media. Have an initial conversation. I’ll even buy lunch. Make this conversation about you, not technology. Listen, I can seriously sell anybody on why Facebook or Twitter is important. The question isn’t about me. It’s about you. How do you currently communicate with people? Do you find it important to do so? Why?

2. Take stock of your resources, personal and employee related. If your business is small and your name is on the side of the building, you should probably be handling your social media. You wouldn’t want anybody becoming the face of your company other than you would you?  I’d take stock in your ability to handle situations. How comfortable are you communicating with people? What is your schedule? Do you have time to do this? What are your expectations about how much time this should take? Ask yourself those questions. If it looks like you are too busy, then find somebody that you absolutely trust with you life. Your business life.

3. Don’t dip. I can immediately tell the businesses in Wichita that don’t have a plan for social media. They are dipping their toe in to see if a Facebook page is going to be a waste of time. What’s the ROI? Facebook pages and Twitter accounts take time to nourish, expand and grow. A good social media oriented business should invest a MINIMUM of one-month of serious thought to move into the social arena effectively. You and I can both notice these businesses online. They’ve been on Twitter for 3 months, have 5 tweets and 50 followers or on Facebook with less than 200 fans, a post last Thursday and no interaction with people. Better yet, the 100+ businesses around Wichita that have set up Profile accounts instead of Fan pages, a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service and currently walking a tightrope of being shutdown. (Yeah, I know that there are differences and one is “easier” than the other. There are also ethics and the RIGHT way to do things. Start if RIGHT. Get training on how to operate it effectively.)

4. Be patient. Yes. Patient. Businesses didn’t pop-up overnight. What you are doing with social media is essentially generating an audience base on a platform that you communicate with people in their arena, not yours. Building a Facebook audience won’t happen overnight. Or this month.

5. Pay the price of admission. Yep. Facebook is free. Twitter is free. Success in these areas can also be free, if you are lucky or are named Ashton Kutcher. Social media success comes with trial and error, time and money. You can ultimately sit down and figure out all of these technologies. Seriously. Go. But what is your time worth? In a one-hour meeting with me, or any other social media professional in town you can get insight into how much time you should expect a social media presence to take if you dip versus that success you can gain in a month with a great plan.

In short- get with one of the people below or call me. Take social media seriously. There is some seriously cool stuff that could make your business a real success. Invest the time in a conversation. Talk to one of us. Do it today.

Good people to call in Wichita:
Me: Ryan Cole, JuggleMedia, 316.204.3916, rcole@jugglemedia.com- We specifically specialize in small businesses vie proper set-up, training and long-term success strategies.

Or check out these people. Google ‘em for their contact info. While you’re at it, Google yourself and your business. We can fix that too…

http://www.twitter.com/WDRoy- Bill Roy, Wichita Business Journal
http://www.twitter.com/LouHeldman- Lou Heldman, Wichita State University
http://www.twitter.com/wehatesheep- Lathi de Silva, Sullivan Higdon and Sink
http://www.twitter.com/REntz1- Ryan Entz, Butler Community College
http://www.twitter.com/krisschindler- Kris Schindler, Start-Thinking
http://www.twitter.com/jdecesaro- John DeCesaro, Armstrong-Shank
http://www.twitter.com/cox_jessica- Jessica, Cox Communications
http://www.twitter.com/foulsonsiefkin- Trish, Foulston Seifkin
http://www.twitter.com/dgrantkake- Dave Grant, KAKE-TV
http://www.twitter.com/jaredbrickman- Jared Brickman, ROK ICT
http://www.twitter.com/PenPubJon- Jon Cressler, Pen Publishing
http://www.twitter.com/toddramsey- Todd Ramsey, Greteman Group
http://www.twitter.com/seancamore- Sean Amore, Associated

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No- an Intern can’t do what we do…

Posted on March 24, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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A little pre-lunch rant…

Today I recieved the worst objection to date: I’m getting an intern to handle our social media.

Awesome. Good luck.

Social media needs to be done right. Here’s what’s going to happen. This company will get the intern and they will set them up with a typical Facebook page, it’ll probably have the necessary information, but it’ll stop there. Then what?

A proper social media strategy is super important to the long-term success of the company. There’s a huge difference between having somebody “manage” something and somebody “leading” something. Social media sites like Facebook and tweets on Twitter are actually communications that are VITAL to the organization. They are the virtual face of the company. Would you throw an intern in front of the local newspaper and have them handle all the questions that arise? Would you have the intern set up the website? Would you have the intern run your company? Would you have an intern handle customer objections on day one?

Now, although I may be a little harsh, my point is that social media is a HUGE deal. This is the future in the way we will communicate. It’s incredibly important for a business owner, especially a small one named after the owner, to control their social media presence. “I’m too busy”‘s and “It’s not important”‘s are garbage. Are you too busy to talk to the people giving you money? Are you saying that your customers aren’t important?

That’s what you are telling me if you hire an intern to handle your social media. It doesn’t take long to figure it out, just simple training and success from JuggleMedia.

Thanks. Rant over.

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JM> Social Media help for “normal” people.

Posted on March 12, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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istockscaredAt JuggleMedia, we like to put together articles and write about relevant social media problems that effect “normal” people. There are things that are happening that are fundamental shifts in communication, technology, marketing, business and interpersonal relationships. We want you to be a fan or follow of ours so we can pass along this awesome information to you.

There are several different sources of social media greatness that we follow. From Mashable to the very technical Engadget, we look at all the articles and highlight the best and simplify them for your consumption.

Of course, if you ever have any problems or questions specific to social media, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google, WordPress or any other platform, just drop us a question in the comments section. We’ll get right back at ya!

We hope to strengthen our relationship and help you learn this “stuff” better. Happy Friday!

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Why social media? Why NOW?

Posted on March 9, 2010 in Social Media in Wichita Kansas by JuggleMedia

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(Initially written for the Wichita Eagle on February 4, 2010)

By Ryan E Cole, JuggleMedia

Any good business person can attest to doing things that don’t make them happy but are bare-bone necessary to be successful. Accounting, for me is that necessity that is painful to endure. I’m a creative, not a numbers person. For some, joining networks like Facebook and Twitter can be that twinge of uncertainty… that pain in the back-side. Let me bring some light to the social media darkness for you.

Right now joining the ranks of social media needs to be at least a small tick on the mind of a business person if not an all-out important task to implement. Regardless if your business is business-to-business (consider Linked-In) or business-to-consumer (Facebook and Twitter are your go-tos), social media communication is important to build relationships with current customers and grow your audience-base for future sales. I’ve broken it down into three easy steps for you to follow; listening, engaging and transferring.

Listen:
Here’s something to consider: people are talking about your company RIGHT NOW whether you like it or not. Being absent-minded in the space is detrimental to your growth and you could be losing customers without even doing anything. Tools like Social Mention (http://www.socialmention.com) allow you to search what people are saying about you in blogs, microblogs, comments, mentions, and even audio and video. It can be a Google Analytics of social media activity. It’s important to use this site to listen to the audience.

Engage:
The ability to talk back to the audience is where sites like Facebook or Twitter can be important. If a business has the ability to draw an audience to their own forum, they can control the interactions and create relationships. These sites can be approprate places to listen to the people interacting with the brand, but also gives a business the opportunity to start a connection with many people at once. Fan pages on Facebook for example already have a built-in audience, complete with demographic & location information, an ability to engage those fans with content and create smart communications in one place designed to transfer the fans to actual customers.

Transfer:
So how does a business actually transfer fans to customers? I have found that the number one thing business owners or marketing directors are worried about isn’t being in the space, but having a lack of things to say. Many times, the question of “What do I post?” arises. Fear not. Every business has a story, a target, a market, a customer and problems they solve (if they don’t then, um….what would you say you do here?). The problem is a business needs to figure out why a unique customer base on Facebook (your fans) or people that follow on Twitter are listening to what is said. What’s in it for your customer? Why do I care to listen and be your fan? What’s in it for me? Me, me, me…NOT you!

Social media is about as targeted as it gets. The strategy behind the interactions take thought, time, and the ability at times to give up a piece of pride for the business. If a customer slams a business, not being in the space allows others to see the negativity and choose accordingly. However, if a business monitors and engages with those comments (NOT DELETE), face can be saved and customers can be won.

Using social media can actually make a business better. It’s the ability for a business to operate in the open and really create some amazing products and services for customers. This isn’t an age of absolutes anymore. If customers don’t like something about a business, they’ll speak. If the company does nothing, people vanish. Welcome to the new age of customer service…