Over the past 8 weeks I have been, not so secretly, working towards becoming a Certified Social Media Strategist. As of this past Monday, I am officially certified by the Society3 Academy (formerly Social Media Academy)
But what does that really mean? To be honest, I wasn't sure when I first started looking into the whole thing. I had read a lot of mixed information about social media certifications. Mainstream social media is really still in its infancy compared to traditional types of media. Many articles and blogs I read argued that there is no real consensus on the knowledge one must have to become certified. Other said they think most are a scam until their is an industry standard that is developed and adopted by the majority. Regardless of the critics, I began looking into different schools, associations and academies that offered such training.
The main reason I wanted a certification is that I had been working with developing social media strategy around a year and a half. The strategies I had been developing were based off a social strategy model that was developed from an online seeding model my thesis partner and I had created during our masters. Although it had gone through some proofing rounds with colleagues, I didnt have any idea if it was really the right way to do things. So really, I wanted a chance to hear new ideas and and be challenged to think differently.
I came across the Social Media Academy in a search. There were a few other options on the table, but mostly I thought of them to be a bit amateurish. It seemed like you paid a lot of money for very little benefit or interaction with anyone. The thing that most caught my eye was that with Social Media Academy, you actually were able to collaborate with people from different countries and different backgrounds. I think that has to be one of the major decision points in my choice to pursue the certification. I believe there is incredible value in hearing others point of view on the subject, because different cultures and industries have different ways of using social media as a tool. The other part was that you would actually work on a practical case and take the knowledge gained through lectures and put it into practice.
The final nugget of info that validated my decision is that the Academy was voted Europe's top social media education just a couple weeks before I started.
So what does it mean to be a certified social media strategist? Well I would say that I now have a solid tool set for developing social media strategy. My understanding of the complexities of developing strategy for large global organizations as well as small businesses has increased. I have also gained knowledge about different industry uses for social media, can recognize the challenges which exist in corporate buy-in and can better explain the importance for each of the steps within a strategy.
I m looking forward to collaborating with clients moving forward and incorporating the new information I have obtained to better help them in their digital and social endeavors.
søndag den 2. december 2012
fredag den 2. november 2012
Control Can't Be Controlled!
Control in Social Media
Are you a social media dic-tator? Think about your brand/company/NGO and take a real hard look at your practices. Do you force your community members to interact with you in specific channels and 'ban' them from writing in others? Are you constantly trying to take the conversation offline or into a private setting? What about listening to your community....are you mindful of their likes and dislikes or do you just ignore them and blast them with YOUR messages?
If you find yourself answering yes or even maybe to one then you could be either slightly or a full blown social media dic-tator. If you consider the amount of time I am connected each week in my waking hours, it is far more than the time I am disconnected from social media. I m not crazy, it is my job. And regardless of where I work, my opinions are just that...mine. So back to the point. With all the amount of time I spend on social media I see too many companies that are trying to control their brand and the people that they call fans and followers.
Limiting the interaction between you and your community is actually more harmful than helpful. If you are 'oppressing' your communities and essentially telling them where they can speak to you, how they can speak to you and what they can speak to you about, then really you are just pissing them off. If you haven't figured it out yet, you do not have direct control of what people are saying about you. In fact, by trying to control your places and spaces in the social environment, you are just encouraging people to find more clever ways or new places of talking about you....and lets face it, if they are angry with you, then it isn't going to be something flattering. Most of the time the places and spaces they find to talk about you, you arent even present in.
In the experiences I have had, giving up control actually allows you to gain control. It is important that you let your communities discuss almost whatever they want regarding your brand/company. I concede that there should be policing of comments and conversations that become highly offensive and hateful. But that doesn't mean everything critical of your brand/company is queued for deletion. Giving fans the freedom to do this and ACTUALLY listening to them helps you. You are able to take actual dialog with people and help improve their experience with your brand/company. Doing so publicly shows your 'haters' that you are willing to engage them in a constructive way and that you actually care. And for your fanatics, it just fuels their love for you because you are reaffirming their beliefs in you. So by giving up control, you can influence and thus have indirect control.
Have you seen any good examples of brands/companies that limit the conversation on their brand channels or are constantly directing their fans to other channels? Do you think I have a valid point or I am just and idiot? Regardless, let me know what you think....dont worry I can take it!
søndag den 21. oktober 2012
Busy times
Already 3 weeks into the month and I m not too sure where the time has gone. My normally relaxing weekend have been engulfed with social events, homework, work work and basketball.
I spent 50+ hours in the office, working to prepare for the social media seminar the company I work for is putting on this coming week. I put in some time doing some correction, I did some research for my social media certification class and then had 2 basketball games today followed by an online meeting with my project partner this evening.
It is after 11 on this sunday and I am just trying to think of the next day that I ll have to just do nothing if I choose. That surely doesnt seem to be coming this weekend or the next. Dont get me wrong, being busy has it's benefits. I like having a social life because being stuck in my apartment wasting time is the last thing I like to be doing most times. Being busy also keeps my mind off of things too. Though I d say that I would like to sleep in more than I have been able to. Most nights lately I havent been to sleep until after midnight and then I am up again early. I think not getting my 8 hours is going to start catching up with me at some point.
I m curious what the next couple weeks will bring in terms of free time. I have a birthday coming up next weekend and moving day looming on the horizon. Also so social functions with friends and basketball as well. I guess it might be shaping up to be a no sleep november. But we ll see.
I spent 50+ hours in the office, working to prepare for the social media seminar the company I work for is putting on this coming week. I put in some time doing some correction, I did some research for my social media certification class and then had 2 basketball games today followed by an online meeting with my project partner this evening.
It is after 11 on this sunday and I am just trying to think of the next day that I ll have to just do nothing if I choose. That surely doesnt seem to be coming this weekend or the next. Dont get me wrong, being busy has it's benefits. I like having a social life because being stuck in my apartment wasting time is the last thing I like to be doing most times. Being busy also keeps my mind off of things too. Though I d say that I would like to sleep in more than I have been able to. Most nights lately I havent been to sleep until after midnight and then I am up again early. I think not getting my 8 hours is going to start catching up with me at some point.
I m curious what the next couple weeks will bring in terms of free time. I have a birthday coming up next weekend and moving day looming on the horizon. Also so social functions with friends and basketball as well. I guess it might be shaping up to be a no sleep november. But we ll see.
tirsdag den 9. oktober 2012
Nictober
Welp, another October is upon us. It seems I went a large majority of my childhood not knowing many people who have birthdays during this month...besides myself of course, but now it seems like more people than not, that i know, do.
Seems like I have been to 3 or 4 birthday related functions this month on top of other get togethers that seem to be popping up. Seems like there is a high concentration of cool people born this month.
It is nice having things to do. This is the time of year where the sun starts setting earlier and it is darker when I wake up in the mornings. The weather has also been extremely shitty these last few weeks. It has rained more recently than I can stand. The temperature has also dropped significantly. We are barely making it to double digits these days (Celsius that is). I had to break out my peacoat jacket and sometime even where a sweatshirt under that just to keep warm on my bike rides to get around. Could also be the reason I am still fighting a cough that I have had for weeks now.
The other good thing about October is that, at work, we prepare for another year of Movember. This is our second year launching the campaign and the official launch party is this Thursday. It isnt ever anything crazy, but having a drink or two is still fun. Anything that gets me out of the apartment for a bit is fine by me.
This October I am also helping organize a social media seminar. It is taking place towards the end of the month, so this month continues to keep me busy. On top of that the social media certification I am working towards is moving along......and I have basketball that is now in full swing.
The nice thing though, is that things will hopefully settle down towards the end of the month....well besides having to move. I m hoping to try and enjoy my birthday weekend, and have a few drinks to celebrate such an awesome month.
And then when it is all over....I ll start growing my mustache again
Seems like I have been to 3 or 4 birthday related functions this month on top of other get togethers that seem to be popping up. Seems like there is a high concentration of cool people born this month.
It is nice having things to do. This is the time of year where the sun starts setting earlier and it is darker when I wake up in the mornings. The weather has also been extremely shitty these last few weeks. It has rained more recently than I can stand. The temperature has also dropped significantly. We are barely making it to double digits these days (Celsius that is). I had to break out my peacoat jacket and sometime even where a sweatshirt under that just to keep warm on my bike rides to get around. Could also be the reason I am still fighting a cough that I have had for weeks now.
The other good thing about October is that, at work, we prepare for another year of Movember. This is our second year launching the campaign and the official launch party is this Thursday. It isnt ever anything crazy, but having a drink or two is still fun. Anything that gets me out of the apartment for a bit is fine by me.
This October I am also helping organize a social media seminar. It is taking place towards the end of the month, so this month continues to keep me busy. On top of that the social media certification I am working towards is moving along......and I have basketball that is now in full swing.
The nice thing though, is that things will hopefully settle down towards the end of the month....well besides having to move. I m hoping to try and enjoy my birthday weekend, and have a few drinks to celebrate such an awesome month.
And then when it is all over....I ll start growing my mustache again
onsdag den 3. oktober 2012
Something About Me
Well I am one week into the social media certification class that I am taking with the Social Media Academy and here are a couple of the week 1 tasks.
Check out my slide share presentation and intro video. Some content is the same, some is a bit different. Enjoy!
Check out my slide share presentation and intro video. Some content is the same, some is a bit different. Enjoy!
søndag den 30. september 2012
Social Media and Business
My blog has primarily been about writing about events and happenings in my life. However, today I will be tackling the subject of why social media is beneficial for businesses. I am motivated to write this due to a social media certification that I am working towards with the Social Media Academy.
Why am I qualified to write on such a topic? I have been working as a social media project manager for nearly two years at a communications agency. Attending conferences as well as my client experience has given me some insights into the world of how businesses can you social media in beneficial ways. I read a number of blog posts and articles every week and do my best to keep up on current social media news and trends. Previously, I wrote my masters thesis on the subject of viral marketing which required extensive research on the subject allowing me to gain knowledge. Furthermore, I have been a first-mover on many social platforms and am an avid user of social media.
So, with all that said, this post will contain opinions based on my experience. There are plenty of cases that are out there that can back up my points and most likely others that will shine light on flaws in my arguments. Basically, if you don't like it, then find someone else who says what you think!
Onward!
So why is social media beneficial for businesses....?
Social media is built up with real time communication channels that consumers are engaging in, for the most part, on a daily basis. Whether it is for friendly interactions, to get news, personal branding or business networking, finding information, etc... there are billions of conversations happening everyday. What brands/companies need to realize, is that a percentage of these conversations are about them.
Social media not only gives brands/companies the ability to listen in to what consumers are saying, but it allows them to fully participate in the conversation. Brands/companies are able to, in real time, hear their consumers and respond to them. They can create discussions, get insight into the wants and needs of their consumers, learn about potential new markets as well as find new consumers.
Hearing the voice of the consumer is important in todays digital and global environment. A bad consumer experience use to be contained to the network of the consumer who had the bad experience. This used to mostly be family and friends and perhaps colleagues or classmates. Think about how many people you were connected to before the internet revolutionized your network and reach. Nowadays, all it takes is 1 angry person posting to your brand page on Facebook about your terrible customer service and you have nearly 40,000 post likes and 5000+ comments about how terrible your phone service is. It takes one YouTube video about you breaking a guitar to reach 12+ million people and make national headlines and being discussed in marketing classes around the world for years to come. The point is that the average person has more connections and more opportunity to broadcast their opinions and experiences further and faster than ever before.
Social Media gives brands/companies the ability to do right by their consumers. You can turn a bad experience into a positive one. Of course there are some cases that are just hard to avoid all together, but the damage can be far less if you are part of the conversation. I read a study that altimeter group did and they recognize around 50 social media crisis' since 2001. More than half of them could have completely been avoided. Brands/companies do themselves a disservice by not paying attention.
Of course it isnt all about listening for negative things. Social media allows brands to build stronger ties to their consumers. It enables them to reward consumers for loyalty. It provides them with a space to foster those positive experiences and encourage fans to spread positive sentiments and increase brand awareness.
Brands/companies however need to be willing to be bold and fully engage. In my experiences, many brands/companies are still not sure why they are participating in social media. Their thinking is a lot like when websites first became popular. Everyone has one, so we should to. The challenge is convincing them that they have a real opportunity to learn from their fans and see the ever important ROI.
More often than not, I see that there are good business opportunities that come from consumer feedback that are passed by because brands/companies do not listen to what their consumers are saying. I often think that it is almost as if consumers really dont know what they want until the brand/company tells them.
Of course not everyone can be Coca-Cola, Virgin or Red Bull, but if you want to be in their league, then you have to be willing to put in the effort and listen and engage with your consumers and provide them the value to keep them coming back for me.
Why am I qualified to write on such a topic? I have been working as a social media project manager for nearly two years at a communications agency. Attending conferences as well as my client experience has given me some insights into the world of how businesses can you social media in beneficial ways. I read a number of blog posts and articles every week and do my best to keep up on current social media news and trends. Previously, I wrote my masters thesis on the subject of viral marketing which required extensive research on the subject allowing me to gain knowledge. Furthermore, I have been a first-mover on many social platforms and am an avid user of social media.
So, with all that said, this post will contain opinions based on my experience. There are plenty of cases that are out there that can back up my points and most likely others that will shine light on flaws in my arguments. Basically, if you don't like it, then find someone else who says what you think!
Onward!
So why is social media beneficial for businesses....?
Social media is built up with real time communication channels that consumers are engaging in, for the most part, on a daily basis. Whether it is for friendly interactions, to get news, personal branding or business networking, finding information, etc... there are billions of conversations happening everyday. What brands/companies need to realize, is that a percentage of these conversations are about them.
Social media not only gives brands/companies the ability to listen in to what consumers are saying, but it allows them to fully participate in the conversation. Brands/companies are able to, in real time, hear their consumers and respond to them. They can create discussions, get insight into the wants and needs of their consumers, learn about potential new markets as well as find new consumers.
Hearing the voice of the consumer is important in todays digital and global environment. A bad consumer experience use to be contained to the network of the consumer who had the bad experience. This used to mostly be family and friends and perhaps colleagues or classmates. Think about how many people you were connected to before the internet revolutionized your network and reach. Nowadays, all it takes is 1 angry person posting to your brand page on Facebook about your terrible customer service and you have nearly 40,000 post likes and 5000+ comments about how terrible your phone service is. It takes one YouTube video about you breaking a guitar to reach 12+ million people and make national headlines and being discussed in marketing classes around the world for years to come. The point is that the average person has more connections and more opportunity to broadcast their opinions and experiences further and faster than ever before.
Social Media gives brands/companies the ability to do right by their consumers. You can turn a bad experience into a positive one. Of course there are some cases that are just hard to avoid all together, but the damage can be far less if you are part of the conversation. I read a study that altimeter group did and they recognize around 50 social media crisis' since 2001. More than half of them could have completely been avoided. Brands/companies do themselves a disservice by not paying attention.
Of course it isnt all about listening for negative things. Social media allows brands to build stronger ties to their consumers. It enables them to reward consumers for loyalty. It provides them with a space to foster those positive experiences and encourage fans to spread positive sentiments and increase brand awareness.
Brands/companies however need to be willing to be bold and fully engage. In my experiences, many brands/companies are still not sure why they are participating in social media. Their thinking is a lot like when websites first became popular. Everyone has one, so we should to. The challenge is convincing them that they have a real opportunity to learn from their fans and see the ever important ROI.
More often than not, I see that there are good business opportunities that come from consumer feedback that are passed by because brands/companies do not listen to what their consumers are saying. I often think that it is almost as if consumers really dont know what they want until the brand/company tells them.
Of course not everyone can be Coca-Cola, Virgin or Red Bull, but if you want to be in their league, then you have to be willing to put in the effort and listen and engage with your consumers and provide them the value to keep them coming back for me.
tirsdag den 25. september 2012
I Dont Even Want to Know the Things in My Head
I had the worst dream ever last night....and it was way to vivid for my liking. I have had bad dreams before throughout my life, even re-occurring ones. You know the kind where you are falling and then you dream you wake up and then you are falling again and so on. Or even the ones where a murder is out to get me and when I wake up, I am covered in sweat. Then there are the ones where you twitch so hard when you wake up and your heart is racing...and you are thankful that no one was close enough to have felt your sudden awakening.
This one was like I was watching tv, but then as they were giving the accounts of what happened, it was like I was suddenly sucked into the real time version of the events.
So basically the setting was the small town I went to high school. It seemed to be some sort of reunion because at one point, I felt like I was with a lot of people I knew from my graduating class. So for some reason we were walking down the main road on our wait out of town, towards the power station. As we got out a bit, we started walking by this old field that I used to bail hay at in the summers when I worked on a farm.
Everyone was talking and having a good time, when suddenly we saw this plane flying really low. There is a small airport very close by, so it wouldnt necessarily be an uncommon occurrence. However, it clearly looked like it was having trouble maintaining altitude. Not to mention, it was a huge jumbo jet, which generally would not possible to take off or probably land at the local airport.
The plane was bouncing up in down like there was a massive air disturbance. We all looked up at it, like holy shit it is going to crash. Suddenly it just did a complete 180 and crashed about 500 yards away (which is the length of 5 football fields). Everyone hit the deck as some shrapnel from the explosion came flying our way. Once the dust settled, a bunch of us took of running towards the plane to look for survivors. I could just remember as I was running that I was crying a lot, but at the same time I was completely focused on searching for anyone that may still be alive.
It seemed like by the time I got close to the wreckage, the police, ambulances and fire crews were already showing up (way more than the little town could provide in such a short time). The closer we got to the crash, dead bodies started to appear. Some were still strapped into their chairs, which had dislodged from the plane and just landed in the middle of the wreckage. Others were strewn across the ground with their closed burned off and their skin seared. There were people with dislocated legs and other just mangled so bad that had I actually seen this in real life, I probably would have thrown up.
Finally I got deep within the crash, which was just on the edge of a wooded area. I approached 2 rows of seats that had landed next to each other, almost like they had carefully been removed from the plane and then set up one behind the other on the hard dirt ground. I saw a woman, who appeared to be in her mid 20s move and I rushed over to her. She was pretty disoriented, but she soon came around. There were 3 people behind her who were also conscious and more alert about the situation. None of them was in terribly good shape so I was screaming for the paramedics to come over.
To my horror, no one was coming over. People were attending to the dead although there were survivors still strapped into their seats right next to me. I told the few to hold on and I would go get help. But as I started running towards the medical personell, they began to disappear. I was screaming so loud I was giving myself a headache. I ran back to the group and 3 of the 4 had died. The only one left was the young woman. Her knees were swollen like beach volleyballs and there was no way to move her. I yelled to my friends to come over and then suddenly I was back at my parents house watching this girl tell her story on the nightly news.
My mom just looked at me like it was no big deal and that kind of stuff happens in our town all the time. I looked straight at her and said "Mom, I was there when that happened." She replied "Oh thats nice dear."
Seriously WTF. The complete detail of everything is something that I dont recall experiencing in my dreams. Normally things are faded or blurred or I think I know someone, but I dont ever really see their face. It was pretty disturbing.
This one was like I was watching tv, but then as they were giving the accounts of what happened, it was like I was suddenly sucked into the real time version of the events.
So basically the setting was the small town I went to high school. It seemed to be some sort of reunion because at one point, I felt like I was with a lot of people I knew from my graduating class. So for some reason we were walking down the main road on our wait out of town, towards the power station. As we got out a bit, we started walking by this old field that I used to bail hay at in the summers when I worked on a farm.
Everyone was talking and having a good time, when suddenly we saw this plane flying really low. There is a small airport very close by, so it wouldnt necessarily be an uncommon occurrence. However, it clearly looked like it was having trouble maintaining altitude. Not to mention, it was a huge jumbo jet, which generally would not possible to take off or probably land at the local airport.
The plane was bouncing up in down like there was a massive air disturbance. We all looked up at it, like holy shit it is going to crash. Suddenly it just did a complete 180 and crashed about 500 yards away (which is the length of 5 football fields). Everyone hit the deck as some shrapnel from the explosion came flying our way. Once the dust settled, a bunch of us took of running towards the plane to look for survivors. I could just remember as I was running that I was crying a lot, but at the same time I was completely focused on searching for anyone that may still be alive.
It seemed like by the time I got close to the wreckage, the police, ambulances and fire crews were already showing up (way more than the little town could provide in such a short time). The closer we got to the crash, dead bodies started to appear. Some were still strapped into their chairs, which had dislodged from the plane and just landed in the middle of the wreckage. Others were strewn across the ground with their closed burned off and their skin seared. There were people with dislocated legs and other just mangled so bad that had I actually seen this in real life, I probably would have thrown up.
Finally I got deep within the crash, which was just on the edge of a wooded area. I approached 2 rows of seats that had landed next to each other, almost like they had carefully been removed from the plane and then set up one behind the other on the hard dirt ground. I saw a woman, who appeared to be in her mid 20s move and I rushed over to her. She was pretty disoriented, but she soon came around. There were 3 people behind her who were also conscious and more alert about the situation. None of them was in terribly good shape so I was screaming for the paramedics to come over.
To my horror, no one was coming over. People were attending to the dead although there were survivors still strapped into their seats right next to me. I told the few to hold on and I would go get help. But as I started running towards the medical personell, they began to disappear. I was screaming so loud I was giving myself a headache. I ran back to the group and 3 of the 4 had died. The only one left was the young woman. Her knees were swollen like beach volleyballs and there was no way to move her. I yelled to my friends to come over and then suddenly I was back at my parents house watching this girl tell her story on the nightly news.
My mom just looked at me like it was no big deal and that kind of stuff happens in our town all the time. I looked straight at her and said "Mom, I was there when that happened." She replied "Oh thats nice dear."
Seriously WTF. The complete detail of everything is something that I dont recall experiencing in my dreams. Normally things are faded or blurred or I think I know someone, but I dont ever really see their face. It was pretty disturbing.
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