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Archives for December 2012

Social Media 2012 Woman Of The Year–Jenn Whinnem

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Annually, I like to anoint a social media person of the year from the Soulati Media community who has impressed me every day and week of the year with social media aptitude, engagement and professionalism.

Jenn Whinnem is that person and my pick as 2012 Social Media Woman of the Year following in the footsteps of Gini Dietrich in 2011.

Jenn lends in-depth expertise to any discussion raging in comments; sometimes she’s supportive and other times she’s the antagonist, going against the grain of conversation with intense opinion based on factual engagement.

She is a woman on a mission and her personal conviction often leads to heated discussion and eventual consensus; she is that convincing. I appreciate her from the sidelines, and I appreciate her when I’m in the throes of conversation with her.

She lends quirky knowledge no one else I know offers up, and she is quick to support anyone who needs a helping hand, a hug or is in the dumps. I have had the privilege of meeting Jenn IRL, and she is as beautiful in person as she is in her avatar (which she is continually changing).

A lover of cats, recently married and a woman who sprouts the most amazing shoes and zany ass tights, Jenn is also one of the most respected writers and grammarians I’ve seen. She can write an op-ed piece that makes naysayers think twice about staying on the other side, and she does so with conviction.

I’ve watched her blossom in 2012 overcoming obstacles by skirting them and chalking up professional accomplishments more than most people do in a five year’s time. She makes this blog home whenever she wishes, and I relish when she runs a guest post here as the topic is never an echo. Of late, you can see her work on Bloggers Unite! supporting Sandy Hook/Newtown and the communities in Connecticut via her work with a health foundation there.

Congratulations, Jenn, for sticking with social media engagement when many have disappeared. Congratulations for growing as a professional unafraid to question the status quo or make others think a bit differently.

I look forward to seeing what comes in 2013. I endorse you, recommend you and encourage you wherever the pathway takes you.

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Twitter’s Demise Or Ascension?

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twitter fail image

twitter fail image (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a self-professed Twitter-holic since early 2009 in a 24/7 pattern, I know and whine about the changes to my first-love social media channel. When Google+ launched Communities Dec. 12, 2012, Twitter was a veritable graveyard. These days, the stream is littered with retweets of others’ content. Instead, I strive to post personal messages or say good morning to someone missing from my columns on HootSuite. In fact, last week I suggested we’d need to work harder to keep Twitter viable instead of it becoming a re-posting only channel.

What’s your view of whether Twitter can survive other channels’ apparent popularity? According to The Wall Street Journal, Twitter only has 140 million registered users, dwarfing that of other channels (remember Facebook’s news of 1 billion this summer?). Can Twitter survive?

News on December 17, 2012 in The Wall Street Journal suggests a resounding yes! “Now On Twitter: Holiday Shopping Deals,” is all about big-box retailers flocking to Twitter to share Black Friday and holiday gift-giving deals. Among them are Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Radio Shack, and Toys ‘R Us.

Great article about the purchase of sponsored tweets by Best Buy and its use of Twitter “parties,” hour-long Twitter chats about gift ideas for target shoppers like moms and fitness buffs.  Best Buy and its peers did not disclose to reporters how much their collective ad budget was; however, when you read the piece, it’s heartening to see that Twitter is finally getting some respect:

Marketing brand strategists prepped Best Buy retailers in various markets in advance with holiday-marketing planning sessions.

Eight weeks of Twitter attention was launched prior to Thanksgiving and is still going on during this especially zany last-minute shopping week for Best Buy.

A more creative strategy was launched other than just tweeting all day long with an inside-out perspective. Best Buy targeted shopper demographics and held 60 minute Twitter chats (there’s probably a hashtag out there somewhere) to engage peeps about gift giving.

Here’s the coolest thing about what’s happening on Twitter that the Best Buy brand strategist learned from his location-based retailers – tone of voice and authenticity were critical to the success of the campaign.

I absolutely love, love this. We on Twitter, engaging all day long for years, know the power of authentic voice. We know which brands are real, which ones care and which ones are one-way (inside out). For brands to get Twitter, they need to appoint a solid and seasoned team on the frontlines that can engage appropriately and with authenticity. When they invest in that way, the return on investment comes back in spades.

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How To Nurture A Social Media Community

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Credit: Pioneer Outfitters, Alaska

When you nurture social media community, there’s a lot to think about. Communities and moderators collide on social media channels, it’s one person’s style against the other with no hard or fast rules. Nurturing social media community takes gentle enforcement with just enough engagement to attract the lurkers and a welcoming gesture every now and again to keep those a bit shy engaging.

Google+ Communities spawned a fire storm last week when everyone flocked (yes we did, albeit there were a handful of naysayers and bah-humbuggers) to either launch or join a community. (This is your own very special invite to join my Bloggers Unite! Google+ Community.) [Read more…]

Then We All Flocked To Google+ Communities

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Google ?????Google Refrigerator?

Google ?????Google Refrigerator? (Photo credit: Aray Chen)

It’s been a fantabulous 10 hours since I launched my first Google+ Community, Bloggers Unite! in about five minutes yesterday (with 46 members as of 11 p.m. last night).  Didn’t check on a name or worry about what it was going to be for or about…just did it…you know Nike made me do it.

I had to jump in right quick as my peers were inviting me to their communities like crazy, and I saw one already had 150 members…so, there I was not to be left empty handed and voila…another social network, just like all the other holes in my head.

But, it was an exciting engagement sort of day – Google+ was hopping, and Facebook and Twitter were tres dead! Bloggers were posting articles about the new Communities all day, and everyone was joining (after I mistakenly sent an invite to an entire circle and didn’t know it)!

So, what is a Google+ Community?

It’s another place to post and engage and banter or be serious (I’m tired of being serious). Actually, no one really knows. The rules will get made as we go and grow; I’m no longer worried about it. People can ask the serious questions or pose the banter sillies I’m seeing a lot of, too.

I’m loving the feel of these pages much more than Facebook; in fact, it’s cleaner and more fresh.  Someone asked me on Twitter which community I thought looked good to join, and I said, “hang 10.” No one really knows what they’re doing yet and everyone is joining one another’s communities, so the jury is out until the content rolls in. My advice to most is to sit back, watch, listen and enjoy the fun. You can decide in about a week who’s on first.

Is it just another engagement platform?

Perhaps, but I want to see for those moderating a community how much link love and SEO juice they may get being all over the Community with responses and posts. There’s got to be some benefit with all that activity. My sense is that every morning someone can come post their blog link first thing in the community and then get more shares.

A few other folks said they wouldn’t accept my invite because they were feeling overwhelmed and didn’t want to do anything they couldn’t do well. Don’t be too worried about being serious about this until you have to get serious. I’m thinking some good stuff is going to come out of this, and you know why?

Google+ has not been peeps’ first channel of adoption. It’s cleaner without all the cousins, nieces, family members, ex boy friends and childhood voyeurs clogging up the stream. It’s about business, and it’s still new. Google did an amazing job creating this hub-bub, and people fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Still on the fence? Don’t be…flock to Google+ just like we all did within the last 48 hours. See you at Bloggers Unite!  Ask me for an invite; you’re already in!

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On The Street With A Special Wish Foundation

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Soulati Media On The Street chatted with David Seyer, executive director of A Special Wish Foundation, Dayton (not to be confused with that other not-for-profit brand!). We asked him about his mission and why he’d like people to send a little 2012 contribution to his 501(c)(3) charitable organization prior to year end. His group is all about granting wishes to children with  life-threatening diseases. Listen in, and then, please do open your wallet right here? I’m doing pro bono work for A Special Wish Foundation, and that’s another way to give, too.