Protect Your Brand From Employee Sabotage With A Social Media Policy Wednesday October 28, 2009 I'm going to ask that you allow me to step up on my soapbox for a minute this week. When I hear of companies that have suffered from brand sabotage at the hand of an employee or employees it infuriates me. I suppose it's because I've been an entreprenuer most of my career and in that career I have worked hard to help companies establish and build their brands. It's a bit hard to swallow when an employee's video posted on YouTube has the ability to shake a 50 year old brand like Dominos. The great thing about social media is it's transparency and that transparency works well when working to market your brand. Transparency is what consumers crave. They want to like you before buying from you. It's about connection and engagement. The bad thing about social media is that same transparency. Social media transparency has the ability to throw your company in crisis and recovery mode because of an employee's actions. In today's world of social media It only takes a YouTube video, a Facebook status update, or a misguided Tweet to throw a company into crisis mode. This truth has created fear in the core of companies. They are afraid to delve into social media marketing because what if an employee says the wrong thing or a customer complains? Their biggest fear is that of their own employees. They cringe at the thought of what their employees are posting on facebook or what photos they are posting on Myspace. Why do you think most human resource departments Google candidates before calling them in for an interview or handing them an official job offer? You can't stop individuals from participating in social media and truth is you don't want to. Social media is a viable marketing tool that is growing daily. The more you participate the more you can be aware of what's being said about your brand. However, with that being said it's also important to create guidelines and a code of ethics for your employees to follow. They are your brand ambassadors everyday 24/7. Do they understand that? They need to and hopefully they have just as much passion for your brand as you do. A social media policy will help them understand what's expected of them and what you tolerate or don't tolerate in the social media realm. A good social media policy will be a win-win for both you and your employees. You will know that you are successful in creating your policy if the final draft allows employees the opportunity to be themselves online, but yet at the same time protects your brand. Do yourself a favor and don't put off creating a social media policy even though it's daunting, you don't want your brand to be the victim of the next public relations disaster. Social media disasters caused by networking sites and employees of companies is happening too often.Learn how to create a social media policy that will protect your company's brand and offer guidelines to your employees. Comments (0)Permalink Integration of Social Media and Search Engines = Marketing Powerhouse Thursday October 22, 2009 Your use of Twitter and Facebook in marketing just became more important. Deals with major search engines like Google and Bing have just been inked. If there was a ever a time to start paying attention it's now. What does this mean for you and your business? It means that Twitter and Facebook, as well as other social media networking sites will be be reflected in real-time search. The good news is that your tweets and status updates will be seen by millions search daily if you are embracing social media. The bad news is if you haven't and your competitors have - well they may just be found before you. I must admit it is exciting to know that now tweets can be tied into trending topics and breaking news. Our use of social media has just exponentially increased our reach to customers. Real-time search can help us in staying tuned into conversation at any moment and it also allows us to participate and engage in areas of our expertise as events happen using social media through the vehicle of search engines. If you haven't yet started creating your social media strategy because you never saw the potential, perhaps this news will change your thinking in that regard. Yesterday Bing and Google made announcements that shook the social media marketing realm. How will it work? Bing announced that they will integrate Facebook status updates and Twitter tweets into search results. The goal is that this integration will populate the search engine with real-time results to search queries and jumpstart us into the next-level information gathering on the Internet. All social media networking sites were buzzing with the news and then Google executive Marissa Meyer took the stage at Web 2.0 Summit and announced Google's intentions to blend a user's social networks, and the relevant links from them, into search results via Google Social Search. These are exciting times and if you have not started to embrace the realm of social media marketing, it's probably a good time to get started. And I'm here to help. Get a jump start in social media marketing by exploring the following: Social Media Marketing 7 Day Crash Course Social Media Marketing Outsourcing Guidelines Social Media Marketing - Is It Right For Your Business? Comments (1)Permalink Understanding the Media Buying Process Step-by-Step Sunday October 18, 2009 I love good news and I have a little to share with you today. Advertising Age is reporting a possible blue sky on the economic horizon. This blue sky has been long awaited by many of us in the advertising and marketing world. I'm not saying we are out of the woods, but optimism is bound to be fueled after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 10,000 mark last week. If you listen carefully, I'm sure in the background you can hear the faint sigh of relief from an industry that I love - marketing. A new report is out by ZenithOptimedia that states that we should see global ad spending increase by .05% in 2010. While .05% seems like such a dismal number after such a pathetic year in ad spending and cost cutting, it doesn't take much to get us to breathe out a sigh of relief; it's like a drink of water in a drought. As I proceed with cautious optimism, I felt the need to write on media buying and how to be effective when placing media buys. I know many companies have let go of their marketing teams, even though I advised against it. I also know that there are small businesses that are looking to do more on their own and, while I won't say that this media buying guideline article will replace an experienced media buying professional, it will at least give you the necessary information that you need to know. Media buying takes knowledge, attention to detail, negotiating power and a calculating mind. It's something that I love to do and I think as you look at the steps involved, you will see why. My goal in creating this step-by-step media buying guide is to equip you with what you need to know and give you the confidence to start buying media to promote your business. Comments (0)Permalink Miley Don't Be a Quitter - Five Things You Should Consider When it Comes to Twitter Monday October 12, 2009 It's breaking news this morning and has been on every news show - Miley has quit Twittering. Her reasoning is she wants some things to remain private - so I just want to point out a few things to you famous celebrity types: Just because you don't Twitter - doesn't mean others won't Twitter about you - so, either jump in and participate, embrace the negative when necessary or just pretend it doesn't exist. You decide what to post. We all have the ability to control what we post and what we talk about - at least if we are there and paying attention we can jump in when necessary, even if it's only to correct some misinformation that's being disseminated. Twitter for your fans, not for the press. Interact and engage - this will create loyal fans that will believe you over the press any day. Fame has a price - that's nothing new. Along with the good come the annoyances. I hate to say it but it's the profession you chose, just like fireman chose to run into fires everyday - your fire is just that of a different kind. So just like you deal with paparazzi following you wherever you go, understand that social mediums are here to stay - and it's all part of the price of being famous, baby. Social media is about engaging, embracing the negative when necessary and creating a transparency that other forms of media do not provide. This creates a connection. This is true whether you are famous or not. The connection can be with a brand, with a celebrity or with just another person you interact with daily. Twitter can be a great marketing and public relations tool, but when it's all said and done it's a social tool that allows us to interact and find those that are interested in what we have to offer - product, service, celebrity or just ourselves.

Instead of just talking in abstract ways about your customer base and your profit potential, it lets you put those things in writing and in concrete terms. It forces you to think through every aspect of your business in advance so down the road you don't realize you've made a mistake that's cost you your business, your life's savings, and your job.

Besides all of that, they are also important tools for getting other people interested in your business. For one, if you've taken the time to create a business plan, others will realize that you are serious about this endeavor and that it isn't just some pie-in-the-sky dream. A business plan also shows people that you are a professional and that you understand what it takes to start and manage a business. This is all extremely important, particularly if you need any type of outside funding, such as loans or investors.

So while the bad news may be that you definitely do need a business plan, the good news is that they don't have to be complicated. The truth is that your plan only needs to cover seven main areas and none of these areas are going to require you to write a full-length novel. These five sections are the executive summary, the company overview, the business environment, the company description, and the action plan. All of those sections may sound complex, but most of them won't involve information that you don't already know.

Executive Summary

Even though this section will technically be first in your business plan, you should actually write it last because, just as its name implies, it summarizes the entire contents of your business plan. Because many readers never bother to get beyond the executive summary, you must make sure that it is comprehensive and well-written.

If that sounds difficult, it isn't. Just make sure to read through your entire business plan before you start writing the executive summary. Make a list of information that you think is the most important or that would really stand out to a reader, and be sure to include all of it in your summary.

Company Overview

This section explains the guiding force behind your business. It gives them a chance to see what you have in mind for the business and how you plan to get there. Generally, the overview does this by providing a mission statement, goals, and objectives for your business.

In a nutshell, a mission statement provides the answers to all of these questions in less than 50 words: What am I selling? Who am I selling it to? Why am I selling it? It doesn't need to be just one sentence, but keep it as brief as possible.

Goals and objectives, the other components of the company overview, are often confused by first time business plan writers. Remember that goals are things your company wants to achieve while your objectives are how they plan to get there.

Business Environment

This section will probably require you to do some outside research because it involves information relating to your industry, your market, and your competition. You need to take an honest look at the field you are preparing to enter and pay close attention to its structure, its trends, and its barriers to new businesses. Become familiar with the major competitors in your industry and decide how you will differentiate yourself from them. Also, get to know your potential customers and what makes them tick. The more you know about them, the more likely you will be to turn them into buyers.

Company Description

At this point in your business plan, you need to go into detail about your business. You can't simply define your company in terms of what you sell, but also in terms of who you serve, what resources you will use, what types of employees you are looking for, what type of distribution method you'll utilize, and more. All of this factors combine to create your company.

In addition to this, you should also state your company's UPS (Unique Positioning Statement). This is a one sentence statement that explains what sets you apart from all of the competitors.

Action Plan

The last part of your business plan is this section which outlines the steps you need to take now in order to make your plan work. These should also reflect the goals and objectives that you've outlined in your company overview.

Besides these primary pieces of a business plan, you may also need to include a financial section, particularly if you plan on using it to get outside funding for your business. This may take more thought and planning than the other sections because it will require you to make some assumptions about your business's revenue potential. The most important thing is to base any estimates on realistic expectations, not optimistic dreams.

You may want to visit the following websites for some samples to give you an idea of how things should be formatted and worded:

http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html

http://www.bplans.com/sp/

With some useful models and this helpful information, you'll be well on your way to completing your effective and professional business plan.