Back at the end of 2008, I had an idea for doing something through social media to help charities.

Thanks to some amazing friends and people like you that supported with your time and donations, that idea turned into a great example of how we can all make change if we really want to.

The 12for12k project has raised over $100,000 for various charities to date – an amazing figure, given the “buy-in” was deliberately low, and the project took an enforced absence during most of 2010 and 2011.

The reason for its success? You, and the power of the crowd when there’s something to believe in. Your support; ideas; donations; awareness and more were crucial in all that 12for12k achieved, and if anything was ever a true team effort, 12for12k was it.

And now I’d love for you to take part again.

I’m currently writing Hope, Change, Belief – The 12for12k Story and the Lessons Non-Profits Can Take From It to Succceed in Social Media, and I’d love for your contributions to help shape it.

Because it will be a story that’s geared towards helping non-profits understand social media and how they can really benefit from it, the book will share the failures of 12for12k as much as it’ll share the successes. After all, we only grow from our mistakes and how we react to them.

To that end, I’d love for your thoughts on what worked and what didn’t work. What did 12for12k do right, and where did it go wrong? What was your overall experience with 12for12k, and what are your memories of the project overall?

Drop me your thoughts via the form below, and I’ll choose a bunch to add to the book’s chapters and upcoming addition to the 12for12k website, with full accreditation. Also, those chosen will receive a free copy when published later this year, and everyone else will receive a special discount code for taking the time to share their thoughts.

I’d really love for Hope, Change, Belief to act as a soundboard and guideline on how to really make the most of social media in the non-profit field, and with your thoughts and honest opinion, I think we can do that.

Thanks, guys, and look forward to reading your words.

PS – And look out for a new goal for 12for12k later this year, it’s going to be fun!

Hope, Change, Belief – The 12for12k Story and How You Can Be a Part of It originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Last week, Jay Baer wrote a post about how brands are responding on social media. Jay’s premise was that companies that can respond within minutes on the social sphere are sending out a far more positive message than those that dilly-dally.

It’s a really interesting read, and the comments after the post sparked a great debate about Jay’s premise, and if we weren’t setting companies up to fail by jumping to action as soon as their name is mentioned.

One of the conversations sparked the agreement that speed of response may not be the real discussion; instead, it’s speed of resolution that will really define how successful a company is in social media (or any other business medium).

And never a truer word has been spoken. Here’s why.

The Problem With Speed of Response

In an ideal world, we (as consumers) would have answers to our questions almost as soon as we’ve asked them. If we have a problem with a product, it’ll be resolved immediately. Or we have a complaint – it’ll be heard and acted upon quicker than you can say, “Sorry, sir/miss/madam, we’ll get onto that right away.”

But the desire for that kind of brand interaction falls short of the realistic one, for several reasons.

• Legal red tape. You’d think that a simple, “We’re sorry you feel that way, and we’ll look into this for you” would suffice as an acceptable way to cover a customer issue. And it should be. The problem is, if it’s an issue that involves legal counsel, everything has to be approved. Everything. Even a simple “We hear you”. Because if a multi-million dollar lawsuit is the potential outcome (especially involving a pharmaceutical company, for example), then the company better make damn sure everything is documented and carried out to the letter of the law.
• Locale and culture differences. Say you’re a consumer in Canada, but the main team you need to speak to is in China. So there’s a time difference to start with. There are also different cultural holidays; so response times are immediately affected.
• The issue of scale. Sure, we’d all like to think our companies (either own, employed or those we buy from) are the biggest on the market, so we should expect a 24/7 every-minute-of-the-day personalization level. But that’s never going to happen. There are only so many people a business can employ and still make a profit, while allocating the right resources to customer care and crisis communications. Timescales will always be governed by numbers (both manpower and financial).

There are more reasons why the speed of response isn’t necessarily a core ingredient to a business’s success; but these three are the most common starting points. And ones that dovetail nicely into…

The Preferred Option of Speed of Resolution

Generally, consumers are smart people. We understand businesses have other customers, and that sometimes we’re maybe making a bigger deal of something than it deserves.

Yes, we’re also antsy assholes at times – but, generally, we offer leeway when we feel we’re being listened to. And “listened to” isn’t the same as “hearing”.

A company might hear me, and offer a speedy pat response, just to show that they’re listening and responding to social media standards. The problem is, a pat response shows why being heard is completely different from being listened to – nothing is usally fixed. The same issues that were there before are still there now.

However – switch that around and listen to my problem and resolve it within an acceptable timeframe? That’s far more benefecial to me than giving me faux customer love.

But that still leaves the response time issue, no? Not necessarily.

If you’re a brand, make it clear on every single customer touchpoint what your practice is for issues and queries:

• Standard customer service issues will have a response within 24 hours.
• Identified escalated issues will have a response within 12 hours.
• Emergency issues or concerns that have health implications will have a response within the hour.

Make it clear too, that a respone is not the same as a resolution. Offer timescales for internal procedures to let customers know that, to get the answer they need to really resolve the issue, the process is X departments and Y amount of days, to get to Z resolution options.

Also, make it very clear that you’re monitoring countless hundreds (if not thousands) of conversations around your customer base, and that sometimes a query or question may be missed. In that case, have an easy contact option on your business website where customers can follow the same process as social media questions, but accept that the time to reply will be dictated by submission time.

We Don’t Need You To Be Fast – Just Right

Ask the majority of customers what they prefer from the two – a speedy response, or a speedy resolution, and more times than not you’ll get the latter as the preferred choice.

It’s why customers will wait in line at the Apple Genius Bar, as opposed to going to the local computer store – they know the longer waiting time means a quality service where they’ll get their problem sorted first time, as opposed to a quick buck band-aid that leads to even more issues down the line.

While not every company can be an Apple, most consumers will prefer service like an Apple customer. And speed of response has never been Apple’s modus operandi.

Maybe that’s something we can all learn from, businesses and consumers…

 image: Amber Karnes

Why Speed of Resolution Over Speed of Response is Key to Social Media Success originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Fact – too many businesses still need to wake up and realize that social media is not “one of these Internet fads” that will disappear.

Fact – because of this mindset, too many businesses are potentially missing out on extra business that could mean the difference between staying afloat and going under. So why the problem?

One of the main reasons is that businesses – whether it’s the CEO, top-tier management or otherwise – are looking at social media as an individual medium, much like PR or marketing.

This is where the cracks start to appear. Social media benefits companies the most when it’s used as part of an integrated campaign.

Social media is also perfect for reaching out and connecting with your audience, as opposed to just selling them something. Sure, you’re still selling your brand or product – but this time, it’s in an “encouraging to ask questions” approach instead of “this is us and you’ll like it” one.

Accepting that social media needs to be approached as an integrated strategy rather than a standalone campaign is the first step businesses need to take. After that, the job gets a little bit easier.

Define Your Audience

Just like any market or product, social media is made up of different audiences. As a business owner, you wouldn’t launch a new product onto a more traditional marketplace without some in-depth market research first – don’t ignore this on social media.

Knowing your audience is key to succeeding in business social media. You need to know if your audience are participants or promoters. Why the need to differentiate? Simple -

• Participants are social media users that may use numerous social media sites and applications, but don’t really “take part” in the medium. They’re like the visitors to your business website that may purchase something and then interact with you no further. There’s nothing wrong with this – but as a method of expanding your brand, you may need to look elsewhere.

• Promoters are the users that like to share information – whether it’s recommending something via Twitter or their blog, if they come across something they like they will pass that information on. This is where your use of social media can help build your name. Just remember that social media works both ways. Don’t try and cheat the system – give back just as much (more, even) as you receive.

Have a Clear and Defined Goal

Another area where businesses are failing to adapt social media to their needs is that they don’t have a clear goal on what they want to achieve. Many hear the phrase “social media” and immediately feel they need to be a part of this buzz, jump straight in without any forward thinking, and are then disappointed with the (lack of) results.

Ask yourself who you want to connect with and why, and then research the areas of social media that are most relevant to your needs. Demographics are one of the key points of knowledge for any campaign – make sure you know where your demographics are playing online. A social map can help here.

Again, though, don’t try and play the system – cheaters will soon be found out, and your brand can suffer irreparable damage if seen as merely a self-promotional company on social media.

Tools of the Trade

Once you have your audience and your goal set out, you need to use the tools that will help you the most. There are numerous available, and this is where building your social media connections can help, by advising what ones they use and what results they achieve.

Some of the best free examples of business tools include Monitter (which allows you a view on Twitter discussions of keywords); Google Alerts (giving you insight into what’s being said about you); and Social Mention (letting you gauge social reactions and reach to your topic or keywords and allowing you to jump in on conversations elsewhere).

Getting into social media shouldn’t be a hard decision for businesses to make – it’s either right for you or it isn’t. Social media is a long-term strategy, not  a short-term fire sale.

Understand that, and you begin to understand social media.

Image: fredcavazza

Introducing Social Media to Your Business originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

So, if you ever read my bio (whether here on the blog’s sidebar, or on any of my social networks), you may have noticed that I recently updated my professional description.

Whereas before it was for Bonsai Interactive, as of last week it became Jugnoo, Inc. So, what was the change?

Simple – I’ve stepped down from my role at Bonsai to become Director of Retention and Social Media at Jugnoo, Inc.

While my time at Bonsai was fun, and we were lucky enough to work with some great clients, the direction began to change in the last few months and I felt it was time to move on.

Enter Jugnoo.

I’ve known the VP of Marketing at Jugnoo for a while – Hessie Jones – and we just got chatting about a few things. She told me about Jugnoo and my interest was piqued. Cue some more conversations, and I was delighted to join the team.

So what the heck is Jugnoo? Well, here’s the official blurb:

Making Your Business Social is Our Business!
As an internet media technology company, Jugnoo gives both consumers and businesses the tools and services they need to stand out on the social web. Up to now, it’s generally been larger corporations that have had the time, resources and knowledge to truly benefit from the social web. Jugnoo intends to level the playing field for the benefit of all.

In the bigger picture, Jugnoo is a technology and media company that has an umbrella of products for both consumers and businesses. The first product is JugnooMe, which is currently in beta phase for launch early 2012. Its primary goal is to make social media easier to add to the marketing mix for small-to-medium businesses.

There’ll be a lot more information coming from both this way and the Jugnoo team soon, and I’ll be reaching out to folks in our target audience with some more details shortly.

For now, my sincere best wishes to Troy and Bonsai on their success ahead, and my gratitude to the clients that I’ve gotten to know over the last two years – it’s been a blast, and I wish you well.

In the meantime, feel free to connect with Jugnoo on Facebook and Twitter, and look forward to sharing more details soon.

Cheers!

On Moving On and Jugnoo originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

This is a guest post by Stacey Acevero.

The rise of social media has created all sorts of new opportunities for small business marketers to get the word out, but it has presented challenges too.

The days of sending press releases to media outlets with the hopes of being lucky enough to get some coverage are long gone, morphing into constant opportunities to catch the next social media sharing phenomenon.

Today, it’s not enough to hit just those traditional media outlets.

You need to create a social media survival kit to help your business’ content fly on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and countless niche sites across the digital horizon.

Take heart, shareable content is not as rare (or hard to create) as you might think. With just a few tweaks, your content could be the talk of the sharing community.

Try these four tips to help make your press releases more social media friendly:

1. Understand your audiences. You’ve heard it before: make sure you are writing content geared toward your audience. Before you can write for them, you must understand who makes up that group. It’s more than just the specific prospects you are trying to appeal to; search engines are your readers too. This is where search engine optimization comes in. Make your content highly rank-able with optimized keywords and phrases. The computerized audiences will love them – but don’t forget that your primary readers are still human.

2. Provide opportunities for sharing. Incorporate buttons that will allow readers to share on a number of networks. You may have thought of Facebook, Twitter and good-old-fashioned email, but you should also include sites such as:

• Tumblr
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Delicious
• Reddit

Making your content easy and compelling to share is just one more way to motivate readers to spread your word.

3. Tap into viral trends. All those videos, photographs and jingles floating across the web are making the rounds for a reason.   Take a look at the top memes (virally spread ideas) and ask yourself, what can I do to make my content more playful, provocative or just plain different?

You may find that a simple video aimed at a niche site is the crux to a viral campaign that spreads to networks everywhere.

4. Use your press release as a palette. Don’t think of your press release solely as a way to get out information. Put creativity into every element of your template by adding videos and photos to make the complete piece better positioned for social media marketing success.

• Experiment with quirky or bold headlines
• Use subtitles that ask questions or identify different takes on your topic
• Use links, multimedia and photos to tell your story

Stay away from PR speaks; nobody has the time or interest to read it. Write like a storyteller and remember, there are millions of speed-readers on the net who skim content to determine readability.

Find a way to appeal to these scanners in an instant so they won’t just finish your press release, they’ll want to share it as well.

Think about the content you’ve been motivated to share. What about it drives you to let others in on the treasure you’ve found?

Translate that to your press release. If it’s important,  interesting and valuable, then with a few touch-ups you can make it eminently shareable too.

Shareable = Social Media Marketing Success!

So, your turn – how are you finding success in social media? Let’s hear your best practices below!

About the author: Stacey Acevero is the social media community manager of PRWeb, where she engages the online community through PRWeb social channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn daily with articles and conversation about PR, small businesses, SEO, social media and more. She is all about creative social media marketing ideas as well as building the PRWeb brand. Stacey also pens of some of PRWeb’s case studies. Connect with Stacey on Twitter at @SaceVero. 

Social Media Marketing Success Doesn’t Have To Be A Hunt For A Four-Leaf Clover originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

This is a guest post by Stuart Mills.

“You are what you tweet.” – Alex Tew.

I’ve found myself wondering whether social media is all it’s cracked up to be.

Sure it makes it easier to connect with people from all over the world, from Nigeria to Nicaragua and from Pakistan to Poland, but how much satisfaction and contentment are we really getting from this online craze?

Social Media And Value

It’s common these days to see the youth of today heavily engaged in social media, chatting to their friends about any topic under the sun. They’re either on Facebook or Google+, or they’re on Twitter telling the world about the strange homeless man they’ve just walked past.

But despite all of this usage that social media gets, is there a lot of value going on around here? Are there any debates as to how to solve the problems of the world, or even a genuine problem that one of their friends is going through? Better yet, how many conversations in social media do you get where at least one person feels genuinely better having had that conversation?

Social Media And Time

Let’s look at another perspective on this, look at the amount of time we spend active on social media sites. The extremists spend up to 7-8 hours a day on social networks, but I believe the average person of today spends between 1-2 hours a day.

Now, let’s say that someone spends 1 hour a weekday on social media, and 2 hours a day on weekends, chatting away with their friends and viewing the latest photos and tweets. It sounds like a ‘normal’ amount, right? Multiply each weekday by 5, and each weekend day by 2, and you’re left with a weekly social media total of 9 hours a week on social media sites.

Again, this may seem like a normal and ordinary amount for you, but let’s now look at what you’re spending those 9 hours on.

Social Media And Content

Let’s look at some of the things you can do on social media:

-          Instant messaging

-          Updating statuses

-          Sending individual/direct messages

-          Promoting yours, or someone else’s content

Looking at these items, we can certainly keep in touch with our friends, and we can keep up regular relations with our clients. This is all well and good, but take this away, and what is left? What else can you do in social media besides these afore-mentioned items?

The truth is, not a lot.

Sure, you can play games and you can ‘poke’ your friends and family, but is this really important? Even referring to what is listed above, how much time do you need to be spending there? Do you really need to spend 9 hours a week on keeping in touch with friends and clients?

Granted, some of the more important relationships in your life will warrant a longer time, but the more important relationships in our lives are also maintained outside social media, and even outside the internet. Our families and our closest friends are traditionally the ‘more important relationships’, and how many of them are based primarily on a social media network?

Take away the ‘core relationships’ of your life and you’re left with those relationships that are standard, such as those with our clients and the rest of our social circle. Do you really need, or want, to be spending 9 hours a week building a relationship with them?

That’s a question that only you can answer for yourself, but I believe a good portion of those 9 hours can be spent otherwise.

Social Media And Society

Let’s consider the big picture – social media is meant to represent, at least in theory, the ‘society of the world’. It’s meant to be the voice which communicates to the world what the ‘common person’ is thinking, and what the common person wants. In other words, social media is meant to be our way of communicating with the world at large.

Do you think it’s doing a good job?

Personally, I don’t think it’s doing a good job at all. There’s too much mindless chatter, too much time wasted on activities that are either trivial or completely meaningless. And the worst part is that this isn’t likely to end any time soon.

If social media wishes to truly provide happiness on a deeper scale, then it needs to provide deep and lasting value. Enabling someone to provide a virtual cake for a friend on their birthday is not deep and lasting value. Having a deep conversation with someone about their countries’ politics, and discussing ways to improve is a much better way to provide deep and lasting value.

In fact, discussing deeper issues and opening up on a level that both parties agree upon and trust, is something that can quite easily come about. How? The trick is to be more aware.

Be Aware

Social media is the same as any other feature in this world – you get out of it what you put into it. If I was to spend an hour on Facebook viewing other people’s profiles and checking for new photos, then I’m not going to get much out of it. But if I have a meaningful conversation about a third-world crisis with someone, then I’m going to feel much more engaged and energised as a result.

So here’s the key – be more aware of what you use social media for. That’s my challenge to you. The next time you log onto your Google+ or your Twitter account, decide there and then what you’re going to do with your time. Then, as you’re using that social network, be aware of your actions and what you’re clicking on. If you find yourself drifting off into auto-pilot, bring yourself back to your pre-set agenda. Simple as that.

By being more aware, you can get more value out of your social media time, and possibly spend less time by doing more. There’s a lot of benefit up for grabs here.

So I’ll see you in the chatroom?

About the author: Stuart Mills is a personal development writer. He’s also the owner of Unlock The Door, where he writes about living a happier life.

image: Paloetic

Can Social Media Make You Truly Happy? originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

This is a guest post by Bruce Aristeo.

It was late, and after a long day I stretched out my arms, took a deep breath, and let out a huge sigh. My hands reached out and I began clicking, swiping, and typing as my shoulders curled inward around my chest as if humped over in pain.

My eyes were focusing and scanning the screen, my receptors acting as the light on a copy machine, pin-pointing each pixel and assigning the meaning to each symbol creating structure to what I was seeing.

My TweetDeck was doing its usual fly-by, email accounts were reaching out to their respective servers, Facebook Page was at a standstill while deals were secretly being made in the chat area, and my brain was on stimulus overload from subconsciously keeping track of it all.

No television or iTunes music to breakup the live feed chatter streaming into my mind, only this continued dull hum that my defense mechanism creates to keep me sane.

Breaking The Silence of Social Media

Damn, I forgot to check my Google+ account, I was interested in huddling with a new friend and forgot the time.

Exhausted, my graphic designs began to look as if tie-dye was making a comeback from the sixties, loud and no sharp edges, so it was time to take a short break anyway. I opened my Google+ account and clicked through the various areas looking for something to break the deafening silence of watching social media.

A post… Danny Brown? Wow, I forgot he was in one of my circles. Even visiting Danny’s blog on occasion didn’t break the armor piercing rounds of my focus.

You’d think that reading a great story would stop the world, if only for a moment, but each story only enforced the realization of how much time was passing; the visits became fewer as the weeks slid by. My visit to Danny’s articles were long over due, so I stopped to read this post, a chance to smell the roses –so to speak.

A Musical Rose Garden

Huh! Nothing to read, only this posting of a video and a small blip, “Loving this version of ‘Livin’ on a Prayer” from Desmond Child, the guy that co-wrote it with Bon Jovi. Very soulful.”

Okay, I know the song; I grew up in Philly and live in New Jersey. Keep in mind that Social Media was still racing, running, streaming and posting with one eye on the accounts and the other on Danny’s post. I know, …not exactly the full attention I should be giving another human, let alone the artistic expression embedded with a “play” button.

I clicked the play button and the music began, …slowly, …a familiarity to the original yet different. My mind stopped to synchronize my recollection of the original version to this new version. Matching beat, tempo, breaks in the lyrics, but I’m analyzing and still not really free to enjoy the music.

The Shift in Reality

Visually, I broke from the video 30 seconds in, scanning other posts.

Something changed, a shift …not what I was looking at, but how I was looking. I was reading and not scanning posts, each one in fact. The music slowed down all my inputs.

Vision, hearing, movement, and thought were as if warped by Star Trek’s “Q” and the Space Time Continuum. I guess I just dated myself…

I began thinking about the speed at which social media moves, and I correlated it with my studies in child psychology.

It’s interesting that my mind and reactions slowed to the tempo of the music.

Reading the posts became something that happened without intention. It was as if walking through a garden, not intending to smell the roses, but they were there and I happen to think of smelling them.

Stimulation: 10 Second Countdown

Studying child psychology was enjoyable because there were answers to that which gave reason to rhyme.

One such study described how television shows, such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company were delivering a 10 second lesson, meaning the child watching would learn something new every 10 seconds. That philosophy gave rise to the theory that children are being conditioned with over stimulation, thus causing attention spans to decrease.

Being a teacher (K-12), I can attest to how much teachers have to add into lesson plans to maintain student attention.

Listen + Communicate = Intimacy

Now, back to us adults. What are we doing to ourselves by over stimulating our senses with the speed of social media? Are we destroying our ability to sit and listen to another Being by conditioning ourselves with communication void of intimacy?

Our children find text messaging each other while in the same room, sometimes next to each other, is more appropriate than speaking.

Intimacy, the bedrock of communication and the factor dividing us from other animals, is not something transmitted through text, email, Tweets, or Huddles. Intimacy is offered from within each of us, as a means to authentically connect and touch one another with the intention of personal growth.

Some might say that intimacy was part of my social media experience. This is true, but was it Danny’s intention to deliver his personal experience in the link? Only he could answer what his intention was, but my experience came from within. I was only reminded of that place of slowing down, …my personal rose garden.

Giving Thanks and Slowing Down

My engagement with Danny, I couldn’t thank him enough for being in the right place at the right time. Although my message of thanks to Danny was brief, I could not verbalize the shift that occurred within me. Danny’s post reminded me of slowing down, taking a breath, and truly seeing and being in the moment.

Of course you hear “Stop and smell the roses” everyday, but do you ever feel it? I did…

As I part from this experience in social media, and I walk away from the roses, I will always keep that particular garden in mind.

The one I walked through when I was exhausted, and the feeling I experienced when stopping to smell the roses…

This post contains a video. If you can\'t see it displayed properly in your feed, click here to view it directly.

About the author: Bruce Aristeo is an artist, entrepreneur, and a lecturer/teacher of mathematics and psychology. In the spirit of North American Indians, he is a Magician and co-creates the world around him. You can read more from Bruce at AB2BC.Net, or connect with him on Google+ and Facebook.

image: Adventures in Librarianship

A Lesson In Smelling Roses At The Speed Of Social Media originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

One of the commenters, Aimee Giese, left her take, and offered a counter to Robert’s view that Twitter was basically a dead zone now, and all the social media interaction is happening on Google+ and Facebook. To which Robert offered the reply as seen in the image below:

If you think Robert’s reply to Aimee, and his claim that she can’t have many friends or family members, is over the top, you wouldn’t be alone.

As well as people that continued to have a debate about the merits of Twitter, Facebook and Google+, many offered their take on Robert’s jibe (intentional or otherwise):

As you can see, the responses ranged from disbelief to anger and disappointment. Yes, we all get riled up, and yes, we say things we probably regret – but that used to be to a limited crowd. Friends down the pub, or work colleagues, for example.

With social media, though, that local crowd has become millions-strong, and everything we say is up for grabs. And if you’re in a position of “influence”, as Robert Scoble is to many, then that amplification becomes even louder (as of writing, the image Aimee uploaded to TwitPic has had just over 16,500 views).

In fairness to Robert, he did apologize to Aimee on Google+, and admitted he had been an asshole and stepped over the mark (although an apology on the original Facebook thread would perhaps have made more sense).

So can we learn anything from what happened yesterday? After all, it’s a prime case of what many brands are afraid of when it comes to social media – a negative interaction. There are a few things.

We Are Always On Display

You might think that a comment or notification is flippant, or not as important as others might see it. The problem is, people have very different views when it comes to what they see as acceptable and what they see as insulting.

Before we (or brands) make a statement, we need to think a little bit more to see if it will be misconstrued. Many of the people that commented on Robert’s apology feel Aimee took it too personally, and Robert wasn’t in any way to blame. Personally, I disagree with this – I think it’s exactly what Robert said it was in his apology (“way over the line”).

But others obviously disagree.

So just consider if the tone of response is appropriate, and even needed. Brands especially have detractors (customers hate to be let down), so it’s even more important to be on your game when making public statements.

Apologies Are Better When Immediate

When the Facebook wall lit up last night with support for Aimee, it was clear that many felt she was owed an apology from Robert. And, as I mentioned, he quickly apologized over on Google+, and made sure to tag Aimee too, so she knew he had mentioned her.

Too many people and brands leave their apologies until long after the event – this doesn’t help their cause. The belief then is that it’s just a carefully orchestrated corporate PR  response, and the intent isn’t really there.

Sure, for some cases an apology and how it’s worded may have to go through legal channels for approval, to ensure more damage isn’t done. But for something like Robert’s gaffe, a speedy (and honest) apology not only helps douse more flames, but shows people you actually have the balls to admit when you’re wrong, and take ownership.

That goes a long way in reputation management.

Fanboys Wear Shit Goggles

One of the interesting/sad aspects of the whole thread was how many people “Liked” Robert’s reply to Aimee (17 at current count). Does this mean 17 people think it’s okay to insult someone, and raise questions about that person’s ability to make friends?

Then on Robert’s Google+ apology, more people are chipping in and saying Aimee (and those that felt Robert’s comment was out of place) are over-reacting, and need to grow up. A couple of examples:

At least DeWayne Lehman admits to being a professional asshole…

Yes, healthy debate is good, and that’s the beauty of the web – we’re offered far more open options to have a debate, as opposed to just having the views of one with no option to disagree.

Unfortunately, you’ll always have the fanboys that seem to wear shit goggles, as it feels like anything others say is just shit (unless it’s from the object of their affection).

We just need to accept that some people’s opinion will more than likely always be skewed, and no amount of debate is going to change that view. So don’t waste your energy there, and move on to where you can have a healthy debate.

We all make mistakes. Or we all say something that can be viewed as a mistake.

Some people handle it better than others. Kudos to Robert for rectifying his. If only more would step up to the plate in the same way…

Lessons From An Asshole originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

According to the LinkedIn press centre, 1-in-20 of all LinkedIn profiles are held by recruiters.

Additionally, Oracle’s Chief Finance Officer Jeff Epstein was headhunted for the position via his LinkedIn profile.

And with 80% of companies using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool, it’s clear to see that social media (at least from LinkedIn’s side) is a great tool for any recruiter or human resources department to find their next employee (or for employees to find their next position).

But what about the other main networks and platforms? How could you use them as part of your employee needs, current and potential?

Twitter

Because of its instant conversations and weekly chats, there are a ton of ways that Twitter could be used as a recruitment tool. Think of some of the ways you operate your HR team or recruitment agency offline:

• You check resumes.
• You make phone calls.
• You place job ads.
• You interview.
• You cold-call potential clients (more from a recruitment agency point-of-view).

Now, flip these around and see how Twitter could replace them (or work alongside them).

• You see how people act online and what they’re discussing (resume checking).
• You have conversations with folks you’re interested in (phone calls).
• You share a link to your latest offerings (job ad placement).
• You talk and get a feel for people directly (interview).
• You use Twitter Search to look for keywords of company hiring needs then make contact through your tweets (cold calls).

Same needs, different approach. You also have a ton of weekly chats that you can participate in – there’s a great and ever-growing resource on Google Docs if you need to find one in particular.

Facebook

A different platform with a frequently different mindset, Facebook is still a great outlet for your HR needs. And as the platform continues to evolve into a business-friendly one, it’s a platform that offers a lot from a recruiting angle.

• Build a company Facebook Page and have a dedicated tab for your latest positions.
• Use your page to show the culture of the company and why people would want to work there.
• Set up a dedicated Facebook group purely for job-hunters. Make it a resource on best practices for interviews, career progression, etc.
• Go to Facebook Search and type in “jobs” – you’ll find a huge amount of companies and people on various pages, groups, etc, sharing and looking for work. Use these existing resources to find your next superstar.
• Build a Facebook widget that can be added to a user’s profile and shared with others. Update this with your latest jobs, news, careers, etc, and update interested parties as soon as your position goes live.

There are also a bunch of other ways you can use Facebook as both job hunters and employee seekers – these are just some of the immediate ones.

Website/Blog

This should be a given, but you’d be surprised how many companies don’t advertise their latest positions on the company website. Instead, they’d rather rely on external ads and agencies to do the hard work for them.

Fair enough – but wouldn’t it be better to be the source of information about your company to a job seeker as opposed to them getting third-party reviews? Again, there are a few ways you can start to use your site now.

• Like your Facebook Page, have a dedicated tab or area that not only has all your latest positions, but also positions recently filled. This shows interested parties that, while they may have missed out this time, at least you’re occasionally looking for their skill sets.
• Add an HR blog and have your employees tell their stories. We all love stories – it’s how we connect best. Having your people share why you’re great to work for is a huge way to humanize your business.
• Offer an HR newsletter sign-up to alert folks when you have a position coming up. By giving them “first refusal”, you’re immediately building rapport because you’re looking out for those that are really interested.
• Have a client services section, that shows what roles and what companies your new employees would be part of. Seeing the scope of project can help make someone’s mind up if they’re unsure of career growth and fulfillment.

Again, these are just some of the ways your site (or blog) can be adapted to be more beneficial to potential employees.

You don’t need to stop there, either. These are just the main outlets you can use.

Think of other ways to share your HR needs. It might be a YouTube channel where you give insights to the company. Or it could be a niche community or network you sponsor that’s tied into your current and future needs. And with Google+ about to set business accounts live, candidates finding you through social search could be about to step up to another level.

The main point is, you want the best. So are you making sure you’re presenting yourself as the best?

image: mhartford

How to Use Social Media for Your HR Needs originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

There’s a lot of hand-wringing and woe is me in social media.

At times, it’s like watching a therapy group from the sidelines, except the therapy group shouldn’t really be called that – it’s more like a “woe is me, how unfair this social media thing is to me” group.

Thing is, it’s not. When something’s unfair, or annoying, or any other emotion that doesn’t fill you with unicorn-flavoured Kool Aid, much of it can be attributed back to the person doing the hand-wringing.

For example, making a public song and dance about unfollowing everyone on Twitter because of all the spam you get in your Direct Message box. Hint – maybe following over 130,000 people in the first place had something to do with it.

But seriously?

Are we really missing the point that, in social especially, we make all the choices that come back and upset the apple cart later on?

No, we don’t deliberately ask for spam – but every single person we take “onboard” has the potential to be a spammer. So, it makes sense that the more we connect, the more the potential.

There are also options available for countering spam.

For example, I’ve seen Twitter profiles that clearly state, “I don’t answer DM’s anymore, but feel free to @ me or email me instead.” Then simply adjust your email settings to stop DM alerts coming into your email Inbox.

Or – less ideally – set your Twitter profile to private. That way only the chosen few will be able to DM you, and you can soon see who the spammers are that way.

Or, simply click Delete and Report Spam – Hootsuite is great for this approach.

Note – all of the above options also mean you don’t flaunt Twitter’s Terms of Service by running a script to mass unfollow.

But the same goes for offline.

We see ads on TV that we don’t want to see. We hear radio ads we don’t care about. We receive flyers in the mail that we have no interest in. But instead of telling all our friends about it, we just change channel or throw in the bin and move on. No big deal.

The point is, all of this is our choice to make. We can all follow hundreds of thousands of people and deal with the inevitable bad eggs; or we follow less and be less visible.

We can’t have it both ways, as much as we’d like to think we can.

You Make The Choices originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.