Get Social Media Ready
This chapter is intended to address some of the "social and technological drivers" underlying the social media.
Really Simple Syndication
RSS is an underlying technology that is critical to the social Web. It enables Web site owners to provide a "news feed" that provides brief notices, in a standard format, to those who have an interest in receiving them. The value to the user is that these announcements can be gathered and aggregated, to save them the effort of constantly visiting sites to determine if there is any new content.
The RSS published creates a "feed" that contains some information (title, article content, date, address, etc.) that is made available on their Web site as an ASCII file in XML format. The user chooses to "subscribe" to the feed using software of their choosing to read the feed periodically and process it, generally calling their attention to new items. Typically, a user will subscribe to a number of different feeds and aggregate them into a reader, which provides them a single list of all new content on all sites of interest.
Feeds may provide a self-contained packet of information, such that the user will consult the feed to gather everything they wish to know (a local weather report, updated every few hours). In other instances, the "feed" will be a teaser that includes a link to a site for more extensive information (sending the headline and first paragraph of a news article or blog post).
In addition to being used by individuals, a feed may be republished on other Web sites. It may be a single-purpose use of a feed (a local park displays the weather report) or a site that aggregates feeds from other sites on a topic of interest (a "news" site presents technology articles from various other sources).
From a user perspective, an individual is often overloaded with information from feeds, especially if a specific feed is chatty or contains a mix of information, only some of which is of interest. Software solutions provide help in filtering, and there are sites where communities help to filter feeds, sometimes by passive action (just viewing an article helps rank it among the "most popular")
Corporate Blogs
(EN: Books have been written on this topic, so I expect the author will merely hit the high points and leave out a lot of the more detailed information.)
A corporate blog is similar to the company's PR department, in that it releases information directly to the public in the form of blog entries (similar to press releases). Coupled with an RSS feed, the corporate blog facilitates getting the word out, both directly to the public as well as to media outlets that will republish information from your corporate blog.
(EN: It stands to note that "blogging" originated as a personal expression - an individual opening a journal or diary to the world - and there is some reluctance to accept corporate blogs. At the present time, the level of resistance and resentment has cooled, though individuals still tend to regard a corporate blog as being "different" than a personal one.)
The author suggests starting with an internal blog, releasing information to employees via the company intranet. This is a good practice for a company "new" to blogging to rehearse before a limited audience rather than making "newbie" errors in full public view. Eventually, content can be migrated to an external blog, or multiple ones for multiple audiences, through a central blogging "platform."
The author balks a bit at developing blogging software, and favors using one of the "plethora' of cheap and standard blogging solutions. In addition to saving programming cost, you will be gaining a lot of functionality and features and using a solution that is recognized by the rest of the world (important to getting people to adopt the blog easily, using software designed to handle the standard formats)
As to hosting, the obvious choice is to place the blog on the company's main Web site, such that visitors attracted to the blog will also visit the site. However, there may be reasons to place a blog elsewhere: if it is a short-term blog that may be discontinued; if it is a special-purpose blog for reaching a specific audience that may not be interested in the rest of the site; if it is a "bad news" blog that you'd like to keep separate so that people don't find it unless they're interested; etc.
The author suggests that communications, marketing, and legal should be kept well away from the blog, as they tend to "poison" it. A blog that consists entirely of press releases and marketing information gains little readership, and even seeming too "polished" makes users suspicious that it is merely an outlet for marketing (and few are willing to sign up for junk mail and sales calls). The author also suggests exposing the "real people" behind the blog rather than hiding behind the corporate "we", as this makes it seem authentic rather than mercenary.
One suggestion for blogging is to create a different purpose for a corporate blog, one that people will be genuinely interested in. A blog that provides press releases about computer software is of little interest; but one that provides tips and advice for software users may draw a large user base. Remember, again, that a blog isn't about promoting sales, but building brand.
The author suggests a number of objectives for providing a blog:
- Fostering customer relationships by communicating directly with customers, especially evangelical ones
- Getting feedback from customers, whether it can be used directly for improving products or indirectly as market research
- Establishing expert credibility. Especially for some kinds of products, the credibility of the company adds perceived value to its products. This can pertain to the expertise of the company or of the staff.
- Providing technical support. This may be proactive (tips) or reactive (answering questions), and the information becomes a public reference to which others may find the information they need.
- Manage public image: rather than relying on journalists and media outlets to re-tell your story (with some editing), you have a direct line to the world
- Damage Control - Blogs are excellent for getting information disseminated quickly
(EN: Note the one thing that's lacking: increase product sales. That may be a precipitating effect, but not the prime motive)
On frequency, the author suggests "three per week" to keep the blog from seeming stagnant, yet not providing an overwhelming amount of information. If that seems like a lot, you may not be ready for blogging. If it seems too little, maybe you need multiple blogs.
One feature of blogs is feedback: users are invited to comment on blog entries. Companies fear a deluge of feedback, but the author cites an example of GM's "Fast Lane" blog, which is very popular but receives only 15 to 20 comments per post (though it can spike in times of crisis or high media exposure). The author also refers to the "one percent" rule - which suggests that for every 100 visitors, only one will be a "regular" reader (and not all regular readers will comment). Finally, having loads of comments is a good "problem" to have, as it means you are reaching and engaging a very large audience.
A few specific things to avoid:
- Avoid "character blogs" where the posts are written by a fictitious character or mascot. The author cites several miserable failures, where readers weren't attracted to a blog because it was obviously "fake" (EN: I somewhat disagree. While it's idiotic to suggest a blog is written by a mascot, disclosing the name of the actual author can have problems of its own, if the person becomes a "celebrity" their actions can represent the company, which gives them power to do harm, whether intentionally or unintentionally. I think a "persona" is good, but an obvious "character" is bad)
- Avoid flame wars. While negative or disparaging comments will come in, and will require a response, be careful not to be drawn into a mud-fight
- Avoid the need for perfection. Users expect a blog to be genuine, which means informal and conversational. While avoiding embarrassing errors is desirable, it's a balance, and if the text is too "polished," users will dismiss it.
Reaching Out to Social Media
To be prepared for social media, a company must undergo a paradigm shift, from serving its own interests first and controlling the flow of information to considering the interests of others and being a mere participant in the conversation. The author provides a handful of tips for getting ready for social media.
Ensure your Web site is up to date and contains the kinds of content users will be seeking. A "brochure site" with stock information that never changes is not sufficient. At the very least, make sure there's a blog to provide a constant stream of fresh content.
Make sure your Web site is link-friendly. You should have your own domain name, and there should be "short" links to content of interest within your Web site. Ideally, it should be HTML pages that are easy to link and parse rather than Flash- or database-driven sites that force the users to a single entry point and conceal content. These tips will also increase you site's "findability" in search engines, but are critical for social media as well.
Consider providing social media resources, similar to a "press kit" that includes some stock information that can be used (fact sheets and elevator pitches), media support (graphics that others may use), a list of links to your blogs and RSS feeds, and other elements to support others in publishing information about your company. Creating a "social media resources" page in your PR section is a good way to make it easy for individuals to find. (EN: providing explicit permission for others to use the resources is also a good idea.)
The author suggests that imagery should be used as a "hook." Providing a simple photo (snapshot) can make your content stand out in an ocean of text. Providing a collection of photos for others to use can help them to call attention to you (and consider using Flickr and Creative Commons to make them more widely available).
If you have audio or video resources, they may also draw attention. There's been a lot of hype over YouTube and companies that have created quick-and-dirty videos that have garnered a lot of attention. (EN: I think this needs more development - a "video" is not a magic bullet, and a lame video can do more harm than good.)
Set up an RSS feed for company news. If your company does regular press releases, ensure this feed is separate from your blog feed, as journalists prefer to have a dedicated feed of their own. Separate "lightweight news" from "hard news." Also, be prepared to gather metrics on your feeds, particularly the number of subscribers and how often the feed is downloaded.
Consider establishing links to blogs taht are complementary to your own. The author refers to this as a "blog roll" (EN: a term that has already gone out of fashion). You may get links in exchange from other sites, but that is secondary. The primary reason is to show that your company is interested and connected to current events in the industry.
Consider using a social bookmarking site (such as del.icio.us) to establish and maintain a collection of links to relevant information, for much the same resound (demonstrating your awareness of the broader industry). There is some note about overcoming reluctance to provide links to the competition, but the author suggests it projects confidence and authenticity and that you put the interests of the audience before your own motives to market to them.
The Social Media News Release
The "social media news release" is a popular term for a packet of news that complements a traditional news release with ancillary information, in a way that makes it easier for users to share your information on their own sites.
A handful of tips:
- Consider search engines when writing headlines and leads (use keywords that will get attention)
- Consider a brief version (one paragraph) with links to further information for RSS feeds.
- To start, link to a "full press release" but work toward abandoning the traditional approach in favor of linking to articles in your blog or pages on your Web site
- Include or embed related images and media files