Social Media Time Management: The Ebook

The series I wrote on Social Media Time Management seemed to be a popular one, and it was based on the presentation I did earlier this year at BlogWorld Expo. So, to make it an easier resource for you to digest and share, I’ve put it in an ebook format.

The book is available below (click here if you can’t see it in your reader); just click the “Menu” option if you’d like to download it for yourself. Please feel free to share liberally; that’s the point after all.

Some Changes Afoot

I’m having a hard time with this post, because it feels like I’m focusing on me. But really, when it comes down to it, the goal of this is a better focus on you. So I hope you’ll read, and take a moment to share your thoughts either in the comments, or via a private feedback email to me if you’d prefer. Especially if you’ve never commented or sent a note before, please lend your voice to this.

The full boat changes are a few months out yet, but Altitude Branding is about to evolve. The business I started over a year ago doesn’t really exist anymore (since I have an awesome job instead), and the focus of my work has moved away from branding and more toward the practical application of social media and community in a business context. So the blog will change to reflect that in 2010, both in terms of the URL and the look and feel. I’m excited, but I also need to be sure the future of this blog isn’t what I think it should be, but rather reflects what you, as a community need it to be.

I’ve done some significant research – both qualitative and quantitative – to figure out where this blog and my work fits into the bigger conversation, and how you – and the social media and business community at large – are making use of what I create here. This is what I found:

• You come here for guidance on social media first and community management second, with an emphasis on practical application from the trenches and tackling some of the questions and issues you can’t find answered elsewhere.
• Many of you end up here through social networks or links here from other blogs, and some of you bring your friends back. Not too many of you are finding the blog through random searches on Google.
• I could do a better job of giving you maps to other relevant content here or elsewhere that applies to what you’re looking for. Better information architecture, so to speak.
• You’ve asked for more content and information on how social media really works inside a company, with examples and step-by-step approaches. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
• You don’t come here for deep analysis of trends, reviews, or information on tools and technology related to social media.

So here’s what I need from you, the people that I do this all for in the first place:

• Do those findings seem consistent with what brings you here?
• No matter how you got here to start with, what keeps you coming back? What’s different here than elsewhere?
• What kinds of requests from friends, colleagues, or business associates would cause you to recommend this blog? Have you recommended it, and in what context?
• When it comes to seeking out more information about how social media and community apply to your work, what would you or do type into Google to find it (outside of this blog)?

I don’t like surveys much, because they assume I’m asking the right questions. So if I’ve left out something that you think I ought to consider when making this blog a resource for you, please speak up. Tell me what works, and don’t be afraid to tell me what you wish we’d do more of here together.

Jay Baer paid me a great compliment recently when he said that this blog feels like a group project, and I want that more than anything. So I hope you’ll help me build the next home for this blog collectively. It’s not much value without you here.

Thanks in advance for your input. And I promise you’ll be the first to know what’s changing and when. I appreciate your being here.

photo credit: mindfulness

Tweetsgiving 2009: Giving Thanks

Today marks the second year  of Tweetsgiving, an awesome initiative by the folks at Epic Change. Last year, Tweetsgiving raised money to build a classroom in Tanzania. This year,  there’s even more happening to benefit that school in Tanzania. Read the Tweetsgiving story here, and check out this amazing video that talks about what this is all for.

Radian6 is proudly part of Tweetsgiving this year, and my friend and colleague Danny Brown asked me to be part of it personally as well (and I wouldn’t dream of saying no).

What I’m Thankful For

I was born with the gift of gab, so it would be easy for me to blather on here for miles about all the things – material, personal, esoteric, philosophical – that I’m grateful for. But instead, I’d like to say something rather simple.

I am deeply and eternally grateful for the power of the human spirit, and the freedom and opportunity I have to tap into it at every turn, online and off.

It’s given to me by friends and family through their encouragement, support, and love. It’s shown to me through the good works of people I know that are changing the world in big and small ways. I see it in my daughter as she learns and absorbs the world around her and blossoms into this amazing little person. It’s demonstrated by friends who overcome and persevere despite the obstacles thrown in their way every day. It’s so very evident among the noise on the crazy interwebs when truly amazing people, causes, and companies find one another and forge affinities, partnerships, friendships, collaborations. It’s given me a professional hook upon which to hang my hat, for good, because for once I believe in the very foundation of what I’m out there to accomplish (and one that goes far, far beyond the mechanisms).

I am so thankful that this year has shown me some of the deepest capacities of humans to be, well, human. To be great. To be humble and giving and kind and compassionate. To be generous and smart. To be funny, encouraging, happy, witty, wise.

What I’ve seen this year, what I’ve experienced across the spectrum from beautiful to ugly, has given me so much inspiration to be as deeply good a person as I know how to be. The bar has been set high, and I’m humbled by what I learn and see every day.

So thank you, to each of you who taps and shares your human spirit for the good of the people around you. It truly can move mountains.

Hiring For Social Media: What I’d Look For

In my previous posts on, I pointed out some good and some bad on the social media job front. A few asked what I thought social media jobs should look like, so I’ll do my best. But I’m not going to write this like a typical job description, because I think the content is more important than the format.

Social media-exclusive jobs are okay for now, as foundation building for companies needing to learn the ins and outs, understand intent and strategy, and educate their internal folks. But eventually, these kinds of jobs will fall by the wayside (or at least evolve) when social media becomes part of each and every role in one way or another, perhaps with specialists that have particular experience in application of the tools within their roles. (Think of it this way: we don’t have email managers that do nothing but. The *use* of email and digital stuff touches every role, whether it’s inward or outward facing).

Attributes

In my experience, the folks who grok social media best have a lot of attributes in common:

Curiosity: The desire to explore new ideas, in detail, and without specific direction to do so. Curiosity about the intersection of human interactions and technology is a specific aspect that’s helpful, and a passion for the potential of the work and the organization’s purpose is key to instilling that in others, both internally and externally.

Innovation: Ignore the buzzy nature of this word for a moment and concentrate on what it really means: the introduction of something new. Social media implementation requires new approaches to existing processes, both internally and externally, including communication, strategy, execution, measurement, reporting, and training. (This needs to be carefully balanced with realism and pragmatism, too, but I’d rather rein someone in than have to prod them forward.)

Motivation: Folks thriving in social media jobs are self-starters, often capable of creating clarity from a bit of chaos, and devising their own marching orders without constant direction or specific instructions. If you can instill and nurture this in others, too, so much the better.

Collaboration: “That’s not my job” and “get out of my sandbox” don’t play well in these kinds of roles. They’re far too new to be that rigid, and they definitely need cooperation and work with others across the organization.

Translation: In many companies right now, we need people that have the patience and clarity of explanation to teach others about the impact of the social web, and who work well across departments within a corporate culture. These roles, most critically, need to know how to work and educate across silos, in the terms that make sense to the relevant colleagues.

Humility: The goal here is to elevate the entire company and your colleagues as contributing, valuable members of the community and leaders in the industry. Not you and your “personal brand”.

Diplomacy: Social media roles are today’s change agents. If you expect instant sea change inside your company without a lot of legwork, communication, negotiation, discussion, education, and trial and error, this job is NOT for you. And the outside community will present challenges to you; you need to be able to handle them with patience and tact. It’s a balance of emotional intelligence here.

Connectivity and Awareness: This is a people job, inside and out (and I don’t just mean community roles). You need to be able to talk to people, work with them, socialize with them, connect with them in multiple places. Understand how the network and the people in it need you (and don’t), and how all of those interactions work together to encourage more, deeper, and better connections that ultimately elevate the quality of your work and company.

Expertise

Business Process/Planning and Analysis: From the mid level on up, you want someone who understands financial frameworks for profit and loss, strategic and long range planning (including how to write goals and objectives), and how to map out execution at a tactical level. The key here is the ability to think at a global company level, not within a silo, and not in a linear fashion.

Social Media Anthropology & Participation: If you have someone spearheading social media, I feel pretty strongly that they need to be using it themselves in order to fully understand its implications and unique culture. Yes, that means familiarity with the most widely known tools and technologies, and some of the most consistent and popular applications (for better and for worse) of same, and interest and observation of what’s new on the scene (without the tendency to chase everything new because it is). Academic knowledge is good, applied is even better.

Hedgehog Management: Social media programs that are well thought out have lots of moving parts to manage and drive. People who excel at social media jobs can tackle projects that span multiple networks or areas, and keep all the pieces moving toward a bigger, crystal clear goal (or in Jim Collins’ terms, Hedgehog Concept).

Customer or Client Service: Whether it’s a formal title or not, you really want someone who has experience communicating with customers directly, and fostering those relationships in order to meet their business goals. The most powerful bit of social media is in mobilizing those relationships.

Written Communication Skills: Yep. Sorry, folks. I think this one is really imperative. So much communication and engagement online is in the form of written communication. If you can’t write coherently and professionally, you’re going to struggle. On this note, I also think a lot of social media positions will and should include elements of content marketing, which means that the ability to create and contribute solid content is key.

Social Media Roles And Responsibilities

Again, let me say that I’m writing this from the POV of a job that’s heavily or exclusively social media, and I don’t think these jobs will exist like this forever. And this is a broad, sweeping list that’s not meant to tie to any one job description (though I’m quite certain I have experience bias), but instead give you things to consider if you’re in need of a role like this in your company. A few things that might fall under this umbrella:

• Establish and use listening platforms to gauge the health of the brand online, and potential for participating in new communities
• Build outreach initiatives outside of sales or marketing goals to give our brand a personality and voice within the industry and the communities we care about
• Engage the community actively and responsively, both in relevant outpost communities and existing resident channels (like brand communities), and teach and empower team members to do the same, with consistency and clarity
• Build training programs to help other areas of the company learn and tap the potential of social media for their roles
• Collaborate on internal communication programs to inform and educate around social media initiatives and their broader implications
• Create and facilitate content in multiple media to further engagement goals, both internally and externally, and contribute resources and expertise to prospective and existing community members
• Consume, curate, and share relevant, interesting industry information and content with internal and external communities.
• Understand and observe the parallels and implications of other online activities, including web analytics, email, and search
• Communicate and collaborate on how social media activities impact other business operations, including customer support, human resources, product development, sales and business development, and translate online community and social learnings into business insights
• Establish relevant metrics (new or existing) to map the impact of social media activities in both a qualitative and quantitative fashion, and amend strategies based on learnings and patterns

Reporting wise, I’d put this position under whomever is charged with driving customer experience and a sustainable, positive company presence through online channels, and whatever business function is being most heavily supported by these initiatives. That might be someone in PR, marketing, customer service, client or donor relations, even product management. It needs, in whatever case, to report in to someone who gets the importance and potential of this, even if they don’t necessarily understand the “how”.

Your Turn

There’s no way my list can be exhaustive, nor can it possibly cover every subtlety and nuance of individual positions based on unique business needs. I’m painting with a broad brush, with the hope that it gets the gears turning for all of us to think critically about how these positions fit into business, from multiple perspectives.

So I need to hear from you! What’s missing? What would you included or have you included in your job descriptions? What have you seen that articulates the need for these jobs well? I can’t wait for you to weigh in. Comments are yours.

Effective Criticism

Criticism can be good. It can be a very healthy way to learn, to grow, to identify flaws in your system – either personal or professional.

And now, the internet sure gives us myriad ways to deliver said criticism without much forethought, in a flash, and without making it very helpful. It’s easy to bitch on Twitter or rant on your blog (and if blowing off steam is your goal alone, you can just ignore the rest of this post).

But if your criticism is being delivered really with the intent to change something or someone’s behavior, there are ways to get closer to that goal. For folks like me – brand representatives and community leaders – there are definitely elements of feedback that make it more useful, helpful, and likely to inspire action. Here are a few:

Avoid Sweeping Generalizations

We all get caught in the trap of ranting at a generic collective, as in “people don’t understand…”. The trouble is, we don’t usually think we belong in the group you’re referring to, and wide, sweeping generalizations suffer under scrutiny (it’s rare that everyone or everything with a particular label is guilty of the same behavior).That applies to issues as well as people. It’s hard not to do. It’s a human thing to do. I’m sure I do it more often than I’d like.

But if you’re delivering criticism with the intent to change something, take the time and thought to focus it in the direction – either people or topic wise – you mean for it to go. If you’re calling out marketing people in software, say so, and be specific about why they’re the culprits of whatever you’re talking about. If you’re referencing a failure of telephone support wait time, that’s more helpful than saying “your customer service sucks”.

Differentiate Instances and Patterns.

Everyone screws up once. Saying that someone sucks at something because they did it poorly one time isn’t a fair statement. Call people out for making mistakes if you wish, but try hard to differentiate between a single instance of bad judgment or operational failure, and the notion that Company X’s delivery time is atrocious, or that a particular person is a terrible gossip. Sometimes, a mistake is just that, and pointing it out constructively can prevent its repetition.

Passion Doesn’t Trump Decorum

Being upset or frustrated or angry doesn’t mean you can’t take a moment to collect your thoughts and express them like an adult. Criticism leveled calmly and with purpose will always be more effective than frustration fueled by irrationality and heat-of-the-moment anger. Ranting blindly rarely nets true, progressive results (and you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and all that jazz). Rant loudly and repeatedly as your MO, and it becomes far too easy to make a case to stop listening to you altogether.

Alternatives Speak Volumes

I never, ever mind someone telling me that they don’t agree with something I said or did. But it’s really hard for me to do it differently next time if I don’t have an idea of what your expectations are. If you find my blog posts dull, tell me how they’d be more useful for you. If my customer service isn’t meeting your expectations, what would improve that? This requires some thought on the part of the critic, but if your goal is to have the object of your criticism consider a change in action or behavior, pointing out the direction you’d prefer at least gives them something to consider and helps them understand your perspective.

Take It To the Source

It’s much easier and less uncomfortable to complain on your blog rather than give feedback directly to the person or company you intend it for. But if amended behavior is really your goal, find as direct a path as possible to express your feedback (even if that’s in addition to something you may post elsewhere). Take the extra moment to see if that company has a Twitter account, and reply directly to them instead of just ranting on your stream. Try an email to customer support or your company contact before you pop off on your blog.  If it’s an individual that’s offended you, consider telling them so plainly, and explain why.

Yes, I totally understand that some processes in place for business feedback are lousy, cumbersome, and lacking humans on the other end. But sometimes, offering the critique directly to the source first can solve an issue much more quickly, or at least provide an opportunity for direct discussion, learning (on both sides) and better understanding. It’s worth a shot.

So, what else would you add? What makes feedback valuable to you when you receive it? What criticism helps you really understand the issues at hand? How do you deliver criticism and try to make it effective?