Social Media Ebooks You May Have Missed

Because I’m not always stellar about updating some of the other pages of my blog, I wanted to collect the ebooks I’ve written all in one place, so you can have at them if you need them, and so I have an easy place to point folks to when they ask. I’m hoping one or two are useful for you.

In the redesign of the blog (soon!) these will be better organized, but for now, here are the ones I’ve compiled in the last year or so. They’re all free, and hopefully helpful. Let me know what you think.

Getting a Foothold in Social Media

A rundown of some of the basic, fundamental elements of building a social media plan, especially directed at smaller and medium-sized businesses, but certainly consistent for companies of any size. Click here to download the PDF.

The Social Media Starter Kit

Here, we cover some of the most popular social media tools and technologies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and blogging, as well as some productivity and supporting tools to make social media task management easier and more fluid. Click here to download the PDF.

Building a Social Media Team

If you’re considering deploying a team to tackle your social media efforts, have a look here. We’ll discuss why you might need a team, how to assemble one, roles and responsibilities, and more. The ebook includes a look inside Humana’s social media “Chamber Of Commerce” and how their interdisciplinary team is driving social media efforts at their company. Click here to download the PDF.

Social Media Time Management

If you’re struggling with information overload and how to sort your priorities in social media, this ebook will give you some practical, actionable ideas for managing the firehose. Includes some thoughts on resource allocation and time commitments for social media strategies inside a business, as well as 9 strategies for keeping the social media monster manageable. Click here to download the PDF.

Your Social Media Questions

So last week, we hammered out the Social Media Starter Kit series, reviewing some of the basic tools of social media and a few tips on using them. This week, I want to focus more on the “what, why and how” of social media and tackle some of the questions you’ve asked of me.

This is only effective if you’re telling me what I can help answer or at least give you my take on, so please do me a big favor and leave your questions in the comments, or email them to me at amber@altitudebranding.com. I’ll answer as many as I can this week, and then put them all in a tidy little PDF at the end of the week for you to download (and maybe share with your boss??)

So let’s get started.

What exactly is social media?

Ask ten people this question and you’re likely to get ten different answers, ranging from the very technical to the very philosophical. But for my part, I say social media is a broad collection of communication tools and practices – largely online – that foster the individual creation and sharing of content, and encourage the dialogue around that content at a human level.

No, that’s not all encompassing. Why? Because social media is very much defined by each person who engages in it, and that definition will be different if you’re a business or an individual. I’d also say that you need to loosen up your definition of “media” in this sense, and not be thinking newspapers or magazines or TV, but the purest definition of media that includes all potential methods of delivering information.

Instead of a rigid definition, I’d instead venture to say that true social communication shares a few characteristics:

• It’s delivered in a human voice, instead of a corporate or “messaged” one
• It invites feedback, dialogue, and discussion, whether positive or critical
• It asks creators to be abundantly forthright about who they are and whose viewpoint they represent (if not their own)
• It’s participatory and interactive
• Its goal is to build relationships and contribute to a larger whole, not push messages or an agenda

The most typical examples of social tools include social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, publishing platforms like blogs, YouTube and podcasts, and practices like user-generated content, audience voting and rating, and crowdsourcing.

So that’s my overview. What would you add?

Why should I care about this?

This is probably an entire post in itself, but I’ll try to be brief.

Social media have opened up the floodgates of communication around the web. They’ve put far-reaching and impactful communication in the hands of each and every person with an internet connection and something to say.

As an individual, you should care because social media helps you connect, converse, and contribute to the world around you in ways that you could never have imagined. The tools are largely inexpensive, easy to use, and give you your own stage, microphone, and millions of niches to tuck into that can help you find like-minded communities and friends.

As a business, these myriad conversations mean that more than likely, your industry or even your brand are being discussed. You have an opportunity to be an active and trusted participant in that dialogue, provided you contribute from *within* that community (instead of from some holy corporate tower somewhere). As a business, you can stand out immensely by offering your customers a voice in your business, and communicating openly back to them as humans, not logos. Being a company that people want to interact with is undeniably good for business.

You have phones on your desk and email on your computer to allow people to communicate with you. Social media are simply new mechanisms for the communication we’ve always done. But their visibility and ubiquity force us to do it better.

The truth is that social media still has uncharted waters. But it’s not going away. It’s evolving the global communication landscape for individuals and businesses alike, and you can choose to make things happen as a result of it, or have things happen *to* you because of it.

There are plenty of questions worthy of discussion: the risks of open dialogue, the question of scaling human interactions, what really constitutes the “ROI” of all this (a topic I’ll tackle later this week. Again.). But if these numbers (or this resource) are any indication, it’s a true groundswell that you can’t afford to ignore.

Your Turn

So that’s a start. A couple of questions I’m asked often. I’ve got a bunch more that I’ve heard from you so far, and I’m looking for more. There’s no question too simple, and no points for being overly philosophical. I’m here to help, so let’s tackle some of the things that are bugging you. I can’t promise to have all the perfect answers, but that’s the whole point. There’s a community here full of knowledge. Let’s tap it.

Photo credit: Jan Tik

The Social Media Starter Kit: Blogging

Blogging is such a ubiquitous form of media today, but people are still incredibly intimidated about getting started with one. Is blogging something you should do? That answer will vary for everyone. Do you have something to say? Do you want to share thoughts, interests, ideas? Are you interested in others weighing in on what you have to say?

My getting started philosophy: learn on the job. There’s no better way to learn about blogging than to immerse yourself in it.

Read and Participate

The very best way to learn about blogging is to read. Read lots of blogs, both inside and outside your interest area. Pay special attention to things like tone, writing style, and how writers break up the content. Again, there’s no “right” way to blog, but you’ll get a feel for what resonates with you.

RSS Reader

I use Google Reader to aggregate my blogs. If you’re not familar with RSS, Common Craft has this kick butt video that explains it. But in essence, it’s the easy way to get a blog’s content delivered automatically right to you. It’s easy and tidy.

Start small; select 6 or 10 blogs that interest you, and visit them often. Check out the blogrolls of the blogs you’re reading to find other blogs that might be relevant. You can also use things like Technorati, but I prefer the more organic approach. It’s like having a friend recommend a book instead of picking one off the shelf.

All in all, spend 30 minutes a day browsing your feeds. You don’t have to read everything in depth. Scan the titles and posts, and stop by for the ones that interest you or compel you to comment. And don’t fear the “mark all as read” button. There are only so many hours in the day.

Comment

Don’t be shy about commenting on blogs. Share your voice; the authors *want* to hear from you – it’s part of their validation that they’re writing something of interest. It’s okay to not have all the answers. It’s about furthering the discussion, not necessarily coming to a profound conclusion.

A great tool I use is Backtype. You sign up with the URL you plug in when you comment on a blog, and it aggregates all of your comments for you.  Add friends from your other networks to read their comments and see what blogs they’re visiting. I’ve found amazing hidden gems this way.

Writing

If you’re a writer by nature, blogging will come more easily to you than if not. But a good starter goal is to aim for three posts a week. They don’t have to be mammoth, and at first, just worry about getting comfortable with the medium. It’s just a blog.

Talk about what you know. And don’t go into this with the idea that you’re writing for traffic. Write for yourself, and to share something valuable with others. Passion and interest makes for better writing, and like building a network anywhere else, it will happen on its own if you’re dedicated to it.

Topics

Keep a little text document or even a notebook around to scribble down post ideas when you have them. Write it all down, and edit later. And get in the habit of starting post drafts and saving them unfinished. You can always come back to them later when inspiration strikes. If you get a burst of writing done, schedule your posts in advance using your blog software and have a backstore of great stuff at the ready.

Share. Ask questions. Get people talking. You’re a conversation catalyst. The means. Not necessarily the end.

Comments

Staying plugged into the comments on your blog is important. Commenters like to know that you’re listening and paying attention to their contributions. How often and how deeply you respond is up to you (here’s a bit about my take), but comments are an important part of the blog ecosystem, so find a way to engage in the comments on your own posts that feels comfortable for you.

Inevitably, someone’s going to leave a snarky comment someday. That’s okay – no one can be all things to all people.  Learn to deal with detractors as best you can. The more people read you, the more of them you’ll find.

Credit and Sharing

Link out to the posts that may have inspired your writing. Point your readers to resources relevant to your topic. Disclose relationships you have that may have bearing on the opinions you write about (most especially if you’re being paid to do so).

If you’re including other people’s work, make sure to attribute it. For instance, I use photos from Flickr’s Creative Commons for my posts, and credit them with a link at the bottom.

Just Do It.

Nike said it best, but really. It’s a blog, not an earthshattering, irreversible endeavor. Wade in, get your feet wet. Test, try stuff, find your niche and comfort zone. Ask your favorite bloggers for a tip or two. Read, read, read. Then read some more.

Then, go write.

Other questions about blogging? Let us know in the comments and let the community lend a hand.

This is a post from the Social Media Starter Kit Series. To see all the posts from the series, click here, or click here to download the PDF e-book version. Like this what you’ve read? Consider subscribing to the feed and never miss a post.

The Social Media Starter Kit: Facebook

Ah, Facebook. This is far more of a personal social network for me than a business one, though I do know people using it for business (and if you’re out there, I’d love to hear from you about your tips and suggestions).

But there’s no denying it’s popularity, and it can be a comfortable way to get acquainted with what it means to participate in social networks, so here’s my Facebook guide to getting started.

Your Profile. If you ever have any intention of allowing a business contact of any stripe into your Facebook realm, I strongly suggest you use a picture that doesn’t have you drinking, flashing body parts, or wandering around a beach in a bathing suit. Hey, candid shots are great and I’m a big fan, but remember. Social networks are searchable, and you just never know who might come knocking at your virtual door. Better to be fully clothed when you answer.

A good thing to note also is that other profile details – like your birthdate and relationship status – are by default visible on your public profile. That means if you don’t want people to know those details, don’t post them. Likewise with your contact information like email, phone numbers, and website. I post mine publicly, but consider how you want people to be able to find you before you do so. (You can change who can see what on your privacy settings).

Finding Friends. I tend to cross-polinate between my social networks, friends and business acquaintances alike. But it’s up to you how you want to use Facebook. You can search for people by name, and then you need to send them a friend request that they have to approve before you can view each other’s pages and send messages. It’s a pretty simple process.

I check in once a day or so to catch up with friend requests and peek at the “people you may know” sidebar, just to see who’s lurking out there that I should say hello to. Some people prefer to keep their connections to people they know personally. I’m a bit looser about my criteria since I’m not posting anything on there that I think would be crazy personal. Again, you need to decide what’s comfortable for you. There’s no “right” answer.

Communicating. Facebook offers myriad options for communicating with your friends, including live chat if they’re online (at the bottom of your profile), wall-writing (public), in-network messages (private), post items (public) and status updates.

As to the latter, Facebook gives you the option to cross post your Twitter updates to Facebook, but I choose not to do that. Why? I tweet a lot, and not only would I feel like my FB friends were flooded with irrelevant chatter, but it doesn’t afford me the opportunity to be present in all the places where conversation might be happening. Instead, I update my Facebook status manually with fun little quips or other comments about what I’m up to that might actually be of interest to my Facebook friends, but at a much more digestible pace.

Applications. I’m going to come right out and say that I think most Facebook applications are downright evil and annoying. There are two that I use with regularity, and that’s the birthday calendar (I like seeing when people’s birthdays are so I can drop them a note) and the Networked Blogs application so I can demonstrate support for my friends’ blogs in another way that’s visible to those that might be outside the social media sphere. It’s much more for introducing blogs to the rest of my network since I interact with those blogs through my reader and Twitter, mostly.

If you’re going to add a zillion applications to your profile, realize that when I see all the stuff you’ve got on there, it paints a picture of your personality to me. That could be a good thing, or not so much. What do your applications say about you, and what are you demonstrating to your connections when you ask them to participate in them with you?

Posting stuff. I’m not very good at this, but I’d like to be better. I see my friends posting interesting links all the time through Facebook, much like many of my connections do on Twitter. And I’d like to use it more to post links to great stuff on the web (not just my blog), because again, many of the people I know on Facebook have no idea about all this social media stuff in it’s business forms, and I come across tons of great resources every day. It’s better than emailing people a bunch of crap.

Groups. I belong to a bunch of Facebook groups, and some are better than others. The ones that engage me are the ones that provide information, interactivity, engagement on behalf of the organizers, and help me connect to other people more easily. If you’re thinking of starting a Facebook group, this is where I think business could make good use of it if they go about it well and tend it properly. But you can’t park it there and walk away, it has to be nurtured, and many businesses haven’t proven up to the challenge.

So again, I’ll put it to you: have you joined Facebook groups and found value? If so, how?

You can probably tell that I’m a bit on the fence about Facebook, but I’m still exploring and from a personal perspective, I think it can be fun (because not everything has to be about business, right)? What’s your take, and what tips would you offer someone new to the site?

This is a post from the Social Media Starter Kit Series. To see all the posts from the series, click here, or click here to download the PDF e-book version. Like this what you’ve read? Consider subscribing to the feed and never miss a post.

The Social Media Starter Kit: LinkedIn

LinkedIn is, to me, the virtualized and interactive version of that pile of business cards on your desk. True, it’s home to your online “resume”, but it’s also a mechanism to both demonstrate your expertise and share in the expertise of others, make business connections, and help connect others in your network with each other.

So here’s my down-and-dirty guidebook for LinkedIn and my handful of tips.

Use a real photo. I like more casual shots because I think they exude more of the “real you”, but hey. Do what makes you feel comfy. Just make sure it’s really you.

Don’t recite your job description. When you pen your profile – especially the summary – think in terms of what you accomplished and what your goals are, not the tasks you’re responsible for on a day to day basis. Those are interchangeable for other people with your type of job. Instead, focus on what makes *you* and *your abilities* different than the next person with your same title. Write as though you’re the one looking to recruit you. What would you want to read? A job description, or a colorful picture of what you’ve done and aim to do?

Think outside your office. Your current and past positions can and should include personal endeavors if they’ll give insight into your overall expertise. For instance, aside from my position as Director of Community for Radian6, I list that I’m a blogger and speaker because, well, I am. (Which reminds me, don’t forget to include a link to your blog and RSS feed on your profile). It offers a more well-rounded look at what I do, and illustrates that I’m more faceted than just the job I hold during business hours. Remember, this isn’t a resume submission in a traditional sense. It’s your chance to outline the dimensions of your expertise in several areas.

Function as a hub. I’m with Chris Brogan on this one, and I don’t follow LinkedIn’s advice that you only connect to people you know. Why? Because I think of it as building a network not just for me, but as a network *for* my network. If I make lots of connections and I can help someone use me as a hub to connect with someone else they need to reach, I think I’ve been helpful. (And yes, I vet those requests just to be sure I’m not sending a craptastic shiller to one of my friends or colleagues). Networking isn’t just about you. It’s about being a point on a matrix, at least in my view.

I check in every couple of days to accept connection requests and find those I might have missed.

Get and give love. Ask for recommendations from those who know your work, and display them on your profile. There’s no greater testimonial for your capabilities than in the words of someone else who’s worked with you. And don’t forget to give back. Offer to write recommendations to those whose work you’re familiar with.  When it comes to either, a good recommendation focuses on what attributes of a person’s work you’re most familiar with, not just a glowing generic recommendation. If they’re a great project manager, say that. Great networker? List that too. But skip the generalities; it doesn’t help them or you to just have someone say “they’re fantastic”.

Lend a hand. Check the LinkedIn Answers section for opportunities to lend your expertise to questions in your field. There are categories for just about everything under the sun. Be selective and answer questions where you can contribute something that hasn’t already been offered or point to a particular example of your experience. And don’t shill. Believe me when I tell you that if you offer up a solid, helpful answer, people will check out your profile further to learn more about who you are and what you do.

I spend about 30-45 minutes, twice a week, checking out the categories I’m interested in and posting responses if I find something interesting.

Applications. LinkedIn now offers application plugins for a few popular web applications. Add the WordPress application to have your recent blog posts show up on your profile. I’ve added the Slideshare application too, to point to presentations and e-books I’ve uploaded to that site.

Groups. I don’t belong to a ton of LinkedIn Groups, but some people swear by them. Like groups on other social networks, they’re meant to connect people of like interest, industry, or professional affiliation. Groups can post questions among themselves and facilitate other information sharing. Check out your company or industry organizations to see if they’ve got a LinkedIn group that might be interesting to you.

So, how are you using LinkedIn? I know some of you use it more than I do. Have you found value in other areas that I haven’t touched on here? Let me and others know in the comments.

This is a post from the Social Media Starter Kit Series. To see all the posts from the series, click here, or click here to download the PDF e-book version. Like this what you’ve read? Consider subscribing to the feed and never miss a post.