Confessions of a social media strategist

I have taken two different tactics in practicing social media. One is to pursue connections and the other is more organic, allowing connections to find me and after they do, following an established a set of criteria to determine if they truly want a conversation with me or uncover if they are just trying to boost their numbers.

I am more curious about what makes people want to click my 'follow' button, so I enjoy the observation mode more than the pursuit, but you can learn from both.

For my personal research, I have two Twitter accounts. One is focused on writing and publishing connections. I have used that account to see if I can drive the follower count with various tactics that do not require purchasing followers or purchasing advertising. The answer is yes. It works best when you work in conjunction with a second party. I'll probably teach a class on this, so I won't release all my conclusions. The short path is to find someone with an average follower count (not a celebrity), follow the people they most interact with and create conversations.

The second account began as a way to test how the work environment could take advantage of Twitter and watch those interactions develop. That Twitter account grew into a something much bigger. That one is my observation account.

It is time to come clean.

There is one place I apply no science.

It's LinkedIn.

Pre-dive bombing into social media, I had received various emails from people stating, "I'd like to add you to my professional network." That just sounded like the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. Most of the invitations came from people I either did not want further connections with, or they were so far a strewn from my daily business interactions I had no idea what would be gained.

When I finally joined LinkedIN it was more of a surrender to the media. Someone from work helped me understand the statistics portion of LinkedIn and unfortunately (for me), I noticed that they had better stats then I did. My competitive nature kicked in (former salesperson) and I began a pursuit to improve my numbers. As soon as I beat the co-workers stats I found someone else to beat. Once I beat his stats, I was hooked. My circle of trusted professionals leapt past 500,000 and closed in on a million.

Be still my ego.

As I watched the ticker rachet up I wondered how many people in my master database are actually on LinkedIn. In an attempt to find I out, I uploaded a vast list into the system. Instead of being able to review who's in the LinkedIn database, I was directed another direction. I hit the button that sent a behemoth pile of LinkedIN invitations out.

I hopped and jittered all over the keyboard attempting to go back, to log-out, to somehow undo what I had done: intiated a bagillion annoying LinkedIn invitations to people who barely knew me. Bestselling authors, people at my daughter's school, emergency contacts from the neighborhood, people from boards I serve on, and an ex-employee I would have had to of fired if they hadn't quit all received, "I'd like to add you to my professional network."

That created a personal and public relations nightmare. If too many people click, "I've never heard of her," LinkedIn would determine that I was a spammer and would cut me off. I would lose the option to send invitations to anyone. How to stop this? Perhaps a follow-up email. How do you think you would have reacted to my proposed email?

"I'm sooooo sorry, I didn't mean to send you a LinkedIn invitation, please ignore."

After careful consideration, I decided it would confirm I was an idiot or disclose that I didn't really value their association.

What to do?

I decided to ride it out and accept my fate.

The emails began trickling in, picked up steam and my stats grew. Currently, my group of trusted professionals sits at 5.2 million.

What's new in your social community?

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Carol Doane on LinkedIN
Carol Doane on Twitter
Carol Doane on Facebook

Thursday, I'm a character!

On the eve of the first ever Pacific Northwest #140 Conference, I'm struck by all the friends I've met through social media.

Met as in real life.

Assumptions are made, that people who like to kibitz via computer connections rarely venture beyond their laundry ridden, messy bedrooms or dank basements.

Not true.

A world of fascinating, friendly, people with fresh viewpoints on a variety of topics have crossed paths with mine. There's my @whiffies friends, the #CouveCoolKids friends, and the random stranger who meets me and exclaims, "So, YOU'RE The Classic Carol.

Then they look at my legs.

Then we both laugh.

Not because of my legs, but because it's so much fun to connect, to see the smile behind the avatar, to have a face-to-face conversation. To be real.

It is not unusual for us to hug.

Thursday, I will be facilitating a fast-paced, 20 minute panel on Twitterdipity. This phrase was coined by Michelle Anderson. She blogged about it on ReadWriteWeb. I met Michelle at an event she posted on Twitter. I just showed up. She made me feel welcome.

Michelle, aka @mediachick, is part of our panel. Her Twitterdipity 'net' gathered Mary Rarick, @Mary_Rarick, who I met at a #CouveCoolKids coffee meetup. I tease Mary and say she stalked me, because after that meeting I had a LinkedIn connect request, a Facebook friends request, she liked my FB Fanpage, and she followed me on Twitter.

I felt very befriended.

The fourth person on our panel I met during the planning session for Thursday's event, Michael Perozzo. I met Micheal first on Twitter as himself @michaelperozzo.

Tomorrow, we're going to ask how many people in the audience met us, first in social media and second in real life. We think we'll see a plethora of hands extend toward the Vancouver Convention Center ceiling.

I hope to see you there. And I won't mind if you laugh and give me a hug and share your best Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIN, story.

Let's get real.

They call it social media for a reason.

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Michael Perozzo's post on Twitterdipity.
Michelle Anderson's post on Twitterdipity

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If you are on Twitter, the hashtag for this conference is #140ConfNW.

You can get tickets here: THEY'RE FREE.

If you don't know what that means read this conference information:

PRESS RELEASE: The focus of this conference is a large-scale community conversation about how social media is affecting our communities, our governments and our engagement.

This conference will feature over 65 speakers over the course of 40 presentations, including @TheClassicCarol, Carol Doane. It is the first time that a 140 Character Conference has come to the Pacific Northwest and the first time that one will have so many public-sector presentations. Already, the traffic on twitter is fun to watch with the #140ConfNW hashtag.

This conference will be Thursday, May 19th from 8 am-5 pm. Registration will begin at 7:00 am.
People can still obtain tickets to attend in person at Eventbrite

But more importantly, this event will be live-streamed over the internet for people can watch it in their homes, offices, and on their mobile phones. Today, we updated our conference website for specific information about how to “Watch It Live” at http://nw2011.140conf.com/watch-it-live

Social Media Policy

In updating the company's online policy the following is being submitted for consideration. What do you think? Would you like this policy, or not? 

There is increasing interest at the company in using online communication as a means of both connecting with our community and for the dissemination of information, specifically using social media tools. These activities provide a number of benefits, and we understand our employees may want to participate both personally and professionally. This Social Media Online guide is created to state company policy and educate employees on best practices as they enter into both company and personal online communications.

Briefly, this guide will direct you to:

• Receive authorization per project before speaking online on behalf of the company


• Treat proprietary information with complete confidentiality


• If you plan to mention the company on your personal site, identify yourself as an employee and note the views expressed belong solely to you


• Do not use company logo without permission in writing


• Regard company online venues with the same respect as the physical workplace


• Use language that is respectful to the company, customers, competitors and employees


• Comply with all applicable laws and legal issues


• Ensure that your online activity does not interfere with your primary work responsibilities

The intention of this guide is not to prevent staff from conducting legitimate activities on the Internet, but to communicate those areas in which conflicts can arise. Employees are responsible for regularly reviewing the terms of this Online Policy.

Communication Formats
There are several types of online platforms that your department may want to engage in, including the following:

Blogs and discussion forums: sites maintained by businesses, community groups, non-profits, government, media entities, or private individuals to post information, ideas, suggestions or opinion on various issues. They may or may not be open for comments.

Video sharing: sites that allow organizations and individuals to distribute, share and stream video and other audio visual material online, an example is YouTube.

Wikis: online warehouses of information much like an encyclopedia, but where individuals and organizations contribute or edit the information. The most well-known is Wikipedia.

Social Networking: online directories or gathering sites that connect people through social, professional, or other networks. These often include a range of communication devices—blogs, instant messaging, picture sharing ( Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn).

Authorized communications & use of corporate email
Unless given permission by company leadership, you are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company, nor to imply or represent that you do so.

Should you receive authorization, our Information Technology department (IT) will create a user ID on the targeted social network using your corporate email address and will communicate the initial account password to you. Thereafter, you will receive an account activation e-mail directly from the social networking service.

Once your account is set up, downloading and installing plug-ins or helper applications such as those that try to access the company e-mail directory, or other proprietary property is prohibited.

Unless authorized by the company, you should not use your company email to connect to sites used as a private individual. In some instances, such as for professional sites (e.g., LinkedIN) your individual department may authorize use of your corporate email. Make sure you know what is acceptable before connecting.

Whether external or internal, such as our intranet site SharePoint®, company online venues are subject to the same standards that apply in a physical work environment as set out in the Employee Handbook. Your actions in both venues should reflect company core values.

Individual department use of online forums
Departments may desire to establish communication forums to support their division’s goals. These may be ongoing or they may be established for a specific time, limited proposal or initiative. They may be open to the public, or confined to a particular group of stakeholders, to disseminate information, clarify misinformation, to canvas or survey stakeholders, retain current subscribers or advertisers, or recruit new ones.

Forums might also be used to support product marketing (referral networks, advertising, testimonials, focus groups), create custom network applications (a.k.a. plugins) for product and brand promotion or integration with the company’s own online services, monitor public opinion about the company, its products and services, or its competitors.

In order not to duplicate efforts or service, departments are asked to provide an outline of their project to the Web Tactics Group (WTG) including:

• A clear statement of purpose
• Terms and conditions for staff participation
• Targets or goals and how they will be measured

Monitoring
When company equipment or sites are being used the company has an obligation to monitor such usage. The department or task force responsible for the online group agrees they will regularly moderate and monitor group and staff activity. They will also ensure that company use of the social network complies with the individual external social network’s Terms of Service (TOS) or Terms of Use (TOU), as applicable.

Departments may wish to establish internal collaboration systems (blogs, wikis, and social networks) to facilitate workplace communication, collaborate with or develop customers, or test ideas or venues. Safeguards need to be put in place to ensure that communication created solely for the use of employees including internal discussion and debate remain in-house.

Social networking activities are not to interfere with your primary job responsibilities.

Confidential Information
You may not share information that is confidential, proprietary or intended solely for company use. This includes information on finances, advertising or circulation revenues, company strategy, customers, employees, upcoming projects, products, and any other information that has not been publicly released by the company. These are given as examples only, and do not cover the range of what the company considers confidential and proprietary.

Care should be taken before disclosing anything that could potentially harm the company, or its current and potential employees, customers or products. If you have any question or uncertainty about whether information has been released to the public, or should be discussed by you, speak with your manager or director.

Respect the privacy rights of those currently or previously under our employ by seeking their permission before writing about or displaying internal company happenings that might be considered to be a breach of their privacy and confidentiality. Be considerate by removing information when asked to do so.

Under no circumstance should offensive comments be made about staff or colleagues. This may amount to cyber-bullying and could be deemed a disciplinary offence.

Common sense and courtesy
Common sense is the best guide should you decide to post information in any way relating to the company, its employees or competitors. If you are developing a Web-site or writing a blog that will mention these areas, identify that you are an employee of the company, that the views expressed on your site belong solely to you and do not necessarily represent the views of the company. If you need help crafting this statement please contact IT for examples.

As a courtesy to the company, when engaging in online activities that mention the company its employees, or competitors, please let your manager know and discuss any potential conflicts of interest.

Your manager may choose to visit your site from time to time to understand your point of view.

Use of company logos or links
Yes, you may provide a link from the company’s site to yours, but company logos and trademarks may not be used without explicit permission in writing from the company. This is to prevent the appearance that you officially speak for, or represent the company in venues where you do not.

CompanyWebsite.com
CompanyWebsite.com is an extension of our workplace. Each employee is provided with a log-in and profile page and is bound by the posted terms and conditions of use.

Because it is a public venue, care should be exercised by employees when contributing:

• Do post material to the site that is relevant to the issues being discussed
• Do represent your own views and not impersonate or falsely represent any other person
• Do protect your personal privacy, and that of others, by not including personal information or pictures you are not authorized to use
• Do not be abusive, harass or threaten others
• Do not make defamatory or libelous comments
• Do not use insulting, provocative or hateful language
• Do not use obscene or offensive language
• Do not post material that infringes the intellectual property rights of others

Contractors and Consultants
In addition to covering ongoing and intermittent employees, company guidelines also apply to consultants and contractors who may be engaged under administrative contract to assist in the management or operation of company communications. Departments initiating contracts should ensure that a requirement to comply with company guidelines is included in those contracts.

Applicable Law
This guide is meant to outline and communicate company policy and offer additional guidance. It is the duty of the individual to understand all applicable laws.

You are legally responsible for your postings, and therefore may be subject to liability if your posts are found defamatory, harassing, or in violation of any other applicable law. You may also be liable if you make postings which include confidential or copyrighted information (music, videos, text, etc.) belonging to third parties, all of which are prohibited under this online policy.

In your role as an employee you are prohibited from receiving remuneration for offering product opinions, and may also be liable on your personal blog should you receive remuneration for offering product opinions. For information from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on endorsements: http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm

Be informed, act wisely
Once information and views are released into the public domain, they can spread quickly, and can easily be subject to distortion and misrepresentation, and despite disclaimers, your online interaction can result in members of the public forming opinions about the company, employees, customers, and/or products. The company encourages you to write knowledgeably and accurately and to take care to in your communications to separate your individual opinions and postings from implications that could imply they reflect those of the company.

The online community is based on relationships and trust. the company asks you to demonstrate you value our relationship by acting professionally.

‘Social safely,’ and build a strong, vibrant community beginning in 98660.
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Weigh in in the comments section: would you like this policy, or not? 

Gist: 360 Biz of the Month

                                                                                                                    

For a generation taught to demand privacy from the companies it transacts business with, Boomers have readily abandoned that concept and joined Gen Xers and Gen Y in a very vibrant, public information sharing performance. Transparency is touted as the answer to what ails us and everyone is encouraged to step out on the information dance floor and boogie.

With each rotation of the mirrored information globe the dance hall twitters with life and we attempt to catch the flickers and make sense of them. In one ear interesting voices chirp in 140 characters, in another social media presentations sing. Associates are LinkedIN, family and friends are Facebooked, and everyone wants to know where and when via Plancast, Foursquare or Gowalla, and we blog all about it.

We share a lot, but most of it is lost in the mayhem.

Garnering salient information about the people who are important to us, especially in business, can be as illusive and dazzling as chasing the mirrored reflections of the disco ball. Gist, a Washington State corporation founded by T. A. McCann, created software for "relationship-centric professionals" to address our need to sort and prioritize the dazzling information mayhem.

For its unique, relationship deepening, innovation, Gist is my choice for 360 Biz of the Month.

I was introduced to Gist by a fellow Twitter-mate turned real-life friend, Ed Borasky (@znmeb). Boraksy is geekedIN and has enough online influence to beta test new products. He received a first round Googlewave invite and tossed one my way before I barely knew what a wave was. Right on the heels of Googlewave Borasky gifted me with Gist.

I like being among the first to know things and seeing the big picture puzzle in a comprehensible map. Gist provides me with all that and a scorecard. My relationship with the people and businesses in my database are weighted or scored based on a proprietary algorithm. A yellow or red alert tells me when too much time has passed between interactions with my inner circle. A detail screen offers an in-depth look of who our shared contacts are, and constant information monitoring keeps me abreast of their blog posts and news mentions.

Gist integrates inside Outlook, Salesforce, and the iPhone, and allows me to focus on my contacts one at a time—in order of their importance to me.

It's most valuable asset is that it saves me time. Instead of me plowing through a sporadic stream of Twitter submissions to find the person of the hour I want to connect with, then tracking down the latest piece of news on them, or signing up for constant Google alerts, Gist allows me to review that individual’s entire online interactions and news spotlights in a date sort that includes a company profile from Dow Jones Business & Reltationship Intelligence. Gist creates a clear portrait, a complete dossier of my contact, and reduces the time needed to pull the varied pieces together to the time elapse of a log-in. The information can be browsed lightly or explored deeply by following provided links.

Gist can be used as a brand monitoring tool, too. I had no intention of using it for this, but it unearthed a dozen copyright infringements for the company that employs me.

Because I have a native bias of Washington State businesses, I took the time to reply to the emails Gist sent asking for feedback. As a result, I connected with Greg Meyer, Customer Experience Manager. He was easily coerced into doling out a generous number of Gist invites for my network. Don’t be shy. Gist is ready for more people to test its beta product. And it’s offered free to my blog readers.

Click the link for complimentary Gist invite:
https://beta.gist.com/signup/360ClassicCarol

Congratulations Gist and T.A. McCann for earning 360 Biz of the Month for January 2010 status. I was too enthusiastic about your product to hold this post until after the first of the year. Wishing you much success in product development.


REFERENCES:
About Gist Corporate Web-site
T.A. McCann Gist Profile
Microsoft Case Study: Gist Document published October 2009
Testimonial: Michael Michaels, recruiter at Verticalmove and organizer of Seattle Job Social YouTube 

NOTE:
I receive no remuneration for the companies I recommend. You can’t buy me. You can wow me.

Bio Carol Doane

Hot pursuit of a career in advertising landed Carol a job in one of the largest newspapers in Southwest Washington. After numerous years of hacking out ad copy, selling print and online ads, and making friends with everyone in her path, she can now claim connections in the highest echelons of covert government (former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency) Hollywood (VP at MGM) and the janitorial staff (she works late).

She led a sales team of high powered media reps at the newspaper, moved to a start-up which can be summarized in one word: chaos. And looking for renewal she reinvented herself and emerged in the digital world of online advertising. Amazing stuff.

Not content to leave her future in the hands of what some say is a perishing industry—legacy mdeia—she decided to take advantage of everything she's learned (seriously) and throw her hat into the 'safety' of the book publishing arena. She's finished her first second women's upscale, multicultural (Asian) fiction manuscript, and launched herself like a Kamikaze pilot into an historical fiction novel. The history of the Pacific Northwest offers abundant ground for her story about a young Native American woman.

She spent a college summer on the road in a performance group (yay, song and dance!) which steered her away from a career in the music industry. Her art is on public display in a permanent installation in Vancouver, Washington (see photo). It is a portrait of her daughter.

A cum laude graduate of a private college in Oregon, she's been around the world, living in Europe, and traveling in Asia and throughout North America, which has nothing to do with her current manuscript or her job.

You'll find Carol on Twitter as The Classic Carol, on LinkedIn, on Facebook and on Google phone: 503.893.4609.

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Last updated August 22, 2013