There are some great studies and surveys out this week on social media users. Also, look below to find out about the new Harry Potter LEGO video game and more.
- RT @SocialMedia411 Poll - Business People Say Twitter More Important Than LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/hpHtl
- RT @mashable YouTube Brands: 5 Outstanding Leaders in YouTube Marketing - http://bit.ly/KhIA9
- RT @SaraMeaney Harvard study says men have 15% more followers on Twitter than women. http://tinyurl.com/lyjs9u - NE1 else think this is sad?
- I don't play many video games, but I'm kind of excited for this one. http://tinyurl.com/pgpjda
- Study shows some men experience pregnancy symptoms like weight gain. http://tinyurl.com/paw78q
- Trend: More and more high school graduates are looking to Canada for college. http://tinyurl.com/qd3jmp
- RT @danschawbel REPORT: Social networking up 83% for U.S. http://bit.ly/1a3Ieq
- Yay New Hampshire! http://tinyurl.com/q49jvj
- RT @boelterlincoln Do you want to build an audience or community? Great post via @chrisbrogan. http://tinyurl.com/oe2j5c
- RT @laermer (I love amusement): @skydiver Amusement: Top 100 movie lines in 200 seconds. http://tinyurl.com/cbfs87 (!)
- RT @BradleyWill 5 Reasons People May Follow You on Twitter http://bit.ly/2fH7c
- Are you buying tactics or strategies? http://tinyurl.com/pkczhx Thanks for the great post @tdefren!
- RT @boelterlincoln Reading: Your Network is Your Only Insurance Policy http://tinyurl.com/o67emr
- RT @danschawbel REPORT: 53% of females participate in social media at least once a week http://tinyurl.com/ogu7pm
For real time updates follow me on Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/ladyhero
Last Friday I attended Ragan’s Social Media Unconference in Chicago. For those unfamiliar with an unconference it’s kind of like a big brainstorm session with a couple moderators to keep everyone on topic.
One comment that has stuck with me is, “It is better to engage in one social network and do it really well than to engage in many and do them poorly.” This statement really resonated with me. How often do we join social networks only to forget about them a few months later? How does this help our personal brands and our clients’ brands? Perhaps, more importantly, how does it hurt them?
The one social networking account I have fallen behind on is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great professional networking site, but it seems that I (like many people) only use it when I’m looking for a job. I hate to admit that I often only log-in to accept friend requests. Who has time when they are busy Twittering, Facebooking and blogging? Okay, poor excuse.
The truth is a social networking profile is only as good as you make it. Profiles aren’t like a pot roast you can set-up and leave on while you’re away at work. It’s important to keep all of your social networks up-to-date and stay engaged. After all, in the event that you have to look for another job you want your LinkedIn connections to be ready and waiting. You shouldn’t be working on growing your LinkedIn presence after you’ve been laid off. By the time that happens you want your connections to be working for you.
To that end I have decided to take a renewed interest in my LinkedIn profile and become an active member in the community. You know, just in case. I hear it can be good for building your brand too. Which social networking sites have you left on the back burner, and how are you planning to resurrect them?
While you're at it, connect with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsoczka.
Attending a PRSA luncheon today it was painfully obvious which PR professionals were tuned into social media and which were not. As I sat at a table with five other PR practitioners the MotrinMoms incident was brought up. Only two of us had heard of MotrinMoms. Coincidentally, we were the only two who had Twitter accounts.
The Motrin Campaign
So what is the MotrinMoms incident? Motrin developed an ad campaign aimed at Moms who carry children in baby slings. The ad claimed that Mom's do this to look like "an official Mom." Adding that baby slings are a great cause of neck and back pain. The solution? Motrin, of course!
The ads were placed online and in magazines. Once Mom's saw the ads they were deeply offended and began posting furious messages on Twitter. They organized and used a #MotrinMoms tag to make their tweets easy to find. To their credit, Motrin was able to respond to the outcry over the weekend and has since removed the ads. To view the ad and Moms responses view the videos below.
The Industry's Awareness
My question is after all this, how did only a select group of PR professionals have any knowledge of the event? The simple (and scary) answer is that many PR professionals are still not tuned into social media. I find this astonishing when social media is talked about at luncheons, at the PRSA National Conference, in news articles, trade publications... Social media appears to be so prevalent in our industry that popular PR vendors (Cision, Vocus and PRNewswire to name a few) are holding Webinars.
If Motrin has taught us anything it's that it is very important to listen to what people are saying about your company online. If PR professionals are not listening their clients will not be able to respond to negative attacks or benefit from this new medium.
The Solution
The only way to get comfortable with these new tools is by using them. My advice? If you don't have a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn account get one now. Never heard of Digg? Google it and start learning. The only way PR professionals will be educated about social media is if they invest the time to learn about it, and that means playing with these tools.
If you aren't convinced that Twitter is a valuable tool go to http://www.summize.com/ and put in your companies keywords. It will generate a list of tweets of what people are saying about your company. I urge all communication professionals, old and young, to start learning more about social media. I am confident that failing to immerse yourself in this new medium will cause you to find yourself unemployable.
