Are you connecting?

The video below is without a doubt one of the most amazing things anyone has ever pulled off.  The inspirational value alone is priceless.  If you research the making of this video you’ll see some of the ideas the creators implemented to make it happen.

More companies need to think like this.  It is not about selling, it really is about people.  If you can win someone’s attention through a connection that is real then your brand will be stronger for it.  Brands are strengthened one fan at a time.  Are you still just trying to make sales, or are you connecting?

Rules for Using Social Media for Business

1. There are no rules.

2.  See rule one.

Social media is the dawn of a new day in
communications. Control is
virtually absent and a new way of communicating has formed: connecting with
strangers based on mutual similarities and common interest.

Many voices are making what I believe to be a futile attempt
to impose rules on the wild frontier that is social media. Rules don’t exist here. There is no right or wrong. There are only things that work and
things that don’t work. Those who
make their own rules will find the things that work.

On the other hand, there is evidence that good manners and
common sense should predicate participation. Certainly social media is not going to help a spammer make
it big—because nothing will.
That’s just common sense.
In fact, just this morning, I unfollowed someone on Twitter who was
posting repeatedly (10 posts in one minute). I have no tolerance for it so I don’t accept it into my
community. That’s the great thing
about social media. Nobody can
infringe on your personal space unless you let him or her do so.

My issue is the imposition of rules on companies who are
innovating fresh new uses for the social media tools that we all have access
to. If you disagree with a certain
practice, by all means don’t adopt it in your own social media practices. I happen to disagree with the assertions
that you have to respond to every tweet on Twitter or acknowledge every friend
request if you just want to accept it and get in touch later. There is also a lot of negative talk
about “ghostwriting”, which is a hot topic right now. There is a stigma about using a ghostwriter for Twitter
because doing so is not transparent or authentic. I would make a case that there are opportunities where having
a hired hand to keep the updates flowing makes perfect sense. I have seen several examples of
companies that are doing it right.
The key is, don’t be someone you’re not. Be authentic.
Be transparent. And if you
have someone making updates to your social media accounts for you, be sure to
let people know that.

The value in social media and following people who interest
us is really in the information that they share. If the CEO of my favorite brand had someone else making half
of his or her posts and I liked what I was hearing, I would still want the
updates.

Social media relationships are being forged across the globe
with people whom we know little about, but really enjoy hearing from them and
vice versa. We’ve begun to
recognize people and even look forward to hearing their updates. While it is very difficult to establish
connections like this in public, connecting through social media makes it much
easier. Everyone is accessible
now. People who were strangers to
us yesterday become our friends and customers today and our ability to help
increases because the barriers to connection are much lower than they are
without the help of social media sites.
We provide help, value and camaraderie within the communities we are a
part of. As we give to these
communities, we mobilize the law of reciprocity. You become a trusted resource—then and only then opportunity
becomes available. This is why you
need to be connected via social media for business purposes. The rules are up to you. As in real life friendships, the
following will help you improve your social media connections: share often, be
interested rather than interesting and be yourself.

Facebook Invite to a Pillow Fight

I took my four-year-old daughter along to a pillow-fight that I thought would be fun to photograph.  She was very excited, as you could imagine.  Unfortunately we missed the actual fight, but captured much of the aftermath.  Feel free to check out the photos from this pillow fight.

140 character (or less) PROS and CONS for Using Twitter for Business

When it comes to getting connected in business, few things will get you there faster than Twitter.  The site is growing at an unimaginable rate–in fact any statistic published about the service is obsolete as it is typed!  If you haven’t been paying attention, it is safe to say it is time to start.  Twitter is easy to get started with–and it is quickly habit-forming once you do have a moment to put it to use.  That’s part of the appeal it has for many as a business application.  Twitter has the potential to connect you to people you want to do business with.  It can also connect you to people who want to do business with you.  Many people are talking about what using Twitter for business really means.  Here are some pros and cons to consider.

To qualify this further:  Please consider the CONs in this list to be added responsibilities rather than negative aspects.

CYENTIST’s PROS and CONS (in 140 characters or less) on Using Twitter for Business

PROs

• Easy to set up and get started
• Allows you to connect with current customers and attract potential new customers
• Helps you monitor keywords that are associated with your brand, products or services
• Instantly identify opportunities to provide customer service
• Instantly improve internal communications
• Become a resource to your market
• Share timely information that can make a difference to your followers
• You can follow anyone
• Anyone can follow you–or not.  It is an opt-in system.
• More followers = more reach for your updates
• Many 3rd party tools can improve ease of use
• Everyone in the company can participate and create more awareness for your brand
• Improve the overall image of your company by being accessible to those who need you
• Continues to grow and become more viable as a business tool
• Comment below to add your own!

CONs

• Must maintain participation or risk amateur appearance
• Takes time to complete Twitter’s learning curve
• Takes time to participate
• Productivity in “higher value” tasks may suffer 
• System has failures (fail whale)
• Another item on your staff’s plate
• ROI difficult to discern (exceptions exist)
• Business case for using Twitter can get lost in committee
• Some businesses can benefit more than others
• Comment below to add your own!

This list is intentionally short.  Please help increase the value of this list for people at companies who may be considering Twitter by including your comments below.

Also, please follow us @CYENTIST, @seanpdillon, @dankostka