Increasing Employee & Client Engagement

With Social Media still being relatively new to so many people, everyone is still trying to figure out the protocol & rules of engagement.   The same way the sociology of the handshake evolved.  How far to stand, the firmness of the grip etc.  As people were learning, it had to be very awkward because each person had a different set of information of what it should be like.  To simplify, just assume the difficulty was in the same culture because I can not even imagine all the cultural barriers and obstacles.

With the tools of the Internet…  it is very easy to track what is being said about us, our products, our company or whatever you track.  Never mind that it is human nature for us to want to be proactive, aware and alert of everything that is being said about us anyway.    We always want to feel like we are in control and make sure we are leading the conversation.

The challenge comes with how do you decide when to act and when to sit back…   Well, let me urge you to use the words of the bible… Be quick to listen and slow to speak.   Social Media is a fantastic listening tool.  When you hear something you do not necessarily want to hear.   Your first instinct will be to refute, but don’t… use restraint.

Before you hit send on that email or comment… let it sit there for a few hours.  Seek to understand first.  See if it can be handled offline outside the lights.  Show that you really care and are not doing it just to show responsiveness publicly.

If you do what is right, then you have done your job…  If you try to prove it by you doing something publicly, it may appear insincere.  This is not your chance to get a spotlight. The best PR will be if that person affected shares the goodwill or resolution.  If they do not, then they don’t.   Keep it on their plate.  If they do share, it will have 10 x the impact then if you did it.

Why??? Because it goes back to the authenticity and genuineness the situation offers.    Your actions will speak louder than your words.  Your intention no matter how pure may be misconstrued.  Remember you will not be judged on your intention because their perception is their reality. 

So before you decide to jump in and control the situation, stand back and look through the window.

I am fortunate to be head of the Atlanta Bloggers Community.  This community is passionate about Social Media & the Blogosphere.  It is comprised of all different types of bloggers from every niche thinkable.  It has some of the best and most experienced bloggers to some of the newest.  I like to think of it as a place to discuss relevant topics, a place to share ways to increase the value to every blogger but also a support group. 

The Community is only as strong as its members so please come join us if you are in Atlanta.  So if you are looking for the benefits of a blog, throwing out the idea to start one or if you are already a rock star, you can mentor and share your learnings.

You can find us here and RSVP – www.meetup.com/atlblog -

If you want more information - Our next meeting is November 4th at Gordon Biersch in Midtown.  We will be talking about how to create killer content. One of our Members Jennifer Carter wrote this PR Release  http://bit.ly/3dhb45 

Here are some articles on Blogging you may get value from

Why Blogging is Alive to Me - http://bit.ly/rwwTR 
Dynamic Content – http://bit.ly/2EV36E
Blogoshpere is Your Home –  http://bit.ly/293bD2
Blogging Is The CenterPiece to Your Social Media Strategy –  http://bit.ly/15jn5D
Blogging Audience Revealed – http://bit.ly/1FYQum 
Does Your Blog Resonate With Its Audience –  http://bit.ly/27XRjS
Blogging – What is in it For You? –  http://bit.ly/2qxg4O 
Pulling Back The Curtain on Engaging Content – http://bit.ly/3ve8Bv 
5 Ways To Engage Your Audience - http://bit.ly/1tHqPo

When I was reading info and researching for my Google Wave article, I ran across another cool but scary Google toolbar.  Google has just launched a new sidebar called Sidewiki.  You better get familiar with this because it takes commenting to a whole new level.  Now TRULY, the conversation will go on with or without you and it is going to be attached to every web page.  So ‘control’ is absolutely gone.  So for those of you still holding on, this will help release that grip.

This is new, so go ahead and install this toolbar immediately…  Go to all of your blogs, websites etc. and see if anyone has commented about you or your products.  If anyone has a bad customer experience and makes a comment, it is going to attach to your page so that everyone who visits and uses the Sidewiki will see it.  That is only half of the bad news.  They can also share it via Twitter and other platforms.  Now the converse is true, if they have a positive recommendation they can post and share that as well.

I knew something like this was coming…  I knew websites would be coming out with social elements attached to them.  I think the next step will be the same thing but internal inside the websites that allow your friends to tag products they like and do not like. It would allow you to subscribe to see those reviews & recommendations like you would on Twitter.

Time to think of a proactive stance… on how you are going to monitor and handle this new platform.  This may be the first, but will not be the last.

I had watched the Video on Google Wave back in May or June of this year.  It is suppose to revolutionize our communication and collaboration.  Email was built a long time ago and now they are building it as if it were built with all the 21st century enhancements.  Wiki’s, chat, Social Media, Document sharing etc.  So is it time to hit the reset button?   I read this great article on 5 Reasons To Dive Into Google Wave that does a good job explaining it a little better.

Google has only released 100,000 beta users…  It will be rolling out soon to everyone. 
I did get a chance to see one of the beta’s and it looks really cool.  I initially thought it was like email, but it really behaves differently.

GMAIL Threads… you probably have seen on GMAIL the new way email is more about individual threads.  You can open up any part of the email thread as if each is a separate conversation that stacks on top of each other.  Google Wave has this but it appears more like a document than an email because it is not a back and forth.  It doesn’t go from my inbox to your inbox and back etc.  It just sits there on the cloud and everyone can contribute to it in real-time. 

So think of it as inviting a group to create and edit a document…  It provides synchronization in real time.  Google is using API (applied programming interface) with this platform like Twitter & Facebook did to help enhance its functionality.  So it will be interesting to see what developers come up with to really make Google Wave cool.

The real question is… what products is it really challenging.  It is obviously revolutionizing what we think of email, but is it also taking on Social Media tools?  Is it trying to compete with Twitter but private rather than public because everyone has to be invited to each conversation?  Live chat etc. 

I cannot wait to see and actually play with this new tool.

I was at a Social Media Event last week and saw a new form of Social Media that I had never witnessed before.  It took Social Media to a whole new level.  Now, for most people it would be looked at as rogue and maybe frowned upon…

It is a backchannel program called BackNoise…   It is very much like twitter, but basically anonymously and a closed conversation.  According to BackNoise, Backchannel is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks.  This platform allows you to talk about what you want, when you want, where you want, and how you want. 

As I mentioned it is a closed conversation… You have to know the Conversation Name to join in.  You cannot search for it on Google because it will not appear.  The fact that it is anonymous, gives it a genuineness never seen before.  You get to SAY & HEAR the thoughts that you THINK but would never say out loud and be tied to them.  I was shocked at the chatter.

There were a couple of good speakers… like Jeff Turner from Zeek Interactive and Bert Dumars the VP of Digital for Newell Rubbermaid, but the headliner was Chris Brogan, who needs no introduction.  He just released his new book Trust Agents and was their promoting etc.  I am only through two chapters but will share soon.

So back to my story, an interesting dynamic took place…  You may have watched during the Presidential campaign some of the news channels during the debates that had 20 undecided voters with a happy-o-meter.  If they liked what the candidate was saying they pushed the “like” button, and if they didn’t then they pushed the “dislike” button.  They compressed one of the buttons every second so you could see where they stood every second.  It would chart a graph like a pulse. 

Well during this event I was at, as a speech was going, the chatter would either be good or bad during every minute of the program.   It ebbed & flowed like the happy-o-meter.  Since it was anonymous, people were giving their truest feelings, the naked truth, no holds barred, and straight to the heart.   It was unreal.

Now, that takes the whole “if you can not say something nice than do not say anything at all” to a different perspective…  I was doing several lectures at GA Tech last week on Social Media & Web 2.0.  Personally, I am not sure I would REALLY want to know what they thought.  Why???  Because no one wants to suck and be talked about in a negative way…Right?  To my face I had a dozen or two come and talk to me after class and showed a lot of interest and care.  Truly, if I just reached a couple, it will be worth it, but hope everyone got SOME value or ideas.

Conversely, why everyone should want BackNoise…

1. Look At This As Positive… What if you could get the real down & dirty about you, your products or services that could make a real impact on where you are going and doing?  These could be the golden nuggets you need.  So do not take it personally, take it constructive no matter how in your face it is.

2. How Could You Utilize This… What if your employees could share their true feelings anonymously and the company actually listened then changes & differences were made.  Think of ways you could really take advantage of this.

3. Search for The Truth, Do Not Hide Behind It…  Most people do not want to hear the truth.  You can see what you are doing wrong and actually make it better.  Because lets face it, 99% are nice to your face and before they turn around, they are saying under their breath, thinking or feeling the real truth anyway.  Might as well hear it, because you think you are doing great and are really losing.  Who does that help?

4. This is Opportunity, So Listen…  Like never before.  It may not be the fun or easy way, but it can make a true difference if you are strong enough to hear it.  With all this said, you can get the greatest feedback and information in the world, but if you choose to stick your head in the sand then you are missing the real juice.

It was great, actually Jeff Turner got up there and said he was changing the direction of his whole presentation based on this BackNoise because he saw & HEARD what had been said the past hour before he got up there.   How powerful is that.  He realized he was not in control.  He realized the audience was and he changed to fit.  That is pretty radical.

Chris Brogan did something even cooler…  When he was on stage he put the actual BackNoise on the Screen behind him as he spoke so it was SHOWING.  He took a different approach.  He embraced it.   He didn’t hide behind it and act like it was not going on.  That is what talking behind people’s backs and sharing gossip is…right?  So put it to the forefront.  As we always say, it is going on with or without you anyway. So listen and grow.  This ultratruistic feedback can be the best info you ever get to make your product or service better.

Better get used to it, this is the way Social Media is going.

Here is the 10 Absolutes of Social Media Strategy

1. Determine Your Audience… make it as narrow as you can – better to be a champion of a small niche than just another face in a big one.  If you have multiple audiences then segment out and give different messages to each.

2. Fish Where the Fish Are… now you know your target audience, determine where they are.  What forums, communities, platforms do they visit, get their info.  If you are hunting in the wrong place you will guarantee not to see who you are looking for.

3. Develop Topics That Will Give That Audience Massive Value… You know your audience, you know where they sleep, now talk about those topics that keep them awake at night.  Show them you know them, understand them, and more importantly can help them and solve their problems.

4. Engage Your Audience…  It is a communication tool, just like email.  Embrace it. It is a 2 way and multi-directional tool.  Talk to your audience, let them talk to you and more importantly ensure they can collaborate together.

5. Be Social… Make it about them.  Use the same rules you would in a normal situation.  Get to know them, ask them questions, and give them information that will help them.  People do not care about you; they care about themselves, so talk about their favorite subject.  Listen and learn as much as you can so you can provide solutions.

6. Make It FUN…  First it is fun.  It is just conversations with existing friends or making new ones.  Do not try to make it more than it is.

7. You Will Get Out What You Put Into It…  Like most good things in life.  If you put sustained effort into it, you will get results.

8. Be Yourself… Be human.  Be Real.  Create dialogue.  Do not talk like a logo or a brochure.  Talk and Write like you speak.  Re-Read #6

9. Listen…  Just like in real life, God gave us two ears and one mouth.  Listen as much as you talk.  You will get better data from Social Media then possibly anywhere.  People want to be heard.  They want you to know their likes and dislikes.  So hear what they have to say.  Make adjustments to your products or services based on the feedback.

10.  Put Quality First…  Quality relationships, quality content, quality time, quality strategy.   Be a real value in everyway.

If you are passionate and truly engaged, people will be drawn to you and it will not feel like work at all.  The list is not exhaustive, but please share any others you feel are Absolutes and share if you agree or disagree.

Now that we have created interest and garnered their attention… we have to engage them and get them involved.  Check out the last article about the 5 Things You Need to Do to Get a Good Foundation Set Up For People to Share Using Twitter http://bit.ly/1DCZY8

1. Use Twitter to survey your niche audience…  You can pose questions about site selection, content, speakers or other details about your event.  A great way for immediate feedback prior to setting up event or feedback after the event.

2. Use Twitter for Hub of Info Updates… this will help create buzz and excitement around your event.

3. Create a chat around your event or topics around your event…  This again creates buzz and excitement and can help grow the number of people who know about your event.  Use the #, set up a time and have preset questions that you can ask.  It will allow your attendees to give you feedback but even better is that it will get them to interact.

4. Promote on every signage, website, email etc… what the Twitter Handle is and the #hashtag.

At the event
1. Have the attendees tweet about the event…  Have screens throughout the event showing a live stream of what the attendees are saying.  It will be fun and engaging for attendees.

2. Use it as a way to ask questions to the speakers…  This can be done by attendees at the event and ones who could not make the event.

3. Use it as an “info central”…  for any updates, changes to the event to keep attendees informed up to the second.

4. Organize a TweetUp mixer around the event…  This can be before the event, at the event or after the event.  Embrace the tweeple.

Now get out there and use Twitter for your events.

Other Twitter Articles
Twitter is Most Powerful in Social Media Syndication - http://bit.ly/m1QXb
Twitter Set Up Basics - http://bit.ly/ojb20
Twitter Basics – Terms & How to Communicate - http://bit.ly/hFn4Z
Twitter’s Power Comes From Ease of Sharing & Interaction - http://bit.ly/JIBjw
10 Ways to Build Your Network on Twitter http://bit.ly/QrD6j

We have been talking about Twitter over the last few weeks.  Here are some of the articles we covered:

Twitter is Most Powerful in Social Media Syndication - http://bit.ly/m1QXb
Twitter Set Up Basics - http://bit.ly/ojb20
Twitter Basics – Terms & How to Communicate - http://bit.ly/hFn4Z
Twitter’s Power Comes From Ease of Sharing & Interaction - http://bit.ly/JIBjw
10 Ways to Build Your Network on Twitter http://bit.ly/QrD6j

Lets take it a step farther and talk about how to use it to increase exposure, attendance, and engagement at your events…  Twitter’s power shines in promoting events.  Why, because it is a communication tool and enhances word of mouth.  It is an easy way to share before the event, during the event and between attendees.

There are several things we need to do to begin our sharing. 

1. The first thing we need to do is determine our audience… Who are you targeting? Who is your unique audience? How are they going to find this info?  Who in that group has a huge influence in your target group and can help you spread your message?

2. Create a # Hashtag… which we learned earlier is a way to aggregate info about a topic, which is basically a keyword that ties everything together.  I have several but I am the head of Atlanta Bloggers and we use the #atlblog – so everybody that communicates about the event uses that # so that you can search for it and see all the conversation that surrounds the events.

3. Do a search on Twitter http://search.twitter.com (I prefer the advanced search so I can search by area) for certain keywords that may encompass and surround your niche market.  Type in keywords and see what people in your niche are talking about.  Who they are and follow them.  Engage them and let them know about your event.

4. If the event is big enough and ongoing.  An option may be to think about creating its own Twitter Handle.

5. Get your current network and followers to RT(forward) and share the invitation with their followers.  Give them a discount code to share with their group.  It gets them involved but also added value to their network.

This list is not exhaustive and many other ways to amplify your message on Twitter.  Would love for you to share some more thoughts, ideas or insights.

A friend of mine Stephanie A Lloyd & I were talking about Social Media ROI and what it means.  She shared an article with me by Tim Walker- Acid Bath ROI.  TIm makes a really valid point that he wished they would do “ROI on email, meetings and other time-sinks.”

That was a great line to me…  Even though I do feel a strategy is very important in everything we do.  There are many things that are done daily with little or no strategy using COMMUNICATION tools.  That is what Social Media is… a COMMUNICATION tool. See my article about 10 Things Social Media is Not. Social Media is a way to enhance relationships and engage your customers and prospects.

Need to look at what you are measuring…  Time spent?  Actual Cost?  How do you measure a conversation, the reaction to your content etc?  Are you tracking the path of the visitor to see where you are converting them?  A conversion is not always a sale.  It may be request for more info, subscribe to more info etc.

The question may not always be answered in dollars and cents directly…

I have said numerous times there is a cost of not participating… and it may not show up directly on the P&L.  One of the biggest costs of any company that does not show up on a P&L is lost sales and time spent on non converted prospects.

I suggest we look at replacing ROI with “business outcomes” when we are talking about Social Media…  Wikipedia says it is a change in business performance supported by and resulting from an event.  Business outcomes go beyond, defining more valuable business benefits to be gained from Social Media.  Better customer service, stronger relationships, high perceived content, and controlling & leading the conversation in your niche and field of expertise.

I believe and have seen Social Media be a facilitator of this principle…  It can help put you above the noise.  Perceived as an expert and thought leader in your industry and significantly cutting down on the sales cycle and enhancing your image in the prospects eye.  They may like you, know you and trust you before you ever talk or meet because they have been following you and have been privied to your thoughts, ideas & insights.

By them knowing you and trusting you it can increase your conversion rate… Social Media is a great place for them to be an advocate of your brand and share it with their networks, which is always great for increased visiblity.

1. The best way to build your network is by following people.  Find interesting people, people in your industry or niche.  Listen to what they are saying.  Engage with them.  Provide quality content and they will want to follow you back.

2. Tap Into Your network – Find everyone you connect with regularly on other social media sites, face to face networking events, clients, prospects, etc.

3. http://Search.twitter.com - Type in different keywords and see what people are talking about in your niche and follow them.

4. www.twellow.com - this is a yellow pages for Twitter.

5. # -hashtags around certain events – follow people who use it.

6. #followfriday – most popular hashtag, this is a way to give a shout out to people you think your followers should follow.  These endorsements are a great way to find new people to follow.  I always check out who I follow endorses on #followfriday

7. I follow a lot of blogger friends – I have my Twitter handle on my blog so people can easily find me.  Most bloggers do.  Go to blogs you like and get their handle and make sure if you blog that you have yours easily accessible.

8. Watch who you follow engage and reply to

When they Respond to people - @swfrost – thanks for the RT of my blog post
                                                      OR
Respond to many people – Great Tweet Up @swfrost @toddschnick @marisasharpe @leekantor @stephaniealloyd @rachelwriter

anytime you put an @ in front of someone’s username, it automatically becomes a link to that person’s profile. This feature makes it easy for you to check out those people’s profiles and follow them & engage with them as well.

9. Market It – put it on your website, your email signatures, business cards

10. Tweet Up – This is a networking function for people of Twitter. – Collect as many names as you can.

This is a small list of ideas.  Hope this helps you build your network.

Other Related Twitter Articles

Twitter is Most Powerful in Social Media Syndication - http://bit.ly/m1QXb 
Twitter Set Up Basics - http://bit.ly/ojb20
Twitter Basics – Terms & How to Communicate - http://bit.ly/hFn4Z 
 Twitter’s Power Comes From Ease of Sharing & Interaction - http://bit.ly/JIBjw
Twitter Strategy Revolves Around High Valued Content