I've been a regular user of Google Maps for some time, mainly for when finding out where a new location is, and about how long it will take me to get there. The bloke did install a turn by turn voice navigation system for me, but I tend to just click on the address that I will have popped in my Google Calendar and normally can't be bothered copying & pasting into the nav system. (It is a freebie so not always fantastic on the exact details but I should use it more often!)
I've also used Facebook checkins and Foursquare - but privacy concerns means that I tend to use them very selectively. For example, I never check in at the kid's school, and I have the photo location tracking turned off for the same reason. I also have the bloke reminding me that he doesn't want me telling people that I'm not at home, for obvious reasons.
My Foursquare checkin's are fairly safe - I've only connected with one person, and I use it sometimes for the special offers. A cafe near MPOW has had a 'check in five times and get a half price hot drink' deal that I have used very happily in the past. But this week I was told that they were no longer honouring it - even though it is still showing on Foursquare itself. Which got me wondering, if the person who sets up these deals from a business moves on, what is requirement that the deal is honoured? And is the first flush of some of these location specific deals wearing off - was the uptake not great enough (the staff always looked quite bemused when I handed over my phone to take advantage of my offer) or too great for some businesses.
I helped a friend set up a Facebook page for his small business, and we discussed using offers for checkins. But very few of his customers have ever checked in at his location, and it wasn't something he tried. In his case, his core client base is not that tech savvy but for others (such as Academic libraries) it would be quite different. I'm interested in seeing how different libraries use these options to connect with their communities...
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Likeable Social Media
I bought this title in November 2011, as I had heard good things about Dave Kerpen.
It's a simple introduction for businesses/organisations using Social Media, with a particular focus on Facebook. I did wonder if perhaps it is too simple, but perhaps that is because I've done some reading and playing around in this area and am therefore not the key audience. Having said that, I did appreciate the book for it's easy to read style, it's emphasis on likeability and customer interaction (which are often overlooked in more techo books), and it's examples.
It's main thrust is remembering to stay 'likeable' during your interactions in social media. There are very good examples (I had heard a few before) to show how businesses are finding that this is the key to engagement with their customers - and a major part of this is to show that there are real humans involved at the other end. Be approachable. Be responsive. If a mistake is made, admit it freely and offer to make amends/provide solutions. Staff need to be empowered to be able to interact in a human way - the main thesis in the Empowered book.
Of course, you also need to know your customer, what they are interested in and how they interact in the social media landscape (including what tools they are using, and how they are using them). He encourages us to use the tools available as a customer, as well as a provider, to understand the experience better and therefore modify for the optimum experience.
Libraries have long believed that we are likeable (and our ratings amongst our customers have been pretty good in this area) but as we become more and more part of larger, highly structured organisations, our ability to respond to individuals in a highly targeted and 'likeable' way has been reduced. We need to ensure that the structures assist us in connecting directly with customers, in being approachable and responsive rather than the other way around.
Kerpen, Dave (2011) Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks). McGraw-Hill. Kindle version
It's a simple introduction for businesses/organisations using Social Media, with a particular focus on Facebook. I did wonder if perhaps it is too simple, but perhaps that is because I've done some reading and playing around in this area and am therefore not the key audience. Having said that, I did appreciate the book for it's easy to read style, it's emphasis on likeability and customer interaction (which are often overlooked in more techo books), and it's examples.
It's main thrust is remembering to stay 'likeable' during your interactions in social media. There are very good examples (I had heard a few before) to show how businesses are finding that this is the key to engagement with their customers - and a major part of this is to show that there are real humans involved at the other end. Be approachable. Be responsive. If a mistake is made, admit it freely and offer to make amends/provide solutions. Staff need to be empowered to be able to interact in a human way - the main thesis in the Empowered book.
Of course, you also need to know your customer, what they are interested in and how they interact in the social media landscape (including what tools they are using, and how they are using them). He encourages us to use the tools available as a customer, as well as a provider, to understand the experience better and therefore modify for the optimum experience.
Libraries have long believed that we are likeable (and our ratings amongst our customers have been pretty good in this area) but as we become more and more part of larger, highly structured organisations, our ability to respond to individuals in a highly targeted and 'likeable' way has been reduced. We need to ensure that the structures assist us in connecting directly with customers, in being approachable and responsive rather than the other way around.
Kerpen, Dave (2011) Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks). McGraw-Hill. Kindle version
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Facebook marketing boot camp webinars
This post has been finally made live - nearly 6 months after I drafted it. Life just gets in the way sometimes!
I couldn't make it for the live sessions but I have been slowly catching up on this series using the webinar videos.
Each webinar went for around 30 minutes - an initial presentation of 10 minutes, then a series of answers to pre-received questions. There was generally one host and two presenters/subject experts from Facebook. Although it was very business focussed, there were some new tips for me that I thought could translate well to Libraries.
Topics and presentation dates were:
November 1st 2011 Why Facebook for Business?
November 2nd 2011 Connect to people with your Facebook Page
November 8th 2011 Spread the word with Ads
I couldn't make it for the live sessions but I have been slowly catching up on this series using the webinar videos.
Each webinar went for around 30 minutes - an initial presentation of 10 minutes, then a series of answers to pre-received questions. There was generally one host and two presenters/subject experts from Facebook. Although it was very business focussed, there were some new tips for me that I thought could translate well to Libraries.
Topics and presentation dates were:
November 1st 2011 Why Facebook for Business?
November 2nd 2011 Connect to people with your Facebook Page
November 8th 2011 Spread the word with Ads
November 9th 2011 Let your customers do the talking with Sponsored Stories
November 15th 2011 Maximize your efforts with Insights and Optimization
November 16th 2011 Make your business more engaging with social technology
So, some tips and thoughts :
Facebook is (as they say over and over) about connecting people with things they care about. So it's a prime tool for libraries.
There's a lot of inexpensive ways of getting started. Don't ignore the obvious - ensure the page details are properly completed. Connect your physical location with your virtual location by including Facebook (and any other social media/virtual addresses) on stationery, library cards, check out slips etc. Engage people by asking questions and posting things of interest to them. Don't post too often though. Make your content interesting and relevant and people will share, and your numbers will grow organically.
Once you have a core group of people, look at Facebook ads. Although this is more relevant for businesses, Libraries (and other non-profits) may find that Facebook's low entry fees (and ability to target very locally) mean that using adverts judicially is worthwhile - even if it is only to raise awareness of a specific program or event. There are different kinds of ads available. The detail of this changes regularly as Facebook are continually working on new ways of tweaking what's available to suit advertisers whilst ensuring that their revenue stream continues! Page Managers can trial the different ads and get a feel for the financial impact that they might have, without committing to a big upfront amount.
Once you have the basics in place and you are interacting with your customers, it's time to look at the analytics, and tweak your offerings. There are quite a range of tools (and again, these are evolving as Facebook constantly trials improvements) available to Page Managers, and with a little bit of playing around, these can be very powerful.
Social Plugins were also discussed - Facebook provides a range that can easily be popped onto your other sites to increase your social reach and make it easy for connections to be made.
Nothing life shattering in here, but a good basic foundation for those new to using Facebook as a marketing tool.
So, some tips and thoughts :
Facebook is (as they say over and over) about connecting people with things they care about. So it's a prime tool for libraries.
There's a lot of inexpensive ways of getting started. Don't ignore the obvious - ensure the page details are properly completed. Connect your physical location with your virtual location by including Facebook (and any other social media/virtual addresses) on stationery, library cards, check out slips etc. Engage people by asking questions and posting things of interest to them. Don't post too often though. Make your content interesting and relevant and people will share, and your numbers will grow organically.
Once you have a core group of people, look at Facebook ads. Although this is more relevant for businesses, Libraries (and other non-profits) may find that Facebook's low entry fees (and ability to target very locally) mean that using adverts judicially is worthwhile - even if it is only to raise awareness of a specific program or event. There are different kinds of ads available. The detail of this changes regularly as Facebook are continually working on new ways of tweaking what's available to suit advertisers whilst ensuring that their revenue stream continues! Page Managers can trial the different ads and get a feel for the financial impact that they might have, without committing to a big upfront amount.
Once you have the basics in place and you are interacting with your customers, it's time to look at the analytics, and tweak your offerings. There are quite a range of tools (and again, these are evolving as Facebook constantly trials improvements) available to Page Managers, and with a little bit of playing around, these can be very powerful.
Social Plugins were also discussed - Facebook provides a range that can easily be popped onto your other sites to increase your social reach and make it easy for connections to be made.
Nothing life shattering in here, but a good basic foundation for those new to using Facebook as a marketing tool.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Strategically Social Online Seminar
This week I had the enjoyable experience of sitting in on a Webinar presented by Zaana Howard (via QUT Information Studies) titled "strategically social. plan. engage. act." and then reviewing the mp4 a few days later (I remember better if I get to see/hear/consider again!)
For future reference, Zaana's slide set is available on Slideshare.
I found the whole presentation quite useful for getting my head around some of the issues regarding growing a social media strategy (either in general or for a specific tool) from scratch to ensure that it is structured and sustainable. For this post (linked to my reason for this blog in general) I'm going to just dot point and then flesh out a few of the many things that stood out to me/that I want to remember and refer to again/that I want to find out more about.
Things that I want to follow up/find out more about:
For future reference, Zaana's slide set is available on Slideshare.
I found the whole presentation quite useful for getting my head around some of the issues regarding growing a social media strategy (either in general or for a specific tool) from scratch to ensure that it is structured and sustainable. For this post (linked to my reason for this blog in general) I'm going to just dot point and then flesh out a few of the many things that stood out to me/that I want to remember and refer to again/that I want to find out more about.
- 1 in 4 businesses have a Facebook presence but this is actually less than 2009 (which was a big year for experimentation).
- Public and private sectors using social media very differently.
- Interesting stats and comments on EU Libraries and their use of social media. Does this carry across into Australian situation smoothly, or are we different?
- UTS is a great example of a library effectively using multiple channels to reach it's target community. http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/
- POST framework from Groundswell. These should be considered in this order. Too often we start with the tools, but we need to first establish WHY we want to be present in Social media in the first place. Then consider:
- People - Who is the audience? What are their specific needs? (Don't assume that you know them - need to ask/observe) How would we like them to interact with us know, and in the future?
- Objectives - What are we trying to achieve? What actions do we want the audience to take? What benefits are there for the customers? For the providers?What will success look like in this sphere?
- Strategy - How will we get there? What existing services can we collaborate with? Timelines? Are there barriers to be overcome? Map them to better understand how they can be overcome. Governance issues?
- Tools - Once we have established the above, we can look at specific tools and determine which is the most appropriate. Ensure we look at where users are, and also the levels of resourcing available.
- Also looked at Buy-in - both bottom up and top down buy-in are important for success. And buy-in is not a one off event - need to build a strong, consistent, ongoing relationship.
- Evidence - where does it LIE? (Provide evidence that "speaks" to the people that you need to convince.
- Literature
- Industry
- Experience
- Need to establish roles & responsibilities (eg may be one key person, but they will need a support team especially for leave/holidays)
- RASCI for resourcing.
- Map out the first three months (slides 84-86). Make it explicit for each tool. Remember, it's about growing the audience.
- Allow enough resources. For example, initially Twitter will require one person, one hour per day until they build up their presence through regular posting of good content, and involvement in conversations. However, although there will generally be one key person, they need to have a team behind them to find useful information and also cover when on leave etc. Also means not just one perspective and results in a more rounded account. Note, unlikely to see success with Twitter for 6 + months.
- Measurement is very key.
- Not just followers/friends/views/click throughs although these are valuable.
- Sentiment analysis – what are people saying and what emotions are they showing? There are some measurement tools available in this area but still being developed.
- Conversations and stories are the richest part of social media, but difficult to measure.
- Some specific tips for Twitter
- Plan ahead and know what you are going to post - don't necessarily limit to core business but consider other related information that will be of interest to the majority of your customers.
- Frequency 1-5 tweets per day (any more can be overload)
- Use relevant hash tags
- Consider who you should and shouldn't follow (don't need to follow everyone who follows you)
- Use @ replies
- Use URL shortening services - eg Bit.ly which allows you to track stats of the click throughs, etc.
- Some specific tips for Facebook
- Profile vs Group vs Page (which is indexed in search engines). Once set up can be difficult to change.
- What to post - as per notes for Twitter above.
- Admins - who, and enough in case people leave.
- Frequency of updates
- Friending
- Events
- IN summary, a quote from Sarah Houghton-Jan "Be clear, Be there, Be Present" - paraphrased as be consistent, authentic, available.
Things that I want to follow up/find out more about:
- Bit.ly for URL shortening & tracking
- Foursquare - esp growth in Australia
- Diigo - taken over in some respects from Delicious, but more functionality
- POST framework
- Groundswell (2008) by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Keeping up with the Jones's
I'm trying to catch up on some of the readings I've been doing lately, and keeping my information in the one place. So, here's another one. Thanks to Kathryn Greenhill for pointing me towards it.
Sheehan, K. (2010, August 3). Keeping Up with Keeping Up. ALA Techsource. Retrieved June 20, 2011, from http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/07/keeping-up-with-keeping-up.html
Very interesting article - clarifies some of my thoughts and gives guidance on what really are appropriate actions to do to try to keep up with technology and changes. It can feel so hard with limited time. And I feel like I'm really not doing very well compared with the people who's writing I follow. I need to target my work/reading/development because I can't hope to do it all (as Kate Sheehan points out clearly).
However, when I compare myself with many of my collegues (not that I intentially try to benchmark, just what comes up in conversation) I realise that other people are struggling even more than me, or have less interest/see it as much less of a priority. Again, as pointed out by Kate Sheehan.
Soooo, how will I implement this new knowledge? Well, although my current work is in Higher Education, I still have a passion for public libraries, and a growing interest in school libraries.
The areas that I find easier to keep up with and most interesting are more social networking - Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, etc. The areas that I find more difficult are the issues around DRM, ePortfolios and some of the content creation areas (Vimeo etc.). So the areas that I am less confident with are probably the ones which aren't focussed on in public and school libraries as much (although of course they are still relevant). And I do read enough to know of the basic issues/that there are issues with DRM, that there is a variety of ePortfolio platforms and software and that there are some absolutely amazing content creation applications out there.And where to go or who to talk to, to get more information. Which means that (according to Kate) I'm doing ok.
So I will leave you with my new favourite quote:
Sheehan, K. (2010, August 3). Keeping Up with Keeping Up. ALA Techsource. Retrieved June 20, 2011, from http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/07/keeping-up-with-keeping-up.html
Very interesting article - clarifies some of my thoughts and gives guidance on what really are appropriate actions to do to try to keep up with technology and changes. It can feel so hard with limited time. And I feel like I'm really not doing very well compared with the people who's writing I follow. I need to target my work/reading/development because I can't hope to do it all (as Kate Sheehan points out clearly).
However, when I compare myself with many of my collegues (not that I intentially try to benchmark, just what comes up in conversation) I realise that other people are struggling even more than me, or have less interest/see it as much less of a priority. Again, as pointed out by Kate Sheehan.
Soooo, how will I implement this new knowledge? Well, although my current work is in Higher Education, I still have a passion for public libraries, and a growing interest in school libraries.
The areas that I find easier to keep up with and most interesting are more social networking - Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, etc. The areas that I find more difficult are the issues around DRM, ePortfolios and some of the content creation areas (Vimeo etc.). So the areas that I am less confident with are probably the ones which aren't focussed on in public and school libraries as much (although of course they are still relevant). And I do read enough to know of the basic issues/that there are issues with DRM, that there is a variety of ePortfolio platforms and software and that there are some absolutely amazing content creation applications out there.And where to go or who to talk to, to get more information. Which means that (according to Kate) I'm doing ok.
So I will leave you with my new favourite quote:
“Keeping up with technology” seems overwhelming and huge and ridiculously hard if it’s presented as a monolith that must be scaled. Keeping up doesn’t mean knowing every single tech trend that’s out there. It means being engaged with your community and knowing what your patrons are using. ... Just like the rest of librarianship – it isn’t about being an expert; it’s about knowing where to look.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Things 16-17 - Join Facebook, add Facebook friends
I've been on Facebook since Feb this year. I decided it was the best way to keep up with a friend who moved to Malawi with AVA for two years. She updates her status regularly using her mobile phone and uploads amazing photos when she is near a large town. It's also been good to keep up with a number of our interstate and overseas nephews & nieces (who range in age from 29 to 4 - not all of them on Facebook!) and all of their doings...
I currently have 37 "friends" - family, local & interstate friends, people I have worked with (some over 10 years ago) and I've just been found by a couple of high school classmates after 20+ years!
I get frustrated by people who want to send me all their wonderful invitations to play games or add pretty things, but I love the ease of ignoring them :) I'm still at a dip in & out stage - every couple of days is enough for me, but I can sometimes find myself getting a little addicted and staying on much longer than the time I have allocated myself.
I haven't yet done much playing with less social type things - I am a member of the ALIA group, and Aussie Librarians, but that's about as far as I've gotten. I'll be interested to hear how other people are using it.
I currently have 37 "friends" - family, local & interstate friends, people I have worked with (some over 10 years ago) and I've just been found by a couple of high school classmates after 20+ years!
I get frustrated by people who want to send me all their wonderful invitations to play games or add pretty things, but I love the ease of ignoring them :) I'm still at a dip in & out stage - every couple of days is enough for me, but I can sometimes find myself getting a little addicted and staying on much longer than the time I have allocated myself.
I haven't yet done much playing with less social type things - I am a member of the ALIA group, and Aussie Librarians, but that's about as far as I've gotten. I'll be interested to hear how other people are using it.
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