Thing 4 - Maps and checking in

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...

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

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.

• 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