Social Media Marketing Is Not Direct Marketing

Creative Commons photo by Rosaura Ochoa via Flickr.

Social media for business is difficult. I don't mean difficult to do, because using social media in general is pretty easy. It's a different ball game from a business viewpoint, and learning how to use social media for business can be overwhelming if you don't have any direction. Either they run their business accounts as a personal one (posting too much, being too casual), or they only push their product with no other interactions.

I understand where a business is coming from. The goal of a business is to sell a product. Every move it makes, every step it takes (h/t The Police) is calculated and designed to reach that goal of making the sale. A business should have marketing systems in place that do this; whether T.V. or radio spots, fliers in the mail or email. A social media marketing campaign should help support these other systems.

Support. That is the key word to remember.

I have heard of businesses who do business strictly through social media, but it's a rare occasion and should not be considered the norm. Facebook in particular continues to make the site more business-friendly, adding options for shopping and signing up for newsletters right on the main Page. In essence, it could be used as a website, but I wouldn't recommend it.

People are on social media first and foremost to find other people. No one joins a site with the thought "Wow- I really want to join Twitter so I can follow Pepsi and Nike!" They join social media to follow people, discussions, to learn more (from other people) about something. Adding businesses is secondary, because once they are using it, they see the ease. It's easy to communicate with other businesses in this way, and it's more passive than talking to a customer service person on the phone, yet there is still interaction.

Things to keep in mind when using social media for business:

1. Be social, yet remember you are a business. If you run your business social media like they are personal accounts, you are going to turn people off. Decide based on what your business is how personal you want or should be, and then go from there.

(Some ways to be personal on social media: Photos of the office, highlighting team members, acknowledging birthdays and work anniversaries. I'm also a firm believer in the Throwback Thursday.)

2. Be a place of information. Rather than sell, inform. You know your product better than anyone. You know that everyone would benefit using your product. Show that you know what you're talking about and be on top of trends, reports, and other things pertaining to your industry. Give your thoughts whether you agree or disagree about what you are finding.

3. It's not direct marketing, it's PR. Remember the key word from above: Support. The goal of social media is not making the sale, it's making people want to buy. There's a difference.

Every business is different, and I'm always open to talking more about your business in particular and helping you bring your social media marketing to the next level. Contact me anytime dcutler@danicutler.com. For general tips and tricks, subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Have fun!






Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

The Best Way To Check Facebook Privacy

Many of my friends worry about privacy on Facebook. You can see how your profile looks to non-friends by choosing the drop down menu next to the View Activity Log. Choose "View As" and it shows your public profile. You can also choose to view as as specific person and see your profile as they see it. Then you can adjust your privacy settings accordingly. Easy-peasy!

Keep in mind however that this does not cover privacy settings in regards to tagging of photos and posts. "Friends of friends" are posts that can be seen not only by your friends, but also their friends if you are tagged in a post or photo. You can alter those settings as well. These are good things to keep in mind if your child is on Facebook. You might want stronger privacy settings for them. Many skip over settings that go beyond the main profile page, or they don't set up privacy at all since Facebook doesn't automatically set up your profile as private when you join.

There are many complaints about Facebook privacy, but you do have control over who sees what. You just have to be pro-active in how you set up your account.







Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

In Support Of Local Bands On Facebook

I tend to not blog very often, but there are times when something crosses my feed and good or bad, I am motivated to write. Tonight was one of those times, thanks to a post from the Phoenix New Times' music blog, Up On The Sun. What caught my eye was the very well-worded link bait about why the author will not like band Pages on Facebook.

What? How can this be? It's a music blog, supporting the amazing musicians and bands we have in the Phoenix area. Why wouldn't this writer want to continue that support in one of the simplest ways possible? When I read his 6 reasons, it was understood. It was more of an "I hate Facebook" post than anything else.

Local Phoenix band Kongos, taking a break from their
world tour to do an acoustic set for a small group of fans.

I happen to have some knowledge of Facebook, and also support the local music scene with my work at KWSS 93.9FM. I felt compelled to respond. Here are his six reasons, and what I think.

6. Extorting money from bands.

Wow, that's quite the accusation. Should we call the po-po? Basically the reasoning is because of the algorithm, reach isn't quite as good unless you boost posts or create ads, which cost money. While yes it is correct that paying for advertising will get more engagement, it is certainly not necessary. If you like a band's page, and they have a good amount of activity (many local bands do, fans love to interact with them on Facebook, and vice-versa, here's an example), you will see it in your feed. If not, you can choose to get notifications of posts, or even add the Page to a "Pages" list so you can see it in your news feed. If you know how to use Facebook properly, you won't have to spend any money at all.

At times yes, spending a few dollars a day to promote an upcoming show or album can help, but Facebook is by far one of the least expensive ways to do so. 

5. Doesn't know what a band sounds like

I'll give him this one. A semi-decent music player on Facebook pages would be a nice addition. However, if you click their About section, you will probably find a link to their website. I bet there's a music player there.

4. Buying Facebook "likes"

I will give part of this to him. What it comes down to is again a lack of understanding of Facebook and what organic vs. paid likes are. Likes are definitely not the important part of a Facebook Page. Bands as well as anyone who runs a Page needs to have basic understanding of how likes work, and buying them doesn't do anything. It's how you engage with the audience you have, whether it is 50 or 5,000. 

3 & 2. Liking a band name makes him look dumb, and everyone look dumb (I combined two here)

No, liking bands on Facebook doesn't make you look dumb, but not supporting bands simply because you hate Facebook does. The idea is that he doesn't want to like a band page because it looks like he supports a band that isn't very good. Simple solution, don't like their page! Of course you don't have to like every band that asks. If you listen to them and like their sound, by all means like the page. It's ok to be picky. Don't be unsupportive of local music trying to get the word out for this reason. That would be dumb. 

1. He doesn't care. 

If you don't care, you shouldn't be writing for a music blog. As much as Facebook is a place for mindless drivel, it is also a place of great information. More people get their news from Facebook than from other major news sources. You can get all kinds of deals and information about your favorite businesses from Facebook. When I want to know more about a place or find a location, I go to Facebook before Google. This is also true of band pages. It's not only support, it's finding out more about them, where shows are going to be, ticket offers, etc. 

Facebook is still the top social networking site, and if you are a band, it's a smart move to have a Facebook Page. Making some grand statement about how having that Page doesn't matter is a disservice to the local bands that are out there working their tails off for a craft they can only hope to make into something lucrative. Not everyone can be the next Gin Blossoms or Kongos, but exposure and support everywhere you can doesn't hurt. 

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

The Crazy World Of A Teen Fan Girl On Twitter

Of course you bring cake to a tweet up!

We all know the basic rules for Twitter. Even if you are new to the social media site, there is still a basic etiquette. Don't post 100 times a day, post meaningful content, engage and interact with other users. Don't spam, don't beg for follows, etc. etc. 

Unless you are a teen girl obsessed with her favorite band on Twitter. Then all of the "normal" rules go right out the window. 

My daughter is your typical teen girl, and obsessed with the band you see in the photo, 5 Seconds of Summer. I mean, obsessed. Magazines, posters on her wall, videos on You Tube. Reads almost every bit of fan fiction written. Photos on her phone are nothing but screen shots of them. Then there is Twitter, and that's a popular place for bands. It is also where all the fans go to connect with this band, its members and other fans. I was looking at my daughter's Twitter account, which is just a fan account. She connects with other fans, tweets at the band members, and yes, begs for follows. By beg I mean, spams this account over and over.

At first this freaked me out. Why is my daughter being such a spazz online? Doesn't she know this is going to follow her around forever?? Then I started clicking on the accounts of those she follows and re-tweets. They are all exactly the same, and do the exact same things. No one uses their own names (including my daughter), accounts are just some morphed band name or band member name. Profile photos are pictures of their favorite band members. My rule is no last name, address or phone numbers. No personal identifying information. I also check to make sure location tagging is off. It's such a cesspool of crazy teen hormones, as I read through tweets I can hear squealing in my head. I don't know how the band can stand it. It makes my head hurt describing it to you.

The crazy part is, the band members encourage it. They will tweet teasers letting everyone know they are going to start adding followers. Then this part of the Twitter universe explodes with the clicky sounds of millions of teens spamming the band account asking them to follow. Then when someone gets a follow by a band member, they tweet about it and that takes on a new surge of tweets begging for a follow. It's brilliant if you think about it. I imagine they have lists set up (or probably pay someone else to manage it) so who cares if they follow thousands of fans? It drums up excitement and gets everyone talking about the band. 

The most interesting part of this for me is the way engagement works. My daughter has 8,000 followers, including one of her favorite band members and the official band account. Her Klout score? 59. That's higher than mine, and I have a pretty respectable score. It is one big group chat about the bands, music, which one is the hottest, why don't the other members follow, and on and on. They interact. Continuously. ALL THE TIME.

When she told me there was a tweet up (I'm not supposed to call it that, that's the 'old people' term) for fans of 5sos at a local mall I raised an eyebrow. I mean, I don't know who any of these people are! Visions of middle-aged sex offenders stalking girls online flew into my head. I asked my daughter to show me who the organizer is. I received a photo with a girl my daughter's age holding a sign saying "I'm not a serial killer." 

So I took her. Of course I stayed at the mall, but my other daughter and I went shopping and avoided the group. It was quite a group too! About 20-25 girls gathered, and someone even brought a cake (the photo above). My daughter made new friends and met some of her online friends in person. They took a big group photo and tweeted it to the band. They ate cake. It was a good afternoon. 

I don't interact with my daughter online, but I watch. I will talk to her offline about things she posts (mostly good, there have been a couple of tweets I told her were a bit over the top). I stay indirectly involved in her online activity, because not only can I step in if something is amiss, but hopefully when the fan girl stage ends and she wants a more permanent Twitter account she will have learned one or two things about how to use it.

It is such a different world now from when I was my daughter's age. Some would argue it is more dangerous. I look at it as not so much more dangerous but simply... different. The online world is here to stay, social media is here to stay, and it's up to us to be aware of the younger generation and what they are doing with it. Embrace it, learn it, and always pay attention to what your kids are doing online. 

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

When Your Name Is Your Brand

Taking the leap to running your own business has many challenges. Do I have the money to do this? Do I incorporate or become an LLC? Do I need an employee? Do I need a name? What if I fail?

When I took the leap and started my business, I toyed with many different names, but nothing fit. The few ideas I did come up with were taken (which questioned my creativity, because they sure seemed original to me!). After awhile, I realized that I was trying to brand myself by coming up with a business name. I then decided I didn't need to come up with a name, I would just use mine. I would be my own brand.

Being your own brand has its own set of challenges. It’s the first and foremost way you will advertise your business, always. When I first made this decision, I had a small panic attack. I’m a very open person online. I pretty much communicate online as I would in person, what you see is what you get.  No one has ever said to me “you are not how I expected you to be!” when they meet me in person (other than the occasional “you’re shorter than I expected.”). I’m actually proud of that, because it is my belief that you should just be open and honest, good or bad, in how you present yourself online. But that is a different post for a different day. However, I noticed I was beginning to be a little more conscious of how I interacted and presented myself online.

Here are some tips for having a strong personal brand:

1. Google your name. The first thing you need to do if you want to use your name as your business is see what comes up in a search. Is it public photos from your last weekend in Rocky Point? The weekend you have fuzzy memories about? That’s probably not good. Is it the Twitter account you created so you can talk politics and argue rudely with anyone who disagrees with your position? That might not look good either. Here is another reason to have a good online profile. A Google search of your name is a great start to figuring out the next step, which is-

2. Have a Facebook Page for your business. Facebook is still the most used social media site. If you don’t separate your business from your personal account, you’re going to get in trouble. I have a Facebook page for my business, and that is the link that comes up when you search my name on Google. The same applies to Twitter.

3. Know your business. If you are a media personality and your shtick is to be outgoing and offensive, then these tips probably do not apply. If you are a bikini model, then scantily-clad photos probably won’t hurt your personal brand. If you are an attorney who practices family law, that’s a different story.

4. Decide overlap. I have friends who knew me before I started my business. I also have made new friends who found me after I started my business. Some I add as friends on my personal Facebook page, and some I don’t. It’s really your discretion. Facebook has the best privacy settings of any network. I have lists, and have control over who gets to see what in my personal life. I also do not need everyone who I friend on Facebook knowing everything about my life, so I make sure I have the proper settings for anything I do online. Twitter is the same way. Many posts are the same, but I also know it is a more public forum, so I take more discretion when posting things there. My life is mine, and I will choose how I want to share it with you. 

5. Stay true to yourself. Never change who you are because it might cost you business. If you know your brand, and for the most part keep your business separate from pleasure, you should be fine. Also go with your gut. If you question something you are about to post, maybe you should think twice about posting it. Things can always be interpreted the wrong way, and you have no control over that. If you are ok with what you are posting or saying, then don’t worry about how it will be perceived. If someone has an issue with something, most likely they will come to you anyway. If it keeps someone from doing business with you and you don’t think you did anything wrong, then you do not need their business.

Do you have anything to add? Tell us in the comments! Being your own brand can be a little terrifying if you aren't used to being so exposed. Be conscious of your actions, follow these tips, and always have confidence in yourself and who you are. That is what is going to bring you business, and success.

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

Your Online Profile Matters

Daughter only likes to take advantage of Mom's
open Instagram account.

Being accused of something you didn't do is never a good feeling. It happened to me this week, and I wanted to share my experience.

Earlier in the week I was browsing around, and an email receipt popped up from PayPal letting me know about my recent transaction. This was curious because I didn't make any transactions recently. Turns out there were about 6 different transactions made within 20 minutes, all for bit coin. I had been hacked. 

You could say an advantage of being online constantly is that I caught it immediately. The next thing I did was get on the phone with PayPal. They were very quick about stopping payment on the transactions and sending them to their Resolution center. Basically this works like a mediation, they get in touch with all the sellers, then PayPal decides whether to refund my money. They also encourage buyers and sellers to work it out on their own. After CHANGING MY PASSWORD***, I felt better. 

The next day I received an odd email, asking me why I was stealing from him. I responded politely, apologizing for the inconvenience, and briefly explaining that my PayPal account was hacked. He didn't believe me, responding that I had the transaction sitting in my Ebay account for over a week so I had to be lying. 

Ebay? I don't have an Ebay account, so now I had somewhere else I needed to check and see if someone was using my name. I responded again, once again explaining that I was hacked, and now I will have to check and see if I have an account on Ebay that I don't know about. 

I would have liked that to be the end, but he again responded in an accusatory manner, telling me the account is active and he has reported it. He ended this email snarkily, telling me to enjoy my "ill-gotten gains."

Now I was getting more frustrated. One, I have over $100 that I am trying to recover from this. Two, I have some guy I don't know at all accusing me of stealing. I know I shouldn't care about what a complete stranger thinks, but I do have a business that I run online, and I really don't need anyone spreading falsities about me. At the same time, I was finished going back and forth with someone who obviously doesn't want to listen or be reasonable. I responded one more time. I probably should have stopped responding two emails prior, but I was happy with how I left it. 

"I am sorry you don't believe me but there's not much I can do about it. I had over $100 lost over this that I'm trying to get back. I don't know you at all and I tried to explain thinking you might understand. Not much more I can say since you refuse to take my corresponding with you as a sign of good faith.
"I appreciate you reporting the account, because I couldn't log in at all. It didn't recognize any user names or email addresses I have. So I hope they shut it down.
Take care of yourself, and I hope neither of us have this happen to us and our money again. "

I sent it and went to bed. The next morning I woke up to this: 

"I have been looking into the buyers account and I noticed it is in Va. and you are in Az. Then I googled you, and I see you are dynamic and successful person. I was obviously mistaken about you and I do apologize. Ebay will put 2&2 together and get him. I hope you are able recover all of money."

This is why I wanted to write about my experience. He Googled my name to find out about me, and that is what changed his mind, along with not losing my cool and remaining calm in explaining the situation to him. I understand that he has a business too, and it sucks to have someone steal from you. I don't blame him for accusing me, and I am glad he finally did a little more research to see that I am legit. 

The bottom line is this: Keep a good online profile, especially if you are a more public person or run a business online, like me. We are in a world where someone can find out more about you in just a few clicks. What do you want someone to discover? 

***CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD!!!

Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!

New Year, No Resolutions

Photo by nImAdestiny via Flickr

Happy New Year! Many people look at the beginning of a new year as a time to have a fresh start. A clean slate. New beginnings in general.

I don't do that. There are some things that work out well to begin at the new year. For instance, putting away your holiday decorations is a perfect time to give your house a good cleaning. It's also a good time to get your finances in order (only 4 months until those taxes are due!). I personally can't subscribe to making resolutions at the beginning of each year. It only sets me up to fail.

Every day is a clean slate, and I prefer to set up goals throughout the year rather than a sweeping statement about what I'm going to do in the new year. It also gives you an excuse to wait. All throughout the month of December you could have started on the things you wanted to change or accomplish. Now it's January 2. Many are already making excuses.

"I'll start on Monday, it's the first full week of the year!"
"I can't get to the gym until _____ to sign up."
"I can't get to the store until _____ because of work."

Then it's February.

There is also the let down of a habit not being formed, which can discourage and lead you to fail at your resolutions. There is a saying that it takes three weeks to a month to form a habit. That's a myth. It takes work every day, every month of every year to achieve your goals. It goes up and down too. You might think something has become habit, then things get in the way that make you doubt yourself. Or perhaps you are not seeing the results you hoped for. Then before you know it you've reached the Fall, and then another December sneaks up on you and you're making the same promises again for the new year.

I found a better way to achieve the things I want to accomplish in my life. Maybe some of these ideas can help you!

*Think short term. Say you want to have a healthier diet. Do you instantly throw out everything unhealthy in your house, then spend hundreds of dollars on food that will probably rot in a week? No. Change takes time, and small steps. Plan on eating one healthy thing each day, then increase it to a meal. Gradually you will find that you will naturally gravitate toward eating healthy items over other things.

*Set backs are okay. Continuing with the healthy eating example. Did you find yourself at a party where you did nothing but binge (the Superbowl is coming, you know)? Allow yourself to do so, and plan on eating something healthy the next day to balance yourself. Life doesn't end because you do not stick to your plan each and every day. Remember, every day is a clean slate. Focus on the now, and move on from there.

*Buddy up! You don't need to have the same goals. I have a friend I do an Agile Lifestyle plan with. We write down our goals on a Google Spreadsheet, then check in with each other to see how we are doing, and discuss ways to figure out the things that are blocking our progress. The best part of this? He's in another state. Which leads me to my last piece of advice:

*No excuses. We are naturally drawn to making excuses to prevent us from moving forward. Work, school, kids, we procrastinate then can't understand why we didn't get anywhere. So stop it. I'm willing to bet that you already know what keeps you from achieving your goals. I know what stops me, and it isn't my job or my family.

Still feeling stumped? Get in touch, I love to brainstorm ideas. You deserve everything, and it's all about baby steps.

Every day is a clean slate. Don't just resolve to do it. Just do it.






Thanks for reading! If you feel so inclined, you can follow my daily ramblings on Twitter, and get all sorts of information from my Facebook Page! See you around the interwebs!