Water Off A Duck's Back

I have found Twitter to be a great tool for staying on top of news as it happens, connecting with people from my city, and learning more about social media. I share Twitter in the hopes that they might also benefit from using it. So when some people respond towards Twitter evangelists like this (and this), I initially get frustrated.

Then I think about ducks.

Some people are simply misinformed, ill-informed, or just ignorant about social media and how it will continue to change the world of business, marketing, and relationships. They react in a negative way. I would rather spend my energy teaching people who are willing and interested in Twitter than those who are opposed or simply not ready to hear about it. If you know and have experienced the real benefits of using Twitter, than why let the haters and naysayers cause you to react in an equally negative way? Don't comment on the naysayers' articles, don't argue with the social media critics, and don't waste your energy arguing about social media when it probably won't change those people. It's a waste of time to fight those who are unwilling; instead, put your energy towards those who are curious and willing to learn.

Twitter: What Are You “Endorsing”?

With the news that we're all entrepreneurs and that we’re all brand evangelists, isn’t your Twitter feed really answering the question, “What are you endorsing?” rather than "What's got your attention?"

Mashable writers Mark Drapeau and Lon S. Cohen have duked it out over the months, as Twitter has become a source of “growth” in start-ups and big-name companies—over whether or not brands belong on Twitter. It’s clear from how everyone talks on Twitter nowadays that brands do have their place (I agree with Cohen), but need a C-suite level voice behind them to be credible rather than spam-worthy (one of Drapeau's points). Both of them are right to varying degrees.

I’m happy to report that I’m a brand – you are too. And Twitter really seems to blur the lines, as brands on Twitter talk just like normal human beings… because they are human beings. There are, however, some exceptions. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Twitter is just one big massive community raising a commotion in hopes that others take a look at what they’re endorsing. The more followers the better, as Verizon Wireless 'dead zone' commercials teach us that brand evangelism maintains a network of individuals who will back you up when bullied, and solicit feedback as needed. So Twitter isn’t a dead zone; it’s a heavenly space where you're likely to find guardian angels following your every move.

Early on, Twitter fought for credibility due to ‘eat’ tweets. Even though these types of filler tweets are still part of Twitter, look closely and you’ll see that lately, everyone has become a brand and they’re following other brands.

“I feel like Tyson chicken tonight!” What about you?

Immersive Marketing for Watchman

An unknown group of people has hit the streets, spray painting walls and surfaces with taglines from the comic strip and soon-to-be movie Watchman (opening tonight in theaters). It is unknown whether these rogue marketers were hired by the movie studio or are just big fans of the graphic novel, but one thing is clear - it is an effective strategy for promoting the movie.

Immersive marketing is marketing that doesn't simply shove a product in front of us with advertising, but rather invites us to be part of a story that becomes something we talk about and spread to others. By creating an experience that is unique and stimulating, this type of approach reaches to people in an unobtrusive way and invites them to interact naturally (LOST has done this very well). People want to share experiences and stories (and pictures of Watchman graffiti on social networks), so developing strategies around immersive marketing is a smart way to go.

Does Your Twitter Bio Measure Up?

I’m always the experimenter. This week was no different, as I found myself modifying my Twitter profile—again.

Did you know that it pays to have a solid Twitter bio? Being too abstract and not enough concrete can cause a prospective follower to not follow after they read something like “I think I’m funny” or “I like PR.” Many times I find myself helping Drew filter through the number of people following AxiomPR to see if we might follow back, and the first thing we look for is a compelling bio. Some Twitterers don’t have bios and therefore take a risk in relying solely on their tweets to carry them. If you can do this effectively, more power to you! Knowing I can’t, I have to allow my bio to do some of the talking.

Your social media profile is forever out there in Web 2.0 world; that is, until you modify it. Search metatags will pick it up and put it up on Google numbers, and broadcast discrepancies. Somehow at one time you were a fireman who loved sliding down a pole, and now a modified profile suggests you’ve become a budding entrepreneur. Who are you really?!

It’s never a good idea to play a guessing game with those people following you on Twitter, but I’ve been guilty of it a couple times now. In creating a Twitter bio, there’s one major thing we will learn about ourselves: if we’re interesting. Social media separates the phony from the tried and true genuine article.

So… what did I come up with? Something that entirely suits me now and far into the future, or at least I think so:

Media relations and kulture consultant. Budding entrepreneur. Determined to make a difference in society. Food junkie.

Let’s examine this:
I’m very much love in with searching out online and print opportunities for clients both at Axiom and part of my freelance consultancy, Quac Kulture. I definitely am on the track to becoming an entrepreneur or at least exuding the passion to be one. I most certainly want to impact the community in which I live; not just take up space. And… I love sitting down at a good restaurant and digesting the best of the best a city serves up. Viola!

When things weren’t so concrete and I tried to rely on my creative spin within my Twitter bio (back when I was trying to be funny), I averaged about one person following me per day, even though I maintained similar tweets. With my new Twitter bio, I’ve seen more followers pop up in my Gmail than when I first started out. I’m finally me.

Is your Twitter bio really you, or are you having an identity crisis?

Clicks, Quantity, and Censorship is not Social Media!

Even in the buzzing social media advocacy groups, there are still some actions and suggestions that need to be shot down. We're all feeling the impact of bad counsel, because within a community, you will have citizens that attempt to mislead the masses.

Clicks. I used to get giddy when I found out how many people frequented our blog daily in terms of ‘views,” but it’s really the “visits” that matter. This goes for clicking blog links on Twitter as well, as we need to investigate if a content link found a visitor reading rather than clicking-through without giving RSS subscription a second thought. Mashable’s Sarah Evans calls it ‘return on engagement,’ and that’s clearly how the success of one positioning themselves on a blog, microblog and social network space should be measured.

Go ahead and throw your arms up in the air with excitement over your latest view count, but let it be known that 0:00 speaks to how you long you’ve actually kept a user’s attention. Sitemeter is for blogs in this regard, so is Tweetburner for yielding your quality of impact on Twitter. While I’m at it, here’s a list of other stellar site measurement tools.

Quantity. The only high return I’ve witnessed on quantity has been within the Twitter community. It’s amazing how much trust a Twitterer will put in you, if you a) @ them with a friendly response to something they’ve just tweeted about, or perhaps, in researching them and their Web presence outside of Twitter, asking them a question or commenting on their interests; b) make it a habit to connect on a daily basis; and c) offer a suggestion or tip to earn their trust in working with or alongside of you.

Here are just a few quantity go-getters who have been quite effective in yielding high return on engagement: @prsarahevans, @briansolis, @ambercadabra, and my friend in the Twin Cities PR community, @arikhanson. I watched @arikhanson’s Twitter populace multiply (strides ahead of mine!) by simply engaging in micro-blogging-inspired spin-offs, such as journchat and Tweet-up.

But what’s up with users pursuing 500+ connections on LinkedIn?! As Peter Shankman noted in prefacing a marketer’s new LinkedIn strategies book, “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?” it seems everyone’s response is to cash in on hundreds more followers they meet on Twitter. I’m guilty of one of these—for the simple fact that I really didn’t know this person when I added them to my pro network. Will I ever meet them? A slim chance if I’m not a quantity go-getter on Twitter. To really offer stronger takeaway both for users and the ‘at a glance’ prospects, LinkedIn might want to think about instituting a hierarchy of influence instead of link levels.

Censorship. I watched the comment stream over a recent Mashable post regarding an assumed flub in Skittles’ new social media venture, and then I saw it scrolling down: “Skittles should use search operators.” How is filtering comments social media when everyone is, by social media law, entitled to their own opinion? Let’s remember citizen journalism a.k.a. social media isn’t a far cry from real world politics.

Companies representing a brand via social Web space needn’t worry about the nay-sayers because fans will do their protective part by firing back, and soon after, silencing the antagonist. Naysayers still do have their place, and wall posts like the occasional "$%#! Apple” on Apple’s Facebook Group tell us that. Bad move not to take it down? I think not, because hiding behind a controversy or bad ad move (hoping someone like a PR spin-doctor will pick up the pieces) is no longer a reality. So keep that wall or feed adorned with the bad and let the brand evangelists communicate the good.

At the core, social media is a hands-off, all natural type of territory – so don’t get carried away with click-throughs, popularity, or climate control. It just won’t work.