How to create a Twitter page for your business.

I have had a few people asking me how to set up a Twitter account for their business, check out this short video which steps through the process.

 

Remember on Twitter you can:

• follow other people
• favourite others tweets (the same as liking something on Facebook)
• retweet other peoples tweets so they appear on your page,
• Hashtag to link with other trending tweets,

Don't Get Fired!

 

SBS reporter Scott McIntyre has been fired due to several tweets he posted relating to ANZACS and Anzac day.
For the full report including the tweets he posted follow the link here.

Seriously people, social media is a public forum, you may have noticed that what you say is read by other people. In fact, that is the whole point. So be careful what you say, treat it as if you are speaking to someone face to face. More than that, you have to treat as if you are speaking to everyone face to face. especially on Twitter.

TweetDeck on Twitter: you can now add comfirmation step

 

If you don't want to be embarrassed by posting a personal tweet on a company page, then this may be a good idea for you;

 

Best times to post on social media

Great research done on when people are most active on social media, follow the link below to get a closer view.

http://www.quicksprout.com/2015/01/02/what-are-the-best-times-to-post-on-social-media/?display=wide

Who says What? Pt 2

As we have previously discussed, it is imperative to ensure that you have the right person in charge of your social media marketing operations, if you didn't see it, check it out here.

Although if the person you have chosen and therefore trusted isn't you, as in the owner-manager of the business, then there also must be some guidelines in place to ensure that they achieving and performing at the right level. 

The simplest way to do this is to have each post approved by an owner or manager. That way there is less chance of mistakes and misrepresentations. Although this isn't always possible, and the whole point of delegating to get someone else to do it for you, is so that you don't have to do it. Therefore, following are several things you may wish to consider when handing your "social media marketing person," the reins.



This ain't no horse play

The question here isn't Who is doing the talking, but What they say. More importantly, what they are allowed to say. The process of defining this points is a large part of a social media marketing strategy, make sure you consider at least these four things:

When they post -

Make sure you decide when, and therefore how often you want to post as a business. An inactive feed will not get followers, although an over active one will annoy and deter them also. Therefore it is important to clearly define when; as in times of the week and day, and how often you page needs to be updated.

Who they follow -

On social media you have the opportunity to create an online community. Although this needs to reflect the market you wish to be selling to.
Ensure that the person you have chosen knows who they should be following and interacting with on social media. Because those who you do interact with will be the ones who interact with you in return. There is no point spending lots of time communicating with someone who isn't even close to being part of your target market.

How they talk -

Although you already trust this person to speak intelligently and without offending anyone. It is also important to outline to them the language they must use when speaking online to clients. This will be different for every business, although make sure that they know the type of language you would use. How you talk about specials, how they should answer questions and complaints, and how they should be commenting on other peoples content.

What they Post -

Lastly is WHAT they should be posting. Obviously this is up to you completely, although that is the point. The person you choose needs to know their limitations, what they are and aren't allowed to post about, and its up to you to ensure you understand.

NBA Fandom the 9 Levels

If you’ve had a conversation with me that’s lasted any longer than 5 minutes you will have learned that I avoid Facebook at all costs. Im arrogant about it, I’m pretentious about it and Im annoying when I explain it. I hate so many things about Facebook and have a deep sadness for anyone who lets it consume more that 5 minutes of any week. By logging on you are literally subjecting yourself to the ramblings, thoughts, opinions and desperate social need of over 400 people you barely remember. When was the last time you logged out of Facebook and felt good about your previous 45 minutes? One of the main reasons I cant stand Facebook is that when Im on it, I have to read the sporting opinions of most of the people I know. Don’t get me wrong, I love sports debating, Im good at sports debating, its one of my selfish hobbies, but I hate facebook sporting opinions.

Heres a hypothetical example, based on possibly hundreds of similar real life posts, of what really grinds my gears

Simo Douchepants

KEVVVINNNN DUUURRAAANTTTT!!!! OMG I love him. Suck it LB James!!!!!!!!

112 people liked this 4.10 pm

So I see this post from some kid that I met and forgot 3 years ago, and in anger click on his profile to see that he has liked the NBA facebook fan, making him an official facebook fan of the NBA. Again, don’t get me wrong, I like that that NBA is growing in popularity more than any other sporting League and that casual fans are now able to engage with the league in a way not possible even 5 years ago. However I hate the fact that he and I are both classed as ‘NBA fans’ without anything to distinguish my level of fandom from his. There really are many many levels of NBA fandom. From the guy who knows that Michael Jordan was good, to the guy who can explain to you the intricacies of Defensive Win Shares. After thinking about this for a while I have established my 9 levels of NBA fandom, based on what I’ve observed in my time as a fan.

Before I begin I need to preface this with the fact that most people sit somewhere in-between these levels, and even go back and forth between them depending on what time of year it is.

The Guy

We start with ‘the guy’. This is the guy or girl, but usually a guy, who lives near other human beings and so has likely heard of Lebron James, but couldn’t confidently tell you which sport he plays, or which Die Hard film he may have been in. This guy knows that Michael Jordan played basketball, but can only give you what team he played for after 7 seconds of trying to remember. This guy may be interested in another sport, or not be interested in sport at all, but has enough pop culture awareness to hold a 1 minute awkward conversation with you about basketball. This guy most likely ‘liked’ the NBA Facebook page by accident, or because they were trying to impress a member of the opposite sex who just posted about how “keeeeeen they were for the basketball playoffs”. This is the base level NBA fan.

The Reasonably Sports Aware Guy

This guy is kind of your classic jack of all trades. Sure, he can tell you what franchise plays in Boston, but certainly cannot tell you which team won the 2012 NBA title. Hes just as likely to talk about rugby, or soccer, or tennis. This guy also generally has a focus on sporting teams, events, and stars that come from their country of origin. As in they will watch the Rugby World Cup, but only takenote of the current NBA champion if its mentioned on Local TV news. This guy will almost always ask the question “so is that Oneal guy still playing?”. This brings me to my next level……..

 The Shaq Oneal Guy

  

This is the guy who knows enough to know that there was an NBA player called Shaq, they might know that hes retired, but they don’t know that you never ever ever call Shaq - Shaq Oneal. Or even just Oneal. Its either Shaq, or Shaquille Oneal. Never anything else. This guys tries to impress you by name dropping star playersnames, but they always either get the name wrong, or they pronounce it completely whack. Maybe they would tell you about Patty Mill, or Wayne Wade, or Dirk Nowverwitzk, or Le-Bron James, or Kevin Duraunt (as in they literally say aunt in his last name), or Derron Williams (as in der RON). Infuriating, but at least their trying. This is the guy who still thinks that Dwayne Howard plays for Orlando.

4     The Bryant Guy

Could have at least gotten a basketball to play with

This is the guy who is kinda still at level 3, but tries to engage you in legitimate NBA discussion. When they refer to star players, they know their names and generally who they play for, but they try to sound way too cool. They oftenrefer to Kobe simply as ‘Bryant’. No self respecting NBA fan ever does this. They may something like “I still think Bryants the best player in the NBA, hes just so unbeatable”. This guy has probably learned what he knows from the recess discussion at school and from playing his copy of NBA Live 09 on his PS2. This guy has always wanted a jersey, but doesn’t have one. He plays basketball with the lads at lunch, and takes the horrific contested foul line jumper and then has 7 frustration fouls per 48 seconds. He always puts himself on the team with the best player, and then talks very loudly in the classroom about how you two guys “fully dominated”. This guy is almost always full time at Big W within 2 years of finishing school.

 The Kyrie Guy

5

This guy is probably the most annoying. This guy thinks he’s in the upper echelon of NBA understanding. This guy absolutely has a Kobe jersey. This guy absolutely loves Steve Nash. This guy absolutely plays in the local league, after secretly trying out for the nearest District team and getting his mum to drive him home immediately after being placed in Div 5. This guy absolutely sucks. He is called the Kyrie guy because he still loves Kobe, but has been watching heaps of that Kyrie Irving guy lately and thinks hes gona be sick!!!!!! This guy thinks next years MVP will most likely be out of Kyrie, Steph Curry, Westbrook, or Kobe when he comes back for revenge!!!! When you ask him about LeBron he will say that hes getting too old and about Durant he will exclaim “Oh yeah I forgot about Kev Durant”. This guy cant conceive of a world where Dwyane Wade is better that Kyrie Irving. This guy will most likely argue that this year is either the Warriors or the Suns year, cos they flat out deserve a ring. This guy has ordered a Kyrie jersesy, but cant pay for it yet cos his mum recons he owes her money. Last years All Star Rookie Challenge was the best moment of this guys life, and this guy absolutely did not watch a second of last years Finals. 95% of Facebook NBA fans are this guy. This guy absolutely sucks.

  The Clyde Drexler Guy

The Clyde Drexler Guy has heard of Clyde Drexler. This separates him from the previous levels. This guy has heard of Drexler, Stockton, Malone, Dr J, Wilt, Russell, Magic, Larry etc and could probably tell you one sentence about each. This guy acts like they know NBA history, but in reality they haven’t watched any games from before 2010. This guy knows that Clyde Drexler was ‘sick’, but does not know why. This guy is not annoying, and can at least contribute to most NBA discussions about current players and teams, and generally has a fair understanding of the best players in the L. They know what they do well (good scorer, good rebounder, good dunker etc), but probably couldn’t tell you the weakness of any of these players. This guy has a favorite player and team, and will know the outcome for their teams last game. If their team in in the playoffs or Finals, they will check the scores on NBA.com or watch the game if their mates are watching it as a group. The higher end of this group will buy league pass.

 The Nicolas Batum Guy

This guy has a well developed understanding of the NBA. They know who the best players are and have a fair idea of why, they can easily tell you who the top contenders are for the title. They have league pass, and follow one or two teams relatively closely. They can name around 9 players on their teams roster. They can tell you that Lebron James is a rare type of defender, but cant tell you exactlywhy. They can tell you that the spurs have good ball movement, but cant tell you why its better other than that they have good passers. This guys knows that most NBA teams would want Nicolas Batum because hes versatile. This guy will take the day off school/work if their team is playing in a game 7. This guymight watch the draft, but wont care if he misses it. This guy has twitter, and follows accounts such as NBA, ESPN, Magic Johnson and Bill Simmons. This guy is fun to chat NBA with, but you wouldn’t go out of your way to watch a finals game with them. This is the most fun and most sensible fan to be.

The Tex Winter Guy

This guy is pretty hard core. He knows who Tex Winter is, and why that’s important. He follows one team, and can tell you 30 guys who have been on that roster over the past 10 years. (oh, and I bet you just went and searched "tex winter') He has a favorite player, and enjoys shaking his head at his faults just as much as celebrating his strengths. This guy knows the name of the offense that the Lakers tried to run last season. This guy understands PER and uses it as part of most NBA discussions. This guy follower twitter feeds such as Zach Lowe, Haralabob, Hollinger etc. This guy can tell you why comparing the boxscores of the 80s to box scores now is very difficult. This guy knows his way around basketball-reference.com or a comparable site. This guy reads about the Sloan Conference every year, but cant really explain everything that is discussed. This guy cries when his team loses in the finals, and watches hours of footage of his teams 2^nd round draft pick. This guy wishes he didn’t care as much, but is addicted to the winning feeling and the fandom culture. This guy appreciates that crap out of Tim Duncan. You don’t really want to be this guy.

The Brian Clouser Guy

I've never met this guy. I'd love to meet this guy. This guy can tell you pretty much anything about the NBA. This guy can tell you how much cap room every team has and what free agents will fit their needs in the coming off season. This guy thinks in terms of defensive rebound rate, and win shares per 48 minutes, and appreciates the value of the eye test. This guy knows who Brian Clouser is, and all those who hold similar positions around the League. This guy may support one team, but they will likely also hope for great storylines and historical achievements in the League. If your going to be this guy, you’d want to be making money from it.

Who says what? Pt 1

In small businesses there is always a problem in deciding who should be controlling your businesses social media platforms.

This decision is vital, because if you have the wrong person operating these processes, then you may have someone untrustworthy communicating, sharing and interacting with your market.

In recent news; the Houston Rockets, a basketball team part of the NBA, posted this tweet during the first round of the playoffs;

In this scenario, the Rockets were competing against the Dallas Mavericks. After getting ahead in the series the media manager for the team posted this tweet. Clearly one that blew up quite a stir, mainly due to its tasteless and disrespectful nature.
Shortly after being tweeted, the post was removed and the following day the media manager was fired from the team, whilst the team apologised to the Dallas Mavericks and their fans.

Personally, along with many media members, I don't believe this warranted the manager losing his job, although this was clearly an issue of misrepresentation and having the wrong person, or poor parameters in place when it comes to social media.

Therefore it is absolutely imperative to ensure that when you have set up your social media platforms, the person, or people who operate the platforms must be chosen wisely. Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure there are clear parameters in place defining how they do so.

Who -

For small businesses, such as cafes, the owner will generally be doing a lot of the advertising, whether it be in designing posters and flyers or posting on their Facebook Page. 

Although this may not be the best, the owner may have better things to spend their time doing. So lets assume you are seeking to find someone who is currently within your business to be in charge of your social media communications. Following are a few tips for when it comes to choosing the right person;

They must be Trustworthy!

Anyone who is speaking or acting on behalf of any business needs to be trusted by that businesses. Consumers, see and judge everything when it comes to brands, one communication slip-up can result in consumers losing trust in a business and thus destroying their loyalty. 

The person you choose to operate your social media must be someone you can trust to be the voice of your business. They will be speaking to your consumers and community, thus you must trust them to speak in a way that reflects the heart, motives and intentions of your business. You don't want them to slander or abuse anyone on your platforms, or use language that is in anyway inappropriate.

They must Reflect the Business!

Make sure that you choose someone who reflects the business and the image you wish to portray. They can do this in how they talk about the product or company, what photos they choose, and the knowledge they have. 

How this person conducts themselves in a social media setting will give people an impression of the business itself. You want someone friendly, kind and considerate. A person who is aware of community issues and understands the market they are speaking to.

They must Know their stuff!

There is no point getting your teenage daughter to operate the communications of your mechanical business, unless she knows her stuff. 

On social media, people ask questions, they demand informative content and they wish to get accurate information about the business they are communicating with. 

A green grocer knows more about vegetables than a plumber and this needs to be reflected in their social media pages. ensure that the person you choose knows what they are talking about.

Pick the right people, because the wrong one may cause something that should be very constructive, to do the very opposite.

Stay posted for the my next post discussing parameters you may need to have in place for the person who is communicating with your market.