From the category archives:

Best Practices

Are you thanking your customers, or exploiting them?

07.13.2010

When a telemarketer calls from a company I do business with, I’m more likely to listen to at least the start of their pitch, because I already have a relationship with them and maybe they’re calling with something relevant or important. Companies know that and take advantage of it. A lot of those calls start [...]

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Promoting your local business through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube

07.12.2010

In my last post I mentioned I had sent a friend a long email in answer to her questions about using social media to promote her orthodontia practice. I talked about the difference between spamming your friends and promoting your business. In the second part of the email, I gave her some specific tips for [...]

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The difference between spamming friends and promoting your business

07.11.2010

I’ve had an interesting back-and-forth via Facebook email with an old friend who is starting an orthodontia practice. I had complained in my Facebook status about my friends (some of whom, in the peculiar world of Facebook, I don’t actually know) who only seem to use Facebook to promote their band or their book or [...]

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When does “TGIF” sound like “I hate my job”?

07.02.2010

It’s the Friday before the July 4th weekend. I’ve taken a week’s vacation to work on my book (a task from which I am now procrastinating by writing a blog post), so I’ve been acutely aware of how quickly this week has passed. It reminds me once again that the perception of time’s passage is [...]

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Basic requirements if you’re looking for a social media job

06.20.2010

I’ve had a few conversations lately with friends and business acquaintances who expressed an interest in a job involving social media. I found myself giving all of them the same basic advice, so here it is. None of it is new or novel, and I’m not entirely sure I haven’t written this post already, more [...]

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I’m writing an enterprise social media book

06.18.2010

Seems like there are a lot of great folks writing social media books right now. Last week I learned that Amber Naslund and Jay Baer are writing a book aimed at small and medium-sized business, organizations and non-profits. I just heard on the Six Pixels of Separation podcast this morning that Scott Stratten (a.k.a. Unmarketing) [...]

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Your name should be your Twitter handle

06.17.2010

I have a friend and colleague who is debating whether or not to change her Twitter handle. Right now she’s @Postgrad. She likes the name. She’s gotten attached to it. She feels it says something about her. I think she should change it to her name, Meg Crawford, or some available variation. Why? Because that [...]

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Honesty goes both ways

06.16.2010

I posted last week about the doublespeak I hear on airplanes, and how refreshing it would be if companies would say what they mean in social media. I got some great comments on my post from Sara Livingston and DJ Waldow and AnnMaria De Mars that got me thinking. Yes, we all want companies to [...]

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Key takeaway from the Ragan Cisco Social Media Summit

06.12.2010

::UPDATE:: I should clarify that I still think there is a need for 101-level social media conferences that help people understand the value and how to get started. My main point is we need to stop telling people simply to join the conversation without telling them how.

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Little lies we tell our customers

06.11.2010

I’m flying home from Ragan Communications’ excellent Social Media Summit, held at Cisco’s HQ in San Jose. It was my first trip to Silicon Valley, and it was both impressive and a little disorienting to see all the well-known company names. Of course I knew that eBay must have a physical presence, but there’s still [...]

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