Posts Tagged ‘social media

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02
Dec
10

Your job as a creator of content

By Barry Dewar Leave a Comment
Categories: social media
Tags: , , ,

People access the internet because they want information.

They use that information to help them make decisions. It might be small decision like “what should I watch on telly tonight?”, or it might be a big one like “should I move to Dunfermline?”*

It’s your job, as a creator of content, to make those decisions as easy as possible by providing all of the relevant information. It’s NOT your job to steer those people to make a decision that you may prefer by only providing some of the relevant information.

If your offering is good enough then you should have no worries. If it’s not, then you’re going to be found out sooner rather than later.

* for the record, the answers are “QI” and “No!”

25
Nov
10

Honest recommendations

By Barry Dewar 11 Comments
Categories: facebook, social media and twitter
Tags: , , , , , ,

One of the best uses of social media is for trusted reviews and recommendations. This works because, in theory, you build up a network of people who you know share your viewpoint. When they tell you that they have tried something and it was good, you listen and there’s a good chance you will try it too.

Marketeers are spoiling this.

More and more now I am seeing people making recommendations and bigging things up simply because someone has a vested interest in it. Maybe they are a client, maybe a friend. Maybe they are offering you some other incentive to post about them. There are 101 reasons.

This is all too prevalent in other places. It’s the reason why Googling product or service reviews is no longer of any use. It’s been the nature of the world offline for as long as any of us can remember.

Try and make the social media world a better place, think twice before you come out of a client meeting and shoehorn their product into your next tweet.

09
Nov
10

I’m bored with you

By Barry Dewar Leave a Comment
Categories: social media
Tags: ,

If all you ever talked about was yourself then you’d get pretty boring, right?

It’s the same with social media. Too many companies get online and then proceed to bombard you with updates about their latest ventures/products/services.

Also, it’s not OK to piggyback your content on the back of someone elses by mentioning them before proceeding to tell everyone how that reminds you of how great you are.

Next time you post an update, do me a favour. Stop for a second and think about me. I simply can’t bear to read another one of your updates. When I get it, you’re going in the bin. I will no longer form part of your audience. In fact, I’m already a waste of your time because I stopped paying attention ages ago.

Cheers.

Image credit: Jean-Pierre Knapen

26
Oct
10

My awesome network

By Barry Dewar 5 Comments
Categories: social media
Tags: , ,

I would be nowhere without the network which I have developed through my use of social media. I have learned more in the last year than I did in the previous ten. No matter what challenges I face when trying to deliver digital strategy, I know that somewhere out there I have a friend who can help me deal with it.

That’s the real power of this new fangled stuff. You become part of a giant hive mind which is infinitely cleverer than you could ever be on your own. Getting on board with social media isn’t just a canny business move, it’s an evolutionary shift. If you don’t embrace it now then you’ll never leave the primordial swamp of wrong-headed “old thinking.” Those of us that do will grow legs. And one day they might turn into wings.

So, like some kind of a Gwyneth Paltrow acceptance speech, I’d like to thank the people who continue to make it all possible:

@danfrydman for being the ultimate connector

@craigmcgill for starting fights

@tartancat for breaking them up

@idle_bull for always sharing

@MacFack for asking the right questions

@timbarlow for pushing the envelope

@mike_mcgrail for always being on the pulse

@maniacyak for having answers to questions you haven’t got to yet

@2ourism for helping, always helping

@allanbarr for keeping me honest

@colingilchrist for blogging excellence

@scottgdouglas for a podcast that’s always relevant

There are many, many more. These are the ones who make my business better but there are countless more of you who are invaluable in a hundred different ways. You know who you are. My heartfelt thanks to you all.

So who’s in your awesome network?

21
Oct
10

Be the tortoise, not the hare

By Barry Dewar 1 Comment
Categories: blogging, facebook, social media and twitter
Tags: , , ,

It’s easy to put a lot of energy into your social media presence. There’s nothing to stop you from running around tweeting, blogging or podding but are you focussing that energy in the right place?

It’s imperative that you focus all your creative energy at the point of contact. By that I mean any piece of content that you create for public consumption. It’s all in the delivery.

You may be brimming with ideas and buzzing with those things that you just have to get out to the masses but if you don’t nail it when you actually turn  them into content, you’ve wasted it. Focus all of your attention when you are crafting that tweet or finessing that post.

The tortoise wins!

Some people make it seem effortless because they understand this simple concept. They may not have as many ideas as you, they may not be as smart or as witty, but by applying the correct rigor to their output they are outperforming you with ease.

Try posting a bit less. Next time you have something to say, don’t say it straight away. Take a pause, think about how to frame it. Think about how it’ll be received by your audience. Then write it, read it back, edit and then send. It’ll save you a lot of wasted effort.

Image credit: Wally Gobetz

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