June 30 was Social Media Day.  The good folks at Mashable came up with a day in which social media enthusiasts and users around the world could come together and celebrate social dialogue and the tools and platforms enabling the “revolution” of social media.  Mikail Belicove then wrote a great article the following day on Entrepreneur.com entitled What’s Missing From ‘Social Media Day’ which essentially concluded that what businesses and organizations need is a Social Media Strategy Day.  He referred to how many businesses fall away from social media after the 90-day trial period because they fail to actually devise a long-term strategy.  I saw this in the U.S. and now here in Northern Ireland.  It seems that everyone here is now jumping on the social media bandwagon, but I can already see signs of of many of these companies and organizations running out of steam because they lack vision and a clear communications strategy.

The people at Digital Brand Expressions, claim that nearly 60 percent of businesses today don’t have a strategic media communications plan to guide their social media efforts.  In evaluating whether you should be using social media for your business or organization, it is essential to first fully determine what your media communications strategy is across all media platforms whether they be print, broadcast, or online social media. Step back firstly and determine a clear vision of the core purpose of your business or organization and then develop a credible and authentic voice to communicate this purpose through traditional and online media.  You need to go back to the drawing board again, familiarize yourself again with who you are, how you are currently perceived by your audience, and how you would like your organization to be seen and talked about.  You then need to determine the resources you have at your disposal to develop and maintain a social media presence.  Don’t just hand it over to the intern or a junior level assistant.  Executives and senior staff need to be involved in this as they are the ones who know their organization/business and industry best.

So, take responsible initiative and invest in developing a media and social media communications strategy.  Be sure to keep it flexible in this ever changing and expanding online media world, and remember to evaluate it on a regular basis. In a nutshell: planning, action, reflection…

David Woodward wrote a very interesting article earlier this month about the power of social media in bringing down a brand through negative PR, Reputations at Risk.  I concur 100% with his simple conclusion that brands can fight back negative social media PR by converting criticism into meaningful customer relationships. If you open up your brand to social media (which you have no choice but to this day and age), you have to prepare yourself to handle criticism as well as praise. If handled properly, criticism can actually be a terrific opportunity to build your brand and your reputation. You can channel the negativity and turn it into a positive.   Word of warning though, don’t depend on established/traditional PR & advertising agencies to be able to do this right for you though.  Many of these agencies are still in the pen and paper age.  David Jones, chief executive of Havas Worldwide, an advertising and marketing agency that represents Nestlé, in a statement made a couple of months ago labelled social media platforms as being “inherently negative”. Needless to say, never look at Nestlé for tips on how to use social media effectively.  They have failed woefully in this regard to date.

I believe that effective corporate communications (and this includes social media) boils down to four essential core components and these are truthfulness, transparency, humility, and helpfulness. If people see that you are reflecting these qualities on your website, in the news, in your ads, and on social media platforms, they will sing your praises. Stop trying to hide.

BTW, examples of large companies that are doing social media well include Cisco, Intel, Burger King, and Starbucks.

I have to admit that in many ways I do fall into the tendency of being addicted to gadgets.  The fact that I am practically counting down the hours until I can get my hands on the new iPhone G4 is testament to my level of addiction.  That said, I have taken very conscious steps in the past couple of months to find a balance and schedule in OFF-time from my various gadgets every day.  Gone are the days when I would sit in a meeting or presentation and check my email, Twitter/Facebook accounts regularly on my iPhone while also trying to focus on what was being said.  I used to think that I could juggle it all, that I was a master multi-tasker, but now if I’m truly honest, I realize that I wasn’t giving my full focus to any of these tasks and that really, in many ways, I was only adding to my stress levels and ADD tendencies (incidentally, I do believe that all of us suffer from some degree of ADD nowadays).  One other thing that I make a point of doing now whenever I have a particular work task to do, is log out of email, Facebook, Skype, Twitter for a couple of others to get the task completed.  Sometimes I also switch off my phone.

Learning to be more mindful and present in the moment is something that we all need to work on if we are going to survive this ever increasing digital information revolution.  I am currently reading this great book that I wish to recommend: “The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems” by Dr. Ronald Siegel.  What I love about this book, is that Dr. Siegel has done a superb job blending in science along with psychotherapy and spiritual tradition into a very easy-to-read format with lots of examples and helpful exercises.

It has been a fun last 6 weeks figuring out how best to present myself and my consulting services online to the Northern Irish market and the big wide world at large. This website along with my presence on various social networking sites are, and will continue to be, a work in progress.  I guess that’s what I love about the communications and social media industry in the digital age, it is constantly evolving keeping everyone on their toes.  It challenges you to constantly learn and improve.

I came across this terrific post by Chris Brogan, a world-renowned blogger and social media entrepreneur, who has been in this line of business for over 10 years, “When You Are the Brand“.  This post provides great insight and advice on setting up and maintaining a personal brand.  I really agree with him on the aspect that personal branding is all about community and being of service to your community, not the other way around.

Well, good luck to everyone out there building their personal brand.  I have also found this blog to be quite a valuable resource, http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/

The next time you hear of or get approached about a workshop or services in social media, I recommend that you do a quick check online of these people/companies and their services. See if they are actually running in the race. Are they showing up on the first page of Google searches? Are they active on blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook?   Ask for a portfolio and examples of their work in social media.  If they cannot provide you with this basic evidence, then move on find someone else to assist you with your social media needs.

Social Media Icons courtesy of Webtreats.mysitemyway.com

As the impact of press releases continues to steadily decline, companies and organizations are having to develop more creative means to reach traditional media outlets.  At the end of the day, the most effective way is to build a relationship with relevant reporters. With the advent of Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc, opportunities to access these reporters have increased substantially.  Many journalists are now running blogs, and have Facebook and Twitter accounts.  You just have to do a little research work and keep up to date with their work.

Here are two helpful posts on Social Media etiquette and pitching stories:

HOW TO: Use Social Media in Your PR Pitch Plan – at Mashable.com by Susan Payton, the Managing Partner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations.

Ten Commandments of Social Media – at Noupe.com

This is pretty much the best, most up to date video out there right now about social media.