Social Media Activity is 'Personal'

Here's the proof that social media activity needs to be personal and cannot be automated.

Read it carefully and you will understand why most of the Eave players were dumber than mud.

Also see more from Ric at orglearn.org

The Power of Social Media… Myth?

Is the power of social media overrated? I keep hearing mainstream media talking about "the power of social media". It is my contention that social media has no power in itself, it just facilitates the power of ideas… good or bad, at a much faster rate than in the past. Social media has no power itself. The "Arab Spring" (as an example), was a powerful idea, not a powerful social media event.

When desperate senior executives of confused corporations hear about this social media power I am sure in many cases they race out of their offices and demand an instant social media policy, or better still the instant hiring of a social media 'guru'.  The thinking of course must be… 'we need professional and effective access to this fundamental new source of power'.

Sure social media is a great communication channel, or perhaps more correctly a series of communication channels however the power comes from the power of their brand or the message their brand delivers when it is well matched to their ability to communicate… not as many seem to think… the channel access itself.

In two instances recently organisations have discussed with me the need to set up or get involved with social media. "We need 'to improve the market penetration" and 'customer touch points' is the common catch cry. 

The problem both these organisations have is I suspect similar to that of many others … they don't know what to set up let alone how to operate what they set up. The social media power problem is two fold. The second problem is most don't understand that the power comes from the passion created by their fundamental message rather than the level of activity undertaken on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or any other social media platform. 

The first issue in many cases is badly handled as the need to carry on a sensible conversation on an organisation's social media channels seems difficult, if not impossible for many. Social media operations are time consuming, expensive, labour intensive and potentially dangerous. The second problem is if you have a boring product or a boring message social media will not help you, in fact it may just make the world more aware of how boring your organisation and its product's or services really are.

So remember if you are wanting 'the power' get your message right as well as how it is delivered and be prepared for a long ongoing conversation with your customers. It's all about form and substance and you need to handle both extremely well to be successful in the social media world.

Richard Townsend - orglearn - 'planning is everything, plans are nothing'

Social Media Engagers Connectors Bludgers and Grubs

If you are involved in social media you will come across many characters who see themselves as leaders, at least in their apparent circle of 'influence'. Unfortunately many social media 'leaders' are not so social.

The appropriate dictionary definition of social in the context of social media is: "Attitudes, orientations, or behaviours which take the interests, intentions, or needs of other people into account (in contrast to anti-social behaviour)." - Wikipedia

Obviously if you are using say Twitter to distribute information or ideas the reality is; once you get above a few dozen or so connections it will be extremely hard, or too time consuming to constantly interact with everyone.

One social media platform that describes itself as "social media rocket" fuel however almost demands by its design and style of operation a level of intimacy, co-operation, trust and reciprocation that is higher than most other platforms. If you are interested to take a look… it is:

http://www.empireavenue.com/RICTOWNSEND

One of the unique features of this social media platform is that you can offer rewards through missions to those that will help you achieve goals in other areas such as Facebook, Twitter Goolge+ etc. This is where the true individuals show their colours. Here is a recent mission I offered:

I won't mention individual players by name however my heading mentions four characters. In reverse order: 

Grubs: They are types that sponge off others, (e.g. in EAve. don't complete missions and just take the reward and run). This group also wants you to everything for them, share boring crap, help them become more notorious by voting them up silly competitions, offer nothing of value… other than that they see themselves as some sort of star or as "giants in their own lunch boxes". These characters often move away from what makes them popular in the first place and expect us love them for who they are rather than for the information they offer. I even saw one guy who offered tech advice do a video scolding his audience for asking what he considered dumb questions. He then started doing personal life videos and wondered why no one wanted to watch.

Bludgers: Well they sort of do stuff however always the minimum. They, in the case of EAve. as an example will do a few likes on a page that you want promoted however thats it. I even did a mission and gave away a large reward for doing nothing, just for being a shareholder and what did a get, a couple of guys didn't even leave a thank you note. These are not my idea of desirable social media types.

Connectors: Well they are numbers freaks. They want to have the most of everything, the most followers, the most accolades, the last word in every exchange and the biggest you know what on the planet. They spam, they manipulate, they just want bigger numbers. Often these types will have in their message or agenda a great idea you just must get involved in and they will flog it to death. These types see you as a potential customer and someone that can help get them what they want.

Engagers: These are the people we all seek. They believe in working for mutual benefit, they'll swap information and advice. They will complete task you want done as they understand the value of mutual leverage. They communicate and they are great to deal with. Many of these characters I believe would be great to meet face to face. These people without knowing it almost compel you to help them through their shear strength of character and demonstrated high levels of personal ethics.

So think about how you appear to others. What do your social media actions reveal bout you? Where you fit? I hope its in the social media engagers category.

Dreaming of the perfect Twitter un-follow app

Yes for some time I followed everyone back… I saw it as polite, however now I need to cull so the app I want looks like this…!

It would automatically un-follow anyone that used the word "I" in their profile and even perhaps send a rude tweet to those that used it more than once.

It would throw out male tweeters who's profile pic showed them shirtless.

It would reject those females that have a profile pic which is 90% cleavage.

I would trash anyone with an animated avatar …kaboom!

It would send off into the centre of the earth any profile that asked me to visit something or worse still, buy their great product or money making scheme!

It would un-follow those that I inadvertently followed not realising they spoke a different language.

It would weed out anyone that mentioned the words God, Jesus, Allah, Christian, Bible, Koran or any other spiritual affiliation.

It would get rid of those that use such terms as husband of, wife of, mother of, father of… who gives a damn we are all (mostly) one of those.

Some people just don't get it… or is it me…!?

Can someone invent it please!!! Just for fun… :-)

"Many a true word is said in jest."

Any particular peeves you have... you may wish to comment,,,,,!

ps: Just list your topic,,, thats what we readers make our choices on, we mostly don't care about your coffee drinking habits, where you are visiting or problems with your health.

Avatars and Social Media Success

Social media success ia about presenting a positive public face to the world.

I am astonished how many don't get the idea and have written about this topic before.

Here are some examples of the some great avatars mixed with some that just don't give you a friendly feeling.

So who would you rather deal with mr anonymous in the blue gear, the dog, the 'standard'... I didn't put an effort in mr smiley, one of the guys hiding their head, someone in dark glasses, the cartoon chicken or one of the others.

Its all about building trust.

Ric http://www.orglearn.org

5 Top Social Media Success Rules

Number 5. Engage its social

If you have a large following it is impossible to talk to everyone however if you have a core inner circle at least talk to them. When you do communicate make sure you use their name and thank them for anything they do for you!  Secondly write to your audience on the topics they are interested in and stick to your core message. I saw a leadership writer tweet "if you don't like what I tweet now, use the un-follow button". He was upset because of criticism he received when overnight he started to put lots of unrelated trivia in his preciously serious twitter stream.

Number 4. Stay away from the "Fluff"

"Empire Avenue" describes itself as a social media rocket fuel and maybe it is. Players ask you to do missions for a reward and often you uncover some great information you can pass on, Often as not however you get to see volumes of fluff… volume for volumes sake!` There is nothing less dissatisfying than going to someones facebook page and seeing lots of photos that you've seen on the last five pages you've visited… the cute cats, loveable dogs, their pretty kids and amazing landscapes… over and over again. It's the old substance trumps form every time. I understand a few human touches are good and the occasional 'personal' stuff doesn't hurt however, not all of the time, you'll end up with a page that is like fairy floss. Very little sugar with lots of volume... not very satisfying,

Number 3. Don't lose heart it takes time and constant effort

If you want to build a reputation on the web you need to keep at it and do at least a little each day or your followers will lose interest. As I said before stick to your core purpose and if you can't come up with new and interesting stuff of your own at least curate good information from others that is pertinent to your topic or topics. As the video says… be consistent!

Number 2. When asking for help from your followers give them something worthwhile  supporting

Again using Empire Avenue as an example you get people asking you to share their information around your networks. Well sharing has two purposes, one the specific message you want to get out and secondly to build your reputation (or brand) generally. Asking someone to tell their network to say happy birthday to your grandmother isn't going to make it. Trying to get others to retweet about your upcoming seminar on how to breed Llamas isn't going to wash with a diverse readership. So if you want someone to share stuff about you make the information your distribute something of interest to a broad audience.

Number 1. Forget "you" in your social media communications

Some social media gurus or divas even refer to themselves as gurus and divas, gimme a break. I heard on the radio today how social media is feeding the natural narcissistic tendencies that a lot of people have today. Me, Me, Me… no its about them, them, them so its not "me and you", its "you and I" or better still "us". I know one notable player again on Empire Avenue who gained some notoriety by answering technical questions (web stuff) who posted a video on you tube scolding his audience for asking dumb questions. He then made it worse by posting videos of himself shopping, eating driving etc… and then complained that some people didn't want to do his missions… he had become his own topic and his narcissistic rants were just plain boring. 

5 'Rules' for Successful Social Media Operation

1. Many companies treat their social media accounts as if they were billboards and they are not… you must engage… or don't get involved at all.

2. Often individuals treat their social media accounts as a chance to be outrageous… its a bad policy and will bite you in the ass down the track so resist the temptation to do it!

3. It seems to be common practice for organisations to just use their company name rather than that of a person… not good, pick a name… make it fictitious if you must however people like to deal with people so give an individuals name.

This is basic even when I worked for a finance company 30 years ago we had a "Mister Brown" campaign… XYZ Co… just won't cut it in the social media space. We were all Mr Brown if someone called us and asked for him or we said MR Brown is with another customer, hi I'm Ric and I can help you! It's not rocket science!

4. Fix your avatar and make it consistent across all platforms… get rid of the cartoons, cats, pics of your kids and pics of your favourite toy!

5. Don't just broadcast, you need to invest the time and money to interact… hire me to do it for you or dedicate staff number who is competent and be prepared to take the good with the bad.

Bonus Number 6. Don't just talk about your product… talk about your town, city or industry!

Bonus Number 7. Lighten up a bit.. I know you are fighting a terrible disease or uncovering and outrageous injustice however if you want others to share your stuff on their networks (to get attention for your Facebook page or whatever) you have to give them something that "their network" will be interested in.

More from Ric at orglearn.org

Social Media Tips on Presenting Yourself

I see a lot of funny things as I cruise around my social media sites and interact with others. I thought I 'd just do a few tips on how we need to present ourselves to others. Lets face it, attracting followers is like trying to draw bees to a flower!

1st your AVATAR. A well photographed picture of yourself standing at a slight angle to the camera is best. No straight on mugshots, you'll look like a criminal. You need to smile! Don't look down at the camera you'll look like you are arrogant. Forget the finger pointing or weird gestures and of course be constant across all profiles.

2nd EMPIRE AVE. If you aren't involved in Empire Avenue as yet you should take a look at it as it can be a great help to those that are serious about social media.

Here also there are some "not too bright behaviours". Players can launch missions to get support for their various accounts. A couple of tips a) Don't ask people to RT to their followers happy birthday messages to your relatives, If you want to get re-tweets, post on a topic that will be interesting to a broad audience. Wise sayings will suffice if you are lost for what to post. b) If you want someone to answer a question on Facebook or Google plus give the specific post link! I've messed this up myself so I wasted other's time and the "funny money" called eaves. c) Thank people for their missions… its called interacting and its essential.

3rd GOOGLE PLUS Take the time and make the effort to change your background image. Google now allows you to add your own G+ cover pic so don't just use the boring old:

Now that's a bit of hopping around cover various platforms however I hope you find these tips go some way in helping you succeed in social media. More social media tips and management articles can be found at orglearn. Also remember your social media image these days forms a critical part of your resume.

Social Media and How To Build Trust

Trust Rule 1: Don't start out your social media communication with "have I got a deal for you!". You find this a lot with Twitter users in their introductory message and its just a no no!

Trust Rule 2: Resolve issues that arise or solve problems through direct communication with person causing the difficulty, don’t bring in others and never get involved in a "flaming campaign". One to one in private is always best. 

Trust Rule 3: In your communications be specific and direct. With written communication, being long winded can lead to disinterest very quickly.

Trust Rule 4: Be real, don't play act or adopt another persona and use a picture of yourself rather than some phoney avatar!

Trust Rule 5: Use a calm and logical approach to your communication and avoid abruptness and always use 'correct' greetings and culturally sensitive language. e.g I am told USA citizens prefer "thank you" rather than "thanks"!

Trust Rule 6: Share credit with those that assisted in the wins you have had, even go to the point of slightly overstating their contribution or as someone said “when in doubt, share”.  If you are involved in platforms such as Empire Avenue this is particularly important. Even with Twitter you need to acknowledge the source of your information. 

Trust Rule 7: If you make a commitment stick to it!

Trust Rule 8: Don't cheat... Again Empire Avenue is a good example… people issue missions for the games currency and some just take the money and run, not a good tactic for success that must be built on trust.

Trust Rule 9: As in the physical world it is un productive to ask loaded or rhetorical questions, ask only “non-assumptive” questions without couching them in any “spin” or as a way to push some secret agenda. This happened to me recently with a Facebook connection and in the end when he wouldn't desist I had to block him.

Trust Rule 10: Make only promises you can keep and if events overtake you admit it, don’t ever avoid the issues or ignore those seeking an explanation of a situation from you.

Trust Rule 11: Don’t scoff at another’s opinions or efforts and add support to those in difficulty.

Trust Rule 12: Have enough self-control (and demonstrate it) to overcome immediate or short-term feelings in the interests of maintaining ongoing and long term associations.

Public communication and behaviour are a small tip of the very large personal "iceberg" of our values and beliefs. Perhaps it wise to be willing on occasions to question our belief system to grow as a person. Dogmatically sticking to what we were indoctrinated with as a youngster is a sign of immaturity and low levels of emotional intelligence. Wisdom comes from being willing to change our perspective.

The following is a list of words that others need to be using when they describe you if you are to gain and maintain their trust;

"communicative, committed, confident, fearless, predictable, reliable, correct, forgiving, clear, factual, unbiased, respectful, reasonable, confidential, contributing, even (as in even handed), defining, accountable, interested, calm, resolute, tactful, sincere, frank, listener, patient, answering, sharing, fair, timely, honest, decisive, neutral, competent, consistent, explicit, responsible, transparent, close (near), willing, collaborative, accurate, graceful, helpful"

Now that's one hell of a list however all those words are what are required of you if you are truly to be seen as trustworthy.

More from Ric can be found on http://www.orglearn.org 

Your Resume Destroyed by a Negative Social Media Image

As I said in my last post "Many HR writers and articles are now asserting that your social media profile is your new resume."

Last time I wrote about the 'positives'.

So what can kill your chances of a job interview and even perhaps destroy your current career.

The one that leaps out is photos, photos, photos… you must not ever allow unflattering photos of yourself to appear anywhere… ever.

Fred videoed in his company shirt
swearing, drinking and raving on.

Being Overly Opinionated can also be risky so keep your views on politics, race, religion, pet hates and people you detest out of your social media activities… always.

Trouble at work is a no comment zone. If you are having problems at work keep it work and take it up directly with your employer. Even if you leave your next potential employer will see that you are willing to publicly denigrate those that pay your salary and will not therefore consider you as a suitable applicant.

Take care with  the colourful language. Now amongst mates or your circle of girlfriend it may be the norm however in written or recorded public messages it just a no no!


Comment about drugs and drinking cannot be discussed… A casual 'hey we all got whacked and pissed last night' can be a definite job killer.

Can I also suggest you remove yourself from unprofessional or 'whacky' groups.

Again and I've said ti many times use a decent email address "sexyric"@html.blah  just wont cut it. Particularly as it is not true.

It's bad to let things slide! If someone does tag you in a photo you don't like or makes derogatory remarks you fight like hell to get it fixed, just leaving it out there is not an option.

Here is a resume example if you need one and your social media profile is clean.

Social Media as Your Resume and Testimony

Many HR writers and articles are now asserting that your social media profile is your new resume.

It can also be a major boost in your career progression and greatly contribute to how you are commercially and/or professionally perceived.

So what are the positives?

You can demonstrate your technical and commercial competence, skills and knowledge.

You can become a recognised and respected expert in your field for both your social group and the wider community.

What must you have or do?

You must have a squeaky clean Facebook account

Keep a clean Facebook profile, by removing the not so savoury activities you may have been involved in. Also make sure the settings are appropriate and remove the mad moments that may have been photographed.

Set up a LinkedIn profile and keep it updated

This is purely a career or business networking website. Most LinkedIn users are there to connect with other professionals and/or re-connect with former colleagues.

Take advantage of Twitter

Twitter is the best way to promote yourself to a large audience and your tweets should point to your other social media accounts. Follow professionals in your field.

Create a personal website or blog

Use a perusal website as a resume and a blog if you are willing to write an occasional article on your area of expertise. Use Blogger as you are best sticking with Google

Have a 'Professional' avatar or Picture 

Keep away from the silly hats, pictures with your kids or pets and don't use a cartoon. While I'm at it open a gmail account using your own name or a close as you can get to it. "spunkyjohn@htomail just won't cut it.. unless you're a porn star.

Join Google Plus

Google, because of its circles can give you a constant stream of industry or professional updates. It is the serious social media business platform.

Link it all together

All social media sites need to be cross linked.

And this is just a beginning.

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