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The 10 Commandments Of Online Marketing Etiquette
Seeing this recently on PRdaily, it only seemed natural to share it will all you disrupters. Often times there is a lot of mischievous behaviour in the online marketing world, and these 10 tips will help keep your hands clean. Granted, we’re all guilty of an improper tactic or 2 – but print these out, look at them daily, and hopefully you’ll keep on track!
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF ONLINE MARKETING ETIQUETTE
Perhaps there isn’t a one-size-fits-all equation, and maybe you’re simply focused on numbers instead of conversions, but I’d like to think there is some online etiquette we all should consider.
Therefore, I created the 10 commandments of online etiquette:
1. Thou shalt not add anyone to a newsletter list without his or her consent.
2. Thou shalt not send a LinkedIn invite that says, “I’d like to add you to my professional network.”
3. Thou shalt not post news releases as blog posts.
4. Thou shalt not talk about yourself in communications.
5. Thou shalt not use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn accounts as news feeds for an organization.
6. Thou shalt not create newsletters that talk about how great you, your leadership, products, or services are without putting them in the context of the buyer.
7. Thou shalt not build lists, fans, followers, connections or circles just for the sake of numbers.
8. Thou shalt not abuse your online power.
9. Thou shalt not email bloggers, journalists, influencers, or target audiences without doing research, building relationships, and giving them something of value.
10. Thou shalt not engage in black hat email marketing.
Tips For Conducting A Great Phone Interview
Recruiters are constantly finding new ways to connect with job seekers, and some of the methods in which companies conduct interviews have changed. Phone interviews are quickly becoming a norm for a lot of top firms, and it’s increasingly important for people to conduct themselves appropriately in this format. Today’s post is written by guest blogger Paula Jae of 360training.com. Paula is a 23 year old blogger and a social media enthusiast who is happily living a reality outside of her comfort zone.
When job hunting, the two least certain aspects are the job interview and the phone interview. You have to ace these aspects (or nearly so) to convince your interviewer that you’re the man (or woman) for the job—whether the job is for a pharmacy technician, pr exec, life insurance agent, or a medical transcriptionist.
So how do you prepare for the interview? Here are some essentials, according to career-advice.monster.com:
- Approach the phone interview as if it were the face-to-face interview itself.
- Ready your resume and cover letter and have them on hand for the phone interview.
- Prepare bulleted notes.
- Make sure your phone is working properly and its audio quality is excellent.
- Freshen up and dress appropriately (it’s for the psychology of the moment—the interviewer won’t see you, of course).
- Stand up (people literally think better on their feet).
As you would for the face-to-face interview, research all the important things to know about the company, memorize the key deliverables given in the job description, and rehearse your responses based on those deliverables.
Bear in mind that the phone interview is the face-to-face interview, minus the video. In many ways it’s a dress rehearsal, so you have to dress for the part. By primping yourself up, you’re putting yourself in the correct frame of mind and even more important, endowing yourself with the psychological stature of the best person for the job.
What Is A Twitter Party?
When sifting through current marketing strategies, it’s evident that there are several ways that companies can connect directly with their consumers. However, there’s one exceptional solution that will allow feedback, along with massive brand exposure in today’s marketplace. What solution is that, you ask? Well, it’s a twitter party.
WHAT’S A TWITTER PARTY?
A twitter party is a fast paced and entertaining virtual party, utilizing the twitter platform. Twitter parties traditionally last 1-2 hours (but can be longer) and are an effective way for people to connect and discuss a brand, product launch, or particular interest.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Twitter users tweet with a specified hashtag (#) for the party. The party host will announce the hashtag prior to the event. Users can follow the hashtag to see all the tweets associated with the ‘twarty’. Tweetdeck and Tweetgrid are tools that can make twartying a lot easier.
WHY?
There are several reasons why a company would want to hold a twitter party. Whether it’s to accompany a launch or party, generate buzz about a specific product or milestone, or further ignite their social presence – twitter parties lend themselves well to any equation.
Most recently, Embrace Disruption’s founder (Cory Stewart) created, facilitated, and executed a twitter party for a company called NewEgg Canada. After exceeding expectation with the success of past twitter parties for companies like VISA, H&M and Shopcatch – this ‘TWARTY’ still managed to bring forward a few stand out moments. Check out the results below, and get a clearer idea of what a brand can achieve by hosting a ‘TWARTY’.
Interested in hosting a twitter party for your business? Let’s talk.
Why Social Is A Powerful Tool For Entrepreneurs
Today one of my Facebook friends (we’ll call her Erin) decided to do something really genius. She is in the process of creating a brand identity for her fashion company and found herself stuck on choosing between 4 different variations of her logo. Rather than hum and haw about which version looked best to her, she took to Facebook and enlisted the opinions of her friends.
Social is starting to play a really key factor in a lot of start-up businesses, and Erin has quickly recognized it’s importance. By throwing out her work into the ‘social sphere’, she was able to garner several opinions (mine included) – but more importantly, she got perspective from the people who matter most. You see, likelihood is that the demographic of her product(s) is closely aligned with that of her Facebook friends. Her eventual consumers are undoubtedly going to be people just like those in her friends list.
Obviously not every company can take advantage of this grass-roots approach due to confidentiality, etc. But what Erin demonstrated today was knowledge that testing your market is paramount to gaining perspective and achieving greater success. Having people with a vested interest in us only a click away provides such a unique opportunity to grow, evaluate and dominate within our independent ventures.
Today Erin reminded me just how powerful social can be, and what an integral part it plays in the businesses of the future. Food for thought!
What You Wished You’d Known Before That Job Interview
There’s always that initial anxiety when you go to that all important job interview. Here’s some tips and tricks to make sure you bring your A-GAME!
How To Win Friends And Influence People
I recently shared some reading suggestions for fall and winter 2012. One of the titles from this list was “How To Win Friends And Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. At the moment, I’m toggling a couple of books (the Steve Jobs bio, and a rather dry textbook called Effective Public Relations – now in its 11th edition) so I found myself searching for ways to capture time I may not be using to the fullest.
This brought me to iTunes Books where I discovered a condensed version of Carnegie’s novel available for audio consumption – the perfect fix for my daily commute! As it turns out, the condensed version is a little over an hour long, and has some AMAZING insights I thought I should share.
BECOME A FRIENDLIER PERSON
1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.
2. Give honest, sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
8. Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
9. Make the other person feel important – and do so sincerely.
10. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING
11. Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”
12. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
13. Begin in a friendly way.
14. Get the other person saying, “Yes, yes” immediately.
15. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
16. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.
18. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.
19. Appeal to the nobler motives.
20. Dramatize your ideas.
BE A LEADER
21. Throw down a challenge.
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
23. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
24. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
25. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
26. Let the other person save face.
27. Praise the slightest and every improvement. Be “lavish in your praise.”
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
ONE MAJOR POINT
Resonated with me. Carnegie makes the allusion to the attitude of a dog. Dogs show genuine interest in humans at all times without really demanding that we show interest in return. It would appear that when someone gifts us with genuine attention, we tend to truly appreciate them. This drew me to the conclusion that I may need to sometimes embody the traits of man’s best friend – because how will I ever expect to receive this treatment in return?
Definitely download this audiobook in iTunes. It’s only $2.95.
All the above tips are gathered from Dale Carnegie’s book: How To Win Friends And Influence People.
App Attack: Google Drive
One of the most important tools that I use in my daily work life is the Google Drive service (formerly Google Docs). For those of you not familiar with Google Drive, it’s a collaborative space to keep shared documents, pictures, etc – while seeing updates from the users you share these files with in real time!
Google recently released an app companion that brought together some of Drives’ best features for on the go usability.
Google Drive’s Opening Screen
As you can see below, I have a ton of collaborative documents that I access on a regular basis – this app makes it SUPER EASY to access them on my phone.
Here’s the preview shot of a document I was using earlier today. It’s super simple to navigate and edit, and beats trying to access it on the mobile web. The best part? You can choose to make certain documents available offline, so you can edit even without a WIFI or 3G connection.
And I love that I’m able to upload photo, video and create new documents to share right from my phone. Commuting, travelling, and even working at home in front of the TV just got a little bit easier.
Definitely check out the Google Drive App in the App Store - available for Android and iPhone!
Film Friday: Caine’s Cardboard Arcade
It seems like only yesterday when the original video of 9 year old, Caine Monroy took the internet by storm. Caine had invented a full arcade in his dad’s car shop which was spotted by a local LA filmmaker. Soon after Caine’s discovery, a short doc was made about his little arcade – and blew up across media outlets in Canada and the States. Following the media, hundreds started lining up to enjoy some of Caine’s cardboard creations.
Now, Caine is back with the Imagingation Foundation and his Global Cardboard Challenge, inviting anyone to build “something awesome out of cardboard and imagination.”
Participants will build until Oct. 6, the one-year anniversary of Caine’s original flashmob of customers. Not surprisingly, there’s over 100 events are scheduled in more than 25 countries. You can find the scheduled locations at the website, and here’s some instructions for anyone who wants to organize their own.
Obessed With Facebook: The Facts You Didn’t Know
Have a peek at these crazy statistics for Facebook. It’s insane to really dive into some of the data that’s out there right now. Do you think we’re all obsessed with Facebook? Are we dependent upon it? Share your thoughts in the comments.
