When the need for Social Media Policies started about three years ago, it was the outside law firm or in house lawyer who usually got the call to draft the document. But over the last few months, I've been seeing an increasing number of requests for policy templates from HR, IT, and even the Marketing departments.
While (speaking from the in house legal pulpit) it's a good idea to run your policies through legal, the good news is that simple policies can be drafted to cover some of the bigger risks. Here are the issues that the policy should consider:
1. THISCOMPANY BELIEVES THAT SOCIAL NETWORKING IS AN IMPORTANT FORM OF COMMUNICATING.
a. The policy should begin with a discussion of thecompany’s orientation towards social networking. Describe the company’s communication goalsand benefits that may be derived from social networking. Include, if relevant, internal departmentsthat benefit from social media and any initiatives that may be in place toimprove communications. (Twittering or texting, for example, may be aninexpensive and reliable way to communicate widely in case of a companywidecrisis.) Then itemize a non-exclusive list of risks that are posed byuncontrolled ...
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 It’s a given–we all want to do more in less time with social media. The good news is that there are lots of tools to help automate your social networking activities.
Although I don’t encourage automating your whole experience (that would be missing the point), there are some useful productivity-boosters worth checking out. 1) Ping.fm: Want to update your Twitter status as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites all at the same time from one place? Ping is great for this. Tools like Ping are one of the top “secret weapons” of the most successful social media marketers. (Finally, a way to be in multiple places at one time!  )  So, if you have something to say to your Twitter followers but that you would also like to share with your Facebook fans and friends and your connections on LinkedIn, you can—without going to each site and logging in separately. Ping has the ability to update over 40 different social networks. This is a major time saver! Plus, you can even create groups, so that if you only want to update LinkedIn and Twitter but not Facebook, for example, you can do that. It’s definitely worth exploring. (It’s also worth ... read more >>
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Citizens! When I read the social media gurus' thoughts, many buzzwords are used. Some of them are widely confusing for clients. Let's go for a list of 10 key-words that need to be simplified - social media: well, newspapers don't speak, blogs don't speak, Facebook does not speak neither. So basically, if someone aks you what it's all about, I'd say it's "people talking to people" once they've logged in: it avoids to go deep into technical matters
- blogging: I had a little argument with a guy last week-end, who wanted to talk about servers' log etc. My parti-pris was to answer that now everybody's potentially a web-logger: when Mama logs in for her email account on Yahoo!, she now can publish contents through FlickR, interacts through MyBlogLog etc. So what's blogging? It's potentially anyone leaving a footprint online that can engage conversations with other internet users/bloggers
- Generation Y: I don't like this notion, as Mama can better use digital media than kids that have not been trained/who don't have any access to the web
- Life-Stream: it's linked to the former definition of blogging. Now your online & offline activities can be new life-stones shareable with your ...
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Your audience is your biggest asset, so take advantage of what they have to share with you. As a blogger with a readership, you’re in a fortunate position and can enlist in their help when you need them. Chances are, they’ll be eager to participate. 1. Ask the readers: If you’re looking for ideas, you can always run a column where you ask the readers a question and invite their answers in comments. You may even choose to expound upon one of the ideas written in a comment and make it a separate blog post (or series, if there are just so many great comments). At the same time, you may want to let the readers ask you a question. Don’t be afraid to share information about yourself and open up.
2. Utilize contact forms: Ensure that you launch your blog with a contact form so that your readers can contact you in some way. There are many plugins available that enable you to set up a simple contact form where your users can add questions and service providers can even send related pitches to your address. After you become an established blogger, you’ll likely be contacted by traditional media for quotes and you’ll likely even be asked to provide help on consulting for related ... read more >>
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 The transition from old to new technology creates both challenges and opportunities for communications professions. The field of public relations is directly tied to the publishing industry which of course, is directly connected to business and consumer information discovery and consumption. The migration from offline to online has left these industries in a state of flux and traditional PR becoming increasingly digital is no exception.
There are tactical challenges as well as strategic. For example, the shift towards digital communications means a new set of tools must be learned in order to accomplish today’s PR goals. Now more than ever, public relations professionals need to familiarize themselves with a new arsenal of tools to adjust and thrive in a digital world. Which tools and tactics are most effective for online PR? What are the best practices and guidelines for using each tool appropriately? Here are five tools every digital PR practitioner should have in their online PR toolbox. Search Engine Optimization – Search is the top method for finding information online. Keyword optimizing news content is a key device for digital PR professionals. ... read more >>
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PRSA-LA held their first multicultural group meeting with a panel about using social media in diverse audiences. Panel members were Jose Villa of Sensis Communications, Chase Wang of BAM! Marketing, Alan Breslauer, deputy for info, tech and new media for Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas and me. Link to original postLink to original post ... read more >>
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 Business owners are accustomed to tracking their results when it comes to marketing, whether online or off. There are certain methods for calculating your return on investment which are in most cases pretty straightforward.
Along comes social media marketing and suddenly measuring your ROI isn’t so cut and dry. I am often asked how you can tell whether the time you’ve spent on social media activities is really making a difference. Here are some easy–as well as free–ways to help determine whether your social media efforts are sizzling…or fizzling. Profile engagement: Are people in your target market replying to you on Twitter, inviting you to join groups on LinkedIn, commenting on your Facebook wall, and so on? Followers and friends: I often emphasize the fact that quantity doesn’t always equal quality–but it is one indication of whether you’re being seen, heard and offering something of value. Blog subscribers: If readers like what they see and want to be notified of each time you post, you can be sure you’ve struck a chord with them–as well as increased the possibility that they will respond well to offers you make in the future. Newsletter subscribers: If the .. ... read more >>
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Blogging is, at the same time, all of these things: - fun, work, profitable, tedious, engaging, addictive, rewarding, draining, exciting, and demanding
There are definitely more positives to blogging than negatives for the right people. Some people cannot hack it after awhile. Others totally thrive on it. Among the latter group, many make great money doing it. No matter where you are with your blog right now, beginner or advanced, we all get tired, burnt out, and have need for inspiration from time to time. Sometimes the promise of more money, more traffic, and more success isn’t quite enough to get us through. During these times it’s nice to know a couple things: - You are not alone. All bloggers go through periods of ups and downs, like any business owner does, online or off. It’s nice to know we all need pretty much the same things to keep us going.
- Power in numbers. We are part of an historic time in human history and technology. In fact, bloggers are smack in the middle of the whole thing. You aren’t just trying to provide yourself with a living or part-time income. While that may be what you think ...
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As a teenager, I still have vivid memories of rushing home from wherever I was to see if my latest crush had called and left a message. Times have changed. Teenagers today don’t have to wait by the phone or check an answering machine — they might get a text or call ”on the cell” immediately after the school day ends. The point is, just as the frame of reference of a teen today is significantly different than that of a teen a decade ago, so are the outlets that teens use to communicate. The past few weeks have seen a number of articles and studies discussing this. A few weeks ago Matthew Robson, a 15 year old intern at Morgan Stanley, wrote a highly touted paper on how teenagers consume media. Highlights included: - Most teenagers are not regular listeners of radio
- Teenagers do not read the newspaper
- Teenagers do not utilize yellow pages
- Teenagers are annoyed by advertising on websites
- Teenagers do not use Twitter, instead focusing on Myspace and Facebook
- Teenagers all have cell phones and finally…
- Teens text
To anyone who has a teenage child or regularly interacts with teenagers, no huge surprises ... read more >>
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Being creative and transparent is only half the story when it comes to social media marketing. In order to develop and execute a truly successful social media campaign, you simply must be able to monitor your results. At the end of the day, your boss (if you work as marketing director at a company for example) will probably be more impressed by cold hard numbers than how cool your Twitter or Facebook profile looks. Here are five must have tools for any social media marketing arsenal - The best tools for your social media monitoring toolbox
1. Social Listening - I'm a huge fan of two products that facilitate social media listening. They are Spiral16 and Radian6. While both tools have their strengths and weaknesses, you really can't go wrong with either of them. 
Caption: Spiral16 Spark Visualization of Connected Conversations
Spiral16 is a tremendous tool for visualizing conversations that are occuring out on the web and on social networks in particular. Whether it is a blog, message board post, picture or even a video, Spiral will help uncover those conversations and rank them by influence and sentiment. Radian6 is another great tool we use for social listening. If ... read more >>
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