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Facebook Dares to be Uncool

May 16, 2012 by gfsnell3 0 Comments

Despite the fact that Facebook’s IPO will likely value the company at more than $100 billion this week (about the same as the GDP of Vietnam), Facebook is no longer the Prom Queen.

Just like Fonzie, hula hoops, Cabbage Patch kids, and Coldplay, Facebook isn’t cool anymore.

It’s too damn big as it nears one billion users.  Beside, it’s difficult to maintain your mojo when your fastest growing demographic is grandmothers.

Believe it or not, but the cool kids don’t like hanging out and sharing content while their Aunt Bertha is looking over their shoulders and leaving comments like “I can’t believe your wore that blouse to school!”

As one 25-year-old woman told the Boston Herald this week:

“For some reason that social Facebook excitement has run its course for me. The friend circle is sort of not as limited to Facebook as it used to be.”

But, to be fair, cool is no longer on Facebook’s agenda.  Being uncool is a price it’s willing to pay (even with the likely defection of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people).

That’s because Facebook is going for the gold.  It wants to be two things now: a mainstream media company and the preferred online communications platform.  Preferably both at the same time.

That’s going to be extremely difficult, especially once the company goes public and shareholders demand returns and growth.  Growth might be the hardest part as there are nearly one billion users around the world already – nearly one out of every two internet users.  Can a company with this many users actually continue its rapid growth?

In fact, as pressure from shareholders mount, it’s likely Facebook will shrink – at least at first.  Already many people are upset by the onset of changes that seem to have more to do with monetizing the platform than in helping users communicate.  That drive to monetize will get more intense and get many people upset.

So the next year or two will be crucial for Facebook.  Either it succeeds in becoming the user-interface of the Internet or it becomes another in a long line of failed social networks (O, we hardly knew thee, Ping and MySpace!).

So here’s a few questions for you.  Will Facebook be around in 10 years?  Is the IPO is good thing or a bad thing for Facebook?  And are you still using it as much as you used to?

Links:

Is Facebook the New Email?

Facebook Falling Out of Favor as IPO Approaches (via Boston Herald)

10 Failed Social Networks

Social Media
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Social Media Will Not Cure Cancer

May 15, 2012 by gfsnell3 4 Comments

One aspect of social media I dislike immensely is the sense of magical thinking hovers about it.  Some of the medium’s most rabid advocates possess a spooky evangelical zeal about digital communications.

At times it can feel like snake-oil salesmen who promise miraculous cures.

That’s why it’s not usual to find bold proclamations that social media has and will change everything – from sports and entertainment to world politics and human rights.  That social media will solve poverty, end world hungry and bring peace and harmony to all.  No event it seems is too large or important for social media to transform.

Now as readers of this tiny corner of the Internet know I’m a big advocate of social and digital communications.  Interactive communications and content marketing can provide enormous value and brands (and individuals) risk being left behind as social media grows, matures and changes the way be interact as a society.

But it is important to keep the industry in proper perspective.

Social media isn’t going to cure cancer.  Social media will not be rescuing kittens from tree branches.

One of the reasons why people believe social media is so magical is the prevailing myth is that everyone is doing it.  That social media has become ubiquitous in everyone’s every day life. 

This is true, but only if you define everyone as wealthy, educated and urban.

We often get blinded by what is in front of us.  When you live in New York, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Boston or Los Angles and all of your peers are carrying iPhones, downloading apps, checking in on Foursquare and posting Instagrams of their latest culinary experiences at [INSERT TRENDY RESTAURANT NAME HERE] you believe everyone else is too.

That’s just not the case.  Look no further than Twitter for confirmation of that.  Prepare yourself for this statistic social media mega-users:

93% of people in the U.S. are NOT on Twitter.

That’s quite a few people not tweeting.

When you work in a corporate environment like many people who embrace social media you forget that the majority of Americans aren’t working in high-rise office buildings in metropolitan areas.

There are many barriers to entry in being a user of social networks.  First, you need to be able to read as most of the services are text-based (hello, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter).  You also likely need to work in an industry where information gathering and sharing is an important function – which means having a college education.

Social media usage also cost money.  You need equipment for access – computers, laptops and smart phones.  And you need access to the Internet.

Here is a dose of reality on the demographics of the United States:

  • 20% of U.S. citizens are functionally illiterate and 60% read at or below the level of a fourth grader.
  • 60% of U.S. citizens have an education no higher than high school.
  • 15% of Americans live in poverty (defined as a family of four making less than $22,350 a year) and nearly 60% of all Americans live in poverty for at least a year of their lives
  • The median household income in the U.S. is $44,389
  • 31% of U.S. households have no access to the Internet – about 1 out of every three households.
  • 61% of U.S. citizens don’t own a smart phone.

As you can see, the majority of people in the United States face obstacles in becoming social media regulars.  People living in poverty are not writing reviews about their dining experiences on Yelp.  People who don’t have access to the Internet are not sharing their favorite recipes on Pinterest.

You get the point.

Social media is moving the needle, but there is still a long way to go before it will change everything and everybody.

But I’d be interested in hearing from you.  Are you a social media addict?  Does everyone you know use social networks?

Links:

“So, How Many People are Actually on Twitter?” (via Media Bistro)

Functional Illiteracy (via Wikipedia)

Educational Attainment in U.S. (via Wikipedia)

Poverty in the U.S. (via Wikipedia)

Household income in the U.S. (via Wikipedia)

Business, Culture, Social Media, Social Media Consulting
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Filters in the Age of Media Bombardment

May 14, 2012 by gfsnell3 2 Comments

Forget 24/7 news cycle.

Try 604,800 second news cycle (yes, that’s the number of seconds in a week).

Forget the 40-hour work week.

Try 168-hour work week.  Oh, you don’t work the entire 168-hours in an average week, but if you work in an executive position anywhere that’s the number of hours you’re “on call.”  You get breaks for sleep and sporadic off-time, but our devices are constantly being checked – during the kid’s soccer game, just before going to bed, and even – forgive us all! – while on the toilet.

The consequences of this work/life style are many.  But one of them is a constant bombardment of media.  Emails, alerts, status updates, tweets, RSS-feeds, text messages, etc.

It can often feel like standing in a hail storm without an umbrella as baseball size ice pellets batter your head.

So how can we cope?

Filters.

Unfortunately, most of the filters we use are inadequate.  Spam and unwanted content constantly breaks through.  But here are some of the ways I try to filter my content.

Email

Admittedly, I’ve lost control of my email.  It’s easy to do because email is the authentication tool of the Internet.  In order to sign up for anything, you need to give an email address.  But when you do this you end up on every marketing and Spam list in existence and soon you’re being pelted with emails – everything from wine tastings to Living Social deals.  So it’s easy to miss the important email from a client or a personal missive from a friend.

Here’s my plan for email.  I’m abandoning my personal Gmail account, which I’ve had for many years.  I’m going to keep it open and use it has my sign-in account.  I’m going to open a second account for personal and business purposes only.  I’m also getting wary of Google’s power over my digital life.  Time to diversify and spread my digital footprint broader.

Twitter

I use Twitter a lot, because it provides excellent filter tools.  I use TweetDeck as my user interface and I’m able to categorize the people I follow into groups – Social Media, Journalists, New Outlets, Friends, Co-workers, etc…  Each stream has its purpose.  It makes it quite easy to scan each stream to get caught up on news, events and information.  I still get sucked in to my main stream on occasion – but it gets more difficult to keep up with the constant flow of data.  So I rely on my segmented streams.

Because I want to keep these streams up-to-date, I’m constantly tinkering and adjusting them.  Right now I feel like they are optimized and as a result I rely more Twitter than almost any other source of information.

Facebook

The ultimate filter – if you keep it for friends and family only – which I’ve been trying to do.  Admittedly as Facebook becomes more of a primary communications device it will be difficult not to connect with everyone that wants to connect with you.  So far, however, I’ve managed to limit it to people within my primary social circle – with some exceptions.

The challenge with Facebook is that its algorithm filters content for you.  I don’t like that.  I want to be in control of my stream – and design it to my liking.  But right now I use Facebook as my true “social network.”

RSS

RSS is still such an under appreciated technology.  I use RSS feeds – a lot.  In fact, my iGoogle page is stacked with RSS feeds from my favorite news sources.  I have different tabs on various topics: sports, social media, national news, politics, etc.  My iGoogle page has become my personalized newspaper and, quite frankly, I’d be lost without them.  RSS saves time, allows me to easily browse headlines, and only click through to a story when I’m interested in it.

How about you?  Do you feel overwhelmed by content?  Are you using different ways to filter your content to slow down the explosions of content happening all around you?

Social Media
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The Future of TV is Social

May 7, 2012 by gfsnell3 0 Comments

Let this statistic sink in for a moment:

86 percent of smart phone owners are using their phones while watching television.

You would think this concept would scare the heck out of TV networks.  After all, when viewers are dividing their attention between your show and another screen you are losing mind share.  Your content is being interrupted and diminished.

Right?

Wrong!

In fact, the opposite is true.  The reality is that online and social channels are augmenting, expanding and extending the content of TV shows.  People are engaging with TV in ways they simply couldn’t before now.  They are sharing impressions and insights on with friends on Facebook.  They are making snarky remarks on Twitter.  They are participating in real-time chats on forums.  They are following their favorite shows on social channels.

Television viewing is no longer a one screen experience.  It’s two and even three screens.

It turns out that people enjoy real-time play-by-play and analysis during their favorite shows.  And they also enjoy getting more content from these shows when they aren’t on the air.  Thirty and sixty minutes with their favorite characters and storylines aren’t enough.  And this spells HUGE opportunities for TV producers and the brands that market on them.

The future of television is the Internet and the reason for that – other than the fact that web-based TV can be watched anytime and anywhere – is interactivity.  People want their TV social.

Take the TV show “Top Chef” that last year filmed webisodes called “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen.” The web-based programming gave contestants who had lost on the TV version of the show another opportunity to compete and to get back on the show – via the web.

The two shows shared a large part of the overall audience – but some people watched only one version.  The content – while connected – was also independent of each other.  They were able to build bridges, of course, but also able to carve out their own identities and core fans.

This mentality is becoming standard in the industry.  This is what Dana Robinson, senior director of social media at NBC.com, told Mike Proulx and Stacey Shepatin for their new book called “Social TV.”

“We take what’s on the air for 30 to 60 minutes and we continue that storyline online. We try to create additional experiences and fan engagement online so that when the show is not on-air the users can remain interested – if not more so – in the show.”

Brands need to think the same way.  How can brands extend and augment their own content online?  What kinds of online extensions are you building to bring your stories to life beyond the traditional?

Links:

Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen

“Social TV” by Mike Proulx and Stacey Shepatin

Content Creation, Social Media
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The Tip of the Social Media Iceberg

May 1, 2012 by gfsnell3 4 Comments

A client recently quipped:

“How hard can social media be? All you have to do is write some tweets and status updates.  What’s the big deal?”

It was difficult to know where to start.  Because calling “social media” tweets and status updates is like calling public relations writing press releases or thinking that advertising is a TV commercial.

Let me be clear:

Facebook is NOT status updates.

Twitter is NOT tweets.

YouTube is NOT videos.

LinkedIn is NOT resume updates.

Not even a little bit.  Unfortunately, there are too many companies that don’t understand this.  They don’t realize that social networks are platforms - interactive and multimedia platforms.  That activations and interactions can be everything from videos and games to polls and social shopping.  There are few limitations on the content you can develop for social networks.

The biggest limitation, however, is a lack of imagination.  Or a lack of technical understanding on how these social platforms work.

Take Facebook, for example.

The status update is the primary way people communicate and interact on the platform.  But to focus all your energy on cranking out status updates would be like buying a Porsche and never shifting out of first gear.

Let me give you three examples at what my team has recently been able to accomplish on Facebook:

  • Product Launch.  We announced a brand-new packaged good using a Facebook application.  As part of the roll-out, we gave away more than 250,000 free samples by having people share the new product news and fill-out a short form right on the application.  They could watch a video, share the news, leave reviews and opinions behind and invite friends to get a free sample.  At one point, we gave away more than 10,000 samples in 32 minutes.
  • Facebook TV.  We produced, directed, filmed and syndicated a “live” hour-long cooking show and embedded it right on a Facebook application from Ustream.  Ustream ran the show on its front page.  We incorporated social interactions as they occurred on the TV show.  Our celebrity chef urge people to leave comments on Facebook and Twitter and part of the show was designated to answer questions directly from social channels.
  • Daily Giveaway. We built and are managing a year-long sweepstakes for a client where people from around the country share their desire for an adventure and the equipment they would need to fulfill it.  We pick one winner each day based on the creativity of the adventures and give them a gift package to make their adventure come true.  All of the adventure stories are archived and people can read, share and comment on them.  In the first few weeks more than 12,000 people shared their fantasy adventures with us.

There are few obstacles to doing most anything on social platforms like Facebook.

But if you’re thinking about social media in simple terms then you’ll likely get simple returns.  If you start to think about social media as a platform that can support multimedia, applications, software and games then you’ll likely get big returns.

Remember the biggest part of an iceberg is always what lies under the surface of the ocean.  This is why it is important for brands to partner not only with creative social media consultants, but consultants that inherently understand the platforms as part of their DNA.

What about you?  How are you using social media platforms?  Are you stuck with think about Facebook as a status update and Twitter as a tweet?

Links:

Why Outsourcing Social Media is Critical for Brands

 

Business, Content Creation, Social Media, Social Media Consulting
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Bad Blogging: A Guide

April 30, 2012 by gfsnell3 3 Comments

Every blogger – at some point – is guilty of bad blogging.

Blogging is fast – Internet fast.  And that means making mistakes.  It means errors in judgement.  It means writing and publishing on a whim.  It means writing without an editor (or a proofreader).

In means writing without a net.

And that’s dangerous.

Not physically dangerous, of course (although I’m sure some of my more angry commenters probably wish they could pop over to my house and poke me in the eye).  But dangerous on an emotional level.

People blast you.  Misunderstand you.  Yell at you.  Call you vile names.  Tell you that you’re an idiot.

If you’re a blogger – grow thick, bark-like skin.

You’ll need it (which is why having a background in journalism is a big advantage).

So what are the sins of bad blogging?  There are many – but here are a few of my favorites.

The Attack on Englitch

Many bloggers treat the English language as an inconvenience.  Unfortunately, there are others who treat it like a soccer ball – and kick the crap out of it all day long.

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to read ungrammatical sentences riddled with misspellings, word misuse, and typos.

Solution: Buy a dictionary.  Brush up on acceptable grammar usage. Use the preview button before posting to proofread your work.  You won’t catch all of your mistakes (few can), but you’ll snag and correct the glaring ones.

The Groan Inducing Metaphor Post

A few weeks ago, I had fun with this concept as I examined the plethora of blog posts out there that had discovered “lessons” for social media in the most interesting places – from the Ground Zero Mosque to water skiing.  It would be difficult not to cry if it wasn’t so ridiculously funny (see the link below).

Finding truth, lessons, and the profound hidden in the everyday happens all the time.  But does the world really need a blog post about finding meanings in social media from skin care magazines?

Solution: Dance lightly around metaphors.  It is a short walk from the profound to the absurd.

Channeling a Raving Lunatic

Guess what?  Blogging in the middle of a temper tantrum is a big honking mistake.

Yes, writing can be cathartic.  It can help calm you down.  It can help you sort out your arguments and allow you to see the holes in your own logic.  So by all means write while angry.  But pen your profanity-laced tirade in a notebook – not published to your RSS-enabled blog.

Solution: Never press publish when spittle is still flying from you lips.

Umm, It’s an Anthill

Not a mountain.  Blogging by nature can be hyperbolic (some would argue that’s all it is).  A common – and lazy – post is the one where the blogger take personal umbrage at an individual or brand that happens to pull a social media snafu.

Oh, the horror!

As I’ve noted many times, making mistakes in social media is a given.  It’s a new media with no set rules and people are experimenting with what works and what doesn’t.  Analyzing the pros and the cons of any social campaign is what good blogging is about.

Creating a tempest and shrieking about how offended you are? Not so much.

Solution: Turn down the rhetoric.

Sermon on the Mountain

Ministers preach, bloggers shouldn’t.  There’s nothing like a wagging finger to turn a reader off.  Providing advice and counsel is one thing, but to preach fire and brimstone, my-way-or-the-highway guidelines is arrogant and obnoxious.

Solution: Advise, don’t sermonize.

We’re All Going to Die!

Facebook is dead!  Twitter is dead!  Blogging is dead!  Dead is dead!  Thankfully, this meme of bloggers declaring things dead seems to be dead – or at least in remission.

The only thing that’s really dead is MySpace (okay, see, how easy it is to fall into this trap?).

Solution: Keep things alive.

Me, Myself & I

I think this.  I do that.  I believe this.  I know this.  I’m wicked awesome.  I’m wicked smart.  I’m like totally incredible.  My opinions are always right.  I’m the center of the known universe.  I’m good looking.  I’m fashionable.  I’m a trendsetter.  My opinions?  Never wrong.  I’m wonderful.  I’m nice.  I’m on the cutting edge.  I’m better, faster, stronger and more successful than, well, you.

Yeah, that gets tiresome after a while.

Solution: Realize that you are not all that special – even though you did get a participation trophy for playing soccer.

I’d love to hear your bad blogging stories or have you provide other examples of bad blogging.

Links:

1 Lesson on Social Media from a Salami Sandwich

The Only Guarantee in Social Media? Mistakes

The Punishment for Failing to Use Social Media is Death

Blogging, Writing
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How to Proliferate Content

April 26, 2012 by gfsnell3 0 Comments

So you develop this really cool content…

Now what?

For many brands it means publishing the content on their digital and social channels – blog, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. – and then waiting for people to interact and share it.

Sometimes this works, but sometimes it doesn’t.

The reason is because having a content strategy for owned digital channels is more than just producing the content – even though that’s become the primary focus for most brands.

There is no doubt that creating content – and creating good content – is the key to any content marketing strategy.  But creating content isn’t enough.

To produce and proliferate digital content there are three areas of focus:

1. Production

This is the creative side.  The brainstorms!  The ideas!

Brands are teaming with fascinating stories and cool campaigns – and there are dozens of ways to bring these narratives to life (presentations, blog posts, events, videos, applications, infographics, cartoons, websites – you name it really).  How to tell these stories and bring these campaigns to life is what production is all about.  It is creating the content.

Most brands get the production side of thing.  They understand that it takes content to create a TV ad.  It takes content to fill social networks.  It takes content to build an iPhone application.  It takes content to write a blog post.

Content, content everywhere…

2. Syndication

But once you have your content – what do you do with it?  How do you distribute it?  How do you get people to interact and share it?  That’s your syndication strategy.  And it is as diverse, complex and creative as producing the content in the first place.

Why?

Because there are so many ways to distribute content – from traditional modes such as marketing, PR and advertising to amazing new ways via social networks, social advertising, applications, blogger relations, and search optimization.

The key to a successful syndication strategy is to understand your audience.  Where are they?  How do they find content?  What makes them share it?  The successful syndication process works best when it is a mix of social, search, public relations and communications and advertising.

Syndication = discovery.

3. Integration

Content does best in crowds, which is why it should live in many places.

Stand-alone content can work, of course.  Like a blog post.  Have a great idea for a post and you can publish it on your blog.  But if you really want to get it noticed why not think about integration?  How does the content fit in other areas of your marketing and communications – as an event, as a op-ed, as a video, as a Facebook status update.

How can the content you created be integrated into other formats?  How can it be used across platforms?

Can it support or is it being supported by other content?  Is it part of something larger?  Better yet can the content itself be the center of a larger campaign?

Syndication and integration components are essential to content creation.  Adding them to the mix gives every brand what they want from content:

  • Engagement
  • Sharing
  • And, of course, passionate and loyal customers

What do you think?  Are you all about content?  Have you thought about syndication and integration?

Links:

7 Tips for Getting Your Content Noticed

Blank Canvas

Business, Content Creation, Social Media, Social Media Consulting
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Following Isn’t a Lifelong Commitment

April 24, 2012 by gfsnell3 2 Comments

Ye ole Twitter ball and chain.

But a lot of people think it is.

Every now and then I take the time to cull through the people I follow and connect with on my social networks.  I look at Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and others to see who I’m following and why.

Admittedly, I’m connected to too many people.  It’s part of my job and I can overextend.

My goal has never really been to compile a lot of followers (although if I’m honest I have gone through periods where I wanted more people following me.  Probably a feeling that most of us experience.  After all who doesn’t want recognition and popularity?  But I’ve learned not to worry about it).  My primary goal these days is to get value from my networks.

Let me use Twitter as an example.

Twitter can be tough.  I follow more than 1,800 people.  To help organize Twitter, I use TweetDeck to segment people into groups and categories: news, sports, social media, clients, media, book lovers, etc.  I have more than a dozen categories filled with people and brands.  I try to keep an eye on my main stream of tweets, but it’s easy for things to get lost there.

Every few months, I edit my lists – deleting some followers, adding others.  Heck, sometimes I scrap entire groups and lists because I’m no longer interested in the category.  This can sometimes lead to hurt feelings.  A blast from someone I used to follow angry with my decision.  An instant “unfollow” as revenge.

Let me clear: It isn’t personal.

Yet I understand why people take it that way.  I feel the same way when I realize that a colleague who I’m following isn’t following me back.  My reaction is: Really?

It hurts to be rejected – even if it’s not personal.

But we all need to learn not to worry about it.  You can drive yourself crazy with that stuff.  Social networks can feel like high school all over again as we all compete for followers and fans.  Hopefully, we’ll all mature with our usage of these channels and realize that audience size shouldn’t always be an end goal.

We all also need a dose of reality.  Circumstances – life – changes.  A connection with someone on a social network isn’t a permanent condition.  You don’t have to keep all your high school and college friends forever.  If you move to another job it is okay to disconnect with colleagues you no longer work with.  If you’re no longer interested in a TV show or a product – you can drop them.

Twitter isn’t and shouldn’t be a lifelong commitment.

What do you think?  Are we all too obsessed with follower numbers?  Do you get hurt when you’re “socially” dumped?  Or do you even bother to check anymore?

Links:

10 Tips for Using a Personal Twitter Account Professionally

Culture, Social Media, Social Media Consulting
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Does Commenting Add Any Value?

April 19, 2012 by gfsnell3 7 Comments

The North American Internet Troll also known as "Jerkus Flamus."

Do you read comments?

For me the answer is: It depends.

I often read the comments on my favorite blogs.

The comments on blogs generally add value.  Often there are debates breaking out around the issues the blogger has explored in his/her post.  I like reading how people are reacting to the content and the multiple points of view people put forth.

The blogs I frequent also have a steady and reasonable amount of comments to sort through – sometimes 2 or 3 and other times dozens. But there are never so many comments that it feels overwhelming.

In this context, I’m a big fan of and a consumer of comments.

That said I rarely, if ever, read comments on mainstream media sites like the New York Times, Boston.com or CNN.  The discourse is a cesspool and caters to the trolls.  You only have to scroll through a few comments before it begins to turn toxic – racism, sexism, profanity, personal insults, rudeness, and ugly propaganda.

Even with the filters put up by many news outlets, the trolls have figured out creative shortcuts to circumvent them.  There’s also the matter of having to sort through hundreds – sometimes thousands of comments.

If I ran a mainstream media site, I’d likely shutdown the comment section.  The only alternative is what mainstream media sites have refused to do – hire a moderator and establish strict rules of protocol.

For example:

  • Establish and publish rules for commenting – and enforce them.
  • Forbid anonymous commenting.  Use Facebook Connect as the login so people have to post as themselves.  No more aliases.
  • Moderate the comments.  That means every comment goes into a queue to await approval by the blog or publication.  Comments that don’t meet the criteria for civility get automatically deleted.
  • Have the blog author or journalist (or at least a community manager) actually engage with the commenters.  Isn’t that the point of allowing commenting in the first place?  For engagement, debate and conversation?  One of the primary reasons that commenting on blogs is so much better than on mainstream media sites is that the blog author is actively involved.

So what about you?  Read comments?  Avoid them?  Do they add value to the online news sources you frequent?

Links:

Turning the Tables on Comment Sections via BigThink

Much Ado About Commenting

Blogging, Journalism, Social Media
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10 Tips For Creating a Twitter Account You Can Use Professionally

April 16, 2012 by gfsnell3 2 Comments

Social media is a slippery slope when it comes to maintaining personal and professional profiles.  It is becoming more difficult to maintain an equal, but separate relationship.

This is true specifically on Twitter.

More often than not professional people are required to use their personal Twitter accounts in the course of their careers: to interact with clients, to network, to meet potential new business contacts, to share information about your company, and to discover new ideas.

Even if you don’t specifically use your account for professional purposes be aware that partners, clients, customers, and human resource professionals will be reviewing your Twitter account.  As a result, it can have a powerful effect the impression you leave on these people.

That’s why it is crucial to keep your profile professional, but with a personal flair.  This can be a difficult balance.

So in no particular order here are 10 tips for keeping your profile professional.  And enjoy some of my favorite real Twitter bios that are, well, not exactly best practices material…

Tip #1: Fill out your biography

It’s amazing to me the number of people who leave their bios blank or don’t take the time to write a good one.  Your Twitter bio is often the first impression people get of you on the network.  So put your best foot forward.  People often check bios when deciding whether to follow someone.  They want to check and see if the persons shares their interests, geography or career.  As a rule, I rarely follow back anyone who hasn’t deigned to fill out the bio.

———-

(•_•) I am limited edition, enjoy me while you can, cuz once I’m gone there ain’t no getting me back! Sooooo follow me and I’ll follow back(:

———-

Tip #2: Make sure your bio describes what you do for a living

Some companies frown on being mentioned in personal bios.  But many do not.  So include them in your Twitter bio if you can.  For example, I include the @webershandwick handle in my bio.  It’s a live link that sends traffic to the Weber Shandwick Twitter account.  If can’t do this then provide a description of your job title or responsibilities: VP of Sales or Marketing Director will suffice.

———-

I’m a mildly-amusing jerk, illustrator and drummer. Regularly surrounded by idiots. Join, follow and stalk me.

———-

Tip #3: Make sure to share your passions, interests, hobbies and areas of expertise in your bio

People want to connect with people they relate to.  So give them a reason.  Tell them about what professional topics interest you.  But don’t stop there – open up and give a peek into your personal passions.  If they overlap – all the better.  And please be specific.  Telling your followers that you like “a few other things” isn’t that impressive.  And be smart about what your share.  Having an interest in erotica might be over sharing if you’re not a writer of it and is it really necessary to inform people that you’re a “party animal” or an “Anarchist”?

———-

Learning everyday. My life is just a local train station people come into and leave as soon as they get the chance.

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Tip #4: Avoid using double entendres, profanity and slang in your bio

Why would you ever describe yourself as a “trend whore” or as a “slut for social media”?  Yes, I’ve seen both in bios.  As a general rule try to avoid slang like “ain’t,” “gonna,” and “geek.”  And profanity – even stuff like “I’m here to kick-ass!” – comes across as juvenile.

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My favourite bands are MM and MIW. I’m not a slave to a world doesn’t give me a s**t. I hate Catolithism and Church. I’m not baptized, please Don’t pray for me

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Tip #5: Be positive!

Focus on the value you’ll provide followers.  Why tell them you “share way to much!” or  are  “too sarcastic”?  Instead put it in a more favorable wrapper: “I love to share my passions!” or “I enjoy sarcastic humor.”

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 All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.

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Tip #6: Spell check your bio

If you’re a freelance writer then you shouldn’t write “Free Lance Writer.”  Spelling counts.

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I’m dull. 

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Tip #7: Use common sense with your profile photograph

First, having a photograph is crucial.  Not having one identifies you as a novice.  But photographs of you hugging your girlfriend at the beach, showing off your cleavage in a halter top or guzzling a bottle scotch probably aren’t going to leave the impression you’re looking for.  Head shots actually work on Twitter.

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 F*** you & your swag! Does it look like a give a flying f***???

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Tip #8: Provide your location

Geography is important.  It’s not necessary to provide your exact location, but saying you work in Chicago or Boston is helpful and provides a frame of reference.  If you’re uncomfortable with being city specific – try using your state.

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I am the Prince of West Hampstead, The Fabulous Bastard of North Shields and The Sunshine on Longbenton.

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Tip #9: Provide a web link for people interested in more information about you

Twitter is great for networking.  So why not give people a better opportunity to learn more about you.  Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile, your Google+ account, your About.Me account or your blog or personal webpage.

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I’m so F***ing Happy I Could S**t Rainbows!

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Tip #10: Understand the medium

Twitter is huge.  There are more than 250 million people on the platform – from all across the world.  It’s important to remember that in this teeming collection of humanity there’s a good chance you’ll offend or anger someone with your tweets.  Simply stating your religion or your favorite sports team can set some people off.  You can avoid conflict and messy flame wars by ignoring the trolls.  You don’t have to respond to ugly behavior.  If you do engage with those your disagree with you – do so politely.  You can be firm and opinionated without being rude.

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I’m quite friendly. :) My personality is strange though.

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Bonus Tip #11: The golden rule for Twitter: Pretend you’re talking to people face to face

It’s amazing what people will say when they think they are protected by the Internet.  However, this is only an illusion.  When you are tweeting under your own name and identity, you are responsible for your what you say.  Always remember that.

Happy tweeting!

And feel free to add your own tips and observations about using your personal Twitter account professionally.

Social Media, Social Media Consulting
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