Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
We love Facebook because it makes it easier to share information with more people at the same time than any other tool we have. Why is that so revolutionary?
Because a family photo, an event you’re attending, an accomplishment you’re proud of, something that drives you crazy, your latest purchase, the song you’re listening to, the meal you’ve cooked, the photo you’ve taken, the news story you find interesting, the cause you’re involved in, the day you’ve had…now can be shared with everyone you’re connected to, instantaneously.
Nowhere else is that possible. Not by email, not by text, not by chat. Nowhere.
And, this is the key: after a while, it feels weird to do anything without sharing it with your audience of family, friends, co-workers, classmates, friends of friends, etc.
That’s what makes Facebook so powerful. 500-million-people powerful. What the founders have tapped into, albeit accidentally is: humans are natural performers….we crave attention from the minute we’re born.
So, if you are wondering why Facebook is such a hot topic, now you know. But you already knew that, right? (Please share this article!)
Next: Why Businesses Love Facebook
Tags: Facebook, Social Media
Posted in Facebook, Social Media | 1 Comment »
July 29th, 2010
The other day I tweeted this about the fact that I had waited too long to book a Zipcar for the Memorial Day weekend:
@BeVisible no cars left for mem day at Zipcar 
Well, guess what? I got a call from Todd Lieberman, the fleet manager for Zipcar in NYC. He said that he understood that I wasn’t able to get a car for Memorial Day and he would like going try find one for me if I was still interested.
I was floored! I didn’t even remember sending that Tweet! Kudos for Zipcar!
This is a perfect example of how Social Media works so well for business.
1. Customer Care: Todd made me feel like the most important customer Zipcar has. And I don’t even use the service much these days!
2. Reputation: It showed that Zipcar really cares about their company’s reputation.
3. Authenticity: Now Todd personifies Zipcar in my mind. I have his phone number and email address if I need help later on.
4. Graciousness: When I couldn’t get a Zipcar. I reserved a car from a traditional rental company for the weekend. In spite of that, Todd still found a car for me, and gave me the option to take it or leave it. He even placed it in my reservations for me!
What does this do for Zipcar’s bottom line? What’s the ROI? Well, I am tweeting and writing about how great they are! I have 6,000 Twitter followers. You figure out what the ROI is on the one phone call from Todd.
So, Zipcar, keep up the great work and I’ll continue to be a brand ambassador for ya!
Tags: Social Media, Zipcar
Posted in Social Media | 3 Comments »
May 23rd, 2010
How can Social Media help my business grow? This is a question I get asked a lot. And I can quote lots of examples of how businesses are successfully using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But use Social Media to grow a medical practice? That may seem a little far-fetched, right?
I have a client who is a dentist. Not only is he a great dentist, he’s also a lot of fun. His personality combined with is skill is the reason why his patients (myself included) love (and don’t dread) going to the dentist.
I helped him develop a website, and now create a blog. For many months, he asked me over and over, “I don’t understand what blogging is going to do for me”. I really felt, and so did his friends, that my dentist’s natural love of conversation and pontificating on any subject is the perfect combination of traits to make a great blogger!
So, finally, armed with a laptop, the doctor began to blog, usually on train on his way home. In the meantime, I set up a Facebook Fan Page for him and invited all his personal friends to become his fans (of course, his children were his first fans!).
The first blog was posted last week and simultaneously appeared on the doc’s Facebook Fan Page. Lo and behold! On her wall, some of his daughter’s Facebook friends saw the post and said “Hey! I didn’t know your dad is a dentist! I need a new dentist!” Guess what? New patients!
So, what’s the moral of this story?
• Blogging increases the visibility of your business, even if you are a medical professional.
• Your friends’ friends are a great source of new customers (patients).
• Social Media works!
Do you have any similar experiences you can share?
Tags: Blog, Blogging, Facebook, Social Media
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media | 4 Comments »
December 3rd, 2009
Insights from The Gravity Summit in NYC
I hear this all the time: “If Twitter doesn’t start making money soon, it won’t be around for very long.” Yes, Twitter is a great tool. I spend hours upon hours using it for my own company and for clients. But I don’t really care if Twitter is here to stay.
What is important is that Twitter represents the most significant shift in the way we communicate since the telephone was introduced. Twitter is short, real-time messaging and is changing the way we will get and share information in the future.
Twitter isn’t for just geeks; it’s being used by businesses to market, by fire departments to get to emergencies faster, and by charities to reach donors. Twitter is a breaking news channel. It’s the Yellow Pages on steroids. It’s a social networking site. It’s a research tool. In fact, it’s so content-rich that Google and Bing are now including Tweets in their search results. But, if Twitter disappeared tomorrow, not much would change.
There are hundreds of other platforms (some just as good, some even better) that are ready to replace Twitter in the blink of an eye.
So if you have been standing on the sidelines hoping Twitter will just “go away” it’s time to dip your toe in. Twitter may not be around forever, but this new form of communication will. Get started!
Tags: Gravity Summit, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »
November 17th, 2009
Today Chris Brogan, one of my favorite people, posted a short video called “Small Talk is Big.”
It’s about the rewards that you get from showing interest in the people you meet every day. I totally agree with him. I’ve met Chris and he’s a natural. His genuine interest in people shows through in everything he does; from his best selling book, “Trust Agents” to the way he engages people in social situations. For me, learning the art of Small Talk was not easy. Unlike Chris, I wasn’t a “natural” so it was hard work for me to get there. But I can say without reservation that it is the most valuable skill I have ever learned for business and for my personal life.
So, if you are like I used to be, here are some tips to help you come out of your shell:
Pretend you are Oprah.
Really! Watch some talk shows. Talk show hosts are masters at making people feel comfortable and open up by asking them the right questions at the right times. And they do it without losing themselves in the process. Try it. Next time you are in a social situation (business too) pretend it’s your job to interview people for a living. You’ll be really surprised at what happens.
Be inquisitive in a nice way.
There’s a good possibility that the people you meet are just as uncomfortable with Small Talk as you are. It’s easy to make people feel comfortable by showing an interest in something about them (people love to talk about their jobs, their families, etc.). You will find out that you have a lot more in common than you ever guessed and by focusing on them; you will not be focusing on your own anxiety.
Leave your “salesman shoes” at home.
There is a fine line between showing genuine interest and simply looking for “sales signals,” and believe me, people can perceive the difference. Understand that developing relationships is a process. Don’t only work to get to “Yes”.
Don’t be scared to share.
Don’t be afraid to share a bit of yourself even with strangers. A personal story or anecdote opens up a whole world of possibilities of great exchanges and conversation whether you are talking to a clerk in a store or to your biggest client.
Developing the art of “Small Talk” has enabled me to become fast friends with many people who at first meeting seemed to have nothing in common with me. These relationships have helped me grow my business and have expanded my circle of friends exponentially…most of all have enriched my life. And, what’s more, our Social Media activites are the digital version of in-person Small Talk. So learn, enjoy, and share with me your experiences.
Click here to watch Chris Brogan’s “Small Talk” video (it’s really short).
Tags: Chris Brogan, Conversation, Sales, Small Talk, Social Media
Posted in Networking, Social Media | 1 Comment »
November 8th, 2009
OK, you created an account on Twitter, you (hopefully) completed your profile, added a short but interesting bio, entered your website URL, and are now ready to start Tweeting. But you are still confused about how to use it.
If that describes you, then you’re not alone. The most common question I get from friends and clients when I talk about Twitter, is “How do I manage this constant stream of information?”
Well, we are so lucky that there are many, many tools that have been developed to help us use Twitter better, faster and more efficiently. Every day I discover more and I try to test most of them, but here’s a list of my three favorites. (and they are all FREE).
(more…)
Tags: Social Media, SocialOomph, TweetDeck, TweetLater, Twitter, Twitter tools, Twollo
Posted in Social Media, Twitter | 2 Comments »
August 31st, 2009
As promised, here are more definitions of Twitter supplied by my friends, my network, and my followers. It seems as if the fastest growing social media phenomenon of our day is incredibly hard for people to describe. Possibly because Twitter serves so many different kinds of purposes to so many different people.
What surprised me most about this survey is that I received some really negative definitions of Twitter…from marketing people! I didn’t reprint them fearing that out of context it would seem as if they came from me (plus there were some four letter words in many of them!) I certainly can understand people who, because they don’t understand Twitter, are skeptical about it. But marketing people…get real!
That being said, I would love to hear YOUR definition. Here are some more definitions that people sent to me. Any of them ring true to you?
What is Twitter (Again)?
- An extremely powerful Internet marketing tool when you have an effective Twitter strategy consistent with your overall brand.
- A filtered real-time human thought custom RSS feed.
- Both a megaphone and microscope. Just don’t put an avatar with a beautiful bikini model, don’t sell Amway and don’t talk about yourself all damn day.
- A micro-blogging platform primarily used to provide status updates as to our whereabouts and activities of interest
- The laziest method of blogging possible.
- Centralized live news feed, offering followers snippets of information of current information, news, trends, topics, etc.
- A short-form messaging platform that allows you to publish messages in less than 140 characters through different mediums like desktop applications, cell-phones, and the web.
- A broadcast medium that is like reading and writing headlines.  It is a great way to get to know people and people get to know you – as in all the social communities. I like how fast paced Twitter is and it works with my attention span – getting snippets of news and choosing what you would like to read into more as many people give you links to more detailed information.
- AÂ micro-blog that has enabled the formation of a new breed of online communities to grow and exchange information at a faster than ever pace, approaching real time.
- Twitter transmits twaddle.
- Broadcasting to the world.
- The vain of our existence.
- Electronic stalking for the hyperactive individual.
- The question should be, how do you, personally, use Twitter?
- A great line of communication between companies & clients.
- A way to learn what’s happening and who’s talking right now worldwide. It’s a way to search for and join conversations.
- A little green ego machine.
Tags: Social Media, Twitter, Twitter Definition
Posted in Local Business, Social Media, Twitter | 1 Comment »
August 20th, 2009
I was honored to be part of a panel discussion about Social Media for the event planning industry yesterday at the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. So many people want to know more about how to use Blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter for business. My close friend Elizabeth Beskin and I were the presenters. Here are slides from the presentation. Video will also be available soon!
Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »
August 13th, 2009
I spend a lot of time these days talking to local businesses about Social Media and discussing how they can use Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other channels. And that can be challenging because in many cases people have a hard time seeing the connection between online social activities and their businesses. Sometimes even in spite of the fact that they are familiar with one or more social channels already for their personal use.
I have discovered that telling stories about how other businesses are using Social Media to be the best way to get to that “AHA!” moment where the possiblities are suddenly staring them right in the face.
I came across this article in the New York Times that I think successfully illustrates the opportunities for local business to successfully use Twitter. Take a look and let me know your thoughts!
Click here:
Mom-and-Pop Operators Turn to Social Media, The New York Times
Tags: Blog, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2009
Question: A patient of mine who is pretty web-savvy has been repeatedly telling me I should start a blog. Should I? What would it consist of, given my profession as psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist and trauma specialist? Dr. Barbara Nadel, D.C.S.W., Ph.D. www.drbarbaranadel.com
Your patient may be right. She could be urging you to start a blog because she believes that you have something to say that would be valuable to people. I can imagine that you could help a lot of people by sharing what you learn in your practice.
Your blog can be your place to voice opinions, give advice, answer questions, post videos, and anything else you can think of. But blogging is mostly sharing information.
Don’t know if you have anything to share? Then ask yourself a couple of questions:
1. Who is your audience? Is it your current patients, your colleagues, your friends, all of the above?
2. What are the benefits of having a blog?
There can be a lot of benefits to writing a blog, and many of them are incidental. Here are just a few:
- Credibility: your blog gives you a platform from which to set yourself apart from others in your field.
- Visibility: your blog can help you become more visible when people are looking for you online because search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) love fresh content and look for websites that are regularly updated.
- Supports Word of Mouth: For me, this is a biggie. Let’s say someone refers you to a new patient. Your blog, more than even your website, allows that prospective new patient to find out who you are before he or she calls.
- Fun: Your blog gives you the opportunity to share your successes and tell stories that are meaningful to you. And, that’s a lot of fun! (see my post about co-writing a blog http://tinyurl.com/mdv7lr)
Once you identify who your audience is and what the purpose of your blog will be, it will be a lot easier to figure out what the content should be. Get your inspiration from reading other blogs (this is a list of blogs about psychology for you to peruse: “40 Superb Psychology Blogs” http://tinyurl.com/kmgp8u)
Plus, I recommend that you write some blog posts even before your blog is setup. Just to get a feel of it and see if blogging is something that you want to do. Then when your blog is ready (or when you are ready to publish) you will already have some content to upload. I recommend this wonderful eBook: 31 Days to a Better Blog to help you find your “blog voice”. http://www.problogger.net/31dbbb-workbook/
In Social Media, a blog is often where everything else revolves: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many other social network channels can be set-up so that your blog posts are automatically fed into them and that people who are your followers, friends and fans, can see what you are saying.
Want to know more about blogging? Just ask me a Question!
Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Social Media
Posted in Blogging, Social Media | 2 Comments »
July 21st, 2009
Just Ask Betsy....The Be Visible Blog
