Options, Options, Options

As noted in the previous post once a company decides to use social media as a business tool, which platforms are the best to use?  The simple answer is there is no simple answer.  Depending on the industry you are in some of the more popular platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, WordPress, Google Plus, FlickR, 500px, to name a few.  So where do you begin.  Let's break things down a little further.


These are the main types of social media: 1) Weblogs 2) Internet Forums 3) Podcasts 4) Social Blogs 5) Microblogs 6) Social Networks 7) Bookmarking sites

1) Weblogs are sites that contain a log of links to sites or pages that the author finds interesting.  Many major newspapers have Weblog sites where they simply provide links to related articles on topics they have already written on.

2) Internet Forums are online discussion sites or message boards which enable people to hold conversations or discussions.  Zerply would be an example.

3) Podcasts which also include video are sites where users can record and post an on going series relating to a specific theme or topic.  Youtube would be one of the most popular examples of a hosting sight geared towards hosting a video podcast.  The user posts a series of videos.

4) Social Blogs are sites where users can post articles or simply photos or images.  Common Social Blog sites are Blogger, Wordpress or Tumblr

5)  Microblogs are sites where users can post short limited messages or provide links to other sites. Twitter is a well known microblogging site.  Twitter

6) Social Networks are essentially sites where users can network, share pictures, upload files. Facebook, Google Plus, FlickR.

7) Bookmarking sites are places where you can store: recipes, links to your favorite websites, interesting articles that you have read etc. Common Bookmarking sites are Digg, Pocket, Delicious, StumbleUpon

Sometimes these categories will be broken down further or condensed into 6 types of social media, for example at the OutThinkGroup webpage social media sites are broken down into 6 categories.

For an interesting look at the types of social media users head over to Pam Dyer's article on Socialmediatoday's website.

Pick your battles

When it comes to running a business there are always hard decisions to make. Successful businesses can't afford to be indecisive and allow themselves to make poor judgement calls.  Poor judgement calls can have serious negative consequences for a business.  It can be the cause of losing major clients, loss of revenues, and in extreme cases bankruptcy.  Picking your battles in business is key to ensuring the survival of your investments.

When it comes to entering the battlefield of social media the tactics of making wise business decisions are essential.  Poor choices in how a business engages in social media can have major reprocussions.  Liabilities and lawsuits can happen by using sites like Twitter improperly.  See the linked articles below.

Woman sued for $50K over Twitter message
Twitter Sues Five Spamming Sites
Courtney Love Sued over Twitter comment
Lack of Cyber Liability

When a company chooses to engage in using social media it is very important to set up a few ground rules.

1) Determine which sites are worthy of your time and investment.  It is easy to sign up for every new social site that becomes available.  Is Pinterest really something that an Accounting firm needs?  Being over-engaged in social media can be a waste of time and resources.

2) Set a game plan.  If you are going to run a blog for example determine ahead of time the frequency of posts.  One of the earliest mistakes a blogger can make is jumping in heads first posting all kinds of material and then running out of new material.  This is a sure method to lose followers fast.  Have a well thought out plan.

3) Have a company policy in place both for using social media as a business tool and for employee use.

4) If you are going to engage in social media use it.  Don't create media accounts and then just abandon them.  Many companies create Facebook Pages solicit all kinds of users and then never post or update the page.

5) Stay current.  Business social media accounts which have strong followings engage their users by keeping up to date by initiating discussions, providing users with the latest news in their industry and if appropriate provide your company's thoughts, advice or perspective on current trends.

6)  Be punctual, professional and speak the grammatically correct language of the region you are engaging.  There is nothing worse than reading a blog full of grammatical errors or viewing a company's tweets with poor abbreviations.

7)  Do not spam.  Let me repeat do not spam.  Spam is unwanted and is illegal in many countries.  When someone decides they wish to follow your online posts they are looking for a unique user experience.  Provide it!  But do not flood their emails, timelines and profiles with excessive and unnecessary information.  Be clear, concise and informative!

With these thoughts in mind it is now time for you to analyze the potential that particular social media applications can provide to your company.