Author Archives: Jan Wong

Are You Lost on #SocialMedia (even with the tools)?

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Just a couple of days ago I was traveling downtown for an event. I must admit that I wasn’t sure of the directions as I seldom go by there but I thought it will be okay – with my trusty Google Maps. After all, it has never failed me. I hooked it up, followed its directions confidently… and lo and behold, it led me directly into a one-way street (and I would go against traffic). “Well, it happens”, I thought. A quick recalculation pointed out a new direction… which eventually led me to the same road. To cut the long story short – eventually I was directed out of the vicinity after almost an hour of trial and error.

I was pretty much annoyed and upset over this TOOL I relied on the get me there and it got me thinking – are businesses and individuals today facing similar situations? Yes, you have the tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, etc) and perhaps even have the guidebook (e.g. how to create compelling content, how to create an awesome Facebook page, etc) but yet unable to get your bearings right?

Are You Lost? 5 Steps to Be Found Again!

#1: Admit That You’re Lost

Sometimes it is difficult to admit that you’re lost. Excuses such as “it doesn’t work for my business” only makes you feel better but it is time to put that ego aside. One thing about social media is that you can never stop learning, especially when it continues to change everyday. Even the pros continue to learn – it is a continuous cycle.

#2: Ask for Directions

It’s time to put away that map or tool (e.g. guidebook) of yours and start talking to people – people that are able to give you advice. The cool thing about social media is that most pros are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. @markwschaefer is one good example with his community {grow}. In other words, it is time to get personal, to communicate, to engage, to get help.

#3: Don’t Take Shortcuts

There really is no shortcut on social media. One said social media is like running a marathon, not a sprint race. You’ll notice that most advice revolves around producing quality content, spending time listening to conversations on Twitter, commenting on blogs, guest posting and etc – all these takes time, it is a race of endurance for lasting results. Buying fans or followers won’t get you anywhere except for boosting your ego. Shortcuts are a no-no.

#4: Test the Directions

This is the simplest step of all but yet the most difficult. Simply because there are many, many out there that either procrastinate, ignorant or simply cannot be bothered with the new directions. Yes, sometimes it may be a detour but as long it gets you there, why not?

#5: Monitor its Results

You need to know how the new directions are working for you. It is only then you’ll be able to gauge its effectiveness (or not) to make adjustments if necessary. A simple tool such as Google Analytics can go a long way if you’re wanting to measure visits to your site.

Have you been lost on social media before? What did you do to get back on track? I’d love to hear your experience!

Beneath the Dollar Signs

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Have you attended seminars by internet marketers promising never-work-again concepts with huge “guaranteed(?)” profits? Or perhaps see them tweeting selling away on social networks such as Twitter?

They show you impressive screenshots of PayPal withdrawals and Adsense payouts, followed by a chart indicating the potential of their “proven(?)” system that make you back your investment within 90 days.

Sounds familiar?

Interestingly, I’ve been bombarded with similar encounters a little more than usual in the past week. I’ve been sitting down with a couple of people to hear of their awesome business plans that can make them thousands monthly and how they are going to start off.

Guess what?

They do not know how to

Sure, they have this product that could make them money and it may come with a guidebook or some sort but do they know how to go about marketing it? Don’t get me wrong – they KNOW what needs to be done. After all, it is in that guidebook provided for. “Advertise on pay-to-click (PTC) sites for traffic”, “Advertise on Google Adwords”, “Use Facebook Ads for targeted traffic”, “Use this web template and get your website started for traffic”. Awesome strategies… but HOW?

I believe all of us are somewhat related to the situation above. It may not  be exactly the same, but have you got caught in a situation where you’re stuck, not knowing how exactly to make it happen for you to replicate the success?

Here are 5 Painful Truths

Painful Truth #1:

Things are never as simple as it seems to be.

See how some bloggers grow at a rocket pace, receiving bucket loads of retweets, Adsense earnings, sky rocketing Google Analytics charts and etc? You’ve no idea how much effort was put for that to happen – many successful personalities only managed to get where they’re at through past mistakes and heaps of experience. Think about this way – if a specific system can get you rich in 90 days, why aren’t everyone rich yet?

Painful Truth #2:

What worked for others may not work for you.

Yes, and I’ll say that again. In fact, what worked for you may not work for me either. Every individual has its own ecosystem consisting of different networks, people, culture, even location. These factors can very well determine how far (or short) a distance you can go. Think about it – if you’re selling football boots among a group of football friends, you can definitely do a much better job than someone else whom has group of friends that plays tennis instead.

Painful Truth #3:

You’re blinded by the dollar signs.

We all want to be successful in one way or another and sometimes, success can be blinding. You saw the potential and you wanted it for yourself. Nothing wrong in that but if you become too fixated on that alone, you’ll lose out all the fun or experience that comes along the way and in some cases, lose out on the success itself. Take blogging for an example: If your only goal is to make money out of your blog – you may not reach it. Simply because you’re missing out on the essence of blogging itself and may have branched out too quickly onto paid advertorials, ad placements and etc – driving all your readers away!

Painful Truth #4:

You’re in for great challenge.

For some, it is a new learning curve – how to create an effective squeeze page, how to use Twitter to build a network, how to create a community on Facebook or in a worse case scenario – how to use that product in the first place. For another, it may be the competition. Understand this – if someone is already making millions out of that specific product, it can mean two things: either the product is awesome; or the market is already saturated. Plus, everyone else that has the same idea with you will be doing the same thing. How will you be different from them?

Painful Truth #5:

Short cuts?

Unfortunately, there are none. One can only advice and assist but there is no success formula. However if you do have one, I would love to hear you out ;)

 

How about you? Have you come across similar situations? Do share them with me by leaving a comment below :)

An Era of Online Commerce in Malaysia: Signs Towards Social Commerce?

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If I have to talk about an improvement in Malaysia, this has to be of the bigger stuff – it is recently reported that Malaysians spent RM1.8 billion (about USD600 million) in online shopping in 2010, a figure 3 times the amount 3 years ago.

Looking at the published figures, I’m actually not surprised to see travel and bill payments dominating the list but this shows that Malaysians are becoming more open to online payments, something that has been scarcely present in the past years.

So, What Could This Mean?

#1: Increased Consumer Confidence

The consumers are beginning to see and experience how the Internet can benefit them in providing convenience and accessibility to more product options that leads to increased buying power (and knowledge).

#2: Increased Consumer Knowledge

Consumers have grown to accept technology as part of their lives, putting aside the fear of security threats – which was one of the main excuse or hinderance expressed in the past. In fact, I would think that this growth in knowledge is evident as a survey in 2010 revealed that Malaysians spend 9 hours on social networking sites weekly which also suggests the amount of time spent seeking ‘knowledge’. Apart from that, local businesses and companies are also seen to be more incline and receptive towards online marketing than previous years!

#3: Good News for Online Businesses… and the rise of competition

This growth definitely benefit all online businesses as they will be the ones directly benefiting from it but they too, can expect a growth in the number of new competitors. This means that the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and the usage of social media will also increase as businesses attempt to create a niche to find their footing in the industry.

It’s finally taking off! Is Social Commerce anywhere in sight?

I’ve waited for this day long enough and although I’ve personally been feeling the improvement, this acts as a confirmation. Having that said, it is just a matter of time for social commerce to start in Malaysia itself, especially considering the fact that Malaysians are spending so much time on social media. Couple that with the confidence in online purchase, I can say that Malaysian consumers are close to being ready for social commerce.

What say you? Do the figure show promise or do we still have a long way to go? How has it been where you’re at? I’d love to hear them all!

See the published article online here

Introducing the BufferApp – Social Media Done Right

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Just about a week ago I talked about the various 3rd party applications I use to enhance my Twitter experience and if you remember, BufferApp is one of them. Despite it’s awesome functionalities (especially after the recent update which I’ll share with you a little further), what makes BufferApp awesome is beyond that. It actually lies in how the founders and creators of BufferApp actually ‘humanize’ the application, and here are 2 simple reasons why I say so:

#1: They LISTEN

Truth be told, I’m even more impressed with the people behind the product than the product itself. Both @LeoWid and @joelg87 are amazing people. They are on a consistent look out for ideas, listening to what each and every user has to say about BufferApp to improve its usability. Crowd sourcing – that is what they are doing. And they are doing it right!

This also reminds me that many projects / products fail because someone tried to pack too much into it at one go – resulting in an overly complicated product or an extended timeline to which sometimes lead to no ending. What they did is to launch a simple and lightweight product that works, THEN rollout updates that caters to the users.

What do they get out of it? They save time, and they can get the functions right.

What do we get out of it? A product that we love!

#2: They ENGAGE

The worst thing that can happen is to drop someone a DM or @mention and you get a reply days after (or never!). As for BufferApp, you can be assured that they will respond to you – whether it is a simple ‘hello’, a complain or a complement, you can expect a reply. Don’t believe me? Put them to the test and experience for yourself!

Simple as it sounds, the above is really the essence of being social and businesses should realize that social networks are not a place to rack up the fan / follower count and blast them with sales pitches.

Now, the BufferApp

You simply tell Buffer your schedule... once!

Okay, enough about the great people behind the product – now the product itself. I started using this nifty tool a few weeks back and what really caught my attention is the ability to automatically schedule tweets periodically but yet have so much control over the tweets. What I really meant is that you do not need to schedule every individual tweet manually anymore, unlike TweetDeck, HootSuite or etc.

What makes Buffer different is that it also comes with optional add-ons (or goodies): a Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox browser extension.

This means that you can even schedule your updates OUTSIDE of BufferApp.com by simply clicking on the Buffer extension on your browser window to reveal…

 

this!

You can opt to “Tweet Now” where you share the content immediately or “Add to Buffer” where the content will be added to your queue of updates on Buffer. Did I also not mention the “Shorten Links” feature? These 3 are perhaps the most sought after functions when it comes to sharing a Tweet (at least for me).

Buffer did not forget about the mobile users, too! Instead of developing an individual mobile application to suit all existing smart phones, they took a step forward (or backward) to come up with a very simplistic yet smart way of making Buffer happen for a larger population – through email. Yes, all you need to do is to share your content via email on your mobile and send it to: [email protected] where the subject is your tweet, and the body is your link – and it will automatically be added unto your Buffer queue.

 

Tweet Suggestions - plenty of them!

Now comes my all-time favorite function – “Suggest me a Tweet” where Buffer generates a random tweet for you! I spend quite a bit of time looking through all the tweets at times just to see what will I get. Quotes by the famous, articles by bloggers and even jokes – you can get them all in a click.

That’s not all!

I find it really fascinating to see how Leo and Joel is able to roll out updates almost every single week at such a rapid pace – something many projects (especially startups) aren’t able to do. Their dedication says it all and they are making it happen beyond a great social product – but being social themselves.

My Description of Buffer in 140 Characters

If you’re interested in looking up what are all the other functions of Buffer (analytics, bit.ly integration, button for blogs and more), click here to see a full list of them (and be prepared for more to come)!

Don’t believe what I have to say about Buffer? See what others have to say over here!

important note: this article is not by any chance a paid review, advertorial or request by anyone representing BufferApp and / or its founders and it is solely written on my experience with @LeoWid and @BufferApp itself.

10 Reasons Why Small Businesses Benefit BEST using Social Media

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Time and time again we’ve heard of how small business owners are wanting to get social media right for their business but somehow there is this perception of large corporations being able to outdo them, keeping them away from being successful. In actual fact, social media favors small businesses.

How true is that? Let’s take a look at 10 reasons on why small businesses can benefit best as compared to large corporations.

#1: Leverage

THIS is the tool to be on the same playing field with the big boys. How so? A successful social presence is something money cannot buy. You can buy hits, views, clicks, retweets, shares, followers but you cannot buy engagement and participation. Every business have to go through the same motion of building their own community – and this is a battle you can actually win against them.

#2: Flatter Management

Small businesses tend to have a flatter or shorter line-of-management. This also means that decision making becomes a lot easier thus effecting your response time to your followers. You no longer need to wait for the customer service department for that memo or the PR team for the direction and what to say. Quicker (and quality) response makes customers happy.

#3: Easier to cultivate

One thing about technology is that it never stays the same. One day it’s phones, another it is smart phones. One day it’s email, another is instant messaging. Small business are seen to be able to adapt to advancements or new cultures better as compared to large corporates – simply because they are more light and agile. It also takes lesser effort (or time) to cultivate new habits or values – such as the usage of social media.

#4: Plenty of room to explore

They say that the sky is the limit; or rather, the bandwidth is the limit! Most small businesses are open to new ideas and challenges. They are not tied down to the tried-and-true plans and strategies, and ‘experienced’ marketing personnel that is always about ‘been there, done that’.

#5: Plenty of room for mistakes

With plenty of exploration done, mistakes are bound to take place and in small businesses, some mistakes can easily be overlooked simply because they have nothing to lose. A viral campaign that didn’t take of? An online launch with low response? These failures only lead to a better future. For large corporations on the other hand, may receive a huge backlash immediately from internal and external stakeholders (and also customers. think: GAP).

#6: Plenty of room to expand (scalable)

With much to explore and little to lose, it is only natural for greater plans and rewards. Your social media campaigns become scalable and it is only a matter of time for it to grow when done properly. Plus, the point #10 also contributes greatly to the opportunity for expansion.

#7: Easier to get active participation

Small businesses typically have a smaller team of people – 2, 5, maybe 20? Having a small team allows more opportunities for everyone to get involved. The company’s social media presence belongs to everyone and not just the PR / support / sales / marketing department. Every employee now plays a part and in most cases, works far better than having only one department managing it.

#8: You’ve got nothing (or lesser) things to hide

This is one of the major advantages of small businesses – you can afford to be transparent and creative at the same time. Doing random interviews with different colleagues, webisodes and share tips without the need to worry about a competitor stealing your ideas. Once again, you’ve got nothing to lose!

#9: You are your brand

It is often a tough thing to do to get your CEO to equally contribute unto the company’s social media presence but it is another thing for the business owner of a small business – they’ll seize the opportunity to do so. After all, it is their business and they need all the exposure and the network they can get. And since they represent the brand, things become more flexible (and transparent) when engaging on social media.

#10: Lesser rules and regulations to follow

Policies? Guidelines? Most small businesses (especially newer ones) do not have such a thing. With lesser rules to follow, they do not need to worry about breaking a rule that gets them fired. Without these restrictions, employees are free in expressing their ideas on how to maximize their social media presence. Having said that, small businesses should also look into having a certain boundary to protect the interest of the company, just in case.

So do large corporations have an upper hand at social media?

Not exactly. Unlike traditional media (e.g. print ads, billboards, etc) where small businesses may lose out, social media levels the playing field and allows small businesses to stand out, too!

What are your thoughts on small businesses vs large corporations on social media? Do share your thoughts below :)

Guest Blogging Contest @BlogEngage

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I must begin by saying that Blog Engage is a crazily active blogging community that truly lives up to it’s name – Blog ENGAGE. Founded by @bbrian017, Blog Engage has grown tremendously since I was a member just a couple of months back. I’ve to admit that I was initially a little skeptical on how these blogging communities can work as I’ve been to many in the past that well, became a “link dumpster” where bloggers simply dump their links in there and that’s about it.

What’s unique about Blog Engage is that it has a community of bloggers that not only produce quality content, but bloggers that are readers, supporters, idea sharers and great friends. If this doesn’t interest you yet, Blog Engage also allows you to share your articles and the founder (Brian) himself  retweets them to his 2,800+ followers – how awesome is that?

Blog Engage has also recently launched its 2nd guest blogging contest to win up to USD500 and it is open to all Blog Engage members! If you’re interested, it started on April the 16th and will end by 31st May 2011 and if your guest post picks up well, you may even win the 1000 USD for the best guest blogger of 2011 contest. Remember what I said about Blog Engage being crazily active? Brian never stops at creating interaction through various activities and contests are just one of them.

As you may have guessed by now, I’ll be participating in the contest too so do stay updated on my upcoming guest post on Blog Engage! Do let me know if you’re intending to participate too so that I can drop by and support your article :)

Click here to find out more about the contest at Blog Engage!

p.s. you do not want to miss this opportunity to be a part of this blog community!

Oh, by the way, do check out some of the sponsors’ sites for the contest. There are many of them that writes awesome articles from blogging, making money online, social media, marketing, branding and more!

Ana Hoffman from Internet Marketing Tools
Kimberly Castleberry from WordPress and Facebook Marketing
Justin Germino from justingermino.com
Amogh from The Funky Chunk
Don Power from sproutsocial.com
Kavita from SFIhomebizz.com
Latief from Simple Blogging Tips
Jane Sheeba from Blogging Tips
Sheila Atwood from newbielifeline
Matt Conlon from Matt Conlon.com
Aswani from aksindiblog.com
Kharim from Free Blogging Tips
A. Tatum from maddencorner
Tuan from Technology News
Omer Greenwald from webtechwis
Aybi from social media for business
janwong from janwong.my
Robert Bravery from integralwebsolutions
RowenaBolo from AsianMarketer
Ileane from BasicBlogTips.com
David Leonhardt from SEO consultant
tonyknuckles from 113tidbits
Cosmin Stefan from themilliontwister
Joyce Oladipo from joyceoladipo
Jon from Essex Portal
Jon from jonalford
Mavis Nong from attractionmarketingonline
Dahlia Valentine from That Internet Marketing Thing
Jan Rossi from getyoustartedemarketing
Janet from The Natural Networker
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Vijayraj Reddy from Make Money Online
Alex from Jocuri from jocurile
Tony Hastings from thetop10blog
Neeraj Rawat from expertsgalaxy
Kristi from Blog Marketing
Mani Viswanathan from DailyBlogging
Alex from make money with amazon
Estava Morioka from estavamorioka
Shiva from Webmaster Tips
Robert Dempsey from Internet Marketing Strategies
kbharath from Techntricksonline
Steve from Lifestyle Design
ndreas from Online Advertising
Saket Jajodia from SJbn.Co
Bican Valeriu from smarketools
Wong Chendong aka The Bad Blogger
Nishadha from Make Money Blogging
Dave Grimes II from thesisready
Devesh from Blogging Tips
Matthew from Home Based Internet Businesses
Paul Salmon from Technically Easy
kirapermunian from geekster online
John Paul from Blog Resources
John from Hypertransitory.com
Michael Aulia from CravingTech.com
Daniel Snyder from fireproof safes for data
Deepak from Lead Generation
Nicholas Wind IMer from cashflowduplication
Sarah Lam from writingconsultation
Catarina Alexon from catarinasworld
MtnJimFisher from outsourcing
Peppy from The PeppyWrites Chronicles
Felix Albutra from Blogging Access
Gloson from social media and blogging tips
sajeev kumar menon from sajeevkmenon
Argie Monroy from Live Life More
Andrew Williams from The Billionaire’s Butler
Memoirs of a Single Dad from Memoirs of a Single Dad
Gera from SweetsFoodsBlog
Togrul from Income Streams
Jennifer from emptypockets01
ptaylor98 from ptaylor98.jottit
Doc Sheldon from docsheldon.com
Goran from Black Hat Source
Ninure from Ninure da Hippie’s Blog
Christine from christine.biz
Sarah from templatefaerie
Alison Moore Smith from Affordable Web Design for Small Business
Dave Lucas from dave-lucas.blogspot.com
Sean Supplee from Seansupplee.com
DazzlinDonna from making a living online
Pablo Lara H from pablolarah.cl
Tia Peterson from bizchickblogs.com
Dr. Rus Jeffrey from General Sarge
Sietse from allyouneedislists.com
Blazing Minds from Blazing Minds
Typhoon from make Money Online
Kiesha from WeBlogBetter
Bryan Hollis from News for Bloggers
Harleena Singh from Freelance Writer Blog
Tristan from Blogging tips
Andi from misadventureswithandi.com
Dr. Hansjörg Leichsenring from der-bank-blog.de
Big Cajun Man from canajunfinances.com
Imran from shariffdotorg
Melinda from findingthehumor.com
Martha Giffen from marthagiffen.com
Dani Nir-McGrath from danimcgrath.com
Pit from pureinfotech.com
TS Redmond Mize from Element Content
Raj Agrawal from Upcoming Technology
Ryan Hanley from Albany Insurance
Kev From kevsproreviews.blogspot.com
Dana from Cell Phone Reviews
Michele Welch from new biz blogger
Josh Thompson from Boom Serve
Ryan Biddulph from Home Based Success
Fletcher T. from emailfletcher.blogspot.com
Jimi Jones from Jimi Jones
Dwight from FinanciallyEliteBlog.com

 

Dual Roles in Companies: Unrealistic or Overly Idealistic?

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A couple of days ago I had a quick chat with @wordsdonewrite over how irritating it is to see (big) companies still wanting to hire for dual role purposes – sales and marketing managers, pr and social media managers, group development and communications managers and the list goes on.

Not everyone can be successful at being both Batman and Bruce Wayne at the same time. In fact, when Batman is in action, he never is Bruce Wayne, vice versa. This led me to think whether these companies see their employees as dual-purposed superheroes or it is simply an attempt to reduce expenses by hiring ONE person to fit TWO job descriptions.

One Size Fit All?

Now, I don’t blame small businesses for doing the above because they may have financial constrains, especially for start-ups. After all, we’ve heard stories of how the CEO of a start-up company usually is the secretary, clerk, janitor, sales person all at once.

However for established companies, this is somewhat inexcusable. The job titles alone suggests different portfolios altogether and in most situations, the person on the job will have a natural tendency towards only ONE aspect of the job e.g. either sales OR marketing, pr OR social media, group development OR communications. Not both.

Some may see this as a trivial matter but the question really is – does your company / business want to solve a specific problem?

If your answer is yes, then you need someone SPECIFIC to solve that specific problem. A problem with team performance? A group development manager may fit the bill. A communications manager? Does he / she know about group development? Not always. The same goes for sales and marketing. One may know how to strategize marketing efforts but selling can be another world to him / her.

Let’s go back to the initial question: are companies being unrealistic in their attempt to get one to fit all? Or are they being too idealistic in wanting someone to fit all – a Bruce Wayne AND Batman at the same time?

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

What Twitter Tools Do You Use?

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Twitter has grown to be a favorite for many as it allows many to listen, respond and search real time. Statistically, the usage of Twitter among social marketers continues to soar in 2011 and 73% of the companies are looking towards increasing their activities on Twitter in the future.

source: Social Media Examiner

What intrigues me the most  is that Twitter is perhaps one of the few social media tools where most users use AWAY from the site itself (Twitter.com), especially prior to the release of #NewTwitter in the recent months. In other words, people are using Twitter via 3rd party applications such as TweetDeck, Seismic, Echofon, CoTweet and more.

The same goes for me. I never did use Twitter.com but started out with a humble web application on Google Chrome called Chromed Bird. At that time, it served what I needed it to do – to view my timeline, see all the @mentions and DMs I have. It was all that I needed to do, plus the app icon (a bird) changes color (blue to green) when there is an update. I thought that was really cool.

See how the bird changes to green?

As the number of people I follow slowly increased in numbers, I realized that the icon becomes green almost instantly even after looking through the updates seconds ago. Feeds kept coming into my timeline and before I know it, Chromed Bird was always left open. I can’t possibly be looking at the timeline all day. I knew I needed something more powerful than the faithful Chromed Bird.

The exploration begun.

Realizing I can organize my followings into different lists, I found TweetDeck which allows me to view multiple panes at ease – my timeline, @mentions, DMs, lists and even #hashtags at one go! Oh, it also allowed me to schedule my tweet, which is great for me to publish the articles written on this blog periodically…

… until I found TweetDeck failing me very often with repeated errors thus I continued to explore other applications. I jumped back and forth from Seesmic, Hootsuite and Tweetdeck for a couple of weeks and found that I still preferred the desktop version of TweetDeck but I still required a tool that can assist me in schedule at ease.

I used Hootsuite to schedule, but TweetDeck to stay ‘connected’.

The day came when StumbleUpon released su.pr which I thought it was an awesome (and time saving) tool as it allows me to now schedule AND submit my content to StumbleUpon at the same time! The switch was easy – with a huge drawback – the time zone is fixed in # while I am in a GMT +8.00 zone. I stuck with su.pr regardless because it saved me time so I came up with a posting schedule on an Excel spreadsheet that converts all the timing into my time zone as a personal reference. It was a necessary pain (and I never got to schedule past 2 days because the time conversion becomes confusing).

Fast forward to the present – then came along a new gem – the BufferApp. I must say that the BufferApp is the best tool I’ve used thus far. Not only it automatically schedules my tweets to the time I want, it has a nifty Chrome app that allows me to schedule my external content sharing with just a click! This also means that I can now share contents at ease without worrying that I’m flooding the timeline of my followers. Cool, huh? What makes it better is that the co-founder of BufferApp, @LeoWid has been of utmost help throughout my experience with the app. It is no wonder this app is spreading like wildfire all over the Twitterverse in just 2 months!

What is Buffer? from Joel Gascoigne on Vimeo.

So, what do I use now?

Twitter.com – Just to manually look through my followers one by one

TweetDeck – To listen to my followers, lists and #hashtags

Su.pr – For link shortening and instant submission to StumbleUpon

BufferApp – For scheduling tweets and retweeting other quality content

ReSearch.ly – To identify the current conversations and trending topics

What are your Twitter experiences? What are the tools you use? Do share them below :)

p.s. the above only depicts my personal usage with Twitter and does not include the tools I use when managing client accounts on social networks :)

p.p.s. you may want to give BufferApp a try, too! It makes automation a whole lot more human.


 

Setting the Temperature: How Hot Are You?

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Have you heard of the term, party pooper? These guys are no fun. They step in and very often than not, kills the mood of the entire environment. How about people filled with enthusiasm and zeal? Are they contagious?

Believe it or not, people have the ability to change the temperature of the room, from hot to cold and vice versa and how hot (or cold) it can go depends on that particular someone – in most cases, the leader.

The leader sets the temperature of the team and the environment he / she is working in. The leader’s goals and beliefs will be transferred to the environment, affecting the performance and the mindset of the surrounding people and will eventually evolve into what it is called ‘culture’.

“In other words, the leader can be liken to a termostat where he / she sets the temperature of the room.”

Having the right temperature

Many books on leadership often talk about how leaders should be always a step ahead and how they should lead by example. What they really meant is that by being a step ahead, they are constantly ‘heating’ up the room temperature through action for others to ‘warm up’ to it – an environment that allows one to feel uncomfortable just staying put and has to keep up / adapt to become comfortable again.

Notice how authors do not talk about being too far ahead of their team? Heating up the temperature too much kills whatever that is inside it. I’m not against goal setting and vision casting, but sometimes a vision too big can become insignificant, impersonal and unreachable (e.g. we want to have a profit of 10 million within the first year for a start up company).

It is important for leaders to know how to control the temperature in the room. Personal conversations, corporate visions, individual goals, support, your mind set and etc are all part of setting the temperature right.

“The trick is really to have a vision that your team can see for themselves and to take ownership, a goal that is challenging yet attainable – and be there to make it happen with them!”

a leader sets the room temperature

Let’s heat things up

What is the level on your termostat? Are you hot? cold? Or just at room temperature? Effective leaders changes the climate of things when they are around and you can definitely do that too! It starts with yourself!

Have you been into a ‘hot’, ‘cold’ or ‘room temperature’ situation before? I’d like to hear your experience :)

Who Is More Influential? The Brand or Its Followers?

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brand influence on social mediaBrands all over the world are hopping onto the social media ‘brandwagon’. For some, it is called strategy; the others, it is simply because it is ‘the thing’ to do. How successful are these brands? Are they influential enough to command attention?

Or rather, Who is influential?

An interesting question? I would think so myself. The thought came to me very recently when I was looking at various social media marketing campaigns – I saw how successful brands got their fans together through various promotions, facilitate discussions, interacting with fans and etc.. basically all the good stuff. However, who empowers the brand? Is it the social media manager behind the fan page? The brand? Or is it the fans?

I suggest it’s the latter.

A brand can only be as influential its followers can get. Look at it this way – a ‘successful’ brand on social media usually has high engagement with their followers. What if the followers do not respond? Does this affect the brand’s influence?

This can only mean one thing – it all revolves around the followers. Your brand may have the best offer and content but if the message is delivered to thin air (not responsive followers), nothing is going to happen.

What to do?

#1: Understand their influence

Sure, you have 100,000 fans but the threat of substitution remains high especially on social media networks. Followers can unfollow at will OR follow multiple competitors at one go – in fact, some argue that brand loyalty is dead with social media.

#2: Respect their influence

Take genuine interest in them beyond just numbers. Take the effort to talk to them individually whenever possible and respond to their conversations and feedbacks – both good and bad.

#3: Reward their influence

Every brand will have extraordinary fans. Some call them brand champions – fans that have been there since Day 1, fans that have been following your updates, fans that have been commenting and interacting often with your brand and fans that have been sharing your content with their friends. These fans are a gem! Look for opportunities to reward them e.g. a special feature of the month, freebies, exclusive passes and etc – every bit counts!

#4: Repeat #1

What is your take on brand influence? I would love to hear your thoughts below :)