Listed below is a slightly tweaked list of the shortcomings that apply to some brands using social media – especially those companies who are less open to self-criticism.

What are they?

• Believing that the brand alone has the answers to problems or issues.
• Thinking that their brand is infallible.
• Forgetting to understand that one of their main purposes is to inform and engage with consumers for their own business objectives and not necessarily to just beat the competition.
• Building strategies on trends alone. Social media strategy should stand the duration of the company’s existence, and should be in some shape or form applicable in many years to come.
• Disguising the truth.
• Not listening to the local and global conversations related to their brands, competitors, and industry verticals – and then learning from this observation.
• Having no real interest or passion for the social media medium, and doing it purely because they feel they ‘have to’.
• Having too much ego – and having this come across in the social media efforts.
• Failing to think about their readers or audience, and not recognising that social media is a service to same.
• Conforming to the ordinary – the norm – instead of looking for new ways to stand out.
• Limiting the building of internal skill sets.
• Resisting any proposed change.
• Lacking any form of solidarity with their target market.
• Lacking any creativity and initiative.
• Unwilling to investigate or to confuse tactic with ‘strategy’ and ‘research’.

What do you think?

The number one question is: how do you plan to use mobile and Facebook specifically within your business? Gone are the days where bulk SMS / text marketing made up a company’s mobile strategy. The same can be said for a basic Page on Facebook. Business-focused strategic thinking and innovation are what is needed within the mobile and Facebook spheres. Anything less is too late. Why? Because you won’t stand out.

So, what is your mobile and social media strategy?

7 days and 4.7 million views later, Gillette’s viral video featuring Roger Federer is one such example.

• 54% of the gay men and lesbians surveyed read some type of blog, compared to only 40% of heterosexuals.
• 36% of gay and lesbian adults read news and current issue blogs, compared to 25% of heterosexual adults.
• 25% of gay and lesbian adults read entertainment and pop culture blogs, compared to 16% of heterosexuals.
• 35% of all lesbian and gay male adults report they read blogs about gay and lesbian news and interests. 53% of these blog readers also visit gay and lesbian blogs weekly, and 19% do so daily.
• 73% of gay and lesbian adults are members of Facebook, compared to 65% of heterosexuals.
• 22% of gay and lesbian respondents were members of LinkedIn, while 16% of heterosexual adults said they were members.
• 29% gay men and lesbians reported they were members of microblogging site Twitter, while only 15% of heterosexual adults said they were.
• 55% of gay men and lesbians say they visit social network sites at least once a day.Only 41% of heterosexual adults shared this frequency.
• Three out of ten gay men and women also say they visit website several times a day, while only 17% of heterosexuals do the same.

Our own recent research on the LGBT online market confirms similar trends in the UK and South Africa. Marketers interested in engaging the gay and lesbian consumer should look towards leveraging social media marketing and platforms to engage with them – and ultimately attract the pink dollar, pound or rand. Also, by studying gay and lesbian social media trends (such as the sites they frequent, the content they read, the people and brand that they connect with, their level of engagement, etc.) brands will be able to identify marketing and communication opportunities that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

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Unlike Fourqquare – and other geo-location services, Facebook Places taps into 500 million active users. With this in mind it makes a lot of sense to incorporate a geo-location service into a social network platform already popular with the Internet community – one that has after all become a part of the day-to-day life of its users.

The exciting part of this latest Facebook announcement is how brands will be able to tap into Facebook’s geo-location service – especially on a campaign level. Watch this space…

A written social media policy can be defined as an extension of current business conduct guidelines, and includes a set of written and clearly understood guidelines or principles that companies put in place as a line of protection against the very real risks associated with communicating on the Internet, specifically related to social media usage by employees. Aside from communicating what the company brand standards and “style guide” are for social media marketing, the social media policy also outlines behavioural expectations for employees – all set out in a simple, easily understood, friendly tone (something that most companies unfortunately have difficulty doing).

Not to be confused with rules and regulations, the social media policy – or as we prefer to call it, the social media guidelines – must guide employees to understanding the risks and agreeing on the responsibilities of representing themselves and their employer online. Common areas of focus include reminding employees to be mindful about what they say and do on the Internet, to take accountability for whatever they do online, and respecting confidential and proprietary information be it the company’s information, related intellectual property, and any information related to clients, fellow employees and similar, When executed properly, the social media guidelines educate and empower employees instead of dictating to them on the dos and don’t.

The best source of inspiration is examining and learning from other noteworthy corporate social media policy examples – it’s the first step we take when working with a client on their own social media policy. Once best practice is examined, the next step is to contextualise these principles for your own unique circumstances and requirements, making the policy a part of the company’s unique blueprint and culture.

Listed below are our top picks of corporate social media policies. We hope this helps demonstrate how other reputable global companies have taken the lead in protecting their brands, businesses, stakeholders and employees – and liberates you to start working on your company’s own social media policy.

• IBM’s Social Computing Policy
• Cisco’s Social Media Policy
• Intel’s Social Media Guidelines
• General Motors’ Blogging Policy
• Microsoft’s Tweeting and Blogging Guidelines
• SAP Social Media Policy
• HP’s Blogging Code of Conduct
• Kodak’s Social Media Policy and Social Media Tips
• Harvard Law School’s Blogging Guidelines
• BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on Social Networks and Social Networking Usage Guidelines
• Coca-Cola’s Social Media Principles
• Dell’s Online Policy
• FedEx’s Blog Policy
• Telstar’s Social Media Engagement Guidelines

Apple iPad Commercial

No longer is digital brand engagement limited to just your Internet browser or mobile handset, but instead a rich and engaging world exists that mirrors the lifestyle of todays modern consumer. This consumer is intelligent, connected, engaged, value-driven and very in touch with 21st century technology. One could almost say that it defines who they are.

Popular Science+ on the iPad

Today’s digital landscape – and communicating in same – requires a new set of “rules”. These rules start with a fundamental shift in the way brands present themselves – and most importantly, evolve themselves. Value-driven digital brand experiences that put the customer first is what is needed, and to do so is to understand and embrace how technology – and devices such as the iPad – have shifted the consumer/brand relationship.

Sports Illustrated – Tablet Demo 1.5

Three brands that demonstrate this through their iPad applications are Popular Science, Gap, and Sports Illustrated (video demonstrations have been embedded in this post). Of course, there are many more examples on the Internet- just Google “iPad apps” and you’ll come across other examples – but these are good examples themselves.

The Apple iPad introduces a new way for consumers to enjoy browsing the Internet, consuming media, playing games, creating content, and engaging with each other and brands. Like it or not, this does dictate tomorrow’s strategy. The question is, are you taking note of this?

If link building is one of the most popular way of building quality traffic to a website, why is it that some (if not most) websites find it incredibly difficult to attract these links? The answer lies in the value (or lack thereof) that these sites offer the Internet community.

We often read people comparing a website to a shopping mall, and indeed they are right. Shopping malls have mastered the skill of creating new and exciting ways of attracting new shoppers – and retaining those customers already frequenting the mall.

Ask yourself why most successful shops routinely rearrange their product displays. Why do they design or manufacture new products? Summer time sees swimsuits making their way closer to the entrance. Fruit salads and lettuce leaves are everywhere to be seen in the grocery section.

People are naturally curious creatures and as such get bored very easily. Its all about satisfying the shopper (user). Give the customer what they want, when they want it and they’ll return. Better yet, they’ll recommend your store to their friends, colleagues and loved ones.

But what does fruit and sexy bikinis have to do with your website? You have to find out what your user wants and give it to them.

Would you link to your site?

So, what does generate return traffic to a site? Well, take a closer look at your site and determine whether you’d link to it yourself? Is there anything on your site that you can honestly say is of value?

We’re not talking about product prices or a profile on how you founded your company. We’re talking about something that is useful and convenient to your target market. A utility or tool of sorts. Perhaps a regularly updated dialogue with your visitors. An invaluable resource that teaches people something they dont already know.

Ideas worth researching

An excellent way to increase website traffic is to ask a “how to” question and write about your solution. If you’ve got a motor-related site, writing an article on how to sell a car could be an excellent idea. In the landscaping business? How to plant a tree? would make for a good article too. What could you write if you have a conference facility? How about what to remember when arranging a wedding or business function??

Not only will writing articles bulk up your websites content, which search engines love, but will also add value to other websites that publish your writing on their websites.

The good thing about good articles is that they tend to circulate the Net pretty well. By adding an optimised link to the bottom of your article you could in turn generate more traffic to your site.

But articles arent the only way of generating traffic to your site. Something that is destined to become more popular is the inclusion of a business blog on a website. This lets you build a personal relationship with your customers. Naturally, the blog needs to be well thought of before being added. Will it be a regularly updated blog or one that is updated less frequently? Will there be one or more voices/writers for the blog? Everyone has their own preference to a style of writing. Letting your staff or departments publish their own blogs will create even more opportunities of attracting more than one type of reader or client.

Adding a tool that people are searching for is yet another excellent idea. It could be a currency converter, BMI calculator or a free online travel organiser  anything that is related to your website and that offers an invaluable benefit to those who find it.

As ludicrous as this may sound, being a hub for industry-related websites and information is another great idea. You could have a section devoted to your reviews of market-related products, services and websites  with links pointing to them. Your users will come to trust your knowledge and advice, and as such will refer your website to their contacts.

The bottom line

Regardless of what you write about or have to offer your visitor, the key is to keep it simple, fresh and non-salesy. Your website should already have a section that does all that sales pitching. Offering genuinely useful content and tools is what will differentiate your website from that of your abandoned peers.

Ideas are everywhere. It takes some time, effort, research and a bit of imagination to come up with soothing other than a good link request email. Your users word of mouth will reward your efforts.

Adopted from an article by our principle consultant, Gino Cosme, originally written in 2005.