Time flies

Never has this phrase meant so much than this month – my baby turned 1!  It always seemed so cliché when people would say to me, “it goes by so fast.”  But, wow, is it true! 

There’s only one instance where I think time flies faster than watching your baby grow, and that’s technology.  I hold my own when it comes to figuring things out, but I’m not an “early adopter” when it comes to technology.  My husband lovingly calls me the “techno wizard.”  I’m the one that didn’t think we needed a DVR at first, but now, it’s one of those “necessary conveniences.”

In my professional world, online marketing is a tough thing to keep up with.  Luckily at Griffin, my colleagues @heatherhungate and @julieflorida are our online marketing gurus and help keep the rest of us “techno wizards” up to speed.  There are so many new tools and “apps” that pop up each day, it can be overwhelming.  But, the key thing to remember is not to have a GMOOT (Get me one of those) strategy (heard Geoff Ramsey of eMarketer use this at a Houston Interactive Marketing Association luncheon last year). 

Before you spend time, energy and money trying to integrate the latest and greatest interactive marketing tool, you need to make sure it makes sense with your marketing strategy.  Is that tool the best way to reach your target audience?  For example, a mobile marketing campaign is not the best strategy for reaching senior citizens. 

Sure, many times these tools are inexpensive (often free) to use, but it’s the “sweat equity” that you have to put into them that can be costly. 

It’s certainly a good idea to have a presence with the basic, most popular social networking sites (facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).  But, if you’re an early adopter and pick your marketing tools based on how “cool” or “gee whiz” it is, you probably don’t have the most effective marketing strategy. 

Personally and professionally, the best way to keep your sanity is to have a plan or means of prioritizing.  Remember your goals and always evaluate if what you’re doing is getting you closer to attaining them.

Stacy Sarault

How social media is changing our lives and relationships

Did you talk to your mother when you were a teenager? I know I didn’t.  Of course technology was not as prevalent then as it is today.  We had stationary phones that all had the same ring tone. WE were the television remote controls and computers were room size.  My father was a systems analyst and we marveled at the air-conditioned room that housed the computer that he worked on.  Technology has come a long way in a short time.

As technology has grown and evolved, so have my children.  My boys are 12 and 14.  Their world has always been technology-driven and social networking has been part of their existence.  They, along with all of their friends, started with MySpace and built a huge following of “friends,” mostly comprised of people in their age group that they didn’t know—they all raced to see who had the most “friends.”

Next, they needed e-mail accounts to talk to their friends.  And, of course, don’t forget AIM and instant messaging.    Then, they matured to cell phones and texting.  First, they texted continuously … morning ‘til night.  Their posts read “Sup” (translation, “What’s up?”) and “nmu?” (which means, “not much, you?”).  I, as many parents did, started with the $5-for-250-texts-per-month plan thinking that 250 texts were enough to start with.  Wrong!  We quickly (and expensively) discovered that we needed the unlimited plan or our cell phone bill would be more expensive than our mortgage.

So, now they have discovered Facebook. And, the wonder of it all, is that we are Facebook friends.  I am friends with both of my sons, some of their friends, their parents’ friends, etc.  We are now all connected through social media.  They think it’s cool that we are friends, and I think it is wonderful.  I am able to keep cyber tabs on them (until they read this blog post).

So, even though they may not “talk” to me much, as adolescent boys rarely do, I get a daily glimpse into their lives and am able to follow what they think is important.  So, along with developing social media strategies and plans for my clients, I am also able to keep in touch with two of the most important people in my life.

The ever-changing world of social media may seem a bit daunting at first, there are many platforms to choose from and it can quickly become time consuming.  If you are interested in getting your business involved in social media but don’t know where to start, a good way to begin is to experiment on a personal level.  Facebook is a great social media platform for beginners, it is easy to use and can be fun.  And, as you discover the benefits to your personal life, you will also begin to discover the endless communication and dialogue opportunities for your business.   Who knows, you may also become ‘friends’ with your teenagers online!

Cheers,

Julie Arnold

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In….how can I be in so many places at one time?

Justin Levy gave me some great advice the other day, advice that I have used quite often with friends, family, clients and colleagues …one of his recommendations for being effective in social media is “fish where the fish are.”  What did he mean by this?  To me, it means that social media is just that social, and everyone finds something that they like about social media…some people like to visit Facebook and participate in groups or play on Farmville, some spend their time in Twitter keeping up to date on news and others in like LinkedIn for professional networking…our choices are endless.  However, how do you do it? How do you appear to be fishing in different lakes every day, multiple times a day?  The answer is through integrated social media platforms.  These platforms are applications or web sites that are built to help you manage your time and effectiveness in social media; they provide solutions so that you can post in one platform and have it simultaneously appear in multiple content platforms at one time.

I have been working with a few different applications that have helped me to manage my social media workload, as well as I follow some of the leading social media gurus to find out how they manage their workload.  Each time I become aware of a new application, I embrace it, work with the program and then make the decision as to the effectiveness in my daily activities.

There are many applications available that integrate social media content platforms, there are some that have been around for a while and new ones are released on a daily basis.  I currently manage most of my primary content platforms using Hoot Suite. Hoot Suite is a professional Twitter client and makes your Twitter accounts manageable.  Hoot Suite offers you the ability to manage multiple accounts, pre-schedule tweets, and provides a URL shortener that tracks your stats and  provides analytics.  Hoot Suite also provides the ability to integrate your Tweets with other platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, by using Ping.  I am a recent convert to Ping, so far it is promising and very useful for integrating multiple accounts.  I recently integrated my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts using Ping and enjoy being able to update multiple platforms at one time.

There are other platforms out there that have been built around the same premise of multiple network  management. Each one has a different functionality, so check each of them out for a few days before committing to one.

• Seesmic is a web-based program or install on your desktop, that integrates Twitter and Facebook.  Just last week Seesmic announced the integration with Twitter lists.
• Tweetdeck is a useful program for integrating Facebook and Twitter on your desktop.
• Flock is a social web browser.  This program is downloaded and lives on your desktop. Flock is useful if you monitor multiple blogs and content platforms.

These are just a few of the examples that are out there.  New multiple-platform management tools are being created every day.
Do you have a favorite that you would recommend?  Please share.  The world of social media is vast and the more we can do to help each other navigate this world the more successful we will all be.

Cheers!

Julie

IS’09 — A pleasant surprise

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Interactive Strategies ’09 hosted by the Houston Interactive Marketing Association (HiMA).   The event is self-described as “an arena where progressive marketers can learn from industry experts by diving into discussions covering the latest interactive strategies, innovative concepts and advanced technologies, all while networking with fellow professionals. 1 Day. 4 Tracks. 32 Speakers.” 

Sounds exhausting and brain-draining, right?  Wrong!!!  I left this event feeling inspired and re-invigorated with the phenomenal creative energy and potential for great things that are happening in Houston. 

I walked into the Angelika theater (which was a totally cool location, by the way) feeling intimidated and unqualified to be there.  I just knew that I was going to be the only one who wasn’t already an “expert” in most of the discussion tracks.  What I quickly realized was that I was in the presence of people who were just like me.  We all had questions, we all want to create, we all want to be pioneers, participate in and keep ahead of the wave of interactive media. 

Don’t get me wrong, the speakers there were definitely experts in their subject areas and they were passionate, informative and on point.   I was impressed over and over again by the talent and dynamic professionals that are right in our own backyard. 

It was tough choice with each session whether I wanted to head to Theater 1, 2, 3 or 4!    That said, I made my selections and it was a treat to hear presentations from the likes of Kelsey Ruger, Katie Laird, Maggie McDonald, Giovanni Gallucci, Brian Solis, Mike Dunn and David Saxe.   

The day was capped off by a Keynote panel called He Said, She Said:  The Sexes on Social Media.  Fun 🙂 

IS09 has been a gift that keeps on giving.  I’ve been brave with design (thanks Kelsey), cautious when it comes to placing all my eggs into one social media platform (thanks Dave) and creating new recipies for success with SM initiatives (thanks Maggie and Katie).

And, to top it all off, IS’09 has been kind enough to post most of their speaker’s presentations online for the world to see.  It’s worth it to download the slide shows and take a quick peek.  While I can’t promise you the experience will be the same, if you can imagine eating chocolate chip cookies while skimming through Online Recipes for Success or silently humming “Cool like dat” in your head while reading Understanding Design, you will get a small taste of what it was like to attend IS’09 this year.

Can’t wait for the next year. 🙂

I’m a “Social Media Maven”.

As social media (SM) becomes more and more of a constant communication tool in our daily lives, it’s necessary to identify what types of SM users are out there.

A recent Mashable.com article called “What Type of Social Media User Are You?” cited a study done by Anderson Analytics in which they were able to identify groups of SM users based on their behaviors in the SM space.  From a few very generic-seeming questions, Anderson Analytics was able to generate a very interesting report regarding user groups such as “Fun Seekers” and “SM Pessimists”.   I can now tell you what the lifestyle, income and behaviors are of a “Fun Seeker”.

I am a SM lover.  On a personal note, I enjoy getting online and “lurking” w/out participating in every game, conversation, tweet-up, etc.  It’s like being a virtual fly-on-the-wall.  That said, it makes it less fun for me to catch up with friends in real-time.  I already know what’s going on in their worlds — most of the time in brutally honest detail.  What do we have left to talk about?  I also use SM for business.  It’s a necessary marketing tool. What kind of user does that make me?  Can I be a combo Social media maven/Leisure follower?

There has to be a balance somewhere.  A fine line that we all will eventually walk.  Those that detest SM will come to meet those of us who crave it somewhere in the middle. 

Until then, what kind of SM user are you?  Take the Anderson Analytics quiz and see.

Facebook vs Twitter?

With social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter growing at an unprecedented pace, Griffin Marketing wants to know…