The Wax Blog

Bart the Dumpster Dog

I realized right away that @bartthedog was gaining followers at a much faster rate than @waxgirl333 , my twitter handle. Not to mention the fact that he has more than ten times the number of Facebook fans for his Bart the Dumpster Dog fan page. Neither of us are megastars in the social media stratosphere (yet!) but I thought taking a look at how @bartthedog pays attention to his social media might give you an idea of how he’s added more than 3000 followers in such a short time – with very little effort.

1. Bart has a GREAT back story. Not everyone can say they were rescued starving and frozen from a dumpster on an Indian reservation.

2. Bart has a unique and consistent voice. This is probably because I have anthropomorphized Bart and his brother for the past three years to such an extent that I’m fairly fluent in Dog.  His followers call him “cutey” and “sweetie” and “lovey” so I guess it doesn’t matter that he’s over 90 pounds – his voice is crystal clear to them.

3. The dog lover niche, particularly for rescued dogs, is really strong, if not zealous. I told a car dealer once that if he supported his local humane society in a big way he’d have more customers than he could handle and I was right. One woman drove from South Dakota to Minnesota to buy a car from the guy – for helping rescued animals.

4. Bart’s not selling anything. He’s just a friendly guy that sends out tweets about interesting dogs for adoption on petfinder, cool doggy news and stuff he’s been doing lately.  He’s also very good at RT’ing information for animal rescue groups, so there’s a certain altruistic side to the boy.

5. Finally, Bart is always positive and never controversial. He doesn’t take sides and has no politics.

I started Bart’s accounts as a way to test some of the programs and apps for Twitter and Facebook, not to grow his profile.  Before long he’ll be writing a book and signing pawtographs.

I talk a lot about the need for the right “mix” when you promote your product, business, book, whatever it is – engaging in social media is no different. To get a good result you have to find the recipe that’s 100% ALL YOURS. But just like the hard-to-bake souffle, there are some ingredients I’ve seen in of the work of ALL successful social media contributors.   Here are the components I believe you should always use for your  social media recipe…and some of experts who cook it up just right. Feel free to add your favorite folks – let’s get a good list going! (more…)

I  found a company willing to share a true, B2B social media case study complete with strategy, tactics, and heavens to betsy, they even measured it!  As I perused my newly invigorated LinkedIn account I discovered Ed Loessi CMO and Chief Strategy officer for Boston-based RapidInfluence, a consulting company that focuses on the implementation of strategic plans. (Boy does every company need this!!) RapidInfluence embarked this year on a social media strategy and not only successfully implemented their strategy, they’ve documented it on their blog

Ed has kindly allowed me to re-blog their social media post here on the Wax blog – but I would strongly recommend you read the full blog on the RapidInfluence site here to view all the graphics and visit more links.  Please add comments with suggestions you might have for RapidInfluence on new things they might do or things that have worked for your firm. We’re all going to be learning new stuff forever in this world!

From the  RapidInfluence Blog, October 6, 2009 (more…)

Since we all just had a good time talking about what NOT to do on LinkedIn I thought I’d post some things you SHOULD do. LinkedIn, according to Mashable just surpassed 50 million users. Although it’s clearly not the sexiest of social networks (the media loves them some Facebook and Twitter) LinkedIn is incredibly valuable, especially for the B2B set.  You can definitely market your business but remember – you’re building relationships one to one. That means there are no shortcuts.

These are things that are working for me but I would love to hear any cool ways you’re using LinkedIn successfully. Remember,  there are no experts in social media just the intellectual capital of the collective. (Seriously I just made that up ) (more…)

I just got yet another invitation to join a company’s Facebook “fan” page.  Heavy sigh. Another company Facebook fan page in which they beat their chest with pride at their AMAZING business accomplishments and expect us all to chuckle with fond affection at photos of  their zany antics. (OMG, food fight!)

Lots of companies have incredible Facebook fan pages.  I think Starbucks does a great job, integrating much of its marketing efforts with the page . The Humane Society ’s  Facebook fan page is jam packed with information. But recently it feels like everyone is trying to take advantage of Facebook without doing any of the work. And there’s no reason for it, plenty of online pundits tell you what makes a great Facebook page. Mashable had a great post earlier in the year on the top five components of a good Facebook fan page, for example.  So I’m not going to rehash that information here. Instead, here are a few “Wax Don’ts”  if you want to avoid annoying your customers and friends (or me) on Facebook.

1. Don’t put a Facebook fan page up just to have a “presence” or because you think you “should.”  We already went through this with blogs. Companies wasted a huge amount of time figuring out what it should look like, who would be the “owner”, where it would sit on the site, etc. Then when it came time to actually keep it going  the employees who volunteered to post suddenly became too busy.

2. Don’t just throw content up there when you think of it.  Plan editorial guidelines for your page. Decide the categories of information you’re going to post – what will make it on the page, who will post it and when it will get posted. Unless this page is strictly for your employees (which is an okay idea) most of your fans won’t care about a party that happened a month ago and you’re just getting around to posting the photos.

3. Don’t get surprised by negative comments. Remembercomments are public and on the permanent record. Are you sure you want anyone posting things on your Facebook page? Years ago Yahoo chatrooms showed us what can happen  when ex-employees start trashing their former employers publicly.  If you’re going to have a public forum  make sure you know how you will deal with potentially negative comments BEFORE they happen.

4. Don’t just tell us about your company. Provide us with CONTENT. As in all media, especially the social kind, content is king. You won’t gain fans unless you have something interesting to report or you’ve found NEW news that has to do with your industry or business. You can add in your own company news, such as links to articles or press releases, on a regular basis just don’t make this a duplicate of your press page on your website.

5. Finally, don’t invite  all your contacts to be a fan until you really have something to be a fan OF. A new page with a post or two of company information doesn’t really thrill me. And this is not a place to just re-post your blog postings either, no matter how great it is for SEO.

In case you were wonder, there is a Waxmarketing Facebook page. But it’s only there for search optimization. I really don’t think you care that today, I’m still in my pajamas eating oatmeal at 10:30 am.

It’s summer and so for that reason I’ll break from my insistence on pragmatic advice and write on a topic you might consider fluff. Yet it’s the biggest mistake I see small business owners make, including me. We have no patience. I think that it’s a given that a requirement for being an entrepreneur is to have a low grade case of ADD, or in my case, ADHD with an emphasis on the H. And in marketing, that will kill you.

I can’t tell you how many times a client tries something and when there are no immediate results says “Well that doesn’t work.” It’s like lifting weights one day and expecting a tricep cut to develop overnight. I’m not suggesting that we all go out and spend a bajillion dollars on advertising during American Idol. But I do think that in order for your PR, social media and marketing tactics to work you have to learn to wait a bit. Here are a few tips to use to figure out if you’re too impatient.

• Are you measuring your campaign results by the number of orders you’re getting off each initiative? In a word, DON’T. Look at your website hits instead, or the traffic in your store. What’s the first step toward buying your product or service? Do they request a brochure? Do they visit the website? Are you adding Twitter followers or Facebook fans like crazy? Measure by those “first steps” in the short term.

• Are you changing your marketing strategy on a weekly or monthly basis? WRONG. You had better have confidence in your strategy (or your consultant) from the start. Nothing works if you don’t believe in it 100% from the beginning. Switching around what you’re doing on a constant basis and you’ll end up running circles.
• Are you relying on only one outreach method? It may work now, but it will stop working eventually. Or you’ll end up trying one thing after another. BLEND your messaging channels. If you’re doing radio, connect it to a twitter promotion.. Trying guerilla marketing? Make sure you’ve got some PR working in conjunction with those “on the ground”techniques.

Particularly in the online world, patience is the key to success. Jay Conrad Levinson, the founder of Guerilla Marketing, believes that patience is the most important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. Be confident in your approach. Measure it wisely. And then, like that old farmer in the field, be patient and watch the seeds of your marketing work grow.

Here’s a great post with some more tips on social media and patience – great stuff here!

I read an article the other day that said professionals should only have ‘professional’ ringtones on their cell. Then mine went off (currently George Thorogood’s ‘Bad to the Bone’) and I forgot about it until now. Next, I read an article about  being careful not to put too much personal info on your social media pages if you want to appear ‘professional’. Right after I had posted the details of my latest crash skiing, complete with raves about my visit to an incredibly good looking doc at the ER.

So which is it? Do we have to be all stuffy and proper if we use social media for work and for pleasure? I don’t think so and here’s why. I want to do business with people that I know and I suspect you do too. Yet in the virtual world we live in we don’t always get to meet our clients and colleagues in person. Facebook in particular gives me a chance to connect personally, something years ago I would have done in a golf game. For those new to social media here are a few tips I’ve learned in the past year or so to help you blend the personal and private to deepen your work relationships without risking damage to your business:

• Don’t post trivial activities like dropping hubby off at the train station
• If you really like putting trivial activities on Facebook don’t be-friend anyone you might want to have a professional relationship with
• On the other hand, don’t use Facebook ONLY for blasting client deals and promotions. That is just as inappropriate as a pic of  baby’s first poopy diaper (SERIOUSLY I SAW THIS ONCE)
• Post mostly “work like” comments during work hours – it’s more likely that’s when clients and colleagues will be reading
• Keep most of your tweets work-ish during the day or it looks like you’re a goof off
• If you’re on LinkedIn write only VERY professional posts. That is a strictly business site!
• If you’re going to use twitter for something inane to build followers (like my live tweets during American Idol) send a warning tweet that for the next couple hours you’ll be hashtagging wife swap like crazy
• Don’t ever use profanity. Not even with asterisks.
• Think about every post before you hit that enter button. In other words, post consciously!!
• Don’t post the same things over and over to try to get a reaction. This just shows you’re annoying.
• Always assume that everyone reads ALL your posts, even if you know that’s not true.
• Add your twitter, facebook, linkedin and other social media to your work email signature.
• Follow me on twitter to see how it’s done. (just kidding – but do follow me)

Sure, save the bad jokes for your closest friends in private. But if you really want to engage, open up and let people see your humor and a bit about your daily life. I’ll bet it takes the conversations with your virtual colleagues a whole lot deeper.

Here’s a great article from Chris Brogan on personal branding and social media if you want to read someone who REALLY knows what they’re talking about!

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