Cause Marketing and #GivingTuesday

Now’s the time to choose (or continue to support) your cause, personally and for your business.  The Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. is labelled #GivingTuesday. Take a moment and firm up your giving.  This post will discuss personal charity selection, how to follow the charity, reasons for Cause Marketing, what a business needs to do for Cause Marketing and my selected charity, the CHOC Foundation.

Personal Charity Selection

Select one non-profit organization that you will follow this year.  Choose one that you feel a connection to.  It could be health related as you know someone with or has had this health issue.  It could be a political cause.  It could be religious.  It could be local such as the local high school education fund.  It could be outside of the country such as an organization focusing on starving children in Africa.  It could be a small non-profit or it could  be a large non-profit.  Maybe it is one that you will follow for many years or maybe for only a year.   The decision is yours.    Be comfortable with your selection. By following one or more non-profits this year you will be helping others as well as feeling better about yourself.

Non-profit Following

What do I mean by following?  Here are my thoughts on this:

• Review the chosen organization’s website and get to know the organization such as what is their message, who do they help, what activities do they have coming up and how you can be involved with them.  Know enough about this organization so that you can comfortably tell others about it.
• If the organization has a sign up to receive their newsletter, sign up for it so that you can get notified of any events or new information for this organization.  Make it easy for that organization to communicate to you.
• Check out their status to make sure they are legitimate and worthy of following.  If they are a larger non-profit, check them out on http://www.charitynavigator.org.
• If you use Facebook and if they have a Facebook fan page, become a fan of that organization so that you are can be easily informed of information from this selected organization.  Make sure that you suggest to others that they become a fan of this organization.
• If you use Twitter and if they have a Twitter account, follow them.  Suggest to others that they follow this organization.  Remember to send out a tweet about the organization on charity Tuesdays or when they have events such as a walk-a-thon.
• Check out other social media networks of the organization such as YouTube channel, Instagram page and blog to get a better understanding of the organization.
• If they take donations, make a donation, even if it is a small amount.  This donation solidifies your connection with this organization.  Or make a non-money donation, that the organization can use for a drawing such as sporting event tickets or a week at your vacation home.
• If they have a fund raising event like a carnival or pancake breakfast, make sure you attend as well as encourage others to attend including your LinkedIn Connections, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, workmates and neighbors.
• If they have some kind of volunteer activity, if possible, volunteer some of your time.    This could include volunteering activities such as a beach cleanup or manning a booth.  Or if you have an expertise that the organization could take advantage of, please volunteer your services.  For example if you are a graphic designer then you could help them create their next event brochure or ad.

Multiple touch points with the organization is key.  These touch points might draw others into being involved with your selected organization.  Much like Twitter followers, usually one follower leads to another follower.  Much like LinkedIn Connections, a new connection usually leads to another connection.  A small activity by you could lead to great benefit to your selected organization which could lead to assisting a great amount of people.

Selected Non-profit

CHOC Foundation is my chosen non-profit.  The CHOC Foundation for children exists to generate community awareness and resources for Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), supporting specific strategies that underscore the hospitals’ local and national leadership in prevention, treatment and research programs. CHOC Foundation for Children’s fundraising activities are guided by six philanthropic aspirations: to provide quality medical care for all children; to treat chronic and catastrophic illnesses; to emphasize illness and injury prevention; to support the well-being of children; to achieve medical breakthroughs; and to serve as a community leader and partner in the care of children.  Check them out at: http://www.choc.org/

Cause Marketing

I feel that any business with more than 5 employees should have a cause that it supports and promotes.  Cause Marketing involves the cooperative efforts of a for-profit business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit.  It is a relationship and not just a giving.  The for-profit business wants to be “doing well by doing good.”  It has to be authentic.  Do it right or don’t do it at all.

Reasons for Cause Marketing

1. Brand differentiation.  Be different.  Be memorable
2. Makes employees feel good as they want to work for a company that gives
3. Clients are expecting it as they want to do business with businesses who are making the world a better place

What a Business Needs to Do

1. Find your own true social mission based on your company’s values.  Talk to your employees and clients.  If your business sells to higher education then maybe the non-profit would be one that focuses on education.  If you sell locally then maybe the non-profit should be one that helps those in your local community.
2. Find the right non-profit partner.  Sounds easy, but does take some time.  Check them out and make sure they are reputable.   Find out if they are willing to work with a business.  Maybe they are too small to execute activities with your company.  Or maybe they are too large and won’t spend the time to work with you.
3. Plan and execute the Cause Marketing activities to maximize the marketing benefit.  Make Cause Marketing part of the marketing plan.  Remember that social media should be a big part of these activities.  The for-profit business must share the real pictures and real stories of the cause.
4. As with other marketing activities, measure the impact of your Cause Marketing.
5. Make any necessary adjustments (maybe change non-profits if necessary) and repeat.

Thanks for reading.  Wishing you the best for you and your selected non-profit organization.  And send me your information on your non-profit (including URL) as well as your Cause Marketing thoughts.

 

 

Law Firm’s should Review their Social Media Efforts

 

All law firms need to have a marketing plan and that plan needs to contain social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.  If your year has not started using these networks to engage with clients and prospects then now is the time.  This post will cover a suggested plan on social media for those firms just starting out with it.

Social media helps create more buzz and discussions about your firm.  Social media is a lot of little things that hopefully will create more activity regarding your legal services.  For social media to be successful it needs to be integrated with your existing marketing of live events, case studies, webinars, target emails, newsletters, press releases,etc.  Social media needs to part of your firm’s culture.  A culture change takes time to accomplish and will require educating your staff about social media.

A goal of the social media part of the marketing plan is to include the social media needs, wants and ideas of different specialties of the firm. Social Media improves the communication to and from clients, prospects and other lawyers.  It also allows for gathering of information on competing lawyers and their service offerings.

Goals – First write down the goals that you want to accomplish with social media.  Here is an example of some goals:

• Getting started on social media so that social media becomes part of the regular marketing process.
• Improve firm perception with prospects.  As more law firms begin using social media more and more, your firm will need to do so as well to be perceived as a caring, involved, organized, knowledgeable, leading edge and professional law firm.
• Improve firm’s digital presence so that your firm is found easily and more often on the internet when searched for by individuals.
• Communicate out to those interested in your firm in the communication method that they desire.  Many individuals prefer the use of such tools as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to get information.  Your firm would use social media to promote events, notify about trainings, announce webinars, mention client case studies and inform about the firm’s services.
• Improve communication into firm by people with the communication method that they desire.  Many individuals are comfortable and prefer using tools such as Twitter and Facebook. They use social media to provide product feedback, mention support issues, make enhancement requests and request information.
• Improve monitoring of competing law firms and their legal services so that your firm can quickly respond to their offerings.  This will be done by monitoring the competitor’s digital presence and social media efforts.
• Improve monitoring of mentions of your firm on the internet.  Some of these mentions might be requests for information which should be responded to quickly.  Some of these mentions might be negative which also need to be responded to quickly.
• Increase traffic to the company website and improve search engine optimization (SEO) as social media will provide more linkage to the site and will make the site more ever changing.

Components – Once you have your goals set, define what you are going to do.  Classify your social media tasks as phase 1 and phase 2 items.  Do not try to take on more than you can handle.  For example select Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Alerts for phase 1 while YouTube videos and Blog will be done in a 2^nd phase.

Facebook

Facebook is the leading social media tool.  Many individuals use Facebook as the way to stay up to date on the activities of friends and organizations that they care about.  Law firms create Facebook Fan pages so that those with an interest in their firm can get information easily and quickly.  A Facebook Fan Page usually has a more casual feel to it than a firm’s website.  Pictures and lighter tone pieces are used on a Facebook Fan Page rather than on the website which is more formal.  Facebook Fan Page should have a similar look as the  website.  The target audience is clients, prospects and partners of the company who use Facebook.  After the Fan Page is created, promote it on firm’s website, mention in newsletters and add to email signatures.  Set a goal such as to update Fan Page at least once a week with an update on firm events, webinars, trainings or service offerings.

Twitter

There are those that desire to get information via Twitter.  Twitter information is fast, current and short (140 characters).  Twitter is an excellent tool to drive individuals to a website so that they can get more information about events or services.  Anyone can be a follower of a particular Twitter account.  Therefore the desire is for anyone that has a Twitter account and would have an interest in your company for them to sign up to be a follower of your firm on Twitter.  Twitter Profile Page should have a similar look as the website.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who use Twitter.  After Twitter account is created, promote account on firm’s website, mention in newsletters and add to email signatures.  Set a goal to send at least 5 tweets a week on events, news releases, webinars, training and service offerings.  Tweets can also be industry related.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is known as the business professional’s social media tool.  It is a great tool to find individuals, law firms and companies.  LinkedIn has the ability to have a company page and create groups which have members that are interested in the group subject.  Therefore your firm can create a group that is targeted for your clients and their needs.  LinkedIn does not require as much care and feeding as Facebook and Twitter.  Initially, LinkedIn will be used by your firm as a way for people to find your firm.  The LinkedIn company profile will drive people to the firm’s website.  The target audience is business professionals with an interest in your law firm.  The initial strategy is to create the profile and maintain accuracy.  It is also recommended that all the lawyers and important staff in the firm have individual LinkedIn profiles so that they can be easily be found by other individuals.  And the profiles should be reviewed by the firm’s marketing team to make sure their is consistency in the profiles about the firm.

Google Alerts and Competition Monitoring

It is important to know what is being posted about your firm, your legal services and your competitors on the internet.  This is done by setting Google alerts on specified terms.  If these specified terms are posted on the internet Google will send you an email notification.  These emails will need to be reviewed with the appropriate person in the company notified if something needs to be responded to.  Also someone outside of your company will need to follow competitor’s Twitter account and competitor’s Facebook Fan Page.

YouTube

YouTube is a highly searched tool for videos.  Videos are usually less than 10 minutes in length (less than 3 minutes preferred) and usually are not very formal.  Many firms put testimonial videos of happy clients on a custom YouTube Channel which they control.  Many individuals at your firm will need to assist in the creation of videos including selecting topics and being shown in the videos.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who access YouTube looking for information on your firm, your services.  The strategy is to announce videos on firm’s website, mention in newsletters, send out Tweets and post on Facebook Fan Page.  Set a goal to post at least 1 video a month once you have started posting videos.

Blog

A blog is a great way to show legal expertise and to provide information to those that want it.  There are multiple blog tools that can be used with WordPress being the most well known.  The blog should be integrated into the firm’s website.  A blog is time consuming as it does take time to write the blog posts.  Consistency is important to having a successful blog.  Blog posts will probably need to be written by multiple people at your firm (or ghost writers) who have the expertise necessary for the posts.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who would like to see information related to your firm and its services.  The strategy is to announce blog posts on website, mention in newsletters, send out Tweets and post on Facebook Fan Page.  Set a goal to post 1 blog post a month once you have started your blogging.

Calendar/Costs – Now that you know what you are going to do and why you are going to do it, create a time line or calendar of when you will be tackling these social media tasks.  Mark down when you are going to set them up and when you are going to promote them.  Create a reminder to do your postings and monitoring.

All most done.  Now you need to estimate what this is going to cost you.  Many of the additional costs to do social media are in the marketing labor necessary to setup, post and monitor.  Many of the tools used are no cost items for the basic versions.  Create an estimate on the number of additional hours of marketing time it will take to do these social media tasks.  At a minimum count on 1 to 2 hours every business day to be spent on social media for the company.  If you don’t have the resources to handle this consistent effort then look into getting an outside consultant to assist setting it up and doing some of the initial work.  But for it to be successful you still need to be involved.  Once the social media process is in place, consider bringing on an intern to assist with the social media activity.  If YouTube videos are on your list, I recommend purchasing a video camera (estimate $500 with a case, memory card and tripod).  I know that time is your most precious resource but if done correctly your efforts in social media will pay off.

Incorporate social media into the firm’s efforts.  Social media will increase the communication with the firm’s clients, prospects and partners.  Hopefully, this increased communication will increase the number of new client opportunities.  Remember that the social media plan will need to be reviewed on a regular basis.  It should be a living, ever changing document.  Wish you great success.

Create a Social Media Update Checklist So Others Can Be Involved

Social media activities for a business, law firm or nonprofit organization must be consistent and include a variety of information.  This information comes from a variety of sources.  Set a goal of how many updates you want to have in a given week or month.  Also determine what is the best time of day to do updates.  Remember if you are updating for people on the East Coast of the United States or those overseas to view then you should adjust your times to fit them.  Decide on what social media tools you will be using such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and WordPress.  Create a document with the process on how updates occurs with each of these tools so that someone other than the main person can make these updates.

Remember that information for updates can come from many sources including:

• Marketing created items such as new releases, trade shows, webinars, case studies, product releases and white papers
• Posts on an organization’s blog
• Videos from an organization’s YouTube channel
• Emails from employees about clients, industry experts and partners such as employee awards won, partner achievements, client achievements, relevant articles related to a specific industry or community service
• Information from Google Alerts, newsletters, Facebook posts, LinkedIn discussions, Twitter searches, other Twitterers or Email blasts

For each social media tool used, write down the steps to do the updates including website to log into such as http://www.hootsuite.com for Twitter and the log in information.  Document the steps to do the updates.  If it is a Facebook Fan Page, mention how to get to the page and what kind of updates go on the Fan Page.  If it is a LinkedIn group for the organization mention who the managers of the group are.  If it is YouTube, mention how videos are uploaded to the channel.

Mention how information that is received is reviewed for possible use as updates.  I suggest that information from employees come via emails.  And that once a week, (I recommend it be on a Friday) that the designated social media coordinator reviews all possible update candidates and plans out the next week’s updates.  Of course, there will be items that occur that need to be updated immediately but many updates can be scheduled in advanced.  Also some updates can be repeated a few times.  During this review the social media coordinator can determine what information will be used as updates, determine when updates should occur and for Twitter, schedule them for posting for the next week.  Some items will need more information from the sender or researched further.  Some items will need to be discussed with the social media’s manager on update appropriateness, wording and timing.

The main point it to make sure that all of this information is not in one person’s head.  People do leave the organization, people do get sick and people do go on vacation.  Having an update checklist will help ensure that your social media updates are consistent.

Feel free to share your social media checklists with me.

Get Employee Involvement in Your Social Media

Social Media is now part of most organization’s marketing plan, no matter if they are a B2B tech company, a law firm or a non-profit org.  Social Media tools used include Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  The hope for adding social media to the marketing plan is to create more buzz and discussions about your organization.  For social media to be successful it needs to be integrated with the existing marketing and become part of the culture of the organization.  A culture change takes time to accomplish and will require educating your employees about social media as well as your organization’s plan, guidelines and process for social media.

Create a document on how social media relates to the employees which will contain the following:

1. Social Media Strategy/Goals – of the organization so the employees will be aware of them
2. Social Media Tools – that will be used by organization so the employees will be aware of what they are and how they will be used by the organization
3. Social Media Process – and how information from various sources gets used in social media so that the employees understand how they can be involved
4. Social Media Policy and Guidelines – so employees know what and what not to do in regards to social media

Goals: Write down your goals for social media such as integrating it with your traditional marketing activities, improving communication, increase traffic to website, improving perception or in case there is a crisis situation.

Tools: Do a brief overview of some of the social media tools that your organization will be using such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and how they will be used.  Establish a goal of how often these social media networks will be updated and when (days of week and hours during the day).

Processes: Social media activities must be consistent and includes a variety of information that comes from a variety of sources.  The process on how this information comes into the organization and gets posted or updated needs to be documented.  This documentation can be used on educating the employees.

Make note of who will doing the social media at your organization.  Write down their responsibilities and when they should be doing them.  Do not forget that this person should be monitoring mentions of your organization as well as responding to direct messages thru these social media tools.  This person or persons should be also be on the lookout for possible social media content. And don’t forget to have a backup person assigned just in case the social media coordinator is unavailable.  Write down the process for social media posts and updates in your organization.  Separate it by the sources of where the information may come from for the social media content including:

1. Organization produced information that typically comes from the marketing team such as news releases, events, videos, white papers, etc.
2. Information that is provided by staff, clients and partners such as employee awards, partner achievements, client achievements, relevant articles related to your industry or organization, community service, etc.
3. Other information gathered from Google Alerts, Newsletters, Facebook Posts, LinkedIn Discussions, Twitter Searches, Other Twitterers, Email Blasts and other methods

Policies: Write down what are the organization’s thoughts regarding social media.  Here are some examples:

• Each tool and network has proper and improper uses. Social media is changing the way people work and engage with other staff members, clients, volunteers, donors and partners.
• Activities in or outside of work that affect the employee’s job performance, the performance of others, or the organization’s interests are a proper focus for organization policy.
• The organization has a responsibility to effectively manage the organization’s reputation online and to selectively engage and participate in the online conversations that mentions them.

Social media policies and guidelines are intended to guide the employee’s participation, both when they are participating personally, as well as when they are acting on behalf of the organization.  Make sure you provide your employees some policies and guidelines in social media use.  Here are some examples of social media policies and guidelines:

1. Know and follow the published organization policies
2. Protect confidential and proprietary information of organization
3. Fully disclose your affiliation with the organization & be mindful that you are representing the organization
4. Use common sense and common courtesy in your posts/updates
5. Be conscious when mixing business and personal
6. Be responsible to your work and do not let social media affect your day job
7. Respect copyright regulations
8. Protect clients, staff, partners and supplier information
9. Look for compliments and criticism so they can be responded to or passed to appropriate person
10. Remember that your local posts can have global implications and that the Internet is permanent

Summary: Employees are key to social media success for an organization.  A well crafted social media document discussing social media goals, tools, processes, policies and guidelines will be important in educating employees.  Review this document on a regular basis and always welcome feedback on it.

Let me know how you get your employees involved in social media.

Technology Companies Need to Start Social Media Now

All technology companies need to have a business plan and that plan needs to contain a marketing plan.  And that marketing plan needs to contain social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.  If your company has not started using these tools then this needs to be the year to start.  Don’t over extend yourself but get the ball rolling on social media.  It is not going away.  This post will cover a suggested plan on social media for those just starting out with it.

The hope for adding social media to the marketing plan is to create more buzz and discussions about your company.  Social media is a lot of little things that hopefully will create more activity and sales of your company’s products and services.  For social media to be successful it needs to be integrated with your existing marketing of live events, case studies, webinars, etc.  Social media needs to part of your company’s culture.  A culture change takes time to accomplish and will require educating your company’s employees about social media and the company’s plan for social media.

A goal of the social media marketing plan is to include the social media needs, wants and ideas of different departments in the company including Support, Product Development (if applicable), Professional Services and Sales.  Social Media improves the communication to and from clients, prospects and partners.  It also allows for gathering of information on competitors and their products and/or services.

Goals – First write down the goals that you want to accomplish with social media.  Here is an example of some goals:

• Getting started on social media so that social media becomes part of the marketing process with possible increased effort on social media during 2011.
• Improve company perception with prospects.  As competitors begin using social media more and more, your company will need to do so as well to be perceived as a caring, involved, organized, leading edge and professional company.
• Improve company’s digital presence so that your company is found easily and more often on the internet when searched for by individuals.
• Communicate out to those interested in your company in the communication method that they desire.  Many individuals prefer the use of such tools as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to get information.  Your company would use social media to promote events you are exhibiting at, notify customer about trainings, announce webinars, mention client case studies and inform about the company’s products and/or services.
• Improve communication into your company by people with the communication method that they desire.  Many individuals are comfortable and prefer using tools such as Twitter and Facebook. They use social media to provide product feedback, mention support issues, make enhancement requests and request information.
• Improve monitoring of competitors and their products and/or services so that your company can quickly respond to their offerings.  This will be done by monitoring the competitor’s digital presence and social media efforts.
• Improve monitoring of mentions of your company and its products and/or services on the internet.  Some of these mentions might be requests for information which should be responded to quickly.  Some of these mentions might be negative which also need to be responded to quickly.
• Increase traffic to the company website and improve search engine optimization as social media will provide more linkage to the site and will make the site more ever changing.

Components – Once you have your goals set, define what you are going to do.  Classify your social media tasks as phase 1 and phase 2 items.  Do not try to take on more than you can handle.  For example select Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Alerts for phase 1 while YouTube videos and Blog will be done in a 2^nd phase.

Facebook

Facebook is the leading social media tool.  Many individuals use Facebook as the way to stay up to date on the activities of friends and organizations that they care about.  Technology companies have created Facebook Fan pages so that those with an interest in their company can get information easily and quickly.  A Facebook Fan Page usually has a more casual feel to it than a company website.  Pictures and lighter tone pieces are used on a Facebook Fan Page rather than on the company’s website which is more formal.  Facebook Fan Page should have a similar look as the company website.  The target audience is clients, prospects and partners of the company who use Facebook.  After the Fan Page is created, promote it on company website, mention in newsletters and add to email signatures.  Set a goal such as to update Fan Page at least once a week with an update on company event, webinar, training, product release or service offering.

Twitter

There are those that desire to get information via Twitter.  Twitter information is fast, current and short (140 characters).  Twitter is an excellent tool to drive individuals to a website so that they can get more information about events, products and/or services.  Anyone can be a follower of a particular Twitter account.  Therefore the desire is for anyone that has a Twitter account and would have an interest in your company for them to sign up to be a follower of your company on Twitter.  Twitter Profile Page should have a similar look as the company website.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who use Twitter.  After Twitter account is created, promote account on company website, mention in newsletters and add to email signatures.  Set a goal to send at least 5 tweets a week on company events, news releases, webinars, training, product releases and/or service offerings.  Tweets can also be industry related.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is known as the business professional’s social media tool.  It is a great tool to find individuals and companies.  LinkedIn has the ability to have a company page and create groups which have members that are interested in the group subject.  Therefore your company can create a group that is targeted for your company’s clients and partners.  LinkedIn does not require as much care and feeding as Facebook and Twitter.  Initially, LinkedIn will be used by your company as a way for people to find your company.  The LinkedIn company profile will drive people to the company website.  The target audience is business professionals with an interest in your company.  The initial strategy is to create the profile and maintain accuracy.  It is also recommended that all the upper management of the company have individual LinkedIn profiles so that they can be easily be found by other individuals.

Google Alerts and Competition Monitoring

It is important to know what is being posted about your company, your products/services and your competitors on the internet.  This is done by setting Google alerts on specified terms.  If these specified terms are posted on the internet Google will send you an email notification.  These emails will need to be reviewed with the appropriate person in the company notified if something needs to be responded to.  Also someone outside of your company will need to follow competitor’s Twitter account and competitor’s Facebook Fan Page.

YouTube

YouTube is a highly searched tool for videos.  Videos are less than 10 minutes in length and usually are not very formal.  Many companies put training videos and product information videos on a custom YouTube Channel which they control.  Many individuals at your company will need to assist in the creation of videos including selecting topics and presenting in the videos.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who access YouTube looking for information on your company, your products and/or services.  The strategy is to announce videos on company website, mention in newsletters, send out Tweets and post on Facebook Fan Page.  Set a goal to post at least 1 video a month once you have started posting videos.

Blog

A blog is a great way to show expertise and to provide information to those that want it.  There are multiple blog tools that can be used with WordPress being the most well known.  The blog should be integrated into the company website.  A blog is time consuming as it does take time to write the blog posts.  Consistency is important to having a successful blog.  Blog posts will probably need to be written by multiple people at your company who have the expertise necessary for the posts.  Target audience is clients, prospects and partners who would like to see information related to your company, your company’s products and/or services.  The strategy is to announce blog posts on website, mention in newsletters, send out Tweets and post on Facebook Fan Page.  Set a goal to post 1 blog post a month once you have started your blogging.

Calendar/Costs – Now that you know what you are going to do and why you are going to do it, create a time line or calendar of when you will be tackling these social media tasks.  Mark down when you are going to set them up and when you are going to promote them.  Create a reminder to do your postings and monitoring.

All most done.  Now you need to estimate what this is going to cost you.  Many of the additional costs to do social media are in the marketing labor necessary to setup, post and monitor.  Many of the tools used are no cost items for the basic versions.  Create an estimate on the number of additional hours of marketing time it will take to do these social media tasks.  At a minimum count on 1 to 2 hours every business day to be spent on social media for the company.  If you don’t have the resources to handle this consistent effort then look into getting an outside consultant to assist setting it up and doing some of the initial work.  But for it to be successful you still need to be involved.  Once the social media process is in place, consider bringing on an intern to assist with the social media activity.  If YouTube videos are on your list, I recommend purchasing a good video camera.  Estimate cost to be around $500.  I know that time is your most precious resource but if done correctly your efforts in social media will pay off.

Incorporate social media into the company’s marketing efforts.  Social media will increase the communication with the company’s clients, prospects and partners.  Hopefully, this increased communication will increase the number of leads and sales.  Remember that the social media plan will need to be reviewed on a regular basis.  It should be a living, ever changing document.  Wish you great success.

Commit to Follow One Non-Profit Organization This Year

The 1st post of the year should be a special and here is mine.  One favor.  Select one non-profit organization that you will follow this year.  Choose one that you feel a connection to.  It could be health related as you know someone with or has had this health issue.  It could be a political cause.  It could be religious.  It could be local such as the local high school education fund.  It could be outside of the country such as an organization focusing on starving children in Africa.  It could be a small non-profit or it could  be a large non-profit.  Maybe it is one that you will follow for many years or maybe for only a year.   The decision is yours.    Be comfortable with your selection.

Social Media is about giving.  By following one or more non-profits this year you will be helping others as well as feeling better about yourself.  What do I mean by following?  Here are my thoughts on this:

• Review the organization’s website and get to know the organization such as what is their message, who do they help, what activities do they have coming up and how you can be involved with them.  Maybe do RSS so that you will be notified when their website home page is modified.  Know enough about this organization so that you can comfortably tell others about it.
• If the organization has a sign up to receive their newsletter, sign up for it so that you can get notified of any events or new information for this organization.  Make it easy for that organization to communicate to you.
• Check out their status to make sure they are legitimate and worthy of following.  If they are a larger non-profit, check them out on http://www.charitynavigator.org.
• If you use Facebook and if they have a Facebook fan page, become a fan of that organization so that you are can be easily informed of information from this selected organization.  Make sure that you suggest to others that they become a fan of this organization.
• If you use Twitter and if they have a Twitter account, follow them.  Suggest to others that they follow this organization.  Remember to send out a tweet about the organization on charity Tuesdays.
• If they take donations, make a donation, even if it is a small amount.  This donation solidifies your connection with this organization.  Or make a non-money donation, that the organization can use for a drawing such as sporting event tickets or a week at your vacation home.
• If they have a of fund raising event like a carnival or pancake breakfast, make sure you attend as well as encourage others to attend including your Linkedin Connections, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, workmates and neighbors.
• If they have some kind of volunteer activity, if possible, volunteer some of your time.    This could include volunteering activities such as a beach cleanup or manning a booth.  Or if you have an expertise that the organization could take advantage of such as graphic designer for event brochure, provide them with your expertise.  Many of these organizations need assistance with social media.

Multiple touch points with the organization is key.  These touch points might draw others into being involved with your selected organization.  Much like Twitter followers, usually one follower leads to another follower.  Much like Linkedin Connections, a new connection usually leads to another connection.  A small activity by you could lead to great benefit to your selected organization which could lead to assisting a great amount of people. Thanks for considering.  Wish you the best for you and your selected non-profit organization.

My selected non-profit is The Public Law Center (PLC) of Santa Ana, CA.  I’ve come to know them well through volunteering for them.  I’ve also made a small contribution to them.

PLC is Orange County California’s pro bono law firm.  PLC is committed to providing access to justice for low income residents. Through volunteers and staff, PLC provides free civil legal services, including counseling, individual representation, community education, and strategic litigation and advocacy to challenge societal injustices.  Now over 28 years of service, PLC works with more than 730 volunteer lawyers, paralegals and law students from throughout Orange County who volunteer their time and expertise.

In the year 2008 alone, PLC staff and volunteers provided 50,153 hours of free legal services in handling more than 3,200 cases, serving a total of 14,000 low income children, adults and seniors in Orange County. PLC estimates that the value of free legal services provided by PLC staff and volunteers in 2008 is worth more than $16 million. PLC volunteers include partners at major Orange County law firms, sole practitioners, young lawyers, law students, college students and an array of others concerned about ensuring access to justice.

PLC’s staff of over 20 works to make certain that volunteers have the tools necessary to properly represent their clients.  PLC carefully screens new cases to ensure that the matters are appropriate for placement with a volunteer attorney.  PLC staff monitors all cases from the client’s first contact with PLC until the case closes.  PLC provides training in a variety of critical areas of importance for our volunteers, as well as substantive backup from the expert advocates on our staff.   PLC staff assists with interpretation for non-English speaking clients who do not have their own interpreters and for volunteers who do not have diverse language capabilities in their office.

Most importantly, PLC provides Orange County attorneys with the opportunity to help make sure that access to civil justice is available to all. PLC offers a variety of different types of pro bono work for potential volunteers, whether they are in large firms or small firms, sole practitioners, litigators or transactional lawyers, or law students.

PLC opens access to justice for those who are most vulnerable to injustice. PLC’s collaborative relationship with other organizations help make Orange County a better place to live for everyone.

PLC can be contacted by calling (714) 541-1010 or accessing http://www.publiclawcenter.org.  PLC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

Last Post of 2009 – Thank You and Happy Holidays

I would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and wish everyone a great 2010.  The past year has been trying for many (myself included) but I am looking forward to 2010.  A new year always means new hope.  Just like at the beginning of the baseball season there is always hope as your team is equal to everyone else and could win the World Series.  Please take some time to reflect on 2009, set goals for 2010 and do some planning on whatever it is you do professionally as well as personally.

My, how my life has changed this year.  I have gone from a work in the office traditional marketing person to a work at home social media marketing person.  I have had to adjust from an 8 to 5 routine to a consultant where I control my own routine.  I had to learn new marketing tools and am amazed how great they are.

First of all, I want to thank my family for putting up with me while I have learned the new marketing tools.  Traditional marketing still exists, but those of us in marketing have had to learn all the new social media marketing tools and how they should be used for our clients, company or organization.

 

I want to thank my friends and business associates.  Thank you to my clients, the ones that pay me for my services and the ones that I volunteer my services for.  I am here for you if you need me.

In this last blog of the year, I want to thank all my blog readers for your readership, support, and participation.   This is my 1st year of blogging and I now see things differently due to it and other social media avenues such as Twitter.  When talking to friend or family or reading an article, I now say  to myself, “Oh, I must write a blog post about that” or “I should Twitter that”. I want to thank my readers  for reading, for sharing your experiences and suggestions, and for asking your questions. I appreciate your engagement with me.

I want to thank all of my Twitter followers and those that I follow.  Everyday I learn something new from the people I follow on Twitter.   Again, I appreciate your engagement with me.  I am looking forward to the opportunity in 2010 to meet some of the people I follow.

I want to thank all of my connections on LinkedIn.  This are my closest people to me in business.  Many of these connections I have worked with and they are a part of me.   Thanks also to the individuals that manage the groups that I partake in and to the people that submit content to these groups.  Some of it I find quite useful.

I want to thank all of my Facebook friends.  This is the tool that it has taken my the longest to embrace and one of my tools for 2010 is to do better with Facebook.

I am thankful for the great marketing hardware products such as the Cisco Flip Video camera that I use to do my job.  What a simple tool to use.  I am thankful to all the social media software tool vendors for creating the tools that I use such as Hootsuite and UberTwitter.  I am thankful for the experts that I follow to gain insight and understanding such as Chris Brogan.

I hope you have had or will have the opportunity to take a few days off over this holiday season to spend time with loved ones, with your mind cleared of work ideas and to-dos.  Downtime is vital for recharging your energy, creativity and perspective.  I want to wish you and those you care about all the best .

Next year promises to be an exciting time, as I prepare to launch a host of  new content on my various avenues (Web, WordPress Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube).  Hopefully in 2010 I’ll provide you with some good information, thoughts and comments.  I’ll stay connected with you in 2010 and many I’ll see in 2010.  Let’s make 2010 a great year.  Just Do It!

Tools That I Use as a Work at Home and Mobile Business Consultant

I often get asked what tools I use as a work at home and mobile business consultant.

So here are the tools that I use:

• Dell Laptop with Microsoft Office Applications and Vista OS have served me well
• Seagate FreeAgent Backup Disk allows me to backup my documents at least once a week
• Logitech Wireless Mouse allows me freedom from the cord
• HP Photosmart C5780 All-in-One (Printer-Scanner-Copier) gives me all I need in one place and prints well
• Cable Internet that  is fast and now reliable
• Cisco Linksys Wireless Router so that I can me mobile with my laptop around the house
• Backberry Tour Cell Phone so that I can stay connected to email and Twitter while on the road
• Yahoo Mail (and Calendar) is what I live and die with it and allows me to stay organized
• Google Gmail email which I use as a backup just in case Yahoo is down or when I need a 2nd email address
• 1and1 for my website and is was easy to create the site and make changes
• Twitter to communicate with others which I have found to be easy to use for reading and sending tweets
• Hootsuite which I use to monitor Twitter mentions and to schedule Tweets
• Ubertwitter which I use to read and send tweets from my Blackberry cell phone
• Linkedin is a great tool to stay connected with people and the Linkedin groups provide me with great information
• Facebook is an avenue for people to connect with me and I’m still developing my strategy for its use
• Cisco Flip video camera is easy to use and makes it easy to post videos to YouTube
• YouTube is a great place to place videos
• Flickr is where I place any pictures that I want others to see such as group events
• WordPress for my blog posts and have found it very easy to use
• Intuit Quickbooks for accounting
• Constant Contact for Email Newletters to clients and partners

I recommend all of the above.  All are great tools and easy to use.  Many are no cost tools.  I suggest that other consultants do the same in mentioning the tools they use to assist newer consultants coming behind you.  Feel free to send me comments on any of the above tools.  It does take time to learn these tools so make sure that you dedicate the necessary time whenever you select a new tool to learn it.  I’m not looking at adding to the list of tools at this time but you do need to be flexible.  Have fun learning and experimenting.

Share Your Skills

I just read Chris Brogan’s (@chrisbrogan) blog entry regarding “Put Your Skills to Use” dated December 13, 2009. Full agreement and I have already been doing it. Chris said he was inspired by Chris Kieff’s (@Ckieff) idea to Make a Facebook Page for someone. I was inspired by the blog entry and now I’m hoping I will inspire someone.

I’m pretty good on Linkedin. When friends lose their job they don’t know what to do. I tell them get a Linkedin account, update your profile, connect with people you know and get recommendations. Of course they say how do I do that. I quickly arrange a meeting at a local coffee shop with wireless and show them what I have done and set up their Linkedin account and profile for them. I then connect with them, write a quick recommendation for them and add them to a group or two. Takes an hour but it gets my friend moving on their job search. I followup with them in a few days to see how they are doing and provide some more suggestions.  They are appreciative and I feel good.  Win Win.

Kieff’s point is that you know how to do it and there are people you know that could use your help. You can assist people with money or with your time. Giving your time is more meaningful and rewarding. Maybe you know how to do Twitter backgrounds. Maybe you know how to shoot videos for YouTube. Maybe you know how to post pictures on Flickr. Everyone has a talent or skill that they can share. I actually see those without jobs and independent consultants sharing their time more than those with jobs. That should not be the case. Everyone should donate their time to others – friends, family and people you hardly know.

I’m currently doing volunteer marketing services for a local nonprofit. They use Constant Contact as their email newsletter tool. I know it quite well. So it was a perfect fit. I enjoy the people at this nonprofit and they like me. I feel good when I leave their office every week. They think that they are getting a great deal from an experienced marketing person at no cost. I think I have the better deal with them.

So pay it forward and share your skills and knowledge.  Let me know your share stories.