Battle Against Pink Slime Shows Power of Moms and Social Media –  Never underestimate the power of moms who unite for a cause. Or the power of social media. Not sure there’s much crisis PR to do here, the pictures pretty much tell the story.

Why Your CEO Should Tweet — Twitter is all about direct access, and it can be very time effective for a CEO who is willing to communicate. I always advise my clients to spend 20 minutes a day (minimum) getting out into social.

Has Timeline Helped or Hurt Brand Engagement? — My personal opinion is that it depends greatly on the type of page you’re studying. Brands with significant interaction between fans (community support, etc.) show a drop. Brands that benefit from pinning and highlighting posts are helped. The trick is to find what helps your page.

Pinterest is Huge — Probably already heard that. But this information is staggering. It’s now the 3rd largest social network.

Why Social Media Isn’t Just Another Time Suck — I hear this from every single client: “I don’t have time to do social media.” Agreed, there has to be a balance, and I work hard to make every minute invested as effective as possible. But you have to do it.

Green Restaurant Association — Driven by consumer demand, restaurants are greening their act. This article talks specifically about the pizza industry, but I’ve seen many restaurants start to address takeout waste, in particular. If you want to get involved, check out Takeout Without.

Oldies But Goodies:

Tips for Writing a Good Press Release — Who doesn’t need to refresh on these? As social media changes, these constantly change. But, that said, there are a lot of really bad releases out there.

What’s a Celebrity Endorsement Worth to You? — I’ve been known to go on a soap box about this. In general, I think celebrity endorsements of most brands are almost worthless. There are exceptions (fashion is one) where it’s very helpful. But for the average product, any jump in sales is very fleeting, and it’s a lot of time wasted chasing famous people.

How to Run a Business While Traveling the World — I travel a lot, and it takes modifications and prep work to make everything work seamlessly. I’d add to this article that you never can anticipate a crisis, so be prepared for your worst nightmare. It might happen when you are in another country without internet. Make sure you have internet.

Infographics — In a word, YES! Pinterest has made these previous sleepers all the rage. I have also just started working with SlideShare, but I love it.

Why You Should Use User-Generated Content — Otherwise known as reviews, questions, comments, etc., user-generated content is very valuable, and most of us get that but aren’t quite sure how to get more of it, or exactly why it’s so hot.

Cool Facebook Ad Tactics — I’ve been reading this over and over, and thinking about ways to apply them to my Facbook ads. LOVE the video promotion tactic!

Oneload – Video Distribution — Upload once and share everywhere — looks pretty interesting. Have to try this soon.

Microsoft Will Try to Solve Social Media Hurdles for Advertisers – See above article about user-generated content, then read this. Take note of the opinion that social media users are starting to show a “reluctance to purchase products directly marketed through social networks”.

Google Shortcuts — See all your Google services (Maps, Documents, Gmail, etc.) in one drop-down menu. This is a Firefox add-on.

Is Google going to start a Foursquare competitor?

Is anyone advertising on Twitter? How’s it going?

iftt.com — Stands for “If This, Then That”. Haven’t tried it, but it appears to take triggers, like posting on Twitter or taking a picture, and automates the next step(s). Ideas on how to use it?

The Rule of Three — The rule states that any more than three is confusing. Really good examples of places to look for more than three that you probably haven’t thought of. Thinking about this, it dawned on me that this very list was a huge violation.

Tweet Bar — Chrome extension that lets you Tweet right from your browser.

Tutorials! And more tutorials! – This is an awesome site to bookmark, they have lots and lots of tutorials for just about everything social media. This link goes to their Google section because that’s how I found them, but look at the top of the page and find others.

monitter – Real time search on Twitter for keywords, with the ability to narrow down to a specific geographic area. I just checked out who was talking about spaghetti in Tucson — kind of fun. I think this will be hugely useful for some projects I’m working on.

5 Free Tools for Social Media Listening – Showing ROI or knowing what customers are saying is a constant battle in social media. Several of these are pretty basic, but I thought a couple were interesting.

LinkedIn Launches Follow Company Button — Another “like” button copycat? Or something useful?

foobar - WordPress plugin that adds notification bars to your site. Supports custom post types and taxonomies. The example they use is kind of cheesy, but I can think of some slick applications for this.

5 Ways to Find Leads on Facebook – Pretty self-explanatory.

Using Google Analytics to Measure Your Site’s ROI – It’s important to track more than visitor stats!

Pinterest

If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, it’s the current social media darling. It’s exceptionally well suited for real estate because it’s so visual. And, it’s addictive. Successful marketing of yourself as a Realtor depends on staying in contact with your base, and Pinterest is a fun way to build that relationship. You need an invitation to set up an account, if you need an invite, just let me know. If you have questions about how to set up your account, read this and pay special attention to how Pinterest links to your Facebook account. If you use Facebook as a person and also have a business page, make sure you understand how to set up both pages before you start.

3 Creative Ways Realtors Use Pinterest

Real Estate Link Building with Pinterest

Case Study – Using Pinterest for Realtors

Getting Started Using Pinterest for Realtors – NAR Blog

Should Realtors be Sold on Pinterest?

Google+

Google+ is probably the best thing you can do for your SEO and connect with your buyers/sellers at the same time. Your posts on G+ directly influence Google search, so posting regularly and smartly can make a big difference on how often you come up in the sea of real estate sites and ads. If you’re not on board with Google+ you should be. Public Google+ posts count as websites now, as far as search is concerned, and many searches for content are now going through Google+. There’s bad and good here, but since you can’t change it, developing a strategy and making the best of the situation is advised. Here’s a good article on how Google+ search is currently working, but stay tuned for that to continue to change.

If you’re not convinced, here’s information specific to why Google+ is worth it for small businesses .

Google+ for Real Estate Agents

LinkedIn Group for Realtors devoted to Google+

How Google’s New Alogrithm Affect Real Estate Websites

Here’s a handy guide to setting up your Google+ page for business.

Getting on Board with Google+ — This article has good explanations of how the various features work.

Have you been using Google+ with little or no results? It might be your content. 4 Warning Signs Your Google+ Account Needs Work.

Since Google+ will play an important role in SEO and search for your brand, make sure you understand how to use Google effectively to drive traffic. This is an excellent primer: Getting A Look at Trends with Google Insights.

If you haven’t checked out Ripples, learn more about them here, and then see how well your content is being shared.

Twitter

It’s probably less obvious how Twitter can be helpful to real estate marketing because so much of traditional information is based on personal networking. Once you understand that Twitter is personal networking, just faster and easier and a lot more direct, the power of Twitter should be more exciting.

Top Twitter Tips for Real Estate Agents

10 Twitter Tips for Realtors by a Realtor

Twitter Usernames for NAR

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social network for real estate agents, and you’ve probably gotten some information about it, and probably even have a page or profile set up. Facebook is also very crowded and the search there is very difficult to use, so don’t count on clients searching Facebook to find you easily. You have to figure out how to make your content interesting and relevant.

I suggest making a mini editorial calendar and posting about a variety of topics, local events and information that your clients will be interested in reading even if they are not in the market to list or buy a home. Follow successful agents in other markets and network with local companies — and try to limit self promotion.

Also, optimize your page’s timeline. It’s an excellent way to keep relevant topics at the top of the page and you now have a large cover image to work with.

Field Guide to Facebook for Realtors

NAR’s Facebook Page

Top 5 Facebook SEO Strategies for Realtors

If you have specific questions, feel free to comment. If you’ve got a rocking page on any social network, share it.

Especially when you are selling products to green moms, your brand is under scrutiny every day. Good brands with toxin-free products are constantly working on consumer education, and that’s vital to convincing a mom that your product is worth the extra price tag. But, what happens when that perceived value turns the other way? Your actions decide what consumers think of your brand from now on.

Remember, this isn’t the olden days when you had days to figure something out and hope it went away. There’s no trickle down effect that buys you a month or more to decide if you even have to say anything at all. Today, moms spread the word about a situation like this in minutes, probably before you even know they are aware of it. Fear that they are using a product that could injure their child spurs these situations like a wildfire with a stiff wind. Never underestimate the mother instinct to protect her child, and if your brand makes a product that is supposed to be safer or better or protect their child more, and the possibility exists that you’ve actually done harm — you’re going to feel the heat. Big time.

First and foremost, you should have a plan for something off-the-charts-bad, like a product recall. Running around trying to rally the troops wastes precious time, allowing the rumors and consumer-generated press to spread. Start step by step, from how your customer service people handle that initial phone call that your product has injured someone. What do they say? Who do they transfer the phone to? What information do you need? Is someone capable available to take that phone call day or night? I like to practice this often, and use the results for company-wide training. Then, what’s your next step? Charting some of the possibilities out in advance gives you a document to refer to and lets you get orders out to your public relations team so a press release can be generated in minutes instead of days.

In almost all the crisis communications I do, the lack of a plan has played a huge part in the current level of angst. Because there is no plan, people take actions that are reactionary — and that’s not usually the smart action. When I ask what the plan was versus what’s happening there’s usually silence on the phone. Then comes rationalization for what’s been done, and finally we start talking about what has to happen now.

Second, the cardinal rule in social media is transparency. Repeat that a few times. I believe that had California Baby been transparent about their formulation change right from the beginning, and I mean fully transparent, the outcome would have been night and day from what’s happening now. Green moms want to know the details. Reformulations happen all the time, and explaining the reasons and the details of a new formulation gives your side of the story the top billing. Your customers buy your organic products because they believe in you as a company. They aren’t there for the manufacturing process or to source ingredients. They have to believe that you are doing what you say you’re doing. This starts with transparency from day one. If you’re not being transparent today, fix it.

Third, every company gets complaints. No matter how brutal or how much truth there is, when moms see a complaint, there’s research that shows they judge the complaint’s validity by how you handle the response. Disavowing all knowledge of the situation (like H&M did) doesn’t work. Most people believe that for a consumer to take the time to complain publicly to you, there’s some truth to the complaint. Trying to sweep the situation under the Facebook rug by deleting comments is probably the worst single thing you can do. Hopefully you have a competent and social media-savvy PR team and together you can respond to complaints honestly and fairly. True, there are some people who are just trying to start trouble, but most consumers see that. Their belief in you as a company is directly tied to how you treat those people. Openly.

I want to say this again because it’s so mind boggling that companies do this — do not, under any circumstances, start deleting stuff from your Facebook page. The only exception to this is when someone is being abusive or violating your policies. Having those policies clearly spelled out from the beginning is crucial. Spend the time to do it. And stick to them. It’s fine to ask the complainer to email you and take the nitty gritty off the wall. But hitting the delete button shows you are defensive, and that spells deception.

Fourth, spell out clearly, in the case of a massive consumer outcry, what you are doing about the problem. It might not be pleasant to admit that you didn’t quality check an ingredient and now someone has gotten sick (or whatever your drama happens to be). But, being clear about your responsibility and how you will fix the problem in the future is the only way to keep your moms’ trust and your brand’s reputation. If you think your brand is above what green moms will say about it, read Beth Terry’s story and how she persuaded Clorox to provide recycling for Brita filters. If a company the size of Clorox is forced to change by one mom and her efforts, your company can and take a major hit too.

Last, show your consumers now, every day, what you do to protect them, to provide the products they believe they are buying, and how much you do to keep those products safe. Before you have a public relations problem. Spending the money and effort to show why your company cares about the products it makes, why those products are better than your competitors and how much work goes into the manufacturing of those products will help your current sales. Then, if something goes awry, you can point to those steps and clearly spell out what happened. In most cases, moms will understand and respect your accountability and transparency.

Keep these things in mind:

• Everyone makes mistakes.
• We should learn early in life that taking responsibility is not optional.
• Greenwashing is bad karma.
• Green moms can either be your best ally or worst public relations problem.
• It’s all up to you.

If you’re not convinced about the usefulness of Pinterest for your business, this article might shed some light on how it integrates with your other content curation.

It’s fairly easy to set up a personal account and I recommend you do this first, and play around with the site for at least a week before attempting to add your business page. This isn’t a site built around selling anything (in fact, it’s against the TOS) and you won’t get far by just giving out sales information. Relax and pretend this an electronic filing system for magazine pages and you’ll be a lot more on the right track.

Signing up to Pinterest can be done via Facebook or Twitter. I recommend you use the Facebook verification for your personal page because you’ll have to use the Twitter verification for your business page. I’ve had poor results trying to set up multiple pages from Twitter without using multiple browsers.  Once you have responded to the invitation, you can log in to your personal page with Facebook and your brand page with Twitter. The only downside until Pinterest offers brand pages is that you can’t link your brand page to Facebook.

Be sure to add the “Pin It” button to your IE toolbar to make it easier to pin things you find — even if you remove it after a week or so.

Get the feel and syntax for Pinterest, one of the reasons it’s so popular is the visual quality. Your brand will want to focus on the best images as Pinterest fodder, and you probably want to consider creating custom images for products that would share well on Pinterest. Think of this as your opportunity to turn your brand into an online magazine.

Learn about how Pinterest can help your brand’s SEO and consider creating an infographic that relates to your industry especially for pinning. Remember that between 50-70% of users are female, and I am seeing quality winning out over quantity.

Look at other brand pages and see how your brand can stand out. This article with analysis of Michael’s Pinterest brand page is one starting place. Check for your favorite brands as well. Whole Foods has a very nice brand page and green brands seem to be particularly quick to adopt Pinterest. Here’s another article with advice for brands on Pinterest.

To see what users have pinned from your site already, use this link, replacing yoursite.com with your URL: http://pinterest.com/source/yoursitename.com/.

Make sure to add the “Pin It” button to your web site and blog. I really like the Pin It On Pinterest plugin for WordPress for adding a “Pin It” button at the end of each post. It adds a box to the post editor that allows you to specify the text and photo that get pinned.

Be sure to be creative — for examples on how brands have developed a unique style/voice for Pinterest, see these examples.

If you need inspiration, check out these tips and tricks.

I’d love to see how your brand is using Pinterest, feel free to post links in the comments below.

I think the new timeline looks a lot like a blog, and the options are well thought out. Regardless of how you use Facebook, it makes it easier to show people what you’re all about.

Basics: Decide what LinkedIn will do for you.

1. Determine what you want to use LinkedIn for.

2. Determine with whom you want to connect and the parameters for new connections.

3. Determine how LinkedIn connects with your other social media and marketing efforts.

4. Make commitments on how much time you want to spend on LinkedIn.

5. If important, figure out how to determine results of your efforts and set benchmarks or goals.

Profile: Introduce yourself.

6. Complete your profile.

7. Add value propositions to your experience profile.

8. Obtain as many recommendations as possible. Don’t be shy to ask!

9. Update often so it shows up in your status announcement to connections.

Connections: Create a useful network.

10. Decide if you will connect with most everyone or be selective in your invitations and acceptances.

11. Always add a personal note to the people you invite to connect with you.

12. Always send personal notes to the people with whom you connected as a result of their invitations.

13. Always thank people who connect with you or with whom you’ve connected.

14. Always offer to do something for your connections. I end each thank you note with “Let me know what I can do for you.”

15. Comment as often as possible to your connections’ status updates.

16. Check the connections of new connections to find other people you’d like to connect with.

17. Pledge to contact so many people each month from your connection list.

18. Organize your connections into lists to more easily find people to send messages.

19. Don’t be shy to ask for introductions from your connections to their connections.

20. Offer to introduce your connection to another of your connections when it would be advantageous to them.

21. Thank connections or anyone else who responds to your comments or recommends you in groups.

Status: Show your expertise and experience.

22. Update often with information about you that is meaningful to your connections, whether personally or generally.

23. Update with news of what you’re doing, what you did and what you’re going to do professionally.

24. Update with information on events you’re going to attend, lead, plan, etc.

25. Update with awards you’ve just received.

26. Update with new postings on your blog or others’ blogs.

27. Offer to provide information or assistance to your connections.

28. Share job, intern and volunteer opportunities.

29. Avoid using automatic tweets if your purposes for each social medium are different.

Applications: Enhance your profile.

30. Add a blog, video, PPTs, slides, work samples to show your expertise and experience.

31. Follow events to attend. Post events of your own, even if you’re just attending.

32. Use collaboration apps to get your contacts working together on a project (innovation).

33. Use Learning Center to get the most out of LinkedIn.

34. Use Skills to find contacts, jobs, industry.

35. Use Company to see who’s come on board and some career information

36. Use Settings to have status information and group discussions sent directly to your email in box.

Groups and Answers: Share and learn.

37. Sign up for special interest groups.

38. Participate in discussions where your expertise shines.

39. Read to learn about your industry/profession.

40. Read to see how you might improve or target your product, service or expertise.

41. Read to learn what keywords you can incorporate in your profile to reach your audiences/customers through search engines.

42. Ask questions to engage the community and get answers.

What does it take to get you or the people you know to actually do something?

I call them the hand raisers. The people in church who raise their hand to show they agree but then leave and go straight to the potluck without signing up to actually do anything to make the event happen.

Ever notice it’s the same people who actually put on the events time and time again? Those are the do-ers. The people who actually do something.

Whether you are looking for volunteers at your child’s school, trying to sell a product that costs a bit more but is a lot better for the earth or asking people to attend an event, the biggest challenge is finding the people who do more than raise their hands.

It’s beyond frustrating to realize how much can be accomplished by small steps but be unable to convince enough people to volunteer for your fund raiser. Or, to know how desperately the school needs help but phone call after phone call finds parents too busy to help. At all.

For non-profits, it’s not the big multi-million dollar gifts, it’s the steady $10 a month gifts that allow them to budget and do good work every day. At schools, it’s vital that more than two or three parents show up for PTA meetings. Imagine if everyone on earth used just 5 or 10 less plastic bags a year!

The frustration of trying to find the do-ers can seem overwhelming, like my week. It seems like you’re pushing that ball uphill if you’re working at any of these organizations. Especially now. Maybe it’s apathy — we have accomplished so much for the environment. Or, maybe it’s all the bad news these days — there’s only so much you can take. Or, maybe it’s just always this way.

Any suggestions on motivating people to take that small step? Any organizations have success with volunteers year after year?