What do Egypt, Tunisia, Short Sales, Sarah Palin, Superbowl, Australia Flooding and Winter Weather have in common?

At first glance, probably not a lot. However, after a moment’s consideration, you might observe that many of these items have been in the news this week (although I’ve not read much about Sarah Palin over the past few days…)

So what’s this got to do with marketing?

Well, at the risk of sound smug, I think there’s good chance you’re reading this because something in the headline grabbed your attention. Perhaps you arrived at this post because one of the search terms you were looking for brought you to it. On the other hand, you may just have wondered what sort of stupid question was being asked.

My point is that connecting your business or personal blog, press release, social media post, or whatever to a current event can attract a greater readership.

 
But isn’t it dishonest?

I’m not advocating that you write a headline that implies something completely different. Heck, you might as well  start putting up those annoying fake banner ads that tell you you’re the “1,000,000th visitor”. What I am suggesting is that you can often find some sort of relationship between things that are going on in the world at large, and your chosen subject of interest.

I’m the first to admit that this sort of approach to generating search results or attracting visitors may be questionable to some. As I said, and I repeat, I’m not advocating dishonest headlines that have nothing to do with content, but when you consider what’s going on “out there”, and you look at your business, is there not something that you share?

To prove that I’m not full of it, I will start – the current unrest in places such as Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries has largely been possible because of social media. No matter how hard governments seem to try and lock it down, social media is a very hard genie to put back in the bottle. It’s allowed for the word to get out, for both organizers and those observing on the international scene. Would something like this have been possible a decade ago? I doubt it.

What’s that got to do with marketing? Well, consider the power of social media. It’s been able to change countries and appears to be able to topple governments. I haven’t even said “Wikileaks” yet…

I think it goes to show what a little technology in the right hands can do, and if you’re not using it, perhaps it’s time to rethink the strategy?

That all said, I hope you found something of interest in this post and you don’t consider yourself short-changed.

SOCIAL MEDIA : LOOSE LIPS AND SINKING SHIPS

The Internet has become an even greater melting pot. Online and offline lives are blurred. Many people seem to live their lives online and communicate with a world of people they may never have met. Every detail of their lives is shared in Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress, Digg, Reddit…and of course email.

There are some very positive benefits to this incredible online world, I’m the first to admit it. I have clients around the US with whom I’ve developed relationships using purely online methods that I wouldn’t have dreamed of a few years ago. I can share information so easily, click-click-done.

But the ease of communication has blurred the lines between business and personal for many people. I’ve written about this subject a couple of times in the past (links below), but for the uninitiated, here goes:

Mixing Identities

I see it all the time. I communicate professionally with someone and the next thing I know they’re sending me a “friend” request on Facebook, or a network link on LinkedIn. If they want to connect with my professional identity, I’m alright with that and happy to share, but sorry if you want to be my “friend” on a personal level. Let’s have a few dates first…?

Many people don’t separate their personal and professional identities and this can have serious repercussions. I’ve received emails from people I barely know with everything from “please forward this message of goodwill to 10 people…” to petitions, rants about anything, links to cute videos, jokes…you name it.

Opening the professional door to a business relationship does not give you the right to assume that people want to see or share in your personal life.

The Risks You Take

Your opinions and tastes might be different from those people to whom you are sending emails to or trying to connect with in a social media context. If you’re sharing purely professional information, opinion etc, then all well and good, but a lot of people don’t stop there.

Consider the reaction to someone who disagrees with something you send them. What if they’re offended? Could it be the end of a relationship? There are increasing numbers of stories in the press about social media “faux pas” that end up causing retractions and apologies, but in this world of instant communication, once it’s said, it’s very hard to unsay. If you’ve invited someone to be your online friend, do you want them knowing your friends and family too…or the fact that you “got totally wasted dude”?

One shudders to think of the legal ramifications, especially if there are license requirements that one might be expected to observe!

Separation of Church and State

If you’re sharing your personal life with your business colleagues, be prepared. As much as many of us would like to think that our “work” and “play” personalities are the same, or at least similar, they should be different, especially online. 

I call it the “separation of Church and State”. If you’ve not considered separating the two, please do so. You do need to watch what you say. As the World War II posters advertised “loose lips sink ships” and it’s very true.

Can you afford to take the risk?

 

Related articles:

• EMAIL FAUX PAS
• SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

lol – r u afk or zzz?

DAVE’S FRIDAY FEATURE

Last Friday I finished the week with an article on emoticons. I had some interesting feedback and, as promised, am following up with this Friday’s feature: Web Abbreviations (or Webbreviations).

Whether you’re texting, instant messaging, playing online games, or even emailing, from time-to-time you’ll seen an abbreviation.

Some, such as LOL (laughing out loud) are so commonplace as to merit entry in commercial dictionaries. In order to expand your web diction, below is a list of some of the more (or less) common abbreviations you might see out there.

2nite	tonight
l8r	later
afk	away from keyboard
bbfn (ttfn)	bye bye for now (ta-ta for now)
k (kk)	okay – sometimes written as kk but meaning the same thing
brb	be right back
bio	bathroom (as in I’m going on a bio break)
omw (brt)	on my way (be right there used interchangeably)
bc or b/c	because
bs	(take a guess)
idk	I don’t know
btw	by the way
gl	good luck
cu (cul8r)	see you (see you later)
dnd	do not disturb (have seen this used as "denied" as well)
lol	laughing out loud
rofl	rolling on the floor laughing
eta	estimated time of arrival
noob (n00b)	someone is new to something (derogatory – "newb" or "newbie" is the polite version)
leet (l33t)	elite (meaning cool)
g2g	got to go
gf / bf / wyf / hub / so	girlfriend / boyfriend / wife / husband / significant other
gr8	great
grz / gratz / grtz	congratulations
oxo / xoxo	hugs and kisses
id10t	idiot
imo / imho	in my opinion / in my humble opinion
jk / j/k	joking or just kidding
msg	message
im	instant message
myob	mind your own business
ne1	anyone
u2	you too (not the band)
nm	never mind
omg	oh my God (or gosh)
plz / pls	please
tmi	too much information
ppl	people
qotd / motd	quote of the day / message of the day
qt	quiet
rl	real life
sfx	special effects
tx	thanks
ttyl	talk to you later
w8	wait
w/ w/o	with / without
zzz	sleeping / sleepy

Okay, now you’re totally l33t and will be able to understand what your kids are saying (jk). There are literally hundreds of abbreviations out there. This small list comprises some of the more "universal" ones.

I’ve left some of the less appropriate ones out, but there are plenty of those too.

So, get online and I’ll ttyl!

Blackberry and Texting Etiquette

An increasingly large number of my clients are getting Blackberrys (or is it Blackberries…) and other texting devices. After all, it’s a tried-and-tested technology for those on the move. But speed and convenience seems to be leading to short replies that may be misinterpreted…

When your email is routed to your Blackberry and you want to reply, it’s relatively straightforward: type and send. However, the nature of the devices tends to mean that quick, one-liners are the norm. I often get these in reply, with a message footer “Sent from my Blackberry”. I know that a short and often abrupt-seeming reply is nothing more than that. Be careful, however, if you’re replying to a client or someone who may be a little more sensitive.

Interpretation of email and text messages can be very mixed. I, for one, am guilty of misunderstanding a sentence or two as mean something quite different than intended by the sender. The written messages don’t reflect the tone of the sender, so it’s prudent to take a moment and consider how the message may be interpreted.

Am I too concerned? Perhaps. But if someone sends you an email, for example “is this the best offer we can get” and you, caught up in a thousand other things, respond “yes” on your texting device, will your client think you’re being a little abrupt…even rude because they’re used to you explaining youself in “regular” email or on the phone? Will they understand BRT, LMAO or CUL8R? For those who would like to know more, here is a list of text abbreviations from Webopedia.

As technology moves forward and communication gets quicker, it’s easy to forget that what you meant to say and how it was perceived can be very easily blurred.

Here’s a Top 10 list of SMS etiquette tips from WirelessDevNt.com.

Don’t text and drive!

Dave

Texting a signal of wider trend (BBC).