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Are You Judged By The Company You Keep In The Social Media Age?

Posted: 19 Jan 2012 02:53 PM PST

We've all of us been told at some point in life that we're judged by the company we keep. This advice however was borne in a pre-internet era, a time when social media couldn't even have been imagined. So how does this bode in 2012, in a world where we can make connections from across the globe by simply opening up an account on the social media platform of your choice

A relationship is, as defined by Oxford Dictionaries

"the way in which two people or things are connected, or the state of being connected"

Throughout life's journey we'll all enjoy a series of them – family, friends, school/college friends, romantic relationships, work colleagues, business associates, customers and others who fleetingly dip in and out of your life as events dictate.

All parties to the relationship know who and why they're involved, their responsibilities and what ultimately each hopes to achieve from it. As you become older and wiser, you tend to become more selective with those people you choose to interact or spend time with.

Relationships in the Social Media age

But what about business relationships in the Social Media age however, where according to the Oxford definition a connection through Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter could constitute a "relationship"? In this case a relationship with an unknown entity, where you may not even know whether the other party is male/female, their first name and little or nothing about them at all?

Think about it for a moment...

You receive a Linkedin request from an unknown, rather than simply reject do you view connections and make a decision as to whether it might suit you professionally?
You get a new follower on Twitter with a quirky handle and their bio says website not yet ready, do you check out their followers or previous tweets?
You get frequent pointless comments on your Facebook page from a company who don't offer any real value yet aren't really spamming you either, do you check out their own page before deciding whether to block them or not?
You see an update that's in poor taste, or contains particularly strong opinions or bad language that you're not comfortable with, do you unfollow or unlike there and then, or do you look in more detail at the context and decide whether it was a one-off or the side effect of an engagement with a third party?

Chances are you make some of the above checks, or others? I know I certainly do and please feel free to share in the comments if you do do even a little research on a new connection.

Thus, if there's even the slightest opportunity for another person to make a decision on you based on those you engage with via social media platforms isn't it perhaps wise to look at those you engage with and decide as to whether they serve a purpose or are likely to impact on you without your knowledge, either positively or negatively?

Here are ten personality types that could affect your popularity or otherwise online, see how many you can identify and whether it's time for a little spring cleaning?

The Creator

This person creates content and shares information and ideas in a positive way. They're happy to share their experience and you can learn from them, or make valuable contacts through them. These are great people to have in your network as they're warmly received by others too and tend to create for themselves a virtual community with common interests or ideals.

The Activist

Always ready to fight the cause, no matter how near or far away or how relevant or otherwise it is to their everyday life. Social media has given them a voice and they intend to use it. While you may be entertained, or even agree with their sentiments on occasion, do you think you'd like your fans or followers to believe that because you're friendly online that you share their views?

The Joker

They can be entertaining at first, but a stream of jokes that range from funny to daft to offensive with little of substance in-between will eventually bore or offend you enough to remove yourself. The trick with this one is to decide if the occasional giggle is worthy of the more usual humorous updates of their taste.

The Friend

This is the person who makes the effort to get to know those who've followed, connected with, circled or liked them – and not just for whatever's in it for them. They take an interest in people and are great for building networks. These people are great connections to have, as undoubtedly they'll go to great lengths to introduce you to other likeminded souls and they're quite likely to take the community offline too developing real-world friendships too.

The Spammer

They auto-tweet on the hour and share every single update from their favourite website with you, even if that particular website boasts hundreds of thousands of followers for a reason and they've got ten! They rarely create any original content of their own, but are quite happy to chat about anything and everything in between sharing the work of others.

The Know-All

Think of a topic and they know all about it. Doesn't matter that their professional expertise is in one area, they know all about everybody else's business too – and they make sure that everybody knows just how great they are.

The Nice Guy

They enjoy some light banter but never try to sell you anything or force their opinion on you. They're not caught up in growing their numbers, preferring to log on occasionally and have a chat before heading back to their offline world again. These are nice connections to make, never controversial and enjoyable company online when they appear.

The Guru

The term "guru" in somebody's bio or info section should send out alarm bells in itself, but if they're a social media guru with 20,000 tweets and 54 followers there's something seriously wrong. Same goes if they're a "guru" in one given topic yet updates cover almost anything except their area.

The Complainer

Big fans of naming and shaming, they complain openly about customers when a deal falls through or about another business who don't want to air their dirty linen in public and have expressed a preference to professionally take the complaint offline. Then they try and encourage all their social media "friends" to join in the chat too!

The Follower

They follow everybody they come across and when they're not followed back, they unfollow – even follow a second or third time, in an attempt to make sure that they've been noticed. They also go to the trouble of telling you on your facebook page that they've liked you – and just where they can find your page so you can return the favour!

The very nature of social media lends itself to research on businesses and individuals with so much more information available in the public domain than ever before. If you are therefore going to consider forging a connection with another, is it reasonable to assume that you'll be judged not just by what you say but by your interactions with others too? And more so than the mere interactions, will you be judged by the types of people you interact with?

Image: "pressing Social Network/Shutterstock"

5 Brand Promotion Lessons From The City Of Barcelona

Posted: 19 Jan 2012 03:59 AM PST

As personal, social and professional lines blur for business and consumer purchasing behavior, brand positioning and promotion is becoming a core web marketing role. One of the world's best examples of successful brand promotion is from the city of Barcelona. Here's how to apply lessons from the world's most cosmopolitan city to your own brand positioning and business marketing strategies.

Barcelona is one of the world's most cosmopolitan, romantic cities and has a trophy case full of awards to show for it. Each year, it receives new accolades from around the globe. Here are five brand promotion lessons you can adapt to your business to become a world champion, learning from the Barcelona example.

# 1. Have a strong central hub where people can cross paths and interact

Over the past two centuries, Barcelona has been able to capitalize on its Mediterranean position, compact city environs and urban beauty to draw in visitors for business and leisure. From the 1880 World Expo to being a host city for the Olympics, Barcelona has always set out to be a global hub for international visitors, and to this day the city is host to the world's second largest number of conferences and expos, with visitors arriving to attend industry events every week.

Having world class trade show facilities, and international and national transport hubs that offer efficient train, airport and port access, all allow visitors to easily enter, and move about the city.

Your business brand promotion lesson from Barcelona:

Develop a hub and spokes business marketing strategy that has multiple access points in which people can connect with your business. Facebook is your port of access, Twitter is your airport, and Google+ or LinkedIn are the conference venues. Use social media platforms position your business brand amongst the community as they engage with each other as well as interact with you. Focus on being welcoming and inviting wherever people connect with you.

Brand positioning with a hub and spokes model: Barcelona extends beyond the facebook and twitter accounts with a youtube channel and this slideshare profile

# 2. Provide a range of content formats

The Barcelona City Council have used the full gamut of available formats to showcase the city. There are slideshare presentations, youtube videos, pdf downloads, niche websites, social media hashtags, international showcase events and industry study tours that all work to promote the image and reputation of the Barcelona brand.

Your business brand promotion lesson from Barcelona:

Think outside the blogging box and beyond the landing page to produce high value business marketing content that includes videos, presentation slides, podcasts and app tools to communicate with your audience segments.

# 3. Share your data

The city of Barcelona partners with leading global business schools to produce regular indicator reports, that examine the ranking of the city against performance measures such as ease to establish business, access to telecommunications, office rental space occupancy rates, and liveability for workers.

They also proudly trumpet other data studies such as the annual Cushman and Wakefield European Cities Monitor in which Barcelona regularly ranks in the top 10 on any number of indicators. A study by the Barcelona business school ESADE last year even assessed the Barcelona brand positioning effectiveness, which the city was then able to use to extend its city promotional activities.

Your business brand promotion lesson from Barcelona:

Release some select analytics that demonstrate your effectiveness. Consider using brand positioning strategies that enable you to share your results as an infographic, and a data report and add them to all business proposals and presentation templates. Position your business to offer thought leadership insights into your sector, and share your knowledge and experience with your audiences and collaborators to build trust.

Barcelona's brand promotion includes annual data surveys ranking the city against a range of lifestyle and business indicators

# 4. Tell stories that match individual market segments

Social media and content marketing author Lee Odden, who writes for the highly valued business marketing site TopRank, and has a soon-to-be-released book on how to optimize your online presence, urges businesses to not only understand their audiences but to tell stories that match each market segments' expectations and motivations. Last year, Barcelona was trumpeted in a global branding study for doing exactly that:

tourists from Asian regions saw the city as an accessible, beach-side and cultured metropolis
US travellers perceived the city as a sexy nightowl
visitors from other European nations focus on the city's brand as a gastronomic leaders and cultured display of urban architecture.

Your business brand promotion lesson from Barcelona:

Research your target markets and map stories for how each segment connects, engages and returns to your business when purchasing goods and services. Use your brand promotion strategies to tell the stories that accentuate and clarify what you can offer to each individual and specific business marketing target audience segment.

# 5. Go mobile

While 2011 was the pivotal turning point in consumer behavior in which our global shopping habits fundamentally changed towards a process of research, social networking and gamification, 2012 is set to be the year where we unattach ourselves from our computers as the principal means of connecting to the internet. Already, a third of all web surfing and online engagement with businesses is done on mobile devices.

Barcelona, as Mobile World Capital until 2018, has embraced a wireless future, by fostering a new wave of mobile apps startups, hosting key industry events (including the 60,000+ attending Mobile World Congress), and facilitating city-wide uptake of mobile solutions (Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona, for example, is the most mobile-enhanced sports stadium in the world).

Your business brand promotion lesson from Barcelona:

Make the time and allocate the resources needed to ensure your online content is mobile-friendly. Consider a brand positioning strategy that makes use of augmented reality, apps tools and QR codes to ensure your business marketing content is accessible and easy-to-read from any mobile device.

There is something about Barcelona that evokes excitement and energy around the globe, a key sign of the city's success in its brand promotion globally. Think of brand positioning activities that have a Barcelona style and flair when you are outlining and implementing your business marketing strategy in 2012 and, like the city you can be sure the awards and accolades will follow.

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vineri, 20 ianuarie 2012