It’s Your Brand!! Don’t put it in the hands of a Brand Buster!!!! April 28, 2012

Shareology has seen too many examples lately of companies hiring unprepared college graduates and putting them in charge of social media.  Ya gotta learn somewhere, right?  They can post Facebook entries, right? They’re born with a cell phone in their hands, right?  They should be great at social media, right?

Wrong!   Assuming that someone whose recent social media activity includes uploading their latest kegger photos can be left in charge of your brand… oh, so dangerous.

The steps to fix this little train wreck?  Oh, so simple.

•  Do a Google search on the person.

Your new hire can lock down Facebook, stash all their kegger photos there, and not get in the way of being an effective brand evangelist for you.

•  Check their LinkedIn and Twitter profiles.  Double check their Twitter stream.

Can they spell?  Can they construct a sentence?  Does the twitter stream consist of nothing but reality TV references?  Danger, Will Robinson!!

• Share Strategy and Tactics!

Explain to them what your brand stands for and what your strategy is for your company, your marketing, your social media. Explain how you expect them to contribute to those strategies with specific tactics.

Three oh so simple steps.  This would stop oh so horrible brand massacres. Oh, and after you hire them, read what they are saying about your company.  It’s your brand.  Protect it.

Kay Roseland @KayLoire

Hive, War Room or Social Media Hub? February 5, 2012

Shareology was having lunch as part of her “Coffee or lunch with all social media peeps in the Twin Cities” campaign….when the mention of a social media war room popped into the conversation.  Shareology charmingly asked if she could take a peek, and what a peek it was!

Bolin Marketing hosted Shareology to a peek at their Hive.  It consists of 4 stations, staffed by social media whizzes with some nifty tools for tweeting and liking:

One thing Bolin is particularly proud of with the Hive is the macro view of  clients on the large wall monitors and then the micro view at desktop.

Brilliant repartee on social media followed and an hour flew by!!

The room setup allows for each to concentrate on their work, with an easy exchange of information and to see what is happening in other communities that may spur ideas for other clients.

Interested in Bolin’s expertise?

Contact Dane Hartzell at Bolin Marketing,  800.876.6264   or

check out their website at http://www.bolinmarketing.com/

Kay Roseland @KayLoire

Pioneer Press, Marty and Me November 13, 2011

Many thanks to Julio Ojeda-Zapata of the Pioneer Press for his article on “Does ‘getting away from it all’ include your iPhone?”  Special thanks to photographer John Doman for his suggestion that we take the above photo on a bench next to the sculpture of former mayor of Richfield, Marty Hirsch.  Just one of a number of fun, beautiful sculptures within a block radius.   Richfield, home of art:  who knew?  

Full article available at:  

“Does ‘getting away from it all’ include your iPhone?”  Sunday Pioneer Press story with @kayloire (also in photo) http://www.twincities.com/ci_19317335

Kay Roseland  @KayLoire

foursquare: social media connector or stalking tool? November 8, 2011

I’m having reservations about foursquare.  Let me start by saying that I get the social component; if I was meeting people at bars and restaurants on a regular basis, I’d be all for foursquare.  Checking in to something like Minnebar or Product Camp: awesome, I get it. 

What I’m questioning is why people I do not know want to follow me on foursquare.   One of my 30 (yep, only 30!!) foursquare friends actually has over 500 foursquare friends!   If my Droid X made tweety sounds for the checkins of 500 people, I would send it permanently to a time out.  

I want to know who those 30 people are that I am shadowing.   Honestly, one of my friends checks into Weight Watchers on a weekly basis.  Another (I am not making this up!) checked into Sex World on almost a daily basis.   TMI, people!!!  

If you have 500 friends, how do you know one of them is not waiting for you to check into Mall of America so they can case your home for some shopping of their own? 

For my final rant, why are we telling our friends every time we check into Target or Depot?   The one nifty feature of foursquare is that you can check in but NOT tell your friends….just click NO to the share question.

Feels better to get that out on the written screen. 

When I check into Hacks & Hackers Twin Cities tomorrow night, I’m gonna love finding out if I’m the first to check in, or who I know who already is there…. So I do use foursquare.   For now.

Kay Roseland   @KayLoire

Shhhhhhh….don’t tell Facebook!!! October 24, 2011

Having lunch last week with an author, I discovered yet another person who hasn’t drunk the Facebook Kool-Aid.  She’s focusing primarily on LinkedIn, her blog and her website.  As you can imagine, when her book came out, there was spirited discussion of whether to produce a Facebook page.  Turns out, she didn’t.

Wow:  so there is more than one of me.  It is really hard to ignore 800,000,000 Facebook members. But I am pretty much doing it.  

When gistr.com was launching, as I considered the social media strategy, LinkedIn groups and Twitter were a no-brainer.  But, Facebook?  When I realized that most folks spend 55 minutes a day on Facebook, I was concerned I would never get them to leave and click on gistr.com.  Now the amount of time the average person spends on Facebook is still growing.  Five minutes ago, I had yet another Smart Brief article hit my email why we should all get social.  (This translates to spend yet more time and marketing energy on…….Facebook!)

I do find Facebook handy to keep track of nephews:  getting pictures from Peru and Afghanistan has been wonderful to keep up as they travel the globe.  When Stephan Pastis hit Minneapolis two weekends ago and posed in front of Charles Schultz’ former home in St. Paul and posted it to his Facebook page, I lit up like the 4^th of July. Yes, occasionally I do post a new Shareology item to both Google+ and Facebook.

But in general, I think it is very freeing to know you can participate in social media without being on every platform in existence.  Yes, even one with 800,000,000 members.  In my case, the primary platforms are LinkedIn, Twitter and Shareology. In the case of gistr.com and Shareology, most traffic has been generated by 1.  LinkedIn groups and 2.  Twitter.

So if never-ending changes and privacy concerns worry you, be assured you can live a fruitful, satisfying life without significant Facebook presence.  Heck, you can even drop the electronics for a few days and rediscover the beautiful of falling leaves and walks in the crisp air.  But that’s another post.

Kay Roseland @KayLoire

Master of Social Media May 11, 2011

I passed!   Just got the word that after three days of classes and an exam, I am now a Master of Social Media.

After two years of LinkedIn, Twitter, Shareology, Facebook and, yes, three videos on YouTube, I am now certified. (Write you own caption….) 

Two years ago, I attended my first Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul and promptly declared myself a Social Media Enthusiast.  (Yes, it went on my business card.)  Gistr came calling and asked me to prepare and implement a social media strategy for their website.  (Never did get around to ordering cards with Social Media Strategist on them; it did, however, land on my Twitter profile.)  Two days after the exam results (a 95!!!) I ordered new cards with Master of Social Media on them.  Thus you can track my social media history in a progression of titles and business cards, and now classroom learning.

To learn more about this program, cosponsored by Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul and Dakota County Technical College, check out:  http://smbmsp.org/2011/05/whats-a-cmsm-and-why-do-you-want-one/

Kay Roseland    @KayLoire

Shareology Speaks! Social Media and Blogging! April 28, 2011

Social Media and Blogging

May 3, 2011, 12:00-1:00pm, International Market Square Conference Room B, FREE

Kay Roseland, social media strategist, will be presenting and leading a discussion on social media with an emphasis on blogging. She is currently a social media strategist and project manager for gistr.com, a marketing, public relations and sales events website for the Twin Cities area. Kay has a blog called Shareology that focuses on social media, retail marketing and networking. Kay has an MBA in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas.

The Lunch Break Series is an, informal roundtable discussion on various In-House related topics sponsored by AIGA. These discussions are free and open for anyone to attend. They are held over the lunch hour at International Market Square.

Kay Roseland  @KayLoire

The Week of Living Legally with Social Media March 24, 2011

Wow:  what a week!  Last Friday Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul sponsored an event on Social Media and the Law held at Thomson-Reuters in Eagan, Minnesota.  Today a grand followup on Twitter with a tweet stream following #smlawchat.  Here are some visual memories of last Friday in Eagan:

thank you to the sponsors!

streaming live at smbmsp.org/live

ah, tradition!

Albert Maruggi, Moderator

Moderator

Albert Maruggi
Albert Maruggi is a recognized thought leader in strategic business communications. You can always expect insightful questions that uncover new information, a different perspective or a good laugh from Maruggi. He advises clients and conducts company innovation “group thinks” that inspire ideas from within. This methodology allows for greater acceptance and ownership of projects and change initiatives. He is the host of the long running Marketing Edge podcast now in it’s sixth year of production. On Twitter @albertmaruggi and his blog.

Panel

Anna Berend
Anna Berend is an attorney and professional writer. Berend authors the blog, Motherly Law, where she discusses laws and legal issues that affect families and offers tips and resources pertaining to these issues. She is active on a number of social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. Berend has spent her legal career researching and writing for several state courts and a legal publishing company. She currently works from home as an independent contractor for a legal publishing company when she’s not writing a post for her blog, tweeting (@MotherlyLaw) or wrangling her two spirited boys.

Teresa M. Thompson
Teresa is an Employment Litigator/Advisor and Human Resources Social Media Advisor at Fredrikson & Byron. When litigation ensues, Teresa aggressively defends employers in state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies and private arbitrations. She has significant experience defending retaliation and reprisal claims brought under the Minnesota Whistleblower’s Act, the workers’ compensation statute, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and other state and federal civil rights laws. Teresa trains, writes and lectures extensively on the use of technology in the workplace (including, e-mail, internet, blogs, social networking sites, PDAs, cell phone use and text messaging) focusing on increasing the benefits of technology while decreasing the risks associated with employee use and abuse.

James P Quinn
An attorney at Larkin Hoffman, Jim is skilled in trademark law, copyrights, trade secrets, software and technology development and distribution, e-commerce and all transactions involving intellectual property. He has negotiated and prepared licenses and other agreements dealing with a wide variety of goods and services. As counsel for both system providers and purchasers of hardware and software, Jim is experienced in the drafting of agreements for the creation, distribution and use of technology.

Jon M. Garon
Jon is a professor at St Paul’s Hamline University School of Law. He joined Hamline in 2003, serving as the law school’s ninth dean from 2003-2008. In addition, he was appointed Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Management for 2005-06. He is a nationally recognized authority on intellectual property, particularly copyright law, entertainment practice, cyberspace, and entrepreneurship in the creative industries. His counsel practice includes copyright, trademark, privacy, licensing, film production, theatre, publishing, music licensing, and music management.

Anna and James

Jon and Anna

Two of the panelists were on Twitter today from 1 to 2pm, CDT, taking questions; you can follow at #smlawchat.

@techsolaw
Teresa Thompson

@garon18
Jon Garon

More on Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul at www.smbmsp.org or @SMBMSP

Kay Roseland @KayLoire

How I learned to love Social Media!! March 16, 2011

Three years ago, I had never heard of social media.  I was focused on finishing my MBA at the University of St. Thomas and not flunking my final course in strategic management.  That my final project was on Google was only one of many happinesses. 

Fast forward five months and the Recession-Depression hit.  Suddenly I was part of the 25% of my online retail company that was laid off.  I had a lot of time on my hands to answer the burning question:  what the heck is this social media stuff?

 LinkedIn

Within 48 hours of being laid-off, not one, not two, but three people told me that my 12 connections and no recommendations on LinkedIn was a suitable beginning that needed to amp up quickly.  I told that advice to heart; today I have some 600 connections and 17 recommendations on LinkedIn.  LinkedIn groups have been one of the strongest sources for traffic to my blog.

Twitter

Once I began building my LinkedIn presence, I turned to a new thing called Twitter.  At first, as for most folks, I spent a lot of time staring at the screen wondering where the fun kids were hanging out.  By following tips offered in the media, uncapping the magic of hashtags and following smart people, I began to enjoy and rave about twitter.  Meeting people on twitter was actually easier than in person or via LinkedIn.  After making the Twitter connection, the next steps were often meeting in person (IRL, in real life) and then connecting on LinkedIn.

Blogging

In retrospect, I had accidentally stumbled on a strategic order of social media growth:  first LinkedIn,  then Twitter.   This led me to my blog Shareology.  The super good news was that my LinkedIn and Twitter connections were a strong potential audience for my blog.  

For someone who is extremely right-brained, I actually used a left-brained approach to strategy for the blog.  What was I interested in?  Networking, retail, marketing and social media.  Would an audience read something with so many interests?   Turns out the answer was Yes!  Once I had thought out in my own mind how interconnected the four were, it became obvious how they became the four legs of my Shareology table.

Happy Ending

It turns out that by using WordPress and Twitter, I raised my Google profile.  (Something about magical algorithms……)  So someone with very little SEO experience was able to be #1 in Google searches.  Try searching Kay Roseland or Shareology on Goggle:  it all works together.   1 + 1 +1 does not equal 3; it equals about 10!!

Social Media Learning

So what did I learn?  Two points seem key:

1. Don’t try to learn everything about social media at the same time; you will drive yourself crazy.   Break it down into manageable chunks and hit it a bit at a time.  (I will spend 15 minutes setting up my twitter profile this morning.)
2. As new as social media is, it is easy to forget that the first step is sound strategy for you or your organization.  Who are you?  Who are your customers?  Out of this comes marketing tactics, some of which will be in the social media arena.

Most importantly, you’ve just been given a new set of tools to reach out with:  above all, have fun!!

Kay Roseland   @KayLoire

Worst attempt at retail social media: ever!!! December 20, 2010

Shareology is amazed at how something so simple can be sooooooo screwed up!

Given the picture below you might think that the twitter name might be Southdale Center or something to do with Simon:  but given the signs in Southdale Center, ya’ll are gonna get NO help finding them on Twitter.  (I refuse to spread the pain by making any attempt on Facebook.)

Finally found under southdalemall  on Twitter.  Folks, give your audience a clue!  Leave some breadcrumbs, for heaven’s sake!!   Sure makes you want to give those folks at MOA a pat on the back:  I didn’t realize how easy they make doing it right look.  Apparently it ain’t that easy.

The picture that started Shareology on her search for the Southdale Twitter account for the Edina, MN location.   (These signs are posted in bathrooms and on floors…don’t get me started!!)

southdalemall
southdale | Edina, MN

Yep, call it Southdale Center on the sign and put it under southdalemall on Twitter……include a reference to Simon to make it even more fun to try to find.

I rest my case.

Kay Roseland   @KayLoire