Social media takes a magnifying lens to everything. It makes everything appear bigger and closer (kind of like your side view mirrors).

You’ve probably heard that social media serves to amplify your message. You tell your friends on Facebook, and they then share it with their friends, and so on.  I have come to realize that social media amplifies more than your message. It amplifies mistakes,  personality traits and  business smarts (or lack thereof).

Mistakes

You used to be able to slip up and it would be forgotten. Not any more. Now, someone will catch your mistake, and put it on Twitter or YouTube. And then people will share that. And before you know it, everyone knows of your mistake. Perhaps forgiven, but not forgotten.

Personality traits

Are you an angry person? You will appear even angrier when trying to contain your ire to 140 characters. Your nastiness will be contained and then disseminated. Are you rude? Not only will the person appalled at your belching at the dinner table know about it, but everyone else will too. Self-centered? It will be evident in endless self-promotional posts.  On the other hand, if you are a connector or naturally gregarious, it will be evident because you will have 1000s of followers.

Business know-how

Do you answer your customer queries? If you don’t do it regularly and quickly, it will be even more apparent on social media channels. People will complain. And since you aren’t used to replying quickly, the problem will grow.

Not sure what social media is for and ignoring it? You can be sure others will not be. You will either look like a fool or lose customers.

For example, today I was looking at service providers “website.” All it was a poorly formed WordPress site. There was no contact information. None. No listing of services. No reason why I should hire. In short, it was a disaster. I found a Twitter handle, and tweeted. No response.  Better to not be on the web at all!

Remember that social media gives people the ability to share the good and the bad about you. Small can become big. And that can be a good thing, or it can be a disaster. Your choice!

Don’t miss out! Sign up for the next How to blog workshop, taking place on May 17. Details and registration here.

There are two actions that will improve your communications efforts. These are:

• Listening (really listening, not just nodding your head)
• Saying what you mean

It sounds absurdly simple, but chances are that you are not doing one or both well.

Listening is crucial.

Yesterday, I went to a large home improvement store (I won’t name names). I was on the search for an edger/trimmer for my pocket-sized lawn. I have never bought this item and I have no idea what I need. I flagged down an associate and I explained that I have a small lawn, and that the grass is hard to cut near the fence, and that I did not want to spend too much money. So this associate points me to the high end trimmers, starting at $100. And then he says to me: “well, you said you wanted to cut your shrubs.” Huh? I said NOTHING about shrubs since I don’t have shrubs. Clearly, this associate was not listening. He was also not very qualified to talk about edgers, but that is a different story.

If you don’t listen, you are not going to “get” the story, whatever it may be.

The other side of the communications equation is saying what you mean. Lots of people (and organizations) say what they think the other person (or their target audience) wants to hear. Saying what you mean is not burying things in fine print or in if-thens. Be clear! And please, be sincere. People can tell when you are not saying what you mean. And then they don’t trust you.

Mattress stores don’t say what they mean

A great example of communications that don’t say what they mean is mattress store advertisements. Having just gone through mattress shopping, I can tell you, just ignore the ads. They are designed to entice you into the store. Once you are in the store, you find out the real deal. Generally in the world of mattress sales, the enticement is free something or the other (free box spring, free delivery, free set-up, free TV, etc.). The reality is that the pricing is structured so that you can’t compare it to other stores, and there are caveats. If you get a mattress priced over $X, then you get free delivery. If you want to price match, we have to make sure it is the same mattress (and since mattresses are made specifically for each store, there is no exact same name). If you want us to remove your old bed, then we charge you a fee. If you want the ten-year warranty, then you have to buy our overpriced mattress cover. And on and on.

No clarity. No saying what they mean. Making people distrust what you are saying. That is not communications!

It is about effective communications. Effective means that something is successful in achieving the intended result. If you are intending to sell mattresses or edgers or any product, service or opinion, you should both listen and say what you mean.

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How to write your blog workshop

What are you doing on May 17? Why not sign up for my How to write your blog workshop? You will learn how to make your blog more effective, how to come up with blog post ideas and lots of other good stuff. Details and registration here.

Most people can write, but some don’t do it very well. That is why most people would also benefit from having an editor.

I often edit other people’s work. Most of the time, the writing is done by people whose primary job does not include writing.  There are a few things I correct over and over. Here’s a list:

Wordiness. Using too many words when fewer will do. In grad school, a professor of mine had us remove ten words from every assignment. It’s a good exercise for everyone.

Long, complicated sentences. This is somewhat related to wordiness, but also shows that people are afraid of short, direct sentences.

Using I instead of me. I am not talking about a sentence like this one. People don’t seem to want to use the word me in constructions such as “that time works for John and me.”  I am not sure why.

Subject-verb agreement. I hear it on the news all the time, and see it, often in long, complicated sentences. If your subject is singular, then your verb should be too.  Not like this line from a pop song: “The color of her eyes were.” (In this case, the subject is the color, which is singular, therefore the verb should be was.)

Misusing words. Often, people think they know what a word means, but they really don’t. (I am working on compiling a list of these…)

Using jargon and/or big words. The more jargon you use, the more I think you don’t know what you are talking about. I also don’t think using the word utilize makes you seem smarter. Read this excellent article from Content Management on how to get rid of jargon.

I know most people can’t afford to get an editor. Heck, I don’t have an editor for this blog either. Next time you write something,  look it over for the items above. If you are unsure, ask!

How to write your blog workshop

What are you doing on May 17? Why not sign up for my How to write your blog workshop? You will learn how to make your blog more effective, how to come up with blog post ideas and lots of other good stuff. Details and registration here.

Someone I know posted this update on Facebook:

“A real game of yuck this week.”

Who knows what she meant. I am sure you have seen similar coy or opaque statements that just beg followers to ask for more information. And that is what the poster wants…you to ask for details. This may or may not be a good tactic to get attention on Facebook. It certainly is a bad tactic to use if you are trying to get attention in your email marketing, your blog posts, and other marketing content.

Say you have an email newsletter you send to your clients. You write:

Spring is a lovely time of year. Good things happen in the spring, it is a time of renewal. Tulips are blooming and spring sales are everywhere.

Unless you want to get people upset at your opaqueness, there is little use for being coy in marketing communication. Instead, you should know what you want and ask for it. Instead of rhapsodizing about spring in your newsletter, why not figure out what action you want your target audience to take (this is your call to action, in marketing terms).  Don’t make your audience guess. Tell them, clearly and precisely. Here are a few examples:

• Spring means renewal! Time to renew your subscription to our newsletter
• Spring classes are starting. Here is how to enroll in our next class.
• Spring sales are on! Check out the reduced prices on our newest product

These are all specific actions you want your audience to take.

Are you being coy in your communications? Why not start being direct and asking for what you want?!

How to blog workshop on May 17

Sign up today to get your early registration discount to my next How to Blog workshop taking place on May 17. For more details and to register visit howtowriteyourblog4.eventbrite.com .

I have been training people on how to blog for nearly a year now. In that time, I have had the privilege of working with dozens of people who want to blog, but haven’t been able to for various reasons. Among the most common reasons given are these:

1. Don’t have the time to blog (also phrased as blogging takes up too much time)
2. Don’t know what to write about
3. Don’t have sufficient ideas or material
4. Don’t think anyone wants to read my thoughts
5. I am not a good writer
6. Don’t know who is going to read my blog or how people will find it
7. My organization insists on a long chain of approval to publish anything
8. I don’t have buy-in from top-level executives at my organization
9. Don’t see the point or purpose in blogging
10. Don’t know how to set up a blog

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

How to write your blog workshop on May 17

If you struggle with these common blogging issues, check out the three-hour hands-on How to write your blog workshop I am offering on Friday, May 17, starting at 9:30 a.m. It takes place at Link Locale in Arlington, VA, near the Clarendon Metro stop. If you sign up by May 1, you get the early registration price of $70 (regular price is $79).  For more details and to sign up,  visit howtowriteyourblog4.eventbrite.com .

Do you watch Meet the Press? If so, you have probably noticed that Senator John McCain has been a frequent guest. He’s also been on the other Sunday shows like Face the Nation. According to  The Washington Monthly, as of 2009, McCain had been on Meet the Press 54 times. Since then, I would say he has been on many more times, making that number 60 or larger.

Other people appear quite frequently too. In fact, based on Sunday show appearances, you would be excused for thinking there are only about 10 senators in the U.S. Senate. Other frequent guests are Senators Lindsey Graham, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin. (As an aside, it seems that male senators appear more frequently than female senators…). Back in the 90s, when I first started watching Meet the Press with Tim Russert, the go-to senator was the Senator Orrin Hatch. In fact, I stopped watching MTP because it seemed like Sen. Hatch was always on!

Is John McCain a more important senator than the other 99? No. What he may be is more  media savvy. And he is a proven commodity. The Sunday shows know they can count on McCain for making strong pronouncements or taking controversial views.

There’s a few PR lessons you can learn from John McCain.

1) Be the go-to person on your areas of expertise (McCain’s areas are mostly immigration, foreign policy and defense). Some may say this is being a “thought leader.”

2) Make yourself available and say yes to invitations.  (My guess is that MTP knows that it can get McCain pretty much any time.) If you turn down an interview, the producer will simply go on to the next person on the list.

3) Have clearly defined, strong messages and/or positions.  (MTP knows what it will get when it books McCain.)

4) Once you are in, you are in. (McCain does not have to prove anything or do much to get invited on the shows.)

What do you take away from McCain’s frequent appearance?

Honored to be featured on the Fletcher Prince blog, discussing business cards as a budget marketing tactic.

Have you looked at your business card lately?

So many people don’t ever get their blogs off the ground because of various fears: fear of not knowing what to write, fear of not having enough content, fear of writing itself. Well, you can conquer those fears by attending my “How to write your blog” workshop. I cover what you should write about, how to come up with ideas and inspiration and getting the blog post written.

The next blogging workshop will take place on Friday, May 17 starting at 9:30 a.m. This time, I am traveling across  state lines to Virginia to hold the workshop at Link Locale, a co-working space in Clarendon.  Also new this time is that I am offering an discounted price for early registration of $70 if you register by May 1. After that, the price goes up to $79.

More details and registration are available at the Eventbrite page.

Hope to see you there!

You have probably heard of Emotional Intelligence (EI), which is defined as the ability to perceive, evaluate and control emotions. EI is the ability to figure out how to respond appropriately to a situation.  There are people that rank low on the EI scale–they lack empathy or social skills. They may laugh inappropriately or not seem saddened by a tragic moment. And there are those who have high EI and are very adept at navigating human interactions.

Yesterday’s attack on the Boston Marathon got me thinking about a variation of EI–what I am terming social media intelligence. The news was just awful, and coming out in dribs and drabs. On Twitter, there was a ton of  (mis)information. There was one bomb, then there were three. Was it domestic terrorism or did this have the hallmarks of Al Qaeda? Wild speculation abounded.

The people who have social media intelligence were the ones had reasonable responses and tweets. Some asked people to check their sources before tweeting and some asked others to refrain from posting exceedingly graphic images.

Those with low social media intelligence are the people that appear unaware how their communications affect their followers and who were busy re-tweeting thoughtlessly,  spreading rumors and even engaging in fear-mongering.

Another variation of low social media intelligence was being unaware that a big news event was happening and tweeting/posting about mundane, unrelated stuff. Unfortunately some of these are communications folks who have automated posts to send out press releases and other announcements. There is little that is as jarring as reading about an upcoming event  (join us for a spectacular fun-filled evening!) when simultaneously finding out that the nation’s oldest marathon has been targeted by terror. Some people (those with higher social media intelligence) called out this behavior.

Whether EI is learned or you are born with it is an open question. Social media intelligence on the other hand, can most certainly be learned. In fact, in today’s social media fueled information age, having this type of intelligence is an essential skill. Here are a few guidelines:

• Be aware of what is going on and act accordingly. Don’t post without checking your feeds.
• Don’t assume that everything you see on social media is true and deserving of re-posting. Double-check facts and sources.
• Every social media network is different–post accordingly. Perhaps your personal trials and tribulations are best left to Facebook and taken off LinkedIn.
• Remember that people can see your posts both in real-time and in the future.
• Discussions on social media are not all about you. Remember the social in social media.

What would you add? What makes someone have social media intelligence? What are examples of lacking or having social media intelligence?

Note: The following applies to business or organizational blogs not personal blogs.

What makes so many blogs fun to read is that they are more personal than other forms of communication. Since there are few (or no) editorial layers, most blogs are more frank and more conversational than other types of writing.

But there is a difference between showing your personality and being personal. I am certainly in favor of showing personality. If you like to compare everything to sports or music or movies, then do it. If you talk about your passions for cooking or travel, it makes you look like a well-rounded person.

There is also room for personal stories, as long as you are using them to illustrate a point or explain a position. What there is no room for, in my opinion, is really personal stuff that you would share with family and friends, but not with business acquaintances, such as a discussion of your latest mammogram or romantic break-up or philosophical musing.

Yes, I know you have a right to blog about whatever you like. This is especially true if you, like me, are a solopreneur or head of a very small company. Your business is personal…but your blog can’t be. Remember why you are blogging—perhaps it is to help with thought leadership, lead generation and/or SEO. Ask yourself if the very personal post you are writing will advance or detract from that.

What do you think? Is there a line? And if someone crosses that line on his/her blog, are there consequences? I would appreciate if you shared your thoughts in the comments.