We’ve all been there – you spend precious time and resources building an information-rich monthly newsletter, and no one reads it. So instead, you send out an email every other day with a single piece of information, and still, no one reads it.

It’s not you (well, maybe a teeny bit you) – it’s your membership. People have moved beyond their inbox and into the world of social media to stay connected, informed and engaged with their peer groups.

So how can you harness these online platforms to stay engaged with your membership? Here are 3 social media tools you should consider today (like, now):

• LinkedIn
  It’s a safe bet to assume that a large percentage of your membership is on LinkedIn.  In fact, LinkedIn estimates that it adds at least 10 new members every 5 seconds, and counts at least 135 million members in its database. Wait 5 seconds – make that 145 million.
  
  So how can your group take advantage of this powerful tool? Create a group, either public or private, and promote it as an online forum for your membership to connect and engage outside of your events. Create a business listing for your group, and share event presentations through SlideShare, or post and share upcoming events and campaigns. You can even go one step further and ask your membership to share your events with their own LinkedIn contacts.  
  
  If there are no other social media platforms that your group uses, LinkedIn is most likely the easiest for your group to start with – with a little advanced work and thought, and a well-managed process to stimulate discussions, you’ll find this to be a powerful tool to engage your membership.

• Twitter
  Now, I’ll admit that not every member of a group will be on Twitter. In fact, for most groups, I’ve found that only a small minority of members participate in Twitter. 
  
  However, there is a world on Twitter that can help drive better engagement with your membership – they’re reporters, industry journals, analysts and experts, partners, other groups, and more, all of whom are sharing information daily, that is of interest to your members. 
  
  How does this help your membership engagement? By participating in these ancillary communities, you’re going to find relevant information that’s of critical interest to your membership, which you can share with them any way you’d like. Not only does that demonstrate value, but also helps your members see your group as a trusted industry resource. 

• YouTube
  When people hear ‘YouTube,’ they immediately think “It’s too expensive to film video,” “I have nothing important to say,” etc.
  
  However, when it’s done resourcefully, YouTube can be an incredibly powerful tool to engage your membership at a low cost. Quite frankly, all you really need is a digital camcorder or other handheld device (FlipCam, iPhone, etc.), a quiet room, and a little knowledge of a video editing program (Windows Live comes with a movie maker program), and you’re good to go.
  
  And what can you record? Think of all the panel events and sessions you hold – a video of your speaker, as opposed to a few paragraphs written on your blog, will travel much farther, much longer. Video testimonials from your membership on why they chose your group can serve as marketing materials for new membership drives.  Have an important announcement that you must ensure that all of your membership sees? Record it on YouTube and share it with your membership. 

So when it comes down to it, social media can offer your group a new and compelling way to instantly engage and converse with your membership. In our next few blog articles, we’ll cover each of these social media platforms a bit more in-depth, including best practices to set up and utilize each service to engage your membership, drive sponsor interest, and promote your brand as a trusted voice in your industry.

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• Are You a Trusted Resource?
  

Every time a product is launched, someone asks "Is it the XX killer?"

For example, will Gmail kill Outlook? Absolutely not.

Will Facebook kill MySpace? I wish it would. It's like the horror movie villain that just won't die.

Will Twitter kill everything? If complex thought could be limited to 140 characters at a time, yes. Otherwise, no.

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner recently stated that no one has the time for Google+ right now. Specifically: 

“You introduce Google+, where am I going to spend that next minute or hour of my discretionary time? I have no more time.”

He's completely right. Why? As far as I know, we've been offered no other reason than "It's from Google, so it has to be awesome." Which is sort of similar to Apple fanboy thinking, but with less crunch on my bank account.

This isn't a problem with Google+. It's a problem with too much. We have too many mediums to share across right now. In the micro view of me, I have too many platforms to manage right now - email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn for my personal and professional networks, Zoho projects and CRM and Quickbooks to manage my business, and let's not forget my clients, who, on top of social networks, also use Salesforce, Wordpress, HubSpot, TweetAdder, MailChimp, SlideShare and who knows what else. Half of my challenge is figuring out how to integrate this mess, let alone share across it. 

And let's not forget, those are the winners. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other micro social media sites out there in the ether that haven't found the same fame as Facebook and Twitter. 

Another issue is that it's new. Brand new. And I don't believe that we've been given enough vision yet on how we're supposed to work and play with it yet. Granted, I've taken an exact total of 2 minutes to view a 'Why Google+' SlideShare, but all I took from that was:

1. It's on the cloud, so it's cool
   
2. If I use all of Google's products, I will love Google+
   
3. Google+ is different from Facebook
   

And that's about it. Is it fair to give it only 2 minutes? No. But that's all the time I have.

But no one is asking us to give up everything and switch to Google+. What I believe they're asking now is if Google+ can play in the same field as the other kids. And I believe that it can, but right now, I'm not hearing or seeing a reason why it's better, or how it's going to make my sharing easier.

Let's also not forget to mention the existential crisis that this has caused people like me who, for probably the first real time have said "I don't want something new." The most networked and well-connected people that I know have looked at Google+ and scratched their heads. Are we old? Maybe. But we don't have the time to think about it.

So for right now, I'm holding Google+ at arm's length. I need a better reason to live and play in it other than it's on a cloud with a multi-colored logo. My business demands it, and my time makes room for nothing else.

Archived post. Originally published 8.24.2010.

Let’s start with a personal story:

5 months ago, I dropped a really, really well-paying, full-time job and launched Red Plate Marketing. Hands down, it has been the scariest and most thrilling thing I’ve ever done in my professional life.  Frankly, I had no business quitting my job and starting off into the unknown – two small children, a mortgage, and a grocery bill that outweighs the national deficit all depend on me to support them.

It was a scary change. I got over it. Looking back now, I could not have made a better decision.

I tell you this story to tell you another one.

There are still brands and companies out there that refuse to participate, in even the smallest way, in social media.

Do you need to sit down for a minute? It’s ok – I’ll wait.

Now, let me preface this by stating for the record that I do not believe that all social media is right for everyone. Not everyone needs a Facebook page, Twitter feed, or the like. However, I do believe that every company and brand can benefit from a tailored blend of social media tools that can activate and motivate your audience to move your message forward.

Agreed? Awesome.

So why are these companies still refusing to even test out new social media platforms to engage their audience? Well, change is scary. The uncertainty of the unknown can immobilize progress.

Yes, change is scary, but you have to get over it. I’ll be the first to attest that the benefits and rewards that you can reap on the other side far outweigh the reasons to stay put.

While the refusals can vary as widely from “it’s a fad” to “I don’t have time to write,” there are a few objections to incorporating social media tactics that are common among these companies, including:

1. We can’t control it.
   No, you can’t always control your message, and really, who wants to? It’s exhausting.  Any new marketing platform, especially those that enable direct interaction with your audience, takes a level of control out of your messaging.
   
   But think about it for a second – could you really control your messaging in the first place? Can you control what a reporter writes about you? Can you really control what a customer says about you to a peer? No, you can’t. So drop the shackles and open up. You have no idea how far your message and insight go when you’re not standing in your own way.
   
   
2. There is no value in this.
   Imagine trying to broach the conversation of starting a Facebook page with someone who isn’t in marketing. If you’re talking to a parent, they’re most likely picturing their son’s Mafia Wars games and all of the pictures that they were never supposed to see from spring break last year. Sort of hard to translate how that works in business, no?
   
   So skip the chunky dialogue about SEO and metrics for a second and try to think about social media this way: It allows you to forge deeper relationships with your people. The more transparent, communicative, and open you are, the more approachable you will become to the people that matter.
   
   
3. We’ve tried it before and it doesn’t work.
   If I had $1 dollar for every time that I’ve heard this, I would have no need to work. I would be firmly planted on a dock by a lake somewhere, soaking up guilty-pleasure Dean Koontz books.*
   
   The best response I can give to this objection is that just because it failed once, does not mean it will fail again. If you believe enough in the cause, take a lesson from the failure and demonstrate how you will never allow this to happen again. Not only is this good marketing management, it’s really just good business sense.
   
   
4. What if we screw up?
   Of course, they don’t say ‘we,’ do they.
   
   I read a great quote the other day from Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, whose motto is to “Fail Fast Forward.” If you screw up, so what – learn quickly from your mistakes, and keep moving forward. No growth can be achieved by sitting on the sidelines.
   
   
5. What if our competitors see it?
   This is really one of my favorites.
   
   For some reason, companies go through a phase where their competition can know nothing of what they do. Maybe their investors pull them aside and threaten to beat their puppies if word gets out that they (gulp!) launched a new product. Or maybe they’ve been burned in the past by a sales person that had a bit too much to drink and shared something super-nuclear with their friendly competitor.
   
   Whatever the case may be, you cannot stop communicating with your audience purely out of the fear that the competition might get wind of it. And quite frankly, if you get there before they do, you are given that much more time to establish the conversation.
   
   Look at it this way – whether it’s a newsletter, a blog, or an article, your competition is going to see it. Your best bet is to stay focused on the audiences that really matter – your customers, your influencers, and your prospects.
   
   
6. We don’t want our employees wasting their time with this.
   Now, there are two sides to this coin – we don’t want our marketing people to take their eye off the ball, and we don’t want our other employees wasting time online.
   
   Let’s start with the first half of the objection: Good program management on part of any marketer involves the distinct ability to multi-task and deftly integrate marketing tactics so they produce one cohesive vision. Besides that, all of your marketing should be geared toward opening and defining a two-way conversation. Social media is just one more platform to add to the mix.
   
   Now, for the second half of the argument. I am in agreement that online activities can be a complete time-suck. That’s for your HR team to figure out. However, to argue that you do not want to incorporate a blog or other social media means into your marketing program because you’re afraid that your employees might spend time online and read it is a bit misguided. I know of no better way to educate your team than by giving them easy access to your thoughts, news and updates online.

Net net, while it can be a seemingly overwhelming and scary task to incorporate social media into a marketing strategy, get over it. The benefits that open and transparent communication offer far outweigh the safety of the sidelines.

*Don’t lie to me. I know you love him too.

Archived post. Originally published 6.1.2010.

If only I had the patience to post 38 tips. Better yet, pull together 38 tips on a single topic.  

Thankfully, I don't need to go searching across my sea of post-it notes to find them - the team at Vertical Measures has already done the job for us by posting their 38 key takeaways from theOnline Marketing Summit in Phoenix. 

Want to know what the single most important answer is to your marketing challenges? Where to find and what to do with a fanboy? How you can fix a failing email campaign? Click the linkand find out.