Today The Social Media Management Game Changed

The social media game changes, TODAY!

Social Media Management, Marketing and Engagement require strategy, resources, organization and time. All of us in the industry are painfully aware of these and many other requirements. Doing social media properly, as discussed in a previous post (Social Media Is Like A Freeway), I cover the absolute need to have a consistent stream of content and posts for your social accounts, ensuring you will be seen by your target audience.

Today, the social media management game changes in several ways, but for one specific reason. The reason you ask? Introducing Bundle Post…

Yes, a shameless plug. Why shameless? Because we know the challenges of social media. Searching, finding, scheduling and posting relevant, valuable content for our clients target audiences. The frustration of trying to track a clients specific social content about their company AND remembering to consistently get that infused into the other content we are posting for them. Therefore, we are without shame to announce the launch of the Bundle Post technology because we are completely confident in the power it has for social media managers, firms and marketers. We know the power it has to reduce back office time and resources by up to 80% as well as improve the results you achieve within your campaigns.

What a difference just 20 minutes can make:

Using Bundle Post, our staff now handles FOUR days of scheduled posts for our clients in only 20 minutes. That’s relevant, valuable content targeted for their audience and infused with their specific posts about them, their products, services, website and more. What’s more? The text of every post is hashtagged automatically.

If you are in social media and managing more than two social media pages or accounts, Bundle Post is a must have.

We invite you to check out Bundle Post and get a free account today. Once you have, we would love to hear your feedback and how the social media game has been changed by Bundle Post, for you!

Check out our YouTube Videos to get the complete picture of how the game just changed!

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post

Social Media Is Like A Freeway – Part 1

When I teach or speak about Social Media, I often use analogies. This is still a new platform and many people don’t quite get it. I also find that even many heavy users or enthusiasts are still grasping the immense details and intricacies, but aren’t we all?

Sometimes painting pictures with words makes understanding things easier and faster.  Being a visual guy myself, I know I learn and understand things better this way also. So today we are going to paint a picture of social media that may be beneficially for you, not only in your daily activities in the space, but even with your overall strategy.

As the title of this post states, “Social Media Is Like A Freeway”. I want you to imagine standing on the side of a busy freeway as cars are flying by in mass. Now picture each of those cars as a social media post or update. The freeway is your Facebook news feed or Twitter stream.

Carrying our analogy forward, imagine trying to recognize every single Acura TL that goes by. Not only recognize every one, but also take note of the color, the driver and try and catch the license plate number. Pretty difficult isn’t it?  Might even get boring if your Freeway is in a rural area and there are very few Acura TL’s coming by.

The Acura TL is your Twitter and Facebook accounts. The person on the side of the road represents your friends, fans and followers. If your Acura TL doesn’t pass by when and where they are standing frequently enough, they will rarely, if ever see your posts.

The thing about social media and the freeway analogy is that the typical user doesn’t stand on the side of the freeway 24/7. So you have to make sure that you have enough Acura TL’s on the freeway, frequently enough to ensure you are seen. You must consistently put enough cars on the road and in the right part of town to provide value to your audience that will appreciate your Acura TL.

Make sure that you put enough cars on your social media road every single day. Don’t drive on freeways where your audience will not be on the side of the road.

Bringing our analogy back to reality… “Make sure you have enough content posted every single day to account for whenever your target audience will be on the side of the road watching. Don’t post content that is not interesting to your audience, rather post consistent content your target audience will find valuable.

In the second half of this post, I will cover how often to post on different platforms and what tends to get the most coverage and results.

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post

The first in a series of Bundle Post Videos explaining the technology

Yes, it is a long time coming.  Especially with our launch rapidly approaching.  We finally put together the first of several short videos that will explain Bundle Post and how it dramatically changes Social Media Management in general and Social Media Content Management specifically.

Here you go!

Video 1 – An overview of the Bundle Post System and it’s core automation technology

Video 2 – Focuses on the powerful social content database and management functions of the Bundle Post system and how you can easily insert databased posts into your feed channels to ensure your clients proprietary content is also infused into their streams.

The Art of the Social Media Hello

I will just put it out there. I’m full-blooded Italian. So, I grew up with family members that did not understand the word shy. I recall so many times in my childhood that a simple trip to the store or the mall would result in my parents starting conversations with complete strangers. Though sometimes really embarrassing, I swear to you that we have many close family friends that have lasted a lifetime from many of those simple hello’s.

Social media is so much easier than the “in person” obstacles that many people face, in that it is easy to reach out, say hello and start a conversation without fear. The interesting thing about social media and the art of the hello is that it is so simple. We are human beings that desire to be acknowledged and given some attention. We like it when someone uses our name when addressing us and being made to feel like we matter and are important.

Clients and others in the industry frequently ask me about this. I explain that taking the few moments to say hello to a new friend or follower, thanking someone for their comments or actions that helped you are extremely important. In fact, you should know that consistently doing these things daily, I forge new business relationships that result in revenue, connections and friendships.

So here are some things I do that may be helpful for you.

1)      Say hello whenever it is appropriate.

2)      Always ask about the other person and /or how they are doing, the weather, etc.  Be real and show genuine interest.

3)      Use open-ended questions when engaging, which foster conversation.

4)      Help others. I mean literally help them selflessly.

Number four above is key to the art of the social media hello. On average, I would say I have 2-3 phone or skype conversations everyday with people I simply said hello to in my social graph. I always offer to help, answer questions or make connections for them. It’s what we are supposed to do. Help one another. The rewards of the simple hello, followed by being helpful, deliver rewards that are both monetary and spiritually gratifying.

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post

Important Announcement on the Bundle Post Launch

I believe that when you are given a choice of one or the other, making sure it’s right trumps being on time.  Just as I tell my clients, if you are not going to do social media correctly, I suggest you don’t do it at all.  This situation is not quite as severe, but has the same thread of truth.

During our testing, we discovered a few things that we are not completely happy with. They wouldn’t matter if we were just using the technology in-house for our own purposes, but that isn’t the case.  Therefore, I made the difficult decision to hold our launch to ensure that what we launch it exactly in line with our expectations, and yours.

Our new launch date will be February 28th.

ANTICIPATION!  Be sure to register FREE now and get details at launch, you will definitely want to know!

http://BundlePost.com

The Social Media Finger Point – Who are you kidding?

Recently, I have been noticing a trend in my streams and articles on social media. The trend of  “criticizing” others or the specific strategies being deployed within the space.  Frankly, a lot of “holier than thou” attitudes from a certain segment of the industry that is beginning to really bother me.

My experience over the last 20 years as an executive in sales, marketing and technology has taught me that it is very easy to criticize, and far more difficult to innovate and lead.  Though many people take the easy way out, I for one think we should quit worrying about what others do and focus on leading the industry by being an example, teaching and helping others.

Whether you are one of the new self-described “purists”, whatever that means, or someone eagerly forging new territory within social media, spend less time establishing constraints on others and criticizing their efforts or methods. Focus your attention on looking for opportunities to engage, start conversations and build relationships. Use situations or methods you might disagree with to start dialog and create opportunities for you and others.

Pointing fingers while sitting on the sideline of life, does nothing more than build your already over inflated ego. Getting in the game and leading the team to greater things establishes you as an innovator and respected member of the league. Go help someone today!

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post

Using Inbound Twitter DM’s As Engagement Points

I am one of those social media addicts that actually checks and reads most of their Twitter direct messages.  It certainly takes a lot of time, but I have found that reading and responding to certain people in particular ways, create immediate connections that develop into discussion and relationships.  I am often asked about how to best use direct messages properly and effectively, so I decided I would give you some of my tips to be effective with inbound DM’s.

I even find that responding to DM’s that are automated and frequently arrive even before the user has even followed me back is an excellent opportunity to start a conversation.  Here’s what I do.  When I receive a DM from someone I’d like to engage, I always reply.  When the reply receives an error,  because you are not allowed to DM a non-follower, simply change the message to an @mention and send it “in stream”.  This ensures they will see it and open dialog from the instant they follow you back.

I also look for DM’s that are clearly not automated.  The person sending it has taken the time to say hello or tell you something about them, so you really should personally reply.  How can you build a relationship with someone or get them to care about you or what you do, if you ignore anything they have to say?  The answer is, you can’t.

Try these simple things for a week and watch your engagement points, discussions and relationships grow on Twitter.  Enjoy!

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post

Social Media Automation; A No No?

Yesterday was an interesting day for me.  For the first time, surrounding Bundle Post™, I found myself in discussions around a negative view of anything automated within the social space. For sure, social media automation has a fierce opposition base out there, and I too, am among that group.

Let me be very clear.  Any social automation technology that in any way attempts to remove the human engagement, community or relationship aspect of social media, is evil.  This includes the purchasing or automated following of users with the purpose of having a “ton” of followers and/or attempting to seem legitimate, when you are not.  These automated functions thwart one of the key elements of the medium, which by definition is HUMAN. People interacting, sharing, communicating and establishing relationships.

There are, however, many tasks within the required functions of social media management that are highly labor intensive, and when done consistently and properly, require a significant amount of time.  These tasks are not user, follower or fan connected, but rather are the back-office work that enables a brand to deliver value to its audience.

I decided that today, the day our press release about the patent-pending Bundle Post technology was sent out over the wire, that I would clarify what the technology is, and more importantly, what it is not.

Bundle Post is NOT:

A social automation system that in any way attempts to use technology to enable brands and marketers to operate within the medium on “cruise control”.  It won’t let you follow users or purchase them, nor will it aid anyone in automating responses or mentions that remove the human responsibility of being social.  The system will not approve, condone or in any way allow or help SPAM of any sort.

Bundle Post is also not competing with HootSuite, TweetDeck or any other existing social media management tool.  We are also not competing with any social platforms, blogging sites or analytics solutions.

Bundle Post IS:

A social content database and aggregation tool that cuts an estimated 80% of the time many of us spend searching, finding, editing, scheduling and posting of value-based information for our audiences.

Bundle Post is also an archive of your entire proprietary social content in the form of actual posts with text and links, including posts to your YouTube channel, a specific video, website, fanpage, photos, etc.  The system keeps everything in one place, pre-formatted and ready to drag and drop into a group of other content posts for scheduling.

The system automatically adds hashtags to the text of your posts based on predetermined keywords or phrases and bundles up to 50 posts together, attaches posting times/dates and exports them into a CSV file that is ready to be uploaded into your preferred social management software like HootSuite.

And more… http://BundlePost.com

The idea here is not to help people cheat so they don’t have to engage or build relationships.  The clear intent is to cut 80% of the back-office workload so that brands and firms can spend more time engaging and building community, rather than the time consuming work that keeps us from being, well, social!

By: Robert M. Caruso
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post