Where’s The Beef? – Social Media Hamburger [infographic]

Remember back in the 80′s the infamous Wendy’s “where’s the beef” commercial?  Ok, maybe I just aged myself a tad bit, but check this out. This commercial became viral before there was a YouTube or social media. It propelled Wendy’s into the Word of Mouth mainstream within the fast food marketplace. Here is the ad:

Where's the beef?

Now before you jump on a vegetarian bandwagon, or get on your “evil fast food industry” soap box, bear with me. If you have read any of my posts before, you know that I frequently paint pictures with analogies to make my points. This point will be no exception. So, let me draw some connections to this classic ad, social media marketing and branding that will give you a visual picture of making an exceptional hamburger (social media program).

Like any hamburger, the beef is the substance. Not too many of us eat hamburgers that don’t contain any meat.

Ask yourself, Where is the beef of your social media strategy? Where is the beef of your social media marketing? Where is the beef in your social media strategy?

I leave these questions for you to answer, along with my little Social Media Infographic to amuse you and make you think. :-)

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

Relationship – Your Key to Social Media ROI

Yesterday, I decided I had to get out of the home office due to cabin fever and working so many hours. I made the decision to go for a drive and hit a Starbucks in a near by suburb to have some coffee, relax and work on my next blog post, to be called “Where’s the Beef”, which will now be delayed until later this week.

During my time at the coffee shop, I was doing my normal tweets, updates and mentions on my various social accounts.  As I normally do, I started engaging people, tweeting and posting things that fostered conversation and interaction with friends and followers. The activity got so heated up, I made the decision to stop writing and solely focus on the discussions and building relationships.

*Note – None of the discussions had anything to do with my company, our product Bundle Post or specific business aspirations I have. The focus was purely about engaging in fun and/or meaningful conversation that resulted in deeper connections with our social sphere.

Many in social media simply don’t get that doing this is crucial. They don’t realize that people can’t have a relationship with a brand or person within social media without it. Most don’t understand that people buy from people they like and have a relationship with. A lot of people focus too much on the word Marketing in Social Media Marketing and far too little on the word Social.

Here is what resulted from this short hour long intensely focused engagement period on Sunday:

Just by engaging, caring and conversing with people, we had 4 new users register for Bundle Post, 2 other outside of social media inquiries and a few DM discussions about what we do occur.

Now, if you are one who is at all surprised by these results, then I encourage you to immediately make some changes in your daily activities. You see, we experience this kind of effect every single day. People automatically become interested in YOU and what you do, when you are real, show interest in them and build relationships.

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

The MySpace FAIL, A Social Media Lesson

I got an email the other day from MySpace.  Remember that site?  No? I had forgotten who they were myself. In the world of social media, the site has become something of the “Model T” in the automotive world. Came out with a bang, was the talk of the world and quickly was being found in fields and backyards all over the country.

Here is the actual email I received. Though I have not heard from MySpace in quite a while (who has), but they are saying they missed me. Really?

The email continues by telling me the incredible reasons I should come back. Incredible? They could have just said we can do stuff everyone else can too now, come back and achieved the same results.

After literally years of no contact from the crippled social network, I find it almost annoying to get such an email. Why? Well this is social media after all. It’s about engaging and building relationships.  I liken their email to the many event invites, chat messages asking me to like their page and other such requests I receive daily from people that have never engaged with me previously.

It reminds me of the offline “friend” that seems to call or get in touch because they need something.  They never call or ask to hang out, just because they are interested in you. They always seem to appear from under the rock when they want you to do something for them. Hate that? I do too!

One of the significant Fails of MySpace, and there are many, is that they did not foster connection with their user base. Sound familiar? When was the last time Facebook updated us on changes BEFORE they made them? When did they communicate their appreciation for our use of their system that has made them what they are?

In the fast passed world of social media, sometimes you just have to go with the flow. But learn a lesson from MySpace and Facebook. Stay connected. Engage with your audience and build relationships, not just offerings of products and services.

If I can leave you with one thing to remember it’s this. People buy from people and brands they know and like. In Social Media it is imperative that you build relationships and connect with your audience in human ways. This propels them to be interested in YOU and subsequently what you do, have or offer. Stay connected with your audience…

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

 

Hashtag It and Improve – Automate Hashtags and Win!

In a post I wrote earlier this year called “Should You Hashtag Your Social Media Content” I discussed the improved results you should see when you hashtag your twitter posts. Most of us realize this is important, but frequently do not take the time to do it.

Knowing the time factor involved, we made sure that this component was automated within the Bundle Post system.  We have also created a quick video showing how it’s done and the power it has to improve your results and cut the amount of time required to do so.  Have a look…

You can check out other Bundle Post video’s on our YouTube Channel.

Social Media is Like A Freeway (Part 2) Stop Posting Content and Start Engaging

In part one of “Social Media is Like A Freeway“, we painted a picture of social media and drew analogies to illustrate the importance of posting enough valuable and relevant content. Now, we are going to seemingly contradict that by saying STOP posting content. Confused?  Don’t you hate that???

Relax. No need to pull your hair out. The point I want to make is that social media is not about posting. We have to. But that’s not what it should be about. You see, your posts containing valuable articles and information are supposed to be to provide value to your followers AND create engagement points to start conversation.

So what you have to do is find ways to more efficiently and effectively get enough content that your target audience will find valuable in your feed consistently. Use available tools such as Google Search, Google Alerts, RSS feeds, blogs, News sites and the like to source that content. Use tools like HootSuite and TweetDeck to schedule that content so you are consistently on the freeway. And since we are on the topic, take a look into Bundle Post.  (video below)

Finally, you have got to engage. Ask open ended questions to the people that Retweet your posts. Welcome new friends and ask them what they do. Comment on other peoples posts and tweets. Start discussion and foster dialog.

Human beings are pretty simple creatures. We tend shy away from people and things we don’t know. But once we know someone or have conversed with them, we tend to open up. We ask questions about that person. Who they are, what they do, etc.

Your job in social media, is to create that feeling with others and genuinely care about them. Most people reciprocate in kind, creating a relationship.

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