THESOCIALPRESS February 2015
www.NewMediaAngels.com
2
THESOCIALPRESS VOLUME 5 | FEBRUARY 2015
03 TOP STORIES 04 EDITOR 13 QUOTE OF THE MONTH 15 TOOL REVIEW 16 ANGELS ON THE LOOSE 19 CARTOON OF THE MONTH 14 INNOVATION BOX
16
05
HOW TO BOOST YOUR ENGAGEMENT
05 ON YOUR SOCIAL PROFILES BY HANNAH
RESILIENCE IS A PRIORITY SME LEADERS 07 BUILDING AND ENTREPRENEURS MUST NOT IGNORE BY GUEST WRITER - BETTINA PICKERING
10 WAYS TO MAKE CUSTOMERS FALL IN
10 LOVE WITH YOUR BUSINESS BY DOMINICA
February 2015
New Media Angels
3
top s e i r o t s 1. Facebook Puts Ban on “Like-Gating” With brands no longer able to instruct users to like pages as a way to unlock content or enter contests, industry experts say they will have to engage consumers in more authentic ways. Yesterday was the last day marketers could trade Facebook likes for content or contest entries. Facebook has ended the practice known as “likegating” to make sure people “like pages because they want to connect and hear from the businesses, not because of artificial incentives,” Harshdeep Singh, a software engineer at Facebook, wrote in an August blog post. As of today, content previously hidden to those who haven’t liked a specific page is now visible to everyone. www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2379760/facebook-putsban-on-like-gating
2. Why GoPro’s Instagram Strategy Should Catch Apple’s Eye GoPro is arguably the most impressive gadget/ social marketing combination we’ve seen. One could say the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones have done incredibly well, too, since so many people use them for selfie sharing. But most viewers don’t have a clue what smartphone facilitated the image. Meanwhile, the footage GoPro
helps distribute and promote—with its brand often front and center—through Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr sets it apart. www.adweek.com/news/technology/why-goprosinstagram-strategy-should-catch-apples-eye-161245
3. Twitter’s Adam Bain On “Buy Now” Tweets: “What We Do Is Monetize Emotions” Adam Bain, Twitter’s President of Global Revenue, promised new advertising products and explained how Twitter plans to make money with its new “Buy Now” e-commerce button at the Web Summit conference today in Dublin, Ireland. In a conversation with Richard Eyre of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Bain recapped some of Twitter’s latest quarterly revenue numbers: •
$361 million revenue in Q3
•
114 percent revenue growth year-over-year
•
international revenue up 176 percent year-overyear
Bain told the audience that Twitter is expanding its existing advertising products, and also planning new ones in the near future. “We feel like we’re just getting started,” he said. “There’s a number of products coming in the next year.” http://marketingland.com/twitters-adam-bain-buy-nowtweets-monetize-emotions-106767
Cemanthe New Media Angels
February 2015
4
A Note from the Editor
Can you believe we’re in 2015 already? And unless Facebook is using me in an un-announced experiment (remember the scandal!), it appears that most people in my newsfeed had a dire year in 2014 and are looking forward to a positive 2015. For me last year was a real mix of ups and downs; including my gran passing but getting to see family on a whirlwind visit to SA, getting engaged, winning awards at a networking event, and an operation. You can see my roundup on the Angels on the Loose page for a roundup of these highlights! I’ve also started a new section called Innovation Box, where I show you things that will knock your socks off (this month a speaker that becomes a personal assistant), and we look at some of the top stories of 2014. Overall, I’m glad 2014 is over, I feel very ready to embrace and move forward in 2015. I’ve now finalised our new online campaign packages as it’s becoming very apparent that just doing social media on its own to promote your business is an empty proposition, so we’re now offering fully comprehensive campaigns (which include videos, SEO, online PR etc etc). I’m also pushing forward on doing more websites and videos, so if you’re in need of a site refresh, or video showcasing the benefits of your business, get in touch. See you in April, enjoy February’s edition!
Cemanthe February 2015
New Media Angels
How to boost your engagement on your social proďŹ les Welcome to a wonderful New Year! If you are working on your marketing plans for the year ahead, as we have been through this month, then now is the perfect time to decide how you want your social media and online marketing to work for you.
continued...
New Media Angels
February 2015
6
For many, social media is for brand awareness and engagement with them, to help gain more customers and a more dedicated following. To help build this, it’s all about the conversation starters and relationship building, which is becoming more and more difficult in the ever-growing world of social media. I thought I’d share a few of my top tips to help yo u get more engagement with your content and on your profiles: It’s all in the content! Creating content that promotes conversation is the key factor to getting more people to engage with your brand. Whether it’s asking real, debate-creating conversation or sharing fun reshareable content, it needs to be considered and relevant to help people engage with you. Images can say more than 140 characters. In Twitter especially, you are restricted to the number of characters you can use. This is also true for LinkedIn and Facebook too, so using an image to help elaborate what you are saying will not only help get more into your content, but will attract your followers and fans to your content. Engage with others. Why would other people engage with you if all you are doing is “shouting”? Something many larger brands on social media get so wrong, is that they don’t respond to the mentions they receive, thank the new connections they get or share other people’s content. This can be so detrimental to their account, especially if your account is smaller than these huge organisations. These are just three ways to help boost engagement on your accounts that I use regularly for our clients and our own account. You can really see a big difference if any of these are stopped for even a few days, so it is important that you stick to the strategy!
Hannah February 2015
New Media Angels
7
Building Resilience is a priority SME leaders and entrepreneurs must not ignore BY GUEST WRITER - BETTINA PICKERING
Resilience has become quite a buzzword in the business world over the last year or so. Given that stress has become one of the cited top causes of absence and sick days, this is not surprising. What is surprising, however, is how little business leaders and entrepreneurs prioritise building resilience. There are a few reasons for this: •
Ineffective skills and knowledge: Strategies for dealing with pressures and stress - their own and others’ - are often outdated, ineffective or don’t work at all. Leaders also may not have sufficient understanding on how to build their own resilience, and support their teams and peers in doing so.
•
Building resilience is a regular practice that takes time: Despite best intentions, the day-to-day firefighting displaces any other priorities.
•
Things are not critical enough: Most business leaders only focus on building resilience when disaster has struck i.e. they go off sick with stress related symptoms, there are more than the usual misunderstandings or errors, or the business experiences high absence rates New Media Angels
February 2015
8 Micro and SME businesses cannot afford to wait until disaster strikes to build resilience. They simply do not have the breadth and depth of resources – time, money, and numbers of staff - required to mitigate and deal with the impacts of high-levels of stress and pressure: loss of business, loss reputation, and significant extra effort to fix errors and repair relationships. What is resilience? Although resilience is widely talked about, a lot of decision makers have a rather vague idea of what that means in practice. Based on my research, here is my definition of resilience: “Resilience is the ability to quickly recover from adversity with learnings that lead to better functioning.” - Bettina Pickering
Sense of Purpose
Flexibility
PEOPLE
Degree to which you feel confident in your own abilities, competence, effectiveness; your level of emotional balance
Degree to which you are clear about your direction in life, what is important to you; your level of drive and perseverance
Degree to which you are able and willing to creatively and flexibly adapt to change, ambiguity and uncertainty
Degree to which you have built supportive relationship; your ability to ask for help, and to know when ask for help
ORGANISATIONS
To make this more tangible, resilience can be broken down into four core capabilities that can be applied to both individuals and businesses:
Degree to which the organisation’s stakeholders (leaders, staff, customer, suppliers) are confident about its e.g. effectiveness, ability to deliver, quality of service and each other
Degree to which the organisation’s vision and values are congruent, clear and embedded in everything the organisation does – this includes procedures and ways of working
Degree to which the organisation is able and willing to adapt to internal & external change, ambiguity and uncertainty; level of innovation and creativity and support thereof; attitude to change
Degree to which all stakeholders (incl. leaders, staff, customers, suppliers) involved in the organisation’s success collaborate, support and trust each other
Confidence
February 2015
New Media Angels
Supportive Relationships
9
Three easy steps towards a successful resilience practice Here are three easy steps to improve your own resilience and that of your business: Step 1: Clarity By doing a quick assessment what is going in each of the four core capabilities, leaders can discover the current state of resilience for themselves and their business: where resilience is being built, and where it is being eroded. It is important to identify both resilience builders and eroders, even if it is tempting to focus primarily on what we might perceive as a problem or negative. Example: Confidence A confidence builder can be regular positive feedback or celebration of achievements
Step 3: Branch out Once you have applied one resilience practice consistently, and it is embedded, pick the next action pair. You will find that in a short space of time things will start to improve in areas that you had not considered before the resilience assessment. Resilience spreads and expands once attention is given to it. It is useful to plan a regular resilience review for yourself and your business on a period basis, e.g. every 6 months to ensure you are building resilience and not eroding it. About the author: Bettina Pickering is the founder and director of www.aronagh.com, a consulting, training and coaching company providing resilience building, stress management and organisational development services.
A confidence eroder is often negative feedback when things go wrong, much more focus on problems than on successes and no or very little feedback or acknowledgement when things go really well Both of these apply to individuals and businesses. Step 2: One regular Action for each side of coin Pick one resilience builder and one eroder area and identify one action that would strengthen the resilience builder even more, and one that would improve the eroder. The actions do not have to be massive or revolutionary, they can be quite small but need to be regular and consistent. Example: Confidence Actions in stressful times Confidence builders: Acknowledge positives and what is going right, remind yourself and others about what is working, and treat problems without judgement, allow time for reflection and stepping back Confidence eroders: balance positive feedback/ appreciation/acknowledgement with constructive feedback (about problems or issues) – this goes for yourself as the leader and to your team(s) and stakeholders.
New Media Angels
February 2015
10
10 Ways to Make Customers Fall in Love with Your Business Nurturing relationships with your customers is a crucial part of growing a successful business. In this age of automation and innovation, caring for your customers has never been more important. At any moment, an unhappy customer can share their opinion with the masses through social media and the web and negatively affect your business. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company’s relationship with them into love. Walt Disney said it best,
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Creating love between your company and your customers can help scale positive word of mouth that’s absolutely priceless. Creating a customer-focused culture of this nature is a business opportunity that should not be overlooked. Most businesses are failing when it comes to the customer experience, which is your opportunity to swoop in and enchant those same customers into falling for your company.
February 2015
New Media Angels
11 The data speaks for itself: •
Only 37% of brands received good or excellent customer experience index scores in 2012. Whereas, 64% of brands got a rating of “OK,” “poor,” or “very poor” from their customers. Source: Forrester Research
•
As many as 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. Source: RightNow
•
Up to 60% of consumers will pay more for a better customer experience.Source: Desk
•
Average annual value of each customer relationship lost to a competitor or abandoned – $289. Source: Genesys Report
It’s quite clear that now is a good time to solidify your relationship with your customers in a meaningful way. Here are 10 ways to help make your customers fall in love with your business.
1. Treat your Customers Right – Genuinely Interact Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell 4 to 6 people about their experience. So that’s a way to significantly influence the word of mouth about your business. Don’t act as a nameless or faceless business; genuinely talk with your customers as a person representing the business. Address your customers by name, and tell them your name at the very beginning of your interaction. 2. Don’t Come on Too Strong – Respect Your Customers A third of consumers say they experience rude customer service at least once a month, and 58% of them tell their friends. This is exactly how word of mouth can work against your company’s reputation for the long term. It’s very important to be respectful of a customer’s mood when trying to resolve an issue they have with your company. Keeping your patience is key to giving your customer the time to air out their issue. And, in turn, it creates the opportunity for you to help resolve the issue and make them comfortable. The more comfortable the customer is the more likely they’ll share valuable feedback that can help prevent similar issues from occurring again in the future.
3. Always Listen – Hear What Your Customers are Saying At a time when it’s easy to have a two-way dialogue with your customers, it’s important to truly listen. When listening to your customers, take into account what changes your organization should make from this feedback, and then follow through. Your customers are the lifeblood of your organization, and not dealing with the reasonable requests could cause backlash. Use the following methods to gather feedback from your customers: • Surveys • Focus Groups • Observation • Point of Sale • Customer Service • Social Media • Communities and Groups • Email and Web Forms
4. Continue to Satisfy – Offer Ongoing Support and Specials The #1 reason for customer attrition is dissatisfaction with customer service. Do everything in your power to provide excellent service to your customers on an ongoing basis. Respond quickly and enthusiastically, and be ready to present a special offer or discount with the hope of up-selling the customer to buy more. There’s never any reason to slow down on satisfying your audience, especially when they’re chatting with you live over the phone. It’s important to note that 81% of companies with strong capabilities and competencies for delivering customer experience excellence are outperforming their competition. Take note, customer satisfaction is a key differentiator in a sea of other companies. 5. Treat a Customer Like a Valued Partner – Communication is Two Way As previously mentioned, take your customer’s feedback seriously and act upon reasonable requests. What’s the point of listening if you’re not going to act on that feedback? Make sure it’s clear that you want your customer’s feedback and that your business truly values them as a partner. New Media Angels
February 2015
12 7. Be Transparent – Honesty is Crucial When it comes to Mistakes Being transparent in the digital age is a must. Much like the principles discussed above, transparency is a critical factor in building trust, satisfaction, and love from your customers. What does it mean to be transparent? • • •
•
Transparency means that you are not afraid of feedback. Transparency means that you have nothing to hide. Transparency means your employees’ personal and work persona blur. Transparency means you like to have conversations with your customers.
8. Follow Through on Your Word – Follow Up on Promises Your word is your bond. Following up on your promises helps show the transparency of your business, while helping to build a feeling of trust and dependability with your audience. Manage the expectations of your customers to ensure realistic goals are set and can be met. By remaining consistent in your messaging, your customers will learn what they should expect from you in the future. F.W. Nichol said it best, “When you get right down to the root of the meaning of the word “succeed,” you find that it simply means to follow through.” 9. Recognize Responsibility – The Customer is Always Right No matter the circumstance, the customer is always right. This is a rule to guide your business through its growth, from customer service to user
Dominica February 2015
New Media Angels
experience to product development. To help set this in motion, create a customer service policy to show your customers they are always right. Organize this policy into three parts: •
Highlight phrases for your company to use that’ll make your customers happy. Again, consistency and a personal touch go a long way.
•
Never let your customers forget your business by following up effectively. Keep it personal by following up on special occasions and consistently writing handwritten follow-up notes.
•
Define how to deal with unsatisfied customers with action steps to ensure there is a thorough process for all employees to follow to resolve a customer issue, ideally turning unhappy customers into your strongest advocates.
10. Always Say “Thank You” – Kindness and Gratitude will Take You Far Last, but certainly not least, always say “Thank you.” As many as 3 out of 4 customers say they have spent more with a company because of a history of positive experiences. Kindness and gratitude for a customer’s business is an undeniable way to further enchant them for the long term.Craft every thank you sent out from your company to be specific to the customer, relevancy is key. Be as appreciative as possible to your customers for taking the time to go through the process of resolving their issue. Finally, follow up with a good old fashioned “Thank you.”
Quote of the Month
13
“Legendary service is one of the criteria that sets one company apart from its competitors. It’s the mark of a truly authentic company – you just can’t fake caring!” - Kim Garst
New Media Angels
February 2015
14
Innovation Box 1.
Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo is designed around your voice. It’s always on—just ask for information, music, news, weather, and more. Echo begins working as soon as it detects the wake word. You can pick Alexa or Amazon as your wake word. Echo is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive sound. www.amazon.com/oc/echo www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOCeAtKHIc#t=181
Cemanthe February 2015
New Media Angels
15
Tool Review CloudFlare
CloudFlare protects and accelerates any website online. Once your website is a part of the CloudFlare community, its web traffic is routed through their intelligent global network.
Once your website is a part of the CloudFlare community, its web traffic is routed through their intelligent global network. They automatically optimise the delivery of your web pages so your visitors get the fastest page load times and best performance. They also block threats and limit abusive bots and crawlers from wasting your bandwidth and server resources. As a result CloudFlare-powered websites see a significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. CloudFlare can be used by anyone with a website and their own domain, regardless of your choice in platform. From start to finish, setup takes most website owners less than 5 minutes. Adding your website requires only a simple change to your domain’s DNS settings. There is no hardware or software to install or maintain and you do not need to change any of your site’s existing code. If you are ever unhappy you can turn CloudFlare off as easily as you turned it on. Their core service is free and they also offer enhanced services for websites who need extra features like real time reporting or SSL.
Dominica New Media Angels
February 2015
16
Angels on the Loose HIGHLIGHTS OF 2014
choicesmagazine
3:36pm via Twitter Web Client The wonderful @cemanthe. #‎OrdinaryPeople making #‎ExtraordinaryChoices - Check out bit.ly/ordcamp pic.twitter.com/OTgTxohIgf
Won the prize twice for the best pitch at a networking event. Some favourite clients renewed their contracts. February 2015
New Media Angels
Interviewed for Red Power Station Business Heroes series.
17
I got engaged in November Got beautiful flowers from a client after my operation.
My mum got a new tablet. It’s a whole new era! Moved to Broadstairs, found out I’m now closer to Belgium than London. New Media Angels
February 2015
18
Spoke at an event for Goldman Sachs, in an event about technology in the workplace.
Two new angels started: Mark for video, Michael for SEO and Websites Did a webinar for Women in Management program with the CMI, and ran two seminars on social media for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
Guest speaker for Resonance 104.4fm workplace program. February 2015
New Media Angels
19
Cartoon of the Month
New Media Angels
February 2015
20 www.instagram.com/newmediaangels
www.Facebook.com/NewMediaAngels
www.Twitter.com/NewMediaAngels
www.linkedin.com/in/cemanthe
www.youtube.com/user/NewMediaAngels
What we stand for: http://youtu.be/I1ennL4mK-E Web: www.NewMediaAngels.com Email: cemanthe@NewMediaAngels.com Direct Tel: (+44) 07886 593 076
pinterest.com/newmediaangels/