strategies for sharing and commenting in social media

Joining the Conversation: Strategies for Sharing and Commenting in Social Media

Frank DaysDirector, New and Social Media@tangyslice

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Agenda

• Why participate• Community members• Content and sharing• 7 ways to join• 7 things before you hit send• Resources

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Benefits of social media participation

• Because they are “social” media• Meet new people with common interests• Build your personal brand• Opportunity to share • Learn from others

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Types of social media participants

Forrester's social technographics ladder

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Building a community:Forrester Groundswell model

Social media is about:• Listening• Talking• Energizing• Supporting• Embracing

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Start by “listening”

• Blogs• Facebook and LinkedIn groups• Twitter• Google Alerts• Podcasts• Trade press• GroupWise or Google reader for

aggregation

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Then “talking”

• When sharing consider– Will anyone care?– Will anyone read this?– Is this interesting?– Is this original?– Does this add value?

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Advice when leaving comments

• Stay on topic• Contribute new information to the discussion• Don’t comment for the sake of commenting• Make the tone of your message clear• Be succinct• Cite your sources with links or inline quoting• Be courteous• Don’t post when you’re angry, upset, or emotional• Do not feed or tease the trolls

> Source: Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion blog via the Lifehacker blog

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Don't feed the trolls...

“A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community ... with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

> Wikipedia via PCMagazine.com

Image source: Wikipedia

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Seven ways to join the conversation...

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1. Connect with people you know

• Talk with people you know– Prospects– Customers– Vendors– Peers– Neighbors

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2. Start a conversation

• Questions work better than statements– What do you think about … ?– Does anyone know ... ?– How do you ... ?

• These are two way media

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3. Leave a comment

• Find some place you feel confident• Novell properties/blogs• People you know

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4. Share Novell stuff

• Marketing is creating new content• “Like” on Facebook• Retweet on Twitter

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5. Ask or answer questions

• Join groups• Answer questions • Demonstrate your

knowledge

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6. Post content to bookmarking sites

• Help spread the word• Make it easier for people to find• Amplify our messages

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7. Write a guest blog post

• Blogs are looking for content• We have experts• Often you just have to ask

• Targets:– Syndicated blogs– Partner blogs– Novell blogs

Example blog: Cloud Computing Journal

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7 things to consider before hitting send...

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1. Is it consistent with our Internet usage policy?

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2. Does it represent our company values?

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3. How do people behave in the specific community?

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4. Does it add value to the conversation?

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5. Is it authentic and credible?

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6. Is it appropriate for general consumption?

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7. Will anyone care about what you have to say?

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When in doubt...

• Don't• Pause• Ask for advice

– Your manager– Corporate communications– Social media (me)

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Novell social media guidelines

• Review Code of Business Ethics • Attend training• Get familiar with Novell policies• Protect your own privacy• Treat others with respect• Use common sense with controversial topics

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NOISE

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Think Value

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Where to learn more...

• Online resources– Mashable.com– Techcrunch.com– Marketingprofs.com– MPDailyfix.com– Copyblogger.com

• Articles– http://www.delicious.com/novell_novl/socialmedia