Most businesses feel a bit overwhelmed when it comes to finding or creating content to use in regular updates on social media channels or on a company blog.

“What do I say?” they ask.

“Say something that your customer (or potential customer) will find useful and valuable,” I tell them.

“I don’t have time to blog…so where do I find something useful and valuable to share?” they ask.

“Google is your friend,” I tell them.

If you’ve never used Google Alerts before, you’re in for a real treat. My clients are always amazed at this tool when I show it to them. Google is everywhere. Google sees all. Google knows all. So if you need something good to share, just ask Google. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to www.google.com/alerts
2. Type in a keyword you want to search [and you'll automatically see recent posts that include your keyword appear on the page]
3. Determine the type of content you want to find. Maybe you only want “News” posts or you’re looking specifically for “Blogs” talking about your keyword. You might want to start out looking at “Everything” just to see what kind of alerts you get. You may find that it’s too broad, or it may be just right for what you need.
4. Decide how often you want to be alerted. I’d recommend starting out with once a week [or else you might get a little overwhelmed]. Remember, there are millions of pages of content on the Internet, and Google will happily point you to them all day long if you want. But, if you’re trying to run your business, you might not have time to read Google alerts all day!
5. Determine the volume you’d like to receive. I recommend selecting “Only the best results” so that you’re getting the most refined list possible.
6. Give Google the email address where you’d like these alerts sent
7. Click “Create Alert” and watch the magic of Google deliver happiness into your inbox!

A few things to keep in mind… You don’t want to send your customers to your competitor’s websites for great content. So make sure you pay attention to the sources of the content you find that you want to share. Ultimately, you might begin to see the value of creating your own content so you can constantly be pointing people back to your website instead of someone else’s! [Did you know VOD can help with blog or article writing?] Also, remember that Google is not necessarily all-powerful enough to determine what is fact and what is fiction…so check your facts. Make sure the content you’re sharing is credible and useful for people. You don’t want to be the one who sends them down the wrong path.

If you set up your alerts and you still don’t know how to make it all work into a social media strategy that actually engages people, give me a shout. We can help!

Photo from @NickPiggott on Flickr

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a storyteller at heart. It’s how I introduce myself and my business whenever I’m at a networking event or asked to give my “30-second commercial.” I believe in the power of story, whether it’s to teach a lesson, make a point, entertain, sell a product, or win people over. At least once a day, my daughters ask me to tell them a story [and usually they want to hear one from my own childhood]. They have figured out, like most people, that stories can engage us, make us feel something, and help us understand someone or something a little better than before we heard the story.

I came across an article on Forbes.com that talks about storytelling being the key to good leadership. In the post, the author states, “Storytelling has taken on greater prominence and is “the new black” for leadership and influence today.” I agree completely with that, and I think it spills over into marketing as well as leadership. If you think about it, good marketing is about leading and influencing people to recognize your product or service, as well as their need for what you have to offer, and to motivate them to take action.

I’m currently working on some case studies for a couple of businesses and organizations that will help demonstrate the power of story–both internally as a way to communicate and build a corporate identity, and externally as a form of marketing and branding. I’ll be excited to share these with you once they’re complete. In the meantime, if you have a good example of a brand or company that has done great things with their story, let me know. I’d love to hear about it!

Clear Vision by C.P. Storm

I recently attended a workshop to help me think strategically about the future of my company. It was a great day of vision-casting and dreaming, along with tangible, realistic goal setting. It occurred to me at that time, that I don’t stop nearly often enough to make sure I can see clearly where I am headed with the business.

When is the last time you thought about where you want to take your business? Whether you need to think about marketing, financial goals, staffing issues, or even your mission/purpose, why not take a day this week and carve out a few hours to really stop and focus. Because unless we have a clear vision of where we’re headed, we have no idea where we’re going.

I personally love helping people strategize when it comes to their marketing. So if you find yourself stuck in a certain area, reach out to someone else who can come alongside you and help you along. Sometimes a person with an outside perspective can really help you turn your focus so you can get a clear vision. However you decide to pursue it, I encourage you to step aside at some point this week and make it happen.

Illustration borrowed from @tomjohnson

Nobody likes to only be spoken to. We all like to interact in a dialogue. We want to be invited into a conversation. We want to engage. So why is it that so many businesses just post statements or updates that don’t actually invite anyone to join in? Remember, you’re trying to keep people connected to you as long as possible so they can learn about your business, or product, or service. What reason do they have to stay and engage with you?

Here are a few ideas that you can use (specifically on Facebook) that will help get more people interacting with your page as opposed to merely viewing it:

• Ask questions. It’s so easy, in fact, because Facebook added a feature that lets you set up a poll or question where you can provide options for people to click their choice. You can ask questions that have the button options, or ask open-ended questions. But don’t just ask “What are you doing this weekend?” Ask something that’s somehow connected to you, your product, your company, or your target audience. For example, if you run an accounting firm, you might ask, “What’s the biggest frustration you have with filing your taxes?” [I'm sure you'd get a LOT of people with opinions on that one!] Check out a recent question we’ve asked on our FB page here.
• Do “fill-in-the-blank” posts. It’s like Madlibs [you remember those, right?!]. People love to get creative with things like that. In fact, I used a fill-in-the-blank post on my personal page last night because I just didn’t know how to describe the kind of day I had…instead I let people fill it in for me. I said “You know it’s been a _____ day when you wrap it up at 8:30pm with a tropical adult beverage.” The responses I got cracked me up, and got people talking to each other. Imagine how much fun you could have with some of those posts that fit into your company’s personality?
• Ask people’s opinions. We all have them. And we all like to share them–even when unsolicited! So when you’re rolling out a new product, or you have a debate brewing in the offices, invite your “fans” to contribute their $.02 to the matter. Granted, their opinion might not actually sway you one way or another when it comes to product development, and they may be a little disappointed if you don’t use their idea, but the fact that you ask them means a lot…

So next time you’re going to post something to your business page, stop and think: How will this invite people to engage with us?

It’s not very often that we brag about work we’ve done here at VOD, but we recently helped create a promo video for a new cleaning product, and we’re pretty excited about it. Not only is the product itself intriguing to me, personally, but I loved every part of the process of writing the script, working with the designers/developers on storyboards and art direction, and providing the voiceover work for the video [me as the narrator, and our intern Shawn, who makes a cameo as "Annie" in the video].

Check out the video and let us know what you think. In case you’re interested, we work with a number of very talented filmmakers and motion graphic video geniuses, so if you have a need for any kind of video to promote your business, your product, or just give your customers something fun to watch, let us know and we’ll see what kind of magic we can create for you!

LinkedIn is a great professional social media outlet that allows users to search for jobs, stay connected with old colleagues and new ones, while promoting their resume, but its so much more then just that. Mashable wrote a wonderful article called So How Are People Really Using LinkedIn? This article helps answer that question further. Mashable uses infographics to display the answers that 500 LinkedIn users were asked.

LinkedIn provides countless opportunities for professionals, but like anything, you have to put time and energy into it in order to get something out of it. So how can you be doing this? Here are some suggestions that we typically offer to clients:

• Optimize your profile: make connections, receive recommendations for yourself, offer recommendations for others, and post updates regularly
• Join and engage in groups: they provide an opportunity to gain potential clients, grow your network, and allow for learning opportunities
• Answer and ask questions: become an “expert,” give and receive good information
• Use applications to integrate other social media or communications tools you are already using
• Create a company page: this kind of page allows people to follow your business, get your latest news and job opportunities, and learn about the services you provide
• Learn from LinkedIn’s small business videos [You'll learn something, plus they’re really funny]

Tell us how you’re using LinkedIn. What aspects of the site do you find the most beneficial for you and your business?

If a customer has a question for a company or a brand, it’s easy enough for them to ask it on Twitter, but the question is, will the company or brand hear them? And will they respond? Users have indicated in a recent study from InboxQ that companies and brands would benefit by being more responsive. “Almost 60% of respondents said they would be more likely to follow a brand that answered them, and 64% said they would be more likely to make a purchase from that brand or company.” Customers want to be able to connect with companies and brands in order to feel appreciated and to express their opinions about a product or experience.

Customers have no problem voicing their thoughts, opinions, and concerns through their own personal social media outlets. This means that brands are no longer the only ones with a voice. Customers can be heard more loudly and publicly then ever before, leveling out the playing field between businesses and customers. Brands and companies can gain greater loyalty and increased profits by hearing and responding to their customers needs, wants, and desires.

So the question for you is, are you listening? Because whether you realize it or not, people are probably talking about your brand or company. It’s up to you to listen and engage with your customers on their turf.

(Oh, and by the way, if you’re still not sure how Twitter works or why you should bother with it, drop us a line and we’ll fill you in!)

Twitter, our personal favorite social media platform at VOD, has caught on like wild fire with their unique request for users to answer the question, “What’s happening?” in 140 characters or less. It can be one of the most effective ways to promote your company, service, or organization if used correctly. Twitter lets you send positive messages to existing and potential customers and clients by providing ongoing interaction with them, which can help you grow your network and develop further rapport.

One way that people and businesses are using Twitter to really connect is to include photos in some of their tweets. You may be thinking, “Who cares? What is the advantage of uploading a picture and how can that help me?” The use of pictures can add personality to your tweets. People usually like to make a connection with those they work with. By posting pictures, your followers can develop a deeper rapport with you or your business. Pictures show followers instantly what you are doing or what kind of progress has been made in a specific project. Plus, people tend to be curious beings. If someone you know uploads a picture and tweets about it, why not see exactly what they are talking about? Besides everyone likes pictures! Take advantage of this feature in order to help your business continue to become a well-rounded Tweeter!

Now that we’ve told you why photos in your tweets can be beneficial, we want to keep you updated on some changes coming to Twitter that tie into the photo upload conversation. Twitter users used to be able to pick from third-party sources like Yfrog or TwitPic to upload a picture, which would take users to either the Yfrog or TwitPic website to view the photo. With Twitter’s popularity continuing to grow, they have decided to take matters into their own hands and do what they can to keep people on their site. They’ll soon be launching a new feature that will allow for the same capabilities as the other third-party sources, but now it will all work officially within the Twitter family. Basically, that means they’re doing what they can to keep people engaged on their own website.

Check out Twitter’s official video introducing the new photo & video sharing feature

Tell us what you’ve been taking pictures of lately…or better yet, show us! Post a link to your latest tweeted photos, or your Flickr account. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Facebook is one social media outlet that loves to add new features constantly. Their latest update is known as facial recognition. This feature makes it easier to tag friends in albums. Using a facial recognition technology, Facebook will group similar faces together and automatically suggest the friend you should tag.

You need to aware of this change because as it rolls out it will be set as a default setting. For those of you who do not want Facebook to suggest you when your friends go to tag their pictures, here is how you change this:

• Go to your privacy settings
• Click, “customize settings”
• Scroll down to “Things others share”
• Find “Suggest photos of me to friends”
• Edit accordingly

It’s an easy fix, but with Facebook always changing things it is important to be made aware especially when it becomes a default setting. For more information about this new change you can check out this article: Facebook Turns on Facial Recognition for Tagging by Default

At VOD Communications, we encourage your business to have a Facebook business page, but knowing how to use and manage it effectively is the key. Please contact us if you need any help.

It’s always exciting for a business when they start adding more people to the team. VOD Communications is thrilled to have Shawn Lamb joining us for the summer as our intern. Shawn recently graduated from the University of Dayton in Ohio with a degree in communications and marketing. She’s ready to jump in here and will soon be contributing to the VOD blog on a regular basis, in addition to helping us develop social media marketing strategies for a few clients, and collaborating on whatever else she can. Shawn has a great marketing mind, and we’re looking forward to a fun summer with her!

So make sure you say “hi” to Shawn either here or on one of her upcoming blog posts.