Monthly Archives

October 2012

Oct 31
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Can you be Dr. Jekyll AND Mr. Hyde on Facebook?

By Social Media

It’s a challenge many of us face — straddling the chasm between our personal and professional lives or the personality we have among friends and the personality we have with, say, our grandmothers.

It’s not that we’re necessarily two different people altogether, it’s just that some content we want to share with friends, and some we really don’t want our grandma to see.

So who to be on Facebook, Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? And can you successfully manage being two different people on that social network? 

My first piece of advice is this: DO NOT HAVE TWO DIFFERENT PROFILES. First of all, it’s weird. Second, it makes it really hard for people to figure out which one of you they should be friends with.

Instead, manage who sees what by developing lists. For some, that list may be “Grandma and Mom,” or “Colleagues,” or “Exes from Texas.” The other list, the one you share ALL your crazy stuff with, may be simply “Friends.”

For me, I have lists like “Besties” and “Charlottesville” — the town where I live. I have “Business Contacts” and “Family.” Separating my friends into categories serves another purpose; it keeps me from boring the pants off of the people who just don’t really care about my Pinterest pins, my social activities or my cousin’s wedding.

This means, of course, that I have to manage my posting more carefully — I have to actually select to whom any given post is visible. It takes work!

Is it worth it? Well, for those of you struggling to maintain some kind of illusion with your grandmother, I suppose it is.

To get started, click on Friends in the sidebar and Create List. Give your list a name you’ll remember so you can, at a glance, know who’s included in that distribution.

Now, when I post an update, I can select from my list to decide who gets to see that update. For example, if I want to post something relevant to my St. Louis friends, I would select only that list.

It’s a bit cumbersome, sure, but can save a few embarrassing conversations with Grandma over the Thanksgiving turkey.

Facebook has also built in a setting that defaults to the LAST LIST TO WHICH YOU POSTED. So be careful to select the right audience before you post.

Editor’s note: Seriously — go see Jekyll and Hyde at Play On Theatre in Charlottesville this week — it’s spooktacular!

Oct 29
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Four Ways to Use Social Platforms to Drive E-commerce Sales

By Communications, Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Social Media

With all the blogging, sharing, news articles and conferences that tout and exploit the uses of social media, you’d think the idea of using it to drive e-commerce sales would be a no-brainer. I mean everyone’s doing that, right? Anyone with an online storefront MUST be using their Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and Pinterest boards to drive traffic to product landing pages, right?

Turns out, not everyone understands that, especially in B2C. I was at a training session yesterday with one of our favorite retail clients, teaching them the amazing benefits of Sprout Social. This is a pretty great social media dashboard tool that allows you to manage all your social media presences from one location. As I was helping them hook it all up, I was also asking how these platforms were being used so far. Were they promoting items in the store? Sharing design ideas from their own people? Promoting designers and products outside of the store? Driving traffic to their online web store?

Turns out they were really only using their social platforms to promote things outside their store–designers, other Pinterest boards, other blogs. They weren’t really using the social tools to drive everyone back to their OWN store, either online or bricks and mortar.

I was very surprised, to say the least. But it made me think that maybe they weren’t alone, especially if they were a small business with limited time and resources. So here are some things you can do right now to help drive more sales using social tools.

  1. Set up a Facebook page and update it regularly. MOST people who buy things online have a Facebook presence of some sort. 67 percent of B2C companies and 42 percent of B2B companies have acquired a customer through Facebook (Hubspot, 2011). Use it to drive traffic to your blog, your Pinterest page, or better yet, specific product landing pages on your site. Facebook is a great way to stay in front of customers generally.
  2. Set up a Pinterest page to showcase your products. According to a recent BizRate Insights study, “sixty-nine percent of consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they’ve purchased or wanted to purchase.” In some studies, it’s even outpacing Facebook as a product purchase influencer. While both sites are used to connect with people who share common interests, “Pinterest is more of a product finder and decision influencer.”
  3. Set up a Twitter account for sharing thought leadership. Post content from your blog, and ideas from others, along with deals and ides on your OWN site. Twitter is less effective as a sales tool for consumer products, but it’s great for business solutions and products.
  4. YouTube is still one of the largest search engines, so you have to have a channel. This can really enhance SEO as well. Post weekly video tours of section of the store, specials, or events you might be hosting in your brick and mortar store, but link to corresponding product or category pages in the online store!
  5. Make sure to set up Google Analytics on your web store so you can see what links drive the best results. It’s pretty easy and Google already tracks the major social platforms. You’ll quickly get an idea of what each platform brings to the table in terms of traffic and sales. The key here is to be everywhere, targeting each platform to do what it’s good at. But don’t be afraid to drive traffic to your store, rather than just your blog.

Need help? Call us!

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Oct 25
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Communicating in a Crisis: Chris Dumler’s Challenge

By Communications, Crisis Communications

Albemarle County Supervisor Chris Dumler was arrested on felony sex charges last week and now, local news organizations can hardly report about anything else. But what is there to say? Besides the news of the charges, Dumler has a need to stay out of the spotlight. Yesterday, the Newsplex reported that Dumler has canceled public appearances and the community waits to see if he will emerge to address his constituency, particularly in a board of supervisors meeting scheduled for November 7.

There is a distinct difference between a public figure and one who holds elected office, when crisis communications is needed. A public figure can remove themselves from society for a cooling-off period. An elected official will, at some point, be forced to address his or her constituency, particularly to either resign or express intent to continue in his or her public role. People think they have the right to know the truth in a crisis and demand transparency from those in the public eye. They  don’t always get what they want.

There have been notable examples of people (politicians and celebrities) who have successfully emerged, over time, with reputations restored or, at least, forgiven or newly accepted by the community. Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Sheen, Bill Clinton, Winona Ryder, Gary Hart, Sarah Ferguson — it’s a long list. It remains to be seen how Lance Armstrong will emerge from his own reputation crisis, but we’ll be watching that, too.

It CAN be done, but not without damage done, amends made and a debt served either publicly or in a judicial sense.

From last night’s broadcast:

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Christopher-Dumler-Cancels-Public-Appearances-One-Week-After-Arrest-on-Sex-Charges-175688391.html

 

Update: 10:37am Thursday, October 25, 2012

Dumler Releases Statement Saying He Won’t Resign

Oct 17
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Don’t Make This Critical Content Marketing Mistake

By Communications

OK, I admit it. I love Men’s Health Magazine. When I read an issue I feel like there’s still hope for me–still time to create chiseled six-pack abs, land that perfect job, take an epic trip, generate untold wealth, attract hordes of smoking hot babes just dying to please me–you know, the basic stuff a man of my stature deserves. It’s full of useful tricks and tips, style advice, fitness regimens and human interest stories, sort of playing the role for me that Cosmo does for the ladies. I tend to enjoy staying plugged in to the younger set because I feel better when I do.

So when they offered me a chance to get some email alerts once a week or so on fitness and style, I signed up for a few. It was a way to stay plugged into that content between issues and get some good advice on whatever manly activity I was currently weak in.

Big Mistake.

EVERY single one I have received so far has been marketing spam. I was HOPING for, and expecting, blog-style columns driving me back to the site where I would be happy to consume advertising while I read invaluable posts about advancing my career and or 99 sex tricks certain to drive her crazy. Instead, I’m getting pummeled by teasers for $79 nutritional supplements and workout CDs. There has not been one single link to useful advice that I didn’t have to buy. VERY disappointing.

Look, content marketing won’t work well unless you surface valuable content. You have to provide information worth consuming that folks will want to share and that will enhance your reputation as a trusted provider of whatever it is you provide. All this tactic did was get me to unsubscribe from those emails as fast as I possibly could, with the additional side effect of undermining my desire to return to the site on my own. It was a classic bait and switch that altered my point of view on the publication from trusted source to spammer.

Another brand I cared about, forever tarnished. Sad. Very sad indeed.

Oct 16
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Jaggers Communications Announces New Client Engagements

By Jaggers Communications News

Firm to support HelioSage Energy, Summit Custom Homes, and Charlottesville High School

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (October 16, 2012) – Jaggers Communications, a strategic marketing and public relations firm with a growing presence in Central Virginia, announced today new partnership with three Charlottesville-based clients. The company will provide strategic communications counsel, planning, and execution for HelioSage Energy, a solar project development firm, coordinate the launch of a high-tech show home and community relations campaign for Summit Custom Homes in 2013, and provide social media strategy and training for the staff and educators of Charlottesville High School.

“We’re delighted to be serving as the communication partner for three organizations in industries where we excel; sustainable energy, education, and technology,” said Marijean Jaggers, president of Jaggers Communications.

The firm has added several clients to its roster in 2012 including HemoShear, a biotechnology research company, Lumos Networks, a telecommunications provider headquartered in Waynesboro, Va., the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of REALTORS® (CAAR), and Rebecca’s Natural Food, a supplement and organic grocery store based in Charlottesville.

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 About Jaggers Communications

Jaggers Communications applies experience to help businesses and nonprofits reach their business goals through strategic marketing, content creation, public relations and social media. Jaggers Communications provides organizations in the health care, education, technology, sciences, and sustainable energy industries with social media consulting, public relations support, and reputation management strategy. The firm was founded in 2011 to serve businesses with a need for cost-effective, strategic communications with effective reach.