Keep Your Brand Identity in Social Media

Relationships are tough for me (and most of us), mostly because I am fiercely independent. My mother instilled in me to make enough money to support myself before I even thought of marriage. From the time I was born, my parents raised me to do things for myself. So, trying to merge that independent life with another person's life, is a challenge. I always struggle to maintain my own identity and have a relationship, as well.

The same thing happens for brands on social media. There's a danger of losing your brand identity while merging with social media. Suddenly, you're sending out messages that you read would be successful in some blog, and you're using a tone of voice that you created based on something some Forbes article told you.

Articles and blogs are helpful guides, but you ultimately need to experiment with what works best for your brand. There is no generic one-size-fits-all for social media. You have your cheeky brands, your serious brands, your sarcastic brands...The list goes on and on.

There's a way to be active in social media without losing your own identity, and it starts with knowing your brand inside out before you even jump on the bandwagon. If you are a large business, an agency can be extremely helpful in creating a brand voice guide for you that includes examples of personalities you can be on your social networks, and what every person touching your social media should try to emulate. If you're a small business, finding your brand identity should be easy! Just stick to the personality you had in mind for your business when you started it.

If you lose your identity in the quest to excel on social media, then you risk being vanilla and getting lost amid all the other brands competing for social space. Also, you will not connect with the right audience for your brand because they will be either too busy trying to figure out what sets your brand apart, or just bored with your everyday antics.

On the flip side, you can't ignorantly enter social media and remain solely independent. Believe me, relationships don't survive when one person finds the need to be strictly independent. There has to be a give and a take. Learn the ins and outs of social media so you can use it properly, and then use as the tool it is.

Social media is a tool that is meant to enhance your brand message, not completely change it into something else. Be smart about using advice from blog posts and articles by picking and choosing what would most likely work for your specific brand, and leaving the rest for someone else. Find out what your brand voice and message are, and then be on the networks that work best for your industry and target audience. Be who you are as a brand, and stick out among all the other vanillas. It is completely possible to join social media, and not lose your own identity.

- Marji J. Sherman

Mind Your Business --> Don't Be On Social Just To Be On Social

Last weekend I was at the cutest, trendiest little spot on Flagler Beach in Florida for dinner. It was sunset and stormy-- the perfect opportunity for incredible photos. The place itself was also super hipster, begging to be photographed with its license plate covered walls and ceiling and neon chalkboards all over the place with fun blips written on them. What I found most exciting, though, was that this little hidden gem also had its social media networks on everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. From the chalkboards to the menu to the valet stand, the social networks were clearly written out, begging to be posted to. Naturally, I started flooding their social networks with the awesome photos I was taking during our dinner. I could not wait to get this little place on the map.

A week later, they have yet to follow me back, RT me, or even FAVORITE one of my Tweets. What the hell?! Why in the world would you put all of this effort into letting people know you are active on social media, and then NOT BE ACTIVE on social media?!

I've been on the small business side of social, and it is so easy to give someone at the company access to your social networks and just have them quickly like, favorite and respond --> even if it's just one time a day. It doesn't have to be the super busy restaurant manager, or the owner. It could simply be a waitress who is good at social media.

Here's the deal, though --> that little gem made me more pissed off by advertising their social all over the place, and then being unresponsive, then they would have if they just didn't have a presence on social. I felt like I had a one-way conversation with someone super cool, who just decided I wasn't worth their time. Shitty feeling, right?!

So, businesses out there --> don't be on social just to be on social. Don't set up a million social network accounts just because someone told you it was the cool thing to do. Wait until you have the right people in place to manage them, then create those networks and advertise the shit out of them.

Once you feel like you have the people to manage it (again, for small businesses, this could be an employee that has interest in it), here are some tips for small businesses to get up and running:

• Respond to EVERYTHING, even if it's just a simple favorite on Twitter. Let your customers know that you are seeing what they are sharing.
• Encourage user generated content, and then use it for your own content --> This is a great tactic when you don't have the resources to create new content all of the time. Let your users create it for you by having them send in photos from your restaurant, shop, etc., or photos of them with your product. Then use these images for future posts (with permission, of course).
• Create a unique hashtag for your small business, and encourage your customers to use it on all platforms. This will allow a super easy way for you to track conversations on all networks, when you might not have the manpower to invest in robust metrics platforms.
• Add your social networks to all paperwork to do with your business --> menus, email signatures, receipts, invoices, etc. 
• Empower your employees --> Let them Tweet, FB, etc. images of their day out on your social networks to give a sense of community and behind-the-scenes to your customers. (Make sure your employees know how to use social media, and set up a mini social media guidelines one-pager before you do this.)

Being on social as a small business is great, but make sure you are using it to empower yourself and your customers, and not just being there to be there. Have specific small business questions? Feel free to email them to me at marji@shermansocial.com :)

- Marji J. Sherman

Keep Social Fresh with Personality, Low Effort Content and Fan-Owned Social Networks

So I attended a conference last week in Florida, and actually paid attention. This is news because at most conferences I am busy typing away on my iPad, trying to keep up with the social conversations occurring with my brand, not paying attention to a word the speaker is saying. I already know how to Tweet, I know what Pinterest is, I know how to use hashtags...so I eventually tune the speaker out and go back to work --> Not with Social Fresh. Something incredible happened at this particular conference where I all of a sudden felt a need to put my iPad down for two seconds, and listen to what these incredible speakers were saying about trends and forecasts for the social media industry.

What was so different about these speakers? For one, they worked for brands that are very similar to the brands I manage. I could actually directly relate to what they were saying. Secondly, they didn't just sit there and run through social media tips that everyone has heard a million times. They actually used real world examples of issues that come up in social media, and solutions for them.

So, here are the top three things that managed to win the war between Social Fresh and my iPad:

• Personality is Essential
• Laurie Meacham of Jet Blue made excellent points throughout her presentation that a brand needs to engage with its consumers using some personality. After all, we are speaking to humans out there, not automated robots. 
• Low Effort Content = High Results
• Chris Moody of Oracle gave an awesome, humor-filled presentation on how fan generated content (low effort content) yields the most leads to conversions. Use your fans' content, and encourage them to share stories with your brand. 
• Fans Own Social
• Jessica Gioglio of Dunkin' Donuts gave great examples of DD fans engaging with the brand on social with everything from coffee cup Halloween costumes to engagement stories that involved the brand. Give your fans the spotlight, and you'll be amazed by how many stories and engagement you get.

To be honest, most of my enthrallment with the conference probably came from the fact that it validated EVERYTHING I've been trying to push with my own team. Personality IS important with a brand, USER generated content is king and you need to remember that your fans do own your channels. YES.

Number one reason I paid attention this time? ---> These presenters followed their own advice, and shared stories with personalities, instead of just selling me "facts".  Well played.

- Marji J. Sherman

How To Get Me Not To Talk To You

I'm known for giving the cold shoulder. What can I say?! Someone pisses me off, and I go radio silent for hours, days, possibly even weeks. It's not the most glorious trait to have, but, hey, at least I own it. So, suffice it to say, if you absolutely don't want me to talk to you-- piss me off. If you don't know
what gets my goat, then just follow these lovely, real-life examples of things I've had happen to me recently:

• Send me a LinkedIn request that explains that I was just your absolutely, favorite speaker at the conference you just attended-- when I didn't even speak at that conference.
• Request an interview from me by addressing the email, 'Dear Hank'.
• Ask me if I need to be introduced to what social media is --> when I'm clearly a social media professional.
• Ask me if my company needs someone to handle social media for us --> when I am the social media specialist.
• Send me an automated DM of any sort.
• Automatically nickname me when I've never met you before. (I can't tell you how many people call me Marj or Marge, which only my mother gets away with!) 
• Send me an email with one sentence about something personal about me, and then paste in your automated email response. (I was in PR-- I can spot these a mile away!)
• Don't have any idea what my company does, when I ask you during your sales pitch. 
• Email me that you're so grateful for our Twitter conversations and now you'd like to introduce me to your product, when we've never had a Twitter conversation..EVER. (I'm more involved then you think with my own account!)

And-- the NUMBER ONE thing to do to get me NOT to talk to you is... SPELL MY NAME WRONG when it is right there in front of you on my social profile. I have no idea how people can Tweet at me with a "Hey, Margie" when my name is clearly spelled out in my Twitter handle. I get the same thing with other social networks, too. Oh, and I also get addressed as Sherman quite a bit. That's when it is no doubt automated. I am NOT the Sherminator, so please, leave my last name where it belongs.

Point? I am on the other side of this, as well. I have to write people I don't know, and make connections with strangers, and I make damn sure I know how to spell their name, what they do and what their company does, before I pitch them anything. I also genuinely find a way to be interested in what they do, so I don't have to pull the old PR trick of finding out one fact and including it in with the rest of the automated bullshit.

If you want someone to respond to you --> be genuine, know as much as you can about them, and know what you have to offer them that no one else can.

Then start the conversation.

PS- Can you tell I got a shitload of impersonal emails, lately? ;)

- Marji J. Sherman

Why Your Brand Needs to be Human on Social Media

I have a tattoo. It's a fairly new addition to my life. It's the First United Methodist symbol. Half of the reason is because my grandma passed away this year, and she was a devout United Methodist, as am I. Half of the reason is because it's on my right arm, centimeters away from an injury I sustained during an abusive marriage. I am proud I survived, proud that I have full mobility back in my right arm and hand, and I know that my faith was a large part of getting me through all of that. My dad's  very Catholic side of the family didn't believe I actually got a Methodist cross on my wrist until they saw it in person at my cousin's graduation-- my dad still apparently has issues over it. ("You can be Methodist without tattooing the symbol on your wrist!") But, it's a large part of my story up to now--> my faith, and my survival. It will always be a large part of my story.

You should have seen me go get the tattoo one day, after work, in my pink work dress and stilettos. I was very confident, pulling up the symbol on my phone, and then realized that there are a thousand things to consider when getting a tattoo. I had no idea which way to put it, what size to get. My very patient tattoo artist kept telling me, "I'm not the one who has to wear it the rest of my life", every time I asked him a question. We really hit a head when I wanted the cross to face me, and he told me that tattoos needed to be right side up for the person seeing it, not for us. I argued that, as he had been constantly telling me, I was the one that had to wear it the rest of my life, and I wanted to see the cross right side up. After deciding to take a few minutes to cool down, I thought that he may have a point, and that I already had a relationship with Christ, and knew what the cross symbolized. I didn't need to see it right side up, but others might, others that might have never seen the Methodist cross before.

One upside down cross (to me) later, I was volunteering at The Salvation Army, and someone called out my tattoo, saying how brave I was to get it tattooed on me, in such a visible spot. Brave? I never considered getting it brave. The story behind the cross on my right arm exists for me, and I own it, whether I have it tattooed on me or not. Since then, I've had others comment on it (mostly positive ;) ) and it's amazing how many connections I've made over my tattoo.

I never truly connected the significance of my tattoo until I heard a sermon tonight about telling stories, and the importance of connecting to others. My pastor said, "Want to know what someone cares about? Listen to what they talk about (Or look at what they have tattooed on their body :) ). We connect to the human side of stories. Although the obstacles are real, so is courage. People trust people, and are inspired by their stories."

Wow on a personal level, and wow on a professional level. Not only does my pastor's story-telling advice apply to all of our personal relationships, but it also applies to social media on a major level. If you want to enter people's social conversations, you better have a HUMAN side to your content marketing. There needs to be some element that says-- "Hey, we are more than about making money, we actually care, and here's why"-- or you will lose your social audience. You might have a million followers, but you will have zero engagement and miss out on the opportunity to build brand loyalty and trust. Are the brands you see as successes on social media simply putting out advertising messages, or are they saying, "Hey, here's our story-- what's yours?"

What's your brand's tattoo? What's something so important to your brand on a human level that everyone who stands for the brand would be willing to wear it on their own body? If you're still figuring out your tattoo, then start by asking, and listening, to your consumers' own stories and 'tattoos', and join the conversation that way. Create an app on facebook that allows users to submit their stories about your brand's influence in their lives, create a Twitter chat around an important topic in your industry that has a human side to it, create an Instagram hashtag where people can submit photos of their stories that somehow relate to your brand, take advantage of Throwback Thursday to give consumers insight into your history --> do anything to incite more authentic story-telling. 

Oh, and one more important thing that I almost made a mistake of with on my own tattoo --> Make sure that you present your tattoo right-side-up to the consumer, not to yourself. Don't be selfish and show your story in a light that looks good to your internal brand, but show your story in a way that makes sense to the consumer-- in a way that they can relate to it. While I may have to view my Methodist cross upside down, I already understand the significance of it inside out. I have to show it right side up to those I meet, so they have an opportunity to also understand the significance and possibly relate to my story.

And, as my very Catholic side of my family will never understand the necessity for me to tattoo another denomination's symbol on my wrist, you will have consumers (and most likely internal associates, as well) that don't understand your story. Be prepared, but don't let it stop you from being authentic, genuine, and, may I say it, human. You will create a thousand times more meaningful brand loyalists through telling your story on social media, then you will through acting like you're some perfect brand that we all know does not exist.

Oh, and for those who are interested, here is the sermon that inspired this post: Say: You've got a story to tell



- Marji J. Sherman

The Social Media Second Chance

I always cringed at the cliche, "second chance", equating it with "you made a massive mistake"--> That was until the strategy, per say, that I created for my life was derailed, and I was faced with thousands of decisions and opportunities that I did not have literally two seconds before.  I was discussing all of the changes with a friend who went through a similar experience, when he said something so eye-opening. He said, "I don't regret anything about my experience, because it now allows me to see exactly what I want (and don't want). Now I can plan for the next time with insider's information that most people don't have, because I've already been through it once. The next time it's going to be perfect-- a level of perfection I could not make it without that insider information from the first time around."

Wow. Just wow. In that moment, something clicked for me. He was absolutely right. Second chances aren't about focusing on the fact a mistake was made. Second chances are about a great opportunity to make something even better, because you now have all of the lessons you learned the first time around. It suddenly occurred to me that my second chance in my personal life could also be applied to my professional life-- the cause of the derailment of a small part of my life strategy was like the data I would use to create an effective social media strategy.

So in an industry focused on immediacy and having to have the right information at the right time, I invite you to embrace second chances, because, well, we are human, and we are operating in an uncontrolled environment where we never know how that one demographic is going to relate to that one post that we thought was clever, but apparently was offensive, right? Use your social media second chance to create effective, relative content that would have never been possible without the data you gathered from that first chance. Don't just focus on your brand, either. Look at other brands' opportunities for second chances, and use those to make stronger strategies of your own. As the saying goes, "Intelligence is the ability to learn from your mistakes. Wisdom is the ability to learn from the mistakes of others."

As social media professionals, we should embrace second chances everyday, constantly creating new strategies and content that effectively engage our communities. I challenge you, if you're anything like me, to stop cringing at the thought of having to start over, and look at it as an opportunity to build even a stronger network. I guarantee you that my changed perspective on second chances has opened up an entirely new world for me, both personally and professionally, that is exponentially better than any plan that was derailed --> And, it's only been a month and a half.

-Marji J. Sherman

Selfless Authenticity Will Always Win On Social

Three years ago today, I was enjoying a Sunday afternoon in my Manhattan apartment after spending a lovely Saturday in SoHo with a new love interest in NYC. I did my usual Sunday routine-- yoga, watched my sermon online, meditated and then uploaded photos from the weekend to Facebook. I always choose a song title for my Facebook albums, so I scouted out some new songs that night, and fell in love with Swedish House Mafia's 'Save the World'. So, I created an album titled, "Who's going to save the world tonight? Who's going to bring you back to life?" I checked the time, 10pm, and decided I should probably check my phone that I had put face down on my bed hours earlier so I could focus on my yoga and things besides text messages and calls. Much to my surprise, there was a text from my mom that said, "Urgent. Call me." Ten seconds later, I found out that my sister died.

One of my very first thoughts was the acute understanding that my life would never, ever be the same. And, it wasn't. The naivety of that twenty-something in NYC, was replaced by a sharp realization that life was SHORT, and that no one was safe from death. Anything that had ever happened in my life before that moment seemed insignificant. I felt like any complaint I had before was unwarranted. I was a mess of emotions-- but mostly angry and sad.

I spent the night alone in my NYC apartment, curled up in the fetal position in my bed. I was semi-new to the city, and my only friends were out of town for the beautiful, summer weekend. My semi-love interest was already asleep and didn't hear my call that night.

A brutal sleepless seven hours later, I got up, got dressed, and went to the airport. I took my scheduled flight to the business training I had that week in Michigan, and put on a smile through it all. I tried to keep positive music on my iPod (Waterfalls by Coldplay), and keep my mind set on just getting to our office in Ann Arbor.

It wasn't until halfway through the day, after lunch with my boss, that I finally broke down in tears and told my company what had happened. I stayed with a Christian family in the area that offered to take me in until I had to fly out to the funeral.

While all of this was beyond generous, it was not until a couple of days later that I found some semblance of hope and peace that I would make it through the darkest moment in my life. I was called to write my sister's obituary, being the writer in the family. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever written in my life. As I was going between that, and work, and checking Twitter, I saw a Tweet from a blog called, 'I Wrote This For You'. I followed it to a page that clearly spelled out every single emotion I had not been able to put a name to over the past three days. Suddenly, I didn't feel alone, I didn't feel misplaced. I realized that other people had lost their loved ones, too, and they still lived positive, meaningful lives. For the first time, I felt hope again.

That blog kept me alive. I religiously checked it everyday for any new piece of insight, and printed valuable posts to share with my family members. It was one of the only things that brought smiles to us in the tenuous days ahead. One person's selfless authenticity made a girl who felt like her world ended, believe in life and love again. 

Hardly a day has gone by in three years that I haven't checked 'I Wrote This For You', or read a passage from his books. By being real, he gained a fan for life.

Lesson --> Your fans and consumers are real people going through real things. They don't just want your Hallmark cards. They want posts they can relate to. Granted, it doesn't have to be on the incredibly personal level like my relationship with 'I Wrote This For You'. It could be as easy as sharing the news of the success of one of your employees, or sharing personal, uplifting stories about your staff and brand. Don't be afraid to be genuine and real. We're all living life. We all know that it isn't perfect, and none of us can even begin to relate to perfectionism, so why try to keep your brand in a protective, perfect bubble? Engagement stems from authenticity, so open up to your fans. Let them know that you're not just an automated computer sending out advertising messages. Trust me on this.


- Marji J. Sherman

Choosing Influencers for Your Brand Isn't About the Numbers

One time, I worked for this very popular sports brand. They were absolutely EVERYWHERE. From provocative full spread ads in every sports magazine, to sky-high cardboard cut outs in every GNC. My job was to create their first social media strategy, and I did. Within a month, organic engagement soared, and teens who dreamed of being world famous bodybuilders were including us in thousands of online conversations. Success.

Then, I was informed that we were bringing a celebrity influencer on board who had TONS of followers on Facebook and Twitter. According to the C-suite, this was the icing on the cake to the strategy I already began implementing for them. ALL of this celebrity's fans would migrate to our social channels, and, within a few months, we would have over a million followers.

As buzz generated around the office about what we do with our sudden onset of ONE MILLION fans, I started to research this celebrity's social community. My first hint that he was not necessarily the greatest influencer for us to use, was that he was getting LESS likes on his social content with over a thousand times more fans on Facebook. (Note: This was before Facebook's crazy algorithm changes, when fan pages actually saw a TON of organic engagement.) My second hint was that hardly any of his followers even bothered to RT his content. I brought it to the C-suite's attention that I thought this celebrity bought his fans, and therefore, they would not migrate to our networks, and would probably not even engage with our content that included said celebrity. I was basically told I was crazy, and that we were going forward as planned with the partnership.

I had to be up at 6AM the day of the launch, to corral the loads of expected engagement. Let me tell you, from 6AM on, I was in crisis control. NOT ONLY were the fans bought by this celebrity (learned at a later date), they HATED our brand. Tons of fans slammed the celebrity on both his social channels, and ours, for being a sell-out because he already represented so many other brands. Not only that, our fans actually liked our brand because we didn't have a celebrity endorsement, and were viewed as the likeable underdog.

I spent nearly four months putting out fires, and, even after four months, we were still seeing 'sell-out' conversations trickle in, bashing the celebrity AND our brand. Ouch.

Lesson learned? RESEARCH your influencers before you form a partnership. Don't just look at their numbers. Here are some tips to verifying you have a solid influencer:

1. Look at how many fans they have compared to how many engagements they have. If they have one million Twitter followers, but an average of 10 RT's per Tweet, they most likely bought their followers. You can also take a look at their followers, and if you see mostly eggs instead of profile pics, chances are they are bought followers.

2. Watch how they interact online. Do they engage with their followers? Are they active on their accounts? You want to make sure you have an influencer that keeps the conversation going with you, and is a true partner in the online conversations.

3. Make sure they have not represented your competitors, and that they are not a leech that represents any brand that will give them something for free.

4. Make sure your influencer genuinely aligns with your brand. Don't force a relationship, or chances are their followers won't want to follow your brand anyways.

Remember --> Numbers DO NOT equal influence, conversations do.

- Marji J. Sherman

Roots are Critical for Effective Social Media

So, I grew up in Wyoming. This is a little known fact that only arises if people ask me specifically where I'm from. I've spent the majority of my life between Miami and NYC, and sometimes forget myself that I really am a small town girl. Why is this important? Well, because when I come across obstacles in life, or even moments when I need to make a critical decision, I immediately go back to my roots. I take a three day trip to the middle of nowhere and remember where I came from, or I spend hours on the phone to people who have known me before I knew myself. I know where my roots are, and that simple fact has helped me navigate some pretty rough waters.

The same concept applies for social media-- you need to have roots in some area of expertise before you can navigate the often-times unpredictable waters of social media. You cannot just open a business Facebook page because you have a stellar personal Facebook page, and immediately have a million fans. You have a great personal page because something is great about YOU-- whether it be your personality, your cutthroat, super secretive way of always being the first to find the best memes, songs, etc. in the world to post...There's something about you and the content you're creating that makes your personal page awesome.

You need that same something for a brand, and, unfortunately, that doesn't always just come from having a great product. It also comes from having a great background in knowing how to deal with people-- and that usually comes from some form of a communications degree.

I owe a huge chunk of my ability to navigate the muddy social media waters to my background in public relations. My roots are in writing press releases, pitching ideas, answering a million questions about a product, giving quick quotes about products and creating eye-catching graphics for effective media kits. Sound familiar? All of those skills are at the very core of how I interact online. After all, social media is a form of public relations, isn't it? In social media we are constantly relating with the public.

Without those roots, I would be at a loss when a crisis suddenly pops up on Facebook and Twitter, or when a customer gets a little too fresh with me in a message. The skills I learned throughout school for PR, are the same skills that allow me to be an effective communicator in social media, as well.

Point? Social media pros need to be in tune with their roots, and cling to them when hitting rough waters in social media. They don't have to be anchored in social media. I've met tons of marketers, research analysts and creatives that have their own type of roots that support incredible social media campaigns. They have to be in something, though, because quality social media cannot sustain with just a knowledge base of how to maneuver a social network. Effective social media campaigns are born from teams who also understand the core concepts of communication, marketing, public relations, etc. Where are your roots?

- Marji J. Sherman