Sandy Wilson, Public Relations, Media Relations, Communications in Jacksonville, Florida

March has been a busy month for me! Working on client websites and building strategic social media channels has been great fun and sometimes challenging - however, in the process, I've neglected my little blog. 

March Tip:

Need help managing your Twitter account? Here's pretty much everything you could possible need to move Tweetward: The Only Twitter Application List You'll Ever Need.    I really love Twitter Keys, though I wouldn't use this for business Tweets. 

A lot of folks have asked me recently about the value of using Twitter for business.  Twitter is not for every person or business so the value of leveraging  Twitter truly must be determined on an individual basis.

That said: in almost all cases, Twitter is a great way to connect with targeted media.  In fact, you can identify some of your your media sources by researching the directories listed in the link above. 

This process also requires good old-fashioned research.  Identify your target media outlets.  Visit their websites.  Discover their Twitter identities.  Follow them.  Pay attention to their posts.  Does your business have information or services that appears to be a good fit for their readers?  Begin conversations.  Post resources.

It's a simple process that requires time, research, & thoughtful planning -  which brings me back to my little neglected blog. 

So, I've been busy but I'm back.

I just used Aviary to edit an image for a client newsletter.  What's Aviary?

"Aviary is on a mission to make creation accessible to artists of all genres, from graphic design to audio editing. We're a privately held company currently headquartered in Long Island, NY, with team members around the world. " (Aviary online)

Aviary is soooo easy to use and it's a FREE online service!

While I have Photoshop, sometimes I find it clunky to use.  I  tried Aviary just now to optimize an image and it could not have been easier, folks. 

If you'd like to see the referenced image/newsletter, go to Environmental Services, Inc.'s website and sign up for their emal newsletter : )

I stumbled on this very cool Elon University website:  Imagining the Internet: A History and Forecast this past weekend.

"The Imagining the Internet Center's mission is to explore and provide insights into emerging network innovations, global development, dynamics, diffusion and governance. Its research holds a mirror to humanity's use of communications technologies, informs policy development, exposes potential futures and provides a historic record. It works to illuminate issues in order to serve the greater good, making its work public, free and open."

I especially enjoyed reading the 2008 Survey.  Air-typing, ever evolving mobile platforms, and virtual integrity and forgiveness?  (Read the survey.) We still have a lot of work to do to produce the 2008 Survey's anticipated results by 2020.

Communications professionals have been circling around virtual conversations for over a decade and three elements remain constant:  To communicate successfully online requires independent thinking, thoughtful action and the ability to write well.

On Twitter, I observe a ton of folks who seem to automatically Re-tweet posts and suspect they don't investigate the linked content contained therein.  Readers often click through those links to a sales/marketing landing page with an introduction to the article and another link that directs the reader to the actual article or web page.

I'm still forming my opinion of "content aggregators" and will Re-tweet posts from a variety of news sites because they offer free valuable resources for readers. That said, several "content aggregator" sites seem to be managed by folks whose main focus is to filter  readers through a website designed to sell something/anything and I do have an issue with *that* as my time - like yours, no doubt - is precious.  I often wonder how others feel about being manipulated in this way?

I guess this leads us back to Elon University's prediction of  virtual  integrity and forgiveness : )

Today, I learned that another "Social Media Expert" held a workshop recently in Jacksonville, Florida where this expert advised her paying attendees to Twitter/Tweet at least three times a day if they want to be successful.

One young paying attendee of this "Social Media Expert's" workshop now sincerely believes that a company 's Twitter/micro-blog strategy MUST include three posts per day for that particular communications channel to be successful for that particular company. Simplistic Social Media Workshop take-away? Sure, but that's me, speaking for me, that's my opinion - for me and for my clients.

How do I put a positive spin on my reaction to this "expert's" workshop dictum of three posts per day for Twitter success? Ummm... I can't.

Social Media Rules" are evolving even as I type this little blog post and I'm sincerely appalled by these "Social Media Experts" who scare people into following whatever THEIR particular "Social Media Rules" happen to be at that particular moment. (I've posted about this subject and, undoubtedly, will post about this subject in the future.)

There's this "thing" called critical thinking, people. 

According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia built by real time, real live contributors, critical thinking is " the purposeful and reflective judgement about what to believe or what to do in response to observations, experience, verbal or written expressions, or arguments."

As you investigate Social Media channels to support your company's communication strategy, ask yourself: What works for you?  What works for your company?

In my experience, it's a huge mistake to ask yourself: What was I advised to do by that regional academic workshop expert?

 It's your choice, right?

I'm just back from IABC's 2009 Social Media Conference and am playing catch up.

Go to my Twitter.com page @sandyawilson for a collection of Social Media resources that I found online today.  More later.

Speaking of:  I literally stumbled on a Social Media Conference going on right NOW in California. Attendees are doing a great job illustrating the conference topic through ongoing tweets and streaming video - or they *had* streaming video going @TimMoore.  The video stream is quite the Panopticon and really well-done.  

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