You’ve seen these before. Perhaps it was a nicely branded Welcome tab that shows up before you “like” a company’s page. Or perhaps it was a tab highlighting a new product, service, or contest. These custom tabs are great ways to engage your fans while continuing to promote your business.

Source: http://videoconferencecenter.org/

The Nuts and Bolts of a Great Facebook Tab

Facebook users will not settle for a tacky clip art tab. It needs to be done well or not done at all. SmartBlogs breaks down a great Facebook tab into five key components: purpose, viewpoint, branding, incentives, and timeliness. These elements will ensure that your tab mirrors your company’s look and feel and helps to achieve your business objectives.

Tab Types

There are dozens of different types of tabs you can develop for your Facebook page. Here are four of the most popular tab formats:

Welcome Tab: A Welcome tab should act as the front porch to your Facebook page. As a fan gate, it will be the first thing users see when they visit your page, so it must be inviting, engaging, and consistent with your brand. It’s also your opportunity to demonstrate the value of joining your Facebook community more clearly than the content on your Wall ever could.

Integrated Tab: This is a way to host your company’s blog (shameless plug), YouTube channel, Twitter feed, etc., on your Facebook page. This works to promote connectivity among your social networks while providing your Facebook fans with further insight into how you think and do business. It may also be the push your users need to “follow” you on Twitter, subscribe to your channel on YouTube, or bookmark your blog.

Promotional Tab: This tab allows you to thank your fans by providing them discounts on your products. Check out this example from Oreo. This type of tab is ideal if you’ve just launched a product and want to encourage your fans to try it. You can drive traffic to the tab through a Facebook ad campaign or by posting links in your news feed.

Contest Tab: Creating a tab around a contest is a great way to draw people to your Facebook page. Whether the prize is a gift card, an iPad, or cold hard cash, people love to win contests. A contest tab enables you to easily track all entrants as they enter information directly in the tab. It will also keep those entrants coming back to your page to continue entering and to find out if they’ve won.

Facebook Tab Creation Tools

You can expect to pay a designer and Web developer thousands of dollars to create and maintain a Facebook tab. For a big, intricate project, this may be your best bet. But, if you’re going for the less expensive, DIY approach, here are some solutions for you.

1. Build the tab in Facebook. You can create basic tabs in Facebook by logging in as a Facebook developer. This foolproof process will allow you to create basic tabs for your page for free.

2. Use a paid service. There are countless apps that will help you build attractive and functional tabs for your page, including Wildfire and ShortStack. Most of these services come with tiered pricing options — the more you pay, the more capabilities you receive. Paying for these services will allow you more control over design elements and may include features such as the tracking of tab analytics.

Now that you’re an expert on Facebook tabs, what are you waiting for? Get started on creating your own custom tabs today.

Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give Matt Ferraguto, our Digital Division Director, a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

The fast food giant caught a lot of flak for the madness that ensued and how it responded, but I for one think McDonald’s did a decent job. Sure, hindsight is always 20-20, and they didn’t exactly follow the hashtag textbook, but I’d like to applaud McDonald’s for its crisis management chops in a tough situation.

Source: www.bwyse.com

So What Happened?

The promotion was part of a larger campaign called “Supplier Stories” that was designed to showcase the quality of farmers and food that McDonald’s uses.

McDonald’s decided to take the campaign to the Twittersphere in the form of a promoted campaign. They used the hashtags #MeetTheFarmers and #McDStories to tell their stories and encouraged their followers to do the same. 

Rick Wion, the social media director for McDonald’s, said, “While #MeetTheFarmers was used for the majority of the day and successful in raising awareness of the Supplier Stories campaign, #McDStories did not go as planned.”

McDonald’s hoped that the #McDStories hashtag would conjure up fond memories of playing in the PlayPlace, superb customer service and beloved commercial jingles.

However, tweeps had something else in mind. They hijacked the hashtag, using it in tweets designed to slam the chain, its food and its service. To give you an idea of how bad it got, some of the worst #McDStories included customers “smelling type 2 diabetes,” finding worms in Filet O’Fishes, and fingernails in Big Macs. Delicious.

How McDonald’s Responded:

McDonald’s social media monitoring team recognized almost immediately that something was amiss. Wion said, “Within an hour, we saw that it wasn’t going as planned. It was negative enough that we set about a change of course.” Without an experienced monitoring organization, it may have taken much longer to identify the negative trend and respond.

Every organization should have a social media crisis response plan in case of a worst-case scenario. In this situation, McDonald’s Plan B was to pull the promoted tweet using #McDStories. In less than two hours, Wion and his team stepped in and terminated the #McDStories promotion.

It would have been understandable for McDonald’s to get cold feet and hesitate before experimenting with promoted tweets in the future. But, the day after the #McDStories fiasco, they were right back on Twitter with another campaign. This campaign promoted a new menu item with the hashtag #littlethings and has been met with a much more positive response.

Key Takeaways:

1. The biggest lesson we can learn from McDonald’s is the importance of being prepared. Have a plan B, C, D and E. Social media is unpredictable and unforgiving. For this reason, you’ve got to be prepared for whatever you might run into. You should have plans for every potential scenario set in place before your campaign begins.

2. McDonald’s took a risk by starting a conversation on Twitter. The fast food chain may not have the best reputation in the world, and execs likely expected a little backlash. However, Wion notes that out of the 73,000 tweets about McDonald’s on Twitter the day of the promotion, only two percent were negative tweets containing the #McDStories hashtag. This means that people are talking about McDonald’s — and that’s a good thing.

3. Get back on the horse! After a fiasco like McDonald’s faced — pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and keep at it. The worst thing you could do is to become a wallflower on the social network. Stay present, continue connecting with your network and keep tweeting.

At the end of the day, this was just a blip on the radar for one of the world’s most powerful corporations. Let’s be real — people are still waiting in drive-thru lanes across America to order their next Big Mac.

Here’s a fun YouTube fact that will blow you away. YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world. No, that’s not a typo. There are more searches performed on

YouTube every day than Yahoo! and Bing. And there are 60 hours of video footage uploaded every minute. That’s not a typo either.

Got a question? There is almost certainly a video on YouTube that can provide an answer. Whether you need to know how to poach an egg or how to Dougie, YouTube is where many people go for answers.

Broadcast your business with YouTube. Source: www.fastcompany.com

Should my business use YouTube?

YouTube is a great place to host any videos that your company has created — commercials, interviews, press conference footage, product tutorials, etc. It gives viewers a tangible look into what your business and your products are all about.

Many businesses have also found that YouTube is a good way for executive officers to address clients following a crisis. This is a video from JetBlue’s former CEO, David Neeleman, following the company’s 2007 Valentine’s Day Crisis.

Whether you plan to use the YouTube platform to simply house your videos, to promote products and services, or to spark virtual conversation with customers, there are a few best practices to follow. These tips will ensure that you are making the most of what YouTube has to offer.

Get your business started on YouTube:

1. Create a branded channel. Because the page will be branded with a background image, it will be clear that your page is the official YouTube account of your business. The standard brand channel is free, but for a cost, you can beef up the customization of your channel with gadgets. Choose a user name that clearly represents your business. Don’t forget to put the link on your website and any publications you create.

2. Upload your videos to the channel. As you upload, make sure you’re giving the videos titles, tags, and descriptions that include specific, targeted keywords. This means you need to employ some serious SEO (search engine optimization) techniques on the videos.

3. Promote your videos and your channel on your other social media assets. By now (if you’ve followed this series of blogs) you are active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Link to your videos and channel in your social media posts. This will let your networks know about your newly created YouTube channel and will send them to check out your videos.

4. Monitor and respond. There are likely other videos on YouTube that discuss your business and products. Periodically do a search for your company’s name and see what other videos pop up. When appropriate, thank the user for his or her support and include a link to your channel. If the video is portraying your business or products in a negative light, take the opportunity to reach out to the user and try to correct a misconception or right a wrong. This is an easy way to turn a disgruntled consumer into a happy one.

There are over 4 billion videos viewed on YouTube every day. Why not make sure that some of those are yours?

Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give Matt Ferraguto, our Digital Division Director, a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

Most people use social networks to stalk stay up-to-date with the goings-on of friends, family and acquaintances. But LinkedIn users (for the most part) put their professional faces on, use proper grammar and connect with the coworkers and professionals who may make them weary on Facebook.

How can my business use LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the most specialized of the four largest social networks. It’s a place for colleagues to connect and for job seekers to virtually network with those in their desired industry.

As of November 2011, there were 135 million LinkedIn users, and 75 of the Fortune 100 companies were using LinkedIn’s recruitment services.

Get Connected with LinkedIn, Source: www.quantummarketer.com

By creating a presence on LinkedIn, your business will have the unique opportunity to educate potential employees, business partners and the general public about your company, services and job opportunities. And, as the job board of the future, LinkedIn can serve as an incredible resource as you seek out new talent to join your team.

With a little strategy and thoughtful implementation, you can leverage all that LinkedIn has to offer.

Get your business started on LinkedIn:

1. Create a company page. Using your personal LinkedIn page, you can create a company page complete with overview, careers and services pages. Customize the page as much as possible to establish it as a credible and noteworthy hub of information and ideas. It’s possible that LinkedIn has auto-created a page for your company—you can simply take over control of that page as an administrator.

Note: If your company is large enough, it’s possible that LinkedIn has already created a placeholder page for your employer. Until an employee claims the page and establishes himself as the administrator, any employee will have access to it, underscoring the importance of acting now!

2. Encourage all employees to link to the company page in their job description. This will expand the reach of your page by making it easily accessible to the connections of all of your employees. This will also help LinkedIn to easily compile a list of all of your employees that can be accessed from your business’s page.

3. Beef up your products and services page. This is a great way to inform users of exactly what your company has to offer. Adding a branded banner is one (free) way to customize your page and inject some visual appeal. Encourage customers to review your products on your LinkedIn page.

4. Post job openings. More people than ever are relying on LinkedIn as a way to find out about job openings and to set up informational interviews. Establish your page as a complement to your website’s careers information. LinkedIn’s job postings are competitively priced and have a proven track record of driving qualified candidates to employers. By simply supplying your job availability and descriptions, you can still reap the benefits of LinkedIn as a job board.

5. Engage! Company pages give you the opportunity to post status updates (just like Facebook) as a way to establish your business as a thought leader. Share interesting content related to your industry and craft posts so that they encourage discussion. When the conversation begins to take shape, join in!

6. Consider advertising. LinkedIn’s text ads can target users by job description, industry, or geography and drive them to your page or specific product or service offering. Like Facebook ads and Google AdWords, they are driven by a pay-per-click model that is easy to monitor and optimize.

LinkedIn’s slogan, “Relationships Matter,” says it all. Use your company’s page to build and foster relationships with your consumers and with other businesses. You never know when one connection could become your next partner, customer or employee.

Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give our Digital Division Director a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

Why does my business need a Twitter page?

There are many reasons for your company to join Twitter, including connecting with clients and partners, increasing brand awareness, rewarding customer loyalty and strengthening your crisis management capabilities.

Source: http://info.balboacapital.com/

But — and this is a very big but — don’t expect to join Twitter and immediately reap its benefits. You must strategically utilize this tool for your company to increase its social presence.

How do I get started?

 Intimidated by Twitter? No idea what “hashtag” or “retweet” mean? Fear not. We’ve got the perfect guide for you:

1)   Choose a @username, photo and bio that reflect your company’s identity.

Blame it on Mom, but when it comes to Twitter, people seldom follow strangers — even those with candy. Your account should reflect who you are and what you do, so that existing customers will easily recognize you, and prospects will get a general idea of what you’re all about.

First, choose a username that represents your company — the simpler, the better. Next, you should complete your Twitter bio so that it includes who you are and what you do. You should also include what you will post about. Is this account intended for customer service inquiries? News from and about your company? Special deals and discounts?

Finally, upload a photo. Keep your photo visually appealing and simple — it will appear as a small thumbnail in your followers’ timelines. Your best bet is to stick with your company’s logo.

2)   Choose 3 to 5 topics to talk about … and stay on message.

Determine the issues and topics that your organization has expertise on. Keep your content focused on these topics so that followers know what to expect from you. Doing this will help you to build a more focused and engaged group of followers.

3)   Join the conversation—identify users who are already discussing the issues you care about.

Twitter is a conversation tool. The best way to join the conversation is to follow others who are already speaking about the topics you plan to focus on. It’s also a great way to get new followers, since many accounts will return the favor and follow you back. However, it’s important that you are strategic — don’t just follow anyone. Find users who share similar interests by searching for certain keywords or conversation topics on Twitter or using a tool such as Mentionmapp. Once you start following these users, take time to read their tweets in order to learn how they communicate and interact via Twitter. Who are the thought leaders? Who are the influencers?

4)   Monitor what others are saying about your company, industry, etc.

On Twitter, how you listen is often more important than what you say. In the Twitterverse, it’s vital that you monitor what others are saying about your organization, your products and your industry. I recommend using a tool such as HootSuite to monitor these conversations, as well as specific hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your company and industry.

5)   Start tweeting.

Now that you’ve done the prep work, you’re ready to start posting. At first, it may seem as if no one is really interested in what you’re sharing, but keep at it. Keep generating thought-provoking, interesting content, and people will eventually start to follow (and look forward to) what you’re posting.

6)   Interact with other users.

To be an active part of any conversation on Twitter, you must listen (monitor) and then, when appropriate, respond. Following users is important, but you must engage with these users. Don’t be shy!

• The most common way to interact with others on Twitter is to @reply to their tweets. By putting the @ symbol in front of a user’s handle, you tag that user in your tweet. This can be done to give him or her credit for information or to directly (but publicly) address another user. The user gets notified that you mentioned him or her and can @reply back to you to keep the conversation going.
• You can also interact with other users by retweeting their posts. This means that you share another user’s tweet with your followers. You can retweet in two ways — by simply sharing the tweet or by quoting the tweet and adding your own comment.
• Mind your manners. Be sure to thank followers when they retweet you, link to your content or speak about one of your products. Strive to be civil and gracious at all times.

7)   Be patient.  

Twitter is a valuable tool for your company, but it can also be fun! Keep these steps in mind and remember to be patient. If you have interesting ideas to share, the Twitterverse will notice. Remember the wise words of Dory from Finding Nemo and just keep swimming — or tweeting.

Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give Matt Ferraguto, our Digital Division Director, a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

They dutifully write crisis communications plans and tuck them away, awaiting the dreaded phone call from a breathless reporter. But a crisis plan does little more than add a large dose of false security.

Sooner or later something bad is going to happen. Sometimes it’s a genuine disaster. Other times it’s nothing more than an embarrassing incident, like the CEO running off with his secretary.

Regardless, it’s going to stir up media trouble. In the worst cases, it’ll bring TV trucks screeching to your front door for a live shot on the evening news. Lesser incidents will bring a spate of phone calls from the newspapers.

There’s nothing more off-putting than having a microphone poked in your face while you’re racing to your car by a reporter no older than your youngest daughter telling you, “You’re on live.”

It doesn’t have to be this way. And shouldn’t.

Not that crises aren’t going to arise. They are. But, if you take the right preventative measures, you can lessen their severity and perhaps even avert them altogether.

Here’s how.

First, accept that a crisis is going to happen. Probably when you least expect it, usually on the eve of your annual stockholder’s meeting. This realization is sobering, but will bestow a certain level of peace.

Exploring the “Jelly Bean Theory” with Mike Hoyt. Photo Source: http://madhurimadas.blogspot.com/

What will pay dividends is a program of prophylactic public relations. I call it my “jelly bean theory.” Sounds childish, but it works.

Understand that the media play a game of “kindergarten justice.” They can incriminate you without due process and with impunity. After all, most believe they have uncovered the real truth in their stories.

The jelly bean idea is simply that you place as many positive beans in the jar of public opinion as you can over time, then, one day, some nasty event is going to take jelly beans out of the jar.

So what are positive jelly beans?

The media aren’t going to buy cheap stunts intended to give people a warm, fuzzy feeling about your organization. Ain’t gonna happen with today’s self-righteous, all-knowing reporters and editors. Similarly, social media users today have become very good at sniffing out the imposters.

You have to search high and low for good things your organization is doing. Really good things.

Then you have to tell the public about them, not in a self-serving, boastful way, but in a low-key, matter-of-fact manner that suggests you’re not beating your own chest for your own ends.

This can be done through news releases, Tweets, Facebook and blog posts and other ways. But better still, invite a reporter/blogger or two to your next free clinic or your next canned food drive.

Better still, nurture personal relationships with members of the media — traditional and social — in your town. Sit down with them and talk openly about your organization. Invite them for a visit (not for lunch; they can’t accept it and will think you’re trying to buy them off with a tuna sandwich). Give them a low-key tour. Introduce them to the movers and shakers.

Get to know them as humans doing a job and not as adversaries. Demonstrate that they can trust you. Let them know that you understand that their job is to get the story and make a deadline, and you’re here to help them do just that.

Reporters are, by nature, suspicious. So getting beyond distrust ain’t easy; plus it takes time and uncomfortable honesty. But, when crunch time comes, it’s worth the effort.

In the end, human nature prevailing, when the fit hits the shan you have a relationship with the reporter and a jar full of feel-good jelly beans. All you can expect is fair treatment, a chance to tell your side, and for a balanced story.

Is it guaranteed? Nope. But it’s worth the effort.

So, start today not just with a crisis communications plan, but building a positive balance in your media relations savings account.

Your goal at the end of the day will be that when a reporter thrusts a microphone in your face in the parking deck, you can say, “Remember me?”

Interested in putting the “Jelly Bean Theory” to work at your organization? Give Mike Hoyt a call at 919-210-2136 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

Robert Byrd graduated from Wake Forest University in 2011 and is an intern at Eckel & Vaughan, specializing in analytics and research.

You’ve heard the expression, right? To beat a dead horse is to overdo or overuse something to the point of exhaustion. After five internships in four years, I’m particularly exhausted by one piece of pedestrian guidance … the number one dead horse of internship advice:

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions!”

E&V's Rob Byrd gives his perspective on what it takes to be the world's greatest intern.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that this tried-and-true recommendation dished out by career offices everywhere is misguided; in many situations, it’s a solid guideline. But when it comes to an internship, like any worthwhile endeavor, there’s more than one way to succeed.

So while a good intern shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions, a really good, dare I say great, intern shouldn’t be afraid to not ask questions (and, yes, I will use a double-negative here. Deal with it.)

Of course, interns wandering aimlessly through tasks without road maps are not in anyone’s best interest; however, there’s a difference between a map sketched on the back of a napkin and a topographic satellite map on laminated poster board. Take it from me, the former will often prove more beneficial to both parties in the long run.

Yes, both maps will successfully guide you to your final destination, but the journey between the task’s delegation and completion is where interns learn real, transferrable skills.

You won’t be taking full advantage of the opportunity to learn those skills if you adopt the lazy mindset of “I don’t know how to do that.” Learn how to do it. At least give it your best shot. Use your trusty, academically seasoned intuition and the bountiful digital resources at your fingertips.

Let’s say you’re asked to create some slides for a PowerPoint presentation. Not sure how to create a complicated schematic with your data? You could ask your supervisor, or you could figure it out yourself by reading tutorials. Not sure whether to use SmartArt on that slide? Again you could shrug your shoulders, or you could experiment with several options and use your best judgment.

I’ve never really been a computer whiz, but by allowing myself to explore the full suite of tools within Microsoft Office and Internet tools like Google Analytics and Radian6 through my internship projects, my digital skills have become some of my greatest assets. Taking the time to figure out programs on my own has allowed me to understand the vast capabilities of many useful, and increasingly essential, communications tools.

This pseudo-philosophy isn’t limited to computer skills. If you’re asked to write a press release or ghostwrite an article, immerse yourself in the subject. Read up on the issue rather than just getting a rundown from a supervisor. Make any project a research project, and what you find may end up surprising both you and your boss.

At one summer internship, I found myself, as an art history major no less, immersed in the disconcerting foreign world of real estate investment trust communications. It would’ve been easy to succumb to inaptitude, but by approaching my assignments with a bookish curiosity, I was not only better equipped to contribute to the firm’s client work, I was able to take away valuable knowledge. This experience was coincidentally quite transferrable as I found myself working on a similar real estate account the following summer (and did quite well, thank you).

Sure, it might often be timelier to just ask a supervisor when you’re feeling sheepish, but timeliness and absolute accuracy aren’t the standard-bearers of internships. The real standard-bearer is an education in your future field.

Let’s be honest: besides the obvious advantage of free labor, internships aren’t exactly an ideal model for increasing productivity. Companies don’t hire interns for the same reasons that they hire employees. Instead, interns are hired to help them gain a better understanding of a field in the hopes that they may eventually become valuable employees within that industry (not necessarily that company).

Making the most of an internship is about standing out, striking a memorable balance between the expected and the unexpected. Consistent, self-conscious and self-congratulatory interns who require excessively frequent direction are expected. You want to make a real impression? Be unexpected. Start by kicking the “questions” mantra out the window … or the horse stable.

Eckel & Vaughan is proud to offer friends and colleagues an opportunity to offer their own take on relevant happenings in this fast moving world. As you might expect, their views are just that – theirs, but interesting nonetheless. Want to offer your take? Contact us. Who knows, your blog post might be the next digital shot heard ’round the world.

Source: www.instantinterviews.com/

I know how tough the job market is — I just went through my own search in 2011, and I’ve met with a handful of recent college graduates in the midst of their own searches. Along the way, I’ve learned some important lessons — simple tips for job seekers to help ensure that you’re always making the best possible case for yourself. Even in a down economy.

Let’s call them the “Ten Commandments” for Job Seekers in 2012.

1. Get on LinkedIn. Now. It may not look exciting when you first log on, but trust me: LinkedIn can be one of your most powerful allies during a job search. Create a profile that you can be proud of and make sure to highlight your skills and accomplishments at previous jobs and internships. Upload a headshot and ask your old boss to write you a recommendation. Give hiring managers who look at your profile a reason to call you.
2. Use it (LinkedIn). Before every interview, look up every person you’ll be meeting with on LinkedIn (and on Google and other social media platforms). Check out where they came from, where they went to school, and where they got their start. Determine if you know anyone in common. If so, contact that person, ask for advice, and explore whether he’d be willing to put in a good word for you. After every interview (especially informational interviews), connect with the interviewer on LinkedIn.
3. Clean up your act (online). Fact: Your future employer will search for you on Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (at least). Get there first and make sure you like what you see. It’s time to take down the photo of you doing a body shot and clean up your Twitter feed to make sure it appears professional. This should be a no-brainer in 2012, but I’ve seen far too many violators in the last couple of years. The debut of Facebook’s Timeline has unearthed parts of your past that you may not be very proud of.
4. Don’t let your résumé ruin your interview. Countless websites exist online to help you craft a killer résumé, so I won’t try to reinvent their genius. But I will share with you the best piece of advice I’ve been given: Treat your résumé as if it were the talking points for your interview (often it will be). That means: keep it clean (use bullets; make it a PDF), keep it to one page, and put the greatest weight on the parts of your life and experience that you want to focus on. If you dedicate five lines of text on your resume to your summer camp job, guess what you’re going to be talking about?
5. Get out of your house. You will never meet a bigger proponent of informational interviews than me. Informational interviews are how I got my current job, and I will never turn down a request for one from a job seeker. So go out and request meetings with everyone you know, beginning with people in your desired field. Not only will it help get your name out there, it will also help you to hone your skills as an interviewee. Treat your job search like it’s your job.
6. Don’t get frustrated by dead ends. During my job search, I requested more than 70 informational interviews, but only heard back from 50 of those individuals, and ended up meeting with just 35. All 35 promised they’d help in some way — some did; some didn’t. It’s a numbers game — you’ll never get anywhere if you pin your hopes to one or two (or ten) contacts. I learned about my current job through a seventh-degree informational interview connection (no joke: an acquaintance of a colleague of an employee of a classmate of a husband of a friend of my brother-in-law).
7. Give people a clear sense of how they can help. People want to help you, but they have limited time and attention. So make it clear what each person can do to propel your search forward. (Give you the names of three other people to speak with? Give you advice about how to characterize your work experience or your career aspirations? Keep you posted about any job opportunities within their organization?) Also, make it clear what kind of job you’re actually looking for. The more specific you are, the more likely you’ll come to mind when people hear about an opening.
8. Treat every informational interview like the real thing. It’s possible that the person you’re meeting with is about to post a new job, or that she might not even know about openings in her own organization. Years ago, I did an informational interview with a young woman and asked my boss to meet with her as well. After it was over, I learned that my boss was actually looking to hire, but wasn’t considering her because he “didn’t get the sense she wanted to work here.” I will never forget that. Also, please don’t forget to research the organization in advance by exploring its website and social networks.
9. Dust off the stationery. The minute you get home from an informational interview, write a paper thank-you note to every person you met with. Thank-you notes are a lost art, which makes them more and more valuable every year. You can also write a thank-you over email or attached to your LinkedIn invite, but those should never substitute for a handwritten note. Don’t forget to thank each contact for the specific action steps she agreed to take on your behalf.
10. Build your own social network. Don’t let the thank-you note be the last time you communicate with your contacts. Keep them updated on your progress, especially if one of their recommendations helped you in a specific way (e.g., resulted in a real interview). After you land your dream job, make sure to thank every person you met with personally and let each one know where you’ll be. Chances are, you’ll run into many of these folks professionally in the future.

The job search can be a demoralizing process, especially in a weak economy. These tips will strengthen your job prospects and help you build a professional network that will last for decades to come.

Hopefully, it won’t be long before you’re paying it forward and inviting a job seeker into your own office for an informational interview.

Until then, let me know if you want to set up a time to talk!

Facebook for Business. Source: buysocialpower.com

Social media is a fad, right? It’ll come and go like leisure suits, scrunchies, and the dreaded shoulder pad. Not so fast.

Facebook is the king of all social networks and, arguably, the king of the Internet.

Not only are there over 800 million active users on Facebook, but Mashable recently reported that the average American user spends nearly eight hours on Facebook every month. That’s four times as many hours as the average user spends on Google, the most visited website.

How will Facebook help my business?

At Eckel & Vaughan, we believe that before you establish your business on any social network, you should decide which networks your current and future customers and partners are using. Based on the latest staggering statistics, chances are your customers are using Facebook. And that likelihood increases every day.

We’ve found that even though users primarily log on to Facebook for personal use, they remain open to learning about new products and business opportunities.  This is likely due to the sheer volume of time users spend “loitering” on the social network.

Right now, people are talking about your business online. The question is whether or not you will choose to take part in the conversation. Establishing your business on Facebook will provide a forum for your customers to talk, ask questions, and forge a stronger connection with your brand and your organization.

How do I get started?

1. Build a fan page for your company. This will allow you to create an interactive community with your network and to connect with consumers, other businesses, and industry leaders. This also provides free, public exposure for your brand and services.

2. “Like” similar companies, industry leaders, and business partners. This will increase the size and amplification of your network and put your business on the radar of those who may be interested in “liking” your page.

3. Create a strategic editorial calendar. Determine the type of content that you want to post on your page. Be sure to plan for a mix of informational postings and industry related articles. It’s critical to post engaging content that will promote interaction among your fans.

4. Monitor. Having a Facebook (or any social media) presence is pointless if you aren’t monitoring the conversation that is taking place. Check out your page regularly. Responding to feedback and participating in conversations let your customers know that you’re listening and you care, making them more likely to come back with future questions or comments.

5. Social media is just that — social. So interact with your network. Respond to questions and “like” compliments. Tag sources if you’re linking to their content. People love being talked to and about; don’t be afraid to really engage with your audience.

6. Reward your supporters. What incentives would entice your customers to click the sacred “like” button? Whether that means offering discounts on your products, early access to hot new releases or valuable industry information, a little incentive goes a long way.

If you are only going to establish yourself on one social network, chances are, Facebook is the place to be. Use these tips to make sure you start off on the right foot.

Interested in learning more about the role social media could play in your business? Give our Digital Division Director a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

North Carolina Missions of Mercy, or NCMOM for short, lives in a world of chance encounters. After all, NCMOM dentists have treated more than 8,000 strangers and given away $4 million in free care already in 2011.

These are the people who’ve fallen through gaping holes in the medical safety net and who have nowhere else to turn to rid themselves of pain and oral disease. So they show up by the hundreds at abandoned store fronts, local gyms, church auditoriums, and shopping centers transformed into state-of-the-art free dental clinics, desperately seeking care they can no longer afford or find.

They come at night, huddling in line against the rain and wind and cold. They are evaluated and treated, sometimes after waits of up to 24 hours, in rows of portable dental chairs manned by blue-smocked dental volunteers. And then they are gone.

NCMOM’s story is typical in the world of outreach programs. Strangers come. Strangers go. Help is delivered. The story ends.

Social media connecting strangers

Invariably, those treated in NCMOM dental clinics are effusive and grateful almost beyond words. You can see it on their faces. Their pain is gone.

Despite often-uncomfortable procedures and long waits to see the dentist, they leave clutching small bags containing toothpaste and a toothbrush, and maybe some dental floss, gushing with praise and heartfelt thanks for the care they’ve just been given.

Until now, this has been the end of the road. Patients return to their lives, dentists go back to their practices, and a town returns to normal.

Yet the good feelings and pride and the countless stories linger on, and it is here that social media can shine, as it has for N.C. Missions of Mercy in recent months.

By capturing and telling the NCMOM story, by starting and sustaining conversations, by sharing the images from the clinics and the profoundly touching experiences of patients and volunteers, NCMOM is fast becoming a hot topic in North Carolina and the digital world beyond.

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, observers across cyberspace are transported to the M.A.S.H.-like floor of an NCMOM clinic where they meet and talk with those being helped and those dispensing treatment through a unique, powerful online community that buzzes with energy every time a clinic cranks up.

Not only do social media alert the public about upcoming events, they help recruit volunteers, deliver useful and timely information, seek out donors, and get people talking.

During the event itself, these conversational platforms encourage hundreds of strangers to connect and share the NCMOM experience in real time, while it’s happening. And long after the portable operatories and the X-ray van have gone, the conversations linger as people relish their experiences.

“It’s like a story that never ends,” said one volunteer dentist. “NCMOM goes on long after the two-day frenzy of emergency dentistry.”

A new way to give back

When we launched the NCMOM digital campaign in late summer, we discovered several factors that we sensed would buoy the program.

First, there was a huge information gap. Second, there was an abundance of misinformation wafting around about NCMOM. Third, we discovered that patients were brimming over with gratitude, yet had no way to express it.

Wow, we thought. What fertile ground! And, by golly, it was.

The information gap. Despite a stream of local stories in traditional media, not many people really understood the NCMOM initiative, what it was all about, and what it was trying to accomplish. Also, people told us they were having trouble finding out how to volunteer and what they needed to do as patients to be seen.

Misinformation. As important as it was to tell people what NCMOM is, we needed to better inform people about what NCMOM was not. Many thought of NCMOM as a free-for-all dental clinic open to everyone, including children who showed up. They didn’t anticipate long waits, how patients were screened and admitted, and what to expect as patients or as volunteers.

Giving back. Most patients had no clue about how they could thank volunteers for their care and so they never did. Social media outlets offered them a chance to speak up and speak out.

So we worked with NCMOM to establish networks on Facebook and Twitter.

By creating a Facebook page and asking for input, questions, and concerns through encouraging posts, we gave supporters a way to talk about NCMOM. We also traveled to each NCMOM clinic with banners and flyers encouraging supporters to connect with one another on the new social networks.

Supporters were eager to engage with NCMOM and, most importantly, with each other, and to join the growing NCMOM online community. In fact, NCMOM’s page views and number of fans on its Facebook page went through the roof during these events (see photo below of Facebook statistics after the recent clinic in Greensboro). The page’s level of engagement also increased through posts by fans thanking the organization and volunteers, and proclaiming their loyalty and support.

Making MOM into a lasting experience

NCMOM clinics last two days. That’s all. And even though hundreds of patients are treated and just as many volunteers participate, when it’s over, it’s over.

But in reality, NCMOM doesn’t end when the lights are turned off. Sure, each clinic has a beginning and an end, but the “NCMOM glow” goes on and serves up a rich, potent and exciting opportunity to share, to contemplate, to boast, to praise. In short, a chance to sustain a conversation and that, in turn, translates into building a growing group of constituents — a sort of “NCMOM Family” — who are engaged in the project, every day.

In a sense, NCMOM is a brand. Even though it’s not selling anything, NCMOM is nonetheless an entity with meaning and with strong, engaging experiential aspects that can lead to monetary support and volunteerism. These are the payoffs. These are the measurable rewards.

Brand engagement

People don’t buy brands; they experience them. This is, in essence, the NCMOM story: Sharing the experience, talking about it, exchanging ideas, expressing opinions, seeking information, encouraging others — in short, all the things communities of like-minded people do when they converse.

This is the level of engagement possible with any brand, any organization. Social media are merely a conduit.

Get more information about NCMOM:

NC Dental Society website: http://www.ncdental.org/ncds/NCMOM.asp?SnID=197382

NCMOM on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ncmissionsofmercy

NCMOM on Twitter: www.twitter.com/momnc

NCMOM blog: www.momnc.wordpress.com