We’re in the process of planning a trip to Florida and my husband has been researching restaurants. The other night he was sharing the results of his research and said: “I’ve found a few good ones – there were a couple of others I wanted to check out, but they don’t have a web site, so forget it.” Continue reading “No Web Site? No Customers?”
Category: Social Media
Should You Be Using Social Media?
This is a question that is on the minds of many these days. You can’t turn on the television or radio, open a newspaper or talk to a colleague, friend or family member without *someone* talking about “social media” – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Not surprisingly, these discussions lead to thoughts of: “Am I missing out?” “Is my business missing out? Well, maybe. But… Continue reading “Should You Be Using Social Media?”
Social Media as a Process Improvement Tool?
While Facebook can be fun and Twitter seems to have captured the interest of the masses who are all tweeting in 140-character mini-blogs about everything from what they had for breakfast to the emerging news event they just saw outside their window, many still point to these tools as more of a diversion than a legitimate business tool.
Until recently. Continue reading “Social Media as a Process Improvement Tool?”
Who Really Participates in Social Media?
As I join more and more LinkedIn groups I’ve been interested in exactly who participates in these groups and, more to the point of this blog, who doesn’t.
For instance, I recently joined the Health Care Executive Network which has 3421 members. I immediately started looking for some of the health care executives I’ve worked with – both as director of corporate communications within a large health care system, and as a consultant/journalist who has interviewed and interacted with many health care executives.
I didn’t find any of them among the members. So I began to search for health care professionals who were more at my level in the organization – directors. Nope, not there. My first reaction was: “Wow, I’m obviously more ‘with it’ than they are – I’m on social media and they’re not.” But, that thought was rapidly followed by a more realistic one: “Maybe these executives just don’t think social media matters Continue reading “Who Really Participates in Social Media?”
Social Media and Crisis Communications
(see my article on social media and crisis management pubished 6/1/09 on Human Resource Executive online)
Campus shootings and challenges faced by schools and universities in communicating immediately with students and staff have prompted these institutions to take a new look at crisis communication plans – and to incorporate social media into the mix.
At least one health care system – Innovis Health, a 21-location healthcare provider with sites in Minnesota and North Dakota – has used social media to Continue reading “Social Media and Crisis Communications”
TweetEthics: Trust and Transparency in a Web 2.0 World
As PR reps and journalists for individuals and companies learn more about the benefits of Twitter, and other forms of social media, questions are arising about how/how not to present information.
Should the writer of a post – or tweet – reveal who they are? Indicate that they’re writing “on behalf of” another individual or organization? Let the reader draw his/her own conclusions? What’s right? What’s not? Continue reading “TweetEthics: Trust and Transparency in a Web 2.0 World”
Is “Old Media” Dead? I Don’t Think So.
In an online forum, recently, a poster made the observation that “old media is dead.” Hmmm. I can understand the sentiment. After all, it seems like every day we hear about some media outlet that is either downsizing or shutting down completely and we all “know” that *nobody* reads newspapers anymore… But, I’m skeptical. In fact, I have a feeling that “old media” may eventually be reincarnated. Continue reading “Is “Old Media” Dead? I Don’t Think So.”
Should You Be Using Social Media? Everybody Else Is, Right?
Should you be using social media? Gee, I don’t know. While the media is new, the question is old – “should you be using TV? radio? newspaper? direct mail? billboards? or any number of communication tactics that might help you connect with your audience?”
Again, I’ll admit my strategic bias. The question, I think, shouldn’t so much be framed from the standpoint of *what* tool you should be using, but *why* you would want to, in the first place.
Yes, you should definitely should Continue reading “Should You Be Using Social Media? Everybody Else Is, Right?”