Alissa and Angie connected with a college class in China via video chat to give a live presentation about the effects of social media on businesses. At 7 p.m. May 18, Topeka time, it was 8 a.m. May 19 at Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST) in Wuhan, China. Alissa and Angie have both guest-lectured for Dr. Bob Boncella at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., but this was their first international lecture for one of the traveling professor’s classes at WUST.

The social media team met with Miranda, a WUST graduate and current international student in the MBA program at Washburn, to discuss usage of social media in the Chinese culture. Alissa and Angie’s presentation covered the similarities and differences between U.S. and Chinese networks, focusing on how the networks are beneficial to businesses.

Facebook is very similar to RenRen in China, but businesses aren’t using RenRen to engage customers. The Facebook conversation focused on discussing examples of how U.S. businesses use Facebook pages to reach their customers to achieve a variety of marketing objectives.

Twitter has no comparable Chinese networks, so it was necessary to define Twitter, its purpose and how businesses can can use it. Examples helped students understand how businesses may benefit from a micro-blogging site.

The presentation also covered YouTube (similar to Youku in China), Flickr, Foursquare and LinkedIn. There were two brief live demonstrations of Twitter and LinkedIn at the end of the presentation, as requested by Dr. Boncella and the students. Dr. Boncella was very pleased with the presentation and is looking forward to future jhP presentations via video link.

Here’s a big thank you to Dr. Boncella for choosing the jhP team to speak to his students. It was a rare and exciting opportunity. We look forward to guest-lecturing in many Chinese classes to come.

Until next time, zai jian!

I have many concerns, but here’s my biggest: Each social network has different parameters, a different personality, and in most cases, a different audience. To entice your customers/prospects to take time to engage with your brand, you need to make sure you’re approaching them the right way. Think about it from a traditional media standpoint – would you take a newspaper ad and run it as-is for a TV commercial? That’s exactly how it is with new media. You need the appropriate message and delivery to catch your audience’s attention and to move them
to engagement.

Facebook offers a lot of opportunities for brands to engage people. Page updates can incorporate multi-media attachments (images, video, links) and can be tagged to include hot links to people’s profiles, events or other pages/groups within Facebook. This gives brands the platform to tell a rich story with extra visuals.

Conversely, Twitter’s tweets are short and much less inclusive of multi-media. Sure, you can add links to images and video, but they count as part of your 140 character limit. Twitter also incorporates @replies and #hashtags to help people understand the context of the message and who you’re talking to/about.

Bulk-messaging both Facebook and Twitter will often lead to failures in each channel. Messages created for Facebook are typically too long for Twitter and get cut off. Twitter updates that are pulled into Facebook are usually bland because they’re missing the additional content. How are either of those scenarios going to be encouraging to a customer who likes your Page or follows your brand on Twitter?

And one more thing. If you’re using syndicated posts to save time, are you remembering to follow up with the responses people may have posted in both mediums?

All I’m saying is that the point of social media is to engage and be interactive. Cutting corners through regular update syndication can potentially derail the efforts you’re making. What do you think?

Thursday kicked off with a BANG with keynote speaker Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs and New York Times best selling author of Trust Agents on stage. Then we heard from Shawna Coronado, author of Gardening Nude. Here’s what we learned from these two …

In social media it’s all personal. This is something we already know, encourage and practice regularly, but Shawna made a great point in her presentation – when you think about it, aren’t some of the best sales people the best because they are personal?

If that’s true, then how do you keep this in perspective and not end up spending all day building relationships through social media? A good tip given at the conference was the 2-hour rule. Chris referenced this in his presentation. If you have two hours a day to spend on social media then spend 30 minutes listening, 60 communicating and 30 minutes publishing. There’s no foolproof formula – this is just a reference to show you how important it is to communicate with your audience.

At the end of the day, these new media channels are a place for social networking and we need to do just that – be social in our networking! So engage with your friends and followers. Build those relationships by sharing something personal about yourself. Office out of diet coke? Share your frustration with your followers – it’s a great way to start a conversation! Just be real and authentic, don’t hide behind your brand’s logo and expect people to engage with you.

Our nerdy claim to fame? I got to have lunch with Chris Brogan and Alissa got him to autograph her copy of Trust Agents! Check it out:

Social media is about establishing and maintaining relationships with real people. Healthy relationships are based on trust – consumer-brand relationships are no different. When consumers are interacting with a brand online, they want to know who they’re talking to and what that person’s affiliation is with that brand. For example, if I’m looking for new shoes and I get advice from a guy that manufactures shoes, I have a good idea of what to expect from him and how to merit his advice. If I’m talking to the CEO of that same shoe store, I expect a different perspective and give it different merit.

By being transparent in your posts you are building trust and understanding in the content, the author and the brand. That’s why we feel VERY strongly that in order to build that trust you HAVE to have honest and transparent communication. We feel so strongly, in fact, that the jhP social media policy promotes it for team members regardless of posting on behalf of the company, ourselves or on behalf of our clients. So we’re required to clearly identify ourselves and our affiliation with jhP or the client.

Kohl’s is a great example of why we need to be transparent in social media. It all began with Ed Gawronski posting helpful tips on the Kohl’s page encouraging customers to visit the website where they could provide their email in return for discounts and cash-back opportunities. Unbeknownst to the other users, Ed just so happened to be the vp of marketing at Kohl’s. It didn’t take long for someone to call him out – going so far as to leave the link to his LinkedIn page. The real kicker was the comment, “Masquerade much?” That one question could have potentially been damaging to the brand – check out more about the case HERE.

When you’re posting as a representative, we recommend the following simple steps to prevent public embarrassment and damage to the brand:

1. Identify who you are using your full (real) name.
2. List your affiliation to the brand.
3. Discuss whether you are acting on behalf of a company, client,
   self, etc.

These three steps allow you to be honest and respectful and to engage openly in a conversation with others. Essentially, it’s doing just what you’d want others to do. So tell us what you think. For what other reasons do you feel it’s important to be transparent?

Conformity

Building a solid brand requires thoughtful repetition. While jhP has built a presence on most major social media sites, they were constructed one at a time – over time. The existing materials, though strong in and of themselves, expressed different visual philosophies.

It was time to take a look at everything we had going, all at once, and establish a more uniform look. We like to think of jhP’s style as being sophisticated simplicity. Our new designs should collectively reflect that.

Usability

Slick visuals are good, but a website serves a purpose. Users want to quickly access information. We at jhP want to make that easy. The new blog is designed with functionality and simplicity at its heart.

By removing extraneous ornamentation, simplifying the color scheme, and standardizing the appearance of elements, we draw attention to the content and what the user can do with it. Large areas of white space and careful use of the company orange coordinate to focus attention where it’s due.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools have been integrated throughout. Users can comfortably and easily share content with their friends. That interchange is vital in making the jhP online presence meaningful to visitors.

Flexibility

The Internet will change again tomorrow. We’re building to accommodate that change as easily as possible. That means using strong, flexible, accessible standards. The new blog is designed to accept quick revisions to structure and appearance to adapt to whatever comes next.

Thanks for visiting our latest evolution. We hope you like it. Whatever you think, let us know. There is always evolving yet to do.

As we said in our post, Dealing with Disgruntled Ex-employees via Social Media, when you’re dealing with social media, your responses should always be on a case-by-case basis. That said; let’s build a scenario. Let’s assume the negative comments are factual and that no lives are at stake. Let’s also assume that this is not an issue that will require potential legal counsel and that this is not just a rant by some disgruntled ex-employee (which was the case in our last scenario).

Here are three suggestions to handle THIS specific situation.

1) Don’t ignore the situation. Publicly own up to it.

While you may not have all the information yet, if you know at least part of the negative comments are true, publicly own up to it. Apologize and say you are looking into the situation further. When you make it clear that “we’re on it,” this puts you into a position of at least some control. Imagine how this alone would have helped a company like Domino’s last year when that terrible video about a couple of former employee’s “secret” ingredients went viral. It was easy for Domino’s executives to quickly access that video, so they should have released a baseline statement of acknowledgment immediately with further information to follow.

2) Learn all the details and handle the situation internally.

When reports first emerged about brake/accelerator problems with Toyota vehicles the company would have improved their position by releasing a blanket statement of acknowledgment – not admission, but a simple “we hear you, we’re checking.” That would allow them time to look into the situation internally and determine if a voluntary recall was necessary or if the problem was a case-by-case situation. Granted, there were major safety and legal concerns involved, but with the guidance of their general counsel and legal team they should still have been able to draft SOME type of reasonable and timely response. Then they could proceed to learn the details and handle the problems internally – then publicly.

3) Publicly apologize and make amends.

Take notes from many popular retail organizations – if your restaurant order is wrong, most times your waiter will agree, volunteer to make it right, take care of the situation, apologize and then either discount the meal, give it to you on the house or give you some freebie for your hassle. Now when they do that don’t you feel more favorable towards that organization? Maybe not always, but more times than not the answer to that question is yes, you’d go back. So fix the problem and apologize with a public explanation of how you corrected the issue.

All that said, keep in mind that with any crisis management situation you must evaluate your response on a case-by-case basis. So when you are utilizing these points during a crisis remember these are only basic steps. You MUST include your marketing and publicity teams in your resolution meetings as well as any legal counsel if there are potential legal ramifications.

The moral of this situation is that no one’s perfect and we will all make mistakes. But more often than not, if you admit blame, take care of the situation, apologize and do what you can to fairly make amends you will gain a stronger brand loyalty among your customers than you had before. Challenges, correctly addressed, are opporunities.

Now what about you? Is your profile complete – offering the viewer a true sense of your capabilities and personality? Are your words spelled correctly and are your grammar and writing style intelligent and professional? If not, you’re making a weak first impression. That could cost you to miss out on your next valuable opportunity!

LinkedIn can’t work for you if you don’t put a little work into it. Try these easy ways to quickly improve your profile.

1) Write your information in first person and make sure it’s current.
2) Personal Headline: Use your title along with words that best describe the services you provide. Be sharp. Space is limited.
3) Use a professional profile picture, headshot only please, and smile.
4) Update your status and make sure the status has value to the viewer. This keeps you top-of-mind to others.
5) The Summary is a great area to put a personal spin on who you are. Share your experiences, specialties and skills sets. Focus on results and share what you expect in a solid business relationship.

As a marketing agency, everything we do revolves around strengthening brands. We emphasize the importance of a business’ brand, as well as the personal brands of key individuals within the company – applying these same concepts to our clients’ personal brands. We provide profile consultation, setup and training, on both the individual and group levels.

Remember, the first impression is vitally important. Once the door is open, your personality and capabilities can shine through. There are more ways you can put LinkedIn to work building your brand and improving your workday, but that’s for next time.

About LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a trusted online networking tool utilized to extend your network and gain business contacts. LinkedIn currently has 50 million members with a growth rate of 1.5 million per month. LinkedIn is free to use, but there are additional services available for a reasonable fee.

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

It’s official – Lent’s over and so is this experiment. Which is good because I’m TOTALLY OVER this whole no Facebook thing! I’ve enjoyed the increase in face-to-face and phone conversations that I’ve had with my friends and family, but those conversations could have been even more fun with a little help from Facebook on current events.

I was an early adopter of Facebook and other social media outlets, so it’s been nice being able to take a step back to remind myself, and others, how this tool can really be utilized. By doing so I was able to be reminded of how Social Media can affect us, not just personally but professionally. So I hope through my step back we have all began to think of social media as a compliment to your traditional marketing plan. Here are a few other things I hope you’ve began to think more about in regards to your business:

• Social Media is a way to engage with your customers – but should not replace in-person or personal communication.

• You can’t communication with your audience if you’re not using the same communication tools that your audience is using.

• You might be trying to communicate, but if you’re not where your audience is then business can get pretty lonely pretty fast!

• Social networks aren’t the ONLY place your audience is at so it should not be the ONLY place your business advertises. It should compliment your other advertising efforts.

So what did I do first on Facebook?

•   Looked at pictures of all my friend’s newborn babies
•   Became a fan of my bank’s Fan Page
•   Went through all my friend requests (15), messages (56) and event invites (I stopped counting!)
•   Followed up on the happenings in my friends, family, co-workers and client’s lives – we’ve got LOTS to cover this week!!!
•   Updated my calendar with several of my client’s events as well as local non-profit and chamber events.
•   Uploaded all the pictures I’ve taken the last month and a half
•   Went through my news feed (no not from the last 6 weeks – just the last day)

I’ve CLEARLY got lots more to catch up on but that’s kept me busy for a little while. I hope you enjoyed relentlessly torturing me with stories about facebook gossip. I also hope you’ve enjoyed following the things I’ve learned from this experiment, but mostly I hope that you’ve taken something away about how communication channels are evolving.

Next year I’m totally giving up cookies or maybe chocolate – but definitely NOT Facebook! Until then, thanks again for following and I’ll see you on Facebook.

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

This week, my Facebook Fast has helped me realize a new, unexpected, but clearly obvious point about the importance of traditional media. Friday I did an interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal for an article about my Facebook Fast. It ran on the front page of Saturday’s Paper and I have received an overwhelming amount of support since (THANK YOU!). It’s the support from the newspaper article that’s brought me to my next point. Just because new communication methods and advertising avenues are emerging doesn’t mean we can forget about the more traditional methods.

The way my parents’ generation communicates and engages with others is completely different from the way my generation communicates and engages with one another. My parents talk on the phone, I text on it. My parents email, I Facebook. But I also talk on the phone and email, and slowly my parents are beginning to text and utilize social networks so I’m not sure why this point wasn’t immediately obvious. New media is simply helping communication, but I’ve come to realize that that doesn’t mean more traditional methods are any less important to a relationship, be that personal or professional.

Social networks aren’t the ONLY place your audience is at. They are just one more touch point to get a message out there. When radio came along, it was used to support advertisers’ print campaigns; similarly when television came along. With social networks you are just using one more method to support the other, often times more traditional, advertising methods. Take the newspaper article for example. The newspaper article supported my blog series, which I promoted through Twitter and my colleagues promoted through Facebook.

It really goes to show how they all tie together proving that networks, like Facebook, are allowing businesses to build relationships with their customers and potential customers. Without that you’re probably not top-of-mind to your audience. Your conversations are similar to speaking with an acquaintance – you talk when something sparks your interest but you don’t engage on a regular basis. Those interactions with your acquaintances rarely spark lifelong friendships because you’re not engaging with them regularly. That’s why social media marketing is so important to the success of some business’ overall marketing strategies. You’re not just interacting with acquaintances; you’re building relationships with your customers. Can you feel the brand loyalty?

One more week! Here’s what you missed this week:

• Thank you for another AMAZING concert, John Mayer. This may have been my 3rd but you are still, by far, one of the most talented musicians out there.

• The Flint Hills Discovery Center is going to be such an amazing place for students, families, tourists and more – can’t wait until it opens. Check it out!

• I love small towns and picnics in the park with friends! They all remind me of home.

• The jhP team just met with a client about Hispanic Marketing efforts! I love my job – I’m never bored and am always learning something new.

Let’s quickly compare Google Buzz to other popular social networks. With Facebook, people were comfortable knowing that you have to “request” to be a friend. On Twitter, it’s reassuring that when you lock down your profile, you control who can see your tweets. But when Google Buzz first launched, the people you follow (and who now follow you!) became anyone you’ve had interaction with via your gmail account – automatically added to your new social network based on your most frequent email connections. That’s called auto-populating. You had no choice in the matter!

“Hello EVERYbody!”
So what’s the danger? By auto-populating my followers, there’s the risk that “Mr. VP of Company I Want to Work With,” for whom I happen to have a personal email address, can now see that I said a project he spearheaded was knot-headed. Of course YOU know better than to post potentially damaging messages on any of your social networks, unless it’s something you would say to EVERYONE. But you get the point. By automatically combining your private email with your now-public social network, it’s easy to destroy the wall between who should and shouldn’t see your updates. It’s no longer the trusted network your email once was. Fortunately, since the launch, Google Buzz has changed the auto-populate feature to “auto-suggest.” Just be very careful you’re not automatically agreeing to their every suggestion!

“Oops, That Wasn’t for YOU.”
Another big problem is that you can send your buzz out via your gmail account. Sounds convenient, right? That’s until you accidentally select the wrong contact from your address book! We’ve all done it. And if you haven’t, you’ve at least heard the horror stories. So let’s say you just finished a meeting with “Mr. VP of Company I Want to Work With” (for whom I happen to have a personal email address) and go to email a friend, whose email address begins with a B and unfortunately is placed RIGHT NEXT to buzz@gmail.com in your address book. You can guess the rest. When you send her a message about how “Mr. VP etc.” had a really bad suit on at your interview, you accidentally select buzz@gmail.com and guess what? That not-so-smart venting email goes out to ALL the people following you on buzz – including “Mr. VP.” Kiss that job opportunity goodbye!

“Stalkers: Here I Am!”
Another – potentially dangerous – privacy issue comes from the geo-tracking feature when you use Buzz on your mobile web browser. Originally, when you would post a status on Google Buzz it would point out your physical location at the time the message was sent. Clearly, that would cause not only privacy concerns, but safety and security issues. That’s why networks, like Foursquare, aren’t connected to untrusted networks without your prior approval. Fortunately, since updating, Buzz has added a clearly visible check box to opt out of geo-tracking on your Buzz. Use it!

“Creeps: Meet My Friends.”
Lastly, and in our opinion most disturbing, the people you follow and your followers in Google Buzz are now public to anyone who has access to your profile. So if you don’t intentionally opt in to a PRIVATE profile – you are also exposing your followers’ profiles to anyone using Google Buzz.

Google Buzz was buzz-worthy for about as long as it takes to blink. We’re glad they recognize their problems, and we’ll be interested to see if it evolves to live up to all the hype. But for now it doesn’t look like Google will replace the Internet any time soon.

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

Three and a half weeks down; three to go. Giving up Facebook has given me some unexpected extra time on my hands. At first that was refreshing, but after the newness wore off it quickly became lonely. Within just a few days of giving up Facebook I had an epiphany – Facebook’s so much more to me than just a time waster or a gossip/news site. It’s about being a part of something bigger than myself. That’s why people get involved in groups right? For me, it’s about staying connected with friends, and being included in a conversation I would not normally be included in. I may not engage in the conversation but that doesn’t mean I’m not following it – which is similar to standing with a group at a big party and listening to a conversation but not adding anything (come on, we’ve all perfected our head nods!). So needless to say, these past three weeks could have been pretty lonely. By day two it felt a little like I was already out of sight, out of mind.

Last week’s point was that if you can’t communicate with your customers/potential customers then how can you expect them to continue utilizing products or services they don’t even know about? Then, last Monday, my friend Melissa exhibited this point perfectly when she told me that if I give up Facebook again for Lent we can’t be friends anymore. Obviously, she’s kidding, but she showed me another way to look at last week’s message. Much like my lonely feelings from being unable to take part in the Facebook conversation, a business can be pretty lonely if it isn’t communicating with its customers. And if you’re like me – you might be trying to communicate with your audience, but if you’re not using the same communication tools they are, then it can get pretty lonely pretty fast!

So start talking. Find out where your audience gets their news and gossip. Learn where they spend their time and get a presence there. Make yourself top of mind and become part of the conversation. That’s just a little piece of the success puzzle.

A week’s worth of my rambling mind:

• I think I’m falling in love … with the band Safetysuit. Thank you Pandora for yet ANOTHER amazing recommendation!

• I just finished speaking to three VERY bright classes at Washburn University about jhP, marketing, advertising and, of course, Google’s Fiber Network Experiment.

• I’ve got SO many weddings and baby showers in the next three months that I just don’t think I’ll be able to knit everyone afghans … how about anniversary/1-year birthday gifts?

• I love Topeka, but I miss Manhattan. I need to get myself another one of these shirts! www.imissmanhattan.com

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

This week was even more difficult than last. Last week my Facebook fast was top-of-mind to all my friends and family – this week the newness has worn off. People keep talking to me about things I would normally know about – expecting me to have a clue. But when I stop them and ask them to fill me in, I get the resounding “oh, that’s right, you’re not on Facebook.” And then there’s The Face.

“The Face” is the eye–squinting, wrinkled-forehead, pressed-lips look that you get when people feel sorry for you. I’m fairly certain I’ve used this look many times. Usually to communicate a feeling with others – typically when something has happened and I’m trying to show empathy to someone. Is that what my friends are doing to me? Feeling sorry for me? (NOTE: I’m exaggerating with that last line for effect – just go with it.)

But seriously, this past week proves one point I had hoped to make with this experiment – that you can’t communicate with your audience if you’re not using the communication tools your audience is using. If I could had been on Facebook this week, you’d know that I became of fan of my bank’s new Fan Page – CoreFirst Bank & Trust. Instead I have to wait until April to do so! And I would have known that Jayhawk Café, a new café in downtown Topeka’s Jayhawk Tower, had their grand opening. But I missed it because I didn’t know about it – I heard about it later that evening on the 10:00 news. Regardless, I’m managing. Not as effectively, or efficiently, as normal, but I’m making it through with a little help from my friends, family, co-workers and local media. Thanks everyone!

Here are a few other things you would have known if I could have been on Facebook this week:

•  WHAT!?!? There’s a Twilight “Scene It!” board game. How do I NOT have this?
•  Headed to the Heartland Visioning meeting! Can’t wait to hear all about their wonderful plans to revitalize Downtown Topeka.
•  Why are some stoplights in Lincoln horizontal and some vertical … did they just decide to buck consistency or does this madness have a real purpose?
•  Stupid friends – why aren’t you ALL on Twitter?! Okay you’re not stupid but my life would be easier if you were!

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

It’s become painfully obvious to me that I’m going to have to start using the phone more often … even more so now that I’ve officially worn out the letters i, e, t, o and h on my cell phone, making texting a little difficult to say the least. It will be interesting to see how painfully awkward my friends and I are in phone conversations. My generation had just started talking on the phone when Yahoo Messenger became popular … and we quickly stopped talking and started typing. I’ve had the Internet since I was in 4^th or 5^th grade so you can understand why it may be hard for me to communicate outside of email, texting, social media, instant messaging or in person. The sad truth is that I’m not even sure I have some of my best friends’ phone numbers! (P.S. if you’re one of those people please drop me an email at bengelken@jhpadv.com – I miss you, friends!).

I’m still habitually typing facebook.com into the URL and have actually ended up at the sign in page several times. I did finally set up a folder in my gmail account. It’s called “Facebook – Lent” and I’m putting ALL notifications I get in that file to check on April 4. So no – I’m not cheating and reading my notifications to get around being on Facebook.

The hardest night so far was the night of the K-State v. Nebraska Men’s basketball game. I didn’t know what to do with myself. It didn’t feel like enough just to rant to my Dad (who was watching the game with me). And my Twitter followers for the most part don’t care about K-State sports or follow me for my ranting. I thought about Google Buzz, but well, let’s be honest – no one’s on Google Buzz yet and why should they be when they can do everything on Facebook right now? So for now all my perfectly crafted, witty banter will go unacknowledged.

Here’s a little of what you would have seen this week if I could have logged in:
• Copywriting without Facebook breaks or Diet Coke do not make for a happy Brie

• Basketball 101 – Dribbling the ball – Learn how to!!

• Go nominate Topeka to be a test community for Google’s Fiber Network! Just imagine – Internet speeds that are nearly 100 times faster than what we currently have – and faster than anywhere else in the whole WORLD! ThinkBigTopeka.com

• DANG my job for holding me accountable (with no facebook updates) – this is one of the only times I’ve EVER been able to say that!

When I was in college, a night out with friends always included a craze of phone calls. “Where are we going? When will you be there?” A few years later, this same communication continues, but the methods are more sophisticated. Instead of phone calls, we use mass-texts to figure out the details. Now, gathering your group has a new method with the emerging network, Foursquare.

What it is:
Foursquare is a location-based social network that allows users to “check in” from anywhere. Using an application on my cell phone, all my Foursquare friends can see where I am. “I’m at jhP (3200 SW Huntoon, Huntoon & Lakeside, Topeka) – writing a blog post about Foursquare.”

While Foursquare may seem invasive or even creepy to some, you should understand that like Facebook, this is a trusted network. You only add people you actually know. That allows this tool to be a powerful way to generate business and good buzz through word-of-mouth, as well as bring all your networks to a central location. So if it makes you nervous for the world to know where you are, here’s a word to the wise: Don’t add anyone you don’t know.

How it works:
Foursquare’s main purpose is to promote personal location. If I’m out on Saturday night and want friends to join me I simply “check in” from my mobile web browser: “I’m at Bosco’s (435 S Kansas Avenue, 4th & Kansas, Topeka).” I’m also encouraged to share tips about places I visit, so others can benefit from my experiences. So I might add, “Check out their amazing Apple-tini and Burger Sliders.”

Aside from promoting personal location, Foursquare encourages “competition.” I earn points for checking in. These check-ins can be used to unlock fun badges like “Crunked” for 4+ stops in one night or “School Night” for checking in after 3 a.m. Also, visiting one location more than anyone else will award you a key to the city! Okay, you don’t get a key to the city, but you will become “Mayor” of that location until someone dethrones you.

For Businesses:
Using Foursquare as a promotional tool offers businesses great marketing potential. Businesses across the country are offering loyalty specials for people who check in via Foursquare. Your Foursquare brand advocates could earn points they can redeem for free ice cream or get a special discount as “Mayor” of your location.

Foursquare is also developing reporting tools that will help businesses know who is visiting, how often, where they came from and where they go after they leave. This is shaping up to be a great new form of word-of-mouth marketing. Better yet, it’s completely customer driven – which helps build a loyal customer base plus dedicated brand advocates.

For Individuals:
As a user of this new social network you’re not only telling your friends where you are, you’re challenging them to be there too, and sometimes to join in an activity. “I’m at Big Dog Motorcycles (1520 East Douglas, Wichita) – I bet you won’t look as hot on a 2010 Wolf as I do! Check it out!”

But consider:
Checking in at the same location frequently could make you seem to endorse a business. If you become Mayor of a restaurant, your friends would naturally assume you recommend it. Since that might not be true, think about where you’re visiting before you check in to Foursquare. Do you want to be seen as a brand advocate for the place?

Now that you know a little more about Foursquare what are your initial thoughts? How can this affect your network of friends or your business? As I write, I’m at jhP  (3200 SW Huntoon, Huntoon & Lakeside, Topeka). I challenge you to learn more about Foursquare and see if it’s for you!

I’m Brie Engelken. I’m 23 years old and I’m a Facebook addict. Facebook began in February 2004 and by October I was an avid user. By May 2005 I was addicted – checking every hour I had access to a computer (this was before mobile web browsers took off!) just to see who was doing what, who broke up with who, and more importantly, who had scandalous pictures from last night’s big party.

Today, Facebook is a primary means of communication in my life, as well as the lives of my peers. I start my day at 5:00 a.m. every weekday morning and by 5:15 a.m. it’s fair to say I’ve checked the statuses I missed while sleeping. I log in when I get to work at 8:00 a.m. and keep a tab open all day, checking in regularly just to see what’s going on. I get home around 6:00 p.m. most nights and I’m logged back in by 6:30 p.m. with a window open until at least 11:00 p.m. that evening. It’s fair to say that I don’t miss much.

Starting at midnight on Wednesday, February 17th (tonight) I will be giving up Facebook as part of my sacrifice for Lent (I’m Roman Catholic). For 46 days I will journal my life without Facebook, and the challenges I encounter along the way. The only leniency I will have is the ability to go in and un-tag pictures, but I can’t waver from that page onto any other part of Facebook. Check back for weekly posts about my journey (aka Blast from the Past) leading up to a MAJOR gossip catch up at Midnight, April 3rd/4th.

Want to hold me accountable? Feel free to visit my Facebook profile and see my inactivity.

jhP will be covering the Super Bowl commercial action via real-time tweets. Follow our reactions to the latest and, hopefully, greatest ads at Twitter handle @jhpadv, @alissasheley, @brieengelken,  @mcstubbs, or follow the hashtag #jhpXLIV.

Be sure to visit our blog on Monday morning to participate in the jhP Poll for the best Super Bowl spot of 2010!

Social networking without a blog is like watching a football game on mute. It would all be very exciting, if only you knew what was going on. A blog is the voiceover to a company’s social media efforts. It provides details and insight that can’t be achieved by relying solely on services like Facebook and Twitter. And here are several more reasons why should you have a blog:

1.) Blogs humanize your brand.
Unlike a television or radio spot, you’re not interrupting someone’s programming – they are coming to you for information. This gives you the power to influence the tone of the conversations about your brand. It also allows you to post about your team and work environment, showing your audience a new, friendlier side of you. This builds trust and relationships (aka Brand Loyalty!). It also opens a line of communication for you to learn even more about your customers, clients, and prospects.

2.) Blogs improve your brand’s search engine rank.
When you Google your industry and city, where does your company show up in the search results? Are you in the top five … or on PAGE five? Having a blog can help your search engine optimization (SEO), which will push you closer to number one. It’s another place to link to your company website, and the more links going to your website the higher you’ll show up in search results. It’s also a great place to provide content about your industry – which gives you LOTS of keywords that will make you more easily searchable.

3.) Blogs give your customers a more complete – and individualized – picture of what you offer.
Having a blog lets you give details about what you do. For example, if you’re a travel agency who also sells luggage, you might do a blog about packing tips. Then you casually mention that with luggage that can be purchased from your company, it’s easy to pack everything you need for your trip. Link that back to the luggage section of your website and your audience will feel your advertising was provided for THEIR needs. After all, it was their choice to click and learn more.

4.) When you do Social Media, your blog unifies all your efforts.
What you post on your blog can then provide relevant content to post on your Facebook Fan Page. Your Facebook Fan Page is also a way to promote your blog which ultimately promotes your website, which promotes your brand! Same with Twitter. Your YouTube account allows you to pull content for your other social networks – and the list goes on. Regardless of which social media venues are best for your brand strategy, they can all help promote your blog, which promotes you.

5.) Blogs are easier to frequently update than your main website.
(BEWARE: Geek Speak ahead) It’s not always quick or easy to update your main website. There’s so much information, where do you start? With a blog, it’s expected that you will only post a little bit of information at a time, which makes it easier to post more frequently. That said, the more frequently you’re posting information the more spiders are crawling you. A spider is software that crawls the web in order to provide up–to–date data. How does this affect you? The more frequently you update your site the more your site attracts these spiders, resulting in higher search results.

So before you score a touchdown you need to pull plays from your playbook. In social media, your playbook is your blog. So get started creating those plays so you’ll be sure you’re prepared to bring the heat in the game of Social Networking.

What can you do if you don’t want to share this information with everyone on the world wide web? Simply go to the Settings drop down, select Privacy Settings and then click on Profile Information. From there, adjust using the drop down menus to meet your own personal comfort level for sharing: everyone, friends of friends, only friends or customize. Then go back to Privacy Settings and click on Search. This will allow you to adjust who’s able to view your information through Facebook and search engine searches.

The once overcrowded and noisy newsfeed has been replaced by two different content feeds: News and Live. The Live Feed provides real-time updates of what your friends and/or Fan Pages are doing. The content still includes the status updates, photos and links you’re accustomed to but now it also includes notifications of new Friend/Page connections, tagged photos/videos and events others are attending. This allows the Live Feed to be more viral than the previous newsfeed. Now you can see when your friends join a group or Fan Page, and easily join too.

The News Feed is similar to the old newsfeed, but now with a popularity contest element. This Feed only shows updates, photos or videos that Facebook thinks you would like. These posts are typically determined by the interaction others have had with the content – for example having many views, comments or “likes.” Unlike the Live Feed, the News Feed is not in chronological order, so it’s possible for a post from two days ago to show up at the top of the page. It all depends on how Facebook’s algorithms perceive the relevance.

So far, there aren’t statistics showing which feed users are choosing to view. Either way, remember that interaction is key. The more your brand communicates, the more often you will show up in your follower’s Live Feed. Post quality content and your Fans will choose to interact. And the more interaction, the higher your chances of the post being included in your Fans’ News Feeds.

Your company is forced to terminate someone’s employment, with good reason, and now the ex-employee is blasting your company on Twitter, Facebook and other popular social networks. Everything you’ve read about Social Media says you should be transparent and engage your audience – so how should you respond?

When dealing with social media, your responses should always be on a case-by-case basis. But in this case, let’s assume the rant is simply that – a rant – and it doesn’t raise legitimate, business-damaging issues. In that event, you DON’T respond.

Here are three reasons why, in THIS case, you should ignore disgruntled ex-employees on Social Networks.

1)     People know a rant when they read one

When an upset employee rants on a social media website they are usually just blowing off steam – and their audience sees that. The individual is just trying to generate sympathy or brew anger and, in most cases, readers know better than to take them too seriously.

2)     It’s a Human Resources issue

Companies are often legally restricted regarding what they can say in situations that involve HR issues. For this reason alone it’s usually best just to leave it be. Don’t put your company and yourself at risk of crossing a legal line.

3)     It’s a lose/lose situation

Nothing you say or do will make up for the loss of that person’s job so it’s best just to let it run its course. By engaging in a conversation you are just prolonging that individual’s fury and drawing more attention to that person and your situation.

When dealing with personalized attacks with no merit and no business-damaging substance, please consider that saying nothing is better than saying the wrong something.