Chris Webb's Publishing Blog » social-media http://ckwebb.com Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:06:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Social Media Tools For Publishing Professionals http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/social-media-tools-for-publishing-professionals/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/social-media-tools-for-publishing-professionals/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:07:49 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=498 Today I had the opportunity to give a crash course in social media to a group of publishing colleagues at Wiley’s European headquarters. The talk was only an hour, so we covered a lot of ground quickly with hopes that everyone could pick up at least one tool they could put to use right away. If social media is like drinking from a firehose, we all got a little wet today.

Many if not most of the attendees were involved in some sort of social media activity, either personally or professionally.  Almost everyone was using Facebook to some degree, less using Twitter, and a lone MySpace user.

Like most, the challenge of everyone in the room was in filtering the noise in order to find opportunities where they could provide value. My goal today was to provide a collection of tools that might be used to set up a Social Media Listening Post – a place where all the signal can be collected and where one might find opportunities for conversation.

The group asked a lot of very smart questions, and as a result we bounced around quite a bit from tool to tool, as everyone contributed ways in which they found certain sites or tools useful. I admit I rediscovered a forgotten tool while answering a question, so I came away with something new again as well.

Among the tools we covered were:

What other tools do you use when filtering social media? How did you develop your social media listening post?

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/social-media-tools-for-publishing-professionals/feed/ 14 Interesting Twitter Strategy from Chelsea Green Publishers http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/interesting-twitter-strategy-from-chelsea-green-publishers/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/interesting-twitter-strategy-from-chelsea-green-publishers/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:31:20 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=491 I witnessed an interesting use of Twitter today by  Chelsea Green Publishers who promoted their website and books with a very simple contest.

The premise was very straight forward – tweet about a book from their website that you would like to read. The 10th person to tweet a book wins the book tweeted. Free book, free shipping. Easy, right?

There are several things I like about the way Chelsea Green ran this contest including:

  1. You have to follow them on Twitter to be eligible
  2. They have built “Tweet this book” links into each product page that includes a link to the book, as well as hashtags.
  3. They primed the contest with a countdown which was re-tweeted several times to spread the word.

So, how did they do on the first run? Some quick stats:

  • Total contest time was approximately 4 minutes
  • Total contestants was 27
  • Total tweets (entries) was 45

At first glance these look like really small numbers, but consider how many others saw these tweets.  According to my quick study via search.twitter.com it appears that these 45 tweets reached 14,216 Twitter users. And each of those 14,000+ users was sent a book title, hashtags, and a direct link to the book’s product page. And, those 14,000+ followers does not include any users who may be consuming searches for the variety of hastags or terms that were part of those tweets.

As a bonus, it appears the Huffington Post re-tweeted at least one funny entry from @daveburdick (over 5000 followers of the 14,000+ total.)

So if you ask me, reaching 14,000 people in the span of less than 5 minutes is pretty good. Of course, we don’t yet know how many of those, if any, clicked through to the publisher’s website, nor how many purchased books.

But, Chelsea only spent some time and the cost of one book plus shipping to try this experiment, which I think is important to do. We need to experiment a little more.  All in all I think it is a very clever use of Twitter to perhaps gain some awareness of the publisher and their books.

What do you think? Productive use of Twitter, or social media folly? What other examples have you seen?

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/interesting-twitter-strategy-from-chelsea-green-publishers/feed/ 7 Of Wine and Bullhorns – Social Media for Authors and Publishers http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/of-wine-and-bullhorns-social-media-for-authors-and-publishers/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/of-wine-and-bullhorns-social-media-for-authors-and-publishers/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:07:40 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=450 Full credit for the idea behind both the headline and content of this post is owed to (soon to be) Wiley Author Chris Brogan. This week I attended Chris’s Social Media For Publishers webinar presented by O’Reilly Tools of Change (TOC) which was packed full of really good advice for not only publishers, but authors as well.  And, if you have ever seem Chris Brogan speak, you know that his talks are usually sprinkled with great little sound bites and phrases that stick with you for a very long time.

One of the main points Chris made is in my opinion, Rule #1 when you start thinking about entering the social media environment.

Bring wine to the picnic – not a bullhorn.

It seems simple and obvious, but the statement is at the heart of what usually goes wrong for those who only view social media as another channel to send the same old messages.  You need to be a part of the community, connecting, contributing and sharing and not just broadcasting about your product or service.  If you do this, the opportunities to introduce people to your product or service will present themselves naturally. But you have to listen and watch for them as part of the ongoing conversation.

Remember it’s merlot, not megaphones.

I’m obviously paraphrasing only a very small portion of what Chris Brogan covered in his webinar, which you can view in its entirety here.

So, do you have any bullhorn or wine moments to share?

(Photo credit theparadigmshifter)

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/of-wine-and-bullhorns-social-media-for-authors-and-publishers/feed/ 7 Twitter Users Missing the Point with Automated Follow Responses http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/twitter-users-missing-the-point-with-automated-follow-responses/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/twitter-users-missing-the-point-with-automated-follow-responses/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:32:35 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=435

Like many of you, I use Twitter. (@chriswebb) I use it for a variety of reasons, both personal and professional but have always thought of it as a very ‘personal’ tool. By that I mean it’s an ecosystem of *people* that despite the distance and in some cases, anonymity, relate to each other. It is a social tool – I mean it is called “social media” for a reason.

But I am seeing a trend among several users who are opting for an automated response to everyone who follows them. For example, today I got the following warm-hearted response from someone I followed:

“Thanks for following me! Find GREAT Real Estate deals w/my E-Book (link omitted)”

Wow, how…personal.

So, do I respond personally to everyone who follows me on Twitter? No. But I also don’t send some impersonal canned response either. Instead, I’ll choose to actually engage you in conversation at some point using the tool. That’s the point, isn’t it? Just using Twitter and other tools like it as just another channel to send the same spammy messages one might use in other media is completely missing the point.

The same goes for Authors who use social tools as part of their personal platforms to help support their books. I encourage you to use tools like Twitter – in fact it is becoming more important that you do just that. But use the tools in the way they were meant to be used.

Why not just tweet a simple welcome to new followers?  Maybe 5 or so at a time?  At least then people know you are actually doing it and not relegating it to some cold, automated script. If you can’t manage that for some reason, then just skip it.  I’d rather see nothing than an autoreply.

Do you use an automated, canned response for your Twitter followers?

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/twitter-users-missing-the-point-with-automated-follow-responses/feed/ 24 How Book Authors Can Promote Their Work with Social Media http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/how-book-authors-can-promote-their-work-with-social-media/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/how-book-authors-can-promote-their-work-with-social-media/#comments Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:26:30 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=294 As I have written before, publishers are increasingly leveraging their authors’ own personal platform to market their books. With more than 400,000 books published each year, it is harder to make an impact without a platform strategy.

Authors can learn a lot from the personal branding and social media marketing advice of Chris Brogan who recently offered 100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media. Of course, Chris is not speaking about books in particular, but that’s the beauty of his advice – it can be applied to many different situations where your personal brand and growing online network can make a difference.

I’ve written quite a bit on the subject here as well, but with a focus on book publishing. Check out the following and the Related Posts links for some of my thoughts on how book authors can promote their work with social media.

(Image credit: emdot)

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/how-book-authors-can-promote-their-work-with-social-media/feed/ 8 Why Word of Mouth Matters http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/marketing-and-promotion/why-word-of-mouth-matters/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/marketing-and-promotion/why-word-of-mouth-matters/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 20:36:54 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/?p=284 I have held this in for too long, and it is time that I finally admit it to myself, and to you.

I am a Vayniac.

Seriously, Wine TV is great, but trust me – the real gold is on Gary Vaynerchuk’s blog. If you don’t already read it, start. I have found that Gary’s approach to business and social media in particular is applicable to whatever field in which you happen to be.

For example, with more than 200,000 400,000 books published each year, word of mouth marketing can make or break you. Below is Gary on how he cuts through all the noise of the social web, and why word of mouth is critical. Sure, he is speaking from his own experiences with Wine TV, but it absolutely applies to book authors as well.

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/marketing-and-promotion/why-word-of-mouth-matters/feed/ 2 Are You a Radical or a Revolutionary? http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/are-you-a-radical-or-a-revolutionary/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/are-you-a-radical-or-a-revolutionary/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:11:34 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/are-you-a-radical-or-a-revolutionary/ RevolutionI wanted to share a great post by Charlene Li on the Groundswell blog entitled Turning radicals into revolutionaries: the key to kick-starting your social strategy. As I sometimes struggle with the speed at which we adopt new social media and marketing methods within my organization, this particular post certainly hit home for me.

Who should lead the social media charge in your organization?

You probably already know who this person is within your organization. It may be the technie who brags that she’s been blogging since 1999, or the corporate communications person who loves to talk with customers on external bulletin boards. This person is probably also a bit a thorn in the side of management, constantly agitating for under-represented customers who are suffering some sort of injustice at the hands of management that just “doesn’t get it”.

How should companies turn these radicals into revolutionaries?

  1. Define the “box” (policies, legal clearance, etc.) within which they are allowed to act;
  2. Make it safe(r) for them to try things – and to fail; and
  3. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.If you don’t feel slightly queasy embarking on a social strategy, you’re probably not moving fast or far enough.

I understand the need for item 1, but also think this is where companies get “hung up” and prevent real a revolution from occurring.

What do you think of this approach?

(Photo credit estherase)

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/are-you-a-radical-or-a-revolutionary/feed/ 0 Looks Like We Are About to Get Bum Rushed by the Age of Conversation http://ckwebb.com/publishing/books-and-writing/looks-like-we-are-about-to-get-bum-rushed-by-the-age-of-conversation/ http://ckwebb.com/publishing/books-and-writing/looks-like-we-are-about-to-get-bum-rushed-by-the-age-of-conversation/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:10:48 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/books/looks-like-we-are-about-to-get-bum-rushed-by-the-age-of-conversation/ Join the Age of Conversation Bum Rush on March 29thChris Wilson over at Fresh Peel has put together a very social-media centric marketing blitz for the upcoming Age of Conversation book by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan.

Age of Conversation is a self-published work that the authors describe as follows:

In what began as a half dare, the editors, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one page — 400 words — on the topic of “conversation”. The resulting book, The Age of Conversation, brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in a ground-breaking and unusual publication.

All proceeds (less costs) will go to the Variety, the Children’s Charity.

It will be really interesting to watch Wilson’s marketing plan in action, which is a literal bum rush on Amazon.com on March 29 in an effort to push the book to the top of the bestseller list. Wilson’s call to action:

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to spot the Age of Conversation activity.

  1. Buy the Book & send others to buy the book. This is the number 1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use this affiliate link, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847992994?ie=UTF8&tag= drewmclellan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325& creativeASIN=1847992994
  2. Blog About It - Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (Remember to use the affiliate link above. All of these earnings will go to charity as well.)
  3. Twitter Commentary - Join Drew and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @Servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com
  4. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on March 29th at 12am CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
  5. Digg the posts listed here & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
  6. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same.
  7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
  8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
  9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
  10. Keep talking – Get on ooVoo, iChat, Aim, or where ever you like to talk, and start talking.

(Hat tip Douglas Karr)

]]> http://ckwebb.com/publishing/books-and-writing/looks-like-we-are-about-to-get-bum-rushed-by-the-age-of-conversation/feed/ 0 Can Brands Be Social? Shel Israel says “No.” http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/can-brands-be-social-shel-israel-says-no/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/can-brands-be-social-shel-israel-says-no/#comments Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:52:14 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/can-brands-be-social-shel-israel-says-no/ Wrox logoWiley author Shel Israel has started an interesting conversation with Jeremiah Owyang about wither or not “brands” can be social.  Jeremiah asked if brands should build their own networks, or use existing social nets.  Shel says brands can not be social, only people can.  I’m not so sure I completely agree – yet.

As I have written before, I keep 2 Twitter identities, one of which is one of our brands, Wrox.  The identities are distinctly different, but both “me” – @chriswebb is Chris Webb, editor who talks about publishing, social applications and their occasional intersection.  @wrox is still Chris Webb, editor, but the conversation focuses on programming, web development, .NET and other topics of interest to Wrox readers.

Why keep them separate?  Well, followers of @wrox may not care at all about what @chriswebb has to say about social media and publishing in general, while @chriswebb followers probably are not interested in the latest ASP.NET MVC release.  It is not obvious to @wrox followers that it is Chris Webb behind the username (although I don’t really hide that fact,) and I don’t think they care.  To them it’s just Wrox – a source of programming books and online content.

I touched on this subject briefly via Twitter earlier today, and got an intersting comment from a follower of both @wrox and @chriswebb:

@wrox is fundamentally different than, say, @mcdonalds or @tylenol
@wrox has the ability to gather a community (in this case developers) into one, big conversation. it’s a great experiment.

But back to Shel’s point – is Wrox being social or is it all just Chris Webb?  Is part of what defines the Wrox brand already social?  What do you think?

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/can-brands-be-social-shel-israel-says-no/feed/ 4 What Magazines Can Learn from Social Media http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/what-magazines-can-learn-from-social-media/ http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/what-magazines-can-learn-from-social-media/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:13:26 +0000 Chris http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/what-magazines-can-learn-from-social-media/ Record on turntableDan Blank has written a great post on how he has changed the way he thinks about magazines. It seems that Dan has quite an obsession (his word) with stereo equipment, and in the past he would pour over industry and trade magazines and spend time in local audio shops. Today he finds that he spends the majority of his time discussing his hobby online, and has all but abandoned magazines in particular.

In the article, Dan discusses ways in which print media might change in order to stay relevant, with a focus on community features.

So the idea of receiving a monthly issue of a magazine that only deals with the latest technology (that I can’t afford), and offers no two-way communication, is simply not as useful to me. I don’t want to be spoken to and sold to; I want a community to interact with.

(Photo credit: streetpreacher83)

]]> http://ckwebb.com/social-networks-and-media/what-magazines-can-learn-from-social-media/feed/ 0