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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Jennifer Schwegman
October-November 2015

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SOCIAL MEDIA: Beware of diluting your brand, one post at a time

It’s a force for guardians of company and product reputations to reckon with, including employers, marketing departments and public relations firms.

It seems as though society is being overrun by attention-starved folks who are clamoring for their hashtag or tweet in the sun.

Aside from the affront to propriety, the impact that rogue personal social media communications has on controlled brand-building efforts is at best unpredictable and at worst destructive.

This is not to belittle the positive value that thoughtful social media offer as a key channel for businesses to communicate with customers, prospects, the media and other key influencers, and interact, build relationships and participate in conversations about your industry.

In fact, social communication is an outstanding way for companies to share stories, information and experiences that forge a strong brand.

However, unchecked communication by employees via social media can undermine brands (company, products, people) that companies have invested in building.

In other words, companies must guard against this risk with policies that define acceptable business use of social media. Lack of such policies is an invitation to “speak” freely, likely eroding brands one post at a time.

Business owners, executives, and employees should create policies designed for the business arena. Here are some how-to and how-not-to thoughts to get your organization started.

Although the following lists are divided into general social media and blog posting guidelines, many hold true for both.

 

Social media guidelines

 

These are for employees discussing company operations, participating in a company-specific forum, or discussing any topic as a company representative.

  • Observe information restrictions. Never disclose proprietary or sensitive information. If you have any question, check with your supervisor. Steer clear of financial information.
  • Honor copyrights. Get permission before sharing any content or images that are not company property (partner images and logos) without authorization.
  • Exercise discretion. Avoid discussing competitors if possible. If you must mention a competitor (for example, in answering a direct question) use a neutral tone, answer factually and never disparage. Do not discuss specific customers without permission, including customer operational metrics unless disclosed publicly with permission.
  • Maintain honesty. Since people may judge your company based on what you publish in social media, strive to build trust and respect. If you make a mistake, come clean and admit it as quickly as possible.
  • Public is permanent. Public statements are a Google search away and should therefore be neutral or positive. Publicly disparaging an individual or company doesn’t enhance your image or the company’s and doesn’t help theirs. Handle disagreements offline.
  • R-E-S-P-E-C-T. While racial or ethnic slurs, personal insults or profanity are not appropriate in any business context, online use is permanent.
  • Go with the established flow. Each social media site and community has its own culture. Before contributing, take time to learn the style to adapt your posts accordingly. Wait for the right time to contribute an answer to a question or solution to a problem.

 

Guidelines for bloggers

 

These are for employees who create content directly for their company blog, write their own blog but at least occasionally write about their company or its industry, and/or contribute guest posts to other industry- and non-industry blogs

  • Include a disclaimer. Any blog post or long-format content contribution should include a disclaimer along the lines of: “The views expressed here are my own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of (company)….”
  • Protect the company’s reputation. Readers will view you as a representative of your company, so express controversial opinions respectfully and professionally. Offensive is never okay.
  • Opt for information, not promotion. The subject matter should be relevant to the company’s business and/or current industry events. Solving a common problem is helpful. Promoting a product is self-serving. If the solution to a problem involves a company’s product, discuss it in a neutral tone and provide a link to more information for readers who may be interested. Be an expert resource, not a product-pusher.
  • Enrich posts with links. When writing a post about a particular topic, use a tool such as Google Blog Search to find other blog posts addressing the same topic. Link to other posts that provide useful, non-competitive information.
  • Schedule regular posts. Creating more content for search engines to index and other bloggers to link to increases traffic to your blog.
  • Find your voice. All posts should have a professional tone and discuss a relevant business topic. Avoid “corporate speak” and sounding like a marketing brochure. Blog writing is personal and conversational and when appropriate, may include a sense of humor in good taste.
  • Strive for originality. If information exists elsewhere, shed a different light on it to add value. Don’t just repeat or paraphrase.
  • “Sell” expertise, not products. Readers come to blogs for information, not sales pitches. Ultimately, the blog should convey that the company is smart and helpful.
  • Be responsive. Take the time to respond to comments or emails generated by your posts. Common themes or questions are fodder for additional posts.
  • Focus on your expertise. Your post is an opportunity to gain ground as an expert on a given topic. Stick to subjects you know to optimize value for readers and your reputation.
  • Get proper permission. If you write a post about any potentially sensitive topic, ask your manager to review it before publishing. If you reference others (employees, customers, suppliers or other third parties), get their permission before posting.