I’ll admit, as a public relations student, i’m more apt to creating a “personal brand,” but it shouldn’t be something everyone ignores. Before some interview appointments last week, I was tasked with “researching” some of the candidates. I’m sure you can guess how I based my reports? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and other various online resources lent me enough knowledge about these individuals that I could form a basic idea about their personalities, ideas and opinions. Creppy? Yes. The even scarier part? My formed opinions were mostly correct. It happens all the time and not just at my company. People want to know who they’re meeting and who may be working for/with them in the future.

The term “personal brand” may be a phase, but the act of telling people what to think about you has been going on for years. Resumes, thank you letters, job applications and prescreen phone calls are all forms of older personal branding. The methods may have changed, but the reason for doing such things has not. It’s basic: we want people to think we’re the best fit.

I’m not saying people should hide their personality online. I’m saying they should craft it. If I don’t know you and I have a meeting with you, i’m going to Google you. I’m not the only person who will do that, and that’s a fact. What should Google say about you? Are you a reality TV watching junkie who lives vicariously through the personas you watch or are you a crazy cat person who watches LOL videos all day? Either way, I don’t care. It just shows who you are, and while you should be conscious of what you put in the public eye, you can’t and shouldn’t change who you are. It won’t work. Be cautious about your online antics, and post things that will lend to an overall view about yourself. If you want people to know you party, throw up pictures of red Solo cups. Just don’t forget to let everyone know you read a bunch of blogs about party planning first. Be conscious of your audience here too. A 62-year-old hiring manager won’t appreciate your shenanigans last Friday, but a 26-year-old entrepreneur just might get it.

There’s always something someone can do better. Pick the thing you do best and showcase it. Keep your social media profiles in sync. Use the same colors, tag lines, photos, etc. It helps me remember who you are, especially if the same headshot is plastered on every profile.

So, in short, personal brand as a concept isn’t new. As a term, it is. Your online personality will set the agenda for how and what people think about you. Keep it consistent, and make sure you’re posting stuff you want people to know and think about. By doing this, you’ll create a persona for yourself. A brand, if you will.

Why do we “Like”?

I generally click the like button if it’s something I recognize and have had some sort of POSITIVE interaction with. I won’t like something just to like it, and I won’t like something I’ve had a bad experience with or don’t like. Some people like pages just to support a cause their friend is a part of. That’s not something I do, but it’s an alternative motive.

What happens after we “Like”?

Nothing. A whole lot of nothing.After I like something, I usually don’t see it again. That is, unless I actually like it. I won’t actively search out a brand after I like it just to see what’s going on. Maybe if there’s a big push, or a news mention I’ll check it out, but otherwise it’s dead to me.

So the initial interaction with the brand on Facebook is key. That’s when a user will see a promotion or join a mailing list. After that, their pretty much lost forever. It’s like the old retail secret that retaining old customers is a lot cheaper than creating new ones. It’s easier to reach the “fan” the first time than it is to reach them after that.

The numbers

So just because a page has six million fans, doesn’t mean six million people are actually engaged. The number is skewed, and it’s skewed high. Brands need to recognize this and realize that most people don’t actively engage with brands they already like. That is unless they happen to see a post in their feed by chance.

So what are you saying?

• People don’t like things they don’t like
• Brands aren’t actively searched for engagement
• Fan numbers are skewed

What are your takes? Why do people like things, and how do they interact after they like something?

With 2 billion people searches in 2010, Linked In is arguably one of the most used professional networking sites available.

• [Infographic] – Linked In

Quora, the not-so-new but growing social network, shows great growth in recent months

• [Infographic] – Quora

How do you know if you use social media too much? Follow the flow, it will let you know. This isn’t quite as serious, but there’s something to be said about the points provided here.

• [Infographic] – Social Media Detox

Last year’s (2010) wrap up of web and social media usage.

• [Infographic] – State of the Internet

Ad spending on social networks is increasing. This graphic is a bit dated, but the trends are still holding true.

• [Infographic] – Social media ad spending

It may seem that your friends tweet about nothing of interest. That may be true. Most people share other stuff too, though!

• [Infographic] – Who uses Twitter

If a map ever existed of social media, this is it.Every network you can imagine. (Accurate to about a year ago)

• [Infographic] – Social media prism

How do you spend your time on Facebook? Do you use it too much?

• [Infographic] – Obsessed with Facebook

Social bookmarking had to start somewhere. A small history of the site and a great insight to how it operates is shown here.

• [Infographic] – The history of Digg

Many people access their social networks via a mobile device. This is a great look at the rise of mobile power.

• [Infographic] – The rise of Facebook mobile

These are just a few of hundreds of available infographics about social media. There are countless others available from the amount of waste in space to international timber trade. I would love to know which ones are your favorites and if I missed any critical ones. Putting information into images is a fun way of learning. So share the knowledge!

A miniature experiment.

A few weeks back, I took a trip to the middle of nowhere Montana to disconnect and do some networking with actual people. That’s right, not on Linked In, Facebook or any other online hangout — in person. I planned on the trip being a total disconnect from my online social life and my face-to-face social life back in Ohio. I love my “friends,” but I was really looking for a break. I wanted to shut off that constant connection. I went into the mountains fully expecting to lose cellphone service and not see a lick of wifi for a week. I honestly didn’t want to see my iPhone for the next six days.

When I started to turn off my phone, I realized there was more service at the cabin in the woods than there was at the airport. Something’s not right with this picture, I know. Needless to say, I turned my phone off anyway and left it for 48 hours. Knowing I had the connection if I wanted it was comforting, but it was also something I didn’t want. Knowing I could connect just fanned the flames.

Two days after we arrived, I had to power on my phone. It wasn’t entirely because I wanted to know what was going on. It was because I wanted to share my experience. At the same time, I felt like I had potentially missed out on breaking news in my friends lives. At the time, I wasn’t sure of what was driving me to use Facebook and Twitter in the middle of the wilderness.

A miniature failure.

A few days after I got back, I read a blog post by Caterina Fake about FOMO. After reading it, I realized that social media is turning society into an uber connected web that we can’t break free from. We have access to our “friends” lives without being in direct contact with them. Social presence, the need to fit in, has always been a driving factor of society, and social media exacerbates the problem. We don’t want to miss out on  anything in someones life because it could directly or even indirectly impact the relationship with that person. Further more, we want people to know what’s going on in our lives. We have a need to express ourselves. It’s a perpetuating cycle. We don’t want to miss out on the events in anyone’s life, and we don’t want them to miss out on ours.

ScreenTribe App Icon

Social TV is an interesting term that refers to platforms that allow users to engage with each other around what they’re watching on TV or in theaters. This hits home for me because I worked on a platform called ScreenTribe for six months in 2010, and I continue to support it today. The term seems to be taking on a new meaning as advertisers, marketers and developers realize there’s a market that hasn’t yet been capitalized on. When we began work in May/June of 2010, the space was sparse. There weren’t many competitors, and the competitors that existed were far more inferior to our platform. We offered new ways to do things and different ways to experience existing functionality. Still, the term social TV applied to what we were doing. That is, engaging television and movie watchers with exclusive content and allowing them to interact with people that were watching the same things.

Today, the term social TV seems to be expanding. While it’s sticking to the original broadened definition, the platforms are becoming more specialized and targeted to a certain show, genre or network. The first evidence of this change became evident with the release of a TV show centered around a social TV. ABC’s flop show My Generation used audio watermarks embedded within the show to sync the iPad application to a user in real time. During certain parts of the show, users would be alerted with polls, questions, special exclusive content and more. The application was only available for My Generation and nothing else. In fact, the show was rather dependent on the app. It begged for users to interact and engage with the show. It didn’t get the attention it wanted, and the show was canceled after just two episodes.

Interested in more about My Generation? Check out this demonstration video.

The Oscars app icon

Recently, The Oscars used a somewhat social platform that I would definitely peg as social TV to gather user opinions before the event. The application was available for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod) and was creatively dubbed the title “The Oscars.” Check it out here. The Oscars application let users join different groups that interested them and allowed them to discuss categories and performances both during and before the show. While the app was “social,” it was missing a few key features. There was no feeling of community. I was more engaged when I started following the #oscar hashtag on Twitter than when I was using this app. The Oscars website offered more content and interactivity than the application. That kind of defeats the purpose since I would rather not sit in front of two screen while watching the event. Integrate the same features! Send the same message on every platform.

Social TV is a buzzword that’s going to become increasingly more popular as advertisers, marketers and network executives realize the power of engaging their audiences. If it’s done right, which I don’t think it has been yet, a social TV platform could be more fun than watching the actual show. Integrating conversation with exclusive clips and pictures and engaging audiences will become key to struggling networks in the future.

What do you guys think? Are you willing to check out a new social platform centered around your favorite TV shows?

Monitorred brands at NapkinStudio

The process really isn’t all that complicated, but it does take time. When you do it right, you can catch problems before they happen and engage with your user base to make them more active. People tend to really appreciate a response when they aren’t expecting one. When they get a response to their claim or complaint, they’re more apt to respond positively. I use it as a tool to get people to tell us about bugs, and figure out what they do and don’t like. I compile the users experiences collected on Twitter (and other sources of course) and figure out the best way to make things work and what the most pressing bugs and issues are.

My weapon of choice is TweetDeck. It runs all day and every day in the background (and sometimes in the foreground) of my computer. I get notifications when terms I’ve entered to search for are found in the Twitter stream. I know almost immediately if something was said about something I want to know about. The notifications can be a bit overwhelming at times though. Sometimes I’ll receive 15-20 notification within a few seconds depending on the time of day and what I’m monitoring. It’s probably best to ignore these for a bit and let them roll in. Go back to them after a few minutes and sort through the ones that matter. I’ve found that doing this allows me to use my time more efficiently.

Coumns not to add in TweetDeck

Use your columns wisely. I found myself overwhelmed when I was staring at 4 columns for each twitter account. Instead, I turned on email notifications for direct messages and other information that I don’t need to see immediately. Instead of showing new followers, favorites, trending topics and other things that won’t help you monitor, show search terms that correspond to your brand. I show the mentions for all of our brands and myself. I also show certain search terms that are specific enough to pull in posts that are relevant. It’s tough to come up with these terms, but if it’s done right, life gets easier. You won’t need to sift through garbage to find gold.

There are other ways we monitor Twitter too. Including Google and Klout. Google is handy because it shows graphs with activity for certain terms or users by month, day, hour and minute. Klout isn’t anywhere near as important to us, but we do like to know where we are according to someone else. Again, that’s not something we stare at all day, it’s just something we like to see every so often.

I grow tired of products easy, and while TweetDeck does what I need it to do, I want more. I’ve recently started searching for a new client to monitor 5 accounts with multiple search terms. If anyone knows of another application, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment and let me know!

One of my many columns in TweetDeck

Monitor to find the conversation.

Many times, social media managers are tasked with keeping track of more than one online presence. There are tools out there to help monitor mentions of certain topics or names. Take your pick. Use TweetDeck, Google, Alterian SM2 or any other number of products designed for monitoring. Set up Google Alerts and use them wisely. This is a window to news articles, blogs and more that can be quite powerful given the right keywords. It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you’re proactively searching for the conversation. Don’t wait until the wrong message spins out of control.

Address the messages.

I monitor four Twitter accounts almost 24/7. Even though the products and brands are smaller, it’s still a daunting task. Answering every message can be tough, but it’s worth it. Even if it’s just asking someone if you can help, you still reached out to them. That shows that you care, and it leaves a good impression on someone who thought negatively of what you represent. You may be able to even resolve the issue and change their opinion completely. A lasting impression is one that will be heard by many. Take the time and address negative or even neutral comments on Twitter, Facebook and other networks.

Respond to the messages.

Give your audience a reason to listen.

Simply addressing comments won’t do it though. You need to be transparent too. Create a personality for your online presence and stick with it. The more personal you are, the more people will trust you and want to interact with you. Give small tidbits of information or facts that people care about. Don’t just use your social presence to advertise; you need to give people a reason to listen to your message. They can see advertisements anywhere. They’re following you on Twitter or liking your Facebook page because they want to hear something personal and different. Give it to them.

Foursquare Check In Map

GPS Services

The last year or so saw the rise of location based services like Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places and Whrrl. Each service has its own special twist, but they all collect the same data. Location data from users is collected every time someone checks in. That means, the service your checking in with knows where you’re are and when you were there. When checking in, it knows where you are at the present time. This is a treasure chest of information that marketers want! Knowing where people are means ads can be specifically targeted to users in that area. Marketers caught on to this and began using it almost immediately. Foursquare alerts its users of nearby deals when they check in, and Gowalla does the same thing. Facebook takes it a step further and integrates location based information from a users friends into advertisements. If my friend checks in at Starbucks, I might see an ad that says something like, “Sarah was just at Starbucks for the second time today! She says, ‘I love white mochas!’” It’s honestly a little creepy, but at the same time it’s a genius move to use my friend’s credibility to market products and services to me. Of course it’s fun to know where your friends are and compete with them to check in the most, but are you okay with how your data is being used?

Media Services

Some services exist to share what you’re listening too, watching or reading. Almost any type of media can be checked in to. Anything from movies to books can be checked in to. This data is a lot more extensive than the data collected from location based services. Some would say its more valuable too. It’s a long time problem of the television industry that it has no accurate way to know who’s watching television, what they’re watching and how they’re watching it. Nielsen tries to accomplish the enormous task of collecting all of this data, but its sample size is relatively small compared to the actual population of the United States. Check in services make the tedious task of dealing with Nielsen 100 times easier. There’s no equipment to install, and it’s fun to compete with your friends. This compared to Nielsen is an obvious choice. Sample sizes are much larger, and the data has the opportunity to be more accurate because people actually want to share what they’re watching.

The check in data from these services is used to monitor how well a television show is doing. Studios use the data judge how well a feature film is doing. This data literally changesthe course of how some shows run. Feedback in comments is monitored and ran through a sentiment analysis program to judge whether or not the things being said are good or bad. Marketers also use these platforms to spread the reach of their shows, movies and books. Users share on Twitter and Facebook that they checked in to a movie at a theater and don’t realize that they’re promoting that movie, somewhat credibly. The same can be said for books and television shows.

Now, i’m not saying that these services are a bad thing. In fact, they’re quite intriguing. Users should think about how their data is being used though and how it could potentially change marketing strategies and the course of a products life. There is something to be said about the more than 200k people that checked in to the Super Bowl. Check in services are social, fun and a data gold mine.

iPhone Social Screenshot

I’ll admit it; I have a small addiction to all things social media. My iPhone enables the addiction when I’m not at home. It keeps me connected and feeds my desire to know what my friends are up to. I know where people are, what they’re saying, what they’re watching on TV and so much more. I’ve integrated social media into my every day life. Instead of checking services periodically, I get updates when things change or stuff happens. It’s part of the always on 24/7 phenomena that is my generation. I’m a member of many networks, from Last.fm to Linkedin. I’ll give anything a try, but social networks are only fun if I can interact and engage with my friends.

These are five of my most commonly used social apps, and yes they’re all free.

1.    Facebook

Facebook for iPhone lets you know when things happen, immediately. Push notifications have an almost text message like urgency. You can even chat live with your friends, and it’s faster than texting. It’s great for staying in touch, but there are small things that keep it from being perfect. Photo uploading could be better, and there are some bugs with the notifications list that sometimes prevent me from seeing the latest interactions with my profile. Unfortunately this is the only Facebook application. It’ll have to do.

2.    Twitter

What can I say in 140 characters or less? All kinds of stuff! Twitter for iPhone (not Twitterific or TweetDeck) is a simple to use app that works great. It lets me stay on top of my (@)mentions, retweets and more. There are so many Twitter apps available, but I like the official app because there are no useless extras. I can tweet pictures, reply to people, post tweets and do everything else I can do on the web. It allows you to add multiple accounts (for all you SM managers), but I just can’t get into managing more than one account on my phone. It seems a little overwhelming. Managing my personal brand (@sidneykeith) 24/7 is enough.

3.    Foursquare

Never ask your friends where they are again. Foursquare lets you check-in to locations based on where you’re at. It uses the GPS functionality on my phone to find places like stores, restaurants and houses around me. Foursquare adds gaming mechanics to social media. I compete with my friends to earn more badges and be at the top of the check in charts. I keep checking in for a few reasons. The more I check in, the more I have the chance to become the mayor of the places I check in to. I get more badges for checking in, and I get interesting (and not always ridiculous) offers from place near by.

4.    Instagram
Instagram is photo sharing made cool. Flickr lets you share photos, but Instagram adds a cool twist by making your photos look vintage and adding other filters. It’s a very Twitteresque platform. I follow my friends so I can see what pictures they’re sharing. There’s a feed so I can see all of my friends at once, and all of my photos are stored in my feed. Instagram links a ton of my other social accounts, including: Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare and Posterous. It makes sharing photos with all my friends easy, no matter what network they use.

I took this, and shared it of course, while writing this post.

5.    ScreenTribe
ScreenTribe is an interesting one. It’s another check in service, almost like foursquare. Except instead of checking in to a location, you check in to movies or TV shows. You earn badges, and you can be on an A-list for a show. The same game mechanics found in Foursquare are found here, except ScreenTribe takes it a step further and lets you build up points to redeem physical prizes.

You can find me on all of these networks by searching for my name, “Sidney Keith.”