The Caffeinated Blog

20 Ways You Can Encourage Engagement

The Social Media Club of Charlottesville had an open forum last night where attendees split into discussion groups and brainstormed various ideas for using social media and engaging customers. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend myself, but they posted photos from one of their brainstorming sessions, listing ways to encourage engagement through social media channels. There are 20 great ideas listed, which you'll also find listed below the photos.

 
 

1. Ask for feedback and/or ask questions at the end of a post.
2. Comment on other's blogs.
3. Barrier to comments BAD (in other words, don't make it difficult for people to leave comments).
4. Get someone to be the first commenter.
5. Mix in some company info (i.e. birthdays, successes, etc.) on your Facebook page.
6. Do a series of blog posts on a sub-topic.
7. Create a Facebook sharing app.
8. Use "list" posts (and lay it out in a simplified format).
9. Mixing it up (video, audio, text).
10. Guest posts (meaning asking people to guest post on your blog, or you guest posting on other related blogs).
11. Be extremely opinionated (or extreme).
12. Go against the grain.
13. Run Twitter searches for people with questions; answer with a link to your blog post (same could be done on LinkedIn).
14. Create "celebrity" status through opinions.
15. Contests/giveaways.
16. SEO tactics.
17. Good timing (current event, etc.).
18. Every Friday, just ask a question.
19. Keep up with regular posts.
20. Put recent comments in sidebar.

What are your ideas for encouraging engagement?

Google Buzz-Kill?

I still have yet to really wrap my head around what Google Buzz does and the value it provides; HubSpot has a really interesting, if not somewhat paranoid, take on Google Buzz, stating "At this point, Google probably knows more about you than the government does." While I'm highly doubtful of that, I am a little leery of Google's intentions with its newest product.

The author does bring up a good point regarding how Buzz will affect search results, given that practically everything Google does eventually does affect search results. It's also a little disconcerting that Google did try to buy Twitter at one point, and now they're out with their own social networking product. Whatever Google wants, Google gets...

As a marketer, it's good to know what the capabilities of Google Buzz are, but I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to jump on this bandwagon yet.

What is your take - is Google Buzz a social media buzz-kill, or the best buzz you've ever had?

New development: According to Marsha Collier, Google will delete your profile if you disable Buzz. Wah?

How Newspapers Can Connect with Readers on Twitter

This is a post I originally wrote for my Tumblr blog, My (Social) Life.

Earlier this week, I posted my response to an article on Econsultancy.com enititled “How Small Newspapers Can Make Money on Twitter.” The core of my response was that newspapers needed to connect with their readers on Twitter first before attempting to make money from it - and I intended to offer my own advice regarding this.

Really good timing for all of this, because I attended a panel discussion this week put on by the Social Media Club of Charlottesville, which centered on social media vs. traditional media and how 3 local media organizations - Charlottesville’s Daily Progress newspaper, the Charlottesville Newsplex (comprising of local TV affiliates) and Black Enterprise Magazine - use social media. I brought up the monetization topic to our three esteemed panelists, and the general response was that social media already held value and didn’t need to be monetized. These are three people who are already well-versed in the use of Twitter and know how it fits into their traditional media structure. They all understand the value of connecting with their community through social media and that it shouldn’t have to be directly monetized in order deliver any value.

Read more at My (Social) Life >>

The First Job that Changed my Life

Mmmm, espresso. Image via Wikipedia

When I logged in to Typepad today, the following "Question of the Day" was on my dashboard:

What was the first job that changed your life?

What an interesting question, I thought. It was honestly something I hadn't thought about in a long time; but now that I am thinking about it, I would say the first job that changed my life was one I had back in college, working in the cafe at a local Borders Books. Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a big coffee geek, and working in the cafe making perfect shots of espresso and lovely, frothy cappuccinos allowed me to live out that persona. I read books about coffee (after all, I did work in a bookstore) and worked hard at refining my skills everyday.

Then, an opportunity came along.

I was promoted to cafe lead clerk, which is like the assistant manager. I got to work with the manager on cafe promotions and merchandising. I was able to combine my love of coffee with my knowledge of and passion for marketing.

And that's when it all clicked for me. It's been a helluva ride ever since.

Most working adults have had a job at some point that served as a major turning point in each of their lives. It may have changed it for the better, or even for the worse - either way, it made them take a different path that led them to something brand new.

Now it's your turn to tell your story: what was the first job that changed your life?

The Caffeinated Blog is Back (Now with More Caffeine)!

Yep, this is pretty much what 2009 was like. Image via Wikipedia

It's been almost a year since my last post here, and I know some of you have been wondering where I went (thanks for all of your supportive comments - you guys are great!). It's been a roller coaster of a year - and I've certainly had my share of ups and downs.

When I last posted, I was about to embark upon a new role with a new start-up - a company gearing up for the launch of an online travel community. I'm certainly no stranger to start-ups, and I'm kind of addicted to working with them - I love the natural high you get from building up to the launch of something new and exciting. I was hired as their Marketing Manager, and yes, it was all very exciting - and a lot of very hard work (which is why my beloved Caffeinated Blog languished).

Then the website launched, and it all went horribly wrong.

Long story short, the website was a complete disaster (in fact, I'll use my new favorite word to describe it: "shambolic"), money ran out, and the lay-offs began. Sadly, I was part of a 25% reduction in staff.

So now I'm back, blowing the dust off my blog and giving it a much needed shot of caffeine. I hope to write more and make some design improvements (and if you're willing to volunteer your design expertise, give me a shout - I could certainly use it).

Oh, and I'm in the job market. Since I last posted here, I've moved from Washington, DC to Charlottesville, VA. I'm working my tail off trying to find a full-time marketing/social media job here, so holla if you know of something - kari (dot) rippetoe (at) rippetoe (dot) net. I'm slowly familiarizing myself with the area, and I've had some awesome conversations with some awesome people here in C'ville. The social media scene is growing (we even have a Social Media Club chapter) and it's very cool.

So, welcome back, and I hope to see you back here at The Caffeinated Blog again soon!