All of us at Frause were so excited about starting a blog; we spent hours fighting over who would be responsible for the content. We drew straws, played rock paper scissors, even thumb wrestled for the honor. It turns out our interns have some strong thumbs (not to mention opinions). They also have the best opportunity to provide a “fly on the wall” look into the workings of Frause. Without further ado, we present Frause – through the eyes of our interns!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Social Media: Part Deux

To continue our conversation on social media, it is important to understand the options. Most social media tools can be helpful to organizations if used correctly.

“Marketing via Facebook or any another social network needs to be done strategically, using a proper marketing plan. So many people have destroyed their businesses because they abused these networks,” explains Hillel Porath, founder and developer of Iyazam.com.

The most popular social media tools for organizations include:

Blogs
Blogs enable an organization to easily communicate and engage in conversation with their publics at any time. Currently, blogs are one of the most popular social media tools. Sites like Wordpress and Blogger offer organizations the tools to create their own blog quickly and easily.

Twitter
This is one of my favorite social media tools! Twitter is a great way to create a community and to quickly spread information by word of mouth. The site is designed for users to follow companies and individuals as they post short announcements throughout the day about news and discussion topics.

Once a Twitter profile is established and connections are built, the next step is to send out “tweets.” Tweets are 140-character postings that are read by whoever is following your Twitter profile. It is best to mix tweets with organic conversation and organization information. Make sure not to spam or over-tweet because this will turn people away.

Check out my Twitter page: www.twitter.com/ConsumingPR

Facebook and MySpace
Both Facebook and MySpace are social networking sites that allow people and groups to create personalized profiles, which allow for an online community. Organizations can use these tools to post announcements and communicate to their key audiences by responding to comments and questions.

Podcasts
A podcast is audio content, similar to a short radio segment, used to raise awareness about an organization or issue. This social media tool can be posted on a Web site and accessed with an mp3 player for people to easily access the information wherever they may be.

Once you establish a place for conversation between the organization and the audience, it is necessary to frequently update the site. Users will have an expectation for new content once a rhythm is established.

- Sarah Essary
Posted by THE FRAUSE BLOG at 1:13 PM

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