Category Archives: Community Management
The Stone Soup Recipe for Building an Online Community
As we frequently discuss on The Work Talk Show, inspiring ideas often happen when we aren’t at work. Those familiar with my writing know that I often see marketing analogies in stories and works of literature like Rudyard Kipling’s poem, … 
Emptying the Cup: How to Listen First in Social Media
Recently I had the privilege of attending my inaugural meeting as a member of the professional advisory board for the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. As part of this informative day, our group got to meet …
How Soon Should Your Brand Respond on Social Media?
During a recent talk on social media engagement I was asked, “How soon should you respond to an issue on social media?” I replied, as everyone knows, that the optimal social media response time is 11 minutes, 3 seconds. Duh. …
When to Follow-Back
Recently my friend John Morgan, author of Brand Against the Machine, received a direct message calling him a diva on Twitter for not following someone back. When John talked about this on Google+, I noted that I have a similar …
Why Community Managers Need to Be Improvisers
Fun fact about me: I actually have a little bit of background in improvisational comedy. There was even a time when I was part of a group that would perform improv in bars in the Iowa City area for little …
New Belgium Brews Community with Social Media (Interview)
I like to write about social media. I also love craft beer. It’s rare when these passions collide but in the case of what New Belgium Brewing is doing on social media, it’s too cool to avoid. The individuals most …
When to Link Your Facebook Page to Twitter
Marketers eyes light up with newfound productivity when they learn they can push updates from their brand’s Facebook Page to Twitter via a simple Facebook application. But is this time-saving measure the best way to go? When does this make …
Growing Your Social Media Garden
This photo isn’t my garden. In fact, I hate gardening. I just didn’t get the “love of the land” yardwork gene, which is surprising as both of my parents have it. As farm kids in the city, they were eager …
Why We Tweet for Clients
Yes, it’s true. We tweet or “ghost tweet” for some of our clients. But this post isn’t meant to be self-promotional but rather a study of social media habits and their adoption by small businesses. This has been a subject …
July 2, 2012
Community Management / Customer Service
3 Steps to Deal with Upset Customers on Social Media
One of the most common objections heard from businesses considering social media is that “people will say bad things about our brand.” When hearing this, marketers often politely remind the boss or client that these conversations about the brand – …