Was very nice to see  GovGirl writer and video producer Kristy Fifelski, who is currently producing stories for Government Technology, give my work kudos for a tweet I recently came up with her latest video:

In this video she mentioned one specific tweet.  However she missed the bigger picture that I think needs mentioning,  this tweet was part of a series of tweets attempting to get more people to sign up to be alerted before getting caught in a traffic jam due to known causes.  In this case, a scheduled bridge opening.

Here’s that series of tweets:

 

So you see it wasn’t just a random tweet, it had a purpose that led up to a point.  An attention grabber which would eventually lead up to the key message that if folks don’t sign up for text messages and find out about bridge openings in advance they will find themselves with 30 extra minutes of time they need to figure out how to waste (how long it usually takes the bridge to open and close for boat traffic.)  A list of ten would have been too much noise, it had to be five or less and because there was so much talk about the Gangnam video and the simultaneous catch rule, I felt both of them needed to be included.  Since guy on a buffalo would have been a list of four, after mentioning the text messaging, it had to be five.

In the end, the real truth is that I was challenged by a coworker to mention guy on a buffalo in a tweet.  Since I couldn’t figure out how to make it directly transportation related, I improvised.

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I am convinced that there are three keys to a successful social media post, no matter what channel.  Here is my checklist that I use before I post.

Does it:

  • Add Value
  • Tell a Story
  • Trigger an emotional response

If it doesn’t meet two of these three criteria, I don’t post it.

Although I never did much of this, I am completely done posting, “RT if you”, “Stay connected on our” and “Be sure to follow us to learn more.”   None of these tweets provide value to the audience you want to reach and with so much social noise out there will alienate them quickly.

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When you work for a government agency you use the word “public” very regularly.  Unfortunately if you mistype that word and instead accidentally type “pubic” Microsoft Word doesn’t recognize that it’s a misspelling even though it’s completely out of context.  However, there is a way to fix that.

In Microsoft Word 2010, to correct an error like a missing “L” in public, make sure your settings are as follows:

Go to File > Options > Proofing
Under “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word” make sure that “Use contextual spelling” is checked.
Select OK
Mistakes like this will be caught by the spelling and grammar checker.

Go to File > Options > Proofing
Select “AutoCorrect options”
Check “Replace text as you type”
Under “Replace:” enter the word that you don’t want in your text (such as pubic)
Under “With:” enter the correct word (public)
Select OK
Mistakes like this will be caught and corrected as you type.

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I hadn’t experienced working with either advertising tool before so I though I would help out a friends fitness business and also gain the opportunity to learn about both tools.

Starting with the understanding that each tool is different, and catches the user in a different space, with Google they are searching out fitness information, with Facebook they are just shown it and it’s not necessarily on the forefront of their minds.  Facebook gave me the option of spending a lifetime total or a daily limit, where Google gave me a daily limit.  I tried but never did see either ad in my streams.

I chose to run both ads local, kept them to an Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater area since folks don’t really travel to work out.  This was fascinating to me because I know Facebook can target the locals based on the users progile, Google on the other hand has to depend on originating IP address which, with my experience, can fluctuate based on so many different variables.

After two weeks of ad display here are the results I achieved: Facebook:  838,256 Impressions -  also had 118,146 social impressions, where someone interacted with it, liked it or shared it…I think. The ad resulted in 88 Clicks, 10 Connections, 0.010% CTR,  $0.12 CPM

Still not entirely clear what social impressions are. Researched it a bit also and even the industry experts had a tough time explaining it.

Google: 73,000 impressions, 42 clicks for a CTR of .06%

Not bad clickthrough rates really.  Interesting that Google, who’s audience is searching for something wasn’t higher. I still don’t really understand how Facebook decided to display those ads, I know I chose keywords for Google and was competing for who paid more for the display price but Facebook is a bit of a mystery.

Facebook send me a weekly report via email which was very detailed and simple to read, Google didn’t (I couldn’t find it if there was a feature to get emailed reports anyways).  I did like that Google let me type multiple keywords in that people might search for, Facebook  required fixed ad text but the “why” an ad would show up wasn’t clear to me at all.

In the end, I think both have opportunities to reach a larger audience by being easier to use and providing clearer details within the reports.  Both were very difficult to understand and had a very high learning curve. If you’re asking for money and businesses are certainly looking to spend it to gain customers, why not make the programs easy to use and give clear explanations on how they work and what the terms mean that are within the tools? If I was a small business owner I would feel like I had no choice but to hire and expert in the field and hope they could provide the outreach and explanations of the terms that are needed to feel a level of comfort and feel like it was money well spent.

Facebook seemed easier to use and was far clearer in the reporting.  Google, while easy to set up, was much more difficult to understand and I would have liked the option of them sending the report to me without me having to go to that website (need to research further this option).

In the end, although I had plenty of impressions, neither resulted in an increase in likes or new people added to the business.  While it was fun to experiment with the two and gain some lessons learned, I’m still convinced that that you must use the right tool for the right outreach. For a small business that serves a local niche, fitness in this case, it really comes down to networking and word of mouth.  I always knew it but I am much more convinced now that keeping your local customers happy is really the key to success.  The more you can develop relationships with them and get them talking, the more likely they are to tell their friends and bring them in.

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In no particular order:

See a Manchester darby at Old Trafford.

Travel to a foreign country to watch the World Cup and attend a World Cup final.

Visit the Sierra Nevada brewery and dine with the brewers.

Free fall skydive, none of that tandem business or having someone else open the chute for you.

Learn how to build a house.

Compete in a BBQ competition.

Give everything away that I perceive as valuable so what I own will fit in my car again.

Complete the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride).

Create my own brewery and sell the beer.

Cook all the recipes in one entire cookbook.

Be the lead speaker at a conference of over:

  • 50 people – Done!
  • 250 people – Done!
  • 1,000 people —-

Brew my own beer – Done!

Run a half marathon – Done!

Get a national award for my work – Done!

Visit the Guinness brewery – Done!

What’s yours?

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