Some interesting stats were released last month by ThirdAge and JWT Boom about Baby Boomers and social media. According to the study, Americans over 40 years old haven’t jumped headlong into social media and social networking. Only 22% access social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn and 67% said they have “little or no interest” writing blogs.

I don’t know if anyone is surprised by these stats. The original report took a really negative spin on this study but I think it bears some perspective. The Boomer generation is so large (78 million) that 22% represents over 17 million people. That’s 17 million pretty hip folks who remember where they were when JFK was assassinated. Another thing to think about is that it’s not as big a deal that only 33% are interested in writing blogs. There are still almost 26 million Boomers who have some interest in writing blogs and we know from Forrester Research that about half of Boomers read blogs.

Perhaps the most interesting thing from the study was the concern over privacy on social networking sites. About half of the study’s respondents “cited concerns over privacy and having personal information on the web.” The current generation of youth and young adults don’t think much about privacy so that may have as much to do as anything with their rapid adoption of social networking…and the subsequent limitations to its adoption among Boomers.

The bottom line is Boomers represent a massive portion of the population and control 83% of consumer spending in our country so I wouldn’t go writing them off in social media and social networking circles just yet. Sure, they may get on board a little later, but give them a break…if sixty really is the new forty, they still have time.

A few weeks ago I had heated debate friendly discussion with Nathan about whether Twitter is a social network or a social media platform. You can hear the discussion here. He said it’s a social network. I said it’s social media. As I have thought more about it since then I think we were both wrong. Twitter is both.

It would be limiting to Twitter to say it is JUST one or the other because it has so many aspects that are distinct to social media and social networking alike. For instance, social media is about user generated content, conversation, and sharing information. Twitter does that. Social networking, however is about connecting people together through shared interests, interacting,  and facilitating relationships. Twitter does that too. What I have realized is that Twitter as a tool/platform is distinct in that it covers both the social media and social networking.

I think Nathan and I were debating the wrong question. The better question is this: Do you use Twitter as just a social network or social media or do you use (and utilize) it as both simultaneously? The basis for my original perspective of Twitter as a social medium was because I only used it as a social medium. I hadn’t really been looking at it for social networking opportunities. Likewise, I suspect Nathan was using Twitter more from a social networking side and not as much for the social media opportunities.

So now the challenge is this: if we find ourselves on one side or the other, how do we incorporate the other side into our Twitter use? For me, I know I can use it better to interact with people who I don’t know (or don’t know well.) That’s not something I’ve done much, but I think I’m going to start…after all, that’s part of the social network aspect of Twitter that I’ve been missing out on.

Bonus Twitter related info: USA Today wrote an article about Twitter. Plan on some extra downtime over the next few days as more people (who hadn’t heard of Twitter until now) join and give it a shot.

I just found out this morning that a client I work with answered their social phone for the first time a few days ago. They have been monitoring keywords in Twitter via Tweetscan’s (UPDATE: he used Summize, not Tweetscan) RSS feeds and when a customer complained about a particular product, the listening employee responded (even though the product had nothing to do with what he does at the company.) That response got an answer to the frustrated customer and the customer had the delight of getting a question/frustration dealt with that he didn’t expect an answer on. The customer came back around in Twitter and said thanks to the client. He noted that he was impressed, and frankly, a little surprised that they were listening and responded.

This is just another case of a ringing social phone that would have gone unanswered were it not for someone listening to it. Companies put significant amounts of money into the technology, personnel, and training for inbound customer service calls, but most companies are not even thinking about the unbound social calls that are being made for the world to see but going unanswered. Your social phone is probably ringing. Are you going to answer it?

I was challenged recently to think about customer service representatives as part of an organization’s social media response and tracking team. I had never thought of using customer service reps to keep tabs on blogs, Google Alerts, and any other social media that may be talking about an organization but it really makes sense. After all, customer service reps serve as a front line for companies already and they know the ins and outs of the company about as well as anyone, so why not pull a rep or two aside for social media monitoring?

What if a company started allowing its customer service reps (or any other employees for that matter) to be proactive in engaging prosumers? Why not monitor and respond to complaints voiced in Twitter? Why not leave a comment of thanks from a blog post that had something nice to say about your product or service or company? Why not leave a video response to a YouTube video that discussed your product? Why not join a social network group or entire social network that was dedicated for (or against) your organization? Why not have your reps start a blog on the company website?

The new world of customer service is going to be proactive engagement unlike what the average customer service representative is paid to do today. It’s going to require as much trust from the company as they have in their reps now but with more freedom. It’s going require the legal department relaxing just a bit. It’s going to require the marketing department working closer with the customer service department. It’s going to require customer service being a part of your social media training. It’s going to require rethinking the roles of marketing, public relations, and customer service. Perhaps a “customer relations department” is more in order. Whatever it may be, it’s going to change

This week’s social media batting practice involves a local, upscale music venue trying to figure out how social media marketing can work for it. This “pitch” was submitted by Steve, a MicroExplosion reader and our batter was Lynn Terry of ClickNewz.com. Lynn’s full list of recommendations and ideas follows the entire scenario below.

Scenario: How would a local entertainment venue (mainly musical arts) use social media to grow its fan base and increase single performance sales and season memberships? Assume the venue has a reputation of being a “black tie only” establishment, but in reality caters to music lovers from all walks of life. It recruits some of the most famous acts in classical, jazz, pops, cabaret and rock music and is known throughout the region. They sell out several shows a year for the more famous names, but want to be full for every weekend and weeknight show as well. What should they do?

Lynn’s ideas: They obviously want a social media campaign that will cover two objectives: gain local interest and also create a specific impression. In order to attract people from “all walks of life”, those people need to see others just like themselves.

I would recommend a photo/video campaign as the base for the online marketing strategy. They can be used to display the wide variety of entertainment available, as well as crowds & individuals (various types) that frequent the venue.

Use Flickr to host the photos and YouTube to host the videos. This serves two purposes: it saves on hosting space & bandwidth usage, and it also helps to create a broader reach. The goal is to “go wide” so that you are easily found online in a variety of places online. Not only will you be found at various social sites, but it will create more opportunity to be found in search engine results as well.

The primary web presence should be a blog, or a website + blog. Using a blog format will allow people to engage in discussions about specific shows they attended, subscribe to the calendar of upcoming events, and interact both with the business and other customers.

Elements to feature on the site/blog might include:

• About Page -written to give the impression desired
• Location/Directions -including photos and Google Map
• Entertainment Calendar -with RSS & Email subscription options
• Show Reviews -photos, videos & written reviews of recent shows
• Photo Gallery -invites visitors to submit photos as well
• Mailing List -notification for upcoming shows
• Testimonials -encourage visitors to send feedback & publish it

A great way to encourage visitors to sign up for the email list is to host a monthly giveaway. It might be a dinner, appetizer or door pass from a random drawing of subscribers. You can also use the drawing strategy to get customers to submit testimonials.

Tip: A prize of higher value could be offered for video testimonials, shot on scene.

Using the blog to feature reviews of recent shows will serve two purposes: it helps create the impression desired by featuring the variety of musical arts available, and it also allows you to optimize pages for keyword phrases such as: acts, names, music types, etc. Ranking well in the major search engines for the name of a well-known band can help you reach their fan base online.

Setting up a well-optimized blog and website, and optimizing your photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube, will allow locals and fans to find you. The next step in the marketing campaign is to find them.

Set up an account on MySpace, as their primary share in the social media market is with music. Use the name of the business for the account so that the URL is myspace.com/business. This makes it easy to find online, both by memory and by search. Use the calendar feature to display upcoming events. Search for bands and independent musicians that have played in your venue and add them to your friends list. Next, search your town and local area and send friend requests liberally.

When a band is scheduling a show, ask them if they have a MySpace account. Offer to feature them on your Top Friends space prior to the show and encourage them to send out an invite to their own friends list by posting a bulletin.

Set up an account at Twitter.com also, which is a micro-blogging service. Again, use your business name for the account. Publish updates daily that feature upcoming shows and artists, and link to the full write-up on your website. Use the search box in your Twitter account to find bands and locals just like you did with MySpace.

You now have presence on five different online properties - your own domain, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter. Done right, you can “own” 50% of the search results for phrases your ideal visitors are searching for online. Meaning if someone searches for XYZ Band on Google, you can easily show up in 5 out of the top 10 results.

Getting them to your site is the key. Interacting with them and engaging them in your content is what will turn them into loyal, repeat customers at your local venue.

—–

Lynn, thanks so much for your ideas and giving us a lot to think about. Anytime a business can own 50% of the search results for the keywords or phrases they want is a big win. That’s the beauty of what social media marketing can do. Interestingly enough, almost everything you suggested here costs nothing to get started but it takes time (sometimes significant time) to set up and maintain well. It just shows that in the economy of social media marketing time is the new money!

Also, thanks for the pitch Steve. All right…who’s got another pitch and who’s our next batter?

Last week I was in a meeting with people from a number of different organizations all discussing a common issue. I was the “social media” guy at the table with a few traditional marketers with various specialties along with non-marketing people working through an particular situation. During the course of the discussion I realized again how stark the difference is between the way I approach marketing and promotion compared to some more traditional marketers. I attribute this difference in thinking to people like Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Robert Scoble…all of whom have provided books and blog that have formed the way I approach the new technology for marketing purposes. I took some notes of my thoughts at the time and here’s what came out…

It’s not that television as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that newspapers as we’ve known them don’t matter. It’s just that they don’t matter as much as they used to.

It’s not that radio as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that marketing, advertising, public relations, and any other form of promotion as we’ve known it doesn’t matter. It’s just that it doesn’t matter as much as it used to.

It’s not that the way you’ve been marketing isn’t effective anymore. It’s just that it’s less effective today than it was yesterday and it will be increasingly less effective tomorrow, next week, and next year.

The lesson here isn’t that you have to make a total switch to social media marketing today. The lesson is that you need to be moving toward social media marketing and as you do, you can’t think about it the same way as the old way you did marketing.

Tomorrow morning from 9:30-11:00 CST will be the social media micro conference for marketing and communication professionals. There were five free spots available for non profits but those have been taken. There are still paid slots available. We’ll talk social media marketing strategy and tactics with some specific things I do when I’m working on a social media marketing campaign.

Up to 10 people from your organization can listen online or on the phone and an MP3 recording of the entire micro conference will be provided after the event is over.

If you’re ready to join us you’ll need to go here or if you want a little more information, check out the full description of the event.

Ok, quick tip if this applies to you…if you use Twitter, be a person. Don’t be a nameless, faceless brand. I’m seeing more of these lately and I’ve determined I’m not following them back. I know there’s someone behind the scenes, but why not introduce yourself? I can’t have a relationship with a brand. I can have a relationship with a person.

The same thing goes for social networking sites. Don’t created a Facebook profile for your organization or product without making it clear to everyone that there’s a person behind it. We know he or she is there…so why hide behind the logo?

Social media and social networking tools rely on personal interaction. This may be hard for some companies or counterintuitive to others, but at some point you’re going to have to get out from behind the brand to actually say, “Hi, I’m Jim. I’m the guy who handles this for the company.” If you’re not willing to do that, you can’t play in the sandbox…and not because I say so…but because you’re the one who put the bucket over your head. How’s anyone supposed to talk to you with that bucket on your head? Take it off and start talking.

If you have a blog I hope you see it as a strategic marketing tool for your business or organization because it is. One thing you should be doing is blogging specific keywords and phrases that describe you and your business, products, or services. If you have a Google AdWord account you have already identified the keywords you want to be recognized for, so why not use those same keywords straegically in your blog post titles and throughout the posts themselves?

The stats I continue to see pop up after doing a little research suggest that 70% of online searchers prefer natural search results compared to paid search results like AdWords. That’s why it’s important to be found on the left-hand side of the Google search page more than the right-hand side. You get more than twice the traffic.

Here’s how it can work…

Let’s say I want to be discovered as a new media marketing or social media marketing expert in the Nashville area (which would be nice but I personally don’t want to be too geographically fixed so I wouldn’t necessarily use these specific combinations of keywords). I would probably do a steady stream of posts over the course of several months where I would use the words “social media” or “new media” and “Nashville” in the post titles and through the blog posts themselves. I would also look for variations on these keywords like “social media marketing” and “middle Tennessee” or “new media marketing” and “Nashville-area.” I could even get more specific with phrases like “social media consulting” or “new media coaching” and then also tie that into the Nashville or middle Tennessee keywords.

As you can see there’s a lot that can be done here and it’s just the beginning. There are all kinds of alternative phrases I haven’t even gotten into like digital marketing, online advertising, interactive media, interactive marketing, etc. I expect if you just took 15 minutes to focus on the keywords for your business you would come up with a nice, long list too. Once you get your list, identify the top ten most important ones so you know where to put the bulk of your energy.

One more thing to do is to really focusing on tagging your posts with the same keywords as you’ll see I’ve done below with the same keywords that you use in your posts. Jeff, over at Mossy Creek Custom saw a great increase in traffic to his blog once he started tagging more specifically.

After a few weeks start searching the keywords to see if your posts are turning up. Also, check your stats and see if there are some specific keywords that seem to be sending a lot of people to your blog. You may be surprised

So, to recap, here are four things to do:

1. Identify your keywords. If you haven’t identified your keywords with a Google AdWords account, take some time to create a list of all the phrases you would hope to be found under in a Google search. After this, pick out the top 10 that are most important and start with those.
2. Post strategically and regularly. If you post four times a week, maybe one of the four posts every week will be a strategic post with your selected keywords. You should plan to do this for a few months to get good coverage because it may take that long before you see it show up on Google depending on how competitive your particluar market is.
3. Tag you posts. Tag well. Tag often. Tag like you marketing life depends on it…ok, not that much, but you get the idea.
4. Measure. Check to see what’s working and what isn’t. You may have some surprisingly high performing keywords that you didn’t expect. If so, you should consider blogging about them more often.

I know, I know…I don’t usually show video here except on Fridays but this one is worth the exception. I’m not an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) guy but this rap actually has some really good tips about what you need to do when you’re building a site.

I’m not a web designer or developer so some of this didn’t mean anything to me but as a social media marketer this had some valuable information and a few good reminders. Whether you build sites or just have people around you who do, this is worth the free SEO tutorial…fo’ shizzle.

Here are the lyrics:
Your site design is the first thing people see
it should be reflective of you and the industry
easy to look at with a nice navigation
when you can’t find what you want it causes frustration
a clear Call to action to increase the temptation
use appealing graphics they create motivation
if you have animation
use with moderation
cause search engines can’t index the information
display the logos of all your associations
highlight your contact info that’s an obligation
create a clean design you can use some decoration
but to try to prevent any client hesitation
every page that they click should provide and explanation
should be easy to understand like having a conversation
when you design the style go ahead and use your imagination
but make sure you use correct color combinations
do some investigation, look at other organizations
but don’t duplicate or you might face a litigation
design done, congratulations but it’s time to start construction
follow these instructions when you move into production
your photoshop functions then slice that design
do your layout with divs make sure that it’s aligned
please don’t use tables even though they work fine
when it come to indexing they give searches a hard time
make it easy for the spiders to crawl what you provide
remove font type, font color and font size
no background colors, keep your coding real neat,
tag your look and feel on a separate style sheet
better results with xml and css
now you making progress, a lil closer to success
describe your doctype so the browser can relate
make sure you do it great or it won’t validate
check in all browsers, I do it directly
gotta make sure that it renders correctly
some use IE, some others use Flock
some use AOL, I use Firefox
title everything including links and images
don’t use italics, use emphasis
don’t use bold, please use strong
if you use bold that’s old and wrong
when you use CSS, you page will load quicker
client satisfied like they eating on a snicker
they stuck on your page like you made it with a sticker
and then they convert now that’s the real kicker
make you a lil richer, your site a lil slicker
design and code right man I hope you get the picture
what I’m telling you is true man it should be a scripture
if it’s built right you’ll be the pick of the litter
everyone will want to follow you like twitter
competition will get bitter and you’ll shine like glitter
if you trying to grow your company will get bigger
design and code right man can you get with it