In Summer 2010 (a year into running Wright Creativity) I wrote an article about why my phone number wasn’t on my website or business cards, explaining; “I am very protective of my personal phone number – but not because of the phone number itself, but what it gives you access to. For example, if my phone number were on my site or my cards, anyone could have it. If anyone can have my phone number, anyone can call me when it is convenient for them (not always convenient for me). Anyone can have more access into my life, and I lose some of my control over the way that I am contacted. While I am aware that I can purchase a second phone number – or a virtual phone number – specifically for work, I haven’t. I find them pointless as they are just one more thing to manage. I don’t want another number so that I can give it out to everyone – I want my personal number and the right to choose who has it. Even in business.”

This weekend, I got an email from a reader, who found the article, and also discovered my new contact page which does have my phone number on it. He, and rightly so, was confused and sent me an email asking “Is there a reason why you changed your mind on this subject”?

Ryan, thank you for the email, and yes, there is a reason why I changed my mind:

I became the Director of Community Development for 5150, and became part of an Agency. In making that change, I received new phone numbers – the office line and my direct line – which changed how I thought about my 4 points:

• Old thought: Phone calls take up a lot of time and are not that necessary in the beginning.
  Now, while I still think phone calls take a lot of time, having a receptionist in charge of one of the lines helps eliminate the calls that are unnecessary or should be directed somewhere else. For all others, it goes directly to my office line (and only to my cell phone if I choose), which allows me more control of when I answer the phone.
• Old thought: Voice-mail is evil.
  Actually, I still agree with this one…
• Old thought: First thoughts are better explained written out.
  Because I am no longer on the client side regarding project development or new business, most calls I get now are in the second or third stages, making them much easier to handle over the phone. While many times they need to be followed up with email, the business calls tend to go smoother now.
• Old thought: My phone number didn’t bring in any extra business.
  Because one of the phone numbers is our main office number, this fact is no longer true. And even my direct line has brought in a few leads as well.

I am still a believer that a phone number, for some, is unnecessary on a website or business card. But, my new job made me change my perspective in regards to utilizing it myself…

Do you have a phone number on your website or business card? Why/Why not?

If you do…is it by choice or because you have to?

*photo from tj scenes on Flickr

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If you’ve visited any of the big alcohol brands websites, you’ve probably seen something like the image to the left. Basically, it’s an age wall, asking you to verify you are of legal age (based on your area of residence) to venture into the website. While these ‘age walls’ may not be required for brands to have, they are used more often than not to keep minors off their sites.

Of course, many people find this process silly – why do you need to be old enough to drink just to read the information. But personally, I love it. I believe that pages like this create a designation, it makes a point, and while you can lie to it to get in, it at least sets a deterrence for minors. While I can’t say I never imbibed before I was fully legal, I can say that I am a strong believer in the laws we have in place and believe that alcohol brands have a responsibility to promote legal drinking ages. And that includes the social space.

But how can a brand do this on a social site where they can’t control everything about the site?

On Twitter: While it’s impossible to stop minors from following a brand, many alcohol brands have instituted an auto dm that asks you to verify your age before they follow you back. This helps to make sure they are not following (engaging) with anyone under legal drinking age. In addition, one alcohol brand representative I know said their rule is: “if we haven’t followed them back (after they verified their age) we will not reply directly to the person”. While it may seem like overkill, it is a way for the brand to protect themselves, since if brands engage knowingly with a minor, they can run legal risks in regards to encouraging underage drinking.

On Facebook:  Add in the alcohol-related page setting. According to All Facebook, “The alcohol-related age restriction sets the minimum age based on the location of the user. Only users in Canada, South Korea, or Nicaragua who are 19+; in Japan, Iceland. or Paraguay who are 20+; in Cameroon, Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, or the United States who are 21+; in India and Sweden who are 25+; and elsewhere who are 18+ will be able to view your page”. This means brands don’t have to worry about minors lying to an age-gate. In fact, if you’re not logged into Facebook and a brand is using the alcohol setting, their page isn’t even visible to you.

Do you agree that alcohol brands should have age gates on social? Or is it overkill?

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Whether you wanted it or not, the new Facebook Timeline is here. And as with any new changes to Facebook layouts, there are a few big changes to privacy.

In this case, the new timeline opens a can of old (& potentially problematic) posts. Remember those posts and photos from when you were a little more carefree? Maybe before you were worried about finding a job or before you friended your mom and boss? All of those pesky posts are now visible to anyone you are friends with, despite when they were posted. This can be risky, especially for those in jobs that are not overly social friendly or with a certain reputation to uphold. While the easiest solution is to make your profile entirely private – if you’ve already friended your boss, unfriending them is probably not the best option.

Instead, we recommend cleaning out the posts you’ve made that might be a little less than savory for your reputation. To get rid of a post entirely, simply click the pencil icon next to the post and select “delete post”.

Still want the post visible to specific people? Click on the gear icon next to the date of the post to change visibility settings. Here, you can choose to make it visible only to certain people and/or hide it from certain people. This is a great technique for things you want your personal friends to see but not your business connections.

Remember, social is about connecting and engaging, but it can also be dangerous if you don’t use it wisely. Take this as your early warning to make sure your profile passes the ‘boss’ test and protect yourself from embarrassment or worse.

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Click to enlarge & read the entire ad

Every day, you are bombarded by advertising. As an average American who utilizing technology daily, it is absolutely impossible to avoid. Your magazines are filled with them, TV is swallowed by them and your social sites are absolutely crawling with them. But, these ads are not all about buying things anymore. Advertisers are getting smarter (damn them!) and know that it doesn’t take hard sells to convince you to buy – it takes connections, engagement and personality. Because of this, traditional advertisers are looking for unique ways to reach through the clutter and get you to listen to what they have to say. In the last few years, this has meant a shift in messaging from ‘buy our products’ to ‘connect with us on social’. The traditional media brands are working on their humanization – providing you incentives for connecting, ways to engage, and opening themselves up to the consumers in ways that were impossible 10 years ago.

Case in point? This advertisement was found inside of a Glamour magazine, promoting the the Glamour Facebook page. Rather than promote fashion, makeup or beauty, which Glamour is known for, they chose to utilize a very adorable puppy to convince you into liking them. It is a simple tactic: pull at the readers emotional side and get them to like the page. They weren’t concerned about you buying anything at this point, all they wanted was the access to you – achieved through you becoming a fan of theirs.

BUT! This tactic is an interesting one – it’s one thing to ask someone who is already online to click on a link, it’s a whole other thing to ask them to go from a print ad and take an action online.

So the question is…does advertising like this (print, asking you to go to the web and take an action) actually work as well as they want it to?

You tell me:

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However as the weeks have passed, despite his new home among the rest of us 5150′s like him, we noticed he is still depressed.

And we’ve figured out why.: He wants a name. He needs a name. He deserves a name.

But we don’t know what to call him.

So, our team took pity on him and created a video for you to get to know him…and give him a name!

Even better? He’s offering reward money for the best submissions… a total of $200 in prize money to the top 5 names.

How can you help? Just watch his video…and submit a name for our 5150 Man-nequin!

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Needless to say, I was jumping around my living room, more than a little excited on Saturday afternoon.

This morning, I checked out their website to see what they had done since they clinched the spot in the NFC Championship game. I was pleasantly surprised…not only did my boys rock out with a fabulous new landing page, it is a totally social new lading page.

Look at all the pretty hashtags! And the one you can’t see in the picture, but is even more awesome, is the one that shows in the bar above the navigation…where the page name has shifted from ”San Fransisco 49ers Football” to “#BeatTheNYGiants”!

What makes the social-ness of the page even more incredible to me? Check out the NY Giants page. Not a single hashtag, no social promotion and only minor changes to the website itself. Apparently the 49ers have a better defense and marketing department

So, what can you learn from the 49ers prowess in the social space?

1. Big events need to be spread to stay big! Give your fans an easy hashtag to share and get your event pumped up – and make sure it’s easy to find on your site. Then spread it like wildfire! Of course, this is always a little easier when your competition drops the ball.
2. A website change has a strong effect! If you’re planning a big event, make sure it’s the number one focus of your website as it gets closer. Don’t make people hunt for the details. Designing a landing page like this is effective and if your site is built using wordpress (which I almost always recommend), can be very simple to create as well.
3. Find other ways to get your name out there. The 49ers social accounts changed their avatars to the image on the right – and made the image readily available to all followers and fans to use as well. Now, all over twitter and facebook you can see the 49ers nation showing their support by changing their avatar to match the team.  Remember, it’s all about cross promotion!

Okay, so now on to the most important part of the post:

Who are you rooting for this Sunday and who do you want to see in Superbowl XLVI?

Me? I’d like to see 49ers vs Patriots on February 5th.

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Earlier this week, they published an article of aggregated tips from the Young Entrepreneur Council on divvying up social media responsibility. There were some awesome tips from some very smart minds, and 7 out of the 10 tips were on point. However, 3 of them (imo) were way off the mark.

First, the solid tips included:
No. 2: Use a Team Platform to Manage
No. 3: You Have to Know What You’re Asking
No. 4: Build a Social Media Strategy
No. 7: Master the Corporate Voice
No. 8: Delegate to Core Competency
No. 9: Make Sure They Understand Your Company
No. 10: No Weak Links

But these three missed their mark:

No. 1: Never Delegate Social Media Externally

Why I disagree: Social media is not simple – it is constantly changing, growing and shifting. And for most brands (especially smaller brands, the type which this article was originally written for) it is impossible to stay on top of the trends and keep all other aspects of the business running smoothly. In addition, if you’re anything like the businesses I’ve worked with, you barely have time to do everything you need to do, let alone add in consistent and daily monitoring of multiple social channels. You’re in business for a reason – you want to sell your product or service.  While social media can be one of the greatest ways to increase brand awareness, it shouldn’t be run by you…at least not entirely. Social needs to be treated like any other form of marketing. You need to hire an expert team that works with you to craft a strategy, develop a plan and then implement and deliver. A combination of your expertise of your brand and industry combined with the expertise of a social agency means you’ll have the best results with the least amount of stress.

No. 5: Why Your Company’s Biggest Evangelist Should Run Social Media

Why I disagree: While it’s great to love the brand, evangelism is not a fitting criteria for the person representing you in the public space. First, as I mentioned in the other tip that missed the mark, I believe social media needs more than internal resources. You need a partnership between an agency and your internal team. The agency should really be running your social and it should be one of their team members dealing with the day to day social implementation. However, you will still need someone on the inside that works with the agency. As for that person? It should be the person with the right experience…not just enthusiasm. A brand evangelist will often struggle with customer complaints or problems because they are so passionate about the brand. They can often become blinded by their emotions and will struggle to take an objective look at what really is happening in the conversations. Instead, the person internally should be strategy focused, understand proper online etiquette, have a background in writing or communication and be willing to work with the external social team to create a successful social campaign.

No. 6: Set Time Standards

Why I disagree: I don’t disagree with time standards – it is important to have set limits for response time to customer queries, replies, etc. However, the article suggests that your brand should set these time standards, and that is where I disagree. Time standards are not determined by you, your team or your brand…they are set by the industry and the market. For example, if your competitors are all able to reply to an average facebook post within the hour, and you decide that 24 hours is an acceptable window for reply…who do you think will keep the audience engaged? (hint: it isn’t you.) Time is a finicky thing, and with the speed in which social travels, you don’t have the luxury of letting it slip away. Which is what brings us back to the first point – you need a partner who can help make managing social possible. A strong social campaign will include a team that is constantly monitoring for brand mentions, responding quickly, and keeping on top of customer queries at a level matching the rest of the industry.

What are your thoughts on the tips shared? Do you agree or disagree with either Fox Small Business or with me?

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To smooth the process, I put together one lesson for every week this year, to help you navigate the insanity that is social:

1. Social doesn’t inherently ‘work’. It takes your work to make it work.
2. No one likes spammers.
3. Automation is not the key to success.
4. Creating amazing content is #1, but consistency runs a very close second.
5. Sometimes it is just being in the right place at the right time.
6. Take social offline too or it’s just a waste of time.
7. Quality is better than quantity, but quantity does matter.
8. We’re all saying the same thing with different words, and that’s perfectly okay.
9. Retweeting the ‘big boys’ doesn’t help anyone. Share excellence from the small guys instead.
10. Your favorite network will change designs, policies and settings on you. Get over it.
11. Organization &  spontaneity are both necessary in content.
12. Don’t try and achieve greatness measured against someone else.
13. Every brand can be personable, which is different than personal.
14. Platforms have different uses & audiences, they require different content too.
15. Say thank you. Politeness doesn’t end when you get online.
16. Permanent sarcasm & negativity may be funny to some, but to most, it is obnoxious & a waste of time.
17. Spelling and grammar errors will happen, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to be lazy.
18. Write for you and your consumer. It’s a perfectly possible mix.
19. Ask questions if you don’t know how to do something. At least one other person is probably in the same boat.
20. Never leave yourself logged into social from a shared computer.
21. Even the biggest brands have bad days.
22. Try new things. If they don’t work, try something else. Stagnation in social is death in social.
23. Be committed to the long run – social doesn’t work overnight, or even overmonth. It takes time.
24. While social is on 24/7, you don’t have to be. Take vacations without internet, you’ll thank me.
25. Always remember why you’re on social. Whether it’s personal or business, it needs to have a reason.
26. Round peg, square hole concept: not all social sites fit all strategies.
27. Everyone will do social a little differently. Learn from everyone around you.
28. Laughter makes the world go ’round. Funny & clever spread better than rude & condescending.
29. Social + alcohol/drugs/mood swings = a very bad idea.
30. As a brand, you can’t do social alone.
31. No one has the perfect formula for a viral youtube video, facebook post or twitter campaign. It’s all testing and experience.
32. Turn off all email notifications. Trust me, you won’t miss them. If you use the network, you’ll see them there.
33. There is a lot of drama in social, try and stay out of it.
34. Appreciate the followers/fans/subscribers you have, no matter how many or few.
35. Think about it before you post it. Rude never has a reason.
36. Social is only ever a  piece of your marketing
37. Promotion from others is always better than promoting yourself.
38. Have a crisis strategy in place. It’s always better to never need it and have it than to need it and not.
39. Reward brand enthusiasts, or they might find another brand to be enthused about.
40. Social changes faster than any other form of marketing, make sure you’re paying attention.
41. Just because the sites are free to sign up doesn’t mean social is free to make it work.
42. Being connected to someone on a network does not give you the right to continually try and sell to them.
43. It’s perfectly okay to keep some of your social sites 100% personal connections only. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.
44. Lose the attitude. We’ll all be happier.
45. The big 4 (twitter, facebook, youtube & linkedin) are not for everyone. Some social strategies revolve entirely around smaller sites!
46. Phishing happens. Protect yourself and be careful what you click on.
47. Give credit where credit is due.
48. Growing up during the ‘social generation’ doesn’t mean anything about how you’ll do in social
49. Everything you put in social creates your brand. Bad or good.
50. Remember, it’s not all about you! Spend some time promoting others.
51. Social, while it takes work, should also be fun.
52. Etiquette. Etiquette. Dagnabit, Etiquette!

What social lessons can you add to the list?

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But social is not a game to me.

However, for millions, social is a game. More specifically, a Facebook game. We’ve all heard the names: FarmVille, Words With Friends, Mafia Wars, Sims Social…the list goes on. Inherently, I understand the draw of the games. They are competition, pure and simple, but taken to the next level and shared across worlds. It’s an easy way for people to prove they excel to an audience of billions!

However, they have yet to draw me in.

I don’t play FarmVille, have zero need to get into Words With Friends (although, I did create an account at one time) and I’d rather keep the ‘Social’ out of Sims.

Before you say, ‘well maybe you’re just not their audience’, I assure you I am. I love Angry Birds, absolutely dominate in Civilization and Risk on the Xbox (neither play ‘Live’) and own more than a couple versions of Sims for PC. I like a challenge, I get pumped when I win, and am more than a little competitive. But none of the games I play have any social component to them – and I appreciate that fact. I don’t want other people interfering in my games, I don’t feel a need to share scores, creations or triumphs. Games, for me, are a mental break from everything else in the world…and if they got social, they wouldn’t be much of an escape anymore.

So, while there are millions of daily users playing these social games, I am not among them.

Do you play social games?

If so, which ones & why?

If not, why not?

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Well, if the Mayan’s are right, this will be the last New Year we’ll ever experience.

Just in case, I think it’s a good idea to make sure your social is really awesome in 2012.

So, here’s a month-by-month breakdown of how you can rock it out (And hey, if it doesn’t end, you’ll be just that much further ahead of your competition!):

January – Jump start your strategy with a content calendar. Now is the time to take what you’ve wanted to do and make it a reality. Not sure where to start your content calendar? Well, your content calendar is like the stiff martini you fixed over New Years!

February – Facebook Advertising isn’t cheap; however, it is one of the most successful ways to build your brand on the platform if it’s done right and targeted correctly. If you’ve never ventured down the FB Ad path and your brand has some budget room to test out some unique strategies, this one is worth testing out. Make sure you work with someone experienced in FB Ads, A/B testing and targeted marketing to get the most from your money.

March – Meet your fabulous fans! Planning an event and promoting it through social is a great way to get your fans further involved. Whether it’s a large event that you’re just attending or a special event you put together, make this month all about the fans!

April – Analyze what’s working, what’s not and make some changes. While we’d prefer if you analyze your results on a more regular basis, at the minimum you should be doing so 4 times a year. April marks the start of the 2nd quarter, so it’s time to double check what you’ve been doing and adjust where you need in order to make the rest of the year successful.

May – Make twitter more fun with a twitter contest. Everyone likes to win things, and running a contest on twitter is a simple and effective way to get your brand out there. Take it to the next level with a custom #hashtag for the contest and let’s get you trending!

June – Join 4 new groups on LinkedIn that center around your target industry and has open discussion. Make sure that each of the groups accomplishes a different goal for your brand and that you stay engaged with the community. It’s an easy way for your new business team to make sure people know their name…just be careful about getting over promotional!

August – Add a new social network to your repertoire. If you’re already into the big ones (twitter, facebook, linkedin, youtube), it might be time to venture into some of the smaller channels. Check out tools like scoop.it, pinterest, or twlyah

September – Start a blog for your business. Whether you choose an internal or external facing blog, add one! If it’s externally facing, it can paint your brand as an expert in the industry. Internally, it gives the brand itself a chance to grow and strengthen from the conglomeration of ideas.

October - Offer something unique for the end of the year. If you have a product or service that can benefit from the biggest spending season, then find a way to make sure you’re name it out there! Discounts are not always the best option…try something a little more spectacular that captures attention and you’ll beat the competition without cutting prices.

November – Nurture the social relationships you’ve built. The easiest way to lose a fan, follower or connection is by ignoring them once you’ve made that connection. Instead, work hard to keep on top of what’s going on with the people who interact with you the most and make sure those relationships stay strong throughout the year.

December – Decide to have a better 2013, and how to make it happen. Every year it is entirely possible to be better than the one prior. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t, repeat what does and test a few new tricks.

What can you do in 2012 to be more successful?

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