Five tips and tricks for Google+ newbies

Sunday, September 18, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Google+ is growing fast. According to pcmag.com (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390356,00.asp#fbid=UNntW99VjdD) more than 25 million users are now on the social networking site. Users are raving about the simplicity of the site. With more people joining, it’s important for you to keep up-to-date on the latest functionality of Google+. Once you’ve learned the basics, there are many more tips and tricks to enhance your experience on Google+. Here are 5 tips to get you started:

  1. Sending a private message. One of the greatest benefits of Google+ is the ability to post limited information to your followers. However, unlike Facebook, Google+ private messaging isn’t nearly as obvious. It is, however, extremely simple. In order to send a private message, simply start typing into your stream. Instead of sharing the content with multiple Circles, remove the Circles altogether and then add an individual’s name by using a plus symbol (+) and then the person’s name. Only that individual will be able to see the message.
  2. Disable sharing of your posts for increased security. One of the many perks of Google+ is that sharing content with certain group is much easier. You can send a message to an individual (as described above) or certain groups by simply adding the people you want to share information to into the box below your status update. However, there is nothing to keep individuals from sharing your post to others. In order to keep your information private and control what information may be repeated, Google+ offers the option for you to disable sharing of your posts. If you post something that you’d like to keep others from sharing, simply click on the menu drop down arrow at the upper right-hand corner of your post and select the “disable reshare” option.
  3. Mentioning someone in your status. Facebook users by now have grown accustomed to mentioning their friends in a post using the @ symbol. This functionality works the same in Google+. Users may also use a plus symbol (+) in lieu of the @ symbol.
  4. Altering text. Did you know that you can make text italic, bold or appear in strike through using Google+. This is done by using designated symbols before and after text. For italic text use the prefix and suffix underscore (_).

You would type your status:

_Happy Friday, everyone._

For bold, use a * instead of an underscore. And in order to achieve strikethrough text, simply use a hyphen (-).

  1. Text how other users view your profile. This feature of Google+ is extremely useful and is an essential tool for keeping your Google+ profile safe and secure. To test how your profile appears to another user simply click on your name in the Google bar at the far top of your screen. Choose “view profile.” Across the top right there will be a category bar, select “view profile as.” Type the person you wish to test and you will instantly see how your profile appears to that individual. This will allow you to make adjustments based on what information you prefer to keep private.

This just begins to scratch the surface of Google+ and what it has to offer. Google+, like all Google products, is designed to work seamlessly with other Google offerings. Make sure to take time to explore and learn them all. For example, did you know that your Picasa pictures can be automatically synced with your Google+ profile?  Additionally, the official Google+ apps for smartphones are designed to integrate your mobile experience with your profile. Are you looking for ways to stay up-to-date on the latest social media trends?

 

3 Trends in Customer Service that Your GrandPa Would Love

Friday, July 29, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

How many times have you gone into a store and been greeted by a surprisingly cheerful cashier and thought to yourself that you just want to pay for your purchases and go home?  Technology has changed and we’ve found that there were faster ways to do things, sacrificing along the way, to the point that now; we miss the good ole days.  We want friendly customer service. We want technology to take a back seat to providing an experience that we will have the desire to duplicate.

The grocery store chain Albertsons has responded to this feeling among consumers by announcing their intention to remove all of their “self-check” registers at their stores.  Kroger is also going to take on a similar policy. Reactions are mixed; with some feeling like it will do wonders for customer service (as well as adding additional jobs) and others feel it takes the “choice” to interact with a human being away from the consumer. This comes at the same time that Albertsons is also announcing a DMV Kiosk in Las Vegas.

The trend here, when you consider it, is pretty simple to see: People want great customer service, but they don’t want to deal with rude employees. If you’re planning on removing a “self-service” or “automated” system, here are some things that I think you need to be sure to do.

  • Retrain front line employees in the art of customer service. You have to make customer representatives care about the interactions with their customers. It has to be a pleasing part of their day.
  • Create a Twitter account and assign someone (not an intern) to the responsibility.  There will be some people who will not be excited about the new approach to customer service, so you have to give options on how they can get in contact a member of your team.
  • Trust employees to make the right decisions. You have to give people some room to maneuver to turn what could be a losing situation into a winning one.  This comes down to educating phone operators and giving them some room to help.

It can be a bit of a daunting thought to remove all of the “non-personable” aspects of your customer service.  Albertsons and Kroger are both looking at a situation where they will need more staff on hand to create a great experience that will keep people coming back. If you’re currently considering this, just be sure that you plan ahead and be prepared to handle the additional volume that will occur.

Maranda Gibson is the community manager and a customer service representative for AccuConference, providing conference calls and web conferencing.  You can see more customer service and communication tips on the AccuConference Blog.

 

CRM Interview With Zappos Social Engagement Scientist Part II

Friday, July 29, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Yesterday we featured an interview with Zappos Social Engagement Scientist Graham Kahr. Graham gave us some insight into the Zappos brand, how they are using social CRM, and advice to other businesses currently trying to merge social media with CRM. Below is the 2nd half of his interview. Enjoy!

 

How do you currently measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing?

We break our measurement down into three separate categories.

Behavioral – How our actions are influencing customers’ decision to shop with us.

Diagnostic – How much readers are engaging and the reach their engagement creates.

Sentiment – Understanding the customer and spotlighting new opportunities to WOW.

While conversion is great, our primary focus is on interaction and the sentiment of those interactions. We want to give our customers helpful content, inspire them to share their experiences and connect with us.

Last, but certainly not least – What advice can you give to a new business looking to use social media?

Be human and let your values shine through. Customers can sense canned responses and content with ease. And nobody likes a friend that only talks about themselves so let your customers be the star – the story is really about them anyway.

Thanks again to Graham Kahr!

 

CRM Interview With Zappos Social Engagement Scientist

Thursday, July 28, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

We had the opportunity of ‘virtually’ sitting down with Zappos Social Engagement Scientist Graham Kahr. Graham gives us some insight into the Zappos brand, how they are using social CRM, and advice to other businesses currently trying to merge social media with CRM.

How did you get started at Zappos? Tell us a bit about your history with the company.

I was hired to join the Zappos Family as a customer loyalty representative. At the time, I was a magazine editor and looking for a change of scene. Hearing about the progression plans for employees, I couldn’t help but feel that I would be able to chase my passions. I worked as a phone rep for four months before joining the Resource Desk (the team that handles the @zappos_service Twitter account while assisting the entire CLT team on the floor with difficult situations). After five months, I joined the Zappos Blogs Team as a blog copywriter where I was able to lend my journalism talent to Zappos and six months later joined the Brand Marketing team as the Social Engagement Scientist. My primary role is inspiring engagement on our social channels around fashion, culture, customer service and our community efforts.

Love the title, Social Engagement Scientist! From what you’ve seen, how do you think social media has helped evolve the Zappos brand over the years?

We really view all of these channels as a means for communication. Social channels have enabled our customers  to communicate with us in new ways and listening to our customers helps us deliver WOW through service (our #1 core value). Beyond improving communication between our customers and our brand, we have really enjoyed using mediums like Twitter to communicate with each other. You can see the Zapponians who tweet at twitter.zappos.com.

Great! We’ll start following the Zapponians! Speaking of social media, how does Zappos use customer relationship management currently paired with social media? Do they tend to work well together?

We deliver the same world-class service in social media that customers would receive on the phone, live chat, email, etc. While we sometimes help customers on Twitter and Facebook, it’s a very small part of interactions on those channels. Most of the conversation revolves around sharing positive experiences and totally random conversations (video games, food, Internet celebrities – seriously, follow @zappos_service). Our Customer Loyalty Team doesn’t use any scripts on the phone and we avoid them in social as well. Every customer deserves their own experience and social media has been a great place to tailor positive experience.

We want to thank Graham for his answers. Lots of great information to share with our readers. Please tell us your thoughts after reading, in the comments below and look for the 2nd part of this interview tomorrow!

CRM Strategies Examined

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is being embraced by an ever-widening number of businesses as more and more people come to understand the great benefits a successful CRM strategy can offer for today’s companies.

Of course, there is really no such thing as one strategy. The best CRM plans bring together a number of strategies that complement one another and work together to give a multi-layered approach to improving a business’s performance by improving the customer’s experience.

While every strategy will be different for each business, there are a number of key areas that can be adapted to create an overall strategy:

  1. One of the key CRM strategies is to ensure that it is fully embedded in the culture of the organization. The way this is best achieved is to have full buy-in from the whole of the sales team. In practise this means everyone from the head of sales right down to the frontline staff. Successful CRM businesses have come to understand that if this is not the case there is a weak link that can derail the whole operation. Therefore, they make it a priority that CRM is fully embraced.
  2. As simple as it sounds, the absolute bedrock of any CRM success is the quality of the data that is held in the system. Put simply, the better the data the better the results. It should be a business’s priority to ensure a strategy of all data being of the utmost quality. Every customer’s entry should be as complete and up-to-date as possible with everything from the correct spelling (few things irritate customers as much as having names such as Linda spelt Lynda) to purchase history being in place. It may only seem a small point, but successful businesses know that it can often be the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.
  3. One of the key revolutions that CRM has provided is the way in which it has liberated staff. The days when the best staff were isolated from their customers are slowly receding into history. Forward-looking companies understand the value these staff can have for their business. Of course, no one is suggesting that the head of product development should be sitting on a counter somewhere on the off chance a customer has a query. However, it could well be a great idea to have that member of staff blog on the business’s official website so that he or she can discuss new products/future developments and importantly give the customers a chance to ask questions and offer suggestions. This strategy of a two-way dialogue is one of the key benefits of social CRM and can have real advantages for the company. An extreme, yet innovative example of this was when European wireless provider Giff Gaff replaced their call centre with an online community. The concept of customers helping customer may be radical, but it has resulted in award winning service and an increase in profitability.
  4. Another key CRM strategy is to not think of CRM as a ring-fenced section of a business’s overall strategy, but rather one element (albeit a very important one) that is integrated with others. A CRM system can be linked well with email, order entries and other programmes so that the user can access a wide range of information quickly and efficiently without having an ever-increasing number of windows open.
  5. The final key strategy is one that is often overlooked by even the most experienced business. The desire to make the move to CRM can often mean that things are unnecessarily rushed. This can lead to poor implementation, a training issue and a steep learning curve for all involved. It is a much better CRM strategy to go for a phased implantation as this will help guaranteed a successful beginning to a business’s CRM strategy.

Were these 5 steps helpful? Share with us in the comments below.

Expert Interview with Amanda Vega Part II

Saturday, July 23, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Did you see our interview yesterday? We chatted with Amanda Vega, CEO at Amanda Vega Consulting. As one of the oldest social media management providers in the country, Amanda and her team bring many years of experience to any project. Follow Amanda on Twitter, @AmandaVega. Read below for the 2nd part of our two part interview series with Amanda!

What kinds of posts get the most “likes” or positive, happy feedback?

Snarky human related posts.

What things should we absolutely avoid in terms of social media posts and tweets?

This depends on your brand. Some brands are able to speak and go into otherwise controversial or “never talk about XYZ” topics. Others have to keep straight and narrow. So first, I would say to truly investigate your brand and the people in the company – as their personalities truly make up the brand rather than whatever 5 words you chose to be your brand platform (and usually are fluff more than reality) and then you find  your thresholds. Secondly, if you are publicly traded, deal in medical/pharma/hospital, or the financial services industry then  you need to adhere to your industry’s regulation and compliance issues.

How do you turn a fan or follower into a customer, and how do you track that?

You engage with them as you would anyone offline. Related to them on a personal and SOCIAL level. Answer questions immediately. Tracking is done through many tools like Radian or Sentiment Metrics and also through landing pages, tracked call services, and in-store promotions and redemptions.

Thanks again to Amanda for her awesome answers!

Expert Interview with Amanda Vega Part I

Friday, July 22, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Amanda Vega, CEO at Amanda Vega Consulting, works with clients and agencies alike. As one of the oldest social media management providers in the country, Amanda and her team bring many years of experience to any project. Follow Amanda on Twitter, @AmandaVega.

Do you recommend different social media strategies for different types of companies (like retail versus business-to-business), and can you give some examples?

The overall strategies are the same, but the use of some of the social technology or properties may be different. For example, a restaurant may need to invest more time in Yelp, FourSquare and other location based services, and the like while a B2B company will find more use in forums, blogs, and open ended user groups and pages like in FB. In general though, the strategy should center around being social – not pushing messaging or sales, and using the tools to connect authentically to your users/customers/clients giving them access in a more immediate fashion.

What do you tell companies doing social media who feel they’ve “run out of ideas” for things to post?

My first response is that if they feel this way, they are likely not using social media correctly. When people come to us and are “out of ideas” we tend to find they are using social to push salesy and self-serving messages, rather than being social or adding value to other conversations. Social media needs to be thought of in the same way as going to a party or a networking event. You talk about all sorts of things, and in the background, or only when asked, or in passing do those listening hear what you do/what you sell, etc. So the answer is really – keep talking about whatever you would at a party or any other event. Talk about things non-related to peddling your wares and you will ultimately win in social. People connect with those they know, like, and trust – and that doesn’t happen through too many pre-planned soundbites.

In your experience, what are the most successful posts in terms of getting a lot of comments or replies, in other words, a lot of engaging dialogue?

Funny posts. Self-deprecating posts. Those with links to stats or research. And posts that show human nature. Our company, for example, is one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) social media management firm in the country. And in our 15+ years of blogging, tweeting, and posting into various social networks that come in and out of favor we have found our highest conversions not from any posts related to our industry, but in posts about Porsche’s, pugs, Britney Spears, politics, and bad restaurant reviews. Snark works wonders if that fits your brand (most do not.)

We want to thank Amanda for answering our questions. Part II of this interview will be live on our site tomorrow. Be sure to check it out!

Interview with Passionate Social Media Director Paige Dell Armi

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

We’ve had the pleasure of interview social media director Paige Dell Armi from knoodle, an Advertising & PR agency. She’s very passionate about social media and design. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, @Paigeiam or check out her website DoubleBlueDesign.com.

Paige, do you recommend different social media strategies for different types of companies (like retail versus business-to-business), and can you give some examples?

Yes! We ask our clients what their online marketing goals are and from there we integrate them into a social media strategy… We of course have this magic machine that gives us this information ;-) When we build/brainstorm social media for Dine4az & Gaslamp Hilton the strategy does tend to be more “sexy” than, let’s say Petersen Johnson’s. B2B on social media will always be a challenge, but we know it can be done! We always use one on one interaction and our #secretsauce is remembering who we have interacted with a week ago. This is key for us and it builds instant fan confidence…

What do you tell companies doing social media who feel they’ve “run out of ideas” for things to post?
Never forget the small things in life! It’s always those small events in your life that get the most social interaction…

In your experience, what are the most successful posts in terms of getting a lot of comments or replies, in other words, a lot of engaging dialogue?
The posts where we think and act like our audience and not act “bigger” than them… We’re their friend!  We want to know what their favorite snack is when they’re at a baseball game. We learned that Sherry is a hot dog/beer girl and that Joel is a fan of Garcia’s (#secretsauce of ours… is in return to Joel, we commented back with a direct link to dine4az.com for that 20% off next time he goes to Garcia’s) ((Image attached))

What kinds of posts get the most “likes” or positive, happy feedback?
“What is your baking secret?” or “What type of beer are you looking forward to the most? IPA, Ale, Stout…” ((images attached)) It’s when we ask questions and mingle in the conversation :)

What things should we absolutely avoid in terms of social media posts and tweets?
Never do posting in the first person. Your a team, a company and your audience wants to see that :)

How do you turn a fan or follower into a customer, and how do you track that?

Personal engagement along with being there within 24hrs… we use social media as a customer service tool for our clients. We take a comment left on Santan VW’s Facebook page and build trust with that one fan. Let them know we’re here and really care about what color Jetta they are looking for. We took a single persons comment about shopping for a new car and build a relationship out of it. Behind the curtain we were in touch with the Sales GM who is getting that Black Jetta ready ;-) This is our strategy and it works, it works so well that we had a customer come back and buy a second car from Santan.

As far as tracking, we have a library of screen grabs when those “ROI” events happen and build case studies out of them.

Thanks so much Paige for taking the time to answer these questions!

CRM & Google + – What You Need to Know

Monday, July 18, 2011 by Sidney Angelos

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is now established as a superb tool for businesses to use for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their customer relationships and in turn, increasing profitability.

One of the key strengths of CRM is the way in which it integrates with other products and services. It is therefore little surprise that there has been much speculation as to whether and/or to what degree, Google + can be used as part of an overall CRM strategy.

The initial impression of many who have used Google + is that it lends itself well to the world of CRM. It does this through a number of refinements and improvements of previously available features along with the introduction of some new tools

Circles.

Arguably the most discussed feature of Google +, Circles is at its most basic and group management tool. However, it is also much more than this. Facebook has long had a method of organizing contacts into user-defined groups. This is a very useful tool for CRM as it allows a business to create groups of their customers, so an electrical retailer could have a list of customers who have bought microwave ovens and another who have purchased hi-fi separates, instead of just a list of all customers. The advantages are self-evident: the retailer can target its customer base much more accurately and in turn customers will not receive marketing that is inappropriate. The problem has been that group management tools have often been hard to use. Circles changes that by creating a simple UI that utilizes drag and drop so that a user can build much better groups. Google + provides a list of recommended contacts (based on Google Contacts and/or Gmail) from which a user can easily set up their groups (or circles). This ability to target marketing means that Circles is a first rate CRM tool.

Sparks.

Initially, this could be seen as simply an area for entering text to be taken to a search engine. However, it becomes apparent that Sparks is much more than this and is a useful CRM tool. Essentially, it is a method by which a user can enter an interest (say bird watching) and be taken to a list of books, blog posts, video clips (and indeed anything that a normal Google search would show). This is really useful for businesses from a CRM point of view as a business’s product or service could be entered (say “hi-fi turntable”). When the list is brought up, the user can add it to an “interest list” for future reference. The user is then in a position to see what others are saying about the product and gain an easy snapshot of what customers are talking about. This could prove invaluable in not just gauging how customers feel about a current product, but also in the process of developing future products. There is also a “Featured Interests” section that is particularly useful for finding out what are trending topics.

Huddle.

This is an app that is designed to allow a user to group message across key mobile platforms (including iPhone, Android and SMS). The possibilities here are superb for CRM implementation. A business with user groups set up (such as the electrical retailer’s hi-fi list) can send a group message concerning an upcoming hi-fi campaign just to the customers in that list. This will help improve customer relationships by providing targeted information to those who stand a high chance of being interested.

Google + is in some ways a refinement of previous Google tools that also brings some new ones to the social media party. For business, it enhances their CRM capability by offering users the opportunity to streamline the process of customer interaction as well as providing a platform for the discussion that lies at the heart of all CRM.

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