Getting your executives on board with social media is one thing, but getting them to actively participate is entirely another. But take heart – it can be done (it’s easier than it sounds), and it doesn’t even require a slide deck! 

I can’t even remember how long this LinkedIn feature has existed.  Does anyone else find it hard to remember pre-Twitter days? Regardless, the secret of CXO social media adoption is introducing the LinkedIn status update Twitter integration.

For psychographic fiends, it may be helpful to appeal to the inherent narcissism of C-level executives by approaching the effort as “gaining recognition for the impressive volume of industry-specific, relevant content they voraciously consume in running your successful business and/or serving your clients”.

From the default LinkedIn Overview screen visible upon sign-in, the steps are simple.

1. Enter brief comments – or perhaps even better – a provoking question related to the content.
2. Utilize the “Attach a link” text link to display the field in which to paste the business article link and “Attach”
3. Share

A more advanced method would take the LinkedIn Social Share process above and add simple enhancements such as: 

• Optimize your introductory comments in the 140 characters – which are all that will display in the Twitter feed
• Include any Twitter hash tag references (or @references) as valuable in optimizing search value of post
• Use a trackable URL shortener such as bit.ly
• Select the image you feel most engaging from the options auto-pulled when linking asset.  In my example there were 8 choices!

• Choose where the update is displayed by selecting from “Visible to” options of anyone, connections or specific groups. This makes great sense for professionals who engage in numerous vertical markets and seek to maximize value to their connections by preserving relevance of posts.

Demonstrating success is where the fun begins.  First, literally show them proof that their post populated their Twitter feed (which you – or your digital friend in the agency probably established on their behalf). 

Ta-da!  It worked…even capturing my capitalization error as proof of automation (I couldn’t miss that 2xs – really).

Next, show them real proof.  I know you are using metrics to track your social media engagements, so use this as an opportunity to show the lifecycle of their own LinkedIn Status Update and tie it to dollars and cents wherever feasible.

At a minimum:

• Track Comments and Likes on the CXO’s LinkedIn Profile
• Track RTs of pass through tweet
• Track Replies to tweet  and/or DMs
• Review link analytics from URL shortener used

Do your company executives participate in Social Media?  LinkedIn membership among Fortune 500 is 100% so Twitter can’t be far behind now, right?

Recently well known retailer Gap revealed a new logo for its brand. Scrapping its iconic white typeface on blue box logo:

Gap launched a new black-on-white logo with an off-set blue box:

This week however Gap announced it will discontinue all print advertising and in-store uses of the new logo and will return to its logo of old. Why? Because its customers hate it and Gap gave them the perfect platform to voice their distaste by launching this new logo using social media. When the logo was launched, Gap created a Facebook Fan page & Twitter campaign. And, much to Gap’s dismay it learned quite how much the Internet can influence a company’s brand messaging.

That being said, Gap did have the right intention. By using social media as a platform for audience feedback, it opened up the conversation about the logo, engaged its customers to weigh in and, ultimately, Gap listened and is making changes—which is what social media in business is intended to do.

The lesson learned? Social media can be a great, low-cost, marketing tool, yes, but be prepared as to the power it can give your audience and do your homework as to how to handle this. Sometimes the results can be great, but other times, as Gap learned, the money you ‘save’ by utilizing these free tools can cost you far more.

Social media has grown rapidly over the past few years and, in terms of public relations, it has changed everything. Working in PR, I’ve seen social media change the way I communicate, connect with other people, receive my news, share stories and, overall, the way I work—it’s exciting to be part of this transformation!

Now, there is a day dedicated to the fabulous field of social media. Today, June 30, has been designated Social Media Day. This day, created by Mashable, was designed to be a global celebration of the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue.

To celebrate Social Media Day, there are more than 460 meetups in 74 countries around the world that will take place tonight. In the Phoenix area, Social Media Arizona is hosting the Tempe Social Media Day Meetup at MADCAP Theater from 5-7 p.m. Guests will have the opportunity to meet other social media enthusiasts in the area and give a verbal, in-person Tweet about why they love social media, their favorite social media tool or their successes with social media. If you can’t attend the meetup, you can stay involved with the activities by following Tweets that include #smday.

Will you be at MADCAP tonight? What are you doing to celebrate Social Media Day?

Twitter introduced a new feature, called Twitter Places, that I think could be beneficial for B2B companies. It allows you to assign your location to a Tweet. It also gives each location a dedicated Twitter page where users can view recent Tweets and check-ins (integrated with Foursquare and Gowalla) associated with that place.

How can this benefit B2B companies?

If a customer or prospect comes across the Twitter Place page associated with your business, he or she can view the Tweets and check-ins listed on that page. If someone has never heard of your business before, that feed can have a huge impact on that person’s first impression of your business.

So, B2B companies, make sure your corporate Twitter account is associated with your office location before you Tweet, and inform co-workers who are on Twitter to associate their Tweets with your business’ location while they’re at work. This will enable your Twitter Place page visitors to connect with your employees. And, I think it’s important for employees to make a connection with customers and prospects that goes beyond the products or services a business sells.

Twitter Places is now available. Below your tweet box you will see “Add a location to your tweets.” Simply click on the “Turn it on” link.

Do you think this feature could benefit B2B companies?